What Reformation Day and Remembrance Day have in Common

I have been considering the effects of the Reformation on this day commemorated as Reformation Day (Oct. 31). Also, at work today I wore a poppy. The Royal Canadian Legion's Poppy campaign for Remembrance Day began yesterday, Oct. 30.

Remembrance Day (Nov. 11) is only 11 days away from Reformation Day (Oct 31). So as I think about both of these significant days, I started to see some similarities:

Both Remembrance Day and Reformation Day are held to commemorate the sacrifices of those who gave us our freedoms. Remembrance Day honours our Canadian Soldiers who fought for us in many wars. Reformation Day honours our fore-fathers of the faith who dared go against the papacy to restore free-thinking, literacy, and Biblical truth to the common peoples. Many of the Reformers actually died or went into exile.

Thanks to our soldiers, we have a free country. And thanks to our reformers, we have a readily available Bible in our OWN language. And just think, many of the soldiers who fought in the wars like World War I and World War II were putting their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone. If they died on the battle field, they knew where they would be: in Heaven with Jesus! And how did they come to know Jesus? By reading the Bible in their own language!




Canadian Soldiers in World War I-  They were Nicknamed "Storm Troopers" by the German forces. 

William Tyndale was burned at the stake for Translating the Bible into English in England.

To this day, the Canadian Parliament building in Ottawa has a tower called the Peace Tower. There are many Bible verses found on that tower, in plain sight, in English. These verses are from Psalms, Proverbs and Ephesians, among other books of the Bible. They are many found inside the tower, in a room called the Memorial Chamber, where the Book of Remembrance is kept. This room gives honour to our fallen soldiers and all the names of all the Canadians who fought in each war are listed in that chamber, in books. I have been there. On the walls of the chamber are Bible verses, like Psalm 139.

Just think, without the sacrifices of the Reformers like Wycliffe and Tyndale, we would not likely have Bibles in English. And if we did not have them in English, then most likely all the Bibles would have remained in Latin, a language that very few people can actually read. I am so grateful for Bibles in the English language, for this is what enabled our soldiers to put their trust in Jesus. They fought bravely, and conquered their fears to face the enemy. They had read that Jesus already overcame death and the grave. The Bible says so.  

Revelation 1:18 1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)

¹⁸ And am alive, but I was dead: and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen: and I have the keys of hell and of death.

 

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Three Things Permanently Changed By The Reformation

3 Things That were Permanently changed by the Reformation

In honour of Reformation Day (Oct 31), the day when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenburg, Germany, I am going to share with you three important things we gained because of the whole reformation movement.
Now I know this is not an exhaustive list by any means, but I want to stress how important the Reformation is to us as Protestant Christians.

Three major things that came about due to the Reformation:
1) Bibles that are NOT in Latin. We can actually read them in our own spoken language.
2) The Biblical Doctrine of Justification by Grace Through Faith was brought back to light.
3) As a result, Literacy, free thinking, and salvation flourished in the world.

1) We have Bibles in English, French, German, and many other languages. Back in the 1500's, Latin was the only language used for the Bible, and only Roman Catholic Priests or language scholars could read that language. And the people were taught to listen to the Priest more than the actual Scripture. The Reformers brought back the truth of trusting the Scripture itself as the final authority from God.
Many of the Reformers were martyered for translating the Bible into the common languages of Europe.
Some were excommunicated from the church. Some went into exile. Never underestimate the worth of the Bible you have in your home today. I own and use a Geneva Bible with modernized spelling and it has the original footnotes of the reformers inside.

I purchased my Geneva Bible (shown above) in 2011.

The editon I have is from 1599 but the first Geneva Bible was translated into English in 1587. It did wonders to boost literacy in Europe and also to enable people to actually read the Bible for themselves. I use this translation because not only is it superb (it inspired the King James Version later on) but it reminds me of the price that was paid, in blood, so that I can read the Bible in English. The Latin barrier was removed.
To this day, Bible translations continue to expand into new languages and it began with Wycliffe in the 1300's, daring to translate the Latin Scriptures into English.

2) The core Biblical doctrine of "Justification by Grace through Faith" is now widely understood and accepted in the Protestant world. This doctrine was previously lost during the rise of the Roman Catholic Church. But the Reformers helped people to read and hear the Bible in their own language, and to learn this from the pages of Scripture:

Ephesians 2:8 1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,

If you go back even earlier, to the 1300's, the Oxford Professor and Scholar from England named John Wycliffe dared to translate the Bible from Latin into English for the very first time.
His translation of Eph 2:8 reads:

Ephesians 2:8 Wycliffe Bible (WYC)
8 For by grace ye be saved by faith, and this not of you [and that not of you]; for it is the gift of God,

So for the first time in about 1000 years, people could read and hear for themselves from Scripture itself... that they don't and can't EARN God's salvation... it is a free GIFT of GRACE to be recieved through faith ONLY. Just believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ. You cannot work or earn your way to heaven.
Many of the reformers suffered excommunication or martyrdom for reviving this Biblical truth. We should not take that lightly. Jesus died on the cross and rose again. Many of His saints died for Him too, during the reformation. There was great tribulation for them to bring truth to light.
This passage out of Revelation describes the history of the Reformers well:

Revelation 7:13-15 1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)
13 And one of the Elders spake, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in long white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Lord, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their long robes, and have made their long robes white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore are they in the presence of the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his Temple, and he that sitteth on the throne will dwell among them.

3) Literacy and salvation began to flourish like never before. With the invention of the Printing press by Gutenberg in the mid 1400's and the publication of affordable Bibles like the Geneva Bible in the 1500's, people began to read and think for themselves like never before.
Martin Luther published his writings, along with John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Tyndale and John Huss. People didn't have to rely on the Pope or the priests to interpret everything for them anymore, because the doors were now open for them to read, study, and think for themselves. Because of this, many new souls were saved by faith, because they were able to read the Word and call on Jesus directly, without any priest! To this day, we understand that we can call on Jesus directly and be saved!
Romans 10:13 1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)

¹³ For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord, shall be saved.

So this October 31st, remember to thank the Lord for the Reformation. God used that move to restore VERY vital things to the church, things which we might sometimes take for granted!

God Bless you!
Pastor Curtis
Sat Oct 31 9:00pm EST

The Forgotten Ornament

"The Forgotten Ornament"

A Personal Story By Curtis Alexander

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It's garbage pick up day tomorrow in my neighbourhood. I have developed a habit: on the night before pick up, I go into my rather full walk-in hall closet and make myself throw something in there out along with the garbage. Stuff has just been sitting around and is no longer needed. But I tend to hang on to things "just in case". So in recognition of this, I made myself "downsize" ... a little each pick up.

So I chip away at this closet on every pick up (once every two weeks). Tonight I went in and found a mangled box. Inside the box were a bunch of decorations I never use. So I determined to throw them out, decrepit box and all. But before I did, I thought I should look for any decorations of personal value that I should save ( deep down, part of me is a softie.... I think!?) Anyway, I found a handful of Christmas ornaments given to me by my mom over the years, and she even wrote my name on them (in small print on the backs)! So I kept those ones... 7 or 8. I had well over 100 decorations so I am doing good to let go of most of them. Most of them were generic bobbles and little themed shapes that I will never need again (as a single, childless, divorced man, I don't bother decorating for the holidays anymore.)

 Then.... I came across this one ornament.... buried inside the box (see picture). I had almost forgotten I even had it! 

 

 

 

It was a Christmas ornament my former wife and I had somehow acquired when in our first year of marriage. I stared at it. In small letters was a phrase inscribed: our first Christmas 2005. Below the inscription was a large metal outline of a heart. Inside the metallic heart was a stylized couple in romantic embrace- husband and wife. As a married couple, we used to hang it on our Christmas tree every year. 

Upon seeing it, and remembering what it was, I knew what had to be done with this ornament. It had to go. I must not hang on to it any longer. It's been ten years since marriage and I am in my seventh year now of divorce.

So I determined to toss it along with 100+ generic ornaments . Yet I decided.... to take this picture of it first, to commemorate what it once meant to me. This dated anniversary ornament is now out by the side of the road, with the generic ones, waiting for tomorrow's pickup. This photo represents my ability to let go of the past, in a tangible way. For someone who likes to keep sentimental objects, this was a significant step in the right direction! 

 

Now, I still have many pictures and reminders of the old days hidden someplace. I have forgotten what most of them are now, because I have moved on in my heart and mind. 

 

 But it felt good to release this one relic of the past and thus free myself of its presence. Praise God. Sometimes, decluttering your closet also helps you to declutter your mind and heart. This is a good example of that. God is so good to me and has been faithful. 

God bless and thanks for reading! 

 

Tue Oct 27 2015 11:49 PM EST

One Lonely Flower - Prospering in Fall

2 Timothy 4:2 Geneva Version
"Preach the word: be instant, in season, and out of season: improve, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."

It's currently Autumn here in  Central-southern Ontario. The trees are changing colour. The air is fresh and crisp. It's a lovely season in God's natural order of things. I love walking and praying in this type of weather.
Included in this post is a photo of a flower. I saw this little flower on the side of the street as I was walking, so I took the picture.

Single Flower growing amidst fallen leaves in Autumn. Photo (c) By Curtis J. Alexander Oct. 15 2015. Location: Newmarket, ON, Canada.

That little flower is currently in blossom, in the middle of October. In the midst of the fall season, here is one lonely flower, springing forth in splendor. I have seen other hardy flowers around town like this one too. They just won't quit til the very end. And then suddenly, halfway through the day as I am writing this, I just remembered. TODAY marks the sixth anniversary of my divorce. I was abandoned over 7 years ago, and my divorce was made official this very day, October 15th 2009.

And God has faithfully PRESERVED ME. I am like this flower. I am growing when it looks like I should not be able to. I am pushing through the dead leaves, and still looking to Heaven. I thank JESUS for this awesome privilege. Glory goes to Him.

You might be like this little flower too. Maybe you are growing at a time when everything seems wrong and nothing seems to be conducive to growth. Yet here you are, growing in Jesus. Jesus is King. He is sovereign over ALL. All nations, seasons, and elements of the universe are in His control. You are in His care.  
Everything may be falling like leaves around you. But consider this: I believe it is God's time for you to bloom and grow. Be instant in season and OUT of season. The time to grow and prosper in the Spirit is RIGHT NOW, even in the midst of the world's failings and fallings.

Prosper in the spiritual gifts and in the ministry.

Prosper in prayer and in reading and understanding the Word.

Prosper in the hope God has given you.

Prosper in fellowship with other believers in the local church.

God may bring that hope you possess to pass this very season. It is a spiritual season and God is sovereign over all seasons.
Just because everything in the world is pointing to the Fall (spiritually and naturally), that does not mean God cannot sovereignly make you GROW and BLOOM today! Live for Jesus (not yourself), submit to God, endure any persecution, flee the temptations that come, and resist the devil.
This is GOD's season for YOU to BLOOM for Jesus, in the midst of the fall!
God bless you,
~Pastor Curtis
Thu Oct 15 2015 2:28PM EST
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