"Ein' feste Burg"

A MIGHTY FORTRESS

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper he amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great;
And armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he,
Lord Sabaoth his name,
From age to age the same,
And he must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo! his doom is sure;
One little word shall fell him.

That Word above all earthly powers,
No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through him who with us sideth;
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill:
God's truth abideth still;
His kingdom is for ever.

 

A Musical Montage

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Gospel: Keeping Christmas Well

Today is the final post for October's theme:  The Gospel

Does it seem strange to you that on Reformation Day, I'm republishing a post from the archives about Christmas, of all things?  Well, a quick look around your local stores will remind you that Christmas is right around the corner!  In fact, in my neck of the woods, it has been 'right around the corner' since the end of September for our local merchants!

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    The Christmas Season is one of shared experiences. From the Christmas carols, to the decorations, to favorite Christmas movies, and special Christmas dinners; school plays, Christmas concerts, Candlelight Services--it seems as though many of us share common experiences. We look forward to all the activities and hustle and bustle of Christmas. And yet, too often we go through all the motions of celebrating Christmas without a thought about what Christmas signifies. This can be true of those who observe a religious celebration as well as those who consciously celebrate Christmas in a purely secular way.

    I've been thinking about this a lot over the past few weeks. No where in scripture are we commanded to observe Christ's birth, only His resurrection. So, is it wrong to celebrate Christmas? Is there a right way and a wrong way to celebrate the Saviour's birth? How do we, "keep Christmas well," as Charles Dickens put it in A Christmas Carol . I certainly don't have all the answers and I am still thinking this through, but this morning I came across a blog post on Reformation Theology that I'd like to share with you. An Uncomfortable Christmas Card for Unbelievers Comfortable at Christmas. It begins:

        Dear Friend or Loved One Who Loves Me, but Does Not Love Jesus Christ:

        This Christmas, I eagerly and affectionately desire to write to you a different kind of Christmas message. I long to send you good tidings of great joy, and high hopes that your Christmas and New Year will be cheerful and full of good things, but I also want to write to make you as uncomfortable with the Christmas message as possible.

    The Christmas Message is nothing more or less than the Gospel Message. We frequently say that the Gospel is the "good news" and it is. But to those who have never embraced the Gospel of Jesus Christ by grace through faith, it is not good news. It is the worst possible news one could ever receive.

    But God. . .

        Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

    There is a gift, given by God, that I wish for all. And that is the gift of faith in Christ, Who was given of the Father and Who gave His life so that we could live eternally. Only then can we "keep Christmas well, if any man alive possess the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!"

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How will YOU keep Christmas this year?

Last One!

I wanted to end on a brilliant note.  Each of these leaves fell from the same tree, but each one is uniquely fashioned by the same Hand, the One Who has created the beauty of this season--down to each and every leaf.

You are worthy, our Lord and God,
   to receive glory and honor and power,
   for You created all things,
      and by Your will they were created
      and have their being.

In 15 Words or Less

NOW IS FLEETING

Open your eyes!

Glory fades
with each sweep of lashes.

 15 Words or Less is the brainchild of Laura Salas.

More Leaf Art

Here's an Offer You Can't Refuse!

Ligonier Ministries and R. C. Sproul is making the Reformation Study Bible available between Oct 27 and Nov 2 for a donation of any amount.  You know you want one.   Now's the time to get one and support a Christ centered, God honoring ministry at the same time.

Oh, and while you're over there ordering your Bible, take time to read Sproul's essay on Principles for Voting.

More Leaf Art

(Note to Self)

October 28, 2008 First frost--a killing frost.

The grass is bejeweled with sparkling shards of icy frost, glittering in the glow of the lamp post.

I could see my breath on the porch.

I could hear the leaves raining down and clattering in the gutters.

I'm glad I had my slippers on when I stepped out onto the front porch.

It's cold.

A Gospel Sermon: Jonathan Edwards

The wisdom of God has made Christ’s humiliation the means of our exaltation. His coming down from heaven is that which brings us to heaven. The wisdom of God has made life the fruit of death. The death of Christ was the only means by which we could have eternal life. The death of a person who was God, was the only way by which we could come to have life in God. — Here favor is made to arise out of wrath; our acceptance into God’s favor out of God’s wrath upon his own Son. A blessing rises out of curse; our everlasting blessedness, from Christ being made a curse for us. Our righteousness is made to rise out Christ’s imputed guilt. He was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God, 2 Cor. 5:21. By such wonderful means has the wisdom of God procured our salvation.

Jonathan Edwards,

The Wisdom of God Displayed in the Way of Salvation, 1733

Rebecca continues to gather posts on the Gospel every Tuesday and Friday in October.  As bloggers, each one of us has a unique readership.  You have readers that I do not.  Why not add a Gospel post of your own today or Friday and invite your readers to visit Rebecca, too?

More Leaf Art

Unhurried

day by day
leaf by leaf
fall gives way
to winter

~Me

A Letter a Week: O

For more ABC Wednesday click on over to ABC Mr. Linky Blog.

Or, if you prefer, you can also check out the ABC weekly no comment site and browse all in one place.

You can see the rest of my Alphabet by clicking on the 'A' in the sidebar or the "A Letter a Week" category at the bottom of this post.

I Give Up

I've been fighting a cold for two weeks. One day I'd have a sore throat. The next day that would be better, but my nose would run. The next day I'd have a sore throat accompanied by an earache. Then a headache.

I've tried not to let it get me down. We worked all weekend getting the windows washed and the storm windows put up for the winter. The leaves need raking and bagging, but last night the cold finally defeated me. I am coughing, sneezing, blowing, aching.

I give up. The leaves can just blow around for another day. Today I am going to stay in my jammies and robe and read and drink tea and blow my nose and curl up on the couch with my sugar free Halls mentolyptus drops and feel sorry for myself.

I got a new book on Saturday--Mastering Copperplate: A Step by Step Manual for Calligraphers. It's 192 pages of detailed instructions on the PROPER way to do copperplate. I am on page 53 and already I know why copperplate has always defeated me. I have been doing it ALL WRONG. I had almost given up on copperplate but now that I am learning to understand it better, I am going to give it another go.

Don't know what copperplate is? Here's a youtube for your viewing enjoyment.

More Leaf Art

I love this one.

Our Little 'Punkin'

Doesn't he look like Jackie Cooper?

Fall Photo Shoot with Elliott

It was cold and windy and wet yesterday but I still managed to take hundreds of pictures of Elliott in our first real "photo shoot."  It was great fun and Elliott was very cooperative in his little blue jeans jacket and deep blue eyes.  Don't you love the shot of Elliott and Beth?  Now you see where he gets his glorious red hair!

We had Elliott all to ourselves last night while John and Beth went to a fund-raiser at Beth's school.  We had so much fun with him.  No pictures from last night, though.  We were having so much fun I forgot to snap pictures.

More Leaf Art

Falling Leaves by Rev. Lawrence Keister

Which the leaf that falleth next?
You can never tell.
Which the one that seekest place
Where the others fell?

Frost has touched them all alike,
And the rising sun;
Gentle breezes had their part,
Then attraction won.

Lifeless there upon the turf
Lie the forest leaves,
Mission ended, work all done--
Nature never grieves.

"Thousand summers kiss the lea,
Only one the leaf,"
Yet how great a task is done
In a life so brief.

Friendly little alchemists
Working day and night,
Building maples, elms and oaks,
Trees of girth and height.

Storms of summer you withstood,
Holding on with might;
Now with sudden impulse fall
Careless where you light.

Sunday Hymn:

WHO TRUSTS IN GOD, A STRONG ABODE

Who trusts in God, a strong abode
In heav'n and earth possesses;
Who looks in love to Christ above,
No fear his heart oppresses.
In thee alone, dear Lord, we own
Sweet hope and consolation;
Our shield from foes, our balm for woes,
Our great and sure salvation.

Though Satan's wrath beset our path,
And worldly scorn assail us,
While thou art near we will not fear,
Thy strength shall never fail us:
Thy rod and staff shall keep us safe,
And guide our steps for ever;
Nor shades of death, nor hell beneath,
Our souls from thee shall sever.

In all the strife of mortal life
Our feet shall stand securely;
Temptation's hour shall lose its power,
For thou shalt guard us surely.
O God, renew, with heav'nly dew,
Our body, soul, and spirit,
Until we stand at thy right hand,
Through Jesus' saving merit.

Trinity Hymnal #558

More Leaf Art

Quote of the Week: Phillips

Another quote from Richard Phillips this week.  I rarely (if ever) post two weekly quotes in a row from the same source, but this section of Hebrews is such an inspiring, challenging, comforting passage that I couldn't resist following up last week's quote with another one from Hebrews, by Phillips.  I highly recommend this commentary for anyone who wants to do a group or individual study of the Book of Hebrews.

When we turn to the other great problem we face, our terrible weakness, the intercession of Jesus Christ is equally effective. It was Christ’s intercession that upheld the faith of Simon Peter when he denied our Lord three times. “Simon, Simon, “ Jesus told him in advance, “Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” (Luke 22:31-32). As Jesus prayed for the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, surely he prays now for us at the right hand of God: “Holy Father protect them by the power of your name (John 17:11).

What about our difficulty in prayer? Many of us struggle with prayer because we are spiritually weak. Here, too, Jesus intercedes on our behalf, sending the Spirit to our aid. Paul writes, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26) Therefore we can have confidence in prayer despite our weakness. . .What sets Christianity apart is a living Savior, who not only puts away our sin forever, but sends us power from heaven. What matters most for Christian, therefore, is not what we are doing, not the spiritual power we are supposedly working up, but the wholly effective and powerful ministry of Jesus Christ who lives and ministers forever as our great High Priest.

Richard Phillips, Hebrews, Reformed Expository Commentary