Thought for Today

1792: Cornerstone for the US Mint in Philadelphia  is laid. First US public building. 1912: Movies and photos of prize fighting are banned as immoral and violent. 1922: First water skis are used on a lake in Minnesota 1928: First women's Olympic track event--Elizabeth Robinson wins 100 meters. 1936: Gold plates with the name "King Darius" discovered.  1970: Last day of official rum ration in the British Navy--started in 1740. 1973: Delta flight hits seawall in Boston and 89 die, sole survivor dies 5 moths later 1991: Senate votes to allow women to fly combat missions 2012: Michael Phelps wins his record 19th Olympic Medal and 15th gold Born: Milton Friedman, JK Rowling, Wesley Snipes, Hank Bauer, Evonne Goolagong, Sebastion Kresge, Curt Gowdy, Bill Callahan [coach], Mark Cuban, Zac Brown, World's only known spotless Giraffe born in Limehouse Tennessee Died: Andrew Johnson, Charles Hires [root beer], Bill Russell, Ayman al-Zawahiri [planned 9/11 attacks, killed by dron...

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 ...

1588: Defeat of the Spanish Armada  1715: 10 Spanish teasure galleons sink off Florida in a hurricane 1835: First sugar plantation established in Hawaii 1905: Secret agreement giving Japan free rein in Korea in exchange for non-interference with US in the Philippines 1907: Robert Baden-Powell establishes the Boy Scouts in England 1921: Hitler becomes leader of National Socialist German Workers Party 1927: First iron lung installed  1938: Olympic National Park established 1954: "Fellowship of the Ring" by Tolkien published 1974: Episcopal church ordains female priests 2016: Hillary Clinton becomes Democratic Party candidate for President Born: Benito Mussolini, Dag Hammarskjold, Peter Jennings, Martina McBride,  Alexis de Tocqueville, Booth Tarkington, Elizabeth Dole, Charles Schwab, Ken Burns,  Dak Prescott Died: William Wilberforce, Vincent van Gogh, David Niven, Robert Schumann, Cass Elliot, Tom Snyder,  Thought: I am reading Mark 6:7-13 this morning. Mark is ...

1549: First Christian missionary reaches Japan--Francis Xavier  1586: Walter Raleigh brings first tobacco to England from America. On this same day in 1965, manufacturers are ordered to add health warnings to cigarette packages. 1789: Department of Foreign Affairs [State Department] created 1890: Vincent Van Gogh shoots himself, dies 2 days later 1921: Frederick Banting isolates insulin. He sells the patent to his university for $1 saying he does not own insulin. 1940: Bugs Bunny makes first appearance in "Wild Hare" Born: Maureen McGovern, Leo Durocher, Peggy Fleming, Christopher Dean, Alex Rodriguez, Jordan Spieth,  Died: Bob Hope, Gertrude Stein, Claire Chennault [Flying Tigers], James Mason, Frank Zamboni, Tony Dow [Wally on "Leave It to Beaver"] Thought: Thinking about Mark 6:6 today. Jesus went to his home town, Nazareth, and was teaching in the synagogue. The people are astonished by His teaching and miracles. Now, consider their reaction--isn't this Mary...

1775: Post Office created 1944: First V-2 rocket hits Britain 1945: USS Indianapolis reaches Tinian with the atomic bomb 1990: George HW Bush signs Americans with Disabilities Act  Born: George Bernard Shaw, Carl Jung, Aldous Huxley, Stanley Kubrick, Mick Jagger, Helen Mirren, Kevin Spacey, Sandra Bullock, Jason Statham, Dorothy Hamill Died: Sam Houston, Ed Gein, George Gallup, Sinead O'Connor, William Jennings, Bryan, Robert Todd Lincoln, Eva Peron, Mary Wells,  Thought: Pondering Mark 5:36 today. Words spoken by Jesus to Jairus, the synagogue official whose daughter was dying. Recall, Jesus’ walk to Jairus house was interrupted by the woman with the issue of blood. So now, people come telling Jairus that his daughter is dead, Jesus cannot help. And Jesus says, "Do not be afraid any longer, only believe." Do you need to hear that this morning?  In my life there have been times when things seemed hopeless. I had prayed for something, but Jesus said no or wait or answered ...

306: Constantine proclaimed Roman emperor 1814: George Stephenson introduces the first steam locomotive 1897: Jack London sails to Alaska to join the Klondike Gold Rush 1946: Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis have first show as a comedy team  1956: Stockholm Sweden and Andria Doria collide in the Atlantic 1978: First test tube baby born Born: Arthur Balfour, Emmett Till,  Matt LeBlanc,  Walter Payton, Iman, Bryce Young Died: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Ben Hogan, Olivia de Havilland,  Thought: Reading the end of Mark chapter 4 [35-41] and the beginning of Mark chapter 5 [1-20]. Mark relates two familiar stories from the ministry of Jesus. The first is the calming of the sea and the second the healing of the demoniac. What strikes me this morning is how the two stories are related. One calms the sea, the other calms the soul of man. One demonstrates power over creation, the other power over the spirits. Experts say that Mark's Gospel is based on Peter's accounts recorded by Ma...

1832: Benjamin Bonneville leads first wagon train across the Rocky Mountains by Wyoming's South Pass  1847: Brigham Young arrives in Salt Lake City 1911: Machu Picchu discovered by Hiram Bingham 1952: "High Noon" with Gary Cooper premiers 1959: Kitchen Debate between Nixon and Khrushchev 1974: Supreme Court rules Nixon must release Watergate Tapes 1998: "Saving Private Ryan" premiers Born: Simon Bolivar, Alexander Dumas, Amelia Earhart, Jennifer Lopez, Karl Malone, Barry Bonds Died: Martin Van Buren, Peter Sellers, Matthew Webb [1st to swim English channel unassisted],  Tony Lema, Regis Philbin Thought: Reading Mark 3:20-30. On June 16, 1858, a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Illinois used this passage in a speech in Springfield. Abraham Lincoln said: A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.  Jesus' own family had come to get him because He had "lost His senses."  Th...