History:
- 1607: First Protestant Episcopal parish in America established at Jamestown
- 1675: Foundation stone laid for St. Paul’s in London
- 1768: First medical diploma awarded in America—John Archer from the College of Philadelphia
- 1788: Constitution effective when ratified by New Hampshire [9th State to ratify]
- 1834: Cyrus McCormick patents reaping machine—provides support for Dwight Moody’s campaigns
- 1854: First Victoria Cross awarded [Crimean War]
- 1879: Frank W Woolworth opens his first store—Lancaster PA
- 1893: First Ferris Wheel—Columbian Exposition Chicago
- 1904: Theodore Roosevelt nominated for President
- 1948: 33-1/3 rpm record introduced
- 1964: Jim Bunning throws a perfect game
- 1965: Gary Player wins the US Open
- 1966: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf premiers
- 1982: Ronald Reagan shot by John Hinckley
- 1989: Supreme Court rules it legal to burn US flag
- 1997: WNBA begins
- Born: Joseph Rainey [1st African American in the House of Representatives], Reinhold Niebuhr [theologian], John Paul Sartre [existentialist], Jane Russell, Maureen Stapleton, Ron Ely [Tarzan], Tony Scott [Top Gun, Days of Thunder], Meredith Baxter-Birney, Kathy Mattea, Gretchen Carlson, Matt Kuchar, Chris Pratt, Prince William, Edward Snowden, Scottie Scheffler
- Died: Machiavelli, John Smith [Virginia Colony], Santa Anna, Leland Stanford [Southern Pacific RR and Stanford University], Rimsky-Korsakov [Sheherazade], Bernard Baruch [coined “Cold War”], Maureen Connolly [9 Grand Slam singles titles], Sukarno [1st President of Indonesia], Bobby Dodd [Ga. Tech], John Lee Hooker [blues guitarist], Bob Evans [restauranteur], Charles Krauthammer,
Thought:
Do you ever get really angry? Do you see a news story or read a newspaper and you can feel the blood pressure rising and anger stirred in your heart. Do you see someone being harmed or abused and you can’t stand it. A few weeks back, a young man goes into an elementary school in Texas and children die while law enforcement stays outside confused. Admission—I get angry. I watch the buildings fall on 9/11 and anger rises, the desire for immediate revenge. I have said before that what you see in these little thoughts are really what I am thinking about—I have a temper and these days I find myself mad with Larry more than just about anyone else—I forget things and that makes me angry, I can’t fix things and that makes me mad, I can’t do some of the things I used to do and that gets me angry with aging. This made me go look at the Bible to help me with my anger.
The first thing I noticed is what the Bible says about God and anger—
- Exodus 34:6-7—the Lord passes in front of Moses and says of Himself—‘the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving rebellion, wickedness and sin. This is the God I am trying to please, the God I am trying to become more like, the God that I am trying to conform all my thoughts and ways to. He is slow to anger. He has every right to be angry. He has every right to display His anger and destroy sin today, yet He is slow to anger. When I think about this—our rebellion, wickedness and sin——I can only marvel at His patience, love and forgiveness. Lord, help me be slow to anger.
- Psalm 30:4-5—Praise the Lord and give thanks to His holy name for His anger is but for a moment and His favor is for a lifetime. Why can’t I be like that—anger over in just a moment, love and compassion enduring for a lifetime. Why can’t I forgive and forget. When I repent, God remembers my sin no more. Yet, I must confess, I still bring up to Jan my Georgia umbrella. I got it my first year at Georgia and kept it for years, it was getting faded, but it was canvas and would last a lifetime. Then one day I couldn’t find it—Jan had thrown it away and gotten me a new one. But the old one had all the memories. So if we are arguing about something, I remind her that she threw away my beloved umbrella—why can’t I forgive and forget like the Lord i serve.
- Micah 7:18—Who is a God like You, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight in showing mercy. Wow! Not only does He forgive and not stay angry, but He delights in showing mercy. What about Larry—forgive, maybe, forget, hardly, be delighted to show mercy, never. He not only does not stay angry, He delights in forgiving and restoring me.
- Psalm 103:8—The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. His forgiveness and mercy flows from His abundant love. Maybe that’s my problem, I do not abound in love.
Maybe none of you get angry. But I need to pray for the Lord to help me become more like Jesus—slow to anger, quick to forgive, delighting in extending grace and mercy [not begrudgingly] and abundant in His love. Lord, help us love as You love us.
Blessings
Larry
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