thought for the day

"I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth."(Martin Luther)

In Christ,
The Reformer

contentless content. Part I

Greetings:

"I have come to the point where, when I hear the word Jesus-Which means so much to me because of the Person of the historic Jesus and His work-I listen carefully because I have with sorrow become more afraid of the word Jesus than most any other word in the modern word. The word is used as a contenless banner, and our generation is invited to follow it. But there is no rational, Scriptural content by which to test it, and thus the word is being used to teach the very opposite things from those which Jesus taught. Men are called to follow the word with highly motivated feverency, and nowhere more than in the new morality which follows the radical theology. It is now Jesus-like to sleep with a girl or a man, if she or he needs you. As long as you are trying to be human, you are being Jesus-like to sleep with the other person- at the cost, be it noted, of breaking the specific morality that Jesus taught. But to these people this does not matter, because that is the downstairs in the area of rational Scriptural content.
(Schaeffer, Francis. "Escape from Reason", page 259.)

Now, this is already enough to read, therefore I shall speak on this tomorrow.

By Faith Alone,
TheReformer

True Fear

"I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, Self." (Martin Luther)

How True, how true this is. What more can I say?

Faith Alone,
The Reformer

Strength in the Oricals of God

Greetings:

"Let them read our commandments in the Prophets, Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, or Epistles; let them pursue the large number of precepts against avarice and luxury which are everywhere read to the congregations that meet for this purpose, and which strike the ear, not with the uncertain sound of philosophical discussion, but with the thunder of God's own oracle pealing from the clouds."(Augustine. The City of God, Book II; part .19)

Now you might be asking yourself, "What is up with this". My reply is simple, speak the Truth loud and proud. Don't fear Truth, or rather what the Truth may bring. I confess that I have had troubles lately over the Truth. Not large problems, no one has tried to kill me or anything like that, but people have died for the Truth. Surley if saints would die for the Truth, the least I could do is stand up for Truth. What I obtained from this passage was to my soul as sweet as honey and as nuroushing as bread. The Word is in itself bold, and does not compromise. It simply draws a clear line, and leaves no room for debate. Thats how I wish to be. I want to be able to say this is Truth, and this is not and there is no middle ground. No compromising, no faltering, and no stepping down. The oracles of God thunder from heaven, and so should those that speak His Word. Let the humanist be weak and feabaly undecided, But let those who trust in Truth be as the Truth itself is.
"O Lord, grant this I pray. Let your holy church stand up for right, abhor evil, and endure all things for Your name sake. Take not the trial away for we know trials only strengthen us, but only give thy Word and Peace and Strength to endure. Sanctify us to Your Word, for it is the Truth. Amen.

In love and reverant care for truth,
The Reformer

a thought for.....

Greetings:

Well, here is an old hymn that I love. I had never even heard of it till a friend of mine introduced it to our school in chapel one day. I must say that is a terrible shame, I wish I could have heard this years ago. So take this and think on it for O..... 40 or 50 years:

How deep the Father's love for us,How vast beyond all measureThat He should give His only SonTo make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,The Father turns His face awayAs wounds which mar the chosen One,Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,My sin upon His shouldersAshamed I hear my mocing voice,Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that helf Him thereUntil it was accomplishedHis dying breath has brought me lifeI know that it is finished

I will not boast in anythingNo gifts, no power, no wisdomBut I will boast inJesus ChristHis death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?I cannot give an answerBut this I know with all my heartHis wounds have paid my ransom(REPEAT)

By Christ Alone,
The Reformer

Christ alone

Greetings,

I was praying this week and suddenly something happened... My prayer was answered in being unaswered. I prayed something like this:

"Surely, O Lord, You have prepared a wife for me. It is unconcevable that I should be left alone in this world. With trials and tribulations everywhere, and not to mention this horrible tyrany of celabacy, surely You would not make me face this alone in this life. I need someone to talk to after I come home. I need someone to love, and to be loved by. Someone that I may serve and honor. Someone to help in times of need and distress, someone who can understand me and..."

It was here that I stopped. I could go no futher for I felt to do so would be utter foolishness. Why should I look for fullfilment in this present life of these things whe they are already fullfilled. When I am alone, I am truly not for there with me is Christ. When I come home, I have Christ that I may speak with. It is Christ that I must love, and Him that I must serve. Who could better understand me than the one who created me? I speak of this personal experiance of mine to hopefully get you to look at yourself. Whatever need you have, it is meat in Christ. He alone can fullfill all the longings of your heart. Your mind will only find rest in His Word. Lean upon Him, O you who Love the Lord. Find in Christ, thine all in all. Amen

Sola Christus,
Reformer

Reason as a Whore

Greetings,

I feel that we have established firmly that reason is to be used in the service of God. It is from proper faith that true logical and coherant structure come. When we use reason and the intelect outside of the Christian faith, then we do so improperly. What good is it to study science if the God of the Bible is not in the process? Firstly, there is no reason to study science without God. If you believe in the view of random creation via evolution, then why should there be any order in the universe. There should be no such thing as logic, chance would be the only constant. The galaxy, let alone the universe, should be nothing more than jumbled atoms and particles scattered over vaste amounts of space. Yet this is not true by any means. The entire universe, as much of it as we have observed, works in a logical and coherant manner. What if you believed in the pagan dieties of Rome and Greece? Their "Gods" are no more than glorified men. They are humanity that has been given superhuman attributes. For example, the gods are constantly having affairs with human women, and are by all means finite. We have an example of this in the statue of the "hero" (heros of Greek mythology are considered amoung the gods) Hercules urinating while being inebriated. How could such flippant passable gods create and maintain order in society? they can't. The impersonaly dieties of the Eastern Mysiticism and Chinease cultures give us no hope either. When we use reason, appart from the Word of God, we end up wiht the horrible attrocities that we have today:Nihilism, Post-Modernism, and hedonism. We need the Bible in order to function, without it we shall perish.

Sola Scriptura,
Reformer