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WHAT'S YOUR HURRY?!

2/26/2018

Famed Christian communicator, James Hewett, once shared the following story:

An ethics professor at Princeton Theological Seminary asked for volunteers for an extra assignment. At two o’clock, fifteen students gathered at Speer Library. There he divided the group of fifteen into three groups of five each.

He gave the first group of five envelopes telling them to proceed immediately across campus to Stewart Hall and that they had fifteen minutes to get there. If they didn’t arrive on time it would affect their grade. This he called the “High Hurry” group.

A minute or two later he handed out envelopes to five others. Their instructions were to also go over to Stewart Hall, but they were given forty-five minutes.

After they departed he gave the last of the envelopes with instructions to the third group, the “Low Hurry” group. They were given three hours to arrive at Stewart Hall.

Now, unknown to any of these students, the teacher had arranged with three students from the Princeton University Drama Department to meet them along the way, acting as people in great need.

In front of Alexander Hall one of the drama students was going around covering his head with his hands and moaning out loud in great pain.

As they passed by Miller Chapel on their way to Stewart Hall they found a fellow who was on the steps lying face down as if unconscious. And finally on the very steps of Stewart Hall the third drama student was acting out an epileptic seizure.

It’s interesting that of the first group no one stopped, of the second, two of the five stopped, and of the third group all five stopped.

Maybe one of the reasons that the Good Samaritan was able to stop and help was because he had a more leisurely agenda, while the religious “pros” of Jesus’ day were living in the fast lane and simply had no time for interruptions. Their calendars may well have been filled with commitments that left them no leeway.

As Dr. Hewett alludes to in his concluding paragraph, anyone reasonably familiar with the teachings of Jesus cannot read the above story without immediately being reminded of His famed “Parable of the Good Samaritan” as found in the New Testament gospel of Luke (chapter 10, verses 25-37):

25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ ; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” 28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Ouch! Obviously, both the Priest and the Levite here were good religious individuals with “places to go, things to do, and people, to see”! It therefore seems as if this parable has special relevance for those in full-time vocational Christian ministry like me. And yet, it is for this very reason that this story has relevance not just for “Ministers”, but for everyone who claims to live for God.

Let’s face it. We all live busy lives. Many of us find that our weeks are so full of meetings and appointments that we can barely find the time to breathe. In my own case, I have a weekly schedule, replete with an agenda for each day of the week.

Moreover, I try desperately to cling to this schedule; for experience has taught me that if I fall behind, especially early in the week, I will then quickly lose control and find myself having to work hard to catch up in order to meet my deadlines for regularly assigned duties and responsibilities.

And yet, I have also learned a fundamental paradoxical truth. Juxtaposed to the busyness and inflexibility of my schedule are the very opportunities that so often present themselves for ministry. In fact, the busier I am, the more the opportunities to set aside my business and attend to these ministry needs.

My strong suspicion is that the “grade”, as it were, that each of those five “High Hurry” group students received for the audible presentation of their assigned sermon (see below) has long been forgotten. By contrast, what will likely never be forgotten was their later learning of the missed opportunities for ministering in the name of the very Christ whose message they were each called to preach!

May we learn from their actions! And may we always remember that the proclamation of the Gospel must ever be accompanied by the practice of it!

STORY SOURCE: James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 1988), p. 367. Dr. Hewett was for years the Senior Pastor of Presbyterian churches in Walnut Creek, California, and Saratoga, California. He was also formerly the editor and publisher of Parables Etc. and The Pastors Story File, two monthly newsletters of illustrations for speakers. The above book is a collection of communicative materials resulting from his many decades of ministry.

For my part, I attended Princeton Theological Seminary about a decade after the incident cited above had occurred. But it was well remembered by the seminary community. Dr. Hewett, himself, passed away in 2006; so I do not know the source of his version of this incident. It may have come from personnel memory as official accounts differ ever so slightly as to the details of the actual experiment.

It appears to have been two Princeton social psychologists, John Darley and Dan Batson, who designed the experiment; even though it was apparently carried out by a Seminary preaching professor. It also appears that the “High Hurry” group, at least, were given the assignment to get to Stuart Hall (the correct spelling) and deliver a sermon on the Parable of the Good Samaritan that they had earlier been assigned to prepare, not knowing anything about the professor’s ensuing plans. Other groups may have been given different topics to subjects on which to speak.

Either way, the official report is contained in: Darley, J. M., & Batson, C. D. (1973). "From Jerusalem to Jericho": A study of situational and dispositional variables in helping behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27(1), 100-108. It can found online here: http://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fh0034449.

See also: http://www.rightattitudes.com/2015/06/16/people-in-a-rush-are-less-likely-to-help-themselves/.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/niv/luke/10.htm.

BIRD FEED

2/22/2018

The last few days here in eastern Tennessee have been unseasonably warm. The average temperature for this time of year is in the mid 50’s. Yet, we have enjoyed a few days in the mid to upper 70’s. As one might expect in late February as March approaches, a light breeze is blowing. Otherwise, it is nice and pleasant outside. In fact, it even borders on being hot by mid-afternoon.

And while I have learned that snow often comes to this area in March and even in April, I still sense the signs of spring beginning to appear. Everywhere, it seems, the grass, is slowly greening up. Trees in our yard are budding; and the ubiquitous sound of chirping fills the air.

This last matter may be in part due to the fact that my wife loves to care for birds out in the yard. She gets this from her mother, who does much the same. To the utter delight of squirrels and chipmunks, they both doggedly refill bird feeders all winter long. Of course, the birds also flourish in the process.

As I reflected on this, I was reminded of a clip in my files from years ago. It comes from page 23 of the November, 1989 edition of the publication titled Bits & Pieces; and it reads as follows:

A construction crew was building a new road through a rural area, knocking down trees as it progressed. A superintendent noticed that one tree had a nest of birds who couldn't yet fly and he marked the tree so that it would not be cut down.

Several weeks later the superintendent came back to the tree. He got into a bucket truck and was lifted up so that he could peer into the nest. The fledglings were gone. They had obviously learned to fly. The superintendent ordered the tree cut down.

As the tree crashed to the ground, the nest fell clear and some of the material that the birds had gathered to make the nest was scattered about. Part of it was a scrap torn from a Sunday school pamphlet. On the scrap of paper were these words: He careth for you.

Wow! I have no way of knowing if this story is true. But the truth is conveys is indisputable. The quotation is part of a larger Bible verse found in the King James translation of the first New Testament General Epistle (or Letter) of the Apostle Peter (chapter 5, verse 6-7):

6“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

When I read this passage, I cannot help but be reminded of the words of Jesus earlier in the New Testament (in His famed Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, verses 25-34), when He said:

25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

I’m glad the man in this story took time to care for a bird and her brood. I’m glad my wife feels led to care for the birds as well. But mostly, I’m glad that God does the same. After all, He is arguably the one behind the care of birds even when it is given by humans.

But above all, I’m glad that the same God who cares for the birds also cares for you and me as human beings created in His image. After all, as the Apostle Paul puts it (in his New Testament Letter to the Romans, chapter 8, verse 31): “If God is for us, then who can be against us?!”

STORY SOURCE: Bits & Pieces, November, 1989, p. 23. Bits & Pieces is a pocket-sized monthly magazine full of inspirational stories and quotes that has been published for decades. Cf.: https://bitsandpieces.biz/subscribe-become-member/.

THIS ILLUSTRATION ALSO AVAILABLE WIDELY ONLINE: See, for instance: http://www.christianglobe.com/Illustrations/a-z/g/god_care_of.htm.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES: http://biblehub.com/kjv/1_peter/5.htm
and http://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/6.htm
and http://biblehub.com/romans/8-31.htm.

WHOA, STRANGER!

2/19/2018

Here while back, the following headline caught my eye: “Alien Pulled Over in Georgia, Police Say”.

Purely out of curiosity, I clicked on the story to read that a man who had been clocked doing 84 mph was pulled over by the Alpharetta, Georgia Police Department. According to George Gordon, a spokesman for the department, upon approaching the car, Police were surprised to find that a life-sized doll of a big-eyed, large-skulled alien was riding in the front passenger seat. The alien was duly strapped in behind a seat belt.

Gordon later told The Associated Press: "He did not mention as to `why' he had an out of this world passenger." In any event, the driver was given a warning and told to slow down. And after some laughs from the officer, as well as a few photographs of the alien, the man went on his way. No mention was made as to where the alien in question was actually headed.

For what it’s worth, the city of Alpharetta is not far from another city in Georgia called “Roswell”! I kid you not! In any event, here is a photo provided by the Alpharetta Police Department…

As I read this article, I could not help but think of the passage in the New Testament Book of Hebrews (chapter 11, verse 13) where, after summarizing the faith of the Old Testament patriarchs, the writer says: “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.”

Later on (in chapter 13, verse 14), this same author states: “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.” (NLT)

This theme of having a home somewhere besides earth is repeated several places in the New Testament.

In his first General Epistle (chapter 2, verse 11), the Apostle Peter reminds us that we are “aliens and strangers” in this world.

In his New Testament Epistle to the Philippians (chapter 3, verse 20), the Apostle Paul reminds us that our true citizenship is in Heaven.

In his great High-Priestly Prayer found in the New Testament Gospel of John (chapter 17, verse 16), Jesus prays for us as His followers, in the process stating that we are not of this world, even as He is not of this world.

That being said, I hope I’m never clocked at 84 mph. For that matter, I hope I’m never pulled over by any Police Department for any driving offense. But if I am, then one thing will be for certain… they will have once again pulled over an alien!

For like all who follow Jesus Christ, ultimately this world is not my home. I’m just a passing through!

It seems fitting for me to leave you with the words to a song made famous years ago by Jim Reeves:

“This world is not my home, I'm just a-passing through,
My treasures are laid up, Somewhere beyond the blue.

The angels beckon me, From heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home, In this world anymore.

Oh Lord, you know, I have no friend like you,
If heaven's not my home, Then Lord what will I do.

The angels beckon me, From heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home, In this world anymore.

I have a loving mother, Just up in Gloryland,
And I don't expect to stop, Until I shake her hand.

She's waiting now for me, In heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home, In this world anymore.

Just over in Gloryland, We'll live eternally,
The saints on every hand, Are shouting victory.

Their songs of sweetest praise, Drift back from heaven's shore,
And I can't feel at home, In this world anymore.

Oh Lord, you know, I have no friend like you,
If heaven's not my home, Then Lord what will I do.

The angels beckon me, From heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home, In this world anymore...

STORY SOURCE: Reported on multiple news sites. See, for instance: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/06/27/alien-pulled-over-in-georgia-police-say
.html.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:
http://biblehub.com/niv/hebrews/11.htm.

SEE ALSO:
https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Aliens,-Christians-In-The-World.

SONG LYRICS:
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jimreeves/thisworldisnotmyhome.html.

LOVE, HEAVEN STYLE

2/15/2018

When I was kid, the only night of the week I was normally allowed to stay up and watch television was Friday. I didn’t get to watch “The Brady Bunch” like most of my friends, because my dad insisted on watching “Sanford and Son”, his own favorite program. But after that, the TV was pretty much mine.

Of course, the selection was considerably limited by today’s standards. We only had four VHF channels - our local ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS affiliates - plus two UHF channels that broadcasted mostly reruns and/or old movies in black and white.

Though the shows changed from time to time, my own Friday night line-up consisted of “The Partridge Family”, “Room 222”, “That Girl”, and “The Odd Couple”. (Until, that is, “The Six Million Dollar Man” debuted… And then all bets were off for me as a typical red-blooded American boy who looked up to heroes!)

In any event, Friday evenings were usually rounded out with a program called “Love American Style”. This last program was an anthology comedy series consisting of a rather silly collection of short vignettes displaying couples in various stages of romantic relationships, usually with a comedic spin.

It is perhaps best remembered for the lyrics to its theme song… “Love, American Style, Truer than the Red, White and Blue. Love, American Style, That's me and you.”

I share these somewhat meandering thoughts with you on this day after Valentine’s Day because love is the air at this time of year. And well it should be; for love really is an essential component of life in this world. But with so much “to-do” about love, the question is begged: “What is love?”

Long ago, Hollywood reminded us that “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing”. But then Hollywood, and television in turn, along with the able assistance of Madison Avenue, went on to portray love almost exclusively in a romantic sense involving feelings of strong attraction and emotional attachment toward members of the opposite sex.

Of course, while this is certainly one expression of love, it is in no way the sum total of love. As I have explained in previous posts (cf. THE POWER OF PARENTAL INFLUENCE 5/12/2014 and HOW DO I LOVE THEE? 2/15/2016), famed author C. S. Lewis reminds us that the ancient Greeks had four separate words for love in the world of the New Testament. In short, these included:

1. “Philia”, or love between friends;
2. “Eros”, or love between a man and a woman;
3. “Storge” or the love between a parent and a child; and
4. “Agape”, or the love between God and mankind.

While all of these have their proper time and place for expression, those who follow Jesus Christ understand that “Agape” is the one type of love that supersedes all others. Lewis defines “Agape” (Latin: “Charitas”) as “seeking the highest good for the recipient”. For this reason, true love is more about giving than receiving. More than this, true love is about giving sacrificially.

And these things are what set “Agape” apart from and make it superior to the other three types of love. In effect, the first three types of love are natural. But the love God calls us to practice surpasses natural matters and encompasses supernatural or Heavenly qualities.

This is why, of the 313 occurrences of the word “love” in the New Testament, 259 of these (or over four out of every five times) represent a translation of the Greek word “Agape”. And this is also the term for love used whenever the Bible talks about how much God loves us. As well as for how we should then love one another.

In effect, therefore, Christians are called to practice LOVE, HEAVEN STYLE! That is to say, we reflect what God has done for us in how we deal with others. We love them by seeking their highest good at all costs! And we do this with the understanding that we will invariably be expected at some point to make some form of sacrifice on their behalf in order to demonstrate our love to them.

I leave you with the words of Jesus (in the New Testament Gospel of Mark (chapter 12, verses 30-31): 30‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’f 31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’g There is no commandment greater than these.”

SOURCE: As noted in previous blogs, C. S. Lewis’ masterful book, The Four Loves, is a classic available at Christian bookstores nationwide and/or online from most any notable bookseller. First published in 1960, it was based on a set of radio talks from 1958.

SEE ALSO: http://www.cslewisinstitute.org/CS_Lewis_on_Love.

SCRIPTURE: http://biblehub.com/niv/mark/12.htm.

TRUE LOVE

2/12/2018

A few weeks ago, a friend with whom we attend church said to me: “Pastor, aren’t holidays fun again now that we all have grandchildren?!” I understood his point completely. Back when my wife and I were raising our own children, our family eagerly looked forward to the next holiday to be celebrated together in the cycle of the seasons.

But as our children aged, and then went off to college, the holiday celebrations within our home diminished somewhat. Now that they have all graduated, begun careers, gotten married, and are having children of their own, however, a renewed emphasis on the celebration of holidays has arisen within our extended family.

For my part, the older I get, the more intrigued I am by the cycle of the year, and especially by the significance of the various holidays historically celebrated in western culture – many of which are specifically Christian in origin. This week, of course, many are celebrating one such holiday: Valentine’s Day.

I recently came across an article addressing the history of this particular holiday. I thought it fitting to post it here today.

THE STORY BEHIND ST. VALENTINE by Daniel Threlfall

We don’t usually think of Valentine’s Day as an explicitly Christian holiday. Other major holidays have obvious Christian origins: Christmas (Christ’s incarnation) and Easter (Christ’s resurrection), sure, but Valentine’s Day? It’s true that Valentine’s Day is not connected with an event in the life of our Lord like Christmas and Easter are, but Valentine’s Day does have some intriguing Christian roots. Along with most holidays, Valentine’s Day has suffered from its share of commercialization and confusion, yet the poignant story of the original Valentine’s Day is worth remembering.

In the interest of full disclosure, after about 1,700 years of history, it’s kind of hard to know exactly who Valentine was and what he did. The truth is, there were probably several Valentines. Also, the truth is probably not as highly dramatized as we may wish. The truth is embedded somewhere in the depths of history, never to be known until we get to heaven.

The year was 270. The Roman Empire was engaged in a desperate attempt to retain the Pax Romana that had endured for centuries. Christianity was active during the 3rd century. Although Christ had died over two centuries prior, Christians were eagerly propagating their faith and churches were springing up everywhere. These early centuries of the church were the times of the great apologists such as Clement, Ignatius, Origen, Polycarp, Athanasius, and Chrysostom. But the 3rd century was also the time of the Christian martyrs.

Prior to Constantine, the empire was not friendly to Christianity—not at all. Claudius, the reigning emperor of the time, was a warlord, intent only upon preserving his empire and routing his enemies. Christianity was not on his like list. His primary interests were military, and he would stoop to nothing to ensure that his mighty army remained loyal to him.

It was Claudius’s maniacal grip on the military that led him to install a very foolish policy empire-wide. Claudius had a problem on his hands when it came to the army. Believe it or not, his men would actually prefer to get married and stay home with their wives and families rather than risk their lives and sacrifice for their country! Military recruiting was suffering because of the petulant affection between man and wife. Love was getting in the way of patriotism!

Claudius would have none of it. Being the man with the big stick, he could make laws and enforce them, too. So he did. Claudius passed a law forbidding anyone to get married. Obviously, this was an outrage. Was he serious? No marriage?

Living in this anti-Christian and anti-marriage climate, was Valentine. Valentine was a Christian priest in Rome. He knew from the Bible that marriage was good and honored by God. He knew that marriage was lawful according to the Christian faith, so he took it upon himself to perform Christian marriages—contrary to the law. As a priest, he performed secret marriages for couples who desired to be married bravely defying the anti-marriage edict.

It wasn’t just marriages that Valentine was working on. He was also trying to protect persecuted Christians who were being chased down and haunted by the aggressive Roman leaders. Christians knew that they could flee to Valentine to find protection. Valentine was taking a huge risk. Not only was it absolutely forbidden to marry or to perform marriages, but it was also a criminal offense to aid or abet Christians—especially ones whom the Roman Empire had on their hit list!

Valentine was enmeshed in what the Roman Empire considered high treason and traitorous activity. Although he was being loyal to his faith, he was flying in the face of Roman law. The Roman government hunted him down and locked him up in prison. Now, Valentine—protector of Christians and performer of marriages—was himself suffering for his love and devotion to God.

It got worse. Valentine, true to his bold character, tried to convert Emperor Claudius to Christianity. This had gone too far. Claudius demanded that Valentine recant his faith and submit to the cruel and godless tyranny of Rome. Valentine staunchly refused. The Roman Prefect condemned him to torture and death. He was beaten violently, then beheaded. Valentine was martyred for his faith.

According to legend (and probably false), Valentine himself fell in love during his time of imprisonment. The daughter of the prison guard met Valentine and fell head over heels in love. As the story goes, their romance was the prototypical saga of steadfast love, broken only by the tragic death of Valentine. He wrote a note to her, allegedly penned on February 14, the day before he was beheaded. He signed the note, “Love from your Valentine.” Henceforth, we have the first Valentine’s Day card.

Although the story of Valentine’s Day is shrouded in mystery, buried in tradition, and (thanks to commercialism) stripped of its significance, we can bring some of the truth back. The truth is, love can’t be squelched, outlawed, or stamped out. The significance of Valentine’s life was not that he defended love and romance and performed secret marriages. Valentine—a day now besmirched by cupids, chocolate, and candlelit dinners—is a day founded upon the life of a martyr. Valentine died a bloody death, beaten and beheaded.

The truth is, Valentine was in love with his Savior, Jesus Christ. Love for Jesus trumped his love of self. Valentine nobly gave his life for the God he loved. That is true love. But true love is deeper still. It goes beyond our love for God. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” John 3:16 defines love: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

This Valentine’s day, do something different. Sure, talk about love, but talk about true love—the love that God had for us. The love that sent Jesus to a cross. Talk about our love for Him—the kind of love that goes beyond mere comfortable Christian existence. The kind of love that is willing to take risks, to sacrifice everything, and even to give our lives for Him who loved us.

IMMEDIATE SOURCE: The Advancer, February 2108 Edition, published by the Loudon County Baptist Association, Lenoir City, TN.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: This article appears to have originally been penned by Daniel Threlfall on his blog site at ShareFaith ministries, as found here: https://www.sharefaith.com/blog/2011/01/valentines-day-history-story-st-valentine/.

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE SON

2/8/2018

My mother turned 79 this week. I’m glad she enjoyed a wonderful birthday; and that I lived to see it – literally. You see, my mother, like most all moms out there, has many stories to tell about my early life. And some these recount events that unfolded in my own life long before I was old enough to appreciate the significance of them.

On many occasions, she has shared with me about my own birth. She tells of how she was rushed to the hospital in labor. Due to complications (the chord was wrapped around my neck), the decision was immediately made to perform a caesarean section.

Apparently, my mother was out for quite some time, and only told later of what all had transpired in the meantime. The doctors said they worked with me for over an hour before I began to breathe on my own. There had been serious concerns over my life and also over any residual complications. Alas, however, I had eventually come around and began acting like any typical newborn, seemingly none the worse for wear.

My mom firmly believes that God kept me alive because He had much for me to do in life. I concur. She relates that she knew in her heart I survived this initial ordeal because she had so prayed for me while she was carrying me. Again, I concur. She says that every time she sees my wife and children, and my own grandchildren, she knows why God gave me life. I agree. And she says that every time I stand to proclaim the word of God, she knows that is the chief reason God spared me at that time. Again, I agree.

As I said above, all during the time she was expecting me, she shares that she prayed for me daily. You see, she and my father came along in the 1950’s – at a time when it was still common practice for young men never to finish high school. In other places on my website, I have shared that I was the first male in my family lineage to graduate high school.

My mother did graduate high school; but my father quit after the tenth grade. His father before him had quit after the third grade, and could only write a few rudimentary words. And his father before him, as with each subsequent generation, never even went to school at all.

Because it was the trend for so many young men to leave school before graduating, many of them never really applied themselves before they quit. For this reason, my mother shares that all she ever really knew of boys is that they were unintelligent, or at least unlearned. And she desperately wanted her son not to be this way.

This is likely why she read books to me as child. I can still remember being enthralled at Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, as I lay on the floor next to my sister while my mom read the exploits of a boy’s life growing up on the banks of the mighty Mississippi river.

I also remember her enrolling my sister and me in the Weekly Readers Book Club. It was with great anticipation that I looked forward to the monthly mail delivery of children’s books that came to our little country home. I valued them so much that I read them over and over. And I still have many of them. In fact, those that were displaced have since been meticulously hunted down online and re-obtained.

Another thing my mother provided was a set of encyclopedias. The significance of this is hard to appreciate in a day and age where every home has multiple devices connected the internet and wherein information is available to so many at the tip of their fingers.

But in the late 1960s and early 1970s, apart from newspapers, radio, and television (the latter with only five channels), information was hard to come by. The Illustrated World Encyclopedia set was not necessarily the top of the line. (My strong suspicion is that the Encyclopedia Britannica was a little too pricey.) But I loved that old set of the IWE. And I utterly devoured it.

As a preteen, I set myself a goal to read the entire encyclopedia set all the way through from cover to cover. This was especially enticing to me, because at the end of each volumes, placed alphabetically, were three to five page summaries of all the great works of western literature. I could never afford the classics; but I quickly learned their content in summary. Little did I know that early on in life, I was being grounded in the great five thousand year old literary tradition of my own culture. I am so thankful for my mom’s foresight here. (And yes, I still have this very set of encyclopedias in my office.)

But the most significant thing my mother provided for me as a child was, of course, the Word of God. I still have every single Bible I was ever given in my life - from those in my childhood, to the one I received at my baptism, to the several Study Bibles acquired in my teen years. And most of these came from my mother. Needless to say, I treasure these Bibles. The notes in them speak to my own progressive growth and maturity as a child of God.

But the older I get, the one book I treasure form my childhood is the bible that belonged to my mother. Actually, I have my father’s Bible as well. My father was not much of reader. His Bible has a few passages marked within, and is also stuffed with select church items picked up in his tenure as either Deacon and/or Sunday School Superintendent.

But my mother’s Bible is unique by comparison. Hers contains a written record of where she read each portion, sequentially, day by day, throughout the entire time she was pregnant with me. (Predictably, there is a short gap of time after I was born, reflecting the stressful few days related above.) It also contains the record of where she re-read it time and again afterwards.

In this collection of stories, recounting her prayers for me as well as the resources she provided me, is to be found the account of the great love my mother had for me. In many respects, every time I sit down to study or to write, or whenever I stand to proclaim the word of God, it is a direct result of her prayers and her maternal investment in me as her son.

King Lemuel said of the noble woman in the Old Testament Book of Proverbs, (chapter 31, verses 10-31) that "her children arise and call her blessed". I trust this blog post is merely one such fulfillment of that very scripture.

I thank God for the life He has given me. I also thank God for the context in which I was privileged to be raised. But especially do I thank Him for a Godly mother who poured herself into me, her son, in order that I might one day live to glorify the very God she herself loved and honored. And I hope I never disappoint either my mother or the God of the Bible Whom both she and I, each in our own time and way, have tried to serve so faithfully.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/niv/proverbs/31.htm.

FIRED UP!

2/5/2018

One of the fondest memories I have from when I was growing up was the old-fashioned pot-bellied stove in the center of the living room in my grandparents’ home. So named because of the fact that its shape resembled a little old man with a great big pot belly, this simple device was the source of heat for most of the house. Suffice it to say that it was also the source of endless fascination for me as a little boy.

Each and every morning, my grandfather would get up and chop some “kindling” from his favorite pile of firewood. This consisted chiefly of what was known as "lighter'd", "lighter wood," or "fat lighter", which was in actuality "heart pine", or that portion of wood derived from the heartwood of the ubiquitous southeastern pine tree.

This prized material usually came from a stump that had been left in the ground after a pine tree had either been cut down or else had fallen on its own. The resin-impregnated heartwood within the stump would become very hard over time. As a result, it was excellent for starting fires – hence, the word “kindling”.

My grandfather would then open the "feed" door, place some newspaper in the bottom of the fire pot, cover this with "lighter'd", and then add twigs and/or smaller pieces of wood. Finally, over the top of this pile, he would place larger pieces of firewood. At this point, all that remained was to strike a match and light the paper.

Soon enough, the resin-soaked fatwood would catch fire, and this in turn would spread to the waiting grain of the split logs up above. Before long, a blazing fire within the stove would begin to emit heat and the living room would soon become nice and cozy as a result.

After a few minutes, however, my grandfather would invariably sense the need to adjust the feed door "damper" on the stove. This ingenious little device consisted of a rotatable plate that allowed for regulating the draft, or amount of air, that was allowed into the fire pot to feed the fire. Whenever the damper was wide open, a large amount of air was allowed in, fueling the fire within. Conversely, whenever the damper was completely closed, the air supply was cut off, effectively killing the fire within the stove.

Simply put: the degree to which the damper was either opened or closed impacted the amount of air the fire would receive, and as a direct result, the size of the fire itself. Obviously, there was an art to just how much the damper was to be adjusted – both at what point and to what degree. If left too far open, the fire raged and the room quickly overheated; if closed off too much or too quickly, the fire ebbed and the room soon cooled beyond what was acceptable.

For his part, my grandfather was a master at knowing just when and just how much to adjust the damper. For my part, however, I never quite perfected the technique. I sometimes opened the damper too wide and things quickly got overheated in the process. More often as not, though, I closed the damper too much and/or too quickly, and the result was usually a fire that died out, producing a cold room. As a general rule, my chief offense consisted of putting the fire out by not giving it enough air to burn.

I share this illustration in light of what the Apostle Paul told his young protégé Timothy (in his Second eponymous New Testament letter to this young man, chapter 1, verses 1-8):

“1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, 2To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord…”

Verse 6 is especially significant. Here, Paul admonishes young Timothy not to let his God-given gift-set flame out. The three words “fan into flame” are actually one word in the original Koiné (or common) Greek language in which the New Testament was first penned: “ana-zō-pyr-ein”, which translates as “to stir up a flame”. This compound word is in turn a combination of three other terms: “an-ah'” (“anew”) and “zóon” (“make something alive”) and “pur” (“fire”). (“Ein” is simply the ending having has to do with the tense, voice, and mood of the verb.)

Elsewhere in the New Testament, the same Apostle Paul told the Christians at Thessalonica (in his First New Testament Letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 19): “Do not quench the Spirit.” The key term here is “quench”. The Koiné Greek word here is “sbennumi”, which is variously translated as “to extinguish, to quench, to suppress, or to thwart”.

The word picture is that of pouring water on a flame in order to douse it. But there are many ways to extinguish as flame, including depriving it of air too soon or too often.

I offer all of this simply to remind us as believers that we have the responsibility not to thwart the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Bible indicates that there are clearly things which we can do that will either enhance or hamper the work of the Holy Spirit in and through our lives. And, by the same token, there are things which we can do which will enhance the work of the Holy Spirit in and though us.

For my part, I want to fan into flame the Spirit within me; and not to quench, or thwart Him and His purposes in any way. I hope you share this desire. And I hope the result will be evident in both my life and yours.

SOURCE: http://www.antiquestoves.net/dir/images/specials/potbelly/PBglobelinedraw%20430.jpg.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
http://biblehub.com/niv/2_timothy/1.htm.
http://biblehub.com/greek/329.htm.
http://biblehub.com/1_thessalonians/5-19.htm.
http://biblehub.com/text/1_thessalonians/5-19.htm.

CHILD PROOF!

2/2/2018

My wife and I are fresh off of a quick visit to middle Tennessee to see our daughter and her family. It was a short trip, to be sure – over and back in a night and a day. But, as we had not seen our precious grandson since before Christmas, it was well worth the time and effort.

Now, do not worry; it is not my intention to fill the remainder of my blog post with the exploits of my fourteen month old grandson. Although, like most all proud grandparents, I certainly could! However, as I spent time in my daughter’s home, I could not but notice one overpowering phenomenon, which I would like to share. Everywhere one turns, there is now indisputable proof that a child has taken up residence in their home!

You see, with the birth of their son, the lives of my daughter and son-in-law have changed significantly. And I do mean radically. For everything now centers on their son. To begin with, all the standard child-proofing has occurred. There are no electrical outlets without plugs. All the cabinets have devices which prevent them from being opened by anyone except an adult. The stairs are lines at both the top and the bottom with hinged gates. All breakable items have been placed high up on shelves; and as a general rule, nothing is accessible to a toddler that could conceivably cause harm.

Beyond these fundamental things, the décor of the house also reflects his presence. There is less and less decoration echoing the tastes of mom and dad, as thirty year olds, and more and more items revealing the presence in their home of a special little child. This is true on both a large and small scale. From an entire room dedicated for use as a nursery to a guest bathroom flush with the accoutrements needed to clean and pamper a baby.

Likewise, their kitchen and dining room now amply bespeak the presence of a little boy. The existence of highchairs, sippy cups, and specialized plates and cutlery all testify to his residence there, as does their refrigerator and cabinets, which now contain copious supplies of whole milk, kid-friendly table foods, and, obviously, goldfish and similar snacks in abundance.

And all of this is to say nothing of the living room. Here, as might be expected, one encounters an ever growing accumulation of playpens, toys, board-books, puzzles, and electronic gadgets - all devoted to the singular interests of a growing child. Of course, remote controls, smart phones, and tablets are among those things placed high up and made inaccessible to the reach of prying hands.

Beyond this, parental controls have been assiduously applied to electronic devices, and especially to the television, circumventing even an accidental display of inappropriate programming. I especially applaud them in this last safeguard; for once imprinted on a young mind, even if by accident, inappropriate material is hard to expunge.

In general, if you or any member of your family has ever brought a little child into your home, then the things I have outlined above are fairly typical. Most all loving parents and grandparents want to protect the precious young lives entrusted to them by Almighty God. And yet, the irony is that in applying such safeguards for our children, we also safeguard ourselves.

This is particularly true when it comes to media. For instance, the vast majority of time that the television is on in my daughter’s home these days, it is on trusted channels offering morally upright programming suitable for children. This is not to imply that my daughter and her husband watched morally indefensible programming on their television before they became parents. Not at all! But it is to say that they have become especially sensitive to such matters with the newfound presence of their son in their home!

And this leads me to the real point of my post today… You and I may or may not have a new son or daughter of our own abiding in our respective homes. But, if we profess to be followers of Jesus Christ, then we do have the presence of God’s Son in our homes. Now, if the Son of God is living in our homes, then surely we should give overwhelming evidence of His presence there!

Everything in our midst should reflect the fact that He is now among us! And that what is in His best interest is now also what is in our best interest! And that should show up in every room of our dwelling, in everything we have on display there, and in everything we allow to come into our homes!

May we as believers be faithful, therefore, to reflect just exactly Who our one true priority is! May we, like those to whom the Apostle Peter spoke so long ago, remember to “set Christ apart as Lord in our hearts” (1 Peter 3:15, NET), providing proof in the process, that the Son of God truly is Lord and Master of our lives.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/1_peter/3-15.htm.