Today in History - November 29, 1898 - Birth of C.S. Lewis

Birth of C.S. Lewis - November 29, 1898

   Today in History, C.S. Lewis made his entry into the world. He was a Christian writer of his day, and wrote the books, 'The Screwtape Letters', 'Mere Christianity', and 'The Chronicles of Narnia'.
  Born in Belfast, Ireland, C.S. Lewis lost his mother, to cancer, when he was 9, became and atheist at age 15, and was converted to Christ at the age of 31, under the teachings of G.K. Chesterton. He married late in life at the age of 59, and widowed 4 years later due to his wife's suffering from bone cancer. He died on November 22, 1963, at his home known as 'The Kilns'. He is buried in the grave yard of the Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry in Oxford.
Source: http://www.cslewis.com/about.aspx

"He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it, hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart."

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. "

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal...."

Happy Birthday, C.S.!

History, Government, and Voting Part 4

Today is the last day for voting in America. The results will show who will be president the next four years. As we have looked at the History of the human race and civilization, we see that there have always been political problems. We have these problems because human beings are sinful. Ever since the time of Adam and Eve, people have indulged their sinful hearts and have come close to destroying civilization. And we know the answer for that is the Gospel. When Jesus came, He did not overthrow the kingdoms of the world. They will continue until Jesus returns to literally set up His kingdom, for He says that His kingdom is not of this world.
   So what do we do in the meantime? Should we try to create a device to take us to another planet to live? This is where I think a lot of Christians struggle. I have seen/heard people say that they are going to vote for Jesus in this election. That sounds honoring to God, at first, but is that what God wants us to do? I wouldn't be surprised if the results of the polls show Jesus name written in on many ballots! But the Bible is very clear that Jesus isn't running for president and we do have to take this voting seriously and prayerfully.
   Christian people are still in the world, but not of the world. People tend to go to one side of this or the other. I have heard that A.W. Pink, in his older years, was so dissatisfied with the church, and never found one to suit him because there was something wrong with each of them he attended, that he ended up living his last days with his wife, on a remote Scottish island. I see a lot of people today doing this same thing. I observe people trying out church after church, but never finding that one that matches the criteria set out. I see people doing this, and they finally end up starting their own church and meeting in their own homes. This is interesting, because I still don't think that followers of Jesus Christ really understand the depravity of man, and somehow are thinking that there would be a church that would be perfect and measure up to God's standards, but the sad reality is, that there is no perfect church while people are living on earth. Are there churches with people who love God and are growing spiritually? Yes, there are. God is working in many ways in the church. But if you are a person looking for a perfect church, and you attend one of these churches, you will end up being disappointed because people are still working through sanctification and haven't arrived yet! It will happen, one day, when the Perfect comes!
  So where does that leave us today? It leaves us in a fallen world, but with the privilege of voting for the person who we think will do the best job as president of the U.S. We have a choice of two men. The one who is our current president has made decisions and implemented laws to lead us into socialism. Some people think that is good, but I have to ask,what was it that they actually learned in History classes? When I was a kid, we learned about Communism, however I believe all that changed when I was in high school. We don't study Communism anymore because the public school system doesn't see a danger in it. Since the Berlin Wall fell, we don't need to focus on it anymore. But what is happening in our school system, is happening because those who decide what will be taught, have a socialistic mindset. This mindset is in every school system in America now, and our colleges and universities are overflowing with the socialistic philosophy.
   For more information on Communism, Fascism, and Socialism, please go to the tab that will take you to that page. I would imagine that our young people don't really even know what Communism is. I would recommend everyone take it to heart to study this subject, for if we don't understand it, it will take over.
   So, basically, your vote will count today. You will either vote for a man who has a socialistic mindset, or you will vote for someone else. The opposing candidate does not have a socialistic mindset, and has good work ethics. However, both men are sinful men in God's sight, just as the rest of us are. We all need God's help. We need His help to see our sin as ugly and we need to want to be free from our sin. So, whoever we vote for will be a candidate who has a sinful nature. Should that cause us to not vote? Of course not! The Bible doesn't indicate that we have to vote for the holiest Christian. We vote for the man who will make the best and wisest decisions for the safety and progress of our country.
   We need to pray for the elected candidate, as well as pray for our nation. Our nation used to be a safe place of those who were suffering in other nations. The church in America could successfully minister to other far away believers in Jesus Christ. Will the church in America be able to continue to do that though, after tonight. If we elect people into office with a socialistic mindset, we risk our freedom of religion (not that Christianity is a 'religion') and if we lose that right, we could face the true church having to go underground.
  So let's take our responsibility seriously, and realistically. We are not voting for a church pastor. We are voting for a president, who should be able to provide peace and safety for our nation. So, my recommendations are; Use wisdom, pray, and vote. Be a responsible, wise, citizen. And let's pray our our nation and not give up the fight. Our great grandchildren will be grateful for what we invested.

History, Government, and Voting Part 3

There is a battle that has been going on since the beginning of time. It is a battle between good and evil. The battle was in favor of evil winning when Eve obeyed the voice of the snake (the devil) and led Adam to participate also. Ever since that time, the beautiful earth that God created started to experience ugliness, suffering, pain, and many difficulties that God did not intend for mankind to have. People became perverted. People wanted to rule kingdoms, even if it were just the people around them.

  Perhaps you are thinking, I wouldn’t have done what Adam and Eve did. I wouldn’t have listened to the voice of the snake. That voice is still speaking to people today, and people are believing the lies from the voice of the snake every day. The words that came out of the snake’s mouth were from the devil. He still lies to people today, and he has specific lies designed for each person he wants to take captive. He will keep you captive to his lies if you don't protect yourself from them.

  As the population grew, more and more people were now living on earth, wanting to control everyone else. When people didn’t get what they wanted, they killed the person or people who got in the way of what they wanted. It started with the first murder of Cain killing Abel. Abel understood what sin was, and provided the right kind of atonement offering for his sin, while Cain missed the boat altogether. Cain was angry that Abel got it right and he didn’t, so he killed his brother. This trait continued on, and has continued throughout all of human History. This trait has characterized men and women for the past 5,000+ years, and can be seen more clearly expressing itself in realms of governments, in any city, state, country or province.

   There were kings in the Bible who killed people because they didn’t get what they wanted. During the Middle Ages we see people in authority taking advantage of others. We see the deception of rulers and the cruelty of tyrants. Yet, God ordains governments and sets people in places to rule. So, what is wrong, and what can we do about it?

   Stay tuned as we continue on with our saga….

History, Government, and Voting-Part 2

I will have to make this article in several parts because it will end up being too long to read in one sitting!
  The reason why people like a government that gives handouts, is because many of them are lazy. But that is not the initial problem. The root problem of this is our whole educational system. It caters to people’s laziness and does not have the capacity to know how to stimulate people to thinking. The whole educational philosophy has put people to sleep. It does their thinking for them. Ultimately, that is the goal of this educational system, for if they can put us to sleep and keep us entertained, we will forget how to think. Then they will do the thinking for us. Bingo! Do you see the problem here? If we are never trained to be functional in life, we will have to depend on someone or something else to take care of us. And if the government is successful in accomplishing its goal, then socialism will easily slip in and be welcomed. The next step is Communism. If you don’t think that is the goal of people who get into government, then you need to think again. There are many ways to get people to forget about Communism and not even be aware of what it is or how harmful and dangerous it would be for any society to be under. It goes back to the heart of wicked men and women, which the Bible is clear that we all are. We all have the capacity to be very wicked, whether we want to believe that or not. We are self-centered people, and left to our own desires, we will end up destroying ourselves and other people (for a Historical recording of this happening, see Genesis chapter 6). If you don’t think you are a bad person, I recommend that you take the Good Person Test and find out whether or not you are. (The Good Person Test  , Test 4 Good Person) . We all have a little Hitler inside of us. The issue we struggle with is love of control. We want to call the shots in life. We don’t want to submit to God and let Him rule our lives. It is a struggle that God can help us to overcome by giving us a new heart.
To be continued....

History, Government, and Voting Part 1

We have less than 2 weeks to cast our votes. Many have already decided on whom they are voting for. In our voting, we have to take some things into consideration. For those of us who want to look at our voting Biblically, we have to realize that the Bible does not actually have a pattern available for how to vote in a society in which voting for a president is an option, nevertheless, there are principles that we can still go by and use in our decision making. Romans 13:1-7 says ‘Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.’ (ESV)

To be continued.

Today in History - October 18, 1767 - Mason Dixon lines defined

Mason Dixon Lines Defined - October 18, 1767

    Today in History, the boundaries between the colonies of Pennsylvania and Maryland were defined. The Penn and Calvert families hired two English men who were surveyors to settle a dispute over the boundaries between the two proprietary colonies. Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon completed the survey, and on side of the border was a marker with Pennsylvania's crest, and the other side was marked with Maryland's crest. The boundary settled at 39 degree latitude, and 43 minutes at a northern latitude.

Source: History.com - Mason Dixon Line

The Story of the Christmas Tree

   Hav you ever wondered why people put up a Christmas tree during the Christmas season? Was it a pagan icon? Did it have some symbolic meaning relating to the Christmas story? Here is what I learned today, as my daughter related what she was teaching her children during a reading assignment.
   The Christmas tree story began when a man named Boniface, an English monk who planted churches in the 7th century, was made aware of an event that was going to take place on Christmas Eve. So, Boniface and his men went traipsing through the snow in west Germany to reach a group of people who were going to sacrifice a child to the god named 'Thor'. Apparently, Boniface was a man who loved to preach the Gospel to lost people. Boniface and his men were actually watching from a distance and realized that the chief of this group was going to sacrifice his own son, because the group decided that the gods were angry and they wanted to appease the gods. Aware of this, Boniface wanted to reach this group and preach the Gospel to them. What these people would do is to cut a tree down to use for the sacrifice. They would use the tree as a stake and tie the person they were sacrificing to it. Boniface was able to cut down the tree and used the cut down tree to explain the Gospel to the people. He came to the rescue and the child that was going to be used as the human sacrifice did not have to be sacrificed! Boniface explained the shape of the tree, which is a triangle, in comparison to the Trinity. He used the tree as a symbol of eternal life in Christ. He instructed the people to take the tree home and surround it with gifts of kindness and love.
Christmas Tree Origins-St Boniface
Christmas Tree Origins - St. Boniface - Catholic Doors

                                                     

                                 

What Was Noah's Wife's Name?

   I am going to reprint a blog I did in my apologetics page. I learned some fascinating Historical facts in the past couple of days. I love trivia and putting things together to see the bigger picture with.
     There was a group of people who lived in a province of China called the Miautso people. They use oral tradition in their weddings and funerals, and can trace the person's ancestry back to Adam! They use their genealogy in their ceremonies. How would you like to find your ancestors all the way back to Adam? These people will recite their genealogy at these ceremonies.
     I copied and pasted what I had written last night. I hope you will find it interesting. When I researched this subject, I found that there were many cultures that have a global flood story, with names of people in the boat (Ark). There actually were different names for Noah's wife, depending on the culture. I hope you will find this as interesting as I did. I find it ironic that Adam's name was 'Dirt'. How fitting that is for the first man who came from the soil, and who tilled the land!

           There has been some work done by Bill Cooper, who wrote about the descent of the Miautso people who lived in the province of Kiangsi in China. These people took excellent genealogical record keeping and claim they are descendents from Japheth, one of Noah’s sons, who was the ancestor of the indo-Europeans of today. The Miautso people were not of Chinese stock, and they were booted out of their land. They have genealogical records all the way back to Adam. The translation work was done by Edgar Truax, and written about in the book, ‘After the Flood’ by Bill Cooper. Take a look at this list of names and see how similar they are to the Biblical names.
Dirt (Adam)
|
Se-teh (Seth)
|
Lusu (unidentifiable. I personally think it could be Methuselah).
|
Gehlo (Unidentifiable)
|
Lama (Lamech)
|
Nuah (Noah) (wife’s name is Ga Bo lu en)
|                                |                                        |
Lo Han          Lo Shen                      Lo Jah-phu
(Ham)            (Shem)                        (Japheth)

These records are not going to match the Bible because they were recorded by other cultures. Nor are the other stories that tell about a world wide flood going to have accurate facts in them. Greek and Roman mythology came out of them. Its not the other way around. For example, people say that the Chaldeans had the flood story before the Hebrews did, therefore the Hebrews borrowed the flood story, but that isn’t the case. The Chaldeans were before the Hebrews and had the flood story, and Abraham came from a place called ‘Ur’ and he would have known about the flood as well and brought it to the Hebrew people. Abraham came from a pagan background, but God called him to be the ‘Father of Many Nations’ which he was.
It is interesting that there are other sources that have stories that are very similar to the Global Flood of Noah’s day. I’m grateful we can still find these stories.
Bill Cooper

The Story of Charlotte Elliot, the One Who Wrote the Hymn 'Just as I am..'

Have you ever listened to a Billy Graham Crusade and noticed what song is played at the end of the meeting? Here is the story of the lady who wrote that hymn, 'Just as I am without one plea'.

   A Swiss hymn writer was visiting England one day. This man, Cesar Malan, was one who tried to speak a word for Jesus, wherever he went. He was at the table with a lady named Charlotte Elliot, and was concerned for her soul, whether she knew the Lord or not. What he said to her was that he hoped that she was a Christian. Charlotte bristled at those words spoken to her. She did not want to talk about it, and Malan apologized if he were offensive to her.
  For three weeks, Charlotte was troubled though, for she could not get those words out of her mind. She met Cesar again and told him that she was trying to find Jesus. But she did not know how to come to Him. "You have nothing of merit to bring to God. You must come just as you are." said the Swiss hymn writer to her.
  Charlotte came to know the Lord! But her life was not a bed of roses, for she was ill since she was 33 with a crippling type of fatigue, which she lived with the rest of her life. She died at age 82, but in the meantime, through her difficulties in life with her illness, she wrote a song. And her song ended up ministering to many, many people. People were not only touched, but some came to know the Lord through it.
  Here are the words to her song:
Just as I am, without one plea 
But that Thy blood was shed for me 
And that Thou biddest me come to Thee 
O, Lamb of God, I come, I come.
  
 Charlotte Elliot died on September 22, 1871 at the age of 82. After her death, many letters were found telling of how people were touched by her song.

Read the full article here: Church History - Christianity.com

Harper's Last Convert on the Titanic Voyage in 1912

This is s true story of a man who preached the Gospel until his very last breath. As the story unfolds, look at the sovereignty and mercy of God. This story was originally retold by the young Scotsman who was the very man whose life was in the balance that fateful night when the Titanic struck the iceberg on April 14, 1912.

The story goes something like this; John Harper, a pastor of a Baptist church in England, boarded the Titanic in order to reach America and get to Chicago to preach at Moody Church. His niece and daughter were also with him on this trip.

After the Titanic crashed into the iceberg, the men were giving preference to the women and children, as the rescue boats came by to bring survivors to safety. Harper's daughter and niece were able to be rescued. But Harper was left in the dangerous waves, probably holding onto a piece of wood or wreckage for survival.

While the waves were pouncing and threatening, John Harper called out to a man who was in his view. He asked the man 'Man are you saved?' The man answered, 'No, I am not.' Harper replied by saying, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.' A while later, the man came back into Harper's view. Again he asked, 'Are you saved now?', to which the man replied, 'No, I cannot honestly say that I am.'. Harper gave the same answer as the first time, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.'

That was the last person who probably saw or spoke to Harper, as Harper went down into the water and drown. This young Scottish man was 'Harper's last convert' and by God's grace, he lived to tell the story.

Read a more detailed version of this story at: Harper's Last Convert on the Titanic

A Dark Time in History - The Black Plague

  There are many bright spots in History and we appreciate them. But there are many more dark spots in the History of mankind. The Black Plague is one of those times. Fortunately, there people wrote down things that they didn't want to forget, so we have much in writing about this event.
  The Black Plague, or Black Death, came to Europe in 1347, and spread throughout Europe and Scandinavia until 1349. It went through Russia in 1350, then came back around through Europe. Many people died from this plague. The disease itself was called 'Bubonic Plague' because of the little bumps that appeared on the bodies of its victims as the disease manifested itself. The plague could have been several types of diseases that attacked the people during this time, or it may have been a more specific type of disease. Medical care and attention was not prevalent in the Middle ages, so there was not enough research done to determine exactly what the disease was or how to cure it.
   The Black Death may have started in China, but no one knows for sure. There were different ways the plague was spread. Some of the diseases were carried by fleas. Others were spread when a person sneezed. There were 'Septicemic' plagues that spread through open sores.
  Whatever happens to mankind, whether it be good or bad, God is sovereign over all. We can pray and trust God with our lives. We could think like the three men who were caught praying to the True and Living God, when they were caught and about to be thrown in the fire, they made a firm decision to trust in the God they were praying to. But they indicated, that they were going to trust in God whether God delivered them from the fire, or not. God blessed them, and did deliver them while they were in the fire. God does not always take us out of the difficulties though. But He does promise to be with us while we are in them.
  We have no guarantee that there will never be another plague. We have no guarantee that a World War will not break out tomorrow morning. We don't have a promise that the earth will not be hit by a meteor. God doesn't promise us tomorrow. Yet, He does gracious bless us with wonderful things and promises to be with us through the storm if we know Him and are trusting in Him. No person knows what the last day of his or her life is. We might have a really long life that God has blessed us with. We might only have a few short years on earth. It is all under God's sovereign control. The key for us is to know God. We are not born knowing God. We are born separated from God, and we are spiritually dead, until He rescues us. We need to be rescued from our sins. We need to be rescued from ourselves. For more information on this, please go to The Gospel Conversation or Are You Good Enough For Heaven?
   Yes, the Black Plague devastated the world during the Middle Ages. Many died and suffered. Why did God allow this? The reason we have these things happening, is because of an event that took place thousands of Years ago. When God created the world, in the beginning, everything was perfect. Everything was beautiful. God called His creation 'good'. So, what happened? The devil tricked the first woman, Eve, into disobeying God. He got her to not trust in God, but to do exactly what God told her not to do. When that happened, not only was the fellowship broken that mankind had with God, but now the earth, the devil, and human beings were under a curse. That was when disease began. Not too long after this happened, the first murder took place. Everything that was beautiful was now chaotic. But God provided an answer to this dilemma when He sent His Son to earth. His Son took the curse upon Himself when He died on the Cross. When He comes back, He will restore the earth to the way it was in the beginning. You can read about this in the Bible in the book of Genesis, and the book of Revelation, and the books that are in between them! If you have any questions, please send an email to RUgood@mail.com
Source on Black Death: Black Death Middle Ages About.com

Today in History - September 12, 1953 - Nikita Khrushchev elected Soviet leader

Nikita Khrushchev elected Soviet leader- September 12, 1953

Six months after the death of Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev was elected first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Khrushchev was born in a Ukrainian peasant family in 1894. He worked as a mine mechanic, before joining the Soviet Communist Party in 1918. In 1953, Stalin died, and Khrushchev was contending with Georgy Malenkov for the position of first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and he won. 

In 1964, Khrushchev retired in obscurity, and he died in 1971. For more details of the story: History.com -Khrushchev

A famous quote by Khrushchev is this one: 'We will bury you.'. He was not happy with capitalism, and much like the president of our country today, he was not happy about colonialism. Some of his statements remind me of what I am hearing today, from our president. I see some similarities in their thinking.

"We will bury you!" ("Мы вас похороним!", transliterated as My vas pokhoronim!) was a phrase famously used by Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev while addressing Western ambassadors at a reception at the Polish embassy in Moscow on November 18, 1956.^[1][2][3]

Later, on August 24, 1963, Khrushchev remarked in his speech in Yugoslavia, "I once said, 'We will bury you,' and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you,"^[5] a reference to theMarxist saying, "The proletariat is the undertaker of capitalism", based on the concluding statement in Chapter 1 of the Communist Manifesto: "What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own grave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable". Khrushchev repeated this Marxist thesis at a meeting with journalists in the U.S. in September 1959. However, many Americans interpreted the quote as a nuclear threat.^[6]

The actual verbal context was: "Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will dig you in" ("Нравится вам или нет, но история на нашей стороне. Мы вас закопаем"). In his subsequent public speech Khrushchev declared: "[...] We must take a shovel and dig a deep grave, and bury colonialism as deep as we can".^[4] 

^{Source: Wikipedia-We_will_bury_you}

Today in History - September 11, 2001 - America is Attacked

America is Attacked - September 11, 2001

  Today in History, September 11, 2001, is still fresh in the minds of many people. It wasn't all that long ago when many of us were watching television and saw the second plane crash into the second of the Twin Towers in New York City. It will be a day when those of us who were alive at that time, will always remember.
   It was a day, much like any other, until around 8:30 in the morning. I was at a school co-op teaching a class of third-grade boys. I was out in the lobby when it happened and heard those at the front desk talking about it. All I could think was, 'What does this mean?' or 'What will happen next?' I went home to get a radio, but I needed to get some gas in my car. What if all the gas stations blew up at once? I did go home, got a radio, and brought it back to class. How would we communicate with our students? There were a lot of things that had to be worked out, that we never had to do before.
  Children in schools were upset. One of mine wanted to come home. What exactly happened though, this day, 11 years ago?
  Here is the beginning of the story, that tells what happened on the memorable day:
At 8:45 a.m. on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in higher floors. As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway, television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767--United Airlines Flight 175--appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward the World Trade Center, and sliced into the south tower at about the 60th floor. The collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and the streets below. America was under attack.
  It was horrible to watch on television. Many people died. Many bodies were never found. But there were heroic people who risked their lives in order to rescue those who couldn't get out. About 3,000 people died, including police, paramedics and fire-fighters. Only 6 people survived that were in the building.
  Two planes crashed into one of each of the Twin Towers. Another plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, which may have been intended to destroy the White House, Capital, or the Pentagon. This was one of the worst tragedies ever to happen in this country. There are evil people trying to destroy this nation. They hate America with a passion. 
  We live in an age of turmoil. A time is coming, when all turmoil will cease and be no more.  God will allow people to do whatever is in their wicked hearts right now. One day, all of us will have to face God in Judgment. The wicked Terrorist will have his day before a holy God, as will the average American, or European, or African. We can't gauge the depth of our goodness or badness on the standard of the Terrorist. All of us are selfish and need to be rescued from our love of ourselves. Only God can do this for us. This is why He sent His Son to earth. The only power that can set us free from sin and all its trappings is in the Cross of Jesus Christ. 
You can read the rest of the story at: History.com-9/11

Today in History - September 6, 1620 - Pilgrims Land in New England

Pilgrims Land in New England - September 6, 1620

   Today in History, a ship had begun their journey from Plymouth, England in order to find a new land where they would be free to worship God without the restraints of the King. They originally started out in a boat called the 'Speedwell' which was not seaworthy and returned back to England.
   There were two different groups on the Mayflower, actually. One of them, familiar to us, was known as the Pilgrims. The other group was called 'Strangers'. The two groups did not get along very well while sailing to the New World, but they made the trip in 2 months and 5 days.
   There were about 101 people on board, half of them Pilgrims and the other half Strangers. There also was a baby born on board. The baby was named 'Oceanus'.
  It was a very hard journey. But they made it, all the way across the ocean in less than 3 months! They didn't get off the ship right away, and while they were still on it, they drew up and signed the 'Mayflower Compact' an agreement which would enact just and equal laws for the good of the people of the colony.
  When the Pilgrim got off the ship at their final destination, they built rough houses and shelters. The winter was extremely hard on them and at least half of them died. The ones that survived continued to build and learned how to plant seeds to grow food. The following year, they celebrated the very first Thanksgiving with all the produce they grew and invited some of their Indian friends who had helped them in settling in. In spite of all their hardships and loss, the Pilgrims were a grateful people and had no intention of ever returning to England again.
   One more little thing. The Strangers were not people who professed to love God. This is important to note because there are people who teach History today, who would claim that the Pilgrims were immoral people. The reason they say this could be because of the Pilgrim's association with the Strangers on the ship. It would be easy to think that everyone on the ship had the same belief system, but that is not true in this case. What the Pilgrims believed and trusted in was very different from what the Strangers believed in. The Pilgrims, from what we can tell from the readings, were very moral, upright people, though they were not perfect. But the Strangers were very crude, rough people, who were not very moral or upright. Perhaps God used this adventure so that the Strangers would be in a place where they could see the Gospel at work in the lives of the people on board. Maybe this was the only opportunity in their lifetimes that they would have been able to hear and see the Gospel.

Church History - Mayflower Sails

Note: I did a little research on this, and found different dates for the departure of the Mayflower. The one date that makes a lot of sense would be September 16th for the departure. If it took the ship 2 months and 5 days to reach America, that would make the landing date November 21st, which makes sense if they departed on September 16th, not the 6th.
Links on the Mayflower:
Pilgrims Build Plymouth Colony
The Mayflower Lands

Today in History - September 4, 1886 - Geronimo Surrenders to the U.S. Government

Geronimo Surrenders to the U.S. Government - September 4, 1886

 One of our favorite Apache Indians surrendered to the U.S. Government, this day in History, in the year of 1886.
Geronimo, the Apache Chief who lived in present day Arizona and Mexico, tried to protect his tribe for 30 years, but now was outnumbered by the citizens of the United States. His people, the Chiricahua Apaches, clashed with the non-Indian settlers in 1858, and finally they became exhausted and gave up. 
Geronimo's parents were killed by the Mexicans, and as a way to get back for what they had done, Geronimo led raids against American and Mexican settlers. In 1874, Geronimo and his people were moved by the U.S. Government to a reservation in Arizona, where living conditions were less than ideal. After escaping and being returned to the reservation and trying to bring harm to Americans by raiding them, he was finally persuaded to surrender. Eventually, he became a farmer in Oklahoma Territory, and it is said that he converted to Christianity. He died at Fort Sill in 1909.
Source: History.com-Geronimo Surrenders

The Bigger Picture

    From time to time we face dilemmas and we have to make decisions that aren't easy to make. Right now, in History, we are going through one of those times. We, who live in America, are getting ready for a big election in the fall. There are two men who are running for the office of president, and only one of them will win. These two men represent two different ways of thinking. One is called 'Conservative' and the other is 'Liberal'.
   But if it were just a matter of either voting conservative or liberal, there wouldn't be any problem, because all the people who are conservative will vote for the conservative guy, and the liberals will vote for the liberal guy. But there is a problem that goes deeper than that. You see, the conservative guy has a lot of strikes against him. First, he is a Mormon. In Biblical Christianity, we learn how to defend the faith. We learn what the Bible says about such issues and salvation and the deity of Christ. And we know that Mormons do not see the Bible the way we do. They have a different religion altogether. Our conservative candidate may be weak in some areas, as far as the presidency is concerned. Also, a strike against him is that, although he is pro-life, he will allow for a woman who has been raped to have the option of abortion. The bottom line is, our conservative candidate has some flaws in him.
  I don't have to go into much detail about the liberal candidate who is rerunning for the office of President. This man has continually been trying to bring our country down, so it is no longer a #1 nation. He is trying to weaken the power of our country by making our defense reduce its weapons. He wants to tax the rich people in America in order for them to pay for the damages done by colonization. That is one reason why he will not open the oil available to us, but will go down to South America and use its oil. We owe money to all these other countries because we have stolen through them through colonization. One of the biggest goals our current president has is to cause our economy to collapse. He wants America to be in slavery of other nations. We can see his socialistic heart as he carries out his plans throughout the past four years in office. Anyone with any kind of intelligence and foresight will be able to see that this man is trouble for our country.
  Now we have to pick which man we want for president the next four years. We don't have the option of filling someone's name in the blank and expecting that person to win over the opposing candidate. So, the questions are; Is it right to vote for a person who has flaws, some of them sinful? Does voting for such a person mean that I am condoning or endorsing sin? Is there such a thing as a candidate who is morally flawless? What will happen if I don't vote? What does the Bible say about voting?
   I will try to answer the last question first. Does the Bible talk about voting? Let's look at that and see. In the days of the Bible, the government was set up in such a way that people did not vote for their leader. Kings and Emperors inherited the throne and no one had a say about who they wanted (or didn't want) in. But there were fights and murders over the throne. So, people in the Bible days didn't elect people into office. But the Bible talks about those in authority. We are to respect and honor those in authority, and to pay taxes to them. They are responsible to protect their people. The Bible doesn't say anything about whether they had to be Christians or people who believed in God, or not. But we do have to pray for them.
   So my question is this; What kind of expectations should we have for a president or vice president? Keep in mind that the role of a president (or any country leader) is not the same role as a pastor. Here is where I think the Conservatives are missing it. It looks like we, probably without thinking about it, are putting the same standard out for president, that we would for a pastor. The Bible has high moral standards for a pastor. The pastor has a special role in the church. The president doesn't have a role in the church. His role is presiding over the United States of America, which means basically, providing protection for, and governing the people, believers and non-believers, Christian, Atheist, Catholic, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, Agnostic, you name it, he is one who promises to protect and govern this group of people.
   But you might ask, what if his views on abortion are weak? That is a good question. People have different levels of understanding when life begins. I was thinking about the Roe vs. Wade decision that was made. The woman who was the one who started this whole process came to Christ. After she repented of her sins, she still did not see abortion as totally wrong. The Bible says that we see through a glass darkly. She was a brand new Christian, and her views may have developed to the point where she does see all abortion as wrong.
    We have a candidate who is 'pro-life'. But he thinks abortion can be allowed if a woman is raped. Compare that view with a man who is in full belief of abortion being fine, because it is a woman's choice. Look at the two different hearts. One only believes abortion is ok if it is done as a result of rape. The other believes a woman has the right to choose to abort her baby if she wants to. These two men are not even close on the spectrum, yet, people want to penalize the one who says its ok if a woman is raped. Let's look at the reality of this. It is very rare that a woman has an abortion because she got raped. The heart of the Conservative is not aggressively seeking to make provisions for a woman to be able to make her choice. But, if you can see what the liberal is doing, most things are done aggressively to accomplish an agenda, which is to diminish America.
   Even if a president believes in abortion as a woman's right, he cannot create abortion laws. All he can do is influence his thinking that abortion is right. So, when we vote for a man who only believes abortion is ok when a woman is raped, we don't need to fear that he will aggressively make abortion legal. That is just nonsense.
   If our forefathers and early presidents were alive today, I doubt many of us would vote for them. For example, Thomas Jefferson was a Deist, and his Bible had holes throughout it, where he cut out the verses that had to do with hell. Yet, Thomas Jefferson did much good for our country. He really did have some fear of God in his life. One of our best presidents, Ronald Reagan, showed a lot of wisdom in the decisions he made, yet he did some questionable things. While he was taking the Presidential oath, he was facing the obelisk. While he was governor, he introduced 'no fault divorce'.
   The bottom line is this. Every presidential candidate is going to have things in his life that are wrong. If we take those things that are wrong, and line them up with Scripture, and believe that the candidate is disqualified for running because of the things that he believes in, or practices, is wrong, we won't be voting for anybody. No candidate will meet our criteria for being president. The result will be that we won't vote. Guess what happens when people don't vote? The country falls apart.
   When we vote for an imperfect person (and every candidate is imperfect), we are not supporting his wrong beliefs. If his wrong belief system however, violates the Constitution, or is a danger to our country potentially, then we don't vote for him or her. The Bible describes the rulers as those who promote peace and protect the country. If a man has those qualifications that indicate he will protect the nation and if he shows that he truly loves our country, then we should vote for him/her.
   Here is one more question for you; Could it be that a trick of the devil would be to have the Conservatives divide over this issue, so that, the Conservative vote would become weak? If the Conservative vote is divided, then Obama wins. Satan always works to try to divide and bring down. Let's be aware of the devil's tactics.
   This is the bigger picture. It's not about Republicans vs. Democrats, or Conservatives vs. Liberals. It is about promoting peace and protecting the country vs. destroying the country and bringing the defenses down.
   And that is the end of the story, my friend. Thank you for reading and considering.

Today in History - August 26, 1957 - Russia tests an intercontinental ballistic missile

Russia Tests an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile - August 26, 1957

   Today in History, the Soviet Union made the announcement that it had successfully made an intercontinental ballistic missile, that was able to be fired 'into any part in the world'. Upon hearing this announcement, the United States became alarmed, and this led to a national debate over the 'missile gap' between America and Russia.

Source: History.com Russia Tests Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

Today, in this year of 2012, our president wants this country to reduce its arsenals. An agreement with Russia had been made, but he is not holding Russia to make the cuts. He wants us to cut back in order for us to become less than a first class nation. The link provides information on what our current president is trying to do with our country. If he is re-elected, he will implement many things such as this. Obama 2016

How Will You Vote?

I have a very serious concern today. I know all of us Conservatives are wanting to make sure that Obama does not get re-elected in this coming election. I am encouraged that his favor is dropping a little. However, I do have a major concern with this election.
     First of all, I am aware that our country is in need of revival. Any darkness from our national government is a reflection on the condition of the church. We see people who are in government making abominable decisions, and we can't do anything about them. We can also see tyranny in our government that is beginning to develop. We need help and we need it soon!
Here is what my concern is, but before I explain what my concern is, I will look at some different ways that Christians look at the elections. Many years ago, a man named Pat Robertson considered running for the presidency. A lot of people (Christians) would have voted for him, I'm sure. The reason they would have voted for him was because he was a Christian. And we need Christian people in our government. People would overlook any weakness he would have as a president because he was a Christian. Now I know I am not speaking from every Christian's perspective, but I know a lot of people think that way.
     Today, we have a president who can't seem to decide what religion he is, or, maybe he believes he can be more than one (oxymoron). He has stated that he is a Christian. He has stated that he is a Muslim. OK, all that is beside the point. We see what kind of track record he has as a president, and many have decided that 4 years is too long for him to be in office.
Now we have another man who is running for the presidency. He is a Mormon. Bible believing Christians don't like that. They want to vote for a Christian. But I don't think that is the main thing that people are against Romney for. Romney seems to be experiencing what every presidential candidate experiences. It is called 'slander'. For example, people say Romney wants to change the Constitution. Someone asked a person about this and the person who made this statement told the other person to do a google search on Romney second amendment. I did that. I read the articles on it and basically it talked about how Romney was trying to enforce strict gun control for the people in his state. He wanted to have a waiting period before people could actually take home their guns that they purchased. I am having a hard time seeing how someone who is making strict gun laws is trying to change the Constitution. Then I went to another 'recommended' web site on this. This blog page explained that Romney and Obama were similar in 40 ways (and it listed the ways). What was interesting, was that I looked at the information on the blogger. He put a newsletter out and he was an active 'Libertarian' . Now it made sense of why he was blasting Romney. I think the accusations on Romney are being way blown up.
    Now for the problem. We have an election in a couple of months. What is our goal? Do we want to have a man who will oppress us for four more years, and who will make decisions that will end up destroying our country, or do we want to look for that perfect man who will rule over us? We have a couple of choices. Conservatives are not going to vote for Obama, so that decision is made already. But what we have is a divided house. And I am not really sure why. The Bible says that 'a house divided against itself cannot stand'. The Conservatives are divided. Some will vote for Romney. Others will fill in a name and send it in. In the end, what good will that do? What good will it do if we look for a godly man to be our president and then put his name in when we cast our votes? Even a best case scenario, if a Godly man were elected by Conservatives, would that man still be able to receive more votes than Obama?
   The issue isn't looking for someone who has a high standard and voting him in. We are not voting for a pastor. A pastor and a president are two different things. If we are looking for a pastor, then he would have to have the qualifications met for being a pastor. But we cannot put those qualifications on a presidential candidate. The state is not the church, and the church is not the state.
  Do you see what is happening here? If we keep this attitude up, we can be sure that Obama will be in office for the next four years. The damage could be monumental. Whatever freedoms our forefathers died for, so we could have them, would be destroyed. Obama is not looking out for the welfare of Americans. It appears that he wants to bring our country down, and make us a weak nation. Could there be another agenda here? Could this be the seeds for Communism to germinate in?
   I am not going to tell you to vote for Romney, but I do want you to consider a couple of things. One of them is to ask yourself this question; 'Is it possible that Romney is being slandered?' (I personally don't know why he wouldn't be. That is the nature of politics today). Also, is it possible that Romney would be the only possible candidate that would be able to defeat Obama, and if so, should I vote for him, rather than vote for someone else and make the Conservative vote weaker? The Conservative vote is at stake today. If the Conservatives stay divided, it stands to reason that Obama will be re-elected. Please consider what I have written here. And most of all, if you are a Christian, please be praying for our country. Wouldn't it be great if Godly people would be elected into office? Let's work toward that goal. But for now, let's work with what we have.

Today in History - July 14, 1935 - FDR Signs Social Security Act

FDR Signs Social Security Act - August 14, 1935

  President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed, into law, the Social Security Act, today, in the year, 1935.
He was concerned for the young people in this country, because he felt they needed a type of support when they 'came to old age'. He also was working to help unemployment, as this was in the midst of the Great Depression, the worst economic crisis our nation had ever experienced.

Source: History.com-FDR Signs Social Security Act

Repost-What Wang Ming-Dao Preached Before His Arrest - August 7, 1954

This article is reposted from http://www.christianity.com/ChurchHistory/11630806/

August 7, 1954

What Wang Ming-Dao Preached before His Arrest

Many cultures believe that our names affect our character. That seemed true in Wang Ming-Dao's case. He was born in 1900, during the Boxer uprising in China. This uprising was a revolt against foreign influences that were destroying ancient Chinese culture. The Wangs were in deadly danger, because they had associated with Christian missionaries. Terrified, Wang's father killed himself shortly before his son was born. Mrs. Wang named her new boy "Iron" which, because of his strong personality, soon became Tie-zi, "Iron son."

Mrs. Wang hated to cook and was quarrelsome, so Wang grew up with many fights and little food. After a wicked childhood, he became a Christian at the age of fourteen. Deep spiritual struggles followed until he understood that Christ demanded complete obedience. Then he gave up his dream to become a politician. He changed his name to Ming-Dao which means "understanding the word." He even gave up a secure position at a Christian school when he insisted on being baptized again as an adult believer. He and five friends broke ice at a creek in January and plunged themselves in the frigid water in obedience to their consciences.

After years in which God trained him, Wang was asked to preach. His messages stressed holy living. He also wrote a newsletter called Spiritual Food Quarterly. So many people came to hear him that he needed a bigger place to speak. Chinese Christians raised funds. The tabernacle that they built in 1937 was simple, without even a cross. No one was baptized without first showing real fruits of salvation. "Better a few good things than many bad ones," said the Christians.

Ming-Dao lived up to his own high standards. Even his worst enemies could find no fault in him except in his utter lack of compromise. As an example of this, during the Japanese occupation, he and his fellow workers refused to join a church cooperative. The Japanese threatened Ming-Dao so many times that he ordered himself a coffin, thinking that he would be executed.

After World War II, the Communists gained power. They arrested Christian leaders who refused to go along with them. Many Christian leaders buckled and criticized Ming-Dao, making ugly charges against him. He replied, "The one who faithfully preaches the Word of God cannot but expect to meet opposition in the form of malicious slander and abuse from some leaders in the church and from 'Christians' who are spiritually dead."

In 1954 the Communists brought accusations against him. Ming-Dao sat calmly, eyes fixed on the ceiling, refusing to answer a word. Many in the court wept. The Communists could not get a verdict against him.

He went home, knowing he would be arrested. While he waited, he wrote articles showing that the "Imperialist poison" of missionaries was for the most part the truth of the Bible. "...we are ready to pay any price to preserve the Word of God...Don't give way, don't compromise!"

He preached his last sermon at the tabernacle on this day, August 7, 1954, taking as his scripture, "The Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners." Afterward, he handed out copies of his spiritual manifesto. Around midnight, the police came. Tied with ropes, Ming-Dao, his wife and eighteen young Christians were taken to prison.

Ming-Dao was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for what was called "resistance to the government." Under intense brainwashing, he cracked and signed a confession. He was released; but convinced that he had betrayed Christ, he repeated over and over, "I am Peter. I am Judas." When his mind returned, he and his wife agreed that he must tell the authorities that his statement had been made under duress and did not represent his true feelings. The pastor was immediately returned to prison for twenty years and his brave wife was sentenced, too.

Mrs. Wang was released in 1973 and Ming-Dao in 1980. By then he was old, toothless and deaf.

Bibliography:

1. Anonymous. "Book Review of Wang Mingdao's A Call to the Church." http://www.goldenmorning.com/call.htm
2. Hutten, Kurt. Iron Curtain Christians; the church in Communist countries today. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1967. [This books transcribes his name as Wang Ming-toa].
3. Lyall, Leslie. Three of China's Mighty Men. Hodder and Stoughton; Overseas Missionary Fellowship, 1973.
4. "Wang Mingdao." http://www.yutopian.com/religion/christian/Wangmd.html
5. Various internet articles.

Today in History - July 30, 1619 - First Legislative Assembly in Early America

First Legislative Assembly in Early America - July 30, 1619

   Today in History, a group gathered in Jamestown, Virginia, as the first representative assembly in the American colonies. The laws that were enacted were laws against idleness, drunkenness, and gambling. This event took place as the 'House of Burgesses' in a choir in the town's church building.
Read more at: www.History.com

The Olympics

This article came in my e-mail today and I thought it was pertinent to the events of the day. It goes into the origin of the Olympics and compares that to today's Olympics. It is a question asked by the people at Answers in Genesis (www.answersingenesis.org) followed by their answer. Did you know the first modern Olympics started in 1896 (my grandfather was six years old at the time!)? But Paul makes references to these games that were played by the Greeks. Here is the article on this:

Q: What do the Olympics have to do with God’s Word?

A: The modern version of the Olympic Games started in Athens in 1896, and although they have generated their share of controversy, the games were meant to foster cooperation, peace, and good sportsmanship. This is far different from the original Olympic Games, which started in 776 BC. These games began in Olympia, Greece, and were held in honor of Zeus. Rules were much different then, as many athletes competed in the nude, and in one event, pancratium, the goal was to box, kick, or wrestle one’s opponent until he submitted, fell unconscious, or died.
The Olympic Games grew rapidly in popularity, and before long similar competitions sprang up in ancient Greece: the games at Delphi in honor of Apollo (582 BC), the Isthmian Games near Corinth in honor of Poseidon (582 BC), and the games at Nemea to honor Zeus (573 BC). While these games were originally dedicated to pagan gods, Christians can use the Olympics as an opportunity to teach the truth.
As is true today, these contests were big business and a cultural phenomenon. So popular were these various competitions that the authors of the New Testament made several allusions to them as illustrations.

Here is the link to more of the article: London Olympics - Gospel at the games

Today in History - July 11, 1656 - First Quaker Colonists Land at Boston

First Quaker Colonists Land at Boston - July 11, 1656

   Today in History, Two Englishwomen from Barbados, arrive at the Massachusetts Bay Colony to immigrate to the American colonies. Ann Austin and Mary Fisher came from a center in Barbados  where Quakers had established a missionary work.
  Quakers, who had their start in the early 1650s in England, was a Christian movement founded by George Fox. The Quakers were big on sexual equality, and were opposed to slavery.
    The two women mentioned above, came into difficulties with the Puritan community that surrounded them, and they were arrested for their liberal writings. They were in jail for five years, then were deported back to Barbados.
   In October of 1656, the Massachusetts colonial government put out their first ban on Quakers. Two years later, Quakers were ordered 'banished' from the colony 'under the penalty of death'. The Quakers found safety in Rhode Island, and some of the other colonies, where they weren't being banned. The Massachusetts anti-Quaker laws were later repealed.

Source: History.com - First Quakers Land at Boston

Today in History - July 10, 1925 - Monkey Trial Begins

Monkey Trial Begins - July 10, 1925

   Today in History, the famous 'Scope's Monkey Trial' begins. It started with a young, high school science teacher, John Thomas Scopes, being accused of teaching evolution, which was in violation of the laws of Tennessee.
  In March of that year, a law had been passed that made it a misdemeanor to 'teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine creation of man as taught in the Bible, and, to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.'
  After eight minutes of deliberation, Scopes was fined $100, the minimum the law allowed.
Source: History.com - Scopes Monkey Trial Begins

Today in History - July 8, 1994 - North Korea's 'Great Leader' Dies

North Korea's 'Great Leader' Dies - July 8, 1994

   Today in History, the 'Great Leader' of North Korea, Kim Sung II dies of a heart attack at the age of 82.
  Kim received his military training in the Soviet Union in the 1930's and as a result, he became Communist and fought in the Soviet Red Army in World War II. He became the first leader in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and since Korea was now divided, he wanted to unify his country. In order to do this, he launched an invasion of South Korea in 1950. But instead of unifying Korea, it ignited the Korean War, which ended in a stalemate in 1953.
   After his death, he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong II, whose reign was equally repressive and Isolating. Under Kim Jong's reign, students in the schools were taught a philosophy called 'Juche' which basically indicated that Kim Jong was a 'god' and was to be respected like he were divine.

Source:History.com-North Korea's Great Leader dies