Thought for Today

1747: First venereal disease clinic opens in London  1865: Congress passes the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery 1865: Robert E. Lee named Commander-in Chief of the Confederate Armies 1949: First TV daytime soap opera--"These are My Children" [NBC Chicago] 1950: Truman announces his support for the development of the hydrogen bomb 1957: Elizabeth Taylor's second divorce--Michael Wilding 2015: Lydia Ko becomes youngest golfer [men or women] to be ranked #1 Born: Franz Schubert, Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, Nolan Ryan, Justin Timberlake,  Died: Guy Fawkes, A.A. Milne, Samuel Goldwyn,  Charles Spurgeon Thought: Last week I was studying the Book of Daniel in preparation for leading a study in April. I noticed something that I had missed before. In chapter 9, Daniel speaks of the 70 years for the desolation of Jerusalem revealed to the prophet Jeremiah by the Lord. Daniel is writing about 539-538 BC, the year of the writing on the wall described in Daniel 5.  Jerusalem h...

  1835: First attempted assassination of President--Andrew Jackson 1847: Yerba Buena renamed San Francisco 1873: Jules Verne publishes "Around the World in Eighty Days" 1933: "The Lone Ranger" begins a 21-year run on ABC radio 1933: Adolph Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany 1948: Mahatma Gandhi assassinated 1956: Elvis records "Blue Suede Shoes" 1968: Tet offensive begins in Viet Nam 1975: Emo Rubik applies for patent for the "Magic Cube" 2003: Belgium recognizes same-sex marriage 2020: World Health Organization declares Coronavirus as a public health emergency Born: Franklin Roosevelt, Max Theiler [Yellow Fever vaccine], Barbara Tuchman ["Guns of August"], Francis Schaefer, Dick Martin, Gene Hackman, Boris Spassky [chess], Vanessa Redgrave, Dick Cheney, Phil collins, Curtis Strange, Payne Stewart, Christian Bale, Pam Swift Died: Betsy Ross, Osceola, Orville wright, Ferdinand Porsche,  Thought: When thinking of miracles that led me ...

 1845: "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe published 1892: Coca Cola Company incorporated 1896: First use of radiation as a cancer treatment 1936: First baseball HOF class--Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mattewson, Walter Johnson 1959: "Sleeping Beauty" released Born: Thomas Paine, William McKinley, Anton Chekhov, John D. Rockefeller Jr., Barney Oldfield [1st to drive 60 mph on an oval track], WC Fields, Victor Mature, John Forsythe, Katherine Ross, Tom Selleck, Oprah Winfrey, Greg Louganis, Janice Cimino Died: George III, HL Mencken, Robert Frost, Freddie Prinze, Jimmy Durante, Rod McKuen Sorry about Saturday. Got it ready then Jan was ready to go to breeakfast and I forgot to push publish.  Thought: The last few days, I have been thinking about miracles of Jesus. In several of those stories, Jesus has seen the faith of the person asking for a miracle. This took my thoughts back to some miracles in the Book of Joshua and made me want to look at this book agai...

Sorry! Forgot to hit the button this morning. 1785: First US land-grant university chartered in Athens Georgia 1820: Antartica discovered 1825: Congress approves the Indian Territory, starts the Trail of Tears 1880: Edison patents the electric incandescent lamp 1888: National Geographic Society founded 1944: Siege of Leningrad ends after 880 days and 2 million deaths 1948: First tape recorded sold 1956: Elvis releases "Heartbreak Hotel" 1967: Apollo 1 Fire kills Grissom, White and Chafee 1976: "Laverne & Shirley" premiers Born: Mozart, Lewis Carroll ["Alice in Wonderland"], Edward Smith [captain of the titanic], Jerome Kern [composer], William Randolph Hearst, Donna Reed, Troy Donahue, Mikhail Baryshnikov, John Roberts, Chris Collinsworth, Keith Olbermann Died: John James Audubon, Giuseppe Verdi, Thomas Crapper [inventor and plumber], Nellie Bly, Mahalia Jackson, Andre the Giant, Jack Parr, John Updike, JD Salinger, Pete Seeger Thought: Today I am read...

  1482: Pentateuch first published as a book 1784: Ben Franklin is disappointed that the eagle is selected as the national symbol 1838: Tennessee passes the first prohibition law in the US 1875: Electric dental drill patented 1906: The Church of God denomination convenes its first General Assembly in Cleveland TN 1907: First federal law on corrupt election practices enacted 1915: Rocky Mountain National Park established 1926: First demonstration of the television 1960: Pete Rozelle becomes NFL Commissioner on the 23rd ballot 1998: President Clinton says, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."  Born: Mary Mapes Dodge ["Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates"], Douglas MacArthur, Bindo Maserati, Maria von Trapp, Louis Zamperini ["Unbroken"], Paul Newman, Bob Uecker, Scott Glenn, Gene Siskel, Eddie Van Halen, Ellen Degeneres, Wayne Gretzky Died: Edward Jenner [smallpox], Peter Marshall, Nelson Rockefeller, Bear Bryant, Barbara Hale, Michel Legrand [co...

 1720: Muslims behead Auxentius for refusing to convert to Islam 1817: Rossini's opera "Cinderella" premiers 1825: Rensselaer Polytechnic opens as the first engineering college in the US 1849: Antartica identified as a continent 1858: Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" first played at a wedding--Queen Victoria's 1890: Nellie Bly beats Phileas Fogg's record and travels around the world in 72 days 1919: League of Nations founded 1924: First winter Olympics--Chamonix France 1939: Enrico Fermi's team splits the atom 1949: First Emmy Awards 1959: First transcontinental commercial jet flight 1970: Movie "MASH" released 1993: Sears closes catalogue sales after 97 years Born: Robert Burns, Virginia Woolf, Lou "the Toe" Groza, Dean Jones, Don Maynard, Buddy Baker, Alicia Keys Died: Al Capone, Ava Gardner, Jean Dixon, Mary Tyler Moore Thought: Over the past few days as we look at Jesus' miracles, I have been praying to see with spiritual...

 1848: James Sutter finds gold at Sutter's Mill California 1908: Robert Baden-Powell publishes "Scouting for Boys" Inspires the Scout Movement 1935: First canned beer is sold 1972: Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in the Guam jungle where he had been since WWII 1984: Apple introduces the Macintosh personal computer 2018: Larry Nassar found guilty of molesting over 150 girls, sentenced to 175 years in prison.  Born: Hadrian, Frederick the Great, Ernest Borgnine, Sharon Tate, Neil Diamond Died: Caligula, Winston Churchill, Ted Bundy, Thurgood Marshall Thought: Reading a short story in Matthew 12 today. This chapter involves questions about the Sabbath. In verse 8, Jesus declares "the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." This of course raises issues with the Pharisees and religious authorities. So they try and trap Jesus. Read 12:9-14 about the man with the withered hand. The man is in the synagogue and becomes a teaching point for Jesus. The religious leaders ask...

 1789: Georgetown University founded as the first Catholic college in the US 1821: Lott Carey sails to Sierra Leone as the first African American missionary to Africa 1945: Nazis execute Helmuth James von Moltke saying, “the only thing wrong with you is you are a Christian." 1957: The first Frisbee is produced 1973: Nixon announces the end of the Viet Nam War 1976: Ann Landers asks people with children if they would become parent again knowing what they know now—70% of 10,000 respondents said "no" 1986: First Rock N Roll HOF class--Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley 2018: 12 camels disqualified from a camel beauty contest for using Botox on their lips Born: John Hancock, Eduard Manet, Randolph Scott, Potter Stewart, Gertrude Elion [developed treatments for leukemia and herpes], Ernie Kovacs, Sully Sullenberger, Mariska Hargitay, Kevin Mawae, Bill Trivett Died: Arthur Guinness [brewer], Phillips Brooks ["O Little Town o...

  1508: First Swiss Guards arrive at the Vatican 1879: The Battle of Rorke's Drift. 150 British troops hold off 3000-4000 Zulu warriors. Eleven Victoria Crosses are awarded, most in any engagement in British history.  1941: First mass killing of Jews in Romania 1968: "Laugh-in" premiers 1970: First commercial 747 flight 1973: Supreme Court decides Roe v. Wade 1999: Missionary Graham Staines and his 2 sons are burned alive by Hindus in Eastern India 2006: Kobe Bryant scores 81 points 2020: Wuhan China locked down due to Covid Born: Francis Bacon, William Kidd, Lord Byron, U Thant, Sam Cooke, Bill Bixby, Graham Kerr [Galloping Gourmet], Diane Lane, George Seifert [49ers coach in Super Bowl LI] Died: Queen Victoria, Alan Hale, Lyndon Johnson, Rose Kennedy, Stanley Marcus [Neiman-Marcus], Heath Ledger, Joe Paterno, Mary Houghton Brown ["I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go"] John Dykes died on this day in 1876. He wrote the music for "Holy, Holy, Holy" and ...

 1801: John Marshall appointed Chief Justice 1887: Senate approves naval base lease at Pearl Harbor 1930: First radio broadcast of "The Lone Ranger" 1937: First Presidential inauguration on January 20 1942: Wannsee Conference organizes the final solution for the Jews 1968: Peggy Fleming wins US Figure Skating Championship 1981: Tehran hostages released 1986: First federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. 1987: Terry Waite taken hostage in Beirut 2008: "Breaking Bad" premiers Born: George Burns, Joy Adamson, De Forest Kelley, Federico Fellini, Patricia Neal, Arte Johnson, Buzz Aldrin, Carol Heiss Jenkins [4 time World and 1960 Olympic Figure Skating Gold Medalist], Bill Maher, Nikki Haley, Jalen Rose, Nick Foles Died: Miles Coverdale [Bible translator], Johnny Weissmuller, Barbara Stanwyck, Audrey Hepburn, Etta James Thought: Finishing the week with the interrupted miracle recorded in Mark 5:21-43. A synagogue official named Jairus had come to Jesus asking Hi...

 1861: Georgia secedes from the Union 1898: First intercollegiate hockey game--Brown defeats Harvard 6-0 1903: Tour de France announced as new bicycle race 1915: First German air raid on Britain--zeppelins 1915: Neon tube patented 1922: Geological Survey reports U.S. oil supply will be depleted in 20 years--OOPS! 1929: Acadia National Park founded 1935: Coopers, Inc. sells the world's first men's briefs--calls them Jockey 1955: First Presidential news conference filmed for TV 1970: UCLA fires Angela Davis for being a Communist--WOW! Today you might get fired for being a capitalist 1974: UCLA's 88 game basketball winning streak broken by Notre Dame 1988: "48 Hours" premiers 1991: Eastern Airlines ceases operations 2013: Lance Armstrong admits to doping Born: James Watt, Robert E Lee, Edgar Allan Poe, Paul Cezanne, Matthew Webb [first to swim the English Channel unassisted], Guy Masison [Wild Bill Hickok], Jean Stapleton, Phil Everly, Janis Joplin, Dan Reeves, Dolly...

 1644: Pilgrims in Boston report America's first UFO sighting 1865: Battle of Fort Moultrie, Sullivan's Island South Carolina--visited many times 1896: First demonstration of an x-ray machine in the US 1919: Bentley Motors founded 1948: Premier of ""Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour" 1951: NFL rules centers, guards and tackles ineligible for forward pass 1974: "$6 Million Man" premiers--wonder what it would cost now? Born: Peter Mark Roget, Daniel Webster, Joseph Glidden [first usable barbed wire, paint], Daniel Williams [performed first open heart surgery], A.A. Milne, Oliver Hardy, Cary Grant, Danny Kaye, Ray Dolby, Bobby Goldsboro, Kevin Costner Died: John Tyler, Louisa Stead ["Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus", written by a widowed mother who took her child and went as a missionary to Africa], Rudyard Kipling, Charles Ponzi, Curley Howard, Goose Tatum, Minnesota Fats, Sargent Shriver Richard Harvey Cain died on this date in 1887. Son of a...

 1912: Robert Scott arrives at the South Pole, one month after Amundsen 1916: Rodman Wannamaker hosts a lunch to discuss forming a golf association--later PGA 1946: First meeting of UN Security Council 1984: Supreme Court says VCR recording for later personal use does not violate copyright 1991: Operation Desert Storm begins Born: Ben Franklin, Al Capone, Muhammad Ali,  Died: Rutherford B Hayes, Juliette Gordon Lowe, T.H. White, Bobby Fischer Thought: Does your life ever feel like a bad storm. Dark clouds, wind blowing you in every direction. Lightening striking nearby. Rains creating floods that seem to overwhelm you. For some, the storm is at work. A challenging boss, a temptation to cheat, a difficult ladder to climb, a customer or clients who vexes you.  For some the storm is in our family--children rebel, parents get older and are challenging to help, in-laws create conflicts, spouses disappoint. For some the storm is disease, injury or illness--ours or a loved one. ...

 1604: Puritan John Rainolds suggests to James I that a new translation of the Bible be prepared as close to the Hebrew and Greek as possible. King James version published 7 years later. 1605: Cervantes publishes book one of "Don Quixote" 1777: Vermont declares independence from NY 1786: Virginia adopts statute granting freedom of religion drafted by Thomas Jefferson 1919: 18th Amendment ratified--prohibition 1920: First assembly of the League of Nations 1938: Benny Goodman leads the first jazz concert at Carnegie Hall 1939: Superman comic strip premiers 1974: "Jaws" published by Peter Benchley 2005: Adriana Illescu has a baby at age 66 and said to be oldest birth mother--we know Sarah was much older 2020: First impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins Born: Andre Michelin, Frank Zamboni, Eric Liddell ["Chariots of Fire"], Ethel Merman, David McCampbell [Medal of Honor for downing 34 Japanese planes], Dizzy Dean, Dian Fossey [gorillas], AJ Foyt, Ronnie Mil...

 588 BC: Nebuchadnezzar lays seige to Jerusalem--lasts until 586 1535: Henry VIII names himself head of the Church of England 1759: British Museum opens 1844: University of Notre Dame chartered 1861: Otis patents first steam operated elevator 1870: Donkey first used as a symbol of the Democratic Party 1895: "Swan Lake" premiers 1919: Great Molasses Flood in Boston--21 drown and 150 injured 1927: Tennessee Supreme Court overturns the conviction of John Scopes 1943: Pentagon construction completed 1973: Four Watergate burglars plead guilty 1975: Space Mountain opens at Disneyland 1977: First appearance of the Coneheads on SNL 2009: Miracle on the Hudson--Sully Sullenberger Born: Joan of Arc, Pierre Dupont, Aristotle Onassis, Edward Teller [hydrogen bomb], Jean Bugatti [automobile], Lloyd Bridges, Martin Luther King, Jr., Drew Brees, Floydene Bright Died: Matthew Brady [photographer], Fanny Farmer, Harry Ironside [commentaries], Hap Arnold [Army Air Force, WWII], Ray Bolger, Dan...

  1501: First hymnbook not in Latin published in Prague with 89 hymns 1695: Jonathan Swift ordained as Anglican priest 1733: James Oglethorpe and 130 colonists arrive at Charleston 1785: First issue of the Times of London 1920: NY Times editorial reports that rockets can never fly--don't believe everything you read unless you are reading the Bible 1930: Mickey Mouse comic strip first appears 1938: Church of England accepts the theory of evolution 1962: "The Twist" by Chubby Checker is #1 1966: Robert Weaver is first black to serve in the Cabinet 1978: NASA selects the first women astronauts 1979: YMCA sues over the Village Peoples song "YMCA" 1982: Air Florida 737 crashes into the 14th Street Bridge and we watch witnesses jump into the icy Potomac to rescue survivors--78 die Born: Samuel P Chase, Alfred Fuller [Fuller Brush], Robert Stack, Charles Nelson Reilly, Billy Gray ["Father Knows Best"], Bob Baffert [Horse trainer], Mark O'Meara, Julia Loui...

  1629: 53 Christians are beheaded in Japan for their faith  1908: Dow Jones closes above 100 for the first time 1943: Frankfurters replaced by Victory Sausages 1946: NFL Champion Cleveland Rams given permission to move to Los Angeles 1948: Gandhi begins his final fast 1952: University of Tennessee admits its first black student 1957: Southern Christian Leadership Council formed 1958: NCAA adopts two-point conversions 1959: Motown Records founded by Barry Gordy 1995: OJ Simpson murder trial begins 2010: Earthquake devastates Haiti Born: Charles Perrault ["Tales of Mother Goose"], John Singer Sargent, Jack London, Tex Ritter, William Lee Golden [Oak Ridge Boys], Joe Frazier, Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern, Jeff Bezos Died: Henry Alford ["Come Ye Thankful People, Come"], Porcupine[ oldest known rodent dies at age 27], Agatha Christie, Bill Hewlett, Cyrus Vance, Maurice Gibb Thought: A couple of the miracles of Jesus involve lepers. Both of these stories are familiar. In ...

  1838: First public demonstration of telegraph messages [dots and dashes] 1869: Rev. Kelly Lowe organizes the first African American Sunday School--Augusta Georgia 1913: First sedan type car displayed---Hudson 1922: Insulin first used to treat diabetes in humans 1927: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences created 1940: Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet" premiers 1961: Race riot at the University of Georgia--I arrived 3 years later 1973: American League adopts designated hitter 1976: Dorothy Hamill wins third consecutive U.S. Figure Skating Championship Born: Alexander Hamilton [in Nevis], Alexander Calder, Carroll Shelby, Rod Taylor, Naomi Judd, John Piper, Ben Crenshaw, Tracy Caulkins, Thomas Vaughn [the best grandson ever] Died: Timothy Dwight [President of Yale who wrote "I Love Thy Kingdom Lord], Francis Scott Key, Gail Borden [Condensed milk], Thomas Hardy, John Bradley [raised flag on Mount Suribachi], Edmund Hilary [1st to summit Everest] Timothy Dwight was...

 49 BC: Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon 1776: Thomas Paine publishes "Common Sense" 1917: "Silent Sentinels" protest outside the White House for women's right to vote 1946: UN General Assembly meets for the first time--London 1982: "The Catch"--Dwight Clark catches a TD pass from Joe Montana--49ers defeat the Cowboys 28-27 1999: "The Sopranos" debuts Born: Ethan Allen, George Washington Carver, Rod Stewart, George Foreman Died: Carl Linnaeus, Samuel Colt, Coco Chanel, David Bowie Thought: Have you ever worked hard and been disappointed with the results. You did everything you were supposed to do, but no pay off. I'm looking at two miracles today--one early in the ministry of Jesus and one after the resurrection. The first miracle is associated with the calling of Peter, Andrew, James and John as disciples. The second involves feeding the disciples by the sea and Jesus last conversation with Peter. Interesting that Jesus meets Peter wher...

1811: First women's golf tournament 1866: Fisk University opens 1942: Joint Chiefs of Staff created 1960: Building of Aswan Dam begins 1991: Pete Rose banned from Baseball HOF 2001: Apple announces iTunes 2007: Apple announces iPhone Born: Carrie Chapman Catt [founded League of Women Voters], Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney [founded Whitney Museum of Art], Richard Nixon, Lee Van Cleef, Bart Starr, Bob Denver, Dick Enberg, Joan Baez, Crystal Gayle, Dave Matthews, Sergio Garcia, Kate Middleton,  Died: Pete Dye [golf course architect], Bob Saget Thought: Continuing to think about the miracles of Jesus. Just saying that brings a hymn to mind--"when He saved my soul, cleansed and made me whole, it was a miracle of love and grace." Yesterday we looked at Jesus' first miracle--water to wine in Cana. John 4:46-54 records a second miracle in Cana. Jesus has left Judea following the arrest of John the Baptist and traveled back to Galilee. On the way, He meets the Samaritan woman at...

 1790: Washington delivers the first State of the Union address 1815: Battle of New Orleans--but the War of 1812 had ended on December 24-- 1835: U.S. national debt is zero for the only time in history 1902: NY passes a law criminalizing "men turning around and looking at a woman in that way." 1945: Youth for Christ organizes--grateful for John and Laura Foreman's service to this organization 1962: Jack Nicklaus appears in first tournament as a professional 1964: LBJ declares war on poverty 1982: Johnny Cash Parkway opens in Hendersonville 2000: Music City Miracle 2002: George W Bush signs No Child Left Behind law Born: Soupy Sales, Sander Vanocur, Charles Osgood, Elvis Presley, Bob Eubanks, Cristy Lane, Stephen Hawking, David Bowie,  Died: Marco Polo, Galileo, Eli Whitney, Robert Baden-Powell [Boy Scouts], Jim Eliot [with 4 other missionaries in Ecuador], Dave Thomas, Andrae Crouch, Edd Byrnes [77 Sunset Strip] Thought: Are you ever anxious because you worry about what m...

 1494: Columbus and his men celebrate the first Mass in Americas--Haiti 1838: Morse demonstrates telegraph machine 1850: Conversion of Charles Spurgeon 1907: Maria Montessori opens her first school 1929: Mother Teresa arrives in Calcutta 1941: FDR makes four freedoms speech [Speech, Worship, Want, Fear] 1975: "Wheel of Fortune" premiers 1994: Nancy Kerrigan attacked by Tonya Harding's boyfriend Born: John Smith, Sherlock Holmes, CArl Sandburg, Tom Mix, Sam Rayburn, Khalil Gibran, Danny Thomas, Loretta Young, Cary Middlecoff, Earl Scruggs, John DeLorean, E.L. Doctorow, Lou Holtz, Nancy Lopez, Paul Azinger, Jameis Winston Died: Gregor Mendel, Theodore Roosevelt, Dizzy Gillespie, Rudolph Nureyev, Lou Rawls, Naimat Ahmer [stabbed 17 times in Pakistan for saying Jesus is the only way to God] Thought: Finishing the week thinking about the word "new." It's a new year. I am reading Hebrews 10 today, especially verses 19-25. This was the scripture for the December 31...

 1886: "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" published 1914: Ford raises wages from $4.00 for a 9 hour day to $5.00 for an 8 hour day 1930: Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow meet for the first time 1933: Work on the Golden Gate Bridge begins 1969: Credence Clearwater Revival releases album with "Proud Mary" 2020: First SARS-CoV-2 genome map published allowing COVID-19 to be identified Born: Zebulon Pike, King Gillette, Herbert Swope [coined "cold war"], Jeane Dixon, George Reeves, Jane Wyman, Sam Phillips [founded Sun Records], Walter Mondale, Alvin Alley, Robert Duvall, Chuck Noll, Diane Keaton, Bradley Cooper Died: Felix Manz [drowned for re-baptizing adults], Kathleen Kenyon [excavated Jericho], Ernest Shackleton, Calvin Coolidge, George Washington Carver, Rogers Hornsby, Pete Maravich, Tip O'Neill, Sonny Bono Thought: Still thinking about the word "new" this morning. Read Ephesians 4:20-24 with me today. In 2024, Paul urges me to "pu...

 1754: Columbia University founded as King College 1847: Samuel Colt sells his first revolver to the U.S. 1853: Solomon Northrup regains his freedom, "Twelve Years a Slave" 1885: First appendectomy performed in the U.S. 1936: BillBoard publishes its first "Hit Parade" 1947: Peter Marshall elected chaplain of the Senate--"A Man Called Peter" 1965: LBJ gives "Great Society" State of the Union speech 1995: Newt Gingrich elected Speaker of the House 2007: Nancy Pelosi becomes first female Speaker of the House Born: Jacob Grimm, Louis Braille, Don Shula, Floyd Patterson, Dyan Cannon, Patty Loveless, Julia Ormond, David Toms, Garrison Hearst, Derrick Henry Died: Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton [first American born "saint" and founder of American Sisters of Charity], Cornelius Vanderbilt, Albert CAmus, TS Eliot, Iron Eyes Cody, Les Brown, Stuart Scott Thought: As I mentioned yesterday, I'm looking at the word "new" as I start a new ye...