Month: October 2022

Every year about this time most of America thinks about costumes, candy, goblins, graveyards, and a host of other weird things. Although the idea of ghosts or dead people haunting the living has existed for millennia, the spooky part of Halloween might have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off these ghosts, or temporarily resurrected, somewhat deteriorated beings. And in the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1^st as a day to honor all saints and martyrs. This evolved into the holiday known as All Saints’ Day. The previous evening (October 31^st) was known as All Hallows’ Evening, but eventually evolved into Halloween, candy, goblins, etc., and incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain.

But enough of fantasy and phantoms; let’s get back to reality.

October 31^st is the anniversary of Martin Luther’s indomitable stand for Truth. Luther, named after St. Martin of Tours, was dedicated to learning truth and wanted to learn from the sages such as Aristotle, Plato, and Gabriel Biel. But two men who became his tutors (Bartholomaus Arnoldi von Usingen and Jodocus Trutvetter) taught Luther to be wary of even the great thinkers of the ages. Therefore, human philosophy and human reason became a headache for Luther because they could not give him the satisfaction in life he desired. Luther wanted to know about God, and human-kind’s greatest thinkers could tell him only of man.

This, in itself, was a headache for Luther because he had an insatiable drive to think everything through; to reason everything out. Every aspect of his faith had to be rational and understandable.

Becoming an Augustinian Monk, Luther dedicated himself to God in the best way he understood fasting, long hours of prayer, pilgrimages, confessions…Oh, so many confessions! But he remained empty within. His superior, noting Luther’s personal dissatisfaction, suggested that he become a professor of law, and in 1507 Luther was ordained into the priesthood and assigned to the University of Wittenberg to teach theology. 

Things didn’t get much better for this unfulfilled monk/priest/professor/ theologian/lawyer, and he continued to question whatever seemed to be a man-made doctrine or rule. No church doctrine was safe from Luther’s critical eye if he thought it was not supported by the Bible. Therefore, he rejected the Church’s position that good works, charity, and church traditions must supplement faith in Christ in order for us to receive eternal salvation. 

Already questioning the concept of “indulgences” (buying forgiveness for certain types of sin from the Church), Luther became angry when the Dominican monk, Johann Tetzel, began selling indulgences for the dead (supposedly releasing them from purgatory) to raise money to build St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. These indulgences might have been the catalyst that prompted Luther, in 1517, to write and publish his “Ninety-five Theses” for the world to read. His eighty sixth thesis was the most direct: “Why does not the Pope, whose wealth is today greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?” This caused great anxiety on the part of the Pope and the College of Cardinals.

However, not desiring to break from the Catholic Church, rather wanting to reform it from within, Luther’s desire was to know God, and to spend his life helping others know Him. Reformed theologian Charles Spurgeon said it this way: “I cannot know Jesus through another person’s acquaintance with Him. I must know Him myself; I must know Him on my own account. It will be an intelligent knowledge. I must know Him, not as the visionary dreams of Him, but as the Word [Bible] reveals Him. I must know His nature: divine and human. I must know His offices, His attributes, His works, His shame – His glory.”

Martin Luther’s battle cry was “Sola Scriptura!” (Only Scripture!), for only the Scriptures point us to Jesus Christ and reveal all we need to know for eternal life.

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world [people] that He gave His only begotten son [Jesus]; so that whoever believes in Him [Jesus] will not perish [suffer or endure eternal punishment] but have everlasting life [live forever in the glorious and loving approval of almighty God].”

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” This verse negates the idea that human endeavors and traditions are needed to supplement faith for salvation. The New Living Translation says it this way: “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

That was what Martin Luther wanted his parishioners to hear, learn, and understand. To the end, Luther directed people to the Bible as the foundation for faith, life, and our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Many books have been written about Martin Luther and the Reformation, and this brief article does not do justice to the historic event; but I hope it inspires or challenges you to study and learn more about the faith that Martin Luther fought so diligently to clarify and uphold.

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were my all-time favorite television friends. The Lone Ranger, Zorro, and Robin Hood were in 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th place.

After each weekly adventure, Roy and Dale (riding their horses, Trigger and Buttercup) sang in beautiful harmony, “Happy trails to you, until we meet again; Happy trails to you, keep smiling until then. Who cares about the clouds when we’re together? Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather. Happy trails to you, ‘til we meet again.” Then after a short commercial, an exciting portion of the William Tell Overture introduced the Lone Ranger as his horse, Silver, reared and pawed the air.

Those are happy and care-free memories of the early decades of our lives. But the following is about a trip we took only four years ago, and I’m going to tell about it as though it were a current event.

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In these, our latter decades, Carol and I are setting out to create new memories by traveling the country in a trailer.

When we pulled out of our driveway to begin this month-long trek, the song Happy Trails came to mind, and, as the song intoned, Saturday was cloudy and rainy.  But we didn’t care about the clouds because we were together; and our singing produced sunny weather – at least inside the car.

I’ve been driving cars since I was fifteen years old, and I’ve driven 28-foot U-Haul or Penske trucks no less than fourteen times across the western USA as we changed residences. But pulling a trailer is different, and many of you know what I mean. As I drive at 60-65 mph, the air pressure from the18-wheelers and pickups pulling big 5^th-wheel rigs passing me going 70-80 mph creates a little excitement. And I change lanes as few times as possible!

I suppose I’ll get accustomed to it, but so far driving is the hard part. Setting up for the campsite or getting ready to hit the road has already become an easy routine. But the best part is walking around the campsite and meeting people.

The retired US Army colonel next to us was adjusting the water purification system to his double-axle Greyhound-bus-size motorhome as Carol and I walked up to him. Jim was an instant friend. He easily stopped what he was doing and gave me some pointers that a newcomer to RVing needs to know: “Make sure you check the air pressure in the tires.” After thanking him for serving our country, we continued down the trail to meet other friends.

But guess what? It seems that every time I learn something new, I need to buy something new. That’s when Carol and I get our heads together, assess the limited space we have, and decide what we NEED versus what we merely WANT.

When Colonel Jim pulled out the next morning, I saluted, and he gave me a friendly blast from the horn of his mobile condominium. “Happy Trails to you, Jim.”

When I pulled my studio-apartment sized trailer out the following morning, I went to the Shell station to add air to the tires. Do you know how difficult it is to turn around in a gas-station parking lot? I won’t tell you how many times I went back-and-forth before I got it right, but it was embarrassing when a man finally said, “Let me move my truck so you don’t hit it.”

Backing straight is easy, but backing and turning? I have a lot to learn. Pray for me – I’ll get the hang of it eventually.

This new phase of life is similar to what is involved when a person becomes a Christian and wants to serve the Lord. There is a lot to learn, and it reminds me of a Sunday evening church service in Quincy, Massachusetts back in 1962. Megan, calling herself a street-lady, confessed that she lived a raunchy life. After tearfully repenting for a life of sin and professing Jesus Christ as her Savior, Megan happily announced, “I’m glad I finally come to Jesus. I’ll have a hell-of-a-time serving Him!”

We didn’t judge Megan for that. She didn’t mean anything bad by that statement. She was excited to become a follower of Jesus, but it takes a while to learn a new way of living and a new way of talking.

Like backing straight, it is easy to stop what we call the major sins. But like backing and turning, changing a lifestyle takes some effort and training; and it’s our job to help them along the way.

Oh-oh, a cloud just burst, and the heavens are emptying their resources. I’ll go for now and close windows. Happy Trails to you.

In 1736, William Pitt’s family bought a tract of land from the Iroquois tribe, and soon over a hundred families of Scotch Irish descent, who had left Northern Ireland to escape English persecution, settled in what is now Pennsylvania.

Samuel Gettys built a tavern in 1761, and his son James plotted a town on the land surrounding the tavern. Giving this town the family name, it became known as Gettysburg. By the way, a tavern back then was an inn or a motel with a restaurant.

By 1860, ten roads led into Gettysburg, which had grown to a town of 2,400 people, and several thriving industries were situated in the area including carriage manufacturing, shoemakers, tanneries, merchants, banks and taverns. This quiet little town would be the focal point for two armies in late June of 1863 and would thrust Gettysburg into the forefront of American History.

My family visited Gettysburg for the first time in September of 1996. Driving into town on highway 116, we checked into the motel (not a tavern) and asked the receptionist, “Where’s the battlefield?”

“You came into town on one of the two roads that missed the action, but the museum is four blocks down the road on the right.” We ate dinner but went to the museum the next day.

As we entered the Gettysburg Museum, a poster caught my eye. It said, “The Civil War – Why? The Civil War was the culmination of many antagonisms between the North and the South. These clashes, increasingly more intense over a half century, were social, political and economic.”

One of the curators of the museum said, “The causes or reasons for the war are like a puzzle. In this case, some puzzle-pieces are large, and some are small. Slavery was a large piece, but still, only one piece.”

But how did the puzzle-piece called “Gettysburg” become part of the picture?

Up to 1863, most of the fighting had been in the south – primarily, in Virginia. So General Robert E. Lee decided to take the war up north where the South thought it belonged. After all, the South called the war, “the War of Northern Aggression.”

Lee’s goal was to attack Harrisburg, or Philadelphia – a big target. Gettysburg was merely a path to the target. But Union and Confederate scouts spotted each other, and the battle seemed to develop piece-meal. Southern General Lee advised his generals not to fight there, and northern General Meade wasn’t aware a battle was about to erupt. But it seemed to be inevitable.

Northern troops were pushed back the first day. The South nearly won the second day, but the North held their positions. The third day, July 3, was the day of decision. I’m sure you’ve heard of Pickett’s Charge. It is said that General Lee told General Longstreet, “Tomorrow is July 4, our day of independence. Tomorrow, we win our independence again.”

As Lee unfolded his plan to march across a three-quarter-mile open cornfield, Longstreet told Lee, “General, no 12,000 men ever born can cross this mile-wide field and win.” But Lee was in charge and ordered Pickett and 12,000 men to cross the 4,000-foot open field.

Longstreet was correct.

Approximately 51,000 men – North and South – were killed, wounded, or missing in that 3-day brutal conflict. It was probably General Lee’s greatest miscalculation. Lee should have known better because just six months earlier at Fredericksburg, Virginia, the tables were turned. The South had the high ground and defeated the Northern forces as Union troops tried to cross only a half-mile of open field.

We drove around and across the Battleground, we walked that open field, we climbed Little Round Top, we saw a good number of the 1,400 monuments, we read the battle descriptions, and we read Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Tears came to our eyes as we read about all the Americans who died or were mortally wounded.

You see, this is Our Country! This is Our Battlefield! What was done here, the lives lost here, the Presidential Speech here – it’s all part of our heritage. It is all part of who we are.

Southern Generals Lee, Longstreet, Pickett, Pettigrew, Ewell, Hill, and Armistead, as well as Northern Generals Buford, Reynolds, Meade, Howard, Warren, Hancock, and Colonel Chamberlain – and all the others – are our countrymen. Every one of them fought for freedom. They all fought for what they thought was right.

The United States of America wasn’t the only nation that had problems. Every nation that I’ve read about has had serious internal strife sometime in their history because people use human philosophy and knowledge to govern themselves instead of using wisdom offered by God. People are still doing that they think is right instead of going to the Bible to find out what is right. Proverbs 19:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” That’s why irrational laws will continue passing and hatred, killing, and war will continue until Jesus returns.

Therefore, I encourage you to live to honor God every day of your life. My prayer is Proverbs 19:14: “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”