Hot Buttons...Redux

According to the "statistics" on this website, a blog that I wrote on July 10th of last year has been the most often visited. I thought that I would republish it for it's even more pertinent and prescient today than it was then!

Viewing on an iPhone is a little better on "web version."

Hot Buttons:

Joey:               Hey Gramps!
Gramps:          Hi Joey. And for what reason do I have for this pleasure?
Joey:               I was wondering if you would do me a favor and help with a school project?
Gramps:          Sure. What is it?
Joey:               Well, it's for my Civics class. Mr. Horton's assignment is to ask three people their opinions on
                       who was America's best President and who was the worst. They have to be from three
                       different age groups, for instance I can have one young, one middle age and one elderly.
Gramps:          I'm in. Who are you getting for the young person and the elderly person?
Joey:               Uh....Well I asked Uncle Tim...and I asked Jimmy Jones who graduated a few years ago.
Gramps:          Hmmmmm. So that makes me...the...uh...el..derly?
Joey:               Well, yeah...elderly or senior citizen I guess.
Gramps:          Joey. I'm 59 and 3/4 years old. Did you know that Gordie Howe played professional hockey
                       until he was 51 years old?
Joey:               Gordie who?
Gramps:          Not "who," Howe.
Joey:               How what?
Gramps:          Never mind.
Joey:               Wow! you knew a lot about sports when you were young.
Gramps:          So do you just want me to name the Presidents?
Joey:               Well, you're supposed to give your thoughts on why you chose them.
Gramps:          That's a cinch....what do you mean "when I was young?" Did you know that Tom Watson, he's
                       five months older than me by the way, led most of the way in last year's U. S. Open?
Joey:               Was that the "Senior" league?
Gramps:          No that wasn't the Seeenior league! Well, hey anyway, if there there's things I got to give, it's
                       opinions, opinions and opinions.
Joey:               Great. I've got a recorder here so you can just talk and I'll write down your answers later.
Gramps:          OK, here we go. By the way. Did you know that Grandma Moses didn't start painting until
                       she was  in her 70s? That's 7...zero...70s!
Joey:               Was she my great-grandma?
Gramps:          No. Never mind. You know, I was thinking. The name "Gramps" makes one sound old....
                       now you can't really call me Wilbur?
Joey:               Did you have a nickname when you were...uh...real... real young?
Gramps:          Well, yeah. They called me "bolthead" because I liked to fix cars so much.
Joey:               Bolt......head?
Gramps           Not, bolt......head, Bolthead. The girls loved it!
Joey:               So you want me to call you Grandpa Bolthead?
Gramps:          Let's just forget it. Back to this assignment...take a seat and fasten your seat belt for you
                       hit on two hot buttons today.
Joey:               Hey, you got a lot of "hot buttons." How about if I call you "Hot Buttons?"
Gramps:          Hot Buttons huh? Yeah, that'll work.
Joey:               Did my dad have a nickname when he was young?
Hot Buttons:   Yes he did but I think that he should be the one who tells you...if he wants to. OK, here we
                      go...cough, cough...ah-hem! I've actually thought about this before. My vote for the greatest
                      President was the Gipper.
Joey:              The what?
Hot buttons:   The Gipper!. You mean that you didn't know that Ronald Reagan's nickname was "the Gipper?"
                      Well let me tell you something else that you may not know. Reagan was a couple of weeks
                      short of 70 years old, that's 7...zero...70, when he was inaugurated our 40th president. Anyway
                      I look at three areas when trying to make a choice like this. How did the economy do during his
                      his presidency, how about our foreign policy and national defense...and was the American public
                      changed in any way while he was in office? On the economy...America prospered, primarily due
                      to tax cuts for the American people, after the malaise of the Carter Administration. Do you know
                      what "malaise" means?
Joey:              No!
Hot Buttons:   Neither do I but put it in anyway...it sounds good. Anyway, Reagan strengthened our military,
                      that and our growth was a death knell for the Soviet Union. As for the "spirit" of Americans...
                      his words, always beautiful and profound... inspired, they motivated, they instilled a confidence in
                      in the people, they melted even his strongest detractors. He was the quintessential example of
                      leadership. Do you know what "quintessential" means?
Joey:              Yeah.
Hot Buttons:   Good. Tell me later. So that's my choice for our greatest President. As for the worst? Joey... this is
                      sad in talking about for it's our current President. I knew from the beginning that I disagreed with
                      his policies but I wasn't prepared for what transpired, and it continues almost every day. The
                      bailouts, admittedly started by his predecessor, and the stimulus packages that put us so deeply
                      in debt that we will never overcome this burden, the attack on "business" in general that appears
                      to come from deep inward hostility towards America's worldwide economic prowess, and
                      the taxation that will make "all" Americans totally dependent on what their government allows,
                      these things, and others, make him America's worst President on our economy. The national
                      defense and foreign policy is even worse, if possible. Our longstanding advantage in military
                      capabilities is being eroded. Aircraft and navies of governments who are not friends of ours, are
                      catching up and may surpass us. Our allies are on "pins and needles" as they try to determine
                      what we will do in an emergency. Lastly, the American public has become two peoples in one
                      nation, one still resembling America's heritage and the other being cast in the European mold, and
                      even the worst of that mold! This President plays to our weaknesses instead of challenging us
                      to analyse. He's undoing all that Martin Luther King accomplished. He lumps honest dissenters
                      in with terrorists and lumps terrorists in with honest Muslims. And we are only 18 months into his
                      term! Well...that's about it.
Joey:              Thanks a lot Hot Buttons. I'll tell my dad how much you helped me. He's the one that
                      recommended you for the el...der...ly person.
Hot Buttons:   Squiggy!
Joey:              Squiggy?
Hot Buttons:   Yeah...Squiggy. That was your dad's nick-name. Tell Squiggy that Hot Buttons says "You're
                      welcome!"
                     
               

Before Whom Angels Bow !!!

The Puritan had a way of praying that either makes a hearer today sit in humble introspection at the content of our own prayers or dismiss them as reflection of a people in need of some kind of assurance. The latter being somewhat of irony for the Puritans prayed that way because of their extreme assurance in the sovereignty of an Almighty God who has made a way of salvation so miraculous, so marvelous, so merciful that it can defy explanation to even the Christian mind. Thirty-five years ago Arthur Bennett edited a book of Puritan prayers that has moved many, many Christians, I being just one. I have included some of these prayers throughout the almost three years of this blog and want to give you another today. I encourage you to invest in this book if only to read one prayer a day to  hold our feet to what is humility, reverance and joy in prayer. The title is The Valley Of Vision and can be ordered from Amazon or any bookstore:

Lord of Immortality,

Before whom angels bow and archangels veil their faces,
enable me to serve thee with reverence and godly fear.
Thou who art Spirit and requirest truth in the inward parts,
help me to worship thee in spirit and in truth.
Thou who art righteous,
let me not harbour sin in my heart,
or indulge in a worldly temper,
or seek satisfaction in things that perish.
I hasten towards an hour
when earthly pursuits and possessions will appear vain,
when it will be indifferent whether I have been rich or poor,
successful or disappointed,
admired or despised.
But it will be of eternal moment that I have
mourned for sin,
hungered and thristed after righteousness,
gloried in his cross.
May these objects engross my chief solicitude!
Produce in me those principles and dispositions
that make thy service perfect freedom.
Expel from my mind all sinful fear and shame,
so that with firmness and courage I may
confess the Redeemer before men,
go forth with him bearing his reproach,
be zealous with his knowledge,
be filled with his wisdom,
walk with his circumspection,
ask counsel of him in all things,
repair to the Scriptures for his orders,
stay my mind on his peace,
knowing that nothing can befall me
without his permission, appointment
and administration.

Flight 93 National Memorial

Former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton were gone by the time my wife and I arrived at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania today. The ceremonies were concluding and the families of the heroes from Flight 93 individually walked from the memorial wall, down the path where Flight 93 made impact. As they were departing they walked through the midst of the crowd of roughly 4,000 to gentle, sustained, respectful and heartfelt applause. Part of the crowd spontaneously, and softly, broke out into America The Beautiful. Flight 93 National Memorial Park is roughly 15-20 minutes off of the Somerset exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I'm sure that many will add this stop to their travel agenda. I didn't need to hear the words from the speakers on the dais, moving as I'm sure they were, for I just wanted to be in the spot, or as close to it, to where this remarkable group of people struck back at terrorism before the terrorist's day of infamy was even over, very similar to those pilots who got off of the ground at Pearl Harbor before Tojo's planes could leave the islands. What happened on that flight, and the aftermath of it, could never have been envisioned by the terrorist minds involved. As the crowds were waiting for buses to take them back to the parking areas, I had the grand idea of walking up and over the field, meeting up to the road and then back to Route 30 where our car was parked on the berm of the road. A couple miles into the forced march back I had regretted subjecting my wife to this trek and we still had a couple of miles to go. The line-up of departing automobiles was long and slow and at times we walked faster than they inched along,  As one vehicle with two men inside passed, the driver asked if we wanted a ride. I'm the type that if I was stranded on a deserted island and a cruise ship spotted me and tried to rescue me I would say, "Only if I can work for my fare," but I looked over at my wife and then said "thank-you very much." The driver offered us a fruit drink as it was bumper to bumper out of the park but a great relief to us and we asked these two men a few questions on where they were from and why they had come. They were two of the four children of Flight 93 passenger Joseph Driscoll whose widow and many other family members were in other vehicles. I realized that they were probably emotionally spent and tired themselves but I did ask some questions about that fateful day and they very politely replied. One of the sons had been working in the World Trade Center only the day before the attacks and vividly described the scene on the New York City streets. His father would have been in the air on Flight 93 at that time. How typical of what I had heard of these families of the Flight 93 heroes, that they reached out to help others after they themselves were hurt and here they were doing it again on this special day.

Christ's Return

I presume that I am entitled to an interpretive view of biblical prophesy as all Christians are. In other words we all have an opinion. Even if one's view is that of total obfuscation as to coming events, that we will have no clue at all, that in itself is an opinion. This particular blog is structured as if we were just sitting around a table and talking. My views are always subject to both change and to your scrutiny. I do believe that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ may be near, in our generation, and also that it should be the hope of every Christian that it is near. I have a difficult time with the everyday newspaper headlines. The violence, the suffering and pain throughout humanity is overwhelming, especially in this information age where it is constantly before us. How can the Christian not both proclaim (maranatha) and desire the Lord's return! But it is also the obligation of every Christian from every age to be prepared to live their life to the full should the Lord tarry and to follow Martin Luther's declaration to plant a tree even if he knew for sure that the Lord was to return the next day. It appears certain to me that those of that generation, whether it be ours or another, will live through a tribulation that will shake both the unbeliever and the most devout believer in what will happen and we should know that in advance. The rapture doctrine will have been no help at that time and possibly be very destructive on how Christians handle the events. What are those events? All the talk of liberty and freedom that we hear of today, none more so than in this blog, would be for naught, for one power will indeed govern this planet at that time. If it be our generation, are we ready for it? The Christian will not only be persecuted by the anti-believer but even be totally rejected by that which calls itself the church. If it be us on earth as Christ returns are we aware in advance of what to expect? Some grand delusion is in store for that generation. It could, just for example, be the appearing of what the world will believe to be a visitation of alien life forms. If so it will be anything but, but are we prepared to stand firm in the face of this or some such other delusion? I have been inclined to believe for some time now that should a nuclear holocaust envelop the earth, or a similar catastrophe, that this would not be the time of Christ's return but rather only an event that will lead to a world government and only a prelude to what is actually in store. The conversation on prophesy needs to be extended throughout the church, not in dogmatic scenarios but possible scenarios to exercise our minds in the eventuality of imminent events as opposed to predicting future events. If you have sampled any of this blog then it surely must be apparent that these beliefs have not stopped my efforts, minuscule though they may be, to seek God's mercy on America one more time, for one more period where at least one nation exalts Christ albeit in the hearts of its people if not on paper. I hope that nowhere in these essays have I shown anything but full confidence that our God controls every action and every consequence in this entire universe. There is no question whatsoever as to the final result. To every unbeliever, the day will indeed come when you will want to be back at this very moment once again for you will then see not only the omnipotence of God in His power and might but the omniscience of Him who knows our innermost thoughts and is willing to clarify to us the rebellion in them and provide a way of salvation that begins with a humble acceptance of that omnipotence. What comes close to making this conversation a moot point in the life of the individual is that none of us can number our days on earth and that therefore this... is the day for that humbling. Revelation 1:3 lays it out for us in "Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophesy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near." I trust that throughout this blog my occasional touching on the topic of prophesy has been in line with the essence of scripture in that we are to be well aware of where man is headed and that the joy of Christ's sure coming is only sobered but a little because of what humanity must first go through.