New Phone Scam

It was an odd sort of phone call that I received this afternoon. I recognized that it was a new scam quickly. The male voice with a thick accent told me that I had been awarded a government grant of seven thousand dollars.

Interesting! I had not applied for a government grant. As a mayor I know all the rules and red tape for getting government a grant. I began to ask questions about what was the grant for and what department it was from and what program. No answers. Then he want to know my name, social security number and bank routing number for sending the grant money to my account.

I said, “What you don’t know my name?”

He hung up.

Available

Though out the bible we see that men and women who had an awareness of the presence of God. They listened and made themselves available to be used by God for a mission.

Abraham listened to the voice of God and moved to a new land. Moses liste4ned to the voice of God and returned to Egypt to lead the Hebrews back to that same land. Deborah listened to the voice of God and led the Hebrews to victory and a return to faith.

It matters not what our talents might be. What really matters is our availability. All of the spiritual gifts and natural abilities are  they are wasted unless we make them available to God. Long ago I resolved be available to God and be content with what ever God called me to do. 

Still working it out

In Philippians 2:12 Paul tells us to “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

This verse has often puzzled me since he also says that salvation if a free gift God though grace.  What does it mean for me to work out  my own salvation?

Here is the rub, I carry around within me a lot of baggage that hinders my acceptance of this free gift of grace. Things like anger, fear, selfishness, and hatred of those different than me. So working though my salvation means letting  go of my anger toward someone and forgiving them even if they do not ask for it. It means letting go of those things that I covet.  It means relinquishing control of situations that make me anxious.

God invites me to work out my salvation by letting go of things I want to control and allowing God to do some cleaning in this earthly tent that I call my life.

Taking It With Him

There was a man who had worked all of his life, had saved all of  his money, and was a real miser when it came to his money. Just before he died, he said to his wife,

"When I die, I want you to take all my money and put it in the casket with me. I want to take my money to the afterlife with me."

And so he got his wife to promise him with all of her heart that when he died, she would put all of the money in the casket with him. Well, he died. He was stretched out in the casket, his wife was sitting there in black, and her friend was sitting next to her. When they finished the ceremony, just before the undertakers got ready ! to close the casket, the wife said, "Wait just a minute!"

She had a box with her; she came over with the box and put it in the casket. Then the undertakers locked the casket down, and they rolled it away.So her friend said, "Girl, I know you weren't fool enough to put all that money in there with your husband."

The loyal wife replied, "Listen, I'm a Christian, I can't go back on my word. I promised him that I was going to put that money in that casket with him." "You mean to tell me you put that money in the casket with him!!!!?"

"I sure did," said the wife. "I got it all together, put it into my account and wrote him a check.

If he can cash it, he can spend it!"

Which Table?

There are times when we are at the tables of strangers and we move with caution. I remember when I first arrived in Louisville, I attended a Toastmasters club meeting but was so new I did not know which political party they belonged to.

I was seated beside a lady and she remarked, "Well the room is evenly divided today. Republicans on one side and Democrats on the other." 

As I did not know which was which, I said, "Which side are we on?" To which she replied, "The right side." 

A little flustered, I ask, "Where would a Libertarian sit?" She cracked a smile and said, "Outside!"

Preamble US Constitution

On this Constitution Day I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on the preamble of the US Constitution.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.


This statement tells us about the purpose of the Government of the United States.


1. Form a more perfect Union: Not that it will be perfect but more perfect than the Articles of Confederation that was then in effect. We have been perfecting and sometimes defecting our union for over two hundred years. It is an ongoing process as you can see from the number of amendments thus far.


2. Establish Justice: Our rights are protected and we have a system to correct wrongs.


3. Insure Domestic Tranquility:  This is keeping the peace between peoples in the country. Law and Order.


4. Provide for the Common Defence: Our Navy, Marines, Army, Air Force and in war time Coast Guard. 


5. Promote the General Welfare: A lot of people forget that welfare in in the constitution. Food stamps, Social Security, health care, jobs programs, are all constitutional under this clause.


6. Secure the blessings of liberty:  Personal liberty for every US Citizen is perhaps one of the  most important elements of our constitution. 


I invite you to dwell on these thoughts today and give thanks that we have our wonderful 224 year old Constitution of the United States of America. 

Constitution Day

September 17, is Constitution Day: the anniversary of the agreement on the U.S. Constitution by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.

"The value of a constitution is that it binds government and prevents pure majority rule. Without it, government tends to grow without bounds as political majorities find ways to constrain and take rights from political minorities.

Fortunately, the American Founders were well aware of this problem. They created a Constitution to limit the federal government's powers to just a few narrow its functions.

Over the last 224 years it has been the respect of the constitution that has kept our rights secure and our country safe.  

By respecting the Constitution, America's future is bright.