Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

• Matthew 5:30

“‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’
“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

• Acts 22:19-21

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

• John 15:13

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

• Revelation 3:14-20

“When Mary came to the throne, Protestantism was not particularly popular. But by an unwise and unpopular alliance with Spain, and by the executions, Mary burnt Protestantism into the English consciousness, earning the title ‘Bloody Mary’. The courageous martyrdoms of Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley and some two hundred others won the hearts of the people for Protestantism in a way that the legislation of Edward’s reign could never have achieved.
“ ‘Almightie God, the father of oure Lorde Jesus Christ, whiche desireth not the death of a synner, but rather that he maye turne from his wickednes & lyve: & hath geven power & commanndement to hys ministers, to declare and pronounce to his people beinge penitente, the absolucion and remission of theyr synnes: he pardoneth and absolveth all them which truely repent, and unfeynedly beleve his holy gospell wherefore we beeseche him to graunte us true repentaunce and his holye spirite, that those thinges may please him, which we doe at this present, & that the rest of oure lyfe hereafter, maye be pure & holye: so that at the laste we maye come to hys eternall ioye, through Jesus Christ our Lorde. Amen.’ (The Boke on Common Prayer [1552]: Morning Prayer).”

• Tony Lane, A Concise History of Christian Thought

Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) was a priest, appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.  He provided Henry VIII with the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, which led to the creation of the Church of England, thus separation from the Roman Catholic Church.  He created the liturgical structure for the Church of England, at least most of it.  He worked with Thomas Cornwell in translating some of the Bible into English, the English of that time.  But when Edward VI died, he supported Lady Jane Grey as the new queen, otherwise known as the nine-days’ queen.  When firstborn Mary I, a Catholic, ascended the throne, Cranmer was soon placed in prison.  He signed many recantations of the Protestant faith, but to no avail.  In 1556, he was tied to the stake to be burned.  As the fire started, he made a verbal recantation of his recantations, professing that he would die a Protestant, and he thrust his right hand into the fire, so that it would burn first.  He had signed his recantations under threat of death.  His right hand became a symbol of his weakness and unworthiness.  It had to be burned.  Of course, he lost his life by the same fire.

Before we go further, I have met many people who would be unable to read the quote from Thomas Cranmer’s “Book” of Common Prayer.  Here is my translation:

“Almighty God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which desires not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his wickedness & live: & has given power & commandment to his ministers, to declare and pronounce to his people being penitent, the absolution and remission of their sins: he pardons and absolves all them which truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel wherefore we beseech him to grant us true repentance and his Holy Spirit, that those things may please him, which we do at this present, & that the rest of our life hereafter, may be pure & holy: so that at the last we may come to His eternal Joy, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.’ (The Book on Common Prayer [1552]: Morning Prayer)

Bloody Mary killed many of the leaders in the protestant reformation in England.  Many others went into exile.  And the church grew stronger as a result.  Jesus said that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  Jesus did so.  Many martyrs that followed did so.

Cranmer took it one step farther, by having his right hand burned, invoking the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.  His hand had sinned and without removing it, Cranmer felt unworthy of being in God’s presence.

The church exploded in population in the first Century even with the persecution.  And then to think one of the chief persecutors, Saul, was converted to Christianity and instructed to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, creating even greater growth, while suffering greater persecution.

See where the church is strong today.  Many of those growing congregations are being persecuted.  Each time the evil one uses persecution to destroy the church, the Holy Spirit works within the hearts of the people to cause the church to grow.  At the time of writing this, I am nearing the end of a book that I must spend more time on, Tramp for the Lord, by Corrie ten Boom, her story of life after the concentration camp.  At one point, she was in Africa, in a small country that had been taken over by one of God’s enemies.  In a village, Corrie preached a sermon about faith in the face of death.  The people were greatly moved and one of the elders began to sing In the Sweet By and By, we shall meet on that beautiful shore.  Shortly after that assembly over half the people in that assembly had been murdered by the new government.  But evil has no power over God.  His church grew.

But the church today is shrinking, at least many of the traditional denominations.  It shrinks faster, from what I have been told, if they ignore the Gospel to show the secular world that they can celebrate sin if they will just come back to the church.  At best, many churches are like the church of Laodicea, lukewarm, and the dwindling attendance is a sign that God is spitting them out.  It may not be the pastor’s fault, but we either start a revival and repent, or the churches will collapse, while God will create a new Church among those who are willing to lay down their lives if need be.

If you like these Tuesday morning essays about philosophy and other “heavy topics,” but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Tuesday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.