Joseph, The Untold Story
Ξ December 23rd, 2009 | → Comments Off | ∇ Holidays, Video |
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A father’s Christmas story.
Jesus’ last name is NOT “Christ”!
Ξ December 16th, 2009 | → Comments Off | ∇ Bible study, Video |
Contrary to popular belief, the word “Christ” is NOT merely Jesus’ last name. It is actually a word that says something important about who and what He is.
What Are You Waiting For? Manna From Heaven? How’s That Working For You?
Ξ December 8th, 2009 | → Comments Off | ∇ Christian Living, Growing In The Lord |
There’s a story in the news recently with the headline “Mom expected God to provide food, daughter testifies” That I just can’t get out of my head. It’s the kind of thing that you hear about once in a while and always serves to make people look like nutjobs for even saying anything about putting their faith in God.
From the story:
The money ran out first. Then the food.
Over three months in 2006, as her five children grew more emaciated and listless by the day, Estelle Walker made no move to find a job, no effort to scrounge up a meal, her kids told a jury yesterday.
“We were supposed to wait for God to provide,” said Walker’s oldest daughter, now 21. “And that’s what we did.”
At one point, the daughter said, she and her siblings went 11 days without food. When police were at last summoned to the Sussex County cabin by neighbors, investigators found the children so malnourished they had difficulty talking.
I have to say right away that I firmly believe that putting ones faith in God is *ALWAYS* the right thing to do. However I *DO* question just what it is that people who do things like this are expecting from God that would make them believe that it’s somehow alright to allow children to starve or go without desperately needed and easily available medical attention. Or worse.
The question is not whether putting faith in God is right, rather it’s “What are you expecting from Him?” This woman sat there allowing her children to starve when it would have been a simple matter to get them the food they needed. “God will provide” you say? I agree, He will and in fact HAS provided.
Here’s some of the ways in which God provided:
There are food pantries, churches and charities galore that do a LOT to provide food for those that need it. This woman had been a teacher but didn’t do anything about trying to get a job, either as a teacher, or in any other position that would have meant money to feed her children. She had family that I’m sure at least some of whom would have helped but apparently she did nothing about that either.
This reminds me about the old story about the man who, when the area where he lived started to flood, refused to leave saying “God will save me”. The flood waters rise and a neighbor is there with a boat offering him a ride to safety. The man turned down the offer saying “God will save me.”
Later the waters have risen so high that he’s sitting on the roof of his house because the rest of it is underwater. A news crew comes by in a boat and offers him a ride to safety. “No thanks.” he says “God will save me.”
A few hours later the flood waters have risen so high that he is now clinging to the very top of his chimney, holding on for dear life lest the current sweep him away. A rescue Helicopter spots him and hovers over him, sending in a diver and lowering a rope ladder to help him to safety. “I’ll be ok.” he says “God will save me.” and he refuses to board the helicopter.
Some time later as the water continues to rise the man loses his grip, is swept away and soon drowns. He finds himself in heaven and confronts the Lord asking Him “Why didn’t you save me? I had complete faith in you.” The Lord looks at him shaking His head and replies “Son, I sent you two boats and a helicopter. What more do you want?”
The point of this story is that while putting faith in God is definitely the thing to do, it’s important to recognize when He’s provided the help you need. This woman said that God will provide and He DID provide. In many ways. She simply was unable or unwilling to see it.
Did she perhaps expect manna from heaven? Some other miraculous provision? While that’s something that God can and has done it’s generally the exception rather than the rule. I think it was nearly four thousand years ago that the children of Israel ate manna for forty years as they wandered in the dessert. To my knowledge nobody else has since then.
For that matter, I’m quite sure that God could easily arrange for bars of pure gold to fall out of the sky and land in your front yard with your name engraved on each one. That doesn’t mean however that you should hold your breath waiting for it to happen. God is much more likely to provide in other ways. In my own experience His provision has often comes in ways that I never expected. Usually by showing me what resources there were and how I could, and should, make use of them.
There was ONE time that somebody came up to me, handed me five dollars (which I really needed badly at the time.), and said “God told me to give this to you”, and turned and walked away before I could respond. A moment later they were gone and nobody around remembered seeing the person.
I was and still am very grateful but I’m not going to look for something to happen like that again.
There’s a LOT of God’s people on this earth that are doing His work, providing for people in need. The odds are good that some of these people and the things that they do were some of the ways in which God provided for this woman.
So in the end I say yes, PUT your faith in God. Wholeheartedly and without reservation or hesitation at all. Be KEEP YOUR EYES AND MIND OPEN, you have NO idea how He will provide the answer to your need.
In other words as Lura once put it in one of her articles “Take God Out Of That Box!“, which means don’t box Him in your preconceived ideas. He is bigger and more capable than you or I can even begin to imagine and if you try to box Him into a neat little package you’ll miss out on most of what He’s got for you.
In Spite Of (Many) Distractions
Ξ November 30th, 2009 | → Comments Off | ∇ That Goofy Category |
I was reading through some of Lura’s writings recently when I ran across a particularly appropriate article called “Distractions? What Distractions?“. To say that it hit home would be a serious understatement.
You see while I posted the news about her death on most of her blogs I didn’t post it specifically on this one. In fact, I didn’t get around to posting anything here until several months later in March when I tried to get started with continuing this blog as I’d said that I would. I got that post written and one other about a week later.
What actually surprised me was that nine months have now gone by without my having posted anything here. Oh I always intended to. On several occasions I loaded up the admin panel and sat there in front of the write post screen. I’ve read over a lot of both her and my own studies and notes. Yet somehow when it came down to it I couldn’t think of a single thing to write.
Of course part of the reason I was so unprepared is that there have been a lot of distractions. It’s funny how even some of the littler things in life can have had a lot of influence over whether you can get something done or not. These distractions ran the gamut from seemingly insignificant things to major problems that just *had* to be dealt with immediately. Several times health issues served to complicate things even further.
Looking back, I have to say that the times that the distractions seem to have been at their very worst were the times that I was actually close to DOING what I had said that I would do … get started with a serious effort to continue this blog. I’m sure most people that have been serious about being Christians will recognize the signature of the opposition that we often face when it comes to getting about God’s business.
That’s where Lura’s old article seved to yank the slack out of me. In it she was talking about this very problem and she quoted a couple of scriptures and what she said about them hit home.
James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
If you will submit yourself to God, THEN you can resist the devil and he will flee. We have that authority in the Lord. The word here is ‘resist’! But we were talking about thoughts. There’s help for that too!
2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
Did you notice that the warfare is not in the body, the flesh? Since the battle is in the mind (the only place left that the devil can bother you), we must use what the Lord has given us for weapons. We have authority in the name of Jesus!!
Simply put, As Christians we are subject to opposition from the enemy but that if we submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, he will run from us. Also that battle occurs more in our minds than anywhere else. Yes, there’s things going on in the real world that we have to deal with but WE get to decide where our minds are focused. If we allow these distractions to soak up all of our attention and time, then we’ll get nothing of the work God has set for us.
So we need to cast down every though and imagination, put away those things that try to take all of our attention away from what we’re supposed to be doing. We can, and must, cage our thoughts, control them, and focus our minds and thoughts where we know they should be. In doing that we’ll find the freedom and ability to start accomplishing things in spite of all the attempts to distract us from our true purpose. It’s difficult at first but like many things it gets easier with practice.
As I said, I’ve had a lot of distractions. I’ve been worried about money, having things I need, my health, and a whole host of things from insignificant to “oh no! not THAT too!”. Those distractions have served to keep me so preoccupied that I allowed three quarters of a year to go by without doing what I knew full well that I should be doing.
That is now officially changed. While I am not prepared yet to commit to any particular pattern of posting, one way or another I WILL be posting on a much more frequent basis on this blog in spite of the many would be distractions. I invite the reader to join and we’ll explore God’s word together.
The Conflict Within
Ξ March 17th, 2009 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Christian Living, Inspiration, Video |
One of the things that Lura would do with this blog from time to time is post videos, music and otherwise, that expressed some aspect of Christian life. I’m continuing that tradition with this video that I ran across on YouTube that I’m certain she would have loved.
A lightsaber battle that takes place within the soul of a young man who must choose between his Godly nature and his sinful nature.
In addition to taking a look at an ancient conflict in light of a modern popular science fiction story and special effects, it also won second place in the “lightsaber Choreography Competition 4″ on “theforce.net” fan films forum.
For the best effect, I recommend watching this in full screen mode.
Romans 7:19-20, “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”
A New Beginning
Ξ March 7th, 2009 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Christian Living, End Times, Family |
By now I’m sure that regular readers of this blog are aware that my wife Lura who created and wrote in this blog went home to be with the Lord last December 30th, 2008. You may also know that in a final posting that I put on several of her other blogs that I said that intend to keep this one going because it while she didn’t post here nearly as much as she wanted to, she felt that this was the most important of the blogs that she wrote in.
Several times I’ve sat down with the intention of starting this task but I’ve always found myself at a loss for words and ended up putting it off again. I’ve come to the conclusion that perhaps the best, most fitting way for me to begin posting here is to start with the basics. Later I’ll be referring to her notes and posting things in them that I know she intended to post here. I’ll probably throw in my own two cents here and there as well.
I guess the best place to start is that while I miss her terribly and wish very much that she was still here, I have not actually lost her. I know exactly where she is and fully expect to see her again someday.
You see, Lura accepted Jesus as Lord many years ago. Because she did, I know that she’s with Him now and that when my turn comes to leave this mortal world I’ll be joining her. And that’s the message that I know she wanted to get across.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the world we’re living in is, in many ways, getting worse every day. Evil is showing up more blatantly and more severely in more ways and places than ever before. All it takes is reading Matthew 24 & 25 and taking a good look at the world and people around us to see that we are in fact living in the last days. Because of this it’s more important than ever to make sure that everyone accept Jesus as Lord and claim the forgiveness that He died to give us.
We have to recognize that God exists, and that there is an eternity waiting for all of us. We each have the ability to choose how we’ll spend that eternity.
If a person makes the choice to ignore or reject God then they are in fact choosing to spend their eternity in a place of eternal condemnation that was NOT made for humanity. It’s important to note that God never damns anyone. He want’s us to come to Him. It’s up to US to decide to obey Him or not.
If that same person chooses to Accept Jesus as their Lord then they are able to become citizens of the Kingdom of heaven.
God does not force us to obey Him, he’s given each of use the ability to decide for ourselves what we’ll do. If he made the choice for us or forced us in some way then our accepting Him would have no value. He’s not after mindless automatons or robots, He wants us to come to Him freely.
So what do you have to do?
Believe that God exists and that He will reward those who diligently seek Him.
Understand that Because God’s standard is one of absolute perfection. Sin cannot exist in His presence and will never enter the kingdom.
Admit to yourself and to God that you cannot “save yourself” or by your own efforts meet this standard of perfection and qualify to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Believe that Jesus died to pay for your sins and that he rose from the dead on the third day.
Accept him as your Lord and accept the gift of salvation that he died to give you.
After that it’s a really good idea to get a Bible and begin to learn about Jesus and His teachings (start with the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.), get connected with other Christians (in person and online) that can help you understand the scriptures, spend some time every day both praying and studying His Word.
Then, when you see the things that are going on in the world you can rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus is going to return some day, probably sooner than most would like to think about, and that when He does you’re going with Him to an eternal reward.
My Prayer Request
Ξ December 10th, 2008 | → 3 Comments | ∇ Prayer Requests |
I will keep this short, hopefully. I’m coming to you today with my own prayer request and for my husband. On November 22nd, a Saturday, I fell down on a grocery store parking lot. At the time, I thought it was just a scrape on the left leg. I had taken my Mom to the store so we went on in. When I got dizzy and about to faint twice, I took a look at the leg. It was extremely swollen, same one where I had a blood clot in August. On that Tuesday, I took an ambulance ride to a hospital where the doc there said that since I was allergic to the ONLY IV antibiotic he wanted to give me, he would not be able to justify keeping me even though he knew I was in incredible pain. He said that his diagnosis was cellulitis which is extremely painful. It wasn’t just painful, it was incredible agony at the time. I do not say that lightly. Not to brag but I tolerate pain quite well and will take a lot before it’s a big deal to me. This pain was a 10+ on a 1-10 scale.
Since then, I have had nurses out to see me a couple times a week. The last visit before today was last Friday. She had not seen the leg before. (I see several nurses) Right after I saw the ER doc, I developed blisters on the leg and since then, they have broken and reset fairly often. When the nurse saw me last week, she suggested I go to see my family doc. I told her then that it was not possible since the leg hurt so much and the skin where the blisters are is quite sensitive. I could not wear any type of pants. That’s really all I have for going out of the house. I should mention that I am on a pretty high powered pain killer and it does not completely cut the pain but it is far more tolerable than before.
Today, I saw her again. She says that the blisters are getting worse, in her opinion, and she took pics. She gave them to my family doc who now wants me to go to the ER as soon as is possible. For some reason they just started getting worse than before. The other nurses did not see it that way before but there has been a gap in when I saw them and this nurse. Please pray for my healing and that this is not going to go any further downhill.
In addition, my husband who is the only one to take care of me and who does all the work, has been suffering from debilitating migraines just lately. The weather has changed recently and he often has problems with them at that time plus he is worried about me. That has to be contributing to the whole thing too. These migraines are really bad, worse than he usually has. Please pray that the migraines stop and that he is completely healed.
NOTE: This sounds like his migraines are bad but not horrible. Oh they are horrible, very debilitating to him. In addition, he is having jaw pain that will not let up like it has in the past. One always kicks off the other but this migraine stuff has lasted much longer than his headaches usually last. These have been going on almost every day for the last couple of weeks. It is likely that he will be going into the ER for his own needs tomorrow. We need prayer that this hospital is willing to do everything they can (they don’t always do that. This hospital is the one I was in last time. We need prayer for THAT too.)
Prayer Request That Needs Attention Now
Ξ December 5th, 2008 | → Comments Off | ∇ Prayer Requests |
It has come to my attention that there is a family in desperate need of prayer. The mom is a single mother, handicapped, with two teenage sons. These sons are very helpful to her, NOT rebellious teens like most their ages. She recently has had surgery that completely immobilizes her neck. This is a permanent situation. But this prayer request is about something else at the moment.
Her sons go to a school that is full of race problems. The principal is turning her eyes away from the problem. Recently, the brothers went into the cafeteria to get their lunch. They happen to be on the federally funded free and reduced lunch program. Soon, quite a number, some 25 black and hispanic young people came into the cafeteria and cut into line. There was name calling and shoving. Now please remember that the boys were not the cause of this. The teacher who was in charge came over the see what was the matter. She is hispanic. She decided that the two white boys were at fault and took them to the end of the line. When one of them came to the head of the line to get his food, she told those handing the food out that he was not allowed to have his hot lunch but instead was to receive what they call a “sub lunch” because he was a trouble maker. This is a frozen turkey sandwich, a close to rotten apple and three day old milk.
The mom has called the school. They were unresponsive until yesterday long after the lunch was over. The principal claims that she had no knowledge of this incident. She instructed the mom to have the teens come to her when this happens again. This is not an isolated incident. It apparently happens quite often. Many of the students no longer get their hot lunches because of the harassment from the other, much bigger teens who often carry weapons to school. There is much fear. What the mom is finding out is that the principal is probably not going to do much about this even though this school, like so many others, has a zero tolerance policy concerning bullies. She is insisting that the teens come to her when this happens. Unfortunately, if they do, they will be branded as tattletales and beat up, probably often.
Please pray for the safety of these teens and the other teens in that school. Please pray that this comes to light whether by the school itself, the local media or some way in which the safety of all is insured. Please pray for the family to get to know the Lord as well. And thank you so much for this. They need all the help they can get with this dire situation.
Music: He Made A Change
Ξ November 23rd, 2008 | → 2 Comments | ∇ Music |
One of the songs that I love is called “He Made A Change”. The first time I heard it was with Ernie Haase and the Signature Sound. After that, it seemed to be around a lot. I really don’t know why I had not heard it sooner. Actually, the Cathedrals sang it first or at least before Ernie Haase did. Of course, Ernie used to be a member of the Cathedrals before they disband. The message in the song is so great. He made a change in me. I am walking and talking a different way because Jesus got a hold of me and made a change. Isn’t that awesome?
If you have not had that change in your heart yet, please listen to the song and then make the choice of asking the Lord Jesus into your heart today. When you tell Him your sins and ask Him to forgive you, it might just dawn on you that He went to that cruel cross just for you. I know that can be tremendously hard to believe but it is very true. He died so that we all might live. However, it is a choice. He does not force anything on you. This is up to you. But it is so worth it.
And now, here are Ernie Haase and the Signature Sound (one of my very favorite groups) singing He Made A Change!!
If you have any questions, I will get back to you as soon as possible. If you have a favorite song you would like to see here, please let me know by putting your request into the comments section here. If you need prayer, please click on the prayer request link. Know that people are praying for you!
About Prayer And Prayer Requests
Ξ November 21st, 2008 | → 2 Comments | ∇ Prayer, Prayer Requests |
I wanted to pass on some prayer requests from another blog called Grumpy Ape. Please click on the name to get to them. Praying for others is vital to the walk of a Christian. It is the spiritual lifeblood for us. When we pray for others, the kingdom of God is working as it should.
We all need prayer from time to time, some more than others. Some folks who come to a place of asking Jesus into their hearts seemingly have so many ills and problems that they bend God’s ear daily. Others apparently have seen the “light” and do not need to pray at all. All is well with the world. Right. There are folks who simply will not bother God with the trivial, some don’t think they are worthy of going to God for anything. What’s wrong with this picture?
First and foremost, the Father is not a sugar daddy who can and will hand out the wishes and wants like Santa Claus. God’s will is the one that will be done, not ours. Many, sometimes I think the word should be most, Christians new and older tend to feel that God is there to beg, plead, cajole, bribe and scream at to get what they want regardless of the cost to themselves or others. So many times, people want to do their praying from a desperation stance. And that is not the way God wants us to live at all.
Second, while we should not be praying from a point of desperation, sometimes it is essential to do so. Some things simply are desperate. Do not hesitate to go to the Lord with your petition. However, He is not moved by tears and begging. Most of us have to remember that one. During a time of pain and pressure, either your own or someone’s that you love, that might be all you can do. Instead of simply begging God, take the time to thank Him for all He has done for you. Give Him your heart. Put yourself in His Hand like no other time. God will honor that. Do nothing from a selfish or self centered point. He honors that which comes from the heart, the true compassionate giver.
Prayer is for a time to be with the Father, enjoying each other and having a friendship and fellowship unlike any other. But it is also time to talk about the needs of others, to petition for things that God is very willing to do for those people. It is not for selfish gain. God does not really honor that. So, do I not ever pray for myself? Of course you can. God wishes for you to have the desires of your heart. The one tiny thing about that is that when you become a Christian, read your Bible and sit with the Lord to learn, something changes inside you. Something rearranges and slowly your ideas of what you need and want tend to change, to become more like the Lord. When that happens, you look back on what you wanted before and realize that those were usually selfish and self centered things you wanted. God is looking out for you and for your family and friends. But He is not going to hand you everything you want just because you want it. Sometimes the tough road must be taken. That is a hard lesson indeed.
Praying for others is a step in the direction that God wants you to take. It is a totally unselfish act as long as you don’t have ulterior motives in doing so. If the prayer is for that person alone, this pleases God. So, please click on the link to Grumpy Ape and pray for those you do not know who need these prayers so much. Believe me, it brightens my day to know that I have a hand in helping someone who needs the help. They won’t even know who prayed for them. Isn’t that wonderful?
