Reformers Series #3

William Tyndale

 

 

Somewhere in time, between the years 1492 and 1495 William Tyndale was born.  William earned a MA from Oxford and also became an ordained minister.    

William Tyndale had a passion to see the Bible translated in to the language of the people.  The established church at the time didn’t agree with him and he was forced to leave England and work in Germany. He wrote an English version of the New Testament and it was completed in 1525.  The books were printed in Germany and smuggled into England.  Bishop Tunstall of England, orders the books to be purchased and burned, which oddly enough finances the second printing. 

Church official wanted to trap him, but they had to be a little sneaky. A man named Henry Phillips is sent to Germany to befriend Tyndale with the purpose of trapping him. He spent time becoming Tyndale’s friend, before betraying him to authorities. It worked, Tyndale was captured, but the time it took allowed Tyndale to also translate the first five books of the Old Testament.

He was cast into Vilvoorde prison and eventually killed.  It’s funny; they didn’t burn him at the stake alive.  They didn’t burn holy men alive.  They strangled him first.  This is a little ironic. He was considered holy yet still felt justified in taking his life. 

What I love about reformers is they didn’t let the fear of death or imprisonments stop them from following the Lord’s direction.  They were fearless and followed Christ with abandon.

William Tyndale’s last words were reported to be: “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.”

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also the Greek.”

Not ashamed.  My prayer is that each one of us can live with boldness about our faith in Christ.

 

Newsboys - Live With Abandon (Official Lyric Video) from newsboys on GodTube.

My grace is sufficient for you

God Revealed

 

 

Somewhere in time, over the past few weeks, my younger sister has been posting news about Bethany Hamilton’s recent marriage.  If you haven’t heard, Bethany was a young girl growing up in the Hawaiian Islands.  She loved to surf and one day, just resting on her board and waiting for a wave, a shark came by and took her arm off.

Nick Vujicic was born in Australia.  The pregnancy was a normal one and his parents expected to have a normal healthy baby.  When Nick was born, he had neither arms, nor legs.

With Nick, God could have caused him to grow arms and legs, but he didn’t. 

“If just one more person finds eternal life in Jesus Christ… it is all worth it. You can help me spread this message today!” Nick Vujicic

If Nick had arms and legs, it would have been an amazing miracle, but I’m sure he would have gone on to a normal life.  God did not call him to normal, he called him to be extraordinary.  With his deformity, he is able reach out to the hurting people. He reaches people who have lost limbs or that use wheelchairs or just need hope.

If I were to go to the same group, many people may respond to God’s message of love still, but others wouldn’t.  Others would look at me and I know I don’t understand.  I haven’t had to live without a limb.  What could I know?  With Nick, the objection disappears. God took Nick just as he is and is still using him in mighty ways. 

www.lifewithoutlimbs.org

Someone asked Bethany; why God would allow her arm to be taken off by a shark.  She admitted that it opened doors for her that would not have opened otherwise. 

I love the ocean, but I don’t keep track of surfers or follow their careers, yet I follow her career as a surfer.  As a surfer, Bethany would have reached a small audience for the glory of God.  As a one armed surfer, Bethany is able to touch people in and out of the surfing world.  Her scope of influence is much larger than it would have been with two good arms.

www.bethanyhamilton.com

God is not limited by our physical imperfections.  He is able to use our weakness to take us places we may have never been able to go on our own. I tend to look at healing as a sign of God’s presence, but now I believe that God speaks even louder in suffering.

2 Corinthians 12:9 “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest on me.”

If you’re praying for a miraculous healing, or an amazing transformation, don’t be surprised if God chooses to use you, just as you are.

Another, more recent story I heard was about a young Brazilian man.  His father had prayed for a son he could teach to surf, but when Derek was born, he was blind.

Audio Adrenaline - Believer (Official Music Video) from audio-adrenaline on GodTube.

Happily Ever After

Till Death do us Part

 

 

Somewhere in time, this week, I have been decorating my desk at work.  I work in a large office and all of the desks are sectioned into cubicles.  This is basically a desk surrounded by a five foot tall wall.  There is no roof or door, but its semi enclosed.  The problem is all the walls are made out of a gray fabric. The desk is gray. The overhead metal bin that I store supplies in is gray.  It’s too boring and too bland, I had to do something.

I have been adding things to it for a few weeks.  I started with a pink aluminum wrapping paper and I wrapped the wall behind my computer.  It was too shiny, so I covered it with tissue paper and I think it looks pretty.  I had some silk flowers and they were also pink, so I put those on my desk.  I found a bright pink picture frame that holds about eight pictures. I filled this up and it sits on a corner of my desk. 

This week I bought a piece of wall art.  This decorates the metal bin with my supplies.  In pink letters it says, “Once upon a time, there was a Princess.”

I like all the pink. I think it looks cheerful, but this saying made me think about fairy tales and love stories.

In a good fairy tale, many times it’s love at first sight.  He kisses her and they get married and live happily ever after. 

I think we get too caught up in happily ever after.  I do believe you can stay happily married for your entire adult life, but life is not always fairy tale perfect.  Many times when trouble comes, people give up.  If we work through trouble, we end up better off on the other side. 

Matthew 19:4-6 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two become one flesh? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God had joined together, let no man separate.”

God doesn’t say we’re married as long as times are good. He says what God has joined together, let no man separate. 

As an encouragement to anyone who wonders about marriage.  Don’t expect a fairy tale, but do expect God’s blessings when you put him first.

 

(A More Real) Love Story from renfroe3 on GodTube.

Storms

Troubled Waters

 

 

Somewhere in time, this week, I heard Natalie Grant talk about her song “Hurricane.” When she did, she referenced a Bible story.

Matthew 14:22-27 “Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “it is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.  But immediately Jesus Spoke to them, saying “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

Whenever I have heard someone talk about this story, the focus is always on what happens next.  Peter gets out of the boat and tries to walk on water also, but the wind and waves frighten him and he starts to sink.  That seems to be the big part of the story.

What Natalie said was more of a focus on the storm.  The disciples were in the boat in the middle of the sea and the winds and waves were contrary.  They were in the middle of a storm. 

Jesus didn’t stand on the shore and watch the storm and hope his disciples made it through it okay.

Jesus didn’t cause the winds and waves to die down so he could walk out on calm water.

Jesus walked out in the midst of the storm and met the disciple’s where they were. 

Many times, I feel Jesus needs to calm the storm before He’ll show up, but that’s not true.  Storms happen; they are as much a part of life as sunshine.  Jesus comes to us regardless.

If your life is feeling a little stormy right now, just look up. Jesus is in the storm with you. 

Reformers Series #2

John Wycliffe

 

 

Somewhere in time, around 1302, John Wycliffe was born. He is really 200 hundred years before the official reformation, but he planted seeds that gave birth to the reformation several years later.  John Wycliffe did many things, but one thing he did that stands out is to translate the Bible into the language of the people.  He was English, so he translated it from Latin into English.  He died a normal death, but 43 years after his death, his bones were unburied in order to be burned.  Since the church was burning dissenters, I guess they needed to go back and get the one they missed.

After they burned his bones, they sprinkled the ashes in the river.  I read somewhere the ashes flowed from the river to the ocean and throughout the world.  What was so interesting to me about this was the name of Wycliffe goes throughout the world translating Bibles.

Wycliffe Bible translators are a mission organization that sends people all over the world with the mission to reach people by translating the Bible into their native language. 

Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

I’m sure John Wycliffe had no idea his plan of Bible translation would ripple throughout the world, but it did. It’s amazing the legacy a person can leave when they truly seek to serve the Lord.

Plumb - ONE DROP (Blood:Water Mission video) from plumb on GodTube.