A Pastoral Concern -- Israel, Hamas, and God's chosen people

As if on cue, the conflict between Israel and Hamas has triggered many Christian teachers and churches to prepare for the final moments of earth.  Are these the final moments?  I pray that they are.  The older I get, the more often I pray, "Come, Lord Jesus."

However, there are many misguided people who equate the modern nation of Israel with God's covenant people of the Old Testament.  This blog post would run WAY too long to sift all this out.  So, I alert you to the following resources (scroll down) to address some of the statements that are being made about Israel and the final days--statements, by the way, which were also made in 1990 and Desert Storm, and in the 2000's with the Persian Gulf War.  I truly believe these books were already written and await a Middle East conflict to hit publication.

The short answer to who are God's chosen people?  Just two verses:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (1 Peter 2:9-10).  God's chosen people the people whom Jesus Christ has redeemed, the Church.  It is not based on bloodline, heritage, borders, languages, or even eras.  

For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring (Romans 9:6-8).   Not every Israelite was a believer; therefore, not every Israelite is saved.  On the other hand, everyone who believes in Jesus as his or her Savior receives the benefits of Jesus' saving work.  Therefore, just as St. Paul says, the true Israel is the Church. The true children of Abraham are those who believe the same promise Abraham believed.

For a brief chapel devotion written by me which merely grazes the topic, look here.

For a more extensive review and critique of this issue, click here for an Issues, Etc. podcast.

Summer Reading -- (Dis)ordered

This book managed to jump in line and interrupt my reading of St. Augustine's City of God.  This book was a gift from the IssuesEtc studios that we received when we popped in for a visit back in June.  They gave us a lot of gifts.  The gift of this book saved me a few bucks as I was planning on buying it anyway.

Well, I just completed it and highly recommend it.  Perhaps it will be used as the basis for an upcoming Adult Bible Class.  But don't wait for that.  Purchase it now.  It will equip you for answering people who promote the LGBQ+ philosophy, reinforce your understanding of God's plans for human design, and help you to honor God in your vocation as a man or woman, husband, wife, or single person, and especially as a blood-bought, body-and-soul saint in the kingdom of God.

IssuesEtc.org on Prop 3 in Michigan

Here is another update about Prop 3, courtesy of IssuesEtc.org.  Prop 3 is a gateway to heinous practices, such as sterilization, abortion on demand regardless of age or parental consent, and protection of gender transition for minors.

Prop 3 intends to have these horrible and destructive practices firmly ensconced in the Michigan state constitution.  Lord, have mercy.  

Vote NO on Prop 3.

2864. A Proposed Michigan Constitutional Amendment Eliminating Parental Consent for Abortion and Sterilization of Minors – Margot Cleveland, 10/13/22 (issuesetc.org)

Issues, Etc. -- Introducing the Books of the Bible

Here is a valuable resource for an overview of the books of the Bible.  Issues, Etc. had a series with Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller in which he gives an overview of each book.  Pastor Wolfmueller, who is equally engaging and knowledgeable, will benefit your understanding of the Scriptures as they continue to reveal God's mercy and salvation for sinners.  

You can find Pastor Wolfmueller's "Introducing the Books of the Bible" at this link: Introducing the Books of the Bible (issuesetc.org)

You will also find much more of value to listen at Issues, Etc., hosted by Pastor Todd Wilken, a confessional pastor in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

Lutheran Public Radio -- Sacred Music for the Advent Season

SACRED MUSIC FOR THE ADVENT SEASON… ”Savior of the Nations, Come,” “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry,” “Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending,” “Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding,” “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”  You can listen to sacred music for the Advent season 24/7 at lutheranpublicradio.org, TuneIn, Amazon Echo, Google Home and the Lutheran Public Radio mobile app.

Note: Advent begins on Sunday, November 29.

In addition to Lutheran Public Radio, you may also want to check out the podcasts of Issues, Etc., a radio program hosted by LC-MS pastor Todd Wilken.  The shows have a confessional Lutheran emphasis.  While advertisements are often for LC-MS products, the program itself is highly recommended for your consideration.  Issues, Etc. archives can be found here.

A Pastoral Concern about suffering for the faith

I listened to a podcast from Issues, Etc. about the possibility of soft totalitarianism coming to the USA.  The man interviewed, Rod Dreher, makes an alarming but compelling case about what Christians may be facing in the not too distant future.  In fact, he notes that in some cases, it is already upon us.  The interview is about 55 minutes, but worth your time.  Note: It is a warning, not a cheery story.  But I also think it is something that Christians ought to consider seriously.

You can listen to the podcast here: https://issuesetc.org/2020/09/30/2742-a-christian-response-to-soft-totalitarianism-rod-dreher-9-30-20/

While Mr. Dreher refers to totalitarian regimes such as Nazi Germany and Soviet Communism, he notes that soft totalitarianism will not necessarily eradicate the Christian Church.  It will just make it very uncomfortable and inconvenient to be faithful to Christ.  

This raises a concern: What we are willing to suffer for the sake of Christ?

We have become quite accustomed to having our freedoms in the USA.  In fact, we rebel against inconvenience--not persecution or oppression, but inconvenience.  This is how "Okay, Karen!" became a saying.  Since we are a free society, we can get away with it.  We may be labeled as rude and we may be asked to leave the premises of where we are, but we would likely not be jailed.  So, we have the freedom to be rude and the freedom to gripe when we are asked to wait a minute (not that using our freedoms that way is admirable).

But we come back to the question: What we are willing to suffer for the sake of Christ?

Are we willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of Christ?  How about taking a financial hit and being forced to live with less--much, much less?  How about being refused a job or enrollment in college because we are Christian?  Are we willing to be reviled or shunned for confessing our faith publicly?  Are we willing to stand up for the truth of God's word and refuse to buckle to incessant pressure to accept what is deemed social justice by our society?  Are we willing to tell our children that they will not be participating in sports anymore because the coach demands a commitment to him that means church always comes in second place?  Are we willing to suffer physical harm?  Or to watch a family member suffer physical harm for the faith?  Are we willing to die?

Although we might be bold enough to credit ourselves for a willingness to die for confessing Jesus (and if that ever should come upon you, I pray that our Lord will sustain you through it), chances are, we are ready to shrink back from our confession much earlier than that. Soft totalitarianism may take root, but it seems to me that we are soft ourselves.  We have had to suffer precious little for Jesus' sake.  How much are we willing to endure before we deem it too hard, too inconvenient, or too unpopular to remain a Christian?  I can't answer that for anyone.  Each of us must answer for himself.  And if we are honest, I suspect none of us would like the answer we give.

If church attendance, hearing the word, participating in the sacraments, and prayer have not been a high priority for you, it is time to make them a high priority.  Whoever has not made a habit of attending church weekly will find it very easy to leave the Christian faith when persecution comes.  If you have taught your children that church attendance is an occasional thing, persecution for the faith will present them an occasion to leave the church altogether.  It will be easy to denounce Christ for a person has not been listening to him much anyway.

I am no prophet.  I don't know what is in store for the USA, and I can't promise that persecution is coming soon.  The trends, however, suggest it is not far off.  So, what can we do?

If we are going to be willing to suffer for the faith, we need to be grounded in the faith.  If we are going to stand firm in our confession regardless of the consequences, we must be confident of what we are confessing and convinced of its truth.  In other words, we must flee to our churches to be strengthened in word and sacrament.  We must bind ourselves together to fellow Christians so that we know we will not be alone if we should suffer for the faith.  We must commit ourselves to caring for those who end up suffering for the faith.  We must pray, and pray, and pray.  All of these things are good and right whether we face persecution or not.  They are essential at all times.  Thus far, our religious freedoms have permitted us to be lazy about these things.  But laziness leads to apathy, and apathy for the faith in times of persecution guarantees that faith will be renounced.  You can't fireproof a house that is already burning; therefore, you cannot prepare for persecution when it is already upon you.

If you yearn for eternal life for yourself and your family, you will cling to Christ who alone gives it.  Hear his word.  Receive his sacraments.  Enjoy the fellowship of believers.  While persecution, whether soft or harsh, is never enjoyable or easy, no persecution nullifies the salvation that Jesus gives.  We are confident of that.  It is necessary to flee to Christ as our refuge so that we remain secure in that--and are even willing to suffer all things, even death, rather than lose it.

Issues Etc. -- The First Christmas

We had some discussions at church about the place of Jesus' birth (cave? stable? barn? house?), as well as how old Jesus was when the Magi arrived to worship him.

We often put Jesus in a modern context, which usually distorts the reality of 1st century Palestine.  Artists turned Jesus into a European.  We have gone one step worse and made him an American.

Although it may not match up to some of our hymns, our Nativity scenes, or our romanticized mental images, it does us well to consider what the birth of Jesus would have looked like in a Middle Eastern context.

Dr. Kenneth Bailey, who lived for a number of decades in the Middle East, offers some fascinating insight as to the details of the first Christmas.  Spoiler alert: There were no villains on the night Jesus was born (a.k.a., no evil inn keeper who expelled the betrothed couple from his hotel).

For more, click this link:  https://issuesetc.org/2013/12/24/the-first-christmas-dr-ken-bailey-1314/

NOTE:  This interview takes about an hour, but it is well worth your time.

Issues Etc -- Pondering the Passion

If you are interested in a treasure trove of Holy Week meditation, check out the Issues, Etc. podcasts from this Holy Week.  There are a number of podcasts which will give you hours of interviews to listen to and consider. 

You can find Issues, Etc. here. 

I hope you can also find the time.

The original Christmas story

Many of us are familiar with the Christmas narrative of Luke 2:1-20.  Perhaps you are even among the people who memorized it for a children's Christmas service many years ago.  (I could still recite the King James Version in the same sing-songy manner we used if I had to.)

Our familiarity with the Christmas narrative, however, is probably influenced too much by Nativity scenes, creative hymnody. and European artists.  I know that I have been guilty of perpetuating in my own preaching images that are more imagination than fact.  (For example: There was no mean inn keeper who banned Joseph and Mary from his hotel.)  It's not that we have been telling lies; it is that our image of the Christmas narrative has been skewed by traditions which attempted to put the birth of Jesus in a European or American influenced context.

For a fascinating interview on the Christmas narrative, taking into account the Palestinian context of it all, take a listen to this interview from Issues, Etc.  Dr. Ken Bailey spent decades living in the Middle East and is very familiar with their culture, much of which still reflects the culture into which Jesus was born.  Dr. Bailey discusses the place where Mary would have been birth and the shepherds reaction to seeing Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, and ties these events to other parts of Scripture.  

The interview is about an hour, but is well worth your time.

A Pastoral Concern -- Christians, they are challenging your faith.

BuzzFeed videos are supposed to be entertaining snippets about one topic or another, and not all are moral.  Buzzfeed also has offered some vignettes which challenge people's thinking.  They have produced several videos which challenge Christians and their faith.  The most recently one is here.  (Note: If you want to skip the video, most of it is referred to in the article and in the Issues, Etc. interview linked below.)

I fear that the mindset expressed in these BuzzFeed videos is becoming more and more common-- especially by people who claim to be Christians!  In other words, a palpable split is being promoted within the Christian Church.

That is no surprise.  Scripture has warned us that this would happen.  It is grieving, but not surprising.  The pastoral concern comes for the humble Christian who is beseiged by these challenging questions.  At first, we are often dumbfounded by these challenges, because we have never heard them (and their thinly veiled accusations) before.  And since we have no immediate response, we assume that their questions/challenges are valid and that we need to change our beliefs.

Another pastoral concern comes when we strive so hard to be liked and accepted by people who dismiss, reject, and mock parts of the Bible.  All people like to be liked.  Guess what?  Jesus said that the world will hate us because it hates him.  Though this is a minor form of persecution, it is just that.  Those who hate Jesus will not like us unless we abandon Jesus.  We should remember that, and then turn to the Lord all the more when we have to endure such hatred by people who claim their allegedly better and more enlightened Chrisitan faith.  The sad fact is that many of these so-called Christians confess a heavily-edited-for-the-culture faith, which is an abandonment of much of God's word.  We should recognize this, expose it for what it is, and be prepared for the hatred of those who boast of a greater love than we have.

Rev. Hans Fiene, (LC-MS) has written an excellent article in the Federalist to respond to the BuzzFeed video.  You can read it here.  It is at least one way Christians can respond to the challenging questions which are being lobbed against them.  You can also listen to an interview here with Rev. Fiene on Issues, Etc.  (Note: Listen to Issues, Etc. often.  They offer outstanding programing, and it is all archived for your listening convenience.)

Another way to respond is to refuse to accept the premise that comes with each challenge.  Most challenges may have a grain of truth in them, but do they truly represent the Christian faith?  Some Christians might be guilty of the charges, but does that reflect what the Bible actually teaches?  That should be considered before you make any response.

Christians, they are challenging your faith.  Do not give in to them.  Continue to stand on the one, firm foundation which is Jesus Christ and his word.  Though they may hate you for it, Christ will love you, strengthen you, protect you, and finally deliver you.  Meanwhile, love and pray for those who persecute you.  Their future is much more frightening than yours.

Lutheran Reformation -- HOURS of Education! -- UPDATE:The Search

WOW!

Do you want an education of the Lutheran Reformation and its relevance today?  How many hours do you have to spare????

If you take a look at Issues, Etc. right now in their On Demand Archives, you will discover dozens of interviews with scholars about various aspects of the Lutheran Reformation -- Luther's opinions on various topics, Lutheran hymns, Lutheran confessors through the years, Lutheran theology, myths about Lutheran teachings, why the Lutheran Reformation still matters today, etc.....  There are perhaps several DAYS' worth of interviews to listen to!

Issues, Etc. has often produced quality programs and is worthy of you checking them out.

NOTE:  This does NOT replace Bible class!
In the flesh is always better than on the web.

UPDATE:  For a few glorious moments yesterday afternoon, all the Reformation topics were lined up nicely on the archives page.  Apparently, Issues Etc had not intended that and replaced it with current programing (still worth a listen).  To find the Reformation topics, type "Reformation" in the search bar and scroll through the options.  All the interviews are there.  It just takes a little more hunting.