Do you remember the first time you saw something and it was the most amazing thing that you ever saw? That is called wonder. We say that things are wonderful. Or we say it was amazing. What ever happened to that feeling we used to have? Has the world driven it out of us? Has so many bad things happened to us that we have lost the wonder of the world? We grow up and wanted to be sophisticated adults. Knowing everything and not being surprised by anything. But what we have lost is what we need in this world. The northern lights of Alaska are amazing. The color of a sparrow is wondrous. The beauty of a Lilly is spectacular. Every sunset is gorgeous and new every night. Jesus was preaching and people were crowding around him. The disciples were keeping the crowd at bay. There came some children to see Jesus. The disciples pushed them away. Jesus saw this and rebuked the disciples. Jesus had the children to come and told his disciples never to do this again. Jesus said for if you do not become as one of this children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. The life of God is a wonder.

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I look at what it took for me to understand. I know maybe I am as hard-headed as my dad said I was. It took me a while to see what people and the bible were talking about. Many times I wanted to understand but just couldn’t see it. I know God was very patient with me. I guess that is what love is about. Patiently waiting for someone to come around and do what is right. I have hit walls many times and couldn’t go through. Only with the intervention of God did I even make my way through. I have hopes and dreams that I want to come true. When you have to stand before God and surrender all of your dreams. It can be a crushing defeat. But God took defeat and turned it into victory. The starting place for me was surrendering all that I am. I had to die to myself to accept the promise of God, Jesus. I wondered why He would want me. I had become a real jerk, arrogant and combative. But He saw in me something worth saving.  God sacrifice His son to give the opportunity to be set free. I have people that love me. But I only have one person who loves me unconditionally. The bible says for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever shall believe will have everlasting life.

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What season is it? I watch TV and the weather has gone crazy. It is May and people are still shoveling snow. The weather in western part of the country is worse, hail and tornados. The record rainfall is unbelievable. There isn’t one part of the country that is not affected by the weather. No one can change it or stop it. There was a hurricane on the eastern seaboard, a month before hurricane season. We all know that there is only one person who can stop all of this. That is God Himself. There are stories throughout history where people have fought against God. None were ever, ever successful. The tower of Babel comes to mind. The people were in one accord and spoke one language. They were going to prove they were more powerful than God. The king was building a tower to shoot an arrow at God to prove he didn’t need Him. God scrambled their language after scattered them across the earth. They showed God alright. There is only one person who can help in the season of need and that is God Himself.

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All throughout the ages God has had a people. No matter what was going on in the world, there has been people faithful to God. Between Adam and Abraham, God has done spectacular things on earth to and in front of man. Still man, as a whole, didn’t respond to God. So God decided to choose a people who would trust and honor God. He chose the Hebrews. God chose Abraham and made him the father of many nations. He had 12 great grandsons, who became the nation of Israel. The Law didn’t come in until Moses. What the Law did was to separate the Hebrews from the rest of the world. Showing the world the way to God. The Hebrews didn’t always keep the Law. When this happen trouble came to Israel. They believed they were the chosen and nothing was going to happen to them because of it. But God’s word is the truth and will judged anyone who breaks the law. Pride came into Israel and nearly destroyed them. But God had made a covenant with Abraham and He is going to honor it. But God says many times in the bible, it is the Jew first and then to the Greek. Everything we have as a Christians came for the Hebrews. Most people think Jesus was a Christian. But He never was. Jesus was and is an orthodox Jewish Rabbi. God wanted to show that the Law cannot save you, because no one can keep it. Only with a change of heart can you keep the Law. And only God can change your heart to keep the Law and Commandments.

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God divided the world into 2 groups, Jews and non-Jews(Gentiles). God started with the entire world to reveal Himself. But after He was rejected by the world, God chose the Hebrews. Their job was to show that God was real and that He existed. What happened to the Jews was the same as what happens to Gentiles who belong to God, they became peculiar. The world saw that they were different. It is funny how people who are different from themselves are feared and rejected. So the Jews stood out from everyone else. And people could see that they had something real. Many people came to see what was different. They were drawn by the grace and goodness of God. Did you know that unless God draws you to Himself, you can’t come to Him. It isn’t up to man to decide when they will come to God. So if you put it off and refuse God’s mercy, you might lose your chance forever. And that is even sadder than not knowing. God wrote His laws and commandments in our hearts. He did this so we would know who God is and what is expected by God. Nobody wants to hear about sin. Sin is being separated from God. When we are born, we are in sin and separated from God. You can thank Adam and Eve for that. But God gives us a choice. And He will deal with us literally for the rest of our lives. I have known people who gave their hearts to the Lord on their death bed. And I have known of a person who gave his heart to the Lord when he was 31/2 years old. This is the real purpose of our lives. To come to the saving knowledge of Jesus before we die. Because we cross over in death, it is too late to do anything.

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We are in the age of information. It comes so fast it is hard to process it all. The news media tries to keep up with it. But most of the time it is just nonsense. Everybody has ideas and usually it is displayed on social media. All this information is not always informative. It is just new. I have heard this story before. Oh yes, the people of ancient Athens had itching ears to hear something new and endless discussions. But never coming to a conclusion. It seems that information is more to confuse people than to help. Having more information isn’t always a good thing. Most people believe that they receive information about this world through their mind. You can see with your eyes, hear with your ears, speak with your mouth, but that is only part of the information you receive. We as a human being are made up of a body, soul and spirit. The body comes from the dust of the earth. The soul is the life that God gives to unite your spirit and body. The spirit is who you are and is eternal. When people talk about your heart, they really mean your spirit. God made us in His image and likeness. We have attributes that God has that we can access, such as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, gentleness, meekness and temperance. Our heart searches for these attributes all of our lives.  Hoping that we can find them in the things of this world. That is why the heart is a lonely hunter for God. The only way to receive what God has is to receive it from God himself. There is no other way that the Heart can truly be satisfied. Straight is the gate and narrow is the way.

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Troubles seem to come to us as easily as the sun rises. I see it in people’s eyes. The sadness and lack of hope that anything will work right. People become afraid of circumstances and I hear in their voice. And they don’t know what to do. Ever felt like a stranger or an outcast in your own home? I grieve for that mother who buried her teenage son yesterday and for the families that lost their fathers. People who have no hope are willing to do anything to try get some safety back in their lives. This is how wars are started. I use to live this way. I had no hope that anything would work out. It was so frustrating. It scared me so much that I was willing to do anything. Then I was shown that hope did exist. Hope in my life came when people believe that I was worth something and my life could be good. People showed me that there was a way. It took almost three months for me to believe that this could happen to me. They used patience and love to show me the way. And when I began to believe my life began to turn around. You see the only hope for this world is Jesus Christ. He can change lives and restore us to our proper place. When I saw how much my Father, who is in heaven, loves me, I began to cry for the sin in my life. God believes that every person on earth has value. And His judgement is correct. God never made any trash. All of creation is perfect. And you can be again. Accept the hope God is offering.

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What do you do when all hell breaks loose? Many people would say you respond in kind. But that isn’t what is necessary. Anger words stir up strife. Violence will be met with violence. Many of the disciples of Jesus found many places unwilling to hear what the gospel had to say. Some were stoned and some killed. But the answer to violence has always been the same. Today we heard about the violence in Baton Rouge. 3 policemen were killed. It mobilized the entire city police, sheriff’s department and the state police. Helicopter were called in and a man hunt began. And they will not quit until they have all the shooters in custody or dead. During the day I saw the mother of the first young black man that was killed speak of TV. She called for the end of violence. She said to protest the killings peacefully. She said many things that Martin Luther King said. Social change doesn’t come with violence. But peaceful demonstration does change what people think. I remember as a child seeing the horrible way the protesters in the peace marches were treated and knew there had to be a change. And change came. Jesus told His disciples to love people and speak the truth in love. He said this will change the hearts of people. And you have to have a change of heart before anything will change. And another lady said that we need to pray to ask God to change circumstances. This is the only place it come from. Pray fervently for peace.

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I look at the world as see one thing prevalent in all societies, the lack of trust. The way the world is going no one will trust anyone. It is like the saying, its dog eat dog, is true. Everyone is out for themselves. Money seems to be the prevailing rule. He who has the gold rules the world. What happens when the world economy crashes like it did in 1929? I wasn’t a trusting person before I met the Lord. I mistrusted everyone. I was hurt by literally by everyone. And I was going to get even. It is hard still today to be open and trusting. I look at my world and people are still as greedy as ever. They want what they want. And no one is going to get in their way. What I know is that I came to the end of myself. I was drowning in my anger and mistrust. I needed help to get out of my situation. I knew where to go to get help but I wasn’t willing to go there. I needed proof that I wasn’t going to be hurt again. And that proof came along in the faces of 2 men who gave of themselves. They did it just to help me. It took time for me to believe and to trust. But I am glad I did. Because I saw what was real and what wasn’t. What I thought was real really wasn’t. I had to relearn everything. For the longest time I have seen people hold up a sign that read John 3:16. I know now that what it says is true. It says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. In this saying I can trust that my life in this world and the world to come is secure. Place your trust in Him and He will secure your life too.

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Compelled has different definitions. It can mean forced or voluntary. When I was younger I subscribed to Time Magazine. I always enjoyed reading the articles. I love to read. In the fall of 1978, I was lying on my bed reading about abandon children in Brazil. At the time, they estimated that there were 14,000,000 abandon children on the streets of Brazil. The next thing I remember was that I was standing on my feet crying out to God to do something about the children. I realized then I was called to a life of service to God. I was moved by compassion. Brazil was a 3^rd world country and had no real industry. The country was so impoverished that parents were abandoning their children because they couldn’t feed them. I know of 2 international known Evangelist that worked in Brazil. Bernard Johnson established over 200 churches. He led over 1,800,000 Brazilians to a relationship with Jesus. He also built several bible colleges. The German Evangelist Reinhardt Bonnke did the same. What happened next was nothing short of miraculous. The economy of Brazil came back. Life became better for the average person. God intervenes in the affairs of men. Today Brazil has the 9^th largest economy in the world. It is also the 7^th largest purchasing power in the world. There is nothing too great for God. As He says, what is impossible for man; is possible for God. If you let God’s compassion led you, you will discover a whole new world.

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