Thought for February 3, 2024

  •  1834: Wake Forest University founded
  • 1863: Samuel Clemens first uses "Mark Twain"
  • 1882: PT Barnum purchases Jumbo the elephant
  • 1887: Congress adopts the electoral Count Act to avoid disputed elections--failed
  • 1913: 16th Amendment ratified authorizing income tax
  • 1943: SS Dorchester torpedoed near Greenland killing 600 troops. Among the dead, four chaplains who gave up their life vests to soldiers [Clark Poling [Dutch Reformed], George Lansing Fox [Methodist], Father John Washington [Catholic], Alexander David Goode [Jewish Rabbi]
  • 1959: the day the music died--Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper die in a plane crash
  • 1967: Jimmie Hendrix records "Purple Haze"
  • 2020: 3700 on a Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined in Japan due to Covid
  • Born: Ferdinand Magellan, Felix Mendelssohn, Horace Greeley, Elizabeth Maxwell [first woman to receive a medical degree in U.S.], Gertrude Stein, Norman Rockwell, Pretty Boy Floyd, James A Michener, Joey Bishop, Henry Heimlich, Fran Tarkenton, Carol Mann, Bob Griese, Retief Goosen, Joe Biden Jr.
  • Died: Johannes Gutenberg, Woodrow Wilson, John Cassavetes, Nancy Kulp, Audrey Meadows, Charlie Sifford, 
Thought:
In the history above, I mentioned the Four Chaplains of the SS Dorchester. Takes me to John 15:13--"Greater love has no one than to lay down one's life for his friends." The torpedo hit the ship about 1:00 a.m. The lights went out and there was panic and chaos among the young troops headed from the U.S. to Europe. From the survivors we know something of the story of the chaplains that night. A solider could not find his life jacket--Captain Fox took off his and gave it to the terrified soldier. Lt. John Mahoney couldn't find his gloves---Chaplain Goode, took off his and handed them to Mahoney. Then the Chaplain untied his boot so that he could secure the life jacket to First Sergeant Michael Warrish who had been badly injured in the explosion. Survivors in the water and life boats recall seeing the Chaplains, arm in arm, standing on the keel of the ship as it began its final dive into the sea. The survivors said the Chaplains stood fast praying for the safety of the men in the boats and water. On February 3, 1951 President Truman dedicated the Chapel of the Four Chaplains at the Philadelphia Navy Yard--the city of brotherly love. 

Reading again this story brings tears to my eyes. The Lord asks, Larry, what are you willing to lay down for your friends? Jesus called us friends--and then he layed down His life. What should I lay down--my preferences, my resources, my time, my fear. What is it that I have that I can lay down to help a friend know Jesus. When I look at our world, it certainly seems like a sinking ship--scripture would say that most are building on the sand, sinking sand. What do I need to lay down to get people to the Rock? Lord, help me see, hear and obey.

Blessings
Larry

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