Free Republic

The Key to the Master’s Orders "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" —Matthew 9:38 The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work— that is, not work as the word is commonly used today, which often results in the shifting of our focus away from God. The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the Master’s orders—...

The Key to the Missionary’s Work (2) "He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world" —1 John 2:2 The key to the missionary’s message is the propitiation of Christ Jesus— His sacrifice for us that completely satisfied the wrath of God. Look at any other aspect of Christ’s work, whether it is healing, saving, or sanctifying, and you will see that there is nothing limitless about those. But— “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!�— that is limitless (John 1:29). The missionary’s message...

Also, three Evangelical NT scholars from North America will participate in symposium sponsored by Joseph Ratzinger Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation >Although he might not be well known outside of certain theological circles, Dr. Hans Boersma is one of the finer young Evangelical theologians writing today. He is the J.I. Packer Professor of Theology at Regent College, one of the best Evangelical schools in Canada, and he is the author of some books that engage deeply and thoughtfully with Catholic theology, notably Nouvelle Théologie and Sacramental Ontology: A Return to Mystery (Oxford, 2009), and Heavenly Participation: The Weaving of a Sacramental...

A court in Malaysia ruled on Monday that a Catholic newspaper could not refer to God as "Allah," in a case that has spanned three years. The Herald argued in 2009 that the government ban on the use of "Allah" - the Arabic world for God - was unconstitutional. The challenge to the government's decree was upheld by a court that year and the ban was lifted pending a judicial review. The removal sparked a series of attacks on Christian places of worship in an unusual display of religious tension in the multi-faith country. The review, presided over by a...

The Key to the Missionary’s Work (1) "Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ’All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . .’" —Matthew 28:18-19 The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost. We are inclined to look on our Lord as one who assists us in our endeavors for God. Yet our Lord places Himself as the absolute sovereign and supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say that the lost will...

Individual Discouragement and Personal Growth ". . . when Moses was grown . . . he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens" —Exodus 2:11 Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit he started to right their wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for forty years. At the end of that...

The sacrament of holy orders is conferred in three ranks of clergy: bishops, priests, and deacons. Bishops (episcopoi) have the care of multiple congregations and appoint, ordain, and discipline priests and deacons. They sometimes appear to be called "evangelists" in the New Testament. Examples of first-century bishops include Timothy and Titus (1 Tim. 5:19–22; 2 Tim. 4:5; Titus 1:5). Priests (presbuteroi) are also known as "presbyters" or "elders." In fact, the English term "priest" is simply a contraction of the Greek word presbuteros. They have the responsibility of teaching, governing, and providing the sacraments in a given congregation (1 Tim....

Getting into God’s Stride "Enoch walked with God . . ." —Genesis 5:24 The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight (seeJohn 1:35-37 and John 3:30). It is painful work to get in step with God and to keep pace with Him— it means getting your second wind spiritually....

God’s Silence— Then What? "When He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was" —John 11:6 Has God trusted you with His silence— a silence that has great meaning? God’s silences are actually His answers. Just think of those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany! Is there anything comparable to those days in your life? Can God trust you like that, or are you still asking Him for a visible answer? God will give you the very blessings you ask if you refuse to go any further without...

How Will I Know? "Jesus answered and said, ’I thank You, Father . . . that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes’" —Matthew 11:25 We do not grow into a spiritual relationship step by step— we either have a relationship or we do not. God does not continue to cleanse us more and more from sin— “But if we walk in the light,� we are cleansed “from all sin� (1 John 1:7). It is a matter of obedience, and once we obey, the relationship is instantly perfected. But if...

Q: My sister stopped practicing her faith, and married a Greek Orthodox man in his church in Greece. Now their marriage has ended, and she has returned to the Church. She might want to remarry…. We both assumed that she could easily get an annulment, because she wasn’t married in a Catholic ceremony, and so her first marriage wasn’t valid. But her parish priest is insisting that it was! He says if she wants an annulment, she has to “find other grounds.” What is the best way to resolve this, should she join a different parish, or try to reach...

Building on the Atonement ". . . present . . . your members as instruments of righteousness to God" —Romans 6:13 I cannot save and sanctify myself; I cannot make atonement for sin; I cannot redeem the world; I cannot right what is wrong, purify what is impure, or make holy what is unholy. That is all the sovereign work of God. Do I have faith in what Jesus Christ has done? He has made the perfect atonement for sin. Am I in the habit of constantly realizing it? The greatest need we have is not to do things,...

Coming to Jesus "Come to Me . . ." —Matthew 11:28 Isn’t it humiliating to be told that we must come to Jesus! Think of the things about which we will not come to Jesus Christ. If you want to know how real you are, test yourself by these words— “Come to Me . . . .� In every dimension in which you are not real, you will argue or evade the issue altogether rather than come; you will go through sorrow rather than come; and you will do anything rather than come the last lap of the race...

The Nature of Regeneration "When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me . . ." —Galatians 1:15-16 If Jesus Christ is going to regenerate me, what is the problem He faces? It is simply this— I have a heredity in which I had no say or decision; I am not holy, nor am I likely to be; and if all Jesus Christ can do is tell me that I must be holy, His teaching only causes me to despair. But if Jesus Christ is truly a regenerator, someone who can put His own heredity...

The Nature of Degeneration "Just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned . . ." —Romans 5:12 The Bible does not say that God punished the human race for one man’s sin, but that the nature of sin, namely, my claim to my right to myself, entered into the human race through one man. But it also says that another Man took upon Himself the sin of the human race and put it away— an infinitely more profound revelation (see Hebrews 9:26). The nature...

The Vision and The Reality ". . . to those who are . . . called to be saints . . ." —1 Corinthians 1:2 Thank God for being able to see all that you have not yet been. You have had the vision, but you are not yet to the reality of it by any means. It is when we are in the valley, where we prove whether we will be the choice ones, that most of us turn back. We are not quite prepared for the bumps and bruises that must come if we are going to...

The Place of Humiliation "If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us" —Mark 9:22 After every time of exaltation, we are brought down with a sudden rush into things as they really are, where it is neither beautiful, poetic, nor thrilling. The height of the mountaintop is measured by the dismal drudgery of the valley, but it is in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God. We see His glory on the mountain, but we never live for His glory there. It is in the place of humiliation that we...

The Place of Ministry "He said to them, ’This kind [of unclean spirit] can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting’" —Mark 9:29 His disciples asked Him privately, ’Why could we not cast it out?’ � (Mark 9:28). The answer lies in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. “This kind can come out by nothing but� concentrating on Him, and then doubling and redoubling that concentration on Him. We can remain powerless forever, as the disciples were in this situation, by trying to do God’s work without concentrating on His power, and by following instead the ideas that...

The Place of Exaltation ". . . Jesus took . . . them up on a high mountain apart by themselves . . ." —Mark 9:2 We have all experienced times of exaltation on the mountain, when we have seen things from God’s perspective and have wanted to stay there. But God will never allow us to stay there. The true test of our spiritual life is in exhibiting the power to descend from the mountain. If we only have the power to go up, something is wrong. It is a wonderful thing to be on the mountain with...

The Assigning of the Call "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church . . ." —Colossians 1:24 We take our own spiritual consecration and try to make it into a call of God, but when we get right with Him He brushes all this aside. Then He gives us a tremendous, riveting pain to fasten our attention on something that we never even dreamed could be His call for us. And for one radiant,...

Of the three marks of Lent — prayer, fasting and almsgiving — almsgiving is surely the most neglected. And yet, in the only place where the Bible brings all three together, the inspired author puts the emphasis firmly on the last: "Prayer and fasting are good, but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness ... It is better to give alms than to store up gold; for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin. Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life" (Tob 12:8-9). Why is almsgiving better than prayer and fasting? Because it is...

The Awareness of the Call ". . . for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!" —1 Corinthians 9:16 We are inclined to forget the deeply spiritual and supernatural touch of God. If you are able to tell exactly where you were when you received the call of God and can explain all about it, I question whether you have truly been called. The call of God does not come like that; it is much more supernatural. The realization of the call in a person’s life may come like a...

The “Go” of Unconditional Identification "Jesus . . . said to him, ’One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor . . . and come, take up the cross, and follow Me’" —Mark 10:21 The rich young ruler had the controlling passion to be perfect. When he saw Jesus Christ, he wanted to be like Him. Our Lord never places anyone’s personal holiness above everything else when He calls a disciple. Jesus’ primary consideration is my absolute annihilation of my right to myself and my identification with Him, which means having...

The “Go” of Renunciation ". . . someone said to Him, ’Lord, I will follow You wherever You go’" —Luke 9:57 Our Lord’s attitude toward this man was one of severe discouragement, “for He knew what was in man� (John 2:25). We would have said, “I can’t imagine why He lost the opportunity of winning that man! Imagine being so cold to him and turning him away so discouraged!� Never apologize for your Lord. The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended. Jesus Christ had no tenderness whatsoever toward...

The “Go” of Reconciliation "If you . . . remember that your brother has something against you . . ." —Matthew 5:23 This verse says, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you . . . .� It is not saying, “If you search and find something because of your unbalanced sensitivity,� but, “If you . . . remember . . . .� In other words, if something is brought to your conscious mind by the Spirit of God— “First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and...

Lourdes and Fatima: True or False? And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun…Rev. 12, 1We will not dispute the miraculous character of the original appearance of the Mother of God (in Fatima), as we will not cast suspicion on the authenticity of some similar if less striking appearances…Archimandrite Konstantin Zaytsev (1)IntroductionVisions of the Mother of God granted to individuals are characteristic of recent, especially eighteenth-, nineteenth- and twentieth-century, Roman Catholic piety. Some of these visions can be doubted as spiritual delusion, hallucinations, and others as money-making frauds. Thus, the controversial ‘apparition’ in Knock...

The “Go” of Relationship "Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two" —Matthew 5:41 Our Lord’s teaching can be summed up in this: the relationship that He demands for us is an impossible one unless He has done a super-natural work in us. Jesus Christ demands that His disciple does not allow even the slightest trace of resentment in his heart when faced with tyranny and injustice. No amount of enthusiasm will ever stand up to the strain that Jesus Christ will put upon His servant. Only one thing will bear the strain, and that is...

The “Go” of Preparation "If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" —Matthew 5:23-24 It is easy for us to imagine that we will suddenly come to a point in our lives where we are fully prepared, but preparation is not suddenly accomplished. In fact, it is a process that must be steadily maintained. It is dangerous to become settled and complacent in our present...

CALVINISM’S FALSE DOCTRINE Posted on September 14, 2007 by Cathy “Calvinism” is very popular and many Christians, though they would not identify themselves as Calvinists, may have embraced some of Calvin’s doctrine without realizing it. The doctrine is named after a man named John Calvin, a reformer, who lived in the 1500′s. Calvinism propagates error. Knowledge of error helps us to be discerning when listening to or reading Christian material. If a teacher is a Calvinist, all that they teach will be taught through the lens of Calvinism. The result of this Calvinistic “bent” will be teachings that are dangerously...

The Missionary’s Goal "He . . . said to them, ’Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem . . . ’" —Luke 18:31 In our natural life our ambitions change as we grow, but in the Christian life the goal is given at the very beginning, and the beginning and the end are exactly the same, namely, our Lord Himself. We start with Christ and we end with Him—�. . . till we all come . . . to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ . . .� (Ephesians 4:13), not simply to our own...

“America loves success stories.” This is how a 1983 admiring profile of the famed Robert Harold Schuller began. And back in 1983 “Bob” Schuller, as his friends called him, was certainly successful. The son of pious Dutch Reformed parents, Schuller was born on a farm in Sioux County, Iowa, in 1926. That was one year before Sinclair Lewis published Elmer Gantry, a satirical novel about a ne’er-do-well preacher from Kansas. Though Schuller would match Gantry in exuberance and flamboyant style, he was no charlatan. Educated at his denomination’s flagship schools, Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, Schuller was already a...

"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" (I Cor. 3:1-3) In the above passage of Scripture, the apostle Paul speaks of the Corinthian Christians as being immature babies. Rather than having grown up and matured in the...

Whose Sins You Forgive: Confession and Penance in the Fathers Whose Sins You Forgive: Confession and Penance in the Church Fathers based on posts from FidoNet (1995-96) The Church Fathers on Confession and Penance Chrysostom on "Confession to God Alone" Development of the Practice Objection: Everyone Can Forgive Sins Objection: Only God Can Forgive Sins Date: 07-02-95 / From: PHIL PORVAZNIK / To: DAVID GOFORTH / Subj: Great Confession Debate / Conf: Open_Bible DG> ....the question on confession was the following: "When did mandatory auricular confession come in Phil? --wasn't it in the 1200's?" No, you are totally wrong on...

The Missionary’s Master and Teacher "You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am . . . . I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master . . ." —John 13:13, 16 To have a master and teacher is not the same thing as being mastered and taught. Having a master and teacher means that there is someone who knows me better than I know myself, who is closer than a friend, and who understands the remotest depths of my heart and is able to satisfy them fully. It means...

The Missionary’s Predestined Purpose "Now the Lord says, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant . . ." —Isaiah 49:5 The first thing that happens after we recognize our election by God in Christ Jesus is the destruction of our preconceived ideas, our narrow-minded thinking, and all of our other allegiances— we are turned solely into servants of God’s own purpose. The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree. And...

The Divine Commandment of Life ". . . be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" —Matthew 5:48 Our Lord’s exhortation to us in Matthew 5:38-48 is to be generous in our behavior toward everyone. Beware of living according to your natural affections in your spiritual life. Everyone has natural affections— some people we like and others we don’t like. Yet we must never let those likes and dislikes rule our Christian life. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another� (1 John 1:7), even those toward...

Are You Going on With Jesus? "You are those who have continued with Me in My trials" —Luke 22:28 It is true that Jesus Christ is with us through our temptations, but are we going on with Him through His temptations? Many of us turn back from going on with Jesus from the very moment we have an experience of what He can do. Watch when God changes your circumstances to see whether you are going on with Jesus, or siding with the world, the flesh, and the devil. We wear His name, but are we going on with...

His Temptation and Ours "We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" —Hebrews 4:15 Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is the kind mentioned in James 1:14, “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.� But through regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face, namely, the kind of temptations our Lord faced. The temptations of Jesus had no appeal to us as...

Is There Good in Temptation? "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man . . ." —1 Corinthians 10:13 The word temptation has come to mean something bad to us today, but we tend to use the word in the wrong way. Temptation itself is not sin; it is something we are bound to face simply by virtue of being human. Not to be tempted would mean that we were already so shameful that we would be beneath contempt. Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply because we...

Praying to God in Secret "When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place . . ." —Matthew 6:6 The primary thought in the area of religion is— keep your eyes on God, not on people. Your motivation should not be the desire to be known as a praying person. Find an inner room in which to pray where no one even knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret. Have no motivation other than to know your Father...

What To Renounce "We have renounced the hidden things of shame . . ." —2 Corinthians 4:2 Have you “renounced the hidden things of shame� in your life—the things that your sense of honor or pride will not allow to come into the light? You can easily hide them. Is there a thought in your heart about anyone that you would not like to be brought into the light? Then renounce it as soon as it comes to mind—renounce everything in its entirety until there is no hidden dishonesty or craftiness about you at all. Envy, jealousy, and strife...

Arguments or Obedience ". . . the simplicity that is in Christ." —2 Corinthians 11:3 Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly until a long time passes, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure,...

You are listening to Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. Still ahead, Dave and Tom continue their weekly in-depth study of the doctrine of salvation, please stay with us. CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH In this regular feature Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call. Here is this week’s question: Dear Dave and Tom: I have friends who are conservative Roman Catholics, and they just went through the experience of seeing their daughter become a Roman Catholic Buddhist. I know that sounds like a contradiction in terms but it’s...

After Surrender— Then What? " I have finished the work which You have given Me to do" —John 17:4 True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me . . ....

Going Through Spiritual Confusion "Jesus answered and said, ’You do not know what you ask’" —Matthew 20:22 There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.The Shrouding of His Friendship (see Luke...

PRAYER NEEDED Come and pray with us on October 6, 2013 Old Court House 1 PM Market St. Lewistown PA Life Chain prays for human rights “Thou shalt not kill.” -Stop abortion- -stop euthanasia -stop stem cell Go to www.LifeChain.net, click on your state (left), scroll down to your city, and find your location Citizens Concerned with Human Life Mifflin Juniata, Inc fcunning@embarqmail.com 667-9334 http://www.cchlmifflin-juniata.com/

Missionary Weapons (2) "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet" —John 13:14 Ministering in Everyday Opportunities. Ministering in everyday opportunities that surround us does not mean that we select our own surroundings— it means being God’s very special choice to be available for use in any of the seemingly random surroundings which He has engineered for us. The very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings.The things Jesus did were the most menial of everyday...

Missionary Weapons (1) "When you were under the fig tree, I saw you" —John 1:48 Worshiping in Everyday Occasions. We presume that we would be ready for battle if confronted with a great crisis, but it is not the crisis that builds something within us— it simply reveals what we are made of already. Do you find yourself saying, “If God calls me to battle, of course I will rise to the occasion�? Yet you won’t rise to the occasion unless you have done so on God’s training ground. If you are not doing the task that is closest...

Much of Weigel's exposition mirrors exactly what I also would like to say to Catholic brothers and sisters from my perspective as an evangelical Protestant of Reformed convictions modelled by, say, Abraham Kuyper.BOOK REVIEW: Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church by George Weigel. Basic Books, 2013. 291pp. George Weigel's Evangelical Catholicism provides very interesting reading for a historian with pietist and Calvinist convictions who happens to teach at the University of Notre Dame. It is also greatly interesting to see a lay American Catholic, known for his conservative political convictions as well as for his comprehensive biography of...

Citizens Concerned with Human Life Mifflin Juniata, Inc Box 191 Milroy PA 17063 fcunning@embarqmail.com 667-9334 http://www.cchlmifflin-juniata.com/ Life Chain Sunday October 6, 2013 1 PM Lewistown “Old” Court House There is one in you area.