Today, there is a storm passing through. It is raining and lightning is thundering. Did you know that the earth used to be water by the dew? And it was enough water for all plants to grow. If there is too much water, it floods. And if there is not enough, there is a drought. There has to be just the right amount of rain for the earth to stay in balance. Water is an important source for the earth, which includes us. We are made up of mostly water. We can survive without food for 40 days. But we can’t go more than 7 days without water. Water will be the coming commodity. It will become scarce and very costly. The western United States are already in a political war over water. It hasn’t rained consistently in years. The largest foodstuff producing state has had a drought for 7 years. There is only one source of water, other than rain, in the western US and that is the Colorado River. There has been storm after storm in the US. It has been the most active weather in very long time. You ever wonder why? When Israel went into captivity, the bible says that the land vomited the people out. Not one farmer was left in Israel. The land went undisturbed for 70 years. The land rested from the hand of man. The bible also says the it rains on the just and the unjust. It is time to take stock of what you are doing in this world. Are you fulfilling the will of God in your life? Or you doing what you want? Take care, this land is sick and will not long endure the sin upon it.

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We have 5 senses to be able to relate to this world. They are sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. These senses are always gathering information. The information is stored in the largest computer on earth, our brain. And we can retrieve this information at most any time. If we train our brain, we can use it more efficiently than any computer. But our senses are multi-tasked to provide information to our spirit man. So, we can gather information, both earthly and spiritual. And sometimes they crossover to each other. But why would God make us this way? The answer is simple. So, we can relate to God and our world around us. God didn’t make us to leave us alone. He wanted us to be able to relate or recognize Him. He wanted us to see who God really is. We learn by processing information and applying it. Why would God want us to relate to Him? The one thing that God didn’t give us is power to change our lives. He reserved that for Him to dispense to us. Again, why? Because He wanted us to relate to Him. God is more than willing to help us with anything. But it comes with a relationship with God. As He said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believed would have everlasting life.” It is all about relating to God Himself.

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Is it time to sing a dirge? The world has changed. When man began with God, he had dominion over this earth. We could command the rain or a storm to stop. Things would grow at our command. Adam named all the animals, fish and birds. They would do what he said. Man would walk with God in the cool of the evening. Adam and Eve sinned against God and lost all rights and privileges to the earth. God casted them from the Garden of Eden. Man had to struggle for his existence. God said by the sweat of his brow shall he eat. Nothing grew except by man’s labor. But God didn’t give up on man. God offered a new covenant. Man accepted for a while but decided that the sewers were better. God kept coming back and trying to bring man back into the fold. There have been 5 covenants so far. The last one was the most important one yet. This is the covenant God made with the death and resurrection of Jesus. This was the fulfillment of the covenant with Abraham. And it is the last covenant that God is going to make with man. The bible always says that there is a point that God will walk away. We have to go a very long way to reach that point. But I’ll tell you a truth there is a point of no return and it is reachable. Is it time to sing a dirge yet?

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Abraham had a son named Isaac. Isaac had twin sons named Esau and Jacob. Jacob’s family went on to become nation of Israel. But what ever happened to Esau? Before Isaac died, he blessed both of his sons. Jacob received the promises of God and Esau didn’t receive as much. Esau, none the less, was blessed by God, because he was Isaac’s son. Esau moved his family to a place in Jordan, called Petra. There he prospered and built a small kingdom of Edom. They were developed a trading center for the region. People from all over came to Edom to buy and sell. It was a stronghold in the mountains. They had their own water system, farms and herds of sheep and goats. They had a small army because the mountains protected them. But something went wrong. Israel had become the powerhouse of the region. And most countries wanted to destroy Israel. For a long time, Edom didn’t fight against Israel. There came a time when the countries of the region came to fight Israel. They wanted Edom to join them or they would fight against them. Edom joined the armies and fought Israel. But Edom did more than any other country and committed atrocities. God didn’t forget what Edom did to his brother. Because of their pride and unbelief, God destroyed Edom. They never rose up again. And so, it is with anyone who sets himself against God. God will forgive many things, but man must ask for forgiveness.

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My wife and I like to try different restaurant. I should say occasionally. For the most part, we like to go restaurants that we have been to before. Because we can relax and enjoy a meal that is familiar to us. Now, my wife has been in most retail stores in our city. She likes to shop and will go hunting for hours. And usually buy the first item she saw and liked. But it also is about being familiar with the stores to find what she needs. Being familiar with something is a character trait. We want what makes us comfortable. The strange or unusual we will tolerant, sometimes. This applies to most everything in our lives. We are adaptable, but like a habit it takes 30 days to make or break one. It is easier to go with the familiar than the strange. God doesn’t always do anything the same way. But He does start us off with familiarity. Even the most ardent heathen knows if desperate times, God is the one person go to for help. And He also sends friends or family to talk to us about the Lord. God knows that we will respond to familiarity better than the unknown. God took me from my comfort zone to the living in the unknown, so that I could be effective in His kingdom. But even in the unknown, I have God with me every step of the way. So, you see that I still walk in the familiar all the way back to heaven.

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How can you tell who or what a person is? You look at a person and will judge them by what you see. Many people you won’t even talk to them because they look bad or smell. It is funny, I like to laugh a lot and some people don’t like that. I have been surprised many times by people who don’t even look like anything. Being a good judge of character is an important asset for us. We need to be able to tell whether or not they have the right stuff. I also have been surprised by people who I thought were good and weren’t. There are tricks to the trade. If you talk to people, listen. Listening is one of the best way to hear the truth from anyone. Even if a person is trying to deceive you, if you let them talk, you will hear the truth. Learning how to tell who is truthful or not is important. In the Old Testament, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon was ruthless man. He conquered the middle East and had evert god from every country in his capital. Yet God called him a servant. It was because Nebuchadnezzar served God and recognized Him as the God above all gods. Jesus said that you will know a person by their actions. What they do is as important as what they say. Because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

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I was at a restaurant, when a little girl came running by calling for her grandmother. She was calling for her because she said, someone was trying to get her. Her mother was following the little girl. When they finished eating, the little girl was calling her grandmother to make sure she was coming with them. It was obvious that the little girl loved and felt secure with her grandmother. We all remember that time in our life when we were safe and secure and loved. So, what happened? We all grew up and found that were on our own. And that security, we had as a child seemed to vanish in the morning mist. And the real love we had also seemed to vanish. Being secure and secure in love are a large part of our lives. We search for this all of our lives. Some people seem to find this easier than others. It seems that what this world offers is only conditional love and security. It is where you do this and I’ll do that. It is temporary and not worth much. But I was fortunate, that some friends lead me to real love and security. It took a while for me to understand the difference. But when I did, I found my way back to God. Then, I finally realized that God had loved me unconditionally from the beginning of time. And He offered me the security of heaven and the angels. You know what is funny, all you have to do is to ask God. You see it is for every human being.

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People don’t start out afraid of things. Fear creeps in after experiencing trauma. We have a built-in response called fright and flight. It is there to keep us safe in any situation. That response can trigger a greater amount of fear. Learning to control this response is an on-going task for us. And overcoming this response seems to be a very hard task. Lately, people in this country have found their lives to be uncertain. This is due to the loss of jobs, money, stability and trust in our country. The last political/presidential group promised the world and delivered nothing. They blamed the group before them for all the problems and created more trouble than it was worth. All of this began to destabilize this country. But I really think that was the plan all along. And I am not talking about the best laid plans of mice and men. I really believe this was God’s plan all along. It was about putting fear in the heart of man so he would listen. If you haven’t noticed, for the past 16 years, there has been disaster after disaster. They are growing in intensity. And most people just shrug them off as part of life. Let me tell you a story of courage. On the third day after Jesus was crucified, Mary Magdelan and Jesus’ mother went to the tomb to finish burying Jesus. They had to bury Him in a hurry before Passover started. The Religious leaders were still looking for the followers of Jesus and the tomb was guarded by the Romans. But they were going to give Jesus a proper burial. They didn’t care what anyone said or did. They were going to do what was right even if it cost them their lives. They weren’t afraid of doing right.

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I was not always willing to do things that were different. In some ways I still am not willing. I was afraid of getting out there on my own and failing. I always saw the possibility of things that could done and I was genuinely interested. What would happen more often than not, people would challenge me. Then I would do it on a dare. I tell you the truth that is the hard way to do things. I had a job by the time I was 13 years old. I kept it all through high school. I worked 6 days a week. In college, I carried 12 hours a semester and worked 40 hours a week. I was doing fine until the fraternity and girls get in the way. That is when it all went sideways. I became somewhat willing to go on an adventure. When I got out of the Air Force, I traveled the country. I wanted to see America. I did for almost a year. But things have a way of catching up to you. I came home to straighten out my life. Everybody was trying to help, but nothing seemed to work. I started praying asking God for help. He sent 2 men to invite me to join their business. I would listen to these men talking about their life in Christ. It interested me and I listened. After about 3 months of listening, I knew that I had to do something. One of the men invited me to his church. I went. It was strange to me. I just listen and look at all the people. The preacher stopped in the middle of his sermon and said hello, anybody out there. I didn’t know then but that was God talking to me. I turned to the pastor and I heard, what more do you want? I knew that I was at the right place and the right time. And that is how it has been. God talks to me and I listen. He said, if you are willing, I will do the rest. And so I have been willing to do what God says all my life.

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We are made up of three parts: body, soul and spirit. Our physical body is made from the dust of the earth. Our spirit is born of God. This is where we are the image and likeness of God. Then we have a soul, which is the life of God that brought together our body and spirit. With these three parts, we become a whole human being. Our body is made from the cursed earth and fights against God. Our spirit is our mind, will and intellect. It is immortal and looks like God. For us to become like God, we have to have faith, trusting and believing God. This is the only way for our spirit man to control our physical body. Faith has to be real to be effective. God gives each of us gifts. These gifts are part of our lives, whether or not we serve God. There are people in the church that look, talk and walk like Christians. They can quote the bible and do many good works in the church. But there is no faith. God calls them wolves in sheep’s clothing. They have no faith in God. Jesus talked to the disciples about this very problem. He said that many will come and say, Lord, Lord. Jesus will reply and say, depart from Me, for I never knew you. This is about belief and unbelief. You can only believe with your spirit or heart. It is time to check your heart for belief. Because once you die, it is all over but the crying. If you don’t believe on this side, you won’t make it into heaven. Faith in God is where you start and it can take you home. Believe and trust God with your life.

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