MEMORIAL DAY

A DAY TO REMEMBER PEOPLE

I happened to watch Bill Moyers' Journal, today.

I don't usually watch him very long at a time, because he is smug, arrogant, supercilious and all sorts of other negative adjectives.

He believes himself to be very intelligent. He is sure of it. He is confident of it.

Moyers may be well educated, but he has the wisdom of dead grass.

As he closed his show, he began one of his patented snidely worded leftist commentaries about the purpose of Memorial Day, which he proclaimed was for us to remember war.

What a stupid, hair-brained, mindless, tasteless, insensitive and irresponsible thing to say.

Hey Bill! News Flash for you!

Memorial Day is to remember PEOPLE, you know: the ones who gave their lives in service to our country in the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, National Guard, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines.

What a total fool Bill Moyers is. Total fool.

My father served 31 years in the United States Air Force (actually the Army Air Corps, which later became the Air Force).

He was a man who HATED war, but understood when and why it was necessary.

Most people today like the HATE WAR part, but are too stupid to know when or why is necessary.

President BO is one of those.

Colonel Joseph E. Scoggins was a man of honor, integrity and deep conviction. He was a man of superior skill at his job, and a patriot extraordinaire.

Pappy, as everybody called him, even his superior officers, was a man of faith and a deacon at Central Baptist Church, Miami, Florida.

He served during World War II in the South Atlantic Corridor between South America and Africa.

My father became the Deputy Commander of the last two bases on which he served, Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia and Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts.

Because of hundreds of thousands of men like him, you live in a country which, up to now, has had more freedom than any other in the history of the universe. And so today I honor my father and all of the men who served with him in both the Atlantic and the Pacific theaters, as well as all of those who have given either their very lives or their lives of service to this country in all of its wars, past and present.

A MEMORIAL DAY RECOGNITION TO YOU ALL

PERSONALLY SPEAKING

I came home Thursday from the world's ritziest hospital, following my heart attacks (two of them...one Monday and one at the hospital Thursday morning - three stents in several coronary arteries).

It had wall to wall polished wood cabinets, a built in desk, draperies/sheers/verticles on the windows, high def. TV, a great staff and beds worse than an old Army cot.

I was sent there because none of the local hospitals had a surgeon who could do the proceedure STAT.

The least little activities leaves me breathless and worn out, so with your permission I will continue NOT blogging for a day or so (this one does not count...OK?).

I will, however, read yours and comment as strength permits, so keep on writing.

Thanks for all of your patience, prayers and well-wishes. I really DO appreciate it.

ADDENDUM: I am feeling quite a bit better tonight and should be back to blogging...perhaps by tomorrow. Come by if you are so inclined.

SORRY 'BOUT THAT

It was my intention to get back to blogging on this site, but Monday I had a heart attack and had to be in the hospital for four days.

I am home now and will get back to blogging ASAP.

Keep me in your prayers.

Thanks

DON'T YOU JUST LOVE IT?

AN APPLICATION OF I CORINTHIANS 13 FOR THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD.

In my early days of Christian service, I was a Minister to Youth.

Many times I was asked to counsel young people about their "romantic" involvements, sometimes in the roll of pre-marital counselor.

Most often the girl in the situation wanted to know if the guy really loved her.

I used a standardized psychological test to help them with some basic understanding of interpersonal relationships, since few of them were enthusiastic enough about their Christian "faith" to try to find out what the Word of God had to say.

Once we finished the test, however, we would go straight to the best definition of love found anywhere in the universe, I Corinthians 13.

Here is its text:

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

After establishing the importance of love in verses 1-3, we would get to the definition, the most complete, comprehensive definition there is.

By the time we finished, one or the other or both of the parties knew whether they were "in love" God's way.

I used the passages as a test as follows:

Verse 4. "Love is patient, Love is kind It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud."

I would ask the girl, "Is he patient with you in all situations? Is he kind to you no matter what?"
The guy in the relationship would be asked the same question.

If each or either answered, "No," I would tell them they could not possibly love one another. If, on the other hand, the answer was, "Yes," I would tell them they might be in love and I would agree to go further with them.

"Is either of you envious of the other? Do you boast more about yourself than about the other one? Is either of you more proud of yourself than of your "partner?" would be the next question. "If so, you are not in love."

We would move to verse 5. "It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."

This one is a little tougher.

Among teenagers and young adults, rudeness, self-centeredness and anger are almost a given.

But those three things ruin a marriage more quickly than anything else.

I would explain that God teaches us to be polite to one another, even when it is not easy to do so.

Then I would ask, "Have either of you used the phrase, 'If you loved me, you would...'?"

"That is conditional love, and has no place in a Christian relationship."

I would show them that thinking of others first is very important ["Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." (Philippians 2:3, NIV)], and that anger is to be set aside [Ephesians 4:26 "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:..."

I would ask, "Do either of you seek your own way first or get angry with the other one, allowing your anger to fester?"

I would explain that anger always has its roots in one not getting his/her own way and that if this condition exists, the relationship is not one of love.

Carrying a grudge, remembering past wrongs is also indicative that there is a problem...on the part of the one carrying the grudge.

In verse 6 we would read, "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth."

Pure evil was not too often an issue, but failing to be truthful often was.

I would explain to them that love demands honesty. Not the hurtful kind, or the kind that runs around disguised as a compliment, like, "You're not nearly as ugly as everybody says you are."

The kind of honesty needed in a love relationship is the kind in which one does not hide things from the other.

Verse 7 tell us about love: "It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

I explained that each person in a love relationship must look out for the other, trust the other, and always have a positive attitude toward the future, being careful to preserve the relationship, no matter what.

Verse 8: "Love never fails."

Love just keeps on keeping on, as the marriage vow says, "...for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health...'til death do us part" (each of which is guaranteed).

"The marriage kind of love is forever," I would explain. It is a commitment and a contract which is entered into in the presence of and with Almighty God Himself.

The world's philosophy does not conform to that viewpoint. It tells us that if we get tired of the marriage, stressed in it, "fall out of love," or just want new horizons, we can always get a divorce.

The rest of the passage tell us that other things of the earth will pass, but mature love is the greatest thing God ever invented.

8. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

From I Corinthians 13 we learn that love is not an emotion, although emotions result from true love, but is a decision to behave a certain way toward the other person, regardless of the circumstance.

Then God demonstrated how far we are to take that love.

As Romans 5:8 says, "But God commendeth his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

THE WHOLE BIBLE IS ABOUT JESUS

I first posted this several years ago, but thought it was worth posting again.

See, I have learned that the Bible is not a book of history, although it contains the best history of Israel and the early church that has ever been written.

I have learned that the Bible is not a book of religious philosophy, although it contains the best religious philosophy ever written.

Neither is the Bible a book of science, wherever it and science disagree, the Bible is ALWAYS right.

The Bible is not a rulebook for living, although is contains the best rules for living that have ever been written.

The Bible IS God's revelation of His character, His love for His creation and His plan for its redemption.

God's plan for the redemption of man is in every word of the Word of God.

There is only one "stand alone" verse in all the Bible, and that is John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

When reading the Bible, it is important to read its passages in light of that one verse.

If you read it otherwise, you may learn some important things, but YOU WILL MISS THE POINT OF THE PASSAGE.

So, how do we find John 3:16 everywhere in the Word of God?

Look for Jesus.

Like this:

Jesus In Every Book of the Bible

In Genesis, He's the breath of life

In Exodus, the Passover Lamb

In Leviticus, He's our High Priest

Numbers, The fire by night

Deuteronomy, He's Moses' voice

In Joshua, He is salvation's choice

Judges, law giver

In Ruth, the kinsmen-redeemer

First and second Samuel, our trusted prophet

In Kings and Chronicles, He's sovereign

Ezra, true and faithful scribe

Nehemiah, He's the rebuilder of broken walls and lives

In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage

In Job, the timeless redeemer

In Psalms, He is our morning song

In Proverbs, wisdom's cry

Ecclesiastes, the time and season

In the Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream

In Isaiah, He's Prince of Peace

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet

In Lamentations, the cry for Israel

Ezekiel, He's the call from sin

In Daniel, the stranger in the fire

In Hosea, He is forever faithful

In Joel, He's the Spirits power

In Amos, the arms that carry us

In Obadiah, He's the Lord our Savior

In Jonah, He's the great missionary

In Micah, the promise of peace

In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield

In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's pleading for revival

In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage

In Zechariah, our fountain

In Malachi, He is the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, He is God, Man, Messiah

In the book of Acts, He is fire from heaven

In Romans, He's the grace of God

In Corinthians, the power of love

In Galatians, He is freedom from the curse of sin

Ephesians, our glorious treasure

Philippians, the servants heart

In Colossians, He's the Godhead Trinity

Thessalonians, our coming King

In Timothy, Titus, Philemon He's our mediator and our faithful Pastor

In Hebrews, the everlasting covenantIn James, the one who heals the sick.

In First and Second Peter, he is our Shepherd

In John and in Jude, He is the lover coming for His bride

In the Revelation: He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords; He's the Prince of Peace; The Son of man; the Lamb of God; The great I AM.

He's the alpha and omega

Our God and our Savior

He is Jesus Christ the Lord and when time is no more

He is,

HE IS!

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?

We have all read about, or seen a movie, or watched a TV program about some "cult" enticing people to join and then not allowing them to leave.

Typically, they engage in the "brainwashing" techniques of stimulus deprivation, sleep deprivation, intense re-training, thought control and other nefarious acts that make the cult member think he/she must not leave for fear of disappointing the leader and therefore, God.

But that's not the only kind of cult in existence today.

What are some of the characteristics of a cult (not to be confused with a "sect," which is a whole different thing)?

The first and most important determination of whether a group is a cult is their answer to the question, "Who is Jesus."

Any entity that gives any answer other than: He is the Son of God; the third Person of the Trinity; co-equal with God; the payer of the sin-debt owed by all of mankind through His death, burial and resurrection, is a cult.

There are some "well-respected" cults in America today, who would take issue with that definition.

Too bad.

They need to come to the saving knowledge of Christ Jesus as Lord.

So what do cults do?

Let's let simple arithmetic inform us.

Addition:

Cults add to Scripture.

The revelation of God provided in the Bible is never sufficient for a cult. Thus they must add to the written revelation of Scripture, usually with additional scriptures or with their own translation of the Bible.

In this way we have books that contradict the Word of God. Since the Bible claims exclusivity as the written revelation of God, we must see that other books, even if the followers of cults claim that they are equal to the Bible, must actually be over and above the Word of God.

Subtraction:

Cults subtract from the person of Christ.

Cults cannot tolerate the divinity and exclusivity of Jesus and thus usually reduce Him to being a created being.

In some cases they make Jesus only a manifestation or mode of God. In either case, the role of Jesus as revealed in Scripture is diminished.

Multiplication:

Cults multiply the requirements of salvation.

Salvation, as it is presented in the Scriptures, is by God's grace through faith alone.

Cults continually add to the requirements of salvation, always adding human works as a necessary prerequisite to salvation.

No cult teaches or endorses justification by faith alone. Thus all cults reject the very heart of the gospel.

Division:

Cults divide the loyalty of believers.

Each cult believes that it has exclusive revelation and understanding of God that ensures its followers are either exclusively God's people or are somehow more blessed than others.

Cults always seek to divide believers against each other based on the previous three marks.

Thus cults are, by their very nature, divisive.

I urge you to accept the offering of God found in John 3:16 - 16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.," and Romans 10:9 & 10 - "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Then you will have life, and have it abundantly.

HOPE YOU HAD A HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

WANT TO BE STOLEN FROM?

Think about it.

Do you realize that all anger results from not getting your own way?

Don't misunderstand.

Anger is not always bad.

Sometimes getting your own way is good because it happens to be the right way.

Nevertheless, learning to properly deal with and express anger so as to be productive rather than unproductive is very important. Anger is a natural emotion that each of us experiences.

When used correctly it can motivate us into action to complete a task or right an injustice.

This type of anger can give us a strong sense of accomplishment when we take immediate action to correct the injustice or perceived wrong.

However, anger can also be a thief.

When someone directs anger negatively toward themselves or others, anger steals from that person.

10 Things Anger Steals from You:

1. Anger can steal your time.

2. Anger can steal your energy.

3. Anger can steal your self-respect.

4. Anger can steal your relationships with family, friends and co-workers.

5. Anger can steal your ability to communicate effectively.

6. Anger can steal your sense of right and wrong.

7. Anger can steal your vision of the future.

8. Anger can steal your health.

9. Anger can steal your sense of well being.

10. Anger can steal your problem-solving skills.

If you don’t control your anger, it will control you. Uncontrolled anger is giving your personal power to someone or something else.

An important part of growing up is learning how to effectively deal with anger issues.

Questions you might like to ask yourself:

1. Is my anger holding me back from developing relationships, setting goals or effectively communicating my ideas?

2. Where is my anger directed?

3. What caused me to get upset?

4. Who can I talk with to help me understand my anger issues?

5. Is my anger to a point that I need some professional advice?

Quote for Discussion:

"To overcome difficulties is to experience the full delight of existence."

Ephesians 4:26 "In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry." (NIV)

SUNDAY SING, MAY 3

"Come, Thou Almighty King"
by Unknown Author

Hear it here: http://www2.mp3raid.com/search/download-mp3/4/instrumental_hymns.html

1. Come, Thou almighty King,
Help us Thy name to sing,
Help us to praise!
Father all-glorious,
O'er all victorious,
Come and reign over us,
Ancient of Days.

2. Come, Thou Incarnate Word,
Gird on Thy mighty sword,
Our prayer attend;
Come and Thy people bless
And give Thy Word success;
Stablish Thy righteousness,
Savior and Friend!

3. Come, holy Comforter,
Thy sacred witness bear
In this glad hour.
Thou, who almighty art,
Now rule in every heart
And ne'er from us depart,
Spirit of Power!

4. To the great One in Three
Eternal praises be
Hence evermore!
His sovereign majesty
May we in glory see
And to eternity
Love and adore!