Are you pinning at Pinterest?

Who?s in your Google+ circles?

Uploaded a picturesque photo to Instagram yet?

The success of social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn offer an opportunity for newer social networks to grab the attention of consumers hungry for online sharing. But are they hungry for something new or have they already established their social network habits thus making anything new irrelevant quickly?

My work in Catholic media makes me a slave, mostly on the weekends, to the latest social networks. I investigate, sign up and discover social network applications for Franciscan Media.

Are you still telling folks where you are with Foursquare? Who remembers Friendfeed or Plurk? Do you Stumble or Digg? Do you miss bookmarking site Delicious or still upload photos to Flickr?

Some wonder whether interaction at blogs is waning because we like to spend our time updating Facebook status, tweet while watching the Oscars or upload videos to YouTube. Who has time to read, much less write, a 250 word blog post any more?

Meanwhile, my son spends most of his time texting, collecting friends at Facebook (he rarely posts an update) and downloading apps that his friends recommend.

What are your online habits? What sites do you trust for sharing? Does anyone read longform any more?

About the Author

Barbara Baker

Barbara Baker is Franciscan Media?s Director of marketing, sales and internet. She and her husband work with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati?s Family Life Office at their monthly pre-Cana weekends. Barbara spends too much time with her iPhone.

Source: http://blog.americancatholic.org/2012/02/social-%E2%80%9Cshiny-new%E2%80%9D-syndrome/

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As I read scripture, I am continually reminded that God is concerned about justice, especially justice for the poor and the marginalized in our society.  Some politicians may not be concerned about those who fall below the poverty line. Some of my fellow believers may not care.  But, it?s clear that God cares.

Consider the words of the Psalmist who declares:

Give justice to the lowly and the orphan; maintain the right of the poor and the destitute!  Rescue the lowly and the needy.  Deliver them    from the power of the wicked!  (Psalm 82:3-4 Common English Bible).

Or consider this word from the prophet Jeremiah:

No, if you truly reform your ways and your actions; if you treat each other justly;  if you stop taking advantage of the immigrant, orphan, or widow; if you don?t shed the blood of the innocent in this place, or go after other gods to your own ruin, only then will I dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave long ago to your ancestors for all time.  (Jeremiah 7:5-7 CEB).  

Then there is the word of judgment offered by Jesus:

?Then the king will say to those on his right, ?Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. 36 I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.?    . . .  ?Then the king will reply to them, ?I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.?  (Matthew 25:34-40).

Scriptures like these remind me that God is concerned about justice, and justice means something other than ?law and order.?  The focus of God?s justice is creating a community of equity and fairness.  In Roman Catholic social teaching it?s called ?God?s preferential option for the poor.?  

It is from this biblical perspective that I have tried to understand my role in society, and that of the church.  As a result I chose to join in the formation of a coalition of suburban congregations seeking to engage the political and economic systems so that they might become just and fair and responsive to the needs of the people living in our communities.  This coalition has its origins in conversations that began a year ago, and that led to the formation of the Metropolitan Coalition of Congregations.  Our purpose is spelled out in our mission statement:

“The Metro Coalition of Congregations is an interfaith organization of clergy and religious congregations working together for transformative systemic and societal change in our communities. The Coalition, representing Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, is seeking partnership with civic leaders from metro Detroit communities, and is committed to building power in order to influence policy and become a strong, unified voice speaking out and taking action on issues that affect all of southeast Michigan. “

As a coalition we have chosen to focus our attention on the issue of financial and economic justice, with a special focus on the foreclosure crisis.  We have been engaged in a number of activities, including hosting a Faith and Financial Justice Summit in November that provided an opportunity for members of the faith community to hear from a number of sources, including political leaders and persons involved in providing assistance to those in need.  

Among the issues we discussed was the logjam that keeps the State of Michigan?s Housing and Development Authority (MSHDA) from releasing more than $400 million dollars in federal money designed to prevent homeowners from suffering foreclosure.  Very little of that money has found its way to its intended beneficiaries, and if you google this program you’ll find little news coverage.  We’d like to see this change, so a meeting has been set up for members of the coalition to meet with the head of MSHDA to see what can be done to facilitate the movement of funds.   We have talked about putting pressure on banks that have resisted participating in efforts to work with homeowners to resolve these problems.

Consider for a moment that one in three Michigan homeowners owes more on their mortgages than their homes are now worth.  

One of the ways we are responding to this crisis is to launch a preaching series on Economic Justice in churches across the three Metro Detroit counties.  In sermons, worship experiences, and faith expressions we are trying to get the word out, letting congregants know what kinds of resources are available to them, and inviting them to get involved in changing a system that often works against the best interests of the community.   We observed this day at my congregation on February 19th.  Others are doing so throughout January and February.

We hope that these experiences will lead to conversations that will empower people in the community to work for fair and ethical banking, and financial justice.

By raising the issue in worship we want to counter the  personal shame and guilt that are often  associated with foreclosure and highlight the injustice of big banks that have been throwing congregants, their friends, and their neighbors out of their homes.  

I hope that you will reflect on these texts of scripture, these issues that confront us, and consider joining us in working toward a just and lasting solution.  For more information about the coalition see our website.

Source: http://www.bobcornwall.com/2012/02/seeking-justice-for-community.html

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From the upcoming edition of the Catholic Key:

Praying With Our Eyes Fixed on Heaven

By Most. Rev. Robert W. Finn
Bishop of Kansas City ? St. Joseph

In every Mass after the Consecration we express an affirmation about the power and promise of Jesus. The proclamation of the Mystery of Faith takes different forms, but it is a reminder to us that the profound truth that is taking place at the altar ? the death and rising of Jesus truly made present – also tells us to look forward to the Day when we shall see the Lord in glory.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass unites us with Jesus and with a Communion of Saints and Souls who have gone before us. Throughout the history of Christian art and architecture some churches have fittingly provided reminders to us of the heavenly goal to which God calls us. Even while the orientation of the church may keep us aware of those with whom we are worshipping, at the same time many of the great churches provide us with images of God in heaven and the saints: They show us the heavenly Jerusalem which is our ultimate home. It is right for us to keep such realities in mind. I have often said that no matter what is going on in our life ? sufferings or joys ? the most important goal of everything we do is to get ourselves to heaven and bring with us as many as we can.

The month of November begins with the two great celebrations: All Saints day (November 1) and the Commemoration of All Souls (November 2). These feasts celebrate our communion with the ?Church triumphant? in heaven, and the ?Church suffering? in purgatory.

Near these feast days I have gathered with the priests to celebrate the Purgatorial Mass for all our deceased priests. I hope you also remember your family members, friends and ?heavenly heroes? who have gone before us. Those in heaven intercede for us.

To me this is such a natural and beautiful part of our faith: that the saints are alive and they pray with us, just as we might ask a friend to remember our intentions in their prayers. This sense of saintly intercession and patronage has been lost in many Christian traditions, perhaps seeing this practice of turning toward Mary or the saints as a distraction away from Christ. In one of the Prefaces used at Masses for the Holy Men and Women, we acclaim God: ?You are glorified in Your saints. In their lives on earth You give us an example. In our communion with them, You give us their friendship. In their prayer for the Church You give us strength and protection.? All Saints Day provides us with a special ?feast day? when we can celebrate God?s power at work, not only among the extraordinary saints canonized or officially recognized by the Church, but also in ?our saints;? our Moms and Dads, tiny babies who have died in innocence, and others who were instrumental in helping us know and love God.

The Commemoration of All Souls is likewise a meaningful reminder to us to pray for those who have died who may still need our prayers as they await the Day of the Lord. We know very well that our lives are not always perfect and faithful. We cling too often to selfishness and sin: things that keep us from loving God and our neighbor. In her wisdom and with the Light of the Holy Spirit, the Church teaches clearly about purgatory, that ?All who have died in God?s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, ? after death undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.? (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1030).

In the Old Testament Book of Maccabees, we see how the faithful prayed and offered sacrifices for the salvation of those who died (2 Macc 12:46). We should never cease to pray for those who have gone before us. We can be sure that these loving prayers will never be wasted, even if our loved one has already reached heaven.

Throughout November ? and indeed at all times in the Church?s liturgical year ? we can renew our focus on the eternal life to which we are called by Christ. We do not travel alone. We continue to support, pray for, and encourage one another. And we have a host of heavenly friends supporting us on our journey of faith. We often miss having the physical presence of our loved ones with us. It is at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass when we are very closely united to the faithfully departed, the Church throughout the world, and the saints in heaven.

Mary, Mother of the Church, Queen of All Saints and All Souls, keep us on a safe path to your Son.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheCatholicKeyBlog/~3/ysbA-1476XE/saints-are-alive-and-they-pray-with-us.html

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As I read scripture, I am continually reminded that God is concerned about justice, especially justice for the poor and the marginalized in our society.  Some politicians may not be concerned about those who fall below the poverty line. Some of my fellow believers may not care.  But, it?s clear that God cares.

Consider the words of the Psalmist who declares:

Give justice to the lowly and the orphan; maintain the right of the poor and the destitute!  Rescue the lowly and the needy.  Deliver them    from the power of the wicked!  (Psalm 82:3-4 Common English Bible).

Or consider this word from the prophet Jeremiah:

No, if you truly reform your ways and your actions; if you treat each other justly;  if you stop taking advantage of the immigrant, orphan, or widow; if you don?t shed the blood of the innocent in this place, or go after other gods to your own ruin, only then will I dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave long ago to your ancestors for all time.  (Jeremiah 7:5-7 CEB).  

Then there is the word of judgment offered by Jesus:

?Then the king will say to those on his right, ?Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. 36 I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.?    . . .  ?Then the king will reply to them, ?I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.?  (Matthew 25:34-40).

Scriptures like these remind me that God is concerned about justice, and justice means something other than ?law and order.?  The focus of God?s justice is creating a community of equity and fairness.  In Roman Catholic social teaching it?s called ?God?s preferential option for the poor.?  

It is from this biblical perspective that I have tried to understand my role in society, and that of the church.  As a result I chose to join in the formation of a coalition of suburban congregations seeking to engage the political and economic systems so that they might become just and fair and responsive to the needs of the people living in our communities.  This coalition has its origins in conversations that began a year ago, and that led to the formation of the Metropolitan Coalition of Congregations.  Our purpose is spelled out in our mission statement:

“The Metro Coalition of Congregations is an interfaith organization of clergy and religious congregations working together for transformative systemic and societal change in our communities. The Coalition, representing Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, is seeking partnership with civic leaders from metro Detroit communities, and is committed to building power in order to influence policy and become a strong, unified voice speaking out and taking action on issues that affect all of southeast Michigan. “

As a coalition we have chosen to focus our attention on the issue of financial and economic justice, with a special focus on the foreclosure crisis.  We have been engaged in a number of activities, including hosting a Faith and Financial Justice Summit in November that provided an opportunity for members of the faith community to hear from a number of sources, including political leaders and persons involved in providing assistance to those in need.  

Among the issues we discussed was the logjam that keeps the State of Michigan?s Housing and Development Authority (MSHDA) from releasing more than $400 million dollars in federal money designed to prevent homeowners from suffering foreclosure.  Very little of that money has found its way to its intended beneficiaries, and if you google this program you’ll find little news coverage.  We’d like to see this change, so a meeting has been set up for members of the coalition to meet with the head of MSHDA to see what can be done to facilitate the movement of funds.   We have talked about putting pressure on banks that have resisted participating in efforts to work with homeowners to resolve these problems.

Consider for a moment that one in three Michigan homeowners owes more on their mortgages than their homes are now worth.  

One of the ways we are responding to this crisis is to launch a preaching series on Economic Justice in churches across the three Metro Detroit counties.  In sermons, worship experiences, and faith expressions we are trying to get the word out, letting congregants know what kinds of resources are available to them, and inviting them to get involved in changing a system that often works against the best interests of the community.   We observed this day at my congregation on February 19th.  Others are doing so throughout January and February.

We hope that these experiences will lead to conversations that will empower people in the community to work for fair and ethical banking, and financial justice.

By raising the issue in worship we want to counter the  personal shame and guilt that are often  associated with foreclosure and highlight the injustice of big banks that have been throwing congregants, their friends, and their neighbors out of their homes.  

I hope that you will reflect on these texts of scripture, these issues that confront us, and consider joining us in working toward a just and lasting solution.  For more information about the coalition see our website.

Source: http://www.bobcornwall.com/2012/02/seeking-justice-for-community.html

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ACTA 2.0

by Stephen Lendman

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) calls the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) ?a secretive, multi-nation agreement that threatens to extend restrictive intellectual property laws across the globe.?

It replicates its worst features. Nine nations are negotiating it secretly plus Japan without formal status. They include America, Australia, Malaysia, Peru, Vietnam, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore, and Brunei.

Though provisions aren?t known, Article 1.1.3 states:

?The Parties seek to support the wider liberalisation process (read corporate control) in APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) consistent with its goals of free and open (not fair) investment.?

APEC includes 21 members. Major Asian ones include China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea among others. Non-Asian ones include America, Canada, Mexico, Peru and Chile.

Four countries (Singapore, New Zealand, Brunei and Chile) negotiated an initial agreement. On June 3, 2005, it was signed and took effect on May 28, 2006. Six other countries joined negotiations.

Ten previous negotiating rounds occurred beginning from March 15 ? 19, 2010. An 11th is scheduled for March 1 ? 9, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia.

At issue is agreeing on unrestricted trade in goods, services, rules of origin, trade remedies, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers, government procurement and competition policies, and intellectual property (IP).

EFF urges:

?Don?t Let TPP Become the New ACTA: Contact Your Lawmakers and Demand Transparency,? saying:

Like ACTA, TPP negotiations are secret ?and on a fast timetable. We don?t know what?s in the TPP IP chapter, and that?s what worries us.? Entertainment industry executives are involved. It?s one of corporate America?s most corrupt.

Intellectual property (IP) includes copyrights, trademarks, patents, and related considerations. One-sided structuring for business harms ordinary citizens? rights. In addition, at stake is ?the future of the Internet?s global infrastructure and innovation across the world.?

A leaked February TPP version showed US negotiators pressuring for far more restrictive IP provisions than ACTA and other international treaties. It stated:

?This document must be protected from unauthorized disclosure?.It must be stored in a locked or secured building, room, or container.?

Declassification would be authorized ?four years from entry into force?.or, if no agreement enters into force, four years from the close of the negotiations.?

In other words, power brokers want secretive provisions established with no public knowledge of their destructive harm.

TPP aims to rewrite global IP enforcement rules. All signatory countries will have to change domestic laws, regulations, and other policies to comply.

In America, controversial copyright laws will be further hardened. For example, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?s ?broad ban on circumventing digital locks and frequently disproportionate statutory damages for copyright infringement.?

Moreover, Congress will be prevented from reforming domestic law to assure Internet freedom and innovative technology protections.

Leaked TPP provisions subvert US laws. As a result, significant issues are raised, including free expression, privacy, and due process. From what?s known, TPP will require signatories to:

(1) ?Treat temporary reproductions of copyrighted works without copyright holders? authorization as copyright infringement.? Earlier this was discussed and rejected.

(2) ?Ban parallel importation of genuine goods acquired from other countries without the authorization of copyright owners.?

(3) Establish copyright provisions well beyond current norms. For example, the US ? Oman Free Trade Agreement enforces rights 95 years after publication or 120 years after creating corporate owned works.

(4) ?Adopt laws banning circumvention of digital locks (technological protection measures ? TMPs) that mirror the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and treat violation of the TMP provisions as a separate offense, even when no copyright infringement is involved.?

As a result, signatories would have to rewrite or reverse existing laws to comply. Enormous public interest harm would result. Business would benefit at the expense of the greater good.

(5) Impose copyright infringement criminal sanctions.

(6) ?Adopt the US DMCA Internet Intermediaries copyright safe harbor regime in its entirety.? Again, fundamental protections would end.

Overall, signatories would be forced to adopt harmful provisions. Sovereignty issues and consumer protections are at stake, as well as the ability of governments to prioritize domestic needs.

Like ACTA, negotiations are secret behind closed doors. Transparency demands by prominent civil society organizations were ignored. They include Public Citizen, Global Exchange, Friends of the Earth, Earthjustice and others.

If adopted, non-signatory countries will be affected, including all 21 APEC members. Pressure will be applied globally to comply with anti-populist provisions.

TPP Watch

It?s ?a network of concerned unions, groups and individuals formed to organize and support initiatives to oppose? TPP. ?Beware the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement,? it highlights.

At issue is ?almost every area of policy you can think of,? including labor laws, subsidy protections, and regulations covering GMO and other foods, drugs, tobacco, mining, the ability to reverse privatizations, foreign investments, hot money, and IP protection.

Investor rights are prioritized at the expense popular ones. For example, foreign investors would be able to sue governments for hundreds of millions of dollars for breaching their TPP rights.

Corporations now rule the world. Imagine doing it more than ever with an unchallengeable iron fist. Incrementally, free societies are at risk.

Unless ACTA, TPP and similar measures are stopped, they?re heading for the dustbin of history practically everywhere. If that?s not worth fighting to stop, what is?

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.

Source: http://yourworldnews.org/blog/?p=3012&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=acta-2-0

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To avoid police aggression, reporters in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, work in groups when covering seizures, arrests and any other crime in this city on the U.S-Mexico border, now considered the second most violent in the world after spending three years in first place. ?While one person speaks with officials, others are ready with their cameras to make public any incidents of aggression,” explained Alfredo Quijano, editor of the local newspaper Norte, in an interview with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas.

This is exactly what happened recently to Raymundo Ruiz, photographer for the magazine Proceso, when he was beaten while attempting to take photographs during a police operation. ?In the past, they had only insulted me, but this time they actually hit me,” said the photographer. After filing a complaint with the federal prosecutor, Ruiz said that he still feels angry and powerless, and that his lip injury remains.

?In a dispute, the journalists end up losing because they aren’t armed, and they end up in jail,” said Quijano. According to the Juárez Journalists Network and the newspaper Norte, in February alone, five journalists were taken to the municipal jail in similar incidents and 13 have already been attacked this year.

In recent months, the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas blog has reported that police agents have interfered with journalists’ work by beating, arresting, and even threatening to kill them. Quijano estimates that, to date, there are 10 complaints from journalists against the police in the Attorney General’s Office, but none have received attention.

In a recent meeting of local media editors, the controversial police chief Julián Leyzaola said that he would not rule out the possibility that corrupt police would deliberately provoke the incidents with journalists, to affect the municipal police’s image, reported Quijano. Leyzaola said that he planned to continue firing corrupt police officers in the near future and that he was committed to respecting journalists’ work. “For now, there haven’t been any more incidents, so it seems that he did give them strict orders,” added the journalist.

Since the Mexican government declared war on drug trafficking in 2006, the relation between reporters and security forces in Juárez has been tense, and some publications like Norte have even decided to self-censor after their journalists received death threats.

In the face of impunity, the Juárez press maintains an archive with photos of police without masks in order to identify them if necessary, explained Quijano. The police resent the tactic so much that they also take photographs and videos of the reporters and photographers, added the journalist, who has covered security topics in the city for more than 20 years.

The police aggression against the press has been happening as frequently as the arbitrary arrests of civilians, reported the newspaper Diario de Juárez. Quijano, however, denies that the aggression against journalists has increased since an ex-soldier took over as head of local public security. In the past, Leyzaola was able to lessen violence and insecurity in Tijuana, but his critics accuse him of human rights violations, according to CNN México.

Between 2009 and 2011, the military and the federal police were in charge of protecting the streets of Ciudad Juárez. ?It seems like they are taking turns. Whichever authority is in charge of local security is the one committing the violations,” said Quijano. Sixteen journalists have been killed in this city since 2001 and another eight journalists have sought asylum abroad, reported the organization Artículo 19.

The local press has also criticized the police for blocking access to information. For example, Juárez Public Security officials “almost never give interviews to the press or let them interview those arrested,” said Ruiz. The Public Security press secretary decides at his discretion whether he wants to respond to requests for information, explained Quijano.

The journalists in this Mexican border city also confront confusing and manipulated crime statistics. According to the data available, killings in Ciudad Juárez have decreased, but other crimes, like auto theft, extortion and house raids, have increased. ?There is a political dispute among the three levels of government as to who is responsible for this decrease. The federal, state and local governments all take credit for the statistics which show that crime rates have dropped,” said Quijano.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kcblogen/~3/XZqOfuSA0e4/00-9119-reporters-ciudad-juarez-mexico-confront-police-aggression-lack-information-access

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Power in the Blood. Charles Spurgeon. 1996. Whitaker House. 190 pages.

I am just LOVING the Spurgeon I’ve been reading the past two weeks. Power in the Blood has six chapters. I’m not completely comfortable calling them chapters because the chapters don’t necessarily depend on one another. The book does stay on topic–on task–and each of the chapters adds to the whole book. But each chapter is a little self-contained in a way.

Healing By the Stripes of Jesus (Isaiah 53:5)
The Beginning of Months (Exodus 12:1-2)
God’s Watchful Care (Deuteronomy 11:12)
A Tempted Savior–Our Best Help (Hebrews 2:18)
True Unity Promoted (Ephesians 4:3)
Creation’s Groans and Saints’ Sighs (Romans 8:22-23)

I am not sure I can condense the whole book into a single topic sentence. I could simply say it was a book about the Christian life, about how a Christian should live, reasons to have faith and assurance, reasons to be discerning, persevering, etc. But the book isn’t exactly as generic as it may sound. The book is actually interesting and informative. Spurgeon makes connections between Scriptures that I haven’t made yet, that I may never have made, yet they make sense. For example, In Power of the Blood, Spurgeon talks a good deal about Passover, and how Jesus Christ is our Passover Lamb, he is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. I’d definitely made the connection between Jesus’ blood making us right with God (justification; reckoned right with God; His blood cleansing us of our sins and purifying us with his righteousness), but I’d NOT made the connection between the unleavened bread and sanctification. How in celebrating Passover, they are to remove leaven from all their homes, they were only to eat unleavened bread for those seven days. Anyway, I’m not sure if insights and connections like that are life-changing enough to make a difference in how I live day by day, but there are plenty more insights in Power in the Blood. It’s rich in Scripture, rich in truth.

My favorite quotes:

Sin is disturbing to manhood: sin unmans a man. Sin is sadly destructive to man; it takes the crown from his head, the light from his mind, and the joy from his heart. We may name many grievous diseases that are destroyers of our race, but the greatest of these is sin. (10-11)

The remedy for your sins and mine is found in the substitutionary sufferings of the Lord Jesus, and in these alone. These stripes of the Lord Jesus Christ were on our behalf. Do you ask, “Is there anything for us to do to remove the guilt of sin?” I answer: There is nothing whatsoever for you to do. By the stripes of Jesus we are healed. All those stripes He has endured, and He has not left one of them for us to bear.
“But do we not have to believe on Him?” Yes, certainly. If I claim that a certain ointment heals, I do not deny that you need a bandage with which to apply it to the wound. Faith is the bandage that binds the ointment of Christ’s reconciliation to the sore of our sin. The bandage does not heal; that is the work of the ointment. Likewise, faith does not heal; that is the work of the atonement of Christ.
Do I hear someone say, “But surely I must do something or suffer something”? I answer: You must not try to add anything to Christ’s atonement, or you greatly dishonor Him. For your salvation, you must rely on the wounds of Jesus Christ and nothing else. The text does not say, “His stripes help to heal us,” but “With his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5).
“But we must repent,” cries another. Assuredly we must, and will, for repentance is the first sign of healing; but the stripes of Jesus heal us, not our repentance. These stripes, when applied to the heart, work repentance in us: we hate sin because it made Jesus suffer.
When you believe that Jesus suffered for you, then you discover the fact that God will never punish you for the same offense for which Jesus died. His justice will not permit Him to see the debt paid first by the surety, and then again by the debtor. Justice cannot demand a recompense twice; if my bleeding Substitute has borne my guilt, then I cannot bear it. Accepting Christ Jesus as having suffered for me, I have accepted a complete discharge from judicial liability. I have been condemned in Christ, and there is, therefore, now no condemnation to me anymore (Romans 8:1). (22-23)

We hear a great deal about the beauty of Christ’s moral character, and assuredly our blessed Lord deserves to be highly exalted for His character, but that is not the aspect under which He is food to a soul conscious of sin. The chief relish about our Lord Jesus to a penitent sinner is His sin-bearing and His agonies. We need the suffering Savior, the Christ of Gethsemane, the Christ of Golgotha and Calvary, Christ shedding His blood in the sinner’s stead and bearing for us the fire of God’s wrath. Nothing short of this will suffice to be food for a hungry heart. Withhold this, and you starve the child of God.
We are told in Exodus 12:9 that they were not to eat any of the lamb raw. Alas! There are some who try to do this with Christ, for they preach a half-atoning sacrifice. They try to make His person and His character to be food for their souls, but they have small liking for His passion. They cast His atonement into the background or represent it as an ineffective atonement that does not rescue any soul. What is this but to devour a raw Christ?
I will not touch their half-roasted lamb; I will have nothing to do with their half substitution, their half-complete redemption. No, no. Give me a Savior who has borne all my sins in His own body (1 Peter 2:24) and so has been roasted with fire to the full. “It is finished” (John 19:30) is the most charming note in all of Calvary’s music. “It is finished.” The fire has passed upon the Lamb. He has borne the whole of the wrath that was due to His people. This is the royal dish of the feast of love.
There are a multitude of teachers who want to have the Lamb boiled with water, though the Scripture says, “Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water” (Exodus 12:9). I have heard it said that a great number of sermons are about Christ and the Gospel yet neither Christ nor His Gospel are preached in them. If so, the preachers present the Lamb boiled in the water of their own thoughts and speculations and notions.
Now, the harm in this boiling process is that the water takes away a good deal from the meat. Likewise, philosophical discourses on the Lord Jesus take away much of the essence and virtue of His person, offices, work, and glory. The real juice and vital nutrients of His glorious Word are carried off by interpretations that do not explain, but explain away. How many boil away the soul of the Gospels by their carnal wisdom!
What is worse still, when meat is boiled not only does the meat get into the water, but the water gets into the meat. So, what truth these gospel-boilers do hand out is boiled with error, and you receive from them dishes made up partly of God’s truth and partly of men’s imaginings. We hear in some measure solid Gospel and in larger measure mere watery reasoning. When certain preachers preach atonement, it is not pure and simple substitution; one hardly knows what it is. Their atonement is not the vicarious sacrifice, but a performance of a long list of things. They have a theory that is like the remainders of meat after days of boiling, all strings and fibers.
People use all kinds of schemes to try to extract the marrow and fatness from the grand, soul-satisfying doctrine of substitution, which to my mind is the choicest truth that can ever be brought forth for the food of souls. (49-51)

How long should a person thank God for forgiving his sins? Is life long enough? Is time long enough? Is eternity long enough? How long should a man thank God for saving him from going down to hell? Would fifty years suffice? Oh, no, that would never do; the blessing is too great to all be sung of in a millennium. (69)

I pray that God will always preserve us from a unity in which truth is considered valueless, in which principle gives place to policy, in which the masculine virtues of the Christian hero are supplemented by an effeminate, fake love. May the Lord deliver us from indifference to His Word  and will, for this creates a cold unity–like masses of ice frozen into an iceberg, chilling the air for miles around; or like the unity of the dead as they sleep in their graves, contending for nothing because they no longer have a part in the land of the living. (138)

The unity of the Spirit never requires any support of sin. (137)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Source: http://operationreadbible.blogspot.com/2012/02/book-review-power-in-blood.html

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The leader of Communion and Liberation has formally requested the opening of a cause for the beatification of Msgr. Luigi Guissani, the founder of the movement.

On February 22, after a Mass marking the 7th anniversary of Msgr. Guissani?s death, Father Julian Carron, his successor as head of Communion and Liberation, revealed that a petition had been presented to Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan for the opening of a cause.

The first step in the process of beatification, a diocesan investigation, would take place in Milan because Msgr. Giussani was born there, was a priest of the archdiocese, worked and died there. Coincidentally, Cardinal Scola was active in Communion and Liberation soon after its founding in 1969.

During his lifetime Msgr. Giussani saw Communion and Liberation grow to become an important factor in the Church and in European political affairs. Although the group does not have formal membership, over 100,000 attend its regular ?schools of community? in Italy alone.

Msgr. Giusanni died in 2005 at the age of 82. Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger presided at his funeral.

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Euthanasia has become a leading issue in the French presidential election: President Nicolas Sarkozy opposes its legalization, while François Hollande, a Socialist, supports it.

Writing in L?Osservatore Romano, Ferdinando Cancelli comments on the growing support for euthanasia in France and calls for more widespread training in palliative care as a ?third way? between ?the disproportion of treatments and the false solution of euthanasia.?

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) ? San Francisco Giants right-hander Ryan Vogelsong strained his back earlier this month while lifting weights and said Sunday he will miss at least the first 10 days of spring training workouts while he recovers.

The pitcher realizes it?s worth being cautious at this stage so that he?s healthy for the long haul.

?It?s not too bad but we want to make sure we?re cautious,? Vogelsong said before Giants pitchers and catchers went through their first workout at Scottsdale Stadium. ?I?d say probably, cautious side, 10 days maybe just to make sure I?m feeling good and don?t go out there and try to throw and tweak it again and come back in here. We?re just going to go really conservative right now.?

Vogelsong, who became an unlikely All-Star last year in a comeback season, said he was squatting on a balance ball with 70-pound dumbbells ? weights he had used all winter ? on Feb. 7 when he got hurt.

?Just a regular workout, trying to do a little bit too much weight wise,? he said. ?Right now, we want to make sure I?m 100 percent ready to go before I go out there and try to start throwing and running around again.?

Last month, Vogelsong received an $8.3 million, two-year contract to give him some job security. The 34-year-old Vogelsong set a career high for wins last season while going 13-7 with a 2.71 ERA in 30 games and 28 starts.

All-Star closer Brian Wilson, who didn?t pitch down the stretch last season because of an elbow injury, is eager to get going ? and he?s set to throw another bullpen Monday. He isn?t expected in games until the second week.

Wilson spoke little about the injury late in 2011, when the Giants failed to reach the playoffs after winning the World Series a year earlier.

?Maybe other people were frustrated but I certainly wasn?t frustrated. It?s nothing I could have controlled. I?m never going to be frustrated with anything,? Wilson said Sunday. ?I don?t ask for days off. I don?t complain about anything. I don?t ask for a timeout for a breather. I ask to throw the ball, get three outs. I can do that until I die.?

Wilson ? the majors saves leader in 2010 with 48 ? went 6-4 with a 3.11 ERA and 36 saves in 57 outings last year.

?I feel great. I felt good the whole time, it?s just I was just limited back then,? he said. ?I would have thrown but I was told I couldn?t throw. I think anybody who takes six months off, it?s good. It gave it enough time to heal. Ready to rock.?

Tags: Arizona, Baseball, JANIE McCAULEY, Men’s sports, North America, Professional baseball, Sports, United States

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