Please Say a Prayer for Evangelical Theological Seminary

Today I am asking you to join in prayer for Evangelical Theological Seminary in Myerstown, PA. Evangelical is the seminary where I studied and earned my MAR in NT and I look back on the time spent there as foundational to who I am today as well as being a wonderful blessing.

Here's the reason why I am asking you to join in prayer for the Evangelical "family" today. The seminary has for year been an approved seminary for United Methodist candidates seeking ordination in that particular denomination. As of 2011 the seminary is no longer an approved seminary of the UMC. I will not go into possible reasons why or speculations, but nevertheless this is sad news that will great affect the seminary.

Approximately 25% of the student body consist of UMC candidates. That is a large portion of the student body that will have to go elsewhere for there educational requirements. One can also imagine how this will affect the seminary financially. There could be other ramifications as well.

Evangelical has appealed the ruling and is hoping for a change in direction from the UMC on this issue. Please join us in prayer that God will work in and through this situation. May He sustain the seminary and students involved with His mighty hand. May He grant wisdom and discernment on all involved in the decision making process.

Build Up and Encourage

Within the pages of the New Testament it seems that the reader cannot get away from "one another" passages. I counted one time and while I forget the precise number of verses, I know that in the least there are over 60 such verses. Some of the phrases that appear speak of loving one another, meeting with one another and building up one another.

Here are two examples from the apostle Paul:

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:11 (NIV)

"Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching." ~ Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)

Recently I was going through a "rough patch." I was feeling stressed, overwhelmed and inadequate. And as can sometimes happen during moments like these, I began to doubt myself. Then one evening I began to teach a theology survey class in our local church and a college professor attended. After the class he approached me and spoke some very encouraging words to me. Following this class I had a meeting with some leaders in our local church and they shared some encouraging news with me and I could tell that they themselves were feeling encouraged. This spilled over into my heart and I was encouraged as well, especially after we all prayed together, thanking God for his goodness and provision. then a short while later on my drive home I began to think back on the evening. As I contemplated the events of the night my thoughts drifted to the 60+ "one another" verses in the pages of the NT. I was reminded of this truth:

We are not meant to walk alone in this world. We need other people walking with us.

If I was to never share fellowship and prayer with other believers I could only internalize my doubting thoughts and thus creating a downward spiral of some sort. We need to share life with others. We need accountability. We need people to prod us when we need it. We need people to guide us. We need people that we can guide, build up and edify. After all, Genesis does say that "It is not good for the man to be alone" (1:18). We are made for relationships. We can also see this within the life of the early church according to the book of Acts. Read through Acts and take note of how often the church gathered ("daily") and how often they prayed together. My, oh, my, how encouraging that must have been for those gathered. How often do you gather with others for fellowship and prayer?

Who was the last person to encourage you? Who was the last person that you encouraged? After all, according to the apostle Paul this is the purpose of spiritual gifts in the church. They are given to believers "so that the body of Christ may be built up" (Ephesians 4:12b; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:26).

Let us build up one another in order that we may be the mature believers God is calling us to be, for His glory and honor.

Thinking About Repentance

Lately I have been spending some time in the mornings with the gospel of Luke. Today I read Luke 13:1-9. In vv.1-5 Jesus deals with the issue of sin and death. In the ancient world, and even in some places today, people thought that things happened as a direct result of their behavior. In this passage Jesus was asked a question about and event in which Pilate massacred and mixed Galilean blood with there Jewish sacrifices. The question related to the issue of God's judgement. Did God allow this to happen as a result of their sin. Jesus responds by saying in vv.2-4:

"Do you think the Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who dies when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think that they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

I think his point is pretty clear. All are equally guilty of sinful behavior thus all are in need of repentance. God does not arbitrarily "wipe" people out for their sin (although there are definitely consequences for our sinful behavior and God could wipe us out if he wanted to). Jesus makes it clear that all are equal in this state of sinfulness. Thus Paul's words in Romans 3:23, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." God's desire is for the whole world to come to Him through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men (1 Timothy 2:6).

Jesus then seizes the opportunity and tells a parable in vv. 6-9:

"A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven;t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' 'Sir', the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'"

Jesus spoke these words to a Jewish audience but the principle is a timeless one that also goes beyond ethnicity or any other perceived barrier. There is another component to repentance. Repentance is not merely about "changing one's mind." It also involves a changed life (or "fruit"). Many of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, etc., that Jesus spoke to and called on the carpet professed to know God and walk with Him but their lifestyle did not match up with that profession. Christians today must also be aware of this trap. In fact, I just read an article yesterday about Christian teens who were referred to as "fake Christians".

I think that our American Christianity can at time be watered down and intermingled with the "American Dream" instead of God's will that what passes for Christianity is often something less than what Jesus taught and lived out in the pages of the gospel accounts. We need to begin to ask again, "Where's our fruit?"

I ask this of myself as well, "Where's my fruit?"