TODAY'S QUOTE

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"When we believe that God is Father, we also believe

that such a Father's hand will never cause His child

a needless tear.  We may not understand life any bet-

ter, but we will not resent life any longer."  

-William Barclay

WARPED VALUES

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WARPED VALUES.

I just read on the internet how a woman vows to teach

her youngest child how to properly open packages

and boxes so it will be unnecessary to use zip lock bags. 

Her concern is not adding plastic to the environment.

Now that is a noble vow.  We have far too much 

human trash in the environment now.

BUT, BUT, BUT.

I also happen to know this woman and her family quit

well.  There is also an older sibling.  And the older sibling,

well simply put, is a lier and a thief to the point most of us

simply do not want them around.  [A point you will understand,

this is one of those "Mamma's little darling can do

no wrong".]

Would it not be better to spend some time teaching these

kids (children) some morals and ethics?  With a good 

moral or ethical grounding the kid is going to have some

concern about other people and the environment they

live in.

Is it any wonder that the whole world is turned upside

down?

TODAY'S PROMISE

"Therefor dear brothers and sisters, you

have no obligation to do what your sinful

nature urges you to do.  For if you live by

its dictates, you will die.  But if through the

power of the Spirit you put to death the 

deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.  

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are

 children of God."

(Romans 8:12-14 NLT)  

THE WAY THEY WALK

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You have noticed it to.  The way he/she/it walks tells

you what it is.  For example, in the distance you see an

animal but you do not know if it is a dog or something

else.  When it starts to walk, trot or run, you know that

it is a fox.   Because that is the way a fox walks or runs.

You see a very small animal where you cannot get a good

look at it.  When it moves, if it hops, it's a rabbit. etc.

In this day and age it often is difficult to tell whether a

person walking down the side walk is a male or female.

But if you will observe for a little bit you usually can

tell if it's a male or female because there is just something

different about the way they walk.

I am finding a lot of confusion about people today.

In days past the way some people walked, i.e. lived,

and talked did not match up.  Or we would say that 

their walk did not match their talk.   They talked a 

real good story.  But their life showed and entirely 

different story.

I am not a real social person.  I have a few good solid

friends and am content with that.  But lately I have 

been involved in the so called social media, i.e., Facebook

in particular.  Wow!  What an eye opener.  It seems that

there are a lot of people out there that can talk a real good

talk.  They will say something, or share a post that could

have came right out of the Holy Bible it's self.

Then the next six posts from the same person could have

come right out of the pit of Hell it's self.

Jesus Christ said,

"For whatever is in your heart determines

what you say"  

(Matthew 12:34 NLT)  

 Now which talk or walk am I to believe?

Something seems hypocritical in this.

I suppose the answer is found the Holy Bible.

Be patient with me.  I will include a long portion

of Scripture to make my point.  See if you do not think

these are the days we are living in.  The last sentence

is really the one I am after so I will capitalize it.

"You should know this, Timothy, that in the last

days there will be very difficult times.  For people

will love only themselves and their money.  They

will consider nothing sacred.  They will be unloving

and unforgiving; they will slander others and have

no self-control.  They will be cruel and hate what

is good.  They will betray their friends, be reckless,

be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather 

than God.  THEY WILL ACT RELIGIOUS, BUT

THEY WILL REJECT THE POWER THAT 

COULD MAKE THEM GODLY."

(2 Timothy 3:1 - 5 NLT)   

With God's help I want to seek the power from

Him to live a "godly" life and walk the walk that 

would match  a godly talk.

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"I am not what I ought to be.

I am not what I want to be.

I am not what I hope to be.

But still, I am not what I used to be. 

And by the grace of God,

I am what I am."

  

- John Newton

THE CAT

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One of the things my wife does is pet sit.  It works well

for her and pays well also.  For about the last week she

has been taking care of an elderly lady's cats.  In this case

the wife just drops by once a day and takes care of all the

cat needs.

Earlier this week my wife stopped by to take care of the

cats as we were on our way to a funeral.  The old lady

lives in a large expensive house in a gated community.

One of the things that got my attention was that there was

lots of room in the house.  It was vary spacious.  Not packed

with furniture or filled with all kinds of stuff.  Just very 

simple.  I loved it.

In the process of getting me in [and out of her way] we

accidentally left the kitchen door open to the garage and

one of the garage doors was up about eight or ten inches.

The lady has six cats and a number of them had found their

way into the garage.  But one of the cats could not be located.

My wife has hunted for that cat for four days now.  All to

no avail.  We both have been praying over the matter.  It

is a serious matter to us to take care of peoples pets and 

then loose them.  So a lot of prayer and hunting has gone

into finding that cat.

My wife left a note of apology to the lady who was to 

come home today.  The elderly lady called my wife to

tell her she was home and ALL of the cats were there.

We do not know if that cat was hiding on a chandelier,

or if God opened the front door and pushed it in.  But as 

far as we are concerned, God answered our prayers.

PRAISE GOD FOR RETURNING A CAT.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"The LORD keeps you from all harm

and watches over your life.

The LORD keeps watch over you as

you come and go,

both now and forever."  

(Psalms 121:7,8 NLT)

GOD'S FORMULA FOR HAPPINESS

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"Happy are those who reject the advice of evil 

people, who do not follow the example of sinners 

or join those who have no use for God.

Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the 

LORD, and they study it day and night.

They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear

 fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up.

They succeed in everything they do.

But evil people are not like this at all; they are 

like straw that the wind blows away.

Sinners will be condemned by God and kept 

apart from God's own people.

"The righteous are guided and protected by the LORD, 

but the evil are on the way to their doom."

(Psalms chapter one GNT)  

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"If thou wilt profit by reading of Scripture,

read meekly, simply and faithfully, and never

desire to have thereby the name of cunning."

- Thomas A. Kempis

TESTING

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After a long life I have made up my mind that life it's self

is made of simply one problem after another.  In fact when

things go too well, or smooth for a while - I wonder what is

wrong.

Right off I have to admit that God has always pulled me 

through one way or another.   But here I am again with 

a bunch of problems facing me.  No, I am not worried 

about it because ultimately God will work them out.

But, why can't I have a rest from them now that I am

an old man.  Has there not been enough problems?

I was reading in my Bible this morning in several different

places and three different passages hit me between the 

eyes.  Let me share them with you first, then a word

of encouragement.

"And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations,

knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance:

and perseverance, proven character, ..."

(Romans 8:3,4 NASB)   

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you

encounter various trials knowing that the 

testing of your faith produces endurance."

(James 1:2,3 NASB)   

"We count those blessed who have endured.

You have heard of the endurance of Job and

have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings,

that the Lord is full of compassion and is 

merciful."

(James 5:11 NASB)   

Now if I did not have a relationship with Jesus 

Christ, these problems might be an effort to make

me get my mind off of my abilities and look to him

for help.  A lot of us will not turn to God until we

are knocked down and can only look up.  Then the

problems are still a blessing.

But I have been walking with God a long time.

[True, not near as close as I should.]  so why do

I still have problems.  The above Scriptures make

it clear that they are to help me endure, to strengthen

me and help me become stronger in my life with

God.  All through life God gives me problems to 

develop me into the person he wants me to be.

For this I should PRAISE GOD.

But consider one more fact.  It is true only of those

who love God.

"And we know that God causes all things to 

work together for good to those who love God,

to those who are called according to His purpose."

(Romas 8:28 NASB)   

There you have it.  If I love God, EVERY problem

that comes my way ultimately works for my good.

NOW HOW CAN YOU BEAT THAT?

TODAY'S PROMISE

"Know therefore that the LORD your God,

He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His

covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth

generation with those who love Him and keep

His commandments;"   

(Deuteronomy 7:9 NASB)

SEARCH ME

A short time back I decided to convert a garlic bed to

a kale bed.  I took a tiller and went through the bed

very carefully and took out all the garlic I could find.

I have been delayed a few weeks from planting the

kale, and it also rained.  Guess what.  A few days ago

I noticed garlic sprouting up all over the bed.

The bucket full of small garlic in the above image is

what I had to dig out - AGAIN.

But, while digging the "fresh" batch of garlic a 

Scripture went through my mind.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

And see if there be any hurtful way in me,

And lead me in the everlasting way."

(Psalms 139:23,24 NASB)  

I could not help but think that if I ask God

to search me the way the Psalmist did, He would

find more stuff in me than I was finding in that

garden bed.

Frankly, I do not have the "guts" to ask God to

search me out.  I am afraid that He would find 

more than I could handle.

But, on the other hand.   The "Psalm" above was

written by King David.  And you remember that 

David was king because "he was a man after God's

own heart".  David was asking God to show him the

stuff that was in him that was displeasing to God.

Perhaps I should ask God to show me what is 

displeasing to Him in me.  It certainly would 

improve my relationship with Him.

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"Forgiving means to pardon the unpardonable,

Faith means believing the unbelievable,

And hoping means to hope when things

are hopeless."

- G.K. Chesterton

BROKEN HEARTED

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When you get as old as I am, you know that more

than once in life, you are going to be broken hearted

over something or other.  Like it or not.

I have been involved some in that social media called

FaceBook.  One of the outstanding things I notice is,

the large number of people that are broken hearted and

spend most of their time whining and complaining.

It seems to be a common thing among humanity.

Is there help?  You bet there is.

I have learned that God in heaven above truly cares

when I am hurting.  I can take my broken heart to 

him and cry on his shoulder about ANYTHING.

He gives me comfort and works things out for my

good.  It may not be over night.  But in his own good

time.

Consider first His promises regarding a broken heart.

"The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

And saves those who are crushed in spirit."

(Psalms 34:18 NASB) 

"The LORD..........
He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds."
(Psalms 147:3 NASB) 

And one that is of particular interest to my self is
found in the book of Isaiah.  The reason is, that it
is a prophecy about the coming of Jesus Christ into
the world and his purpose or reason for coming.

It starts right off:

"The Spirit of the LORD GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the afflicted;
HE HAS SENT ME TO BIND UP THE 
BROKENHEARTED."
(Isaiah 61:1 [caps mine] NASB) 

Got a broken heart, or a problem to big for
your self.  Consider the invitation that
Jesus Christ himself gave.

"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)

Got a problem?
Take it to Jesus Christ.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"Trust in the LORD and do good;

Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the LORD;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it."

(Psalms 37:3-5 NASB)

LOST AND FOUND

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Over the years I have learned to rely on pray a lot.

I have had literally dozens of answers to pray.  Far

too many to be merely chance or luck.

Yesterday I was working on a small carburetor off

of a weedeater or string trimmer or what ever you

chose to call it.  It was about one third the size of

the carburetor pictured above.  It has a extremely

small needle valve hooked to a very small lever

with a extremely small spring under the lever.

The parts were so small that I was working 

with a pair of tweezers.  You of course know

what happened.  The spring flew out from under

the lever and went to who knows where.  I did

see the direction it went, and that was all.

After hunting for a while I again resorted to

praying.  Shortly the Lord helped me to find

the little spring.  So the process started all 

over again.

You guessed it.  The spring flew out again and

I did not even see what direction it went.  So,

I hunted all over the bench and the floor.  Even

getting a light out to be able to inspect things

more closely.  No luck.

Finally I just prayed that God would help me

to see it while I went on working at another 

project there on the same bench.  So after working

a while at the other project, then going to lunch etc.

I resumed working on the other project.

It was easier for me to work on these small

projects on the bench while sitting on a stool.

When after a while I "just happened" to look

down at the floor.  And there right between

my feet was that small spring.

You know that I was thanking God again.

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"The Gateway to Christianity is not through an

intricate labyrinth of dogma, but by a simple 

belief in the person of Christ."

-William Lyon Phelps