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WHO’S TO BLAME HERE?!

5/31/2011

In light of my message this past Sunday on “America’s Fault Lines”, I thought I would share the following humorous post. It is a convicting little piece titled simply:

EVERYBODY, SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, and NOBODY.

This is a story about four people: Everybody,
Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done
and Everybody was asked to do it.

Now Everybody was just sure Somebody would do it.

Obviously, Anybody could have done it;
but unfortunately, Nobody did it.

In any event, Somebody got angry about that
because ultimately it was Everybody's job in the first place.

Of course Everybody thought Anybody could do it;
but Nobody actually realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.

So… It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody
when actually Nobody asked Anybody.

Now, I ask you: What’s a BODY to do in a case like this? Obviously, make certain to carry “No Fault” Insurance just in case!!!

Source: You Make Me Laugh, by: Judy Harder,12/27/2008: http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=5664.0

DO MY PRAYERS MATTER?

5/26/2011

On Wednesday nights, we are continuing a study of the Book of Revelation. In chapter 6, verses 9-11, the martyred souls of Heaven cry out:

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

Later, in chapter 8, just as He had earlier promised, God does indeed answer their prayers, as the seven trumpet judgements unfold. One of the great lessons of Revelation chapter 8 is that prayer does work. God does hear our prayers, and He does answer them. It may not always be according to our timetable or preference; but He does answer them in His time and in His way.

If you have ever felt like your prayers were unheard, then Revelation chapter 8 is for you. In truth, prayer does work. In fact, in Matthew 18:18-19 tells us:

18 I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

A great illustration of this principle comes to us from ancient China…

It seems that there was a heavy bronze bell that had sunk to the bottom of a river. The efforts of various engineers to raise the bell were unsuccessful. At last, a monk asked for permission to make the attempt, on condition that the bell should be given to his temple. After receiving permission, he then had his assistants gather an immense number of bamboo poles. Bamboo, of course, is hollow, light, and practically unsinkable.

So, the poles were taken down by divers, one by one, and fastened to the bell. After thousands of poles were fastened, the bell began to move, and when the last one had been added, the buoyancy of the accumulated poles was so great that they actually lifted the enormous bell to the surface.

We are often tempted to think that, like a single piece of bamboo, our individual prayers are too small and too lightweight to make any difference. Perhaps God wants us to consider the power of our prayers when added to those of others.

Perhaps He is asking us to realize that without our prayers, nothing much will change, nothing much will be accomplished. But, when combined with those of other believers, the power of our prayers can be astounding. Nothing moves the heart and hand of God like the passionate prayers of His people.

GONE AWAY, BUT NOT FOR GOOD

5/24/2011

I have been away from my blog for a little bit. Actually, I was away this past weekend in Alabama for my nephew’s graduation. Alas, my absence does not mean I was raptured. Nor, apparently, were any of the other two billion or so professing Christians on this planet. In fact, after the passing of May 21, 2011, the only persons who appeared to be missing were the folks associated with Harold Camping and his Family Radio ministry.

However, he has now come out of hiding to tell the world that (once again) he got the date for Jesus’ second coming wrong. I say again because, when his eerily similar 1994 prediction did not come true either, he found himself in a similar fix – and published AND SOLD yet another follow-up book or two to set things right. (See: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=harold+camping&sprefix=harold+camping.)

Apparently, though, (or so Camping now says) he has (once again) misread the signs and thus (once again) misfigured his facts in regard to May 21, 2011. He now knows that the world will end in October, and not May, of 2011. Nonetheless, he will not be refunding any contribution money to those who supported his earlier predictions.

Tell that to the poor guy who was interviewed in Times Square shortly after 6pm this past Saturday who was “baffled and mystified” by the fact that Jesus did not come back as Camping had predicted - the same guy, by the way, who took virtually his entire life savings of c. $140,000 and gave it to promote Camping’s misguided cause.

Of course, this poor man would not have been so deluded if he had simply taken time to read the plain and straightforward statements of Jesus Christ in the New Testament: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority." (Act 1:7); "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36)

As Albert Mohler well points out, for Camping to claim to have knowledge of the day and hour of Christ’s return is for him to presume to know things reserved only for God the Father to know. In short, Camping has claimed to know what even Jesus Himself is not privileged to know! How utterly arrogant! How utterly presumptuous! (You can read Dr. Mohler’s article here: (http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/05/16/the-end-is-near-the-false-teaching-of-harold-camping/).

Unfortunately, the ones who really suffer here are not Camping and his followers. The ones who suffer are those of us who hold conventional Christian views of the Second Coming. Evangelical Christians, especially those of us who know our Bible, would never presume to set a date or a time for Christ’s return. Nevertheless, we find ourselves once again ridiculed and our convictions once again lambasted by a world who has lived through yet another failed doomsday scenario.

But there is even worse to consider. Many of those unbelievers who have lived through yet another failed set of predictions will now only be hardened in their convictions and stiffened in their resistance to the true gospel. They now have yet another reason for not believing. Way to go, Harold!

Let me be clear. My purpose in this blog post is in no way to mock belief in or teaching about the Second Coming of Christ. I absolutely hold this as a cardinal doctrine of my own faith. Accordingly, I fully affirm the statement of the Baptist Faith and Message that reads:

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

Isaiah 2:4; 11:9; Matthew 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27,30,36,44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:43-48; Luke 12:40,48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:24-28,35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 5:1ff.; 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff.; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff.; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13.

And that is pretty much all we can say on the subject. But it is also precisely the key: “God, in HIS OWN TIME, will bring the world to its appropriate end.” Unlike Camping and his followers, I am content to let God be God. I do not feel the need to know things reserved only to God. I find I have to do a lot less “backing up” that way. I also find I do far less damage to the cause of Christ along the way.

(By the way, for those interested in knowing more on unfulfilled predictions of doomsday, etc…, check out: “A Brief History of the Apocalypse” at www.abhota.info/; “Guess What Folks, We’re Still Here” at http://www.unsolvedmysteries.com/usm449625.html?t=Predictions; or any of the abundant Wikipedia-type articles on Doomsday, unfulfilled religious predictions, or the end of the world on the web.) Obviously, the business of date setting has been going on for a very long time.

THE INTERNET CLASS OF 2011

5/16/2011

As a follow up to my last post, I thought I would share a little uplifting humor in my blog for today. The folks at FLOWTOWN.COM (primarily Ethan Block) have created a wonderful poster titled simply “THE CLASS OF 2011: IF SOCIAL MEDIA WERE A HIGH SCHOOL”. It mimics a high school yearbook page and lists all today’s more well known students, such as TWITTER, FACEBOOK, GOOGLE, WIKIPEDIA, and YOUTUBE.

It also has quite a few of some lesser-known students, such as FLICKR, LINKEDIN, STUMBLEUPON, and DIGG. Best of all, it has also added the new kids in town, like INSTAGRAM, FORMSPRING.ME, and others. The tag line is: “From the jocks to the geeks, even the vast world of social media comes with its own stereotypes and teenage angst.”

The page can be accessed here: http://www.flowtown.com/blog/class-of-2011-if-social-media-were-a-high-school. Click on it and enjoy the descriptions of each of these “students”, especially the clubs they are a part of along with their favorite quotes. You will be glad you did. Especially if you are internet savvy.

And if you are not internet savvy, then this webpage might just serve another purpose. In addition to humor, it might just be a good way to get a quick introduction to the more popular social media sites that have come to dominate the World Wide Web.

As I said in my last post, maybe us older folks can still learn a thing or two from the young people of today. And, at least in this case, we have a chance to learn some new things in a fun way.

WHAT TODAY’S GRADUATES DON’T KNOW

5/12/2011

The folks at tiny Beloit College in Wisconsin have done it again. Every year since 1998, they have been faithfully producing the “globally reported and utilized guide to the intelligent but unprepared adolescent consciousness”. In simpler terms: this year’s annual list is yet another stunning declaration of what graduating high school seniors (and thus incoming college freshman) simply do not know about the world.

According to Beloit College's official "Mindset List" website (http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/):

"Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall. The creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and former Public Affairs Director Ron Nief, it was originally created as a reminder to faculty to be aware of dated references, and quickly became a catalog of the rapidly changing worldview of each new generation. The Mindset List website at http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/, the Mediasite webcast, and its Facebook page receive more than 400,000 hits annually."

This year’s list does not disappoint those of us who have come to anticipate the latest reminder of just how much the world has changed. Again, from Beloit’s webpage:

"The class of 2014 has never found Korean-made cars unusual on the Interstate and five hundred cable channels, of which they will watch a handful, have always been the norm. Since "digital" has always been in the cultural DNA, they've never written in cursive and with cell phones to tell them the time, there is no need for a wrist watch.

Dirty Harry (who’s that?) is to them a great Hollywood director. The America they have inherited is one of soaring American trade and budget deficits; Russia has presumably never aimed nukes at the United States and China has always posed an economic threat.

Nonetheless, they plan to enjoy college. The males among them are likely to be a minority. They will be armed with iPhones and BlackBerries, on which making a phone call will be only one of many, many functions they will perform. They will now be awash with a computerized technology that will not distinguish information and knowledge. So it will be up to their professors to help them.

A generation accustomed to instant access will need to acquire the patience of scholarship. They will discover how to research information in books and journals and not just on-line. Their professors, who might be tempted to think that they are hip enough and therefore ready and relevant to teach the new generation, might remember that Kurt Cobain is now on the classic oldies station.

The college class of 2014 reminds us, once again, that a generation comes and goes in the blink of our eyes, which are, like the rest of us, getting older and older."

A hardy “Amen” to the last line; for, I am reminded in times such as this that life goes on. I pray two things as a result. First, that God will open the eyes of the younger generation to the fact that a whole world existed before they were ever born. For as the famed British Statesman and Philosopher Edmund Burke once said, “Those who do not know history are destined to repeat it.” Heaven forbid that we should repeat all of the sorrow of the previous twenty centuries!

I pray also that I and many others of the older generation will not simply write off the younger generation as hopeless. I trust we will see in them the future – indeed, our future. I pray we will see in them all the God-given potential to change the world and make it a better place that our own parents and grandparents once hoped and prayed to see in us.

Who knows? Maybe, just maybe, both generations can learn from each other.

The actual list of 75 items, amazing as it is, can be found at: http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2014.php.

Summaries of the list can be found at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-08-21-mindset-story_N.htm, and also at: http://www.ivygateblog.com/2007/08/what-the-class-of-2011-doesnt-know/.

A MOTHER’S DILIGENCE REWARDED

5/9/2011

Even though he died November 20, 2009, the story of U.S. Naval Veteran Elgin Staples will live on, hopefully for a very long time. It is a bizarre but true story from World War Two; and it has many applications.

I thought I would post it here in recognition of Mother’s Day, as it illustrates perfectly the way in which a mother’s devotion to duty impacts her children, often even in ways she may never have dreamed.

The USS Astoria (C-34) was the first U.S. cruiser to engage the Japanese during the Battle of Savo Island, a night action fought 8-9 August 1942. Although she scored two hits on the Imperial flagship Chokai, the Astoria was badly damaged and sank shortly after noon, 9 August.

About 0200 hours a young Midwesterner, Signalman 3rd Class Elgin Staples, was swept overboard by the blast when the Astoria’s number one eight-inch gun turret exploded. Wounded in both legs by shrapnel and in semi-shock, he was kept afloat by a narrow life belt that he managed to activate with a simple trigger mechanism.

At around 0600 hours, Staples was rescued by a passing destroyer and returned to the Astoria, whose captain was attempting to save the cruiser by beaching her. The effort failed, and Staples, still wearing the same life belt, found himself back in the water. It was lunchtime. Picked up again, this time by the USS President Jackson (AP-37), he was one of 500 survivors of the battle who were evacuated to Noumea.

On board the transport Staples, for the first time, closely examined the life belt that had served him so well. It had been manufactured by Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio, and bore a registration number.

Given home leave Staples told his story and asked his mother, who worked for Firestone, about the purpose of the number on the belt. She replied that the company insisted on personal responsibility for the war effort, and that the number was unique and assigned to only one inspector. Staples remembered everything about the lifebelt, and quoted the number. It was his mother’s personal code and affixed to every item she was responsible for approving.

NOTE: The technical source for this story is: Commander Eric J. Berryman, U.S. Naval Reserve, Proceedings, U.S. Naval Institute, vol. 15/6/1036 (June 1989), P. 48. However, as a quick Google search will illustrate, this story is readily available all over the internet.

OLD AND CONFUSED

5/5/2011

This past Sunday was to have been Senior Adult Day in our church. We decided to re-schedule that recognition for later on, due to the fact that we had so much going on, and did not want it to get lost in the shuffle.

Nonetheless, I thought it would be good to post a piece today honoring our Senior Adults. The following humorous, yet insightful story originated with Kent Lenard.

OLD AND CONFUSED

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandmother about current events. The grandson asked his grandmother what she thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general. The Grandma replied, “Well, let me think a minute. I was born before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees, and the pill.

There was no radar, credit cards, laser beams, or ball-point pens. Man had not invented pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, or clothes dryers; and clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air. Man hadn’t yet walked on the moon. Your Grandfather and I got married first and then lived together. Every family had a father and a mother. Until I was 25, I called every man older than I, "Sir"- and after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, "Sir".

We were before gay-rights, computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy. Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense. We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions. Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege. We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent. Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.

Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started. Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends -- not purchasing condominiums. We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings. We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President’s speeches on our radios. And I don’t ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.

If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan' on it, it was junk. The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam. Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, and instant coffee were unheard of. We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel. And if you didn’t want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards. You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600; but who could afford one? Too bad because gas was 11 cents a gallon.

In my day, "grass" was mowed, "coke" was a cold drink, "pot" was something your mother cooked in, and "rock music" was your grandmother’s lullaby." "Aids" were helpers in the Principal’s office, "chip" meant a piece of wood, "hardware" was found in a hardware store, and "software" wasn’t even a word. We were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us "old and confused".”

By the way, how old do you think Grandma in the story was? She was all of 58 years old!

LET THE PEOPLE PRAY!

5/2/2011

This coming Thursday is the National Day of Prayer. Like many, I am encouraged by two recent turns of event as we approach this all-important day in the life of our nation.

While I have been disappointed in recent years that our current President has de-emphasized the importance of this event on a national level, I am encouraged by the change in approach from the White House this year.

This past week, the President did reverse his previous stance, and actually proclaim Thursday, May 5th, as a National Day of Prayer. Well, sort of… He did so IF one can call his following carefully chosen words an actual call to prayer:

"Let us be thankful for the liberty that allows people of all faiths to worship or not worship according to the dictates of their conscience, and let us be thankful for the many other freedoms and blessings that we often take for granted."
(http://www.christianpost.com/news/obama-issues-national-day-of-prayer-proclamation-50050/).

The truth is, people will always take their queue from their leaders. Whenever they see our leadership downplaying such a day, they will invariably follow suit. Conversely, whenever our leadership emphasizes the significance of such a day, most people will respond accordingly.

I am encouraged also by the recent overturning of a lower court’s ruling that the National Day of Prayer is somehow unconstitutional: http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2011-04-15-prayer_court_14_ST_N.htm.) Having the President call for a National Day of Prayer is in no way a violation of the U.S. Constitution. The appeals court has now affirmed this.

One thing is for certain, however. God’s people can always pray, whether or not their government leaders do! Furthermore, God’s people can always pray even if their government leaders presume to tell them they cannot!

Perhaps the real question is whether or not God’s people WILL pray. Unfortunately, it seems, too many are concerned about whether they CAN pray and less concerned about whether they actually DO pray! The following classic story serves to illustrate this point well.

TEXAS BEER JOINT SUES CHURCH OVER LIGHTNING STRIKE!

In Dry Gulch, Texas, the local bar began construction on an expansion of their building in order to increase their business.
In response, the local Baptist Church started a campaign to block the bar from expanding, complete with petitions and prayers.

Work progressed right up until the week before the grand reopening, when lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground!

After the bar burned to the ground by a lightning strike, the church folks were rather smug in their outlook, bragging about "the power of prayer". Until, that is, the bar owner sued the church on the grounds that the church "was ultimately responsible for the demise of his building, either through direct or indirect actions or means."

In its reply to the court, the church vehemently denied all
responsibility and/or any connection to the building's demise.
The judge read through the plaintiff's complaint and the defendant's reply, and at the opening hearing, he gave the following opening comment:

"I don't know how I'm going to decide this, but I will say this up front. It appears from the paperwork that we have a bar owner who now believes strongly in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that now does not!"

Prayer is not a political football. Nor is it a legal one. Prayer is not a matter of expedience. Prayer is a privilege and a responsibility. And God’s word makes this plain.

When the children of Israel dedicated their first temple under King Solomon, the Lord had the following to say to them. Speaking to Solomon, their leader, He said:

13" When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place."  (2 Chronicles 7:13-15).

Enough said?!