Sassy is signaling me for her morning walk. I must answer or get into trouble with her.

Everyone loves Sassy, so I decided to describe how she carefully manages our behavior and displays a remarkable amount of intelligence, independence, and humor.

Sometimes we work on threat gestures. I learned early that my intruder pose would get her leaping up and grabbing my hand. Simply by grazing my hand in a fast-moving gesture, she opened up a wound with her teeth. I was dodging without success, and I stopped. The blood stopped soon, and I did not try that again.

Sassy has assumed the role of protecting our yard from a wandering black lab. The neighboring dogs bark at the intruder walking down the grassy alley between our homes. They are large and muscular, but seem helpless. Sassy always asks to go out and take care of the lab. She goes to the fence and does her best German Shepherd attack. She plants her front legs down, barks and snarls furiously, displaying her teeth and moving her head back and forth close to the ground.  The lab takes off and the neighbor dogs bark impotently at him in a me too response.

Sassy even barked the lab out of our neighbor's yard, but the lab got its hind leg stuck up in the wire fence. Black labs matter, so I called Animal Control and got the dog freed in a few minutes. Unharmed and clueless, it came back to the same yard an hour or two later.


We have always worked on the gentle command with Sassy, and she is great responding. When I pretend to form a claw coming down on her flank, she bares her teeth menacingly. But she cannot hold her fierce pose for long, it turns into a grin. She loves the game. She has the fast motions of a Cattle Dog and snaps at my hand with incredible speed - always to lick my hand.

Sacky was our first Cattle Dog. Sacky could kiss my bare feet alternately as I walked, but never while I was looking. I never figured out how she could do that. To illustrate her speed, she simply snapped all houseflies out of the air in Phoenix.



Sassy and I walk twice a day, and she is keen to remind me when the sun is up or going down. I tired of the leash and she was quick to learn commands - wait, leave alone, cross the street, and so forth.
I can wiggle one finger and get her to run full speed at me, both of us grinning. She has to ask permission to cross the street or go meet someone. She has learned not to bark loudly in greeting adults and children. However, one friend loves her happy bark, so she lets loose when she hears, "Where is that happy bark, Sassy?" Left and right, she barks as loudly as she can.

However, Sassy's great response and intuition are tempered by her independent spirit. She loves to walk south down the side streets when we are walking west down Scott Street. Once she asked permission to cross the street and go farther down Scott. When I said yes, she darted left and ran about 20 feet south down the side street. Then she stopped and looked back, grinning. I said, "OK, let's go down that street." She pranced into each yard, catching up on all the signals left by other animals.

When one woman suggested that Sassy leave her front-yard family gathering, with Sassy meeting each child, Sassy responded by going to the woman, laying down her ears and reaching out for a final petting. The woman could not help laughing as everyone enjoyed Sassy trumping her ace. Sassy lays down her ears and reaches out in meek and friendly gesture that no one can miss.

Sassy's goal is to meet each person on our walks. She went up to one man, who said, "Oh, Sassy, you are the dog that loves everyone."

Sassy loves treats: she remembers and counts, always pushing for a greater number at any given time. One treat means two would be better. Two is the norm and three would be nice, as the dessert. The vet suggested breaking treats into small pieces so Sassy could get the count up with fewer calories.

Sassy likes to take one more trip outside once I am settled in bed to sleep. My transition from writing and grading to sleep is quick and easy to make. The bed is the best chair I have used for the painful process of grading 25 essays at a time.

To get Sassy outside before I am nodding off,  I have tried various things, such as snapping my fingers. I even dragged her off  the bed gently - and she crawled back. I used a snack once to get her up and out and another small one to reward her coming inside. After that happened once or twice,  I invited her in. She stopped in the kitchen and glared at me. "Where is treat #2?"

Talking and Singing - The Tell-Tale Tail
Sassy has many ways to talk. She uses her Cattle Dog (kelpie) voice at times. If she yips a little, I ask, "Are you going full kelpie on us?" Then she yips in that high-pitched wild dingo voice of hers, and we laugh.

She is great at singing along, as she did when we sang Happy Birthday to grandson Alex.

The ears, face, and tail are part of her signals. She may make a little whining noise for a moment. We look and ask, "What's wrong?" Her tail rotates slowly. That means she needs a treat or a walk. If I delay or miss the signal, she rotates rapidly and with great force. That can include whipping my arm as I work. Her tails is soft, but the perpetual rotation makes work impossible.

If that fails, she uses her powerful claws to pull me down on the bed for lovey time.

The rotating tail is often paired with her stupid dog look. Sacky pulled that on me too, to show how clueless I was.

Come back with your shields or on them, soldiers!

One person responded to How To Study Theology with a question about learning Greek.

Here are a few steps to consider:

1. Avoid classical Greek. The New Testament is Koine. Learn that. It is easier and relevant.
2. Learn how to read the letters and pronounce the words.
3. Read the text out loud until that gets easy.
4. Always read the text out loud first.

Next -
Read John 1:1 in Greek. Translate the words you know. Guess the rest. Then check your KJV. Do not ever write words above the Greek or leave a Bible open. Our lazy brain will go to English first, just as kids will eat candy before meat if left side by side.

Read John 1:2 in Greek. Repeat.

Get used to reading the paragraph out loud. The key is immersion, not words lists, not grammar rules. If we had waited to learn interogatives and subjunctives as babies we would have starved to death.

When forests walked and fishes flew
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood,
Then, surely, I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening bray
And ears like errant wings—
The devil's walking parody
Of all four-footed things:

The battered outlaw of the earth
Of ancient crooked will;
Scourge, beat, deride me—I am dumb—
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour—
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout around my head
And palms about my feet.

G. K. Chesterton, Notre Dame Visiting Professor
Kelmed from Norman Teigen's blog

Giotto di Bondone, Scenes from the Life of Christ 10.
Entry into Jerusalem, 1304-6,
Cappella Scrovegni, Padova

Update - Paul Y. Cho changed his name to David - and got caught  with Number 1 son stealing $12 million from his congregation. Schuller lost his precious Crystal Cathedral, and the Roman Catholics now own it.

I shook hands with Paul Y. Cho, after hearing him give an opening prayer at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College.
Hey, I was not buying his Dreck by the case and selling it to ministers,
unlike one WELS pastor.
I was an LCA pastor at the time, invited to speak at Wheaton College.

"'But Honey, I've got all these five million dollars inside of me. They're growing now! Oh, inside me it's growing.' Suddenly those five million dollars had turned into a small pebble on my palm."
Paul Yonggi Cho, with a foreword by Dr. Robert Schuller, The Fourth Dimension, 2 vols., South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing, 1979, I, p. 27.

Napoleon Hill occult practitioner Robert Schuller is being channeled by Mark Jeske. Mark and Avoid also loves Napoleon Hill thinking and thinkers - Mary Kay?

"I count it a great honor to write these words as a forword to this exciting book by my brother in Christ, Paul Yonggi Cho. I am personally indebted to him for spiritual strength, and for insights I have received from God through this great Christian pastor. I was ministering to his huge congregation in Seoul, Korea...."
[Dr. Robert Schuller] Paul Yonggi Cho, with a foreword by Dr. Robert Schuller, The Fourth Dimension, 2 vols., South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing, 1979, I, Hebrews 11:1.

"I believe that the Bible in its original text is the inspired Word of God and is the infallible final authority on faith and methodology." [Note the distinction made by Lindsell in The Battle for the Bible. And although Cho talks in this section about living a moral life, he does not talk about the crucifixion of Christ for the forgiveness of sin.]
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 10. See Battle for the Bible, p.

"In some parts of Asia, people still worship their ancestors. Christianity cannot be accepted by many because it does not teach what the position of one's ancestors are I then shared how the Bible taught us to honor our parents. This did not mean to worship them but to simply hold them in high esteem. God did not want only to honor them while they are still alive, so we could assume that it was not a sin to honor them even after they had passed on to glory. Abraham was still held in high esteem as the father of faith. This gave the spy the ammunition he was looking for. He publicly accused me of being a false teacher and teaching idolatry."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 101. See Christianity Today article

"After praying for him, I taught him the principle of visions and dreams. I said, 'Go back to your bakery, Mr. Ho. Begin to see its success. Start to count the money in the empty cash register and look at all of the people lining up outside to get into your crowded store.' Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 107. "Then I was startled by the very distinct voice of God: 'Son, I am going to heal you, but the healing is going to take ten years.'"
Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho with Harold Hostetler, Successful Home Cell Groups, Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1981, p. 11.

"Set Realistic Goals Let us take a pastor who has a congregation of three hundred members. Set a definite goal of one thousand. Place that goal before the Father and begin to dwell on that goal. Become obsessed with the idea of one thousand members. When you preach on Sunday, see one thousand members in front of you. When you have done that, you are ready to start planning."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 111.

"I then said, 'Lord, do you really want me to pray in definite terms?' This time the Lord led me to turn to Hebrews, the eleventh chapter: 'Faith is the substance of things,' clear-cut things, 'hoped for.' I knelt down again and said, 'Father, I'm sorry I made a great mistake, and I misunderstood you. I cancel all my past prayers. I'll start all over again....' I was praising the Lord, and sure enough, when the time came, I had every one of those things. I had exactly all the things I had asked for - a desk made out of Philippine mahogany; a chair made by the Japanese Mitsubishi Company, with rollers on the tips so that I could roll around when I sat on it; and a slightly used bicycle, with gears on the side, from an American missionary's son."
Paul Yonggi Cho, with a foreword by Dr. Robert Schuller, The Fourth Dimension, 2 vols., South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing, 1979, I, p. 12, 17. Hebrews 11:1.

"Years ago, as I was traveling back from a speaking tour in Europe, the Holy Spirit spoke within my heart, 'Go home and begin a new organization dedicated to the emphasizing of church growth!'"
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 121.

WELS' own Schuller, Mark Jeske, is seen here misleading the little kiddies at Martin Luther College - in the name of Evangelism Day. Then why are WELS  and the college circling the drain, after decades of Church Growth?

"Years ago, as I was traveling back from a speaking tour in Europe, the Holy Spirit spoke within my heart, 'Go home and begin a new organization dedicated to the emphasizing of church growth!'"
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 121.

"There is no question in my mind about the fresh emphasis the Holy Spirit has brought on the subject of church growth. Church Growth International is not a denomination or a movement limited to one particular type of church. Church Growth International is an organization created to serve the needs of all church leadership throughout the entire world."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 121.

"C.G.I. is meeting with evangelical Christian leaders from all parts of the world."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 124.

"I have received direction from the Holy Spirit concerning the manifestation of the kingdom of God in this earth. The church is to be revived before the second coming of the Lord."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 124.

"Pastor Robert Tilton of north Dallas recently shared with me his story. Pastor Tilton is a member of our C.G.I. television board along with some of the most successful ministers in the United States He is a strong supporter of the C.G.I. ministry."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 128.

"Through much praying, the Holy Spirit spoke to Dr. [Jess] Moody's heart to become familiar with our ministry. Since then, we have become close friends and Dr. Moody is on our C.G.I. advisory board." [First Baptist, Van Nuys, California. Pastor Jess Moody. Featured in Newsweek cover story, December 17, 1990.]
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 129.

"Through much praying, the Holy Spirit spoke to Dr. [Jess] Moody's heart to become familiar with our ministry. Since then, we have become close friends and Dr. Moody is on our C.G.I. advisory board." [First Baptist, Van Nuys, California. Pastor Jess Moody]
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 129.

"Pastor Stanley of the First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, came to Korea two years ago with his associate. I did not realize that Dr. Stanley was a noted leader within the Southern Baptist denomination. When he came to Korea, he kept a low profile. He simply said, 'We have come to pray and to learn.'"
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 129.

"In January of the year, I spoke at a Faith Seminar in Winter Haven, Florida. Pastor Quinten Edwards hosted this conference in his beautiful new church which seats over four thousand. Dr. Edwards is also a member of our C.G.I. television board. While at this seminar, the Holy Spirit spoke to me, 'My son, you are to touch every pastor and church leader in this country. Although I give you permission to speak to all Christians, your main task is to share from your heart those things that I have spoken to you with pastors and church leaders.'...Some told me that the anointing of the Holy Spirit was so powerful, they could hardly stay in their seats."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 131.

"Spirit without Word causes fanaticism. Word without Spirit causes 'stagnatism.' A proper balance of both will cause dynamic church growth." [See A. Hoenecke on Spirit and Word]
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 139.

[To bank president]: "'Pick up the phone and call the police. Ask about the name Yonggi Cho, and you'll find he is the pastor of the larrest church in Seoul...He can have all of them transfer their bank account to your bank for the new year. I will do this tremendous favor for you if you do one for me...''You write me a $50,000 check,' I told him."
Paul Yonggi Cho, with a foreword by Dr. Robert Schuller, The Fourth Dimension, 2 vols., South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing, 1979, I, p. 145.

"Years ago I remember praying, 'Lord, I only have 50,000 members. Who will ever listen to me when I speak of church growth?"
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 15.

"When I began my ministry in 1958, I knew nothing about goal setting. So I used all kinds of gimmicks to bring in new members."
Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho with Harold Hostetler, Successful Home Cell Groups, Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1981, p. 162.

[When Cho did not get a table, a chair, or a bicycle he had been praying for]: "'Yes,' God said, 'I have given them to you potentially. But you have been asking them of me in such vague terms that I cannot fulfill your request. Don't you know there are a dozen kinds of tables, a dozen kinds of chairs and a dozen kinds of bicycles? Which ones do you want? Be very clear. I have so much trouble with my children, because they keep asking me and asking me and asking me, yet they themselves do not know what kind of thing they want. Make your request very specific, and then I'll answer."
Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho with Harold Hostetler, Successful Home Cell Groups, Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1981, p. 163f.

Schuller and Mary Kay are devotees of the Napoleon Hill occult cult. Norman Vincent Peale plagiarized it from an occult writer. Plagiarism is the core of Church Growth copy and paste thinking.

"Today I know that the capacity for God's answer depends on the size of the pipe in which we give Him the opportunity to work. If the size of my pipe is small, the blessings are only going to trickle down; but if through faith I have increased the size of that pipe, the blessings will pour down."
Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho with Harold Hostetler, Successful Home Cell Groups, Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1981, p. 165f.

"So I set a very clear goal of 150 members, and I wrote it down on a paper and put it up on my wall...I began to eat with 150. I slept with the number 150 in my dreams. I was living with 150 members in my heart...."
Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho with Harold Hostetler, Successful Home Cell Groups, Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1981, p. 166.

"The second of these principles is dreaming. You have to have a goal, yes. But if you don't dream, you will never reach that goal. A dream (or vision) is the basic material the Holy Spirit uses to build anything for you. The Bible says, 'Where there is no vision, the people perish' (Proverbs 29:18). When you don't have a vision, you don't produce anything."
Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho with Harold Hostetler, Successful Home Cell Groups, Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1981, p. 168. Proverbs 29:18.

"We can never be any more than we dream of being."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 18.

"The Sunday worship service at Yoido Full Gospel Church will bring you to your knees. Someone has described it as 'A burning bush experience.' When you visit the center of so many miracles at the world-famous Prayer Mountain, you will have time for personal meditation and prayer."
Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho Invites you to the 13th Annual Church Growth International Conference, September 28-October 6, 1992 Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul, Korea Dr. Peter Wagner, Fuller Theological Seminary, p. 2.

"All of the books you've read, tapes you've listened to, lectures you've attended, are no substitute for actually experiencing Korea and the CGI conference first-hand!!! (exclamation marks in the original) When you actually see it, you will understand what Dr. Cho has been talking about...and how it really works. You will also discover what many of the churches in Korea and around the world have discovered..that the same methods and principles, when applied, succeed wonderfully in church growth anywhere!"
Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho Invites you to the 13th Annual Church Growth International Conference, September 28-October 6, 1992 Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul, Korea Dr. Peter Wagner, Fuller Theological Seminary, p. 2.

"Then I said, 'Close your eyes. Can you see your husband now?''Yes, I can see him clearly.''Okay. Let's order him how. Until you see your husband clearly in your imagination you can't order, because God will never answer. You must see him clearly before you begin to pray. God never answers vague prayers... They were happily married in that church, and on their marriage day her mother took that paper written with the ten points, and read it publicly before the people, then tore it up."
Paul Yonggi Cho, with a foreword by Dr. Robert Schuller, The Fourth Dimension, 2 vols., South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing, 1979, I, p. 20f. "

Now the way to deal with a sickness, I learned in medical school, is not just to treat the symptom but to get at the root cause. The sickness is a nongrowing church. The root cause is the leadership's lack of vision for the church by failure to fellowship with the Holy Spirit."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 22.

"Right now I have a vision of 500,000 members in our local church by the year 1984. I wake up with the vision of these people filling my mind and when I go to bed they are just as real as if I were preaching to them today. At our present rate of growth and with our building program underway, I have no doubt that the vision will become reality in the time period which has been allotted."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 23. TE God-willing passage

"If anyone had told me as a child that I would be used by God to build the largest single congregation in history, I would have simply laughed. I was a devoted Buddhist and had no intention of changing."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 24.

"Learning how to coordinate colors and dress conservatively need not be expensive, but it will make a great difference in the way others hear what you have to say."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 25.

"Then the Lord distinctly answered me, 'Yes, that is your idea. My idea is to use the women.'"
Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho with Harold Hostetler, Successful Home Cell Groups, Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1981, p. 25.

"They had a clear-cut goal - to have a son...Eventually God gave them a promise, and when they received the assurance, God immediately changed their names: 'You are no more Abram, but Abraham, the father of many nations'...Abraham protested to God, 'Father, people will laugh at us. We don't even have a puppy in our home, and you mean you want us to change our names to 'father of many nation,' and 'princess'? My, all the people in town will call us crazy."
Paul Yonggi Cho, with a foreword by Dr. Robert Schuller, The Fourth Dimension, 2 vols., South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing, 1979, I, p. 28f.

"Sometimes we pray that God would do something in our church and then we stand back to see what God does. This is a great mistake. If God is going to work in the church, he is going to work through us." [Note that He is not capitalized by Cho.]
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 29.

"Sometimes we pray that God would do something in our church and then we stand back to see what God does. This is a great mistake. If God is going to work in the church, he is going to work through us." [Note that He is not capitalized by Cho.]
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 29.

"An American minister came to my church several years ago to speak. He began by decrying the North Vietnamese and the horrors of the Vietnam War. Although this was a topic of interest to the American Christians, it had little relevance to our Korean members. Few knew that I was adding my sermon to the one that was being preached in English as I interpreted. After the meeting, the visiting preacher was so pleased with the response he received from my members. He never knew that they had not heard his sermon."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 33f.

"Pastor, you can't just release all of these women to lead and not give them any training,' one of the women said to me. 'You have to train them. You have delegated your authority to us. You should delegate your sermons, too. You should not let any of us preach our own sermons.'"
Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho with Harold Hostetler, Successful Home Cell Groups, Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1981, p. 34.

"Since the spiritual world hugged the third dimension, incubating on the third dimension, it was by this incubation of the fourth dimension on the third dimension that the earth was recreated."
Paul Yonggi Cho, with a foreword by Dr. Robert Schuller, The Fourth Dimension, 2 vols., South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing, 1979, I, p. 39.

"A cell group is the basic part of our church. It is not another church program--it is the program of our church."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 42.

"The promise of the Holy Spirit giving the ability to prophesy was not a promise to just men but also to women...I also noticed that women were more loyal and faithful than men in the ministry of Jesus...My advice to you then is, 'Don't be afraid of using women.'"
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 43f.

"We have many different types of cell groups. I have found that there is a basic sociological principle which must be maintained in order for them to be successful. The principle is one of homogeneity."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 44.

"Donald A. McGavran, who has been called the father of the modern church growth movement, states in Understanding Church Growth, 'Men and women do like to become Christians without crossing barriers' (p. 227). This experienced scholar and missionary states many examples of the homogeneous principle working in his research throughout the world."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 46.

"Normally, my ministry on television and radio is geared to reaching the lost with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, in America, the Holy Spirit showed me that I was to reach the church with the message of church growth."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 59.

"Since I travel a great deal speaking at Church Growth International Conferences, my television ministry naturally developed as a travel program."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 60.

"I believe that as American Christians see what God is doing through the ministry of Church Growth International, they will want to participate financially."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 64.

"So if you don't agree with me on divine healing, don't get offended, love me--you might learn something. I hope you never have to change your mind because you need divine healing."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 86.

"The Book of Acts is not a book of theology, it is a history of the early stages of the church of Jesus Christ. It clearly shows us some principles of revival."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 94. Acts

***

GJ - I was told to go to Paul Calvin Kelm's evangelism week, when I received the call to Shepherd of Peace in Columbus, Ohio. Floyd Luther Stolzenburg and Roger Zehms, both newly divorced, were also there. They had a Church Growth panel discussion, with David Valleskey speaking, among others. When one of them went into C-gasms about Paul Y. Cho, I challenged them about promoting a known occultic leader kicked out of the Assemblies of God for false doctrine.

Larry Olson, DMin Fuller, wrote later that his buddies smirked at me for that remark. One WELS pastor went to a campus chaplain's meeting where CG materials were passed out and one leader sold Cho books from a case he brought along. Mmm-mmm: that has done wonders for WELS.


---

Mark and Avoid Jeske's appalling work in bringing ELCA, WELS, LCMS, and Napoleon Hill together -

Build a Customer-Centric Church Business To Make More Money.
Even Better - Listen to Pagan Gods Teaching You How To Be Rich!

So much Schwan guilt, so much Schwan money, so many shiny buildings at Bethany College in Mankato, the Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie.

When I look at posts being read at the moment, in the stats file, I often update them after copying the HTML into a new post.

I also challenge supposedly conservative Lutheran pastors on Facebook, who post their sanctimonious comments about how evil that other church body (ELCA) is. I ask them why they work with ELCA - if it is so evil - and they have 100,000 excuses and denials.

Nothing is clearer than Mark and Avoid Jeske's joint ELCA-WELS-LCMS ministry conferences, funded by various evildoers with loot to spend - Seibert Foundation, Thrivent, Schwan, etc.

Anoint yourself with the Holy Spirit and give yourself a call in WELS. Here is the Odd Couple of WELS with their baby.

Modified Limited Shunning in WELS and LCMS
One would expect by the haughty tones of WELS and Missouri that they would shun, avoid, and never appear in the same place as ELCA.

But Jeske is just the latest in a long line of ELCA enablers. Mischke was doing the same thing in WELS, as Synod President, and that was several bosses ago. Gurgle did more of the same, and Mark Schroeder accelerated the trend with his blanket endorsement of the Jeske Crime Family, whether they were drinking to excess - a virtue in WELS - or abusing women.

But, as I wrote before, play one chord on a non-WELS pipe organ and an email arrives from the Synod President. Why not a personal visit? After all, Mark Schroeder traveled to Appleton to rescue Jeske disciples Glende and Ski from the consequences of their words and deeds.

And when Glende and Ski sued a staffmember's husband in court, where was the righteous wrath of the Coven of Presidents?

Shunning is more flexible than Silly Putty in Missouri and WELS.

The congregation in Sturgis had an idea about the coffee left in the urn. "You could warm it up to drink during the week,"

Instead of taking up that frugal suggestion, I made my own coffee. Reheated, percolated coffee left in an aluminum urn was not my culinary fantasy.

At Melo-Cream I was always happy to go down to the coffee barrel where the Yuban coffee was kept. My father mixed Maxwell House and Yuban, used a drip coffee maker, and insisted on keeping coffee no longer than 15 minutes.

The favor of coffee is mostly in the aroma, so drinking it fresh is the key to enjoying it. Here are some key steps in making delicious coffee.

Pure Water
The water has to have its off-flavors filtered out. We use a tap filter for that. Otherwise, the coffee competes with the flora and fauna of the lake water we get on tap. I would get spring water and use that ($1 gallon) if I had to.


Fresh
The freshness of the coffee grounds will make an enormous difference. I stopped grinding it each time because the early morning or late night sounds were like gravel being ground up, and the results were uncertain. I put in too much in one batch or two and had truly awful coffee, too weak or too strong.

But we keep the coffee sealed up tightly in sealed containers, one from Gevalia, which we no longer buy. They used to offer wonderful coffee storage devices, and we still have one for the favorite variety of the day. We got a free one each time we tried Gevalia, every six months, so we did, and kept the jar. Alas we only have one jar left.

Now the free offers are for one measuring spoon, so I have two spoons I keep, and I keep track of the amounts used for a good pot of coffee.

Let us pause and consider cost. A large Starbucks cup of coffee is $2 plain. Their fancy concoctions are $4 and up, $24 a gallon, if you take 6 x the 20 ounce cup! Starbucks' plain coffee is one step above restaurant coffee, two steps above church coffee.

High quality coffee is $2 per 10-cup pot at home. The cost is even lower with premium grocery store coffee. Gevalia is found at Walmart and is fairly good. Some other brands can be found there too, and many favored ones as well.

K-cups are more costly per pound but convenient with a large group of people wanting fresh coffee - or hot cocoa - at various times. I was converted Keurig in Seattle, of all places, but the numbers are not favorable for beginning the day with a pot of fresh coffee.

I like Boca Java for several reasons. They have every possible kind and flavor of coffee, and they roast it once the order is in. Therefore, the coffee is quite fresh and the choices nearly reach infinity. They have the best flavored coffees, which are always risky. Most flavored coffees have a bad after-taste and a tendency to be bitter when made. That does not matter when balanced with 50% sweetener and fake cream, as the Starbucks customers know.

The only Boca Java flavors I enjoy are Blueberry and Chocolate Hazelnut. Nevertheless, the other attempts at flavoring are pretty good. I can make perfect cinnamon coffee by shaking some cinnamon on the coffee grounds before making the pot. Others do the same thing. It reminds me of apple sauce with cinnamon at the store. I remembered my mother doing that on her own, not picking it out at Geifman's store.

Roasts vary the flavor and the caffeine content. The light roasts are higher in caffeine and lighter in flavor. Dark, French, and Expresso roasts are not my cup of tea.



The Machine
Our previous drip-maker was a Mr. Coffee that emptied into a thermo-carafe. That wore out after six years. Their latest model  was panned in the Net so I looked around and settled on a Black and Decker thermo-carafe.

This maker is easy to fill and works very well. My only problem is the clock blinking 12:00 all day long, but I ignore that.

Coffee Varieties
The most expensive is Jamaica Blue Mountain, half the crop used for coffee liquor, a terrible waste. Boca Java must have made tons for Father's Day, because they sold it cheap afterwards. Otherwise, it is something like $50 a pound.  JBM is mellow but has a good flavor at the same time. If I had a choice between JBMand Kona, I would take Kona.

Kona is from Hawaii and combines a great flavor with smoothness. Often a coffee will get a bit much after a few cups, but Kona is so smooth that overdosing is likely. Fortunately, the high cost of $40 a pound will prevent that problem. I bought some on sale at Boca Java - and wow.

We favor light and medium roast coffee. Some come from on location, like Costa Rican and Kona, and JBM.

Another benefit of regular Boca Java ordering is their free sample. One two-ounce packet is offered free each time, so we have tried Banana Foster (a slight chocolate flavor with bananas), Maple Bacon (noping that one), and types with coconut in the background. Since coconut is so easy to obtain now, an artificial coconut flavor in coffee is not choice. Now I am more likely to pick various roasts, but they snagged me with Chocolate Hazelnut.



Amendments
I used to make my own whipped cream to add to coffee, a slippery slope. Sometimes the old cup would be found in the basement, with howls of outrage coming from Little Ichabod, Mrs. Ichabod, or both.

The coffee aisle at Walmart is heavenly, because the coffee aromas are mixed with the artificial cream fragrance. Bending down into a case of half-pound coffees in bags, I thought about the old coffee barrel at Melo-Cream.

However, I would never put those artificial powders and cremes in my coffee. Whipped cream is off the menu for obvious reasons. I could easily finish a bowl off, but that is not wise.

The only amendment approved by the Melo-Cream Little Chef is Cream of Coconut, which is found in the mixed drink aisle of stores. How do I know, with my aversion to drinking alcohol? One customer came looking for it at the Neighborhood Market and the assistant manager directed us to the cubby hole for beer and liquor. On display was Cream of Coconut, used  for pina coladas. The concoction, made of coconut juice, coconut oil, and sugar, is perfect on desserts (like pineapple) and also good for taking the bitterness from a cup of coffee made a little too strong. The bottle is not expensive, a few dollars, and lasts a long time without refrigeration.

Combat typos - start the day with coffee.

Pastor Jackson,  I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am to get your newest book.  Read it in but two sessions!  This is very well done and (sadly) timely.  I wish people saw the terrible logical pitfalls of teaching the UOJ, the outcomes (church growth, etc).  yet we always seem to shoot ourselves in the foot. 

The Circuit Pastor has a legal duty to report, but not the permission of the State of Alaska to decide the issue, which is a conflict of interest.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3395557/posts

"In which case within the US, most any adult in any form of supervisory capacity must report to the authorities allegations of child abuse that come to their attention, or else can be made subject to prosecution for failures to do so."

The District President has a legal duty to report, but not the permission of the State of Alaska to decide the issue, which is a conflict of interest.

The Synod President has a legal duty to report, but not the permission of the State of Alaska to decide the issue, which is a conflict of interest.

----
WELS Has a New System for Covering Up, Hiding, and Denying Abuse - Did They Report Joel Hochmuth after 
Counseling Him about Gay Child Porn Swapping?

Freedom for the Captives

2016/02/04/in Newsletter, WELS Nurses news

Matt Doebler earned a drive-by DMin and got himself a call to be a WELS professor at the Church and Change mini-seminary.

"How Can We Take Greg Jackson Seriously When He Puts Our Pastors in Bunny Suits?" - That is what one WELS pastor said to dismiss this humble little blog's efforts.

Patterson disgraced the office of ministry by using bunnies to promote his Easter service.

Kudu Don hates this Photoshop, one of my best.

But he omitted this crucial fact. I put Don Patterson and Matt Doebler in bunny suits because both promoted their Easter Sunday service with live bunny rabbits. Bring the kiddies to church so they pet those cute little bunnies. Patterson hid the bunny notice on a separate websty the next Easter, but I found it by Googling Patterson and bunny. I am not a genius, just by comparison with the average IQ of WELS DPs. The third year Patterson dropped the public mention of Easter bunnies.

Patterson life-coach victim Ski would love to bring a bunny to church on Easter. Osteen knows it's all about the bunnies and the Benjamins.

They were almost rained out one year, an act of God.

I admit adding the caption to the hat and the clown suit for Glende, but they are metaphors for both. Figure it out. They became FB friends during Ski and Glende's harassment troubles, and Ski got his insta-call next door to Patterson.

DP Don is so pleased to have half of the Odd Couple at his church.

Don Patterson has lots of property and income, plus rich members who take him to Africa to wild kudu deer, but he mines WELS for more loot to run his operation. That lets him run around being a bigshot.

PETA swung the DP vote to Kudu Don. WELS gossip said that Schroeder and the previous DP did not want him in that office. But opposition to the New NIV stopped when Don stepped up.

Did I put the Dapper Don in that silly mob outfit? No! Did I add $ to his dark glasses. Yes! No one fishes for funds faster than Kudu Don - stirred by his mission to move from Hispanic Austin to rockin' rich Round Rock.

What does DP Englebrecht of the Anything Goes District
have to say about these questions?
Rev. Douglas J. Engelbrecht
Ex-Northern Wisconsin District President
nwdpwels@sab.wels.net
920-722-6712

Today I am going to finish fixing the typos found in the black and white edition of The Faith of Jesus: Against the Faithless Lutherans.

Once that improved file is received by the publishing arm of Team Ichabod, the new edition will be prepped for Create Space (Amazon).

Listen up, readers. 
The color version will replace the black and white edition now in print.

Pretty soon - no one will be able to order up the less expensive version. However, that PDF will remain available free as a public link. Anyone can share the link and spread it around, to infinity and beyond.

If you want extra copies sent (no charge), let me know in the next couple of days and I will send them. If you already received a copy, I have your address. Let me know how many you need. Gifts have already been given to send these books around.

Last night I ordered up 15 copies for one person.

I do not know the price of the printed color version, but both companies charge for color for the whole book, when any color is used inside. But the on-demand books are far less expensive than the old system.

The new version is large format to make it more attractive. Norma Boeckler has used that format a number of times with her books, and these illustrations are all hers.



Color PDF Will Be Free
When the color version is available, the PDF will be linked for free. Anyone may use and share that link. Print it up on your own if you wish.

The idea is not to make a bundle on the book, which is impossible, but to distribute it everywhere, as freely as possible.

The book was written for informed laymen. As one early reader said, much more could be explained. However, this is a start for anyone new to the topic. Justification by faith can be learned by using the best sources (KJV and the Book of Concord) and UOJ can be un-learned by examining the false claims and deceptions used by the synodical leaders.

WELS false teachers Mark Zarling and Forrest Bivens claimed in writing that God pronouncing the entire world forgiven - whether anyone believes or not - to be the Chief Article of the Christian Faith. However, here are two citations that say otherwise.

Who knows better - Zarling and Bivens? Or Melanchthon, Luther, and the Formula of Concord editors? One wise guy said, "I agree with Webber." I said, "I agree with the Holy Spirit, St. Paul, and Luther."

---

"No matter what you did yesterday -- or failed to do -- and no matter what you will do tomorrow, God has forgiven you."
WELS's Meditations, March-May 2014, for Monday, 17 March 2014.

"That faith, which, as we considered in the preceding chapter, is wrought in us by God (Col. 2:12; Eph. 1:19), is firmly based upon the fact that we are justified, that our sins have been forgiven. Justification, just like its opposite, condemnation, is a judgment of God (Rom. 5:18, 19). It is a judicial act of God in which He, as the Judge of all, pronounces a verdict of acquittal upon all sinners." 
Edward Koehler, Justification, Objective and Subjective

"Objectively speaking, without any reference to an individual sinner's attitude toward Christ's sacrifice, purely on the basis of God's verdict, every sinner, whether he knows it or not, whether he believes it or not, has received the status of saint."
WELS Kokomo Statements, JP Meyer, Ministers of Christ

"After Christ's intervention and through Christ's intervention God regards all sinners as guilt-free saints."
WELS Kokomo Statements, JP Meyer, Ministers of Christ

"When God reconciled the world to Himself through Christ, He individually pronounced forgiveness to each individual sinner whether that sinner ever comes to faith or not."
WELS Kokomo Statements, JP Meyer, Ministers of Christ

"At the time of the resurrection of Christ, God looked down in hell and declared Judas, the people destroyed in the flood, and all the ungodly, innocent, not guilty, and forgiven of all sin and gave unto them the status of saints."
WELS Kokomo Statements, taken from an earlier conflict over justification

“When Paul uses the word ‘reconciling’ here, [2 Corinthians 5:19] he clearly means that forgiveness of sins is really imputed to ‘the world.’"
Pope John the Malefactor, Lutheran Sentinel, 1996.

"This is very conveniently expressed by the terms objective and subjective justification. objective justification is the act of God, by which he proffers pardon to all through Christ; subjective is the act of man, by which he accepts the pardon freely offered in the gospel. The former is universal, the latter not."

The President of Martin Luther College published this UOJ nonsense:



I previously identified, more than once, the dishonest opening of Mark Zarling's horrible essay, Stand in Awe of Justification - which began calling justification the Chief Article of the Christian Faith and perversely defined justification as justification without faith.

Oh - that justification?


Ardnt, D. "The Doctrine of Justification and the Controversy Over the Views of Dr. W. Maier in the Missouri Synod." Redwood Falls Conference paper, delivered Nov. 17, 1981.

Arndt, Wm. "The Doctrine of Justification," Essay IX in volume 2 of The Abiding Word. St. Louis: CPH, 1947.

Becker, S.W. "Objective Justification." Essay delivered at the Chicago Pastoral Conference, November 9, 1982. Becker, S.W. "The Gospel." Essay XIV in volume 2 of The Abiding Word. St. Louis: CPH, 1947.

Brinsmead, R.D. "Lutherans in Crisis over Justification by Faith." Verdict, vol. 2, no. 6, November, 1979.

Burgdorf, T. "The Basis of Justification: The Work of Christ and the Grace of God." Essay number 3 at the Second Lutheran Free Conference, printed in His Pardoning Grace. Milwaukee: NPH, 1966.

Concordia Triglotta. St. Louis: CPH, 1921.

Curia, R.N. "The Significant History of the Doctrine of Objective or Universal Justification Among the Churches of the Former Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America." Paper delivered at the California Pastoral Conference, January 24-25, 1983.

Hummel, H.D. "Justification in the Old Testament." Concordia Journal, vol. 9. no. 1, January, 1983.

Kuske, D. "Making Use of Lutheran Heritage: 'Objective Justification' in our Mission Outreach Based on an Exegesis of II Corinthians 5:18-19." Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, vol. 77, no. 1, January, 1980.

Lawrenz C.J. "On Justification, Osiander's Doctrine of the Indwelling Christ." No Other Gospel. Milwaukee: NPH, 1980.

Meyer, J.P. Ministers of Christ. Milwaukee: NPH, 1963.

Moellering, H.A. "How to Preach Objective Justification—A Lesson from C.F.W. Walther." Concordia Journal, vol. 9, no. 1, January, 1983.

Otten, H. "The Meaning of Justification." Essay two of the Second Lutheran Free Conference, printed in His Pardoning Grace. Milwaukee: NPH, 1966.

Pieper, F. Christian Dogmatics. St Louis: CPH, 1951. vol. 2.

Plass, E.M. compiler. What Luther Says. An Anthology in 3 volumes. St Louis: CPH, 1959.

Preus, R.D. "Perennial Problems in the Doctrine of Justification." Concordia Theological Quarterly, vol. 45, no. 3, July, 1981.

Reim, N. "The Appropriation of Justification: Justifying Faith." Essay five at the Second Lutheran Free Conference, printed in His Pardoning Grace. Milwaukee: NPH, 1966.

Sanday W. and Headlam, A.C. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1971 reprint. [Favorite liberal, HCM commentary set. But where is Lenski?]

Scaer D.P. "The Two Sides of Justification." Christianity Today. June 26, 1981.

Schaller, J. Biblical Christology. Milwaukee: NPH, 1981.

Schaller, J. "Redemption and Universal Justification According to II Corinthians 5:8-21." Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, vol. 72, no. 4, October, 1975.

Scheutze, A.W. "The Presupposition of Justification: The Sin of Man and the Holiness of God." Essay one at the Second Lutheran Free Conference, printed in His Pardoning Grace. Milwaukee: NPH, 1966. Seminary Dogmatics Notes, cf. the Seminary mimeo company.

Steele, D.N. and Thomas, C.C. The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, Documented. Philadelphia: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Company, 1963.

Stoeckhardt, G. Epistle to the Romans. translator E.W. Koehlinger. Ft. Wayne: Concordia Theological Seminary Press.

Stoeckhardt. G. "General Justification." Concordia Theological Quarterly, vol. 46, no. 2-3, April and July, 1982.

Surburg, R.F. "Justification as a Doctrine of the Old Testament: A Comparative Study in Confessional and Biblical Theology." Concordia Theological Quarterly, vol. 46, no. 2-3, April and July, 1982.

Teigen, R.N. "The Proclamation of Justification: The Gospel Message of Forgiveness." Essay four at the Second Lutheran Free Conference, printed in His Pardoning Grace, Milwaukee: NPH, 1966.

Walther, C.F.W. The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel. translator, W.H.T. Dau. St. Louis: CPH, 1928. Warth, M.C. "Justification Through Faith in Article Four of the Apology." Concordia Theological Quarterly, vol. 46, no. 2-3, April and July, 1982.



***

GJ - Serious lapses can be spotted at once. Zarling's list is larded with recent UOJ authors. Where are:

• Lenski, 
• Luther, and 
• Gausewitz?

Luther's sermons are extremely important and easily obtained in many forms and editions. Since Luther placed the sermon as the most important effort in church life, ignoring them is a major - and in fact - a dishonest omission.

Zarling ignored the Book of Concord and merely copied some quotations this way -

"32 This presentation was simplified greatly by Torald N. Teigen, in his essay, "the Proclamation of Justification: The Gospel Message of Forgiveness," printed in His Pardoning Grace, (Milwaukee: NPH, 1966), pp. 62-88. We follow his outline."

Zarling asserted that his cursory copying of quotations proved that the Lutheran Confessions are  in agreement "with our position."

This brief presentation of confessional quotations should be sufficient to assure us that our position is indeed synonymous with the Symbols of our church. Justification is the diamond among the jewels of God's revelation. It is the heart of the Gospel message. For our own eternal comfort, let us always treasure its priceless worth. p. 10, Zarling essay!

Let us everyone try to keep from laughing out loud when someone claims a "quia subscription to the Confessions" is the WELS position. Zarling makes it sound like the Book of Concord has a quia subscription to the UOJ of WELS.

Zarling's rhapsody is a clear case of begging the question, a type of circular reasoning. He simply assumes his initial point is true and piles on all the statements agreeing with it. But this is a logical fallacy because he does not entertain or even acknowledge that another position, even another definition of justification, is relevant.

In short, he correctly states that justification is the Chief Article of the Christian Religion, etc etc. His source is What Luther Says, which sounds like going deep sea fishing with a Ronco Pocket Fisherman. This betrays the modern WELS loathing of the Book of Concord. Why actually study The Righteousness of Faith, Article III in the Formula of Concord -  or engage the Apology's brilliant, clear discussion of justification by faith?

The Formula of Concord cites Melanchthon and Luther in the article, The Righteousness of Faith. These are authorities for sincere Lutherans, far above the recent synodical squat-heads.

Instead, Zarling defines justification by opposing Luther, Melanchthon, and the Book of Concord. This sleight of hand, almost magical, is academic dishonesty and doctrinal bankruptcy. Instead of declaring a difference between the Book of Concord and the WELS dogma, he defines the original statement as really meaning the WELS dogma and runs away with his begging the question. Everyone must conclude from Zarling's manipulation that the Chief Article is indeed Objective/Subjective Justification, which are flotsam and jetsam from Halle Pietism and a Calvinist translator.

Zarling and Bivens remind me of the young woman who sang the praises of Margaret Sanger in her presentation in college. I asked about Sanger's speech to the Ku Klux Klan. Did she know about that?

The woman said, "Oh, I ran into that stuff about the KKK, but ignored it because it clashed with my theme."

The Faith of Jesus: Against the Faithless Lutherans

You may download this PDF, share it, print it, etc.

The quotations are set up so that people can print a page or two and have the citations directly under the quotations and not dropped below in fine print or buried at the end of the chapter or the book.

Why exactly would a Lutheran pastor give money to the papists to attack the Reformer with a pile of lies?

Ironically, he did not list Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant on the same page. What better book to discuss the differences among the three major branches of the Christian Faith? In fact, CLP deals with the factual errors and outright lies in the O'Hare book.

How many books deal with the actual differences between Rome and the Lutheran Reformation, using the original sources?

Answer - One. Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant.

I do not see how Otten can criticize any Protestant group or any leader when he sells Roman Catholic Dreck to make a few bucks.

Perhaps he will offer statues of the Virgin Mary giving St. Bernard a fill-up next. McCain would take three- one for him, one for Weedon, one for Harrison.


From CLP:

Now we know what the LCMS thinks about Luther - while Walther is venerated as a saint!

be left unmentioned.

***

GJ - Here is a free clue, Herman Otten - the Roman Catholics have abandoned the Seven-Headed Luther and the book based upon Cochlaeus' defamation of Luther - The Facts about Luther.

Why is the editor of Christian News selling this book - FOR REFORMATION STUDIES?




---

Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "Pastor Herman Otten Joins Forces with Paul McCain ...":

Ichabod -

I gain the impression that Otten is another McCaininite. Hence, it follows that those who engorge themselves with the false doctrine of universal objective justification; they then naturally become attracted to Roman Catholicism.

Come to think of it; - no wonder CPH's McCain is so hooked on his Mother Mary lactation.

Nathan M. Bickel

www.thechristianmessage.org
www.moralmatters.org


***

GJ - People think their Mennonite shunning methods are the equivalent of fellowship principles. For instance, Otten shuns me for being against UOJ. Or Grace does. She is the theologian in the family.

But UOJ does make people oblivious about doctrine - except for that one dogma.

I know from Notre Dame that the only dogma that mattered was being a member of Rome. The ND worship department laughed at Lutherans as the "Western Orthodox."

Luther wrote - "The entire Bible is a sermon about Jesus."

Luther's Sermon for INVOCAVIT. FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. Matthew 4:1-11


German text: Erlangen edition II, 107; Walch II, 727; St. Louis II, 532.

TEXT:

Matthew 4:1-11. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered. And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him into the holy city; and he set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, if thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and, On their hands they shall bear thee up, lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and he said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

CONTENTS:

THE FAST AND THE TEMPTATION OF CHRIST.
I. CHRIST’ S FAST.

1. How this fast has been twisted in the most unreasonable manner by those who have been led to imitate it 1f.

* An opinion on the fast of the papists 1-2.

2. The nature of this fast 3-4.

* How and why man should not seek the temptation and need of fasting without being called by God to do so 4.

3. How Christ’s fasting should serve us. For instruction

5. For admonition 6.

II. CHRIST’ S TEMPTATION.

A. In Detail.

1. The First Temptation, a. How Christ in this temptation was forsaken by all 7. b. How Christ is here attacked by Satan through unbelief and hunger (bauchsorge) 8-9. c. How Christ overcame this temptation 10-12.

* God’s care for mankind 13-14.

* Why God nourishes mankind by means of bread, and not only by means of the Word 15-16.

2. The Second Temptation. a. The nature of this temptation 17-20. b. How this temptation seldom takes place in outward things, but often in spiritual matters 20-21. c. Comparison of this with the former temptation

3. The Third Temptation. a. Its nature

23. b. Comparison of this with the former temptations 23-24.

B. In General.

1. Which is the hardest of these temptations

2. The order of these temptations

3. What follows these temptations 27.28.



I. THE FASTING OF CHRIST.

1. This Gospel is read today at the beginning of Lent in order to picture before Christians the example of Christ, that they may rightly observe Lent, which has become mere mockery: first, because no one can follow this example and fast forty days and nights as Christ did without eating any food. Christ rather followed the example of Moses, who fasted also forty days and nights, when he received the law of God on mount Sinai. Thus Christ also wished to fast when he was about to bring to us, and give expression to, the new law. In the second place, Lent has become mere mockery because our fasting is a perversion and an institution of man. For although Christ did fast forty days, yet there is no word of his that he requires us to do the same and fast as he did. Indeed he did many other things, which he wishes us not to do; but whatever he calls us to do or leave undone, we should see to it that we have his Word to support our actions.

2. But the worst of all is that we have adopted and practiced fasting as a good work: not to bring our flesh into subjection; but, as a meritorious work before God, to atone for our sins and obtain grace. And it is this that has made our fasting a stench and so blasphemous and shameful, so that no drinking and eating, no gluttony and drunkenness, could have been as bad and foul. It would have been better had people been drunk day and night than to fast thus. Moreover, even if all had gone well and right, so that their fasting had been applied to the mortification of the flesh; but since it was not voluntary, and it was not left to each to do according to their own free will, but was compulsory by virtue of human commandment, and they did it unwillingly, it was all lost and to no purpose. I will not mention the many other evils as the consequences, as that pregnant mothers and their offspring, the sick and the weak, were thereby ruined, so that it might be called a fasting of Satan instead of a fasting unto holiness. Therefore we will carefully consider how this Gospel teaches us by the example of Christ what true fasting is.

3. The Scriptures present to us two kinds of true fasting: one, by which we try to bring the flesh into subjection to the spirit, of which St. Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians 6:5: “ In labors, in watchings, in fastings.” The other is that which we must bear patiently, and yet receive willingly because of our need and poverty, of which St. Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 4:11: “Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst,” and Christ in Matthew 9:15: “When the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, then will they fast.” This kind of fasting Christ teaches us here while in the wilderness alone without anything to eat, and while he suffers his penury without murmuring. The first kind of fasting, one can end whenever he wills, and can satisfy it by food; but the other kind we must observe and bear until God himself changes it and satisfies us. Hence it is much more precious than the first, because it moves in greater faith.

4. This is also the reason that the Evangelist with great care places it first:

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, that he might there fast and be tempted, so that no one might imitate his example of their own choice and make of it a selfish, arbitrary, and pleasant fasting; but instead wait for the Spirit, who will send him enough fastings and temptations. For whoever, without being led by the Spirit, wantonly resorts to the danger of hunger or to any temptation, when it is truly a blessing of God that he can eat and drink and have other comforts, tempts God. We should not seek want and temptation, they will surely come of themselves; we ought then do our best and act honestly. The text reads: Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness; and not: Jesus himself chose to go into the wilderness. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Romans 8:14. God gives his blessings for the purpose that we may use them with thanksgiving, and not that we may let them lie idle, and thus tempt him; for he wishes it, and forces us to fast by the Spirit or by a need which we cannot avoid.

5. This narrative, however, is written both for our instruction and admonition. First, for instruction, that we should know how Christ has served and helped us by his fasting, hunger, temptation and victory; also that who ever believes on Christ shall never suffer need, and that temptation shall never harm him; but we shall have enough in the midst of want and be safe in the midst of temptation; because his Lord and Head triumphed over these all in his behalf, and of this he is assured, as Christ says in John 16:33: “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

God, who was able to nourish Christ forty days without any food, can nourish also his Christians.

6. Secondly, this is written for our admonition, that we may in the light of this example also cheerfully suffer want and temptation for the service of God and the good of our neighbor, like Christ did for us, as often as necessity requires it; which is surely accomplished if we learn and confess God’s Word. Therefore this Gospel is sweet consolation and power against the unbelief and infamy of the stomach, to awaken and strengthen the conscience, that we may not be anxious about the nourishment of our bodies, but be assured that he can and will give us our daily bread.

II. THE TEMPTATION OF CHRIST.

7. But as to how temptation takes place and how it is overcome, is all very beautifully pictured to us here in Christ. First, that he is led up into the wilderness, that is, he is left solitary and alone by God, angels and men, by all creatures. What kind of a temptation would it be, if we were not forsaken and stood not alone? It is, however, painful when we do not feel anything that presents its back to us; as for example, that I should support myself and have not a nickel, not a thread, not a twig, and I experience no help from others, and no advice is offered. That means to be led into the desert and to be left alone. There I am in the true school, and I learn what I am, how weak my faith is, how great and rare true faith is, and how deeply unbelief is entrenched in the hearts of all men. But whoever has his purse, cellar and fields full, is not yet led into the desert, neither is he left alone; therefore he is not conscious of temptation.

8. Secondly, the tempter came forward and attacked Christ with these very same cares of food for the body and with the unbelief in the goodness of God, and said: “If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread,” as if he should say: Yes, trust thou in God and bake and cook nothing; only wait patiently until a roasted fowl flies into your mouth; do you now say that you have a God who cares for you; where is now your heavenly Father, who has charge of you? Yea, it seems to me he lets you in a fine condition; eat now and drink from your faith, let us see how you will satisfy your hunger; yea, when you have stones for bread. What a fine Son of God you are! How fatherly he is disposed toward you in that he fails to send you a slice of bread and permits you to be so poor and needy; do you now continue to believe that you are his son and he is your father? With like thoughts he truly attacks all the children of God. And Christ surely felt this temptation, for he was no stock nor stone; although he was and remained pure and without sin, as we cannot do.

9. That Satan attacked Christ with the cares for daily food or with unbelief and avarice, Christ’s answer proves, in that he says: “Man shall not live by bread alone;” that sounds as if he said: thou wilt direct me to bread alone and dost treat me as though I thought of nothing but the sustenance of my body. This temptation is very common also among pious people, and they especially feel it keenly who have children and a family, and have nothing to eat. Therefore St. Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:10 that avarice is a root of all kind of evil; for it is a fruit of unbelief. Do you not think that unbelief, care and avarice are the reasons people are afraid to enter married life?

Why do people avoid it and live in unchastity, unless it be the fear that they must die of hunger and suffer want? But here we should consider Christ’s work and example, who suffered want forty days and nights, and finally was not forsaken, but was ministered to even by angels.

10. Thirdly, behold how Christ resists this temptation of bread, and overcomes; he sees nothing but stones and what is uneatable, then he approaches and clings to the Word of God, strengthens himself by it and strikes the devil to the ground with it. This saying all Christians should lay hold of when they see that there is lack and want and everything has become stones, so that courage trembles, and they should say: What were it if the whole world were full of bread, still man does not live by bread alone, but more belongs to life, namely, the Word of God. The words, however, are so beautiful and powerful that we must not pass over them lightly, but carefully explain them.

11. These words Christ quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3, where Moses says: “Thy God humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live.”

That is as much as to say: Since God permits you to hunger and you still continue to live, you ought indeed to grasp the thought that God nourishes you without bread through his Word; for if you should live and sustain yourself by bread alone then you must continually be full of bread. But the Word, that nourishes us is, that he promises us and causes it to be published that he is our God and desires to be our God.

12. Thus now the meaning of Moses and of Christ is: Whoever has here God’s Word and believes, has both blessings; the first, where he is in want and has nothing, but must suffer hunger, that Word will sustain him, so that he will not die of hunger nor perish, just as well as if he had abundance to eat; for the Word he has in his heart nourishes and sustains him without eating and drinking. But has he little to eat, then a bite or slice of bread will feed and nourish him like a kingly meal; for not only bread but the Word of God also nourishes the body naturally, as it creates and upholds all things, Hebrews 1:3. The other blessing he will also enjoy, namely, that finally bread will surely be at hand, come whence it will, and should it rain from heaven like manna where none grows and none can grow. In these two thoughts every person can freely trust, namely, that he must in time of hunger receive bread or something to eat, or if not, then his hunger must become so moderate and bearable that it will nourish him even as well as bread does.

13. What has been said of eating and feeding the body should be understood also of drinking, clothing, house, and all our needs: namely that although he still permits us to become naked and suffer want for clothing, house etc., clothing must finally be at hand, and before it fails the leaves of the trees must become coats and mantles; or if not, then the coats and garments that we wear must never grow old; just as happened to the Children of Israel in the desert Deuteronomy 8:2-4, whose clothing and shoes never wore out. Likewise the wild wilderness must become their houses, and there must be a way where there is no way; and water, where there is no water; stones must become water. For here stands God’s Word, which says: “He cares for you;” and St. Paul in 1 Timothy 6:17: “God giveth us richly all things to enjoy;” and Matthew 6:33-34: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore anxious for the morrow.” These and like words must continue true and stand forever firm.

14. All this one may indeed learn from his own daily experiences. For it is held, and I almost believe it, that there are not as many sheaves of wheat grown as there are people living on the earth; but God daily blesses and increases the wheat in the sack, the flour in the tray, the bread on the table and in the mouth, as Christ did. John 6:12 f. It is also noticeable that as a rule poor people and their children are fatter and their food reaches farther and agrees with them better than is the case among the rich with all their provisions. However that the godless at times suffer need, or in times of famine many die of hunger, is caused by a special plague as pestilence, war etc. In other ways we see that in all things it is not the food, but the Word of God that nourishes every human being.

15. Now that God sustains all mankind by bread, and not by the Word alone, without bread, is done to the end, that he conceals his work in the world in order to exercise believers; just as he commanded the children of Israel to arm themselves and to fight, and yet it was not his pleasure that victory should come through their own sword and deeds; but he himself was to slay their enemies and triumph with their swords and through their deeds. Here it might a1so be said: The warrior was not victorious through his sword alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God, as David sings, Psalm 44:6: “For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.” Also <19E710> Psalm 147:10 and Psalm 33:16-17: “He taketh no pleasure in the legs of a man. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain thing for safety.” Yet he uses man and the horse, the sword and bow: but not because of the strength and power of man and of the horse, but under the veil and covering of man and the horse he fights and does all. This he proves in that he often did and daily does the same without man and the horse, where there is need and he is not tempted.

16. Thus he does also with the bread; since it is at hand, he nourishes us through it and by means of it, so that we do not see it and we think the bread does it; but where it is not at hand, there he nourishes us without the bread, only through the Word, as he does by means of the bread; so that thus bread is God’s helper, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:9: “We are God’s fellow workers,” that is, through and under our outward ministerial office he gives inwardly his grace, which he also could give and does give indeed without our office; but since the office is at hand, one should not despise it nor tempt God. Thus God sustains us outwardly by bread; but only inwardly he gives that growth and permanency, which the bread cannot give. And the summary is: All creatures are God’s larva and mummery, which he permits to work with him and to help to do everything that he can do and does do otherwise without their cooperation, in order that we may cleave alone to his Word. Thus, if bread is at hand, that we do not therefore trust the more; or if there is no bread present, that we do not therefore despair the more; but use it when it is at hand, and do without it, when there is none; being assured that we shall still live and be sustained at both times by God’s Word, whether there be bread or no bread. With such faith one overcomes avarice and temporal care for daily bread in the right way.

17. Christ’s second temptation is opposed to the first and is repugnant to common sense. Its substance is that the devil teaches us to tempt God; as he here calls to Christ to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, which was not at all necessary, since there were surely good steps upon which he could descend. And that this temptation was for the purpose of tempting or making trial of God, the answer of Christ also clearly proves, when he says: “Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.” By this he shows that the devil wished to lead him into temptation.

18. And this very appropriately follows the first temptation. For where the devil feels a heart trusts God in times of want and need, he soon ceases his temptation of bread and avarice and thinks: Wait, wilt thou be very spiritual and believing, I will assist you: He approaches and attacks on the other side, that we might believe where God has not commanded us to believe, nor wills that we should believe. For example, if God gave you bread in your homes, as he does yearly everywhere in the world, and you would not use it, but instead you would cause need and want yourselves, and say: Why, we are to believe God; I will not eat the bread, but will patiently wait until God sends me manna from heaven. See, that would be tempting God; for that is not believing where all is at hand that we need and should have. How can one believe that he will receive what he already has ?

19. Thus you see here that Satan held before Christ want and need where there was neither want nor need; but where there was already good means by which to descend from the temple without such a newly devised and unnecessary way of descending. For this purpose Satan led Christ to the top of the temple, in the holy city, says the Evangelist, and placed him in a holy place. For he creates such precious thoughts in man that he thinks he is filled with faith and is on the true way of holiness; and yet he does not stand in the temple, but is only on the outside of the temple, that is, he is not in the true holy mind or life of faith; and yet he is in the holy city; that is, such persons are found only in Christendom and among true Christians, who hear a great deal of preaching about faith. To these persons he applies the sayings of Scripture. For such persons learn Scripture also by daily hearing it; but not farther than they can apply it to their erroneous opinions and their false faith. For Satan here quotes from the Psalter, Psalm 91:11-12, that God commanded the angels that they should protect the children of God and carry them on their hands. But Satan like a rogue and cheat fails to quote what follows, namely, that the angels shall protect the children of God in all their ways. For the Psalm reads thus: “For he will give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone;” hence the protection of the angels does not reach farther, according to the command of God, than the ways in which God has commanded us to walk.

When we walk in these ways of God, his angels take care of us. But the devil omits to quote “the ways of God” and interprets and applies the protection of the angels to all things, also to that which God has not commanded; then it fails and we tempt God.

20. Now, this temptation seldom takes place in outward material things as bread, clothing, house, etc. For we find many foolhardy people, who risk and endanger their body and life, their property and honor, with out any need of doing so; as those do who willfully enter into battle or jump into the water, or gamble for money, or in other ways venture into danger, of whom the wise man says in Sirach 3:27: “Whoever takes pleasure in danger, will thereby be overcome;” for in the degree one struggles to get a thing, will he succeed in obtaining it; and good swimmers are likely to drown and good climbers likely to fall. Yet it is seldom that those of false faith in God abstain from bread, clothing and other necessities of life, when they are at hand. As we read of two hermits, who would not accept bread from the people, but thought God should send it to them directly from heaven; so the consequence was that one died and went to his father, the devil, who taught him such faith and left him fall from the pinnacle.

21. But in spiritual matters this temptation is powerful when one has to do with the nourishment not of the body but of the soul. Here God has held before us the person and way, by which the soul can be forever nourished in the richest manner possible without any want, namely Christ, our Savior.

But this way, this treasure, this provision no one desires. Everybody seeks another way, other provisions to help their souls. The real guilty ones are those who would be saved through their own work; these the devil sets conspicuously on the top of the temple. They follow him and go down where there is no stairway; they believe and trust in their own work where there is no faith nor trust, no way nor bridge, and break their necks. But Satan makes use of and persuades them through the Scriptures to believe that the angels will protect them, and that their way, works and faith are pleasing to God, and who called them through the Scriptures to do good works; but they do not care how falsely they explain the Scriptures.

22. Who these are, we have identified often enough and very fully, namely, workrighteous persons and unbelieving hypocrites under the name of being Christians and among the congregation of Christian people. For the temptation must take place in the holy city and one temptation is seldom against another. In the first temptation want and hunger are the reasons that we should not believe; and by which we become anxious to have a full sufficiency, so that there is no chance for us to believe. In the second temptation, however, the abundance and the full sufficiency are the reasons that we do not believe, by which we become tired of the common treasure, and every one tries to do something through his own powers to provide for his soul. So we do; if we have nothing, then we doubt God and believe not; if we have abundance, then we become tired of it and wish to have something different, and again we fail to believe. There we flee and turn against want and seek abundance: here we seek want and flee from the abundance we have. No, whatever God does for us, is never right. Such is the bottomless wickedness of our unbelief.

23. Christ’s third temptation consists in temporal honor and power; as the words of the devil clearly teach, when Satan shows and offers Christ all the kingdoms of the world if he would worship him. To this class those belong who fall from their faith for the sake of honor and power, that they may enjoy good days, or not believe further than their honor and power extend.

Such are also the heretics who start sects and factions in matters of faith among Christians, that they may make a great parade before the world and soar aloft in their own honor. Hence one may place this third temptation on the right, and the first on the left side. The first is the temptation of misfortune, by which man is stirred to anger, impatience and unbelief; the third and last, the temptation of prosperity, by which man is enticed to lust, honor, joy, and whatever is high. The second or middle temptation is spiritual and deals with the blind tricks and errors that mislead reason from faith.

24. For whom the devil cannot overcome with poverty, want, need and misery, he attacks with riches, favor, honor, pleasure, power and the like, and contends on both sides against us; yea, “he walketh about,” says St. Peter in 1 Peter 5:8, so that if he cannot overthrow us either with suffering or love, that is, with the first temptation on the left or the third on the right, he retires to a higher and different method and attacks us with error, blindness and a false understanding of the Scripture. If he wins there, we fare ill on all sides and in all things; and whether one suffers poverty or has abundance, whether he fights or surrenders, all is lost. For when one is in error, neither patience in misfortune nor firmness in prosperity helps him; seeing that in both heretics are often powerful and the devil deliberately acts as if he were overcome in the first and last temptations, although he is not, if he has only won in the middle or second temptation. For he lets his own children suffer much and be patient, even at times to spurn the world; but never with a true and honest heart.

25. Now these three temptations taken together are heavy and hard; but the middle one is the greatest; for it attacks the doctrine of faith itself in the soul, and is spiritual and in spiritual matters. The other two attack faith in outward things, in fortune and misfortune, in pleasure and pain etc., although both severely try us. For it is sad that one should lay hold of heaven and ever be in want and eat stones where there is no bread. Again, it is sad to despise favors, honor and possessions, friends and associates, and let go what one already has. But faith, rooted in God’s Word, is able to do all things; is faith strong, then it is also easy for the believer to do this.

26. The order of these temptations, as they met Christ, one cannot absolutely determine; for the Evangelists give them in different order. The temptation Matthew places as the middle one, Luke places last, Luke 4, 4f.; and again, the temptation Luke places in the middle, Matthew places last, as if little depended on the order. But if one wished to preach or speak of them, the order of Luke would be the better. For it is a fine opportunity to repeat and relate that the devil began with want and misfortune; when that did not work, then he began with prosperity and honor; and last, when all fails, that he wantonly and wickedly springs forth and strikes people with terror, lies and other spiritual tricks. And since they have no order in practice and experience, but as it happens that a Christian may be attacked at one time with the last, and another time with the first etc., Matthew gave little attention to the order for a preacher to observe in speaking of this theme. And perhaps it was also the same with Christ through the forty days that the devil held to no order, but today attacked him with this and tomorrow with another temptation, and again in ten days with the first and so on, just as occasion was given.

27. At last angels approached and served him. This must have taken place in a literal sense, that they appeared in a bodily form and gave him to eat and drink, and just as at a table, they ministered to all his wants. For the service is offered outwardly to his body, just like, no doubt, the devil, his tempter, also appeared in a bodily form, perhaps like an angel. For, seeing that he places him on the pinnacle of the temple and shows him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment, he must have been a higher being than a man, since he represents himself as a higher being, in that he offers him all the kingdoms of the world and permits himself to be worshiped. But he surely did not bear the form of the devil, for he desires to be beautiful when he lies and deceives, as St. Paul says of him in 2 Corinthians 11:14: “For even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light.”

28. This however is written for our comfort, that we may know that many angels minister also to us, where one devil attacks us; if we fight with a knightly spirit and firmly stand, God will not let us suffer want, the angels of heaven would sooner appear and be our bakers, waiters and cooks and minister to all our wants. This is not written for Christ’s sake for he does not need it. Did the angels serve him, then they may also serve us.

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