Always Reforming

Prayer.  Scripture.  Baptism and the Eucharist.  Fellowship. These are means of grace . What does that mean?  Does that rustle your feathers a little?  Does it sound too Roman Catholic for you?  I assure you that there is nothing magical about this concept of the means of grace.  We do not believe in  ex opere operato .  Nevertheless, God has prescribed specific acts--many of them physical--to which He has attached promises.  The Church has long known these as the means of grace. Let's be clear about one thing-- God can (and does) work however He pleases. He can work directly, miraculously, etc. when He so chooses (see the Conversion of St. Paul). However, He has ordained to use certain, concrete activities to convert and sanctify His people. As Christians, if we wish to grow in holiness and intimacy with God, we are called to utilize these spiritual gardening tools. The primary means of grace have traditionally been identified as ...

You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means. Inigo was, of course, referring to Vizzini's obsessive use of the word inconceivable , but we could just as accurately apply his famous quip to modern usage of the word catholic .   The 21st Century has found many Protestants, including myself, yearning for a sense of catholicity, and rightfully so.  Some Protestant bodies are actively trying to pursue this, whether institutionally, by creating formal bonds with other bodies, or informally, by fostering organic relationships with other Christians in their communities.  Some Reformed groups are using the term Reformed Catholic , while others, such as Evangelicals and Liberals, tend to use the word  ecumenical , but the idea or goal is the same--to realize the connection to the universal Church described in the New Testament and the Creeds.  An increasingly large number, however, feel that the only way to achieve true catholicity...

The world is a scary and uncertain place right now.  Whether you're stuck at home or out working in the real world, it seems impossible to escape the reality of COVID-19.  Opinions abound and emotions flare as people complain, shift blame, and forecast the end of the American Dream.  For those of us who claim to be Christians, we need to evaluate how we ought to respond Biblically.  There is, perhaps, no single response that is uniquely Christian, but the way that we respond to this pandemic should demonstrate that veracity of our religious and ideological claims.  Here are four ways that Christians ought to respond to this situation. 1) Pray for our leaders.  It's really easy to complain about the job that our elected leaders are doing.  I am guilty of this myself.  It's easy to sit at home as an armchair QB and tell the world how you would handle the crisis, but, unless you're in a position of power, you really have no idea how you would handl...

Haggai 1:  "In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the  LORD  came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: “Thus says the  LORD  of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the  LORD .” Then the word of the  LORD  came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the  LORD  of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. “Thus says the  LORD  of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to th...

  It seems to me that solving actual problems in practical ways is an area in which the Church has been extremely impotent in the last few decades.  Perhaps this has been a problem for many centuries.  After all, the basic issues at the root of the problem come from universal principles of man's sinful nature--problems that span all cultures and ages.     I think one of the main problems in our day is the fact that people (elders and laymen alike) are more interested in avoiding embarrassment than they are in purging sin from their congregation.  Church discipline has been utilized to purge people instead of purging sin.     I think this has led to people becoming extremely afraid and embarrassed to present a sin problem to their church leaders or fellow church members.  People who struggle with sin that they would sincerely like to overcome are too afraid to admit that sin because they think they will be shunned and ostracized.  Unf...

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”   Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. ...

" In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. Thanksgiving and Prayer For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the sain...