My Ongoing Thoughts

IT’S ABOUT TIME!

10/23/2020

Alas! It just wasn’t meant to be. My beloved Atlanta Braves made it to the seventh game of Major League Baseball’s National League Championship Series, where, despite an early lead, they nonetheless fell short of a coveted World Series berth in a painful loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

As a Georgia native, this was the last thing I needed the very week after the University of Georgia Bulldogs lost to the University of Alabama Crimson Tide in a crucial NCAA Southeastern Conference football game. Not only was I hoping for a Braves’ World Series win, but also for a Bulldogs’ National Championship as well. After all, given that it has now been 25 years and 40 years respectively for each, it’s about time! But I digress…

Now, if you are not a baseball fan, and are therefore wondering if what all I am about to say will have any meaning, don’t worry. The American pastime, as it is commonly known, is easy enough to understand. According to an article in Bits & Pieces Magazine, dated April 30, 1992, a certain lady once passed on this simple explanation of the game of baseball as given by her grandson…

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's on the side that's in goes out and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When three men are out, the side that's out come in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in out. When both sides have been in and out nine times, including the not outs, that's the end of the game.

And there you have it. The Braves simply succumbed to the ins and outs of the Dodgers, leaving me and a multitude of other fans broken hearted. Oh well! “Always a bride’s maid, never a bride!”
While bemoaning my station as a Braves (and Bulldog) fan, I was discussing this latest disappointment with my mother-in-law. We each agreed that we now wished we had all the time we had spent watching the games back, positing as we did what all we might have been able to accomplish with all that time.

Now, I readily grant that, had the Braves won, I would not have cared. But, given that they lost, I decided to do a little research on the time required to watch a typical baseball game. What I discovered was intriguing to say the least. According to an article penned by Tom Peters in the Philadelphia Inquirer Newspaper, it seems that…

Dick Wade, a Kansas City sportswriter, once decided to find out exactly how much "action" occurred in a baseball game. So, on June 21, 1956, he took a stopwatch to a game between the Kansas City Athletics and Washington Senators and counted the time it took a ball to leave the pitcher's hand until it arrived at home plate; then on all hit balls, he let the clock run until the batter was either out or safe. The total "action" during the two-hour, 28-minute game was 8.5 minutes. Kansas City won, 15-6.

Wow! Two hours, nineteen minutes, and thirty seconds of time spent merely sitting back and waiting for something to happen! Mathematically, that equates to 139.5 minutes out of 148 minutes, or an astounding 94% of the time spent devoid of anything productive happening!

As I have reflected on this, I have been compelled to ask myself just how much of the rest of my life may have been spent so inefficiently in the pursuit of other endeavors!

The Bible reminds us that our time in this world is fleeting. In the Old Testament Book of Psalms, chapter 90, verse 10, we read:

“Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.” Given this, does it not then behoove us to ponder just how we utilize the time we have been given?

Perhaps Benjamin Franklin said it best. In the June, 1746 edition of his classic work, Poor Richard’s Almanack, he states: “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of.”

For these reasons, I have now decided that, going forward, I will try to be as absolutely judicious with the use of my time as possible. After all, it’s really just about time for such a decision, isn’t it?!

SOURCES:

BASEBALL ILLUSTRATIONS: Both baseball illustrations referenced above are available widely online. See, for instance: http://www.higherpraise.com/illustrations/baseball.htm.

SEE ALSO: http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/3055.html.

SCRIPTURE: https://biblehub.com/psalms/90-10.htm.

SETTING AN EXAMPLE

10/20/2020

The first four verses of Genesis chapter 41 contain these familiar words: “Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows.”

There is little doubt that the writer of the book of Genesis is remembered for such statements as this. But later on, that same writer also penned these words about cattle: “Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers…” (Genesis 46:34).

These days, his latter words words increasingly resonate with me. They certainly did a few days ago. You see…

Not far from where we live, a man and his wife raise beef cattle. Every day as I take my morning walk, I pass by their three pastures containing numerous Black Angus cows, steers, heifers, and calves. Each of these enclosures also contains at least one prized bull. Let me tell you, these latter are all especially impressive specimens!

Deriving from cattle native to the counties of Aberdeenshire and Angus in north-eastern Scotland, Angus (officially Aberdeen) cattle comprise a breed of livestock dating back to at least the sixteenth century. While the Angus is technically considered a breed of small beef cattle, bulls can easily reach 1800-1900 pounds, occasionally even topping one ton! The three specimens I am referring to above are easily this size.

Not surprisingly, the calves born to them and their various consorts this past spring are all now growing very fast. With each passing day, these calves gain more and more weight, as well as more and more coordination. They can regularly be viewed sleeping, suckling, eating, and many times, just plain frolicking. Indeed, life for them appears to be an endless cycle of fun and games, not unlike that of human children.

As they frolic, the games they play often mimic the activities of their adult companions within the herd. Thus, it is not uncommon to see them undertaking gestures reflective of their parents and grandparents. This is particularly true with regard to the young males. Many a time, as I have walked by, I have seen young bulls pawing the ground and butting heads with one another, foreshadowing days to come when they will vie in earnest for a place in the hierarchy of the herd. For them, “bull-headedness” is a genuine virtue!

I must admit, however, that I was not prepared for what I encountered recently when I topped the hill adjacent to one such pasture. For there, in full display in all of his grandeur, was one of the three majestic bulls, standing next to the fence and looking out over his realm. The look on his face was one of utter contentment mixed with complete confidence, as he appeared to gaze satisfactorily at the herd over which he, and he alone, reigned supreme.

And yet, that was not really what caught my eye. What did catch it was what stood some fifteen feet or so behind and beneath him. For there, in an equally grand display, stood one of this year’s calves. It took very little time to see that the calf was an enterprising young bull, who, while standing boldly and proudly upon his own spot, nonetheless appeared to be greatly admiring the impressive bull standing before him.

Several things were immediately evident to me as I observed this young protégé staring up at his idol. First and foremost, it was evident that he absolutely adored the massive male that stood before him. No doubt, in his own way, he imagined what it would be like to one day become such a great bull himself. The words to Harry Chafin's song, Cat's in the Cradle, came to my mind: “I'm gonna be like him; yeah, you know I'm gonna be like him!”

Second, he obviously had a long way to go before this happened. I would estimate his own current weight at a mere 200 or so pounds, easily putting him some 1600 pounds shy of his mark.

Despite this, he had a clear example of bovine masculinity standing before him. Thus, third, if he followed the example laid down before him by his admirable forebear (in this case, very likely his own father), he would almost certainly attain the status he desired one day!

As I made my way on down the road, I pondered what all this sight had to teach me. In so doing, I soon realized just how relevant this experience was to my own life. To begin with, this was not the first time I had observed herds of cattle on a daily basis.

My first experiences with bulls, cows, steers, heifers, calves, and the like came some fifty years ago when I first roamed the haunts of those farms belonging to my own father and grandfather. These men, too, raised beef cattle; and many of the things I have seen as of late reflect the things I first saw back in the day under their influence.

This is when it hit me. There had once been a time when I too stood beneath and behind these men and marveled at their great size and strength. In that day, I too had held these men in high esteem. In my own way, I had idolized them. Accordingly, I had looked forward to the day when I would grow up and emulate them. What is more, as I grew older, I even dared to dream that I might somehow honor them by one day surpassing them - in where all I went, in who all I met, and in what all I did.

Of course, at this point, as they say, “What it is is what it is.” So, all I can hope is that my life’s travels, my life’s associations, and my life’s accomplishments, as meager as they all have been, have nonetheless somehow brought such honor to those who came before me as they each deserve.

But this was not all that hit me. For I soon realized that the scene that I had just observed had a two-fold application. In the first sense, I was the calf looking ever so adoringly at his father. In the second sense, I was the bull standing flamboyantly before his offspring!

You see, at his point in my life, I am no longer the one looking up at a father and grandfather. Instead, I am the grandfather and the father that others are looking up to! As that thought sank in, I realized what an awesome notion it was! And what an awesome responsibility; for the Lord has now seen fit to bless me with two grown sons and a grown son-in-law, who collectively have now given me seven grandsons!

While I do not necessarily pretend to believe that my two grown sons and son-in-law always stand behind me and necessarily admire my station in life, I do recognize that it is a different matter altogether with regard to my seven grandsons. Most assuredly, these young bulls are all observing me ever so carefully and in every aspect of my being.

And here is the kicker… My strong suspicion is that they are each inculcating values as they do! Every time they look at me, even if they do not yet realize it, they are making critical decisions about what is and is not admirable in their grandfather!

In light of this, oh, how I pray that I may be found a worthy role-model for them to follow! May they look at me with the same admiration with which I once looked at those who stood before me. May I inspire them just as I was once inspired by others!

In all of this, of course, I am reminded that there is One Other,` Who, alone, stands above and beyond me, and Whose image, alone, is worthy of emulation. He, of course, is my Heavenly Father. As admirable as it is for me to emulate and glorify my earthly father(s), how much more so is it for me to honor my Heavenly Father?!

The Apostle Paul once told the Corinthian Christians, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”

I trust others, especially my chiIdren and grandchildren, will see me attempting to do just this. I pray that they will see me being a Godly man by following the example of Jesus Christ; and that they themselves will then be influenced by that very notion. Should they then also choose to follow my example and live their own lives in such a way that God will be glorified, then I will be honored. For in such a case, my own life will have had meaning beyond which I ever thought possible.

NOTES ON PICTURE:
In the above picture, the calf appears much larger than he actually was. This is because he is not only behind the bull, but closer in the foreground to where I was standing when I took the picture. Had he have been standing directly beside the bull, the considerable size difference would have been readily apparent. also, when I first caught sight of them, the calf was staring at the bull, even as the bull was beholding his herd. By the time I pulled up my phone, however, they had both turned their heads to look at me.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
https://biblehub.com/niv/genesis/41.htm;
https://biblehub.com/genesis/46-34.htm;
and https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/11-1.htm.

SONG LYRICS:
https://www.metrolyrics.com/cats-in-the-cradle-lyrics-harry-chapin.html.

WILD GOOSE CHASING!

10/16/2020

Back in the day, Rex Harrison starred in the 1967 Oscar-winning musical, Dr. Dolittle. One of its two Academy Awards was for “Best Song”, with the featured song titled “Talk to the Animals”. My parents bought my sister and me the motion picture soundtrack (LP) album; and we proceeded to play that particular song almost until we could sing it backwards as well as forward.

It was only natural therefore, that, growing up on a farm, I often wondered what it would be like if the animals therein could actually talk. (The 1960’s television show, Mr. Ed, about an architect and his talking Palomino horse, only served to underscore my fascination with this notion.)

Until I got into high school, that is. For once I did, we had to read George Orwell’s infamous allegorical novella titled Animal Farm. If you are familiar with the plot, you will remember that the animals on Farmer Jones’ farm decide to turn on him, overthrow him, and take possession of his farm; all in order that all the animals could live forever thereafter in harmony, free from oppression and exploitation.

Spoiler alert here… In the end, the pigs wind up learning to walk on two legs rather than four, before moving into Farmer Jones's house, where they then proceed to lord it over all the other (four legged) animals in his stead. Needless to say, after reading this, I was no where near as keen to see the animals on our farm able to communicate, either with me or with one another!

These days, after decades off the farm, I have now moved back to the country, where I have once again begun to interact with animals. And while, in my absence, they have yet to obtain the power of human speech, I find that they nonetheless are speaking to my heart on a daily basis.

As I take my morning walk each day, I encounter any number of animals, both tame and wild. Today, it seemed to be the birds’ turn to speak. First, I encountered a flock of over twenty wild turkeys. They were busy feeding, scratching and foraging with every step as they made their way through the woods. They seemed to say to me that it was okay for me to pass, as long as I made no attempt whatsoever either to stop or turn in their direction. Their message was clear: “Live and let live.”

A little further down the road, I came upon a “murder” of crows. (Yes, believe it or not, that is the technical term for a group of crows.) True to their appellation, they had nothing short of carnage on their minds; for they were in the process of hounding a poor red-tailed hawk nearly to death.

I knew they were frustrated at my approach, as they heaped excessive amounts of verbal abuse upon me while they flew just far enough away so as to be considered safe. The volume and intensity of their frustration toward me only intensified as the poor beleaguered hawk took advantage of the opportunity to slip off in the other direction. Their message was also clear: “How dare you!”

A bit further down the road, I came upon a “gaggle” of wild Canadian geese. (Again, this is the proper term for a group of geese.) As I was reflecting upon their beauty and gracefulness, I was once again spoken to in my heart.

On one side of the road was a pasture with a pond wherein some forty or more wild geese came gracefully gliding down to alight and frolic. At the same time, directly across the road was another pasture with a pond upon which swam three solid white, tame geese. And while no goose actually spoke to me in what we might call human language, all of them still communicated volumes to me by the characteristics they displayed.

You see, busy as they are commanding the skies, the former gaggle seems to make only a periodic appearance at this particular pond. By contrast, the latter gaggle, which never takes to the air, is always in the same place, each and every day. In the process, while the former exemplifies strength, freedom, and grace; the latter merely exemplifies complacency, repression, and ultimately, ineptitude. The message here was plain: “Don’t settle!”

As I was reflecting on these things, the Lord brought to my memory a parable first told by the famous Danish Theologian, Søren Kierkegaard. It is commonly referred to as “The Parable of the Geese”. According to Kierkegaard…

“A certain flock of geese lived together in a barnyard with high walls around it. Because the corn was good and the barnyard was secure, these geese would never take a risk. One day a philosopher goose came among them.

He was a very good philosopher and every week they listened quietly and attentively to his learned discourses. ‘My fellow travelers on the way of life,’ he would say, ‘can you seriously imagine that this barnyard, with great high walls around it, is all there is to existence? I tell you, there is another and a greater world outside, a world of which we are only dimly aware. Our forefathers knew of this outside world. For did they not stretch their wings and fly across the trackless wastes of desert and ocean, of green valley and wooded hill? But alas, here we remain in this barnyard, our wings folded and tucked into our sides, as we are content to puddle in the mud, never lifting our eyes to the heavens which should be our home.’

The geese thought this was very fine lecturing. ‘How poetical,’ they thought. ‘How profoundly existential. What a flawless summary of the mystery of existence.’ Often the philosopher spoke of the advantages of flight, calling on the geese to be what they were. After all, they had wings, he pointed out. What were wings for, but to fly with? Often he reflected on the beauty and the wonder of life outside the barnyard, and the freedom of the skies.

And every week the geese were uplifted, inspired, moved by the philosopher’s message. They hung on his every word. They devoted hours, weeks, months to a thoroughgoing analysis and critical evaluation of his doctrines. They produced learned treatises on the ethical and spiritual implications of flight. All this they did. But one thing they never did. They did not fly! For the corn was good, and the barnyard was secure!”

Ouch! I trust you see the point here; for Kierkegaard was right; and his message was clear! May we each refuse to play it safe in our respective barnyards, merely moved and inspired by an occasional inspirational message, while never acting upon it. May we choose, instead, to act upon what we know to be true all along! May we dare to actually spread our wings, flap them vigorously, and actually risk taking to the air!

Perhaps this is just what the Old Testament Prophet, Isaiah, had in mind (in chapter, 40, verse 31) when he talked about those who are devoted to the Lord as “mounting up with wings like eagles”.

After all, were we not made for much more than merely floating around on some artificial pool inside some ostensibly secure enclosure? Were we not, instead, made to take to the skies and soar?!

Of course we were! As Leonardo Da Vinci put it, “Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards." Given this, my friends, perhaps, just perhaps, today is indeed the perfect day to take to the air!

PARABLE SOURCES: Available widely online. See, for instance:
https://revseanpeters.blogspot.com/2014/05/kierkegaards-parable-of-geese.html; as well as:
https://transformtheglobe.com/2019/03/08/kierkegaards-parable-of-the-geese/.

Da VINCI QUOTE: https://hangar.flights/story/42/26-quotes-to-inspire-your-aviation-journey.

SEE ALSO: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061584/;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Dolittle_(1967_film);
and https://www.openrightslibrary.com/animal-farm-ebook/.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-31.htm.

SERIOUS EQUIPMENT!

10/13/2020

In my previous post, I mentioned the new water line that is currently being put in adjacent to the road where we live. This new pipe is twice as big as the existing one. This will help to provide our neighbors and us with better pressure. In addition, it should also help to ensure an adequate supply of water for any future growth in our community.

As I have taken my daily walks and witnessed the inevitable progression of the line, I have noticed that the contractors who are undertaking the job have some serious equipment! By this I mean that they are using a multitude of enormous machines, each one for a specific purpose within an overall project.

Observation of the crew shows them utilizing flatbed tractor trailers for hauling pipe, dump trucks for hauling dirt and gravel, front end lifts for moving stacks of pipe, track hoe excavators for digging lines, jackhammer excavators for breaking up rock, skid steers for covering over lines, a miniature steamroller for repaving asphalt over road cuts, street sweepers for cleaning up, straw spreaders for re-seeding, and of course, numerous pick-up trucks for a multitude of inherent other purposes. I am quite sure that this list is not complete. There is little doubt that many other vehicles are also involved.

As I have observed this menagerie of construction machinery, several thoughts have come to my mind. Allow me to share a few of them here.

First, each piece of machinery in the system serves some basic purpose, fulfilling some unique requirement within the overall project. They are all quite different in how they are made. Few if any resemble any other piece. And yet, they have each been made and then assembled here to be a necessary part of a larger picture.

What one can do, another cannot do. And what another cannot do, one can do. Uniquely and individually qualified for the various jobs they do separately, they then work together to make a very effective team of equipment.

Moreover, while they come in a wide assortment of sizes, shapes, and colors, each bearing differing marks related to their manufacture (such as Caterpillar, Case, Kubota, Mack, GMC, Ford, etc…), they all bear marks of similarity as well.

To begin with, each has the name of the owner, in the form of a logo or seal, boldly emblazoned upon it. Clearly, the owner prizes his vast array of machinery, and proudly proclaims that each and every piece belongs to him and no one else!

Beyond this, each piece is also adorned with a number, as well as a sticker boldly proclaiming that it contains a GPS Satellite chip someone on board. The implications are clear. First, even though the owner may not always be seen on site, one can rest assured that he knows exactly where each and every piece of his equipment is at all times.

He is clearly serving notice to any who would consider stealing any given piece that their whereabouts will be immediately conveyed to him. So, don’t even try!

But there is yet another implication as well. The presence of the GPS notification sticker reminds us that the owner, who has invested so much in the acquisition of his prized machinery, now has fundamental expectations of each and every piece as well.

In his pursuit of his overall objective, he also knows what his specific expectation is for each individual piece.

He has no doubt conveyed that expectation to his crew, the foreman as well as the operator of each individual piece. And he now subtly reminds them that he watches expectantly from above to see exactly how they are progressing in their assigned tasks!

At this point, I trust it is obvious that here are many similarities here to those of us who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ. God, too, is in the serious equipment business! Think about this with me for a moment.

We were each uniquely created by our God. In the process, we were each seriously equipped, in that we were each endowed with certain very specific gifts and abilities in the process. We were then each purchased by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, and then sealed with the Holy Spirit as proof that we belong to Him.

Thereafter, in the perfect will of God, we were each eventually assembled as a part of some team somewhere, the local church, where we are now expected to fulfill our purpose by using our unique set of gifts to glorify God by doing whatever it is we are called to do, all in order to see that the greater task of sharing the Gospel is continually carried forward.

All the while, our Heavenly Father watches carefully from above. He watches, first, in order to protect us. And He watches as well to note our individual contribution(s) to the overall progression of the Gospel and the deliverance of its benefit to others.

Do you see yourself anywhere in this illustration? I hope so. For you and I alike were seriously equipped for service to God. We were each first created, then endowed, then redeemed, then sealed, then assembled, and are now ultimately expected to be contributing to the progression of the Gospel and its purposes.

Again, I hope we are faithfully doing this very thing. If we are not, then we should not be surprised if our Owner suddenly appears and begins to ask why this is so!

I leave you with the piercing question that Jesus Himself once posed to His disciples (in the New Testament Gospel of Luke, chapter 18, verse 1-8): “When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on earth?”

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/luke/18-8.htm.

RIGHT AS RAIN!

10/10/2020

“Into every life a little rain must fall.” So dictates the wisdom of the ages. We instinctively understand this principle, knowing that rain is necessary for life.

For this reason, once we sense that we do not get enough rain, we soon begin to pray for it. At other times, when we feel we have had enough of rain, we soon begin to sing about it: “Rain, rain, go away, come again another day.”

Over the last four of five weeks, we have now experienced the remnants of three consecutive Gulf Coast hurricanes as they have spun themselves out overhead here in east Tennessee. Needless to say, as of late, we have been doing more singing than praying!

This is not to say that this rain has not been welcome. The couple of inches that have drenched us this time have certainly tempered the dust that usually accompanies the dryness of fall. But when the dust turns to mud, the blessing can become a hassle.

I had gone walking this morning, and had barely gotten a half a mile from our house, when the bottom fell out of the clouds and the rain began to fall in torrents. Thankfully, due to an earlier heads’ up from my wife, I had foreseen this possibility, and had taken my trusty poncho with me.

So, other than getting my walking shoes wet, I actually had a pleasant little walk. As I did, I thought a lot about rain, ultimately concluding that few things are as right at rain!

Allow me to suggest a few reasons why this is so...

I. RAIN CLEANSES

The local utility company has been busy putting in a new water line on the road in which we live. Suffice it to say that the result has been a dirty mess, initially from mud piled everywhere as the ground was dug up, and inevitably as the mud dried out, a dusty nightmare. Seemingly every part of our road and driveway was covered with either mud or dust ( if not both), not to mention our vehicles, etc… And then… “Voilà!” Once the rains came, the mud and dust were both quickly washed away.

II. RAIN NOURISHES

We had spent the past couple of weeks putting topsoil in the low parts of our yard and planting grass seed there. I have been busy watering these spots daily in order to nurture them along. But when the rains came, they accomplished more in a single 48 hour stretch than I could ever hope to accomplish at an hour a day for a whole week.

III. RAIN TRANSFORMS

Our weather team on the local television station news has told us that, once our weekend drenching comes to an end, we can now expect multiple “pleasant” fall days filled with sunshine, mild temperatures, and little to no humidity.

Now, consider the spiritual implications of all of this. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the “Living Water”, Who alone satisfies our spiritual thirst. As such, He gives us three essential things.

The first of these is spiritual cleansing. By His blood, we are washed and made clean. Secondly, He then nourishes us through His Word, helping us to become strong in our spirit. Finally, He transforms us completely from what we once were into what all He desires us to be.

While I myself am nowhere near perfect, I am nonetheless a work in progress. That work began when Christ cleansed me by His sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection. It continued as He began to nurture me in my spiritual growth through inundation in His Word. And to this very day, I am continually being transformed by Him, as the old man within me gives way daily to the new man I am becoming.

I hope you share this same testimony. If not, you can. You too can be cleansed form the consequential residue of a filthy past. You too can find genuine nourishment for your soul, the kind for which you were intended, and which alone will give you authentic and lasting satisfaction. And best of all, you too can begin to become who you were meant to be, fulfilling all of the purposes for which you were created.

Now that, my friends, is as right as rain!

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

https://biblehub.com/bsb/john/4.htm;
https://biblehub.com/niv/john/7.htm;
https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/The-Water-Of-Life.

NOTE: I penned these words fully cognizant of what the people of the Gulf Coast states have recently undergone. I realize that what we have experienced from the residue of hurricanes here in east Tennessee is miniscule in comparison to what these individuals have undergone; and my thoughts here are in no way intended to diminish or undermine what they have endured. As always, my prayers, as well as my financial resources (the latter through official denominational channels), keep going out to them.

GOT THE PICTURE?

10/6/2020

It looks like the Guinness Book of World Records has a new entry. It seems that an Eminem fan in Scotland has recently set a new world record for “The Most Tattooed Portraits of the Same Musician on His or Her Body”.

According to the October 05, 2020 article by Michael Bartiromo on www.FoxNew.com titled “Eminem Fan in Scotland Sets Guinness Record for Most Tattooed Portraits of Same Musician”, a certain young lady named Nikki Patterson is clearly not afraid of needles!

The 35-year-old Aberdeen, Scotland resident recently secured the Guinness World Record for having the most tattoos of the same musician spread across various parts of here body. She set this new record when she got her 15th different tattooed portrait of Eminem! And she’s not done yet. Since her record was confirmed, she’s now gotten a 16th tat, with plans for five more in the near future!

When asked how far she planned to carry this, she replied, “After that… it will depend on how much skin I have left.”

Patterson went on to say that she first fell in love with Eminem’s music when she was 14. Shem got her first Slim Shady-inspired tattoo at 19. But it was only when she was around 22 that she really began collecting the tattooed portraits.

According to Patterson: “I saw an Eminem tattoo by [Scotland-based tattoo artist] David Corden had done and I just knew I needed one,” she said. “And that tattoo changed my life overnight, because I started wanting to be seen rather than being ashamed in my own skin.”

More than just sport his image, Patterson says she has now gone to seen Eminem live a total of seven times. She also has 12 other Eminem-themed tattooed based on his various song lyrics.

She continued, telling Fox News of her hobby that: “I got a second one, and a third and it just went from there. I’m a changed person — I’m confident now and love looking in the mirror. I’ve got thicker skin and worry less about what people think about me.”

What is her next move? As she told Fox News, “I’m gonna keep breaking my own for now, lol.” She must mean this, for she has an upcoming appointment for yet another Eminem portrait on Oct. 23, and four more — all portraits — after that.

As I read this article, I could not help but ask myself one basic question: “Just who do people see when they look at me?” And I can only hope that the answer to that question is none other than Jesus Christ.

Years ago, B.B. McKinney must have been thinking along these same lines. He had to have been, for he was moved to write the now classic words:

While passing thro' this world of sin,
and others your life shall view.
Be clean and pure without, within;
Let others see Jesus in you.

Your life's a book before their eyes,
They're reading it thro' and thro'
Say, does it point them to the skis,
Do others see Jesus in you?

Then live for Christ both day and night,
Be faithful, be brave and true,
and lead the lost to life and Christ.
Let others see Jesus in you.

While passing thro' this world of sin,
and others your life shall view.
Be clean and pure without, within;
Let others see Jesus in you.

Let others see Jesus in you,
Let others see Jesus in you.
Keep telling the story, be faithful and true;
Let others see Jesus in you.

More than a just penning a hymn for those of us who claim to follow Jesus Christ to sing, McKinney has given us a challenge for how to live our lives. May we be faithful to do so! And remember, the world may or may not record our efforts to do so, but eternity surely does!

Let’s let others see Jesus in us!

STORY SOURCE:

https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/eminem-fan-scotland-tattoos-guinness-record.

HYMN SOURCE:

https://hymnary.org/text/while_passing_through_this_world_of_sin; and

http://www.songlyrics.com/tony-weeks/let-others-see-jesus-in-you-lyrics/.

SEE ALSO:

https://dianaleaghmatthews.com/let-others-see-jesus-in-you/.

WHO'S CALLING?!

10/2/2020

I thought I would continue my thoughts this day with regard to D-Day in World War Two. History tells us that, just as the Allied powers had hoped it would, H-Hour (6am) on D-Day (June 6, 1944) unfolded both suddenly and quickly, allowing them to achieve total surprise regarding the time and place of their monumental invasion of Axis-occupied western Europe.

In the moments and hours immediately following the invasion, the news agencies within both the Axis and Allied powers clamored to learn more, and to be the first to report updates on the status of the battle. Doubtless, each had their respective motives in doing so, as putting a “spin” on the news is nothing new.

The Allied powers certainly wanted their listeners to know that they were in fact invading Europe. Conversely, most historians agree that the Axis powers initially reported the truth of the invasion solely because they wanted to build up a veneer of credibility; so that later on, whenever it might prove advantageous, they could misrepresent facts in their reporting, and so deceive both their enemies, and if need be, their own German audience.

Eventually, the first official communique released by Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (abbreviated as SHAEF) was released. The single laconic statement was brief and to the point: “Under the command of General Eisenhower, Allied naval forces, supported by strong air forces, began landing Allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France.”

Soon thereafter, the governments of the various Allied nations involved also took to the airwaves, each with official pronouncements, and each speaking to their respective citizenry as to what was expected of them during this fateful time. The first three of these nations included Holland, Belgium, and England. Not surprisingly, in such cases, the message was fairly straightforward: “We are coming. Be ready, be vigilant, and be faithful in this difficult time. Here is what we expect of you until then.”

In other cases, however, especially where the Nazis were occupying powers, the message was not so definitive and clear cut. There is no better example of this than inside France itself, where the French people were receiving mixed signals.

The first came from their titular leader, Marshal Philippe Pétain, who headed up the puppet regime ruling France under his Nazi warlords, known as the Vichy government. His message implored the French people to remain passive and continue to submit to their Nazi overlords.

Broadcasting form Nazi controlled stations inside France, he told them to obey orders to stay indoors after dark, and when venturing forth in daylight, not to gather in groups of more than three. In short order, he claimed, the Allied invasion would surely be repulsed, and the enemy would be thrown back into the sea. For this reason, the French people did not senselessly need to invite later reprisals from the occupying Germans.

His message was not encouraging. It wasn't meant to be. It was meant to be just what it was, a tool designed to keep a defeated people in subjugation to an evil power.

At the same time, however, broadcasting in absentia from BBC stations in England and North Africa, Charles De Gaulle, the true leader of the French people, offered a radically different message. His words offered encouragement to his oppressed people. He told the French people that the hour of their deliverance was indeed at hand; and that the liberating army, of which the free French forces he was now leading was a part, had in fact already landed, and that they were even now fighting to set them all free. He wanted his people to be encouraged by all of these matters.

But his words also contained another message as well - a call to arms! He told the French people that they should listen intently for exact instructions about when and what to do in order to rise up and join in the struggle to throw off the oppressive Nazi regime. Lastly, he underscored that now was the time to be courageous as victory was within their grasp. Each French citizen must now be prepared to do what was expected of him or her.

Thankfully, each of these broadcasts has been recorded for posterity. You can read them online, where they are readily accessible with a simple Google search.

I share this today because I cannot help but see the parallels for Christians in the modern world. We clearly live in a world where the evil one holds sway. He seems all too invincible in his worldly authority; as day after day, his minions do his bidding and encourage us to passively submit to his authority, and to do nothing that might offend or alienate him or his earthly cohorts in any way.

Yet, over and against this message is the one we receive from our true Lord and Master: Jesus Christ. His message, by contrast, is one of encouragement, not discouragement! His message is not to conform, but to resist! His message is to remain faithful to Him rather than the evil one, knowing that the day and hour of our deliverance is even now at hand!

On June 6, 1944, the French people had a decision to make. Would they follow the urging of an imposter, or would they be true to the promptings of their true leader? History records that they chose De Gaulle over Petain. And within a few short weeks, they were indeed free from the rule of Nazi tyranny!

It seems to me that, as followers of Jesus Christ, we too have a decision to make. Will we follow the urging of so many of our worldly leaders, a great number of whom seem tirelessly to encourage us to submit to the evil one and his agenda for our lives and this world?

Or will we muster the courage to ignore this misleading message and listen instead to the words of our one true Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, Whose message is so radically different from that of the world?!

I remind you of what Jesus Himself said in the New Testament gospel of John (chapter 10, verse 27): “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

In light of all of this, I have made my choice. As the day and hour of my liberation draws increasingly nigh, I will henceforth listen to only one message; and that is one spoken with the voice of my true Lord and Master, Jesus Christ!

What about you? Whose message are you choosing to heed today? Will you simply be complacent, be compliant, and go along with the urging of the evil one and his minions? Or will you recognize that such an approach is inherently antithetical to your true identity as a follower of Jesus Christ?

Give careful consideration to your answer; for whatever you decide will have significant consequences in your life, both for this world and for the next!

SOURCES:

https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/culture-and-leisure/history-centre/marvels/on-6-june-1944-d-day-had-come;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_P%C3%A9tain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_de_Gaulle.

SEE ALSO:

The 24 straight hours of radio recordings of D-Day from CBS and NBC referenced in my previous blog post, “SAID AND DONE” of 09.29.20, contain many of these speeches.

SCRIPTURE:

https://www.biblehub.com/john/10-27.htm.

“SAID AND DONE”

9/29/2020

I have previously written of my great love for history. This may be due to an eventful day back in “Junior High” (nowadays referred to as “Middle School”). My history teacher apparently decided that the best way to whet our proverbial appetites for studying the famous “Battle of Hastings” during the 1066 AD Norman Invasion of England was to play an episode of the classic “Old Time Radio” program, You Are There.

Suffice it say that I was hooked on history from that moment forward. Just as the program’s title purports to do for its listener, I found myself transported in my mind right back to the very battle itself. All around me, I could sense the sights and sounds of the mêlée. It was a truly immersive and transformational experience.

As a 7th grader, of course, I dared not let on to my classmates that I actually liked history. So, I coolly contained myself. But I never forgot the experience.

These days, I am unapologetic about my love for history. After all, as George Santayana famously quipped, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it!” These days, too, being semi-retired, and with more time on my hands, I am committed to pursuing many of my personal hobbies in a more thorough manner. Not surprisingly, this extends to learning more and more history as well.

And yet, while I love to read history, I have come to see that few historical summaries are as compelling as those instances of history that are somehow captured live and preserved for posterity. Whether it is the events of 911 or the assassination of JFK, most all of us are familiar with the power of history being captured.

But when we begin to go back in time, however, such things become increasingly rare. One such example is another invasion across the English Channel over 850 years after the one referenced above. Only this time, it was not the French invading England, but the Allies invading Axis occupied Europe. The year was 1944; and the invasion began in the sixth hour of the sixth day of the sixth month of that eventful year.

Hollywood has attempted to recreate the carnage of “D-Day.” Movies such as Saving Private Ryan present us with a fairly detailed and accurate portrayal of the events of this eventful day. Here we observe brave young Allied soldiers resolutely storming Hitler’s “Atlantic Wall” on “Omaha Beach” by throwing themselves doggedly into the teeth of the Axis powers’ withering machine gun fire, relentless mortar shelling, and seemingly endless placement of hidden mines.

A famous general from an earlier American war once said, “War means fighting, and fighting means killing.” D-Day proved this beyond dispute. And one simply cannot watch Steven Spielberg's masterful depiction of the heroic events of that historic day without experiencing a visceral reaction deep within his or her soul.

Still, very few incidents in those terrible moments in history were actually recorded live. Some that were include the still pictures captured by Life magazine’s Robert Capa, who was the only still photographer to wade ashore with the c. 34,250 troops who landed at “Omaha Beach”. His pictures are quite powerful, speaking volumes to this very day to all who view them about the terror of those immortal minutes.

A quarter of an hour earlier and some three miles offshore, another individual was busy recording the events of that memorable morning. Only this time, George Hicks was not recording the events on film but on a newfangled “Recordgraph” audio recording machine. Later that day, upon his return to England, he made his 13 minute, 33 second audio recording available to the world’s media.

Almost certainly, one of the planes that Hicks describes seeing fly over and plaster the German defenses with bombs was a B-26 Marauder from the 9th Air Force. Ensconced within that plane was yet another reporter, Richard Hottelet, whose first hand audio account, broadcast later that morning, is also riveting. His plane made its bombing run a mere 7 minutes before the fateful moment when the Allied forces waded ashore at H-Hour.

This had all been preceded earlier by hundreds of low level bombing sorties against German beach emplacements in the previous few hours. Altogether, some 11,000 total aircraft, 4000 to 5000 ships, and nearly 190,000 allied personnel took place in the massive invasion.

I encourage everyone reading this to view the pictures and listen to the tapes via the links I have included below. Anyone choosing to do so will surely be moved by the power of history as it comes alive before his or her very eyes and ears. Mind you, if you do, that this is not Hollywood. This is actual history, recorded for posterity exactly as it was happening!

For me, it is all but impossible to see and hear these things without being reminded of the awesome sacrifices undertaken by others on my behalf. My freedom this day is due to the dedication of such individuals, many of whom gave what Abraham Lincoln termed the “last full measure” of devotion to that cause of defeating fascism and insuring the future for freedom-loving people the world over.

By now, my regular readers may be beginning to wonder what the preachable point of this short blog post is. I would answer by pointing out that, as grateful as I and so many more are for their bravery in being there and capturing this great historical moment, both the photographer and the reporter were still only recording history. By comparison, all of those they were capturing on film and tape were busy actually making history – history that was to have an immediate and lasting effect upon untold hundreds of millions of people, including you and me!

Now, do not get me wrong. It definitely took courage to be there and capture the cacophony of images and sounds of that battle. But if that took courage, then how much more was needed from those who went ashore before the reporters and faced the Nazi meat-grinder head-on!

As a lover of history, I am personally convicted by this thought. While I love to study history, especially firsthand accounts, I know that life is arguably better spent making history than merely recording history. Ultimately, you see, someone must first act for the good of his or her fellow human beings before someone else can then speak of what he or she acted and did!

Such a principle surely has application to daily life. Most people rightly care far more about we have actually done on their behalf than what we have had to say or show to them. Maybe this was at least part of what the Apostle James had in mind (in his New Testament Letter, chapter 1, verse 22) when he challenged his fellow believers to be doers of the word and not just hearers only. In other words, taking note of a matter and discussing it is one thing; but living it out is another matter altogether!

Given this admonition, yes, may we be faithful to recount the truth of the Gospel. But far more importantly, may we be faithful to act out the truth of the Gospel – especially as it impacts the lives of others around us. After all, what all we do very often shouts our message out far louder and far clearer than what all we say.

SOURCES:

D DAY STILL PHOTOGRAPHS:
http://skylighters.org/photos/robertcapa.html;
http://100photos.time.com/photos/robert-capa-d-day.

D DAY LIVE AUDIO RECORDING:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB1VQmW4xPw.

NOTE: Providentially, the entire 24 hour broadcast days of both CBS and NBC radio networks for June 6, 1944 have been preserved for posterity and can be accessed here:
https://archive.org/details/Complete_Broadcast_Day_D-Day; and
https://archive.org/details/NBCCompleteBroadcastDDay.

SEE ALSO:
http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm.

BATTLE OF HASTINGS ON YOU ARE THERE:
https://archive.org/details/You_Are_There_OTR/You_Are_There_480606_ep33_The_Battle_of_Hastings.mp3. Episode 33.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://biblehub.com/james/1-22.htm.

A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME…

9/25/2020

In a previous blog, posted back in April of this year, I referenced seeing an osprey rising up from the water with a fish in its talons while I was crossing over the Tennessee River. My point was how God provides for the fowls of the air, just as His word testifies.

At that time, I talked about having earlier seen an osprey chick wigwagging its head back and forth as it sat ensconced within a very large osprey nest situated high atop a Tennessee Valley Authority Power Pole immediately adjacent to the bridge. I concluded that it was quite obvious that what I was witnessing was one of the two parents of this chick headed home with a scrumptious meal in tow.

I share this here because I passed over that same bridge again yesterday. Only this time, I did not see an adult osprey rising from the river. Nor did I see an osprey chick when I looked up at the same TVA pole. Rather, what I saw was an empty nest and two birds perched nearby on the pole. One bird was quite large. The second was only slightly smaller.

Clearly, the former was a parent and the latter a nearly full grown offspring. Equally as clear was that the parents had now nearly succeeded in raising their brood. I smiled as I thought to myself, “Congratulations on a job well done!”

It was then that God used the transformation of this little osprey chick to speak to me. For my very next thought went to my own children, with whom the Lord has richly blessed my wife and me. They were each entrusted to us at birth by Almighty God. In the intervening three decades, they have each now come of age, left the nest, and demonstrated the ability to be autonomous individuals fully functioning in a responsible way in society. For that, I am extremely grateful.

And even though I do not tell as much as I should, I am quite proud of each of them! When the time came for them to leave the proverbial nest, each in turn spread their respective wings and boldly took to the air!

Now, of course, each is married. And together with their respective spouses, each in turn has also now been blessed with children of their own.

What I concluded as these thoughts ran through my mind while crossing the bridge is that I will now commit to do at least three things for my adult children.

First, more than ever, I will pray for them in their awesome newfound responsibility as parents. Secondly, more than ever, I will co0mmit to assist them in this God-given task. And finally, I will let them know of these first two commitments.

I cannot help but wonder how that adult osprey felt sitting up there on that power pole next to his or her progeny. Did he or she feel pride? Satisfaction? Completion? Fulfillment? Elation? I will never know. But these are certainly just a few of the things my wife and I feel when we look at our three grown children.

And part of our prayer for them is that they too will one day be allowed to feel the same way about their own little fledglings. For surely this is part of what the Good Lord intended all along.

NOTE: Cf.: "In His Grasp!", posted 04/02/2020 at:
https://www.cleoejacksoniii.com/my-ongoing-thoughts/in-his-grasp.

PUTTING OTHERS FIRST

9/21/2020

In a world full of bad news, it is wonderful to come across the occasional report sharing good news. Such was the case for me earlier today when I read an article on www.FoxNews.com titled “Triathlete's Act of Kindness at Spain Event Applauded on Social Media”.

Written by Ryan Gaydos and published on September 21, 2020, the piece told about a Spanish triathlon competitor who was praised on social media last week after his act of decency during an event went viral.

It seems that a certain Diego Mentrida, of Spain, let another competitor, James Teagle, of Britain, cross the finish line ahead of him at the recent 2020 Santander Triathlon, held back on Sept. 13. For whatever reason, however, word of Mentrida’s gracious deed did not trickle out until late last week.

Apparently, Teagle was on pace to finish in third place in the annual race held in Spain when he mistakenly took a wrong turn a few miles short of the finish line. Thus, Mentrida passed Teagle. But, noticing the mistake and sensing it was the right thing to do, he then allowed his competitor catch and pass him.

Asked later about his reasoning, he responded by saying, “When I saw that he had missed the route, I just stopped. James deserved this medal.” He went on to explain why, saying, “This is something my parents and my club taught me since I was a child. In my view it should be a normal thing to do.”

According to the article, Mentrida would later be given an honorary third-place medal by the event’s organizers, and received the same prize money as Teagle. Better yet, Javier Gomez Noya, who actually won the race, called Mentrida’s act “the best in history.”

As I read this article, I could not help but see the parallels in what is expected of followers of Jesus Christ. Our Lord both preached and practiced the business of sacrifice on behalf of others. He preached it in the New Testament Gospel of John (chapter 15, verse 13), when He said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.”

He practiced it when He went on to do just that. In the New Testament Book of Romans (chapter 5, verse 8), the apostle Paul declares, “God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ laid down His life for us.”

Later on in the New Testament, the Apostle John then adds this admonition (in his First General Epistle, chapter 3, verse 16): “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

Diego Mentrida must have had the principle of self-sacrifice instilled within him. He both practiced and preached it. As followers of Jesus Christ, we too have had this same principle instilled within us. May we also faithfully preach and practice it!

Oh, and for what it’s worth… The man who actually won the race, Javier Gomez Noya, would eventually top off Diego Mentrida’s various rewards with a hearty personal affirmation of praise.

In like manner, the Bible promises us various rewards for a life of sacrifice. But more to the point, it affirms that all those who follow Jesus Christ and employ His teachings will one day hear these powerful words from Him: “Well done, good and faithful servant… enter thou into the joys of thy Lord!”

In light of this, I leave you with the admonition of the writer of the New Testament Book of Hebrews, who in chapter 12, verses 1 and 2: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”

STORY SOURCE:

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/triathlete-kindness-spain-event-applauded.

The writer, Ryan Gaydos, is a sports reporter for www.FoxNews.com and www.FoxBusiness.com. He can be followed on Twitter @Gaydos_.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

https://biblehub.com/john/15-13.htm;
https://biblehub.com/romans/5-8.htm;
https://biblehub.com/1_john/3-16.htm;
https://biblehub.com/kjv/matthew/25.htm;
https://biblehub.com/niv/hebrews/12.htm.

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