IMMORTALITY
Scripture reveals to us that only one person ever born into this world was immortal and through his death on a cross and glorious resurrection gave us forgiveness of sins as well as a share in his immortality. We, however, are not born to be immortal. Our mortality was sealed the day that Man sinned by disobeying God's first commandment. You shall not put any other gods before me.
I was watching The Mummy: Tomb of the Red Dragon King last night and one thing that was in this movie that is in many of this type is the evil king looking for a way to become immortal and reign forever. The part that struck me was that there is always something which can take away his immortality. In this case it was a special knife that if stabbed into his heart would kill him forever.
Nothing can take away Christ's immortality. He even went through death as a human. Not just any death, but a death of indignity and humility at the hands of his enemies. This does not happen in these movies that Hollywood makes. No it is a King who wants to usurp power over everyone and does not care about anyone but himself. He will stop at nothing, including killing his right hand man to show his power to his people.
This man will only oppress the people, not free them from their oppression. His desire to be immortal is selfish and is just like the first humans God made when temptation came their way. They were lied to by the serpent that God was withholding his knowledge from them. The serpent wanted them to think that having this burden of the knowledge of Good and Evil would put them on a level playing field with God. There is no one who can be equal to God. He is the creator and his creation is an extension of his power, but it is not equal to him.
God created mankind in his image- Both male and female he made them. He created the proper environment for them to live in and plenty of food to sustain the life he had breathed into them. If he gave them all these things at creation why then did they want or need more? The serpents lie convinced Eve that God was not being fair with them. She wanted equality with God on all levels and Adam was right there keeping quiet which was his silent acceptance of all that was being said. He could have refuted what Eve said about not touching the tree, but he didn't.
They both took the bait hook, line and sinker and it plunged them down into the existence they and we all live. One of temporal mortality. We interited their sin through our birth and are destined to die just as they did. We can never achieve immortality on our own by any means of our own.
God knows this and has provided us a way outside of ourselves to become immortal. First our sins must be paid for by blood. THat is the way that God has chosen. Life must be sacrificed and blood spilled. Cultures all over the world have religions which have human sacrifice to appease their malevolent gods. Blood is spilled and flesh has been eaten all in the name of their religion. But no sinful human would have been a proper sacrifice to pay for the sins we all commit daily. In preparing his people for the ultimate sacrifice, he set up commandments which showed them what a proper sacrifice would have to be. An unblemished lamb without spot or wrinkle was the beginning. The sins of the people were put on the lamb who was sacrificed. The blood was spilled and sin was atoned.
Christ, the Son of God, became the final sacrifice for our sin. No more sacrifice is necessary or desired. In fact, God tells us that he desires mercy over and above sacrifice. Through this sacrifice, God's mercy and grace are imputed to us. Christ then defeated death through his resurrection on the third day. No grave could hold him and there is no way to take away his immortality by a special incantation or artifact made in this world. Hollywood is still working the side of the serpent by trying to convince us human beings that we can achieve our own immortality, but it is a false immortality because it can be lost. Christ's immortality is given to us as a gift of grace from the creator. Nothing in this world can separate us from it except ourselves.
It is through the means of grace which God has given to us to receive this immortality. These means of Grace are his Word and Sacrament which we receive as we attend church each week and not at the movie theater or your television.
In Christ we pray, Amen.
September 03, 2009
BIRTHDAY--NOT SUCH A BLESSED DAY
Today is my sister's birthday. She is 3 years and 359 days younger than I am. When we were younger, birthdays took on some significance with us as I am sure they do with many people. It is a celebration of the day your mother gave birth to you. In America, the custom for many is to give the person whose birthday it is, a gift to commemorate the day.
But if we look at it from a Christian perspective, it is the day you were born into this sinful world and because of sin, you will die. Not a pleasant thought is it? Our birthday signifies a date of conviction for sins you haven't necessarily committed as yet, but you will inevitably do so.
Since Adam and Eve fell from grace in the Garden, we have been inheritors of their downfall. Our physical and spiritual death is certain to happen because we fall short of God's glory. The soul that sins, it shall die. But God, the righteous judge has given us a stay on our Spiritual death. One that cost him his Son to a horrible and painful death on our behalf.
Christ Jesus is God's Son and his sacrifice on the Cross was the redemption price for all mankind from its sin. It is by God's grace through faith in His Son's meritorious work on the cross and his mighty resurrection that saves us from eternal life in Hell.
Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3 that one must be born from above to receive salvation. It is not something we ourselves can do, but that we need God to do it for us. Jesus says, "Flesh gives birth to Flesh and Spirit gives birth to Spirit." So we have been celebrating a day which really gives birth to a dying flesh.
So how do we receive the Spirit birth? We receive it through the sacrament of Holy Baptism. Baptism was instituted by Jesus in the Great Commission when Jesus commanded his disciples to
19 j Go therefore and k make disciples of l all nations, jbaptizing them m in 2 n the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them o to observe all that p I have commanded you. And behold, q I am with you always, to r the end of the age.”
Baptism saves us--1 Peter 3:21. It is nothing more than the word of God attached to water, but in attaching God's word to the element of water, it becomes efficient to cleanse you from sin. Just like if you put clothes in a washing machine, you need to add soap so that the clothes become clean. The soap makes the water efficient to clean the clothing.
Through Baptism, we are born again to the Spirit of God. He gives us the power and faith to believe that all God has said and done for us is true and what the Devil says to us is a lie.
Because of this, Maybe we should count more the day of our Spiritual birth than our Fleshly birth. On your fleshly birthday give your mother a call and thank her for the labor pain and agony she went through from birth to the day you left her to live your own life. Give her a present (she deserves it) and instead Thank God for the blessings of your Spiritual Birth through your Baptism into His Kingdom.
j Mark 16:15, 16
k ch. 13:52
l Luke 24:47; [ch. 24:14; Mark 11:17; Rom. 1:5]
m See Acts 8:16
2 Or into
n [2 Cor. 13:14]
o John 14:15
p [Acts 1:2]
q [ch. 1:23; 18:20; John 12:26; 14:3; 17:24; Acts 18:10]
r See ch. 13:39
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Mt 28:19-20). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Today is my sister's birthday. She is 3 years and 359 days younger than I am. When we were younger, birthdays took on some significance with us as I am sure they do with many people. It is a celebration of the day your mother gave birth to you. In America, the custom for many is to give the person whose birthday it is, a gift to commemorate the day.
But if we look at it from a Christian perspective, it is the day you were born into this sinful world and because of sin, you will die. Not a pleasant thought is it? Our birthday signifies a date of conviction for sins you haven't necessarily committed as yet, but you will inevitably do so.
Since Adam and Eve fell from grace in the Garden, we have been inheritors of their downfall. Our physical and spiritual death is certain to happen because we fall short of God's glory. The soul that sins, it shall die. But God, the righteous judge has given us a stay on our Spiritual death. One that cost him his Son to a horrible and painful death on our behalf.
Christ Jesus is God's Son and his sacrifice on the Cross was the redemption price for all mankind from its sin. It is by God's grace through faith in His Son's meritorious work on the cross and his mighty resurrection that saves us from eternal life in Hell.
Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3 that one must be born from above to receive salvation. It is not something we ourselves can do, but that we need God to do it for us. Jesus says, "Flesh gives birth to Flesh and Spirit gives birth to Spirit." So we have been celebrating a day which really gives birth to a dying flesh.
So how do we receive the Spirit birth? We receive it through the sacrament of Holy Baptism. Baptism was instituted by Jesus in the Great Commission when Jesus commanded his disciples to
19 j Go therefore and k make disciples of l all nations, jbaptizing them m in 2 n the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them o to observe all that p I have commanded you. And behold, q I am with you always, to r the end of the age.”
Baptism saves us--1 Peter 3:21. It is nothing more than the word of God attached to water, but in attaching God's word to the element of water, it becomes efficient to cleanse you from sin. Just like if you put clothes in a washing machine, you need to add soap so that the clothes become clean. The soap makes the water efficient to clean the clothing.
Through Baptism, we are born again to the Spirit of God. He gives us the power and faith to believe that all God has said and done for us is true and what the Devil says to us is a lie.
Because of this, Maybe we should count more the day of our Spiritual birth than our Fleshly birth. On your fleshly birthday give your mother a call and thank her for the labor pain and agony she went through from birth to the day you left her to live your own life. Give her a present (she deserves it) and instead Thank God for the blessings of your Spiritual Birth through your Baptism into His Kingdom.
j Mark 16:15, 16
k ch. 13:52
l Luke 24:47; [ch. 24:14; Mark 11:17; Rom. 1:5]
m See Acts 8:16
2 Or into
n [2 Cor. 13:14]
o John 14:15
p [Acts 1:2]
q [ch. 1:23; 18:20; John 12:26; 14:3; 17:24; Acts 18:10]
r See ch. 13:39
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Mt 28:19-20). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
September 02, 2009
A NEW SCHOOL YEAR
My children have been in school now for almost 3 weeks. J is in the 7th grade at a local public middle school and P is in the 4th grade at a nearby Lutheran School. So far both are getting along in their schools fairly well.
Now it is my turn. This next Tuesday I begin my 4th year of Seminary study at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne. The first quarter will be my biggest challenge as I am taking 18 credits right off the bat. Having spent the past year as a vicar, I got out of the practice of studying many subjects for long periods of time and instead prepared for sermons and bible studies.
One of my professors for a class titled "Luther Theology in Survey" recently sent an email telling us how much reading we will be doing over the next 10 weeks. This is a monumental jump for someone who maybe read a few commentaries to prepare for Bible Study.
This year is important though because at the end, I pray that I will receive a call to lead a church. I know that this year is going to prove as challenging as that first class to learn Greek three years ago. I will be called upon to think in very theological terms.
Another development for me has been the diagnosis of Attnetion Deficit Disorder or ADD. I began taking this medication 2 weeks ago and I have noticed some positive changes in my ability to focus on certain tasks though I am losing the effects as I get into the 10th hour after taking it and I begin to crash and feel tired.
I think I will have to try another month on a higher dosage to determine just how much I need to function properly.
Please keep me in your prayers this school year that God will help me to accomplish all that I need to become his servant.
My children have been in school now for almost 3 weeks. J is in the 7th grade at a local public middle school and P is in the 4th grade at a nearby Lutheran School. So far both are getting along in their schools fairly well.
Now it is my turn. This next Tuesday I begin my 4th year of Seminary study at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne. The first quarter will be my biggest challenge as I am taking 18 credits right off the bat. Having spent the past year as a vicar, I got out of the practice of studying many subjects for long periods of time and instead prepared for sermons and bible studies.
One of my professors for a class titled "Luther Theology in Survey" recently sent an email telling us how much reading we will be doing over the next 10 weeks. This is a monumental jump for someone who maybe read a few commentaries to prepare for Bible Study.
This year is important though because at the end, I pray that I will receive a call to lead a church. I know that this year is going to prove as challenging as that first class to learn Greek three years ago. I will be called upon to think in very theological terms.
Another development for me has been the diagnosis of Attnetion Deficit Disorder or ADD. I began taking this medication 2 weeks ago and I have noticed some positive changes in my ability to focus on certain tasks though I am losing the effects as I get into the 10th hour after taking it and I begin to crash and feel tired.
I think I will have to try another month on a higher dosage to determine just how much I need to function properly.
Please keep me in your prayers this school year that God will help me to accomplish all that I need to become his servant.
August 24, 2009
Yesterday, the Epistle was on Ephesians 5:22-33. This is a familiar passage to many who have gone through pre-marital counseling and perhaps even marriage counseling or marriage retreats.
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she rrespects her husband.
I have a confession to make--I have been derelict in my duty as husband for 14 years. I have not been there to defend my wife when members of my family have insulted or attacked her character. As a husband, I am supposed to love my wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. I am supposed to sacrifice myself for her no matter what. When I vowed before God and witnesses that I took her for my wife, I was promising to do just that as I said that I would forsake all others for her.
Only recently have I realized just how much I have truly broken this promise. I have sinned against my wife by not forsaking all others and giving myself up for her. I am now doing as I should have been doing all along. I have no excuse for my behavior. I have been a coward throughout much of my adult life. I like to debate things, but when I am confronted with my own faults, I have found it easier to let my wife or someone else take the blame for my actions.
Now don't let take this next part as my excuse because I have absolutely no excuse for my lack of Christian love towards my wife. I was born with a congenital hypothyroidism. The doctors who originally diagnosed me informed my parents that I would be a cretin because I lacked the iodine-containing hormones which regulate growth and brain function. To read more about this defect go to: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=congenitalhypothyroidism. I was born in 1961 and this research was a new thing in medicine. I was six weeks old when I became very sick and my parents took me to several doctors before discovering what my problem was.
It was discovered and treated, but the doctors were skeptical that I would be able to function as a normal human being and that I would find life a continuous challenge. They watched me for three years and determined that I would be normal though I would be a late bloomer in many things. I believe that because of this, my parents did as all parents do when they have "special needs" children, they sheltered me as much as possible. Sheltering a child from harm is a natural reaction for parents with special needs children. One of my nephews has downs syndrome and I know that my sister and her husband do all they can to give him as normal a life as the boy can have, but at the same time they protect him from as much harm as this world can deliver.
My parents sheltered me as well, though I am not mentally challenged. This sheltering has a negative effect in the later years of their growth because it often prohibits the child from being able to fend for himself in social situations. I look back at my childhood and see myself depending way too heavily on my parents to pick me up when I fell. Because of this I never truly took responsibility for the things I did which were harmful because I knew that I could look to my parents to bail me out (kind of like the government with the banks this past year). When my father died, I looked to my Grandfather for the financial bailouts. As I said, I don't consider this an excuse for my behavior over the past 14 years but it helps explain to some degree why I developed certain behaviors in life.
This has become a problem in my marriage because I transferred the behavior of looking to my wife to bail me out of the financial mess I put us into. The other problem I had was that I trusted (wrongly I might add) that I had a safety net beneath me and that after each time my Grandfather bailed us out, I went right back to my previous behavior of spending money foolishly and getting back into debt.
My wife has always been there for me, but I have not been there for her. She has defended me to my own family and to her family. I have not defended her to anyone including last year on vicarage when my vicarage supervisor got 2 inches away from my wife's face to tell her that leaving before the benediction is an affront to God. The truth of the matter was it was an affront to him. I do not believe for one moment that leaving before the benediction offends God. God loves us and sent his son to die for us. Just because someone doesn't hear the benediction doesn't mean that it doesn't cover them. But then my supervisor told her she was overmedicating her children (she left because the ADD meds had worn off and the kids were becoming unruly). He was literally acting like a child in his argument as he stood there spitting while he shouted and then responding to her responses like an arrogant child saying with attitude, "I'm sorry you feel that way."
I was right there watching this whole episode and never butted in to say a word. Had I to live that over again, I would have gladly sacrificed my vicarage for the honor of my wife, but that is neither here nor there as I don't have that opportunity again and it is pointless to focus on it.
I am now finally getting it and realizing my lack of responsibility in my relationship with her. I hope that we can build a proper relationship with her and that the next 14 years don't mirror the first but are instead a reflection of God's work in our relationship. I love Kelly and my daugters J and P. With the help of God, I am and will continue to love them as I should forsaking all others for their protection. Christ is the head of the church and I am the head of this house. I have been given the responsibility of husband and father. I am the steward of my household and answer only to them and God.
If you are a parent with a child who has congenital hypothyroidism, don't shelter them from responsibility they need to take in their lives so that they can face those challenges that come upon them with integrity.
I will continue to write here about these things that I am being challenged with of late including school when it begins in two weeks.
I ask my Lord and God to grant me forgiveness for the the cowardice and for not owning up to my responsibility until now. He is merciful to forgive and to help me live as a faithful man in Christ.
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she rrespects her husband.
I have a confession to make--I have been derelict in my duty as husband for 14 years. I have not been there to defend my wife when members of my family have insulted or attacked her character. As a husband, I am supposed to love my wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. I am supposed to sacrifice myself for her no matter what. When I vowed before God and witnesses that I took her for my wife, I was promising to do just that as I said that I would forsake all others for her.
Only recently have I realized just how much I have truly broken this promise. I have sinned against my wife by not forsaking all others and giving myself up for her. I am now doing as I should have been doing all along. I have no excuse for my behavior. I have been a coward throughout much of my adult life. I like to debate things, but when I am confronted with my own faults, I have found it easier to let my wife or someone else take the blame for my actions.
Now don't let take this next part as my excuse because I have absolutely no excuse for my lack of Christian love towards my wife. I was born with a congenital hypothyroidism. The doctors who originally diagnosed me informed my parents that I would be a cretin because I lacked the iodine-containing hormones which regulate growth and brain function. To read more about this defect go to: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=congenitalhypothyroidism. I was born in 1961 and this research was a new thing in medicine. I was six weeks old when I became very sick and my parents took me to several doctors before discovering what my problem was.
It was discovered and treated, but the doctors were skeptical that I would be able to function as a normal human being and that I would find life a continuous challenge. They watched me for three years and determined that I would be normal though I would be a late bloomer in many things. I believe that because of this, my parents did as all parents do when they have "special needs" children, they sheltered me as much as possible. Sheltering a child from harm is a natural reaction for parents with special needs children. One of my nephews has downs syndrome and I know that my sister and her husband do all they can to give him as normal a life as the boy can have, but at the same time they protect him from as much harm as this world can deliver.
My parents sheltered me as well, though I am not mentally challenged. This sheltering has a negative effect in the later years of their growth because it often prohibits the child from being able to fend for himself in social situations. I look back at my childhood and see myself depending way too heavily on my parents to pick me up when I fell. Because of this I never truly took responsibility for the things I did which were harmful because I knew that I could look to my parents to bail me out (kind of like the government with the banks this past year). When my father died, I looked to my Grandfather for the financial bailouts. As I said, I don't consider this an excuse for my behavior over the past 14 years but it helps explain to some degree why I developed certain behaviors in life.
This has become a problem in my marriage because I transferred the behavior of looking to my wife to bail me out of the financial mess I put us into. The other problem I had was that I trusted (wrongly I might add) that I had a safety net beneath me and that after each time my Grandfather bailed us out, I went right back to my previous behavior of spending money foolishly and getting back into debt.
My wife has always been there for me, but I have not been there for her. She has defended me to my own family and to her family. I have not defended her to anyone including last year on vicarage when my vicarage supervisor got 2 inches away from my wife's face to tell her that leaving before the benediction is an affront to God. The truth of the matter was it was an affront to him. I do not believe for one moment that leaving before the benediction offends God. God loves us and sent his son to die for us. Just because someone doesn't hear the benediction doesn't mean that it doesn't cover them. But then my supervisor told her she was overmedicating her children (she left because the ADD meds had worn off and the kids were becoming unruly). He was literally acting like a child in his argument as he stood there spitting while he shouted and then responding to her responses like an arrogant child saying with attitude, "I'm sorry you feel that way."
I was right there watching this whole episode and never butted in to say a word. Had I to live that over again, I would have gladly sacrificed my vicarage for the honor of my wife, but that is neither here nor there as I don't have that opportunity again and it is pointless to focus on it.
I am now finally getting it and realizing my lack of responsibility in my relationship with her. I hope that we can build a proper relationship with her and that the next 14 years don't mirror the first but are instead a reflection of God's work in our relationship. I love Kelly and my daugters J and P. With the help of God, I am and will continue to love them as I should forsaking all others for their protection. Christ is the head of the church and I am the head of this house. I have been given the responsibility of husband and father. I am the steward of my household and answer only to them and God.
If you are a parent with a child who has congenital hypothyroidism, don't shelter them from responsibility they need to take in their lives so that they can face those challenges that come upon them with integrity.
I will continue to write here about these things that I am being challenged with of late including school when it begins in two weeks.
I ask my Lord and God to grant me forgiveness for the the cowardice and for not owning up to my responsibility until now. He is merciful to forgive and to help me live as a faithful man in Christ.
August 23, 2009
One lesson I am learning in my middle age that I never learned before is how to stand up for myself. In doing so, I am also learning to defend others. Even though I am at the seminary for becoming a Pastor, I am constantly learning how self-centered I have become in my life. There is no one to blame except myself for what I have become. I can't blame my parents (which would put me on Oprah) and I can't blame God because he has given me through the Holy Spirit everything I need to combat this sinful nature.
The first thing I am learning is that I am an adult who needs not to justify his actions with anyone else. It was recently pointed out to me by someone I deeply respect that I carry myself in a defensive nature. The way I sit at the table and the way that I respond when when someone asks me about something I said I would do or that needs to be done is defensive. I give an excuse for just about everthing I do. I started thinking, "Why do I do this?" Why do I feel that I have to justify myself for everything?
I used to and still do on occasion, tell someone in my family what I bought at a store, why I bought it and how much it cost. Why do I feel the need to do this? I don't owe anyone an explanation.
There are a lot of behaviors that I am working to change in my life. Behaviors that have been detrimental in my closest relationships. I know that they may take years to see them play out the way that I want them to, but I am doing them nonetheless. I am stopping this language my father-in-law calls "procrastinative" I have said, "I am going to do xyz" now I am working at saying, "I am doing xyz" or "I need to clean the garage." to "I am cleaning the garage."
I need to be more considerate of my partner by trying to be a better partner myself. So for now I ask that everyone please be patient with me because God isn't finished with me yet. I need your prayers that God will work with me to change those things which are necessary to making me be less self-centered and more Christ-centered.
I will keep you posted on God's success at helping me change my ways and life.
Scott Strohkirch
The first thing I am learning is that I am an adult who needs not to justify his actions with anyone else. It was recently pointed out to me by someone I deeply respect that I carry myself in a defensive nature. The way I sit at the table and the way that I respond when when someone asks me about something I said I would do or that needs to be done is defensive. I give an excuse for just about everthing I do. I started thinking, "Why do I do this?" Why do I feel that I have to justify myself for everything?
I used to and still do on occasion, tell someone in my family what I bought at a store, why I bought it and how much it cost. Why do I feel the need to do this? I don't owe anyone an explanation.
There are a lot of behaviors that I am working to change in my life. Behaviors that have been detrimental in my closest relationships. I know that they may take years to see them play out the way that I want them to, but I am doing them nonetheless. I am stopping this language my father-in-law calls "procrastinative" I have said, "I am going to do xyz" now I am working at saying, "I am doing xyz" or "I need to clean the garage." to "I am cleaning the garage."
I need to be more considerate of my partner by trying to be a better partner myself. So for now I ask that everyone please be patient with me because God isn't finished with me yet. I need your prayers that God will work with me to change those things which are necessary to making me be less self-centered and more Christ-centered.
I will keep you posted on God's success at helping me change my ways and life.
Scott Strohkirch
August 21, 2009
Well the ELCA has finally broken that barrier into allowing Gay relationships (if they are chaste). Today they vote on allowing Gay clergy to be called to a church. The ELCA has been playing with this for the past eight years since Bishop Hanson took office. They have been a united synod since 1988 which is 21 years, but the history of the three groups which formed this synod have always been on the liberal end of the spectrum. One of the groups the AELC was the product of the Seminex walkout in 1974. From 1969, when J.A.O Preus became the president of the LCMS and had the Seminary in St. Louis investigated on reports of professors teaching higher/historical critical methods rather than the historical grammatical methods taught by the LCMS from the beginning.
This investigation proved these things true and within 5 years, all but 5 professors walked out along with a good sized portion of the student body who supported them. They developed the Seminary in Exile a.k.a. Seminex and held classes at another College campus in St. Louis. They eventually became the AELC and later joined the ALC and LCA in forming the largest synod in American Lutheranism.
The ALC and LCA had allowed women to become Pastors in the 1960s so when the ELCA was founded in 1988, this was an automatic allowance. As the past couple of decades have passed, the GLBT has pressed for Gay rights in America citing equality especially towards getting health insurance for their significant others. The ELCA has with each passing convention, gotten closer and closer to opening up for the Gay community what it already had for women.
They all cite that Jesus would be accepting of them because he loves all those for whom he died. Historical Critical theology looks as scripture differently than Historical grammatical. They see things only in terms of history and what is valid now versus what was not valid back in Jesus time. 'surely Jesus would accept them if they are chaste.' Jesus is God. God does not change, nor has he ever. His word tells us as much.
Do I hate homosexuals? NO! They are my neighbor and I am told to love them as myself and God, but I do not have to love their sin. Homosexuality is a sin and it is punishable by the same punishment as other sins. It deserves death just as much as adultery, or murder, or stealing, or bearing false witness, or taking God's name in vain or putting other gods above the one true God. God wants for us to repent of our sins, not keep doing them.
The example I love is the one where the Pharisees took a woman caught in adultery to Jesus. We all know that he told those who have not sinned to cast the first stone and when they heard it they dropped their rocks and left. Jesus went to the woman and asked where those who were accusing her were. She noticed that all of them had left. Jesus then said to her, "Then neither do I condemn you, GO AND SIN NO MORE!"
I sometimes wonder if the ELCA stops their reading before Jesus says those last five words. This woman could have been a lesbian. His message would still have been the same.
God's message in scripture to his people has always been one of repentance. He sent his prophets in the Old Testament including John the Baptist to tell the people that the time of repentance is at hand because the Messiah would come soon.
The ELCA doesn't want to condemn sin, they want to foster it and therefore they have become a defective arm of the church. The Episcopalians, with whom the ELCA joined in 2001 in the Call to Common Mission, is already heading towards a split with their more conservative brothers and sisters in that denomination. They approved of a bishop, Eugene Robinson, who is actively gay in 2003.
This will forever certify that the LCMS will not be joining the ELCA in any joint effort to unify Lutherans in America.
I will continue to pray that the ELCA will realize their mistakes and reverse their actions.
This investigation proved these things true and within 5 years, all but 5 professors walked out along with a good sized portion of the student body who supported them. They developed the Seminary in Exile a.k.a. Seminex and held classes at another College campus in St. Louis. They eventually became the AELC and later joined the ALC and LCA in forming the largest synod in American Lutheranism.
The ALC and LCA had allowed women to become Pastors in the 1960s so when the ELCA was founded in 1988, this was an automatic allowance. As the past couple of decades have passed, the GLBT has pressed for Gay rights in America citing equality especially towards getting health insurance for their significant others. The ELCA has with each passing convention, gotten closer and closer to opening up for the Gay community what it already had for women.
They all cite that Jesus would be accepting of them because he loves all those for whom he died. Historical Critical theology looks as scripture differently than Historical grammatical. They see things only in terms of history and what is valid now versus what was not valid back in Jesus time. 'surely Jesus would accept them if they are chaste.' Jesus is God. God does not change, nor has he ever. His word tells us as much.
Do I hate homosexuals? NO! They are my neighbor and I am told to love them as myself and God, but I do not have to love their sin. Homosexuality is a sin and it is punishable by the same punishment as other sins. It deserves death just as much as adultery, or murder, or stealing, or bearing false witness, or taking God's name in vain or putting other gods above the one true God. God wants for us to repent of our sins, not keep doing them.
The example I love is the one where the Pharisees took a woman caught in adultery to Jesus. We all know that he told those who have not sinned to cast the first stone and when they heard it they dropped their rocks and left. Jesus went to the woman and asked where those who were accusing her were. She noticed that all of them had left. Jesus then said to her, "Then neither do I condemn you, GO AND SIN NO MORE!"
I sometimes wonder if the ELCA stops their reading before Jesus says those last five words. This woman could have been a lesbian. His message would still have been the same.
God's message in scripture to his people has always been one of repentance. He sent his prophets in the Old Testament including John the Baptist to tell the people that the time of repentance is at hand because the Messiah would come soon.
The ELCA doesn't want to condemn sin, they want to foster it and therefore they have become a defective arm of the church. The Episcopalians, with whom the ELCA joined in 2001 in the Call to Common Mission, is already heading towards a split with their more conservative brothers and sisters in that denomination. They approved of a bishop, Eugene Robinson, who is actively gay in 2003.
This will forever certify that the LCMS will not be joining the ELCA in any joint effort to unify Lutherans in America.
I will continue to pray that the ELCA will realize their mistakes and reverse their actions.
July 27, 2009
Vacation time is a good time of rest, but there are still stresses you can't get away from in this life even by taking a vacation. My wife and I are in a real mess. We went on vicarage last year and leased the house we bought when first we came to Seminary. We rented it at mortgage cost to a woman who we trusted because she was a Christian single mother with 3 children. We had hoped she would purchase the house from us at the end of the year. The problem she had was she didn't have good credit and was having difficulty securing a mortgage loan. She told us that she still wanted to purchase, but she would have to wait until January to get the loan secured.
We came back to Fort Wayne and found an apartment and signed a lease. We were in the process of creating an extended lease and decided that since she hadn't purchased from us at the end of the year that we should bump up the rent to cover our renters insurance on our apartment. In doing this we found that she could not bear the burden of an extra $25. We also wanted to put the house up for sale as a technicality. We still wanted to help her obtain a mortgage loan and were willing to help her get it, but she decided 4 days before the lease was up that she was going to move out of the house that month. She was violating the agreement of the first lease which was now a month to month lease. The lease agreement stipulates that a 60 day notice is required and rent is to be paid. She wants us to apply her security deposit as her rent.
Being naive about the laws in this regard, we agreed verbally. Finding out later, we should not have done this as that amount is to be applied toward any damages that may have occured during her lease period. So we are stuck with paying our mortgage and the rent for both places until the house sells. To say we are now financially strapped is a major understatement. We are financially devastated at this point. I am considering asking for an advance on some money from my Grandfather, but that is only for consideration at this point.
When you have financial stresses it is difficult to leave them behind because creditors don't wait for payment. This is time to put the give it to God and let him take the burden for what is going on. It is hard for us to give things like this to God. What does he care about our finances and debt? He cares a great deal actually. We get into financial messes because of our sinful nature. We spend it on things we don't need, but want. Giving this and other burdens to the Lord is what he wants us to do.
If you have burdens such as these, give them to the lord in prayer.
May your day be peaceful in Him
We came back to Fort Wayne and found an apartment and signed a lease. We were in the process of creating an extended lease and decided that since she hadn't purchased from us at the end of the year that we should bump up the rent to cover our renters insurance on our apartment. In doing this we found that she could not bear the burden of an extra $25. We also wanted to put the house up for sale as a technicality. We still wanted to help her obtain a mortgage loan and were willing to help her get it, but she decided 4 days before the lease was up that she was going to move out of the house that month. She was violating the agreement of the first lease which was now a month to month lease. The lease agreement stipulates that a 60 day notice is required and rent is to be paid. She wants us to apply her security deposit as her rent.
Being naive about the laws in this regard, we agreed verbally. Finding out later, we should not have done this as that amount is to be applied toward any damages that may have occured during her lease period. So we are stuck with paying our mortgage and the rent for both places until the house sells. To say we are now financially strapped is a major understatement. We are financially devastated at this point. I am considering asking for an advance on some money from my Grandfather, but that is only for consideration at this point.
When you have financial stresses it is difficult to leave them behind because creditors don't wait for payment. This is time to put the give it to God and let him take the burden for what is going on. It is hard for us to give things like this to God. What does he care about our finances and debt? He cares a great deal actually. We get into financial messes because of our sinful nature. We spend it on things we don't need, but want. Giving this and other burdens to the Lord is what he wants us to do.
If you have burdens such as these, give them to the lord in prayer.
May your day be peaceful in Him
July 22, 2009
Vacation from the Vocation is important. The time away from the office of ministry is crucial to the mental and physical health of the Pastor. He needs time with his family to keep a connection with them as well as a break from the constant burden the office puts on him. The stress of the work can be debilitating healthwise as well. A Pastor friend of mine contracted Multiple Sclerosis during the first couple of months of his second call. Some problems in the congregation began to escalate the MS and caused him to have to step back to 50% of his workload and take disability pay. MS is a disease in which stress can escalate the symptoms.
I pray that all Pastors take advantage of the time they are given each year to get away from it all and recharge their batteries. Jesus would often go off by himself to pray especially after teaching large crowds of people. His humanity experienced fatigue and he needed the time alone to meditate on His Father's word.
If rest is good for Jesus, it is also good for those whom he has called to do his work.
I pray that all Pastors take advantage of the time they are given each year to get away from it all and recharge their batteries. Jesus would often go off by himself to pray especially after teaching large crowds of people. His humanity experienced fatigue and he needed the time alone to meditate on His Father's word.
If rest is good for Jesus, it is also good for those whom he has called to do his work.
July 18, 2009
This is my final year of Seminary Studies. I have just finished my vicarage in Tullahoma, TN. The people in my vicarage were great to be with. They always gave me encouragement and made me feel as if this was the right vocation for me. Vicarage is a year of practical learning in the ministry and if you are a Pastor reading this you know the experience well. For me, Vicarage gave me experience with Sermons, leading worship, visiting the sick and shut-ins. I delivered some 30 sermons in my year, some were good and some were stinkers. I got to know many of the people fairly well by visiting with them in their homes.
We have now moved back to Fort Wayne, IN. It is summer and we are preparing for our vacations to Minnesota and Texas to see family and friends.
I will post again as things cross my mind.
God's blessings on your Summer
Scott Strohkirch
We have now moved back to Fort Wayne, IN. It is summer and we are preparing for our vacations to Minnesota and Texas to see family and friends.
I will post again as things cross my mind.
God's blessings on your Summer
Scott Strohkirch
May 22, 2009
Losing sight of ones goal is a scary thing. I have recently realized that it had happened to me (last night). I made assumptions that were wrong and found myself ill-prepared to lead the few congregants which had gathered for the Ascension day service. To top it off I forgot to put on my cincture rope for my Alb. I was a mess and my appearance showed it. I rushed everything in the beginning and my prayer was a rambling off the top of my head.
All of this happened because I got caught up with the idea that this is a job and not a ministry. I have seemingly battled this all year long and it came to a culmination last night. I have in my head blamed everyone but myself for why things have gone wrong lately. I certainly wouldn't blame my vicarage supervisor for failing me at this point. He certainly would be justified in believing from my actions of late that I was not Pastor material. I have been praying in my head mostly that God would help me to recapture in the last month what I have lost over the past 11.
I love to serve the Lord, but Satan has done a good job of distracting me from my goal and that is to serve the Lord with joy and gladness. It is a "get to" not a "have to"
From here on to the last day of my vicarage, I will serve this congregation to the best of my ability with the help of God. They deserve the best and I need to give the best.
O Lord, you are the most important thing in my life. My wife and children with whom you have blessed me are my second priority. Please help me to be the servant you want and need me to be. Help me to see the lost souls who need to hear your word and receive your forgiveness of sin. Forgive me for my selfish ways O Lord and restore me to the joy of your salvation.
In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
All of this happened because I got caught up with the idea that this is a job and not a ministry. I have seemingly battled this all year long and it came to a culmination last night. I have in my head blamed everyone but myself for why things have gone wrong lately. I certainly wouldn't blame my vicarage supervisor for failing me at this point. He certainly would be justified in believing from my actions of late that I was not Pastor material. I have been praying in my head mostly that God would help me to recapture in the last month what I have lost over the past 11.
I love to serve the Lord, but Satan has done a good job of distracting me from my goal and that is to serve the Lord with joy and gladness. It is a "get to" not a "have to"
From here on to the last day of my vicarage, I will serve this congregation to the best of my ability with the help of God. They deserve the best and I need to give the best.
O Lord, you are the most important thing in my life. My wife and children with whom you have blessed me are my second priority. Please help me to be the servant you want and need me to be. Help me to see the lost souls who need to hear your word and receive your forgiveness of sin. Forgive me for my selfish ways O Lord and restore me to the joy of your salvation.
In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
January 01, 2009
Happy New Year! 2009 will see the ending of one phase of my seminary education and the beginning of the end of my final year at Concordia Theological Seminary. We have enjoyed our time in Tullahoma, TN since July of 2008 and will be here until July of 2009. I have a very good Bishop in Rev. Martin S. Nutter at Faith Lutheran Church in Tullahoma, TN. He as taught me some very good things about the ministry in the past six months and I look forward to the next six months of learning this vocation under him.
Keep us in your prayers this next year as vicarage ends and our fourth year begins.
My wife has been writing a novel in the Christian Romance genre. She has just sent it to her agent who will hopefully be able to sell it to a publisher in the next few months. Please pray that her book will be a success and yield us some much needed income to support us as we head into our fourth year.
God's blessings to all as you head into this new year.
Scott Strohkirch
Keep us in your prayers this next year as vicarage ends and our fourth year begins.
My wife has been writing a novel in the Christian Romance genre. She has just sent it to her agent who will hopefully be able to sell it to a publisher in the next few months. Please pray that her book will be a success and yield us some much needed income to support us as we head into our fourth year.
God's blessings to all as you head into this new year.
Scott Strohkirch
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