Rappin’ With Rick

Years ago Marilyn was boxing up some old books for an auction when three of them caught her eye. The first was a 1935 edition of Anne of Green Gables, one of her favorite stories, and a place we had to visit on a motorcycle ride to Prince Edward Island. The second was an 1884 edition of The Story of the Bible with 300 illustrations. The third was an early 1800s edition of Practical View, published in 1797 by William Wilberforce, the Member of Parliament who fought for legislation against the British slave trade for 20 years.

Due to their fragile condition the books were seldom handled, and simply found a place of honor on our mantle. Until I got curious about them again, a few weeks ago.

The title page of The Story of the Bible actually reads The Story of the Bible From Genesis to Revelation. Told in Simple Language Adapted to all Ages, But especially to the Young. The author noted that his book was not the Bible, nor meant to take the Bible’s place, but was intended to stimulate the reading and study of the Bible itself by young people. Something that certainly ought to be encouraged today.

The full title of Wilberforce’s book is A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians in the Middle and Higher Classes in this Country, Contrasted with Real Christianity. It quickly became a bestseller, was translated into several languages, and countless editions have been printed over the past two centuries. I must admit that it’s a difficult book to read, and have already been warned by astute family members not to offer it as a Sunday night study next year. But please do read the introduction and an excerpt from chapter one that can be found below. His book was a scathing rebuke to Christians of 200 years ago who failed to put into practice what they professed to believe and what they read in the Bible. His rebuke is no doubt still needed today.

God Bless, Rick

The main object which the writer has in view is, not to convince the sceptic, or to answer the arguments of persons who avowedly oxppose the fundamental doctrines of our religion; but to point out the scanty and erroneous system of the bulk of those who belong to the class of orthodox Christians, and to contrast their defective scheme with a representation of what the author apprehends to be real Christianity. Often has it filled him with deep concern to observe in this description of persons scarcely any distinct knowledge of the real nature and principles of the religion which they profess. The subject is of infinite importance; let it not be driven out of our minds by the bustle or dissipations of life. This resent scene, with all its cares and all its gayeties, will soon be rolled away, and “we must stand before the
judgment-seat of Christ.” This awful consideration will prompt the writer to express himself with greater freedom than he should otherwise be disposed to use. This consideration, he trusts, also will justify his frankness, and will secure him a serious and patient perusal.
Let it only be further premised, that if what shall be stated should to any appear needlessly austere and rigid, the writer must lay in his claim not to be condemned without a frail inquiry whether or not his statements accord with the language of the sacred writing. To that test he refers with confidence; and it
must be conceded by those who admit the authority of Scripture, that from the decision of the word of God there can be no appeal.
There are some few facts, and perhaps some leading doctrines and principles, of which they cannot be wholly ignorant; but of the consequences, and relations, and practical uses of these, they have few ideas, or none at all.
Does this seem too strong? View their plan of life and their ordinary conduct; and not to speak at present of their general inattention to things of a religious nature, let us ask, wherein can we discern the points of discrimination between them and professed unbelievers? In an age wherein it is confessed and lamented that infidelity abounds, do we observe in them any remarkable care to instruct their children in the principles of the faith they profess, and to furnish them with arguments for the defense of it?

Touchstone, a journal of mere Christianity published by conservative Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christians, recently had an editorial that seems to indicate the Reformation we’ve been studying on Sunday nights is an on-going process.

“December 18, 2023, will go down in history as the date on which the die was
cast: the date on which the church renounced the gospel’s right to call us to
repentance; the date that, more than any other, signals the church’s implosion in the West.

“Of course, long before this fateful date on which Pope Francis signaled his approval of the ‘Blessing of same-sex couples’, indications abounded that not all was well… It is hard to imagine anyone doing more damage more effectively to the Catholic Church and to Christianity as a whole than Pope Francis has done with this declaration.

“Of course, every attempt will be made to explain that Fiducia Supplicans merely offers a blessing to people in need of God’s love and mercy… This so-called “pastoral” declaration utterly fails such people, for it refuses to hold out to them the way of love and truth, which is the age-old, ascetical path that we take by saying no to our sinful desires.

“The Church of England sanctioned blessings of same-sex couples only weeks
before the pope took the same leap… We cannot overstate the significance of the near-simultaneous breakdown of the Catholic and Anglican communions, for it means that the two key Western institutions that have nurtured Christian civilization since the time of the Reformation will do so no more… When we tie Christian identity to the anchor of prevailing cultural mores, what we end up with is flotsam of planks and poles, which tell the tale of a great ship that once sailed choppy cultural waters and didn’t manage to stay afloat.

“Only one thing can prevent this date from going into history as one of the most tragic dates in the church’s history: it is the conscious and deliberate reconnection of the pastoral and the theological. This means revoking…and prohibiting the blessing of same-sex couples, while unambiguously insisting on the pastoral counsel that same-sex activity is sinful and, as such, requires repentance.”

God Bless, Rick

Of all the miracles performed in the Bible, surely the giving of sight to the blind is one of the most significant. And while there is no record of anyone healing the blind in the Old Testament, we are told that Jesus did so quite often. In fact, sometimes His teaching ministry was sidelined because those who had been healed by Him spread the news throughout the land.

Most of the time eyes were opened immediately, or as soon as a blind person did what Jesus told him to do. On one occasion, however, a man received his sight in stages. After spitting on his eyes and laying hands on him, Jesus asked if he could see anything. He said he could see men, but they looked like trees walking about. After laying hands on him again, he could see clearly. We’re not told why Jesus did it that way that time, but He surely had a good reason.

One other healing I’d like to call to your attention is when Saul, who became known as Paul, got his sight back after being blinded by the light on the road to Damascus. Even though his eyes were open, he couldn’t see until Ananias laid hands on him, and something like scales fell from his eyes.

In case you are wondering why I’m reminding you of all this at this time, let me tell you. I’m about to let someone lay their hands on my eyes in the hope that something like scales will be removed. It won’t be miraculous, as he will be guided by a computer and using a laser, but I am hoping to see better after a couple of touches. Men don’t look like trees to me now, but blurry double-vision does keep me from seeing clearly.

You may not be scheduled for cataract surgery, but if something is keeping you from seeing clearly, ask Jesus to touch you and remove any possible scales of prejudice, preconception, or misunderstanding that are blinding you. I’m sure we could all use a second touch from His hand see things more clearly.

God bless, Rick

February is the month of love, and we celebrate Valentine’s Day on the 14th because the patron saint of love, young people, and happy marriages died a martyr’s death on that date in 269 AD. Forecasting His own death, Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends”, so it’s not as strange as it may seem to hand out valentines on the day a martyr died.

Yes, February is the month of love, but we didn’t wait till then to begin talking about it We’ve been talking about love for quite some time on Sundays and Wednesdays. We’ve been discussing The Love Chapter on Wednesday nights for the last couple of weeks, and studying the writings of the Apostle of Love for
over two years on Sunday mornings.

One of the most quoted chapters of the Bible, one written by the Apostle Paul, is no doubt I Corinthians 13. It’s found between two chapters on gifts of the Spirit, and as we recently noted in Bible Study, it makes clear that the first fruit of the Spirit is even more important than the gifts.

The Apostle John is often referred to as the Apostle of Love, and for good reason. He’s the author of John 3:16, and he used the word love or loved 100 times in his inspired writings. I know because I counted them. According to my NASV Exhaustive Concordance, love can be found 30 times in his gospel, 36 times in I John, 4 times in II John, 2 times in III John, and 5 times in Revelation. Now let me tell you why I counted them.

Two weeks ago, after my sermon God is Love, Carter met me at the door with a question. “Grandpa, how many times do you think you said love in your sermon?” I had no idea, so he proceeded to tell me
that he and Luke, Anna’s boyfriend, had counted them. The total was 103.

No, that doesn’t make me the new Apostle of Love, or even a saint, but I do hope Carter had it right. “I think they got the point.”

God Bless, Rick

P.S. According to Levi, love was in last week’s sermon 114 times!

If you haven’t read the letter from the Christian HolyLand Foundation on the inside, please do so. We were unaware of this ministry until the letter arrived, and were excited to discover that churches that
share our heritage and beliefs are actively ministering in the Holy Land. And we were especially excited about being able to help them minister to Christians during the current situation in Israel. Due to the financial health of our church, we were able to send $2,500 to help meet this need. Thank you for your faithful stewardship, and for trusting the elders to discern how the Lord would have us spend your tithes
and offerings.

Our current interest in the Holy Land was obviously stimulated by your sending us there. When we returned, I decided to postpone the planned study for Sunday night and share with you archaeological
findings that helped identify the places we visited. We spent a couple of months doing so, and are now ready to begin an epic, around-the-world journey through Christian history.

Our journey will be led by Tim Challies, a Canadian pastor and blogger who is visited by more than 30,000 every day. I have turned to him several times over the years to find out what he thought about something, and have found him to be a solid biblical thinker. When I learned of his epic journey I thought it would make a great Sunday night study, and shared the idea with the class. They liked it, and I ordered
the needed copies of his book. Then I discovered he had a ten-week video series that takes us to the location of the objects of Christian history he highlights in the book, and I bought it.

On Sunday January 7th, at 6:30, we’ll be joining Tim on his epic journey. We’ll begin by going to Jerusalem, and then to Rome. After that we’ll go to twenty-five countries, always looking for objects that stimulate our thoughts about how the church and the message of Christ has gone around the world. We’ll intersperse the videos with articles from his book. Do plan on joining us on a journey that will be very interesting and rewarding.

God Bless, Rick