2 Tim 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
If you have read pamphlets, papers, tracks or books that compare the NASB or NIV to the KJV and you haven’t read the other side of the debate— I invite you to read the follow books:
Author: James White
Book: The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust Modern Translations?Paperback: 368 pages
My wife and I listened to a great sermon as we traveled last weekend.We talked about its content for some time.We both agreed that it was a true blessing so we recommend it to your spiritual ears.
I have recommended this book to many over the years. It has sold over a million copies. Get the audio free this month (1-2012) here: http://christianaudio.com/free
The diabolical leader Kim Jong Il is dead.I will never forget the story I read concerning how Christians have been killed in North Korea.This is just one story out of thousands.
"While Interviewee 17 was in the North Korean Army, his unit was dispatched to widen the highway between Pyongyang and the nearby port city of Nampo. They were demolishing a vacated house in Yongkang county, Yongkang district town, when in a basement between two bricks they found a Bible and a small notebook that contained 25 names, one identified as pastor, two as chon-do-sa (assistant pastors), two as elders, and 20 other names, apparently parishioners, identified by their occupations. The soldiers turned the Bible and notebook over to the local branch of Department 15 of the Korean Workers Party (KWP), but the Party officials said it was up to the military police unit, Bowisaryungbu gigwanwon, to investigate. Tracked down at their place of work through the listing of occupation in the notebook, the 25 persons were picked up without formal arrest by the military bowibu. The interviewee was not aware of any judicial procedures for those seized. In November 1996, the 25 were brought to the road construction site. Four concentric rectangular rows of spectators were assembled to watch the execution. Interviewee 17 was in the first row. The five leaders to be executed - the pastor, two assistant pastors, and two elders - were bound hand and foot and made to lie down in front of a steamroller. This steamroller was a large construction vehicle imported from Japan with a heavy, huge, and wide steel roller mounted on the front to crush and level the roadway prior to pouring concrete. The other twenty persons were held just to the side. The condemned were accused of being Kiddokyo (Protestant Christian) spies and conspiring to engage in subversive activities. Nevertheless, they were told, “If you abandon religion and serve only Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, you will not be killed.” None of the five said a word. Some of the fellow parishioners assembled to watch the execution cried, screamed out, or fainted when the skulls made a popping sound as they were crushed beneath the steamroller. Interviewee 17 thought, at the time, that these church people were crazy. He thought then that religion was an “opiate,” and it was stupid for them to give up their lives for religion. He heard from the soldiers who took away the other twenty prisoners that they were being sent to a prison camp. He sketched from memory a diagram of the execution scene."
I have said many times, “freedom is not free.” Frank A. Olomon was a WW2 veteran that lived with a daily reminder of that statement.I officiated his funeral in June of 2011.Frank and two of his brothers served in the military during WW2.
Hitler’s military machine had taken over France in May of 1940 and conquered it in six weeks. In response, the US military landed in Normandy, France, on July 22, 1944.A few weeks later, Frank landed in Normandy and worked his way up to Saint Lo with the 28th infantry.On August 29, 1944, Frank was hit in the leg with a 50 caliber tracer bullet. It hit his knee and exited the back of his thigh.With many dead all around him, he eventually became unconscious from the shock and was later picked up by a tank.Frank’s leg had to be amputated.
His parents got a telegram saying that he was missing in action.Then one came that he was wounded in action.He eventually made it to a military hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan.It was there that his parents were finally able to see him.Frank was later awarded the Bronze Star, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Bronze Star attachment, Victory Medal, Good Conduct Medal and Honorable Service lapel pin.Once back in Burlington, Iowa, Frank made it around on crutches for quite some time before getting an artificial leg.Around this time, he decided he would teach his brother, Glenn, to drive so that he could be chauffeured to work.The two brothers headed down a gravel road and Frank directed Glen to turn here and turn there and then he told him to bring it to a stop.When Glenn put on the brakes he was in loose gravel and the car made a 180 degree turn.Frank told him to get out of the driver’s seat and from that day on Frank drove.
Frank was later fitted with a prosthetic leg and wore out four of them during the next 67 years. He lived with phantom pain and pain in his upper leg all of his life.Daily he lived with a reminder of war.I wonder how many days Frank went to strap on his prosthetic leg only to think back to that day in St. Lo, France?
Frank worked for Zaiser’s Florist and Greenhouse for 45 years. Being on your feet working in the greenhouse and fields with a prosthetic leg was not easy but Frank did it and did it well.
Frank met his wife, Betty Gosling, on a blind date in Burlington.She was from England and she too had a personal experience with WW2.Her home town experienced 65 air raids from German planes.
Frank saw his fellow soldiers die on the battle field and he lived with a constant reminder that freedom is not free.The war changed him physically and psychologically.
Don’t just wait to thank a veteran on Veteran’s Day, thank veterans as often as you can.You would be surprised at how many of them have never heard someone say—thank you.
And remember that freedom is not free.
I thank God for all of the American men and women who have served our country!
See also:
You can glorify God as a Christian in pretty much any profession.
A couple of Scripture come to mind:
Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
My life’s goal is to bring glory to Jesus. My life is not mostly dedicated to the Lord, it is 100% committed to Jesus Christ and His will. God has given me the ability to succeed in the game of baseball. But baseball is not the end; baseball is the means by which my wife, Dee Dee, and I glorify God. Baseball is simply my platform to elevate Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. I would also rather be known as a great husband and father than an All-Star baseball player. Perhaps one day I could be honored with an invitation into Baseball’s Hall of Fame. That would certainly be a boyhood dream of mine come true, but it is a far greater honor that one day I will be in heaven with God to enjoy Him forever.
Check out a couple of Cardinal players who are vocal about their Christian faith.
Sunday evening I checked out a couple of blogs and one in particular caught my eye. It was Justin Taylor’s blog, The Gospel-Emptying Cruelty of Pat Robertson. Then I watched the video where Pat Robertson answered the question in regards to divorce and Alzheimer’s.
Then I watched an interview of Russell Moore on CNN.
This issue hits home to every pastor. We have folks in our congregations that have gone through the hardship of seeing a loved one suffer with Alzheimer’s. It hits home very personally in my own life because my mother has Alzheimer’s. My father takes care of my mother, his wife of 53 years. He fixes her a strudel and a hot cup of Mocha every morning and sets out her medication on saucer for her to take. He does all of the cooking and shopping. He will listen to her talk about going to work, when she hasn’t worked in over 15 years. He will listen to her talk about having to move because they are living in her mother’s house, in her mind. He must listen to her ask the same questions many times a day. And he does this day in and day out. Is it trying? You bet. Is it frustrating and difficult at times? Yes. But to hear Pat Robertson say that it is justifiable to divorce your spouse because they have Alzheimer’s is horrendous.
So I wrote the following twenty minutes before my father called me:
My father doesn’t own a computer, so he will never read this blog, but I will call him this week and tell him how proud I am of him for taking care of his wife, my mother, in sickness and in health. Thankfully my mother’s Alzheimer’s is still in the mild stage, but by all indications my father will continue to love her and care for to the best of his ability. When the time comes that he can no longer do so, we will have to seek a skilled care facility. The next time I see my father, I will show him Russell Moore’s testimony and tell him how proud I am in how he is serving mom day in and day out.
At about 9:20 PM my father called. Normally he doesn’t call this late but he was checking in to see how my day had been and to tell me that the Cardinals won 5 to 0. It was so surreal that he called at this time. I could hardly hold back the tears. Since it was on my mind, I went ahead and told him how proud we were in how he was taking care of mom. I told him that he was doing a good job and that I knew that it hadn’t been easy. That is about all I could say to him at the moment. I am not an overly emotional person, but I had to let him go. I slipped into my bedroom for a moment, just long enough to think about what had happened. I am upset by how Pat Robertson answered the question posed to him. Yet it provided an opportunity for me to think about my father and other caregivers who lovingly stand by their parents, spouse or child in the time when they need them the most. It will also give me a better awareness of the thoughts that some people have.
I guess you could say that divorcing a spouse with Alzheimer’s is justifiable—if you’re an atheist. If there is no god and we are here by chance, our lives ultimately don’t have any meaning, and there is no afterlife, no god to be accountable to—then sure divorce your wife because you only go around once! Live it up because you have to go for everything and sticking around caring for a loved one is only wasting what little time you have.
I have never been a fan or follower of Pat Robertson. I don’t watch him or care to watch him. But I do hope and pray that he will have a change of heart and repent of his statement. I thank the Lord for clear thinking leaders like Russell Moore and for caregivers who continue to love and serve through hardships.
