POEM #31 Martin Luther (1483-1546)
(picture of THE CHURCH from wikipedia.com)

Halloween to most, today is REFORMATION DAY to some! The 494th anniversary of the nailing of Luther's 95 theses to the All Saints church door in Wittenberg is TODAY! Thanks be to God for all the brave men who stood up then and stand up now for the truth of Scripture.

And (drumroll, please....) now for my soapbox. (Ouch, these heels weren't made for small wooden boxes- ok) For those of you who may be joining my blog readers from FB, let me point out that I'm aware the recent portrayal of Luther has been more negative than positive. He is termed a racist, etc. Having not thoroughly studied those claims, I make no attempt to discuss them here. There comes a point in life when all media (books, internet, movies) ALL media must be filtered for truth. I am celebrating Luther as his actions demonstrated the truth of Scripture, not affirming every aspect of his character.

Stepping down... Make sure to read or sing "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" today in honor of Reformation Day. Perfect for re-centering our thoughts on the truth that God is in control, the Devil is defeated and we can make it! Here's a lovely Easter poem from the Reformation's founder "hisself", Luther.

*"trow" (def): think, believe; *Paschal (refers to Easter); pascua is Easter in Spanish, so I assuming it's a Latin-based word

In the Bonds of Death He Lay

In the bonds of death He lay,
Who for our offense was slain,
But the Lord is risen today,
Christ hath brought us life again;
Wherefore let us all rejoice,
Singing loud with cheerful voice.

Jesus Christ, God's only Son,
Came at last our foe to smite,
All our sins away hath done,
Done away death's power and right;
Only the form of death is left,
Of his sting he is bereft.

'Twas a wondrous war I trow,
Life and death together fought,
But life hath triumphed o'er his foe,
Death is mocked, and set at naught;
Yea, 'tis as the Scripture saith,
Christ through death hath conquered death.

Now our Paschal Lamb is He,
And by Him alone we live,
Who to death upon the tree
For our sake Himself did give.
Faith His blood strikes on our door,
Death dares never harm us more.

On this day, most blest of days,
Let us keep high festival,
For our God hath showed His grace,
And His sun hath risen on all,
And our hearts rejoice to see
Sin and night before Him flee.

To the supper of the Lord
Gladly will we come today;
The word of peace is now restored,
The old leaven is put away;
Christ will be our food alone,
Faith no life but His will own.