Have you ever started something new with lots of enthusiasm and excitement? But what about after the initial excitement begins to wear off?
In this short video (3:33 ), a little history lesson of persistence, and some encouragement to pray and not faint.
Enjoy the video!
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Today there are many who are engaged in activities surrounding Halloween. But October 31 is also the anniversary of the Reformation, led by Martin Luther. It is noteworthy that Luther’s study of the Scriptures illuminated his eyes to what was going on in the organized Church in his day and time.
Luther did not intend to “confront the Church,” but rather, wanted to have a scholarly debate concerning a number of practices that he felt were very wrong.
In 1516–17, Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar and papal commissioner for indulgences, was sent to Germany by the Roman Catholic Church to raise money to rebuild St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Roman Catholic theology stated that faith alone, whether fiduciary or dogmatic, cannot justify man; and that only such faith as is active in charity and good works (fides caritate formata) can justify man. The benefits of good works could be obtained by donating money to the church.
On 31 October 1517, Martin Luther wrote to Albrecht, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, protesting the sale of indulgences. He enclosed in his letter a copy of his “Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” which came to be known as The 95 Theses. Hans Hillerbrand writes that Luther had no intention of confronting the church, but saw his disputation as a scholarly objection to church practices, and the tone of the writing is accordingly “searching, rather than doctrinaire.”
Hillerbrand writes that there is nevertheless an undercurrent of challenge in several of the
theses, particularly in Thesis 86, which asks: “Why does the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of St. Peter with the money of poor believers rather than with his own money?”
Luther objected to a saying attributed to Johann Tetzel that “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory [also attested as ‘into heaven’] springs.” He insisted that, since forgiveness was God’s alone to grant, those who claimed that indulgences absolved buyers from all punishments and granted them salvation were in error. Christians, he said, must not be slacken in following Christ on account of such false assurances.
The sale of indulgences shown in A Question to a Mintmaker, woodcut by Jörg Breu the Elder of Augsburg, circa 1530.
According to Philipp Melanchthon, writing in 1546, Luther “wrote theses on indulgences and posted them on the church of All Saints on 31 October 1517”, an event now seen as sparking the Protestant Reformation. Some scholars have questioned Melanchthon’s account, since he did not move to 
Wittenberg until a year later and no contemporaneous evidence exists for Luther’s posting of the theses. Others counter that such evidence is unnecessary because it was the custom at Wittenberg university to advertise a disputation by posting theses on the door of All Saints’ Church, also known as “Castle Church”.
The 95 Theses were quickly translated from Latin into German, printed, and widely copied, making the controversy one of the first in history to be aided by the printing press. Within two weeks, copies of the theses had spread throughout Germany; within two months throughout Europe.
Luther’s writings circulated widely, reaching France, England, and Italy as early as 1519. Students thronged to Wittenberg to hear Luther speak. He published a short commentary on Galatians and his Work on the Psalms. This early part of Luther’s career was one of his most creative and productive. Three of his best-known works were published in 1520: To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and On the Freedom of a Christian.
Michael A. Verdicchio
2010
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It’s not my favorite holiday. But I’m not here to spoil anybody’s fun and be a party pooper. Wait. Let me look up the definition of “party pooper.”
It says, “a person who hasn’t the interest or vitality to participate actively in a social party and whose mood, attitude, or personality lessens others’ enjoyment.” Okay, so maybe I am a party pooper on this one.
I’ll just step aside and give you the origins of Halloween.
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death.
Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes.
When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.
The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.
By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints’ Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday.
The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead.
It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints’, All Saints’, and All Souls’, were called Hallowmas.
So now you have a little history. What do you think? I think I need a piece of candy right about now. You?
Have a safe weekend.
Michael A. Verdicchio
2010
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What happened yesterday in your life? Most would answer that question by saying, “Nothing. It was just a regular, normal day.”
I disagree. I think a lot happened in your life and in my life yesterday. In this short video (3:03), I’ll point out some things that are happening in our lives, right now, that you really ought to be aware of.
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What Cliff Young did 27 years ago is still inspiring people today. Maybe you know his story. I thought it would inspiring to relate it again today.
Cliff Young is still a hero in Australia. And there are some parallels from his story that all of us could apply today. That’s because there are a lot more obstacles in our world today then there were a few short years ago.
Many people are confused about what has happened and afraid of what is going to happen. There are some who believe that because of the current economic situation, success is no longer an option; they feel like everything is against them.
But back in 1983 there were plenty of people who thought that Cliff Young was out of his mind, absolutely crazy to even consider running in a race. After all, this was no ordinary race. This was the Sydney to Melbourne race, considered to be the world’s toughest race. The distance is 875 kilometers, or just over 543 miles!
That year almost every one in Australia who found out Cliff was participating thought it was insane for him to undertake such an impossible feat. The reason they thought it was impossible for Cliff was because Cliff was not a runner. He had never even participated in a run before. On top of that, he was 61 years old. Many feared that he would die trying.
The Sydney to Melbourne race takes at least 5 days to finish. Cliff Young entered the race against world-class athletes. He accomplished the unthinkable and inspired the whole nation.
The professional athletes participating in that race knew that in order to complete the race, you would need to run 18 hours and then sleep for 6 hours. But Cliff Young, having no experience in these kinds of events, did not know that he should limit himself to running only 18 hours a day.
The morning after the race began, much to everyone’s surprise, Cliff was not only still in the race but had not stopped for the night. He was still far behind the world-class athletes, but he just kept on running, even waving to spectators watching the event on the highways.
Cliff kept running. Every night he got just a little bit closer to the runners leading the pack. By the last night, he passed all of the world-class athletes. By the last day, he was far in front of them.
Not only did he run the Melbourne to Sydney race at age 61, non-stop, without dying, he won first place, breaking the race record by 9 hours and becoming a national hero!
Australia fell in love with the 61-year-old potato farmer who came from nowhere to defeat the world’s best long distance runners. He finished a 543 mile race in 5 days, 15 hours and 4 minutes.
Cliff did not know that he was supposed to sleep during the race. He said when running throughout the race, he imagined that he was chasing sheep and trying to outrun a storm. He wasn’t even aware that there was a prize for first place.
When Cliff was awarded the first prize of $10,000, he said he did not know there was a prize and insisted that he had not entered for the money. He said, “There are five other runners still out there doing it tougher than me,” and he gave them $2,000 each. He did not keep a single penny for himself. This act endeared him to all of Australia.
So what is stopping you from doing the things that you want to do in your life? Is it the economy? Is it the uncertainty of our times? Have you decided to give up and just accept things as they are?
Cliff believed he could run that race, even though from all appearances it was impossible and no one believed in him. He had persistence. He simply decided to keep moving forward.
I don’t know if Cliff believed in God, but regardless of the economy and regardless of the odds, none of that puts our God out of business. For those who do believe in God, we not only keep moving forward toward our dreams with persistence, but we put our trust in a loving God Who truly does want to see us succeed.
What is stopping you? It may not be the current situations we face today. It could just very possibly be you who is stopping you.
Michael A. Verdicchio
2010
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Sometimes, good intentioned statements may sound like a person is doing the right thing, but are they subtly blaming God?
In this short podcast (5:02), I talk about the topic of waiting on God. It’s a touchy subject, but I do believe that all of life has a balance. Listen and see what you think. Do you think that we sometimes, because of our lack of faith, subtly blame God?
Enjoy the podcast.
[If you cannot see the player below, just click the title above]
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We all know optimistic people and pessimistic people. Which one are you? Does being one or the other really impact your life one way or the other?
In this short podcast (6:53) discover if it really makes any difference in your life whether you’re optimistic or pessimistic.
Enjoy the podcast.
[If you cannot see the player below, just click the title above]
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Football season is here and Veterans Day is right around the corner. This short podcast (5:31) combines both. It is about your dreams.
A number of years ago I emceed a business breakfast and Rocky Blier was our keynote speaker. Listen to his story. Does this inspire you to recapture your dream and go for it?
Enjoy the podcast.
[If you cannot see the player below, just click the title above]
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I have never heard of this. In fact, I have never even thought of this. But it happened on a flight from San Diego to Phoenix.
Yesterday morning I picked up Chris, an employee of the company I work for, around 9:30. As I was driving him to the office, I casually asked about the flight. I couldn’t believe his answer.
He said, “There were penguins on the plane!” “Are you kidding me?” I asked. “Dude, they were walking down the isle, he said.
“No way,” I said in total disbelief. “Check this out,” he said excitedly pulling out his smart phone. “I got pictures!”
I glanced at the picture on his phone and just could not believe it.
Yes, there were indeed penguins on the plane, in the cabin, on his flight.
The birds were being transported from the San Diego Zoo to the Phoenix Zoo.
The flight attendants thought it would be fun for the passengers to see the penguins, so they took them out of their cages for a few minutes. Then, it was back in the cages which were setting in the extra space in row 1. Yes, of course it was Southwest Airlines.
Have You?
Have you ever seen penguins on the plane? Have you ever even expected to see penguins on a plane? I have flown a lot in my lifetime and have seen a lot of interesting things, but never have I seen any penguins on the plane.
In fact, I have never even thought about penguins on a plane.
Later in the afternoon I started thinking about the times when God did something very special for me in my life; something that I just didn’t expect. Has God ever surprised you?
And then I thought about the verse in the Bible that says that God is able to that which is exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.
Now of course I know that God did not put the penguins on the plane to surprise everyone. That’s silly. But I think it serves as a pretty cool reminder that there are things that God is able to do for us that we haven’t even thought of.
Never forget that God really does love you. You are His child. And He has promised us that He really is able to do that which is exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.
Michael A. Verdicchio
2010
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Kathy and I are really excited about the new baby who is scheduled to arrive in late December.
No, it is not our baby! It is our first grand baby; a granddaughter to be more specific.
In this short podcast (5:06) there is something really cool I have noticed with all babies. I’ll bet if you think about it, so have you. Is this something we could learn from, or, do you think, that at the very least, we could use it as a reminder of something really important?
Enjoy the podcast.
[If you cannot see the player below, just click the title above]
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