As
I look over seven years of posts, most of them remain as
relevant as if written today. Some indeed are topical but the central
themes are the same.....'America, prepare to meet thy God'....'America is
in the midst of a coup'.....'social media dumbs down an already reality
intolerant American mind'.....'the American Christian church believes
itself to be healthy but it is mistaken'..... and to Europe and other nations
of this world, 'if we lose this fight, you lose also'.....and....'there is
little difference between the establishment wing, or the the elites of the Republican Party and the Democrat Party, both of which truly serve only the secular ruling class of this world.'
As for the Christian posts and their themes.....'they don't come any weaker or more unworthy than me!'.....'today is the day for your salvation, not tomorrow'......'there is no more precious object on this earth, no more valuable possession, than that book gathering dust on the second shelf of your bookcase next to Tom Clancy, Stephen King, Danielle Steel or any one of such authors who you can read forty-five minutes every night before bed'.....and.... 'the majesty, the power and the glory of Jesus Christ is such that the closer you get, the more you know your need of Him as both Lord and Savior, the more you see His righteous judgement, the more thankful you are for His mercy, and the more fleeting this world and its baubles appear!'
With this in mind, I'm attempting to bring back past posts, often for only a day.
Stark Contrast.....May, 2014
Surely somewhere in America on that bleak or snowy Saturday in early December 1941 a young man sat looking out of a restaurant window, or maybe a coffee shop, with a young lady at his side who was his new bride. They had the world at their fingertips as he was just awarded that treasured college diploma he worked so long and hard for, and she wore the wedding band she had dreamed about since they first met in grade school. They looked into each other's eyes with hardly a care in the world. Oh, the plans they had so much fun making.....a small cottage with a white picket fence that someday would keep little ones and maybe a puppy dog from straying as they play.
And then the morning came and as they walked into church the somber faces took their joy away for they had not heard the news from that group of islands where the sun shown year round and warm surf slapped the white beaches. America was in the war against evil that they had only given themselves minutes a day to reflect upon. The young bride knew immediately that their dreams would now be put on hold if they would ever come true. Surely the prayers of all present in that worship service were salted with tears.
Not every generation has its hopes interrupted as this generation did on December 7th, 1941 but our young generation today may indeed be another one. Colleges and universities are having their commencement right about now and the hopes and dreams of many wearing mortar boards and gowns are exactly the same as the young couple that I described.
I'm a news junky and the daily pain from the news of this world has made it such that I could never lose myself in plans or even hopes and dreams. Love is disappearing in the world....no.... worse than that, it has been hijacked by greed, tortured by pride and what is left is directed to ourselves and we in America are paying dearly for our dalliances.
The 1943 Academy Award for Best Picture went to the 1942 American film Mrs. Miniver in which Greer Garson also won for Best Actress. It portrays the upper middle class Miniver family who live outside of London in a very nice home on the River Thames. I list this film as one of my favorites in my Profile for this blog.
Life could not be sweeter for Mrs. Miniver and her family as she is smitten over an expensive new hat and her husband (Walter Pidgeon) outdoes her by purchasing a sporty new vehicle. Their eldest son has taken up the pipe at university and spouts his political views with heartfelt sincerity but naive certainty much like our youth today and very much like myself at that age. War looms on the horizon but is not taken seriously until England declares war on Germany. Life then changes for the family as their son goes off to war as their own home is damaged by bombs.
There is a church scene at the beginning of the film and another at the end and the stark contrast of the two is the essence of the film. Americans would already have experienced the realities of war when the film came out and the intended purpose of the film was to rally the American public by showing them the courage and stamina of the British homefront in a war they had already been in for three years. Winston Churchill commented on the book and the film in that they did more for the war effort than a flotilla of battleships.
I highly recommend the film for the essence, for we are in need of a reality check on what lies before us, and our congregations are in need of an extreme soberness in our worship services that would eliminate distractions and focus us solely on who we are there to worship.
As for the Christian posts and their themes.....'they don't come any weaker or more unworthy than me!'.....'today is the day for your salvation, not tomorrow'......'there is no more precious object on this earth, no more valuable possession, than that book gathering dust on the second shelf of your bookcase next to Tom Clancy, Stephen King, Danielle Steel or any one of such authors who you can read forty-five minutes every night before bed'.....and.... 'the majesty, the power and the glory of Jesus Christ is such that the closer you get, the more you know your need of Him as both Lord and Savior, the more you see His righteous judgement, the more thankful you are for His mercy, and the more fleeting this world and its baubles appear!'
With this in mind, I'm attempting to bring back past posts, often for only a day.
Stark Contrast.....May, 2014
Surely somewhere in America on that bleak or snowy Saturday in early December 1941 a young man sat looking out of a restaurant window, or maybe a coffee shop, with a young lady at his side who was his new bride. They had the world at their fingertips as he was just awarded that treasured college diploma he worked so long and hard for, and she wore the wedding band she had dreamed about since they first met in grade school. They looked into each other's eyes with hardly a care in the world. Oh, the plans they had so much fun making.....a small cottage with a white picket fence that someday would keep little ones and maybe a puppy dog from straying as they play.
And then the morning came and as they walked into church the somber faces took their joy away for they had not heard the news from that group of islands where the sun shown year round and warm surf slapped the white beaches. America was in the war against evil that they had only given themselves minutes a day to reflect upon. The young bride knew immediately that their dreams would now be put on hold if they would ever come true. Surely the prayers of all present in that worship service were salted with tears.
Not every generation has its hopes interrupted as this generation did on December 7th, 1941 but our young generation today may indeed be another one. Colleges and universities are having their commencement right about now and the hopes and dreams of many wearing mortar boards and gowns are exactly the same as the young couple that I described.
I'm a news junky and the daily pain from the news of this world has made it such that I could never lose myself in plans or even hopes and dreams. Love is disappearing in the world....no.... worse than that, it has been hijacked by greed, tortured by pride and what is left is directed to ourselves and we in America are paying dearly for our dalliances.
The 1943 Academy Award for Best Picture went to the 1942 American film Mrs. Miniver in which Greer Garson also won for Best Actress. It portrays the upper middle class Miniver family who live outside of London in a very nice home on the River Thames. I list this film as one of my favorites in my Profile for this blog.
Life could not be sweeter for Mrs. Miniver and her family as she is smitten over an expensive new hat and her husband (Walter Pidgeon) outdoes her by purchasing a sporty new vehicle. Their eldest son has taken up the pipe at university and spouts his political views with heartfelt sincerity but naive certainty much like our youth today and very much like myself at that age. War looms on the horizon but is not taken seriously until England declares war on Germany. Life then changes for the family as their son goes off to war as their own home is damaged by bombs.
There is a church scene at the beginning of the film and another at the end and the stark contrast of the two is the essence of the film. Americans would already have experienced the realities of war when the film came out and the intended purpose of the film was to rally the American public by showing them the courage and stamina of the British homefront in a war they had already been in for three years. Winston Churchill commented on the book and the film in that they did more for the war effort than a flotilla of battleships.
I highly recommend the film for the essence, for we are in need of a reality check on what lies before us, and our congregations are in need of an extreme soberness in our worship services that would eliminate distractions and focus us solely on who we are there to worship.
