Elliott's Muses

Deuteronomy 4:9 9  “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children— Deuteronomy 6:4-7 4  “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Acts 2:39 39  For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” I have been reading a new resource for the Church.  It's called the New City Catechism.  Now, I realize the word catechism strikes...

Romans 8:1 1  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  This Fall I am teaching a lecture on the book of Romans at Christian Life College in Madison.  I can't tell you how joyful that makes me be.  I love Paul's letter to the Romans for so many reasons.  The Gospel is this beautiful, liberating "good news" and Paul sings it loud and clear.   Paul's declaration was a source of early conviction in my Christian Life.  I came to Christ at age 20, at the end of my college studies.  I fell headlong into the discovery of Jesus.  It was a love that lifted the burden of my own sin off my shoulders and delivered me from thinking I had to do something to earn my salvation.  Those who believe they have to "DO" something - be religious, good works, prove it, just a little bit more, that's not enough - will struggle with the Gospel's message.  We can't do anything to earn or deserve salvation because Jesus ...

Freedom Forgiveness I had faced the dilemma for several years – the pain of rejection.  We’ve all gone through it.  We find that not everyone likes us and the sting of words, or being left out, or the backdoor conversations about you all hurt.  The Boss who never gave you a chance; the spouse who decided the marriage was not worthwhile; the friendship that turned out to be hollow and tossed away... we all have experienced the pain of rejection.  The pain is trapped inside and we desperately long for something to take it all away.  The hallways of rejection are lined with images that are all too real, and we can’t seem to find the doorway that leads us out of it to real freedom.  We wander through the hallways of past rejections – anger, internal turmoil and arguments never spoken out loud, depression, withdrawal, distrust...and on and on I could go. We walk to through this rejection hallway and notice a door with the light streaming through the c...

It’s the Apostle Paul who says to his young disciple...a young Pastor in the first century who is named Titus...the following: “An elder must love what is good, be sensible..”  (Titus 1:8) It’s a good word, and there’s a part of me that wishes God would rain down large doses of it on the world, our cities, but especially our churches today.  Charles Swindoll reminds us what means by using the word Sensible.  The word is “ Sophron ... It has in mind ‘thinking appropriately.’ It means you’re not given to extremes. You’re able to see between the lines and apply some common sense.” I’d like to suggest that time tested humility is still very much in need.  We all have the tendency to make too much of ourselves, too much of our problems and too little of humility and having “good sense”. Rick Reilly was a national sports reporter, commentator and journalist.  Back in 1998 he spoke to some graduating college Athletes who were going to become Pros. ...

Many of you have been loyal readers of this blog for a while, and I'm sure you've noticed a long layoff from writing.  I have taken time away to do some other writing and decided to stop blogging during this time.  I'm posting this to say that very soon I'll be doing a weekly blog - beginning in September.  It will be a weekly blog with a theme that will continue for several weeks.   It's also being linked to the roll-out of a newly designed website for our church f -  New Life Fellowship .   Over the course of the last few months I've been doing a lot of reading.  I'm spending my time studying the great foundational themes of the Reformation. As you might remember we are celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation this year.   It was on October 31, 1517, that Martin Luther, a Pastor and Professor, Theologian and Teacher, posted his  Ninety-Five Theses  to the Castle Church doors in Wittenberg, Germany, and called f...