Always Reforming

    I was raised a Sabbatarian.  Now, that word has shades of meaning, and I was at the darkest (almost)end of the spectrum.  Many people could be called Sabbatarian because they believe that in some sense the Lord's Day is the Christian Sabbath.  The actual implications of that concept are many.  For many in the Reformed Tradition that means abstaining from any work or recreation.  We were allowed to play sports and the like on Sunday, but work of all sorts was forbidden.  We had friends who wouldn't even toss a ball on Sunday.  Sunday, then, we believed, is a day of rest and worship, just like the Old Testament Sabbath.      My views are in a state of flux on this topic.  They have changed, and are probably not at their final stage of development.  I have begun to study the issue and to see the inadequacy of the explanations I was given as a child.  I will give a probably confusing synopsis of the two sides as I see them.      Sabbatarians say that the Sabbath Law given i

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”     I'm going to take an approach to this verse somewhat different than the one I normally do.  Normally I would harp on the lordship of Christ over all of life, especially politics (a most-worthy topic), but today I want to discuss another side of what this lordship really means.     Jesus tells his disciples that He has been given all authority in Heaven and on Earth.  I think we commonly focus on only one of these two factors.  Some people don't recognize the significance of Jesus's authority on Earth.  Some people overlook the impact of Christ's impact authority over Heaven.  Christ tells His disciples these words as an encourageme

    The beginning of a new year generally encourages reflection on the previous year.  Today at church all the men of the congregation stood up and gave a general update of the state of the union, if you will, from the past year.  It was encouraging and divinely challenging.  We have been so blessed as children of God, and we need to live our lives in a manner that manifests our appreciation of this familial blessing.     I began my short time (that lasted longer than I planned) with these words from Luke 11:11-13: " What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”  God is a powerful Father, but more significantly, He is a good Father who seeks our good.  As Romans 8 tells us, He works all things for our spiritual and physical g