Thought for December 26

 History:

  • 1606: First known performance of King Lear
  • 1799: Henry Lee eulogizes George Washington saying, "first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen."
  • 1865: First coffee percolator patented
  • 1933: FM radio patented
  • 1946: The Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas opens
  • 1951: "The African Queen" released--one of my favorites.
  • 1954: "The Shadow" airs for the first time
  • 1963: Beatles release "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing There"
  • 1973: "The Exorcist" premiers--the day after we celebrate the real exorcist's birth.
  • 2004: Tsunami kills 230,000 
  • Born: Calico Jack [pirate], Charles Babbage [computing machine], Henry Miller, Mao Zedong, Rosemary Woods, Steve Allen, Frank Broyles, Phil Spector, John Walsh [America's Most Wanted], Carlton Fisk
  • Died: Gorgeous George [wrestler], Harry Truman, Jack Benny, Diane Fossey [Gorillas in the Mist], Reggie White, Gerald Ford
Thought:
We are in the last week of the year. Perhaps a time to reflect on 2022. As I do, I am looking at Proverbs and a passage I marked in red in chapter 6:16-19. Thinking back over this past year and then reading these verses causes me to pause and repent. Seven things the Lord hates and that are an abomination to Him. WOW! God is love. He is filled with grace and mercy. But there are things which He hates. This makes me ask how I did this year in avoiding those things. And it makes me ask do I also hate the things the Lord hates. Here they are:
  • Haughty eyes. "Haughty" means proud, an attitude of superiority, contempt for others. Larry, have you looked at others with contempt, placing yourself as superior or more worthy than them. Have you looked with arrogance at someone. In my worst moments, my go to word is "stupid." I find myself calling others or the things they do and say "stupid." I even call myself "stupid." Lord, help me avoid that thought, that look that view of others. 
  • A lying tongue. Most of us do not intentionally lie; we color, hedge, or as we lawyers used to say, "tell the truth and nothing but the truth, but not the whole truth." We conveniently leave out portions of the story, "forget" certain facts to make us look better. Lord, you told us to let our yes be yes--nothing more. Help me speak truth. Yesterday our lesson was from John 18:37--a strange text for Christmas--Jesus said, "for this I have been born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness of the truth." He is the truth.
  • Hands that shed innocent blood. Yesterday we also looked at the crowd's response when Pilate asks what he should do with Jesus--crucify Him and His blood be upon us and our children. Most of us have not shed innocent blood this year--but Jesus said if you are angry with your brother and wish harm to him, you are guilty. Lord, fill me with Your grace and mercy so I love and do not harm my brother/sister.
  • A heart that devises wicked plans. Interesting that here it does not say God hates those that perpetrate evil plans. He says He hates those that devise wicked plans. How often have I thought about a way to get even, take revenge, put down someone. May not have done it, but my heart was busy devising an evil plan. Lord, protect me from every evil thought against others.
  • Feet that run rapidly to evil. Jesus says "flee evil." But then I find myself attracted to evil, drawn to things I know are wrong, thoughts I should not relish, desires I should never have. Lord, help us turn from evil and flee.
  • A false witness. In my earlier life I associate this with perjury, someone who lies on the stand. Today, God is talking to me as His witness--do I give a false impression of what it is to be a Christian. Or does my life give a true picture of Christ. Lord, help me die to me so that only you are visible.
  • One who spreads strife among brothers. This one should hit all of us. We are to be peacemakers, reconcilers. Do I criticize and complain and cause strive or disturbance in the body of Christ? Lord, help me be a unifier of the body in 2023. 
Reflection is good for the soul when it leads to confession, repentance, and transformation. May that be the result of reading these verses this morning. 
Blessings
Larry

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thought for July 19

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
Read more

Thought for November 23, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving!  1664: Blaise Pascal is converted following a vision. He wrote the date and time of his conversion and said, "Fire. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. Not of philosophers and intellectuals. Certitude, certitude, joy, peace. The God of Jesus Christ." Laid the foundation for the law of probabilities; genius in hydrodynamics and hydrostatics developing Pascal's principle of pressure; taught the experience of God through the heart rather than reason; mathematician and philosopher. 1783: Annapolis Maryland becomes U.S. Capitol until June 1784 1863: Patent for making color photographs granted 1889: First jukebox debuts in Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco 1897: Pencil sharpener patented 1904: Summer Olympics in St. Louis close [1st Olymics in U.S.] 1921: President Harding signs an Act prohibiting doctors from prescribing beer or liquor for medicinal purposes 1923: Cecil B. DeMille's first "The Ten Commandments" premiers
Read more

Thought for April 5, 2024

1722: Easter Island discovered 1792: First Presidential veto 1815: Mt. Tambora erupts. Largest eruption ever witnessed. Created year without summer in 1816--frost and snow in North America in June and July. Largest part of eruption on April 10th. Killed 10,000 in initial blast.  1906: Mt. Vesuvius erupts killing 100 1923: Firestone begins producing inflatable tires 1936: Tupelo almost completely destroyed by a tornado--216 die 1972: Baseball strike costs 86 games 2063: On "Star Trek", earth has its first contact with the Vulcan species Born: Thomas Hobbes, Joseph Lister, Booker T Washington, Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, Gregory Peck, Arthur Hailey. Gale Storm, Frank Gorshin, Colin Powell, Pharrell Williams Died: Robert Raikes [Sunday School], Douglas MacArthur, Howard Hughes, Abe Fortas, Sam Walton, Allen Ginsberg, Saul Bellow, Charlton Heston, Honor Blackman Thought: Reading Daniel 1:5-7 this morning. Continuing with the thoughts about Nebuchadnezzar's plan. Having brough
Read more