Wish we had streets of gold down here

I thought this was especially appropriate after hearing that the Senate passed the motion to debate the health care bill.

Cal

How do I love thee...

I watched an episode of House tonight and it was a powerful reminder of how precious life is. The long and short of the episode was that a woman's heart and major organs had failed and she was being kept alive by machines. They brought her out of her medically induced coma so she and her husband could say good bye.

It made me think about what I would do if I awoke one day with the knowledge that I had hours to live. We take so much for granted. The truth is that most of us abuse our relationships with the people who are closest to us in life. We jump on our kids and criticize them for what they do. We nag our spouses for the things they don't do. We blame our parents for the things that we imagine they did to us. Instead of thanking God for the special people in our lives, we waste so much time.

My mom died when I was thirteen years old. That taught me how precious life was and that it doesn't last forever. Yet I am still guilty of forgetting to tell the important people in my life how much I love them. I'd like to encourage you to make it a point to tell those special people how much love them every single day. While you are at it, don't forget to tell God you love him too.

Cal

Go ahead and pray

You have probably received this by e-mail but I thought it was worth printing because it is a great story and it illustrates what any of us can do to live out our faith in a world that is becoming increasingly less tolerant of Christians.

This is a statement that was read over the PA system at the football game at Roane County High School , Kingston , Tennessee, by school Principal, Jody McLeod (Snopes affirmed this was true.)

"It has always been the custom at Roane County High School football games, to say a prayer and play the National Anthem, to honor God and Country." Due to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, I am told that saying a Prayer is a violation of Federal Case Law. As I understand the law at this time, I can use this public facility to approve of sexual perversion and call it "an alternate lifestyle," and if someone is offended, that's OK.

I can use it to condone sexual promiscuity, by dispensing condoms and calling it, "safe sex." If someone is offended, that's OK.

I can even use this public facility to present the merits of killing an unborn baby as a "viable! means of birth control." If someone is offended, no problem....

I can designate a school day as "Earth Day" and involve students in activities to worship religiously and praise the goddess "Mother Earth" and call it "ecology.."

I can use literature, videos and presentations in the classroom that depicts 20 people with strong, traditional Christian convictions as "simple minded" and "ignorant" and call it "enlightenment...."

However, if anyone uses this facility to honor GOD and to ask HIM to Bless this event with safety and good sportsmanship, then Federal Case Law is violated.

This appears to be inconsistent at best, and at worst, diabolical. Apparently, we are to be tolerant of everything and anyone, except GOD and HIS Commandments.

Nevertheless , as a school principal, I frequently ask staff and students to abide by rules with which they do not necessarily agree. For me to do otherwise would be inconsistent at best, and at worst, hypocritical... I suffer from that affliction enough unintentionally. I certainly do not need to add an intentional transgression.

For this reason, I shall "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's," and refrain from praying at this time.

" However, if you feel inspired to honor, praise and thank GOD and ask HIM, in the name of JESUS, to Bless this event, please feel free to do so. As far as I know, that's not against the law----yet."

One by one, the people in the stands bowed their heads, held hands with one another and began to pray.

They prayed in the stands. They prayed in the team huddles. They prayed at the concession stand and they prayed in the Announcer's Box!

The only place they didn't pray was in the Supreme Court of the United States of America- the Seat of "Justice" in the "one nation, under GOD. "

Somehow, Kingston , Tennessee Remembered what so many have forgotten. We are given the Freedom OF Religion, not the Freedom FROM Religion. Praise GOD that HIS remnant remains!

Teddy Roosevelt tells us why we should attend church.

I found this article on Ethics Daily, a Christian internet newsletter. I thought it was very interesting because it speaks about a former U S President's views on church attendance and it is as timely today as it was in 1917. Read and enjoy!

Cal

Some people go to church regularly, some go occasionally, and others seldom go at all. How important is church participation? Are there good reasons that I should go to church?

Actually, the Bible calls on believers to be the church, and not just go to church. But to effectively be the church, believers need to faithfully gather with the other members of the body of Christ for equipping and encouragement.

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, believed in attending and participating in church. In 1917, in an interview with Ladies Home Journal, President Roosevelt offered at least 10 reasons for going to church:

1. In the actual world a churchless community, a community where men have abandoned and scoffed at or ignored their religious needs, is a community on the rapid downgrade.

2. Church work and church attendance mean the cultivation of the habit of feeling some responsibility for others and the sense of braced moral strength, which prevents a relaxation of one's own moral fiber.

3. There are enough holidays for most of us that can quite properly be devoted to pure holiday making. Sundays differ from other holidays, among other ways, in the fact that there are 52 of them every year. On Sunday, go to church.

4. Yes, I know all the excuses. I know that one can worship the Creator and dedicate oneself to good living in a grove of trees, or by a running brook, or in one's own house, just as well as in church. But I also know as a matter of cold fact the average man does not thus worship or thus dedicate himself. If he strays away from church, he does not spend his time in good works or lofty meditation. He looks over the colored supplement of the newspaper.

5. He may not hear a good sermon at church. But unless he is very unfortunate, he will hear a sermon by a good man who, with his good wife, is engaged all the week long in a series of wearing, humdrum and important tasks for making hard lives a little easier.

6. He will listen to and take part in reading some beautiful passages from the Bible. And if he is not familiar with the Bible, he has suffered a loss.

7. He will probably take part in singing some good hymns.

8. He will meet and nod to, or speak to, good quiet neighbors. He will come away feeling a little more charitably toward all the world, even toward those excessively foolish young men who regard churchgoing as rather a soft performance.

9. I advocate a man's joining in church works for the sake of showing his faith by his works.

10. The man who does not in some way, active or not, connect himself with some active, working church misses many opportunities for helping his neighbors, and therefore, incidentally, for helping himself.

Ninety-two years have passed since that historic interview with President Roosevelt. And church attendance and participation is still vitally important to faith development and Christian service.

The Scriptures advise us "not to give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, even more as you see the day of the Lord approaching." (Hebrews 10:25)

Why not go to church next Sunday and learn to be the church in your community every day?

Written by Barry Howard the senior minister of the First Baptist Church of Pensacola, Fla.

Thanking God for the simple things

Her mom was busy buckling her baby sister into the car seat when I first noticed her. She was standing beside the car next to her mother oblivious to what was happening next to her. She was looking up and reaching out with her tongue to catch the rain drops that were coming down. The fact that her face was getting wet didn't matter to her. It was the joy of catching a single drop on her tongue that brought delight to her soul.

How do I know? Because I was transported back in time as I watched this little girl play in the rain. I could see myself standing there in a similar situation enjoying the raindrops on my tongue. It's been years since I felt that simple pleasure. What happens to us as we grow up? We lose sight of the simple pleasures in life.

I was listening to the radio this afternoon and "Escape," (The Pina Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes came on. I probably shouldn't use it as a reference in this church column but it speaks to a truth we all know. We get so sidetracked by lesser things in life that we lose sight of the blessings God has given us. That's what the song is all about. The man is bored with his life and feeling unappreciated by his wife when he sees a personal ad in the paper. He responds only to find the other person is his wife. They laugh and realize that they had taken each other for granted.

There is a hymn I grew up with that calls for us to "count your many blessings , name them one by one and you will see all the things the Lord has done." We need to live life like this. We need to enjoy the simple blessings that God has given us. We need to slow down, stick out our tongues and catch the mercy drops that are falling all around us.

That little girl was blessed and I pray you will be too.

Cal

Living with community

This morning a woman came to the church looking for gas money. I've helped her before and she now keeps coming back for more. She always has a good story and my heart aches for her. The last two times I have told her I wasn't able to do it anymore because our funds for that have been affected by the economy and we save it for members of the church in need.

She told me that she and her husband were all alone. Their family was back in Peurto Rico. I asked her again about church and she said she didn't belong to one. Again she reiterated that she was all alone and there was no one to help.

Now the truth is that she was a little too smooth. Before I could suggest someone else who could help, she beat me to it and named all the other social agencies in town as well as many of the other churches who usually have some funds to help. I also know that at my suggestion she did talk to Pastor Jorge from the Buenas Nuevas congregation here at First Baptist. I suggested she visit his church and get to know him an the good folks there. Pastor Jorge told me she showed up after church one day looking for money. She had no interest in attending services.

When I talked to her today I explained that one of the benefits of belonging to a church was that it became an extended family. The church becomes the support we need when life gets tough. I told her that is what our Deacon's fund is for and that is why many churches limit access to outsiders. These funds are to help our members when they need a little lift.

When she left today she still didn't get it. It made me think about the fact that so many of us think we need to go through life alone, without the support of community. We only reach out when we get in trouble. Of course we do the same thing to God. We live as if He didn't exist and then call on him when something happens. But life is so much better if we live it with God and the faith community. We find strength there. We find hope and encouragement. It also opens the door for us to be a comfort and strength to others as well.

That's the great thing about community. What goes around, comes around. What you give often comes back to you. Are you part of a church family? If not, I'd like to suggest you find one. Check out various churches until you find a place with people you can identify with and a clergy person who speaks to your heart. You will be blessed and your family will grow.

Cal

The Atlanta Fest

I came across some videos from Atlanta Fest as I was surfing the web. It looks like a great time of preaching, comedy and outstanding music set in the Atlanta area. Several years ago we took a group of teens to New Hampshire for a Christian music festival called Soul Fest. It was at Loon Mountain back then. They had it set up so that six or seven musical acts were going on at the same time in different locations. They had every flavor of music you could imagine. We had one kid who loved heavy metal. I found a tent where they were playing it with Christian words. We had a trio of kids who liked rap. They had that. Michael W. Smith was there and so were the Blind Boys of Alabama.

I'm thinking of taking a group up there next summer. But the more I see of this Atlanta Fest, the more I think that might be more fun. Here is a sample of what they had down there. See if you agree.

Cal