Lenten Devotional – Palm Sunday

Q. 92. What is a sacrament?

A. A sacrament is a holy ordinance instituted by Christ, wherein, by sensible signs, Christ and the benefits of the new covenant are represented, sealed, and applied to believers.

“While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matt. 26:26-28)

The congregation is the basic locale for telling and celebrating the Christian story. Here is the place where, in season and out, the Word is preached and the sacraments administered, and by the grace of God, rightly so. For all its manifest flaws, this assembly is the basic bearer of the promises of God to this people of God. — Gabriel Fackre, “The Congregation and the Unity of the Church”

  The terms “sign” and “seal” have been important in Reformed thought to indicate the nature of what occurs in Christian baptism and the Lord’s Supper. A sacrament is, as Augustine put it, an “outward sign of an inward grace.” It is an outward expression of a spiritual reality. Sacraments are called a “means of grace,” an “instrument” God uses to convey the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through the sacraments God seals believers in redemption, God renews our identity as God marks us for service. But participation is a corporate act rather than an act between an individual and God.

  God’s promise of grace precedes any human decision to be baptized. For adults as well as children, baptism is a sign of grace and a means of grace. Baptism is a sign that God’s grace is being received. The outward action of baptism is an act of God, given by God.

  For John Calvin, God has ordained the Lord’s Supper, as a sacrament, as a means by which Jesus Christ with the benefits of Christ’s death are imparted to those who receive the Supper in faith. The sacrament is given for your, so you can remember Jesus Christ who gave his body for your and shed his blood for you.

  In 1977 Oscar Romero, a quiet, traditional cleric, was consecrated Archbishop of San Salvador. Deemed a safe bet by government authorities, his installation service was even used as an excuse for more government- sanctioned murders. The killings radicalized Romero, prompting him to agree with the sentiment circulated by the priests aligned with the poor people of the country: The church is where it always should have been: with the people, surrounded by wolves.

  The martyrdom of a rural priest furthered Romero's radicalism. Against official policies Romero began to support new liturgies and worship services more relevant to the poor and oppressed. He called for the church to become the voice of those whose voices were stopped up. Romero became more and more of a thorn in the government's side.

Lenten Devotional – Day 17

Q. 23. What offices does Christ execute as our Redeemer?

A. Christ, as our Redeemer, executes the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, both in his estate of humiliation and exaltation.

“Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:14-15)

The prophet was an individual who said No to his society, condemning its habits and assumptions, its complacency, waywardness, and syncretism. He was often compelled to proclaim the very opposite of what his heart expected. His fundamental objective was to reconcile man and God. Why do the two need reconciliation? Perhaps it is due to man’s false sense of sovereignty, to his abuse of freedom, to his aggressive, sprawling pride, resenting God’s involvement in history. - Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets

  Mike Horton of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals says, We're raising our children to become atheists by turning Christ into little more than a football coach. ... I think it competes with His role as Savior if this is the primary message that people are getting. I don't think that Christianity is preventative. Christ has His three offices, prophet, priest and king. And certainly a prophet tells us how we should live as well as being a priest who lives in that place and fulfills the obedience that we couldn't deliver on. And a king rules us, but that's very different from simply giving us helpful hints on how we might be able to live a more fulfilling life. - Jamie Lee Rake, Door Interview: Mike Horton, The Door, March-April 1999, 20.

  “An enduring contribution is Calvin’s treatment of the work of Christ as mediator between God and humanity as expressed in a threefold office of prophet, priest and king. This tied the work of Christ to the covenant history of Israel in that prophets, priests, and kings in ancient Israel were all “anointed.” Christ as “prophet” is the teacher of perfect doctrine who conveys “perfect wisdom” to us. As king, Christ reigns over the church and enables us to pass through the miseries of the world with the assurance that “our King will never leave us destitute, but will provide for our needs until, our warfare ended, we are called to triumph.” As priest, Jesus Christ is our “everlasting intercessor” who through his death has “washed away our sins, sanctifies us and obtains for us that grace from which the uncleanness of our transgressions and vices debars us.” Jesus’ sacrifice was a willing self-sacrifice – not the demand of a wrathful or vengeful “Father-figure.” Jesus Christ was both “priest and sacrifice.” Jesus Christ was both “priest and sacrifice.” These biblical roles of prophet, priest, and king are ways of understanding what Jesus Christ has done. They link his work with God’s work in ancient Israel.” – Donald K. McKim, “Introducing the Reformed Faith”, p. 94.

Lenten Devotional – Day 13

Q. 15. What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?

A. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created was their eating the forbidden fruit.

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, ... she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.” (Gen. 3:6)

Free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. The happiness which God designs for his higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they must be free. - C. S. Lewis

  A student once asked Dr. Carlyle Marney, "Dr. Marney, where was the Garden of Eden?" Marney answered, "215 South Elm Street in Knoxville, Tennessee."

  "Ah, c'mon, you're kidding me," said the student. "It's supposed to be somewhere in the Middle East, isn't it?"

  "Well, you couldn't prove it by me," Marney replied. "For it was there on Elm Street, when I was a boy, that I stole a quarter out of my Mama's purse and went down to the store and bought some candy and ate it, and then I was so ashamed that I came back home and hid in the closet. It was there that Mama found me and asked, 'Why are you hiding? What have you done?'"

  Each of us has our own Eden where we first betrayed our highest principles and purposes, discovered that there was a shadow-side within us and tried to hide from the reality of our deception. What happened to Adam and Eve is the story of all of us ...."

  Today the serpent still whispers in our ears that “we have a right.” This phrase has become one of our favorite words in contemporary society, “I have a right to live without loneliness”, and “I have a right to happiness,” without realizing we need to make the life giving choices. The lie tells us we don’t need to make the right choices, we simply have the right. The lie always appeals to our deepest anxiety and it’s too appealing to resist.

  Actually, we could have resisted, but we didn’t so now we can’t. Which is what John Calvin was trying to say in his doctrine of human depravity. We’ve become junkies to the serpent’s lie, and we keep believing that the next thing we reach for will make everything just right. It never does.

Lenten Devotional – Day Two

Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?

A. The Word of God which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.

“and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Tim. 3:15-17)

“The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.” – Martin Luther

  In the Westminster Shorter Catechism each question and answer builds upon the previous question and answer, giving us a picture of how we are to understand and practice our faith as disciples of Jesus Christ. In sum, the first answer tells us that we are at our most human when we glorify and enjoy God, and the second answer informs us that we need the scriptures contained in the Old and New Testaments to know how to glorify and enjoy God.

  Dwight L. Moody, in his Edinburgh crusade, spoke to a large congregation of very young boys and girls. Moody began his sermon with a question: "What is prayer?"

  He wasn't expecting an answer, but the words were no sooner out of his mouth than hands raised all over the hall. The evangelist, stunned into departing from his script, asked one boy for his answer. The young child immediately said this: "Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies." Moody, recognizing that the words were from the Shorter Catechism, declared: "Thank God, my boy, that you were born in Scotland."

To The Glory of God Alone

“I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3)

  As Presbyterian's our theology is based on the reformed theological thought and writings of John Calvin. Calvin had a major influence on the theology and practices of the Presbyterian Church. Calvin's thought and ideas about God has influenced the theology of many pastors and theologians even today, even if they are unaware that the idea may have originated with Calvin.

   Many people have read the book by Rick Warren called “The Purpose Driven Life.” What is the first line of his book? The answer is “It’s not about you.” Rick Warren goes on to say, “If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God.”

   This statement is very much in line with the theological thought of John Calvin in content. A major theme of Calvin was the Sovereignty of God, To God Alone is the Glory. Both Rick Warren and John Calvin believe that knowledge of self requires knowledge of God. And both believe that God was acting in love when he created the world and everything in it. “There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world,” said John Calvin, “that is not intended to make us rejoice.”

   It’s not about us; it’s all about God. As a pastor and disciple of Jesus Christ this has been an important theme I have attempted to live by and regularly remind myself of daily. A major error that any pastor, church leader or church member can make is to begin to believe it is about us. Our own egos and ideas can set up boundaries that prevent us from experiencing the full mystery and wonder of God's grace and creation. Jesus never did anything without first knowing what God the Father wanted first.

   Some years ago, I started to sign letters, notes and e-mails with the closing “To God Alone Be the Glory.” I did not do this because it was a clever salutation, but as a way for me to regularly remind myself that, “It's not about me, it's all about God.” This is the chief direction I wish to keep with this blog. As a pastor, I am still a follower of Jesus and I hope I can share some helpful and thought
provoking posts. While at the same time I am still striving and struggling to live out my life in God's presence, continually working to strengthen my life in Christ. I need to stay focused that it is all about God, not me and what God is capable of doing in and through me to God's glory alone.

   Initially, blogs began as online journals were individuals shared their thoughts and activities and I hope to do the same. As blogs evolved they became a means for the author to engage in a conversation with their readers through comments. I very much want this blog to become a conversation about what God is doing within our lives and how we can live the life God intended for us since the time of creation.

   I have enjoyed the writings of many Christian and non-christian writers over the years and I plan to share my thoughts, favorite quotes, and questions. One of my favorite authors, since college has been C.S. Lewis. Lewis simply summarizes my expectations for this blog when he writes, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”

   We all have questions, thoughts, ideas, hopes and dreams and once we engage in conversations with others we discover others are thinking the same ideas and have the same questions. To paraphrase Paul from my opening scripture “I want your hearts to be encouraged and united in love,” as we take a journey together in “Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” about God.

  I hope to post my thoughts to this blog three to four times each week. I hope you will join me in a conversation about understanding God who is revealed to us through the person of Jesus Christ.