Every Christian Should Celebrate October 31!

HIStory, Pastor's P.O.V., Special Days, , , , , , ,

There’s a poster in our Youth Wing that says, “Do you seriously think God can’t use you?”

Then it lists a whole lot of people from the Bible who no one would ever think could be used for the furtherance of God’s Kingdom.

  • Noah was a drunk.
  • Abraham was too old.
  • Jacob was a liar.
  • Samson was a womanizer.
  • Rahab was a prostitute (who ended up in the generational line of Jesus).
  • Elijah was suicidal.
  • Lazarus was dead.

God also used a crazy man in the 16th century who was rude, crude and a Jew hater. He was also a worry wart, always thinking God was going to strike him dead for his sin. His name was Martin Luther and the reason you are a Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Pentecostal or even a non-denominational believer is because of what he did on Oct. 31, 1517, commonly called the Protestant Reformation.

It’s been 503 years since the day faith in God was RE-formed, and we celebrate our independence from hierarchical religion and cherish the truth that we can come to God on our own, by faith, through his Son Jesus Christ. Though this truth has always been with us, it was hidden for centuries. What Martin Luther did changed the direction of Christianity forever—all because God used this one man.

Every Christian should celebrate the third greatest Holy Day of the year after Christmas and Easter: Reformation Day, not that silly Halloween, the day that ghouls, ghosts and gross gaggles of the grave are happily acclaimed while death, murder and fiendish activity is lionized.

It all came about in this way:

Read More

No Longer “Baby D”

3 CommentsFamily Stuff, Special Days,

MY “BABY D” IS NO LONGER A BABY, but she’s still mine. On this, her 21st birthday, I get choked up as I think about all the wonderfully fun times we had together.

From the first day, when I visited you at the hospital in the incubator, and read to you from Matthew chapter 1, and you fell asleep during the genealogy….

…to when I almost killed you at age 2, when you climbed on one of those cheap white plastic Walmart outdoors chairs, stood up and pushed against the back until it tipped over and your head smacked the cold, hard concrete. I ran over, panicked, picked up your lifless body…only to find it wasn’t lifeless! Nothing happened at all, except a little red dot on your forehead. I set you down, turned around… and then you did the same thing again! And you still didn’t die!

Read More

A Father’s Chief Responsibility

Pastor's P.O.V., Special Days

HEY, FATHERS! DO YOUR KIDS KNOW THE LORD?

Do you have the assurance that they will stand for Jesus in this crazy world that calls evil good, and good evil; that puts darkness for light, and light for darkness?

More importantly, do you know for sure that they will go to Heaven and not to Hell, should they—God forbid—die prematurely?

Many parents expect their church to do the work of training up their children in the way they should go, and that it’s the pastor’s responsibility to ensure that every kid knows and obeys Christ.

Not true!

Read More

Are You a Christian C.E.O.?

Special Days

IF YOU ARE A C.E.O., then your big day is this Sunday!

C.E.O. = “C.hristmas E.aster O.nly”

I was not raised in a religious home so I wasn’t familiar with the traditions surrounding Easter. The church I went to for 23 years after I gave my life to Christ only celebrated Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. I wondered if there were more to remember during Holy Week, or Passion Week, as it is sometimes called. I wanted to know if perhaps there was a remembrance for every day of the week before Easter.

There was.

What I learned may cause you to want to know Jesus better and go to church more than twice a year.

Read More