The Beauty of Nature. The Beauty of the Cross

Cardinal Reginald Pole performed his duties during the Reformation period (approx. 1450-1570).  He wrote several treatises, many of which remain unpublished.  In one he commented on Justification:

"At first, God revealed His mysteries in a book given to all nations: the book of heaven and earth.   But men, in their pride and folly, did not understand this law and would have been eternally lost if God, in His infinite mercy, had not given them a second book, the book of the Cross of Jesus Christ, the contents of which are more absurd, more remote from human wisdom than anything that can be said or thought."

-Schenk, W. Reginald Pole: Cardinal of England. London: Longman's Green & Co., 1950.

I Can't Help It, I Was Born This Way

Last week someone asked me why homosexuals receive so much flack from the church, when its just part of who they are, the way they were born.  I answered “I don’t know.  The church does need to work on that doesn’t it ?”

Now before you misunderstand my response, I believe homosexuality is a sin (much of my conversation with this person pertained to whether it was or not).  Let me explain the deeper issue here.

Much of the secular world believes people are born homosexual, that it is the way God made them, or at least that they are not able to change this aspect of their person.  There is truth in that belief.  First, and what the church often fails to convey clearly to the world, is that people are born with homosexual tendencies, just like they are born with other sinful tendencies: thievery, anger, greed, etc.  Man is fallen at conception.  Inherent in being human is the sin nature. 

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” –Romans 3:23

“As it is written ‘None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
 no one seeks for God. 
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’” –Romans 3:10-12

Secondly, however, God does not wish for us to remain sinful (homosexual).  He wants us to die to our sinful nature in order to be redeemed.  Within the church are many sinners, maybe even homosexuals, but that does not mean we are okay as we are.  Just because we are born a certain way does not mean that behaviour is acceptable for a Christian.  Life is a constant struggle against our old nature, however with Christ our old nature can be eliminated and forgotten.  Meaning thieves can stop stealing, liars can stop lying, homosexuals can have relationships God intends them to have. 

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” –Romans 7:21-25

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Romans 8:5-8

To quickly re-examine the original statement: “people are born homosexual, they are not able to change this aspect of their person.”  We see that though we are born into sin and that we are unable to change ourselves, through the power of Christ we can be changed.  Not through our own will or power, but through God.

“How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” –Romans 6:1-4

The church sometimes fails to communicate the natural state of man, perhaps fearing that to concede a person may be born sinful may be a concession for the justification for sin.  It is not.  It is important to remember all men have been born sinful since the fall of Adam.  This does not call for a loss of hope, but rather should increase our amazement at the power of Christ’s Love and Redemption.

 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” –Romans 12:1-2

As for the Church’s attitude regarding homosexuality, we ought to love those outside of the church, understanding that we once struggled with sin and belonged to death.  That being said, sin within the church must be fought, with love and forgiveness, but also with uncompromising zeal. (1 Corinthians 5)

Stop To Smell The Roses or Check Facebook

A new study by McCann Worldgroup called "The Truth About Youth" finds that over 50% of 7000 people aged 17-30 would sacrifice their own sense of smell before losing connection to technology (their phone or computer).

I cannot fathom such a decision.  God has gifted us with many things: sight, touch, taste, hearing, and smelling, of course.  Today, thousands are willing to sacrifice one of those gifts.  I wonder what other gifts we would be willing to give up in exchange for modern conveniences or privileges.

We are told all good gifts are from God, and the most important of these being Grace:

 ¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. -James 1

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. -Ephesians 2

At what point would we be willing to sacrifice our gift of Grace?  We sin all the time, rejecting God.  We may think this won't happen to us, that others might fall into that trap, but we can escape it.  That's a trap, we must constantly be on guard against attacks, or, like the Israelites after Egypt, fall away from our Saviour:

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

 ²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. -Romans 1  

So, put on the full armor of God, prepare yourself.  For we fight against Dark powers without and within us.  Do not forsake the gift The Lover of Your Soul has provided.  Don't get caught up with the temporal and that which shall pass away.  Do not store up treasures here on Earth (Matthew 6:20), for the Gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:23).  

Doomsday... The Aftermath

Yet another prediction for the end of the world has failed to be correct.  The situation raises the issue of when and at what point ought Christians concern themselves with the future.  The answer is simple:  It doesn't matter.  In the end we cannot know the day and time, and if we did, it should not change the way we live our lives.  Paul tells the Thessalonians in chapter 5 of his first letter: "brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night."(verses 1-2)  Instead, be sure to  "encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."(verse 11)


If we are already living a life of love for our brothers and sisters, and for those who are lost, if we are reaching to those who need to hear the Gospel, and if we are remaining dedicated to God pleasing life, we are already doing everything necessary to prepare for the Rapture.  In the end, Christ judges us by the love we have shown, not if we were waiting in our front yard for him.(Matthew 25:37-39)  Understand Christ calls us to lives of active serving and loving, let us emphasize that as much as others emphasize the next doomsday prediction.


Peace and Joy.

God as Protector

With several friends overseas, I've been praying for their safety.  Psalm 91 reminds me of God's incredible protection in not only physical matters, but spiritual, eternal ones as well.

 ⁹Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my refuge—¹⁰ no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.

Perhaps we experience bad on Earth, like the earthquake in Turkey which recently killed two people, but hold fast to our Heavenly Father, and he will draw you into Himself, in love.  Christ endured earthly suffering and now sits on His throne (Matthew 25:31).  

Dear friends, may you stay true to your God, and may He bless you richly for your dedication.  Just remember, He works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).  

Amen.

Love The Haters

A news story hit the airwaves today regarding Osama Bin Laden, though it's not the type of story you'd expect.  It revolves around a small Catholic church in Florida that received an anonymous prayer request for Osama Bin Laden.  Many within the church and community are outraged regarding the request.  But why?  One person argued, "I think it's totally wrong, he doesn't belong in the Catholic religion.  For what he did to Americans, he doesn't belong anywhere."  There are two things wrong with such a statement.  First, Osama Bin Laden will not pay for his crimes against Americans, but will rather face judgement from the God who created those people in His own image whom Bin Laden ordered killed.  Second, Christ tells us to love those who have done us harm and wish evil upon us.  

Matthew 5:44 -  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Bin Laden committed atrocities, yet we all "have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God."(Romans 3:23)  Without Grace we share the same standing as Bin Laden, eternal death.  We are not called to judge those outside of the church, God is their judge.(1 Corinthians 5:12)  Instead, we ought to pray for those who are lost in this world, those who hate and kill included.


Bagg, Marissa. "Prayer request for Osama bin Laden at Catholic Church in West Palm Beach." Channel 5 News WPTV, May 17, 2011.

Stephen Hawking, Death, and Meaning

In a recent interview, Stephen Hawking, Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at Cambridge, once again declared no afterlife can exist.  According to him, heaven is simply "a fairy story for people afraid of the dark."  Hawking would know about the threat of death, having been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease in his early twenties.  However, when asked what the purpose of life must be if there is nothing after death, Hawking responds, "we should seek the greatest value of our action."  With this philosophy, Hawking acknowledges mankind as the authority that may apply worth to their own actions.  On its face, this argument allows for complete relativism, the ultimate "to each his own" scenario.  Such philosophy can poison the church.  As Christians, Scripture must remain the foremost authority, our faith must remain Christocentric, for we know our actions have consequences and at the end of time "when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." -Matthew 25:31-32




Sample, Ian. "Stephen Hawking: 'There is no heaven; it's a fairy story.'" Guardian News, May 15, 2011.