The Constitutional Congress of the United States of America held its final meeting on September 17, 1787. Do you have any idea why? That’s right! It was to sign the Constitution of the United States of America, a document for which they so painstakingly labored to create and perfect.
After the meeting there was still much to do. Individual states then had to meet and vote on it. The U.S. Constitution did not go into effect until two years later on March 4, 1789, the year of George Washington’s inauguration as president of a new nation.
It is important to remember that it was not approved until a “Bill of Rights” was added to it. Those ten amendments have proved to be the heart of what our forefathers wanted for themselves and their posterity.
At the close of each Tuesday blog I will write about the presidents, in the order of their service.
Today’s blog is for the purpose of showing you a web site that could prove useful to you. I suggest you bookmark the site for future reference. On the main page, there is a little box that says, “Select a President.” When you click on that box, a list of all the presidents appear. Then you click on the name you want and a brief biography appears, with links to more information, which might be of interest to you. Recently I memorized all the presidents and vice presidents because I felt that an American ought to know who they were. This web site offers a list and much more. I hope you will give it a nod, click on the link below, and bookmark it for future reference.
Tomorrow’s blog will include a note about future Tuesday blogs, each of which will include a link which gives a brief summary about a president. We start tomorrow with George Washington. These will be additions to the blogs themselves. They will not be actual parts of the main blogs. They will appear each Tuesday as an amendment to the blog for that day.
Yesterday’s blog was about “a land where we never grow old,” which, of course, is Heaven. Today I want to talk about the life journey on the way to Heaven. I heard someone say, “We hear much about “The Sweet Bye and Bye,” but what about the sweet “Now and Now?”
Hopefully, as we look back over our lives, we are able to say sincerely, “Jesus led me all the way,” which happens to be the hymn in the blog today.
When Paul declared that he was “forgetting the past,” he said in the same sentence that he was looking forward to the future. He was not regretting the past, except for those years when he was “kicking against the goads,” fighting the call of the Lord to become His servant.
Once he met Christ, he surrendered his life to Him, and took the gospel to as many as he could reach, all over his world. He could have easily said, “Jesus led me all the way.” In fact, he said something like that when he wrote to his “son in the ministry,” Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Through all kinds of trials, Paul persevered to the end of his life, following the leadership of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
This hymn by John Peterson, puts into words what is welling up in our hearts today. The message is clear: when we get to heaven, we will give all the praise to Jesus. He leads us day by day.
JESUS LED ME ALL THE WAY
John Peterson
Some day life’s journey will be o’er
And I shall reach that distant shore,
I’ll sing while ent’ring Heaven’s door
“Jesus led me all the way.”
Jesus led me all the way,
Led me step by step each day;
I will tell the saints and angels
As I lay my burden down
“Jesus led me all the way.
If God should let me there review
The winding paths of earth I knew,
It would be proven clear and true
Jesus led me all the way.
Jesus led me all the way,
Led me step by step each day;
I will tell the saints and angels
As I lay my burden down
“Jesus led me all the way.
And hitherto my Lord has led,
Today He guides each step I tread,
And soon in Heav’n it will be said
Jesus led me all the way.
Jesus led me all the way,
Led me step by step each day;
I will tell the saints and angels
As I lay my burden down
“Jesus led me all the way.
Like everyone else, I am growing older every day. There is a wonderful place called Heaven* where we will never grow old. This grand old hymn is beloved by many, not only for its sweet sound, but also for its timeless message. The subject of this hymn is mysterious, because there is much about Heaven we do not know. But the hymn writer has comforted many hearts with this message. At the close of the blog you can hear the incomparable Jim Reeves sing it.
WHERE WE’LL NEVER GROW OLD James C. Moore 1914
I have heard of a land on the faraway strand, ‘Tis a beautiful home of the soul; Built by Jesus on high, where we never shall die, ‘Tis a land where we never grow old.
Refrain: Never grow old, never grow old, In a land where we’ll never grow old; Never grow old, never grow old, In a land where we’ll never grow old.
In that beautiful home where we’ll never more roam, We shall be in the sweet by and by; Happy praise to the King through eternity sing, ‘Tis a land where we never shall die.
When our work here is done and the life-crown is won, And our troubles and trials are o’er; All our sorrow will end, and our voices will blend, With the loved ones who’ve gone on before.
*A New Heaven and a New Earth …And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”…(Revelation 21:3-5).
The Shamrock Hotel, Houston, Texas, is gone. It was demolished several years ago. I remember when it was built. There was a lavish dedication ceremony on St. Patrick’s Day, 1949. My father drove us to a spot on Holcomb Boulevard where we could see the fireworks. The radio program, “Duffy’s Tavern,” was broadcast from the hotel that night. The movie star, Dorothy Lamour, was there. Not very many years ago, I attended a Baptist meeting at that hotel. I believe I am telling you the truth when I say it had no 13th floor. Not because the owners were superstitious, but because many potential patrons of the hotel would refuse to occupy a room on the 13th floor.
Today is Friday the 13th. When I looked in the archives of my blog, I discovered that I have written a blog about Friday the 13th several times. Every month that starts on Sunday has a Friday the 13th. I am fascinated that so many people are superstitious in this day and age, when science and technology rule the roost. I am amazed that anyone would pay any attention at all to horoscopes these days, but many people follow those forecasts and analyses faithfully. Some refuse to face the day without reading it.
“For he is superstitious grown of late, Quite from the main opinion he held once Of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies.” William Shakespeare (Julius Caesar)
I’ve been told that the superstition surrounding this day may have arisen in the Middle Ages, “originating from the story of Jesus’ last supper and crucifixion” in which there were 13 individuals present in the Upper Room on the 13th of Nisan Maundy Thursday, the night before his death on Good Friday. The irrational fear of the number 13 has been given a scientific name: triskaidekaphobia; and on analogy to this the fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia, from the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή, meaning “Friday”), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς, meaning “thirteen”) [Wikipedia].
If we claim to believe in the Lord, then let’s accept Him at His word: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
(To paraphrase a popular phrase from an old movie, “We don’t need no stinkin’ superstitions!)
September 17, 2019 (Tuesday)