Some things, you cannot predict....

Others...you most assuredly can.

I was fortunate to teach middle school for 34 years in Worthington, Ohio. When I mention that my students were twelve and thirteen years old, many people express sorrow, but I really loved those young people.

It always amazed me how teachers and other adults were so quick to predict their futures. This one will never go to college. This one will go to Princeton. This one will be a doctor. These predictions were, and proved to be, at best, guesses that often did not turn out as expected.

The same was true of people when I was in high school. Yearbooks offered predictions based solely on what peers thought of folks based on popularity or success at age 18. I don't know about any of you, but I was a total nonsensical silly person at that age. My yearbook photo could have included the caption: 'Headed nowhere in a hurry!' 

So all of these kinds of predictions are doomed to be soundless and often incorrect. 

There is, however, one area of prediction that is solid and true, and it is a prediction that has eternal ramifications. There is only one way for any person created by God to find salvation and eternal life: Jesus Christ. Anyone who would choose to ignore this truth is operating on a dangerous path of ignorance, one that can only lead to an eternity apart from God, from Heaven and from many loved ones, forever.

Forever is a really long time. Many are repelled by the notion of Hell. Many churches absolutely ignore even mentioning such a place. People don't want to hear that God could allow for such a destination. God, however, works endlessly to try and make this reality a non-factor in our lives. He makes Himself known through the beauty of His creation, through the relationships that He created and through His words in the Bible and His Word who came into this dimension with a message of forgiveness and love. 

It really comes down to a choice each person makes. Reject the plain truth, available to all, or accept it as a free gift of grace. The Holy Spirit will take care of the rest. He will guide and transform you from the day you call on the name of Christ Jesus.

It's an air-tight, one hundred percent prediction that how you choose will be a decision you will live with long after you leave this planet. PLEASE. 

Praise our God!

Man is ANTI- GOD

²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;  Romans 3: 23

In this short blog I am using ideas which I have been hearing from an Alistair Begg sermon
series entitled "An Extraordinary Encounter." I am using them out of context and mixed throughout these fine sermons because the general idea expressed above hit me like a ton of bricks due to its obvious truth.

Man does not seek God; Man runs away from God. Now this may be something that
many of my Christian brothers and sisters have known for a long time. Want to know why
evangelism is so very difficult? Want to know how people can hear the wonderful news of
the gospel of Jesus Christ and oppose talking about it with a myriad of excuses? Want to know why those you love and cherish may refuse the Word and end up in eternal damnation? The answer, as Mr. Begg expressed it, is that Man has, from birth, within him a dispensation to reject God.  It is part of our sin nature, part of our genetic makeup having been related to the first man and woman who sinned against a Holy God.

So we are faced with an amazing reality; if left to our own devices, we will not reach out
to God. We will actively oppose Him. It's human nature to wish to be separated from
God, to treat ourselves as beings not in need of our very creator. We can get by on our
own, fix things that need to be fixed and figure out our existence through education, science,
material wealth, idols.....  I could certainly go on. But the amazing part? GOD reaches
out to us.

The very God of the universe, the one who saw our coming into existence within the
womb, the one who, within the Godhead, devised a plan, the only possible plan, that
would lead to salvation for His created,  He initiates our acceptance of the plan! 
He woos us, He reaches for us, He sends His son into time to die upon a cross so that
we might share in His fatherhood.... yet, without His initiative, we will run the other
way and come up with a million trite excuses to ignore the good news. 

It's truly an amazing fact that this loving, Father God, who will not overlook our
sinfulness and who is prepared to bring it to full account, has done what only this Loving
Father can do, He has become the initiator of the only means to avoid condemnation
and be reconciled.

Praise God!
 

Just wanted to share...

By Dr James Allen
  from the Life and Times of Jesus   Michael Ruszala

"One Solitary Life"

He never wrote a book
He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never traveled more than two hundred miles
  from the place He was born
He did none of the things
  usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but Himself.....

Nineteen centuries have come and gone....

All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that have ever reigned    put together...

Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life!

from Grace: More Than We Deserve   by Max Lucado

Have you ever been changed by grace? Shaped by grace? Strengthened by grace?
Emboldened by grace? Softened by grace? Snatched by the nape of the neck
and shaken to your senses by grace? God's grace has a drenching about it. A
wildness about it. A white-water, riptide, turn-you-upside-downness about it.
Grace comes after you. It rewires you. From insecure to God-secure. From
regret-riddled to better-because-of-it. From afraid-to-die to ready-to-fly. Grace
is the power that calls us to change and then gives the power to pull it off.


The Christian is a person within whom Christ is happening!

My non-phony testimony

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3    

Here's how it has gone. I was sprinkle baptized at a very early age. What followed was
sporadic church attendance, including some Sunday School teaching. Amazingly
enough I entered my sixth decade on this earth totally ignorant. Ignorant of simply
the most crucial information out there: information about God, Jesus, Redemption, the
gospel...you get the picture.

God, in His amazing grace, tapped me on the shoulders in a house church in Oxford, Ohio,
where my sweet daughter and eventual husband were going to college. Then events led
to those two getting married, moving to McKinney, Texas and I followed eventually.
I attended the little church (big things come in small packages!) where Matthew's family
attended and the journey began.

Now, Bruce, one of the elders, was rather adamant about my being baptized, so adamant
that it was quickly scheduled and completed. My son-in-law did the honors and there
I was, baptized. I repeated the words that I believed in the Jesus, the Son of God and
wished to give my life to Him. And I did.....

But where were the bells and whistles? Where were the fireworks, streamers, party
horns... those feelings, inside, that would lead me to believe that a change had been
made? They weren't there. I was a bit shocked and disappointed. I really, in my heart,
had no faith at that point...did not know Jesus at that point and just felt weird.

Well... what followed was a slow progression of blessing. I began attending a Sunday
school class, led by a wonderful friend who loves donuts, and he began to teach me many
things that I found myself wanting to learn. I attended the services on Sunday and
was blessed by a great "pastor," began attending men's Bible sessions on Wednesday
evenings and found myself more and more comfortable. 

Let me cut, here, to the chase. As this progression continued, the Holy Spirit was
at work within my heart. Still no bells and whistles; yet, I could tell in small, subtle
ways that things were changing. 

From the moments after a baptism, that may have happened too quickly, to where
I am now, there has been a great change. Suddenly, I have NO doubt that I love and
adore my Lord and Savior Jesus. I have NO doubt that I have been forgiven my sins
and NO doubt that the words of the Bible are the truth and those of God, Himself.

No bells and whistles but lots of wonderful joy, assurance and "faith." Yes, faith.
And all of this happened in God's good time and with God's love and grace. How very
very lucky am I! All of these wonderful folks who have guided and cared for me are
my family and I will, one day, dwell in God's house with them for a very long time.

It's a story that may be like others; the point is that it's a story that is waiting for
anyone who kneels down and asks Jesus to come in. I hope you will do so, today, if
you haven't already. That's a fervent hope!

Praise God!

We're only as strong as our weaknesses

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  2 Corinth. 9

Well, as some of you might know, I am a retired English teacher of many years. As I get

further away from the classroom, I am less bothered by poor English usage and form.

Now, being a practicing Christian, thanks to a loving God who sought me, I find the hairs

on my neck standing up when I hear someone say, "Well God promised that He would

never give me more than I can handle."

No He didn't! That's a close approximation to a scripture that talks about God's protection

against tempting His creatures. It only stands to reason that if our God denied Paul's

request that his 'thorn' be taken away, actually three requests, and if even Christ Jesus

was denied having the cup removed that faced Him as He prayed three times in the garden of Gethsemane, He will probably deny us at times when we face adversity.

Adversity is part of life, and since God is in complete control of our life's path, that

adversity is purposely, if painfully, placed. Why? Well without weakness in facing some of

the things that this life throws at us, why would we even need a God? Being of the

mind that we are quite capable of handling whatever might occur brings pride and

self-sufficiency. Besides being totally opposed to the relationship God wants with us,

it opens that squeaking, nasty doorway to our arch enemy, Satan, himself. He wills

us to pride, to believe that we are not in need of the grace of God.

Our hardest times certainly don't measure up to the beatings, stoning, death threats

and numerous other maladies that faced Paul in his ministry. Yet even then, God saw

fit to add a thorn to Paul's life. A thorn of humility that Paul eventually saw as a means

to steadfastness and strength from God.

Weakness is strength when our lives turn to the encompassing grace of God almighty.

He wants our dependence. He wants our trust. He will answer by being there with us

to guide and strengthen us as we, inevitably, face the challenges this life will bring.

Jesus, in so many ways, turned this world upside down. We, in our weakness,

can find glorious strength in a Holy, Loving God!

Praise Him!

Limitless

All space and time unfolds before the face of God.

We all, I believe, try to increase our understanding of who God is and what He is like.
It's a part of our respect, admiration and love for the blessings He has graciously given
to us, His children. 

He certainly does not hide His identity! His word, the Holy Bible, reflects His being
as does His creation. The sheer awesomeness of God keeps us grasping for the best
understanding we can possibly have, given the fact that we are people and He is
God. 

The one word that might sum up our Heavenly father is the word...limitless!
We live a life full of limitations. Physical laws such as gravity limit our ability to
move about, physical limitations on our senses limit our ability to see, hear... etc.
We have as limited ability to think and understand. We are limited by life span;
we are born and at a time known only by God and will pass on from this earthly existence.
Even our imaginations, our dreams and our expectations have limits.

But not God! He is eternal. He is omniscient. He is omnipresent. He is Holy. He
is truth. He is love. He is the alpha and the omega, He is sovereign. He is faultless.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, but the point is clear and important. He is without
limitation. This, thankfully, on a practical level, means that He is very much capable
of constantly being aware of each of us...each hair on our head.. each tear that falls.
He knows what we need even before we ask Him. He has reached out to us,
through His loving-kindness and offered His son as propitiation for our sinfulness.

How amazing is our God! How blessed are we to be His adopted children!

How, then, could we NOT pray?

9 And I tell you, rask, and sit will be given to you; tseek, and you will find; uknock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for4 a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, wwho are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father xgive the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Luke 11: 9-13

Prayer is an interesting subject for us all. It is, obviously, a direct communication with

God that is a personal involvement with Him. The bible, God's word, suggests that God

welcomes and desires to hear our prayers; He is glorified by the fact that we are dependent

upon Him and aware that He is sovereign and in control.

At our church, Crossroad Christian in the McKinney area, I started to send out bi-weekly

prayer request lists, mainly because I found myself unable to remember who I was

wanting to pray for. Old age, again. So this was a way to not only remember prayer needs

but also to share them with others and track the apparent success of prayer 

from the standpoint of positive answers. I am amazed at the number of prayer 

offerings that seem to have been answered in a positive way! I would have to say that

prayer works.. big time.

I think, personally, that my praying has greatly increased my trust and faith in God. I

haven't "heard" from Him personally, by voice, but I have the increasing assurance that

He is listening and that He will answer in his own way, in His own time. It's so

comforting to understand that, despite what I encounter, problems, hopes, dreams...

He is there to listen.

Obviously, God is true to His own directions, promises and answers. He is willing
to listen and consider, but, as we would expect, he will be true to His own decisions.
Sometimes He will answer our prayers with a "Yes!" Sometimes, He will answer
them with a "No." We need to go to Him humbly with appreciation for all that He
has done and is doing in our lives.

Pray enthusiastically, pray frequently and pray with the expectation that the King
of the universe is not too busy, amazingly, to listen and consider. Praise God!!!

Father God: The Ultimate Holy Shopper

I just hate shopping! There is probably a phobia attached to males who are required
to shop. It's really close to the phobia that covers fear of malls, in my case. Someone
could use a stop watch to time my "in and out" when it comes to most of my shopping,
even in this holiday season. I love to get things for people, to see them open a gift;
it's just the process that gets to me!

Well, God didn't' and doesn't have a shopping problem! Can you imagine the potential
difficulty God could have just looking at the numbers and variety of those he might shop
for? He faces the task of finding a gift that is age appropriate, gender appropriate and
perfectly reasonable for all; but No Problem! He, also, doesn't have to worry about
gift wrapping; this, for me, is third on the phobia list! It causes all ten of my hand digits
to automatically turn to thumbs! He doesn't face the human problem of having someone
open His present and "fake" a positive emotion. No fake smiles, here. No awkward
expressions upon opening that fruit cake or seeing that horrific tie!

God, in His glorious Grace, has given to all who would choose to receive it, the gift
of eternal salvation, based upon the work of His son, Jesus Christ. It's a gift that truly
keeps on giving, since it brings adoption into His family for all eternity. It isn't
just a gift for "good girls and boys," it's a gift for people despite their inability to earn
or deserve it. Some would label this gift, a "free" gift, and I understand the concept that
it is given without a cost; yet, in my heart, it's a priceless gift that came only after the
payment of the glorious Christ upon the cross, bearing all the sin of this world, separated
from His Father, alone and humiliated. I think the cost was great.

This awesome and truly generous gift is one that should never be undervalued or
returned. It is, quite frankly, the greatest gift ever given. The truly perfect gift. But,
after all, what else would we expect from the glorious God of the universe. Thank
you, Father God, for this life-fulfilling gift!

Home Sweetest Home

In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you John 14:2

"Home" has a connotation of comfort and welcome. It's usually a place we think of
in a very positive sense; it'a a place where we feel we have roots. I can remember,
vividly, sitting on the back screened-in porch at my parents' home, crying, because
they were about to move out. I didn't even live there, any more; yet, there were
so many memories associated with the place that a great sense of loss came over me.
It's also disconcerting to re-visit an old neighborhood only to find that your old "home"
is either in disrepair or possibly even torn down.

A House Is Made Of Walls And Beams..A Home Is Built With Love And Dreams

So it is important not to confuse house and home, even though they may be one
and the same. "Home" may very well be whatever location one finds himself in,
as long as it is occupied by those he loves.

The one problem with our earthly homes is that they are temporary, not
permanent. The people who make up our earthly homes are temporary, as well.
That old home where parents and family resided will eventually become the
place where a different set of people reside. Our loved ones and family members,
our friends and close associates all will pass away. We are temporary; mortality
will end us all. 

So the Bible verse above is super important and super comforting to those who
are solidly in Jesus. The home He speaks of is not temporary. It is eternal. Even
though we know more about what will not be in heaven than what will, we have
been assured by one who is Truth that we are bound for a place where God is
present, and we are bound for a home where there will be no transition. Until we
get there, we do not know what the floor-plan is like, don't know what the
accommodations and furnishings will be like. We do know that this final, glorious
home will be in the presence of the Holy God that we praise and honor. I have
the feeling that this home and its inhabitants will be more glorious than we can
even imagine. Aren't you a bit anxious? I certainly am! Praise God!

We have His Covenant on it!

A covenant is a strong thing! It's, essentially, an agreement where two parties
agree on something with promises from each as part of the agreement. When God
is a part of a covenant, that's saying something very very powerful!

There were several noteworthy covenants in the old testament including covenants
between God and Noah, the rainbow comes to mind, here. A covenant with
Abraham promising a nation of descendants, which, was of course, improbable
considering his age. The Mosaic covenant between God and the people of Israel
brings to mind the ten commandments and the covenant with Kind David
establishes the lineage for the birth of Jesus Christ. 

 ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 1 Cor. 11:25

This last covenant, established through the life, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus
was a fulfillment of prophecy where God promised to write the law on the hearts of
men, not just men of Israel but of Judah, as well. In other words, the covenant opens
the way for all peoples to be in an acceptable relationship with God. The sacrifice
needed to establish this covenant, by a great High Priest, Jesus, was the key to making
this agreement.

Now, it's amazing, is it not, that a Holy, Just, Righteous, Sovereign God would be willing
to make such an agreement with His creation that has fallen short on all accounts. A
creation that has been rebellious, has been in sin and one that turns away from God is
far from deserving of an agreement that promises eternal habitation and acceptance,
promises the opportunity to live in the presence of the Holy God who created it.

So what's our part? We, in my way of thinking, need to be down our knees, even if
they are old and hurt like mine do, praising and thanking Him for His loving-kindness
and Grace. Did He need to enter into this type of agreement? Absolutely not. Did we
earn or merit such an agreement. Nope. Our job is to accept, love and cherish Jesus
Christ as our savior and King. Calling that a job is really a misnomer. It's a privilege..
with a capital P! Praise God!

You Need To Come To Your Senses!

Always have fun with the titles. I am really thanking our Holy God for our senses
and the world we live in, broken but beautiful. He created a way for us to experience
this world through the senses and I love to use them thankfully!

Sight  
Just love to look at the sky, always have. Sunsets and sunrises, cloud formations
and reflections, rainbows, I could go on and on. WE have "Big Skies" here in Texas,
partly because the trees are so short..seems, sometimes, like you can see forever!

Smell
Oh gosh, the list is so long. the smell of leaves fallen from the trees, something cooking
in the oven when hungry, pine and fir trees in the forest, the air just before a rain. 
Pipe tobacco...don't smoke it but love to sniff it! A fire in the fireplace.

Sound
I like the birds early in the morning just before dawn. The sounds of rain or the wind
blowing through the trees. I like to put my ear on my cat's side and listen to her purr!
Laughter. Silence.. now that's a wonderful sound, sometimes! Good classical music. A
fire in the fireplace.

Taste
Might just be my favorite, which has caused some trouble along the way. Pizza!
A banana split with three flavors of ice cream and three toppings. Salt. A root beer
float. A good spicy chili. Tea or coffee just poured into the cup.

Touch
Hugs. Kisses. Things that are very soft (my feminine side). Babies. 

Common Sense
So here's another point. We do live in this broken, beautiful world, created by our
Father in Heaven. While we are appreciating and thanking Him for the beauty we
find, here, we should also be opening ourselves to His voice. He speaks to us through
His word, through the natural things that we observe. He speaks quietly and wishes
us to hush and listen for Him. We are not in charge; He is. We are dependent upon
His sustaining grace and blessed by His gospel. We are loved and should return that
through praise and love for our God and King. Praise Him! It's a totally sensible
thing to do!!!

Gospel 1.0 God's Operating System

There won't be a 2.0! No need for tweaking or updating this operating system. Won't
need the Geek Squad, no problems with viruses. No need to call to talk to a representative
in Calcutta. Won't even need to turn it off and on again- it is quite simply an ingenious, 
perfect system of Grace.

It works on the following bases:

-God is Holy and cannot accept sin; it is an abomination to Him.
-We aren't so holy! We are sinful and, on our own, cannot stop sinning and are,
therefore, in rebellion against God.
-Long before God spoke things into creation and breathed life into Adam, He
created the plan for salvation. One plan only. Atonement through the blood sacrifice
of His only, beloved Son, Jesus
-Through His grace, He sent Jesus to live on earth, a God-man, who was to
live a perfect sinless life so that He could be the great high priest necessary for the
forgiveness of sin
-In exchange for this gift, God requires those saved to believe in Jesus, accept Him
as their savior and Lord and trust Him, totally.
-This gospel of grace is not earned nor is it deserved; it is a glorious redemptive gift

This gift isn't and never was FREE. It came at a great cost; the torture, humiliation and
Crucifixion of He who was sacrificed for the very ones who were slaying Him. It is
also priceless; the greatest gift ever given for any reason to anyone!

Christ died for those who would be His people. The Bible suggests that this does
not mean everyone, which is the whole discussion that centers around election
or predestination.

Our jobs? We need to be wholly appreciative, loving God with all our being, making
it our goal to live a life centered on God and driven by the Holy Spirit to become
more Christ-like.  We need to turn over our lives in trust to be used by God for His
own good. 

We won't need any on-line classes to operate this system. It actually uses us to bring
about its work. It's truly user-friendly! Log me on and keep me there, oh God. Thank
you for your Grace!

By all means, please eat from that tree!

As usual, I am having some fun with the title and topic. It would be less than smart to
question anything that God does! Scripture assures us that God challenges but never
tempts; that's Satan's area of expertise! 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Romans 6:23

So, it would be less than fair to criticize Eve or Adam for falling into Satan's trap, for
doing that which God forbade them. On one of the CD's I have listened to recently, the
speaker commented that ALL of us, we humans, would have fallen for the same guise. 
The result of that fall into temptation set in motion events that God, himself, envisioned
before the beginning of creation, events personified in the life of Jesus, the Son of God
who came into this world to free sinners into atonement with God through the cross
and resurrection.

Now having been a teacher for oh so many years, and knowing a bit about the nature of
human beings, children and adult, it may have been better, in retrospect, to not tell
those original humans what NOT to do. It's crazy how telling folks what they cannot do
seems, frequently, to result in them doing that very thing against which they have been
warned. I actually, purposely, set up situations where I "tested' the ability of my students
to avoid what I had asked them not to do. Well, they failed... miserably. I "left the lid off
the cookie jar, and they, despite my warning, went right ahead and gobbled!" "Read
the entire quiz before you answer any of the questions...!" I could go on with a bunch of
examples. Reverse psychology? No, just the habit of folks to respond when someone tells
them not to "touch the stove!"

No one knows people better than He who created them. He knows them and loves them.
He knew that we would fail the test, that sin would enter this world and leave us
helplessly unable to measure up to His Holiness. He knew that eventual judgement
would render us "undone" before His hatred of sin. He brought into existence a plan
for the ransom to be paid by the perfect, spotless, sinless Jesus Christ, His only and
beloved Son. Propitiation through the blood of Christ hanging on a tree. He wouldn't
let Abraham sacrifice his son; yet, He gave His beloved to wear the sins of all of us
so that we could be brought into the presence of God and seen as righteous.

Want to know why He is our Lord and Savior? The gospel! Praise God!

Alistair Begg

"All the deepest longings of the human heart are answered in the gospel." 

 Isn't that a phenomenal set of words? They were spoken by Alistair Begg in a talk
given at a Ligonier Ministry conference this year. I'm not sure if these are his original words  or if they are ones spoken by another, but I am sure that they are profound. 

Had I known that Mr. Begg was the pastor at Parkside Church in the Cleveland area
while I was living and teaching in a suburb of Columbus, I would gladly have made the
100 mile drive to Bainbridge to be among his congregation. I just love the man and his
teaching. (I also must admit that I love the accent..so much so that I have to be careful
not to lose the important stuff just listening to the way he forms the words)

The quote above was a part of a talk he was giving about mercy. Luke 6:27-36 was the
scripture base for his talk, and these are verses that represent great challenges in
our lives. There is no question that living a life that honors the words of Jesus and
seeks to be like Him is a monumental goal for humans who sin. Showing mercy
as the words from these verses suggests, loving those who mistreat us, giving to others
without the expectation of the gift being returned, doing to others as we would 
have them treat us are easy to read and digest and very very difficult to fulfill. Left
to our own devices, our own pride, our own self-contentedness; living in this sinful
world, a world that seems to emphasize getting ahead and taking care of ourselves,
we are definitely in need of the Holy Counselor to help us try to live up to His
directions. God is merciful. Jesus is merciful. We need to strive to show mercy
to others through prayer and guidance.

As for the quote above, those words seem so very very truthful. We all, in the depths
of our hearts, have a desire to see meaning and good in our lives. We all long for
a future and, I believe, whether admitted or not, we ALL long to know God. It's
a part of our creation, a part of our humanity to be united with He who created us,
indeed, He who loves us and has forgiven us through the justifying blood of the
Lord, Jesus Christ. The gospel is the Good news, the news that answers our hopes,
our fears and our needs. Praise God for His loving-kindness and mercy!

TRUTH or Consequences

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.

Well , I will admit, up front, that I am small-brained. I have taken Philosophy courses
that dealt with the concept of truth and that didn't go so well. I have listened to tapes,
read books and engaged in discussion with those smarter that I, and I always come away
shaking my head, trying to clear the fog.

So don't read on if you expect anything other than my feelings. 

I believe there has to be A TRUTH. For there to be a whole bunch of truths, I think
that fits into the relativism category, each one real because it is what that person
thinks is true, sounds like mental anarchy. Truths aren't the same as feelings,
opinions, preferences, etc. Truths aren't grey areas somewhere between black
and white. I guess I am saying that for anything to make sense there has to be some
absolute truth. 

It is my belief that God is truth because I do not believe that he is capable of being
untruthful. I believe that the Bible is the true word of God. If He is truth then His word
is truth. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He, is therefore, also the truth.

My concern, here, is the consequence of not accepting God, rejecting Him and His truth.
God did a very brave thing, a loving thing. He created us with free will; the right to choose
to accept Him or reject Him. We all meet people who decide to believe in their own truth;
people who, in a real sense, are "being their own God."

Wow, I think that is eternally dangerous. Rejecting the truth, rejecting Jesus, rejecting
the unearned gift of salvation  through the grace of God, means that there is an eternity
facing that person. An eternity in the absence of God. I'm not the hell fire and damnation
sort, but it is a fact that Jesus did not skirt the concept of Hell. he spoke often and
clearly about those who would choose not to believe in Him. There's no attempt to sugar
coat things; it's gonna be eternal, and that's a long, long time. That's why I pray
daily and work daily to try and reach those I love who haven't accepted Jesus. He is
the way and the truth and the life. It's an eternally important thing...the truth. God.
Praise Him!!

Happy Thanksgiving Day..same for tomorrow...same for...

Yes, I know. It's October 31st, Halloween. Not really much but a Hallmark holiday,  now
that I am older. Now I still enjoy a Hershey Bar now and then. But, it's really Thanksgiving
Day. It also will be Thanksgiving Day tomorrow, etc.

How can that be? There is an "official" Thanksgiving Day on tap for Thursday, Nov. 28th.
That's the day when everyone eats turkey, takes a nap and then piles in the mini-van
to head out for a shopping frenzy.

Well that may be well and good, but how about we celebrate Thanksgiving Day today!

We can be thankful for being alive today, thanks to the grace of God. There are a whole
bunch of things that have to be working correctly for us to haul ourselves out of bed, and
I don't mean the coffee grinder. This body we inhabit has to be functioning in an amazing
number of ways for us to make it a good day. The heart, amazingly complex and
intricate. The brain, even on those foggy mornings, that mass of gray stuff is allowing
us to think, feel, communicate and even write blogs! Truly magnificent.

We can be thankful for being justified, thanks to the gospel of Jesus Christ. For those
of us who call ourselves Christians, that means that by faith alone, by belief in Jesus,
we are made acceptable to a God who, by our own actions and ways, would not even
think about forgiving us. It is by His grace that we have been adopted into the family
of God. Our sins have been paid for by the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Paid in full. Absolutely not happening based upon our efforts or self-righteousness.
How could we be anything but thankful today, and every day, for this unbelievable
gift. 

We can be thankful that we do not have to face the difficulties and challenges of living
in this broken world, alone. We all will face sadness, illness, the list goes on. There
are difficult times ahead. We struggle with sin and the temptations of the Evil One.
Yet, God has provided sustaining grace, filling us with hope, strength and wisdom.
Encouraging us by assuring us that He is with us and has equipped us to face even the
most daunting of challenges.

Thanksgiving Day..today, tomorrow and every day of your life. Praising and loving God
with all your heart. It's a day to be thankful. It's a day to remember what God has done
for us! Praise Him!!!

What Does God Want?

Disclaimer:  This is a blog. I did not do an interview with God and I certainly am no
  expert on His thinking! I have read and am reading His word and other books and am
  blessed to be surrounded by a lot of God-loving folks. So, to a certain extent, I am 
  just expressing my feelings. I pray they are somewhat accurate.

Does God want to hold a prominent place in our hearts?
    NO! God wants to hold THE prominent place in our hearts and in our lives. He is,
after all, the one who created us. He knows us completely and loves us. He has given,
through His saving grace, an opportunity to belong to Him and to, one day, live in His
majestic presence. 

Does God expect us to be Holy?
   YES! He has told us that we are to be Holy. The problem, here, is that He is Holy, Holy,
Holy. We, on the other hand, strive to be righteous. It is a long journey we take with the
aid of His spirit, a journey where we are guided toward being more like Jesus. I believe
we never quite get there until we achieve sanctification in heaven.

What does God think about our sin?
   He loathes it! Can't get a whole lot more specific than that. He hates all sin. Unfortunately,
we are born into sin. We sin even when we strive not to do so because we are human. 
God, in a plan devised before the beginning of time, sacrificed His son on a cross and
loaded upon Him all of our sins: past, present and future. These sins were exchanged for
the righteousness of Christ Jesus. It's the only way sin could ever be forgiven. NOT accepted,
forgiven. That's the good news of the gospel of Christ.

Does God want is to be healthy and wealthy?
   God has a plan for our lives. He is in charge; we are not. He makes all things happen for His
good. This life of ours will have both good and bad times. We won't always be healthy; we 
won't necessarily have wealth, other than the wealth of knowing God as our father. He
has granted us sufficient grace to handle anything that we may encounter. He is with us
and loves us; we can lean upon Him to bring us through any and all obstacles we may
meet along the journey toward heaven. Won't it be wonderful to be in His presence
and learn all we have longed to know. 

God is GREAT!

Tear encounters of the third kind

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Rev. 21: 4

Sad tears, glad tears and those "other" tears....

We are all far too familiar with tears of sadness. I suppose, statistically, they represent

the majority of tears that flow in our lifetimes. Tears when a loved one passes away. Tears

when we are separated from someone. Tears when we are injured or sick, depressed or

lonely. Tears when we are frightened.. the list goes on.

Then there are tears of joy. Tears when we see someone we love who has been gone from

our lives. Tears when we accomplish something like a graduation or a successful

endeavor. Tears when someone we love finds a soul mate and marries. These are

usually the result of cherished moments that remain with us in the playback of our

lives.

But there is another type of tear. I'm not sure what to call it but I believe it comes

directly from the soul. It's spontaneous, emotional and uncontrolled. I'm better at

examples then definition, here.

   -The 1812 Overture when the cannons explode during the ending. Every time I hear this...

tears just flow. 

  -"Awesome God" sung by Rich Mullins. When, during the refrain, the singers get to the word

"reigns" I just start blubbering. Happens every time. You should try it... with a kleenex.

  -Ohio Stadium, the Horseshoe, when the large American flag is hoisted up the endzone

flagpole with the band playing the National Anthem...yep...tears, again

I would call these tears a visceral response, a flow of emotion that just comes upon

us, suddenly. I've even noticed my body shaking in response. Did I mention Niagara

Falls when the colored lights are on?

We are told that there will be no tears when we get to Heaven. God will wipe them

away. I think these are the tears of sadness,. I have a very strong belief that my eyes

will be filled with tears of happiness at being home with God. I also believe that

third kind of tear, welling up from deep inside, will pour down my face. The 

culmination of emotions, uncontrolled, at being in the presence of my God and my

savior, Christ Jesus. No kleenex needed. Saltier the better. Let them flow!!!

Repent me, Jesus

Romans 7: 15   I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but
   what I hate, I do.

                 7:  21  So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there 
    with me.

It is obviously crucial to be able to repent. Being sorry that we sin is, in part, a
function of our conscience, that part of us that recognizes the difference between
good and evil. Moving on to repentance is the act of turning away from the sins
we commit, heading the opposite direction, if you will, in an attempt to eliminate the
sinful actions from our behavior.

Simple enough, right? Not so much. You recognize the speaker of the Bible verses
above. It is Paul, converted along the Damascus Road by Jesus, himself. Paul, or
Saul of Tarsus, renowned former persecutor of early followers of Christ. Paul, one
of the most intelligent, persistent, hard-nosed characters found in the Bible who
recovered his sight, a changed soul who went on to be the Apostle to the Gentiles.
Paul, whose ability to bring churches into being, preach the gospel and withstand
torture and imprisonment was astounding. Yet, he, Paul, is stating that even he has
tremendous difficulty doing what is righteous. After personal conversion at the
voice of Jesus and acceptance of the Holy Spirit, he still struggles with sin. 

So here's my point. We know that we will never be without sin, no matter how
our heart wishes that we could be. This means that we will constantly be
bombarded by the will to sin, will sin, and then be faced with the need to confess
our sins to God and repent. I am suggesting, with the title of this little blog, that
repentance needs to be done To us,  not By us. We need to pray that God, Himself,
through His Spirit, will be right there with us as we attempt to turn away from
sin. We are asked to look into our own hearts....I agree with the person who called
that looking into a fun-house mirror. We're just not capable of reading our hearts
and our intentions with accuracy. So we need to lean on Jesus...that is lean on His
love and desire to help us become more like Him. Not on our own! We need all the
help we can get. Who better to seek out for this help than the Holy God who created
us. Praise His Holy name!

Hazel Forever

You would have loved my grandma! I surely did. She was a wonderful, warm, gracious
woman who could really cook a mean bacon cheeseburger. Thinking about her
brought some realizations to me about the length of time we are remembered by
those who come after us. Obviously, Hazel's siblings, followed by her children and grandchildren would all recall her. Her children, however, have all passed on and
grandchildren, also, are aging and some have passed on already. After that, there
will be photographs.. but all active memories will have passed.

We all have this desire to be remembered, to be important to those we love, to
make a lasting difference in their lives. I don't believe that this is prideful; I believe
that it is in our nature to feel this way. Jesus commanded His disciples to break
bread and take wine so that they would remember Him. While I am sure that
He wanted them to derive strength from what he had taught them and to keep in
mind His promises to them that He would return, He definitely felt very
strongly about these men and wanted them to keep Him in their hearts until the
Holy Spirit was indwelled.

In the old testament, God is angry when His people forget Him and go astray
hunting and worshiping other Gods. He is a "jealous" God who wishes to be their
one God without any other. He commanded that they remember Him and follow
His commands.

So Hazel has moved on and the list of those who knew her becomes smaller and
smaller as time goes on. This is what will happen to all of us who are mortal and
whose time on this earth is fleeting. Yet Hazel and all of us who love Jesus and
believe that He, indeed, is the way to salvation and eternal life in the presence of
God, lives on, forever, thanks to God's grace and loving-kindness. She is not 
limited to three generations of existence; she lives on among those who have
been ransomed through the blood of the Lamb of God. She is with those who
knew her, here on earth, surrounded also by those who are in Heaven living with
and praising God. I have a feeling that there are many folks there who have also
come to love the smell of bacon cheeseburgers! Praise God!!!