What a difference 100 Years makes!

The year is 1909, One hundred years ago: What a difference a century makes! Here are some statistics for the Year 1909:
The average life expectancy was 47 years. Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub. Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower! The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour. The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year. A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year. More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME. Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard. Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee was fifteen cents a pound. Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo. Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason. Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!! Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet. There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day. Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school. Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health' Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help. There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.A!

MAKE YOUR LIFE COUNT

Matt 20:6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Every Christian in every generation only had about 70 years to complete their work. We are living in the eleventh hour of our lives if not the eleventh hour of the world. We are running out of tomorrows. None of us are getting any younger. What we do, we must do quickly. “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city” (Luke 14:) Make your Life Count.
What was the ultimate goal of Jesus in sending out the 12? Jesus said that he sent them out so that his house might be full. The end result of every church must be to fill the house with souls serving Jesus Christ. “Go out quickly.” The “Principle” of saving souls, or filling His house was to go out “Quickly.” The TIME factor is important. Jesus said; I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work (John 9:4 ). The truth is we don’t have a long time! All we have is today. The analogy Jesus is making is dealing with the end of his dispensation. However, there was a “Time” factor even Jesus was limited to. Make your Life Count.
The urgency in this time is that we are the only ones who can reach this generation. Once it’s gone, no one can or will reach it. Since Jesus, there has been over 35 “Worlds” that have been born and die. Meaning, the whole world has been born, lived their lives and have died. Think of it. 35 worlds have come and gone of which the overwhelming majority have not heard the gospel. Make your Life Count.
Longfellow said it, “What is time? The shadow on the dial. The striking of the clock. The running of the sand. Day night Winter Summer Months years Centuries.” The youthful boy or girl here tonight can tell us what time it is, but the greatest scholar here could not define what is time. God operates within a time framework.
What are you doing with your life? Where are you going? Who are you becoming? None of us are getting younger. We’re racing the clock. “One life to live will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” What are you doing for Eternity’s sake?

Curse of Addiction

It felt as if the walls were caving in on me as I walked down the long, narrow hall leading to the psychiatric ward extension of Wuesthoff Hospital. I was there to visit George Robinson, who was court ordered to receive psychiatric treatment. A creepy feeling overcame me when the security guard locked the door behind me. Shock overwhelmed me as I stared into the faces of what looked like three hundred neurotic deranged human beings. Even though I had only spoken to George a few times prior to this visit, I was there at his request. I came to help him overcome his sixteen years of alcohol addiction. As I walked through the crowd, looking for George, I saw people engaging in elaborate conversations with the walls, while others stared silently into space. Paranoia eased from me when a few "normal" people nodded and said hello. I remember thinking as I looked across the Ward, "this is the curse of addiction." If nothing else gave me reason to thank God I was not a drug addict, that experience did. As I gazed at the crowd of men and women, young and old, it became evident to me that drug addiction destroys the mind, separates families, and leaves the addict functionally helpless.
One of the first things alcohol and other drugs do to a person's mind is destroy virtually millions of irreplaceable brain cells. (According to the Center for Drug and Alcohol Treatment of America). From my experience at Wuesthoff Psychiatric Ward, I did not need many facts or statistics to prove to me that drug addiction destroys the mind. Drug addiction is a slow death, according to Dr. John B. James of Johns Hopkens Alcohol Research Center in Baltimore, Maryland. It was clear to me, after talking with George Robinson, that sixteen years of alcoholism had almost stripped him of his self worth and esteem. Even his conversation seemed to jump from one subject to another. I found it hard to make sense of what he was trying to say. It was evident that drug addiction was a psychological curse.
Another way that I saw drug addiction as a curse was the way it separated families. As I talked to George that day, he revealed to me that his addiction had driven a deep wedge between him and his father. George confessed that he lost every friend that he ever had. Drugs had destroyed almost every promising relationship George ever had. At thirty years of age, George Robinson had no real friends, no plans of marriage, no children, and no loving relationship with his mother or father. I was a preacher he had only met four or five times, and he said that I was the only one he could call for help. This brought new meaning to the latest government reports that found drug addiction to be one of the leading causes for divorce in America.
Finally, not only does drug addiction destroy the mind and relationships, it also renders the addict virtually helpless in securing a meaningful future. George Robinson had a bachelor's degree in agriculture. He was a skilled carpenter, a wind surfing champion, and a very skillful surfboard designer. George, at one time, owned a very successful surfboard manufacturing business, and alcohol addiction had taken it all away. I didn't need all the facts and figure that day to convince me that drug addiction would destroy a man's future success. If George was ever to enjoy a successful future, alcohol would have to go. Clearly, drug addiction was a curse to him.
It took George eight months of hard work to overcome his addiction. After nine years of drug free living, George Robinson has his right mind, is happily married and is a successful businessman in Melbourne, Florida. My experience with helping George overcome his addiction has revealed to me, the unforgettable curse of addiction.