Revealing The Truth!

Happy Reformation Day! Throughout history, when the people of God lose their way, he steps in with the truth and revival takes place. Webster's dictionary defines reform as: To form again or to become formed again. The Lord began to reform his church before the 16th century, which led to the split between the Roman Catholic Church and those who would be called the Protestant Church.

In 383 A.D. Jerome translated the scriptures from Hebrew and Greek into Latin. With diversity of language throughout the empire, no other translations were made for almost a thousand years. The Roman Catholic Church was the source of all scriptural knowledge and the Word of God was kept from those outside the clergy.

With this knowledge came the power to rule and control. Unfortunately, those who held the "keys to the kingdom" abused their authority. Any dissidence towards the church was met with crushing blows and extermination in some cases. The people of Europe wanted to separate from the iron fist of the Church.

The exquisite timing of the Lord never fails to amaze me. Although Martin Luther is credited with igniting the fires that lead to reformation, because of the doctrinal errors discovered in the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy Spirit was already moving in many hearts in Europe. From the Puritan and Waldensian movements in France 1170 A.D. to the inspiration of John Wycliffe to translate the Old and New Testaments into English 1380, seems the whole known world was hungry for the Word of God.

The Renaissance age, 14th through 16th century, brought with it a season of culture and enlightenment, even commoners were learning to read. While many scholars fled the Eastern Church in the 15th century, with the rise of Islam over the Christian dominated regions, many ancient documents came with them. With the invention of the printing press in 1456, this set the stage for the end of papal authority and rise of reformation.

It was October 31st, 1517, when a monk named Martin Luther nailed to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral, 95 errors of the Roman Catholic Church in doctrine and in practices according to the scriptures. This fire which began in Germany quickly engulfed Europe. Tried as it may, the Roman Catholic Church did not prevail in their attempts to extinguish this fire.

The scriptures were being translated and read in the language of the people. The Word of God began to change lives and revival began in the hearts of the people. Many leaders arose out of this movement, reformers like Zwingli in Switzerland (1522), John Calvin in France (1536), William Tyndale in England (1535), and John Knox in Scotland (1559). Many others joined the reformation fever, but for lack of conviction returned to the Catholic tradition.

From this reformation came many of the denominations of the body of Christ, which sprung up different regions of Europe that are prevalent today; Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and several sub-denominations of each.

I remember the words of Jesus, “Upon this rock I will build my church and all the powers of hell will not conquer it” (Matthew 16:18 NLT). It's a statement that the Lord is in control, protecting, guiding and leading his church on earth until the final chapter.

We, as the body of Christ, may have different religious upbringing, but it is our responsibility to read the Word of God and obey it. Just as the holy fire ignited Europe in the 16th century, may the Holy Spirit once again renew our hearts and minds to the truth!!

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT)




Copyright©2010 tathorpe – All Rights Reserved-

Don’t Ask About It – Don’t Tell About It

We hear quite a lot in the news these days about the military “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy. This thinking has infiltrated most of society. We have isolated ourselves from others in our homes.  The only relationships we are willing to invest in are cyber relationships. Behind this wall of defense, we can be anyone we want to be, without any true investment. Before cell phones or the internet, we had to make an effort to develop relationships.

As Christians, we know that our Father is all about personal encounters that build relationships. We have to be out there in society building and restoring relationships. If we are truly loving and caring people, we should see the pain in someone’s life; know that they are lost and confused. Being able to see right through a fake smile, a cheery response, and inquire deeper, if we care to know. This is where the “don’t ask-don’t tell” lie gets it’s feet. Do we really care about one another?

The scripture says that in the last days sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12). I’ve seen this in the last two decades. Neighbors don’t know neighbors; families are separated by divorce and many people live secret lives in turmoil, afraid to ask for help. This is evident by the cyber bullying that drives our youth to suicide.

The lie that has spread in the Christian arena and reveals it’s self as “faith is a private matter.” Many Christians seem to think that “living a quite life and minding your own business” means not to be too concerned with another’s struggle or their salvation. We are the vessels chosen by God to share the good news. Being salt and light to the lost, not resting on our laurels, secure in our own salvation. We have an enemy who will stop at nothing to tear us apart and prevent the spread of the gospel.

We might carve out an hour or two, to gather together but as quickly as the meeting is over, we go home and go about our own lives. Some believe they have done their duty by making an appearance and may leave feeling good, but do nothing with the encounter they have experienced. The purpose of meeting with God is to be changed, to be inspired and to go out and bring the gospel message to our neighbors.

Why are we not as eager as the early church to complete our mission? The scriptures say that God built the church and drew thousands to faith in Christ in short period of time. The growth came with believers risking everything to tell others about Jesus Messiah, not sitting in their homes praying for growth. They went out daily to tell everyone they encountered about Jesus; continued  to learn more about Jesus and to praise the Lord for everything he was doing.(Acts 2:41-47)

Can you remember that last time that a stranger brought you the good news about Jesus?

  

I believe the final moments of the Church age are here, and I there is little time left before the Lord comes as the conquering King and sets his throne physically on the earth. (Revelation 20:4) The bible describes the horrors for those who have rejected the saving grace of Jesus and many lives will be lost. A great time of wrath is coming; something more devastating than the world has ever experience or will ever again.

Don’t you think it’s time to do away with the “don’t ask about it-don’t tell about it” policy?

Copyright©2010 –tathorpe-All Rights Reserved-