Pearl Harbor 75 Years Later. Update.

For "Scripture Sunday", late, because I didn't have a computer.

Pearl Harbor 75 Years Later

The Unforgiving Scars of War

Posted on Dec 6, 2016 by Darris McNeely Listen Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

 MP3 Audio(5.43 MB)

For many, when memories are long, forgiveness is in short supply. Reflections on the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

JD Mason/Unsplash

Forgiveness is a hard emotion. It is difficult to forgive another for a wrong done. When memories are long, forgiveness is often in short supply.

"I used to work for a man who ran an auto repair shop. If a customer drove in with a Japanese car he would refuse to work on it. Rumor had it he had thrown a wrench at a few of those cars over the years. During World War II he had fought in the Pacific against the Japanese. As long as I knew him he could not forgive the attack on Pearl Harbor and other Japanese atrocities. An unforgiving spirit leaves lasting scars.

This anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack gives us all a chance to examine our hearts to determine how much forgiveness we have.

I thought about my friend as we approach the 75th anniversary of the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, the day that lives in infamy, Dec. 7, 1941. This year there are fewer survivors. One 95-year-old veteran told a reporter he can never forgive because he has 1,100 comrades interned on the sunken battleship the USS Arizona. Because of my former employer I can understand the deep feelings. I can understand, but I hope in time they can both forgive.

Earlier this year President Barack Obama paid a visit to the Japanese city of Hiroshima where America dropped the first atomic bomb, killing hundreds of thousands. It was the first time a sitting U.S. President had made such a visit. Later this month it is reported that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Pearl Harbor, also the first visit from a sitting Japanese Prime Minister. Abe’s visit will likely renew deep feelings from that generation who fought World War II.

Seventy-five years has erased a lot of the emotion. Japanese manufacturing has become an integral part of the American economy. A few years ago the study of Japanese production methods was accepted as essential practice for any American company that wanted to stay competitive. Japanese cars are among the best made in the world. I own two myself. I have often wondered what my former boss would say about that. I’m pretty sure he has a few Japanese products in his home, whether he knows it or not.

The 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor marks a significant milestone. Even the growing scarcity of World War II-era veterans and those with firsthand knowledge of that event will create significant notice of the events of the war.

Forgiveness may be something we also hear a lot about during these memorials. Forgiveness is a hard emotion. It is difficult to forgive another for a wrong done. When memories are long, forgiveness is often in short supply. Christ said we should forgive others as we have been forgiven, and if we don’t, then He will not forgive us (Matthew 6:14-15).

The suffering brought on by war remains for many generations. This anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack gives us all a chance to examine our hearts to determine how much forgiveness we have. I believe forgiveness is a gift from God. He not only gives it when we are able to forgive, but I think God also gives us the ability to forgive. We have to seek this gift, and we have to ask for it.

An unforgiving heart is a prisoner of the past and a victim in the present.  A forgiving heart is a living heart. Which of these fits you?"

  

From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/blogs/pearl-harbor-75-years-later-the-unforgiving-scars-of-war 

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Update:

My computer went kaput and even my back-up computer wouldn't work, so a wonderful gentleman from our church brought me this one. He took my old ones for the spare parts. Finally, I got this puter to be friends with my printer and camera, but I am having trouble getting this one set up, especially to Open Live Writer.  It won't show My Pictures like it should, and I need them for selling stuff.    I lost a lot of items that were in the old computer, but had Google as a back-up, but it won't let me sign in!  I had always relied on knowing that my back-up computer was here, but something went haywire in it, too.  

The weather has turned cold, but first it was very rainy and the street below me was flooded when I left for church on Saturday.  I knew that I would to have to go the long way round, rather than take a chance on the flooded road.  So I left early and didn't catch Jay's call that he wanted to go with me. He should have called earlier, not after the time I would normally be leaving.
This is what I took to the church potluck to go with their turkey, gravy and stuffing:

It is cooked sliced Carrots, shredded Potatoes, sauteed Celery/Onions, with Spinach stripes.

Someone asked me for the recipe,  There is none, as I often make up dishes as I go, and this was one of them!

The Bible readings were Gen. 25:19-28:9, Mal. 1:1 -2:7 and Rom. 9:6-13.  These are mostly about Isaac, Jacob, and his older twin brother, Esau.  Esau sold his birthright for a pot of  beans.

We have been getting ready for a cold spell, covering the aloe that is growing in the ground, and taking all the pots of aloe into the greenhouse.  In the guesthouse remodel we have been insulating the north side walls and we insulated under the new floor with foam board before we screwed it down.  There is even a layer of Tyvek on the walls and under the floor, too.  I am determined that it will be cozy and draft-free in there.

It is going to freeze tonight, and the temperature has been dropping all day.

Give Thanks. Prayer, With Thanksgiving. Sacrifices of Thanksgiving. Update.

 

For “Scripture Sunday”:

Thanksgiving Day is over, but we should still give thanks….

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In Everything Give Thanks

1 Thessalonians 5:18

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

“This week on the Daily Bible Verse Blog we have been looking at the importance of thanksgiving. Thankfulness is a hallmark of a true Christian. Almost anyone can be thankful when everything is going well, but Christians are to be growing in an attitude of thanksgiving in every situation.

This takes a spiritual perspective—the ability to see things more as God sees them. Though not everything that happens is something to be thankful for, a Christian is learning to see beyond the present suffering and to thank God for His eternal goodness and the end result of His great purpose and plan. This allows us to give thanks in everything.

When we truly believe that “all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28) and that “the testing of [our] faith produces patience” that makes us “perfect and complete,” we can “count it all joy” (James 1:2-4) and give thanks even when we face various trials.

“An Old Testament example of this was when Job lost his money, his children and his health. He blessed the name of God in spite of his personal tragedies, not because of them. Nothing speaks more powerfully of a walk with God than continuous thankfulness” (The NKJV Study Bible, note on 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Why is it God’s will that we give thanks? Because it helps us to become more like God and helps us develop His perspective and His character. Ingratitude and covetousness are the antithesis of God’s nature. Thankfulness grows out of a godly mind-set.

For more about the meaning of life that helps give us God’s perspective, see our article on the “Purpose of Life.” 

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Continue Earnestly in Prayer … With Thanksgiving

Colossians 4:2

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. …

The apostle Paul strongly connects prayer with thanksgiving in several other memorable passages:

• “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
• “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
• “Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).

For more about prayer and thankfulness, see “How to Pray” and “In Everything Give Thanks.”

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The Sacrifices of Thanksgiving

Psalm 107:22

Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.

Leviticus 7 describes a “sacrifice of thanksgiving” that involved offering grain and an animal sacrifice (Leviticus 7:12). This offering was not for sin, but for rejoicing and showing thankfulness to God.

We know from the book of Hebrews that the system of animal sacrifices has been superseded, yet Hebrews still talks about a “sacrifice of praise to God.” This is defined as “the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Hebrews 13:15-16).

Praising God, doing good and sharing are sacrifices that continue to please our Creator today.

For more about thanksgiving, see “In Everything Give Thanks.” (above)

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Unthankful to Our Creator

Romans 1:21

Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

In the early chapters of Romans, Paul shows the sinfulness of all men, gentiles and Jews. This verse follows the powerful statement that “His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (verse 20). God’s creation itself is proof that God exists, so even those without any biblical background are without excuse.

But the gentiles of Paul’s day put God out of their minds and didn’t give Him glory or show Him thanks. Many people today follow this same poor example. Ingratitude is a hallmark of human nature and especially of this end-time perilous age (as Paul mentions in 2 Timothy 3:2).

Psalm 100, “a Psalm of Thanksgiving,” provides the cure for this common ailment. “Know that the LORD, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves. … Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name” (Psalm 100:3-4).

For more about gratitude, see “In Everything Give Thanks.” See above.

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Dear Friends,
The U.S. holiday is still officially called Thanksgiving, but why do I see so much more about touchdowns, turkey and Black Friday sales than about the reasons we have to be thankful to the great Giver—our Creator?
This week’s featured article, “Unthankfulness: A Sign of Perilous Times,” seeks to look at gratitude and ingratitude from God’s point of view. Why does He warn that unthankfulness will mark a society on the brink of extinction?
Here’s part of the answer:
“Being unthankful belies an underlying rejection of God. If we don’t recognize what He has done for us, we put something else in His place. Not only does this demonstrate that we are disconnected from reality, but it generally means we are making a god out of ourselves.”

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Thankful for God’s Goodness and Mercy

by Mike Bennett

1 Chronicles 16:34

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

On the joyous day that David brought the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem, he “delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the LORD” (1 Chronicles 16:7). This theme of thankfulness for God’s goodness and mercy is found throughout the Psalms (see Psalms 106:1 and 107:1, for example).

Psalm 107 goes on to give examples of how God displays His mercy to sinners who cry out to Him: “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (Psalm 107:13-15).

For more about God’s mercy, see “Mercy and Grace: Are They the Same?”

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OK?  You got the idea…give thanks continually!

Update:

The plumbing in the little guest house has come to a standstill as more parts are needed for both the drains and the water.  But we got a mound of pine needles raked and burned.

I have to publish this in pieces as my monitor keeps on going out, and I lose everything that I have written if it isn’t saved.   I still have to restart everything to make the monitor come back on.    I tried a different monitor and it did the same thing, so I can only assume that there is something wrong with the hole (port) where the monitor plugs in.  I will have to change over to my old computer which has Windows XP, and so Open Live Writer won’t work on it, so rushing to get this done.

The lamb stew that I made for the potluck was enjoyed and a little casserole that was made with shredded English cucumbers, dressing and cheese.  One of the elders usually brings an enormous crockpot of meat, chicken or salmon loaf, but he assumed that our main meat dish would be the turkey from the week before which I had taken home to slice and freeze and make bone broth with the carcass.  The pastor’s wife and I had already discussed this and figured that everyone would be sick of turkey by then, and so it was kept frozen.  So now he wants us to have it next Sabbath potluck.

Surprise! Surprise! Jay, my neighbor’s son and previous helper, went to church with me, he was mostly sober, but was in a rowdy mood and did a bit of interrupting in the church and the dining hall.  He is going to have to go to jail for a while for something he did a few years ago, so he thought that going to church might help him.  This maybe the chance he needs .... to quit drinking and start to have an enjoyable life.

The Bible readings were Gen. 23:1-25:18, 1 Kings 1:1-31 and Heb. 11:11, these are mostly about Isaac.  The Teaching, which I didn’t hear much of it was “Glorify God”.  I was in the dining hall tending to my crockpots but someone kept on talking, so I couldn’t hear it.  I finally went back into the church and managed to hear the end of it.  I was glad to get Jay dropped off and have some peace and quiet.

It was cooler, not raining, and I am still this side of the grass so it was a lovely day.

Thanksgiving - What Is Your Focus? Thanksgiving Song. Update.

 

For Thanksgiving Day 2016 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to y’all.

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Day More Than Just Being Thankful

Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday every November. Perhaps this is the appropriate season to wonder if there is a difference between being thankful and giving thanks.

Why Give Thanks on Thanksgiving Day?

In a modern world filled with fast cars, fast money, fast foods and more—all lavished so liberally on the self—why consider a national occasion to pause and give thanks? Is it really that important? If it is, whom should we thank—and for what?

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Thanksgiving - What Is Your Focus?

Where should our focus be during Thanksgiving?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xPEu3ypBvk

Transcript

“It’s one of my favorite times of year – the American Thanksgiving. The fourth Thursday of every year in November is the American Thanksgiving, when people travel by planes, trains, automobiles, and gather with family and friends for food, football, and hopefully to give thanks to God. Thanksgiving 2016 is a very interesting year as we find ourselves at the end of a very long and protracted and divisive election season. We have a new president-elect and the reminder that America has much to be thankful for, but also America has many, many divisions. In an earlier Beyond Today Daily we talked a little bit about that, and I pointed you and all of our viewers to prayer for the new president, for the nation, and I come back to that as we think about Thanksgiving 2016, where we are, what needs to be done.

I pulled out the Thanksgiving proclamation made in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln. Every president every year makes a Thanksgiving proclamation, from the time of George Washington. But the one that was given by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 in the midst of the American Civil War brought out a very interesting point that I think helps us to be pointed back to the Bible and to Bible prophecy and the historic and prophetic role that the United States and all English-speaking peoples have in our modern world.

As Lincoln talked about the times in which they lived and the position America found itself in, he said, “No human council has devised, nor has any mortal hand worked out these great things,” speaking of America’s abundance and national greatness. “They are,” he said, “the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins” – the sins he was specifically talking about then was the sin of slavery, which was part of what embroiled the states in the Civil War. He said, “God nevertheless has remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people.”  Words true then, words true now – that we should acknowledge God’s gracious, benevolent hand upon America and upon many other nations in this world at a particularly acute moment in world history and American history.

There’s a scripture in 2 Chronicles chapter 7 that has been on my mind of late, where Solomon gave a prayer at the dedication of the temple that God allowed him to build in Jerusalem. And as an answer to that prayer, asking God’s grace and benevolence upon Israel, God appeared to Solomon and He said that when problems would arise, and difficulties and challenges for the nation – much like what we see right now with America being divided economically, politically, culturally, and having deep, deep problems right now – He said if people will acknowledge who He is, He said to Solomon something unique. In verse 14, 2 Chronicles chapter 6 – 7  He said, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”     If.    The big question mark. “If My people will humble and pray and acknowledge their sins, I will hear.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Will that happen? Well, we could talk about the likelihood of that for a long, long period of time. But I know this, that if you pray, if I pray, then at least we can orient ourselves in an aspect of humility toward God that allows us to be thankful, and there are many things for us to be praying for at this time. Certainly be praying that God would grant the ability for the gospel to be freely preached, that  religious freedom is guaranteed in this land, to be preserved and protected. And pray that there would be a repentance. And pray that God will call those and maybe even you to understand His great purpose and plan for mankind.

And so above all on this Thanksgiving 2016, be thankful. Think about humility and pray to God and humble ourselves in a unique period of time to acknowledge God and all of His blessings. We wish you all a happy Thanksgiving here from Beyond Today.”

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Thanksgiving Song

Can you think of any Thanksgiving songs? In the pages of the Bible is a Song of Thanksgiving that we can sing everyday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXUIja9oECg

Transcript

“Seems like there’s all kinds of songs that we associate with the holidays – some of them aren’t so good. But I got to thinking about that in relationship to Thanksgiving. Do you know any really cool Thanksgiving songs?

I had a hard time thinking of any. But the Bible points to probably the kind of song and the kind of thanksgiving that we should always have.

There’s a wonderful song, it’s in the Psalms, which are songs. In fact, it has the title, “A Song of Thanksgiving”. See if you recognize it. Here’s the lyrics. “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!” In other words, the whole earth is supposed to sing praises to God. It says, “Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” What a great reminder as we begin the lyrics of this song to show who is most important in our life – our relationship with God and all that He does. And because of that, the song goes on – verse 4. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name” (Psalms 100:1-5).

It frames the issue that this isn’t something we should just think about for one Thursday at the end of November. That shouldn’t be the way that it is. We shouldn’t just hurry on into Black Friday and forget the whole Thanksgiving thing. It shouldn’t be like that, not if we claim to be God’s people. This tells us pretty clearly – this is an ongoing thing. It says, “For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.

So let’s have this frame of mind, not just for a day or two at the end of November, but let this be something that is on our mind constantly – that we’re continually coming into His presence, worshipping Him, praising Him, honoring Him, having a thought of really singing and praising and honoring God and being truly thankful for much more than just one day in November.”

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Update:

Surprisingly, one day it started out below freezing, so we stayed inside the guest house putting up regular batt insulation, foamboard insulation, and the original paneling.  Now why would I put the old painted paneling back up?  Because sheetrock is so labor intensive to install, and have you seen REAL wood paneling lately.  It is priced like gold.  All you can find at the box stores is that MDF, almost cardboard stuff.  That just swells, bows, goes moldy, and is horrible.  So to have some real wood paneling is going to be a rare sight, even though it will all be repainted a soft, discreet yellow, only because I acquired free, a 5 gallon bucket of it!  We have already painted the ceiling white.  Though the new kitchen and bathroom are sheetocked, only because they have been made out of the old bedroom which was sheetrocked before all the damge was done.

My helper has been under the guest house for the last few mornings, and I have been the “go-fer”.   We had left some of the new plywood floor unscrewed so that we could pick it up to get under the house to install the new drains.  Also, the cedar skirting was removed so that he could squiggle on his back under the house.  Now, to hand him anything, I have to step down into the hole where the plywood has been taken up, and try to push whatever it is to him.  We arrived at a system where I would throw an old drop light to him, and tie whatever to the cord, sometimes in a grocery bag.  Now all that getting up and down, and climbing in and out of that hole is pretty tiring, working the old leg muscles, and made me pretty tired.  After all, I am nearly 82, though I don’t feel it.  So now we have a lot of the water system done and most of the sewer, but still quite a bit more to go to finish it.  We are leaving some of the plumbing of little 3/4 bath off the utility room till later, as it will tie in to a different part of the sewer system.  Just getting the guest house functional is the main objective.

As Petco is closed today, my two little foster kittens who are on view for adoption at our SPCA habitat there, have come back here until Friday.  We were pleased to see each other, and there is a lot of purring going on.  So I am not alone today.   All my family live a long way away, but I had a really good Thanksgiving Dinner and fellowship with my friends at church on the Sabbath.  

Needless to say, Psalm 100 was read along with Psa. 121, 122, 123 and 125.  Then our usuaul Bible readings were Gen, 18-22:24, 2 Kings 4:1-37 and Romans 4:1-25.  The Message or Teaching was about being grateful. 

The potluck was great and we had so much left over.  I made shredded sweet potato casserole, and Yorkshire Puddings made in a muffin pan, and there were lots of contributions of many dishes and desserts.  Three dishes of potato salad.  I was able to bring some home for my less fortunate neighbors.  The pastor’s wife made a green bean casserole and it tasted better than any I have ever had.

Then they had me bring home the remains of the great big organic turkey and take care of it.  I sliced off the breast meat, and froze it, sliced off the dark meat and froze it, and then made bone broth with the carcass and froze it. We knew that everyone would be sick of turkey by this weekend's potluck, so we will all enjoy it at a later date.  For another potluck, I will cook quinoa, or potatoes or lentils or something in the bone broth, so everyone gets the healthy benefits of it.

I hope that you are well and having a good day for Thanksgiving Day.