Sunday Ramblings…

Today is Sunday. What happens on Sunday: church, lunch at our favorite restaurant, sports on television, and naps! Today was no exception, other than I am getting ready for Bible Study tomorrow night that I volunteered to lead. We are doing a study on Martin Luther. Because of this I was watching the first video in the series and I saw something that I have a lot in common, and I imagine others as well, with Martin Luther. The fear of death and the unknown. It’s not a gripping fear for me as it was for Luther and his timeframe, but it’s a real fear.

As it is, I have faced death close to the soul and through combat operations in war. Death does not grip me in the way that it would for those that do not know what is waiting for them in the afterlife because of Luther’s contribution to the world we are not afraid of the unknown. Furthermore, death has always been a fact that I have faced head-on since I was in the Infantry in the military. Many discussions with Pastors, Chaplains, and friends about death and what happens to those in the combat arms that must kill as part of their mission and job, and everyone has had the same answer, “in the service of your country, that you were called to serve, do as you are commanded by your officers and you’ll be fine.” It is kind of an innocuous answer, but it satisfied me.

From Religion to Military and back again…

I digress though…  Watching this informational video on Martin Luther taught me that a lot of things still have not changed in the 500 years since Martin Luther broke away from the Catholic church. People are afraid. My hypothesis is that people are afraid because of their uncertainty about where they are going after death. People are scared of this virus because they do not know what happens next. I know that I am a saved individual, I know that I am going to heaven. Why? Because Jesus died for us on the cross! He saved us by dying. He beat death, literally, came back from death to life, and then ascended into Heaven. People are afraid. When people are afraid they are not happy with freedom. They fear that their freedom will hurt them because they are not aware that they are built to be free.

Freedom is a world where things are not easy, but that is the way it is supposed to be. Freedom is hard. The pursuit of happiness is the requirement to work and defend yourself; furthermore, it is the reason that we are happy. God gave us free will to be able to choose Him or not. If we choose Him, he asks that we are honest.

Here I Go Again…

In this video from Lutheran Hour Ministries, they quoted Luther about Rome being where hell is. Luther saw the debauchery of Rome and in the same way, I see the debauchery of the United States. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that I have not participated in said debauchery, but I will say that I recognize it and I ask for forgiveness for it. Or at least I hope that I have. I have not gone to confession in quite a while, I need to schedule that. The fall of Rome, the leader of the world, was based on their inability to keep God’s word. America in the same way seems to be following right in their footsteps. America needs to wake up! Fear is installed right now by our government, and we need to rise above this fear and remember that Jesus is the only way through this world and into the next. Fear will do nothing but keep us back and worrying about tomorrow. Again, I digress… Easy to go off on tangents!

Again it is Sunday, tomorrow evening is going to be awesome! I am very much looking forward to learning more about Luther and his fight with the Catholic Church and how a monk that did not want his name as a church denomination became the father of protestants worldwide. History is learned and taught in order that we are able to not repeat it. Make sure if you have a comment to hit up the comments here on this page and let me know your thoughts! I love dialogue.

Until next time:

PEACE!