“When we pass the golden summer, And, like autumn leaves, retire”*

by chuckofish

It is the tail end of blooming season here in flyover-land. We are in our second go-round with this chrysanthemum plant and the same goes for this begonia.

I swear I saw some Iris blooming by the parking lot across from the Baptist Church. Now that’s amazing. A week of warm temperatures and a good rainstorm and voila!

Today is the birthday of actor Dennis Franz, who won four Emmys playing Andy Sipowicz on NYPD Blue–that’s a record, by the way.

Anyway, I am a big fan and I will toast him tonight. I had a couple of classic Andy scenes lined up but I’m afraid I’d be canceled for including them on our blog. NYPD Blue was an honest show and truth is no longer admired or even tolerated much. But hopefully this scene won’t offend anyone…

Here’s a real tearjerker if you’re in the mood. (Nobody does the quarter nod like Andy.)

Of course, All Hallows’ Eve, is coming up on Sunday. Don’t forget that it is also the 504th anniversary of the day Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. This was a momentous occasion as it started the ball rolling for the Reformation.

You can watch the Ligonier Ministries documentary about the life of Martin Luther for free through the end of the month (so hurry!) It is well worth your time.

Although in the sixteenth century the word of God had been taken captive by the Catholic Church, the meaning of sin had been lost, and the death of Christ had been diluted, the Reformation still happened. The Gospel was recovered, the Church was renewed, Christian life was invigorated, and Europe was changed in deep and profound ways. If the Church then, which had been all but lost despite its outward wealth and pomp, could be recovered, so can the Church today. And if Europe could be changed as drastically as it was, so might our world today. Then as now, however, the prerequisite is a Christian life that is biblically faithful and a Church that is doctrinally shaped, morally tough, intellectually vibrant, and buoyant with a faith that can lay hold of the promises of God in the face of circumstantial disconfirmation and see God’s great power at work.

–David F. Wells, Losing Our Virtue

Therefore we do not lose heart. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

*David Warner, 1888