Sheep Dog Faith

Somewhere in time, last week, I went grocery shopping like I do every Saturday.  This day, however, there was a large Sheep Dog sitting right outside the exit door waiting.   Just sitting there, staring at the door and waiting.  I smiled and assumed the owner must have gone in for something quick.  I grabbed the grocery cart pulled out my list and went shopping.

After I was done, I left and the dog was still sitting there.  By this time, there was a crowd of ladies that were approximately my age or older all standing around saying things like – look how sweet, so obedient – the dog looked a little worried to have this crowd around him, but yet he didn’t move.

That is when it came to me.  I need to have the faith of a Sheep Dog instead of the faith of a Terrier.

I had a Terrier a long time ago.  If I had taken my little dog to the store and told it to sit and wait.  He would sit, he would stay, but when my back was turned, or he could no longer see me.  He would wait; maybe a minute, and then he would come looking for me.  He would find kids to pet him, things on the ground to eat, and basically be distracted on his way to find me.

Sometimes we have the faith of a Terrier.  We know God loves us and is working out things for our good, but we think we need to help him.  We think we need to run off in search of answers instead of waiting for God to bring the answer to us.  Maybe that is not a we – but a me – I have the problem.

To me one of the hardest verses in the Bible is:

Psalm 46:10King James Version (KJV)

¹⁰ Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Being still is hard.  Knowing that God will be exalted and being still and waiting for it to happen.  Sometimes that is hard, but there is nothing we can do that will make God move any faster. He timing is always correct. We need the faith of the sheep dog that will patiently wait for his mater to return.  We need to patiently wait for God to bring about what we need, in His time.

 Sometimes God uses the most unusual things to teach me lesson. That day it was an obedient sheep dog.  What does God have to show you today?

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas

The Christmas Star

 

 

Somewhere in time, a little more than 2,000 years ago, there was a star in the sky so bright that wise men followed it for months. What was this star?

I heard a theory that it wasn’t a star, but a group of planets that aligned to look like one bright star.  I would believe this since the wise men had to follow this star for quite a while, so watching planets move makes sense.

I also heard this theory doesn’t work because of the timing of when this happened.  This theorist said it must have been a supernova.  I can believe that as well. It is very bright and eventually burns out.

All of the theories are interesting – but God was proclaiming a miracle.  God was announcing His presence on earth.  Did he really need either of these events to make that announcement?

In the Bible there is a fish so large, it could swallow a man and keep him alive. There is hand, without a body, that wrote on a palace wall.  There is a donkey that spoke to a man.  Fishes, hands, donkeys are all natural things – but what they did was not natural, it was supernatural and God ordained.

My theory of that night is not based on science, astronomy or even theology.  My theory is based on a God so powerful, so magnificent that no natural event could proclaim His entrance to earth.

On the night that is the most important in history so far, I think God did something special  He sent a star that was never seen before, or will be again, to light the night sky.  He sent it to guide the wise men, to astound the shepherds and to light a small stable where a child was to be born.  This child would change the world forever. 

Blind eyes would see, lame would walk – the miraculous would be on earth for 33 years.  This event required a special sign, a special announcement.

Psalm 19King James Version (KJV)

19 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

God used the star to guide people to Christ.  Today, you and I are the star to guide people to Christ.  Look up and marvel at the wonders of God and then look around and see who you can share God with. 

 

Timothy

 

 

Somewhere in time, well in the past few months, I haven’t posted a blog.  I knew I was getting busy at work, so I changed to monthly not weekly – but then it got busier than expected.  It’s amazing how something you do with such regularity can be so easily forgotten. 

During this time, I did manage to get another short story in print.  This one was inspired by a song.  The main character is a young man named Timothy. 

Paul wrote letters to a young man named Timothy.  We know he was young and we know he was a leader in the church.

1 Timothy 4:12King James Version (KJV)

¹² Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

When I created the main character for my book, I wanted to name him Timothy.  I wanted to portray a young person so excited for the Lord that he wants to tell the world.  I wanted to get something of what I thought the Timothy Paul spoke about, might have been like.  Not perfect, but truly seeking to serve the Lord.

The song tells a story of a Teacher, a Farmer, a Prostitute and a Preacher all on a bus.  At the end, the prostitute ends up with the preachers Bible.  This captivated me.  What kind of a person would not only take up a conversation with a woman of ill repute – but take it so far, she is left with his Bible.  This thought process led me to create Timothy.

He is a young person looking for someone to share the word of the Lord with.  Below is a passage from the book:

Timothy purposefully held himself back from boarding the bus.  He was silently praying. "Lord, look at these people's hearts and tell me who to sit with.  Give me someone that needs your love today."

I wish I was like that.  I wish I looked for opportunities to share the love of Christ with those around me.  I fly sometimes for work, but I don’t think – what an opportunity to share with the person next to me.  Maybe I should start thinking like that.

I have the song below.  Maybe it will inspire you to inspire others.

 

 

Happy Easter

He is Risen Indeed!



Somewhere in time, tomorrow – we celebrate Easter. 



In this Easter season, we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  There is no tomb we can visit to honor our God, the tomb is empty.  


Jesus was whipped with a cat of nine tails.  This is a special whip that has several endings.  Each tip has pieces of glass and pottery imbedded. The purpose is not to cut the skin, but it was meant to grab the flesh and rip it off.  When Pilate said, “Behold the man”, it could be because he was surprised that Jesus survived the beatings.

 

This is not the end.



The Roman soldiers put a robe on his beaten and bloody back and a crown of thorns on his head and then they mocked him.  Pulling the robe off after the blood started to congeal into the fabric, they would replace the robe with a cross.  He didn’t have the strength to carry the cross, so a man was pulled from the crowd and required to carry the cross for Jesus. Once at the location, they nailed spikes into his hands and heals.  They left him hanging in a position that made it difficult to breathe, and the pain was unbearable. 

 

The sky turned dark.



Matthew 27:50-56 (The Message Bible) “ But Jesus, again crying out loudly, breathed his last.  At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom.  There was an earthquake and the rocks split in pieces. What’s more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus’ resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many). The captain of the guard and those with him, when they saw the earthquake and everything else that was happening, were scared to death. They said, “This has to be the Son of God.””

 

The curtain in the temple was torn right down the middle.



After all of this, a centurion, someone experienced with death, used a spear to pierce Jesus through the side and into the heart.  From Jesus’s side, blood and water flowed.  This is a sure sign of death. 

 

An earthquake shattered the rocks.

On Sunday morning, the followers of Jesus were hiding out in fear for their lives.  A couple of women went to the tomb to finish preparing Jesus’s body for his continued burial, but the tomb was empty.

 

The tomb was empty!

 

The wages of sin is death.  God knew the only way to make provision for us is to have a perfect sacrifice.  Christ is the sacrifice for our redemption and for our salvation.  As we celebrate Easter, let’s remember the sacrifice behind the holiday.  

 

God is a

Gentleman

 

 

Somewhere in time, this last week – I was in the lunch room at work and they play a popular news channel on the television.  I was not watching it, but one commercial caught my ear so I looked up.  It was a man telling me that America’s founding fathers wanted to restrict religion and we should join his cause.  He ended it by saying, “I’m not afraid to burn in hell.”

I felt bad for the man.  First of all he doesn’t know enough about the history of the country he lives in or he couldn’t make a statement like he did.  The men that founded America didn’t want the government telling people what to believe – but they did want people to be free to worship God as they please.  What this man was proposing would limit when and where I can show my love for God. 

This is the first Amendment of the American Constitution:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

 

Many times what we hear now is more along the lines of “prohibiting the free exercise” – which is not what they had in mind.

But on to his next statement that he was not afraid to burn in hell.

I have also heard other people say since God is love  - we don’t have to worry, he won’t send us to hell.

Here is my problem with that.  God is a gentleman.  He will not force people that want nothing to do with Him to spend eternity with Him.  Only those who choose to follow Christ have to worry about an eternity in his presence. 

Romans 10:9New King James Version (NKJV)

⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

For me, I confess the Lord Jesus and I believe – no I know that Jesus was raised from the dead.  I’m personally looking forward to spending eternity in the presence of God.  I pray for those who want to choose otherwise.

Love is a Choice

Happy Valentine’s Day

 

 

Somewhere in time, today, it’s Valentine’s Day.  This is a holiday that some say was invented by the Greeting Card Company, but it does trace back to a Priest. 

There really was a man that the Catholic Church recognizes as Saint Valentine.  He was a Roman priest, who defied the orders of the emperor Claudius and performed marriages for the young soldiers who were in love, but forbidden by Claudius to get married.  

Listening to the radio the other day, they were talking about Valentine’s Day.  The focus was on what do you give, or what do you want to get.  No word of a man that sacrificed his life to perform wedding ceremonies or what love truly is about.

If this is a day to celebrate love, why don’t we celebrate what love is?

Love is a choice.

Love isn’t always candy, flowers and stuffed animals – maybe it never is.  I like flowers, but I have been given flowers by people who don’t really love me.  Love isn’t a feeling.  It may start out that way, but feelings change, love doesn’t. Love chooses to stay together, even when things are tough.  Love gives when the other can’t. 

If you don’t believe love is a choice – ask a parent whose child has gone astray.  They don’t have warm fuzzy feelings, but they have love.  They pray, they worry, they cry and they care – all because of love.

Christ is our perfect example of love.  We did nothing to earn it and we do nothing to deserve it, but His love is still there.  God chooses to love us.

 

Romans 5:8King James Version (KJV)

⁸ But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

 

A Time to Change

A Time to Stand Still

 

 

Somewhere in time, things can change.  I like change, but sometimes things don’t change.  Either end of that is stressful for some people.  To some people, they are very content with things staying the same.

People like me, well if something doesn’t change – we at least rearrange the furniture.  There has to be change.  I feel without it, I’m not making forward progress -as you can tell, I kind of hate being stuck.  

I was reminded of the third chapter of Ecclesiastes:

Ecclesiastes 3 King James Version (KJV)

3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

² A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

³ A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

⁵ A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶ A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

⁷ A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

⁸ A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

 

I will be changing my blog from weekly (I have missed a few weeks already) to monthly.  This way, I can save up all my great blog ideas and just select one. 

Looking Back

Looking forward

 

 

Somewhere in time, ten days ago, we celebrated a new year.  Many people make resolutions for the New Year.  I don’t, I make goals and plans.  If I don’t make it in a year, it’s still a goal and I will make it eventually.  Plans don’t always work out, but I guess that’s part of life.

With the New Year and the resolutions we can make, it’s a time of looking forward.  For some people, this is a time of great anticipation.  Others have a hard time looking forward, because when they look back – well – what’s back there couldn’t possibly lead to a brighter future.

I have an App from Bible Gateway and it gives me a section of the New Testament to read each day.  On January 1^st, it took me to the first chapter and book of the New Testament.  It went through the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

If I was God and I was planning my family tree, I would try to get all the heroes of the faith in it. The family tree of Jesus has some illustrious figures and some notorious ones.

Of course, there is Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – but no Elijah, or Enoch, or Jeremiah.  There is Rahab – she was the temple prostitute that hid the Jewish spies. Then there was Ruth, she was raised in a pagan culture.  Of course David – well he was a King, but Jesus didn’t come from one of the wives known for something wonderful.  His family tree includes Bathsheba and if you remember her, she and David and an adulterous affair. 

What is wonderful about each person I mentioned is this is what they were, not how they stayed.  Rahab knew the Jewish God was God, which is why she hid the spies.  This knowledge revolutionized her world.  She no longer worked in the Pagan temple, she became a wife and a mother and a follower of Jehovah.

Ruth also followed Jehovah.  She wasn’t raised to, but she saw God reflected in the family she married into and she was smart enough to not turn back when times get tough.

Bathsheba gave birth to Solomon. He is remembered as a wise king.  I don’t think he would have turned out as good, if his mother didn’t instill some good qualities in him. 

When we look back at the rubble of our lives, don’t lose heart.  It matters not where you have been, or what you have done – it matters what you choose to do now and who you choose to follow.

 

 

Matthew 1 New King James Version (NKJV)

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

² Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. ³ Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. ⁴ Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. ⁵ Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse begot David the king.

David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife^[a] of Uriah. ⁷ Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.^{[b] 8} Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. ⁹ Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. ¹⁰ Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon,^[c] and Amon begot Josiah. ¹¹ Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

¹² And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. ¹³ Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. ¹⁴ Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. ¹⁵ Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. ¹⁶ And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

 

 

 

 

No Blog

Well almost no blog

 

 

Somewhere in time, the day before yesterday, it was Christmas.  I should be reflecting on Christmas or making New Year resolutions.  I should be, but I’m working today.  I worked the day after Christmas. 

I’m thankful I have a job, but this time of year it feels like I don’t have time to celebrate.  I work overtime like crazy and then I have one day to celebrate one of the most spectacular events in human history.

So in honor of the days after Christmas – for those of us who would still like to celebrate, I give this verse to ponder.

 

Psalm 118:24New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁴ This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in in it.

Happy day after Christmas.

 

The Christ Candle

O Holy Night 

 

 

Somewhere in time, approximately two thousand and fourteen years ago, a child was born in a manger.  This child revolutionized the world.

The Final Candle of advent is the Christ Candle. Traditionally it’s a white candle.

That special night Mary knew the child she carried was Holy.  Joseph knew the Christ child was to be born.  But did they expect the angels, the star or the wise men.  Probably not, but imagine how wondrous that all must have seemed.  

Did they expect when their child was still young, he would be amazing elders in the temple?  Did they know he could make the lame walk or the blind see? 

Did they know he would be crucified?

Did they realize that twelve hundred and fourteen years later, people would set aside a day to celebrate the birth of our Savior?

I don’t think they did.  I think our human minds can’t grasp the vision of God. But they knew, from that day on, the world would change.  

Matthew 1:21New King James Version (NKJV)

²¹ And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Christmas is a time to remember that love came to earth.  God stepped down from His throne in heaven, to humble himself and be born as a baby. In the most humble of circumstances, in the most humble of places, the creator took on the form of the created in order to show His infinite love for us.

As we celebrate, the most holy of holidays, let’s give glory to God on the highest.  Merry Chirstmas!

 

 

Shepherds watching thier flocks

Advent, the third Sunday

 

 

Somewhere in time, this Sunday, it’s the third Sunday of Advent.  Learning about Advent has been interesting.  Each special part of the Christmas story is celebrated.  This time, it’s the shepherds.

With the Shepherd candle, we celebrate joy and hope.

If we think about it, shepherds were not the rulers of society. They were not revered, or wealthy or powerful.   They lived alone at times, out in the elements, guarding sheep. 

But God wanted to show that his coming was for everyone.  There were wise men following a star, but there were also shepherds just watching their sheep. Doing what they always do with no idea of the miracle happening nearby.

Suddenly the sky grew bright as a host of angels appeared. 

Luke 2:8-14New King James Version (NKJV)

Glory in the Highest

⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold,^[a] an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”^[b]

Sometimes, when our lives are filled with the daily grind of responsibilities, we may feel like shepherds.  We are not rich, powerful or even known or respected by thousands of people. 

But God came to earth for us.

Our joy doesn’t come from our circumstances and our hope is not in this world. 

What could be better than that?

 

The Bethlehem Candle

Advent – 2nd Sunday 

 

 

Somewhere in time, tomorrow is the second Sunday of Advent. The second candle is the Bethlehem candle.  

Bethlehem was part of prophecy; it was known the Messiah was to be born there.

It brought to mind something I saw on television a few years back. They tried to unravel the mystery of Jesus and basically they were so far off it was funny.    One theory was that she was an unwed mother, so the stories of angels and miracles were told to hide this unpleasant fact. They traveled to Bethlehem to make it look convincing.

Well – come on – they are missing several parts of the story.

How did this young couple convince Caesar to issue a decree that would send them to Bethlehem?

How did they get wise men to travel for many months to see the newborn child?

How did they make the angels appear to the shepherds watching their sheep in the hills?

How did they convince a star to shine so brightly people could see if for miles around?

How did they know to flee to Egypt right before the decree to kill all infant boys in Israel was enacted? 

I think it’s easier and makes much more sense if we just agree that Jesus was God made man.  God stepped out of paradise to join the people of earth in the most humble of circumstances – but the entire universe knew the ruler of the universe was here.    

 

Micah 5:2New King James Version (NKJV)

The Coming Messiah

² “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”

 

 

 

Advent - The first Sunday

Prophecy 

 

 

Somewhere in time, tomorrow, it’s the first Sunday of Advent. 

Advent is not something I have normally celebrated as part of Christmas, but as I learn more about it I wonder why I haven’t.  There are four Sundays in Advent. There is a candle lit for each Sunday. The first is tomorrow and it’s a purple candle - purple is for royalty. It's a celebration of the prophecies of the coming Savior and king.

It was prophesied that Christ would be born in Bethlehem. That he would be called out of Egypt. That he would be called a Nazarene. 

The virgin birth, the death upon a tree – where all prophesies told long before Jesus walked the earth.

Yet when Jesus walked the earth, the people who knew the prophesies the best didn’t recognize that Jesus was the fulfillment of them. 

Perhaps if they had done a little checking they would have found that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. His family had fled to Egypt to escape the Herod’s attempts to kill newborn Jewish children.  Why couldn’t they put two and two together?

Well, there are more prophesies waiting to be fulfilled.  Christ came once as a suffering saint, and the world missed it.  He is coming again as a conquering King.  Let’s not be caught unawares when that happens.

Isaiah 9:6New International Version (NIV)

⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 

 

Mandisa - What Child Is This? (Official Lyric Video) from mandisa on GodTube.

Being Thankful

It’s a matter of perspective.

 

 

Somewhere in time, this Thursday, America celebrates Thanksgiving.  The pilgrims gave thanks for surviving the winter. They gave thanks for food, shelter and health.  After the battle of Gettysburg, during the Civil War, President Lincoln established the Federal Holiday to celebrate Thanksgiving.

I love having a holiday to remind us to give thanks, but I have been thinking about that.  What we are thankful for is a matter of perspective.

If we only have one pair of shoes and they are tattered and torn, we may not be thankful for them until we have no shoes at all.

If we have a job that is a daily drudge, we may not be thankful until we suffer the loss of that income.

If our home needs work, or it’s too small, or it’s not in the location we want; we may not be thankful for it until we are homeless.

I was watching a documentary about Corrie Ten Boom, one of my hero’s in the faith.  She and her entire family were arrested in World War II for hiding Jews from the occupying Nazi’s. She and her sister were together. One of the prison camps they ended up in was Ravensbruck.  It was notorious as one of the worst. They were placed in a barracks that had twice the women it was designed to hold. It was filthy and filled with lice and fleas.

They found out, however, that the guards would barely set foot in their barracks because they did not want to be infected by the lice and fleas.  The two sisters were thankful they could openly share from their small Bible and pray with the other prisoners.

What are you thankful for today?

1 Thessalonians 5:18New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

 

  

 

Oh

The Things We Say

 

 

Somewhere in time, or maybe every day in time, someone has said something they wish they could take back. I have been on both the giving and receiving end of hurtful comments, so I understand the hurt they can bring. 

Have you ever had someone say something to you and it really hurt?

As a child we used to chant – sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me. 

That is one of the biggest lies I know. 

The words I say have become more important to me as I have matured in life.  I am far from perfect.  Sometimes, I think I’m being funny when I say something hurtful, only to have the still small voice remind me how hurtful it was a little later.

James 3:9-10 (NIV)

 ⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

This is my prayer for today and every day:  Lord, help the words I speak to build up and not tear down. Help my words to bring life to those who hear them.

 

Rarely for a good man

will someone die

 

 

Somewhere in time, this week, I had a God moment.  This happens every once in a while and normally when I need to be reminded of something.

I have very long hair and one morning I was braiding the hair on the top of my head to keep it out of my eyes for work.  I do this several times a week and it normally only takes a few minutes.  Only this time, the first time through something went wrong and I had to take it out and start again.  The second time was equally disastrous.  I started to wonder if I should choose a different hair style for the day, but I gave it one more try.  My arms were starting to ache from being held up over my head so much.

That is when this thought hit me.

When Christ was hanging on the cross, His arms where stretched out. They were nailed by the wrists to a wooden beam.  If my arms were sore just by holding them up to braid my hair, imagine how much more Jesus’s arms ached.  Of course His pain didn’t stop there.  If we relaxed his arms, it restricted his breathing.  He would need to pull up on His arms or push up on his feet which were equally nailed to a beam, just to get a breath.

This thought reminded me how much God loves me.

I held my arms up for convenience and vanity.  Christ held his arms up for love.

He didn’t have to die, He chose to die.  He knew there was no other way for us to gain salvation than for someone to die for our sins.  He did it so we wouldn’t have to.  That is love.

Romans 5:7-8 New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 

A Plea for

Reformation Day

 

 

Somewhere in time, yesterday, it was October 31^st.  This is the day when I wage a silent protest against Halloween.  I don’t understand the fascination with Halloween. Sure I understand a kid’s love of candy and even I like to dress up at times, but Halloween?  Why celebrate a holiday with dubious origins which focuses on witches, ghosts and ghouls.   Yes, I said this last year, but I believe it can be repeated.

October 31^st, should be celebrated as Reformation Day.

On October 31^st, 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses of contention to the door of the Wittenberg church.  He was not the first person to attempt reform of the Christian church, but he is still considered the father of the reformation. 

Martin Luther did extensive studies on the scriptures and he realized the error the church was making.  He wrote his 95 disagreements on paper and nailed them to the church door for everyone to read.  People copied the notes by hand and handed them out to everyone they knew.  

He had good points and most people agreed with him.  The church however did not care for being publically challenged, so they called Martin in to answer the charge of heresy.  At the meeting, he was given the chance to recant.  His response was:

                              Unless I am convinced by proofs from scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I can and will not recant, for it is neither safe nor wise to do anything against conscience.  Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.

I love reformers, but I realize after a while the stories all sounds similar.  They study God’s word, they normally translate it, they tell others and they are persecuted. It may be similar, but it’s always admirable. We need people to look up to when times get tough and reformers are such a group of people.  They stood up for what they believed against unbearable odds at time and they changed the world.    

Martin Luther wasn’t killed for his beliefs, but he did suffer for them.  Despite the persecution he stood strong and followed his faith.

Romans 1:16 (NKJV) “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 for the Greek.”

When I think of Holidays, I think it would be nice to celebrate something pure, holy or lovely.  If the Bible tells us to think on these things, it makes sense that we should celebrate them also.

Reformation day can be a day to stand up for what is right even against overpowering odds.