Again and Again

Years have long gone now but those days will never be forgotten. On yesterday I was reading in Proverbs 23 and was reminded of a time in my childhood.

Proverbs 23:29  Who hath woe(trouble)? who hath sorrow(misery)? who hath contentions(quarrels)? who hath babbling(complaint)? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes(bloodshot eyes)?

Proverbs 23:30  They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.

My uncle had an alcohol problem; I can still remember what the bottle looked like these many years later. It was called Old Crow and had a picture of a Black Crow on the bottle. Alcohol was never allowed in our home but for my aunt and cousins it was a nightmare. Thanksgiving and Christmas when families should be together enjoying each other they would be at our home because of fear. That ought not to be! But it was at the end of the chapter that I saw this

Proverbs 23:35  They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

We can all identify with alcohol and what it has done and caused in the lives of others I am sure but it’s the last 10 words that really caught my attention. It’s all about “me”  “when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.“ It matters not what damage it has caused them to do to others or who they have hurt because of their problem all that is cared about is they will do it again and again and again. Not only are we being taught here to stay away from alcohol but I believe it goes much deeper. When we get so caught up in something that it hurts and destroys others we need to stop and take a look at what we are doing. It could be our temper; oh, we feel sorry after we have exploded but we know it will happen again and again. Know why? Because we are trying to fix the problem ourselves; if we could do that it wouldn’t keep happening over and over again. It matters not whether it is Gossip, Anger, Alcohol, Drugs, Pornography, Selfishness, lying, cheating, stealing or whatever it is you can’t control yourself from doing, you need help. You see our problems leave scars and memories that if not handled will be passed on to the ones we love the most. My uncle felt sorry for what he had done and always apologized but the problem was that he always went seeking it again which brought on more hurt and then another apology and another and another but no getting to the root of the real problem. That is why we need to know what our problems are; if you don’t just ask your family then we need to let God work in our hearts. A year or so back I got alone with each of my children and when it was just us two I asked them “have I ever said or did anything that has hurt you? I told them I would not try to defend myself but I didn’t want to go to my grave and never have the opportunity to ask forgiveness. The answers I got were amazing…. For they said that I was the best of the best; just kidding! I only wish that was true. If we never face our problems then they will continue to be a problem. Hope you have a blessed weekend and go to Church somewhere this Sunday.

P.S. My wife and I will be gone next week to North Carolina to a camp meeting. We will get to spend a few days together just her and I; I am excited for she is the love of my life. We will return sometime Friday and I will write again on Tuesday July 5 may God bless you each and enjoy the Fourth wave your flag and be proud to be an American for God has surely blessed this nation and pray that we the people will continue to let Him. 

Sounds Close

We live in a day where double-talk is all around us. There are those who make No sound like Yes and Yes like No. I remember standing in a voting booth one day reading something we were to vote on. As I read what had been carefully written it read as if I voted yes that would be the way I felt but after closer examination I saw that it had not only been carefully written but also craftily written .If I were to vote yes it would not have been what I thought. In other words it had been written where No meant Yes and Yes meant No. In March of 1775 the legislature was meeting at St. John’s Creek in Richmond, Virginia.  A Man by the name of Patrick Henry stood and urged his fellow Virginians to arm themselves in self defense and said the immortal words; “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.” I wonder if Patrick Henry might have been reading his Bible and ran across another man who said something very similar; see what you think! 

Joshua 24:15  And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

I don’t know but it sure sounded close to me; Patrick Henry said “make your Choice but here’s mine" “but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.” That’s what Joshua said “choose you this day” make a choice but here is the choice I’m making “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. “ We can double talk or we can make a choice! We can learn how to have a play on words making yes sound like no or no like yes. Or we can be like a man I heard yesterday morning say that he was an open book. I thought to myself, good words.  So who are we? One hiding behind the shadows, in the group not making decisions, riding the fence or do those around us know where we stand. A young man decided onetime to hang a picture of a woman which was partly dressed on the wall in his work area. When his wife saw it she didn’t scream at him but simply said “do you think my Dad would hang that picture on a wall at his home?” She knew where her dad stood; she could easily say that and because of the respect the young man had for his father-n-law knowing he would never have such a picture removed it. Both knew where he stood there was no guess work here. Let’s line ourselves up with the Joshua’s and the Patrick Henry’s and let those around us know where we stand. 

Who Are We Following

My wife and I went to see her Dad the other day to wish him a happy father’s day. I think very highly of him; I worked with him for about five years and we became very close. We not only worked together; we did many things together. We went on vacations together, fished together and hunted together. We were reminiscing that afternoon and I found out something that I didn’t know. He and I and my youngest brother-n-law were deer hunting and it was getting late in the day when my brother-n-law came and said let’s go the truck. I got up and started following him; after walking for longer than I thought we should have I asked him if he knew where he was? To which he said no! I had been following him and now it was getting real late in the day. I didn’t want to spend the night in the woods so I climbed up a tree hoping to see where we had parked. All I saw was a place that looked like a clearing; maybe that was where we had parked; so off we headed in that direction. It was getting darker by the minute and if this wasn’t where we had parked we would have to shoot three times in the air letting everyone know we were lost; didn’t want to do that.  The other night as we were reminiscing, my father-n-law said that we had passed his deer stand twice and that he had been watching us the whole time. I can’t remember him ever telling me that. I learned that day not to follow my brother-n-law. Many are following others that have no clue to where they are going. The Bible tells us that if the blind lead the blind they will both fall in the ditch.

Matthew 15:14  Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Every time you see these two words together “follow Me” in the Gospels it is always referring to following Jesus. Jesus never told us to follow a man, preacher, Sunday School teacher or a religion. He did tell us to follow Him. When we get off track and begin to walk around in circles He like my father-n-law is watching us and will help us so make sure you are following the right one; the right one to follow is JESUS. You will find out all about Him in the Bible. 

Grow

I have a few banana trees that I have been planting for a while. I put them up in the winter and replant them in the spring. My goal is to see at least one of them produce some bananas. I looked up where banana trees grow best and found that they grow best in Honduras and other Central and South American rainforests and in Africa and Southeast Asia. They require very warm climates and need lots of water. Now I know why I’m not seeing any bananas. My banana trees remind me a lot of myself; a banana tree is a fruit producing tree; and to produce its fruit some things have to take place. So it is with me if I am going to produce fruit as a Christian there are also some things that must take place or some conditions for being fruitful. The first condition is that I must really be a Christian. Not that I appear to be, not that I carry a Bible under my arm, not that I shout Hallelujah. Another condition is abiding in Christ.  John 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. There it is “Abide in Christ.” Abide means to continue permanently.  To continue permanently in Jesus and Jesus continue permanently in me.  So if I am going to produce fruit then I must continue. Could that mean continue to pray, read my Bible, talk to others, spend time with others that are wanting to produce fruit also. I think so but the greatest is getting to know Jesus and understanding when, how and where He wants to use me and that takes time. Wait aren’t we already doing something similar anyways? The business we are in don’t we spend time increasing our knowledge and knowing more about it?  So it’s a growing process and so it is with our Christian life we are to grow  2Peter 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. But grow in Grace, knowledge of whom? Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Growing takes time; that word “grow” means to enlarge.  1Chronicles 4:10  And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.  If I allow other things to take up my time then I am going to fail to grow in the Lord Jesus Christ. My banana tree isn’t producing fruit because it’s not getting enough water and heat as well as being in the wrong area. Could that be the reason I am not producing Christian fruit like I should? Not enough bible, not enough prayer and being in the wrong areas. Could that be the same reason for you also?

WOW

I have heard the word WOW all my life and on yesterday I heard it used twice.  I took the time to look it up and this is what Merriam Webster said about the word WOW used to express strong feeling (as pleasure or surprise) used to show that you are very surprised or pleased ▪ Wow! This is delicious! ▪ Oh, wow! I can't believe you came! I started to think about the time that WOW was a good expression in my life. September 1968 at 5 am in the morning; when a man walked into a place where I was sleeping and turned on lights that were awful bright and started screaming with a very loud voice calling out names that I can’t write here. I remember saying to myself WOW I can’t believe what’s happening. I remember another time when I saw this beautiful young lady and then found out that she wanted to get to know me better and I said WOW. The best part about that WOW is that 41 and half years later I’m still saying WOW. Then there was the time I went to Eastland Heights Baptist Church and on that day I asked the Lord to save me and He did. Can you believe it? Yes it’s WOW again that God would love me so much that He would give His Son to pay a debt He did not owe for me. All I can say is WOW!  You will not find the word WOW in the Bible but you won't read much of it before you will find yourself saying WOW. John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.WOW! It is whosoever that is in the world and you don’t have to be real smart to know that’s talking to each of us. WOW! Here is that word “whosoever” again Romans 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. The word “whosoever” is used 110 times in the New Testament look at the last time it is used: Revelation 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. It’s Come, Come and Come then Whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely. I believe God is expecting whosoever will to come and take of the water of life without cost. WOW! So are you a whosoever that has come? If not why not? I hope today you can say with me WOW. Have a blessed week and say something kind to someone today it will make you both feel good.  WOW!

Better Than

I have been to a lot of funerals in my life and each one has its own atmosphere. I have been to the young as well as the old, those that have died of natural causes, died by self inflected causes, family members and those that have died from an accident. I remember my uncle was in an automobile accident with 80% of his body burned; rushed to a hospital which didn’t have a burn unit. A helicopter was sent to fly him to a hospital which had a burn unit 100’s of miles away. The helicopter landed he was put in and as the helicopter was lifting off it hit a light pole and crashed everyone was killed except him. He then was rushed to downtown Atlanta to Grady Memorial Hospital which had a burn unit. He died 5 days later. Why am I writing about funerals? Well each day you and I get one day closer to our own. One day we will awake for a last time, we will eat our last meal, see our family for the last time, and maybe without even a hint our heart will stop. I said all that to bring this verse to view Ecclesiastes 7:1  A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.  Wait a minute did we read that right? A good name is better…the day of death better than the day of our birth. We spend our lives trying to make this life better but here we’re told that death is better than birth. Then we are told in Psalms 116:15  Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. And 1Corinthians 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. After reading about the man in Luke 16 and him being in torments to death better than birth; then there must be a difference between people who have put their trust in the Lord Jesus and His death than those who haven’t.   Romans 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. Romans 10:10  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Bottom line who have we put our trust in for this better than birth day? It must be the Lord Jesus Christ. Be sure to be in the Lord's house this Sunday and be sure if at all possible to spend time with your Dad this weekend. Be sure to tell him you love him for he’ll want to hear you say that, even if you don’t think he does; he does.

Envy

Webster says the word “envy” means To feel uneasiness, mortification or discontent, at the sight of superior excellence, reputation or happiness enjoyed by another; to repine at another's prosperity; to fret or grieve one's self at the real or supposed superiority of another, and to hate him on that account. Could envy be a denial of God’s faithful provision for his children?  It’s when we say “he’s got one I don’t. How come I don’t have one? It’s not fair.” Envy is a poison because it always starts when you and I start comparing. You can’t envy unless you first compare, we can compare our homes, children, beauty, opportunities, clothes, positions. Remember what the tenth commandment is?

Exodus 20:17   Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.  We will never covet if we don’t compare; it always starts with comparing. We start to compare our neighbors house and we become dissatisfied with the house God has allowed us to live in. We compare our neighbors wife to our wife and then we decide to have an affair because we feel cheated. What did the Lord tell us?

Proverbs 5:19  Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. If we are ravished ALWAYS with her love then we want have time to compare and become envious.  If we compare then we will become envious of what others have and become unsatisfied with what God has given us.  You may rest assured that our enemy wants you to fail. Hey Eve; look here what I have and compare it to what God has given you; this is much better and you know what it will make you smart like God.  Will you look at that he/she is something compared to what you are married to; why not get involved you deserve a little happiness and enjoyment.  Watch out for that comparing is not wise on your part for it will bring you heartbreak, sadness, embarrassment; it all started when you started comparing. Be careful the enemy wants to see you fall fat on your face and he is always parading something in front of you to catch your eye to turn your heart away from God. Don’t let him! 

Years Later

   When I was a boy I remember only few types of shoes; there were Kids, Buster Brown, Red Goose Shoes and then there were Paul Parrot which had a catchy little tune. “Paul Parrot, Paul Parrot are the shoes you ought to buy they make your feet run fast as fast as I can fly; Paul; Parrot, Paul Parrot.” Now I don’t ever remember my mom and dad buying me any Paul Parrot shoes, but I can still remember their little tune many years later. Those who were behind the advertisement did a good job advertising there product. I saw an advertisement the other day advertising gravity free shoes. Now that is interesting; put their shoes on an all of a sudden your feet become gravity free. Really! There are many ways to market a product now days and many times you get a product that is not what it was built up to be and then we get angry. But wait just a minute are we as Christian not advertisement for the Lord Jesus. In my business I have been beat out of more money by those who claim to be Christian than anyone else. That is poor representation of a Christian and if we were to judge all Christians by the actions of a few we would think that all Christians were crooks. I love what the Bible teaches us

Matthew 7:16  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Matthew 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.  We must remember that a fruit tree that is diseased puts off a little fruit that is small and weak and may not have a sweet taste to it at all. Anyone can talk a good game but it’s the quality of the fruit along with its sweetness that keeps one returning. If you and I are representing the Lord Jesus Christ we must learn of Him.

Matthew 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  Would Jesus pay you if He owed you money? Let the Bible answer that for us.

Matthew 17:24  And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?

Matthew 17:27  Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee. Just as those did long ago that were responsible for marketing Paul Parrot Shoes and how they put little saying in our heads that stuck. That is the kind of Christian I want to be, that people will remember me and the things I did that represented the Lord Jesus Christ long after I am gone for making  a good representation not a poor one. As we fertilize our lives with the Word of God and Prayer we will produce good fruit that will nourish those we come in contact with.  

Deaf

Helen Keller wrote; I am just as deaf as I am blind. The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex; if not more important, than those of blindness. Deafness is a much worse misfortune. It means the loss of the most vital stimulus – the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir, and keeps us in the intellectual company of man. I can’t identify with Helen Keller for I have my sight as well as my hearing. I received a phone call from a dear friend of mine on yesterday and he brought something to my attention I want to share with you today. If you will remember on yesterday I wrote about the Rich man and the Poor man in Luke chapter 16. We are told that they both died  Luke 16:22  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; You may ask so what; in the life before the beggar died I see two things about him # one we don’t know his name and # two we see him talking. In order to beg you have to talk. Now before the death of the rich man we read nothing of him saying a word. After they both die we see it reversed the rich man is doing a lot of talking and the beggar is saying nothing and we also learn what his name is   Luke 16:23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Have you ever stopped to wonder why Lazarus all of a sudden becomes deaf and blind toward the rich man? Here are a few reasons why. #1- He was enjoying the Wonders of Paradise #2- It wasn’t time for him to Witness     #3- It wasn’t time for him to see the destruction of the Wicked. Now on the other hand the rich man is doing all that is possible to relieve his desire for water. The very first thing I see is that it’s still about him.  Luke 16:24  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. He wanted water and asked for it and was denied the request.  After he was denied his drop of water his request is now for his family.  Luke 16:27  Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: Luke 16:28  For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. He is denied again. Isn’t it strange how talkative the rich man became when his talking was worthless. Lazarus is begging no more; his days of witnessing to the lost are over. His days of weeping for the lost are past. That’s why we must be busy about the Fathers business for Jesus Christ came into the world for one thing; do you know what that is? Luke 19:10  For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. We must tell others while we still have time; we must weep over lost family member while we still have tears. We must work while it is day for the night cometh.  John 9:4  I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. If we fail to see others in need of a Savior then what Helen Keller said may just apply to us. The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex, If not more important, than those of blindness. Deafness is a much worse misfortune.  If you can’t see, then you become deaf and numb to what their greatest need is; JESUS! Thanks Brother Ron, my good friend.

Houdina

Houdina; it is said that he was the most famous magician in history.  Houndina was born in 1874 and died in 1923 from appendicitis. Sometime in his life Houdina made this statement that he would communicate from the afterlife if one existed. Harry Houndina has been dead for 88 years and I have not read or heard of any communications from Mr. Houndina. Well, is there no afterlife? Could it be true that when this life is over that’s it? I don’t want to base afterlife on what Harry Houndina said because if I do then I would have to believe that there is no afterlife. If you and I base afterlife on a principle that we find in the Bible I think we can quickly come to a clear understanding. There was a rich man and there was a poor man; one had all he could ever want and the other had to beg. As it will happen to all of us they both died and the Bible records it for us in the Gospel of Luke. 

Luke 16:19  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

Luke 16:20  And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

Luke 16:22  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;  Now did you notice that when the beggar died he was carried by the angels and the rich man was buried? Then as we read on we see that they didn’t go to the same place. Not only that the focus is put on the rich man    

Luke 16:23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

The rich man lifts up his eyes in hell and we are also told that he was in torments that’s plural with an “s.” Now I don’t know anything much about Harry Houndina only what I have read for he died many years before I was born. But I do read of a man in Luke 16 wanting so bad to communicate with the living or may I say with his family but he was denied. 

Luke 16:27  Then he(rich man) said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:

Luke 16:28  For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

Sounds like a reasonable request but it was denied      

Luke 16:29  Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

Maybe Harry Houndina was denied for the same reason for you see we have the Bible, good Churches, others telling others about God’s grace. If you will remember one did come back from the dead his name was Jesus Christ and you know what people still don’t believe. The principle found in God’s word should be applied to our lives and our trust placed in the one that did return from the dead, Jesus Christ. I hope you have a Blessed week this week and I hope you know where you are headed when this life is over; which could very well be today!

Plugged Up

Ever had a day that just didn’t go all that well? The Lord taught me something the other night that helped me see why some days don’t go all that well. I was to meet with someone in another city not far away. The address was given to me; I grabbed my GPS and off we went. The GPS was working well it got us to where we were going with not one problem. On the way home I noticed that the GPS wasn’t working at all. I didn’t pay much attention to it for I remembered how to get back home. When I arrived at home I grabbed the GPS and that is when I noticed why it wasn’t working I had forgot to plug it into the power source so it was running on its own power. When the battery ran down it stopped working, because all its power had been used up. Right there was everything needed to give it the right power; it just wasn’t being used.  That’s what I do sometimes; I get in a hurry doing other things; they may even be good things but while doing something else I have not prayed or read my Bible or said a kind word to someone else. So therefore I was running on my own power I haven’t asked the Lord to help me do anything; sure everything was there but I just for whatever reason didn’t plug myself up with prayer and Bible reading. Prayer is something we must make time for if we don’t the time will be robbed from us by other things. We are told to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not to lean unto our own understanding. When I run out without prayer and meet the day I am running on my own power. At first all will be ok but before the day is done I will be running on my power and it’s all because I didn’t take the time to spend with the Lord. As we begin this day be sure you have made the time to spend with the Lord. Be sure you make it to Church for it may be there the Lord has something special just for you.  See you Monday!

The Most Important Bridge

Sometime today you will more than likely have to go across a bridge to get to where you are going. Bridges are very important getting us from one place to another and without some bridges it would be impossible to get there. There are bridges that go over lakes, rivers, creeks and other highways. I think of some of the important bridges of our day. There is the Golden Gate part of Route 101 and California State Route 1; it connects the city of San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County. The Golden Gate was the longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed in 1937. There is the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway it is the longest in the world over water measuring 23.87 miles. It's amazing what a difference a bridge can make it literally brings people and places together. And for all people, there needs to be a bridge for them to get to the most important destination of all - heaven. Actually, Jesus has bridged the "Grand Canyon" between a holy God and us sinners by His death for our sins.

2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled (Brought into friendship from a state of disagreement) us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; (restoring relationships)

2Co 5:19 To wit, (to know) that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them (He didn't hold people's faults against them); and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (This message of restored relationships to tell others)

2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors (representatives) for Christ, as though God did beseech (beg) you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him (Christ)to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Let's look at it another way:

2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled (your name) to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to (your name) the ministry of reconciliation;

2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling (your name) unto himself, not imputing his trespasses unto him; and hath committed unto (your name) the word of reconciliation.

2Co 5:20 Now (your name) is ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech
you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him (Christ) to be sin for (your name), who knew no sin; that (your name) might be made the righteousness of God in him. (Christ) You can put your name in there or anybody else, because it's all about Christ and I thank Him for giving the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ sled blood on Calvary's cross. Don't you? For He is the bridge!

Stop Sign

Stop; Webster says it means “to cease to move on : halt  “ If you drive a car you know what a stop sign means. It means come to a complete stop or cease to move; it doesn’t mean almost stop or slow down it means to cease to move. I received a ticket one afternoon long ago because I almost came to a stop and went on through. You know there are stop signs all through our life; God puts them there for you and I to come to a complete stop. I’m afraid too many times we pay little or no attention to them at all. The apostle Peter ran through more than one stop sign. Jesus told Peter that the enemy’s desire was to have him and he wanted to sift him like wheat.                                            Luke 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: Peter runs right through that stop sign and tells the Lord he would be willing to go to prison and to death if needs be.                                                                       Luke 22: 33  And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death Those are big words; would Peter have the opportunity maybe to fulfill those words? Sure but know what he did? Ran!  Luke 22:54  Then took they him, (Jesus) and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off. Followed where; “afar off.” What happened to going to prison and dying? Now before we get too down on Peter you and I have ran through those stop signs too. Someone invites you to Church with them but you run right through that stop sign with not a second thought. Someone ask you to come to a drug addictions program and you run right on through that stop sign too. We keep falling into the same traps again and again thinking that we ourselves can overcome our problems only to discover we can’t. It matters not who we are, we all have weaknesses that hinder us. There are four things that we can watch out for that will help us to be over comers. It was given in the meaning of our word stop; halt. Write this down and it will help you when you feel like you are going to fall. We need to Halt when we are Hungry. Remember Esau? Genesis 25:29  And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: Genesis 25:30  And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. Genesis 25:31  And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. Genesis 25:32  And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? We need to Halt when we are Angry. Remember Moses Exodus 32:19  And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. We need to Halt when we are Lonely. Remember Samson? Laying in the lap of Delilah as she begged him to tell her his secret of where he got his great strength. We need to Halt when we are Tried. Remember King David?  2Samuel 11:2  And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. Flying through stop signs when we are hungry, angry, lonely and tired can be very heart breaking and disappointing. Know where you are weak and watch out when you feel a halt coming on.