Thought for April 6, 2024

  •  1830: Joseph Smith and 5 others form the Church of Later-Day Saints in Fayette NY
  • 1862: Battle of Shiloh
  • 1889: George Eastman begins selling flexible rolled film
  • 1893: Mormon Temple in Salt Lake dedicated
  • 1909: Robert Peary reaches the North Pole
  • 1917: U.S. declares war on Germany
  • 1930: Hostess Twinkies invented
  • 1934: 418 Lutheran ministers arrested in Germany
  • 1936: Tornado kills 203 and injures 1800 in Gainesville GA
  • 1958: Arnold Palmer wins the first of 4 Masters
  • 1980: Post-It Notes introduced
  • 2020: A tiger in the Bronx zoo tests positive for Covid
  • 2020: British Open cancelled due to Covid
  • Born: Raphael, Donald Douglas [DC-3], James Watson [DNA], Merle Haggard, Billy Dee Williams, Paul Rudd, Janet Lynn [5-time US Figure Skating Champion]
  • Died: Richard the Lionheart, Raphael [on his 37th birthday], Thomas Green Clemson [Clemson University], Chiang Kai-shek, Isaac Asimov ["I, Robot"], Greer Garson, Tammy Wynette, Thomas Kinkade, Mickey Rooney, Merle Haggard [on his birthday], Don Rickles
Thought:
Reading Daniel 1:8 today. In the preceding verses, Daniel and his friends have been taken to a foreign land, asked to eat from the king's table, and had their names changed to take God out of the picture. Then we get to verse 8--"But Daniel made up his mind." Think about that this morning. We live in a foreign land as aliens. We speak a different language. We serve the true God. But the foreign land has been good to us--we eat good food, we drink good wine, we serve in high places. Why not just get along? 

Daniel made up his mind. This reminds me that I have choices to make hourly, daily. I have to make up my mind. Romans 12 tells us to be transformed by renewing our minds. How do I renew my mind--prayer, God's word, counsel of fellow Christians. The prodigal son was in a pig sty when he came to his right mind. Sometimes, I think we are living in that pig sty--dirty, surrounded by greedy pigs. I need to come to my right mind. How many times have I done something or said something and then said, "I just wasn't thinking right." Satan's plan is to deceive us into not thinking right [righteous]. He was trying to trick Daniel into not thinking right--but Daniel made up his mind to not defile himself. How many times today will I have to make that decision--don't defile myself, stain myself with the fleshly desires and thoughts. 

I love Daniel because he is living exactly where we live---Babylon. The richest place, all the luxuries that the world seeks are at our disposal. A foreign land, not the Promised Land. Daniel will face all the challenges I will face today. But for Daniel and his friends, they made up their minds not to be defiled---fiery furnace, no problem; lions' den, no problem. Why? Jesus was with them, His angels attended them. No different today---worried about the fire or the lions---I just need to make up my mind.

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 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

Thought for June 27, 2024

  1864: Battle of Kennesaw Mountain 1905: Russian sailors mutiny on the Potemkin 1923: First aerial refueling 1950: Truman orders Air Force and Navy into the Korean conflict 1955: First automobile seat belt law--Illinois 1972: Atari founded in Sunnyvale CA.  1977: Terrible day--Supreme Court allows lawyers to advertise 2023: Ryan Seacrest announced as successor to Pat Sajak on "Wheel of Fortune" Born: Helen Keller, Bob Keeshan [Captain Kangaroo], Ross Perot, Vera Wang, Lorrie Morgan, JJ Abrams, Tobey Maguire,  Died: Joseph Smith, Lottie Dod, Albert Broccoli, Jack Lemon, Shebly Foote ["The Civil War"], Gale Storm,  Thought: Psalm 139 is a very popular and often read Psalm. The first 6 verses speak of God's omniscience---He knows me and everything about me. This means I cannot fool Him, trick Him,  lie to Him. But it also means He loves me despite knowing everything--what a Friend. And because He knows everything, He can meet every need--He is my sufficiency. Vers...
Read more