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Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 07:49:45 GMT

Sorry I have not been online for some time. I hope this new entry enlist some of you to read what God has inspired me to write. Is quite a life we lead in this world and sometimes right turns are actually left ones and we find our selfs dangling on the edge of the abyss. However we must continue to seek those who are lost, encourage those who are new and comfort those who are hurt. Please don't stop reading after the first article, you just may find what you have been serching for in the words God has placed on these pages.

Enjoy the reading and God be with you always.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 13:24:10 GMT

Life Is Short

Older people often use the phrase “Life is short”, but to a young person this seems foolish. Each new day brings a youth one more beginning added to their seemingly endless beginnings. Second Peter 3:8 says: But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. So maybe young people see life as our Lord does, before adulthood burdens them with the responsibilities which manifest the saying;”Life is short.”

Is life short? If you think only of your flesh and not your spirit as the world thinks, then life is indeed short. Picture in your mind a straight line that reaches from the floor to the ceiling. This time line represents all the time that has passed since God created the world. Now beginning at the floor adjacent to that time line, picture another line representing your life. How far would it reach, how long would it be in comparison? It would appear as only a tiny dot. Face it; your lifeline would be short.

However, Christians are not to be of the world. When saved, our old self dies and a new person begins. We are no longer to think of life as ending with our death on earth. Instead, we are to view life as beginning at salvation and continuing for eternity. We are to look at life in a different way as found in second Corinthians: 2Co 4:18: While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Now go back to our time line example. Visualize again the line representing all of time since creation, and the line (or dot) next to it representing your life. Begin a third line that extends from the floor reaching up through the ceiling. This third line continues upward not stopping until it reaches the end of our universe. This new line represents eternity. Compare the three lines in your mind. The line that was originally your lifeline has become invisible and the one representing time since creation is now just a tiny dot. Now how short does your life seem?

The saying is true and our life on earth in the flesh may be short but life itself is eternal. We all will live without end, and God’s grace gives each of us the chance to choose where we will live that eternity. Through God’s grace, and by our faith in the atoning power of the blood that Jesus shed for us, we can choose to live that eternity with God. It is God’s amazing grace that we sing of when we sing that famous hymn and those beautiful words which declare: “When we been there ten thousand years… we have no less days to sing God’s praise, than when we first begun”. Amen.

With Love;

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Thu, 04 May 2006 11:38:52 GMT

Techno Christians

We live in a world unlike any of the past, a world that seems to be getting smaller as the days go by. Not so long ago news traveled from town to town on horseback and people were somewhat isolated from the world. Thanks to technology, we can now receive more news and information in one week than most people who lived in the 1800s received in their whole life. Along with this newfound privilege however comes a newly appointed responsibility. With all this information we must carefully sift through it and verify what we read and hear is true.

False information abounds in many forms and if you are not careful, it can lead you into errant decisions or beliefs. Some false information may lead you into financial difficulties by getting you into too much debt. Some may cause false views of yourself, making you to think you are not attractive unless you dress, look or smell a certain way. Some false information will even lead you to question your beliefs and cause you to doubt what you believe about God.

Television offers a variety of religious programming, each of which you must compare with scripture to determine its merit. With cable and satellite television, many shows deemed educational are not always verifiable by historical evidence and are simply the opinion of someone or based on the latest book. Then there is the internet. This marvelous tool enables us to communicate with anyone in the world and share our thoughts and ideas but also allows other people with false information to share theirs with anyone willing to read or listen.

We live in the information age, an age that has seen the sharing of information go from delivery by horseback over a narrow dusty trail to instant access on an information super-highway. What does the Bible have to say about our information treasure chest? Though not intended to relate to the sharing of information, the following verses from the Holy Bible tells us plainly of the dangers we face. M't: 7:13 (KJ) Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: M't: 7:14 (KJ) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

It is great to be able to find the answers to almost any question with a few keystrokes. Most people like to stay informed by watching news and other informational programs on television. Never has the common person been able to research anything and everything with the ease that we have today. However, you must beware of the information you receive because Satan is aware of today’s technology and is just as thrilled with our new ability to seek out and find information as we are.

Being the great deceiver that Satan is, he to will take full advantage of this freedom of information. Many people willingly and unwillingly serving him are hard at work turning truth into lies and force feeding it down the throats of unsuspecting audiences by every technological means available. Their goal of deception, confusion and dissension made even simpler with our newfound toys of technology.

Enjoy your latest techno gadgets, make use of the new technology and keep up to date with the status quo. Just be sure to remember as you are surfing the web, deciding what to watch tonight on cable television or picking your next paperback off the shelf, privilege without responsibility can be dangerous. When something is false, it is not knowledge it is merely deception. Test all you see and hear against the answer sheet provided between the covers of Gods Book, The Holy Bible. M't:7:15: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. M't:7:16: Ye shall know them by their fruits.

With Love;

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:18:28 GMT

History is Your Future

Aristotle 384-322 BC

Aristotle was one of the most influential philosophers in history. His influence extended well beyond philosophy and encompassed many other areas of thought.

Current day natural sciences and physics still contain roots of Aristotelian logic. He was the founder of the study of biology and philosophers still debate his ideas in metaphysics. Aristotle even contributed to poetry with literary criticism and strongly influenced classical drama.

Augustus 63 BC – 19 AD

Augustus was the first Roman Emperor. His father a senator of Rome and his mother a niece of Julius Caesar named him Gaius Octavius at birth. The Roman Senate gave him the title of Augustus in 27 BC. Octavius and Mark Antony defeated the republican leaders Brutus and Cassius at Philippi in Macedonia in 42 BC to gain control of Rome, which they divided between themselves. When Antony had an affair with Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, Octavius slandered him as a trader intending to destroy Rome. In September 31 BC, Octavius defeated Antony in battle at Actium, and in 30 BC, he conquered Egypt. Mark Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide leaving Octavius the sole ruler of Rome.

Jesus 2 BC – 33 AD

Jesus was the son of a carpenter, born in the city of Bethlehem. He lived a moderate life with his family in Nazareth until 29 AD when he began a ministry announcing that He was the son of God. Jesus selected twelve followers as his regular students teaching them about the coming of God’s Kingdom. For three years, Jesus traveled with the twelve conducting miracles of healing among the people as he taught. Then the Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, at the request of the Israelite people, found Jesus guilty of treason against Rome because of his claim to be King of the Jews. Sentenced to death by crucifixion Jesus died after only a three-year ministry.

Three men, three lives and three legacies all within a 400 year span of history. Three paths, three purposes and three contributions these men provided. Aristotle was one of humanity’s greatest thinkers. Augustus, was the most wealthy and powerful man in the world for a time. Jesus, a carpenter’s son rejected by his own people and put to death for the message he shared.

Today, no one questions the accuracy of the recorded history of the life of Aristotle. There is no doubt about the validity of the historical account of Augustus. However, millions of people are not convinced that Jesus was whom He claimed to be. Believing in Aristotle’s genius gains you little, knowing Augustus ruled Rome is but trivial history, but what a person believes about Jesus will determine their eternity.

Satan deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden and has not rested throughout time. He continues his treachery still today and has succeeded in twisting the truth into lies in millions of minds. If you are not convinced that Jesus was the Son of God then you are a victim of this treachery. Do not be victim of the selective acceptance of history because in the case of Jesus, history is your future.

With Love;

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 18:54:49 GMT

Emptiness

Emptiness describes the state of being empty. When we refer to something as being empty, it is usually because in the normal state it contains something. A jug of milk is empty when the milk is gone; the gas tank in a car is empty when there is no more gas in the tank. The main definition for empty in Webster’s dictionary is, having nothing within, containing nothing, void, vacant.

People often refer to their stomach as being empty when they are hungry, but a person can feel empty in another way. A broken friendship or divorce can leave you feeling empty, as though something that was once inside you is no longer there. The death of a loved one can also cause a feeling of emptiness leaving you feeling void, vacant, as though you have nothing within.

The second definition of empty in Webster’s describes empty as being without force, weight, value or meaning. An example of this type of empty would be an empty promise or and empty accusation, no one wants to be thought of in this manner. We would all like to think that when we make a promise people feel they could believe it. Each of us needs to know that we are valuable in some way and that our life has meaning. Then there are people who like their decisions to have force and their opinions to have weight.

A third definition for empty in the dictionary is as follows, destitute of intelligence or ideas, senseless, inane and frivolous. This type of emptiness is found when a person rambles on talking without focusing on a subject. We call this type of meaningless dialog, empty talk. Though we all may be mentally distracted from time to time and talk emptily, some people seem to ramble on ceaselessly and never say anything of value.

As you can see, we generally do not think of empty in good terms. Empty and emptiness we usually try to avoid. We want milk in the jug and gas in the car and we certainly want our friendships to be unbroken. We should never give our promises lightly and no one wants false accusations spoken of them. When we talk to someone we like them to hear us plainly and understand the idea or thought we are trying to convey.

However, we have another emptiness to look at, an emptiness we have not yet discussed and an emptiness that is positive in nature. So positive in fact, this emptiness has changed the world and affected world governments. It has cemented prophecies of the past and laid the foundation for the future. This emptiness has the capability to change everyone, and thankfully, this emptiness is available to each of us.

The emptiness we are speaking of is the emptiness of the grave. The empty tomb found three days after the crucifixion of Jesus. The emptiness proving our Savior had risen from death, proof that we have hope for life. This emptiness guarantees that we too shall some day rise, leaving behind our own wonderful emptiness.

M't:28:6: (KJ) He is not here: for he is risen,

Happy Easter

With Love & Emptiness;

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Sat, 08 Apr 2006 22:14:31 GMT

Peace

What comes to your mind when you think of peace? The dictionary defines peace as a lack of war, law and order or calm and quiet. All three of these descriptions are things most people would like more of in themselves or in the world. There is not a lot one person can do about war in the world, an individual can contribute only so much to law and order in our country, and calm and quiet, well that can be as elusive as a three-legged chicken. Using the definitions above, how can a person feel peaceful, how can these three definitions combine to bring someone peace?

War takes a great toll on nations. It cost the lives of those fallen in battles, great amounts of money in support and it frays the nerves of those left at home. Nevertheless, there is a different war, a personal war, and a war each of us fights daily against Satan. A war whose toll we pay, on an individual basis, with a lack of peace. Eph:6:12: (KJV) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world… To fight this war we must remain prepared to fight and God Himself has given us the necessary preparations. Eph:6:11: (KJV) Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

You see a lack of law and order each time you watch the news. People disrespect the laws of the land as though there is no penalty to pay if broken. The world is clearly becoming more lawless, and order nonexistent. However, just as there are laws of the land, we also have laws from God. These laws, Jesus summed into two: M't:22:37: (KJV) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. M't:22:39: (KJV) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. How many people fall short of obeying these laws of God? How many Christians can stand before God with a clear conscious knowing they have obeyed just these two laws? How many are unable to feel law and order within themselves? How many people wonder why?

While continually at war with Satan and failing in obedience to God’s laws, how can anyone expect to find, much less enjoy, calm and quiet? Most people fail to achieve calm and quiet even when alone. We struggle with the pressures of the world because we fail to prepare by putting on the freely given armor of God. We become convicted, our spirits fragmented because we broke the laws of God that bring order. We refuse to rest long enough to ponder our situation because then our mind races to justify our actions. Our spirit is in an upheaval at all times, and our thoughts are unorganized and rampant, even when sitting quietly alone.

Peace for most people is an elusive dream unattainable because of their failure to heed the will of God. However, chaos and disorder does not have to be your destiny because Jesus lived and died to give you peace. When He was born, Angels proclaimed peace on earth. He said “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you”, as He prepared to lay down His life. “Peace be unto you,” were His words, when He first greeted the Apostles after His victory over death.

Peace through lack of war, peace from law and order and peace in calm and quiet is not a pipe dream. It is a gift from God through His son Jesus. He was born to give us peace, as if it were something tangible that we could each possess. He lived so we could find peace spiritually through imitating His life. Most of all He died that we might live in peace throughout eternity with Him in Heaven. It is up to you, but if you seek peace, you must forsake the prince of this world and give yourself completely over to the one who offers you peace, Jesus Christ, The Prince of Peace.

With Love;

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 13:59:41 GMT

Triumph from Tribulations

The Angel proclaimed to the troubled man: Psalms: 91:1: (KJV) He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

The troubled man replied: Psalms: 91:2: I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Again, the Angel spoke the promises of God to the troubled one: Psalms: 91:3-13: Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Hearing the conversation between His Angel and the troubled man God speaks: Psalms: 91:14-16: Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

When troubled, we tend to lose our field of mental vision, our sight narrows to focus only on our situation. When we are going through trials, it seems as though we are helpless, alone in our misery with no one standing beside us. Our discomfort drowns out everything except the problem we face and the fact that we face it alone. We are certain that no one could possibly understand and no one could possibly help.

One understands, one who waits for the cry of His name. He patiently stands ready to give the answers, the support and the comfort that only He can. He will willingly rescue the weary defeated soul who feels they have reached the end of their resources. He stands ready to send the protection of Angels to those who have given up on themselves, and turned instead to Him.

God loves each of us, but more important, God wants each of us to love Him and to have faith in His ability to see us through any situation. He is a patient God and waits for those who love only themselves to weave their tangled web until they are themselves entangled. He waits, ever hoping for those who finally reach the bottom, to look up. He waits to rain love upon the depressed, give protection to the defenseless and hope to the hopeless. God is waiting for you to turn your face toward Him and proclaim your faith and your love for Him. Then and only then, He will deliver you into triumph, from your tribulations.

With Love;

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Sat, 18 Mar 2006 00:38:08 GMT

Acceptance

If you love someone, set them free, for if they return, you will find love indeed.

This is a concept most people have heard in one form or another, but does this apply to our relationship with God? Most people would agree that love, if not freely given, is nothing more than a lie. When God created Adam and Eve He gave them the ability to love, He gave them the freedom to love their creator or themselves, and through their actions, they loved themselves.

However, God has many facets, love is one, but God is also capable of wrath. Through the disobedient actions of Adam and Eve, they incurred this wrath. God banished them from the Garden of Eden and caused them to age and die because they failed to return freely the love that God held for them. It did not end there.

The Old Testament is a record of the covenant God made with humanity. In this covenant, God decreed what man must do to be acceptable to God. If man followed this covenant, God would allow man to live, but again God granted the freedom for man to choose. By the time of Noah, man had chosen, and again God found it necessary to show His facet of wrath.

God still loved man however and through Noah He gave humanity another chance to adhere to the covenant. Because blood represents life and death, once a year the Jewish High Priest had to kill a perfect lamb and offer its blood as a sacrifice at the Ark of the Covenant. If accepted, God allowed them to live and would forgive their sins for the past year. For a brief moment after the sacrifice, the Jewish people were acceptable to God; then again, they would go their sinful way.

This covenant continued until, as part of God’s plan, He sent His son Jesus to be a new covenant. God allowed man the freedom to accept or reject this new covenant. The leaders of the Jewish people rejected Jesus and chose to please themselves instead of God, wanting an earthly King instead of a spiritual one. Having lived a perfect life free from sin, Jesus willingly took the place of the perfect lamb, offering His life and His blood for the forgiveness of man’s sin.

Because of this new covenant, we now have the right previously given only to the High Priest of the Old Testament. We can now individually seek God’s forgiveness through Jesus because His sacrifice and His blood can make us acceptable in God’s sight if we believe it does. Our only requirement is this belief or faith.

However, because of Gods facet of love, God has set us free. In God’s infinite wisdom, He knows that in those who return He will find love indeed. Though we like to think of Jesus knocking at the door, though we like to believe all we need to do is answer, we must seek Him. Yes, He stands at the door and knocks but we must be listening and we must be the one who opens the door. God has given us the ability to love and the freedom to choose to love Him, or to love our self. For those who choose to love themselves, death is waiting, for those who choose God He waits to accept us in His arms.

M't:7:7: (KJ) Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

With Love;

Friday, March 10, 2006

Fri, 10 Mar 2006 23:43:51 GMT

Love is a Rose

Millions of songs, books and poems are dedicated to love. Love can be wonderful or it can be heartbreaking, last a lifetime or slip through your fingers like sand. We even have a holiday dedicated to love. What is love? We are going to take a brief look at this thing called love.

The word love appears 546 times in the Bible, 283 in the Old Testament and 263 in the New. The Song of Solomon is a book of the Bible telling of the love of King Solomon and his bride, affirming the sanctity of love and marriage and tells of God’s love for His people. First Corinthians chapter 13 is solely dedicated to love. First John Chapter 4 says twice that “God is Love”, and we all know John 3:16. Jesus said the most important law was, loving God with all our being and loving our neighbor as our self. If love is so important, why do so many people have a problem finding and keeping love?

One thing is certain, though some people use the term “making love” when referring to sexual relations, sex is not love. Sex can be a by-product of love, something experienced between two people in love, but so is laughter, or a pizza. Two people who are not in love can also experience sex. Sex can even fool some people into believing they are in love, or believing someone loves them when they do not. Love is much deeper and genuinely more fulfilling than sex alone.

There is more than one kind of love. There is erotic love, brotherly love and self-sacrificing love. In addition, there is love for inanimate objects such as nature or art and love for animals and pets. A person should even have love of ones self, which is difficult for many because it requires a delicate balance and is usually found in too much abundance or far too little capacity. Love also exist in forms that it does not belong, as in love for belongings or things, love for prestige, love for power or love of money. All types of love, or any combination of them, can exist in one person at any given time. This is quite a feat, constantly expending and fueling energy.

There is a line in a song that says; “love is a rose, but you better not pick it, it only grows when it’s on the vine”. The vine is life, planted in the good soil of God. During infancy, roots grow from affection and love showered on it. As it grows, at some point the vine’s first bud of love appears. Love blossoms and becomes a beautiful thing to see, remaining as long as nourished.

When picked, the rose may make a great showpiece in a vase, but soon will die. Left unattended the rose will wither on the vine. The rose and the vine require regular maintenance and must remain planted in good soil. With the proper care, not only will the rose live, it will flourish, and many other blooms will appear on the vine.

With Love;

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Thu, 02 Mar 2006 02:50:50 GMT

Seeing is Believing

An atom is the smallest particle of an element that has the same chemical properties as that element. (An element is a chemical composed of one type of atom such as iron). No one has ever seen an atom because an atom is smaller than the wavelengths that compose visible light. Special microscopes however are capable of conveying useful information about atoms and their arrangement in substances.

Early theories about the composition of matter were speculative or philosophical. Through much thought, man slowly developed theories explaining atoms as the smallest subdivision of matter. These were only theories, as there was no evidence of any kind to support them. It was not until the development of the electron microscope that man could actually see proof of their hypothesis. This proof, though still not allowing them to see the atom and its components, was proof enough to convince them of the accuracy of their theories.

Similar to the atom, man cannot see God. This is not because God is too small like the atom, we cannot see Him because God is a spirit and not constrained by three-dimensional space. Many people have asked the question, how can someone believe in God if they cannot see Him? Most of what we know about God of course comes from The Bible. When someone does not believe in God, this renders The Bible unusable as proof (to them) of God’s existence. Humanity has not and will more than likely never create an instrument allowing them to see God, so where can we turn for proof of His existence? If we cannot see Him and cannot use His word, we must attempt to use results of His actions as our proof, similar to the way scientists have proven the existence of atoms.

One such result we see regularly is the changed life of a person who turns from unbelief to belief in God. You can see this in alcohol or drug addict who goes from rehab to rehab without success. Once they turn to God for help, they suddenly find the strength to become, and stay, clean. You can also see God’s results in people when they miraculously overcome a usually fatal disease such as cancer or living through a car accident that no one should possibly live through, and doing it without any long-term affects.

Of course, you can see God’s results in nature in countless numbers of ways. The migration of the Monarch butterfly from Canada to Mexico over several generations is an example. The vastness of the universe, the complexity of the human eye and the birth of a child are all examples of God’s actions that are beyond sciences ability to explain fully. Like the atom, to see these things in their true nature, requires more than just the human eye. Before you can see these things for what they are (results of God’s actions) your sight must first become magnified like the scientist using the electron microscope. Seeing these things, as God’s actions, first require you to accept the fact that God exist.

With your sight now magnified, you will begin to see all these things as proof that God does indeed exist. However, you will no longer need to look for God under a microscope or through a telescope. God will not need to appear for you (again) in the flesh for you to believe. You will not need to calculate God’s existence using mathematics on a chalkboard. To see proof of God you will not have to look in a Church or outside on the streets. You will only need to look right under your nose, because you will begin to see proof of God through the changes that take place in you.

With Love;