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Lent: Day 15 - Justin Martyr: First Apology, Chaps. 36-47

..., pain or sacrifice from the perspective of God, then it is Christ speaking as the pre-existing Word. He gives various examples from the Psalms and Isaiah to show this, such as: Isaiah 50:6I gave my back to those who struck me,and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;I did not hide my facefrom insult and spitting. And, Psalms 22:17-18I can count all my bones.They stare and gloat over me;they divide my clothes among themselves,and for my clothing they cast lots. The Spirit When it is the the Spirit speaking, it appears to be prophecies which are more in the 3rd person about the Lord and what he will do. Using an example from Isaiah again, J...

Lent Day 19: Cyprian: On the Unity of the Church: 10-18

...es to the sacrifice in strife, and bids him first agree with his brother, and then return with peace and offer his gift to God”, therefore requiring unity and peace with one another at all times. Stronger still, Cyprian goes further to say that even if those who have separated from the Church were to be martyred for the name of Jesus, that this wouldn’t ensure they were crowned with righteousness and enter the Kingdom, since “he cannot show himself a martyr who has not maintained brotherly love”. Using 1 Cor 13 to back up his point, Cyprian goes on to say that though they may die or do works, to do it without love and unity of the Church, it is nothing;...

Fasting: A spiritual and physical discipline

...spiritual sacrifice in worship to God, as of Romans 12:1 and 1 Peter 2:5-6, as we humble ourselves and learn humility and self-control through physical fasting; putting to death the flesh so that we may be made alive in the Spirit! Amen.  Further Reading: I recently published a book called 40 Days with the Fathers, which is a daily reading plan and an introduction to the Early Church Fathers that is spread across forty days, originally written as a Lenten reading plan. You can get a copy by clicking here. http://steadfastlutherans.org/2014/03/redeeming-holy-days-from-pagan-lies-ash-wednesday-and-lent-2/ http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/cat...

Is there salvation for fallen angels?

...re Jesus' sacrifice is only effective for "Adam". The writer of Hebrews sums this up for us nicely by saying, “it is clear that [Jesus] did not come to help angels”, but those in whom he shared a nature with — us! (Heb 2:14-16) Whatever sins the angels have made (other than rebelling; cf. Rev 12:4,7-9) it is not covered by the blood of Jesus as far as we know. We can infer this from what Paul teaches us about the ministry of reconciliation: 2 Corinthians 5:19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. (Emphasis mine) The plan of salvatio...

The Reality of Sin

...a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 1 Peter 1:15-16Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”   Amen....

Spiritual Disciplines of the Early Church: Ancient Practices for the 21st Century

...that your sacrifice may be pure.” (cf. Hebrews 10:24–25) Didache (c. 50 – 70)   Meditation Meditation and silence. This is likely the least practiced discipline amongst regular Christians. I say “regular” because unless you’re a monk or nun, this is a practice often overlooked — especially in this busy modern life. “Be still, and know that I am God!” Ps. 46:10 A lot of the monastic traditions grew out of learning to be still and quiet before the Lord; from seeking the presence of God; and trying to practice self-denial by being separate from worldliness. That’s why we often find hermits and monasteries in remote, out-of-the-way...