The Downside of Living in a Market Adjustment

I'm a "cord cutter" and proudly so. Yet, I've chosen to be that during a volatile time in media market disruption and chaos. So, what has this looked like for me? Well, I'm an Atlanta Braves fan...so...it's ugly. 

The Braves broadcasts are mostly on FOX's regional networks, FOX Sports South or FOX Sports Southeast. While, as a market capitalist, I respect their ability to own these broadcasts and place them wherever they want, I do take issue in the limited availability of these broadcasts. Apparently, there is ONLY ONE streaming service that still offers these options. It's AT&TNOW. 

Now, while I don't dispute the decision to place the Braves games on these networks, what I question is why FOX would make decision to limit the availability of these broadcasts. While all the other networks have been moving to a "cafeteria style" subscription service, FOX seems to be determined to tie their broadcasts to other streaming options that increasingly omit or limit their full broadcast options. 

FOX has marketed itself to it's political customers as the "free voice" choice in politics and social issues but still operates under an outdated and limiting broadcast template. Just like the political party it seems to prefer, it lags not only behind the times of culture, but behind the capitalist market curves. 

FOX has a problem because it really doesn't understand the markets, it's customers or the culture. They are not progressive or conservative...they are just plain lost and it's going to cost them in all their viewership.

They are trying to play both ends of the market when it's collapsing like the end of a black hole's life. There's only two things that can happen when your trying to live that edge...you get sucked in or blown out in the destruction.

The Atlanta Braves have a "landing spot" on the MLB package if FOX implodes. So, they will take FOX's money until it dries up because as of right now, they are the only thing keeping those regional networks alive. 

FOX's leadership continues to show themselves as short sighted in their business decisions. It's hard to imagine them continuing as viable network in the market because of the recent business decisions and the lack of foresight years ago to be a free standing media outlet.

Who are you following and what have you gained?

It is interesting how the 21st century has begun in the United States. We have a growing economy with rapid technological development that has created unprecedented levels of wealth in this country. As like every period of history, wealth creates free time and free time leads to wonderful creativity, learning and progressive ideas and philosophies for a better society.

Now I enjoy living in an age of financial stability that provides the time for our society to be introspective and discuss ways to progress that creates better societal equality. It's much better than the alternative of widespread poverty and economic inequities. Yet, like many other times in history, when a wealthy society has that privilege, it gives rise to clashes of ideologies. We find ourselves trying to sift through the political, economic, social and doctrinal philosophies of our our history to determine what we need to cast off and what we need to retain while also debating the new ideas of our present time. All of this is an effort to determine how to progress as a healthy, united and diverse society.

What is unique about the United States in modern western civilization is the vast diversity of people living side by side in every neighborhood. This has happened in history but mostly in the eastern Mediterranean but is unique to a society birthed by the European Enlightenment ideas of democracy and liberty. What is also unique to the U.S. versus other countries is the federalist system of government in place. This is the collection of individual self-governing States which have been referred to in history as the "laboratories of democracy". It gives the States opportunities to test policies and ideas on a local level. In our history, we have seen very bad ideas fail and very good ideas succeed. Many times these differing ideological viewpoints lead to conflict within our society that the rest of the world views as potentially destructive, yet seems to lead to usually lead to a stronger and more diverse society.

To us, and the citizens before us, living in an age of social unrest and conflict seems like our society is unravelling before our eyes (and it may be and I may be naïve) but the uniqueness of the U.S. system of self-government allows for conflict in a self correcting way. Our political, cultural and societal system is primarily governed (by law) by two fundamental rights...individual liberty and property ownership. Our government is bound by law to protect those two things. The protection of these rights causes the third societal correction (and basis of our societal strength) to come into play, economic growth.

When a conflict arises and our government fails in one State to uphold these rights other States usually move to protect them. This has a segregating effect on our society causing people to "vote with their feet" and move to States and communities providing the property protections and civil liberties they desire. This migration causes economic growth in the more politically liberal States and generally causes an economic downturn in the more politically oppressive States. At the end of the day, we are all "belly gazers" and economic survival is our first priority. So, economic development will always solve ideological differences as long as the opportunities are equitable.

However, in our republic, the decisions of state and local politicians have immediately more influence over the equity of our society than the federal government. Yes, the federal government can print money, adjudicate the legality of laws, grant contracts for federal governmental needs and provide a national military defense. Yet, state and local politicians impact business growth in the local economy and allocate any State and local grants and tax revenue.

As I listen to the social and political narratives of disillusionment from the right and the left right now, the common theme is that their is no "equity". Which is true. In any and every society there has never been "equity" nor will there be. Human nature will always prevent it because humans are all self-interested. Even the loudest voices demanding change are always interested in gaining some social or political power over those who agree with them and especially those who disagree. What has always happened in history and will continue is that when they gain power, they seek to marginalize or punish those who they see as the "problem" and those who disagree. This is the definition of authoritarianism.

Our national politicians have simply become cults of personality in which their supporters seek this outcome. They speak vaguely and pander to their base like rock stars just playing their hits. There is no longer any discussion of issues and policy because they are actually ignorant of the intricacies of good policy. From what I've witnessed, they are lousy legislators. They are only in their positions because they are good fundraisers and drag money in for their party. Then they are promoted as the next "great leader" whether they have good leadership skills or not. Our citizenship doesn't vote for politicians with good ideas, we've simply chosen a side and vote as if it's "our team" and the results are a scoreboard at the end of the game. It's a disgrace to true democracy.

Now, I understand the underpinnings of the disillusionment of this moment in our history. I've lived long enough to see wages stagnate and inflation escalate. There is a sense that the gap between rich and poor is widening. There are many statistics that can be stated to quantify anyone's opinion on the severity or dispute of this issue. Yet, keep in mind, we are talking about the wealthiest country in the history of the planet.

Our nation has a complicated and embarrassing history of marginalizing and oppressing people based on an arbitrary (and wrong) definition of race. No honest person can deny that and there are still remnants of those ideas on the fringes of society. Our laws seeking to keep those ideas and their societal impacts out of the public square are true, right and just. Yet, new ideologies like critical race theory use the same arbitrary (and wrong) definition of race and weaponize it against those they perceive to be the cause of social inequity. This is simply a revenge tactic. It's gaining power to marginalize people out of some false sense of equity. Any time an ideology seeks to marginalize or silence conversation, it stops being equitable and starts being authoritarian.

[For the record, I reject the idea of different human races. I believe the biological reality of one human species (homo sapiens) and diversity within that species.]

The problem with these ideologies is simply the same problem throughout history. It becomes an ever shrinking circle of adherents. In the end, no one "measures up" and more and more people are marginalized until those with power are under siege from the society and revolt happens.

The circular firing squads are already forming within these ideologies. The push back will be enormous once the repercussions of these policies ripple through society because it is repressive, authoritarian and not democratic. I just hope and pray the revolt happens at the ballot box and not in the streets.

I am always skeptical of political and social leaders barking "bumper sticker" slogans. It seems they burn out quickly and the leaders end up wealthy and politically connected while their followers are in the same social position as when the movement began. The only people really helped by these movements are the leaders. At this moment in time, we have many of these people profiting from their loud voices and those who follow left behind...on both sides. So, how is that "equity"?

The Idolatry of Faith

The Idolatry of Faith

We all have faith, the question is whether it's rightly placed. We exercise faith daily in things as simple as the comfort of a cup of coffee or as important as a doctor's proper care. We exercise faith in our banks, government, services in which we subscribe and other people whom we trust. Faith is simply trust in something or someone.

In spiritual things, Christians sometimes use the term "faith" much more abstractly and it leads to it being misplaced, misunderstood and even idolized. I find myself falling into that temptation because we have allowed improper ideas from secular culture to cloud the Biblical understanding of faith.

First, Christian faith is a gift. We know this from clear passages of Scripture. Faith is granted to us from God by the Holy Spirit through the preached Word and Baptism. The Apostle Paul writes:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. -Ephesians 2:8-9

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. -Titus 3:4-7

When Peter makes his great confession of Christ, Jesus tells him:

“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. -Matthew 16:17

Since faith is a gift of God, it only works in the manner God intends it. It's chief function is exactly as Peter declared. It clings to Christ. It allows us to confess as Peter does that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God." [Matt 16:16]  We know that "no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit." [1 Cor 12:3] So, the Holy Spirit is the giver and director of our faith. He uses our faith to keep us focused on and believing in Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. He works our faith in order that we trust in the work of Christ in His life, death and resurrection for our benefit by destroying death, defeating Satan and restoring our relationship with the Father. He does this by convicting us of our sin and driving us to daily repentance which causes us to return to the work and promises of Christ. This is the primary purpose of our faith.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. -John 3:16

All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” -Matthew 11:27-30

Luther wrote in the Small Catechism:

"I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me and all believers, and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life. This is most certainly true."

We Christians fail in our relationship with Christ when we begin to believe that our faith functions as an act of our will or that faith is something we use for other purposes other than focus on Christ. It's true that we live under God's providence and care. Yet, we also live under the curse of creation, our sin and among other sinners. God's providential care includes blessings and discipline, fortune and suffering, the results of our sin and the effects of others sin. When we view the bad times of our lives as a result of "lack of faith" or "weak faith" we view faith wrongly. Christ is not saving us from suffering but through it because the end result of suffering is hope and that hope is in Christ. [Rom 5:1-11]

Our experiences in this life are not the results of how we "live out" our faith. That is turning our faith into an idol because we are no longer focused on Christ, we are focused on our faith. That is simply having faith in our faith which is idolatry. Focusing on our faith as the central part of Christian life is a scheme of Satan to pull our eyes from Christ and His work for us and through us and back onto ourselves and our works which are as "filthy rags". [Isaiah 64:6] Our faith should always point us outward to Christ. Focusing on Christ shapes us in His image and then to service and love for others.

Focusing on the strength or weakness of our faith turns faith into a work and not the blessing and gift it truly is. True faith in Christ is a "light yoke" and "easy burden" because it rests on Christ's promises. It's true our daily battle with sin and temptation is hard at times and we fail, but that's where faith becomes a comfort because in repentance we rest in the assurance of Christ's forgiveness which true faith clings.

The other blessings of Christ like His Word in preaching and devotion, prayer and Holy Communion are not "works" we do to prove our faithfulness, they are the means Christ gives to sustain, strengthen and nourish our faith. Again, it's His work in and through us, not ours. We simply receive the blessings of these gifts.

Christian faith is a blessing in which we receive and which the Holy Spirit works in us and is fed and nourished by Word and Sacrament. We Christians are living in the "now but not yet". We have entered into our eternal lives through Baptism and cling to that knowledge by faith. It is by our faith that we will eventually see the reality.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. -Romans 3:21-26

Baptism and the Cross

Baptism and the Cross

John 5:39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me

Jesus is very clear that the Old Testament scriptures bear witness to Him. So, when we read the Old Testament, we should always be asking ourselves, “where is Christ in this passage?”. Reading the Old Testament as examples of the Israelites for our obedience is occasionally helpful, there are some moral examples to follow. Yet, outside of Joseph in Genesis, many were more disobedient than obedient to God and serve to illuminate our own disobedience in thought, word and deed. They mostly show Christ's Grace in forgiving that disobedience when they were repentant and judgment when they weren't. So, ultimately, the Old Testament reveals the depths of God's Grace to secure the promise of our Savior, Jesus the Christ, through the line of Abraham, Judah and David despite their and the nation of Israel's continued disobedience. So, the Old Testament is about God securing His “promised seed” despite our sinful rebellion.

So, in understanding the Bible Christologically, we first have to understand it typologically. Our references for this are:

Hebrews 9:23-24 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

and

Colossians 2:16-17 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

These two passages (and the context of the epistles) show us that the Old Testament Scriptures are type and shadow of Christ. The Tabernacle, the Temple, the Mosaic Covenant were all temporary institutions pointing to a fulfillment by the “promised seed”...Christ.

So, what does any of this have to do with Baptism? Everything! If we understand it as the Apostles describe it in their Epistle letters. The first distinction we have to make is the difference between the Baptism John the Baptist was performing, the Baptism of Christ Himself and the Baptism He instituted in His Church.

First, we are told John the Baptist's Baptism was a Baptism of repentance. Even John knew there was a difference in what he was doing and what was to come.

Matthew 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

and in Acts we are told Apollos only “understood the Baptism of John” and was corrected by Priscilla and Aquila:

Acts 18:24-26 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

So, what is the difference between the baptism of John and the more accurate way of God? First, we need to study Christ's Baptism. It's interesting that when Christ arrived to have John Baptize Him, John didn't want to perform it. Instead, he wanted to be baptized by Jesus. We are told in the Scriptures repeatedly that “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness”. What the Scriptures call “the righteousness of faith”. So, it is apparent in Jesus' response to John:

Matthew 3:15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.

There is something else going on in that event than Jesus' sanctification. God Himself declared it and the Holy Spirit descended on Him. The Trinity was revealed before John and others and the Christ was revealed for the first time. So, God, in the fullness of the Trinity, touched the waters in Jesus' Baptism and sanctified them for His purposes. Early Church art portrays Jesus standing in a black Jordan river receiving the sins of mankind washed onto Him. John's Baptism of repentance was a washing off of humanity's sin (Original Sin and actual sins) and washing them onto Jesus so that when He carried those sins to the Cross He fulfilled the righteous demands of the Law for us (Romans 8:4).

It's interesting in Exodus when Moses encounters the burning bush that the Lord (Christ) tells him to remove his sandals for he was standing on “holy ground”. We know that we, as sinners, cannot touch or view God's full holiness or we will be destroyed. Yet, Moses was commanded to remove his sandals and touch the holy ground. The early Church Father's saw the burning bush as a type of the Incarnation. The holiness of God descended to earth in the form of fire, yet not consuming the bush. In Mary, we have the fullness of God descended to earth in her womb yet not consuming her or causing her destruction. It's a beautiful image. Just as pre-Incarnate Christ touched the ground before Moses and made it Holy, Christ touched the waters of Baptism, sanctified them and made them Holy for all who would receive His promises.

So, John's Baptism and the Baptism of Jesus are distinctly different. So, what of the Baptism Christ institutes?

Peter writes in his first Epistle letter:

1 Peter 3:18-22 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

In understanding Baptism, we see in the Scriptures an intended connection of Baptism to the Cross of Christ. Since we know that the Old Testament typologically points us to Christ, we can understand Peter's connection between Noah's Ark and Christ's Cross. As Noah's family was brought through the flood in the wooden Ark, we are brought through the flood of Baptism in the wooden “ark” of Christ's Cross. They are intricately connected.

1 Corinthians 10:1-4 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

Paul declares that the Israelites were Baptized in the Red Sea under the cloud which is Christ. We know the cloud was God because the same cloud entered the Tabernacle upon it's completion. Just as Christ brought them through the waters of the Red Sea and destroyed Pharaoh's (the image of Satan) claim on them, He brings us through the waters of Baptism and destroys Satan's claim on us. As Jesus destroyed death on the Cross when He declared “it is finished” and undoing God's curse of death on humanity, He delivers that Promise to us in Baptism. Paul makes a direct connection in

Romans 6 :1-11 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

So, Paul makes it inescapably clear that Baptism is directly tied to the Cross of Christ. That in Baptism, we are “crucified with Christ”. That language explains that Baptism isn't something we do for ourselves, it's something being done to us by Christ. Slaves don't crucify themselves. They are crucified. So, as we approach the font of Baptism, we are “picking up our Cross” and “following Him” into our death. Although, it is a spiritual reality in this life, we cling to the promise Paul makes clear in that passage that we will be “united with Him in a resurrection like His”. So, Baptism is where promise of salvation is delivered. We weren't at Golgotha when Christ was crucified, so we meet Christ at the font and receive the Holy Spirit, faith and salvation as promised.

Paul describes it again in

Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

“The washing of rebirth”, not washing ourselves, but being washed. Receiving the promise. Again the passive language implies that we are being acted on by Christ. Baptism is His work to and in us, we do nothing except receive His gifts. The only thing we contribute is our sin, the thing being washed away.

and again in

Colossians 2:11-14 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Circumcision was not something someone did to themselves, it was done to them (usually as infants). It was the seal of God's promise to them. It became the Israelite's mark that assured them that they were God's people. Paul makes a direct connection between Baptism, circumcision and the Cross. They are linked together in the Promise of Christ. In Baptism we receive the same “circumcision” yet of the heart (Romans 2:29) by Christ. It's our mark that assures us that we are citizens in Christ's Kingdom.

In Peter's great Pentecost sermon he says

Acts 2:37-39 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

There is a lot going on in this statement by Peter. First, he separates repentance and Baptism. Repentance is not part of Baptism. Repentance is a work of the Spirit within us when we understand the depths of our sin. When we receive it, we are outwardly contrite. So, thinking repentance is a prerequisite to faith makes it a work, therefore negating Grace. Repentance and faith exist together and become the mark of the Christian life. We know Peter understands Grace fully, for He received it directly from Christ in John 21. So, making a legitimate Baptism conditional on repentance is not what Peter meant by his statement otherwise he would not have referred to Baptism as a promise. What Peter was referring to was the belief that we could save ourselves by works. The Pharisees had polluted the teachings of Moses and made them, into a doctrine of self righteousness. Those gathered at Pentecost believed they were fulfilling their duty to God by observing the holy days. Peter was making it clear that it isn't by obedience we are saved, it's through the promise of Christ's Grace. Being Baptized gave the promise of the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The entire language of Peter is of moving from self righteousness to passively receiving the righteousness of Christ, the righteousness of faith. “Be Baptized”...receive Baptism. Receive the “forgiveness of sins” and “the Holy Spirit”. Receive the promises.

This language is also used in Christ's “Great Commission”.

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

So, the first thing we have to clarify is to whom Christ is giving this command. He is giving it to those who will be doing the Baptizing, not who will be receiving Baptism. The Church is commanded to Baptize and teach. The people receiving Baptism are not under a command to receive it. Baptism is a gift to the recipient and the Church is commanded to give out Christ's gifts. Satan has so perverted this in our minds so that we have come to believe Baptism is something we do for Jesus or worse, for ourselves, when it's actually a gift of Grace from Christ.

Martin Luther wrote of baptism in the Large Catechism:

Baptism is no human trifle, but instituted by God Himself, moreover, that it is most solemnly and strictly commanded that we must be baptized or we cannot be saved, lest any one regard it as a trifling matter, like putting on a new red coat. For it is of the greatest importance that we esteem Baptism excellent, glorious, and exalted, for which we contend and fight chiefly, because the world is now so full of sects clamoring that Baptism is an external thing, and that external things are of no benefit. But let it be ever so much an external thing, here stand God's Word and command which institute, establish, and confirm Baptism. But what God institutes and commands cannot be a vain, but must be a most precious thing, though in appearance it were of less value than a straw...For to be baptized in the name of God is to be baptized not by men, but by God Himself. Therefore, although it is performed by human hands, it is nevertheless truly God's own work. From this fact every one may himself readily infer that it is a far higher work than any work performed by a man or a saint. For what work greater than the work of God can we do? But here the devil is busy to delude us with false appearances, and lead us away from the work of God to our own works...From this now learn a proper understanding of the subject, and how to answer the question what Baptism is, namely thus, that it is not mere ordinary water, but water comprehended in God's Word and command, and sanctified thereby, so that it is nothing else than a divine water; not that the water in itself is nobler than other water, but that God's Word and command are added.

Therefore it is pure wickedness and blasphemy of the devil that now our new spirits, to mock at Baptism, omit from it God's Word and institution, and look upon it in no other way than as water which is taken from the well, and then blather and say: How is a handful of water to help the soul? Aye, my friend, who does not know that water is water if tearing things asunder is what we are after? But how dare you thus interfere with God's order, and tear away the most precious treasure with which God has connected and enclosed it, and which He will not have separated? For the kernel in the water is God's Word or command and the name of God, which is a treasure greater and nobler than heaven and earth...In the second place, since we know now what Baptism is, and how it is to be regarded, we must also learn why and for what purpose it is instituted; that is, what it profits, gives, and works. And this also we cannot discern better than from the words of Christ above quoted: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. Therefore state it most simply thus, that the power, work, profit, fruit, and end of Baptism is this, namely, to save. For no one is baptized in order that he may become a prince, but, as the words declare, that he be saved. But to be saved, we know, is nothing else than to be delivered from sin, death, and the devil, and to enter into the kingdom of Christ, and to live with Him forever.

In Baptism, we are connected to the Cross, the Promises of Christ's Grace through Faith and not of our works. Baptism becomes a means in which Christ delivers His promises and a place in which we can cling to them. Christ's death and resurrection delivered His objective justification to the world. Yet, Baptism is where we subjectively receive it. We can point to our Baptism and declare that it's the place where Christ delivered that Promise to ME specifically. He saved ME at my Baptism. Even on my worst days when I feel the weight of my sin, I can return to and cling to the promises delivered in my Baptism and know that it is there I can be assured that I am truly a child of God. On my best days when I'm feeling self righteous my Baptism humbles me and in repentance for my arrogance points me back to Christ. As Jesus promises:

John 10:25-30 Jesus answered them,“I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” 

Reflections on the Loss of Mother

I very recently lost my mother to a long fight with Parkinson's. As I watched the end approach and arrive with my family, I was struck by mom's loneliness in the last hours. We all spoke to her, read to her from books and the Scriptures, sang to her, played her favorite music and mostly held her hand in an effort to comfort her. However, when I watched her, it was obvious our efforts were temporary at best. Death is such a unwelcome, heartless and terrifying intruder that looks and feels permanent. There's just little human consolation for those staring into that reality.

My mother was a living dichotomy. She could shoot a gun and bake a wonderful meal. She had a hot temper but was full of compassion. She would cuss in anger and sing hymns in church. She could manage the family business and care for her children and grandchildren. She definitely worked hard but she could also play hard. She was a strong and tough woman with a heart full of love. I have a multitude of memories of my mother, just as all sons have of their mothers. While the images and events are with me, the most tangible are the lessons of life in which she taught. The work ethic she instilled, the love of music she imparted, her love of life in the moment but always planning for the future and the faith she shared.

I love my mother and only remember her as a saintly woman. In the loss of a loved one, our desire is to “shake our fist” at God in righteous indignation like Job. Just like with Job, God quickly reminds us who is the Creator and who is the creature. Who is Holy and righteous and who isn't. I know, like all of us, she was a sinner. Paul tells us in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death” so, in the end, we all rightly earn our temporal wages.

Life is precious and we should savor the time God gives us with our loved ones during this earthly sojourn. However, life's cruel companion, death, will arrive for all of us at some time. It's in that moment that all we have is stripped away. As, I sat with Mom in those last hours, the world became very small. Every concern or care seemed to disappear except for her and my father. Faith in Christ was my only real comfort, as I know it was for mom. We stood exposed and helpless, Christ was all we had.

As mom's life left her, I know Christ was to whom she clung. Even though Mom's mental faculties were limited due to her disease, I know her faith anchored her to Christ. Paul tells us in Romans 8:26-27:

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

Because faith and the Spirit are inextricably linked (1 Corinthians 12:3) and the Spirit (and by extension faith) is a gift of Baptism (Acts 2:38, Ephesians 2:8), I know the Holy Spirit did for mom what she could not do for herself...cling to Christ.

Martin Luther wrote in his theses “The Bondage of the Will”:

“I confess that I would not want “free will” even if it were given to me! If my salvation were left to me, I would be no match for all the dangers, difficulties, and devils that I have to fight.”

While Luther was making a spiritual argument, it is right to understand him literally. My mother was in bondage to her disease, which is a symptom of sin, the world and the devil (Ephesians 6:12). She was unable to lean on her faith in a conscious way. While universally true, it's most evident in those situations that the Spirit works for us. I know that my mother is in Christ due to the work of the Holy Spirit just as when she was able to confess her faith.

I have dealt with the death of loved ones on many occasions, but with my mom, it laid us all bare. Paul wrote in Romans 8:24-25:

“Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

The Christian faith is about trusting our ears and not our eyes. Our eyes deceive us as we experience the sufferings of this life but God's Word assures us of His promises (Hebrews 11:1). If we trust in what we experience, we find quickly that we have no hope. If we trust God's Word, we understand all of life's sufferings are temporary. So, I know my mother's exit from this world is just a temporary separation because Christ has promised His elect a permanence with no suffering. A promise I know my mother held in her heart even in the face of death. At the end of her life, she was a great confessor of Christ and that's the saint I will always remember.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

The Unity of the Christian Faith

I have spent much of my time in the recent years studying the doctrines of the Christian faith. I have been a lifelong Christian. Baptized into the Faith in a Confessional Lutheran Church when I was six weeks old. That was the day Christ named me and claimed me. In all of my resistance, sin and even a short time attempting to deny the faith given me in my Baptism, He has refused to allow me to depart. I finally, a few years ago, began to embrace this gift and embarked on a quest to fully inform myself about this faith that Christ refused all efforts to be stripped from me. I've heard it said by Christians that the "hound of Heaven" finally tracked them down. I think Christ had to specifically dispatch one "hound" to continually herd this wayward Sheep back to the fold. I'm sure there are many other Christians who understand this.

In honest moments, I ask questions like "Why me?" or "Why, in all my sinful wretchedness, does this belief in Christ not fade or disappear completely?" or "In a world full of philosophical and religious 'truths' that seem more appealing, why does my heart cling to THE Truth of Christ?" It is in these moments of reflection that I understand the essence and truth of the saving Grace of Christ as explained in Titus 3:4-7: 

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

So, what does this have to do with unity in the Church? Well, I think it sheds some light on what Paul means in Ephesians 4:11-16: 

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

We in the Christian Church are very fractured and display a view to the world that there is more disunity than unity. We are significantly divided in this world along denominational and doctrinal lines. Yet, this is nothing new, it has been this way even from the time of the Apostles. We see in Acts 15, which was approximately 49 A.D., the Council of Jerusalem was convened to address the doctrine of the Judaizers. In Acts 18, Apollos is preaching in Ephesus and is corrected on the doctrine of Baptism by Priscilla and Aquila. Paul writes the above passage in the letter to the Ephesians in about 60 A.D. but in 65-68 A.D. he is counseling Timothy and Titus against false teachers. So, the question I ask is, how, 2000 years later, is a Church already beset by heresy, errors and disagreements are sinful humans supposed to find doctrinal unity? The answer is, we won't and we can't, not fully. Our minds, clouded by sin, will not allow agreement across all points of doctrine. Part of this is human arrogance and part is a fear of rejecting what we have come to believe. Both, fear and arrogance, are sin.

So, what is Paul speaking of in this Ephesians passage? How could Paul, who experienced first hand the false teaching and errors arising within the Church and fully knew the corruption of sin in humanity, speak of a potential unity in the Church? 

I think Paul was speaking of two different things in this passage. He is speaking of an earthly ministry resulting in an eternal reality. In verses 11-12 Paul says 

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ

meaning that Christ has instituted the Office of the Ministry to preach the Gospel and Administer the Sacraments through which the Holy Spirit gathers the Church around the Confession of Christ (Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 3:21). Verses 15-16 

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Paul explains how the Spirit works when the Gospel is preached (speaking the truth in love) the remaining explanation is the work of the Spirit. We don't grow as Christians by the force of our own will, we grow by the work of the Spirit. Just as our physical body's growth is a natural occurrence, so is our spiritual growth. Just as our physical bodies can be healthy or unhealthy by what we feed them, so is our spiritual growth by that which we "feed" ourselves. So is the same with the Church. The Church doesn't grow by the force of will of it's preachers and teachers, it is grown by the Spirit on the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ. Martin Luther famously stated that all we contribute to our Salvation is "sin and resistance".

So, what is the reality that Paul is describing in verses 13-14?

until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Paul is describing the eternal reality that we will see in the new creation (to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ) which is the fulfillment of the promise of God to make all things new (Isaiah 11, Isaiah 65, Revelation 21). 

So, while the pagan world points to the apparent "disunity" in the Church as evidence of the weakness of the Christian faith, we know the truth is hidden behind the sin of we Christians who worship a faithful God in great weakness and unworthiness. Like all things with God, the evidence of our experience contradicts what we know to be the truth in His Word. 

We still have the instructions to admonish false teachers (Titus 1:10-11) simply because they lead people away from the truth and cloud the Gospel of Christ behind other teachings. However, on the Last Day, there will be perfect unity among God's people through the Salvific work of Christ and the Holy Spirit who gives and sustains our faith in Christ. It will be revealed to all when His Church is gathered on the Last Day, despite these earthly differences, and ushered into His eternal Kingdom.

The Post Modernism and Fundamentalism Parallel

I have given much thought to current worldviews and the philosophies behind them. This is just my attempt at providing some philosophical and theological insights of the world, life and love.

As I have observed changes in the people around me over the last few years, I cannot help but see the influence of postmodernism. This ideology has swept through the culture over the last 30 years. It’s prevalent in tv, radio and social media. It’s crept into school curriculums and many Churches. Most of the people we encounter in society have unknowingly adopted it and really couldn’t diagnose it if asked. I was an adherent to it for several years, I simply followed the culture. It sounds insightful and attractive from a practical viewpoint, however, it’s completely incompatible with a true Biblical worldview.

Post modernism emerged as a radical response to the modernist philosophies of the late 19th and most of the 20th centuries. The modernist mindset that swept the globe gave rise to political and social ideologies that became destructive and murderous. It led directly to extreme nationalism that gave birth to fascism and nazism (the Pledge of Allegiance was born out of this ideology, that’s part of the reason why I refuse to say the Pledge). The social construct of the modernist worldview led directly to socialism, communism, marxism, racism and...extreme American nationalism. The result of the rise of all of these ideologies was global war, murder and genocide. There were more human beings killed in the 19th and 20th centuries than during any other span of world history. Christians in Europe, Asia and the Middle East were slaughtered because Christianity was completely incompatible with any construct of the modernist ideology. (True) Christianity is about freedom...spiritual freedom that allows us to focus on the needs of our neighbor. Modernist ideologies demanded loyalty to the “collective” and declared any opposing ideology as an enemy. Unfortunately, many Christians fell into a modernist mindset and it still exists in many sects of Christian fundamentalism today.

In the wake of the human destruction that occurred because of modernism, societies began to rebel against authority. The “hippie movement” of the 1960’s and 70’s that swept the globe deconstructed that modernist worldview. This was not a bad thing. Modernism was completely anti-human. In light of that, ancient philosophers were being read again, old philosophies from the Greco-Roman world, the Far East and Arabia were being studied and disseminated. There is nothing wrong with this. The writings of both Aristotle and Augustine still have relevance to the human condition. Many people believe that their worldview is a “new construct”, however, if you understand philosophy from throughout history, most anything proclaimed today is simply a repackaging or merging of old ideas. This is how postmodernism was born.

Experiential philosophies and religions have been around forever. It’s a belief system that teaches we are shaped, molded and improved by our experiences. Ancient religions like Buddhism and Gnosticism are based on these ideas. It’s a belief that our experiences somehow help us “progress” as an individual and a human race by informing our knowledge. These beliefs have become interwoven into all parts of our culture. We see it in society as a form of mysticism in practices like Yoga and in the Church with Pentecostalism. All of these people are chasing “feelings” in order to define themselves as human. It’s infiltrated rationalism by drawing hard dividing lines between science and religion, politics and religion and between our Christian life and our social and practical lives.

A separate ancient philosophy that arose in the early Church called Manichaeism. It was taught by a man called Mani. His theology and philosophy of good and evil was rather extensive, but the main point that culture has pulled from his beliefs is the idea of “I am who I am”...”I am who God made me”. Augustine was a Manichaen for about 10 years, and after renouncing it, he wrote quite a bit against it. However, our modern culture has embraced this belief.

In the mid 1800’s, a man by the name Soren Kierkegaard came along and developed a philosophy that merged these ideas. Basically, he wrote that we are shaped by our experiences and those experiences then define us...it’s who we become. So, every individual basically becomes their own “philosopher”. What they subjectively experience and feel, becomes the impetus to their “belief system”. So, instead of the blind allegiance to the “collective” that modernism produced, postmodernism has created a culture of social, moral, philosophical and religious anarchy. It teaches that every person is an individual authority unto themselves. They are only governed by whatever or however their experiences inform them. Things like “objective truth”, a truth that exists outside of our experiences, does not exist.

Don’t get me wrong, there are nothing wrong with life experiences, some are helpful and some are harmful. They do inform us. However, they do not define us. We do not become what we experience. When we are grounded in an objective truth...like the truth of God’s Word, we fully understand our place and role in society. We simply gain some practical wisdom from our experiences that allows us to function more efficiently and effectively in society.

Because of the ideology behind postmodernism (which is ironic because it’s an ideology that rejects ideologies), the Christian belief in the objective truth of the Bible is completely rejected and declared irrelevant. Postmodern Christians basically ignore the Bible and simply go to Church on Sunday as a “penance” or “act of obedience” that somehow restores their relationship with God. They develop the idea that a Christian life is confined to a couple hours of “doing good” on Sunday morning and becomes completely disconnected from the rest of their life. They allow the culture and experiences inform their faith instead of the actual Word of God.

The one reason I rejected postmodernism is that I saw the intolerant and divisive undercurrent that is inescapable if someone is committed to it. While it professes tolerance, it’s by nature intolerant. A true adherent must believe wholeheartedly in whatever view of the world they have constructed and defend that against anyone who disagrees or declares that truth is objective (comes from a single source like God). While they profess love, it’s not true love. It becomes a weapon of guilt against those whom they disagree and emotional manipulation of those they wish to hold close. They redefine love as some sort of hypocritical grace...accepting all behaviors because the other person “is just that way” or “they are finding themselves”. However, they simply accept bad behaviors because it excuses their own...because they “are just experiencing life”. They ignore the potential or real destruction this life application causes, because they simply justify it as “collateral damage” between people who are “incompatible”.

All of this makes a postmodern lifestyle inherently selfish, it isn’t driven by concern for the other person. It’s “tolerance” is simply a defense mechanism for following one’s own desires. The postmodernist sets conditions on others acceptance. Basically, “I’ll accept you and your beliefs if you accept me and my beliefs”. If someone disagrees, they are attacked as “intolerant” or “hateful” simply from disagreement of stating that we should live by a common objective morality. The true Christian faith and postmodernism cannot coexist...they are ideologically incompatible. Postmodernists know this. Their ideology views Christianity just like every other social and political construct of the modernist era. Unfortunately, many Christians give them plenty of evidence for that opinion.

The Christian life is not about obedience...it’s about freedom in Christ. However, pietism demands obedience in many forms. Many Christians say “saved by grace”, but that understanding is completely different. If you ask a fundamentalist “how do you know you are saved?” you will get all kinds of answers about what “they have done” or “what they are doing” to be obedient to God. Their obedient life is the evidence of their salvation. They point to good deeds, personal testimonies, spiritual walks, accepting Christ, their Christian life, etc, etc, etc. It’s completely subjective and based on how righteously they are living at the moment. That opinion completely reduces Christ’s work on the Cross as a “starting point” of the faith. After that “starting point”, it’s up to you to “stay in grace” by some construct of Christian living. Then they judge other’s salvation by the same standard. I actually heard a fundamentalist minister say, “owners of liquor stores are not saved.” That’s simply ridiculous, not to mention heretical and blasphemous against Christ! In that belief system, the 10 Commandments are a life of obedience with no real concern for others. Good works become a self righteous means to show they are a “good Christian”. It’s no different from what the Pharisees, whom Jesus criticized repeatedly, believed.

If you ask a true orthodox Christian the same question, we simply answer, “because Christ died for me and claimed me in my Baptism. He continues to forgive me in my repentance and delivers that promise in preaching and Holy Communion.” It is not about obedience to the Commandments. We are not saved because we are good people living a good life. We are saved solely because Christ, in His immense mercy and love, went willingly, selflessly, painfully and bloodily to the Cross on a Friday morning 2000 years ago and atoned for our wretched sinful condition. That’s it. It’s completely based on the objective truth of God’s Word and Christ’s promise of Salvation contained in that Word.

Then the Commandments simply become a guide for our lives to protect others from our sinful desires. We don’t keep the Commandments to simply be obedient to God, we do it out of love for our neighbor and family because Christ first loved us. We simply reflect that love to others by restraining our evil desires so we don’t harm them. God doesn’t need our good works of “obedience”, Christ was perfectly obedient in our place, obedient to death. Our family, friends and neighbors need our good works because we were created to love and serve one another. That’s what living in Christian freedom means.

What is inherently ironic is that the true christian life is about selflessness, love, humility and a penitent recognition of one’s sinfulness. Postmodernism and fundamentalism is selfish, self righteous, arrogant, intolerant and narcissistic. Yet, both the postmodernist and fundamentalist (while at odds with each other) look at true Christianity with disdain and misunderstanding. It’s very similar to the world in which Jesus lived. The true penitent Christian is surrounded by self righteous Pharisees and narcissistic Pagans.

Addressing the "Theology" of Joel Osteen

OK....first...let me address Joel's unBiblical and narcissistic little "creed" he has the congregation recite before he preaches:

This is my Bible.
[NO...It isn't! It's God's Word contained in a canonical form]

I am what it says I am.
[YEP...a hopelessly depraved and condemned sinner...except for the sake of Christ]

I can do what it says I can do.
[Yep...repent and turn to Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.]

Today, I will be taught the Word of God.
[Ummm....nope! Not from Him!]

I boldly confess
My mind is alert, My heart is receptive.
I will never be the same.
I am about to receive
The incorruptible, indestructible,
Ever-living seed of the Word of God.
[Ummm....nope! Not from Him!]

I will never be the same.
Never, never, never.
I will never be the same.
[We are suppose to confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God sent to redeem us from our depravity and restore a righteous relationship with God.]

In Jesus name. Amen.

Now compare that to the true historic Baptismal/Apostles Creed:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

CAN YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE!?!?

Before another "forked tongued" word even drips from his mouth, he has turned their attention from the Christ and on themselves. In so doing, they have already broken the 1st and 2nd Commandments!

#1 Thou shalt have no other gods.

Joel's Creed immediately proclaims that God's Word is about YOU...not the Triune God and specifically NOT Jesus! He has conned them into declaring that you are a "little deity" in their own right.

 #2 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain.

Then he turns them into a blasphemers by invoking Jesus' name at the end of that ridiculousness.

The 10 Commandments are the Two Tables of the Law. The first 3 define our relationship with God...4-10 define our relationships with each other. So, Joel has basically and heretically destroyed the Two Tables in his ministry because he severs their relationship with God and then turns their focus on themselves. Of course, I don't expect Joel Osteen disciples to understand that because he DOESN'T TEACH THE COMMANDMENTS.

His advocates obviously have no clue about the two covenants of the Bible. The Old Testament covenant that was specific to the Hebrews in order to secure the Messianic line of people and to mark them as God's people. Within that covenant were the ordination of duties to each tribe....specifically to the Levites as the order of the Priests. Within that God gave them the ability to prophesy/speak for God. In so doing, they gave specific instructions and delivered specific promises and condemnations to the people. What we have is the written record, a description of that. So, just using a 2 Chronicles 22 example that was provided to me as support for one of Joel's sermons...

And when they began to sing and praise*, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.

...we simply back up a few verses and read the context:

O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, *“Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord  to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the  Lord  will be with you.” Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.

God gave them a specific command and a specific promise for THAT specific situation. That is what theologians call a "descriptive text" it's a historical record of God's work. However, it is not a promise to US that following that same command will illicit a similar result. He NEVER promised that to anyone except THOSE PEOPLE at THAT TIME. We cannot take a descriptive text and us it as a "prescription" for our lives. What IT DOES give us is a glimpse of the work of the pre-incarnate Christ in history and typology. Nowhere does the Bible tell us to apply that Scripture to us. IT'S ABOUT JESUS. What Jesus specifically said was:

John 5:39

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people.

We are under the New Covenant of Christ. God no longer relates to us the way he did with the OT Hebrews. 

Hebrews 1 :1-2

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, *but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,* whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

The promises of the OT prophets (other than the fulfilled Messianic promises) DO NOT apply to us. So...

...In an Acts text provided to me...

Acts 16:25-26

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.

...yes God interceded for Paul and Silas...I do not deny that God works miracles for HIS purposes and plan of salvation in gathering His people. What Joel misunderstands (or intentionally omits) about text is that God did not intercede to free Paul and Silas...if we continue to read the text, we find God's purpose for breaking them out:

When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” [note:they stayed in the jail] And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and *he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And *he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Jesus sent the earthquake as an opportunity to plant His Church in Philippi...that's it. Paul and Silas and the earthquake were the tools he used. Yet, Joel wants to pull that one verse out and use it as a prescription for how God can intercede daily for us to "save our business", "restore our relationships", "fix our finances" or whatever our other immediate "idol" needs to be repaired. That use of the Bible is exactly how the Pharisees, whom Jesus constantly rebuked, used the Scriptures. It's VERY legalistic, narcissistic and arrogant. In fact, if we read:

But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.”  And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.”  But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

So, once Paul would have met his accusers in court, they would have been freed anyway. Now, I do not deny that God works in our lives to protect us and sustain us spiritually and physically.  This is His promise:

John 3 :16-18

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world  to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Matthew 6 :19-34

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust    destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven*, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. *For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also*. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “*No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money*.“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his  span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, *and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

So, instead of reading Jesus ACTUAL words in the Gospels...Joel will allude to a single or couple of verses out of context (if he mentions a verse at all) and turn it into a false theology. He's not the only false teacher guilty of this, he was just the one of many. American Evangelicalism is replete with false teachers propagating this heresy. It's mostly because these self-proclaimed, "I was called" preachers do not understand Christian doctrine, dogmatics, systematic theology...and in most cases simple contextual reading comprehension.

We don't interpret the Bible by saying "What does it mean to me?" We interpret the Bible by saying "What does the text mean?...and read it without the chapter and verse numbers. The Books of Bible are not divided by chapters and verses...nor is it to be studied that way. The chapter and verse numbers are simply reference points added a few centuries ago to help sort the texts and communicate with each other where we might be reading during study.

As to all of this being MY understanding of the Bible. It isn't...it's the understanding of the Church for 1800 years until the Revivalists Movement in America, sparked mainly by Charles Finney, perverted the way Americans read the Bible. It's fueled by lazy and Biblically ignorant pagan/Christians that believe God exists in feelings, prosperity, rainbows, clouds and sunshine...instead of in His TRUE Word and Sacraments. 

However, God did say this would happen before Christ's return...he simply seems to have blessed many of us with a frustrating "front row seat" to the GREAT APOSTASY!