7/4/2019

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY !!!

It is truly a great day to be an American, this remembrance day. I’ve never been much of a “flag-waver,” but I doubt anyone is more grateful than me to live in this wondrous country. In a time when few people fully understand the present active grace of God, a time filled with thousands of various religions, all spouting out things the Lord Jesus Christ never sent them to do; and a time when there are as many political factions as there are loudmouths in Washington, DC, it is good to think of our beginnings, to be so thankful to not be under a despot, or a depraved and godless dynasty somewhere.

I believe the world and, yes, our country, is going the way the Bible prophecy tells us it is to go. Yet, here we are: we live in a land where we can still stand and deliver speech, go for thousands of miles uninterrupted nor encumbered by any of the harsh life of nearly 3/4 of all nations. While we moan the misery of our taxes and how those monies are spent, we do not daily face the need other people go through, just trying to feed their families. The SIMH in the next paragraph is from a theater production which depicts in story form the misery which, if we dwelt on it we would be hesitant to celebrate our heritage. But celebrate we must.

“I Dreamed a Dream” was the SIMH this morning. I’ve never seen Les Miserables (don’t know how to put the correct inflection marks), but the song was written for the Broadway and Musical version and 4 people get credit for it. Writing all their names here would take up too much space (chuckle.) Probably what prompted this to me in my head this morning was that I listened to a version by a marvelous talent, Haley Westenra, not too many days ago. Beautiful song. The song is about a love lost, but applicable to a more communal setting which indicates the loss of life’s purpose and intentions. Can we never regain what is lost and what is taken from us? Think of the larger picture of those who were our forebears: do we today embody what they desired for us? or have we thrown it all away? or are we systematically throwing it away as we slide from one generation to the next? Is America nearing a despotic time? Does the loss of the “republic” once established 243 years ago, ever slip from our grip a little more with each central government invasion of our rights? Rights we were guaranteed by the first 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United States are eroding into barely being remembered by middle-aged people today and not being taught at all to the next school-age generation. Unalienable? not at the moment.

As I see these things, I keep being reminded of what I know to be the necessity for repairing the breech, what needs to be relit and kindled anew in the hearts and minds of those now entering the majority of their lives. Read my list, add to it, take thought of it, and let us begin to rebuild in the people younger than ourselves, an heart full of the proper ways to live the “dream” once passed to us, a place of actual opportunity for the dream to be a reality,…for yet a little while longer.

My list: 

Restore personal integrity by an avid study of God’s wisdom, found in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Then, attribute this wisdom to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and not usurp it to ourselves nor to others.

Look to Jesus Christ for personal salvation into a glorious eternity, earned for us by His sacrifice, His suffering, and His power of resurrection, which gives to us the promise of the same glory and honor.

Change the doubtful heart to one of faith in the written Word of God, that there be no doubt where truth rests. 

Then comes activity, using free speech in our workplace, our streets, our bars and restaurants, our community houses and our ballot boxes, all while we walk in the light of God’s word and in the power of His might. 

Can we bring back the dream of independent thought, the driving   exceptionalism of what is positive and lasting from generation to generation? Yes. Will we? Only if first we want to. Then be willing to find and accept the reconciliation proffered by the Lord’s grace, and then follow by becoming purveyors of the same grasp of truth and purpose our founding fathers once proclaimed. Remember Mr. Franklin’s answer to the question “what sort of government have we, sir?” “A Republic, madam, if you can keep it,” he said. 

Thanks for reading, the Elder

6/30/2019

“Woke up this morning feelin’ fine, I woke up with “Heaven on my Mind,” and now I’m feelin’ mighty fine….” That’s the SIMH, an old Southern gospel song by lots of artists and quartets. Strange how the tunes, followed closely by the words will just come out into my consciousness even though it’s been years since I heard that song. This one didn’t stay long this morning, but came back later in the day. (mumble, mumble, mumble…)

It’s, of course, OK with me, but sometimes it seems mysterious, don’t ya think?

Saw many more friends on Friday at the Bible Camp. Heard four very good messages. One message by a Chicago preacher, the next from Chattanooga, then a missionary from Wisconsin and, finally the host pastor from here in Western Tennessee. A good mix of preaching the gospel of Christ and who sounded like what! They were assigned topics for today, all about the family, then the wives, the husbands, then the discipline. Well done, gentlemen, well done. Most modern day preachers would have disagreed with about half of what was taught, but it was all very definitely Scriptural!

On Saturday, I went to visit another North Tennessee city, Clarksville. What a beautiful city! The old downtown has been refurbished, most of it occupied and a lot of Saturday morning traffic. At the edge of downtown, a seriously large farmer’s market & arts/crafts market had wall to wall people! Those I talked with were truly enjoying their (hot) day at the market and just being out amongst them was enjoyable. The rest of the town seemed very much alive and prosperous. It will be a great town for a Blue Jug Alkaline Water and Health Market.

My drive home was tedious, but uneventful—that’s the best way to have a drive: no problems, just a couple of slowdowns. One thing I noticed: Nashville has gone the way of other big cities. Traffic is a huge problem. When multi-lane traffic snarls to a dead stop for several minutes without an accident or other extraneous thing happening, there is a big problem in the infrastructure, some big thing needs to get fixed. Usually, for the people who live there, they will face some form of new tax or toll to pay for it. But we live in a society which will step up and get ‘er done. I have seen it in every big city I’ve frequented: Houston, San Antonio, Baton Rouge, Mobile, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Louisville, Indianapolis, they all had to alleviate something of a snarl maker and they did. Nashville will be the next to have another major route-way overhaul.

Today, Barb and I went to Chattanooga and I taught bible class in both hours at Grace Bible Church. Bro. Atwood was still at the camp in Western Tennessee. We had a great fellowship with the folks who came. A few less because the regular preacher was not there, but a good group, anyway. 

Afterward, we went to one of our favorite small restaurants, this one atop Lookout Mountain, in the city of Lookout. The Cafe on the Corner is just great food. Every time we go we are satisfied in every way; service, food, atmosphere, it’s all good.

The rest of the day, I’ve lazed around, catching up on rest and looking forward to a good week ahead. Baseball on the “tellie” is managing to irritate me (the Cubs are getting beat) but it is a very restful afternoon. 

Hope you and yours have had a good weekend and your week ahead is worthy of your anticipation!

Thanks for reading, the Elder

6/28/2019

I’m in an interesting place. I’m in Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park in Western Tennessee, on the Kentucky Lake, in a cabin with some friends. We can look out the window and see the span of the beautiful lake and, after dark, the lights of homes and industries running down the Eastern shoreline. A little ways North of here is what is known as the “land between the lakes” Look that up on a map or read the history of how the building of Kentucky Lake caused this to occur. This is the Tennessee River turned North, coming from Western Alabama and now going all the way to the Ohio River, joining to go West to the Mississippi.

What a spot. Quiet, peaceful, restful.

We’re here for a 4 day Bible Camp (I’m only staying two) hosted by Soul’s Harbor Bible Church of Medina, TN. These are very hardworking, but very gracious people. They are all a joy to be around. I think this is the 5th year for this camp. Barb and I were here for the first 2, then missed 2, and I’m just visiting this year. I realized this evening how sorry I am we didn’t come the last two years. Oh, well. Just glad to be here.

I had an extremely interesting day from the events on my drive over here. I left home early enough to stop in Murfreesboro and look at a unique 3-building composite of a large group of tiny businesses. The complex looked like perhaps it had originally been doctors offices of some kind, as the individual businesses were all in 8×10, 10×10, or 10×12 rooms, all facing a central hall. There was no receptionist’s desk in any building, the owner telling me each business owner had to generate their own clientele, etc. Several of the businesses were hair salons, some simply barbers, there were some herbal shops, aroma therapy, a lady who sold water, nail salons, and specialized jewelry shops. Remarkable. 

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Murfreesboro! The owner was in one of the buildings and she told me they seldom have more than one opening at a time. I didn’t ask what they charge, but they were beautifully kept buildings and grounds and parking lot. One building had 10 such businesses, one had 15 and I didn’t get to the 3rd building. This causes the mind to whirl, I mean think of the city of 100,000 or so having that many singular business people who want to be on there own who can simply run their business out of a tiny room (each one had a unique “shingle” hanging at their door to identify who and what they were.) “Hat’s off” to the folks who generated this for themselves. Quite impressive.

After that, I visited with some folks in Franklin, TN who are in the commercial real estate business. I wanted to get a “feel” for what it will be like when one of our prospects wants to put a store here, or in neighboring Spring Hill, Columbia , or another of the joining Nashville suburbs. Turns out, these two are interested!

Then, I went to Dickson, TN where I met with the Economic and Business director for their county Chamber of Commerce, a government paid position. He was a young man, feeling his way along to get some good things done, if possible for this Western Nashville suburb. I was here 4 years ago and have to say, this town has really improved itself in that time. Much people on the streets and a very active old revitalized downtown. 

I still find that most people I come in contact with know nothing about alkaline water, nor why they should be worried about drinking the chemicalized tap water virtually every water system is supplying. Most everyone is a “start-up” conversation. Only the Franklin folks had any prior interest in getting really good water. I sure hope this all develops into some good locations for Blue Jug stores.

Thanks for reading, the Elder

6/20/2019

How and why things happen as they do remains a mystery, sometimes. Not in a “this-ties-me-in-knots” way, but a mystery just the same. A couple of weeks ago, we were apprised of a requirement in the city of Greenville, TX (the site of our next Blue Jug store) which we had not encountered before and have not found anyone who has heard of this before. The city counsel of Greenville has scheduled meetings, each Thursday, reserved for people interested in starting or for putting a location of their business in the city of Greenville. This meeting is an appearance before the council to give them the reason for you choosing their city. It will be discussed and then they will decide if they will issue  you a license or not. Anyone ever heard of that? I never have. It isn’t that I think it is a bad idea, but ya have to admit, this is rare, different, maybe not even constitutional. How would they know if the new business had violated any laws or not, since it isn’t open? 

Just of a curious nature, I think. Anyway, our partner, Chuck was on his way to Greenville yesterday evening when the city was hit with a tornado! Right downtown! He couldn’t even get into his motel—no electricity, so he slept in his car and met with our new owners for breakfast this morning. The City Council meeting has been rescheduled for next week. Pretty weird happenings, right? 

I told Chuck this morning if conversation over the breakfast table raised the question of whether the storm was a “sign” from the Lord, to remind them “We walk by faith, not by sight” and that the storm was not sent by the Lord, if anyone it would have been the devil, the “prince of the power of the air” (which is where storms originate, right?) He said it did come up! It’s interesting to me that many religions foster the idea that God has caused all the storms the earth receives. Does the God of Heaven and Earth, the Creator of all things want to randomly or by design pick on people so as to make them have a hard time in their lives? I trow not! (Saying “trow” is a short way of saying, “I have judged this and reckoned to the place where I see it” in this case, NOT) Trow is a great Old English word we should use more.

Once the entire word of God was recorded and mankind was left to live out our time in the dispensation of grace, God is no longer trying to get some manifestation of Himself over to the people who are alive on the earth by any meteorological method, nor any other physical or natural method. He has said all He’s going to say on the subject of Himself and shall judge us according to His word, in light of our reaction to the gospel Paul preached—the gospel of Christ, the power of God unto salvation: …how that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised again for our justification. If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you’ll be saved.

How much more peaceable this world would be if all people everywhere could see that! If you have trusted Christ, think about the peace which rests in you, even in troublesome times and on days when natural thoughts drive you far from Christ’s life in you. His Spirit in you is still the “hope of glory” all the time. Nothing thrown at us in this world is a surprise to Him that loved us, nothing can deter His plan for us. Nothing which comes our way changes our last day here, he already knew when that is to be. So, how did He instruct us to react? 

“Be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”—1 Col.15:58. (Over the last 40 years, several young folks, upon getting a new bible, have asked me to sign and give them a verse for help—I most often, give this verse.)

Thanks for reading, the Elder

6/17/2019

Perhaps in further memory of my father, I awoke this morning with the old song “I Won’t Have To Cross Jordan Alone” in my head. (He sang a few bars of that quite often.) It’s not a totally Scriptural song, but has some great lines in it which do depict “when (we) come to the river at the ending of day, When the last winds of sorrow have blown, There’ll be somebody waiting to show me the way, I won’t have to cross Jordan alone.” —If you take out the reference to Jordan you have a pretty clear picture of what happens when saved people leave this life. Also, in the chorus, the middle 3 lines are “Jesus died all my sins to atone, When the darkness I see, He’ll be waiting for me…” very sound doctrine. 

I’ve noticed for many years in any people the “quick to judge” attitude which I first saw in myself after learning that the Apostle Paul was our apostle for today. The quick to judge action is generally caused by seeing some-thing or -things which make one have questions to ask which the general public of church-goers will not be able to answer. So, it’s like I know something and I bet you don’t, and if you don’t I can label you with one of my labels. When I could plainly see why, according to Scripture, there should not be any denominations of churches, I set out to show why I (me and the Bible) was right and “they” were wrong. This was in 1974. I still think that is correct, for if the Bible had shown me differently, I would have changed again—I changed once. But, relating that to people has changed considerably. Betterment by further study is always in our instructions.

If, then, it is so clear that there should be no divisions among us, why do I not charge ahead just like I did in 1974? Because the very same Scripture has shown me I cannot change anyone else’s mind: “Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind,” I reckon. Time and circumstance, good and bad experiences, helpful and harmful things have all taught me to take all of the Apostle Paul’s teachings all the time. Sometimes, some teaching is cancelled out by later teaching which shows how the revealed mysteries unfolded before Paul so that as he taught the “mystery of Christ” he learned and taught not to offend the “Jews, Gentiles and the church of God.” Later, and harkening back to some former things, he said, “Let no man judge you in ….” whatever.  

Look: People sometimes ask me if I’m “born again.” The answer cannot be a yes or no—and that alone makes some people offended. And yet, the common Christian application is to make born againand savedbe one and the same thing. Born again, only used once by the Lord in the book of John, is a reference to actually being born a second time, or resurrection. It is not a reference to being saved by trusting the finished work of Christ at Calvary: “how that Christ died for our sins…was buried…and he was raised again for our justification.” Christ is born again, “first-born from the dead..” (That really sends the normal Christian off the beam when you tell them Christ is born again.)

Generally, the christian life is such that believing one gets born again is about the conversion experience. Scripture bears out that born again (“except a man…”) is resurrection. Hence, Peter preached to the Jews in Jerusalem concerning this for them how  it occurs when Christ comes back, also in his first epistle. Our Apostle Paul did the same thing: he taught the Corinthians “as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bare the image of the heavenly.” Well, we don’t yet, do we? But we shall, right? Our “vile bodies ,…like unto his glorious body.” Paul goes on to say that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who now “hath immortality.” I hope this two paragraph explanation adds to your knowledge of the Word. If it brings questions, do not hesitate to talk with me about it. I won’t be angry or arrogant, we should be able to discuss Scripture, right?

Thanks for reading, the Elder

5/16/2019

Probably not a good day for me to write. When pondering how to tell stories about my father leaves me in rapid thought, but not in particular the details of the stories, I probably ought not try to put them down on paper. But, it’s Father’s Day, so let’s see what appears on the page, shall we?

This was not the SIMH today, but a song my father sang while he worked (he always sang while he worked.) The song I’m remembering at this moment is “That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine.” I never heard him sing it all the way through, I don’t think even a whole verse. But it touched me, made me feel ashamed sometimes, when he would sing, “I’d give all I own if I could but atone, to that silver haired daddy of mine.” Lyrics were by Gene Autry and Jimmy Long, but I couldn’t find the year. It’s pretty old, heck, I’m pretty old and daddy sang it when I was a kid!

All kinds of people recorded it, Jim Reeves, The Everly Brothers, even Simon and Garfunkel, but I only remember hearing my dad.

Some of the other songs he sang as he worked were, “I Want a  Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad;” “If We Never Meet Again This Side of Heaven,” “The Blood that Stained the Old Rugged Cross.” The last one was recorded by Carl Smith way back in the 50s, but he wrote it a good while before that.

These songs which daddy sang while he worked usually reflected how his thinking had been going during the day’s labor. He had the kind of work ethic that said, “get up and go do it,” whatever it was he had to do. When I heard him singing, it was generally when he was doing a job without anyone else around. His voice would ring out suddenly! He never sounded sad or disappointed when he sang. (I’m sure he liked the sound of his own voice, we all do, you know.) He sang with a purpose, a purpose he never really shared, but one which defined who he was in that moment, at least to me. I can’t remember ever resenting his voice, even if it interrupted my thoughts. On the job, we never played the radio. (The only exception I can remember would’ve been a basketball tournament game, maybe a World Series game, or if we were working on Memorial Day (the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race was played on that holiday.) He never wanted anything to be in the way if he called for one of us. 

Aside from his love of music, what comes to my mind about working for him is this: he never expected any of us to always work for him. If I came to him and said so and so needs help tomorrow with putting up hay, or planting tomatoes, or whatever, he’d say, “ok” and then I could come back just that easy. Early in my married life, I had scads of short-lived jobs. Each time I would tell him about the next one, he would simply say, “Well that’ll be good experience for ya.” He never, ever said you won’t like it or that’s not what you need or anything of a negative nature. He was a very positive man about life. 

If some things seemed rough or his day was getting long, he might say, “We’ll never get out of this world alive!” But, if the trouble persisted past those thoughts, he might say, “Why, we’ve got to make it, what else is there?” —not a saying I fully understood as a boy, but fully understand now. 

One last thought about my dad, whom I still wish I could have a talk with even though he’s been gone 32 years: I never saw him in bed sick. Once, he was stung by several bumblebees on a job at Camp Atterbury and came home and took about half day off, but got up (as my mom would say) “outa his sick bed” and drove about 40 miles to preach a funeral. Then, late in life he was in the hospital for a couple of days having a pace-maker put in. Other than those two times, I never knew it if he was too sick to get out of bed. He was standing at a checkout counter in a Walmart paying for a bottle of Vitamin E when he collapsed and was gone. 

He had only one request of the Lord for his leaving here: he truly feared going to a nursing home. He had visited them for years and really prayed not to have to do that. It seems the Lord honored his request. Looking forward to eternity with him.

Thanks for reading, the Elder

6/14/2019

Well, today’s SIMH just about takes the cake! I mean, why would I wake up roll over to get out of bed with a Dean Martin song in  my head? and it’s a “tango” besides!!. The title is “Sway” —“other dancers may be on the floor, but my eyes can see only you…” Bits and pieces kept coming into my mind till I looked it up. I looked up a video of a couple dancing from a 10 year old movie, but set to “Sway” with Ol’ Dean singing his song. It is an intoxicating song, lyrics and music. Wait, or was Dean the one that was intoxicated? (That’s a joke, folks. Don’t speak ill of the dead.) Anyway, as you can see, the phenomena of a SIMH goes on.

I mentioned about ten days ago that our partner, Chuck came through on his way to the coast for vacation. He did come back through Tuesday evening, spent some time revisiting our 10 day old thoughts, he slept and left about 4:15 Wednesday morning. We enjoyed both visits and believe them to be profitable. Now to set our sails to the wind, our sites being on the good performance of all the stores which carry our name, both existing and the new ones which are appearing on the horizon—More To Come..

Remembering and harkening back to some education, I am reminded of a very boring semester aimed at learning the transport tariffs of rail carriers and over the road carriers. Yes, I actually engaged in that end of industry briefly in 1964, while in the employe of Hamilton Cosco, Inc., of Columbus, IN. They transferred me to the “traffic dept.” for the purpose of me learning what I believe was the beginning of training me to become a territory sales rep for them. (What they didn’t remember to do was pay me enough to live on and raise a family.) My job in traffic was very boring and mundane, just a job which had to be done. 

I didn’t mean to “spice up” the department, but I did so by sending a boxcar full of Bridge Sets (table and four chairs) to Portland, ME which was supposed to be sent to Portland, OR! (The surprise was they didn’t fire me!) It took a while to get that one straightened out. I can’t remember how many sets a boxcar held, but I can tell you it was a chunk of the inventory!!.

I’ve often wondered what life would have been like if I had stayed with Cosco Furniture (which became Cosco Home Furnishings) and became one of the territory reps for them—think anything would have turned out differently? We’ll never know since there really is not alternate lives to live! 

Several years after I left that company as I was getting near 30 yrs. old, I met Mr. Dick Ellsworth (Cosco’s national sales manager) in an elevator at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. We spoke and asked about each other’s careers. He said to look him up if I came back to Columbus for any reason, but I never did go there again with any spare time. He was a very fine gentleman and would have been a great boss. Every man who worked for him, liked him. Hmm, the wonder of it all.

“Coffee With Dad” day at Sarah’s store was fun. Not a lot of people stopped in, but enough to do it again. I guess someone besides me should make the assessment as to its worth, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. Sarah’s announcement of it said I had free coffee, free snacks (of one of ButterSnobBaking’s specialties), and free advice! I gave away the coffee and the snacks, but no one wanted the advice! That’s okay, I can just add it to all that other advice I have and next time I can offer more! Yeah, that’s it! That’ll go over real good…next time!

Thanks for reading, the Elder

6/8/2019

An “old favorite” singing group showed up in my memory this morning. ABBA. I’ve rarely heard an ABBA song I didn’t like. Their music is very enjoyable to me. If that makes me weird, I guess I’m just weird. The SIMH this morning was “The Winner Takes It All.” But, it could have been one of several that if I hear it, I usually find a way to listen to it all the way through. Just the kind of sound they produced, I guess. Not very important over the span of life, but music which pleases us may have a more or less important development property to the human mind. More important is the “mood” invoked; less important is our yielding to the mood. 

Music is called the “universal language.” That’s a completely apt description, in my opinion. Scripture shows in several places how music had a developer: the fallen archangel, Lucifer. Yep, he seems to have been there at the beginning of music. However, the Lord does not condemn music and certainly not singing. As it turns out, the young king of Israel, David, a “man after God’s own heart,” played and sang unto the Lord, singing the psalms and played musical instruments. Like many other things which come into being in this world, music can be glorifying to God, the Creator, as well as to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; then, conversely used as a tool of discord and prurient interests, as well. I suppose there isn’t a society anywhere which does not have uses for and even a great appreciation for music.

Well, today, after promises for several days, rain is coming down profusely. We have been without rain for about 3 weeks in an area used to getting its share on a more regular basis, so this area suffers like a drought after as little as 3 weeks. Strange stuff—land and foliage; humidity and rain. In another time, perhaps I would have studied all this more. But my life has  tended toward other things of equal and greater importance. So, I’ll not worry over a drought or, for that matter, over a flood. I do have great empathy for those living from upper Midwest through the delta Southward to the gulf. They’re going to continue to suffer from the excesses for many more weeks, it seems. Pray for guidance for the people, their property, the local governments, and the use of public monies for their relief.

My other subject today is more about the common use of the Bible by men (and women) who refer to themselves as “evangelists.” Are they? Do they, generally speaking, follow the guidelines of the Bible for being such? Many, I have come to believe, cannot biblically identify what they do as being anywhere close to evangelism. When I began to study the word, employing the process our Apostle Paul taught and left in the hands of younger men, I was tutored by Bro. E.C. Moore, a truly great student of God’s word. He had one great principle after another which he kept reminding us, his students, to not violate and to hold dear. The first of those was this: all you need is the King James Bible, the word of God for today. The second was like unto the first: believe the book!

Thirdly, he never let us believe we should rely on him. Rather, place our reliance in what saith the Scripture; how can we know if we correctly apply it, and does the Spirit of Christ which is in us agree with us? When I told him I was asked to take another pastor’s place (preaching for the first time) he said, “Between now and then, read 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus as many times as you can—that’s God’s primary instructions to a preacher!” I did, noting especially 2 Tim.4, the last of Paul’s words to the younger Timothy (which, of course, will fit anyone walking in those shoes.) It begins with “Preach the word…” and ends with “do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” It is important to note those two admonitions are in the same verse: ergo, context. 

Clearly, to do the work of an evangelist is to include the “preaching of the word.” Then the work of an evangelist has to agree with Scripture. If you’ve ever been exposed to an evangelist you’ll recognize the routine: he’ll read a little Scripture—typically 3-5 verses. Then, he’ll make a “spiritual application’ of it (hardly ever a literal one.) Then tell a few short anecdotal stories, followed closely by a sad or frightful ending tale. Then, with all the melancholy he can put into his voice with a “don’t tarry,” he’ll implore the lost to come to the front of his auditorium, even using the term “altar” to describe it, until enough people come forward to satisfy the terms of his plea.

Can you find any Scripture to support such an ending of a worship service? No, you can’t. There isn’t one. Never, in God’s word, from beginning to end, does He ever advocate such drivel! If you or anyone you know got saved in that kind of service you know it wasn’t the begging or emotional tone or the short message of woe that got you saved. It is because somewhere in there or a previous message, you learned you were a sinner, that Christ paid the price for sin (sins) and that the Lord is calling us like Paul & Silas told the jailer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved…”

It isn’t the Lord’s will that the ones who “run, and saith, He said,” should desecrate the plain meaning of preaching the Word! Men should not run an emotional conversion show. Men need to say what the Lord said and let the people who hear, hear! “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” When people really hear, they will hear “the word of truth, the gospel of their salvation,” and they will trust Christ as their Savior. I heard many of the normal evangelism way for about 10 years before I became too low to trust anyone or anything—low enough that only the Lord could save me, and that’s when I trusted that He could, He would, and He did save me.

We don’t need anymore evangelism crusades, we need more men doing the work of an evangelist in preaching the word, following closely the previous admonition in the same book (2 Timothy): Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”—2Tim.2:15. And believe the spirit of the Lord will guide the hearer to trust. If it’s your needful condition, just trust Christ.

Thanks for reading, the Elder

6/5/2019

Sometimes the SIMH goes back so far, I wonder who will remember the song or the artist. This morning it was The Oak Ridge Boys—remember them? Originally founded in 1945 as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They’re still going, but obviously, not the same members. Their most popular era was the 70s and 80s when they hit both sides of the music genre with a country flair list of crossover to pop songs. This morning, “I’ll Be True To You” was rolling around in my head. They may be better known for “Y’all Come Back Saloon,” “Thank God For Kids,” and “Elvira!”

The other thoughts of the morning were about hay. That’s right, hay. You know, the stuff horses, cattle and goats eat—even rabbits eat it, et al. But what came to mind is the results of an article I read on LinkedIn, a social-work-related medium. A friend from my days in central Alabama who grew up on and around farming, posted an article about two young men who have invented an edible wrap for large bales of hay! To some of you, that may not be a big deal, but it is a great step forward and in the right direction for farmers if it is cost effective. 

“Puttin’ up hay” was never a job farmers loved, it was just the best way to make it through Winters. Hay was field stacked for decades, turning in the animals to munch, or taking away from the stack as was needed, perhaps fo hundreds of years. Baling the hay was actually invented in the late 19th century and was part of the “industrial revolution” which included the Reaper, Thrasher and other modern farm equipment. Those hay balers sat in one spot and loose hay was pitchforked up on a trailer, wagon, or sled and brought to it. After About 50 years or so, pull behind balers became more available because of automatic “baling wire fasteners” (or ties.) 

Baling wire was dangerous to the stock as sometimes all the wire would not be collected as it was cut off the bales and could get ingested, doing damage especially in horses and bovine stock. About the time I was exposed to farming (mid 50s) as cheap (and never very good) help, all the farmers were investing in a light weight baler which tied lighter, looser hay bails with baler twine, first made from hemp, then after the end of WW2, was a more common sisal twine. Still that twine could tie up the digestion of certain stock, especially smaller and younger stock.

Then along came the giant round bales we now see stacked in the fields. Originally the “spin” on the hay was the only binding used, but it wasted too much hay as it aged or would loosen as it was hauled. So, they bound the giant bales with a synthetic material which, itself, was efficient but trouble-some to dispose of properly. Now these two young farmers have invented something as edible to the livestock as the hay itself is. Man’s great sense of ingenuity revisited! over and over until they get it correct!

I admire what my young friend is doing in his area of agriculture and he and his wife with their two children and I applaud his notice of the edible bale wrap. Sometimes, we oldsters are glad to see the youngsters doing great things and the world can draw a breath of fresh air!

Incidentally, my first hire to a farmer for “puttin’ up hay” was moving wired bales from field to sled—I had to drag them, too heavy for me to pick up. So, the farmer “taught” me how to drive the tractor, which didn’t work, either. My wages were $4 per day, only worked one day, and that farmer never paid me…a couple of lessons learned: 1.) Never work for that guy again—and I didn’t. But, 2.) I wasn’t worth a flip to farmers if I wouldn’t learn or if I didn’t grow up enough to do what I was told. 

Farmers taught me more than I can relate, but in a short period of time (a few days or a couple of weeks) they taught a boy what he liked and didn’t like about labor; they taught gratefulness for food and drink, and they taught respect for your elders, the land, the crops and the animals. Oh! to bring back those lessons for young teenage boys today. Living here in NEAL, we do get to see some who are learning these things, part of the pleasure of living here.

There is no philosophical difference in the work ethic as years roll past. The only difference at 12-13 and at this old an age? Only the tasks at hand. The principles are the same.

Thanks for reading, the Elder

6/4/2019

“You, You, You, You can make my dreams come true…” as I woke up this morning, this song was the SIMH. In my memory of it, it seemed to me to be sung by a quartet in the 50s. But when I looked it up I found it was originally done by Mel Carter (listening, it was very familiar) and also by Sam Cooke and Sonny James. The part in my memory was, “We were made for each other, sure as the heavens above, we were made for each other, to have, to hold and to love!” Ah, the romance of the 50s!!!

Had a visitor last night, our partner Chuck came through on his way to meet the rest of his family on the East coast for a little R & R. He came in, we talked for about 3 hours, he slept for about 6 hours, left this morning at about 4:30. Nice visit, maybe on his way back we’ll get the same opportunity. It’s good to have conversations face to face for clearer understanding, I think. Video conferencing works, but not quite the same as live. We may have a busy Summer and Fall with new stores, etc. The interest in the Blue Jug stores has risen dramatically; in Texas, Alabama, Louisiana and a scattered one or two elsewhere.

The more advanced the technology gets (for video conferences and video calls), the easier everything becomes. It’s very common now to do what we’ve seen promised for a long, long time, going back to the late 70s when “Ma Bell” was all one conglomerate and there was little to no competition for telephoning. Then, with that bust-up about 1980, came the privilege of free enterprise through choices, which prompted innovation, which prompted cell tower constructions and cell phone usage and cheaper rates for better and more portable service, which prompted more innovation by the advent of the www (internet), which brought about phones with cameras, which brought about easy to use video, allowed by broader bandwidths, which allows seamless video-ing between me and practically everyone I know!

What a time to be alive! If we could just walk out to the driveway and step into an easily airborne vehicle, unperturbed by wind or weather, arriving safely at our destination a few minutes later, we would be in that world we’ve been seeing artists’ renderings of for about 80 years. Soon, maybe soon. …You think I’m kidding?

For the past 10-12 years I have regretted not having the wherewithal to hire a driver to take us on trips, not depending on my energy level to manage what used to be easy trips by road travel. Well, guess what, if I live a few more years (and I might), I’ll probably gain access to a vehicle which will not require a driver! How long after that will it be before I can be air-riding to my destination as I mentioned in the last paragraph? I think not long.

[Notwithstanding I know that “Some Day Soon, my Savior will call out my name…” and “I’ll Fly Away…” anyway. This is not meant to have been an attempt at prophecy, but some believed the breaking up of the Bell Telephone monopoly would cause more harm than good. Seems quite the opposite to me.]

Thanks for reading, the Elder