REVIEW - "HERE WE STAND: 31 REFORMERS, 1 PER DAY" BY DESIRING GOD

 Okay, how do I classify this? Is it a book? If so, it would be a good one, But there is no indication of it being published. Desiring God, connected to John Piper, released this on-line. When I saw it promoted in September, I signed up to receive it each day throughout October in honor of Reformation Day. I'm glad I did - it was a blessing.

How many reformers can you think of? I'll give you my list, and see how you do with it:

• John Wycliffe
• William Tyndale
• Jan Huss
• Simon Menno
• Peter Waldo
• Mr. and Mrs. Martin Luther (the latter was the first person Warren Wiersbe introduced in "50 People Every Christian Should Know")
• Philip Melanchthon (my hero and personal favorite)
• Ulrich Zwingli
• John Knox
• John Calvin
• Theodore Beza
• Jacob Arminius

There are others I'd also think of, like Charles Simeon, Matthew Henry, John and Charles Wesley, George Whitfield, and Isaac Watts, but all these were too recent for this list. And I have a hunch my list of 13 is impressive, but short of what they had. By the way, only one I listed was not covered, meaning they had 18 or so (they had at least one pair included the same day) I hadn't heard of.

The list was full of variations. They had pre-reformers like Wycliffe and Hus, Anabaptists like Waldo and Menno, "Bride of the Reformation" Wibrandis Rosenblatt who married and was widowed by four reformers (three of which were also included in the list), and non-theologian Johannes Gutenberg whose printing press helped the Reformation have the effect it did.

I don't know how to find this collection - they didn't post it on Facebook, and as I mentioned above, it hasn't been published. But I recommend it. However, I was unsurprisingly disappointed they didn't have the guts to include Jacob Arminius! But then, they might have been disowned by their Calvinist brethren. And maybe, like the others I mentioned, Arminius may have been a little too late for this list. 

Allow me this brief post-script - I'm posting this on International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. It's appropriate - many of them like Luther and Calvin had to flee from one place to a safer one, while others like Tyndale and Zqingli paid the ultimate price.

MEMORIAL DAY, ALL SAINTS DAY, AND SOLEMN ASSEMBLIES - WHAT'S THE CONNECTION?

Soldiers/Sailors Monument, downtown Indianapolis

 

Happy Memorial Day! You know it's for the purpose of honoring those who died in military service, and probably that it was formerly termed as "Decoration Day," because of the graves being decorated then. 

You may or may not be aware that it started in 1868, following the Civil War. (I wasn't aware until I just looked it up, but I'm not surprised.) I also forgot that when I was in elementary school, it was celebrated on May 30th.

Growing up in Southern California, I heard of the Indianapolis 500, but I didn't pay much attention to it. (Even though I've lived in Indianapolis for over a quarter of a century, I still don't, but that's another story.) It originally was tied in to the holiday, and ran on May 30th each year, UNLESS it was on Sunday, when they ran it a different day of the week. 

Things changed in 1971 when Congress standardized Memorial Day being the last Monday in May. I believe that's when they stopped observing Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays (respectively February 12th and February 22nd) and replaced them with President's the Day, which is the third Monday in February. Notice how they liked creating three day weekends?

I'm sure you're aware that pro-and con- are prefixes that mean the opposite? Likewise, my hunch is you know an excellent example is progress and Congress. Is the date changing example? Let me tell you why I think it is.

For me, Memorial Day is not a day I think much of, because I do not personally know anyone who died defending our country. But to me, it should be a solemn day, not a day to party and have fun. By the way, speaking of fun, I'm sure you're aware that after Memorial Day changed to a set day of the year, the 500 went from being run on Memorial Day but never on Sunday to being run the day before Memorial Day, that is, always on Sunday (unless God tells them by rain to wait a day).

You know what I'd like to see, though? A Christian version of Memorial Day where we remember our fellow brothers and sisters who died for their faith in spiritual warfare. Actually, we have two days that fulfill that role, and they happen to be close to each other.

On November first, we have... Come on! You should be aware of this! I have been trying to promote All Saints Day  for years, not just as a Catholic Day to honor the canonized saints (for example, including church fathers St. Irenaeus and St. Athanasius, but not two other church fathers, Tertullian and Origen, who never were canonized), but to honor all saints - that is, all believers.

 Then, on the first Sunday of November, there is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. After all, Christians are suffering and many paying the ultimate price for their faith in many countries around the world.

Back to Memorial Day. As I stated, I don't know of anybody who died for our country. Becky's father and uncle served in the Korean War; I don't know anybody in my family who served. But those who died for their country deserve to be honored. So should Christians who deny self, take up their cross daily, and follow Christ.

HOLY DAYS, HOLIDAYS, AND HOLLOW DAYS , AND HOW DO WE FOCUS ON THE FORMER?

 

Cedars of Lebanon State Park, Lebanon, TN

A couple of days ago, Becky expressed her sadness about not taking the time to go to a Veteran's Day service.  That got my attention. I had the day off from work, because this year it fell on a Saturday. Maybe part of it is that Becky's father was a veteran. Neither my father nor my paternal grandfather were (I have no idea about my maternal grandfather). 

This blog is being posted on Thanksgiving Day, 2023. You can say the same thing. It seems the day has morphed from Thanksgiving to Turkey Day. It used to be a day when all the stores were closed; now, several are open for pre-Black-Friday deals. :'( I think the day should be a little more, uh, sanctified (set apart), but is my heart focusing on giving thanks any more than any other day? Or am I too excited to turn on the TV for the big sports event of the day: America's Dog Show on NBC?

Allow me to use that introduction to suggest that our special days can fall into three categories: holy days, holidays, and hollow days. And I also want to make it plain that each have their place. Let me take them in reverse order:

1. Hollow Days. Someone I know used that term for what they considered pagan holidays (e.g. Christmas, Easter), to reflect the emptiness. Let me look on the concept more positively - there are days we need to be off from work, have a cook-out with friends, and watch a fireworks show after dark. (What I've just described can be how we celebrate Memorial Day, Independence Day, or Labor Day.) Anything wrong with that? Nope. We need time to rest. 
2. Holidays. These days are ones we celebrate via traditions. We wear green on St. Patrick's Day. We eat turkey and watch football (or in my case, the dog show) on Thanksgiving. We dress up for Halloween. We decorate a tree and deck the halls for Christmas. And we wait with apprehension to see if Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow. Each are fun events that occur once a year that make the day stand out from a day off. In the past (not true now) I would have that mentality for the Oscar's, the baseball All-Star game, and the then-annual showing on CBS of "The Wizard of Oz." None of them change the world, but it gives the year a little variety. 
3. Holy Days. Holy means set apart, and a holy day is set apart. There is a solemnity to that day, like the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) in the Bible. We could have that sanctified approach to major holidays we have off (Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day for families where a member made the ultimate sacrifice) or days that are special to us. In my case, this would include Reformation Day, All Saints Day, World CEF Prayer Day, International Day of Prayer For The Persecuted Church, and World Refugee Day. 

Confession time. These days I mentioned usually are just a normal day. I want that to change. Reformation Day and All Saints Day are ones that currently are something I quietly acknowledge, but I really want to celebrate it with others! True, it might be overdoing it to have a Reformation Day party one day and follow it up with an All Saints Day party 24 hours later. But you get the idea.

Can I summarize? We need days to rest. We need days to have fun and break up the routine. And we need days to reflect.

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR AND OTHER POST REFORMATION DAY THOUGHTS

The River Community Church, Cookeville, TN

Hope you've enjoyed my Reformation Day series, where I reviewed five books and an album. Let me close with some thoughts. 

Two of the five books I reviewed focused on the Reformation. Both books had several references to Augustine, Luther, and Calvin. But other reformers didn't get as much love. In one book, Melanchthon was mentioned four times and Zwingli twice; the other didn't list either. But that book did mention Wycliffe and Tyndale more. And is John Knox a Reformer? Neither book mentioned him. 

I looked up "Sola Scriptura" on Spotify, and found several selections listed. At first, I was excited - several albums on the subject I could review and lengthen this series! Alas, most of the selections were either rap (not my cup of tea), singles, in a foreign language, or in one case didn't reflect the subject of the title. 😭

I will mention that Reformation Day starts what I consider "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." No, Christmas isn't part of the time; in fact, my favorite holiday - Thanksgiving - isn't in that period. I could call it "Holy Week," though that name is taken. This time is a week (or less), and includes four days that are special to me. Two are set on the calendar, same date every year; the other two are always on the same day of the week. What are the four?

1. Reformation Day, October 31st. No duh. After all, I did say it started with Reformation Day, didn't I? I want to keep a Semper Reformanda mindset, always reforming.
2. All Saints Day, November 1st. No, I'm not a Catholic, and I don't define a saint as they do - I believe all Christians are saints, and I believe the New Testament backs that up. But I want a time to celebrate those who have been inspirations to me, whether they're currently in heaven or on earth.
3. International Day of Prayer For The Persecuted Church, 1st Sunday of November. (I'm actually writing this on that day.)
4. World Day of Prayer for Child Evangelism Fellowship, 1st Wednesday of November. 

So, let me end by trying to start a discussion. What do these four days I just mentioned mean to you? If you aren't thinking of those days, how can you make them more meaningful?

 

A BLOG FOR THE DAY BETWEEN THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS AND ELECTION DAY

From Christians United Church, Indianapolis

Anybody besides me aware that the first Sunday of November is International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians (IDOP)? I  hope so! But here's the next question that just hit me this week: How many people realize that 6 out of 7 years IDOP takes place two days before Election Day? That's right. Unless Election Day falls on November 2nd (due to it being the Tuesday following the first Monday of the month), it's a pair of days following IDOP.

Coincidence? Is there a message to the timing? Maybe it is coincidental and unplanned, but still something to think about?

I have a friend who tried to convince me that if I voted for Trump, our freedoms and way of life are at risk. He was right. I voted for Trump, and our freedoms and way of life are at risk. 

Okay, am I overstating it? True, I'm not sure our country can survive a Biden Presidency. I also had my doubts of our freedom lasting eight years of Obama, and sixteen years before that, it was Clinton that terrified me. And even if those fears were/are justified, isn't that worry a lack of faith?

But, returning to the theme of IDOP, we have no guarantees we won't face persecution in this country. After all, Russia was a major center of Christianity before the Communist takeover. We also need to realize that Persecution doesn't usually surprise everybody and appear at full strength unannounced. Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) says there are three steps: Disinformation, Discrimination, and then Persecution. Kyle Idleman of Southeast Christian Church (Louisville, KY) had a similar list, with five steps.

Let's look at the VOM list. Is there disinformation going on concerning Christianity? You notice how often there are negative portrayals of Christians in television and movies? I saw a lousy movie where one of the characters was a clergyman. At the end where they revealed who the villain was - a motorcycle riding serial killer with the visor down -  it was ... you guessed it. 

I hear some claiming there's already discrimination. Some may be people with a persecution process. But John MacArthur pointed out that during COVID, many businesses including bars and gentlemen's clubs were essential but churches were not and were told they could not meet or sing. Is this a form of discrimination?

A week ago I reviewed Caesar and the Church by Anthony Forsyth, which dealt with the problem of Statism. Libertarians have focused on that for years. Do I trust our two-party system to fight Statism? You kidding? My impression is that the Democrat Party has an agenda it wants to force on the country, while the Republican Party's goal is to keep the Dems from achieving their agenda without having one of their own.  

The Church, as usual, is facing a three prong human attack (not counting the Spiritual War that's behind the scenes on all three fronts). They are from:

1. From aliens/outsiders. No, we don't need to fear Martians or Darth Vader or little green men in flying saucers. I'm talking about outside the country. Should we feel we are safe from Russia or Iran or NoKo or China from attacking us, either directly or via a new killer virus (some consider COVID19 to be a test) or frying our grid by exploding a nuclear weapon in the atmosphere. 
2. From unbelievers in our own country/family. This includes government. This includes special interest groups. This includes the Media (both news and entertainment). This includes the re-education system. 
3. From wolves in the fold. Yes, a lot of the opposition of true faith is in the church itself. There are those who reject the inspiration of Scripture and have a belief that doesn't challenge the philosophy of the world. There are cults and -isms that oppose solid Biblical teaching such as salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone and the Deity of Christ. There are those who are comfortable in the world and feel threatened by Christians who make following Christ their focus.

 

REMEMBERING PEOPLE I WISH I HAD KNOWN BETTER

  

Bill Bean (left) with Sam Goldstein, working at the LP booth at the Irvington Festival, October 29, 2016

 

This is Memorial Day weekend. Usually, Memorial Day is just a day off. As usual for the Sunday of this end-of-May weekend, the Indianapolis 500 is being run on the West end on town. So? If you gave me a choice between the 500, the Kentucky Derby, and the annual Zoopolis race between Galapagos Tortoises ... I'd say the 500 would be in distant third place. It also would lose out to the Chihuahua race each year in Chattanooga, and the lizard race in Lovington, New Mexico.

As far as the real reason for the day off, I applaud us taking a day to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. But that is an ideal. I am at least a third generation non-military. I do not personally know anyone who died in a war. Thus, the holiday doesn't really get close to me.

I do think that there's a place for the Church to remember the martyrs who went before, both in church history and those who are enduring persecution here and now. Should Christians hijack Memorial Day for this? All Saints Day and International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church - the former being the first day of November, the latter being the first Sunday of November - come close, but All Saints Day recognizes all saints, not just martyrs, while the other focuses on those who are living. 

But that's not the point of this blog. Instead, I'd like to take this time to remember three people who I knew for a short period of time who died before I could get to know them better.

The first was Chris Finchum (left). In 2009, I was putting together the second annual festival at Arlington Avenue Baptist Church in Indianapolis. He contacted me at a point where I had all the slots filled. Four years later, he again contacted me, and we had a spot for him that year. He also was asked to share in music the following day. He made an impression on me and on pastor Richard Walton, who thought he would be a good choice to fill in whenever he and the family went out of town for worship (his wife, Trish, does the song leading).

Less than a week later, he was in heaven, after going on 43 years here. Yes, it was unexpected.

The second was Bill Bean (above). I met him at the annual Irvington Festival, working the booth for the Libertarian Party with him. I also saw him a few weeks later at the election-eve party at Scotty's Brewhouse. He later became the  chairman for the Marion County branch of the Party.

Early 2018, he called and asked me to join him for breakfast, which I did. My first thought was he wanted to ask me to run for office. No. The reason was that Bill realized that the Libertarian Party and the Church were suspect of each other and wanted to work on ending the divide. I was honored for him to ask.

Then, in July, he got ill, and he went home to the Lord by the end of the year. How I wish I could have known him better.

The most recent is Christopher Pole. He was one of three gentlemen who took turns teaching the Living Stones Class at Northside Baptist Church. Becky and I just joined Northside early last year (2021), and started attending the class in the fall. Early this year, he was diagnosed with cancer. He's now in heaven too. I wish I had the opportunity to have more fellowship with that beloved brother.

One joy for a Christian is to believe death is not the end. I WILL have opportunity to know them much better in heaven. And I can praise the Lord that none of these had a prolonged time of struggling with their illnesses. 

And so I remember these brothers this Memorial Day.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH, 2021

I have collected memes of Scripture verses, but I noticed today one of the precious promises in Scripture is not included. That wonderful promise is 2 Timothy 3:12: "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." Why don't I see that posted all over the internet, or on bumper stickers, T-shirts, and refrigerator magnets?

It's interesting that my favorite holidays fall in October and November. Reformation Day. All Saints Day. My favorite, Thanksgiving. The World Series. My smart aleck side wants to add the politically incorrect holiday of Columbus Day just to irk the liberals. My birthday also falls in that time frame, but I don't know if I'd count it. But I will count the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, which falls on the first Sunday in November.Above I have a quote and photo of Rev. Richard Wurmbrand, Lutheran minister, prisoner in Romania for 14 years, author of several books including Tortured For Christ, and founder of the ministry originally called Jesus To The Communist World and is now known as Voice Of the Martyrs (VOM). He spoke at Southwestern College (now Arizona Christian University) in 1978, and I had the privilege of shaking his hand afterwards. How many handshakes would you consider unforgettable? For me, it's two. Wurmbrand was the first. (The second was Jack Greene, country singer who became a Christian). 

A while back, VOM had given a list of 10 ways to pray for our persecuted brethren. 

1. Pray that persecuted believers will sense God's presence (Hebrews 13:5).
2. Pray that they will feel connected to the greater Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:20, 26).
3. Pray that they will experience God's comfort when their family members are killed, injured or imprisoned for their witness (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
4. Pray that they will have more opportunities to share the gospel (Colossians 4:3).
5. Pray for their boldness to make Christ known (Philippians 1:14).
6. Pray that they will forgive and love their persecutors (Matthew 5:44).
7. Pray that their ministry activities will remain undetected by authorities or others who wish to silence them (Acts 9:25).
8. Pray that they will rejoice in suffering (Acts 5:41).
9. Pray that they will be refreshed through God's Word and grow in their faith (Ephesians 6:17).
10. Pray that they will be strengthened through the prayers of fellow believers.

We need to remember that our society where we have religious liberty, where it is acceptable to be Christian is not normal. I'm in a men's Bible study where we're going through the book Getting To Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction by Bryan Litfin. Most of the individuals suffered persecution, and some of that persecution was post-Constantine by "fellow believers." 

In Live Not By Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents, author Rod Dreher interviewed people who saw their countries turn Communist and each one said the same thing is happening here. Are we prepared for persecution? Is there any reason Christians in the past and present have died for their faith, but we don't have to worry about this?

Let's remember to pray for our persecuted family.