space shuttle from the air

last world war 1 veteran

Frank Buckles, who survived being a civilian prisoner of war in the Philippines in World War II, died of natural causes Sunday at his home in Charles Town, W.V.  He was 110.

Mr. Buckles would have wanted people to remember him as "the last torchbearer" for World War I.   When asked how it felt to be the last of his kind, he said, "I realized that somebody had to be, and it was me."

Born in Missouri in 1901 and raised in Oklahoma, Mr. Buckles visited a string of military recruiters after the U.S. entered the "war to end all wars" in April 1917. He was repeatedly rejected before convincing an Army captain that he was 18. He was actually 16½.

Mr. Buckles never saw combat but joked, "Didn't I make every effort? He served in England and France, working mainly as a driver and a warehouse clerk. A student of culture and language, he used his off-duty hours to learn German, visit cathedrals, museums and tombs, and bicycle in the French countryside.

After Armistice Day, Mr. Buckles helped return prisoners of war to Germany. He returned to the U.S. in January 1920.

(from AP)

old school

Concordia Seminary, St Louis, circa 1926

build your house upon the rock

"Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”  (Matthew 7)

lenten series

"Christ In The Strangest Places"

Two tablets of stone, a few vessels of oil, a small army, a remote field, a solemn oath - these are some of the strange people, places, and things through which God revealed Himself to His people. Join us this Lenten Season as we find Jesus in the Old Testament. Lent begins with our Ash Wednesday Service on March 9th at 7pm, and continues on Wednesdays for the next 6 weeks.

3/9  -  "Mine"    - Exodus 20:17
3/16 - "Nothing" - 2Kings 4:1-7
3/23 - "Finish"  - 1Kings 1:1-3
3/30 - "Enlist"  - Judges 6:16
4/6  -  "Invest"  - Jeremiah 32:25
4/13 - "Marked"  - Isaiah 44:5

old school postcard

the quad at concordia seminary, pre-1960's, without luther tower, but with a nice flower garden ...

(from respublica)

we are all beggars

"If Luther with his discovery of the saving truth of the justification of the sinner through faith alone, did nothing other than bring the holy gospel to light again, then his discovery has a significance as universal as the Gospel itself. He had expressed this his message one last time in the last lines which we have by his hand, written on a piece of paper on the 16th of February, and found after his death. This last note, written in Latin, speaks of the unfathomable depth of the Bible: "No one can understand Vergil unless he has been a shepherd or farmer for five years. No one can understand Cicero in his letters unless he has served in a significant position in government for 20 years. No one can apprehend the Holy Scriptures unless he has governed a congregation for a 100 years with the Prophets." The note concludes with the sentence: "We are beggars: This is true." The words "we are beggars" are written in German for emphasis.
It is as though Luther wanted to say what he had to say one last time; for all, for his contemporaries, those who came after him, for Christianity of all times. "We are beggars! This is true!" This is the fundamental melody which rang out throughout his entire life, doctrine and work."  - Herman Sasse

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His one and only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the sacrifice for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.   (1 John 4)

family man

suffering

The question is often asked, "Where is God in all the suffering around the world?
The answer is that He is right there in the midst of it all. He doesn't cause the suffering, but He can use it for His good purposes. The fact is that God is up to something good even in the midst of suffering and pain. He is there to provide comfort, relief, peace, and hope to those going through life's trials. And we have His promise that "I will never leave you nor forsake you" and that "All things work together for good for those who love Him".

We as God's people have a call to help those who are suffering, to be involved and to make a difference. Perhaps one of the reasons God allows suffering in the world is so that we might come together to help one  another, to build bridges, to form relationships, to realize that we are not self-sufficient and that we need each other in this fallen world.

Sometimes having faith means believing and confessing .... even when we don't have full understanding.

"We walk by faith, not by sight"  (2 Cor. 5:7)

"I believe Lord, help my unbelief". (Mark 9:24)

"For now we see through a glass dimly, but then we shall see face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I am fully known."  (1 Cor. 13)

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this week's sign of the apocalypse (or... vestment purgatory)

lord have mercy .....

salt and light

"You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world... Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and praise your Father in heaven."    (Matt. 5)

1500 year old church

Israeli archaeologists presented a newly uncovered 1,500-year-old church in the Judean hills on Wednesday, including an unusually well-preserved mosaic floor with images of lions, foxes, fish and peacocks.

The church is located southwest of Jerusalem and will be visible only for another week before archaeologists cover it again with soil for its own protection.

The floor is said to be one of the most beautiful mosaics to be uncovered in Israel.

blizzard 2011

our house after the blizzard...

let it snow

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10)