Claimed, gathered and sent

The Jews in Haggai aggain were under Persian rule, during the reign of Darius. Lethargy had set in, possibly because their situation was so improved compared to Babylonian occupation and captivity. They had gotten lackadaisical about God’s house since returning to Palestine . Living comfortably, they decided it was not the right time to rebuild God’s house. God’s word to them was, “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin” (Hag 1:4)? Disobedience wrought drought and disaster. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it (Hag 1:6). Twice God tells them, “Give careful thought to your ways” (Hag 1:5, 7). Drought was an attention getter. God longs to bless his people, but sometimes he is not allowed to. The remnant however, listened...

Fee and Stuart do a fine job of explaining the role of the Old Testament Law in the life of the Christian. “ All of the Old Testament law is still the Word of God for us even though it is not still the command of God to us.” Though a fine distinction, this upholds the importance of scripture while acknowledging that not everything applies specifically to us. They also explain what is “ explicitly renewed from the Old Testament law can be considered part of the New Testament ‘law of Christ.’” This includes the Ten Commandments and the commandments from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Jesus showed respect toward the law. “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” (Mt 5:17). The law was valid, but he was the fulfillment. Its purpose was to point us to the savior according to Paul in Galatians 3:24. We are not bound by the ritual aspects of it today, since it has already done its work in our hearts. ...

I just finished reading Scot McKnight's latest post on Jesuscreed.org. There is a website that is an online community for Christian spiritual formation. The link is http://www.metamorpha.com/Home/TabId/36/default.aspx. Check it out and see what you think. It looks promising.

Another interesting question was posed to our Ministry Communication Skills class. What does Kraft mean when he writes that God “acts and speaks and then allows us to struggle with what these actions and words mean. When we have discovered the meaning, it is truly ours and has a greater impact than if he had done it all and made it easy for us” (p. 21)? Is he correct about this? If a message is easy to understand, does this necessarily make it less effective? Kraft’s meaning seems clearer when read within the larger context. “He, rather, entices us to discovery rather than insulting our intelligence by predigesting his messages and laying them out on a platter in a form that is fully obvious” [1] Next is the quote in the question followed by, “God’s method is to lead people, as Jesus led his disciples, to discover who he is…rather than to simply tell them who he is.” [2] Kraft is partially correct about this; after all, we are trying to understand the l...

The following question was posed to our Ministry Communication Skills class. My response follows the question. In the question, Adam refers to Peter Adam the author of one of our texts. In the footnote you'll find the complete info. Adam seems to distinguish between the spoken (past tense) message of God and the written and preserved (present tense) message. Is this distinction helpful for Christian communicators? Explain why or why not. If the distinction was not as clearly articulated, that is, if one viewed the written and codified words of God as his (current) speech to us, would this make a difference? Is this something with which Adam would agree or disagree? Adam’s distinction is helpful. Some things were strictly for the culture or people of that time; i.e. the Jewish dietary codes, codes for temple worship. Some were given with the initial listeners/readers in mind, but are also a living word for us today. John 1 exemplifies both the past and present tense of ...

This was last week's theology question. Eschatology is the study of the last things, second coming of Christ etc. My response follows the question. What relevance does eschatology have for your daily life now? In what practical ways can you be a "personal microcosm of the eschatological new creation" for those around you? What effects might this have upon your relationships with others? To be honest, I do not see that eschatology has a great impact on my life now. In order to be prepared for the Lord’s coming, we just need to continue drawing closer to him, to become more like him. As we are more continually in his presence, it will not really matter when he returns or whose perspective was right. I can be a “personal microcosm of the eschatological new creation” for those around me by continuing to do what I am doing now. I want to be more like Jesus. This can only happen by spending time with him. The disciplines of journaling, lectio divina and divine ho...

God cleanses and feeds us by these means of grace. Baptism is carried out by Christ’s command calling us to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them” (Mt 28:19). As a Lutheran, infants as well as adults and children are baptized. I have struggled with this sometimes because my understanding since becoming a believer is that it should follow faith, not precede it. From early church history, however, infants have been baptized. In Acts, entire families were baptized (Acts 16:15, 33). Cyprian of Carthage (200-258) wrote approvingly of the practice. [1] The Book of Concord states, “We maintain that we should baptize children because they also belong to the promised redemption that was brought about in Christ (Mt 19:14). The church ought to extend it to them.” [2] In The Small Catechism, Luther explains, baptism “brings about forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as the Word and promise of...