Avalon Chronicles #97: "All Day Church"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Linda and I awakened at zero dark thirty (military time) on Tuesday April 16, 2019 to drive to Irving, Texas for an unforgettable day. We met at 7:45 AM our "tour guide and chauffeur" Jeremy Berlin, manager of the Sheraton DFW hotel, and Gary Beikirch and his spouse Lolly for a day that would end fifteen hours later. Gary Beikirch is Chaplain of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and a Recipient of his Medal of Honor in 1973 from President Richard Nixon for his heroic actions on April 1, 1970 at Dak Seang Special Forces camp near the Tri-Border area where South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos touch boundaries. Avalon Chronicles #93: "From Cave Man to Man of God" details our first meeting in Oct. 2018 and describes his remarkable story. His autobiography will be published in 2020 by Multnomah Press of Oregon.
Our first stop that day was for us both to present to 150 football players at Grapevine High School. Gary, a very humble, modest, and unassuming war hero, kicked off the visit by focusing very distinctly in his talk on his gratitude for Deo, a 15 year old Montagnard in the camp. He had solidified a relationship with the unschooled and unsophisticated young man when they bonded and committed to "watch each other's back." That bore results in the attack when Deo and another Montagnard literally carried him, wounded himself three times, from wounded to wounded to administer first aid. Gary wrote in his tract; "April 1, 1970...I can still hear the screams, the explosions, the gunfire." A "human wave" attack by three North Vietnamese Army regiments was launched on the camp's 12 American Special Forces "A" team members, supported by their Montagnard fighters. At one point a massive barrage caused Deo to literally cover Gary to protect him and Deo was killed. Gary related, "One has never lived until one has almost died."
Gary will never forget that sacrifice on the battlefield of that young Montagnard, unheralded in history, but always vividly in the heart and soul of Gary until our Lord takes him to Heaven. Another unforgettable subject on which Gary focused was not just secular "success" in our lives, but focusing on a life that is defined by the intangibility of "significance."
At this high school, a junior, with beard and a thick head of hair, approached me to indicate he was guiding himself to gain admission to West Point. I reminded him that an old saying adhered to at West Point was "no horse, no wife, and no mustache." He said he was prepared especially for the prohibition of the facial and excessive head hair! I told him the first day as a New Cadet the barber will ask him, "How much of your hair would you like to keep? You will say, 'All of it.'" The barber will sweep his hair off the floor and hand it to him!"
Our second stop was at Haltom City High School, where we spoke to leaders in the Student Council and the Junior Reserve Officers Training program. At both schools I began my talk by sitting without saying anything in a chair with arms and removing both my artificial legs and putting them back on. There was total silence with the audience. I can assume there was an especial effect by my doing this in front of athletes! Former professional NBA professional basketball players Morlon Wylie and Willie Davis also participated at the schools.
The school programs are sponsored by Tribute to Valor, a North Texas-based student outreach effort to expose the character-building attributes of courage, integrity, sacrifice, patriotism, commitment, and citizenship with presentations by Medal of Honor Recipients. A program focus is for the students to ask the question, "Who Am I?" My good friend Jim Palmersheim, American Airlines Captain and pilot, is the prime mover on the program. Today there are only 71 living Medal of Honor Recipients. Many received the Medal posthumously.
Our escort, Jeremy Berlin, related the story from nine years ago at a time when he and his wife had been childless for five years and they were approached by a total stranger at a church function. He prophesied to them that by the end of that year, only four months away, that they would have a son, whose name would be Elijah. On the last day of the year a son, in fulfillment of the prophecy, was in fact adopted by them, having been introduced to them for adoption after the prophecy was delivered.
Jeremy said, "A year later while their son Illiah was reading his Russian Bible, they came across a reference to the prophet Elijah. The son said, 'That's me' and we found out that his Russian name translated to ELIJAH!" Only in God's world! That son, now 20, embarking on his own career and leaving home, was the recipient of a prayer by all of us in the SUV for his safety and direction. Jeremy later crossed paths with the prophecy-giver, who had no recollection of having related the words!
In the course of the day Linda sat in the back seat with Lolly and Gary. She recollects Lolly relating that she felt it was a God-spoken Word that she followed through on to marry Gary 44 years ago, when they met in New Hampshire. One of the most striking anecdotes Linda heard from Gary was in a library after the war, when he experienced first hand the vilification of us Vietnam veterans when fellow students would come by his desk and sweep his books onto the floor! He also suffered the humiliation after the war of being spat upon by fellow Americans because he was a Vietnam veteran! For 33 years the gracious Gary was a teacher/counselor at a middle school, where he poured his maturity, wisdom and kindness into the students to help them weave through the minefields of youth. His current day efforts continue that service to America's young people.
The day progressed with a West Point Society gathering with General Dave Petraeus, a prominent West Point graduate, scholar, combat leader, and former CIA Director as the guest. The evening consisted of presentation of the LT. COL. James "Maggie" Megellas (102 years young and present that night) annual award by the America's Future Series (headed by another friend David Hamilton) to Ross Perot, Jr. for his extraordinary contributions in the varied arenas of business endeavors, philanthropy, and service to country as an Air Force officer. The emotional evening program highlighted the service to the cause of freedom and security of our military, veterans, law enforcement, and first responders. At least one Gold Star parent and widows of police officers were in attendance. Noted were several attendees, who departed the room with expressions of distinct emotion (ie. tears), some of which were my own.
It was a day when Linda commented, "I feel as if I have been in church all day." Amen.
Sunday, April 21, 2019
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Avalon Chronicles #96: "Red Sparrows, Loyalty, and Anti-viruses"
Avalon Chronicles #96: "Red Sparrows, Loyalty, and Anti-viruses"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
[This message may be listed "For Mature Audiences Only"]
Isaiah 32:17 KJV LASB: "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever."
What do "Red Sparrows, Loyalty and Anti-viruses" have in common? Several years ago a veteran CIA agent Jason Matthews was a guest author at a program I attended. He wrote a novel titled Red Sparrow, which also became a movie. The main character is a Russian intelligence officer Dominka Egorova, who became a "Sparrow," a trained seductress. The book's flyleaf relates: "Spies have long relied on the 'honey trap,' whereby vulnerable men and women are intimately compromised." Dominka is taught the "techniques of 'sexpionage' in Russia's secret 'Sparrow School,' hidden outside of Moscow."
In Webster's 1828 dictionary "loyalty" is defined: "Fidelity to a prince or sovereign, or to a husband or lover." The definition of "loyal" is: "...true to plighted faith, duty, or love; not treacherous; used of subjects to their prince, and of a husband, wife, and lovers; as a loyal subject; a loyal wife."
Anyone who uses a computer in today's world is aware of the need for antivirus protection from corrupted or dangerous sites, which can pollute our computers.
In my Vietnam War duty as a Special Forces Army intelligence officer engaged in clandestine activities, it was imperative (for my life's sake) to be aware of disloyal agents, penetration of my agent networks and activities, or "slips of the lip,"away from my unit in social settings, even with Americans or South Vietnamese allies. It was the expectation, demand, and requirement that loyalty to my "prince," my country, be maintained faithfully without failure or compromise. Corporate employment demands the same in loyalty to our organization.
Often loyalty to our faith in our God the Father and His Son, Jesus the Christ, and to being bound/obliged by moral ties to standards of ethics and morals is violated. Examples even are in minor deviations from principles by which we should maintain the character and attributes of God, righteousness, holiness, integrity, and purity (the RHIP we learned in the military).
In our open and liberal society society we are bombarded and deluged daily by "Red Sparrows," of a seemingly innocuous nature, ready, willing, and able through seduction to compromise our loyalty to our Lord, our spouse, and our values and principles. Our senses are stirred up by simple intrusions seemingly as innocent as temptations for example on my AOL screen to view some "sweet young thing," who is garbed in revealing raiment that is "jaw-dropping" or some similar phraseology. These temptations are the simplest to which we are exposed each day.
Our freedom and culture and internet expose us to many web sites that are seductive to our mind and spirit, simple "Red Sparrows," designed to seduce us to disloyalty to ourselves, our faith, and our loved ones, much less to "garble" our thoughts, our choices of what we read, watch, and hear. We must develop a commitment to a strong self-imposed internal installation of an anti-virus system. A strong anti-virus system based upon Holy Scripture is an important starting point to protect ourselves. Some scriptures that are valuable to memorize and incorporate into our lives to be protected in body, soul, and spirit are: (all KJV).
Pray to be bound to the Mind of Christ to have imparted to us from His Mind, Wisdom, Insight, Discernment, Knowledge, and Maturity. (WIDKM).
Pray to be bound to the control by the Holy Spirit of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23); love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,meekness, temperance.
Proverbs 6: 24,25: "To keep thee from the evil woman...lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids."
Galatians 5:16; "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."
2 Corinthians 10:5; "...and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."
SUMMARY: There is one Scripture that is the most powerful and helpful to defend us as an anti-virus to the attacks of the Evil One: It is our weapon against the "Red Sparrows" so that we may maintain our loyalty to our God, our faith, our spouses and loved ones, and ourselves:
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."
PEACE IS PRECIOUS to PEOPLE PRONE TO PROPRIETY
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
[This message may be listed "For Mature Audiences Only"]
Isaiah 32:17 KJV LASB: "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever."
What do "Red Sparrows, Loyalty and Anti-viruses" have in common? Several years ago a veteran CIA agent Jason Matthews was a guest author at a program I attended. He wrote a novel titled Red Sparrow, which also became a movie. The main character is a Russian intelligence officer Dominka Egorova, who became a "Sparrow," a trained seductress. The book's flyleaf relates: "Spies have long relied on the 'honey trap,' whereby vulnerable men and women are intimately compromised." Dominka is taught the "techniques of 'sexpionage' in Russia's secret 'Sparrow School,' hidden outside of Moscow."
In Webster's 1828 dictionary "loyalty" is defined: "Fidelity to a prince or sovereign, or to a husband or lover." The definition of "loyal" is: "...true to plighted faith, duty, or love; not treacherous; used of subjects to their prince, and of a husband, wife, and lovers; as a loyal subject; a loyal wife."
Anyone who uses a computer in today's world is aware of the need for antivirus protection from corrupted or dangerous sites, which can pollute our computers.
In my Vietnam War duty as a Special Forces Army intelligence officer engaged in clandestine activities, it was imperative (for my life's sake) to be aware of disloyal agents, penetration of my agent networks and activities, or "slips of the lip,"away from my unit in social settings, even with Americans or South Vietnamese allies. It was the expectation, demand, and requirement that loyalty to my "prince," my country, be maintained faithfully without failure or compromise. Corporate employment demands the same in loyalty to our organization.
Often loyalty to our faith in our God the Father and His Son, Jesus the Christ, and to being bound/obliged by moral ties to standards of ethics and morals is violated. Examples even are in minor deviations from principles by which we should maintain the character and attributes of God, righteousness, holiness, integrity, and purity (the RHIP we learned in the military).
In our open and liberal society society we are bombarded and deluged daily by "Red Sparrows," of a seemingly innocuous nature, ready, willing, and able through seduction to compromise our loyalty to our Lord, our spouse, and our values and principles. Our senses are stirred up by simple intrusions seemingly as innocent as temptations for example on my AOL screen to view some "sweet young thing," who is garbed in revealing raiment that is "jaw-dropping" or some similar phraseology. These temptations are the simplest to which we are exposed each day.
Our freedom and culture and internet expose us to many web sites that are seductive to our mind and spirit, simple "Red Sparrows," designed to seduce us to disloyalty to ourselves, our faith, and our loved ones, much less to "garble" our thoughts, our choices of what we read, watch, and hear. We must develop a commitment to a strong self-imposed internal installation of an anti-virus system. A strong anti-virus system based upon Holy Scripture is an important starting point to protect ourselves. Some scriptures that are valuable to memorize and incorporate into our lives to be protected in body, soul, and spirit are: (all KJV).
Pray to be bound to the Mind of Christ to have imparted to us from His Mind, Wisdom, Insight, Discernment, Knowledge, and Maturity. (WIDKM).
Pray to be bound to the control by the Holy Spirit of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23); love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,meekness, temperance.
Proverbs 6: 24,25: "To keep thee from the evil woman...lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids."
Galatians 5:16; "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."
2 Corinthians 10:5; "...and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."
SUMMARY: There is one Scripture that is the most powerful and helpful to defend us as an anti-virus to the attacks of the Evil One: It is our weapon against the "Red Sparrows" so that we may maintain our loyalty to our God, our faith, our spouses and loved ones, and ourselves:
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."
PEACE IS PRECIOUS to PEOPLE PRONE TO PROPRIETY
Saturday, January 5, 2019
Avalon Chronicles #95: "Tranquillity Among Tempests and Tragedies"
Avalon Chronicles #95: "Tranquillity Among Tempests and Tragedies"
by the Honorable Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Christmas Eve 2018 was a very special evening. Linda and I worshipped at Saint Andrew's Church in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. This was the same church in which my father was confirmed in about 1940. It is always nostalgic to visit there and to picture my father and mother in their early twenties walking down the same aisle to the altar rail. We attended the Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols, a beautiful and touching service to reflect on the Savior, Jesus the Christ, and His birth in Bethlehem those many centuries ago.
Along with many millions all over the globe, we celebrated God's sending His Son forth into our world to establish a way to achieve eternal life and to reflect an example for righteous living in a world at peace. The sumptuous buffet at our hotel on Christmas Day left me with mixed emotions, my gratitude for the bounteous provision and fellowship with two other couples, contrasted with my continual reminder of those so much less blessed everywhere in the world.
My New York Times issue for Christmas Day caused me to appreciate more fully my blessings in my land of the free and home of the brave, my United States of America. My peace and comfort that day was contrasted by the reports from many corners of death, oppression, corruption and warfare.
Just on this Christmas Day 2018 it was reported: A ten foot-high wave from a tsunami hit Indonesia and caused at least 373 deaths and more than 1459 injured. Apparently a volcano on Anak Krakatau Island erupted and a portion of the island broke off into the sea, causing the tidal wave. (p. A6).
In Nicaragua protestors to the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega are being hunted down and killed. Protests several months ago resulted in 322 deaths and 565 jailed. Forty years ago "...the leftist Sandinista Front led by Mr. Ortega ousted the Somoza dynasty that had ruled Nicaragua for decades," and today "...he is accused of becoming the very dictator he helped depose all those years ago." Ortega, his vice-president wife, and family members tightly control all the levers of political and commercial powers. (pp. A1, A9). Nicaragua is the same country in the 1980s, wherein was spawned the Iran-Contra controversy.
Protests also developed in Africa's Sudan caused "...by nearly 30 years of frustration over corruption and economic mismanagement." A march to the palace of President Omar al-Bashir was planned for this week. The three year old palace was built by Chinese, who are spreading their nets of influence far and wide globally. (p. A8).
The geographic area where American blood has been spilled for 17 years remains untamed. Government offices in Kabul, Afghanistan were attacked by dissident terrorists, either Taliban or the Islamic State, initiated by a car bomb. At least 29 deaths occurred along with 20 wounded. It took six hours to root out the assailants. (p. A8). (As an aside, an American, who was deployed to Afghanistan in years past told me that in the area in which he was based, the tribal chief had sold the mineral rights in his lands to the Chinese. This served to incense me because, upon our final departure from this blood-soaked country, the Chinese would sweep in and benefit economically from our "pacification" of Afghanistan with "rules of engagement" much less constrained than ours against terrorists).
A giant dam in Ecuador, financed by, guess who, China, expanding its wings of influence into South America, supplanting America's influence, has developed substantial engineering flaws. Originally perceived "...to solve the energy needs and help lift the small South American country out of poverty," instead has burdened the country with insurmountable debt and has not solved its purpose. "'China took advantage of Ecuador,' said Ecuador's energy minister, Carlos Perez. 'The strategy of China is clear. They take economic control of countries.'" Naturally, bribery charges are rampant for the project. (pp. A1, A10). (As an aside, a friend told me the Chinese in their overseas ventures use Chinese labor and not local labor).
Many elites always believe they are untouchable. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is going to jail for seven years "on corruption-related charges." ..."He has been accused of money laundering, tax evasion and receiving kickbacks." (p. A11). Some elitists from the beginning of history believe they are untouchable and anointed and the rules of civility and lawful behavior do not apply to them.
It was 24 hours of a contrast between the tranquillity of my peaceful life among the tempests and tragedies worldwide. Jesus came to earth 2000 years ago to be an example of righteousness and holy living with integrity and purity. We, who attempt to live by those standards, however haltingly and unsuccessfully, may despair of the manifest examples of others, who have failed miserably. But, we must never give up personally in seeking blamelessness in our own circle of life and influence. Only then can we attain a measure of tranquillity among all the tempests and tragedies surrounding us.
by the Honorable Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Christmas Eve 2018 was a very special evening. Linda and I worshipped at Saint Andrew's Church in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. This was the same church in which my father was confirmed in about 1940. It is always nostalgic to visit there and to picture my father and mother in their early twenties walking down the same aisle to the altar rail. We attended the Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols, a beautiful and touching service to reflect on the Savior, Jesus the Christ, and His birth in Bethlehem those many centuries ago.
Along with many millions all over the globe, we celebrated God's sending His Son forth into our world to establish a way to achieve eternal life and to reflect an example for righteous living in a world at peace. The sumptuous buffet at our hotel on Christmas Day left me with mixed emotions, my gratitude for the bounteous provision and fellowship with two other couples, contrasted with my continual reminder of those so much less blessed everywhere in the world.
My New York Times issue for Christmas Day caused me to appreciate more fully my blessings in my land of the free and home of the brave, my United States of America. My peace and comfort that day was contrasted by the reports from many corners of death, oppression, corruption and warfare.
Just on this Christmas Day 2018 it was reported: A ten foot-high wave from a tsunami hit Indonesia and caused at least 373 deaths and more than 1459 injured. Apparently a volcano on Anak Krakatau Island erupted and a portion of the island broke off into the sea, causing the tidal wave. (p. A6).
In Nicaragua protestors to the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega are being hunted down and killed. Protests several months ago resulted in 322 deaths and 565 jailed. Forty years ago "...the leftist Sandinista Front led by Mr. Ortega ousted the Somoza dynasty that had ruled Nicaragua for decades," and today "...he is accused of becoming the very dictator he helped depose all those years ago." Ortega, his vice-president wife, and family members tightly control all the levers of political and commercial powers. (pp. A1, A9). Nicaragua is the same country in the 1980s, wherein was spawned the Iran-Contra controversy.
Protests also developed in Africa's Sudan caused "...by nearly 30 years of frustration over corruption and economic mismanagement." A march to the palace of President Omar al-Bashir was planned for this week. The three year old palace was built by Chinese, who are spreading their nets of influence far and wide globally. (p. A8).
The geographic area where American blood has been spilled for 17 years remains untamed. Government offices in Kabul, Afghanistan were attacked by dissident terrorists, either Taliban or the Islamic State, initiated by a car bomb. At least 29 deaths occurred along with 20 wounded. It took six hours to root out the assailants. (p. A8). (As an aside, an American, who was deployed to Afghanistan in years past told me that in the area in which he was based, the tribal chief had sold the mineral rights in his lands to the Chinese. This served to incense me because, upon our final departure from this blood-soaked country, the Chinese would sweep in and benefit economically from our "pacification" of Afghanistan with "rules of engagement" much less constrained than ours against terrorists).
A giant dam in Ecuador, financed by, guess who, China, expanding its wings of influence into South America, supplanting America's influence, has developed substantial engineering flaws. Originally perceived "...to solve the energy needs and help lift the small South American country out of poverty," instead has burdened the country with insurmountable debt and has not solved its purpose. "'China took advantage of Ecuador,' said Ecuador's energy minister, Carlos Perez. 'The strategy of China is clear. They take economic control of countries.'" Naturally, bribery charges are rampant for the project. (pp. A1, A10). (As an aside, a friend told me the Chinese in their overseas ventures use Chinese labor and not local labor).
Many elites always believe they are untouchable. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is going to jail for seven years "on corruption-related charges." ..."He has been accused of money laundering, tax evasion and receiving kickbacks." (p. A11). Some elitists from the beginning of history believe they are untouchable and anointed and the rules of civility and lawful behavior do not apply to them.
It was 24 hours of a contrast between the tranquillity of my peaceful life among the tempests and tragedies worldwide. Jesus came to earth 2000 years ago to be an example of righteousness and holy living with integrity and purity. We, who attempt to live by those standards, however haltingly and unsuccessfully, may despair of the manifest examples of others, who have failed miserably. But, we must never give up personally in seeking blamelessness in our own circle of life and influence. Only then can we attain a measure of tranquillity among all the tempests and tragedies surrounding us.
Sunday, December 2, 2018
Avalon Chronicles #94: "Soap: A Simile Both Secular and Spiritual"
Avalon Chronicles #94: "Soap: A Simile Both Secular and Spiritual"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
By the time one reaches a certain age plateau in life, two major approaches to expression of attitude and belief become evident. One, is that a person becomes somewhat of a curmudgeon, speaking one's mind with complete candor, sometimes in a manner that is offensive or abusive. Another, is to be spiritually aware, but reticent in expression, so as not to be "offending" or "promoting" of one's true opinion, especially in spiritual matters.
Several years ago in conversation with an individual that is on the religious speakers circuit, the topic of voicing one's Christian faith in a secular/public venue was discussed. At one time in past years it was my privilege to be the guest speaker for groups of our military returned from combat areas. I related that I was reserved about expression of my true Christian faith and how it was the means by which I healed from my own issues of Post Traumatic Stress after my severe Vietnam War wounds. It was my desire to avoid any issue of proselyting of my Christian faith. He said, "At your age, what do you have to lose?"
With the approval of my dear wife Linda, I relate to you a recent "message" she received on one of her daily walks. The thought came to her in her period of reflection and prayer as she walks, unfettered by the cares of everyday life. She contemplated the simple symbolism of a bar of soap as it relates to resentment, a sentiment in need of "cleansing." A bar of soap can only be utilized to cleanse oneself bodily, if mixed with water to release its cleansing properties.
So too only can one be cleansed of resentment, if covered by the living water of the Holy Spirit, smoothing over the venial sin of harboring a perceived insult or hurt, with confession to our God in the Name of Jesus and by the Holy Spirit with the receipt of forgiveness and restoration. The pain remains, but healing grace (unmerited favor) is provided with its softening elements.
A bar of soap now sits beside Linda adjacent to her recliner, a visible and demonstrable reminder of this holy truth placed within her spirit.
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
By the time one reaches a certain age plateau in life, two major approaches to expression of attitude and belief become evident. One, is that a person becomes somewhat of a curmudgeon, speaking one's mind with complete candor, sometimes in a manner that is offensive or abusive. Another, is to be spiritually aware, but reticent in expression, so as not to be "offending" or "promoting" of one's true opinion, especially in spiritual matters.
Several years ago in conversation with an individual that is on the religious speakers circuit, the topic of voicing one's Christian faith in a secular/public venue was discussed. At one time in past years it was my privilege to be the guest speaker for groups of our military returned from combat areas. I related that I was reserved about expression of my true Christian faith and how it was the means by which I healed from my own issues of Post Traumatic Stress after my severe Vietnam War wounds. It was my desire to avoid any issue of proselyting of my Christian faith. He said, "At your age, what do you have to lose?"
With the approval of my dear wife Linda, I relate to you a recent "message" she received on one of her daily walks. The thought came to her in her period of reflection and prayer as she walks, unfettered by the cares of everyday life. She contemplated the simple symbolism of a bar of soap as it relates to resentment, a sentiment in need of "cleansing." A bar of soap can only be utilized to cleanse oneself bodily, if mixed with water to release its cleansing properties.
So too only can one be cleansed of resentment, if covered by the living water of the Holy Spirit, smoothing over the venial sin of harboring a perceived insult or hurt, with confession to our God in the Name of Jesus and by the Holy Spirit with the receipt of forgiveness and restoration. The pain remains, but healing grace (unmerited favor) is provided with its softening elements.
A bar of soap now sits beside Linda adjacent to her recliner, a visible and demonstrable reminder of this holy truth placed within her spirit.
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Avalon Chronicles #93: "From Cave Man to Man of God"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
On October 13, 2018 Linda and I attended two extraordinary and unforgettable events. The first annual Tribute to Valor was held for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Foundation, supporting youth character development, and Snowball Express, supporting activities for Gold Star children, the ones who have lost parents in combat since September 11, 2001. The lunch that day was a program of the America's Future Series, organized by our friend David Hamilton. Congressman Pete Sessions participated.
Entertainment was provided by Steve Ammerson, "America's Tenor," and Lee Greenwood, whose hallmark song was "God Bless the USA." Marine Vietnam veteran Dale Dye, well-known as an actor, author, and film consultant, was awarded the Medal of Honor Society Bob Hope Patriot Award for his fascinating life as a patriot of our country. My long-time friend, Jim Palmersheim, veteran, former Army helicopter pilot and American Airlines Captain, was an integral part of the gala and festivities.
Fourteen Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients attended, among whom were: Roger Donlon and wife Norma, Recipient for valor at Nam Dong Special Forces camp in 1964; my luncheon companion SEAL Tommy Norris and my friend SEAL Michael Thornton, Co-Chair of the event, both of whom were Recipients for their heroism in Vietnam; Gary Littrell, Co-Chair, Vietnam War veteran and former Society president, who especially captured Linda's heart, when, in a character video, spoke about students being "pushed up" rather than "pushed out"; Bruce Crandall, the colorful and courageous helicopter pilot of the movie We Were Soldiers, memorializing the First Cavalry Division's engagement in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam in 1965.
Amid all the glitz and glory of the celebrations one encounter stood out in amazing fashion. When Green Beret combat veteran Recipient Gary Beikirch was introduced at lunch, Tommy Norris had remarked that he had lived in a cave for two years after the war. That was immensely intriguing! My fellow West Pointer Marshall Miles had sat next to Gary and afterwards I asked him to introduce us. Linda and I met Gary and his wife Lolly and we engaged in a short conversation.
That evening we had a more extensive conversation with Gary, who was a Recipient for his actions in the spring of 1970 at Dak Seang Special Forces camp in Vietnam's Central Highlands, a camp near my own Green Beret Dak To camp in 1967. The layers of his life were laid out to Linda and me in what will become a long-remembered fashion. For him to have survived through an encirclement and assaults by three North Vietnamese Army regiments (10,000 men) was a God-given miracle.
Inside his camp were 12 Americans and 2300 Montagnard villagers, mostly women and children. The threat lasted 30 days. Gary wrote in his tract; "April 1, 1970...I can still hear the screams, the explosions, the gunfire." An artillery and rocket barrage began early followed by a "human wave" enemy attack. "Our jungle home had become a scene of horror, terror, and death." A fifteen year old Montagnard covered Gary from a round and sacrificed his own life to save Gary's. Despite his own eventual three wounds in his back and abdomen and inability to walk, he knew there were wounded that needed help. Two Montagnards carried him from soldier to soldier applying medical care until he was medevacked out by one of our helicopters that was able to land, after others were shot down. Gary was in an Army hospital for one year.
Then a deeper spiritual layer began to be laid in Gary's life. When a chaplain asked him if he wanted to pray with him, Gary told him he did not know how to pray. The chaplain said that was OK because, "God knows how to listen." Gary then recounts what transpired:
"My prayer was a simple one: 'God I don't know if you're real. I don't know if you're here, but I'm scared and I need you....Right then something happened ...no flashes of light, no miraculous physical healing, no visions, but a very real Peace, a comfort, a 'knowing' that there was Someone outside of myself greater than my pain, greater than my fear, greater than Death...'"
With the gift of a New Testament and a study of the Gospels, on July 2, 1972 he knelt and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. In September 1973 he enrolled in the White Mountains seminary in New Hampshire, but was not prepared for the other students to befriend and socialize with him, who saw himself as a troubled soul, consumed by his wartime experience. He attended classes, but took up residence in a cave nearby, to which he returned each day, after purchasing his "camping" gear. He rented a post office box in town and grew his hair below his shoulders. One day he was told to be near a phone to receive a call. He was summoned to the White House for an October 15, 1973 ceremony, where President Richard Nixon bestowed upon him the Congressional Medal of Honor, America's highest military decoration for valor in combat. Today there are only 74 living Recipients. He said he cut his hair for the White House ceremony!
One day he read a note in his post office box. It was from a local woman, who said she had noticed him in town. He finally located her in a laundromat after she left him a picture. They met and a whirlwind romance evolved, they fell in love and 45 years later Gary and Lolly are still married!
Gary Beikirch was presented the Medal of Honor and wears it fully aware that "...it was not about what I had done...BUT what He had done. What He had done in my life and wants to do in the lives of others. It was given to me not to honor me, but so that I could honor Him."
Gary honors Him with his service as the Chaplain of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and he proclaims, "I wear the Medal of Honor...For His Honor." Another decided "divine encounter" was gifted Linda and me once again.
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
On October 13, 2018 Linda and I attended two extraordinary and unforgettable events. The first annual Tribute to Valor was held for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Foundation, supporting youth character development, and Snowball Express, supporting activities for Gold Star children, the ones who have lost parents in combat since September 11, 2001. The lunch that day was a program of the America's Future Series, organized by our friend David Hamilton. Congressman Pete Sessions participated.
Entertainment was provided by Steve Ammerson, "America's Tenor," and Lee Greenwood, whose hallmark song was "God Bless the USA." Marine Vietnam veteran Dale Dye, well-known as an actor, author, and film consultant, was awarded the Medal of Honor Society Bob Hope Patriot Award for his fascinating life as a patriot of our country. My long-time friend, Jim Palmersheim, veteran, former Army helicopter pilot and American Airlines Captain, was an integral part of the gala and festivities.
Fourteen Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients attended, among whom were: Roger Donlon and wife Norma, Recipient for valor at Nam Dong Special Forces camp in 1964; my luncheon companion SEAL Tommy Norris and my friend SEAL Michael Thornton, Co-Chair of the event, both of whom were Recipients for their heroism in Vietnam; Gary Littrell, Co-Chair, Vietnam War veteran and former Society president, who especially captured Linda's heart, when, in a character video, spoke about students being "pushed up" rather than "pushed out"; Bruce Crandall, the colorful and courageous helicopter pilot of the movie We Were Soldiers, memorializing the First Cavalry Division's engagement in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam in 1965.
Amid all the glitz and glory of the celebrations one encounter stood out in amazing fashion. When Green Beret combat veteran Recipient Gary Beikirch was introduced at lunch, Tommy Norris had remarked that he had lived in a cave for two years after the war. That was immensely intriguing! My fellow West Pointer Marshall Miles had sat next to Gary and afterwards I asked him to introduce us. Linda and I met Gary and his wife Lolly and we engaged in a short conversation.
That evening we had a more extensive conversation with Gary, who was a Recipient for his actions in the spring of 1970 at Dak Seang Special Forces camp in Vietnam's Central Highlands, a camp near my own Green Beret Dak To camp in 1967. The layers of his life were laid out to Linda and me in what will become a long-remembered fashion. For him to have survived through an encirclement and assaults by three North Vietnamese Army regiments (10,000 men) was a God-given miracle.
Inside his camp were 12 Americans and 2300 Montagnard villagers, mostly women and children. The threat lasted 30 days. Gary wrote in his tract; "April 1, 1970...I can still hear the screams, the explosions, the gunfire." An artillery and rocket barrage began early followed by a "human wave" enemy attack. "Our jungle home had become a scene of horror, terror, and death." A fifteen year old Montagnard covered Gary from a round and sacrificed his own life to save Gary's. Despite his own eventual three wounds in his back and abdomen and inability to walk, he knew there were wounded that needed help. Two Montagnards carried him from soldier to soldier applying medical care until he was medevacked out by one of our helicopters that was able to land, after others were shot down. Gary was in an Army hospital for one year.
Then a deeper spiritual layer began to be laid in Gary's life. When a chaplain asked him if he wanted to pray with him, Gary told him he did not know how to pray. The chaplain said that was OK because, "God knows how to listen." Gary then recounts what transpired:
"My prayer was a simple one: 'God I don't know if you're real. I don't know if you're here, but I'm scared and I need you....Right then something happened ...no flashes of light, no miraculous physical healing, no visions, but a very real Peace, a comfort, a 'knowing' that there was Someone outside of myself greater than my pain, greater than my fear, greater than Death...'"
With the gift of a New Testament and a study of the Gospels, on July 2, 1972 he knelt and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. In September 1973 he enrolled in the White Mountains seminary in New Hampshire, but was not prepared for the other students to befriend and socialize with him, who saw himself as a troubled soul, consumed by his wartime experience. He attended classes, but took up residence in a cave nearby, to which he returned each day, after purchasing his "camping" gear. He rented a post office box in town and grew his hair below his shoulders. One day he was told to be near a phone to receive a call. He was summoned to the White House for an October 15, 1973 ceremony, where President Richard Nixon bestowed upon him the Congressional Medal of Honor, America's highest military decoration for valor in combat. Today there are only 74 living Recipients. He said he cut his hair for the White House ceremony!
One day he read a note in his post office box. It was from a local woman, who said she had noticed him in town. He finally located her in a laundromat after she left him a picture. They met and a whirlwind romance evolved, they fell in love and 45 years later Gary and Lolly are still married!
Gary Beikirch was presented the Medal of Honor and wears it fully aware that "...it was not about what I had done...BUT what He had done. What He had done in my life and wants to do in the lives of others. It was given to me not to honor me, but so that I could honor Him."
Gary honors Him with his service as the Chaplain of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and he proclaims, "I wear the Medal of Honor...For His Honor." Another decided "divine encounter" was gifted Linda and me once again.
Monday, August 27, 2018
Avalon Chronicles #92: "Divine Encounters"
Avalon Chronicles #92: "Divine Encounters"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Hopefully this that follows will be viewed as more than just "what I did on my summer vacation."
Before any trip that Linda and I commence we pray for "Divine Encounters." These do not necessarily relate only to spiritual situations, but also to personal situations in meeting individuals or unique circumstances. Our recent cruise to England and several days there was no exception to the answers by our Lord to our prayer. We signed up for this cruise because there would be World War II veterans on the cruise making presentations on their experiences in WWII. They were sponsored by the The Greatest Generations Foundation. All were 94-98 years young.
Last spring for my West Point reunion we utilized a private car service for the journey from the airport to our Manhattan hotel. Our driver had been a Vietnam veteran also, a soldier with the South Vietnamese Army, who had escaped after the war and eventually came to the U.S., where he married a Christian and is father to two college grad children. He is a Buddhist. We related very well. On this trip, of 100 or so drivers for the car company, he was again assigned to drive us. When he arrived to pick us up, there were warm embraces of him by Linda and me as we reconnected.
Before we even departed New York harbor from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, we were on deck looking across the harbor to Governor's Island and the Statue of Liberty and observed an older couple being videotaped. I heard "seventieth wedding anniversary" and Linda and I commenced to introduce ourselves and we struck up a conversation. Our new fellow shipmate was a D-Day and Battle of the Bulge veteran with his wife, daughter, and son-in-law accompanying him. We visited several times during our Atlantic crossing and will remain in contact. It is not a surprise that I connected closely with an affinity and respect for him that was mutual.
On our Queen Mary cruise last year I had attended the Sunday worship service and met a Nicci Pugh from England, who asked me if I were an amputee, after she observed my challenge in rising up from an armless chair. We discovered she had been a British Naval Nursing Sister on the hospital ship Uganda in 1982 during the Falklands War. She cared for the amputees on the ship during the hostilities. We also discovered she has the same surname as Linda's maiden name. She came to visit us on our trip to England after this cruise and gifted me a copy of the book she wrote, White Ship-Red Crosses, an engrossing book about personal stories of the wounded in action from the Falklands War. If anyone is interested in obtaining the book, email me and I will put you in touch with her.
We visited Exeter Cathedral and were there only one day and were able to enjoy a stirring event wherein the Royal Coldstream Guards band presented a concert the sole evening we were there.
Would that any of us be memorialized in such a remarkable way as was this man at Exeter Cathedral.
A few days before the commencement of our cruise I was with my daughter in Austin and we met an Englishman at an Austin hotel. I told him I was traveling to the Exeter area in Cornwall after our upcoming cruise. He stayed in touch with my daughter and obtained my telephone number. He has been involved in the entertainment industry and has managed rock bands. We were in Dartmouth, England and returning to a certain town after a train ride. Before our departure, I received a call from him asking me about my trip and inquiring as to whether we had already come and gone. I told him in fact we were still in England and would be arriving in 30 minutes at a certain station. He said he lived in that town. As it turned out he was shopping 200 yards from our destination train station and greeted us when we arrived. He is working on a show in the U.S. for a band and asked us to attend, if it is scheduled.
For two days we stayed in Chepstow, a town on the eastern edge of Wales, in a hotel that for several hundred years was a private mansion and estate. Get this! There was an active parish church next to the entrance, steps from checkin, so it was the first place ever on a vacation that we were able to begin and end our touring days with prayer in a church that was hundreds of years old!
On of the major destinations planned for this tour was Moriah Chapel in Loughor, Swansea, Wales. This was the site in 1904-1905 of the Wales Revival. It was initiated by Evan Roberts, a man of very modest means, who worked in the coal mines. It was at this home church of his that the Wales Revival began and thousands and thousands of people through services at Moriah and other churches in Wales came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. Weeks before our trip I contacted the church secretary and indicated we wished to worship at Moriah on Sunday August 5 and be their guest. My schedule changed and it looked as if we could not attend that day. The secretary messaged me a few days before the 5th to check on our visit. I told her there was a complication for my itinerary, but that I would contact her Aug. 3 to confirm our plans. I had by that time contracted a cold and told her we would not visit. We woke up in Cardiff on Sat. Aug 4 and Linda said, "Let us go to Moriah." I emailed my contact and had not heard back by the time we went there by train and were at the church with the taxi idling to take us back from the locked-up church. We were about to go back to the train in the taxi when a message was texted and she said she could come and open the church in an hour. We sent the driver away and awaited her arrival. A young man also showed up unannounced to the secretary, when she arrived to open the church for us.
As it developed he was a recent convert to Christianity from an Indian faith group and literally drove to Moriah from northern England to visit the church, but had no appt. as did we. (We have stayed in contact). He joined us and in the church we prayed for another revival and a return to the faith, which is lacking in their community as exemplified by very low church attendance. The secretary told us two special anecdotes: 1. That thousands of the converts in the Revival were Killed in Action during World War One and obviously were able to know of eternal life upon their demise and 2. The Revival changed the communities and whereas previously, the miners would get off work, and before going home, would congregate in the pubs and spend the money needed at home for food and clothes. With the changes manifested in the new converts, the pubs closed and the police had nothing to do in those communities!
This is the memorial to Evan Roberts outside Moriah Chapel.
A dear Dallas friend of ours, when we described our encounters recently, told us she had also prayed for us for 'Divine Encounters." Prayers were answered in incredible fashion!
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Hopefully this that follows will be viewed as more than just "what I did on my summer vacation."
Before any trip that Linda and I commence we pray for "Divine Encounters." These do not necessarily relate only to spiritual situations, but also to personal situations in meeting individuals or unique circumstances. Our recent cruise to England and several days there was no exception to the answers by our Lord to our prayer. We signed up for this cruise because there would be World War II veterans on the cruise making presentations on their experiences in WWII. They were sponsored by the The Greatest Generations Foundation. All were 94-98 years young.
Last spring for my West Point reunion we utilized a private car service for the journey from the airport to our Manhattan hotel. Our driver had been a Vietnam veteran also, a soldier with the South Vietnamese Army, who had escaped after the war and eventually came to the U.S., where he married a Christian and is father to two college grad children. He is a Buddhist. We related very well. On this trip, of 100 or so drivers for the car company, he was again assigned to drive us. When he arrived to pick us up, there were warm embraces of him by Linda and me as we reconnected.
Before we even departed New York harbor from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, we were on deck looking across the harbor to Governor's Island and the Statue of Liberty and observed an older couple being videotaped. I heard "seventieth wedding anniversary" and Linda and I commenced to introduce ourselves and we struck up a conversation. Our new fellow shipmate was a D-Day and Battle of the Bulge veteran with his wife, daughter, and son-in-law accompanying him. We visited several times during our Atlantic crossing and will remain in contact. It is not a surprise that I connected closely with an affinity and respect for him that was mutual.
On our Queen Mary cruise last year I had attended the Sunday worship service and met a Nicci Pugh from England, who asked me if I were an amputee, after she observed my challenge in rising up from an armless chair. We discovered she had been a British Naval Nursing Sister on the hospital ship Uganda in 1982 during the Falklands War. She cared for the amputees on the ship during the hostilities. We also discovered she has the same surname as Linda's maiden name. She came to visit us on our trip to England after this cruise and gifted me a copy of the book she wrote, White Ship-Red Crosses, an engrossing book about personal stories of the wounded in action from the Falklands War. If anyone is interested in obtaining the book, email me and I will put you in touch with her.
We visited Exeter Cathedral and were there only one day and were able to enjoy a stirring event wherein the Royal Coldstream Guards band presented a concert the sole evening we were there.
A few days before the commencement of our cruise I was with my daughter in Austin and we met an Englishman at an Austin hotel. I told him I was traveling to the Exeter area in Cornwall after our upcoming cruise. He stayed in touch with my daughter and obtained my telephone number. He has been involved in the entertainment industry and has managed rock bands. We were in Dartmouth, England and returning to a certain town after a train ride. Before our departure, I received a call from him asking me about my trip and inquiring as to whether we had already come and gone. I told him in fact we were still in England and would be arriving in 30 minutes at a certain station. He said he lived in that town. As it turned out he was shopping 200 yards from our destination train station and greeted us when we arrived. He is working on a show in the U.S. for a band and asked us to attend, if it is scheduled.
For two days we stayed in Chepstow, a town on the eastern edge of Wales, in a hotel that for several hundred years was a private mansion and estate. Get this! There was an active parish church next to the entrance, steps from checkin, so it was the first place ever on a vacation that we were able to begin and end our touring days with prayer in a church that was hundreds of years old!
On of the major destinations planned for this tour was Moriah Chapel in Loughor, Swansea, Wales. This was the site in 1904-1905 of the Wales Revival. It was initiated by Evan Roberts, a man of very modest means, who worked in the coal mines. It was at this home church of his that the Wales Revival began and thousands and thousands of people through services at Moriah and other churches in Wales came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. Weeks before our trip I contacted the church secretary and indicated we wished to worship at Moriah on Sunday August 5 and be their guest. My schedule changed and it looked as if we could not attend that day. The secretary messaged me a few days before the 5th to check on our visit. I told her there was a complication for my itinerary, but that I would contact her Aug. 3 to confirm our plans. I had by that time contracted a cold and told her we would not visit. We woke up in Cardiff on Sat. Aug 4 and Linda said, "Let us go to Moriah." I emailed my contact and had not heard back by the time we went there by train and were at the church with the taxi idling to take us back from the locked-up church. We were about to go back to the train in the taxi when a message was texted and she said she could come and open the church in an hour. We sent the driver away and awaited her arrival. A young man also showed up unannounced to the secretary, when she arrived to open the church for us.
As it developed he was a recent convert to Christianity from an Indian faith group and literally drove to Moriah from northern England to visit the church, but had no appt. as did we. (We have stayed in contact). He joined us and in the church we prayed for another revival and a return to the faith, which is lacking in their community as exemplified by very low church attendance. The secretary told us two special anecdotes: 1. That thousands of the converts in the Revival were Killed in Action during World War One and obviously were able to know of eternal life upon their demise and 2. The Revival changed the communities and whereas previously, the miners would get off work, and before going home, would congregate in the pubs and spend the money needed at home for food and clothes. With the changes manifested in the new converts, the pubs closed and the police had nothing to do in those communities!
A dear Dallas friend of ours, when we described our encounters recently, told us she had also prayed for us for 'Divine Encounters." Prayers were answered in incredible fashion!
Monday, July 2, 2018
Avalon Chronicles #91: "1776"
Avalon Chronicles #91: "1776"
by Allen B. Clark www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
1976 was the Bicentennial year and communities all across America held celebrations and events to commemorate the adoption of our Declaration of Independence. It was my privilege to serve on the city of Dallas, Texas committee. One of the most significant memories of the several months of planning the commemoration was hearing the words spoken by Temple Emmanuel Rabbi Levi Olan; "The Fourth of July is a celebration of freedom rooted in a religious sense of thanksgiving to God."
The founding of our colonies was embodied in the Mayflower Compact, which could be considered the Genesis of the American republic in Biblical terms. In my possession and well-marked up is a book titled Unto the Generations written in 1968, fifty years ago this year. The author was Daniel L. Marsh, the distinguished Life Chancellor of Boston University. I am grateful to him for some of the following profound writings of the significance and symbolism of the history of the United States of America.
Henry VIII of England broke with the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England in the mid-1500s. Over time adherents and worshippers in that tradition believed that the Church of England needed "democratizing" and "purifying" in its worship. They became the Puritans of our early history and and eventually began a movement to what became Massachusetts in the early 1600s. By 1606 they were required to worship secretly due to persecution by the King. Some moved to Holland and a small group from there became our Pilgrims, who sailed to Massachusetts in 1620. On the ship the Mayflower Compact was signed, a document described in 1802 by John Quincy Adams, our future sixth president. He said; "This is perhaps the only instance in human history of that positive original social compact which speculative philosophers have imagined as the only legitimate source of government." Here was a document that bound together that tiny group of Pilgrims and it became the Genesis of our nation.
The Declaration of Independence became our "Exodus from human bondage" of the British Empire, which upheld the European tradition of their royalty that colonies were only "to enrich the mother country." King George III viewed our thirteen colonies as a cash register to take money through onerous taxes to pay off England's war debts.
On June 30, 2018 Linda and I were invited to a private viewing of the 1972 movie 1776, adapted from a Broadway play production. (The video is available for purchase and is available for viewing on Amazon Prime). The highlights of the film were innumerable, but three stood out especially for me. 1. The extent of the original regional conflicts that had to be ironed out to come to a consensus for unanimous consent for an agreement to declare independence signed by all the colonies. 2. The magnificent verbiage incorporated in the document by the consummate wordsmith Thomas Jefferson. 3. There was a special segment when a soldier dispatched from George Washington's Continental Army with a message to the Congress, related a battle in which he fought, where in its aftermath two mothers came to the battlefield to retrieve the bodies of their sons killed in action. (The latter touched me tearfully as a wounded soldier from the Vietnam War).
Much has been written and depicted as to the significance of the document, but, its essence is that within every human heart there is a desire for freedom and a breaking of the chains of enslavement by tyrants, oppressive regimes, and various "isms." In the spiritual world there is an opportunity, as in my faith tradition of Christianity, to break the chains of enslavement to addictions, wrong thinking and sin. I sincerely believe that God recognized that the bonds of enslavement in the royal systems of "divine right rule" could only be broken through a totally new system and that became possible only through the founding of our nation. The men and women of our original colonies shed blood, tears, and comfort to bring forth our republic. Very few true republics have endured through history and some so-called republics today are not really republics.
Americans, as we enjoy our holiday, attend parades, watch fireworks, and barbecue in our yards, let us never forget the legacy we enjoy of those colonists and their courage, sacrifices, and spirit. Let us never lose our freedoms and become another political entity someday discarded in the trash heap of history. We are a nation forged in fires of faith as a gift on our shores from our Creator God. Let us maintain our Republic safe from those, who believe one of the "isms" is preferable.
by Allen B. Clark www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
1976 was the Bicentennial year and communities all across America held celebrations and events to commemorate the adoption of our Declaration of Independence. It was my privilege to serve on the city of Dallas, Texas committee. One of the most significant memories of the several months of planning the commemoration was hearing the words spoken by Temple Emmanuel Rabbi Levi Olan; "The Fourth of July is a celebration of freedom rooted in a religious sense of thanksgiving to God."
The founding of our colonies was embodied in the Mayflower Compact, which could be considered the Genesis of the American republic in Biblical terms. In my possession and well-marked up is a book titled Unto the Generations written in 1968, fifty years ago this year. The author was Daniel L. Marsh, the distinguished Life Chancellor of Boston University. I am grateful to him for some of the following profound writings of the significance and symbolism of the history of the United States of America.
Henry VIII of England broke with the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England in the mid-1500s. Over time adherents and worshippers in that tradition believed that the Church of England needed "democratizing" and "purifying" in its worship. They became the Puritans of our early history and and eventually began a movement to what became Massachusetts in the early 1600s. By 1606 they were required to worship secretly due to persecution by the King. Some moved to Holland and a small group from there became our Pilgrims, who sailed to Massachusetts in 1620. On the ship the Mayflower Compact was signed, a document described in 1802 by John Quincy Adams, our future sixth president. He said; "This is perhaps the only instance in human history of that positive original social compact which speculative philosophers have imagined as the only legitimate source of government." Here was a document that bound together that tiny group of Pilgrims and it became the Genesis of our nation.
The Declaration of Independence became our "Exodus from human bondage" of the British Empire, which upheld the European tradition of their royalty that colonies were only "to enrich the mother country." King George III viewed our thirteen colonies as a cash register to take money through onerous taxes to pay off England's war debts.
On June 30, 2018 Linda and I were invited to a private viewing of the 1972 movie 1776, adapted from a Broadway play production. (The video is available for purchase and is available for viewing on Amazon Prime). The highlights of the film were innumerable, but three stood out especially for me. 1. The extent of the original regional conflicts that had to be ironed out to come to a consensus for unanimous consent for an agreement to declare independence signed by all the colonies. 2. The magnificent verbiage incorporated in the document by the consummate wordsmith Thomas Jefferson. 3. There was a special segment when a soldier dispatched from George Washington's Continental Army with a message to the Congress, related a battle in which he fought, where in its aftermath two mothers came to the battlefield to retrieve the bodies of their sons killed in action. (The latter touched me tearfully as a wounded soldier from the Vietnam War).
Much has been written and depicted as to the significance of the document, but, its essence is that within every human heart there is a desire for freedom and a breaking of the chains of enslavement by tyrants, oppressive regimes, and various "isms." In the spiritual world there is an opportunity, as in my faith tradition of Christianity, to break the chains of enslavement to addictions, wrong thinking and sin. I sincerely believe that God recognized that the bonds of enslavement in the royal systems of "divine right rule" could only be broken through a totally new system and that became possible only through the founding of our nation. The men and women of our original colonies shed blood, tears, and comfort to bring forth our republic. Very few true republics have endured through history and some so-called republics today are not really republics.
Americans, as we enjoy our holiday, attend parades, watch fireworks, and barbecue in our yards, let us never forget the legacy we enjoy of those colonists and their courage, sacrifices, and spirit. Let us never lose our freedoms and become another political entity someday discarded in the trash heap of history. We are a nation forged in fires of faith as a gift on our shores from our Creator God. Let us maintain our Republic safe from those, who believe one of the "isms" is preferable.
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