🧐Truth, Is It Really True?🤔

 You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Well I think you can’t know anything for sure. What is true for you is not for me, I’m searching for the truth. It is true the Varsity in downtown Atlanta has the best onion rings anywhere! Is that true or is that taste? That is taste, not truth and the reason being is my friend doesn’t like their onion rings. Truth never changes. It doesn't matter where you believe it or not, like it or not, trust it or not it will always be true. If 3 people were doing this math problem 2+2=

The first person comes up with the answer 3 and the second person comes up with the answer as 4 and the third comes up with the answer being 5. Which one is right? The second person that gave the answer to be 4. New day, new teacher, new year same test what will be the answer?

The correct answer will always be four. Why? Because we just think that sounds best. No! Because it is true and truth never changes no matter what I or you think.  All our lives we have been lied to. Go buy anything and you are told that you have a 7 year replacement if anything goes wrong. We will send our repair people out to your home and if it’s unrepairable we will replace it with a new one. That sounds good but my question is why can you explain your repair guarantee to me in two sentences verbally. Then in writing I have to read 10 pages in small print that  supposedly is to say the same thing???? I have a car warranty that is bumper to bumper. That all sounds wonderful verbally but I have found out that everything is not covered bumper to bumper. I tried to explain and show them where the front bumper and the rear bumper was only to discover that I was wrong. It is one of those cases where I was led to believe that I knew what bumpers were. Only to find out in their 10 pages front and back small print 

Policy that I didn’t. We no longer live in a handshake world. It’s not what they are saying, it's what is written on that policy that will take you 30 to 40 minutes to read. Truth has somehow gotten tangled up in the small print. Nonetheless Truth never changes.. Psalms 25:5 (KJV) Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

Psalms 119:160 (KJV) Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

Like I have said, do your own thinking!

🤗The Greatest Gift🎁

 God never gives anyone a gift they are not capable of receiving.

Think! What was it? The best Christmas gift you ever received? The awe of it in all its beauty. Where is it now? What condition is it in? Does it still hold any awe at all? Probably not. Now I’m interested in that word gift; what is a gift anyways?

Webster says that a gift is “A present; any thing given or bestowed; any thing, the property of which is voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation; a donation.” That’s what a gift is but a gift is nothing unless the  person it was intended for accepts or receives it. If that doesn’t happen it still belongs to one who voluntarily wanted you to have it. 

God sent His only Son Jesus Christ in the form of a baby. Luke 2:11 (KJV) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:16 (KJV) And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

Jesus born in Bethlehem His mother a virgin; virgins don't have babies 

Matthew 1:23 (KJV) Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Luke 1:27 (KJV) To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. Do I believe what the Bible tells us? Oh yes I do! Not only do I believe it. I also have received the greatest gift to mankind, Jesus Christ. Yeah, the same baby born in Bethlehem. Why do I say that Jesus is the greatest Gift?  Luke 19:10 (KJV) For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

He was looking for me! For what reason? He had a gift for me, but remember a gift is worthless unless it is received. I did receive, oh happy day when Jesus washed my sins away. 

John 1:12 (KJV) 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:

I am one of the many that received Jesus Christ as my Savior. Therefore I have become a son in God's family all because I believed on His name. The greatest Christmas gift still has its awe and its beauty and is still in great condition and I’m still in the family. I hope you too have received the greatest gift too. 

 

🎄Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?🥳

May the magic of Christmas fill every corner of our homes.

Luke 2:1 (KJV) And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

Sometimes God allows certain things to be done to get us where we need to be. 

• This is a time Joseph & Mary won’t forget.
• The Shepherd won’t forget
• Those that heard it won’t forget 

 Have you noticed as you stand in lines at the stores purchasing things to make our Christmas more joyful. Very few if any are wishing you a Merry Christmas?  Before they can say to me “have a happy holiday. I say Merry Christmas! Then they might say,  you too or something about a holiday. I’m not celebrating a holiday, I’m celebrating the Greatest Day in History. Oh but it hasn’t always been that to me. Christmas has its great memories without doubt but nothing like the First Christmas in 1973 When I heard these words read that now had real meaning.Luke 2:11 (KJV) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

That was the first time I understood what a Saviour was. Because in April of that year I asked the Savior of mankind to save me and He did. I have been rejoying ever since. 

Look read it again “For unto you”

 second-person personal pronoun that refers to the person or people being spoken to (the addressee)

The Bible was written so that mankind could know who Jesus was and why Jesus came into this world that you and I live in. Without our Bible we would never know the full meaning. When I read that verse that reads  “For unto you” I can remove the ”you” and place my name there and so can you. The Bible tells us we can John 3:16 (KJV) 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.

Who is in this world? Is it not you and I? Sure it is therefore For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

What do you think Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? 

 

🎈There Is Only One Life; Live It Up!🥳

              To find yourself, think for yourself.

You live only once. Who told you that? Jesus told His disciples right before He was to be crucified these words “ I go to prepare a place for you. ” (John 14:2)

Then He said John 14:3 (KJV) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Live it up while you are here and you may wish you hadn’t. One life will soon be passed. Only what’s done for Christ will last. ~CT Studd~

Luke 18:29 (KJV) And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,

Luke 18:30 (KJV) Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.

Hebrews 9:27 (KJV) And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

This ain’t all, there is more to come.  Too many let others control them without even knowing it. I heard this long ago and it made a lot of sense to me. A man buys a house priced at  345,000 which will become his home for the woman he will marry and the children they will raise. The bank loans him the money at 6.75% and he pays a down payment of  12,075 he then begins to pay back the money monthly over the next 30 years at 2,619 per month for the next 30 years. He will pay back almost a million dollars way more than the bank loaned him. Now whose plan was that? Not yours! Now I know we don’t have that kind of money just laying around but if I were your friend and loaned you $100 and asked you to pay back $300 what would you think? We must be careful not to let others do our thinking for us. Bring it down on a lower level, who is telling you what type of clothes to buy, shoes to wear, vacations to take? The person at work tells you there’s no place called heaven or hell. There’s no way the Bible is true let alone the Word of God. Take their word for it and you have just let someone else do your thinking for you. Death is  very important for once it has taken place you will be done as far as this world is concerned. If you are going to believe that this life is all we have then do your own thinking. Be sure! There was a man who thought no God, no Heaven. This man was asked to prove it? He was a law student and accepted the challenge. His name was Josh McDowell and he wrote a book about his finding. You can read about what he discovered in his book “A Journey From Skepticism to Faith.” It just might change the way you think. 

Galatians 6:4 (KJV) But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

Oh to let someone else think for you is easy but is it profitable for you?

🗂️Don’t Get So Busy That You Forget😰

Love God rather than life. This will result in a love of life.

1 John 2:15 (KJV) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1 John 2:16 (KJV) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1 John 2:17 (KJV) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Here we are told not to Love the world. What is the world? Could it be the way a majority thinks? You decide we are given a definition in the next verse. (For all that is in the world) then we are given 3 things. 

1) Lust of the flesh

2) Lust of the eyes

3) The pride of life

The world is made up of the lust of the flesh and the eyes and pride of life. 🧐what does that mean?? 

The lust of the flesh is the controlling desire that tempts us to do. Have you ever been asked or heard this question? “If you could do anything you ever wanted to do, what would it be?” 

I’m sure we could all come up with an answer. Then there was the lust of the eyes. What’s the saying? 🤔Oh yes “seeing is believing.” Means that if you see something yourself, you will believe it to exist or be true. Then there was the pride of life or the consuming urge to be. If I could become…….So break it down. If a person could do anything they ever wanted to do, have anything they ever wanted to have or be anything they ever wanted to be during their lifetime you might say that this person would have gained the entire world. What does the Bible have to say about that?  Matthew 16:26 (KJV) For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

What is the gain? On one hand you have everything you could possibly think of. All those that see you will say Wow he/she has it made. On the outside it does, but then there’s the loss. What is the losing in the gaining? It’s a giving or exchanging for the soul. What is the profit if you lose? First John goes on to explain why it is a futile gain. 

1 John 2:17 (KJV) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

In Luke chapter 12 we see this come to life in the parable of the rich man. What do you think?

Luke 12:15 (KJV) And he (Jesus) said unto them,  Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

It’s not who has the most toys. In Luke chapter 12 verse  16 we read of a rich farmer whose ground brought forth plentifully. Now he has a problem his present barns were unable to store his harvest. He comes up with a plan he will pull down what he has and build greater. That was his plan. To some that might have sounded like a good plan but God called the man a fool. Why did God say that?   

Luke 12:21 (KJV) So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.  “not rich in his relationship with God." This man thought of himself.

Luke 12:17 (KJV) And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

Luke 12:18 (KJV) And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

Luke 12:19 (KJV) And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

God’s response was Luke 12:20 (KJV) But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

God didn’t care so much of what this rich framer had; it was what he missed that concerned God. God said tonight you will die. Tonight you will lose control of what you think you have; now all you have worked for will belong to someone else. You missed what was important, which was an acknowledgement of me and a relationship with me. Now What?

😍Joy 🥰

 The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.

I read a story of a man who was searching for happiness. What can or could make him happy, joyful? So he made himself a list thinking if he were to acquire these things that for sure would make him happy. Here is his list. 

First was love. If he could just find that right person that would love him for who he was he thought that would make him happy. 

Second was enjoyment if he could find that which brought joy into his life. 

Third was contentment surely love and enjoyment would help him be content. Fourth was financial prosperity. 

If these 4 things would bring happiness into our lives then I would agree why not pursue them!  Let's look at love not from a worldly view but from a biblical view. 

Do we know what love is? Many think they do but they are wrong. Have you or have you ever heard someone say “I don’t Love you anymore”? Know why they say that? Because they never knew what love was. Love is more than words spoken. I called a person I didn’t even know about a small job they wanted me to do for them. The phone rang a number of times then came the answering machine which asked me to leave a message to which I did. Now at the end of the message this person said thank you so much and I just want you to know I love you! That my friend isn’t love. The world we live in has cheapened the word love to a greeting like have a good day. The word love goes much deeper than that. To Love is to give without expecting anything in return. When I first saw my wife to be; although I didn’t know that at the time. My eye saw her and I liked what I saw, that wasn’t love that was just like. Then we went out and I liked hearing her talk but that still was love that was just talk. Then I asked her some questions about what she wanted and I liked what I heard. You might say that love was budding. Then I asked her to marry me and she said yes; oh happy day. We got married and began our journey together but real love had not fully developed. The real storms of this life had not hit us yet. How will we do when they do hit? I could spend hours writing about the storms that have rocked our world but I won’t bore you with the details. Had I never learned what real love was then our marriage would have crashed. Love is giving, never expecting anything in return. As I have written many times before, I want my wife to be happy and I give myself to her because I love her. Know what? She loves me for that. Why do I do that? Here is why. 

Ephesians 5:25 (KJV) Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Treat your wife like that and you will never hear the words “I don’t love you any more.”  Ephesians 5:28 (KJV) So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 

Loving my wife the way the Bible teaches by giving myself to her. Has given me joy and contentment as well as prosperity (gain in any thing good or desirable) in ways money could never give. 

🫱Successful Life🤝

 The best decision I ever made was about today!

Go to any Graduation and they will have the most successful student or students come to the stage. Sometimes they will have a successful person give a speech. Is that real success? Then there’s the ones who think possessions will bring happiness. My wife and I started a business. I did the work she did the book work. Our goal was to make a living not to get rich nor have great possession. After 30 years we have been successful; would we say that is success?🤔 NO! Then what is a successful life? Luke 12:15 (KJV) And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Now I am not against having nice things 

and neither is God. If not careful, nice things will have us as well as our focus. Life consists of so much more than the abundance of the things we possess. Let’s learn from one man's mistake who thought more was being successful. In Luke 12:16-23 we read of his demise.  The story in short, it’s about a farmer who had an above average harvest. His harvest was so good that his barns would not hold the harvest. He decides to get rid of his old barns and build new ones. Then he said to himself I will have enough for many years, I can eat, drink and be merry.  Many are working toward the same goal; so what happened to this man? Well first thing is God said this man was a fool. Oh no, yet he looked so successful, how could this be? Well the first thing is what he thought would bring real happiness didn’t. He forgot about today’s rule. The today’s rule? The Lord has told us about today more than once. 

Matthew 6:11 (KJV) Give us this day our daily bread.

Proverbs 27:1 (KJV) Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

2 Corinthians 6:2 (KJV) (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Today is all we have. Is it wrong to build for the future? No, we should do that without doubt.  We must keep in mind that the future we plan for may not include us, we may never get to enjoy it. God didn’t call the man a fool because he planned for the future. He was called a fool because he left God out of his future. Success is not having a more comfortable life here. Success is having a more abundant life in a place that our minds can’t even imagine. Oh, but I would like to see the beauties of this world. Me too but I know I’ll never be able to see what I would love to see here. Oh but there is a place called Heaven that puts the beauties of this world in the dark. For we are told that eye had not seen nor ear heard what has been prepared for those who love the Lord and didn’t miss that day? What day? The day of salvation. Oh what a great day that was. A good friend of mine just went there. His wife told me of his last moments here. She said he was so excited about all he was about to see. His loved ones, the small child that died that he never held. All the sights of what has been prepared. Was he scared? No, he was excited and couldn't wait. He got his whole family there and told them not to worry. He  got his grandchildren to sing as he told everyone how much he loved them and looked forward to the day they were all together again. Then he said goodbye, closed his eyes and went to the home he had prepared for. What a great way to leave this world all because he didn’t miss that important day; now is the day of salvation. As one person looked at another and said “are you all the way in or not?” You can’t go swimming without getting in the water. 

🌱Grow 🌽

 Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still. 

2 Peter 3:18 (KJV) 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.

Grow is to enlarge, to produce. When the farmer plants, what does he need to see happen? He needs to see that the seeds he planted are growing. If they grow then they will produce. The same is true with other things. We are born into this world and we are fed milk but as we grew it wasn't long before we needed more than milk. We then were fed soft foods which satisfied us for a while but like the milk we soon needed more. Then we were fed solid foods. Each step showed a growth period. This is true in everything, especially in learning. If we stop learning then we become stagnant, not active in our learning. That is why many know little or nothing about the Bible. It’s because they are having little to nothing to do with their learning process. They have let someone else do their thinking for them. I just don’t have the time to put into another project. Well learning what your Bible says should never be called a project. Church, well there are nothing but hypocrites there and I just don’t care to be around that kind of people. Sunday School, well that’s for kids. Another thing is the only thing the Pastor talked about is money. I will agree there are hypocrites there; Just like everywhere else we go and are a part of but we don’t mind being around those kinds of people then. Sunday School sure it’s for kids but every Church has an adult class and there, if you like you can raise your hand and ask adult questions. Sure the Pastor has to speak about money just like everyone else does but it’s not all the time. When I hear someone say that what they are really saying is I don’t go to Church much but when I go all they talk about is money. 

One can’t grow without participating, keep feeding your baby milk and they won’t grow. Never go to school and you will never learn math, never know what a noun, pronoun, verb or an adjective is. Your reading skills will be very low. What one needs to do is grow and we grow by understanding that’s the growing process.

Hebrews 5:13 (KJV) For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

Hebrews 5:14 (KJV) But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

How much of the Bible do you really know? Here are some questions, be honest and answer them without looking them up, for they are elementary questions.

1. How many books are in the Old Testament? 
2. Adam and Eve who were they?
3. Who built the Ark?
4. Is the book of Matthew in the Old Testament or New Testament?
5. What was the name of the apostle that denied Jesus?

How did you do? I hope very well, if not them it wouldn’t be a bad idea to attend Sunday School. Remember Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people so don’t be unprepared.