TRUE RICHES

"But godliness with contentment is great gain.

For we brought nothing into this world,

and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

But if we have food and clothing,

let us be therewith content.

But they that will be rich fail into temptation

and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful

lusts, which plunge men in destruction and ruin.

For the love of money is the root of all evil:

which while some coveted after, they have erred

from the faith, and pierced their hearts

through with many sorrows."

(1 Timothy 6:6-10 AKJV)

GOD'S MEMORY BANK

OOPS!

That was not supposed to be in there.

I bought a camera off ebay for a specific purpose.

While playing with it and snapping a couple of pictures

I found in it pictures of this young girl - who ever she is.

Somebody had not deleted them from memory.

Now to give credit where credit is due, 

all the pictures in memory were decent.

Also, she is a lovely young lady -

when her mouth is closed.

(It was in a few shots.)

LOOK.

She has teeth and a tongue.

Teeth to eat with and a tongue to talk with.

What more could a young girl want?

If any of you live in the Tooele, Utah area.

Thank the young lady for giving this old man a laugh

before deleting her pictures for her.

Thinking of things stored in memory.
For the last two years my wife has vacationed with the daughter
and her husband.  (I stayed home to take care of critters.)
On each of these vacations she has taken hundreds of photos.
And as a loving husband I have down loaded them all to at least
three computers for safe keeping.

The best I know, to date, she has not gone back and looked at
even one photo she took.
But, they are in memory. 

Now God has a memory also.
Call it a flash drive, memory card, memory stick, hard drive
or what ever.  His memory is worlds ahead of the memory
devices we have.

Further God tells us,
"Whatever is covered up will be uncovered,
and every secret will be made known.
So then, whatever you have said in the dark
will be heard in broad daylight, and whatever you
have whispered in private in a closed room will be 
shouted from the housetops."
(Luke 12:2,3 GNB)

OUCH!

Further,

"You can be sure that on the Judgment Day
you will have to give account of every useless word
you have ever spoken.  Your words will be used to 
judge you - to declare you either innocent or guilty."
(Matthew 12:36,37 GNB)

Nothing we do escapes God's knowledge.

But the GOOD NEWS,
God also has a delete button.
Want to know how to get Him to use it?

"But if we confess our sins to God,
he will keep his promise and do what is right:
he will forgive us our sins and purify
us from all our wrongdoing."
(1 John 1:9 GNB)

TODAY'S PROMISE

"And the work of righteousness shall be peace;
and the effect of righteousness
quietness and assurance for ever."
(Isaiah 32;17 KJV)

"The promises of the Lord can be trusted;

they are as genuine as silver refined

seven times in the furnace."

(Psalms 12:6 GNB)

1. Meditate on God's Promises.

2. Plead the Promises at the throne of Grace.

3. Act in Faith that God Will Perform His Promises.

(William Gurnall)

MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS

GOD HAS A GIFT FOR YOU.

"For God loved the world so much

that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him

may not die but have 

eternal life."

Have you accepted and opened His gift to you?

Or, have you been ignoring it?

May this be your best Christmas

ever.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

SECRETE OF RENEWED STRENGTH

"Have you not known?

Have you not heard, that the everlasting God,

the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth,

faints not, neither is weary?

there is no searching of his understanding.

He gives power to the faint;

and to them that have no might

he increases strength.

Even the youths will faint and be weary,

and the young men will utterly fall:

But those who wait upon the LORD

will renew their strength;

they will mount up with wings like eagles;

they will run, and not be weary;

and they will walk, and not faint."

(Isaiah 40:28-31 AKJV)

PRAISE THE LORD ANYWAY

About three days ago three of the neighbor's sheep got into

our yard.  And yesterday it was seven of his sheep in our yard.

Now my opinion is that sheep are neat critters.  Also the more

they eat - the less there is to mow or trim.  Cool, right?

Bring them on neighbor.

But my wife has a different opinion.  She actually spent some 

money on a bunch of plants.  Hard earned money and lots of it.

That's beyond my comprehension.  But it's a fact.

The sheep are the neighbor's.  And on that side the fence is his.

But he is a busy man.  So all I could do was say, "Yes dear.  As 

soon as I come back from the barber in the morning I'll fix the fence.

[Or something like that.]

That was yesterday.

[This is the day that the Lord has made.]

This morning early on my way to town - there were thirteen sheep 

in the yard.  Hey the day is just starting.

And were the fence needs repair there is a LARGE briar bush.

With lots and lots of thorns.

 I rode one of my motorcycles to the barber shop.  (The old back road 

one to gas it while in town.) The parking lot is on a good slope.  So

I pulled up close to the door.

When leaving I got in too big of a hurry and did not back down far

enough to get off the slope.  You guessed it.  I dumped it right there 

on the slope - on the right side.

The barber helped me get it back up.  Got it on it's kick stand to 

try starting it, but I was still on the slop.  It rolled forward off 

the stand and dumped it on the left side this time - with my left

foot pinned under it.  (Praise God for such an exciting day.)

You can see what it did to the windshield.

And this is oil all over the right side from the broken valve cover.

Hey, PRAISE GOD I was not hurt and it rode home O.K.

Even before leaving the house I had determined to spend a little more

time in the "Word" when I got back.  So after parking the bike in the 

shop I went straight into the office and started reading where I had left

off.  I read only two verses and then read,

"We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble

produces endurance, endurance brings God's approval,

and his approval creates hope."

(Romans 5:3,4 GNB)

THANK YOU JESUS FOR ALL THE ENDURANCE YOU

CREATED IN ME TODAY AND THE HOPE YOU GAVE 

ME THROUGH IT.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"The LORD loves his people

and protects those who 

belong to him."

(Deuteronomy 33:33 GNB)

"The promises of the Lord can be trusted;

they are as genuine as silver refined

seven times in the furnace."

(Psalms 12:6 GNB)

1. Meditate on God's Promises.

2. Plead the Promises at the throne of Grace.

3. Act in Faith that God Will Perform His Promises.

(William Gurnall)

TROUBLE AHEAD

Photo courtesy of:www.bigfoto.com

"For forty years the LORD led you through the desert,

and your clothes and sandals never wore out.

You did not have bread to eat

or wine or beer to drink,

but the LORD provided for your needs

in order to teach you that he is your God."

(Deuteronomy 29:5,6 GNB)

There is trouble ahead.

BIG TROUBLE.

Unless you are an ostrich with your head in the sand,

you can see the whole world crumbling around you.

And you know that things are getting worse, not better.

If you are a student of the Bible, you know that things

are going to get much worse.  Worse than the world 

has ever known.

It is a historical fact that God lead over 600,000 men

with their wives and children through the desert from

Egypt to the their promised land.

And took care of them.

It is time for us to quit trusting in ourselves,

 and put our trust in the one who can take care of us -

 Jesus Christ our creator.

KEY TO GOD'S BLESSINGS

"And the LORD heard your words,

when you spoke to me; and the LORD said to me.

I have heard the voice of the words of this people,

which they have spoken to you: 

they have well said all that they have spoken.

O that there were such an heart in them,

that they would fear me, 

and keep all my commandments always, 

that it might be well with them,

and with their children for ever!"

(Deuteronomy 5:28,29 AKJV)

RESTORED

Yes, it is only a cup.

But twenty four hours ago it was buried trash.

I was down in the bottom of a ravine cleaning up again.

After every storm or rain something else always seems to

show up.  So I was looking for any trash that might have

been missed.  You know, tin cans, bottles, beer cans etc.

Walking along searching for trash a corner of 

this little cup peeked out from under the leaves.  After

digging it out it appeared to be in tact.  So a clean up was

in order. It probably had been discarded with the trash ten to 

fifteen years ago.

After a good scrubbing and a trip through the dish washer,

you can see what I was rewarded with.

That little cup is just like a lot of our lives.

Discarded.  Thrown out with the trash.

On the trash heap of humanity.

But like I wanted to clean up that little cup,

God wants to clean up and restore us.

However, there is one difference.

That little cup is an inanimate object.

It has no will of it's own.

God gave you an I a "free will".

We have the choice.  We can turn to him

and let him restore us.

Or, we can stay on the trash heap.

"The LORD says,

'Now, let's settle the matter.

You are stained red with sin,

but I will wash you as clean as snow.

Although your stains are deep red, 

you will be as white as wool.  

If you will only obey me,

you will eat the good things the land produces.

But if you defy me,

you are doomed to die.

I, the LORD have spoken.'".

(Isaiah 1:1820 GNB)

TODAY'S PROMISE

"In my distress I cried unto the LORD,
AND HE HEARD ME."
(Psalms 120: 1 KJV
Emphasis mine)

"The promises of the Lord can be trusted;

they are as genuine as silver refined

seven times in the furnace."

(Psalms 12:6 GNB)

1. Meditate on God's Promises.

2. Plead the Promises at the throne of Grace.

3. Act in Faith that God Will Perform His Promises.

(William Gurnall)

MESSENGERS WITHOUT A MESSAGE

In the time of king David of Israel there was a man named

Ahimaaz.  His name was almost as funny as some of our names.

But his actions were much the same as ours.

A very important battle had just been won.  Ahimaaz wanted

to be the one to run and tell the king the outcome of the battle.

But some else was sent.

Ahmaaz kept insisting that he should run and tell the king.

Finally he was allowed to run with the news to the king also.

Ahmaaz out run the first runner and delivered the following

message to the king.

"Sir, when your officer Joab sent me,

I saw a great commotion,

but I couldn't tell what it was."

(2 Samuel 18:29 GNB)

Now what kind of information is that????

How informed did the king become from this message?

  

I love the ease of finding information on the internet as vs.

buying a book or card files in the library.

But I have learned something.

If you really want to learn something - stay away from forums.

Some of the people who post on the forums have no concept of

what they are talking about.  They simply want to say something.

Many others are only guessing, but also only want to say something.

And a few - very few - know what they are talking about and

have useful information.  That is, if you can be patient enough

and keep digging through the rest of the postings.

Forums have become a last resort for myself.

If you watch videos you have found much the same thing.  A

lot of the videos were made by people who do not know what

they are doing.  They just want to make a video.  I have even

seen some that have never even done the task they are trying 

to teach you about.

Should we even mention Facebook and the stupidity that is

posted daily there?   

Yes, there are some good posts even on Facebook. 

But you will have a warped mind by the time you get to it.

Those of us that try to blog are sure that blogging is much
different.  Isn't it? 

Should we leave the use of these things alone?

"You can be sure that on the Judgment Day you will

have to give account of every useless word you have ever

spoken.  Your words will be used to judge you - to declare

you either innocent or guilty."

(Matthew 12:36,37 GNB)

OUR TRUE PURPOSE IN LIFE

"I will exalt you, my God,

O king; and I will bless your name

for ever and ever.

Every day will I bless you;

and I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Great is the LORD, 

and greatly to be praised;

and his greatness is unsearchable."

(Psalms 145:1-3 AKJV)

BRAIN DEAD

Have you ever wondered why people do the things they do?

It is simple.  

On their part there is no thinking.  No thoughts.

Have you ever seen a thought?

Of course not.

Even with your best pair of glasses on you cannot see a thought.

You cannot see a thought with binoculars or a magnifying glass.

In fact, you cannot take a picture of a thought.  Try it.

Scientist using the very best microscope or telescope have never

seen a thought.

So, thoughts are simply a myth, fable or legend.

Ask your friends if they have ever seen one of your thoughts.

If there were such a thing as "thoughts", certainly you could

measure them, or weight them.

How deep or wide is a thought?  You do not know because

there are no thoughts to measure.

Pressure and vacuum gauges cannot measure thoughts, because

thoughts are nonexistent.

Testing so far only shows that thing we call a brain is simply

a vacuum chamber.

Get out your ohm meter.

Your volt meter.

Or your amp meter and measure a thought.

Can't do it can you.

Because there is not such thing as a thought.

You might hear your stomach growl.
Or one of your joints pop.
But no one can hear your thoughts because there are none.

So what do we do when someone's action seem to indicate
they may have given thought to something.

Simple.
We do what "scientist" do.
We create a hypothesis that suits our thinking.
Then spend the rest of our life trying to prove it.

Speaking of things we cannot see, touch or measure
with all our fancy test equipment;

"Fools say to themselves,
'There is no God!'"
(Psalms 14:1 GNB)

TODAY'S PROMISE

"Great peace have they which love your law:
and nothing shall offend them."
(Psalms 119:165 AKJV)

"The promises of the Lord can be trusted;

they are as genuine as silver refined

seven times in the furnace."

(Psalms 12:6 GNB)

1. Meditate on God's Promises.

2. Plead the Promises at the throne of Grace.

3. Act in Faith that God Will Perform His Promises.

(William Gurnall)

STRENGTH FOR THE DAY

"but they who wait for the Lord
shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint."
(Isaiah 40:31 RSV)

It has always seemed to me that the Lord did this backward.
He has a descending order.  And we humans want an ascending order.
You know.
Crawl, walk, run.
Up, up and away.

Years ago Armin Gesswein coined an expression
regarding this portion of Scripture that helps me.
He said this is the three speed Christian.

As a retired auto mechanic and ex car nut -
that speaks to me.

If you are over forty years of age.
you know that all of life is not soaring on clouds
nine to thirteen.

Photo courtesy of: www.bigfoto.com

Whether you are a Christian or not,

there are high points in life.  Mountain top experiences.

Few and far between.  But they are not life.

Most of life is more;

Another day, another dollar.

Ho hum.  Or as some used to say,

"Same O, same O."

Or just plain old boring.

Just another boring highway.

Photo courtesy of: www.bigfoto.com

And by now most of us know that the road of life can be much 

worse than this Australian outback road.  In some parts of our 

area, that looks like a super highway.

Photo courtesy of: www.bigfoto.com

Life often is more of a steep climb with a heavy backpack.

An uphill experience that requires a lower gear than out vehicle has.

So, how do we get this "renewed strength" for today?

The Scriptures say to "wait" on the Lord.  

Some versions say, "trust in" or "hope in" the Lord.

But to myself the help comes from dear old brother 

James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D.  He says this comes from 

the Hebrew word "qavah". [Now that's Greek to me.]

And that it is "a prim. root, to bind together

(perh. by twisting), ..."

Waiting on the Lord for strength is not sitting on a park

bench waiting for help.  That could be part of it.  But

waiting on the Lord is binding myself to the Lord.

Involving God in my life to the point that his life and

mine are twisted together as one.

When my "rope of life" consists of several strands,

God the Father,

God the Son,

God the Holy Spirit

and me.

My rope will have all the strength I need

and, the Devil himself cannot break it.

"Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.

Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and 

purify your hearts, you men of double mind."

(James 4:8 RSV)

ROUTINE, RITUAL OR WORSHIP?

God through the prophet Isaiah said to the people of that day,

"Because this people draw near to me with their mouth,

and with their lips honor me,

but their hearts are far from me,

and their fear of me is taught

by the precept of men: ...."

(Isaiah 29:13 AKJV)

And Jesus Christ said of the people of his day,

"This people draw near to me with their mouth,

and honor me with their lips;

but their heart is far from me.

In vain they worship me,

teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

(Matthew 15:8,9 AKJV)

What would God say about you and I today?

WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO?

This girl here,

was sitting at her computer down in the corner by the little

window.  And I was sitting arms length away at my computer,

the big one with the big screen.  We were each doing our

 own thing on our computers.

When "that" girl emailed me to tell me she was hungry and

wanted a snack.

What happened to talking.  You know, communication.

How will we converse if the electricity goes off?

Come quickly Lord Jesus.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"Blessed are the undefiled in the way,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
Blessed are they that keep his testimonies,
and that seek him with the whole heart."
(Psalms 119:1,2 KJV)

"The promises of the Lord can be trusted;

they are as genuine as silver refined

seven times in the furnace."

(Psalms 12:6 GNB)

1. Meditate on God's Promises.

2. Plead the Promises at the throne of Grace.

3. Act in Faith that God Will Perform His Promises.

(William Gurnall)

BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS

"But as for you,

Christ has poured out his Spirit on you.

As long as his Spirit remains in you,

you do not need anyone to teach you.

For his Spirit teaches you about everything,

and what he teaches is true, not false.

Obey the Spirit's teaching, then

and remain in union with Christ."

(1 John 1:27 GNB)

Books, books and more books.

I LOVE BOOKS.

Over the years there have been two things I could not pass up.

Books and tools.

I have had hundreds of books.

Most of these books have been either spiritual in content,

or instructional.

[You think I should have read more of them.  I probably should have!]

One of these books - EXPERIENCING THE DEPTHS OF 

JESUS CHRIST - by Jeanne Guyon

has a thought I want to look into more deeply

and pass on to you.

One of her chapters is written for illiterates, 

people who cannot read.

That's right.  She wrote a chapter for people who cannot read.

She intended that someone who could read, would read it to 

someone who could not read.

The essence of that chapter is, 

you do not need to suffer spiritually because you cannot read.

On page fifteen she says,

"The first thing you must learn, dear friend,

is that 'the kingdom of God is within you.'

(Luke 17:21)

"Never look for the kingdom anywhere but there,

within.  Once you have realized that the kingdom of God is

within you and can be found there, just come to the Lord."

The apostle Paul seems to concur with this,

that is, if you are a "real" Christian and 

the Spirit of God is in you.

"But you do not live as your human nature tells you to:

instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to -

if, in fact, God's Spirit lives in you.

Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ

 does not belong to him."

(Romans 8:9 GNB)

"Surely you know that you are God's temple

and that God's Spirit lives in you!

.... For God's" temple is holy, and you

yourselves are his temple."

(1 Corinthians 3:16, 17 GNB)

"Don't you know that your body is the temple

of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you

and who was given to you by God?"

(1 Corinthians 6:19 GNB)

Is it possible that those of us who love books

may be looking the wrong place for our guidance.

That is, other people rather than the "Spirit" that 

is within us.

Of course, if it is not God's Spirit in us,

we are in trouble anyway and would only

be mislead further.

Books are good.

But are books causing us to miss the best?

"My child, there is something else to watch out for.

There is no end to the writing of books,

and too much study will wear you out."

(Ecclesiastes 12:12 GNB)