TODAY'S QUOTE

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"I would rather walk with God in the dark

than go alone in the light."    

-Mary Gardiner Brainard

REST VS. INSANITY

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Why on earth should I turn to God and 

enjoy rest, quietness and strength, when

I could ignore him and go crazy?

"For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,

has said,

'In repentance and rest you will be saved,

In quietness and trust is your strength.'

But you were not willing,"

(Isaiah 30:15 NASB)  

WE PREFER FAKE NEWS

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Why is it that we prefer "fake news"?

If we go to the doctor, of course we prefer a "good report".

But, if we are sick and/or hurting, we want the truth.  We

need to know what is wrong and how to cure it.

But when it comes to our lives - that is, our spiritual

lives.  The hart, the mind, the soul.  That which is going

to exist for ever - we want "fake news".

We are like the Israelites of old;

"Who say to the seers, 

'You must not see visions';

And to the prophets, 'You must not prophesy 

to us what is right,

Speak to us pleasant words,

Prophesy illusions'."

(Isaiah 30:10 NASB)  

I may not like the medicine,

but if I do not align myself with God 

and his instructions.  I am headed for 

sure destruction.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"My son, do not forget my teaching,

But let your heart keep my commandments;

For length of days and years of life

And peace they will add to you."

(Proverbs 3:1,2 NASB)

LEARNING FROM A CAT

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My wife has a cat.
Let me emphasize, it's the wife's.

Many years ago I gave up holding it.
The hair in my lap and the claws in my legs
were simply too much.

But, it still hangs around with me for some reason.
Well, I know the reason just like you do.  It wants
to trip me when I walk.

Now that cat knows my movements around the house
almost better than I do.  For example, when it hears me
slid my cup off the ceramic coaster. it gets up, stretches,
and starts walking in front of me to the coffee pot.

That cat knows me so well it can almost read my mind.

I should be that way with God himself.
He created me.  He loves me.  He died for me.
He calls to me.

But, no.  He has to knock me down so I will
look up.  He has to force me into circumstances
that I cannot handle so I have to cry out to him
for help.

I need to spend a lot more time at the feet
of Jesus Christ.

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way which
you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no
understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you."
(Psalms 32:8,9 NASB)

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"Have courage for the great sorrows of

life and patience for the small ones.

And when you have laboriously

accomplished your daily task, go to

sleep in peace.  God is awake."

-Victor Hugo

KIDS - GOD'S KIDS

KIDS.  

Don't you just love them?

Well, that is when you don't want to strangle them.

I am in my "second childhood" now.  So perhaps I 

understand them better.  If that is possible.  But it 

makes me wonder how much like them I am.

The girl above is one of my GREAT granddaughters.

During the period of time above that little girl could have

gotten me to do anything for her.  But not now.  She is 

a teenager now.

What is the point?

See the little rabbit she is holding?

When she came to this old grandpa wanting a rabbit,

I knew that I would end up taking care of it for the 

rest of it's life.

Believe it or not, that is exactly what happened.

But, give the little girl credit.  She probably took care

of it for most of a week.

As a "kings kid", that is a child of God I wonder how

much like that I am.  Starting with a lot of enthusiasm,

but ending up doing lots of other things.  You know,

things for me.

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, 

be steadfast, immovable, always

abounding in the work of the Lord,

knowing that your toil is not in vain

in the Lord."  

(1 Corinthians 15:58 NASB) 

LET'S GO SHOPPING

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"I have more than I can ever use.

That is why the next time I go shopping

for even more, I can be selective in my 

shopping."

We have never heard it stated this way.

But it is demonstrated nearly every day.

Some old English proverbs say:

1. "wast not, want not."

2. "a penny saved is a penny earned.

3. "a fool and his money are soon parted.

JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABAOUT. 

TODAY'S PROMISE

"My little children, I am writing these things to you

so that you may not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have

and Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not

for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."  

(1 John 2:1,2 NASB)  

COME

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When God came down to earth in the form of

man - Jesus Christ - He did not bring with him

a long list of rules for us to learn.  Nor did He 

have a list of traditions, or rituals to keep.

BUT,  

He simply said,

"Come to me,"

I love that.

Simply an invitation to come to Him.

"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)  

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"A holy life will produce the deepest

impression.  Lighthouses blow no horns;

they only shine."

-D. L. Moody

END OF AN ERA

THE END OF AN ERA

I am eighty three years old.  So the end of my motorcycle

riding days would be coming soon.  I wanted to get at least

a few years more riding in.  But, my insurance company

changed my mind.

I have been with this company for seventeen years.  No claims

and no problems.  But I am getting older and possibly they have

checked into my recent health history.  That is O.K.  I do not try

to hide any thing.  I always give the doctors permission to share

my records with any one.

But, last week when I went to pay my annual premium on the 

motorcycles,  it had jumped about 800%.  As an old retired man

I simply am not going to pay that much for just a little fun.

You know what that meant.

So, before the insurance expired I decided to ride my old

rat bike over to the sale for "one last ride."  That is the 

one with the hat on the sissy bar.

Now this is not a good time of the year to sell a motorcycle.

The best time would be in spring or early summer.  And the

motorcycle, though in good shape, is getting real old.  Plus

it is like a work bike, not a shinny chrome trophy.  So the

prospects of selling it were not good.

But, I have learned to pray about things like that.  

As you guessed, hardly anybody looked at the bike.

Instead they looked at jars, wore out tillers, junk 

furniture etc.  So all I could do was sit there and pray.

Praise God.

God is not limited by my circumstances.

When the bidding got started it went very slow,

BUT, there was a man there on a cell phone

bidding for a man that was not even there.

The buyer who was not even there, bought it for

enough to make me happy and keep me praising God.

AGAIN,

PRAISE GOD.

JOY, JOY, JOY

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JOY.  

Joy, true joy.

There is so little of it today.

Oh there is a lot of momentary pleasure.

But it generally is gone in the morning.

But mostly we have; fear, concerns, anxieties, pain

and jealousy.   And no wonder with the mess that the

world is in today.  My friend, it is only going to get

worse.

But for true lasting joy, are we looking in the right place?

For a joy that is deep down in us and lasting.  Not dependent

on someone else.  Not on something that is temporary out of 

a bottle or a pill or a smoke.  Nor something we try to hype

up and lasts only as long as we can keep fooling ourselves.

True joy is found only from the one who gives us life anyway.

That is God Himself.  His word "The Holy Bible" has a lot to

say about joy.  The subject is brought up about two hundred

times in the Scriptures.

When Jesus Christ was talking with his disciples about abiding

in him - that is; to dwell with, reside with, live with or stay in

relationship with Christ - and obeying his commands he said,

"These things I have spoken to you so that 

My joy may be in you, and that your joy

may be made full." 

(John 15:11 NASB)  

If you want true, deep, lasting joy -

get acquainted with Jesus Christ 

the source of joy and life it's self.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"This is good and acceptable in the sight of God 

our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and

to come to the knowledge of the truth.  For there 

is one God, and one mediator also between God

and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself

as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the 

proper time."

(1 Timothy 2:3-6 NASB)  

TODAYS QUOTE

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"Lord, the task is impossible for me but

not for Thee.  Lead the way and I will

follow.  Why should I fear?  I am on a

royal mission.  I am in the service of the

King of kings."

- Mary Slessor 

GET MORE STUFF

GET MORE STUFF

Buy more, beg for more, collect more but any way you 

can get all the things you can.  You see, there is a 

distinct advantage to having lots and lots of "stuff".

Let me explain.

I first noticed the advantage to having a lot of things with my

wife's plants.  She has to water and care for them every once

in a while.  And, some of those neat plants have to be brought

into the house during the winter.  Then taken back out in the 

spring.

This of course gives her added work every few days.

Nice, right?

Ouch!

The photo below is from my shop.

I have more motorcycles than I can ride at one time.

But that is O.K.  Even if they might not be running

I can pay personal property taxes on them.  Pay license

and insurance fees.  And even better, pay for any repairs

they need.

Oh!, the joy of having lots of "stuff".

And most of the things we get have to be "stored" some

where.  Isn't that thrilling?

We have relatives that have several pieces of property

scattered around.  They get to pay taxes, repairs and

maintenance fees on a regular basis.  Guess what?

It has become a real burden to them.

Here is a fact that most of us seem to forget.

"But godliness actually is a means of great gain

when accompanied by contentment.  For we have

brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take

anything out of it either.  If we have food and covering,

with these we shall be content.  But those who want to

get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many 

foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into

ruin and destruction."

(1 Timothy 6:6-9 NASB)

Have I learned anything from this.

YES! 

I have already hauled off several truck loads of "stuff"

to the sale.  And have given more away.  You guessed

it.  I have more free time on my hands and live just as

well - if not better than before.

One other thing.

This coming week end

even the motorcycles go up for sale.

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"God may allow His servant to succeed

when He has disciplined him to a point

where he does not need to succeed to be

happy.  The man who is elated by success

and is cast down by failure is still a carnal

man.  At best his fruit will have a worm in

it."

-A. W. Tozer

NEED A BOOST

Being an old man I was running "out of steam"

one after noon.  However, I still had a lot of work I

wanted to do that day and a boost would be good.

Then I remembered that at one time my wife had

kept some of those "energy drinks" in the refrigerator.

You bet.  There was still one of them in there.  Never

in my life had I ever tried one of "those things".

It tasted pretty good for a cold drink.  And I began

to feel better shortly.  In fact I was "flying high" for 

about four hours and still wanted to keep on working.

But like so many things it has it's side effects.

Of course the side effects vary for different people.

But for this old man, I think I'll go on through life

without that temporary boost of a "energy drink."

To me it is not worth the side effects.

But do you want an added boost with only good

side effects?

If you want an effective boost in life that lasts

get into an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

Not only will it be of value in this life, but in the 

life to come.  AND, we have added power when

we let his Spirit, the Holy Spirit take control of 

our life.

NO PURPOSE

No body but a daughter would send something

like this to a father, because that is what daughters

are for.  You know, just because.

Love her lots anyway.

But have you ever felt that is what life is like? 

"WHAT'S THE PURPOSE?"

"WHY DO I EXIST?"

We go through life worrying about what

am I going to eat? What am I going to 

drink?   What am I going to wear?

Is that all there is to life?

Believe it or not, Jesus Christ who gives

you life and breath wants to worry about 

those things for you.  His instruction to you is;

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,

and all these things will be added to you."

(Matthew 6:33 NASB) 

Simple enough.

Become His subject or a citizen in His kingdom.

Then seek his way of living.

You then will have purpose in life, AND 

you can let Jesus Christ do your worrying

for you.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"In this is love, not that we loved God,
but that He loved us and sent His Son
to be the propitiation for our sins."
(1 John 4:10 NASB) 

WHEN SHE PUTS HER FACE ON

"Put on my face"

That is a statement I have heard a number of times.
Generally by a woman, I think.  You know, "I have
to go put my face on."

I have never had the courage go watch and see what
it is that happens - or why.  What does it mean?
And why do they do it?

Do they do it to hide their identity, like hide behind
a mask?  Or perhaps just to confuse us fellows?
Or is it a mood thing?

And, is putting on their face something like hanging
wall paper?  Or is done with a paint brush or roller?

Now I have seen faces with so much stuff on them
it makes me think it is done with a putty knife just
like a man would put "bondo" on a car fender to
hide a wrinkle or a dent.

[In those cases I do not know whether to laugh
out loud, or cry.]

Or, do they make a selection from a "Facebook"
of the face they want for that day.

Have you made your choice of face for the day yet?

AND THE WINNER IS,

Sorry.

The temptation to do something like

this was just too much.

But I would offer you a thought.

The Scriptures say;

"A joyful heart makes a cheerful face,

But when the heart is sad, 

the spirit is broken."

(Proverbs 15:13 NASB)  

Perhaps it would be better to forget

about paint and goo to put on the face.

But instead to work on the attitude of 

the heart.

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"The secret of my success?  It is simple.

It is found in the Bible, 'In all thy ways

acknowledge Him and He shall direct

thy paths."

-George Washington Carver

THE POWER OF UNBELIEF

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I have noticed a strange thing in life.  It first came to my

attention reading about the life of Jesus Christ.  Notice

how the more the proof, the greater the resistance of the

unbeliever.

You first see Christ turn water into wine.  Then you see

the sick healed by the hundreds just by his word or the

touch of his hands.  All of this of course is met with

resistance from the Religious leaders of his day.

It continues.  He walks on water.  He stills the storm

telling the weather what to do.  And it comes to a final

head when he raises to life a man who had been dead

and buried for four days.

That is when the Religious leaders decide that it is 

necessary to kill Jesus.

It is no different today.

It seems that the more the archaeologist dig up 

to prove the historical accuracy of the Bible,

and the more that "true" science proves the 

statements of the Bible.  The louder the unbelievers

yell trying to drown out the truth.

Truly the fool has said,

"There is no God".