Lest We Forget

Today is the day we celebrate VE Day. For those of you under 70 or historically disadvantaged, it marks the 64th anniversary of the end of hostilities in Europe. Actually, it was at 5:30 pm on May 7, 1945 that the surrender was accepted but since Americans didn’t get the word until the following day, we use the 8th.

Please notice that I avoid the use of the word “celebrate” in the above paragraph. Was there joy, relief, and finality in the announcement? Yes! But, when one has lost so much to obtain victory it is a bitter sweet outcome. The endless numbers of lives, casualties, both military and civilian, property damage, loss of treasure and perpetual worry over loved ones directly involved are not offset by a signature on a surrender document.

One reason the joy was muted was because it represented only half of the complete end of hostilities. We were still embroiled in a continuing struggle with Imperial Japan which was not to end for an additional three months. When it did arrive, the celebration was noisy, raucous, and in full force. Until then the job, albeit an important one, was only half done.

Those of us who still choke up at the singing of the National Anthem, tear at the sight of “Old Glory” flapping in the wind and have been witness to evil beyond comprehension, hold no shame in the love of this republic and an omnipotent loving God. If this describes you, either through history or experience, please join me this day in a moment of remembrance for those who did not survive to share the joy of this anniversary.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

National Day of Prayer

The day came and went without a ceremony at the White House and with a belated proclamation announcing the event. I suppose that when your narcissism has elevated to the level apparent in “the one,” it becomes easier to ignore God.

Although the acknowledgement of prayer as a necessary element of government has had some loose identity over the country’s history it has been generally recognized by our leadership. Early in the Reagan administration, the day was formalized to the first Thursday in May. Many citizens join the leadership to thank Almighty God for the blessings He has given and to ask for His guidance and wisdom in our further affairs. It presents an opportunity for each and every person to recognize their personal higher power.

For further wisdom on the matter I turned to Dr. Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries. As usual, he rose to the occasion and had the following on his website:

“PRAYING FOR THE PRESIDENT AND THOSE IN AUTHORITY

1 Timothy 2:1-2, the apostle Paul says, “I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

Most of us realize that we should be interceding for our country’s leaders. But sometimes we have difficulty knowing what to ask. Below are a few suggestions.

Pray that our elected officials would:

1. Recognize their personal sinfulness and need for the cleansing power of Jesus Christ.

2. Understand their inadequacy for the task before them and their need to pray for God’s wisdom, knowledge and courage.

3. Reject all counsel that violates the spiritual principles of God’s Word and be willing to trust God to lead them in the right direction.

4. Resist the pressures of those who would lead them astray or tempt them to disobey the Lord and His will for their lives.

5. Work to reverse the trend towards ungodliness in our land and to restore America’s Christ-centered values.

6. Be prepared to make godly choices in the best interest of America, regardless of the cost.

7. Rely on the Word of God and prayer for strength and success.

8. Maintain dignity, honor, trustworthiness, and righteousness in office.

9. Strive to be a godly example to the men, women, and children of this land.

10. Remember that while in office, they are accountable to God for their attitudes, actions, and motives.

If God’s people pray consistently and passionately for those in authority, the entire nation will be affected. “The effective prayer of a righteous man [or woman] can accomplish much” (James 5:16).

Dr. Charles Stanley”

Thank you, Dr. Stanley.

I am absolutely convinced that God, and God alone can provide that which is missing from our administration. We needed a National Day of Prayer to get in touch with our Creator and ask for His assistance. He has counseled us repeatedly to seek Him and share our concerns about everything.

If we our minds and hearts are clouded by personal feelings and differences with our president I would suggest it would have a negative affect on our prayers. We need to impart that our concerns are “for” the nation and its people and not just limited to criticism of our leadership.

In this current situation, it would be appropriate to make every day a national day of prayer.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Testimony 9

As a reminder, these have been accumulated over many decades and are a sharing of one man’s experience with his God. If you feel led to comment; ask for further information, or visit with Hartley, he may be reached at onemaxim70@aol.com

“Over the last fifty years I have accumulated over three hours of testimony, one on one, with the Holy Spirit.

Testifying sometimes produces surprising results in those who hear; resentment, sometimes anger and jealousy. People who are wise in their social relations sometimes think ‘he does not get it.’ There are certain things that are better left unsaid. Timing is everything.

I do get it. I have spent over fifty years being instructed. I have been told point blank. It has happened so many times I have the procedure memorized.

1. ‘It's not what you said, it is the way you said it.’

2. ‘You have just insulted us.’

3. ‘You have insulted me, my family, my forefathers, all my aunts, uncles and cousins who live in all the cities and towns around the Center Place.’

4. ‘If God does not like us the way we are, He cannot have us.’

5. ‘If you do not tell us what we want to hear, you will not get anywhere with us.’

6. ‘You are accusing us, you are judgmental.’

7. ‘I hate you; I hate you, now I will have to repent.’ As that lady spoke to me the Holy Spirit said, “Within three days this lady will have changed things in her mind. She will find no reason to repent.” Three days later, after the Wed. prayer meeting, this lady came over to me triumphant, saying ‘I do not have to repent after all.’ I asked how she came to this conclusion. She replied “the Scriptures do not mean what they say.”

After 18 years being absent from the congregation of the Lords people, the one singular thing that makes me Love God; makes me ignore the chastising of the Lords people, strengthens me to press on is the testimony he gave me and my family is the Book of Mormon.

One early morning, I had just read the last ten pages of the BOM, the Holy Spirit was present, and I was rejoicing in the things I had read in that wonderful book. As I laid it down the cover opened and I noticed for the first time a blue tag which read, if my memory is correct, “if any man desires to know the truth of this book let him ask of God and it will be revealed by the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Sitting there, I idly thought I wonder how God would do that. What would He show some one who had never heard of the BOM or even resented it, but asked?

The Spirit then suddenly poured out on me. My youngest daughter eight years of age, came skipping into the room looking up from her feet she saw me. She stopped.

She lifted her arms above her head, rolled back on her heals, her eyes wide with astonishment, ran out of the room backwards crying “Come quick, come quick! Daddy’s on fire, Daddy’s on fire!”

I looked up as three girls 8, 10.and 12 were peeking around the corner at me. I said “Come here I want to tell you what God is showing me.” My oldest daughter stood up and backed away saying, “I am not coming anywhere near you.”

The Lord then told me this was the power He had put upon Nephi when Nephi’s brothers were going to kill him. After I heard that, the power on me seemed to leave. With that my oldest daughter rushed in and touched my forehead with one finger. Something shocked her and she staggered back quite a distance with tears running down her cheeks and said,” Daddy, does that hurt?”

Suddenly three girls jumped on my lap and with one voice said, “Daddy, we want to get baptized.” After eighteen years of negligence on my part, those girls, to my knowledge, had never been inside a church. I did not know they even knew what Baptism meant. I was astonished! In that one moment the Lord had wiped out eighteen years of my dissatisfaction, and in the presence of His spirit, testified to my three daughters and myself, and undone my years of ignorance.

If there was ever any one thing in my life that turned my heart to love God, it is that one incident above all else.

Elder Hartley Stanbridge”

Thank you Hartley. We are happy to share his testimonies of singular events that have shaped his life.


In His abiding love,


Cecil Moon

Cleaning up the Reference File

About three days ago, someone who doesn’t know me as well as he thinks, remarked: “Boy Cec, you are really well organized.” I have finally stopped laughing. This individual has never seen my desk, my garage (shop?), my closet, or my life.

In a rare offering to the gods of organization, I do keep a file entitled “ZB ideas” in my “favorites” file on the computer. It is a collection of miscellany which gradually piles up like dirty laundry in the utility room. When it reaches critical mass I bring it all together in a mish-mash and post it. Largely, it’s stuff I found interesting but not to the extent it deserved the full attention of an individual post. For example:

CLEVELAND

One of the joys (pains) of driving for Greyhound on line service was the opportunity to keep up on the cities of America and Canada both large and small. On the extra board, one never knew where the next assignment would wind up. In the Central Division, a frequent turn-around was Cleveland. It joined Detroit, Minneapolis, St Louis, Indianapolis, and Omaha as legal (log books you know) miles from Chicago.

The main terminal in each was located in the city center. They all had a garage and a dormitory for drivers a few blocks removed on the edge of the metro center. For an overnight, the driver trudged the few blocks and had the opportunity to see the city at street level. Some were better than others—and safer.

Here is a cute little slap-dash video which extols the virtues of Cleveland. It’s short and you will enjoy this intimate glance at another in a list of Great Lakes cities.

Dancing to the Socialists

This one has been in the file for a few days and will delight you.

Who knows, you might actually get some good work-out tips from this offering. Nancy Pelosi is reasonably trim for a woman her age and in this rare case offers a good example.

For Gun Control

Here is a man with a genuine vested interest in gun control. From his perspective, his arguments are quite persuasive. Since Zion Beckons readers are always eager to understand a variety of positions on major issues I submit this video in the interest of fairness.

Now, don’t you feel better knowing that you have helped me clean up an otherwise cluttered file? I can now face my friend without giggling behind my sleeve over his accusation of my superior organizational skills.

Don’t worry, there’s plenty more junk where that came from.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Your Witness, Counselor

You are a juror. A man is on trial for “gross incompetence” and possible treason. A prosecuting attorney steps up to the accused on the witness stand and offers, in evidence, a laundry list of verifiable accusations of his malfeasance.

As you listen to these accusations, delivered without benefit of spin by either a press corps or a cover up by a sycophantic bevy of bureaucrats whose self-interest begs your support; would you not take these issues seriously? Would not conviction be a definite option in your deliberations? Would the accused’s response not be of concern?

Here follows, points which the prosecutor would surely raise:

•Obama’s first two major bills alone, the "stimulus" and "omnibus," cost nearly twice as much as was spent on Iraq over six years – $1.2 trillion vs. $650 billion.

•Obama abandoned his campaign promise of "a net spending cut," his first annual deficit – not counting bailouts – being three times the worst deficit under President George W. Bush.

•Obama’s objective in his first G20 summit – commitments to spend our way to prosperity with massive stimulus boondoggles across the G20 – was rejected out of hand.

•Obama’s objective in his first NATO summit – commitments to combat troops for Afghanistan from "our European allies," which Obama and his party imagined were ready and willing to fight if only someone "enlightened" like him were running things – was predictably refused, with some more European non-combat contingents offered as a token.

•Obama’s Defense Department announced cuts of $1.4 billion to missile defense, the day after North Korea test-fired its long-range, multi-stage ballistic missile.

•Obama’s economics were criticized by Warren Buffet, whose endorsement had been candidate Obama’s highest economic credential.

•Obama reversed the free trade Bush policy that had allowed about 100 Mexican tractor-trailers into the United States, which the Mexican government immediately used as an excuse to levy tariffs on 90 American goods amounting to $2.4 billion in U.S. exports.

•Obama’s "tax cuts for 95 per cent" turned out to mean $13 a week from June to December, to be clawed back to $8 a week in January – as compared with President Bush’s 2008 tax rebates of $600 to $1,200 plus $300 per child, which were notably scoffed at during the election campaign by Michelle Obama.

•Obama’s campaign promise of a $3,000-per-employee tax credit for businesses that hired new workers – repeated ad nauseam for weeks before the election – was discreetly retired even before inauguration day.

•Obama abandoned his campaign promise that "lobbyists won’t work in my White House," waiving his no-lobbyist executive order or conveniently re-defining his appointees’ past lobbying work to allow 30 lobbyists into his administration.

•Obama abandoned his campaign promise to reform earmarks, signing the omnibus bill which contained 8,816 of them.

•Obama took more money from AIG than any other politician in 2008 – over $100,000 – and signed into law the provision guaranteeing the AIG bonuses which later had him in front of the cameras "shaking with outrage" and sicking the pitchfork crowd on law-abiding citizens who had fulfilled their end of a contract and had their payment upheld by Obama’s own legislation.

From an evidential prospective, this would have to be one of the easiest cases ever to prosecute. Support for each point is well documented. Additional witnesses would form an army.

The remaining question is then; if an armed felon was charged with such a compelling body of evidence would he be allowed to continue his nefarious practices? Would he not be charged, indicted, incarcerated, tried and his fate placed in the hands of a jury? The issues in the list above are serious to the life of the republic. Will it still be in existence when you go to the jury room (voting booth) to confirm or convict? Are you prepared to make a decision?

I am grateful to Andrew W. Smith, from Cape Sable Island, N.S., who writes and resides in Tulsa, Okla. for the bullet points listed above. I would suggest you read his column for a different perspective. It’s excellent.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Monday Morning Rant 90

It rained all the way to Miami this morning. Well, not exactly; it let up just as I drove into the church yard so I could go in for the sacrament service dry and unhurried. Wayne Kirk, the pastor, delivered the message and included some much needed emphasis on fear. Our current national situation seems to supply an abundance of that commodity on a constant basis. Happily the latest threat to incite our fears, the swine flu, seems to be abating and reduced to just another distraction while the magician-in-chief pulls another legislative/policy disaster out of his brim full hat.

His remarks (Brother Kirk’s) were timely and ever appropriate. Over dinner I reminded him that in Matthew 28, in that most important story, when the angel of Lord descended from Heaven, the first words the angel spoke to the Mary’s were: “Fear not ye….” Once it was revealed that Christ had risen and shared that magnificent promise for each of us; what is there to fear?

Napolitano Updated

Janet Napolitano is the gift that keeps on giving. She has recently made the news with an announcement (discovery?) that she is on the list of possible replacements for soon to be retiring Justice David Souter.

In an all-out effort to destroy what little constitutionally inspired integrity remains in the fabric of our republic, her proposal as the new member of the Supreme Court brings outrage to an all-time high. Apparently, the goal of our administration is not creeping socialism but rather the immediate and total destruction of all three branches of government. Her ham fisted exercise of the department she now heads (DHS) is damaging enough but would pale to insignificance if she were to be elevated to a lifetime appointment to America’s highest court.

Some have expressed concern that the Court does not reflect the demographics of the nation. After all, one woman member is not the equivalent of the 50+% presence of women in the population. Clarence Thomas supplies a rough balance to offset the black population. Hispanics complain that their variable number (with or without illegals) is under-represented on the court. Asians are totally ignored as well as one-legged homosexual midgets.

These complaints completely ignore little details such as Constitutional understanding, legal experience, and most important—wisdom! Inasmuch as we are moving ever closer to a reign of judicial oligarchy, with most important decisions being made by the ukase of courts rather than legislative action, exceptional care should be exercised in these appointments. Even the suggestion of her presence on the court is offensive.

Fat Man and Little Boy

Sixty-four years ago this August, one of America’s truly great presidents, Harry S. Truman, agonized long and hard with a decision which no man should ever have to make. It was his choice to avoid escalating already horrendous casualties by taking demonstrable action to convince the Japanese of the futility of continuing World War II. That action was to drop atomic devices on two separate cities on the Japanese mainland.

Since that decision, which brought the war to an end, the arm chair quarterbacks who infest the media and those who seek “peace” at any price have put their two cents in to explain why it was such a bad choice. One of the most recent has been the “comedian,” Jon Stewart. Due to the horrendous loss of life he suggested that Truman was really nothing more than a war criminal. Don’t be shocked; he is just another in a long line of people who have little knowledge of our history and harbor thoughts to discredit anything positive in our past.

A man, Bill Whittle, who has far more talent than I could ever dream of, has cogently assembled a rebuttal to explain to this dunce some pertinent facts about the closing months of the war. If you are rusty on the facts you would be well advised to listen to Bill in this tape which he directed at Stewart but shared with all of us. The liberal mind does not have a very good tolerance for facts and will probably never understand anything which continues their perception of “how it ought to be.” This is an expert at work so I encourage you the click the link and enjoy a man of exceptional talent bring this timely rebuttal.

A Remarkable Quote

A came across this, and is often the case, didn’t note the source for citation. Since it is long in public domain I shall just have to throw out a general apology and quote it anyway.

He is speaking to the British citizenry:

“I have no doubt but that the nation at large sees the conduct in America in its true light and I am certain that any other conduct but compelling obedience would be ruinous and … therefore no consideration could bring me to swerve from the present path which I think myself duty bound to follow.”

King George III as quoted in 1776

King George finally realized that American conduct was designed such that the “true light” was to be liberty. I can only conclude that he was merely the first to not fully realize it.

And finally

I must confess that I love to mow grass. When one steps back to survey four acres of lawn with spotty trees and a border of dense forest all nicely trimmed and evenly cut it is all worth the effort. That job being: picking up mounds of rocks several feet high in three separate locations, spending tedious hours repairing the mower because of the ones I missed, burning stumps for the occasional victim of the wind and ice, and endless string trimming to keep it all nice and crisp. I failed to mention the leveling, seeding, fertilizing, and on rare occasions even watering. Once the project is complete, and it never is, it is all worth it. Jan has planted endless day lilies (her favorite) plus roses and dozens of other varieties whose names escape me to set the necessary color contrast.

On the way home, I stopped at the Missouri U. agricultural test station plot of grapes. I had checked with them for advice before I planted. I need to go back when someone’s there because theirs look a lot different than mine. Mine are bushy, growing like weeds, and stretching for the roof. Theirs are a different variety and for some reason don’t have the healthy look that mine do. I am certain there is an explanation because I’m not all that gifted in the agronomy department.

It is God’s world after all and He has allowed me to care for my part of it. I’m grateful for the job.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon