Too Much Slanderous Drama; Too Much Strife

"A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.

A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good." 

                                         (Prov 16:28-29 KJV)

Somewhere, somehow, we must take a stand and protect the innocent from slander. There is so much slander, so much aloneness in this world, and so much depression resulting from it. It often comes from one source: the ego or maybe it would be more accurate to say the devil who resides within us. Those in whom the Spirit of Christ does not reside often attack their neighbors; their friends; their enemies unjustly, causing much chaos, pain, and sorrow for their own gain. 

Standing idly by because you do not want to become involved or become the next target is not all that helpful. Rather, as most of us confess on Sunday mornings, we end up sinning by what we have not done; by not supporting and helping our neighbor in need; by not supporting those who are being wrongly slandered or persecuted.

We need to confront those who would entice others to follow in a way that is not good for anyone even while we support and protect those who are falsely accused. 

We teach our children in Sunday School and in Confirmation classes the eighth commandment; "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." We also teach them, as Luther taught, that this means: "We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way." (Luther's Small Catechism) How soon we forget what we have learned!

May God help us to love our neighbors and not cause them to suffer any form of anguish because of our actions or inactions.

God's Peace - Pr. J

What Does Baptism Give?

What does Baptism give or profit?

Answer.

It works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.

Which are such words and promises of God? 

Answer.

Christ, our Lord, says in the last chapter of Mark: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

                                                 Book of Concord, Small Catechism, Baptism 



I have run a across a very sad thing: there are those within the church on earth who have not been baptized! How does this happen? How is it that a believer has not received the Sacrament of Baptism?

I've heard a few reasons. Mostly, it has come down to being embarrassed over not having been baptized earlier, as a younger person. Those who have not been baptized; yet, are within the church receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion, will rarely just tell you that they are not. You will have to ask them. 

I first ran across this years ago when I was working on membership rosters and official congregation records. We were missing information that should have been in the books: things like birth and baptismal dates that would have been registered decades earlier. I thought that this might be a good reason to do some extra home visits and get to know some of the members a little better. An elderly woman whom I regularly visited in a nursing home was on the list for missing baptismal dates. When I asked her where and when she'd been baptized, she was relieved that I had asked her about it. No one else ever had. She confessed that she had never been baptized. When she was a child, they had a circuit pastor, who normally did baptisms during hay making season. As a child, she and her family had been in the fields working when the pastor came around. After she got older and got more active in the congregation no one asked her about her baptism and she was a bit embarrassed to admit that she hadn't previously been baptized. That's the short version of a very long story. Ultimately, she received the Sacrament of Baptism in the nursing home with her children and grandchildren around her about a week before she died.

This was not a lone incident. Most of the people I encountered that attended worship regularly and had not baptized were then baptized. 

We are to go and teach and baptize so that others might come to faith and be assured that they have received forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The mission field is huge. It begins within our own congregations. Do not assume that someone is saved just because they attend worship once or twice a year or even every Sunday. Do not assume that they know Jesus. Do not assume that they have received the Sacrament of Baptism. Proclaim the Good News to all people and encourage them to receive this life saving gift from God. And... don't forget to tell them about the benefit of Baptism, a gift from God for them.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Help Them!

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. (Phil 2:3-4 KJV)

I often hear that we have to take care of ourselves first to justify not helping our neighbors. We, of course, have to take care of our families' needs. They, too, are our neighbors. But, I do not think that worrying about getting all the trinkets that we desire before making sure our neighbors are eating or worrying about "keeping up with the Jones'" is any where near God's plan for humankind. 

A reminder from excerpts from the Ten Commandments and what they mean from Luther's Small Catechism:  

The Seventh Commandment

You shall not steal.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.

The Eighth Commandment

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.

The Ninth Commandment

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not scheme to get our neighbor’s inheritance or house, or get it in a way which only appears right, but help and be of service to him in keeping it.

The Tenth Commandment

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not entice or force away our neighbor’s wife, workers, or animals, or turn them against him, but urge them to stay and do their duty.

We are not called just to look out for our own desires. As children of God we are called to look out for our neighbors' needs and that doesn't mean just refraining of taking what is theirs; but, helping them to keep what they have.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (John 13:34)

God's Peace - Pr. J