Antwerp to Tholen ~ Canadian World War II Cemetery (Day 9, Part 2 of 2)

I have to admit that my knowledge of Dutch World War II history is limited.  Of course I knew of Anne Frank and Corrie ten Boom, but I didn't know what battles were fought in the Netherlands.  I still don't know as much as I'd like, but our stop at the Canadian World War II Cemetery sparked my curiosity.

 

As I walked the rows I noticed that most of the dates were identical ~ October 13, 1944.  Four months after D Day, fighting was still happening.  Most of the soldiers buried at Bergen-op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery lost their lives in the fighting north of Antwerp during the Battle of the Scheldt.  The Battle of the Scheldt was one of the largest and most severe military operations on Dutch soil during the Second World War; a series of military operations that took place in the autumn of 1944 in the north of Belgium, the province of Zeeland and in West-Brabant.

 

From Wikipedia:

Black Friday is the nickname given by the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada to the date 13 October 1944. On that day, during World War II's Battle of the Scheldt in the Netherlands, the regiment's only overseas battalion attacked German positions on a raised railway embankment near the village of Hoogerheide after advancing across 1,200 yards of open beet fields. When final casualty totals were tabulated, it was determined the battalion had lost 145 men killed or captured; 56 men were killed, including all four of the commanders of the lettered companies, 95 wounded and 27 men were taken prisoner. One company of 90 men had only four men present and fit for duty the next day. 

In my research for this post I found a website called "Faces to Graves" the purpose is this:

Names, faces, stories
Every name on our cemetery has a face and a story.
Every name stands for a young man who left his home, his family, parents, wife, children, and started an unknown and dangerous journey.
That journey ended here in the Netherlands. 

For our freedom.
We owe it to them to remember their name and their story.
That we will not forget 

I zoomed in on a number of graves and found their names on the website.  Aaron George Bittorf was 30 when he was killed on Black Friday.  He left behind a wife and son.

 

David Farrall was 28.  Randall Holmes and Willard Zaste were both 23.  Keith Bardwell was 20.  Some like Leo Lederhaus and John Bartelotte didn't even have their age listed, just the date they were killed. Our modern Black Friday on the day after Thanksgiving is completely selfish in comparison.  Men from across the ocean joined in battle for the cause of freedom.  

 

I'm posting this on the eve of America's 250th Birthday.  The saying that "Freedom isn't Free" rings the loudest in a somber place like this.

Potiphar's Wife ~ Woman of the Week

As I already mentioned, I have not studied Potiphar's wife yet.  I'm actually kind of surprise that I hadn't!  I did write about Joseph and how great it is that he didn't seek revenge once he was in power.  (You can read that post here.)

Verses: Genesis 39

Background – parents, husband, children, siblings

We know very little about Potiphar's wife.  The name Potiphar means “devoted to the sun.” It was a name connected with the Egyptian religious system.  We don't know if they had any children.

 

What is she most known for? Victories? Defeats?  How can I be like her? How can I avoid being like her?

The first few verses of Genesis 39 talk about Joseph's role in the household.  His master trusted him completely.  Verse seven introduces Potiphar's wife, "And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me."

 

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary says, "Egyptian women were not kept in the same secluded manner as females are in most Oriental countries now. They were treated in a manner more worthy of a civilized people - in fact, enjoyed much freedom both at home and abroad. Hence Potiphar’s wife had constant opportunity of meeting Joseph. But the ancient women of Egypt were very loose in their morals. Intrigues and intemperance were vices very prevalent among them, as the monuments too plainly attest. Potiphar’s wife was probably not worse than many of the same rank, and her infamous advances made to Joseph arose from her superiority of station."

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible points out that "Her sin began in the eye."  I find that interesting since it was when Eve "saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise" that caused her to eat the forbidden fruit.  We must be very careful with our eyes.

Genesis 39:10 says, "And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her."  John Gill's Exposition of the Bible says, "Continually, incessantly, hoping in time to prevail upon him to comply with her desires; so that the temptation, as it was strong, and very ensnaring, it was urgent, and frequent, and pressed with great importunity; which required the more grace and spiritual strength to resist."

We don't know how long "day by day" lasted, but she was persistent.  She finally found her perfect opportunity on a day when none of the men of the house were there.  Maybe she thought Joseph was just pretending when he resisted, but with no witnesses, this was her opportunity.  But verse 12 says, "And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out."

Did she reach a place when she needed to reset?  If so, did she?  For good or evil?

There was never a greater example of "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," than Potiphar's wife.  She saw Joseph run away and now she had his garment in her hand.  He did not run away naked, but his outer garment was stripped off.

Verse 14 says "she called unto the men of her house."  I have to wonder, when Joseph came in they weren't there, but she was able to call them very quickly.  Did she have this planned?

 

Not only did she lie about Joseph, she also blamed her husband, "saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us."  Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible says, "Potiphar’s wife affects to throw great blame on her husband, whom we may reasonably suppose she did not greatly love. He hath brought in - he hath raised this person to all his dignity and eminence, to give him the greater opportunity to mock us."

More from Matthew Henry, "What an improbable story she tells, producing his garment as an evidence that he had offered violence to her, which was a plain indication that she had offered violence to him.  No marvel that she who had impudence enough to say, Lie with me, had front enough to say, “He would have lien with me.” Had the lie been told to conceal her own crime it would have been bad enough, yet, in some degree, excusable; but it was told to be revenged upon his virtue, a most malicious lie. And yet, she manages it so as to incense her husband against him, reflecting upon him for bringing this Hebrew servant among them, perhaps at first against her mind, because he was a Hebrew.  As this matter was represented, one would have thought chaste Joseph a very bad man and his wanton mistress a virtuous woman."

We don't read anything else about Potiphar or his wife.  Just like other wicked people in the Bible, God took their evil deeds and turned it into good.  We will never know if they stood on the sidelines while Joseph was elevated to number two in the kingdom.

I want to end this post on a positive note.  Joseph is an excellent example of forgiveness. I wrote about forgiveness here. "The Purpose of the Church," was a fabulous message we heard in Hawaii.  These bullet points about liberation are so good.  In light of Joseph's life, he truly did escape the prison of unforgiveness.

 

Liberation
There are two things that lock you in prison that you cannot escape - a lie and unforgiveness.
Unforgiveness causes chaos and health issues.
Forgiveness is not an option.  Your best life cannot happen if you won't release the junk you hold on to.
Revenge means that you become God.  It never works.
Baptism frees us from our past.  God forgives us, but He can't forgive FOR us.
True forgiveness cannot happen unless you give up all control and hope for revenge.

Move Past It!

This year I am working on reading my Bible through again.  I love using YouVersion.  I'm following "Bible in One Year 2022 with Nicky Gumbel."  Each day includes a devotional that ties together readings from the Old and New Testament along with verses from Psalms or Proverbs.   I finished Genesis this morning and was reminded of something I wrote about Joseph, it was originally posted on January 16, 2010:

 

I've been reading the story of Joseph and a new realization hit. I'm familiar with his response to his brothers, "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." (Genesis 50:20) But I had never thought about the fact that he did nothing to Potiphar's wife once he became second in command in Egypt.

 

An additional chapter in Genesis could have been written. We could have read about Potiphar, his wife, and entire household being hauled off to prison. Here was Joseph's opportunity for revenge! He could have told Pharaoh all about his problems with that woman, but as far as I can tell, he moved on. There were seven years of plenty to work and plan for before seven years of famine. He had work to do - he was too busy for grudges!

 

What a tremendous example! How many times have you or I been hurt, talked about, or mistreated and then we sit around waiting for the one who has wrong us to be paid back? We can't get on with the task at hand because we're too busy plotting our revenge and having imaginary conversation that usually never take place. There is too much work to do! Grudges only hurt the one carrying them. The best thing we can do is move on.

2010 is still relatively new (although it seems to be moving at the speed of light!). How about it? Can you leave 2009 and its hurts behind? I know this, there is plenty to do!  (*2022 got here in the blink of an eye, didn't it?)

 

This reminded me of another post I wrote about forgiveness.  The entire post can be read here, but the Purpose of the Church was a fabulous message we heard in Hawaii.  These bullet points about liberation are so good.  In light of Joseph's life, he truly did escape the prison of unforgiveness.

 

Liberation
There are two things that lock you in prison that you cannot escape - a lie and unforgiveness.
Unforgiveness causes chaos and health issues.
Forgiveness is not an option.  Your best life cannot happen if you won't release the junk you hold on to.
Revenge means that you become God.  It never works.
Baptism frees us from our past.  God forgives us, but He can't forgive FOR us.
True forgiveness cannot happen unless you give up all control and hope for revenge.

The Purpose of the Church

Bro. Hughes preached at First Church Hawaii on the Sunday following the marriage retreat.  His message was so thought provoking.  His text was Luke 4:14-22, key verses were verses 18-19, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

First step - Becoming God Dependent
Poor is someone with a problem he cannot handle on his own.  When you realized your need for God then He can start healing your broken heart.

Liberation
There are two things that lock you in prison that you cannot escape - a lie and unforgiveness.
Unforgiveness causes chaos and health issues.
Forgiveness is not an option.  Your best life cannot happen if you won't release the junk you hold on to.
Revenge means that you become God.  It never works.
Baptism frees us from our past.  God forgives us, but He can't forgive FOR us.
True forgiveness cannot happen unless you give up all control and hope for revenge.

The Forgiveness Chapter
Matthew chapter 18 is called the forgiveness chapter.  Verse 18 says, "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."  This is talking about forgiveness.  We have to loose things before God looses them.
Forgive when no one asks for it.
We stay bound when we won't let things go. 
Forgiveness is the most difficult thing for humans to do. 

Praying Forgiveness
Bro. Hughes explained forgiveness in a way I had never heard before.  He said when you are praying for someone who has wronged you, you need to ask God not to hold their sin against them.  He gave two examples - Jesus on the cross and Stephen when he was stoned.  Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)  Stephen said, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge."  (Acts 7:60)
I have never prayed like that before.  Yes, I've prayed and asked God to help me forgive.  But my human nature has kept back a part with the thought, "I'll forgive and let God get even."  That's not how forgiveness works.  To be completely free, we have to let go of any hope that God will punish the one who wronged us.

Recovery of Sight
This is talking about mental blindness or denial.  The more you deny something, the worse your issue becomes.

Deliverance to the Bruised
We don't need to be healed from bruises.  We need to be delivered.

Year of Jubilee
When we follow the process of Luke 4:18-19 everything that was lost can be recovered.
Isaiah chapter 61 is the portion of scriptures that Jesus read in Luke chapter 4.  Verse 7 says, "For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them."

Happy Independence Day, America!

It's been a long time since I was in school, a really long time!  So I thought I'd look up some facts about July 4th and its true meaning.   From ConstitutionFacts.com:

The Declaration of Independence

We celebrate American Independence Day on the Fourth of July every year. We think of July 4, 1776, as a day that represents the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation.

But July 4, 1776 wasn't the day that the Continental Congress decided to declare independence (they did that on July 2, 1776).

It wasn’t the day we started the American Revolution either (that had happened back in April 1775).

And it wasn't the day Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence (that was in June 1776). Or the date on which the Declaration was delivered to Great Britain (that didn't happen until November 1776). Or the date it was signed (that was August 2, 1776).

So what did happen on July 4, 1776?

The Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. They'd been working on it for a couple of days after the draft was submitted on July 2nd and finally agreed on all of the edits and changes.

July 4, 1776, became the date that was included on the Declaration of Independence, and the fancy handwritten copy that was signed in August (the copy now displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.) It’s also the date that was printed on the Dunlap Broadsides, the original printed copies of the Declaration that were circulated throughout the new nation. So when people thought of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 was the date they remembered.

In contrast, we celebrate Constitution Day on September 17th of each year, the anniversary of the date the Constitution was signed, not the anniversary of the date it was approved. If we’d followed this same approach for the Declaration of Independence we’d being celebrating Independence Day on August 2nd of each year, the day the Declaration of Independence was signed!

How did the Fourth of July become a national holiday?

For the first 15 or 20 years after the Declaration was written, people didn’t celebrate it much on any date. It was too new and too much else was happening in the young nation. By the 1790s, a time of bitter partisan conflicts, the Declaration had become controversial. One party, the Democratic-Republicans, admired Jefferson and the Declaration. But the other party, the Federalists, thought the Declaration was too French and too anti-British, which went against their current policies.

By 1817, John Adams complained in a letter that America seemed uninterested in its past. But that would soon change.

After the War of 1812, the Federalist party began to come apart and the new parties of the 1820s and 1830s all considered themselves inheritors of Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans. Printed copies of the Declaration began to circulate again, all with the date July 4, 1776, listed at the top. The deaths of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams on July 4, 1826, may even have helped to promote the idea of July 4 as an important date to be celebrated.

Celebrations of the Fourth of July became more common as the years went on and in 1870, almost a hundred years after the Declaration was written, Congress first declared July 4 to be a national holiday as part of a bill to officially recognize several holidays, including Christmas. Further legislation about national holidays, including July 4, was passed in 1939 and 1941.

Have a wonderful and safe holiday!  

America

I'll get my Esther post up later today, but I think it's interesting that I would choose a woman who saved her people from destruction on a week that we celebrate the founding of our country.  God made a way to overturn a law that was written by an evil man with evil intentions.

Les and I have had quite a few discussions in the past week about the state of our nation.  I love our country, but am so sadden to see the direction it is going.  I'm thankful for the freedoms I have grown up with, but am very weary of hearing tolerance screamed in my ears.  God doesn't tolerate or condone sin and I won't either.  That doesn't mean we are hateful, but we've got to stand on God's side.

I get a lump in my throat singing "God Bless America."  He has done that for decades, but I'm not sure how much longer that will continue.  God may not continue to bless America, but He will bless His people, no matter what country they are in, and keep them as the apple of His eye.

Freedom of Speech

This post might be a bit controversial ~ Please read all the way to the end!  I want to state for the record that I am not a racist.  I do my best to love everyone, no matter the color of their skin.  Each of us are created in the image of God and that makes us equal.  Jesus died for every one of us.

You may or may not be aware of the scandal swirling around the National Basketball Association and LA Clippers owner, Donald Sterling.  Recordings of Mr. Sterling making racist remarks were released and the entire NBA was outraged.  NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, responded with this:

"Accordingly, effective immediately, I am banning Mr. Sterling for life from any association with the Clippers organization or the NBA. Mr. Sterling may not attend any NBA games or practices. He may not be present at any Clippers facility, and he may not participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team.
He will also be barred from attending NBA Board of Governors meetings or participating in any other league activity.
I am also fining Mr. Sterling $2.5 million, the maximum amount allowed under the NBA constitution. These funds will be donated to organizations dedicated to anti discrimination and tolerance efforts that will be jointly selected by the NBA and its Players Association.
As for Mr. Sterling's ownership interest in the Clippers, I will urge the Board of Governors to exercise its authority to force a sale of the team and will do everything in my power to ensure that that happens."  (Full transcript here.)

As I listened to the press conference on Tuesday, I was disturbed by the severity of this punishment.  I have not heard the recordings and don't know the complete history of Mr. Sterling, but banning a person from a public place such as an NBA game for something he said seems too harsh to me.  Are racist remarks okay?  Absolutely not. Does that mean there will be no racists attending NBA games in the future?  Highly unlikely!

I do find it interesting that the comments were recorded by a woman many are calling Mr. Sterling's girlfriend and no one blinked an eye about that.  Many professional athletes are fornicators, they get arrested for DUI, and the list goes on.  Because they can shoot a basket or throw a football or hit home runs, they get a free pass many times.

This is a country that believes and supports freedom of speech until you say something they don't like.

So why am I bothered by this?  I don't even like basketball!  But when will our pastors be banned from our churches for preaching that sin is sin?  When the man of God preaches from God's Word and tells it like it is, many call it hate speech.  Who will ban my pastor from his pulpit when he points his finger at sin?

As far back as the prophets in the old testament, men of God have been persecuted for speaking the truth.  Jesus said in Matthew 24:9, "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake."  The disciples rejoiced "that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name."  And while we know Jesus came to give His life for us, the religious leaders of His day had Him arrested and crucified because of what He said.

Again, I want to say that racism has no place in this world.  But when preaching the truth of God's Word is considered hate speech, we need to be on our knees in prayer for our pastors.

So tell me what you think...
Have you been following this story?  Agree or disagree with the lifetime ban?
Have you noticed a trend toward intolerance of preaching truth?

Happy Birthday, America!

I'll have my "Fun" photo eventually, but I did not want to pass up this opportunity to say how thankful I am for America.  No, our country isn't perfect, but I am so glad for the liberty we have, liberty that was bought by the blood of many.

Several years ago, Les and I were in Washington, D.C.  We enjoyed many of the museums and took a long walk on the National Mall, viewing the many memorials.

A highlight of the trip was a night time tour we took.  Seeing the memorials lit up was quite impressive.  Our guide was extremely knowledgeable.  We later learned he trained other guides, so he was top notch.  One of the things I really liked about him was the fact that he didn't have a political agenda at all, he was simply an American who was proud of his country.

During the tour we stopped at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.  It is very moving, with the many names listed.  Just before we moved on, our guide introduced one of our tour members.  I don't remember his name now, but he would not be continuing with us.  He was a Vietnam Vet and was staying at the wall to look for names of his fallen comrades.  As our guide thanked him for his service, our entire group began clapping.  I have tears just thinking about it.  I know many came home from Vietnam to a country that seemed angry at them.  But for those few minutes, we gave that man the respect he so rightly deserved.

So as you enjoy barbeque, apple pie, homemade ice cream, and fireworks today, don't forget to pray for the men and women who continue to make our liberty possible.

A Place for Freedom

Today, as we pause to remember Martin Luther King, Jr., I am thankful for the church.  We just completed our second week of revival and during that time we have had people of many races in our altars.  Mariah, who I wrote about last week, is African-American.  Tiffany is Caucasian.  Jose is Hispanic.  They all have one thing in common ~ they are seeking God and He is being found of them.

The church has no room for prejudice.  Yes, there are people who are prejudice who go to church, but the body of Christ cannot be healthy with the disease of prejudice in it.  It's been an issue since the book of Acts, and it will continue because Satan uses it to cause division,  but it's a beautiful thing when we embrace each soul who comes through our doors just as they are.

We do well when we sing the children's song "Jesus Loves the Little Children" and remember that we are all precious in His sight.

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in His sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

30 Days of Thanks - Day #2

Since it is election day, I thought I would give thanks for the United States of America. I know we're a long way from perfect as a country. But has there ever been a perfect country? The children of Israel murmured while Moses led them out of the Egypt and God fed them with manna.


Since we were created with a free will, that means we do not all think alike or agree. But we live in a country where we are free to voice that. We don't have to fear being attacked at our local poling place. We can vote anyway we wish. But more importantly, we are free meet with God in our houses of worship.