Remembering The Fallen On Memorial Day

Photo Credit: Nick Harris1

In honor of all American service women and men that have given their lives for the freedom of others:

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Written by Lt. Col. John McCrae (taken from www.vfw.org)

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." ~ John 15:13

Setting Our Minds On Heaven

Photo Credit: acroll

I am currently reading Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven, and in the introduction Alcorn tells the following story:

"In 1952, young Florence Chadwick stepped into the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island, determined to swim to the shore of mainland California. She'd already been the first woman to swim the English Channel both ways. The weather was foggy and chilly: she could hardly see the boats accompanying her. Still, she swam for fifteen hours. When she begged to be taken out of the water along the way, her mother, in a boat alongside, told her she was close and that she could make. Finally, physically and emotionally exhausted, she stopped swimming and was pulled out. It wasn't until she was on the boat that she discovered the shore was less than half a mile away. At a news conference the next day she said, "All I could see was the fog... I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it." *

Life can be difficult and, at times, seems unbearable. The everyday challenges that we encounter can cause those of us that are Christians to take our eyes of Jesus and set them on temporal pleasures with no lasting significance. But understanding that a greater eternity awaits the faithful can help us in setting our priorities and making the right decisions when temptation calls. Although we don't know how long it will be until we make it to our true home, focusing on our destination can help us in living with an eternal perspective. See through the fog and look towards eternity.

*This story was shared in a taped message by C. J. Mahaney, “Loving the Church,” Covenant Life Church, Gaithersburg, MD

Leroy Barber On The Danger Of Racial Stereotypes

Photo Credit: japi14

Leroy Barber, a pastor and president of Mission Year, offers some food for thought when it comes to racial stereotypes:

"The problem with stereotypes is that they are generalities used as descriptors of categories of people. When these generalities are used as descriptors outside of relationship — and sometimes within — they form our opinions about groups of people that may or may not be true about individuals within that demographic (e.g., white people have no rhythm.) This leads to relational breakdown and causes a lot of pain (e.g, all Asians know karate.)

I met a white man who could not dance or play basketball, and it solidified what I thought I knew of white people. Oh yeah, and I was poor and from the city — weren’t all black people? Our relationships will go nowhere if we let our misinformed stereotypes dictate them.

We now live in a world where stereotypes are less and less true, but we still have Archie Bunker and Fred Sanford type of relationships. (Google them if you’re too young to know the reference.) The city is for poor black people, restaurants or dry cleaners for Chinese, 7-Eleven for Indians, construction for Mexicans, reservations for Native Americans, and though white people can’t dance, they are all rich. These all sound absurd and yet we live as though they are true for everyone. Our stereotypes are falling every day – will we be able to relate outside of them?"

To read Rev. Barber's complete post, please click here.