Listening to the Giants

This blog post is for everyone, because everyone gets angry, even the great John Wycliffe.  His biographer states,  “Wycliffe found no rest at Lutterworth (where he stayed during the last two years of his life) and perhaps he did not really seek it. There was in every sense too much unfinished business, both positive and negative. He was full of anger and resentment. His language breaks into violence in sermon after sermon. It is hard to escape the impression that he had more enemies than close friends.” Anger and resentment. Yeah....I hear you.  Here are 4 things I try to remind myself about anger: #1--Anger is a serious sin. Don’t minimize it. Don’t rename It. (This is when we say things like, “I am frustrated” or “I am just working through some stuff” or “I am just processing”, etc.). Let us not forget that Jesus makes it clear that God takes anger very seriously. Matthew 5:21-22 "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT C...

This was no small complaint by the Oxford scholar. This would be similar to mentioning "a bomb" at any U.S. airport. Wycliffe's biographer states,  “Wycliffe is no longer in favor of bishops. He thinks that the only orders of ministry ought to be those of priest and deacon, since, although the vocabulary of the New Testament is hard to interpret, it does seem to be consistent in referring to only two orders, deacons and presbyter-bishops (elders). Wycliffe lays down the important principle that a distinction of duties or office does not necessarily require a difference in order. ‘For as far as the power of the order is concerned all priests are equal in power’. The simple priest has as much ‘plentitude of power’ as the Pope.” Well….that will do it. Tell everyone the Pope’s authority is invalid and your common priest is just as powerful as the Holy Vicar of Rome. This will put you on Rome’s most wanted list. Here are a couple questions for the Christian toda...

John Wycliffe’s last work was called Gospel Work . His latest biographer assessment of it is interesting. She states, “The drift of this last book on Scripture seems clear. There are no automatic, special, divine preferences for any particular class of Christian, priest or monk or friar; it is personal virtue which counts. The Bible is not reserved for the educated or the ordained. The Bible is for all the people of God.” History states that the heart of Wycliffe was for the laity, so that they could own and read the scriptures for themselves. Because of his passion for God’s word, millions of Christians have multiple bibles in their homes. And yet many Christians often lament that they themselves, though they own a bible, are unable to understand the Bible. Here are 6 main reasons Christians struggle to understand the Bible. ***Please understand when I write “you”, I mean you, me…any Christian who struggles with this. Reason #1—You do not ask for Divine...