Thought for Today

 1215: First use of "transubstantiation" regarding the Eucharist. 1782: Britain acknowledges U.S.  independence 1864: Battle of Franklin begins 1876: Mask of Agamemnon discovered at Mycenae 1900: Front wheel drive for cars patented 1956: First use of video tape on television 1967: Eugene McCarthy announces run for Presidency on anti-Vietnam war platform 1971: "Brian's Song" airs for the first time 1982: Michael Jackson releases "Thriller" 1993: Jacksonville announced as 30th NFL franchise 1993: "Schindler's List" premiers 1995: Operation Desert Storm ends 2004: Ken Jennings loses on "Jeopardy" after winning $2.5 million Born: Jonathan Swift, Oliver Winchester, Mark Twain, Winston Churchill, Shirley Chisolm, Joe B Hall, Dick Clark, G Gordon Liddy, Bill Walsh, Ridley Scott, Bo Jackson Died: FJA Hort [Bible scholar whose Greek New Testament forms the foundation of most modern English translations], Oscar Wilde, Zeppo Marx, James Ba...

 1877: Thomas Edison demonstrates his hand-cranked phonograph for the first time 1951: First underground atomic explosion in Nevada 1972: Pong released in Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale California 1987: Joe Montana completes 22 consecutive passes Born: Christian Doppler, C.S. Lewis, Adam Clayton Powell,  Died: Giacomo Puccini. Graham Hill, Cary Grant, George Harrison Thought: The letter to Sardis is the only letter that does not contain a specific commendation and only says a few have not soiled their garments. Sardis was a city of about 120,000 and  a very wealthy city with commerce and industry and a famous woolen trade. The city was located on an almost impregnable hill [Tmolus mountain] that rose 1500 feet over the fertile plain. But the city had fallen twice due to a lack of vigilance and complacency [Cyrus in 546 BC and Antiochus III in 214 BC]. The city was in the middle of the Hermus River basin and it's tributary the Pactolus River [gold discovered there and ass...

 1660: A group of thinkers gather to hear a lecture by Christopher Wren. They agree to meet weekly and a year later are recognized as the Royal Society, the first scientific society. See more about this group below. 1775: Continental Navy created. 1895: First American car race--Chicago to Evanston--55 miles with an average speed of 7 MPH 1932: First radio appearance by Groucho Marx 1948: "Hopalong Cassidy" premiers on TV Born: John Bunyan, William Blake, Berry Gordy, Ed Harris, Jon Stewart Died: Washington Irving, Jeremiah Rankin, James Naismith, Enrico Fermi, Rosalind Russell, Garry Moore, Leslie Nielsen Jeremiah Rankin wrote the hymn, "God Be With You' after learning "good-bye" meant "God be with you." "God be with you till we meet again. By His counsel guide, uphold you. With His sheep securely fold you. God be with you til we meet again." The Thinkers who formed the Royal Society were mostly Christian. Christopher Wren designed St. P...

  1826: Friction match invented by John Walker 1895: Nobel Prize established in will of Alfred Nobel 1896: Richard Strauss debuts "Also Sprach Zarathustra" inspired by Nietzche and later the theme for "2001 A Space Odyssey" 1924: First Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2013: "Frozen" released 2017: Prince Harry announces engagement to Meghan Markle 2017: 8 donkeys released from jail in India after 4 day sentence for eating plants Born: Anders Celsius, James Agee [author of "The African Queen"], Buffalo Bob Smith, Bruce Lee, Jimi Hendrix, Bill Nye, Caroline Kennedy Died: Horace, Ada Lovelace [first computer programmer], Clement Studebaker, Baby Face Nelson, Eugene O'Neill, Stephen Hillenburg [cartoonist, Sponge Bob Square Pants] Thought: Reading the letter to Pergamum in Revelation 2:12-17 today. Pergamum was the official capital of Asia located about 55 miles from Smyrna. The Revelation was likely carried on this circuit from Ephesus to Smyr...

 1792: First Farmer's Almanac published 1841: 35 survivors of Amistad mutiny return to Africa 1863: Battle of Missionary Ridge Tennessee 1949: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" appears on the charts 1960: Last broadcast of "Amos 'n' Andy" on radio 1974: IRA outlawed in Britain 1979: First boradcast by John Madden and Pat Summerall, a pairing that would last 22 years 1986: Iran-Contra affair surfaces after President Reagan reveals arms deal 1990: Lech Walesa elected President of Poland 2014: Protests erupt when grand jury does not charge policeman who shot teenager in Missouri Born: Franz Gruber [Silent Night], Andrew Carnegie, Karl Benz, Carrie Nation, Joe DiMaggio, Ricardo Montalban, Joe Gibbs, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Bernie Kosar, Donovan McNabb, Barbara and Jenna Bush, Amber Hagerman [Amber Alert] Died: Isaac Watts, Robert Lowry, Bill Robinson ["Bojangles"], Henry Sloane Coffin, Charles Kettering [auto self starter], Upton Sinclair, U Thant, Fl...

 1859: Darwin publishes "On the Origen of Species" 1874: Joseph Glidden patents barbed wire [later founds paint company] 1896: First absentee voting law [Vermont] 1954: First Air Force One christened 1960: Wilt Chamberlain has 55 rebounds in a game 1964: Missionaries Bill McChesney and Jim Rodgers are seized by rebels in the Congo and beaten then stomped to death 1969: William Calley charged with the massacre at My Lai 1874: SALT-2 Treaty signed 1993: Brady Bill passes--5 day waiting period for hand gun purchases 1993: End of the world according to Ukrainian sect, White Brotherhood. Born: Junipero Serra [established first mission in California], Zachery Taylor, Scott Joplin, Dale Carnegie, Lucky Luciano, Forest Ackeman [coined the term "sci-fi"], William F Buckley, Oscar Robertson, Spencer Johnson ["Who Moved My Cheese"], Ted Bundy, Todd Beamer Died: John Knox, Diego Rivera, Lee Harvey Oswald, Dodie Smith [wrote "101 Dalmatians"], Warren Spahn, A...

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...

  1842: Mt. Saint Helens erupts [a preview of coming events] 1910: Arthur Knight patents steel shaft golf clubs 1927: First snowmobile patent 1928: "Bolero" by Ravel first performed 1930: Elijah Muhammad forms the Nation of Islam 1950: Lowest scoring NBA game--Fort Wayne Pistons beat Minneapolis Lakers 19-18 1954: U.S. Humane Society forms 1957: Simon & Garfunkel appear on "American Bandstand" as "Tom & Jerry" 1963: President Kennedy assassinated and LBJ sworn is as President 1966: Steve Spurrier wins Heisman 1968: First interracial TV kiss--Captain Kirk and Uhura 1995: "Toy Story" released 2005: Angela Merkel becomes Chancellor of Germany Born: Abigail Adams, George Eliot, Charles de Gaulle, Wiley Post, Hoagy Carmichael, Rodney Dangerfield, Geraldine Page, Robert Vaughn, Billie Jean King, Jamie Lee Curtis, Boris Becker, Mark Ruffalo Scarlett Johansson,  Died: Blackbeard, Arthur Sullivan [Gilbert & Sullivan, wrote "Onward Christi...

Surgery successful Home. God is so good.  164 BC: Judas Maccabaeus recaptures Jerusalem and rededicates the Temple [Hanukkah] 1620: Mayflower Compact signed 1922: Rebecca Felton sworn is as first female US Senator [Georgia] 1946: "Best Years of Our Lives" released 1959: Jack Benny and Richard Nixon perform a piano duet 1973: 18.5 minute gap in the White House tapes revealed 1976: "Rocky" premiers 1977: First flight of the Concorde 1980: "Who Shot JR" episode seen by 83 million 1980: MGM Grand fire kills 84 1989: Smoking on domestic airline flights banned Born: Voltaire, Stan Musial, Marlo Thomas, Tweety Pie [first cartoon appearance], Larry Mahan [champion cowboy], Harold Ramis, Goldie Hawn, Steven Curtis Chapman, Troy Aikman, Ken Griffey Jr., Michael Strahan Died: Mel Ott, Max Baer, Robert Stroud [Birdman of Alcatraz], Carl Hubbell, Bill Bixby, David Cassidy,  On this date in 1899, President McKinley meets with 5 members of the clergy following the U.S. a...

I am having surgery this morning. I'm not sure if I will be able to send out a Thought tomorrow. If I can, it will likely be later in the day. Hope to be back to normal on Wednesday.   303: With prisons full, Diocletian offers amnesty to Christians who will worship Roman gods 1789: New Jersey is the first State to ratify the Bill of Rights 1850: Fanny Crosby accepts Christ at a Methodist revival following a dream in which a friend makes her promise to meet in heaven--at the altar, she shouts "Hallelujah" 1866: Howard University founded 1902: Tour de France created 1914: Photographs required for passports 1917: First successful use of a tank in combat 1928: The original Boston Garden opens 1945: Nuremberg trials begin 1962: Russia agrees to remove rockets from Cuba 1984: SETI formed [Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence]. We need a new institute to search for terrestrial intelligence. Born: William Painter [invented crown cork bottle cap and opener], Kennesaw Mountain ...

 1302: Pope Boniface VIII decrees that outside the Catholic Church there is neither salvation nor remission of sin. I am glad Jesus made a different decree on Calvary. 1307: William Tell allegedly shoots apple off his son's head with bow and arrow 1626: St. Peter's Basilica consecrated replacing original consecrated in 326 1865: Mark Twain publishes "Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." 1872: Susan B Anthony arrested for voting illegally. 1883: Railroads creat standard time zones in the US 1902: Morris Michton names the "Teddy Bear" after Teddy Roosevelt 1916: Battle of the Somme ends after more than 1 million killed or wounded 1928: "Steamboat Willie" released--first Mickey Mouse with sound 1956: Khrushchev says "we will bury you" 1959: "Ben Hur" with Charlton Heston premiers 1963: Touch Tone phone introduced 1978: 918 members of the Peoples' Temple die with leader Jim Jones in Guyana 1990: First Solheim Cup 1999: ...

  1558: Elizabeth I takes the throne and re-established the Church of England 1800: Congress holds its first session in Washington DC 1855: David Livingstone is first European to see Victoria Falls 1913: First ship sails through the Panama Canal 1940: Green Bay Packers are the first NFL team to travel by airplane 1968: the Heidi Game--NBC misses the Raider's comeback victory over the Jets. NBC cuts away with 65 seconds left and the ball on the Raider 23. Lamonica to Charlie Smith for 23 yards and a face mask penalty take the ball to the Jets 43. Lamonica to Smith again for 43 yards and a touchdown.  1970: Patent for the first computer mouse 1973: Nixon says "I am not a crook."  1980: Supreme Court strikes down a Kentucky statute requiring the 10 Commandments in the classroom Born: Bernard Montgomery, Archie Campbell, Bob Mathias, Martin Scorsese, Lauren Hutton, Danny Devito, Lorne Michaels, Tom Seaver, Jim Boeheim, Elvin Hayes Died: Mary I, Bloody Mary; Auguste Rodin, Est...

  1824: Fifth Avenue in NYC opens for business 1871: National Rifle Association chartered 1914: Federal Reserve System opens 1925: American Association for the Advancement of Atheism forms 1965: Disney opens Epcot Center 1973: Nixon authorizes Alaskan pipeline 2002: First case of SARS recorded in China 2010: Prince William and Kate Middleton announce their engagement 2019: Havana celebrates the 500th anniversary of its founding Born: Tiberius [Emperor during earthly life of Christ], WC Handy, Burgess Meredith, Corey Pavin, Zina Garrison, Diana Krall, Maggie Gyllenhaal Died: Dr. Bob Smith [co-founder AA], Clark Gable, Sam Rayburn, Milton Friedman, Melvin Laird,  Thought: There are two verses in Third John that hits home with me. "I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face." [13-14] These verses always raise with me the question of what should be written and what mu...

 1492: Christopher Columbus makes first recorded reference to tobacco 1904: King Gillette patents the Gillette razor blade 1969: Vietnam War Moratorium Demonstration 2017: Da Vinci's painting "Salvator Mundi" sells for $450 million Born: William Pitt, William Herschel, Georgia O'Keeffe, Erwin Rommel,  Died: Johannes Kepler, Lionel Barrymore, Margaret Mead, Oswald Chambers ["My Utmost for His Highest"] Thought: Reading 1 John 5:11-15 today. In the preceding verses, John tells us that the Spirit bears witness of the one in whom our faith is secure. [5:7] Now he tells us that the witness of the Spirit is that we have eternal life in Christ and in Him alone. This is an exclusive claim. The invitation of God is recorded in John's gospel--God so loved the world that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. The invitation is universal, but the admission is exclusive---eternal life is through Christ and Him alone. Think about where that...

 1 666: Samuel Pepys reports on the first blood transfusion--between dogs 1732: First professional librarian hired in Philadelphia 1792: George Vancouver is first Englishman to enter San Francisco Bay 1851: "Moby Dick" published by Herman Melville--one of my favorite books 1889: Nellie Bly begins her attempt to travel around the worl in under 80 days--makes it in 72 days, 6 hours. 1896: Niagara Falls power plant begins operation 1908: Albert Einstein presents quantum theory of light 1910: First airplane take-off from a ship 1935: Nazi's take citizenship from Jews in Germany 1946: God provides a wife for Larry Thrailkill--Janice Lynn Cox is born in Atlanta 1968: Yale announces it will become co-educational Born: Robert Fulton, Henri Dutrochet [discovered and named the process of osmosis], Claude Monet [Haystacks and Water Lilies], Leo Baekeland [bakelite plastic], Nehru, Mamie Eisenhower, Joe McCarthy, King Charles of England, Condoleezza Rice Died: Charles Carroll [last o...

 619: Second Council of Seville allows hymns not taken directly from scripture to be sung 1644: Massachusetts passes a law banishing Baptists--"troublers of churches" 1789: Ben Franklin says, "Nothing certain but death and taxes." 1902: Joseph Conrad publishes "Heart of Darkness" 1952: False fingernails sold for the first time 1979: Ronald Reagan announces his candidacy for President 1982: Vietnam War Memorial Wall opens listing 58,000 killed or missing Born: St. Augustine, Robert Louis Stevenson, Louis Brandeis,  Died: Thomas Chippendale, Edward Mote ["My Hope is Built on Nothing Less"], Francis Thompson ["Hound of Heaven"], Karen Silkwood Thought: Edward Mote was born into poverty to parents who would not allow a Bible in their house--yest somehow he heard the gospel and became a Christian as a teen. He was a carpenter by trade. One day he wrote four verses and put the paper in his pocket. A week later he was visiting his pastor whose...

Happy Veterans Day! Thank you to all who served.    1620: Mayflower Compact signed 1647: First compulsory school attendance law in America--Massachusetts 1750: First college fraternity formed in Williamsburg Virginia 1793: William Carey lands in India to begin his missionary career 1807: Washington Irving is the first to associate NYC with Gotham 1865: Mary Edward Walker awarded the Medal of Honor--Army's first female surgeon 1909: Construction of a naval base at Pearl Harbor begins 1918: Armistice Day--11th hour, 11 day, 11th month 1921: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier dedicated 1926: Route 66 established 1933: First great dust storm in the Great Plains 1938: Kate Smith sings "God Bless America" for the first time 1940: Willys unveils the Jeep 1961: "Catch-22 " published 1972: Dow Jones moves above 1,000 for the first time Born: Dostoyevsky, George Patton, Kurt Vonnegut,  Died: Nat Turner, Soren Kierkegaard, David Lipscomb, Typhoid Mary, Alexander Calder, Yasser Ar...

 1766: Queens College chartered--Rutgers University 1871: Stanley greets Livingstone near Lake Tanganyika--"Dr. Livingstone, I presume" 1885: First motor cycle unveiled--Daimler 1891: First WCTU meeting--Boston 1910: First Gideon Bible placed in a hotel room [some say 1908] 1938: Pearl Buck receives Nobel Prize for "The Good Earth" 1961: First long distance call without an operator 1954: Marine Corps War Memorial unveiled in Arlington  1975: Edmund Fitzgerald and a crew of 29 lost in Lake Superior 1976: Utah Supreme Court approves execution of Gary Gilmore 1989: Destruction of the Berlin Wall begins Born: Martin Luther, Mikhail Kalashnikov [AK-47] Died: Lott Cary [missionary], James Rowe ["I Was Sinking Deep in Sin"], Harry Ford Sinclair, Leonid Brezhnev, Norman Mailer I have written about Lott Cary before. Born in slavery on the plantation of a Methodist minister in Virginia, Cary was hired out to work in a tobacco warehouse in Richmond. He joined First B...

 1572: John Knox preaches his first sermon 1799: Napoleon becomes dictator of France 1821: First U.S., college of pharmacy holds its first class--Philadelphia 1862: General U.S. Grant issues order prohibiting Jews from serving under him 1872: Great Boston fire--1000 buildings destroyed 1904: First airplane flight lasting over 5 minutes 1906: Theodore Roosevelt is first sitting President to visit a foreign country 1938: Al Capp creates Sadie Hawkins Day in Lil' Abner comic strip 1969: Simon and Garfunkel record "Bridge over Troubled Water" Born: Gail Borden [condensed milk], Spiro Agnew, Carl Sagan Died: Barton Stone [founded movement that became Disciples of Christ and Christian Church], Neville Chamberlain, Dylan Thomas, Charles de Gaulle, John Mitchell, Stieg Larson Thought: Reading 1 John 3:11-18 this morning. Here John tells us that if we do not love our brothers and sisters in Christ, then we are not in Christ. Loving our Christian brothers and sisters is a sign of l...

  392: Theodosius makes Christianity the Roman state religion 1519: First meeting of Montezuma and Cortes 1701: William Penn presents the Charter of Privileges--religious freedom in Pennsylvania 1895: Rontgen produces and detects x-rays 1966: Ronald Reagan elected Governor of California 2016: Donald Trump elected President Born: Vlad the Impaler, Edmund Halley, Bram Stoker, Margaret Mitchell,  Died: John Milton, Doc Holiday, Alex Trebek Thought: John Milton died on this date--he wrote "Paradise Lost." Perhaps he is now celebrating paradise gained like the thief on the cross. Yesterday I was contemplating 1 John 3:1 and the love of God that allows us to be called children of God. I want to act like my Father, think like my Father, love like my Father--but I sure miss the mark a lot. 1 John 3:2 gives me a promise and encouragement. I underlined this verse in blue in my Bible. We have His precious promises. We know we are being refined and sanctified for His service. But so far,...

 1805: Lewis and Clark sight the Pacific Ocean  1811: William Henry Harrison defeats Tecumseh at Tippecanoe--a campaign slogan is born 1814: Peter Wu Guosheng, Chinese convert, is executed after leading 128 family and friends to Christ--last words, "Heaven, my true home." 1874: First cartoon depicting Republicans as elephants 1876: Meharry Medical College formed 1880: Edgar Young [E.Y.] Mullins baptized--became President of Southern Seminary and author of the Baptist Faith and Message 1916: Jeannette Rankin elected to the House--first woman 1918: Robert Goddard demonstrates solid propellant rockets 1931: Mao proclaims Chinese Peoples' Republic 1967: Corporation for Public Broadcasting bill signed by LBJ 1991: Magic Johnson reveals he has HIV 2012: Maine, Maryland and Washington approve same-sex marriage Born: Marie Curie, Leon Trotsky, Billy Graham, Al Hirt, Jean Shrimpton, Joni Mitchell, Calvin Borel [multiple Kentucky Derby winner],  Died: Butch Cassidy, Eleanor Rooseve...

  1789: Father John Carroll named frist Catholic Bishop in the U.S. 1860: Abraham Lincoln elected President 1888: Benjamin Harrison elected President even though Grover Cleveland won the popular vote 1913: Gandhi arrested for leading miners' march in South Africa 1917: Bolshevik Revolution begins in Russia 1928: Colonel Jacob Schick patents the first electric razor 1947: "Meet the Press" debuts 2001: "24" premiers Born: Suleiman the Magnificent, Adolphe Sax, John Philip Sousa, James Naismith, Ray Conniff, Mike Nichols, Pat Dye, Maria Shriver, Ethan Hawke, Pat Tillman, Emma Stone Died: Catherine the Great, Tchaikovsky, George Williams [founded YMCA], Billy Sunday, Gene Tierney Thought: Looking at 1 John 2:15-17 today. John is going to talk about love in chapter 3, but he starts with telling us what not to love. That makes me ask, "today, what are the things I should not love?' Jesus said love God and love your neighbor as yourself, so I know what I am su...

  1646: Massachusetts imposes the death penalty for denying that the Bible is God's word 1794: London Missionary Society formed 1841: First wagon train arrives in California 1862: Gatling Gun patented 1873: Dentist John Beers patents the gold crown 1879: James Ritty patents the first cash register to keep bar tenders from stealing 1898: Pan Xiushan, the first Christian convert of the Hmu Tribe in China is martyred followed by William Fleming, the missionary for whom Pan translated 1904: First stadium built specifically for football-Harvard 1921: Hitler establishes the Brown Shirts 1922: Tomb of King Tut discovered 1928: AW Tozer begins his Chicago ministry 1939: First air conditioned automobile--Packard 1979: 90 hostages taken at U.S, Embassy in Tehran Born: Will Rogers, Gig Young, Walter Cronkite, Ruth Handler [Barbie Doll], Darla Hood [Little Rascals], Laura Bush, Ralph Macchio, Jeff Probst, Matthew McConaughey, Puff Daddy, Dez Bryant Died: Felix Mendelssohn, George Peabody, Cy Y...

  1493: Columbus discovers Dominica 1534: Act of Supremacy--King of England is head of the Church of England 1783: Robert Raikes publishes a letter in the Gloucester Journal about the success of Sunday School. In London, William Fox reads the letter and begins a national Sunday School movement 1900: First automobile show in the U.S. [Madison Square Garden] 1930: Bank of Italy renamed Bank of America 1931: First commercially produced synthetic rubber 1957: Laika becomes the first animal in space [Sputnik 2] 1975: Good Morning America premiers on ABC 1996: Kobe Bryant makes his NBA debut [18 years, 2 months, 11 days old] 2001: Arkansas beats Mississippi in 7 overtimes 2014: One World Trade Center opens Born: Stephen F Austin, William Cullen Bryant, Bronko Nagurski, Bob Feller, Charles Bronson, Dr. James Kennedy [Evangelism Explosion], Roy Emerson, Larry Holmes, Roseanne Barr, Kate Capshaw, Dennis Miller, Karch Kiraly [3 Gold Medals in volleyball], Paul Katz [invented Zip file format]...