Have you ever been mistaken for someone else? A guy in South Carolina had one of those faces today. Seems a serial bank robber in the area resembled him, so at the behest of bank officials, police cornered the guy & wanted some answers. Apparently he was just a regular ‘Joe’ that just resembled the thief and was cleared.
I’ve had people ask me multiple times if I was ‘so and so.’ Makes me feel sorry for the poor shmucks that have a mug similar to mine! Unfortunately, I’ve been guilty of the, ‘aren’t you so and so’ myself.
As a worship leader, I have to begin work on Christmas, believe it or not, in July. So I have been fully immersed by now in the Christmas story & scriptures. One of the things that has caught my attention was the King of the Universe came to be one of us. Sadly, even the religious leaders didn’t recognize Him!
“He came into the very world He created, but the world didn’t recognize Him. He came to His own people, and even they rejected Him. But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:10-12 NLT
I suppose part of that might be in the presumption they had about how the Messiah or King would come. Even though the scriptures/prophecies had been very clear (over 300 of them), about how He would come, who would have thought the King of Glory would put aside His majesty & become a tiny helpless Babe? Apparently, few to none! The only folks who showed up got a special, Heavenly invitation or ‘birth announcement’!
The only other ‘wise guys’ who had actually paid attention & were looking for the promised Messiah showed up about 18 months late! That’s ok because it was all in God’s timing anyway. I suppose that’s the way it always is…in God’s timing.
Makes me stop & think: how often do I miss out on God because He visits me in ways I didn’t expect? Could it be that guy needing help I blew off was really an angel in disguise? Maybe the call or the request of my time was really God interrupting my ‘to do’ list with a ‘Divine Appointment.’
Gives us pause: are we really looking for God in the daily, hum drum of life? If not, I reckon we aught to be. Not preaching at you, mind you, just thinking out loud!
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ Matthew 25:40 NLT
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport. Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
-We Salute You-
A family scratched out an existence on a depression-era MS delta farm.The oldest son, Woodrow, left as a teen to work in the C.C.C. camps building public works projects. As the world was thrown into war, he was deployed to North Africa to fight. The second son, Edward, received orders that sent him storming the beaches of Normandy & seeing first hand the horrors of war.
As the North African campaign ended, Woodrow’s company was sent to work their way up Italy, fighting the Nazi war machine into France. As fortune would have it, the two brothers, that hadn’t seen each other in years, found their companies’ intersected in the Argonne Forest in 1944. Edward’s platoon leader allowed him to join his brother, where they were allowed to spend Christmas Eve together catching up. They went their separate ways the next day & continued to fight across France until V.E. day in 1945.
Wayne, the next brother, enjoyed a year deferred to help work the small delta farm. He then joined the Navy where he was sent to the Pacific. Fortunately, by that time the major part of the war had ended as the A-bombs had been dropped on Nagasaki & Hiroshima. As a gunner’s mate, thankfully he only came within a mile of a battle once. Knowing little of the effects of radiation poisoning, the sailors were sent ashore to Hiroshima just weeks following the explosions.
I’m glad Wayne, my dad, is 84 & never experienced any radiation poisoning. He came home to build a life & family far from the South Pacific seas & the aftermath of atomic war. Uncle Woodrow had a German grenade explode next to his head & lost much of his hearing. Otherwise, he came home to be one of the kindest, most gentle Christian men I’ve ever known. You’d never known he had to man a flame thrower & take the lives of others. Uncle Edward, who possibly saw some of the worst at Normandy, came back to build a life & family. Dad said that Edward had always loved to hunt but when he came back he never did much hunting. Growing up, as we went to deer camp, I remember he always cooked & took care of the dogs & everyone else but seldom picked up a gun. Once asked about the movie, “Saving Private Ryan” he simply said, “I don’t care to see it or talk about it. I had to live it.”
Three brothers were flung across the globe to defend & protect freedom. I’m glad each came home to enjoy its fruits. For over 200 years men & women have placed themselves in harms way to ensure we, and others around the planet, have freedom. Many families & communities have welcomed home these heroes, while others have been carried home in a flag-draped box. To each of those who served, and to the families who have sacrificed loved ones, WE SALUTE YOU! Thank you for you service.
“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” John 15:13 NLT
Make it a point to thank a veteran for their service! If you have or know of a loved one that has paid the highest price for freedom, please share their story with me!
Here’s a link to a video I made for our vets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HIzryZLBk8
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport. Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
As the North African campaign ended, Woodrow’s company was sent to work their way up Italy, fighting the Nazi war machine into France. As fortune would have it, the two brothers, that hadn’t seen each other in years, found their companies’ intersected in the Argonne Forest in 1944. Edward’s platoon leader allowed him to join his brother, where they were allowed to spend Christmas Eve together catching up. They went their separate ways the next day & continued to fight across France until V.E. day in 1945.
Wayne, the next brother, enjoyed a year deferred to help work the small delta farm. He then joined the Navy where he was sent to the Pacific. Fortunately, by that time the major part of the war had ended as the A-bombs had been dropped on Nagasaki & Hiroshima. As a gunner’s mate, thankfully he only came within a mile of a battle once. Knowing little of the effects of radiation poisoning, the sailors were sent ashore to Hiroshima just weeks following the explosions.
I’m glad Wayne, my dad, is 84 & never experienced any radiation poisoning. He came home to build a life & family far from the South Pacific seas & the aftermath of atomic war. Uncle Woodrow had a German grenade explode next to his head & lost much of his hearing. Otherwise, he came home to be one of the kindest, most gentle Christian men I’ve ever known. You’d never known he had to man a flame thrower & take the lives of others. Uncle Edward, who possibly saw some of the worst at Normandy, came back to build a life & family. Dad said that Edward had always loved to hunt but when he came back he never did much hunting. Growing up, as we went to deer camp, I remember he always cooked & took care of the dogs & everyone else but seldom picked up a gun. Once asked about the movie, “Saving Private Ryan” he simply said, “I don’t care to see it or talk about it. I had to live it.”
Three brothers were flung across the globe to defend & protect freedom. I’m glad each came home to enjoy its fruits. For over 200 years men & women have placed themselves in harms way to ensure we, and others around the planet, have freedom. Many families & communities have welcomed home these heroes, while others have been carried home in a flag-draped box. To each of those who served, and to the families who have sacrificed loved ones, WE SALUTE YOU! Thank you for you service.
“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” John 15:13 NLT
Make it a point to thank a veteran for their service! If you have or know of a loved one that has paid the highest price for freedom, please share their story with me!
Here’s a link to a video I made for our vets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HIzryZLBk8
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport. Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
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