Memorial Day

I want to share a composition of prayer with y’all this day. It comes from an interview posted in the American Family Association Journal (afajournal.org) July/August 2014 issue, “A prayer for all seasons” by Ed Vitagliano.

The American Prayer by Lt. Col Courtney L.D. Rogers (retired), Tennessee Air National Guard ...Dear Lord, We are here today to praise and glorify Your name. We thank You for the blessings You have given us, for the privilege of living in a nation that is still free to worship You in the open. We thank You for our beloved brothers and sisters in arms, who have sacrificed their lives in answer to this nation’s call, for the defense of our freedom. Lord we pray for those that are serving in harm’s way even now, all over the world. We pray You give them courage when they know fear, strength when they can go no further, clarity of vision and thought when they are enveloped by the fog of war, and comfort during those darkest times, the quiet pauses between the storms. We pray that their sacrifices are not in vain, lost to a godless and apathetic nation, for it has been declared to the world, by our own leadership, that we are no longer a Christian nation. Lord, we confess, that through the decades of our lives, we have watched as our nation was being pulled further and further away from You, and we remained silent. We didn’t want to be labeled as closed-minded. We didn’t want to be called old-fashioned. So today, Lord, we also pray for ourselves, for each other, and for all Christians here in these United States. We pray that we all find the courage, commitment and resolve to offer our time, our resources, our leadership and our lives, to answer Your call: “Restore Me. Restore Me in your hearts. Restore Me in your homes. Restore Me in your schools and at work. Restore Me in your city halls and state capitols. Restore Me in your Supreme Court. Restore Me in the Halls of Congress, the Senate and the House. Restore Me in the White House itself.” Lord, we know that without You as our guide and counselor, Our nation will never be as strong as it once was, Our people will never be as free as they once were. So as was told to King Solomon, Lord we humble ourselves before You and ask for Your intervention to help heal this nation, and to protect the Constitution that we are bound to defend. For we also know that none of the blood shed by our military brethren, past, present or future, could ever buy the freedom purchased by the blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ. And we thank You, Lord, for Your words of encouragement, left to us through the Apostle Paul. “If God is for us, then who can be against us?” If God is for us, then we will prevail. If God is for us, then we need only act according to Your will. And, Lord, today we understand that sometimes the best way to follow You is to stand up and lead. We will be silent no more. Amen.

[John 15:9-17] “...Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” On Sunday’s, Christian’s gather to remember the One who taught us to sacrifice for others. Jesus lived a life of service, spending his time on earth doing good (Acts 10:34-38), teaching truth (John 8:31-32), and ultimately giving his perfect life as an atonement for our sins (John 10:17-19). There are many memorials man observes throughout his days, but there is none so important as the one commanded by God: the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 6:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32). Every first day of the week is Memorial Day for Christian’s as we remember the sacrifice of life by Jesus, once for all.

Only God Can Give It Life

One day God was approached by a group of scientists. A spokesperson for the group said, “Listen God, we’ve decided that mankind doesn’t need you anymore. These days we can clone people, transplant organs, genetically modify just about anything to improve on what you made and do all sorts of things that used to be considered miraculous.” God replied, “Don’t need me huh? How about we put your theory to the test. Why don’t we have a competition to see who can make the better human being, say, a male human being?” God also declared they should do it like he did in the good old days when he created Adam. The group of scientists talked it over and concluded they too could do it the “old fashion” way.  “Fine,” says the scientist spokesperson. And so the scientists went about collecting all the things they were going to need to make the male human-being. As one scientist bends down to scoop up a handful of dirt for the project God objects, “Whoa!” says God, waving his hands back and forth and shaking his head in disapproval. “Not so fast! You get your own dirt!” I read an article not long ago about another team of scientists that attempted to construct a kernel of corn. They had analyzed an actual kernel of corn and broken it down to its molecular makeup and had determined exactly what it was made of. Then, using the same “materials” they constructed an exact replica of the kernel of corn. When they planted it, however, it didn’t grow. You see, even though they could duplicate the physical makeup of the seed, they couldn’t create the germ of life. Ironically this experiment probably cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, when God could give them a kernel of corn for free.

[Genesis 1:11-12] It is amazing how God puts life in each seed and how, when the conditions are right, that seed grows to produce a plant that will bear even more seeds (Matthew 13:3-8). As the old saying goes: you can count the number of seeds in an apple, but you cannot count the number of apples in a seed! One seed brings forth amazing things when God is involved. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul touched on some important points concerning what we know today as annual plants – and this information is related to our salvation. “But someone may ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?’ How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just the seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as He has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.” (1 Corinthians 15:35-38) In this passage, it is revealed that the plant must die to produce the seed that will bring new life. We also see that seed must be sown (planted) to produce. And finally it is important to note that seeds do not directly grow from the seed that is planted, but a plant grows from the seed. Now, let’s make the spiritual application for us today. Just as only God can make a seed grow, so He is the only one who can give us true life. Men have developed many plans of salvation, but when “planted” they will not grow into eternal life. We must give up on trying to make salvation for ourselves and accept God’s. When we die to self (are “planted”) in faith and baptism, God gives us a new life (Romans 6:1-7). Then when we are “planted” in faithful death, and on that final day God will raise us up with new bodies fit for heaven (1 Corinthians 15:42-57). Just be the submissive seed and let God be God and He will grow you into something beautiful – in this life and the next. Still think we don’t need God?

A Mother's Love

Dear Mom, I was going to give you an all-expense-paid, first class trip to Hawaii for Mother’s Day, but I knew how much you would miss me, and decided I just couldn’t stand to put you through that kind of agony. Love, Your Son. Yeh, I don’t have that kind of money either – I guess it’s one of those situations where “It’s the thought that counts.” 

“Somebody” said a mother is an unskilled laborer; “Somebody” never gave a squirmy infant a bath! “Somebody” said you know how to be a mother by instinct; “Somebody” never took a three-year-old shopping! “Somebody” said that “good” mothers never yell at their kids; “Somebody’s” child never sent a baseball through a neighbor’s picture window! “Somebody” said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in books; “Somebody” never had a child stuff beans in her nose! “Somebody” said a mother always adores her children; “Somebody” never tried to comfort a colicky baby at 3 a.m.! “Somebody” said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back; “Somebody” never organized seven giggling Brownies into a cookie-selling brigade! “Somebody” said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery; “Somebody” never watched her “baby” get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten! “Somebody” said your mother knows you love her, so you don’t have to tell her; “Somebody” isn’t a mother!

[Proverbs 31:25-31] “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.’ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.” The Bible gives many comparisons of God’s constant care for His children. In Psalm 103 and in Proverbs 3, God is depicted as a concerned and disciplining father. Isaiah 27 mentions God as a gardener tending His garden. And in the 23rd Psalm, we read of God as a shepherd. When God, through Isaiah, illustrated how great His love was for Israel, He likened it to the love of a mother for her child: “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you...” (Isaiah 66:13). Truly, there is nothing more natural than for a mother to cherish, care for, and comfort her child. Note, for example: • The unconditional love mothers demonstrate for their children is probably the closest thing on earth to His incredible love for us. • The gentle tenderness a mother expresses in handling her newborn child is so reminiscent of the tender loving care God promises to all the faithful. • The sincere sympathy mothers show for hurt elbows and hurt hearts is very much like the heart-felt compassion God feels and gives to each of us. • The sacrifice and unselfishness mothers exhibit time and time again toward their children reminds us of how benevolent and generous God has been to you and me. • The soft special kisses and the always sweet smiles that mothers so generously give can help us to understand and appreciate the joy God has for us now and forevermore. Just watch a mother with her child sometime. Take note of the sacrifice, dedication, care, tenderness, love, comfort, and joy she exhibits. Then remember that this is the way God loves us. So thank you, mothers, for giving us a glimpse of God’s immense love! Amen!

A Call For Workers

The first English settlement in America was in Jamestown. Barely a year old, the settlement found itself in serious trouble. A primary part of the problem was that the colony was made up of “gentleman adventurers.” Captain John Smith, the leader of the settlement, understood the problem and sent an urgent message back to his sponsors declaring, “Send me some men!” Smith needed carpenters, blacksmiths and masons. He explained that he had rather have a handful of those men, than a thousand of the ones that he presently had. The ship Good Speed readily brought six such workmen to Jamestown. Within three weeks, they had cleared a plot and erected a furnace. Furthermore, they had set up a soap works and a sawmill. A little over a month after the workman arrived, the colonists were inspired by their example and began working also. (I think I can hear the same urgent message coming from the Oval Office today. I’m just saying...)

[Matthew 25:14-30] Around 455 BC, Nehemiah led the third and final wave of exiles back to Jerusalem for the purpose of rebuilding its walls. Despite the many attempts made by the opposition to stop their progress, Nehemiah and his counterparts were determined to complete the task at hand. What an amazing story of courage, commitment, unity, and hard work. And nowhere in the book of Nehemiah is this more evident than in the following passage: “So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart” (Nehemiah 4:6). Notice from the text that “WE, (not me) built the wall.” The work of God, past and present, is not about one particular person. Kingdom labor is not about who’s first or who’s greatest! In fact, Jesus said that the greatest in the kingdom are those having a servant mentality (Matthew 23:11).There’s no place in the kingdom of God for a Diotrephean attitude (3 John 9-10). We must remember that we are all in this together! Notice also that the text says, “We BUILT...” Those who returned were required to take an active part in the work. The wall would not have been completed had the people refused to build. To build up the kingdom of God requires active participation from those within it. Those refusing to build will one day answer for their inactivity (Matthew 25:26-30). In addition, notice from the text that, “...the wall was JOINED TOGETHER...” As the wall was coming together, so too were they! They weren’t working against each other, nor were they going in opposite directions. As they worked, they drew closer together (Nehemiah 4:7-23) and that’s how successful works get accomplished. When people are determined to work together instead of against each other, not only will they successfully complete the task, they too will be drawn closer to one other. (Is it any wonder why the founding fathers of our great nation patterned it after the wisdom found in God’s Word? I’m just saying...)

Sadly, many congregations of God’s people, like the Jamestown colony, are in need of men. They have “gentlemen adventurers,” but not skilled men. They have watchers, but not workers. Like John Smith, we need to send out an urgent call for laborers (Matthew 9:37-38). We need men who will labor together with God (1 Corinthians 3:9). We need elders, preachers, deacons, Bible class teachers, and soul winners. Like Ezekiel, we need men who will, “...build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land...” (Ezekiel 22:30). Like Jeremiah, we need, “...but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth...” (Jeremiah 5:1). One servant is worth more than a thousand critics.