Many years ago when Head Start first began, our church hosted a Head Start program in our basement. Every morning parents would drop off their little ones for the morning program. There were games, nap time, breakfast and snacks, story time and we initiated a time for Pastor Dave. Several mornings a week I took my guitar and went down stairs to sing to this group of kids all sitting in a circle.

I was thinking of the influences that the church has had over the years, when this came up. Years before this, I had my first funeral. It was a man who had been excommunicated from his church, but his family wanted a Christian burial. This church often said, “Give us a child until he or she is five and they will be a part of the church for the rest of their lives.” This was true in the life of this man’s family, and I suspect that it was the case of the several children that went through our Head Start program. It would be interesting to see if that were the case.

To understand this next little story, you have to realize that it was the times (early 70’s) when pastors were someone called Reverend. I always preferred Pastor Dave to Rev. Kellin, and I let people know of my wish, even these little kids. One day, while we were downtown in this little village, one of the kids spotted me and spoke. “Hi, Dave.” Mother’s expressions dropped to sheer terror. Her child had committed the worst possible social misstep. I spoke back from a crouched position, called the child by name. They probably don’t remember the occasion, and we who are older remember the darnest things, so I remember this. I would hope that I and the church had made such a good impression that the child would not leave the faith, but would return if they had.

Some years ago the story is told of a dying man, in somewhat present time. He was going to surgery for what looked like a life or death experience. He had been excommunicated from the church some years before, and was not happy with the church and it social stance in some arenas. Nevertheless, as they entered the surgery suite, he was seen making the sign of the cross. This was perhaps his last earthly act, for in spite of what had happened over the years, his faith, learned as a child, was holding him steady.

Little children, so cute, and so much a headache, particularly when “kids will be kids” actions happen. The head start program was dropped by our church a year or two before I moved. I wonder if we missed an opportunity to introduce a generation to our building and to our Savior. Next time you see a kid, remember, they are reading you like a book, and your smile might be the kind act that is remembered for a life time. Pastor Dave.

You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its savor (old English word), then it is good for nothing, but to be thrown out and trod under the feet of men. So says the story told by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). I have told this story many times in Bible Studies over the years. We tend to take this story at face value, relating it to the ever present salt shaker. I have yet to see a salt that didn’t taste salty in modern times.

I have even preached sermons on the saltiness of Christians, even to the fact that salt enhances the taste of food, or makes it easier to eat. We have used the quality of preservation, but why one would want to preserve a sinful nature is a bit baffling. It has been used as a purifying agent, but that’s going a long way to find something that “will preach”.

Some years ago, a person returning from Israel reported an interesting sidelight. As he told it, the ladies went out into the fields to pick up stuff to burn in their stoves or ovens. They were bringing home waste (dung). I remember what walking through an old pasture, having to watch carefully because of the “fresh, wet dung.” This would not met my requirements for “fire wood.”

Before they started in the morning with the cooking, someone brought a block of salt and put in in the bottom of stove where the fire was built. The salt will enhance the heat of the fire. The old-timers now tell me that they used to throw a little salt in the wood burning cook stoves to make the stove hotter, or burn longer. So, Jesus is probably making a comment about a very common fact in the Jewish household.

The Christian faith works something like that salt that enhances the experience of life, or intensifies the influence of our presence. When a Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit as taught in the Book of the Acts, our influence is multiplied beyond our wildest dreams. I have had the experience of being in the place where we are told that “God would give us the answer to our detractors,” and listening to the words that were coming out of my mouth and being amazed at what I was saying. Some would say, “He’s crazy,” but the Christian says, “Filled with the Spirit.”

The block of salt in the Jewish stove will continue to add the needed heat to the little fire for some time, but at some point, it begins to break down. The stove isn’t as hot, and the heat is cooling quicker. So, the salt is removed, and placed on paths around the house, or down to the lake. Now the family doesn't have to walk in the sand (sand in sandals as it were). The clumps are broken down and the surface all smoothed out. A new block of salt replaces the old, and the cycle continued.

The church, or the Christian individual is said to be the salt of the earth. We are called on to be more than different. We are called to make a difference.

1. Why Should I Believe?

As you might suspect, I am writing to answer some questions that have surfaced over the years. I was confronted with a church organization that did not believe any specific dogma. This was different from a Christian Church that is prevalent here in the south in that the Christian Church holds out a standard of the Holy Bible, and all that it contains as necessary to be a faithful Christian. Such added rules such as the place of the pastor/priest as an intercessor, or whether a person is ordained is a personal preference of the church member. This new organization does not hold to any standard, but embraces all variations of beliefs, as long as it respected the rights of another to believe also as they wish. I asked about the belief in a “Supreme Being,” and was told that it was entirely within the eye of the believer.

Why would one want to believe in a “Supreme Being”, or as we have named Him in English, “God?” In one of the organizations to which I belong is a question to the new member which goes something like, “Upon whom do you swear this oath?” The correct answer is in the “Supreme Being”, for, explains the leader, if you swear by Heaven, we really don't have much of a concept of it's reality, or by “the earth and the moon”, which are both moveable. You could swear by your “Mother's grave”, or other such phrases that societies have used over the centuries, but how do you redeem the value in the event that you chose to violate your oath​?

It seems strange that in a world that we would deny any outside power such as a Creator. It would seem the height of arrogance to think that somewhere, humans willed themselves into existence. We would hope that we were not made by some mad scientist somewhere far off, or even within the boundaries of one of our countries. If we have no standard of right and wrong, we have arrived at the point in the story of Creation where Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and they began to realize that they were independent of God in the fact that they could chose right or wrong. (So the story goes.)

Even when we have established the concept of a Supreme Being, it is necessary to learn what this all means. For the Jewish/Christian faith, we have turned to the scrolls of the Old Jewish Ways and the New Testament as complied during the fourth century A.D. While these are incomplete or with mistakes, etc. it is probably the best view we have an unknowable universe. Even as blessed as Moses was, it is reported that he was not allowed to look on the face of the Almighty. Our faith statement says only that a Supreme Being exists and we claim Him as our measure of Right and Wrong, and our claim for Eternal Life. (Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the Tree of Life reported to be present in the original Garden of Eden). Have a blessed day. Pastor Dave.

Let me remind of something in the “faith” realm that is often overlooked. I am sitting here in Central Tennessee this evening wondering about tomorrow and the next day, realizing that we would soon get in the car and head back to Texas. Our friends remind us to be careful. The signs continually mention, “Drive carefully.” Somewhere in the back of my mind is the element called hope. Hope is something that I can exercise because I have taken certain actions to make our trip safer. I have maintained the van, filling the tires with air, and checking the head and tail lights. I will try to drive stress free having a good night’s sleep and keeping the conversations lite. I hope for a good trip and have faith that all will be well.

I have visited in hospitals where the person was so near to dying that the relatives had been called in, and the doctors have already talked with the family. Still, when I talk with the family, or the patient, I try to keep hope in the picture. I have stopped guessing about such things as inevitable as one dying, many years ago. I have been known to be wrong. I have taken the doctor’s word, and have looked at the charts (chaplains and ministers could do that in those years), and concluded with everyone else what will happen. I have seen a case or two where the patient not only survived, but walked out under his or her own power a few weeks later.

I visited a lady, on the other hand, who had a knee replacement. It was a short procedure, but in those days, the stay at the hospital would be lengthy. I kidded with her about being able to dance again, and that she would soon be on her feet and better than new. I got a call from the funeral director the new morning. My friend has passed in the night with a blood clot. I learned to always have hope and never take that away from a person.

I have watched conditions and circumstances change over the years as I revisit some of my old friends and church people. Having lost a spouse, I know how devastating that can be, and the time it takes to heal. It is a hope for a better tomorrow that keeps one trudging on. Our society has changed so that more companionship is allowed for the survivor. Senior Centers, or church fellowships have open doors for widows or widowers. One of the observations that someone made was that your new friend may need to be an exact opposite of your beloved long term mate. I have seen something of this in my relationship with Ann. Her mate was an Air Force pilot, (retired), and that discipline and energy was still there in his life until he died. I am more laid back, and a bit heftier as well. She still calls me by his name, but not as often. Hope for a good life lives on, even when our lives have taken a different direction.

Now abides these three, faith, hope and charity, and Paul declares the greatest of these is charity. I really don’t know how one would separate one from the other as we make our way through life. I do have a hope for you however just as I did when I moved from my last parish. I hope you are able to live life to the fullest, and do all the things you ever wanted to do, and accomplish all that you dreamed you would do.

Such a short article for such a great subject, it does not do it justice. Perhaps we can tackle it again sometime. Until later, God’s richest blessings for you is my hope. Pastor Dave.

P.S. I hope you will take the moment to put your name in the Guest or Visitors Book. You aren't signing up for nothing. It just feels good to know you are out there and reading my blog. Thank you for taking the time. Dave

Why Me Lord?

“Why me Lord, what did I ever do. . .to deserve even one. . .?” I was introduced to a thought from a recent sermon I heard, which went along with some of my thoughts, but added some good examples. This sermon was delivered by a missionary, and I want to be sure to give him credit.

People of the Bible were quick to ask why, whether asking Jesus, or asking Moses, or the prophets, or the Apostle Paul. The Bible gives some answers, however, some relate back to what was originally said or given as admonitions. I have stood by the grave site of a loved one and heard a relative say, “Why did God allow this to happen to such a righteous person”. Perhaps it was a child, and the questioning was even more bitter. A book was written to answer such a question entitled, something like, “Why do bad things happen to good people.”

Our society has set out to revise God’s plan for his people, or the people of His world. We have taken the bit in our mouth’s, to use a horse illustration, and have run where ever we wanted. God plan for the people of the earth, and particularly people called by His name, was laid out with the precepts of the Bible, and though the words of the prophets. Most of these teachings are Biblical. He also gave some of the results one could expect if you lived and acted according to your own desires. The Apostle Paul set out some ethical and social standards which many have scoffed at over the years (and centuries), but now they seem more relevant than ever. There are scientific reasons for some, while others are conscience driven. To steal is a law in the Ten Commandments, and grand larceny carries a jail sentence in the British Common Law model. Others of the Ten Commandments, such as, “Honor thy father and mother, (then the promise), so that thy days might be long upon the earth. One of Paul’s sermons suggests that your body is a temple of God. Our missionary friend mentions the fact that he saw the article concerning lung cancer in 1942. He continued smoking three packs a day for many years. He stopped smoking before his lungs were destroyed. Some, not so lucky, have a cancer at an early age. It is easy to ask, “Why does God let me get sick?” To knowingly break God’s teachings need not beg the question, “How could this happen?” It’s like a law in physics – for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

We have sown to the wind for many years, tying to be as PC as possible, tying to bend over not to offend anyone. More than a few have suggested that we have undercut our moral code so deeply that these school shootings, such as Colinbine,  and many after were not only possible, but people felt like they had done God and Society a favor. Parents had control of their children, and having a school bully was handled by parents who set their children on a right path. God, and right ways were respected. The Word of God suggests we correct our children in love. Statistics suggest a high percentage of a minority race (not PC) families are bringing children into the world without the influence of a father figure. How many generations will it take for the whirlwind to arrive? Let’s not ask “Why, dear God”, let’s pray for forgiveness and get right.

If those who are called by my name, (Jewish, Christian) will confess their sin, and turn from their foolish ways, God will heal their land and make them a blessings to the world again, (Look it up, it’s in the Good Book). In our circles at the local churches, and around the sewing circles, one might not ask why the world is going the direction it is, ask what law or tenant (precept) is being broken in our midst. In some cases, our world or community will not change until our government changes. (I am not political concerned with personalities, but I am very political when the people of our government began to make laws that violate my rights to free speech or practice of religion in an open and acceptable fashion. No one ever asked me if I was offended when a religious person cut off the head of one of God’s children, but that group is very offended if I serve pork at the school lunch program.) Where have we gone? We need not ask why? Nor why me? We might better pray for our country and it leaders to get back to the basics that made this country great to begin with. The pattern (in the Bible) was given in the most imperfect form, through some of the most disrespected people, but it is ours, and has been the model for centuries. I don’t look forward to the whirlwind, but unless something changes, it will be our fate. May God move some souls to set us straight without war, and bloodshed, slavery, and more beheadings. God bless America again. Pastor Dave