Why celebrate Reformation Day?

History is worth studying and celebrating in its own right, but what makes it especially meaningful is seeing its relevance for me...today.

We Christians should know our Church history (somehow I missed this, even in Christian grade school). And we should definitely know major events like the Reformation. "Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you." Deuteronomy 32:7

About 15 years ago, after experiencing man-centered theology and legalism for several years, I fell in love with the teachings of grace and reformed theology. 

I know the basics of the Reformation, probably from my "historian" Dad and time spent in Presbyterian churches and from watching the movie Luther (so good). But I would love to learn more! And this 500th Anniversary celebration is the perfect chance to do so.

Here are some reasons I believe it is worth our time to pause, celebrate, and learn from this historic event.

1. The Bible, the best-selling book on the planet, is...MY Bible. It's not in Latin, but in my own language. It's not chained to the church pulpit, but I have several copies in my very home. This was not the case 500 years ago, and much courage, "activism," and loss of life was required to make it so. Which makes me cherish these Words of Life even more!

2. Removing the Bible from public awareness and from the hearts of believers plunged the Church into corruption, the people into despair, and Europe into wars that never should have happened. This is instructive for our own country and Church.

3. The Five Solas are as important today as they were 500 years ago, and must be constantly rediscovered and upheld. Salvation--from the power of sin and death--by faith alone, grace alone, the Bible alone, Christ alone, and for the glory of God alone. Amen!

4. ONE MAN can make history do a 180. One man (or woman), led by the Holy Spirit and conscience, unable to live with the status quo, willing to stick his neck out, persistently obeying God's leading in his heart...one person can expose and topple the whole house of cards. This has happened repeatedly throughout history, and should give us hope and courage for today.

5. The flip side is that it wasn't just one man who accomplished the Reformation. For years leading up to the actual "topple," God raised up leaders all over Europe, who believed that the Bible was the final authority and that salvation came through Christ alone. These front-runners, like the first wave on the beach of Normandy, got mowed down (persecuted and burned at the stake), but each successive wave pushed further into enemy territory. Then Martin Luther arrived on the scene as a fearless renegade--a bull in a china shop with a brilliant mind, strong conviction, and a tongue on fire for God--who penetrated enemy lines, so to speak, and put the enemy to flight.

6. When things look black and dark and hopeless, God is still working behind the scenes, all over the country or the continent or the world. The Holy Spirit is breathing into hearts and raising up leaders, lighting sparks that will rush together into a mighty flame. Or working even more covertly, effecting cultural change over generations by the transformation of renewed minds (Romans 12).

7. The priesthood of the believer is one tenet of Reformed doctrine. I don't have to go through a priest or pastor or Christian leader to get to God. I can and must have my own relationship with the Living God through His Word and prayer and hourly awareness of His Presence in my heart and life. And I also can't blame my unbelief on that Christian leader when he fails me.

8. Martin Luther's example is instructive to us in knowing why, when, and how to take a stand for truth, over against untruth within the family, church, workplace, government, or community. "Here I stand, I can do no other" expresses boldness, courage, and conviction, balanced by humility and surrender to God's Word. As American culture has moved away from God and His Word, these stands for truth become increasingly necessary.

9. God can see all of history at the same moment. He sees martyrs engulfed in flames that are melting the flesh off their bones, for refusing to recant seemingly insignificant doctrinal points...and He sees my dusty Bible being shoved to the back of a drawer. Or more realistically, my breezing through the Psalm for the day so I can get on to my all-important to-do list. When I pause to learn about and commemorate the incalculable sacrifice of countless real people just like me, to ensure my ability and freedom to access the whole Cannon of Holy Scripture, I stop breezing and start digging into and prizing that blood-stained Page.

10. The Church needs reformation today. We are burdened for our nation as we've seen her turn her back on our Founding Father (the heavenly One), walking away from the Book and the godly fear that made us great, and suffer the consequences in a hundred heart-wrenching ways. But the world is not the problem. The Church is the problem. And the Church is the answer. (We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Matthew 5:13-16) "If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14

11. The bottom line is, God did this Reformation thing. Our great and mighty and merciful God DID this! He had enough of the abuse and oppression of the poor, and He rent the heavens and came down and did something about it. And His mighty work of deliverance through truth deserves to be celebrated, as do all His mighty works! Over and over, the  Bible calls God's people to celebrate what He has done for them: through feasts, through song, through telling future generations, through erecting monuments, through the sacraments of baptism and communion, through testimonials. "Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget any of His benefits!" Psalm 103:2

I could probably think of 95 reasons to celebrate Reformation Day ; ), but let's just do it and spark a modern Reformation in our own hearts!

Filling our kids' minds with good stuff!

Here's some of the best child training resources we've found so far...

Jesus Storybook Bible
Fresh grace-filled perspective, drawing each story back around to our Savior and "God's secret rescue plan." There's at least one recording of it as well. I started reading this to Annelise when she was a newborn, and couldn't get through a single story without crying. ; ) (That's a good thing. ; ))


The Children's Catechism
We have the booklet form, which Steve has worked on with Annelise and Cora at bedtime (I put Evie to bed so she's missing out, sigh. Well and she goes to bed earlier/faster/easier. Ha.)

We got the music version when the kids were younger and they enjoyed it, and I loved hearing the Children's Catechism for the first time and getting those solid truths stuck in my head. I think it's very well-done.

There's also an app called Cram that Steve found lately which gives the question, and then with the press of another button gives the answer.


Character First videos and Achieving True Success book
Character training gives us words for what we all want to be (truthful, responsible, diligent, joyful, etc) and what Jesus Christ was and is all the time, in every way, in perfect balance. Using quality names, opposites, definitions, illustrations in history and nature, and practical examples is instructive, inspiring, and motivation. For both children AND parents! ; )

The kids enjoy watching the videos of my friend Robert telling animal stories that illustrate the character quality, and teaching songs and chants with motions. I can put it on for them and go do the dishes, and be blessed myself!

Praising character is probably the very best way to learn and reinforce it for children. These simple homemade sticker charts have helped the kids take ownership of this character thing, and see rewards. When they do something that illustrates a quality (either overtly or not), I tell them to get a sticker and then we decide what quality they showed. They may not understand it all yet, but going thru character qualities in the Achieving True Success at dinner when we remember helps them learn, and stay motivated. When they fill a whole chart with stickers, they can pick anything off Amazon for $15 or less.

Books for Daddy to read to Annelise at bedtime...
Chronicles of Narnia
For Such a Time as This
Daughters of Faith set (we are on set 1 and glad there's a set 2!...she is loving these!)


The Word of Promise audio Bible
We've just started this but it's awesome so far! I didn't realize how dramatic and scandalous and scary the Bible is until I had kids. Then I found myself telling stories and editing out parts or couching it in different terms. Is Noah's ark really a children's story?? A story of God's wrath and death and destruction, people screaming and clawing the sides of the ark to get in? And the list goes on.

No wonder people thing the Bible is boring, when we drain all the juice out of it. (Not that we shouldn't protect our children and only give them what they need a different ages!) But so much about reading aloud is HOW a book is read.

This is a dramatic reading of the Bible, ie, much closer to real life and what really happened. I walked in this morning and Annelise was listening to it on her own (again), and I thought "eek, is this too scary for her?" But then I realized...yes, and we should be scared. We are far too seldom scared, and of what we really should be. God is scary, and we are to fear Him. We are to run to Him out of fear of Him. And children need to fear the Lord from an early age. (Ha, how much easier that would make our jobs as parents right? I SO so often sabotage myself...in parenting, and many other areas too!

Anyway, they have this whole series on Hoopla (which the Howard County library system gives us access to for free!). And probably on Audible, or you can buy it off Amazon. Thank you, Kristin Pierce, for this rec! Her daughters ask for it (instead of the radio) in the car.


Daniel Tiger
No seriously. I love this show and so do the kids. I love how it's teaching them positive (and Biblical) messages for how to handle everyday situations that kids (and um grown-ups too) encounter. When Hurricane Harvey was hitting Texas, what jumped into my head? "Take a grown-up's hand, follow the plan, and you'll be safe." Ha, it was a little freaky how that started playing in my head out of nowhere. And I'm thankful they will for my kids too.

Faith is wanting more

The grass IS greener on the other side.

...the other side of death.

...for those "who desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one."

Those who are strangers and exiles on the earth make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city.

Some were tortured, refusing to accept release so that they might rise again to a better life.

God has provided SOMETHING BETTER for us!

...so don't settle for this life. The grass is so much greener on the other side!

[Hebrews 11]

Only

God's way (in any area) isn't simply the best way.

It is the ONLY way, that leads to life.

Cheating ourselves

We take the Baby Jesus out of Christmas and the Resurrection out of Easter, and we wonder why our lives

are

boring.

Actions speak louder than words, even to God

"According to what he has done..." (Matthew 16:24) Done? Does that mean achieved? Gotten? Amassed for myself? No, that would be "setting my mind on the things of man and not on the things of God" which the Lord so violently eschews a few verses earlier. ("For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?")

Done. Not wanted to do but never had time for. Not tried to do but other things took priority. Not believed but it had no impact on my life, and wasn't worth telling others about. Ouch.

Done, with my mind set on the things of God. Done, while I deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Jesus. Done, out of a heart full of love (I Corinthians 13).

It's obedience. That's what God wants. That's what Jesus did: THAT was His claim to fame with His Father. "I do nothing of my Own will, but only what the Father tells me to do."

In Christ, I get a do-over. I have the opportunity to go back to the Garden and trust and obey this time. To believe my Father loves me so much to not withhold any good thing from me. To freely prove to Him my gratefulness and affection and trust.

Bad connection?

"I could have my own phone!" My seven-year-old daughter found an old cellphone that her younger sister had plugged into the charger. She got excited that should we be able to use that phone once it charged up.

I had to explain of course that it still wouldn't work as a phone, because it wasn't connected. And we have to pay money to keep it connected.

This morning she noticed that it was charged up but the time and date were not correct. Again, I said "because it's not connected to the Big Brain, to tell it what time it really is."

Then it hit me. Sin and neglect makes us lose connection with the Divine Internet, so to speak. When we get frustrated (and want to throw things, right?) that our computer or phone lost connection, or is spotty or slow, let us remember...that's how our spirit feels when it isn't plugged in to God. With a strong, clean connection. With nothing coming between.

And we have to pay--in time, heart, discipline, honesty--to stay connected.

That's how the Manufacturer designed us to work. And we just don't otherwise.

A very different yardstick

What if God measures productivity by how much time we spend in prayer?

The "other side" of scars

The other day Annelise chipped my front tooth...with her tooth (don't even ask me how that happened...). And I just had to sigh when I looked at it in the mirror. We mothers bear in our bodies the scars of motherhood right?

Later Someone (Who loves to whisper sweet somethings in my ear) said to my heart, Yes, I bear in my Body the scars of love as well. In fact, now, on the Other Side, they are My glory. My beauty. My gold medal, proudly displayed for all eternity. And your scars will be as well.

Crown Him the Lord of love, behold His hands and side,
Rich wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified.
No angel in the sky can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends his wondering eye at mysteries so bright.

Victory is certain...hold on for the ride!

No one will soon forget this year's manifestation of El Nino (or La Nina, or whatever Spanish weather system it is). Balmy, even hot, Spring days in January and February. And hopes of an early Spring uplifted our hearts, even as crocuses and daffodils and redbud and pear trees unfolded their blossoms.

Only to have cold winds carry away Hope as it flapped our re-donned scarves into our faces. And bury it in frozen snow. (Although our family will take snow any time of year!)

But wait, what is that poking up through the frozen snow, in a patch along the highway, beside a curb, few and far between, but definitely there for those on the lookout? Hope reborn and emerging as tiny sprigs of bright green grass poking up through the frozen snow.

Though Winter has worn out its welcome, and March is always a seasonal tug-of-war as Winter and Spring duke it out (with all creation caught in the cross hairs)...

WE KNOW who is going to win!!

We've lost all faith in predictions about the day-to-day--and are wise to make the best of whatever comes--but we have absolutely no doubt in our minds that Spring will eventually win. Or Summer at the very least! It will be warm again.

Christian, what does this remind you of?

Off with the old, on with the really old

(...and enduring and meaningful and satisfying and lick-your-chops GOOD.)


After 42 years of life on this planet...

I'm tired of being tricked by the "seen" that it's more important than the unseen.

I'm tired of working hard for something but not sure if it's going to matter in the long run, and piddling away my precious time on "wood, hay, and stubble."

I'm tired of rushing around from activity to activity with the kids, but feeling an exhaustion and emptiness that doesn't feel worth the effort for the activity alone.

I'm tired of setting my hope in my own efforts to stay in control of housework and email and the family schedule, and chasing the pipe dream that things will ever be or stay perfectly the way I prefer (or that that's even the best way anyway).

I'm tired of the deceitfulness of the same old sins and of riches and of power and of image and of "having it all together"...and how I keep going back to them even though time and time again they let me down.

I'm tired of putting my identity in things that can so easily be taken away, in people who can't bear the weight of my need, in activities that are simply drops of the ocean that I am...so confining, so flat to reduce this being God created to the sum of my calendar or to-do list (and grossly un-checked-off at that).

I'm tired of a world of elusive outer beauty and image, where I still have to do "one more thing" to attain and maintain what is quickly slipping away anyway.

I'm tired of chasing my own ideas and agenda and making needless mistakes and getting myself into pickles...when a simple angling of my eyes Upward, the slightest relaxing of my grip, the shortest pause, one word to the Source...THE. SOURCE. of the only good ideas and of order and time and coordination and purpose and destiny and The Plan of the Universe...would have saved me another trip to the woodshed.

I'm tired of refusing to grow up in certain areas, like being late all the time (ugh).

I'm tired of wondering if I'm really loved and lovable.

I'm tired of my ruts of wasted time (and the guilt that goes with it) pursuing anything less than what's going to last forever.

I've had my fill of my own ways and my own detours, and I'm ready to go back and "read the directions."

I WANT MORE.

Been there, done that. And I'm really listening now, Lord. You've patiently led me back to Your side time and time and time again. You've gently (and not so gently) broken the leg of this wandering sheep. I'm ready to sit at Your feet, as Mary did, instead of being "distracted with much serving" as Martha was. And receive that One Thing that is most important and will not be taken away.

I see now...I finally see (since You opened my eyes) that Your way is the best way and the only way. And that it's to my advantage to listen for Your voice, the heed Your words to me.

I am hungry for Your Word.

And suddenly (or gradually...how did this happen??) it is sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

I am seeing wondrous things in Thy law.

Wisdom does thrill and satisfy my heart better than gold and silver and jewels.

You are counseling me with Your eye upon me.

Your way does appear perfect and appealing and adventurous and restful and ahhhh, like home. Like what I've been searching for, what I was made for, Who I am longing for.

So speak, Lord, Thy servant heareth. "To whom shall we go? You alone have the words of life"!