Faith of the Presidents: James Buchanan

           

Lancaster, County Pennsylvania, where I grew up, is filled with history and in addtion to the beautiful farms that are so neatly kept, such as the one shown here, one of the other high spots of Lancaster is "Wheatland", the home of James Buchanan (1791-1868) the 15^th President of the United States.  

James Buchanan was Secretary of State and Minister to England. The only President born in Pennsylvania and the only bachelor President, Buchanan was a Presbyterian by family background. All of his life, he worshiped regularly and gave to many different denominations.  Yet, Buchanan did not join the Presbyterian Church until he retired to private life. Here is how it happened:

In August of 1860, Buchanan’s last year in the White House, he was vacationing at the Bedford Springs Hotel, a fashionable summer resort in the Pennsylvania mountains.  There, the Rev. Dr. William M. Paxton, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of New York City, was a guest at the same time. Buchanan knew the pastor, and so one day he invited Paxton to the Presidential suite, where he opened his heart. The President confessed, 

"I think I may say that for 12 years I have been in the habit of reading the Bible and praying daily. I have never had any one with whom I have felt disposed to converse, and now that I find you here I have thought you would understand my feelings, and that I would venture to open my mind to you upon this important subject, and ask for an explanation of some things I do not clearly understand."

           

The President then asked Dr. Paxton what a religious experience is, and how a man might know he was a Christian.  The minister gave responses that led Buchanan to say,

            "Well, sir, I thank you. My mind is now made up. I hope I am a Christian. I think I have had some of the experience which you describe, and as soon as I retire from my office as President, I will unite with the Presbyterian Church."

Soon thereafter, on the 4th of March, 1861, President Buchanan kept his promise and was received into membership at First Presbyterian Church of Lancaster.

Today, expect to find people in your life who want to know if they are a Christian, and who are eager to hear Jesus’ words of life, from YOU!

Blessings,

John A. Dalles, Pastor

Your Assist is Needed!

Recently a concept has come my way in conversations with members of our congregation and other faithful Christians.  In a sentence, it is this:

The task of our church and every church

is to assist people of all ages

become full-fledged disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The idea of assisting people is entirely Biblical.  The commandment from Galatians that we are to bear one another’s burdens to fulfill the law of Christ is the best example but there are many others.  We know that God is at work in people’s lives, so of course the primary “assist” comes from the Holy Spirit.  People have their own insights, gifts and abilities, but no one can “go it alone”.  Every person needs that inner drive that comes from God.  Also, they need fellow believers.  That’s where our “assist” comes in.

Think about it in basketball terms. An assist is a pass to a teammate who then scores.   When someone “assists”, they themselves do not score.  But without the “assist” it might never happen.  We are all called to that for one another.  We set up the shot, as it were; we help those around us.

How have you been “assisting” others to become full-fledged disciples?  Make a list of at least ten things you have done in the past month that have been “assists” to others.  Look over that list, and then say to yourself, “How will I do the same, in the month ahead?”  Make a new list and keep it before you these next 30 days.  And as you answer that question, here are twelve practical applications of the concept for you to consider for your upcoming month’s list:  I will…

1.     Have a living relationship with God and others, in Christ. – John 14:6

2.     Develop my own and other’s spiritual discernment. – I Cor. 3:2

3.     Put faith in action daily: learn, pray, relate with and serve others. – I. Cor. 12;27

4.     Take the Word of Jesus with me wherever I go. - Col. 3:16

5.     Celebrate and share the glory of God in worship every Sunday. – Ps. 95:6

6.     Make people glad to be with me, offering holy welcome to everyone. – Rom. 12:13

7.     Study the Bible’s Christian ideals and use them in my life. – Ps. 119:105

8.     Value every person for who they could be in Christ. – I Thes. 5:14-22

9.     Apply my best energies for those who need mercy and justice. – Matt. 5:7

10.  Pray alone, pray with others, pray for others, pray unceasingly.  – I Thes. 5:17

11.  Bring my friends to church. – Ps. 122:1

12.  Be joyful and enthusiastic in all that I do. – Phil. 4:4

Your pastor and your friend,

Dr. John A. Dalles

What Must I Do to Be Saved?

In one of the most telling encounters in the New Testament, a terrified jailer, whose prison had been reduced to rubble by the power of prayer, knelt before Paul and Silas and asked them this question:  “What must I do to be saved?”

As recorded in Acts 16:31, they responded, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved; you and your household.”  The answer Paul and Silas gave the jailer was clear.  Then, it was the jailer’ turn to decide.  “Will I believe, or not?  Will I act upon that belief, or not?  Will I live as I have ever lived, imprisoned within the walls of the jail I oversee, or will I accept the freedom Christ brings?  Will I stay the same, or will I be changed by the power of the Living God?  Will I throw myself upon my sword, fearful of those who seem to have power over me, or will I choose life abundant and eternal?”  All of these questions, and others much like them, flashed through the jailer’s mind as quickly as the first frightening tremors of the earthquake, and with even more force.  Sometimes it takes an earth-shaking event to move us from complacency to conviction.  Then, by the grace of God, we may begin to live reconfigured lives.

What is remarkable is this: The jailer asked the right question.  Notice, he did not ask:  “What must I do to be lost?  It is fair to say the jailer knew the answer to that.  “What must I do to be lost?”  “Nothing at all.”  The jailer had been there; he had done that.  He understood that to become lost, to be lost, to stay lost, all one must do is nothing at all. One cannot be healthy, one cannot be happy, one cannot be prosperous if one does nothing at all.  To remain lost, is to remain sulky, or surly, or cynical, or superior, or defeatist, or fearful.  But to be saved, one must believe in the turned-around limitless-love and grace of Christ Jesus. 

God wishes your life to be worthwhile.  This is a truth we know; yet, a truth we need reminded of every day.  God went to infinite pains—even death on the cross—for your life to be worthwhile.  God is still seeking, moving heaven and earth, for your life to be worthwhile.  If you want what God wants—if you want your life to be worthwhile, you must start now, to train yourself in the daily exercise of believing in Jesus Christ.  Do not allow yourself to dwell on anything that is not good.  Believe God’s will for you is good.  Let no thought of failure, disappointment, trouble, criticism, spite, jealousy, or condemnation of yourself or others have any place in your life.  Believe God’s purposes for you are positive, constructive, and kind.  

Give yourself a week of unbroken, mental discipline to get your mind set in this new direction.  See what a difference a week makes. Then, make that difference the guiding force of the rest of your life, if you want what God wants.

Faithfully yours,

Dr. John A. Dalles

Pastor

Reinhold Niebuhr, Author of the “Serenity Prayer”

Did you know that this coming year is the 125^th anniversary of the birth of one of the finest theologians America has produced?  To be specific, I am speaking of Reinhold Niebuhr, whose dates are 1892-1971.  

Reinhold Niebuhr is perhaps best remembered in the world at large for one specific prayer that he authored.  Many people know his prayer, even if they do not know that someone actually wrote it and that the someone was Dr. Niebuhr.  His prayer has come to be known as the “Serenity Prayer”.  In its original form, it goes like this:

"God, give us grace to accept with serenity

the things that cannot be changed,

courage to change the things which should be changed,

and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other."

What a gift!  This prayer has whispered its quiet strength to those in need.  This prayer has given encouragement to those who face challenges.  This prayer has given countless persons the ability to continue although circumstances are still difficult and disappointing.  This prayer has found its way in to wallets and pocketbooks and on to refrigerator magnets—wherever we need a small but powerful dose of responsible Christian living.  If good old “Dr. N.” had written nothing else—that one prayer would have been more than enough to secure his fame.  His witness to us in those few lines would be reason enough to revere his witness as a Christian.  But, he did so much more. 

Reinhold Niebuhr was born in Wright City, Missouri, on June 21, 1892, the son of Gustav and Lydia Niebuhr. Gustav was an immigrant from Germany and became a ordained minister of the German Evangelical Synod after graduating from Eden Seminary at St. Louis. His mother was a daughter of German Evangelical Synod missionary, Edward Hosto.  Gustav and Lydia had four children, Hulda, Walter, Reinhold, and Helmut Richard (Hulda and H. Richard are also famous in theological circles). His works include, Moral Man and Immoral Society. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1932; An Interpretation of Christian Ethics. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1935; The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness: A Vindication of Democracy and a Critique of Its Traditional Defense. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1944.

One other quotation from Dr. Niebuhr might peak your interest and spark your further reading of his works.  It speaks to our age every bit as clearly as when he wrote these words two generations ago…

"The tendency to claim God as an ally

for our partisan values and ends is ...

the source of all religious fanaticism."

Today, when you read about the excesses that are caused by forms of religious fanaticism, you might want to remember these other words of Dr. Niebuhr’s.  And as a corrective to them, you might wish to pray his Serenity Prayer. 

With grace and peace,

John A. Dalles, Pastor

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Cor 9:8)

My maternal grandmother had a way with words.  In fact, turns of phrase that caught your attention and kept it.  I find that over time, I have picked up any number of  them, and use them in my own speech.  Sometimes, people "get" what I am saying.  Sometimes they get it if they are ... old.  Because I have found that some of the terms date back to my grandmother's youth (she graduated from high school in 1924).  And some of them came from the lingo of where she lived (Pittsburgh). 

At any rate, I think that some of them would be worthy of a chapter in a book, or the topic or title of a sermon.  

Here are some of them, and with the explanation:

"Ready for Freddie" - The story is that Freddie was the name of an undertaker.  Said when one was exhausted or exasperated, or both.  I researched this one and sure enough Al Capp came up with this one. Asking the question "Are you ready for Freddie" again and again for weeks in his "Li'l Abner" comic strip. National attention was focused on who was. Freddie.   It turned out that Freddie was the undertaker. 

(Yes it was a simpler time).

"Papa pin a rose on me" - also said when one was exhausted or exasperated, or both.  Kind of like put a lily on my chest (in other words, you are ready to be dead and buried).  Grandma wasn't morbid at all but she did manage, as I say, some quaint expressions. Apparently there was a song called "Mother Pin a Rose on Me" dating back to 1905.  I guess Papa got into the act somewhere along the way.

"NDL - A shorthand phrase for a happy nostalgic reminiscence.  I think she said they used it in her Latin class in high school.  Novella.  Datum.  Laudare.  Meaning something like Tender or Youthful gift of praise.  Kind of like a fondness for what happened to you in the past.

"XEDs" - Not sure what those initials stand for, but the expression means to call "dibs" on something.  "XEDs on the pie, XEDs on the radio station, (XEDs on the whatever)..."

"Avoirdupois" - (It always sounded to me like: Avrid Appiose).  Yes, it is French for "fat tissue".  You probably knew that one.

"Remember the Fifth" - No not the Fifth Amendment.  The Fifth Commandment.  As in: "Honor your father and your mother..."  A nice shorthand way of saying to a kid, behave.  

"Are you waiting for them to sweep the street clean?" - Usually said about the person in front of her who lingered to long when a stoplight turned from red to green.

"Go slow and see our city; go fast and see our jail" - Which I alway associate with the old workhouse in Blawnox (which isn't there anymore, but I drive past there often).  I guess she said it then.  It was a caution to slow down or else.  I find it said elsewhere as Drive in place of Go, but Grandma always said Go.

"Bumpsy Daisy" - Something you say to a child who has fallen down.  (Nowadays we would say "Shake it off" or alternatively, "You poor thing".   Closely related to whoopsy-daisy (perhaps sisters?).

"The Wreck of the Hesperus" - Who knew it was a poem by Longfellow about a sad, true sinking of a ship?  It usually referred to being somewhat disheveled.  As in: "I look like the wreck of the Hesperus".

"The Last of the Mohicans" - Another allusion to a poem by a Transcendentalist who also appeared on a card in the game "Authors".  James Fenimore Cooper this time.  Having to do with the member of a group or family who is the last one to show up.

"The Back of Beyond" - Yep you probably know that one too.  It many way out in the sticks.

"Mrs Nervous Wreck" - I think the term "nervous wreck" was in common use for someone in an overly anxious state of mind back then.  "Mrs" was added to indicate that a particular neighborhood fit the description well.

"Fish or cut bait" - decide, already.  yes or no, stop or go... like "Sink or swim".

"Jingle Brained" - All shook up - in Aspinwall, Center Avenue is known in our family as the Jingle Brain Road because it is  paved of old brick and the opposite of smooth.

"Bell's Bums" - Young guys who stand around on the corner and loaf.  I am told there was a Drugstore in Wilkinsburg named Bell's from which the expression came.  Looked it up.  There was!  Corner of Swissvale Avenue and Hill Avenue. Imagine that! Their slogan was; "The Biggest Little Drugstore in Town".

"The Bum's Rush" - to be hurried out of something, usually a visit.  

"Hitting on all cylinders" - Doing better than great.

"Copacetic" - Everything is as it should be, A-Ok.  

I hope to add to this from time to time as other expressions come to me.  Usually they do when I blurt them out and then I laugh and remember my grandmother.  The thing is, these were said in a way that they brought a smile.  I hope my own kids end up remembering some of them, because I said them too.  And maybe pass them on.

May you discover anew the blessings that are all around you.  May you live in joy and expectation to look upon God's creation for new blessings that await you.  May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always.  Amen. 

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  (Genesis 12:1-2)

We remember God’s call to Abraham, back before he was renamed by God, when his name was Abram.  This call from God came to Abram when he was settled in a place and surrounded by people he had known a long time. Abram was seventy-five years old, when God called him, and he responded, and  made a new start.  Abram ventured out into the unknown.  Abram followed God.  

What Abram did can be held up as our example, as we begin a new day.

First, let us hear what God has to say.  It may be that God has been trying to be heard for some time.  Now may be the time we pay attention.  What God says is more important than what anyone else says.  God is usually doing something new in our lives.  So when God says something new, it fits with a day that is new, and a desire to do God’s will.

Next, be ready to go or do something that is outside of the routine.  This does not suggest that every person will get this particular message.  In fact, in other times to other people God has called them to stand fast, remain firm, and keep doing what they have begun until it is completed.  However, Abram is among the many that God called to do something unfamiliar, and it may be that God has such a plan for your life.

Finally, notice that there are many blessings about to happen.  In Abram’s case, he would become a great nation, would be blessed, and his name would be great.  There are very few of Abram’s contemporaries that you or even eminent historians can name, unless they were associated with Abram, members of his family or people he met.  Also, see that Abram will be a blessing.  What he does will benefit others.  We like our efforts to benefit others, it gives our lives meaning, and at the end of a day, a sense of having done things well. 

As you venture into today, into tomorrow, keep the picture of Abram in your mind’s eye.  Let God propose to you what you can and will do with the all that awaits.

Yours in Christ,

Dr. John A. Dalles, Pastor

"Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward.”  - Hebrews 10:35

          The letter to the Hebrews was written by a faithful leader of the early church, to Christians who had been Jewish, before they became followers of Jesus.  We don’t know who the writer was.  This verse is talking about confidence in a Christian context. Confidence is generally described as “a state of being certain.”

Jesus was confident of who he was, and of his purpose, and of his abilities.   He came to save sinners.  From his first miracle onward, he changed the expected course of people’s lives and of events.  He transformed situations.  Jesus healed them.  Jesus found them and made them the center of his attention.  Jesus called them to something higher and more challenging.  Jesus taught with simplicity, and clarity and wisdom.  Jesus was confident of his abilities.

Jesus was confident, of who he was, and of his purpose, and of his abilities.  Hebrews says.  We should be, too.  All who call themselves Christians are engaged in the adventure of being confident.  Christians are confident, of who they are.  They are people who have been set free from sin and death by Jesus, and know that because Christ lives, they shall live also. Christians are confident of their purpose.  They are to do what they have seen Jesus doing, and say what they have heard Jesus say.  And, Christians are confident of their abilities.  So that in today’s challenge and tomorrow’s, in good and in difficult times, they will not lose hope, but be confident.

This passage goes on to say, “When you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”  The rewards come after the successful completion of your faithful living.  God has something for you to do today.  It may be to speak out against some injustice.  It may be to teach someone Jesus’ truth.  Don’t toss away your confidence. The unfolding of God’s plan depends upon it.  The world’s future depends upon it. And if these things were not enough, your future depends upon it.

Yours in Christ,

John A. Dalles, Pastor