Liberty Bell

by Anonymous

There was tumult in the city,
     In the quaint old Quaker town,
And the streets were rife with people,
     Pacing restless up and down;—
People gathering at corners,
     Where they whispered each to each,
And the sweat stood on their temples,
     With the earnestness of speech.

"Will they do it?" "Dare they do it?"
     "Who is speaking?" "What's the news?"
"What of Adams?" "What of Sherman?"
     "Oh, God grant they won't refuse!"
"Make some way there!" "Let me nearer!"
     "I am stifling!" "Stifle then!
When a nation's life's at hazard,
     We've no time to think of men!"

So they beat against the portal,
     Man and woman, maid and child;
And the July sun in heaven
     On the scene looked down and smiled,
The same sun that saw the Spartan
     Shed his patriot blood in vain,
Now beheld the soul of freedom
     All unconquer'd rise again.

See! See! The dense crowd quivers
     Through all its lengthy line,
As the boy beside the portal
     Looks forth to give the sign!
With his small hands upward lifted,
     Breezes dallying with his hair,
Hark! With deep, clear intonation,
     Breaks his young voice on the air.

Hushed the people's swelling murmur,
     List, the boy's exultant cry!
"Ring!" he shouts, "Ring, Grandpa,
     Ring, O, ring for Liberty!"
And straightway at the signal,
     The old bellman lifts his hand,
And sends the good news, making
     Iron music through the land.

How they shouted! What rejoicing!
     How the old bell shook the air,
Till the clang of freedom ruffled
     The calm, gliding Delaware!
How the bonfires and the torches
     Illumed the night's repose,
And from the flames like fabled Phoenix,
     Our glorious Liberty arose!

That old bell now is silent,
     And hushed its iron tongue,
But the spirit it awakened,
     Still lives—forever young.
And when we greet the smiling sunlight,
     On the fourth of each July,
We'll ne'er forget the bellman,
     Who, betwixt the earth and sky,
Rang out OUR INDEPENDENCE,
     Which, please God, shall never die!

[Thoughts] A Joy in My Life

The "Patriarchy Psalms," 127 and 128, have been a clarion call to generations of men who have been moved, by God's grace, to throw off the world's view of limiting the size of their families. Of seeing children as a burden and a curse. Of regarding children as "another mouth to feed." They take us back to the Dominion Mandate to "be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it." (Gen. 1:18) Children are described as "a heritage from the LORD," "a reward," "arrows in the hands of a warrior," "olive plants around your table."

For those who say, "I can't handle the ones I've got," or "I can barely afford the two I have," or "I don't have enough patience for more," or "How can I give one-on-one attention to so many?" the Bible tells us that God is the one who feeds us and our children, that He gives us everything we need to perform every good deed, that He will be a God to us and our children, that He rewards us with children so that we may be a blessing to others.

Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. (2 Cor. 9:10-11, emphasis mine)

God gives not only us, but the world, our children as a blessing. When we train up godly seed, the world (which God "so loved") is blessed; first the family of faith and then the ungodly, too, on whom God pours common grace.

For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men. (2 Cor. 9:12-13, emphasis mine)

So, when we're obedient to our confession to the gospel of Christ, and believe God's proclamation that children are a blessing and that through the seed of Abraham (which means, through our seed) all nations will be blessed, the saints and all men rejoice and give thanks to God. That thanksgiving is also a blessing. Jesus was the firstborn of many brethren, of whom are we and our children.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Cor. 9: 15)

"Amen and Amen!" we say. We affirm with our mouths that children are blessing. We confess with our tongues that God is Lord of the womb. We ask God to bring more children into our families, "by whatever means." But for all our thanks to God, we often follow the world—and that which is worldly in the church—and treat our children like trophies. Our "obedience" like a badge of righteousness. Our patriarchal vision like a ticket to the front of the line of elder candidates.

We focus on ruling our own families well, not for our families sake—that they would grow in grace, learning to submit with all joy to the authority God has, in His love, placed over them—but for our own "advancement" in the eyes of men. We parade our obedient children in front of others to "show the world" that Jesus' ways are good.

But, it's not just about those who are afar off believing the gospel. It's about building the kingdom through our calling as fathers to our children. It's not about having children. It's about training up children. Making disciples of them. Enjoying them as the blessings they are, and the blessings they are to all men. And so, to really see them as blessings, we must also treat them as blessings.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:3-6)

Like Paul, we ought to give thanks to our God on "every remembrance" of our children, always in every prayer making request for them with joy. And, like Paul, we need to express gratitude for our children to our children. God has made our wilderness like Eden, our desert like the garden of the Lord. May we let joy and gladness be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. (Is. 51:3, emphasis mine)

Our children, like we, have been brought back from captivity; they have been established in God's covenant and the ruins have been rebuilt. Now, says the Lord, "out of them shall come thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry." (Jer. 30:19) He goes on to say, in verse 20, "And I will punish all who oppress them." Who oppresses our children? We do when we provoke them to wrath.

Delight in your children. Enjoy sitting with them and hearing their tales of adventure—even if it's the ninety-ninth time you've heard it. Rejoice to hold them in your lap and read to them, whether it's God's word, or Dr. Seuss, or poetry, or the story they just wrote. Write songs to and about your children and sing them. Learn to harmonize hymns as a family. A movie once had a family sharing "Highs and Lows" at the dinner table. Forget the lows and ask them about their highs. Share your heart and get to know theirs. For all physical indications to the contrary, they are not Mini-Me's; God has made them unique and He's given them to you so you will grow in grace.

Thank your children for their godly character. For being a blessing to you and your family. For reading God's word and hiding it in their hearts. For being your "little man" or "little lady." Let them be your joy and your joy will increase!

Thank God for kids. For your kids!

Now, if you'll excuse me… I need to go thank my children for being my children.

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Posted By Jim Bob Howard to Thoughts at 3/24/2007 06:42:00 PM

[Poetry] The Right Family

by Edgar Guest

With time our notions allus change,
An' years make old idees seem strange—
Take Mary there—time was when she
Thought one child made a family,
An' when our delest, Jim, was born,
She used to say, both night an' morn':
"One little one to love an' keep,
To guard awake, an' watch asleep;
To bring up right an' lead him through
Life's path is all we ought to do."

Two years from then our Jennie came,
But Mary didn't talk the same;
"Now that's just right," she said to me,
"We've got the proper family—
A boy an' girl, God sure is good;
It seems as though He understood
That I've been hopin' every way
To have a little girl some day;
Sometimes I've prayed the whole night through—
One ain't enough; we needed two."

Then as the months went rollin' on,
One day the stork brought little John,
An' Mary smiled an' said to me;
"The proper family is three;
Two boys, a girl to romp an' play—
Jus' enough work to fill the day.
I never had enough to do,
The months that we had only two;
"Three's jus' right, pa, we don't want more."
Still time when on an' we had four.

An' that was years ago, I vow,
An' we have six fine children now;
An' Mary's plumb forgot the day
She used to sit an' sweetly say
That one child was enough for her
To love an' give the proper care;
One, two or three or four or five—
Why, goodness gracious, sakes alive,
If God should send her ten to-night,
She'd vow her fam'ly was jus' right!

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Posted By Jim Bob Howard to Poetry at 3/24/2007 06:49:00 PM

[Thoughts] Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?

At five o'clock on the due date, R. C. asked me to write an article for Every Thought Captive. The topic? Obeying foolish rulers. Fitting.

It sounded like a request. He seemed to be asking me if I wanted to write an article. But as I walked over to his desk to learn more about what he expected before accepting, I saw that he had already typed by name next to the title. This wasn't a request. It was a requirement of my new job as Assistant Director of the Highlands Study Center.

So I write. Not because I am new in the job and want to make a good early impression, although that's certainly true. Not because I am an expert on obeying foolish rulers, although I do… I mean, have… worked for a few. I write because my boss told me to write. And though I think him foolish for asking me to write at this late date, I do want to please R. C.

But I want to please Jesus more.

In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul tells us employees to "be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men." (Eph. 6:5-7)

Which is why, in my former life—last month—I worked 200 hours in two weeks with practically no help to meet a ridiculous deadline which was foolishly and arbitrarily set, having been based on false assumptions, incomplete information and unrealistic expectations. I was obeying foolish rulers. Rulers, I submit, who do not kiss the Son.

My house near Austin was already on the market. I had already interviewed for a couple of jobs, including this one. We had already told friends and family that we were leaving Texas within the month. We were moving to Saint Peter as soon as I had a job or the house sold, whichever came first. The job came first—right during the home stretch of meeting that deadline.

Nevertheless, I worked twelve days in two weeks averaging over 16 hours per day. I met the deadline. The project was a huge success. Everyone was elated with the outcome.

I gave my notice the next day.

My project coordinator couldn't figure out why I'd put in so many hours to assure the success of this project. She couldn't figure out why I wasn't slacking off on the job with "short-timers' disease." But what she didn't know was that I wasn't serving her but Christ my Husband, who is never a foolish ruler.

Which is also the reason I didn't work fourteen 16-hour days in two weeks.

"And God spake all these words… Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." (Ex. 20:1a, 8-11)

My manager had already handed down a poor evaluation for me two months prior for being "unwilling to work on weekends." The one "weekend" I supposedly was unwilling to work, I had worked sixteen hours on Friday and another ten on Saturday. It was Sunday that I told them I was unavailable because it's the Lord's Day and my family would be attending worship together and resting.

Knowing that I was leaving the company and the state to move my family to Saint Peter, I was tempted to assume a laissez faire attitude toward the work. What're they going to do? Fire me? But that would have been disobedient to and dishonoring of my Head. After my poor performance evaluation, I was certainly tempted to work on Sundays to complete the project on time and please my boss. But, that wouldn't have been pleasing to my Boss.

Again, my project coordinator was totally confused on why she couldn't reach me all day on Sunday. But, again, what she didn't know was that I wasn't serving her but Christ my Husband, who is never a foolish ruler.

Jesus bid me labor six days and do all my work. And He bid me rest on the seventh day.

My children saw—and helped—my dear wife, Amy who is great with child, as she worked extra strenuously those two weeks because of my work schedule. And they saw me rest on Sunday. By obeying Christ; by working to please Him and not man, I was also teaching my children to obey their Husband by obeying me, even when I am the foolish ruler.

Amy had it more difficult than I did. As she served me, she was serving those who were over me. But she didn't work for them. They didn't pay her for her time. She had no recourse against them. No "open door" through which she could walk to air her grievances. She had a schedule imposed on her from someone to whom she was never called to submit. But, because she loves her Husband, she served her husband as he served his Husband by serving his boss.

So, in the midst of unpacking and learning the myriad ways to drive to Mendota from just about any exit off I-81, I write my first article for Every Thought Captive, in obedience to my new boss. But it's Christ who put me here, and Christ that I'm serving, even as I serve R. C.

Thank you, Sir. May I have another?

[Originally published in Every Thought Captive, Vol. 9, Issue 2; March/April 2005]

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Posted by Jim Bob Howard to Thoughts at 9/30/2006 12:16:00 PM

[Leading The Way] Returning to Patriarchy

My friend Danny wants to know: "Is it possible to "turn" a passive father into an active leader?"

I say, Yes, in the same way a wife "turns" her husband into an active leader… Leaders need followers—submissive followers—those who line up on the same team by choice.

But, where the difference comes in is… whereas a wife has a duty and obligation to submit to her own husband, a grown man does not have that same duty and obligation to his father.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. —Gen. 2:24

We are nonetheless to honor our father and mother our entire lives that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. (Eph. 6:2-3; cf. Ex. 20:12) So you "turn" your father into a leader by honoring him, seeking his advice as one who is wise. He's lived longer than you have… he's made some mistakes from which he has learned valuable lessons; ask him about them—not in such a way that he'll feel ridiculed, but as a request from a son who wants to learn from the wisdom of his father.

Psalm 78 is a call for men to speak to their children and grandchildren (and through them, their great- and great-great-grandchildren—that the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children [v.6]) about the things of God, what He has taught them, what He has done. If your father doesn't acknowledge God's hand in his life, perhaps you can help your children see it… and through them, help your father see it. But, even if your father doesn't acknowledge God, you are building a "story" of God's faithfulness to tell to your children and grandchildren, that you may be the faithful patriarch you are called to be.

To honor means to "place a high value on" something. If you place a high value on your father's wisdom and experience, you are doing what God commands. Follow the example of 1 Peter 3:1-2:

Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.

It's not a long walk to apply the same principle to honoring parents:

Sons and daughters, likewise, be honoring to your own mothers and fathers, that even if some do not obey the word, they without a word, may be won by the conduct of their children, when they observe your humility accompanied by fear.

As I often tell my children, it is "not your concern" how someone responds to your actions… if your actions are obedient and righteous. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men (Romans 12:18). The same applies to your efforts to love your wife, train up your children, love the brethren… and honor your parents. As much as depends on you means reading only the exhortations to you:

• "Honor your father and your mother…,"
• "Husbands, love your wives…,"
• "Fathers, do not provoke your children…,"
• "Love the Lord your God…,"
• "Impress them on your children…,"
• "I will open my mouth… I will utter dark sayings of old… [and] will not hide them from their children…"

…and not those that pertain to how others should treat you. Focus on your responsibilities and leave the rest to God.

Remember that God gave you your father. And He commands you to honor him. It's YOU He's after!

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Posted by Jim Bob Howard to Leading The Way at 8/18/2006 06:38:00 AM

[Leading The Way] The Family Meal Table is "Pure Nostalgia?"

The kids won't behave. We work late. We sold our dining room table. Who wants to cook these days?

And the kids don't want to eat with mom and dad anyway.

Those are just a few of the reasons parents are showing a declining interest in dining with their children.

--John A. Blankenship, Point Blank, The Register-Herald

Blankenship goes on to lament that the afternoon family meal went out "with black-and-white television." One poor misguided mom admits, "It's too much bother to cook a meal nowadays. It's much easier to hit the drive-thru on the way home than it is to plan an entire meal and cook it. There just isn't enough time."

Praise God that He is restoring the family, turning the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, so that Mr. Blankenship's assessment that "the happy family meal is pure nostalgia" happily misses the mark.

There are many flaws to the arguments for "why" Blankenship believes it to be nostalgia... and even larger gaps in his interviewee selection skills. (Sorry, John, but a couple of colleagues and teenagers hanging out at the mall do not a random sample make.)

For example, he's got it all figured out why families don't eat dinner together anymore. "Reason: Too many parents work. It takes two incomes just to keep up with the mortgage payments." Question: Which came first: the mortgage, or a family economy with both parents working?

And he's a bit quick to sign the family meal table's death certificate. "The American family meal—by which most people mean the evening meal—has been dead for so long that chances for reviving it seem remote at best." Ken and Devon Carpenter, Colin and Nancy Campbell and Doug and Beall Phillips would beg to differ. In fact, their family meal tables are not only continuing to thrive, but are breathing life into dining rooms across the country with their godly example and heritage.

I pray Mr. Blankenship's colleague (at the Register-Herald?) will pick up a copy of "The Family Meal Table" and that she and her husband will reclaim their family; redeeming the evening meal, shaking off past defeat, and raise up a godly generation that will be "the family of [her] dreams."

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Posted by Jim Bob Howard to Leading The Way at 8/11/2006 02:51:00 PM

[Leading The Way] Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

Today, I was reading Oswald Chambers' daily devotional from "My Utmost for His Highest," and it gives a picture not only of how to actually apply his collection's title, but also how I am to be toward my children.

Chambers instructs us not to see Jesus primarily as Teacher because what He teaches is unattainable. If we look at Him as only "fixing" our ignorance by downloading the way we should act, and then go try to do it in our own strength, we will fail. We must realize that the teaching is intended to lead us to despair of our own ability to perform it. Our sin-rent bodies are incapable of pleasing God, even if we know how to. When we try to do it on our own, we will inevitably break on some obstacle. Then, we may come to Him as paupers, empty-handed, and receive strength and ability to perform what He teaches. As Chambers says:

But when I am born again of the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come to teach only: He came to make me what He teaches I should be. The Redemption means that Jesus Christ can put into any man the disposition that ruled His own life, and all the standards God gives are based on that disposition.

This is what Jesus rebukes about in Matthew 23:4. He comes to us and reverses the hypocritical attitude of "do as I say, not as I do" and tells us, when it comes to to obeying the scribe and Pharisees (those who "sit in Moses' seat") we should only do as they say and not as as they do. What they "do" is nothing to help.

My pastor has hermeneutical principle (rule for interpreting Scripture) that he names after himself and encourages people to use when reading the Bible. It goes like this: "When you see someone doing something really stupid in the Bible, do not think, 'How could they be so stupid?' Rather, ask yourself the question, 'How am I this stupid?'"

Here is where we should use that principle as fathers.

Jesus told the multitude and his disciples not to act like the scribes and Pharisees. "For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers." When training our children, we must not pile burden after burden on them, instructing them to godliness, but doing nothing to help them achieve it. We paint a very ugly picture of our Father in heaven, when we simply download Scripture, precept-upon-precept, "heavy burdens, hard to bear," into our children's heads, admonishing them without nurturing (training) them (Eph. 6:4).

We must not act that way toward them. When we give them instructions, we must also help them do it. This is what training is; showing how to do it. And not in the classic medical way: "watch one, do one, teach one." We need to continue to help until they have so accomplished the task that they begin helping us. That's when we know they don't need our help to accomplish it anymore.

Oh, and by the way, we can't even do that. Again, Jesus is the only Source that can work in us to accomplish this task. And not only do we need to draw from that Source when training our children, but must also point to that Source so they'll know from whence comes our strength.

Only when we trust in Christ alone to help our children trust in Christ alone have we actually trained them to come to Him poor in spirit and give their utmost for His highest!

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Posted by Jim Bob Howard to Leading The Way at 7/21/2006 06:54:00 AM