Memorial Day

 

"Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday which occurs every year on the final Monday of May. Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service." (Wikipedia)

Remembering those who were willing to give their life for you shouldn't take a special day. It shouldn't have to be declared by a government to make it something special. However it seems to be human nature to forget some of the most important events or people. We don't mean to, we have the best intentions, but somehow it just happens that we forget.

Jesus knew human nature and understood our weaknesses. That's why he instituted things in his church such as "Communion" or "The Lord's Supper". He knew that although we have the best intentions, we would eventually forget his sacrifice, unless we were constantly reminded.

In Mathew 26:26-28 we read, "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (KJV)

The apostle Paul explains it in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 in this way, "For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me." In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant between God and his people, an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it."

I encourage you to celebrate Memorial Day. Celebrate the day that remembers those of our military who were willing to die that you might live free. But more than that, I encourage you to meet with your church, partake of Communion and remember the one who died that you might live free eternally.

Mother's Day - The Gift

Gifts are sometimes not thought out before they are given. A report this past week said that Mother's Day gifts are much harder to find (or purchase) than Father's Day gifts. Harder, in the fact that they take more thought to find an appropriate gift. Another survey said that most people spend between $40 and $100 on Mother's Day gifts, whereas Father's Day gifts are typically between $15 and $25.

 

Understand I'm not complaining in any way shape or form, I'm just trying to make the point that it's sometimes hard to find the perfect gift. I'm reminded of a gift box we one time received while working as Missionaries in Kenya, East Africa. Some good friends wanted to do something special for us and fixed us up a special box. They wrote us about it and kept check with us to see if we had received it, but wouldn't say what it was. It took over 6 months for the box to arrive (you never know if you will actually receive a box from America or not, but we did.)

When the box arrived, I commented that it looked like an elephant has stepped on it. With great anticipation we opened the box and found a gallon can of Tapioca pudding (one of my favorites) and a bag of Mikesell's Potato Chips (crisps) from our home state in Ohio (one of my wife's favorites) and a couple of bags of chocolate.

Can you imagine a box, six months in transit with a gallon can of Tapioca and a plastic bag of potato chips and chocolate (which had set in the hot sun in a shipping container in the docks in Africa looked like when we opened it? Actually the can made it through pretty well with only some minor rust, the potato chips were now potato dust and crumbs and the chocolate was large lumps (rolled in potato chip dust).

Do you want to guess our reaction? We were thrilled to get a box from home. We enjoyed the stale potato chip crumbs and used some of them in cooking, we ate the chocolate anyway and opened the can and ate the Tapioca pudding. We rejoiced that these dear friends had remembered us in the far away foreign land and had sent their love in the form of a battered box.

All of this is to say, with gifts, it really is the thought that counts! Love is shared, not in things, not from spending money, but in remembering to let the one you love know that you love them!

Mother's, we children and husbands sometimes stumble on that point, but know that you are loved and appreciated for all you were and are in our lives!

Some of the foundation principals in relationships is found in 1 Corinthians 13:7, where we read: "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance". (NLT)

New Ideas!

New Ideas always are a problem, whether in our homes or in our churches. Understand I am someone who is very skeptical about change, but I embrace it when I am convinced it is (1) in keeping with the guidelines found in God's Word and (2) it will really benefit God's Church.

Not all ideas are good ideas, just because they are new, nor are they of necessity bad, just because they are new. I got a chuckle out of the following story about embracing change:

      The elderly priest, speaking to the younger priest, said, "It was a good idea to replace the first four pews with plush theater seats. It worked. The front of the church fills first."

      The young priest nodded, and the old one continued, "And you told me a little more beat to the music would bring young people back to church, so I supported you when you brought in that rock' n' roll gospel choir. We are packed to the balcony."

"Thank you, Father," answered the young priest, "I am pleased you are open to the new ideas of youth."

"However," said the elderly priest, "I'm afraid you've gone too far with the drive-through confessional."

"But, Father," protested the young priest, "my confessions have nearly doubled since I began that!"

"I know, son," replied the old man, "but that flashing neon sign, 'Toot 'n' Tell or Go to Hell,' is just not staying on the church roof."

It is a blessing for us that God did not give us directions on everything we do. Yes, he did allow us some leeway on how we do some things. I'm not saying that we change the doctrine of the church or God's plan of Salvation, or our worship as outlined in God's Word. But we shouldn't be afraid to embrace new ways of doing the old things.

I know that some of us don't like change, yet there are some who like new things and change. There is nothing wrong with that. God made us different. If you don't like change I'm sorry, but the world in which we live is constantly changing.

We continue to try and improve our facilities; we are trying to complement our worship and bible study periods with a new sound system and coming soon a new projector system. A new way of presenting the message, but we are not changing the message. I can remember preachers hanging white sheets behind the pulpit with a bible message printed on it, we don't do that anymore. We found a better way. In years past we often knocked doors and passed out flyers about our church. Now we mail bible study material and information about our church into 2,000 homes around our building. We have a website with sermons you can listen to in your own home. We have email contacts, etc. in other words, we have changed, but the message hasn't and I like that! I kind of even like the idea of the flashing neon sign on top of the building…. Well, maybe even I'm not quite ready for that much change.