Yesterday across this broad land many stopped to remember and pay tribute to those who have died in battle defending this nation. I knew, as do you, that there are national cemeteries, 128 of them in 39 states and Puerto Rico. I did not know there were also 20 cemeteries in other parts of the world. I knew about Flanders Field, in Belgium, but there are 19 others where over 100,000 Americans lie buried. And the Concert in DC reminded us forcibly that the aftermath for many is years of suffering rehabilitation, enduring painful hours to get back to normal life.
Yet we treat these freedoms so casually, and take so much for granted. This morning’s paper ran a sad story of the death of a football star, about to graduate from high school, looking forward to service in the Air Force to which he had been accepted, killed in a crash while a passenger in a racing car. The driver of which escaped nearly unharmed, of course.
The same issue carries a story of a justice of the peace ordering a girl who is a habitual truant and disobeyed a court order to attend class to wear a GPS device. She has to push a button and let people know where she’s at, and if she is where she is not supposed to be, an officer is to sent to haul her back to class! What ever happened to wanting to learn?
Maybe it’s the system. I heard of a supervisor visiting a class and reporting this. The teacher of a Math class mislayed her time piece and frets about the time. This supervisor overhears this bit from a boy in that class, ‘Who cares about what time it is, we’re learning something here”. Whatever happened to that?
Maybe its a sense of discipline that we are missing. A need to want to do, a feeling for duty, an obligation, a sense of right. An inner urge to carry out what lies at hand for us to do. A determination to see something to a conclusion.
The Letter to the Hebrews does just that, it brings us back to basics, it sets aside our own self and sets before us Jesus. Listen to what he writes in chapter 12, 1 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. 2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in."
The letter to the Hebrews reminds us of the faith that is clinging to what is not seen, and trusting in that to be true. So they who believed were tortured, hounded and often killed. Then he speaks about following this sample, and avoiding “the sin that does so easily beset us”. Did you catch that? “so easily besets us”. That’s the very nature of sin, it sneaks, it besets, it gets hard to shake, and it likes to follow especially bad examples [ for an example witness the rush of States to make ‘same sex’ marriage legal]. Peter speaks of the devil as a “roaring lion walking about, seeking whom he may devour”. And Paul calls this “spiritual forces in high places”.
That’s what we are living with, fighting, overcoming. And we can and do overcome, because, as Paul writes, “as many of you as are led by the Spirit are sons of God. Romans” 8,14.God, give us strength to do Your will as long as you give us life.
GPD 5/26/09
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Shade Tree Wisdom 5/24/09
Once upon a time a certain town nestled at the foot of a Mountain range. It was a pleasant place to be, a small stream ran through the town from waters that were fed by Mountain springs. The water was clear and sparkled in the sunlight. It’s stream ran several water wheels turning machinery, children played on its banks, and swans made their home there, and its water was used by the citizens.
Meanwhile, high up in the hills a forester who called himself keeper of the springs made his rounds, cleaning leaves and thrash from the springs, making sure mud did not clog the bottom. He was on the town payroll. But the town Counsel was a group of hard-headed, eagle-eyed business men. Said the Keeper of the Purse, what does this salary mean? What does he do? Nobody ever sees him. We can build a reservoir and dispense with this budget item. So they sent a message to the hills that he was no longer needed, and the forester turned to his other work, and no loner patrolled and cleaned the springs.
The reservoir was built and soon filled with water. But the water did not seem as clear, scum covered it's surface, the water wheels often clogged with debris and stopped working, and quite soon a fever swept the town. Sadly, the Town Counsel admitted they had made a mistake, and sought out the forester in the hills and asked him to be Keeper of the Springs again. So the water ran clear and pure, and swans returned, and the odor of dirty water was cleared from the air.
When our Founding Fathers wrote and signed the Constitution, and then forged the Bill of Rights, they had law in mind. They established courts to see that laws were kept, order was upheld, so that people in the United States of America could and did lead peaceful and ordered lives. The courts were the Keeper of the Springs.
Unfortunately, courts often make law instead of defining and strengthening it. As an example, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts made same sex marriage legal. One wonders what their thought processes were. Instead of affirming laws, they were more driven by modern thought and felt they had to join the vanguard also. So they set aside the established, and the God-given institution of marriage and turned it into a shambles. My thought is that such courts are more driven by what they perceived as being part of “progress” than seeing to rule of law. So they kick down part of the fence, and weaken the rest of it.
One cannot rebel against Almighty God without seeing unforeseen, unexpected, and often unwanted consequences: as the schools in that State are already finding out.
St. Paul spoke of such matters in Romans chapter 1. People who do not accept God, although “what may be known about God is clearly seen” 1,19, Paul says, “their foolish hearts are darkened.” Then he goes on in verses 24 to 32 to describe their behavior and says, “God gave them over. . ." This is really a chilling picture of sin, and how it always hardens and grows worse.
So with nations. Such court acts often are cited loudly as progressive and being “with it”. But it is not progress when a moral tone is lower than it was. Whatever else it is, it is not progress.
No nation has ever made progress in a downward direction.
No people has ever grown stronger by ,lowering its standards.
No people ever become good by adopting a lower morality.
We need Keepers of the Springs. I pray the Lord will send wisdom, guidance, and direction to a people that seems to have lost its way and wanders, clueless and forlorn, ever seeking. Let us pray that the Lord in heaven Who sent Jesus for such people too, will open eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand God’s truth in Jesus, His Son, the Savior of the world.
GPD 2/24/09
Meanwhile, high up in the hills a forester who called himself keeper of the springs made his rounds, cleaning leaves and thrash from the springs, making sure mud did not clog the bottom. He was on the town payroll. But the town Counsel was a group of hard-headed, eagle-eyed business men. Said the Keeper of the Purse, what does this salary mean? What does he do? Nobody ever sees him. We can build a reservoir and dispense with this budget item. So they sent a message to the hills that he was no longer needed, and the forester turned to his other work, and no loner patrolled and cleaned the springs.
The reservoir was built and soon filled with water. But the water did not seem as clear, scum covered it's surface, the water wheels often clogged with debris and stopped working, and quite soon a fever swept the town. Sadly, the Town Counsel admitted they had made a mistake, and sought out the forester in the hills and asked him to be Keeper of the Springs again. So the water ran clear and pure, and swans returned, and the odor of dirty water was cleared from the air.
When our Founding Fathers wrote and signed the Constitution, and then forged the Bill of Rights, they had law in mind. They established courts to see that laws were kept, order was upheld, so that people in the United States of America could and did lead peaceful and ordered lives. The courts were the Keeper of the Springs.
Unfortunately, courts often make law instead of defining and strengthening it. As an example, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts made same sex marriage legal. One wonders what their thought processes were. Instead of affirming laws, they were more driven by modern thought and felt they had to join the vanguard also. So they set aside the established, and the God-given institution of marriage and turned it into a shambles. My thought is that such courts are more driven by what they perceived as being part of “progress” than seeing to rule of law. So they kick down part of the fence, and weaken the rest of it.
One cannot rebel against Almighty God without seeing unforeseen, unexpected, and often unwanted consequences: as the schools in that State are already finding out.
St. Paul spoke of such matters in Romans chapter 1. People who do not accept God, although “what may be known about God is clearly seen” 1,19, Paul says, “their foolish hearts are darkened.” Then he goes on in verses 24 to 32 to describe their behavior and says, “God gave them over. . ." This is really a chilling picture of sin, and how it always hardens and grows worse.
So with nations. Such court acts often are cited loudly as progressive and being “with it”. But it is not progress when a moral tone is lower than it was. Whatever else it is, it is not progress.
No nation has ever made progress in a downward direction.
No people has ever grown stronger by ,lowering its standards.
No people ever become good by adopting a lower morality.
We need Keepers of the Springs. I pray the Lord will send wisdom, guidance, and direction to a people that seems to have lost its way and wanders, clueless and forlorn, ever seeking. Let us pray that the Lord in heaven Who sent Jesus for such people too, will open eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand God’s truth in Jesus, His Son, the Savior of the world.
GPD 2/24/09
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Shade Tree Wisdom 5/21/09
Today the Church observes the Ascension of our Lord. It was 40 days after His Resurrection, when He was taken into heaven. The disciples saw him till “a cloud took him from their sight”. Now, as the Creed recites, “He is sitting at the right hand of God, from where he will come to judge the living and the dead.”
The Day is rarely observed by any but the Church. It finished the work of redemption, and the beginning of the work He laid on his followers, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”. Acts 1,8.
It happened, and is still happening, just as He said it would. The Church still reaches “to the ends of the earth” with the glorious message of salvation through faith in this Christ who is alive. Our Living Lord and Savior.
The German name for this festival is HIMMELFAHRT. The term is so descriptive. Travel to heaven. Indeed, that is what happened here. And because it happened, we also are filled with the promised Holy Spirit and serve as His witnesses, the representatives of the king of kings here on earth. A high honor, and a solemn duty to share the news. “Go and Tell" simply means just that. Tell others, as the early disciples did when they “all, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. . .and those who were scattered preached the Word wherever they went”. Acts 8, 1.4.
So stop a moment this Day and thank God for His grace to us, and His mercy in calling us to be His children.
GPD 5/21/09
The Day is rarely observed by any but the Church. It finished the work of redemption, and the beginning of the work He laid on his followers, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”. Acts 1,8.
It happened, and is still happening, just as He said it would. The Church still reaches “to the ends of the earth” with the glorious message of salvation through faith in this Christ who is alive. Our Living Lord and Savior.
The German name for this festival is HIMMELFAHRT. The term is so descriptive. Travel to heaven. Indeed, that is what happened here. And because it happened, we also are filled with the promised Holy Spirit and serve as His witnesses, the representatives of the king of kings here on earth. A high honor, and a solemn duty to share the news. “Go and Tell" simply means just that. Tell others, as the early disciples did when they “all, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. . .and those who were scattered preached the Word wherever they went”. Acts 8, 1.4.
So stop a moment this Day and thank God for His grace to us, and His mercy in calling us to be His children.
GPD 5/21/09
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Shade Tree Wisdom 5/17/09
Church picnic this afternoon. The sky is sort of gray and it drizzled a bit, but it is cooler than it has been, and I imagine the congregation is enjoying the afternoon together. No, we haven’t been going to things of this sort any more. It gets sort of busy and noisy and we relish the quiet more.
But the drizzle did remind me of a little ditty that stuck in my mind, I know not from where. It runs,
The rain it falleth on the just,
And also on the unjust fellow.
But more upon the just, because
The unjust stole the just’s umbrella!
That’s sort of a ‘tongue in cheek’ commentary on Matthew 5,45. But enough of such foolishness.
The picnic reminded me of days long gone when our home Church always had a 4th of July picnic. That was sort of end of school year and beginning of summer. The day began with a parade where the church brass band led the school children from the school to the picnic grounds. When we got there, our teachers gave us each some tickets good for an ice cream cone, candy, or whatever the tent had for sale for the crowd. Most families either ate lunch at home or brought their lunch along. The afternoon was spent listening to band music – and there is no sound quite like a brass band played in a grove of trees – playing games, and just visiting. Usually people ended checking the cemetery lots of their family and remembering days of old. Parents showing where the grandparents were buried and recalling their youth. (The picnic grounds were in a grove next to the church cemetery).
When the sun started to go down, it was time for evening chores. Life on a dairy farm consisted of regular morning and evening chores. Cows had to be milked and tended to whether one felt like it or not, the church picnic did not change that.
And I am writing this and thinking how much things change, and yet how much they remain the same. Because people still enjoy visiting, playing together, planning, and being grateful to God for His daily blessing.
St.Matthew had it right when He wrote in his Gospel, fifth chapter, 45th verse, God “Causes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on he righteous and the unrighteous”. Just a reminder of His promise that “as long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease.” Genesis 8,22. What a rich, blessed God is ours by His grace, and He calls us ‘dear children’.
GPD 5/17/09
But the drizzle did remind me of a little ditty that stuck in my mind, I know not from where. It runs,
The rain it falleth on the just,
And also on the unjust fellow.
But more upon the just, because
The unjust stole the just’s umbrella!
That’s sort of a ‘tongue in cheek’ commentary on Matthew 5,45. But enough of such foolishness.
The picnic reminded me of days long gone when our home Church always had a 4th of July picnic. That was sort of end of school year and beginning of summer. The day began with a parade where the church brass band led the school children from the school to the picnic grounds. When we got there, our teachers gave us each some tickets good for an ice cream cone, candy, or whatever the tent had for sale for the crowd. Most families either ate lunch at home or brought their lunch along. The afternoon was spent listening to band music – and there is no sound quite like a brass band played in a grove of trees – playing games, and just visiting. Usually people ended checking the cemetery lots of their family and remembering days of old. Parents showing where the grandparents were buried and recalling their youth. (The picnic grounds were in a grove next to the church cemetery).
When the sun started to go down, it was time for evening chores. Life on a dairy farm consisted of regular morning and evening chores. Cows had to be milked and tended to whether one felt like it or not, the church picnic did not change that.
And I am writing this and thinking how much things change, and yet how much they remain the same. Because people still enjoy visiting, playing together, planning, and being grateful to God for His daily blessing.
St.Matthew had it right when He wrote in his Gospel, fifth chapter, 45th verse, God “Causes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on he righteous and the unrighteous”. Just a reminder of His promise that “as long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease.” Genesis 8,22. What a rich, blessed God is ours by His grace, and He calls us ‘dear children’.
GPD 5/17/09
Friday, May 15, 2009
Shade Tree Wisdom 5/15/09
An artist that plays the double bass says the finest instruments are made with wood that has been naturally aged for 80 years so it is completely, and naturally, dry. Then the instrument reaches its finest tone when it has been in use many years. So the person who planted the tree, the craftsman who cut the wood and built the instrument, never really hear what their work produced.
Isn’t life like that too? Many important things in life are next generation matters, such things as raising children and teaching them living, or training an athlete in high school.
The Church fits there also. It is what we do here today that will help the next generation best. Maybe we are just putting down roots, or laying the groundwork, or carrying on what another will add to, build stronger, enlarge and enjoy. Moses spent a life time bringing the children of Israel to the brink of the promised land, but never got to live in it himself.
The apostle Paul worked, prayed, suffered, and died, so that other generations might have the Word of life, in Jesus Christ. So he wrote to Pastor Timothy, “The things you have heard from me, comit thee to faithful men so that they will be able to teach others also.” 2 Tim.2,2. :Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.”v.7.
We live today, and by God’s grace we also have a hand in preparing by Word and act for the next generation. May our preparation ever be a house built on a rock, which is Jesus Christ. God bless the life. For such a life produces rich blessing.
GPD 5/15/09
Isn’t life like that too? Many important things in life are next generation matters, such things as raising children and teaching them living, or training an athlete in high school.
The Church fits there also. It is what we do here today that will help the next generation best. Maybe we are just putting down roots, or laying the groundwork, or carrying on what another will add to, build stronger, enlarge and enjoy. Moses spent a life time bringing the children of Israel to the brink of the promised land, but never got to live in it himself.
The apostle Paul worked, prayed, suffered, and died, so that other generations might have the Word of life, in Jesus Christ. So he wrote to Pastor Timothy, “The things you have heard from me, comit thee to faithful men so that they will be able to teach others also.” 2 Tim.2,2. :Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.”v.7.
We live today, and by God’s grace we also have a hand in preparing by Word and act for the next generation. May our preparation ever be a house built on a rock, which is Jesus Christ. God bless the life. For such a life produces rich blessing.
GPD 5/15/09
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Shade Tree Wisdom 5/14/09
So, do you make lists? Of things to do, or jobs to be tackled, or errands to run, places to visit, people to call. Does your computer automatically run such a list when you first log on in the day? Our day seems to be ‘list ready’, if nothing else. The ten most popular vacation spots, the wonders of the world, the finest restaurants in a city, the best barbecue in Texas etc.
I make lists when grocery shopping so I don’t forget a needed item, and I make it a rule to get only the things on the list and not be beguiled into buying items that catch my eye while shopping. Seems to me that’s only common sense.
The old adage is that 7 is the magic number, why? Because Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) said, “Nobody can remember more than seven of anything”. So we have famous lists of seven. The seven virtues, the seven sins, Shakespeare’s “Seven Ages of man”.
And the best way to make lists is to use the back of envelopes. Handy, makes it easy to keep the list short, handy to discard when the list has been used.
Lists don’t have to be vertical. In the eighteenth century sailors in the British navy would sign petitions of grievance in a circle so that the ringleaders could not be indentified. (We get the term ‘round robin’ from that practice.)
It might be of interest that the bible uses lists for teaching us. The list that comes to mind are the Ten Commandments. Other examples are Romans 12, first Corinthians 13, Galatians 5, (the fruits of the Spirit), Ephesians 6, the armor of God. There are other passages that list items in the process of growing in the faith. So bless the lists, and the learning from them.
GPD 5/14/09
I make lists when grocery shopping so I don’t forget a needed item, and I make it a rule to get only the things on the list and not be beguiled into buying items that catch my eye while shopping. Seems to me that’s only common sense.
The old adage is that 7 is the magic number, why? Because Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) said, “Nobody can remember more than seven of anything”. So we have famous lists of seven. The seven virtues, the seven sins, Shakespeare’s “Seven Ages of man”.
And the best way to make lists is to use the back of envelopes. Handy, makes it easy to keep the list short, handy to discard when the list has been used.
Lists don’t have to be vertical. In the eighteenth century sailors in the British navy would sign petitions of grievance in a circle so that the ringleaders could not be indentified. (We get the term ‘round robin’ from that practice.)
It might be of interest that the bible uses lists for teaching us. The list that comes to mind are the Ten Commandments. Other examples are Romans 12, first Corinthians 13, Galatians 5, (the fruits of the Spirit), Ephesians 6, the armor of God. There are other passages that list items in the process of growing in the faith. So bless the lists, and the learning from them.
GPD 5/14/09
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Shade Tree Wisdom 5/12/09
The ubiquitous cell phone, it’s everywhere. You usually see it held near the ear by a young mother driving an SUV filled with a baseball team making a left hand turn in traffic and chatting about her next hair appointment, or some equally vital stuff. Research by Virginia Tech University shows that more accidents happen by drivers who are distracted and not paying full attention than by aggressive drivers.
And of course, it’s always the other person who is really at fault. It’s oor nature to point the finger. That is as old as Adam and Eve isn’t it? It’s her fault, and then, You gave her to me, God.
The Apostle Paul spoke of that. “They, measuring themselves by themselves, are not wise” 2 Cor. 10, 12.
In the 12th chapter of Romans St. Paul speaks of the Christian life, the way we ought to live up to our faith daily. He starts by saying we ought to offer our bodies to God, and “Do not let the world around you squeeze you into a mold, but let God remold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands, and moves toward the goal of true maturity”. 12,2.
Then, the rest of the chapter gives us examples of such a life. A life that “hates what is evil, clings to that which is good.” That “shares with God’s people who are in need, and practices hospitality.” A Life that “lives in harmony with one another” and “Is not conceited”. At the end, this “As much as lies in you, live at peace with one another’. And then, finally, “Overcome evil with good”.
No, we don’t do this alone, our sinful self gets in the way, BUT, “He hath said, I will never leave thee, never will I forsake thee”. Hebrews 13,5, That means what Jesus promised, “I will be with you even to the end of the world”. Bless the living so.
GPD 5/12/09
And of course, it’s always the other person who is really at fault. It’s oor nature to point the finger. That is as old as Adam and Eve isn’t it? It’s her fault, and then, You gave her to me, God.
The Apostle Paul spoke of that. “They, measuring themselves by themselves, are not wise” 2 Cor. 10, 12.
In the 12th chapter of Romans St. Paul speaks of the Christian life, the way we ought to live up to our faith daily. He starts by saying we ought to offer our bodies to God, and “Do not let the world around you squeeze you into a mold, but let God remold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands, and moves toward the goal of true maturity”. 12,2.
Then, the rest of the chapter gives us examples of such a life. A life that “hates what is evil, clings to that which is good.” That “shares with God’s people who are in need, and practices hospitality.” A Life that “lives in harmony with one another” and “Is not conceited”. At the end, this “As much as lies in you, live at peace with one another’. And then, finally, “Overcome evil with good”.
No, we don’t do this alone, our sinful self gets in the way, BUT, “He hath said, I will never leave thee, never will I forsake thee”. Hebrews 13,5, That means what Jesus promised, “I will be with you even to the end of the world”. Bless the living so.
GPD 5/12/09
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