This year the Bicentennial Babies born in 1976 turn fifty. That makes those who are born in the U.S. this year, Semi-quincentennial Babies, which is easier to say than spell. The celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence a quarter-millennium ago is officially being called America250, although other groups are profiteering using similar names. On the back of the one-dollar bill are both sides of The Great Seal of the United States. At the base of the Pyramid, which represents the 13 foundational colonies, are the Roman numerals MDCCLXXVI, 1776. The Spirit of 1776 is what we celebrate each 4^th of July. Sadly, most Americans do not read the Declaration unless required to in school. It is a profoundly philosophical and moral document born out of the writing of Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense, which was first published January 10, 1776.

After reading the Declaration of Independence, which just takes a few minutes, I recommend an excellent book called Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters, by Edward J. Larson. You can also find Edward J. Larson on YouTube providing interview summaries of his book. Watch one. The videos are very similar and last about an hour.

The echoes of the Christian principles of liberty, equality, and justice for all permeate the Declaration. Although many of the signers were culturally blind in the “for all” part, this document set the tone and framework for the building of our nation as united states. The unalienable right to pursue happiness called for local representation to voice the concerns and choices of the people to their governing bodies. By 1782, some of the emerging state constitutions enshrined the “for all” principles into law. Those states declared that liberty, equality and the pursuit of happiness for all made slavery obsolete. Freedom includes everyone. Equality elevates or demeans no one. Justice gives preference to no one. History teaches these principles are fragile and easily lost. Be vigilant.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Happy semi-quincentennial.  And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

There was a time some years ago while reading one of my favorite chapters of Proverbs, when a passage seemed to stand out. I know this story because I wrote down my experience. The verses impressed me as something I needed to pay attention to. I am uncomfortable when that happens because it means I am being spiritually convicted. The verses were, “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow’—when you now have it with you.” (3:27-28)  One way to prevent Bible verses from convicting your soul is to quit reading the Bible. I know some people who do that. 

As I was walking to the local diner to have lunch later, a man sitting in the shade asked me for some loose change. I’m uncomfortable when that happens. He asked for the change so that he could have some biscuits and gravy for lunch. I think it was a heavenly set up, also known as a divine appointment. I invited him to join me for lunch. What else could I do? He took me up on my offer. As we walked in the diner he asked me what I did for a living. I told him and felt him pause for a second. I gave him the choice to either join me at my table or eat by himself. He chose my table. He ordered biscuits and gravy and a big glass of milk. I encouraged him to order eggs and sausage also. We ate together and he began to relax and tell me his story. He spoke in generalities at first, then a little deeper, and finally as the trust level grew, even more confessions. He guided the conversation, I mostly listened. At the end of the meal, he thanked me two or three times. I prayed for him, said goodbye, and knew I had been changed. (See also Hebrews 13:2)

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Keep reading the Word. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

On these cold snowy days, many find themselves pondering the big questions of life. Questions like: why am I so restless yet bored;  when will I grow up; why was I born at all; or why are my feet always cold? Sometimes the silly questions may reveal the most. The list can be endless unless we take serious time to find the meaning and purpose of our days. Seasons change and so do we. The circumstances of our lives today are in a different place than even five or ten years ago.   

I believe everyone has their own divine purpose for life. I found there are at least three steps to discovery: 1) an openness to the Holy Spirit of God; 2) an understanding of your spiritual gifts; and 3) an honest review of your life thus far. The first step is the spiritual work of prayer, worship and the Word. The second step can be discovered in the many available spiritual gift assessment materials and the spiritual graces that give you joy. The third step may be the most difficult—an honest review of your life. Some find it helpful to write down some key insights. Review your life by decades or significant turning points, starting with your childhood.  How have you changed? Remember the spiritual insights that impacted you along the way. How have you recovered from hard things of the past? How have you spiritually impacted others? Be honest before God and yourself. 

  Try summing up your life purpose in one sentence. Everyone has a uniquely divine purpose for living at this time in history, at their current age, in their current circumstances. How you live that out involves your call from God, your faithfulness today and your vision of tomorrow. This is hard spiritual work. Excuses come easily. It is not too late for you. God has placed you here for a purpose. Discover why, then fulfill it.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Live out your divine life. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

I met a real prophet of God once. I do not believe he thought of himself as a prophet. He just sought to live what Jesus taught. In doing so he influenced the course of America’s history. His name was Will D. Campbell. Born to cotton farmers in rural Mississippi, he was ordained a Southern Baptist minister at 17, served in the medical corps in World War II, graduated from Yale Divinity School, drank moonshine with friends from the KKK and was the only white minister invited by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957. A few months later he helped escort nine black students through angry crowds to school in Little Rock. He was in Birmingham in 1963 when the hoses were turned on the people. I met him in the summer of 1999.

Calling himself a “bootleg Preacher,” Will Campbell abandoned the politics of religion, yet he had a profound insight into the ways of ethical Christian living. True prophets of God cannot pastor local churches, theirs is a wider calling. He lived in rural Tennessee where he wrote his stories, believed that Christ died for the bigot and the devoted alike, and sought to bring reconciliation to all people. On his death in 2013, The New York Times wrote, (He was) a preacher without a church who presided at weddings, baptisms and funerals in homes, hospitals and graveyards for a flock of like-minded rebels that included Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dick Gregory, Jules Feiffer and Studs Terkel. Most of his scattered “congregation,” however, were poor whites and blacks, plain people alienated from mainstream Christianity and wary of institutions, churches and governments that stood for progress but that in their view achieved little. We met at a Baptist gathering where he had set up a couple of leather chairs, two small tables and some of his books. He invited me to sit with him, and he asked a lot of questions about ministry in Oklahoma. He autographed a book giving me the challenge to Fight ‘em off!  I took it as an encouragement to stand for the truth, no matter what.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Stand true. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/us/will-d-campbell-maverick-minister-and-civil-rights-stalwart-dies-at-88.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

I have an old paperback book in my office called, The Gospel According to Peanuts, by Robert L. Short. It features many of the cartoon characters of Charles Shultz, but from the early years, before 1965. In one, Lucy has set up her 5-cent psychiatric booth to help Linus face his fears. Lucy tries to pinpoint Linus’ particular fear. “Are you afraid of responsibility? If you are then you have Hypengyophobia!” “I don’t think that’s quite it,” says Linus.  Lucy continues, “How about cats? If you are afraid of cats, then you have Ailurophobia.” “Well, sort of…but I’m not sure.” An impatient Lucy then says, “Maybe you have Pantophobia—the fear of everything.” “That’s it!” says Linus. The truth is we all have our worries and fears which too easily want to control us.

I am always moved by the words of Dutch resistance fighter, Holocaust survivor and Christian writer Corrie Ten Boom.  In her book Clippings from My Notebook, she writes: “Worry is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength—carrying two days at once. It’s moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.” I attended a church luncheon in Tulsa many years ago where Corrie Ten Boom was the featured speaker. Her lesson that day came from a piece of needlework. When she held it up to show us, she displayed the back where all the threads were knotted and crisscrossed. She then held it above her head. She said that when she wondered about the suffering, hurt and all the confusing turns of life, she would remember that while we may only see the tangles and the knots, from heaven God sees the complete portrait of His love and purpose. Then she revealed the beautiful picture she was still sewing. “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

Some of her other quotes include: “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God, you’ll be at rest.” And this word about living in faith: “You can never learn that Christ is all you need, until Christ is all you have.” 

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Fear not. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Reprinted from 2019