Wednesday, October 28

I serve a kind Master….obviously!

"We have had many expenses during the past year, but during no period of my life has the Lord so richly supplied me. Truly, it must be obvious to all that I serve a kind Master." The Autobiography of George Muller.


 

The text message I received Saturday afternoon as I picked up my daughter's cake for her birthday celebration was long forgotten by night's end. The same request through an email was quickly forgotten to as I settled into bed that night.


 

Reading a little of George Muller's diaries before I went to bed were prophetic in their words, although I wouldn't have known it that Saturday night. Sunday was filled with a rather powerful inspirational worship service but otherwise was uneventful…… Another text message from the originator of the Saturday text offered encouragement to a prayer request I sent


 

"Read Psalm 33, then Daniel 10. Help is on the way; God knows where u live & now I have your address too. God bless, my brother!"


 

"You are the LORD's people. Obey him and celebrate! He deserves your praise. Praise the LORD with harps! Use harps with ten strings to make music for him. Sing a new song. Shout! Play beautiful music. The LORD is truthful; he can be trusted. He loves justice and fairness, and he is kind to everyone everywhere on earth. The LORD made the heavens and everything in them by his word. He scooped up the ocean and stored the water. Everyone in this world should worship and honor the LORD! As soon as he spoke the world was created; at his command, the earth was formed. The LORD destroys the plans and spoils the schemes of the nations. But what the LORD has planned will stand forever. His thoughts never change. The LORD blesses each nation that worships only him. He blesses his chosen ones. The LORD looks at the world from his throne in heaven, and he watches us all. The LORD gave us each a mind, and nothing we do can be hidden from him. Mighty armies alone cannot win wars for a king; great strength by itself cannot keep a soldier safe. In war the strength of a horse cannot be trusted to take you to safety. But the LORD watches over all who honor him and trust his kindness. He protects them from death and starvation. We depend on you, LORD, to help and protect us. You make our hearts glad because we trust you, the only God. Be kind and bless us! We depend on you." (Psalms 33:1-22 CEV)


 

Daniel 10 was the subject of a bible study I had attended the week before at Berean Bible Church in Livonia.


 

"In the third year of Cyrus the king of Persia, a message came to Daniel from God, and it was explained in a vision. The message was about a horrible war, and it was true. Daniel wrote: For three weeks I was in sorrow. I ate no fancy food or meat, I drank no wine, and I put no olive oil on my face or hair. Then, on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I was standing on the banks of the great Tigris River, when I looked up and saw someone dressed in linen and wearing a solid gold belt. His body was like a precious stone, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming fires, his arms and legs like polished bronze, and his voice like the roar of a crowd. Although the people who were with me did not see the vision, they became so frightened that they scattered and hid. Only I saw this great vision. I became weak and pale, and at the sound of his voice, I fell facedown in a deep sleep. He raised me to my hands and knees and then said, "Daniel, your God thinks highly of you, and he has sent me. So stand up and pay close attention." I stood trembling, while the angel said: Daniel, don't be afraid! God has listened to your prayers since the first day you humbly asked for understanding, and he has sent me here. But the guardian angel of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, who is one of the strongest guardian angels, came to rescue me from the kings of Persia. Now I have come here to give you another vision about what will happen to your people in the future. While this angel was speaking to me, I stared at the ground, speechless. Then he appeared in human form and touched my lips. I said, "Sir, this vision has brought me great pain and has drained my strength. I am merely your servant. How can I possibly speak with someone so powerful, when I am almost too weak to get my breath?" The angel touched me a second time and said, "Don't be frightened! God thinks highly of you, and he intends this for your good, so be brave and strong." At this, I regained my strength and replied, "Please speak! You have already made me feel much better." (SEE 10:18) Then the angel said: Now do you understand why I have come? Soon I must leave to fight against the guardian angel of Persia. Then after I have defeated him, the guardian angel of Greece will attack me. I will tell you what is written in The Book of Truth. But first, you must realize that no one except Michael, the guardian angel of Israel, is on my side." (Daniel 10:1-21 CEV)


 

The topic of the bible study was that Daniel had to wait for the answer to his prayers, the angel sent to deliver His reply was stopped by the enemy with whom he had to fight before making it to Daniel's side. Three weeks Daniel was in a state of sorrow after receiving a message from God about a terrible war that was coming. I could relate to Daniel's feelings, prayer seemingly unanswered for weeks and weeks…….


 

As I spent time mediating on the words I had read at the direction of my brother in Christ, the words of George Muller came to me….. "…… during no period of my life has the Lord so richly supplied me. Truly, it must be obvious to all that I serve a kind Master."


 

God has moved in powerful ways throughout this year past….and it is only October. Surely, as Muller reflected, I should know by now the powerful provision of my Father God in all the needs of my life. Many brothers have stepped up, not just with words of encouragement but also financial support that have kept my family afloat and alive…..


 

Monday's stresses with my son's call, the cutting of the transmission lines by the coolant fan and the chaos that resulted on the highway with the spewing of trans fluid over a hot engine……typical in their occurrence in my life, it would seem, but I was determined as I was inspired by Muller to 'give it to God so that His glory may be testified through His servant's life.' My actions were to call my brother in Christ and ask for a prayer request be sent out about the car repairs, my son's health and the grace of my sister's bosses to let her leave work to help in the situation. A remark that my brother attached to the email I would see later, a request added that I 'not rely on my own strength but God's'. During the stresses of Monday, my words were, "This is in Your hands Father because I can't do anything about it on my own. You've provisioned me in the past…..You know my need now."


 

Someone told me later that …. "It's very inspiring how you can have such a hectic day and walk away feeling blessed! I'm happy for you."


 

Tuesday was not much better as I travelled home to get to Farrand so that I could get my niece and daughter from school. Hitting a trailer hitch (I discovered its identity later) at 70 mph on a busy trafficked highway isn't the best way to end a day…….but even then God provided grace and covering in the travelling over of three lanes to the shoulder and only one tire that needed replacing. Along with a co-worker who saw the accident and called to make sure I wasn't in need of another spare, which he had (driving the same model of vehicle I do). With the typical 'dumping' that the world seemed to be heaving on me, I was determined to ask for nothing from my brothers but prayer and to leave the provisioning to the Lord, in His time and in His way. "It's up to You, Lord…." was my prayer as I read George Muller's inspirational words…


 

"In my morning walk, when I was reminding the Lord of our need, I felt assured that He would send help this day. My assurance sprang from our need, for there seemed no way to get through the day without help being sent."


 

I prayed throughout the day much along those lines, speaking to God about the needs I had and had nothing but assurance that provision was made…..either in the gift that the text spoke of….or in other ways, but surely as the crunch time of the needs came, God would provide for there was no other way to make it through. Surely my strength was depleted and only God's would be sufficient to get my family through. As I headed home, jokingly driving off with a flippant remark to my coworker….."At least no matter what happens to me today, God will already be there…"


 

As I got the mail and headed into the house, I noticed the envelope from a fellow believer; their name scribbled in handwriting on the top……I walked in the house, accepted the embrace of my son and gave him a kiss on the head. Another day completed, with the additional gratitude to my Lord for the uneventful ride home….


 

I opened the letter. And as I read the post-it-note that was attached to a check, I could hear the angel speaking to Daniel again…the words I've highlighted above…."Jim, your God thinks mighty of you, and He has sent me, so stand up and pay close attention…..don't be afraid! God has listened to your prayers since the first day you humbly asked for understanding and he has sent me here…….."


 

"James, I believe Jesus wanted me to send this to you and He confirmed it with the following verses……."


 

"Do all you can for everyone who deserves your help." (Proverbs 3:27 CEV)


 

"You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand." (Galatians 6:2 CEV)


 

"Don't get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don't give up. We should help people whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord." (Galatians 6:9-10 CEV)


 

"Remember this saying, "A few seeds make a small harvest, but a lot of seeds make a big harvest." Each of you must make up your own mind about how much to give. But don't feel sorry that you must give and don't feel that you are forced to give. God loves people who love to give. God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others." (2 Corinthians 9:6-8 CEV)


 

"My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don't do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you? If you know someone who doesn't have any clothes or food, you shouldn't just say, "I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat." What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!" (James 2:14-17 CEV)


 

….Do whatever you feel is best with it. No thanks is expected………just enjoy!"


 

Over and over in George Muller's journal entries he faithfully reports both the need and its provision by God's faithful servants in detail….some provisioning in abundance, some piecemeal over lengths of time; but each need faithfully met by a God who made the oceans, created the mountains and calls me…..me a redeemed sinner who's covered in His Begotten Son's blood…..BELOVED……God has never proven Himself unfaithful, both in Muller's life or in the life of any believer. This is the truth that He has taught me this year….sometimes the needs are to be spoken to the faithful companions one journeys with, but more powerful is the glory and unresolvable the methods that can only speak of God's movement in our lives when we speak only to Him…….and leave it to Him to deliver.


 

More than enough to cover the overages of my bank account and a quick repayment of the loan for the car's repair on Monday was written in the check's surface, with some to put into savings towards the eventual home God surely will provide……. Indeed, God has provided much in these times…..and through the hands of a fellow believer who, like many of Muller's provisions, was following the direction of God's prompting…..


 

The final verse that was written in the post-it-note says it all….and why I'm not shouting the name of the person who moved at God's direction to show His glorious power in my life…..for there is no other way such provision could have been made but through the movement of God……..


 

"When you do good deeds, don't try to show off. If you do, you won't get a reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to the poor, don't blow a loud horn. That's what show-offs do in the meeting places and on the street corners, because they are always looking for praise. I can assure you that they already have their reward. When you give to the poor, don't let anyone know about it. Then your gift will be given in secret. Your Father knows what is done in secret, and he will reward you." (Matthew 6:1-4 CEV)


 

No thanks expected……but as I close this note, I cannot help to testify to the glory of a Father who is powerful enough to provide for this humble man in such a undeniable way with a loud proclaimation to His glory and His faithfulness…..


 

One more step closer to the home I've always wanted but have never known. But until I reach the embrace of my Father's arms, I will journey hand-in-hand with His provisioned Holy Spirit and set my hand overlayed with His to the work that is all about me to be done………


 

In abundance or in want……..


 

For the sake of His glory!


 

Monday, October 19

Movement……

"Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice." Philippians 1:15-16

Historically, it is considered that it was Judaizing teachers that had given Paul some trouble in the past for his tendency not to include the Mosaic rites in the 'new' Christian institution that he boldly proclaimed were the preachers who preached Christ from envy and strife. These teachers were probably using Paul's imprisonment as a springboard to change the message and further their cause. Insisting that Paul was a 'imperfect' Christian because of his stance on the issue of circumsion, these 'envious and strife-producing' preachers denounced Paul without his being able to respond in the public forum, where he surely would have dominated the discussion with the truth. With him 'out of action', they renewed their efforts to judaize Christianity.

Paul's reaction is typically Paul…."those of good will" who proclaimed Christ as the promised Messiah and espoused the Christian cause, contending that Jesus was Christ that was prophesized about…..they were doing what God had commissioned them to do and it was a source of rejoicing that they were doing so, for the preaching of the Good News was the source of Paul's joy and his only desire. God would protect His word by sending those who would teach the Truth, much to the consternation of those who desired otherwise. To him, even in prison, nothing else mattered but the glory of God.

With my friend's honest answer to the question I posed him regarding my spiritual growth and the 'stirring of the mud' at the bottom of my heart, the exposing of the deeper wound of my brother that was created by my earthly father's comparison has been a source of much searching of what within me that God would have me to realize for the healing necessary to continue in the writing of my smaller story in His larger context. I have worn the robes of the 'rejected' son, full of the grim of 'the screw-up' who can't do anything right or worthy, in the shadow of a brother who was blessed with gifts that he was given both as the firstborn and as a child of God…..because of the disappointment of my father for a son he couldn't understand and who was 'damaged' with the disease of epilepsy. For the majority of my life, I have incorrectly held that sin against my brother and not with the person which it's commission rested.

But hidden under that truth that manifested itself in the memory of "Larry brought home straight A+'s" was something a little stronger than simple comparison……an anger at God for not making my calling unique to me, something that I could claim and proclaim as mine. You see, my brother has already entered service to God, with his wife Patty, as missionaries with the Navigators ministering to the airmen and airwomen of the United States Air Force that were stationed or basing out of Spangdahlem AB, Germany. "The Difference: Live It Out!" is a dynamic and impacting outreach to the members of the Armed Forces that Larry once served as an officer and now as a minister.

Part of the realization of the wound from my father that caused me to live under my brother's shadow, never good enough to pitch my skills and gifts against such a dynamic and intellectual personality. If I tried to compete, the wound would be ferociously as my father's proclamation would echo in my ears…"screw-up"… or I would set myself up in a place where I was not capable or equipped to achieve and chalk it up to my brother's shadow. And here, in the more 'wiser' of my years, I was doing the same thing that the believers who brought the report to Paul of 'others' teaching Christ…..thought he would react with; envy and strife that my brother was working in the ministry of God's work….and surely I would fail at it too, like too many other things I had 'followed' my older brother in…

The shadowy wound has no place in the ministry of the Called, nor of any ministry where God is the focus. The only outlook that can be given in such endeavors is to rejoice that God is receiving the glory He deserves, not envying the person doing the ministering. Rather than taking the provided discipleship communication with such a missionary as my brother to train and mentor under, I was simply mad at God that there wasn't even this that I could call my own. I was living as a 'rejected son' rather than the 'beloved son' that God has purposed.

If anything else, God has shown me what happens when a faithful servant enters into ministry with the intention of claiming the occupation with his own authority and might…..slowly the gospel will take second string to the manipulations of humanistic interests; no hell is preached, sin is reduced to sound bits and love is the only answer to the Gospel. Soon, the gospel of prosperity, health and wealth are all the pastor will preach, because they are fearful to lose what they have fought so hard to create. God is no longer a way of life, but a business model.

Such division is what plagues the church today; one pastor claiming the authorship and leadership of the church because of popularity or charisma who grows rapidly fearful of preaching the acceptable message instead of the Truth, because they worry that they will suddenly lose the leadership or they refuse to allow those also purposed and called to preach the Good News from the pulpit because they are fearful of that person doing a 'better' job than they are and they will be replaced.

"We have to learn to live in reliance upon what we saw in the vision, not simply live in ecstatic delight and conscious reflection upon God." Oswald Chambers wrote, "Our little "I am" always sulks and pouts when God says do. Let your little "I am" be shriveled up in God's wrath and indignation ----"I AM WHO I AM.....has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:14). He must dominate." Paul told his followers that they should be concerned only for the continuance of the Gospel message and nothing else, readily identified by the 'glorification of God.'


 

It doesn't matter whether it was Paul or another, the glory of God was what Paul would rejoice in…..the furtherance of the Kingdom work even as he spent his days imprisoned. So long as the preaching was in agreement with the teaching that Paul had already given, it was a small matter who delivered it. Obedience to the Gospel commission was the only requirement.


 

If I have been purposed and gifted by God to preach His truth to those in the light and reach those who live in the darkness, it will be God's hand that stirs the passion and creates the fruit by which the work is judged. Just as He will for the work that my brother has set his life and his talents to. And in the world of God's larger story, where the harvesters are in the field working the harvest, it matters not who scatters the seeds, who waters their tender shoots or who gathers, in the fullness of its growth, the crop of redemption. All that matters is that God is glorified in each and every step we take in our lives for Him.

The harvesters are few despite the readiness of the harvest……it is up to us all to work the fields as God has called us to do…..as brothers and sisters in Christ, not as competitive humans who want the glory for their own gratification.

"And the Truth shall set you free….."


 


 


 


 

Friday, October 16

Under the basket

"Don't you believe that I am one with the Father and that the Father is one with me? What I say isn't said on my own. The Father who lives in me does these things. Have faith in me when I say that the Father is one with me and that I am one with the Father. Or else have faith in me simply because of the things I do. I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things that I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father. Ask me, and I will do whatever you ask. This way the Son will bring honor to the Father. " (John 14:10-13 CEV)


 

What do you do when you reach that place; either for the first time or yet again, redeemed sinner or deluded fool, where life becomes anti-life? Where for the sake of peace, the sake of some small piece of goodness you seriously look away from living life and withdrawing into a self-protecting shell because the harshness of dealing with the situations life presents; financial, personal, professional or relational. You look around you at the people you know, both those who think the way you do and those who think completely opposite of you. You see progress, prosperity and the semblance of a happy life. Yet yours is more of a struggle than anyone, even your closest friends know, because you don't give voice to it….you just live it.


 

Your son struggles in school and life with a disability..an impairment that breaks your heart because people treat him as if he's stupid; your daughter deals with continous problems that lead directly back to her mother; your family struggles to live under the weight of your past mistakes and continued disconnection with the world around you; things never seem to get 'better' only continue to remain at a level where most people can't live; situations constantly come that try your faith, your love and your hope……you are continually broken, continuously heart-heavy, seemingly permanently scarred.


 

You cry out to God; why? Please, please, please…….NOT this again…please, not this PLACE again….


 

What do you do?


 

These are times that will try even the most assured of 'beloved sons and daughters.' We cry out to God, praying for deliverance from the host of problems that beset us; to be a light in the darkness of this place we find ourselves in, to be a testimony for His glory in this place….but we want to be delivered. We want to be in that place where the comfort of His grace and the assurance of His grace wraps around us like a shield, protecting us from the hurts, pains and complications of this darkness.


 

And God is silent.


 

We sit before the meager fire of our faith; ripping pages from our Bibles to keep it going, feeding the flames our memories of God's blessings and stripping our clothes from our bodies as additional fuel. We convince ourselves that we only have to wait a little while, for surely our God will hear us, surely He is already on His way to our side and will right the wrongs, deliver us into the prosperity of the saints and bring us to a place where the darkness isn't so dark and our sins are washed away like the dirt on the knees of an active child by their mother and the scraps & bruises that remain are praised as badges of honor by our fathers.


 

And we wait.


 

Our voices growing hoarse with the repetitive prayers that are wrenched with agony with each drawn breath from our throats…. The longer we wait in this darkness; fear growing as the fire grows smaller and smaller with our supply of fuel for its consumption nearly depleted or even gone already….the longer we wait, the more 'ghosts' come out of the surrounding inkiness of this place; you have unrepented sins, you don't believe enough, you are hear for a reason, you must renew your mind for it is surely set against God. And, as the fire grows dimmer and dimmer with the darkness creeping in closer and closer to our souls…bare before the gathering darkness because we have stripped everything away….we have given it to the light provided by the fire......


 

God doesn't come.


 

Some of those 'ghosts' that come out of the darkness bring sustenance; minor items of fire-eating fuel that bring us another moment, another hour or another day in the minimalist of the fire's light. We huddle against the coldness of this place, our very soul shivering in the cold of an absence of God….and we wonder if we will ever be able to come to the place where we can be removed from this isolation and reengaged with the love of the Father, the pride of the Son and the instruction of the Spirit.


 

All of our dreams; of evangelizing to our communities with the power of an Apostle of God, of witnessing the power of God healing the ill and terminally sick by the compassion of the Mighty Healer and of raising our friends and family into the undeniable realm of prosperity that can only come from the Provisioner lie indiscrimate from the rest of the ashes that lie beneath the waning flame of the fire……we wonder if it was simply a flight of emotional fancy, these visions of grander things than this….maybe we are the exception to the rule, rather than making a mistake about the rule.


 

We close our eyes briefly, trying to remember the shapes of flowers in bloom and sunlight coming into the growing day…chasing the darkness of night away or the moments of sunsets, red and hazy in the passage from day to night. It grows harder and harder the longer we sit here in this place…until such imagery that came vivid to our mind's eye are nothing more than shapeless shadows of indescribable things once real in our lives.


 

We cry out "It is finished!"


 

Our hope begins to war with our eyes, trying to convince us that the diminishing fire that we see before us is nothing more than God shaping us, molding us and strengthening us for those greater things that we are yet to do…..but it seems flimsy and hollow as the fire's light barely allows us to make out the shape of the logs in its depth. We despair because of what our eyes see and evict the hope from our hearts so that we, like the light, can fade….into whatever lies beyond the encroaching darkness. Surely, anything is better than this………and if God doesn't care, why should we? The fire goes out, and we know one thing……


 

"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?"


 

We panic, the pressure of the darkness to surrender into its inky stain of defeat heavy upon every part of our body…..the whispers of the forsaken, abandoned and rejected demons of our lives assaulting our ears in rapid-fire succession…. voices dripping with the honey of self, the sweetness of Me and the assurance that we are nothing more than that rejected son and daughter, fooled into the thinking of belovedness oozing into the ears of our soul….and our despair is complete. We close our eyes and wait for the burning sensation of our consumption, falling to our knees in defeat.


 

Our world shakes and erupts in the depths of our despair.


 

Something compels us to open our eyes; some dimly remembered honor of facing our impending doom with back straight and eyes wide open….a defiance of the desperately hopeless against the 'approaching night' and we opened them wide, standing up from the fetal position of our desperation…. screaming with our last breath our sorrow, anger and despair projected in the guttural voice of our throats that pierces the air like a knife…………


 

And it dies as quickly as it came as we look around us………..


 

Like little stars, shafts of light permeate the darkness…….as if being filtered through a wall full of holes. A bright and hurtful light after the completeness of the darkness we have endured. We reach out our hands towards one 'star' and encounter resistance, as if there is something between our hand and the source of that 'starlight'. Hope, a mustard seed of its former self, flares up in our souls and we reach out with both hands again and push….hard.


 

The bushel basket tilts over on its side at the forcefulness of our shove and rocks back and forth, exposed for what it is……and before us stands the source of the 'starlight'; a perfect lamb, bathed in the purest, whitest of light…..and we fall to our knees again as we realize who stands before us; the transforming lamb becoming the human form of our Savior, our King and our Lord. We see as our head bows the pierced hands and feet. Our body is robbed of strength and we lie prostrate upon the ground as we recognize the spear wound of His side…..we cannot even bow in the presence of this perfect sacrifice, this Begotten Son and Savior of the world……for we are naked before Him; the worldliness of our sinful past, the feebleness of our faith exposed in the ashes that lie beneath our body and the disbelief of our belief dissipated in the burning heat of His light…..


 

Our desperate cries seem childish upon our ears now, the demands of deliverance hollow in the sternness of His gaze…..we are ashamed even as we feel the touch of His hand upon our head, under our arms as He pulls us back to our feet…..our eyes, once blinded by the darkness of our past, now blinded by the flowing of our tears; tears of sorrow, tears of shame and tears of joy for our God is real, our God is faithful and our God is true. He stands before us……


 

"Greater things than this have I empowered you to do," He says as we dare to look into His eyes, eyes that once gazed back at a world set against Him and mocking Him with their accusations as He hung upon a Cross……"I have left you with a Great Counselor, sent from My Father….why have you despaired? Why have you hidden the light of your inheritance underneath a bushel basket, covered against the sight of the world? Why have you uttered 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' Did you not hear me knocking, calling your name in a loud voice that echoes still in the halls of My Father's house?"


 

Standing naked before Him, our voice finds no substance or ability to speak….the cracking of the fire's consumption of all we had to give in the effort to keep it going or the hoarse groaning of our heart fearfully filled our ears so that we couldn't hear His voice…..we have no defense to give, no excuse to fit in the roominess of the question He has asked.


 

"Does the clay tell the potter when it is done? Does the light shine brighter under the bushel basket for the purpose it was intended or not? The things I have done, I have given to you greater things to do and the ability to do them….why then do you sit under a bushel basket and waster that which I have given you to do the work of My Father for the glory of the Son?"


 

We stand in the end of times. And many of us, like me in this dream that I had last night hide under a wicker basket, burning our faith and belief in the fires of this world seeking to keep what we think is God's light burning in the darkness…..and we come to our end, alone and afraid, that was not the intention or purpose of God. But He sits outside of our wicker basket and calls us out. So consumed with our giving of ourselves into this deceptive fire of the world, we cannot hear God and find ourselves despairing of His existence.


 

We sin and we tell ourselves we do not……..


 

But God is faithful and true and merely waits for us to turn the basket over on its end and rejoin Him in the work that lies beyond the bushel basket….


 

"By believing in Christ as the Mediator between God and man, we gain comfort. The happiness of heaven is spoken of as in a father's house. There are many mansions, for there are many sons to be brought to glory. Mansions are lasting dwellings. Christ will be the Finisher of that of which he is the Author or Beginner; if he have prepared the place for us, he will prepare us for it. Christ is the sinner's Way to the Father and to heaven, in his person as God manifest in the flesh, in his atoning sacrifice, and as our Advocate. He is the Truth, as fulfilling all the prophecies of a Saviour; believing which, sinners come by him the Way. He is the Life, by whose life-giving Spirit the dead in sin are quickened. Nor can any man draw nigh God as a Father, who is not quickened by Him as the Life, and taught by Him as the Truth, to come by Him as the Way. By Christ, as the Way, our prayers go to God, and his blessings come to us; this is the Way that leads to rest, the good old Way. He is the Resurrection and the Life. All that saw Christ by faith, saw the Father in Him. In the light of Christ's doctrine, they saw God as the Father of lights; and in Christ's miracles, they saw God as the God of power. The holiness of God shone in the spotless purity of Christ's life. We are to believe the revelation of God to man in Christ; for the works of the Redeemer show forth his own glory, and God in him." Matthew Henry

Emailed things......

President Obama was nominated and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize shortly after he assumed the Office of the President of the United States of America...even though there was nothing that he had accomplished.

The committee said it was for the things he aspires to do.

Mitch Albom said that we all deserved our own Noble Peace Prize for the election of Barrack Obama....

This was emailed to me and I thought it was interesting to note. According to Snopes and Truth or Fiction, this is a true story....it shows you how much true heroes aren't recognized for their ultra-human efforts but the humanism of man is brought into full glory among his peers.

I would like to see our President live up to this standard when he makes decisions to kill babies in the womb, create a science around their celluar remains and tells us that the government is our health care provider while giving life ending conferences to the elder citizens as he embraces a marriage as defined by whatever you want it to be.

The prize doesn't always go to the most deserving...

Irena Sendler

There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids..) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.

Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize ... She was not selected.

Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.

It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated with the German and Russian Peoples looking the other way!

Now, more than ever, with Iraq , Iran , and others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it's imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again.

Mankind is its worse enemy, because it continues to declare that it is the God of its own creation.....thank God for the saints like Irena who don't look for the worldly prize but seek to live for another more eternal one.

Thursday, October 15

True religious freedom….anything but Christianity…

On January 1, 1802, Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association of Danbury, Connecticut, and said, "I contemplate with solemn reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and state." This was in answer to the Danbury Baptists' fears of a nationally established religion.

This was a fear because many states were populated by certain denominations of the Christian faith: Connecticut was a Congregationalist state, Massachusetts puritan and Virginia was Baptist. These weren't state established denominations, but dominating denominations in each state. The people who established this nation did not want the trend that they had escaped from in the European countries where the governing body imposed a religion or denomination upon all states; they wanted the states to have the ability to establish a religion that the people in that state preferred.

Charles C. Haynes, senior scholar at the First Amendment Center, celebrates the fact that the varsity cheerleaders at Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe High School in Georgia were barred by school officials of Catoosa County from holding the traditional banners that displayed bible verses for the football team to run through upon their entrance into the field of play. This was not endorsed or established with school funds, school time or other school-related functions…it was a tradition established by the cheerleaders and accepted by the student body, parents and fans for six years. According to Haynes, the feeling of the cheerleaders that this was a form of student speech, not state-religion, is in error. It is surely, Haynes feels, a state-endorsed religious establishment…although there is no evidence given that the rest of Georgia is a participant in such traditions or that the state constitution establishes such tradition as law.

"The Constitution [our founding fathers] wrote establishes a secular state built upon the principles of religious liberty." Haynes remarks in his article in the Detroit Free Press Opinion page on October 14, 2009: No religion in schools a cause to cheer. "At the heart of that liberty is freedom from state-imposed religion, especially in our public schools."

Mr. Haynes flippantly remarks that the cheerleaders should go back to their civic books and look at the First Amendment clause, which demanded the school officials retract the traditional biblical verse banners from being used due to the complaint of a Ft. Oglethorpe resident. I would ask Mr. Haynes to read it again himself and consult his civics book, well at least get one from his era of learning and tell me where the United States Congress was involved in establishing laws pursuant to the Christian religion that superseded Georgia's own state government or where, for that matter the Georgia legislative branch was involved in such criminal activity. For the First Amendment says:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Mr. Haynes seems guilty of what he accuses the coverage of the cheerleaders in Georgia of, "fuel[ing] the ignorance and strife over the role of religion in public schools." And guilty of the continuing misrepresentation of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, specifically the Establishment clause. But, according to Government by the People, 5th Edition from Pearson-Prentice Hall publishers, "In writing the 'establishment clause of the First Amendment, the framers were reacting to the English system in which the Crown was not only the head of the government but also the head of the established church, the Church of England."

I am, as a resident of my city, offended by the teaching of evolution in school, by the teaching of 'personal' sexuality and the passing of condoms to junior high schoolers. I find offense at the requirement for my children to be taught a edited version of Islam, made to make a prayer rug and taught how to pray to the east. . I am offended at the teaching that abortion is okay. I am offended that people like Mr. Haynes continue to not allow free expression of Christian values and yet allow gay and lesbian expression in school. I am offended that my public dollars are used for these things and that a host of other things that are offensive to me and my faith are commonplace in the marketplace, the roadways and in stores and yet, there is no outcry by Mr. Haynes and other 'separation of church and state' for these things. These are my tenants of faith and yet, atheists, agnostics and humanists are allowed free expression in school with my tax dollars. They are quite happily endorsed by the school, even though my children are Christian by their own profession and are equally offended.

Mr. Haynes apparently is not well schooled in the history of the United States of America.

According to Mr. Haynes, "the founding fathers had many things in mind when they drew on a variety of sources –Greek, Roman, biblical, Enlightenment –to create a nation." These influences, Haynes infers, resulted in a secular government established for religious liberty…..

It is true that several influences were used for the formation of the Federal Government. The experiences of the 13 colonies individually and collectively, the monarchy head that was also the religious head, British mixed government, Polybius' treatise on checks and balances of the Roman Empire, John Locke, the Magna Carta, the Christian faith and the Ten Commandments of the Torah to name a few. There were no active governments working under this audacious idea of a republic formed of the people, by the people and for the people anywhere in the world at the time. The only unified group of people that became a nation in the history of the time, without duress or conquest, was the nation of Israel, at least in my limited view of historic human government systems and nations of the world. Mr. Haynes ignores the religious and historical data of the United States when he states that the Constitution was created for a secular government for the purpose of religious liberty. The United States government was established, as stated in the Preamble of the Constitution:

"……. in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…….."

The colonies realized, in the lessons of the Revolutionary War, that such a 'universal' government was necessary for the defense of the individual states and the common good of every citizen within its borders. Religion was not the goal of the Constitution but the reason for it.

Haynes seems to think that the Christian denominations that our founding fathers came from had no effect on the shaping of the federal government as established in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Most historians who oppose either the Christian nation or a nation built on Christian ideals ignore much of the legal, factual and engraved declarations that blanket our nation's heritage. Rather than accept the historical data, the secular historians and scholars like Charles C. Haynes just downplay it…or totally refuse to accept it. Otherwise, they too would have to question the direction of the country that tells a body of students that they cannot honor their faith, their beliefs and their teammates with biblical texts that are fully their own making simply because of a 'perception' implied. The implication that this country was not founded on Christian faith principals is only the turnaround of such thinking, applied to the obvious errors in their 'scholarly' pursuits.

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights originally applied to the Federal Government only, prohibiting the making of law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. The states were left with their own sovereignty regarding religion mostly until the mid-20th Century when the Supreme Court began a more liberal interpretation of the establishment clause of this Amendment.

Until 1850, all thirteen colonies had some form of state-supported religion in the form of tax reliefs to religious requirements for voting or serving in the legislature. This country may not have been created as a Christian nation, but most of the foundational thinking came from Christian denominational colonists who did not want a federalized control over their freedom to worship, like the English system that they were rebelling against. But there is no doubt of the faith of the colonies that would become the United States of America:

Virginia, an Anglican/Church of England colony, considered "that religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator and the manner of discharging it, can be directed by reason and conviction, not by force and violence; and therefore, all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love and charity towards each other" (Declaration of Rights 1776) and that "the opinions of men are not the object of civil government, or under its jurisdiction; that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency is a dangerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty, because he being of course judge of that tendency will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own…."(Statute for Religious Freedom 1786).

Massachusetts, was officially Protestant under the English, but tolerant and fair of other faiths dwelling in its colony. When the English took the providence from the Dutch, they established the Protestant faith, but granted religious tolerance to the other faiths and recognized the discipline of the Dutch Reformed Church. "It is the right as well as the duty of all men in society, publicly and at stated seasons, to worship the Supreme Being, the great Creator and Preserver of the universe. And no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty, or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience, of for his religious profession or sentiments, provided he doth not disturb the public peace or obstruct others in their religious worship….And every denomination of Christians, demeaning themselves peaceably and as good subjects of the commonwealth, shall be equally under the protection of the law; and no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law."

Maryland, Anglican/Church of England, writes in its charter, "That, as it is the duty of every man to worship God in such manner as he thinks most acceptable to him; all persons, professing the Christian religion, are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty; wherefore no person ought by any law to be molested in his person or estate on account of his religious persuasion or profession, or for his religious practice; unless, under colour of religion, any man shall disturb the good order, peace or safety of the State, or shall infringe the laws of morality, or injure others, in their natural, civil, or religious rights; nor ought any person to be compelled to frequent or maintain, or contribute, unless on contract, to maintain any particular place of worship, or any particular ministry; yet the Legislature may, in their discretion, lay a general and equal tax for the support of the Christian religion; leaving to each individual the power of appointing the payment over of the money, collected from him, to the support of any particular place of worship or minister, or for the benefit of the poor of his own denomination, or the poor in general of any particular county: but the churches, chapels, globes, and all other property now belonging to the church of England, ought to remain to the church of England forever..."

Delaware, who had no officially dominate religious denomination, writes in their charter, "BECAUSE no People can be truly happy, though under the greatest Enjoyment of Civil Liberties, if abridged of the Freedom of their Consciences, as to their Religious Profession and Worship: And Almighty God being the only Lord of Conscience, Father of Lights and Spirits; and the Author as well as Object of all divine Knowledge, Faith and Worship, who only doth enlighten the Minds, and persuade and convince the Understandings of People, I do hereby grant and declare, That no Person or Persons, inhabiting in this Province or Territories, who shall confess and acknowledge Our almighty God, the Creator, Upholder and Ruler of the world; and professes him or themselves obliged to live quietly under the Civil Government, shall be in any Case molested or prejudiced, in his or their Person or Estate, because of his or their consciencious Persuasion or Practice, nor be compelled to frequent or maintain any religious Worship, Place or Ministry, contrary to his or their Mind, or to do or suffer any other Act or Thing, contrary to their religious Persuasion."

Connecticut, a Congregational Church state, issued in their colonial charter these words, "[O]ur said people, Inhabitants there, may bee soe religiously, peaceably and civilly Governed as their good life and orderly Conversacon may wynn and invite the Natives of the Country to the knowledge and obedience of the onely true God and Saviour of mankind, and the Christian faith, which in our Royall intencons and the Adventurers free profession is the onely and principall end of this Plantacon," and in their constitution, "It being the duty of all men to worship the Supreme Being, the great Creator and Preserver of the Universe, and their right to render that worship in the mode most consistent with the dictates or their consciences, no person shall by law be compelled to join or support, nor be classed with, or associated to, any congregation, church, or religious association; but every person now belonging to such congregation, church, or religious association, shall remain a member thereof until he shall have separated himself therefrom, in the manner hereinafter provided. And each and every society or denomination of Christians in this State shall have and enjoy the same and equal powers, rights, and privileges; and shall have power and authority support and maintain the ministers or teachers of their respective denominations, and to build and repair houses for public worship by a tax on the members of any such society only, to be laid by a major vote of the legal voters assembled at any society meeting, warned and held according to law, or in any other manner."

New Hampshire, another Congregational Church state, writes in their constitution, "Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship GOD according to the dictates of his own conscience and reason; and no person shall be hurt, molested, or restrained in is person, liberty, or estate for worshipping God in the manner most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience, or for his religious profession, sentiments, or persuasion; provided he doth not disturb the public peace or disturb others in their religious worship."

Rhode Island, with no officially recognized dominating denomination, issued this in their charter…."That [the inhabitants], pursueing, with peaceable and loyall minces, their sober, serious and religious intentions, of goalie edifieing themselves, and one another, in the holy Christian faith and worship, as they were persuaded; together with the gaining over and conversion of the poor ignorant Indian natives, in thoseparts of America, to the sincere profession and obedience of the same faith and worship...true pietye rightly grounded upon gospell principles, will give the best and greatest security to sovereignetye, and will lay in the hearts of men the strongest obligations to true loyaltye: Now know bee, that wee beinge willinge to encourage the hopefull undertakeinge of oure sayd lovall and loveinge subjects, and to secure them in the free exercise and enjovment of all theire civill and religious rights, appertaining to them, as our loveing subjects; and to preserve unto them that libertye, in the true Christian ffaith and worshipp of God...That our royall will and pleasure is, that noe person within the sayd colonye, at any tyme hereafter, shall bee any wise molested, punished, disquieted, or called in question, for any differences in opinione in matters of religion, and doe not actually disturb the civill peace of our sayd colony; but that all and everye person and persons may, from tyme to tyme, and at all tymes hereafter, freelye and fullye have and enjoye his and theire owne judgments and consciences, in matters of religious concernments...and to direct, rule, order and dispose of, all other matters and things, and particularly that which relates to the makinge of purchases of the native Indians, as to them shall seeme meete; wherebv oure sayd people and inhabitants, in the sayd Plantationes, may be soe religiously, peaceably and civilly governed, as that, by theire good life and orderlie conversations, they may win and invite the native Indians of the countrie to the knowledge and obedience of the onlie true God, and Saviour of mankinde..."

Georgia, where no recognized denomination was officially recognized, writes this in their constitution, "No person within this state shall, upon any pretense, be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping God in any manner agreeable to his own conscience, nor be compelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his own faith and judgment; nor shall he ever be obliged to pay tithes, taxes, or any other rate, for the building or repairing any place of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes to be right, or hath voluntarily engaged. To do. No one religious society shall ever be established in this state, in preference to another; nor shall any person be denied the enjoyment of any civil right merely on account of his religious principles." Ironically, this is the state where the 'fifteen minutes of fame' happened that Haynes speaks of.

North Carolina, Anglican/Church of England dominated state, has in their Constitution these words…." That there shall be no establishment of any one religious church or denomination in this State, in preference to any other; neither shall any person, on any presence whatsoever, be compelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his own faith or judgment, nor be obliged to pay, for the purchase of any glebe, or the building of any house of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes right, of has voluntarily and personally engaged to perform; but all persons shall be at liberty to exercise their own mode of worship….."

South Carolina, Anglican/Church of England dominated, declared this in their Constitution…" That all persons and religious societies who acknowledge that there is one God, and a future state of rewards and punishments, and that God is publicly to be worshipped, shall be freely tolerated. The Christian Protestant religion shall be deemed, and is hereby constituted and declared to be, the established religion of this State. That all denominations of Christian Protestants in this State, demeaning themselves peaceably and faithfully, shall enjoy equal religious and civil privileges. To accomplish this desirable purpose without injury to the religious property of those societies of Christians which are by law already incorporated for the purpose of religious worship, and to put it fully into the power of every other society of Christian Protestants, either already formed or hereafter to be formed, to obtain the like incorporation, it is hereby constituted, appointed, and declared that the respective societies of the Church of England that are already formed in this State for the purpose of religious worship shall still continue Incorporate and hold the religious property now in their possession. And that whenever fifteen or more male persons, not under twenty-one years of age, professing the Christian Protestant religion, and agreeing to unite themselves in a society for the purposes of religious worship, they shall, (on complying with the terms hereinafter mentioned,) be, and be constituted, a church, and be esteemed and regarded in law as of the established religion of the state, and on a petition to the legislature shall be entitled to be incorporated and to enjoy equal privileges. That every society of Christians so formed shall give themselves a name or denomination by which they shall be called and known in law, and all that associate with them for the purposes of worship shall be esteemed as belonging to the society so called. But that previous to the establishment and incorporation of the respective societies of every denomination as aforesaid, and in order to entitle them thereto, each society so petitioning shall have agreed to and subscribed in a book the following five articles, without which no agreement or union of men upon pretense of religion shall entitle them to be incorporated and esteemed as a church of the established religion of this State: Ist. That there is one eternal God, and a future state of rewards and punishments. 2d. That God is publicly to be worshipped. 3d. That the Christian religion is the true religion. 4th. That the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are of divine inspiration, and are the rule of faith and practice. 5th That it is lawful and the duty of every man being thereunto called by those that govern, to bear witness to the truth."

Pennsylvania's charter states, "That all men have a natural and unalienable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their Own consciences and understanding: And that no man ought or of right can be compelled to attend any religious worship, or erect or support any place of worship, or maintain any ministry, contrary to, or against, his own free will and consent: nor can any man, who acknowledges the being of a God, be justly deprived or abridged of any civil right as a citizen, on account or his religious sentiments or peculiar mode of religious worship: And that no authority can or ought to be vested in, or assumed by any power whatever, that shall in any case interfere with, or In any manner controul, the right of conscience in the free exercise of religious worship." There was no dominating denomination in the state.

New Jersey, with no official religion, wrote in their constitution, "That there shall be no establishment of any one religious sect in this Province, in preference to another; and that no Protestant inhabitant of this Colony shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil right, merely on account of his religious principles; but that all persons, professing a belief in the faith of any Protestant sect, who shall demean themselves peaceably under the government, as hereby established, shall be capable of being elected into any office of profit or trust, or being a member of either branch of the Legislature, and shall fully and freely enjoy every privilege and immunity, enjoyed by others their fellow subjects."

The rights of religious freedoms were expressed throughout the colonies, in their constitutions and even earlier documents establishing their colonies. Though there was religious persecution of non-dominate denominations during the pre-revolutionary times but most of the colonies recognized the desire and good form of religious freedom. The Pre-Revolution colonies based many of their decisions on religious beliefs, believing that a person who followed the Christian denominations exercised the kind of judgment and moral character necessary for the "good of all", i.e. political office and made it a requirement of service. It is the use of that religious faith that permeated the colonies that led to the Revolutionary War against England. And in the establishment of a republic-style of government, created by the people, for the people and consisting of the people.

"Taking all thirteen colonies into consideration there amounted to a total of 3105 religious organizations," Stacy A. Padula writes in an August 2006 online essay, "Of these 3105, over six hundred congregations were of the Congregationalist order, mostly in New England. Approximately five hundred and fifty were Presbyterians, five hundred Baptist, four hundred eighty Anglican, three hundred of the Society of Friends, a little over two hundred fifty German and Dutch Reformed, one hundred fifty Lutheran, and fifty Catholic. (Jameson, 85)."

Common Sense, published in 1776, by a non-practicing Quaker and referred to as a "dirty little atheist" named Thomas Paine, became an overnight sensation that persuaded the majority of undecided to endorse the Declaration of Independence in 1776 because it combined politics and religion, bringing together to common thread of a colonial people and ensuring them victory over an established, wealthy nation because of its tenements.

"Many historians characterize late colonial America as a religious society," Padula continues, "full of competing denominations, religious enthusiasm, and opposition to the established church. "That contentious spiritual climate, they believe, at once revived older traditions of Protestant dissent, particularly the opposition to the divine right of kings, and lent impetus to popular and individualistic styles of religiosity that defied the claims of the established authorities and venerable hierarchies – first in churches, and later, in the 1760s and 1770s, in imperial politics.""

Aside from slavery, the religious effects of the American history had many other sociological impacts on American society from the beginning and have been used as the highest of moral authority in all aspects of American culture. Among them service to others, elevation of the sick, elderly and infirmed and the promotion of freedom of all people regardless of race, creed or culture.

"[In America's early history] Bible study was the core of public education…"( Newsweek 12/27/82).

In 1774, a rallying cry was penned "No king but King Jesus!"

The First General of the Continental Army issued the first general order ever to American troops in 1775, "The General most earnestly requires and expects a due observance of those articles ... which forbid profane cursing, swearing, and drunkenness. And in like manner, he requires and expects of all officers and soldiers not engaged in actual duty, a punctual attendance of Divine services to implore the blessing of heaven upon the means used for our safety and defense" and in another general order a few days later, compels"...every officer and man... to live and act as becomes a Christian Soldier defending the dearest Rights and Liberties of his country..." The General was George Washington.

Alexis de Tocqueville, a French political commentator noted in The Republic of the United States and Its Political Institutions Reviewed and Examined that "The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other."

Jedediah Morse, the father of American geography, noted that the American government existed "To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom, and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys... Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government, and all the blessings which flow from them, must fall with them." Samuel Adams, one of the founding fathers' that Haynes is so adamantly states established a secular government, said, "Let divines and philosophers, statesmen, and patriots unite their endeavors to renovate the age, by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, of inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity and universal philanthropy... In short, of leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system."

Congress took steps to legislate the moral condition of our first military by using Christian morality. In the Articles of War, adopted in 1775 and revised in 1776 for the Continental Army, there are three of four articles devoted to the religious nurturing of troops….Article 2 ""earnestly recommended to all officers and soldiers to attend divine services." Punishment was prescribed for those who behaved "indecently or irreverently" in churches, including courts-martial, fines and imprisonments. Chaplains who deserted their troops were to be court-martialed.

The first article in Rules and Regulations of the Navy commanded all commanders "to be very vigilant . . . to discountenance and suppress all dissolute, immoral and disorderly practices." The second article required those same commanders "to take care, that divine services be performed twice a day on board, and a sermon preached on Sundays." And Article 3 prescribed punishments for swearers and blasphemers: officers were to be fined and common sailors were to be forced "to wear a wooden collar or some other shameful badge of distinction."

In our legal system, at the federal level, Justice Samuel Chase said in Runkel V Winemiller 1799, "Religion is of general and public concern, and on its support depend, in great measure, the peace and good order of government, the safety and happiness of the people. By our form of government, the Christian religion is the established religion; and all sects and denominations of Christians are placed upon the same equal footing, and are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty." Chief Justice James Kent of the Supreme Court of New York wrote an opinion in People vs Ruggles, ""...Whatever strikes at the root of Christianity tends manifestly to the dissolution of civil government... (such offenses are) punishable at common law... The people of this state, in common with the people of this country, profess the general doctrines of Christianity, as the rule of their faith and practice, and to scandalize the author of these doctrines is not only ... impious, but ... is a gross violation of decency and good order....We are a Christian people, and the morality of the country is deeply engrafted upon Christianity, and not upon the doctrines or worship of those [other religions]...Though the Constitution has discarded religious establishments, it does not forbid judicial cognizance of those offenses against religion and morality which have no reference to any such establishment. The [Constitutional] declaration... never meant to withdraw religion... from all consideration and notice of the law. To construe it as breaking down the common law barriers against licentious, wanton, and impious attacks upon Christianity itself would be an enormous perversion of its meaning... Christianity in its enlarged sense, as a religion revealed and taught in the Bible, is part and parcel of the law of the land.... judgment affirmed"

Our U.S. Flag Code, developed by the Army, Navy and other groups, in 1923 has a provision that allows for only one circumstance when the U.S. Flag cannot be flown above another flag on the same mast or pole. " No other flag or pennant should be placed above or, if on the same level, to the right of the flag of the United States of America, except during church services conducted by naval chaplains at sea, when the church pennant may be flown above the flag during church services for the personnel of the Navy. ..." (Title 4—Flag and Seal, Seat of Government, and The States; Chapter 1 –the Flag; Sec. 7. Position and manner of display, ( c )) The Continental-Confederation Congress, governing the US from 1774 until 1789, encouraged the practice of the Christian faith to the expanding new nation. This Congress appointed chaplains for itself and the armed forces, sponsored the publication of a Bible and its distribution, imposed Christian morality on the armed forces as mentioned above, and granted public lands to promote Christianity among the Indians. National days of thanksgiving and of "humiliation, fasting, and prayer" were proclaimed by Congress at least twice a year throughout the war. And have been declared by most Presidents since.

If the historical documentation isn't enough for Mr. Haynes, the physical representation of the faith of the country still exposed throughout the buildings of the federal government might help….

  • The rotunda of the U.S. Capitol contains four paintings: two prayer meetings, a Bible study and a baptism.
  • There are references to God at the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the National Archives, Senate and House office buildings, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Library of Congress.
  • The Library of Congress contains a bronze statue of Moses holding The Ten Commandments, plus other Biblical paintings and quotations, such as: "The heavens declare the glory of God".
  • The National Archives contains a bronze medallion with The Ten Commandments on it.
  • The Senate and House office buildings contain a plaque that says "In God we trust"
  • In the U.S. Supreme Court building, the Ten Commandments are inscribed above the judge's courtroom bench.
  • On the Washington Monument, the aluminum cap on top displays the latin phrase "Laus Deo" at the highest point of the capital of the United States, "Praise be to God!."
  • If one looks at the original plan of city designer Pierre Charles l'Enfant with the White House to the north, Jefferson Memorial to the south, the Capitol building to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the west, it forms a perfect cross, with the Washington Monument in the center. With the inscription "Laus Deo".

Federal buildings were converted on Sundays for the worship of the governmental officials and the people of the capital city with the Marine Corp Band its musical accompaniment. The President has an extra day in which to veto a bill, because Sunday was an established day of worship to God. Throughout the framework of the Constitution, the heart of the American colonists and the intent of the founding fathers, Christianity has its voice. Not at the exclusion of any other, but as part of the music that is tolerance of differing ideals, religions and lifestyles that are subjected to the majority rule of the 'common good.'

"When I look at America today ….I see a lack of faith, a lack of the fear of God, and a strong force of anti-Christian behavior. This has been becoming more strongly evident with every generation, and every passing year. People now speak out that they are offended by the word "Christmas Tree". They want God taken out of the pledge of allegiance. Society wishes to take prayer out of the classroom. In many schools children are no longer allowed to sing Christmas carols, yet Hanukah songs are welcomed. People are taught by the American culture to do the best they can for themselves, and to get ahead no matter what they have to do, morals aside. The morality of younger generations is gradually becoming obsolete. Children of young ages are participating in immoral activities that I did not even know existed when I was their age. Sin is accepted as normal behavior, in regards to many different areas. Pre-marital sex is embraced by all of the methods of birth control available to the unwed. Abortion is legal, which means killing is legal, which is just absurd….. It is crazy that America was once a nation where religious beliefs were so strong that they could fuel a Revolution, and today God is unwanted in its Pledge of Allegiance." Stacy A. Padula August 2006

Charles Haynes may be praising the incorrect assumption that the First Amendment requires the silencing of Christian expressions of faith by public school students…..but history shows us what the presence of such faith and its public expression has done for this nation. He expresses scorn at the display of support, saying "I doubt the people of Catoosa County would cry "free speech" if they were transported to a school district where weekly banners proclaimed passages from the Quran, the Book of Mormon, the Bhagavad-Gita or some other scripture not their own." Haynes concludes. Unfortunately for Mr. Haynes, living in some ivory tower somewhere, he is cut off from the majority of Americans today and far from the Christian ideals that he challenges. The honoring of Islamic, Hindu and even African holidays is legally required while the Christian themes and holidays are banned or relabeled to be secularized. The Atheist views are allowed, teaching that evolution is fact, instead of a theory, at the exclusion of intelligent design…Sexual orientation is taught as a self-recognized opinion, a humanist and post-modern view, despite biological, ethical and moral standards of my faith that say otherwise. Instead of being a place of education, American schools have become a place of brain-washing, where the truth very seldom is examined, held to a light, compared with other thoughts and facts and a conclusion allowed to be arrived at through the logical progression of thought.

Mr. Haynes, scholar that he claims to be, apparently missed out on the lesson that the founding fathers hoped their 'prosperity' would know, that they lived in the colonial wilds of this country when the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were written amid the culturally diverse faith of many religious expressions, both at home and abroad:

"[P]eople become familiar with one another's religious ways and their differences and that environment has bred a mutual respect, an atmosphere of toleration amongst the folks of the different religious persuasions." Bob Doares says in an interview about colonial religion with Harmony Hunter, "Sort of the opposite of the phrase, "familiarity breeds contempt." …..familiarity with one another's different ways bred respect and toleration…….. it's very important that we realize when today we see religion as still such an important, often divisive, but vitally important matter to Americans, individually and as groups or as movements, we must remember that this is all part of a continuum, a process of living with and dealing with differences and diversity in religion since the settlers began coming to America."

I think that the cheerleaders of Catoosa County's Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe High School in Georgia, in the tradition of displaying banners of Christian verses at their football games, know more of our nation's roots than Mr. Charles Haynes ever will and honor the founding fathers' historic and documented nod to the Christian faith that was the predominate religious expression used in modeling the Constitution and the Bill of Rights which are the heart and blood of this nation. And the people who support them honor the greatest of American freedoms and the core of its success as a Republic; majority rule with concern and compassion for the minorities.

You can live in my country and believe whatever you wish to believe. No longer do I hear the bells ring out from the Christian denominations, but the Mosques can ring out a recorded call to prayer several times a day, and I do not complain; the government is free to issue proclamations honoring Islam, and then as an afterthought amid the outcry of the Christians…one for Christmas and Christianity, as well as other faiths without fear of 'establishing a state religion', and I don't complain; a Presidential hopeful can stand in the halls of a religious establishment and campaign without fear, but pastors of the Christian denominations cannot lead their people in voting their faith at the polls, and I do not complain;Gays and lesbians are allowed to hold a 'day of silence' in public schools and yet Christian youth are suspended from school for their shirts that proclaim another view, and I don't complain; boys who feel like they should be a girl are allowed in the female restrooms of the school or modifications with public money are made to allow such 'freedom' and I don't complain; so why aren't our Christian youth allowed to express themselves in the same way without complaint?

Our 'dear' President has called this a nation of many faiths, of which Christianity, true Christianity, is now the minority…yet it is one of the many named. Why is it the only religion persecuted in the American landscape today?

If you don't want to listen to such Christian expressions of encouragement, read it on the banners of high school students for the edification of their sports teams or have it recognized in the hallways of school because it is Christian………if you are offended by the Christian heritage of my country that allows you that freedom, was purchased by the blood of Christian patriots and written into the Constitution with expressions of a Christian faith of this great nation by intellectually giant men of faith………then:

Understand that we are honoring our rights as established by the First Amendment:

Prohibiting the government from making of law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances…..because……..We the People, of a predominately Christian faith and heritage, ……. in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity……..do ORDAIN and ESTABLISH the Constitution of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA.

In God We Trust, in the year of Our Lord Two Thousand and nine.


 


 

Tuesday, October 13

New strength…

"But those who trust the LORD will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired." (Isaiah 40: 31 CEV)

George of Worthy News Ministries writes of a story he's heard in the devotional today……I've heard it before, but it is George who brought it back to mind today:

"While walking through the forest one day, a farmer found a young eagle that had apparently fallen out of his nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard with his chickens and there it stayed for years. It wasn't long before the little eagle learned to eat and behave like the chickens. One day a naturalist passed by the farm and saw the eagle confined in the barnyard with the chickens. When he inquired about this strange sight, the farmer told the man his story. "Unfortunately," said the farmer, "the poor little guy just never learned to fly." "Still," the naturalist sighed, "he has the heart of an eagle and can surely be taught. Will you allow me to work with him?" The farmer agreed, but with much disbelief. The naturalist picked up the eagle and lifted him toward the sky and said, "You belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly." The eagle, however, was confused. He did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eating their food, he jumped down to be with them again. The naturalist took the bird to the roof of the house and urged him again, saying, "You are an eagle. Stretch forth your wings and fly." But the eagle was afraid and jumped down once again to be with his chicken friends. Finally the naturalist took the eagle out of the barnyard to a high mountain. There he held the king of the birds high above him and encouraged him again, saying, "You are an eagle. You belong to the sky. Stretch forth your wings and fly!" The eagle looked around, back towards the barnyard and then up to the sky. Slowly, he stretched his wings, and with a triumphant cry, he soared away into the heavens."

This part of Isaiah (27-31) shows Israel as God's people in a place of distress—"a source of dismay to herself and of mockery to others who ask where the God is in whom she trusted." (Interpreter's Commentary) God promises divine action for those who continue, even in spite of the consequences, to trust in God to deliver upon the promises He has made to His people. As a nation and individually, despite the contrary information…there are things God is doing throughout the world that will bring about His plan.

I have realized in the past week just how much it was not the vision or the call that has hampered me in the pursuit of what God would have me do for the Kingdom, but myself. Rather, the sinful image of myself that I've used as a crutch to hobble along in this journey…that eagle living in the dust of the chickens....comfortable in my suffering to the point where I dare not dream, for someone might call me out on that dream and expect me to 'go for it,' like that naturalist tried several times with the eagle. The proverbial image of a 'screw-up', a son that is flawed and will never achieve the perfection that is required from his father….and subsequently, the Heavenly Father, to pursue bold and mighty things. As I settled myself down for bed, I reflected on the many people who have suddenly come into my life, those who have been in my life who have spoken boldly to my sin and the matter-of-fact way some have challenged me to step out into fearful places that a screw-up son would not go for the surety of failure…..and an old wound came up…one that's added to the weight a father gave to a screw-up son who bore the image of his face and the sound of his voice…….

My brother Larry.

Granted, it wasn't Larry who created the wound or even acerbated it through participation, though for many long years of my life…culminating in the burial arrangements of my father ironically…I did unfairly and incorrectly place the blame at his feet. Larry, if you viewed him in my father's eyes, was the ideal child…smart (IQ very high), handsome to look at, and well behaved. Truly a firstborn that any parent would find themselves puffing in justified pride with the heredity that they could claim through him. My father, though, was sorely disappointed when he failed to repeat this coup with his second born son…and he never failed to acknowledge his disappointment. I was not good in school, had epilepsy (petite mal) and was 'damaged goods'. Larry would grace through school with ease, bringing home honors for Dean's list, honor roll and the like while I struggled to bring my grades from D's and E's to B's and C's. I will never forget one day, having fought all semester long with extended homework, repeating assignments and extra study time, when I brought home my report card (in those days, we brought them home…they weren't mailed). I was walking on air, surely the B- that I had pulled up in History would bring some delight and affirmation from my father…..my mom was ecstatic, showering me with praise and affirmation at my hard work…..and my Dad looked at my report card, a look of disgust clouding his face as he said the words that have stopped me in my tracks whenever something greater than I've ever tried has come across my path….."Your brother got an A+." Even my mother's defense, quickly uttered, fell hollow upon my heart…..I would never be good enough for my father's love.

I can see now; in this place where God has fallen into silence and the tentacles of service, of choice and of bold adventures creep back into my disrupted and challenged life, that wound still bleeds and hinders the full operation of my God-given gifts in use for the Kingdom. From that moment on, it was one after another failure because I focused not on developing myself for what was uniquely mine to do: write, speak and feel compassion in a world that has a low view of such people…who live in service to others, who desire not to 'fix' people but journey with them as God develops them into His people…No, it was trying to succeed where my brother often times would already be…and the specter of his influence would already be set against me by those who remembered his brilliance, his logic and his friendly personality. I could not succeed there, I would here my father speak, and I would fail, through my own hand or because it wasn't my place to find success.

That led to the event that my brother told me a few years ago that would cause a separation for ten or more years, and still seems to have its hold upon our relationship despite the forgiveness asked and given ironically five and a half years ago….when I dedicated my life, my person and my will in a surrender to the true Father. The wound wasn't healed and the Call has been superseded by its bleeding. I have never taken God there and asked for healing. My ignoring the 'pink elephant' in the room that He was pointing to…..the 'screw-up son' that would never be fit for service to God. And I have gradually lost the voice of God speaking in my ear because He's been waiting for me to remember what He has told me and to begin to act like a beloved son. God has fallen silent, because He's waiting for me to absorb and adopt what He's already said.

I remember when I was first called to return home, the utter brokenness that came with the uttering of the words, "Don't you think it's time to stop running and come home?" The relationship that was instanteous formed, the bond that no man or man-made construct could break…that was limited only by my wounded self. I can remember the 'dare' of God, pointing to Gene Appel on stage at Willow Creek Community Church's A2 Conference and my eventual acceptance of it….and then the fears, failures and limitations that I accepted as a matter of fact. The decision of my Pastor at the time that I was too "unfocused" for discipleship, the continued rejection of the "leadership" staff even with the Associate Pastor's endorsement and edification of my calling….the rejection by church after church after church….doctrinal differences I was unwilling to compromise with, the mega-impersonal corporate mentality of another…..battles that did not have to be fought because the triumph of it wouldn't have honored God in the slightest but would have brought honor only to my own self, wounded as it was, and would have eventually hurt the very people I desired to serve. The real and perceived slights, the failure of the church to answer God's call…..born out of a woundedness that I realized I could trace to that dining room of the Hazelton house….when my father's rejection found its voice in that bulldog shaped man whom I bore an eerie resemblance to.

You see, my brother has been serving for over the last five years as a missionary with the Navigators in Germany….mentoring and developing Airmen for the grace of God's Kingdom. He's already been where I wanted to go…..and I set myself up for failure because I still very much give voice to the 'rejected' son, that boy who was defective and a screw-up; living in the shadow of a boy a year and six days older than me for no other reason than I was unworthy of the sunlight.

Not exactly what God tells me in the Bible, is it? Where we all are part of the same body, gifted according to the Holy Spirit to individual work within the context of the Kingdom….chosen, beloved and blessed by our Heavenly Father to be equipped, impassioned and capable within His strength, His work and His desire to do 'more than this' for the Kingdom. Jesus Christ has shown us the way to live as beloved sons..daughters….as children of the Most High God…..and we spend our time like I have; wounded and bleeding, scared of healing the very image of who we think we are because we don't want to let go of it in favor of the impossible image that God says we have; as image bearers of the Most High. Not exactly a reason why Jesus Christ, the ONLY begotten Son of God, to come down to earth as a baby, suspending His rights of godliness to become a man, all to die at the hands of the very people He loves so much to die for….and to ask for forgiveness even as the fragility of His human body was racked with the cruelest of pain we could inflict upon another….even as His triumph was declared by His voice, "It is FINISHED!"

All things were made new……

All that did happen, was happening or would happen was brought under the sacrifice of Christ; and the ability to do great things once again for our Father was there for the asking…even some 1,900 and some odd years later, when a father would kill a beloved son because of his own wounds….and set brother against brother both knowingly and unknowingly through the years of their lives. Can we say that we haven't continued to sin if we perpetuate the broken and sinful image that our fathers bestow upon us? I think we continue to grieve the Spirit when we do, and sin is its root.

A ministry wants to follow in God's direction…..and calls upon its men whom are being discipled to renew their commitment to God's work that's being done….A church, a plant from another church, still very much in its infancy attracts me to its desire to be a mosaic of God's love, power, mercy, grace and mission…..A brother, who has journeyed some heavy rockslides with me in this race towards home, speaks the very fears my heart hides….that the image of a 'worthless, rejected son' is my safety blanket (I can do the 'pageantry' of the faith verbally but not relationally), for no one would ever expect anything worthwhile from a screw-up……A young sister in Christ emulating the passion I once had for God's work…..commonalities of honor, service and American pride that bridge the generational years and bind us together in the family……and my Barnabas, speaking to me for over an hour on the phone because I asked him to call; speaking of the gifts and calling that he has seen in me: all of these things combining for that final push….towards God and the gaping wound of a rejected son.

As my sister-in-arms/Christ said….."I would rather die for something I believe in that to live for something I do not."

Do I want to live as a 'rejected' son, a screw-up that forever will be found lacking in capability and intelligence to do even the mendacity of life? The rejected boy that knows of God would say, "NO!" and then go right back into its comfortable robes….custom-fitted for my humanity and comfortable in the pageantry of my faith. But if truly I have been saved, if I have been restored to my place as an image-bearer of God's masculinity, then there is no other answer than to say, "I am no longer that boy….He has been raised from the dead by the power of the Spirit and beloved by his Creator God to do more than this." Just like the father of the possessed son……

"And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, "What are you arguing about with them?" And someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." And he answered them, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me." And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." And Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!"" (Mark 9:14-24 ESV)

We have all been equipped and purposed for that portion of the work that God wants us to join Him in…..all of us, from the youngest Christian to the eldest…from the newest to the oldest. And God has grown hoarse telling us time and time again of the work that He has given us to do, the greater things than Christ did that we, as co-heirs, have yet to do…..God's silence is like Christ's exasperation "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?.........If you can! All things are possible for one who believes." Can I be something other than a screw-up? God says that I am, the beloved son of the Heavenly Father, in which all things are possible. But only as a beloved son, an image-bearer who believes in the image of the Father he bears.

For all of us, whether we do the same work at different levels or different work at equal levels. The work has always been there…..some have been working their whole lives in the purpose of God's enticement and others have come later into the realization of the full harvest yet to be gathered. But we all work towards the same goal; to be approved and unashamed as we stand before our Creator God and are held to account for the work we've done, not the length of service. Be it as the Christian co-worker working under the leadership of God in a secular job or a pastor charged and purposed to speak the Gospel, teach the things that God has taught them to disciple others to do the same……we are all under the mandate of God to "go out into all the world and every nation to speak the Good News and teach them what I have taught you." We should only have one desire, as Paul told his protégé Timothy…..

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15 ESV)

Our hearts have been changed when we have accepted the gift of our Savior's salvation……but we still live as an eagle in the chicken coop because we don't believe we can fly. God keeps on trying to get us to believe in what He has done.

I shouldn't, as a beloved son, live under the perceived shadow of a gifted brother but under the shadow of the same cross that he does. Conscious of a God that I am growing to know, bound in the relationship of His love, grace and mercy and wrapped in the image of who He has designed me to be: a beloved son. To do otherwise is to grieve the Spirit in the sinfulness of self-protection and the dirty image of a humanistic view of who we are. A beloved child of God works hard at those grades; extra credit homework, study, repeating the homework lessons and with the grip on their report card approach home…..not with the intimidating feeling of failure but with the assured step of a child who has done their best and find the Father standing outside the house…looking towards them with a smile on His face and His arms wide open in celebration….for He knows we are ready for the next step because we have heard the voice of His instruction.

God has brought me to the mountaintop and told me what He has made me to be: an eagle soaring in the highest parts of the sky…

It is time that I let go of that failure….that sinful image of a child purposed and equipped by his Heavenly Father to do great things in His name, for His glory and His purpose. And stride confident with my report card in my hand, the work that I have applied myself to fully and completely in the school of this world marked upon its lined surface….confident of my Father's love and approval for the things I have done right and His forgiveness for the things I have failed in.

Randy Travis' song seems to speak to me of how a beloved son would live…….with a heart unhindered, fear a word and not a feeling and the assurance of a Father's embrace:

"I remember how it used to feel….riding down old two mile hill……Tennis shoes up on the handle bars, paying no mind to the passing cars. No doubts, no fears, just like when you are here. No chains, no strings, no fences, no wall, no net, just you…..to catch me when I fall. Look heart, no hands. It took a little time to get up to speed, to find the confidence and strength I need to just let go and reach for the sky….You know sometimes it felt I could fly. No doubts, no fears, just like when you are here. No chains, no strings, no fences, no wall, no net, just you…..to catch me when I fall. Look heart, no hands. It doesn't take much, just a smile or a touch and I'm a kid again……I can almost feel that wind. No chains, no strings, no fences, no wall, no net, just you…..to catch me when I fall. Look heart, no hands. Look heart, no hands."    (Look Heart, No Hands).

No limitations…willing to believe in that which I cannot see…feeling the wind of His love as I live in the assurance of being made in His image….

As a beloved son with no mind to the dangers of living for Him in this broken, sinful world. Why did it take me so long to realize that I was living with the wrong image of who I was because of WHO's I am……


 

"Look, Poppa…..Look at me, NO HANDS!!!!!!!!"