Pastors

Not sure if I've mentioned this before but I don't think I've ever had a pastor or a spiritual resource (I take that back kind of / my husband I guess is who I ask about stuff / let's say, an outside spiritual resource?).  My mom's first thought when I pointed out a new website was to ask her advisor, ie. her church's pastor, what his notes were on their statement of faith.  It is great but I just had to note that it's foreign to me.
For all you ELS people though, this is one minister's thoughtful take on it... THANK YOU MOM

We agree with their position on the Word of God.
a) We believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God We also would describe the Bible as "inerrant." This is close in meaning to "infallible" but more precise in that it means not only that it cannot err but also that it contains no errs.
We agree with what they say about the persons of the Holy Trinity and the person of Christ. (b & c) We would agree with statement (d) with the caveat that it is an incomplete confession. It does not say how regeneration occurs. We believe the new birth by the Holy Spirit occurs through the means of grace, the Word and Baptism, and that it occurs without any human effort or cooperation.
d) We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, belief in Jesus as Savior and regeneration by the Holy Spirit are absolutely essential.
We would agree with this statement, since the Holy Spirit is the sanctifier, the one who makes us holy and helps us live a holy life. We would add that the Holy Spirit is the one who gives us faith.
e) We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
We agree with this. f) We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved will be raised to everlasting life with the Lord, and they that are lost will be raised to everlasting separation from Him.
g) We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.  We too confess this "spiritual unity." This is what we mean when we confess "one, holy Christian and apostolic church." We, however, do not practice church fellowship- joint altar and communion fellowship- on this basis, but on the basis of full unity in doctrine (teaching and confession of faith).
The resources available on this website look good and helpful. The Keil/Delitzch commentary included on this site is a classic conservative Old Testament commentary. This is a site that would be useful to me as I look at texts for preaching and teaching.
In Christ,
Pastor

Lift

Getting a Faith Lift

Matthew 18:15

Matthew 18:15
I thought the cross references for this verse from Biblos.com were really interesting *

Leviticus 19:17 "'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.
Luke 17:3 So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
1 Corinthians 9:19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
Titus 3:10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.
Proverbs 27:10 Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you--better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.
Proverbs 18:24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

And I like Biblos.com's statement of faith

SUCCESS!

Success I guess
:)
I got asked about if I was a particular angel and I got shy and turned red but I did get out that I would be Gabriell AND I hauled around my bible and that got some attention too.

Choir Robes

As I'm prepping to be an angel for tomorrow's work day (Halloween comes conveniently and not necessarily on the actual date :) I was reminded of the brief period I spent as an Alto in the Bethany Lutheran Concert Choir.
There are a lot of experiences that I've had that I wish I could go back to and make more of!  I often feel like my younger years were spent being flighty and removed.  And those moments of unison and cohesion in the praise of God -I wish I could open my pocket book and relive when I needed the spiritual energy.  I didn't make enough of the time when praising God was popular!!  When being under the direction of Professor Marzolf was the cool place to be.  I know I sang my heart out mostly but I should have been engaged every minute because I will never get those back and I will never be free to sing with great training like that again.

God
be in my head
and
in my understand-ing
God
be in my eyes
and
in my look-ing
God
be in my mouth
and in my speak-ing
God
be in my heart
and
in my think-
ing
*God     be at my end     and     at  my  de  part  ing

Bible study

There is possibly this whole other world of the Bible that I don't even know about...Available through bible studies...
I think its good that I continue to get base knowledge on my own I suppose but there will come a time...

So Thank You

Thank you friends and family who are reading and sending notes or comments of encouragement ~ I knew that I needed a public statement to hold me to this commitment and knowing everyone is really keeping tabs on me makes it that much more motivating to not let the days pass without solid thoughts.

Speaking of that.  I feel bad that I haven't tackled my new spiritual year resolutions with much vigor yet :(

Anyway.
I did bypass Project Runway for reading the Bible and these couple chapters of Isaiah sure sucked me in; 57-59
My favorite was Isaiah 58
Verses 13&14 especially
     If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord.

The lord continues to bless

The lord continues to bless us

What if angels walk among us?

I was thinking of my angel costume and thinking more about angels and how they really could be down here on earth in human form.

The first noel

Gabriel

http://angelgabriel.blogspot.com/

How will people know?

I think I've been this weird combo of a believer in an unbeliever's shell for the past decade or so (ok.  that really feels like I'm dating myself.  like I'm CARBON dating myself).  I've made the excuse that I'm being accessible to everyone in order to fit in and then pull people toward the light...but I've done none of the witnessing that should follow.
witnessing.
like evangelising.
I don't feel like I've ever been trained for that.
and like all skills it takes a knowledge base and practice I think.
hhmmmm.

Thanks!

Thanks for the comment Mom :) I think my motivation for that post was that I saw your "pumpkin/jack-o-lantern" email out of the corner of my eye as I was working (that's the one where God scoops all the crap out of you and gives you a happy face and a light for all the world to see).  But I was absolutely thinking about that picture of me dressed as an angel, roasting a hot dog.
Actually, can you email me that pic?  Maybe I could recreate the costume as suggested and share the story of Reformation parties and maybe that would prompt some people to ask what Reformation was?

And then this morning -LOL- I read my friend's comment from the Reformation post and had to relate to her that I thought I remembered my brother being Martin Luther like, three years in a row.

It always boggles my mind that there are two popular Martin Luthers (the protestant one and the MLK Blvd one).  I should look that up some time...

Halloween

I'm really truly not a fan of Halloween BUT my boss is ~ And since I don't want to be the stick in the mud who doesn't participate (we have about 98.5% in our office) I'm always in a mid-October costume rush.
What kind of costume could I do that is spiritual in nature?  Because I'm thinking maybe I could put this stupid holiday to use by being someone biblical or making a religious sort of statement?
Ideas???

forgetful

I totally forgot about my resolution to bring up my faith on a daily basis... Shoot

Two little lady bugs

It's almost Halloween and our family inherited two lady bug costumes...Since we only have one daughter, the dog got dressed up too this afternoon :)
anyway
The costumes plus a pumpkin from g.ma and g.pa reminded me that Halloween is soon upon us and in our family it was termed "reformation" most years and it included a party at church.
I did a little reading about Luther's famed reformation and here's what I came up with...
History
an English translation of the theses
I read through a couple of the theseses (sp?) and will print later to reflect on more...

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Judges

Read a little more and Judges has some crazy stories in it.  The Israelites flit back and forth seemingly like a hummingbird!  It's almost like they believe whatever is right in front of their noses.
I wonder though why God is so absent from us in the obvious ways now.  He seems to speak to people and send his angels to speak to people and perhaps he still does that and the world is so big we just don't hear about it or don't believe others?  But it seems like a very different world now and perhaps that's because we are post-Jesus or perhaps because we are removed so many years from the Bible?

Started reading judges because that

Started reading judges because that seemed right but not sure i understand whats going on...interesting about the generations though

I think I forgot to make an entry yesterday:(

Did a lot of internalizing but didn't get around to reading my bible which is what I need to do regarding this "Judgement" train of thought.
-There was a public radio segment on this hour and the guest speaker was talking about his paper that was published on wealth and equality.  I don't know why but that seems to tie into judgement somehow.  Well.  Maybe not in the spiritual way.

Still contemplating judging...

...but
Who would have thought a woman who's young husband committed suicide would go on to write lovely faith centered poems?  Helen Steiner Rice again

Judgement

I just emailed a friend and used the phrase, "I know you won't judge".
Huh.
What does that really mean to me?


---Found this poem in the Sell Lake Lutheran Cookbook :) Seemed to apply since it made me think about judgement as a decision between two sides and not just as something negative.

Prayers can't be answered unless they are prayed
Games can't be won unless they are played
And prayers can't be answered unless they are prayed,
So no matter how busy or crowded your day,
Make it a practice to take time to pray.
And never start wondering if God heard your prayer
Or if He is able to take care of your care-
Just tell Him your problem and be not dismayed
If His answer is sometimes deferred and delayed.
For God never hurries yet He's never too late,
But He often tests us when He asks us to wait-
And there is no problem too great or too small,
God has the wisdom to take care of them all.
Not always the way that we most want Him to,
But always the way that will prove best for you.
We ask Him for pleasure, enjoyment and health,
Laurels and honors and prestige and wealth,
But instead of a "crown" He sends us a "cross",
And instead of rich gains we are made poor by loss.
But great is our gladness and rich our reward
If we trust the judgment and will of the Lord.
          -Helen Steiner Rice

To the woman he said,

"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."     Genesis 3:16

I just read Numbers 30 and it seemed to tie in the rules for husbands/fathers warding over their wives/daughters.

Then I remembered Song of Songs and chapter 5 verse 10-16 is all about the desire:
     My love is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand.
His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves by the water streams, washed in milk, mounted like jewels.
His cheeks are like beds of spice yielding perfume.
His lips are like lilies dripping with myrrh.
His arms are rods of gold set with chrysolite.
His body is like polished ivory decorated with sapphires.
His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.
His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. 
     This is my love, this my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

through painful toil

"Cursed is the ground because of you;  through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken;
for dust you are and to dust you will return."
-Genesis 3:17-19

Song of Songs...

...IS BEAUTIFUL!
But I didn't understand it until I realized that "Beloved" was the woman speaking and "Lover" was the man

I can do that

So I found an easy way to try and keep god's work on the front of my mind...Ask the people I know who are involved in religious organizations about their work!  For instance:  When the graphics super called me with a question about a job and we had a minute or two of "chat" time while I was checking my file, I asked if she was planning any future mission trips instead of asking what she was up to this weekend.  Sweet!  Right?  I know of at least four people in my circle of work acquaintances who I can ask questions like this of...

*She actually went on to describe the work that they did in South Africa this year and their plans for support to the mission church in this huge shanty town and their long term goal of going back in five years as a follow up.  Meanwhile they are working on a smaller trip to Haiti with their juniors group.  She pointed out how amazing it is to see faith in the midst of such poverty and desperation.

Do not let anyone judge you

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.  These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize.  Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.

Colossians 2:16-18

Marie is just a few letters off from Martha

I like Martha's confidence in John 11:21-24, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
I feel like Martha's sandals were probably high heeled...

Speaking of that...Sorry "Martha" but I couldn't find an appropriate passage (after 45 minutes of searching) about loving your silly friends in spite of their problems with auto-correct  :)  But thinking of you none-the-less

Noah

I like how Noah's father Lamech announced him, "He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed" Genesis 6:29
When I was thinking about Noah and his story (my daughter loooooooves her little people ark and it brought up a couple discussions this wknd actually) the idea that everyone was coupled up kind of struck a note.  Seems like our creator really intended for us to be with a partner.  And as I was thinking of this my little girl was throwing a tantrum in the back seat...and her really smart mom had clipped her pacifier into the car seat harness so she couldn't toss it...because I knew in her rage she would throw that binky but she wouldn't understand that it was a grave mistake...she wouldn't be happy after her fit without it...and maybe that's why God has made marriage such a sticking point ~ Maybe he understands that we would naively give up our husbands in a fit of whatever but that we'd regret it just as fast.

Matthew

6:9-15
"This, then, is how you should pray:
"'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

9:10
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples.  When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

James

SUCH a wonderful book of the Bible!  And again, a name that is in my immediate family over and over again that I never thought of as a biblical name.
James 2:14-17
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?  Can such faith save him?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Stephen

So I think my little girl is at that stage where temper tantrums rule the world.  And that's what Acts 7:57 reminded me of.  In verse 56 a very brave Stephen says, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." then the crowds react violently and "At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him".  Why do I often have the desire to cover my ears and close my eyes and refuse the word of God?!?!  It's like I don't want to be happy or something ~