Exodus 23:2 - “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.”

Matthew 9:16-17 - “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” [NKJV]

     March--A Month of Mistakes. Do you remember Shakespeare's line, "Beware the Ides of March?" That line was delivered to Julius Caesar, was it not? Julius Caesar was born and died before Jesus Christ was born. Yet it was the dictatorship of the Empire of Rome that carried out the murder of Jesus Christ in Palestine for presumed "treason against the Empire" a half century later. Many feel that the world would probably be a different place if Julius Caesar had not been assassinated according to the plan of Brutus and his associates.

     The same could not be said of Jesus Christ. Jesus was assassinated, but He was following God's plan for the redemption of mankind. He was the Perfect Lamb sacrificed for the sins of the world. During this period of Lent we look to the path of the cross and our Heavenly Father's plan for our salvation.

     Did Brutus and his colleagues make a mistake? Depending on your view of history, maybe. Did God make a mistake with Jesus Christ and Calvary? No way, the Bible is very clear that there was a plan to redeem mankind from the ravages of sin in life, and that plan was carried out exactly according to God's specifications, down to the crossed "t" and the dotted "i."

     Changing God's Plan. There are always people who seek to work a different plan than God's. January was special for us because we had a "Right to Life Sunday" built into it. Here as I write this newsletter piece in late February, the issue of euthanasia is working its way again through the courts of Florida. Yes, the courts have again authorized the killing of that comatose woman, Terry Schiavo, by removing her feeding tube. God's Law is pretty clear about killing of people. It is a "no-no" and we understand that, but there are other issues that the Lord tells us that are not supposed to happen, because they are not part of God's plan.

     A Thumbnail Tutorial on Stem Cells. We look at the issue of cloning, particularly the use of human stem cells as being on the edge of science and technology when it comes to God's Law. Part of the issue relates to where the cells come from. If they come from a person who has been physically born or even from the placenta or other birthing-associated tissues, access to those stem cells are generally not an issue for Christian people. However, if a child (the law renames the baby a "fetus") is sacrificed for its stem cells, society is pretty much against it, whether Christian or not.

     Here's the problem for Christians. When does a human being become a human being? That is very important to us because God is on record in the Bible as loving people. The Bible tells us that the moment of conception is the point at which we have a human being. The human being is worth more than the stem cells. But, if we could get those stem cells before there is human life, there is no issue from the Bible with God's planning. A sperm or an egg is not human. According to God's Word, when that sperm enters the egg and the egg begins to divide, that is the point that we have a person. You can't get stem cells from a sperm or from an egg--you minimally have to have that cell division going on which only begins after the united egg and sperm become a human being. Thus, killing a fertilized egg is murder.

     The Cloning. Cloning technology as we have it in early 2005 works by taking a complete cell, extracting its entire genome (the cluster within the cell that controls what the cell potentially may be) and inserting another genome. The result is that the cell has been hijacked by the second genome and the first one is dead and gone. You can see the problem if that cell is the fertilized human egg. What you've done in human cloning is to sacrifice (medical-tech term) or kill that human which occupied the cell before it was extracted. Whatever occupies that cell is now a clone, a copy of some other cell creature. If you could come up with enough cells, you could potentially make copies of a certain creature or person ala Aldous Huxley and Brave New World.

     A Whole New Issue. Have you got all that? Here enters Steen Rasmussen and recent funding for his "research" to create new life. Essentially he has looked at this cell business and determined that we don't need to remove and then replace these genomes. Instead, we can build our own genomes and insert them into a customized cell crafted to designer specifications. (You can read details in the February issue of Popular Science.) What Does the Bible Say about Creation? The first principle comes out of Leviticus. We are not to compromise the genomes specific for species. Don't mess with creation. Secondly, despite how much hoopla there is for any issue like stem cell research or cloning research or even creation research, don't alter what God has created--it is unjust. Thirdly, don't mess with old and new genomes. We now have the ability to extract genomes from the past and insert them into present-day cells. The Biblical principle is simple--don't do it. How about new life? Scary, but not so clear. Are we messing with Creation when we try to do what Rasmussen is attempting?

     Bottom Line. We live in a time when mistakes have bigger consequences than in the past. Yes, maybe killing Julius Caesar was a mistake. Murdering Jesus was our mistake. But that death was God's blessing because His death on the cross was no mistake. Instead, it was a blessing that brings you and me eternal life through His sacrificial atonement for our sins. But what about euthanasia and fooling around with the blue prints of life? It sure looks like a mistake may be a-coming. As Christians in the early 21st Century and particularly during Lent, we need to focus on the work of Jesus Christ and the cross and understand that these troubling events are leading us into the final days of history and the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

     Pastor James Gerdeen from Immanuel Lutheran Church, Springfield, MO, will be the speaker for our Missions Conference on April 2 and 3 this year.

     Pastor Jim is familiar with evangelism issues related to the local congregation, but also to “Home Missions” and “Foreign Missions.”

     The seminar will consist of two workshops on Saturday April 2, 2005 with a light lunch between. On Sunday morning, April 3, there will be a Sunday School session, followed by a missions sermon. A potluck will be held following worship services, and the program will conclude with an afternoon workshop session.

     What are you giving up for Lent this year? What is your Lenten discipline?

     These are common questions in the season of Lent. For years I used to try to think of something that would require me to endure some significant (I could even say faithful) deprivation, but which would also have other desired benefits as well, such as giving up sweets and snacks and thus losing weight, or working out at the gym three days a week but also seeing my boyfriend there. In retrospect, it seems that each of these was more of an indulgence than a pious deprivation.

     So let's ask the question again. What is your Lenten discipline this year, your Lenten discipline? The word is so similar to the word disciple. They have a similar derivation, and each of them implies a sense of intention and an obedience in following a worthy purpose or person. So perhaps this year during Lent, rather than trying to keep the rules of a particular discipline, we would do better if we try instead to become a disciple of Christ; rather than trying to follow a set of rules, we can pursue the blessing of a relationship. We can become disciples ourselves, students in dialogue with our teacher as we walk along together towards Easter, that great day of Resurrection.

     --The Rev. Margaret Gunness

     The above thoughts were taken from “A True Lenten Discipline: Walking with Christ”, an article written by The Rev. Margaret Gunness. Read this article in its entirety at explorefaith.org. Copyright ©2004 The Rev. Margaret Gunness; permission given to reprint the article.

     One Easter Sunday morning, George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak...

     "I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What you got there, son?"

     "Just some old birds," came the reply.

     "What are you gonna do with them?" I asked.

     "Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered. "I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."

     "But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do?"

     "Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds. I'll take 'em to them."

     The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"

     "Huh?? !!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!"

     "How much?" the pastor asked again.

      The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"

        The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone.

       The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.  

       Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story:

        One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"

     "What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.

      Satan replied, "Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"   

       "And what will you do when you get done with them?" Jesus asked. "Oh, I'll kill 'em," Satan glared proudly.

     "How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.   

     "Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!!"  

        "How much?" He asked again.   

       Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, tears and your life."  

        Jesus said, "DONE!"  

        Then He paid the price.

     The pastor picked up the cage. He opened the door, then walked from the pulpit.