Pastor Tom's Journal

I am making this Stephen Foster Memorial Day to commemorate the day he died in 1864. What sad and beautiful songs he wrote. Foster died tragically from accident, suicide, or some other trauma that left him bleeding from the neck at the age of 37. None can know what he would have become or how he would have evolved.  What he was was a poet and a musician who left a large body of heartfelt  mournful and joyful music. Was he an abolitionist? No one knows. Was he a critic of society? Not as it would seem. Was he a reformer? Not yet, yet, yet was yet to be. He was an observer and interpreter of the hearts, lives, experiences, and emotions of people. That was a great contribution in and of itself. Foster taught my soul to mourn and celebrate at the same time. Things are as they are and to know that is to both grieve and to rejoice. Sad, that he died so early. Glad, that he left so much of himself with us. Notable works "Beautiful Dreamer" "Camptown Races" "Hard Time...

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Ho ly Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."   Acts 8:14-17 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. he two went down and prayed for them that they ...

Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. (Revelation 3:2)   Harry was discouraged. He fostered such high hopes for progress when he began his life of discipleship. Along the way, he had not met all of his goals. He had experienced the limitations of the flesh and had felt the sting of rebuke. Now, as he evaluated his spiritual progress, all he saw was regress. He had the right answers. On the outside, he seemed like an ideal Christian. On the inside, he was spiritually dead and emotionally drained. "What's the use?" he muttered as he threw up his hands in despair. Then for some reason,  he began reading the book of Revelation. His eyes fell upon these words of Jesus to a church whose spiritual condition sounded much like his own. Sardis looked alive on the outside, but was dead on the inside. Jesus' words to that church spoke to that glimmer of spiritual life in Harry's heart. ...

 

    On this day in 1889 – Herman Hollerith is issued US patent #395,791 for the 'Art of Applying Statistics' — his punched card calculator https://www.ibm.com/.../builders/builders_hollerith.html https://www.ibm.com/.../vintage/vintage_4506VV2027.html http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/hollerith.html http://www.columbia.edu/.../computi.../census-tabulator.html On this day in 1926 – Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuỵ is crowned king of Vietnam, the country's last monarch. He was also known as Bảo Đại, "keeper of greatness." As an irrelevant aside, I learned this during my years in San Jose from my Vietnamese friends about kings and teachers: "The teacher bows to no one but the king and the king bows to no one, but his teacher." If a Vietnamese person addresses you as "Teacher," you have been greatly honored. On this day in 1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a "War on Poverty" in the United States. Johnson, a Roos...