Week 22 2013 This World Is Not My Home

At times I find myself getting so wrapped up in current politics that I miss the big picture.  As a patriotic American who volunteered to serve his country in the middle of one of our most unpopular wars, Vietnam, I love the nation I was born into.  The United States of America has always represented to me a nation that has been chosen by God to be a beacon to the world, a light that shines brighter than any other, because she demonstrates the freedom Christ died in order to bring to anyone and everyone who would choose to make Him the Lord of their life!  Indeed, the founding fathers held this view, seeing America as the city upon the hill, beaconing all who were weary to its shores, so that any who would choose to live here might be free to worship and live as they please without government intrusion.  They acknowledged the Father as the only true supreme commander, the only King!  In our Declaration of Independence from a nation whose government had stifled freedom, we boldly proclaim, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  My heart swells when I look at our banner flying, and our men and women in uniform.  For two centuries the U.S. has represented freedom, and peoples from every nation have come to our land to escape intrusive government and enjoy a land of opportunity.

However, in my lifetime I have witnessed the gradual degradation of our freedoms.  Our government has become increasingly intrusive, dictating what we can eat and drink, where we can live, what land we can place our feet on, where we can travel, how we receive medical treatment.  And then, to add salt to wounds, our government demands that we foot the bill for their intrusion on our liberty!  Taxes are more than triple what they were when we declared our independence from England, yet the politicians want to increase our tax burden even more!  The very first “unalienable” right, life, has been denied to millions of unborn babies by a Supreme Court that is supposed to be in place to guarantee our rights.  If you think our liberty isn’t being infringed upon try having a chronic medical issue that requires medications that our government has deemed to be dangerous.  Our doctors and pharmacists’ hands are being tied by federal and state regulations.  Pursuit of happiness is a foreign concept to someone who has been born under bondage to a welfare system that strips people of their dignity and self-respect.  I spent too many years in the classroom, listening to young people who had no hope for the future because the government had been supporting their families for generations.  While opportunity is proclaimed a right for every citizen, in practice opportunity is denied to those who refuse to follow the dictates of superiors in education and government.  America is still the land of the free, but not as much as she used to be.  I am not as optimistic about her future as I once was.  Which brings me back to where I started.

Although a loyal American, I am first and foremost a Christian!  My true citizenship lies not in an earthly nation, but in one that is not of the world.  I am a stranger and an alien in this world (Hebrews 13:14; 1 Peter 2:11).  I must remind myself that earthly kingdoms come and go, but our heavenly kingdom is eternal.  Therefore, I should keep my eyes focused on Jesus, understanding that He is in control.  As mortals, we are prone to follow leaders who lead us astray.  History has demonstrated this sad fact.  Worldly leaders are deceptive, and America is not immune to that sort of deception.  However, our God will never lead us astray, and there is no deception in Him!  On that we can depend and boldly proclaim, “This world is not my home.  I’m just a passing through.”

Week 21 2013 Knowing When to Say When

 Over the years we have been blessed to attend many concerts, from rock and roll to gospel to country western to folk to classical, at venues from school auditoriums to casinos to county fairs.  Over the past week we have attended three separate concerts at a Good Sam rally in Syracuse, New York.  Each one was a different style of music.  Wayne Newton’s was more of an easy listening (I say this tongue in cheek.  You will understand in a moment.).  Reba McEntire entertained us with country western.  The Vogues brought the fifties and sixties back to us.  All three concerts were entertaining.  That is, except for Wayne Newton attempting to sing, well, and talk.

While the lead singer for the Vogues, Bill Burkette, and Wayne Newton are near the same age, only Bill is near the same sound as he was back in the day.  Of the three singers, Wayne Newton seems to have had more cosmetic work in an attempt to avoid aging.  In my humble opinion, Mr. Newton has ruined his voice with the many botox injections he’s received over the years.  As I researched his career, I discovered that he pretty much lost his voice about four years ago.  It is almost painful to listen to him trying to sing when he can barely talk!  He had a wonderful tenor voice that many enjoyed for many years.  It’s unfortunate that he doesn’t seem to realize how much he is embarrassing himself when he attempts to sing on stage, and cannot manage to carry a tune.  Having said that, he is still an entertainer.  When he moved from piano to banjo to guitar to fiddle, he was very impressive.  When he introduced his back up singer and let her sing a solo, it was good.  He has a marvelous orchestra, and his comedy is funny.  I would highly recommend that he change his stage show to a variety performance, showcasing new and upcoming talent.  He could still

a presence and not disappoint his fans.  While some might say his voice is gone from overuse or age, whatever the reason, it’s very important to know when to say when.

For our part, it was good that he was the first concert, because the other two could only be better, and they were!  Even though I am not an avid country western fan, I must admit that Reba put on a fantastic show, sounding every bit as good as she did thirty years ago.  She also showcased her backup singers and band, while providing solid entertainment.  Granted, she is a bit younger than Wayne Newton, but she is no spring chicken.  She has obviously taken steps to protect and enhance her voice.

Many of you have probably not heard of the Vogues.  Or, if you have, you might not remember.  They were a very popular group in the sixties.  Some of their greatest hits were “Turn Around, Look at Me,” “You’re the One,” and “Five O’clock World.”  The only original member of the group was Bill Burkette.  Fortunately, he was the lead singer of the original group.  One of his accompanying vocalists is the son of one of the other original members who is deceased.  While Bill Burkette did not sound as good as he did back in the day, he still sounded good.  He didn’t embarrass himself, or disappoint his fans.  The group was highly entertaining!

Week 20 2013 Digital Losses

I suffered a case of déjà vu recently.  Forty-five years ago I worked at a camper factory in Grants Pass, Oregon, Caveman Campers.  It was a great example of perseverance.  I had recently been discharged from the Navy.  The primary employer in Grant Pass was Caveman Campers.  I had a friend who worked there.  So, every morning I would take him to work, dressed in my work clothes and a bag lunch in hand.  After three weeks of my everyday vigil, a supervisor came up to me, chuckled, and said, “I gotta hire ya.”  The first week he had me setting cabinets in campers as they rolled down the assembly line.  I was terrible!  Try as I may, I could not pick up any speed at this job.  At the end of the week, the foreman came and told me that this was not the place for me.  However, instead of letting me go, he switched me to a different position, making cuts on a table saw.  Forty-five minutes before quitting time, I inadvertently touched the blade with my left thumb.  With the tip hanging by a piece of skin, I went to the foreman and told him I had a problem.  I thought he was gonna pass out.  They rushed me to the hospital where they successfully sewed my thumb back together.  On Monday I returned to my table saw with a thumb guard on my hand.  This was the position for me, for even with the limitations of my bandaged thumb, I was able to get ahead on my list of cuts on the saw.

All of that to lead up to my case of déjà vu.  Recently, while at a camper rally, I was working on making a pen, when a block of wood I was cutting got caught in the saw blade and pushed that same thumb into the blade!  Well, this time it was my sweetie who got excited while she rushed me to the emergency room in Goshen, Indiana.  Once again, the skilled medical personnel was able to put me back together.

However, it gave me pause to consider my digits and what I would do without any one of them.  We are used to having all of our body parts.  When we are unable to use one of them, it becomes somewhat of an inconvenience, to say the least.  God created us to be a whole person, with many functions, all for our benefit.  Yet, He tells us that we would be better off without some parts of our bodies if those parts lead us into sin.  Now, I’m not suggesting that my thumb would lead me into sin.  Nor am I intimating that I was attempting to remove it so as not to be lead into sin by it.  What I am saying is that we would do well to consider how we use our separate parts.  Does the use of our functions bring honor to God, or do we let these functions come under the direction of Satan?  We live in a world that is filled with wickedness.  There is evil at every turn.  A day doesn’t go by without the news reporting some heinous crime committed by someone using the functions of their God-given bodies in ways that God never intended.  While my damage to my thumb didn’t come through the commission of a crime, it did come by my not paying close attention to how I was using that digit.  God has given us this wonderful body.  It is priceless!  We need to consider how we use it.