Today’s blog is a feel-good story that I’m not sure has a point. Maybe one will surface while I’m writing.

Howard is a 20-year-old, 40 pound giant African spurred tortoise who is the mascot and greeter for Scales ‘N Tails pet store in Colorado Springs.

Howard apparently stays in an enclosure outside the front door, and a thief absconded with him Wednesday afternoon, June 17. The theft made the front page of our local newspaper Friday morning.

By the way, the rest of the last sentence is:

“He’s basically a walking boulder. He’s going to move a couch; he’s going to push over furniture,” said store owner Ronald Bohnert.

My son Mark posted the story on Facebook and remarked:

I’m normally opposed to the death penalty but for this guy I’d consider an exception.

Fortunately, there were witnesses and video, and the dastardly dude, who was on a several-day crime spree, was apprehended the next day, and Howard was recovered. You can read that story here as Howard made the front page again on Saturday, June 20. The opening sentence is:

Colorado Springs police announced Friday that the gym tote-sized store greeter and mascot of Scales ‘N Tales on North Academy Boulevard had been located and returned to his owners Thursday night, about a day after he was stolen from his open-air habitat outside the store.

Howard is big, but not as big as he will be. His species lives over 100 years and grows to about 150 pounds.

As I say, I don’t know the point of this story except that Howard seems to be another “gift from God.” The tortoise is social. Customers pet him and feed him. The owner said, “He belongs to the community.”

But ask the animals what they think—let them teach you; let the birds tell you what’s going on. Put your ear to the earth—learn the basics. Listen—the fish in the ocean will tell you their stories. Isn’t it clear that they all know and agree that GOD is sovereign, that he holds all things in his hand— Every living soul, yes, every breathing creature? (Job 12.7 – 10, MSG)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1.17, ESV)

Yesterday, we saw Ezekiel’s vision of the glory of God. Today a different kind of vision…

Tuesday a week ago, June 16, we had a spectacular sunset…

Followed 40 minutes later by a picture I’ve never made before: Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury, near the fingernail moon:

Part of the credit goes to Paddy, the dog. If I hadn’t been walking him, I wouldn’t have seen it. The other part of the credit goes to modern photographic technology. The shot was taken with an iPhone 17, 2-second exposure, crisp with no tripod since modern cameras ignore hand-held vibrations. The technology is a miracle, as is the view itself.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm 19.1, ESV)

Ezekiel starts with a bang:

I saw visions of God…As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze. (Ezekiel 1.1, 4 – 7, ESV)

This 6-minute video provides pictures to help you visualize the text:

The description of the vision concludes:

And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD… (Ezekiel 1.26 – 28, ESV)

The only thing I know close to it is John’s vision of Jesus:

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. (Revelation 1.12 – 16, ESV)

Ezekiel and John had similar reactions:

• Ezekiel: And when I saw it, I fell on my face…
• John: When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead….

Both then heard a call: John, to write; Ezekiel, to speak:

And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house. (Ezekiel 2.3 – 7, ESV)

It’s more spectacular, but similar to what God told Jeremiah:

Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 1.8, ESV)

And off we go into Ezekiel…

PS I saw a different vision of the glory of God…and photographed it! Stay tuned.

We begin our reading of Ezekiel: how to respond to the exile and the destruction of Jerusalem? It’s long, but I reproduce here all of the Introduction to Ezekiel in The Message Bible by Eugene Peterson.

Catastrophe strikes and a person’s world falls apart. People respond variously, but two of the more common responses are denial and despair. Denial refuses to acknowledge the catastrophe. It shuts its eyes tight or looks the other way; it manages to act as if everything is going to be just fine; it takes refuge in distractions and lies and fantasies. Despair is paralyzed by the catastrophe and accepts it as the end of the world. It is unwilling to do anything, concluding that life for all intents and purposes is over. Despair listlessly closes its eyes to a world in which all the color has drained out, a world gone dead.

Among biblical writers, Ezekiel is our master at dealing with catastrophe. When catastrophe struck—it was the sixth-century B.C. invasion of Israel by Babylon—denial was the primary response. Ezekiel found himself living among a people of God who (astonishingly similar to us!) stubbornly refused to see what was right before their eyes (the denial crowd). There were also some who were unwilling to see anything other than what was right before their eyes (the despair crowd).

But Ezekiel saw. He saw what the people with whom he lived either couldn’t or wouldn’t see. He saw in wild and unforgettable images, elaborated in exuberant detail—God at work in a catastrophic era. The denial people refused to see that the catastrophe was in fact catastrophic. How could it be? God wouldn’t let anything that bad happen to them. Ezekiel showed them. He showed them that, yes, there was catastrophe, but God was at work in the catastrophe, sovereignly using the catastrophe. He showed them so that they would be able to embrace God in the worst of times.

The despair people, overwhelmed by the devastation, refused to see that life was worth living. How could it be? They had lost everything, or would soon—country, Temple, freedom, and many, many lives. Ezekiel showed them. He showed them that God was and would be at work in the wreckage and rubble, sovereignly using the disaster to create a new people of God.

Whether through denial or despair, the people of God nearly lost their identity as a people of God. But they didn’t. God’s people emerged from that catastrophic century robust and whole. And the reason, in large part, was Ezekiel.

Words count. Prophets have a job, and Peterson captures the essence of Ezekiel’s message that God was still at work, resulting in: “God’s people emerged…robust and whole. And the reason, in large part, was Ezekiel.”

In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. (Ezekiel 1.1, ESV)

Peterson’s translation of the result of John the Baptist’s ministry is similar:

There was a lot more of this—words that gave strength to the people, words that put heart in them. The Message! (Luke 3.18, MSG)

We close out Lamentations with a quick look at chapter 5. As I wrote in the introduction, it’s 22 verses, not an acrostic, and it’s 1/3 of the length of the other chapters. In 1, 2, and 4, each verse has 3 lines. In chapter 3, each line is a numbered verse for a total of 66 verses. In chapter 5, each verse has only one line.

The chapter describes appalling conditions for those left in Jerusalem after the exile. For example,

Our fathers sinned, and are no more; and we bear their iniquities.

Slaves rule over us; there is none to deliver us from their hand.

We get our bread at the peril of our lives, because of the sword in the wilderness.

Our skin is hot as an oven with the burning heat of famine.

Women are raped in Zion, young women in the towns of Judah. (Lamentations 5.7 – 11, ESV)

Awful stuff. And so he closes with a prayer:

For this our heart has become sick, for these things our eyes have grown dim,

for Mount Zion which lies desolate; jackals prowl over it.

But you, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations.

Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days?

Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—

unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us. (Lamentations 5.17 – 22, ESV)

Daniel prays the promise of the 70 years because the 70 years were over. Jeremiah does not – he’s still in the middle of it.

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes…O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.” (Daniel 9.1 – 3, 18, 19, ESV)

Sin will have its consequences, and it continues to give one pause in the US.

Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.” (Matthew 11.20 – 24, ESV, emphasis mine)

Yesterday, we introduced the source of the title of the well-known hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness:”

It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. (Lamentations 3.22, 23, KJV)

Jeremiah wrote Lamentations. Thomas O. Chisholm wrote “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.”

Thomas Obadiah Chisholm July 29, 1866 – February 29, 1960) was an American hymnwriter, poet, and Methodist minister.

Chisholm was born on July 29, 1866, in a log cabin near Franklin, Kentucky.^] He became a teacher at the age of 16. Circa 1893, aged 27, Chisholm had a Christian conversion experience during a revival in Franklin led by Henry Clay Morrison. Following his ordination in 1903, served as a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for one year before resigning due to poor health. After 1909 Chisholm began working as a life insurance agent in Winona Lake and later in Vineland, New Jersey.

Chisholm wrote over 1,200 sacred poems over his lifetime, many of which appeared in various Christian periodicals, and he served as an editor of The Pentecostal Herald in Louisville for a period. In 1923, Chisholm wrote the poem “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” which he submitted to William M. Runyan who was affiliated with the Moody Bible Institute and Runyan set the song to music. He also wrote the lyrics “Living for Jesus”, composed by C. Harold Lowden. Towards the end of his life, Chisholm retired to the Methodist Home for the Aged in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. He died on February 29, 1960, in Ocean Grove. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Chisholm_(songwriter)

1200 sacred poems!

His aim in writing was to incorporate as much Scripture as possible and to avoid flippant or sentimental themes. – “The Singers and Their Songs: sketches of living gospel hymn writers” by Charles Hutchinson Gabriel, quoted by Dianne Shapiro.

In the fall of 2012, I was playing the piano for a church service hosted by The Broadmoor Hotel at their “Pauline Chapel,” built by Julie Penrose, wife of Spencer Penrose, who built the Broadmoor. The linked description of the chapel is incomplete. The hotel was purchased in 2011 by wealthy Christian businessman Philip Anschutz, and he immediately commissioned weekly services to be held in the Chapel.

At one service, the then U.S. president of The Navigators, Doug Nuenke was preaching. I asked him what song I should play for the prelude. His response was immediate: “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” It wasn’t just his favorite song. He was living it: his home was one of 346 destroyed in the Waldo Canyon Fire, June 2012.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3.22, 23, ESV)

Lamentations chapters 1 and 2 describe the awful state of Jerusalem. Chapter 3 is personal, describing the afflictions of Jeremiah himself. And nearly in the middle of the book is one of the more well-known verses in the Bible:

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3.21 – 26, KJV)

“Great is thy faithfulness.” The title of a beloved hymn comes from where? Lamentations.

• Great is thy faithfulness, O God, my Father;
• There is no shadow of turning with thee.
• Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
• As thou hast been, thou forever wilt be. [Refrain]

• Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
• Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
• Join with all nature in manifold witness
• To thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. [Refrain]

• Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
• Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
• Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
• Blessings all mine and ten thousand beside. [Refrain]

Refrain

• Great is thy faithfulness,
• Great is thy faithfulness,
• Morning by morning new mercies I see.
• All I have needed thy hand hast provided;
• Great is thy faithfulness,
• Lord unto me.

Jeremiah wrote Lamentations. Thomas O. Chisholm wrote “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” More about him tomorrow.

It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. (Lamentations 3.22, 23, KJV)

I had a copy of this poem framed and hanging in my office. I wish I could say I lived it out consistently, but I am proud of all three of my sons, all of whom are also fine fathers.

A careful man I want to be,
   A little fellow follows me;
I do not dare to go astray,
   For fear he’ll go the self-same way.

I cannot once escape his eyes.
   Whate’er he sees me do, he tries;
Like me he says he’s going to be,
   The little chap who follows me.

He thinks that I am good and fine,
   Believes in every word of mine;
The base in me he must not see,
   The little chap who follows me.

I must remember as I go,
   Through summer’s sun and winter’s snow;
I’m building for the years to be
   That little chap who follows me.

Poem by Rev. Claude Wisdom White, Sr., public domain.

Rev. Claude Wisdom White, Sr. (1891 – 1975) was born in Texas and lived there his entire life. We have been unable to find any further information about him. This poem is often said to have been written by an anonymous author, and there are two different versions of  it, but we believe Rev. White is the true author and this is the original version. Esteemed basketball coach John Wooden included it in his book, Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, and it is said to have been one of his favorite poems. – Your Daily Poem

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6.4, ESV)

Last Saturday I attended a one-day men’s conference led by Every Man a Warrior, a disciple-making tool for men I whole-heartedly endorse. I was able to take the two men I’m working with now with me.

I was impressed with their challenge in the third presentation:

Be a Level 7 Man of the Word

While familiar with the concept, I had not seen it presented like this:

• Level 1: heard, listened to, forgot
• Level 2: heard, kind of know, “I can look it up if I need to.”
• Level 3: heard and studied, not applied (head knowledge)
• Level 4: memorized, can quote, not applied (head knowledge)
• Level 5: memorized, meditated, developing convictions and need to apply
• Level 6: memorized, meditated, put into practice, reaped success, have a testimony about that verse
• Level 7: memorized, meditated, put into practice, reaped success, began teaching Biblical truth to another

The key verse was James 1.25:

But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. (ESV)

I like it, especially ending with Level 7. We don’t stop with out own growth, we pass it on:

What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2.2, ESV)

Juneteenth is the oldest internationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance. – https://juneteenth.com/history/

Juneteenth has been a Federal Holiday since 2021, celebrated on the day. Setting captives free was part of Jesus’ mission:

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4.16 – 19, ESV)

Amen.