Truman: Doing What's Right

In David McCullough’s book, “Truman,” there are many insights into the life of our former President. I was only ten years old when this outspoken man stepped out of the office of Vice President and into the office of President following the death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Even though I was young, I remember a lot about him.

President Harry S. Truman was a man who lived by his convictions. Everyone always knew where they stood with him because he was never bashful about taking a stand on anything he believed in. He was a professing Christian and a member of a Southern Baptist Church, however, his salty language was an embarrassment to most Christians.

McCullough tells about President Truman visiting Mexico in 1947. At that time, anti-American feelings were rampant among the Mexican people and there was justified concern in Washington about the President visiting there.

During his trip to Mexico, the President unexpectedly changed his itinerary and announced that he would visit Chapultepec Castle, which is the West Point of Mexico. His advisors were against it; all the protocol experts said “you can’t do that,” but President Truman went anyway.

The reason his advisors said he shouldn’t go was because 100 years earlier, during the war between the U.S. and Mexico, U.S. troops captured Chapultepec Castle. They killed everyone except six young Mexican cadets who took their own lives rather than surrender to the U.S. The Mexican government erected a monument at the castle to these six young men.

There at the monument to Los Ninos Heroes at Chapultepec, President Truman placed a wreath and bowed his head in prayer. Then a strange and wonderful thing happened, the cadets in the Mexican Color Guard burst into tears and wept openly!

It’s been said that in the history of the two countries, nothing has ever been done that was so helpful in cementing our relationship with Mexico. In Mexico City, for many years following that incident, taxi drivers would weep at the mere mention of President Harry Truman’s name.

Doing what is right will always be pleasing to the Lord, even if others don’t understand. 1 Chronicles 11:15-19

Miracle In The Fog

While serving as missionaries in Latin America, we had many opportunities to trust the Lord and live by faith. I remember one time in particular while living in Honduras. The roads there are sometimes dangerous and the government does very little to keep them up. It was early one morning and we were traveling on a road high in the mountains. It was a typical mountain road where the mountain is on one side and it’s straight down on the other!

As we came around a bend in the road, we found ourselves engulfed in fog so thick, we could only see a few feet beyond the car. There were three things that made the matter worse; the road was extremely narrow with a lot of switch-backs, there were no guard rails, and there was no shoulder where we could pull over and wait for the fog to lift!

The moment we entered the fog we began praying for the Lord to protect and guide us through it. We drove slowly, inching our way along. Suddenly, it appeared the road was making a curve, but the fog was so thick we couldn’t be sure that we could follow it.

Then we saw one short yellow strip dividing the road - then two. Visibility was so poor we could only see one or two stripes at a time, but what a blessing they were because now we could keep the car aligned with the road!

We filled the car with praises to God as we traveled slowly through the fog. Finally, the sun broke through, and as the fog lifted we noticed that there were no more yellow stripes. We laughed for joy and thanked the Lord for having the Honduran government paint those yellow stripes on the road to guide us through!

After our trip was complete, we returned home via a different route. Several days later we were talking with a fellow missionary who regularly traveled the road where we experienced the heavy fog. We told him about how we would have never made it through those mountains without the yellow striping on the road.

With a puzzled look on his face, our friend said, “I just traveled in that area and there are no yellow stripes anywhere on that road – you can ask anyone who lives there and they’ll tell you the same thing.”

My husband and I looked at each other in silence. The Lord had miraculously taken us through the fog with yellow stripes that He placed there just to get us through.

Don't Sweat It!

Remember the deodorant commercial with the line; “Don’t let them see you sweat!” Or, maybe you’ve heard the saying, “Don’t sweat it,” meaning, “Don’t worry about it.”

One of Webster’s definitions for sweat is, “To labor or exert oneself…” I think we all agree that hard work and sweat definitely go together. My Grandmother Smith worked hard all her life and when she’d give me a job to do, she would say, “Now a little hard work never killed anybody.”

But did you know that God doesn’t like sweat when it comes to serving Him? In Ezekiel 44:17-18, The Lord is giving instructions for the Priests serving in the Temple; “And it shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and wool shall not be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court. Linen turbans shall be on their heads, and linen undergarments shall be on their loins, they should not gird themselves with anything that makes them sweat.”

God hates sweat because it’s a sign that our work for Him is of our flesh and not by His Spirit. When we’re sweating, it means that we’re trying to do it instead of giving it to God and letting Him do it through us.

Not only is our sweat not pleasing to the Lord, but we can get more done by resting in the Lord than we’ll ever do by “sweating it.”

Worry Is Like a Rat

Do you worry? One thing I’ve discovered about worrying, it doesn’t help the situation, and sometimes it makes it worse. One thing for sure, it’s a bad habit. A very bad habit.

You may have heard the story about the pilot and the rat. It’s been around a while and although no one seems to know who wrote it, it’s a great illustration that shows us how to deal with worry. It goes like this:

Years ago, in the pioneer days of aviation, a pilot took off from an airfield. After he was in the air about two hours, he heard a gnawing sound. He realized that a rat must have gotten inside while his plane was on the ground. The gnawing continued. It was a very serious situation, and he was worried.

At first he didn’t know what to do. It was either return to the airfield he had left two hours before, or continue on to the next airfield which was over two hours ahead.

Then he remembered, “The rat is a rodent and it’s not made for heights – it’s made to live on the ground and underground.” So the pilot began to climb. He went up a thousand feet, then another thousand, until he was more than twenty thousand feet above the earth.

The gnawing ceased. The rat was dead. It couldn’t survive the heights.

Worry is like a rat. It gnaws at us and can eventually cause serious damage, physically, mentally, and spiritually. But worry can’t stand the heights our prayers go when we take our worries to the Lord. Worry can’t stand the atmosphere when we praise Him, when we thank Him, when we mediate upon His Word and quote His promises.

In God’s presence, the gnawing ceases. Worry is dead. It can’t survive His lofty presence.

Leaving a Legacy, Part 1

There are two things for certain in life; we all will die one day, and we can’t take anything with us when we do. For those of us who don’t have much material wealth to leave to our loved ones, what kind of legacy can we leave to those who come along behind us?

I’ve been reading in 2 Timothy 1:5 about the legacy of faith that was left to Timothy. The Apostle Paul is writing the letter and he says; “I have been reminded of your sincere faith (Timothy), which first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded, now lives in you.”

Sincere faith is a wonderful legacy to pass on. I did some research on the word “sincere” and found that it’s possibly taken from two words in Latin; sine (without), and cera (wax). Without wax.

I was curious why the word ‘sincere’ had such a meaning. One of the stories going around is that stone workers during the Republic of Rome, would cover imperfections in stone by applying wax in crevices, much like homemakers or unscrupulous antique dealers might rub wax into wood to hide a scratch (About.com). For dealers to say that their product was “Sine Cera” meant you were getting an honest deal and the stone was of the finest quality, pure, with nothing hidden.

That’s the kind of legacy I want to leave behind, a faith with no wax added. I invite you to join me in praying this prayer; “Lord, purify my faith, make it sincere with nothing hidden, that I might leave a legacy of sincere faith to those who come behind me.”

Don't Look Back

I learned a lot on the mission field. Many times, scripture came to life when I saw people living like they did in Biblical times.

In Costa Rica for example, oxen are still used to plow fields. The people there paint the oxen yokes with bold colors and create interesting designs that have been handed down from generation to generation. Many times we would see farmers plowing with their oxen on the side of a steep mountain and marvel at how they could do it. It’s definitely an art.

Once they start to plow a row, they don’t stop until it’s done. They must keep their eye on where they’re going. If they look back, they’ll get off course and the row will be crooked.

In Luke 9:57-62, Jesus is urging men to follow Him. First one and then another had an excuse. They said they must do other things first and then they would follow Him. But in verse 62, Jesus tells them, “…No one after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Jesus was comparing people to a farmer plowing a field. He wanted to show them that they would get off course if they turned around and started taking care of every day things instead of following Him.

Everyday cares still draw us away from the Lord and what He is calling us to do. We have to press on toward Him and what He has set before us if we’re to be fit for His kingdom.

Have you set out to follow Him? Then don’t look back, it will get you off course.

Idols and Other Stuff

There comes a time when you’ve got to get rid of “stuff” or your house won’t hold it all.

Ahh, but just getting ready for a garage sale brings up all sorts of emotions. Trust me, I know. I just had a garage sale.

What about that vase that Aunt Emily gave you? You can’t get rid of that, what would you tell her when she comes to visit? Or that tool that hasn’t been used in 5 years? You may need it, you never know! Or, you can’t get rid of that stack of magazines, remember all those recipes?!

The Israelites had a similar problem. Because of their incessant complaining, God sent serpents among them. Then he told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a stick. Anyone who looked upon it would not die from the snake bites.

Seven hundred years later, the Israelites still had the bronze serpent. It had become an idol and they were worshipping it. (Numbers 21:5-9 & 2 Kings 18:4).

It makes you wonder, where does "stuff" end and idols begin?