Yona Williams, Interesting Facts About Ancient Kings

There are some interesting facts about kings throughout history.  Egyptian King Pepi II is said to have had the longest reign of any king, holding the position 90 years from 2272-2182 B.C. Emperor Charlemagne could read, but could not write.  Frankish king Pepin the Short earned the name through his slight stature, standing only four feet, six inches tall.  His wife was known as "Bertha the Big Foot" (Yona Williams, Interesting Facts About Ancient Kings).

Kings and other rulers have ranged from savage and fierce to pathetic and effeminate. There have been magnanimous and moral kings, but many more depraved and vile ones.  In the history of Israel, many of these descriptions would have fit kings serving God's people.  Hosea, still pleading with Israel to return to God, reviews Israelite history. In the process, the prophet reminds the people that God wished to rule over them as their only sovereign from their very beginning.  They were ravaged and destroyed; yet, He still wished to rule over them.  Hosea reminds them that back in Samuel's day He only relented and allowed their foolish wish to be granted.  He had not rejected them, but they had instead rejected Him as king.  He reminds them that they truly had no other king but Himself.

We have earthly rulers whom we must honor (1 Peter 2:17) and for whom we must pray (1 Timothy 2:2).  Yet, God still wants to rule in His church and in His people's lives in a theocracy. He would remind us that, though we are to be respectful and obedient to the laws of our nations, He is our ultimate sovereign. We must obey Him above and before all others (Acts 5:29).

 

Neal Pollard

 

faith in prayer

How are you doing in talking to God lately? This time of the year we spend
more time thinking about our blessings and for what we have to be thankful
don't we? Most of us will gather in a few short days and offer a prayer of
thanksgiving to God for the food on our table. But, I wonder, do we really
believe that God actually hears your prayer. I mean, we go through the
motions, bow our heads, say the right words, but do we really think anyone
hears us other than those around us?

James gives us some interesting insight into prayer in James 1:5-8 where he
writes: "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to
you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that
your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty
is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their
loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in
everything they do." (NLT)

They say that in some things "a little child shall lead them." When our
oldest son Kirk was only about 5 years old and was kneeling beside his bed
one night saying his prayers (from the heart). He prayed, "And God, thank
you for my grandma, because she gives me everything I want."

I thought of this also when I read the following story about prayer. It
seems a minister's little six-year-old girl had been so naughty during the
week that her mother decided to give her the worst kind of punishment. She
told her she couldn't go to the Sunday School Picnic on Saturday.

When the day came, her mother felt she had been too harsh and changed her
mind. When she told the little girl she could go to the picnic, the child's
reaction was one of gloom and unhappiness. "What's the matter? I thought
you'd be glad to go to the picnic." her mother said. "It's too late!" the
little girl said. "I've already prayed for rain."

So when you gather with your friends and family (or just pray alone),
remember to pray from the heart, nothing wavering or doubting and know for
certain that Our God hears you.

Russ Lawson

Ron Herman

Kathy and the wife of one of our deacons in Virginia were studying with a sweet woman who was eventually baptized and who remains faithful to this day.  The woman lived in an apartment in a higher crime area.  In the midst of one of their studies, her huge, heavily tattooed, and obviously drunk nephew came downstairs weeping openly and profusely.  Apparently he had been eavesdropping on the study and felt, perhaps aided by the large, nearly empty bottle of liquor, a need of God.  Up to that point, Kathy and her co-teacher was unaware this nephew was in the apartment.  It turns out that this young man faced stiff legal problems as a convicted drug dealer who would not leave that lifestyle.  He was miserable, frightened, and utterly directionless.

The girls were able to leave Donna's apartment safely, and the young man attended on a Wednesday night not long after this incident.  After a brief devotional and the extending of an invitation, this young man responded.  Knowing only his Catholic background, he went up to the very front and knelt right in front of the pulpit.  It seems that nearly all of us were frozen by this unexpected move.  It was unorthodox.  As he made the sign of the cross repeatedly, it was uncomfortable.  No doubt several wondered, "How should this be handled?"  While we all stood and sang, mired in perplexity, Ron Herman, one of our elders, walked up to the young man.  Perhaps many of us thought, "Good, Ron will escort him to the front pew to the 'scriptural' place for handling responses." 

No.  Ron immediately modeled Christ in a most compassionate way.  Ron knelt beside him, putting his arm around this big, burly young man.  He quietly, gently discussed with him the nature of his problem that moved him to respond.  Ron was affirming, smiling, and empathetic.  After the song, Ron informed the congregation that this young man wanted us to pray for him.

So far as I know, this young man has never obeyed the gospel.  In fact, soon after his public response, he was incarcerated.  But I learned a lot about what matters most that evening.  Ron was a professional educator, serving in school administration for his long, illustrious career.  Oh, how much he taught us that night. He was a shepherd exemplifying Christ to the flock (1 Pet. 5:3).  Too often we get uncomfortable when we need to get unseated, and we get embarrassed when we need to get encouraging.  So many among us are hurting and are unsure of what to do.  They are unsure of how we, the church, will respond.  Let us have the love and courage to respond just as Christ would.  Just as Ron did!

 

Neal Pollard

 

Karl Rabeder

An Austrian millionaire decided to get rid of his millions. Karl Rabeder
owned a $2.2 million lakeside villa in the Alps, a farmhouse on 42 acres in
France, 6 gliders, and an Audi A8. But he said "the biggest shock" of his
life was realizing how empty "the five-star lifestyle" was. "For a long
time I believed that more wealth and luxury automatically meant more
happiness." "I come from a very poor family where the rules were to work
more to achieve more material things, and I applied this rule for many
years." But after a while, he felt he was working "as a slave for things I
did not wish for or need," adding, "I have the feeling that there are a lot
of people out there doing the same thing." And so.. he decided to give it
all away!

He sold his business, got rid of the gliders and fancy car, and decided to
raffle off the house in the Alps and put the farmhouse in France on the
market. He began to support orphanages in South America and created a
charity that helps self-employed people in six Central and South American
countries get their businesses going. He himself moved to a small two-room
apartment in Innsbruck. *

There was ANOTHER rich man who came to Jesus with a very important question:
"Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"
(see Matthew 19:16-22).

Jesus responded: "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."
Then He referred the rich man to some of the commandments of the Old Law,
which was in effect at the time. The rich man stated, "All these things I
have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" Jesus answered, "If you
want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." The Scripture records:
"But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he
had great possessions."

Two wealthy men: One gave his riches away; the other couldn't part with
them. What was the difference?

The one who "gave it all away" recognized that earthly riches don't satisfy
our deepest needs. That for which many seek to find fulfillment in their
lives, he found to bring emptiness instead. He found happiness in helping
others.

The one who couldn't part with his riches forfeited the real Treasure:
ETERNAL LIFE. The love of money - "temporary treasures" - superseded his
love for Christ. See 1 Timothy 6:10.

Must we give up everything to follow Jesus so that we may have eternal life?
Only that which is sinful and that which hinders us from following Him.
Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sins so that when we trust
and obey Him, we may have the forgiveness of sins and the GIFT of eternal
life (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 6:23).

In order to accept His offer of salvation and eternal life, we must: place
our faith and trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn from our sins and idolatry
in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and
be baptized (immersed) in His name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).
Then we must follow Him faithfully, continually seeking to do His will (1
John 1:7).

"What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own
soul?" (Mark 8:36) Even a millionaire is poor and miserable if he doesn't
recognize the True Treasure.

Won't YOU trust and obey Jesus today so that you may inherit the greatest
Treasure of all?

David A. Sargent

Sermon illustration for thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving approaching in a couple of weeks, I thought you would
enjoy this excerpt from a book entitled, "Weather Prognosticators and the
Media: Fallacies, Facts, and Fun in Forecasting" by Norm Macdonald:

"Turkeys will thaw in the morning, then warm in the oven to an
afternoon high near 190 F. The kitchen will turn hot and humid, and if you
bother the cook, be ready for a severe squall or cold shoulder.

"During the late afternoon and evening, the cold front of a knife will
slice through the turkey, causing an accumulation of one to two inches on
plates. Mashed potatoes will drift across one side while cranberry sauce
creates slippery spots on the other. Please pass the gravy.

"A weight watch and indigestion warning have been issued for the entire
area, with increased stuffiness around the beltway. During the evening, the
turkey will diminish and taper off to leftovers, dropping to a low of 34 F
in the refrigerator.

"Looking ahead to Friday and Saturday, high pressure to eat sandwiches
will be established. Flurries of leftovers can be expected both days with a
50 percent chance of scattered soup late in the day. We expect a warming
trend where soup develops. By early next week, eating pressure will be low
as the only wish left will be the bone."

While many of us in the United States will be enjoying a delicious
feast in a couple of weeks, may our outlook truly be one of thanksgiving.
May we be reminded once again of the source of our bountiful blessings. I
love the cartoon that shows a bewildered-looking fellow sitting at a
Thanksgiving table loaded down with turkey, dressing, hot rolls, and all the
trimmings. The caption reads: "Alvin the atheist realized he was at his
lowest point, for he felt grateful but had no one to thank."

We do have someone to thank. May we do it not only on Thanksgiving but
every day with hearts overflowing with gratitude.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down
from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of
turning." (James 1:17)

"Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving..." (Psalm 95:2)

Alan Smith

How close are we to the appointed day?

 

 

    We know that God has already appointed a day in which He will judge the world according to righteousness (Acts 17:31). That is, there is a specific time already fixed in the mind of God in which this earth and all life as we know it will come to an end. When Jesus spoke to His disciples of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, they asked, "When shall all these things be?" (Matthew 24:3).  Good question!  Concerning the destruction of the heavens and earth (2Peter 3:10), we need to ask the same question: "When shall all these things be?"  That is, "What time is it? How close are we to the appointed day?"

 

    God has kept the earth rotating around the sun at an angle of 23 1/3 degrees for at least 6,000 years.  The Law of Christ has already been in existence more than three times longer than the Law of Moses.  More than at anytime since the first century, men are mocking the Bible and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?" (2peter 3:4).  Our knowledge is doubling every four years (Daniel 12:4).  And, our earth is "waxing old like a garment" (Isaiah 51:6), already supporting over six billion people, and that is expected to double in the next twelve years. How many people can the earth support? Just what time is it?

 

    In the rat-race of our society, there's the tendency for our faith to grow lazy and go into hibernation. That would be a tragic mistake, because our world is moving toward a certain fixed destiny. The Bible summarized this "certain destiny" in two simple words: THE END (1Corinthains 15:24).

 

            Paul writes,  "…and knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed."  (Romans 13:11).    No one knows the day nor hour when our Lord will return (Mark 13:32-33), but we do know that we are 24 hours closer than we were yesterday at this time. Are you ready? Are you following Jesus – the Word? (John 1:1). If you are not following Jesus, you will not end up where He is, and He is in Heaven (Ephesians 1:20).  Peter writes, "…what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?" (1Peter 4:17-18).   - - Toby Miller

Colonel Charles D. Roby

             "Let no ravages of time testify to the coming generations that we have forgotten,                             as a people, the cost of a free and undivided republic."

                                                                                                Gen. John A. Logan, 1868

A few months ago I received a card from a Christian sister in Colorado thanking me for a particular editorial that she said was very moving to her as it reminded her of her brother who died in the Vietnam conflict. In her card she briefly cited some of his career, and since today's editorial topic will be about our country's observance of Veteran's Day, I'd like to dedicate today's thoughts, first to the glory of God, and secondly to the memory of Col. Charles D. Roby, killed in Vietnam in 1967.

Col. Roby, by all accounts, was a hero. In Vietnam he was an F-4 Phantom pilot, but before that he was a fighter pilot in the Korean War, flying 200 missions in that "action." As another career distinction, in 1951 he was the first pilot to have to bail out of his plane using the new "ejection seat." He died in the service of his country in 1967 at the age of 39 years. In 1990 his remains were finally returned to the family and he was subsequently buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery. Yes, he was a hero, but in reality, no more so than any of the other 58,000 plus killed in that conflict for their country.

Yes, next Thursday, November the 11^th, is a special holiday here in America - Veteran's Day. It's not a holiday of gift-giving, of feasting, of play/sporting events. It's a day of solemn remembrance by those of us alive today of the sacrifices of our military veterans that allow us to live in the greatest country that God ever blessed this earth with.

We call it "Veteran's Day" here in America, but in Canada it's known as "Remembrance Day." I like both of those designations and I think I'll just combine them here and call it "Remembering Veteran's Day." And, I think it extremely important that we always, as in continually, remember what our veterans have done for us. That we remember them, not just one day a year, but all year round.

The mother of a soldier killed in Afghanistan was asked by a reporter what she feared the most. Her answer to this question goes directly to our thoughts today. She said, "That people will forget the sacrifice made by our sons." Keep this statement in mind when we come to the close of this lesson. And keep in mind, "sacrifice" doesn't have to mean the ultimate - death. War brings sacrifices in the form of both visible and unseen wounds too.

I can almost guarantee you that if we did not set a day of remembrance, a day of commemoration for our nation's veterans, within relatively few years they and their sacrifices would be forgotten. God knew this was the nature of man and no doubt was the prime reason He commanded Israel of old to observe various memorials. They were to set up "physical" types of memorials, such as "monuments" (Josh. 4:1-7) and "times" such as the "Days of Purim" (Esther 9:28) for the express purpose of not forgetting what God had done for them. Wouldn't you agree that the setting up of special times and days to remember our veterans serve the same principle?

President Lincoln, referring to those who had died in battle at Gettysburg, said in his famous address, that they "gave the last full measure of devotion" and then went on to tell us what the object of that "devotion" was: that their "nation might live." Later in his address he made this recommendation: that we should "highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain."

Lincoln's words at Gettysburg remind me of a letter I once read that was penned on August 14^th, 1945, known now as V-J Day, the end of war against Japan in WW2. I won't cite to you the whole letter, but just mention a couple of lines that Sgt. Ralph Lewis, Jr wrote in his letter that day regarding his buddies that he'd lost in battle. He wrote: "Today the world must remember them - and tomorrow, the next day and forever! The day the world forgets, they will have died in vain."

A while back I heard a song written by an elementary school music teacher and performed by his third-grade class. It is a song not sung "about" the military, but rather "to" the military. It's entitled "Thank You Soldiers" and the words go like this:

    When I lay my head down every night, and go to sleep in peace,

    I can stay there knowing all is well, while you're standing on your feet.

            Keeping watch, protecting shore to shore, in the air and oceans too,

            defending freedom at all cost, for the red, white and the blue,

Chorus:     Thank you, oh thank you, men and women brave and strong,

                     To those who serve(d) so gallantly, we sing this grateful song.

    The soldiers who have traveled on, to countries far and near,

    in peace and war you paid the price, for the cause you hold so dear.

            That we may wake each morning bright, and know that freedom rings,

           because of your great sacrifice, your country joins to sing.

Chorus:     Thank you, oh thank you, men and women brave and strong,

                     To those who serve(d) so gallantly, we sing this grateful song.

I asked you earlier in the lesson to keep in mind the words of the mother of the soldier killed in Afghanistan and I'd like to return to the thought expressed by her, to wit: that she feared that people will forget the sacrifices of our sons. As grave as that danger is, I have a far greater fear and that is, that people will forget God's sacrifice of His Son so that man won't have "freedom" for just a period of time, but will have "freedom" for eternity.

We should always possess a devotion addressed to remembering our veterans but, with even more devotion, we should remember the sacrifice of Christ. In the Bible, God uses a phrase of warning to His people which illustrates His knowing the propensity of people to forget things. That phrase is "lest thou forget." Even after all the miracles that He had done for them in freeing them from slavery in Egypt, He knew that, given time, they'd forget. In Deut. 6:12 He warns them: "Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."

With our focus on the first two words of that verse: "Then beware," allow me to close these thoughts with some words penned by Rudyard Kipling that apply both to the remembrance of our veterans and remembrance of our God.

                        "God of our Fathers, known of old,

                          Lord of our far-flung battle line,

                          Beneath whose awful Hand we hold,

                          Dominion over palm and pine—

                          Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

                                    Lest we forget — Lest we forget!"

Ron Covey

Attention Please

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Newcastle United Kingdom, I have a proposition Involving an investment
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Should you be interested, please e-mail back to me through this email
address: (jozef-rosevelt@live.com).
I await your earliest response.

Yours Sincerely,
Jozef Ruud Roosevel.

Acts 1: 9-11

One of the things about getting up early in the morning is you get to see
some wonderful sunrises. This morning the mountain valley where we live was
ringed with clouds. As the sun came up over the mountains, it backlit the
clouds with a beautiful golden light. As it continued to rise it focused its
light in one area, with a golden starburst effect.

As I watched, the words in Acts 1: 9-11 came to mind: "After he (Jesus) said
this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their
sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when
suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they
said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has
been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have
seen him go into heaven." (NKJV)

Then I remembered the words of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-15: "For the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise
first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be
with the Lord."

I understand that some folks are afraid of death and afraid that Christ
might come back before they are ready. They read these words and are afraid
to think it might be today that he comes. Paul however, wrote these words to
comfort and encourage those who were true believers, truly servants, of the
living God. He said in verse 18, "Therefore comfort one another with these
words."

I read these words and am filled with wonder and anticipation! If you are
not comforted by them, maybe it's time to take a closer look at your belief
and service to the living God.

Russ Lawson

Jam-e Jam newspaper

     "TEHRAN (Reuters) - An Iranian bridegroom bit off more than he could chew when, according to custom, he licked honey from his bride's finger during their marriage ceremony and choked to death on one of her false nails.  The Jam-e Jam newspaper said on Wednesday the 28-year-old groom died on the spot in the northwestern city of Qazvin while the bride was rushed to hospital after fainting from shock.  Iranian couples lick honey from each other's fingers when they get married so that their life together starts sweetly."

     While this groom's death is a tragedy, my first reaction was that this is a beautiful wedding custom.  Isn't it a great idea to start your wedding life out sweetly?  But, as I thought about it, I realized that the honey might be better saved for a later point in the marriage.  After all, virtually every marriage begins sweetly.  The trick is to maintain that sweetness after years and years of being together.   Starting sweetly is not nearly as important as continuing sweetly.

     Those of you who are married may do well to ask if the sweetness is still there.  Husbands and wives, do you treat each other just as sweetly as you did those first few days of wedded bliss?

     How about in your other relationships?  Do you communicate with others in a way that can honestly be categorized as "sweet"?  Listen to these words of Solomon:

     "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones." (Prov. 16:24)

     May your life be filled with sweetness, and may you be blessed to be surrounded by sweet people.

Alan Smith