Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, Author Gerd Eichmann
(CC BY-SA 4.0 International)
Early Christians at first met in individual homes. The oldest building known to have housed a Christian church was constructed between 293 and 303 AD in Aqaba, Jordan [1].
This structure predates the famous Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, both of which date from the 320s AD [2][3]. Read more…
Oldest known icon of Christ Pantocrator (6th Cent.), St. Catherine’s Monastery, Mt. Sinai, Author JoeyEspo984 (CC BY-SA 4.0 International)
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’ ” (John 14: 6).
Tragically, Bible-believing churches are becoming all too rare. Many churches which claim to be Christian are seeking to attract followers by diluting the Gospel, and conforming to social mores.
One thing getting lost is acknowledgment that Christ is the only way to the Father.
Dr. Michael Youssef of Leading the Way Ministries https://www.ltw.org recently made that point in a sermon demonstrating that Christ is the central focus of both the Old and New Testaments, and the only true revelation of God.
Below is an excerpt:
“…in the Book of Genesis, He [Christ] is the Seed of the Woman that the Father promised Adam and Eve.
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb.
In Leviticus, He is the High Priest.
In Numbers, He is the Smitten Rock.
In Deuteronomy, He is the Prophet [mentioned by Moses].
In Joshua, He is the Captain of the Lord of Hosts.
In Judges, He is the Creator, and the Final Judge.
In Ruth, He is the heavenly Kinsman-Redeemer.
In Samuel, He is the Anointed One.
In Kings, He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” Read more…
“…The doctrine of the Trinity is the belief that there is only one living and true God. Yet, the one God is three distinct Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three have distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. They enjoy eternal communion and are coeternal and coequal.
The doctrine of the Trinity denies tritheism. Tritheism is the belief that there are three gods…The doctrine of the Trinity also refutes modalism. Modalism is the belief that God is only one Person who appears in different modes at different times. The three Persons of the Trinity exist simultaneously… [1A]”
Biblical Foundation
Though the term “Trinity” does not appear in the Bible, there is strong biblical evidence for the Trinity.
A. God the Father
God the Father is mentioned in the both the Old and New Testaments. See, for instance, Deut. 32: 18; Ps. 68: 5, and 89: 26; Malachi 2: 10; Matt. 6: 1; John 1: 18 and 6: 27; 2 Cor. 1: 3; and Gal. 1: 1 [2]. Read more…
African American farmer standing in a cornfield,
Alachua County, FL, Source Flickr,
Author Florida Memory (State Library and Archives of Florida/Local call no. Rc13671)
No known copyright restrictions
Slavery in the United States denied multiple generations of enslaved people the opportunity to own land [1].
40 Acres and a Mule
During the final months of the Civil War, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman issued Special Field Orders, No. 15 which provided for the confiscation of 40,000 acres along the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida [2].
This was to be divided into parcels of not more than 40 acres each, for the settlement of 18,000 black refugees who had sought the protection of Sherman. It is the source for the expression “forty acres and a mule”.
Most recipients assumed the grant of land was permanent. Pres. Andrew Johnson, however, issued a proclamation returning confiscated land to any Southern owners who took a loyalty oath.
Congress eventually succeeded in enacting legislation which allowed at least some former slaves to retain their land.
Unfortunately, Reconstruction did not emphasize minority land ownership. After Reconstruction ended, nearly all land allocated during the conflict was restored to its pre-war owners.
American Rescue Plan
The US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) was to begin paying off the loans of minority farmers a year ago [3A]. That, at least, was the intention. Read more…
“Marriage Supper of the Lamb”, portal tympanum at All Saints Catholic Church, Walton, KY, Author Nheyob (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported)
The relationship between Christ and His church has often been compared to a marriage.
Old Testament
In the Old Testament, Boaz – the kinsman-redeemer who marries the Moabite widow Ruth – is considered a foreshadowing of Christ [1].
The Song of Solomon describes the covenantal love of Christ for His church. In medieval mysticism, this book was construed to apply to the love between Christ and the human soul [2].
On the other hand, the prophet Hosea’s troubled relationship with his wife is used as a metaphor for God’s relationship with Israel.
But God promises Israel:
“…And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness….You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lord delights in you, And your land shall be married. For…as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you” (Isa. 62: 1, 4-5).
New Testament
In the New Testament, John the Baptist describes Christ as the Bridegroom (John 3: 29). This concept is reinforced by the parable reference Christ makes to Himself as the Bridegroom (Mark 2: 19-20).
In fact, the church is regularly referred to as the Bride of Christ (2 Cor. 11: 2; Eph. 5: 25-27; Rev. 19: 7-9, 21: 2, 22: 17). Read more…
Break of dawn at Banate Bay, Philippines, Author Dandy1022 (CC BY-SA 4.0 International)
“If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me” (Ps. 139: 9-10).
Merciful God, too often we seek to flee from Your presence…when the world is too much with us, when temptation beckons, when we know we have failed.
So often these moments follow on the heels of our greatest presumed triumphs.
Despite our many weaknesses, You stand by us – waiting to draw us once again into Your arms. The wonder of this is beyond our understanding.
Hold us fast, Lord God. Never let us go, that we may yet do the work of the kingdom for which You intended us. We ask this in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Amen
Originally posted 5/10/12
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse https://www.avoicereclaimed.com
Muslim demonstrators carry signs reading “Islam will dominate the world” and “To hell with democracy” in Maldives (2014), Author Dying Regime, Source https://www.flickr.com/photos/dyingregime/15151723781/, (CC Attribution 2.0 Generic)
“Fact: The 2016 killing of a gorilla in Cincinnati received six times more [mainstream] media coverage than the beheading by ISIS of 21 Coptic Egyptian Christians who refused to recant their faith.”
-“Blaming Israel, Not Muslims, for Christian Woe” by Raymond Ibrahim [1A]
The mainstream media does not impartially report religious persecution.
Nigeria
In Nigeria alone there have been 32,000 Christians killed by the country’s jihadists over the past decade [1B][2].
Hostility toward Christianity is well-established in other Muslim countries, as well [1C]. These include Kenya, Somalia, and Mozambique.
Uganda
In Uganda (a religiously diverse country with Christianity widely practiced), it is not uncommon for Muslims to attack or kill family members for converting to Christianity [1D][3].
Egypt
In Egypt, numerous churches have been bombed by Muslims, over the years [1E]. The number of Christian women and girls kidnapped, then forced to convert to Islam and marry their abductors is record high [1F]. Read more…
Image courtesy of Christianity.com
The following is excerpted from a post by Joel Abbott [1]. You can find the full text at the web address given below.
“…When…[the] good news [of the Resurrection] first began spreading over the Roman world, people thought it was crazy. Just like they do today!
Along the way, people created deviations of what the Bible and Jesus taught. They began tacking on additional requirements other than to believe with your heart and profess with your mouth, teaching that there was secret knowledge to be attained (‘do the work’), specific qualifications that needed to be met (‘become an ally’), rituals that needed to be followed (‘state your pronouns and make an indigenous land acknowledgement’), and that God’s character was actually different than you think (‘Breastfeeding God Of Many Breasts’)…
Most Western churches today…have no idea that it’s woke paganism that is destroying their members…
Yet woke paganism was the standard of the day back in ancient Rome…
Modern Wokeism is no different than the paganism of old. It’s just a new variety of world religions (where Christianity is the exception).
For but the briefest of moments where Christianity was followed in Europe and America and created insane human flourishing and scientific advancement, the world has been ruled by such thought.
We live again in such an age.
- The Romans wanted sex to be everywhere and expressed in every way. We’ve done that, and then some! Caligula himself would blush.
- The Romans wanted to kill who they wanted to kill. We do that every time we jump on board with the #CurrentThing, vilifying our enemies as Nazis and cheering in many cases when they die. In some cases, such as the situation of the preborn child, we’re allowed to legally shed more human blood than the gladiators or crucifixion teams could have ever imagined.
- The Romans wanted to silence who they wanted to silence. The mainstream media and Big Tech have that practice down pat.
Because our situation is rapidly regressing to the first century AD, it’s worth noting that the Apostle Paul and other early church leaders addressed the exact same kind of things we’re dealing with today…
One letter in particular, Paul’s epistle to the Colossians, truly stands out as a letter for our moment in history…” Read more…
Bridal bouquet, Author Djmuenchen s4I, Source https://www.sound4light.de (CC Attribution 4.0 International)
Readers of this blog are by now well familiar with Christian Legal Clinics of Philadelphia https://www.clcphila.org/, a non-profit whose predecessor I was involved in co-founding.
CLCP provides the poor of Philadelphia with legal services at no charge. This is accomplished by Christian attorneys and paralegals who volunteer their time and expertise for the love of God. (More information about Christian legal aid can be found above.)
Here is the story of one case CLCP handled [1]. Client names have been changed in the interest of privacy.
“In 2019, Sandy and Bill, newly engaged college students…found the perfect venue for their May 20, 2020 dream wedding. The venue required them to sign a contract and pay a deposit to secure their wedding date. The contract stated that the venue would refund the deposit if the venue canceled the event. The couple was, also, required to purchase wedding insurance…
Just months before their dream wedding, Covid-19 hit the country. Pennsylvania was labeled a ‘red zone’, and the venue could not host large events; Sandy and Bill’s wedding included. Disappointed…Sandy and Bill requested a refund…
However, instead of honoring their request, the venue refused to refund the deposit and arbitrarily rescheduled their wedding date. When Sandy and Bill expressed that the date offered would not work, the venue once again refused to refund their money…telling the couple that…Sandy and Bill, had canceled the wedding by refusing to accept a rescheduled date. As a result, Sandy and Bill’s wedding insurance was unusable…”
“Praying Hands” by Peter Paul Rubens (1600), Source COREL photo CD, Masters I (PD)
“Several studies suggest that religious involvement or spiritual well-being may affect health outcomes…The spirituality scores were significantly correlated with the degree of progression or regression of coronary artery obstruction over a 4-year time period…This study suggests that the degree of spiritual well-being may be an important factor in the development of coronary artery disease.”
-Abstract: “The relationship of spirituality to coronary heart disease” by EL Morris, September/October 2001 [1]
A number of studies have demonstrated that spirituality – loosely defined as a relationship to the Divine – can have a positive impact on heart health.
These studies attempt to measure and parse spirituality without actually evaluating the quality of the relationship from which human beings draw their life and strength.
Christians, of course, know that a relationship with God is at the very heart of spirituality. Organized religion reflects and captures only a small portion of this. But the target of our devotion (and the degree of that devotion) matter. Read more…
A Lawyer's Prayers 