Great Post on Steadfast Lutherans

There was a great post at the Brothers of John the Steadfast today. Actually, there are usually several great posts there, as opposed to here.

I showed this one http://steadfastlutherans.org/?p=11806 to my thirteen year old daughter. Guess which kind of youth gathering she'd rather go to? Guess why?

My two cents say that young people will never grow up to be mature, well-discipled adults if today's adults don't work to mold the young people's affections. Our Lord has given us the task of leading our families. So why is it that so many parents, fathers especially, exercise kindly neglect of their children's spiritual lives, turning them over, at best, to a Sunday school program for an hour or so a week, maybe a catechism class sometime, and then letting them be entertained in ways that are contradictory to sound growth? You are what you eat. You are what you drink. You are what you listen to. You are what you sing.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com

1 Samuel 16.1-23, Acts 25.13-27 - Lectionary for 7/31/10

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 16.1-23 and Acts 25.13-27.

Picture yourself in Samuel's shoes for a moment. He has the role of anointing kings, though he knows the decision to have a king was not a wise one.  He knows there is a way of installing a king, but knows of no means for uninstalling the king short of that king's death.  He is faced with a disobedient king, a promise of God that the kingdom will be torn from that king, and a call of God to anoint another king.  Does it seem that something is missing?  How about the fact that the present king is still alive, still has an army, still has opinions about what he likes and dislikes?  No doubt Samuel isn't very enthusiastic about the idea of anointing another king.  But with the Lord's encouragement he goes to the household of Jesse, where he will pick David.

What kind of promises does God have for his faithful servants?  He just reminded Saul through Samuel that obedience is better than sacrifice.  He has protected Samuel through a long life so far.  He has shown that his kingdom is the one really in charge despite what Saul and the other kings try to do.  In fact, we see throughout Scripture that the well being of God's people, though tied up with the wise or unwise decisions of their leaders to some extent, is ultimately based on God's good pleasure.  In the final analysis, I do well because the Lord cares for me.  Do I seem to be doing poorly?  It doesn't take much imagination to see how much more poorly my sins could deserve.

A question closes today's post.  Do I look at the world expecting to see that the Lord is doing good things?  Or do I look at the world expecting to see that people are doing evil things?  What I expect to find has a lot to do with the way I'll perceive reality.  What does the Bible seem to point us to?  It seems to show us that the Lord is in charge of the world and is showing his grace.  Maybe he will enable me to see the world that same way.
 

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

1 Samuel 15.10-35, Acts 24.24-25.12 - Lectionary for 7/30/10

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 15.10-35 and Acts 24.24-25.12.

Today we begin to see the fruit of Saul's decision to seize the livestock and treasures of the Amalekites.  When confronted by Samuel, notice that Saul initially says he has kept the command of God to the letter, then says that the people under his command engaged in plunder.  He tries to excuse himself by claiming that the people are responsible for the disobedience.  he tries to excuse the people by pointing out that they were taking the animals for sacrifice to God.

Unfortunately for Saul, he is acting without regard for the fact that the king is held responsible for the obedience or disobedience of the people.  The military commander is responsible for the failings of his troops.  The corporate executive is held responsible for the company's failure when products aren't delivered on time or aren't manufactured with adequate care to detail, something the executive himself couldn't actually do.  The person placed in charge of an organization ultimately takes responsibility for the failings of those who work under him.

Here's an amazing thing.  In the New Testament what we finally see is that Jesus, God the Son, takes on the sin of the people he created.  He is the one who bears the responsibility for their failure.  He is the one who dies the death they deserve.  He shows himself to be the true King of Israel.  And he does it so all who believe in him may have the benefit of his leadership. He does it so all the rash, foolish, self-centered decisions of his followers may be wiped out.  He does it so that all the blame we would like to attach to one another is once and for all attached to him.  He does it out of his good grace and mercy, knowing that we are desperately in need of just that loving kindness.  This is what the true King of Israel does for his people.

To obey is better than sacrifice.  No doubt about it.

 

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

1 Samuel 14.47-15.9, Acts 24.1-23 - Lectionary for 7/29/10

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 14.47-15.9 and Acts 24.1-23.

We see today that Saul is driven by another enemy, but this time not by the Philistines.  He is driven by an enemy that lives within him.  In our last reading we saw that God was rejecting Saul and would bring an end to his kingdom due to Saul's disobedience.  This does not mean that God was finished using Saul, though.  In fact, Saul continued to reign for some time.  In today's reading, notice that he is used as the instrument of God to destroy some of the pagan people around.  Their sacrifice of children, their worship of false gods, their plunder of God's people was an offence to God, who chose to use the people of Israel to remove them from the land.

What was Saul supposed to do? He was to kill them all, leaving none alive, leaving no plunder, no nothing.  The destruction was to be as thorough as the destruction we read about many years earlier at Jericho.  But look how Saul obeys.  He is victorious in battle.  There is no doubt about that.  But he sends refugees away, spares the leaders, and keeps all the choice livestock and plunder.  Saul is contending with an enemy far more formidable than the surrounding people.  He is contending with himself.  And he is losing.  

Like Saul, we tend to take the law into our own hands.  We tend to act in the way we think right, even if God has directed us otherwise.  May we have grace to learn from Saul that our victories that we score according to our own principles, following our own plans, reinterpreting what our Lord has said, are no victories at all.  They may look like victories to us, they may look like victories to our culture, but in God's eyes they are not victories at all.  

This all points us to the fact that in Christ's death he gained victory over death itself.  From God's perspective victory doesn't look like it looks from our perspective.  May we have our Lord's perspective in all our life.  May the Lord guard us from ourselves.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel by C.F.W. Walther

Walther, C.F.W. (tr. W.H.T. Dau). The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel. St. Louis: Concordia, 1929.

This classic book of lectures on the distinction between Law and Gospel came across my deak as I was participating in a class through the American Lutheran Theological Seminary.  I previously had it on my "to read sometime" list but had never made it so far.  I'm glad I read the book, as Walther helped me distinguish more clearly between the Law (what God requires of us) and Gospel (what God has done on our behalf).  Walther takes the idea of Law and Gospel and gives us twenty-one ways the Law and Gospel are not appropriately divided, with illustrations and correctives.  The writing style is difficult, primarily because of the format.  Walther presented this teaching in thirty-nine evening lectures in 1884-1885.  The lectures, apparently presented in Walther's office to his student body of seminarians, were transcribed as he gave them in German.  At a later date, Dau, who had been present for most of the lectures, translated them into English.  At times it seems unclear whether Dau's intention was to preserve Walther's original expressions or to bring the lectures into good English idioms.  This leaves the reader slightly dissatisfied.  Yet Walther's material and his interpretation of ways we can fail in our distinction of Law and Gospel is wonderful.  This book is worth repeated reading by anyone who handles the Scripture publicly.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

1 Samuel 13.1-18, Acts 23.12-35 - Lectionary for 7/28/10

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 13.1-18 and Acts 23.12-35.

Saul and his forces were under pressure.  The Philistines had them outnumbered.  Not only were the Philistines superior in numbers, but they had better equipment and a better position.  It didn't look good for the forces of Israel.  In fear they retreated and went to Gilgal, where Samuel was to arrive and make a sacrifice.  Saul, not being a priest, could not make a sacrifice, of course.  So where was Samuel?  Was he delayed?  Was he delaying on purpose?  Was he struggling to get to Gilgal?  We are not told.  But the fact remains that day after day he did not arrive.  Day after day the Philistines could improve their position, rest, plunder the land, and increase their superiority.  Day after day things looked worse for the Israelites.

At last, Saul invoked emergency authority and made the sacrifice.  Upon Samuel's arrive, Samuel rebuked Saul sharply.  Was the king allowed to make sacrifice?  Not at all!  The king was not a priest.  The king was never appointed by God to have such authority.  The king's sacrifice was an act of pagan disobedience.  Sorely chastised, Saul knows he will lose the kingdom.  He expects it to happen in the near future as he takes a small force of people and again approaches the Philistine encampment.  He has tried to establish his own authority.  He has tried to run things his own way.  Herein lies his failure.

Do we mistrust our Lord?  Do we find fault with his timing?  Why do we do this?  In the fullness of time, when it was just right, we are told in Galatians, God sent his Son, the one who would be both the priest and the sacrifice, to bring us to God.  And Jesus is not only the priest and sacrifice, he is the prophet and the king as well.  This is the Lord who has done just what we need at just the right time.  His kingdom will never be snatched away from him.  His sacrifice is perfect.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

Back to the idea of civil discourse . . .

We had a great time today talking in a civil way in our living room with some Internet friends we had never met in real life before. It's good to have a chance to sit down with a few people and kick some ideas around.  Though we probably don't agree on everything in the world, there's a kind of warmth you can have when the air is clear to discuss strengths and weaknesses of an idea.

A couple of times we ended up observing that there are times for us all when we are talking with family members and find that we need to exercise a lot of tact and discretion in what we do.  But that's the kind of dignity we afford discussions with people we care about.

I've been casually following the National Organization for Marriage and their summer tour.  Here's a blog about it. http://www.ruthblog.org/category/nom-summer-marriage-tour-2010/

What strikes me is that the people on the tour seem to be trying to make an effort at discussing issues.  The detractors who show up seem to be making an effort to disrupt discussion and drown out the NOM people.  Is this where issue discussion goes these days?  For that matter, when's the last time you heard of an actual political candidate debate in which the candidates argued the merits of their positions, cross-examined one another, and then were graded by a debate judge or a panel of debate judges to see who won on the merits of the case and the argument?

I fear that genuine discussion is dying.  This saddens me.  If we simply yell at or speak past one another any truth in the alleged discussion is lost.  So here's a challenge.  Get together and talk.  Talk about something.  Talk about nothing in particular.  But talk.  With each other, not past each other.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

1 Samuel 12.1-25, Acts 22.30-23.11 - Lectionary for 7/27/10

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 12.1-25 and Acts 22.30-23.11.

I'd like to make a very brief observation about our reading today from 1 Samuel 12.  The people of Israel confess that they have sinned.  Does Samuel minimize that confession?  He does not.  In fact, he affirms thaat Israel has indeed sinned.  But what are they to do about it?  They have confessed.  God is the forgiving God.  Now the people are to go ahead and live in that forgiveness.  They have asked for a king.  There isn't a good reason for that.  A king can be quite harmful.  And the desire of Israel to have a king indicates that they don't trust God as their king.  Yet, says Samuel, if the people and the king both strive to avoid sin, to live in faith before God, they will be all right.  They have received forgiveness and can go on with their lives.

Do we tend to live in the past?  Are we bound by our former sinful decisions?  There are times when we do sin in ways that bind our future lives, through foolish and faithless decisions.  We can bring lasting harm upon ourselves and those around us.  Yet there comes a time for repenting of sin and then living in that repentance, not being conformed to the pattern we think our sin has set up.  We can live in the light of God's forgiveness rather than in the darkness of sin.  As we daily sin and are constantly brought to repentance, let us also seek to let that forgiveness of God in Christ alter our attitudes so we may live a life that is pleasing to God, beneficial to our fellow man, and which delights in the fact that our Lord and Savior became sin on our behalf so we could be the righteousness of God in Christ.

 

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

1 Samuel 10.1-27, Acts 22.17-29 - Lectionary for 7/26/10

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 10.1-27 and Acts 2.17-29.

We have seen how Saul's appointment as king came as a surprise to him.  It seems to have come as a surprise to other people as well.  He didn't tell his parents.  Some of the people who were present for Saul's anointing mocked him.  He was not already a popular leader.  He was not recognized as a judge or a prophet.  Yet Samuel pointed out to Saul ahead of time that God had orchestrated the whole situation in order to make Saul the king.

What are we to make of it when we find ourselves in places of authority that we did not seek, didn't necessarily desire, for which we don't have a whole lot of training, and in which we are not universally welcomed?  Through Samuel, God gave Saul directives. He told Saul what he was to do as king.  As long as Saul was faithful to those instructions he would be a good king, a blessing to the people.  When Saul stopped following the instructions God had given him he ceased to be a blessing to the people.

How has our Lord directed us in our vocation?  Do we shy away from the God who has appointed us to our position?  Do we fear to do our work as the outstretched hand of the resurrected Lord?  Do we think we are here on our own, rather than living day by day in the presence of the same Lord who said he would never leave us or forsake us?  When we disregard the Lord's provision for us we find ourselves as ineffective leaders at best.  At worst we fall into disfavor and shame.  We may bring harm rather than good to those we serve.

How has the Lord directed us?  Let us trust he will give us grace to walk in those directions for the good of our neighbor and the glory of God.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

1 Samuel 9.1-27, Acts 21.37-22.16 - Lectionary for 7/25/10

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 9.1-27 and Acts 21.37-22.16

You never know what's going to happen when you run an errand.  Saul found this out, off on his mission to recover some livestock that went missing.  After days of searching, having reached the time when his parents would be worried about him rather than about the donkeys he went to find, Saul went to the prophet Samuel in case he knew anything about the animals.  Compare the reception he must have expected with the reception he got.  Rather than simply being told that the donkeys were safely home, Saul was greeted as a dignitary, someone of special importance.  By the end of today's reading neither we nor Saul have word of what the special honor to be accorded Saul might be.

Is this like our lives?  We go about our lives, innocently minding our own business, and all of a sudden we stumble on our Lord and Savior doing something with us.  Maybe he brings us into contact with someone who needs words of hope from the Bible.  Maybe he brings us into a position where we can be an influence for good in our society.  Maybe we thought we were working in a grocery store but our Lord reminds us that we are his messengers providing people with their daily bread.  Maybe we took a job nailing shingles on a roof and we realize that we are providing comfort and shelter for people who would be in dire straits otherwise.  Maybe we innocently go about our job of restoring phone service and enable someone to contact the ambulance and receive necessary emergency medical attention.  

The fact is, there is nothing mundane about anything we do.  It is all significant in some way in God's kingdom.  We may not know what we are doing any more than Saul does.  But our Lord knows exactly how he is using what we do in the lives of many others.

So what are we going to do today?

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

Luke 11.1-13 - Sermon for 7/25/10

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

No, this isn't a joke.  The next line isn't "Barbie."  We read today about a knock at the door, a knock that requires a decision, a sound that impels us into action.  Maybe you've been in this situation.  Your children have gone to bed.  You've gotten yourself ready to go to bed and are just settling in.  Or maybe it's even later at night and someone comes pounding on the door.  What are you going to do?

Maybe if you ignore it the person will go away.  Has that ever gone through your mind?  I remember once when this happened to me and that very thought went through my mind.  I rolled over and tried to ignore it.  I was living in a kind of rowdy part of town.  And it was about two in the morning.  But the knocking continued.

So what do you do?  You get out of bed, grumble a bit, and go to the door, like I did.  Drowsy, sleepy, out of sorts.  The knocking continued.  Who would be on the other side of the door?  Maybe the police?  Maybe some vagrant?  Who knows?  So I opened the door.  It seemed the only way to get the noise to stop.  By this time I figured the rest of the apartment building was probably awake.

Now let's picture a couple of scenarios.  What if the police came and needed to let me know someone in my family was sick or dying and they couldn't reach me by phone?  I'd be shocked but thankful.  They were there doing me a service that I needed.  What if it was some drunk who thought he was trying to get into his own apartment and didn't know where he was going?  Would it be a perfectly appropriate reaction to tell the guy to shove off and figure out where he was really intending to go?  His wife wouldn't have such a friendly reception for him.  Maybe the building is on fire and the fire alarms are not working?  A wake-up knock would be a very good thing.  So who could be on the other side of the door?  Depending on who it is I'd probably react quite differently.

I opened the door.  This really happened.  I am not kidding.  Who did I find on the other side of the door?  Oops, excuse me.  Whom did I find on the other side of the door?  I was greeted with the strong smell of cigarette smoke, then two young ladies stumbled into the apartment, giggling.  Now you might think in those days as a single undergraduate student I'd think a middle-of-the-night visit by two young ladies would be quite the opportunity, right?  No, in fact, Linda and Kim were dropping in on me,  not sure I'd be asleep yet, but fairly intoxicated, and in need of help.  Oddly enough, when I was awake and they were sober, they tended to look to me for some big brothering from time to time, though they were both graduate students and I was not.  But they needed a little big brothering.

What did I do?  Give them the heave ho?  You can imagine I was tempted to.  But I didn't.  This is not to my praise or to my blame.  It's just the situation.  I cared for their needs and then gave them the heave ho.  Yes, they were sheepish and apologetic the next day, and rightly so.  Why did I help them?  They were my friends.  They had humbled themselves, realized their need, and come to me for help.  They were not able to take care of their need by themselves.  

Is this like our relationship with our heavenly Father?  We come to him realizing our need.  He answers us, not because we keep pounding on the door, not because we are annoying, not because we are persistent.  In fact, that isn't in this passage.  He answers us because we are "unashamed."  Actually, that isn't quite the right English word for it.  I can't come up with just the right English word for this Greek word we see translated as "impudence."  I don't think "impudence" is quite right either.  The term Jesus uses to describe the friend is that he has put down his shame an done that which would normally ashame himself but is now necessary.  He has humbled himself and asked for help because he can't help himself.  He has put aside normal societal customs and is calling on his friend at the time when his friend normally wouldn't receive guests and at the time when he would normally not ask for anything.  That's what the friend is doing.

So let's take another look at this passage in that light.  What do we see first?  We see a prayer, the rather abbreviated form of a prayer many of us pray one or more times a day.  And what do we do in this prayer?  We humble ourselves.  We ask for that which we would normally like to think we provide ourselves.  We ask that our Lord will be the one who is proclaimed as holy, not that we be exalted.  We ask that God provide what we need, though we would like to be recognized as self-made men and women.  We ask for forgiveness, that which we would like to earn but know deep down that we can't.  We ask for protection from temptation, again, something that we would like to think we didn't need.  Jesus teaches us to humble ourselves in our prayer. He is the one who meets our needs.  We don't do it ourselves.  We can't.  But our Lord is ready, willing, and able to care for all we need.

What happens next in the passage?  We have the parable, reminding us that a friend will do for us what we admit we can't do for ourselves, even though it may require something of that friend.  He does it because he is a friend, not because we deserve it, not because it is what he planned to do when he went to bed that night, not because it is the most convenient thing in the world.  He does it because we are friends.

What do we see next?  We are told to ask, seek, and knock.  We are not to wait until our moment of desperation.  We are not to wait until we are as low as low can be.  We do not try to conceal our need from our Lord.  What do you want prayer for?  Maybe you came to worship today carrying a burden.  Is it something which troubles you?  Let us pray for you.  Is there something you need to confess to the Lord?  There's no time like the present.  Do you need God's wisdom for something you are going to do?  Pray for it.  We are called to be people who lay down our shame, who ask things of our Lord, as a child asks his dear father, knowing that the Lord delights in caring for us.  After the sermon we have a time for the prayers of the church.  That time should be filled with prayers of petition and thanksgiving alike.

What do we see at the end of our passage today?  Did you ever wonder if your parents knew what was good for you?  Did you ever wonder if your friends would really help you?  Did you ever have doubt about whether you could truly confess your sins before your husband or wife and receive forgiveness rather than condemnation?  How about a child asking for a piece of food?  Is the parent going to give the child something that is dangerous and that is definitely not food?  We have to admit that there are some sick and cruel parents in this world.  The sad reality is that there are some people who would harm their children.  Maybe even some of you have been harmed.  Maybe some of you would be people who would harm your children.  It's a sad reality.  But we proclaim the Church is a hospital for sinners to receive the cure they need.  Come, sinners, repent of your sin, receive the forgiveness of your Lord and Savior, who died for your sin.  And the rest of us, who are called "evil" in this passage, those of us who give our children good gifts - how much greater is the true gift our Lord gives, the Holy Spirit?

Yes, for those who believe, for those who repent of their self-security, for those who act shamelessly and come to the Lord Jesus for forgiveness and grace, our Lord doesn't give them the kind of good gifts they would give their children. He gives the greatest gift of all.  He gives the Holy Spirit.  Here is life, here is forgiveness, here is provision, here is the sure and certain hope of redemption in eternity.  Because the Holy Spirit draws us, brings us to repentance, and points us to Jesus Christ, who died for all the sin and evil that we would or could ever commit.  It is God the Spirit who came not to glorify himself but to glorify Jesus.  It is God the Holy Spirit who is that Lord and giver of life.  Yes, our Lord gives the Holy Spirit to us as we turn to him, humbling ourselves, and asking for his mercy.

So now we have come full circle. We come to our Lord, like my college friends came to me.  We come at the time we have realized our need.  We come now.  We come sheepishly because we thought we could handle things on our own.  We come realizing that we are evil.  We come realizing that we need the kind of good gifts our Lord can give us.  We come knowing that it doesn't fit in with our society, that it doesn't make us look cool, that it doesn't ingratiate us to our culture.  We come, smelling of all the trouble we have gotten ourselves into.  We knock on the door.  And we know that the door will be opened to us.

Thanks be to God.

 

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns by T. David Gordon

Gordon, T. David. Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns: How Pop Culture Rewrote the Hymnal. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2010.

We bought this book after hearing an interview with the author.  Dr. Gordon discusses the way pop culture has limited people's exposure to different musical styles.  As we have entered a culture in which there is background music everywhere (unlike the relatively silent background of my young adult years), we have also seen the disappearance of classical, folk, and sacred music from the musical vocabulary of our culture.  As a result, people no longer expect a distinction in musical context.  Nothing is special any more.  As a result, we expect and receive simplistic music, simplistic lyrics, and, in general, simplistic messages in an ever more complex culture.  This book is one of the few must-reads I would identify for church leadership, especially those intimately involved in the worship life of the congregation.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

1 Samuel 8.1-22, Acts 21.15-36 - Lectionary for 7/24/10

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 8.1-22 and Acts 21.15-36.

Today we read of the people of Israel desiring a king to rule over them.  They have had Samuel, serving as a prophet, priest, and judge.  But he is old, his sons are unfaithful, and the people want a king.

What are the advantages of having a king?  Granted, the people of Israel can have centralized leadership, they can look like all the other nations, they can have someone, hopefully appointed by a wise leader like Samuel, who will lead them in national defense.  There are some benefits.  But look at the costs.  The people will be taxed, they will be subject to the royal authority which may tend to enslave them.  They will have rulers with an ever-increasing hunger for power, wealth, and honor.  Is this what our Lord wants for his people?  Not at all.  A king sets himself up as a little god.  But there is one God, one master of all creation.  There is no purpose in serving a lesser god.  The people are essentially asking hat they be contractually bound into a form of idolatry.

May the Lord deliver us from our rash decisions.  May we seek to serve God and him alone, not the kind of authorities we raise up so that we can look like all the other nations.  May the Lord protect us from the fruit of such plans, even as we look to Jesus, our true prophet, priest and king, who rules and reigns in heaven and will soon come again to judge the kings of this world.
 

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

1 Samuel 6.19-7.17, Acts 19.1-22 - Lectionary for 7/23/10

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 6.19-7.17 and Acts 19.1-22.

As God returns in power to Israel, he comes to a people who are not prepared for him.  The presence of our Lord, showing himself in his power and glory, is deadly to sinful man.  We who are not holy cannot look upon his presence without harm.  What means of approach is there to God.  We in this modern day approach our Lord just as people in the days of Samuel approached God.  We approach him through repentance for our sin, belief in his mercy, and the knowledge that sin brings death.  We approach our God through the death of Jesus on our behalf.  We stand forgiven through a death in our place, just as the Israelites could stand forgiven through a death in their place.  The one difference is that the blood of the sacrificial animals was a temporary sacrifice.  Jesus' death, being that of a human and so of our kind, and simultaneously that of God and so without sin, is effective once and for all.

How do we approach our Lord?  We approach by faith in the finished sacrifice of Christ on our behalf.  We approach our Lord trusting that he has broken down the wall of enmity between God and man.  We approach our Lord knowing the peace Jesus has obtained through his death on the cross.

Notice in this passage how God's lovingkindness does not fail but human dedication does.  The people who have long been desiring the true God to return need to be instructed to do away with their false gods.  During Samuel's lifetime they are forgiven and rededicated to the Lord when Samuel shows up but the people don't seem to be that dedicated to God's commandments at other times.  We, like the people of Israel, are quick to doubt, quick to trust in ourselves, quick to wander from the God who has saved us.  May the Lord continue raising up faithful servants who will call us to repentance, remind us of the forgiveness of God in Christ, and nurture us in this faith.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

1 Samuel 5.1-6.3, 6.10-16, Acts 18.1-11, 23-28 - Lectionary for 7/22/10

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 5.1-6.3, 1 Samuel 6.10-16, Acts 18.1-11, and Acts 18.23-28.

In yesterday's readings we saw the Ark of the Covenant captured by the Philistines.  In today's reading we see that God is quite able to take care of himself.  He does not allow the idol Dagon to stand unharmed before his presence.  He brings suffering on those who would try to hold him captive.  He arranges for the return of the ark to Israel, even directing the untrained draft animals in the way they should carry the ark home.

One of the difficulties we have to encounter in this reading is that of the presence of God.  We confess that God is omnipresent, that He is present everywhere at all times.  So what do we do with the Scriptural passages that seem to indicate God is specially present in the ark, in the tabernacle, behind the veil in the temple, or in the hearts of genuine believers?  In the final analysis we end up with a picture of God who is everywhere at all times but who does somehow make himself specially available in certain times and places.  Hence we can see the ark actually has the very real and powerful presence of God.  This is why the priests who entered into the most holy place on a yearly basis would have a rope tied to them in case they needed to be dragged out.  This is why we say God dwells in his believers in a special way.  This is why we are able, in some way, to discuss a church building as "God's house."  It explains why some believers make special gestures, such as bowing before the communion altar or the cross, places where we have a special understanding of Christ's presence and work.  It explains why most Christians can confess the real bodily presence of Christ in communion.  He is specially present there for his people.

Let us always remember that God is present where he has promised to be present.  We dare not exalt anything against God at any time.  But we always want to be especially sensitive to his promised presence where he says he will be.  So we confess and remember his promise to his disciples, that as they are going, baptizing and teaching, that he is with them to the end of the world.

Lord, remind us of your presence.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

Principles of Lutheran Theology by Carl E. Braaten

Braaten, Carl E. Principles of Lutheran Theology, 2nd Ed. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007.

This book serves as an introduction to Lutheran theology.  By discussing eight different principles (the canon, confessionalism, ecumenism, the Trinity, the centrality of Christ, sacramentalism, the distinction between law and gospel, and the two kingdoms), Braaten introduces the heart of Lutheran distinctives.  Braaten's writing style is gentle and clear throughout.  He strives to capture the important features of the theology he loves in terms that will be readily accessible to any reader, yet are clear and specific to be useful to a more professional audience.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

1 Samuel 4.1-22, Acts 16.23-40 - Lectionary for 7/21/10

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 4.1-22 and Acts 16.23-40.

Today the glory departs from Israel.  Ichabod, the son of Phinehas, grandson of Eli, the heir to the house of Eli, is born as his mother dies.  He never seems to surface again.  God's judgment has fallen on the house of Eli and on the people of Israel, who chose to bring the Ark of the Covenant into battle as a lucky charm against the Philistines.  The Philistines, of course, fought with all their ability, knowing that God would be defending the Israelites.  It does not appear that God was defending Israel.

Do we see the glory departing from our society?  Do we see defeat in some of the cultural battles we fight?  Do we find that sinners continue to sin and we continue to be hard-harted and uncaring?  Do we see that evil is present in the land?  Does it seem that God's glory has departed from the Church?  A book I read recently discussed the way we have trivialized worship music and thus all our attitudes about meeting with God.  Yes, it seems the glory is departing.

I'd like to write some encouraging words, though.  After the glory departed from Israel due to the sins of the people, God, in his good pleasure, brought deliverance to his people again and again.  In these last days our Lord has revealed himself through the person of Jesus Christ, the savior of the world.  Has the glory departed from our society?  May the Lord show his glory in delivering us once again, doing what we cannot do, drawing people to himself by himself.
 

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

So Who's Intolerant Now?

Earlier today one of my sisters-in-law made some comments about some idiocy going on among some of the fringe-type so-called Christian right.  Of course, it isn't that surprising to see people act like lunatics.  But I observe that it is not only right-wing types who do so.

Here's a link to a two minute interview with a lady who attended a peaceful rally with her husband and her three small children.  She wanted to express her support for traditional marriage as the best way to raise children and nurture our society. The baby needed to be fed so she slipped to the back of the crowd to find a quiet place to nurse.

http://www.marriagetour2010.com/2010/07/shocking-video-from-mother-harassed-by-gay-marriage-activists-at-albany-rally/?msource=EC100719NAT1&tr=y&auid=6654571

I observe that the counter-rally people who surrounded her and whom she found intimidating were carrying signs and wearing shirts talking about the kind of love they had. If that's love, I don't need any hatred.  It seems the time for civility in discussion of differences is coming to a close. Unfortunately, it is the people who wave their flags of tolerance and liberal good will who seem to be bringing it to a close, attempting to shout down all opposing voices. Maybe it's asking too much to debate issues using facts, historical data, and reasoned civil tones. Yet I certainly hope and pray it isn't asking too much. For my part, I plan to continue to disagree with those I think are genuinely wrong.  But I plan to do so in a civil way, with arguments based on facts and not hyperbole, and all the while my intention is to defend the right of those who are opposed to me to speak out in a civil manner themselves.  If we don't do that, we have departed from all that makes human discourse uniquely human.
--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

1 Samuel 3.1-21, Acts 16.1-22 - Lectionary for 7/20/10

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 3.1-21 and Acts 16.1-22.

As God promises in 1 Samuel 3.11, when our Lord speaks, he makes ears tingle.  During the night the Lord of all creation comes to the young man Samuel and gives him the very serious message of his judgment against the house of Eli.  Because Eli has not disciplined his sons, his house will come to an end.

How do we deal with the kind of bad news our Lord brings us?  How do we deal with it when we are recipients of God's words of rebuke, either directed at us or through us at other people?  It's surely tempting to avoid reporting the severity of our Lord's demands.  Or maybe we want to come down as hard as possible on those who hear us, really letting them have it.  How do we deal with biblical correctives which need to be aimed at respected older people who have had a long term positive influence on us?

Samuel is faced with a tremendous challenge here.  He has seen the sin of Eli's sons.  He may have thought they were just acting the way grown-up priests act.  We don't really know.  He may have seen how evil they were and wished he could do something about it.  Whatever the situation, though, Samuel, once he had received the word of God, brought the message to Eli.  And Eli accepted it with grace and maturity.  He did not reject it out of hand.  He did not complain against Samuel.  He knew he was wrong.

This passage also makes me wonder how we react when we are confronted by our sin.  Do we realize that we were wrong, that we deserved the confrontation, and that we really don't have an excuse?  Or do we try to excuse ourselves.  As Paul says in Romans 3, let God be true.  He is the one who speaks truly about our sin.  He is the one who has provided salvation from sin in Jesus.  Let God be true.

May the Lord grant that we accept the news he has for us, both bad and good, and that we rejoice that our Lord Jesus Christ has taken the sin, our deadly problem, upon himself.
 

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

1 Samuel 2.18-36, Acts 15.22-41 – Lectionary for 7/19/10

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 2.18-36 and Acts 15.22-41.

Our reading today from 1 Samuel brings us to a very sad episode in God's Word.  It confronts us with a very real concept, one which most of us would like to deny.  God's blessing may rest on a person and then He may withdraw His hand of blessing and protection.  What is the motivating factor?  Our Lord lays his blessing on all creation.  We confess with John the Baptizer that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Yet his salvation is known only to those who believe him.  So did Jesus die for only some sin? That would not seem to be the case.  Rather, and in the same vein as what we read about the house of Eli, he dies for all sin in all time, but his blessing is removed from those who reject him.  

On the one hand this is a dreadful thought.  It means that as we are unrepentant and unbelieving we can expect that at some point our Lord would leave us to perish in our folly.  Yet at the same time we see that our Lord is being quite consistent here.  He does not wish that any should perish.  To those who repent and believe he always remains faithful and forgiving.  He has done all that is necessary to save his people.  He merely requires that we believe he has done what he claims.  This is great good news.  There is no hidden agenda.  Jesus doesn't die for the sins of the elect only.  He doesn't die for those he foresees doing good works.  He dies for sin, period.  

Lord, may your abundant mercy and your demand that we believe drive us to daily repentance and an abiding desire to believe.  May we confess, as did the father in the Gospel, "Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief!"
 

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

Colossians 1.21-29 - Sermon for 7/18/10

Let us pray.
Lord God, heavenly Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father by the adoption of faith, grant that we may look to you in faith, grasping the riches of your love for us in Christ Jesus, through our same Lord, God the Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Everyone loves a mystery, right?  All right, some of us aren't big fans of mystery books, but when's the last time you enjoyed a story that you already knew from beginning to end and understood completely?  How about those birthday presents that you already knew about?  What about the surprise party that you had to plan and schedule for yourself?  Or the movie that left absolutely nothing  to the imagination?  No, we do like mysteries.  I'd like to talk today about three mysteries that we see in our passage from Colossians.

Mystery #1 - our alienation from God
This is a mystery to our modern culture, sad to say.  We live in a world that's full of contradictory messages.  At the same time we say that people are good and wise, but that people are a necessarily bad influence on the world.  We are supposed to protect endangered species even if it harms us.  We are able to choose to be cruel, but when a wild animal kills and eats a person that is simply part of that animal's nature.  Likewise, we seem to think that people are good by nature.  Look at the generosity that people show to the poor.  Did anyone leave the car doors unlocked in the parking lot?  Is there any reason why we should expect that the flowers should still be in the pots on the porch when we get home? Yet we do see some goodness around us. In fact, there's a good deal of decency in most everyone in our society.  Yet we have prisons full of people who have committed violent crimes.  We live in a world that is torn by wars.  We live in a world where people are routinely kidnapped, enslaved, and sold to the highest bidder.  We live with both the idea that people are really pretty good and the idea that people are really pretty bad.

What our society seems to live without is the idea that God is real and that he cares what people do.  We are perplexed by the concept we see in verse 21 of Colossians 1.  Alienated?  Hostile in mind?  Evil deeds?  Wait a minute!  I thought I was pretty good.  I'm not like one of those real criminals.  Or am I?  Whose world is it, anyway?  Is it mine or is it God's?  Who gets to be the judge of what is right and wrong?  Is it me, a part of the creation?  Or is it the God I confess created and sustains all things?  

Let's make no mistake about it.  Christians confess that the very same God who created heaven and earth and all things, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, rules the world according to His plan, according to His wisdom, according to His principles.  He has given us his Word, both the written Scripture and the living Word of God, God the Son, to reveal Himself to us.  My judgments about what is right and wrong are only good in so far as they agree with what our Lord has told us.  That's what Christians confess.  

Do we live that way?  Probably not.  Not like we should.  What kind of criminals are we, anyway?  As a dear friend of mine who has engaged in prison ministry for some years tells people, there's not a whole lot of difference between him and the inmates.  It's just that the sins he commits aren't usually recognized as sins by the State of West Virginia.  He's without excuse too, you see.  Does the shoe fit us too?  Do we mistrust our Lord?  Do we wonder if he really meant what he said?  Do we wonder if sin is really sin?  Do we try to brush it away with some sort of blithe excuse? If we're honest, ultimately, we can't look at the Scripture for very long before we see that we sin quite regularly.  We end up hostile to God.  We are subject to alienation.  Outside of some divine miracle we are not at all like God.  We've taken that image of God that exists in us from the creation and we have twisted it almost beyond recognition.  Yes, Christians do confess that we are evil and that in ourselves we are alienated from God. I know that flies in the face of what a large part of our culture thinks.  But that's the biblical view. We seem to be incurably criminal.

Mystery #2 - Christ's ability to take away our alienation
This brings us to our second mystery.  We SEEM to be incurably criminal.  What does that mean?  I thought Christians were different.  Aren't Christians the good people?  Aren't Christians the people who obey God's laws?  Aren't God's laws even more strict than the laws of the State of West Virginia?  Well, yes and no.  Let's get the "no" out of the way first, then we can concentrate on the "yes."  

Christians confess we are sinners.  We open the divine service with confession and absolution.  It isn't just because someone else once did it or because it is printed on the page in front of us.  It's because Christians have historically confessed we are sinners and in need of forgiveness.  So we aren't the good people.  We don't obey God's laws.  Because our Lord has given us a desire to do the things he likes we often try to obey God's laws, but we ultimately fail.  That was the whole idea of mystery #1, in case you didn't notice.

So what's this mystery?  We seem to be incurably criminal.  When we try to cure ourselves we find we can't do it.  We can't un-alienate ourselves from God.  Picture this idea of alienation with me for a moment.  Imagine you want to become a citizen of a different country.  Let's say you want to become a French citizen.  You want to move to France.  You want to be subject to their laws.  You want to support their government in every way.  But you are an alien.  Can you change that?  Learning the language, developing a fondness for strong coffee, cigarettes, cheese, and red wine, learning to look down your nose at other people, maybe even having nose enhancement surgery, none of this will make you French.  You will remain an alien.  What if you go to the French Embassy and fill out all the paperwork they require for you to become a French citizen?  You still remain an alien.  You will be alienated from France until the French government recognizes you as a citizen.

Likewise, we are alienated from God.  We can do nothing to remove that alienation.  We can read the Bible until we are blue in the face.  We can pray until our knees wear holes in the floor.  We can sing songs until we are hoarse.  We can study theology books until we have a huge library memorized.  That will not take away our alienation from God.  Nothing we can do will take our alienation away.  This sounds pretty bad, right?  But before we give up hope, let me remind you what I said a little while ago.

We SEEM incurably criminal.

Did you catch that word, "seem?"  I hope you did.

The reason we "seem" incurably criminal is because we cannot cure our criminal nature.  No matter how we try, we are ultimately going to do what we do with at least some motive of self-interest.  No matter how we try, we are still going to try to trust in ourselves rather than God when everything is said and done.  We seem to be incurable.  But here's the good news.  We are NOT incurable.  We simply don't have the cure in ourselves.  We are not without hope.  The Lord Jesus Christ is our hope.  Mystery #2 is that Christ is able to take away our alienation.  He is able to adopt us as citizens of the kingdom of heaven.  He has reconciled us in his body by his death.  Jesus Christ, the one who knew no sin, became sin for us and died in our place, so we could live.  It is not we who present ourselves as citizens of heaven.  It is Jesus who presents us as citizens of heaven.  It is not we who make ourselves blameless.  It is Jesus who makes us blameless.  Day by day, moment by moment, as we repent of our sins our Lord forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.  Day by day, moment by moment, as we confess Jesus as Lord of all creation he shows himself to be our Lord.  Day by day, moment by moment, as we hear this Gospel of Christ, our Lord makes us steadfast and stable.  It is in Jesus that we have life.  It is in Jesus that we have hope.  This is not of ourselves, it is entirely the work of God.  Jesus is the one who takes away our alienation.

Does this make sense?  Does it really make sense that one person can give himself for the sins of the whole world? Does it really make sense that Jesus can purchase the pardon for our sins?  No, it's a mystery.  That's the nature of mysteries.  They don't always make complete sense.  Yet this is what the Scripture says.  This is the confidence we have, that Jesus has taken our sins upon himself.  We who believe that no longer bear the weight of sin.

Mystery #3 - Christ in you, walking around every day, the hope of glory
We have one more mystery to talk about today.  I can sum up mystery number three very simply.  Things are not always as they seem.  Of course, we knew that.  But how does it apply in this passage?  We see that Paul talks about the mystery of Christ in us, the hope of glory.  Like I said, things are not always as they seem.  Really.  Just look around.  Look at me.  Look at your neighbor.  Look at yourself.  It doesn't look too hopeful, does it?  Then again, we may look at ourselves and confess that what we really need is a miracle.

But what is this miracle the Bible says is going on in us who believe?  We see that it is Jesus working in us, bringing his word to us, letting us see his self revelation, bringing that revelation to others through us.  I know we don't look special.  I know that often we don't act special.  But our Lord says that we are special.  We are the messengers of our Lord's word. We are part of the way he has revealed himself to our world.  We, in fact, are part of what our Lord uses to bring His means of grace to our world.  And that's the true mystery.  Just like our Lord has hidden himself in the means of grace, behind baptism, communion, and the hearing of words we read from a page of a book, our Lord hides himself behind us.  We, in fact, in the midst of our living, working, sinning, repenting, and receiving forgiveness, act as the hands of our Lord, showing what repentance and forgiveness look like.  This is a great mystery.  Christ is in us, working through us, drawing the world to himself.  We show that the majesty and power of God is revealed through humble and frail vessels.  We show that our Lord takes what is sinful and makes it righteous.  We show that our Lord is able to keep those he has called safe in his hands until his coming. The life that we live is, in fact, the life which belongs to our Lord, who has become our life.  This is a mystery indeed.

Are the mysteries resolved?  No, some mysteries don't get resolved in this life.  But we know the Author and Finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ, who has revealed himself in and through us in these last days. And we look to Him, knowing that he will bring all things to their proper completion in his perfect timing.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com

1 Samuel 1.21-2.17, Galatians 6.1-18 – Lectionary for 7/18/10

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 1.21-2.17 and Galatians 6.1-18.

Toward the close of our Old Testament reading today we see a very sad sight.  We see the adult sons of Eli, priests themselves, despising the word of God and misusing the sacrifices people have brought.  They prefer their own comfort and their luxuries to the means of worship which the Lord gave to Israel.  They prefer their own comfort and their luxuries to the provision the Lord prescribed for them as priests.  This ought not to have been tolerated.  In fact, as we read on in the upcoming days we will see that it is not tolerated.  The Lord does not approve of such folly.  On the contrary, he has appointed appropriate means for worship and duties for priests.  He will require that his servants conform to his commands.

Situations like these point us to our own need for Jesus.  We realize that we would prefer to do things our own way.  We would like to make up our own rules.  Or we consider that rules are made to be broken.  Yet the Lord has declared his Law.  The soul who sins must die.  If we try to make our own laws, if we try to be a law to ourselves, we are among those who must die.  Ont he contrary, we see that Jesus, the sinless Son of God, gave himself to be sin for us.  Through the death of Christ on our behalf we are no longer subject to death.  By belief that Jesus is who he says he is and did what he said he did, we become partakers of his life, for we have given up on our own hopes and preferences.  

So where do we stand?  Are we going to trust in ourselves like the sons of Eli?  Are we going to trust in God, like Hannah and Samuel?  May the Lord bless us to rejoice in the work of His hands, not in our own ideas.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com