Hi my friends,
I've taken some time off over the last month from writing, primarily just to take a break - a writing vacation - but the summer is fleeing quickly, and it's time to get back to writing.
At the beginning of May I began reading the Psalms and Proverbs - a chapter of each day. This of course means I'm in my third reading of Proverbs, and about 2/3 of the way through the Psalms. I have found this to be one of the more enriching times in scripture I've had in a while.
Today I read from Psalm 90, and Proverbs 28...here's an interesting verse that made me stop and ponder a bit.
Proverbs 28:2 (ESV)
2 When a land transgresses, it has many rulers, but with a man of understanding and knowledge, its stability will long continue.
The "land"??? How does the "land" sin?
Some other translations may or may not help clarify the statement:
Proverbs 28:2 (NIV)
2 When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order.
Proverbs 28:2 (NRSV)
2 When a land rebels it has many rulers; but with an intelligent ruler there is lasting order.
Proverbs 28:2 (NLT)
2 When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability.
Proverbs 28:2 (NCV)
2 When a country is lawless, it has one ruler after another; but when it is led by a man with understanding and knowledge, it continues strong.
Confusing? A Bit...yes. "a land", "a country", "a nation"??? The Hebrew word is erets which is overwhelmingly translated "land" or "earth". It is also translated "ground", "soil" and "country".
The other confusing thing is "transgression", "rebellious", "rebel", "moral rot"!!
It causes me to stop and muse a bit. The land itself cannot sin. There can be weather and climate problems, volcano eruptions, earthquakes, etc... Yet the context suggests that what can happen is from the people who are in leadership. Rulers, government, are the real issue.
It leads to a simple observation - when a nation's leaders ignore, willfully or passively so, God's word, it places itself on a path of destruction.
People will always blame God for calamities, problems, division, and violence. Yet perhaps the need is for our leaders... the President, Congress, Supreme Court Justices, Govenors, Legislators...all those who are meant to be leaders in our nation, to examine whether or not they care about God's word... Just musing.
Peace
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
Musing about Ryan Braun
Yesterday, Major League Baseball handed down a 65 game suspension to Ryan Braun, effectively ending this year of Baseball for him, and for the Brewers and their fans. I don't know Ryan Braun in any personal way. I am a casual baseball fan, not an avid fanatic. I watch Brewer's baseball 5-10 times a year, and it's been 2 years since I've gone to a game. Part of the reason for not going to games is the cost, and part of it is that I'm not the kind of person who loves to be anywhere where there are 40,000 people.
That being said, my friends and family know that I am two things (among a few others):
1. I am a Sports fan in general, with my great love cast to football. But I love sports...basketball, hockey, soccer (sorry my English friends), and yes Baseball. I pay attention to standings, watch for major stories... I watch Mike and Mike almost everyday for the latest news. SO, put me down as a lover of all things sports.
2. I am a Christian. A follower of Jesus, and even though I am well aware that I "miss the mark" in so many ways; I take seriously the call to follow Him...and His ways. Being moral, acting with Christ's character of honesty, love, truth, faith, hope, self-control, are all part of what it means to have Integrity...to be legitimate when it comes to sharing who Jesus is to others, and why I strive to be a disciple of his.
I love many other things besides sports, but this particular musing has to do with Sports and Ryan Braun's suspension. I was not shocked by the suspension, it has long been coming, and anyone and everyone who follows sports in general knew he was going to be suspended. The evidence was incontrovertible and he had been caught. Yet, he is from My team...and that made it hurt a bit more. I felt saddened, and angry. Embarrassed and Disgusted.
I am saddened that he did not just confess to it when it first occurred. I am angry that he didn't confess to it when it first occurred. Now he joins a long list of former baseball players people genuinely question whether or not they have any legitimacy at all in what they have accomplished. I left Baseball (emotionally - that is with any desire to follow it closely) after Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa broke the home run record and it was discovered they were "juiced" with human growth hormones. I don't have time for professional wrestling because its not a contest, but a show, and its rigged, and I hate being duped by anyone. I was disgusted by Ryan's response to the suspension...no mention of the lies, the cover-up, the willingness to use someone else as a scapegoat to escape his own responsibilities. Why cover it up. As a Christian, we have this obligation - "Confess your sins...ask for forgiveness...seek to be reconciled..."
I am equally disgusted by the Brewer's response... "We're glad Ryan is taking this bold step." What bold step? They have a guy who brings people to the stadium and they want their cash cow back.
Speak the truth...someone please.
Is it the money? Sure it is!
That leads me to another question: Do you throw away your values, honesty, integrity because of the dollars? I remember the story of a man who asked a preacher if he would sleep with a woman for $1000. He said in a rather righteous way - "Absolutely not". The man then told him he was a billionaire and he would give him $1 Million dollars if he would sleep with his wife (he wanted an excuse for divorce). The preacher didn't respond...he didn't say "No", he didn't say anything... he was thinking. And so the man looked at him and said, "So it's not about the values, it's negotiating the price!"
Yes, I'm sad and angry...but I end this with some questions to think about. Is it just Ryan Braun we're focusing in on? Well, today, Yes...but there will be more to follow. The pull of the big bucks is so tempting that the apple on that tree is too tempting to let go.
And...Jesus said, "Whoever among you is not guilty of sin, cast the first stone."
There are lots of people who I heard today express their righteous indignation. Yet they can throw their stones without asking if they have a moral high ground. Let me ask:
We live in a society of people who have learned that from their teachers...in colleges and universities...that their is no truth, that truth is relative, and those who claim to have the truth are narrow bigots.
We live in a society where politicians can speak the political speak and never tell the truth to the citizens who elected them - because they value their power and money more than their integrity.
OK...time to get off my moral high horse.
Ryan...apologize...genuinely...honestly...forthrightly.
Maybe they won't forgive you, but I will.
That being said, my friends and family know that I am two things (among a few others):
1. I am a Sports fan in general, with my great love cast to football. But I love sports...basketball, hockey, soccer (sorry my English friends), and yes Baseball. I pay attention to standings, watch for major stories... I watch Mike and Mike almost everyday for the latest news. SO, put me down as a lover of all things sports.
2. I am a Christian. A follower of Jesus, and even though I am well aware that I "miss the mark" in so many ways; I take seriously the call to follow Him...and His ways. Being moral, acting with Christ's character of honesty, love, truth, faith, hope, self-control, are all part of what it means to have Integrity...to be legitimate when it comes to sharing who Jesus is to others, and why I strive to be a disciple of his.
I love many other things besides sports, but this particular musing has to do with Sports and Ryan Braun's suspension. I was not shocked by the suspension, it has long been coming, and anyone and everyone who follows sports in general knew he was going to be suspended. The evidence was incontrovertible and he had been caught. Yet, he is from My team...and that made it hurt a bit more. I felt saddened, and angry. Embarrassed and Disgusted.
I am saddened that he did not just confess to it when it first occurred. I am angry that he didn't confess to it when it first occurred. Now he joins a long list of former baseball players people genuinely question whether or not they have any legitimacy at all in what they have accomplished. I left Baseball (emotionally - that is with any desire to follow it closely) after Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa broke the home run record and it was discovered they were "juiced" with human growth hormones. I don't have time for professional wrestling because its not a contest, but a show, and its rigged, and I hate being duped by anyone. I was disgusted by Ryan's response to the suspension...no mention of the lies, the cover-up, the willingness to use someone else as a scapegoat to escape his own responsibilities. Why cover it up. As a Christian, we have this obligation - "Confess your sins...ask for forgiveness...seek to be reconciled..."
I am equally disgusted by the Brewer's response... "We're glad Ryan is taking this bold step." What bold step? They have a guy who brings people to the stadium and they want their cash cow back.
Speak the truth...someone please.
Is it the money? Sure it is!
That leads me to another question: Do you throw away your values, honesty, integrity because of the dollars? I remember the story of a man who asked a preacher if he would sleep with a woman for $1000. He said in a rather righteous way - "Absolutely not". The man then told him he was a billionaire and he would give him $1 Million dollars if he would sleep with his wife (he wanted an excuse for divorce). The preacher didn't respond...he didn't say "No", he didn't say anything... he was thinking. And so the man looked at him and said, "So it's not about the values, it's negotiating the price!"
Yes, I'm sad and angry...but I end this with some questions to think about. Is it just Ryan Braun we're focusing in on? Well, today, Yes...but there will be more to follow. The pull of the big bucks is so tempting that the apple on that tree is too tempting to let go.
And...Jesus said, "Whoever among you is not guilty of sin, cast the first stone."
There are lots of people who I heard today express their righteous indignation. Yet they can throw their stones without asking if they have a moral high ground. Let me ask:
- Money doesn't enter into my decisions when it comes to truth, honesty and integrity?
- I wouldn't say a lie to someone when asked to do something, or come to something, just because I don't want to say the truth?
- I'll speak the truth and confess my sins to those I need to rather than hiding and pretending that if no one finds out no one is hurt.
We live in a society of people who have learned that from their teachers...in colleges and universities...that their is no truth, that truth is relative, and those who claim to have the truth are narrow bigots.
We live in a society where politicians can speak the political speak and never tell the truth to the citizens who elected them - because they value their power and money more than their integrity.
OK...time to get off my moral high horse.
Ryan...apologize...genuinely...honestly...forthrightly.
Maybe they won't forgive you, but I will.
Monday, 1 July 2013
Day 12 - Going Home
We're headed off to the airport in a little while. If all goes well we'll be back home by tonight - late - but I'd rather be home.
I mentioned all of the various elements, people and places that were involved in the Reformation tour. One thing I didn't mention was the people we went with.
Of the many things you can get out of a tour like this, one of the more lasting ones is new friends. This tour had some amazing people on it who came because they loved the Reformers, and want to see the church reclaim its legacy of being a Reformed Church. Linda and I had some great conversations over meals, in the bus, while touring, listening, looking at the sites and places.
A real deep appreciation was there, by all, for Doug and Cheryl Bond. Doug is a high school teacher who has been taking people on tours since 1996, and unless one either goes on a tour and watches his work, or has been on his side as an organizer and leader (I have been), you cannot understand the amount of work that goes in to arranging, directing, leading, and sometimes worrying about all that is going on.
We had to deal with a quite a bit of sickness that spread on our bus over the 11 days. Like an airplane cabin, we all tended to share the same air over and over again, and pretty soon - day by day - someone new would come down with a bug. I did. Doug and Cheryl made sure that people who needed some medicine got it, and we made adjustments to the schedule to accommodate the needs. This is the part of the tour one does not schedule - it just needs to be dealt with.
Linda and I met some great people...to give lists of names would run the risk of forgetting someone, so I'll just say "Thanks" to all of the folk who shared the journey with us.
AND, once again.
A Big thanks to Doug and Cheryl Bond! If you ever get the opportunity to go on one of his tours...jump at it!
I mentioned all of the various elements, people and places that were involved in the Reformation tour. One thing I didn't mention was the people we went with.
Of the many things you can get out of a tour like this, one of the more lasting ones is new friends. This tour had some amazing people on it who came because they loved the Reformers, and want to see the church reclaim its legacy of being a Reformed Church. Linda and I had some great conversations over meals, in the bus, while touring, listening, looking at the sites and places.
A real deep appreciation was there, by all, for Doug and Cheryl Bond. Doug is a high school teacher who has been taking people on tours since 1996, and unless one either goes on a tour and watches his work, or has been on his side as an organizer and leader (I have been), you cannot understand the amount of work that goes in to arranging, directing, leading, and sometimes worrying about all that is going on.
We had to deal with a quite a bit of sickness that spread on our bus over the 11 days. Like an airplane cabin, we all tended to share the same air over and over again, and pretty soon - day by day - someone new would come down with a bug. I did. Doug and Cheryl made sure that people who needed some medicine got it, and we made adjustments to the schedule to accommodate the needs. This is the part of the tour one does not schedule - it just needs to be dealt with.
Linda and I met some great people...to give lists of names would run the risk of forgetting someone, so I'll just say "Thanks" to all of the folk who shared the journey with us.
AND, once again.
A Big thanks to Doug and Cheryl Bond! If you ever get the opportunity to go on one of his tours...jump at it!
Sunday, 30 June 2013
Day 11, The Journey continues at Home
The journey to visit the land of the Reformation comes to a close today. It's a happy/sad day. We came to Geneva yesterday morning. The ride along the Swiss valleys was beautiful. We worshipped with a English speaking Scots Presbyterian Church in the chapel next door to the great Cathedral.
I genuinely missed worshipping back home yesterday. It's great to worship with people, but when you know them personally it makes such a difference.
This Scottish church of believers welcomed us in and gave us a fellowship meal after - a nice hospitality of believers to believers. Not unlike the stream of strangers that came to Geneva in the era of John Calvin's leadership in the mid 16th century.
Geneva is a beautiful city. Our last place on this journey is significant because it was in Geneva that John Calvin came to lead the full character of the Reformation - the Spiritual Worship and Spiritual living of the people of God. When the Reformation began to spread in Europe, there was backlash among Catholic countries to those who accepted the doctrines of Grace. Persecution broke out in Italy, Spain, France, Belgium and Holland, as well as England and parts of Germany. Refugees - whole families - fled the persecution and many of them streamed into Geneva. The church we worshipped in yesterday was a church for refugees, and a group of Scottish Presbyterians who would have first met there under the leadership of John Knox still worship there today.
Geneva became a melting pot of Reformation followers, and the affect of people coming to a place who sought to live through the Gospel - by Grace through Faith - had a profound affect upon everything. Geneva over time was reformed!
Gone was poverty (there were no beggars in the streets of Geneva while Calvin was here because the poor were brought in to places of shelter and fed).
Gone was unemployment.
Education was for all, and despite what I've heard from secularists and even some who believe -
Women were given a status unheard of in Europe at the time.
None of the good occurred because people were forced into submission. The modernists who hate Christianity and despise the fruit of the Gospel have written negatively about Calvin without ever analyzing the fruit of what occurred in his leadership time.
Even in Calvin's day, John Calvin was not liked by all in Geneva. Those who opposed him were not burnt at the stake or driven out of the city. Calvin cared about the Gospel, not his own personal reputation.
John Calvin spent his life in Geneva - he also died here. No one knows where he is buried because like Moses he did not want a shrine to his dead body, and so Calvin is buried in some unmarked grave in Geneva.
What a Journey these last few days has been. The journey of the Reformation was a story...
> The early attempts at Reform by men like Savanarola, Jan Hus, John Wyclif and the early martyrs who paid with their lives because of their unwillingness to give up the Gospel of Grace. (Remember Place Maubert)
> We saw the Reforms that began with Martin Luther - the German pastor and theologian who would not back down from Papal threats of excommunication and bullying, even desiring to kill him because he preached a Gospel of Grace.
> We visited the Swiss Reformer Ulrich Zwingli, who lead the Cantons to embrace the Gospel of Grace and lost his life fighting to maintain that.
> We started early in Calvin's life, at his birthplace, then his education in Paris, and then the early days of leading in Strasbourg; but we end in Geneva, where his leadership brought the Reformation solidly on Europe's ground.
Yesterday, as our journey came to an end, we visited the Reformation wall...a picture that speaks a thousand words:
There they stand - a Mount Rushmore of the Genevan Reformation. But more than that. The sign in Latin from one of the wall to the other that in English reads, "AFTER THE DARKNESS LIGHT".
Next to the Reformers of Geneva stands two further depictions. It's difficult to capture the etchings on camera, so let me tell you what they say. The first is an etching in the wall of a Mayflower person - maybe John Bradford. It has next to it the words of the Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower Compact was a group of Reformed believers who sought to establish a place for the heralding of the Gospel - America.
Right next to that is a etching of our Declaration of Independence. This is Switzerland, but even here those who wanted to commemorate the fruit of the Reformation recognize that America came into being because of those who sought to live out the Gospel of Grace in a land free of prejudice and persecution.
My journey in the Reformation - our journey - is not over with. The Church still needs the message of Grace through Faith...God sovereignly working His will in a creation that is Fallen through Sin, separated from the goodness of God, and separated from each other by that Sin. We will not bring about a world of goodness and Justice, that alone is God's to do. Our task is to simply live for the Grace and Mercy of God, trusting in His working in us to do all things for our good and his glory.
Glad you could read along with me in this trip - wished you were along also.
Peace
I genuinely missed worshipping back home yesterday. It's great to worship with people, but when you know them personally it makes such a difference.
This Scottish church of believers welcomed us in and gave us a fellowship meal after - a nice hospitality of believers to believers. Not unlike the stream of strangers that came to Geneva in the era of John Calvin's leadership in the mid 16th century.
Geneva is a beautiful city. Our last place on this journey is significant because it was in Geneva that John Calvin came to lead the full character of the Reformation - the Spiritual Worship and Spiritual living of the people of God. When the Reformation began to spread in Europe, there was backlash among Catholic countries to those who accepted the doctrines of Grace. Persecution broke out in Italy, Spain, France, Belgium and Holland, as well as England and parts of Germany. Refugees - whole families - fled the persecution and many of them streamed into Geneva. The church we worshipped in yesterday was a church for refugees, and a group of Scottish Presbyterians who would have first met there under the leadership of John Knox still worship there today.
Geneva became a melting pot of Reformation followers, and the affect of people coming to a place who sought to live through the Gospel - by Grace through Faith - had a profound affect upon everything. Geneva over time was reformed!
Gone was poverty (there were no beggars in the streets of Geneva while Calvin was here because the poor were brought in to places of shelter and fed).
Gone was unemployment.
Education was for all, and despite what I've heard from secularists and even some who believe -
Women were given a status unheard of in Europe at the time.
None of the good occurred because people were forced into submission. The modernists who hate Christianity and despise the fruit of the Gospel have written negatively about Calvin without ever analyzing the fruit of what occurred in his leadership time.
Even in Calvin's day, John Calvin was not liked by all in Geneva. Those who opposed him were not burnt at the stake or driven out of the city. Calvin cared about the Gospel, not his own personal reputation.
John Calvin spent his life in Geneva - he also died here. No one knows where he is buried because like Moses he did not want a shrine to his dead body, and so Calvin is buried in some unmarked grave in Geneva.
What a Journey these last few days has been. The journey of the Reformation was a story...
> The early attempts at Reform by men like Savanarola, Jan Hus, John Wyclif and the early martyrs who paid with their lives because of their unwillingness to give up the Gospel of Grace. (Remember Place Maubert)
> We saw the Reforms that began with Martin Luther - the German pastor and theologian who would not back down from Papal threats of excommunication and bullying, even desiring to kill him because he preached a Gospel of Grace.
> We visited the Swiss Reformer Ulrich Zwingli, who lead the Cantons to embrace the Gospel of Grace and lost his life fighting to maintain that.
> We started early in Calvin's life, at his birthplace, then his education in Paris, and then the early days of leading in Strasbourg; but we end in Geneva, where his leadership brought the Reformation solidly on Europe's ground.
Yesterday, as our journey came to an end, we visited the Reformation wall...a picture that speaks a thousand words:
There they stand - a Mount Rushmore of the Genevan Reformation. But more than that. The sign in Latin from one of the wall to the other that in English reads, "AFTER THE DARKNESS LIGHT".
Next to the Reformers of Geneva stands two further depictions. It's difficult to capture the etchings on camera, so let me tell you what they say. The first is an etching in the wall of a Mayflower person - maybe John Bradford. It has next to it the words of the Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower Compact was a group of Reformed believers who sought to establish a place for the heralding of the Gospel - America.
Right next to that is a etching of our Declaration of Independence. This is Switzerland, but even here those who wanted to commemorate the fruit of the Reformation recognize that America came into being because of those who sought to live out the Gospel of Grace in a land free of prejudice and persecution.
My journey in the Reformation - our journey - is not over with. The Church still needs the message of Grace through Faith...God sovereignly working His will in a creation that is Fallen through Sin, separated from the goodness of God, and separated from each other by that Sin. We will not bring about a world of goodness and Justice, that alone is God's to do. Our task is to simply live for the Grace and Mercy of God, trusting in His working in us to do all things for our good and his glory.
Glad you could read along with me in this trip - wished you were along also.
Peace
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Day 10, Luther and Zwingli
We've arrived in Zurich, Switzerland...it's a drab, dreary, rainy day, so thus far Switzerland looks anything but stellar. The ride from Coburg in Germany was long, and it was rain all the way!
The trip to Zurich is to visit the home of Ulrich Zwingli, the leader of the Reformation in the German speaking Swiss Cantons, chiefly centered around Zurich. Of the three Reformers, he, by far, gets the least press.
Luther and Calvin dominate the Reformational scene, but Zwingli should be recognized for the significance of his bringing reform to the Swiss.
He was born two years before Luther, in 1481, and trained classically to be a priest. He eventually became the head of the church in Zurich. As a Catholic priest, he found himself - like Luther - opposing the sale of indulgences (those pay-your-way-out-of-purgatory certificates sold by the church). But, perhaps, what most affected his "re-looking" at Catholic doctrine was in witnessing the deaths of 1000's of Swiss soldiers who were bought by the Pope to fight his wars.
By 1519, two years after Luther's 95 theses were nailed to the church door in Wittenberg; but before Luther was tried at Worms, Zwingli was leading a reform movement in Zurich.
Zwingli had a sort of awakening when he was struck with the plague in 1520. Nearly two-thirds of Zurich's population died (before the plague it was a city of 12,000 and after, only about 3,000 remained). Zwingli somehow survived and after he recovered, he fought for a simple theology:
"If it can't be found in the Bible, don't believe it and don't do it."
He decisively began to reform. He broke the traditional Catholic laws on Lent, having a Sausage party for his students. He took the statutes and paintings of the cross and Mary out of the churches. Eventually he abolished the Mass and replaced it with a simple service that celebrated Communion and the preaching of the Scriptures. He said,
"For God's sake, do not put yourself at odds with the Word of God. For truly it will persist as surely as the Rhine follows its course. One can perhaps dam it up for awhile, but it is impossible to stop it."
The reform in Switzerland took hold as he led the churches in Zurich. Eventually, like the other reformers, he married - a widow with three children, and then went on to have four more of his own.
Two significant events shaped his life, and the reason why He is often forgotten in Reform circles.
1. Phillip of Hesse, the German Prince who saw in the Reformation a cause to defend, felt that the German Reform under Luther, and the Swiss Reform under Zwingli needed to unite. Hesse was certain the Papacy would eventually strike back to seek to take Reform lands by force if need be (and he was right, they did). Hesse called a "colloquy" - a meeting to discuss - matters that pertain to the two reform movements in Margburg, Germany. Zwingli and Luther met at this place and agreed on 13 of the 14 articles. They could not agree on the meaning of the Lord's Supper, and it divided the two movements.
Luther believed Christ's words, "This is my body" meant Jesus was actually present during the sacrament of communion. Zwingli said the phrase meant "This signifies my body", so that the bread and wine were only symbolic. They had agreed on many other doctrines during the conference, from the Trinity to justification by faith to the number of sacraments, but they could not come together on communion. Luther reportedly refused to shake Zwingli's hand at the end of the meetings.
2. The second event is shaped around Zwingli - the ardent Swiss nationalist. The Reformed movement spread among the Cantons (Switzerland is a confederation of small states); but not in all of the Cantons did it take hold. Zwingli decided to put pressure on the ones that wouldn't change and eventually a war broke out. The end result was that Zwingli was killed in battle - it was 1531.
We visited the Church Zwingli preached in, in Zurich.
The rain was falling and yet this simple Protestant church gives testimony almost 500 years later of Zwingli's faithfulness to the Gospel.
Peace to you
The trip to Zurich is to visit the home of Ulrich Zwingli, the leader of the Reformation in the German speaking Swiss Cantons, chiefly centered around Zurich. Of the three Reformers, he, by far, gets the least press.
Luther and Calvin dominate the Reformational scene, but Zwingli should be recognized for the significance of his bringing reform to the Swiss.
He was born two years before Luther, in 1481, and trained classically to be a priest. He eventually became the head of the church in Zurich. As a Catholic priest, he found himself - like Luther - opposing the sale of indulgences (those pay-your-way-out-of-purgatory certificates sold by the church). But, perhaps, what most affected his "re-looking" at Catholic doctrine was in witnessing the deaths of 1000's of Swiss soldiers who were bought by the Pope to fight his wars.
By 1519, two years after Luther's 95 theses were nailed to the church door in Wittenberg; but before Luther was tried at Worms, Zwingli was leading a reform movement in Zurich.
Zwingli had a sort of awakening when he was struck with the plague in 1520. Nearly two-thirds of Zurich's population died (before the plague it was a city of 12,000 and after, only about 3,000 remained). Zwingli somehow survived and after he recovered, he fought for a simple theology:
"If it can't be found in the Bible, don't believe it and don't do it."
He decisively began to reform. He broke the traditional Catholic laws on Lent, having a Sausage party for his students. He took the statutes and paintings of the cross and Mary out of the churches. Eventually he abolished the Mass and replaced it with a simple service that celebrated Communion and the preaching of the Scriptures. He said,
"For God's sake, do not put yourself at odds with the Word of God. For truly it will persist as surely as the Rhine follows its course. One can perhaps dam it up for awhile, but it is impossible to stop it."
The reform in Switzerland took hold as he led the churches in Zurich. Eventually, like the other reformers, he married - a widow with three children, and then went on to have four more of his own.
Two significant events shaped his life, and the reason why He is often forgotten in Reform circles.
1. Phillip of Hesse, the German Prince who saw in the Reformation a cause to defend, felt that the German Reform under Luther, and the Swiss Reform under Zwingli needed to unite. Hesse was certain the Papacy would eventually strike back to seek to take Reform lands by force if need be (and he was right, they did). Hesse called a "colloquy" - a meeting to discuss - matters that pertain to the two reform movements in Margburg, Germany. Zwingli and Luther met at this place and agreed on 13 of the 14 articles. They could not agree on the meaning of the Lord's Supper, and it divided the two movements.
Luther believed Christ's words, "This is my body" meant Jesus was actually present during the sacrament of communion. Zwingli said the phrase meant "This signifies my body", so that the bread and wine were only symbolic. They had agreed on many other doctrines during the conference, from the Trinity to justification by faith to the number of sacraments, but they could not come together on communion. Luther reportedly refused to shake Zwingli's hand at the end of the meetings.
2. The second event is shaped around Zwingli - the ardent Swiss nationalist. The Reformed movement spread among the Cantons (Switzerland is a confederation of small states); but not in all of the Cantons did it take hold. Zwingli decided to put pressure on the ones that wouldn't change and eventually a war broke out. The end result was that Zwingli was killed in battle - it was 1531.
We visited the Church Zwingli preached in, in Zurich.
The rain was falling and yet this simple Protestant church gives testimony almost 500 years later of Zwingli's faithfulness to the Gospel.
Peace to you
Friday, 28 June 2013
Day 9, Wittenberg & Luther's Teaching Ministry
We went to Wittenberg yesterday, what a great day it was. As we arrived, I could see the tower from the original castle, and the Castle church that was right next door.
As we left the coach, we were directly in front of the Castle Church door. It's been replaced since Luther's day, and now has a Brass door with the 95 Theses embossed.
In 1517, Martin Luther nailed the "95 Theses" - a series of statements that were meant to be debated by theologians and Bible teachers. He wanted to start a public debate about the use of indulgences - he ended up beginning the Reformation!
Luther went to Wittenberg at the invitation of the Elector - the Prince in charge of the territory which was Saxony. The Prince had wanted to build a university and wanted Pastors and Theologians to give the best theological education. Luther came as a young Augustinian Monk with his Doctor's degree in Theology. Eventually he would be joined by a young man named Phillip Melanchthon on the faculty, and he also became the Parish priest - they all preached.
Luther usually preached down from the Castle church. The Church still stands, and is being restored over a 5 year project. Still, the outside looked liked this:
We went inside and I walked around, and noticed the pulpit Luther preached from. I couldn't help but walk up the steps to stand where Martin Luther stood some 500 years ago.
Luther was a remarkable individual. He didn't start off thinking he was going to reform the church. His goal was to check the insane practices of selling indulgences. This money raising gimmick was used by Catholic hucksters to raise money for Rome's building of St. Peter's Cathedral. When the Catholic priest name Tetzel came to Wittenberg, he promised the people that if they threw money into the coffers, their loved ones would get years taken off of purgatory. (Sadly, indulgences have changed, but the principle is still taught in the Catholic Church). It incensed Luther, and the reason why was because of the changes in his understanding of the Gospel that had occurred over the last few years.
When Luther began to teach and preach he started with teaching through Psalms and then Romans. When he got to Psalm 22, he read:
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?"
An Augustinian monk, and doctor of theology, he had only known that Jesus died, but not that he had substituted his life for ours. He wondered, how could the Jesus say these words from the Psalm. Why was he forsaken? Why did God not come to save him? He couldn't understand as of yet what God had done, because he was steeped in a system of "earning" one's salvation through the merits of the church. He had become a Monk almost ten years before because he was convinced he would not be saved without practicing the holy orders. "If anyone was to be saved by monkery, I was him".
In 1516-17 at Wittenberg, in his study at the Monastery, teaching in the classroom, and in the Parish church preaching, the light began to come on. When he arrived in Romans it became clear. He read Romans 1-3 and the words began to sink in.
"...as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." (Romans 3:10-12 ESV)
No One, Martin read.
No One is righteous in and of themselves...
no one has the ability to come to a righteous God on the basis of their merits - no matter how many of them they have accrued.
There can never be enough to satisfy the righteous character of God. He read and concluded with Paul...
"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:21-26 ESV)
The truth came in as light streaming through a darkened window, and Luther was giddy with joy. No longer did he feel condemned, even hating God's righteousness. Now he felt the freedom of the Gospel.
He said later of this time, "I felt like I was born again"... He was.
As the Parish pastor and theologian he took on the task of challenging the indulgence practices, and the church condemned him. He stood his ground and when 5 Papal Bulls (letters of condemnation) were issued...in fact, he burned them right here.
The Reformation spread like a wild-fire. It spread all over Germany, and into Switzerland and France, and then on to England...and we know it's kept going since then.
As Luther preached the righteousness of God by Grace through Faith, people saw that the merit system of the church was false. One of those institutions was the practice of celibacy. When Priests realized they didn't have to be celibate, they began to marry. Nuns began to leave convents and marry. Luther arranged for 13 nuns to escape a nunnery, and they came to Wittenberg. One of those Nuns wouldn't marry any of the arranged marriages being sought for her. Luther discovered a spunky woman who was not afraid of him, and who he discovered he loved. He married her and I got to see where he lived with his wife Katherine.
The house is a museum of the life and times of Luther in Wittenberg. What a great and memorable day it was.
I'll catch up more later....peace
As we left the coach, we were directly in front of the Castle Church door. It's been replaced since Luther's day, and now has a Brass door with the 95 Theses embossed.
In 1517, Martin Luther nailed the "95 Theses" - a series of statements that were meant to be debated by theologians and Bible teachers. He wanted to start a public debate about the use of indulgences - he ended up beginning the Reformation!
Luther went to Wittenberg at the invitation of the Elector - the Prince in charge of the territory which was Saxony. The Prince had wanted to build a university and wanted Pastors and Theologians to give the best theological education. Luther came as a young Augustinian Monk with his Doctor's degree in Theology. Eventually he would be joined by a young man named Phillip Melanchthon on the faculty, and he also became the Parish priest - they all preached.
Luther usually preached down from the Castle church. The Church still stands, and is being restored over a 5 year project. Still, the outside looked liked this:
We went inside and I walked around, and noticed the pulpit Luther preached from. I couldn't help but walk up the steps to stand where Martin Luther stood some 500 years ago.
Luther was a remarkable individual. He didn't start off thinking he was going to reform the church. His goal was to check the insane practices of selling indulgences. This money raising gimmick was used by Catholic hucksters to raise money for Rome's building of St. Peter's Cathedral. When the Catholic priest name Tetzel came to Wittenberg, he promised the people that if they threw money into the coffers, their loved ones would get years taken off of purgatory. (Sadly, indulgences have changed, but the principle is still taught in the Catholic Church). It incensed Luther, and the reason why was because of the changes in his understanding of the Gospel that had occurred over the last few years.
When Luther began to teach and preach he started with teaching through Psalms and then Romans. When he got to Psalm 22, he read:
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?"
An Augustinian monk, and doctor of theology, he had only known that Jesus died, but not that he had substituted his life for ours. He wondered, how could the Jesus say these words from the Psalm. Why was he forsaken? Why did God not come to save him? He couldn't understand as of yet what God had done, because he was steeped in a system of "earning" one's salvation through the merits of the church. He had become a Monk almost ten years before because he was convinced he would not be saved without practicing the holy orders. "If anyone was to be saved by monkery, I was him".
In 1516-17 at Wittenberg, in his study at the Monastery, teaching in the classroom, and in the Parish church preaching, the light began to come on. When he arrived in Romans it became clear. He read Romans 1-3 and the words began to sink in.
"...as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." (Romans 3:10-12 ESV)
No One, Martin read.
No One is righteous in and of themselves...
no one has the ability to come to a righteous God on the basis of their merits - no matter how many of them they have accrued.
There can never be enough to satisfy the righteous character of God. He read and concluded with Paul...
"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:21-26 ESV)
The truth came in as light streaming through a darkened window, and Luther was giddy with joy. No longer did he feel condemned, even hating God's righteousness. Now he felt the freedom of the Gospel.
He said later of this time, "I felt like I was born again"... He was.
As the Parish pastor and theologian he took on the task of challenging the indulgence practices, and the church condemned him. He stood his ground and when 5 Papal Bulls (letters of condemnation) were issued...in fact, he burned them right here.
The Reformation spread like a wild-fire. It spread all over Germany, and into Switzerland and France, and then on to England...and we know it's kept going since then.
As Luther preached the righteousness of God by Grace through Faith, people saw that the merit system of the church was false. One of those institutions was the practice of celibacy. When Priests realized they didn't have to be celibate, they began to marry. Nuns began to leave convents and marry. Luther arranged for 13 nuns to escape a nunnery, and they came to Wittenberg. One of those Nuns wouldn't marry any of the arranged marriages being sought for her. Luther discovered a spunky woman who was not afraid of him, and who he discovered he loved. He married her and I got to see where he lived with his wife Katherine.
The house is a museum of the life and times of Luther in Wittenberg. What a great and memorable day it was.
I'll catch up more later....peace
Thursday, 27 June 2013
Day 8, Eisenach and Luther's Ink!
We travelled several hours into the heart of Germany to the village of Eisenach. There is the castle called Wartburg. Luther spent almost two years here, and from the time here translated the scriptures into his native German language.
The story that goes with this is interesting. Luther was tried at the Diet of Worms for his writings. There he said, "Here I stand, I can do no other" when asked if he would or would not recant of his writings. He had been given safe passage by the Emperor to appear -which meant no matter what the outcome of the trial, he was allowed to return home to Wittenberg. But Luther and the Prince were suspicious of the Emperor's safe passage, and well deserved to be so. Jan Hus had been given safe passage and after he was tried he was arrested and burnt at the stake.
So, as the trial ended, Luther was declared a heretic of the church. He was condemned and made an outlaw, subject to death if caught. On the way back to Wittenberg his party was set upon by masked men. Luther was even roughed up to make it look like he was being made a captive. They wisked him away, and took him to Eisenach and the Wartburg Castle.
Here he became Junker George. Here he lived for the next year and some months. During that time he translated the Greek text in a little over 11 weeks into the German New Testament. Besides that he wrote numerous hymns and treatises. It was here that Luther declared, "By my ink I have driven away the devil".
From Eisenach we coached to Luther's birthplace - Eisleben.
Now a landmark, and museum of all things Martin Luther, it is in a small town in Central Germany that this humble German got his start. Raised in a miner's family, his father prospered as an owner of a mine. He wanted Martin to be a lawyer, but God had other plans. The city has a marvelous square - near our hotel with a statue of him.
The picture was taken in late evening after we arrived. It is a tribute to this man who did so much for God. Today we are off to Wittenberg where it all began.
Peace
The story that goes with this is interesting. Luther was tried at the Diet of Worms for his writings. There he said, "Here I stand, I can do no other" when asked if he would or would not recant of his writings. He had been given safe passage by the Emperor to appear -which meant no matter what the outcome of the trial, he was allowed to return home to Wittenberg. But Luther and the Prince were suspicious of the Emperor's safe passage, and well deserved to be so. Jan Hus had been given safe passage and after he was tried he was arrested and burnt at the stake.
So, as the trial ended, Luther was declared a heretic of the church. He was condemned and made an outlaw, subject to death if caught. On the way back to Wittenberg his party was set upon by masked men. Luther was even roughed up to make it look like he was being made a captive. They wisked him away, and took him to Eisenach and the Wartburg Castle.
Here he became Junker George. Here he lived for the next year and some months. During that time he translated the Greek text in a little over 11 weeks into the German New Testament. Besides that he wrote numerous hymns and treatises. It was here that Luther declared, "By my ink I have driven away the devil".
From Eisenach we coached to Luther's birthplace - Eisleben.
Now a landmark, and museum of all things Martin Luther, it is in a small town in Central Germany that this humble German got his start. Raised in a miner's family, his father prospered as an owner of a mine. He wanted Martin to be a lawyer, but God had other plans. The city has a marvelous square - near our hotel with a statue of him.
The picture was taken in late evening after we arrived. It is a tribute to this man who did so much for God. Today we are off to Wittenberg where it all began.
Peace
Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Day 7, Worms (not that kind)
We've moved about five hours east, well into Germany. We're in Luther country! We're in Pollasch ancestors' country!
The fields are strangely and eerily similar to southern Wisconsin. There is lots of farming here, especially corn and vegetables. I don't know what it would have looked like 500 years ago, but Luther came through these areas in the early 1520's - to go on trial and defend his writings.
Quick history here. In 1517 Luther posted his 95 theses...I'll deal more with that later. By that time the printing press (invented in 1542 by Gutenberg) was being used and Luther's writings hit the road and were known throughout the German kingdoms. Germany wasn't a united nation but a series of smaller kingdoms - palatinates, or electorates. Each had its own prince or nobleman in control. Luther was in Wittenberg as the parish priest and a faculty member of Wittenberg University. He had a pulpit and a classroom to teach from and he did his best to teach the doctrines of grace apart from the merits of the church.
By 1520, the Papacy had had enough. They issued a series of four (five?) "Bulls" - not the animals - but official church documents that gave instruction on matters of faith. Each of these were meant to counter Luther's reformational views. One of them issued in 1520 condemned Luther directly and summoned him to appear before a court of the Empire...which in 1521 would convene at Worms.
Pronounce this "Verms", because if you say worms as we know it, it is hard to comprehend why anyone would name a city Worms. This assembly of the court was a "Diet" (Dee it), and together, if you say the two words, "diet", you really have a weird sounding thing - the Diet of Worms!
Luther traveled overland from Wittenberg to this imperial court and along the way he was cheered and encouraged....the German people loved him. He arrived at Worms in time to preach...the church is still there.
When he arrived at the court it was not so like the journey. He appeared before a Catholic lawyer - a Johann Eck, or John Eck. Luther wanted to have a debate but Eck would have none of it. Instead he demanded that Luther answer a couple of simple questions and those alone..."Are these your writings, and will you recant of them?"
Luther protested..."some of these writings contain universal truths of all Christendom concerning the Trinity, the Virgin Birth, etc...I cannot recant of them, neither would you want me to". He was good! But, Eck forced him into a corner. He piled his tracts and letters onto the table - the reformation tracts - and asked him once again...will you or won't you recant of these?
Luther asked for time to respond. They gave him 24 hours?
It might sound easy looking back; but Martin Luther came from a time when taking a stand against the church would either lead to excommunication (at best) or death (normally). It was no easy thing to take a stand. He was challenging the authority of the church, and most of all, the Pope. One painter captured the look like this.
Luther appeared before the Diet the next day. He gave a lengthy speech about the nature of his opposition...it's worth the read, but I don't have space here. Eck interrupted him at some point and demanded he answer the question - will you recant?
Luther then replied: "Your Imperial Majesty and Your Lordships demand a simple answer. Here it is, plain and unvarnished. Unless I am convicted [convinced] of error by the testimony of Scripture or (since I put no trust in the unsupported authority of Pope or councils, since it is plain that they have often erred and often contradicted themselves) by manifest reasoning, I stand convicted [convinced] by the Scriptures to which I have appealed, and my conscience is taken captive by God's word, I cannot and will not recant anything, for to act against our conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us. On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.
The words still ring strong and true today..."On this (Scripture) I take my stand. I can do no other..."
Today we journey to where he ended up immediately after this - hidden away in a castle, he was now a wanted man. I'll get to that tomorrow.
For now, let it sink in...this is our model, our focus, our fidelity...God's word.
"Sola Scriptura" - Scripture alone is the basis of our faith. In the picture I took below, Luther stands at the head of the Reformation, with nothing in his hand but the Bible. The shape of the area is like a fortress, and when we stood there yesterday, we sang together "A Might Fortress Is Our God".
Peace to you,
The fields are strangely and eerily similar to southern Wisconsin. There is lots of farming here, especially corn and vegetables. I don't know what it would have looked like 500 years ago, but Luther came through these areas in the early 1520's - to go on trial and defend his writings.
Quick history here. In 1517 Luther posted his 95 theses...I'll deal more with that later. By that time the printing press (invented in 1542 by Gutenberg) was being used and Luther's writings hit the road and were known throughout the German kingdoms. Germany wasn't a united nation but a series of smaller kingdoms - palatinates, or electorates. Each had its own prince or nobleman in control. Luther was in Wittenberg as the parish priest and a faculty member of Wittenberg University. He had a pulpit and a classroom to teach from and he did his best to teach the doctrines of grace apart from the merits of the church.
By 1520, the Papacy had had enough. They issued a series of four (five?) "Bulls" - not the animals - but official church documents that gave instruction on matters of faith. Each of these were meant to counter Luther's reformational views. One of them issued in 1520 condemned Luther directly and summoned him to appear before a court of the Empire...which in 1521 would convene at Worms.
Pronounce this "Verms", because if you say worms as we know it, it is hard to comprehend why anyone would name a city Worms. This assembly of the court was a "Diet" (Dee it), and together, if you say the two words, "diet", you really have a weird sounding thing - the Diet of Worms!
Luther traveled overland from Wittenberg to this imperial court and along the way he was cheered and encouraged....the German people loved him. He arrived at Worms in time to preach...the church is still there.
When he arrived at the court it was not so like the journey. He appeared before a Catholic lawyer - a Johann Eck, or John Eck. Luther wanted to have a debate but Eck would have none of it. Instead he demanded that Luther answer a couple of simple questions and those alone..."Are these your writings, and will you recant of them?"
Luther protested..."some of these writings contain universal truths of all Christendom concerning the Trinity, the Virgin Birth, etc...I cannot recant of them, neither would you want me to". He was good! But, Eck forced him into a corner. He piled his tracts and letters onto the table - the reformation tracts - and asked him once again...will you or won't you recant of these?
Luther asked for time to respond. They gave him 24 hours?
It might sound easy looking back; but Martin Luther came from a time when taking a stand against the church would either lead to excommunication (at best) or death (normally). It was no easy thing to take a stand. He was challenging the authority of the church, and most of all, the Pope. One painter captured the look like this.
Luther appeared before the Diet the next day. He gave a lengthy speech about the nature of his opposition...it's worth the read, but I don't have space here. Eck interrupted him at some point and demanded he answer the question - will you recant?
Luther then replied: "Your Imperial Majesty and Your Lordships demand a simple answer. Here it is, plain and unvarnished. Unless I am convicted [convinced] of error by the testimony of Scripture or (since I put no trust in the unsupported authority of Pope or councils, since it is plain that they have often erred and often contradicted themselves) by manifest reasoning, I stand convicted [convinced] by the Scriptures to which I have appealed, and my conscience is taken captive by God's word, I cannot and will not recant anything, for to act against our conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us. On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.
The words still ring strong and true today..."On this (Scripture) I take my stand. I can do no other..."
Today we journey to where he ended up immediately after this - hidden away in a castle, he was now a wanted man. I'll get to that tomorrow.
For now, let it sink in...this is our model, our focus, our fidelity...God's word.
"Sola Scriptura" - Scripture alone is the basis of our faith. In the picture I took below, Luther stands at the head of the Reformation, with nothing in his hand but the Bible. The shape of the area is like a fortress, and when we stood there yesterday, we sang together "A Might Fortress Is Our God".
Peace to you,
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Day 6, Strasbourg's Reformers
The Reformation lecture tour I'm on is a visual history come alive. Yesterday we took the morning and afternoon to explore the inner - old - city of Strasbourg. This city on the French/German border was Calvin's destination when forced to flee from Paris because he not only embraced the Reformation but was teaching it's principles publicly and many were embracing it with him.
Roman Catholicism was powerful with its institutional religious control, and the power it extended over civil rulers, including Kings and Princes. If Calvin had stayed in Paris he would have been killed. So he fled Paris with his brother and sister and headed for Strasbourg...but he didn't make it then. A war was being fought in that same area I blogged yesterday between the King of France and the Holy Roman Empire's armies and the way to Strasbourg was blocked. So, Calvin headed to Geneva, intending on staying one night, until William Farel found out he was in the city. Farel, who was a pastor attempting to lead the Reformation in Geneva, had read Calvin's 1st edition of the Institutes of Christian Religion. Calvin had written this short treatise, a kind of tract if you will, to explain the principles of the Reformation. There are five basic ones, and it's good to review them.
Sola Scriptura - that the scriptures alone were the source of authority for the church's teachings and beliefs and define all essentials for holiness also.
Sola fide - that faith alone is the necessary requirement of coming to God. Not works, not merits, not anything...simply by faith.
Sola Gratia - That by grace alone we receive the ability to believe and come to God. It is not our religion, or works, or knowledge, or lack thereof that determines God's acceptance, and adoption of us, but grace alone.
Solus Christos - By Christ alone we are redeemed. Not in the sacraments, nor the church as an institution, not in our religious confessions, nor in our good works...but Christ alone is our savior and redeemer.
Soli Gloria Deo - To the Glory of God alone. Our purpose in life and in death is this confidence that God is glorified in his redemption, and in his creation. All of creation and the redeemed of God especially point to His glory for the basis of all that we do in our churches and in our lives.
Calvin stayed in Geneva for a while, but then the authorities of Geneva were not yet ready to embrace the Reformation and he left - going on to Strasbourg - the city we have been in.
Here, with Martin Bucer, Calvin led the Reformation. He preached several times a week, and wrote - a lot. He re-wrote, expanding upon it, the Institutes for a second time (there would be one more expansion later).
He wrote the psalter, putting the words of the Psalms into music that could be sung by "the pastor and the fishmonger".
He even married here - to a widow who had come with her children fleeing persecution in Belguim.
We visited the church he preached in yesterday. St. Nicholas Church still stands today:
The Reformers grasp the great need of the day, that our faith in God's finished work in Jesus still stands as the source of our confidence and hope in God's salvation.
Paul said it this way:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the richest of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding."
Amen! Peace to all,
'
Roman Catholicism was powerful with its institutional religious control, and the power it extended over civil rulers, including Kings and Princes. If Calvin had stayed in Paris he would have been killed. So he fled Paris with his brother and sister and headed for Strasbourg...but he didn't make it then. A war was being fought in that same area I blogged yesterday between the King of France and the Holy Roman Empire's armies and the way to Strasbourg was blocked. So, Calvin headed to Geneva, intending on staying one night, until William Farel found out he was in the city. Farel, who was a pastor attempting to lead the Reformation in Geneva, had read Calvin's 1st edition of the Institutes of Christian Religion. Calvin had written this short treatise, a kind of tract if you will, to explain the principles of the Reformation. There are five basic ones, and it's good to review them.
Sola Scriptura - that the scriptures alone were the source of authority for the church's teachings and beliefs and define all essentials for holiness also.
Sola fide - that faith alone is the necessary requirement of coming to God. Not works, not merits, not anything...simply by faith.
Sola Gratia - That by grace alone we receive the ability to believe and come to God. It is not our religion, or works, or knowledge, or lack thereof that determines God's acceptance, and adoption of us, but grace alone.
Solus Christos - By Christ alone we are redeemed. Not in the sacraments, nor the church as an institution, not in our religious confessions, nor in our good works...but Christ alone is our savior and redeemer.
Soli Gloria Deo - To the Glory of God alone. Our purpose in life and in death is this confidence that God is glorified in his redemption, and in his creation. All of creation and the redeemed of God especially point to His glory for the basis of all that we do in our churches and in our lives.
Calvin stayed in Geneva for a while, but then the authorities of Geneva were not yet ready to embrace the Reformation and he left - going on to Strasbourg - the city we have been in.
Here, with Martin Bucer, Calvin led the Reformation. He preached several times a week, and wrote - a lot. He re-wrote, expanding upon it, the Institutes for a second time (there would be one more expansion later).
He wrote the psalter, putting the words of the Psalms into music that could be sung by "the pastor and the fishmonger".
He even married here - to a widow who had come with her children fleeing persecution in Belguim.
We visited the church he preached in yesterday. St. Nicholas Church still stands today:
The Reformers grasp the great need of the day, that our faith in God's finished work in Jesus still stands as the source of our confidence and hope in God's salvation.
Paul said it this way:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the richest of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding."
Amen! Peace to all,
'
Day 5, Fields of Poppies
Yesterday we spent traveling...it was a long bus day, the longest we will be on. Our bus ride took us from Noyon, France (Calvin's birthplace) to Strasbourg...the city on the border between France and Germany.
This section of France saw two world wars in a little over 30 years last century. It is beautiful country of rolling hills with farm fields of barley, wheat, corn and Hops. In many ways it reminds me of Wisconsin. The hills and valleys are perhaps a bit more like western Wisconsin but the country side makes me think of home.
Perhaps the most notable part of the day was not connected to the Reformation, but to the battles fought here in World War I at the Argonne forests and the city area around Verdun. The battle of Verdun was the costliest battle of the war. Over 700,000 soldiers from France and its Allies, and Germany were killed. The roadways leading to the sites that commemorate the battle weaved through wooded countrysides with inundations in the land covered over by grasses and trees that hide the signs of bombardments and mines. Even to this day there are signs along the roads telling those who wander through the area to stay on marked paths because even today - 100 years later - there are unexploded ordinance buried in the fields and forests surrounding it. We were told of a farmer who decided to open a field and thought it best to let the sheep in there first only to have one of the sheep step on a mine and blow up killing several other sheep besides.
We made our journey to a memorial site called Fort Douaumont...a place that was especially tragic. Here the burial site of tens of thousands of soldiers, plus the remains of 100's of thousands of bones that cannot be identified are entombed in a memorial.
As we traveled along I could not help but reflect upon the ways of man versus the Kingdom of God. Not once, but several times these grounds have been fought for in the name of religion. Religion is fed on pride, the rights and privileges of those who are "in" against the rest. It is man-centered and almost always results in hatred and strife, devoid of the love of God.
The writer of Proverbs muses the truth....
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 16:25 ESV)"
Along the trip our bus past fields and fields of poppies.
Poppies are the symbols of the end of the war, the great armistice and the pronouncement that this was "the war that ends all wars"...such is the wisdom of man. It has been 100 years since this war and yet wars continue on.
Peace, Peace when there is no peace!
Religion cannot produce peace, neither can any philosophy or government.
Peter says it best, "In Christ Jesus, he is our peace".
Don't we realize that apart from the Gospel, there will never be peace?
In Strasbourg, Peace to You
This section of France saw two world wars in a little over 30 years last century. It is beautiful country of rolling hills with farm fields of barley, wheat, corn and Hops. In many ways it reminds me of Wisconsin. The hills and valleys are perhaps a bit more like western Wisconsin but the country side makes me think of home.
Perhaps the most notable part of the day was not connected to the Reformation, but to the battles fought here in World War I at the Argonne forests and the city area around Verdun. The battle of Verdun was the costliest battle of the war. Over 700,000 soldiers from France and its Allies, and Germany were killed. The roadways leading to the sites that commemorate the battle weaved through wooded countrysides with inundations in the land covered over by grasses and trees that hide the signs of bombardments and mines. Even to this day there are signs along the roads telling those who wander through the area to stay on marked paths because even today - 100 years later - there are unexploded ordinance buried in the fields and forests surrounding it. We were told of a farmer who decided to open a field and thought it best to let the sheep in there first only to have one of the sheep step on a mine and blow up killing several other sheep besides.
We made our journey to a memorial site called Fort Douaumont...a place that was especially tragic. Here the burial site of tens of thousands of soldiers, plus the remains of 100's of thousands of bones that cannot be identified are entombed in a memorial.
As we traveled along I could not help but reflect upon the ways of man versus the Kingdom of God. Not once, but several times these grounds have been fought for in the name of religion. Religion is fed on pride, the rights and privileges of those who are "in" against the rest. It is man-centered and almost always results in hatred and strife, devoid of the love of God.
The writer of Proverbs muses the truth....
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 16:25 ESV)"
Along the trip our bus past fields and fields of poppies.
Poppies are the symbols of the end of the war, the great armistice and the pronouncement that this was "the war that ends all wars"...such is the wisdom of man. It has been 100 years since this war and yet wars continue on.
Peace, Peace when there is no peace!
Religion cannot produce peace, neither can any philosophy or government.
Peter says it best, "In Christ Jesus, he is our peace".
Don't we realize that apart from the Gospel, there will never be peace?
In Strasbourg, Peace to You
Sunday, 23 June 2013
Day 4, John Calvin 's home
One of the delights of Europe's cities and towns is that it is not unusual to hear Church bells ringing morning, noon and night. As I began this blog the bells of the local church in this village called Pierrefonds began to ring. It's a beautiful little village. As we drove into the village we caught sight of this magnificent castle -
I plan on taking a walk after breakfast (when I'm writing this) and walking around it.
We are very near John Calvin's birthplace of Noyon, France. Noyon is notable for more than Calvin as it was a contested battle field place in WWII. The church John Calvin grew up in has pieces of the side of the church that show the affects of bombings and machine gun fire.
I had recently read a biography of Calvin by a man name Godfrey that I would heartily recommend. He is well versed in Calvin's life. Calvin was born in 1509, just 8 years old when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg. His father was a church administrator, essentially working for the local Bishop. The church was also an Abbey, which meant Monastics lived in one section of the church grounds. The old cloister (covered walkway) still exists, and this picture is from the rear of the church which shows the original posts and beams made of wood that the cloister would have been made from.
Calvin was a church kid. Because of the buying and selling of offices, at age 12 he was made a Chaplain. This was probably an arrangement between his Father and the local Bishop to raise money for Calvin's education. His mother died when he was a young boy - tragic to us, but all too common in those days.
His birthplace is modest, and now reconstructed as a museum.
This is only his birthplace and not the place where his reform passions began. That would occur when he would leave home and travel to Paris to get his education at age 14. By the time he was in his early 20's he would be converted and begin the writings that would cause him to become hunted by the Catholic authorities and cause him to flee to Switzerland.
One notable act of his early days was after he was converted. In his early 20's he came back to his hometown of Noyon. He went to the Bishop who had given him his chaplaincy to make his money, and he would tell him that he wanted to give all of it back to him. He gave to the Bishop all the money he had been given, and penniless walked away to continue the reform he felt God had called him too.
Jesus said "you cannot serve God and money..." and Calvin knew this all too well.
Peace
I plan on taking a walk after breakfast (when I'm writing this) and walking around it.
We are very near John Calvin's birthplace of Noyon, France. Noyon is notable for more than Calvin as it was a contested battle field place in WWII. The church John Calvin grew up in has pieces of the side of the church that show the affects of bombings and machine gun fire.
I had recently read a biography of Calvin by a man name Godfrey that I would heartily recommend. He is well versed in Calvin's life. Calvin was born in 1509, just 8 years old when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg. His father was a church administrator, essentially working for the local Bishop. The church was also an Abbey, which meant Monastics lived in one section of the church grounds. The old cloister (covered walkway) still exists, and this picture is from the rear of the church which shows the original posts and beams made of wood that the cloister would have been made from.
Calvin was a church kid. Because of the buying and selling of offices, at age 12 he was made a Chaplain. This was probably an arrangement between his Father and the local Bishop to raise money for Calvin's education. His mother died when he was a young boy - tragic to us, but all too common in those days.
His birthplace is modest, and now reconstructed as a museum.
This is only his birthplace and not the place where his reform passions began. That would occur when he would leave home and travel to Paris to get his education at age 14. By the time he was in his early 20's he would be converted and begin the writings that would cause him to become hunted by the Catholic authorities and cause him to flee to Switzerland.
One notable act of his early days was after he was converted. In his early 20's he came back to his hometown of Noyon. He went to the Bishop who had given him his chaplaincy to make his money, and he would tell him that he wanted to give all of it back to him. He gave to the Bishop all the money he had been given, and penniless walked away to continue the reform he felt God had called him too.
Jesus said "you cannot serve God and money..." and Calvin knew this all too well.
Peace
Saturday, 22 June 2013
Day 3, Destroying the Romantic Vision
It's Sunday morning as I write and we're off (in an hour) to Notre Dame and worship services in French! Yesterday was a busy walking day. I don't have a pedometer but I swear we covered 4-5 miles of Paris.
John Calvin came to Paris as a 14 year old boy. He entered university here to better be equipped with Latin and Greek. He came because his father had sent him to get an education - at first it was to be a lawyer. The place where he first came is still a part of the University here - University of Sorbonne is the University of Paris.
Looking at it today you wouldn't understand what it meant to be a mideaval student in Calvin's day. A 14 year old boy was under the tutelage of a master and the master's job was to prepare him in the classical languages in whatever means possible. It meant rote repetition, beatings when not correct, and berating. Students had it tough. John Calvin was an exceptional student. In two years he had mastered Latin and Greek and he moved on to the college Montague, which is just behind where I took this picture. Today it is covered with a building that was erected by one of the King Louis of France after he recovered from an illness...sort of payback to God for his recovery. Later during the French Revolution the spiritual, church part of it was destroyed and it was made into a monument for Man! I'd say that has been a failed endeavor.
As we walked I came across two very interesting buildings.
The first was where John Calvin lived after his conversion, and from where he fled Paris from when his friends lowered him down on bed sheets as the officers of the courts came to arrest him for preaching the Gospel.
The second building was less than a mile away, but it's significance for me is that from it the Gospel was first proclaimed in Paris some 1200 years ago. The country of France has existed since 250 B.C., but France as we know it came to be when the Franks began a more permanent rule around 900 AD.
The role of the church in early France was established strongly when Charlemagne was declared the first "Holy Roman Emperor" - title given by the Pope at the time to declare his intention to make all of Europe Christian through both political and Papal rule. As you can imagine the combination of political power, with armies to fight, and the authority of Rome to rule the lives of the people; there was much corruption and abuses, along with immoral religious rulers.
One of the attempts to live out the gospel more purely occurred when the Monastic order of Benedictines came to Cluny and established the Cluny monastery. Committed to live the Benedictine disciplines they served the area's people by being a place of worship, but also the local hospital and place of education.
We walked to the site of the 12th century Cluny Monastery in Paris...strange to be on ground that was established for God's work over 1000 years ago.
It is easy to romanticize this all, but just thinking about it makes me realize how primitive, unhealthy conditions, and difficult living really was.
Students were treated harshly.
Half of all babies did not survive birth.
Of those that survived another 20-25% did not survive to adulthood.
Life spans were around 45-50 years of age at best.
Disease was a natural part of people's lives.
If one lived to be an adult they usually suffered from intestinal illnesses, or gout, or some other condition throughout their life.
It's easy to be romantic about it all in the 21st century, but I wouldn't want to go back and live then! Still, the gospel has not survived, but thrived in spite of all the opponents of it.
It's sad to note that Paris is largely devoid of it's spiritual heritage. Church's while magnificent are more of a museum, and although France is still Catholic in it's heritage, not many of it's people even faithfully go to church. The so called French Revolution declared the "end of Christianity"...well I would say they were badly mistaken.
The atheist French philosopher of the Revolution said that within 100 years Christianity would cease to be. His house is now occupied by the International Bible Society.
Peace to you.
John Calvin came to Paris as a 14 year old boy. He entered university here to better be equipped with Latin and Greek. He came because his father had sent him to get an education - at first it was to be a lawyer. The place where he first came is still a part of the University here - University of Sorbonne is the University of Paris.
Looking at it today you wouldn't understand what it meant to be a mideaval student in Calvin's day. A 14 year old boy was under the tutelage of a master and the master's job was to prepare him in the classical languages in whatever means possible. It meant rote repetition, beatings when not correct, and berating. Students had it tough. John Calvin was an exceptional student. In two years he had mastered Latin and Greek and he moved on to the college Montague, which is just behind where I took this picture. Today it is covered with a building that was erected by one of the King Louis of France after he recovered from an illness...sort of payback to God for his recovery. Later during the French Revolution the spiritual, church part of it was destroyed and it was made into a monument for Man! I'd say that has been a failed endeavor.
As we walked I came across two very interesting buildings.
The first was where John Calvin lived after his conversion, and from where he fled Paris from when his friends lowered him down on bed sheets as the officers of the courts came to arrest him for preaching the Gospel.
The second building was less than a mile away, but it's significance for me is that from it the Gospel was first proclaimed in Paris some 1200 years ago. The country of France has existed since 250 B.C., but France as we know it came to be when the Franks began a more permanent rule around 900 AD.
The role of the church in early France was established strongly when Charlemagne was declared the first "Holy Roman Emperor" - title given by the Pope at the time to declare his intention to make all of Europe Christian through both political and Papal rule. As you can imagine the combination of political power, with armies to fight, and the authority of Rome to rule the lives of the people; there was much corruption and abuses, along with immoral religious rulers.
One of the attempts to live out the gospel more purely occurred when the Monastic order of Benedictines came to Cluny and established the Cluny monastery. Committed to live the Benedictine disciplines they served the area's people by being a place of worship, but also the local hospital and place of education.
We walked to the site of the 12th century Cluny Monastery in Paris...strange to be on ground that was established for God's work over 1000 years ago.
It is easy to romanticize this all, but just thinking about it makes me realize how primitive, unhealthy conditions, and difficult living really was.
Students were treated harshly.
Half of all babies did not survive birth.
Of those that survived another 20-25% did not survive to adulthood.
Life spans were around 45-50 years of age at best.
Disease was a natural part of people's lives.
If one lived to be an adult they usually suffered from intestinal illnesses, or gout, or some other condition throughout their life.
It's easy to be romantic about it all in the 21st century, but I wouldn't want to go back and live then! Still, the gospel has not survived, but thrived in spite of all the opponents of it.
It's sad to note that Paris is largely devoid of it's spiritual heritage. Church's while magnificent are more of a museum, and although France is still Catholic in it's heritage, not many of it's people even faithfully go to church. The so called French Revolution declared the "end of Christianity"...well I would say they were badly mistaken.
The atheist French philosopher of the Revolution said that within 100 years Christianity would cease to be. His house is now occupied by the International Bible Society.
Peace to you.
Friday, 21 June 2013
Day 2 - Place Maubert
We took a walk yesterday to a landmark about a mile and a half from the hotel. It is called Place Maubert. Paris is full of "places"...it's the french designation of an area of a city that has a convergence of many different avenues, or streets, and today it usually has a small park or outdoor market area that fills up space. In other words, its a larger space within the city that can serve a larger group of public.
Paris is like most major cities, crowded and busy. There is traffic noise, police sirens, cars honking, and people everywhere. Coming from a small town it's over stimulating and can be nerve wracking after a while.
Paris in the 16th century, especially in the early 1500's was still a large cosmopolitan city. Then it was some 200-300 thousand people. Today it's over 2.5 million. While that's large, the 200,000+ number in the 1500's must have been overwhelming. Think of the needs for sanitation, water, how to move around without buses or cars, etc...
Yet here is where the Reformation began. A small group of people became convinced of the need for reform. They were within the Catholic Church but saw the abuses and power structures as nothing more than human beings desiring money and power (and the sexual power too). Bishop, ArchBishop, even positions of Cardinals and Pope were bought with money and political favors. Families controlled the power structures and emperors were either in control of Popes or Popes were in control of Emperors.
The reformers were people of faith who wanted the church to be purified of that abuse. They sought a return to the scriptures, and the reading of the Bible in the language of their people. They sought a church that preached and believed in a Gospel of Grace in Jesus Christ - plus nothing, minus nothing.
Many had tried to bring about Reform for a couple of hundred years before, only to see the attempts to be squashed by the power of the church's hierarchy. John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, and others were either driven away or martyred.
Then in the early 1500's a group of reformers came together in Paris. Eventually they would be called "Hugenots". The derivation of the name is not completely known, but they were believers, faithful to God and desirous of a more pure church, who simply wanted to live out their faith in community. They gathered together in secret, worshipping together and preaching the word. They evangelized and sought to bring about a movement for reform within the church in France.
AND, for that they were crushed. Tens of thousands of them were killed, driven from France, or fled on their own. They were among the many martyrs that fulfilled the old saying - "the blood of the martyrs becomes the seed of the church".
This is where I came to Place Maubert
It looks like a small park, and if you look across the street beyond the cars you can see the outdoor market that still sets up today.
Here in the early 1500's Hugenot believers were publicly burned alive for not renouncing their faith in the Gospel of Grace alone. Here, the King of France brought together his court and the leading officials of his Kingdom, as well as 1000's of people to watch Hugenot believers be martyred - burnt alive - and warned all of those watching and listening that this is what would happen to anyone who would seek to step away from the Catholic Church and his Kingdom authority.
I was struck by the fountain that exists there today.
Jesus is the fountain of Life. From him comes Living Water.
"If anyone would come after me, let him renounce his life..."
"Come unto me all you that are thirsty and find rest for your soul..."
"I am the living water, whoever drinks of me will never thirst again..."
The early Hugenot reformers drank of the Gospel of Grace and nothing else could satisfy their souls than that Grace. And for that they gave their lives.
Those early believers in Reform did not shrink from the death that would come to them - believing that there was a better reward for their faithfulness to Jesus Christ and the Gospel of Grace.
Place Maubert...a reminder that the present can change, but never erase the past, and its from the past that our legacy comes.
May we have the same desire of heart to be faithful to him as these Hugenot believers did in all ways - no matter what may come our way.
Peace
Paris is like most major cities, crowded and busy. There is traffic noise, police sirens, cars honking, and people everywhere. Coming from a small town it's over stimulating and can be nerve wracking after a while.
Paris in the 16th century, especially in the early 1500's was still a large cosmopolitan city. Then it was some 200-300 thousand people. Today it's over 2.5 million. While that's large, the 200,000+ number in the 1500's must have been overwhelming. Think of the needs for sanitation, water, how to move around without buses or cars, etc...
Yet here is where the Reformation began. A small group of people became convinced of the need for reform. They were within the Catholic Church but saw the abuses and power structures as nothing more than human beings desiring money and power (and the sexual power too). Bishop, ArchBishop, even positions of Cardinals and Pope were bought with money and political favors. Families controlled the power structures and emperors were either in control of Popes or Popes were in control of Emperors.
The reformers were people of faith who wanted the church to be purified of that abuse. They sought a return to the scriptures, and the reading of the Bible in the language of their people. They sought a church that preached and believed in a Gospel of Grace in Jesus Christ - plus nothing, minus nothing.
Many had tried to bring about Reform for a couple of hundred years before, only to see the attempts to be squashed by the power of the church's hierarchy. John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, and others were either driven away or martyred.
Then in the early 1500's a group of reformers came together in Paris. Eventually they would be called "Hugenots". The derivation of the name is not completely known, but they were believers, faithful to God and desirous of a more pure church, who simply wanted to live out their faith in community. They gathered together in secret, worshipping together and preaching the word. They evangelized and sought to bring about a movement for reform within the church in France.
AND, for that they were crushed. Tens of thousands of them were killed, driven from France, or fled on their own. They were among the many martyrs that fulfilled the old saying - "the blood of the martyrs becomes the seed of the church".
This is where I came to Place Maubert
It looks like a small park, and if you look across the street beyond the cars you can see the outdoor market that still sets up today.
Here in the early 1500's Hugenot believers were publicly burned alive for not renouncing their faith in the Gospel of Grace alone. Here, the King of France brought together his court and the leading officials of his Kingdom, as well as 1000's of people to watch Hugenot believers be martyred - burnt alive - and warned all of those watching and listening that this is what would happen to anyone who would seek to step away from the Catholic Church and his Kingdom authority.
I was struck by the fountain that exists there today.
Jesus is the fountain of Life. From him comes Living Water.
"If anyone would come after me, let him renounce his life..."
"Come unto me all you that are thirsty and find rest for your soul..."
"I am the living water, whoever drinks of me will never thirst again..."
The early Hugenot reformers drank of the Gospel of Grace and nothing else could satisfy their souls than that Grace. And for that they gave their lives.
Those early believers in Reform did not shrink from the death that would come to them - believing that there was a better reward for their faithfulness to Jesus Christ and the Gospel of Grace.
Place Maubert...a reminder that the present can change, but never erase the past, and its from the past that our legacy comes.
May we have the same desire of heart to be faithful to him as these Hugenot believers did in all ways - no matter what may come our way.
Peace
Day 1, Calvin began in Paris
Today is the first day of our trip. We are in Paris and this is where it began for Calvin. John Calvin was not the firebrand that Martin Luther was. Luther saw the abuses of the Roman system and got mad. He wrote against the abuses of the church - primarily in relation to the practices of indulgences, which involved the selling of forgiveness and escape from purgatory for family members when purchased from the church. It wasn't the beginning of the Reformation, but it was the straw that broke the camel's back.
John Calvin was a scholarly reformer. He came to the place of belief not through a radical encounter, but rather through a decision based on his reasoned faith. I think of C.S. Lewis' description of his own coming to faith and think it a lot alike Calvin's.
Calvin was a student in Paris when he came to believe. His descriptions are quite limited so it leaves one to guess all that occurred in his encounter - but it was enough to cause him to embrace the reform and begin to preach for that reform in Paris.
France was and still is thoroughly Catholic in its faith. Calvin did not last long in Paris before he became an object of attention and then attempts to arrest him. Had he been arrested the great reformer would not have lived. But he was not, and that is why the story of the reformation became great in almost all of Europe - and eventually came to America with colonists who by and large were Protestants.
I just finished reading a great biography of John Calvin, and have to admire this man's ardent faith in Christ.
David in Psalm 43 says, "You are God my stronghold."
That would be an apt description of the way Calvin lived out his faith. We are so use to the idea of the Reformation that we do not realize the boldness, courage and perseverance that it took for these men to proclaim their faith in Christ alone. They truly put their lives in God's hands.
And why?
David says in that Psalm, "Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.
Only here can any of us do anything for God. It must be for that single purpose that we find in God great Joy and great Delight. He is the purpose for living, and in Christ alone we find ALL that is necessary for life.
From Paris, Day 1, Peace to all
John Calvin was a scholarly reformer. He came to the place of belief not through a radical encounter, but rather through a decision based on his reasoned faith. I think of C.S. Lewis' description of his own coming to faith and think it a lot alike Calvin's.
Calvin was a student in Paris when he came to believe. His descriptions are quite limited so it leaves one to guess all that occurred in his encounter - but it was enough to cause him to embrace the reform and begin to preach for that reform in Paris.
France was and still is thoroughly Catholic in its faith. Calvin did not last long in Paris before he became an object of attention and then attempts to arrest him. Had he been arrested the great reformer would not have lived. But he was not, and that is why the story of the reformation became great in almost all of Europe - and eventually came to America with colonists who by and large were Protestants.
I just finished reading a great biography of John Calvin, and have to admire this man's ardent faith in Christ.
David in Psalm 43 says, "You are God my stronghold."
That would be an apt description of the way Calvin lived out his faith. We are so use to the idea of the Reformation that we do not realize the boldness, courage and perseverance that it took for these men to proclaim their faith in Christ alone. They truly put their lives in God's hands.
And why?
David says in that Psalm, "Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.
Only here can any of us do anything for God. It must be for that single purpose that we find in God great Joy and great Delight. He is the purpose for living, and in Christ alone we find ALL that is necessary for life.
From Paris, Day 1, Peace to all
Sunday, 16 June 2013
Father's Day - Honoring our Church Fathers
With the U.S. and England both celebrating Father's Day today, I thought it would be good to say a word about some Father's we often ignore. The Church's Father's are extensive:
Clement
Ignatius
Tertullian
Polycarp
Irenaeus
Ambrose
Augustine
Anselm
Aquinas
Wycliffe
Luther
Melanchthon
Zwingli
Calvin
Bucer
Menno Simons
Arminius
Wesley
Edwards
Spurgeon
Moody
and, those are only a few well known ones up to the 20th century.
Fathers of faith are men who have stood for the truth of the Gospel and sought to advance the Kingdom of God through the hard work of study, writing, teaching, discipling and in many cases, pastoring.
We who are Christians have a great legacy...people who have fought the good fight, hung on to the faith and lived out their lives in dependence upon, and great trust in almighty God.
I leave today for a two week trip to visit the countries of several of these. I'll leave some notes and hopefully some pictures along the way.
Your prayers are greatly appreciated.
Peace
Clement
Ignatius
Tertullian
Polycarp
Irenaeus
Ambrose
Augustine
Anselm
Aquinas
Wycliffe
Luther
Melanchthon
Zwingli
Calvin
Bucer
Menno Simons
Arminius
Wesley
Edwards
Spurgeon
Moody
and, those are only a few well known ones up to the 20th century.
Fathers of faith are men who have stood for the truth of the Gospel and sought to advance the Kingdom of God through the hard work of study, writing, teaching, discipling and in many cases, pastoring.
We who are Christians have a great legacy...people who have fought the good fight, hung on to the faith and lived out their lives in dependence upon, and great trust in almighty God.
I leave today for a two week trip to visit the countries of several of these. I'll leave some notes and hopefully some pictures along the way.
Your prayers are greatly appreciated.
Peace
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Catechism anyone?
It's almost been a whole month since I last put some "musings" down on this blog. Sorry for the delay. My excuse has been a trip to England to be with the new Grandchildren, and the hectic end of a semester of teaching.
I am now in a countdown for the Reformation Lecture Tour that is now three weeks away.
I've been doing some reading over the last month in preparation for the trip. I have a background of forty years of study in Church History, and I have enjoyed reading about John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli...both of whom I know less of than Martin Luther. The lecture tour is concentrating on these three who had such a profound effect on the Reformation.
One of the things that the Reformation produced is a new way of understanding our relationship to God. Gone was the assumption that Salvation was our efforts to both work for righteousness and produce works that would convince God to free us, or even loved ones, from Purgatory.
All of the Reformers made it clear - Salvation was by grace through faith - a gift of God through the righteous work of Jesus Christ in His death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. We did not save ourselves; but rather we're saved through the work of Christ on our behalf.
The Reformers all produced Catechisms - starting with Luther. The goal of these were to serve as both instruction about the Faith, and also to re-introduce the Faith to all who now embraced the Reform of the Church.
I grew up with memorizing the small Catechism of Martin Luther. I wished I could say I remember it. At the time I did not care for the task of memorizing it. What is as a child a loathsome task, becomes as an adult believer, and a pastor, something different. I think we need some sort of instruction...it's missing from the church today. We have an entire generation of believers who have nothing more than anecdotal experiences to live off of - and sometimes those experiences are nothing more than manipulative religious experiences that are used by preachers and church leaders to keep people involved and excited even though the average person could not connect the experience to either scripture or doctrine.
On the contrary, think about the words of the Heidelberg Catechism and then the scripture that are connected to them.
Question: What is your only comfort in life and death?
Answer:
That I am not my own (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death (Romans 14:7-9)
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 3:23; Titus 2:14)
He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, (1 Peter 1:18, 19; 1 John 1:7; 2:2)
and has set me free from all the power of the devil (John 8:34-36; Heb 2:14-15; 1 John 3:8)
He also preserves me in such a way (John 6:39, 40; 10:27-30; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Peter 1:5)
that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head (Matt. 10:29-31)
indeed, all things must work together for my salvation (Romans 8:28-35)
Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life (Romans 8:15, 16; Eph. 1:13,14)
and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him (Romans 8:14)
If you get the opportunity, take some time to look up the passages and check it all out. I think we could gain much in knowing the truth of this in our hearts and minds.
Peace
I am now in a countdown for the Reformation Lecture Tour that is now three weeks away.
I've been doing some reading over the last month in preparation for the trip. I have a background of forty years of study in Church History, and I have enjoyed reading about John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli...both of whom I know less of than Martin Luther. The lecture tour is concentrating on these three who had such a profound effect on the Reformation.
One of the things that the Reformation produced is a new way of understanding our relationship to God. Gone was the assumption that Salvation was our efforts to both work for righteousness and produce works that would convince God to free us, or even loved ones, from Purgatory.
All of the Reformers made it clear - Salvation was by grace through faith - a gift of God through the righteous work of Jesus Christ in His death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. We did not save ourselves; but rather we're saved through the work of Christ on our behalf.
The Reformers all produced Catechisms - starting with Luther. The goal of these were to serve as both instruction about the Faith, and also to re-introduce the Faith to all who now embraced the Reform of the Church.
I grew up with memorizing the small Catechism of Martin Luther. I wished I could say I remember it. At the time I did not care for the task of memorizing it. What is as a child a loathsome task, becomes as an adult believer, and a pastor, something different. I think we need some sort of instruction...it's missing from the church today. We have an entire generation of believers who have nothing more than anecdotal experiences to live off of - and sometimes those experiences are nothing more than manipulative religious experiences that are used by preachers and church leaders to keep people involved and excited even though the average person could not connect the experience to either scripture or doctrine.
On the contrary, think about the words of the Heidelberg Catechism and then the scripture that are connected to them.
Question: What is your only comfort in life and death?
Answer:
That I am not my own (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death (Romans 14:7-9)
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 3:23; Titus 2:14)
He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, (1 Peter 1:18, 19; 1 John 1:7; 2:2)
and has set me free from all the power of the devil (John 8:34-36; Heb 2:14-15; 1 John 3:8)
He also preserves me in such a way (John 6:39, 40; 10:27-30; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Peter 1:5)
that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head (Matt. 10:29-31)
indeed, all things must work together for my salvation (Romans 8:28-35)
Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life (Romans 8:15, 16; Eph. 1:13,14)
and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him (Romans 8:14)
If you get the opportunity, take some time to look up the passages and check it all out. I think we could gain much in knowing the truth of this in our hearts and minds.
Peace
Monday, 29 April 2013
Real Fruit
This next Sunday we'll complete a short five week series on "Growing". I started this four Sundays ago because I had the idea of doing five messages on this theme using a metaphor of the Garden to describe how we can grow.
The outcome of real growth - whether in a garden, or in our own lives - is fruit. God built into the creation...plants, animals, humans...the ability to grow. Growth leads to reproduction. When we are growing we are able to reproduce, and that leads to real fruit.
Many years ago I began to seek Christ in order to follow him and allow his life to define my life. It led me to lots of realizations - mainly along the line of my own flesh, and the need to deal with that flesh in order to continue to grow. Because of some habitual behaviors I was stuck...not growing.
I picked up a book - small and short - but packed with insight into why we don't grow. From the author I went back to the New Testament and saw the words of Jesus.
John 12:23-26 (ESV)
23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
Real fruit is not to be confused with religious behavior, or actions. Real fruit isn't looking good, acting good. Having a head full of knowledge so that I can quote scriptures to give answers isn't fruit either. That kind of fruit is like the incident in the gospels:
Mark 11:12-22 (ESV)
12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.
13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.
17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”
18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.
19 And when evening came they went out of the city.
20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.
21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.
Growth comes from real faith...all other kinds of superficial religious actions are irrelevant. We reproduce the things we incorporate into our own lives.
Take a good look at actions and attitudes - ask yourself if that is what you want to reproduce?
There's nothing in this that is "have to" in our lives. We have choices to make, and we have things we can do to see growth occur.
Take a look at someone you respect, and want to emulate. What do they do in their life to cause you to admire them?
Real fruit is the goal.
Real fruit is possible.
Real fruit is in Jesus' life - seeing it come into our life as we yield ("if it dies") ourselves over and over again.
My friends, grace and peace
The outcome of real growth - whether in a garden, or in our own lives - is fruit. God built into the creation...plants, animals, humans...the ability to grow. Growth leads to reproduction. When we are growing we are able to reproduce, and that leads to real fruit.
Many years ago I began to seek Christ in order to follow him and allow his life to define my life. It led me to lots of realizations - mainly along the line of my own flesh, and the need to deal with that flesh in order to continue to grow. Because of some habitual behaviors I was stuck...not growing.
I picked up a book - small and short - but packed with insight into why we don't grow. From the author I went back to the New Testament and saw the words of Jesus.
John 12:23-26 (ESV)
23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
Real fruit is not to be confused with religious behavior, or actions. Real fruit isn't looking good, acting good. Having a head full of knowledge so that I can quote scriptures to give answers isn't fruit either. That kind of fruit is like the incident in the gospels:
Mark 11:12-22 (ESV)
12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.
13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.
17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”
18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.
19 And when evening came they went out of the city.
20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.
21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.
Growth comes from real faith...all other kinds of superficial religious actions are irrelevant. We reproduce the things we incorporate into our own lives.
Take a good look at actions and attitudes - ask yourself if that is what you want to reproduce?
There's nothing in this that is "have to" in our lives. We have choices to make, and we have things we can do to see growth occur.
Take a look at someone you respect, and want to emulate. What do they do in their life to cause you to admire them?
Real fruit is the goal.
Real fruit is possible.
Real fruit is in Jesus' life - seeing it come into our life as we yield ("if it dies") ourselves over and over again.
My friends, grace and peace
Monday, 22 April 2013
Catechism Anyone?
Ephesians 6:4 (ESV)
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Was the problem catechism?
No,
The problems were my age - way to young to understand or appreciate what I was to learn; and, my purpose in being there - I had to go, and I didn't therefore want to learn.
I don't propose we go back to instruction through Catechism instruction; but I do think there is much to be gained by reading and understanding the historical Catechisms. The people who wrote these lived at the time of the Reformation and their understanding of faith was not merely intellectual, but filled with a sense of the need to change the prevailing religious culture. In other words, they came to a generation of religious life that had been controlled by the culture of Catholic institutionalism that preyed on fear and false ideas of salvation and eternal life.
We live in a culture that is beset with ignorance, at best, and out-right rejection, at worst, concerning matters of faith.
So, perhaps the answer is something that takes these great statements of instruction from the past and contemporizes them for the sake of growth in understanding our faith.
So, perhaps the answer is something that takes these great statements of instruction from the past and contemporizes them for the sake of growth in understanding our faith.
For example, look at the Heidelberg Catechism's opening words:
1. Q. What is your only comfort in life and death?
A. That I, with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ; who with his precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, wherefore by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.
A. That I, with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ; who with his precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, wherefore by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.
2. Q. How many things are necessary for you to know, that you in this comfort may live and die happily?
A. Three; the first, how great my sins and misery are; the second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery; the third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance.
A. Three; the first, how great my sins and misery are; the second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery; the third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance.
From the second comes not only the outline of the whole document, but a summary of the Bible and of the whole of the Christian life: GUILT, GRACE, GRATITUDE.
That is well put.
Peace
Thursday, 18 April 2013
A Lazy View of God?
Psalm 95:6-7 (NIV)
6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care...
Psalm 18:1-2 (NIV)
1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
This morning I was reading a biography of John Calvin. Calvin does not get many accolades among modern Christians. He's been called many names and few of them give him much credit; but that is all based on ignorance. Those people who speak in negative ways toward him have never read his works, nor studied his life with a view of the historical and cultural context in which he lived.
There is an early letter of his that is a response to a Catholic Cardinal by the name of Sadoleto, who had attacked the Reform and appealed to Geneva's church and authorities to return to the Catholic church. It is a personal attack on the Reformation and even though Calvin had left Geneva to go to Strasbourg, he was asked by the Genevan authorities to write a response to Sadoleto's charges.
I read the letter he wrote and was struck by something he said...and then in my readings this morning, I read those two Psalms, and it all hit me anew.
Calvin makes a powerful statement about God's glory. In fact, he makes it clear, we must begin with God, not ourselves. He writes to Sadoleto, "you have a theology that is too lazy, as it almost always the case with those who have had no experience with struggles of conscience."
Calvin is writing both about the church he left which he felt had developed into an indifferent and lazy formalism, and also about his own struggles - struggles many of the reformers had come to personally see in their own experience - of how to come before a Holy God and know that there is acceptance, forgiveness, and salvation assured. These struggles had driven him to Luther's writings, and others and at an early age it had made him think - biblically and theologically - about the character and work of God in Jesus Christ.
Whatever you think of John Calvin, he was not theologically lazy. I can't help but look out at a church today and see the opposite. It makes me despair at times, wondering if we are going anywhere at all in our knowledge and growth in God.
Psalm 95:6-7 (NIV)
6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care...
Psalm 18:1-2 (NIV)
1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
The Psalmist calls us to focus on the Lord our maker - he is worthy of worship and praise. AND, we are His...the sheep of His pasture.
AND, therefore, our response is to proclaim our love, our praise, our trust...to declare and to affirm in our thoughts and actions that God is our fortress, deliverer, our Rock...the one thing that is most sure...our shield, our stronghold...and most of all, Our Salvation!
In the day in which we live we need that affirmation in our soul day by day.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care...
Psalm 18:1-2 (NIV)
1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
This morning I was reading a biography of John Calvin. Calvin does not get many accolades among modern Christians. He's been called many names and few of them give him much credit; but that is all based on ignorance. Those people who speak in negative ways toward him have never read his works, nor studied his life with a view of the historical and cultural context in which he lived.
There is an early letter of his that is a response to a Catholic Cardinal by the name of Sadoleto, who had attacked the Reform and appealed to Geneva's church and authorities to return to the Catholic church. It is a personal attack on the Reformation and even though Calvin had left Geneva to go to Strasbourg, he was asked by the Genevan authorities to write a response to Sadoleto's charges.
I read the letter he wrote and was struck by something he said...and then in my readings this morning, I read those two Psalms, and it all hit me anew.
Calvin makes a powerful statement about God's glory. In fact, he makes it clear, we must begin with God, not ourselves. He writes to Sadoleto, "you have a theology that is too lazy, as it almost always the case with those who have had no experience with struggles of conscience."
Calvin is writing both about the church he left which he felt had developed into an indifferent and lazy formalism, and also about his own struggles - struggles many of the reformers had come to personally see in their own experience - of how to come before a Holy God and know that there is acceptance, forgiveness, and salvation assured. These struggles had driven him to Luther's writings, and others and at an early age it had made him think - biblically and theologically - about the character and work of God in Jesus Christ.
Whatever you think of John Calvin, he was not theologically lazy. I can't help but look out at a church today and see the opposite. It makes me despair at times, wondering if we are going anywhere at all in our knowledge and growth in God.
Psalm 95:6-7 (NIV)
6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care...
Psalm 18:1-2 (NIV)
1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
The Psalmist calls us to focus on the Lord our maker - he is worthy of worship and praise. AND, we are His...the sheep of His pasture.
AND, therefore, our response is to proclaim our love, our praise, our trust...to declare and to affirm in our thoughts and actions that God is our fortress, deliverer, our Rock...the one thing that is most sure...our shield, our stronghold...and most of all, Our Salvation!
In the day in which we live we need that affirmation in our soul day by day.
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Roots
Taking a look outside I see the snow gone, the ground has soaked up lots of moisture over the last week with rain coming almost every day; and it looks like it will continue with rain in the forecast for the next week also.
It's Spring and the April showers are what brings the May flowers.
But what's most vital about these rains is the replenishing of the soil and the ability of the roots to have moisture to supply the life of the plant.
Roots...the greatest need is the health of the roots, for the health of the plant above, on the surface - that which is outward appearance and where fruit appears - all depends on the health of the roots.
Paul says to his young Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV)
7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
Train yourself.
Our relationship with God through Jesus is free...we don't have to earn anything, do anything, other than place our trust for salvation in Him.
But the fruit to follow...that's our work in connection with the work of the Holy Spirit within us.
Train yourself...
Enter into the necessary means of good connections.
Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,
7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Connections...dig down deep into Christ and allow our roots to go deeply into Him. Soak up the Holy Spirit in taking in God's word, and allowing it to shape us, speaking truth in love to us, and learning the joy of obedience.
This life of training is intentional and will be rewarding as we learn to trust and obey.
Peace
It's Spring and the April showers are what brings the May flowers.
But what's most vital about these rains is the replenishing of the soil and the ability of the roots to have moisture to supply the life of the plant.
Roots...the greatest need is the health of the roots, for the health of the plant above, on the surface - that which is outward appearance and where fruit appears - all depends on the health of the roots.
Paul says to his young Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV)
7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
Train yourself.
Our relationship with God through Jesus is free...we don't have to earn anything, do anything, other than place our trust for salvation in Him.
But the fruit to follow...that's our work in connection with the work of the Holy Spirit within us.
Train yourself...
Enter into the necessary means of good connections.
Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,
7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Connections...dig down deep into Christ and allow our roots to go deeply into Him. Soak up the Holy Spirit in taking in God's word, and allowing it to shape us, speaking truth in love to us, and learning the joy of obedience.
This life of training is intentional and will be rewarding as we learn to trust and obey.
Peace
Thursday, 11 April 2013
Birth
John 16:21 (ESV)
21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
Yesterday, April 10th, at 6:30 central time, our daughter delivered twin boys, Joel Elliott (on left) and Simeon John (right). Both were nearly 6 lbs, and boys and Mom are doing fine.
When Lindsay announced last Fall that she was pregnant with twins a second time, we all were pleasantly shocked. Lindsay was delighted to be carrying twins a second time. The older twins, Raewyn and Theo are now almost 3 1/2 yrs old. I'm not sure how were going to designate the two sets of twins. Being a twin myself all sorts of names are cast at two - "the twins", "the boys", and one I remember all to well - "you boys".
Perhaps we'll just resort to the names - I know I preferred Elliott to other sorts of renditions.
I referred to the verse in John 16, because it's a reminder that with joy comes a certain amount of non-joy. Joy is that great mixture of surprise and mystery that leaves you saying "Wow" - even if you knew it was coming. It is a gift of God and comes in waves, often mysteriously appearing at times when it's not apparent it would.
C. S. Lewis wrote about this in his book "Surprised by Joy". I quote a small portion here:
"As I stood beside a flower currant bush on a summer day there suddenly arose in me without warning, and as if from a depth not of years, but of centuries, the memory of that earlier morning at the Old house when my brother had brought his toy garden into the nursery. It is difficult to find words strong enough for the sensation which came over me; "enormous bliss" is near it. It was a sensation, a desire, but of what?...Before I knew what I desired, the desire was gone, the whole thing a glimpse...withdrawn, the world turned common again, only stirred by a longing for the longing that had just occurred and now ceased.
In a sense the central story of life is about nothing else...the quality common is that of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.
I call it JOY..something sharply distinguished from happiness or pleasure.
Joy (in my sense) has indeed one characteristic and only one in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again...I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But then Joy is never in our power, and pleaure often is."
- C.S. Lewis in Surprised by Joy
"As I stood beside a flower currant bush on a summer day there suddenly arose in me without warning, and as if from a depth not of years, but of centuries, the memory of that earlier morning at the Old house when my brother had brought his toy garden into the nursery. It is difficult to find words strong enough for the sensation which came over me; "enormous bliss" is near it. It was a sensation, a desire, but of what?...Before I knew what I desired, the desire was gone, the whole thing a glimpse...withdrawn, the world turned common again, only stirred by a longing for the longing that had just occurred and now ceased.
In a sense the central story of life is about nothing else...the quality common is that of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.
I call it JOY..something sharply distinguished from happiness or pleasure.
Joy (in my sense) has indeed one characteristic and only one in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again...I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But then Joy is never in our power, and pleaure often is."
- C.S. Lewis in Surprised by Joy
Yesterday was a "Joyful" day in our household. It was a joyful day in Bristol, England. It was a joyful day in households all over the world...that's the nature of Birth...you celebrate the Joy and recognize the one-time feeling you wished would stay. But that is what makes Joy so special.
Peace
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Waiting
Waiting is perhaps the hardest thing to do in life.
Sometimes when you wait, you just have to trust!
Peace
In fact, I hate waiting...
Linda will tell you that I am not very good at waiting. When she is late, or I'm sitting waiting for her to get out of an appointment, or I have a meeting and others are late, I don't do well.
A certain force of "judgment" creeps in and I find I need to think positively instead of the almost automatic desire to yell..."what are you doing?"
I hate waiting...
This morning I'm waiting. My daughter is having her twins delivered by C section. In fact, she's gone to the delivery/operating room as I write, and I'm waiting for the news...anxiously, prayerfully, expectantly, hopefully...Oh God, please be with her and the twins.
Psalm 62:5-8 (ESV)
5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.Selah
5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
My Greatest Need, Our Greatest Need
I heard the story of a man walking up a hill when he encountered a dense fog. He didn't know where he was and then he stumbled upon a rock, so he stood on it hoping to get a better look. As he pulled out his GPS he thought - "Ok, there's North...that's the way to go"; only to find that North changed immediately. Wondering how it could happen he stepped off of the rock, only to hear the rock say "Baaaaaaaah". It was a sheep!
Sometimes the world seems to be shifting, changing at such a rapid rate that it is hard to get our bearings. I confess, the problems we deal with today are unprecedented, and seem to be shifting by the week. I thought I had problems as a Pastor 30 years ago helping people navigate questions of life; but as I look back most of those issues seem fairly benign these days.
What is needed, of course, in the process of living out Christ in our world these days is Wisdom. Take a journey with me through some scripture and think about the greatness of that profound word - wisdom.
Proverbs 1:7 (ESV)
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 2:6 (ESV)
6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
Proverbs 3:13 (ESV)
13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,
Proverbs 4:7 (ESV)
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.
So there you have it...
It is essential to avoiding the foolishness of living.
The Lord is the source of it
We can "find" it
We must "get" it, and with it the insight or understanding of what then.
Prophesying of the Messiah, the prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 11:1-2 (ESV)
1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
Sometimes the world seems to be shifting, changing at such a rapid rate that it is hard to get our bearings. I confess, the problems we deal with today are unprecedented, and seem to be shifting by the week. I thought I had problems as a Pastor 30 years ago helping people navigate questions of life; but as I look back most of those issues seem fairly benign these days.
What is needed, of course, in the process of living out Christ in our world these days is Wisdom. Take a journey with me through some scripture and think about the greatness of that profound word - wisdom.
Proverbs 1:7 (ESV)
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 2:6 (ESV)
6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
Proverbs 3:13 (ESV)
13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,
Proverbs 4:7 (ESV)
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.
So there you have it...
It is essential to avoiding the foolishness of living.
The Lord is the source of it
We can "find" it
We must "get" it, and with it the insight or understanding of what then.
Prophesying of the Messiah, the prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 11:1-2 (ESV)
1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
And Paul reminds the Corinthian believers that the scripture is the source of wisdom as the Holy Spirit brings clarity to us...
1 Corinthians 2:10-13 (ESV)
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
All of this comes back to the fact that our world is shifting and the wisdom of the world is taking on unprecedented power to shape and control things so that God is ignored and the "foolishness" of the world's supposed wisdom reigns. 1 Corinthians 2:6 (ESV)
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. Paul's prayer to the Colossians is where I find my great need: Colossians 1:9 (ESV)
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom... That's it, we need to simply go back to those days of hell-fire and brimstone, scare people into submission, tell them that they're going to hell for their disregard for God's word...etc. If it was that easy. We have a society that has been formed on the belief that the individual is supreme, and that religion is a private affair, and no one has the right to tell anyone else what they should do or not do.
It makes me want to pull out whatever hair is left on my head - and that's not much!
This privatized, individualistic, leave me alone, I'll do what I want is the world we live in; and in some ways, if not in a lot of ways, we as Christians have endorsed it. The chickens have come home to roost and now that we are not in a position of power, we hate it.
Where do we go? What do we do when the power people, the authority, the rulers move on it life without a sense of thinking about God? Politicians, Wall Street financiers, Educators, Professionals - like Medical, Legal, Social - All of these are largely void of thinking about "What does God say about this?"
I don't have answers - I have a need...a need for Wisdom, and I believe that this can only come from God. I find the great need to "think" and then "think again". The confusion of the world has no quick solutions, but it has lots of repercussions. We live in an "un-thinking" world where personal pleasures, personal preferences, and personal attitudes shape almost all choices.
I want to walk with Jesus again...to listen, to talk, to seek understanding...It's the only source of real wisdom.
Peace
Monday, 8 April 2013
A Vision for Growth
Hi all,
This week I'm going to post a couple of days worth of readings...sort of a "prompter" for additional thinking, and perhaps praying about this idea of growth.
Yesterday I began a short five week series on growing up in Christ.
If you were there, you'll remember that the key is being "Intentional". We don't grow haphazardly, or randomly, we grow on purpose, because we choose to do something and practice it over and over to get it right.
Here's a couple of passages to read, pray, and ponder, then read the question after:
Micah 6:8 (ESV)
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Galatians 5:13-26 (ESV)
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
What do you want to tell God is the area, or thing, you want to grow in? Be specific. Example: I need to stop......, or I need to begin to work on ............
Remember, God is on your side... Read, Memorize (even if paraphrasing it) Philippians 2:12-13
Peace
This week I'm going to post a couple of days worth of readings...sort of a "prompter" for additional thinking, and perhaps praying about this idea of growth.
Yesterday I began a short five week series on growing up in Christ.
If you were there, you'll remember that the key is being "Intentional". We don't grow haphazardly, or randomly, we grow on purpose, because we choose to do something and practice it over and over to get it right.
Here's a couple of passages to read, pray, and ponder, then read the question after:
Micah 6:8 (ESV)
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Galatians 5:13-26 (ESV)
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
What do you want to tell God is the area, or thing, you want to grow in? Be specific. Example: I need to stop......, or I need to begin to work on ............
Remember, God is on your side... Read, Memorize (even if paraphrasing it) Philippians 2:12-13
Peace