THANKFULNESS: INTROSPECTION’S PERSONAL STORY

William Andrew Dillard

Americans who claim to be Christians have a fairly strong conviction that they are indeed a thankful people. Perhaps that perception arises out of experiences of the past century. It was only one hundred years ago that the world was relieved by the ending of World War I, the war said to be the bloodiest of all wars. With that war ending, the nation entered an era of unparalleled prosperity in the roaring twenties. But so, soon was the rug yanked out from under the nation with the financial collapse of 1929, followed by a decade-long, Great Depression. Next, came World War II, then the Korean conflict, and Vietnam. Through these monumental events also came industrial, educational, and technological break-through in rapid advancement. The inflationary measures that now loom as a doomsday pitfall, was viewed as a blessing a half century ago, When, at last, people had some money. Production of material things flooded the markets for people to buy. There came new cars, new houses, new clothes, and a million other things. People were happy. People were thankful. Really?
Some pundit said that “America is the only country on earth where people will trample you to get to annual sales items on the day after they proclaimed they were truly thankful for what they have.” Somehow, that paints a mental picture that is oxymoronic, and far from the humble, grateful spirit – the attitude of gratitude – so prominent among the early pilgrims. They knew it was only by the grace of God that they survived the harsh obstacles of life in an undeveloped land.
But thankfulness is not an attitude franchised by the poor, deprived, and/or oppressed upon their achieving better circumstances. It is rather a vastly important plank in the platform of wisdom to those who seize and employ its model. Whether poor or wealthy, ignorant or educated, ill or healthy, the blessings of the Almighty are superabundant to those who look for them. And, the look need not be far. A peek deep down inside at a view restricted to the individual and God tells it all, and it does not lie. What is the scene? Is it spoiled, selfish longing for some self-exalting acquisition of popularity, power, or material thing that will ultimately contribute to ruin? Is it gratefulness to God for life itself? Is it the mountainous blessings afforded God’s children, and a heart of thankful realization upon confronting or hearing of so many unfortunate cases which evoke a soft, sincere, whisper: “There, but by the grace of God go I.” Truly, those who know Jesus the Christ on a personal basis should be the most thankful people on the planet. Introspection! How does it tell your story?

THE DASH — THE SUM OF EARTHLY LIFE

ABApologetics.org

By: W.A. Dillard

An immigrant, not privileged to formal education signed her name Le—a. After three wrong guesses the immigration officer asked her to pronounce her name. She replied in haltering English, “Tha dash not silent. It be LeDASHa!”
Perhaps this story brings a chuckle to those who hear it, but there is a great truth to be gleaned from it. The dash really is not silent! How many times have you casually strolled through a cemetery? As you read the tombstones, you always saw two dates. The first one was the date of birth of the individual interred there. The second date was the date of death. In between those two dates is a dash. That dash represents all the years that particular individual lived on earth and interacted with others. What about all those years? What happened in the dash? Was that person loved and loving? Did he or she trust in Christ Jesus as their personal Savior? Did they serve Him with the force of their life? Were they a blessing to others, ready for that last date to arrive?
The inscriptions on the stone may identify the entombed person as a unique individual, separated from all others, but it is the dash that contains the multifaceted story of a life that was known among us. That dash represents joy, love, responsibility, opportunity, and all other things sandwiched between two important dates: the beginning and the end. What are we writing into the “dash” of our own unique dates? Wisdom bids us to hasten to do the things that are good, the things that we would. For as surely as you have a birthday, you also have a death-day. But these are not the things people will remember you for, and they are not the things that are important in heaven’s record. It is the dash, friends. The dash is not silent, it is the sum of earthly life!

GETTING SMART IN A DUMBING DOWN WORLD

HEBREW HONEYCOMB

William Andrew Dillard
GETTING SMART IN A DUMBING DOWN WORLD

A common castigation of educational processes in public schools is that of “Dumbing down,” the students when the challenges of modern times obviously call for wising up. By some accounts, the castigation appears to be true. One illustration of this is widespread inability to function in a real world. For instance, I am a tall individual who is often asked, “How tall are you?’ My reply is “I am three foot, forty.” Almost all of the time I follow up (of necessity); “I am four-foot twenty-eight.” Still getting a blank look, I offer, “Actually, I am five-foot, sixteen.” Youngsters for the most part simply do not get it, and some business people say, “Please stop it. I cannot do the math.” What???? My family is a family of teachers. At least one of them was forthrightly told by a principal, “You will not teach algorithms in this school. Please stop teaching the times-table.” What???? A youngster’s report of a measurement to me was “23 inches and five marks.” What??? Fractions, their names and meaning are unknown!” What??? On and on it goes, ad nauseam.
Obviously, modern days do not the millennium make, but technology has produced fantastic opportunities for Christian Education and sharing. Study and research has never been easier or more accessible, but the benefit of those things remains a reality only for those who are spiritually prepared to appreciate them and to use them. In recent years, the abundance of materials available retired most of libraries, except for rare and treasured works mostly irreplaceable. At the same time, expanded research capability and accessibility enlarged them many times over online. Accordingly, one would think that all those who take the name of the Lord in any degree of reverence would quickly excel in spiritual knowledge and ability. But such thinking would be wrong. What??? Technology is wonderful, but it is no substitute for a missing personal relationship, and ongoing fellowship, with God.
Most within the umbrella name of Christianity are not wising up. They are dumbing down! What??? Their excitement is in material things that fulfill their social desires, and in the acumen of leaders who frame their homilies psychologically to scratch itching ears. Spiritual blessings are equated to the number of people socially attracted, size of property, and /or financial flow; criteria that would elevate most non-Christian sects to the highest of “spiritual blessings.” “Who caused the walls of Jericho to fall down flat?” asked a Sunday school teacher only to recoil in horror that several in her class disavowed anything to do with it; some offering alibis.
The time remaining until all will meet the Creator; every tongue confessing and every knee bowing is extremely short. 2018 is not a time to dumb down, but a time to wise up! It is not a time for the Bible to be on the shelf, but living in human hearts!

THE WINGS OF IMAGINATION

William Andrew Dillard
Parson to Person
A small child was traveling by air to a distant city with his mother. At the airport, a kind employee gave him a wing pin to wear. In the child’s excitement he exclaimed, “Look mom, I am a pilot!” In return his mother said, “Oh, yes, son. To me you are a grand pilot, and I know that to you, you are a pilot, but to a pilot, you are not there yet.” In childhood, how marvelous are the wings of imagination. However, somewhere along Maturity Road, imagination must give way to reality in life.

Happily, for most, the processes of education, experience, and maturity succeed in equipping them to engage the realities of life with varying degrees of success as they leave childhood behind. But, if one is to draw conclusions from observation, it seems many miserably fail in the spiritual realm. One cannot be a Christian on the basis of simple imagination. Think with me about why that may be true.

A personal, one-on-one meeting with God in repentant prayer and trust in Christ Jesus is not just good, it is absolutely essential to becoming a Christian in reality. Some folks seek to be a Christian without this, depending on their works, and that just succeeds in keeping them to be an imaginative Christian. Still others joyfully recount such a personal meeting with God as described above, but like those in the parable of the sower, they fail for various reasons to follow the Lord and ingest His Word that is able to bring them into Christian reality. So they continue imagining themselves to be a Christian and when churches are filled with such immaturity, they will soon be imagining themselves to be a church.

Jesus spoke of this problem in terms that are often startling. “If any man come to me and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26 In yet another place He said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Matt. 16:24.
Another problem of imaginative Christians is that they think there is more joy and fulfillment of life in the things of the world than in following Jesus. The great apostle Paul was a man of power, education, wealth, but how did he consider that in comparison to his life as a true Christian? He said that all things that were counted gain to him were now nothing more than a barnyard dung pile. He abandoned them all for the joy of eternal knowledge. Likewise, the true Christian invariably possesses joy unspeakable and full of glory. Think about it. Are you a robotic, imaginative Christian or a real Christian in the maturity of the Word? One day, as sure as you can read these lines, it will make an exceedingly joyful difference for all eternity.

DISCIPLESHIP: DUMBING DOWN OR WISING UP

HEBREW HONEYCOMB

By William Andrew Dillard

DISCIPLESHIP: DUMBING DOWN OR WISING UP

A common castigation of educational processes in public schools is that of “Dumbing down,” the students when the challenges of modern times obviously call for wising up. By some accounts, the castigation appears to be true. One illustration of this is widespread inability to function in a real world. For instance, I am a tall individual who is often asked, “How tall are you?’ My reply is “I am three foot, forty.” Almost all of the time I follow up (of necessity); “I am four-foot twenty-eight.” Still getting a blank look, I offer, “Actually, I am five-foot, sixteen.” Youngsters for the most part simply do not get it, and I have had business people to say, “Please stop it. I cannot do the math.” What???? My family is a family of teachers. At least one of them was forthrightly told by her principal, “You will not teach algorithms in this school. Please stop teaching the times-table.” What???? A youngster’s report of a measurement to me was “23 inches and five marks.” What??? Fractions, their names and meaning are unknown!” What??? On and on it goes, ad nauseam. 

Obviously, modern days do not the millennium make, but technology has produced fantastic opportunities for Christian Education and sharing. Study and research has never been easier or more accessible, but the benefit of those things remain a reality only for those who are spiritually prepared to appreciate them and to use them. In recent years, because of the abundance of materials available, this writer gave away most of his library, keeping only those rare and treasured works that are mostly irreplaceable. At the same time he expanded his research capability and accessibility many times over online. One would think that all those who take the name of the Lord in any degree of reverence would quickly excel in spiritual knowledge and ability. But such thinking would be wrong. Technology is wonderful, but it is no substitute for a personal relationship, and fellowship, with God.

Most within the umbrella name of Christianity are not wising up. They are dumbing down! Their excitement is in material things that fulfill their social desires, and in the acumen of leaders who frame their homilies psychologically to scratch itching ears. Spiritual blessings are equated to the number of people socially attracted, size of property, and /or financial flow; criteria that would elevate most non-Christian sects to the highest of “spiritual blessings.” “Who caused the walls of Jericho to fall down flat?” asked a Sunday school teacher only to recoil in horror that several in her class disavowed anything to do with it; some offering alibis.
The time remaining until all will meet our maker; every tongue confessing and every knee bowing is extremely short. It is not a time to dumb down, but a time to wise up!

Education Expert: Removing Bible, Prayer from Public Schools Has Caused Decline

August 15, 2014 – 10:02 AM

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By Penny Starr

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William Jeynes, a professor at California State College in Long Beach and a senior fellow at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, N.J., spoke at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 13, 2014 about putting the Bible and prayer back into U.S. public schools. (Penny Starr/CNSNews.com)

(CNSNews.com) – Education expert WilliamJeynes said on Wednesday that there is a correlation between the decline of U.S. public schools and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1962 and 1963 decision that school-sponsored Bible reading was unconstitutional.“One can argue, and some have, that the decision by the Supreme Court – in a series of three decisions back in 1962 and 1963 – to remove Bible and prayer from our public schools, may be the most spiritually significant event in our nation’s history over the course of the last 55 years,” Jeynes said.

On June 25, 1962, the United States Supreme Court decided in Engel v. Vitale that a prayer approved by the New York Board of Regents for use in schools violated the First Amendment because it represented establishment of religion. In 1963, in Abington School District v. Schempp, the court decided against Bible readings in public schools along the same lines.

Since 1963, Jeynes said there have been five negative developments in the nation’s public schools:

• Academic achievement has plummeted, including SAT scores.

• Increased rate of out-of-wedlock births

• Increase in illegal drug use

• Increase in juvenile crime

• Deterioration of school behavior

“So we need to realize that these actions do have consequences,” said Jeynes, professor at California State College in Long Beach and senior fellow at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, N.J., “When we remove that moral fiber — that moral emphasis – this is what can result.”

Other facts included a comparison between the top five complaints of teachers from 1940-1962 — talking, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls and getting out of turn in line – to rape, robbery, assault, burglary and arson from 1963 to present.

“Now the question is, given that there is a movement to put the Bible as literature back in the public schools and a moment of silence and so forth, can we recapture the moral fiber – the foundation that used to exist among many of our youth?” Jeynes asked rhetorically.

To that end, Jeynes said, there is a movement across the country to reinstate the Bible as literature in the public schools, with 440 school districts in 43 states currently teaching this type of course.

Ten states have passed a law or resolution to bring the Bible as literature in the public schools statewide.

The movement, however, is secular in nature, with the Bible being taught as literature rather than the word of God. And rather than prayer, a “moment of silence” is established that “can be used as the students choose,” Jeynes said.

When CNSNews.com asked about the secular nature of this approach, Jeynes said data from nationwide surveys show that both students of faith and those with no faith both respond positively to the Bible as literature curriculum – the former said they learned more about the Bible in class than in church and the latter said they have an increased interest in the Christian religions.

“The effects are very, very positive,” Jeynes said.

Jeynes said the data he used in his presentation comes from the federal government (Departments of Education, Justice, Health and Human Services and the U.S. Census Bureau), and research by the advocacy groups Bibleasliterature.org, the Bible Literacy Project, the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, and California educator and researcher Nader Twal.

31– May 10 – This Day in Baptist History Past

Richard Furman
“The Apostle of Education”
Richard Furman began to preach at the age of 16 and became popularly known as the “boy-evangelist.” Reese and Evan Pugh ordained him two years later, on May 10, 1774, as pastor of High Hills. After a fruitful ministry there of 13 years, he became pastor of the Charleston Baptist Church, which he served for the rest of his life. “In the community no minister ever enjoyed so large a share of general confidence and reverence.” For 38 years he made “annual excursions” into various parts of the state, preaching the gospel and promoting the interests of the denomination. This itinerant ministry resulted in numerous revivals and the formation of many churches. His eloquence and fame as a preacher once opened for him an opportunity to preach in the United States Congressional Hall.
During the time that education was suspect for ministers in the South, particularly among the Separate Baptists who feared that schools would dilute Baptist spirituality, divert mission money, and lead to a hireling ministry, Richard Furman become known as the “Apostle of Education.”  He led the association to form a General Committee in 1790 to administer educational funds.  This committee provided funds for scholarships to attend the Baptist College in Providence, Rhode Island, and for young men to study under pastors who would also lead them in the reading of theology.

Dr. Dale R. Hart: Adapted from: This Day in Baptist History Vol. I: Cummins/Thompson /, pp. 191 -192
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109 — April 19 – This Day in Baptist History Past

He opposed all infidelity
1836 – Dr. A. J. Gordon, named for Adoniram Judson,was born in New Hampshire on this day in 1836 to godly parents.  At the age of 15 he came to a vital knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Upon completing his education including his theological training, he was ordained and became the pastor at Jamaica Plain, MA.  From 1867 until 1869, he was sought as the pastor of the Clarendon Street Baptist Church of Boston, but did not accept it until they agreed to eliminate the paid choir and replace it with congregational singing.  He was a composer of hymns and hymn tunes himself.  His most influential work was related to world evangelism and missions in which he served for over twenty years as a member of the board, or as executive chairman of the American Baptist Missionary Union.  He strongly emphasized the faith element in missions.  He believed that the new birth by the Holy Spirit was essential for the believer.  He participated in Dwight L. Moody’s evangelistic meetings and was a consistent soul winner and evangelistic preacher himself.  He knew that all preaching and ministering of the Word was futile apart from the power of the Holy Spirit.  He was an apologist for biblical Christianity against Darwinism, agnosticism, Unitarianism, transcendentalism, Christian Science, baptismal regeneration, and the influence of materialism in the evangelical churches of his day. Dr. Gordon was a fundamentalist before fundamentalism.  He held that the Bible was inerrant and infallible.  He died in 1895 and on his gravestone reflects that Blessed Hope – Pastor A.J. Gordon “Until He Come.”
Dr. Greg J. Dixon, from: This Day in Baptist History Vol. I: Cummins/Thompson /, p. 159.
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307 – Nov. 03 – This Day in Baptist History Past

 

Christ the True Refuge

 

1847 – Rev. and Mrs. I.J. Stoddard, appointed by the American Baptist Missionary Union, sailed from Boston on the Cato to serve the Lord in Assam. Rev. Stoddard’s expertise was in the field of education, however, he preached extensively, until nine years later when ill health forced them back to the states in 1856. After returning to America, their hearts were so burdened for Assam, that they returned to that heathen darkness in 1866. The sacrifice that they made was nearly unbearable, as they made arrangements for their children to be left in the states. After arriving in Assam they were assigned to Gauhati, and then removed to Goalpara where they reaped a great harvest of souls. It is reported that no work excelled his, up to that time, on any mission field of the ABFMU. Then another great sacrifice was made as the Stoddards had to separate, that they might serve in two different areas. In 1871 when her health failed again, his wife had to sail alone for America, leaving I.J. to continue without her. Following is one of the examples of “So Great a Salvation.” An English evangelist had gone to a bazaar and gave a tract True Refuge to an old man who had been a village bard. He learned the tract by memory, and he and his wife traveled many miles, often through waste deep water and mud to Gauhati to find the teacher. All the way he would cry out, “Life, life, eternal life! Who will tell us about it? People would laugh and mock. At Gauhati he found the missionaries and they told him about Jesus, the Way of Life. He was discipled and baptized. From then on he would go throughout the land singing the praises of God. [Helen Barrett Montgomery, Following the Sunrise Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts, 1881), 2:1112. This Day in Baptist History II: Cummins and Thompson, BJU Press: Greenville, S.C. 2000 A.D. 600-02.]   Prepared by Dr. Greg J. Dixon

 

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273 – Sept. 30 – This Day in Baptist History Past

Through him we have the First Amendment

1776 – Elder John Leland married Miss Sallie Devine, and God blessed them with eight children. As the Apostles, along with Patrick Henry, Carrington, and Washington, he would have been considered an “unlearned and ignorant” man, in that he had received no formal education. But his proficiency in the gospel, law and politics was as profound as any of his contemporaries. Born in Grafton, Mass. on May 14, 1754, he was saved after a lengthy period of conviction over his sins. In June of 1774 he moved to Virginia, was ordained, and assumed the pastorate of the Mount Poney Baptist Church in Culpepper County. For the next fifteen years he served in a very successful evangelistic ministry that covered 75,000 miles, and the preaching of over 3,000 sermons. Altogether he baptized 1,352 converts. One woman’s husband came to shoot him but he got her under while the members detained him. His shrewd and witty mind aided him in championing soul liberty and religious freedom. It was primarily through his able leadership that we have the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He also opposed slavery when it was unpopular to do so, and was successful in disenfranchising the Protestant Episcopal Church which was supported by taxation in Virginia. He ended his life still preaching the gospel in his native Massachusetts, and died at age 67 on Jan. 14, 1841. [Robert Boyle C. Howell, The Early Baptists of Virginia (Philadelphia: Bible and Publication Society. 1857), p. 242 This Day in Baptist History II: Cummins and Thompson, BJU Press: Greenville, S.C. 2000 A.D. pp. 535-36]  Prepared by Dr. Greg J. Dixon