O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astry from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Have a great weekend!

Romans 7:19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.

This is the frustration that most Christians live with. Once we start listening to the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts, we begin to understand all the evil that we do. We begin to see all the natural thoughts and actions which are not in line with the will of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Gradually, over time, our hearts, minds, and lives grow more attuned to the Holy Spirit and so our lives are more able to reflect the life of Christ.

I will always be frustrated by how easily I turn to that which is evil; but, I should not let my frustration dominate me. I move forward by recognizing that, while I will always be drawn toward doing evil, I have the constant presence of the Holy Spirit leading me toward that which is good.

Half the battle is listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit, the other half is doing what the Holy Spirit leads me to do.

Romans 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

Romans 6:11-14 consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus does not make us perfect. Jesus does not keep us from committing sins. Jesus does not take away all pain and sorrow. Jesus represents grace; when we live with Christ we live with the grace of God spread over all of our doings (right or wrong). Jesus does not give us a license to sin, rather Jesus gives us a reason to avoid sin.

We are not to be mastered by sin. I have seen people mastered in two different ways. One is obvious; the individual who, for whatever reason, can not give up a vice that has mastery over his or her life. The other is the person so fearful of sin that they can not live the life God has given them.

Do not live in sin and do not live in fear of sin. Live your life, to the fullest, recognizing the grace of Jesus Christ in every moment of every day.

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

Romans 5:6-8 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is John 17. In John 17, Jesus is praying prior to his arrest and crucifixion. During his prayer he prays for himself and for his disciples; he prays that God would finish the work that was started at Jesus’ birth; but, for me, the most important part is when Jesus prayers for those who would come after. Jesus, as he prepared for his death, prayed for you and me.

While we were helpless, before we could do anything to restore our own relationship with God, Jesus died for us. God has known, loved, and wanted the best for each one of us since the creation of the world. Jesus was the pivot point of history upon which God’s love is anchored.

Romans 4:13-17 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; 15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation. 16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 (as it is written, “A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.

Romans 4:22-25 Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 23 Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, 24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

The idea of faith being credited as righteousness is one of the most important concepts to grasp as we explore salvation. I will never be righteous, there is nothing I can do to achieve righteousness, and left to my own devices I will wander away from righteousness. However, if I have faith in “Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead”, then I will be credited with righteousness. Righteousness is a gift. It is not something we can make, take or earn.

When we elevate laws over faith, we are missing the point. When we raise dogma over a relationship with Christ, we have turned Christ into a religion. Do not sacrifice the ambiguity of faith for the certainty of law. When we claim certainty, we have traded our faith for a law. Don’t substitute law for faith.

Mrs. Malins was helped down the front steps by her son and Mr. Browne and, after many manoeuvres, hoisted into the cab. Freddy Malins clambered in after her and spent a long time settling her on the seat, Mr. Browne helping him with advice. At last she was settled comfortably and Freddy Malins invited Mr. Browne into the cab. There was a good deal of confused talk, and then Mr. Browne got into the cab. The cabman settled his rug over his knees, and bent down for the address. The confusion grew greater and the cabman was directed differently by Freddy Malins and Mr. Browne, each of whom had his head out through a window of the cab. The difficulty was to know where to drop Mr. Browne along the route, and Aunt Kate, Aunt Julia and Mary Jane helped the discussion from the doorstep with cross-directions and contradictions and abundance of laughter. As for Freddy Malins he was speechless with laughter. He popped his head in and out of the window every moment to the great danger of his hat, and told his mother how the discussion was progressing, till at last Mr. Browne shouted to the bewildered cabman above the din of everybody’s laughter:

“Do you know Trinity College?”

Romans 3:19-20 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; 20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

The purpose of God’s law was to enable humanity to be aware that we are sinful, that we are in need. God’s overarching purpose was for humans to live in relationship with God. If we believe ourselves to be sufficient, then we are less likely to seek out God. The law makes us aware of our need for God.

The law never had any power to save humanity or to, in and of itself, bring anyone closer to God. The law is a catalyst that enables us to pur our faith in God. It is through faith that we are united in relationship to God. The law can not save; only faith can save.

This leads to Paul’s comment at the end of chapter three…

Romans 3:31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.

Our faith does not make the law invalid; in fact, we still have a responsibility to work toward living out God’s law. But living perfectly according to the law is not the goal of a Christian’s life. The goal of a Christian’s life is to live under the grace and by the example of Jesus Christ, loving all those we meet, and doing that which God calls us to do.

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan; Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Well, it was a pretty horrible week in the Clendineng household. We have all been struck at one point or another with an intense stomach flu. We also broke the axle on our van; so we were a one car family for a while (a very small, two door car). Happily everyone is recovering and the van is fixed. Otherwise it was a pretty quiet week. Here’s some stuff I came across…

Have a great weekend!

THAT is no country for old men. The young
In one another’s arms, birds in the trees
- Those dying generations – at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.

An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.

O sages standing in God’s holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall,
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,
And be the singing-masters of my soul.
Consume my heart away; sick with desire
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is; and gather me
Into the artifice of eternity.

Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The piercing morning air came into the hall where they were standing so that Aunt Kate said:

“Close the door, somebody. Mrs. Malins will get her death of cold.”

“Browne is out there, Aunt Kate,” said Mary Jane.

“Browne is everywhere,” said Aunt Kate, lowering her voice.

Mary Jane laughed at her tone.

“Really,” she said archly, “he is very attentive.”

“He has been laid on here like the gas,” said Aunt Kate in the same tone, “all during the Christmas.”

Blessed be the Lord, King of the Universe, who created All things, apportioned food, appointed drink
For all the children of flesh with which they shall be satisfied
But granted to us, human beings, to partake of the food
Of the myriads of his angelic bodies. For all this
We have to bless with songs in the gatherings of [the] people.

I took my wife out for a date last night. We went to dinner and watched Avatar in 3D. The story was okay, the character development was poor, but the visuals were truly stunning. Anyway, all that to say I’m a little late getting out the meanderings.

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Have a great weekend!

“Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.

I think the issue of homosexuality in Christianity is often a distraction from doing the actual work of Christ. Romans 1 speaks of the sinfulness into which humanity has fallen and specifically references homosexuality as being something that was not a part of God’s created order. However, this passage also lists greed, arrogance, disobedience, lacking in love, lacking in understanding, and lacking in mercy, as being outside of God’s created order.

Can you be a gay/lesbian Christian? That’s like asking, can you be an arrogant Christian? I have met many of both.

As Christians we are not called to stand on street corners and call people sinners; we are called to love people and be examples of Jesus Christ.

When we choose to judge someone else, it says far more about the state of our own heart than about the person we are judging. If I see evil in someone else’s life, I need to ask myself why that evil is so apparent to me. Typically, we are very good at seeing, in the lives of other people, the sins we are committing.

We cannot return the world to God’s created order. We can, however, care for all people living in this world. We need to love and defend all people; people openly living outside of God’s order.

What is the role of an openly LGBTQ Christian in the church? What is the role of an openly arrogant person in the church? To do that which God is calling them to do.

Now everyone can be unhappy with me.

“For since the creation of the world [God's] invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

We are all living outside of God’s created order and none of us are able fix that. We worship and serve ourselves, the creation, rather than worship and serve God, the creator. The only hope we have is the grace of Jesus Christ. Yet even if I live under grace, I am still not able to fully live within God’s created order. I can come a little closer, but I will fail.

As a Christian I am not to approve of practicing that which is outside of God’s created order; but at the same time, I must always recognize that I will always live outside of God’s created order.

I can see, in Christ, a coming perfection that will wash away the evil in this world; but, that perfection is not yet here. Until perfection comes, I need to daily look at my life, search out where I am living outside of God’s order, and beg for God’s forgiveness and restoration. Until perfection comes, I need to love everyone around me, even those who do evil to me. Until perfection comes, I need to work with fellow sinners, who are focused on Jesus Christ, to build up the Church.