Avalon Chronicles #54: "Raising our Young"
by Allen B. Clark www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Proverbs 22: 6 "Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it."
Zondervan. New International Version. Life Application Study Bible. 1991.
The practical application for this verse was found by me in the American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster 1828. Introduction page 12. Available at www.face.net.
"...Noah Webster's system of education included rather than excluded the influence of the American home:
(Webster wrote:)
'All government originates in families, and if neglected there, it will hardly exist in society...The foundation of all free government and of all social order must be laid in families and in the discipline of youth...The Education of youth, an employment of more consequence than making laws and preaching the gospel, because it lays the foundation on which both law and gospel rest for success.'
Noah Webster's own childhood had been blessed with a Christian home. His Pilgrim heritage through Governor Bradford provided him with the ingredients of Christian self-government, responsibility and work habits which would serve him well throughout a long, active life. When the family farm was mortgaged to send him to Yale College he took his parental benediction with him.
'We wish to have you serve your generation and do good in the world and be useful and may so behave as to gain the esteem of all virtuous people that are acquainted with you and gain a comfortable subsistence, but especially that you may live as to obtain the favor of Almighty God and His grace in this world and a saving interest in the merits of Jesus Christ, without which no man can be happy.'"
Appropriating seriously the merits of Jesus Christ can bring peace and tranquility to all to bring us as much happiness as we can possibly know in our earthly existence.
Approximately two decades ago I procured a copy of this monumental original first edition of Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary. He had traveled to Europe, studied other languages and great literature as well as the Holy Bible to compose his dictionary. I keep it beside my study chair and refer often to it. One will not find slang or the inane terminology used by so many today in it, but one is uplifted and edified to learn the true and correct and beautiful meaning of our language. Noah Webster in my opinion can truly be considered one of the Founding Fathers of America!
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Avalon Chronicles #53: "Prizes for Secular and Spiritual Discipline"
Avalon Chronicles #53: "Prizes for Secular and Spiritual Discipline"
by Allen B. Clark www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Biblical Reference: I Peter (New International Version Life Application Bible by Tyndale House and Zondervan.
Linda and I have completed our move to her deceased son's home. Our early mornings are spent in what we call our sun room with windows on two sides, where the rising sun greets us with its morning presence and the south sun lingers through the afternoon. Also it is where we converse and pray together in our recliners facing each other. The wall across from me has a framed small flintlock pistol and powder horn and a striking original painting of my childhood hero and role model Robert E. Lee as a newly-minted lieutenant graduate of West Point. Across from Linda behind me is displayed a tapestry picturing Jesus and also a framed print of Jesus. These represent, of course, the two worlds in which we have lived, for me the military and, for us both, the spiritual as Christians.
My secular military world was defined in no uncertain terms with obedience and discipline from age eight when I had tunnel vision to study and prepare myself for a cadet appointment at West Point. In my two all male secondary prep schools, I studied literally four to five hours per night. At West Point it is a life of all-consuming obedience and strict discipline to achieve the "prize" of graduation and commissioning as an officer, where the discipline was not as intensive, but yet overarching as I received the "prize" of the pride I felt in being able to serve my country.
In our secular arenas we constantly seek life's earthly "prizes," admission to and graduation from our first choice college, marriage to the spouse of our dreams, advancement in our career fields leading to the "prize" of financial security in our "golden" years. We discipline ourselves to save for the future. We discipline ourselves to eat healthily and exercise (in many instances less successfully than were our goals) to achieve a longer earthly existence. We are obedient and disciplined in our life's work and avocations.
Unfortunately, for our own greater peace and satisfaction, we typically do not exercise the requisite obedience and discipline in our spiritual dimension, where the "report cards" are not as evident. The ultimate "prize" of earthly spiritual existence is eternal life exemplified in (I Peter 1: 3-4), "...In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you,...." This ultimate "prize" of salvation is only achieved by those who, by faith, accept Jesus as Savior.
In my early thirties I moved to the next plateau of my spiritual life, that of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. My dear wife Linda achieved this spiritual level at a much earlier age. This is a state wherein we exert discipline and obedience reflected in lives well-lived as members of the family of God. We are summoned to holiness, "As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy because I am holy.'" (I Peter 1:14-16).
We are told to live our lives in "reverent fear," (healthy respect of a believer for the all-powerful God). Footnote (I Peter 1:17). We are advised (and in military terminology "ordered"), "Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind." (I Peter 2:1). In other words, to live lives of integrity and loving hearts, to become like Christ. We are to, "Live such good lives among the pagans, that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." (I Peter 2:12).We are to imitate, "Christ in all (our) social roles,...husbands and wives, church members and neighbors." (I Peter 2:18-3:17).
In I Peter 3:18-4:11 we are told by Peter that, "Christ should be our model for obedience to God...." Our greatest obstacle to a life of obedience and discipline is, as it is written, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith,..." (I Peter 5:8-9).
A unique contrast is evident in that in the secular world our "prize" comes after exertion and dedication to obedience and discipline. In the spiritual world our "prize" of knowledge of eternal life comes as early as one commits in faith with the consequent expectation from our merciful and gracious Father that in obedience with discipline we will then reflect "good" and do "good works.'
by Allen B. Clark www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Biblical Reference: I Peter (New International Version Life Application Bible by Tyndale House and Zondervan.
Linda and I have completed our move to her deceased son's home. Our early mornings are spent in what we call our sun room with windows on two sides, where the rising sun greets us with its morning presence and the south sun lingers through the afternoon. Also it is where we converse and pray together in our recliners facing each other. The wall across from me has a framed small flintlock pistol and powder horn and a striking original painting of my childhood hero and role model Robert E. Lee as a newly-minted lieutenant graduate of West Point. Across from Linda behind me is displayed a tapestry picturing Jesus and also a framed print of Jesus. These represent, of course, the two worlds in which we have lived, for me the military and, for us both, the spiritual as Christians.
My secular military world was defined in no uncertain terms with obedience and discipline from age eight when I had tunnel vision to study and prepare myself for a cadet appointment at West Point. In my two all male secondary prep schools, I studied literally four to five hours per night. At West Point it is a life of all-consuming obedience and strict discipline to achieve the "prize" of graduation and commissioning as an officer, where the discipline was not as intensive, but yet overarching as I received the "prize" of the pride I felt in being able to serve my country.
In our secular arenas we constantly seek life's earthly "prizes," admission to and graduation from our first choice college, marriage to the spouse of our dreams, advancement in our career fields leading to the "prize" of financial security in our "golden" years. We discipline ourselves to save for the future. We discipline ourselves to eat healthily and exercise (in many instances less successfully than were our goals) to achieve a longer earthly existence. We are obedient and disciplined in our life's work and avocations.
Unfortunately, for our own greater peace and satisfaction, we typically do not exercise the requisite obedience and discipline in our spiritual dimension, where the "report cards" are not as evident. The ultimate "prize" of earthly spiritual existence is eternal life exemplified in (I Peter 1: 3-4), "...In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you,...." This ultimate "prize" of salvation is only achieved by those who, by faith, accept Jesus as Savior.
In my early thirties I moved to the next plateau of my spiritual life, that of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. My dear wife Linda achieved this spiritual level at a much earlier age. This is a state wherein we exert discipline and obedience reflected in lives well-lived as members of the family of God. We are summoned to holiness, "As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy because I am holy.'" (I Peter 1:14-16).
We are told to live our lives in "reverent fear," (healthy respect of a believer for the all-powerful God). Footnote (I Peter 1:17). We are advised (and in military terminology "ordered"), "Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind." (I Peter 2:1). In other words, to live lives of integrity and loving hearts, to become like Christ. We are to, "Live such good lives among the pagans, that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." (I Peter 2:12).We are to imitate, "Christ in all (our) social roles,...husbands and wives, church members and neighbors." (I Peter 2:18-3:17).
In I Peter 3:18-4:11 we are told by Peter that, "Christ should be our model for obedience to God...." Our greatest obstacle to a life of obedience and discipline is, as it is written, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith,..." (I Peter 5:8-9).
A unique contrast is evident in that in the secular world our "prize" comes after exertion and dedication to obedience and discipline. In the spiritual world our "prize" of knowledge of eternal life comes as early as one commits in faith with the consequent expectation from our merciful and gracious Father that in obedience with discipline we will then reflect "good" and do "good works.'
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Avalon Chronicles #52: "Two Births"
Avalon Chronicles #52: "Two Births"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
The birth of all recorded history that is the one most important to the world is celebrated at the end of our calendar year. It is the birth of the Christ, Jesus, the Son of God, who came to earth to redeem us of our sins and to show us a way to eternal life. Christians focus at this time of year on the birth of a Child as the story is related, the Son of Mary, a virgin, and her husband Joseph.
One of Linda's and my favorite ministers is Derek Prince, who died in 2003 at age 88. His life and experiences are worth researching. We both have our own copy of his 1993 book titled The Spirit-Filled Believer's Handbook published by Creation House in Florida. Just this week I read what I might term his "Five Minute Fix." This is how he introduced to his daughter's piano teacher, ill in the hospital, in five minutes, how she could have the "Second Birth," termed "Born Again," by many. This story reflects a personal response by the woman to the essence of the gospel.
He visited the woman and inquired of her, since she was at the point of death, whether she was convicted that her sins were forgiven and was prepared to meet her Maker, God. She answered in the negative because her pastor in a well-known Protestant church in London typically preached only, "...about the Christian life and growing in grace."
In order for her to receive her own personal salvation assurance, he asked her to make her own specific personal response to the unfolding of a simple set of words.
She repeated after him these words:
"Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that you died for my sins; that you were buried; that you rose again the third day.
I now repent of my sins and come to you for mercy and forgiveness.
By faith in your promise, I receive you personally as my Savior and confess You as my Lord.
Come into my heart, give me eternal life and make me a child of God. Amen."
Upon this, she proclaimed that she believed she was saved. She became healed, returned to piano teaching, told her pastor what she had experienced, and in his next sermon, "He preached that the most important thing is to know you are saved."
The attainment and experiencing of this "Second Birth,"is not complex, is easier that schooling or marriage or work or life, and just takes faith for the comprehension of its relevance and truth. It is much less painful than the first birth is for a mother and its consequences are the assurance of your soul outliving your body!
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
The birth of all recorded history that is the one most important to the world is celebrated at the end of our calendar year. It is the birth of the Christ, Jesus, the Son of God, who came to earth to redeem us of our sins and to show us a way to eternal life. Christians focus at this time of year on the birth of a Child as the story is related, the Son of Mary, a virgin, and her husband Joseph.
One of Linda's and my favorite ministers is Derek Prince, who died in 2003 at age 88. His life and experiences are worth researching. We both have our own copy of his 1993 book titled The Spirit-Filled Believer's Handbook published by Creation House in Florida. Just this week I read what I might term his "Five Minute Fix." This is how he introduced to his daughter's piano teacher, ill in the hospital, in five minutes, how she could have the "Second Birth," termed "Born Again," by many. This story reflects a personal response by the woman to the essence of the gospel.
He visited the woman and inquired of her, since she was at the point of death, whether she was convicted that her sins were forgiven and was prepared to meet her Maker, God. She answered in the negative because her pastor in a well-known Protestant church in London typically preached only, "...about the Christian life and growing in grace."
In order for her to receive her own personal salvation assurance, he asked her to make her own specific personal response to the unfolding of a simple set of words.
She repeated after him these words:
"Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that you died for my sins; that you were buried; that you rose again the third day.
I now repent of my sins and come to you for mercy and forgiveness.
By faith in your promise, I receive you personally as my Savior and confess You as my Lord.
Come into my heart, give me eternal life and make me a child of God. Amen."
Upon this, she proclaimed that she believed she was saved. She became healed, returned to piano teaching, told her pastor what she had experienced, and in his next sermon, "He preached that the most important thing is to know you are saved."
The attainment and experiencing of this "Second Birth,"is not complex, is easier that schooling or marriage or work or life, and just takes faith for the comprehension of its relevance and truth. It is much less painful than the first birth is for a mother and its consequences are the assurance of your soul outliving your body!
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Avalon Chronicles #51: "Thanksgiving and Gratitude"
"Thanksgiving and Gratitude"
by Allen Clark www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."-----Psalm 118:24
Woke up this morning and went in to the kitchen of the home to which Linda and I had just moved this month. I told her I was thankful for two things this day. She said, "Just two?" I said, "Yes, my Lord and my Linda." A little background for you all. On August 10 this summer Linda and I had come to our new home, which then was resided in by her 52 year old son, Vincent, an only child and high school teacher. We found him deceased from a heart attack. The past few months have been busy indeed with all the estate and probate requirements and moving to his former home.
We have two recliners where we sit each morning to pray together, read our Bible, and converse. As I began my day seated two additional important elements came to mind, two "freedoms" for which I am also grateful. The faith entity under which our lay ministry operates is Combat Faith Ministry. In clearing our old storeroom I found a large poster printed years ago for my ministry presentations. It depicts the crest of my Vietnam Special Forces unit. The motto of the Green Berets is displayed on the poster, "De Oppresso Liber," translated meaning "Freedom From Oppression." When we truly believe in the Christian faith that Jesus is the Christ, our Savior and Lord, we comprehend that we are locked strategically and tactically (personally) in an earthly struggle between good and evil, and possess the opportunity to achieve spiritual freedom in overcoming the darkness and adversities of life. I am most thankful also for the exposure and opportunity to have learned much through my lifetime regarding spiritual warfare and how to overcome its oppressions.
On this Thanksgiving Day 2015 I reflect back on those harsh, foreboding and challenging times faced by the Pilgrims at Plymouth when they reached our shores, escaping the religious persecution of Europe. However, they gathered together and celebrated our land's first Thanksgiving. President Abraham Lincoln officially established it to be celebrated on the last Thursday of November each year. The freedoms of our land expressed in faith, government, and personal lives are unmatched ever in the annals of history.
Yesterday I walked through our nearby grocery store and again marveled at the bountiful and abundant product selections evident in all the aisles. We are indeed rich in material blessings in our land. However, this copious wealth of our land enjoyed by so many has been a product of the freedom we enjoy in this land of the free and home of the brave. Contrast what we have been blessed with in America to that in lands where there has been a lack of freedom due to other doctrines and ideologies. I am reading a book titled Putin's Oil by Marvin Sixsmith, a story about Mikhail Khodorkovsky, one of the Russian oligarchs, who came to financial prominence in the energy field after the fall of the Soviet Union. Khodorkovsky wrote later in his life about life under Communism;
"Today's young people do not remember what life was like for us in the Soviet Union before the start of Perestroika. I sometimes find it difficult to explain that rising prices for goods are not the most frightening thing in life. It is worse when you walk into a store and there is simply nothing there to buy. My first son [Pavel], who is now 18 years old and attending college, was born at that time. We had ration coupons---they were little cards ----and I had to get baby food for him with these coupons. Sometimes, the baby food wasn't delivered to the store. It was good when we had a bit stocked up at home, and it was a good thing that we lived in Moscow, where the food situation was easier. Nevertheless, every morning at 6 a.m. I had to go to the place where they were selling this baby food. And if they ran out, there was nowhere else to buy it. I don't wish any of you who have, or will have, children to go through something like this."
The contrast between our freedoms and blessings and the lack thereof in other systems is self-evident. In gratitude we must reflect this day for much to include we are not being persecuted as are many of our Christian brothers and sisters under other regimes by much more severe methods than were experienced by the Pilgrims four centuries ago. Sometimes few things change. Praise God for the freedoms and protection we enjoy in our homeland!
by Allen Clark www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."-----Psalm 118:24
Woke up this morning and went in to the kitchen of the home to which Linda and I had just moved this month. I told her I was thankful for two things this day. She said, "Just two?" I said, "Yes, my Lord and my Linda." A little background for you all. On August 10 this summer Linda and I had come to our new home, which then was resided in by her 52 year old son, Vincent, an only child and high school teacher. We found him deceased from a heart attack. The past few months have been busy indeed with all the estate and probate requirements and moving to his former home.
We have two recliners where we sit each morning to pray together, read our Bible, and converse. As I began my day seated two additional important elements came to mind, two "freedoms" for which I am also grateful. The faith entity under which our lay ministry operates is Combat Faith Ministry. In clearing our old storeroom I found a large poster printed years ago for my ministry presentations. It depicts the crest of my Vietnam Special Forces unit. The motto of the Green Berets is displayed on the poster, "De Oppresso Liber," translated meaning "Freedom From Oppression." When we truly believe in the Christian faith that Jesus is the Christ, our Savior and Lord, we comprehend that we are locked strategically and tactically (personally) in an earthly struggle between good and evil, and possess the opportunity to achieve spiritual freedom in overcoming the darkness and adversities of life. I am most thankful also for the exposure and opportunity to have learned much through my lifetime regarding spiritual warfare and how to overcome its oppressions.
On this Thanksgiving Day 2015 I reflect back on those harsh, foreboding and challenging times faced by the Pilgrims at Plymouth when they reached our shores, escaping the religious persecution of Europe. However, they gathered together and celebrated our land's first Thanksgiving. President Abraham Lincoln officially established it to be celebrated on the last Thursday of November each year. The freedoms of our land expressed in faith, government, and personal lives are unmatched ever in the annals of history.
Yesterday I walked through our nearby grocery store and again marveled at the bountiful and abundant product selections evident in all the aisles. We are indeed rich in material blessings in our land. However, this copious wealth of our land enjoyed by so many has been a product of the freedom we enjoy in this land of the free and home of the brave. Contrast what we have been blessed with in America to that in lands where there has been a lack of freedom due to other doctrines and ideologies. I am reading a book titled Putin's Oil by Marvin Sixsmith, a story about Mikhail Khodorkovsky, one of the Russian oligarchs, who came to financial prominence in the energy field after the fall of the Soviet Union. Khodorkovsky wrote later in his life about life under Communism;
"Today's young people do not remember what life was like for us in the Soviet Union before the start of Perestroika. I sometimes find it difficult to explain that rising prices for goods are not the most frightening thing in life. It is worse when you walk into a store and there is simply nothing there to buy. My first son [Pavel], who is now 18 years old and attending college, was born at that time. We had ration coupons---they were little cards ----and I had to get baby food for him with these coupons. Sometimes, the baby food wasn't delivered to the store. It was good when we had a bit stocked up at home, and it was a good thing that we lived in Moscow, where the food situation was easier. Nevertheless, every morning at 6 a.m. I had to go to the place where they were selling this baby food. And if they ran out, there was nowhere else to buy it. I don't wish any of you who have, or will have, children to go through something like this."
The contrast between our freedoms and blessings and the lack thereof in other systems is self-evident. In gratitude we must reflect this day for much to include we are not being persecuted as are many of our Christian brothers and sisters under other regimes by much more severe methods than were experienced by the Pilgrims four centuries ago. Sometimes few things change. Praise God for the freedoms and protection we enjoy in our homeland!
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Avalon Chronicles #50: "How Long Will America Last?"
"How Long Will America Last?"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
SOURCE: Noah Webster's First Edition (1828) of an American Dictionary of the English Language.
Republished in facsimile edition by Foundation for American Christian Education
www.face.net.
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty" II Corinthians 3:17
"If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Psalms 11:3
In 1976, America's Bicentennial Year, Dallas' Rabbi Levi Olan said, "Jul 4th is a celebration of freedom rooted in a religious sense of thanksgiving to God."
(Preface) The Seed of the Giant Sequoia
"Sequoia gigantes, or Big Tree, grows only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California at elevations varying from 5,000 to 8,500 feet above sea level. Individuals of this species are the largest living things on the face of the globe....
The Sequoia gigantes seems to go on living indefinitely and may stand as long as one hundred generations....
The age of living sequoias is difficult to determine but the actual ring count of cut trees has indicated that many are from 3,000 to 4,000 years old. Some of these trees in California were already majestic giants when the star of Bethlehem rose in the heavens. Here they remained while the Chain of Christianity moved westward with 'signs following'-the liberty of the individual, and of nations. Just yesterday in a sequoia's life, came the flowering of these Bethlehem principles in government-'We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness-That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men..."
Will our government last anywhere near as long as these sequoias?
I have a copy of this dictionary right beside my reading chair and frequently refer to it. It is an extraordinary work by a Founding Father of our United States of America as much as those we typically identify as such. It quotes definitions from great works of literature as well as from the Holy Bible. Current day Webster's dictionaries known to us all cannot compare to the depth, lustre, vision, and inspiration of our language that comprised the original 1828 version.
"Noah Webster spent a lifetime endeavoring to liberate America from European ties of 'folly, corruption, and tyranny.' He sought to build an educational system in the school, the church and the home embodying 'a love of virtue, patriotism, and religion.' In the Preface to his History of the United States he wrote: 'Republican government loses half its value, where the moral and social duties are imperfectly understood, or imperfectly practiced. To exterminate our popular vices is a work of far more importance to the character and happiness of our citizens than any other improvements in our system of education.'" (page 10).
Independence Day Collect Book of Common Prayer
"Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of our country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
SOURCE: Noah Webster's First Edition (1828) of an American Dictionary of the English Language.
Republished in facsimile edition by Foundation for American Christian Education
www.face.net.
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty" II Corinthians 3:17
"If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Psalms 11:3
In 1976, America's Bicentennial Year, Dallas' Rabbi Levi Olan said, "Jul 4th is a celebration of freedom rooted in a religious sense of thanksgiving to God."
(Preface) The Seed of the Giant Sequoia
"Sequoia gigantes, or Big Tree, grows only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California at elevations varying from 5,000 to 8,500 feet above sea level. Individuals of this species are the largest living things on the face of the globe....
The Sequoia gigantes seems to go on living indefinitely and may stand as long as one hundred generations....
The age of living sequoias is difficult to determine but the actual ring count of cut trees has indicated that many are from 3,000 to 4,000 years old. Some of these trees in California were already majestic giants when the star of Bethlehem rose in the heavens. Here they remained while the Chain of Christianity moved westward with 'signs following'-the liberty of the individual, and of nations. Just yesterday in a sequoia's life, came the flowering of these Bethlehem principles in government-'We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness-That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men..."
Will our government last anywhere near as long as these sequoias?
I have a copy of this dictionary right beside my reading chair and frequently refer to it. It is an extraordinary work by a Founding Father of our United States of America as much as those we typically identify as such. It quotes definitions from great works of literature as well as from the Holy Bible. Current day Webster's dictionaries known to us all cannot compare to the depth, lustre, vision, and inspiration of our language that comprised the original 1828 version.
"Noah Webster spent a lifetime endeavoring to liberate America from European ties of 'folly, corruption, and tyranny.' He sought to build an educational system in the school, the church and the home embodying 'a love of virtue, patriotism, and religion.' In the Preface to his History of the United States he wrote: 'Republican government loses half its value, where the moral and social duties are imperfectly understood, or imperfectly practiced. To exterminate our popular vices is a work of far more importance to the character and happiness of our citizens than any other improvements in our system of education.'" (page 10).
Independence Day Collect Book of Common Prayer
"Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of our country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen"
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Avalon Chronicles #49: "Levels of Spiritual Maturity"
Avalon Chronicles #49: "Levels of Spiritual Maturity"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
As I have reflected on my own levels of spiritual maturation, I have compared it to the secular levels of education in civilian and military career progressions.
In the military my original course as an officer was my basic combat engineer course at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Enlisted military undergo their respective basic training courses. In all our lives we begin and complete kindergarten through elementary and junior high school. Many of you will recall something or other written years ago about "All you ever need to know you learn in kindergarten." I recall it was put things up, close cabinets, etc. etc. In the spiritual world these beginnings of our education relate to the beginning stages and steps of our faith walk, our building blocks, and that relates to my immediately prior blog, "Jesus as Savior."
In the military our next level is Officer Career Course (which I never even began due to my early career derailment because of Vietnam War wounds). For our Army people in the enlisted ranks it is Advanced Individual Training. It is high school for all of us. One of my next messages will relate our maturation and advancement on the birthday of the Christian faith (Pentecost) when we grasp the significance of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, bequeathed to us by Jesus when He ascended to be with His Father, our Father in Heaven.
Our next level relates to our further maturation and path of faith, perhaps college, and in the military our advanced specialty courses for all. My own level of faith development became my understanding of the power of prayer when I joined a couples Bible study almost four decades ago. It was when the Word of God became implanted in me that I began quantum leaps in my faith. It will be my plan to discuss the power of prayer and God's Word in future messages.
Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, recognize the importance and power of the Holy Spirit within us, and begin to appropriate the incredible dimension and power of prayer, it is time really to begin to live as Jesus taught us in the New Testament. The scriptures tell us in I Corinthians 13:11 (KJV) "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." This is when it is time to begin to really grow in our faith.
In the Army our next level of education is the Command&General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS. This is where officers begin to broaden their overall understanding of strategy for their careers. Perhaps in the civilian world it may be likened to advanced education after an undergraduate degree. This spiritual level of our maturation is when we apply practically to ourselves and our relationships to family, work, others, and the world what Jesus and original authors of our Christian Bible wrote. Powerful indeed are these teachings to which most of us give much too little attention. If we did, our lives would be much smoother. When I worked at a Veterans medical center, I would go to the cafeteria and sit with random veterans for conversation. One day I met a Korean War veteran, who returned after the war to his old neighborhood and church. He said he worshiped every Sunday at that church and because he did that, his week always went better.
The military education system at its highest levels is encompassed in the "War Colleges." In civilian life perhaps it is reflected in the doctoral programs. Many decades ago I became aware of spiritual warfare and it will be my plan to relate in future messages what I have learned in the arenas of tactical (personal) and strategic (rest of world) warfare in the spirit realm, that one in which the eternal struggle since the Fall occurs between our God and the antagonist Lucifer, who commands his own army of demonic spirits to work us over.
Obviously I have related about the higher levels of secular education and advancement with degrees, but be reminded that some of the strongest examples of Christians are those of limited advanced educations who have schooled themselves spiritually to an astounding degree. Never would I presume to attempt to impart any high and mighty expressions of doctrinal or theological truths. As for me I am just a simple layman who is attempting to impart to others through my chronicles my path of spiritual growth over several decades, a "working faith."
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
As I have reflected on my own levels of spiritual maturation, I have compared it to the secular levels of education in civilian and military career progressions.
In the military my original course as an officer was my basic combat engineer course at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Enlisted military undergo their respective basic training courses. In all our lives we begin and complete kindergarten through elementary and junior high school. Many of you will recall something or other written years ago about "All you ever need to know you learn in kindergarten." I recall it was put things up, close cabinets, etc. etc. In the spiritual world these beginnings of our education relate to the beginning stages and steps of our faith walk, our building blocks, and that relates to my immediately prior blog, "Jesus as Savior."
In the military our next level is Officer Career Course (which I never even began due to my early career derailment because of Vietnam War wounds). For our Army people in the enlisted ranks it is Advanced Individual Training. It is high school for all of us. One of my next messages will relate our maturation and advancement on the birthday of the Christian faith (Pentecost) when we grasp the significance of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, bequeathed to us by Jesus when He ascended to be with His Father, our Father in Heaven.
Our next level relates to our further maturation and path of faith, perhaps college, and in the military our advanced specialty courses for all. My own level of faith development became my understanding of the power of prayer when I joined a couples Bible study almost four decades ago. It was when the Word of God became implanted in me that I began quantum leaps in my faith. It will be my plan to discuss the power of prayer and God's Word in future messages.
Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, recognize the importance and power of the Holy Spirit within us, and begin to appropriate the incredible dimension and power of prayer, it is time really to begin to live as Jesus taught us in the New Testament. The scriptures tell us in I Corinthians 13:11 (KJV) "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." This is when it is time to begin to really grow in our faith.
In the Army our next level of education is the Command&General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS. This is where officers begin to broaden their overall understanding of strategy for their careers. Perhaps in the civilian world it may be likened to advanced education after an undergraduate degree. This spiritual level of our maturation is when we apply practically to ourselves and our relationships to family, work, others, and the world what Jesus and original authors of our Christian Bible wrote. Powerful indeed are these teachings to which most of us give much too little attention. If we did, our lives would be much smoother. When I worked at a Veterans medical center, I would go to the cafeteria and sit with random veterans for conversation. One day I met a Korean War veteran, who returned after the war to his old neighborhood and church. He said he worshiped every Sunday at that church and because he did that, his week always went better.
The military education system at its highest levels is encompassed in the "War Colleges." In civilian life perhaps it is reflected in the doctoral programs. Many decades ago I became aware of spiritual warfare and it will be my plan to relate in future messages what I have learned in the arenas of tactical (personal) and strategic (rest of world) warfare in the spirit realm, that one in which the eternal struggle since the Fall occurs between our God and the antagonist Lucifer, who commands his own army of demonic spirits to work us over.
Obviously I have related about the higher levels of secular education and advancement with degrees, but be reminded that some of the strongest examples of Christians are those of limited advanced educations who have schooled themselves spiritually to an astounding degree. Never would I presume to attempt to impart any high and mighty expressions of doctrinal or theological truths. As for me I am just a simple layman who is attempting to impart to others through my chronicles my path of spiritual growth over several decades, a "working faith."
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Avalon Chronicles #48: "Jesus as Savior"
Avalon Chronicles #48: "Jesus as Savior"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
King James Version Life Application Study Bible by Tyndale House 1988, 1989
This is the most important Avalon Chronicle I have written or will ever write. Several years ago a friend of my father, who died in 1984, took me to the east Fort Worth neighborhood where my father had lived. He told me he was at the service when my father went down the aisle to commit his life to Christ. I have read recountings of the exact day or circumstances when others accepted Jesus as personal Savior. For me it was not at any specific time that I can recall, however I have known Jesus as Savior and Lord for a very long time.
In our lives we spend an inordinate amount of time and energy "preparing" for some event or accomplishment for ourselves; exams, applications for college, interviews for jobs, advancement in careers, and, yes, especially for us guys, finding and courting the girl of our dreams for marriage.
However to my ceaseless, but understandable, amazement, I am not aware of many who demonstrably prepare themselves for the "afterlife," eternity, with very much aforethought or dedication.
Of all our preparations and achievements in life, ensuring we have eternal life and that we endure past the grave, is the most profound, compelling, rewarding, and yet simplest endeavor we can undertake. We may know Jesus as a child, through historical references, answered prayers, and in our soul (head knowledge, feelings, and supposed choice), but to truly "know" Him beyond outward manifestations and outward trappings such as church attendance, prayers when we need things, and "reading" our Bibles, requires something distinct and specific.
1. The Word in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." This is a definite and prevalent condition for us all!
2. We can wipe clean the slate of our past sins. In I John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Recollection and addressing of sins will typically require a process of some quiet time on one's own in privacy to perform a personal audit. The time to accomplish an audit is variable depending on where one is or has been . Confess all sins of thought, word, and deed, known and unknown. God's forgiveness is real and lasting and may be accepted unconditionally.
3. The Word says most simply and succintly in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The footnote states, "The entire Gospel comes to a focus in this verse....God paid dearly with the life of his Son, the highest price he could pay. Jesus accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins, and then offered us the new life he bought for us." Jesus was crucified horribly on a cross to save us all.
4. We are children in an earthly family and most of us appreciate that family and are loyal to it. Should we not be more diligent and loyal to become a member of a yet higher family, that of the family of God? In John 1:12 it is written, "But as many as received him, to them he gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." I have derived a special power and membership by the decision to accept Jesus as personal Savior. It is a power as a minimum to help me each day to get through all the challenges and stumbling blocks in my path.
5. HERE IT IS! CONFESS YOUR FAITH!
I do not know what my father said at the altar, but I know I have followed and spoken this written in Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
It is the easiest decision to make, easier than college preps, job interviews, and popping the question for marriage.The plan is outlined in the five steps above.
If not you, who? If not now, when?
THE CHOICE IS YOURS. TIME IS SHORT!
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
King James Version Life Application Study Bible by Tyndale House 1988, 1989
This is the most important Avalon Chronicle I have written or will ever write. Several years ago a friend of my father, who died in 1984, took me to the east Fort Worth neighborhood where my father had lived. He told me he was at the service when my father went down the aisle to commit his life to Christ. I have read recountings of the exact day or circumstances when others accepted Jesus as personal Savior. For me it was not at any specific time that I can recall, however I have known Jesus as Savior and Lord for a very long time.
In our lives we spend an inordinate amount of time and energy "preparing" for some event or accomplishment for ourselves; exams, applications for college, interviews for jobs, advancement in careers, and, yes, especially for us guys, finding and courting the girl of our dreams for marriage.
However to my ceaseless, but understandable, amazement, I am not aware of many who demonstrably prepare themselves for the "afterlife," eternity, with very much aforethought or dedication.
Of all our preparations and achievements in life, ensuring we have eternal life and that we endure past the grave, is the most profound, compelling, rewarding, and yet simplest endeavor we can undertake. We may know Jesus as a child, through historical references, answered prayers, and in our soul (head knowledge, feelings, and supposed choice), but to truly "know" Him beyond outward manifestations and outward trappings such as church attendance, prayers when we need things, and "reading" our Bibles, requires something distinct and specific.
1. The Word in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." This is a definite and prevalent condition for us all!
2. We can wipe clean the slate of our past sins. In I John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Recollection and addressing of sins will typically require a process of some quiet time on one's own in privacy to perform a personal audit. The time to accomplish an audit is variable depending on where one is or has been . Confess all sins of thought, word, and deed, known and unknown. God's forgiveness is real and lasting and may be accepted unconditionally.
3. The Word says most simply and succintly in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The footnote states, "The entire Gospel comes to a focus in this verse....God paid dearly with the life of his Son, the highest price he could pay. Jesus accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins, and then offered us the new life he bought for us." Jesus was crucified horribly on a cross to save us all.
4. We are children in an earthly family and most of us appreciate that family and are loyal to it. Should we not be more diligent and loyal to become a member of a yet higher family, that of the family of God? In John 1:12 it is written, "But as many as received him, to them he gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." I have derived a special power and membership by the decision to accept Jesus as personal Savior. It is a power as a minimum to help me each day to get through all the challenges and stumbling blocks in my path.
5. HERE IT IS! CONFESS YOUR FAITH!
I do not know what my father said at the altar, but I know I have followed and spoken this written in Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
It is the easiest decision to make, easier than college preps, job interviews, and popping the question for marriage.The plan is outlined in the five steps above.
If not you, who? If not now, when?
THE CHOICE IS YOURS. TIME IS SHORT!
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