Community

 

Hatred thrives in on-line solitude.

Human beings need community. Civilization developed to nurture that personal connection. Prolonged solitude turns the soul inward, toward selfishness. Without discussion and debate, we villainize those with values different than our own. Our faith is what drives our very being. Our God created us with an emptiness that can only be filled with an intimate relationship with Him. Corporate worship and Bible study offers us the opportunity to grow together in the Spirit. “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:19-20

The lack of face-to-face interactions, instead relying upon the anonymity of device-to-device communication, has afforded users to avoid social interaction. Hiding behind a screen allows one to denounce and attack opposing viewpoints, without actual consequence, and enables animosity to fester. News feeds, X posts, and other social media are tailored by algorithms to each user’s preferences, presenting information that supports the user’s opinions, further isolating them from differing opinions. It has become effortless to foster hate by hiding facts that prevent one from learning both sides of issues. In fact, by filtering out competing news, the full truth is silenced while one side of the argument is amplified.

Incessant rhetoric from the left has increasingly raised the temperature in our political discourse. Democrat party leaders pour gasoline on the fire of division with comments likening their political rivals to Hitler, tyrants, and accuse them of opposition to any other “oppressed” class. Political leaders that stoke division and promote hate must be rejected at the ballot box if they fail to return to God. The constant drumbeat that villainizes those with Christian and conservative values has created tribal warfare as an acceptable response to settle disagreements. There are those who have become so radicalized by hateful leftist ideology that contemplating and/or committing violence has become a viable option.

Charlie Kirk literally accepted Jesus’ call to the Great Commission, to make disciples of the world. He engaged in debate with those who hated him because of his faith and political opinion. Through his platform, Turning Point USA, he literally entered the lion’s den of leftism to respectfully preach the Gospel and truly listen to those who disagreed, while doing his best to reach out with a sincere love of his neighbor.  Charlie was able to plant seeds of faith throughout the universities in which he preached. As democrat leaders mischaracterized, no, willfully lied about Charlie and his views and speech, people believed those lies. And those lies inspired a weak-minded individual to end Charlie’s debate forever with a bullet. We cannot let an assassin’s bullet silence and end the work that Charlie engaged in as he obediently preached the Gospel with the love of Jesus in his heart.

If we fail to engage those who have been unduly influenced by the evil advocated by leftist ideology, they will be lost forever. As Christians it is our duty spread the love of Jesus by preaching the Gospel, unashamedly. “And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.  He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.  Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will. 2 Timothy 2:24-26.

We have God’s handbook to assist us in performing His will. The Bible contains all the ammunition necessary to speak His Truth. Read it daily. Learn it. Pray on it. Study it with other believers. We can no longer be meek and quiet. We can no longer stand by and let evil overtake our brothers and sisters. No matter how lost our brothers and sisters may become, God loves them unconditionally, just as he loves each of us. There is nothing we can do to make God love us any more. There is nothing that we can do to make God love us any less. We have a duty to proclaim God’s love to the world so that none are lost to the evil one. Plant the seeds that just may encourage them to return to community of faith. Be bold and courageous, armed with the Holy Spirit that dwells within all of us.

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:11-12, 18

Suffer the Children

 

Protecting the innocent.

Societal norms demand that we protect the innocent. Those who cannot defend themselves need our protection. That is why a parent will defend their children with their lives. Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.” Mark 10:14-16. Children are our most important resource. Without children, humanity ends. Why is that the left conspires to eradicate the most vulnerable among us? Why is the wanton murder of children waiting to be born, or what is otherwise known as abortion, so important to them? Why are they embracing a death cult?

Abortion has nothing to do with women’s reproductive health care. In 1973, Roe v. Wade determined that abortion was legal. Since then, over 50 million children waiting to be born have been brutally murdered. Abortion is a brutal procedure that mirrors some of the torture techniques that were used in the Middle Ages. 50 million children murdered by abortion is greater than 14% of the current population of the United States. How many doctors, scientists, teachers, caregivers, plumbers, electricians, or other positive contributors to our society have had their lives snuffed out before they could even begin? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness apparently is not equally applied when an unborn child is added to the equation. Selfishness triumphs with the “procedure” known as abortion. It truly is one of the most evil “elective medical procedures” that humanity has concocted.

Why does a women’s right to choose trump the inalienable human rights of the child within her womb? What have we become when there is not a second thought to that life? Less than 1% of abortions are performed due to pregnancies caused by incest, rape, or to save the life of the mother. Most of the pro-choice argument holds little to no water to bolster claims that abortion is necessary to protect women’s reproductive rights. It is simply an easy way to neglect responsibility for a lifestyle that is in direct conflict with God’s intent. Sexual relations have been reserved for one man and one woman within the confines of the sacrament of marriage. Both parties conceive and raise their children and are responsible to instill within them morals, values, and a love of God. It is obvious that there is a concerted effort to eliminate God and any values instilled by our Creator. The evil one is flourishing in this world.

Every single pro-choice advocate was once a child in her mother’s womb waiting for his/her birth. Each of them had a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Each of them could have had their lives ended if their mother did not want to be inconvenienced by the responsibilities of raising a child. Selfishness is our greatest sin and easiest to commit. In this society it is all about pleasing oneself first. “Look at me. I am wonderful. I can be anything I want to be.” In this wicked generation, God is but an afterthought. Sex is a game for anyone to play at any time. Hookups, Tinder, and the like are pre-emptively destroying future relationships. Satan must be so proud.

In its innate selfishness, “woke society” believes that biology can be overturned and gender reversed. “God must have made a mistake, and that mistake must be corrected to my satisfaction.” What is a woman? Apparently, whatever one wants it to be. Transgenderism is a mental disease. Less than a decade ago gender dysphoria was considered a psychiatric disorder. Now, children, often with encouragement of woke teachers, are allowed to decide if and when they are to undergo permanent life-altering treatments, such as puberty blockers and surgeries to “change” to their desired gender. Never mind that those altered will never be able to have normal sexual relations, give birth, or sire children. The world is on fire and society pours gasoline on it!

The world needs God. The world needs a Savior. The world needs to come back to Him if we intend to overcome evil. Without God, we fight alone. With Him, all things can be accomplished. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:10-12

And yet there are those who say that the Bible is irrelevant in these enlightened times.

 

False Pretenses

 

 Hate and lies cannot continue to reign.

The new reality that DEI has inflicted upon this nation discounts merit and rewards specific attributes of those deemed to matter more than others. The days of working hard and earning a promotion are considered relics of a bygone era. Common sense is excoriated as a symptom of white supremacy, rooted in racism and homophobia. Equality is no longer a goal for all, those who are deemed oppressed due to skin color or gender orientation, require a head start to level the playing field so that everyone has an equal outcome, regardless of effort. Anyone denying their birth gender must be respected, but somehow, are not required to respect any opinion that offends them. Mental illness and sexual deviancy are to be celebrated and revered by society. History is being rewritten by those who once were the dregs of society, now elevated by woke ideology in this new age of enlightenment.

History isn’t the only norm being edited and/or cancelled out of existence. Once accepted truths are substituted with the fabrications of a corrupt, biased media. Edicts from the self-appointed ruling elite countermand the responsibility to serve and represent. As we approach a tipping point in this nations’ evolution, some things are self-evident and no manner of insane wokeness will ever change that. We are all created by a God that loves us, made in His image, for His purpose. That Jesus Christ went to the cross for us, taking all of humankind’s sin, rose and defeated death so that we will have a place with Him for all eternity. We are all created with an emptiness in our hearts that can only be filled with the love of Christ. We were carefully made to love our God and Creator.

Woke culture is inspired by the evil one. Those who are overcome by evil use the appealing words of diversity, equity, and inclusion to deceive those into loving the things of the world. The democrat party, simply put, is in league with the devil and promotes the works of his hand. The democrat party rejects the living God and revels in the lies of the evil one to gain and maintain power. It is time for good Christians to reject the lies and the evil of this world. It is time for good Christians to choose godly men and women to lead this nation. No, there is not a savior that is of this world, but we can use our vote to put in place those that would lead according to God’s will. No party is pure, just as all people are flawed and fall short of the glory of God. God’s word is an instruction manual for His people. If one dwells in His word, it becomes apparent as to what is truly evil in this world and how we can reject it.

We must reject the hatred spewed by the democrat party and their surrogates in the media. We must engage in the tough love of our neighbor and rebuff the dangerous woke ideology so that they can change the error of their ways and embrace our Lord and Savior once again. Keeping them in authority will only validate their march away from Him and embolden them to continue to enact more of their evil policies. If we decide to stand idly by and allow this insanity to overwhelm us, we abandon our responsibilities as followers of Christ and citizens of this nation. Once evil takes firm rooting, it becomes more and more difficult to excise. It is become customary to call each election, “the most important in our lifetime,” but this election will decide the course of this nation going forward. Do we want to be ruled by godless elites that will continue to persecute their stated enemies, Christians, conservatives, and traditional Judeo-Christian value and morals, or do we want to facilitate the return to normalcy?

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:10-12

The Little People

 

You do not matter to the elite!

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Sir Isaac Newton. Most that are in tune with and report that global events are following a pre-determined path, are decried as “conspiracy theorists” or worse. Yet, train derailments have become much too commonplace in the US. Food processing plants go up in flames. Essential infrastructure that is responsible for filling the shelves at supermarkets are spinning their wheels, unable to provide the essentials to the nation. Ocean going shipping grinds to a halt as ships remain at sea, unable to be unloaded in ports. Coincidental? I think not.

“We don’t need the vast majority of the population. Human beings should be replaced by machines whenever possible. People are just no longer useful to the global elite and their agenda.” Yuval Noah Harari. Self-appointed ruling elites fly their private jets to Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum, then virtue-signal with their “carbon off-set” purchases that assuage their guilt for burning tons of fossil fuels. Yet, those elites consider most of the population as expendable, uneducated rubes that waste the world’s resources. They “believe” that they are righteously fighting “man-made” climate change. Sustainability is being used to de-populate the planet. Reduce food sources, reduce the yields of our farms, reduce the population. Outgoing climate czar John Kerry called on climate activists to be more militant, and they have obeyed. They are using young people to debase our nation to ensure that the little people will not partake in their new world order. This is their religion and you and I are in their way of their vision of Utopia.

“Science can flourish only in an atmosphere of free speech.” Albert Einstein.  Free speech has been reconceived as what is acceptable to the ruling party. Particularly in the scientific field, there is to be no more dissent on the chosen narrative. Any deviation from “settled” science is not just discouraged, but subject to penalties. Look no further than the COVID narrative. Fail to comply with the military mandate to be injected with an experimental drug, face dishonorable discharge. Airline pilots, medical personnel, first responders, and so many others that were denied a religious exemption that lost their livelihoods. Vaccine skeptics were attacked, ridiculed, and accused of murdering grandma. Government misinformation and disinformation determined predominantly by unelected bureaucrats, big tech, and enforced by the FBI that manipulated social media companies to violate the 1^st Amendment rights of those who failed to tow the government’s narrative.

“A nation that is afraid to let its’ people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its’ people.” John F. Kennedy. The Biden administration admonishes its’ political opponents, effectively villainizing half of the nation that they have pledged to serve. As the left has continually and falsely proclaimed of the danger to democracy that conservatives present, policies that open our sovereign borders, abdicate our role as leaders in the world, spend us into oblivion, and relinquish our nation’s ability to be energy independent, is the real threat to our Constitutional Republic. A government that supports the murder of unborn children, mandates diversity, equity, and inclusion that accelerates a headlong rush to indoctrinate our children with a perverted interpretation of human sexuality, and advocates against law enforcement, while weaponizing the Department of Justice against its’ political opponents, is no government at all.

“True revolutionaries do not flaunt their radicalism, they cut their hair, put on suits, and infiltrate the system from within.” Saul Alinsky. Bill Ayers and Bernadette Dohrn, members of the Weather Underground in the 1960’s are now spewing their hatred of our nation in academia. Barack Obama, a former community organizer in Chicago, kicked off his foray into politics in Ayers and Dohrn’s living room. Former San Francisco District Attorney, Chesa Boudin, was raised by Ayers and Dohrn after his radical parents were convicted of armed robbery and murder during a Weather Underground attempted heist of an armored car. George Soros, a currency manipulator who has destabilized countries worldwide, uses his wealth to support and elect leftist soft-on-crime DA’s in liberal cities in an effort to create chaos in those communities. He has been very successful in his endeavor. And, the democrat party embraces this turmoil. Who is the real danger to democracy?

If democrats retain the White House and the Senate, our headlong rush toward socialism will continue unabated. We will find ourselves under the globalist’s thumb and our freedoms will continue to erode. Without pushback, the Deep State will inevitably control every aspect of our lives. We the people will lose our representative government and be lorded over by those who could care less about you. It may seem to be hyperbole, but 2024 could very well be the end of our nation as it was founded.

God was very intentional when He created you. Your talents, your abilities, and your intellect are the tools that enable us to ascertain the difference between right and wrong. The Bible contains the truths necessary to ascertain His will. We are His hands and feet here on earth. We can make a difference in the world, by planting those seeds that the Holy Spirit can nurture and grow. Or, we can stand by idly an let the evil one win. It is your decision. Simply said, the democrat party is advocating for the fall of this nation with policies that are inherently evil. The democrat party, as comprised today, must be voted out of power, and be marginalized. Allowing them to maintain power will lead to the end of this once great nation. Will you stand idly by while evil overtakes our society or will you decide to do something about it by standing strong for your faith?

“When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Historically Critical

The historical critical method is one way that literary critics use to examine origins of ancient manuscripts in an attempt to interpret the historical and experiential prisms used by the author. This method of ascertaining intent attempts to identify the historical context in which it was written. Historical critics seek to reconstruct ancient texts by delving into the historical records of the time when it was composed. These critics attempt to recreate the historical facts known from that time and piece them together with the data compiled by the author. This method of research, when done appropriately, should allow the critic to properly interpret the historical significance of those documents. Most importantly, the researcher should have no preconceived notions regarding the specific text that is examined, using whatever facts that are available to uncover the truth.

Many of the historical critics of today tend to minimize the historicity of the Bible, maintaining that most of the information contained within is either fictional or are simply exaggerations by the authors. Further, many maintain that the original documents were altered by the scribes that translated the Bible into different languages in an effort to bolster claims made by the authors of Scripture. Many historical critics tend to lean on the notion that the Bible is primarily a literary collection from the early history of Israel. Many of these critics state that although it is a historical fact that Jesus Christ did exist at the time described in the Bible and it can be proven that He was a valid figure in the history of Israel, they remain skeptical of the miracles attributed to Him and His status as the Son of God. Some of the most prominent ELCA theologians have made it clear that they have made up their minds regarding the authority of Scripture.

Contrived doctrines, such as bound conscience, are evidence that ELCA theologians regard their opinions over the word of God. They pick and choose which verses of Scripture tend to advance their preconceived notions and desired conclusions. Abandoning the tenets of Lutheranism and replacing sound doctrine with human reasoning and opinion only prove that Biblical scholars in the ELCA truly do not believe in Scriptural authority and more often, fall in line with many of the secular critics. And those that hold fast to Biblical authority continue to be called out by ELCA pastors. In an April 5th edition of Salina.com, an on-line feature of the Salina Journal, ELCA pastor Lorna Paulus, in an article entitled, Ultimate Truth of Message , denounces those Christians that adhere to the authority of Scripture and believe God’s word to be without error. In a stunningly dishonest comment she states, “However, the ELCA does read Scripture differently than many of the groups who like to talk about "inerrancy." We believe that all Scripture is inspired by God. It is the norm for our Christian life. It is not, for us, as Beckmann quoted Borg, just a "human cultural product." But we refuse to take isolated verses of Scripture out of context and treat them as if they were the whole message as many of the "inerrancy" folk tend to do. We believe that taking Scripture out of context distorts the message of Scripture and can be used to twist Scripture to say things God never intended.” I could hardly believe this when I read it. Talk about having a plank in one’s eye!

Perhaps, Paulus should take the time to read the ELCA statement, Human Sexuality-Gift and Trust, and determine if, in fact, the ELCA Biblical scholars cherry pick Scriptural verses when attempting to justify behavior that God prohibits. Perhaps, she should educate herself as to how ELCA theologian, Tim Wengert disregards Scripture while he misinterprets and/or outright contrives illogical arguments to bolster the false doctrine of bound conscience. Obviously not all ELCA pastors are this misguided in their interpretation of the “new things” that are affecting the doctrine of the largest Lutheran Church body in the United States. But, pastors like this do lead their respective flocks and those in the pews listen to what these persons, ordained to preach the Gospel proclaim when they are in the pulpit. When our brothers and sisters in Christ have this type of preaching imposed upon them when they attend worship, some will come to believe and accept this as God’s will. We need to continue to proclaim the Gospel, loud and proud, so that all will come to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, and make certain that those who have come to believe, do not fall away.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2

House of Cards

Jesus spoke about the importance of building a house on a solid foundation. Why then would God make the very truths of His Kingdom built upon a house of cards? It would be much easier to simply base His word on solid, scientific ground. Think about it for a minute. God created the universe by simply speaking it into existence and did it in 6 days no less. The “Big Bang” and following that, evolution, or that life sprang into existence by random comingling of certain molecules, is considered settled science. Well, actually there is no proof that the universe began with a big bang, nor that life simply created itself. It actually takes a leap of faith to believe that it is the intelligence of man that has allowed us to formulate a process by which we, and all that is around us, has come to be. But, belief that an almighty God, who loves us without end, created this world and everything in it, for us, His children, somehow is implausible to this enlightened society.

Then God sends His only Son to take the punishment meant for us. The word made flesh. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary, an unmarried teenage virgin accepts the word of God and is chosen to carry our Savior. Is this proclaimed to King Herod? Caesar Augustus? In the temple to the High Priest? No, Mary receives this gift without a witness. Her betrothed, Joseph, is told in a dream. When the time of our Savior’s birth arrives, He is born in a stable and the announcement is made to shepherds, the lowest and most untrustworthy of that time. When Jesus hangs on the cross, no angels come to save Him and he is sacrificed as a lamb, accepting His death without any struggle. When He rises after 3 days in the tomb, who is there when the angel of the Lord proclaims that He is not here. He is risen? Three women are the primary witnesses to Christ’s resurrection. Realize that women in Jesus’ time did not even have the right to testify in court. Jesus did not arrive in the center court of Jerusalem or Rome and proclaim His resurrection. God trusted what were considered unreliable witnesses to pronounce the arrival of the Risen Lord. Even the twelve Disciples were quite a motley crew.

Last Christmas, Exposing the ELCA posted an article found on Bishop Michael Reinhart’s blog, written by Dr. Rev. Don Carson, assistant to the Bishop. This article called into question the Virgin Birth. I made a comment on both blogs. At Exposing the ELCA I used Paul’s invocation in 1 Corinthians that without belief in the Virgin Birth Jesus’ resurrection was meaningless and your faith would be useless. On Reinhart’s blog I asked him why he would choose to give a platform to a person of faith that was questioning foundational Christian beliefs when there are enough skeptics in the secular world. Not surprisingly, he chose to not publish my comment. I made a second comment to him thanking him for reinforcing my belief that bound conscience is a one way street and the only diversity allowed was what the leadership of the ELCA allowed. Another commenter, Chad Silverman, had 3 comments published, calling those that frequent the Exposing the ELCA blog site irrational fundamentalists, apologizing for entering into the moronic discussion there, and chastising me for being in error in my comparing an invalidation of the Virgin Birth to Jesus’ resurrection.

See, the problem is that our faith is built upon a house of cards. When we proclaim our faith in the Apostle’s Creed, we believe that Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, died and was buried: He descended into hell: The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. The timeline of the Gospel is intrinsically linked. Remove the Truth of the Virgin Birth, and Jesus is no longer Son of God. If He is not the Son of God, His resurrection is meaningless, although still miraculous. If He is not the Son of God, God did not come down to earth in flesh to be a sin offering to cleanse us of our sin. If He is not the Son of God, we are still under the law and the condemnation that it brings. Remove or minimize any of the Truths of the Christian faith and it all falls down and our faith is useless. Our faith is not useless. God gave us the greatest gift imaginable. He made the greatest sacrifice ever made. His love for us is without measure and we should be forever grateful, not question or pervert His word. His word is timeless and true.

The Truth never needs to be sugar coated. The written word that chronicles God’s commands and Jesus’ life is what it is. Faith is not about grandiose stories. Faith is not about what we would want God to do. Faith is about what He has done for us. The Creator of the universe is not confined to what man determines is possible. Science is irrelevant to the God of all power and glory. It does matter where the 23 chromosomes Jesus received came from. It does matter that Christ’s resurrection was physical and not some sort of apparition. It does matter that the Bible is God’s Truth for His children. Nothing is impossible for our God. These learned, enlightened leaders of wayward churches like the ELCA continue to cast stones at the Lord in order to ingratiate themselves with the world. They may get the invitations to the popular parties, but the true host of those parties is Satan himself. The ELCA, UCC and Episcopal church make it easy for the evil one to pervert sinful hearts. They are willing accomplices for the evil one and do not please the Lord. 2 Corinthians 13:7-8, “Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.”

The Devil is in the Details

Often big plans are derailed by those small things that are routinely overlooked but frequently cause serious problems later on, or leading to what can be called unintended consequences. President Obama has found this out with the myriad of failures brought about by the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Again, it is the small things that disrupt these new and grand experiments. The ELCA birthed the doctrine of bound conscience in 2009. It was to be the vehicle by which behavior strictly prohibited by God, could be overturned by man and eased into mainstream Lutheranism. As with the problems associated with socializing medicine for a nation with a population of over 300 million, the grand design of this new way of interpreting Scripture is rife with false assumptions and contradictions. The Devil truly has his fingerprints all over the underlying opinions that are cited in order to prop up this misguided doctrine.

The entire premise behind the doctrine of bound conscience is to elevate man’s experience when interpreting Scripture. Societal evolution becomes a determining factor when inferring that the author apparently misunderstood the intent of the Holy Spirit because they were unaware that this generation would become so enlightened as to transcend the authority of God Himself. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America disregards the very articles of the Lutheran faith by accepting the flawed logic of bound conscience. The new and apparently improved official ELCA website no longer contains the “what we believe” section, instead it is replaced by a new faith section where it explains what is taught by ELCA churches. It states that the ELCA confesses the Triune God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that they proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That in their preaching and teaching the ELCA trusts the Gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. It further states that ELCA teaching or theology serves the proclamation and ministry of this faith. Teaching or theology prepares members to be witnesses in speech and in action of God’s rich mercy in Jesus Christ. Apparently, no longer does the ELCA proclaim that the Bible was inspired by God's Spirit and that God spoke through their authors, who recorded and announced God's revelation centered in Jesus Christ.

The ELCA’s official Confession of Faith identifies the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called the Bible); the Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds; and the Lutheran confessional writings in the Book of Concord as the BASIS (emphasis mine) for their teaching. ELCA congregations make the same affirmation in their governing documents, and ELCA pastors promise to preach and teach in accordance with these teaching sources. Just wondering out loud here, but does not “Her Church” teach outside of those boundaries? Promises apparently are meant to be broken by some ELCA pastors. I would guess that their guidelines on human sexuality and bound conscience are found within those teaching sources. They’re not either??? Well, never mind then, they must just be some of those “new things” that the Holy Spirit is revealing to a select few of the more enlightened among us. Since the Father of Lies uses all kinds of wordplay to appeal to our innate selfishness, it would appear that the Devil is surely in these details.

With the ELCA further watering down their statement of faith, one needs to ask, why would they do this? As the leaders of the ELCA become more and more enamored of the world, they conform more and more to what they believe the world expects of them. The more they seek the approval of the world, the further away they drive themselves and their members away from God. Rather than submit to God and understand and teach that all human beings are sinful and cannot free ourselves from the burden of that sin without the saving grace of our Redeemer, ELCA members are called to enable their bound conscience and do what they believe is right. Rather than knowing that human beings are enslaved to sin and continue to engage in evil and immoral conduct, the leaders of the ELCA proclaim that God made you as you are and God does not make evil and immoral beings. I guess Satan was a spontaneous combustion or something like that according to the logic of some ELCA leaders. Rather than denying oneself and pleasing the Lord, the leaders of the ELCA promote that you should please yourself and deny the Lord.

Romans 3:28, 31, “For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.” The doctrine of bound conscience serves to nullify the law, replacing it with human sensibility. The Apostle Paul was called by Christ Himself to serve to proclaim His Gospel throughout the world. I think he nails it right on the head, exposing all of us as frauds. Without first submitting to our Lord and Savior, we remain on the outside looking in. While the righteousness bestowed upon believers in the Risen Christ grants them salvation, the law serves to remind us of our sin and teaches us what is wrong in the sight of God. The leaders of the ELCA would have you temper your acceptance of the authority of Scripture and replace it with what they determine is a more sensible approach. This church has fallen so far it is unlikely to ever regain footing on the solid ground that is our Lord and Savior. And unfortunately, there are over 4 million of our brothers and sisters in Christ that are subjected to these false teachings. Pray unceasingly for their eyes to be opened to the Truth.

Cruel to be Kind

Back in the 80’s when MTV actually played music videos, Nick Lowe performed his one and only hit song, Cruel to be Kind. This song is based on the old adage that you’ve got to be cruel to be kind. This expression is typically used when you say or do something to a friend or family member, (most often your spouse or significant other), that will usually cause them anger or dismay, but, at least you believe that you did that act in that person’s best interests. We often find that constructive criticism will cause resentment from the person that is subjected to that criticism and that resentment is directed right back at the criticizer. Even though we have the best of intentions when pointing out that particular shortcoming or suggesting that perhaps an alternate approach would be wiser, our helpfulness is often perceived as unwelcome and meddlesome. Truth of the matter is that one would indeed be cruel if we would fail to correct our loved ones, because failing to do so could place them at risk to harm themselves, physically or perhaps spiritually.

As disciples of Christ we are often called to step out of our comfort zones to advance the Kingdom of God. Scripture teaches us how important it is to lead a godly life, endeavoring to achieve some level of righteousness that would be pleasing to our God. Scripture also teaches how critical it is to continue to meet with each other, sharing our prayers and encouraging each other, making certain that we all grow and remain strong in the Spirit. One of those tasks our Lord would have us undertake is correcting our brothers and sisters in Christ that have gone astray, no matter how well intentioned they believe they are. 2 Timothy 4:2-5, “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

So many comments from our more enlightened brethren in the progressive ELCA are directed at traditional Christians that uphold the authority of Scripture, chastising them for, what they perceive, as an overemphasis on the Law, while accusing them of failing to properly understand Christian love and unity. Luke 6:41-42, Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” We are not called to judge, but to correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. Our brothers and sisters in the ELCA are faced with the ever present doctrine of bound conscience. Bound conscience is used by the leaders of the ELCA to affirm any number of worldly desires and opinions that are at odds with God’s written Word.

This bound conscience allows one to not only question the long held tenets of our faith, but to also disregard those statutes handed down through the words of the Bible. Maintaining the unity of the ELCA takes precedence over maintaining unity in Christ. We are called to be of one mind in matters of our faith, and bound conscience, in and of itself, leads the faithful to themselves instead of to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There is no unity when we cannot agree on proper Christian doctrine. When one can believe whatever it is that suits them, there is no unity in Christ. When all are called to respect a brother or sisters opinion that is in obvious error, how can we possibly maintain the unity of the body? When the presiding bishop of the ELCA fails to maintain sound doctrine and allows lay people to undermine God’s authority, he betrays his pledge to our Lord.

Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus said, “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” For many years, Lutheran Core and the Word Alone Network have been in discussion with the leaders of the ELCA in an effort to lead them back to traditional Lutheranism. They have been fought with, marginalized, and flat out ignored, leading to a schism in the church that eventually birthed the LCMC and NALC, safe havens for Lutherans that continue to uphold the authority of Scripture.

It continues to greatly grieve many former ELCA members that the church that they grew up with has left the Lord behind. And it is so troubling that so many of our brothers and sisters that remain fail to understand why so many have left the ELCA. Many who remain steadfast in their support of the ELCA continue casting their anger toward those who have left to walk with a church true to the Gospel. 1 Peter 3:15-16, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” Pray that our brothers and sisters that remain in the ELCA choose to dwell in the Word, rather than to simply listen to those who would turn them away from God and toward a closer relationship with the evil one. Continue to pray that the collective plank in their eyes be removed so that they can truly see where the leaders of the ELCA are leading them. It may seem cruel to them that so many brothers and sisters have chosen to leave, but it may be the greatest kindness to lead them away from the wide path of tolerance, acceptance and diversity that the ELCA would have them travel upon.

You Didn't Build That

When President Obama addressed a crowd in Ohio during his election campaign this fall, he ventured off the teleprompter and spoke from his heart. Driving another wedge into his strategy of promoting class warfare, he admonished those who have been successful in business, stating that “You didn’t build that.” The President further stated that without the help of government provided infrastructure that included teachers, road building, and workers, their success would not have been possible. Obviously, the president truly believes that without government, nothing is possible. Obama’s true ideology was revealed in that moment of candor, exposing his belief that government rules first and foremost. Mitt Romney’s statement that 47% of the United States are beholding to government by virtue of entitlements or employment and would continue to vote to continue their benefits, garnered much negative reporting in the mainstream media. Other than in conservative talk radio, President Obama’s slip of the tongue was widely ignored as he was elected for a second term. While many conservatives were angered by his statements, what the President stated actually IS true. Unfortunately, his reasoning could not be more inaccurate. The concept that we cannot do anything without our Lord and Savior may be foreign to our president, but it is, in fact, true. Those of us who try to go it alone soon discover that without God we only get ourselves into a myriad of predicaments.

John 15:4-5, Jesus said, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Without our Lord and Savior filling our hearts, without placing our lives under His guidance, and without us giving Him the glory, we are simply nothing. All of our successes, and sometimes even our failures, are truly gifts from God. The God of all creation, who spoke the universe into existence and breathed life into everything that was, is, and is yet to come, deserves all the credit for everything that we can possibly accomplish. For without God’s infinite love of His children, we and the world we live in would not exist. God created everything for us. For us, His children!

The leadership of the ELCA, by invoking their doctrine of bound conscience, continues to lift up, what they call, “new things” that minimize our Lord’s role in their church. “God didn’t literally father Jesus”, “Mary wasn’t really a virgin when she conceived”, and “Jesus wasn’t resurrected in a physical sense.” While these self-proclaimed enlightened scholars attempt to diminish long held Biblical truths, they lift up the things of this world and proclaim, “God’s work, our hands” while their call to bring the world to Christ is largely abandoned. Humankind’s selfish proclivities are celebrated and joyfully proclaimed from the pulpits of ELCA churches and declared as right with God in numerous social statements. While their God is left in the dust, they continue to be obsessed with human sexuality, particularly the crusade to normalize homosexuality, in effect, thumbing their collective noses at God’s commands.

Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” The ELCA has torn down a church built upon a rock and created a misguided religion erected upon the loose sands of heresy. As more and more congregations leave this misguided denomination, it teeters closer and closer to the precipice.

Far too many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are fooled into believing that the ELCA is doing God’s work. Yes, many ELCA congregations remain in Christ, but all are at risk of falling into the trap set by the leaders of the ELCA. When Bishop Hanson does his little two step dance, placing the false gospel of radical inclusiveness on equal terms with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, far too many nod their heads in agreement. God did build that and everything that is. Pray that no more are lost to the false gospels promoted by the leadership of the ELCA.

The Ten Suggestions

Well, we’ve certainly been busy here on Higgins Road these last few years. Disregarding Scripture, upholding everyone’s bound conscience, figuring out that Jesus really wasn’t quoted appropriately in that book of faith stories, debunking the truths myths of Christianity and trashing God’s chosen people, Israel. And of course we have been engaged in the continual assault on all those pesky pastors and congregations that believe in the authority of Scripture and try to follow all those archaic laws handed down from those uneducated men that obviously did not compile accurate data from God. Keeping in line with our new modern and progressive religion, we have proposed an update to the now mostly obsolete “Ten Commandments”. So here is a compilation of some of the “new” things that Satan God has been telling us. So, for an early Christmas present, we present this new document, formerly known as the Ten Commandments, handed down from God to Moses on Mount Sinai, now to be called the “Ten Suggestions”, so as not to cause any consternation for those who choose to allow their “bound conscience” to disregard our God’s commands.

#1 You know that God thing where you are supposed to have no other gods, well it’s really ok to worship other gods, heck, even worship yourself, your identity and your possessions if you want to, just kind of keep God in the background and mention His Her name once in a while, especially when you want to argue about the unity of the church, redirecting benevolences or congregations that want to break fellowship. And make sure you invoke the name of God if some intolerant Bible thumper lays down some Scripture that disagrees with whatever questionable activity you happen to be engaging in.

#2 Image, schmage. Go ahead and make whatever image you want. We don’t know what God looks like anyway and you can have any view of what He She is, so go ahead and use goddess beads or any other religion’s icons for that matter.

#3 Oh, and that thing about using God’s name in vain, we already think His Her chosen name is offensive, so call God Mom, Mother Earth, Rumplestiltskin or whatever else trips your trigger.

#4 What’s different about one day or another? Any day is a good day and why keep one day Sabbath (what the heck does that mean anyhow?) and holier than any other, because we change the rules as we go along anyway, so live it day to day.

#5 Honor your parents?? Of course we have reached the pinnacle of enlightenment and already know more than our parents, so maybe it’s the parents that should be seen and not heard. After all, they only want to correct (and that harms our self esteem) and encourage. We are infinitely more intelligent than them already, so there is absolutely no need to correct ourselves.

#6 Yeah, this one is somewhat problematic. You probably should not kill anyone, of course. Well, unless they object to your alternative lifestyle or try to correct your way of interpreting Scripture, we just may make an exception in that matter. But perhaps it is better to just shout them down, or belittle them, sue to confiscate their property or generally make a mockery of Christian love. At least this way no jail time is involved if you get caught.

#7 Now adultery, what to do about that one? Oh, I know! We’ll pass a resolution stating that as long as you truly believe it’s ok, it’s ok with the church and by osmosis or something, it will be ok with God, too. And of course, adultery without a “loving monogamous relationship” is strictly forbidden.

#8 Well, stealing is bad, unless of course you want to take land from those no good Israelites and give it to those godly Palestinians.

#9 And that lying thing. At least try to be a little discreet about it. No bald face lying and if you testify falsely, just make sure that the ends justify the means.

#10 Finally, the last one. Didn’t know if we could make it through all of these unreasonable rules, written by those ancient, dirty and uneducated men that most certainly were not inspired by God. Coveting your neighbors stuff. Covet, now that’s an old fashioned word for you. Take all those rich-fat cat-corporations-that steal the world’s resources-destroy the planet-don’t share-don’t use their evil profits to pay for all the government handouts that able bodied individuals choose to steal from society. Go ahead and covet their stuff because it rightly belongs to you. Who the hell are they to think that they can work hard to make something of themselves so that they can create jobs and pay for all the stuff that makes the world go round. Don’t just covet their stuff. Take it away from them. Advocate for the things of this world!  Disrupt society so that you can get their stuff!  That’s the ticket! Then it will be fair for everyone.

Well, I guess that’s that. Got all our bases covered so we can all feel good about ourselves no matter what we do. Never did much like rules anyway and since we are all about love (mostly of ourselves) that is good enough. Now it’s off to church to say our prayers to Mother Earth and see what our next new and improved social statement is going to be. Remember, these new ideas make us all stronger and diversity and acceptance is the real answer. Merry Christ Xmas!

Sweet Surrender

To fall in love is to give oneself completely to that person. That person becomes central to your world, your very reason to live. We feel that we are not worthy of that person’s love and we fall all over ourselves to make certain that we meet that person’s every need. We will do whatever it is that is necessary to make our lover complete. We put aside our own desires to try to anticipate the wants and needs of our lover. We surrender completely to our lover. The term “sweet surrender” is usually applied to the absolute submission of a bride to her husband and husband to his new wife on their wedding night. As lovers of Christ, we are called to surrender ourselves to His will. We are called to follow our Savior’s lead and endeavor to become “Christ like”. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-20, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” While the Gospel frees us from the penalty of the law, we are still called to not only obey God’s law, but the church is charged to promote the truth of God’s word, not promoting that God is now saying a "new thing" in order to placate worldly desires.

The new doctrines promoted by the leaders and scholars of the ELCA surrender not to our Lord, but to the proclivities of the flesh. Bound conscience allows one to choose their own interpretation of Scripture and directs those that disagree to respect that interpretation, not to gently correct, rebuke, or encourage those that are in obvious error. This doctrine places human opinion and experience above the authority of Scripture. There are those that place conditions upon God, that their chosen lifestyle must be affirmed by His church in order that they feel welcome. In order to more politically correct the leaders of the ELCA brush God’s law aside and proclaim that He is now telling them a new thing, and by a vote of imperfect and sinful humans, God’s law is amended. Galatians 3:23-25, “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.” So, where does this “new thing” lead those that accept this doctrine? If the law leads us to Christ, where does deliberately disobeying His law lead? It is clear that this “new thing” is of man and not of God and those that accept this errant doctrine are sure to fall away from Him.

Bishop Mark Hanson naively supports Palestine when their leadership, Hamas, has the stated intent to eliminate Israel, God’s chosen, from the face of the earth. Psalm 14:4-6, “Will evildoers never learn—those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the Lord? 5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. 6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lordis their refuge.” The leadership of the ELCA continues to support immorality and disparage our Lord’s word while promoting “new”doctrine that disregards His word. Human depravity is rampant and the leaders of the ELCA are preoccupied with the things of this world, or political correctness, instead of performing the tasks our Lord has placed before His church. All humankind has the opportunity to gain the knowledge of God if they so choose. The leadership of the ELCA has chosen to deliberately neglect those opportunities and allow those in sin to remain apart from God. That the leadership of the ELCA would choose to promote the welfare of Palestine while promoting actions against Israel is unconscionable and contrary to God’s will.

The leaders of the ELCA provide insurance to their employees that subsidizes abortion procedures, tacitly authorizing the murder of unborn children. In Matthew 5:21, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago,‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” What is troubling is that the leadership of the ELCA does not understand or simply chooses to ignore the contradiction of that policy. Continue to pray for those trapped within the ELCA. Pray that their leadership opens their minds, eyes and hearts and choose to surrender their lives back to the Lord. Pray that one day the leadership of the ELCA will uphold their responsibility to their membership. Far too many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are at risk to simply walk away.

Under Penalty of Law

It is very troubling that more and more of these so called modern and enlightened preachers proclaim that God is love and only love. So many of those responsible to save the lost have become so enamored of themselves and of this world, that they actually teach unsound doctrine that can and does affect the very salvation of those who accept their false teaching.  These "new age" preachers proclaim doctrine that supports the "new thing" that God is allegedly saying and pen essays that sound so appealing, especially to those thirsting for a church to approve and welcome them and their lifestyle choices, in spite of what our God commands.  Just like the evil one revels in half truths within his lies, these teachers are only partly correct.  Yes, when Jesus Christ took sin to the cross, suffered and died, He freely received the punishment we so rightly deserved.  When His death and resurrection was complete, we were freed from the judgment of the law.  We are no longer due punishment for our never ending sinful behavior.  Jesus suffered our punishment and through His death we are sanctified before God.  By faith, we are freely justified and are granted eternal life.   

So many teachers in the ELCA and others embraced by the ELCA preach that this justification is freely given without condition and with or without faith.  They teach that God would never place conditions upon His children, and promote the doctrine of universalism.  From the Defense of the Augsburg Confession, Article IV: Justification, “they condemn us, for teaching that men obtain remission of sins not because of their own merits, but freely for Christ's sake, through faith in Christ. [They reject quite stubbornly both these statements.] For they condemn us both for denying that men obtain remission of sins because of their own merits, and for affirming that, through faith, men obtain remission of sins, and through faith in Christ are justified.”

In the Augsburg Confession, Article III: Of the Son of God, “He ascended into heaven that He might sit on the right hand of the Father, and forever reign and have dominion over all creatures, and sanctify them that believe in Him,”  Article IV: Of Justification, “Also they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ's sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight.”  Article V: Of the Ministry, “That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ's sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ's sake.”  Article VI: Of New Obedience, “It is ordained of God that he who believes in Christ is saved, freely receiving remission of sins, without works, by faith alone.”  Article XII: Of Repentance, “Now, repentance consists properly of these two parts: One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that for Christ's sake, sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers it from terrors.” (All emphasis mine.)

Over and over these enlightened scholars ignore Scripture and doctrine to promote a god in the image that they desire.  It is abundantly clear that faith in the Risen Christ is necessary to gain one’s salvation.  Without faith, we remain apart from our God.  The last command Jesus gave to His disciples was to proclaim the Gospel to all nations, Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  If it is not necessary to have faith, why would our Lord and Savior tell us to make disciples of all nations?  God grants us the gift of grace, by faith alone.  God loves all His children, and that means everyone who lives upon this world, but requires that we believe to receive the gift of eternal life with Him.  Those that teach otherwise, simply utter pleasing words that lead their flock astray, in the same manner as the evil one deceives the world.  

The unaltered Augsburg Confession is cited by the ELCA as the true witness to the Gospel and acknowledges it is as one with it in faith.  The Bible is cited by the ELCA as the written word of God.  The ELCA continues to accept teaching that makes faith in the Risen Christ optional and then has the audacity to state that these diverse opinions make the church stronger.  This clearly contradicts their statements of belief and is contrary to God’s command.  Further, teaching that all are saved regardless, renders Christ’s command in the Great Commission moot.  For if all are saved, it is no longer necessary to proclaim the Gospel or lead the lost to Him.  Without faith, we are not washed clean by the blood of Christ and are not justified before God.  Without faith, we remain under penalty of the law.  By accepting this errant doctrine, the leaders of the ELCA make their own compelling argument that they are no longer functioning as a Christian Church. 

Unless you are more interested in supporting social statements and the things of this world, rather than worship of the Lord, why would one look to attend an ELCA church?   Continue in prayer for all the lost souls trapped within the ELCA.  Mark 10:27, “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

Where's the Beef?

In a 1984 commercial a group of elderly women complained when looking at the size of a hamburger, “Where’s the beef?” This clever ad by Wendy’s poked fun at the McDonald’s Big Mac and Burger King’s Whopper, pointing out that the bun and the condiments overwhelmed the central reason one purchases a burger, the beef. Now those of us true to the Word cry out to those involved in all of the periphery that permeates the ELCA, where’s our Savior? The core of Christianity is our faith in the Risen Christ, God’s only son, our Savior who took the sin of the world to the cross. Why are the issues of this world so important to the ministry of the ELCA? Why is the bun of social justice and the condiments of bound conscience replacing our Savior’s role in their ministry? While our Lord’s name is always mentioned by the ELCA in their ministries, He often is no more than an afterthought, simply given lip service. So much emphasis is on the self, not on our Lord and Savior, it would seem that this is an organization promoting self improvement. 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” This supposedly outdated manuscript that the leaders and scholars of the ELCA discredit is as relevant today as it was when it was written. For one to read Scripture and come to some of the conclusions arrived by ELCA scholars is beyond comprehension.


As the leaders of the ELCA proclaim that God is now telling them a new thing so that they can reinterpret Scripture in a way that will please their itching ears, they boastfully promote the love of self. Don’t take the word of a simple blogger to reveal the heresy promoted by the leaders of the ELCA, read their own words posted on their website. Their own words convict them. The Lutheran Magazine, Seeds of the Parish, Living Lutheran, and the now under construction “Digging Deeper” section of the ELCA website. These writings contain articles that are spiritually uplifting along with others that are filled with heretical teaching. No disclaimers over opinions contrary to God’s word, only the encouragement to offer one’s opinion, no questions asked. Is it not the church’s role to lead the lost to Christ and to uphold proper Christian doctrine or is it more important to allow God’s children to formulate beliefs that lead them away from our Lord? The ELCA promotes that it is more important to have fellowship with each other, regardless of belief or opinion. The doctrine of bound conscience allows one to twist Scripture to justify any worldly desire that you may wish to partake. Fill your heart with Christ and there will be no room for selfishness, only the goal to please our Lord.

The leaders of the ELCA want to create a God in their own image. They want a God that will allow them to conduct their lives by their own rules. Our God is who He is. His word provides us with His law and boundaries for our acceptable behavior. His word is clear. His love for us is never ending. Beware of those that promote a gospel other than the one our Lord preached to you. Jude 1:17-23, “But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. 20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” Stay in the word and know His truth. Preach the Gospel everywhere and to everyone. Expose the lies perpetrated by the leaders of the ELCA and pray that our brothers and sisters in Christ will hear, understand and reject the false gospel of the ELCA.

Just one more, Please....

As children we always asked for one more cookie, to stay up just 10 minutes more, or stay outside to play with our friends, even though it was dark. But, our parents knew what was best for us and made those decisions that kept us safe from ourselves and our selfishness. Humans are dependent upon their parents for food and protection throughout childhood. If we were left to our own devices, most of us would never survive to reach adulthood. Our parents nurture us and provide love, encouragement, boundaries and rules that we cannot understand as children. As children of God, we fall under the auspices of our Father in Heaven. When we revert back to the selfishness of our childhood, God has provided the boundaries and rules to keep us safe from our eternal damnation. He provides the path toward righteousness and our salvation. 1 Peter 1:8-9, 13-15, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.”

When we give ourselves to our Savior, we empty our hearts of the desires of this world. We are made a new creation, formed by our Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” The leadership of the ELCA contends that God is now saying a new thing, one that supports the direction they wish to lead their membership. What is truly unfortunate is that they are leading their members away from the Lord, back to their selfish ways, placing human needs and desires in authority of Scripture. Using the doctrine of bound conscience, sin no longer has any meaning to those that choose to believe that their behavior is acceptable to God. Unfortunately, their chosen sin remains sinful in the eyes of the Lord. His law remains, no matter what the leaders of a wayward denomination want their membership to believe.

When we decide that God’s law is no longer important, we revert back to the child that does not have any boundaries and decides to eat that whole bag of candy. Although it is pleasant to eat, the stomachache that follows reminds us of our foolish decision. While the good news of the Gospel offers forgiveness, the law of the Old Testament keeps us safe and on the path toward righteousness. Although we never truly attain anything close to righteousness, we certainly can manage to make a mess of things when we disregard God’s law. The Gospel and law work hand in hand. When we truly accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ and turn over our lives to Him, we will joyfully obey. To think that humankind can ignore the law set down by the Creator and giver of life, and comprise doctrine that rejects the word of God, is truly apostasy. Isaiah 40:6-8, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” We are called to obey the God who gives us life and sustains us throughout our lives. Fill your heart with the love of Christ and it will be obvious that His word is the Truth that we must follow. Many of our brothers and sisters accept these false teachings that sound so appealing and have become lost within the ELCA. It is our responsibility to rescue them from the false teachings of the ELCA. Expose these heretical teachings and proclaim the Truth. Pray unceasingly for the Truth to become known to them so that many more will rise up and return to the Lord and leave this misguided church behind.

Neither Rhyme nor Reason

The term, neither rhyme nor reason, usually credited to Shakespeare, was first coined in 1460 by John Russell in the “Boke of Nurture”. This quaint saying means that which has neither rhyme nor reason makes no sense, from either a poetic or logical standpoint. As the leaders of the ELCA pilot their church into the raging sea of apostasy, so many of their membership blindly accept false doctrine. ELCA Bishop Mark Hanson states that the gospel of radical inclusiveness is equal to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, explaining that one cannot exist without the other and many accept this as sound doctrine. The leaders of the ELCA proclaim that God is now telling them a new thing, that the Bible is simply a book of faith stories written by men that could not possibly understand this enlightened present age and this also resonates as truth to those that trust their church's leaders. So, armed with this new "truth", God’s law is voted out by man and instead of standing up for God’s word, the leaders of the ELCA fiddle away while Rome burns. This makes no sense whatsoever.

While the ELCA publicly pronounces that they profess their faith in a manner that pleases God, in reality the leadership accepts many versions of Christianity, including pagan goddess worship. Up is down and down is up. As Christians we are freely offered the grace of God, eternal life with our Father in heaven, if only we believe and have faith in the Risen Christ. In the ELCA that is not necessarily true, since the leadership will also accept other paths to one’s salvation, but do include the caveat that Christianity is a “better way”. I’ve been taught and accept that there is only one way. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” When my Lord and Savior tells me that He is the way and the truth and the life and without faith in Him there is no salvation, that’s good enough for me.

There are those that are much too trusting of this church and accept these new and modern doctrines that contradict our Lord's commands. There is a reason that we need to dwell in His word to discover what our God is really telling us. Failure to engage in regular Bible reading or Bible study will make us vulnerable to false teachings.  Learn and know His truth and you will be better equipped to recognize false teachings. We are made a “new creation” when we allow God to mold us in His image. He is not now telling us something new, He has told us what He expects of us in His word. He, who made the whole universe and created the earth and all that is in it, justly has all authority to place His laws before us. God has every expectation that His children will endeavor to obey His laws. In this present age we are not so enlightened to disregard that which our Father has commanded. Every generation seems to believe that they have reached the pinnacle of enlightenment until they are proven woefully wrong. This generation of progressive religious leaders that direct the ELCA think that they know more than God Himself, are sadly mistaken.

So, for what reason would the leadership of the ELCA accept as appropriate doctrine, that which God prohibits? Why would paths other than through faith in the Risen Christ be acceptable? Why do we pray the Lord’s Prayer and the Creeds if they are not that important to the ELCA? Jesus said in John 8:31-32, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” His truth is written in the words of the Holy Bible. His word is there for all ages. The word is alive and speaks to each one of us if only we read and accept. Our God, through the Holy Spirit is with us always and we need only to listen with our hearts. Plain and simple, the leaders of the ELCA have watered down the Christian faith that they profess by accepting that which God does not. It is all well and good to publicly state their faith appropriate to what has been taught by our Lord. It is problematic that they also consider and support doctrine that places the very salvation of their members at risk. Paul said it well in 1 Timothy 1:3-7, “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work—which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.” It has become obvious that by accepting doctrine that is contrary to God’s law the ELCA is engaged in meaningless talk, confidently affirming their false teachings, all the while betraying themselves and their membership. The time has come to turn away from this misguided denomination, continuing to pray that they will come to understand their error and return to the Lord.

Walk the Walk

A popular wrist band seen on Christians over the last several years read WWJD, or What Would Jesus Do. This wrist band was to remind the wearer, when faced with decision making, to temper their choice by pondering what our Lord would do if faced with the same circumstances. The wrist band has waned in popularity as of late, but its message remains true. As we dwell in His Word we learn how our Lord responded to the people and the circumstances that he encountered. Jesus was compassionate, loving and kind, especially to those in need. Jesus fed the hungry, healed the sick and lame, gave sight and hearing to the blind and deaf, cast out demons and instructed us about God’s Word throughout his ministry on the earth. Even death was not a barrier to His healing ministry. Not only did Jesus heal those afflicted by physical ills, He healed those that were suffering in their spiritual life. But, Jesus did not simply heal their infirmities. He forgave them and cleansed them of their sins. Jesus then guided them toward the path of righteousness.

Jesus taught about God’s Word using parables that were very pertinent to the people of that day. They identified with Jesus’ teachings because He included references that were applicable to the daily lives of the people He taught. Some of these parables are not as easily understood using our modern sensibilities. Simply reading the parable and considering it literally does not always afford the reader the capacity to properly understand the lessons Jesus was teaching. This is where a good study Bible is necessary to help one understand in today’s terms the lessons that Jesus was communicating. You will find that even though Scripture was written long ago, it continues to speak to each one of us and remains just as relevant to our daily lives today as it was to the people living in Jesus’ time. Thessolonians 2:13, "And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe."  Engaging in regular Bible study is also a very important step to take in your faith journey. The fellowship afforded and the insights gathered by two or more meeting in our Lord's name will allow for His Spirit to positively influence your understanding of the Word.

It is so very important to spend time in God’s Word on a daily basis. We all can set aside ten minutes of quiet time that we can share with our Lord. Every time we read God’s Word, our Lord is speaking to us. Hebrews 4:12-13, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Each and every verse of Scripture is written for our benefit. In these troubling times we need to rely on what our God has put to writing, rather than what the enlightened leaders of the ELCA and other misguided churches would want us to believe.  God's truth is there for us.  He is not telling us something new in order to satisfy selfish human desires.  If we fail to dwell in His Word, we may just fall prey to these "new" teachings.  So, rather than hit that snooze button again, use that time to commune with our Lord and read His Good News for us. Use a daily devotional  guide to help you get started, or you may just want to open the Bible randomly and begin reading. God speaks to each of us, individually, through His Word. We need only to take the time to open His Word, read it, and open our hearts and minds to hear Him.

We don’t need a wrist band to remind us how our Lord wants us to conduct ourselves in this world. We have His instruction manual for us and if we simply read and study His Word, we will have all the information we will need to walk the walk with our Lord. Learn to live out the words of the Sunday school song, “Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by HIS love.” When we explore God's Word we will grow in our Christian faith and love. As we begin to understand His plan for us, we will discover how to share the abundant and unending love our Lord has for us. 2 Corinthians 4:13-18, "It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."  Praise be to God!