Many thanks to David and Bill and JJ for leading our online worship on Sunday.  Our Faith Family at TOCC is truly honored and blessed to have such servants of The Kingdom moving among us.  And, I hope you have been paying attention to all of our online platforms [is that the right word?] during our time of quarantine, because amazing servants of The Kingdom are rising up all over the place from the TOCC Faith Family.  Some of their work is big, some of it is small, but all of it is Kingdom work, and all of it is known to and blessed by our King.  So, whether you are teaching or preaching, or cooking or gifting or shopping for someone, or working from home or soothing frayed nerves, or praying or singing, or fighting on the front lines, or home schooling, or being a student away from the school building, or re-arranging priorities, or simply trying to hold everything together in a world that has suddenly changed – you are loved, and you are needed; you matter to us; and you are a child of The King!  

My brain is more likely to retain bits of odd information [sometimes known as “brain sludge”] than it is to remember important things like birthdays, anniversaries, The Word of God, etc. Is there anybody else out there like this?  For example, this past Saturday, I looked at the calendar, saw that it was April 18, and turned to Renee and said, “Listen my children and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of Paul Revere; on the 18th of April in Seventy-five; hardly a man is now alive who remembers that famous day and year.”  [And I know Renee is saying, “This kind of thing happens all the time - welcome to my world!”]

Some of you with brains like mine recognize these words as the opening lines of the famous poem, “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere”, by Longfellow.  And, I thought it was just another one of those weird moments that keep happening - until I was watching JJ’s sermon Sunday and realized that The Spirit was at work again.  JJ put up a slide that said “Humility is Undefeated”, and then spoke of the need for humility, and the need to ask The Lord for help, before there can be any kind of harvest.  This led me to think about the fact that The American Revolutionary War started the day after Paul Revere’s ride with the Battles at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 – exactly 245 years ago Sunday; and that the rag-tag American armies were led to victory in that war by perhaps the most humble man to ever serve this Nation in such high-ranking capacities, George Washington.  Don’t you love this picture of General Washington at Valley Forge?

When the War ended, Washington could have easily declared himself Emperor of The New World [much like Napoleon did in France a few years later]. Instead, he retired to farming.  When King George of England heard this, he leaned back in his chair and said, “If this be true, then George Washington must be the greatest Man in the world.”  Five years later, when he was unanimously elected by The Electoral College as President, Washington refused the title, “His Majesty”, preferring to be called, “Mr. President”.  [See “History Is Now” magazine, Blog, February, 2018.]

Washington knew his need for Divine help, both as Commander of The Continental Army, and as President of The United States.  He said,

“It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and to humbly implore His protection and favor.”  

As Americans, we enjoy the harvest of his humility even now.

I hope you were listening Sunday, and praying along with David Gilbert, because David’s Spirit-led words were a beautiful expression of both humility and reliance on the Divine Providence of God.  [This prayer has been posted on both the TOCC and The Tammany Oaks Church of Christ Facebook pages.]  Perhaps now would be a good time for all of God’s People, including that part of God’s Family known as The Tammany Oaks Church of Christ, to kneel wherever we are, and, with gratitude even in difficult times, “humbly implore His protection and favor”.  Then the harvest can and will come!

Ambrose K. Ramsey III

Shepherd