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Making Sense of the Reformation

By Nathan Rutan Leave a Comment

The Reformation was a wild and tumultuous time in European history. It was a time when many different groups of people pulled away from the power and control of the Roman Catholic Church. Previously in the year 1054, the Church (then called the Holy Catholic Church–Catholic meaning “universal”) split off into two main groups, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Protestant Reformation, taking place in the early 1500s, represents another major split in the Roman Catholic branch of the Church, this time splintering into many different subgroups roughly called “Protestant” meaning those that were “protesting” against the Roman Catholic Church.

The ideas and changes brought about during that time have made a lasting impact on the world. However, like the War in Afghanistan or the Civil Rights movement, the Reformation was not a monolithic period of history with easily defined borders and ideas. In fact, there were many different themes and societal forces at work that collectively produced many of the changes attributed to the Reformation. In order to speak meaningfully about the Reformation and due to the scope of this topic, I will have to limit our discussion of the Reformation to a few main points.

The Rumblings of Change

There are a few important focal points that can be used in order to begin to trace a broad outline of the Reformation. To start, one of the most important background issues is the socio-economic change across Europe in the late Middle Ages. During this period, Europe began to see a huge burst in population. This population explosion gave rise to new forms of society, government, business and trade. The economy of Europe during this time saw an unprecedented explosion in growth as well as rising rates of inflation. In addition, a new “money economy” was created in place of the more labor-based economy of the past. This meant that bankers were now lending large sums of money and also outsourcing labor which created a separation between money and labor. And because the economy was rising so fast in scale and scope, almost everyone began charging payments, rents and fees. Indeed, everyone got in on the game as the Roman Catholic Church, landholders, nobility, kings and nation-states began charging heavier fees, collecting taxes and progressively overburdening the population.

Adding to the rise of population and a new economy undergirded by money lending and haunted by inflation, the political situation was changing as well. For centuries following the collapse of the Roman Empire in late antiquity, the Roman Catholic Church had operated more or less like a monarchy with the Pope in control of not only the spiritual realm, but also the temporal political realm. And while all along there had been different territorial governments and parliaments, the Church and the Pope for the most part exercised control over much of Europe. This began to slowly change sometime around the 1200s and leading up to the threshold of the Reformation in the early 1500s.

During this time, many nation-states began to develop and pull away from the power and influence of the Pope, challenging the authority of the Church on a more frequent basis. Even as this happened, the Church appeared to be ever-more vital in it’s religion and it’s grip on the everyday lives of the people. As the socio-economic situation developed into less of a blend of Church and state, and different “states” began to untangle themselves from the Church, there were also a host of technological developments that greatly aided the Reformation. The two most important developments were Gutenberg’s printing press and the newfound ability to manufacture cheap paper. In fact, some scholars wonder whether the Reformation would have been possible without the invention of the printing press and it’s cheap paper counterpart. Nevertheless, as these technologies began to spread across Europe, they were received by an increasingly educated lay audience. During the 13th and 14th centuries many universities were founded and the education of the general populous was on the rise.     

The teaching of the Church created a sense that one was always in spiritual danger, and without the constant application of the sacraments one was in danger of being lost forever into eternal suffering.

It must be noted here as well that the Reformation initially spread the quickest in the urban centers across Europe as these were the places where the young, educated and wealthy tended to live. It has been said by some scholars that the uneducated rural locations around Europe were slower to adopt the reforms set out by the Reformation.

Doctrine that birthed the Reformation     

We now come to the key question; what were the reforms about? Was it just about getting rid of the Pope and all of the flashiness of the Roman Catholic Church, or was there something more profound happening here? The truth is that it’s difficult to easily discuss all of the doctrinal issues that were at stake during the Reformation, however, we can highlight the most important problems that needed addressing. Probably one of the most important issues at stake was the system of sacraments that was slowly developed and refined by the Church over the centuries. Indeed, probably the most important “sacrament” or operation of the Church which touched the lives of regular people frequently was the sacrament of “penance.” This is sometimes referred to as the “penitential system.” It’s important to see here that the penitential system, in other words, the confession of sins to the priest and the “satisfaction” (some form of giving alms, prayers and/or other acts of “humility”) that the priest prescribed to the sinner, became more complex but at the same time failed to address the inner anxiety experienced by everyday believers in the Church.     

The religious climate of the Middle Ages was highly superstitious and in many ways focused on the supernatural. As well, the teaching of the Church created a sense that one was always in spiritual danger, and without the constant application of the sacraments one was in danger of being lost forever into eternal suffering. The general feeling of the people during that time was that the world was fundamentally supernatural and filled with all manner of demons, fairies, spirits and angels. In addition, the Church was seen as the only source of salvation and to be excommunicated was the ultimate form of punishment because it left the victim open to the wiles of the devil and his demons and ultimately the eternal fires of hell.

Enter Martin Luther          

One of the best ways of getting a glimpse of the inner life of a believer during the Middle Ages is to understand that no one truly had a strong assurance of salvation. The phrase “assurance of salvation” is important theologically as this was a point of reference going into the Reformation and beyond. Enter Martin Luther. In Luther we find a former “monk’s monk” who had tried his hardest to find perfection in his religious duties as a monk, even to the point of being told by the headmaster of his monastery that he basically needed to take it easy on himself. Eventually Luther had an epiphany as he read the writings of St. Paul one day in the “cloaca” or on the toilet and he emerged to declare that righteousness was through faith alone and that the righteousness of Christ could be transferred to the account of the sinner solely on the basis of faith and not by any works done by the sinner. Indeed, this is the core of Martin Luther’s objections to the system of his time and really the core of his entire life’s work.     

So it can be said with a good amount of confidence that the real issue in the Church in the Middle Ages, and what set the stage for the Reformation is the two-pronged problem of power abuses by the Church and also a failure of the whole system to bring about a real sense of assurance for the believer. This situation, coupled with the socio-economic situation and the new ability to quickly and cheaply disseminate information in the form of tracts, pamphlets and books across Europe all came together to create the explosion in change that we call the Reformation.     

Of course, there were many other names involved in the Reformation and indeed many “reformations” in different regions. In fact, many scholars refer to “Luther’s Reformation” the “Swiss Reformation,” “English Reformation” and so on. Many others were involved in the general dissent against the abuses and ineffectual system of the Roman Catholic Church. Once the Reformation was underway, one of the most important uses of the printing press was not only to print tracts and pamphlets, but “vernacular” versions of the Bible, which means translations of the Bible from Greek and Latin into basic languages like German, English and French, such that the common people could read with ease.    

The printing of vernacular Bibles became a huge source of inspiration, fanning the flames of the Reformation as the Word of God was taken out of the hands of the elite and put into the hands of everyday people. And, while Martin Luther and others such as someone named Erasmus produced their own translations of the Bible, a man named John Wyclif helped to launch the whole Bible translation endeavor a couple hundred years earlier. Both Wyclif and a priest named John Huss had a major impact on the people in the area of Bohemia in the 1300s. They helped to spark a pre-cursor movement to the Reformation spearheaded by a group called the “Lollards.” It’s important to see that some of these pre-Reformation movements closely resembled much of what the later reformers such as Luther, Calvin and Zwingli taught.

Teachings of the Reformers          

While a discussion of the finer points of the reformer’s teaching is not possible here, we can at least skim the surface. Basically, in keeping with the growing unrest among the people due to both the inability of the Church to provide relief for a gnawing sense of anxiety among believers as well as a continual abuse of power and overburdening of the people at almost every turn, the thrust of the Reformation was focused on the “priesthood of believers.” This refers to the notion in 1 Peter 2:9 that all believers were able to come to God on their own accord without the aid of some medium like a priest or clergy member. Christ was the mediator between God and people according to the scriptures and the reformers felt that it was time to press this against the ineffectual and alienating system of the Church. Many times there is a misconception that the Roman Catholic Church had become lax about sin with all of the indulgences and special privileges given to clergy, but the opposite was actually true. The sacraments and the system of penance had become such a burden to the people that they were ravenous for a Christianity that could be practiced by the individual, and one that brought forth a sense of being satisfied or assured that one’s personal salvation was secure.     

As the Reformation rolled on, spurred by the soon-to-be famous “Ninety-Five Theses” of Luther and his three other most important essays “The Freedom of a Christian,” “To The Christian Nobility Of The German Nation” and “The Babylonian Captivity Of The Church,” the people of Europe found that they were liberated by a new sense of individual freedom. And, while it may not have assisted in the the healthiest formation of community, the new individual freedom brought about a certain sense of empowerment as households began to feel that they could teach their own children straight from the Bible without the instruction of a priest or interference from the Church. This idea of the “Bible alone” became important later as the reformers did away with much of the sacramental system of the Roman Catholic Church. In place of the traditional sacraments, the new Protestants affirmed both preaching and the Word of God as their main sacraments.     

Later in the Reformation, figures such as John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli would go on to challenge many of the former teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and eventually set out the new Protestant beliefs in great works such as Calvin’s “Institutes” which helped to bring the teachings of the Reformation into sharp focus. As well, much of Luther’s writings were later brought into focus by people such as Philip Melancthon and used on a regular basis by believers (in this case German believers) in the form of the Augsburg Confession and later the Book of Concord (among other works).     

In conclusion, some of the most important things to remember about the Reformation are the complementary ideas of the assurance of salvation, along with the notion of righteousness by faith alone. These ideas sum up much of what the Reformation was about. Of course, there were all of the preceding socio-economic factors leading up to the Reformation, as well as the rising tide of Church abuses along with heavier government control of the people. But, even given all of the socio-economic forces, what really fueled the Reformation at the core was a desire to connect with God in an intimate and individual way. During that period in history there was a collective yearning for a sense of peace that could only be found in the Gospel message. The problem was that the powerful were attempting to hold captive the Gospel. We know from God’s Word however, that “the Word of God is not bound…” [2 Tim. LEB] Indeed, as in other times and places in history, the Gospel message and the work of the Holy Spirit brought about profound and deep changes in the lives of many, many people. This is the power of the Word of God at work on a broad scale. But the beauty of the Gospel and the power of God is that it’s like the sun, it can warm the entire earth while also warming an individual blade of grass.

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New Identity | Exploring Faith
We're happy to announce that the Fall/Winter 2020 We're happy to announce that the Fall/Winter 2020 Issue is out today! There are some great articles inside that we hope you'll love! Enjoy! 🤗 #linkinbio⁠
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Prayer isn’t about making the things we selfishl Prayer isn’t about making the things we selfishly want happen; it’s about making us want what God wants.⁠
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✍🏽: @sarahjoysly in "Prayer - The Alignment of Our Souls With God"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it th “The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” – Haldir⁠
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In Lothlorien, Haldir is encouraging a downcast Fellowship with a glimpse of the larger story in which they find themselves. His words reflect the apostle Paul’s encouragement to the church, that we “do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). For there is a form of grief from which there is no recovery – one in which there is no resurrection of the dead. If death is the final word, then we must suffer grief without hope, grief that diminishes our love for life because of the crushing weight of the loss we’ve experienced. But Tolkien believed that death was not the end; therefore, we may experience the beautiful juxtaposition in our own lives of deep sorrow mixed with rivers of joy. Instead of crippling us, our grief may actually help to cultivate in our character the virtues of faith, hope, and love that are necessary to continue to carry our heaviest burdens. ⁠
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✍🏽: @slimkeman in "Memorable Middle Earth"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
#faithhopelove #lotr #thefellowshipofthering #thelordoftherings #middleearth
The Bible stresses that despite our differences we The Bible stresses that despite our differences we are called to love each other above our political positions. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:12-14). You may feel like how politics and religion intersect in the public sphere communicate the exact opposite of this, and you’d be right. Media outlets report drama and conflict. Gracious and loving political opponents are not newsworthy.⁠
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✍🏽: Matthew Hamilton in "Our Identity In Christ Is Always Greater"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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#politics #voting #love #loveyourneighbor #loveyourneighbornotmattertheirpolitics
The trees, with their bark, the skin of the forest The trees, with their bark, the skin of the forest, with its scars and wrinkles, lean toward me, and brush me with their limbs. The leaves beg me to examine their veins. “Have you seen this?” Each different, but each spectacular. The infinite busy creatures. The carpet of green, the dome of blue.⁠
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A few moments later, I feel like an amazing creature in a world amazingly made. I feel the astounding power of God, where the smallest thing around me, a leaf, an ant, is more complicated, and alive and amazing than anything humanity has ever thought of.⁠
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Really, there is nothing like it. The author C.S. Lewis noted that the best place to take a non-believing scientist or a real thinker is nature.  Eventually the noise of God in nature is deafening.⁠
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Once you’re in that place, just a few minutes into your walk, your mouth will hardly be able to keep from pouring out praise to God. It becomes so easy. Connecting to God like that, in praise, as a consequence of observing nature, is so freeing and so empowering that you will return to your office balanced and ready, clear headed and encouraged.⁠
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The prayer that most blesses God, most blesses the one who prays it. And there is almost no easier way than from within the sanctuary of nature, which itself raises up its branches to him in prayer with every sunrise.⁠
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✍🏽: Tom Koel in "Muting The Noise of the World - Deconstructing The Prayer Hike for City Dwellers"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
📷: Photo by Lum3n from Pexels⁠
#prayerhike #prayerworks #prayandpraise #prayerwalk #timewithgod #prayerchangesthings #heispraiseworthy #faithjourney
Each person comes to a Bible passage with his own Each person comes to a Bible passage with his own culture, language, and historical understanding. Sometimes we use these to interpret the Bible, but the hard work of bible study requires that you get rid of those things and interpret the passage by allowing it to speak for itself in its own language, cultural context, and historical background. In other words, interpretation is hard work because you are trying to to discover what the passage meant to its (original) audience 2000 years ago (even though we are reading it today). ⁠
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✍🏽: @the_christopherscott in "How Anyone Can Study The Bible"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
#biblestudy #biblestudytools #growingingod #godsword #spendingtimewithgod #biblejournaling #holybible #christianliving #biblescriptures #dailybiblereading
Everything we do should be done for the ultimate e Everything we do should be done for the ultimate enjoyment of God. For instance, our enjoyment of a loving relationship with our spouse is a reflection of our relationship with God, and is therefore something God uses in order for us to better understand his love and how we can love him better.⁠
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This entails that God has given us the Bible as a means to an end. The point of reading the Bible is to come to enjoy God better and more fully. It might seem odd, or even a little sacrilege to think of the Bible as a means to an end. This is because we rightly think of the Bible as holy or sacred. But, it is not God. It is holy and sacred insofar as it is the word of God, given to us so we can better understand who God is. ⁠
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By reading Scripture we learn more about God, his work in the world, his plan for us, and his expectations for us. This is one of the means God has provided for us to enjoy him more. In fact, St. Augustine of Hippo believed that if a Christian could hypothetically enjoy God perfectly in this life, that they would no longer need to read the Bible. Of course because we will not come to love God perfectly in this life, reading, meditating on, and yes, memorizing scripture, will regularly be a source of knowledge that help us to love God more. However, Augustine wants his readers to remember, that knowledge is not the goal for reading the Bible.⁠
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✍🏽: Jeffery Porter in "How A Roman Bishop Changed The Way I Read The Bible"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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#biblereading #heartknowledge #
People with unbelieving hearts only seek after wha People with unbelieving hearts only seek after what prospers them. Apart from Jesus, we set in motion lives filled with harm, with no hope and no future. A person can only have hope and a future when life is lived out for Christ. We get light through reading the Bible, prayer, and fellowship with other Christians. This light of life can be obtained through an open line of communication with the one who gives it—Jesus. Apart from him, life can appear meaningless. Our purpose in life is to glorify God with who we are and what we have. –Steven Butwell⁠
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"No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others." –Psalm 25:3 NLT⁠
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✍🏽: Steven Butwell in "The Light Christ"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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#hopeinchrist #hope #faith #godsplan #godisgood #hopeinthelord #bethelight #godislove #livinghop #thegospel #godislove #godisfaithful #christianliving #bethelightinthedarkness
What’s your favorite article in the new issue? F What’s your favorite article in the new issue? Follow the link in our bio to read it online or download it free to your tablet. ⁠
Even as God demonstrated love by sending Jesus to Even as God demonstrated love by sending Jesus to die on the cross to take punishment for our sins, God reminded people of the importance of fearing him. God is not only our savior, comforter, and friend who promises to be with us always (Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20), but also the most powerful being in the universe. There is a place for the right kind of fear—the reverential awe and respect—in our lives.⁠
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✍🏽: Délice Williams in "Fear The Lord?" Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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Like the Psalmist, John describes Jesus as God’s Like the Psalmist, John describes Jesus as God’s Word who brings light and life to the darkness. Jesus is God’s Word that comes to us, to those who are dwelling in darkness. In fact, this is exactly what Jesus declares his mission to be in John 12:46: “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” This Light and Darkness imagery pervades the gospel of John. People love darkness because they don’t want their actions, thoughts, motives to be exposed by the light. But the truth is that deep down we need (and want) to be seen. We want to be loved despite our dirtiest deeds and foulest feelings. We need to restore the relationship that Adam and Eve once had with God–complete openness, and deep love–but we can’t do it on our own. Only God can (and did through Jesus) bring that relationship back.⁠
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✍🏽: Brandon Hurlbert in "The Light of God's Love"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
📷: Photo by Emre Kuzu from Pexels⁠
In John 15:1 Jesus says that God is the gardener a In John 15:1 Jesus says that God is the gardener and he prunes every branch that does not produce fruit. A person stuck in his or her ways of sin is like a prickly shrub growing a lot of branches with no fruit. These branches must be removed so good fruit can grow. In the same way as a bush is unable to prune itself, a person who is living in sin is unable to remove all the unfruitful branches in life. Paul described this condition in chapter seven of Romans when he called himself a wretched man and realized only Jesus can change him.⁠
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Jesus provides the essential elements for growth; he gives us his Word (the Bible) for fertilizer, other believers for sunshine, and the Holy Spirit for water. When our roots begin to receive this new water, sunshine, and fertilizer, new branches begin to grow. This time the branches are not prickly bushes, but beautiful new branches adorned with the fruit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self control,” (Galatians 5:22). Our old acquaintances will marvel at who we have become. When we allow God to be the gardener, he will shape us into his design.⁠
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✍🏽: Delbert Teachout in "God The Gardener"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
📷: Photo by Timothy Grindall from Pexels
As new creations, those who have been forgiven by As new creations, those who have been forgiven by and reconciled to Jesus, we now have the task of being reconciled to each other. As Christians, we are not just called to forgive others in our hearts but keep them at an arm’s length away. No, we are called to be of one heart and one mind (Acts 4:32) with our brothers and sisters—we are called to be reconciled.⁠
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✍🏽: Brandon Hurlbert in "Repairing Broken Bridges"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
We are faced with a challenge: to make God the cen We are faced with a challenge: to make God the center and purpose of our lives in a world of demands. God asks us to listen for his voice, and it’s no wonder why he chose to speak to Elijah in a “still, small voice” in 1 Kings 19:12-13. He doesn’t always shout at us because he wants us to choose to listen, to put other things aside so that all of our focus is towards discerning his will in the specifics of our lives. We have his will for us in general, as communicated in the Bible, which is to make disciples of all nations, to glorify the one true God, to serve no other gods, to love our neighbors as ourselves, etc., but sometimes we need to figure out how those general plans fit the specifics of our lives. Hearing God’s voice is part of how we relate to him, but in those moments of uncertainty, quieting ourselves becomes even more important.⁠
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✍🏽: @sarahjoysly in "Listening For A Whisper"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
📷: Photo by Jara from Pexels⁠
Imagine if every Christian started praying to God Imagine if every Christian started praying to God and asking for him to bless us with gifts of encouragement for the sake of the world around us. The Church would make an immediate impact on the lives of people.⁠
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✍🏽: @lukegeraty in "The Gift of Encouragement from the Great Encourager"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
📷: Photo by Lum3n from Pexels⁠
Everything sad will come untrue because we are not Everything sad will come untrue because we are not doomed to be forever parted with those we love, nor will our souls simply turn to dust and fade with the memory of those we leave behind.⁠
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✍🏽: @slimkeman in "Memorable Middle Earth - Why I'm Always Tolkien In Movie Quotes"  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
📷: Photo by Dirk Förster from Flickr
"Remembering God's promises and his faithfulness a "Remembering God's promises and his faithfulness as a community will help us to endure our sorrows for the night, for joy comes in the morning." @slimkeman from his article The Beauty of Community & The Beast of Isolation 🌤 Can you name some of God's promises that keep you encouraged and grounded? We'd love to hear in the comments below - and just maybe it might be the hope someone else is needing right now! 🤗⁠
“Every night I lie in bed, the brightest colors “Every night I lie in bed, the brightest colors fill my head. A million dreams are keepin’ me awake. I think of what the world could be, a vision of the one I see. A million dreams is all it’s gonna take. A million dreams for the world we’re gonna make.” ⁠
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As P.T. Barnum sings these words to Charity in the beautiful montage of their young lives, we are captivated by the hope that they share, the possibilities of their bright future, and the chance of their love overcoming the wall between privilege and poverty that keeps them apart. The Greatest Showman asks us to wrestle with the quest for the holy grail of our modern world: success and happiness. ⁠
What is the good life? If a million of our wildest dreams came true, would we truly be happy?⁠
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In Jesus, we find a man who invites us into his presence with these words: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). He is the only one who can fill “the infinite abyss” of desire in our souls. When you have fully devoted yourself and your dreams to your Creator, you will discover that “everything you ever want” and “everything you ever need” is “right here in front of you” in Christ Jesus.⁠
{Steve Limekman}⁠
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✍🏼: by @slimkeman in “The Greatest Showman”  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com by clicking on the link in our bio ⁠
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📸: from newidentitymagazine
Every day in sub-Saharan Africa, one child in ten Every day in sub-Saharan Africa, one child in ten under the age of five dies of a preventable cause, and nearly every day in America eight in ten adults consume coffee. What do these numbers have to do with each other? A lot, according to the One Cup Project, which is using America’s love for coffee to reduce the number of children dying in Africa by converting coffee profits into life-saving aid.⁠
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The One Cup Project started in 2010, when Christian Kar, the founder of an award-winning Seattle-based coffee company, partnered with the Christian humanitarian aid organization, World Vision.Remarkably, every dollar spent on One Cup Coffee generates a dollar of aid for Africa.⁠
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Buy some coffee, put up a post on your Facebook page, ask your church, local café, or workplace to change their coffee, or run a One Cup Fundraiser. In doing so, you just may help hurting people find healing, hope, and life. Change the world for the better, one cup at a time.⁠
{Thame Fuller}⁠
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✍🏼: @thamefuller in “One Cup Project”  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com by clicking on the link in our bio or click on this link to take you directly to the One Cup website: https://onecup.org/our-story/⁠
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📸: by @AftaPuta from Pexels
When someone accepts Jesus, they leave their old p When someone accepts Jesus, they leave their old priorities behind and make Jesus the center of their life. Jesus calls each of us to share the good news with the world. He came to give living water to a thirsty world, and we have the honor and privilege of sharing his message by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39).⁠
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The most important thing you can do is enter each conversation with a posture of prayer. Pray for the person you’re sharing with, that God would open their heart to accept him. Pray that God would give you the words to say. And a loving way to say them.⁠
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Expect God to work in your relationship and use you to share Jesus through your friendship in his own timing. No matter how long you have been a believer, you can share Jesus with the confidence that he is with you and that he will use you for his glory.⁠
{Eric Gulley}⁠
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✍🏼: Eric Gulley in “Sharing Your Faith”  Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com by clicking on the link in our bio ⁠
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📸: by @OliverSjostrom from Pexels
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