Taking a break...getting away

Mark 6:31 reads, "And He (Jesus) said unto them. Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while; for three were many coming and going and they (the disciples) had no leisure so much as to eat". The context of this scripture is that Jesus has just instructed the disciples that they should go out two by two as they witness and he instructed them to take no thought for themselves because the Father would provide. To compound the setting for this scripture Herod had ordered John the Baptist to be beheaded and the apostles had gathered around Jesus and told him all they had done and heard, including the beheading of John. It was then that Jesus invited them to come and follow Him as it was now appropriate to rest and begin some quiet time as many issues were pressing from every side. In 33 years of ministry I am struggling to recall how many messages I've heard from the pulpit about taking a break, getting away and resting. It just isn't the sort of topic that we ministers preach about but there is no doubt scripture demonstrates the importance. Personally I guess we are afraid to talk about taking a time-out because we have a fear we will quit, give-up or never return to pick up the cause again. We don't give out or encourage the invitation that Jesus issued out of our own fears and misapplication. This invitation from Jesus to come and get away to a desert place to rest a while was to allow for their spirits to be recharged for the cause. The invitation was not to contemplate quitting, or to begin a pattern of depression, to allow for fear to overtake your spirit, or to give reason for total surrender of your gifts and talents. The direct opposite was the intent. Taking a vacation, going off to a place of rest for a weekend, taking a break from activities is perfectly within the Will of God. The design of such breaks and get-a-ways in scripture are to allow us to reinvigorate our confidence in God, His plan for our lives and our commitment to follow His Will. Jesus knew the importance of such moments in our lives. If only we here are earth would learn to follow His demonstration. Until then

9-11 facts from September 11, 2001

FACTS about 9-11. 15 years later in 2016. 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Often referred to as 9/11, the attacks resulted in extensive death and destruction, triggering major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defining the presidency of George W. Bush. Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., including more than 400 police officers and firefighters. On September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m. on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in higher floors. As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway, television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767–United Airlines Flight 175–appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward the World Trade Center and sliced into the south tower near the 60th floor. The collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and the streets below. America was under attack. As millions watched the events unfolding in New York, American Airlines Flight 77 circled over downtown Washington, D.C., and slammed into the west side of the Pentagon military headquarters at 9:45 a.m. Jet fuel from the Boeing 757 caused a devastating inferno that led to the structural collapse of a portion of the giant concrete building. All told, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the Pentagon, along with all 64 people aboard the airliner. Less than 15 minutes after the terrorists struck the nerve center of the U.S. military, the horror in New York took a catastrophic turn for the worse when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke. The structural steel of the skyscraper, built to withstand winds in excess of 200 miles per hour and a large conventional fire, could not withstand the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel. At 10:30 a.m., the other Trade Center tower collapsed. Close to 3,000 people died in the World Trade Center and its vicinity, including: a staggering 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings and save the office workers trapped on higher floors. Only six people in the World Trade Center towers at the time of their collapse survived. Almost 10,000 others were treated for injuries, many severe. Meanwhile, a fourth California-bound plane–United Flight 93–was hijacked about 40 minutes after leaving Newark International Airport in New Jersey. Because the plane had been delayed in taking off, passengers on board learned of events in New York and Washington via cell phone and Airfone calls to the ground. Knowing that the aircraft was not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed, a group of passengers and flight attendants planned an insurrection. One of the passengers, Thomas Burnett Jr., told his wife over the phone that “I know we’re all going to die. There’s three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey.” Another passenger–Todd Beamer–was heard saying “Are you guys ready? Let’s roll” over an open line. Sandy Bradshaw, a flight attendant, called her husband and explained that she had slipped into a galley and was filling pitchers with boiling water. Her last words to him were “Everyone’s running to first class. I’ve got to go. Bye.” The passengers fought the four hijackers and are suspected to have attacked the cockpit with a fire extinguisher. The plane then flipped over and sped toward the ground at upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field in western Pennsylvania at 10:10 a.m. All 45 people aboard were killed. Its intended target is not known, but theories include the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland or one of several nuclear power plants along the eastern seaboard. September 11, 2001, 2,996 people were killed in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in NYC, the Pentagon building in Virginia, and in a plane crash in Pennsylvania. The attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11 resulted in the largest loss of life by a foreign attack on American soil. On any given workday, up to 50,000 employees worked in the WTC twin towers 18 people were rescued alive from the rubble of the WTC after 9/11. Along with 1.4 million tons of debris removed, 19,435 body parts were recovered from the WTC after 9/11. The New York Times wrote an article about every single 9/11 victim. After 9/11, the Maasai tribe of Kenya gave 14 of their most important cattle to America as aid. Two F16 pilots went on a suicide mission to stop Flight 93 on 9/11. In the end, the flight's passengers took the plane down The man who ordered the grounding of all aircraft in the U.S. on 9/11 was on his first day on the job These facts were shared during the Sunday morning message on September 11, 2016 at the First Presbyterian Church of Harlan by Rev. Tim H. Mills preached from Luke 15:1-10. The sermon was entitled "Fully Committed".

Time...what are you doing with yours?

Often the expression is shared "life is a gift". Life is truly a gift but all the elements that make up life can be difficult to describe, or at least I am finding difficulty in selecting the proper words. Life and her expression bring to my mind thoughts of birth first because who doesn't like a Happy Birthday moment? Even if we say it is just another day, actually we find our individual day unique with all the connections of parents, cakes, presents and candles. Life brings to mind the thoughts of growing up, learning, falling down and scraping a knee, loosing a tooth and riding a bike. The mile markers of life's journey in our lives is unique to each of us. The impact of events and people are what make a difference and become what is cherished and remembered. Of all the connecting dots of life the most precious aspect I believe must be time. Time is a valued commodity. How we spend its seconds, minutes and hours are important even if we find ourselves from time to time lost in her vast expanse and wondering as we wander. Even these times are important too. All moments that make us helping to define our character, attitude, belief system and values. Because time is broken down into time segments we can often get much accomplished in one of those spans but no matter how long or short our existence the most precious gift we can dispose of is our time and energy. The manner in which we live our lives, using our individual time is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. I don't believe for a single second that life is a burden to be lived in fear with an encumbered amount of weights that have us broken, weak and weary. Rather I believe life is a gift with time being our most valuable possession and the manner in which we dispense our seconds, minutes and hours does matter. It is my prayer that if you have not given thought to your time and its uniqueness that your journey of making a difference begins today. If you already have a plan with goals, dreams and a foundation from which to live life then in my prayer for you. I pray each of our journeys will continue until our time ends recording our individual history of time so others can easily see our values. Until then