COOL STUFF FROM LIBRARY BOOKS #16: "Delivered From A Frontier Snowstorm"

DELIVERED OUT OF A SNOWSTORM BY PRAYER

Late in the fall of 1842, Marcus Whitman, missionary to the Indians who lived in the great Northwest, decided it was necessary to make a hurried trip to Washington. He felt that Congress should be urged to take immediate action to make the Oregon country American territory.

Now Marcus Whitman knew the dangers of winter travel across the Northwest mountains. Friends tried to dissuade him from making the trip at that time, saying that it could be better made in the spring. But Marcus, a man hesitant to delay when his mind was made up on a course of  action, would not be dissuaded from the proposed journey. Shortly he set out, despite the fact that already snow was twenty feet deep in some of the mountain passes. For the first eleven days progress was difficult. Still he managed in that time to reach Fort Hall. Here again friends said that the trip was foolhardy. But Whitman, his face set like a flint eastward, would have none of their delay. They said the snows were deep, the streams in the lower lands would be raging torrents. When asked how he hoped to survive these dangers, he said, "I feel that my duty calls and I must go."

A short distance south of Fort Hall, he encountered a very severe snowstorm. Progress was slow due to the heavy drifts. Passing out of this storm, he encountered a second, more severe than the previous. Travel was now impossible, and Marcus with his friends found shelter in a deep ravine. Here they stayed for ten days, during which time the storm increased the crescendo of its fury. 

Whitman decided in spite of the raging elements that he must travel onward. So with his company he left the shelter and wandered for several hours. At length the guide decided that they were lost and it would be best for them to return to the ravine. But when they tried to retrace their tracks, they found these had been drifted over and, instead of having a marked trail back to the shelter, they faced an expanse of trackless snow. 

Whitman's prayers having been answered before by seeming miracles, he knelt down in the  snow and asked God for guidance. He pleaded the promises of Christ, and in a simple petition he asked the Heavenly Father to protect them.

Arising from his knees, he turned to the guide and made some casual remark, and the  guide's eyes were attracted to the lead mule. After some time the mule turned his long ears in  various directions and then started to plunge through the heavy drifts.

"Follow the mule; he will get us through," shouted the guide. Sure enough, in two hours by  following that obstreperous, long-eared mule they arrived at the camp in the ravine. Here they  were able to outlive the storm, and when it had abated they traveled on. Whitman finally arrived in  Washington, D.C. Thus the prayers of this man of God were answered and they were delivered out of a snowstorm.

From ANSWERED PRAYER IN MISSIONARY SERVICE by Basil William Miller,  Beacon Hill Press Kansas City, Missouri, First Printing, April 1951

HYMN TIME #4 "Did Christ O'Er Sinners Weep?"

"And when he was come near, he beheld the city, 

and wept over it..." -- LUKE 19:41

This one was written by London Baptist preacher Benjamin Beddome [1717-1795] and first published in the Hymnal A Se­lect­ion of Hymns from the Best Au­thors,  compiled by John Rip­pon, way back in 1787!

I don't know much about Beddome but I am amazed by this beautiful look at the great compassion of Christ. Click on the video file below to hear Doc Watson's moving interpretation from his classic Gospel album ON PRAYING GROUND:

Here are the beautiful verses.  Hope it blesses ya like it did me! :)

Did Christ o’er sinners weep,
And shall our cheeks be dry?
Let floods of penitential grief
Spring forth from every eye.

The Son of God in tears
The blessed angels see:
Those tears were shed for everyone;
They were shed for even me.

He wept that we might weep;
Each sin demands a tear;
In heaven alone no sin is found,
And there’s no weeping there.

PEACE

MEMORABLE QUOTES FROM SERMONS #1: "Sleepin' On The Couch"

ALBIE'S NOTE:  Today I begin a series of blogs featuring memorable quotes from sermons I have heard, either in person or [perhaps more often] on tape. I begin this series with a favorite oddball quote taken from a sermon called "Wisdom From The King" by someone named Levert Noble.  I have no actual idea who Mr. Noble is or was [the tape was given to me in a bag full of cassette sermons several years back] but judging from internal evidence I assume he was a traveling Baptist preacher who preached this sermon at a church in Idaho some time in the late 1990s. 

I like the following quote for it's highly unusual interpretation of a certain O.T. Proverb.  Here is a transcription:


"For example, you men.  Has a contentious wife ever asked you to sleep on the couch 'cuz she's mad at you?  Come on, be honest. [laughter]

"You know what I think you oughtta do? I think you oughtta just take a blanket and go camp out on that couch!  I mean the Bible says right here 'It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.' [quoting Proverbs 21:9]  Listen, if the corner of the housetop is too uncomfortable, I figure that couch is a good substitute! [laughter]

"Hey, I say make the best of it!  Tell her you love her-- 'cuz you want not to have the sun go down on your wrath-- Amen?-- and just go sleep like a baby on that couch.  I mean guys don't mind that, anyway.  It's like camping indoors! [laughter]  Just sleep it out and face the new day when you get up."


Interesting exegesis, eh? :)

PEACE

THE "OTHER" LONE RANGER THEME SONG

We all know about "The William Tell Overture", but the Lone Ranger also has an actual theme song, complete with lyrics. It's called "Hi-Yo Silver", and was written by Lenny Adelson and Les Baxter.

The song tells the origin story of the Lone Ranger.  It was first used as the opening sequence in the pretty dang decent 1957 movie THE LONE RANGER AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD and was later used to introduce a syndicated package of LONE RANGER TV color Re-runs sent to stations in the mid to late 1970s.  That's where a young Albie saw the following clip every Sunday night and learned the lyrics by heart back around 1975-78. Each package of shows would begin with the following exact clip from the 1957 movie:

And of course, here are the sainted lyrics to this incredible theme:

Six Texas Rangers (Hi-yo, hi-yo) rode in the sun (Hi-yo, hi-yo);
Six men of justice rode into an ambush, and all were killed but one.
One lone survivor (Hi-yo, hi-yo) lay on the trail (Hi-yo, hi-yo);
Found there by Tonto, the brave Indian Tonto, he lived to tell the tale.

(Hi-yo Silver, Hi-yo Silver away! Hi-yo Silver, Hi-yo Silver away!)

His wounds quickly mended (Hi-yo, hi-yo) and there in the night (Hi-yo, hi-yo),
Six graves were put there to hide from the outlaws that one man lived to fight.
He chose silver bullets (Hi-yo, hi-yo) the sign of his name (Hi-yo, hi-yo); A mask to disguise him, a great silver stallion, and thus began his fame.

(Hi-yo Silver, Hi-yo Silver away! Hi-yo Silver, Hi-yo Silver away! THE LONE RANGER IS HIS NAME!) 

PEACE

Salute to PATRICK Of Ireland!

Well, he wasn't  Irish, and he wasn't Catholic, either.

St. Patrick was likely born in what is now Scotland. His father was a Roman centurion and also a deacon in a local New Testament [read that as "proto-protestant"] church.

He was actually captured and taken to Ireland as a slave, but he later escaped. After his conversion to Christ, he studied on the mainland in Gaul, and then returned to minister to the heathen tribes in Ireland as an early-- and extremely effective-- foreign missionary.      

He started scores of churches and baptized-- yup, immersed-- thousands of converts. He is said to have been largely responsible for the large number of Bible-believing Christians that still inhabit Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England to this very day.

Patrick, his father, and also his grandfather, were proud of the fact that they were never controlled by the centralized Roman Church, and that they were responsible only to God.

This man called Patrick [His real name is believed to have been Maewyn Succat-- he probably took on the name "Patricius"-- meaning "nobleman" or "patrician"-- after his conversion to Christianity] was later canonized by the same Roman Catholic Church in a clever political move to control the Irish churches.

However, he certainly was a "Saint," as ALL blood bought believers are. [I Cor. 1:2, Phil. 4:21, etc.]

SO... Here's to Patrick Of Ireland, a man eminently worth remembering.

He is not Catholic or Protestant, really-- he belongs to all who name the name of Christ!

PEACE

CENTENNIAL SPOTLIGHT ON GREAT ARIZONANS #2: "Geronimo!"

 GERONIMO, aka "Goyaałé"

[1829-1909]

"If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they."  --Ecclesiastes 5:8

I have been fascinated by the great Apache warrior Geronimo ever since childhood.  First there was the old movie with Chuck Connors gloriously miscast as the Scourge of the Cavalry.  Say what ya want about that old 1962 flick and its historical inaccuracies, it did a good job presenting the Mescalero Apache as a displaced human being with a specific code and way of life.  Chuck might have been 6'5" with red make-up and eyes as blue as robin's eggs [reportedly it was decided his natural eye color would gain more sympathy from the viewers] but he did as good a job as possible conveying strength and courage to later TV boy viewers like myself. 

 Also there was the great book THE STORY OF GERONIMO by my fave author at the time Jim Kjelgaard, Still recommendable as a good introduction to the life and exploits of a great American [Native, that is.]

Goyaałé can definitely be considered an Arizonan, having spent the vast majority of his life within, at least, our territorial boundaries [which, of course, included modern New Mexico], but he makes my list because, frankly,  I have nothing but sheer admiration for him as a man.  

Looking for great Rogue Males to esteem?  How about a guy who-- as essentially public enemy #1 of his time--  led the Federal government on a merry chase til the very  late Indian War year of 1886... and then went on to live healthily into his 80th year... when his life was finally ended by a throw from a horse! [who rides a horse at 79??] 

Then, to top it off, his name is now what we all say when summoning the courage to jump from an airplane or commit some other comparable act of fool-hardy insanity.

So... Geronimo was clearly no ordinary dude!  

They say he converted to Christianity at the end, having died as a member of the Dutch Reformed Church, and I am glad of it.  He is quoted as once saying, "I have advised all of my people who are not Christians, to study that religion, because it seems to me the best religion in enabling one to live right."

Anyone who loves western history should read his dictated autobiography GERONIMO,  HIS OWN STORY compiled by Stephen Melvil Barrett back at the turn of the last century.  Some say liberties were taken with the great Apache's oral history, but I think it rings pretty true.  [Be prepared, though, as you read, for a lot of bitterness against Mexicans, as Geronimo never seems to have quite forgiven them for the slaughter of his family and other tribesmen.]

Not far from where I live, in Texas Canyon, the awesome Amerind Foundation has a bow with the great man's signature, signed probably at the World's Fair in 1905.  The tour guide there will tell you that it is likely one of hundreds of bows signed by Geronimo at the fair...  the irony of which, she will then add wryly, is that the historical Geronimo, while he hated the bow and arrow, was "a great fancier of all kinds of Firearms!" 

NICE!

Rock On, Geronimo!

PEACE

ON "TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK..."

"But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."

 -- Jesus Christ, Matthew 5:39 

It is sometimes astonishing how many people either bypass these words from Jesus' Sermon On The Mount, or just try to explain them away entirely.

Now, I understand the problem in its essence, of course... these words from the very mouth of Our Lord seem to imply that we are to allow people to just beat the tar out of us and not resist physical violence and injury. So, when confronted by such a radical teaching, we defensively jump into an "interpretive" mode of Bible study where we try to find  "a sense of what Jesus really means" instead of taking it as a literal command. This is a subtle temptation, I think, and it is amazing how easily we can deceive ourselves in one of two directions: Either 1. We will explain the statement completely away; or 2. We will convince ourselves that it means something hyperbolic or figurative... and is thus impossible to  truly obey.

Personally, I simply have to reject both paths.

First, I am not a very smart man, but in my own life I can tell of you of a certainty that I have learned [often the hard way] that  it always safest to take Jesus at His plain word.

Second, I do not believe God has ever given us commands that are impossible to obey. He certainly gives us ones that are difficult... ones that challenge all the faith we possess...  but never ones that are impossible.

In order to ever understand what God wants of us, it is important to catch certain key details when we study His written Word. Anytime the Bible gives a particularly vivid or striking detail we need to pay that much more attention.

The imagery here is nothing if not striking [pardon the pun.]  Think if you will of the visual picture. Jesus said, if someone “smites you on the right cheek” then you are to turn your face to him in such a way as to present your left cheek. The implication being that he may... is even welcome to... hit you again!

Now, what is the significance of the “right” cheek? Why not the left cheek? I heard it explained this way once:

Picture someone getting hit on the right cheek. What is the most likely way for that to happen? Since most people are right handed and would hit someone with their right hand, then the only way for them to hit someone on the right cheek is to do it as a backhanded slap. [I don't think this interpretation is "over thinking" it either, by the way. I think Jesus' original hearers may have even pictured it this way immediately, as they were an oppressed people who actually lived with Roman "police state" violence as a common reality.]

What Jesus was addressing here is therefore not just mindlessly letting someone pummel you into a pile of broken bones.  I rather truly believe He may have been broadly addressing the taking of an insult... which could be verbal OR physical.

A backhanded slap is an insult, either literally or figuratively. It is, in its deepest essence, a challenge to retaliate... a mean-spirited attempt to shame you and get you to either back down in utter humiliation or lash out and escalate the conflict.

To turn the other cheek is a bold statement!  It neither humiliates one's self nor retaliates against the aggressor. It is a response of of strength [and faith!]that says, “I will not seek revenge because I trust a friend who is infinitely stronger than us both!”   It allows us a response that carries NO SHAME  because we are resting in the very dignity in Christ. Think of it this way.  There is not only no dignity in fighting back and hurting the other person, but that course has effective denied Christ Himself a chance to work in and through us!

If our own, personal dignity is found in Christ, we will be empowered to respond in just the way He would respond.

[DISCLAIMER: Since at this point someone will probably bring up the topic of domestic abuse I should probably say that if you are being beaten physically there is, of course, nothing wrong with seeking help or defending yourself... I might here quote a preacher I heard once years ago who said that while Jesus may have implored us to turn the other cheek, God created us with only 2 cheeks! The implication of this was that God may desire you to seek non-violence but wouldn't want you to allow yourself to be conquered endlessly.  I like that, actually-- it seems like a valid point... but honestly?  Even standing up to an abuser can be most effective when done non-violently and in a Christ-like spirit.  Before you hate me on this one, let me just say I actually knew a woman who had an amazing testimony of using the authorities and still not "fighting back" in a very violent and dysfunctional situation.  That abuser came to a glorious repentance.  Say what you will, but amazing things can happen when we simply obey Jesus as well as we can.]

In actual social practice, though, there really are very few times in our lives [at least here in America] when another person would actually give us a backhanded slap. I know it happens, but honestly, I think we can all agree it is rare in our daily social existence. But oh, Brother...  there are times-- and then more times-- when they might give us a verbal one, or show great disrespect for us in one way or another. Interestingly, I think it is precisely those verbal, non-physical things that get people most worked up and excited anyway! Think of how often you see people arguing and fighting and literally screaming because someone “disrespected” them.

Well, at the heart of it, what they are looking for is dignity.

They want an acknowledgement that they are a person of substance and importance.

If someone does not give them that respect then they feel somehow violated. The means to get that respect and dignity is to exert power over the other person and show that you are stronger, better, more significant than they are. So instead of turning the other cheek, you strike back, preferably with even more cutting force. Well, frankly... if that is what you need to do to get respect and dignity then you will never have it, regardless of whatever satisfaction is gained by your bold reaction in the flesh.

The dignity possessed by every saved, blood-bought child of God comes from our knowledge we were made in His image, with the purpose of glorifying Him with our lives. Our significance comes because we are called by Jesus to be "world changers."  Our power and strength comes because we are filled with His Holy Spirit who gives us an ability to receive the insults of others and respond as Christ responded to those who hurled insults at Him... and eventually killed Him brutally.

Jackie Robinson is one of my heroes. Not because he was a great athlete, or even one who affected change.  It is more because he accepted the challenge [famously presented by Brooklyn Dodgers executive and devout Christian Branch Rickey] to deliberately face insult after insult without retaliation.  Robinson, also a devout Christian, did this valiantly-- for years on end- and changed not only baseball, but really all of American popular culture. 

One writer said: "Some men entertain crowds. Some men are changed by the crowd. Jackie changed the crowd!" AMEN!

Those insults were intended to humiliate and incite an even more violent response. The hope was that such a response would then justify the impression of the black man as out of control and uncivilized. But when the response was a quiet dignity that came from within...  it changed things, brother. Reconciliation began to move on the landscape!

It is no different for any other Christian.

When we respond to insults and abuse with a like kind of vindictiveness, we simply affirm to this old, nasty world that Christianity is a sham and a joke. But when we respond in quiet humility and dignity, drawing on the power of Christ Jesus Himself, we just might provoke a response of respect and wonder and even compel people to want to learn more about Our Lord.  will it always work that way? Probably not... but isn't it interesting that Jesus doesn't promise success every time? And really... aren't most of God's commands like that? 

HMMMM.... Maybe we're suppose'ta just do it and let God plant the seed of it where and when he chooses to!

In short.... turning the other cheek is NOT impossible.  Not at all.  I think we actually know that, deep down.

But, of course, it IS difficult.  I, for one, find it VERY, in fact endlessly, challenging.  [This explains how often I fail to do it. :( ]

But I know one thing, Brothers and Sisters. No matter what... when we DO actually respond with the gentle dignity of Jesus, we will certainly bring Glory to HIM.

-Albie

PEACE