Thought for Today

 History: 1419: Following the execution of Jan Hus, reformer, his followers storm Prague Town Hall and throw the judge, mayor and council members out the window to their deaths 1729: Baltimore founded 1928: George Eastman shows first color motion pictures at his home in NY 1930: First broadcast of Death Valley Days 1935: First Penguin Book published 1942: WAVES created 1942: German SS kills 25,000 Jews in Minsk 1945: USS Indianapolis sunk by German U-Boat 1956: US Motto "In God We Trust" adopted 1975: Jimmy Hoffa disappears 1990: First Saturn auto completed 2003: Last "old style" VW Beetle completed in Mexico 2021: 1 of every 100 Americans employed by Walmart and 1 of 169 employed by Amazon Born: Emily Bronte, Henry Ford, Casey Stengel, Henry Bloch [H&R Block], Edd Byrnes [77 Sunset Strip], Peter Bogdanovich, Paul Anka, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Anita Hill [Clarence Thomas], Delta Burke, Laurence Fishburne, Reggie Roby [punter for the Niners who wore his watch whil

 History: 1773: First schoolhouse west of the Allegheny mountains completed--Ohio 1847: Cumberland School of Law founded in Lebanon TN--one of 15 in the US 1899: First motorcycle race--Manhattan Beach NY 1907: Boy Scouts formed by Robert Baden-Powell 1927: First iron lung installed 1933: Shoot out with Bonnie and Clyde kills Clyde's brother Buck 1938: Olympia National Park established 1952: First non-stop transpacific flight by a jet 1954: Fellowship of the Ring published 1974: Episcopal Church in Philadelphia ordains 11 female priests in violation of church rules 2001: The Princess Diaries premiers 2015: Microsoft launches Windows 10 2016: Hillary Clinton becomes Democratic nominee for President Born: Walter Hunt [invented the safety pin], Alex de Tocqueville, Armauer Hansen [first to identify leprosy as bacteria--Hansen's disease], Benito Mussolini, Dag Hammarskjold [UN Secretary General], Melvin Belli, Charles Schwab, Peter Jennings, Ken Burns, Martina McBride, Dak Prescott

 History: 1586: Thomas Harriot introduces potatoes to Europe 1858: First use of fingerprints for identification 1858: First airborne photographs--balloon 1900: Hamburger created by Louis Lassing  1933: First singing telegram 1943: FDR ends coffee rationing 1951: Movie "Alice in Wonderland" released by Disney Born: Beatrix Potter, Rudy Vallee, Earl Tupper [Tupperware], Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Bill Bradley [Senator and basketball HOF], Jim Davis [Garfield], Sally Struthers, Liz Cheney,  Died: Thomas Cromwell [Executed by Henry VIII because he would not support the divorce of Anne of Cleves], Cyrano de Bergerac, Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, Robespierre, William Mayo [Mayo Clinic], Charles Mayo [Mayo clinic, founders die on the same date], Francis Crick [DNA structure], Ron Popeil [pocket fisherman],  Johann Sebastian Bach said "Music is an agreeable harmony for the honor of God and the permissible delights of the soul. I play the notes as they are written, but it is God

 History: 1586: Walter Raleigh brings first tobacco from Virginia to England 1789: Congress creates Department of Foreign Affairs [State Department] 1890: Van Gogh shoots himself, dies 2 days later 1921: Insulin isolated by Banting and Best 1940: Bugs Bunny debuts in 'Wild Hare" 1953: Korean Armistice signed 1965: Cigarette health warnings required 1988: Radio Shack announces Tandy 1000SL computer 2020: Google allows employees to work from home Born: Leo Durocher, Norman Lear, Peggy Fleming, Maureen McGovern, Christopher Dean [Torville & Dean, Bolero], Ed Ogeron, Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Tannehill, Jordan Spieth,  Died: Joseph of Arimathea, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi [last Shah of Iran], James Mason, Frank Zamboni, Bob Hope, Sam Shepard, Caroline Sandell-Berg [called the Fanny Crosby of Sweden and writer of Day by Day] Day by Day is a great hymn of affirmation and encouragement. Google it today and rest in these thoughts: Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment, I've no cau

 History: 1755: Casnova arrested for affront to religion and common decency 1775: U.S. Post Office created [Benjamin Franklin] 1917: J Edgar Hoover hired by Justice Department 1944: First V-2 rockets hit England 1945: Indianapolis reaches Tinian with the "bomb" 1947: CIA established 1948: Truman desegregates armed forces 1990: Americans with Disabilities Act signed into law Born: George Bernard Shaw, Carl Jung [psychology], Aldous Huxley [Brave New World], Gracie Allen, Blake Edwards, Jason Robards, Hoyt Wilhelm, Jan Berenstain [Berenstain Bears], Stanley Kubrick, Mary Jo Kopechne, Mick Jagger, Helen Mirren, Dorothy Hamill, Kevin Spacey, Sandra Bullock, Jason Statham, Kate Beckinsale,  Died: Elena Cornaro Piscopia [1st woman to receive academic degree from a university], Sam Houston, William Jennings Bryan, Robert Todd Lincoln, Eva Peron, George Gallup, Ed Gein [Psycho and Texas Chainsaw Massacre], George Romney,  Thought: Reading this morning a story covered by Matthew [12:1

 History: 1567: Caracas Venezuela founded 1729: North Carolina becomes a royal colony 1814: George Stephenson introduces the first steam locomotive 1832: First railroad accident in the U.S. --Quincy MA 1861: Crittenden Resolution--War is fought to preserve the Union, not alter slavery 1868: Wyoming Territory formed  1897: Jack London sails to join the Klondike Gold Rush 1909: First airplane flight across the English Channel 1918: First female district attorney--Annette Adams in California 1940: Longest solo swim of all time--292 miles in the Mississippi by John Sigmund 1944: First jet fighter used in combat--Messerschmitt 1946: First show by Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin 1956: Collision of Andrea Doria and Stockholm Sweden kills 46 1969: Ted Kennedy pleads guilty to leaving the scene of an accident 1983: Metallica releases debut album 1993: Sleepless in Seattle released 2000: Concorde crashes in Paris killing 109 2021: US Olympic Basketball team loses to France ending 25 game winning str

 History: 1148: Crusaders begin siege of Damascus 1829: First U.S. typewriter patented 1967: Beginning of Detroit race riots--43 die, 2,000 injured 1973: Nixon refuses to release Watergate tapes 1984: Vanessa Williams resigns as Miss America after nude photos released in Penthouse 1995: Comet Hale-Bopp discovered 2020: U.S. confirmed Covid cases pass 4 million 2021: Cleveland Indians renamed "Guardians" Born: Haile Selassie, Arthur Treacher [TV announcer], Pee Wee Reese, Anthony Kennedy, Don Drysdale, Ronny Cox, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alison Kraus, Monica Lewinsky, Daniel Radcliffe,  Died: John Rutledge [2nd Chief Justice], U.S. Grant, Glenn Curtiss [airplane builder], Cordell Hull, Montgomery Clift, Eddie Rickenbacker [WWI Ace], Amy Winehouse,  Sally Ride,  Thought: The teachings in John 5 followed a Sabbath controversy when Jesus healed the man at the Pool Bethesda. The synoptics describe other Sabbath controversies. The Pharisees were constantly watching

History: 1796: Cleveland founded [originally Cleaveland, but shortened because too long to fit on a newspaper headline] 1933: Wiley Post completes first round the world solo flight 1934: John Dillinger shot in Chicago  1942: 300,000 Warsaw Jews sent to Treblinka Extermination Camp 1945: Youth for Christ founded at Winona Lake IN 1991: Jeffrey Dahmer confesses to killing 17 men 2021: Delta variant becomes dominant Born: Emma Lazarus [New Colossus on Statue of Liberty base], Rose Kennedy, Alexander Calder, Amy Vanderbilt [Etiquette], Dan Rowan [Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In], Bob Dole, Orson Bean, Sonny Liston, Oscar de la Renta, Louise Fletcher, Alex Trebek, Danny Glover, Albert Brooks, Don Henley, Willem Dafoe, Keyshawn Johnson, Ezekiel Elliott,  Died: John Dillinger, Carl Sandburg, Estelle Getty [Golden Girls],  Thought: Continuing to read John 5 today. Jesus has said that if you want life you will believe what He says. In 5:30-39 Jesus tells the Jews that there are multiple witne

 History: 1853: Central Park created 1861: First Battle of Bull Run 1873: Jesse James first train robbery--Adair Iowa 1925: John Scopes found guilty and fined $100 1933: Haifa Harbor opens 1969: One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind 1983: Lowest recorded natural temperature--- -128.6F Antartica 2011: Space Shuttle program ends with landing of Atlantic Born: Ernest Hemingway, Marshall McLuhan, Isaac Stern, Janet Reno, Ken Starr, Cat Stevens, Garry Trudeau [Doonesbury], Robin Williams, Paul Casey,  Died: Robert Burns, Basil Rathbone, Jimmie Foxx, Dave Garroway, Alan Shepard, Robert Young, E. L. Doctorow, Theodore Bikel,  Thought: Continuing our thoughts on John 5: 18-24. Recall that the second charge against Jesus is He claims to be the Son of God [5:17]. Look at what Jesus says: The Son does what He sees the Father doing.  [5:19] T he Father shows Himself to the Son because He loves the Son . [5:20] The Father gives life and the Son gives life.  [5:21] You haven't seen

 History: 1864: Battle of Peachtree Creek 1876: 1st intercollegiate track meet-Princeton wins 1881: Sitting Bull surrenders 1921: Alice Mary Richardson is first woman to preside over the House 1926: Convention of the Methodist Church votes to allow women priests 1940: First Billboard singles chart--I'll Never Smile Again is #1 1944: Hitler survives assassination attempt 1967: Race riots in Memphis 1968: Jan Cox says "I do" and becomes Jan Thrailkill 1969: Apollo 11 lands on the moon; Buzz Aldrin takes communion 2005: Canada legalizes same-sex marriage 2012: 21 killed and 29 injured by gunman in Aurora CO movie house 2020: Covid vaccine announced Born: Alexander the Great, Gregor Mendel [genetics], Edmund Hillary, Diana Rigg, Natalie Wood, Kim Carnes, Jake Scott [roomed in my dorm one year at Georgia], Carlos Santana, Sandra Oh, Peter Forsberg, Gisele Bundchen,  Died: Guglielmo Marconi, Bruce Lee, Jim Fixx [running], Vince Foster [Clinton lawyer], Tammy Faye Baker, Bill Fl

History: 1553: Lady Jane Gray deposed after 9 days 1692: 5 people hung during Salem Witch Trials 1848: First women's rights convention -Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Wesleyan Chapel at Seneca Falls NY 1910: Cy Young wins his 500th game 1941: US Army flying school at Tuskegee AL dedicated 1945: USS Cod saves 51 sailors from Dutch sub--only sub-to-sub rescue 1957: Firing of first rocket with nuclear warhead-Nevada 1984: Geraldine Ferraro is first major party female VP candidate 1996: Olympics open in Atlanta 2007: Madmen debuts 2018: Duck Boat sinks in Table Rock Lake killing 17 Born: Samuel Colt, Edgar Degas [painter], Lizzie Borden, Charles Mayo [Mayo Clinic], George McGovern, Al Haig, George Hamilton IV, Vikki Carr, Ilie Nastase, Stuart Scott, Benedict Cumberbatch,  Died: Syngman Rhee [President South Korea], Clyde Beatty [circus animal trainer], Mary Jo Kopechne [passenger with Ted Kennedy], Jack Warden, Frank McCourt [Angela's Ashes], James Garner, Garry Marshall

 History: 64: Great Fire of Rome begins 1290: Edward I orders expulsion of Jews from England--edict continues for 350 years 1716: Order expelling Jews from Brussels 1870: First Vatican Council proclaims Pope infallible 1925: Hitler publishes Mein Kampf 1938: Wrong Way Corrigan lands in Ireland--was flying from NY to California 1968: Intel founded 1980: Selective Service Act voided because it does not include women 1984: 21 killed, 19 injured in an attack at McDonalds in San Ysidro CA 2013: Detroit files for bankruptcy Born: Machine Gun Kelly, Harriet Nelson [Ozzie & Harriet], Hume Cronyn, Red Skelton, Nelson Mandela, John Glenn, Dick Button [Figure Skating], Tenley Albright [Olympic Gold Figure Skater 1952, 1956; became a doctor], James Brolin, Joe Torre, Martha Reeves [Martha & the Vandellas], Richard Branson, Ricky Skaggs, Nick Faldo, Wendy Williams, Vin Diesel, Penny Hardaway, Kristen Bell,  Died: John Paul Jones, Jane Austen, Horatio Alger, Machine Gun Kelly [59th birthday]

 History: 1054: Beginning of Great Schism between the Roman Church and the Eastern Churches 1099: Crusaders force Jews into a synagogue in Jerusalem and set it afire 1429" Joan of Arc enters Rheims 1519: Martin Luther denies the divine right of the Pope during a debate with Johann Eck 1769: Mission San Diego founded 1801: Washington DC declared permanent capital of the US 1935: First automatic parking meter in US--Oklahoma City 1941: Joe DiMaggio hits in 56th straight game 1945: First detonation of atomic bomb 1951: Catcher in the Rye published 1957: John Glenn orbits earth 1969: Apollo 11 launched 1999: JFK Jr. dies in plane crash 2004: Martha Stewart sentenced to 5 months in prison Born: Mary Baker Eddy [Christian Science], Roald Amundsen [South Pole], Bela Schick [Schick Test], Shoeless Joe Jackson [Black Sox], Barbara Stanwyck, Orville Redenbacher, Ginger Rogers, Margaret Smith Court [Tennis], Jimmy Johnson, Michael Flatley [Riverdance], Will Ferrell, Barry Sanders, Adam Scott

History: 1099: City of Jerusalem captured in First Crusade 1799: Rosetta Stone discovered 1806: Zebulon Pike begins exploration of Southwest [Pike's Peak] 1870: Georgia is last Southern Stare readmitted to the Union 1912: Jim Thorpe wins Olympic Decathlon 1916: Boeing founded 1937: Buchenwald Concentration Camp opens 1948: Alcoholics Anonymous founded 1960: Chubby Checker releases "The Twist" 1988: Die Hard released Born: Rembrandt, Clement Moore [Twas the Night Before Christmas], Caruso, Clive Cussler, Linda Ronstadt, Arianna Huffington, Jesse Ventura, Forest Whitaker, Diane Kruger Died: Ponce de Leon, Tom Thumb, Anton Chekhov, John J Pershing, Gianni Versace, Martin Landau,   Thought: Today I am reading one of my favorite stories in the Bible. It is one of the first stories I can remember being taught other than the Christmas stories. I can still see Miss Mary and Miss Christine [two unmarried sisters who taught me in the 5 year olds] holding a picture of the men loweri

 History: 1789: Bastille Day 1850: First public exhibition of ice made by refrigeration 1857: Ting Ang becomes first Methodist convert in China 1865: First expedition to summit the Matterhorn 1868: Tape measure patented 1914: Robert Goddard receives the first patent for liquid rocket design 1921: Sacco & Vanzetti convicted of murder 1946: Dr. Spock publishes "Common Sense Book of Baby & Child Care" 1969: Easy Rider released 1983: Mario Bros. released by Nintendo 1989: When Harry Met Sally released Born: Frederick Maytag, Happy Chandler [baseball commissioner], William Hanna [Hanna-Barbera], Woody Guthrie, Gerald Ford, Dale Robertson, Polly Bergen, Roosevelt Grier [NFL], Lee Elder, Jane Lynch,  Died: Billy the Kid, Adlai Stevenson,  Thought: This morning I am reading about Jesus cleansing the leper as recorded in Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45 and Luke 5:12-16. As I have said in Sunday School, the Bible does not speak of healing lepers. Jesus heals many other diseases and

History:  1832: Source of Mississippi River discovered at Lake Itasca MN 1862: Battle of Murfreesboro begins 1865: Horace Greeley says "Go West young man" 1917: Three children claim to see vision of virgin Mary at Fatima 1923: Hollywood sign dedicated 1923: First recognized dinosaur egg discovered 1939: Frank Sinatra makes his recording debut 2017: Dunkirk premiers Born: Julius Caesar, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Charles Coody [PGA], Patrick Stewart, Paul Prudhomme [K-Paul], Harrison Ford, Erno Rubik [Rubik Cube], Cheech Marin, Louise Mandrell, Died: John C Fremont, Alfred Stieglitz [photographer], Frida Kahlo, Grantland Rice, Davey Allison, Red Buttons, George Steinbrenner,  Joy Lewis [wife of C.S. Lewis] As I have written, the Mississippi River reminds me of our faith. I have stood astride the river where it leaves Lake Itasca, a mere trickle. As you drive the Great River Road South, the river grows into a stream, then a river and finally the big river we see at New Orleans. Ou

 History: 1843: Joseph Smith [LDS] says God allows polygamy 1862: Congress authorizes the Medal of Honor 1901: Cy Young wins his 300th game 1916: Last of the shark attacks along the Jersey Shore--Jaws 1954: Major League Baseball Players Association founded 1957: Ike is first President to fly in a helicopter 1962: Rolling Stones first performance 1970: Thor Heyerdahl completes crossing of Atlantic on Ra II 1976: Family Feud premiers with Richard Dawson Born: Henry David Thoreau, George Eastman, Pablo Neruda, Bill Cosby,  Josiah Wedgwood [china], George Washington Carver, Louis B Mayer [MGM], Buck Minster Fuller [geodesic dome], Milton Berle, Curly Joe DeRita [3 Stooges], Andrew Wyeth, Van Cliburn, Cheryl Ladd, Kristi Yamaguchi, Inbee Park [LPGA],  Died: Alexander Hamilton, Erasmus, Alfred Dreyfus,  Dolley Madison, Alexander Cartwright [inventor of modern baseball], Charles Rolls [Rolls Royce], John Chancellor [NBC],  At the beginning of American participation in World War I, each soldie

 History: 1533: Henry the VIII excommunicated 1656: First Quakers arrive in Boston, promptly jailed by the Puritans and deported 5 years later 1804: Alexander Hamilton fatally wounded by Aaron Burr 1892: US Patent Office rules Joseph Swan, not Thomas Edison, invented the electric light carbon 1924: Eric Liddell wins the 400 meters race in the Olympics 1934: FDR is first President to travel through the Panama Canal 1955: Congress authorizes currency to say "In God We Trust" 1960: To Kill A Mockingbird published. 1967: The Newlywed Game premiers 2019: Last VW Beetles produced Born: Robert the Bruce, John Quincy Adams, Yul Brynner, Leon Spinks, Giorgio Armani, Bull Connor, EB White [Charlotte's Web], Ralph David Abernathy [Civil Rights], Tab Hunter, Died: George Gershwin, Lawrence Olivier, Lady Bird Johnson, Oliver Plunkett [the last Catholic put to death for his faith in England, 1681] The movie Chariots of Fire is inspiring. Eric Liddell was born in China to missionary par

 History: 1877: First Wimbledon Tournament begins 1918: 101 killed and 17 injured in train wreck at Nashville 1955: Rock Around the Clock hits #1 1956: Dick Clark's first appearance as host of American Bandstand 1982: Pan Am 727 crashes in Kenner LA killing 153 1996: Minimum wage raised to $4.25 2018: Brett Kavanaugh nominated to Supreme Court 2018: Stabucks announces it will stop using plastic straws Born: Elias Howe [sewing machine], Ed Ames, Vince Edwards [Ben Casey], Donald Rumsfeld, Dean Koontz, OJ Simpson, John Tesh, Tom Hanks, Courtney Love, Kelly Holcombe,  Died: Edmund Burke, Zachary Taylor, King Gillette, Earl Warren, Eric Sevareid, Rod Steiger, Eileen Ford [modeling agency], Ross Perot, Robert Grant [O Worship the King] Thought: At the end of John 4, we have the story of Jesus healing the nobleman's son. As I mentioned a few days ago, many scholars talk about 7 signs that Jesus performed to validate His claim to be the Messiah. The first was the water to wine miracle

 History: 1741: Jonathan Edwards preaches "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" 1776: First public reading of the Declaration of Independence 1797: William Blunt, TN Senator, expelled by impeachment 1853: Matthew Perry sails into Tokyo Bay 1889: Wall Street Journal begins publishing 1913: Patent for the Erector Set issued 1947: Reports of a UFO crash near Roswell NM 1969: Troop withdrawal from Viet Nam begins 2019: Jeffrey Epstein indicted for sex trafficking of minors Born: John Pemberton [invented Coca Cola], Ferdinand Zeppelin, John D Rockefeller, Nelson Rockefeller, Faye Emerson [I've Got a Secret], Roone Arledge [Monday Night Football], Anjelica Huston, Toby Keith,  Died: Vivien Leigh, Dick Sargent [Bewitched], Pete Conrad, Betty Ford, Ernest Borgnine, Ken Stabler, Tab Hunter Thought: Most preachers today would not preach Jonathan Edward's Sermon. The sermon is "Sermon on the danger of the unconverted." The sermon was printed and many copies were sold.

 History: 1754: King's College opens in NYC--later Columbia University 1802: First comic book, "The Wasp" 1865: Lincoln assassins hung 1912: Jim Thorpe wins Olympic Pentathlon [won 4 of 5 events] 1928: Sliced bread sold for the first time 1930: Construction of Hoover Dam begins 1961: Jimmy Hoffa elected chairman of Teamsters 1972: First women FBI agents sworn-in 1980: Sharia law instituted in Iran 2017: Tesla produces the first Model 3 Born: Otto Rohwedder [invented the bread slicing machine], Satchel Paige, Doc Severinson, Ringo Starr, Shelley Duvall, Ralph Sampson, Michelle Kwan,  Died: Mary Surratt, Henri Nestle, Arthur Conan Doyle, Bill Cullen,  Thought: Well, finally completing my reading of the story of the woman at the well [John 4:27-42]. After Jesus tells the woman He is Messiah, the disciples return from town and the woman goes to town. But the disciples notice that Jesus has been talking to the woman at the well.  Now look at the two conversations: The disciple

History: 1189: Richard the Lionheart crowned King of England 1415: Jan Hus burned at the stake, reformer who influenced Luther 1699: Pirate William Kidd captured in Boston  1886: First malted milk offered to the public 1933: First MLB All-Star game 1942: Anne Frank's family goes into hiding 1964: Beatles' Hard Day's Night premiers 1994: Forest Gump released Born: Harry Ford Sinclair [Sinclair Oil], Marc Chagall [artist], Frida Kahlo, Sebastian Cabot [Mr French on Family Affair], Nancy Reagan, Bill Haley [rock & roll], Merv Griffin, Janet Leigh, Pat Paulsen, Della Reese, Ned Beatty, George W Bush, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Hart, Zion Williamson Died: Sir Thomas More, John Marshall [Supreme Court], George Ohm [Ohm's Law], William Faulkner, Louis Armstrong, Buddy Ebsen, Robert McNamara, Charlie Daniels Thought:  As noted above, on this day in 1415 Jan Hus was burned at the stake as a heretic. After reading Wyclif's writings and seeing the differences between the co

 History: 1687: Principia by Isaac Newton published--laws of motion and gravitation 1841: Thomas Cook opens the first travel agency 1852: Frederick Douglas delivers his speech, "What to the slave is the Fourth of July" 1935: FDR signs National Labor Relations Act 1937: Spam luncheon meat introduced by Hormel 1942: Ian Fleming graduates from spy school in Canada 1975: Arthur Ashe is first African American to win Wimbledon 1989: Pilot episode of Seinfeld airs 1994: Amazon founded 2003: SARS declared contained after affecting 26 countries--774 deaths Born: David Farragut [Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead], PT Barnum, Cecil Rhodes, Dolly the Sheep [cloned], AE Douglass [invented dendrochronology, tree-ring dating], Warren Oates, Edie Falco, Megan Rapinoe,  Died: Ted Williams, Harry James [bandleader],  Thought: Continuing my look at John 4 and Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. Jesus is sitting at the well as His disciples go into town to buy f