My Ongoing Thoughts

“IT’S ME AGAIN, LORD!”

5/20/2019

My readers who reside in the east Tennessee area will likely have already heard or read about the subject of my blog post today. For the rest of you, just know that most every University of Tennessee sports fan is excited today as the UT Lady Vols Softball Team are now advancing to the Super Regionals in their attempt to reach Oklahoma City and play in the 2019 NCAA Women’s College World Series.

But what made the biggest headlines was what happened just before the game ended. According to a WVLT News article, the Lady Vols pitcher stopped the game with one strike left in order to meet the catcher halfway between the pitcher’s mound and home plate - in order to say a prayer together. The article states:

“Tennessee pitcher Matty Moss was one strike away from sending Tennessee to the super regionals on Saturday, when she called for time, stopping the game, momentarily. The crowd, which was in a frenzy at the time, became nearly silent. She held hands with her catcher for a matter of seconds, before smiling and returning to action.”

After the game, reporters asked Tennessee Co-Head Coach Karen Weekly about the brief incident. To which she replied:

“It was a prayer. That's what Matty does. When Matty needs to calm down, she calls the catcher out. She says, ‘grab my hand.’ I don't know who does the praying. I don't know if it's out loud or silent because I've never been a part of it; but it's a prayer!”

Coach Weekly told the reporters that she was fully aware of what Moss was doing when she called for time and went out and met the catcher. She concluded:

“I love it. If that's what gets Matty calmed down, she can pray every pitch ... Yeah, amen!”

Little wonder, for after her prayer, Moss promptly returned to the mound and ended the game exactly two pitches later - with a strikeout!

Prayer is indeed a wonderful thing. It has many effects, to be sure. God certainly answers our prayers, especially those we offer on behalf of others and their concerns. But prayer also has benefits for those of us who actually undertake it. Dr. Charles Stanley suggests fourteen benefits of prayer in the lives of believers who pray regularly. He asserts that regular prayer…

(1) provides timely direction, (2) prevents wrong decisions, (3) eliminates worry and anxiety, (4) produces peacefulness, (5) invites God into our activity, (6) produces confidence, (7) eliminates fretting, (8) sharpens discernment, (9) gives us energy, (10) prevents distractions, (11) reminds us to act now, (12) protects us from discouragement, (13) opens doors of opportunity, and (14) helps us discern between busyness and fruitfulness.

I do not necessarily know what all Matty Moss was seeking in her prayer. But as her own coach later affirmed, her conversation with God apparently allowed her to calm down and continue to compete effectively. And through her example, I have been reminded that it well behooves me to talk to God on a regular basis – not only for the effects of my prayers in the lives of others, but for the benefits it has to offer me as well.

Perhaps this is exactly what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he admonished the Thessalonians (and us through them) to “pray without ceasing” (I Thess. 5:17). Maybe, just maybe, the more we talk to God, the bigger a difference it makes in our lives!

And for this very reason, maybe, just maybe, some of the sweetest words heard up in Heaven were summed up by Rev. F.C. Barnes years ago:

Troubles come and I can’t find an answer;
Lonely nights I spend in agony.
I have no other friend that I can turn to;
So here I am Lord back upon my knees.

It’s me again Lord; I’ve got a prayer, I need an answer.
It’s me again Lord; I’ve got a problem I can’t solve.
Well I don’t mean to worry you; but here I am facing something new.
And I need help that only comes from You; it’s me again Lord!

It's me again Lord; With a pain, I need Your healing.
It's me again Lord; With a burden I cannot bear.
As I cope from day to day, keep me Lord lest I stray.
I need Your help every day; It's me again Lord. It's me again Lord!

It's me again Lord; With a door I cannot open.
It's me again Lord; Will you please open it for me?
There are hills that I have to climb; In Your word, Your help I find.
I need Your help all the time. It's me again Lord. It's me again Lord!

Amen!

SOURCES:

NEWS STORY: https://www.wvlt.tv/content/news/Lady-Vol-pitcher-stops-game-to-pray-with-one-strike-left-510151211.html.

SEE ALSO: https://www.intouch.org/Read/Blog/14-benefits-of-prayer.

SCRIPTURE: https://biblehub.com/1_thessalonians/5-17.htm.

SONG LYRICS: https://www.lyricsbox.com/reverend-f.c.-barnes-and-company-it-s-me-again-lord-lyrics-3bng78k.html.

“I MUST DECREASE THAT HE MAY INCREASE!”

5/17/2019

It’s been a busy couple of days for the Jackson family. But it has also been quite a profitable time; for the Jackson tribe has now increased yet again!

In the years after my wife and I were married, we were blessed with three wonderful children. During this time, we were lovingly referred to as the Jackson 5. In time, our three children were each married; and I suppose we then became the Jackson 8.

Thereafter, our tribe increased again as the Lord began to bless us with grandchildren. And now, over the last two days, we have welcomed our fourth grandson. This most recent addition has brought our total number from the Jackson 11 to the Jackson 12. Now, any way you look at it, that is an increase of just under ten percent in nine months. (Would that my investment accounts had performed so well in that same time period!)

If you think I am brimming with pride, you should see my son. He has a grin on his face the size of the Grand Canyon! Last night, as we sat and talked, he reiterated what he had already told me once before – the fact that, with the birth of his first child, his life is now changing forever!

“You know, Dad,” he said, “I have been so blessed in life. The Lord gave me a wonderful family and home in which to grow up. When the time was right, I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Later, as I grew up, I finished school and got to go to college; and I was then given the opportunity to pursue a career in something I absolutely love doing. Later, in God’s perfect timing, I met the most beautiful girl in the world; and she eventually consented to become my wife. And now, God has given me a son to carry on our family name!”

I acknowledged all he was asserting. But it was clear he was not done. He continued: “At every juncture along the way, as I have lived my life, I have had to face changes. And now, with the birth of my son, I know my life has changed once again – only this time, it has changed in a way that it has never changed before.”

“You see, up until now, my wife and I have pretty much done whatever we wanted to do. We have gone wherever we have wanted to go, and pursued whatever we wanted to pursue. For us, that has meant going wherever we wanted to go on vacation, or driving whatever type of vehicle we wanted to drive, or even living wherever we wanted to live, etc… “

He went on: “For me personally, that has meant that whatever I wanted, within reason, I just went out and bought it. If I wanted a new tool, I went out and bought it. If I wanted a new piece of hunting gear, I just went out and got it.”

At this, he paused. And then he said: “But now, we have this precious little life that God has entrusted to us. Now, we have the responsibility to protect him and to provide for his needs and to see that we raise him up in the fear and admonition of the Lord – just as you and mommy did for me. From now on, the needs, concerns, and well-being of our son all trump our own wishes, desires, and choices. That’s a pretty heavy thought, you know?!”

I agreed with him; and then let him know that I affirmed him in his conclusions, as well as his commitment to learn to become less focused on himself and more sacrificial on behalf of those whom God had entrusted to his care.

As I did, I was reminded of a story that I referenced in a blog post way back in October of 2010 titled “A LIFE THAT MATTERS”.

In 1805, while somewhere near the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains exploring the vast expanse of wilderness acquired two years earlier in the Louisiana Purchase by President Thomas Jefferson, Captain Meriwether Lewis of the famed Corps of Discovery made the following journal entry on what was his thirty-first birthday (August 18, 1805):

“This day I completed my thirty-first year, and conceived that I had in all human probability now existed about half the period which I am to remain in this sublunary world. I reflected that I had as yet done but little, very little indeed, to further the happiness of the human race, or to advance the information of the succeeding generation. I viewed with regret the many hours I have spent in indolence, and now sorely feel the want of that information which those hours would have given me had they been judiciously expended.

But since they are past and cannot be recalled, I dash from me the gloomy thought and resolved in (the) future, to redouble my exertions and at least endeavor to promote those two primary objects of human existence, by giving them the aid of that portion of talents which nature and fortune have bestowed on me; or in future, to live for mankind, as I have heretofore lived for myself."

Ironically, my own son turns thirty-one on his very next birthday. At pretty much the same juncture in life, he too has reached pretty much the same conclusion as did the famed Meriwether Lewis – which is to live in the future for others as he has heretofore lived for himself!

I suppose I now owe it to my son to tell him that I too went through just such an epiphany. It was the births of him, his sister, and his brother at roughly the same juncture in my own life that drove me to similar conclusions.

I also trust that, if our Lord tarries His return, and my son lives to see his own son come of age, marry, and have children of his own, that the day will come when my grandson reaches these same conclusions on his own and then shares them with his father (and my son).

If and when that day comes, I hope my son has the same sense of satisfaction that I now have. For when all is said and done, most all of us protect and provide for our children in order to help them mature to the point that they are autonomous and can stand on their own two feet. But even more importantly, we do so in order that they can begin to glorify their Lord and Savior by learning to live a life of sacrifice on behalf of others.

The simple truth is that we are never more like Jesus Christ than when we give of ourselves and sacrifice on behalf of others. After all, as is recorded in the New Testament Gospel of John (chapter 13, verses 34 and 35), Jesus Himself once said: 34“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The type of love Jesus referred to here is neither friendship love (“adelphos” in Greek), nor marital love (“eros” in Greek), nor even parental love (“storge” in Greek), but rather Godly, sacrificial love (“agape” in Greek).

It is the same sort of love the Bible references in that most famous of Bible verses (John 3:16) wherein we are told: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Like Meriwether Lewis, my son is now onto something – that life is more about us living on behalf of others than it is about us living on behalf of ourselves. As the Bible makes plain, just as Jesus gave all He had to give on our behalf, may we learn to give sacrificially on behalf of others!

SOURCES:

PREVIOUS BLOG:
https://www.cleoejacksoniii.com/my-ongoing-thoughts/a-life-that-matters.

SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES:
https://biblehub.com/niv/john/13.htm;
https://biblehub.com/text/john/13-35.htm; and
https://biblehub.com/niv/john/3-16.htm.

PASSING IT ON

5/13/2019

My wife and I were blessed to spend yesterday, Mother’s Day, together with her parents, our three children, their respective spouses, and our three grandsons. What is more, we are even now sitting on go, as it were, as my daughter–in-law is expecting to go the hospital at any moment in order to deliver our fourth grandson.

As I shared previously, yesterday was the first Mother’s Day in my life without my own mother (who is now in Heaven). This fact, combined with so many new grandsons running around under foot, has led me to do a lot of thinking about how life progresses from one generation to the next, and also about how each generation does its part in producing and protecting the ensuing generation.

Bear all of this in mind as I now relate what happened to me when I came in and went walking late Sunday evening. The Lord obviously knew full well what was on my heart and mind. In what can only be described as His perfect timing, two things that have never happened to me before occurred while I was out walking.

As I approached the entrance to our subdivision, I noticed a Mockingbird on the ground. She seemed to be hurt, and was walking sideways, dragging what appeared to be a broken wing with her. While I took note of her situation, and felt pity, I made no effort to intrude on her space.

No sooner had I passed by, however, than I realized that she was not hurt after all. For only a few feet away from her in the grass was a small fledgling. Apparently, either accidentally or intentionally, one of her chicks had just left the nest. She was now protecting her offspring by attempting to serve as a decoy in order to lure any perceived predator(s) such as myself away.

I had seen such things enacted on nature documentaries on television many times. But this was the first time I had ever witnessed any such behavior in nature firsthand. It was impressive to say the least. I pondered all of this as I continued my walk.

About twenty minutes later, I rounded a curve and headed up a little grade that passes near a large shade tree. As I passed by, I heard a fluttering sound and felt a rush of wind pass extremely close to the top of my head. As might be expected, my natural reaction was to swirl around and simultaneously duck to the side as quickly as I could. As soon as I did, I realized what had just happened. I had been dive-bombed by a mother Swift bird, which obviously had young somewhere nearby.

As she gained attitude and prepared for another attack, I clearly heard her chicks chirping loudly in the tree beside me. I quickly concluded that, like the Mockingbird mother I had encountered not twenty minutes before, this mother was simply protecting her offspring.

Having reached this conclusion, I decided that the single best thing I could do under the circumstances was to “get out of Dodge”! I quickened my pace (ironically while walking backwards so as to protect my vulnerable side). She made two more passes before apparently concluding that I was no longer a threat.

These two episodes, coming back-to-back as they did on Mother’s Day of all days, certainly left an impression on me. A mother, by definition, is someone who has produced and then raised, or is raising, an ensuing generation of offspring. The vast majority of us have (or had) some such person in our lives. The sacrificial love practiced by mothers is something for which we are eternally indebted.

The two mother birds I encountered yesterday evening were only doing what comes natural to all mothers everywhere. They were protecting their children in an attempt to see them through to adulthood.

It is probable that these two mother birds will be outlasted by their offspring. Their fledglings in turn will likely one day grow up to produce and raise their own brood of youngsters, before they themselves pass on and give way to those who come after them. But in their time, like links in a chain, these two mother birds faithfully did their part to give and sustain life. They each laid their eggs, hatched their chicks, and bravely protected their hatchlings until the were ready to leave the nest. And in this way, life is renewed, generation by generation. Such is the way God has designed our world.

Of course, similar principles apply to us as well. Forty or fifty years ago, my two sisters and I celebrated Mother’s day with our mother and grandmothers. A few years later, we were joined in this celebration by our respective spouses, and then by our children. Along the way, however, our grandmothers went on to Heaven. Three years ago, my mother was still alive; and I had no grandchildren of my own. Now, my mother is in Heaven; and I will soon have four grandsons.

What do we make of this? That each generation, in its time, did its part. In her time in this world, my mother did her best to provide for and to protect her children. She cared for us and nurtured us until we were old enough and mature enough to make it on our own in this world

Having accomplished this, she then helped us and our spouses to raise our own children. And once she had fulfilled these responsibilities and all the other purposes for which God had created her, she went home to Heaven to be with Him as her Lord and Savior. If the truth be known, I will have to get to Heaven myself one day before I truly discover just how hard my mother worked and just how much she sacrificed on behalf of me and others in this world.

These days, for the most part, my wife and I have now raised our own children; but we are still busy helping them to rear our grandchildren to maturity so that they too can one day function as autonomous individuals in the world in which they will live. At some future point, when the time comes that all of our own earthly tasks will have been completed, we too will pass on to Heaven.

But until then, I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the chain of life which God has created, and through which He works His miracle of creation with each successive generation. I fully recognize and acknowledge all that has been done by those who have come before me, as well as the role they have played in giving me life and raising me to maturity.

Equally as important, I plan to give as much as I can in return to those to whom God has now given life through me. I pledge to do all I can to see them through to maturity as well. For in this way, I help to pass life on. I help life to be renewed. More importantly, I help to fulfill at least part of the reason for which God created me.

HONOR THY MOTHER!

5/9/2019

As “Mother’s Day”, 2019 rolls around, I thought I would share a very convicting story posted by the good folks over at www.Ministry127.com. It seems that…

President Abraham Lincoln once summoned an Army surgeon to the White House. The major assumed that he was to be commended for some exceptional work. During the conversation, Mr. Lincoln asked the major about his widowed mother. “She is doing fine,” he responded.

“How do you know?” asked Lincoln. “You haven’t written her; but she has written me.” Lincoln continued, “She thinks that you are dead; and she is asking that a special effort be made to return your body.”

At that, the Commander-in-Chief placed a pen in the young doctor’s hand and ordered him to write a letter letting his mother know that he was alive and well.

My own mother passed away on May 23, 2018. At the time, Mother’s Day, which fell on May 13, 2018, had already passed. Consequently, Mother’s Day of this year (May 12, 2019) will be unique for several reasons.

Obviously, it will be the first time my sisters and I have ever faced a Mothers’ Day without her presence here in our midst. It will also be the first Mother’s Day in my adult life when I have not sent her flowers, a card, and/or a gift – all of which have been followed up by a personal phone call.

In the fifth of the famed “Ten Commandments” (first found in the Old Testament Book of Exodus, chapter 20, verse 12), the Holy Bible admonishes us to “honor our mother”. The Book of Proverbs (in chapter 31, verse 28) underscores this admonition by reminding us that the children of a virtuous woman rightly “arise and call her blessed”.

For my part, I am now more thankful than ever before that, to the best of my knowledge, whenever I was given the opportunity to honor my own mother on this special day, I was faithful to do so. I say this, not to sound braggadocios, but rather because I now no longer have the opportunity to do this very thing.

My mother is now in Heaven; and that time has passed. For my sake and hers, therefore, I am more thankful than ever before that whenever God prompted me to acknowledge and honor her while I had the opportunity, I found the time to respond as I should.

Are you in a similar situation to mine? Is your own mother no longer with you? Is she also now in Heaven? If so, then I hope you have a similar testimony to mine.

Conversely, is your own mother still alive? Is she still present in this world? If she is, then you might consider this very blog post a subtle reminder from God to seek her out this Mother’s Day weekend and to find some special way to honor her.

If the Lord tarries His return, then the day will surely come when you can no longer do this very thing! And take it from me, when that day comes, you will find yourself asking whether or not you did all you could to let her know just how much she meant to you!

STORY SOURCE:
http://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/write-your-mother.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
https://biblehub.com/exodus/20-12.htm;
https://biblehub.com/proverbs/31-28.htm.

MOTHER’S NATURE

5/6/2019

Years ago, the little publication titled Bits and Pieces contained the following story:

A teacher asked a boy this question: "Suppose your mother baked a pie and there were seven of you - your parents and five children. What part of the pie would you get?" "A sixth," replied the boy. "I'm afraid you don't know your fractions," said the teacher. "Remember, there are seven of you." "Yes, teacher," said the boy, "but you don't know my mother. Mother would say she didn't want any pie."

As I re-read this little piece earlier today, two things came to my mind. The first is the noticeable parallel to the noble or virtuous wife as found in the Old Testament Book of Proverbs, chapter 31, verses 10-31:

10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
11Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
14She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
15She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.
16She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
19In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
21When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
26She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”
30Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Take particular note of verse 15, which has to do with the provision of food for loved ones. Though separated by some three thousand years, the mother depicted in the story and the woman depicted in Proverbs bear a striking resemblance. Both are very loving, devoted, hard-working, and self-sacrificing individuals who seem to care more for the needs of others than for themselves.

The second thing that comes to mind is that there have been a great many such women in my own life. My own two earthly grandmothers and my beloved mother are all represented in both the story and the Proverb. So is my precious mother-in-law. While the former three are all now in Heaven, my precious mother-in-law is alive and well in this world.

As Mother’s Day, 2019 approaches, I can only trust that my two grandmothers and my mother all passed on to their eternal reward fully aware that I was appreciative for all they had done for me.

And as my mother-in-law now lives out her retirement years, I plan to do all I can to communicate to her just how thankful I am for what all she has done for me. For I fully realize that it was in large part due to her hard work and great sacrifice that my wife and I have been as richly blessed as we have in life.

For these reasons, if and when she reads this, I hope she hears me saying: “Thank you for all you have given on my behalf!”

Perhaps you too have a grandmother, a mother, or a mother-in-law who have sacrificed greatly on your behalf. If so, and if any of them are still alive, would not this week be an appropriate time to seek them out and let them know how much they have meant to you?

After all, the concluding verse of Proverbs 31, verse 31, admonishes us to do just that: “Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”

SOURCES:

POEM: Bits and Pieces, June, 1990, p. 10. Also available widely online. See, for instance, https://www.preaching.com/sermon-illustrations/illustration-mothers-sacrifice/.

SCRIPTURE: https://biblehub.com/niv/proverbs/31.htm#footnotes.

MUSCLE-HEADED?

5/2/2019

Long ago in America, before the fitness craze had yet hit, health enthusiasts hung out mainly on or near beach front communities. This was often true of weightlifters, and especially of bodybuilders, most of whom lived in places like the Jersey shore, south Florida, and especially southern California.

As early as the 1930s, spots like "Muscle Beach" in Santa Monica, California (outside Los Angeles) in particular were becoming noted for musclebound marvels that frequented the sand and surf. There they appeared regularly over the next few decades, flexing for fans, posing for photo shoots (in muscle magazines), and not infrequently, starring in specific genres of movies, such as “beach party” and/or “sword and sandal” epics.

However, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as more and more baby-boomers came of age, weightlifting in general and bodybuilding in particular became more and more popular, eventually moving into mainstream American culture. As a result, weight rooms, gyms, and fitness facilities cropped up all across America. By the 1980s, many local “mom and pop” local gyms had been replaced by nationwide fitness chains.

Early on as this transition unfolded, the media picked up on the phenomenon, and helped to disperse it. Gary Gulbranson, writing in Leadership magazine, recounts a now famous scene that once unfolded on the "The Merv Griffin Show" during this time.

Merv’s guest for the day was a certain bodybuilder. During the interview, Merv asked "Why do you develop those particular muscles?" The bodybuilder simply stepped forward and flexed a series of well-defined muscles from chest to calf. The audience applauded.

"What do you use all those muscles for?" Merv asked. Again, the muscular specimen flexed, and biceps and triceps sprouted to impressive proportions. "But what do you USE those muscles for?" Merv persisted. The “muscle-headed” bodybuilder was more than a little bewildered. He simply did not have any answer other than just to stand there and display his well-developed frame.

Dr. Gulbranson goes on to write: “I was reminded that our spiritual exercises - Bible study, prayer, reading Christian books, listening to Christian radio and tapes - are also for a purpose. They're meant to strengthen our ability to build God's kingdom, not simply to improve our pose before an admiring audience.”

How right he is! In his First New Testament Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 8, verse 1), the Apostle Paul admonishes his hearers not to be caught up in merely amassing lots of spiritual knowledge, for doing so only puffs one up! Instead, he encourages believers to put that knowledge, gained through repetitive spiritual discipline and consistent spiritual exercise, to good use by loving others.

Biblically, to love someone is to seek his or her highest good at all times and in all ways. And surely this is what it means to put the results of all of one’s spiritual discipline and exercise to some good use! For this reason, Christians, above all people, must be careful not to become spiritual muscle-heads!

For like a bodybuilder with gigantic muscles who does not find some good purpose for which to employ them, so is a Christian who is puffed up with knowledge from extensive amounts of Bible study, church attendance, Christian books, tapes, CDs, conferences, workshops, retreats, etc… without ever finding a way to put all of this knowledge to work for the good of others!

Now, please do not misunderstand me. I am not contending for us as Christians to live lives devoid of spiritual discipline. I am, however, contending that we as believers should also strive to put the results of all of our spiritual discipline and exercise to work for some higher purpose. Otherwise, we run the risk of narcissism!

And need I remind you that, for men and women who purport to follow Jesus Christ, nothing could be more incongruous? After all, everything Jesus did was on behalf of and for the benefit of others – even to the laying down of His very life!

STORY SOURCE: Gary Gulbranson, Leadership, Summer, 1989, p. 43. Dr. Gulbranson is Senior pastor at Westminster Chapel in Bellevue, WA. Cf.: https://www.westminster.org/gary-gulbranson-senior-pastor/ as well as https://www.westminster.org/history/.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/niv/1_corinthians/8.htm.

NOTE: Narcissus was an individual in ancient Greek mythology who, upon seeing his own reflection in a pool of water, became so enamored with the image he saw that that he remained frozen there in admiration of himself until he died. Cf.: https://www.ancient.eu/Narcissus/.

NO STOMACH FOR THIS!

4/29/2019

A recent national news article written by Nicole Darrah tells the sad story of a dolphin that was discovered stranded on a Florida beach last week.

The rare specimen of a deep-water species known as a “rough-tooth dolphin” was first found on Tuesday of last week beached near Fort Myers. The poor creature was still alive, but was emaciated and in obvious ill health. For these reasons, according to the Fort Myers News-Press, authorities decided to euthanize it on site.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, rough-tooth dolphins, whose normal diet consists of squid and fish, live throughout the world in tropical climates. Here in the United States, at least, they are protected under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.

While no one yet knows the age of this particular specimen, it is believed that, under optimal circumstances, individual rough-tooth dolphins can live for more than 36 years in the wild.

What is known about this individual specimen is that biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission disclosed on Facebook that they had found two plastic bags full of trash along with a shredded piece of a balloon in its stomach!

Researchers stated that the presence of the garbage inside of the dolphin's stomach was "a significant finding”. They also shared that, at the very least, this trash "highlights the need to reduce single use plastic and to not release balloons into the environment."

But scientists also pointed out that “there are many additional factors to consider, such as underlying illness, disease and maternal separation, before a final cause of stranding and death for the dolphin can be determined."

Florida Fish and Wildlife added that those who come across stranded marine mammals should resist the normal impulse to assist the animal by pushing it back into the water, "as it can delay examination and treatment and often results in the animal re-stranding in worse condition."

According to the article, anyone happening upon any such stranded marine mammal(s) should contact Wildlife Alert at 888-404-3922 instead.

Like most any human being with compassion reading this article, I could not help but feel pity for this poor creature. I know it was in the animal’s best interest to euthanize it; but I still would rather that it had never suffered to begin with.

I do not know whether the dolphin first ate the trash and then became sick; or whether it was already sick and then ate the trash as an easy meal, as it were.

But this much I do know: eating trash under any circumstances is not healthy! Clearly, doing so will inevitably only serve to make one sick, to complicate whatever illness one already has, and/or most likely hasten one’s demise in the process.

For these reasons, I like to think that I myself would never deliberately consume trash. I hope you would not either. Nonetheless, the simple truth is that men and women consume trash all day long!

Now, I’m not necessarily talking here about physical trash. (Albeit, with my own eyes, I once saw a man in Grand Central Station in New York City retrieve a half-eaten hot dog, recently discarded by someone else, from a trash can and eat it!)

I am talking about the trash that people willfully consume through their eyes and ears all throughout the day and night. Simply put, a significant portion of what is paraded before us each and every day by the media, whether in print, electronic, or digital form, could best be described as trash! As such, it is full of filth, stench, and harmful pathogens, especially to our souls!

As a child, we used to sing the little ditty that goes like this:

O be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above
He is looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you see!

O be careful little ears what you hear
O be careful little ears what you hear
For the Father up above
He is looking down in love
So, be careful little ears what you hear!

As the master of temptation, Satan knows full well what looks good to our eyes and what sounds good to our ears and what tastes good to our palate! But as Shakespeare said, “not all that glitters is gold”, and not everything that purports to be good is actually good for us!

Little wonder then that Jesus included the following in the Lords’ Prayer (in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, verse 13 at the beginning of His ministry): “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Little wonder as well that He also told His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane (in the same New Testament Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26, verse 41 near the end of His ministry) to: “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

For these reasons, I offer this admonishment. Be careful, little eye, what entices you! Be careful, little mouth, what you bite! Be careful, little throat, what you swallow! Be careful, little Christian, what you consume! You may not have the stomach for it in the end!

SOURCE: https://www.foxnews.com/science/dolphin-stranded-florida-beach-trash-belly, published April 28, 2019.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES: https://biblehub.com/matthew/6-13.htm and https://biblehub.com/matthew/26-41.htm.

SEE ALSO: http://childbiblesongs.com/song-12-be-careful-little-eyes.shtml; as well as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_that_glitters_is_not_gold.

DANGER AHEAD

4/22/2019

A recent documentary piqued my interest. It was about the world’s most dangerous road, properly referred to as the “Yungas” Road. Though now closed to all but bicycles, the road earned its original Spanish name, “El Camino de la Muerte” ("the road of death") the old fashioned way – it produced results!

It was decades ago that the “Inter-American Development Bank” first declared the Yungas Road to be the "world's most dangerous road”. And little wonder, as it is a dirt and rock road located in the South American country of Bolivia that descends steeply for 38 miles from La Paz, located at an elevation of over 12,000 feet, down to the beautiful rain forest town of Coroico located on the basin of the Amazon River. With one considers that the road drops nearly two miles in the process, one soon realizes why it got its name.

Statistics indicate that an average of 26 vehicles fell off this road annually. In the process, an estimated 200 to 300 people lost their lives there each year. The numerous cliffs and vertical drop-offs, most with no guardrails at all, served as virtual deathtraps, especially given that the roadway very often had room for only one vehicle at a time to pass.

Added to this is the weather. Rain and fog abound, often producing slippery surfaces. Furthermore, the heavy rains often loosen dirt and produce mud and rockslides in the process.

On one particularly infamous day, July 24, 1983, over 100 passengers were killed when a bus veered over the edge and crashed into a canyon far below.

Ironically, the very danger the road presents has now served to turn it into a popular tourist attraction. As first reported in the Associated Press back in 2002, ever since the early 1990s, when word first began to spread to the outside world, adventure-seekers have flocked in increasing numbers to “the world’s most dangerous road”.

As I viewed this documentary, and then researched the road itself, I could not help but think of the words of Jesus Christ in His famed “Sermon on the Mount” as recorded in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew (chapter 7, verses 13-14):

“13Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

The world at large may view its most dangerous road as the steep and treacherous two mile drop from the top of the Andes Mountains to the Amazon River basin. But, ironically, Jesus tells us that the road that is truly the most dangerous is actually the one that is broad and most easily travelled!

For as counterintuitive as it may seem, it is actually the easy road that leads to our destruction; and the difficult one that leads to our salvation. The former, easily trodden, leads straight to Hell and eternal death; whereas the latter leads to Heaven and eternal life!

Of course, all of this begs the question: “Which of these two roads are you and I on today?” I can only answer for myself, as I have chosen to travel the straight and narrow path laid down by Jesus Christ. How you answer is entirely up to you.

But as you decide which of the two roads to travel, broad and easy or narrow and difficult, please consider where each one ultimately leads. For the steps you take today will inevitably determine where you wind up tomorrow!

SOURCES:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bHID7eNgD8.

Graham Gori, "Thrills on the Highway of Death," Associated Press (November 24, 2002).

https://www.travelforumboard.com/south-america/el-camino-de-la-muerte-road-of-death-bolivian-yungas/.

SEE ALSO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lMYPXiFQbY.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://biblehub.com/bsb/matthew/7.htm.

SEE ALSO:

https://biblehub.com/proverbs/14-12.htm.

“THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM…”

4/19/2019

“There they crucified him….” Such are the words contained in the New Testament Gospel of John (chapter 19, verse 18). But just how much do we appreciate these most significant of words? Alas, probably not as much as we should. Today is “Good Friday”, the Friday of “Holy Week”, preceding “Easter Sunday”, on which some 2.2 billion Christians worldwide commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Last year, on Good Friday, I posted a blog titled “LOVED TO DEATH!” In it, I referenced two printed articles on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The first was the short piece by C. Truman Davis, MD, in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume Eight: Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

The second and far more extensive article was titled “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ” by William D. Edwards, MD, of the Mayo Clinic Department of Pathology and Floyd E Hosmer, MS, AMI, of the Mayo Clinic Department of Medical Graphics, Rochester, Minn. and the Homestead United Methodist Church, Rochester, Minn., and Pastor Wesley J. Gabel, MDiv, of the West Bethel United Methodist Church in Bethel, Minn., first printed in JAMA - The Journal of the American Medical Association, March 21, 1986, Volume 256.

Since its publication, this latter article has more or less been considered the definitive medical work on the physical crucifixion of Jesus Christ. But I have now discovered another insightful medical article on the crucifixion – this one written up in JRSM - The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 2006 Apr; 99(4): pp. 185–188. Written by Drs. Matthew W. Maslen and Piers D. Mitchell, both of the Faculty of Medicine of the Imperial College, London, England, the article is titled “Medical Theories on the Cause of Death in Crucifixion”, and is available here.

Back on 12/06/13, Esther Inglis-Arkell published a piece summarizing this latter journal article, which she titled “This Is the Horrible Way that Crucifixion Actually Kills You”. I re-post it here to remind each and every one of us just what our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, endured on our behalf. Ms. Inglis-Arkell writes:

Crucifixion remains a familiar idea, even though it's a punishment from the distant past. It's so familiar that we no longer consider of the physical realities of it. Those realities are some of the most gruesome ever known. Here's how crucifixion actually kills people.

Crucifixion stopped being a regular practice long before anyone cared how it killed people. This was good news for all of humanity, but it did leave scientists speculating. The method of crucifixion is brutal, but in terms of wounds and exposure people have survived worse. How did crucified people die?

The Method of Crucifixion

To understand how people died, we have to look at the many methods of crucifixion. Today we have a very limited idea of crucifixion. There was no official, regularly-practiced method. Historical records say that people were not just nailed in the pose we see on religious crucifixes, but were "caught to the crosses in different postures by way of jest." People were crucified upside down, or with their hands together.

Even when people were crucified in the way we imagine the process today few victims were crucified with nails through their hands. Putting a person's whole weight on a relatively delicate piece of flesh would tear the hand enough that the person could pull the nail through the whole hand and free their upper bodies. People were crucified through the wrists, which were harder to tear loose.

Nailing a person's feet to the upright section of the cross wasn't an afterthought. Precisely how the lower body was treated could affect how long a person lived. Most victims simply had their feet nailed into the wood so that their knees were bent at forty-five degree angles. Some had their legs broken. Whether this was an act of cruelty or mercy depends on one's perspective.

Hanging from the arms for any considerable length of time is painful. Once the muscles give out it is excruciating. Shoulders separate from the sockets and the overall arm can lengthen by inches. Most people would try to support themselves by putting pressure on their injured feet, but with their legs bent and their feet nailed through it was only a matter of time before their leg strength gave way as well. Breaking their legs was horrible, but on the other hand, allowing them to support themselves prolonged their suffering.

The Medical Side of Crucifixion

What part of their suffering lead to death is debatable. Through the centuries doctors have looked into it, and come to different conclusions. Some say that crucifixion alone wasn't enough to kill a person, and so the victims probably died of exposure or thirst after days on a cross. One doctor believed that crucified people, after much torment, died via a "voluntary surrender of life."

Some think that the wounds elsewhere in the body sent a blood clot to the heart. One expert in forensic medicine, Frederick Zugibe, actually tied himself and volunteers to a cross to monitor what physically takes place during a crucifixion. He concluded that victims died from "hypovolemic shock." This condition sets in when a body has lost so much blood and fluid that the heart can't continue to function.

If any of these are the case, it's the injuries and exposure that determined the cause of death by crucifixion, not the position of the person on the cross. Most experts agree, though, that what ultimately kills a crucified person is suffocation. Either the body loses so much oxygen that the person smothers, or the carbon dioxide level in the body goes up so much that the body tissues turn acidic and destroy their own cells. How fast it happens depends on a lot of factors.

One common form of crucifixion didn't involve a cross. A person was crucified with their hands over their head. This made it so difficult to breathe (once their strength had given out) that they were dead within an hour. Being crucified with arms outstretched was comparatively much worse. After a person's arms had come out of their sockets the chest would sag downwards, stretching out to its full extent.

If you strenuously stretch out your arms, even while seated, you'll recognize the difficulty. It's easy to inhale with arms fully outstretched, but difficult to exhale again. The body needs to work its muscles to breathe in and out, and it is used to doing so with little resistance. Once the chest is fully expanded, it's impossible to breathe in anything more than sips of air. The victim slowly suffocates, unable to get enough oxygen, over the course of a day.

There are probably more painful, and horrible ways to die. Let's not look for them.

Well said, Esther! May we never forget the horrible death Jesus Christ undertook on behalf of men and women. The Old Testament Prophet, Isaiah (52:13-53:12), prophesied what all He would endure.

The New Testament writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all testify to the fact that He did! And articles such as the ones referenced above help us to contemplate just what all that involved. May we never forget just how much Jesus Christ, God’s One and Only Son, endured for each and every one of us!

MAIN ARTICLE:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1420788/.

SUMMARY ARTICLE:
https://io9.gizmodo.com/this-is-the-horrible-way-that-crucifixion-actually-kill-1477804826.

AS WELL AS:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/014107680609900416.

PREVIOUS BLOG:
https://www.cleoejacksoniii.com/my-ongoing-thoughts/loved-to-death.

SEE ALSO:
https://www.learnreligions.com/christianity-statistics-700533.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:
https://biblehub.com/john/19-18.htm.

FOUL MOUTH!

4/16/2019

For some inexplicable reason, a cartoon in MAD Magazine that I read way back in Junior High School (sometimes in the early to mid-1970’s) has never left me. Two hippies were sitting opposite one another at a table and the first one asked the second one what sort of soup he wanted for lunch.

He actually gave his compatriot a choice of two types of leftover soup. After the second man made his choice, the first man then grabbed a corner of his own beard and squeezed it, draining the contents into a bowl! The implication was obvious! Somebody needed a good bath!

Now, in a clear case of life imitating art, on Monday of this week (April 15, 2019), the New York Post carried a story about a new Swiss study asserting that men’s beards actually harbor more harmful germs than does dog fur.

The article, written by Hannah Sparks and titled “Men’s beards carry more harmful germs than dog fur: study”, went on to state that the study sampled men’s beards and found more harmful bacteria in human whiskers than in dog fur. According to Professor Andreas Gutzeit of Switzerland’s Hirslanden Clinic: “The researchers found a significantly higher bacterial load in specimens taken from the men’s beards compared with the dogs’ fur.”

The study was originally intended for another purpose: whether humans could contract dog-borne diseases from a MRI scanner shared by veterinarians. Accordingly, swabs from the scruff of 18 men and the necks of 30 canines of various breeds were taken.

The results showed that all 18 of the bearded men, who were aged 18 to 76, had high microbial counts, while only 23 of the 30 dogs showed similarly high microbial presence. What is more, seven of the men tested positive for microbes that actually posed a threat to human health.

The inquisitive scientists also decided to wipe down the MRI scanner after examining the dogs. Surprisingly, they found a “significantly” lower bacteria count than levels recorded after human use.

Based on these findings, Professor Gutzeit stated the obvious: “On the basis of these findings, dogs can be considered as clean compared with bearded men.” Of course, bearded and mustachioed men may well beg to differ. Obviously, some persons maintain better hygiene than others.

Keith Flett, founder of the Beard Liberation Front (Yes, you read that right!), clearly holds this perspective. He states: “I think it’s possible to find all sorts of unpleasant things if you took swabs from people’s hair and hands and then tested them. I don’t believe that beards in themselves are unhygienic.”

Clearly weary of unfair judgments, he went on to add: “There seems to be a constant stream of negative stories about beards that suggest it’s more about pogonophobia than anything else.” If you don’t know what the word pogonophobia means, don’t feel bad. Neither did it until I looked it up. It is just a big fancy word for the inordinate fear of bearded individuals.)

Now, I do not necessarily know whether or not facial hair is by nature necessarily filthy. I do know, however, that it is near the mouth. And multiple studies have revealed that (surprising as it may sound) the human mouth is arguably one of the filthiest parts of the human body. One Stanford study found no less than 37 different types of bacteria in the human mouth. While yet another asserts that the human mouth is actually filthier than the average toilet!

Jesus Himself had something to say about the filth that so often comes from our mouths. Only He was not so much referring to physical filth as much as He was to spiritual filth. In the New Testament Gospel of Matthew (chapter 15, verses 10-20), we read:

10Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” 12Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” 13He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

15Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.” 16“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17“Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

What is apparent here is that the true measure of the filthiness of one’s mouth is reflected more in what it dispenses from within than in what it consumes form without!

One other memory I carry from my pre-teen years is the day my mom washed my mouth out with soap. She did so, not because of any physical filth my mouth necessarily contained, but because of the filth it had dispensed in her presence in the form of profanity. The latter, of course, reflected a far deeper state of uncleanliness.

And while she meant well, that uncleanness could ultimately only be cleansed by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For, as the Apostle John puts it (in his First New Testament Letter, chapter 1, verse 9): “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

A modern chewing gum advertisement campaign portrays various incidents in which people say things they should not say, followed by this tagline: "Dirty mouth? Clean it up!" Thereafter, the gum being advertised is offered as way to bring cleanliness to an otherwise filthy mouth.

These days, thankfully, I don’t feel the need to cleanse my mouth with gum. Or even to wash my mouth out with soap as my mom once did. For, like many people, I do make it a habit to brush and floss and use mouthwash regularly. I do so because I like the feeling of being clean.

But I also know that these things are not what ultimately give me a clean mouth. My mom may have once washed out my mouth physically; but the real cleansing of my mouth, the spiritual cleansing based on the cleansing of my heart, I owe to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who cleansed me on the inside! May He forever be praised for that!

Do you have a dirty mouth today? Why not get it cleaned up? Not from without, but from within! Unlike dental hygiene, it only takes one time! For the One Who cleanses from within cleanses for all eternity!

SOURCES:
https://nypost.com/2019/04/15/mens-beards-carry-more-harmful-germs-than-dog-fur-study/#content-wrapper.
https://news.stanford.edu/news/1999/december8/mouth-128.html.
https://www.thealternativedaily.com/your-mouth-is-dirtier-than-a-toilet-seat-how-to-clean-it-up/.

SCRIPTURES:
https://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/15.htm.
https://biblehub.com/1_john/1-9.htm.

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