June 2010 Devotionals
June 28, 2010
Our Wonderful Heritage: Just Laws Justly Applied
A Conversation with Elizabeth Rice Handford
This week we're celebrating our wonderful heritage of freedom in this beloved country. Sure, we face serious problems, but let's not lose sight of fact that we are supremely blessed by God to live in the United States of America.
One piece of that hard-fought struggle for independence happened just a few miles from our home, on a bit of ground in the south part of Greenville County (SC) by the Reedy River, lush with bamboo. (That's how the Reedy got its name.) In December of 1775, Colonel William Thomson was sent from Laurens to rout out a detachment of Tory soldiers who had encamped by the Reedy River. He marched his volunteers, 1300 of them, 23 miles during the night, found the enemy encampment, and began to surround it.
The Englishmen awakened before they were completely encircled, and fled through that opening. Their commander, Patrick Cunningham, fled on a horse bare-back, yelling as he went, "Shift for yourselves!" At the end of the battle, only one American had been wounded, and six Englishmen killed. But the Americans took 136 Tories as prisoners.
The Americans, tired from their forced march, furious with the English soldiers for their "treachery," wanted to kill all their prisoners. After all, they'd have been killed in the battle if they hadn't surrendered!
But Colonel Thomson said, "No! We will not kill a single prisoner. We are fighting this war for the right to have just laws, and for those laws to be applied equally and fairly for everybody, Englishman and American. If you slaughter these men, you will be unfaithful to the principles we're fighting for. Don't you dare touch them."
The prisoners gave their word they would not fight again, and they were released. It began to snow as Thomson gathered his weary soldiers and began the 23 mile trek back to camp. The men had no warm clothing, few even had good shoes, and the march through the accumulation of 30 inches of snow (some sort of record for South Carolina!) was torturous.
That kind of sacrifice has been repeated hundreds of times by American men and women throughout our history. Because of their sacrifices, this week we can celebrate this 224th year of American independence. May God help us to be grateful for them, and as faithful as they have been.
June 21, 2010
A Ten-year-old Boy Tells Things He Has Learned
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford
"I have learned," said the surprised child, "that you shouldn't mistake a brown crayon for a Tootsie Roll."
Well, sure!
But a kid might run into trouble if he had a hankering for a bit of candy, and took only a quick glance. But he'd be in trouble, too, if he intended to draw a picture and ended up with a Tootsie Roll.
I remember once, in a confrontation with one of our children, that I decided the child actually enjoyed being bad! I thought I saw a stubborn set to her jaw, a defensive look in her eyes, and I was ready to dispense really heavy discipline. And then I saw a tear trickle down her face. She wasn't rebellious, she was heart-broken. She didn't like being bad, but she didn't know how to help it! Condemnation wasn't what she needed. She needed mercy and forgiveness, and guidance along a new path. I had wronged her by judging her appearance.
God was about to reveal Israel's new king to the Prophet Samuel. Samuel had looked at one young man and said, "Surely this is the man God wants to be our new king."
But God said, "Don't judge by his appearance or height. I doesn't make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but I look at a person's thoughts and intentions." (1 Samuel 16:7)
Jesus warned the same thing in John 7:24, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment."
My first impressions of a person might be wrong. So I need, as Jesus said, to judge people fairly, and make allowances for their weaknesses, as I dearly want them to make allowances for me.
I don't want to mistake a brown crayon for a Tootsie Roll.
June 14, 2010
"I Taste My Words . . ."
A Conversation with Elizabeth Rice Handford
Ever been in a conversation with a friend, and you said something, and knew immediately by the expression on your friend's face that it was the wrong thing to say?
So have I! I didn't intend to be mean; I was just careless. . . but it hurt. Sadly, sometimes I'm afraid I don't even realize I've hurt someone with my thoughtless words.
A Scottish woman said,
I taste my words ere they pass my teeth!
Great idea! If I stop to think how my words would "taste" if they were said to me, then I'll be more likely to encourage people and less likely to offend them.
That must be what King David had in mind when he prayed, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer" (Psalm 19:14).
Several important ideas here:
What's in my heart will come out in my conversations.
If I am careful to guard what I think about, then what I talk about will be helpful to others. But thinking right is very hard in this topsy-turvy world we live in. I really need the Lord's help to be my strength, and my redeemer to help me be what I deeply want to be.
Sounds simple. But it's not as easy as it sounds. "Lord, help me today to taste my words before they pass my teeth!"