Sanctity of Human Life

Several years ago a preacher friend and I had the privilege of spending a week at Saddleback Baptist Church.  Yes, this is the one where Rick Warren is the pastor.  Dr. Warren and I have a mutual friend, Danny Daniels, who was on staff at Saddleback at that time.  My friend and I were at Saddleback at Danny’s invitation.

I got to meet Rick’s dad, Jimmy Warren.  My friend commented that while everyone was trying to spend time with Rick, that I was talking with Rick’s dad.  Brother Jimmy, Rick’s dad was a pastor also, saw that I was from Alabama and he initiated the conversation.  I found out that Brother Jimmy had a sister in Alabama and that he lived in Alabama before moving to Texas.  We talked for about forty-five minutes.

My I.D. badge started several conversations.  I was standing in front of the church when a lady noticed I was from Alabama.  She asked me why folks in the south had so many guns and killed little animals and had school shootings.

Taken back by her comment I reminded her that the last school shooting at that time was in Oregon.  I told her I might be from Alabama, but according to our geography books that Oregon was north of California and on the West Coast.  I reminded her that just because we talk slow in Alabama does not mean we are stupid.

I told her that for the amount of guns that there in Alabama that the number of people killed from hunting was very low.  That is not to minimize the life of a shooting victim, but that we teach our children that guns were made to kill and never point it at anything unless you intend to kill it, even if it is unloaded.  Guns do not kill, people do.

I told her that my Aaron, who was small at the time, could shoot a rifle with extreme accuracy.  I pointed to a window in the church and told her he could hit any place I pointed.

She asked me why did we kill deer, turkeys, rabbits, quail, and etc.  I told her that we ate them.  This grossed her out.  I guess these Southern delicacies were not on the LA weight lost diet.  I told her that we also killed varmints.  Then I had to explain varmints.

After I explained to her that “a country boy could survive”, she said that the folks in California just shot.  She said that just a few days before the Saddleback Conference that a young man shot at people traveling on the Interstate.  That’s happening everywhere now days.

She agreed with me that the reasons for school shootings and idiots who randomly shoot from Interstates have no respect for human life.  People see movies where people are shot, bombed, and mutilated.  Movies are make-believe and that actor blown to bits is completely well in the next movie.

Abortion, school shootings, euthanasia, child molestation, and all other manners of evil have no regard for human life.

January is the month that our churches observe Sanctity of Human life.

O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who hast set thy glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.  O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! (Psalm 8)

Stuff

 

 

I opened shed door and had to move the garden tiller to get the blower.  Once again, the pine straw and my neighbor’s leaves have hidden the driveway and filled the carport.  It is unbelievable how much stuff collects around the house and in the yard.  Just a few days ago, I trimmed the shrubs, cut the grass, weed-eated the fence, and vacuumed the leaves cleaning the yard.

I need to clean out my shed.  It is full of stuff.  It is all necessary stuff to clean the yards, the house, and vehicles.  There is so much stuff, that I have difficulty finding the right stuff to use.  With the abundance of stuff, I have built storage bins to organize my stuff.

The shed contains other stuff too.  There is an office chair, old office computer, shredder, filing racks, and old laminating machine.  There is there are antiques such as a typewriter, 1950 Plymouth hubcap, an old wash pot we used to stew out cracklings, and an assortment of antique tools.

Speaking tools, I have all kinds of power tools; a router, vibrating sander, belt sander, jigsaw, plane, reciprocating saw, two chainsaws, hacksaw, coping saw, skill-saw, and handsaw.  There are electric and cordless drills.  They require their stuff such as drill bits, extension cords, battery chargers, bit extensions, and a variety of bits.  The chain saw, blower, and weed-eater require oil mixes and gasoline containers.

There is a flat shovel, a pointed shovel, a corn scoop shovel, two garden hoes, two yard rakes, and a pitchfork.  There are two axes and a hatchet.   There several knives, assortment of left-handed gloves, a dozen or more cans of spray paint in a mishmash of colors, several small cans of stain, polyurethane, mineral spirits, cleaners, bottles of glue, carwash, waxes, buffing balls, sand paper, masking tape, paintbrushes, rollers, and paint trays.

There is hanging stuff.  There is an old chandelier from the Pastorium dining room and an old fluorescent light from the office, seasonal bouquets, flowers, bells, and wreaths.  There are tie down straps, ropes, chains, C-clamps, and bungee straps.

There are shelves and shelves of stuff such as oil, filters, transmission fluid, brake fluid, and power steering fluid, and windshield washing fluid.  There is weed killer spray, bug killer spray, and ant poison.

There is free weight bench, rack, a mélange of weights, and two hand weights.  There is a kerosene heater, propane bottle and fish cooker, grilling tools, and two-eye Coleman stove.  There are several fishing rods, tackle boxes, and net.

There are tarps, moving quilts, carpet remnants, and padding.  There are two sets of horseshoes and their pins.  There are two tents and a folding seat.  There is the spare tire for my truck and heavy-duty wheelbarrow. There is a sledgehammer and wedges for splitting wood and several pieces of dry hickory for grilling.

There is a motorcycle jack, floor jack, bumper jack, and an antique jack.  There are toolboxes with spare GMC parts, plumbing parts.  There are several other toolboxes, each with an assortment of tools, sockets, rackets, and pull handles.  Most of these have been Christmas presents, birthday presents, of Father’s Day gifts.  The acetylene bottle, the oxygen bottle, hoses, and cutting torch were Christmas presents.  The golf clubs and bags were a gift from a former church member.  The tennis racket and balls were a Father’s Day gift.

I have a wagon filled with hand tools, hammers, and my electrician tools.  There are the chalk bottle and line.  There are an assortment of clamps, some string, magnets, gloves, earplugs, and safety glasses.

The biggest obstacles in the 12’ X 24’ shed are two John Deere riding mowers, one with an industrial Cyclone Rake hooked behind it, a two-wheel fertilizer distributor, a Father’s Day gift, push mower, and an 8’ Christmas tree next to all them.  They made it difficult to get to the six-disc player and radio and my collection of CD’s, most which were gifts.  I need a bigger shed just to have room enough to use my two workbenches, one which is a Black and Decker folding work bench given as a Christmas present, that are covered with stuff.

 

Jesus talked about a man that had too much stuff and wanted to build more or bigger sheds.  And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.  And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?  And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? (Luke 12:15-20 KJV).

 

Christmas tends to be more about STUFF and less about Jesus.  I am thankful for the gifts people have given me, but the greatest gift this Christmas is the gift of love.

 

"Decisions"

 

Christmas poses many options.  There are places to shop, parties to hop, and resolutions to stop.  There are presents to buy, people to shy, and old friends to send a card to say hi.

Speaking of old friends, the week after Thanksgiving in 2006 the Bethel Baptist Chain Saw Team did some ministry in New Orleans.  It was a very fruitful week making new friends with some of the survivors of Katrina as we ministered to them by cutting dead trees from their yards and driveways.

While there, we worked under the direction of a “Blue Hat” which with the North American Mission Board is the person that supervised our team.  Our “Blue Hat” was an old friend from up home.

I remember back in 1984 a mission trip that he and I ministered together.  We traveled to Baxter Springs, Kansas to help a church build a bigger sanctuary.  It had been an adventurous trip out having taken a couple of wrong turns, mostly before we left the state of Alabama.

Traveling in caravan of a car, new Chevy pickup, and church van, we started home after a good week of work.  The car and church van had CB radios, but the pickup did not.  The car ran lead and the church van pulled up the rear.

Somewhere around Springfield, Missouri, a new route home, we were traveling down the interstate when someone in the lead car yelled over the CB, “Right turn, right turn, right turn” and quickly moved from the left lane to the exit ramp.

I was driving the church van and I did not have time to exit, as did the pickup.  The pickup stopped under the overpass.  I radioed the lead car that the pickup and I missed the turn and told them that I would go to the next exit and would catch them.  The next exit was seven miles.  Those in the car wanted to know where the pickup truck was.  Here is what happened.

Not having any form of communication, the three in the pickup were in a panic.  My friend, the “Blue Hat,” was a college professor and very analytical.  His companions were carpenters who had never been out of Alabama and, in a fluster; they wanted to know what they were going to do.

My friend responded this way.  “We have three options.  We can back up the interstate, go up the off ramp, or we can catch the van.”  At that moment, the 454 cubic inch engine in the new Chevy screamed and roared like a jet plane taking off.

I had communicated to the car that I would wait on the pickup.  At the next exit, I waited.  I heard it before I saw it.  It sounded alike a jet plane.  I stood on the interstate and flagged them down and when they landed, I asked how fast they were going.  The driver said, “Over a hundred.”

The car traveled at a slow pace and we caught them after we got their location and we continued our journey home on a new route.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.  And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.  And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.  (Matthew 2:10-12 KJV).

This Christmas will present many options.  Let us seek the one for whom we celebrate Christmas and follow the Lord’s directions for our lives.

Good Old Common Sense

 

For several years I had a segment on Moody Radio with John Rogers and Martin Houston in the morning.  Martin was former running back with the University of Alabama and is a Baptist preacher.

That morning we talked about common sense or the lack thereof.  I really feel that people are losing the ability to have common sense.   For instance, did you hear about the man who visited a psychiatrist?   He told the doctor that he was stressed and could not sleep.  After a few questions, the doctor suggested that the man take a few weeks vacation.  The man said that he and his family had just returned from two weeks in the Bahamas.

The doctor then suggested that the man might need to buy a new automobile or truck.  The man responded by saying he just bought a new sports Mercedes convertible.  The doctor suggested that he might change locations and build a new house.  The man said I just built a million-dollar house at the country club.

The psychiatrist was bewildered because the man had everything a person could have.  The psychiatrist asked, “If you have and do all these things, why are you so stressed?”  The man replied, “I make only $250 dollars a week.”

Common sense says that one cannot spend more than one makes.  Unfortunately, we as a nation do the opposite and are part of an unbelievable national debt.  We are a credit card society that wants it now.

After the radio program, I ventured to an event at Judson College.  The guest was Dr. Timothy George, Dean of the Beeson School of Divinity at Samford University.  I had Dr. George for a class when I attended Beeson.  He asked where I was serving and I told him Bethel Baptist Association.  For several years I was the only Beeson graduate serving as a Director of Missions.  Beeson, or should I say, a few professors were proud of that.

Dr. George asked, where is Bethel saying that the last time we talked he said you were near Calera.  Being we were in the auditorium of Judson College in Marion I thought that telling him about 40 miles southwest of here would do.  He responded, “Is that near Tuscaloosa?”  I said that it was about 75 miles south of Tuscaloosa and a good bit north of Mobile on the US Highway 43 corridor.  I realized that my commonsense approach to the very intellectual Dr. George was not communicating.  It is almost like the old saying, “You can’t get there from here.”  What throws people for a loop is I say Bethel Baptist Association and they automatically try to remember their Alabama history and geography realizing that Bethel is not one of the sixty-seven counties.

I felt like I was playing the “hot or cold” game with him.  Every time he would name a town, he was way off base and I was trying get him closer.  He finally said, “Then, you are near Meridian, MS?”  I said that I was closer to Meridian than Tuscaloosa.

We broke for delicious dinner.  I cannot remember how the table conversation about Nanafalia came up, but a couple of pastors at my table said they did not know how to pronounce Nanafalia.  I said it was an Indian name.  All these men were of my generation so understood that “Injun” was what is the politically correct call Native American and not an owner of a service station or a motel. I told them that Nanafalia means long hill.  One of the preachers asked where it was.  I said on Alabama highway 10 between Sweet Water and Butler.  Most had a puzzled look.  I said Nanafalia is across the Tombigbee River from Ezell’s.  Ezell’s catfish restaurant is famous throughout Alabama.

Someone said, “Then Ezell’s is in Nanafalia?”  I said do not make that mistake because it is in Lavacoa in Choctaw County next to the Nanafalia Bridge.

So, I have had a day of Common Sense, Intellectual Conversation, Political Correctness, and Politics.  The event at Judson was about God, the Church, and Politics.  I realized that politics and common sense go together like oil and water.  The event was good and helped me with my responsibility as Christian citizen.  I left the meeting realizing that Romans Chapter 13 and Acts Chapter 4 are not contrary to each other when dealing with powers ordained by God, but reminds the reader that God owns everything.  Common sense says that there are moral laws that govern society.  These moral laws come from God.  If government breaks moral laws, then we must obey God.

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God . . . (Romans 13:1ff KJV)

And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.  But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye . . . (Acts 4:18-19ff KJV)