PREACHER, PREACHER, PREACHER

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Hey preacher.

Please help me.  You see I am not a very smart man.

I am just an old man living back here in the Ozark 

hills.  Why, I am so ignorant I do not even have a 

"Dr." in front of my name - what ever that means.

Preacher what I do not understand is this.  My 

impression is that your mandate is:

"Go into all the world and preach the 

gospel to all creation."

(Mark 16:15 NASB)

And it seems that the apostles and first Christians 

understood it to mean:

"And they went out and preached

everywhere,"

(Mark 16:20 NASB)

Please explain to me how,

Standing behind a pulpit,

In a building,

with the doors shut,

preaching to people who believe like you do,

Is going out and preaching the Gospel

to the whole world.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"But the mercy of the Lord is from

everlasting to everlasting upon them

that fear him, and his righteousness

unto children's children;" 

(Psalms 103:17 KJV)

HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD

The more I watch the news,
the better I like my idea.

HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD

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If you live here on earth some where, politicians have

increased your taxes, and, restricted your freedoms in

some manner.

So, let's start there.

Have every politician pay a flat fee on EVERY word

they utter.  And, it is to come out of their own pocket.  Not

the working people's wages.

There would be enough income - taxes would not be necessary.

AND, they would cut down on their hot air which causes

Global Warming, just to save them their own money, 

plus the improved air quality.

Then, jail time for every lie they tell.

It would get to where you could trust them.

That would almost be heaven here on earth.

O Well! It's just a thought.
I have a dream too.

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"If you tell the truth,

you don't have to remember

anything."

-Mark Twain

MEASURING SUCCESS

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I had just completed a project that did not work out the

way I wanted.  It seemed that all the time and effort

put into it was wasted.  I just told God that I had done

it for him, so it was up to him to use it however he wanted.

Shortly God brought something to my mind.  He does not

look at success like we do.  He then brought "the widow

and her "two mites" to my mind .   In Luke chapter 21 we 

are told how a poor widow put her "two cents" into the

offering at the temple.  And many rich people put in large

sums.  But Christ said she put in the most.

Why was her's the most?

The rich people put in what was surplus to them.  It may

have been large sums, but they could do without it.  But 

the poor widow put in everything she had.

God looks at what our gift or our effort costs us.  How

hard was it to give or do it?  It is the degree of sacrifice

on our part that he rewards.

If we have been living for God, when the time of our

rewarding comes -it is possible that some poor little

old feeble person might receive a far greater reward

than some of us who think we are doing something.

WHAT THE DOG TAUGHT ME

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Today the dog taught me a lesson.

No.  That is not the dog.  I must have left the flash off

on my camera and the dog's picture was awful.  So, I

used good old Pixabay again.

There is the most friendly old dog you ever met at

a family camp where I donate maintenance work.

I do not know what kind it is.  It is a whole lot like

a Labrador, but it's just a big old dog dog.

A short time back apparently someone shot it in a

back leg probably with a 22.  The vet would have

put it down.  But the dog was not complaining.  So

we now have a very friendly old crippled dog.

It was very unusual today, but I was the only one

on the camp grounds.  So when the old dog heard 

me at the shop, guess who showed up.  Yep, the 

crippled dog.

After loading a bunch of tools in my truck I drove

up to the Fort, perhaps a quarter of a mile away.

After working for a while I was in an upstairs 

apartment when I heard a dog whine.  You guessed

it.  That poor old crippled dog had hobbled up the 

hill just to be with me.

After finishing up at the Fort it was time to go back

to the shop.  You guessed it again.  Here came the 

old crippled dog wanting to be with me.

The lesson.

If I wanted to be with God half as much as that

old dog wanted to be with me - the devil himself

could not slow me down.

"Draw near to God and He will draw

near to you."

(James 4:8 NASB)

TODAY'S PROMISE

"So that we may boldly say,

The Lord is my helper, 

and I will not fear what man

shall do unto me."

(Hebrews 13:6)

WARNING

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WARNING

The prophecies the Holy Bible made have been coming

true right on schedule.   There have been literally hundreds

of the Bible's prophecies come true to date.

There is another that I read over just this morning - again.

When Jesus was on the way to the cross there were a lot

of women crying because of his coming death.   But he 

said to them:

"Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me,

but weep for yourselves and for your children.

For behold, the days are coming when they will

say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that

never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.'

Then they will begin to SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS, 

'FALL ON US,' AND TO THE HILLS, COVER US.'"

(Luke 23:28-30 NASB) 

O.K.

What's the big deal?

Look at our attitude toward having children today.

We are right in the middle of that time frame.

The next part is explained more fully in a another

part of the Scriptures.

"Then the kings of the earth and the great men and

the commanders and the rich and the strong and

every slave and free man hid themselves in the 

caves and among the rocks of the mountains;

and they said to the mountains  and to the rocks,

"Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him

who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the

Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come,

and who is able to stand."

(Revelation 6:15-17 NASB)  

The second part of that prophecy is when Christ

returns - which will be very soon - and he will

pour out the wrath of God on this old world.

ARE YOU READY? 

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"The history of all great characters of the Bible

is summed up in this one sentence:  They

acquainted themselves with God and acquiesced

His will in all things."

-Richard Cecil

WHAT HAPPENED TO CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP????

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I am not real smart.  I do not even have a "Dr." in front of

my name.  [That does mean "Driver" or "Drag race" doesn't

it?  Or, dry, drought etc.?]  But I do have the ability to read,

and especially observe.  Now that is where the trouble comes.

As a professed Christian reading a lot, ESPECIALLY, my 

Bible is a big part of the game.  And in it learning that I am to 

be a follower of Christ. That is what a disciple is.  One who 

follows Christ's example and teaching. 

 However, of the things Christ is teaching, only

a few are being followed.  It appears that we can pick and

chose what we want to follow.  We are happy to take the 

name "Christian" and even wear a cross on a chain [If it is 

nice and shinny].  Also, to accept all the blessing God will 

pour out on us.

But let's start at the beginning.  That is Christ himself.

You know - OUR EXAMPLE.

Jesus Christ is the very creator of the universe.  He is

the one who keeps the material universe going.  His 

glory, power and position are beyond our comprehension.

BUT,

he gave it all up to become a man and die in our place

and save our souls - if we will accept that sacrifice.

Even while here on earth he had nothing.

Christ said about himself;

"Foxes have holes, and birds have nests,

but the Son of Man has no place to lie

down and rest."

(Luke 9:58 GNT)  

Did you catch that?

Our leader.  Our teacher.  The one we are to

learn from did not even have a bed of his 

owen.  He only had the cloths on his back.

What did Christ himself say about discipleship?

"You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me

more than you love your father and mother, your

wife and children, and your brothers and sisters."

...

"You cannot be my disciple unless you carry 

your own cross and come with me.

...

"So then, you cannot be my disciple unless

you give away everything you own."

(Luke 14:26, 27. 33 GNT)

How did his first disciples, Simon, James and 

John understand this?

"The men pulled their boats up on shore.

Then they left everything and went with 

Jesus."

(Luke 5:11 GNT)

Or, how about Levi, the tax collector setting in

his office?

"Levi left everything and went with Jesus."

(Luke 5:28 GNT)

How about ourselves???

What I see does not match the example and
teaching of Christ himself.

DIVINE RETRIBUTION ????????

DIVINE RETRIBUTION ????

I'll let you decide.

Do you see the blue tarp just over the trailer?

Yesterday morning that was a window - UNTIL -

A large semi-truck went through town.  It lost a 

wheel which rolled across the yard, bounced up

and went through the window busting up an 

interior wall.

When I took this photo someone was throwing 

stuff out the back door because of the damage.

You can see the pile starting to grow just outside

the door.

This is only an opinion.  But I do not think it 

possible for even the best truck driver in the 

world to time the loss of a wheel to make a 

hole in one like that.  So I'll rule out the 

possibility of malicious intent.

Why the possibility of Devine retribution?

The next photo shows the large sign in the 

front yard of this house.  (Possibly 4'X8')

Those of us who are interested in the things

of God and the prophecies that are being 

even now fulfilled question the declaration

on the sign.  

It is true that the word "RAPTURE" is not 

even in the Holy Bible.  BUT, the event is 

clearly described a number of times.

You decide.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"The Lord is my rock and my fortress,

and my deliverer; my God, my strength,

in whom I will trust; my buckler, and 

the horn of my salvation, and my tower."

(Psalms 18:2)

PROMISES, PROMISES, PROMISES

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Hollywood, do it, do it, do it.

You keep threatening to go on a total strike.

WELL!

Do it.

That would be the best thing that could happen to 

this country.  It would be even better if you would

shut down PERIOD.

Hollywood has been a major source of moral, spiritual,

mental and physical pollution in this country for years.

Think of all the good it would do if those people went

out and got real jobs that helped people.  And this 

country had a chance to clear the air of Hollywood's

pollution and return to reality.

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"Many men owe the grandeur of their lives

to their tremendous difficulties."

-Charles H. Spurgeon

WOW!

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Many years ago, before most of you were born,
I read a newspaper article on the West Cost explaining
how a living mussel had been radiocarbon -14 dated.

I forget how many hundred years old the dating
showed.  But it was a "living thing" that only lives
about forty years.  Wow!

Somebody once said,
"Nothing ruins the truth like stretching it."

Perhaps if they radiocarbon dated me -
I would be a million years old.

That sure makes me want to trust these so-called
"scientist".  They cannot make "years", only waste
them.  So they throw them around by the million.
Perhaps if you ask them they would give you a
few thousand years.

On second thought, I think I'll put my trust in
God who makes the years to start with.

HEY! PREACHER - JUST A HINT

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Today after setting in a small congregation of believers

and listening to a young preacher spend a long, long time 

trying really, really hard to get them "saved", [It is not an 

easy task to get those who are already "saved", "saved" 

again.] a thought entered my mind.

That young man could pick up a clue from Christ

when he was talking about praying.

"...do not use meaningless repetition as 

the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they

will be heard for their many words."

(Matthew 6:7 NASB)

TODAY'S PROMISE

Jesus Christ,

Son of the living God

said:

"Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden,

and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you

and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in

heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR

SOULS.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is

light."

(Matthew 11:28-30 NASB)

WITH THE EAGLES

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This after noon after lunch while walking down the
drive way to my office I looked up and saw some
hawks soaring way up in the sky.  They had some fluffy
white clouds as a back ground making it a magnific
scene.  This drew my heart and mind out in thanks-
giving to my mighty God.

You see, just a couple of years ago I was dying.
My body had quit making blood.  I can assure
you that you have to have blood to live.  If you
don't belive me - try it.

After lots of hospital time that did not do any
thing - but plenty of prayer, God reversed things
in my body and it begin to recover.  Today I have
out lived a normal life span and continue to enjoy
the blessings and strength of God, with specific
answers to prayer every day for each need as it
comes up.

"Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary."
(Isaih 40:30,31 NASB)

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"'God is or he is not.' But to which side shall we

incline? ... Let us weigh the gain and the loss in

wagering that God is.  Let us estimate the two

chances.  If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you

lose nothing.  Wager then without hesitation that

he is."

-Blaise Pascal

SEARCHING FOR TRUTH

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TWO WAYS TO FIND THE TRUTH.

The above method can take a life time -

and still miss the truth.

The one below is quick and to the point.

COME BACK

"Come back to the Lord your God.

He is kind and full of mercy;

he is patient and keeps his promise;

he is always ready to forgive and 

not punish."

(Joel 2:13 GNT)