Friday, March 30, 2018

Passion Week Reflections - 2018

Dear Friend,

I typically post a communication once a week via www.ashepherdsheart.org and and if you follow A Shepherd's Heart on Social Media, you already know that I post a brief thought pretty much everyday.

Here are five reflections for this passion week. 

Four of these have been shared via my Instagram, Facebook, and other other Social Media Platforms. However, since you have visited the web site or are subscribed to our free e-Mail communications, you are receiving day five (Friday) of the reflections first...before it's posted anywhere else! 

I pray that these brief Passion Week Reflections will encourage and challenge you in your faith as you prepare you heart, mind, and soul for your Good Friday remembrance and then your Resurrection Celebration! 

Because He Lives,
Your Brother and Servant,

Randolph Koch

____________________________________________
Friday: 
Read: Isaiah 53:5

It's Good Friday and it's a day of deep contemplative reflection as we remember what Jesus endured for us. 

As Isaiah reminds us...

He was pierced for our transgressions. 

He was crushed for our iniquities.

He died for all of our sins past, present, and future!

All of this so we can have peace with God through His free gift of salvation, because, by His wounds we are healed!

If you've received His free gift of salvation, you are no longer spiritually separated from God because of your sin. 

You are no longer spiritually corrupt, broken, and bankrupt because through His sacrifice - you are healed! 

He willingly laid-down His life so you can have life in Him. 

No matter how our bodies age and feel like they're literally or figuratively falling apart, we should also look forward to the day when we will experience the joy of our salvation and ultimate healing when we pass from this life and into His presence in heaven!

Until then, may you serve Him will all that is within you and today, Good Friday, and forever more may you remember His sacrifice for you. 

  • May you remember what He endured so you can have life!


____________________________________________
Thursday: 
Read: Matthew 20:28 and Matthew 25:35-40

It's Thursday, the Thursday before Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday and again, I'm moved by the reality of what Jesus came to do and has done for mankind! 

Matthew 20:28 summarizes for us the mission He came to fulfill...He came to serve and give His life as the ransom payment for you and I! 

He was payment for the wages of sin which is death by giving His life for YOU! Why? So that you might have life in Him if you receive His free gift of salvation!

I pray that these truths from God's Word blow you away and sink deeply into your hear, mind, and soul!

Again, What a Savior Jesus Is! He came to serve and not be serve! 

May we seek to be like Him as we seek to serve Him and others! 
Read Matthew 20:28 and Matthew 25:35-40 and ask yourself:
What can I do to sacrificially serve Him and others?
What can I do to make His name great proclaiming Him to the world?
What can I do to shine His light more in all we do? 
What do I need to change in order to live my life more for Him in service to Him and others?

____________________________________________

Wednesday:
Read: John 3:16-17

John 3:16 - It's more than just a sign at a sporting event, more than some mere platitude to be shared as some might think, this passage is the whole truth of The Gospel regarding why God The Father sent His Son.

Let's break it down like this....

God Loved you and I so much that He knew from eternity past that man would fall and need a way of salvation...through Jesus!

Through Jesus... 

He provided a way to fix that was broken!

He provide bridge to fix the separation between God and Man!

He provided The Shepherd Who would find those who are lost but yet can be found in Him!

He provided the cure for your spiritual blindness! 

He provided The Pathway that does not lead to destruction!

He provided The Way to complete the transaction through Jesus whose sacrifice served as payment for the wages of sin which is death.

Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life! 

God did this for you and is or has drawn you to Himself so if you receive His free gift of salvation, you will have forgiveness and eternal life with Him! Insert your name where it says "World" and I pray you get the profound truths of this passage all the more! 

I pray that you have received His free gift and that as you prepare your heart and mind for this weekend's celebration, that you will celebrate and worship Him in spirit and truth this Resurrection Sunday! 
____________________________________________
Tuesday: 
Read: Isaiah 25:8

I love the language of this passage in Isaiah. It's powerful and beautiful in it's truth and it points to Jesus!

Jesus is The One Who swallowed up death forever for those who accept His free gift. 

Jesus also cares about you and I and will wipe every tear away now as He ministers to and comforts us and He's prepared a way to Heaven where there will no longer be ANY tears!

For those who've received His free gift of salvation, He has also removed our sin / reproach as He died on the cross for our sins!

What a Savior Jesus is! Praise His mighty name! 

He is The Reason and The One we celebrate this Easter/Resurrection time and every day!

I pray again, as we prepare our hearts, minds, and plans, may we stay in awe and remember all He did so that we might have life in Him and keep Him in the center of all we do! 
____________________________________________
Monday:

Read: Romans 6:23
As we walk day-by-day this week through what we refer to as Passion Week or Holy Week, leading up to Resurrection Sunday, may be never forget why Jesus came in the first place!

May we prepare ourselves as we look to remember Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday! May we never grow complacent in remembering all He did as a free gift to those who would believe and receive it because of the wages of Sin is death and He came to bring life!

As Romans 6:23 reminds us, the wages of sin is death and that's what we deserved.
However, the free gift of God through Jesus' sacrifice is forgiveness and eternal life!

I pray that if you haven't already, that you will receive His free gift of salvation and then you can really celebrate this Resurrection Sunday with the joy of personally knowing The One Who gave His life for you! 

I'll be walking through one scripture a day this week to provide an encouraging reminder for us about His sacrifice and victory! Stay tuned for more.  
____________________________________________
For days 6 and 7, Please visit A Shepherd's Heart on Instagram or Facebook.



Friday, March 23, 2018

It's "Time To Make The Donuts."

Read: Genesis 2:15, James 2:14-18, Ephesians 2:10, Colossians 1:9-10, Matthew 5:16, 1 Timothy 6:17-18, Titus 2:6-8, Titus 3:14, and Galatians 6:9 

From the very beginning, God created mankind with a specific purpose and work to do just like we see in Genesis 2:15.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

9 Keys to Walking In Christ

If you're in Christ, then you need to walk out your faith day-by-day. Similar to "hitting the gym" to exercise, you have to exercise your faith in order to walk and grow in Christ.

It's a choice to daily do the right things in pursuing God, His Word, and living out your faith through a Word and Spirit filled and led life! 

So, how do you walk in Christ exactly? Good question! 

God's Word outlines many things that we should and need to be doing to successfully walk in Christ and the following is a list of 9 of the Keys to Walking in Christ. 

Each key includes scripture and practical insight for your further personal study.

Tuesday, March 06, 2018

The 3 Part Test of a Prophet

Read: Deuteronomy 18:20-22, 1 Corinthians 14:1-40, Ezekiel 13:9, Matthew 24:24, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, 1 Timothy 4:1-10, Acts 20:28-30, 1 John 4:1-6, Matthew 7:15-20, 1 Peter 5:8, Hebrews 13:9

It's been my observation that there are many gifts such as the gift of prophecy and speaking in tongues that aren't handled or expressed Biblically today and we need to be careful to take in any teaching that doesn't align with God's Word. 

It's seems that specifically with the gift of prophecy, that it is often only thought by some to be the foretelling of future events but it is also and more often than the previous - it is the proclamation of God's truth from His Word. 


Wednesday, February 28, 2018

The Bible is Essential Part 3 - Scripture Memorization and Tips.

Read: Psalm 119:9-16

In the last communication we took a look at studying God's Word, specifically Bible Study methods  as an important part of making God's Word a priority. 

In this communication we're shifting our focus to the importance of scripture memorization in the life of a follower of Christ. 


Memorization is vital:

Friday, February 16, 2018

The Bible is Essential Part 2 - 5 Bible Study Methods

Read:  2 Timothy 2:15, Psalm 1:2, 2 Thessalonians 3:1, Psalm 119:16, Psalm 119:33–35, John 14:21 

In my last communication, we touched on how vital studying and abiding in God's Word is and I pray as a result, we've taken time to evaluate our priorities including our time with Him and have purposed to set time aside to make God's Word more of a priority. 


In this communication I am going to do a brief "fly over" description of 5 of the many common Bible study methods to give you a some information to check out and try out.  


As followers of Christ, we're to continually learn and grow in our relationship with Christ and this includes growing in wisdom and knowledge through regular intentional study of God's Word. God's Word is an should be a delight to us heart, mind, and soul!

Friday, February 09, 2018

The Bible is Essential Part 1 - Studying and Abiding in God's Word

Read: Psalm 119:105, John 8:31-32, Deuteronomy 8:3 , John 15:1-17,  1 John 2:1-6, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12


The more we walk with Christ the more we should have a desire to know Him, The Holy Spirit and His Word more. 

Unfortunately, I continue to see the trends and statistics that state that there are a large amount of people who identify as Christians, those who even attend a Church somewhat regularly, who rarely pick up the Word of God to read and study it for themselves. (See several links to statistic examples below this communication)

They often can't even name basic things like the 4 Gospels or other very rudimentary things about The Scriptures...things that the average "Sunday School" aged child could answer...not that many churches even have Sunday School anymore for kids or adults anymore. It's as if some give an intellectual nod to the Bible but they don't really own their faith.  

They don't honor God's Word nor give it the proper place in their lives that they should. 

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

It's Not "Hammer Time": Being mindful of your words and actions.

Read: Proverbs 10:11, Proverbs 12:18, Proverbs 15:4. Proverbs  16:24, Proverbs 18:21, 1 Corinthians 13.


God has given us many tools and also wants to produce the fruit of The Spirit in and through us. Sometimes people forget that things like harshness, anger, etc are not part of the fruit of The Spirit. 

Furthermore, the scripture reminds us that Love is patient, love is kind...(See 1 Corinthians 13) but sometimes others in our lives or even ourselves lack these very things in relation to others. I'm also reminded of Proverbs 16:24 "Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body." 

As always, our words can bring life or death to the hearer. Our words are more powerful than we realize because those words whether good or bad, stay with the hearer and sometimes much longer than they should when we speak unkind words. This is why I've shared in the past that the old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words may never hurt me," while a nice sentiment, it's not really true because words do hurt and it takes more time mentally and emotionally to heal from words spoken to us. 

While there are times where we need to be more firm in our communication, we need to remember that even in being firm with others who have wronged us, or who need correction, or that we disagree with, we need to season that with grace so we can represent The Lord more effectively. 

Friday, January 26, 2018

Prayer Is A Gift But Remember: God is NOT Your Personal "Genie in a Lamp".

Read:  Matthew 6:1-15, Hebrews 4:16, Mark 11:24, Matthew 21:22, James 1:5-8

Prayer is a precious gift and vital tool that God has given us. 

The fact that we can freely talk to The One Who gave us life is amazing and we should never take this gift or Him for granted. 

As we approach prayer, we need to remember and be encouraged that He's a loving Father Who knows what's best for us and when He instructs us to pray believing in faith and to approach Him with confidence, He really means it. 

Can and should we pray about everything in faith as the scripture tells us? Of course, but, we have to trust God's will and pray according to His will just as Jesus modeled for us in The Lord's Prayer. (See Matthew 6:1-15) 

Unfortunately, some have taken this as an invitation to believe and or teach that He's going to give us everything we want just for the asking. Or, equally flawed are those who "demand" that He give them what

Monday, January 15, 2018

5 Practical Things You Need To Do When God Seems Distant!


Read:  Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5, 1 Peter 5:8, Ephesians 4:25, Ephesians 6:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, James 1:22, James 4:7, John 15:4, Hebrews 4:16, and Psalm 145:18

I often hear people say that "God is distant" or that "God seems far away" and let me tell you: this is the furthest thing from the truth that anyone can proclaim, think or feel! 

In other words, this is flawed thinking or what I refer to as "stinking thinking".

Why do I say this? "Spoiler Alert"...in case you forgot...It's because in God's Word, He tells us that He will never leave or forsake us, and we can take Him at His Word! 

Just as the enemy helped confuse Adam and Eve, which contributed to them doubting God and not taking God at His Word as well as led to their sin against Him...he tries to do the same thing in our lives so that we also might doubt God and not take Him at His Word. 

Tuesday, January 09, 2018

Lay ALL of Your Burdens Down!


Read: Matthew 11:28 or 1 Peter 5:7

We read passages like Matthew 11:28 or 1 Peter 5:7 where we're instructed about laying our burdens, anxieties and more, down and then we seem to forget about it or say, "that's nice" and then go about "our" business. 

Then, we run into an issue, trial or something that weighs us down and sometimes instead of turning directly to The Lord Who is our strength, we try to carry the burdens on our own. H
ow's that working out for you and I? Not very good...speaking on behalf of "a friend" of course. :-)

It's like we take scripture sometimes as if it's a passing phrase like a well meaning greeting card or something but it's much more than this as it's the very Word of God!

We are not to nor were we ever supposed to carry our burdens on our own. We cannot handle the vast weight nor should we because that's not our job...Jesus is our strength and can carry them all...it's no wonder He instructs us to give all our burdens to Him!?

So, the question is...will you and I continue to be miserable, stressed out and more trying to carry too heavy a load or will you and I listen to The Savior's word of grace, truth and love and actually lay ALL of our burdens down?

I pray that we lay ALL of them Down not just some of them Down, in Jesus name, amen.


Lay ALL of your burdens down friend! 

Blessings in Christ,
Your Brother and Servant,

Randolph Koch


P.S. Do you have a friend who is struggling under the weight of burdens? Encourage them to lay their burdens down...give them all to Jesus! Please pass on this encouragement to someone today! 

Thursday, January 04, 2018

A New Year and a Request for Ongoing Prayers for A Shepherd's Heart.

Hello and Happy New Year!

As the New Year begins, I want to simply ask you to keep A Shepherd's Heart in your prayers. 

Here are thoughts and several areas where your prayers will be appreciated: 

Specifically prayer for God's wisdom, direction and provision for A Shepherd's Heart as I seek to continue to serve The Lord and His people seeking to encourage all of us to Live Life On Purpose...grounded and routed in Christ!

I want to focus on the projects, resources, teaching / speaking opportunities as well as any other opportunities He provides and directs me to do in serving Him from the heart He's given me. 

I've been a "tent-maker" for years and I'm constantly seeking The Lord for the continued direction He wants me to go and I know He'll provide the clarity needed as He directs my path.  

Please pray that God will help me be very strategic with my time as working high demand positions in the marketplace as well as every other important priority God's given me including a family and friends I've been blessed with, a home to maintain, etc., time is always at a premium. All of these areas are important and I need to be present in the lives of my family especially and my friends too and with this...again, need to be better at time management. 

May God provide the availability and means to serve in each case He opens and directs me to serve including the tools, technology, time and financial resources. 

May God help me grow more as a shepherd-servant, communicator, husband, dad, friend and employee. 

May God somehow expand this ministry including it's reach - for His kingdom and glory. 

May God help me grow the needed income to meet every need for my family, ministry which includes helping others. There are many growing needs including practical every day needs where my income isn't keeping up and I want and need to provide better. With this, please pray that God will open up a new good fitting and providing position that also provides enough flexibility to serve or possibly something entrepreneurial that will do the same.

Thanks for your prayers and please know that I'm praying for you! Please don't hesitate to let me know how I can be praying for you!

I'll keep you posted on new projects and items I'm working on this year some of which includes...I hope, new encouragement / teaching videos and finally publishing my first 30 day devotional.

I'm here to serve you so, feel free to share your thoughts on resources and topics you might be encouraged by and I'll definitely take your suggestions into consideration for future projects!

Thanks again for your regular prayers!

In Christ,
Your Brother and Servant,

Randolph Koch

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Happy New Year: Entering The New Year With Hope In and Waiting On The Lord!

Read: Romans 5:2-5, Romans 15:13, Psalm 42:11, Hebrews 11:1; Hebrews 10:23, Psalm 130:5, Isaiah 43:19.

Let me be one of the first people to wish you a Happy New Year!!! 2018!

I wanted to thank you for the privilege of serving you in 2017! 

As we close out 2017 and look forward to all that God has in store in 2018, I wanted to share a brief encouragement with you. 

Throughout 2017 God has repeatedly reinforced the importance of Hope grounded in Him as well as the importance of waiting on Him! 

He is our strength and hope and His hope doesn't disappoint! 
"Hope that is grounded in Christ is like a candle burning brightly as it brings light to the darkest of places and the darkest of circumstances." -Randolph Koch
Never lose hope as He is on your side!

Furthermore, in regard to waiting on Him...In the New Year may you make it not just another a goal but may you make it a priority to wait on The Lord!

Include Him in all your goals, plans, dreams and priorities! Don't try to "get ahead" of The Lord! Wait on Him to move forward seeking Him with all that is within you! 

No matter what circumstances you face, may you be filled with great hope in Him and may you look forward in optimism because you know The One Who is your strength and holds your future in the palm of His hands!


As you enter the New Year, may you hold onto hope and may you experience joy, happiness, success, confidence, good health, prosperity and great faith! May you seek Him daily with everything that is within you! 

Let's also purpose to pray for one another in these areas and more and may we pray that God will continue to work in and through us for His Kingdom and Glory!

Please know that I'm here for your encouragement, prayer and more! 

Don't hesitate to let me know how I can be of encouragement to you in the New year and if you have resource or other ideas, please let me know as I aim to create new and meaningful content to serve and build up the Body of Christ. 

Please also remember me in prayer as God guides this ministry regarding what He wants to do through A Shepherd's Heart. Please pray for His wisdom, provision and direction. 

Have a wonderful 2018! Have a hope filled New Year! 

Warmest regards in Christ,

Your Brother and Servant,

Randolph Koch
 Founder and Servant-Shepherd of A Shepherd's Heart

Share this image/encouragement with someone today! Encourage them to Hold onto hope!

Monday, December 25, 2017

Merry Christmas From A Shepherd's Heart!

Hello and Merry Christmas!

I pray that your Christmas celebration is filled with the joy and hope found in Christ!

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and most of all for allowing me the privilege of serving you this year!

This Christmas I'm looking forward to the blessing of spending time with family and friends celebrating the Birth of Jesus!

As we all celebrate, I'm reminded of this great truth from Roy Lessin: 
God Sent Us A Saviour
If our greatest need had been information,
God would have sent us an educator.
If our greatest need had been technology,
God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money,
God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure,
God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness,
so God sent us a Saviour.
-Roy Lessin
It's so encouraging to be reminded that God, in His wisdom and divine plan, knew exactly what we needed and loved us so much that He sent Jesus because we needed Him, The Savior! 

Jesus came from heaven to earth, lived a sinless life, was crucified on the cruel cross for mankind, rose from the dead winning victory over death and now is seated in heaven!

May we never forget the deep truths of Christmas as well as the truths beyond the manger!

As you celebrate, here's a little Christmas gift from me to you, I wanted to share again a recording of the Luke account of The Birth of Jesus again from Luke 2:1-35: https://soundcloud.com/user-335546274/the-birth-of-jesus-luke-21-35

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Your Brother and Servant,

Randolph Koch

Please share this imaged with the above encouragement with others! 
Our Greatest Need

Monday, December 18, 2017

Recapturing The Awe and Wonder of Christmas!


Read: Luke 2:1-38, Matthew 18:2-4

Christmas...

It's supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year or so the songs say and for some it truly is while for others...it's a very hard time of year for various reasons.

Christmas for children can often be sort of a "magical" time filled with fun, awe, wonder and excitement. If you're an adult reading this right now, you may remember those times of life and maybe you've lost that sense of childlike faith, awe and wonder?

The truth is that kids don't tend to over-complicate things like adults do sometimes. 
They don't run everything through "adult filters" whereas we've let many things cloud our vision when it comes to celebrating things such as celebrating the birth of our Savior. Even knowing the truth regarding the true meaning of Christmas from God's Word, we can allow the things of life and even some of the trappings of the season to distract us and steal some of the joy we used to have. 

Tuesday, December 05, 2017

Christmas Gift Suggestions from The Giver of Good Gifts!

Read:  Galatians 5:22-26

Christmas is the season that is often called, "The Most Wonderful Time of The Year" when we celebrate the birth of Jesus and hopefully a little peace on earth and good will toward all mankind as well!

I really enjoy Christmas time! I enjoy going to Christmas concerts...watching Christmas movies...enjoying Christmas music...enjoying Christmas goodies...enjoying Christmas decorations and giving gifts (not that I'm always organized in advance and kind of a last minute shopper...yes I am one of "Those". Lol) and there's much more that I love about Christmas!

The problem though is that I find that we can get so caught up in the trappings of the season to the point that sometimes we focus on the gifts we can give or receive or maybe even the activities of the season and we forget The One Who is The True Gift Giver. 

As a follower of Christ we exchange gifts with one another because God first gave to us in the first place through Jesus' arrival that we celebrate during Christmas...The most important birthday ever!!

May we remember that God is The giver of good gifts! 

Monday, November 27, 2017

Hold Onto Hope!

Hello! 

Wanted to to share a 60 second video encouragement with you about hope...God's hope! 
Please play the above video or check it out here: https://youtu.be/kNb9S4K1BC4

Hold on to Hope!

Blessings in Christ,
Your brother and servant,

rlk

P.S. If this video was encouraging, please pass it along and if you'd enjoy more video encouragements, please let me know!

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Cultivating An Attitude of Gratitude

Hello,

For those in the USA, I wanted to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

No matter where you call home, I'm thankful for the Lord and you! 

For all of us - no matter where we live, I pray that we truly cultivate an attitude of gratitude all year through and below are two brief encouragements related to having a mindset of thankfulness, gratitude and praise!

Also, check out this brief video prayer of thanksgiving unto the Lord via Instagram or Facebook:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bbz4v5Dj3v
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeartofAShepherd/videos/1781204878620045/

In Christ Alone,
Your Brother and Servant,

rlk
____________________________________________________
Gratitude Part 1: 

God is worthy of your praise, thanksgiving and devotion!...and His love endures for you endures forever! 

He is worthy of devoting your life to Him serving Him with a whole heart, mind, soul and spirit!

When you pray...praise and thank Him for all that He's done and all He continues to do in and through you! 

Praise Him through every season! Through the seasons of peace and the seasons of storms.

Don't wait for holidays or some other special occasion to praise and thank Him! Make it a habit and again as I've shared before...have an attitude of thanksgiving and gratitude! 

When you take your first breath in the morning and open your eyes...breathe out thanksgiving to Him for life and a new day to serve Him! 

Never stop singing and speaking His praises! 
____________________________________________________

Gratitude Part 2:

God is worthy of your praise, thanksgiving and devotion!...and His love endures for you endures forever! 
 
He is worthy of devoting your life to Him serving Him with a whole heart, mind, soul and spirit!
 
When you pray...praise and thank Him for all that He's done and all He continues to do in and through you! 
 
Praise Him through every season! Through the seasons of peace and the seasons of storms.
 
Don't wait for holidays or some other special occasion to praise and thank Him! Make it a habit and again as I've shared before...have an attitude of thanksgiving and gratitude! 
 
When you take your first breath in the morning and open your eyes...breathe out thanksgiving to Him for life and a new day to serve Him! 
 
Never stop singing and speaking His praises! 
____________________________________________________

Thursday, November 09, 2017

Choosing To Live Significantly

Read: John 15:5, John 15:16, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Ephesians 2:6, Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 3:12, Philippians 4:13

On some level, we all want to be significant. We want to feel valued which in and of itself, there’s nothing wrong with that as long as we don't pursue it or live it out in an unhealthy way.

With this, we can often struggle with feeling insignificant or unworthy, and more. You may struggle with feeling insignificant at times as well. You are not alone...the world is full of people searching for significance and struggling with the very same things.

Unfortunately, some confuse significance with fame or popularity which it is not. They identify their worth by what they do or accomplish. In addition, some want to seek fame …the next viral video or YouTube. Some feed on how many “likes” or followers they receive on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram.

Some will also try to bring you down and make you feel that you aren’t important, worthy or worth something…but as for you...hold onto God's truth and don't believe the lies spoken to you or that you speak to yourself!

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Reformation Day

Happy Reformation Day! 

During the 16th century a period in Church History known as The Protestant Reformation took place which we remember and celebrate today as Reformation Day. 

Martin Luther and other reformers, were convicted that the church had departed from many of the core teachings of Christianity which should be grounded in the Word of God and this was the catalyst for their actions to work to try and correct this. 

They came to this reality because sadly, they saw that the core teachings of God's Word was at times in stark contrast to what they saw the church teaching in that period of time. 

Because of this, The Reformers worked to realign Christianity to The Word of God.

Through this period of time five key phrases which helped summarize their convictions about the core teachings of Christianity surfaced. These are also known as the Five Solas as they were latin phrases. 

The Five Solas are:
Sola Scriptura: “Scripture alone” - God's Word alone is our highest authority.
Sola Fide: “faith alone” - Salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Sola Gratia: “grace alone” - We are saved by the grace of God alone.
Solus Christus: “Christ alone” - Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, Savior, and King.  
Soli Deo Gloria: “to the glory of God alone” - We are to live for the glory of God alone.

It was with great cost, (some of The Reformers gave their lives during this time due the great opposition they faced) that we as follower's of Christ can enjoy studying God's Word and being instructed from God's Word in our Church meeting place as part of the body of Christ. 

I encourage you to study this important time within Church History and do your part to re-calibrate your faith daily to the core teachings of God's Word and live them out!

Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, and Soli Deo Gloria!

May God do a reformation in us through His continued transforming work renewing us heart, mind and soul!

In Christ Alone,

rlk




 
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