What Is The Difference Between The Ten Commandments And The Two Ordinances?

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND THE TWO ORDINANCES?  ~  Have you ever given thought to that question, that comparison?  So, what is the difference?  Are the Ten Commandments real commands and the Two Ordinances merely suggestions?  NO!  And in this blog I will tell you why.

God the Father, through Moses, gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, and through them to the whole world (Exodus 20:1–17).

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ, God the Son, breaks the Ten Commandments down into two easy to understand commandments.  The first and most important is our relationship with God the Father (Commandments 1 through 4).  And the others, according to Jesus Christ, is our relationship with our fellow man, (Commandments 5 through 10): 

(1)  Your relationship with God  ~  "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" - Matthew 22:37

(2)  Your relationship with your fellow man  ~  "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself" - Matthew 22:39

Jesus was not giving us new commandments to supersede the Ten Commandments given by God the Father.  No, the Ten Commandments are written in stone, virtually, and cannot be compromised nor changed. 

In like manner, in the 1960s Chuck Smith and Mike McIntosh created Maranatha! Music to give the hippies and all the seeking and lost young folks of that generation Christian music they could relate to, easily understandable to their drug fogged minds.  This simpler presentation of God's Word in terms of music and Gospel they could understand - and over the years that simple to understand Gospel brought literally millions to the Lord through Calvary Chapel.

"Bill, if Jesus only explained the Old Testament Ten Commandments in easier to understand language, did He leave no new commands to the church He created in the New Testament?"  Glad you asked!  That is a very important question - and one which I would bet most believers would answer no.  

Yet Jesus DID indeed leave us two new commands.  But since He did not label them as commands - are they merely suggestions - OR - are they new commands which all believers should view as just as important as the Ten Commandments?  We call them the Two Ordinances.

What is an ordinance?  This answer comes from the Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: "an authoritative decree or direction : (an) ORDER.   Example:  On that day the king signed three ordinances, three new laws."

We are given the words of Jesus in Luke 22:19, "And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body, which is being given for you; DO THIS in remembrance of Me.' ”

Paul tells us in 1Corinthians 11:23-24, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'This is My body, which is for you; DO THIS in remembrance of Me.' ”

Then Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:25, "In the same way He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood; DO THIS, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' ”

The English word "do" in Greek is poieo (poi-e'-o) which in Strong's Concordance means:   "to do, to act rightly, do well, to carry out, to execute."

The English word "this" in Greek is houtos (hü'-tos) which in Strong's Concordance means:  "this, these, etc."

In other words, the phrase found in all three Scripture passages above is:  poieo houtos - DO THIS!

So you tell me.  Does this sound like a mere suggestion?  Are the two Ordinances left to us by Jesus Christ only suggestions - OR are they commands? 

I suggest these are two new commandments left to the Christian church, the worldwide body of believers from the Day of Pentecost 33AD church until He comes again in His Second Coming in Glory to establish His 1000 year Millennial Kingdom on earth, as a precursor to taking all believer into never ending Eternity to live with Him and all other believers forever. 

I feel comfortable showing the ELEVEN Commandments in the manner shown in my graphic below.

True, this blog is only my understanding, but I am convinced these thoughts and references come straight from the Bible, God's Written Word.

Given this is true, is your church honoring both the Ten Commandments AND the Two Ordinances?  Does your church teach the Ten Commandments?  Does your church teach and follow the Two Ordinances:  the Baptism of new believers and the timely meeting Jesus at the Lord's Supper Table?

I once was at a church which I knew had only celebrated the Lord's Supper, aka Communion, twice in four years, and those times when an elder raised a question about its absence in worship.  I had a chance to chat with the pastor during fellowship, and I asked him, "Pastor, in Luke 22:19 Jesus tells us to celebrate the Lord's Supper in Remembrance of Him.  Does your church remember Him?"  He just smiled and walked away.

And to the best of my knowledge, that church did not even have the utensils to celebrate the Lord's Supper.  We have to ask ourselves, "Why would a Christian church choose to not meet Jesus in celebration at the Lord's Table?"

I can only think of one reason they would want to avoid or ignore Communion:  Confusion over who in the worship service that day should receive Communion, i.e., celebrate the Lord's Supper - and who should not be invited to partake of the Lord's Supper. 

I have written and posted a rather comprehensive blog titled: "Should Communion, The Lord's Supper, Be Open, Closed, Or Close?"  You will find it at:  https://billdory-christian-ministries.blogspot.com/2021/03/should-communion-lords-supper-be-open.html

Let me offer you excerpts from that blog:  It begins:

SHOULD COMMUNION, i.e., THE LORD'S SUPPER be Open, Closed, or Close?  ~  What is the difference?  Glad you asked.

Open Communion:  All Christian believers present at the time the Lord's Supper is celebrated, local church members or visitors, can participate in remembering Christ through receiving the elements.  The individual person determines if he/she is spiritually ready to receive the Lord's Supper.

Closed Communion:  Only members of that local church fellowship may participate in the Lord's Supper celebration.

Close Communion:  Local church members and visitors from other church fellowships in the same denomination may participate in the Lord's Table celebration.

Confusing?  I agree.  And I do not believe Jesus Christ meant to confuse anyone when in Luke 22:19 we read, "He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' "

So what is the difference between the three Communion practices?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And my blog concludes:

In a given local church fellowship, who decides who can participate in the Lord's Supper?  Is it the pastor, the deacons or elders, their denomination?  Who makes that spiritual decision?

I ask myself, "When Jesus 'took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me' -  who was He addressing when 'He gave the elements to them'?"   "Them" at that time referred to His apostles who were sharing the Passover Meal with Him in the Upper Room on that particular evening. 

But when He said, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me" - I am convinced His "you" was addressing all believers down through the ages.  Jesus Christ did not die just for His apostles - He did not die just for pastors, elders, deacons. 

He did not die just for Baptists, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, etc.  He did not die just for a given denomination.  No, Jesus Christ died on the cross to offer salvation and eternal life to ALL who will believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior.

Nowhere in that Luke 22:19 verse, or anywhere in the Bible, do I see Jesus Christ telling any denomination, any church, any pastor, elder, deacon - that THEY should judge who is saved, who is a believer, who is spiritually fit to join Him at His Lord's Table. 

Think about it.  A person, a church, or a denomination which tells a person, "You cannot take the Lord's Supper with us, because you might not be a real believer" - is placing himself, his church, his denomination in the position of being God, of passing judgment on another - just because that person is not a member of his local fellowship. 

I must ask that person, church, or denomination, "Are you that SURE that all members of your local church, the ones with whom you are willing to take the Lord's Supper - are they ALL true believers?"  If not, then using your criteria, you must deny them Communion also.  How will YOU judge which in your own fellowship deserve to receive Communion?

How can you be sure?  The solution is simple.  Offer the Lord's Supper to all who are attending your Communion Service - and leave it to that individual, and to God, to judge who is fit to sit at His Table.  In my understanding of the Bible, in over 35 years of study, that is what (I believe) is taught in God's Word. 

.  .  .   .

More about the Lord's Supper  ~  The Lord's Supper is NOT a one time event.  Jesus tells us to do this "in remembrance of Him" (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25).  How often does your church remember Jesus Christ and what He did to offer us eternal life?   That is reflected in how often your church fellowship celebrates the Lord's Supper?

Should we call it Communion - or should we call it the Lord's Supper?  Either is correct, but let's examine both.  Calling it the Lord's Supper is probably most common and, for me, has a deeper meaning.  What is more personal and intimate than coming to the table to share a meal with friends and family? 

Jesus tells us in Revelation 3:20, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine (or sup) with him, and he with Me."  That is the ultimate intimacy, being at the Lord's Supper Table. 

That implies we are in personal communion with Him - just as when we sit, pray, and eat with our immediate family.  It is a form of Communion, but I personally prefer to consider it dining at the Lord's Supper Table - with Him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Over the years, most Christian churches where I have been a participant celebrated the Lord's Supper once a month, typically on the first Sunday of each month.  And we did it as a closing part of our normal worship service, i.e., as we finish our worship service and are all preparing to go back into the world for another week, we partake of our "spiritual vitamins" to sustain us through the coming month, no matter what the world throws at us.

Why once a month?  Some churches celebrate the Lord's Supper weekly, others celebrate what they call the Eucharist daily, while many, if not most, celebrate Communion on a monthly basis.  Doing it daily or weekly, this celebration might tend to become more of a ritual or habit, which can make it just that, a ritual we do without giving any thought to what was paid on our behalf to make our salvation possible.

I will close with this very important question:  If your church is not celebrating the Lord's Supper, Communion, on a timely schedule?  Are you sure you are in a Christian church?  Think about it, and do what your believe God would have you do.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

Click on the image to enlarge:

 

Last Evening Had A Wonderful Walk In Our Local Corona Park!

LAST EVENING I HAD A WONDERFUL WALK IN OUR LOCAL CORONA PARK!  ~  This is a large, well maintained park which includes two full softball fields large enough that one end of each field can also be used as a soccer field.  And at the top of our park there are two basketball half courts, two tennis courts, and a large kiddie playground.  The park has two rather good sized parking lots, one on the south-western side and another on the north-western side.

And at the top of the park (eastern side) is a bench where I love to sit and greet folks, and when given an opportunity, chat with folks.  Walking to the park I get my walking exercise - 1/2 mile to the park and 1/2 mile home.  And in between I have the pleasure of people watching and often chatting.  Funny some of the things I have noticed.  Before the holiday season, as I watched people walk by, and unless they turn their attention away so that I know they do not want to greet me (which at that time happened very seldom), I would offer a smile and a greeting.

After the Christmas / New Year holiday, I noticed a number of people, both female and male, as they walked by would look away and were carrying a type of stick seemingly for protection. I never noticed that before the holiday - so I had to wonder why.  I recognize the purpose because for years I used to carry a fiber golf club handle when I walked. 

I joked it was to protect me from animals, 4 leg and 2 leg.  I had seen stray dogs in my walks, but when a time came that an angry homeless man began to stalk me, I could not use it.  I merely stopped and asked him if I could pray for him.  He stopped screaming and said in a meek voice, "Yes."  I held his shoulder, prayed for him, then hugged him.  He softly said, "That is what I wanted" and walked away.   So, yes, I recognize when a person walking is carrying a defensive stick.

The people I met on these recent walks is why my trip to the park last evening was so rewarding.  On the south-western side of the park, by the batter's box of each softball diamond, are the restrooms.  And in that area are several picnic tables.  The previous night as I was walking to my favorite bench, I noticed a group of young guy playing chess.  And last night that same group was there, so I stopped to watch. 

There was an older gentleman in a wheel chair, the grandfather of the chess player, and he and I started chatting.  Then pretty soon we all were having fun talking and laughing.  The older gentleman was a Vietnam vet, whose brother had been in the Korean War.  When I told them I am a Korean vet - that told everyone that I was the oldest in the crowd.   Darn, and I was so sure I hid that fact.

One of the young guys who joined us brought his girlfriend - and we found out that even though they both played chess, she could beat him.  Pretty soon we had her matched against the guy who owned the set.

One of the younger guys mentioned how ridiculous all this racial division in America is today.  Oh, by the way, did I mention they were all black, except for one other middle-aged gentleman who had been playing and was leaving as I joined the group.  The funny thing about that was that as he and his son were leaving I noticed that each had lots of tattoos on their neck and arms.  Noticing that all the others in the group were black, my first thought was, "Some folks would mistake these two for White Supremacist, but obviously they are not."

Big deal, who cares?  The people there didn't, nor did I.  One thing that really touched me was that when the older gentleman and I were talking and shared our time in service - each of the younger people stopped what they were doing and came over to shake our hands and say, "Thank you for your service."  That truly touched my heart, for coming home from Korea, we really did not have it bad - but our people returning from Vietnam were treated very badly.  That was thanks to the Leftist Socialist Movement in America during the 1960/70s - led by many college professors and Socialist rabble-rousers.

But I did share with them my story about my friend in Korea, Bob White, who for our whole year we there was my best friend.  We had our bunks side by side with his record player in between.  And we kept the air filled with good jazz music - except for when one guy decided he was going to drown our music out with his country/western.  That is when I pulled out my Mario Lanza album.  Guess who won?

Anyway, I shared with the group how when Bob and I were shipping out, coming home to America, we were at the terminal at Osan AB, Korea, waiting for our flight to Japan.  Since we were both being stationed at Bergstrom AFB, Austin, Texas - Bob told me, "Bill, you know when we get back to the states, we will not be able to run around together."  Suddenly I knew what he was saying was true.  And that made me angry, not at Bob - but at America and our American society of 1957. 

Imagine, here we have been good friends, one a white boy going home to 1957 Alabama, the other a black boy heading for 1957 Detroit.  And it was the black boy, Bob White, who realized and faced the fact that we both could serve our country in a foreign land - but we could not be free to be friends back in America, the supposed land of freedom, the freedom we were serving to protect.

Bergstrom AFB was a large base, so Bob and I did not run into one another, especially after I transferred from the F-86 Airborne Radar/Gunsight System group to another group where I was an F-100 Flight Simulator Technician.  Fast forward a bunch of years - and I found out that Robert "Bob" White was a founding member of MoTown's Funk Brothers band. You cannot imagine how happy that made me, to know that Bob had achieved his goal of becoming a professional musician - especially a founding member of MoTown's house band, the Funk Brothers.

Later I continued my walk through the park to my favorite bench on the north-eastern side of the park.  The park has several walking paths - one that circles the entire park, and two other that cut through and only circle the two softball fields.  My favorite bench is situated right at the point where all three meet - and allows me to greet lots of folks and, on occasion, chat with them.

That evening when I got to my "Bill Gray Greeter's Bench" - a gentleman named Anthony was already there.  And to be honest I could not tell if he was homeless or not.  He did not appear homeless, but today, in the Booming Biden Economy, that can happen so quickly that is hard to tell sometimes.  My clue was that he had several backpacks with him. 

Anyway we started chatting and I found that he had worked on the railroad, in the oil fields, and on the oil pipeline - until Biden put them out of business - with the same Executive Order which took away America's Energy Independence - which President Trump had given us following decades of our dependence on the fluctuations of the OPEC Oil Cartel.  Now Biden has us totally dependent again on OPEC oil and Russian oil.  Does that give you a comfortable feeling?

Anthony did not seem overly bitter, just somewhat disappointed.  And all I could tell him was to stick it out until we can vote President Trump back into office in 2024.  He and I must have talked for about an hour.  And I shared with him how in 1958 God's perfect timing had given me a lifelong career in the computer industry.

And after 12 years in the technical side of the computer industry as a Field Engineer, I moved into sales and marketing for another 35+ years - leaving me in later years to weigh that decision.  As a Field Engineer I was doing so well that I had to wonder how high I could have risen if I had stayed.  But on the other hand, even though often unstable, the sales/marketing side gave me many exciting experiences. 

Throughout my career, both in Field Engineering and in Sales/Marketing, I have worked with and been involved in so many challenging and exciting experiences and people.  As I weigh that long ago decision, I am reminded of a 2005 song by George Jones which I paraphrase slightly, "On one hand I count the reasons I should stay - but on the other hand."  And that is how I view my long career and my changing ships in midstream.

Yet I have learned over the years to not worry about what could have been, only to thank God for what has been.  And one great blessing is that everyone in my immediate family, California and Alabama, are believers and will be stuck with me for eternity.  God is good, and always right.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

Click on image to enlarge: 

A Trip In Bill's Career Time Machine!

THIS IS ADDRESSED MOSTLY TO MY FELLOW "MORE MATURE" FOLKS ~ But it also could apply to my my younger Friends, even though their time span window is much shorter.  Have you ever looked back at your life and said, "That had to be God!"

Several nights ago, my daughter, Lana, found the movie "Hidden Figures" on television.  It is a true story, lightly tainted by Hollywood, which played out circa 1960-61 at NASA Langley, Virginia.  It is the story of three amazing women, all black, all mathematical geniuses, and all three women who would play an important role in putting Americans on the moon and bringing them home again. 

Knowing my history in the computer industry, Lana thought I would be interested, which I most certainly was - for I have read about those women before - and now I could watch their story in an exciting movie.  This movie brought so many memories flooding back in full color.
 
The movie had me looking back at my life and career, and thinking, "That had to be God!"   As my family and I watched the movie "Hidden Figures" - it brought much of my life and career into focus, and had me saying, "That had to be God working, even back in the 1950s." 

I graduated from Sheffield High in Alabama in 1955, and since there was no way for me to go to college, along with three classmates, I joined the Air Force.  I had no real skills, but in school I did find math to be pretty easy and I was fairly good in English - but nothing to warrant any special considerations.

On that June 1955 day, Bob Davis, Willy Joe Foust, Cortez Melton, and I boarded a bus to Montgomery where we were sworn in and put on a train to Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas.  We spent 11 weeks in Basic Training and during that time we took a battery of aptitude tests to see in which career field we would best serve our country. 

By the grace of God, I scored well in math and electronics and was sent to Lowry AFB, Denver, for 6 months of training on the AN/APG-30 Radar/Gunsight System for the F-86 Fighter-Bomber jet aircraft.

Then I was sent to Osan AB, Korea, and to Tainan AB, Formosa (Taiwan) for a year - then back to Bergstrom AFB, Austin, Texas.  While at Bergstrom AFB, I switched career fields and worked as a technician on the F-100 Flight Simulator.  During this time I spent much of my spare time studying the tech manuals.  Some of the guys laughed at me for doing that, but I told them, "When I get out of the Air Force, I have a family to support - and I need a good job to do that."

At that time, being in the military, I was not really aware of the severity of the 1957-58 recession all across America.  Being an enlisted man with a family in the military was in itself a recession.  In Austin my family and I had one dollar of discretionary money to spend each week.  A taxi to church cost 50 cents and after walking home from church, we each had 10 cents to use for a soda or popsicle at our local park.  But we were happy.

In 1957 and 1958 the nation's economy underwent its worst postwar recession. Signs that the economy was faltering could be detected in early spring 1957.  The recession reached serious proportions by November 1957 - and by February 1958, it had surpassed in depth all declines since the 1929-1933 Great Depression years.

In hindsight, I am convinced of God's omniscience, being able to look down the annals of time and see that Bill Gray would one day become a believer - and God's perfect timing.  I was not scheduled to be discharged from the Air Force until June 1959, but by the grace of God, I had an early out in July 1958. 

I arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 23, 1958, my 21st birthday - and one week later, I had a job with Burroughs Corporation working as a Computer Technician on their new B-220 vacuum tube mainframe computer system.  The recession was breaking, this was just the beginning of a long and exciting career for me.

A year later I transferred me into the Field Engineering Dept and Burroughs sent me to work as a Computer Field Engineer on the B-220 system newly installed at the Norfolk Naval Supply Depot, a system which provided logistics and needed supplies to the Atlantic Fleet. 

Nine months later I was transferred to the Burroughs Washington DC office where I was the lead Field Engineer on their system at Atlantic Research Corporation in Virginia.  That is where I was on on April 12, 1961, when Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, became the first human to journey into outer space.  Traveling in the Vostok 1 capsule, Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth in 1 hour and 29 minutes, landing safely in Russia.

After we watched the movie, I told Dory and Lana, "A person wanting to work in the computer industry today must have degrees to even open the doors.  But, by the grace of God, when I arrived in Los Angeles on July 23, 1958, and went for an interview a week later at Burroughs Corporation, Chuck Hill, the department manager was not looking for degrees - only strong electronics knowledge."  My past studies in my spare time in the Air Force paid off. 

Chuck offered me a job that day - and the lady in personnel told me, "He must have really liked you, for he has not given anyone else that high a starting salary."  What was that starting salary?  Are you sitting down?  I was given the amazing pay of $2.25 an hour as a Computer Test Technician.  But in 1958, that was good pay for a technician.  Okay, stop laughing, it was!

In 1960 I transferred from Norfolk to the Washington DC district office - and by a great blessing, Chuck Hill had transferred to be the Washington DC Field Engineering Manager in the DC office.  He was my boss again.

While in the Washington DC office, I was assigned to test and then install a Burroughs B-220 computer which was part of much larger Melpar Corporation system installed at the Air Force SAC Headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska.  The system had two Datafile multi-tape mass storage units and one of them we knew had a problem before we shipped it to Omaha. 

At SAC Headquarters I had to find and fix the problem of the movable read/write head which occasionally hung up and just stopped.  I found that the unit with the problem had a slightly shorter cable attached to the read/write head which would occasionally bind and was causing it to hang up and stop the head movement.  I gave it more cable and Voila, the problem went away.

The next day I told  the Denver District Service manager that it was fixed and what I had done.  He did not believe it was fixed and I told him, "The damn thing works now and I am going home." 

In late 1962 Burroughs transferred me back to Los Angeles and when driving back, I arrived at my in-laws' home in Denver, to find there was a phone call for me.   Surprised, for who knew I was stopping in Denver?  It was the same Denver District Service Manager who in Omaha had not believed me.  But when he had a problem with a Datafile storage unit at the headquarters of the Denver-Rio Grande Railroad in downtown Denver - who did he want to solve his problem?  Me!

When he called the Washington DC office, he found out that I had left that office and was on way back to California.  He had his people pull up my security clearance records, found my in-laws' name and address in Denver, assumed I would be stopping there, and called me for help. 

He told me he had a problem with the Datafile unit at the Denver-Rio Grande headquarters - and felt I was the one to fix it.  I guess he did believe me in Omaha.  I was able to find their problem and then we drove on to Los Angeles.  But as a bonus, my wife and girls were able to spend another week with the grandparents.

Another surprise!  A few months after arriving in Los Angeles and being assigned to a B-220 system in downtown Los Angeles, I got a phone call from Chuck Hill.  He had been hired to establish a Test Department for the new Ramo Wooldridge AN/UYK-1 MilSpec minicomputer in Canoga Park - and he wanted me to join him in that new endeavor. 

So for the third time, my friend Chuck Hill became my boss again.  Karma?  No, God working!  For my first three career positions in civilian life, Chuck was my boss.

And knowing that part of my computer career story, Lana knew this movie would stir many memories.  Watching the movie also brought back a memory of the stereotyping discrimination still in NASA minds in 1965. 

After helping start the AN/UYK-1 Test Department, I transferred into the Ramo Wooldridge Field Engineering Department.  There I met and started dating a young lady who, like the ladies in this movie, was a whiz at mathematics.  Isabel had been one of only six women attending the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, class of 1958, and she had majored in Mathematics. 

At Ramo Wooldridge she was writing a program for the AN/UYK-1 which was to be installed in the NASA Down Range Tracking Station in the Caribbean.  Once her program was finished she was being sent to the Down Range Station to install the software she had written.  She was so excited about the trip,  and had made reservations to spend a week on San Thomas Island after her work was done. 

The day before she was to leave, she was told that NASA would not allow a woman to go to a Down Range Tracking Station - so another programmer, a man, not nearly as familiar with the software as the woman who had written it, Isabel, was sent to do her job.  Sound like what we saw in that movie?  You bet!

In 1965, after accepting a position with Scientific Data Systems (SDS), Santa Monica, as a Computer Field Engineer, my first two assignments were to install an SDS 930 computer at MIT Lincoln Lab in Boston - and then to install and support for six months an SDS 930 computer for the NASA Space Flight Simulator Boeing was building in Seattle.  

That was an exciting six months, for I was working with the team that designed and was building a huge simulator primarily to train the astronauts in the most dangerous part of their Apollo missions to put a man on the moon - the earth atmosphere re-entry.   As the Apollo Command Module was re-entering the earth's atmosphere from space, the angle of entry was very critical.  Too shallow and the heat caused by the friction could cause the Module to burn up - and if the entry angle was to wide, the Module would just bounce off the atmosphere and ricochet back into space.  It was a very narrow and very critical angle of entry, a matter of life or death.

It was an honor to be there the day the first group of Apollo astronauts come to the Boeing Space Flight Simulator facility to begin their training exercise.  And just two years later, in 1967, it was heart-breaking to hear that our Moon landing program had suffered a shocking setback, when on Jan. 27, 1967, three of the Apollo astronauts, Gus Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee, died, trapped by a flash fire aboard their spacecraft Command Module during a ground test on the launch pad.   But most likely their deaths and the improvements made to the Command Module as a result of the investigation which followed, saved other lives in future missions.

So many memories flooding back as we watched the movie "Hidden Figures."   You can see how this movie awakened many deja vu moments about my computer career and America's journey to the moon.  But at the same time it reminds me of the discrimination which had long been a part of the NASA male dominated career field also.  I pray you enjoyed this peek back in time as much as I did.  The video below is a 20 minute preview of the movie.  You can find the full movie on YouTube - or as we did, on our television channel. 

Please keep in mind that my collage below shows a photo of the three actresses portraying the actual ladies, those three taller than life women who played such an important role in America's successful Moon Landing Space Program begun by President John Kennedy in 1960.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~

Hidden Figures | Featurette: Achieving The Impossible |

The incredible untold true story of Katherine Johnson (portrayed byTaraji P. Henson) - Dorothy Vaughan (by Octavia Spencer) - and Mary Jackson (by Janelle Monae).  All brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit.  This stunning achievement galvanized the world and inspired generations to dream big.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiwBpkyjrmQ

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

Click on the image to enlarge: 

A Short American History Quiz

A SHORT AMERICAN HISTORY QUIZ  ~  Can you name the two most horrendous occurrences of mass murder of Americans in the past 100 years?  Two events which brought all Americans together in patriotic fervor? 

No?  Are you familiar with the Japanese naval attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which took 2403 American lives, destroyed much of our Pacific Naval Fleet, and left large portions of our military bases in Hawaii in shambles?  About half of those deaths were on the American battleship, the Arizona. 

One of my high school teachers, Ms. Sherrod, lost her foster son, Thomas Steger Sanford, who perished on the Arizona, the first man from our Alabama county, maybe from all Alabama, to die in World War 2. 

Yes, 2403 American lives were cut short in just a matter of hours by the Japanese naval air attack, December 7, 1941.  That brought patriotic fervor to Americans and put America right in the middle of World War 2, costing America another 420,000 lives in the next four years.

The man who led the attack on Pearl Harbor was Mitsuo Fuchida (1902-1976), Commander of the Japanese Naval Air Group.  He was responsible for the co-ordination of the aerial attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet and personally led that devastating air attack on Pearl Harbor.  It was he who gave the "ATTACK" order which rained death and destruction upon 2403 American military and civilian lives that December 7, 1941.

Or how about the attack against America on September 11, 2001 - which killed 2996 people?   That attack was planned and put into motion by Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian-born militant, the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks, and founder of the Pan-Islamic militant organization, al-Qaeda. 

In the early 1990s bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network began to formulate an agenda of violent struggle against his perceived threat of U.S. dominance in the Muslim world.  And this eventually led to the September 11, 2001, attack on America, killing 2996 people, destroying the World Trade Center towers, and parts of the United States Pentagon, symbol of our American military power.

Those two men, considered mass murderers by all Americans, who together, in just two days (Dec 7 and Sept 11) took almost 6500 American lives.   Now picture yourself as a Christian missionary, would you approach either of these two men and tell them, "Jesus loves you.  You need Jesus"? 

About 20 years ago I met an ex-White Supremacist in California who had become a devout Christian - because a believer met him on the street of Riverside, California, and told him, "Jesus loves you.  You need Jesus."   He and I sat and talked for several hours - and compared our Christian tract writings.  But that is a story for another blog.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus teaches, in Matthew 5:43-44, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'   But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you."

America's response to the December 7,1941, naval air attack on Pearl Harbor was the Doolittle Tokyo Raid on April 18, 1942.  Although the raid was called the Doolittle Tokyo Raid, their targets included multiple areas of Tokyo as well as other major cities, such as Yokohama, Yokosuka, Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe.  Primary targets included military facilities, factories, and other industrial centers.

On that April 1942 day America launched 16 B25 bombers from an aircraft carrier and struck Japan in retaliation.  Of the 16 USAAF B25 crews involved, 14 crews of five airmen each returned to the United States or to US forces elsewhere – one crew was killed in the attack.  Eight U.S. aviators were captured when their planes ran out of fuel and they had to parachute into Japanese held Eastern China.  Three of them were later executed. 

Among the five surviving POWs, one was Staff Sergeant Jacob DeShazer who had participated in the retaliation strike by the Doolittle Raiders.  But after the war he became a Christian missionary in Japan.

On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, Corporal Jacob DeShazer, 17th Bomb Group, heard news of the attack on Pearl Harbor over the radio. He became enraged, shouting, "Japan is going to have to pay for this!"  At that time, he was also an atheist.

How did Commander Mitsuo Fuchida hear about Jesus Christ and the precious gift of eternal life He purchased for all mankind, for all who will believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior?  From two very unlikely sources - Peggy Covell, who on December 19, 1943, as a teenager in the Philippines, witnessed as the Japanese soldiers beheaded both her missionary parents. 

To Mitsuo Fuchida, this love for one’s enemies was inexplicable, as the Bushido Code required revenge against those who murder one’s parents, to restore honor.  He became obsessed with trying to understand why anyone would treat such enemies with kindness and forgiveness.

The extraordinary examples of Peggy Covell, missionary kid orphaned by the Japanese soldiers - and Sergeant Jacob DeShazer, bombardier on a Doolittle Raider B25 sent to revenge Pearl Harbor, to pay back the Japanese - inspired Fuchida to know more about the God of the Christians.

When Japanese Prisoners of War asked the young 18-year-old Peggy Covell why she volunteered to help them, her reply was, “Because Japanese soldiers killed my parents.”  Does that make sense?  To a Christian believer who knows and follows Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, it does (Matthew 5:43-4).

When Peggy remembered her parents' missionary dedication and service for the Kingdom of God - and their love for the Japanese people, she was convinced that she must continue their Mission, reaching the Japanese people for Christ.  As Fuchida researched from every available source in the Philippines who knew the Covells - he learned that her parents had been forced to their knees by their captives and, as they awaited their imminent death - they were praying together, praying for the Japanese!

Jacob DeShazer, I would imagine was a typical American military man who, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, hated the Japanese and gladly participated in the America's revenge attack on Tokyo just 5 months later.  Then to be captured along with 7 fellow American aviators and watch as 3 of those brothers-in-arms were executed.  That had to really hurt - only months after the devastating attack in Hawaii which took 2403 American lives - then to watch as 3 close friends were executed.

The Doolittle Raid was conceived, planned and executed within five months of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, which brought the U.S. into World War 2.  It was a large morale boost to the American public and a shock to the Japanese, who had not anticipated that U.S. bombers could reach mainland Japan.  On the ground the raid killed only about 50 people and injured 400.  Damage to Japanese military and industrial targets was slight - but the raid had major psychological effects.  In the United States, it raised patriotic morale.

What happens when we pass out Christian tracts?  Since becoming a believer in 1987, one of my writing ministries has been writing and sharing Christian tracts.  But, to the best of my knowledge, I have never had one as effective and which had such an impact as the tract titled "I Was A Prisoner Of Japan" the story of Staff Sergeant Jacob DeShazer's capture and imprisonment following the Doolittle Tokyo Raid.

In 1948, after the war, as Mitsuo Fuchida was passing by the bronze statue of Hachiko at the Shibuya station (another interesting story - google "Hachiko Statue in Shibuya") - he was handed a Christian tract about the life of Jacob DeShazer, a member of the Doolittle Raiders, who was captured when his B25 bomber ran out of fuel in a portion of China occupied by the Japanese. 

DeShazer was imprisoned for 40 months, 34 of these months in solitary confinement.  He was beaten, malnourished, and 3 of his crew were executed by firing squad.  A fourth member, Lt. Bob Meder, died of starvation.   In the pamphlet: “I Was A Prisoner Of Japan,” DeShazer, a former US Army Air Force staff sergeant and bombardier, related his testimony of imprisonment, torture, and awakening to God.

After 25 months of hating his captors, a Bible came into his possession (not sure of the source), but for only three weeks.  But it changed his life completely.  He began to learn Japanese and to treat his captors with respect.  He resolved to bring the Message of Christ to Japan.  After returning to the U.S., DeShazer attended Seattle Pacific College and returned to Japan to preach the Gospel.  He established a church in Nagoya, the very city he had bombed years before. 

After reading about DeShazer, Mitsuo Fuchida became intrigued with the Christian Faith.  The shocking examples of Christians able to forgive their enemies staggered Fuchida.  “That’s when I met Jesus.  Looking back I can see now that the Lord had laid His Hand upon me so that I might serve Him.”

Bill Gray side note:  In April 1962 I was blessed and honored to have been able to attend the 20th Reunion of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders at the Del Mar Beach Club in Santa Monica, California.  At that time most of the raiders were still alive and at the reunion.  That week I met and talk with many of them, so there is a very good possibility that I met and talked with Jacob DeShazer, but not being a Christian then myself, it would not have meant much to me at that time. 

The one person I definitely recall talking with was the one crew chief who had snuck an extra can of fuel on board their B25, which could have caused a crash on take-off, but did not.  Those planes, to be able to take off from an aircraft carrier, had very strict weight limits - the fuel, the crew, the bombs - all carefully determined to do what the B25 had not been designed to do, take off from an aircraft carrier.

Because of the fuel allocations, the crews knew that after their attack on Tokyo, they had to crash in China and the Chinese had been organized to recover the crews - and that is how so many came home safely.  The one crew who had an extra can of fuel made it back to what they thought was an allied base, in Russia.  The Russians kept that crew as "guests" for a year - and never returned our plane.

True stories, the moral of these stories is that no one is so far from God that He cannot reach them - some for eternal life, others for destruction.  In 1946 God, through Peggy Covell and Staff Sergeant Jacob DeShazer, reached Commander Mitsuo Fuchida and he became a powerful disciple, sharing his testimony and the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the rest of his life.

And God, on May 2, 2011, through SEAL Team Six, reached Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda.  In a raid by SEAL Team Six, bin Laden was shot and killed at his compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.

Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the sin penalty for all who will believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior (John 1:12, John 3:16, Ephesians 1:13, etc.). Those who do receive Him, like Mitsuo Fuchida, will live eternally with Him.  Those who don't believe, well you know their destiny - and for Osama bin Laden SEAL Team Six was sent to hurry him along.  Not being nasty, just Biblical.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

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