Thought for May 3, 2024

  •  1802: Washington D.C. incorporated
  • 1901: Fire destroys 1700 buildings in Jacksonville FL
  • 1915: John McCrae writes "In Flanders Fields." 
  • 1921: First state sales tax--West Virginia
  • 1936: Joe DiMaggio makes major league debut--3 hits
  • 1937: Margaret Mitchell wins Pulitzer for "Gone with the Wind"
  • 1941: Whirlaway wins Kentucky Derby on the way to the Triple Crown
  • 1948: First broadcast of CBS Evening News--longest running show
  • 1963: Fire hoses turned on children's march against segregation--Birmingham
  • 1971: NPR begins boradcasting
  • 1999: F5 tornado hits Oklahoma City killing 42
  • Born: Machiavelli, Francoise Coty [perfume], William Whiting [wrote original words to Navy Hymn], Golda Meir, Bing Crosby, Mary Astor, Pete Seeger, Sugar Ray Robinson, James Brown, Greg Gumbel, Brooks Koepka, 
  • Died: Earl Woods, Wally Schirra
The Navy Hymn, "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" was the favorite hymn of FDR, sung at his funeral. It was played as JFK's body was brought to the Capitol to lie in state. William Whiting wrote the words and the tune is by John Dykes. The tune is Melita, the island where Paul was shipwrecked in Acts 27.

Thought:
Proverbs 22-24 contain a long list of "do not's." I am meditating on three of them this morning:
  • 23:17--Do not let your heart envy sinners, but live in the fear of the Lord always.
  • 24:1-2--Do not be envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them; for their minds devise violence and their lips talk of trouble.
  • 24:19: Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked.
Do you ever envy sinners or evil men? Certainly we may not envy asking to be like them in sinning or doing evil, but do I ever wish I had the results of their sinning and evil ways. They seem to have wealth, resources, houses, cars, power, prestige, position, fans, glory. So I say, why do the bad people get the good stuff and the good people don't. Why do the bad people get rewarded and the good people punished? Does that mean I envy those bad people. 

For me it usually is a failure to understand the permanent and the temporary, the fleshly and the eternal. For when I envy what the evil have, I devalue what the righteous have. I somehow think that getting man's glory and praise is somehow better than having God's blessing and sharing the glory of Christ. I get to thinking that having that position that the wicked have gained is a better position than to be called the child of God. My mind gets confused and I equate a mansion on earth with a place in heaven prepared especially for me by the King of kings.  I let Satan tell me that having a private jet is better than rising on eagle's wings. 

And perhaps this leads me to fretting--why do the evil seem to prosper? God, why aren't You doing something about this? Maybe God doesn't know, maybe He doesn't care, maybe He can't do anything. All of Satan's lies. 

Lord, remind me daily of the riches of Christ--love, joy, peace, an eternity in a place You have prepared. Remind me daily of the shortness of this life and the eternal one to follow.  Teach me contentment knowing that You are sufficient. Direct my thoughts to those things that are good, lovely, true, honorable, right and pure. Forgive me for seeing with human eyes and missing spiritual truth. Help me to know You more and better every day and find my joy in You alone.

Blessings
Larry

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