Mourning. Stones. Repetitious Prayers. Private Prayer. Chasing The “Good Old” Days. FDR. Exodus 12.

Sunday is "Scripture Day":

March 2, 2012 - “A visit to the house of mourning always teaches wisdom and faithfulness.”

Transcript at: http://www.ucg.org/beyond-today-daily/christian-living/semper-fi

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“Stones”

"Isaiah wrote of an earthly paradise where the predators will live peaceably with lambs and little children, and a place where sickness and death will end. David Archer shares his own story of personal loss at an early age. Dave has hope and confidence that he will see his loved ones again in the Kingdom of God."

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Vain repetitions or heartfelt prayer?

Transcript: 

"[Darris McNeely] Is it the amount of words that we pray or is it the quality of the words that we pray? We're going through a series on prayer here on BT Dailies . We're going through Christ's instructions to pray to His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6. And we've come to the point where Christ warned them against vain repetitions and just babbling on incessantly with words that had no meaning.

[Steve Myers] Christ actually gave a lot of instruction on how to pray. It must've been at the forefront of the disciples' mind at least at one point where they asked Him, "How should we pray?" and He went through quite a bit of instruction about how to pray. And when you get to Matthew 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. See All...,  here's what He told them. He said, "When you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think they will be heard for their many words." So He gets pretty specific there that it really does come down to what we say and not how long we have to say it.

[Darris McNeely] I think Christ is really saying, put your heart into the prayer. To do so means we have to think about it. It's not just a matter of giving a prescribed prayer that has been written out by someone else or going through a repetitive exercise of prayer, which some faiths have with beads or with prayer wheels that just, you know, send off prayers out of a memorized un-heartfelt position. That's not what He was talking about. He says it's not the many words really when it comes down to it; it's the heart and the value that we put into those words that we are understanding.

[Steve Myers] Saying the same things over and over without any thinking behind it, is not helpful. It's not helpful at all. In fact, that word for repetitions is only used right there in the New Testament. That's the only time the word is used and it really gets down to saying the same things, babbling on without really having your mind engaged. And so God wants a relationship with us. He doesn't want to just hear empty words.

[Darris McNeely] You can imagine some of Christ's hearers probably thinking about the story from the Old Testament of Elijah confronting the prophets of Baal, where they just went on and on and on with many, many words for hours on end in their prayers to Baal. And Elijah said, "Look, it's not doing you any good." And in a very brief prayer he brought down fire from heaven to not only consume the offering, but the priests themselves:   (1 Kings 18:25-40 See All...).  I can well imagine the disciples thinking about that and realizing that it's the quality, not the quantity.

[Steve Myers] And so be specific with your prayers, not just vain repetitions, useless words that go on and on. Make contact with your heavenly Father and draw close to Him.

[Darris McNeely] Put your heart into it.

From: http://www.ucg.org/beyond-today-daily/christian-living/teach-us-pray-part-3

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Private or public prayer - what did Jesus say?

"Now Christ has focused on not being a hypocrite and He's also focused on when we pray going into a secret place. These are some of the preludes to deeper aspects of prayer."   Transcript at: http://www.ucg.org/beyond-today-daily/christian-living/teach-us-pray-part-2

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None Wholly Destitute

"Human life is precious. We differ in abilities, talents, intelligence levels and opportunity to develop our various gifts, but just as no person is pure genius, so too no person is wholly destitute of genius. The Bible refers to the "least" as though they are of great worth. God is looking for those who are lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29). Isaiah describes the might of God and then states that He will look on anyone who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at His word (Isaiah 66:2).

One would think that the wise of this world would realize how God sees things and be sure they fit into His description of one who is precious in His sight.

However, the mighty, rich and powerful of this world do not seem to think they need God as much as the poor and lowly. Everything about us is known to God and the great equalizer is that He understands our innermost drives and thoughts. Therefore He regards slave or owner, man and woman, the small and the great with equal regard. None are wholly destitute in the eyes of God, and often those who seem to have less really have more." From: http://www.ucg.org/this-is-the-way/none-wholly-destitute/

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Today's’ program on WGN:

Chasing the “Good Old” Days:

“Nostalgia may be comforting but can it rob you of the joy of your present life and the hope God has for your future?”

Transcript at: http://www.ucg.org/beyond-today-program/christian-living/chasing-good-old-days

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On This Day:

FDR inaugurated, Mar 4, 1933:

“On March 4, 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd president of the United States. In his famous inaugural address, delivered outside the east wing of the U.S. Capitol, Roosevelt outlined his "New Deal"--an expansion of the federal government as an instrument of employment opportunity and welfare--and told Americans that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Although it was a rainy day in Washington, and gusts of rain blew over Roosevelt as he spoke, he delivered a speech that radiated optimism and competence, and a broad majority of Americans united behind their new president and his radical economic proposals to lead the nation out of the Great Depression.

Born into an upper-class family in Hyde Park, New York, in 1882, Roosevelt was the fifth cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, who served as the 26th U.S. president from 1901 to 1909. In 1905, Franklin Roosevelt, who was at the time a student at Columbia University Law School, married Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, the niece of Theodore Roosevelt. After three years as a lawyer, he decided to follow his cousin Theodore's lead and sought public office, winning election to the New York State Senate in 1910 as a Democrat. He soon won a reputation as a charismatic politician dedicated to social and economic reform.

Roosevelt supported the progressive New Jersey governor Woodrow Wilson in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, and after Wilson's election in 1912 Roosevelt was appointed assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy, a post that Theodore Roosevelt once held. In 1920, Roosevelt, who had proved himself a gifted administrator, won the Democratic nomination for vice president on a ticket with James Cox. The Democrats lost in a landslide to Republicans Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, and Roosevelt returned to his law practice and undertook several business ventures.

In 1921, he was stricken with poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the crippling disease of polio. He spent several years recovering from what was at first nearly total paralysis, and his wife, Eleanor, kept his name alive in Democratic circles. He never fully covered and was forced to use braces or a wheelchair to move around for the rest of his life.

In 1924, Roosevelt returned to politics when he nominated New York Governor Alfred E. Smith for the presidency with a rousing speech at the Democratic National Convention. In 1928, he again nominated Smith, and the outgoing New York governor urged Roosevelt to run for his gubernatorial seat. Roosevelt campaigned across the state by automobile and was elected even as the state voted for Republican Herbert Hoover in the presidential election.

As governor, Roosevelt worked for tax relief for farmers and in 1930 won a resounding electoral victory just as the economic recession brought on by the October 1929 stock market crash was turning into a major depression. During his second term, Governor Roosevelt mobilized the state government to play an active role in providing relief and spurring economic recovery. His aggressive approach to the economic crisis, coupled with his obvious political abilities, gave him the Democratic presidential nomination in 1932.

Roosevelt had no trouble defeating President Herbert Hoover, who many blamed for the Depression, and the governor carried all but six states. During the next four months, the economy continued to decline, and when Roosevelt took office on March 4, 1933, most banks were closed, farms were suffering, 13 million workers were unemployed, and industrial production stood at just over half its 1929 level.

Aided by a Democratic Congress, Roosevelt took prompt, decisive action, and most of his New Deal proposals, such as the Agricultural Adjustment Act, National Industrial Recovery Act, and creation of the Public Works Administration and Tennessee Valley Authority, were approved within his first 100 days in office. Although criticized by many in the business community, Roosevelt's progressive legislation improved America's economic climate, and in 1936 he easily won reelection.

During his second term, he became increasingly concerned with German and Japanese aggression and so began a long campaign to awaken America from its isolationist slumber. In 1940, with World War II raging in Europe and the Pacific, Roosevelt agreed to run for an unprecedented third term. Reelected by Americans who valued his strong leadership, he proved a highly effective commander in chief after the December 1941 U.S. entrance into the war. Under Roosevelt's guidance, America became, in his own words, the "great arsenal of democracy" and succeeded in shifting the balance of power in World War II firmly in the Allies' favor. In 1944, with the war not yet won, he was reelected to a fourth term.

Three months after his inauguration, while resting at his retreat at Warm Springs, Georgia, Roosevelt died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 63. Following a solemn parade of his coffin through the streets of the nation's capital, his body was buried in a family plot in Hyde Park. Millions of Americans mourned the death of the man who led the United States through two of the greatest crises of the 20th century: the Great Depression and World War II. Roosevelt's unparalleled 13 years as president led to the passing of the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which limited future presidents to a maximum of two consecutive elected terms in office.”

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Yesterday:

I tried to get my Live Writer drafts in this new computer, I really need to start using it. In the end, I just copied and pasted it, and emailed it to myself.  I have my Windows Writer log file in the new computer, but it doesn’t show my drafts.  Then I read somewhere that they will all appear after the first post from the new computer, so here it is.   We’ll see.

It started out a bit chilly, so I had to wear a jacket to church.  The message was about Exodus 12, the origin of the Passover, which will be celebrated all over the world again on the evening of 5th. April.  (Days start on the evening of the day before in the Bible.)  The Lord gave Moses and Aaron in Egypt very strict instructions as to what kind of lamb, when to cook it, how to cook it, what to wear (no bare bellies up to the table), what to do with the blood (put it on the doorposts), and what to do with the left overs, if any. Exodus 12 14: This is the day you are to commemorate; for all the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord – a lasting ordinance”  At midnight the Lord struck down all those who had not done that, so it was called the Passover from that day.