Thanksgiving 2016

Thank you Lord for this amazing year of your blessings. It has been painful and uncertain at times, and overwhelmingly sweet at others. Through it all You are forever faithful, and the fruit from both the hardship and the joy is evidence of Your work in our lives. -Amen

Independence Day

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.

— Psalm 33:12 NIV

 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

— Isaiah 42:1-4

 In his [Jesus] name the nations will put their hope.

— Matthew 12:21

I am sure that you have heard so much about the separation of church and state that you have actually started to believe it.

In case you don’t know, that phrase never appears in the Constitution. However it is found in Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto.

It was coined in the U.S. from a letter the principle framer of the Constitution and Third President Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association assuring them that he would keep the Government out of the Church, not the Church out of the Government. He was saying, never again will there be a government sponsored church like you had back in England, where everyone is forced to attend and support.

Check it out for yourself, the first amendment actually says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…

If there IS such a thing as separation of church and state, it is intended as a one-way street. Some say, no, they wanted to keep both separate. Well, let’s think about that.

• Our first president, George Washington, took the oath of office and put his hand on what? (the Bible)
• What was his first official act as President? (kissed the Bible, then held a 2 hr. praise/worship session in Congress)
• How did they determine to open sessions of Congress? (prayer)
• Who would lead in those prayers? (chaplains)
• How would they be paid? (tax dollars)

Does all of that sound like they wanted to keep God out of government?

Who decided to put “In God We Trust” on our coins? It was adopted by Congress in 1956.

• In 1776, 11 of the 13 colonies required that one had to be a Christian to be eligible to run for political office.
• In 1777, the Continental Congress voted to spend $300,000 to purchase Bibles for distribution in the nation.
• The GETTYSBURG ADDRESS states “…this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom…”
• 94% OF THE WRITINGS OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF THE U.S. CONTAINED QUOTATIONS FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.
• THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS OF ALL 50 STATES MENTION GOD.
• On that First “Thanksgiving”, who do you think the people were giving thanks to? To God.
• The famous “Liberty Bell” has part of Leviticus 25:10 inscribed on it: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”
• Part of the Scripture Proverbs 14:34 is inscribed above the L.A. city hall door: “RIGHTEOUSNESS EXALTETH A NATION: BUT SIN IS A REPROACH TO ANY PEOPLE.”
• An image of Moses carrying the tablets of God’s Law faces the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
• The entering President takes his courtroom OATH OF OFFICE with his right hand on the Holy Bible, and concludes his vow “So help me God.”
• The Supreme Court itself begins each of its sessions with the phrase ‘God save the United States and this honorable court,’
• First Vice President and Second President, John Adams wrote in 1798:
• “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
• President Thomas Jefferson:
• “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.” – 1781
• Our sixth President, John Quincy Adams said:
• “No book in the world deserves to be so unceasingly studied, and so profoundly meditated upon as the Bible.” –
• At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin said,
• “God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?”

The Christian writings and pronouncements of our 16th President Abraham Lincoln would fill an entire book. He said this when he assumed leadership over a nation on the brink of civil war:

“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven… But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.” – 1863

• Theodore Roosevelt, America’s 26th President, wrote: “In this actual world, a churchless community, a community where men have abandoned and scoffed at, or ignored their religious needs, is a community on the rapid down-grade.” – 1917
• Woodrow Wilson, our 28th President and Governor of New Jersey, said this: “America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of the Holy Scripture.” – 1911
• Calvin Coolidge, our 30th President, said this about our founding fathers: “They were intent upon establishing a Christian commonwealth in accordance with the principle of self- government. They were an inspired body of men. It has been said that God sifted the nations that He might send choice grain into the wilderness… Who can fail to see it in the hand of destiny? Who can doubt that it has been guided by a Divine Providence.” – 1923
• Franklin Roosevelt prayed this prayer on a national radio hookup on D-Day, June 6, 1944, as our troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France: “Almighty God… with Thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogance. Lead us to the saving of our country. Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen.”
• Harry Truman, our 33rd President, not known to be a committed believer, understood the spiritual heritage of this nation: “If men and nations would but live by the precepts of the ancient prophets and the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, problems which now seem so difficult would soon disappear”
• Gerald Ford, our 38th President, quoted a 1955 speech by Dwight D. Eisenhower on December 5, 1974: “Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first – the most basic – expression of Americanism. Thus the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God’s help, it will continue to be.”
• President Ronald Reagan: “If we ever forget that we are ‘One nation, under God’, then we will be one nation gone under.”

GOD bless America!

Happy Independence Day!

Surgeon: “We Are Going To Treat It Aggressively”

Intuition and intelligence can sometimes be a curse. Sometimes, not knowing is just better.

Yesterday was my first visit to the Wound Management Center at St. Luke’s. Everyone was friendly and smiling. The women at the front desk were very courteous. I didn’t have to roll myself to the exam area; they offered to push. I enjoyed my ride knowing that this was not going to be much fun.

I transferred from my wheelchair to a comfortable electric lounge chair. The leg rest slowly raised my legs up. The entire chair was elevated. When they unwrapped my bandages and saw the damage that the cellulitis was causing, their smiles could not conceal the look in their eyes nor the occasional grimace. They apologized every time that the bandages tugged on my wounds. I kept telling them to do whatever they needed to do and that I’d be OK.

I wasn’t OK. The Vicodin was barely helping. All I could do was pray. “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help.”  –Psalm 18:6

The pads that they placed under my legs were soaked with the fluids that were draining out of my wounds. They carefully lifted my legs to change the pads. They would do that a number of times. They photographed my wounds to create a reference point to track my condition. Then the surgeon came in.

When he saw my legs he stopped smiling. He was very courteous, but all business. I like that. He told me everything that he sensed was wrong and exactly how bad my situation is. I told him that I appreciate his honesty. He then explained how they were going to aggressively treat my condition and what I needed to do to help them heal me – that is, if the course of treatment actually works. There is no guarantee.

The vascular condition in my lower legs is incurable. There is no surgery or medication that can fix it. As a result, it causes other conditions to develop. When you lump all of these together, I’m in trouble. So, St. Luke’s is coordinating a team to aggressively treat me in order to keep me alive. The plan seems to contain a lot of “what ifs” and maybes. I’m told that a number of new treatments have been developed.

The staff then had the fun job of removing dead skin from my legs so they could apply new dressings. Once new bandages were in place, they applied three layers of compression to each lower leg. I usually get a sense of relief right after a new bandage change, but not with these. Every time I move a leg the dressing tugs at one or more of the wounds. It hurts. If this is what it takes to save me, then so be it.

All I can do is watch and wait. God is my rock. I give this up to him.