Katie Luther: a Proverbs 31 woman

Today is Reformation day when the church traditionally commemorates Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg's castle church on October 31st, 1517. This event prompted the Protestant Reformation, through which great swathes of Christendom were turned back to the gospel of grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora in June 1525 and although far less is known of her life in comparison to her husband, she has much to teach us today about how to live as a Christian woman. Katharina or "Katie" as Luther called her, was born in 1499 to a family of poor Saxon nobles. Her mother died when she was just a girl and she was sent by her father to live in a convent at the age of 5. She spent her childhood here and at the age of 16, she took her vows and became a nun.

Even in the convent, Katie heard of Luther and his teachings and she and several others determined to leave their life as nuns. Luther himself heard of their desire to escape and he arranged for a merchant friend of his to transport them out of the convent in his wagon, apparently in empty fish barrels! Luther arranged marriages or employment for all the escapees except Katie, and finally married her himself in 1525.

"She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family." Proverbs 31:15

After their marriage, Katie and Martin moved into a former monastery in Wittenberg and Katie began to bring domestic order to Martin's life. Her skillful management of the various animal holdings, vegetable garden, orchard and brewery allowed her to provide for the family and she rose at 4 am each morning to attend to her duties, earning her the nickname "the morning star of Wittenberg". She and Martin had six children of their own and they also raised four orphan children. She provided hospitality for the numerous students who stayed with them and for the many visitors looking to consult with her husband.

"She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy." Proverbs 31:20

During times of sickness in the region, she allowed a hospital to be set up in their property and tended the patients herself.

She was no stranger to sorrow as two of her daughters died, one aged 8 months and another at 13 years of age. She outlived Luther by six years and after his death, was forced to flee Wittenberg with her family due to the outbreak of war. After returning to Wittenberg in 1547, she was force to leave again in 1552 due to an outbreak of the Plague, and during her journey to Torgau she was involved in an accident which left her badly injured. She died in December 1552, her last words being quoted as "I will stick to Christ as a burr to cloth".

There is no doubt that Katie's devotion to her duties as a wife freed Luther to pursue his teaching and writing, and apparently the Luthers' family life became a model of a godly home for other German families in the succeeding years.

This October 31st, when so many others are celebrating Halloween, let's thank God for the legacy of the Reformation and for the example that Katie Luther is to Christian women nearly 500 years later.

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30

The Really Real Madonna & Child

Celebrity pop icon 'Madonna' has been much in the headlines recently over her adoption of a Malawian child. Opinions expressed in the papers range from the outright cynical, accusing Madonna of suffering from 'designer baby' syndrome, to those who applaud her efforts to turn around the life of an impoverished African child destined to end up at the bottom of the pile.

Whatever our own personal 'take' on Madonna and the adoption, it has to be said that women have a tremendous capacity for showing care and compassion - it's all part of the Maker's design. And in many instances it is Christian women who are at the forefront of ministries of mercy, both at home in their immediate localities, and often much further afield.

One such person is Dr. Josephine Munthali, a member of our church who is spearheading her own organisation dedicated to helping A.I.D.S orphans in her own home country of Malawi. Josephine arranges for children orphaned by A.I.D.S. to be fostered by members of their own community, so that they can stay in the environment in which they have been raised, and sends out containers of medical supplies, educational materials , toys, and sewing machines for the women to learn a trade. Last year, the significance of Josephine's work was recognised by First Minister of Scotland, Jack McConnell, who invited Josephine to the G8 summit where she addressed Cherie Blair, Laura Bush and other leader's wives. The work is continuing to grow and flourish as Josephine lives out her christian faith in practical acts of mercy and compassion.

At the beginning of this year, the Women's Ministry of our church put out an information gathering questionnaire to the womenfolk. One of the questions was designed to find out whether women were involved in caring and compassionate ministries both within and outwith the church. The results nearly blew us away. Alison McPhail, who collated the results for us, eventually gave up trying to find a few categories to summarise the results, and instead presented us with a list of eighty different things the women are involved in. They ranged from involvement at the pregnancy crisis centre, massage for end-stage cystic fibrosis sufferers, cancer support charities, the homeless, to mercy missions and children's camps abroad. Without wanting to be self-congratulatory, it brought a huge lump to the throat as we began to realise the extent of women's care and compassion. It's a tremendous cause for thanksgiving and spur to aim even higher.

Now back to 'Madonna and child'. Personally, I am content to let judgement concerning the celebrity's actions fall to the God who sees and understands each of our hearts. But as Christmas approaches, I can't help but be struck by the contrast of this Madonna and Child story with one that happened two thousand years ago - the 'Really Real Madonna and Child', Mary and Jesus. She was no celebrity, but a peasant girl from a humble backgound with no riches or resources at her disposal. Yet she surrendered herself to God for his purposes, enduring condemnation, shame and the heartbreak of seeing her son Jesus crucified. And unlike the little boy David from Malawi, who has left a life of poverty for wealth and prosperity, Jesus left the riches of Heaven and became poor for our sake, being born in a humble stable - the ultimate rescue mission, with the ultimate price tag, his death on the cross that we might live.

In the midst of the run up to Christmas, with all the attendant rush and busyness of life, why not try to carve out some time to reflect on how, like Mary, we can surrender ourselves to God's purposes, and how we can pour ourselves out in a costly, Christ-like, sacrificial love?

Halloween & How We Handle It

Carving out pumpkins, roaming streets, dressing up as witches and ghouls, chapping folks doors looking for money (kids over here aren't in it for the candy!), and 'dooking' for apples...

What should our response be to halloween? Increasingly, this is a big question for us in the UK, as the American style 'trick or treating' begins to take over in superstores. Here are some different takes on the discussion. Read these articles and tell us what you think:

Christians & Halloween by John McArthur
Halloween: Evil or Not? by Lachlan Ramage
Halloween Fast Approaches by Tim Challies
An Unapologetically Dark House on Halloween by Motte Brown

Be sure to read tomorrow for a different take on October 31st: Reformation Day.

The Party-Poopers Handbook?

In this month's Evangelicals Now, Ann Benton gives a review of Carolyn Mahaney's book, Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife & Mother.
Like us at titus2talk, Ann rates very highly Carolyn's treatment of these virtues, describing them as "the beauty and pleasure of femininity as God intended."

To read the article click here.

The Divine Substitute

Colin and I recently picked up a copy of The Divine Substitute: The Atonement in the Bible & History, by Brian Edwards & Ian Shaw. As the doctrine of the atonement has been the subject of intense controversy, this book explores the belief that Christ died in the place of sinners, bearing their sin and guilt and the just and holy punishment that they deserved from God.

For those who seek to contend for biblical womanhood, a correct understanding of why Christ died must remain of utmost importance and central to all else. Here is an excerpt from the foreword to the book.

"John Wesley once claimed that nothing in Christian teaching 'is of greater importance than the doctrine of the atonement.' This book is based on the conviction that Wesley was right. It begins with a statement of the biblical doctrine of the atonement, followed by a survey of the broad Christian tradition from the early church to the present day. The deliberate focus is upon one specific aspect of the atonement: that of Christ's death as a divine substitute for sinners.

In days when immediacy is everything, and when instant solutions are demanded, there is a great danger that in an effort to appear contemporary, Christians in the present generation will lose sight of the rich heritage of church teaching in this area. Rediscovering this tradition helps to counter views, both from within and outside the church, that would destabilise the faith of Christians and lead unsuspecting believers down routes that could prove spiritually harmful.

Viewing the issue of Christ bearing the punishment in the place of sinners, through the lens of Christian history, helps us to appreciate why the church has come to understand the teaching of the bible in a certain way, and why some approaches have been rejected in the past, and others retained. It raises fundamental questions about new developments - why has this not been adopted by the Christian church before? Many modern views of the atonement are a reworking of long rejected ideas, simply presented in contemporary packaging.

The richness of the way in which the Bible refers to the work of Christ upon the cross has been reflected in Christian writings throughout the history of the church. However, at the heart of Biblical teaching about the atonement is the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ, bearing the just penalty for sins. This profound truth draws together all the ways of speaking about the atonement; it is the operative principle that lies behind them. What this book shows is that this teaching on the penal and substitutionary death of Christ is not simply the product of one particular time or context. Although distinctive contributions have been made in certain eras, it is a glorious theme that has been taught at every period in the history of the church."

This is a must read book, a vital contribution to recent controversies and one that contends for (what should be) the non-negotiable truth of substitutionary atonement.

"This the power of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross!" Getty & Townend

Who's Bad?

Keeping the Bible at the Top of the Pile

At titus2talk we spend a lot of time encouraging you to read good Christian books and look at Christian websites. Don't get me wrong, these are extremely worthwhile activities and are certainly a far better use of your time than reading the latest celebrity gossip or watching pointless reality TV shows.

But when are these things not so good? Nicki and I were talking about this recently during one of our "putting the world to rights" sessions while walking back from our church toddler group. We both recognise a tendency in ourselves to read Christian books or blogs more readily than we study Scripture itself. We may know that there is no substitute for reading and meditating on the Bible, but often laziness wins the day, as we prefer someone else to do the hard work for us.

Can I encourage you, as I challenge myself, not to pick up a Christian book or surf the web on any day until you have spent time reading the Bible for yourself. In one of my favourite books (besides the Bible!) A Quest for Godliness, J.I. Packer talks about the Puritans' approach to reading Scripture:

"The Puritans often echo Augustine's remark that, just as there are shallows in Scripture where a lamb may wade, so there are depths in Scripture where an elephant may swim - depths which the most learned and godly have yet to plumb. All Christians, therefore, should approach their study of Scripture knowing that they know but little, longing to learn more and looking to God himself to open to them his own word."

It is easy to make excuses in each of the various seasons of life to explain why we spend so little time studying the Bible for ourselves. But if we want to become "elephants" instead of "lambs" we need to spend time prayfully meditating on Scripture. The washing-up can wait for a little while longer...

Christian Focus Online

Christian Focus Publications, based in Ross-shire, Scotland, have just gone online. I recommend you take a look at their new website, and in particular at their publications for children. They do a great series for young kids called "My First Book", including My First Book of Memory Verses, My First Book of Bible Promises and My First Book of Questions and Answers. The blurb from this last book says:

"Children always have questions about what it means to be a Christian. Do they need a long philosophical answer? Not always and it is simple answers to deep questions that feature in this book. If you have ever wanted to know how to explain the Christian faith to young children in bite-sized chunks then the 114 profound questions and answers, backed by scripture proofs provide an invaluable tool to get you started."

We are working through a similar question book with our 2 1/2 year old daughter and it is immensely valuable for familiarising her with biblical truth. She loves answering her questions after breakfast and she even tries to teach them to her 3-month-old sister (without much success as you can imagine!). They also have a range of books for older children.

Another book available from Christian Focus which I've found very helpful recently is Aren't They Lovely When They're Asleep by Ann Benton, which is full of really practical, helpful advice for parents.

There are also plenty of titles on subjects other than parenting (I'm afraid I'm a bit preoccupied just now!) and in particular, the Christian Heritage section is worth a look.

See the Morning

See The Morning is the new album from Chris Tomlin. The album title finds its inspiration in the truth that God's faithfulness is as certain as the dawn, no matter what comes our way. As with his previous album, Arriving, this album is sure to draw congregations and individuals into a time of worship with its easy to sing music. To listen to a preview of the album, visit Chris' website here. This album is available online at this site or in any good christian bookstore.