Calvin Synod Herald, 2010 (111. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2010-09-01 / 9-10. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 5 if we would voluntarily take up our cross, andfollow him? ” John struck out on that path - but he was not alone, because he knew that Jesus would always be with him. John got his answer: It was a difficult life, but a wonderful, full life - never ceasing to be a challenge, but never a time when the Lord was not there to make the burden bearable; always the Lord was there! “Praise the Lord, O my soul; and all my inmost being praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle ’s Psalm 103: 1-5 Indeed John not only read and kept these words in his heart, he lived his life with the power found in these words. He even created a mini “Eagle Theology”, as he called it: “Christian life is running; those who take it as a promenade will soon be dead tired and quit. But those who run in a goal-oriented fashion as an eagle will soon enter a new realm of the air with different laws and new opportunities. ” That new realm with different laws and new opportunities that John referred to was this: We are freedfrom the debilitating bondages ofsin by newness of spirit in Christ; We are freed from the law of sin and death by the law of the Spirit of Christ; We are freed from the wisdom of the spirit of death - man’s wisdom - by the wisdom of the Spirit of Life - Christ’s wisdom. John’s Eagle Theology, the many benefits, and the power it indeed offers in life were real to him and sustained him. I experienced the power of this faith this past year, as I visited him in the hospital, then at home. John was seriously ill, but there was never a complaint concerning his illness. The illness was his “Cross” to bear - and gladly did he bear it, and again, he was NOT alone! The “Eagle Theology” was his life story, and sustained him in the difficult times. Aging makes no difference, John said, as he quoted Psalm 71:18: “Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me, God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come ”. On his sickbed he praised God - not just for his many blessings in life, but for the trials he was even then enduring! Yes, Isaiah 40:29-31 said it right: “He gives strength to the weary. ” And John believed and knew that the words of Lamentations 3:22 applied to those who believe: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. ” John experienced difficulties and pains in his life, as well as joys. His own personal health was often an issue; His wife Lorraine left him at an inopportune time; He had to do what no parent wants to do - he had to bury his daughter Sarah. But he continued to Praise the Lord with all his heart. John held of extreme importance the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism: “What is your only comfort in life and in death? ” that 1 belong not to myself, but to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil; that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed that everything must fit his purpose for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him. ’’ And this is what The Rt. Rev. Dr. John Butosi did; “Wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.” To John we bid farewell. “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the LORD, everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul. ” (Psalm 103:19-22) AMEN Rt. Rev. Koloman Karl Ludwig, Bishop Emeritus (Upon notification of Dr. Butosi’s death, the Dean of the Theological Seminary in Debrecen notified Ann and Jim Balias that during his years as Professor in Debrecen, Dr. Butosi had returned all his salary to the Seminary and established a Scholarship Fund for seminarians, which totaled over one-half million dollars.) Present at the funeral of Dr. Butosi were Rev. Ervin Betts, U.S. Navy Chaplain Lt. Cmdr. Leila Havadtoy Gomulka, Retired U.S. Navy Chaplain Captain Gene Thomas Gomulka, Rev. Dr. Alexander Havadtoy, Rev. Leslie Martin, Rt. Rev. Louis Medgyesi, Rev. August Molnár, Rev. John Olson, Rt. Rev. Bela Poznan, Bishop, and former Synod Presbyter Lehel F. Deak. Rt. Rev. Dr. Butosi ’s funeral: Grandchildren Erica and Matthew, daughter Ann and son-in-law Jim Balias J 's CT SCANNER for Beregszász! Rev. Dr. Edwin Elliott Memorial Fund Make a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters! Please send your donation to: First Hungarian Reformed Church of Pittsburgh 221 Johnston Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15207 Please write “CT Scan for Beregszász” in memo. S_________________r
