Calvinist Faith

I love John Calvin's definition of "faith":

"A firm and certain knowledge
of God's benevolence toward us,
founded upon the truth
of the freely given promise in Christ
both revealed to our minds
and sealed upon our hearts
through the Holy Spirit."

___

So, faith is a kind of 'knowledge.'

It is founded upon a promise.

It is known in the mind
and in the heart.

The Holy Spirit gives us this knowledge.

Bipolar Churchill

I read in World War II magazine that Winston Churchill probably had Bipolar II disorder. It is well known that Churchill had bouts of depression. He called depression his 'Black Dog.' But now some historians speculate that he actually suffered from manic-depressive illness (which we call bipolar disorder).

Bipolar II disorder is a variant in which hypomanic episodes--periods of unusual energy, creativity, and goal-oriented activity--are often more frequent than depressions and do not result in breaks from reality associated with full-blown manic episodes.

Churchill was known for his unusual energy level. A typical working day began at 8 a.m. and continued until 2 a.m. or beyond. Perhaps it was this mental illness that helped save the world for freedom in World War II.

Congressional Presbyterians

Presbyterians Today magazine reports that the 111th Congress of the US includes 44 Presbyterians -- 33 in the House and 11 in the Senate.

As I look at the list I see in the House there are 17 Democrat Presbyterians and 16 Republican Presbyterians; in the Senate there are 4 Democrats and 7 Republicans.

Therefore, a total of 21 Democrats and 23 Republicans in Congress.

Probably the two best known are Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and John D. Rockefeller (D-WV).

Denominations

The Presbyterian Outlook magazine reports on the latest figures about church membership. The 10 largest Christian denominations/bodies are:

1. Roman Catholic Church -- 67 million
2. Southern Baptists -- 16.3 million
3. United Methodist Church -- 7.9 million
4. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) -- 5.9 million
5. Church of God in Christ (Black Pentecostal) -- 5.5 million
6. National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc (Black Baptists) -- 5 million
7. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America -- 4.7 million
8. National Baptist Convention of America, Inc (Black) -- 3.5 million
9. Presbyterian Church USA -- 2.9 million
10. Assemblies of God -- 2.9 million

I was called for jury duty last week.
I went to the courthouse in downtown Dayton,
found the right building, the right floor,
and the right courtroom.
I went in and sat down.

I had been called before--when I lived in Greene County.
The procedure there was to be taken to a room down the hall
from the courtroom--and wait with other folk.
We waited all morning, and then were dismissed.
Same thing the next day.

So, this time, in Montgomery County, I wised up and
took a book to read.
I took The Future of Justification by John Piper.
And here is the odd thing: I sat down in the courtroom to
await instructions from the clerk, and I opened my book up
to the page where I had left off reading...And here is what my
eyes landed on:

"The charge against us in God's law-court is that we do not have this righteousness. 'None is righteous, no, not one...no one seeks for God' (Rom. 3.10-11). We are all guilty of 'ungodliness and unrighteousness...and have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images' (Rom. 1.18, 23; cf. 3.23). Nevertheless, God 'justifies the ungodly' (Rom. 4.5)--the omniscient Judge does not merely show clemency or forgiveness and assign us a status of 'righteous'; he finds in our favor precisely because he counts us as having the moral righteousness that we in fact do not have in ourselves. When the charge against us is read ('You do not have moral righteousness') and the verdict of the Judge is rendered ('I declare that you are not guilty as charged but do indeed have moral righteousness'), the righteousness in view in this declaration is real moral righteousness."

There I was--sitting in an actual courtroom--reading about the gospel wherein we sinners are declared righteous by God because of the death of Jesus in our place! As Luther put the paradox: "We are justified sinners."

Romans 4.5 is a stinger: "God justifies the ungodly."
That's grace.
It's not fairness--it's grace!
In our relationship with God, we don't want fairness, we want grace.
Otherwise, we're doomed.

But last Monday I received grace upon grace... the clerk told us that
the matter had been settled out of court that morning--we were free
to go home.
So I went to the church office and worked.

I am a sinner.
But God the Judge has acquitted me.

"There is now (already) no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Rom 8.1)

Alleluia!

Alien

Illegal aliens have always been a problem in the United States. Ask any Indian.

memory

A minister decided to try something a little different one Sunday morning.

He said, "Today, in church, I am going to say a single word and you are going to help me preach. Whatever single word I say, I want you to sing whatever hymn comes to your mind."

The pastor shouted out, "Cross!"

Immediately the congregation started singing in unison "The Old Rugged Cross."

The pastor hollered out, "Grace!" The congregation began to sing "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound."

The pastor said, "Power!" The congregation sang "There is Power in the Blood."

The Pastor said, "Sex!"

The congregation fell in total silence. Everyone was in shock. They all nervously began to look around at each other, afraid to say anything. Then all of a sudden, from the back of the church, a little old 87-year-old grandmother stood up and began to sing "Precious Memories."