Such a time?

1Kings 20:35  "And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his fellow by the word of Jehovah, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.  36)  Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of Jehovah, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him."

There is a story here about a king by the name of Ahab.  He lives in the city of Samaria, and is besieged by another king, Ben-hadad of Syria.  Ben-hadad has sent a message to King Ahab and says I want everything -good- that you have; your wives, your children, gold, silver...all of the goodliest of your possesions.

You might think Ahab would take exception to this, but no, he accepts the terms, and is willing to comply...but the story continues.
  "And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, I sent indeed unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;
  but I will send my servants unto thee to-morrow about this time, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away." 1Kings 20:5-6
Ahab, the King of Israel finally decides, I think this fellow is pulling my chain.  (That's my phraseology there.) But he goes to the elders of the land and says, "Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief:" I Kings 20:7

There are so many interesting things to glean from this lesson, but we are going to skip the story of the two battles that are fought wherein God blesses Ahab with victory over the pestilent Ben-hadad, just to show Ahab that there is a God in Israel: 
"...therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah."
(1Kings 20:28)
So, after the boastful King Ben-hadad is defeated twice, and he has had to flee for his life, his servants counsel him to throw himself on the mercy of King Ahab: 1Kings 20:32  "So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother." The 'he' of the last sentence was none other than Ahab, calling Ben-hadad his brother...and in verse 34 Ahab makes a covenant with Ben-hadad: "And I, said Ahab, will let thee go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go."

God was very unhappy with him, and to prove his point he used a 'son of the prophet' to get his point across, and that is where I Kings 20:35 comes in.   "Smite me, I pray thee" he tells his fellow, but the fellow prophet was disobedient, was slain by a lion, and so the story goes on:

1Kings 20:37  "Then he (the prophet) found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, smiting and wounding him. 38)  So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes. 39)  And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king; and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.  40)  And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.  41)  And he hasted, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets."
I don't know why Ahab made a covenant and let Ben-hadad go free.  The reason the prophet said he lost his prisoner was that he was busy 'here, and there'. 
Into our hands our lives are given, our opportunities are given, our time, our talent, yes, our very essence is given.  What are we doing with all of these things? 

1Corinthians 3:9  "For we are God's fellow-workers: ye are God's husbandry, God's building. 10)  According to the grace of God which was given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder I laid a foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let each man take heed how he buildeth thereon. 11)  For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12)  But if any man buildeth on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13) each man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man's work of what sort it is."
We don't want to lose our place in the kingdom of God.  It is important to remember that being about our Father's business is our task first.  Do we forget to trust on God? 

Matthew 10:29  "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father: 30)  but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31)  Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows."

Some days... and what makes a difference--

 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, 14)  I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

 Solitaire, a game of aggravation.  Maybe you're so close, but no dice, you just do not have the right card at the right time.  In those moments you realize you just can't pull it off. Or maybe you lay out your cards, and it doesn't pan out at all... so the best thing to do is close it up. Does your life ever seem like one of those games of solitaire?

Are you like the popular saying, "I'm always a day late, and a dollar short".   By the end of the pay period I'm stretching things to make ends meet.  Maybe it's the same for you.  Maybe it's money, maybe it's time, or it might be that your life goes from one crisis to another.

During his sermon, a preacher related a situation that happened while he was attempting to counsel a family.  The mother had called him during a problem with one of her grown children.  He went a number of times to try helping them.  During one of his last visits, when he entered their living room, there they sat watching a soap opera, and it occurred to him--that's what their lives are like, a living soap opera.  They were always having a crisis.

I have witnessed the times when children come to visit, they keep their moms busy by going from one table, to another surface, then on to another place pulling items down, or off of that area.  The mother will run behind putting things back where they were, only to keep going all around the room, picking up after their child... 

What is wrong with this picture?  It is similare to the game of Solitaire, being a day late, dollar short, or even making your life into something that resembles a soap opera.

The last case is easily remedied.  Instead of following around after the child, do what they did in the old Western movies...cut them off at the pass.  That child is smart enough to figure out how to control adults, so you must be smarter than the two year old (or how ever old the child is).  First, put the child--gently but firmly-- out of commission, be it chair time, play pen time, or some form of time out.  Then put the mess aright.  There needs to be an adult in control of the situation.

In the soap opera case it would be similar.  Identify just what is causing the crisis, and cut it off at the pass.  If it is a person tell them they are no longer in control of your life; their behaviour is not going to be rewarded.  Time for them to move on and grow up.  If it's your own behaviour--tell yourself the same thing.  Time to grow up and move on.


If your life keeps turning into a game of solitaire that won't go anywhere...again analyze what the reasons may be.  Is it your own personal habits?  Is it things that happen and take you unaware?  Never have enough money?  Is your money spent on 'doodads'?  Things you want, don't need, and are counter productive...  What about not enough time?  Well, the same can go for time.  What do you spend your time on?  There are time-suckers that you don't need, and they are usually counter productive as well.  My grandmother used to say 'We work first, then we play'.   Not enough resources?  Sometimes with a little ingenuity, a little thinking outside the box even that can be overcome.  First you need to identify what is holding you back.  Sit down, be honestly critical, write down what you would like to see happen for good in your life--your analysis is a key here.  Ask yourself--in this game...what do I really need?  What do I really need to win; what do I need to be my highest self, and ultimately to be happy.
Three things I've learned this week are: decide who you are, and who you are going to be-- in all kinds of situations, aim high, don't let Satan control your life through the life of others, or through your own short comings--cut him off at the pass.

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.
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Somethings That Just Happen

The pilot is doing stunts during an air show.  Suddenly a wing just breaks away, falling to the earth.   The audience can't believe what it is seeing--a one wing plane still airborne.  Several at the show keep repeating, 'Where's his wing?  Where's his left wing? ...they know what must happen...or will it?  My reaction was an oh,no!, and a sinking feeling of something cataclysmic about to happen.  The next few seconds passed more than quickly.  The plane had been climbing straight up--up--up, suddenly the wing is gone.  What the pilot does next was short of amazing.  He takes the small plane into a series of twists, upside downs and arounds, and brings the plane around so that it is sideways, its one wing parallel to, and skimming just above the runway, quickly he flips it onto its wheels, and-- just short of a miracle in my eyes, brings it into a safe landing right side up on its wheels.  I can't believe that it was a planned emergency, a planned thrill getting technique, but it all happened so fast, and so professional it appeared as normal as a peanut butter and jelly.  I doubt the pilot thought, 'just another day, just another show' as he threw back the cock pit cover.


I Thessalonians 5:1  "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2)  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."


I can think back on any number of times that I have gone about my daily work always assuming it was an everyday day.  On the way home one day, I pulled up to the stop light intending to stop at the library before heading home, but I keep hearing a rattling sound coming from our van.  Instead of the library I drive down a couple of blocks to where my husband works.  He examines the van and...the only thing holding the front tire on is two lug nuts.  In another incident, we are driving slowly to pull into the drive way when a back passenger tire falls off and rolls into the ditch.  And then there is the time I hit a patch of black ice, spin around a couple of times in the middle of the road before a tire catches on the pavement.  When we come about we were going the same direction we started from...as a semi and several cars are barreling at us from the opposite direction.

There have been other such happenings, narrow escapes, and some may say we have been lucky, but...

While living in this world things happen.  This life will not last forever.  Many young people think they're invincible. They are too young to die.   They have many more years so, careful?  That's for someone else.  The older people get they push thoughts of mortality away from their consciousness.  That's still for someone else.  Push those thoughts away, but there is something people of older generations knew that we apparently don't remember.

Times and seasons, "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write..." 
Some things seem harsh, but at a point they set us free.  When my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer, and only a year to live, my sister and I were faced with what to do?  How to approach the subject of death, funerals, of the ultimate real end?  What to say...so many things that concerned us--and mother.  A friend of my husband and I, as a funeral director before he became a preacher had seen too many people come to the end of life not prepared.  There was no one better to ask what to do.
Approach it by telling her, we know you are terminal.  Sister and I are concerned with what you want for funeral arrangements.  Tell us what are your wishes--that's all we want is to honor what you want. 
And that's what we did for mother.  We were free to be honest.  No one beat around the bush, no one changed wording in order to sound palatable, it was what it was. People used to know that life was like that, like a vapor.  Here today, but tomorrow?
James 4:14  "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. "
In our modern age our lives are no more secure than anyone else in history, yet we live as if we are cats with not just nine lives, but a thousand and nine lives.
"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."
Just as the pilot in the stunt plane may have thought when he started his show, 'just another day, just another show', or the many times I started out my day thinking 'just another everyday, day'-- there come those times when we are made aware that each day is precious.  The time and the season to admit none of us are immortal is today. Our times and seasons can come to an end quite abruptly, and with out warning--like a thief in the night.
People have been taught that there is no God.  We hear it often from people who believe they are intelligent, but just because they believe themselves to be smart doesn't make it so, nor does it make it right about God either.  There have been many many more (and much more intelligent) people who believe there is a God than these other self-proclaimed experts. 
They pretend that science supports their theories, but true science supports that there is a supreme being, it does not support evolution.  There has never been proof of evolution.  No fossil record, nothing to give credence to that theory--only self-important people with loud voices trying to drown out the truth.

2Thessalonians 2:10  "and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11)  And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: 12)  that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
These people don't love or seek the truth, therefore they find what they are looking for: a lie.  They are seeking unrighteousness, and that is what they find.  Their pleasure is in unrighteousness, and their purpose is to take as many souls with them to destruction as they can, because...
Because if there is a God then they will be subject to Him, and they want to be their own gods, but...
But the next thought is, what if--they are wrong?  What if, as the Bible tells us in: Hebrews 9:27  "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" there is a day of reckoning?  What happens when these sinners come to die?  What if they find themselves at the judgment?  Even the very same judgment they deny there will be, before the very same God they deny exists...what happens then?  Eternity is a very long time to spend in the company of the devil, his demons, and souls of the  people you would not have wanted to spend your lifetime with.  Whether you believe it, or not will make no difference to the outcome, and I'm very sure it is not the time in one's existence to be saying, 'just surprise me'.  We want surprises to be pleasant, don't we...

 Matthew 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
--Everlasting fire (hell), a prepared place for prepared beings.  Not some place you want to prepare to stay for eternity.

without a cause

It was a simple Face Book game-- What old western outlaw are you?  Some of the outlaws were not familiar to me, but the one I came up with was.  Billy the Kid: Rebel with out a cause.
"I'm thinking of going to preaching school," my husband lobbed the subject out into the air one day when I least expected it.

"No," I said, "I don't think that's a good idea.  I can't see me as a preacher's wife, and I doubt anyone else would either, besides.... "
To say I was taken by surprise would be an understatement.    We had been married maybe three years.  We lived in a large early 1900's two story farmhouse situated at the end of a long lane.  Having been farming for most of our three years of married life I couldn't imagine selling out and leaving for parts unknown. 

Preaching school?  No, no. Someone has this scenario wrong...I'm sure I don't fit into people's regular mold of a preacher's wife...but indeed my husband persisted--once he gets an idea in his head it seems it's hard to change the course.

Many years later it is still one of best decisions we have made.  We learned many things, saw many new sights, made a variety of friends.  Looking into the future from back in the 1970's we could never have forseen the many paths we would travel--what a blessing that was.

Matthew 6:34  "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

How many times have I wished I could look into the future 'just enough to know--is this a wise choice?', however, we aren't given that option.  Truly we don't want to be in control of our future to that degree.  It is best when we acknowledge the wisdom of God, and leave the panorama of the future events to his arrangement. 

Ecclessiastes 6:12  "For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?"

Our lives here are short compared to eternity, and what do we accomplish?  Love, hate, good, evil, these cycles happen many times in this life.  Stress- how many times do we feel the squeeze of the stress from this life?  It can come at any time, from many different areas.

  Ecclessiastes 11:10  "Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity."

Many is the time older people sigh and say, "Oh, to be young again.  To be young again, and not have all these sorrows and burdens."  How soon they forget the stress of being young.  Of being at an age when choices are setting them up for the sorrows and burdens of being older.  It is at that young age when they are often not wise enough to make decisions, but they do any way.

And young people are sighing to be older.  Enough has been said to young people, telling them to enjoy being worry free.  I wouldn't impress them with enjoy being worry free.  I would tell them to get their life in order first with God.  If you get that step right, the rest of the steps will be much easier, and although you will still more than likely make a few turns that you will need to make U turns from, they should not be serious blunders. 

Ecclesiastes 12:13  "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14)  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."

No, I probably will never fit into someone's mold of how I should look, act, feel, or many other pegs.  I will probably always be that rebel but not a rebel without a cause.  Our cause is set out in the scriptures:

Romans 5:8  "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9)  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10)  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."
                                                         Halalujah! What a Savior!

Life is made~

Life is made through choices.  Many humans live their lives as if doing the immediate will get them to where they wish to be.  They live as if their wants and desires are the most important things in this world.  Then they are surprised that as they approach middle to old age to find dissatisfaction with their lives.
Choices...How many of us remember being seventeen, eighteen, maybe even twenty-five years of age?  Maybe younger, or older--no matter what age a person is--unless they are a baby of course, no matter what age we can remember some choices that turned out not good.  Usually it ended with at least a reprimand from someone in authority. 
 Genesis 30:1  "And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die."
What has changed from parent-child relationships of the past compared to the same relationship of today?  Children are not always considered the blessings that they once were.  Many couples are no longer choosing parenthood, and many parents heave a huge sigh of relief when they survive the teenage years.  I believe there are a number of reasons for both of these symptoms, but most of the reasons are self inflicted.  Do we as parents actually believe that past generations had children that were somehow different than children of today?  No, humans still have the same wants and needs now as they did in the past.  The reason we dread raising children and especially teenagers is because adults have lost control.   The teen years are a traumatic time of  life, and our society has lost the pattern for dealing with human nature in more than one area, but tragically this area in particular.
My number one advice to parents is, deal with teenagers the day they are born. If as a parent you have not done a good job when they are babies, you've lost the teenager years.  Not that a parent can't do remedial work the moment they realize they have done something wrong.  A parent has to begin where they are, and an honest attempt, no matter what age a child is, is better than never trying at all.
What should you teach babies--soon to be teenagers?  Teach them God...not just about God.  Take time to teach them about the wonders God has created all around us in nature.  Teach them about God's Word, the Bible.  That should lead into God's love for us, our love for God, and our love for one another.  Teach them the first commandment:   Mark 12:30  "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."  And the second Mark 12:31  "And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."
They need to learn respect--not just for their parents, but their grandparents, elders, and Godly leaders.
Deuteronomy 7:13  "And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb,"
 All children are a gift from God--so, teach them to love others and themselves according to God's way.  Teach them self-respect.  As they learn these things, teach and guide them to make right choices through their younger years.  If you teach them during the younger years to love, to value, to listen to your guidance, through your words and actions, the teen years will go much smoother.
The crumbling foundation of our social system which has been hacked almost to death by our government--past as well as present-- has continued to hasten the demise of our families and their structure. The empowering women mentality has not empowered women, but has encouraged an  increase of fatherless homes, and left women/mothers as single providers.  However, babies, children, and young adults/teens need their fathers returned to them.  Women need the father to be what
God meant a father to be.  They need the father to lead the family and be an example worthy of following. 
When the adults go through life walking rough-shod over everyone else and everything else, acting like selfish children, their children won't know how to live and make right choices either.  Adults-- men and women-- need to step up and make the right choices so they don't find themselves at the mid life or older realizing they have wasted their years, and trained up another generation that will do the same thing--waste their years as well. 
The pattern from ages past has been slowly erroded into generation after generation of ineffective parents and a dysfunctional society.  This pattern can be restored, changed back into a strong family unit.  Families of a strong husband, his wife, children, grandparents, all working together.  Children from birth to teenagers are all in a very emotional time of their lives.  In these times they need more than ever a steady home life, they need the assurance of a loving family.  They need the assurance that some things are right, and some things are wrong and the knowledge of what and why these things are what they are.

Hebrews 6:14  "Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee."
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Deaf, Dumb, and Blind...

There was a song, and if memory serves me at all, it was named 'The Pinball Wizard'.  It has been a long time since I have heard it, and memory is a poor staff for me to lean on, however...

 Have you ever felt like someone who is locked in their own world because they can not communicate?   On occasion most people have days that we feel like the Pinball Wizard--deaf, dumb, and blind. Living as it were in a world that goes on its way around us, and we're not able to move past a certain point. Like a bad dream, that doesn't end, it just goes on, and here we are--stuck.

The radio announcer Paul Harvey often used to tell a modern day parable called the parable of the birds  at the Christmas season.  The story goes that a man's wife and family went every year to a Christmas eve celebration at their church, but he decided he just couldn't go.  He couldn't believe the God becoming man story...  On Christmas eve after he bade them farewell a flock of birds flew against the side of his house during a snow storm.  He put on his warm clothing, turned the lights on in his warm barn, and attempted to shew them into the warmth and safety of the shelter, but to no avail.  After trying many different approaches he decided they were afraid of him, and if he could only become a bird in order to show them the way, to let them know he meant only good to them...
(the full story can be found under paul harvey parable of the birds).

2Timothy 4:16  "At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge."



Paul before Nero--what a distressing situation to be in, and all forsook him.  This was not the the way he had envisioned his trip to Rome.  Yet as with Joseph in the Old Testament it looked to be a bad situation, but God used it for good. 
2Timothy 4:17  "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion."
As the Apostle had written some time before--"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." 2Corinthians 12:9  The Lord stood with him and strengthened him.  Apostle Paul had the blessing to draw nearer to Christ, the word of the Gospel was preached, and the Gentiles had the blessing to hear it. 
2Timothy 4:18  "And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  And at the last Paul was preserved unto the heavenly kingdom. 

Sometimes as we travel through the pea soup of life we become so wrapped up in the everyday living we fail to see the large panorama of events.  Communication is valuable to a point, but like the Pin Ball Wizard sometimes we have to close out those who would distract us from our focus, and watch those whom we allow to influence us. 

As with the parable of the birds, God is always wanting the best for us.  He doesn't want us to suffer needlessly.  Some things that happen are like the polishing cloth and an abrasive paste.  They make the finished product into something much more valuable.  It brings out the best in our character.
1Corinthians 3:13  "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is."

Like as the Apostle Paul was tried by difficult situations often in his life Christians are as well, and we must stay the course.  We must be faithful.

Revelation 2:10 "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Halelujah~ what a Savior!

Never Die

I'm listening to radio commentator.  I've come in at the middle of his speaking, and am not sure exactly what his theme was, but...

Quoting author Jack London a few weeks before his death:
"I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.”

But  modern day people are encouraged to do just that--prolong their days and merely exist.  People are afraid to live; to think; to dream.  They seem content to sit in front of the tube living their lives vicariously through people who are paid actors--people who memorize lines and spew them out like they are real--or through sports heroes, or...  Without much thought they just accept what is told them. 

Hebrews 9:27  "And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment;"

What is life?  Is it merely the breathing out and in of the body?  Is it merely going through the days of our life that are numbered to us?  Is it a job, a home, a family?  What is life...

Luke 12:15  "And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth... 22)  And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. 23)  The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment."


Luke tells us that life isn't the things which we posses in this life, it isn't what we eat, or what we shall wear.  Yet how many people go about their daily lives striving for things?  They strive for food--which is a necessity to some extent, and yes clothing is as well, but...


  
"If your clothes have any name on it except your own, we can't afford it."  I used to tell my children.  I told them that half serious, and half joking.  In my day (younger) a brand name would often indicate quality...in these days it is often just a status symbol.  It indicates a person has more money than sense.


An acquaintance recently sent me a group of pictures.  One picture shown was of Hitler's officers in 1939.  They were dressed in their uniforms sitting at a long elegant table with nice place settings.  The next picture in the series was of three modestly dressed young children sitting at a small child sized make shift table with some sort of cloth covering it.  The heading on the latter picture was: "Christmas dinner of cooked cabbage, 1931".  Any history buff would understand at least part of the stories behind both of those pictures.  I would rather be one of the three impoverished children of the second picture than affiliated with Hitler and the first picture.

 
Striving--striving after the wind. 

 

“There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.”  G. K. Chesterton

Quite a few years ago now I found that it seemed as if any time we made more money, some one took it for taxes, or it got sucked away in some fashion.  I determined that making more money did not solve our problems.  Being the thinker that I am, I decided that what I needed wasn't more money.  I needed to learn to live cheaper.  We have always kept a garden, so some of the other things we did were taking it to the next level.  We are country folk, so we got some laying hens, a milk cow, and even raised some of our own hogs.  We changed some of our habits in order to live better, and it improved more than our money situation.  Our family became closer in several ways.

James 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

We know this life won't last forever.  We know that neither sorrow, nor joy will last forever.  Yet, sorrow makes joy much sweeter, and the combination makes heaven more anticipated. 

The test comes when we find we can say as the apostle Paul did in Philippians 4:11  "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."

1Timothy 6:6  "But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7)  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8)  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."

The reality is that our body will die, unless our Lord Jesus comes again before that happens.  Our body will not last forever, but we will never die.  The real question is, where will we live forever?  How comforting to make our peace with God, and know that there is a place waiting for us in heaven.  As we live our days it is necessary to really live those days, and make a difference while we are living.  So praise God, and live well now and forever.  Hallelujah, what a Savior!