by | January 8, 2014 · 11:08 am

Vaccines and Veterans

Vaccines

Have you ever gotten a flu shot (vaccine)? I got one, yesterday. So far I have not come down with any complications, only a slightly sore shoulder. Will I die? Eventually, I suppose, but probably not from the vaccine.

I have had other vaccines, too. I’ve been vaccinated against polio, the mumps, whooping cough, tetanus, and many more I can’t think of right now. What would our world be like had there never been any? Scary to think about, isn’t it?

A Needed Vaccine

However, there is a disease which sadly affects billions of people worldwide, causing pain, suffering, and even death, for which there IS a vaccine, but few will accept it.

Like other vaccines, including the flu shot I received, there are a lot of people who think the vaccine is dangerous and can cause more harm than good, so they are very vocal in their opposition. Their opposition, which includes statistics, testimonials, and even mockery causes many to turn away from much needed relief.

What is the disease? It goes by several names:

  • Stupidity
  • Foolishness
  • Ignorance

What is the vaccine? Taken in any amount, the book of Proverbs (in the Bible) is capable of rooting out and eliminating the stupidity virus. And here’s the best part – NO needles!

The Veteran

But while I was at the pharmacy, I saw an old man wearing a hat that said, “WWII Veteran”. I decided to talk with him, to find out a little about him, and to thank him for his service.

veteranGeorge Palmer was his name. He joined the Navy in 1940 when he was 18. His first duty station was aboard the USS Texas, which is currently the last surviving battleship from the super dreadnought days of WWI. He was on the Texas when the War broke out and told me how he remembered being called to battle stations when the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor came.

Mr. Palmer later served on several other ships, including two destroyers, one of which was sunk underneath him. He saw naval conflict in both the Atlantic and Pacific, staying in the navy until 1946. He said, “The good Lord was watching over me.”

When I asked if I could have my picture taken with him, he smiled and graciously approved. When I pulled out my iPhone, he said, “Isn’t that amazing?! That’s just amazing!”

No, Mr. Palmer, it’s men like you that are amazing. Thank you for your service.

My Fear

Aside from needles, and getting too close to Miley Cyrus, my fear is that the world is creeping closer and closer to another conflict, but without the men and women of “the greatest generation” to bail us out.

We used to be a nation with a moral compass that set our course of action. Now we are a pluralistic, even godless nation with no sense of purpose, no sense of right and wrong, and no moral basis on which to stand against Tyranny in any form.

My fear is that the last of the vaccinated generation will soon be gone, and then the virus will consume us all. God help us.

Click here for a link to the USS TEXAS

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by | January 6, 2014 · 1:24 am

Walk Slowly (another Monday Monkey episode!)

Surely you have seen it…the heroes of a movie walking slowly toward the screen.

Remember The Right Stuff? Remember how the astronauts, wearing their space suits, walked slowly through the steam?

Remember the scene in the 2005 movie Kicking and Screaming where Will Ferrell and his young soccer team, covered in blood after a day at the butcher shop, walked onto the field? They walked slowly, of course, and scared the other team into forfeiting.

Whenever want to make an on-screen impression that says, “I’m bad and I mean business,” walk toward the camera in slow motion. It never fails.

Oh! I almost forgot! You’ve also got to have some cool music with some punch and a good bass riff as a background track. Fortunately for me, iMovie had one I could use 😉

That’s why today’s Monday Monkey, the 1st one of 2014, kicks “beehind” (Baptist dirty word) and takes names.

Walk Slowly

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by | January 2, 2014 · 11:42 am

Thursday Thoughts

Today is January 2 (or 2 January, if you prefer), 2014. It is a cold, rainy day in Chattanooga, Tennessee, yet I have already been out and walked a mile and a half before my first cup of coffee. No resolutions – just doing what needs to be done.

Thursdays

Today is also Thursday…the day after Wednesday…the day before Friday…but I am not going to break out into a Rebecca Black song (although I know you want me to). No, I am going to keep my singing to myself; only my written voice will be heard.

Thursday is a day that is not quite the end of the week, but on the downhill slide from Wednesday, the middle of the week. Nothing much happens on Thursday, does it? Thursday feels like a “filler” used to make the week complete.

New Stuff

So, since it’s been a long while since I started any new series of posts, I figure why not make Thursday my random thought day? Why not make Thursday – that innocuous, boring, non-essential filler – the day when I speak my mind about whatever has been in the news that week and tick off a whole bunch of liberals? Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

Why don’t we start with some random thoughts about family?

  • Carlos and Rebecca (my sister) Gomes

    Carlos and Rebecca (my sister) Gomes

    My sister (yes, I have a sister) lives in Germany and is married to a German. Therefore, I have a German brother-in-law, which is strange to think about in the light of the memory that I used to pretend to fight Germans while playing “army” as a child. I wonder what he thinks of George S. Patton?

  • One of my daughters is going to college (away from home) next year, and that leaves me in a perpetual bad mood.
  • All of my daughters like boys – which is good – but it makes my perpetually bad mood more dangerous, especially when they start talking about invitations and cake.

Here are some thoughts of mine regarding new laws that go into effect this week:

  • real light bulbDoing away with incandescent light bulbs is completely asinine.
  • Allowing boys and girls in California to choose which restrooms and locker rooms they wish to use is a recipe for sexual disaster and evidence that a perverted, sick, debauched spirit is behind an agenda to destroy the fabric of moral society. And if it is now law in California, don’t think it won’t be proposed in your own state.
  • A couple of states have now legalized the recreational use of marijuana. Now all the potheads can pack up and move from Tennessee! If we could only get Washington and Oregon to legalize crack cocaine and Meth, our whole drug-using community would head west!
  • I have not purchased Obamacare.

Books

I am going to try to read more this year, and one book that I have already started and will finish before the end of next week is The Measure of Our Success: An Impassioned Plea to Pastors (by Shawn Lovejoy). My wife saw this book on the shelf in a discount store. It only cost $5, so if it is not all that great I won’t be out much. However, from what I have already read, the author makes some painful and convicting observations.

the measure of our successThe idea of the book is that we pastors need to quit gauging our success by anything or anyone other than what God has planned for our particular ministries. Here’s an intriguing quote from page 23: “I am more convinced than ever before that most churches are not supposed to be large.” What do you think about that?

Enough for Today

Well, I could keep going and going and going, but I am already up to 602 words, and hardly anyone will read a blog post this long unless they are stalkers, true fans, or looking for something incriminating.

Check back next Thursday, if not before, to see what’s on my mind (or driving me crazy). 

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by | January 1, 2014 · 12:01 am

Happy 2014!

I am sure you have heard it before now, but happy new year!

2013 was tough, but 2014 is a whole new ball game. So, let’s get out on the field and go for the goal.

God bless each of you, even those who disagree with me. May you have an ever-growing sense His presence.

Try not to have too much fun as you party. Just kidding. Or, maybe not (I’m still recovering, you know).

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by | December 30, 2013 · 12:10 am

My Shepherd Will Lead

I wish I could tell you how difficult this last year has been, but I wouldn’t want to depress you. I mean, unless you are covered by some wonderful insurance plan that Obama has not already cancelled (because all plans but his are worthless), you probably can’t afford the anti-depressants and counseling.

Oh, sure, it hasn’t been all bad. And, if I were to put things in perspective, compared to others around the world my circumstances have been a walk in the park. But let me tell you, it’s been a long walk in a park that needs some serious repair.

So, with that being said, I would like to share with you the message I preached on the morning of December 29, the last Sunday in 2013. As late as two nights earlier I was in a real battle, but God picked me up and gave me the strength to throw it right back in the Devil’s face. I hope what you hear will be an encouragement to you as we face 2014.

Psalm 23 is often referred to as the Shepherd'...

Psalm 23 is often referred to as the Shepherd’s psalm. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Psalm 23 tells of the Shepherd, my Shepherd, who will lead me, provide for me, protect me, encourage me, and take me through the darkest valleys until that blessed day when I reach home. The Lord is my Shepherd…is He yours?

Psalm 23 – My Shepherd

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by | December 26, 2013 · 11:30 am

After-Christmas Gifts

“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” – Matthew 2:11

Late-Comers

Part of the Christmas story can be found in the book of Matthew, the first book in the New Testament. There, in chapter two, we read of several wise men, Magi, who followed the star till it rested over the place where the young Jesus was living.

But what most people fail to notice is that only the shepherds came to visit Jesus while he was still a baby in a manger. The Magi came later, once they were living “in the house” and Jesus was a “young child.” And, based on Herod’s decree that all male children 2 years old and younger should be killed (Matt. 2:16), Jesus could have been a toddler up and walking.

Simply put, generally ever manger scene protested against by atheists is not a faithful representation of the Christmas story. How ironic is that? But I digress…

The Gifts

When the Magi came to Bethlehem in search of “he that is born King of the Jews” (Matt. 2:2), they brought with them three very rare and valuable gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They were not random gifts, but ones with specific political, spiritual, and practical importance; they were meant to recognize a literal, earthly, but also heavenly King.

gold frankincense and myrrhGold was a universally recognized precious metal, symbolic of all wealth. Frankincense was a substance primarily used as incense, but also mixed with other substances to create the holy anointing oil placed on high priests and kings. Myrrh was a substance used for things ranging all the way from cosmetics and antiseptics, to perfuming the living and embalming the dead.

According to Matthew 2:11, the Magi fell down before Jesus, which would have been an appropriate response when in the presence of royalty (and these men knew the difference). But the wise men did more than fall prostrate before royalty, they “worshiped him.”  This young king was more than just “King of the Jews,” but the long-promised Messiah, and they offered their gift to the Son of God.

Are You Wise?

As long as I can remember there have been sermons preached during and before Christmas entitled, “Wise Men Still Seek Him.” The sermons focus primarily on the seeking leading up to Christmas, but rarely, if ever, on the gifts given after the celebration is over. But today is different.

Today, I am going to ask you to consider three gifts we should give, now that the birthday celebration is over.

  • Gold. Gold represented wealth. In your worship of the King, will you give Him your wealth? In reality, God owns everything, including everything He loans unto you. But with your heart, are you willing to lay everything that is most valuable to you at His feet?
  • Frankincense. Frankincense represented worship. Would you be willing to fall down before Jesus, or do you hold back some of your Frankincense in reserve? Are there idols in your life – people or things – for which you reserve a little of that anointing oil, making those things lords of your life? Would you be willing to make Jesus Lord of all? Will you worship him without reservation?
  • Myrrh. Myrrh was symbolic of the beauty of life, from beginning to end. Would you give to Jesus everything that makes you happy? Everything that brings you hope? Everything that is sweet-smelling? Everything that hides your faults and failures, disguising your true self? Would you give Jesus your life? He can do more with it than you can do on your own.

Returns

For several days after Christmas people will stand in line to return and/or exchange unwanted gifts. Many will trade what others gave them for something they want more. Others will just ask for a refund or in-store credit.

Rest assured that when you give your gifts to Jesus, he will not return them, exchange them, or re-gift them next year. But will you, once you realize what you’ve given, want to take something back?

Don’t wait for a New Year’s resolution. Now that Christmas is over, be like the Magi and leave everything at Jesus’ feet, then “depart…another way.” Once you give Jesus those three gifts, you’ll never be the same.

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by | December 19, 2013 · 10:10 am

Addressing the Phil Robertson Story

I am not going to take a lot of time to address this story, especially when time is so short and the wife has a long list for me to accomplish before Christmas. However, I feel it is imperative that I at least say something.

Last night I spoke to my congregation about John the Baptist from Luke 1:17, which says:

“And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Before the well-known and beloved Luke 2 story that tells of the shepherds in the field and the birth of Jesus, Luke tells us of one who was to come before in the spirit of Elijah, preaching truth, not holding anything back, in order to prepare the people for the coming Messiah. John the Baptist was this man, the last of the Old Testament prophets, full of boldness and fire.

Therefore, it may only be a coincidence, but I find it completely ironic that just before Christmas, when our hearts should be prepared to celebrate the coming of God to earth in human flesh, we have a man (as John MacArthur described John the Baptist) “fearlessly and faithfully proclaim[ing] divine truth in the face of ruthless opposition.” And they’re wanting his head. His name is Phil Robertson.

Phil Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” fame, a committed Christian, is being blasted and hung out to dry by the media, vehemently attacked by the gay and lesbian groups, and treated like an ugly step-child by many in the church who wish to coddle the liberal left. But what I see in Phil Robertson is the rare spirit of Elijah that points its finger in the face of a degenerate culture and says, “thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD” (1 Kings 21:20).

The gay and lesbian advocacy group (GLAAD) has come out and said, “Phil and his family claim to be Christian, but Phil’s lies about an entire community fly in the face of what true Christians believe…” But it is obvious that GLAAD has no idea what “true Christians” believe, nor do they understand the type of people Jesus himself held in high esteem, for it was John the Baptist of whom Jesus commented: “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist…” (Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28).

So, if Jesus thought that much of John the Baptist, it would be safe to assume that Jesus, the loving Savior of the world, would have approved of John’s words. What then were some of the things John said?

“ In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” – Matthew 3:1-2

“For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.” – Mark 6:17-18

John was bold enough, just like Elijah before him, to declare that there is such a thing as sexual sin, to say it to the face of power, and to do it even in the face of execution. What did Phil Robertson say?

(Paraphrasing 1 Corinthians 6:9-10) “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers…they won’t inherit the kingdom of God.”

Sounds like old Phil is more in line with Elijah, John the Baptist, Paul the Apostle, and Jesus Christ than GLAAD would like to admit. And if Phil Robertson must suffer persecution because of his personal beliefs, he is better off in the long run, for sure.

“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” – Matthew 5:11-12 KJV

His reward will far exceed any paycheck Ahab&E is willing to pay. 

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by | December 16, 2013 · 1:21 am

Monday Monkey (The Least of These)

He’s Alive!

Well, not exactly, but you know what I mean. Mr. Monkey (a.k.a. Buddy) is back with a new video for Christmas. And this time he actually talks! Sorta.

Mr. Monkey has been resting for a few months on my suit rack, allowing my brain to regrow some creative neurons. I hope you think the wait was worth it.

Christmas Spirit

Christmas is the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, the Savior of the world, so what better way to express the “spirit” of Christmas than by showing compassion to those in need? God, in His mercy and grace, gave sinful man the most precious gift He could give, His Son. Therefore, in all our giving, shouldn’t our gifts mirror the first Gift?

We should keep in mind that the whole reason Jesus came was to save the lost (Luke 19:10). He came to the lowly and outcast, the poor and downtrodden (Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:18). At the very least, if we are to say we have the “spirit of Christmas,” shouldn’t we be seeking out those in need, not heaping gifts upon gifts on top of already over-blessed children?

This year, make an effort to show grace and compassion to someone outside of your family, someone in need, and especially someone in need of love. After all, isn’t that the real message of Christmas? When you do, keep in mind, it might be Jesus your giving to (Matt. 25:40).

“The Least of These”

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by | December 15, 2013 · 4:00 am

Till the Storm Passes By (Psa. 57)

The last post I wrote had to do with discouragement, being down, and the hope that can be found in the Lord. I also shared with you one of my favorite passages, Psalm 57:1-2

No, this is not my church, but a pipe organ would be nice, eh?

No, this is not my church, but a pipe organ would be nice, don’t you think?

Today I am going to share with you another recording of me preaching, and this time it will be based on Psalm 57:1-2. It is an edited version of the message that will air later today on the radio. I hope it will be a blessing and an encouragement to you, especially if you can’t pick up the radio station.

PSALM 57 – “Till the Storm Passes By”

If you do find this sermon to be encouraging, please pass it on to someone else.

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by | December 12, 2013 · 6:00 am

Just a Thought

This might be a little out of the ordinary, friends, but I feel led to do something a little different for you today (I can do that).

Are you discouraged? Do you feel like the world is coming down around you? Do you feel like there’s no one you can talk to, no one who can understand?

Are you under attack? Are people out to get you? Do you have people around you that would rather you fail than succeed?

Do you need a place to hide? Do you feel like crawling up into a little ball and hiding in a corner, away from the noise and confusion, away from the messes you may or may not have created?

Believe it or not, I have felt every bit of that at one point or another. And, I regularly have people wishing they could have my head (and if I were in some countries it might have already happened).

But not too long ago, when I was under so much stress and burdened with worry and sorrow, God showed me two verses from Psalms, chapter 57…

“[1] Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. [2] I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.” 

Whatever you are going through right now, know that you can cry to God, and He will hear. Just hold on until “these calamities” pass over, till the storm passes by. Be humble and trust in the One who can do all things.

Many times Satan whispered, “There is no need to try, for there’s no end of sorrow; there’s no hope by and by.” But I know thou art with me, and tomorrow I’ll rise, where the storms never darken the skies.

Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more, till the clouds roll forever from the sky, hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand! Keep me safe, till the storm passes by.

– Mosie Lister (“Till the Storm Passes By”)

If this has spoken to you, I’d love to hear about! Leave a comment below.

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