It's On My Mind

November 15, 2019 (Friday)

The previous two blogs were about being kind and good. A third fruit of the Spirit that fits perfectly with those two is “gentleness.” It seems to me that gentleness naturally reflects kindness and goodness. God deals gently with us. A famous hymn is a prayer, “Lead Me Gently Home, Father,” written by Will L. Thompson (1847-1909). He wrote many hymns, among which is one of my favorites, “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling.” When I hear that hymn, I picture Jesus in my mind with arms outstretched waiting to gently lead us home. Our Savior set an example for us to follow. As He was the gentle Savior, so we are to be His gentle followers.

November 14, 2019 (Thursday)

The virtues produced by the Holy Spirit who lives within us are characterized by Paul as “fruit.” Paul lists nine kinds of fruit and yesterday I wrote about one of them: “Kindness.” Next on the list is “Goodness.” Those two words are almost synonymous, but the difference seems to be that “kindness” refers to our actions and “goodness” refers to our disposition. An example could be helping an elderly lady to cross a street; the deed is “kindness” which is a choice of a person who is “good.” It is a kind deed by a good person.

Are you a good person? When you accepted Christ as Savior, you became a new person; your new nature came into being. Peter called upon us to “grow in grace and knowledge of Christ,” indicating that the good person you now are can get better. There is no doubt you will help the elderly lady across the street, but as goodness gradually grows greater within, you will help her not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because you want to help. It is your nature now that you have become a new creation in Christ. As you grow in grace and knowledge, people will see the change for good in you and refer to you as a good person. Goodness will become part of who you are.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other (Galatians 5:16-26 NIV).

November 13, 2019 (Wednesday)

Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” The Apostle Paul urged Christians to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as Christ has forgiven you.” He
listed 9 virtues that the Holy Spirit wants to produce in our lives as Christians, and one of them is “kindness.”

Today, November 13, is World Kindness Day, but for us who claim to follow Christ, every day is a day for kindness.

It has been said, “Everyone is having a hard time.” For some of us, this describes an agonizing time of deep troubles, but the rest of us have our troubles, too, although at the the present time we may be able to live with them.

Whenever you are in a group of people, take a good look at them. Behind their smile there may be many troubles. So why not be kind? You may actually help someone along life’s road without even knowing the good that you are doing.

“Don’t ever forget kindness and truth. Wear them like a necklace. Write them on your heart as if on a tablet” (Proverbs 3:3).

“And now, through Christ, all the kindness of God has been poured out upon us undeserving sinners” (Romans 1:5). Let us allow it to overflow through us to others.

Read an interesting essay about how kindness can subdue stress and illness. Click here.

November 12, 2019 (Tuesday)

Yesterday was Veteran’s Day. For many years it was Armistice Day, celebrating the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11month, of the year 1918, on which the Armistice was signed that ended the first World War. The day before, a cablegram was sent from Europe to Nova Scotia with an announcement that the armistice would be signed, ending the war, on the next day, November 11, 1918.

The formal end of the Great War came with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June, 1919.

Yesterday, November 11, is the anniversary of the day the war ended, a day on which at least 11,000 people died. It’s hard to shut down a war.

In a plane in 1967, I sat beside a Japanese gentleman, Mister Hasime Onishi, who was a petroleum buyer and a frequent traveler. We had a long trip, so we talked a lot. He told me he had flown the surrender plane at the end of WW2. The diplomats boarded his aircraft, painted so as to be recognized, in Tokyo, and they flew to Manilla for negotiations. The plane was refueled by Americans on an island near Okinawa. On the way back to Tokyo, they stopped again to refuel. Everyone was nervous; the war was still going on. There was a mixup about litres and gallons, and therefore their plane ran out of fuel as it approached Tokyo on the return flight. It crashed in Sagami Bay. When dawn came, the survivors were met by the sight of machine guns trained on them by Japanese soldiers on the shore. According to Mister Onishi, the final settlement of surrender was delayed 24 hours because of that.

Just like the formal surrender ceremony of World War I, the public ceremonies ending World War II came later aboard the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

Those must have been very busy days in 1918 in the seats of government around the world, especially in those nations that did the fighting. Finally, the last shot was fired. Probably after November 11.

Let us all pray that there will be no more wars.

Today’s president is
William Henry Harrison – The 9th President

November 11, 2019 (Monday)

Today is Veterans’ Day. On this day we remember all those who have served in the armed forces. Although Memorial Day in May is the day set aside to honor those who died in the service of their country, much is said about them on Veterans’ Day as well. We do well to pay special attention to every occasion calling upon the nation to remember its veterans, living and dead. The recent free election is a monument in itself to all those who have served their country to purchase our freedom and insure the continuation of democracy.

When I was a boy, November 11 was celebrated as Armistice Day, remembering the end of World War I, the “War to end all wars.” It was a holiday for schools, and we all went downtown to see the great parade, featuring marching bands and troops, and the weapons of war.

Here is a photograph of Joe Ross, my Grand Uncle, during World War I.  It’s more than 100 years old.  He was later disabled as a result of being wounded in combat.

We rejected Woodrow Wilson’s dream of a “League of Nations,” where nations could iron out their differences with diplomacy instead of war. Alas, we soon realized the error of our ways as Germany, under Hitler, regained its strength and attacked its neighbors with the goal of ruling the world. Japan also rose to power and drew the United States into the conflict with their attack at Pearl Harbor. Italy eventually joined the Axis powers. Russia might have joined with Germany had it not been for Hitler’s egomania, attacking Russia and sealing his fate.

This is a photograph of my uncle, Lloyd Lowe, during World War II.

After World War II, the United Nations was established, but there was no talk of a “war to end all wars.” The cold war settled in, and erupted as a deadly war in Korea. Later came the Vietnam war, the Gulf War, the Iraq War and other conflicts in the Middle East, capped with the onset of terrorism, which eventually made its way onto American shores. Our war with terrorism goes on, wherever it is at work. In all of this, Americans have unselfishly given themselves to the service of their country in the armed services, and we honor them for that service today. We owe them a debt we can never fully pay.