What Glenn Writes

This message is late as I tried to determine the best way to combine my usual humor with the intended message.  I found none.  With the passing of Memorial Day, I want to remember those whom have passed and offer some form of tribute to their sacrifice.  Somehow humor has no place in this writing.

I want to share a story of a young man walking into a small town post office during the Memorial Weekend celebrations.  As is the tradition of this small town, a veteran was standing near the post office door passing out hand made flowers and taking donations for their local VFW post.  As the vet offered a flower and a smile, the young man almost plowed him down in his anger and effort to ignore the man.  A few minutes later, another young man of about the same age walks around the corner and approaches the post office entrance, but this time the vet is more cautious.  As the second man approaches, the vet offers the same flower, a little more watchful and with a guarded smile.  The second young man not only greets the vet with a huge smile, taking the flower and shaking his hand, but puts a folded green bill in the clear offering jar.  The vet breathes easier, glancing down at the offering with renewed confidence in the generation the two young men represented.

To the veteran’s surprise, the bill wasn’t the usual dollar pressed through the slot in the lid, but a fifty-dollar bill.  Assuming the second young man made a mistake in his offering, he stopped him as he left the post office even though the first young man was right on his heels. 

The second young man’s reply was simply, “No sir, I didn’t make any mistake.  The fifty dollars is a small offering in comparison to what you gave for your country.  I only wish I could give more.”  He walked off, leaving both men staring - the elder smiling and the younger with his mouth hanging open.   

This story illustrates how America is divided in our understanding of the sacrifice made on our behalf.  Some forget, some never knew, while some will never forget what they know.  I also think some make the mistake of ignorance if they disagree with the war or war in general.  This is a sad approach to the sacrifices made by soldiers of all ages, as well as their families.  To say this in a different way: men, women, and children have all made a sacrifice for the freedom we all enjoy, whether we agree with wars or not, we enjoy the freedom the wars have secured. 

We are poor Americans when we cannot remember the soldiers (and their families) who gave up their goals, their lifestyles, and in many cases their lives, for our freedom and way of life.  We shall remain poor Americans until we break from our selfish thoughts and attitudes and finally remember those who died for our way of life. 

I am reminded of how often the Apostle Paul refers to this subject in his writings.  In 2 Timothy 1:3-5, we see Paul writing a letter of encouragement to Timothy, and sharing, “I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.  Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.  I have been reminded of your sincere faith…”  I believe Paul recognizes the importance of not forgetting those is service, those who sacrifice, and those who invest their time in others.  This also exhibits Paul’s selfless attitude and approach, taking his focus off himself and remembering others. 

We see this again in Romans 1:8-10 where he writes, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.  God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.”  Here we see Paul not only remembering others, but praying for a reunion.   

Perhaps the remembering part is not so difficult when the one serving in the military is a loved one.  Perhaps the remembering part is not so difficult, but even painful if the one lost in combat was a loved one.  In these cases, we have a natural loss; a part of our lives severed for a noble purpose, a just cause, and for the lives and freedom of others.  The pain is our own.  The sacrifice is our own.  The loss is our own. 

I believe Memorial Day provides a time for us to remember, and some of us need a reminder this somber holiday is more than just another day off.  We are called to reverence.  We are called to respect.  We are called to honor those who have gone before us, giving the ultimate sacrifice, and give tribute to their memory. 

As we are told in Philippians 2:4, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”  Did the first young man in our opening story have his interests in mind or the interests of others?  Was his focus on himself or others? 

Galatians 6:9-10 encourages us, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

As we remember the veterans… (our veterans, actually.  Isn’t that how we should refer to them?  Not so much “the veterans”, but “our veterans”?)  As we remember our veterans, we should not forget what they gave on our behalf so we may live in freedom.  From our earliest veterans, fighting against English tyranny, to our newest veterans fighting against Middle East tyranny, we enjoy the benefit of freedom they provide for us. 

John 15:13 tells us, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”  For this, we know there have only been two friends who have died on our behalf: the American Soldier and Jesus Christ.  The American Soldier died so we may have physical freedom; Jesus Christ died so we may have spiritual freedom.  The American Soldier died so we may be free of the tyranny of men; Jesus Christ died so we may be free from the tyranny of evil.  And, just as many Americans need to be reminded of the sacrifice of the American Soldier, so should they be reminded of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 

How do you celebrate your freedom?  May I suggest a prayer to Jesus Christ?  May I suggest a prayer of thanks for those American Soldiers who gave everything for your freedom to pray?  May I suggest a prayer for our veterans? 

Do you know someone who might enjoy this blog or one of my eStories or Books? Please share this blog or my website with them. Thanks!

Glenn Sasscer
www.glennsasscer.com
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My apologies to my loyal readers for missing my usual article posts last week (both of you).  I had to travel out of town on business.

I flew to Birmingham, AL for business on a Delta flight, code share Northwest Airlines.  “Code share” is a technical term airlines use in order to provide the least amount of customer service with absolutely no accountability.  “No accountability” is a technical phrase blog writers use to describe an airline which has ceased to understand anything related to customer service.  “Customer service” is a foreign word to companies such as Delta or Northwest, primarily because if you call their customer service you will be calling a foreign country where they speak a mixture of Swahili, Scandinavian, and Elmo, a true assortment of dialects with improper punctuation or syllable emphasis.

Press One Now if I should be sorry.
Press Two Now if I am a bit old fashion.
Press Three Now if you share my opinion.

Now please note: I have absolutely no problem talking with someone who speaks Swahili, Scandinavian, or even Elmo, but if they are providing customer service to an English speaking American, I would prefer they also spoke English.  I may be going out on the limb here, but if you work in a job where communication is the key factor, shouldn’t you be able to communicate clearly?

When I called customer service to extend my stay in Birmingham by one day, I would have never guessed my telephone call would have lasted as long as my original flight to Birmingham. 

First, to reschedule my return flight, I have to navigate a complicated telephone menu system, beginning with “Press One if you would like service within five hours, Two if you would like service within five days, and Three if you have no hope whatsoever of finding the solution for your telephone call.” 

After spending thirty minutes traversing the touchtone menu network, I am politely told the telephone call will be recorded for training purposes.  I am curious how low your level of customer service must get before you begin a program to train people to be your customers. 

Press One Now if I should be sorry. 
Press Two Now if I am a bit old fashion. 
Press Three Now if you share my opinion.

Of course, rescheduling my return flight home required a non-refundable fee of $150.00, in addition to whatever ticket price adjustments and taxes might be applicable.  For this, they wanted my credit card number.  I asked them if they had my Skymiles account or my original ticket, which both reference my credit card number.  They said they needed me to provide the credit card number again, which was a slight inconvenience since I had to wait so long to get a human being the card had expired. 

I wanted to provide them with my VISA, “code share” American Express credit card number.

When I read Scripture, I know Paul went through many suffering trials, yet I just now realized they were usually during his travels.  He was shipwrecked, left to die, stoned (thrown at him, not smoked), imprisoned, and in so many ways tortured.  Here is a man who knows suffering and can tell us about it.  He shares in Romans 5:3-5, “…we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” 

I know what challenged Paul far outweighs a Delta/Northwest customer service experience, which brings me to a point of wanting whatever source of strength Paul had to get him through his distress.  If Paul’s source of power was able to bring him through and deliver him in everything he experienced, I only need a sip of what he was drinking in on a regular basis. 

Where do we find this supply?

Hebrews 12:2-3 tells us to, “…fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Dealing with a Swahili, Scandinavian, and Elmo speaking Delta service representative after navigating hours of telephone menus and touchtone buttons can cause anyone to grow weary and lose heart, and often in our lives today, it does not take anything spectacular to get us to a point of breakdown. 

We do not know suffering, pain, or anguish in the way Christians before us endured torment or affliction.  We cry about broken nails, cell phone reception, and postage stamp increases.  We complain about traffic, red lights, and road construction.  We get mad when our newspaper is late, our air conditioner doesn’t work, or our coffee got cold before we had a chance to drink it.  We are a spoiled people, expecting others to speak to us in our own language and on our own terms. 

By fixing our eyes on Christ, what do we see?  The Author and Perfector of our faith, the One who gives us our faith and works it out in our lives.  The One who gives us His strength.  The One who suffered far more than anyone can describe or comprehend, and yet loves us through it all.  He died for a reason: we matter to Him.  He speaks our language perfectly, as He speaks to our hearts.  No telephone menus.  No dialects.  No waiting. 

When we fix our eyes on Jesus, our sufferings pale in comparison, for he endured such opposition from sinful men so that we will not grow weary and lose heart.  There is nothing we will endure that will come close to what He endured on our behalf.  There is no trial, no pain, no torment larger than Him, nor greater than what He suffered.
 
My suffering is nothing.  I find myself in a position to confess my complaining as a sinful reaction and fix my eyes on Jesus. 

What about you?

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Glenn Sasscer
www.glennsasscer.com
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This article was first printed in the New Man eMagazine on April 21, 2009, found at www.newmanmag.com.

As a long-standing member of the Macho-Male Club for Men, I am not one to comment on basic, primal, blood-curdling fear which will turn your hair white and cause you to cry like a little girl (and by “cry like a little girl”, I mean no disrespect to little girls).  While I may not be one to comment on my fears or even acknowledge them in public, for putting words to these trivial emotions is a way of breathing life into them and may cause membership in the Macho-Male Club of Men to be revoked, the inner phobias still exist.

As a former contractor, I have a fairly good understanding for the concepts of home improvement.  I know a well-built crawl space under a house has a vapor barrier, ventilation, and plenty of maneuvering room under the floor framing.  These crawl spaces are easy to access.

While I can recognize a well-built crawl space, I remember a time when I encountered the exact opposite and descended into the very bowels of terror.  The opening to this poorly designed, sinister, and carnivorous crawl space was narrow and the height was less than my shoulder width, which turns rolling over into a contortionist’s trick.  There was no ventilation or vapor barrier, and when combined with the close proximity to Lake Erie, we have a perfect environment for an entire kingdom of… dare I even write the word: spiders.

While Arachnophobia is not a problem for me, tight places make me extremely uncomfortable… extremely uncomfortable, especially with the thought of an entire house hovering perilously overhead.  As I struggled to turn over in the mud, stretching my arms and wiggling (and when I say wiggling, I mean wiggling in a pure manly wiggle) my shoulders past the floor framing, I wedged myself into a position where I got stuck.  Did I mention tight places make me extremely uncomfortable?  Did I mention I know how to cry like a little girl? 

I could stop the onset of panic if I could keep my mind focused.  Instead of thinking about being wedged in a crawl space and living the end of my days half buried in mud, I tried to focus on whatever was around me.  Ah… the lovely spiders.  I could calm myself if the eight-legged, blood sucking creatures were enough to distract me from my exceptional phobia with tight places. 

My imagination kicked in and I focused on my distraction.  I realized these spiders were fighting one another, not me.  I saw several engaged in tentacle-to-tentacle combat with cheering spectators.  Some were jousting on centipede back.  An entire battalion came into view wearing full armor and tiny little arachnid helmets.  They marched by with a salute and were gone without a skirmish.  

When I turned my attention to the smaller groups, I reached over with my free hand to flick a couple of larger spiders picking on a smaller one: it just did not seem fair.  I know that made me the larger bully, yet it did very little since the smaller one impaled itself on a nail, effectively committing pesticide (or is that arachnicide?).

I admit my imagination is a bit weird, but my panic attack was diverted and I was able to unwedge myself and continue working under the house.  Distractions or mind tricks are common for those of us with quirky little fears, whether we admit them or not.  Yet my small diversion reminds me of what Jesus was telling us in Matthew 7:3-5.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

As my imagination saw the hordes of spiders bickering and fighting in the open air of the crawl space, how close did I come to revealing what happens in our own lives?  We distract ourselves with the problems of others so we do not have to focus on our problems, which sometimes may very well be crushing the life out of us.  We are so stuck or wedged into our way of life, we become resistant to change.  We want to focus on others instead of dealing with what the Lord is working in our lives.

Have you been there?  Have you been in that crawl space of your faith wondering if the Lord will ever allow you to get out of the cramped quarters and move on?  We ask this question while looking at the conflict around us, whether it may be spiders or others. 

So, how do we take the plank out of our own eye?  Let me encourage you to take your eyes off the conflict and instead look to Jesus in the midst of your struggle.

When we set our eyes on Him, we embrace Hebrews 12:2-4, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”

Whether we acknowledge our fears or not, our phobias still exist and we end up dealing with them eventually.  Whether we acknowledge our sin our not, our struggles with sin still exist and we end up dealing with them eventually. 

Often, when we recognize a specific sin in the life of a close friend, we are recognizing the very sin we are blinded to in our own life.  When we set our eyes on Christ, He provides a path of revelation and healing, becoming a source of strength we need to overcome the tight spot we put ourselves in.

Sometimes we end up in the crawl space of our faith because that’s the only way He can get us on our knees.  If you find yourself there, let me encourage you to pray and fix your eyes on Jesus. 

Are you tough enough to crawl out from under a house of sin?

Do you know someone who might enjoy this blog or one of my eStories or Books? Please share this blog or my website with them. Thanks!

Glenn Sasscer
www.glennsasscer.com
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I am departing from my normal article format to address an urgent issue.  We find ourselves in a crisis where the bugle must be played and the troops alerted.  For those who are regulars to my blog and emails, please know I will be returning to my normal format next week. 

I have, for your consideration, the following:

My opinion is Coke is just about the best soda pop anyone can ever sip from an ice cold, frosted glass mug.  By no means is this a hate crime against Pepsi.  My opinion is a freshly made Whopper is one of the best fast food burgers anyone could ever eat.  This is not to imply any form of a hate crime or hateful speech against a Big Mac.

I am confident very few people would categorize my positive opinion for one product as hateful speech or hateful against another product, as I am clearly just stating my opinion.

However, what if I took my opinion one step further? 

For the record, I absolutely abhor Pepsi and will generally choose to drink water if dining in a Pepsi restaurant.  Is this still my opinion or have I slipped into hateful speech?  Am I guilty of a hate crime? 

What if I absolutely, flat out, unequivocally refuse to purchase Pepsi at the grocery store?  Since my money pays the grocery bill, what if I refuse to have Pepsi in my house?  Am I a hate crime offender?  

Supposedly, in America, we have beverage freedom.  We are able to drink a legal beverage of our own choice, drink it on our own terms, and express our preference in our purchases.  As long as we do not limit another American’s choice or selection, we have the freedom to express our opinion.

Does this apply to our faith?

Supposedly, in America, we have religious freedom.  We are able to seek God on our own terms, pray on our own terms, and express our preference in our lifestyles.  As long as we do not limit another American’s choice or selection, we have the freedom to express our opinion.

Do we?   

The founding fathers of our country wrote of their vision where we have the freedom to display our faith in our own way as long as it does not intrude on another American’s right to express their faith in their way.

We are referring to expressing mere opinions here and nothing more. 

Some individuals in the United States want their opinions protected by law.  Unbelievably, Congress is rolling over under the pressure of these individuals.  On Thursday, April 29, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives of United States of America, a group of individuals whom are supposedly committed to defending, upholding, and supporting the United States Constitution, voted and approved the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, HR-1913.  

There are laws already in place protecting persons who identify themselves as homosexual, transgendered, and even forms of gender/sexual orientation yet to be defined.  They are the same laws protecting all of us from physical or verbal attacks of a violent nature. 

The HR-1913 bill establishes a layer of protection for a group of individuals above, and superior to, those not part of the group.  The bill is the federal government of the United States of America taking an official, legal stance that any form of opposition, including opinions, comments, and speech, against homosexual practice, transgenderism, and any other form of sexual/gender orientation, is defined as hatred and bigotry of the same form as racism, and may be liable for prosecution.

This blog, where I exercise my freedom of speech to express my opinion, may land me in front of a judge and eventually in prison if I happened to mention I disagree with someone who likes Pepsi.  If the person who likes Pepsi happens to identify with the sexual or gender orientation protected by HR-1913, my opinion – though completely unrelated to any form of hate or reference to sexual preference, gender, or orientation -  may be construed as a hate crime. 

Please allow me to remind you of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America was adopted on December 15, 1791, and states: 

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. “

My religion is my opinion of how I practice my relationship with God.  My speech is my opinion of my beliefs and my expression of life.  These are both protected rights under the First Amendment.  These are both at jeopardy by HR-1913.

What can you do?

The HR-1913 bill passed the House of Representatives and is up for vote in the Senate.  I encourage you to contact your senators and express your opinion while you still have the right to express it. 

For your convenience, I am including two links to assist you in contacting your senators.

For a direct link to the government: http://www.senate.gov/reference/common/faq/How_to_contact_senators.htm

For a link through an advocacy group: http://www.rallycongress.com/pointofview/1795/oppose-hate-crimes-legislation/

Your regularly scheduled blog articels and emails will return next week, barring my arrest and imprisonment for stating my opinions.  (Please join my wife and children in rebuking this statement.)

Do you know someone who might enjoy this blog or one of my eStories or Books? Please share this blog or my website with them. Thanks!

Glenn Sasscer
www.glennsasscer.com
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