How Do You Raise a King? Treasuring the Words of Jesus. What You Think. Biblical Questions for the President and You. Plane Hits Empire State Building. Worst Earthquake. Remember the Sabbath To Keep It Holy.

 

For “Scripture Sunday”:

“Royal baby family portrait delayed as Prince Philip is too ill to pose for picture with William, Kate and George.” More at: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/prince-george-portrait-delayed-prince-2097790 

How Do You Raise a King?

“The eyes of the world have been turned toward London over the past several days, and we have now been rewarded with the first pictures of the newly named heir to the British throne.

Seeing those pictures of Prince William and Lady Catherine as they emerged from the hospital doorway tenderly holding their infant son, it would have been difficult not to smile. Catherine, like virtually every mother before her, was the picture of motherly love and devotion; and William looked as proud and happy as any father who ever walked the earth—even joking that his son already has more hair than he has.

I could not help but think that, were it not for the hundreds of reporters and well-wishers surrounding them, they looked so much like any other young couple welcoming their firstborn into the world—excited, a little nervous, filled with hopes and dreams of the future they imagine as this miraculous new person grows toward maturity.

It’s hard to believe it was just over 31 years ago that it was Prince Charles and Lady Diana who were coming out the door cradling their firstborn son, William. They were filled with hope and expectation as well, but the three decades that have passed since that day were not exactly what they had imagined. Fifteen years later, at the age of 36, Diana was gone.

For many of you, seeing the young couple with their newborn son probably brought back memories of your own children and what it felt like to see for the first time those tiny faces looking back at you. If so, what do you know now that you wish you had known back then? If you had the opportunity to give one small piece of advice to William and Catherine, what would it be?

Being a parent teaches so many lessons that it would be hard to select just one thing, but I have a suggestion—in the seemingly endless string of 2 a.m. feedings, diapers to change, teething and all the other facets of caring for a young child, don’t lose sight of the fact that time passes far more quickly than we realize. One day it can seem that the future stretches limitlessly before us and that we have almost forever to enjoy our children and teach them the things we want them to know. But the busyness of life can quickly come crowding in. We tell ourselves we’ll do this or that just as soon as … . But before we know it, the opportunities have slipped away.

How many parents have had that lesson driven home when they suddenly realize their children are grown and leaving home and childhood is over?

By its nature, life has time limits, and there is only a certain amount of time to accomplish what is really important. Are you accomplishing what is important in your life, or are your greatest opportunities being consumed by the busyness of busyness?

Does life have a purpose or are we just biochemical anomalies in a meaningless universe?

The good news is that, yes, life has a purpose; and it’s far greater than most people have ever imagined.   Life and time pass far more quickly than we realize. We hope you will invest your time in what really matters.”  From: http://lifehopeandtruth.com/speaking-of/how-do-you-raise-a-king/

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Treasuring the Words of Jesus

An Amazing Fact: “The original biblical town of Bethany, home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, is believed to have been situated on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, less than two miles from Jerusalem. Historians believe the town was the site of an almshouse for the poor. Its name is derived from words in at least two languages that mean “house of the poor” or “house of poverty.”

According to the Bible, Martha welcomed Jesus and His disciples into her house. That apparently launched her into a frenzy of activity. She probably felt a little overwhelmed at having to prepare food and accommodations for all those men. Under the stress of the moment, she accused her sister, Mary, of leaving her to serve alone.
Unlike the “distracted” Martha, Mary realized this was the opportunity of a lifetime. The Messiah, the very Son of God, had come to her house to visit. She could sit at his feet and listen to soul-rousing truths that she had never heard before, at least not the way Jesus told them.
As Jesus made clear to the sisters, while there’s nothing wrong with serving, there is something more vital. What Martha needed, we all need—more attention to the things of God, the things that last forever. We need to sit at the feet of Jesus and treasure His every word.”

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. - Luke 10:38-42

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The Future

“We are builders of tomorrow, and we need not pay a
fortune-teller—a doctor, lawyer, preacher, banker—to
tell us what will happen to us tomorrow.   Nothing will happen. The inevitable will come. We shall inherit the fruits of today’s sowing.”

Galatians 6:7,8  Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸ For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

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What You Think

“A comment we hear from time to time is, "Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

It seems common knowledge that our attitudes have everything to do with how we feel about almost everything. Our company can be good or bad. Our house can be wonderful or woefully lacking. Our friends can be strong or weak. We can have a happy or miserable marriage. Our work place can be tops or a poor outfit, a meal can be flat or tasty. What we think does have a lot to do with how we see things.

Sometimes we have this reversed, assuming that the conditions affect our thinking. There is some merit in that, but most of the time, our attitudes toward something is what makes that item seem good or bad. First impressions are often the guide for how we treat others. It is up to us a good deal of the time to be sure we do not allow a negative or sour attitude to form our opinions. Happiness depends on us as individuals developing a positive attitude. We are to learn to think well of others.” (Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
See All...).  From: http://www.ucg.org/this-is-the-way/what-you-think/

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The program on WGN TV this morning:

Biblical Questions for the President and You

“Given a chance, what would you ask your country’s leader as he or she begins a term in office?”

Transcript at: http://www.ucg.org/beyond-today-program/christian-living/biblical-questions-president-and-you

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On This Day:

Plane crashes into Empire State Building, Jul 28, 1945:

“A United States military plane crashes into the Empire State Building on this day in 1945, killing 14 people. The freak accident was caused by heavy fog.

The B-25 Mitchell bomber, with two pilots and one passenger aboard, was flying from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to LaGuardia Airport in New York City. As it came into the metropolitan area on that Saturday morning, the fog was particularly thick. Air-traffic controllers instructed the plane to fly to Newark Airport instead.

Since it was a Saturday, fewer workers than normal were in the building. Only 11 people in the building were killed, some suffering burns from the fiery aviation fuel and others after being thrown out of the building. All 11 victims were workers from War Relief Services department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference, into the offices of which the plane had crashed. The three people on the plane were also killed.

An 18 foot by 20 foot hole was left in the side of the Empire State Building. Though its structural integrity was not affected, the crash did cause nearly $1 million in damages, about $10.5 million in today's money.”

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Worst modern earthquake, Jul 28, 1976:

“At 3:42 a.m., an earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 magnitude on the Richter scale flattens Tangshan, a Chinese industrial city with a population of about one million people. As almost everyone was asleep in their beds, instead of outside in the relative safety of the streets, the quake was especially costly in terms of human life. An estimated 242,000 people in Tangshan and surrounding areas were killed, making the earthquake one of the deadliest in recorded history, surpassed only by the 300,000 who died in the Calcutta earthquake in 1737, and the 830,000 thought to have perished in China's Shaanxi province in 1556.

Caught between the Indian and Pacific plates, China has been a very active location for earthquakes throughout history. Earthquakes have also played a significant part in China's culture and science, and the Chinese were the first to develop functioning seismometers. The area of northern China hit by the Tangshan earthquake is particularly prone to the westward movement of the Pacific plate.

In the days preceding the earthquake, people began to notice strange phenomena in and around Tangshan. Well-water levels rose and fell. Rats were seen running in panicked packs in broad daylight. Chickens refused to eat. During the evening of July 27 and the early morning hours of July 28, people reported flashes of colored light and roaring fireballs. Still, at 3:42 a.m. most people were sleeping quietly when the earthquake struck. It lasted for 23 seconds and leveled 90 percent of Tangshan's buildings. At least a quarter-of-a-million people were killed and 160,000 others injured. The earthquake came during the heat of midsummer, and many stunned survivors crawled out of their ruined houses naked, covered only in dust and blood. The earthquake started fires and ignited explosives and poisonous gases in Tangshan's factories. Water and electricity were cut off, and rail and road access to the city was destroyed.

The Chinese government was ill-prepared for a disaster of this scale. The day following the quake, helicopters and planes began dropping food and medicine into the city. Some 100,000 soldiers of the People's Liberation Army were ordered to Tangshan, and many had to march on foot from Jinzhou, a distance of more than 180 miles. About 30,000 medical personnel were called in, along with 30,000 construction workers. The Chinese government, boasting self-sufficiency, refused all offers of foreign relief aid. In the crucial first week after the crisis, many died from lack of medical care. Troops and relief workers lacked the kind of heavy rescue training necessary to efficiently pull survivors from the rubble. Looting was also epidemic. More than 160,000 families were left homeless, and more than 4,000 children were orphaned.

Tangshan was eventually rebuilt with adequate earthquake precautions. Today, nearly two million people live there. There is speculation that the death toll from the 1976 quake was much higher than the official Chinese government figure of 242,000. Some Chinese sources have spoken privately of more than 500,000 deaths.”

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Yesterday:

After Wendy and I had our usual Saturday phone call, and I had fed the cat and dog, my neighbor Shay came over wanting to do some work for me as she was broke.  I felt sorry for her as she is trying to financially help her sister and son, right now.

I made the big mistake of telling her that she could paint the panels on the screen porch.  I had to quickly don some clothes, go out to the paint shed and get her everything she needed.

But first she wanted to go down to Jay’s to give him a piece of her mind.  He had said something about her and Ray that wasn’t true. (Jay says fictitious things when he is drunk that he doesn’t remember the next day.)  Misty needed a walk, and I had something to take to Jay’s mother, and another item to pick up there, so we went in the Puddle Jumper. 

Misty and I were walking when Jay came back from a neighbor’s house where he was working.   He tried to ignore Shay, but she got in his face and tried to make him listen.  (But I don’t think he was, and went into his mother’s house)  I guess Shay got it out of her system and we came back here.

Upon brushing the dust off the panels, she found out that a lot of the paint was loose, so it had to be pressure washed before painting.  So again, I couldn’t get ready for church, and got out the pressure washer. 

Then she didn’t know how to operate it, and Ray had to keep on coming over here to get her something, or help her.  Shay hasn’t worked for me for years, and she doesn’t know where everything is, like Ray does.   We never work around here on the Sabbath, and Ray looks forward to those quiet mornings to tend to his plants.  I could tell he was miffed, but he didn’t say anything.

Then she kept on bothering me, asking me if I wanted this or that pressure washed, too.   Ray came over to help her pack up my pressure washer and things, and then she had the nerve to say that he hadn’t helped her.  In the end, I just paid her, and tried to get ready. 

I felt very guilty, as I had contributed to Shay, Ray and I breaking the fourth commandment.  Remember the Sabbath, To Keep It Holy.

EXODUS 20:8-11  (KJV)

⁸ Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
⁹ Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
¹⁰ But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
¹¹ For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

DEUTERONOMY 5:12-15 (KJV)

¹² Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
¹³ Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
¹⁴ But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
¹⁵ And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

By then I was so worn out, and late, that I didn’t have time to put together a dish for the potluck, or even go to Bible Study.

The sermon was given by one of the elders about the situations where ‘wormwood’ has been mentioned in the Bible, which is  
in Revelation 8:11, Deuteronomy 29:18-19, Proverb 5:3-5, Lamentations 3:14-16, Lamentations 3:17-20, and these:

“A nonpoisonous but bitter plant common to the Middle East. Wormwood often is used in analogy to speak of bitterness and sorrow. The Old Testament prophets pictured wormwood as the opposite of justice and righteousness (Amos 5:7 ; Jeremiah 23:15 ). Revelation describes as wormwood one of the blazing stars which brings destruction (Jeremiah 8:10-11 ).”

By examining the verses, one can see that in each case, the wormwood is caused by being pulled away from the LORD or by being told lies. 

It was an interesting sermon, and it was great to be there in that calm and loving atmosphere, so different from earlier in the day.