The Encourager Newsletter - Vol.4 Issue 14 - July 9, 2010 - A Man Named Charlie - A Christian Attitude

A Man Named Charlie

When people are buried, they disappear into the ground and grass soon covers it over. But one thing is almost always left hanging out of the grave: the name. The Bible is big on names. One has only to read the several rosters of names in the Bible to realize that God makes a lot of names. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John (John 1:6).

God carefully unfolded His own name to Moses and to those he led. God's name was a mystery, from the great "I Am" to several forms of Jehovah, Elohim, Adonai, and El.

One of the Ten Commandments given to Moses said: Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (Exodus 20:7)

His Son was coming to earth one day and He would have a special name: Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phlippians 2:9-11).

God made us in His image (Genesis 1:26) and part of that likeness is that we should have names; not numbers. Names in the Bible had meaning. Many names used today either begin or end with "el." Samuel, Daniel, Elizabeth, Rachel and Michael are a few. Names were given to urge a child toward godly living; something to live up to. But the modern trend is to dispense names to newborns because they sound good or strike a fancy.

In growing up, I heard "live up to your family name" or "don't disgrace your family name." I should not have climbed the fence and stole watermelons out of a farmer's watermelon patch with some teen buddies. My name means: "God is my judge." I violated my name in the watermelon patch…once.

The tombstone above us inscribed with the name: Charles A. Richards. Charles is of old German origin and has at least 27 variations, including Carl. I doubt if this Charles had any idea where his name came from but since he had it, he would guard it carefully and make it stand for something upright and dependable. He lived his life that way. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches….(Proverbs 22:1a)

Charlie was born September 11, 1875. I attended his funeral on September 3, 1954; just eight days shy of his 79^th birthday. I was thirteen days shy of 20. He was my favorite grandpa because in Medlock Hollow I had followed him everywhere he went, doing everything he did (sort of). I loved my daddy and liked to be with him when he was not off sawmilling somewhere. But, Grandpa Richards was my strongest male role model from the time I was four. I called him Grandpa. My mother called him Papa. Most people called him Charlie.

Last weekend we visited Charlie's gravesite and eight others (including Grandpa Carr's) and attended the morning service at Falling Springs Baptist Church on the Wilder Highway between Alpine and Allred, Tennessee. The day before was my Homesteads High School class reunion (58^th year) at Crossville, Tennessee.

We hear a lot about "generation gap" today. My generation gap was that my parents and grandparents knew more than I did and the smartest thing I could do was to listen more and talk less when they were around.

What a blessing it was to realize early in life that I was new on Planet Earth and my ancestors were smarter than me. We hear some youth today use the worn-out cliché: "You don't understand!" Truth is: we DO understand. The difference is that we don't agree. We understand that if you keep walking down the railroad track into that tunnel, you are going to meet a freight train that's not going your way.

McGee observes: "John the Baptist went forth in the spirit and power of Elijah, [and] would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. He was to bridge the generation gap. Our problem today is not so much that there is a gap between the adults and youth but that there is a gap between adults and God. If adults had a proper relationship with God, they would not have the problem with young people that exists"

Charlie understood that his word was his bond and that if he gave his word on something, he would forfeit the family farm before he would go back on his word. No wonder that this man who finished the 3^rd grade probably had the biggest funeral attendance in the history of Falling Springs Baptist Church, and it is a very old church.

Charlie was slow to advise another man how he ought to plow his mule. He was not always preaching to people. He taught no Sunday school class and sang in no choir. But his life preached so loud and he was so encouraging to people around him that he was a walking Bible. He was a tough act for me to follow. That's why his tombstone is in my computer screen saver album and comes around frequently, reminding me to remember.

Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. (2Corinthians 3:2-3) Ω

A Christian Attitude―Barbara Carr

Paul gives us some really good insights and advice.

"For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me wasnot in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was withme. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed." (1Corinthians 15:9-11)

Humility. Paul calls himself the least of the apostles. He had persecuted the church of God. He considers himself to be the chief of sinners. Just as our sins remind us of who we are, Paul's sins reminded him of his life of scoffing and profanity. He tells us that it is "by the grace of God I am what I am."

If we understand divine mercy, we cannot hide pride in our hearts. Paul believed that the grace that saved him is sufficient for all. We are all equal in the sight of God. You may believe your sins were not as great as Paul's, but we are all guilty of the sins that nailed Jesus to the cross. Remembering where we were when the Lord saved us will produce humility and a deep sense of unworthiness. Paul worked as hard or harder than all the apostles, but he tells us that it was the grace of God that enabled him to accomplish what he did.

A Sense of Obligation. Paul never lost sight of how far God's grace had brought him. He often told his followers of his role in persecuting the church. (I Timothy 1:13) In all his travels, imprisonment and heartache, Paul kept praising the Lord for the privilege of serving.

A Sense of Dependence: Paul knew what it was like to depend upon one's own goodness and work to be religious and he wanted no part of it. Paul desired more of Jesus and none of himself.

"Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: " (Philippians 3:8-9)

Paul made a voluntary choice of Jesus Christ, His cross, His poverty, and His reproach. He was completely dependent on God.

A Spirit of Absolute Confidence. When Paul was nearing death, he was as certain as ever that God was real, in charge, and worthy of all honor, glory and praise.

"Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:11)

Christ's glory is revealed in the life of a genuine follower by everything that he does and says. A true Christian loves to glorify God. He shows this by his conversation in declaring the glorious works and power of the Lord.

What about Our Attitudes?

Do we have these attitudes? It may help to read more about Paul and his life. We need to praise the Lord for all He has done for us and to work for Him until He calls us home.

"His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all:" (1 Corinthians 15:10) Ω

The Encourager Newsletter - 2010.07.03 - Vol.4 Issue 13 - July 4th and Prayer - Text of Declaration of Independence

July 4^th and Prayer—Barbara Carr

John Quincy Adams, 6^th president of the United States, had this to say on July 4, 1837. "In the chains of human events, the birthday of this nation is indissolubly linked with the birth of the Savior. The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity." (Dayspring) Isn't that a wonderful quote? The cornerstone of America's Independence was laid upon the ideas of Christianity. Where did they get these ideas? From the Bible.

Jesus Christ our Savior has set us free from sin and the bondage of sin. We do not have to be a servant of sin. Sometimes, we Christians accept defeat and failure as a normal Christian life. God never intended us to live like that. He intends us to live for Him by the power of the Holy Spirit.

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)

In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States. (Wikipedia)

Dan and I repeat certain words often in our morning devotions. They are prayers of thanks and praise. I believe a heart appreciation to God would be an appropriate prayer for July 4^th.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for loving us so much that you created a world for us and you created us.

Thank you for giving your only son's blood that we might have eternal life.

Thank you for the pilgrims who risk their lives to journey into a foreign land, because they wanted religious freedom.

Thank you for our founding fathers, who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution--looking to God for wisdom.

Thank you for being born to parents that were your children and taught us about you.

Thank you for our brothers and sisters, children, grand children, nieces and nephews.

Thank you that in our life time there has been no war within the boundaries of America.

Thank you for all the brave young men and women who have defended our shores and the many who have given their lives for our freedom.

Thank you for the freedom to worship in our homes and churches and to order our lives in pursuit of our individual dreams and ambitions. Ω

John Trumbull's painting,(not shown here) Declaration of Independence, depicting the five-man drafting committee of the Declaration of Independence$2 bill. The original hangs in the US Capitol rotunda. (Taken from Wikipedia.) presenting their work to the Congress. The painting can be found on the back of the U.S.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor. http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm

We wish you a safe and enjoyable celebration of the founding of our country.

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The Encourager Newsletter - 2010.06.04 - God's Trees/Our Goliaths

God's Trees

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper (Psalm 1:3).

The blessed man, or happy man shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. In 1949 we lived at the Homesteads in Crossville, Tennessee and had ten acres of alfalfa hay. My brother, Cliff (ten years my senior) had another six acres of alfalfa adjoining our place. Weather permitting, we cut it four times during the summer and when our two barns were full we decided to make some big pole racks to stack the rest of the harvest. Our cows could eat from the racks at will but the racks of closely-spaced vertical poles reduced the amount of hay that was trampled and wasted. (This is a re-run but is important for the verse for today.)

A neighbor let us take our axes and go into their woods to cut 120 Oak poles. There was no road so we had to carry the poles out, one at a time. It was uphill all the way and limestone jutted out of the ground here and there. At the bottom of the hill, a creek ran the length of the woods, usually too cold to swim in. The banks were covered with moss and a profusion of wild flowers. Thrift, with its beautiful deep pink blooms, caught my mother's eye and she had to have several wheelbarrow loads transplanted to our front yard.

We started chopping trees at the top of the hill and worked our way down toward the creek. The big surprise was that the trees within fifty feet of the creek got harder and heavier as we neared the creek. Every pole near the creek was hard to cut and heavy to carry out.

When I came across today's verse a few years later, my eyes opened wide! I knew something about this! This truth was known thousands of years ago but I didn't know it—until then.

The man or woman who walks with God will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. It is not talking about a wild tree, but a planted tree. Trees are planted at a selected spot when they are small. God's trees are "planted" trees. The planting takes place when one is born again of the Spirit of God.

Isaiah 61:3 says, "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified."

God is in the tree planting business. His trees are born again trees set out in His garden; set out by the rivers of water. McGee asks: "What does "rivers of water" mean? That is the Word of God. Somebody asks, 'Are you sure about that?'

"Oh, I know it, because Isaiah 55:10-11 tells me, For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. God wants His Word to come down like rain" (McGee).

We are to get out the Word of God. It is God's rain and it will cause trees to grow. The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted" (Psalm 104:16). God's trees which He has planted are full of the Word of God. If they are not full of the Word of God, they will not be full of sap.

Each tree "bringeth forth his fruit in his season". God's trees don't bring forth fruit all of the time. They bring forth in their season, and the power is in the Word of God.

2Corinthians 2:14-16 says, Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

We are to win everybody we can to the Lord but not many will listen. Noah was one of God's sturdiest trees and he got only eight people on the ark in 120 years. Jesus did not win but a few people among the multitudes He preached to. But Noah and Jesus bore fruit in their season.

This is the way God works: No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:44). One of the scariest verses in the Bible is: And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years (Genesis 6:3).

If we, like Noah, spend a lifetime giving out the Word of God and no one accepts it, then we are a savour of life to those who are saved and a savour of death to those who perish. My responsibility is to give you the Word of God, and it is their responsibility to do something about it. I have thought a lot about this.

Isaiah commented: Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, (Isaiah 6:11)

Ezekiel was told by the Lord: And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. (Ezekiel 2:5)

His leaf also shall not wither—Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The outward testimony of the Christian should never be in a withered state. Our text indicates a tree in a continual state of being a planted tree and being continually supplied with water. What God has planted and watered will show life and will accomplish God's purpose. It will prosper.

Our Goliaths—Barbara Carr

In our mid-week Bible study at Flat Rock, we were studying the life of David. Roy Gamble was doing an excellent job of teaching this class. I don't think he would mind if I use some of his thoughts mixed in with my thoughts.

Saul, the people's choice for a king was doing battle with the Philistines. "Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim." (1Sa 17:1)

All of David's brothers were members of Saul's army at Shochoh. David the youngest was left at home to tend the sheep. His father ask him to take food to his brothers at the front line of the battle. He arrived about the time Goliath came out to make his war cry. You remember how big Goliath was—approximately nine feet, nine inches tall. He was dressed in armor that weighed hundreds of pounds. David turned to his brothers and ask, "… who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1Sa 17:26b)

David's oldest brother, Eliab was angry when he heard David's remarks and reprimanded him for his words. "And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?" (1Samuel 17:29)

What is the biggest problem you are facing? Is there a King Saul or an older brother in your life? Often appearances and words are giants in our lives. We sometimes allow a severe look or stern words prevent us from doing the will of God. Saul, at this time was faithless and spiritless. David was both faithful and spirit filled. Saul had forgotten what it was like to fight in the strength of the Lord. David had delivered the lambs from both the bear and the lion. He knew what it was to be given strength from the Lord.

"Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands." (1Samuel 17:45-47)

The Goliaths or giants in each of our lives are different, but we each have our own. These giants come in all sizes and shapes. They may be a death of a family member, an unhappy marriage, a child that has strayed away from God and the list could go on. We face these giants in different ways, but the best way is the way David took. "I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts." We may have to suffer along the way, but we can gain victory with our Lord by our side.

Before the battle began David declared victory over Goliath. David also believed he would win because he belonged to the Lord. David had a strong relationship with the Lord. He spent time alone with Him and knew with certainty that he was a beloved child of God. His Father above had blessed him with wisdom, courage and strength.

David also learned that he could not use the weapons of this world to fight the battle. Saul offered his armor to protect David. He put on the heavy, burdensome armor, but found it didn't fit him. David had to use his own weapons, his own methods—those which God had taught him. Today, we need to recognize that the world can be overcome only by our faith and confidence in God.

Mr. Gamble stated that we could expect a road block when fighting our giants and give three points. 1) Facing giants is always an intimidating experience. 2) Doing battle with your giants will be a lonely experience and 3) The battle is God's.

A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)

It would be great if we would practice David's faith habits. Spend time alone reading God's Word, praying and singing spiritual songs. We can believe with all confidence that God is sufficient, no matter how big our giants are. He will give us victory if we stand in faith and confront our Goliaths.

The Encourager Newsletter - Vol. 4 Issue 9 - April 23, 2010 - Trees - Prayer

Trees

Sequoia trees live about 2000 years and only for100 years men started to drive through them with cars. The tallest tree of all is Hyperion measuring115.55 m, making him the world's tallest living thing. At the website of Alameda, CA you can find dozens of postcards of the most popular drivethroughs through the times. It's really interesting to compare them. (But the whole collection is worth a click.) Drive Thru Redwood Tree Postcards. The pictures above are of the world-famous Wawona drive-through tree.

"I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the sweet earth's flowing breast

A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree."

Joyce Kilmer. 1886–1918

My father worked with trees all of his life. During the "second depression" of 1938-40 the lumber market plunged and he had a yard of lumber destined to rot. After bankruptcy he turned from lumber to hardwood precision products such as tool handles and agriculture handles; shuttle blocks and picker sticks used in the weaving industry. If it was really good hickory, it was sawed into skis or shunt poles used by the railroads in Europe. Smaller pieces went into ladder rungs for firemen's ladders'. They had to be first class, no-flaw white hickory that would hold a 200-pound fireman a hundred feet in the air.

I loved to work in his mills, carrying water for the workers, rolling sawdust and stacking handles at 8; and grading handles and skis and buying and grading logs and making payroll at 16. Wood smells good when it's being sawed. When ash is being sawed for pitch fork and shovel handles it smells like sweet potatoes.

We lived up on the hill above Grandpa in Medlock Hollow. He had a garage that housed the '29 A Model Ford we used for church, store, town and doctor's office. Beside it, was parked a dusty Model T adorned with spider webs that was never driven, never fired off. I never knew why. I drove it a lot with my own powerful engine and loud horn—to town, to Chicago, California, and Connecticut and all the other towns I could pick up in fireside conversations of guests. (In your mind is what counts.) A long trip like that can make you tired and eager for mother to tuck you in at night.

Grandpa's Model T was an open touring car and sometimes a hen that had flown over the fence out of the chicken yard would roost in the window for the night. Good deal for the hen to roost above the foxes and it kept the sides of the T interesting.

One day the T was gone and that was an earthquake! Down the road at the end of the half-mile driveway and across the steel bridge there lived the Shirley Tinch family. The Depression and a house full of children and no land was an extreme poverty thing. Sometimes we waited for the school bus at their house but my mother didn't like it. Community opinion had it that the main income was from bootlegging you-know-what. But they were nice and the kids played well.

The back of their house was almost over the creek and at times there was enough water to run their turning lathe to make chair posts. The chairs were bottomed with hickory cane made by hand with a horse shoeing drawing knife. Thin slivers of hickory wood soaked for several hours made a very durable chair bottom. http://www.adkdesign.com/hickory.htm. Hickory is the most durable and densest of woods in America. When used in chair bottoms the chairs last more than a lifetime and hold their value. You rarely have to re-cane a hickory chair.

Shirley Tinch and my grandpa made a deal and the Model T was gone. A few weeks later I heard a terrible racket down on the highway that crossed the steel bridge at the end of Medlock Hollow. I could tell it had no muffler and was laboring to make the turn and climb the hill after crossing the steel bridge. A few days later I was out on the highway and heard that same noise. Here came Grandpa's Model T. The engine was louder than the engine I used for traveling the U.S. and the horn was neither honk nor beep but ooooga!

The back of the car body had been cut off and a flat truck bed had been built. Mr. Tinch had loaded the truck as high as he could get it with straight chairs and rocking chairs and had them tied with rope. The Model T labored hard under its load as they went out on another mission to peddle Tinch hickory chairs. With no exaggeration, It looked a lot like Jed Clampett's family truck on Beverly Hillbillies.

We're still talking about trees, the things stick houses and furniture are made of. God knows a lot about making trees, all kinds of trees and petunias and He knows a lot about dropping water 3,000' on delicate flowers and about making tree roots to hold up all that weight in a wind storm and roots that go deep enough to bring up water in dry weather. If you study beautiful orchids and giant Sequoia trees you have to admit God knows a lot about making things.

After he was fifty, one day Dad was going through the woods counting hickory trees on a plot of land and as he crossed a shallow creek he stepped onto a slick, flat rock and fell. He had a big wad of keys in his pocket and he brought 200 pounds down onto those keys and the slick rock. It broke his hip. While he was bottled up in the house healing for several weeks, he had time to think about life in general and about his own life in particular.

He didn't read much and there was no TV in those days. He was stuck—with himself. Nothing to do but think—and pray. A leading industrialist of the last century said: "I can hire a man to do anything but think." A humorist captured the idea with one word: "Thimk!" Someone said that if an average man would sit down and think ten minutes about his inevitable meeting with the living God that he would be sufficiently sobered to fall on his knees in repentance and ask God for mercy. Every time we see a tree or a flower we ought to think: "God has been here and left His footprints." Where can we go and God is not there?

The Bible includes "trees" 136 times. The first and last inclusions are:

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: (Genesis 3:2)

These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed (Revelation 11:4-5).

In the end, God is going to have His way. He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2Peter 3:9). If He knows how to design, make, and maintain an awesome variety of trees, He also knows how to deal with us. Today He is your loving and merciful Savior. Tomorrow He will be your unbending judge who knows everything you ever did or thought.

●Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116:15)

●Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 33:11)

Prayer—Barbara Carr

Dan has talked, taught and preached the need of prayer in our lives. It is essential in our fellowship with God. We have just started reading as our morning devotional "All the Prayers of the Bible" by Herbert Lockyer. I knew there were many prayers in the Bible, but the Publisher's Foreword says that there are no fewer than 650 definite prayers and no less than 450 have recorded answers. I'm sure we will be blessed by reading this book along with the Bible.

"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;" (Colossians 4:2)

"Pray without ceasing." (1Thessalonians 5:17)

We are to be in an attitude of prayer. I don't think it means that we must be on our knees all the time. But, we should be in an attitude of prayer and pray regularly throughout the day. When someone asks for prayer, we should pray for them—not to say we will pray and forget about it.

Our church at Flat Rock has a telephone prayer chain. When someone calls with a request, you call the next person on the list. If that person doesn't answer, you go to the next one on the list and so on. When we get that prayer call, we should stop what we are doing and pray. Don't wait until a convenient time.

Have you ever felt a burden to pray for a certain person or situation? One night my mother had gone to bed and said she felt the need to pray for her brother's children. They had been on Sand Mountain attending a family member's wedding. She told us about her burden to pray the next morning and asked if we had heard from them. We had not. The next day or two, someone called and asked if we knew that this family had had a wreck on the night in question. They had run under the rear of a truck loaded with hay. No one was hurt. We believe her prayers were answered.

Last week I read the following story which has been told by many and has been printed in missionary books. My thanks to the friend who sent it to me by email. The title is Twenty Six Men and the author is unknown.

Before I relate the story I should tell you that Urban Legends questions this story, pointing out that numerous stories have appeared over time like this one. My view is that equally convincing are the many people of sterling reputation over time who have told and written of similar things happening to them personally. Although the internet abounds with people who hijack true stories, that doesn't do away with what God does in His own way and time as often as He pleases.

There is not just one time that God answered somebody's prayer, but millions of times. There's the story of the mother awakened to pray for her son who at that moment was in a dog fight with a Russian MIG in the air over Korea.

There's the story of Dan's friend, Ida Brawl and her small children abandoned by her husband in Michigan with a snow storm moving in. Without food or wood in a cold house, she and the children knelt and told the Lord about their situation. Soon a man knocked on the door and said he was reading his paper when suddenly he was strongly overcome with the notion that she and the children needed wood and food. He stacked her porch full of wood and brought food.

There are so many stories like this that it is impossible to deny them or to rely on Snopes to give you the world-wide truth for all time in history, even though they try to do a good job of investigation.

I'm going to hold to this story and I present it to you as I found it. I believe if we could find all the stories like this, there would be…milllions of them because there have been millions of people who have called on God in times of need.

"A missionary on furlough told this story while visiting his home church in Michigan. While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies.

"This was a journey of two days and required camping overnight at the halfway point. On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, purchase medicine and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital. Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting; one of whom had been seriously injured. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time witnessed to him of the Lord Jesus Christ. I then traveled two days, camping overnight, and arrived home without incident. Two weeks later I repeated my journey.

"Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had treated. He told me that he had known I carried money and medicines. He said, 'Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. But just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards.'

"At this I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone out in that jungle campsite. The young man pressed the point, however, and said, 'No sir, I was not the only person to see the guards. My five friends also saw them and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.' At this point in the sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he would tell him the exact day that this happened.

"The missionary told the congregation the date and the man who interrupted told him this story: 'On the night of your incident in Africa, It was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong; I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?' The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary wasn't concerned with who they were—he was too busy counting how many men he saw. He counted twenty six men." Ω

The Encourager Newsletter - Vol.4 Issue 8 - April 2, 2010 - The Eastern/Golden Gate - Gardens

The Eastern/Golden Gate

Why would one 50-acre spot of land be the center of world controversy and the hottest piece of real estate anywhere on earth? You are looking at pictures of it at left (two views): The Eastern Gate adjoining the site of the Jewish Temple; the gate through which Jesus rode on a donkey on his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. If you could buy a gravesite on the down slope to the Kidron Valley or the up slope in front of the above stone gate, it would cost you at least $50,000.

Why would anyone want to be buried on those slopes in front of a stone wall? The Golden Gate (Eastern Gate) in the eastern wall of Jerusalem gave access to the courtyards of the Temple from the Kidron valley. I once waited outside the gate at Disney World in Orlando, Florida with a bus load of students with tickets to get in as soon as the park opened. In the picture above it looks like the dead are waiting for the gate to open. Moslems are buried on the up slope to the gate. Jews are buried on the down slope from Mount Olivet. A lesser number of Christians are included…somewhere.

The Jews and Christians wanted to meet the coming Messiah who is prophesied to enter the sealed eastern gate. The Moslems were told that Jesus would come here to participate in a Moslem judgment of the dead. I have included some of the most important things out of the great mass of material available. Google it: type in "Golden Gate Jerusalem."

It is interesting that this gate is the only one of the eight gates in Jerusalem that is sealed. The Arabs believe that since the Jews were expecting their Messiah to come through this gate (Sha'ar harachamim) they would try to prevent any possibility of His return. The East gate was walled up by its Muslim conquerors (the Ottoman Turks) with great stones in 1530 A.D. and a cemetery was planted in front of it thinking that the Jewish Messiah could not set foot in a cemetery and therefore would not be able to come through the gate as they believed the Jewish prophecy described.

Entrance of the Jewish Messiah through this gate was foretold by known Old Testament prophecies. Ezekiel prophesied around 600 B.C. about the shutting of this gate. Much discussion is written on the specifics of Ezekiel 44:1-3. Some believe this to be about the Jewish Messiah and others that the gate pertains to David. However, Jesus is going to reign upon the throne of David in Jerusalem and at that point Jesus and David run together.

Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. And he said to me, "This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut. Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way. (Ezek. 44:1-3)

Jesus entered Jerusalem through the East gate around 30 A.D. as he came down from the Mount of Olives and entered the temple. The original gate through which he entered was destroyed with the city by the Romans in70 A.D. The remains of that gate have been found under the present gate. Jesus said: Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord (Mat.23:38-39). (See also: Jeremiah 12:7)

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it (Zech.12:2-3)

And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south (Zech 14:4)

On December 12, 1917 Britain's General Edmund Allenby surrounded Jerusalem and demanded the Turks surrender. The Turks surrendered without a shot being fired. The Ottoman Turks gained possession of Jerusalem in what was then known as Palestine in 1516. They held possession over this land until the fateful day of Dec. 12, 1917. This was the very day history records that the Turks were preparing to have the Eastern Gate opened.

On June 7th, 1967 Jordan's King Hussein had made plans to open up the Eastern Gate in an apparent attempt to disprove Bible prophecy. It was also on this incredible day that the famed 6-Day War ended and Israel regained possession of the eastern portion of Jerusalem. This included the Eastern Gate.

The Eastern gate is presently considered by the Arabs to be their exclusive property. It is sealed up and blocked off. However one day, the Messiah will return to earth with all His saints. He will land on the Mount of Olives (which will split in half) and will walk down to and right through the Eastern Gate and into the Temple area.

We are approaching the annual celebration of Easter Sunday, commemorating the resurrection of Christ from the dead. One of my early favorite songs was: I Will Meet You in the Morning Just inside the Eastern Gate. It's one of those wonderful songs of powerful hope that doesn't get everything just right but its imagery lives on. I was glad to hear this old friend at funerals. It soothed aching hearts and opened the curtains toward Heaven. Ω

Gardens—Barbara Carr

This is one of the pictures Dan took of our garden last year. You can see the squash on the right, onions in the bed and okra upper left. The green beans and tomatoes are out of the picture on the right. I believe it was the prettiest and most productive garden we have ever had. We had been living in Southern Pines, NC the majority of the time for several years and our garden had not been tended. In order to have this garden we had to practically start from scratch. We had to dig and haul natural fertilizer. We then planted. We laid newspaper in the rows and covered it with pine straw. It was a labor of love for a while, then it became a labor of two tired people, but we persevered and were proud of our labor.

There was a beautiful garden long before Dan and I ever thought of a garden. The most beautiful that was ever created—The Garden of Eden. The Lord God had created a garden. The whole world probably looked like a beautiful garden then, because God had just created it. But, this was a special garden. He had created this garden for the man he created. "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." (Gen 2:15) (See:Genesis 2:8-15)

At this time of year we are thinking of another garden. The garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives was a place where our Lord Jesus often went to pray. (Luke 22:39) Jesus and the disciples left the last supper after singing a hymn. They went to Gethsemane. There Jesus asked the disciples to wait while he went to pray. He took Peter, James and John with Him. But they were tired and went to sleep.

"Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37) And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

38) Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39) And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

40) And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41) Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

42) He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. 43) And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.

44) And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45) Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46) Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me." (Mat 26:36-46)

Jesus was the God-man. As He began to feel anxiety and dread He began to pray. Jesus was covered in human flesh, so he experienced the world as we do. But, Jesus won every life battle He faced. The answer to His victory is what He did in the garden of Gethsemane. He went to an out-of-the-way place and prayed until His will was fully surrendered to the Father. He won the battle on His knees.

Jesus left the garden victorious even though He was a prisoner. He knew the pain and agony He was soon to suffer, but He accepted God's will for His life. Jesus our Savior gave His life willingly that we might have eternal life. He put everything in the Father's hands. Now, Jesus was facing the cross and all the cruel punishment inflicted upon Him. He died with our sins on His shoulders.

Jesus did not remain in the grave. We believe in the resurrection—that He arose after three days. Many believe there was a man named Jesus and that He did die on the cross. It is essential for Christians to believe in the resurrection in order to have eternal life. If He had not possessed power over the grave, His death on the cross means nothing. Our Lord made salvation possible by conquering sin and death. He was victorious over the grave.

We often face troubles here on earth. God uses this to conform us; to help us be more like Jesus. What did Jesus do when facing trials? He prayed. On this occasion He went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. We should learn from this that prayer and surrender to God is our answer. The hymn In the Garden is such a beautiful song.

"I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses, And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses.

He speaks and the sound of His voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing,And the melody that He gave to me, within my heart is ringing.

I'd stay in the garden with Him tho' the night around me be falling, But He bids me go; Thro' the voice of woe His His voice to me is calling.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own; And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known."

We are rejoicing over the resurrection and waiting His return. We should be a joyful people and keep looking up. May you all have a Blessed and Happy Easter. Ω

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●http://www.templemount.org/tunnel.html ●http://raptureready.com/featured/reagan/dr27.html ●http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_%28Jerusalem%29 ●http://rapturewatch.cephasministry.com/365%20The%20Golden%20Gate.html ●http://www.bibleplaces.com/oldcitygates.htm ●http://www.webcamplaza.net/master_frame_fix.html?http://www.webcamplaza.net/rotating/kotel_big.html ●http://www.wordofmessiah.org/april_05_2.htm