A Man Had Two Sons...

Matthew 21:28 " But what think ye? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to-day in the vineyard. 29) And he answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented himself, and went. 30) And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. 31) Which of the two did the will of his father? They say, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you."

This parable touches me deeply for some reason.  Is it because I have sons?  Is it because I have learned so much from each of them.  Lessons learned --often-- the hard way, by all of us.  I believe it is something deeper.

Motives.  What motivates people?  Some folks do things to gain things from other people.  Maybe their motives aren't pure and simple.  As in --if I do this for them, they will do this for me...or I'll get this in return. 


Some people are motived by money, some by love/feelings, or perhaps by honor and doing what is right.

"How did that make you feel?" the doctor asks me.
Funny you should ask...
How do certain things make you feel?  And how do you react?

Have you ever believed you were right?  Absolutely right?  I remember being young, and in being young I had a lot of answers.  There is the truth: "When I was young I had all the answers, now I'm older, I realize I don't even know all of the questions."


We aren't told the motives of either of the sons only the heart of the reason.
 
 Jesus has just rebuffed the chief priests and elders who demand "by whose authority do you do this?"  Telling them that if they didn't believe John was sent by God, they wouldn't believe Jesus either.  Then he uses this parable to show them the difference between pride and humility: the difference between love and duty.

They understand that the first son did the will of the father, and that the one who said, but did not do-- did not do the will of the father.  They got the gist of that, but not the application. So, in verse thirty-one and two Jesus gives them the meaning, and goes on to tell them another parable:

Matthew 21:33  "Hear another parable: There was a man that was a householder, who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another country..."

Matthew 21:40  "..When therefore the lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do unto those husbandmen? 

Jesus tells the parable of the unrighteous husbandmen to further illustrate the contrast of the situation.  What is God going to do with those who reject his son?  Those who refuse to see the Saviour as the Saviour, and these chief priests and Pharisees judge rightly when they answer:

Matthew 21:41  "They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will let out the vineyard unto other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their seasons."

 Somewhere they miss the application of what their response should be.  Then Jesus quotes unto them Psalms 118:22  "The stone which the builders rejected Is become the head of the corner..." At this point they finally get the point, and they are not happy.

Matthew 21:45  "And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. 46)  And when they sought to lay hold on him, they feared the multitudes, because they took him for a prophet."



What does that mean to you?  Or to me?  It gives us two options, since actions speak louder than words in this parable...
                       Option number one: "I go, sir."  Or Option number two: "I go not." 
 What these chief priests and Pharisees failed to understand was that Jesus is more than just a prophet, he is the Son of God. They were so filled with themselves they didn't heed what he was warning them of, that unless they accepted him they would lose their place that they were so proud of. 
We today can do the same thing.  We can fail to understand that while, yes, we can in this life say, "I go not," some day we will pay the price of all who fail to honor God and His Son in this life. 

While we enjoy the benefits and blessings that God bestows on all inhabitants of this earth as Matthew 5:45 says, "...for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust."  We all enjoy these blessings of good things that come into our life, if when we end this part of the journey still saying to God, 'No thanks, I won't go,' then those blessings will cease.  There will be no more the presence of God, nor of his goodness.  Only the evil will be left. 
Don't let 'I go not," be your final answer.  

Halelujah, what a Saviour!

'Fast Food'?

"What are you doing with that?" I ask as my son grabs a distressed old convenience store cup out of the trash on his way out the door.
"Well," he says, "my cats are out of cat food so I'm taking them some."
"Funny," says I, "when I was young we never fed our cats any cat food." (We only gave them milk from our cows.) "Maybe they'd eat more mice if we didn't feed them cat food..."
"These cats sit around and meow at you if you don't give them cat food.  I think they must put msg in it," he says rueful-like.

People occasionally speak about 'the good old days'.  How good the food was, not just good tasting, but good and healthy for you...They often speak as well about how much better things were --back then.
 I have noticed though, it is what a person grows up with that more often trips their trigger.  I don't care for instant potatoes, or instant anything. I had real potatoes and real food when I was growing up.  I know of people who are so used to the fast food approach that is what they like--the other stuff tastes off to them. 

John 14:6  "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me."

Quite a few years ago I taught a children's class in which one of the lessons was on patience and waiting.  For example, we mix up our cookie dough, put it on the pans and into the oven, but we still must wait for it to bake...

Where did we, the nation of America go?  Many are lamenting the demise of what is often termed the greatest country.  America has often been seen as the country that is 'on the go'.  The country of 'If you build it, they will come'.
So was it just yesterday, or last year, or even six years ago that America began slipping down the tube? 
I enjoy history.  I enjoy reading, writing, and the research as well. It seems a strange twist that life continues to funnel these things into my files--information that points to several sources of our current problems.
Horace Mann had many things going for him.  He was raised in poverty, very little education other than being self-taught, yet, amazingly enough he overcame these obstacles, became a lawyer, served in the Masschutes House of Representatives, and Senate, and was appointed Secretary of Education...

In the beginning of this country the early founders believed that an education was a necessity and they sought an education for their children in order that their children could learn to read the Holy Scriptures.  By the time that Horace Mann came on the scene in the early 1800's apparently, education was coming up short.

 We began homeschooling in the 1980's, and our youngest child finished a few years ago in approximately 2008/2009.   When we began homeschooling one of the assignments for my children's history class was that of writing reports.  They would choose a person and do research, write a report, then read their report to the rest of the children.  Some of the reports covered Jamestown leaders i.e. John Smith as well as Plymouth Plantation and their Separatist leaders.  However, by the time our last son was given the assignment we could no longer find (in our local library) information on the Pilgrims, or any of these people.  What happened in the twenty plus years?

Many people back in the day of Horace Mann castigated him not for untiring work in education reform, but the type of reform. There were several issues, and many fought his work, but in the end he had the power and authority of the government behind him.   In some cases he had children marched to the school house in front of guns, and in some parents actually snuck in and 'rescued' their children from the school house.  As is usually the way through bullying he finally had his way. The irony of it all...were parents against education?  Hardly, but this is a key--parents have often felt that their children were their property, not the property of the state.  It was the parent's duty, calling, election to make sure their children were educated, and properly educated.  Not the state, nor the government.

Horace Mann and his ilk are held up as doing good for the welfare of the children and society.  He was the perpetrator of the idea of 'removing religion' from education...just teach them 'principles' of religion he said.  You can't teach principles of Christianity with out Christianity itself and have the principles work.  A good read is John Taylor Gotto's: "The Underground History of American Education". 

This is an eye-opening subject, one that needs investigating.  There needs to be not just a waking up and wringing of the hands, but a look at what made us great because that is what will make us great again.  Amidst the chaos there are too many voices of the ignorance.  It is difficult having studied American History to understand how a person can honestly believe that America was not a Christian nation, founded on Christian principles.  History series such as "Wallbuilders" by David Barton, and "The Silencing of God" by Dave Miller, PHD, document our religious heritage.  But public schools have taken our actual history, and substituted a different version.

What happened to America?  Read these, and watch the videos.  You will come to a greater understanding of how we have went from a nation of over-achievers to a nation of dumber than rocks.  It didn't happen overnight, but it has happened by purpose.

We have become a nation that prefers fast food, a nation of 'give it to me, and give it to me now'.  When sex and pornography became a right and a god, why are we shocked that homosexuality followed along?  When murdering babies became acceptable will we be shocked when killing people of any age for one reason or another is acceptable as well? Birth defect? Age? Health problems?  No one and nothing will be exempt..

You see, when God is no longer the standard for moral decisions; you substitute human wisdom for moral decisions. 

When we forget that Jesus said, John 14:6  "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me."...and so many of the other things Jesus said...those principles that should have been taught along with the religion...we've forgotten way, way, way, too much.

Who Am I?

"I am a stranger in this place;
I've got a name, but I am just a face,
Sitting in the background, taking up space,
I'm sorry, but I guess that's just my case..."  (taken from a poem by B. Westphal)

A face without a name...or it could be a name without a face.  Day by day do you meet the same people?  Same people at work, same people at the convenience store, or grocery store, or wherever you may happen to visit--do you ever wonder who are they?

Quite a few years ago, I would take my Grandfather to town two or three times a month.  On our excursions he would get his hair cut, get groceries, and run errands that needed done.  Occasionally he would sit in the van as I or someone ran into a business establishment.  He enjoyed immensely watching people come and go on their errands.  Most of them were indeed faces with a name, but they weren't faces or names known to him. 

In Bible class we have a game called, 'Who Am I'.  I have a little figure that I hold up and read descriptions about.  For example, the questions might run like this, 'I am the son of Nun.  I was one of the two men that left Egypt with Moses that entered the Promised land.  I led the people into the Promised Land after Moses died.'  After each question I pause, if the class answers the question and tells me 'Who Am I' (in this case of course it's Joshua) I put the little figure down and move to the next figure who has a separate batch of questions.  The children like the challenge, and it's a good way to review.

Many is the time I've heard preachers use examples of lives from the scriptures.  I remember the first time I heard a preacher use these examples: Abraham was a liar,  Joshua had a faith problem, David was an adulterer, Peter denied Christ (or he had a language problem)...there were several of these examples thrown out for our examination.  The point was that these people were not perfect and God used them even though they were not perfect in his service.

Now, I agree, these people were just flesh and blood.  The scriptures don't hide the fact that they had their faults, but the scriptures don't dwell on the faults of it's heros.  The scriptures just tell the story.

 Has anyone amongst us not told a lie?  Maybe not an in your face life changing lie--maybe not even a totally untrue fact, but perhaps it just moved the facts around a little--lie.  Who amongst us has not on occasion thought within themselves: You want me to do WHAT Lord?!  Or some such thought-- in this place on these questions.  I ask myself, what would God have us focus on in these situations? The weakness of God's servant, or the triumph of that same servant? Yes, I know it could be just splitting dandelion fuzz, but...

Elijah is a prime example. 1Kings19:10  "And he said, I have been very jealous for Jehovah, the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword: and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. "

Again in IKings19:14  Elijah responds with, "And he said, I have been very jealous for Jehovah, the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away."

He is in this account running away from the wicked Queen Jezebel--running as it were, for his life.  We know of course that the Lord tells him in1Kings 19:18  "Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him."

We know that Elijah recovers from his weak moment and just a few chapters later he confronts the wicked King Ahab and prophesies to him concerning not only the King, but his wicked Queen Jezebel again saying:
 
1Kings 21:20  "Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee, because thou hast sold thyself to do that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah. 21)  Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will utterly sweep thee away and will cut off from Ahab every man-child, and him that is shut up and him that is left at large in Israel: 22)  and I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat... 23)  And of Jezebel also spake Jehovah, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel. 24)  Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the birds of the heavens eat."

In casting back in my mind I find myself at times in the same situation as my Grandfather.  I enjoy watching people come and go on their errands.  I don't know what thoughts ran through his mind, but  for myself I do wonder what these people are thinking, what their lives are, where they are going.  Some of them--most of them--will continue on their life's journey.  Many will never stop to consider who they are, or where they are going.  If you were the roving reporter on the street, stopping people and asking them these questions, most would think you were strange...at best.

'Who am I, and where am I going'--?  Christians must be concerned with these questions, not only for themselves, but for other people their in lives. 

I remember a book we used for ladies' class.  It used Job's wife as a negative example of something we wives should not do, or should not be like.  Several years ago someone said in reference to Job's wife, "I surely hope that of all the things I've ever done or said, in the end people don't choose the negative thing(s) from my life that I've done or said to remember me by."

I must agree whole-heartedly.  I don't want the times I've fallen--spiritually--to be the things people define me by.  I don't want my weakness to define who I am or where I am going...or where I have gone.

I am on occasion reminded of Joshua, the great leader.  After the defeat of his army at Ai, he is sure that the children of Israel are about to be slautered by the local people.  He has fallen on his face before the Lord.  He says in effect, 'We're gonna die!'  But Jehovah says to him:

Joshua 7:10 "And Jehovah said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore art thou thus fallen upon thy face? 11)  Israel hath sinned; yea, they have even transgressed my covenant which I commanded them:"


We know the rest of his story.  He got up.  He finished his task.


Halelujah!  What a Saviour!

Favorite color: October!

No, October is not spring time with it's promise of things to come.  October is pumpkin time, harvest time, time for putting things to rest.  Often the leaves are vivid colors, the sky is often a deep deep blue, and even browns come in vibrant hues.

In days of old people would light fires in their stoves, the smell of woodsmoke would waft on the air, and once crops were put in the shocks the farming community would breathe a sigh of relief and settle back to enjoy the rest that winter would bring. 

Here is a tribute to the days long gone in the words of James Whitcomb Riley:

WHEN THE FROST IS ON THE PUNKIN

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and the gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin'; of the guineys and the cluckin' of the hens
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O it's then the times a feller is a-feelin' at his best,
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock

They's somethin kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here -
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossums on the trees
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock -
When the frost is on the punkin and fodder's in the shock.

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin' of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries - kindo' lonesome-like, but still
A preachin' sermons to us of the barns they growed to fill;
The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;
The hosses in theyr stalls below - the clover overhead! -
O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!

Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps
Is poured around the celler-floor in red and yeller heaps;
And your cider-makin's over, and your wimmern-folks is through
With their mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and saussage, too!
I don't know how to tell it - but if sich a thing could be
As the Angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me -
I'd want to 'commodate 'em - all the whole-indurin' flock -
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!

 

Consider...Insurance...

Consider sixty to seventy years ago we were ALL uninsured. Since insurance what has happened to health care? Insurance is like giving doctors, hospitals, and almost anyone that has to do with health care-- except the patient-- an invitation to 'charge what you want--someone has deep pockets'. I say--get rid of insurance all together. Maybe we are living longer...maybe not...but we aren't living better.  And none of it is improved with insurance.

It is human nature to make things in our own image.  No one is guaranteed good things will happen to them.  No one is guaranteed that their pursuit of happiness will, indeed bring them happiness.  Which it rarely does here and now on this earth.  We are told to,"lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal" Matthew 6:20.

In the -old- days people used to read their Bible daily and take a bath once a week.  In these days many people take a bath daily and never read their Bible at all.  They must think they can wash their sins away in the shower.  As if the more they wash the outside of the platter, the inside will be clean.

Matthew 23:25  "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess. 26)  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also. 27)  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.  28)  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. "

This does not sound appealing to me!  People do not want to face their short failings.  They have been told that there isn't such a thing as 'sin'.  That sin is a figment of the imagination...


 What does this have to do with insurance? We put a lot of our treasure into insurance, and it seems to give many a false sense of security.  We hear that money cannot buy happiness, money cannot buy love.  We all know that money cannot buy good health.  In our world, it can't buy much of anything, and in reality, insurance does not really insure anything.    People, all of us, will grow older until our time comes to 'cross that river' from this life into the next.  Sadly enough many who have spent much of their money on unimportant things in this life will find that they are unprepared for eternity.

 Matthew 6:21  "for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also." Where is our treasure?

Put your treasure in the right place.  That is the best insurance we could ever have.
Hallelujah!  What a Savior.

If I Could

The woman employee looked stressed.  She stood with an unlit cigarette in hand obviously ready for a break, she wearily said to me, "Ever have one of those days?"

Indeed, most everyone I know has had at least one of those days--most have had more than one. 

We joke about things this Grandma has.  Many years ago I attended a Grandparent's day for one of my granddaughters.  In greeting her at her school I gave her a lovely kiss on the cheek--later she laughed and said, 'I didn't know I had grandma lips on my cheek!'

Grandma lips...in our family, because I do wear lipstick--my lips tend to be dry and I have a lovely cheap lipstick that has aloe in it.  It also tastes much better than yucky chapstick--hence the term Grandma lips.  Grandchildren are marked as my grandchildren, at least until I have blotted it off. 

Of course there is Grandma's magic wand.  It doesn't do anything, but it is pretty, and I do wave it around at times in hopeful exuberance...And of course my magic umbrella. 

My magic umbrella does do something.  I got it as a freebie from our bank--in appreciation I'm sure for being the light of their lives.  Smile~ however...the happening went something like this:

My son, Peabody, the afternoon I had acquired the new articles from the bank was checking out the umbrella while I was in the kitchen preparing supper.  He was standing by the dining table across from where I was chopping vegetables, or what have you.  Our kitchen is separted from the dining area by a counter, which I was working at as he's standing there pushing buttons for this and that on the umbrella.  He discovers that if you press a certain button the umbrella snaps open, and he thinks that is just pretty cool.  He tries it a time or two, "Hey, Mom!  Look at this!" and he pushes the button again to demonstrate this new toy.  However, instead of it just snapping open, the whole head just keeps on going.  Flying off the umbrella handle it flies across the space between us, and it hits me on the shoulder.  We were both shocked.  The look on his face is priceless.
   "Oh, Mom, I'm sorry!" he says.
    And the only thing I could think to say was, "When will you stop to think?"  but then the humor and the endless possibilities begin to spiral through my mind. 

Of course he couldn't have known about the defect in the (as we term it now) magic umbrella, any more than I could have.  Or the people at the bank...when he went in for a visit to the same bank and got his 'made in China' freebies he had to tell them about our experience.  I don't think they were as impressed as we were.  Laughing, laughing, laughing!

I have since demonstrated my unique umbrella on numerous occasions, and it always illicits spontaneous outbursts.  If for no other reason it truely seems to be magic.

What does that have to do with 'one of those days'?  Many things depend on our point of view.   As a Christian one of those days should bring me back to reality.

Hebrews 11:13  "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Heb 11:14  For they that say such things make it manifest that they are seeking after a country of their own... 16)  But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city."

We are pilgrims here on this earth seeking for a heavenly land.  As we walk this pilgrim's pathway we must:
Ephesians 6:14  "Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15)  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;"
We must take up the shield of faith and:
Ephesians 6:16  "...wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. 17)  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"
(and do all of these things--18)  "with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints,"



As I heard a speaker say, when things go wrong for a Christian we have a place of refuge, a shelter as it were, that we can rely on.  Who and what does an atheist have?  No one and nothing greater than themself, and that is a shallow shelter. 

A number of years ago we used to watch an astronomy show that gave the coming week's highlights of the night time sky.  The final line was always, 'and keep looking up'. 

We need to keep that thought in mind as we consider.  We do have a shelter that is much greater than ourselves.  We do have a rock that is higher than ourselves.  We do have a God that is able.

Ephesians 3:20 "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,"

2Timothy 1:12  "For which cause I suffer also these things: yet I am not ashamed; for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed unto him against that day."
                         Hallelujah, what a saviour!

ta da...

1Corinthians 10:6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7) Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

This reference in I Corinthians is said of the children of Israel at the time when Moses led them out of bondage. As they waited for Moses to return with the ten commandments they lusted and turned to idolatry, but...

Throughout this time period, as I teach my Bible class, we emphasize what the problem was.  All that these people could do was murmur and complain.  Did they have a reason to be unhappy?  Certainly they were going through some tough problems, the problem was how they handled the situation. What happened to them was written for us to learn from. The Old Testament gives us examples of good and evil.

"Well, I DESERVE this..." even if it may not be the best thing (for us) to have, we want it! And 'rose up to play?' That describes this society to a T...this is a society of 'play'. Just watch T.V. commercials. The television and the media are masters at making people feel like they deserve things, things that --in reality--they neither deserve nor need.

The book of Judges ends with: In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.(Judges 21:25)
They did what was right in their own eyes...hmm sounds much like what we have today.

"Well," the talk show host begins, "I received this email...-strong women will not vote for Santorum or Newt.- Now, why do you suppose they won't vote for Santorum or Newt?" After a pause, and apparently after listening to another person's opinion, he offers his thoughts. "Strong women feel Santorum and Newt are a threat to them--"
Santorum has only one wife, but he has seven children, (exclamation mark here) and of course Newt is really only a threat if you're married to him, but...

A strong woman?  Excuse me, but a strong woman is not one that fears a strong man.  A strong woman is not one that swoons over some one just because he excites her emotions.
Christians--not just men, but women should be 'strong'.

Ephesians 3:16  that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man;
Ephesians 6:10  Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.

As G.K. Chesterton said:   "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” 

It takes a strong individual to put aside their wants/desires and replace them with what God wants/desires for them and their life.   Yet what do we most admire in life?  Is it the individual(s) that just go with the flow.  The people that go along to get along?  Usually it is an individual that does the right thing--or what we perceive to be the right thing.

A strong woman indeed.  What do we perceive as a strong woman?  

The office woman says to a co-worker, "You know, Mabel (name changed here) will be in this afternoon..." and the co-worker's response?  "Well, I guess I won't be...".   Do we perceive witchy women to be strong women?  

Strong women are women that --whether in authority or not-- holds to her convictions of right or wrong.  She doesn't need to be the center of attention; she is quiet and respectful of others.  They do not need to be 'bossing' other people, but they know how to be in control of themselves.  They know how to make others feel good about doing what they should do.

1Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 

Christians are God's possession, they need to act that way.  In reality if we got what we deserve it would be punishment.  We deserve no better, but thanks be to God we have the ability to choose life, and blessings in Jesus.  It is a choice however. It isn't like a beauty pageant where you line up, and everyone jumps up and down in anticipation, and then someone gets the crown, .   We must choose it, and live it.
Christians must be strong, stay strong, and live strong...Do not murmur, nor complain, do not wallow in the sins of this world, lusting after things that are not fit for the pigs of this world--come ye out from among them... 1Peter 1:15  but like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; 16)  because it is written, Ye shall be holy; for I am holy.

Consistent--To be or not to be?

Ephesians 5:15  Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; 16)  redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17)  Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
     Last week reading a fellow Christian sister's blog (Cindy Colley) she pointed out the inconsistencies in some of our beliefs.  I found it humorous, and yes, I find inconsistencies in my own thoughts and actions.
     Having said that women need to be keepers at home, I find that if given the choice between (and this is if all things are equal) choosing a female or a male doctor--I prefer a female.  I don't think of anywhere else that it makes a difference, but therein lies the question.  Yes, I do believe that it is not only proper, but a good work for women to minister to other women.  So, how does the balance come? 
     Back in the day --early pioneer days--, many young women were hired (for example) as teachers.  Once they married most of them left the teaching profession.  Household duties were onerous, and reason would stand that trying to do both would lead to poor quality of work on one or the other jobs.  Indeed, it still is true.  As my mother used to say, "To do more than one thing at a time is to do nothing--well".  It never has stopped being true.
     Christians used to cringe when women's liberation proponents would throw out the old adage, they just want to keep women barefoot and pregnant.  To prove that this wasn't the case young women were encouraged by many to go to college--not to get a job...  only to be educated.  Only to prove that old adage false.  Only to...there were a few old fuddy duddy elders who resisted this way of thinking.  It would lead to women leaving the home and family and their God-given sphere, these men said.  They were just fuddy duddy old men, who wanted to keep women barefoot and pregnant. 
     Again, it isn't wrong for women to minister to other women.  Another thing that happened back in the day--women were mid-wives.  They aided the doctors as well as delivering babies. 
     Titus 2:3  that aged women likewise be reverent in demeanor, not slanderers nor enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good; 4)  that they may train the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5)  to be sober-minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed:
     Reading the text it addresses the attitude of the aged women--reverent and sober, then it gives areas of their influence: teachers of that which is good --and to whom they may minister: train young women--and what they are to teach: love their husbands, love their children: to be sober minded, chaste, workers at home, (also) to be kind, and in subjection to their own husbands--and for what reason?  That the Word of God be not blasphemed.
     Part of why we see a rise in marital problems is a lack of respect.   Men don't respect women nearly as much as they once did.  Women were encouraged to climb down off their pedestals, which they did.  When that happened all of humankind followed suite.  Men became more base, and women rolled in the mud and grime and became unsavory as well...
     So where does this all lead?  Some inconsistencies are inconsistencies, and some just appear to be inconsistent.  Yesterday I made an appointment with a new (for me) osteopath--she is an eighty something woman.  I'm sure she no longer has children at home--can she minister to others? 
     Philippians 3:14  I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15)  Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye are otherwise minded, this also shall God reveal unto you:
    It is important that each one that is trying to please God acknowledge God as the authority.  Instead of saying (to me) you can't tell me what to do...that is correct, but certainly God can.  Start with simple prayer.  "God, I know that I sometimes am willful.  I often times want to do what I want to do, so take over the reins in my life.  God help me to follow where you want me to go." 
     As someone put it lately: I know this is from you, God.  I don't pray that you will remove it.  Just help me through it. 

A Servant not Greater

John 15:20  "Remember the word that I said unto you, A servant is not greater than his lord...."
     
      We have our pet charities.  People or causes that we feel are doing a good work and worth our support.  I do not feel comfortable sending money, or spending time on things when I am not knowledgeable about their workings.  We became friends with a missionary minded individual quite a few years ago and have through the years sent money to help in their work.
     The dilemma began a little over ten years ago as we had commited to sending a certain amount money monthly to this work.  We had not made a set in stone commitment, only to ourselves, and strove diligently to send that amount.  After a few months we found ourselves financially short enough that I only had enough to send part of the amount.  This pattern continued through the year,  raising our family on one salary left our budget with no wiggle room for changing the problem. 
     I was frustrated to say the least.  Here we were trying to help in a good work, and my thought was, why is the Lord not blessing us in order that we can help others  in this good work? This happened not once, but several times through the following years.  After the last time or two I began questioning, not God, but the work we were helping with.


    God sees things from a different perspective.  Some of the works which our friend is doing are good works, but some things I now have questions about.

    Our society is wrong in a number of ways.  At one time we had a structure where mostly families were a unit.  Especially in the early years of our country when farming was the major occupation of the country, families lived and worked together daily as a unit.  Bit by bit things began to unravel as more and more fathers went to work in factories, children were sent off to larger and larger public schools.  The death blow came when mothers as well left the home in order to honor the all-mighty dollar god.
     America is crumbling from within mainly because the homes that used to shelter families have become only, for the most part, houses that shelter possesions.  Families that at one time passed on moral values, Biblical truths, Godly precepts to the next generation are empty shells that contain none of those things.  And they ask why don't my children have a faith in God?  What has happened?
     I see our societal norms being encouraged in other countries even by missionaries that are doing some good works --in some areas--, but questions arise if it is right to encourage people in other countries to accept our societal norm.

     Titus 2:4  "that they may train the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5)  to be sober-minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed:"

     Lip service is only paid to this portion of scripture.  We all know women ought so love their husbands (if the husbands are worthy of course) and they ought to love their children at least for a few hours a day...and when it is convenient.  However, try teaching that women ought to be wives and mothers -only.  Wives and mothers, not a hyphenated version that starts with 'what do you do for a living?'
     We all know that 'a family can't live on only one paycheck anymore'.  Except that's not true.  The truth is with most families 'a family doesn't want to live on one paycheck anymore.'  They would perhaps have to struggle to make ends meet.  They would be forced to make unpopular choices, to do without some things they have grown accustomed to, or worse yet, something they like or want.

     "If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also."

     What is sad is...the persecution doesn't come from outside of the religious community.  The second sad thing is what the ignoring of God's command does to matrimony (husbands and wives), to families, the fabric of our homes, and foundation of our lives and country.

     Many Christians condemn abortion, and rightly so, but do mothers and fathers not see what the fruit of our child care system is?  What is accomplished by leaving our children in such a situation?
     What does this have to do with 'a servant not greater than his Lord?  The leaders of Jesus' day persecuted him because they didn't like--no, they hated what he taught, as well as what he stood for.
Women need to hear the truth.  What difference is it when we teach others about submitting to God's plan for salvation and they choose not to listen, and on the other hand when God speaks to us we fail (or choose) to ignore it?
     Our homes are falling apart, our marriages are failing, our children are being lost and the Word of God is being blasphemed.  We may not like the idea that 'women's lib has taken root in our lives', but it has influenced our way of thinking and acting. 
     I have seen ladies speakers who dearly wanted to tell an audience of women that it was unscriptural for them to leave their children and husbands as they flocked into the workplace.  The best these poor women could do was tell the women, 'no matter what you choose (to work outside, or stay at home), keeping your home and the care for it is YOUR responsibility, not your husband's'.
     The scriptural teaching is not popular, it will turn women away from the church--and that is true.
It will turn some--maybe even many-- away from the church, but when are we to be the judge?
      A few years ago someone said about a friend of theirs: "she would have become a christian, but she couldn't accept that a woman had to be in subjection to her husband...so she never obeyed...".  Wait, there seems to be a problem.  When do we start just teaching what is popular, and will people that embrace only part of the good news be wholly saved? 
     I don't believe that there is any one today who is perfect in their knowledge and keeping of the scriptures.  Most of us would acknowledge that we are always learning and growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and his church.  As we learn and grow we leave behind the things that aren't what God wants, and change into what the Lord does want us to be.  Growing and changing that is part of life.  It is part of the Christian life.

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Sticks and Stones, and Broken Bones

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me...

So the saying went when I was growing up. We all know of course, that this is a childish phrase, and it is very far from the truth.  Sticks and stones can hurt our body, but words can hurt our soul.
 
There are many clever sayings that encourage us to put past hurts, past encounters, as well as past transgressors...in the past.

 Ecclessiastes 7:21 "Also take not heed unto all words that are spoken, lest thou hear thy servant curse thee; 22) for oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others."

You may not have 'cursed' others as we consider the word curse, but at times we all tend to have thoughts--yes, unkind thoughts about others--and those thoughts do sometimes find themselves expressed in words.  Consequently, take account that we need to give others room for complaint against ourselves.

 Philippians 3:13  "Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before..."

The Apostle Paul was a man with a past.  He had persecuted the church, condemned Christians to prison, and even unto death, but that all changed when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus...


Paul was a committed person.  He, from what we can read through the scriptures, didn't do anything half way.  It was all or nothing; either for or against.  When he found he was wrong, he did a complete turn.

There are several things we need to carry away from this.   Be careful what you say.  You cannot control what others say--kind or unkind.  However, we should strive always to control, or better yet let Jesus control what we say. Keep our own thoughts and words pleasant.



We should move on.  We need, for our own self, to move past the hurts, the poor encounters, and the transgressors of the past.  Whether our failures, or the failure of others, move on.  Other wise we allow these things to control our future, at least in part.

Philippians 3:14 "I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Our ultimate goal is to be fit for the 'high calling' in Christ Jesus; the  high calling of heaven.  Heaven--a prepared place for a prepared people...



Philippians 3:10 " that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death; 11) if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead."

Hallelujah!  What a Savior!

How Do You Do?

It feels like spring today.  I feel like I sprung today...
Ever have one of those days?  The older I get the more of them I seem to have, but...

Attitude--attitude of gratitude.  The old woman hobbled up to the Church house doors.  "Well, Sister Dorcas, I thought you weren't feeling so good," the preacher says.
"I'm not, but my heart came to Worship this evening, and my feet just had to follow."

Sunshine dapples my desk.  It is late afternoon and a Friday.  And not quite officially spring, but close enough I could almost begin spring cleaning...almost.  Smile

In some places the frost has gone out of the ground, and the standing water has disapeared.  Soon the cold winter will be a thing of the past.  We will begin our garden, and our crops in the field.  Cows will be birthing calves.  A new life to the new year.

The birds arrived this morning.  The air was filled with them screaming at the top of their little beaks as if they just had to tell some one!

It was a day to sit on the porch in the afternoon sunshine and watch.  Watch the world go by.  Something else that the older I get the more I could do...

Ever wonder why we are in such a hurrry?  Where do we think we are going?  Which brings me to heaven.

We sat across the table from the mother daughter pair.  We had come for a Bible study.  "Are you a Christian?  they read the first question.

A few moments of thought and explanation came next.  The mother (who was about our age, give or take a few years) told of her youth, and religious experience, and concluded that, yes, indeed, she was a Christian.  The daughter, who was in her late twenties, decided that she also was a Christian because she believed in Jesus.

Everyone believes they are going to heaven, but they seem to believe it is somewhere you just happen to find yourself in.  No preparation, no worry, just someday after an aimless life of wandering (in the wilderness of sin, usually) they will wake up and voila!  They are there.

1Corinthians 9:26 "I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: 27)  but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected."

The Apostle Paul here says (and this is my paraphrase) he didn't run his race aimlessly, he didn't fight as just beating the air: but he brought himself into bondage in order that after all was said and done, after all of his work he would be acceptable.

Yet here we have folks thinking they will aimlessly wander through life doing what ever they please, and just wake up --in heaven.

Matthew 22:11 "But when the king came in to behold the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding-garment: 12)  and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment? And he was speechless."

There are a number of places that emphasize the fact that heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. The commentary from Barnes says this about this scripture:
        "A man which had not on a wedding garment - In ancient times, kings and princes were accustomed to make presents of changes of raiment to their friends and favourites, to refuse to receive which was an expression of highest contempt, (Genesis 45:22; 2Kings 10:22; Esther 6:8; Esther 8:15). It was, of course, expected that such garments would be worn when they came into the presence of the benefactor. The garments worn on festival occasions were chiefly long white robes, and it was the custom of the person who made the feast to prepare such robes to be worn by the guests. This renders the conduct of this man more inexcusable. He came in his common and ordinary dress, as he was taken from the highway: and though he had not a garment of his own suitable for the occasion, yet one had been provided for him, if he had applied for it. His not doing it was expressive of the highest disrespect for the king."

So we see from this that the guest had chosen not to wear a garment that was provided, and we can understand why he was speechless.

We won't show up in heaven if we haven't prepared; heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.  Today is a new day.  A day to prepare for that day when you want --to wake up in heaven.

Garden time --Again-- :)

Here we are looking at the end of February.  Today is gray and cold.  The weather forecaster is calling for SNOW.  Supposed to be lots of snow, but they sometimes often miss their mark.  This means we could have a deluge of snow, or we could have just a light dusting.

So, as we contemplate the weather, just when should we start thinking of gardens?  Most gardeners don't really ever stop thinking of gardens.  We are constantly analyzing what we have, what we WILL have, or what we should have...

I keep a journal, and although it is never quite a complete as I would like to have kept it, it is very helpful in my next year's garden.  As I stated earlier in my garden posts, I have a list of the type of vegetables, herbs, and even a few fruits that I like to grow.  When purusing a garden catalog, remember, they are supposed to look perfect in the pictures!  Most garden catalogs begin at the beginning of the alphabet in their listings.  It has nothing to do with anything, except alphabet...smile.

"Asparagus" for example is the one of the first in the listings.  Asparagus is a perennial, and you plant roots.  I say that, but yes, you can grow them from seeds, it just takes much, much longer.  However, if you are not in a hurry either way works.  Eventually the plants end up in 'beds', hopefully with a walkway in between rows.  The male plants make large uniform spears. Note--I have covered asparagus somewhat in another post...

Beans are listed next, and there are many varieties of beans.  There are green beans and dried beans, yellow wax beans, bush beans, and pole beans.  The green beans are used fresh, or canned in jars for winter consumption.  Dried beans are soup beans.  Yellow wax beans are similar to green beans, and the term 'bush', or 'pole' is just the growing habit of the plant.  A bush bean plant will only grow to about 36" tall, whereas a pole bean needs a fence or a support to grow up.  Some pole bean plants grow close to ten foot high.  You should make a trellis for them.  

Our favorite bush bean is 'Provider' it really is a good decent bean.  We will usually get two good pickings from my double row.  A 100 foot row usually gave us enough green beans for some fresh eating, and approximately 50 quarts of canned beans.  Also note, I figured I wanted at least 50 quarts.  There are 52 weeks in a year and that gave us enough for approximately two quarts a week winter use.  We had a large family and/or enough guests that it often took two quarts per meal.

Note here: when I plant beans I use a 'marker'.  --I believe in one of the other posts (I will check it out later.) I may have had a picture of my 'marker'.--  It is two electric fence posts with a length of --in our case--baler twine so many feet long tying them together.  We usually try for 100 foot rows, so our twine is in something that will give us that measure.  So, I push one of the fence posts into the ground, stretch the twine out tight and push the other post into the ground.  I want the twine/string tight so it doesn't have room for play, or it will 'sag' out in the middle.  I use this to steady my hoe as I run the hoe along the twine making a trench approximately three inches deep.  I then move one end of the marker careful not to disturb the trench.  When planting beans --for example-- I kinda sow them in the trench so many inches between each seed (approximately 2" between seeds I believe the directions say).  Then beside that row I just made I measure one of my shoe lengths, push a post in where the toe of my shoe comes (that's going to be between 8 and 9 inches), take the other post down to the other end of the last row, measure one of my feet measures and push the post in.  I make another row and sow the seeds in it same as the first row.  *When the snow does disappear, I will have my photographer du jour take pictures of this process in order to make it more clear. 

That is my 'double row'.  It is a little more hand tilling when they first come up, but they canopy and keep most of the weeds out from between the rows.   I do many of my vegetables this way.

I enjoy 'playing' with my beans.  I have a mix of bush, and pole beans.  The pole beans usually have more 'character' because they are older varieties.  Some of my favorite pole beans are: Scarlet Runner, Purple Podded Pole, Painted Lady, Mayflower, Cherokee Trail of Tears.  The beautiful colored flowers on fences have brought comments through the years from neighbors and passersby.  I also use these to tell stories, for example "Mayflower" supposedly came over on the 'Mayflower' with the early settlers.  The Cherokee Trail of Tears goes back to Andrew Jackson moving the Cherokees from their homes in Georgia in the bitter weather to the reservation. Purple podded pole reminds me of the time my daughter chose to plant 'purple' beans, and so forth...

The beauty of the flowers, and wonderful flavors of these different beans make them well worth the effort to grow them.  They can also be grown up a fence in an out of the way area, or make a tipi for them to grow up as a conversation piece.

The ground needs to be warmed up for beans to sprout.  If planted too early they will (at least mine would) just lay in the ground until the right time to sprout and grow.  In our area I wouldn't plant beans until (depending on the weather) about mid-April.  If you are in a more southern area probably the first of April, maybe a little earlier, again depending on the weather.

Beets are the next listing, and I would plant beets earlier than beans.  Indeed the directions for beets say: plant as soon as soil can be worked.  I stay mostly with the old varieties of beets.  Detroit Red or Ruby Queen.  This last year I tried a new variety.  I was reading about beet greens being edible, and low-and-behold as I glanced through the garden catalog pictures the variety, "Kestrel" had the most beautiful vibrant green leaves against the red of the beet itself, those beet greens waved at me.  And one of those little voices said, 'that one there!'.  I was rewarded with my choice.  The beet greens were excellent.  If you like spinach this just may be a variety to take its place.  They are much easier to grow as well.

Another tip...if it has the word 'gourmet' about a variety I steer away from it.  I have tried several things that had that word in the title.  If that was gourmet, I've decided someone has a different idea of gourmet than I do...smile.

Our beets, turnips, kohlrabi all did well in spite of our horrible drought last summer.  Mostly they did well because they were planted early in the spring when there was still enough moisture for them not only to germinate, but to grow.  My double rows are also designed to help with weed control, and the canopy helps preserve moisture as well.

With the next post I plan to share more on the 'early' garden, or early spring plantings and what they would be.  For the scripture I would like to leave with you:

Ecclesiastes 5:9  Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.

To Live Your Life

In a direct way most will find times when we are 'afraid' to live our lives.  Not even for any real reason, only the fear of making a mistake.

Ecclesiastes 9:11  I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
Time and chance...I don't know if I believe that 'everything' happens for a reason, as some people have stated.  I do know that God can --and does-- change even bad things into something good for those that love him.  Romans 8:28  And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.


In the fairy tale story of Sleeping Beauty the angry fairy came in, and determined to take her revenge on the king. So she cries out, "The King's daughter shall in her fifteenth year be wounded by a spindle, and fall down dead." But we know that there was one fair fairy yet to give a gift to the little baby, so that "the twelfth, who had not yet given her gift, came forward and said that the bad wish must be fulfilled, but that she could soften it, and that the king's daughter should not die, but fall asleep for a hundred years."

And so that story goes. The evil that was intended is softened and something good comes from it.  In the case of Sleeping Beauty it took a good long time to see the end of that story.  Our individual stories don't always take so long.

2Peter 3:8  But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9)  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Some minutes pass like hours, and some hours pass like minutes it just depends on circumstances.  To us a thousand years is a long time, but for God --who does not live by our standards-- time doesn't pass.  It reminds me of being a drop of water in the ocean.  Where does one drop end and another begin?

Circumstances?  We can't always control our circumstances, but we should choose our response to those circumstances.  I say should because even though we should always choose to do the right thing in any given circumstance, many of us would admit that time and chance have a way of taking us by surprise, and only later do we think 'I should have said this...or I should have done that'.   Doing the right thing?  Even when we set our mind and determine to do the right thing it is far too easy to fall short of that noble mark.

There are two things we need to be mindful of.  As humans it is not always possible to keep our promises, but we should always strive to do so to the best of our abiblity.  When my children were growing up I tried to keep my promises.  If I promised some treat or if I promised some punishment, I tried to follow through.  However God does keep his promises.

Living here on earth is like living in a photograph.  Like seeing just one picture, or maybe one corner of the picture.  We blunder along.  We fail to trust in God.  We allow Satan to side track us.  We confuse God's longsuffering with...well, we confuse it with God being slack, or sometimes we believe God doesn't care.  Maybe we believe that there really isn't a God. 

The Bible contains many fulfilled prophesies.  There are many scientific truths, many historical truths contained in scriptures, that all point to the majesty and omnipotence of God, and yet...  People want to quibble with God.  Many people believe they can tell God what they will do, or what they think, or even what He should do and what He should think. 

I don't know why they would be so arrogant, but they are.  Would they treat a president, a king, a queen, a ruler of any kind in such a manner?  

 Galatians 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Ecclesiastes 3:14  I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

Live your life before God, but remember:
Ecclesiastes 11:9  ...but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. 10)  Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh...

Put your life in order, walk in the ways that God would have you walk.

Psalms 46:10  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

New Year, New resolution...

Living my life backwards.  I feel like I'm living not in this year, but some time in my past.  The weather today reminds me of--some other day.  The sunshine streaming across the landscape reminds me of--some other time.  Some people call it deja vu--or some such thing.  Doing something, meeting someone, reliving a past experience in the present. 

We are standing on the fresh snow of the new year, poised to begin the journey.  After so many years of 'new journeys' one would think we wouldn't be so naive.  But, as the song says, 'will I be pretty, will I be rich, here's what my mother said to me... Que sera sera; what will be, will be. '   Each new year is a new journey in like manner.  Will life be pretty, will it be rich, what will it say to me?

Some memorable lines from years past:
    If you keep doing the same thing, expect you will keep getting the same results.  
   Insanity?  Doing the same thing and expecting a different result!
   Walk a mile in my shoes?  Then who's shoes would I be walking in?
    One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day?   ( 2Peter 3:8)  I've had minutes that passed like that.  One minute was like a thousand years, and now that I'm older a lifetime that has flashed by like a thousand minutes...



There are some things we never quite grasp.  Here is a quote from a face book friend from a movie she watched;  "the movie Tuck Everlasting. I thought was worth sharing: "People will do anything not to die but will be afraid to live their lives......Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life! You don't have to live forever - You just have to LIVE!"" (disclaimer here, I have never watched this movie, do not have any idea other than this quote about it.  I am not endorsing it in any way.)

 This doesn't give you or me the license to live a frivolous, or a godless life.  It doesn't give anyone the cue to be self serving, or less than noble.  On the contrary it should encourage and inspire each person to identify those things in life that are indeed the most noble and virtuous aspirations and seek out those things.  A sort of Noblesse Oblige.

Darwin was not the first to come up with a theory of  'evolution', however, for some reason his theory caught on like a prairie fire in an updraft.  There are a number of odd things though.  Some say even he didn't believe his theory, and whether he did or not it has never been anything but a 'theory'.  It has never been shown in any aspect to be a truth.   There is no basis to it, yet it is taught as fact.  If you don't support it you are then ridiculed as being an antiquated idiot, probably a religious zealot, and ignorant as well.  But look what it accomplished with it's emphasis on 'we're just graduated animals':

Whereas Christian religion elevates humanity to:  Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honor, And didst set him over the works of thy hands: (Hebrews 2:7)
Evolution says: just a higher form of ape. 
Yet most children are taught evolution as fact, and  by the time they finish high school, they will defend it in the face of all the contrary evidence.  And all of the evidence is contrary to evolution.  There is no fossil record.  No record of anything ever evolving into a new species, nowhere at any time.  Evidence?  Here are two excellent links, one is to Dr. Brad Harrub's website       http://www.focuspress.org/   and the other is to Appologetics press http://www.apologeticspress.com/

So evolution accomplishes it's goal.  The undermining of our society.  Turning humans into mere animals that can act as animals would in a jungle, in a zoo, in nature...where ever.  Acting as if they are not accountable for decent behavior, now they are given license for murder, rape, incest, in a nutshell...for beastly behavior.  But they're wrong.

 Matthew 18:3  and (Jesus) said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.

As ironic as it may seem, just try telling a child, "I'll give your brother/sister a piece of candy, but I don't feel like giving a piece of candy to everyone.  So only that one child gets the piece of..."


The hue and cry of the non receivers would be: THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

A child's sense of 'right and wrong' may not be quite on track, but the fact that even as children they have a sense of a standard of right and wrong shows that, unlike animals that have no moral compunction, we ARE different than mere animals.


Some good things to keep in mind until next time:
      Philippians 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice.
5)  Let your forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6)  In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7)  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
8)  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
                                                      (To be continued)

How Do We Look?...

How do we look at our lives?  As someone commented the other day, 'It's amazing how, when we like something, we seem to think that God automatically likes it as well'.

1Corinthians 11:28  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

This is in reference  to the Lord's supper of course, but think on the principle of examining ones' self.  Some people are more harsh with themselves than they would be with others.  The cause may be because we know our self, we know our motives and we feel like we 'should have done better', or known better, or etc.  Then there are those who can't see their own short comings, and tend to make excuses when they fall short.

1Corinthians 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

Simply put, if we stand back and do an honest evaluation, maybe ask a trusted friend--one who is honest--using the scriptures to measure yourself we can change the areas where we fall short. The thought, 'Well, I'm better than so-and-so,' should not enter the process:

2Corinthians 10:12 For we are not bold to number or compare ourselves with certain of them that commend themselves: but they themselves, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, are without understanding.

If we compare our self with our self, or with someone else for that matter, we are using the wrong standard.  If we were building, or constructing some item we could use a long stick to measure with, but how accurate would that be?  No, we would want to use something that would give us a consistent reading and measurement.  Using the word of God is the best measurement. 

We should be able to look at where we are and see progress to where we want to be.  We need to Set good goals and work toward them.

Galatians 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23)  meekness, self-control; against such there is no law. 24)  And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof. 25)  If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk.   

There was a time when goodness prevailed.  Not that evil and bad things were not present, but generally speaking people were kind one to another, showing the 'fruits' of the Christian teaching. 
 Ephesians 5:9  (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10)  proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord;   
Yes, goodness did prevail because we expected Christians to live and walk in a certain way.  For them to do otherwise was --hypocritical, but...

 When I was growing up my family didn't go to 'church'  because there was the feeling that 'if we keep the golden rule then we have fulfilled what God would have us to do'.  They didn't see going to Church as necessary.  Just keep the Golden Rule...because some of them Christians are hypocrites.

But like using a long stick (instead of using a tape measure) to measure our building of the item-- we were measuring with the wrong criteria.  The Golden Rule was and is an important teaching, but it isn't the total teaching in the Bible. 

Some people are hypocrites, but some are just struggling folks that need encouragement.  There is no need to change the standards because we don't feel like everyone can do everything exactly right.  We don't set the standard, God does.

Because we were using our own ideas of what and how things ought to be, our foundations began to wobble.  My family wasn't the only family in the world at that time who  had the same idea.  Consequently our society began to look for 'little gray' areas. Certain things became acceptable to us that shouldn't have been acceptable until little by little the foundation gave way.

We all know we sin and fall short, but there is a difference between slipping and falling into a mud puddle, and sitting down and playing in it.  However, using your short comings to condone MY short comings won't play in Peoria, nor will it excuse us into heaven. 

It is important to God that we hear and keep the teachings of Jesus.  Not just the ones we like, but the ones that are more difficult.  Not just the Golden rule, but all of the rule; all of the standard.

John 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my sayings, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day.