Autumn Encouragement

5 Lessons Your Refrigerator Teaches About Reformation

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Today, October 31, is Reformation Day, the day we remember Martin Luther posting the Ninety-Five Theses on the door of a Wittenberg church.  Pastor Phil Bickel has written “5 Lessons Your REFRIGERATOR Teaches About REFORMATION” that are great prompts for thought and discussion for today.

Periodically your fridge needs a good cleaning.  So does the Church and each individual follower of Christ. 

Apply each of these refrigerator factors below to yourself or your church.

  1. Preserve what is healthy.    A refrigerator maintains food in a healthy state. Similarly, churches are responsible to teach “sound doctrine” (Titus 1:9 & 2:1) NIV). The Greek word translated “sound” is hygiainō, which means to be sound, healthful, wholesome, not decayed, and therefore safe. No wonder it’s the root of the English word “hygiene.” So let’s feed on the milk and meat God supplies us in the Bible and preserve its integrity. Lord, may I hunger for the wholesome and find the toxic indigestible. Our fridge chores parallel our faith chores. Both result in greater health. So handle with prayer.

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  1. Clean regularly.  For hygienic purposes you periodically frisk your fridge for food items that have gone bad. Paul warns: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Tim. 4:3). When rotten items are in your fridge, you need to smell them out. Lord, give me a nose for Your truth. Our fridge chores parallel our faith chores. Both result in greater health. So handle with prayer.

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  1. Clean thoroughly after spills. An accident with milk, overripe fruit, or meat can leave an overpowering stench that seems to permeate everything. A quick swipe fails to do the trick. We have to pull everything out and clean all the areas where the spill has seeped. Similarly, the apostles call us to clean the house of God thoroughly, so that false teachings and their stench are no longer present. (1 Corinthians 5:1-9; 3 John 9-12.) Lord, purify us from any lingering influences of past errors. Our fridge chores parallel our faith chores. Both result in greater health. So handle with prayer.

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  1. Toss old containers. Even after cleaning, an undesirable fragrance may linger. Old containers may reek from years of absorbing odors. So take a whiff of each container and pitch the stinkers. This parallels Jesus’ warning that new wine requires new wineskins (Mark 2:22). When a believer or a church is so comfy with its containers (traditions) that it can’t distinguish them from God’s teachings, it needs Reformation. (Mt. 15:1-11) Lord, help us detect and demolish the golden calves we are idolizing. Our fridge chores parallel our faith chores. Both result in greater health. So handle with prayer.

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  1. Don’t chill freshness. Bread dries out in the fridge. Melons and nuts decrease in nutritional value. Berries exude more flavor at room temperature. At times these foods may require the cool treatment, but we need to manage them wisely. When Christians grow harsh and judgmental, the fruit of the Spirit loses its zest and zing. Reformation diligence includes sensing when we have lost the fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15). Lord, when my heart grows cold, warm me with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Our fridge chores parallel our faith chores. Both result in greater health. So handle with prayer.

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Four Reasons to Not Freak Out

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by Pastor Phil Bickel

Every Halloween people revel in creepiness, masquerading like actors in a horror film, dabbling in eerie activities that would petrify us on any other date.

Yes, we enjoy being frightened — assuming it’s fake. But when the line blurs between fake and fact, here are 4 reasons to not freak out.

1. Shadows, darkness, and danger.  We welcome the dusk on All Hallows’ Eve, but avoid treading dark streets on all other nights. 

While we tremble in the shadows, Jesus astonishes us with a brilliant promise: “I am the light of the world. Follow Me and you’ll never walk in darkness, but always have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

2. Witches, wizards, and incantations.  Not all of this is sham and charade.  In our uncertain world some people pursue spells and magic to gain power, guidance, and good luck.  

While we strive for more stuff and security, Jesus stuns us: “Your heavenly Father already knows your needs. As you give priority to His kingdom and let Him guide you, He will supply every shortage.” (Matthew 6:32-33)

3. Devils, demonic possession, and hell.  We hope Satan is merely a cartoon character in scarlet disguise, not a real enemy intent on our demise. 

Jesus settles our quaking hearts: “That conniving crook, Satan, comes only to steal, kill and destroy. But I have come to give you life, bountiful life.”  (John 10:10)

4. Graveyards, skeletons, and death.  At Halloween, we stare death in the eye.  But it’s hard not to blink, when none of us will get out of this alive.

Jesus solves the perplexing mystery of mortality: “My Father’s will is that all you who look to Me with trusting faith shall have eternal life, and on the last day I will raise you up from your grave — fully alive, healthy, and whole!”

Wow!  The startling promises of Jesus Christ dispel every nagging nightmare, so you can walk in God’s forgiveness, freedom, and light.

Jesus provides us every reason to not freak out.

[Note: All Bible verses are paraphrased by the author.]