Every Friday night, until his death in 1973, old Eddie walked to the pier with a large bucket of shrimp. The sea gulls would flock to him and he would feed them. Many years before, in October, 1942, this same man, then a much younger man known as Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, was on a mission in a B-17 to deliver an important message to General Douglas MacArthur in New Guinea.
But somewhere over the South Pacific his Flying Fortress became lost beyond the reach of radio. Fuel ran out, so the men ditched their plane in the ocean. For nearly a month Captain Eddie and his companions would fight the water, weather, and scorching sun. They spent many sleepless nights as giant sharks rammed their rafts. The largest raft was nine by five, the biggest shark, ten feet long.
But of all their enemies at sea, the one proved most formidable was starvation. Eight days out, their rations were gone, and it would take a miracle to sustain them. And a miracle did occur. Captain William Cherry had finished Bible reading and a prayer for deliverance and they had sung a hymn of praise. With hats pulled down over their eyes to keep out some of the glare, the men tried to doze off.
But then something landed on Captain Eddie's head, and somehow he knew it was a sea gull. He and his men stared at the big bird, for it meant food. Captain Eddie caught the seagull. Its flesh was eaten. Its intestines were used for bait to catch fish. The survivors were sustained and they were all rescued because one lone sea gull, hundreds of miles from land, offered itself as a sacrifice.
Captain Eddie made it back and he never forgot. After he retired and until he died, every Friday evening, at about sunset, the old man filled his bucket to feed the gulls, and to remember that one which, on a day long past, gave itself without a struggle, like manna in the wilderness, so all could live. And until he died, he never neglected to give them thanks.
Now that's something to remember on Thanksgiving Day!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
BEST IN SHOW?
Now and then I enjoy watching a dog show on TV. Not a show with a dog who rescues a little boy, but a real dog show - where the impeccably dressed dog owners parade around polished pedigreed pooches to show off their unique canine quality. These dogs have been trained to stand confidently with chins lifted high, their shiny coats carefully brushed and styled, as they are poked and prodded by judges. To me, they all look like winners.
But when the audience is gone, I wonder what these dogs are really like? Do they ever relax and let their sleek fur get matted in the mud? Do they nip at each other, or even at their master? Do they ever get "doggie breath?" Do their masters let them have a little fun or is life always training for the show?
But a more important question is what are we really like when no one is watching. Someone once said "Integrity is what you are when no one is watching." In Matthew 23:2-7, Jesus rebuked those who were interested in how they looked in public rather than how they were seen by God. Jesus wants us all to be obedient, faithful and committed to Him, even when nobody else is looking. The Pharisees focused on the way they were perceived by others. God's focus is on what we're like inside. His desire is for us to be like His Son.
We are not in competition with other Christians. God will never ask us to compete for "Best In Show." He measures us by the perfect standard of His Son. St. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:13, "Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
And because we cannot ever measure up, He forgives us and by the Holy Spirit's power helps us do better. Jesus' whole life is for us. Everything He did was to make us perfect in God's eyes.
God loves us just as we are, but He won't let us stay that way for long.
But when the audience is gone, I wonder what these dogs are really like? Do they ever relax and let their sleek fur get matted in the mud? Do they nip at each other, or even at their master? Do they ever get "doggie breath?" Do their masters let them have a little fun or is life always training for the show?
But a more important question is what are we really like when no one is watching. Someone once said "Integrity is what you are when no one is watching." In Matthew 23:2-7, Jesus rebuked those who were interested in how they looked in public rather than how they were seen by God. Jesus wants us all to be obedient, faithful and committed to Him, even when nobody else is looking. The Pharisees focused on the way they were perceived by others. God's focus is on what we're like inside. His desire is for us to be like His Son.
We are not in competition with other Christians. God will never ask us to compete for "Best In Show." He measures us by the perfect standard of His Son. St. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:13, "Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
And because we cannot ever measure up, He forgives us and by the Holy Spirit's power helps us do better. Jesus' whole life is for us. Everything He did was to make us perfect in God's eyes.
God loves us just as we are, but He won't let us stay that way for long.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Y'ALL PRAY FOR US!
It was Sunday morning in a small church in the south. About a hundred or so people were present to hear the Word of God, sing His praises and have fellowship together. Little six-year-old Tommy Jackson was full of vim and vinegar, squirming when he should be sitting and jabbering when he should be quiet. Pastor's sermon that day was on prayer and it was appropriate, for Tommy's Mom and Dad had been praying for him to be quiet all morning. But to no avail. Tommy would not sit still and would not be quiet.
Finally during the offering Tommy dropped a hymnal on the floor with a loud bang and he blurted out. "Damn!" His mortified Dad grabbed him by the seat of his pants, tossed him over his shoulder and headed down the aisle for the back door. Everyone, Tommy included, knew what was coming next. Just as he disappeared out the door, Tommy said loudly, "Y'all pray for us!"
It's time to pray for our country. We've been acting out and irritating each other when we need to be quiet and hear the voice of God. The economy has had us squirming and the election has had us jabbering nonsense. In general, we've become immature children who need to be taken to the woodshed. What we really need is to sit still and to pray for each other and for our country.
"Y'all pray for us!" I was encouraged last Sunday when my pastor, an Air National Guard chaplain, prayed for our president-elect. I know he didn't vote for him, but that didn't stop him from leading us in prayer for him. I was encouraged by several articles in the newspaper which told of churches praying for our nation and all its leaders. But besides prayer, I believe our elected officials need to be taken to the woodshed. Never have I seen so much self-centeredness and foolish talk coming from the mouths of those who should know better.
"Y'all pray for us!" Yes, pray a lot, and to the True God, not some idea that blends all gods into one. Pray for our nation and our leaders to grow up and stop acting like selfish children. Pray for churches to lead according to God's Word and not the latest opinion poll. Pray for courts to stop treating humans like throw-aways. Pray for the family to be protected from those who would destroy it. Pray for our soldiers to defeat the enemy and come home. Pray for youth to grow up and be the responsibile adults so many of us have failed to be.
"Y'all pray for us!"
Finally during the offering Tommy dropped a hymnal on the floor with a loud bang and he blurted out. "Damn!" His mortified Dad grabbed him by the seat of his pants, tossed him over his shoulder and headed down the aisle for the back door. Everyone, Tommy included, knew what was coming next. Just as he disappeared out the door, Tommy said loudly, "Y'all pray for us!"
It's time to pray for our country. We've been acting out and irritating each other when we need to be quiet and hear the voice of God. The economy has had us squirming and the election has had us jabbering nonsense. In general, we've become immature children who need to be taken to the woodshed. What we really need is to sit still and to pray for each other and for our country.
"Y'all pray for us!" I was encouraged last Sunday when my pastor, an Air National Guard chaplain, prayed for our president-elect. I know he didn't vote for him, but that didn't stop him from leading us in prayer for him. I was encouraged by several articles in the newspaper which told of churches praying for our nation and all its leaders. But besides prayer, I believe our elected officials need to be taken to the woodshed. Never have I seen so much self-centeredness and foolish talk coming from the mouths of those who should know better.
"Y'all pray for us!" Yes, pray a lot, and to the True God, not some idea that blends all gods into one. Pray for our nation and our leaders to grow up and stop acting like selfish children. Pray for churches to lead according to God's Word and not the latest opinion poll. Pray for courts to stop treating humans like throw-aways. Pray for the family to be protected from those who would destroy it. Pray for our soldiers to defeat the enemy and come home. Pray for youth to grow up and be the responsibile adults so many of us have failed to be.
"Y'all pray for us!"
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
INTO THE HAND OF GOD
On this National Election Day, I would like to give you this small poem to consider. It can help calm our hearts, and give us all hope for the future:
"GATE OF THE YEAR" (by Minnie Louise Haskins, 1908)
I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
"Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!"
And he replied:
"Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God;
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way."
So, I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night;
And He led me toward the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.
So, heart, be still! What need our little life,
Our human life, to know, If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife Of things both high and low,
God oft hideth His intention.
Put your hand into the hand of God.
"GATE OF THE YEAR" (by Minnie Louise Haskins, 1908)
I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
"Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!"
And he replied:
"Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God;
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way."
So, I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night;
And He led me toward the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.
So, heart, be still! What need our little life,
Our human life, to know, If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife Of things both high and low,
God oft hideth His intention.
Put your hand into the hand of God.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
PROP US UP, LORD
While conducting a church service, the pastor ask an old deacon to give the final prayer. He prayed a fine humble prayer ending with, "Lord, prop us up on our leanin' side." After hearing him the pastor asked him why he prayed those particular words.
He answered, "Well sir, you see, it's like this... I got an old barn out back of my house. It's been there a long time, and it's withstood a lot of weather. It's gone through a lot of storms and stood for many years, but it's still standing. One day I noticed it was leaning to one side a bit, so I got some pine poles and propped it up on its leaning side so it wouldn't fall.
"Then I got to thinking about that old leaning barn and how much I was like it. I've been around a long time. I've withstood a lot of life's storms and a lot of bad weather in life. I've stood against a lot of hard times, and I'm still standing too. But I find myself leaning to one side from time to time, so I like to ask the Lord to prop us up on our leaning side, 'cause I figure a lot of us get to leaning at times.
"Sometimes we get to leaning toward anger, leaning toward bitterness, leaning toward hatred, leaning toward cussing, or leaning toward some things that we shouldn't. So I think we need to pray, 'Lord, prop us up on our leaning side.' Then maybe we'll stand straight and tall again so's we can glorify the Lord'. ''
Are you leaning too far one way or other?
He answered, "Well sir, you see, it's like this... I got an old barn out back of my house. It's been there a long time, and it's withstood a lot of weather. It's gone through a lot of storms and stood for many years, but it's still standing. One day I noticed it was leaning to one side a bit, so I got some pine poles and propped it up on its leaning side so it wouldn't fall.
"Then I got to thinking about that old leaning barn and how much I was like it. I've been around a long time. I've withstood a lot of life's storms and a lot of bad weather in life. I've stood against a lot of hard times, and I'm still standing too. But I find myself leaning to one side from time to time, so I like to ask the Lord to prop us up on our leaning side, 'cause I figure a lot of us get to leaning at times.
"Sometimes we get to leaning toward anger, leaning toward bitterness, leaning toward hatred, leaning toward cussing, or leaning toward some things that we shouldn't. So I think we need to pray, 'Lord, prop us up on our leaning side.' Then maybe we'll stand straight and tall again so's we can glorify the Lord'. ''
Are you leaning too far one way or other?
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
PRAYERS OF THE PRESIDENTS
As we approach Election Day, Nov. 4, I offer this prayer for our nation. "Prayers of the Presidents" is an anthology of actual prayers each president noted here prayed on his Inauguration Day.
(Pres. George Washington, 1789) Almighty GOD; we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection, that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States of America at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and a gentle temper of mind which were the characteristics of The Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation.
(Pres. Thomas Jefferson, 1801) We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people, the multitude brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues.
(Pres. Franklin Roosevelt, 1945) Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace--a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.
(Pres. George H. W. Bush, 1989) Accept our thanks for the peace that yields this day and the shared faith that makes its continuance likely. Make us strong to do Thy work, and willing to heed and hear Thy will. For we are given power not to advance our own purposes, nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name for ourselves. There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people. Help us to remember this, O Lord. May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us; and may He incline our hearts to Him, that we may walk in all His ways, and that all peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.
Grant our supplications, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ Our Lord, Amen.
(Pres. George Washington, 1789) Almighty GOD; we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection, that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States of America at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and a gentle temper of mind which were the characteristics of The Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation.
(Pres. Thomas Jefferson, 1801) We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people, the multitude brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues.
(Pres. Franklin Roosevelt, 1945) Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace--a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.
(Pres. George H. W. Bush, 1989) Accept our thanks for the peace that yields this day and the shared faith that makes its continuance likely. Make us strong to do Thy work, and willing to heed and hear Thy will. For we are given power not to advance our own purposes, nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name for ourselves. There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people. Help us to remember this, O Lord. May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us; and may He incline our hearts to Him, that we may walk in all His ways, and that all peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.
Grant our supplications, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ Our Lord, Amen.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
LOVE AMONG THE RUINS
We returned last Saturday from our trip to the Mediterranean with souveniers, memories and a nasty cold. This trip came mostly from retirement gifts and involved 12 days on the Emerald Princess with stops at Barcelona, Marsaille, Florence/Pisa, Rome, Naples/Pompeii, Mykonos Island, Istanbul, Ephesus, Athens/Corinth and Venice. We had lots of walking, too much food, and a nice room on an amazing ship (112,000 tons, 3,200 passengers, 1,500 crew, a floating hotel larger than most aircraft carriers)
The most memorable part for me was visiting the ruins of Rome, Pompeii, Ephesus and Corinth. The artwork of Florence, Vatican and Venice is truly amazing, but there's something special about the ruins. Perhaps it's that they represent what is past and gone. In my travels I've seen some really old stuff, especially in Israel, and often wonder why cities of old lie abandoned today.
Ancient ruins also make me wonder if other peoples, centuries from now, will dig up our ruins. What will they find? That, of course, leads one to the larger question of how long this world will last. World economic problems can make us pause and wonder about things like that.
"Only one life, 'twill soon be past; Only what's done for Christ will last." Those words from a plaque on a wall of my childhood room have remained with me. Through parents, pastors, professors and other amazing people, I've learned that with Jesus Christ, life need not be just a pile of rubble. We may ruin some things in life, but Jesus will rebuild, make them worthwhile. Our ruins may seem deserted, but our Good Lord never deserts us. "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you, says the Lord." (Hebrews 13:5)
God doesn't live in cathedrals or temples - He lives in peoples' hearts. He doesn't need marble or bronze, paintings or frescos, tapestries or mosaics to represent Him - His Holy Word shows us who He really is and what He wants us to know. He is our Lord who is above all human art forms; He is our Savior who rescues us from the world's woes; He is greater than the sum total of all human effort to represent or glorify Him.
He is who we need at this time!
The most memorable part for me was visiting the ruins of Rome, Pompeii, Ephesus and Corinth. The artwork of Florence, Vatican and Venice is truly amazing, but there's something special about the ruins. Perhaps it's that they represent what is past and gone. In my travels I've seen some really old stuff, especially in Israel, and often wonder why cities of old lie abandoned today.
Ancient ruins also make me wonder if other peoples, centuries from now, will dig up our ruins. What will they find? That, of course, leads one to the larger question of how long this world will last. World economic problems can make us pause and wonder about things like that.
"Only one life, 'twill soon be past; Only what's done for Christ will last." Those words from a plaque on a wall of my childhood room have remained with me. Through parents, pastors, professors and other amazing people, I've learned that with Jesus Christ, life need not be just a pile of rubble. We may ruin some things in life, but Jesus will rebuild, make them worthwhile. Our ruins may seem deserted, but our Good Lord never deserts us. "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you, says the Lord." (Hebrews 13:5)
God doesn't live in cathedrals or temples - He lives in peoples' hearts. He doesn't need marble or bronze, paintings or frescos, tapestries or mosaics to represent Him - His Holy Word shows us who He really is and what He wants us to know. He is our Lord who is above all human art forms; He is our Savior who rescues us from the world's woes; He is greater than the sum total of all human effort to represent or glorify Him.
He is who we need at this time!
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