A Confessional Prayer

Almighty and most merciful Father,
we humbly confess that we have sinned,
against You and against one another,
in thought, and in word, and in deed,
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved You with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We have erred and strayed from Your ways like lost sheep,
following too much the methods and desires of our own hearts.
But You, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
forgive us as we forgive one another,
and grant repentance and healing,
according to Your promises
declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord.
O most merciful Father,
for Jesus’ sake and by Your Word,
cleanse and fill us with the Spirit of Holy Love,
sanctifying us wholly,
completing in us the work You began,
continuing unto the day of Jesus Christ,
that we may hereafter delight in Your ways,
walking worthy of You, our Lord, in loving obedience,
to the eternal glory of Your holy Name.
Amen.

References
BCP (http://m1.bookofcommonprayer.net/penorderI.php)
Deut. 26:18
Ps. 37:23
Matt. 5:28; 6:14-15; 15:18
Mark 12:30-31
Acts 13:23
Eph. 3:6; 5:26
Col. 1:10
Phil. 1:6
2 Tim. 2:25
Jas. 4:17; 5:16
1 John 5:2

The Unnatural Lifestyle — Naturally Reasoned

That which is most natural — in its purest, originally created sense — is precisely that which honors and worships the Creator as God alone. As the Apostle Paul began his theological treatise to the Church in Rome, isn’t it interesting that the Old Testament is not his initial or explicit point of reference? Rather, he argues from the natural revelation of God — declaring that mankind had always had all that was necessary to honor and worship its Creator. But humanity rejected God as He had revealed Himself to them in nature — choosing their own foolish wisdom, denying the glory of the Creator and worshipping mere creatures, denying the truth about God in favor of a lie. Because they rejected the naturally clear revelation of God, in His wrath He gave them up to the unnatural … “to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” (Ro. 1:26-27) And not only this, but all manner of ungodliness and wickedness.

Here we stand, thousands of years hence — the benefactors of the manifold revelation of God, not only in nature, but in Scripture and the incarnate, crucified, and resurrected Christ and His Church and the Holy Spirit … and the rejection of God as He reveals Himself continues and increases ever more pervasively and perversely. The world has fallen so far away from the goodness and glory in which it was created that the plague of deception can no longer even be recognized by many if not most. That which is truly and rightly natural, as God intended, is so far from where creation is today. This is clearly evidenced by behavior that is against or contrary to nature, including sexual perversion such as homosexuality. Not only is such behavior prevalent, the efforts to celebrate and normalize such seem to prevail increasingly.

If the unnatural lifestyle is what you have chosen, repent and confess your sins to God Who is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you — making you His own in Christ and filling you with His Spirit of Love.

Christian brothers and sisters, the call remains today as it was to the early Church — stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught (2 Th. 2:15); stand fast through faith (Ro. 11:20); stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God (Co. 4:12); hold firm to the trustworthy Word (Ti. 1:9); hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory (Ja. 2:1); hold fast to the hope set before us (He. 6:18); hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He Who promised is faithful (He. 10:23).

God’s promise to Joshua is ours today — “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (He. 13:5). Jesus assurance stands eternal — “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Rightly Responding to SCOTUS, et al

Does sin break your heart? Does it make you angry? When you look around you and see undeniable, unmistakable evidence … when you look within — if you dare … and you must. Do you react to those emotions? Do you merely allow that reaction to demonstrate — to reveal more of that which is broken within you? Or, do you choose to surrender that reaction to the will of the Spirit of God — of Holy Love? Do you choose to respond — making the sacrifice of yourself an offering — an act of worship to the One Who alone is Lord and God?

As I reflect on the state of our nation and the most recent SCOTUS decision, I find myself going through this process. I hear and read declarations of victory and celebration that homosexuals may now wed one another legally. Decades ago, there were similar declarations of victory and celebration that women could choose to murder their unborn children legally. My indignation builds as evil is called good and good is called evil (Is. 5:20-21). How can we rightly respond in Holy Love?

The mix of sadness and anger I feel are both an immediate and lingering reaction. Most heartbreaking of all is to see this deception increasing amongst those who claim the name of Christ. Both marriage and life are sacred gifts from God, our Creator — not to be tampered with at the whims of the proud, rebellious, and ignorant. I cannot remain silent in the face of such blatant perversion and devaluing of the sacred. Neither Jesus nor any of the prophets or apostles — who were all His personally ordained spokespeople from Genesis to Revelation — were in any way silent about sin.

So a few things must be declared here and now. We have not been given a ministry of condemnation — condemnation is already upon the sinner by their own words and deeds (Matt. 12:37; Mark 16:16; John 3:18). Continuing in sin is not the required or righteous response (John 8:11; Rom. 6:1). Men and women in all their wisdom may seek to rationalize their way out of acknowledging the sin of which they should confess and repent; yet the wisdom of all the men and women of all time remains but foolishness before the Almighty (1 Cor. 1:20-25). As the end of the age draws near, God’s response to those to those who refuse to love the Truth, but choose to love pleasure, will be to turn them over to their own desires and delusion (Rom. 1:28-32; 2 Thess. 2:9-12; 2 Tim. 3:1-5).

God forbid that we should not proclaim that forgiveness and freedom from condemnation is for all who will confess and repent and receive the cleansing of the precious blood of Jesus Christ. But for those who rebel and refuse and persist in sin, judgment is certain and unavoidable. (Heb. 10:26-31)

What could be more unloving — indeed, more hateful — than to know Truth and keep silent?! With all diligence, may we do everything that is within our power to obey God rather than man, faithfully following His highest command to Love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and our neighbor as ourself. And pray for God’s mercy and grace as we compassionately love and forgive those who hatefully and spitefully use us. This is the true outflow of the Holy Love with which we were first loved by Him.

Let us therefore walk worthy of our Lord — in Holy Love!

Suffering Forgiveness

that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
(Phil 3:10-11)

Have you ever considered the sufferings of Christ? How may we share His sufferings? We know that in the Incarnation Jesus laid aside His glory willingly, not clinging to it. Yet, even more than that, He willingly gave Himself into the hands of His enemies — both the readily apparent and the not so apparent.

Jesus suffered the deprivation of all the comforts of His glory — having not even a place to lay His head. He suffered the hatred of the religious leaders of His own chosen people. He suffered the rejection of His own family and neighbors. He suffered the abandonment of followers who were easily distracted and dissuaded. He suffered the misunderstandings and weakness and selfishness and inattentiveness of His disciples — even the betrayal of and denial by His very own. He suffered the false accusations and injustice and mocking and condemnation … and then the horrific brutality of the Roman system that scourged Him into a bloody pulp and nailed Him to a cross to suffocate in agony. All of this, yes, Jesus suffered.

Let’s go a step farther — God the Father suffered the immeasurably exquisite anguish of watching … beholding … knowing it could all be stopped with a word … a breath. Indeed, ever since the fall, God has beheld as His creation turned against Him and upon itself in selfishness, pride, hatred, and vile wickedness — humankind, the very pinnacle of God’s creation, leading the charge to its own destruction. And then He beheld as His only Son took all the sin of all creation upon Himself — the pure becoming impurity — the lamb becoming the scapegoat.

But perhaps there is a suffering we underestimate — one that we may be unfamiliar with and possibly cannot bear to face.

Father, forgive them …” (Luke 23:34)

The suffering of forgiveness … to forgive is to relinquish my rights — to be humbled — to let loose of my claim on just satisfaction for some loss or grievance — to give mercy in response to ruthless injustice — to give honor in response to humiliation — to give love in response to hate. You see, the deeper the wound — the more grievous and offensive the sin — the more spiteful and heinous the actions and words of the perpetrator — the deeper the suffering of the victim who chooses to forgive. This is a suffering that can be crushing — feeling like one’s very soul is being torn apart. In this process, more and more of self dies as it is surrendered in obedience to the Cross. And what is that obedience to the Cross? In a very powerful sense, it is compassion — quite literally, to suffer with. And we may not suffer with Christ unless we will forgive as He did. To look upon the Cross with pity may stir up the most powerful feelings; but, unless we move beyond pity to compassion, there is no action and without action there is no obedience … there is no being … there is no “becoming like Him in His death.”

There is only one motivation to move beyond pity to compassion — forgiveness itself. Jesus illustrated this for us in the parable of the unjust servant who, although he was forgiven by the king for his debt that was the equivalent of 200,000 years labor, refused to forgive the debt of another that was the equivalent of a day’s wage. No wonder Jesus said, “if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father in Heaven forgive your trespasses.” (Matt. 6:15) When Jesus said, “he who is forgiven little, loves little” (Luke 7:47) I’m inclined to believe that He wasn’t speaking only of the quantitative measure of forgiveness so much as the recognition of the weight and consequence of forgiveness.

This forgiveness is for the meek, not the weak. It demands response, not reaction. A reaction is nothing more than that which naturally occurs when a stimulus is applied. A response is quite literally an offering (Latin: re– “back” + sponde “drink offering” ) — indeed, it is something poured out as an act of worship. Jesus describes the response of the Christian to wrongdoing in selfless and intentionally active terminology. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” (Luke 6:27-28) Harboring unforgiveness or failing to seek reconciliation preempts any ability of the Holy Spirit to enable you to love and bless and pray. (Matt. 5:23-24) Forgiveness is essential to any reconciliation. God did not wait, but freely offered forgiveness — reconciling us to Himself through the Cross while we were still sinners and enemies. (Rom. 5:8-10)

Only as we come to fully know the forgiveness we receive as our own through Christ can we truly, completely forgive. Conversely as well — only as we truly forgive as we have been forgiven can we begin to grasp the fullness and power of the forgiveness we receive from God our Father. As we truly forgive, our self will continually be put to death — and therein, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be raised to new life with and in Christ and come to “know the power of His resurrection.” That which is resurrected in us is indeed new life — life overflowing with joy and peace that even death cannot conquer.

Then we can proclaim with Paul, “to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil 1:21)

Jesus, my risen Lord, makes living worth dying for and dying worth living for!