Day 151: Everybody Loves A Parade

The Paducah "Holiday" Parade is no more and a return to the Paducah "Christmas" Parade is well welcomed this year. I haven't heard why the city commission decided to revert back to calling it what it is, a Christmas Parade, but I am glad they did. Maybe they decided that being politically correct doesn't have to happen for parades, especially the one that is in celebration of Christmas.

My church, Oak Grove Baptist, is going to be in it once again this year. My pic today is of the papers that I picked up tonight that tell the guidelines and where we line up. I'm also trying to make a video to play on the float, but it is not rendering the way it is supposed to. I am frustrated and many hours put into it are getting me down, because I can't seem to get it to export or save correctly. I am currently on standby getting ready to try it again.

The main purpose we have for being in the parade is to pass out gospel tracts without getting asked to leave. We have been asked to leave at a couple of other local events, which was not a constitutional thing by the way. We have not pushed the issue.... yet. Parades and other events that draw a lot of people are ideal to pass tracts and to witness to people. I suggest that your church or family think about doing things like this as well. On the side of my blog are links to websites and ministries that you can purchase tracts from. I have also recently found another outlet for tracts called Bezeugen Tract Club. You can join up with them and they will send you 30 tracts per month with your agreement to pass one out per day to someone. They have some great designs and you can also support their ministry buy purchasing additional tracts for great prices.

Take the opportunity to give tracts to cashiers this Christmas season, leave one with your tip at restaurants, leave them in restrooms or leave one at the gas pump when you fill your car up. There are countless ways to pass out tracts and if you are shy it gives you a way to share the gospel without much speaking. As Christians we should be sharing the gospel with everyone we come into contact with. Why do we not? All I can think of is that we don't fully believe the Bible and what it says about hell. If we did we would be telling every person we meet about Jesus and telling them about His sacrifice to pay for our sins. I fail at this too, so I am preaching to myself.

Pray for guidance to share the gospel. God already gives us opportunity to share, we just are so blind that we do not see them.

Day 150: Keep On Truckin'

Several years ago I had a 1970 Ford Stepside truck. It definitely wasn't the easiest thing on the eyes, but man, did it ever run good. By good I do not mean squealing the tires or going 0 - 60 in 8 seconds, but good as in it would crank up every time and was very dependable. I paid $300 for it, drove it for a year or so, then sold it for $600 and a trade of a 1967 Cougar. I made out really good on that deal, but have regretted parting with that truck ever since.

I recently saw a local online classified for a 1967 Ford fleetside that really reminded me of my old truck. Same cab, both had a straight 6 and both were 3 on the tree. To top it off this truck had 90,000 original miles. Being 43 years old with 90K on it is a very exceptional thing, as I have seen 2008 models with that many miles on them. Needless to say I had to take a step back in time and buy it. I did pay more than I probably should have, but hey, now I have a truck that will be put to some good use.

This brings to mind of how much I look to the past in what is going on now. Looking at a vehicle 20 years ago to make a decision on buying one today might sound ludicrous to some, but to me the experience I had back then help guide me. The same goes for my walk with God. Even though most of what I was taught growing up was just peppered with truth, I still see myself looking back to my youth.

Since I was ingrained with the American/ modern gospel, I have to really study to find the truth. I have also been placed into a great church, with a pastor that does not make any qualms about preaching the truth of scripture. Oak Grove Baptist Church was part of the process that God has used for my sanctification process. He also put some godly men in my path through audio sermons, books and Television. It is amazing to look back and see the path that I have traveled, even seeing God's hand in my life when I was not converted.

God has been so good to me and so gracious. I hope that I can look back to this time in my life and see how much further the Lord has brought me on my walk with Him. I want to continue to be drawn closer to God, with Him being magnified and myself being a bondservant to His desires. My life is His and I know He will take care of me, which is the trust that He wants us all to have. He wants us all to know that we must give our lives to Him, so He can direct our paths to His glory. What a privilege it is to serve the God of all.

Day 149: What Are The Kids Consuming These Days?

What are kids consuming these days indeed. Not the liquid or chemical consumption, but the entertainment kind of consumption. Since most children look to their parents for money, through chores or just money given, I would say that the parents are either oblivious to what their kids are buying with that money or they just don't care.

The picture shows the shelves prominently on display in the Barnes and Noble bookstore in the Cape Girardeau mall. Today was a day trip for us to get out of town for some different scenery. This whole line of shelving was labeled as "Teen Bestsellers" next to the "Top Teen Picks" followed with "Teen Paranormal Romance". Looking at the titles throughout this line of shelving you cannot see the difference from each shelf marker's content. All were "paranormal" in nature, most being occultist. Take a look at the Barnes and Noble Teen Section of their website to see some of the titles lining their shelves.

I am fairly certain that the genre exploded with the success of the Twilight series. Now everyone is trying to cash in on the current wave of books. To non-Christians this is par for the course, take something that is evil and anti-Christ in nature and exploit it. What is really surprising is that a lot of professing Christian parents find nothing wrong with these books or their topics. There are even "Christian Vampire Romance" novels being released. My question to that is "WHY?" Why do people feel the need to equate evil with Christianity? It is unneeded and actually damaging and misleading those of lesser faith.

Where is the line drawn on such things? What topics and genres are unacceptable to be called Christian? We already have subsets "horror" in the fiction aisles, now there will be appearing the "Teen Paranormal" in your local Lifeway Store (if it's not already there). Will the line keep moving until it encompasses "Christian Porn"? How about "Christian Murder" novels? What is the exact point that becoming like the world is the tie severed? If "Christian Vampire" were not bad enough and not causing some issues and concerns to be raised.

These types of fiction are, to the discerning, blatantly anti-Christian. What is more of concern are the books that have a widespread appeal in the Christian bookstores. Books like "The Shack" that gain a following even though they are far from theologically sound, actually blasphemous. Professing Christians gobble this junk up like a Thanksgiving turkey, pandering to their "ideas" of who God is. The ideas presented in the Shack are passed off as "it's just fiction", but whenever God is the subject the fiction better be accurate. God is reduced to 3 less than perfect people, as the Father is portrayed as a older, overweight black woman. Why? To scratch some ears? I'd say more to lead to and in deception.

Satan knows what he is doing. He is taking God and Christianity, using the little that is known by most of the population (yes, even professing Christians) and twisting and distorting those principles and terms into right out blasphemy. These products are then gobbled up by those that have little, if any, true beliefs that are biblical or Christian at all. That is why when someone speaks out against this heresy and blasphemy they are the ones that get slammed and not the books and other things in question. The other things include TV shows, movies and a large portion of "Contemporary Christian Music".

When are the true Christians going to take a stand for God? Being silent is actually condoning what these people are doing. Would you remain silent if someone was lying about your spouse or cursing them? What about your Mom? Would you allow a novel to be written about her that was 180 degrees the opposite of her nature? Of course not. Then why would you about your God? Why would you endorse a song as "Christian" because it has the name of Jesus in the title? Kanye West had a hit titled "Jesus Walks" and everyone just accepts that West is a Christian, even though that song and all of his others, his lifestyle and his language says otherwise. There are others that profess Christ throughout every genre of music that live contrary to what scripture says a Christian will live. But forbid anyone say they aren't a Christian or they will be blasted and called a Pharisee.

I'd like to call all true Christians to wake up and take a stand. Rid your homes of junk that professes to be Christian and is not. Take the copies of "The Message" bible and chuck it out, take your copy of the Shack and toss it in the trash. Take your Kerie Underwood CDs and break them in half. Get your U2 CDs and albums and toss them out. True Christians do not need this junk in their lives and actually should be speaking out against it all. Do not be friends with this worldly junk. It causes confusion within the body and to those that may be young in their faith or just starting to explore who Christ is. Do not let these types of things confuse and grab hold to those that have little or no discernment. Tell them to steer clear or you will be held accountable for not telling them.

Stay true to the Word and to God. Flee the evilness of this day and cut the things that are of the world from your life. Ask God to search your heart and show you the things that need to be tossed. If you are a true child of God His Spirit will bare truth to your spirit. You will get convicted of having sinful things that hang on in your life.

I will leave you with a telling verse from Proverbs. Are you either of these people?

Proverbs 17:15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

Day 148: Black Friday Is Crazy

We did it. Yes, we ventured out of the house and to the mall on Black Friday. We did, however, wait until all of the craziness of the early morning mayhem had subsided. There still were a lot of people out and about around noon. We just made a quick walk through of the mall and back out.

I have gotten out earlier in years gone by, but never waited in line for hours and hours or days even to have a chance at getting that one thing that was advertised for a rock bottom price. I did go to Circuit City years ago trying to get a laptop, which I did not get. I do know people that have camped out in the cold or get out at midnight to wrangle up some deals. Me? Not anymore for this aging guy. I need my beauty sleep

I wonder what feeds the frenzy more - the retailers that try to cut the prices on a few things to draw people in or the people that want to get out there for the thrill of the hunt. I'd say it is probably equally both as one couldn't do what they do without the others participation. But, it is a choice by both.

It is a neutral choice to go Black Friday shopping, but there are many other choices that we make that are cut and dry, black or white issues. Keeping with the shopping theme, if you desire something so much that it consumes your thoughts it has become an idol to you. That is until you get it, then it loses its luster and something else that is sparkly catches your attention. That is our nature, we are very rarely satisfied with the things of this world. It is because we were created with a higher desire for us, to desire a relationship with God. Our fallen nature keeps us from desiring that though, as we look to our flesh to fill those desires. We hobble through this life consuming sin after sin and shunning God day after day. We want nothing to do with God until He pours His love upon us.

When God initiates the relationship we are then able to pursue that relationship that we forsook our whole lives. We are then able to give back that love, although fallen in nature. We have a desire then to please God and we actually are sorrowful over our sins to the point of repentance. We can then full trust in God and the work on Calvary through the blood of Christ for our sins. We are then changed into a new creation whose focus turns more from "me" to a more "God" perspective. The sanctification process is then carried out until we leave this world and join with the Father. As we get closer to Him we start seeing just how much sin we have in our hearts, His light exposes those dark crevices one at a time as He prunes those sins from us.

If you are still wallowing in your sin and loving it, not repentant about the relationship you have with your boyfriend/ girlfriend. If you can lie without it bothering you one bit or if you hate someone without a just reason you are a murderer to God. He has high standards and no one in and of themselves can attain them. Only through Christ can you attain His standards. Only trusting in Him and what He has done for you will save you. Have you done that? What is your hold up? Cry out to Him to change you.

Please visit Real Truth Matters for a more thorough explanation.

Day 147: Happy Thanksgiving To All

Today was a great day. It allows us to give a little extra thought to why we should be thankful, what we should be thankful for and to who we need to direct that thanks.

It is actually a blessing to be thankful, as many people think that they deserve what they have for something they have done or accomplished. They see no need to be thankful to God for giving them what they have. This includes the gifts He has blessed each and every person with, saved and un-saved.

So, what are you most thankful for? First I am thankful that God did give me a thankful heart to praise Him. Without His intervention I would be one of those self centered thinking that I deserve all that was "good" in my life and was being punished for all of the "bad" that I was doing. To list a few things I am most thankful to God, for His love and sacrifice of Christ for my sin. For things of this world I am thankful for my wife, family (including church family in this one), church, friends, my job, house, food to eat, our vehicles (yes, plural), clothing, water to drink and bathe with, heating and air conditioning and so many more things that it would take me several posts to list.

God has been very gracious to me, so it makes it "easy" to be thankful. But I sometimes wonder and meditate on if I would still be as thankful if I were not as fortunate as I currently am. Would I still be thankful if I lived in a part of the world where food was scarce, dangers were at every turn, persecution was the norm? I would like to think that I would be, but it also gives me more respect for those brothers and sisters that are in those conditions. My picture shows the line at the local Old Navy, that we stood in for about 20 minutes tonight to buy some sale items. That was inconvenience to us, to stand in a line to buy clothes that we didn't need, with money that we have abundance of.

The Church needs to pray for those that are less fortunate than we are. The ones that are spat upon for attending a church service or who are beaten for proclaiming Christ as their Lord. Then again, maybe they are, right now, praying for us, that we may have a desperate dependence on God that us "fortunate" ones lack so much. These that we see as "needy" are he ones that truly put all trust in God for everything and we "fortunate" ones put our faith in our own selves and bank accounts. In that respect I would say they are the fortunate ones and we are the needy. I pray that God gives me that trust and dependent spirit He has given those dear brothers and sisters.

Day 146: Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining

I'm sure you have heard the old adage, "every cloud has a silver lining". That is a very true assertion for a Christian and is actually a saying that has roots in scripture.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

So, we know that no matter how rough or tough things are that God is in control. When we can hand over any circumstance to Him, with the confidence that He knows what He is doing, we will then have the assurance that that silver lining will be showing itself soon.

The trials in a Christian's life are meant to draw them into a closer relationship with God. As we live our day to day lives we get bogged down in these lives and actually need trials and "bad times" to bring the Lord back to our main focus. If you are truly a child of God you must know that He would never hurt you. Matthew 7:11 is the perfect picture of how our Father, who is perfect can love us, in contrast with our sinfulness are good to our children.

Job's story is also a perfect illustration of God's enduring promise to always take care of His children. Job lost everything he owned and loved, except for His love and trust in God. He wished himself to die, but He never lost His focus. For that God blessed him beyond measure. Although none of what God gave back to Job was a replacement for what he lost, it was God showing Job that He was always in control. Throughout the book of Job God is glorified. That is the reason God does anything, to bring Himself the glory. Any time we put that any other way is when you can believe that a trial is ahead in the distance.

I have heard it said a lot that a Christian is either in a trial, just coming out of a trial or about to start a trial. That is probably a true assumption. If that is true of you be assured that God has you where He wants you and will see you through. He will never leave you or forsake you and He will never give you more than you can handle. Those are His promises to us.

Stay strong in the battles. Know God is there and know that if He didn't put you in a trial that He allowed the trial. The sanctification process is needed to pull the weeds of our sin from the depths of our hearts. We need that pruning to be further conformed to the image of Christ. Praise Him in the midst, praise Him at the end and praise Him before you enter a trial. That is His desire. Trust in Him and you will be fine no matter what the perceived outcome is.

Day 145: All In The Family

Tonight we had an early Thanksgiving dinner at church. There was a great turnout. We ate, sang a few hymns and told of God's blessings to us. It was a great night and reminds me of how thankful we really are to be loved by God.

The love of God seems to be the one attribute that a lot of people grasp onto these days. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, just as long as that is not the only attribute that is seen of God's. We humans fail miserably at trying to describe God. I have often times said that naming His attributes and trying to describe Him with our meek terms is borderline blasphemy. But I also believe that picking a single attribute and saying "God is love" exclusively is idolatry through and through.

God's love is so immense that we can't even fathom just how great it is. We really don;t realize just how Holy He is and how forgiving He is in that love to have seen Christ to die for us. We really need to think about that and dwell on the sacrifice of the Spotless Lamb for our sinful souls.

We really like to grasp onto all of the "good" attributes, but those that we see as "bad" are most of the time shunned. You really don't hear much about God's Holiness, Righteousness, Omnipotence and Judgment. Those seem to be the qualities that most try to avoid because they don't seem that "loving" to us.

May I suggest that you read AW Tozer's The Attributes of God and actually dig into scripture and see the many attributes that God does have. I am sure that our finite minds will never be able to comprehend in this existence just how awesome God is. I'm not even sure that in the next life we will be able to grasp either. We will only be able to cry out "Holy, Holy, Holy" as the angels do.

Day 144: To Park And Protect

Ever see these "security" guards driving around your Wal-Mart? What I can't figure out is why a Wal-Mart in Paducah KY hires a security agency from Murphysboro IL to patrol the lot. I guess they were the low bidder. Also, I can't understand why they drive a mini-van around. On the intimidation scale a minivan is about as low as you can go, right under Ford Pinto and AMC Pacer.

A common trait of the minivan patrol is to park out toward the edge of the lot and just sit there. Not sure why, maybe just to let people know that they are being watched. They also like to park up by the building on the sidewalk, because parking in the fire lane is just not acceptable. I do imagine that the cart pusher people get agitated sometimes when they are trying to do their job and have to go around the ominous vehicle.

Actually I am sure these security personnel are serving a valuable position. There is no telling how many vehicles that may have been broken into without the presence of these guys being known. Intimidation is not their objective, it is to let those that may think about committing a crime know that they will probably get caught. Although a high speed pursuit through the parking lot will probably not happen using a Dodge Caravan.

This does bring to mind how most of us are though. While we think we are not being watched or seen we seem to "live it up" in our sins. If we are alone or with others that sanction the sin/ deed then we will more than likely continue in that act. Put a pair of eyes on us and it is a totally different story as we like to hide. Often times those that commit sin do it in their mind only, as Jesus said of those that lust - "you have already committed adultery in your mind" or those that hate someone without cause have "already committed murder".

Those are some pretty lofty sins to be associated with for "just thinking" something. But it shows the high standards that God has for us and just how depraved we are. All sins begin in the mind and then we act upon them when we think we can get away with it, that no one will see. Darkness is often associated with sin because that is a good hiding place. Ever wonder why bars are their busiest at night? Or why most burglaries happen in the "safety" of the night? It is because sinners like to sin, but they don't want to be seen doing it.

So how are we supposed to not think of sinning? It's simple, you just don't think about it. It is a difficult journey, but our flesh can be overcome by our spirit and through the Holy Spirit. We must continually seek God to change us, conform us, mold us, squeeze us, to sanctify us. We must first see our sins as what they are, turn from them and to God. Ask Him to change your mindset and take the thoughts from you. It is a process, but it is attainable as long as you seek God to do it and not rely on yourself. Maybe that is why Jesus said that if your eye offends you, makes you sin, to pluck it out - because that is the only way we can stop ourselves from sinning is to physically change ourselves and make it not possible in that manner.


To be truly changed, though, we must be changed from the inside, healed of our wickedness. We must stop relying on our own means and realize that through Christ we can achieve a greater likeness to Christ. Do not be discourage because you will never attain it in these sinful bodies. One day, possibly soon, we will be changed and sin will have no more dominion in us. How that will look I have no idea, because my sin is ever before me in this life. But to yearn for a time when I will no longer cause my Father grief is a great thing. Until then, I will continue to seek Him for His kneading hands as He forms this lump of clay into the vessel that He wishes.

Day 143: Smoothing Things Out

One of my least favorite things to do? Ironing my shirts. It's not because it's hard work or anything, but because I'm not good at it at all. I just can't seem to manipulate my shirts the right way, put the right amount of pressure or have the heat set correctly or something. I'm just no good at it. No matter how hard I try my shirts still have wrinkles in them.

Maybe it's just a practice issue and I need to continue to experiment and see what does work. I can't seem to talk anyone else in the house in to doing it for me either, so I am stuck. I did get a steamer and used it for a while, but as little as I used it it now has lime built up in it from the water. So, that is out of the picture too now. Guess everyone will just have to see a few wrinkles here and there.

It kind of reminds me of life sometimes and how we try the same things over and over again, but expect different results. I think that is similar to an Einstein quote that he equated that as insanity. But we all do it, we mess up big time, realize it, say we're sorry, act better for a while, then back to the same old things. I guess that is insanity to a degree.

In Christian terms it would show that true repentance has never been found. A momentary sorrow may be all that has been mustered up. True repentance works in your heart to a degree that you never want to do that particular sin again. Not saying that it doesn't creep up every now and again, but the majority of the time that sin is put to death. Not that we are perfect, but that we continually seek God for the strength to keep that particular sin out of mind and out of reach.

Seeking God should be a continual thing for a true believer. It is a battle at times as our everyday lives are right there in front of us and God slips away out of mind. It is then that we need to snap back and walk by faith instead of sight and seek fellowship with Him even more. We should be praising God from our waking hour until we rest our heads on our pillow and all moments in between. I am far from this myself and need this as much as anyone else. I am firmly pointing a finger in my direction. May we all desire this and may we all seek God and ask Him to change us even more, so that we can fellowship with Him even more.

Day 142: Graffiti For God? Really?

Had a little road trip with Chandra today. We made a little day trip to Carbondale/ Marion Illinois for a little shopping and a little eating. On the way we stopped at a gas station off of I-24 at the Vienna exit. Today's picture is of the restroom door with "Jesus is ready when you are" emblazoned in black Sharpie.

Now I am not 100% sure, but I do not believe that is an accurate quote from the bible. I can't really recall the chapter and verse they were trying to quote there. And on the inside of a bathroom door? Really? That is after all destruction of private property, which I do not think would be a sin free act here. So there are multiple issues with doing something like this.

Issue 1) It is not a biblical statement
Issue 2) It was written on a bathroom door
Issue 3) It takes something that a person possibly meant to help someone (albeit not a very smart attempt) and reduced it to the same level as the other things scrawled across the door and walls.

I did do a little touch up and cover up of some "unneeded" elements of graffiti. I will not even describe what was on the door right next to this marking. I just can't see the reasoning someone went through to write this out across the door. This would probably go in the same category as the Westboro folks in my book (if I had a book).

This is what modern day "Christianity" has been reduced to as of late. Just more proof that the holiness of God is trivial to a lot of people that claim to be Christians. If someone could please enlighten me to how someone could think this is beneficial. Leave a reply here or on my facebook post or this blog posting.

Day 141: M-I-C....K-E-Y..... R-I-N-G-S

Steak 'N' Shake onion rings are delicious. They can also lay exactly right on the plate and look like Mickey Mouse. This shot was not staged and just happened by chance. Some things do happen by chance, but others there is no way it could be chance. Some call chance luck instead and you will quite often hear people say "good luck" when they are about to do something that is out of the norm.

But what about the "chance" of the creation of life? Could a explosion, know as the "big bang" actually have created precise order from chaos? Some people say that the "chance" that it happened are probable, but I really do not understand how that is possible. I mean, come on, have you ever seen an explosion result in the formation of anything orderly? Nah, me neither. So why do scientist lean on their assumption that that is how the universe was created?

What about life? Can life be "made" from nothing? Could a lightening strike in a swamp make life spontaneously appear? I was say no. After the "billions" of years scientists claim took life to evolve into recognizable forms can you answer a few questions? Which came first the heart to pump the blood? The blood to be pumped? The veins for the blood to pump through? The organs that the blood pumps to? What exactly came first in those? And why would they have a need to develop anyway, if there were no evolutionary need for them.

Another, similar, argument can be made for the lungs and breathing. Okay, I'll give you a freebie and say that somehow life was made and was living in the swamp, breathing through its gills. This little fellow decides to come out of the water. Did the lungs to breath with form first or the pathways for the oxygen to travel? Why would a life-form that breathes through gills want to try breathing on dry land? How many of these life-forms died while they continued to try to come on dry land?

I think the concept of evolution is built upon shaky ground. The foundation of this theory is man made assumptions. Why not look to scripture and see that God created the heavens and the Earth? Keep reading through Genesis and see how perfect God made the world and how man's desire to be godlike changed everything. AS a matter of fact, since then, man has tried to elevate himself to godhood and most of the time live in idolatry while thinking about themselves. What is the largest idol men create? The idol of "ME".

Day 140: You Get What You Pay For?

Mmmm McDonald's Fries. They are definitely tasty. Looks like I ate half the container full before I took the picture, huh? Well, actually this is the "large" order of fries stood on it's end. There is something wrong here.

This has been happening for a little while now and if I am dining in I will normally take them back to the counter and let them know that their attempt at food cost savings by cheating their customers isn't going to work for me. When dining in at McDonald's you have unlimited refills, so drink size is not an issue. The sandwich or other main course item is not made any bigger when "upsizing". That leaves only the fries that you are actually paying for when making the step up. So, the extra $.59, or however much they charge, actually just gets you a larger package, but the same amount of fries as the smaller offering. This doesn't set well with me.

I try to be nice when I take the fries back to the counter. I try to smile and not push a bad attitude their way. They have always complied with my complaint and given me more fries, but it still irks me that they try to make a little more profit for less product. Sometimes they have actually rolled their eyes at me like I was to blame for their offense.

The "reap what you sow" mentality comes to mind. I am sure that if McDonald's continues to cheat their customers like this, the customers will then choose to go somewhere else. It's not like McDonald's has the best food or anything, after-all. But I know that how I treat the counter person will also reap me in how I sow to the situation. These people have probably been told to skimp on the fries, so they are just doing as they were directed. Sadly, I have to check myself before confronting the counter person. If it would only come natural to me to have a compassionate disposition. I think I probably do on the exterior, but it is the interior of my heart that has the issues.

I am still seeking God over this issue in my heart. I need Him to change me. I do not want to be hateful externally, but the internal needs the change. Knowing this and desiring this are the first two steps. God can and will take this from me, because it is sin and it does not glorify Him. I must seek God's saving grace in these types of issues in my heart. I need Him to sanctify my heart problems that will then sanctify my actions. So many things I need God for in my life, which is where we all need to be, in total dependence in Him. We depend too much on ourselves, when all we do is dig our holes deeper and say, "I've got it." We don't "have it" and the only way we will have it is to turn it over to the Lord.

Day 139: Choices, Choices

Here's your typical checkout line in most any store across the U.S. Filled with hundreds of impulse buy items, but mostly candy. Don't blame the store, it is a cause and effect type thing, they're not going to put them there if people aren't buying them. Then again, people probably wouldn't buy so many of they were not in the checkout aisle.

So, it is a "crazy cycle" people buy because it's there, stores put it there because people buy it. Who is at fault, if anyone? I would guess the consumer, because stores will stop stocking what they are not selling, it is a waste of shelf space and a waste of money from spoilage on items like this. Consumerism drives the stores.

Too bad this mentality has made it into the confines of church buildings. I will not say into churches, because Jesus said He would keep His people and His church, so I purposefully said buildings to differentiate. The "church" leaders pander to the people, try to "sell" them what they want and only mention God when it's convenient. This goes right along with the church described in Revelation 2 and 3. Namely Sardis, Thyatira and Laodicea.

The majority of "churches" today are nothing more than social clubs. The temple is in need of cleansing, but most of those that are truly part of the real church are so much in the minority. But then I remember that we are called the body of Christ and Christ ran the money changers out of the temple for defiling it. He was a single man and was definitely in the minority.

When are God's people going to take a collective stand against the blatant false prophets that are leading people straight to hell? This is a Proverbs 17:15 issue: He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just,both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.

Most that do take a stand are attacked and called Pharisaical, yelled at, cursed, called names and sometimes much worse. This is done by professing Christians because the deception runs deep. These are false converts that do not know the Lord, but yet have been duped into believing that because they said a prayer or made a decision that they are "good" or have their "ticket". Only thing is they are not saved, they have never repented and they live their lives just as they did before their profession, but are double damned because they are now fed a steady diet of "you made your decision".

I speak from experience as for 30 years I lived in deception. So many people I know claim to be Christians, but their lifestyle and fruit say otherwise and that is how the Bible say we will know them. Do not buy into the lie that we are to keep our mouths shut about false prophets. Paul was known for calling out false teachers, Jesus Himself known for His steady critique of the Pharisees. The "judge not, lest ye be judged" is taken far out of context, usually by those that are deceived and living in sin.

The deceived are on their way to hell and true Christians need to start praying a whole bunch for these souls. Christians also need to be lovingly honest with those that are deceived. Treat them as anyone else and love them, but also share the gospel with them. Be in constant prayer for your family, friends and co-workers that you may be used of God to talk to them. God will open doors and when He does He will open your mouth to speak. Look for those opportunities, because they are there. Be diligent and cast the seed of the gospel far and wide and allow God to prepare His harvest. We cannot save anyone and when you realize that you will know that spreading he gospel is what God has told us to do. He will take care of the rest.

Day 138: Hello Ollie (Oliver North That Is)

Oliver North was in town today. A lot of people are probably saying "Who is Oliver North?", but that's okay, I had to do a refresher on the Iran-Contra Affair myself. I remember it being all over the news during my last year of high school and I remember Oliver North, but I couldn't tell you much more than that. I know, now, Mr. North is a professing Christian that is also a writer and currently on tour promoting his newest release "American Heroes in Special Operations" and had a stop today at the local Lifeway store.

Today was also the release date for Chris Tomlin's new CD, which we had pre-purchased, so we were going to Lifeway to pick that up. While there we purchased the Oliver North book and I stood in the line to await his signing the book. It is a gift for someone this Christmas, so I will not divulge any more on the subject.

I do not know what Mr. North's part in the whole Iran-Contra issue was, nor does it really define who this man is. It was a very public issue at the time as he stood on trial before the world. Was he guilty? It's not for me to say, but he walks the streets today. What Mr. North has to look forward to in the future though is of grave importance, actually the most important thing to every human - judgment day.

We will all stand before the Lord on judgment day. This is not a made up event to scare people to act "good", it is the day that everyone will be judged, by the God that already knows your infractions of His laws. If you are a Christian you will be judged for what you did to further the kingdom, what in your life glorified God and will be rewarded for those things. I would venture to say that you will get rewards for things you said or did that you never knew the impact of for the kingdom.

Those that really need to heed this day are those that do not know God. This is the majority of humanity as you will be judged for every sin you have ever committed. Because you have chosen to try and work your own way to glory, you will be judged accordingly. Scripture says that every idle word that you have ever spoken you will be held accountable for (Matthew 12:36 ). This is just your speech, but your words flow from your heart, so it actually your heart condition that will be on trial. Jesus equated lust with adultery in Matthew 5:27-30 and John equated hatred as murder in 1 John 3:15, so this shows that sin is a heart matter. Usually what we see as sins are just the outward manifestations of the persons heart. This is the nature of a person that does not know God and has not repented of their sins and turned to God and from their sinful lifestyle.

So many people want to raise one sin up above others, but that is not so according to scripture. James 2:10 tells us that if we have broken even a single law we are guilty of them all. Those are some pretty high standards, which in our sinful, fallen state we are unable to attain this lofty goal. Just a defiant word to your parents as a toddler makes you guilty. See, we are born in sin (Psalm 51:5), it is our very nature to sin and to hate God. We continue that course through our lives, buying our way to hell with our sins. Our nature is sin and we do it very well. Until God bestows His grace on someone and saves them we will continue to follow that road. Until we repent and turn from our sins and to that Holy God we are mired deep in sin and unable to truly love and trust in God. But the day you are saved it all changes. The scales fall from your eyes and you see clearly, you now love God, because He first loved you (1 John 4:19). You are not only saved from hell, you are saved from a life that did not bring glory to God and the sin that He hates. Trusting in the work of Christ and His atonement for our sins is the only way to a right relationship with God. He paid it all to reestablish the relationship with us that were born of the first Adam.

How great is that? God loves us enough to send Jesus to die in our place, so that we can be reconciled to Him. He paid it all and He did it all. All we can do is trust in that and in Him and we will be saved.

Day 137: Weight And See That The Lord Is Good

You would be amazed at how useful and versatile this Bowflex is. It was first a piece of exercise equipment and then a table. It also looks very usable to hang clothes from, especially the "weight" bars. The bars have eyelets on them to allow coat hangers to be hung at varying levels.

Actually I really need to start using this for its intended purpose. I have gained a lot of weight and am heavier than I have ever been. I have always had a struggle with my weight, but now I seem to make excuses for why I am heavier than I should be. I have blamed it on marriage, stress, getting an office job and lack of physical activity. What it comes down to is I am allowing myself to not be healthy and I am getting tired of it. I am getting to the end of my rope where I finally give in, break down and actually pull up my boot straps and get healthy.

Some would say it is sinful to be overweight. I say it is a lack of self discipline, which we all should have. Is my current size glorifying God? I'd say that I can offer glory to God whatever size I am, but what does not bring Him glory is others perception of my size. I have been praying for guidance in this issue in my life, praying for the will power and fortitude to actually start working out and stop eating unhealthy. Most of my eating issue comes from convenience and what is "easy" to prepare or what restaurant is convenient or sounds good.

I know I will not pay to lose weight, with Weight Watchers or Slim Fast or anything that requires I buy their products or buy a membership. If I lose weight it will be to proclaim that God gave me the desires to do so and He was my guide and my strength through the process. I will allow the Lord to lead me and be a steward of my body and also a steward of the money He has given my family. I do not feel it necessary to spend a fortune to do what God can give me the ability to do anyway. I have lost a lot of weight before in my life with just sheer willpower through various means, but I never have done it to glorify the Lord.

Prayerfully when I do begin the weight loss phase, the muscle building phase and shape changing stage I will get asked how I am doing it. My answer will be through God's empowering Spirit and strength. After all the Spirit can end does empower us to achieve whatever God's will is for us. At this point in my life I feel that it is necessary to achieve this goal. The exacts have not been set as far as how much weight, but I will keep the blogosphere updated to my advancement and achievements. I may even take a few pictures for the "before" photos, but will not post them until I have some after shots to compare them to.

I have confidence in the Lord to help me achieve this. Now I just need His empowerment to do this, so that I am not doing things begrudgingly or with my own strength and determination. After all, how much easier is it to achieve when you allow God to work instead of forcing things to kind of work for a little while, but end in perceived failure? Please join me in prayer for this need and desire to achieve a more respectable body condition.

Day 136: The Truth? In Advertisements

The ads/ circulars are starting to appear heavier in the Sunday papers. Of course, this is leading up to the biggest, baddest, busiest shopping day of the year - Black Friday. Ooohhhh, do you get shivers from those two words being used together? Other than Joy Behars not so bright assumption that it is negative (since it uses the word "black" in its name) Black Friday is when retailers have traditionally gone into the "black" as far as sales go. Which is opposite to in the "red" or negative. (Video below of Behar's not so assertion on Black Friday)

Retailers now get more outlandish with the offers and add to the chaos that surrounds the day. The lines start forming earlier each year, sometimes right after Thanksgiving Dinner if there is an exceptional deal to be had. The stores even have workers passing out coffee and donuts to those in line as the countdown ticks away to the mad rush for that elusive deal. The retailers add to this frenzy by offering rock bottom pricing on a few items to just people in the door. I guess this works because the stores and malls are packed throughout the day.

I admit that there is a little bit of an adrenaline rush that comes with the thrill of the chase. But as I get older, and wiser, Black Friday shopping becomes less and less appealing to me. Only if there is something I can't get now or will not be stocked later will I venture out into the wild of the packs of shoppers. I am not a crowd person anyway, so I can wait.

One thing you will notice on the advertisement I pictured is Best Buy's willingness to include all religions holidays on the front of their paper. The most prominent on this one is a Muslim holiday called Eid al-Adha, which is the celebration of Abraham's willingness to offer up to sacrifice Ishmael, his son. But wait a minute, doesn't the bible say that Abraham was going to offer up Isaac? Why, yes, it does. So something is not meshing here, was it Ishmael or Isaac? I am 100% with the bible and say Isaac, but this is the fight that has raged for many years. I am not going into the arguments here, but I do suggest that you do your own study into this.

Along the bottom of the ad you will also see Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanzaa. Best Buy is really trying to please everyone with this method of advertising. I guess it is working for them, since they are the nations largest electronics retailer. This just follows the thinking of most people anyway. That all religions are equally valid, that they all follow the same god, etc. My answer to that - Jesus Christ declared that He is the only way to the Father in John 14:6. That is Jesus Himself speaking there, God in the flesh. So, do you believe that statement? If not and you think that the other worlds religions are just "another way" to God you are not a Christian. That is a very plainly laid out, black and white fact.

But what about the ad with all the other holidays? Should Christians be upset with Best Buy? Should Best Buy be boycotted by the AFA? Should other stores that just say "Happy Holiday" be boycotted? Sure, if you feel that conviction, but I will not tell you to do that or not to do that. To me it is simple and falls into the category that most people are sinners on their way to hell, we can't push Christian principles onto a lost person, we can't clean up a sinner and make them appear to be Christians. Sinners sin, which makes it their nature to deny the God of Christianity. But as far as shopping, consult your own conscious for that answer. I will walk around this Christmas Season as I have others, saying Merry Christmas to those I see regardless if they say Happy Kwanzaa or Happy Holiday.

Mercy Me: A Concert Review And Voicing The State Of "Contemporary Christians Music"

My wife and I attended a concert by Mercy Me here in Paducah last week. All in all it was a good concert, but had three noticeable (and questionable) moments.

The first was the opening song, started acapella by lead singer, Bart Millard. If you did not who sang the song originally then you might think this could have been on any current CCM release. That is a scary thought in itself and is one proof of the state of “Christian” music these days. The song was “Revolution” by the Beatles. Presumably the song was supposed to coincide with the “Mr. Lovewell” theme of Mercy Me's newest CD, “The Generous Mr. Lovewell”. The basic concept, as described during the concert by Millard, is to just “do good” and to “spread the spirit of Jesus” around in all that you do, no mention of why you would be doing these random acts of kindness, just do them. This is somehow supposed to illicit a moral consciousness in those that you perform good works for and to, but don't say anything about why you are doing them, just let the “good” works make changes in people.

The next hiccup was when they started talking about doing a song from the 80s. The setup lasted almost as long as the song and was filled with “if you don't like it, just sit back and pretend you do”. The song, by Tom Petty, was “Won't Back Down”. The same with the opening number, it could be put on 90% of the current CCM offerings and no one would raise a fuss. The song is pretty much about standing up to anyone that gets in your face or does something you do not like. Once again, presumably, the song is supposed to be equated with taking a stand against Satan at the “gates of hell”.

The last questionable moment was with their rendition of “Where The Streets Have No Name” from none other than U2. I have previously written about U2 and their appeal to “Christian” artists. It seems that everyone just accepts that U2 are Christians simply because they have a spiritual essence to their music at times. Of course, no one ever looks at their lifestyles, the fruit they bare, the other songs they make they promote sin or the ecumenical flavorings of Bono.

I guess my biggest gripe with Mercy Me and any other band that plays Christian music is why don't they just play Christian music? Why make it about secular music? Why not play songs that glorify God? There are a lot of good songs by a lot of other professing Christian artists that could be played instead of placing a stumbling block in front of a young Christian or someone that may be just starting their walk to knowing Christ. These hindrances of promoting sinful musicians and their sinful songs needs to be stopped and those that promote them need to either repent and stop playing them or change their genre of music. But this is what happens when a slippery slope is tread on. Things get muddled some, slide back a little – next group (or person) do something a little further out and more sliding. This continues through the years until the slope has been made very slick, no one can seem to get a firm footing and eventually things like playing “Highway To Hell” on Easter Morning happen (read post on this here).

Why would any band that professes Christ want to cause confusion? I believe this is a 1 Corinthians 8 issue, when Paul says that he will not eat meat if it causes a brother to stumble. How many people are stumbling back into sinful music, followed by sinful lifestyles because they see other prominent, professing Christians doing things like this? Here's how it goes - “Mercy Me played those songs in concert, the bands they played must be okay to listen to then. Hey if these are okay to listen to why not these other bands? If the bands music is okay, then their lifestyles must be okay too, since Mercy Me endorses their music, they must be endorsing their lifestyles.” And so the slippery slope is slid down like a kids Slip and Slide filled with Dawn dish detergent. The damage is done and if this person were not a true believer they will probably be even harder to reach now. Much damage is done and we see the effects of it daily as those that seek for righteousness and promote Christian/ Biblical values are degraded by others that profess to be Christians as well.

So, where does this end? When will these groups stop playing these types of songs? I have no idea if it ever will as the “judge not” mentality is spreading like cancer through the Body of Christ. I am going out on a limb here, but I would say that anyone that, after hearing the dangers of these types of actions, continues to promote, condone and play part in them probably does not have the Spirit within them. How could they if they know of the dangers to believers and the hindrances caused by such actions to those seeking God? Is it possible for a person who’s spirit bares witness with The Spirit not feel convicted for this? I think it would be very hard to persuade me that it is possible.

I am sure that there are those that are currently ignorant of their actions, because they have been force fed a steady dose of easy believeism for many years, they are still babes, but it is time they put the milk aside and start eating solid food, the True Word of God. Any true child of God has to grow in holiness, it is impossible to not. Is it possible for a baby to stay a baby it's whole 70+ years of existence? No! Then why do people want to make excuses and say that Christians radically changed by the God and Creator of the Universe will never grow either? It is against physical nature and it is against Spiritual nature.

In closing I would like to just offer the Word of God, by way of the Apostle Paul why imprisoned for declaring the Truth of the Lord -
Ephesians 4:14-24 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Post Script:
Before anyone starts calling for my head or calling me a Pharisee, please read a former post of mine about jundgmentalism. Also, I believe that while a Christian has liberty to listen to what ever they want to, drink whatever they want to, say whatever they want to and eat whatever they want to – that liberty should not be trampled upon. Doing so shows the true state of ones heart, that they may be using the Grace of God as a footstool to their sinful behaviors. I do not think someone that listens to Tom Petty is going to hell because they listen to Tom Petty, but the enjoyment of that form of worldly entertainment is evidence of their spiritual condition. Take heed professing Christian and examine yourself to see what your true standing is - 2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

Also along these same lines is the acceptance of Glenn Beck and Mormonism by professing Christians. See this post for a little insight, especially as the Christmas Season approaches and "The Christmas Sweater" will be making its rounds again.

Day 135: Genesis 9 Rainbows And The Promises Of God

God painted a beautiful picture in the sky today. It was a full rainbow just shortly before dusk. Actually, after transferring the picture to my computer and viewing to scale it down I saw a second, dimmer rainbow. I totally missed it with my naked eye. If you look close at the picture you will be able to see it, if not leave a message and I will post the full size photo somewhere and link to it.

Do you know what the rainbow is? Well, besides the refraction of light in a prismatic effect through moisture droplets. The rainbow is a reminder to us of God's covenant that He will not destroy the Earth with a flood again. You can read about this in Genesis 9 and is summed up by verses 13-17:
I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Did you catch that this is a covenant that God made? That means it is eternal and He will not break it. It is also one of the many covenants or promises that God makes throughout His Word. Sometimes these promises (covenants) are missed, just like the second rainbow in my picture was by my bare eyes. Most of the time we just gloss right over what God has said He will do and does do for us.

Here are some other promises that God has made to us:
John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

John 10:28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

1 John 1:7-9 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[a] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

Matthew 11:28-29 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Do you notice anything about these other promises that I referenced? They all require action on our part. If we do this, then God will do that. But look again for the dimmer rainbow, our actions are that of just trusting in God and believing that He will do what is best for us. They only require us to rest in Him and in His Words to remember His promises, His covenants, that He has made with us.

We know that God can't break His promises, it would be a contradiction to who He is. So, we need to merely believe. This sounds a lot like salvation and conversion as well. So much of the "modern message" and the call to sinners is one of works and centered on what a man can do to be saved, instead of a call to just believe what God has already said He will do - He will save us, He will put a new heart in us, He will cause us to walk in His statutes - because, face it, we can't do any of those things. We are born in sin and sin runs our life, we are dead in our trespasses against God and only His call to "Come forth!" can bring life to us, not anything we do. From this trust and belief in God's promises flows repentance, a turning from our sins and to Him, believing His Word and resting in His promises.

Day 134: Running Out Of Time

So, I am running out of time to get my daily post up. I made it though with a little less than a quarter of an hour to go. What was the holdup tonight? A wonderful gathering at the Reed's house. We actually talked about feeling like we are running out of time to accomplish a yet to be determined goal. My picture is of my screen clock on my phone showing the time and how close I am to making the daily deadline.

I gained new insight into my dear brothers and sisters lives as each person there shared. Group get togethers like this are a vital point in a church body. I didn't know how much until we started going on Friday nights and it has been a very edifying and wonderful time each Friday we have gone.

I am the quiet one of the group, but I am also the oldest by several years. Not that I feel the need to give the "sage" advice, as Ben put it, but I do feel that God has placed us all together to share how He is working in our lives. We have some big differences in personality types present and I feel we are learning each others strengths and weaknesses as we spend more time together.

A church family definitely needs more time together than on Sunday mornings, we need to be IN each others lives daily. This is something I need help with, so I am preaching to myself. It's not that I am too busy, it is I don't think about making the effort. I need God to change that self centered-ness in me. I need to reach out daily to those I have the privilege of calling my brothers and sisters and my church family. This is just one more way and reason (not that I needed any more) to seek the Lord daily for His guidance, grace and strength.

Day 133: Since '68 Hot Wheels and Me

Looks like I shared my birth-year with an all time classic - the Hot Wheels cars. I think my arrival was a couple of months before the first release of these very successful cars.

There is no telling how many of these little cars I owned during my childhood. There is also no telling what those cars would bring today if I still had them. Back then, though, these were toys, they were made to be played with and were never thought of to be collected. This reminds me of some other toys I had back in the day that would buy me a new car if I still had them today. Some of them were the GI Joes, Lone Ranger and Tonto figures and horses, the Hot Wheels, many baseball cards that made it into my spokes to simulate motorcycle sounds, my beloved Stretch Armstrong and a Kiss comic book that supposedly had the four member's blood mixed in with the red ink.

I do still have the core group of action figures released for the original Star Wars movies. These are not in their packages and have been played with, which adds to their worth to me. This little piece of childhood memories is a fleeting memory to me. When I got these toys is also about the same time that I said "the prayer".

The time I first said "the prayer" is really fuzzy to me. I remember being on a junior kids church trip and we stopped at a small church for the night. We listened to a preacher and I can't tell you what he said, but I can tell you that I cried that night, buckets of tears. I remember that a man took me back to a classroom and asked me if I wanted to get saved. I couldn't talk because I was crying so much, so he said "I'll say the prayer and you just nod your head if you agree". So, that is exactly what I did, he told me I was saved, they announced it and declared me saved again that night, reaffirmed it in Sunday school the next Sunday and *BAM* i began my road down deception.

As a sheltered 8 year old I didn't know anything about sin. I knew the preacher said I needed to ask to be forgiven of my sins, but I don't remember ever sinning, but I know that I did. For the next 30 years I put my faith in the faith of an 8 year old and the assurance of a preacher that "I took care of it". So I was good to go, sinned like it was nobody's business and as long s I prayed to be forgiven I was golden. I can only remember a couple of nights I did not pray during my life and those were the ones that I passed out drunk. But that's o.k. too, because I just asked the next night for God to "forgive me of all the sins I did today, amen". I obviously wasn't sorry for them or convicted about them because I continued to commit the same sins over and over again, never felt bad about them and thought I had nothing to worry about.

My life drastically changed at the age of 38. I had been married a few years to my sweetheart from years before, which we had a child together the first go round, split up and later back together. She thought I was saved, I thought I was and I was being increasingly reassured because she kept telling me how good a Christian man I was. She was really wrong and I was really lost. I was deceived and believed that my fleeting prayer as an 8 year old had sealed the deal. But I was very wrong. God introduced me to some great teachings and the sermons I was hearing at the childhood church I had returned to weren't matching up with what I was reading in the bible and hearing on the messages I was downloading. This time in my life is when I really started to see just how sinful I really was and how Holy God is.

My need for God was very real and I realized that I was very lost. God in His grace decided to show me favor and expose my wicked heart to myself and show me how much I needed Him. That is when I was saved (converted) and turned from my sins, repented of those sins and turned to God for everything. I trust fully in the saving power of the blood of Christ and that it and only it washed away my sins. I have never stopped repenting of my sins and have never stopped relying on God to save me. His Word is real in me and He dwells in me.

Everything I learned as a child I question now. I sit under some very God centered messages now and they ring true in me. I know the people I went to church with at my former church are just as deceived as I was and only God can peel the scales from their eyes. I do stand accountable to share the true message of God to them and I pray God gives me strength to do that when I see them in the future. God has been very good to me, even when I was lost He was good to me. He directed my path as a lost person, because to Him I was already His child - before the foundations of the Earth He knew me. What an awesome God He is and how very good He has been to me.

I pray that if you are putting your faith in a fleeting moment as a child that you examine where your faith lies. If you have trusted in anything other than totally on the work of Christ and His love for you, then you are not saved. If you say "I got saved when I was 8, lived like a hellion until a year ago then rededicated my life, but know I was saved when I was 8" - you have done as I did and banked on a prayer instead of trusting in God and repenting of your sins. Examine yourself and see that you are in the faith. 2 Corinthians 13:5-6

Day 132: Pumpkins and Bumpkins

Sister Kerie decided to carve a RTM pumpkin and it turned out wonderful. She originally planned to carve one with the likeness of CH Spurgeon, but decided otherwise when a get together was canceled, which was going to have a pumpkin decoration contest. The RTM pumpkin was actually going to be my decorating, so I guess I am glad that it did not happen.Kerie did an excellent job on this one, so I am sure that I would have lost the contest.

We have a lot of talented people within the body of Oak Grove. Each person is individually gifted in one or more areas ans each person and their gift are just as much a part as anyone else. We are all made unique by God and He gifts us as we will be used in His work. Not everyone can preach, not everyone can play an instrument or sing, not everyone can clean the floors. God knows what He is doing and we need to just do what we do.

Some people will say they do not know what their gifts are. I'd say they are probably already doing what God gifted them with. We have a way of just following what is natural to us and a lot of the times that is where God gifted us. What we don;t want to do is not use the gifts God gave us or try to emulate someone else and their gifting. This happens more than we care to mention and is probably the biggest cause of jealousy within a church building. Jealousy leads to anger and bitterness, so it needs to be avoided from the get-go. If everyone is taught about Spiritual giftings and their proper use, then a lot of the fighting and hard feelings would be nonexistent. This is the job of the pastor and other leaders within a church body. Of course if everyone had the right mind set then these things would be nonexistent too.

If we could all just work together, see where we are gifted and jump in, or help out where we can be beneficial. The ultimate goal is the see God glorified, so then we should always be seeking Him to lead us and not go off on our own tangents just because you think someone else is doing a bad job or that you can do a better job. Just seek God in where He wants you to be and do it. Let the finger of the body be the finger and the brain be the brain, just don;t be a heel and cause strife.

Day 131: Sick In The Head

Ahhhh, Kleenex. That's my go to phrase for the day. I woke up this morning doing a little sneezing, feeling a little clogged headed. I've been sneezing throughout the day and having to use several tissues as well. So, today my best friend is a box of Kleenex.

I really don't like being sick at all. I'm sure there are probably not that many people that actually do like being sick, but ya never know. Just shows how much control we have over our own bodies, doesn't it? We can't just tell our nose to stop being clogged up or our head to stop hurting or ask our skin to not be dry. I wonder why people think they can will or tell their mind, soul and spirit to stop sinning then.

A more important question is how can we decide to love God? Simply, we can't, until God first shows His love for us. Without going to far into predestination and election we, as fallen humans that love sin, do not have any desire to love or please God in any way. We only want self pleasure, however we can get it. That is until God speaks to our spirit and breathes life into us spiritually. Just as Jesus told Lazarus to "Come forth!", the Holy Spirit tells our hearts to love God. That is when we can "make a decision" which is actually turning from our sins and believing upon Christ. God must first work in us, His creation, to love Him.

Many people try really hard to love God an please Him, but they simply can't because they do not truly love God. They really love the idea of not going to hell, but care nothing for holiness and sanctification. They have a very wrong view of God, maybe thinking that He is love only and not the other things scripture says He is. While it is true that God is love, He is also Holy, Just, Jealous, Omnipotent, Righteous, All Knowing and many more things that still fall short of properly explaining the character of God. But it is a very dangerous thing to pick a single attribute and say definitively that "God is love only". That is idolatry and a very serious offense.

So, stop trying to change yourself and heal your wretched heart. Look unto God and cry out for Him to instil His love into you so that you may love Him.

Day 130: If You Can't Stand The Heat....

I decided to make some iced tea today, to take to work tomorrow. For those that know me personally this is a deviation from my norm. I am an avid Diet Coke drinker and have been since I was 14 years old. I do have other drinks from time to time, but it is usually because a restaurant only serves Pepsi products or something similar, not by choice. So, why ice tea for tomorrow? I am out of Diet Coke and all the stores have decided that they are really proud of their stock on hand and are showing that with high prices. So, me, an avid Diet Coke drinker, will now be without until some store decides they would like to sell more than they keep on their shelves.

Over the past 18 months I have seen the low price of $2.00 a 12 pack go up to a "normal" price of around the $4.50 mark. Yes, the $2.00 was sale pricing, but it was done in a very consistent way and usually when one store would take them off of sale prices another would put them on. Now the "sale" price is 3 for $10.00, which is still above the former shelf price 18 months ago.

So, while I am not officially boycotting Diet Coke, I am boycotting the high prices. I will drink tea until they run my favorite on sale again. It may be a good time to just stop drinking the sodas all together and try to switch over to water. I know it would be healthier, but it would be a hard thing to do. Addiction may be a little harsh of a word to use, but it is close to that.

I have had addictions throughout my life, with smoking being the most notable. I had begun to puff away at the age of 14 and continued until I was 38. So, for 24 years of my life I inhaled toxic fumes into my lungs only to blow it right back out, by my own free will and choice. I used to think about smoking while I was smoking, about the actual process of what I was doing, but it didn't phase me enough to make me stop. Even seeing pictures of smoker's lungs wasn't enough. How did I quit? Actually I didn't quit, God took that vice away from me.

Shortly after I was truly converted God delivered me from that nasty habit and addiction. I asked Him to and admitted I could not do it by myself, set the last few cigarettes I had down and never picked them up again. It's been a little over 4 years now and I have no desire to even touch a cigarette. Actually the smell is really nasty to me and I can discern a smoker by their smell at 10 paces (just guessing).

Another addiction I had was to nose spray, the kind that opens your sinus passages. I was not able to breathe unless I was using the spray. It would last for about 2 hours then my sinuses would clog right back up. I knew it was bad when I was at my corporate office in Rhode Island and out for dinner with associates and I had accidentally left the spray in my hotel room. Needless to say I was not really able to eat that night and had to take a bite, chew, open my mouth the breathe, chew some more, swallow and repeat. Not a fun evening for me and I am sure my colleagues did not like seeing my abc food.

When I returned home from that trip I once again asked God to take this addiction away from me. I did not hear an audible voice, but remembered that when actual trust is placed in God, believing He will deliver, then He will deliver. So I set down the nose spray without using it that night before bed and have never had to use it again. Sure I get stomped up sometimes now, but it is a normal kind of thing and it passes as it did before my body became addicted to the spray. On 2 occasions God has delivered me from some very gripping addictions.

I believe that God uses things like this to show us His power and to gain glory, but also to show us that He is trustworthy. He has proven Himself over and over in my life and each time I see His hands at work my trust and belief in Him grows. He uses the "small" things to help prepare for bigger things to lean on Him for. He does not do this to punish us, but to wean us from our dependence on things other than Him. The path is usually gradual so we can grow in trust, similar to exercising. With each day that one exercises their body gradually becomes stronger, it doesn't happen overnight and a lot of the times it hurts. But in the end, the pain is good because it is evidence that the exercise is working and we are gaining strength. This is the same with trials and valleys as we exercise our faith, put it into action and believe in God and His promises, which makes us stronger and also more dependent in Him.

I have actually thanked God for allowing me to smoke for 24 years. Why? Because it has opened doors so I could relate to others that smoke and enabling me to share my testimony with them. This happened at a concert one time, a group of kids were sitting outside smoking and God allowed me to break the ice with them talking about my previous addiction to cigarettes. From that it went straight to God's goodness and grace in my life as I shared His gospel.

I have learned, but not completely yet, to allow God to work and trust in Him through difficult situations. Next up for me will be weight loss as I have became the heaviest I have ever been. I can blame several things, but will not place blame anywhere but on myself. I will also not put the ability to lose the weight on myself, but in God and His grace to conform my spirit to be able to conform my body to a more God honoring and exalting state. He is Lord of all and we must trust Him in all, even for weight loss and even for breaking addictions.