Robert Fulghum first wrote All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten way back in 1988; and it stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly two years.  His book, subtitled "Uncommon Thoughts on Common Things," was the first of many works he has produced which expound what has been called his “down-home philosophy of seeing the world through the eyes of a child”. 

A cottage industry of sorts has also arisen surrounding his particular title.  Perusing the internet will quickly produce dozens of works consisting of similar titles and/or collections
of thoughts.  Recently, my sister sent me one such collection.  As a good soaking rain is falling outside my window this evening, I thought I would post this piece titled All I Really  Need to Know I Learned From Noah's Ark. 

1. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

2. Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone might ask you to do something REALLY big. 

3. Don't listen to critics -- do what has to be done. 

4. Build on high ground. 

5. For safety's sake, travel in pairs. 

6. Two heads are better than one. 

7. Speed isn't always an advantage. The cheetahs were on board, but so were the snails. 

8. If you can't fight or flee -- float! 

9. Take care of your animals as if they were the last ones on earth. 

10. Don't forget that we're all in the same boat.

11. Stay below deck during the storm. 

12. Remember that the ark was built by amateurs and the Titanic was built by professionals. 

13. If you have to start over, have a friend by your side.

14. Remember that the woodpeckers INSIDE are often a bigger threat than the storm outside.

15. Don't miss the boat.

AND, ABOVE ALL ELSE...

16. No matter how bleak it looks, there's always a rainbow on the other side.
 
 
Please accept my apology.  I am just a tad late in posting this week.  As I will share below, we have been a bit busy with other matters.  Speaking of apologies, I Peter 3:15 admonishes Christians to:  “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 

The phrase translated as “give an answer” in the New International Version is one word in the Koine (or common) Greek language of the original New Testament.  It is the word “apologeomai”, which comes from the legal realm, and is best translated as “give a defense”.  A defense given in such a context was therefore known as an “apologia”.  We get our word “apology” in modern English from this very Greek word.  

Unfortunately, terms both denote and connote things in their meaning.  Accordingly, the term “apology” has certain connotations in modern English language that were not necessarily inherent in the original usage.  To the Apostle Peter, therefore, being prepared to offer an apology for one’s faith in Jesus Christ did not mean one had done something for which one needed to say, “Oh, I’m sorry; I was wrong.”  Rather, he was asserting that we as Christians need to be prepared to engage others with respect to their questions about our faith in Jesus Christ, and then to defend our convictions in this regard. 

The early Christians understood this well.  In the first generation or two after the New Testament Apostles, the early church produced a number of teachers and writers known collectively as the “Apologists.”  Such men included Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Jerome, to name a few.  These men offered defenses of the Christian faith to an increasingly inquisitive, even if hostile, Roman world.   

In the modern world, there are many noted Christian Apologists as well.  A long list could be compiled; but a few of the more well known individuals of late have been Norman Geisler, Henry Morris, Josh McDowell, John Warwick Montgomery, Francis Schaeffer, Lee Strobel, and Ravi Zacharias.  For our part, we have been privileged to have noted Christian Apologist Ron Carlson with us this past week here at First Baptist Church in Lenoir City.  His specialty is that of "World Religions and Cults".  He has been addressing various aspects of these topics nightly as a way of helping us as believers become better equipped to defend our faith in Jesus Christ. 

In times past, we have had Ken Ham, whose specialty is "Creation versus Evolution".  Next year, we hope to have Randall Price with us as well.  His specialties are "Biblical Archaeology and Eschatology" (end times studies).  (Note:  a quick Google search will lead anyone interested in knowing more about these men and their respective ministries to their official websites.) 

In having these men in our church (as well as in sharing theirs and others’ names here) my purpose is really the same as that of Peter so long ago:  to help equip us as believers as we attempt to meet the admonition of God's Word to be prepared to given an answer for our faith in Jesus Christ.  I hope you will take the time to explore the websites of these men and their ministries; and in so doing, improve your own ability to “give an answer” regarding your hope in Jesus Christ. 
 
 
On Sunday evenings at our church, we have been in an extended study of Christian Doctrine titled "The Basics of Our Beliefs".  Currently, we are adressing the Doctrine of Sin.  This past Sunday evening, we looked specifically at Ephesians 2, as we discussed the solution to humanity's sin problem.   

To illustrate what grace is, I shared the following story as related by Denise Banderman, of Hannibal, Missouri.  Since numerous people have inquired about the story since Sunday evening; I have decided to post it here.  The Bandermans' actual web-page is at:  https://www.1on1withgod.org/. 
The story itself is attested to by someone who was there at:
http://shadyelmfarm.com/2008/05/grace-by-a-college-friend/. For my part, I originally came accross the story in a web-based subscription publication of Christianity Today, Inc.)
  
In the spring of 2002, I left work early so I could have some uninterrupted study time before my final exam in the Youth Ministry class at Hannibal-LaGrange College in Missouri.  When I got to class, everybody was doing their last-minute studying. The teacher came in and said he would review with us before the test.  Most of his review came right from the study guide, but there were some things he was reviewing that I had never heard.  When questioned about it, he said they were in the book and we were responsible for everything in the book. We couldn't argue with that.

Finally it was time to take the test. "Leave them face down on the desk until everyone has one, and I'll tell you to start," our professor, Dr. Tom Hufty, instructed.

When we turned them over, to my astonishment every answer on the test was filled in.  My name was even written on the exam in red ink.  The bottom of the last page said: "This is the end of the exam.  All the answers on your test are correct. You will receive an A on the final exam. The reason you passed the test is because the creator of the test took it for you. All the work you did in preparation for this test did not help you get the A.  You have just experienced … grace."

Dr. Hufty then went around the room and asked each student individually, "What is your grade?  Do you deserve the grade you are receiving?  How much did all your studying for this exam help you achieve your final grade?"

Then he said, "Some things you learn from lectures, some things you learn from research, but some things you can only learn from experience.  You've just experienced grace.  One hundred years from now, if you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, your name will be written down in a book, and you will have had nothing to do with writing it there. That will be the ultimate grace experience."
 
 
As I write this post, it is Labor Day.  For many, today has little meaning beyond signifying the end of summer.  However, this holiday has great historical importance, and deserves to be appreciated for all it actually represents.  According to the official United States Department of Labor web page:  

“Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.  It constitutes
a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”

George Meany perhaps summed up the significance of Labor Day as well as anyone.  In Vital Speeches, he made the following observation.

“Labor Day is the only national holiday dedicated to the plain people, rather than heroes and historic events.  It provides an opportunity for all of us to recognize and honor the working men and women who have built America to its present stature and keep it going with such steady efficiency.  We need this annual reminder because during the rest of the year the contributions made to our well-being by the unsung workers of our country are taken for granted.  Only when some dramatic interruption takes place de we begin to realize how dependent we are in our daily lives upon the continuous miracle of production and service rendered by the great army of free American workers.”

I hope you will join me in taking a little time this Labor Day weekend to observe and appreciate the productivity of our American workforce.  I am greatly indebted in such regard. 
My father farmed and I have plenty to eat.  My father-in-law assembled automobiles and I drive a dependable vehicle.  My mother worked in insurance and I have security for my family and my possessions.  My mother-in-law taught school and I can write these words.  Truly, I have much to be thankful for as a result of my forebears, who simply got up each and every day and went to work and did their respective jobs.

I also hope you will join me this Labor Day in thanking God for the wonderful privilege of living in this great country, and of enjoying all the blessings pertaining therein.  I am reminded that I could have been born in any of scores of other countries who do not have the resources, the freedoms, and the heritage that America has.  As a result, I would never have known the great blessings associated with being an American citizen.  For that matter, I could easily have been born at some other time in the history of this great nation, and would still have never known the great blessings which I enjoy as a result of living in this particular day and age.  I have much to be thankful for.  Perhaps you do as well.