Tarnished Silver

   We received a pair of silver candle holders for a wedding gift more than fifty years ago. I really liked them and had them on the coffee table for a long time. But, as it goes with silver, they became tarnished and no longer were attractive. I tried to clean them but the silver cleaner I had did not do the job so I put them away. I thought about them once in awhile but didn't remember where I had put them.

   In my fall cleaning this month I found the poor neglected pair of candle holders. Ignoring them had not solved the tarnish problem; they were more black than ever. This time I used a different cleaner and the tarnish disappeared like magic. With their shine restored, they resumed a place of honor on the coffee table. 

   The restoration of the tarnished silver is an illustration of what happens when the proper cleaning solution is applied to the soul. We are pure and innocent at birth. As we grow, human nature begins to appear and the tarnishing begins. The longer the problem is ignored, the worse it becomes. 

   We may resolve to reform and change our wrong behavior, but that does not solve the problem. Not until the blood of Jesus is applied will the tarnish of sin be removed and the heart and mind transformed. With the shine restored, we are useful and a glory to God.

   Knowing the nature of silver, the candle holders will need polishing regularly to maintain their shine. In the same way, human nature keeps cropping up after our initial cleansing. We need a spiritual maintenance program to maintain our shine. The polish is daily Bible reading and prayer. We need the Word of God in us to purify and cleanse the way we think, which in turn affects our actions and prevents tarnish.

   "Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word" (Ephesians 5:25b-26.

Boys and Noise

   I remember a poem about boys that was in our church papers way back in the 1950s. My mother cut it out and taped it on the cupboard door in the kitchen because it perfectly described my brothers at that time. Years passed, and I often thought of that poem while I was raising boys. I could still quote the beginning and ending but my memory was foggy on the middle.
   Today I found the poem in a book compiled by Marjorie Ebersole titled Living in Sonshine. In the book, multiple writers shared stories and thoughts about their experiences in raising boys. 

  Here's the poem.

Boys and Noise

by Martha Schmucker

Boys screech and scream

To let off steam.

They laugh and sing

Till echoes ring.

They growl and roar

Behind the door. 

They holler and whoop,

Whistle and toot.

They cheer and chatter,

Clash and clatter.

They moan and mumble, 

Groan and grumble.

They yell and shout, 

Indoors and out.

But who would want boys

Without their noise. 

Happy Birthday Little One

    On Saturday we were privileged to join in celebrating Abigail's first birthday. It was a beautiful evening for a lawn party. The theme was bears and the color was pink. Of course! This was a party for a little girl who is sugar and spice and everything nice.

   The years of waiting for her are fading into a memory as we enjoyed watching her grow and develop in the past year. (Go back to my March 6, 2020, post on how she was brought to life.) She isn't walking without support yet but it won't be long. She has discovered the piano makes sounds and she can climb to the top of the stairs. 

    We are looking forward to watching her continue to grow and develop in the next year. I'm waiting to hear her say "grandma." Grandchildren are the greatest reward for old age!

Seasons

     I hear people saying, "Where did the summer go?" and wonder the same thing. With most of our usual summer activities held on schedule this year, the summer zipped by. We have only five more days until fall officially begins. But already the markets are filled with mums, pumpkins, and other things that silently shout fall is about to pounce on us.

  It's human nature to resist change. Though we might enjoy each season and appreciate a change once it's taken place, there's an undercurrent of anxiety that comes with the build up to the actual change. And though we've let go of the summer in a lot of ways by now, we can't help but hesitate to embrace the new season because we know what fall is leading up to.

   As the equinox creeps closer, the changes are barely noticeable and easy to ignore. It is easier to embrace the beginnings of fall while it is still summer, because we can safely enjoy fall without having to say goodbye to summer.  And then one day we look up and see fall is no longer approaching, it is here. We will flip the calendar to October and resign ourselves to the fact that the summer is over and gone. The change has come and we settle back to enjoy it.

 

The Many Different Seasons

There are many different seasons

In life that we go through,

Times of God's blessing and peace

And times of hardship too.

No matter what the season, 

We find that we are in, 

God is there to lead us on

And give us hope within.

And when the seasons of hardships

Have come into our lives,

We can be encouraged by God

For our hope is placed in Christ.

For we know it's only temporary

And will change as seasons do,

Though it feels like an eternity

And we wonder if we'll get through.

But God's rivers of mercy

Flow down from heaven above

To bring to us refreshment

And to touch us with His love.

So thank the Lord for the seasons,

As different as they are,

And for the growth that comes from it,

Bringing change within our hearts.

By M. S. Lowndes

To Vax or Not to Vax

   Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease, so I was one of the first to qualify for a third shot of Moderna vaccine. I got it this morning. As we walked back to our car, Leroy had a brief conversation with the man parked next to us. He had a Trump/Pence sticker on his truck and was quick to let his opinions be known. He said if we would elect the right people next time we wouldn't have all this nonsense. I fail to see how electing the right person would cure a disease.

   The heated debates we were forced to endure all last year did not end after the election but continue on with the issues of wearing masks and getting vaccines. Each side is convinced they are right. I got so tired of things some people persisted in posting on Facebook that I unfollowed them. 

    I chose to get the vaccine and don't object to wearing a mask. That is my choice. Those who choose differently can do so. Posting things objecting to vaccines and masks only tells me what their opinion is and does not change mine. Some of the conspiracy theories are downright ridiculous. A friend of mine said Biden wants to kill off all the old people with the shots. I think she forgot Biden is one of the old people himself. One lady told me she doesn't think Covid is worse than any other disease. If someone in her family died from it I think she might reconsider.

    The more conservative people, and especially those with Amish background, are skeptical of modern medicine and favor natural remedies. That is their prerogative. But with an autoimmune disease like RA, natural remedies will not relieve the symptoms. When every joint is swollen and it hurts to move, the extreme pain can quickly convince a person to be willing to swallow pills that relieve the symptoms. 

    To Vax or not to Vax is a personal choice. Make your choice and let everyone else make theirs.  A wise man said, "In necessary things unity, in doubtful things liberty, in all things charity."  

Soul-searching

 It’s time for us to practice some national soul-searching

After the attacks on our nation on Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush took to the airways to address the American people. Speaking to a nation in shock, he cast what had occurred in the framework of good and evil. “Today, our nation saw evil,” the president said. And he offered up solace in Psalm 23, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for you are with me.”

Several days later, a number of evangelical pastors, including Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell Sr., picked up on the theme of good and evil, reward and punishment, and suggested we must look inside of our nation as well as outside. We must check ourselves.

Robertson issued a press release saying, “In a country rampant with materialism, internet pornography and lack of prayer, ‘God Almighty is lifting his protection from us.’” These pastors got major pushback for suggesting that this horrible occasion provided good reason for self-examination, and Bush disavowed them. The White House issued a statement saying: “The president believes that terrorists are responsible for these acts. … He does not share those views, and believes that those remarks are inappropriate.”

Of course, no pastor questioned who committed the acts of terror. They suggested that, along with the actions we take against the terrorists, we must also check our own moral state of affairs to try to understand why such a horrible act of violence could have been successfully carried out on our own soil.

We might recall that the pilots who flew those planes, transforming commercial airliners into lethal weapons, trained in our country.

And while these preparations in our own backyard for what occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, were taking place, President Bill Clinton, was preoccupied committing adultery in the Oval Office.

Now here we are, 20 years later, having spent more than $2 trillion in our operations in Afghanistan, with a loss of some 2,400 American lives. The Taliban, against whom we launched hostilities in 2001, is back in power. By some estimates, their control in Afghanistan is broader than it was in 2001.

Maybe today, as the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan in despair, shame and confusion, and as we note 20 years since the loss of 2,977 American lives to terror in our homeland, there will be greater appreciation for doing some national soul-searching.

We needn’t just turn back to the admonitions of a few evangelical pastors 20 years ago. We can turn back to 1796, to the counsel provided to a young, new nation by President, George Washington in his farewell address. He reminded his countrymen that theirs is a country rooted in eternal truths and warned of detaching from those truths and allowing it to deteriorate into raw politics.

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. … Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education … reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

“It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.”

Over the last 20 years, as a nation, we have moved further from these truths. Under President Joe Biden’s leadership, we have politics, secularism and moral relativism on steroids.

Let’s understand that we will have no clarity abroad until we get our house in order at home.

Star Parker, published in the Reading Eagle, August 26, 2021

The End of His Book

   The world is stunned with the Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan before the withdrawal of American troops was completed. Fingers are being pointed in several directions to place the blame on different people or agencies. Who is to blame is not the most important issue in this situation. What we should be concerned about is the people who are caught in the crossfires. Some, probably knowing their lives were in danger, were so desperate to get out of the country they clung to the outside of an airliner and fell to their deaths when it took off. Two of the most vulnerable groups are those who worked with the American military and Christians. Separated from them by a great distance there is nothing we can physically do, but we can pray.

    Some are crying this is the beginning of the end of the United States as a world power. After having deserted Afghanistan, the Russians, Chinese, Syrians, and other powers will advance fearlessly, sure the U. S. will not come to aid of those they attack. They will steadily advance until they reach Israel and then the battle of Armageddon will begin. 

   I'm not saying they are wrong, but when I heard this I remembered the fear of Russia and the Communists that was very real in the 1950s and 60s. People built bomb shelters and stockpiled food. We were fed a steady diet of dire predictions that built unwarranted fear. I remember one time there was a massive power failure in New York City. We were told it was a test by the Russians who were planning to turn off the power across the country so we would be helpless and they could take over without firing a shot. It never happened.

     At the same time, the signs of Christ's return listed in Matthew 24 are present in our world today and increasing. Multiple wars have resulted in 82.4 million displaced people and created a refugee crisis. Huge fires, hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity around the world. The planet, including the United States, is ripe for judgment.

   I am sure there will be consequences and after effects for years to come from this takeover in Afghanistan. What form that will take and how it will affect us personally I have no idea. If this country is taken over by the Communist or Islamic powers and America as we know it ceases to exist, the American people cannot place the blame on anyone but themselves. Our nation has turned its back on God and is rapidly becoming heathen. God said, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil." The only path to preservation is to repent and turn back to God.

   One thing I do know is that, whether we live or die, we are secure in Christ. There is no need to panic and cower in fear. If the Islamic powers overtake our country and we are killed for our faith, it is not the end of all things. Christians have been persecuted from the day of Pentecost when the church began. Our ancestors were persecuted and killed in Europe and it continues to this day in various parts of the world. 

  I have been slowly working through reading the Martyrs Mirror this year. The torture those Anabaptists suffered is gruesome. But the book also contains many letters and statements of faith they wrote encouraging others to stand strong and true to their faith. Over and over, they write of suffering being a normal part of life and the joy it was to suffer for Christ's sake. The Martyrs Mirror was translated from Dutch to German to fortify the Mennonites in America for the difficulties of the French and Indian War that was looming on the horizon. It is now translated into English and a book every Anabaptist should read today. 

   God is sovereign. He sets up and takes down kings. He sees the big picture and knows what He is doing. He will work out His plan and His truth will triumph. I know that for a fact. I read the end of His Book.