What to say on Mother's day

                                       
"When all is said it is the mother, and the mother only, who is a better citizen than the soldier who fights for his country. The successful mother, the mother who does her part in rearing and training aright the boys and girls who are to be the men and women of the next generation, is of greater use to the community and occupies, if she only would realize it, a more honorable as well as a more important position than any successful man in it. The mother is the one supreme asset of national life. She is more important by far than the successful statesman, or business man, or artist , or scientist." President Theodore Roosevelt Today being the second Sunday of May, is Mother’s Day. A day which Congress, in 1914, dedicated to be an annual holiday in which we are to honor our mothers. I guess that what bothers me about the government instituting it is that I don’t feel like we should have to be told to honor our mothers. At the risk of bruising Congress’s collective ego, I have to tell them that they weren’t the first to establish a law that requires children to honor their mother. God gave Israel the Law of Moses and it’s the 5^th Commandment that preempts Congress by telling us that we are "to honor our father and mother."

Now I don’t claim to be an expert on mothers, but I did live with mine for the first 18 years of my life and then I’ve lived with the mother of my children for the past 49 years. The U.S. Air Force served as my "mother" in between the two of them. But, I do know some things about mothers and one of them is that, they never stop being mothers. Maybe it’s a requirement of their union, but I suspect that it’s just their nature put in them by God. I’ve seen the evidence of this in the actions of women who physically were not mothers, yet they "mothered" everybody.

Another thing I can attest to about mothers (especially after our recent transfer of residences) is that they are prolific art collectors. I moved boxes of "refrigerator art" collected from both "child artists" and "grandchild artists." Not to mention the "pie tin" sculptures and plaster of paris animals. Yes, they’re stored in boxes, but more so, they are stored in the mother’s hearts.

And, you know what else is observable about mothers? It doesn’t matter how old her children are, she will always be concerned about them and fret over them. I really appreciated something I once read, penned by a woman named Florida Scott-Maxwell that befits my point here. She said: "No matter how old a mother is, she watches her middle-aged children for signs of improvement." Do I hear an AMEN on that one?

There’s a bit of irony seen in the history of this holiday, this Mother’s Day. It came about by the efforts of a woman named Anna May Jarvis who wanted to honor her mother and wanted all mothers also be honored. The reason for the selection by Congress of it being observed on the 2^nd Sunday of May is because that’s the day Anna’s mother passed away. The irony though relates to Anna as she herself would never be so honored because she never married and was never a mother. That’s somewhat sad, isn’t it?

Many famous people have praised their mothers for whatever measure of success they’ve attained in life. People like Abraham Lincoln, John Q. Adams, Andrew Jackson and various others. And, of course, the words of President Theodore Roosevelt which we started this lesson with. When you consider just the Presidents that I’ve mentioned, it brings home something written by William R. Wallace: "The hand that rocks the cradle, is the hand that rules the world."
One of the things hated by Anna May Jarvis and the thing that she campaigned against after the establishment of Mother’s Day is the commercialization of it. I join her in that effort. It just seems to me that whenever a holiday is created, a whole industry is also created to make money off of it. About the only one that I can think of that’s not exploited commercially is "Ground Hog Day." Cards, candy, flowers and clothing just doesn’t seem to apply there and that’s good.

In my vast collection of things that "speak to me" I have the personal effects of a World War 1 soldier and in those effects is a little card issued to him and all other soldiers that contain several reminders of home. One of those reminders is this little poem regarding Mother’s Day:

            Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky; Hundreds of shells on the shore together;
            Hundreds of birds that go singing by; Hundreds of bees in the sunny weather;
            Hundreds of dew-drops to greet the dawn; Hundreds of lambs in the purple clover;
            Hundreds of butterflies out on the lawn; But only ONE MOTHER the wide world over.

Well, let’s spend the last portion of our time and space looking at the One most knowledgeable about mothers - God - because He created them. Having said that, we might as well go back to the first mother on earth. Let me first preface our thought here with something said by Napoleon of France in response to being told that the best thing for the education of the youth of France was "good mothers." He remarked, "Here is a system in one word - mothers."

That leads us to the Creator of that "system." We see this "system" of mothers bearing children in the 3^rd chapter of Genesis. One of the interesting things seen in this chapter is that, before they sinned, Adam had a name but he simply called the "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" WOMAN. (Gen. 2:23). After they sinned and was told by God that the woman would have "sorrow" in conception and Adam that he would have to earn his keep through the "sweat of his face" is when Adam named his wife Eve "because she was the mother of all living." (3:20)

That "system" has populated the world from that time on and when mothers follow the wisdom of God, the children benefit and so does the world. That method is seen in the words given us by Solomon where, speaking from God, says: "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Prov. 22:6)

As to the condition of the world today, I’m of the opinion that too many mothers have abdicated their responsibilities in regards to "training" their children in the way they "should go" and they have gone the way they shouldn’t have. That’s just my opinion though.

Yes, I think that the "system" works best when "godly mothers" are involved. Someone once said that "The mother’s face and voice is the first conscious objects that an infant is aware of, and that she stands in the place of God to the child." There’s a passage in Isaiah 66, verse 13 that goes right well with that statement. Notice there these words by God: "As a mother comforteth, so will I comfort you..." Doesn’t that supply us with a great picture of how much God loves us and cares for us? We’re His children.

For our last look at mothers in the Bible, think of the horrible scene on the Hill of Golgotha, outside of Jerusalem. Can you imagine being a mother and watching your son being crucified. I’m sorry, but I can’t. Please read the account given us in John 19:25-30 as I close with some words penned by the poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

                "Even He that died for us upon the cross, in the last hour, in the unutterable
                 agony of death, was mindful of his mother, as if to teach us that this holy
                 love should be our last worldly thought, the last point of earth from which
                 the soul should take its flight for heaven."

Ron Covey

How to be prepared for death

If you've ever read the comic strips, there's a word you may recognize: "Argh!" It usually is uttered by a character that has just done something they wish they hadn't done. Technically it's not a word; it's more likely to be classified as a "guttural", a sound. But it communicates quite effectively. It's also a sound you could have heard me utter early this morning.

Part of my morning routine is to send out a publication called "Daily Focus", designed primarily for members of our church, present or past. I spend several minutes typing in prayer requests, news items, etc. This morning I was about halfway through the composition phase when I accidentally hit the "send" button. "Argh!," I exclaimed. My next impulse was to hit another button to stop the sending process. Alas, there is no such button. There is no return from hitting "send" in email.

Many have had a similar "Argh" experience when they accidentally flushed a wedding ring down their toilet. It's amazing to see how common this phenomenon is; just Google it for yourself. I just learned that the wife of Glen Beck (famous conservative TV commentator) had that happen earlier this year. Occasionally people retrieve jewelry lost in that way, but the "send button" on the commode is generally another example of "no return".

Navigating unfamiliar city streets also presents us with such scenarios. Be sure you want to turn onto that one way street! It may be awhile before you can get turned around in the proper direction.

There's one event in the Bible that can aptly be described as "no return", and that's the unpleasant subject of death. Because it is so unpleasant, some choose not to think of it at all. But that would be like asking your doctor not to give you any bad news. The best hope we have of dealing with bad news is to first know what we're facing.

Hebrews 9:27 is a succinct statement of the truth: "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." Contrary to those who believe in the concept of reincarnation (returning to life multiple times but in different bodies), the Bible affirms we only live on this planet once. Once we exit this life (death), there is no return.

Be sure to notice, however, that death is not the end of our journeys. "... but after this the judgment." Many passages in Scripture speak of Judgment Day. Take 2 Corinthians 5:10, for example: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." No one will evade this appointment.

The Bible also gives us good news regarding Judgment Day. Here's how John stated it: "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so we are in this world" (1 John 4:17). If we are working to model our lives according to the example of Jesus, we can approach these fearful dates (death, judgment) with confidence.

Life is indeed a one-way street, so to speak. Our lives are moving surely toward the exit ramp, and there will be no return. That announcement should not leave us distressed, but determined to make Christ a central part of our lives. In doing so, we'll be ready for the inevitable.

Timothy D. Hall

How mothers can help save their children

THE GIFT - MOTHER'S DAY

Gifts are sometimes not thought out before they are given. A report this past week said that Mother's Day gifts are much harder to find (or purchase) than Father's Day gifts. Harder, in the fact that they take more thought to find an appropriate gift. Another survey said that most people spend between $40 and $100 on Mother's Day gifts, whereas Father's Day gifts are typically between $15 and $25.

Understand I'm not complaining in any way shape or form, I'm just trying to make the point that it's sometimes hard to find the perfect gift. I'm reminded of a gift box we one time received while working as Missionaries in Kenya, East Africa. Some good friends wanted to do something special for us and fixed us up a special box. They wrote us about it and kept check with us to see if we had received it, but wouldn't say what it was. It took over 6 months for the box to arrive (you never know if you will actually receive a box from America or not, but we did.)

When the box arrived, I commented that it looked like an elephant has stepped on it. With great anticipation we opened the box and found a gallon can of Tapioca pudding (one of my favorites) and a bag of Mikesell's Potato Chips (crisps) from our home state in Ohio (one of my wife's favorites) and a couple of bags of chocolate.

Can you imagine a box, six months in transit with a gallon can of Tapioca and a plastic bag of potato chips and chocolate (which had set in the hot sun in a shipping container in the docks in Africa looked like when we opened it? Actually the can made it through pretty well with only some minor rust, the potato chips were now potato dust and crumbs and the chocolate was large lumps (rolled in potato chip dust).

Do you want to guess our reaction? We were thrilled to get a box from home. We enjoyed the stale potato chip crumbs and used some of them in cooking, we ate the chocolate anyway and opened the can and ate the Tapioca pudding. We rejoiced that these dear friends had remembered us in the far away foreign land and had sent their love in the form of a battered box.

All of this is to say, with gifts, it really is the thought that counts! Love is shared, not in things, not from spending money, but in remembering to let the one you love know that you love them!

Mother's, we children and husbands sometimes stumble on that point, but know that you are loved and appreciated for all you were and are in our lives!

Some of the foundation principals in relationships is found in 1 Corinthians 13:7, where we read: "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance". (NLT)

Russ Lawson

Jerusalem Daily News

What Jesus Borrowed by Tom Wacaster In the thirty-three years that our Lord sojourned upon this earth, He never once demonstrated a single shred of materialistic desire. I doubt seriously that He ever scanned the Jerusalem Daily News to see whether the stock market was up or down, called His bank to see how His investments were doing, or worried as to how much inflation might be eating away at His little "nest egg" tucked away in some shady corner of His humble abode. For you see, He possessed none of these. On no occasion do we find that He carried with Him one single farthing. When He was asked about paying tribute to Caesar, His disciples had to bring Him the penny, for He was penniless. His only "purse" was the mouth of a fish that Peter caught, and when they parted His garments they did not discover any coin or notes. On one occasion his disciples encouraged Him to eat, but He said unto them, "I have meat to eat that ye know not..My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to accomplish his wo rk" (John 4:32, 34), and warned all of us, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rush doth consume, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rush doth consume, and where thieves do not break through and steal" (Matt. 6:19-20). He not only preached that message, but lived that message to its fullest extent. Our Lord never owned any property, never built a house, never laid by in store, never had a passbook savings account, never organized a "garage sell," and never placed an ounce of importance on what one might possess in this life. When His life was finished and His course completed, the only thing He could call His own was stripped from His sinless body and gambled away at the foot of the cross by the Roman soldiers while their Master and Creator hung on the cross close by. Having no place to lay His head (Luke 9:58), He found His rest in the homes of those who were gr! acious enough to provide His daily sustenance, and grant Him a place of repose when the day was done. Today Fortune 500 would rank our Lord a failure; Forbes Magazine would not waste paper and ink to mention His name; and few, if any who are enamored with this world's material things would consider His words worth their attention. This they have demonstrated by their rejection of things spiritual in exchange for the glitter of the world. But history will attest that the greatest man that ever walked the face of this earth (if we dare call Him a "man") was the most contented, and the most influential individual who has ever lived. What He needed, the Father supplied; what His heavenly Father did not provide, our Lord did not need. Would that our affluent society would learn that lesson today. He depended upon others to be used as tools in the Father's hand to minister to His need. From the cradle to the grave, never did a man live in such poverty, deprive himself of the things of this world, or depend upon others for his physical well being, as did Jesus of Nazareth. Though He may have borrowed those things He needed from time to time, those who were gracious to "loan" unto Him what they possessed soon learned that their "investment" returned mighty dividends that could not be measured in monetary value. What makes our Lord's poverty even more astonishing is that He chose to live that way. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich" (2 Cor. 8:9). When we consider the life of Jesus we stand amazed at His complete denial of self. He gave up the riches of heaven, came to this earth, took upon Himself the form of a man, and truly demonstrated where the true riches are to be found. I for one am glad that He borrowed those things He needed in this life. In so doing He demonstrated the undeniable truth that it is not things that are important, but one's relationship with the Father in heaven. I do not know who penned the f! ollowing, but it is certainly thought provoking, and a fitting conclusion to this week's article: They borrowed a bed to lay his head When Christ the Lord came down; They borrowed the ass in the mountain pass For him to ride to town; But the crown that he wore and the cross that he bore Were his own - the cross was his own! He borrowed the bread when the crowd He fed On the grassy mountainside; He borrowed the dish of broken fish With which he was satisfied; But the crown that he wore and the cross that he bore Were his own - the cross was his own! He borrowed the ship in which to sit To teach the multitude; He borrowed a nest in which to rest - He had never a home so rude; But the crown that he wore and the cross that he bore Were his own - the cross was his own! He borrowed a room on his way to the tomb The Passover Lamb to eat; They borrowed a cave for him a grave; They borrowed a winding sheet; But the crown that he wore and the cross that he bore Were his own - the cross was his own! [this article was first written in 2007 and updated for this week's 'Tom's Pen]

 

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me

"The GREYHOUND had been thrashing about in the north Atlantic storm for over a week. Its canvas sails were ripped, and the wood on one side of the ship had been torn away and splintered. The sailors had little hope of survival, but they manually worked the pumps, trying to keep the vessel afloat. On the eleventh day of the storm, sailor John Newton was too exhausted to pump, so he was tied to the helm and tried to hold the ship to its course. From one o'clock until midnight he was at the helm.

With the storm raging fiercely, Newton had time to think. His life seemed as ruined and wrecked as the battered ship he was trying to steer through the storm. Since the age of eleven he had lived a life at sea. Sailors were not noted for the refinement of their manners, but Newton had a reputation for profanity, coarseness, and debauchery which even shocked many a sailor." - The Reformed Reader

John Newton survived that day at the helm.  That day, March 21, 1748, was a turning point in his life.  It was a day that he would never forget, for he believed that "On that day the Lord sent from on high and delivered me out of deep waters."  On that day he began to turn to the Christ that he had ignored since childhood when his mother had tried to teach him the Scriptures.

Newton went on to preach about the GRACE  that had lifted him out of despair, and he wrote the words of the beloved hymn:

"Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see."

Newton lived to be eighty-two years old and continued to preach until his health would no longer allow it.  Even then, Newton never ceased to be amazed by God's grace and told his friends, "My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior."

"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." - the Apostle Paul, 1 Timothy 1:15

That's WONDERFUL NEWS, for we are ALL sinners, doomed to destruction (Romans 3:23; 6:23).  But God loves us so much that He gave His Son Jesus to die on the cross to pay the price for our redemption from sin (Ephesians 1:7).

We receive God's amazing grace when we... place our faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from our sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38).  We continue to be cleansed from our sins as we continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).

Stan Mitchell has written: "Dying for the sins of the world is not an every day event. . It was stunning, unexpected and offered to those who were unworthy.  In a word, it was nothing less than AMAZING."

Won't YOU receive the Amazing Grace of God through your trusting obedience?
 
David Sargent

 

Reaching people with the gospel of Christ

New Ideas!

 

New Ideas always are a problem, whether in our homes or in our churches. Understand I am someone who is very skeptical about change, but I embrace it when I am convinced it is (1) in keeping with the guidelines found in God's Word and (2) it will really benefit God's Church.

 

Not all ideas are good ideas, just because they are new, nor are they of necessity bad, just because they are new. I got a chuckle out of the following story about embracing change:

 

 The elderly priest, speaking to the younger priest, said, "It was a good idea to replace the first four pews with plush theater seats. It worked. The front of the church fills first."

 

 The young priest nodded, and the old one continued, "And you told me a little more beat to the music would bring young people back to church, so I supported you when you brought in that rock' n' roll gospel choir. We are packed to the balcony."

 

"Thank you, Father," answered the young priest, "I am pleased you are open to the new ideas of youth." "However," said the elderly priest, "I'm afraid you've gone too far with the drive-through confessional."

 

"But, Father," protested the young priest, "my confessions have nearly doubled since I began that!"

 

"I know, son," replied the old man, "but that flashing neon sign, 'Toot 'n' Tell or Go to Hell,' is just not staying on the church roof."

 

It is a blessing for us that God did not give us directions on everything we do. Yes, he did allow us some leeway on how we do some things. I'm not saying that we change the doctrine of the church or God's plan of Salvation, or our worship as outlined in God's Word. But we shouldn't be afraid to embrace new ways of doing the old things.

 

I know that some of us don't like change, yet there are some who like new things and change. There is nothing wrong with that. God made us different. If you don't like change I'm sorry, but the world in which we live is constantly changing.

 

We continue to try and improve our facilities; we are trying to complement our worship and bible study periods with a new sound system and coming soon a new projector system. A new way of presenting the message, but we are not changing the message. I can remember preachers hanging white sheets behind the pulpit with a bible message printed on it, we don't do that anymore. We found a better way. In years past we often knocked doors and passed out flyers about our church. Now we mail bible study material and information about our church into 2,000 homes around our building. We have a website with sermons you can listen to in your own home. We have email contacts, etc. in other words, we have changed, but the message hasn't and I like that! I kind of even like the idea of the flashing neon sign on top of the building.. Well, maybe even I'm not quite ready for that much change.

 

Russ Lawson

 

Death Valley Dreamlapse 2

 

I am fascinated by time-lapse photography. In case you're not familiar with the concept, think of it as frame-by-frame movies with a lapse of time between each frame. The lapse may be seconds, minutes or even days. The effect is to see things happen faster than in real time.

 

An excellent example was presented to me just this morning. Entitled "Death Valley Dreamlapse 2", the footage shows the movement of stars in the desert sky, something one would not discern with the naked eye. Cloud movement is also enhanced, though we can see the clouds moving on our own. Overall, it makes for an enthralling 3-minute video. (You can see it at http://vimeo.com/65008584#)

 

A different type of time-lapse is to show the development of people over a period of time. One individual documented the changes in their daughter by taking still photos over a four-year period and blending them together. About 40 photos per year were used, and the four years were shown in a 30-second video. It's quite a compelling view; you can see it at http://vimeo.com/991627.

 

You don't have to produce time-lapse sequences to see changes over time. I can easily know that changes have taken place in my appearance over time just by looking at my high school yearbook! But by using this amazing technique we are impressed by what actually happens around us all the time. Change is a constant in life.

 

Not everything changes, however. You may doubt the truthfulness of that claim, for everything seems to change. Shiny new cars will eventually fade and rust; impressive mansions will deteriorate over time; even mountains erode. But I'll state it again: not everything changes.

 

Malachi 3:6 presents the truth behind this claim: "For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob." God does not change. If it were possible (it isn't possible, but let's just imagine) for a camera to be focused on God and His image snapped over decades-long lapses of time - God would look the same today as He did 5,000 years ago. Amazing!

 

Is this claim trivial or important? Important, of course, because it tells us that God will stand the test of time. In 1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote "The Great Stoneface", based on a granite mountain formation in New Hampshire known as "The Old Man of the Mountains". On May 3, 2003 that edifice collapsed and is no more. God, however, will never collapse. Granite will fail; God will not.

 

This also leads us to this observation: "The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations" (Psalm 33:11). Society is in a state of constant flux; things we once depended on may one day no longer be with us. But the truth God has revealed in His word will continue unchanged - until He changes it. Until that day, we rest our faith on His holy word, the Bible.

 

Because of this monumental truth that God does not change (see also Hebrews 1:11,12), we can live by this truth: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). "In God we trust" - the coins and bills that bear those words begin wearing out as they leave the mint, but the truth stated by those words will never fail. God suffers not at all from elapsed time!

 

Timothy D. Hall