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Celebrating Three Passovers

                Next Tuesday, on March 26, Jews will celebrate the feast of Passover. The Passover feast, enshrined by God into the Calendar, should be an important time of remembrance for Christians as well.

 

                The first Passover Christians should remember is the original Passover which occurred during the time God was setting Israel free from Egyptian slavery. God had humbled the gods of Egypt through the plagues, saving the final humiliation for last as the Angel of Death struck down the Horus God-King son of Pharaoh and the first born of Egypt. But God spared His people by having them sprinkle the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts, and the Angel of Death passed over them. This deliverance through the Blood of the Lamb has been celebrated in the Passover and the Seder meal from generation to generation ever since.

 

                A second Passover Christians should remember is the Passover Seder Jesus celebrated with His Disciples the night before He was crucified. Using a portion of the Seder meal, Jesus explained that his body must be broken and His Blood become the new covenant to set people free from slavery to sin and death. Jesus fulfilled the promise of Passover, shedding His Blood be the perfect Passover Lamb and providing through His Blood the way to reconcile God and man. Christians remember Jesus, the Lamb of God, by taking the portion of the Seder meal Jesus used, the broken bread and the wine, in communion with Him. 

 

                The third Passover Christians should remember occurred 40 years after Jesus was crucified, when a Roman army surrounded Jerusalem. The city Jesus wept over had crucified Him and persecuted His followers, and now the prophesied Abomination of Desolation had come. But Jesus warned Christians to flee from Jerusalem when it was surrounded by armies, and there were no Christians among the dead or those put in slavery after the city was destroyed. Those who had followed the Lord where again passed over, while those who rejected Him entered a worse slavery than their ancestors had endured in Egypt. This third Passover is symbolic of the deliverance of God’s people from the Judgment to come, as the Angel of Death passes over those sprinkled with the Blood of the Lamb. It will be celebrated in Jerusalem by both Jews and Gentiles, united into the Church, after Jesus returns.

 

                So on this Passover we join in celebrating the first Passover with the Jews and the second Passover with the Christians. We look forward to the celebration of the third Passover when all God’s people are united again.

 

                And we pray for the peace of Jerusalem

Publisher

Honoring St. Patrick

 

            St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, is recognized as an Irish celebration, but in fact the whole Christian world owes a large debt to St Patrick.

            Brought to pagan Ireland as a slave, Patrick escaped and returned to his home in Roman Christian Britain. However he was unable to forget the lost souls of Ireland and returned to evangelize the island. The Pagan wizards and priests were no match for the man of God, and the whole island was Christianized as the result of his efforts.  For this he is rightly honored as the evangelist of the Irish.

            But his legacy of a Christian Ireland blessed far more people than just the Irish. Even before his death in 461 AD the Roman Christian Britain of his boyhood was being overrun by the Pagan Angles and Saxons. Soon the British and Irish switched roles: The newly Christian Irish sent missionaries to the newly Pagan Britain. And in about a century the Anglo-Saxons were Christianized. So the British saved the Irish so the Irish could save the British.

            An even more remarkable turn about occurred as the European continent fell into chaos during the time known as the Dark Ages. The formerly barbarian, unlettered Irish were able to save countless manuscripts from destruction and became the custodians of the civilized Western worlds’ knowledge. They also expanded their evangelistic efforts into Europe, bringing about a revival of Christianity in France and Italy. Thus, Patrick’s Irish followers became a beacon of learning and hope in the Dark Ages, helping preserve the centers of European Christianity as well as its British and Irish outposts.

            Alas, the Irish were not immune to the instability of their times, as they were first invaded by the Vikings and then colonized by the ungrateful English. After the Reformation they were persecuted for their Catholic faith and allowed to starve in the horrible famine of the 1840’s. The Island remains divided between the Catholic Republic in the South and the Protestant North.

            It is ironic that these two peoples, still divided over religion, owe their Christian faith to the other: The Irish to the British Patrick, and the British to the Irish missionaries. Yet, there is progress being made to reconcile these peoples. Several years back we at Corporate Prayer Resources made a Prayer Journey to Ireland and saw our and many other prayers answered as a peace process began in Northern Ireland. There are also continuing reconciliation efforts underway between the Catholics and the Protestants to heal this terrible division.  

 

            As we look forward to this St Patrick’s day, the best way to honor St. Patrick would be to pray that there would be reconciliation, forgiveness, and peace between his British homeland and his beloved Ireland.

And may it be so.          

 

Publisher

Martin Luther’s Bad Idea

             On March 10, 1528 Martin Luther published a book which changed the course of history. And not for the better.

            His book, “The Book of Vagabonds and Beggars,” proposed that the State should establish a social welfare system to replace the Church in caring for the poor. Up until that time the Church had made care of the poor a centerpiece of its ministry. Giving to the poor was seen as a sign of Christian virtue and a sign of spiritual vitality in the Church.

            Luther’s proposal was based on the idea of the State Religion, which had been a fixture of Christian life since the days of the Roman Empire (see our Blog of 2/27/13 “The Sword and the Spirit”) . In his view the Religious State should meet personal needs while the State-Sponsored Church should restrict itself to spiritual activities. This idea took hold throughout Protestant Northern Europe as the State began taxing citizens to pay for relief for the poor. It was the beginning of the modern Welfare state.

            Luther failed to take into account the possibility that the Religious State would quit being religious, pushing the Church out of community life. Beginning with the French Revolution, the State began to see itself as the source of Welfare not just for the poor, but for the whole society. With Godliness marginalized in secular States, the State itself became a substitute for God in the socialist, national socialist, and communist philosophies. Leaders like Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Mao gained power by promising to use the godlike power of the State to bring prosperity to the masses. What came instead was poverty and death.

            The ghost of Luther’s bad idea still haunts the world today. The Welfare States of Greece, Italy, and Spain are facing financial collapse, and their European neighbors are not far behind. In countries like Venezuela ruthless leaders destroy their national economies to buy power from the masses. Even the rich United States is marching toward a crisis as its Welfare State become unsustainable. No one knows what will happen with these nations become unable to keep their Welfare promises.                  

            What Luther and the modern Welfare States have forgotten is that God will not share His Glory with usurpers. Like the a gods of Egypt humbled in the Exodus, God has shown that the socialist, communist, and Welfare states are not the gods of provision they claim to be. It is not a question of if, but when, failure will occur. The real question remaining is what the Church will do about it.

            We must pray that the Church will rise up to the crisis and the opportunity coming from the collapse of the Welfare State. The crisis will come as people’s needs are no longer met by Government, and social order breaks down. The opportunity comes if the Church follows God’s admonition to care for the poor, revitalizes Church institutions for the poor, and creates a Godly order in the midst of chaos.    

            Let us pray that the people will once again look to God as their source as they one did before Luther’s bad idea led us astray.

Publisher

The Sword and the Spirit

                                    

 On this date in 380 AD Roman Emperor Theodosius made Christianity into the official state religion. It was one of the most catastrophic events in Church history.

Up until the time Constantine legalized the church in 313 AD, the great strength of the Church was the fact that the Kingdom of God resided within the believers. Under Constantine the Church became respectable and began to attract the ambitious and worldly who would make a show of outward piety without an inward transformation. After 380 AD, the Church was swamped with unconverted pagans and the outward rituals replaced the inner power for most Church members. And the Church adopted pagan holidays and rituals to make the pagans feel more at home.

The first to clothe themselves in the new mantle of the State religion were the emperors themselves. The major church Bishops at Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem also caught the power bug. Within less than a century the Jewish Bishop of Jerusalem was gone, the Antioch church was forced out to become the Nestorian Church, and the Egyptian Christians were forced out to become the Coptic Church. The Bishop of Rome was forced to trade Church recognition for military protection in Western Europe in order to remain independent of the eastern Roman emperor and the Bishops of Constantinople. In 1054 AD the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox finally split and went their separate ways.

The marriage between Church and State meant that religious questions would be solved with the sword instead of the Spirit. Early victims of the sword included the Arian Christian Visigoths and the Coptic Christians. Instead of sending missionaries, the State Church sent armies to forcibly convert the heathen and the heretics. When the European Church split between Protestants and Catholics the rulers forced their own views to be followed in their realms and millions of Christians were martyred. Sadly, only in recent history has the concept of religious freedom been accepted in Christian nation.

As we escape the long dark night of State religion it is good to remember Paul’s advice in the 14th chapter of Romans to tolerate the faith of our Christian brothers and Peter’s advice from his first letter to treat non-Christians with gentleness and respect. Finally, our Popes, Archbishops, Bishops, Pastors, and Elders have cast aside their swords and are (mostly) trying to follow Christ’s command to love their brothers. The Spirit has triumphed over the sword.

So as we look forward to, for example, the upcoming Papal election, all Christians, whether Catholic or not, can celebrate a new page turning for the whole Church. Not because the Pope carries the sword, but because he carries the Spirit instead.

      

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Haman’s Russian Armorer

           God has no trouble handling his own publicity.

            Last week the Skywatcher Journal, a blog of the International Star Bible Society, published a blog about the asteroid which passed within 18,000 miles of earth on February 15 (See their Blog of 2/13/13 “A Celestial Warning Shot”….http://starbiblesociety.com ). As if to draw attention to the warning, the most powerful meteor strike in 100 years exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk on the morning of February 15. This was not a coincidence.

            Many scientists now believe that events like the Biblical destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah were caused by meteor strikes from objects like the near earth asteroid or the Chelyabinsk meteor. As the world becomes more and more like Sodom and Gomorrah, these “near miss” incidents are not “near misses” at all, but are celestial wake up calls from a God who hits what He aims at. There is still time to accept salvation and escape the judgment to come, but the time is running out.

            The Chelyabinsk meteor strike also conveys a solemn warning to the Russian nation, for the Russian city targeted is located in a region which contains major Russian nuclear weapon production and storage facilities. As we come up on the Jewish holiday of Purim, on February 24, celebrating the deliverance of the Jews from a Persian death plot masterminded by Haman, we are reminded that modern Persia also plans to destroy Israel and the Jewish people. And the threat to Israel has been magnified with the aid of Russian nuclear technology which the Iranians are now using to construct a nuclear bomb. The Chelyabinsk region is an armorer for the modern Haman plot to destroy Israel.

            So the Lord sent a warning to Chelyabinsk in the form of a heavenly fireball reminiscent of a nuclear explosion. Even though the blast was equivalent to a large nuclear bomb, God miraculously spared the lives of those He warned. As we thank the Lord for His mercy, let us pray that the eyes of the Russians will be opened to the Haman threat to Israel and, indeed, all of humanity, posed by the Iranian nuclear program. We ask that the Lord will speak to Russian Christians and embolden them to spread the good news of salvation to their people.

            And we thank the Lord that He has warned Haman’s Russian Armorer. May Haman’s modern plot against Israel be turned back as it was on Purim in ancient Persia.

Publisher

Prayers of Our National Fathers

        It has become fashionable in some circles to deny the Christian foundations of the United States. This week, when we celebrate President’s Day on February 18, would be a good time to listen to the words of our national Fathers and join them in their prayers for America:

Benjamin Franklin: On the Need for Divine Guidance

            “I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth – that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?

            We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our partial local interests; out projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down on future ages.

            And what is worse, mankind may thereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing Governments by Human wisdom and leave it to chance, war and conquest.

            I therefore beg leave to move – that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service.” – June 28, 1787 at the Constitutional Convention

 

George Washington: Prayer for the United States

            “Almighty God, We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy Holy protection; and Thou wilt incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow Citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the Field.

            And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the Characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation.

            Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

 

Thomas Jefferson: National Prayer for Peace

            “Almighty God, Who has given us good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound learning, and pure manners.

            Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitude brought hither out of many kindred and tongues.

            Endow with Thy spirit of wisdom those who in Thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to Thy law, we may show forth Thy praise among the nations of the earth.

            In time of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail, all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.”

 

Abraham Lincoln: National Day of Prayer and Humiliation

            “Whereas, the Senate of the United States devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and Government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for national prayer and humiliation:

            And whereas, it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history: that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord:

            And insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subject to punishment and chastisement in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?

            We have been recipient of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.

            But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious Hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.

            Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

            It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sin and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

            Now, therefore, in compliance with the request and fully concurring in the view of the Senate, I do, by this proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer.

            And I do hereby request all the people to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping that day holy to the Lord and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

            All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the nation will be heard on high and answered with blessings no less than the pardon of our national sins and restoration of our now divided and suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

            In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand to caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. By the President: Abraham Lincoln.”

To which we can only add: Amen.

Publisher

Celebrating Chinese New Year

On February 10 the Chinese and many other Asian peoples will celebrate the beginning of a new year on their ancient calendar.

 Like the Israelites and many other ancient cultures, the Chinese use a lunar calendar based on the phases of the moon, with the dark new moon constituting the first day of the month. Since twelve lunar months is 11 days short of the solar year, there are 7 years with 13 Lunar months for each 12 years of 12 Lunar months, and this 19 year cycle keeps lunar and solar years in sync. Unlike other cultures which, like us, start our new year near the winter solstice in December or, like the ancient Israelites, near the spring equinox in March, the Chinese located their new year so that the winter solstice would be in the middle of their winter and the spring equinox in the middle of their spring. Thus, the second lunar month after the winter solstice begins their year.

  The Chinese new year says a lot about the Chinese, who have always wanted to maintain their distinctiveness. Thus, while their historical records trace back to the Middle East like all humans, they chose neither the Egyptian winter solstice not the Babylonian spring equinox to start their year. Their early writing bears some striking similarities to Egyptian hieroglyphs and Babylonian cuneiform, but has diverged significantly from western writing systems since. Their lunar zodiac has also diverged somewhat from ancient Middle Eastern Zodiacs, although about 75% of the Star Bible message remains intact. Their religious traditions of emperor worship and ancestor worship also reflect distinctive Chinese elements even though they trace back to Babylon.

  The Chinese carried forward the knowledge of the Father God in the name of Shang Ti, “Emperor of Heaven”, which is linguistically equivalent to Hebrew “God Almighty” El Shaddai or Egyptian “Incomprehensible God” Shetai. Chinese pictographic writing preserves many elements of early Biblical history, as in the picture of “Ancestor” being made from pictures of “God”, “Two Persons”, and “Grounded”, (i.e. Adam and Eve) or the word “Boat” being composed of “Vessel”, “Eight”, and “Mouth” (i.e. the 8 on Noah’s Ark). Sadly, this ancient knowledge of God was lost as pagan religion and emperor worship took its distinctive Chinese course.

 Today many Chinese Christians are unearthing their Godly heritage, which has been hidden for centuries, in such books as Faith of our Fathers by Chan Kei Thong. And the Chinese cultural desire for distinctiveness been turned back to its Godly purpose as it has produced a vibrant and distinctively Chinese church.

 This Chinese new year let us pray for the distinctive Chinese Christian Church and the rediscovery of their ancient Godly heritage.