Water boarding

This Sundays reading is from Matthew 14:22-33,  "Jesus Walks on the Water."

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.  And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,  but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.  And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.  But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”  Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” -ESV

Do you believe it?

If not, do you believe in God, and what can He not do?

Sisters Act: By filing suit

 I sure hope they win.

From Paul Anagnostopoulos at The IRD,

On July 17, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, alongside several other groups, filed a complaint against the state of New York for the implementation of doctor-assisted suicide, known by its proponents as Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD). The sisters object to any forced participation in the MAiD program and filed suit arguing that the law, set to take effect this August, has not provided proper protections for their religious order.

Implementation of the new law comes with the expectation that healthcare providers and staff are required to inform patients about their option to end their own life through the new system. While the law doesn’t require nuns or religious sisters to directly assist in a suicide, opt-out requirements do not allow the nuns to refuse to inform a patient in their care about it. Failure to inform patients about the program under current regulations would mean that these groups would face heavy fines and sanctions.

Under the law passed in February, these organizations would be forced to compromise their beliefs. The law requires that a patient must “be able to self-administer the medication” and would compel Catholic ministries to inform patients of their eligibility to kill themselves, contrary to Catholic teaching...

...With the bill coming into effect August 6, the Catholic institutions seek to avoid legal punishment for their beliefs on the sanctity of human life.

“Christ the Divine Physician calls us to accompany the sick and dying with compassion, not abandon them to death,” Barres stated...

UPDATE [8/3/2026]: Becket has announced that, with agreement from the state of New York, a federal judge ordered the state not to enforce its assisted-suicide mandate against four orders of Catholic nuns and several Catholic healthcare ministries while their federal lawsuit proceeds. The temporary agreement protects the ministries from being forced to help terminally ill patients end their lives via suicide in direct violation of their faith.

I have visited New York once, stayed at the Waldorf  Astoria in the Presidential suite, and suffered through their airports several times. This and other stories about the horrors that the state and city governments (and voters) are allowing have convinced me to never go there again. 

Judeo-Christians fight back

 With the rise in antisemitism that we are seeing in the world it might be wise to look into our own backyards for signs of it encroaching into our lawns. I did not know this until recently, but the term "Judeo-Christian" is not liked by some who think of themselves as "Christian." Those who would throw out the tree to which we were engrafted are falling for the old heresy of Marcionism which rejected the Old Testament God. 

Educate yourself and see Bill Muehlenberg who has a long post on the topic titled, "On the Term ‘Judeo-Christian’".

If you encounter someone who does not accept the "Term", please don't jump on them and call them an antisemite even though they might be one. Armed with the Biblical facts, first ask them about how they reached that conclusion, and then practice your apologetics with them. 

Believe it, or what?

 This Sunday's reading from Matthew 14:13-21 tells the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

A remarkable miracle retold in all four Gospels. I have heard a lot of revisionist preachers challenge the feeding of the thousands saying things like, "Oh, the people probably had food stashed away and brought out the leftovers at the end to put in the baskets" and other such attempts to explain away the miracle. I believe that those preaching the Gospel back in the early days went unchallenged because there were thousands of witnesses to back them up! So the story stuck. 

For a person who professes to be a Christian to deny that God can produce any miracle sounds decidedly unchristian to me.

"We better wake up fast, or we will lose it all"

 Bill Muehlenberg recently posted an excellent summary of Islamic terror plots and the West's inability to expound on the "M.I.T." words (Muslim, Islam, and Terrorist). Even the organizers of the Pride parade in Germany that probably inspired the most recent attacker won't connect the dots. 

Muehlenberg's conclusion is in his title, "Islam and the West Cannot Peacefully Coexist." 

Having studied the Koran (an English translation) after the attacks of 911, I agree. The only peace Islam leads to is peace through bloodshed. 

Compare that to the way of Christ.

Meanwhile, in Paris there was another attack, 

"The suspect subdued after allegedly stabbing three women in Paris on Monday uttered, 'it is Allah who commanded me' to a crowd that appeared to be holding him down after the apparent terror attack..."

"...A 31-year-old man, whose name was not immediately released, was seen on the ground after allegedly stabbing three women, one of whom was reportedly pregnant..."

"...Two victims were listed in 'absolute emergency' condition, while the third was listed in "relative emergency" condition, according to local press." -Fox News

As Muehlenberg wrote, "We better wake up fast, or we will lose it all."

Praying for the persecuted

 This Sundays reading is from Romans 8:26-39, and it reminds me that Christians are dying for the Faith every day somewhere in this world.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,

‘For your sake we are being killed all day long;

   we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Travels with Päivi

We have followed the ongoing saga of  Päivi Räsänen of Finland for several years now. It seems that she has experienced more complications from writing the truth about God's plan for the sexes.

From Christian Today,

Päivi Räsänen, the Christian politician convicted in Finland for her views on marriage and sexuality, says her electronic travel authorisation (ETA) for the UK has been cancelled. 

The former Finnish Minister of the Interior said her application for an ETA was initially successful but she later received a notification informing her that it had been cancelled. 

ETAs are required for travellers who do not have a visa and need to pass through UK border control upon arrival in the country - including transits if they leave the secure area to change terminals or collect luggage.

Mrs Räsänen said she was not given any explanation for the cancellation of her ETA and that it has thrown into doubt her plans to travel to Northern Ireland next month. The 66 year old is due to visit the country in August to speak at a conference and visit the Parliament. She no longer knows if this trip will be possible. 

The impact of her cancelled ETA is already being felt in other ways - last week, returning from a conference in California, she scrapped plans to transit through Heathrow, choosing instead to fly via Dallas in order to avoid any problems passing through the UK.

The cancellation of her ETA comes just months after the Finnish Supreme Court found Mrs Räsänen guilty of “hate speech” over statements expressing biblical views on marriage and sexuality in a pamphlet she wrote in 2004. 

She was also convicted of "making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group."

Commenting on the cancellation of her ETA, Mrs Räsänen said, "The Supreme Court’s closely divided ruling has had unexpected consequences. In addition to restricting freedom of expression, it has also created restrictions and difficulties related to travel and participation in meetings and conferences.

"My greatest concern is that this decision has left many people with uncertainty, confusion, and fear about the consequences of exercising their freedom of speech and religion in a peaceful manner, and about where the line lies between lawful and prohibited speech." 

She is not alone in being refused an ETA by the UK - Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola, who was convicted alongside her in the "hate speech" case, has also been denied the travel authorisation.

Bishop Pohjola said a notification informing him of the decision on June 16 stated: "We are satisfied that you have been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK or overseas within the last 12 months."

The notification also said that he cannot appeal this decision or travel to the UK without a visa. 

He said he was "surprised" by the UK's decision, adding that the "hate speech" conviction was having "practical" consequences far beyond Finland.

"Last week I was denied eVisitor application to Australia. This not only causes practical difficulties to serve as bishop in my church body and as chairman of the International Lutheran Council, but it also labels me as a criminal whom many countries want to prevent from entering," he said. 

Christian author Rod Dreher, who was at the California conference with Mrs Räsänen, criticised the UK's actions: "The progressive bureaucratic order in European countries would rather attack faithful Christians as Enemies Of Society than deal with the actual problems they have.

"We can expect more of this. It’s a Finnish Lutheran lawmaker and grandmother today; it could easily be you tomorrow."

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.

Remind me to stay out of the U.K.