Doin' Whats Right

“Dear Mom and Dad,” the letter began in a very ordinary way. Billy Joe was just finishing his freshman year at the university. Mom and Dad were excited that he would soon be home for the summer. As Dad read the letter in the easily recognizable but barely legible writing of his young son a picture dropped out of the envelope, a picture of a very lovely young woman. The parents’ smiles turned into a line of worry as they read further. “This is Lisa.,” Billy wrote. “We met at freshman orientation. I knew you wouldn’t approve but we really fell for each other and shared an apartment this last semester. She is a neat girl and, after all, you know two can live as cheaply as one. Ha ha, ha. I will bring her home so you can meet her. I know you will just love her. Love, Billy Joe” They have not discovered what Will Rogers said fifty or sixty years ago, “ . . . Sure two can live as cheaply as one as long as one don’t eat.”

Our society has broken down many of the taboos that our older generation grew up under. The common place in dress and social activity is the abnormal and even reprehensible of even two generations ago. Parents, have you watched the TV shows your children are watching? You should; you would get your eyes open and maybe know why your child has become so stubborn and rebellious against authority. The “children” played by at least 20 + year old actors are in charge. Mothers and dads are, at best. “In the way;” at worst they are shown as mentally incompetent.

Although there are many men and women who dress tastefully, who save their love for marriage and who honor father and mother as scripture dictates. There are many more young and older women who dress in public without modesty. It really does not matter that everyone is doing it.

There is hope. Every generation experiences youthful rebellion against the morals and mores of their elders. My parents could not stand Frank Sinatra … that is the truth. Old Blue Eyes was the one who would lead us to hell. My generation was turned off by hard rock. As to dress, each generation wears their own uniform. They very carefully dress alike while arguing that they are different. There is conflict in many churches over whether they will play old hymns or worship choruses. The great preacher and hymnist John Newton who wrote Amazing Grace had the same criticism. As they say, all music was new once.

Okay. What you do is your business. Yes? It is unless you claim to be a Christian. God has given us the playbook for living, if you let the Bible be your guide there are a lot of things you won’t do, not necessarily because they are illegal but because you may cause another to follow the wrong path. All that we do should be done to please our Lord. Ask yourself not what would Jesus do, but what does Jesus think?

Christmas with a Capital "C"

Don't say “Merry Christmas;” it might offend someone. It is beyond me that in America, land of the free and home of the brave, where we hold religious freedom and freedom of speech with a holy grip there could be a movement to deny us the right to say a simple Merry Christmas. The naysayers are especially critical if it is used in public advertising. At the same time it is okay to use the sluttiest language on the radio and television but God forbid that anyone wish anyone else a Merry Christmas.

Most of you have heard the song, “One Solitary Life.” It tells about a man who was born in a stable, served as a lowly carpenter until he was in his 30s. He then became an itinerant preacher with only 12 followers and one of them was a crook. He never wrote a book, owned a house, married or had children. His only fame came when he made a blind man to see and a lame man to walk. He made the six o'clock news when he raised a friend from the dead. He lived over two thousands years ago, but today he is one of the leading figures in the history of mankind. It seems only reasonable that the world would celebrate the birth of such a man even if all that was known of him was that he was a healer and a great teacher.

Around the world we find Merry Christmas in every tongue. In Norway: God Jul; in Portugal: Feliz Nadal; in Thailand: Sawadee Pee Mai; in Ukraine: Strozhdestvom Kristovym; in Hawaii: Mele Kalikamaka ame Hauoli Makahiki Hou! Even the dictionaries of the world agree that the very meaning of Christmas is “a celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.”

For 2000 years men of goodwill have taken the time to recognize the fact of the life of Jesus Christ. Even His enemies have recognized the season of His birth. The two years we lived in Turkey our friend Ali Ghengis Doulonay brought us a Christmas tree for our apartment. The sweetest stories in the world's literature center around the coming of the Christ. Lew Wallace brought the man from Galilee to life in his epic novel Ben Hur. His book became second only to the Bible as the best selling book in the world. Even today we thrill at the great chariot race as Judah Ben Hur defeats Messala, his boyhood friend turned enemy, in the arena.

When we were children, in a simpler time, we were recovering from a greater depression than any today and fighting a two-ocean war but we still found time to gather around a Christmas tree and sing Silent Night, Holy Night, all is calm, all is bright . . . now the politically correct crew would take that away from us, too.

Well, not from me, friend. I am dreaming of Christmas, just like the ones I have known for a lifetime. You may have your Happy Holidays but I will keep my Christmas with a Capitol C.

what is my name?

Everyone likes a compliment. A very pretty young lady of somewhat limited smarts (please note no reference to hair color) visited her doctor complaining of sharp pains in her side. After the examination the doctor said, “Oh my, you have acute appendicitis.”

“Look, doc,” said the young lady, “I didn’t come here for a compliment.”

Compliments are powerful things. Mark Twain once said, “I can live two full months on one good compliment.” Most everyone I know feels better when someone says something nice about them. Some might call it polishing the apple but I would rather think of it as encouraging someone to do their very best. Even the most shy person will blossom when noticed by someone they admire.

A school teacher can transform a student’s bad attitude into a good one and help him become more productive simply by giving him a few words of encouragement.. They are mere words but words are often more powerful than swords and can cut and slash just as disastrously. They can also carry a smile and messages of hope, love and a new outlook on life.

Just about the best compliment you can give someone is to remember his or her name. I am a great fan of Horation Hornblower, the fictional British seafarer in the service of the King of England. In the series of books written by C. S. Forrester we watch Horatio as he rises from Midshipman to become the First Lord of the Admiralty. In one of his adventures the men have come to near mutiny on a long and toilsome voyage. The leader of the unrest is a large and hearty Englishman sentenced to jail or the navy. He had not a good word for his captain until, in the heat of battle, the captain calls him by name. The transition is immediate. In disbelief the sailor says, “He knows me name … did ye hear that the Captain knows me name.”

That seaman became the Captains Coxswain, his right hand man and body guard. Learn any language and among the first phrases you will learn... "hello, my name is," along with it "what is your name?" A person's name is precious guard it, share it and respect others and you will have a pleasant life pleasant and many friends.

What Is On Top Of The Washington Monument?

For five years I worked in “the City,” Washington, District of Columbia, at 1100 Independence Avenue, in the James Forrestal Building. Across the Mall are the wonderful museums of the Smithsonian Institution. They became my regular lunch hour haunt. On other days I would walk west to the Washington Monument and climb the 898 steps, up fifty landings to the observation tower on the top. Above my head and the heads of about 800.000 visitors who annually view the city from the observation platform, on the cap of the monument are inscribed the words, “Laus Deo.” The words translate to “Praise Be To God.” Only the Almighty and some highflying pigeons see the phrase. We are truly a nation under God.

Most interesting are the many panels and memorials found inside the monument on the walls as one ascends the monument, climbing the steps rather than taking the elevator. Except for occasional tour groups the monument has prohibited climbers since 1976. These panels or memorial stones, more than 100 tablets, represent the outpouring of love and respect for George Washington from all over the world. Many of them bear Christian sentiments such as this one from he City of Baltimore:

“May heaven to this union continue its beneficence. May brotherly affection with union be perpetual? May the free construction which is the work of our ancestors be sacredly maintained and its administration be stamped with wisdom and virtue.

Thee are those who would take this heritage away from us. The Washington Monument is a challenge they will find difficult to win.

Amazing Grace

Most people outside of the church are not aware of the story of that great and moving hymn that has reached far past the stained glass windows of the church and into the hearts of people in all walks of life. It was written by a scoundrel, a slave trader who rose from the depths of depravity to the pulpits of the great churches of England.

John Newton was one of the great Christian churchmen of eighteenth century England. He is remembered today for the wonderful hymns of the church that bear his name as author of the lyrics. Few people in or outside the church have not felt his inspiration in the words of "Amazing Grace."

John was born in 1725. His mother was a Christian and tried to teach her young son the way of Christ. His father was a seafarer and an agnostic. When John was seven, his mother died. By the time he had reached his teen years he had gone to sea. At twenty he was master of a slave trader and merchantman plying the African waters.

The young seaman sank into the depths of depravity. He was a drunkard and a tyrant to the seamen who served his flag. On one occasion he fell overboard and was saved by his harpooner who threw his shaft, piercing Newton's leg and dragging him back on board like a fish. Another time he was put ashore by his crew on a lonely stretch of beach where he wandered for a number of days until rescued by another ship.

During one of his rare visits to England he met a lovely young Christian girl and fell in love. She accepted his proposal but would not marry until he reformed his ways. His father had also become a Christian. For the next several years his father and his fiancee prayed for his salvation.

Through the amazing grace of God this rugged seaman was converted and became a man of God. God gave him fifty years more to serve Him and in that fifty years Newton's prolific pen gave us some of the most beautiful hymns of Christendom. For many years he served a church in London. His epitaph which he had written remains to be seen to this day: "Sacred to the memory of John Newton, once a libertine and blasphemer and slave of slaves in Africa, but renewed, purified, pardoned, and appointed to preach the Gospel which he had labored to destroy."

When I read Newton's story I marvel at God's grace. Then I feel relief that the same God who could use a man like Newton can also use someone like me. It is because of His amazing grace that we have the hope of Heaven. "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I am found, was blind but now I see" (John Newton, 1725-1807).

Hurry Up I'm Late

I am in a hurry today. I have been in a hurry all day. I was late when I got up and I haven’t caught up yet. I am like the politician who jumped upon his horse and galloped off in all directions only to find after a couple of hours of hard riding he still wasn’t there yet.

Have you noticed when you are in a hurry Murphy’s Law takes over your life? Well, he does mine anyway. Traffic lights that are always green turn red just as you get to them and stay red for an interminably long time. You lose things. Now I don’t mean you can’t find something you had yesterday. I am talking about losing things you just had in your hand. In fact, it is not too unusual if I am in a big hurry to actually find it, after a significant time spent searching for it, exactly where I last had it – in my hand.

Then when you are going someplace, even if you have been there before, you get lost. I even have a GPS. I’m like the little green van in the movie Carz; I’ll never have to ask directions again. Except more than once the GPS did not know where we were either. It recently led us to a hotel instead of a hospital and then argued with me that this was the right place. To add insult to injury the thing calls me “Master.”

We have a long-standing and well-deserved reputation for being late. Often we leave home about the time we are supposed to be some place. That, by the way, will make you late every time. We have been known to arrive after the party was over.

You know, every time we have rushed to do something or get somewhere the few minutes we saved really did not amount to much. Speeding on the highway is a good example. The difference in the time you get someplace driving 80 mph and driving the speed limit is never more than a few minutes. Nobody really noticed you were late or cared and probably did not miss you when you didn’t show up at all.

Well, I have slowed down now long enough to write my blog, even though I need to be on my way and still have things to do to get ready. ,,, late again.

You Are Past and Present

The Apostle Paul wrote "For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself." Man cannot live in isolation. He will affect others even if he should attempt to live as a hermit in a cave. First of all, man cannot isolate himself from his past. Your ancestors may have been peasants or kings, but ultimately all of our records did get lost in the flood.

We are a part of those who have gone before us. I have been told that I sound like my father when I talk. I know I have many of his mannerisms and often hear him speaking in things I say. Many of these characteristics, I suspect, could be traced back to his father and grandfather.

So, we cannot live isolated from the past. Neither can we isolate ourselves from the present. Everything that we do affects someone else. Often we make people happy or sad just by the expressions on our faces. A word spoken in the wrong place or at the wrong time can never be retracted. Every salesman knows that each client he calls upon can influence as many as 250 or more other people to buy or not to buy his product. From every deed will arise consequences, and the scriptures say that these consequences will go from us down through many generations.