The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1471951
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, June 29, 2022 D-3 The Union was in peril by the time Lincoln was elected. He is heralded as the 'great emancipator,' the savior of the Union. However, if you read his actions during the civil war, you will discover he trampled upon most of the bill of rights. He shut down newspapers, threw a congressman in jail, and suspended the writ of ha- beas corpus. Anyone crit- icizing his handling of the gover nment or war felt his wrath. His critics charac- terized him as a tyrant and his patrons as a savior. His apologists say these were extraordinar y times which demanded extraordinar y actions. I guess that de- pends on which side of the jail cell you're in. America has reached a perilous point in time. Analogous to pre-civil war days. We are, use Lincoln's words, a 'house divided.' A house divided cannot stand. Can America continue as a nation in which countless people are divided along political, racial, economic, and cultural lines to name a few? The words of Lincoln have returned. 'Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.' Businesses have been weaponized to disr upt and discriminate against anyone not politically cor- rect. Workers are forced to under take all types of sensi- tivity training. White work- ers are being told they have white privilege by vir tue of being born white. White workers must denounce their whiteness as being racist. Express the wrong view at work and you'll find yourself in the unemploy- ment line. Cancel culture is be- ing used as a weapon to silence free speech and gainful debate on critical issues facing America. Critical race theor y has be- come a divisive discourse that pits people of color against white people. Black Lives Matter has stoked the fire of racial tensions to the point where entire neighborhoods have been torched by peaceful demon- strators. Spor ting events, concer ts, and award cer- emonies have tur ned into social protest venues. As we reflect on current political and cultural devel- opments, we should consider how far 'We the People' have drifted from the rights and privileges granted to us by the Constitution including three of the most import- ant rights being: freedom of speech, assembly, and reli- gion. Benjamin Franklin said, 'Freedom of speech is a prin- cipal pillar of a free govern- ment; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins. Republics… derive their strength and vigor from a popular examination into the action of the magistrates.' — Pennsylvania Gazette, No- vember 17, 1737. Franklin also said, 'Or- daining of laws in favor of one par t of the nation to the prejudice and oppression of another is cer tainly the most erroneous and mistak- en policy...An equal dispen- sation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what ever y par t is enti- tled to, and ought to enjoy.' — 1774. John Adams said, 'We have no gover nment armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Av- arice, ambition, revenge, or gallantr y would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and reli- gious people. It is wholly inadequate to the gover n- ment of any other.' — Oc- tober 11, 1798. Our only hope is the lib- er ty found in Christ. 2Cor 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is free- dom. Real liber ty is Spelled JESUS! Word. Following the Lord and living by His Word will make us appear different to the world because we're not going with the flow and we are not living "according to the course of this world" (Ephesians 2:2), and so it seems to them that we're a bit off and crazy. Dogmatism, belief that the Bible is absolute truth, also makes people think you're cra- zy. Dogmatism is uncommon and unacceptable in a society that demands tolerance. When you say that, based on the Word of God, something is the abso- lute truth, the world will think you're crazy. The Word of God, however, is an absolute. It is our authority. When it says that there is only one way to God, and it's through the Lord Jesus Christ, that's the truth, and we must proclaim it, even if people call us crazy. As we follow Paul as he fol- lowed Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1), we too, like Paul, should have a deep-seated devotion for the Lord, consumed with a zeal for the things of God, liv- ing for unseen, eternal things. This will make people think you're out of your mind, but that's good. It's good to be called crazy for the Lord. Like Paul, we remember that if we appear to be out of our right mind because we hold noth- ing back and are zealous and dogmatic, "it is to God," it's to please, honor, and glorify Him. Our work order was updated to priority and they did replace it that afternoon. It had been coded wrong in their system. Ordinarily we have had no problems with their service, but this time they were harder to understand. Well let's quit complaining and talk about New Orleans. We stayed in a motel on a Navy base. It was in the old Algiers section. Each day we had to ride the ferry across the Mis- sissippi river to the tourist side and all the attractions. There were many busses and cable cars to ride to your desired at- traction. One day we took in the WWII museum and this is a must see for everyone because it has many types of weapons and firearms for display. There were airplanes hanging from the ceiling and you had a hard time realizing just how small some of them were and how big some of them were. There is a restruant on the main floor and it was delicious, so go here if you get to New Orleans as you won't regret it. That afternoon the wives wanted to checkout the casino so we were there for a couple of hours and then we ferried back to the other side and ate our evening meal in a rustic old eatery called the Dry Dock Cafe. Pretty sure this is where we had gator meat which is quite good. It was so hot walking around visiting the the many shops and places to see that it was hard to enjoy being out, but we did get to see Bourbon Street and the French Quarter which by the way didn't look much different than any other old city. There are places to enjoy and they are fun to see, but we were told there are places which were unsafe so no one ventured off to any place other than the ar- eas we knew were safe. I heard some interesting accounts of Fat Tuessday and Mardi Gras day. Fat Tuesday was a day to eat and eat even stuff yourself in preparation to the fast during the Lent sea- son. Then we heard Mardi was wild so they would have sins to confess at 12:01 in church. I can't verify any truth to these explanations but they sound good and possible. On one of our trips on the ca- ble car we got to see the mau- solems and there was a local person on board with us. He explained being buried under ground as is the common prac- tice wasn't popular because at times during hurricane flood- ing many coffins could be found floatinfaround, spooky huh? Another strange item of learning was about their buildings. No buildings are ever torn down, so if you buy a building you can build around it and over it, but the orignal building must be used somehow. This must be an city ordinance because each narrator we listened to had the same thing to say about this subject. We got home early Thurs- day morning and after getting up early Thursday morning we found all the mess downed trees can make. We have been busy ever since and still have several messes to clean up. Well I don't ever want to leave out the request for us to be a blessing to all those God puts in our lives. ber the stor y of Jacob struggling with the angel of the Lord. When the struggle ended, Jacob had a limp but he was also blessed. We struggle with sin. It doesn't mean we aren't saved, but that we still have a limp. The limp is only a sign that you have gone through something. Stop struggling and let the angel of the Lord bless you. Surrender to God's will and you'll forget all about the limp. Ron Vickers, Pastor Elaine Young, Reporter HOUSE OF MERCY CHURCH Corner of East and Porter Winslow Pastor 812-789-5229 A Church with open arms and a loving heart. Sunday morning ser vice 10:15 a.m.; Sunday school at 11 a.m. May the Word of God guide your life this week. Keep our Federal, State, and Local gover nments in your prayer as it was a command from Jesus. Also, pray for the nursing homes, those in hospitals, family and friends that are af flicted. May you find peace and blessings in your week and be filled with joy. In His Service, George Bruce, Jr., Pastor Presbyterian MAIN STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 10th and Main Streets, Petersburg 812-354-6844 visit us, our doors are always open to you. Laws or love? Businessman John Barrier, unrecog- nizable in jeans and a T-shir t, cashed a check at his longtime bank. But the tell- er refused to validate his parking ticket, saying Barrier hadn't made an official transaction. A manager agreed, saying r ules were r ules. Bar rier then per formed a major transaction: withdrawing $1 million and taking it elsewhere. He got his parking ticket validated after all. What a great illustration of the per- ils of legalism, when man-made laws become more impor tant than people. Jesus repeatedly healed and "worked" on the Sabbath, much to the dismay of religious leaders. He was concer ned about people's hear ts, not their ap- pearance. What matters more to you: laws or love? appearance or substance? A hear t examination may be in order. Office hours: 9 a.m.-noon, Monday-Fri- day. Amy Melhiser, Secretary Wesleyan OTWELL WESLEYAN CHURCH 2277 N. Mechanics Street Otwell Pastor 812-354-3028 Sunday school at 9:30 a.m.; mor n- ing worship at 10:30 a.m.; Sunday evening worship ser vice at 6:30 p.m. Succeeding in business is no easy feat. It's too easy to let business knock you down. Instead of throwing in the towel when there is a business problem, pick yourself back up, buckle down, and get to work. Once, there was an older man, who was broke, living in a tiny house and owned a beat up car. He was living of f of $99 social security checks. At 65 years of age, he decide things had to change. So he thought about what he had to of fer. His friends raved about his chicken recipe. He decided that this was his best shot at making a change. He left Kentucky and traveled to dif- ferent states to tr y to sell his recipe. He told restaurant owners that he had a mouthwatering chicken recipe. He of- fered the recipe to them for free, just asking for a small percentage on the items sold. Sounds like a good deal, right? Unfortunately, not to most of the restaurants. He heard NO over 1000 times. Even after all of those rejections, he didn't give up. He believed his chick- en recipe was something special. He got rejected 1009 times before he heard his first yes. With that one success Colonel Hart- land Sanders changed the way Ameri- cans eat chicken. Kentucky Fried Chick- en, popularly known as KFC, was born. Remember, never give up and always believe in yourself in spite of rejection. This motivational stor y prove that with a little hard work, any amount of business success is possible. "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps" (Proverbs 16:9 ESV). Roy Stilwell, Pastor Pam Lemond, Reporter Cup Creek G.B. Church to host one day Bible School Cup Creek GB Church will have a one-day VBS on July 9. Registration begins at 9 a.m. Program is from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The children will have a heyday full of moo-sic, crafts, games, and more while learning about their friendship with Je- sus. Located near Pikeville, at corner of SR 64 and SR 257. For more information, call Stephanie Geesaman at 812-536-2127. PAWS WEEK PAWS WEEK Pet of the SNOOP I am who I am... love me for that. Take me and never leave me... I am a true friend to the end and ask for nothing in return except for two things... Your love and your loyalty... I am a Boxer. This week PAWS is featur- ing a loveable young Boxer mix named Snoop, who does not know a stranger and is very athletic and playful. A Boxer is happiest when he's with his family and has a tre- mendous love for humans. Snoop has a silly personal- ity and likes to chase frisbees and other dogs around the dog yard. He has shiny, black fur with white accents and can be adopted by calling 812- 354-9894. PAWS has lots of adorable kittens that need homes. If you can give a kitten a loving home, stop in soon. RAMBLINGS Continued from page 1 MINUTES Continued from page 1 POINTS Continued from page 1 HEATING AND AIR 812-789-3065 tdavis@alltradeheatingandair.net or admin@alltradeheatingandair.net WE TEST. SO IT RUNS. QUALITY EYEWEAR • Quality eyewear by Karen Memering, Optician • Professional eyecare by Dr. Steve Gregory • Most insurance plans accepted WE FILL ALL DOCTOR'S PRESCRIPTIONS Complete Contact Lens Care & Service *In most cases **Some restrictions apply. Call for details. 812-254-6594 Corner of Hwy. 50 & 57, Washington, IN VALLEY OPTICAL 812-254-6594