Reformation Day

     Reformation Day.  What is that?  Reformation Day is the name previously given by Protestants to All Hallows Eve, the name used by the Roman Catholic Church for October 31st. Now it is just called Halloween.  But it was the day in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in the German town of Wittenburg.  Thus began the biggest push for reform in the Catholic Church.  When reform was rejected, those who wanted to follow the Bible alone joined together to protest the abuses and corruption in the church.  Thus they received the name Protestants. 

     Today most have forgotten the Reformers and what they stood for.  And Protestants have forgotten why they are called Protestants.  Today we act as if evil and wickedness done by humans against other humans is just a facade,  a costume that doesn't really show what someone is on the inside.  We think if we give a little candy then people will act nice. 

     That attitude only reveals our ignorance of reality.  If we, as the Bible says, "call darkness light, and light darkness", (Isaiah 5:20)  then how great is our ignorance!  We need a New Reformation.  There must be a call for a total transformation in life and mind.  A Spiritual Reformation is needed all over the world.  The religions of the world are corrupted and civilization is dying.  A spirit of evil and hatred is taking control.  The biggest reason is the failure of the church to uphold the truth of God found in His Word, the Bible.

     One area is prayer.  How often do we hear:  "I'll say a prayer for you".  Or "say a prayer for..."  Prayer is supposed to be the heartfelt communion between God and man.  A two way conversation between a person and their Creator and Savior.  Instead it has become a "magic charm",  a wheel turning in the wind.  Instead of a simple and heartfelt confession of sin and repentance someone is told to "say an Our Father", or a certain number of them, as if quantity is more important than quality from the heart.

     But by far the biggest contribution to the breakdown in society is the church's failure to uphold the law of God.  There is an outcry over the 10 commandments being hung on the walls of schools or public buildings, but every week from the pulpits of the churches of the land there is a denial of the perpetuity of God's Holy Law.  Putting the law on display does not take the place of having it in my heart.  Now is the time for the Law of God to be written in our hearts and lived out in our daily experience.  As long as the church is preaching that the law has been done away with, then the blame for society's breakdown lies at her door.

     Yes, we need a New Reformation.  The Bible and the Bible alone must be our standard of right  and wrong.  It must be so ingrained in us that our life, like the life of Jesus, will be a life of obedience to our Loving Lawgiver.  "After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jeremiah 31:33)   "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."  (Jeremiah 6:16)

Body And Spirit Together

     "Glorify God in your body and in your spirit because they belong to Him".  This reference from the New Testament (1 Corinthians 6:20) finds its beginning at the beginning of the Bible.  It is the root of God's plan for us at our creation. 

     The simple declaration in Genesis 2:7 tells us that God formed us from the earth He had created, then breathed into us His life giving spirit, and we became a living being.  The parts that make us who we are came from Him.  He was intimately involved and continues to sustain everything that He created.  We were not created and then tossed out into the void to "sink or swim" while He went somewhere else.  He did not "plant a seed" and then ignore it while it grew on its own.   The simple statement shows that we are part of Him.  His plan for us is that we will reflect His likeness -- "let Us make man in Our image, a reflection of Us".  (Genesis 1:26-27)

     Because of how we were created, our physical and spiritual natures are really one.  While we think of them as separate, they are so intertwined that what affects one immediately affects the other.  Right after our creation, and assigning us work, God gives instruction for our diet. (Gen. 1:29)  In chapter 2, right after further details of our creation in verse 7, we are instructed as to the trees that were for food and the tree who's fruit was not for food.  That one was a test of our gratitude and loyalty to our Creator.  The physical act of eating would have an instant effect on our spiritual relationship with God.

     When God delivered the Hebrew nation from Egypt, they had been slaves.  Slavery causes degeneration in mind, spirit, and body.  In order to begin their restoration so they would be able to fill their responsibility as His representatives, God began by reforming their diet.  By providing them with fresh water to drink, and heavenly food to eat,  God proposed to prepare them to come into close union with Himself. This would elevate their degenerate natures, enable them to understand His will and enter into His plans for being a blessing to the whole world. 

     Sadly, the record says they rebelled against God's diet, and as a result their souls never developed as God intended.  (Psalm 106:13-16)  Now the question is:  Will you accept God's plan?  Will I agree to His plan for me?  The conditions are the same.  The result will be what God originally promised.  Decide today.