Into each person’s life there comes an adventure. This adventure will take you somewhere you have never been and will possibly never see again. It is an exciting journey that may even scare you. But it is something that we each go on. Some people’s adventure may lead them to foreign lands, while most of us just stay home. But the world is open before us. Where we go or what we do still depends on you. On our journey starts in our home. We get glimpses of what lies ahead by the stories our parents tell us. We see marvelous things that are possible. This is why children want to be so many things. Each one is as real as the other. We are never really sure when the adventure starts. But when it does, it like a roller coaster. It is exciting, scary and very pleasing. I was young and now I am old and my adventure is almost at an end. It has taken me to faraway places. But I always came home. I never wanted to journey away from home too long. Because I would get homesick. My adventure started the day I figured out I could do something worthwhile. I began working to that end and have never stopped. My parents and grandparents are gone. My younger brother is gone also. I have seen changes in this world that I don’t like. I have helped make changes for the good. And I wouldn’t stop until it is my turn to go home. You see my adventure is my life. All the things for good or bad I have done make up my journey. That is why old men dream dreams of their adventure. And young men see visions of theirs.

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It is Carnival or Mardi gras season. Did you know that there are more than 50 nations that celebrate Carnival or Mardi gras season? It has to do with the Catholic population in that country. Right before Lenten season, which is the 40 days before Easter, there is a time of celebration. During Lent it is traditional that Catholics will fast and pray before the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. So before lent starts there is a festival or party that last for a month or two. It isn’t something strange or unusual. This has been going on since time began. The Jewish people have Passover, Pentecost, Succoth and Hanukkah. Our feast days coincided with these. Easter is about the same time as Passover. Succoth is about the same time as the fall harvest of Thanksgiving. Christmas is about the same time as Hanukkah. All though we don’t have a feast day for Pentecost. Pentecost is usually in May or June. Easter has come early this year. It is April 1st. It is on the first Sunday after the vernal equinox. This year I saw in the news that many nations have petitioned the Pope to make Easter on the same day every year. All of them want more time to party, before they have to fast and pray. What is interesting is the time of carnival is based upon the work that God did setting up this earth. God set to sun, moon and stars in the heaven so we could tell time. Seasons of our lives are determined by the time that God set up. And so many people still try to prove that God doesn’t exist. Did you ever figure out what would happen if God didn’t make the sun to rise each morning? Or if the earth stopped rotating? With all this in play man still refuses to acknowledge God as our sovereign Lord. It make you want to cry about humanity sometimes.

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The future is the past + the present. The present is nowhere without the future + the past. So what does all that mean in plain English. There is nothing new under the sun, what was shall be again. You remember the movie that talked about the circle of life. Life is a circle but not the way they mean it. You always want to be mindful of the things that happen in the past. Why, because they will happen again. The future, the present and the past are basically the same. Why would you say it is the same? It is because there is an element in there that never changes. And what are we talking about now? The basic element that never changes is man. Or rather I should say the corruption of man. From birth man is corrupt. People baulk at saying that babies are corrupt. Answer me this question. How do babies know how to lie, cheat and steal? Did their parents teach them to be dishonest? Did they learn it from their brothers and sisters? Did their aunts and uncles teach them to be dishonest? So where did it come from? Here is the answer that no one wants to hear. We as a member of the human race are born corrupt. Because we are born in sin. The sin of Adam and Eve has been and will always be transmitted to every new born baby. Thank God for His grace that doesn’t attribute sin to us personally until we reach the age of reason. When is the age of reason? When does a person begin to understand who they are and what they are about? For most people, it is about the same age. That is the age of puberty. When a young man reached that age in the Old Testament times, he was considered a man. He would have to start working either in his father’s business or someone else’s. For a young woman, her parents would start to look for a husband for her.  Then when an agreement was made between the two parties, the young women was betrothed. Just like Mary and Joseph, Jesus’ parents. Life seems so complicated. But it really isn’t. God made it simple for man.

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How long have people longed to come to these shores? It has been a least a 1000 years. What did they see or dream about? Can you imagine what America looked like 1000 years ago? It was filled with trees and wildlife. It had beautiful pristine rivers and lakes. It was filled with everything people dream about and want in their lives. So many people came to these shores that no one will ever know about. They lived and died here on this land. And I am not talking about 500 years ago. Only 200 years ago, people came and moved west only to die of violence by man or animal or by sickness. And no one knows who they are except God. Yet people kept coming. They wouldn’t stop. America has always been referred to as the promise land, a land flowing with milk and honey. People saw a chance to improve their lives and their families. So they sold everything they had and came to America. Most of those people died within a year of coming. Those that survived carved out a piece of America for themselves. First it was the people of Siberia. Then the Vikings came. Then the people of Europe came. Then the Africans. Poor people from almost every nation. Our country is called the melting pot of the world. If you look at our language you will find words from every nation. One things has always been true, when we are threaten our people come together as one. We have lived through many wars. I have lived through 5 wars just in my lifetime. And still today, people from everywhere still want to come to America, the Promised Land.

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Everyone has heard of the saying, a friend in need is a friend indeed. We all have had people who called themselves friends, but at the first sign of trouble departed. I have a friend who is a brother to me. He hasn’t lived around me for 10 years. But my love for him and he for me hasn’t diminished because of time and distance. After our home was flooded out in 2016, he was the first one to offer assistance. This is what I would call a friend indeed. Our whole life is spent trying to make that kind of connection with people. We go to great lengths to develop a relationship that is worth having. My life, before Jesus, was quite different. I didn’t have these kinds of relationships. I was very bitter and angry about this. I just wanted someone to accept me for who I was. I didn’t want to jump through hoops to make people like me. And even if I did do this, it wouldn’t be real or lasting. My life, after Jesus, is quite different. God changed me into a likable person. People actually began to like me and to seek me out. My brother was my pastor and I was his assistant pastor. What I began to learn is that Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. As I began to change into the image of God, I shared the love of God with everyone. And people responded to that love. They saw me and they saw the hand of God. As God says, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.

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I can remember my mother being gentle with me. I would just want her to touch me and talk to me. She had such a sweet spirit. My mother died almost 20 years ago, and I still miss that gentleness. Most people see gentleness as weakness. You must be hard against a world in chaos. When I worked for a Christian radio station, I interviewed the leaders of most religious denominations in the US. They all had one thing in common. They were gentle and encouraging with me. It surprised me. I was expecting these no-nonsense men, who led a large group of people. But to a man, they had a tender heart for people. They were gentle, and this gentleness got them where they were. You see, gentleness isn’t weakness as most people believe. It is strength of character. It is a belief that isn’t shaken by the turmoil of this world. How many people do you know that are gentle? You see this attribute in people of all classes. It isn’t one group or another. It is just individual, who belief in their cause and work at it with strength and courage. These strength of character beliefs are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. It isn’t surprising, that these are the qualities that most people strive for. But to obtain these qualities, there is only one place you can get them. They are the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are given to God’s children. But the good news is: all you must do is ask God to forgive you and come into your life. When He does, God will give you these gifts freely.

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