Today Dory And I Had An Interesting Discussion Over Lunch

TODAY DORY AND I HAD AN INTERESTING DISCUSSION OVER LUNCH ~ First she asked, "Why do the Palestinians and Arab nations hate Israel?"  We can go back and look for Biblical reasons, but today I believe the main reason is that throughout the millennia their children were, and are, taught from birth that it is an honor to hate and kill a Jew. 

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 2:6,  "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."   The inverse of that is true also, when teaching a child to hate - and that is what we see in the Middle East today.

After the October 7, 2023, genocidal rape and massacre of over 1200 Jews by Hamas Terrorists and the taking of several hundred prisoners - men, women, children - acts which constitute crimes against humanity, reporters in Gaza interviewed several young middle school age children.  Those children proudly bragged about those killings and said that it is an honor to kill a Jew. 

Hearing that the first thought in our minds should be what we read in Proverbs 2:6,  "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."  That is the source of the adult terrorists surrounding Israel.

Our discussion then moved on to Atheism, how can anyone not believe in God?  I shared with Dory that it is my belief that the vast majority of people who claim the Atheist religion (yes, it is a religion, for a religion is a belief system - and Atheism is a belief system) know there is a God, but their problem is "control." 

Many times in dialogues during my 8 years on the TimesDaily Religion Forum and more years on Facebook, I have heard the declaration, "Nobody controls me!  I am totally in control of my own life!" 

That outburst occurs for one reason:  If a person admits there is a God, a Creator - then that person has to be accountable to that Creator - or suffer the consequences.  They honestly believe that as long as THEY control their lives, there will be no consequences.

Let's take a moment to look at three of the most renowned Atheists today:  Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Madelyn Murray O'Hair.

(1) Christopher Hitchens was a devout Atheist, and one of the many books he wrote was titled:  "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything."  If there is no God as Atheist claim, then why write about Him, why travel the world debating about God, why even worry about God - if He does not exist?

The ironic thing is that his brother, Peter Hitchens, is a Christian believer and has often held public debates with Christopher on the subject of God.  Christopher Hitchens died of cancer about 10 years ago. Now he KNOWS that God is real.

(2) Richard Dawkins, probably the world leading Atheist, has often held public debates with Christian scholars and theologians - on the existence or non-existence of God.  Dawkins even paid to have a large sign posted on the side of a London double-deck bus which reads:  "There's Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying And Enjoy Your Life"

PROBABLY no God?  Or ABSOLUTELY no God?  Does that sound like Dawkins is starting to lean away from his Atheist position?

(3) Madelyn Murray O'Hair, one of the most evil Atheist Activist in America during the 1960s to 1990s - who, along with her buddies at the ACLU, took their case all the way to the Supreme Court - and successfully had God and Prayer removed from America's public schools - and had Traditional Moral Values replaced by Relative Moral Values, aka, Relativism.  What is Relativism?

Relativism is the belief that there's no absolute truth, only the truths that a particular individual (regardless of age) or culture happens to believe. If you believe in relativism, then you think different people can have different views about what's moral and immoral.  (From "Relativism." Vocabulary.com Dictionary"

In other words, according to the mandate forced upon American schools in 1963 and since, like a cancer, Relativism has spread to all aspects of our public, personal, and family lives.  For that we can thank Madelyn Murray O'Hair.  O'Hair's stated reason for pushing this evil - was that her son, William, was in grade school and she did not want him taught to pray or to believe in God.

Irony upon irony!  In 1995, Madelyn Murray O'Hair, along with her younger son and granddaughter, were murdered by her own followers and buried in her back yard in Texas.  Yet for many years, William Murray, her oldest son, has been a strong Christian believer, very actively fighting for Christians in Washington DC.

"Her son, William Murray for whom she supposedly started this whole 'Take God Out Of Schools' battle - is now an author, Baptist minister, and social conservative lobbyist.  He serves as chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C. that lobbies Congress on issues related to aiding Christians in Islamic and Communist countries."  (Wikipedia)

And during my our lunch discussion today with Dory, I was led to share my own personal journey along a similar path.  I can never recall a time when I did not believe that God truly does exist.  I was not yet a believer, but I also was not a denier that God exists.

I was just afraid that if I became a Christian, and with the worldly lifestyle I was living, I would surely go to hell.  I started running from God at the age of 12 when a traveling Pentecostal Revival Preacher came into my life, forcing me to say I believed - but never telling me what it meant to believe. 

For me, traveling Revival Preachers became like the storybook sailor - a girl in every port, here today and gone tomorrow!  And that traveling Revival Preacher messed up my life big time - and then went on to the next port.

From the age of 12 until I was 50, I ran from God.  But still that little nagging, that question, or something within held my attention:  With the life I was leading, i.e., parties, drinking, female adventures, etc. - will I go to hell?  That was my big question.  And not being sure, I wandered in and out of many churches, many denominations - and in between I wandered into many bars, night clubs, and affairs.  Yet hell still loomed large in my conscience thoughts.

My solution:  Find a church which teaches that hell is not real!  Simple, right?  And at the age of 20, I found what I was looking for in a Presbyterian Air Force Chaplin.  When I talked with him, he assured me that hell is only a myth, that God will not send anyone to eternal suffering.  My reaction?  "Hallelujah!  Now I can party-hardy and not have to face any consequences!  I have found religion!"

Dory's next question:  "Why would a Chaplin from a major Christian denomination teach that there is no hell?"   Because that is what I was looking for, an ordained pastor who would assure me there is no hell.  And there are many pastors, scholars, theologians, etc., who wrongly believe and teach such things, declaring them to be in the Bible.

If we look at John 3:16 we can clearly see how churches, pastors, and such from both ends of the theology spectrum and some in between - can find their proof for their far differing theologies in that one verse.

John 3:16, "For God so loved the WORLD, that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOEVER believes in Him shall not perish, but HAVE Eternal Life."

Ask a Calvinist about the word WORLD - and he will assure you that what God really meant to say was, "For God so loved 'all of the Elect in the WORLD chosen before the Creation' who believe in His only begotten Son. .  ."

Ask an Arminian about the phrase "HAVE Eternal Life" and they will assure you that what God really meant to say was, "they will HAVE Eternal Life IF.  .  ."  IF they do this, IF they do that, i.e., IF they continue to do works until the moment of death - they will have Eternal Life.  Otherwise, don't look for a happy ending.

Folks in those two bookends of the Theology Spectrum - read the same Bible, and yet find totally opposite meanings from what is written.  Or they are sure that God left out a few words, that He must have forgotten to include those needed words when He inspired those 40 men He had chosen to write His Bible.

That method of Bible reading and study is called Eisegesis, i.e., reading INTO the Bible what they want it to say - to support their man-created theology.

The true way to read and study the Bible is called Exegesis, i.e., reading FROM the Bible what our perfect, omniscient God has inspired to be written in His Bible.

My Friends, Christian brethren, and others who read my blogs know that I love to include visuals in my writings.  And two of my favorite are shown below.  The first has a sincere believer in a BIBLES "R" US store asking, "Can I get a Bible that works for my church?  A Bible which agrees with what we teach?"   My Friends, that is a perfect example of Eisegesis, reading INTO the Bible what you want it to say.

My second favorite comes from the Peanuts cartoon, when Lucy is writing a letter to John MacArthur:  Dear John MacArthur, I wish Exegesis and Eisegesis had the opposite meanings - because Eisegesis sounds like, "I see Jesus" - and Exegesis sounds like, "Exit Jesus."  Thanks for reading this. Lucy

"Exit Jesus" - sounds kind of like "Elvis has left the building."  I pray that Jesus has not left YOUR building!

Did Dory and I have lunch - or a Bible study?  That thought takes me back about 15 years.  My Friend and Christian brother, Bob Ginger, was at my home while I worked on his computer.  About 10:00 o'clock that evening we decided to go for a late dinner at a local Norm's restaurant. 

Waiting for our food, Bob had questions on the book of Revelation and the End Times. I pulled out my Bible and we went from there.  While we were talking the waitress came by, and since it was late and the restaurant was not busy - she stopped by and the three of us had a long discussion.

As Bob and I were leaving, walking to the car, I told him, "Do you realize that we just had a Bible study?"  Actually that is my favorite kind of Bible study.  Two or more just start chatting about something on our minds - and let it evolve into a discussion on a pertinent Biblical teaching or issue.

And as Dory always tells me, "Get you started and we cannot pull the plug!"  Hey, when we get a good discussion going on some aspect of the Bible, God, eternal life, etc., why stop too soon?

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

Click on the images to enlarge 

Would You Believe Me?

WOULD YOU BELIEVE ME ~ If I told you that John Lennon wrote the Utopian Anthem by which the Liberal Leftist Socialist Democratic Party and their One World Godfather, the United Nations, live and govern?  No?  Then read the words to John Lennon's famous song "IMAGINE!"

"IMAGINE"

The United Nations' & Leftist Democrats' Utopian Anthem
Written By John Lennon, 1971

Imagine there's no heaven - It's easy if you try
No hell below us, Above us - only sky.
IMAGINE ALL THE PEOPLE LIVING FOR TODAY.

Imagine there's no countries - It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for - And no religion, too
IMAGINE ALL THE PEOPLE LIVING LIFE IN PEACE.

You may say I'm a dreamer - But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
AND THE WORLD WILL BE AS ONE.

Imagine no possessions - I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger - A brotherhood of man
IMAGINE ALL THE PEOPLE SHARING ALL THE WORLD.

You may say I'm a dreamer - But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us - AND THE WORLD WILL LIVE AS ONE.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I will admit that those words written by the British import, John Lennon of the Beatles, in 1971, praising a One World Village may be very appealing today to those in America Illegally - to the young Gen Z and Millennial students who have been indoctrinated by and through our public education system - and to those who want to continue to live off the welfare state doled out by the Socialist Democrats today,
 
But personally I prefer the National Anthem written by Francis Scott Key, as he stood aboard the English flag ship in 1814, where he had gone to negotiate the release of American prisoners held by the British.  The British armada bombarded Fort McHenry all night - and come morning Francis Scott Key was inspired by the sight of the American flag still standing tall and still flying over Fort McHenry the morning after the brutal British bombardment.

The words were written by Francis Scott Key on Sept. 14, 1814, during the War of 1812 with Great Britain, and it was adopted by Congress as the U.S. National Anthem in 1931.

The following is the 1st and 4th verses which I feel really reflect the feeling of love, honor, and patriotism all true Americans hold in their hearts for our homeland, America - in 1814 and today in 2024.  That is why we are going to VOTE FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP COME NOVEMBER 2024!

The Star-Spangled Banner
Written by Francis Scott Key, Sept. 14, 1814

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,
⁠What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
⁠O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?

And the Rockets' red glare, the Bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our Flag was still there;
⁠O! say does that star-spangled Banner yet wave,
⁠O'er the Land of the free and the home of the brave?

O! thus be it ever, when free men shall stand,
⁠Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation,
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land,
⁠Praise the Power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto—"In God is our Trust;"
⁠And the star-spangled Banner in triumph shall wave,
O'er the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

IN NOV 2024 - VOTE CONSERVATIVE, ON ALL ISSUES AND FOR ALL CANDIDATES!

IN NOV 2024 - VOTE TO "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

IN NOV 2024 - VOTE FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP!  MAGA ALL THE WAY!

My Friends, the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election may be the last chance we have as Free Americans to keep America Free.  If we Conservative Americans do not gather as ONE and VOTE TO KEEP AMERICA FREE - by voting to "Make America Great ONCE Again" MAGA PLUS! - we may not get another chance. 

The Leftist Democratic Party and their One World Patron, the United Nations - are prowling like hungry hyenas, waiting to devour the freedoms we cherish and which has kept America strong since 1776.  Let's not lose it now, by not going to the polls to VOTE CONSERVATIVE in November 2024.

God bless America, have a wonderful, blessed day, Bill 

Click on the image to enlarge 

 

What Sound Or Sight Makes You Pause, Listen To Your Heart, And Drift Back?

WHAT SOUND OR SIGHT MAKES YOU PAUSE, LISTEN TO YOUR HEART, AND DRIFT BACK?  ~  Since I was a young boy the sound of a train's lonesome whistle has touched a place in my heart - and I can't really say why. 

And if it happens to me, then it must be something within many of us, for I am not unique.  Oh, there are times I may have thought so, but then I realize that I am just one tiny soul in God's great universe.

When I was about 12 years old, my Aunt Nina who lived in Paducah, Kentucky, came to my home in Sheffield, Alabama, and took me and her granddaughter, my cousin, Patty, to spend the summer with her in Paducah.  That was when I first noticed the call of the lonesome locomotive, calling, "Come with me. Come with me."

Kind of like the lyrics of Hank Williams' 1949 song "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" 

"Hear that lonesome whippoorwill,
He sounds too blue to fly.
The midnight train is whining low,
I'm so lonesome, I could cry."

Also, at a young age, I was influenced by a Jeanne Crain movie I saw about the exciting college life.  The call of my daydreaming was so strong that summer when I was in Paducah, I actually starting planning how I could hop on a freight train, like a hobo, and get off in a small college town, like in the movie.  There I would work until I could go to college.  Okay, so I was a dreamer at that age.  But who isn't?

What caused this trip down memory lane?  Believe it or not, I just heard a train whistle, and while writing this, I heard another going by.  Even though the track is about a mile from my home, the lonely, lilting call seems to float on the breeze.  And I often respond, at least in my memories.

But fast forwarding to my life as an adult, I spent about 50 years in the computer industry and did a lot of traveling.  Flying to a new city, staying in a new hotel, always different and a new experience.  Then in a few days, or a week, a few times maybe a month, flying home to the comfort of my home and family.  Flying away, excited about my meetings.  Flying home, excited to relax in the bosom of my home and family.

I retired about 25 years ago, but at times when I stand near a freeway at dusk, watching folks driving home from work - or see a passenger plane flying high above me, off to some destination unknown to me - I begin to miss my life of traveling.

Watching cars on the freeway at dusk, I am reminded that there is a different story in each car.  Some heading home to family and comfort, others looking forward to a date, a party, and for some, even a lonely evening drinking alone. Over the years, I experienced all those.

The same when I watch the plane loaded with passengers flying high above me.  In a plane with 150 passengers - there are 150 different stories and different emotions.  And I do believe that, over the years, I have experienced all those also.

Some looking forward to business meetings the next day, others coming home from a business trip.  Some are going on a vacation, others returning from a vacation.  Some flying for the first time, others so accustomed to flying that they are working, or falling asleep.  So many stories.

I recall one, circa 1980/81, when I had been to northern California on business - and in the afternoon I was returning home to Orange County.  When I took my seat there was a young girl about 10 years old sitting beside me.  I could tell she was nervous so I started chatting with her. 

This was her first time to fly and she was coming to Orange County to visit her dad. She was nervous for two reasons.  It was her first time to fly, but also her mom and dad were divorced and she was flying to meet her dad for a visit.  We had fun talking and laughing so that she forgot to be nervous.

Landing at the Orange County airport (later John Wayne airport) at that time we would deplane on the tarmac and walk to the terminal.

The old terminal at that time was a single building with ticketing on one end and the luggage carousel on the other end.  On the second floor there was a cafe and outside the cafe, there was a walkway where people waiting for passengers could stand and watch people leaving the planes. 

As the girl and I were walking toward the terminal, she suddenly broke into a big smile and told me, "There is my daddy, standing up there!"  And would you believe, the person he was talking with while nervously waiting for his daughter - was my wife, Dory.

The little girl was nervous about visiting her daddy.  He, too, was nervous as he waited to greet his daughter.  I really believe God used both Dory and me to help them both forget their nervousness as they waited - she to land, he to see her after the separation.  God is pretty resourceful.

So the next time you see a freeway full of cars at dusk, or you see a passenger plane flying high above - just try to imagine all those stories and emotions passing by you, each a unique story. 

And when I hear the lonesome sound of a train whistle my thoughts will stray back to 1955 and that young boy, just out of high school and on his first train ride, going to San Antonio for Air Force Basic Training.  Then four months later on a train to Denver for Air Force Tech School.

And in 1958 excitedly arriving at Los Angeles Union Station aboard the Union Pacific City of Los Angeles streamlined passenger train, on my 21st birthday, as I came to begin my career in the computer industry.

Thank you for joining me on my locomotive whistle induced trip down memory lane. 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

Click on the image to enlarge

Heaven or Hell, Your Choice!

Four days ago, my Christian brother and long time Friend, Jun Polistico, posted a graphic which read: "Rightly Divide The Word Of Truth. Whether To The Jews Or To The Gentiles. Apostle Paul Said, 'No Mixing.'"

And over the next four days there has been a lively discussion, some agreeing that the Jews and Gentiles are separate, almost to the degree of Replacement Theology (which I disagree with) - and others disagreeing, offering differing beliefs.

My personal belief is that there are the Jews, not as we see in Judaism today - and there is the Church, the worldwide body of believers. The reason for the 7-year Tribulation in the End Times is to put all Jews through the Refiner's Fire (Malachi 3:2-3).

From that will come the believing survivors of the Tribulation, i.e., the Remnant of Israel, who will enter the Millennial Kingdom of Christ in their mortal bodies. Remnant of Israel in their mortal bodies and the Church in our immortal bodies - both believing in Christ, the Messiah, each with a special place in the Eternal Kingdom of God.

Today a gentleman, Ralph, who seems to be a non-believer, posted the following statement and I responded to his statement:

Hi Ralph, You tell Jun Polistico, "It's a sad story really. Christianity is . . and it has brought a lot of misery to our World, even unto this day."

Ralph, my friend, YOU do not know true misery and suffering - until you leave this world and enter into eternity without a relationship with Christ.

With Christ we know there will be no more suffering, no more pain, no more sorrow. That is His promise to all who will believe:

Revelation 21:1-4, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will WIPE AWAY EVERY TEAR from their eyes; and there will NO LONGER BE ANY DEATH; there will NO LONGER BE ANY MOURNING, OR CRYING, OR PAIN; the first things have passed away.' "

But the alternative for those who will not believe, who do not have a relationship with Christ is:

Luke 16:22-24, 25-26, "Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom (Paradise); and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, BEING IN TORMENT, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, FOR I AM IN AGONY in this flame.'

(25) But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, AND YOU ARE IN AGONY. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.' "

Ralph, my friend, three things I will promise you:

(1) Heaven and hell are real places, and the only two eternal destinations for all mankind.

(2) The Bible is the true Written Word of God and all within it pertain to God's plan of salvation for those who will believe. It is not meant to scare you, nor to threaten you - but to offer you LIFE, if you will only believe.

(3) And only YOU can condemn YOU to hell. I cannot, nor will God. I recall many times in the 35 years I have been doing Christian writing, that folks have accused me, "Bill Gray is condemning me to hell!"

And my response is ALWAYS, "No, my Friend, Bill Gray cannot condemn you to hell, God cannot condemn you to hell - THE ONLY PERSON who can condemn YOU to hell - IS YOU!"

God gave all mankind the gift of Free Will - the Free Will, aka, freedom to choose to Believe, to follow Christ - or the freedom to Reject Christ.

We all will exist eternally.  There is no annihilation, no being forgiven later, no do-overs - only eternal existence following death.  The BIG question is:  "Where will YOU spend that eternity - In peace, harmony, love, in the eternal presence of God - OR - In agony, sorrow, regret, in the eternal absence of God?"

Believe Him and you will have Eternal Life. Reject Him and you will have Eternal Loss.

In 1990, my mom was in the hospital in Alabama.  I was a relatively new Christian believer, but during my visit to her in the hospital I wanted to learn where she stood in Christ and be a witness to her if needed.  I knew my step-father had her in a cult church, the Worldwide Church of Christ, for years - but in spite of that, "Did she have a relationship with Jesus Christ?"

Since I was a new believer and not confident in my ability to tell her about Christ, I searched in Christian bookstores for a good Christian tract which I could use in talking with her.  And the one below, Steps To Peace With God," published by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, is the one I chose. 

It truly tells the Gospel story:  We are separated from God - No works can bridge the gap between God and us - The only way to God is with Jesus Christ.  So, as the tract concludes: Where do YOU stand today?

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

Click on the image to enlarge:

 

God, Grandchildren, And Rocking Chairs

GOD, GRANDCHILDREN, AND ROCKING CHAIRS!  ~  That pretty much expresses our priorities as we get a wee bit older.  The blog below came in an e-mail today from Dr. Bill Mounce and BiblicalTraining - and it took me back over a quarter of a century to 1994, when our first grandchild, Elyssa, was born. 

My photo composite below shows her at age 5 when she was in Kindergarten.  Lolo Fausto is holding newborn brother, Kobe, and Lolo Bill is holding Elyssa, while Lola Dory's smile shows her joy of seeing our granddaughter in a good Christian school.

My mother never got a chance to see her great-granddaughter, for she passed into glory four months earlier.  But I know the joy this would have brought her.

And over the years it has been a joy seeing Elyssa educated in the Christ-based K-12 Linfield Christian School, then on to Westmont College - both Christian institutions begun in 1937 through the benevolence of a Christian donor.  Elyssa's siblings are following similar paths as they all grow into Christian young adults - leaving we white haired grandparents with only those memories to warm our hearts.

In the blog below, Dr. Bill Mounce tells of his unsettled feeling when he and his family were not getting the vacation home in which they had been comfortable for the previous five years.  I can relate to that.  In the mid-1980s, I worked for Ferranti International and lived in a Sheraton Hotel in Houston for five months.  Always the same room, 1103 top floor, except for one night.

One Sunday evening I returned after spending a week at home - and someone else was in my room 1103, and I had to take another room.  The new room was a mirror image of 1103 - so instead of turning left to take a shower, I now had to turn right.  Everything was just the opposite - and I was very uncomfortable. 

The next morning I went to the front desk, and on my hands and knees pleaded for my room, okay not so dramatic - but I did asked to be put back into the room that had been my home all these months.  Yes, I can relate to Bill Mounce's discomfort in a different vacation home.

This blog stirred so many wonderful memories.  When Elyssa was a toddler Dory and I babysat her during the day.  And for some reason we have never understood, for about a month when I would pick her up, she would start crying.  Anyone else could hold her with no problem, except for Papa Bill.  Dory laughed and told me, "Your skin is too white!"  As I said, we never really knew why she cried, but after about a month - everything was fine.

One thing which made me laugh when I was holding her as a baby, she was fascinated by the hair on my arm - always plucking at it.  I do not have ape man hair, only that from my English/Irish heritage, but her dad, being Filipino, does not have body hair.  So I was a novelty to her.

I believe I share similar feeling as all grandparents, that desire to always keep them young and cuddly, falling asleep in our arms.  But that was not God's plan.  They must grow, from that all-trusting child into responsible young adults, prayerfully staying close to their Christian values.

Those are some of the deja vu memories the blog "God, Grandchildren, and Rocking Chairs" brought to the surface today.
 
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

God, Grandchildren, and Rocking Chairs
Dr. Bill Mounce, BiblicalTraining - February 6, 2024

The other night, my 18 month old granddaughter, Boston, had trouble sleeping.  Normally she cries for a few minutes and then falls asleep, but that night her crying was intense and lasted a lot longer. 

I eventually picked her up and we sat down in a rocking chair and I started singing songs.  They happened to be the Greek songs I used to use to teach my students, and they had the desired effect.  After two minutes, she relaxed, melted into my chest, and fell sound asleep. 

It was an amazing experience that I haven't had since my children were young, and so I kept rocking and singing and enjoying her.  She knew she was safe and loved, and that's all she needed.

As I kept singing, I thought about my relationship with the Lord.  I know that someday I will be safe in his arms when I hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant."  But I would love to feel that right now the same way that Boston feels it.  And yet, there is something I can do right now that I wouldn't be able to do in heaven, and that is trust him. 

I understand theologically that trust will still be part of our relationship with God in heaven, but it'll be trusting in something that we can see.  The privilege I have right now is that I can trust in someone I can't see (Heb 1:11), knowing that just as Boston was safe in my arms, so also I am safe in his arms.

Here's a somewhat silly example.  We are on vacation in Southern California right now with Tyler and family.  We have a house that we have rented the past five years but the management committee made a mistake and we got stuck going to a different house.  It's hard because the grandkids have memories of us in the other house. 

I wish I had responded with trust, thanking the Lord that we had a place to go even though it was different.  But when we got down here, it turns out they are doing a ton of construction around the old house and the noise would've been almost unbearable.  When the mistake happened, I wish I trusted the Lord so much that I had simply said, "Thank you."

As parents, this is the kind of trust that we long for from our children.  They can't possibly know all the variables in life, and when we do something they don't like or don't expect, we wish they would just trust us.  How much more so our loving and powerful heavenly Father longs for us to trust him, no matter what.  Because after all, we are safe in his arms, whether we feel it or not.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

Click on the image to enlarge: 

The Roach Coach And My History!

FUNNY HOW A PHOTO OF A "ROACH COACH" - i.e., a lunch truck can elicit deja moments.  ~  Today on the "Osan Air Base, South Korea (unofficial)" Facebook group page, a gentleman, Robert Dobell, posted a photo of a Roach Coach asking, "Who remembers the roach coach?  I was introduced to this back in 1980 when delivering supplies.  A hot dog made for a good breakfast."

And that brought a vivid memory.  In early 1963 I worked for Ramo Wooldridge in Canoga Park, California, helping set up and work in the Test Department for the first MilSpec (military grade) minicomputer, the AN/UYK-1, which was  developed under government contract by Ramo Wooldridge.

Friday, November 22, 1963, was just another day at work.  We began at 8:00 AM and everything was right on schedule.  At 10:30 AM, I went for coffee break at the lunch truck in the parking lot, got my two burritos, a cup of coffee. and brought them back to my work area to relax for a few minutes. 

The Test Department lab was a large room about 100 X 75 feet, with test stations around the room.  My test station was in the middle of the north side of the room, against the wall.  The AN/UYK-1 computer was in a cast iron military gray cabinet about 5 foot tall and about 2 foot by 2 foot square.

At about 10:45 AM, a coworker came running up to my work station, excitedly telling me that President Kennedy had been shot.  Since we often joked around, I assumed he was joking and said to him, "Really?  Has anything exciting happened this morning?"

Then he told me, "Bill, really, he was shot this morning in Dallas."   With that everyone became stunned and silent.  From somewhere, someone produced a radio and we set it on top of my computer to listen to the news.  We listened as President Kennedy was rushed to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, and we listened as the news reporters were doing their best to tell us about this event which had taken everyone by surprise.

Later I left for lunch and drove to Our Lady Of The Valley church in Canoga Park to pray.  Funny, even though I had been in and out of churches for many years, and had enjoyed attending services at Our Lady Of The Valley Roman Catholic church because all the priests were from Ireland and I loved their accents - I was not yet a Christian.  But that day I felt the need to pray for President Kennedy.  While I was there, about 20 to 30 people came to the church on their lunch hour to pray.

When I left the church, I stopped at a Frosty Freeze just down the street and had a hamburger for lunch.  As I was driving back to work news commentator, Walter Cronkite, came on the radio to announce that President Kennedy was dead.   All of this is still so vivid in my memory.  Yet, I do not recall anything that happened from the time I returned to work, until the time I left work.

After work, I drove straight to my girl friend's home.  From Friday evening until late Sunday night, we sat transfixed to the television watching and wondering, like all Americans, "How could this happen in America?"

Today we do not have the Camelot of those days, our naiveté has eroded, and has been replaced by a more cynical world view.  But when I sit and think about it, I have been touched by history - as John Kennedy and I walked a different, but parallel path through life in mid-20th century America.

The second photo is earlier in 1963 when President Kennedy speaking with Nigerian Prime Minister Abubakar Balewa aboard the USNS Kingsport docked in Lagos Harbor, the first live two-way phone call between heads of government via satellite.  On the left of that photo composite is the
Ramo Wooldridge AN/UYK-1 computer which I installed on board the Kingsport to control satellite antennae communications.
 
Thank you for taking this walk with me.   Our memories are a large part of who we are today.  We cannot live in the past - but we can use our memories of such events to make us a better person, showing us the paths we want to avoid; and allowing that to make us better and stronger members of our society, our world, and our Christian communities today.

This is the Walter Cronkite broadcast I heard driving back to work on that confusing day:

Cronkite Breaks News Of President Kennedy's Death
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZzunhQnlzk

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill

Click on the images to enlarge

 

It Makes Me Sad To See Our Church Family Become So Divisive!

"National 'Baptist' Day!"  Really?

Just curious. Wouldn't it be more productive and more accurate to celebrate "National CHRISTIAN Day" instead of "National BAPTIST Day"? To me this seems to be creating more division and less unity, when the Bible teaches us to be in unity with our brethren. This is much like having a "National Black Day" or a "National White Day" in America. Not good!

America fought the Civil War - and lost over 600,000 sons, brothers, fathers, and other loved ones - to end slavery, followed by ending segregation and division.  It took many years from the Emancipation Proclamation and well into my lifetime to accomplish - but praise God in my lifetime I have seen discrimination and segregation taken out of our schools, out of our churches, and out of our public and social life. 

Yet in recent years I am seeing Reverse Racial Segregation reborn, birthed in the classrooms and on the campuses of Liberal Left "Woke" universities and colleges all across America.  Were those 600,000 lives wasted to satisfy the greed and lust for power of the Leftists, the Globalists, and the Democrats? 

That college/university led push toward the reversal of Civil Rights, affecting our national, moral, and spiritual lives, bothers me - but not as much as seeing our Christian churches follow suit and celebrate division within the church body.  Division birthed by men who cannot agree on what they believe God said in His Bible, our "Users Manual" for the Christian Life.  So they began new local churches and denominations based upon what they want the Bible to say. 

That practice has a name, Eisegesis, which is the practice of reading INTO the Bible what you want it to say.  While a true Christian church or ministry will practice Exegesis, reading FROM the Bible the message God has written to help us build a healthy worldwide church body, the true body of Christ.

We must keep in mind that the church which Christ, through the Holy Spirit, birthed in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost 33 AD, was NOT Baptist, nor Roman Catholic, nor Methodist, nor Lutheran, nor any other man-made denomination. It was merely called the Way (Acts 9:1:2). The Way to eternal life for all who will believe, NOT just for all Baptists who will believe.

Acts 9:1-2, "Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem."

e. "If he found any who were of the Way":  Here Christianity is referred to as the Way.  This seems to be the earliest "name" for the Christian movement, and a fitting one - used five times in Acts.

i. The name "the Way" means that Christianity is more than a belief or a set of opinions or doctrines.  Following Jesus is a way of living as well as believing.  ("Study Guide for Acts 9" - David Guzik)

In 1987 I was saved in a Filipino-American Baptist church which was affiliated with the Baptist General Conference. But that did not make me a Baptist, it made me a Christian believer, a believer who will spend eternity in the presence of God.

When folks ask me what denomination I belong to, I tell them I am a Baptist-Flavored Christian. Why that way? Because while I relate spiritually to the Day of Pentecost church - my personal Statement of Faith aligns well with that of the Baptist General Conference - making me a "Baptist-Flavored Day of Pentecost" believer.

I hate seeing America and the world becoming more divisive based upon skin color, race, gender, ethnicity, and especially our Christian faith. That is why I suggest a National CHRISTIAN Day. That is not being divisive, only different - for we do not have a "religion" - we have a "relationship" with Christ based upon our Christian faith.

If you are looking for the definition of the real church, the real body of Christ, take a few minutes and listen to this gospel song, one of my favorite:

"It Is Not Whats Over The Door" - The Cathedrals 1992
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2N4JHp89fg

The next time someone asks you, "What are you?" Tell them you are a born-again "Church of Pentecost 33 AD" Christian believer!

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

Click on the image to enlarge