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.