December 31st | The feast of St. Sylvester

 

Today is Decemebr 31st. New year’s Eve. the beginning of a new year, and a chance to celebrate for many. Around the world, to many who acknowledge various liturgical calendars, today is the feast day of someone a little less popular than Father Time..

Sylvester was ordained bishop over the church in Rome in the year 314.  This Christian brother served the church at a time when the Arian heresy and the Donatist schism had provoked great discord. After the peace of Constantine, he contributed greatly to the expansion of the faith throughout the Roman world.. Below is a reading I borrowed from a Catholic Missal:

Collect:
Lord,
help and sustain Your people
as in the days of Bishop Sylvester.
Guide us always in this present life
and bring us to the joy that never ends.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16
“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I Myself will search for My sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out My sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the fountains, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and upon the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on fat pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I Myself will be the shepherd of My sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over; I will feed them in justice.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 16:13-19
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

about pain..

“Pain won’t kill you. It will only put lines on your face.”  

                                                 D.D. Lahay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy John The Baptist Day!

Hey Pilgrims!

Here is a quick devotional I found. It makes for a great little read on John The Baptist Day. Enjoy.

Daily Reading & Meditation

Thursday (June 24): “For the hand of the Lord was with him”

Scripture: Luke 1:57-66,80  (alternate reading: Matthew 7:21-29)

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. 58 And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechari’ah after his father, 60 but his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your kindred is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all marveled. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him. 80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Meditation: Birthdays are a special time to remember and give thanks for the blessings that have come our way. Are you grateful for the ways that God has worked in your life, even from your birth? In many churches of the East and West the birth of John the Baptist is remembered on this day. The friends of Zechariah and Elizabeth marveled at the wonderful way in which God blessed them with a child. This child was destined by God for an important mission. The last verses in the last book of the Old Testament, taken from the prophet Malachi, speak of the Lord’s messenger, the prophet Elijah who will return to “turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:6). We see the beginning of the fulfillment of this word when the Angel Gabriel announced to Zechariah the marvelous birth and mission of John the Baptist (Luke 1:17). When this newly born child was about to be named, as customary on the eighth day, his relatives quibbled over what name to give him. (Don’t relatives today often do the same when the time comes for naming a newborn?) This child, however has been named from above! And Elizabeth is firm in her faith and determined to see that God be glorified through this child. The name John means “the Lord is gracious”. In the birth of John and in the birth of Jesus the Messiah we see the grace of God breaking forth into a world broken by sin and without hope. John’s miraculous birth shows the mercy and favor of God in preparing his people for the coming of its Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist’s life was fueled by one burning passion – to point others to Jesus Christ and to the coming of God’s kingdom. Scripture tells us that John was filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15, 41) by Christ himself, whom Mary had just conceived by the Holy Spirit. When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, John lept in the womb of Elizabeth as they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41). The fire of the Spirit dwelt in John and made him the forerunner of the coming Messiah. John was led by the Spirit into the wilderness prior to his ministry where he was tested and grew in the word of God. John’s clothing was reminiscent of the prophet Elijah (see Kings 1:8). John broke the prophetic silence of the previous centuries when he began to speak the word of God to the people of Israel. His message was similar to the message of the Old Testament prophets who chided the people of God for their unfaithfulness and who tried to awaken true repentance in them. Among a people unconcerned with the things of God, it was his work to awaken their interest, unsettle them from their complacency, and arouse in them enough good will to recognize and receive Christ when he came.

What is the significance of John the Baptist and his message for our lives? When God acts to save us he graciously fills us with his Holy Spirit and makes our faith come “alive” to his promises. Each and every day the Lord is ready to renew us in faith, hope, and love. Like John the Baptist, the Lord invites each of us to make our life a free-will offering to God. God wants to fill us with his glory all the days of our lives, from birth through death. Renew the offering of your life to God and give him thanks for his mercy and favor towards you.

“Lord Jesus, you bring hope and salvation to a world lost in sin, despair, and suffering. Let your grace refresh and restore your people today in the hope and joy of your great victory over sin and death.”

Psalm 139:1-3,13-15

1 O LORD, thou hast searched me and known me!
2 Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar.
3 Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
13 For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works!  Thou knowest me right well;
15 my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.

---

Go to | Daily Reading & Meditation Index |
 (c) 2010 Don Schwager

Words from Irenaeus

Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyons in the ancient Roman province of Gaul, is one of the early church fathers from the second century who’s writings still survive and hold relevance..

Here are some of his thoughts on “a life well spent”:

 ”The God, therefore, who does benevolently cause His sun to rise upon all, and sends rain upon the just and the unjust, shall judge those who, enjoying his equally distributed kindness, have led lives not corresponding to the dignity of His bounty, but who have spent their days in wantonness and luxury.”

The Ascension

I was looking at my calendar this morning and realized that today is the feast of Ascension, as observed by the Roman Catholic Church. The Ascension is one of the great feasts in the Christian liturgical calendar and commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day from Easter day. However, some Roman Catholic provinces have moved the observance to the following Sunday. The feast is one of the ecumenical feasts (i.e., universally celebrated), ranking with the feasts of the Passion, of Easter and Pentecost.

I made use of the day by reading and thinking on the passages of scripture containing the account of Jesus ascension into heaven. They can be found in Luke 24, Mark 16, and in Acts 1. I invite you to read this passage and drink in the words. What must it have been like to witness such a miracle? What had the disciples thought about Jesus final commission? What did this all mean to His followers?

Acts 2:4-12

“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the father, ‘which’, He said, ‘you have heard from Me: ‘for john baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And he said to them “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, he was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven.” 

One of the things that really stuck out to me was the fact that the disciples “were watching” as Jesus ascended. And we know that when Christ returns, there will also be eye witnesses:

Revelation 1:7 “Behold He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.”

When Jesus is scrutinized before the Sanhedrin, He alluded to this inevitable event, by paraphrasing Daniel 7:13-14:

“I am. And you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

I guess the point I’m trying to make, is that the ascension happened in the same way that the second coming will happen. I don’t have time, or urge to write in detail my eschatological opinion of the sequence of events around the second coming, but I want to emphasize that the Bible mentions it over and over. It is not a symbolic event, or a parabilic vision. It is a literal, event that will happen in human history. Basically, this is real folks!

May you be blessed on this Ascension Thursday! May you enjoy the friendship of the Holy Spirit today, and may you take comfort in the hope of Christ’s return.

shalom | pastor darrell

What would you do with a billion bucks?

 

What would you do if you had one billion dollars? Imagine it, one billion dollars, in your bank account right now.  

 For years people have day-dreamed about what their life would be like if they won the lottery. Many people have bought lotto tickets in hopes of a great windfall that would perhaps give them the security they always wanted, and make some of their wildest dreams come true.

 Recently, I asked a large group of people what they would do with one billion dollars and got a variety of answers. Some said they would purchase dream homes in various destinations in the world. Some talked of boats, world travel and sports cars. Someone said they would purchase a hockey team. Some talked about travelling the globe and visiting every nation.

 On the flip side, there were certain people who had a less selfish plan on how to spend their winnings. Some said they would give it all to a trusted charity of some kind. Others said they would give to missionary or humanitarian work in the third world. Some took joy in the idea of being a real life Santa Claus. The idea of looking around for families and individuals in great need of housing, or education, and be the one to bless them with a significant financial gift with no strings attached brought feelings of great joy to people. Some had ideas of putting the money away for future generations– to deny the pleasures of spending it in their own lifetime–to ensure the prosperity of their children, and their grandchildren.

 While it is easy to see how much value one billion dollars has, I wonder how much value can be placed on your life? Jesus, the famous and always controversial Rabbi, made a bold statement about the value of a human life:

  “For whoever desires to save his own life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

Economically speaking, this saying implies that a single life, is worth much more than one billion dollars. The value of one human life, with it’s potential, it’s influence and experience, is worth more than all the money in all the earth. Granted, there are many who see their life on this planet as a relatively insignificant blip on the radar screen of history.

I submit to you, that your life is worth more than the whole world. You may not be successful in the world’s eyes. You may not have everything you always wanted. You may not even have all of your basic needs. You may have talents and opportunities, or you may be in some ways, disadvantaged. Regardless of what you’ve done, regardless of what you look like, no matter your age, race, religion or gender; you’re life is more valuable than you could ever imagine. To God, your life is so precious that He willingly sacrificed Himself (through Jesus) just to show you how deeply He loves you, how willing He is to forgive you of every mistake, and to demonstrate how important a relationship with you is to His heart.

If you had all the money in all the world, how would you spend it? How will you spend your life?

Theodore the Sykeote | a piece of church history

 

I should like to write a book one day about the Body Of Christ. I should like to call it “Crown Of Jewels”, and use it to explore all of the beauty found in the mosaic of the denominations and diverse sub cultures within the church. There has certainly been plenty of constructive, and destructive criticism to the Bride Of Christ (of which I am guilty of both). But I should like to take an attempt to reveal the things that are right and good within each member. My research has begun, and I plan on even using this blog to organize and channel my learnings from Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, and Catholic doctrines and traditions.One of my learning strategies is to study the various Liturgical Calendars of the church. This include feasts, fasts, observances, and assigned days for specific saints and martyrs. I have copied the different calendars into my own, and I plan on doing much of the scripture readings, and keeping some of the observances in my own way to, in essence, experience what many of these church fathers seek to experience.  Some of you may think I’m going  a little wacky, but, that’s up to you!    

Anyway, I learned that today, for the Eastern Orthodox Church, is a day that they observe a specific Saint called Theodore. (note:  I want to stress one thing about the rigorous observing of the liturgical calendar. Even though it may seem cold, traditional, and may even be misunderstood as Saint worship, I need to credit it for the fact that it brings its followers through an intentional cycle of church history, doctrine, and deep meditations on scripture passages and bible stories)  

April 22 | St.Theodore the Sykeote    

 Saint Theodore was born out of wedlock in Sykeon, a village of Galatia in Asia Minor. From his childhood, he was under the protection and guidance of the holy Great Martyr George, who often appeared to him, and was as it were his trainer in the hard ascetical discipline which he took upon himself all his life. After a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, he became a monk in his native Galatia. About 584 he was ordained Bishop of Anastasiopolis in Galatia, where he shepherded his flock for ten years. After this, he asked to be allowed to be relieved of the duties of governing the diocese. His request was granted but he was commanded to retain his rank as bishop. Saint Theodore was a great worker of miracles, and also received from God the power to cast out even the most obstinate demons, who called him “Iron-eater” because of his stern way of life. Having passed throughout many regions, worked numerous miracles, and strengthened the faithful in piety, he departed this life in 613.

St. Peter the Extremist|Part One

 Unfortunately, many people in ministry can easily fall into the trap of going to unnecessary extremes. Walter Martin said that the truth is always held in balance between two extremes.

 Two examples of this could be legalism and license. The legalism camp could, for instance, camp out on great spiritual truths such as the need for repentance and holiness, and rightly quote scriptures promoting these points. The error, is to go to the extreme that salvation is in no way completely secure, and that salvation depends much on human deeds. This extreme thinking can actually turn into a lie that says God rewards salvation to those who merit it by being holy enough or who are repentant enough. Often people of this extreme camp will be so bound by rules and commands that they will measure how many inches a sleeve could be, or how much ankle skin can be exposed on a women’s body. They will hold so tightly to obeying the letter of the law, and ecclesiastical ordinances that they will be in more bondage than they were in before they came to Christ. People this religious are scared to even fart, lest they scare away the Holy Spirit.

 The other camp is license. Again, this way of thinking can be based on good scriptural principles, but quickly become erroneous when taken to the extreme. The truth is, God loves us, and His grace abounds. His mercy triumphs over judgement and can overpower any sin that stands in its way. The way to appropriate this grace, is to simply ask and receive. While all of this is essentially true, it cannot be the whole truth as revealed in the entire counsel of God’s word. People who camp out solely on this principle, make the mistake of confusing God’s acceptance with His approval of their lifestyles. They lose the sensitivity to sin, and continue on in disobedience as if it is no big deal. They trample the blood of Christ under their feet by treating His grace as something cheap. Morality loses importance quickly. And emotional, spontaneous confessions replace repentance, and the desire for experiential “feel good” blessings replace obedience and submission to the LORD.

 These two gutters lie on either side of the narrow path. The gutter to our left? Licence. The gutter to our right? Legalism. But for those pilgrims who truly walk in relationship with YHWH the loving Father, walk on the perfect law of Liberty.

 Read these scriptures pilgrims, out loud, nice and slowly..and tomorrow I will continue thoughts on this topic by taking a look at the life of St. Peter..

Shalom|pastor darrell     www.darrelllahay.wordpress.com

James 1:25

  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

James 2:12

So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free.

time|part one

 

Time. I’ve been thinking about the whole concept of time lately. What is time? Is it absolute? Is it relative? How does this invisible, unprejudiced force work upon us. As believers of an eternal essence, in what ways are we subject to time?

Some of the deepest theological conversations I have ever had have been with my seven-year old son, Ezra. I was explaining to him how God is ‘outside’ of time, and not bound in any fashion to its limitations, yet we humans, are bound by time. I tried my best to convey to him this concept to him by paraphrasing something I read in C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity years ago.

God created time, and humans are bound to it. We are stuck in a linear progression through history. God, does not move along the timeline of history with us. He is without time, and is ever-present in the past, as well as in the future.

The scriptures clearly portray this concept: Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever”

So I explained to Ez that because of this truth, we are able to pray to God about future events. Although God in His wisdom knows everything that will happen, He still, in His goodness, answers our prayers about things to come. This is the essence of faith. One may say “If God knows everything that is going to happen, why do we need to pray?’ My simplest response to that question is; “Because He commands us to.”

Ezra asked me an interesting question next: “If we can pray about tomorrow, and we can pray for things to happen today, can we pray for things to happen yesterday?”

This is an interesting question from the curious mind of a child…I will explore this more tomorrow..

keep posted at www.darrelllahay.wordpress.com

Shalom|pd

prize/price

 

There is a prize for being a Christian you know. It’s called the abundant life. In John 10:10, Jesus said:

 ”I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

You know this already. It cannot be denied that coming to Christ, is in one’s best interest. After all, it is a source of blessing, purpose, forgiveness, healing, knowledge, excitement, joy, and not to mention, eternal life! But to be Christian, there is also self-denial. Consecration, persecution, sacrifice, obedience, etc.

A friend of mine recently reminded me that Jesus, was acutely aware of this. I think of the passion week. I think of Gethsemane. Jesus had come to the end of three-year rabbinic career. He preached the gospel to crowds all over the country side, he saw people’s lives change. He performed miracles, and opened minds and hearts with his heavenly teaching. He made friends. He enjoyed hospitality and travel. But, now, he was experiencing such agony, and suffering, that His very body reeled under the weight of it. Darkness was closing in, and Jesus became graphically intent on what his whole mission was about. Jesus was aware of the “prize” of His mission: Encouraging heavy hearts, bringing healing to the sick, feeding the hungry, giving sight to the blind, casting out demons, preaching the gospel message. He had attracted quite a crowd. But, there was also a “price” to His mission. While He was living, many of His disciples were not aware of this price. The price, in Jesus case, was His very life. Hebrews 12:2 lets us in on this:

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of  our faith, who for the JOY set before Him, endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

As ministers of the gospel, let us not be deceived into ignorant optimism. A friend of mine once said ‘salvation is a free gift that will cost you the rest of your life’.

Let us also not make the mistake of mis informing people to whom we minister that a life sold out for Jesus is strictly filled with candy and hugs and rainbows. Yes, there is a prize..life beyond your wildest dreams. But there is also, a price…..this price may differ for all of us. For only God in His wisdom knows what we can handle, and what He wants us to surrender to Him.

What has God-given you as a “prize” since you came to Him?

What is “price” he has asked you to pay?

shalom | pastor darrell