Blog Archives

“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.

DIRTY HANDS AND DIRTY HEARTS…

9/18/2020

Charles Dickens began his novel, A Tale of Two Cities, with this immortal line: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times…” Most people can relate to this famous quote. I know I can - as, for me, it’s been both the best of days and the worst of days.

You see, at the beginning of this week, I had set myself the goal of completing every single one of a dozen or so items relating to home upkeep and repair that I had written out on a “to do” list. I am now proud to say that, six days later, I have completed all of them.

The last one on the list was accomplished this afternoon. It had to do with the relatively simple process of filling cracks that had formed underneath the edges of the the concrete on my patio and the driveway. Having studied on this for same time, I concluded that the best way to address this issue was to use an insulating foam sealant product known as “Great Stuff”.

Now, to be sure, “Great Stuff” is indeed a great product. It does exactly what it purports to do. When sprayed into a crack or hollow space, it fills the entire area with a foam that eventually hardens into a hard, concrete-like substance. My own testimony is that, true to its claims, it did just that when applied to the various holes and cracks in my own concrete.

That is what helped make this, for me, the best of days. But one other quality of “Great Stuff” is what helped make this, for me, the worst of days for me. This latter quality was only apparent to me when I actually read the fine print AFTER I had applied the foam to my faulty concrete. It said to be sure to wear gloves so as to avoid contact with my hands and skin. It further said to wipe it off immediately if this somehow still happened.

Sadly, like so many impetuous homeowners, I failed to read the directions clearly before I used the product. Not surprisingly, I paid the inevitable price. For it was only when I was done, when I attempted to wipe off the excess foam (that I had, by then, gotten all over my fingers and hands) that I discovered my true mistake.

As the foam hardened, I found myself in that eerily similar situation that I had only experienced once before, when, as a kid, I had once applied Elmer’s Glue to my fingertips and allowed it harden. The result was that I had no sense of touch whatsoever in my fingertips. The most basic of my five basic senses had effectively been compromised!

Not surprisingly, I tried repeatedly to get this newfound substance off of my fingers and hands - all to no avail. I threw everything available at the problem but the proverbial kitchen sink! I tried soap and water, lighter fluid, mineral spirits, kerosene, gasoline, “Goof Off”, “Go Jo”, “Clorox”, and even steel wool – again, all to no avail!

Then, at the insistence of my wife, I swallowed my pride and actually read the instructions on the side of the can. It said simply to use only a substance containing “acetone”, such as nail polish, removal to remove the residue - which I immediately did.

The result? Voila! I soon had squeaky clean fingertips, and squeaky clean whole fingers, and even squeaky clean whole hands! Would that I had read the instructions sooner!!!

As I have reflected on this whole matter, I have been reminded of what happened to Adam and Eve in the opening chapters of the Biblical Book of Genesis. They had both been given the ground rules by Almighty God right up front. For whatever reason, however, they had completely ignored these, and bulled right ahead.

The result, to say the least, was that they wound up in a mess; for the consequences of their choice to do it their way and not God’s way were immediately apparent. The results of sin were all over them.

Immediately, of course, they set about trying to remedy the situation. Yet, nothing they tried was sufficient. No action on their part, no amount of fig leaves, as it were, could undo the mess they were in.

And then, into this fiasco, stepped their loving Heavenly Father. He provided the only solution that was sufficient for their predicament. He covered them with animal skins. And in so doing, He established the principle of vicarious or substitutionary death, wherein one entity willfully died on behalf of another.

Thereafter, of course, this principle culminated in the vicarious death of God’s One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, for the sins of all men and women in all times and all places.

And there you have it. Voila! Adam and eve had ignored the instructions given to them up front. As a result, they had paid the price and suffered the full consequences.

Nevertheless, the one and only solution had still been proffered to them. And when applied, the substitutionary death of another on their behalf had made all the difference. For they had been cleansed and made whole!

Such is my exactly my testimony; for I, too, had ignored the clearly enumerated ground rules of God. I too had then paid the price and suffered the consequences. Yet, further investigation had revealed that the one and only true solution to my physical predicament was available all the time – in a simple bottle of nail polish remover. Likewise, the solution to my spiritual predicament as well, was available all the ten - in the person of Jesus Christ,

Are you suffering today from the consequences of sin? Are the inevitable costs and/or disfigurements of sin readily apparent in your own life? If so, you have two choices. You can spend your time fruitlessly pursuing your own possible solution(s), or you can apply the one and only solution your Heavenly Father has proffered: the blood of His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, which alone, according to the Bible (in the First New Testament Letter of John, chapter 1, verse 7), “purifies us from all sin”.

In light of these things, I would venture to ask just how dirty you are? And just what needs to be done about that?

SOURCES:

DICKENS QUOTE: http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/29595.html.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/1_john/1-7.htm.

I SEE YOU!

9/15/2020

I used to listen to local radio a lot, especially in my earlier days. These days, however, I mostly listen to audio books. Unless I am in my truck for only a short period; for then I usually listen to satellite radio. Earlier today, however, I was out in our other, older, beat up pick-up truck, running an errand. Since this old truck does not have satellite radio, I found myself listening to local radio once again.

The disc jockey being aired was a certain Bobby Bones, who hosts a popular program broadcast here in east Tennessee. As a part of his daily broadcast, he often talks about less than astute crooks who attempt crimes, only to be caught by either their own ineptitude and/or else just plain bad luck.

The particular story he featured today had to do with several unfortunate villains down in Seminole County, Florida. According to a September 14th Orlando Sentinel article titled “Ring Camera Alert to Seminole Sheriff’s Helicopter Pilot Led to Arrests of Deltona Vehicle Burglars, Cops Say”, it seems that…

A Seminole County Sheriff’s Office helicopter pilot was out on a flight early Sunday when he spotted a group of vehicle burglars — not from the air, but through an alert from his home’s doorbell camera, authorities said.

According to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the Seminole pilot was airborne about 2 a.m. when his personal Ring camera alerted him of a teen dressed in black clothing attempting to open the passenger door of a white truck parked outside his home.

The teen and another young person were checking for unlocked cars as an Acura RDX SUV followed the pair through the pilot’s Deltona neighborhood, a VCSO press release said.

The pilot alerted Volusia authorities, who spotted the SUV from the air. Deputies tried to pull it over, but it sped off into Seminole County, officials said. Deputies later used stop sticks to pop the SUV’s tires. Helicopter footage shows the suspects jumping out the moving car in Sanford as it slowed down.

Three teenagers were taken into custody, ages 14, 15 and 16, VCSO spokesman Andrew Gant said. He said the teens have been linked by investigators to several car break-ins in Deltona. Gant said the SUV had been reported stolen. Inside, he said deputies found several wallets, a ski mask and a window breaching tool.

Now, it likely comes as no surprise to my regular readers that the preacher in me cannot help but see the preachable point in all of this. And that is this: “You can run, but you can’t hide!”

After all, what we have here is the essence of mankind’s predicament in a nutshell. As God’s Word makes plain, we chose to sin against God, hoping against hope that we would somehow get away with it. But from the very moment we chose to do so, God was watching us from up above. Naturally, we naively attempted to run and hide in an attempt to conceal our nefarious activity. Alas, however, run though we might, we could never really hide from Almighty God!

Adam and Eve tried it in Genesis chapter 3. Every person who has ever lived since then has also tried it in one form or another. But all to no avail! For we can run from God, but we can never hide from Him!

Thankfully, however, we do not have to hide from God. Even though He knows of our guilt, even though we and He both know that we deserve to pay the price for our transgression against Him, He still offers us mercy and forgiveness. And that, my friends, is the essence of grace.

As the Bible says…

4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Praise God for His amazing grace!

STORY SOURCE:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-seminole-county-volusia-county-deputies-ring-camera-20200914-hkchzw4uyfdjlmyfj2g4ulikc4-story.html.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://biblehub.com/niv/ephesians/2.htm.

FAKING IT?

9/12/2020

I have blogged many times before of my love for “The Andy Griffith Show”. I freely admit that I pride myself on my knowledge of minutiae related to this beloved television program. So much so that few things bring me as much pleasure as does the uncovering of some heretofore unknown bit of trivia related to what I consider the greatest situational comedy ever produced.

For this reason, I have particularly enjoyed the emails sent out by the folks over at www.metv.com, the home of MeTV, which bill itself as “America’s #1 Classic Television Network”. Their daily emails contain numerous articles dealing with “behind the scenes” details of this and many other shows.

One such article recently caught my attention. It had to do with “Floyd the Barber”. The article begins by explaining why one specific episode the “The Andy Griffith Show” is particularly significant. According to the article…

The Andy Griffith Show episode "A Date for Gomer" holds historical significance, and not just in the love life of Mr. Pyle. The episode was originally slated to air on November 25, 1963, the Monday before Thanksgiving. However, television plans were tossed out upon the assassination of President John F. Kennedy the previous Friday. Network news continued to cover the death of JFK and its aftermath for days in primetime. Thus, "A Date for Gomer" was given a rain check until December 9, 1963.

When it finally aired, the episode still held some historical curiosities. Mary Grace Canfield, best known for her later role as Ralph Monroe on Green Acres, portrayed a character with her same name, Mary Grace Gossage. She was Gomer's date and Thelma Lou's cousin.

But there is something even weirder — and far harder to sight — in the first scene. Andy and Opie exit Floyd's Barbershop. The camera is set up in the Mayberry Street and follows the father and son down the sidewalk. "Why Floyd always has to get that little bit of hair down the back," Andy complains while rubbing his palm along the nape of his neck.

At this point, the article directs us to focus on something most of us, including me, have overlooked…

Peer through the window in the barbershop. Pay close attention to "Floyd." The barber is dressed just like Floyd in glasses and white coat… but it is clearly not the familiar Floyd Lawson we know and love. That is not actor Howard McNear.

The article then explains what is going on…

A year prior, in December 1962, McNear suffered a serious stroke. His brush with death occurred after season three's "Convicts-at-Large." Lawson would not return to The Andy Griffith Show until "Andy Saves Gomer," which aired on March 16, 1964. He would return, but much worse for the wear. McNear performed sitting down, for the most part, with his left side immobilized. That was a span of more than 40 episodes without the friendly barber.
Well, excepting this imposter, of course.

Lastly, the article concludes with one last bit of trivia…

We could not find out the identity of this alternate Floyd. It was seemingly not Walter Baldwin, the actor who first played the character in "Stranger in Town." That means that at least three men played the character onscreen!

At this point, I’m sure some of you may be asking, “Okay, okay, but what’s your point?” My answer is that it is obviously fairly easy for impostors to slip in among the folks we consider authentic. Hey, if it can happen in Mayberry, it can happen anywhere. Even the church! And if it can happen to the cast of “The Andy Griffith Show”, it can happen to most any group of people. Even God’s people!

A famous evangelist once said that just being inside a garage does not automatically make someone an automobile! His point was that not everyone who affiliates with the church is in fact a true Christian. Why would he say this? Because Jesus Himself had already said as much! In the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, verse 21, He stated:  “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

Clearly, Jesus knew that the day would come when some, at least, would purport to be among His followers, even though they clearly were not. Whoever the anonymous “Floyd the Barber” was in the 10th Episode of Season 4 of “The Andy Griffith Show”, it is probably a good thing that he did not show his faced and/or open his mouth, or else he would most likely have been shown to be the impostor that he was!

Alas! How true this might be for many who purport to be true believers as well!

Another way to put it is this way: How many could withstand genuine scrutiny in the light of God’s Word?! Of course, the answer has already been given by Jesus:  “Only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

The impostor Floyd does not cut hair. He does not even engage in conversation with true believers. He does not do anything but merely blend in and look the part. But when we freeze the shot and zoom in, we realize that he does not “cut the mustard”, let alone the hair! And the reason is self-evident. He was not a true Mayberrian. He was merely an impostor.

All of this points us to the day when our Lord will separate the wheat from the chaff, and the sheep from the goats. At that time, He, and He alone, will reveal who was and who was not truly one of His followers. Those who were will hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant… Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”  Those who were not will hear Him say, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

Which of these do you want to hear? In light of this, would you prefer to be real or to be fake? After all, fake news in this world is one thing; but fake news on the Day of Judgment is altogether different matter!

ARTICLE SOURCE: “Did You Ever Notice This Impostor Floyd the Barber on The Andy Griffith Show?” at   https://metv.com/lists/did-you-ever-notice-this-imposter-floyd-the-barber-on-the-andy-griffith-show.

SEE ALSO:  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0512387/.

NOTE: The aforementioned article also contains a link to another interesting article about the real “Floyd the Barber” titled: “6 Little Snippets You Never Knew About Howard McNear of The Andy Griffith Show”, found at: https://metv.com/lists/6-little-snippets-you-never-knew-about-howard-mcnear-of-the-andy-griffith-show. All true “The Andy Griffith Show” fans should enjoy it.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
https://biblehub.com/matthew/7-21.htm;
https://biblehub.com/matthew/25-23.htm;
https://biblehub.com/matthew/7-23.htm.

ON GIVING UP OR GETTING UP…

9/8/2020

I love the story about a mother dealing with a son who did not want to get out of bed and go to church. Perhaps you will too. It seems that…

A mother knocked on her son’s door one Sunday morning and said, “Get up, honey, it’s time to get ready for church.” The boy responded, “Oh, mother, I don’t want to go to church today. Just let me sleep.”

The mother replied, “I don’t care what you want. Get yourself out of bed, get dressed, and get down to church.” He responded, “Mother, I don’t want to go! Those people down there don’t like me, and I don’t like them. Just the other day I was walking down the hall and around the corner I heard some people talking about me. And, Mother, they were saying some awful things. Don’t make me go.”

The mother responded, “I don’t care about all that. You get yourself up. You’re going.” The boy responded, “Why, Mother? Why?” And she said, “For two reasons. First, you’re forty five years old. And, second, you’re the pastor and they’re expecting you down there.”

On a serious note, are there ever times when you feel like giving up? Please don’t; especially if the reason is merely because you have come up against some form of opposition. The simple truth is that any worthwhile endeavor undertaken by any given individual in any given time will invariably encounter opposition. This is a basic fact of life.

After all, it happened to Abraham, and Joseph, and Moses, and Joshua, and Samson, and David, and Solomon, and Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Elijah, and Elisha, and Nehemiah, and yes, even to Jesus Himself! As it did to Peter, and James, and John, and Paul, and Timothy, and countless other servants of God.

But the one who persists, the one who perseveres, the one who endures, he or she (and he or she only) is the one who will eventually be victorious!

As Jesus says (in Luke 21:19), “Stand firm, and you will win…” And that, my friends, is no laughing matter! For that, my friends, always has been and always will be the key to victory!

JOKE SOURCE:

Paul W. Powell, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Retirement (Tyler, Texas: Texas Baptist Leadership Foundation, 2000), pp. 14-15.

AVAILABLE ONLINE AT:

https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php?id=146507.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://www.biblehub.com/luke/21-19.htm.

STORM WARNING!

9/4/2020

We’ve had our share of thunderstorms recently here in east Tennessee. Some have been relatively brief and mild, lasting but a few moments. Others, by comparison, have been far more severe, lasting hours, flooding roads and blowing down trees, as they have raged their way through the Tennessee River valley.

But none have been as fierce as the one reported on in an article titled “Thunderstorm In Kansas Casts 'Epic' 75-Mile-Long Shadow, Blocks Sunrise As Storm Reaches Taller Than Mount Everest”. As reported by Travis Fedschun and published on www.FoxNews.com back on August 12, 2020, a stunning sunrise in Kansas on Aug. 4, 2020 got blocked by an even more spectacular sight in the sky – a monstrous storm on the rise.

According to the report:

The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Goodland (KS) said last Tuesday that an isolated thunderstorm in Norton County in the state's northwest cast a 75-mile-long shadow. The storm's shadow extended southwest all the way to the Goodland forecast office, briefly blocking the sunrise.

A meteorologist snapped a photo just before 6 a.m. as the thunderstorm cloud blocked the rising sun. "The storm in question was ~35,000 ft tall — about 1 mile taller than Mount Everest," the NWS tweeted. The storm's shadow could be seen extending across the sky in the photo released by the forecast office, which frequently documents stunning weather moments in the Kansas prairies.

The thunderstorm's shadow could even be seen from space. Satellite imagery released by the NWS shows the shadow stretching southward across the state's northwest corner. A meteorologist at the NWS also shared a time-lapse of the thunderstorm shadow reaching the Goodland forecast office. In the video, the shadow can be seen moving across the sky as the sun rises.

Of course, sunrises and sunsets are some of the most awe-inspiring displays in nature. They testify not only to the beauty of nature, but also to the truth of God’s word in Genesis chapter 8, verse 22 that: “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”

I love that old promise because it reminds me that no matter how badly any particular day might turn out, there is always the assurance of another day, and a chance to start all over again.

As Annie famously sang:

The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be sun! Just thinking about tomorrow clears away the cobwebs, and the sorrow, 'til there's none!

When I'm stuck in a day that's gray, and lonely, I just stick out my chin and grin, and say, “Oh the sun will come out tomorrow so ya gotta hang on 'til tomorrow come what may,

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya tomorrow! You're always a day away!”

Praise God for the promise of each new day. But even the promise of a new day on the horizon does not necessarily mean that new day will be devoid of storms. Jesus taught this when He reminded us in His famed sermon on the mount that “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” By this He meant, at least in part, that each day will invariably involve some degree of difficulty.

Famed recording artist Lynn Anderson once put it this way: “I beg your pardon; I never promised you a rose garden. Along with the sunshine; there's gotta be a little rain sometimes!”

Nor has God promised us a storm free life. Rather, what He has promised is to be there with us whenever we go through the storms of life. He tells us this over and over again in the writings of the Prophet Isaiah, for whom this was a prevalent theme. In chapter 4, verse 6, we are told that God provides us “a shelter from the storm and rain”. In chapter 25, verses 4-5, we are told that God has been “a strong-place for those who could not help themselves and for those in need because of much trouble” and that He has been “a safe place from the storm”.

Are you currently experiencing a storm? If you are, take heart, for you are not alone. As one evangelist once put it, chances are that most of us are either just coming out of one, even now experiencing one, or else are just about to head into one. That is the bad news. The good news is that we do not face to face the storms of life alone, no matter how big and monstrous they may seem as they approach!

Just ask Noah as he emerged from the ark! Just ask Joseph as he emerged from prison! Just ask Daniel as he emerged from the lion’s den! Just ask Jonah as he emerged from the fish! Just ask the Disciples as they saw the wind and the waves dying down on the lake! Each of these in turn faced their own respective storms. Yet they were never alone. And neither are we!

P.S. For what it’s worth, the article cited above went on to say that the massive storm in question went on to produce only a few streaks of lightning before dissipating, and like all storms eventually do, fading into oblivion. The sun soon came back out and the new day unfolded in all its glory!

STORY SOURCE: https://www.foxnews.com/us/thunderstorm-kansas-shadow-75-miles-mount-everest-weather-norton-county. Its author, Travis Fedschun, is a reporter for FoxNews.com; and he can be followed on Twitter @travfed.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES: https://biblehub.com/genesis/8-22.htm; and
https://biblehub.com/matthew/6-34.htm.

SEE ALSO: https://biblereasons.com/storms/; as well as
http://davejacobs.net/youre-either-entering-in-the-middle-of-or-exiting-a-storm/.

SONG LYRICS: https://www.metrolyrics.com/tomorrow-lyrics-annie.html; and https://www.metrolyrics.com/rose-garden-i-never-promised-you-a-lyrics-lynn-anderson.html.

CERTAIN SURE!

9/1/2020

It has long been asserted that the only two things in life that are certain are death and taxes. So, it was inevitable that my annual property tax bill would eventually arrive. It did so today; and I have had occasion to reflect on this all throughout the afternoon.

Now it has been said that everyone likes to complain about their taxes. I know I’ve done my share of bellyaching about them over the years. And yet, if I am honest, I realize that my family and I enjoy a lot of benefits as a citizen in exchange for the taxes we do pay. In truth, it is a blessing to live here in the greatest country in the world. As burdensome as my tax bill is, it does reflect this singular blessing.

For this reason, while I would never want to give the government anything I was not required to give them by law, I fully recognize the wisdom proffered by our Lord and Savior when He said that we should render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.

Another blessing I have pondered throughout this day is that my wife and I are personally in a position to pay our taxes. I recognize that not everyone is. While we are no multi-millionaires, we do at least have enough resources to pay our taxes. And for this I am thankful; because I fully recognize that it is God Himself Who has put us in this position.

Whenever our taxes come due, I always think of my Grandfather Jackson. He had very little actual cash on hand. What money he and my grandmother did have was certainly not kept in banks, not after having lived through the failure of so many banks in the great depression. Nonetheless, they were never worried about rendering to Caesar what was due him.

You see, my grandfather finished his live as a farmer, having amassed along the way two forty-acre farms and scores of heads of cattle. So, whenever his taxes came due, he did not fret and worry about having the money to pay them. He simply loaded up a cow and took it to the cattle auction on the way to the courthouse.

Thinking of my grandfather and his cattle makes me think of my Heavenly Father and His resources. Speaking through the Old Testament Psalmist (in Psalm 50), our Lord tells us:

9“I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, 10for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. 11I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. 12If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

Perhaps you have heard the phrase: “My God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.” It comes from this very passage, in which our Lord reminds us that His resources are infinite.

This passage then concludes with the following admonition: 14“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, 15and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

I am thankful that God took care of my grandfather whenever he needed resources. I am thankful that He still takes care of me the same way. And He will do the same for you, my friend.

No, He never promised to make us all wealthy. But He has promised to meet our every need out of His abundant resources. As His Word tells us, “God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” That, my friends, like death and taxes, is a guaranteed certainty!

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17, and Luke 20:25 at www.biblehub.com;

https://biblehub.com/niv/psalms/50.htm; and

https://biblehub.com/philippians/4-19.htm.