Thinking about my dad on Memorial Day

My dad, Marion Johnson, circa 1943

My dad was born just before World War One, in 1915. He married in 1938, and in September 1943 he was drafted into the Army, at age 28. His wife was pregnant with their only daughter, who would be born a few months later, in December.

Dad had to miss out on the birth of his daughter, her first steps, her first words. He was overseas, fighting in France and Germany. He didn't get to come back home until the war was over in 1945. That was when he first met his daughter, at almost two years old. I can't even imagine what that had to have been like. My dad often wore his emotions on his sleeve, so I imagine there were tears of joy on his cheeks.

Dad's first marriage eventually collapsed, and he remarried. He and his second wife had three children; I am the eldest.

Dad very seldom spoke of his service, and never about the combat. His stories, when I could pry one out of him, were of the "human interest" kind. Running into his younger brother in France, finding a snake in his bivy, his disgust with the open toilet holes in the sidewalks in France. That kind of thing.

This sort of stoic "I'd rather not talk about it." attitude was widespread among the veterans of that war. But what they accomplished in overthrowing Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Japanese Empire, and a few assorted allies of theirs, was nothing short of stupendous.

Then, there was the post-war period, as Americans helped Germany and Japan to rebuild their destroyed nations and their economies. Now, those two countries are not only economic powerhouses, they are also staunch allies.

To bring it forward, I doubt that,when we finally fully disengage from Iraq and Afghanistan, those nations will be allies of ours. Perhaps on paper, but not serious allies.

Today, we solemnly remember those who have given their lives in the service of our country. In that respect, this post should be for Veterans Day, not Memorial Day. But, considering everything Dad lost during his service, especially the chance to really bond with his baby daughter, I'm going to say that part of my father did die in that war.

Well, I'm done here, for today. Stay tuned, my friends. Please, comment below, and don't forget to subscribe!

Ron out.

Sunday at home (like every day these days)

Well, this morning the Debster and I logged on to Harvest Bible Chapel South's on-line service. But, before I go on --

One thing I have to put out there right up front. I find most contemporary Christian music to be vapid, silly, shallow, and completely lacking any depth Biblically or theologically. It seems to be written and performed to appeal to the lowest common denominator, emotional entertainment for people wanting to have their ears tickled. I grew up in a traditional Lutheran Church Missouri Synod church, learning the beautiful old and deep hymns of the faith.

With that said, Harvest has seemed to have found a vein of contemporary Christian music that is soundly Biblical and solidly theological and that really does praise the Lord.

Pastor Micah Mathis's sermon this morning from Acts 19 was about how Jesus is bigger than our ignorance. "Jesus Is Bigger Than" has been his theme for awhile now, as he preaches through Acts. This week, he showed how Jesus and the Word of God can overcome ignorant beliefs. In verses 1-10 disciples of John the Baptist are taught the complete gospel and about the Holy Spirit. Syagogue Jews are taught about the Messiah. In verses 11-20, Micah showed us that Jesus is bigger than our ignorant and/or false practices. Some charlatans were given a serious drubbing by a demon-possessed man for attempting an exorcism. It was enough to cause many new believers in Ephesus to turn from false "magic" and burn all their books. Books that were worth a whole awful lot of money went up in smoke as these new Christians sacrificed these pagan beliefs.

Later in the morning, I managed to get a little genealogy done, still working on the Formhals family from Alton, to whom I am indirectly related through my paternal grandmother's family.

Mostly, I've been processing obituaries.

Pauline Formhals obituary
Alton Evening Telegraph, 17 Oct 1918, Page 5

Obituary for Albertine Thornton nee Formhals
Alton Evening Telegraph, 4 Dec 1920, Page 1

The Debster's cousin and her husband were planning on coming over and helping us set up the pool, but it's been stormy all day, and supposed to be like that all the rest of the evening. Maybe tomorrow.

It's been a long time, hasn't it? Sorry about that.

Well, good afternoon to all my wonderful readers! I know, I dropped off the map for quite some time.

To catch up, my health has deteriorated a little. I'd been having some mild chest pains off and on for a long time. Not drop-me-to-the-floor pain, just kinda sharp discomfort that would go away after a few minutes.

Well, finally, after waiting for months, I was able to see a cardiologist for a chemical stress test. It was determined that there was some damage to the heart from reduced blood flow, called "ischemia". So,  I'm having a catheterization test done next Tuesday. We'll know more after that. I may have a stent implanted, but that is uncertain until after my cardiologist completes the cath procedure.

Around the first of the year, my eye doctor found a severe cataract in my right eye. I was sent to an eye surgeon that specializes in laser repair of cataracts. However, once he got me on the table, he found that due to various things, laser repair would not work.

So, I was referred to a different surgeon, one that does the surgery the "old-fashioned" way, with scalpels and such. However, they were booked up so far in advance that my appointment was set in late March. Which of course means that by that time the pandemic had caused all "non-essential" or "elective" procedures to be postponed indefinitely. I finally got called in a few weeks ago for the consultation, but the doctor is so backed up that he couldn't even give me a date for the surgery. A few months at least. They'll call me. In the meanwhile, I've gone virtually blind in my right eye. My depth perception is gone. My glasses are so old that even the vision in my left eye isn't as good as it was, and my ophthalmologist won't prescribe new ones until the cataract gets fixed.

Corona virus / Covid-19 

So far, so good. Being a severe introvert, and maybe mildly enochlophobic - that's what they call a fear of crowded places - the quarantine hasn't been that big of a deal. The Debster, extrovert that she is, is champing at the bit to be out and about. So far, to my knowledge, we haven't had any close relatives or friends get infected, although a couple of the Debster's acquaintances have, including one that wound up on a ventilator for a time, but all have survived. There have been about a dozen deaths in the Debster's home town/county, but no one is saying who they were. Most of them were residents on one particular nursing home. It's possible some of them were Deb's acquaintances or distant relatives, but she hasn't heard anything.

Well, that's enough for the moment. I plan on telling you about a few books I've read and a few other things.

I also hope to be able to insert a few humorous things, as well as links to some of the better blog posts I'm reading, like this one:

The Clouds of Heaven

Doug Wilson, pastor of Christ Church in Moscow Idaho is one of my favorite bloggers. In this particular piece, he tries to define and shed some (post-millennial) light on the subject of "the clouds of heaven" that surround the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as he comes in glory.

Go in peace, my friends!

Ron, AKA Just An Old Fart Doing His Thing

Journaling in 2019; Gospel of Luke Chapter 20 in the Bible

Well, you all may have noticed -- or maybe not considering the low number of followers that I have -- that I haven't written anything in almost a year. I hope to change that.

I have often tried journaling, but diabetic neuropathy has given my hands such a chronic tremor that my handwriting has become unreadable, even to me much less anyone else. 

I'd really like to get this new year off to a fresh start, and maybe I can accomplish here most of what I'd want to do in a journal. 

We'll start off with the Bible passage that the Debster and I read together last night. We've been working our way through the Gospel of Luke, and last night we read the first part of Luke 20: 

One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, "Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority." 
He answered them, "I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?" 
And they discussed it with one another, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'From man,' all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet." 
So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 
And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." 

The Debster and I saw that the priests and scribes and elders were more concerned about how the masses would react to their answer than what the true answer should be. They also realized that no matter how they answered, they would be in trouble.

We continued on in chapter 20:

And he began to tell the people this parable: 
"A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. 
Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.' But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.' And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 
What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others." 
When they heard this, they said, "Surely not!" 
But he looked directly at them and said, "What then is this that is written: 
'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'? 
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him."  The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.

So, after his conversation with the priests, Jesus then proceeds to tell a parable to the people that had been listening. 

In the Old Testament, a vineyard and its owner are often used as an illustration of Israel and the LORD. The people knew this quite well, so when Jesus began speaking to the people about a vineyard, they would have immediately recognized what he was talking about.

The vineyard obviously represents the nation of Israel, and the owner of the vineyard was the LORD. So who were the "tenants"? In an actual vineyard, they would be the people appointed by the owner to tend the vineyard for him. They would keep the soil fertilized and keep the vines pruned to produce maximum fruit, which they would then harvest and give to the owner. 

So, the "tenants" represented the priests, scribes, and elders whose God-given role was to lead the people spiritually. And the "servants" sent by the owner represented the prophets that had been sent periodically to the nation to speak to them on the LORD's behalf. Prophets that were often ignored, mistreated, beaten, and sometimes murdered.

The "beloved son" then obviously represents Jesus, the "beloved Son, with you I [God] am well pleased" [Luke ch. 3]

The Son being killed is an obvious reference to the death on a cross that Jesus was going to undergo in just a few days, the Son killed by the Roman tools of the priests and scribes.

The destruction of the tenants and the redistribution of the vineyard would then seem to be a prophecy of the coming destruction of the Temple by the Romans in A.D. 70. With no temple, the entire system of sacrifices and temple rituals would crumble, effectively ending the rule of the priests. 

The vineyard being given to "others" would seem to prophecy the coming church, founded and initially led by the apostles. This would soon encompass much of the Gentile people as much as the Jews, the two being melded into one unified group. [Ephesians 2 explains this quite well.]

An interesting passage, indeed. The Debster and I were quite blessed to have looked into it.

May God richly bless you all as well!

Good and bad influences on us

https://www.biblestudytools.com/esv/1-corinthians/15-33.html

WHILE THINKING ABOUT this little verse, it struck me that it applies to more than just friends and companions. It equally applies to those whom we choose to accompany in other ways, especially the characters in our favorite TV shows, books, films, music, and so forth.

A LONG-STANDING truism, first coined by computer programmers, is "Garbage In, Garbage Out", or GIGO for short. What goes up, must come down, and equally true is that what goes in, must come out. What you watch, listen to, or read about will inevitably influence your heart and soul and mind. So choose wisely those with whom you associate! Both in "real life", and in art.

GOSSIP: One of those common "little" sins that we often tolerate, but should not.

Prov 4:24 "Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you."

Col 3:8 "But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth."

I READ A great essay, entitled The Danger of Gossip by Jared C. Wilson. He briefly discusses a few characteristics of gossip. Malice, where the subject's best interest is not  in view. Self-Oriented Curiosity, which is not only malicious, but is served up as juicy "entertainment". Pride or Envy, when the purpose is to make yourself look better by comparison.

My best friend's wife defines gossip as "confessing someone else's sins." Very aptly put.

MR. WILSON THEN goes on to outline three  methods to deal with gossip.
1. "Don’t say anything negative about someone that you wouldn’t say to them". If it's important enough to share, then share it with the person involved.
2. "Redirect others’ gossip with a gentle query about the intent". "So, why was it important for you to tell me this?" is my favorite question to ask a gossip.
3. "Rebuke repeated gossip and discipline unrepentant gossips." Gently and lovingly confront the gossip. If necessary, eventually Biblical church discipline may be required.

TO HIS THREE tactics, which are very good and useful, I'd add these:

If your speech is consistently and intentionally gracious, gospel-oriented, loving, edifying, Christ-honoring, you won't be gossiping.

And, never forget the words of the Savior:

"You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matt 7:5) 

Pay attention to your own self, and then and only then can you legitimately address someone else's problem.

I'D BE REMISS, however, to not mention James' warning: "[N]o human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." (James 3:8) Getting your mouth under control is impossible apart from the Holy Spirit. Even the "best" Christian still has a sin nature that is not subject to "self-control". Attempting to put a stop to sin, any sin, by the power of the flesh is doomed to failure. As with anything else, confess, repent, accept God's forgiveness, and live in the power of the Holy Spirit, not the powerlessness of the flesh.

RACISM, VICTIMIZATION, MILITANCY, AND OTHER SINFULNESS: One Christian's viewpoint.

Google images

IN AN ESSAY yesterday on The Imaginative Conservative Magazine website, entitled "Victim Privilege, Cultural Appropriation, & the New Enslavement", Joseph Mussomeli discusses how - fulfilling the words of the poet William Blake “The iron hand crushed the Tyrant’s head and became a Tyrant in his stead.” -

"... it is politically incorrect to ever criticize anyone considered a victim of our society. Like the ancient tribunes of Rome, all those categorized as “victims” are untouchable and their views sacrosanct. No matter how rude or imbecilic their opinions, few dare oppose them."

MR. MUSSOMELI IS quite correct, insofar as he takes this, with his somewhat humorous conclusion "When a particular noodle or spice or fashion is central to your self-esteem and identity, you probably need psychological intervention more than political affirmation."

However, from the viewpoint of a Bible-reading, God-loving, people-loving, sin-hating Christian, I cannot help thinking that he is missing an important point: the role that our sin nature plays in all of this. From the very beginning, people were feeling "victimized" and dealing with it by reacting militantly.

IN GENESIS 4, Cain feels angry and offended because God favored his brother Abel's sacrifice over his own. He took it out on Abel by killing him, making fratricide the very first homicide in history. God was merciful in his punishment of Cain, sending him into exile rather than striking him down. Cain, however, true to his human nature, gets bent about this and whines that he is going to be a fugitive and will be killed. Again, God responds with mercy, marking Cain so that everyone will know that he is not to be killed.

Fast forward several generations to a descendant of Cain, named Lamech. Lamech is a braggart with a bad temper. He boasts to his wives that he killed a young man for striking him. His last recorded words, in verse 24, are "If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is seventy-sevenfold." Now, I don't know about you, but that sounds suspiciously like a lot of the militant "advocacy" groups today. "My forebearers had revenge coming to them, so I now will take a virtually infinite larger revenge."

MAKE NO MISTAKE! Mistreatment of others is ALWAYS wrong. It doesn't matter to me if it is done for personal reasons, or for racial or cultural reasons. Every human being that has ever lived bears the image of God [Gen 9:6], and is worthy of the love and respect due to a fellow image-bearer. To show animosity of any kind is purely sinful. For this reason, any form of racism or other forms of systemic discrimination is outside the pale, and should not be tolerated. Ever. However, for the same reason, the victim of such sin is ALSO responsible for how he or she reacts.

As Jesus put it, whoever is angry with his brother is guilty of murder. [Matt 5:22] More to the point, in the famous parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10, a Samaritan traveler is praised by Jesus for aiding and caring for an injured Jew, while the injured man's fellow Jews ignored his plight. What is not often spoken of, is that in that culture Samaritans were considered pariahs, worthy only of contempt, half-breeds. To call someone a Samaritan was a serious insult, comparable to today's "N-word" and the like. [see John 4:9; 8:48]

HATRED BREEDS HATE. Contempt breed contempt. A viscious and seemingly never-ending cycle. Thus is our sinful nature.

People of good will, no matter their race, creed, culture, political affiliation, whatever, are capable of learning to get along with each other. History is replete with examples of this. That does not change the fact, though, that our sin nature is going to inform and influence every relationship we have. To one degree or another, our every interaction with any other person, place, or thing, is going to have some sinful aspect. We don't have to like it, we can fight hard against it. We can even mitigate it to some extent. But we can never eradicate it.

THE CYCLE CAN only be broken by divine intervention. As Paul wrote, within the Church, the body of Christ, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." [Gal 3:28] Followers of Jesus, those whom God foreknew, predestined, called, justified, and glorified [Rom 8:29-30], now have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, empowering them to "put to death" the sin that also dwells within.

"For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord." [Eph 2:18-21]

DO YOU WANT to see an end put to the endless cycle of hatred and oppression and tyranny? Do you want to be able to see, and know from experience, that the only really crucial difference between individuals is whether they are inside or outside of the Body of Christ? Do you want to know first-hand the joy of being free to love and glorify God by enjoying Him forever, along with all your brothers and sisters in Christ?

Then, very simply, in faith, repent. In faith, turn away from your sin, and turn to God. Respond to Jesus' call to believe in Him through faith. And the Holy Spirit will place you into that body of Christ, and will enable you to live a life of love and faith as you serve Him by serving your fellow believers and by showing God's love and mercy to all people.

"Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays"

Image via Google images

For a long time I was one that would get aggravated by the "politically correct" usage of "Happy Holidays" and rant about "the reason for the season" and so forth. But my thinking has changed somewhat. Let me explain.

First, I am still opposed to hard-core "political correctness", the kind that enforces "speech codes" and "trigger warnings" and "safe spaces", and fines people tens of thousands of dollars for refusing to decorate a cake, and all that crap. Like it or not, this IS a free country, and people should be able to believe and say what they want.

But, that goes for those on BOTH sides of the divide. If I will not allow them to force me to be silent, then I must not force THEM to be silent, either. They are perfectly within their rights to believe and say anything that they wish. If I demand the freedom to think they are wrong, then I must allow them the same freedom.

OK, that dispenses with the secular reasons for my change of heart. Now for the theological ones. I now think that saying "Happy Holidays" is actually more appropriate for many people, and that they shouldn't be given a lecture or cold shoulder for it. A peaceful and loving response is the only appropriate response.

Many of us choose to celebrate December 25th as the birthday of Jesus Christ. Sure, it is highly doubtful that our Savior was born on that date. Unlike the dates of His death and resurrection, we were never given that information. It is still good to celebrate his nativity, though. Although Scripture does not provide the calendar date of his birth, it does detail it at length in both Matthew and Luke's gospels. So, the early church chose that date in December to celebrate the event. There are many theories to explain why it was chosen. Some make sense, some are bizarre. But now, 2000 years later, it is what it is.

However, the majority of the population are not Christian. They are Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and pagans, and atheists and agnostics of all stripes.

This is also the season of the winter solstice, a time when cold and darkness is at a peak in the northern hemisphere. It is normal for people to want to have feasts and celebrations during this period to ward off the winter doldrums. People in the our hemisphere have been doing this for long before Christ was born.

For those that want to celebrate just to be celebrating, I say go for it! Eat, drink, laugh, and be merry. But, for those that do this just for the fun of it, I also say, "Please, DON'T say 'Merry Christmas'. I'd much rather you say 'Happy Holidays'. Not for reasons of "political" correctness, but for reasons of "spiritual" correctness. Individuals that have not trusted in Jesus as Savior, that have not acknowledged his Lordship, truly have no business saying "Merry Christmas". In a very real sense, by doing so they are taking his name in vain. Not a good thing.

So, far from getting angry about people saying "Happy Holidays", you should consider the possibility that it is probably better that they do so. And when they do, just smile and wish them well also. And maybe find a way to tell them about the birth of the Suffering Savior rather than yell at them.

Anyway, such is my opinion.

Y'all have a good day, and come back and visit with me again!

"A Cold Treachery", by Charles Todd. An Ian Rutledge mystery

Setting is northern England, shortly after the end of the First World War. Inspector Ian Rutledge, from Scotland Yard, is sent to the remote sheep-herding village of Urksdale. A peaceful ranching family has been slaughtered. Husband, wife, young daughter, and infant twins, all shot dead in their kitchen. Their young son is missing, and after much searching, is given up for dead, either killed by the murderer, or perished during the blizzard.

Buy it HERE

Rutledge had been an officer during the War, and had been almost killed by a mortar shell that did kill Corporal Hamish MacLeod. Inspector Rutledge has been haunted by Hamish ever since, the man's Scottish accented voice a constant companion, helping, and sometimes interfering, with Rutledge's thoughts.

The list of suspects is long. The brother of the dead man. The sister of the dead woman. The dead woman's first husband, father of the dead girl and the missing boy. A man that the dead rancher had helped prosecute during a military court-martial. The local hotel-keeper. A couple other local folks. And, even the missing boy himself.

Charles Todd's prose is full of local color and dialogue. The characters are well-drawn. The plot is not very intricate, but it is quite deep in psychological suspense. The ending comes as a bit of a surprise.

This is the first book from the author that I have read, but it sure won't be the last!

"Resilience - Hard-won Wisdom For Living A Better Life" is a GREAT book!

Purchase it HERE

I haven't quite finished reading this, but so far it is one of the best things I have read that wasn't the Bible. And, it is now marked down to ridiculously low price!

This is not "snowflake" material, but rather a gritty, manly, and highly literate and compassionate encouragement for an old friend. As robust as you would expect from a SEAL, but also as literate and intelligent as you would expect from the Rhodes scholar that Greitens also was.

A few years ago, Eric Greitens heard from an old friend of his, "Zach Walker". Greitens and Walker had gone through U.S. Navy Seal "BUD/S" training back in 2001/2002. Now, Walker was having problems, fighting some personal demons. The ensuing correspondence has been collected into this classic. I'll be writing a full review once I've finished reading and digesting it.

And, just for good measure, Mr. Greitens is a proud native of my hometown St. Louis, and is now the Governor of our great state. Best we've had in a very long time, too!

Please, feel free to comment, and pass this on to your friends!