Thought for July 30, 2024

• 1729: City of Baltimore founded
• 1792: First singing of the French National anthem
• 1928: George Eastman shows first color motion picture
• 1945: USS Indianapolis sunk by Japanese sub. 880 die
• 1956: "In God We Trust" adopted as official US motto
• 1965: LBJ signs Medicare bill.
• 1976: Bruce Jenner wins gold in decathlon
• 1990: First Saturn auto is built 
• 2021: 1 of every 169 Americans employed by Amazon
• Born: Emily Bronte, Henry Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Laurence Fishburne, Lisa Kudrow, Hilary Swank, Paul Anka, Casey Stengel, Hope Solo,  O.B. Thrailkill
• Died: Maria Theresa, William Penn, Otto von Bismarck, Claudette Colbert, 

Thought:

This is my Dad's birthday. He was a pastor's son. He went to high school in Atlanta. He met my mother when they both worked for General Shoe [Genesco]  on the manufacturing line in Atlanta. After serving in the Army Air Corps during the war, he was employed by the Veteran's Administration as a clerk. When I was in the fifth grade, the VA moved its operations from Atlanta to Philadelphia and he was offered an opportunity to move. After visiting, he and Mom decided to stay in Atlanta. Finding a job was hard and he ended up working as a salesman in a little tie store for minimum wage. After a few years, he got a job as a bookkeeper with Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill on Boulevard in downtown Atlanta. Over the years, he was promoted several times, retiring as President of the company and an executive in the parent company. He never went to college, but taught a portion of the accounting course at Emory on cost accounting. He taught me to do my best at whatever task I was given. At his funeral in January 1992, I told the attendees 10 things my Dad taught me:

1. To know God and love Him.
2. To honor my mother and my wife. He loved Jan more than he loved me, probably because he thought anyone who would marry me was a saint.
3. To love my children
4. To expect much from myself.
5. That people are more important than things.
6. To be calm and patient when things are in chaos.
7. To stand up for what is right.
8. The value of hard work.
9. That being a cheerleader for your children was really important.
10. That a Christian could have a good time. 

 Dad was praying in Sunday School when his aorta burst and died later that day. He was a Sunday School teacher and had his lesson prepared for that morning. As usual he had notes written on 3x5 cards. I know we have been reading Mark, but his lesson was from Matthew 4, the temptation of Jesus. Here are his points from that story:

• This was not the first time Satan tested a man. This was not the last time Satan tempted Jesus.
• First temptation: The proof of being a child of God does not depend on how much bread you have but on how much faith you have.
• Second temptation: When someone uses a scripture to prove a point, make sure you know the whole scripture. Don't try and enhance your prestige, just make sure what you do gives glory to God.
• Third temptation: The devil will promise what he cannot give. God always gives what He promises.
• Summary: Jesus answered every temptation with scripture. WE can too if we know and follow them. 

Blessings

Larry