PHOTOGR THINKS

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-12-23T22:19:00.000-08:00

This is the time of the year where we are totally involved in finding that perfect gift for our family and friends through the maddening rush of shoppers equally focused of finding that perfect gift. I too was in that crowd but I also realize the real meaning of Christmas and what God did for us all.

I am sure all have heard and read of the story many times over the years of Jesus' birth on a day that changed religious history. Jesus wasn't born to rebel and over throw oppressive rulers to save His people. He came to spread peace, love, and sacrifice Himself for our sins as our saviour.

With this in mind, I reflect in the ramnifications of this historical event over two thousand years ago as a gift of love from God to those who believe in Him. Perhaps this is where the pagan ritual of gift giving began. Irregardless, this is the time of the year we all wish for peace on earth in trying times where it seems there is no peace on earth. However, I don't think there will ever be a peace in that respect.

The real peace does not come from government intervention, wars ending, or human intervention. That peace is short lived untill another incident overshadows that incident. The lasting peace comes from with in one's heart and soul combined with a lasting relationship with God and His guidance. There is also another gift from God that any one can receive by only believing in Jesus as their saviour and accepting Him into their lives.

Merry Christmas to all and Peace.

SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT, PART 2

2011-10-02T16:21:00.001-07:00

Here we are two months into the bacterial infection of the liver. Still there but not as severe as before. The doctors still do not know what cause the infection. I was put on Intravenous injections daily for the last 8 weeks to reduce the abscesses and infection. Don't know what is taking so long to clear up this malady but it is slowly clearing up. Much too slow for my liking.

It is to the point now considering I have been on the IV antibiotics this long, I am beginning to see some adverse side effects. (intermittent loss of balance, blood blockages in the "Pick Tubes", wore out feeling at the end of the day, Passing blood, and some kidney issues). Consultation with the Doctors insist I must stay on the antibiotic for another week in order to completely eliminate the infection. The side effects are minimal in their opinion considering the work the antibiotic is doing. At this point, I would have to think surgery may have been a better option and much cheaper than daily infusions at the hospital.

Although a bit in a griping mode ( actually more than a bit), I am still thankful for the results now considering what might have been the diagnostics that the Doctors first though it was ( Cancer of the Liver).

Every day I go to the infusion center for my injection and I see others there with more severe life threatening diseases getting their injections. Some are diagnose with cancer, others blood disorders, and some with lung or other diseases. Actually I have no room to gripe with my minor side effects but I do thinking I may be worse than they are letting on. Paranoia setting in I think. Wonder if hallucinations are a side effect from the antibiotics?

Each day I am there I look at the others there wondering if they have a relationship with God. I don't go around preaching to the other patients but do try to have a conversation and let my faith pop up in the conversation should they have a need. Some are definitely terminal and I pray for their salvation.

One of the nurses knows of my faith and has come around asking more about God so we do have a good converstaion frequently when time allows and others can over hear what we are talking about. Perhaps other will open up to accept God too as time goes by.

Perhaps this is where God has led me for my new challenge in reaching out to others in need. Only time will tell.

More to follow in part 3.

SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT, PART ONE.

2011-07-30T17:54:00.000-07:00

I realized some thing is different the weekend of July 16th. I was a little tired and naturally hot due to the weather so I stayed in and kept cool despite feeling a bit off balance and having constant sweats. I just figured I just had a little heat exhaustion and drank plenty of liquids. Nothing seemed to help. By Monday the 18th I was still feeling bad and called in sick. By that afternoon, I was getting worse and started to have high temperatures ( 104 degrees). The wife called the EMS staff and I was transported to the Hospital E.R. All the vitals were in various arrays of concern to the Doctors. After a lengthy stay with every test they could think of plus re hydrating liquids, I was released with a prognosis of a viral infection and anti biotics. That was a relief or so I thought. Two days later I was not any better and back I went to the E.R. This time they kept me for two days and ran further test and MRI scans.

This is when they discovered numerous spots on my Liver which appeared to be possibly cancer. as the Doctor read the scans. There was some solemn moments after getting this news. I was scheduled to go back into the hospital for biopsy test in two days with the MRI machine directing the needles into the liver spots. I was told that 97% of the time when spots appear on the Liver, that is a cause of cancer spreading from another vital organ in the body to the liver. It could additionally mean Colon cancer, Prostate, or Pancreatic cancer. The wife alerted all that she could contact to pray for me in the upcoming test and I also began to pray. I usually don't pray for my self because I felt it was selfish and God had plenty of other issues to deal with but this time was different. I was terrified.

. As I prayed I felt there was not the usual connection that I do have in prayer or I had forgotten how to pray. Perhaps God was busy. This went on for two days and during the wait after the biopsy test. To say I was sure the prognosis was going to be devastating was an understatement. Still I held out faith God would intervene. It was during this time I changed my prayers from "Please God heal me" to "Dear God please allow me the strength and courage to accept what ever the prognosis will be and allow me comfort, wisdom, and faith in your grace". I think it was during those prayers that I did feel a connection was made and an inner peace began to surface. I also began to feel an inner peace that God was now in control. I was ready to accept what ever His plans were. Every thing was in His hands.

I got a call from the Doctor Friday afternoon on the 29th with the results. He went on to state that I was one of the fortunate 3% of the people that had spots on their liver that were not cancerous but a bacterial infection. He also stated the reason that I wasn't getting better was that the earlier antibiotics was not designed to clear up this type of infection. Those were designed for viral infections. I was immediately put on a bacterial antibiotic and the Dr. made an appointment for me to see a contagious disease specialist to see where this infection came from and to clear it out of my Liver. Although I am not out of the woods yet, the Doctor stated if I follow the procedures from the specialist to clear up the infection, I will be back in good physical shape in a short time.

After I hung up from the Doctor's call I felt a huge burden was lifted and elation swepted over me with joy and the tears began to flow like a river as I praised God and thanked Him over and over again for sparing me the alternative prognosis. During this this time of praise, I felt a closeness that I had not felt for awhile come back and envelope me There was no longer any fear but peace. A peace that I cannot describe but felt it was from God. I also felt a new resurgence to begin serving God in a new direction but do not know yet in which direction. I am sure He will let me know in due time.

All I know know is that God intervened in my health crisis, prevented me from facing cancer, and gave me faith that He still is in loving, forgiving, control despite being a sinner of the flesh. All can experience His loving grace if only they will accept Him through faith and love. I look forward with Faith that God will guide me through the upcomming ordeal with the contagious disease specialist. Part two to follow.

THE WAY I SEE THINGS

2011-07-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered why there has not been any more gospels found or written since the bible was canonized about 300 A.D.? Ok, We have the Gnostic gospels but are they truly from God? Did God just give up on His people and turn His back on them feeling they were a lost cause? Does God still hold out hope for the current people ( Gentiles) as the last vestige of believers and worshipers wishing to celebrate His glory in His kingdom?

All through biblical times and up to Paul God spoke to the select Prophets advising them to address His chosen people to turn away from their rebellion and worshiping pagan idols. It seems all through biblical times God had to repeatedly chastise His chosen people through death, slavery, exile, and allowing other nations to conquer what is now Israel due to not following His words and truths. Jesus even rebuked the Pharisees for their acts of the law with out having true hearts and hearing His words. I believe Jesus even called them Hypocrites. For they did not believe that God sent Jesus as the saviour or messiah.

I have to wonder where are all the prophets of the modern era? I know that the Bible states we cannot add any thing else to the bible but was that written by mortal men and Priest during that time. Was it God inspired as far as that respect? I don't think that He just stopped communicating to the ones that want to hear out His words. I truly think He speaks to us daily to guide us but we fail to hear His thoughts. Some remembering the last passages in Revelations fail to speak out with God inspired messages or prophesies due to that fact.

Remembering Independence Day recently brought me back to old history lessons about our fore fathers that helped build up a nation with God as a focal point for all to worship freely in a religion of their choice and as a nation of free people with representation. I would have to imagine this country was built with God fearing people that laid down their lives for an ideology that proposed freedom, high morals, and high ethics along with faith in a God. If you think about it, those laws were formulated based on the Ten Commandments. I feel this new country had God's blessing as the new land of opportunity

However, over the last few decades things in this country have taken a turn for the worse. There is now legislation to take God out of the pledge of allegiance and to remove God from public forms. The Ten Commandments have been stricken from the court houses. If people use God in any form of speeches, they face prosecution. It is only a matter of time before the churches will not be allowed to worship God in any form or profess their faith. And yet people do not speak up as their rights are slowly stricken down. Just as in biblical times, we see idolarity and worship of material things becomming more prevalent

I am sure God is quite displeased with these actions and again His wrath will become evident. Is America becoming the new Babylon as one sect proposes in their writings? The similarities are hard to ignore. I would have to imagine we are to be tested in the end times to see where our loyalties are.

Do we seek out the Lord to worship Him and spread the gospel to others not yet saved? Do we show love to others not as well off as we are? Do we earnestly seek out ways to serve Him and bring ones seeking salvation to his Kingdom?

Do we get so engrossed in our selves and become self serving? Do we worship material things and all that money can buy. Do we seek out lustful things and ignore others? Do we sin with out remorse? Do we rebel against what God stands for?

You see, God gives us a choice. It is all up to you where you want to be.

HOW DO I ENVISION GOD?

2011-06-29T20:48:00.001-07:00

How do I envision God? How do you envision God? Ok we all have grown up seeing pictures painted and drawn of God in a beard floating in clouds surrounded by small children as angels with that mighty finger pointing down on earth passing judgement ( the one that sticks in my mind).

But is that the real image of God or what man thinks God to look like? With the exception of a few prophets and Moses, No one has actually seen God in all His glory. The other question is why is that? He is a living organism far greater than we can imagine but yet He does not readily make Himself visible to all just yet. That day is comming soon I suspect.

If we have read scriptures there are instances of him creating a nation from bones scattered in a waste land and breathed ( Rhema?) life into them to live as humans. We have read where He destroyed Sodom and Gomorah with fire and brimstone falling from the skies. We have read of Him creating a safe passage ( parting of the sea) for Moses and the Jews to escape Egyptian soldiers chasing them. We have read of Him taking a prophet up into the heavens to show the prophet a view of Earth and that it was round ( like an orb) long before people discovered that the earth was in fact round. God can heal and bring back to life the dead as noted many times in scriptures. We have read of Him visiting a prophet with a vessel that certaily sounds like a space craft with eyes and wings as the prophet describes it. Of course we have Genesis where He creates man and woman in His likeness along with the Garden of Eden.

I just briefly described some of the descriptions found in the scriptures of God and his modes of transportation but I think it makes a point that God is far more technologically advanced than we care to imagine based on a scientific level. So how can we envision Him as the painters envisioned Him centuries ago based on European races?

I think we have our vision of God all wrong. He is far more than that. Translucent yes, Just as Jesus was after His baptism by John the Baptist but more that that for lack of better words. Actually, we have yet to experience His true appearance but I am confident what we will see is beyond our comprehension. Even rationalizing it with science and technology, we will fail to grasp His true appearance.

We all know of His loving grace as it is written in the Scriptures but as it is also said we as His children has felt His wrath for our rebellion against Him through the ages too. Yet still He is a loving, forgiving, and patient God who wishes for all His children to turn their lives over to Him to exprience His grace in His kigdom He has prepared for us .

So what is my vision of God?

A diety that is capable of just thinking and something happens or is created, a God that loves and lives eternally, a God that communicates to His children (us) daily, a God that expresses sorrow and anger but is slow to act in anger, a God that is patient, a God that sacrificed His own son and yet raised him from the dead in order for our sins to be forgiven, a God that walks with us daily even though we don't realize it, and a God that created us in His likeness.

This is a God that gives us a choice to accept Him or reject Him. It is our choice of our own free will.

I CAN CLEARLY HEAR

2011-06-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

Most people as they grow older do have a reduced hearing ability just as your eyesight fades as one ages. It is just one of the facts of life one has to deal with. In my case, I started off with a hearing loss at a young age after a bout of German Measles as I was told. I lost 90% of my hearing in one ear but the other ear was not affected. Over the years I was able to hide that fact I suppose by always attending school class and insisting I be placed in the front rows in classes claiming I wanted to be able to pay attention better. Most teachers bought it and I was able to keep my little secret a secret for many years. Even my wife in our courting years did not even realize it. I became quite adept at offsetting my hearing problem by manipulation and deceit.

I was always keenly interested in the military as a career when I graduated from school based on my military family heritage. Part of the family was Navy and the other part was Army. I compromised by joining the Air Force. Figured I wouldn't offend any of the family in that respect. So off the flight school I went after graduation. This was the first shocker in my life when I didn't pass the physical. Seems I was in the group where part of the physical was a detailed comprehensive hearing test. Passed all the other test with flying colors but flunked the hearing one because of the one ear with a severe loss..

The dreams of flying went down the tubes and the dejection was very difficult to take. Then is when I realized I was actually deaf in one ear. This was a total destruction of my carefully laid out plans in my career life. I had no clue what I was going to do now. I didn't have a back up plan so I had to come up with something for a new career direction.

After wandering around in meaningless jobs for a year or two, I was led by a strong urging from I did not know by who ( God) at the time to stop at a retailing store that had a job fair. Well it wasn't a strong urging; it was more like my car was guided into that parking lot and I was ushered into the interview. I presented my diplomas, resume, and credentials to a recruiter who was the regional vice president of personnel for this large retail chain. Although my background and experience was mostly technical, I was hired on the spot for their management training program. I stayed with this company and progressed up the ladder quickly till I took a self financed retirement and started my own racing venture financed by this company's excellent stock option plan.

At the time, little did I know being around cars with loud exhaust would play a pivotal part is effecting my other ear. I had noticed at the time that a famous Indy car driver had been wearing hearing aids due to deafness (I thought he had a similar problem growing up) but I didn't think it would bother me as I was so good at off setting not being able to hear in one ear. Well over the years I do think now that may have been the catalyst to experience hearing loss in the other ear too. Ear plugs weren't invented yet for racing. However after a near fatal 185MPH crash in the third year of racing, I decided it was time to hang up the helmet and racing venture. It was by the grace of God that I was spared any critical injuries or death.

Over the last 23 years that I know of, God has come into my life many times but at first, I didn't listen or comprehend His guidance. It wasn't until the last few years that I opened my heart to God did I fully understand He was the one guiding me for His purpose. Looking back in my life, He was always there waiting for me to accept Him and His grace unconditionally.

So slowly the loss of hearing began to creep into the good ear unnoticed by me but others did see the change. I prayed to God for a healing miracle but none came. I prayed again over the last two years but the damage was done. I prayed again but this time all I got was "go to Cincinnati Eye Institute, see James". Now that didn't make sense to me but I followed the voice. They do have a section of their practice for hearing loss and yes there is a James that is the head of the practice.

I went to see this James and got the preliminary test which he suggested I see an ear specialist to confirm that a hearing aid would help the hearing I lost. It seemed to be in the mid ranges where the speech frequencies are mostly located. That made sense as that was where I usually boosted the output on my stereo system equalizer. I wasn't too hot on the idea of a hearing aid based in hearing of other's experiences over the years but I went along with his suggestions, got the results, and was led back to him for a fitting. Still quite sceptical of the miracles of the new age hearing aids claims, I went along just to see if there was any improvements over the last 20 years.

Yes there was quite a difference as I learned with the demonstration that James performed. First I was hooked up to a behind the ear hearing aid which was connected through a computer program where he ran a screen that showed the frequencies in Hertz measurements (16 to be exact) and super imposed my test results in the frequencies where the loss was evident. From that screen, He boosted the mid range frequencies up in the hearing aid to be flat over all frequencies equally and at a proper level. Then we tested for a hearing volume level that I felt comfortable with. A little more tweaking of the hearing aid from the Computer and it opened up a new experience in sound. I did not realize what sounds I was missing before. James printed out a few instructional sheets for me to read and the sound from the printer startled me. The next biggie was the phone use to check for squeals when one puts their ear to the phone head set. Amazingly there was none at all.

Another test was the voice recognition with background noise. Amazingly, I was able to discern all the spoken words even in a noisy environment as the hearing aid digitally focused on the spoken words and reduced the background noise. James even went on to discuss the learning curve I would experience as I began to learn how to hear all over again. He went into the problems I would experience as my brain became adjusted to the new ranges of hearing. All this time I thought I heard with my ears. It is your brain that hears the sounds and adjust for what you are hearing ( deciphering the sounds). If you can't understand the sound, your brain will more than likely ignore it as indistinguishable.

In our conversation before inserting the hearing aid, James seemed to have a deep bass voice. With the hearing aid on, his voice was not as deep a bass voice as I thought. He actually had a good bit of higher mid range nuances in his voice that made his speech easier to understand. I had been missing a lot of sound and didn't even know it. After about an hour of discussions and instructions along with several self help pamphlets and instructions he asked the question to close the sale ( been there done that many times my self in sales). " When do you think you might want to get a hearing aid?" was his question. My answer was " right after you put it in my ear James. It is a perfect fit sound wise".We settled on price, got all the instructions about care of the hearing aid, packets, case, warranties, free batteries, and the receipt. Walked out of the office hearing things I had been missing for the last couple years. I thanked God for leading me to this man and the Cincinnati Eye Institute. In a way, God did heal me of my hearing problem. I am grateful for what he did by leading me there.

I go back in 4 weeks for another fine tune but right now it seems perfect. However, there is a down side. I hear things I never heard before. Some sounds startled me until I became accustomed to what the sounds were. Here again is where your brain has to get accustomed to what it is hearing. Another problem you will note is people seem to be talking louder that they were before. That is great, you are hearing better and understanding what they are saying. The hearing aid is doing what it is supposed to do. Live with it and enjoy it.

If you think or others tell you that you have a hearing loss, believe it and get you hearing checked. Don't wait for a few years like I did and think you don't need one. If you are constantly asking for others to repeat their selves or you say huh, please, or I didn't understand what you said, you need to get your ears checked. If you answer a question with a yes or no and didn't understand what one said to you, get your hearing checked. There is no need to let your hearing loss rule your life or keep you from enjoying what God put in front of you.

The technology of today for hearing loss is much more advanced than even what it was only 5 years ago. You don't have to suffer in silence. If the hearing loss cannot be cured by surgery as in my case, the hearing aid is a viable alternative for a more enjoyable life. And no you do not need a large bubble sticking out of you ears or a mega phone. Most today are completely not visible to the average person. If you have hang ups about wearing one that is visible, there is a large selection of aids that are hidden either behind the ear or inside the ear. It is your choice. Do you want to fake it or hear clearly? I can clearly hear now.

RANDOM THOUGHTS AGAIN

2011-06-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

NATURES BALLET

We sometimes put our confidence in things like our own skills, jobs, bank accounts, and other material things and over look where our confidence should be put. If one fails to put their faith in God over all else, one is doomed.

I have been thinking a lot lately on issues. One of the pitfalls to that is a headache. Best to leave those issues in God's hands.

Religious Theologians all have the absolute answers as fact. Now that depends on which one you agree with. It is best to believe in what God says, not man.

The greatest danger is not that we renounce our faith, but settle for a mediocre version of it( John Ortberg).

What if a person (man) declared himself as a god and stated there is no absolute truth but that which you make as truth? That there is no heaven or hell? That man determines what is moral or imoral? I think most believers can answer those questions. I would be interested in the answers.

Spiritual Gifts are real and they exist today for those that seek them in earnest through God's grace by the Holy Spirit. Oh how I yearn for them but I fear I am not worthy of such an honor.

Praying to God daily can mean many things. actual prayer, thoughts, giving thanks, thinking, of Him, singing praises, hearing His voice, and yes simply talking to God.

That is all for now.

MORE RANDOM THOUGHTS

2011-06-05T14:18:00.001-07:00

Life cycle of a Fuchsia bloom

In Revelations I read about Babylon that was once a city of great importance which represented all that was evil and her destruction that followed. Today Babylon ( in Iraq) still lay in ruins. Does this mean that this city will once again rise to prominence only to be destroyed again. One cult sect now hints the USA is the new Babylon.

Why does God allow evil? We don't know why. I think Billy Graham summed it up best in his book "Answers to life's problems". God did not create evil nor is he the cause. We should not blame Him. Man created evil in defiance to God.

There is a clarity to our vision when we completely forget ourselves and concentrate solely on the task before us in serving God.

Hearing God's voice is so difficult for many. It is only when we learn to listen for that still silent voice do we make the connection.

In this hurry up, at once results society, we need solitude. A time to reflect and do nothing, a time to invite Jesus into your solitude, and hear His voice.

Spiritual gifts are not for only the most holy but for all that desire them in edifying God's grace. However, if one uses them to glorify oneself, one is not doing a service to God but glorifying their selves. There is a name for those that do.

Are we grateful for Jesus miracles when they happen today? Do we stop and take a moment out of our busy schedule and say a prayer praising Jesus for His miracles in our lives. I read in the scriptures where Jesus healed 10 Lepers and only one came forward to give thanks. The one that did was a foreigner, the others failed to give Him thanks as Jesus noted to the apostles.

More to follow.

RANDOM THOUGHTS, ANOTHER PART

2011-06-01T19:20:00.001-07:00

A fitting picture for this time of the year.

When I go to church I like to sit up in the first couple rows so I can hear the message clearly because of some hearing loss. When I get there, they are either saved or reserved for people in groups with perfectly good hearing. You ask for a place that has provisions for the hearing impaired and you are directed to the balcony in the back of the church where there are no provisions. Why is that?

I often read that one should be spiritually mature in their faith. But yet God calls us his children.

I suspect spiritual maturity means one that loves what God loves and hates what He hates, Has a relationship with God, and hears His voice. No need for one to have a doctorate in religious theology or has memorized the bible.

I once met a person that professed to be a good Christian. He was judgemental, acted like every one else was a sinner and going to hell, very unfriendly, loved no one, and drank like a fish.

I also met a person as a door greeter in one church. He was charming, easily accessible and remembered your name even after the service. Even went so far as to introduce people to others in the church when he found out they were new to the church.

In a broken, fallen world, we only have two choices: mature friendship with God , or radical disillusionment. Friendship with God frees us from being limited by what we don't have, by what we are suffering, or by what we are enduring. I would have to think this friendship is worth more than any thing this fallen world can offer despite how richly it appears at first glance.

People with messy spirituality. I would have to think that describes most of us if we would be honest with our selves. It is a place where desperation meets Jesus. It is the delirious consequence of a life ruined by Jesus who will love us right into His arms despite our sins, failings, and messy lifestyle if we only would accept Him into our lives.

I would have to believe in the beginning that God knew that our short comings would condemn us as sinners. Thus he brought forth Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins past, present, and the future. But as Jesus healed the blind man, He told him to sin no more or something worse would happen. I would have to think if we are saved, we can't still go around sinning in the old life style thinking we are automatically saved.

I was once a skeptic of the spiritual gifts and was taught the gifts were only active during the time of the Apostles. They do not exist any more. But I read in Paul's writing that they are active until the return of Jesus. So who do we believe? Scriptures or the religions that deny their existence any more. I have had experiences to the contrary. I believe they do still exist in these times. Although I do not possess any gifts, I am amazed of ones that do have spiritual gifts that edify God.

A few thoughts that have passed my mind. More to come later.

EASTER SUNDAY RAMNIFICATIONS

2011-04-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

As we approach Easter Sunday, non believers probably wonder what is all the fuss about

After all wasn't Jesus only a mortal man that was crucified for His different stand against conventional thinking of the Pharisees and their hardened hearts? He brought forth a new way to worship God. He even made new laws of the faith. In the eyes of the Pharisees, this was heresy and it meant death to any one that differed from their legalistic views. The only way to end this rebellion was to bring Jesus to trial and insure that it would end His rebellious concept of faith. And to top it off, they even enlisted the help of Pilate( a Roman Governor) of Jerusalem at the time who reluctantly went along with their plan. After all no one can come back from the dead as the Pharisees thought.

However, The Pharisees unwittingly fulfilled what was in the prophesies form the Prophets in the old testament.. Had they knew more about the old testament prophesies, they might have taken a different view of who Jesus really was but they were blind and could not see because of hardened hearts and jealousy.

Jesus ( the Son of God) died that Friday on the cross not because of the Pharisees but to forgive us of our sins as the ultimate sacrifice knowing full well that he would rise again and be at the side of God as our intercessor. The curtain in the temple was ripped apart, there was a rumbling of the earth,The angels in heaven were silent, and God spoke not. Jesus was laid to rest in a borrowed tomb and the boulder was rolled against the opening with Roman soldiers standing guard.

That fateful morning His followers came to the tomb to cleanse Jesus' body with spices but the tomb was open and the guards were gone. Jesus' body was also missing from the tomb. At the tomb stood two men in shining garments and asked the followers why seek the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen. Remember what He said while in Galilee. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of Jesus was also among the followers. They rushed to tell the apostles of what they had witnessed.

Jesus had indeed risen from the grave and lived again. In fact Jesus appeared to the disciples and His followers numerous times as well as bestowing the Holy Spirit on them to start their Christian ministry as witnesses not only to His Ascension but to His words of truth.

So lets look at the ramifications of this event. With the exception of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead after 3 days, I don't recall of any one in this day and time with our high tech science being able to do that super natural type of event. Yes this event was super natural, super powerful, God inspired, and hard for many to comprehend even to this day. Yet there were witnesses to this event. People that were commissioned by Jesus in person after his death on the cross to go forth to spread the gospel to the multitudes.How greater is it to have faith and believe in this event and with what was promised for the future.

That one action with Jesus rising from the grave and lived again set forth a movement that encircled the globe from a humble beginning to become what is called Christianity today so that ones seeking God and His loving grace can find it through Jesus Christ.

In Scriptures, there are 1000 prophesies. Over 600 have already been filled and we are heading into the times that more will be filled. Can you take heart that His words are truth and the way to everlasting life in Heaven as a follower of Jesus Christ?

I pray that all can take a moment to reflect on what happened in those times that changed the world and our future. Praise God and Happy Easter.

I AM SUCH A PATSY FOR THE NEEDY

2011-04-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

Why me? During my wanderings this evening, I was urged to pull into the Walmart shopping center and noticed a lady in her 40s looking rather weak and devastated holding the typical sign that says "Please help me. I am homeless and need food money". Any thing will help.

Then I heard a voice that said to pull over and park. The wife looked at me rather puzzled but she also spotted the lady. We watched her for a minute or two then the wife said we need to help her. I agreed. I got out of my car and walked up to her and startled her. The wife was behind me and the wife said the Lord will take care of you. Don't be afraid. Then the voice ( God) said to me to give her ten times what she has in her pocket. I asked her if she was getting much help and she replied not much and she said she had only $4.00 tightly clutching it and showing the money to me. That wasn't enough to put gas in her car and pointed over to an old Chevy Cavalier that had seen better days.

I then said that I am sure the Lord told me to give you ten times what you have in money now. She looked at me in amazement as I pulled out the money and put it in her hands. With this offer she began to fall to her knees crying and thanked me but I said to thank God as he is looking out for you and loves you. We normally do not pay attention to people standing on street corners begging for money but you were different. The Lord intervened for you. She said through her tears thank God my prayers were answered. She went on to say that she was praying for the amount I gave her so she could get gas for the car and food for a few days.

We found out she has been living out of her car since she lost her apartment last month and this was going to allow her to get gas and buy food as she hasn't eaten the last two days. We also gave her a card for a local church that has a food pantry and may be able to find shelter for her too. As we were walking away she asked how can she repay us which was a surprise? I said you just did. Keep the faith in God and go the that church pantry. They can help physically and spiritually too. As we drove a way the disparity in her face appeared to be fading as she waved at us . We prayed that she can get help and find solace

This is a sample of how much of a push over I am for those that truly appear to be needy. My heart goes out to them. I only wished I could do more for them, but my finances are strapped just like every one else but if the Lord say give, I follow His guidance.

Why is it that we are the richest nation on earth and our own people are on the streets begging for hand outs due to hardships. Our own government dishes out billions of dollars each year in hand outs to other countries. Why not take care of our own first? Why aren't the churches reaching out to those that are like this lady that has an honest hardship instead of waiting for them to come in for help. To be effective in this type of ministry, I would imagine we need to wander out side of the church to see where they are and show our love for the down trodden and help them back up onto their feet.

Yep. I am a patsy for those that are less fortunate. My heart goes out to them.

MESSY SPIRITUALITY, AN UPDATE

2011-03-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

GOD LOVES YOU NO MATTER WHAT

In a prior post I mentioned about my spirituality which labeled me as a messy follower who thought out of the box probably too much and really didn't fit in well with a conventional church. Well that is me. One messy follower of Christ, non pretentious, and seeking God. My ideology doesn't fit the mainstream church doctrine but I believe it does follow what Jesus was trying to say to His followers in the scriptures. OK, maybe I did put in a few beliefs of my own too. Hey ! I am not perfect in any stretch of the imagination but I have the desire to follow Christ despite my sinful nature. Thank God, He is a forgiving, loving, and graceful Jesus.

As you know Jesus mixed up things in His teachings and miracles that set the Pharisees into a tither and openly brought out their faults. What kind of religious teacher was he that kept friends from the unsavory crowd and made them disciples? Even an adulteress, a tax collector, and a thief were some of his followers. Quite a messy crowd don't you think?

In my wanderings through the desert I did run across a book by Mike Yaconelli on Messy Spirituality. The title did give me hope that I was not alone in my journey. Here is an excerpt from his book:

Messy spirituality is a description of the Christianity most of us live and that few of us admit. It is an attempt to break through the religious wall of secrecy and legitimize a faith which is unfinished, incomplete, and inexperienced. Messy spirituality is a celebration of a discipleship which is under construction.

Messy spirituality is the scandalous assertion that following Christ is any thing but tidy and neat, balanced and orderly. Far from it. Spirituality is complex, complicated, and perplexing- the disorderly, sloppy, chaotic look of authentic faith in the real world.

Spirituality is anything but a straight line; it is a mixed up, topsy turvey, helter skelter Godliness that turn our lives into an upside down toboggan ride full of unexpected turns, surprise bumps, and bone shattering crashes. In other words,messy spirituality is the delirious consequence of a life ruined by a Jesus who will love us right into His arms.

Christianity is not for people who think religion is a pleasant distraction, a nice alternative, or a positive influence. Messy Spirituality is a good term for the place where desperation meets Jesus. More often than not in Jesus' day, desperate people who tried to get to Jesus were surrounded by religious people who either ignored or rejected those who were seeking to have their hunger for God filled. Sadly, not much has changed over the years.

Desperate people don't do well in churches. They don't fit, and they don't cooperate in the furthering of their starvation ( yes I meant starvation). Church people often label desperate people as strange and unbalanced. When desperate people get a taste of God, they can't stay away from Him, no matter what everyone around them thinks.

The New Testament is filled with desperate people who barged into private dinners, screamed at Jesus until they had his attention or destroyed a roof of someones house to get to him. People who are desperate for spirituality very seldom worry about the mess they make on their way to be with Jesus.

In a way I guess this describes me to a point. Always reading and relishing in the words found in scripture and having a hunger for Jesus. It is interesting to note every time I read a section of the bible, I come up with a deeper meaning of what is being said. Some times it is just a soft reassurance and other times it jumps out of the pages at me. Other times as I am praying or thinking about Jesus, ( which is also prayer) I get a revelation. One time it was a soft spoken voice saying " bring the church to them" . It was a time in the desert when I was contemplating what I was supposed to be doing in serving God. Thus began my ministry in serving those that never set foot in a church. I had written about this in prior blogs.

Mike Yaconelli did give me a better understanding of what it meant to be a messy follower in Christ and that I was not entirely alone. Now I just have to work on thinking out side of the box to be sure it is spiritually led. Some times I think it is and other times I am not sure. When in doubt, I try to follow the scriptures or ask for understanding.

Yes indeed. I am a messy follower that is only a sinner forgiven in Jeus name.

RANDOM THOUGHTS PART 2

2011-03-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

Another photo I have found depicting a winged lion with the head of an eagle.

As I read the bible, there are descriptions of animals or things that come to mind as being mythical. Such as the case in Ezekiel describing a craft that came down from the heavens to land in front of him. In a sense it could be described as a space craft or helicopter based on modern technology. In other parts of the bible there was a description of a lion body with the head of an eagle and with wings I would have to suppose that in biblical times the prophets could only discern what they were seeing in animal terms.

However, I would have to think that in fact these descriptions were parables to a greater meaning or purpose. Such as in Revelations describing Babylon as a harlot and the sea monster with ten horns that rose out of the sea representing possibly ten nations or tribes.

<> The one thing that has always puzzled me is the depictions of biblical people such as Jesus, the disciples, prophets, and the people of that time in pictures and paintings to have a European look about them. I don't suppose that they actually looked like Europeans but actually looked more of a Middle Eastern decent in my mind. Perhaps most of the art work was painted by Europeans in those times as Christianity grew into other regions. I would have to think when Jesus was blessed by the Holy Spirit and began His ministry, His transfiguration is possibly what we will actually see Him as He actually is in the second coming. I will also have to think we will look different too if we are chosen. This has always puzzled me and I don't have a answer. Perhaps some day we will all know.

I do believe that with in a short time we will have our eyes opened to the wonders and miracles of the Holy Kingdom. The heavens are already opening up to us revealing the vastness of the cosmos and it's order. Many miracles and signs will be shown to us in preparation on Jesus' second coming. As Jesus said " be repaired and be ready. I will come like a thief in the night. No one but the Father knows when that time will be."

I have read where many people in various countries that never knew Jesus are being saved through missionary and revival work in preparation of His second coming. What an honor to be a part of a missionary group that leads others to Christ in distant lands and near home.

Are you ready? Are you working with others to bring them to Jesus as their saviour? Are you following God's will to save others seeking Him?

RANDOM THOUGHTS NOT IN ANY ORDER, PART ONE

2011-03-12T20:04:00.000-08:00

GOD LOVES YOU NO MATTER WHAT

Last night was finally a moderate night and I took the opportunity to just sit outside and gaze at the stars which brought up a passage from the bible I recalled about the signs from the heavens. I scanned the night time skies and didn't see any thing out of order.

However, it did bring back memories of dreams I have occasionally where I am looking up at the heavens and noted unusual activity. In this dream I am seeing what looks like stars dancing across the night time sky in no set pattern. I don't feel fear but joy. It is as if I am told not to fear these lights but to rejoice for it is now time for the prophesy to be fulfilled. That is as far as I get with the dream.

I lately have learned that some time in 2012 there will be a possible super nova explosion in the heavens that will appear as if we will have two suns for a short time. Kind of like when the birth of Jesus happened and the wise men and shepherds were led to His birth place by a star. When and where it will happen I have no idea. Can't find where I read this.

I have watched the recent devastation in Japan with interest and horror which brought up recalling prophesy about destruction in the end times. The earth will shake and tremble, seas will over flow their banks and engulf the land, and fire will fall from the skies. If you think about the disasters that have happened in the last few years around the world, it might point to the beginning of the prophesy recorded in the bible. Then you have the civil unrest in the middle east area. You add all this up and what can one surmise these events mean?

Part two to follow

RANDOM THOUGHTS BROUGHT TO YOU BY OUR SPONSORS

2011-02-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

A few years ago we grew tired of the 4 local channels we were able to get for free in our town. We decided to check out the new Satellite TV offers being advertised every where for only $29.99. You had sports channels of all sorts, science channels, history channels, science fiction channels, and some movie with older releases channels. No more visits to the Block Buster video store. Wow what a deal! Over 225 channels of continuous programming 24/7 with only a few commercials. Hey they even offered premium channels for only $4.99 extra with out any commercials ( movie channels with the latest movies fresh out of Hollywood.) They even offered several Christian program channels that hawked sending in donations to keep their ministry on the air. We even had Jimmy and Tammy Faye Baker programming. This was hog heaven and we bought it.

Over the years the Satellite TV service even added more channels as well as offering your own local channels on satellite TV for only $10.00 more. That was a deal to pay for local channels that were free on rabbit ears before. Naturally we bought that deal. It was worth it? More Movie channels were added but that was OK even at $11.00 a channel. Now comes the HD TV programming and we bought a new HD TV to go with the new HD receiver that was only $15.00 a month more for the HD service. Yep. We were set now. It don't get any better that this.

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So now we were up to $150.00 a month for satellite TV service and more channels than we can watch in a life time. Hey they now even got Playboy channels too but that cost a little extra if you are into that. The premium movie channels now play movies that I never heard of and still tout them a the latest releases from Hollywood. Which Hollywood are the referring too? Now we have also pay per view channels which runs from $5.00 to $60.00 if you want to watch Wrestle mania live and some sports events. That is Ok though. We even got channels that now try to sell you goods 24/7 at inflated prices ( HSN, QVC, and the MSNBC channel) No commercials there though.

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Of course all this programming cost money to operate so the satellite company sells out commercial time to companies to hawk their products like Viatalia enhancer for a better libido, Lightening 4 G network, Shellack oil to make your car run smoother. That is fine. I can understand the need to keep the company profitable. Usually if a commercial in on one channel I will flip over to another program to watch while the commercial is on the previous channel. The satellite company must be able to monitor what you watch. Doing what I mentioned above must be a sin now in their eyes. If I am on one channel and a commercial comes on when I now switch, I will find another channel with the same commercial on at the same time. Flip to another channel and you have commercials. I wonder how they do that?

OK I am still understanding the company needs money to stay profitable. That is cool. Now I am noticing the programs that can be shown in 30 minutes takes an hour to show due to the company trying to make money in order to present their programs. Uh Wait a minute! I am being deluged with 30 minutes of mindless commercials all at the same time for a 30 minute program that takes 1 hour to show. Now I am forgetting what I am watching due to all the commercials.

Let me get this straight. I am paying $150.00 a month for programming 24/7 that half that time are only commercials .Something is not adding up here. The satellite company also is now showing the same programs over and over again for weeks at a time. We have lost the freshness of new topics coming on weekly. But don't forget next week Wrestle Mania comes on pay per view with the Royal Rumble No Holds Bared Match. Only $75.00 for a limited time.

Oh well, there is always books and magazines to read once you tear out all the commercial tabs stuck in them. Another option is the Holy Bible. You can find historical facts, military actions, faith healing, Stories of miraculous happenings, songs, words of great prophets, and the actual words of Jesus our saviour among other interesting happenings. Did I mention there are no commercials?

OK, SO NOW WHAT?

2011-01-17T16:12:00.001-08:00

GOD LOVES YOU NO MATTER WHAT!

If you have followed my prior post you will notice I seem to be wandering around in a proverbial desert trying to figure out where my direction in faith is leading me and actually where I fit in. So far I have experienced people seeking out God and Christ for answers, praying for a healing, and seeking salvation. I think if I would only listen more for His words, things might be a little easier but then again, that would be too easy for this sinful flesh.

I think we all make things too complicated in dealing with hearing God when all we have to do is listen for His words. Now that takes time and has a learning curve in it. There in lies the catch. It is a learning curve. First we must do as the father does. Love and show compassion for others. Be forgiving to those that have hurt you ( now that is a tough one for some) and carry not any grudges. No one is perfect ( well except for God and Jesus). A frequent dialog ( prayer) with God In Jesus name does help. At first it may only seem one sided but eventually you will learn to listen and actually hear God's voice speaking to you in a still silent voice.

Usually most will pray to God when they are faced with a major crisis but He also wants to hear from you when you are happy and things are doing great for you. Maybe just a "thank you God" for what you do have would be nice.

There has been a new resurgence of people coming back into the traditional conservative churches due to the uncertainties we now live in but the fact remains there are still millions of others seeking God for the first time. Many were turned off from past experiences and never returned feeling they did not fit in or are considered an outcast.

These are the people that God wants in our churches. Do we welcome them or do we judge them as not a good fit? It is not our place to judge who can experience God's grace. Only God Himself has that right. All we can do is accommodate them and welcome them with open arms in God's house. However, we must help them in their new found faith to grow stronger and prosper. It takes a lot of will power and struggles to get one into a church but it only takes a second to turn them away. What does your church do?

In my own struggles, I have become some what of a maverick and think out side of the box according to conventional thinking but am I really? I have embraced the Spiritual Gifts and healing but I don't think I possess any gifts. I show compassion and love for others but isn't that what God want us to do? I try to encourage others with God's words. Some have said I should start my own church and they would attend. I am not a pastor, nor am I a minister. If I did start a church, I want it to be God's church, not my church. Actually I feel a church is any where two or more gather to worship God. So now it is where ever I am led to minister to others. I don't think He has the idea of me starting a church in mind for me. Leading others to Christ is my commission. Nothing else shows up on the radar.

IT IS NEARLY CHRISTMAS EVE. REJOICE!

2010-12-23T19:52:00.000-08:00

Here I sit on the day before Christmas Eve playing some of my favorite songs for this time of the year. The one theme of most of the songs is the joyful praise of the birth of Christ. How fitting for this time of the year amidst the rush and stress of making sure all have the perfect gift for the holiday before closing time on Christmas Eve. Being in retailing over the years before I retired, I usually did all my shopping at a leisurely pace and had all the shopping done way ahead of time. Sadly, that is not the case any more. Yep, I am now one of the many stressed out shoppers racing around the store like a zombie 5 minutes before closing to get the last gift for some one special. You would think I would know better after all these years but that is not the case.

I guess I should post some thing prophetic, devout, or religious but I am not a prophet, and I don't think I fit the devout model, nor am I religious as most may profess. I may better qualify as a messy believer with off the wall ideas about true faith and God. What I do love is the words spoken by Jesus in the bible. Every time I read them, I feel a closer relationship with Jesus and pray for understanding. It is as if the words were written for this messy sinner to follow exclusively. As matter of fact, those word were written for "all" to follow in order to to be saved.

The stories of Jesus and His miracles by His disciples is riveting causing me to sometimes wish I could some way go back in time to witness first hand His words and feel His healing touch. However, we all know that is impossible or is it? Here is the case where we all must have faith and believe what is written in a book that has endured time as the truth and our guide to salvation in a world clouded with darkness and doubt.

As it is written in Paul's letters to the founding Christian churches, we must openly follow his teachings about the Spiritual Gifts, miracle healing, and the super natural even though many denominations of the faith do not subscribe to such this day and time. When I am open to these teachings, I feel I am closer to God and His will. I just have to cast aside my doubts and openly accept what He wishes as a follower of the faith. I have to let Him lead me, not me lead my self.

God gave us part of Himself in His Son's birth that fateful day two thousand years ago. What could be a more precious and priceless a gift than the birth of Jesus the Messiah and Saviour in the flesh. His birth changed the world and gave hope in a time when despair was rampant then and today. What He promised was salvation and hope for an eternal life in God's kingdom after the death of the sinful flesh if only we would believe, love others, and turn away from sin.

For that I am grateful for a gift that keeps on giving for eternity. In return, I am singing praise and glorifying Jesus for all that He has done for us all on His birthday.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME BUT WHAT ABOUT THE HAVE NOTS?

2010-12-11T17:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas has always been a time of festivities in my family with decorations, buying gifts for each other to the extreme, more food than we could eat in one day, and rejoicing in the birth of Jesus. It is a time of the year that I wished could last every day of the year. Even when the winter cold and snow is so harsh out side, there is a glowing warmth on the inside when we are together.

Sadly, not all with have the same festivities as we are blessed to be able to enjoy which saddens me to the point of feeling guilty for what we do have. With the current economic condition this nation is now under, many will be on the outside looking in at the proverbial festivities of the fortunate ones not affected yet by the down turn of the economy. Some are losing their homes and jobs with no promise of future employment or the ability to at least have a place to stay. Many have their utilities turned off for lack of the ability to pay and live with out heat of food. Most are too proud to accept welfare or food stamps or fail to qualify due to their prior income status.

Yes we do have a new class of destitute and homeless or near homeless people in our ranks that fall through the cracks as far as the government agencies helping them in their times of hardships. You would think the churches would step in and offer help to this new class of destitute people but it may not be the case sometimes.

Here is an opportunity that most Christians can truly show their love for their fellow neighbors in need. It doesn't take much to be able to once in a while take them to the grocery store to buy essential foods for their family needs. Donate time to watch their kids while they seek employment. Help them by doing their laundry since their power is turned off . Make a list of their children for Christmas gifts and deliver it secretly on Christmas eve. Might even add a few gifts for mom and dad too.

We have a lot of wooded areas around us and we cut up fallen trees and give to the families that have fire places to keep warm where the utilities are shut off. Invite them over for dinner occasionally for a warm meal. There are thousands of ways to help out the ones that are suffering in this festive time of the year. The most important item is we give them the gift of love during their time of need and let them know they are not alone.

As I once read, " It is better to give than receive". What better gift is there than showing your love for others in Jesus' name and giving when they are in need? These acts of kindness and love does not go un noticed in God's eyes. I would have to think we are following what God wishes for us to do. Perhaps maybe we overlook the less fortunate in this time strapped season of Christmas for obvious personal reasons.

Be thankful for what we do have, pray, and help those less fortunate.

I pray that all have a Merry Christmas and rejoice in our Saviour's birth.

WHAT A MESS I AM

2010-11-16T16:23:00.000-08:00

Ok so I don't go to church much any more by my own choice. I just don't feel like I fit in with the conventional churches. I do miss the musical worship sessions in church but I now have a good collection of worship music so I can pull those up and really get spiritual in my own way. I still study the Bible and related books. I do pray for and with others and keep in contact with people that are in my communities that are in need and assist them when I can.

A few people still come to me thinking I am a minister ( which I am not) seeking salvation and I do my best to minister to them in their spiritual needs. I don't go around preaching to every one but if they ask, I will spread the Lord's word on salvation. One thinks I have healing powers ( which I don't).

It was the lady I mentioned in an earlier blog who has a daughter that wears braces in order to walk. She dropped by my office one day a while back with her daughter to ask for prayer and to heal her daughter. Reluctantly I prayed for her but I assured her it would be God's work, not mine. I cannot heal others. Yesterday they walked by the office to show me the daughter can walk with out her braces now and Doctors don't know how it happened. Maybe God did heal this precious deserving little child after all.

What I have found in my dealings with people in these two communities I manage is they don't fit in at churches either. Most say they don't feel comfortable in a church or they don't have the money to spend on good clothes to go to church but they feel comfortable talking to me in spiritual matters on their turf. They claim I bring the church to them instead of bringing them to a church. I try to explain to them that a church is when ever two or more gather to worship God. It doesn't have to be an established church. I reminded them that Jesus frequently spoke in open fields and by the sea in gatherings and that was essentially a church in all respects even though it was not in a building. What was important is that when one gathers with others to hear the Lord's words. Then it becomes a church

We don't need extravagant multi million dollar buildings or scripted programs to hear God's word. Only a place to gather and sing praise to the Lord, hear his words, and let the Holy Spirit prevail. Perhaps doing that we might see more souls won over to the Lord and miracle happenings just like in biblical times. What money is gathered should be divided up and given to the needy and hungry. In these hard times, there are probably many that need help.

For some reason I find my self closer to God helping others and being where they are instead of in a church. This way I can be close by 7 days a week instead of only on Sundays. Most attending churches are already saved so to speak but a massive amount of others that never set foot in a church are missing out on God's salvation and love.

I don't attend church regularly, I think way out side of conventional thinking in Christianity, I show compassion to those less fortunate, I try to walk in their shoes, and I show love for them. Essentially, I am a maverick upsetting the apple cart.

Am I a mess or what?

THE WAY I SEE THINGS, POLITICALLY

2010-10-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

PHOTOGR FOR PRESIDENT IN 2012

THE WAY I SEE THINGS POLITICALLY

My fellow Americans. I come before you today to announce my tossing of the hat in the ring to run for the President of America in 2012. Already I am forming the new political party called the Silver Back Party as an alternative to donkeys and elephants running amonk. Are you fed up with their monkey business? I sure am.

Today I want to address our esteemed seniors in this great country. Have you missed your cost of living increases the last two years in your Social Security benefits? The current administration claims there was no inflation over the last two years so they canceled it. I wonder if this administration ever shops at Walmart or grocery stores much. Milk is up almost a dollar over the last two years, Twin pack T bone steaks I used to buy for about $14.00. Now I have to pay nearly $20.00 for the same steaks and they are really tougher to chew. Have you noticed your medicare co- pays have jumped from $100.00 to $200.00 on the average for surgical applications if you have part D?

Look on the bright side of this. For the last two years the current administration has voted their selves a 10% pay hike each year and they get all their health insurance paid for by us ( no deductibles). Now that sounds like an equal cut back for all parties except the Washington bunch.

If I am elected president of this great country I will enact the Cost of Living increase for seniors retro active from 2009. Now you ask how am I going to pay for this huge expense and debt? Being I favor a balanced budget, I will freeze all future pay hikes for 10 years on senators, congressmen, and their aides plus make them pay back their last two pay hikes they voted their selves. I will also force all senators, congressmen, and aids to fly coach, take the bus, and no more jumbo jets for two. That should more than pay for what they did to you seniors.

We are told by the current administration that Social Security is going broke and they must cut benefits, medicare coverage, and what medicare will cover in the future.. They claim it will save billions of dollars. My question is where is that billions of dollars savings going to? Definitely not back into the benefit fund I would guess. I recently read in a recent AARP article that social Security taxes paid by us in the last 25 years has been more that what Social Security has been paying out. It now has amassed a 2.5 trillion dollar reserve fund. I'll bet some in Washington are really salivating over that nest egg. My Pa used to tell me that Washington was raiding the Social Security fund back in the 70's for special interest projects and not paying any of it back. If I am elected President, that money will not be touched and no benefit cuts will be allowed. Medicare will again be allowing coverage for all health care needs. No rationing.

In the future weeks I will be covering more about my campaign pledges to the citizens of this great country. For one thing I pledge to give every family in this great country a banana bearing tree for nutritional needs. Nothing wrong with eating healthy foods.

PHOTOGR FOR PRESIDENT IN 2012. A CHANGE WE CAN LIVE WITH.

( disclaimer) This campaign is a satire on the upcoming presidential election. No animals were hurt or injured in this production. Also Photogr was born in America irregardless of his ancestor's heritage.

I AM A MESSY CHRIST FOLLOWER

2010-10-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

The more I seek knowledge and a relationship with God, the more I realize He has been beside me all along during my times of doubt, sin, and desolation in the desert. Always there with gentle prodding and encouragement even when I wasn't even seeking His grace.

He has brought people before me seeking salvation and led me with encouraging words for them. I asked why me of all people but I get no answer. Just more people brought before me to minister to. Do I win souls to Christ? A few maybe. Am I good at it? Probably not. Do I have compassion and love for them? Yes to a point. Is my faith un wavering? I don't think so but I think God has other ideas. Do I have any spiritual gifts? I once thought I did but that might have been only me. I really don't think so. However, I do desire them to serve others through God's grace.

So where does this leave me spiritually? A totally messy Christ follower is the best I can describe the situation. I am confused, I don't seem to fit in with a conventional church, I enjoy the musical worship services more that I do the sermons ( I find my inspiration more from the bible than from a sermon), and I really think way out side of the box. I find I feel better helping those out side of the church seeking God's grace instead of in a church. Aren't those the ones we should really be helping in the first place?

I wonder if there is such a church for messy people and what would it be like. Here is an idea.

As you walk in, there are greeters that are sincere in their greetings that are filled with love for others. You take a seat and wait for the services to begin. Others in the congregation walk by going to their seats and greet you as if you are a long time friend ( not ignore you). As the service begins, the pastor or associate walks onto the stage and gives a brief report of the current activity in the church. He/she then ask for prayer that the Holy Spirit fills the service with His presence and leads others to Christ. The band begins to play worship music that gets all up and singing praises to God. The Revelation Song and All That I Am gets me jumping every time. The pastor steps back onto the stage for a few words of encouragement inviting all to come forward that feel touched by the Holy Spirit. The band begins to play more worship songs. Some come forward to pray at the stage or altar. Others are touched by the Holy Spirit and feel joyous during the singing. Some weep, some shout out in praise. As the band continues to play, the prayer groups come forward to pray over the ones at the front of the stage or altar.

The pastor makes a brief statement praising God telling all that the Holy Spirit is among the congregation and all that feels his presence rejoice in the Lord and gives a short sermon inviting others to come forward that seek salvation or prayer. The band continues to play softly as others come forward for prayer, seeking salvation, or healing. The pastor speaks out to others quoting scripture and invitations continue.

There are no time schedules to follow. God and the Holy Spirit are not regulated to a box or time frame. In this service God controls when it is over and only then. After the service, many regulars travel through the crowd greeting those seeking more about God and directing them to the places set up in the church that may be able to help them in their search as well as giving fellowship.

Perhaps I expect too much from a church. What do you think?

Are you God?

2010-09-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

I was at this rental community where I was asked to work in to reorganize the office and coordinate the clean up of the appearance of the community. Needing some exercise I decided to walk around and introduce my self to the tenants that were waiting for their children to arrive in a bus from the local school. I was talking to one lady as the bus pulled up and noticed a young child about 6 or 7 with braces on both of her legs. Quite a beautiful child with a smile that would melt any ones heart. I noticed the difficulty she was having getting off the bus and it broke my heart. She hobbled up to the lady I was talking to and cheerfully greeted her mother. I asked "who are you little girl?" She replied "I am Samantha, Are you God?"

This really took me by surprise and the mother sheepishly replied that she has been praying to God to heal her daughter so that she would not have to wear braces any more due to a birth defect. The doctors had said when she was born, she would never be able to walk but she does get around ok with the braces. The little girl spoke up and said "Mommy said that one day God would come to visit me and take away the braces". I was speechless but I felt the urge to say that some day He will do exactly that in due time and God does love you. He will not forget you. Needless to say she seemed a bit sad when I told her I was not God but I said I will include her in my prayers to God. The mother appeared to get tears in her eyes and said thanks for saying that. I didn't know how much that would mean to her. She said it seems that her prayers are not getting through. I told her yes her prayers do get through but it helps if more pray for Samantha. The mother asked if I was a pastor and I said no but I do believe that God can do miracles when the time is right.

As I drove of back to the office I felt compassion and anger that God would let this child suffer and asked Him to have compassion for Samantha and her family and grant this beautiful child her wish. This was one of the rare times when I wished I had the gift of healing through God's grace. Perhaps some day I may but I have to first get out of the desert I now feel trapped in.

A TIME TO PONDER AND A TIME TO REFLECT

2010-08-13T18:01:00.001-07:00

A CROSS BY THE SEA

As I wander along the shores of the Gulf at sunset reflecting on my journey pursuing my faith in God and Jesus' teachings, I begin to become awakened to a realization that we are all sinners ( especially good self professed Christians). It is only by the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for our sins that we all can be saved in His name. This means all of us no matter what your walk in life is. Avid church goer, sinner, drug addict, thief, criminal, or just an all around good person with no ties to a church can be saved and follow Christ.

The only requirement is if you believe there is a God and a Jesus then you can be saved no matter what you have done in your past or present. God so loved His creations that He sacrificed His only son for our sins. And God still loves you today whether you go to a church or not. All He ask is for you to believe and accept Him into your life so that He can guide and comfort you. No established church attendance is required. Only have faith in Him. When two or more is gathered in worship no matter where, that is a church or body of Christ.

I recently met a man that had tattoos all over his arms and a beard. A rather rough looking fellow but was kind hearted. He asked about a book I was reading ( surprised by the Holy Spirit). I told him I was a Christ follower and believed in God. He asked if I went to Church and I said I did not any more as I had a falling out with the established church model I had attended. I stated I was more of a maverick when it came to my faith. I just didn't follow a set of rules or denomination guidelines.

He stated that he felt he was touched by God and started going to a church and even asked to be baptised. The pastor or deacon of that church laughed and stated that he would not fit in with that church so he quit going but felt he had to go to church to be saved. I told him he did not need to go to church to be saved but to open up his sins to God and pray for forgiveness as well as accept Jesus as his saviour. I reminded him of Jesus' disciples and their backgrounds and they were also touched by the Holy Spirit through Jesus and went on to do many miracles as leaders of the early church.

We continued to meet frequently and discuss the faith. He did state that he watched some Christian programs on TV fearing being rejected going back to a brick and mortar church. He told me about watching a healing conference on You Tube where a young baby was brought back to life by a pastor on the program after Doctors gave up all hope. As he told the story to me it brought tears to his eyes but joy over what he had witnessed. I asked him if he wanted to pray with me to worship God for saving this child and open his heart to God. He was reluctant but I assured him God will lovingly welcome him into His arms.

As we prayed some thing came over the both of us. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and the hair stood up on the back of my head. He immediately started to speak in tongues and jump up and down praising God. Tears from the both of us flowed like a raging river. This went on for a few minutes. After wards, He stated he felt the burdens lifted off his shoulders and that he felt he was in the presence of God. I said: "Chester ( not his real name) you were blessed by the grace of God. What you have experienced was God touching your heart. You were in the presence of the body of Christ (a church)".

Since then we have had more talks and prayers. Now he wants to bring his wife and friends for our round house talks and prayers. It really doesn't matter where you are you can experience the virtues of being in a church as long as two or more gather to worship and praise God. It doesn't have to be an established church or building. It just have to be a place where two or more gather to hear God's words. Even a beach with cascading surf can suffice. Any one can also be saved no matter what or who you are. Just believe in faith.

Although this maverick swore off blogging, I just had to tell this story about a chance meeting. It seems that if your heart is with God, He always leads you into a position where He can use you to lead others to Him such as the case with Chester.

IT IS TIME TO SAY FAREWELL

2010-06-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

Yep it is time to bid all farewell on this blog project. To be honest, I am running out of things to say. So much of my time is going to maintaining sanity in this small community that I live in, I can't keep up with maintaining a blog site too; and reaching out to others across the world. Now this doesn't mean that I will not drop by other's blogs and share my off the wall and out of the box thoughts from time to time but more time must be spent in fellowship in person to others close by.

I think this is where the Lord is leading me or it might be my own thoughts. Been hard to get clear receptions lately but through the static, this is the message I am getting.

Thanks to all that have commented on my articles and I do hope it was helpful in a way

Farewell

Larry AKA photogr

PRIME TIME WITH GOD: TESTIMONIALS

2010-06-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

As I am reflecting on Father's day, I think of my Holy Father and what testimony I have about Him. To be honest, I have not always been the best Christian model for others and He knows that. But yet His love for me and others is never ending. He is always there to lead and guide us through bleak times and good times. Giving encouragement when we please Him and corrections when we wander astray. Offering opportunities to make a difference in some one's life and listening to our prayers. Yes He is a good Father.

This article By O.Hillman came to mind as something we should be doing in honoring our Holy Father.

"I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony." - John 3:11

Over the last several years I have seen two distinct types of Christian workplace believers. One type enthusiastically teaches their Bible knowledge to others. These people, though they may be genuine in their motive, lack one essential ingredient to being effectively used by God - a testimony. The second type of people I have encountered has a genuine testimony of what God is doing and continues to do in their lives. This was the case in the early Church. Men and women were able to give powerful testimony of events and experiences that could only be explained as a work of God.

God desires to build a testimony in each of us. Each of us is one of God's chosen vessels to reflect His power in and through us. When others see this power reflected, they are impacted because they cannot explain that power. God desires to frame your life with experiences designed to reflect the character and nature of Christ. Sometimes these events can be very devastating, but they are designed to reveal His power in and through us.

Every one of us has a testimony. What would others say your testimony is today? Can others see God's work in your life? Is your testimony one of Bible knowledge only? Are things happening in your life that can only be explained as God? These can be problematic questions for each of us. Ask God to build a testimony of His life in and through you today.

By O.S. Hillman

CROSS BY THE SEA: I JUST DON'T GET IT!

2010-06-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

I just don't get it. Here I live in a community where I run a mobile home park with 95 families. The members of this community come to me when they are hurting or looking for help with illness, stress, or financial help. I set up places they can go for help when in need, I provide food and toys for children and families at Christmas time, and during the year. I pray for those that have health issues, I pray for those that ask for prayers. I strive to provide a safe place to live and volunteer to help out those too financially strapped or ill to repair their homes. Others have also volunteered to take up the slack that are aware of my faith and my mission.

Some have accepted Christ as their saviour. Others call me a miracle worker. but I am far from that. I am just a simple person sharing my love for others in need. A few are well off in this community and chip in when I alert them that there is a crisis. A couple have suggested I become a pastor and start a church in the community but I am not gifted in that respect and the Lord has not led me to do that yet. Some come by my office just to talk and let me know how much my prayers or what I do for them meant. Wouldn't any one do this if they knew there was a need?

What I don't get is when I attend a particular church, I see no love or fellowship except in the click groups. I am an outsider for the last year and a half in this church. I do all the right things and join in on volunteer activity, study groups, and classes. Yet still I am an outsider and ignored most of the time. There seems not to be an interest in developing fellowship with others out side their established groups. I shower before attending church and like David I use after shave lotion after I shave. Still I am an outsider. Perhaps I should stop wearing a gorilla suit to church. As a matter of fact, I gave up on fitting in with this church as my own community of families have so many needs that take up much of my time

Perhaps there is where my church is and I don't know it yet. Perhaps I have planted seeds and don't realize it. Perhaps this is where the Lord has led me in service to others but I don't pick up on it yet. I just don't get it yet. Perhaps the Lord needs to get my attention in a bold way. Then I would get it.

A CROSS BY THE SEA: 74TH PSALMS

2010-05-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

I was led to the 74th Psalms today while researching another subject. At first things weren't registering but as I read more of the Psalms line by line I began to realize what it was saying is closely related to the current times. Psalms 74:4 Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations: they set up their ensigns for signs. It seems in those days that there was discord and disruption in the church as it is today.

In today's times, we hear of prayer and God being offensive to some who in turn make attempts to banish prayer and God in public places. The sad part is our government allows the baning of prayer and God to appease a select few but allows some to teach impressionable minds that there is no God. Psalms 74: 7 They have cast fire in their hearts, let us destroy them together: They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. Even on public air waves , the word of God is prohibited as being offensive. It is almost as if a few with influence want God taken out of our lives permanently.

Psalms 74: 10 Oh God, how long shall the adversarys repraoch? Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name forever? It appears that way doesn't it? And this was written back in biblical times and can be applied in today's times I would think. The seemingly current trend by some organizations today is to marginalize God's presence or simply state there is no God and no laws to follow. Only what seems right to you personally. Almost seems like the rebellions of some of God's people in biblical times.

Psalms 74: 23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually. And to this day that is still happening. Satan's time is short in this world and I am sure he has increased his efforts to turn more against the Lord for his own gain. The question is : Will we be misled in following the wrong path and miss the promise of eternity in the Kingdom, or will we not falter in our faith in God?

A CROSS BY THE SEA: MATURITY

2010-05-22T10:25:00.001-07:00

As I think I am maturing in the faith, I have began to realize that I am not as mature as I think I am as far as faith. Much like when I was a teenager thinking I had all the answers to life's mysteries only to find out later in life I didn't have a clue back then.

There are so many mysteries and miracles in having faith in God that even as adults we cannot fathom the ramifications of all those mysteries and miracles. Only by the scriptures do we gain an understanding of what God is telling us but yet there are still mysteries to be disclosed by God. I would imagine when He feels we are mature enough to accept these mysteries, He will reveal them to us. I have begun to understand this based on my reading scriptures. As an example I read a passage say a few years back and didn't get a message. I re read the same passage today and the message pops off the page opening up a door to a new understanding of that passage.

In reading Revelations, ( which I have read a few times over the years) I get a deeper understanding each time. It is as if I am given more knowledge each time I read Revelations even though the words were there all this time. Yet there are still mysteries to be revealed from Revelations. As I mature, I would imagine more mysteries will be revealed to me in time. I am beginning to get the idea that all of the mysteries and miracles are embedded in the scriptures and that in time they will all be revealed to all of the faith. As it has been said, the heavens will be revealed to us and there will be an expansion of knowledge beyond our imagination. I would have to think that time is fast approaching.

Have I reached maturity yet? No. I am still a child in the faith. I have much to learn and a short time to do it. How is your maturity in the faith?

PRIME TIME WITH GOD: SOLID FOUNDATIONS

2010-05-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

"But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand." - Matthew 7:26

There were two kinds of people in the days of Jesus. Some heard the words that Jesus spoke and were awed by His wisdom and understanding, but did nothing about what they heard. Others heard those words and acted on them. Jesus said that those who heard the words but failed to put them into practice were foolish and likened them to building a house on sand. How foolish, indeed, it would be to build a house on sand.
The person who followed what Jesus taught was a person who would be sure to weather life's storms.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock (Matthew 7:24-25).

You never know how well your house is built until it is tested by the elements. Torrential rains reveal the quality of your roof. Wind and cold reveal how well your home is insulated. Heat and sun reveal the quality of your paint and siding. All these elements reveal whether a solid foundation has been laid to make your home a secure and lasting place to live.

Many of us find that we have given only lip service to God's commands. We are faced with the reality that our foundations are not strong enough to weather life's storms. How do we react when the trials come? Do we fret and worry? Do we take life into our hands? Do we respond inappropriately when we don't get what we want? The Lord uses these times to help us recognize whether our foundations are sand or rock. Ask the Lord today if you have built on His rock. If so, you can be comforted to know that you can weather any storm that may come your way.

By O. Hillman

A CROSS BY THE SEA: TEAMWORK

2010-05-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

"Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord." - 2 Chronicles 30:12

I have often marveled at the "V" flight formation of Canadian Geese while migrating. A perfect V formation which allows additional lift for the flock to travel with less effort over long distances. All the while the leader is constantly receiving encouragement through loud honking by the other geese. As the leader tires, he relinquishes the lead and another goose from the flock takes up the lead with encouragement from the flock that is following in perfect unison. This activity occurs the entire trip until they arrive at their destination which some times involves hundreds of miles.

This is a case of the flock depending on one another to be successful in their trip to their destination which requires team work from all involved. There is no individualism at work here. All contribute to the success of their journey much like the functions in the body of Christ. We all have a purpose in service to the Lord and all are a vital part in our journey. We work as a team to generate the desired results and lead others to Christ. As one of us tires another will take up the lead and continue on all the while getting constant encouragement from the assembled team.

As a single individual we cannot accomplish as much as an individual working with in a team effort with others focusing on the same goals and united together in the same cause. That same fact is true in the Body of Christ. There in lies the dependency of all to offer their share in order to succeed. In the Body of Christ, we need team members to minister to others in need and with illnesses. We need team members to be prayer warriors and pray for these that need prayers. We need team members to be teachers of the scriptures. We need team members to be prophets and share God's words to others. We need team members to be evangelist and win souls to Christ. We need team members to sing praises of God's words. We need team members to welcome and seek out others seeking God's grace and make them feel welcome.

United in the Body of Christ, all play a vital part in service to the Lord through encouragement and love to others. It was never intended for us to go it alone. Going it alone will insure failure. Where is your place in the Body of Christ?

A CROSS BY THE SEA

2010-05-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

I find these songs to be spiritual in nature sung by voices of angels. Celtic Women.

What I want to do with this new venture is rely on spiritual music as well as a word from scripture and will include what I feel may move you in worship. I have always had a soft spot for music most of my life and have played an instrument off and on over the years ( mostly by ear and rather badly at that). I can't read notes at all so I have to transpose the notes to letters. I recently took on the challenge of learning to play the violin thinking it might be easier than drums or piano. Boy was I wrong. It has been an up hill battle. To make it even harder a challenge, the cancer surgery in my left arm has made the arm muscles a bit stiff and painful when holding the violin. Perhaps I should switch to something a bit bigger.

I should be adding more later but this should suffice for now. Got to hit the books to come up with a topic for the week end. Hope you enjoyed the music.

A CROSS BY THE SEA

2010-05-10T18:11:00.000-07:00

A CROSS BY THE SEA

An old friend (Jamie) from across the pond had always said I should build a church next to the sea for others to worship the Lord. Considering the cost of real estate on beach front property, this is the closest I could come up with for now. Perhaps some day it will be a reality.

I have always been one to sit on the beach and listen to the incoming waves splashing against the beach sands in a constant soothing rhythm allowing me to get lost and relax. The one thing I found is the ability to marvel at the glory of the Lord as I sit, meditate, and give thanks for what I do have. It is at the beach when I feel closer to Jesus. Just me and Him. As I look back along my walks on the beach, I keep looking to see if there is another set of foot prints in the sand. Some day I might be able to see them.

With this in mind, I have decided to change directions with my blogs and rename the blog "A CROSS BY THE SEA". I want to open this blog with an invitation for all that are lost and hurting and can't find a place to call their home church. Perhaps you are shut in and can't go to church or are suffering from an illness that prevents you from attending on a regular basis. Perhaps you are in a toxic church ( been there/ done that) and feel left out of the click groups. Perhaps you are looking for fellowship with others and want to share your sadness, joys, and faith in the Lord.

I welcome all to make suggestions and give me ideas of what you want from this adventure. For me this is a new venture and I am excited as I can be as I feel the Lord is leading me to do this for His glory and reach out to others wanting to share their faith in Jesus. As we all know, a gathering of 2 or more to worship Him is a body of Christ.

Dear Heavenly Father. I pray to you to lead me in your name's sake to begin on this new journey and exalt your name . Help guide me to make the right decisions in service to You so that others will have a place to worship Your loving grace. I pray that you give me the strength and courage to minister to others in service to You. I pray that you can guide me to seek out pastors, leaders, prophets, evangelist, and disciples that can help this ministry grow in service to others. I pray that some day we will be able to go national and plant seeds glorifying Your name. In Jesus name , Amen.

PRIME TIME WITH GOD: IN GOD WE STILL TRUST

2010-05-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

Why, O Lord, do You stand far off? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?" - Psalm 10:1

One of the great mysteries of God is His ways. Some of His ways almost appear to bring us into the most difficult places, as if He were indifferent to our circumstances. It would appear that He is turning His head from our sorrows. These events in our lives have a particular objective to perform for us. That objective is to bring us to the end of ourselves that we might discover the treasure of darkness. "Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness" (Job 30:26).

When we are taken into these dark periods, we begin to see light that we never knew existed. Our sensitivities become heightened and our ability to see through spiritual eyes is illuminated. Unless we are taken into these times, our souls never develop any depth of character. We do not gain wisdom, only knowledge. Knowledge is gained through understanding; wisdom is gained through the experience of darkness.

After we go through these periods, we discover that God was, in fact, with us throughout the entire time. It does not feel or appear that He is there when we are in the midst of the dark periods. However, He is there walking with us. He has told us countless times that He will never leave us. However, when we are in those dark periods, it does not feel like He is there because He does not rescue us from the circumstances. He does this for our benefit in order that we might become more like Jesus. Jesus learned obedience from the things He suffered (see Heb. 5:8). What does that say about how you and I will learn obedience? Embrace the dark times and gain the wisdom that God intends for you from these times.

By O. Hillman.

Need I say more?

REALLY HEARING HIS VOICE: MY RECENT EXPERIENCE

2010-04-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

The wife and I recently went down to our home town in Pensacola Florida to help out my brother in law get a van and equip it with a handicap ramp for mobility. He had polio as a child and is getting up in years. Also has other health issues thus preventing him from having the freedom to get around as well as he did in his earlier years.

The day before we were to leave, the Weather Channel reported a major storm with tornado watches, warnings, and thunder storms in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida heading right into our path back home to Cincinnati, Ohio. We were to take I-65 straight through Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. It didn't look good at all.

All I could think was "Dear Lord, how are we going to get through all that? I have to be back before Monday?" As I watched the weather radar images, I heard a still voice pointing out to me the path up in between the storms saying "You can make it, I will guide you."

The next morning we got up and packed the car and took one last review of the weather channel radar images and found a semi clear path right up the center of Alabama where I-65 is located but seemed to have storms on either side of the interstate. We took this as the path we were to follow. We had rain all the way but it was mostly light or moderately heavy except in 5 places. When we hit our first torrential down pour so bad you could barely see out the windshield and high winds, I heard a still quiet voice saying to pull over under an over pass and wait out the storm as cars whizzed by us doing 70 to 85 MPH. After the heavy rain and hail passed by us we started back on our journey only to see a major wreck involving several cars that lost control just a mile or two up the road. Each time we encountered a major torrential down pour, high winds, and hail I heard that voice again saying pull over or get off the interstate and I did. Getting back on our journey, we encountered several wrecks along the way. We experienced this all through Alabama and Tennessee. I would imagine had we continued with out pulling over, we might have been one of those wrecks.

After a harrowing day on the road, we decided to stay at a motel in Franklin Ky. that I made reservations for 4 days earlier as it was getting dark and the rain was becoming torrential again. After getting a room we turned on the weather channel and found out just how big and bad this storm was. Mississippi was hit with a 1/2 mile wide tornado that devastated a small town there. Several tornado sightings were noted in Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee right along or near the I-65 route we took. Franklin Ky. was under a tornado watch at the time. The next morning the skies was clear and not raining thus the last leg of our journey was smooth sailing all the way home.

Looking back over this experience, what led me to believe we could get through harms way unscathed? What prompted me to make reservations at this motel 4 days before we left Florida to go back home? What were those still silent voices I heard prompting me to pull over during the violent storms? Was it luck or divine guidance? I know what it was but I will let you be the judge.

PRIME TIME WITH GOD: HEARING HIS VOICE

2010-04-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

"He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." - John 8:47

Jesus said that the key to being able to hear God's voice is first to be one of His children. One of the great mysteries of the universe to my logical mind is how God can communicate with six billion people on the earth at the same time. It is one of those mysteries I must let go of because my "hard drive" would crash if I had to explain and understand this before I believed and trusted in Him. It is as though God places a computer chip in each human being, and when we place our faith and trust in Him, it becomes activated. We begin to communicate with Him. Jesus says that if we are children of God, then we can hear God's voice.

He further explains this relationship in the following parable:
"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice (John 10:1-5)."

The Shepherd is always representative of Christ. Sheep are representative of God's children. This passage tells us that the Shepherd communicates with His children. We are called by name and we can listen to our Shepherd's voice. There is another comforting aspect to this relationship. The Shepherd goes before the sheep to prepare the way. Jesus has already gone before us today to prepare our way.

Knowing the Shepherd and His voice allows us to have the assurance that we will not be fooled by another shepherd's voice. The sheep know His voice. It is only when we are dull of hearing that we mistakenly hear another's voice and follow it. Sin can create a poor frequency in our communication with the Shepherd. Make sure your frequency is free of static (sin) today so that the Shepherd can lead you and go before you.

Finally, distractions can also keep us from hearing our Shepherd's voice. When the sheep get entangled in the fence or wander off, they get too far away to hear the Shepherd's voice. We must stay in close proximity to the Shepherd to hear His voice. Stay close to the Shepherd today. Listen and follow. He wants to lead you.

By O. Hillman.

We must always be in close contact with the Lord to hear His voice. We can always do this by prayer and even conversations with Him on a daily basis. It doesn't have to be a long winded prayer or oracle but just a simple "Hello Lord, I am thinking of you." can do if you are strapped for time. Talking to the Lord is a lot like a Ham radio operator dialing in a frequency on his radio for communication with others. We just have to keep our frequency open for communication with the Lord in the same way. Not using that frequency on a regular basis may cause you to loose it thus the trial and error of searching for the right frequency again and again. Stay connected and His voice is never far off.

PRIME TIME WITH GOD: 23RD PSALM

2010-04-13T19:58:00.001-07:00

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me." - Psalm 23:4a KJV

In the battles of the workplace or home, your peace is actually a weapon. The workplace creates many opportunities to rob us of our peace. Cash flow concerns, deadlines, relationships - all create stress on us. Your confidence in the God of peace declares that you are not falling for the lies of the devil. You see the first step toward having spiritual authority over the adversary is having peace in spite of our circumstances. When Jesus confronted the devil, he did not confront satan with His emotions or in fear. Knowing that the devil was a liar, He simply refused to be influenced by any voice other than God's. His peace overwhelmed satan; His authority then shattered the lie, which sent demons fleeing.

There is a place of walking with God where you simply fear no evil. David faced a lion, a bear, and a giant. In this Psalm he stood in the "shadow of death" itself, yet he "feared no evil." David's trust was in the Lord. He said, "...for Thou art with me." Because God is with you, every adversity you face will unfold in victory as you maintain your faith in God!

David continued, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies" (Ps. 23:5a). The battle you are in will soon become a meal for you, an experience that will nourish and build you up spiritually. Only God's peace will quell your fleshly reactions in battle. The source of God's peace is God Himself. If fear has been knocking at your door, begin to face that fear with God's peace. It is God's secret weapon to destroy fear. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me." - Psalm 23:4a KJV

By O. Hillman.

When I am faced with serious or threatening issues, I find this psalm to be a comforter for my worries. I am not one to be prone to flying on a commercial jet or any air craft. The thought terrifies me but it was part of my job years ago. I had no fear racing an 800 H.P. car at up to 200 M.P.H. but the thought of flying was another matter. Naturally the 23rd psalm always seemed to come to mind and it became a habit when ever I flew to recite it and it comforted me. However if we hit turbulent air while flying, I would recite the Lords prayer and the 23rd psalms like some say Hail Mary's. It made me feel safer. Even today after I don't fly any more, that simple psalm makes rough going much easier in a time of crisis.

PRIME TIME WITH GOD: FAITH EXPERIENCES

2010-04-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

"These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." - 1 Peter 1:7

This article pretty well sums up what we should be doing in our walk with the Lord.

One of the great tragedies of the Christian life is that if we fail to enter into a relationship with God that is born of the Holy Spirit, we are left with a religion, not a relationship. Many a person today lives with an intellectual belief in God, but without a relationship that is based on two-way communication. This is the greatest tragedy of all. It's like having a brand-new car but never having the gas to run it. It can't move you anywhere. It only looks pretty, but one cannot enjoy the ride or smell the newness inside.

Peter tells us that until our faith is proved genuine, we will never be able to give praise, glory, and honor to Jesus, because until such testing He will not be revealed in our lives. Peter describes this in the verse before: "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials" (1 Pet. 1:6).

Trials are designed to bring us to a level of trust and experience with God that we would never know otherwise. These "faith experiences" with God allow us to know firsthand the faithfulness of God, the love of God, and the personal nature of God. If you cannot recount several instances when God has met you personally, then chances are your faith has not been born of the Holy Spirit into a living relationship with God. It is easy to fall prey to a relationship to God that never experiences His real presence; rather, it is based on knowledge only. This is a tragic place to be.

If this is where you have been in your Christian experience, ask God today to make Himself real to you. Ask Him to show you His personal nature and love. He desires to do this. Those whom He has called know His voice. He will show Himself to those who are His. "He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him" (Jn. 14:21b).

by O. Hillman

YOU WANT TO PRAY FOR ME?

2010-04-04T10:52:00.000-07:00

It never fails when the wife and I go to this particular church, some one comes up and wants to pray for us quite a few times over the last year. 99% of the time we have never seen these people before. Do we have down trodden signs posted on our backs?

Here are a few examples:

Several months ago the wife had a knee injury and was on crutches. We were in the atrium before the service eating some snacks when some one ( later found out she was a director of ministries) walked up to our table and said she wanted to pray for my wife's injury. We thought that was a nice gesture but in front of the whole atrium assembly who had been ignoring us any way? After her prayer, she spoke up and asked if the knee was healed. The wife, trying to be polite said it felt better. The prayer gal then got up with out a word and walked away before we could even find out who she was. I think the wife ticked her off.

At one encounter ( mini revival ) at this church, I was quite engrossed in a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit praying during the worship and a leader of the encounter walked up to me and started to pray over me by laying of the hands. This startled me but I decided to ignore her and continue with my own personal encounter. She did tell me I was not retired but re fired up. That was nice but whoa, I was not up front at the altar asking for prayer.

Over time the wife has met a person that is on a prayer group and she went up to say hello before we left for the day. I stood off towards the side and wouldn't you know it a guy whom I have never met comes up to me and asked if he could pray for me. I politely said no thanks and walked away.

At another encounter ( mini revival), after the service the same leader was with the worship leader by the altar. This one worship leader is very passionate in his music and we wanted to say how much we loved and appreciated his music and passion. The leader of the encounter turned to me as we were walking away and wanted to pray for me. I said thanks but I was OK and did not need prayer. She seemed shocked that I refused prayer but I tried to explain politely that it was not time for me to do that yet and I had a close relationship with our Lord through my own prayers.

Just recently after the service, the wife went up to the prayer group to say hello to her friend again as they don't get to see each other much. I did my usual standing off to the side and away from the prayer groups waiting for her and this new person whom I have never seen before walks up and says he wants to pray for me. I said no thanks, but that did not deter him. He wanted to know why and I told him as politely as I could. "That he did not know me and I did not know him. I have been in this church for over a year and no one has ever walked up to me and said hello or even made an attempt to get to know me even though I went to classes and study groups to get connected. No one was friendly in those situations so why is it that you want to pray for me now? Will you remember me at the next service and say hello, how are you doing?" He couldn't answer and walked away.

After wards, I felt bad but I imagined he was new and wanted to get in some prayer experience. I should have let him do it but considering the brick walls I have run into trying to make friends in this church and get connected for over a year, I guess I have built up a defensive wall to protect my self from any more hurt. It seems this church loves to pray for people but they don't want to have fellowship with any one out of their click groups. Had the wife not found a friend (she thinks) and likes this church, I would have never went back a long time ago.

If you have read any of my earlier post you might get an understanding of where I am coming from. Have any of you experienced this in your churches? Loving to pray for you but no connections with in the church?

PRIME TIME WITH GOD: SPIRITUAL EYES

2010-04-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

I want to take this opportunity to wish all a Happy Easter and glorify our Risen Saviour Jesus.

"And Elisha prayed, 'O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.' Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." - 2 Kings 6:17p

Elisha was counseling the nation of Israel against the impending attack of the king of Aram. The Lord supernaturally gave Elisha the plans that the king was implementing, and in turn, Elisha warned Israel of each intended attack. The king could not understand why his plans were continually foiled. It seemed there was a secret informer in his midst. He was furious when he was told it was the God of Israel who was to blame for this inside information. The king decided the only way to resolve the situation was to get rid of the problem - kill Elisha.

The king's forces arrived and surrounded Elisha and his servant. Elisha's servant became upset and fearful when Elisha was not upset. Elisha immediately prayed that his servant's eyes might be opened to see that there was no need to be afraid, because the angels were protecting them.

And Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see." Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, "Strike these people with blindness." So He struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked (2 Kings 6:17-18).

Who is the Elisha in your life? Do you have a mentor friend who can see the activity of God in your life when you cannot see it? We all need to have somebody we can trust to help us see the activity of God. It is often difficult for us to see what God is really doing because we are so consumed by the circumstances of the moment. Ask God today to help open your spiritual eyes that you might see Him in your circumstances.

By O. Hillman.

PRIME TIME WITH GOD: CONVICTION

2010-03-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

"For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction." - 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5a

This is not only for the workplace but also the home and your personal life as you walk in God's grace.

Everyone lives a life of conviction. Whatever we give our greatest time, our greatest energies, and our greatest resources to is a good indication of where our convictions lie. Some live a life of conviction about sports. Some live a life of conviction around pleasure. Still others live a life of conviction about very little that matters at all.

Whenever God chooses to do a deep work in a life, a strong conviction is born of the Holy Spirit. Conversions in the early Church resulted in changed lives that held to a deep, life-transforming conviction regarding what they believed and how they lived out that belief. Paul explains that the gospel they received came not just in words, but also in power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.

In order to impact the workplace for Jesus Christ, each of us must be reflecting a faith that is demonstrated through deeply held convictions. Are you living a life of deep conviction that spurs you on to reflect the power of Christ in your life and the lives of others? Paul was willing to suffer great persecution for his faith in a living God. God calls each of us to a life that is supernatural, not simply a good, moral life. The early Church understood the role the Holy Spirit played in demonstrating this power of the gospel. It was this deep work that resulted in living the gospel with great conviction. If you are not living the gospel with great conviction, ask the Holy Spirit to so fill your life today that the power of His Spirit is truly reflected in your life so that you may impact others in your workplace.

By O. Hillman

PRIME TIME WITH GOD: BITTERNESS

2010-03-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

This is one area that I have really fallen into a trap. In my own personal experience, it can turn you away from the one who loves you the most ( God).

"See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." - Hebrews 12:15

In business and life the opportunity to harbor bitterness for a wrong suffered is great. We are given plenty of opportunities to grow bitter from relationships that bring hurt and pain. The writer of the Hebrews passage above admonishes us not to miss the grace of God so that we won't take up bitterness as a response to life's pain. He cautions us against this because he knows that a bitter root grows and grows until it eventually defiles many others through a wake of bitterness. If bitterness is allowed to take root, we become imprisoned to it. God's grace will no longer have as great an effect in our lives. We become ineffective, insensitive, and spiritually dead. We can even become physically ill from it. God does not live in bitterness. He lives in grace. He has provided grace for every person to walk in.

One day I was challenged to deal with an individual who hurt me terribly. I was faced with a decision. Would I choose bitterness, or would I choose grace? Oh, how my natural tendency was to choose bitterness. But God provided the courage to choose grace. With that grace came freedom - a freedom to love and even accept the person who was the source of such pain.
This is the real place where Christ's power is most revealed. We cannot live without His supernatural grace. Are you in need of grace today? It is there for the receiving. It will take courage to accept it and walk in it. This will be your step to freedom.

By O. Hillman

MORE PRIME TIME WITH GOD

2010-03-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

An interesting article I found on Prime time with God.

I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection...." - Philippians 3:10 P

If I asked you the purpose for which God made you, what might you say? You might give a lot of answers that required some action on your part. However, the simplest answer to that question relates to one primary thing: fellowship. The most important thing God desires from us today is to have a deep and intimate fellowship with each of us.

The apostle Paul said he wanted to know Christ, and by knowing Christ he could experience the power of His resurrection. I find this to be the hardest thing for many of us workplace believers to do. So often it is much easier to be busy with the urgent (or even Christian) activity than spending quiet moments before the Lord. Before we realize it, days have passed since our last quiet time with Jesus.

Jesus understood how important quiet moments were with the Father. "After He had dismissed them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone" (Mt. 14:23).

The more mature I become in my relationship with the Lord, the more precious this time becomes to me. It is a time I look forward to almost daily. It offers me a time to reflect, to share my concerns with my Lord, and to hear Him speak. In the last few years I have begun prayer walks, which accomplish three things: fellowship, prayer, and exercise. It has changed my prayer life. I have come to understand that Jesus views us as His friend and He wants to spend time with us. We are depriving Him of His time when we put Him aside for the urgent. An interesting thing happens when we make prayer a priority: Urgent things seem to wane as we focus on Him. He makes all these other things fall into place.

Are you taking the time to get to know Him today?

AM I IN A TOXIC CHURCH?

2010-03-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

Am I the only one that sees some thing amiss in some churches today? Do you go weekly and never meet any one new? Do you try to meet others yourself only to be ignored? As one blogger once mentioned "I pass out my phone number to others but never get a call to have coffee or they say they will call you some time but never do."Another blogger I read on another site mentioned every one is so busy serving or involved in activities that they never seem to have time just to talk.

Granted in today's society our time is so pressed that free time is virtually non existent. It seems fellowship is an obsolete principle. So one decides to get to know people by joining a bible study group or volunteer to do services in the church. Ok that is going to get you the opportunity to meet others and share in your faith. Well that really doesn't happen frequently. I will give you some examples.

I joined the greeter group in this one church. Every one seemed to kinda stay to their selves and didn't really go around and introduce themselves to the ones that were new greeters. Actually I was ignored. So I though I would go around and introduce my self to every one in the group. I did this for three weeks only to over hear a person say to others gathered "Who is that guy going around to all of us saying Hi! I am Mickey Mouse." Some seemed to have a laugh about it . I was really hurt thus I quit that group of servers. Not easily discouraged, the wife and I decided to join a bible study group. It was led by a truly devout leader but none of the members of the group were at all friendly and kept to their own group of friends. The wife and I actually felt we were not welcome thus we quit going.

We decided to enroll in some classes over a period of time and it was the same fiasco. Every one seemed to stay in their own click groups and actually were not very friendly. If you saw them before or after a service they would completely ignore you as if they didn't know you. Now let me say every one is not like this there as we have had some contact with maybe one or two people but it is rather only in passing that they will speak. Perhaps it is the way churches operate now but wasn't like that in the past when we attended churches years back. We always gained some friends that kept in contact. Perhaps it is an age thing. This church seems to have very few older folks our age ( 65) as it appears to be younger oriented.

Perhaps it is a social/ economic situation. This church seems to be well heeled and operates on an expensive budget that only members with substantial incomes can afford to tithe properly can support. Being retired now and with high medical bills, the income is rather limited so I might not fit in considering. Being a believer of most of the spiritual gifts, I do practice what I call the involuntary poverty gift so we may not live in the best part of town. Perhaps that is it.

Considering the wife really enjoys all the bells, flashing lights, and the rocking music this church offers, I go along with her desires to attend this church but I am really bothered when she is hurt or ignored by those that she tries to meet. I really hope some day she sees the light and desires to move on to a more friendly church filled with the Holy Spirit and practices fellowship as dictated in scriptures.

To be honest I get more fellowship in sharing my faith on blog sites such as Abundant Living, Fire and Grace, Kingdom Bloggers, and other sites than I do at the church I now attend. That is sad and not following one of the things God has led me to do. How ever, I have met many great people by sharing my faith on the Internet blog sites and will continue to share my faith with you as long as the Lords words can make a difference in your life through my testimonials and articles.

What have your experiences been at some churches?

LOST AND ABANDONED

2010-03-10T18:59:00.000-08:00

Oh dear Lord. I am wandering about in a desolate desert thirsting for the living waters you offer but I can find none. I feel lost and abandoned. My prayers go unanswered. Your loving grace eludes me. I do not hear your comforting voice. There is no cool shade to comfort me. Truly I will perish if I cannot find my way back to your grace.

I am sure a few of us (as well as I) have been in this position at one time or another in our walk with the Lord. In the desert we are cut off entirely with God to wander aimlessly to realize the importance of a close relationship with God. However as it was with Jesus, you will have a tempter that will offer you the world if you will only worship him. He will promise you living waters and comfort and the temptation to fall back into sin is always ever present. The tempting to give up on your faith as a waste of time is always on your mind. You then begin to think your friends at church are not really your friends. Don't fall into the trap. You are being swayed by the prince of darkness ( Satan) whose domain is the desert.

Those that are strong in their faith and unwavering will overcome the desert and the temptations. Just as Jesus replied to Satan with his trials in the desert, so must we also do the same in order to return to God's grace, taste the living waters, and feel his love once again. For those that are weak in faith, this will be a more difficult time but you can still overcome all temptations by keeping your heart and eyes on the ultimate goal. God's grace and love that promises so much more for you into eternity. God can hear your thoughts, Satan can't. Yet Satan can talk to you in your thoughts, he cannot hear what is in your heart. That is where you can overcome all trials and tribulations and receive God's blessings through your walk in the desert.

Put your faith in the Lord and let His word comfort you in your trials through the desert and you will also be able to overcome all obstacles.

Dear Lord. I come before you humbly to confess of my sins and beg for forgiveness. Help guide me through my walk in my life so that I may serve you and exalt Your holy name to all that will listen. Grant me the courage and faith to endure hardships, persecution, and temptations so that I am in Jesus as Jesus is in you. In Jesus name, amen.

MORE PRIME TIME WITH GOD

2010-03-10T12:41:00.001-08:00

"It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." - Genesis 41:52

Joseph named his second son Ephraim. Ephraim was given to him after he had been delivered from his suffering of 13 years. Joseph said that he named him this because God had made him fruitful in the land of his suffering. Ephraim means "twice fruitful."

Joseph was fruitful in two instances. He was fruitful during his time of adversity and in his prosperity. When God brings us into a time of suffering, it can be a fruitful time. It's rare for us to see the fruit during the suffering period. But know that the roots are going deep into the spiritual soil of our soul because of our pressing in to God during our time of suffering. This is producing a work in our character that cannot be seen until it finishes the process. Such was the case for Joseph.

It was not until several years after such a time of suffering that I began to see the fruit of the trials that the Lord allowed me to experience. How grateful I am to understand some of the "why" that has led to a new life in Him that I would never have had without this period.
Samson had great anointing but lacked character. We see many today who have great anointing yet lack character. But God is rising up Josephs who not only have great anointing for these days but also great character. Suffering produces character.

If you find yourself in a time of suffering, now is the time to press into God. Let your roots grow deeper. Whenever there is a famine, tree roots are forced to drive deeper into the soil to find water. These times are designed to create such a deep-rooted faith that our natures will be changed forever.

By O. Hillman

MESSAGES FROM PRIME TIME WITH GOD

2010-03-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

Few men of God have become extraordinary people of faith without the influence of mentors. A mentor is one who takes responsibility for the spiritual and, sometimes, physical care of another. It requires a commitment from the teacher and the student.

Elijah mentored Elisha. Elisha became one of the greatest prophets in the entire Bible. One of the primary reasons for this was Elisha's hunger. Elisha wanted a double portion of Elijah's spirit. It was this hunger that drove Elisha to be sold out to God's purposes for his life.

I have been privileged to have had many mentors throughout my spiritual life. In each stage of my maturity, God brought new mentors who had unique gifts that the previous mentor did not have. God has given me the hunger to desire a double portion of those positive attributes of my mentors. This desire is sorely missing among many today. I fail to see the hunger among many who could be used greatly in the Kingdom. Instead, the cares of this world distract them. It is an attitude of a la carte versus an attitude of pressing in to the full measure of what God might have for them.

Who are the people of God He has placed in your life? Are you learning from them? Are you seeking a double portion of their anointing? What prevents you from gaining from their wisdom and experience? God may have brought them into your life to prepare you to be a man or woman of God with great anointing. However, there is a time of training and waiting to prove out your own faith. Ask God today if there is someone He would have you mentor or be mentored by.

When is the last time God did something in your work life that can only be explained as God? Was it yesterday? Was it just last week? A month ago? A year ago? The answer to this question may mean several things. If it has been some time since you saw God's activity in such a way that you know it was His hand, you may not be trusting to a level that requires faith. You may not be risking enough for God to show Himself.

The converts in the early Church changed the world they lived in because of what they saw and heard. It was the power of the gospel that changed lives, not what they learned from mere teaching. This power drew people to Christ. Things happened that could not be explained as anything other than the activity of God. Is that the kind of faith you are experiencing in your life? Many of us live a wholesome, moral life, but those we associate with do not see this activity as anything that cannot also be achieved by themselves. That is why many are not drawn to our lives. God's power is not evident. The Lord has been challenging me to trust Him at levels I have never trusted before. This level of trust has placed me in a vulnerable position. However, the blessing of this relationship is that I see the activity of God as never before, and those close to me see it as well. It builds their faith and draws others to investigate.

Sometimes the activity of God comes in unusual ways. God often sets up scenes that appear to be negative on the front end, but God has orchestrated these events for His glory.

-Without Pharaoh's pursuit of Israel at the Red Sea, there is no miraculous deliverance.
-Without Lazarus's death, there is no rising to life.
-Without Goliath, there is no underdog story.
-Without Peter stepping out of the boat, there is no miracle on the water.
-Without Judas' betrayal, there is no resurrection.

God wants to show Himself in ways you and I cannot imagine. Let God demonstrate His power in your workplace today. Then, you will see "all men drawn unto Me."

Articles I found inspiring by O. Hillman.

JUST ANOTHER MESSAGE

2010-02-26T17:54:00.000-08:00

We live in a day of 12-step programs for this, four points to success for that, and all forms of programmed means of becoming successful. Have you ever wondered how you can guarantee a greater revelation of Jesus in your life? Jesus tells us how this can be done. It is all tied to obedience. In John, He tells us the following: "Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him" (Jn. 14:21). The key here is in the last three words. He will show Himself to us because of our loving Him through our obedience. The more obedient we become, the more revelation of His presence we will feel in our life. Jeremiah tells us, "Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know" (Jer. 33:3).

Many Christians wonder why they cannot hear or sense God's presence in their life. It is because they do not seek Him with a whole heart, and they are not obedient to the things He has asked. God does not show us the next move until we are obedient to the first thing He has spoken to us. It is a progressive process. He entrusts the small things to us first, then moves us to the larger. I was like many today who are so focused on seeking the activity of God rather than seeking God Himself. Hebrews tells us that God rewards those who diligently seek Him. In the Old Testament we are told, "But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deut. 4:29).

I realized if I was going to hear God's voice, I had to make time to seek Him and hear Him. I had to spend focused time alone reading, studying, and seeking His face only. Jesus set the model for this when He often left the crowds to be alone and seek His heavenly Father. I also had to tune my "radio" to His frequency. Static comes into that frequency when I am disobedient. My level of seeking determines the power of my "radio" to reach Him. The more I seek Him, the more I hear Him. Seek the Lord today so that you may be empowered by His presence.

I HAVE TWO MESSAGES

2010-02-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

I think I will try to tell some stories and relationship to our serving the Lord. I do feel led to get all to think about what your relationship is with God and what you are doing in service or disservice to Him.

#1. There is a crisis of grand proportions in the spiritual house of God today. The moral fiber of our world has eroded. Greed, idolatry, and pleasure are the gods of our day. And it is no different in the Body of Christ.
The prophet Haggai wrote about a people who had lost concern for the need to build God's house because they were so focused on their own worldly needs. It is a dangerous place to get with God. When our world begins to focus around increasing our pleasure, building bigger and better homes, and failing to make what is important to God important in our own lives, this should be a warning to us.

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," He said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers' " (Matthew. 21:12-13).

Jesus came into Jerusalem and found the workplace believers buying and selling in the temple. As far as they knew, this was an acceptable practice in their day. Their fathers did it, and now they were doing it. It was business as usual. Jesus got angry, turned over the tables, and said that His house was a house of prayer. He found the workplace believers of the day seeing His house as a place for profit, not prayer. They had stepped into a place of complacency that was not acceptable to the Lord. When we begin to blend in with the moral condition of an ungodly world, we begin losing God's perspective on life.

It is easy to begin blending in with our culture and to accept what is being modeled by the ungodly. God called us to be salt in a world that needs much salt. "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men" (Mt. 5:13). Each of us must ask ourselves if we have lost our salt. Are we having an impact on our world? Or is our world having an impact on us? Ask God to give you a vision for how you can be salt to your world today.

#2.Have you ever felt that serving God had little reward and the ungodly seemed actually to be more blessed than you? This is what the people of God felt. God heard their cry and responded through the prophet Malachi to explain God's view on this matter.
Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored His name. "They will be Mine," says the Lord Almighty, "in the day when I take up My treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not" (Malachi 3:16-18).

Notice that after the people complained about this, they began to talk to each other, and the Lord listened and heard. God had been taking note of those who were serving Him and honoring Him. There is a day coming in which God will honor His "treasured possessions." We will see that there is a distinction between the righteous and the wicked on that day when "the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall" (Mal. 4:2). What a beautiful picture of what we will feel like on that day.
God rewards faithful obedience. It often requires patience, suffering, and perseverance. Be of good cheer; He will reward you if you faint not.

( Excerpts from Prime Time with God)

What do we see in these messages? How do they relate to you today?

OBEYING THE LORD THROUGH TRUST

2010-02-15T18:34:00.000-08:00

These are a couple stories that I ran across about trusting the Lord when He ask us to do something. I found these stories in Prime time with God. I hope they inspire you as they have inspired me.

(#1) A distinguished Indian evangelist named Sadhu Chellappa was on a mission trip to a village north of Madras, when in the middle of the night he suddenly sensed God speaking to him: "Leave this house quickly and run away!"

Not exactly a convenient thing to do. But Chellappa was accustomed to accepting even strange instructions from the Lord without debate, so he dressed quickly and ran into the darkness.

After a while, he was in open country. As he passed beneath a large tree, he felt God tell him, "Stay here and start to preach!" Now, even for an experienced evangelist, this was puzzling--because there was no one to be seen. Why did God want him to preach to an empty field in the middle of the night? But he stopped under the tree and began to preach the gospel.

Finally, he reached the point at which he called on his unseen listeners to give their lives to Jesus. He was surprised to hear a voice from the top of the tree and see a man climb down, crying. The man tearfully gave his life to Jesus. When Chellappa asked why he was in a tree out in the middle of nowhere, the man admitted, "I came out here to hang myself."

How is your obedience quotient? God calls us to be obedient to that small voice inside that can direct us to sometimes do strange things. Jesus was obedient in ALL things. "For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous" (Rom 5:19). God can do exceedingly great things through one man or woman who is willing to be obedient to God's voice. Ask for His grace today to be obedient to His voice.

(#2.)The disciples were fishing. It was after Jesus had been crucified. Peter had gone through his most agonizing moment in which he had denied Jesus three times. He had lost a friend. No doubt he probably wondered whether the last three years were a dream. What now?
Peter had been prepared three years, but he was not going out to preach; he was going fishing. He had returned to his trade of days gone by. He had a level of experience with Jesus that no other human on earth can boast. This was the third encounter he was about to have with Jesus after His resurrection. Jesus looked to Peter and John in their boat and made a suggestion.
"Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered.

He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some" (Jn. 21:6a).
Now, if you are as seasoned in your fishing as these guys were, wouldn't you be a bit irritated if a stranger suggested that you simply put your nets over the other side to catch some fish? Yet we find that they took this stranger's advice. Once they were obedient, the Lord revealed Himself.
When they followed Jesus' advice, the catch was enormous - 153 fish in total. In most cases such a haul would have broken the net. Jesus invited them to have breakfast with Him - fish and bread; He had already started the fire. I can only imagine that this scene would resemble some buddies going out and camping together.

There is so much that we are to learn in this passage about God's ways. As a workplace believer, we must understand that after we have spent years with Jesus, this does not always mean we must leave our professions in order to fully follow Jesus. Peter went back to his profession - fishing. It was here that Jesus asked him a simple question: Do you love Me and will you feed My sheep? He didn't say to Peter, "Fishing is a waste of time for you now, Peter." This recommissioning was in the area of his original calling - his work. We need not feel that we must go to the "mission field" to please Jesus. Our work is our mission field. We must, however, make a paradigm shift in our thinking about our place in the work world. We must have an overriding sense of mission and ministry that comes out of that work. This is what is meant when we say that we must all be circumcised before we can enter the Promised Land. When this happens, we can expect to see God fill the nets with His blessings. He wants to do this because He now owns the net, and He can trust us to manage it.

We all know that God moves in strange ways but the ways always have a purpose. I have experienced this also. How about you?

HI ! I AM A CHRIST FOLLOWER. I JUST PRETEND TO BE AN APE.

2010-02-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

HI! I AM A CHRIST FOLLOWER. I JUST
PRETEND TO BE A DENTIST.

I had heard this from a Dentist some where once and it struck me by surprise that he would be so open with his faith to a total stranger. I found this statement to be quite a bold statement for any one to say at a first meeting. Then I wondered if I would be as bold to make such a statement to people I have never met before. Sadly the answer was no, not at first. How many of us would do the same? Was this dentist a crack pot? I don't think so. I took it as he was totally convicted of the salvation that Christ offered and was not afraid to profess his faith to any one.

You have to admire this dentist for his conviction to so openly profess his faith to any one. From what I understand his practice was flourishing. It has been said he has won many to Christ as well as saved a few teeth for his customers.

Here in lies the question. Would we do the same to people we meet with out fear, rejection, or reprocussions? Just as Jesus called out to Simon Peter and Andrew at the sea of Galilee and John and James to follow Him, He is calling out to us to follow Him and be fishers of men to spread His word and works. (Matthew 4: 18-22).

We are being called today to continue with His work He had started so long ago so that more can be saved and enjoy the grace of the Lord through eternal life and share in the living waters that flow freely from God for all that repent and believe. Crowns of glory and riches beyond any one's imagination await those in the Kingdom of Heaven that spread to all His words of love and salvation.

Are you ready to be the new Apsotles and followers of Christ by openly professing your convictions to others ? Time is running short and there are so many souls yet to be saved.

THE DEFINITION OF CHRISTIAN APATHY

2010-01-26T18:49:00.000-08:00

APATHY: Lack of interest or desire for activity, indifference, lack of feeling. See indifference, ( lack of importance).

Now add Christian to the front of apathy and you just described the typical Christian today. It is really surprising that there are over 50 million so called card carrying Christians in America and numerous different denominations on top of that. You would think that would be a powerful group with plenty of political clout, power, and organization dedicated to preserving the Christians rights in America. You would think should a small group dedicated to taking away certain rights of Christians by judicial means, the Christian movement would be organizing and launching a counter attack against those that want to strip us of our rights. It never seems to have happened.

I was a student in high school in 1961when prayers in the schools were banned thanks to government legislation and one person ( O'Hara) and her organization forcing our government to pass legislation banning prayers in schools. I did not hear a whimper out of the organized Christian denominations trying to fight this issue. It was said to be offensive to some. What ever happened to the separation of Church and State law that our forefathers included when they wrote the Declaration of Independence and the bill of rights? As so many of the secular Humanist and liberals like to quote wrongly, separation of state and the church meant that the state or government cannot dictate what religion you must practice.It gave you the freedom to choose your faith with out persecution. Funny how those groups love to abuse that phrase and make it mean something else.

Over the years we lost more rights to practice our faith because it was offensive to some. Colleges refuse to allow prayer groups or gatherings on campus for religious ( Christians in particular) activity or teaching divine creation, but it has no barriers for preaching humanist views or theology. Many professors have the right to spew their venom freely although the humanist movement is considered a secular religion tax wise. You know what? Not a whimper from Christian organizations got together to battle what a few considered was offensive.

Now comes the Ten Commandments banned in public places and courts. A few felt felt it was offensive. I always though it was a good moral rule to follow whether you were a Christian or not. What do I know? Considering our out of control crime rate America is suffering, it should have stayed in place. Not a whimper was heard from the Christian organizations trying to fight this legislative law.

In 2009 in a small town in Pace Florida, the ACLU sued Pace High School athletic coach for leading prayer at a banquet off school grounds. One person thought it was offensive and complained. At the tax payers expense, the ACLU freely went to court to sue the school administrators and the coach. As an act of defiance the entire graduating class of 2009 during their graduation ceremony stood up and said the Lords prayer to show their support against the suit which was later dropped by the ACLU. One question I have to ask is why one person has so much clout over the majority?

As far as offensive I don't understand why Porn sites have freedom to peddle their smut freely to adults and children as part of the freedom of speech and business. Isn't that offensive too? My bad. The ACLU freely uses our taxpayers money to insure they can stay in business and that is OK?.

Still I do not see any activity by a Christian movement to control these offensive activities out side of religion. I asked why is that? It is my view that you can't get two denominations or congregations to unite and form a coalition to battle what is offensive to Christians. As a matter of fact, they can't even agree on the doctrine of the bible or how we should worship. No wonder non believers look on Christians as being disorganized and a joke. Then you have Christians that take the attitude "it is not up to me". Well if you are in the Body of Christ, you better wake up before you are worshiping hidden from view and persecution. It is coming if we don't take a stand and say enough is enough. We want God back in America and the right to pray in public and our schools.

That can only happen if all Christians stand together and organized with out any denomination boundaries and theologies. We also need to be heavily involved in the politics of today so that we make the right decisions in electing candidates that share our beliefs and not have it taken away from us. It is good we send water wells to third world countries and cater to the housing project persons who only have federal assistance to survive here but we need to reach out of our comfort zones and take a hard look at our selves to see if we are the apathetic Christians we should not be.

I firmly believe God wants us to do battle for Him and insure that He is not banned from our lives. Granted we all believe He will take us up into heaven at the end times but I would think He would want us to fight to keep Him in our lives and the world while we are still on earth and not be apathetic about what is happening around us here now. In other words we should not be standing around and waiting for the rapture to happen thinking we have first class tickets to heaven. Surprisingly many of us will not get the opportunity if we don't change our thought process and remain apathetic. I believe many of you are better versed in the bible than I so you will understand my implications as it relates to the bible.

If you have followed my other articles about fellowship and caring for others, you will understand my displeasure as to what happens with in the church with fellow Christians or others seeking God's grace. Also David Johndrow at Fire and Grace puts a hefty spin on this issue too. God so dearly loves us but I think we as a whole really disappoint Him in some ways.

What are you? An apathetic Christian or a passionate Christian and willing to do battle against the forces intent on taking God out of our lives.

THERE IS NOTHING ELSE TO SAY

2010-01-17T15:03:00.001-08:00

THERE IS NOTHING ELSE TO SAY. I AM DONE.

ALL THAT I AM IS WHAT I BELIEVE IN. ALL THAT I BELIEVE IN IS WHAT I HAVE SAID. YET, IT IS NOT ENOUGH.

I HAVE ONLY SCRATCHED THE SURFACE FOR WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID. STILL THERE IS MORE BUT THE WORDS FAIL ME. I SEARCH FOR MEANING BUT IT ELUDES ME.

I PRAY FOR UNDERSTANDING BUT I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. I SEARCH FOR WISDOM BUT I FIND VERY LITTLE. I SEEK KNOWLEDGE AND ANSWERS BUT I MISS THEIR MEANING.

THERE IS NOTHING ELSE TO SAY. I AM DONE

JUDGEMENTAL AND CRITICAL

2010-01-17T12:25:00.000-08:00

This time I am going to be judgmental and critical. Ok, I know it is a sin but it is just my own thoughts about things. I know I should not judge others and criticize the church but I am an outcast with too many non conforming and thinking out side the box thoughts any way so why not?

Today at church we were passed out a brochure announcing the spring season class schedules for those Christians that might want to partake of the classes. Not a bad idea and many of the classes are good. The classes cover everything from financial issues to learning Greek as it applies to the scriptures. There is classes for learning how to pray for those in the healing ministries, prayer groups, and parenting classes. Also listed are leadership classes for ones that desire to be leaders in the volunteer groups. One class is an introduction the the church doctrine for new members. They also have a class for Christians that want to be share holders ( tithing the 10 % rule). I am not knocking these classes. Let me make that perfectly clear folks. All these classes have a justifiable merit for the new and seasoned members of this church. It gives them knowledge and ways to better serve the church. Not necessarily serving the ones seeking God.

In one class I once signed up for (Alpha), it started out with a sizable crowd seeking God. After the third week of a nine week class, the attendance was down 50% approximately and never went back up. This led me to believe perhaps the message being sought was not available or it did not contain the answers those that dropped out were seeking . Had they remained, perhaps they too could have found the answers they were seeking when the better speakers appeared.

What disturbs me most is I don't see classes on how to reach out to ones in the community that are not Christians or in an emotional state of their lives looking for God or salvation. It over looks the ones that are a bit different or doesn't dress that well and as dear friend David Johndrow of "Fire and Grace" says "the congregation ignores them at church". These are the one that need our help but do they get it? We cant' set up healing ministries in a building and sit at the door waiting for some one to come in and ask for help. Many are too proud even though deserving to do that.

The church professes being out ward focused and that is great to reach out in the community to help many. Most churches usually pick an area to focus on such as a housing project or distressed area in the community and I think that is commendable. Thinking about these areas though, one realizes most are on financial aid from the government, welfare, SSI,allowed HUD, free medical aid, food stamps, and wick along with utility assistance from a few agencies. This is good. I am glad some one is helping those people out. We should have an outward focused ministry but are the ones really seeking help falling through the cracks? We can give till we are blue in the face at the center but does it turn them to the Lord? Are we training the volunteers to have the capacity to win their souls to Christ by keeping in contact and following through should the ones in need want someone to talk to? That is the million dollar question.

I recently had an experience at an IHOP eatery. The cashier was new and nervous. She was hurrying around trying to serve all the guest in her section. Even the 3 rude and demanding ones with out a justifiable cause. They made her life hell that night complaining and running her back and fourth even though she showed the most courteous manner serving them.. My wife overheard her talking to one of the other servers crying and saying how much she need the job to support her new born child on what she made there. Our heart went out to her.

We saw when the rude customers left that they didn't leave a tip after putting her through hell. It was then that the wife and I would take care of their missing tip. Even through her ordeal she was always pleasant to us making sure we were taken care of.

We left a sizable tip ( more than what our meal cost) and my card saying God loves you and my web site address if she wanted more information. As we left she came up to us and said "Thank you. The message meant more to her than we would ever know." I received another follower for God desiring to hear the word of God from that experience.

This is an example that you don't hear much about in classes and it should be part of being a Christian reaching out to others. You will never know when the Lord will use you to bring others into His grace. Are you prepared to witness for God with the classes you take? Will you take the time to spread Gods word with the next stranger you meet that looks desolate and hurting? Are you willing to serve others seeking God's grace?

IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

2010-01-13T14:25:00.000-08:00

One evening an old man was sitting on the beach watching the waves come in and noticed a young boy tossing sand dollars and starfish back into the waves that washed up on the shore. The old man was amused but felt the young boy was wasting his time. After a while he went up to the boy and said "why waste your time doing that? There are so many that wash up on the shore, you can't save them all." The boy didn't respond and continued his task. The old man repeated his statement again. The young boy continued but then the young boy stopped and said "it makes a difference to this one."

What faith the young boy had thinking he could save those crustaceans or what ever they are called. Do we have that same faith in saving a life no matter how insignificant it may be? Would we take the time if we felt it would make a difference? How many lives have you saved for Jesus using this young boy's principal? All it takes is one person to take the time to reveal God's plan to another that is lost in order to save them. Could you make a difference? You will never know until you take that first step just like this young boy did.

FOCUS

2010-01-09T18:40:00.000-08:00

PROUD PEOPLE focus on others failures . BROKEN PEOPLE are overwhelmed with a sense of their own spiritual needs.

PROUD PEOPLE have a critical fault finding spirit towards others. BROKEN PEOPLE are compassionate and forgive much because they know how much they have been forgiven.

PROUD PEOPLE are self righteous and look down on others. BROKEN PEOPLE esteem all others above themselves.

PROUD PEOPLE have an independent, self sufficient spirit. BROKEN PEOPLE have a dependent spirit and recognize their need for others.

PROUD PEOPLE have to prove they are right. BROKEN PEOPLE are willing to yield the right to be right.

PROUD PEOPLE claim rights and have a demanding spirit. BROKEN PEOPLE yield their rights and have a meek spirit.

PROUD PEOPLE desire to be served. BROKEN PEOPLE are motivated to serve others.

PROUD PEOPLE feel confident in how much they know. BROKEN PEOPLE are humbled by how very much they have to learn.

PROUD PEOPLE have a subconscious feeling, " This ministry/church is privileged to have me and my gifts." think of what my gifts can do for God. BROKEN PEOPLE have a heart attitude that says, " I don't deserve to have a part in any ministry." knowing that they have nothing to offer God except the life of Jesus flowing through their broken lives.

PROUD PEOPLE desire self advancement. BROKEN PEOPLE desire to promote others.

Which group do you fall in? Which group is better in service to the Lord? Which group do you think will have the Lord's blessings?

Now this can also be said about the churches too if you think about it. I have a friend that is deeply faithful to the Lord. He is well versed in scriptures. He attends Church. He has went on missions in foreign countries but yet he feels like an outsider in churches that he has attended. No one calls to have a chat over a cup of coffee. This friend has went to classes, volunteered, joined bible study groups, and reached out to others. But yet, no one has made any attempts to get connected or return the favors.

I have another friend with serious health issues and can't always attend church services some times. This friend has been on prayer groups and made suggestions to ministers to make connections to the ones with health issues but her suggestions fell on deaf ears. This friend never gets any calls to find out how she is doing and she has been a regular in this church for years.

I too have experienced these same issues in the church I attend now. The first month I attended this church I volunteered to be a greeter. No one in the group was overly friendly so I went about introducing my self to every one only to hear later one of the greeters saying "Who is that guy going around saying Hi. I am Mickey Mouse to every one?" The group got a laugh out of that so I stopped being a greeter and introducing my self. Going to bible studies and attending classes really didn't help either. Every one was still a bit standoffish except two people. This church is a mega church so that might have some bearing but one being rather new and not in the click groups will find it hard to make connections.

Never the less, I still reach out to be involved in some way but the opportunities are far and few and the promise to get in touch is non existent. So this brings up the question, am I being judged by what I wear, where I live, and what I drive or is it I have shown too much passion in wanting to serve God and it intimidates them or threatens their lofty positions in the church? I don't think it is any of the afore mentioned but more of an age issue. I am not the youngest kid on the block any more. Most people my age and retired are just content to sit in church every Sunday and go home after the celebration and wait till next Sunday for another celebration.

I don't think God has that in mind for me. He wants me to serve Him and win souls to Christ, not be passive and a member of a click group.

WHEN YOUR SAILS NO LONGER HAVE WIND

2010-01-09T09:32:00.000-08:00

I found this piece on "Prime Time with God" to be an inspiration. I wanted to share it with you so that it may also inspire you as it did me.

He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven (Ps 107:29-30).

Imagine for a moment you began an exciting sailing adventure. You've been trained to navigate and sail on the ocean and be ready should trouble arise. You are confident you can handle the challenge. However, midway in the journey your resources have dried up. It almost seems God has intentionally destroyed all the skills you have to deal with the weather and the obstacles and your sails are now damaged. Even your engine has broken down. And to make matters even worse, your oars were lost overboard.

You are stuck in the middle of the ocean and there is no wind to propel your boat. You are, as they say, "up the creek without a paddle."
All of this leads you to the end of yourself and you say, "Lord, I don't know why you brought me out here only to die." The silence is deafening.

Finally, the Lord speaks, "Yes, you are right. I did bring you out here. I did destroy your sails. I did break your engine. And yes, I do want you dead. Not in a physical sense, mind you, but in a spiritual sense. In order that you may LIVE."

"You see my child, you are nothing without Me. You cannot do anything without my grace and power in your life." The sailor quietly yields. Suddenly, a gentle wave lifts the front of the boat. An easterly wind blows through the broken sail moving the boat in the right direction. You realize God is moving your boat! Your role now is to steer it.

Do your sails no longer have wind to move you? Is your engine broken? Does it feel like God has propelled you into the open sea only to stop midway with no options? Perhaps He is saying it is time to die in order that He might live through you. Give the Lord total control today and you will see His wind moving through your tattered sails.

This article certainly encourages us to put our faith and trust in His powers in difficult times in our lives. He is the divine source that leads us, guides us, and calms the seas in our journeys through out our life. Are you willing to let your old self die in order for God to give you an abundant life in His grace and smoother sailing in the seas of turmoil? With His grace and love, you can overcome all that is put before you by only believing and trusting in Him. The choice is yours.

PROPHESY, GIFTS, HOLY SPIRIT, AND THE SUPER NATURAL

2010-01-01T09:31:00.000-08:00

Many denominations today insist that these occurrences only happened during the biblical times and do not exist today or do they?

I know of two instances that recently happened that the medical doctors cannot explain. In the last two weeks I have read and heard on TV news about a pregnant lady getting an epidural to begin the birthing of her unborn child had died and so did the child. Efforts to revive both had failed. Both had no vital signs, and the bodies had already turned the deathly color due to no circulation. The Doctors had allowed the father to hold the child for a moment before being taken to the morgue. In an unexplained mystery after several minutes, both came back to life after being clinically dead.

Another instance in the same time frame a man was admitted to a hospital feeling sick and died. He was dead for 47 minutes. No pulse, no breathing, or any vital signs The doctor attending him felt compelled to continue working on him to bring him back to life. Usually after 10 to 15 minutes a person that dies has no chance of being revived as I have been told but this doctor was led not to give up. After 47 minutes, he was brought back to life with no apparent signs of any issues related to such a long time with out oxygen or blood circulation.

At a press interview, the man stated he thanked God for allowing him to live. The Doctor nodded in approval. The man did state of an experience in the after life but refused to elaborate on it as being personal. Was this divine super natural intervention? What else could it have been?

As we all know from the scriptures, there are several instances of Jesus and his disciples hearing from God, healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead, and giving sight to the blind but did it stop in biblical times? Perhaps not.

In order to offer credibility to what I am about to write, I am going to use my own personal experiences and material from 3 of Jack Deer's books on the matter. Jack Deer is was a professor of the Dallas Theological seminary, pastor of several Churches, and author of best selling books in faith. He wasn't one to openly embrace the super natural powers, gifts, tongues, healing, or prophesy at first but that ideology changes with first hand experience over a period of time.

Smith Wiggelsworth ( 1859 to 1947) comes to mind as a start claiming he had actually brought back to life a lady who was considered to be dead. He also had healing powers and the gifts of tongues and interpretations as well as being filled with the Holy Spirit. Although a layman, he had written a few books on his experience and preached of faith supported by the love of God and his fellow persons. It is applicable to also consider he had the gift of prophesy too based on his writings.

Jack Deer tells of an incident where he and two others members of his church prayed for a lady that had an aneurysm as diagnosed by angiogram test and her Doctor. She was to have another test done the next day. The next day she went for another angiogram and the aneurysm had disappeared. Her doctor told her that aneurysms do not disappear but have to be surgically corrected. His only explanation was she was healed by a miracle. And that miracle was divine.

In another incident in 1986 Jack Deer had went to hear John Wimber ( Vineyard founder)at a curch in Texas. Wimber had called up a lady with severe back pain that had just been to a Doctor. He even called out her name and gave specifics. Jack being the skeptic he was had many questions for John Wimber after the services that night only to find out that was the norm for Wimber being able to pick out ones in the gathering that needed healing as led by the Holy Spirit.

Jack Deer speaks of another man named Paul Cain who he met in 1988. Paul Cain played a major role in the late 40's and early 50's healing revival of that time. He left the movement in 1958 disgusted with the corruption and abuses in the movement that seemed to take hold. Jack Deer attends a meeting with Paul Cain. From the audience he ask for diabetics to stand and he prayed for them. He looked at a lady and told her she was not diabetic but had low blood sugar. He goes on to tell her she has serious allergies. He mentions the lady had a weak valve in her heart and a growth on her pancreas. He went on to say the Lord heals those conditions. Further visits with her Doctors revealed of all that was wrong was healed. The Doctor had no explanation except that it was a miracle.

Now these miracle healings were done in the 20th century. Not 2,000 years ago. I could continue but I think you are getting the drift. It seems the Holy spirit is alive and well in the 20th century and doing miracles for those that will only believe. How was he getting this information about these people? Through prayer and the intervention of the Lord and the Holy Spirit. Through Paul Cain's prayers to the Lord these people were healed. You might say he has prophetic and healing gifts.

Spiritual gifts has been covered before in earlier articles but it remains one of the vital parts of serving the Lord. We all have at least one of the spiritual gifts. Some have more or many. It just depends on you experiencing the gifts or seeking them out. Here is a case of practice makes perfect. Do not be afraid of the gifts. They are divinely given to you for the asking by the Lord. If you are filled with the Holy Spirit and earnestly love God and your fellow humans, the Spiritual Gifts will be granted by the Holy Spirit through the grace of God. How wisely you use the gifts in service to God will depend on your humility and honesty. Do not become boastful or proud but be humble. Other wise you will fail and face humiliation.

Prophesy is no longer relevant in modern times. or is it? We all know about prophesy in biblical times where the prophets stated "Thus says the Lord". This was actually God speaking to the prophets to convey a message and or warning. Can that happen today? I don't know but I do know God can do what ever He feels like doing when He wants to or how He wants to. I also understand from Revelations there will be two witnesses that will prophesize to the world for a given time and no one can do them harm (Revelations 11:3-12).

In today's prophesies, I would have to imagine that it deals more so with us on a personal level revealing our hidden issues and our future. Yes there are prophets in that respect in the 20th and 21st century. Jack Deer also experienced the modern day prophet in a Mike Bickle that was a pastor in a church in Kansas City. Mike Bickle revealed to Jack Deer his most hidden feelings and revealed his future. As Jack Deer says, "Prophets tell us the things we cannot see. They do it by revelation from God. They do it to encourage, comfort, and strengthen us so that we can see and marvel at the beauty, splendor, power, goodness and the wisdom of Jesus."

Now this doesn't mean you have to go around and profess to be a prophet proclaiming gloom and doom. You have to do just the opposite to be a true prophet. You encourage and reinforce the faith in God and along the way you heal the sick and afflicted.

Then you ask why such miracles, gifts, supernatural occurrences, and prophesies are not wide spread in all churches? There are many various reasons but I think it is certain denominations rejected these doctrines as out of date with today, a rise of ungifted bureaucratic leadership who put out gifted people, or it was too Pentecostal and weired. In short, they have strangled the free will of the Holy Spirit and God's will. Certainly a direct disobedience to God's commands ( 1 Cor. 12:31 14:1-39).

As it is called today, the Charismatic movement has gained a foot hold in the Christian faith and is growing although there are a number of skeptics and churches that still discount it's validity. Can we refuse to acknowledge that people like John Wimber, Paul Cain, Mike Bickle, Jack Deer, and others are successfully healing, seeing visions, and prophesying just as it was in Biblical times? The evidence is overwhelming to the contrary just as it is prophesied in the scriptures in the coming end times.

I have to say I was the biggest skeptic on the gifts and prophesy when I became a believer. I had never heard of such in my earlier years as it was not the doctrine for the churches I attended back then but the scriptures I read personally now says otherwise. We must all believe in the powers of the Holly Spirit and listen to what that still silent voice is telling us from the scriptures. Only then can we experience all the wonders that God has put before us in serving Him in all His glory. The gifts are there for the asking if only we ask with a true heart and compassion to serve God in all His glory through the Holy Spirit.

Could I be now classified a Charismatic Evangelist? I don't know, but I do know that I do believe in all that I am is for the grace of God and desire all that He has to offer me in service to Him. I will trust in Him to lead me in His desires.

A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

2009-12-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

I SAT DOWN TO GIVE A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE BUT I COULD NOT COME UP WITH MORE BEAUTIFUL WORDS THAN WHAT I HEARD FROM THE CELTIC WOMAN GROUP. PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO LISTEN TO THEIR ANGELIC VOICES.

THAT BEING SAID,I WISH ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS

LARRY AKA PHOTOGR

THE UNCLEAN GENTILES

2009-12-16T15:25:00.000-08:00

We all know in biblical times the Hebrew Christians thought of Gentiles as unclean and had nothing to do with them according to the law Moses had set forth.

That was all about to change when Jesus stopped Saul ( Paul) on the road to Damascus and asked those famous words " Saul ! Saul! why are you persecuting me?" (Acts 9: 3 - 17). In these passages Jesus explains to Ananias that Saul was to be his instrument to preach to the Gentiles and kings as well as the Israelites.

Now comes Peter a devout follower of Jewish law. As he was praying on a roof top, he fell into a trance and out of the heavens came down a large sheet held up by four corners.In this vision there was all sorts of animals on this sheet. A voice spoke to Peter to kill the animals and eat them. Naturally he rebuked the order stating he could not eat what is unclean according to Jewish law. The voice then stated " Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean". The vision was repeated three times before being pulled back up into the heavens. (Acts10:9-16). What was the voice trying to convey to Peter? If God made it, it was clean ( man or beast)?

About this time the Holy Spirit spoke to Peter saying 3 men have come seeking him and go with them quickly as he had sent them because Cornelius ( A Roman officer and a Gentile) that was summoned by an angel to seek him. Peter went with them to the home of Cornelius in Caesarea where Cornelius had gathered all his relatives , friends, and servants to hear of Jesus and God. It is then that Peter finally realized what that vision on the roof top meant when he made the statement about associating with Gentiles. (Acts 10:34 -43).

Many that day were blessed with the Holy Spirit, spoke in tongues, and were baptised in Jesus name. This totally surprised Peter that Gentiles could also receive the Lords blessings. As the word spread about the incident at Cornelius' home, Saul ( now Paul) and Barnabus was also preaching to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles who better received his words over the Jewish people in one town. The Jewish people incited a riot and ran them out of town, through jealousy of preaching Gods grace to the Gentiles. Paul and Barnibus were better received in other towns as they made their way back to the council in Jerusalem. Gentiles along the way were converted and baptised. So in actuality, I stand corrected in my assumption that it was Paul only that brought the word of Jesus to the Gentiles. It was Peter, Barnabus and Paul that introduced Jesus to the Gentiles. The three gave their testimony to the council in Jerusalem about the Gentiles hearing the word of God and believing just as Jesus had instructed the Apostle's to do. ( Acts15 ).

From that meeting, came the agreement to share with the Gentiles the word of God's prophecies and the word of Jesus with out the traditional customs of the Jewish faith to all that would believe and repent of their sins. A letter was sent out to the new believers out lining what was expected and guidelines to follow much to the joy of the Gentiles.

What joy it is to realize that Jesus chose to include the Gentiles as His followers and share the word of the Lord so that so many more can become a part of the Body of Christ. We are certainly blessed and should give thanks and praise to His Holy name for allowing us to worship Him.

WHO AM I ?

2009-12-08T13:59:00.001-08:00

Certainly a simple enough question for one to ask others. This is actually a question Jesus put to the disciples " Who do the people say I am?" ( Luke9:18). Some of the disciples mentioned what the crowd thought of who He was but Peter mentioned He was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus replied to Peter, " You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father has revealed this to you". (Luke 16: 15-19). Only Peter correctly said who Jesus really was. The other disciples stated the crowds thought he was John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets. I don't think the others were sure who he was. This was an early indication of Peter's understanding of Jesus mission on earth.

Jesus had fed thousands of followers and healed many more all the while preaching in parables and teaching of God's kingdom if they would believe. Jesus raised people from the dead and gave them life. Many were baptised in His name and became disciples.

At another time,the masses went to Capernanum to find Jesus but He admonished them for only seeking Him because He feeds them not because they understood the miraculous signs he performed. ( John6:26-27) Jesus At one point stated "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you cannot have eternal life with in you". ( John 6: 53) This was a hard teaching and many failed to understand this metaphor. Most of the followers deserted Him as they failed to understand what He meant. Had they stuck around they might have been privileged to hear His meaning ( John6:60-71). This was a way to frustrate the impure motives of ones who tried to be close to Him. The original 12 disciples although clueless did stay around for Him to explain to them the purpose of the metaphors.

As you read the scriptures in the New testament, Jesus did speak frequently in parables and metaphors to confuse the ones seeing but were blind and the ones hearing but were deaf. As that fateful day in Jerusalem drew near, Jesus spoke plainly to the disciples of what He has taught and what was to come to pass. He spoke of Peter denying knowing Him three times before the rooster crows. He spoke about the day the temple in all it's beauty in Jerusalem will come down with no stone un turned which actually did happen 70 years later in a siege by the Romans to over throw a revolt by Hebrew rebels.

Jesus is the most pivotal person or God in all creation. What He has stated and prophesied in the New Testament was the foundation of a new church belief called Christianity that promised eternal life in God's kingdom. Jesus spread His message of salvation through out the biblical lands two thousand years ago. He raised the dead, healed the sick, did miracles, cast out demons, taught a new belief of love for others, taught righteousness walked on water, fed thousands with just a few loaves of bread and a few fish. He also went to the cross as a sacrifice to pay for mankind's sins. He frequently met with His disciples after He was raised from the dead for 40 days to show them he was raised and lived. He commissioned the 11disciples to go forward and spread the Good News (after being touched with the Holy Spirit at a later time) as He ascended to Heaven. He also converted Paul who was an enemy of the new Christian movement to a pivotal leader in the new Christian movement. From that humble beginning the Christian movement has encircled the earth and many today are still being won over to Christ from those humble beginnings. I might say Jesus was and is a super natural being ( God's Son) blessed under the power of God to offer salvation and eternal life to the ones that would only believe in Him and accept Him as their personal saviour. Why is that so hard to do for some people? The scriptures shows you the way. Just read His spoken words in the bible. It should inspire you as it has me.

I lightly covered Jesus ministry in that short 3 years to give you an impression of who He was. What would you say if Jesus asked you that question "Who am I?"

YOU ARE NOT RETIRED, YOU ARE REFIRED UP.

2009-11-23T14:06:00.000-08:00

When one decides to retire and take life easy, one does not expect to do any more task or jobs. You know, the easy life. The one thing you planned all your life so you didn't have any time sheets or cards to punch. No more bosses, no more deadlines, no more pressure and no more stress. Yep, that is going to be great or so I thought. I was fortunate to take an early retirement as I had planned for decades. Well I have to tell you for me, it did not happen or didn't work

As I was getting used to the "easy life", I always felt uneasy and wasted a lot of time doing nothing or had no real purpose for getting out of bed. I did take up managing a mobile home park part time a few years back to have a purpose but that wasn't it. Although I was a par time believer on again and off again and occasionally attended a church, I was not getting some strong messages or I wasn't listening to that still silent voice.

A little while later I was at a nature preserve doing photography work when all of a sudden I felt like I was struck by a lightning bolt out of the sky. It wasn't that stormy of a day but it sure felt like it. All of a sudden I vividly recalled certain passages from the scriptures , the feeling of elation and peace fell upon me. It was something I never experienced before. When I came to my senses, I was down on my knees and the Geese nearby looked at me dumb founded. I looked up at the sky and all that I could say was "My God what did you do? ". Then I began to hear the still silent voices that I ignored before through the years. No I wasn't struck by lightning but I think the Lord struck me up side my head with a base ball bat to get my attention.

It was then that I felt compelled to start daily prayers, reading the scriptures, devoured numerous books on theology and Christianity, and began to generate a better understanding of scriptures that I never had before. After nearly two years of study, the wife and I were ready to take the next step and joined a church in order to have fellowship and serve the Lord. I started up a blog site to reach out to others that may or may not have a home church in order to spread the "Good News" covering topics of the Scriptures, miracles, the Holy Spirit, and the Spiritual gifts. We joined several classes in learning about the church doctrine,did some volunteer work, and made new friends.

At a recent Encounter ( mini revival , my term), I was really feeling blessed by the Holy Spirit while singing the Revelation Song. I didn't realize I moved up to the front near the altar while singing and rejoicing in the Lord. All of a sudden with in the large group of people at the altar, the head of the Encounter gathering came over to me whom I had never officially met before and began praying and laying of hands on my shoulder. I was surprised but then realized where I was. A warm feeling came over me and I felt revitalized as she prayed and I broke down praising god and began praying feverishly. I don't really know what I said in my prayers but she turned to me and said "you are not retired, you are re fired up". All I said was "Yes I am. Thanks" ( I think) and then she was gone back into the crowd of others praying.

I had been pondering my retirement fearing I was too old at 65 now to become active in ministering or pursuing an evangelist vocation other that what I was doing on the Internet. Was she divinely sent to seek me out and pass on encouragement from the Lord that you are never too old to serve? Is this the message I was seeking from the Lord? Why did she say that to me? I never mentioned retirement to her or her associates.

Considering God works in strange ways, I can only feel that message was divine. Now I know. You too can experience the same divine guidance by only accepting Jesus as your saviour and confess your sins. God is a loving forgiving God that wants you to share His love for you. Just don't take decades to understand that like I did. I wasted so much of my life refusing to serve and believe. I was lucky. He got my attention before it was too late. I dedicated my life to serve him and He has been a beacon of light in a dark world leading and guiding me. Life in the flesh is too short to waste it and face eternal damnation. As you read the scriptures, God is always a loving God that wants you to be saved in His grace. Every day He calls out to you to become one of His children in faith. He is also patient and forgiving. He has many gifts to offer you through the Holy Spirit and to witness the miracles of His healing powers. He is always and will for eternity be your pillar of strength if only you believe and serve only Him.

Can you make that choice today? Can you get down on your knees and pray with your heart for salvation in Jesus name? Time is running short. I can assure you if and when you pray to the Lord for salvation, You will be lifted out of darkness and forgiven of your sins. You will walk in the light of the Lord forever by only believing in this life and you will never taste the death of the flesh as your spirit will be lifted up into heaven to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

It is your call.

NO TITLE

2009-11-17T17:56:00.000-08:00

Tonight I have no pictures to post. Tonight there is no title. Tonight I am deeply troubled. Tonight I see injustice every where I turn.

The world is a dark place with out light and peace. Every news station I watch, I only hear of death and violence. The Islamic radicals are killing their own and others for holy jihad. Grown men are taking little children for sexual satisfaction then killing them. They are also attacking adult women and killing too. Teenage children have become so rebellious that they kill and brutally attack each other or adults with out remourse if only for some kind of satisfaction. Others kill to settle a score or revenge. Our current political party has set out on a mission to ignore the wishes of the citizens and seem to be turning to a new age way of thinking. Socialism for the masses and a select few rule all. The constitution is no longer valid per their way of thinking.

Why does God allow these atrocities to happen? Wait a minute! We allowed God to be taken out of our schools, banned prayers, even the mention of God publically, our judicial systems, our displays in public places, our TV networks, and even our lives and yet we said nothing as believers. Don't you think God feels His grace is not welcome in our lives any more so why bother?

Then you may wonder why God lets these things happen. As in bibical times you remember the ones that rebeled and ignored His guidance were uncontrolable.They refused to hear his words. He had no recourse but to warn first of the results if repentance was not made. In the cases as told by the prophets for those that refused to change their wicked ways destruction and death proceeded. The case of Noah is a good example. Others can also be found in scriptures.

God can't control everything that happens out side of his plan but He can surely allow the ones in His plans eternal life in His kingdom after the death of the flesh. Those that fail to come into His grace before their death of the flesh will suffer the consequences eternally in damnation and hell. As Jesus has said only the young children are innocent of sin and will be spared in Heaven. So God does have a master plan for believers and sinners in the time of judgement days comming soon.It just doesn't seem to be that way now but He never rest.

These thoughts reminded me of the time of Abraham pleading to God for sparing Sodom and Gomorah if only 10 believers could be found there ( thinking of his nephiew Lot)(Genesis). Instead God sent two of his angels ahead to see what wickedness was there. Is this what our own country has become ( modern day Sodom and Gomorah)? I pray to God that He does not feel that way for the ones who do believe.

I would think it would be hard to target one home over the other to pelt with Hell fire and brimstones. However, He does have a master plan of allowing all to repent and come under His grace before the rapture. That will be the time that His patience runs out and Jesus will come back to earth to claim His church. Even then, God is still reaching out to the ones that still refuse to repent. This time though, the non believers only have about 7 years left should they survive the tribulations of famine, death, and plagues to repent. If not, eternal judgement and damnation will prevail for those that refuse Gods loving grace for eternal life.

God is a loving God and wants all of us to enjoy his love and grace. God hates sin and the ones who fail to repent but He every day pleads with you for a better way of life and peace. You will never find it in the Humanist manifesto, New Age thinking, a political ideaology, worshiping false gods, lust, money, power, or material objects. Only through God can you ever find inner peace and the glory of the miracles and super natural power of God. It is yours for the asking by only believing and praying for forgiveness. In Revelations chapter 21 to 22, we read of the New Jerusalem that will descend from Heaven to replace the old Jerusalem. Reading the descriptions will certainly prove God's love for you if only you will believe. This is our new home for all eternity in Gods grace.

What is your choice?

WHO IS MELCHISEDEC?

2009-11-11T15:56:00.000-08:00

Who is or was Melchisedec? Although he was only mentioned in three places in the Bible but seemed to hold a high priest position above all others. Some articles even went so far as to proclaim him a Pre incarnate Jesus. In Genesis :14, Abraham was blessed by Melchisedec after his battle to save his nephew Lot. Abraham goes so far as to give Melchisedec a tenth of all the goods he recovered in the battle. At the time Melchisedec was the King of Salem ( Jerusalem?). In Hebrews : 6, 7, and 8. Melchisedec is called a High priest of God, a king of peace, a king of Salem. He had no record of ancestors and there is no record of his ending and beginning of his life. He was not a descendant of any Levites where normally the priest were from. It is said he was a high priest for ever resembling the Son of God. There fore are we to conclude that Melchisedec was a spirit sent to earth in the form of a human and return to Heaven as in the case of Elijah not experiencing death? He lives eternally?

It was also said Jesus is like Melchisedec and a high priest in the order of Melchisedec. It was evident the apostles knew the importance of Melchisedec in the Book of Hebrews. So why is there not more on him if he held such a high position? I decided to do some research to find out more on Melchisedec.

In one publication, Melchisedec was called the King of Peace. Bible scriptures called Jesus the Prince of Peace so does this mean that he was a holy high priest or angel in Gods temple that took on a human form to dwell on earth in biblical times. Had he visited earth as a messinger or an agent of God with the power as God? We all know that God in Heaven has many of angels or Priest in various levels of power that dwell or serve in the House of the Lord so it is not that God is alone.

Another article I found suggest that Melchisedec was the pre incarnate Christ that came to earth to converse with Abraham well in advance of his birth in Bethlehem hundreds of years later. This article also states he had no father or mother, did not die, or was not born of earthly humans. Essentially he was a spirit or the actual incarnate of Christ.

One article suggested that Melchisedec was actually God himself in human form but goes on to say he might have been an intercessor for God. In Psalms 110.1 David is saying " the lord is saying to my Lord" (This indicates there are two lords conversing) "2 The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. 3 Thy people [shall be] willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. 4The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou [art] a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."

Another part of this article states: Therefore we see in this scripture that this one who is called Lord and Master will also be called a Priest forever after the Order of Melchizedek. It does not tell us that He is Melchizedek, but he will be a priest after the Order, which word AFTER comes from the Hebrew word, 'al' and it means, 1) upon, on the grounds of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with,… Therefore this one that is spoken of here will come and enter into a Priestly order which was founded by this Melchizedek. This then tells us that This Melchizedek laid the groundwork for this priestly order. He set the pattern, in which this other Lord will follow. At one point it states that Melchisedec was in fact Jesus in a preincarnate form. When Jesus was born, Melchisedec became Jesus in human form then we hear nothing else about Melchisedec until the book of Hebrews. I would have to think that Melchisedec was a priest of the highest order in the Lords house ( Heaven) with a large amount of power and ruling capacity.

Another article states also that Melchisedec and Jesus are the same person ( a preincarnate Jesus) at which time of Jesus birth, he became Jesus and at Jesus Resurrection Jesus became God.

Confused yet?

There are no clear objective definitions of who Melchisedec really was except of what is written in Hebrews. It was apparent the apostles knew of who he really was but did not elaborate except that he was a heavenly high priest of the Holy God all mighty. One of the mysteries in the Bible that does not fully explain his position. Perhaps in time it will be revealed Melchisedec's real identity. What we know now is Jesus was a high priest "after" the order of Melchisedec. Does this mean we are also priest in the order of Melchisedec as one article hinted since we are Christ followers?

/p>

WHAT IS IN A LABEL SPIRIT WISE.

2009-11-01T15:06:00.000-08:00

PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL IN 2008 LABEL

It seems for some reason there has to be a label on your faith rather than just being called a Christian. It seems you have to have a label so that you can be categorized or fit in a nice pigeon hole category by others.

Let me see how many I can come up with from my studies. I am not going to get into the different denominations as that will be another category to cover. There are the fundamentalist, cessationist, traditionalist, dispensationalist, Pentecostals, evangelicals, Charismatics, Post tribulationist, pretribulationist, and the list goes on. Then you have theologians that fall into these labels too. Some believe this way and some believe that way. I guess with theologians, it depends on which seminary you studied under.

A few of these groups states that the spiritual gifts ceased after the last apostle's death but that might not be the case. It very well could have been the church groups and bureaucratic leadership possibly put out gifted people or the church rejected them. Thus the people stopped seeking the gifts in direct disobedience to Gods commands. (1 Cor. 12:31: 14:1-39). Augustine about 3 centuries later began by believing that the miracle gifts were with drawn from the church but near the end of his life he retracted his claim and recorded 70 instances of miracles happening in his city of Hippo. Another that substantiates this was Warfield about 500 AD although he failed to give credence to the miracles he did state there were miracles.

Think about it. If the church lost the gifts for so many centuries could they have not lost other doctrine? Take the case of the book of Deuteronomy. It was lost some time after Moses death and wasn't discovered until about 622 B.C. It also happened again in the doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ as stated by the apostles . It wasn't until the reformation in the 1500's and 1600's that it was found and made available to all people again in their own language. Can you wonder if more vital scripture is lost in a dusty closet waiting to be discovered? Lets not even talk about the Gnostic scriptures.

Back to basics here. The reason for all these labels as related to Christians is to determine where your ideologies and thinking follows. What I don't agree with is being pigeon holed into a label or group. I think a bible believing Christian that follows the scriptures as it is written is plenty of a label. What has happened is these labels has split up the Christian church and created division among Christians. Can you imagine what the non believers think of this? We can't even agree amongst ourselves what to follow. This is certainly not what God had planned or envisioned. And all this time He thought that the Nation of Israel was a headache. It would be nice for all people of faith to sit down and unite under one goal as Christians but that will never happen due to the many varied ideologies that we can come up with in worshiping the Lord. There in lies the paradox of who is right and who is not.

What ever Bible you read the scriptures from, it should convey the true word as stated by God and understandable as God's will for us to follow. Careful repeated study will reveal His true words and it will jump right off the pages at you. We don't need to be theologians to understand what God is saying. Through Paul He says to earnestly seek the gifts and miracles. Through Paul He states we will be baptised with the Holy Spirit in order to receive these gifts. He was not talking about only the Apostles but us as Christians. It doesn't take a theologian to figure this out.

Miracles, Spiritual gifts, super natural healing, and loving faith in the Lord is ours for the asking. No label or church can take that away from you. It is from God as He loves us all and wants us to experience His grace and gifts. Of course this is going to label you as a charismatic or whatever. The fact remains is you are a Christian seeking God's grace and love. That is the only label you need to worry about.

So what does that label me?

CAN A ONE WINGED GOOSE FLY? MY MEDICAL EXPLOITS.

2009-10-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

Now that is a silly question. Of course not. Or can they? This is a story about my recent exploits with the medical profession concerning what turned out to be Cancer. Scary word isn't it. Well don't get your hopes up. I beat it ( cancer) this time.

I am getting ahead of myself her so let me start from the beginning. It was a cold dark stormy night when I noticed 2 black spots on my back which I concluded might be melanoma cancer. A quick visit to the Dermatologist revealed it was only liver spots ( age thing) so I asked the Dr. to check my arm that had a growth that would not heal from a severe burn I got over 4 years ago. After spraying my whole face with Liquid Nitrogen and me grimacing from the stings he took a look. Bingo! It was cancerous big time. The only lucky part of the diagnosis was it was only Basal Cell. The bad part was it was really big and needed a surgeon to do his handy work. Kaching goes the cash register.

Next meeting was the surgeon at the hospital. A rather jolly fellow with a good bedside manner and a hearty laugh. He took one look and said "Holy Cow! That was a monster!" Next in came every doctor at the hospital with cameras wanting to take pictures. I asked if I needed to smile for the cameras, but I only think they focused on the arm. In walks the surgeon with a tray loaded down with needles to numb the pain. All I could see in his eyes was dollar signs rolling over at a fast pace. Kaching! During the numbing process we had idle chat on how I got the burn which he states that cancer could pop up if a burn is not treated properly. Now he tells me.

He finally got off the first layer and had it taken to the lab for test. After two hours and 19 slides later he came back with another tray of needles for some more numbing. He says the cancer went pretty deep down and wide. All I could hear was a cash register ringing up in the back ground. Kaching! Kaching! More skin was removed and taken to the lab. After another hour he came back with more needles. You guessed it. More cancer in the skin still even wider and deeper. About this time here came the other doctors with their cameras again while the Surgeon was cutting out more skin. Feeling no pain I asked was I supposed to be smiling for the cameras. and that ever haunting register sound Kaching ! Kaching! Kaching! started up again. I also prayed to the Lord to help me with the intercession gift to stop that cash register from ringing up. And out he went with the removed skin for more test.

Now being there all this time ( 5+ hours) I was really hungry and asked the nurse could I get something to eat. She looked at me with disbelief and asked what I wanted. I said A skyline chili 4 way would be nice. I sat up on the side of the operating table and said you could send my wife out for one. I didn't think it would be good for me to walk over to get it my self. Out goes my wife ( I love that woman) to get me a 4 way. They actually moved me to an adjacent room and wrapped up my arm so I could eat my 4 way. As I was eating my 4 way the surgeon came back in and said we got it all. He then looked at me eating and asked what in the hell was I doing. All I said was I am eating. He let out a loud laugh and said why didn't I get him one. Sorry Doc. Now I am ready to "get er done".

He took some samples of the muscle tissue to be sure the Cancer had not spread into the muscles which were also visible. Looking at the arm did make me wheezy but I was going to eat no matter what. I was a bit hungry. Next came the "pig skin tissue to lay over the open wound to help it heal. Yes pig skin folks. It is used to speed up the process so they can do a skin graft later. Kaching! I ended up with a hole down to my muscles and bone 6inch x 5inches wide. Never again will I ever let a rash that pops up go unchecked.

The surgeon and nurse wrapped up the wound ( or should I say canyon)and immobilized my arm with instructions to keep it elevated for two weeks. They shouldn't have had to worry about that. It was wrapped so that I couldn't even use the arm.

Next visit 3 weeks later I get the skin graft. Horay! No more bandages, or so I thought. This Visit the surgeon and I get into an argument on where the graft is coming from. I am saying stomach as I have a lot of skin there. He is saying off the upper arm. Unfortunately he won. I knew I should not have let him give me the shots until we both agreed on where. As looped as I was from the numbing I didn't care where he took it. 5 hours later here I am with the blasted arm wrapped up from my arm pit to my wrist and no way to lower it. I mean it was positioned to stand out away from my body and the only comfortable position was over my head so that the stitches would not pull out. Yep again I have to hold the arm up over my head for 18 days this time. Can you imagine me walking around when I am not laying down with the arm hanging over my head almost for 18 days. People are going to think weired things. What am I supposed to do walking around waving at everybody? I can sense the guys in the white coats coming for me right now.

Well here I am with only one working arm and telling this story with one arm over my head feeling looped with pain medication and antibiotics powerful enough to make an elephant sick but there is a moral this story. One should never let a rash or festering any where on your body go as long as I did with out getting it checked right away. I waited almost 4 years before getting it checked. I was lucky it was only Basal Cell Cancer. It did not spread into any vital organs or muscle tissue. I can be thankful to the Lord for that. It could have been much worse.

I would also like to thank the friends that were praying for me on this adventure in the hopes it could be caught before spreading too far and the wife for waiting on me hand and foot since there isn't much I can do yet. Oh yes I would also like to thank my surgeon for the work he and his staff did to make this event as bearable as possible considering the circumstances.

Let me reiterate quite strongly no one should let any thing that shows up on your skin go unchecked for any amount of time. Basal Cell is a slow growing non invasive cancer. Squamous Cell is a fast growing deadly and invasive cancer. Melanoma cancer is a deadly fast growing invasive cancer. Don't risk your life by ignoring any growth on your skin. By the grace of God I was spared this time or has He spared me in the past also?

As I look back in my life at critical moments, I begin to see a pattern. As a young child 2 years of age I developed a serious respiratory condition that didn't allow me to breath on my own and the Drs. told my Mom they didn't think I was going to pull through. This was the second time in a year that I had this. He suggested that she should have a priest give the last rites if she was Catholic. A few days later I began to respond to treatment to the surprise of the Doctors. After a month in the hospital I was back home healthy as can be.

As a rambunctious teen, I was always full of life and was always pushing the limit. I had become interested in go kart racing. I had one I built for racing in a series that used twin Mc Collough MC 10s for engines. I raced at a local track every week end but ended up in a freak accident that split open my so called racing helmet. I ended up in a coma for three weeks. The Doctors again saw no chance of me ever pulling out of it. If I did I would be a vegetable. Again I proved them wrong. I recovered with no side effects except for an occasional head ache and some memory loss.

As a young manager of a local Kmart store in Charleston S.C. on River Road, I stopped a irate shoplifter from beating up one of my assistant managers that stopped him. He pulled a gun and started shooting at me. I was able to jump over a counter as he continued to shoot through the peg board. I was hit in the neck by one of the bullets but I kept running. The police arrived in time to stop his rampage after shooting him. They were looking for bullets as evidence and I pulled one of the bullets out of my neck which was just under the skin. Should have known it since I was bleeding from my neck.

In the late 80s, I started up a professional drag racing operation with me as the owner and driver for what is now called the Pro Modified class ( 200 MPH door slammers on Nitros). A near fatal 200 MPH crash ended that venture two years later. Again I beat the odds and survived.

It was then that I started to get the feeling I was not immortal any more. It was during a 6 month recovery that I found God telling me He had plans for me one day while out photographing nature at a wild life sanctuary. I could have sworn I was hearing things but it was real as it could be. Verses from scripture started flowing through out my thoughts and references from my earlier misadventures came into my mind. I was terribly moved from what I was thinking I was hearing.

More recently nearly three years ago I started having prostate problems as most men my age do or so I thought. I finally went to the Urologist. They found a tumor on my prostate and the issue of blood in my urine confirmed I had a real issue to face. Surgery was ordered after a barrage of test. During the ensuing time waiting I prayed feverishly for a cure. Never had I done this before. As I went in for surgery, I felt an inner peace and left it all in Gods hands. After the surgery I was advised they did not find the tumor that was plainly shown from the MRI test and the biopsies showed no cancerous cells. The doctors were amazed and I felt my prayers were answered. It was then that I took up the cross in earnest and started on a new adventure now knowing God had always been there saving me from my self and showing his Love if only I would surrender myself to Him totally. That evening high on Morphine injections I prayed again giving glory and praises to God for once again saving me.

Know I do know what wonderful plans God has in store for me and I am eternally grateful. What time I do have left I will serve only Him and He has given me more Gifts in order to serve Him fruitfully. For that I am a humble and lucky man.

FUNNY AND CUTE SELLS. SERIOUS IS OUT.

2009-10-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

HEY SINNER. GOD HAS WONDERFUL PLANS FOR YOU!
OR
IF YOU BELIEVE, YOU WILL HAVE EVER LASTING LIFE!

Have you ever noticed the advertisements on TV that have animals and Natures creatures hawking a product or service. Lets see how many there are: We have a white farm duck hawking AFLAC insurance. Then there was once a cute little puppy dog hawking Geico only to be replaced by a lizard and a smart one at that. We have red and pink bears hawking Charmin toilet paper. Then there are cute uncountable sheep popping up in your bed room hawking Serta beds. You have crows that seem to be smarter that the average window cleaning human. Oh yes, I almost forgot. Cavemen hawking Geico Insurance.

Kinda makes you pay attention doesn't it? Why is it that these commercials get your attention? They are cute and informative. They get a point across. Makes you want to buy their product doesn't it? What if God hired an advertising agency to get the word out and came up with ad jingles to stir up some attention to his salvation offered to us? Now I know I am stepping on hallowed ground here but I am only entertaining the possibilities of a cute ad campaign to win souls to Christ and better yet to get your attention. I will not go into the jingles area as that is up to God.

<> What I am trying to get across here is God does have a sense of humor and is filled with love beyond what we can even comprehend. How many mortals would allow their only son to be sacrificed so that his blood can cleanse us of sin so that we may be saved? ( John 3:16).None I can think of.

Jesus gave us two commandments. Love one another as he loves us and love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. ( John13:34 and Matthew23:37) Do we practice this much? As I was thinking about this, The Beatles song stance came to mind "Love is all We Need". (1Corinthians13:2) Paul stated of his gifts , knowledge, thoughts , and faith to move mountains; with out love He was nothing. There is that Love word again. God speaks numerous times about Love in the scriptures. He deeply loves us ( His children) and He has offered us salvation if we will only believe and sin not. Do we listen or understand that promise? It is a promise and God does not break his promise ever. As an incentive showing His love and grace, He showers us with loving gifts so that we can serve Him in His glory. He allows the Holy Spirit to grant us gifts that is best suited for our service and worship to Him. He allows the Holy Spirit to Baptise us with His being as a show of love. He encourages us to use the gifts to edify His grace . How can we not Love a gracious God such as He is. Love is all we need right now for God, our neighbors, our church members, and sinners alike.

I attended an Encounter ( Vineyard slang for revival?) last night. There was a great amount of love pouring out through out the chapel in worshipping the Lord. The Songs worshiping God had a new meaning and people were filled with the Holy Spirit. Tears of Joy filled the room. People went forward to be healed and prayed for. Some were jumping for joy. The laying of hands were tremendous. Over half the people were in front of the stage praising God and giving Him glory as the band played the Revelation song and Hallelujah as well as others . The Holy Spirit had total control in this encounter. Some thing I had never experienced since the old tent revival days from so long ago. This is what we should experience each time we enter the Body of Christ. I guess this is where I realized I may be a charismatic believer fully aware of the Gifts and the Holy Spirit though Gods grace.

You too can experience these same feelings if you can only repent and accept what God has laid out for you in His master plan of salvation and love for you. Even if you are a sinner, it doesn't matter. He wants you to share in His love for you. He wants you to dwell in His house for eternity. He wants you to be saved. He wants you to be loved and you to love Him. Can you make that call tonight? It only takes a simple prayer in your own words straight from your heart to be in the grace of the Lord through Jesus name. It doesn't take a catchy jingle, glossy ad campaigns, or cute animals. Salvation is yours for the asking.

WE ARE IN TROUBLE BIG TIME

2009-10-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

As I watch the news channels with the latest and horrifying news release, I begin to wonder what the dickens is going on. A young child was snatched from her home and was later found buried in a shallow grave and covered over with concrete. A mother murders her child and dumps the body in a field near her home and then goes out partying. A young teenage boy was doused with alcohol and set on fire for retribution. A group of gang members from a school slams a wood plank up side a students head and proceeds to kick and beat him to death. A student goes to school and slashes another students throat for what ever reason and the list goes on and on.

Then you have news channels that make the incident into a 1 hour show discussing the issues with a panel of experts proclaiming the reasons for these heinous crimes. They blame the violence on all the TV programs, or they had a dysfunctional early life. Some experts even go so far as to defend the criminals action as unable to tell right from wrong or they were abused as a child.

Come on panel experts! You have missed the true reason all together. It is what students and people are taught today in their lives. It is what we are brain washed with daily in our lives from school and after school for the last few decades. We are almost to the point that a human life has no value in our society. It is OK to kill. It is OK to attack a woman or child for sexual lust. It is OK to steal for monetary gain. It is Ok to do what ever you feel like doing . It is OK to kill the unborn as it was an inconvenience. It is Ok as long as you don't get caught so do whatever you like.

There are some movements ( I will cover these at a later date) that profess there is no God. They say we are our own gods and we have the right to determine what is right. If it makes us feel good that we should do it. They profess we determine what it is that our conscience determines is right or wrong. The scary part is these anti God movements have infiltrated our educational systems right up through college levels, our political processes and our courts with their agenda.

There in lies the real problem with our society. It is with out God in it's legal, legislative, moral, ethical, and educational process. The older ones of us do remember saying the Lords prayer and the pledge to the flag at the start of the school day. These organizations found this offensive and utilized their pull to have it stopped irregardless of the majority wishes. They were vocal and had political clout in the parties in Washington to do this. We the majority said nothing.

The 10 commandments in public view was offensive to them so it was barred. If you think about it, the commandments was a good rule to follow as far as ethical and moral guidelines even if you weren't a believer. Prayer to God in public places and school graduations were offensive to them so they rallied to have that removed and even with their minority voice it was removed. If you were to pray at those gathering, you might face civil charges in a court of law. How ridiculous is that? All the while we sat back and said nothing. Do we not care? If we as believers would only rally together and voice our displeasure's of the restrictions towards God, do you think we might be heard? Perhaps in the past had we spoke up. Today it will be a hard fought battle that we cannot afford to loose. We as believers must stand up to this and fight back as a united front.

I can see in the not too distant future if we don't take up the fight, we will be out lawed from assembly and worship to God in our own churches because it is offensive to the loud minority. We will be arrested for unlawful assembly and possibly charged with domestic terrorism. Do you want this to happen? Next it will be burning of the bibles ( well that has already happened).

Back to the latest news. In these news channel programs, have you ever noticed on the expert panels; interviewers failed to include a pastor or minister? Why is that? They could tell you right away why there is so much violence in our society. With out God, the 10 commandments, the scriptures, moral, and ethical values, you have a society in dwelt in anarchy and despair. You have a society that will eventually destroy itself from with in. Life will have no meaning or purpose. We need divine guidance in order to survive as a nation of freedom and peace.

As I read the Old Testament Prophet's visions, I can see it closely relates to our current events and time. It is so related I am thinking I am reading the prophesy of our own times. Is that what God also wanted for us to understand what was said 2500 years ago applies for today too?

WE ARE IN TROUBLE BIG TIME. We just don't realize it yet.

I AM LOOKING FOR A BIG TENT

2009-10-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

As a young lad back home in Brownsville Florida I used to see many tents getting put up in a large field near my home over the course of time. It usually meant a revival was in town either from a local church or a traveling road show evangelist was setting up shop for a week. Being I was the kid with a curiosity about any thing I was always Johnny on the spot to see what was going on. I would ride my trusty Schwinn bike up to the event to watch what was happening. Some times they would have only an organ for music or a complete band. The music was what got my attention most of the time but that was only part of the show.

There was always the fellow who was the pastor or evangelist that gave a rousing sermon on damnation and salvation with a choir really getting into the singing. It certainly had my feet moving with the rhythm. As I sat in the back watching all that was unfolding, I witnessed some things that was alien to me at the time and was unable to comprehend at that age. I saw people jumping and waving their hands with joy and glee. Some were crying and some some were praying out loud so I thought. Some times the pastor or evangelist would call out for some to come forward to be healed. The pastor put their hands on the ones that came forward and appeared to be healed on the spot. Some passed out and were revived but all got up and jumped for joy at each healing..This was amazing for a young lad like me to take in but it captivated me to no end. As I sat there transfixed and taking in all that I saw, I had no idea what was going on but I was held captive with what was transpiring. It was never any thing I ever saw in my church I attended during those days as a child but it did move me.

At one of the tent risings for a revival, I looked for what seemed to be a pastor or evangelist and asked him what was he doing that made so many people do what they did. He looked me sternly in the eyes and said "Young man, I am winning souls to Christ and healing broken lives. Do you need to be saved?" (His statement has stayed with me all my life even when I was backsliding) I replied No I live with my mom and dad and go to church. He laughed and invited me and my parents to come to his revival so that they can be saved too. My parent did go to a few with me but they did not feel the captivation I felt at those tent revivals. I guess I had an impressionable mind back then.

Over the years I did go to some revivals as an adult but they seemed to disappear form the land scape over time. It has just been the last few months that this episode in my younger life has returned as a reminder about revivals from the past. I don't know why but the urge to go looking for a big tent has surfaced. Perhaps it is a yearning to experience again what I did as an impressionable youth when I did not fully understand what a revival really was. I know this though. It really made me feel good to attend one and see so many people with joy and happiness for the Lord.
I think that is what I have been missing in my adult life as a self professed Christian. The spontaneity of a revival where the Holy Spirit reigns and there are no regimented worship sessions. It is led by the Holy Spirit, in worship to the Lord.

I does bring up a haunting question of where did the revivals go? Why would such a spiritual filled gathering fall from the landscape in the Body of Christ? Has that been outlawed by our government now too? Do any of you ever hear of revivals any more? p

So with that I am looking for a big tent once again.

WHO WAS LUKE?

2009-10-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

Luke ( or Loukon at that time) began life as a slave in Antioch to a wealthy Greek trader Theophilus. At an early age his curiosity fore told of great things that this young slave may become. Theophilus being a stoic in those times was very kind to this young boy and favored him over all the others. Luke at an early age had a flair for working with the injured slaves and helping the resident physician in his attending the ill.

Luke had two interest growing up. History and Medicine. His master Theophilus fore saw him as a physician and promised to finance him attending a university to become a Doctor as well as being granted his freedom.

When Luke entered the university, he also shortened his name to Luke. There he met also a new student called Saul ( later to be called Paul). Needless to say their relationship at the university was not the best being Saul was Hebrew and Luke was a Gentile. During Luke's stay at the university, he was seriously dedicated to learning medicine and became a man of medicine, returned to serve as a physician for Theophilus, and served as a physician on the sailing ships after he earned his freedom.

It was shortly after that when Luke began to hear of Jesus and His miracles He was doing in Judea and Israel. He also heard of Jesus being put to death on the cross. Over time Luke had head more stories of the Disciples and their teachings about Jesus but he continued to rebuke the stories as just that. Certainly a learned man such as he could not believe in these stories.

It was only after seeking out his old university associate Saul of Taurus at a chance meeting boarding a ship as the physician that he ran into Saul of Taurus. During this voyage Luke learned of Paul's ( Saul) new conversion as a disciple of Jesus and actually witnessed a healing of one of the ship mates by Paul. Paul also told Luke of his conversion by the Holy Spirit and Jesus appearing on the road.

This was the beginning of Luke as a believer and later as a Historian to record the many miracles and teachings of Jesus through interviews with the apostles and Jesus' mother Mary. He also became a teacher and elder at the Antioch church as well as writing the church history.

Luke also got the opportunity to travel with Paul, Barnabus, and others to spread the good news through out the areas of that time. After Paul's capture and imprisonment, Luke would visit frequently bringing in manuscripts from interviews with the disciples and Mother Mary for his review.

It can be said that Luke never was a witness to the miracles and teachings of Jesus first hand but he did a wonderful job of recording the history of the early Christian church and it's believers as well as becoming a teacher and elder after surrendering his life to serve Jesus and the church. With his writings and scrolls, one can almost sense they were there in those times as they were written through divine guidance of the Holy Spirit in God's grace.

THERE IS A REASON WHY THEY CALL IT TONGUES

2009-09-22T19:19:00.000-07:00

This will be the last of my articles on the Greatest gifts. This one is called tongues and the reason is this gift is plural in the literal and spiritual sense. Still today many churches fail to understand the implications of speaking in tongues and seem to shy away from this important gift as it may seem to them to be too pentecostal or holiness denomination in its roots. Some church organizations imply it is demons speaking rather than the Holy Spirit. Well there is a good way to check that out as I have mentioned in past articles on the Gifts.

Paul in Corinthians did allude to speaking of tongues and put down a guide line of how to use speaking tongues in the church. I can feel if Paul mentioned this in his letters, then it certainly is right to use this in worshiping God. However, he did also lay out the guidelines quite clearly on how to use this gift and warned of falsely professing or falsely using tongues to edify yourself rather than the church.

There is actually three types of tongues. One is when people are receiving the Holy Spirit and do speak in tongues as evidence of ones Baptism by the Holy Spirit. This may be a one time shot only in most cases. Does one speak in exotic , Hebrew, or Greek languages. Maybe or maybe not. Depends on having an interpreter at the time present. This type is when one is Baptised by the Holy spirit.

The second one is not up for interpretation. It usually happens in prayer meetings where the members are praying in the Holy Spirit. You should not seek interpretation as scriptures declares it so in 1 Cor.:14-2. This may also be led by the Holy Spirit but it is for the one speaking and God only. In some faiths the is a routine occurrence as part of the prayer. Most of the time is is not spiritually led nor is it a gift but that of adoration to God. For lack of knowledge of the ancient gifts one speaking may only be speaking in babel with no discernible language. Here is where you can get into some trouble speaking if you do not know what you are saying. I would think it might be prudent to speak in tongues in the English language to some degree and let the Holy Spirit lead you. Saying praises to God and exalting His grace might be a better position.

The third type of tongues is definitely open for interpretation and will be spoken as such. They have syllables and a discernible language as given by the Holy Spirit. It is decisive, instructive, divine, and beautiful to hear. This is when God is directly speaking to us in words not of our native language. This is to bring glory to the church and must have interpretation by one versed in the languages. The one doing the speaking is divinely guided with out pause in a quick short burst. Nothing lengthy, other wise it becomes filled with the persons thoughts rather than God's thoughts.

How can you tell the speaking is directly from God? Ones that speak a little tongue then some more or begin to repeat their selves is not speaking divinely. The same goes for interpretation. The interpreter stutters and stammers giving a word every now and then. God or the Holy Spirit is not lacking for words so it will be powerful and to the point. They don't need to look for words to speak. Any thing else is folly, demonistic, and false tongues spoken by one not edifying the church or God. So be careful in what you are saying or think you are saying in tongues. Never try to make your self to look saintly and profess what you don't really have. Make sure it is from the Holy Spirit or God by asking what you hear of feel by saying "Did Jesus come in the flesh" If it is demonistic you will not get a yes. If you hear a voice saying "If you will do this or that you can have holy powers etc. etc. or I want you to go here or there and you will get your mission to serve me. If you do that or this I will make you wealthy. DON"T BELIEVE IT. You are not being led by God but by demonic forces. Remember what John warned of in the coming times. 1 John 4:1-3

In possessing the gifts all is lost if it is not done in pure love of God , Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as well as your fellow persons. With out that love, all is in vain in service to the Lord. I pray it was my mission to introduce you to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit through God's grace so that you can experieince and desire these gifts in service to the Lord.

GREATEST GIFTS PART TWO

2009-09-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

The gift of the word of wisdom as it is rightfully called is the ability to understand what is written in the scriptures but also the ability to make the correct decision on business matters, church matters, or other stressful matters. Rather than taking on a task or action based on your own talent and mind, you ask for God's or the Holy Spirit's guidance and suggestions and allow Him to lead you in decisions. This is a manifestation of the word of wisdom. If you hear a voice or think you do telling you something completely off track of the scriptures, It probably is from the wrong spirit. Always best to ask that spirit or voice verbally if Jesus Christ came in the flesh. If you get no reply then there is something wrong with that voice or thought. I suggest reading 1 John 4:1-3 concerning testing the Spirits then read the rest of 1 John 4:4-19 which I found meaningful.

The gift of the word of knowledge I think is closely related to the Word of wisdom and possibly will show your evaluation scores fairly close to each other from the evaluation test. Knowledge of the scriptures as how it relates to an issue does take an extensive and super natural ability to quote or discuss the issues with others less informed of the scriptures. This means you have the ability to quote scriptures by memory verse by verse and apply it to an application or an issue being discussed. When it is done by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so then it becomes the truth and lives full of power and God's grace

Smith Wigglesworth once said in one of his books " The bible is a dead letter except by the spirit. Jesus did not just speak dead words but spoke words full of spirit and life. John 6:63".

I know when I read Jesus words in the New Testament, I get goose bumps every time I read them. It feels like he is in front of me talking to me directly. If that is not full of the spirit and life I don't know what is.

As many of you read the bible, you may go back over a chapter and re read a verse that wasn't too stand outish. But this time a verse pops out of the bible and grabs you that you didn't notice before. It is as if a divine revelation was given to you personally. You have just been given a part of the word of knowledge. Rejoice in that as the Holy Spirit is talking to you directly.

The gift of faith. Everyone who believes has faith in God,but how much faith do you have? If you have divine faith in God, you can move mountains or at least he can but Jesus said you can move mountains if you believe. Can you heal the sick, bring joy to the depressed, give hope to the down trodden, and bring non believers to repent? This is where the faith of God's supernatural powers comes into play through the Holy Spirit. Salvation is by faith, through grace,and it is the gift of God.

In faith you are always looking for ways to manifest the gift of faith by the Holy Spirit. It is in this vein that the Lord will operate this gift in you at any time. At the same time one who is not in deep faith in the Lord through Love, determination, and boldness in faith, that one will never possess the gift. It is always good to have a higher level of faith than most others in order for God to have His will in your service to Him.

The gifts of healing as it is properly called is probably the most powerful of all the gifts in my view and rating. Why? I don't know but it carries the most ramifications. Healing gifts are so full that they are beyond human expression or comprehension. I am fully aware of the healing stories in scriptures and marvel at this gift. I am also aware it is one that calls for divine intervention through the Holy Spirit and God. I have not ever witnessed a real healing occasion done by a believer in God or action by the Holy Spirit to one of illness. What I am trying to say is that I have not seen a healing such as a blind person walks in blind and is healed on a stage by the pastor or minister then walks off the stage able to see. It is more complicated than that.

Now I do believe in healing but at a different approach. We should all seek the attention of a Doctor for our illnesses as he is trained to understand what is needed to heal. We as believers must pray for that sick person to be healed through God's divine guidance with the Doctor as he is better equipped to discern what needs to be done. Now a person touched with divine guidance in the healing gifts and is endowed with so much faith he or she may be able to heal on the spot but I feel they may need to have some medical background in order to discern the illness to be healed. In other words one blessed with the Holy Spirit through God's grace and is at the level of disciple ship in their relationship with God. I guess here is where I fall short in my faith still as many others. This is a super natural power given to one who believes and walks in the shadow of Jesus and is Jesus like with out any doubts what so ever of their abilities. I would hope there are ones out there that can heal but I have never met them yet. I f I do, then I will know through testing them with my own illnesses.

I have touched on only a few gifts of the Holy Spirit through God's grace but they are given to all that ask for them as God wills them. Again and again I must re affirm that these are gracious gifts and must be handled with humility and reserve. Not to be used for entertainment or folly but in power and boldness if it sanctifies the Holy Spirit and God. You do not lead the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit leads you if your heart and mind is pure and true in faith to God. So then you will experience the joy and peace of one sanctified in God's grace. Never abuse these gifts or add your boast full words to any of the gifts. Only glorify God

More to come later

THE GREATEST GIFTS YOU EVER RECEIVED

2009-09-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

1957- 58- 59 CHEVY BODIES ON A 2008 CORVETTE CHASSIS

I can dream can't I? Tonight I was asked what was the greatest gift I ever received. In a half humorous statement I blurted out a red Radio Flyer Wagon on Christmas when I was 5 years old. Why that ever came up I don't have a clue. I was quite a believer in Santa clause back then and even though we didn't have chimneys or fire places in houses in Florida, I just knew Santa was going to get one into the house some way. I did get the little red wagon on Christmas day but he left it on the roof instead. My Dad and Uncle were quite imaginative in those days to my great surprise. I remember another time My Dad gave me another great gift of the times when I was about 8 years old. I had been wanting a camping tent because I was getting involved in the Cub Scouts and wanted one for camping trips. Here again, No chimneys and fire places in Florida but Dad came through again for me. After I went to bed, he and my Uncle spent Christmas Eve in our back yard putting up this great tent with only two flash lights and a lot of determination to surprise me.

Over the years I have received great gifts but as an adult these gifts became more special. My wife who decided to marry me was a great gift I had received as an adult at that time. Then there was our two daughters that followed two and four years later.

To say I was blessed is an understatement.

Tonight this question meant a new meaning. What was the greatest gift I ever received spiritually. To be honest, I can't list just one as the greatest. It would have to be many. You have to remember I am not a youngun any more and have been around a while.

When you are speaking of Spiritual gifts there are many as I have mentioned before so I will not dig too deep in that but it is a great honor to be given just one gift from the Holy Spirit through God's grace. With that honor comes a great responsibility and the wisdom of when to use it and how which I will discuss.

For most believers, the first great gift is the Baptism by water and the sanctification of being born again in a new body in Christ. What great joy that was in my experience. But that is only the beginning as far as gifts from God. He so loves you that he will shower you with as many great gifts as you can take in and use in service to Him. There is a second Baptism and it is by the Holy Spirit when He moves you to elation and joy in glorifying God. How do you know if you have been Baptised in the Holy Spirit? I cannot tell you how. There are many ways it affects the people. I can tell you in my experience I was more sedate and tranquil but became passionate in discussing the scriptures in the bible with any one that would listen. I found my self wanting to serve in the church, I felt compassion for others less fortunate, I looked for ways to win others to Christ, I really began to pray to the Lord for guidance and forgiveness of my sins frequently, I prayed for others that were ill, I found love for my fellow persons, I found a new interest in the Spiritual gifts and a burning desire to learn all that I could, and the list goes on.

As it is said in the bible ask in Jesus name and you shall receive. So it is with the gifts. Just ask for them and you will receive them that are best suited for you. Now you do not need to continually pray for the gifts as some might think. Once or twice at the most is all that you need. You will then become aware of what gifts you have been given. No God is not going to speak out in a thunderous voice and say "it is done" to you but you will start to get a feeling for possessing something special. Read in Corinthians of what Paul says on the spiritual gifts. As a matter of fact read all of Corinthians. You will get a deeper insight.

1 John 4:1-3 mentions to test the spirits for validity. There are two types of spirits. The Holy Spirit and the demon spirits which will give you a fit if you listen to the wrong one. Just as we think God is talking to us we should always ask "did Jesus come in the flesh" vocally. If you are unsure of who is talking to you in your spiritual communication. Any spirit that does not confess that Jesus did come in the flesh, you might be talking to the wrong spirit. Watch out! You are being set up to be led away from God. There is a reason for being vocal in your prayers. The demon spirits cannot read your thoughts. They can hear you and speak to you in your thoughts but they cannot hear your thoughts. Thus always ask and pray vocally or whisper. That way you will not get mixed signals and think the Holy spirit is the only one talking to you. It also lets the demon spirits know that you are under the influence of God's grace and time to move on. The reason I mentioned this is I am sure you are going to get this voice in your head that is going to promise wonderful things and certainly will not be the voice of the Holy spirit or God. Test the voices and spirit. Do not be led astray.

Now we have been blessed with spiritual gifts form the Holy Spirit. What do we do next? Which one did we get? Which one did you want? They all have about the same rule of protocol. The first thing you don't want to do is go about bragging you have a gift and edifying your self. You are supposed to edify the church and God in using the gifts. Use them with greatness but use them in the grace of the Holy Spirit and humbly

1 Corinthians14:1 Prophesy. When we think of prophesy we think of for telling the future only. That is part of prophesy but we can prophesy today by giving testimonials which is what most of us can readily do. However, Let the Holy Spirit lead the way in your testimonial and DO NOT stretch it out in a long winded essay that goes on and eventually is peppered by your own thoughts. Let the Holy Spirit lead you, not you lead the Holy Spirit. What you are trying to convey is that non believers also can be given the grace of God too, just as we have.

Next up is Wisdom and faith in part two.

WHAT IS A BURNING PASSION?

2009-09-10T18:23:00.000-07:00

When we say we have a burning passion what exactly do we mean? What strokes the flames to keep this going? Where is it leading us? Is it desire? Is it lust? For most, this comes to mind in desire for material things, enjoying doing a pleasurable activity, or lusting after a beautiful woman or handsome man.

My question is What is a burning passion spiritually? Have you ever had one? What was the passion about? What led you to have this obsessive passion? We have all heard of our pastor in a local church that was set a fire to become a minister story. It was a compulsion led by God to star preaching the Good News. The poor fellow drops everything in his life to become a servant to God and I admire that. It takes an immense deal of commitment to do that.

What I am thinking of is the lay people ( us Christians allegedly)that gets a divine awakening ( burning passion if you will) to serve God. It has been said once the Lord smites you with a mission; nothing gets in the way to serve or proceed with that mission. Is it from fear or love of the Lord that you pursue the mission? For most believers of the faith this is a no brainer and it certainly is the case in my actions. What I have learned, the Lord is not age biased, race biased. social biased, or sex biased. He takes all to come under His grace to serve Him.

I don't know about other's passions so I will have to give you ideas about my experiences. In one way or another I had always been in a church setting as a member off and on most of my life. You know going on Sunday and the rest of the week it was tied up making a living and raising kids trying to lead a good life while lusting for material things, money, and climbing up the corporate ladder of success. I even went through a period of Darwinism, Humanism, Scientific evolution, and the Big Bang theory. I even believed that money was the only thing that could buy you happiness. You know what? I was miserable, lost, and felt life had no meaning unless I bought more material things to sooth my feelings and lusted for more money. Quite an endless cycle of despair and no passion.

I took up photography to find something that I was missing. I immediately began to find peace in Nature by observing and photographing wild life. I also found that these creatures are so related to us in their natural actions of everyday life and survival that it overwhelmed me with wonder. It was then that a still quiet voice spoke to me and said " Look what I have created with my hand and so I did mankind too." It didn't sink in at first but as I continued with my photography, I did hear more still quiet voices as I discovered more in Nature. Then one day in an approaching storm a bolt of lightening ( it felt) seemed to strike me down with the thought God created all living things out of his love including us. As I fell down to my knees some thing happened I have never experienced before. Inner peace, contentment, and joy. I looked up from eyeing the Canada Geese around me and thanked God for all the wonders of his creation.

Then the burning passion to read the bible took over and relearn the scriptures and His word. I had a few health issues and prayed for healing and more time to learn of God's word which was granted. I had what the Doctors believed was possibly Prostate Cancer. Surgery revealed no tumor and no cancer. I was convinced I had been given God's grace and a reprieve to serve and worship Him. I studied more of the bible and researched books on Christianity. I went back to church with a renewed interest and passion to serve the Lord. I wasn't content to sit in the pews and listen to the sermons. I took action and found by accident the spiritual gifts granted in God's grace by the Holy Spirit. I took test to find the Gifts I might possess. I joined small groups to practice fellowship, I began to speak up with a fiery passion about the scriptures when called upon to speak, I began to desire in earnest the Spiritual Gifts knowledge, I opened up an evangelist blog site, I became totally convicted and surrendered my self to God and serve him, I started to witness to others. Now I have a burning passion to serve the Lord God all mighty in Jesus name. Now I have joy, peace, and hope in my life here on earth. I no longer lust after material things. I have compassion for my fellow persons. I appreciate what God has done for me. Now I know.

You too can experience that same thing in your life by only accepting Jesus as your saviour and ask for forgiveness in Jesus name to God. Time is short. Do not hesitate. You don't have to earn God's grace. It is yours for the asking by only believing. God so loved us that he gave His only son as a sacrifice for our sins so that we may be forgiven as sinners. John 3:16. It will make a difference in your life.

WHAT HAPPENES WHEN THE FLESH DIES?

2009-08-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

Certainly a dark subject for most but it needs to be addressed .Scientifically speaking, this process starts when a vital organ stops functioning which leads to all the other organs becoming starved for vital oxygen and blood circulation. If not refrigerated, the body's cells begin to decompose immediately. The skin begins to loose the flesh tones and turns a pale color. The neurons in the brain begin to die off and create short circuits all through the brain with flashes of bright light as seen by the dying who have been revived. Some state they saw their body while floating in the air above their body or are led to a bright light only to be returned to their body. At that is what people say in their near death experiences.

To date, no mortal has been able to return after death of the flesh and give us any specifics as to what really happens. Only one since recorded history has ever been able to do just that. Not only did He come back to life but He left a message to his disciples to give hope to all that there is life after death. He talked to Mary as he ascended from the tomb, He passed through doors, He ate with his disciples, He showed Thomas his wounds so that he would believe, He was resurrected from death, He was Jesus the son of God in a new Holy form . He promised eternal life in a place called heaven for those that would repent of their sins and believe in Him as our saviour

What will happen to us when our body dies? We think we are good people and led a moral life so we should get to go to heaven but wait, heaven is not a place for good people. It is a place for forgiven people that believe and accept Jesus as their personal saviour and God as their Holy Father. Sorry No atheist that are good people allowed.

Lets look at what happens when it is our time to depart the sin full flesh on earth. Will we be put to sleep in our graves for a period of time before the rapture then our bodies will be called to heaven during the rapture? Does our souls or spirit go first then join up with our bodies after the rapture? It all depends on where you read this issue in the scriptures. What I have discovered is truly amazing and it is what I have come to in my conclusion through studying of the scriptures and other books.

If you read certain scriptures, you might be led to think if you die before the rapture, you may have to lay in a grave till the rapture comes or you might be buried in a grave for a thousand years, then get raised up to heaven. That is not what the scripture says. Far from it.

It is not spelled out in plain text but in that small silent voice with authority. As our bodies of the flesh dies, we are immediately raised up to heaven to be with our Father and with those that have gone before you. This is not mentioned only once in the scriptures but many times. Paul comes to mind. He mentioned this in Philippians 1:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5 :8, and Acts 7:56-59. Then there is Luke quoting Jesus on the cross. Luke 23:42-43. These four passages attest to the fact you will be raised up to heaven in spirit immediately. Your spirit will be raised up to heaven immediately but you body will be laid to rest in the grave. Your body ( flesh) dies but your spirit lives eternally with the Lord. Paul also states our bodies will be asleep but this relates to death of our bodies. not our souls or our spirits. They are already with the Lord by then and will enjoy the grace of God and living in his presence just as the Holy Spirit and Jesus. .

Ok now we have all these bodies that will be called up from the grave during the rapture. So we are in the grave till then too? NO! Absolutely not. Our bodies are like seeds planted in the soil to grow into something wonderful. A new being. A new appearance. I like to plant flowers from the seedlings I harvest every year. What grows from those seeds? If I am a good gardener, I get blooming flowers with majestic colors and beauty beyond imagination. So it will be with our bodies during the rapture. Our bodies also will unite with our spirit in heaven and we will be glorified in the likeness of the Lord Jesus with out pain, infirmities, and flaws. But yet all through this we live in His name in spirit and then in the body as a whole when the rapture appears.

What wonderful promise is laid out for us in the scriptures if only we repent of our sins and follow Jesus. What great super natural powers we will have in worshiping the Lord our Father. What peace we will have in eternity if only we ask for forgiveness of our sins and worship Him today.

HOMELESS. ANY ACT OF RANDOM KINDNESS APPRECIATED

2009-08-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

Male African Duck?

Yesterday was an extremely hot day here with heat hot enough to fry eggs on the sidewalk. I was thankful to have the car's A/C on and enjoying it. As I was stopped at a stoplight I noticed a man in his 60's sitting on the side walk with a card board sign in his hand. It said with a drawing of a home and Less on the end of it. Also said "any act of random kindness is greatly appreciated."

My first thought was that of another homeless person begging for money to buy liquor or drugs. Thank God it wasn't me, I thought but a still quiet voice in my head said otherwise. He was clean shaven and his eyes seemed quite clear. A clear cup of almost gone water sat beside him. I could imagine it was quite hot. He was covered in sweat and wiped his forehead frequently. We made eye contact, he smiled, and so did I. The light changed and I took off with the traffic. There was something different about this homeless person that didn't fit the mold of other homeless people I have seen.

For some reason I felt compelled to investigate this further so I pulled into the shopping center across the street to watch him. There he sat on that hot sidewalk quietly being baked by the afternoon heat and sun as the cars passed him not even noticing him or ignoring him. SUVs, BMWs, and Hummers never stopped to offer him any thing. It was then that I noticed he was out of water and parched. Then something led me to go into a fast food place and bought the largest cup of water they had ( yes they charged me) and drove back by the man. I stopped and went over to him to offer him the water and pulled out my wallet and gave him all that I had in money. I blurted out that the Lord compelled me to offer this to you in his love.

He then stood up shakily, (but eyes as bright as they could be) blessed me, and said I will see you in heaven some day. All I could say was I hope so and left. Driving away I thought 'Hey ! Duh! I could have given him my umbrella to keep the sun off him. As I drove back around, he was gone. No sign up or down the street of him any where. There were no liquor stores nearby. He didn't have time to get to a store so he should have been still walking but he had vanished

As I was driving home, the verses from Matthew 25:40-46 and the parable of the Samaritan on the road as told by Jesus came to mind out of the clear blue sky. Was this one of those cases from the scriptures? What made this homeless person different? Why was I compelled to stop and offer assistance? No homeless person has never ever sparked my interest like this one did. Was I being tested? We can only wonder. God does work in strange ways I am told and this might have been one of them. Either way I felt good helping one less fortunate than I.

ARE YOU READY? FINAL PART

2009-08-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

To conclude this series on the Book of Revelations, I am going to discuss God's plan for us. Reading Revelations may not be many peoples favorite Book but it has foretold what lies in store for those that fail to understand God's grace and love.

I liken it to the the parent that warns the unruly child of what is in store for them if they refuse to mind. You warn Jr. repeatedly to behave or else the wrath of Daddy will come down on them. So it is with God and his Children ( us). As a parent you love your children and do not want to see harm come to them. You protect them and hold them close to your heart always looking out for their safety. You remind them of your love for them. You remind them to be careful about wandering astray and not be swayed by ones of evil intentions. So does God with us.

As a matter of fact God laid out a survival manual for us to follow warning us in advance of what to expect and what is yet to come. What is that manual? It is the Holy Bible written over a few thousand year period proclaiming his love for us if we would only believe and have faith in Him. If you look at all the prophets and disciples writings there is one main theme. His love for his children (us). John 3:16. How much stronger can that short message convey in His caring feelings for us? The bible has all that you need to know as far as your daily living and what is considered a sin. It tells you what you must do to have everlasting life with Him. It warns you of the evil one which takes great joy in misleading you and it tells you of what to expect when Jesus comes down to gather up His church during the Rapture. It is all there for you to follow. Even during tribulations it is still showing God's pleas to the un believers trying to convince them of his love and to repent.

If you notice, there hasn't been a verifiable prophesy in nearly two thousand years. Does this mean that God has given up on us? I certainly pray that is not the case. Considering that God is being taken out of our schools and public places as well as a very heated drive to hide God from the public at any cost, I can only consider that the ones behind this movement is aware their time is short to deceive us and lead us to damnation and death permanently. With out faith and hope we are all domed and that is what the evil doers want.

With faith and hope in the Lord Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit, We are saved from the bottomless pit of death. We will become the new heirs to all that is in the new Heaven and new Jerusalem. Eternal life is ours for the taking by repenting of our sins and asking God for forgiveness in Jesus name. While we are still here on earth we must continue to serve the Lord in winning more souls to Christ. As it is stated our time is short and we must be ready when Jesus comes to take His church up to heaven. Yet there is still much to do.

Will you be ready?

ARE YOU READY? PART TWO

2009-08-20T19:03:00.001-07:00

Jesus transfiguration. Matthew 17.
Thanks to Bobbie for the picture.

Concerning the two witnesses that stood on a street and prophesied for 42 months, We can only imagine it was Moses and Elijah as scriptures did not elaborate who they were. In Matthew 17: 1-13 it was said to be Moses and Elijah with Jesus during His transfiguration. Read verse 11 to 13 and see who the disciples understood Elijah to be. Just something to ponder.

In the first half of the tribulation we see the anti Christ come to power over the world and raise Babylon into a world trade center for commerce and the anti Christ' center of power. He allows the Prophets to prophesize for 42 months but that is coming to an end soon. During this time the earth encounters several disasters sent by the angels trumpets from falling stars to earthquakes, fires, and bitter waters as prophesied. There were locust that came up from a bottomless pit that descended on the earth and tormented all but they were told not to harm the ones with the seal of God on their foreheads. It has been said in some books that the ones that repented of their sins during the tribulations may have also been spared as they may have the seal of God on their for heads.

More actions fell down on the earth in the form of fire that consumed 1/3rd of the earth and darkened the skies and heavens. There was a mounted army that totaled 200 million that went forth and killed 1/3rd of all the people of the earth. I can only imagine from a technical stand point that God used all the cosmic items in space to hurtle them to earth to sway the non believers into repenting of their sins but many failed again to do so. In Revelations 10:1-4 I can only wonder what was not to be repeated yet.

At this point, I am led to believe that the anti Christ was killed some how but was resurrected and this may be the point that the devil or Satan himself took over his body to rule the earth. The seven heads and ten crowns I would imagine may have been the organization of the anti Christ movement. It could be nations that bore allegiance to the anti Christ. After his Resurrection, the people left worshiped him and built a statue that could talk and demanded that all worship the beast ( statue) of face death. This is the time that all would receive the mark of the beast on the forehead or the right hand. This is also the time that ones refusing the mark were put to death in multitudes of tens of millions. The evil one also desecrated the Holy temple by shedding blood at the altar in defiance of God all the while creating his own miracles and healing.

At this point, the two prophets were murdered by the evil one ( Satan) and no one was to remove the bodies. For 3&1/2 days their bodies lay waste in the hot sun. On the last day, God breathed life back into their bodies and they arose to heaven while the unbelievers trembled in terror. All the while God was still offering His grace to the ones would repent before passing out the last 7 bowls of Gods wrath to the ones who still refused to repent. The last plagues and terrors were poured out over the earth and many suffered and begged to die for relief but none was in sight for the Lord was giving them one more chance to repent.

Now we have Babylon ( the great Prostitute). It is desecrated and it will lay in ruins once again but still God calls out for these yet to repent to vacate that city and many still refuse.

All the armies and nations of this world in alliance with Satan gathered at Armageddon to do battle with the Lords armies. On this point I would imagine we are going to have a war so immense and technically advanced that we may not even be able to comprehend. There will be super natural powers and battle gear that hasn't even been thought of yet on both sides. I would imagine it will be pretty gory for Satan's alliance of nations.

Then comes Judgement for all as the Lord resides over the world to bring forth a new heaven and earth. There will be joyous singing and praises from all the angels of the Lord. A new Jerusalem comes down from God for all to dwell. There will be no need for light as Gods presence gives out the light that is needed. There will be no temple for God is the temple and the throne. Crystal clear rivers of water will flow from the throne for it will be the water of life. There will be trees of life that will bear the twelve crops of fruit to feed the masses and the leaves will be used as medicine to heal the nations.

All that have accepted Jesus as their saviour and God as their Father will dwell in the new world in peace for ever. There will be no sickness or illnesses. We will all have new transformed bodies in perfection as is in Jesus. We will sing praises to the Lord and give him our thanks and praise for all that he has done for us. Blessed are these days for we will soon be in the presence of the Lord.

Will you be ready?