THE FLEETING NATURE OF OCTOBER

The Harvest is winding up. The soybeans, of which there is now an abundance in the storehouses of the Midwestern USA, and the cornfields are wrapping up an almost six-week excursion into flying corn tassels, dust, and stalks as massive, computerized Combine Harvesters cut through millions of rows of corn, all across the USA. While the ever-present green of $500,000 plus John Deere combines stand out, many others that we see at the International Farm Progress Show, which was in Decatur, IL. cover a spectrum from Case to CLAAS, etc.

While it seemed like endless summer for the longest while, causing most of the leaves to stay green on trees, Fall colors are finally peeking through....and just in time to fall to the ground quickly.

It is a great illustration of the fleeting nature of life itself, which the Bible tells us, is is simply a vapor, to us (James 4:14).

October 2025 is soon to be in the rearview mirror as November, with all its memories and its season of Thanksgiving, comes upon us.

On October 31, the Western world goes overboard in celebration of Halloween. In my family, our kids were raised at church, observing October 31 as our Church Fall Party. They are now adults, two in their 30s, and look back on the wisdom of those days when they had more fun, more variety, more hot food, bonfires, and campfire songs, that the kids who were back home by 7:30 pm with a plastic pumpkin full of corn syrup and sugar-filled candies and jaw breakers,

October 31 will also be remembered for the events of 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. While the Protestant Reformation had begun way before that fateful day 508 years ago, it was this specific act, which officially launched the movement, that resulted in each of us being able to hold our own Bibles in our hands and know the true Road to Salvation.

Luther's Theses led to the Biblical Road to each human being being able to comprehend that eternal life and reconciliation with God the Father are only possible by His Grace, through Faith, repentance, and accepting/surrendering one's life to Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior. While the world may see various streams of Christianity and 100's of denominations, the basic facts about the Road to Heaven have never changed in 2000 years, since Jesus rose from the dead.

As October rolls to an end this week, the significance of this month can not be mentioned often enough. We are who we care because of October 31, 1517. 

So as the Combines retreat for another year, as the corn dust settles and the crunch of red, yellow, and brown leaves resound underfoot, as smells of hot cider and fireplaces up and down the street predominate, may we never forget that we are blessed beyond measure. We serve a God Who created and continues to create. We are endowed by our Creator with the ability to love, live, and experience His Goodness moment by moment. Finally, we owe it all to the One who made this all possible - by giving His Life on a Cross, a long, long time ago. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.