All Saints Day and the Wittenburg Door

Central Family,

This week I will be sending out two Christ Connect messages.  Today’s message will look back to yesterday and the Christ Connect on Wednesday will look forward to next Sunday. Yesterday was October 31, a day of candy, costumes and cries of ‘trick or treat’ for children, and the eve of All Saints Day in the Church.  From a historical perspective it could be said that the most important October 31 ever was the day Martin Luther lit the fire we call the Protestant Reformation.

The Church desperately needed reform in 1517 – as it does in every age, every year and every day. Luther, along with others, was appalled at the abuses that were taking place in the Church. On October 31, 1517 he posted 95 Theses on the doors of the Church in Wittenberg.  Very quickly these 95 theses were printed and soon everyone was talking about the need for reform. Within two weeks the 95 Theses had spread throughout Germany. Within two months copies of these 95 Theses had been spread throughout Europe. The authorities of the Church demanded that Luther recant or refute what he said. His famous refusal at the Diet of Worms still echos amongst the Church of Christ today; “I am bound by the Scriptures; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not retract anything. Here I stand, I can do nothing else; God help me!” Most of us know the rest of the story; Luther was excommunicated from the Church he loved and was trying to reform.

Do we need reform today?  Yes the Church needs reform in every age, every year and every day. We let Jesus and what he was about get out of focus; we get caught up in what is irrelevant and forget about what is central and most important. Today I have spent most of my time in the Sanctuary praying and fasting.  It has been a privilege to pray for Central and its body.  It has been humbling to be joined in prayer by many of you. The way to reform was not discovered by Luther in 1517! Hundreds of years earlier the very first Christ followers were reformed.  In Acts 4:31 we read of such reform; “When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God with boldness.”

On this All Saints Day will you pray that we – you, me and all the members of Central’s body – will experience the reforming ministry of prayer, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God! As we pray, surrender ourselves to the controlling power of the Holy Spirit and read the Scriptures, we join Luther in declaring, “Here I Stand!” and then look out for the reform that will take place in our own lives and that of Central.

May we be touched by fire as we join with believers all around the world on this All Saints Day!  We especially pray for the persecuted Church and remember those from our family who have lost loved ones this past year.

Thanks for the privilege of following Christ with you!

Paul Johansson