6:01 PM
Matthew
At work, I have a number of employees that are under my charge daily. Today, the "boyfriend" of one girl who works for us came into the store and started up an arguement with her. Now, me personally, I don't really care what is going on at home for the two of them, other than they be kind to each other (which they aren't) and happy (which they aren't). But what amazes me about this guy is he's abusive, he's abused the woman in the past, he's violent, he's all sorts of things... And he drags her to Church every week.That blows my mind. I had to stand toe to toe with him today, and tell him he had to leave and never come back. I was angry with him, oh yes. Angry not only because he does what he does, but also because he professes to witness for Christ. After it was over and he'd left,...
8:58 PM
Matthew
Heavenly Father, who brought us out of slavery to sin and into the Light of your Son, Jesus Christ, Grant us the strength and wisdom to recover the truths that many of us have left behind that we may fully understand the pure message and good news of Salvation that comes only from You in the name of your precious Son Jesus Christ, who together with you and the Holy Spirit, reign in glory forever and ever. Amen.The nightly vespers, or evening prayers, is an old practice that used to be commonplace amongst Christians. God deserves our prayers, and I'm finding that it's just as proper to study how to pray as it is to just pray. There are many parts to the vespers, but I want to look at just one right now.Take the prayer above. I just composed it using an old formula, the collect, which begins...
2:09 PM
Matthew
I conduct a bible study every monday evening with a group of mostly old people. In this particular study, the topic is "how to handle offenses". I've found that this is a fairly common thing among Christians, because we all seem to have a hangup about being offended and needed to forgive.But what amazes me is the fact that there seems to be a disconnect here with what I'm bringing to them. Scripture testifies that the promise of Christ includes actually is the starting point for handling everything that comes along in life, including being offended. Christ's death and blood brings both forgiveness of sins and cleansing from sins, by us receiving his word through study and prayer. The problem seems to be that I thought that this was how all Christians look at it. They seem to be believing the...
the big test
Since someone, somewhere, has seen fit to deprive the world of Issues etc and take a huge bite out of confessional Lutheranism at the same time, I will not take up the mantle of working to see that those who did it answer for their actions.
