Monthly Archives: December 2015

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on December 15, 2015
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The Martyrdom of Polycarp — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

polycarp                                                          December 15, 2015

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Matthew 23:25 – 28

“…there was a great tumult on hearing that Polycarp had been arrested. Therefore, when he was brought before him, the proconsul asked him if he were Polycarp. And when he confessed that he was, he tried to persuade him to deny (the faith), saying, “Have respect for your age” – and other things that customarily follow this, such as “Swear by the fortune of Caesar; change your mind; say ‘Away with the atheists!’” But Polycarp looked with earnest face at the whole crowd of lawless heathen in the arena, and motioned to them with his hand. Then groaning and looking up to heaven he said “Away with the atheists!”

But the Proconsul was insistent and said: “Curse Christ.”

Polycarp said: “Eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?…If you vainly suppose that I shall swear by the fortune of Caesar, as you say, and pretend that you do not know who I am, listen plainly: I am a Christian. But if you desire to learn the teaching of Christianity, appoint a day and give me a hearing.” The Proconsul said, “Try to persuade the people”. (Martyrdom of Polycarp, Polycarp (69 – 155), “For All The Saints” volume III, p. 60 – 61)

Polycarp’s martyrdom: He died for one reason – his unyielding faith in Jesus Christ. Yet Polycarp’s well-recorded death is only one of many lives that were given to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ. In light of the cruel and torturous deaths of the first and second generation Christians, all theories that Christianity is just a myth need to be examined. Even today, many will die for something or someone they believe, but few will die for a lie. God allows the deaths of His saints not because He is a helpless or indifferent Lord, but because their deaths are powerful declarations of the free gift of life that is offered to us through the Person of Jesus Christ. Polycarp, like many other Christians to this day, was only able to die for Christ because he lived for Christ. His life was radically transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit — the desires, worries, pains and fears of this world no longer bound him. Polycarp’s life and death provides an inspirational example for all Christians. He gave his earthly life for Christ, and in the midst of his sacrifice, he gained eternal life.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on December 14, 2015
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Love Conquers All — David J. Schreffler

Image result for pictures of loving those who hate you                                          December 14, 2015

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands: “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false. I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” Revelation 2:1 – 5

“I once heard a man, then a young professor, tell of being on a plane on the late sixties and finding himself sitting next to Dr. Martin Luther King. He introduced himself to Dr. King and, as their journey progressed, he revealed to Dr. King that he was active in the Civil Rights struggle on his own campus. Because of his work in the racial struggle, he had become alienated from his father. He told Dr. King how his father could not understand him and how they had grown apart. Dr. King put his hand on the angry young man’s hand and said, “You father is doing the best he can. As a Christian you must be patient with him and love him.” Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 – 1968) As told by William H. Willimon in Pulpit Resource, Vol. 23, No. 7, “For All The Saints” volume III, (p. 54 -55)

Do you believe that your Lord does not know your toils and your works, your struggles, and your failures? We are told again and again that it is not our works that save us, but that does not mean that our work for the sake of the Gospel is in vain. We either believe that G-d is ever-present, or that G-d is aloof and un-concerned.

The Lord tells the angel in the church in Ephesus that their toils and concerns are all known by G-d. But the Lord also knows they have abandoned the love they first had. This is the problem with trials and tribulations, they can rip the love we have for each other right out of our hearts. Nothing destroys love for each other more than constant struggles and persecutions. The young man says to Dr. King that his relationship with his father is estranged because they do not agree on how to respond to racism and the Civil Rights campaign. In the midst of disagreement and argument, love is replaced with hurt and anger.

Nothing is harder than to love those who hate you, who disagree with you, or who openly persecute you. But remember, evil does not know what to do with love. The greatest between the spiritual gifts of faith, hope and love is neither faith nor hope – it is love. All three are necessary – but love conquers all things.

Pastor Dave