Ready

Being ready is important but I must say I have not been ready for everything that comes my way. Sometimes others will tell me of a certain event that I was not ready to hear. Other times I am not ready to go or ready to meet another person. When I was in the military we had to be ready to move on short notice. But I find myself many times not ready to meet what's ahead of me. That was not so in the life of the Apostle Paul Romans 1:15
So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. Paul was ready to preach to them in Roman. Just a few books over in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verses 14 and 15 Paul says he is ready to come to them that are in Corinth. 2Corinthains 12:14
Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

2Corinthians 12:15
And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. We have seen Paul so far ready to preach and ready to go but I want you to read this for this will separate the men from the boys. Acts 21:13
Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. Ready to Die! Lots of people are ready to live but the numbers grow few when we talk about dying. Years ago my Dad was in a Hospital in Downtown Atlanta and I went to visit with him one evening. As I was walking toward his room I felt impressed to tell the person in the room with him about the Lord. Now the strange thing is I didn't even know if anyone was in the same room with him. When I arrived I noticed that there was another man in the room with him. I knew what the Lord had told me to do but I was slow in doing it. After I had been visiting with my Dad for some time I go up and asked the man if he were to die tonight did he know if he would go to heaven or not. I have never forgotten his answer. He told me that his religion was personal and refused to talk with me. After a little bit he told my dad that in a few days when they got to feeling better that they should go and paint the town red. I soon left and went home for the night. The next day as I arrived at the Hospital I thought to myself that I would try and speak to this man again. As I arrived at the room I noticed he was not there so I asked my Dad where he was, my Dad said that he had died during the night. That has been over 30 years now and I have never forgotten that a man had an opportunity to go to heaven and died not ready to meet His maker. But this is not the case with the Apostle Paul for he said he was ready to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. Years have passed and Paul finds himself in a Roman prison with his life now approaching the end. He has this to say 2Timothy 4:6
For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. He then adds three things

2Timothy 4:7
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
His Fight, His Finish and His Faith for Paul had never been a dropout! Because of that his future was bright

2Timothy 4:8
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. Paul was ready to meet the Lord he loved face to face. I have to ask myself, am I ready, do I have the confidence that Paul had? I am only one heartbeat away from that day just as you are. I'm ready for the weekend and I am ready to spend time with the people I love. Today my mother will be 80 years old and we have some things planned for her this weekend to help her celebrate. May God Bless each and everyone until we meet again on Monday and ask yourself are you READY? I am!

Wasted Moments

Wasted moments, I guess we have all had them. That is a moment we have to do what is right and for some reason we choose not to. Jonah had a moment like that when the Lord told him to go to Nineveh and read what he does.

Jonah 1:3
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. Jonah doesn't do what the Lord asked him to do but instead flees from the presence of the LORD; we all know what happens to him; he finds himself in the belly of a great fish.

Jonah 1:17
Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Three days and three nights, that's a long time when you could have made another decision; like go to Nineveh and not run in another direction. Then there was the prodigal son who left the comforts of home with all the answers only to find himself in a hog pen. Then there was Peter who told the Lord that he would never be offended.

Matthew 26:33
Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
We all know what happened.

Matthew 26:69
Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou als wast with Jesus of Galilee.

Matthew 26:70
But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.

Matthew 26:71
And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.

Matthew 26:72
And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.

Matthew 26:73
And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.

Matthew 26:74
Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. Last I want you to see that in the cases above all three men returned and overcame their wasted moments; but in Judas' case it cost him his soul. It's a sad verse, read it and see. John 13:2
And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
Then Jesus began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with a towel. In this we see a great love as Jesus washed Judas' feet that night knowing that in just a few hours he would betray Him with a kiss. I wonder how Judas responded. Wonder how Judas felt as Jesus looked him in the eye, yet Jesus wanted Judas to change his mind and Judas could have very well changed it. But then comes the final blow in Judas life when the wasted moment became a final decision as we come to the close of John 13 we read

John 13:27
And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

John 13:30
He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night. Too late now Judas; in a little while those thirty pieces of silver will not feel right, matter of fact he will give them back. Judas sold his soul for what? He is still wishing he could live that all over again and I assure you, he would make the right decision this time. So what did I learn? I learned that I could ask for forgiveness and the Lord would forgive but if I refuse and go on there will come a day like Judas, I wish I could rewind but that will be impossible. I am so glad someone took the time out of their busy day to tell me what the Lord had done for me and I didn't waste that moment. So today don't waste the opportunity to tell someone what the Lord has done for you. Have a blessed day!

 

Achievement

The highest level of achievement in martial arts is the black belt. I don't show it off but I too have a black belt; it's neat for if you put the buckle outward it can reverse and become a brown belt. Anyways, I was reading about martial arts and found that a person who knows this art has the ability to fight back and defend themselves from any position, except for one and that is if they are face down on the ground. When a person becomes powerless it makes them weak, vulnerable and unable to do anything about the situation. That may be true in martial arts but that's not true in the life of a child of God. Read about Joshua in these verses

Joshua 5:13
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?

Joshua 5:14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

Joshua 5:15
And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. Joshua became powerless; Joshua's sword was worthless here and Joshua obeyed the command. Let's read what the Apostle Paul said

2Corintians 12:10
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
When did Paul say he was strong? When he was weak! God may have allowed something to come into our lives that would bring us to the end of ourselves where all our experience, and our talent, our wisdom, our connections are useless. God doesn't want you to give up in the moment you find yourself helpless. He wants you to give over the controls to Him totally, unconditionally. Is this not what God was doing with his people in the book of Exodus? Remember when they came across the Red Sea and saw their enemy dead floating on the water they were singing and praising God. Then three days later they were complaining and blaming Moses for they were without water and thirsty. Moses prays and God gives them water to drink. After they leave Elim they get hungry

Exodus 16:1
And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

Exodus 16:2
And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:

Exodus 16:3
And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
Now they are complaining and blaming Moses for they were without food and once again God provides food for them to eat. At this point they have been delivered from their enemy, been given water to drink and food to eat and not by their ability nor by Moses ability but God and God alone. Here we see a helpless people as God teaches them to have complete trust in Him for they are weak and God wants them to see that; so they may become strong. Don't be afraid to be broken. Often it's the breaking of a man or a woman that is the making of a man or woman. This past Sunday a man asked me to pray that God would break him; I can never remember a person asking me to help them pray that God would break them. Another man told me that God was breaking him and there was much more to break. What were these men saying? They were simply saying I want God to have complete control for I have learned that His way is much better than my way. The problem we have is that we have been conformed to believe that we should be our own man or woman, learn to lead, be strong in your decisions. Never say you're sorry for that's a sign of weakness and on and on… God views things much differently; when you are face down and weak then are you strong. How can that be? For we are weak that is true, but God is never weak He is always strong just trust Him.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Proverbs 3:6
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Just how helpless are we willing to be? As much as we are willing to trust God! If you are still trying to work it out and fix it yourself, stop doing it your way on your terms and your time limit. When you handle things this way it's your abilities and not God's; that's why nothing is changing. Learn to TRUST the one who loves you and gave Himself for you!

Going Farther

Now let me take you farther. Remember the story of the prodigal son of Luke 15? One day that boy decides to jump the rail and hit the trail back to his father's house. He left with a purse full of money and a life full of pride. Now the purse and the pride are depleted, he returns with the smell of the pig pen and a rehearsed apology that he will present to his father:

Luke 15:18
I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

Luke 15:19
And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

Here we see the son willing to stop being a son. Or was he? He called him father, he didn't say "I will go to Bob's house and ask for forgiveness." Now all the father has to do is be willing to stop being his father and make him as one of his hired servants. Good plan he thought. Well how did that work out for the boy? Not as he had planned.

Luke 15:20
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

Luk 15:24
For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
He may have been out of the father's house but he was never out of the father's heart; he had left the table but he never left the family. The day we came to Christ, God not only forgives us, He also adopts us.

Romans 8:15
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Romans 8:16
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Galatians 4:4
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

Galatians 4:5
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. I've heard of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, but I have never heard of an unplanned or unwanted adoption. Adoptive parents know what it means to hunt, to set out on a mission and take responsibility for a child with a spotted past and a questionable future. God has rescued you and I from despair. God has adopted us, sought us, found us. God did not adopt us because we were good looking or because of our wealth or wisdom. God adopted us knowing full well the trouble you and I would be and the price He would pay. Adoption is not something we earn it's a gift we receive. Adoption agencies don't train children to recruit parents; they seek parents to adopt children. If we can't earn our adoption by our star performance, than we can't lose it with our poor performance? Read those verses above again; did you see that word "received "Adoption is something we simply receive. Our Father will never turn us away, His doors are never closed. The question of that young man when he said that God was angry with him and is causing all this trouble to come his way; well the answer is no! For God's love for us is far greater than we can understand

Romans 8:35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Romans 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Romans 8:39
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. There will be discipline in the family but our heavenly Father will not discipline us for the rest of our lives. He disciplines us because He loves us; I disciplined my children when they needed it. To teach them and train them to help them to know right from wrong that one day they would be able to administer the same to their children. I did not continue to discipline them for the same mistake for the rest of their life and neither does our Heavenly Father. What will separate me from His love? Nothing! I am in the family and He is my heavenly Father and that is what I call Him. When I pray I say "Our Father" for that is what He is. When I was a boy I didn't call everyone father or dad for every man on the street wasn't my father there was only one. So it is now with my heavenly Father who has adopted me into the family.

Very Elementary

A Good friend of mine told me about a man who had told him that he believed that God was angry with him and that's why everything was going wrong in his life, because God was punishing him. Does God get so angry with His children that He just keeps on punishing them? Do you as a parent? I would like to take the next two days and expound on something I think you will find very interesting. First we will deal with something that is very elementary to most of us and then I would like to take it a little further. I believe it will be very interesting to each of us. We hear a lot of talk about giving our heart and life to the Lord Jesus; just what does that mean? I want to teach you something about being in the family of God. We are all familiar with Adam and Eve and what happened to them back in the Garden of Eden. Wait a minute you may have had this thought as others have. Adam and Eve, two people I have never met, who lived some place I've never been, have gotten me in some kind of trouble that I can't get out of. Wow, that just doesn't seem right, let alone fair. Read this verse John 1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Wait; received Him! What is that all about? It's a long story I'll make it as short as I can. Before God ever created Adam and Eve He put a law into affect that is still true to this day and that law is the law of reproduction. Read it for yourselves Genesis 1:11
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. Did you see it? "After his kind"which simply means if I plant corn I will in return get corn. If I plant tomatoes I will in return get tomatoes and on and on with whatever you plant. You and I reproduce boys and girls which look like us with our likenesses. Dogs have dogs and horse have horses and monkey have monkeys. Now when Adam and Eve disobeyed God they sinned and put distance between God and man. That is why David could say

Psalms 58:3
The wicked (condemned, guilty, ungodly) are estranged (strangers to God) from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. You may say "condemned" why, I'm not condemned; am I? What have I done? Born after the likeness of earthly parents; which were born after theirs; on down the line until we get to the very start which are Adam and Eve.

John 3:18
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Here it is!

Roman 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Roman 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Roman 10:11
For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

With that, you are placed in Gods Family and we get to call God by the family name "Our Father." On tomorrow I want to go farther and use the prodigal son of Luke 15 to close the blog and show you something that should rejoice every child of Gods heart.

Enjoy the day that God has given you today and let me tell you it's going to be a great week just wait and see.

 

The Safe Zone

A comfort zone is a place where we feel unthreatened or in other words a safe place to dwell or be. Moses grew up in the safe zone because of his mother's faith. This was a decision that was not easy for her to make. When Moses was 40 years old he took a risk. He left the safe zone and tried to do something big on his own for his people. He killed an Egyptian while defending a fellow Hebrew. What was the result of his human effort? Pharaoh wanted to kill him and Moses had to leave everything he'd ever known in a hurry. There are some things you never forget no matter how hard you try. They are called past experiences. Moses' 40 years exiled in the desert with memories of Egypt had to have been one of those experiences. Like Moses we sometimes have that mind set "I'll never go, do, say or be that ever again" and we become content, it's called the Safe Zone. Sad is the day when we become absolutely satisfied with the life we are living. Satisfied with our thoughts we are thinking, the deeds we are doing and when there ceases to beat at the door of our soul a desire to do something greater for God. Moses moves from one Safe Zone to another from the Palace to a Place in the family business and from the next Pharaoh to the next President in the business. Why on earth would he want to leave all that? He had made a new life for himself, it wasn't the palace but it was very comfortable. When God called Moses to leave his comfortable situation and go back to Egypt Moses felt totally unqualified to lead. He was insecure about himself and his future. Read about the questions and doubts he had.

Exodus 3:11- And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

Exodus 3:13- And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them?

Exodus 4:1- And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.

Exodus 4:10- And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

Every time Moses raised an objection God answered it thoroughly. Moses was still afraid so he finally said please send someone else
Exodus 4:13- And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. We are never rewarded for the things we only think of doing. Excuses, we have them by the car loads; I can't because… I would but we just… I would love to but… We are busy on that date…One day when… If Moses had never left the desert he would have never seen God part the Red Sea or deliver His people and never talked to God face to face. So just because you don't want to do something doesn't mean you shouldn't. We can't stay the same and learn at the same time. Many will live their entire lives in Egypt, the land of not enough. Some are willing to get out of their safe zone and enter the desert, where the land of just enough. But God wants us to leave the wilderness and enter the Promised Land, the land of more than enough. Twenty years or less as we look back we will be more disappointed by the risk we didn't take than by the ones we did. We can defeat tomorrow's regret by moving out of the SAFE ZONE TODAY. Many say I am too old! Let me ask you this question how old would you be if you don't? Stay in good shape for God may ask you to do something great for Him when you are 60. He has in the past you know. As the doctor told my Dad's friend some years ago; he told him if he wanted to do anything he needed to get busy for he had a terminal disease and only had a few months to live. The man got so busy that five years passed before he knew it and then two more years went by and he felt healthy as could be and had the desire to do more. Don't believe everything people tell you they may be wrong!
Today move beyond your comfort zones it may be fearful at first but you will be amazed at what you can accomplish by learning to trust in the Lord. Have a great weekend and think about what has been written this week and I'll be back on Monday and we'll go at it again. God Bless each and every one of you.

M ore to Lose

On yesterday we talked about running and as I told you I think running into the strong tower is a great idea and it's also biblical. In Job chapter one and verse one we read this "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil."
There we see this word "eschewed"what does that word mean? It means decline, depart, leave undone, pluck away, rebel, remove, revolt, turn, withdraw, and be without. So Job was saying when evil comes my way my fear for my God is so great that I withdraw myself and depart and leave it undone in other words I 'RUN." We would more than likely never pick up a snake just for its beauty for we have been taught that they are dangerous. There are many things that we don't know are dangerous and we might be tempted to pick them up. There's a frog that lives in the tropical rain forests in Central and South America that we here in America most likely have never seen, unless we happen to see it at a zoo. They are called the dart frog and are really very brightly colored. They look very interesting, but he can be carrying enough poison to kill 20,000 mice or more important ten people! Here's a creature that looks so good but is so deadly. It reminds me of sin. So many people have reached out and touched what they should have never touched, and they paid a painful price that they could have never imagined. Sin may be pretty, but it's pretty poisonous! What about this eye opener James 1:14
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust,
{his own desires}
and enticed.
{Trap him}

James 1:15
Then when lust hath conceived,
{desire becomes pregnant}
it bringeth forth sin:
{gives birth to sin}
and sin, when it is finished,
{when sin grows up}
bringeth forth death.
Here we see a moral disaster from the first desire for something that's wrong to the sinful choice to get what looks so good, to its final result. When that "baby" called sin finally is born, what you get is death because sin always kills. It kills families, it kills marriages, it kills reputations, and it kills ministries. Sin kills your self-respect, people's trust in you and even your closeness to the God that you can't live without. Remember Adam and his wife Eve? They were placed in the Garden of Eden with all its beauty and enjoyments with only one law, rule or whatever you want to call it; Genesis 2:16
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

Genesis 2:17
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. They both learned the hard way that no matter how much you think you have to gain from going outside God's boundaries, you have so much more to lose. They lost Eden, they lost walking with God, they gained so much pain and they died. It's the same enemy that's lying to you right now about the sin that looks so good to you. "It won't hurt," "Everybody's doing it," "Hey, you deserve it," "You need this," "Only a little," "Ah, just this once." Anything the enemy can do to get you to bite. Anything he can do to get you to take the deadly poison of sin. It looks like you have so much to gain if you'll just lie a little, cheat a little, flirt a little, try a little, write a little, or take just one look. But you have so much to lose. You won't know that until it's too late unless you listen to what God says.

Remember sin first fascinated Eve and then it assassinated her as well as her husband. We are our brother's keepers for our sin always affects others. Just remember "Small compromises lead to great disasters." Don't walk away from sin run away from it because like that Dart Frog that looks so inviting, it like Sin is so deadly.

Run Man Run

On yesterday we talked about being in Him and I closed with the question "what do you do when troubles come?" I gave you the answer "Run" now I want to explain what I meant. In the book of Proverbs there are three verses that jumped out at me; here they are:

Pro 18:10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

Pro 18:11
The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit. {Imagination}

Pro 18:12
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.

What does all that mean? When I was a teenager I was approached by a huge fellow who wanted to beat on my little head in, so I did what first came to my mind and that was get to safety and I did; I ran as fast as I could to my car and locked myself inside. I had speed because I wasn't huge and I also had long legs which allowed me to run fast. Call me whatever you like chicken or frightened and you would be right for I was all of those and more. But I was safe locked in my car. I wish I could say that was the last time I saw that young man but I can remember two other times I out ran him. I told you that to tell you that I am still running; not from the same huge fellow but from an even bigger enemy than he. But now I'm not running and locking myself inside a car I am running to a tower and I don't even check to see if the door is locked. The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; Webster says a tower is a building, either round or square, raised to a considerable elevation and consisting of several stories. When towers are erected with other buildings, as they usually are, they rise above the main edifice. They are generally flat on the top, and thus differ from steeples or spires. Before the invention of guns, places were fortified with towers and attacked with movable towers mounted on wheels, which placed the besiegers on a level with the walls. So I take this to mean that when troubles come that I, as a child of God can run to Him with all my sorrow and grief for protection because we are told that there is safety in the Lord who is our strong tower. The rich man has or thinks his wealth is his strong city. A city in itself has no protection for in order to protect a city walls, gates, bulwarks and motes must be built. Then at the close of that verse (11) the word conceit is used which means.
Conception; that which is conceived, imagined, or formed in the mind; idea; thought; image. So the rich run into their paper tower for safety only to find out to late that it could never protect them. In the next verse we discover what happened before destruction. We are told that before destruction man's heart gets haughty
(Proud and disdainful; having a high opinion of one's self, with some contempt for others; lofty and arrogant; supercilious.)
So the heart of the haughty man never finds out what honor is for he refuses to be humble. He may think that it shows weakness but if we are to be safe we must learn to run to the Lord our strong tower and not to depend on ourselves our talents, our wealth, our abilities for they will surely lead to our demise. Think I'll just keep running, it seems to be the only way to safety.

In Him

On yesterday we talked about God being our dwelling place. I left you with Acts 17:28
For in him we live, and move, and have our being; I would like to look at it a little more today. The phrase "in Him" we live, move and have our being is very interesting to me for this is not the first time God has made a promise like this.

When God led the children of Israel through the wilderness, He didn't just appear once a day and then abandon them. No! He was seen in the presence of the cloud by day and in the night in the fire; God never left His children. He never leaves us now Matthew 28:20
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Heb 13:5
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. There may be days we go without thinking of Him, but there is never a moment when He is not thinking of you and I. So how do you and I learn to let Him have full control?

1. We learn to get hold of our Thought life-
   2Corinthians 10:5
   Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
   
2. 
   We learn to Praise Him on a Continually Basis- Heb 13:15
   By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
   
3. We let heaven fill our Thoughts- Colossians 4:2
   Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
   

   4- We learn to be Constant in Prayer- 1Thessalonians 5:17
   Pray without ceasing.
   

   Romans 12:12
   Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
   

   Ephesians 6:18
   Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
   

   David, the man after God's own heart, said Psalms 27:4
   One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
   

   Psalms 27:5
   For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
   

   So what was David saying? Was he saying that he wanted to hang around the temple all the time day and night? NO! Acts 17:24
   God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; here it is
   

   John 17:23
   I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
   

   Colossians 1:27
   To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: I love it!
   

Psalms 23:6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. We do have a dwelling place not made with hands 2Co 5:1
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. I am so glad we can know this now; so as the week goes on don't forget (For in him we live, and move, and have our being ;) What do you do when troubles come? Run! I will explain that in the morning.

Our Dwelling

When we were children we more than likely memorized what we called the Lord's Prayer which is found in Matthew chapter six and verses 9-13. As Church members we recited it. As students we may have even studied it. In these verses we have been provided more than a model for prayer, we have a model for living. These words do more than tell us what to say to God; they tell us how to exist with God.
Psalms 90:1 we see a prayer of Moses the man of God and this is what he had to say
Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Moses didn't say in his generation but in all "generations;" and that my friend includes the generation that you and I are living in. Moses uses a very interesting word when he describes the Lord he called Him our dwelling place. This is what Webster had to say that dwelling means; DWELL'ING, ppr.
Inhabiting; residing; sojourning; continuing with fixed attention.

DWELL'ING, n.
Habitation; place of residence; abode.

            1. Continuance; residence; state of life.

In other words "Our Home!" There are three things about our home that's like no other place.

1. It's a Private Place- Where we can relax and be comfortable and not worry what others might think, it a place where we can talk freely, it is a place where we can tell how we Feel; it's a place where we can talk about our Failures and not be judged. So the same should be true about our Lord.
   
2. It's a Familiar Place- It's a place where no one has to tell you where things are for it a place you know very well. The same should be true about God for with time we can learn where to go for nourishment, where to hide for protection, where to turn for guidance. Is this not what our Lord should be to each of us?
   
3. It's a Place of Refuge- Just as our home is a place of peace so is our God for we are told that He is our Refuge. Webster meaning of REF'UGE- Shelter or protection from danger or distress. That which shelters or protects from danger, distress or calamity; a strong hold which protects by its strength, or a sanctuary which secures safety by its sacredness; any place inaccessible to an enemy.
   

Psalms 9:9
The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

Psalms 46:1
God is
our
refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalms 57:1
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my
refuge, until these calamities be overpast.

Psalms 59:16
But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.

Psalms 62:7
In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and
my
refuge, is in God.

It is Gods desire to be our Dwelling place; God is not interested in being a weekend getaway or a Sunday cabin or a summer cottage. He wants to be your point of reference
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. I'm afraid that too many times we think of God as a deity to discuss, but not a place to dwell. We think of God as a mysterious miracle worker, and not a house to live in. We think of God as a creator to call on, not a home to reside in. You may ask where I got that crazy idea. From our Bible, here read and you decide for yourself.

Acts 17:28 For
in him we live, and move, and have our being; We will talk more tomorrow, have a good day and a blessed week.

Great Mistake

I and a friend had just finished having a snack at a local restaurant late one afternoon. As I was travelling toward my home I suddenly found myself in a bad traffic jam. I picked up my cell phone and called my friend to warn him of what he was headed for, and not to come this way. It was nice to have the ability to warn my friend so he wouldn't end up as I had. In the book of Luke and chapter 16 I find something that reminds me of that afternoon except that the warning needed to go out but couldn't. We read of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus who also had a body full of sores. If we take the time to look at them both and could choose which one we would we like to be, I think most of us would choose the Rich Man. Who wants to be sick and a beggar too! But if we look more closely at the story we would soon change our minds. As the story goes both of these men died; that is what will happen to us all. But here is where things change, the Rich man who had all the things this world could offer is now in a world that he has no control over. His wealth is no good here, why he can't even get one drop of water. But Lazarus who was sick and had nothing is now well and doing very good. The Rich man sees his great mistake and now wants someone to go warn his family and tell them not to come where he is.
I have five brothers. "Let him warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment." No cell phone there; he knew where they were headed but he couldn't get word to them. Abraham responds that they already have the Bible, God's Word, to warn them. The rich man answers, "If someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent." It's clear that this man who knows what eternity away from God is like is desperate for others to know what they're headed for, which our Bible already makes clear. Based on this amazing inside information of what's ahead, the sobering truth for all of us is this: If every living person knew now what every departing soul discovers, we would all run to Jesus to save us. But we can know now. That's why the Bible repeatedly describes what only God could describe - the awful eternal consequences for our rebellion against our Creator. Anybody who speculates on what happens after we are dead is guessing. God knows. The Bible says that every one of us has defied the order of the universe by, in essence, saying to God, "You run the universe and I'll run me, thank you." And we've taken our life where we wanted it to go, done what we wanted to do, and then maybe we've tried to pacify God with a little religion that in no way can pay the death penalty for a lifetime of disobeying God. But in the greatest act of love in history, Jesus as the Bible says

1Peter 2:24 -
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

God's Son did all the dying for all our sinning. He took your hell so you could have His heaven if you grab Him in total faith as your personal Rescuer from your sin and its penalty. But you have to give yourself to Him. The consequences of not doing it are unthinkable but they're very real. Anyone who's ever gone into eternity without Christ knows that, but it's too late to change it then. It's not too late for you right now. God is giving you this opportunity; the only one you can be totally sure of. This is your guaranteed opportunity to trust His Son. Right where you are, would you tell Him, "Jesus, I abandon my control of my life. I'm giving myself to you as my Rescuer - my only hope." If that's what you want, you're ready to begin your relationship with Him to be forgiven, to change your eternal address; I sure hope so. Why don't you stop what you are doing and see if you are headed for a traffic jam!

Chasing Dreams

Chasing the dream; have you ever had a dream that you decided to chase? The trail behind me even as a teenager is littered with the pieces of things that were supposed to make me happy but ultimately didn't. After high school I found myself in the Military chasing a dream and on Friday December 20, 1968 I found myself in freezing cold weather in Duluth, Minnesota; I asked myself, is this my dream? am I happy? I was a 1000 miles away from home with no friends and not even one person that I knew. That soon changed as I lowered my standard and my dream was fading fast for my new friends had no dreams at all; not many did in those days, and if you hang with dreamless people you soon become as they are. My future brightened up on Wednesday January 7, 1970 as I was married to a wonderful young lady but by July of that year I found myself on a plane all by myself headed for a lonely place for the next 18 months of my life. This is not what I had planned. Once again I find myself 1000's of miles away from home with no friends. I remember finding a Gideon's Bible and opened it, looking for an answer, I had no clue to what I was even looking at and soon found myself with the same type of people. I would not find what real happiness was until April 1973 when I gave my heart to the Lord Jesus. You can catch everything this world has to offer and all its acclaims, its wealth, its pleasures, its success and lose the only thing that really matters, which is your soul. It's your soul that's always hungry for something you've never been able to find. And your soul is forever restless because you're away from the One you were made by; the One you were made for. In God's own words,

Isa 59:2
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. I was trying to fill a God-sized hole with things and people that can't begin to take His place. If we live like this, we'll live without peace and without meaning. If we die like this, we'll spend eternity without God and His love. He didn't leave us separated from Him. He pursued us. He sent His Son, Jesus, to sacrifice His life for yours and mine; to pay the cost for all our sin.
John 6:35
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. That could be you, beginning today. Beginning this moment you could admit your need for His forgiveness, your readiness to turn the driver's seat over to Him, by putting your complete trust in Jesus and Him alone as your only hope.

Too many are chasing dreams; and that's all they are. Dreams many times have no meaning or direction and are only clouds floating around in our minds. But a vision is something much different; my father-n-law said this to me many years ago and I think it explains a vision perfectly. We were standing in a field one afternoon and he said "see that area over there; that's where I am going to build a house." I looked and all I saw was tall grass. Then he said this "I know you can't see it but I can see it as if it was already built." That is vision seeing from the beginning to the end and that is far better than a dream. I am so glad that God loved me enough to pursue me and today I can say I am happy and know what happiness is for as the song goes "I'm up right, in right, down right, happy all the time; I'm up right, in right, out right, down right, happy all the time; With Jesus in my heart, From Him I'll ne'er depart, I'm up right, in right, out right, down right, happy all the time." All because Jesus came into my heart! How Happy are you?

Enemy’s Playground

Years ago we lived in a house without running water unless you want to call running to the well and running back running water. One day we decided to put carpet in the restroom and my wife liked it so good we ran it all the way to the house. Anyways, I think you are getting the picture. The winters were cold but we learned to adapt until it got down to 9 degrees and then we came out. Some would call that the good ole days, but those days were cold days to my wife and two children. Anyways I told you all that to tell you about the night I went outside to the well and asked God to help me find a better place for me and my family to live. We had decided to live there to save money to build a house; we had brought some property and had it all planned out so we thought. Things were not working out to well and I prayed and asked God to forgive me for trying to do it my way and would He please help us. He did; a few days later my Dad showed up and asked me to go and look at a house that was for sale. I did and at first glance it didn't look much better than where we were except it did have water that you didn't have to run to the well to get. The bathroom had a sink and toilet but no bathtub; so we decided to buy it and we felt like the Jefferson's, we were moving up. The days ahead were exciting to say the least and before it was all over we had a bathtub, new roof and central heat. It all start that night out by the well and that night I learned something very valuable it is a small six letter word called "PRAISE."

Psalms 150:1
Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

Psalms 150:6
Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

Psalms 145:18
The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

Psalms 145:19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

When you are praising the Lord, you silence the devil. When the darkness seems to be closing in, you can literally praise the darkness away. The one place the prince of darkness will never be is in praises to the Most High God. If we aren't praising then we may be allowing the devil to get us to dwell on our past, our fears, our pain, our worries, our doubts. Right? Those areas are Satan's playground. They drown you in anxiety, guilt, discouragement and depression when we allow him to do that to us. We can choose to live in the past or we can bust out of the darkness into the Lord's marvelous light.

1Peter 2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Whether or not the light or the darkness is winning in your soul is a matter of what you choose to dwell on. I can tell you. God, on the other hand, wants you to choose to dwell on what He's like, not what your situation is like.

When you're praising your Lord, you are choosing to dwell on the awesome things about Him that have never changed and never will, including in the middle of your dark moment. You're celebrating the good things He's done in your life instead of frustrating over your struggles. It's celebrating Jesus, whether you feel like it or not.

When it's the darkest, when it's the hardest to praise Him, that is when you need to praise Him the most, because praise is that blinding light from heaven that dispels the darkness and banishes your enemy. It's your choice what you choose to think on today. 1John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
But if we walk in the dark, as the enemy is in the dark, we won't have fellowship with any one, and the anxiety, guilt, discouragement and depression will keep you in darkness and doubt and never deliver you from your sin.

 

Wasted Life

What would you think if I took a twenty dollar bill and set it on fire and then blew it out, and asked the question "is it still worth twenty dollars? Then I would repeat the act until there was nothing but ashes left. Who in their right mind would do such a thing? Why not give it to someone who could use it instead before it's too late? That would be a tremendous gift one might say and it would to someone who had nothing; but instead it was wasted and for what? Now let's look at it a different way; what about you? God has given each of us gifts of life, talents and abilities we all have them and they are not all the same; we are all different and our abilities are too. When the twenty dollar bill was burned up it was worthless and gone forever, but God is in the business of re-creating squandered lives. There is not one so far gone that God is not able to restore and rebuild their life and it's never too late to recognize waste in our own lives, and ask God for His forgiveness and grace, and get back on the track. That is what God showed Jeremiah down at the potter's house. Jeremiah 18:3
Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.

Jeremiah18:4
And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
It is a wondrous thing when God can make a life that we have; for whatever reason squandered, and make it new again. Many times we are told that we will never amount to anything useful and that's not true. But we have been told that so many times that we now believe it. NO! No! Don't you ever believe such as that; let me show you. Remember Elijah? He went right up to the King and put his finger in his face and said there will be no more rain and it didn't rain for three and half years. When no one had water God made sure that Elijah did; in other words God took care of him for that three and half years. At the end of three and half years Elijah met with 850 prophets on Mount Carmel and this is the question he asked them 1Kings 18:21
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Before that day was over it was raining and the prophets were dead. But it is what happened next that has always puzzled me. When Elijah heard this

1Kings 19:1
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

1Kings 19:2
Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.

1Kings 19:3
And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. Here are some mistakes Elijah made; he ran, he left his servants, and then he separates himself by going a day's journey away from everyone and began to feel sorry for himself. What had happened to Elijah happens to many, he just quit, and he was tired, sad and lonely. But what God did for him while he was in that state of mind God had done for many. The clay had been marred and God takes the time to make it new again and it's not long before we see this man Elijah showing up and putting his finger in the Kings face again. You see the King had killed and taken possession of something he should have left alone and when he thought all was well God sends His servant Elijah to give the King some more bad news. 1Kings 21:19
And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, thus saith the LORD, in the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

1Kings
21:20
And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. Think you are too old, unusable; something has went on that now you feel you are finished. Someone told you that didn't they? Stop letting others do your thinking for you get back up dust off your pants and let God use you again. He wants to you know; know how I know He'll do that? Because He said He would Proverbs 24:16
For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. Don't quit now for the best is just ahead! Be responsible with the gifts God has given you and
put them to use for the cause of Christ!

Was Life Better

 

In Romans 6 and verse 2 Paul asks a crucial question: "How shall we, that are dead {who died} to sin, live any longer therein? " How can we who have been made right not live righteous lives? How can we who have been loved not love? Who have been blessed not bless? Been given grace not live graciously? Sin puts you and I in prison it locks us behind the bars of guilt and shame and deception and fear. Sin does nothing but shackles us to the wall of misery. Jesus came and paid our bail. He served our time; He satisfied the penalty and made us free. Christ has taken our place. I have never heard of any prisoner who wanted to stay or go back after they are released. What would you think of a person who after being released from prison having a desire to want to go back? They tell you that they miss their friends; they enjoyed the food and a host of other things? You would; like I would think they have lost their mind! Paul is not saying that it's impossible for believers not to sin; he's saying it's stupid for believers to sin. What does the prison have that you desire? Do you miss the guilt? Are you homesick for dishonesty? Maybe you have fond memories of being lied to and forgotten? Was life better when you were dejected and rejected? Miss the sleepless nights. You see it makes no sense to go back for the penalty has been paid by Jesus Christ. But then Paul goes on to say in the next few verses

Romans 6:3
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Romans 6:4
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. What does all that mean? Paul speaks of "being baptized" and paints us each a picture of what being baptized is. Let me explain it this way. How would the Bride feel if she saw her new husband flirting with women at the wedding reception? They both had just taken a vow and now he is breaking it! A vow is not a pledge but a promise; let me explain Webster said that a Vow is A solemn promise; as the vows of unchangeable love and fidelity. In a moral and religious sense, vows are promises to God, as they appeal to God to witness their sincerity, and the violation of them is a most heinous offense. He said that promise meant In a general sense, a declaration, written or verbal, made by one person to another, which binds the person who makes it, either in honor, conscience or law, to do or forbear a certain act specified; a declaration which gives to the person to whom it is made, a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of the act. The promise of a visit to my neighbor, gives him a right to expect it, and I am bound in honor and civility to perform the promise. So a vow is strong! Ecclesiastes 5:5
Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Baptism is a vow, a sacred vow of the believer to follow Christ. Just as a wedding celebrates the fusion of two hearts of the bride and groom neither one understand all the implications of the wedding? Do they know every challenge or threat they will ever face? No! But there is one thing that they do know and that is that they love each other and they vow to be faithful to the end. So it is with the child of God as they enter the baptismal waters; do they know every temptation or challenge that they will face? No! But they do know the love of God and that they are responding to Him. To return to sin after our vow in baptism is like committing adultery on your honeymoon. Put yourself in that scenario; how would you feel? Would the question come to mind "have you so soon forgotten what you said to me?" Paul says here's the picture as you go under the Baptismal waters it is picturing that you are dying to the old way of life. As you come up out of the Baptismal waters it is picturing being raised up from the dead and now everyone will see you walking in the newness of life and that life is in Jesus Christ. Because of what Christ has done in my life I have a desire to know Him and live for Him and no I don't have a desire to live like I have been; will I ever sin again? Sad to say that the answer to that is yes but it will not be like before because of a new heart and the enjoyment will not be the same. Have a great week and a heart that desires to serve Jesus.

Unfailing Hope

Ever had hope in a person or something and then realize that, that person deceived you or that something let you down. We have all been there I'm sure; maybe you've lost your health, the love of your life, your job, your retirement, an anchor person in your life, the thing you've invested so much in, the thing or the person that's been the glue that had been holding your life together. Maybe you have been told by your marriage partner, "I don't love you anymore." And you are crushed. We all need something that can't be touched by death, divorce, desertion, disease, disaster. Hope is snatched away and we need something that can't be touched by death or disease, or divorce, or disaster; something that will never desert us. Someone who will never desert you; what we need is something to put our hope in that's not going to be hopeless. Let's see if this is what you are looking for.

Psalms 62:1
Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.

Psalms 62:2
He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.

Psalms 62:5
My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

Psalms 62:6
He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

Psalms 62:7
In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

Psalms 62:8
Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Sounds to me like this is hope we can depend on, here we see God is salvation, He also is a defense and rock of strength, a place of refuge. We are told to put our trust in Him and pour out our hearts before Him. There are very few people that we should pour out our heart before but God is one we can. We choose our way instead of His way and it has built an eternal wall between us and God. A wall that God Himself tore down, when He sent His only Son Jesus Christ, to pay for all our sins when He died on the cross. That is how much He loves you. As we start this New Year if you and I keep doing what we have been doing we can plan on getting the same results. Let's get out of the comfort zone this year, let's you and I depend on the Lord more and less on our self. I think you will be happy with the results; but you will have to get out of that comfort zone and when you do you will find a freedom you have never experienced and the good thing about it is that now God is the rock of your strength.

 

Unbelievable

I can still remember it like it was yesterday and I do understand how Jacob felt when this statement was made;

Gen 29:20
And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

The year 1969 the date December 31 and I was downtown Atlanta on the fifth floor of the Georgian Terrace Hotel at a New Years Eve Party when I and a young girl first got together. We had a few dates and then it happened on January the fifth as we were sitting in the parking lot of Walker High School where she and I had both graduated. I asked her to marry me and I never expected to hear her say yes but she did. We never dated in High School and to use an old saying we both lived on different sides of the tracks. She, a beautiful young lady who was a good student; she took French for four years and dated those much like herself with new and fancy cars. I on the other hand; I don't want to feel bad today so I'll just leave my grades alone. Sorry to say she classified me as a punk and I won't go into any more detail. I had spent one year in the military by now and didn't know my future, in less than two weeks I would be back in Minnesota and who knows where they would send me. I heard her say "YES" and couldn't believe what I just heard and no we were not drinking. The next day January 6 I showed up at her house and off we went to a little town in South Carolina named Walla Halla. When we arrived we filled the paper work out and they told us we would have a waiting period of 24 hours before we could get married. They said to let people know that we were getting married; if we wanted people to know we would have told them ourselves and would not have driven to another state. Back home we went, unmarried; would she change her mind? I did stretch the truth somewhat; I really can't understand how Jacob felt for he waited 7 years I only had to wait 7 days. Well as the sun came up in the east on the morning of January 7 I got ready to go and pick her up and we took off; this time it was for real, we arrived at three o'clock in the afternoon; I remember the bells on the clock in the court house ringing as we walked toward it and it wasn't long before we both said "I Do." Now what were we to do? We came up with this great idea; or at least we thought it was at the time. I would take her back home and I too would go back home as though nothing had changed. I would pick her up for a date and we would go out and I was to bring her home and, and, and, we didn't know what to do. So we went to my wise aunt and explained to her that we had gotten married that day. She didn't say what we wanted to hear; I don't know what I wanted to hear although we did the right thing that night it didn't seem like it at the time. We were told to call our parents and tell them; do what! Call our parents; this was not going to be good at all. I can't remember who went first but I do remember hearing her mother on the phone as she said "WHAT!!" She wanted proof which she soon got as the marriage license was there in her bedroom; it was not going too good by this time so we stayed at my Aunts home that night and we faced the music the next day. In May of that year I received orders and would be gone, an 18 month tour of duty without her; that's wasn't good for us either; the only good about that was we had a baby in March of 1971, that helped. Then when I got back home I was shipped to Oklahoma where we finished up and I was discharged. Things were not looking good for us; remember she was an A student and I was ; well I already told you what she thought; anyways it looked like it was all fixing to be over. Then it happened, it wasn't planned but it happened just the same, I asked the Lord to come into my heart, forgive me of my sins and He did; and my life changed in a day forever. Well that beautiful young lady I have being telling you about who married a punk kid of the 60's know what happened to them? Well they stayed together had 3 beautiful children, that punk kid of the 60's went on to get a college degree from Immanuel Baptist Theological Seminary. She became a Pastor's wife for 25 years and made a punk kid look good {she is still doing that} at what the Lord called him to do. Today January 7, 2010 we will celebrate 40 years together and I can say that the last 40 years have flown by and she without a doubt is the love of my life. Who would have ever dreamed that this relationship would have ever made it? It wouldn't have if God had not been the center. She probably still thinks I'm a punk! She is still beautiful but she's not an A student anymore she has now become an A++++++!

Genesis 2:23
And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Genesis 2:24
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Leading Shepherd

I don't know anything about sheep, all I know is what I have read. I have noticed that in the Bible sheep are mentioned 188 times and you know what every sheep needs? That's right a shepherd and you know how the shepherd gets his sheep to go where he wants them to go? There's a way that works and a way that doesn't work. If you were to get behind a herd of sheep and try to push them along you would find that it will not work. No matter how much noise you make or how much you wave your arms when sheep are pushed they just scatter. How does the shepherd get them to do what he wants? I know you already know but I want to tell you anyways. We are told two times in Psalms 23 that the shepherd leads; one time beside the still waters and then in the paths of righteousness. Psalms 23:2
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Psalms 23:3
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
What's so interesting about that? Remember all I know about sheep is what I have read and this is what I have read. For sheep to sleep everything must be just right. No predators, no tension in the flock, no bugs in the air and no hunger in the belly. Everything has to be just so. Unfortunately, sheep cannot find safe pasture, nor can they spray insecticide, deal with the frictions or find food. They need help. They need a shepherd to "lead them" and help them "lie down in green pastures." Without a shepherd, they can't rest. There is a condition that annually costs the U.S. $70 billion worth of productivity. Studies show that 64 percent of teens blame it for poor school performance, middle agers face it and senior citizens are afflicted by it. It afflicts 70 million Americans and is faulted for 38,000 deaths each year. What do you think it is chemical abuse, divorce? No! Today I talked with a man who was suffering from it. The answer; insomnia! America can't get to sleep. Without a shepherd, sheep can't sleep and without a shepherd neither can we. Get the picture; a flock of sheep on folded legs encircling a shepherd. There is a still pond on one side and the watching shepherd on the other. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. It's the shepherd who's in charge. It's the shepherd who has selected the trail and prepares the pasture. The sheep's job is to watch the shepherd and with eyes on the shepherd there will be sleep as well as peace.

Isaiah 26:3
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Are we letting the shepherds lead or are we allowing others or even ourselves to push us? John 10:27
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: Have a Blessed Day as the great high Shepherd leads you.