YOU and GOD

Over the course of a half-century of pastoring, I have had the privilege of officiating several hundred memorial services. Just this past Saturday, I had the awesome responsibility of conducting a memorial service for a family that I have known and ministered to since the late 1990s. I did the service for the family’s “matriarch” in 1999 and for her husband three years later. Since then, I have been called upon to do the services for two of their sons and a daughter-in-law. So, that is five precious lives, with their loved ones and friends, to whom I have been able to minister the Word of God over several decades. That is one of the blessings of having pastored in one place for half a lifetime.

When I was seeking God’s mind about the message He wanted me to deliver at this most recent memorial service, I came across a message written and handed to me early on in my ministry here in Indianapolis by a man who said, “I want this read at my funeral.” I did not know the gentleman personally but knew that he had been very active in Thompson Road Baptist Church in its earlier years, when he was healthier. I thanked the man and filed the paper in my file marked “In Memoriam,” thinking nothing more of it until, less than a year later, I received a call that this gentleman had passed into glory. The family requested that I conduct his service. I retrieved the printed statement that he had put into my hands a few months prior to his passing, with the request that it be read at his funeral. I did just that, and I will share it with you today—more than 45 years later. It bore the title “Last Testimony,” and he had dated it 1958, some 22 years before his funeral. Here is what he wrote:

“By the time a person reaches the age of 51 he has attended very many funerals, and almost every one that I have attended, you usually hear folks after the service making remarks about the preacher in charge of the service, that he pronounced some bad remarks and some good. So this is the reason for me to take time now to write this article. In the first place, I know where I am going when I die because I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior; furthermore, I have certainly tried to tell people about my Savior, and it seems most of the time to be of no avail, and perhaps a lot could be my own fault for not saying the right words at the right time.

All this that I am writing I would like to be read at my funeral service, and definitely it should be preached by a good, born-again minister. Furthermore, I sure would appreciate for the minister that conducts my funeral service to give an invitation to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Even though this may seem to be unorthodox, there may be people attending this funeral service that have never been inside a church where true salvation was really explained or an invitation given.

Remember this when I depart from this world: I have gone to be with my Lord—so don’t feel sorry for me—if you are a born-again Christian ask the one next to you if they have ever accepted Christ as their personal Savior (right now), for God says in the Bible, “Now is the accepted time.”

This I say to you that are lost without Christ, please accept Jesus Christ NOW—it is all free—have you any reason why you should not accept such a Savior as Christ—who showed the world that He has victory even over death—when He hung on the cross and died for you and me that our sins could all be forgiven—then approximately three days later arose from the grave and even tarried on this earth for several days—and even said then that as many as would receive Him, to them He would give the power to become the Sons of God. And it was up to those that saw Him and heard Him, as God says in the Bible, to go into all the world and preach the Word; and so it is today for every Christian to tell people about this wonderful Savior. Won’t you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? NOW I hope you will. This will be of course my last testimony on this earth. For those that are saved, I will see you in Heaven—and I will certainly hope that will be everyone at least that hears this message. At this moment, if you are not saved, please ask God to forgive you of your sins and REPENT, and from this day on you will see that you are a new person and wonder how you ever got along without God. For without God we are nothing, and, like the Bible says, when God is on our side, who can be against us?” (Clifford Ravencamp, August 4, 1980)

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

Roughly 14 percent of the U.S. population suffers with one or more disabilities. That’s 44 million people. Local churches are privileged to minister the Word of God weekly to those amongst us who have “special needs” related to their particular disability or handicap. Most churches have at least one or two people in any given service who may require special attention. Some special needs are manifest in physical limitations; some are because of personality disorders. The question is whether our local bodies of believers are equipped to minister effectively to them.

Our church has been blessed through many decades by the ministry of Mrs. Shelli Grossman, who headed up the Special Needs Education Department of the Indianapolis Public Schools. A graduate of Tennessee Temple University with postgraduate degrees from Indiana University, Shelli is a dedicated teacher of children in our church-time ministry. Her expertise in meeting the needs of those who are physically or mentally challenged has been a blessing to scores of worshippers—who require individual help—over the past several decades.

I have tapped into the wealth of insights that Mrs. Grossman can offer. Here are her answers to a few basic questions that all of us who communicate God’s Word in a teaching forum might have as we attempt to reach every student in our classes:

1. What are some things that we should remember to do when reaching and teaching those who have special needs?

“Treat everybody the same. If we have someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia in our church, we probably knew them before they acquired their condition, so we should keep our relationship as it was prior to the disability affecting them. Now, can they hold up their end of our relationship? Not at all. But we can.

Also, if a child has a cognitive disability, they need to go with their age-appropriate peers. ‘They have the mind of a 4-year-old’ is such an offensive statement to make. They may have delays, but their bodies grow at the normal rate.”

2. How about some things not to do?

“I think the worst thing we can do is avoid the person with a disability, or the parents who have a child or family member with a special need. Many people are not comfortable interacting with someone with a disability, so we avoid making eye contact, introducing ourselves, or including them in conversations. If you can’t do it, then you can’t do it; but know that God made each of us with our limitations, disabilities, and giftedness.

Be careful of vocabulary. Think of yourself. Do you want to be known as ‘afflicted,’ or ‘retarded,’ or ‘wheelchair bound?’ Of course not. ‘Retarded’ is a widely abused word. I have heard good Christian people refer to themselves, when they do something silly or clumsy, as ‘Oh, I’m so retarded!’ Teens today quickly say, ‘That’s so retarded!’ What we have to think is, that word refers to a group of precious people God made just the way they are. While people say they are not referring to people who have a cognitive disability, they are still making fun of people.

Then, too, several disabilities leave people without the ability to speak words. Cerebral palsy is the most common condition from birth. As adults, mouth and neck cancers often leave people without a voice, as can Parkinson’s and ALS. If people cannot speak, don’t ask them questions! Statements are much more respectful. Even ‘Hi, how are you today?’ cannot be answered. Better is: ‘It’s a great day in the Lord,’ or ‘The Lord has given us another beautiful Sunday.’”

3. Some further basic considerations:

“Many children are born with special needs, and they have professionals all over them. They come home from the hospital, sometimes after weeks or even months. Families must address their every need all day and throughout the night. The child is conditioned to think, ‘the world revolves around me.’ Children get used to constant care and attention and sometimes show loud or aggressive behaviors if they don’t get attention. This child may be headed for behavioral battles with siblings, extended family members, and social personnel. Churches may need to have a designated person be with that child to keep them content, safe, and included. This may be the only way the family is able to worship in peace.”

4. The most important factors:

1. “If they are adults, treat them as you would any adult. Talk to them just like you want to be treated—make normal conversation with them.

2. If a child has a disability, and they are one or two years old, you can talk ‘baby talk’ to them. But if they are 4 and beyond, talk to them as you would any other child that same age. Baby talk is for babies.

3. If we see the disability instead of the child, we tend to keep them in classrooms too long. If the child is 3 or 4, they should not be in a classroom for 2- and 3 year-old children. They will model the behaviors they see. Most churches have classrooms for a variety of age children. Keep the children with disabilities in age-appropriate classrooms. We may think the child will not understand what is being taught, but we don’t have the right to make such assumptions.

4. ‘People First Language’ exists to help us be respectful and think about what we are about to say. A person is not ‘wheelchair bound;’ in fact, no one is bound to a wheelchair. Refer to the person first, not their disability: ‘a man who uses a wheelchair’ is far more respectful and caring. A blind boy should be a boy with visual impairment. An autistic girl is really a girl with autism. God made the people first; they just may also have a disability.

“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” (Ps. 139:13,14)

Many of us are taking medicine for what ails us, but how about ingesting something into your spirit occasionally that does “good like a medicine?” That is, something that makes your heart merry? Well, I offer such today. You may have seen these “bulletin bloopers” before, but they are funny no matter how many times you run across them. Here is something that hopefully will minister to your broken spirit:

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*Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Memorial Church. Come and hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.

*Our youth basketball team is back into action Wednesday in the recreation hall. Come and watch us kill Christ the King.

*Miss Charlene Mason sang “I Will Not Pass This Way Again,” giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

*Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don’t forget your husbands.

*The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been cancelled due to a conflict.

*The sermon this morning, “Jesus Walks on Water.”  The sermon tonight, “Searching for Jesus.”

*Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack’s sermons.

*Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community.

*Don’t let worry kill you off. Let the Church help.

*Smile at someone who is hard to love; say “hell” to someone who doesn’t seem to like you.

*Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

*At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be “What is Hell?” Come early and listen to the choir practice.

*For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

*Attend and you will hear an excellent speaker and heave a healthy lunch.

*Potluck supper Sunday at 5 p.m. Prayer and medication to follow.

*The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

*Low Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. Please use the back door.

*The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the church basement Friday at 7 p.m. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

*This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. White to come forward to lay an egg on the altar.

*On Sunday a collection will be taken to defray the expense of the new carpet. All wishing to do something on the carpet please come forward and get a piece of paper.

*Next Sunday is the family hayride and bonfire. Please bring your own hotdogs and guns.

*Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and the deterioration of some older ones.

*The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility.

*This afternoon there will be a meeting in the south and north ends of the church. Children will be baptized at both ends.

*Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the BS is done.

*Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person(s) you want remembered.

*The Lutheran men’s group will meet at 6 p.m.—steak, mashed potatoes, beans, bread, and a dessert will be served for a nominal feel.

*Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

*During the absence of our pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit.

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“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” (Provs. 27:22)

Recently I read an article by the late Dr. Robert Delnay that first appeared in Faith Baptist Theological Seminary’s July/August 1999 issue. Dr DeInay became the founding dean of Faith Baptist Seminary, in Iowa, in 1986, and he was an eminent professor of history and homiletics at Faith and other institutions for decades. I was privileged to take some of his courses at Central Baptist Seminary in Minneapolis in the 1960s.

In the article, he described what preaching at the turn of the then-new millennium had become. Here are some of his observations, which are even more relevant today:

“Those who have listened to preaching for a least a generation are likely to observe that it is not what it once was. On the basis of both anecdote and memory, it is on balance neither as interesting nor as compelling as it was within living memory. Furthermore, the results are not the same. First-time adult decisions for salvation used to be relatively common in many churches every Sunday. Now (1999) such decisions have to be programmed, usually after inducing people to make decisions in their own homes, and then persuading them to come to church to go forward.

There are several ways to account for the difference. First, it may be the faulty memory of the middle-aged, as they think of the good old days. Or it may be that homiletics courses are not as helpful as they used to be. Or that young preachers do not hear the able and earnest models that once were common.

While any of these may have some validity, I suspect that a major reason for the change lies somewhere else. It is that in the First Baptist Church of Laodicea the pastor has different intellectual resources that he draws on, and some of these resources are less than helpful.”

Dr. Delnay continued by suggesting some factors that have contributed to the differences in contemporary preaching versus what he remembered from the “good old days.”

“The Decline of Reading. The chain of bookstores offer quiet and coffee to their customers. The publishers are pouring out such a torrent of books that most go out of print in six months…But those matters do not assure that many preachers are reading books. Spurgeon was reputed to read three or four heavy books a week. By 1950, Howard Sugden owned a library of about 5,000 volumes, and he estimated that he had read about half of it, including the commentaries. His conference ministry is still legendary today.

However, when it comes to the use of books and study tools, my impression is that they are being used less and less. A pastor told me that he did not have time to read books, probably not one a year, and others give evidence of the same pattern.

Some pastors may object that they have the marvelous resources of their computer program, with five translations of the Bible, complete commentaries, and perhaps even the texts in their original languages. Their objection sounds pretty impressive, but I believe it could be shown that few of those programs produce Bible expositors, and few expositors make much use of those fabulous tools. I feel that the screen has proven to be a poor substitute for the printed page. It is a good medium for conveying information and data, but not for generating wisdom. It seems more than coincidence that the screen has become more common just at the time when earnest exposition has become scarce.

The Orientation Toward Entertainment. We now have a whole culture geared toward near-constant entertainment. To about World War I, about the only common diversions were vaudeville and the preacher, with maybe summer concerts by the town band. During the second quarter of this century the movies became available, but hardly for the saints. At mid-century the tube invaded the living room, attracting a viewing audience for about thirty to thirty-five hours a week. A broken TV set caused a near-panic in the family, because the medium became highly addictive. As the video reached the total population (practically nobody had it in 1947; almost everybody had it by 1952) it made its impact on preaching. More and more the TV seemed to provide the major intellectual resource that preachers drew on. Sports and the news took up the time that otherwise would have gone into books and periodicals. A notable preacher told me that he liked to go home after church and watch a movie, it helped him to relax. Twenty years before that he would not go near a movie theater; now his private life was nobody’s business. Meanwhile, his mental resources were withering, and the number of preachers going through the same change was legion.

The move to near-constant entertainment coincided with other trends. Preaching dealt less with the message of the cross and more with the concern for good self-image. The programs, games and adds provided few spiritual and sermonic insights. As the well dried up, I was astonished to hear my former students preaching as sermon illustrations the scenes they had seen in movies. Those trends coincided with the decline in pulpit evangelism, and little wonder. Those trends also coincided with a love for the world that would have driven other generations to their knees. Can anyone affirm that the saints are less materialistic than they were a generation ago? Can anyone deny a cause and effect pattern here?

So now the wave of the future is to gear the whole program of the church to entertainment. The world provided the means to draw people to Christ, and the big churches got bigger by offering experience and amusement. Worship leaders have replaced worship.”

Well, these warnings by Dr. Delnay—issued more than a quarter of a century ago—now seem prophetic. We have seen his concerns come to full bloom, even in what are known as “fundamental, Bible-preaching churches.” For sure, technology and “the screen” have immense potential for good; but for today’s preachers—and for all believers, really—they might well come with the warning: “These tools should never be considered a replacement for the Book, God’s Word.” Selah.

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (Joshua 1:8) 

With permission, I want to share with you today a post which my friend, John Aker, recently sent to his friends in his post “Thoughts for the Week.” John has served as a chaplain in the United States Army, and has pastored churches in New England and Arizona, and currently is pastoring in Florida.

At times the weight of the pastoral role and responsibilities can be overwhelming, seemingly crushing.  And yet, as one so called and privileged to proclaim the glorious gospel of our Lord, I do not want to be numbered with those who may whimper and whine about the heaviness of this mantle…

But I would want you, dear reader, to know that these are trying times for those who lead and shepherd His flock.  We are often regarded as one who has the answers for a troubled marriage that has not followed His guidelines from the beginning…as one who can win back that youth now far from family and fold because Mom and Dad were busy with other, but lesser, priorities and were far from him…as one who has the resources to settle and stabilize poorly managed family finances…as one who can address societal ills without offending congregants whose views are more personal/subjective/emotional than biblical…and as one who can confront the unending controversies emanating from the hallowed halls of government without crossing the line between the prophetic and political.  That is just a small look at what your pastor/any pastor might face at the beginning of his day.  His challenges are polka-dotted–all varying in size, shape, and complexity. How often the pastor’s plea echoes that of King David:

O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me…
Psalm 131:1

Pastors are mere men.  Sometimes people forget that as they often look to us as though we possessed the wisdom of Solomon.  The truth is, and we sometime forget it ourselves, we need prayer–prayer within, disciplined, daily, and directed to our tasks…and prayer from those we lead, fervent on our behalf–for purity, integrity, guidance, and courage.

Spurgeon, commenting on Paul’s plea to The Church at Thessalonica: Brethren, pray for us… (I Thessalonians 5:25), wrote:

As His undershepherds,  we often cry out to The Lord that we are apprehensive of this task He has given us…that we are not able in our own strength and wisdom…that there are times we would flee to the solitude and safety of the wilderness.  On behalf of your pastor, and friends you have in ministry, I earnestly and fervently plead with you, my brothers, pray for us…

John

There is a person that the wise king Solomon said a great deal about in warning his son to watch out for and beware of. That person is mentioned in the first verse of David’s Psalms: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly…nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” (Ps. 1:1)

To scorn is to treat someone with extreme contempt or disrespect. It is to look down upon someone as worthless or beneath you.

In a family, church, community, or body politic, a scorner produces a poisonous, odious atmosphere. That is no doubt why King Solomon raised more than a few red flags about scorners in his heart-to-heart talks with his son to prepare him for life’s journey. (Unless otherwise noted, all Biblical references will be from the book of Proverbs, attributed to King Solomon.)

1. Right up front, Solomon sounded the warning: “How long, ye simple ones will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in scorning?” (1:22) The scorner is happiest when showing his disgust and contempt for persons of integrity. Think: Haman in the book of Esther.
2. Solomon warns his hearers that scorners will bring shame upon their teachers: “He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame.” (9:7)
3. And, to be sure, the scorner will hate anyone who tries to correct him: “Reprove not a scorner lest he hate thee.” (9:8)
4. In fact, a scorner will not listen to wise counsel: “A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.” (13:1) Can you imagine a young person in a class who is full of scorn toward the teacher and the teaching of truth?
5. Solomon says a scorner seeks wisdom and does not perceive it—would not recognize it if he saw it. He has given his heart/mind over to despising the truth. (14:6)
6. Scorners have an uncanny ability to attract other scorners. (Psalm 1:1)
7. Scorners reject wise counsel. (15:12)
8. They are ungodly in their witness. (19:28)
9. They are “proud and haughty.” (21:24)
10. They are the source of strife and contention. (22:10)
11. They make no positive contributions to society. (24:9)
12. They breed confusion. (29:8)
13. God will “scorn” the scorners. (3:34)

Most often, when the Apostle Paul mentioned some person by name in any of his epistles, it was in a positive, praising sense. Not so with the scorner Alexander, a coppersmith of whom Paul says that he did him “much evil.” (II Tim. 4:14) It is not too much of a “stretch” to believe that anyone who did Paul much evil was probably a scorner who had proven to be a major headache to the apostle. Likewise with Diotrephes, whom John cites in his third epistle as one who “loveth to have the preeminence… prating against us with malicious words…neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.” (III John 9,10) Sadly, from the earliest days of the church that Jesus founded to the present hour, there have been people who qualify as “scorners,” according to the characterizations of such as set forth by King Solomon.

God said, at one time, through the prophet Isaiah: “Hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.” (Isa. 28:14) He went on to describe those scornful men as having made a covenant with death, and with hell. God promised those scorners in Isaiah’s day that He would deal with them through “a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone.” (Isa. 28:16) Jesus would deal with those scorners…and today, as Head of His Church, He will deal with all such scorners. We must do as the apostle did with Alexander the coppersmith when he turned him over to the Lord to be dealt with: “The Lord reward him according to his works.” (II Tim. 4:14)

Should we not, then, in the ministries God has entrusted to our stewardship—even yet today—beware of the scorner? Their potential for destruction by their presence cannot be overstated. Selah.

“Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil…of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.” (II Tim. 4:14,15)

Because our church held its annual week of Vacation Bible School last week, children are front and center on my mind—their place and importance in our lives, and the urgency that ought to characterize our ministry to them in the matter of their soul-salvation.

Some argue that small children are too young to reasonably be expected to make crucial decisions as to their soul’s eternal destiny. Others retort that reaching a child whose heart is tender, and whose mind is not yet radically infected by anti-Christ indoctrination, must be our priority.

You have probably read the startling statistic that 19 out of every 20 people who ever get saved do so before they reach the age of 25. Pastor R.G. Lee (1886-1978) once wrote about a survey of 4,500 people who were present at a meeting. The results: 400 were saved before they were 10 years old; 600 professed Christ between 12 and 14; 600 were saved between 14 and 16; 1,000 accepted Christ between 16 and 20 years of age; 25 were saved after 30 years of age; and 1,875 were unsaved.

A speaker related that “I tried my best not to act surprised and retold the story, but it left me stunned. I realized how little of the Bible the average person knows these days. Child Evangelism Fellowship reports that 60 to 80 percent of children in America are unchurched. That means that most kids have never heard a clear and compelling presentation of the Story. The only thing they know about Jesus and the gospel is what they hear on TV and in the movies, and most of those references are just for making fun. If ever we need to pull together as a group of Christ-followers—especially among our pastors and leaders—to do more, to reach more, now is the time.” (Author unknown)

Now is the time because, “Whatever you write on the heart of a child, no water can wash away. The sand may be shifted when billows are wild, and the efforts of time may decay. Some stories may perish, some songs be forgot; but this graven record, time changes not. Whatever you write on the heart of a child, a story of gladness or care, that heaven has blessed, or earth has defiled, will linger unchangeably there. Who writes it has sealed it forever and aye, he must answer to God on the judgement day.” (unknown)

Nineteenth-century evangelist D.L. Moody was conducting a meeting in England when he returned, one evening, to the home where he was staying. The father said, “Well, how many were converted tonight?” “Two and one-half,” said Mr. Moody. His host smilingly said, “Two adults and a child, I suppose.” “No, two children and one adult. The children gave their whole lives, and the adult had only a half of his left to give.” (Selected)

Author and pastor David Jeremiah understood the need to model the Biblical attitude toward children when he said: “God places children in our lives so we can lead them to Him. Being a parent isn’t just a job—it’s a joy!  If you want to see a future preacher, leader, missionary, or hero, just sign up to work in the church nursery. When God gives us children, He gives us the privilege of nurturing the future.”

A voice from yesteryear, Pastor T. DeWitt Talmage (1832-1902), warned against starting too late: “The reason we don’t reclaim our children from worldliness is because we start too late. Parents wait until their children lie before they teach them the value of truth…You put all care upon your children between the ages of 12 and 18. Why do you not put the chief care between four and nine? It is too late to repair a vessel when it has got out of dry dock!” (Deut. 11:1-21)

Pastor and author David Roper, writing in Our Daily Bread, queries: “Why do we sometimes exhaust ourselves rising up early and going late to rest, ‘eating the bread of anxious toil’ (Ps. 127:1,2), busying ourselves to make our mark on this world, and overlooking the one investment that matters beyond everything else—our children? We can make time for our children and trust that the Lord will provide for all of our physical needs. Children, whether our own or those we disciple, are our lasting legacy—an investment we’ll never regret.”

Years ago, a dear old man who faithfully attended every service—with his devoted wife—of our church, shared with me this sad saga: “When our daughter was young, she would tug at me and beg me to go to church with her. I never did, always replying that I had too many things to do. Well, my daughter grew up, and in the meantime, I found Christ as my Savior. Now, pastor, I beg our grown daughter to come to church with us, and she always replies, ‘I have too many things to do.’”

As far as I know, my dear friend went to his grave regretting that he had not taken time for his daughter when her heart was tender towards God, His Word, and His church. Parents, think on these sobering words: “Now, it’s too late.”

“For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children: that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” (Ps. 78:5-7)

On a special occasion when he was president, Ronald Reagan spoke of our nation’s greatness. He said, “The greatness of America doesn’t begin in Washington; it begins with each of you—in the mighty spirit of free people under God, in the bedrock values you live by each day in your families, neighborhoods, work-places.”

William Arthur Ward (1921-1994, American motivational writer) spoke to those bedrock values: “I believe in America. I believe it became great because of its faith in God, its hope for independence, and its love for freedom. I am grateful for America’s glorious past; I am awed by its unbelievable present; I am confident of its limitless future. I am not ashamed to take my hat off and to stand at attention when Old Glory passes by. I do not apologize for the lump in my throat when I repeat the Pledge of Allegiance. I am not embarrassed by the tears in my eyes when I hear ‘The Star Spangled Banner.’ Like millions of Americans, I want free choice, not a free hand-out.” (copied)

Dr. Bob Jones was once in Northern Ireland for an evangelistic meeting. One night, following the service, Dr. Bob said: “I was talking with a very cultured, charming Irish woman. This woman said to me, ‘Dr. Jones, I would be afraid to live in America. I would be afraid somebody would kill me. I would be afraid of your mobs and gangsters.’ About all they knew of us at that time was our Hollywood pictures, our mobs, atrocities, crimes…and so forth. Well, you know when you are away from home and the Atlantic Ocean is between you and your native land, you feel awfully patriotic and you want to say something. So I said, ‘Well, my dear woman, you must remember America is a young country. When England was no older than America, your kings were cutting the heads off their wives.’

‘Oh,’ she said, ’I never thought of that before.’ Well, just between you and me, I never had either! And I thought of something that day I did not tell her. There is a difference between 
America and other countries. America began with God. Other countries started with savagery, superstition, heathenism, and paganism. Our forefathers came to America to worship. Listen! God will not endure from America what He will endure from other nations. We cannot get away with it.”

Big cities are endorsing socialists to run for office. A socialist embraces the tenets of communism, the core principle of which is “there is no God.” At the Constitutional Convention, it was NOT a preacher who said, “In the beginning of the contest with Great Britian, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for divine protection. Our prayers were heard, sir, we were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity…I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live the more convincing proof I see of this truth, that God governs the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire cannot rise without His aid?” (Ben Franklin, thought by most historians to be a deist)

R.G. Lee, the renowned Pastor whose best-known sermon was probably “Payday Someday,” once reminded his audience of the factors that the British historian Edward Gibbon (1737-94) cited—in his monumental work The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire—as contributing to the fall of Rome: “(1) The rapid increase of divorce and the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, the basis of human society; (2) Higher and higher taxes and the spending of pubic monies for free bread and circuses for the populace; (3) The mad craze for pleasure—sports becoming more exciting and attractive to millions; (4) The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within; (5) Religion decayed—falling into mere form and becoming impotent to guide the people. The Empire was not conquered, it collapsed.” (copied)

I will conclude this special “4^th of July” column with a wonderful, familiar tribute and a pertinent, powerful, poetic prayer. 

First, the tribute: “O beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain; for purple mountains majesties, above the fruited plains! America! America! God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!” (Written by Katharine Lee Bates (words) and Samuel A. Ward (music) though the two never met; first published July 4, 1895)

And the prayer: “God of our fathers, known of old—Lord of our far-flung battle line beneath whose awful hand we hold dominion over palm and pine—Lord God of Hosts, be with is yet, lest we forget—lest we forget.

The tumult and the shouting dies; the captains and the kings depart: still stands Thine ancient sacrifice, an humble and a contrite heart. Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, lest we forget, lest we forget.

Far-called our navies melt away; on dune and headland sinks the fire: Lo, all our pomp of yesterday is one with Ninevah and Tyre! Judge of the Nations, spare us yet, lest we forget—lest we forget.

If drunk with sight of power, we loose wild tongues that have not Thee in awe; such boastings as the Gentiles use, or lesser breeds without the Law—Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, lest we forget, lest we forget.

For heathen heart that puts her trust in reeking tube and iron shard—all valiant dust that builds on dust, and guarding, calls not Thee to guard, for frantic boast and foolish word, Thy mercy on Thy people, Lord!”

(Written by Rudyard Kipling on the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897.)

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will l hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, land will heal their land.” (2 Chron. 7:14)