Respond to Injustice with Prayer

May 4, 2021July 2, 2022 / Bob

Thursday is the National Day of Prayer. Perhaps we should take a page from our founding fathers and humbly seek God’s face in the face of injustice.

After the Boston Tea Party, King George punished the city by instituting the Boston Port Act, March 7, 1774, effectively closing the harbor to all commerce.

Upon hearing of the Boston Port Act, Thomas Jefferson drafted a Day of Fasting, Humiliation & Prayer resolution, to be observed the same day the blockade was to commence.  It was introduced in the Virginia House of Burgesses by Robert Carter Nicholas, May 24, 1774 and was supported by   Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee and George Mason. It passed unanimously.  It was to be “a Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer, devoutly to implore the Divine interposition, for averting the heavy calamity which threatens destruction to our civil rights.” 

The King’s appointed Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, was so angered by this Day of Fasting, Humiliation & Prayer resolution that two days later he dissolved Virginia’s House of Burgesses. Virginia’s colonial  leaders went down the street and gathered in Raleigh Tavern, where they decided to form the Continental Congress which met in Philadelphia a little over three months later. About a year later they reconvened as the Second Continental Congress and one year later voted for Independence.

The Wisest Person I Know

May 1, 2021 / Bob

Wisdom is a trait often sought by people who have to make decisions; who have trying times and want to know how to deal with them; for people who are just tired of bumping up against the road blocks of life. We seek wisdom and yet we seem to find very little of it. God tells is in the book of James that if we want wisdom we should just ask God for it and he will be glad to give it to us. However, too often we just want to talk to someone, talk to someone who agrees with us, or maybe just talk to someone in our own mind because we know that person will definitely agree with us. No matter. We just want wisdom.

What a blessing it is when the person who you consider to be the wisest person of all is also the one to whom you are married. Pam is without a doubt the wisest person I know. Of course, if you ask her if she is wise she would deny it vehemently. But that she truly is. And the best part is her wisdom is not earthly wisdom but rather the godly wisdom she has gained from reading and studying God’s word. I cannot number the times she has answered my concerns with scripture or with some godly principle she has been developing. She is able to see straight through my angst to the heart of the matter and speak truth to me. Sometimes I wanna hear it – sometimes I don’t, but it is truth nonetheless and it is always applicable truth.

Last fall I had to have a radical prostatectomy. During the process God gave me peace I had never known before. Peace that, no matter what the physical outcome, God was still God and that all would be well with my soul. I found myself in the hospital with so much peace that I prayed with my nurses and doctors and found great joy in doing so. Since the beginning of the year I’ve been dealing with some serious back and hip problems. In the process I had to get an MRI which is no fun for a person of my size. (When they bring in a tub of lard to grease you up so that you will slide into that small tube, you know you’re in trouble.) When I came out I talked with the technician as he was wheeling me out. I asked him to stop so that we could pray. I prayed for him and again found great joy in doing so. He told me he was a believer and we enjoyed great fellowship in the labyrinth of hallways leading to the front door. The pain was still there but the joy completely overrode the pain.

When I told Pam about the day and about praying with the young man at the hospital she was happy for me. Then her wisdom immediately kicked in and she said the when I’m in the hospital I am full grace and peace knowing God will take care of me. She went on to say that sometimes here at the house I forget how God has helped me by strengthening me and giving me peace when I needed it. She went on to say God is ready to grant me that same peace at home. There it was – God’s wisdom coming from the mouth of my wife. Too often, when we get home, we think we can relax because we have arrived at our personal sanctuary – a place we go as a retreat from the world around us. But in our struggle against the wiles of the devil we can never relax.

Now your response might be “Well, Duh.” The fact is when you are in the midst of the struggle you often don’t see truth as well as you see circumstances. Pam helped me see the truth in the midst of the circumstances and it’s only by God’s wisdom that she was able to discern the truth. It’s also God’s wisdom that showed her how and when to say it.

Without a doubt, she is the wisest person I know. And, if you aren’t convinced, consider this – she married me!

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” James 3:17

Shuppim & Huppim

March 10, 2021 / Bob

I was reading through 1 Chronicles this morning as part of my daily Bible reading. In this particular section – Chapter 7 – we find one of the countless lists of names. I actually enjoy reading through the genealogies, primarily to look for names that I recognize so that I can see from whence they came. I also enjoy the times when the scripture highlights something particular concerning one of the people mentioned like when Ephraim’s daughter, Sheerah, built Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah. Fascinating!

However, today I was struck by the fact that we are absolutely boring when it comes to naming our children. My name is Bob. Just Bob. Three letters and two of them are the same. In 1 Chronicles 7:12 we find the names Shuppim and Huppim. I am in hopes that someone reading this will name their twin boys Shuppim and Huppim when the time comes for naming their precious bundles of joy. You may find it cruel but I dare say that, much like the boy named Sue, they will grow up strong and able to deal with anything that comes their way.

I can hear Ma Kettle now – calling Shuppim and Huppim to come in for supper. Try it. You’ll like the way it sounds.

The War Is On, But The Enemy Has Yet To Be Identified

January 8, 2021September 16, 2021 / Bob

This Little Babe

December 19, 2020 / Bob

“This Little Babe” is one of the carols from Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols. It describes in archaic text the always relevant truth of Who Jesus is and why He was born. As the song progresses the truth remains constant as the music becomes almost cacophonous, much like the loud and confusing world in which we live. Then the last stanza affirms strongly where our only hope lies – in This Little Babe.

I added lyrics to a wonderful presentation of Britten’s “This Little Babe” as sung by the Prague Philharmonic Children’s Choir under the direction of ChoirmasterJiří Chvála, and accompanied on harp by Kateřina Englichová. Click HERE or on the photo below to view them as they sing this carol.

To view their original production video go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtZxknVrqk . To purchase their album of Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols follow the link on their Youtube page.

“This Little Babe”
From A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten

This little babe just three days old,
Is come to rival Satan’s hold
All hell doth at his presence quake,
though he himself for cold do shake;
For in this weak unarmored wise
the gates of hell he will surprise.

With tears he fights and wins the field,
his naked breast stands for a shield.
His battering shot are babish cries,
his arrows looks of weeping eyes.
His martial ensigns Cold and Need,
and feeble flesh his warrior’s steed.

His camp is pitched in a stall,
his bulwark but a broken wall;
The crib his trench, haystalks his stakes,
of shepherds he his muster makes.
And thus as sure his foe to wound,
the angels’ trumps alarum sound

My soul with Christ join thou in fight;
stick to the tents that he hath pight.
Within his crib is surest ward;
this little Babe will by thy guard.

If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy, then
flit not from this heavenly boy!

Current Events from Daniel’s Perspective

December 15, 2020September 16, 2021 / Bob

Daniel 7 – Prophecy Comes into Focus with World Events – Part2

This is the Sunday morning session of the Agape Life Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham. This class session took place on December 13, 2020 and in that session we discussed Daniel 7 in the light of world events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 presidential election, and the Great Reset. The prophecies of Daniel and The Revelation seem to be playing out before us. We discuss how to respond as believers in the One Who wins in the End.

Click the link above or the image below to view the video.

Daniel 7 – The World Today as Prophesied in the Bible

December 12, 2020December 15, 2020 / Bob

Daniel 7 – Prophecy Comes into Focus with World Events

This is the Sunday morning session of the Agape Life Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham. This class session took place on December 6, 2020 and in that session we discussed Daniel 7 in the light of world events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 presidential election, and the Great Reset. The prophecies of Daniel and The Revelation seem to be playing out before us. We discuss how to respond as believers in the One Who wins in the End.

Click the link above or the image below to view the video.