My Ongoing Thoughts

MERRY HEARTS AND MENDING FEET

4/20/2018

I simply could not let my recent foot surgery pass downstream without recounting a story I once heard Tim Dowdy, Pastor of Eagle’s Landing Baptist Church in McDonough, Georgia, tell a number of years ago. It seems that…

Early in his career, a pastor served in a small church in a rural community. Wilbur and his wife, Leah, attended every Sunday morning. Wilbur was a farmer, and whenever he came into his house from the field and sat down, he would fall asleep.

It was such a habit that when he came into church and sat down in the pew, he would also soon fall asleep. The pastor soon discovered that some members of the church were even taking bets on how long he could keep Wilbur awake on Sunday mornings.

Needless to say, Wilbur's wife was embarrassed by his behavior, especially when he began to snore. She tried everything she knew of to keep her sleepy spouse awake. She complained to him that she was getting calluses on her elbow from poking him in the ribs in a futile effort to keep him alert.

So in desperation, she approached the pastor for advice. In turn, he advised her to pick up some Limburger cheese on her next trip to the grocery store.

He then suggested that, keeping it in a tightly sealed package, she should bring it to church with her the next Sunday, in order that, once her husband began to snore, she could open the package of cheese and run it back and forth under his nose. “That should do the trick and keep Wilbur awake!” said the pastor confidently.

As anticipated, the following Sunday morning, shortly after the pastor had started his sermon, Wilbur began to nod off. Then, just like clockwork, at the end of the first point of his customary three-point sermon, the whole congregation could see that the Pastor was losing Wilbur.

As he started the second point, Wilbur began to snore. Quietly, Leah opened her purse, took out the Limburger cheese, and passed it back and forth under her husband's nose. To the delight of both Leah and the pastor, it worked.

Wilbur sat straight up and, in a voice that could be heard all over the church, belted out, "Leah, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times, keep your stinkin’ feet off of my pillow!”

Now admit it… You probably smiled at the end of that one, at least a little bit! I know I still do every time I remember Tim telling this story after all these years. And with good reason, for as Solomon told us (in Proverbs 17:22), “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine!” He was right. I believe my feet feel better already!

SOURCE: While I do not know the origin of Dr. Dowdy’s version; this story exists in various forms in both print and online sources. See, for instance, http://www.beliefnet.com/inspiration/2001/01/did-jesus-laugh.aspx.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/proverbs/17-22.htm.

A PICTURE OF LIFE

4/16/2018

I have a confession to make. I am among the world’s worst at holding on to pictures on my smart phone. Of course, this is okay, unless and until you begin to reach the point that you have little to no more space left on your device - which is exactly what just happened to me.

With the recent birth of my grandson, I was merrily snapping pictures with my smart phone camera, rolling up even more of them on an already precariously overloaded drive. A day or two later, when I was attempting to show these pictures to someone, my phone proceeded to tell me that it could not perform this basic function unless I freed up some space.

It gave me options for deleting any and every thing from apps to games to documents to downloaded files to music. And also pictures. After undertaking a thorough examination, I soon realized that there were pictures on my phone dating back years ago.

What is more, I also soon discovered that, as is the case with the vast majority of people, all of my pictures were already backed up on a cloud anyway. This process comes as a basic feature included as a part of my carrier’s package.

So I checked, and lo and behold, there sat all my Christmas, Easter, and birthday photos from past years, as well as pictures from vacations, mission trips, sabbaticals, and other overseas travels. These were the very same pictures that were clogging up my phone.

All of this, of course, raised an inevitable question. Why was I carrying around all of these unnecessary extra copies of pictures from yesterday on my smart phone - pictures which were only clogging up my already overcrowded disk space, and thereby hampering my ability to snap new and equally important pictures in the future?

My wife keeps a little sign hanging up that says, “Turn the corner and let it go!” I decided that was pretty good advice. And so, after checking one last time to see that the pictures were already backed up, I finally mustered up the courage and pressed that little button labeled “Delete”.

The result? You guessed it. Scores of gigabytes of disk space were instantly freed up, enabling me to be prepared to record whatever next memorable moment(s) might come my way in life. Not to mention the added benefit of a smart phone that now works noticeably faster than before.

As I have reflected on this, I have concluded that herein lies a pretty good lesson for life. If we are not careful, we can wind up going through this world needlessly carrying excess baggage with us. But when we do, we unnecessarily burden ourselves, not only with a cumbersome load, but also with an unhealthy fixation on the past that can actually hamper our ability to embrace and enjoy the blessings of the future.

Thus, my smart phone now has a clean slate; and, encouraged by this development, I am beginning to apply the same approach to other areas of my life. Already, I am seeing the difference!

Perhaps this is what God meant when He spoke through Isaiah the prophet (chapter 43, verses 18-19, GWT), saying: 18Forget what happened in the past, and do not dwell on events from long ago. 19I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Don't you recognize it?

Picture that! A life spent looking forward as much as backward! Maybe you might benefit by taking similar steps. If so, go ahead, my friend, hit that delete button. Sure, it requires a little courage. But take it from one who has been there… it’s very freeing once you do!

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/gwt/isaiah/43.htm.

CHAIN GANG!

4/13/2018

Some time back, I titled one of my previous New Year’s themed blog posts “BACK AND FORTH”. I would like to revisit this fairly common phrase today. More than likely, most everyone reading these words has both heard and employed this particular phrase. In common usage, it gets applied to everything from the exchange of words within a conversation to the process of mowing one’s lawn. It is even a metaphor for the living of one’s life.

Charles Swindoll likely had this in mind when he wrote a book titled Three Steps Forward, One Step Back. Both this book’s title and its content assert that life is rarely a continual progression from bad to good, or good to better. It is rather a series of advances interspersed with retreats, of successes intermixed with setbacks.

Dr. Swindoll is right. If we would be honest, most all of us advance by taking a few steps forward and then one or two back before proceeding yet again. What is more, God‘s Word amply affirms this principle. The Holy Bible contains numerous examples of people whose progression through life was peppered with intermittent failures, with no less than King David, John the Baptist, and Simon Peter among them.

It has been said the Bible paints pictures of the people within its covers “warts and all”. That is to say that it makes no attempt to hide their frailty. For my part, I’m glad it does. I find encouragement as I read of the struggles and eventual successes among the various lives unfolding on the pages of Scripture. For this has helped me to accept the fact that I am not perfect. I cannot be. Nor must I be. Rather, I realize that my own journey forward in life may be periodically punctuated with a step backward.

But this does not mean I cannot make progress. God understands my weaknesses; yet, He works in and through me in spite of them! Thus, with His help, I can learn from my mistakes and make tomorrow a better day than today, even as today can be made a better day than yesterday. But I digress.

The events of the past couple of weeks have helped me to gain yet another, perhaps even greater, appreciation for the phrase “Back and Forth”. Knowing that I would be laid up for a couple of weeks while recovering from foot surgery, I had prepared a number of personal projects in advance to which I hoped to give my attention. Among them was some long overdue genealogical research.

My personal love for genealogy came about as the natural result of a combination of two other loves: history and family. The wonder of genealogy is that it combines the two and thereby makes history come alive. It literally imbues history with personal meaning. Thus, one does not just merely read about such historical events as World War Two or the Great Depression. Instead, one begins to sense the very personal nature of these historical events, particularly when he or she sees how it personally affected one’s family.

By way of illustration, few things make such times come alive like holding a book of Ration Stamps that once belonged to one’s very own grandfather. To see the limits imposed on sugar, coffee, gasoline, and other such simple, everyday necessities is to see how they lived their everyday lives in the midst of times that required tremendous sacrifice from everyone.

As I have worked on updating my genealogy over the last few weeks, I have been reminded of all those in my family who came before me, as well as the untold number of sacrifices they undertook on behalf of me and all successive generations. It has been both humbling and beneficial to look back and be reminded of this.

But then came the events of this past Wednesday, when my son welcomed his own firstborn son into the world. As he did, I welcomed my second grandson (and the first to bear my surname). As you might expect, this has been a time of great joy in our family. Emotions have abounded as we have celebrated this wonderful event together.

For me, though, it has not just been a time of emotion. It has also been a time of reflection. For suddenly, in the midst of spending so much time looking “back” into the past (in my genealogical studies), I have now found myself looking “forth” into the future as well. In the process, I have reached some important conclusions.

Yesterday matters. Without it, there would be no today. Or at the very least, without the events of yesterday, today would not have turned out as it has. Conversely, part of why today matters so much is because of its impact on tomorrow. In short, tomorrow matters. And for this reason, today matters. And for both of these reasons, yesterday matters.

In the first part of my life (during my childhood), I more or less viewed myself as the end result of a process. I was the recipient of what all had come before. After all, I was the grandchild alongside of my parents and grandparents. Later on, as an adult, I began to view myself more as a contributor. Finding myself with children of my own, I began to see that I too gave as well as got.

Now, I am beginning to see myself less as either one of these (as in the receiver OR the giver) and more as a combination of both of them. The events of this week in particular have helped once more to underscore for me that I am merely one among many in a very long line between the past and the present. I am, quite literally, just one of many, many, many links in a vast chain. Viewed against the backdrop of human history, I am but a small part of something far, far bigger than myself.

And yet, I am a vital part of that chain. Without me, the chain would have been broken. It would not have gone forward. Of course, the same thing can be said of every other link in this chain. Every single link has mattered. And every single link will matter. Each piece simultaneously represents the past, the present, and the future! That is the very nature of the chain.

For this reason, it is important that I stay strong in my appointed time. It is essential that I connect with both the past and the future, that I take what I have received from all that have come before me and pass it on to all that come after me. This is my responsibility – to keep the chain connected, strong, and growing. Oh, how I pray that I will be found faithful in my time. Oh, how I pray that will be found faithful as a part of this “chain gang”!

In the Old Testament Book of Esther (chapter 4, verse 14), the title character was told by her uncle, Mordecai, that she may very well have been placed by God when and where she was for the sole purpose of protecting and procuring the future of her people.

I would suggest that, in a very real sense, this can be said of all of us. In His divine sovereignty, God has surely positioned each and every one of us as individual links at precisely the point in the chain where we can be the most effective. And we do this by acknowledging our debt to all those before (and around) us, and then by passing these blessings along to those after and beyond us!

At the risk of extending a post that is arguably already too long, I would like to share one last thought. My genealogical research has taught me that what is true for individuals is also true for families: they each progress by taking a few steps forward and then one or two backward. A lineage can go up for generation or two, improving both its standard of living and its standing in its community.

And then, through such uncontrollable events as war, disease, famine, economic downturns, and the like, fate can dictate that it go backward a step or two. In these times, there is little doubt that the struggles and eventual triumphs of previous generations can and do serve as powerful encouragement for facing difficult days. I am the recipient of such encouragement from my own ancestors. I now trust that I will be the provider of such for own descendants.

I leave you with the words of Steve Green from his number one song, “Find Us Faithful”, found on his multiple award winning 1994 album, “People Need the Lord”…

We’re pilgrims on the journey
Of the narrow road
And those who’ve gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God’s sustaining grace

Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who’ve gone before us
Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness
Passed on through godly lives

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we’ve left behind
May the clues that they discover
And the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them
To the road we each must find

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

Amen! So may it be!

SOURCES:

LYRICS SOURCE:
http://stevegreenministries.org/product/find-us-faithful-5/.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:
http://biblehub.com/esther/4-14.htm.

FOR MORE ON CHARLES SWINDOLL, CHECK OUT:
http://www.stonebriar.org/about-us/staff-elders/staffmembers/1/, http://insight.org/about/chuck-swindoll, and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Swindoll.

HIS ABOVE REFERENCED BOOK IS AVAILABLE HERE:
https://www.christianbook.com/three-steps-forward-two-back-paperback/charles-swindoll/9780849940989/pd/31272.

LASTLY… For what it’s worth, through the marvels of the internet, I have now been able to trace my personal genealogy all the way back to my 26th great grandfather - a certain Roger DeLascelles Jackson Sr., in England in 1086 AD. It is interesting that this man, born in the first generation after William the Conqueror's Norman invasion of 1066 AD, bears both English and French names! At some point, I hope to update my webpage to reflect this wealth of new information. Hopefully this will all come about in time.

BEYOND QUESTION!

4/9/2018

It appears that one of the world’s most perplexing questions may have finally been answered. In an article titled “Here's How Many Licks Get You to Tootsie Pop's Center”, Newsor contributor, Matt Cantor, reported that scientists finally have the answer.

In the classic commercial asking how many licks it takes "to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop," the conclusion was: "The world may never know." Turns out that was wrong—scientists have figured out how many licks are required, though the figure is approximate. It takes about 1,000 licks to get to a lollipop's center, researchers say in a New York University press release.

The finding was incidental to research on what some might see as a topic of more importance: the way water currents shape objects they're rushing past. The findings help explain how solids dissolve—handy knowledge for pharmacologists making pills and geologists studying erosion.

Researchers used candy to reach their conclusions. When they dipped homemade hard candy into flowing water, they found that the same shape was eventually left—no matter how the candy was shaped to begin with—before the candy disappeared completely. "We used these results to figure out in general how fluids dissolve materials, and we realized that that is basically what you're doing when you're enjoying a lollipop," a scientist tells ABC News.

Tootsie Roll Industries applauds the work. "How many licks is a question fans of our candy have asked us for decades," the company's president tells ABC. “We're thrilled that New York University has conducted a study to help find out." But it wasn't without sacrifice, says the researcher: "Resisting the temptation to just bite into one is tough."

I will admit, as a child, I often pondered the answer this question. On numerous occasions, I even attempted to solve this conundrum by personal experiment. But while I got always beyond the three licks undertaken by the wise old owl, I never got to the center of the pop without giving in and crunching down on the remains. For that reason, if for no other, I am glad to finally have my answer.

But as I grew older, far more serious questions arose in my mind – questions about my identity as a human being, as well as about my origins, and above all about my destiny. In other words, who I am, where I came from, and what my future holds.

In my study of the Holy Bible, I have been able to find the answers to all three of these profound questions.

The answer to the first two questions comes in the opening pages of the Bible… the early chapters of the Biblical Book of Genesis tells us that all men and women everywhere have been created by God in His very image! Quite literally, we all bear the stamp of God! We are His children! As such, we exist to glorify our Creator as we enjoy the goodness of life He has given to us within all that He has created.

The answer to the third question comes in the closing pages of the Bible. Here, we discover that God desires that all humans being everywhere, created in His image and placed within this world, to one day dwell with Him forever in a wonderful place called Heaven.

Of course, if that were all the Bible had to say, things would be great. But alas, the Bible has far more to say. For that which ties these two portions of the Bible together, and which constitutes the bulk of the Bible’s content, is the story of mankind’s fall into sin by rejecting God, resulting in spiritual death, followed by the story of God’s work of redemption to restore fallen men and women to a proper relationship to Him, in and through the death, burial, and resurrection of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

Along the way (in the Old Testament Book of Job, chapter 14, verse 14), the question is asked: “If a man dies, shall he live again?” And the resounding answer is “Yes, as long as he has a relationship with God’s Son!” As the Apostle John puts it (in his first general New Testament Letter, chapter 5, verses 10-12)…

10Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

And there you have it – the essential assertion of the entire Bible! Here we see why it was written. Here we see what all its stories and teachings lead up to. And it also explains why the passage containing the world’s most well-known Bible verse (the New Testament Gospel of John, chapter 3, verse 16-18) is of such great significance:

16For 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. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

Have you ever wondered about your identity? About your origins? About your destiny? If so, then I have some really good news for you! I have found the answers. And you can find them too! Read the Bible and you will see!

SOURCE: http://www.newser.com/story/202533/heres-how-many-licks-gets-you-to-tootsie-pops-center.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=foxnews&ut
m_campaign=rss_science_syn.

YOUTUBE VERSION OF ORIGINAL CLASSIC 1970 TOOTSIE POP COMMERCIAL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6rHeD5x2tI.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES: http://biblehub.com/niv/1_john/5.htm and http://biblehub.com/niv/john/3.htm.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

4/5/2018

Let’s "FACE" it: the folks who wrote the "BOOK" on social media have not had a good month. After a major scandal in which upwards of 50 million of their users had their data mined by a third party for political purposes, they initially failed to accept responsibility and “own” the matter.

Predictably, the results rapidly snowballed. Public trust began to erode and members soon began dropping and deleting their accounts over privacy concerns. Even celebrities got in on the act. Ultimately, advertisers representing nearly 3,000 companies also took notice.

Realizing what they were now dealing with, the media giant finally owned up to the matter and tried to address it. But it may have been a case of too little too late. Perhaps remembering the lessons of the dot-com bubble, investors had already grown scared. A $50 billion loss in the value of their stock has now ensued. Ouch!

All of this was bad enough. But then came the events of Easter week and Good Friday in particular. A Catholic university in Ohio had a Good Friday ad for its master’s degree program in theology, catechetics, and evangelization rejected. When they inquired as to why, they were told it was because the ad had purportedly contained “shocking and excessively violent” content.
And just what was that “shocking and excessively violent” content? You guessed it - the ad contained was a picture of Jesus hanging on the cross.

At first, the social media site claimed it was simply an algorithm that rejected the ad. However, it was quickly revealed that nine other such ads had not been rejected. Accepting the obvious, that a low level staffer with an ax to grind against Christianity may well have dissed the ad, an apology eventually was issued.

Nonetheless, the last thing the tech giant needed at this moment in time was to be perceived as denigrating the faith of 1.1 billion people on the planet, and thereby alienating many of them, most especially during the holiest week of Christianity.

Now, many might see the tech giant’s woes as "poetic justice" for just such shenanigans. (Or, in this case, should we say "social justice"?) However, to his credit, Tom Crowe, the web communications director for the Franciscan University of Steubenville, the school in question, chose to use this as a teachable moment.

He pointed out that having a picture of Jesus on the cross rejected on the very day set aside to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus was, in reality, merely a picture of what Good Friday is all about in the first place.

For on that most significant of days, when Jesus Christ bore the sins of men and women on that old rugged cross, he was actually suffering the ultimate rejection of men and women.

Eight centuries before the events of that day, the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, foresaw this day, and wrote the following (chapter 53, verses 1-13):

1Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

And yet, the amazing thing is that Jesus, knowing He had been rejected by men and women everywhere, still chose to die on the cross on their behalf. Isaiah affirms this as he continues his oracle in verses 4-12:

4Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

6We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested?

For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. 9He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

11After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

And there you have it – the One Who could have called twelve legions of angels (72,000) to His aide in a split second still chose to go to the cross. And even as He once hung there, nailed to that cross and enduring mankind’s ridicule, He still prayed “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing!” And because of this, the penalty for sin was finally paid! God’s justice was satisfied!

SOURCE MATERIAL:

Thomas Barrabi, “Delete Facebook: Celebrities, Companies Severing Ties Over Privacy Concerns”, Fox Business News, March 29, 2018. https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/delete-facebook-celebrities-companies-severing-ties-over-privacy-concerns.

Caleb Parke, “Facebook Apologizes for Blocking Catholic University’s Ad of Jesus on the Cross”, Fox News, April 4, 2018. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/04/04/facebook-apologizes-for-blocking-catholic-university-s-ad-jesus-on-cross.amp.html.

BIBLICAL SOURCES:
http://biblehub.com/niv/isaiah/53.htm.
ttp://biblehub.com/matthew/26-53.htm.
http://biblehub.com/luke/23-34.htm.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!

4/2/2018

The REUTERS News Service headline this past week (March 27, 2018) blared the following: “Once Overlooked, 2,500-year Old Coffin May Offer Clues into Ancient Egypt”.

The story underneath had to do with a surprise discovery made inside a 2,500-year old Egyptian coffin at the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia. First uncovered in Egypt and then acquired by the University of Sydney some 150 years ago, the coffin was long thought to be empty.

In truth, it had simply been erroneously classified. As a result, late last year, when it was reopened, experts were stunned to find the remains of a mummy when they opened the coffin’s lid.

A bevy of scientific test later, including the harnessing of scanning technology, the remains inside have now been identified. According to the article…

“The coffin of an ancient Egyptian priestess called Mer-Neith-it-es, which had most recently sat in our education room, underwent a series of scientific and visual analysis,” the University of Sydney’s Nicholson Museum explained, in a Facebook post. “The coffin and the mummified remains were scanned and the damaged remains of the body excavated.”

It appears that at some point in its history, the coffin had been targeted by tomb raiders. Nonetheless, a CT scan and thorough investigation, performed last week, have together revealed bones, bandages, fragments of resin, and over 7,000 beads from a funeral shawl.

As Easter week unfolded, I could not help but think of another surprise having to do with a burial. Only this time, people were not surprised to find someone in a grave, but rather to find no one in a grave!

This episode occurred some two thousand years ago in a tomb outside Jerusalem. At that time, people had thought that this tomb contained the remains of a man from Nazareth, who had been buried on Friday. But when people began gathering at this tomb early on Sunday morning, they were amazed to discover that the tomb was in fact empty!

For the One Who had been buried there, Jesus Christ, was no ordinary man. He was, instead, the very Son-of-God. He had earlier prophesied on several occasions that He would rise from the dead (Mark 10: 32-34; John 2:18-21); and His resurrection proved that He was indeed exactly Who He said He was!

This is what the Christian world has been celebrating for the past twenty-four hours. This is what Easter is all about! And this is why the testimony of those who follow Jesus Christ has been put so beautifully captured by the hymn writer Alfred H. Ackley...

I serve a risen Savior; He's in the world today.
I know that He is living, whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him He's always near.

He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.
He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.

In all the world around me I see His loving care,
And though my heart grows weary I never will despair.
I know that He is leading, thro' all the stormy blast;
The day of His appearing will come at last.

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian! Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King!
The Hope of all who seek Him, the Help of all who find,
None other is so loving, so good and kind.

So, my friend, please do not be mistaken, about the empty tomb of Jesus Christ! The Bible tells us that all those who accept the fact of His resurrection and embrace Him as God’s Son will also experience resurrection to life everlasting. But those who do not will have no part in the resurrection to life, and are doomed to everlasting death.

I have personally been to that empty tomb (at least the place commemorated as such in Jerusalem). But long before, and far more importantly, I accepted the fact of that empty tomb in my heart. I hope you have also accepted that same fact in your heart.

If not, then I invite you to ponder the significance of that empty tomb this very day! You might just be pleasantly surprised at what you discover! And even more at the significance this discovery will have for your life!

SOURCE: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-mummy/once-overlook
ed-2500-year-old-coffin-may-offer-clues-into-ancient-egypt-idUSKBN1H30NU.

HYMN LYRICS SOURCE: http://www.greatchristianhymns.com/he-lives.html.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/niv/john/2.htm and
http://biblehub.com/niv/mark/10.htm.

LOVED TO DEATH!

3/30/2018

Today is “Good Friday”. It is so named because this is the day our Lord and Savior willfully allowed Himself to be crucified on our behalf. Unfortunately, in our time, the word “crucifixion” does not always carry the same tremendous significance for us that it did for people of the first century.

For this reason, I thought it appropriate as we reflect on our Lord’s passion this day to be reminded of just what all He endured on our behalf. The following piece has been adapted from C. Truman Davis, M.D. in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume Eight: Matthew, Mark, and Luke...

A medical doctor provides a physical description: The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted man is quickly thrown backwards with his shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flex and movement. The cross is then lifted into place.

The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees flexed. The victim is now crucified. As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain; the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he places the full weight on the nail through his feet. Again he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the bones of his feet.

As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward to breathe. Air can be drawn into the lungs but not exhaled. He fights to raise himself in order to get even one small breath. Finally carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen.

Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins: a deep, crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart.

It is now almost over; the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level; the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues; the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air.

He can feel the chill of death creeping through is tissues... Finally he can allow his body to die. All this the Bible records with the simple words, "And they crucified Him." (Mark 15:24).

One cannot help but marvel at all of this! What wondrous love is this? That the God of all the universe would clothe himself in human flesh and come into this world in order to endure just such torment. He did not have to do this. Rather He chose to do this!

Little wonder the Apostle John was moved (in his First New Testament General Epistle, chapter 3, verse 1) to write these words: “Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.”

SOURCE: The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume Eight: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Zondervan, 1984).

This illustration is also been reproduced in several places online. See, for instance: https://www.sermonsearch.com/sermon-illustrations/1279/crucifixion-described/.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/1_john/3-1.htm.

NOTE: For a much more extensive article of the process of crucifixion, check out the article 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. It was first printed in JAMA - The Journal of the American Medical Association, March 21, 1986, Volume 256.

The complete article, with extensively detailed illustrations, has been reprinted here in pdf form: http://people.bethel.edu/~pferris/ot103/Jesus_Crucifixion.pdf.

“LOOKIE HERE!”

3/27/2018

Being laid up for a week or two while recuperating from surgery has both advantages and disadvantages. The rather obvious disadvantages have to do with the pain and discomfort. But they also include the sheer frustration that comes with being confined to a chair with one’s feet elevated.

In such a posture, it does not take long to get fidgety! And no matter how many times one shifts and re-shifts in the chair, after a while one simply begins to feel like a caged tiger! Not to mention the ordeal involved in simply trying to get up and transition to another room, etc… Suffice it to say that I am need of prayer as much for my attitude as for my convalescence.

Having said this, let me hasten to add that there are some benefits as well. I have gotten caught up on a lot of personal projects. For instance, I have done some writing. I have updated this very website. I have read a book or two. I have processed numerous e-mails. I have worked on some sermon planning. And I even finalized my tax returns.

I have also tried to relax a little. I have watched a few movies, as well as some online videos and DVDs. I have also caught up a little on television. How does one catch up on television? Well, I checked out some newer television shows that I had never seen before. And one of those shows in particular caught my attention.

The cable network known as "The Science Channel" (© Discovery Communications, LLC) has a show out titled "WHAT ON EARTH?". Begun in 2015, the series in now in its fourth season. The series examines and attempts to explain "strange satellite images" (terrestrial images taken from space satellites). Typically, about three or four such mysterious satellite anomalies are investigated per episode.

Let’s be honest. Many (perhaps most) of us fail to realize that over four thousand satellites now orbit the earth, looking down on us each and every hour (if not every moment) of our lives! This, of course, raises all kinds of questions – mostly about privacy and security (or the lack thereof).

But it also reminds me that even if there were no satellites, there would still someone looking down on me. When we were children, we used to sing a little song that contains these lyrics:

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!

Thereafter, successive verses contained similar admonitions to “be careful little ears what you hear”, to “be careful little hands what you do”, to “be careful little feet where you go”, and to “be careful little mouth what you say”! All for the same reason: because our Heavenly Father, up above, is looking down in love!

Years later, I encountered a song titled “Slow Fade” by the Contemporary Christian group known as Casting Crowns. The lyrics are:

Be careful little eyes what you see…
It's the second glance that ties your hands…
As darkness pulls the strings!”

Be careful little feet where you go…
For it's the little feet behind you…
That are sure to follow!”

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away…
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray…
Thoughts invade, choice is made, A price will be paid…

When you give yourself away…
People never crumble in a day…
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade...

All of this is to say that I have no idea just who all may be watching me from up above. I have no idea the extent to which prying eyes note where all I go and what all I do. But I do know that my God is watching me from above. As the Psalmist tells me (in the Old Testament book of Psalms, chapter 32, verse 8), God keeps his loving eye upon me.

And that is all the motivation I need to be careful what I see, what I hear, what I do, where I go, and what I say! For my Father up above is looking down in love! And I have no desire whatsoever to break His heart!

What is more, as Casting Crowns reminds us, little eyes down here below are also watching me, and little ears are listening to me, and little feet are willing to follow me, and little hands willing to mimic me, and little mouths willing to repeat me!

Not only do I not want to break the heart of God, neither do I want to cause anyone else, especially little ones, to stumble.

Rather, as God looks down upon me, I hope that He will be pleased with what he sees. And that my every action will meet with His everlasting approval.

LYRICS SOURCES:
http://childbiblesongs.com/song-12-be-careful-little-eyes.shtml and
http://www.metrolyrics.com/slow-fade-lyrics-casting-crowns.html.

NOTE: YouTube videos showing collections of strange sites seen on Google Earth have been around for quite some time. Just do a web search for “Google Earth anomalies” and you will soon find more such videos than you can hope to watch in one sitting.

Apparently, someone at Discovery Communications hit upon the idea of compiling such anomalies and presenting them in the form of a television series.  Given that the show is now in its fourth season, their idea seems to have been a good one.

According to Neil Laird, the Executive Producer of “WHAT ON EARTH?” over at:  http://blogs.discovery.com/inscider/2015/02/the-mysteries-of-what-on-earth
.html: The Science Channel’s motto has long been to “Question Everything” no matter how bizarre or strange, and put it under the bright glare of modern science to see what might be revealed. Your guesses about the mysterious satellite photos fit right into that philosophy—they are informed, thoughtful, surprising, and just as importantly, entertaining. We’re thrilled you love the mysteries we are able to bring you here on the web and even better, leave you questioning some of these provocative images along with the experts. Many of the world’s top archeologists, meteorologists, geologists and other experts are as stumped as you are!

Be advised, however. Not everyone is as enthused as the show’s producer. Several reviewers share the view that the show is more “edutainment” than actual science. (See, for instance: https://www.metabunk.org/what-on-earth-science-channel-fail.t7514/.)

By this, they mean that the show is not so much designed to inform as to entertain. The proof is that much more time is spent merely proposing conjecture and speculation (often from the very so-called experts who are supposed to be explaining the mysterious phenomena to begin with) than with giving definitive explanation.

Scientists with proper labels like volcanologists, geologists, oceanographers, etc... are interviewed, and seem to present unanswered questions as to the "mysterious images" being discussed. But often, many more interviews with non-experts presenting conspiratorial guesses are spliced in as well. Thus, the show ends up concentrating on the "mysteries" suggested by the satellite images, rather than actual explanations for the images. The end result is pretty much that most of the respective scientists’ "verbal on-air content" is spent describing the mystery, not giving the real explanation (or telling why it is not really a mystery after all)!

That being said, I personally found the program not only entertaining, but also quite informative. One can easily glean enough information of substance to learn more about the subject at hand. But perceptive eyes and ears can also garner information that leads to the study of other mysteries as well. To watch the show is to realize that for every mystery solved, there are many more that remain to be pondered.

STEPPING UP!

3/24/2018

To employ an old proverb, my blog post today is a day late and a dollar short. But this is not without good reason. I have spent the last few days recuperating from minor surgery. Speaking of proverbs, it is often said that the third time around is a charm! I’m still trying to decide on that one!

The first surgery I ever had was back when I was a child. My sister and I went into the hospital and had our tonsils removed at the same time. Pretty much all I remember, apart from lots and lots of ice cream, is waiting until night time when the hallways were empty and then running down the length of the slick hallway floors and sliding sideways and backwards in our socks. (Sort of like Tom Cruise in Risky Business.)

The second time was when I had a hernia repair in my thirties. I owe that one to trying to prove how much I could bench press, squat, and deadlift while in my twenties!

This last surgery was the result of something else I did in my twenties. My neighbor and I both lived in houses owned by the church where we were employed. One night, a powerful storm came through and blew over a tree in his yard. While helping him cut up that tree, I managed to strike a glancing blow against a limb with the ax I was wielding. In the process, I split my big toe on my left foot open lengthways, much like a hot dog bun.

Even though it was stitched back together at the time, the damage had been done. Thus, unbeknownst to me, for decades now, I have been compensating for the weaker big toe by using the second toe of my left foot to push off with each step I have taken. The result was that the ligaments holding my second toe in place eventually tore loose and had to be re-attached surgically.

The good news is that the doctor seemed to know exactly what my problem was from the time he saw my foot. And according to him, all went well in the procedure he later performed. As a result, after a week or two, I should be back to normal and walking just fine.

I share all of this for a reason. I have always prided myself on being fairly self-sufficient. Like a lot of people, I try not to be a burden to others. Normally, therefore, if I have problem, I just address it on my own. But when incidents like this periodically come my way, they serve to remind me that I cannot solve every single issue in life on my own. Simply put: there are times when I need other people.

The same is true of all of us. While it is commendable to be self-sufficient, God did not make us to live all alone. He made us to live interdependently with others. We were meant to be part of a community. And in this community, there will be times when my neighbor needs me just as there will be times when I need my neighbor.

I am thankful that during my hour of need, others have risen up to assist me. From doctors to nurses to family and church members, others have used their respective skillsets to help me get better. And in turn, I know that God has equipped me with certain gifts that I must employ whenever my neighbors may find themselves in need.

It is likely that the Apostle Paul had just such things in mind when he told the Galatian Christians (in chapter 6, verse 22): “Help carry one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

In the future, whenever I find my neighbor in need, I pray that I will be as faithful to step up and help to meet his or her need as others have been for me in this, my own time of need!

And may Jesus Christ be glorified in the process!

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/galatians/6-2.htm.

NO GREATER LOVE

3/19/2018

In his book Written in Blood: A Devotional Bible Study of the Blood of Christ, Robert Coleman tells a powerful story of a little boy who became the donor for his sister’s blood transfusion. According to Dr. Coleman…

The doctor explained that she had the same disease the boy (her brother) had recovered from two years earlier. Her only chance for recovery was a transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the disease. Since the two children had the same rare blood type, the boy was the ideal donor.

"Would you give your blood to Mary?" the doctor asked. Johnny hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he smiled and said, "Sure, for my sister." Soon the two children were wheeled into the hospital room--Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and healthy. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned.

As the nurse inserted the needle into his arm, Johnny's smile faded. He watched the blood flow through the tube. With the ordeal almost over, his voice, slightly shaky, broke the silence. "Doctor, when do I die?'

Only then did the doctor realize why Johnny had hesitated, why his lip had trembled when he'd agreed to donate his blood. He's thought giving his blood to his sister meant giving up his life. In that brief moment, he'd made his great decision.

Dr. Coleman then concludes his story with this insightful application:

Johnny, fortunately, didn't have to die to save his sister. Each of us, however, has a condition more serious than Mary's, and it required Jesus to give not just His blood but His life.

As Easter approaches, I am reminded that the Bible tells us (in the New Testament Book of Hebrews, chapter 9, verse 22) that because the Law of God in the Old Testament required sacrifice for the cleansing of sin, then without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness for sin.

Enter Jesus Christ, the One and Only Son of God! Knowing that we were suffering under the deadly curse of sin, the Bible tells us (in the New Testament Book of Romans, chapter 5, verse 8) that “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners!”

It was Jesus Himself Who said (in the New Testament Gospel of John, chapter 15, verse 13): “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” By God's grace, not only did Jesus preach this; He also practiced it!

May we always remember the great love that drew God’s Son to earth! May we always honor Him for His great sacrifice on our behalf! And may we forever worship his Holy Name!

SOURCE: Coleman, Robert E. Written in Blood: A Devotional Bible Study of the Blood of Christ (Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell Publishing, 1972). Dr. Coleman is Distinguished Professor of Evangelism and Discipleship at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He also served as dean of the Billy Graham International Schools of Evangelism as well as Director of the Billy Graham Center Institute of Evangelism at Wheaton College. The work for which he is best known, The Master Plan of Evangelism, has sold over three million copies.

ALSO AVAILABLE WIDELY ONLINE: See, for instance: https://christypovolish.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/we-need-a-transfusion/.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES: http://biblehub.com/hebrews/9-22.htm; http://bible
hub.com/hebrews/9-22.htm, and http://biblehub.com/john/15-13.htm.

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