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