Memorial Day

Memorial Day was begun to honor those who were killed in the Civil War, and known as Decoration Day.  After World War One it was expanded to remember all who have died in war.  The name was changed and the date of the last Monday in May was established by congress.  During the past century, the celebration gradually expanded to include all the deceased and the day became a popular time to clean the church yard cemeteries.  

On Saturday the 14th I attended two visitations/memorial services.  One was for a preacher acquaintance the same age as me. The other was for the wife of a preacher who was a school mate of mine in college and long time friend.  These joined a growing list of my family and friends who have moved on to the next life.  So Memorial Day becomes more and more a personal event.                                                      

Also, Memorial Day is a reminder that this life is not forever.  No matter our age, life can come to an end quite suddenly, as it did for my minister friend who preached on Sunday and was gone before the following Sunday; and as it did for those victimized in the tornadoes.

I turned 76 years of age a few days ago.  This means, I have to admit, that I must be classified as “elderly,” although I don’t think of myself as elderly.  But I recognize that, being past three score and ten, the time I have left is growing shorter.  So, as I remember those family and friends who are gone, I am grateful to God for my continued survival and for His current purpose and leadership to me.  And I also reflect on what I have been given.  I am thankful for family and friends I have had and now have.  I am thankful for the journey on which the Lord has led me.  I am thankful for the prospects of each new day and the opportunities it presents.  And I am thankful, that when my time comes, I know where I’ll be going and that I will experience a wonderful new life we cannot now imagine.         

                       

What about you ? 

Grace and peace.

I Still Don't Believe It

            I still don’t believe it!  Returning to Birmingham on Wednesday, a week after the tornado outbreak, I drove over to Pleasant Grove to the street where Ronnie and Clydene Charles lived.  After finding their badly damaged house, I stood in the yard and looked in front of me at an area which looked for all the world like it had been bombed into oblivion.  I was looking at it with my own eyes, but my mind wouldn’t believe it.  I have never seen such destruction.

             I am so grateful that, although their house is a wreck, they came through the storm safely.  And I am also grateful other Pleasant Grove families related to the church I'm serving, Central Park Baptist, came through safely, although some had damage to their homes.

            When I look at Pleasant Grove and realize that this is only one spot devastated by the storms, that great swaths of cities and whole small towns were blown away, I can only imagine the totality of the destruction.  And because well over two hundred people in Alabama lost their lives, I know there is  great amount of grief for the families and the friends of those who were lost.

            I praise God for the tremendous outporing of concern from all over the nation and, particularly by Alabamians, for those who were hit; providing money, shelter, food, water and other goods.

              The dead will be missed for a long time, the injured will heal over time, the homes and neighborhoods will be rebuilt; but the lives of those who suffered and the lives of all of us who stood with them will be changed forever.

            In spite of all that happened I still stand by a statement that our daughter has all over her house, “Life is Good.”  It’s good because God is good.  We may not understand, but we know without a doubt that God is good.  More about this later.

Grace and peace.

Mothers Day

       Sunday is Mothers Day.  We will honor our mothers as we do every year.  Mothers come in all shapes, sizes and dispositions.  Some are talented in special ways, intelligent and innovative.  Others seemingly are without a clue and muddle thrrough motherhood.  Regrettably, some are biased, mean spirited, cruel, substance addicted, i.e. very poor examples of motherhood.

       The commandment in the Bible is clear, however, "Honor your father and your mother." (Exodus 20:12)  There are no conditions or exceptions given.  One's parents may have dropped the ball, may have made life for iyou miserable, and in the eyes of the world and in your eyes, are not worthy of honor.  This does not change the commandment, however.   With the commandment, God gave Moses a reason or motivation; "that yoiu days may be long on the earth."  A broader understand of the promise is, honoring your parents will ultimately bless you.

       Gratefully, most of us have or had mothers who are or were absolutely worthy of honor, respect and love.  It makes for us a day of celebration.  To all of you who are mothers,

                        Happy Mother’s Day.

                        Grace and peace. 

The Merry Month of May

The first day of May has been for centuries a day of celebration in England and for some communities in America.  It has no religious significance and its origin was a Celtic celebration of the beginning of Spring.  It is a day celebrated with maypoles, dancing and other activities.            

On a site on the internet called “Important Dates in History” you may discover what happened in any month of any year.  Checking the year 1935, I discovered that in May of that year the Hoover Dam, the greatest engineering feat in the world up to that time, was completed.  Also that month the Canadian government began circulation of the last Canadian silver dollar.                                                                                         

One very important event to me is not there, the birth of a baby boy in a duplex apartment in Ensley, Alabama.  As you may guess, that baby boy was me.  If you look at June, 1944, you will see that the allies stormed the bearch at Normandy during the Second World War.  But another date important to me is missing.  It was then that a nine year old boy gave his life to Christ during Vacation Bible School at Ensley Baptist Church and was born again.  I could list other dates significant to me, such as graduations, marriage, and births, for example.  But the most important event of all is yet to come.  That is the day I will be born from this world into the presence of Jesus Christ.  I don’t know that date and hope it isn’t near.  But it will be great and it is a time I can anticipate with joy, because I know that it will be a promotion and a heavenly celebration. How about you?                        

Grace and peace. 

AM I A MONKEY?

            I recently read a recently published little book of that name written by Dr. Francisco Ayala, biology professor at the University of California, Irvine.  He points out that the theory of evolution is accepted universally by scientists but that it does not conflict with the bible.

            For a number of weeks I’ve been teaching the first eleven chapters of Genesis on Wednesday evenings.  I have presented all the problems inherent in accepting this portion of the Bible literally.  I proposed that these chapters be received as a parable.  Doing so does not negate the claim that the Bible is “truth without any mixture of error.”  The truths taught concerning God being the creator and the author of life are not challenged, only the literalness of the account, i.e. six twenty four hour days; a “firmament” (heaven) with water above it and water below it.; etc.

            Of course, for those who insist on a literal interpretation of every word in the bible, this makes me, in their eyes, one who “does not believe the bible.”  I become that dreaded enemy called a “liberal.”  This in spite of the fact that I believe the bible is “truth without any mixture of error” from cover to cover.

            When it comes to the evolution of species, so ably defended, or presented, by Dr Ayala, I am still not fully convinced.  It isn’t that I have a problem with the concept and its theological implications.  God could have used it in His creation process.  Our origin would still be God’s doing.  It is just that there have been too many frauds and shaky assumptions by zealous promoters of the theory.  That there has been evolution, of that I have no doubt.  What I am not yet convinced is that all the various species are the result of evolution rather than specific creation.

            Am I a monkey?  Certainly not!  Although the DNA of our closest ape cousins are quite similar, and apes have been taught sign language, the gap between us is still huge.   And I admit, some of my human brothers and sisters do exhibit animal behavior.  But they should know and do know the difference.

            By the way, I do like, bananas, which were featured on the book's jacket.

Grace and peace.

Tax Time

            If it is April, it must be income tax season again.  In fact, Monday is the deadline for filing income tax returns. There is a lot of anti-tax sentiment around at present.  The platform of “No New Taxes” helped a lot of people, particular in the "Tea Party," get elected to public office this past year.  In the face of declining revenues during a period of economic recession, government bodies are electing to reduce services rather than find new sources of income.  These politicians will face the voter backlash which is sure to result from all all the cutbacks.

            Alabama is one of the lowest tax states in the nation, and the taxes are some of the most regressive, i.e. poor people pay a disproportionate amount of taxes compared to middle or upper income families.  But in the realm of politics, things usually are not fair.  I would support a redistribution of taxes, to cause wealthy individuals, landowners, businesses, and others to pick up their fair share.  And I am not opposed to new taxes, except as they impose more of the public burden on the poor.

            To me, paying taxes is a privilege.  When I consider all for which we depend upon the government, I think we have a bargain.  Think about it.  We have safety provided by the military, police, firefighters, paramedics, etc..  Also, we have increased safety provided by controls on food and medicine.  To these add entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicaid, and education.  And someone must provide roads, airports, train terminals,sea  ports, i.e. the entire transportation infrastructure.  I could list a host of other things government bodies do for us.  All these benefits make our taxes look good.

To some who resented paying taxes to foreign rulers Jesus said, “Give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s.”   There will always be death and taxes.  Death is overcome in Christ and taxes are necessary to any society in this world.

Grace and peace. 

April Fool

            This week some will observe April Fools Day, which is the first day of April.  No one has tried to make me an April fool in many years, but some still try to fool others.  One year, my late brother, Bill, on the phone with his oldest grandchild, then in grade school, had her believing that an airplane had landed in his back yard.  Well, you can’t blame a young girl for believing what her grandfather told her, even on April 1^st.  All of this is, of course, in fun.  And I suppose all of us have been tricked into being an April fool at some time or another. 

            But there are some people who are fools all the time.  In the Bible we are told of Nabal, whose name is sometimes translated as “fool.” (1 Samuel 25:25)   What a way to go through life.  Also in Psalm 14:1 we read, “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.”  According to that, the number of fools in the United States is growing rapidly.  According to polls, more and more US citizens are reporting themselves as atheists or agnostics.  After this life they will regrettably discover their foolishness.

            But the biggest fool of all is the person who believes in God, but acts like there is no God.  They ignore His offer of Salvation through Jesus Christ.  Or they claim a relationship with Jesus Christ and then act like the devil.  Their surprise in eternity may be the biggest of all, when they cry out, “Lord, Lord” and Jesus says, “I never knew you.”  They will realize how big a fool they have been.

            On the other hand, Paul labels himself and his coworkers as fools, “We are fools for Christ’s sake…”  (1 Corinthians 4:10)  To the world, anyone who exhibits zealousness for the gospel looks like a fool.  Amen!  May their tribe increase!

Grace and peace.

In answer to some questions, I hope to post something new at least once a week.