"Hello World"

Years ago I took an introduction to computer programming and one of the first things we did was create a script which created a text box with the words "Hello World" contained in it. I did a similar thing when I first learned how to use the "echo" command in a command shell. I suppose "Hello World!" is the computer geek's favorite exclamation when learning to use more advanced features of a PC.

At any rate, since I haven't been blogging nearly as much as in the past, I thought it fitting to title this thread "Hello World." Of course, I am not deluded in thinking that each person in the world will actually read these words of mine, my readership is no where close to being that wide!

What I have been doing with my time of late is studying. I am brushing up on my technology skill sets that have been suffering from a lack of use. So, I am reading through books that average around a 1,000 pages of small print and cover exciting topics such as how to set up a Domain Name System server in Windows 2008 and everything you ever wanted to know about implementing Active Directory in a Windows network. This reading is so exciting that I have to keep coffee readily at hand in order to prop up my eyelids from the inside lest I find my self snoring and drooling on the pages of my books! I think I am working up a yawn just writing about it!

One thing that I am doing which is not at all boring is caring for my dear bride who was diagnosed in November of 2011 with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. As way of an update, she is doing as well as can be expected. We thank and praise God for keeping her well and for her continued healing. Her last bone marrow biopsy showed that she is in complete remission. Thanks be to God! She has another bone marrow biopsy coming up on Monday the 6th. She will have likely have monthly bone marrow checks for the next year. Part of the reason for that is they are monitoring her very closely as she is still going through chemotherapy. The chemo drugs she is being given are extremely potent. They destroy her bone marrow each time they are administered, and then her bone marrow regrows and the doctor checks for cancer cells. If you are thinking this is very trying on my wife's health, you are correct. It is! But, we trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and know that He continues to carry us through this very troubling time in our lives. We are truly thankful that the Lord is working through our earthly physicians to bring healing to my wife.

Martin Chemnitz

On a theological note... I keep plowing through whatever reading I can. I am working through Martin Chemnitz's The Lord's Supper when I am not reading about the latest server and network technologies. As I read Chemnitz it is clear to me that God gave that man a brilliant mind and good discernment of His Holy Word. The Lord's Supper is an excellent treatise against the false teachings of the Sacramentarians. If you haven't read this book, you should pick it up. It is available from Concordia Publishing House, packaged with the Enchiridion and The Lord's Prayer into a single volume. I have seen used copies of it on Amazon.com for under $40. I purchased my copy new, because I like to be the first to scribble in the margins with my pen and I have done allot of that.

I should hopefully return to more of a regular blogging schedule soon. Thank you for continuing to read my blog and stay tuned.

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Twelve Days Later

I thank God for another year. Every moment I have is a gift from God. This has always been the case, but since my wife was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in early November I have a greater appreciation for each day. Although, my appreciation is not, by any stretch of the imagination, perfect. I thank God for repentance!

Twelve days into the new year and the truth remains the same. God is faithful, I am a sinner, and He has forgiven me of all my sins due to the blessed work of His dear Son Jesus Christ on the cross. For the sake of Christ God has adopted me as His child. God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

A question about whether or not I have changed my perspective regarding truth was posed to me in light of my wife's cancer diagnosis. The answer is, of course, yes. My perspective has changed and I now know that it is Christ who is carrying me. I am weak, but He is strong! I repent! If anything, the crisis my family is in at the moment has made me so very thankful for repentance. What I mean by that is this, when under fire I see even more what a wretched man that I am and the great need I have for a savior. The "old Adam" constantly looks for means to usurp Christ from the center of life and to install self as king supreme. Self-glory inheres in our very natures. 

My dear wife and I were speaking to a social worker the other day in order to gather resources dealing with Acute Leukemia. The social worker was very helpful for the most part, but then came the talk of "self." She spoke of my wife doing x,y,z in order to uplift herself and thereby gain some strength. This sort of talk is nothing but Law. What if doing x,y,z doesn't work? The answer is that one will collapse into despair, since we really aren't strong enough to lift up ourselves. Besides, "feeling good" is not the ultimate measure of a happy, successful, life. The social worker prescribed doing things to "feel good" about self; which is all the sinful, natural, man knows to do. We see this notion of "doing things to 'feel good' about self" everywhere we look in this fallen world. The world is broken, and people know only to apply the law to the brokenness. It takes a gift of faith, given to us by the Holy Spirit through the Word, to know that we are broken beyond self-repair and that we need a divine doctor to heal us. We don't need to feel good, we need Christ Jesus.

Twelve days into the new year and my wife and I count on receiving the forgiveness of our sins each Sunday in the divine service. Indeed, it is truly a blessing to know that we attend a service where our feelings aren't being manipulated by a praise band or by a fiery sermon meant to elicit some sort of emotional response. It is comforting to attend a divine service where the center is Christ Jesus. Yes, where the entirety of worship is about Christ coming to us with His gifts, serving us, and healing us. The focus of such as service is not about feeling good about ourselves. And, it is not about what a good job we can do in worshiping God. So many Christians are sinking under the weight of the boot of the law in many congregations where the worship service has become something about what we can do for God; that is, worship is law. What sort of comfort does the sick find in a "worship service" which demands they should be fit enough to serve Christ? Imagine, if you will, the dying, gasping for breath, and being told that they must breathe in order to be healed! Or, to put a finer point on it, imagine telling a cancer patient they must heal themselves. That is precisely what a law driven "worship service" does. All one can obtain from such law driven "worship" is ultimately despair. There is little soothing Gospel in such a place. No, it is comforting to attend the Lord's Service, since He bids us to come as we are and it is He who serves us, it is He who does the work of healing. He dispenses the divine medicine of the forgiveness of sins through His Word and Sacrament! 

Twelve days later and I know that I am a sinner. I also know that I have been granted repentance by God out of His mercy and love for me. Such a jewel we have in repentance! I am so thankful to my Lord that He brings His Holy Word to me so that I can hear solid law and gospel. Thus, He drives me to repentance and then forgives me of all my sins out of His immense love. What more do I need? I am a baptized child of God, pardoned for the sake of Christ. Amen!

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Merry Christmas My Atheist Friends!

Members of the FFRF displaying their banner on public property

There are many things we can count on during Christmas, and some of those things I wish just wouldn't happen but they do. One such thing is the seasonal, but ongoing, battle waged by atheists against anything that would have something to do with Christ put on public display by a government (e.g. see this FOX news article here). One rancorous atheist group working full time to ensure that governments in the US are cleansed of any mention of the Triune God or Christ is the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The FFRF is presided over by an ex-Pentecostal minister, Dan Barker. In fact, I chatted with Mr. Barker on the phone years ago when I was an atheist and a member of the FFRF. I, too, had been a Pentecostal pastor prior to becoming an atheist and joining in with other "evangelical" atheists around the country to fight the evil Christians who dared to put a Christmas creche on public property!

The Scriptures rightly describe atheists as fools (see Psalm 14:1). Certainly what organizations such as the Freedom From Religion Foundation are doing is foolish. Whether these atheists like it or not, Christmas has as its historical roots a celebration of the advent of the Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, Jesus Christ. Like it or not, Christians have chosen to celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th and there may always be areas in the country where people want to see nativity scenes decorating public walkways and the like on that day. Indeed, one doesn't even have to be a Christian to understand that "Christmas" is about Jesus' birthday. Even my Buddhist Mother-in-law gets that! 

As a Christian I simply can't understand why the evangelical atheists, such as Dan Barker and company, just can't stop from falling all over each other in their efforts to stop city halls from putting up a nativity scene. What gives? After all, assembling a collection of plastic dolls made to resemble a scene depicting a new born baby Jesus in a bed of hay on public property is not an establishment of religion by the state. In other words, a Christmas creche on public grounds is not an action by government prohibiting the free exercise of any other religion. Would the atheists kindly point out how such is a violation of the establishment clause of the US Constitution? Besides, what other religions are vying for precious public space to put on display items which signify their celebrations on December 25th? Well, apparently those religious nuts of atheism are just such people.

The members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation don't seem to mind at all celebrating the Winter Solstice, a pagan holy day, on December 21st as evidenced by the banners they create and fight to place on public property. The banners they've created read, "At this season of THE WINTER SOLSTICE may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven, no hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds" (source).  

Is Dan Barker seeking out the government to establish a pagan day of celebration, the winter solstice, in lieu of placing one of their ridiculous banners on government property? I don't think so, so why does the FFRF believe that a creche on public property establishes religion? Aren't these atheists being hypocrites? Aren't they pushing a "religious celebration," namely the Winter Solstice, in tribute to their "god" reason?

The fact of the matter is that evangelical atheists, such as those belonging to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, ironically hate God. The very being they claim has no existence, they spend night and day fighting. Where are the anti-Santa Claus movements? Indeed, why isn't the FFRF fighting to have Santa Claus and Rudolph depictions removed from government buildings, since don't they send a message connected to Christmas? I'll tell you why Barker and company don't fight to have things such as a drawing of Santa Claus removed from a public school. They don't do it because Santa Claus doesn't really exist, but God does and His existence is evident all around us (Romans 1:20). Dan Barker and the evangelical atheists fight as hard as they do, because they want to eradicate from their hearts the constant gnawing of the knowledge that their Creator truly exists and they are in trouble with Him. 

This Christmas I want to wish all my atheist friends a very Merry CHRISTmas!  I also want to suggest they get over themselves and stop fighting "city hall" so hard on the issue of Christmas decorations, such as a nativity scene, being placed on public property. Since Christ is just a figment of the Christian's imagination, then the members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, or any other atheists, shouldn't be so worked up.

Have a Merry CHRISTmas my friends and remember that the reason for the season is the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus, who died on a cross to take away the sins of the whole world. That is truly something to be celebrated, not just once a year, but everyday.

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Peace Passing Understanding

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." —Philippians 4:7

I am truly thankful to my Lord Jesus Christ for the peace that He has given to me through His Word and Sacraments. Times are difficult right now with my bride in the hospital being treated for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). I have to confess there are times where I just don't understand how we are making it and it is at those times I quickly realize that Jesus is carrying us. I can't stand, but He stands for me.

My loving wife and I have noticed the great comfort we are getting from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Being in a hospital gives a different perspective to the both of us as to what it can mean to live under the boot of the law. We look around us and watch as people use the law written on their hearts to try to soothe their souls when faced with extremely difficult times. We hear allot of comments from others talking about what "we need to do" in order to overcome cancers, etc. I hear much talk of "if you are just positive enough" or "keep thinking positively and you will kick this problem." When I hear these sort of claims, I can't help but recall Luther's struggle with the law. Luther would ask something such as, "Just how many good works must we do in order to be justified by God?" The answer he found from the Scriptures is "none." Justification is a free gift given to us by God. We can't possibly do any works to remove our sins.

Cancer is similar, in a certain sense, for the patient suffering from it. There is nothing a cancer patient can do to remove the cancer from his or her own body. Cancer patients must trust in a physician to cure them. We trust in God to work through means (such as her doctors and nurses) to bring healing to my wife. How many positive thoughts does it take to cure cancer? The answer is "none." There is no peace of mind to be had if one is trusting in themselves for a good outcome. Especially if the outcome is bleak and in which case, the sick is then embattled by despair brought upon them because they didn't do enough. They didn't think positively enough. They didn't do enough works in order to heal themselves. How horrible to live under such oppression!

Knowing that God is in control and that no matter what we are in His hands is powerful. In the Lord's Prayer we ask for God's will to be done "on Earth as it is in Heaven." There is a great deal of relief knowing that God's will is going to be done. Sometimes I don't know what to ask for, but God does know and He will ask for me (Romans 8:26-27).

There is a vast difference between "just think enough positive thoughts and you will be alright" versus having a positive outlook over an outcome because of the peace that comes through the faith given to us by the Holy Spirit whereby we trust in the promises of God. I am not positive because of my works, but because of the work of Christ. My positive outlook is given to me by God and His promises. He is faithful and He never fails. On the other hand, I am not faithful and sin. I constantly need His forgiveness. I need Jesus always.

I can rest knowing that God is the sustainer of my life. He provides my daily bread and tends to my physical needs. This is true for all of us. There is great peace knowing that it is God who is "doing it." 

I can't explain the peace of God which passes all understanding. If I could, then it wouldn't go beyond my comprehension. Nonetheless, I know that there is such a peace and it is given to us by God for the sake of His Son, Jesus. It is my prayer that those individuals I meet at the hospital will be given faith to repent  and receive Christ, so that they too will be given peace which affects all areas of our lives. May the Lord grant them peace which passes all understanding. Amen!

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Different "Prayers" (Revisited)

A couple days ago I blogged about the prayers of non-Christians offered in support of their sick and/or dying Christian friends. My posting was too polemic even for me and so I deleted it with the hope that I would again pick up what I think is a very important topic. Today I wish to "tackle" this subject and approach it, hopefully, somewhat less harshly.

As mentioned earlier, my loving bride is in the hospital with an acute form of cancer in her bone marrow. Our whole temporal world has been turned upside down. We continually pray and trust in the Lord for His peace during this most darkest of times and we are joyful in that Christ does give us His peace through the Word and Sacraments.

I have been meditating on what it means to pray and have also been thinking about our Lord's Prayer as recorded in the Gospels. Of course, my route of inquiry into this subject also takes me to the Book of Concord, and in particular passages from the Large Catechism, where the subject of prayer is dealt with at length. However, probably the clearest explanation that I have read, and what has been the most helpful to me at this point is Martin Chemnitz's explanation of prayer from his Enchiridion. There Chemnitz explains for young pastors the difference between the prayers of Christians and the praying of the unregenerate. Chemnitz writes,

"Heathen and all other infidels call upon either their frabicated idols or the God whom they do not know (Jn 4:22). But they do not call upon the true God, who is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, since they do not know Him. They also do not call upon God in the name of, and [in] faith in, Christ, the Mediator, without whom no one comes to the Father (Jn 14:6). They base [their] confidence of being heard not on Christ but on their sacrifices and self-appointed acts of worship. In fact, they believe that they are heard if they use many words (Mt 6:7), yet are always unsure, uncertain about being heard and helped. If their wishes are not at all granted, they censure their idols and gods with abuses and blasphemies. Besides, they know nothing at all about asking for truly spiritual good things" (ibid. p. 143).

Chemnitz here is touching upon so many good points. I am first reminded by Chemnitz's words of the explanation for the First Petition given to us in the Large Catechism. What does it mean to hallow the name of the Lord? Luther answers "When both our doctrine and life are godly and Christian" (LC 39). This is certainly scriptural, as Chemnitz points out above with John 14:6. No one can come to God except through Jesus Christ. Only in faith in Christ Jesus can we approach God and "hallow" His name. Paul writes to the Galatians that those who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27). We can't approach our Holy Father in heaven apart from the righteousness of Christ. Christ imputes to us His righteousness through which we can truly call upon and hallow the name of our Lord in spirit and in truth.

Those who have not been given faith in Christ Jesus do not call upon the Father in "prayer." They remain dead in their sins and truly call upon that which "they do not know," or speak words to idols, ideas, myths, and legends of which none of them are of any help, since they do not exist. Furthermore, as Paul writes to the Corinthian church, the man without faith in Christ is spiritually dead and does not accept the things of the Holy Spirit, thinking they are foolishness (1 Corinthians 2:11-15). It is impossible for the unregenerate to come to God through their own strength or reason and petition Him. The prayers of the ungodly to their idols and "unknown gods" are very much vaporous words. No true comfort can be had from such prayers.

What I am writing is quite unpopular, even among some who claim to be Lutheran Christians and do not see a problem joining in prayer with Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Buddhists. We live in an age where unionism and syncretism is the "right thing to do" and this out of tolerance and "love." These so-called "Christians" give little thought to Jesus' words uttered in the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...." A Christian can't possibly accept that the prayers of the unregenerate are hallowing the name of God!

As mentioned earlier, my wife is in the hospital quite ill. We have tremendous support from family and friends alike. During this time I have been reminded that the world does indeed have a "form of Godliness" but they deny the power thereof. That is, we can practice civic "righteousness" apart from acknowledging the One True God. People are capable of doing "good deeds" in the eyes of others in the world but not God, since the law is, after all, written on all our hearts. As a Christian, I can be thankful to God that He uses these works to provide for my wife and family. Yes, I do thank those who lend us support, even if they are not Christian. This is most certainly right and good to do. However, a sticky point for me has been over how to respond to those non-Christians who tell me they are "praying" for me. Here is how I have been handling it and I will illustrate the point with a single example.

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Temporarily Out

I am currently not blogging regularly, as you—my dear reader—have likely noticed. The reason for that is my dear wife has become seriously ill. About a weak and a half ago she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Our temporal world has been turned upside down in many respects.

I am writing this from her hospital room and am spending many hours a day at her side. What that means, of course, is that I am not writing. My time is spent caring for her as much as I possibly can without getting  into the way of doctors and nurses. I will resume regular blogging in three months or so, God willing. My focus right now is on my wife and family.

My dear wife is doing as well as can be expected given her circumstances. We are very thankful to God that the Leukemia was caught and early enough before it could infiltrate her internal organs. We are trusting in God for her healing and know that the doctors and staff working on her are extensions of God's hands healing her body. In all things we are giving thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you for reading.

Jim Pierce

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