Clint Smith's Blog

God’s Post Office

The U.S Postal Service is enduring challenging times. With the advent of new, fast,
and technologically efficient and inexpensisve ways to communicate, the local post office is suffering. There is even discussion about eliminating Saturday letter delivery.
The U.S. Postal System was established in 1775 the Second Continental Congress.
Prior to its creation, there were no post office buildings. Mail was left at inns and taverns. In 1753, Benjamin Franklin, who had been postmaster of Philadelphia, became
one of two joint postmasters general for the colonies. He made many improvements,
including the debute of the first rate chart, which standardized delivery costs based on
distance and weight. In 1774, the British fired Franklin because of his revolutionary
activities. He was later re-instated by the colonies.
The post office is not a source. It is a medium. It does not create the message.
It only conveys them from the creator. As Vance Havner, the well-known evangelist,
puts it in his classic devotional book, “By the Still Waters”, the Christian is a human
post office. People of faith are to pass out Good News from above.
If the postmaster kept all the mail and refused to dispurse it, he would be in trouble.
In a similar way, people of God can be miserable, or at least of little impact, if they keep
God’s blessings and their knowledge of the Lord’s saving grace to themselves.
The tiniest post office in the most remote wilderness could potentially transmit a letter of international consequence. Likewise, the simplest life of a believer could rock
the foundation of many a lost soul by spreading the Good News of God’s love.

Read: Psalm 103: 33-34

The Centennial of U.S. entry into World War I

April 6, 2017 marks the one-hundredth anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War I. Many stories of bravery have been recorded in service to our country, including the following:

‘Flyboys’, the first World War I aviation film produced in 40 years was released several years ago. The script was inspired by the courageous tale of the American men who became known as the legendary Lafayette Escadrille. Before official entry of the United States into WWI, the Allied forces of Italy, England, and France were struggling against the German war machine. The daring young Americans volunteered to fight alongside their counterparts in France.
A large group joined the infantry. Other Americans volunteered for the Ambulance Corps. And 38 young men decided to learn how to fly. Originally called the Escadrille Americaine, these men rotated to other squads within the Lafayette Flying Corps, a section of the French Air Service. 65 Lafayette Escadrille and Lafayette Flying Corps members perished during the air war effort over France.
A sobering fact shared between all of the WWI squadrons on both sides of the front was a high casualty rate. The design and construction of the airframes made for risky conditions, the enemy notwithstanding. There were no parachutes for the pilots.
The Escadrille Americaine was also well remembered for their unbridled fun and antics in the officer’s club.
The squadron was absorbed by the United States Air Service in 1918.