tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post1827782750682889837..comments2024-02-13T08:49:07.287-04:00Comments on 'Thought & Humor!': New Doctor's Office!Professor Howdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12189934292678757335noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-2125392779567133992009-04-13T12:32:00.000-03:002009-04-13T12:32:00.000-03:00Yesterday, Today, or Forever?In their 1965 album H...Yesterday, Today, or Forever?<BR/><BR/>In their 1965 album Help, the Beatles sang, “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they’re here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday...”<BR/><BR/>Our temptation to live in the “good ole’ days” is captured well in this song. It is not surprising, therefore, that the song has more cover versions than any song ever written--over 3000! For some of us, yesterday always seems to enamor. Somehow it seems the weather was better, the pressure lesser, the prices lower, the traffic slower, the currency stronger, the trees greener, the atmosphere cleaner, the youth kinder, the music softer, the world safer, and the trousers longer! “Oh, I believe in yesterday,” we hear ourselves sighing.<BR/><BR/>By contrast to the Beatles, country singer Don Williams sings, “Don’t think about tomorrow, it don’t matter anymore. We can turn the key and lock the world outside the door.” While the Beatles voice the temptation to live in our yesterdays, Don<BR/>Williams voices the temptation to forget our tomorrows. Between or apart from the wishful romanticizing of our yesterdays and the hasty dismissals of our tomorrows, is there a life worth living?<BR/><BR/>In her novel, The Namesake, Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri tells the story of Gogol who is named after his father’s favorite author. But growing up in an Indian family in suburban America, the boy starts to hate the awkward name and itches to cast it off. In 1982 on his 14th birthday, his father presents him a specially ordered copy of The Short Stories of Nikolai Gogol. He tells him how he felt a special kinship with the author and that it had taken four months for the book to arrive from Britain, specially ordered for the occasion. To young Gogol the sentiments were not palpable. Time moves on. Gogol’s life moves on. His father dies unexpectedly. The story captures his efforts to reinvent his identity by embracing a new name, exploring meaning in relationships, an education, and a<BR/>career. For all those years his father’s gift was set aside. But pain has a way of bringing back more than memory. The story ends in the year 2000 when Gogol is 32, divorced and pondering. It is then that he picks up the gift that his father gave him at age 14 and “starts to read.”<BR/><BR/>There are some things in life that are irreversible. Had Gogol wished then to start life all over again, there was no way of going back to when he was 14, or spending time with his father once again. Sadly for some of us, there are no replays in real life.<BR/><BR/>If this was an option the day after the crucifixion, the apostles would have certainly requested a playback time. How much they would have desired to go back! Not only that they might be with Jesus, but that they would be right with him. Remember the time you walked to the altar singing, “All to Jesus I surrender” only to break the promise a few days later? Peter felt the same. For those of us who feel like we are the only ones who have failed<BR/>Christ, the gospel writer has a word about the commonness of our humanness: “Then all the disciples deserted him and fled” (Matthew 26:56). The problem with the Savior was not that he had asserted a demand, but that he had gently solicited their support. To think that a King would speak in such a fashion to his subjects is beyond imagination. Returning to his disciples in his hour of anguish, he repeatedly found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked.<BR/><BR/>How much he had likened himself to us in order to bear our sins. How much he had bent towards us, giving visibility to the psalmist’s ascription of “God our Savior who daily bears our burdens for us” (Psalm 68:19). He had given them so much. He had asked for so little. Yet, they had failed him. And still, the great hope of Holy Week is that, even knowing every past denial and every coming failure of humanity, Jesus set his face like flint on the Cross before him and went forward on our<BR/>behalf.<BR/><BR/>With the Beatles, one can sing, “I believe in yesterday,” with Don Williams, one can sing, “Don’t think about tomorrow,” but it is only with Jesus the suffering servant, the risen Savior that one can sing, “Because he lives, I can face tomorrow.”<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>Arun Andrews is associate apologist with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Bangalore, India.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Did Jesus really mean it when he said his followers would have to endure suffering? Take time to consider The Way of the Cross with Stuart McAllister. <BR/>Click here for more:http://store.rzim.org/product/tabid/61/p-266-the-way-of-the-cross.aspxRavi Zachariashttp://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=a4ece07bd974e1819e2fnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-18743077866528425962009-04-13T12:27:00.000-03:002009-04-13T12:27:00.000-03:00I guess it was inevitable. With our boys growing u...I guess it was inevitable. With our boys growing up in northern New Jersey, I guess it was predestined that they, and I for that matter, would become New York Giants football fans. Big Giants fans. Even in the season when they won only three games, and even when they had a string of bad seasons. Even when the airplane flew over a game with the banner that said, "Fifteen years of lousy football." What used to really annoy my boys was when friends who claimed to be Giants fans kept "jumping ship" when they kept losing. Then came the playoff Giants, and then the Giants that won the Super Bowl. Suddenly, there were gazillions of Giants fans everywhere, jumping up and down, celebrating the champions. But they could never know the joy of fans like my two sons who never lost hope, and who never stopped rooting for their team.<BR/><BR/>I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Sweet Celebration of the Loyal Fans."<BR/><BR/>It's true in sports; it's true in life. Victory is sweetest for those who were loyal through it all. Like Mary Magdalene in our word for today from the Word of God, taken directly from the glorious Easter story. Mary had been there at the cross, when all but one of Jesus' disciples had disappeared like scared rabbits. She had gone to the tomb for his burial. And now, after having been, along with some friends, the first one at Jesus' tomb that early Sunday morning, she just can't leave. She has found the tomb empty and now she has sunk to even greater despair, believing that someone has now stolen her Master's body.<BR/><BR/>John 20, beginning with verse 11, says, "Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been. They asked her, 'Woman, why are you crying?' 'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don't know where they have put Him.' At this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn't realize it was Jesus. 'Woman.' He said, 'why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?' Thinking He was the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him'...Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' She turned toward Him and cried out... 'Rabboni!' (which means Teacher)."<BR/><BR/>Then it says, "Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: 'I have seen the Lord.'" You bet she had, as no one had ever seen Him before. Who did Jesus choose as the first one to ever see Him alive again? The one who had been loyal to Him when every reason to be loyal seemed gone. Those are the people who see Jesus in ways that His fair-weather fans will never see Him.<BR/><BR/>Maybe you're going through a time that could be a major test of your loyalty to Jesus. It's dark, plans have been shattered, it's tempting to desert because of a tragedy, a loss, or an awful hurt. You don't understand why this is happening. Maybe many others have deserted Him. God seems silent and things seem to being getting worse instead of better. Your hopes were just sealed in a tomb.<BR/><BR/>Now is the moment of truth in your relationship with the man who gave His life for you. He did not abandon you when it meant the cross. Are you going to abandon Him? It's Mary Magdalene time: time to stand by Jesus, to stand firm in your commitment to Him, even when it feels like there's no reason to. The wisdom of many a veteran of many a spiritual battle still rings true today, "Never doubt in the darkness what God has told you in the light."<BR/><BR/>Yes, it's a Good Friday for you right now. But Easter is coming. And the one who stands by Jesus when everything seems to be falling apart is the one who's going to see Jesus in all His power and all His glory. Victory is sweetest for those who never leave Him.Professor Howdyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189934292678757335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-27219615114407307822007-08-06T12:56:00.000-03:002007-08-06T12:56:00.000-03:00The Year is 1904Maybe this will boggle your mind, ...The Year is 1904<BR/><BR/><BR/>Maybe this will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! The year<BR/>is 1904 . one hundred years ago. What a difference a century<BR/>makes! Here are some of the US statistics for 1904:<BR/><BR/>** The average life expectancy in the US was 47 years.<BR/><BR/>** Only 14% of the homes in the US had a bathtub.<BR/><BR/>** Only 8%of the homes had a telephone.<BR/><BR/>** A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11.00<BR/><BR/>** There were only 8,000 cars in the US, and only 144 miles<BR/>of paved roads.<BR/><BR/>** The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.<BR/><BR/>** Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each<BR/>more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million<BR/>residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.<BR/><BR/>** The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.<BR/><BR/>** The average wage in the US was 22 cents an hour.<BR/><BR/>** The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.<BR/><BR/>** A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,<BR/>a dentist $2,500 per year.<BR/><BR/>** A veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year.<BR/><BR/>** A mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.<BR/><BR/>** More than 95 percent of all births in the US took place at home.<BR/><BR/>** Ninety % of all US physicians had no college education. Instead,<BR/>they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in<BR/>the press and by the government as "substandard."<BR/><BR/>** Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.<BR/><BR/>** Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.<BR/><BR/>** Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax<BR/>or egg yolks for shampoo.<BR/><BR/>** Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the<BR/>country for any reason.<BR/><BR/>** The five leading causes of death in the US were:<BR/>1. Pneumonia and influenza<BR/>2. Tuberculosis<BR/>3. Diarrhea<BR/>4. Heart disease<BR/>5. Stroke<BR/><BR/>** The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico,<BR/>Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.<BR/><BR/>** The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was 30!<BR/><BR/>** Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.<BR/><BR/>** There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.<BR/><BR/>** Two of 10 US adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 % of all Americans<BR/>had graduated high school.<BR/><BR/>** Eighteen percent of households in the US had at least one full-time<BR/>servant or domestic.<BR/><BR/>** There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire US.Professor Howdyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189934292678757335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-52573381993944714092007-08-06T12:20:00.000-03:002007-08-06T12:20:00.000-03:00A Tragic StoryAt the window of my houseI looked th...A Tragic Story<BR/><BR/><BR/>At the window of my house<BR/>I looked through my lattice.<BR/>I saw among the inexperienced,<BR/>I noticed among the youths,<BR/>a young man lacking sense.<BR/><BR/>Crossing the street near her corner,<BR/>he strolled down the road to her house<BR/>at twilight, in the evening,<BR/>in the dark of the night.<BR/>A woman came to meet him,<BR/>dressed like a prostitute,<BR/>having a hidden agenda.<BR/><BR/>She is loud and defiant;<BR/>her feet do not stay at home.<BR/>Now in the street, now in the squares,<BR/>she lurks at every corner.<BR/>She grabs him and kisses him;<BR/>she brazenly says to him,<BR/><BR/>"I've made fellowship offerings;<BR/>today I've fulfilled my vows.<BR/>So I came out to meet you,<BR/>to search for you, and I've found you.<BR/>I've spread coverings on my bed -<BR/>richly colored linen from Egypt.<BR/>I've perfumed my bed<BR/>with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.<BR/>Come, let's drink deeply of lovemaking until morning.<BR/>Let's feast on each other's love!<BR/>My husband isn't home;<BR/>he went on a long journey.<BR/>He took a bag of money with him<BR/>and will come home at the time of the full moon."<BR/><BR/>She seduces him with her persistent pleading;<BR/>she lures with her flattering talk.<BR/>He follows her impulsively<BR/>like an ox going to the slaughter,<BR/>like a deer bounding toward a trap<BR/>until an arrow pierces its liver,<BR/>like a bird darting into a snare -<BR/>he doesn't know it will cost him his life.<BR/>- - Prov. 7Professor Howdyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189934292678757335noreply@blogger.com