When I began I didn’t understand the extent I would have to go. I knew I wanted to serve God. God began to train me in ways I should go. He never forced me to accept any task, other than being a Christian. God always would place the decision before me and ask. As He began to train me, I would see what was required of me to complete the task. What I didn’t know was that I had the power from the beginning. I has enough power to do anything God wanted me to. The only thing I didn’t have was disciple. The disciple came with the training and put into practice God’s principles. The more I did the better I became. It was excited to see God in action. When I placed myself into the situation, God began to work on my behalf. But I always had to place myself into the situation. God doesn’t gave His power freely to anyone. To use the sword of the Spirit takes practice. Ask any soldier, it is the training that kicks in midst of battle. You have to know and execute training to be successful in battle. Sometimes it takes years of practice to get it right. Roman soldiers were trained for 5 years before they ever entered battle. The Roman soldiers could defend 6 feet of earth unto the death. This is one reason the Roman army was unstoppable. It doesn’t take 5 years of training to fight a battle in the kingdom of God. From the beginning, we wage war. The battles aren’t so big, but praying a headache away is a major victory. So we study to show ourselves approved of God. With each victory, our confidence in God and ourselves grows. So begin the battle and pray until the victory comes. And you will never be the same again. Good Hunting.
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There are many reasons why the cross is offensive. It is the symbol of death. The Romans used the cross very effectively. Anyone who fought against Rome was put to death on the cross. When the Romans captured Spartacus and all the slaves, they crucified all of them. They lined the Appian Way from Rome to the sea with crosses. In Jerusalem, the Romans used a certain hill to crucify people. It was called Golgotha, the place of the skull. In the Jewish writings, it was a curse to hang on a tree or to be crucified on a tree. This is why Jesus hung on the cross. He took the curse for us. So we would be free to come to God. I am going to tell you something I am ashamed of. I stood before that cross and yelled crucify him. I didn’t want to suffer the pain of dying. I would let someone else suffer the death I deserved. What I didn’t know was that Jesus paid the price to redeem me. As ugly and rotten as I was, He did this for me because He loved me. No greater love has anyone than he would lay down his life for another. I scream hatred at Jesus as He loved me. The cross is so powerful that no one can discredit it. No one can take away from it. Jesus not only did this for me, but for all of mankind, past, present or future. When I read about the crucifixion it still bothers me. It has never lost its power. Have you looked at the cross lately? Everyone knows what the cross looks like because everyone has been at that cross screaming crucify him.
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I worked for a Christian radio station several years ago. On the station we had different kinds of preacher on the air. They were from different denominations. They would preach in the morning. Then in the afternoon we would play Christian music. There was one preacher we put on Saturday morning because he annoyed everyone. Even though he was annoying we knew that he was important in God’s economy to air on the station. One Saturday morning I was working and I get a phone call. This brother was angry because of what this preacher had said on the air. I began to talk this fellow down from being angry. I asked him who was angry. Then I asked him if he knew what Jesus said about anger. He said he did know. Then I asked him if he was right to be angry. He said no it wasn’t right. I could hear the anger dissipating. As he came to his senses. He knew that Jesus didn’t want us anger at any brother for any reason. Then I began to explain why God had this man preaching on the radio. I told him this man wasn’t a popular preacher for a reason. The brother was an exhorter. He would preach until a person would erupt and begin to see what was inside of themselves. The job of exhorter was needful in the kingdom of God. They would show you what is in your heart. Once you saw what was there, then God could begin to heal you. God always deals with us a little at a time. It is never all at once because the pain would be too great. The man came to an understanding why this preacher was so annoying and we prayed for him together. Does God need to send an annoying person for you to come to the understanding that you are a sinner and separated from God?
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Since the beginning of radio and television, most of all the programs have been a shows about good versus evil. If you look at video games and comic books, they are the same. Lately most of the shows are about evil triumphing over forces of good. The basic play is called a moral play. It is showing some virtue of good. Did you know that the Punch and Judy play is a moral play about the error of drunkenness? That play is 500 years old. There is something inside of us that these plays call to our very nature. Despite what you think about God, it speaks to the yearning of our heart. I understand why. In the Old Testament, God required man to teach his children about God. So they would not sin against Him. If the father sinned, God would require his children’s children to pay the penalty. Man still didn’t teach his children. So God said, I will write my laws in the heart and mind of man. With this came a knowledge of God. He made everyone responsible to God for themselves. Each of us has a yearning in our heart to do well in the eyes of God. It doesn’t mean that we will. But God has done many things to get us there. Do you know why God has done all these things for man? If you go back and look at all of it, you will see that God truly loves man. Beside the fact that God loves us, do you know why God has made so many covenants, commandments and has intervene in the affairs of man? It was because man wouldn’t listen to God in the first place. Man decided to do his own thing and got into trouble. If only Adam had listen and obeyed, we would be living in the Garden of Eden now.
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The British soldiers of the 19th century called their military and diplomatic strategies the Great Game. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s character Sherlock Holmes always said that the Game’s afoot. Even Shakespeare’s Henry V said the Game’s afoot. It wasn’t that they thought it was a game. Today many people would call it applying game theory to life. The study of decision making is called Game Theory. All throughout the age’s people have strategized on how to achieve the best result for themselves. Whether it is by war or commerce. The Viking were merchants. If people didn’t want to trade with them they would resort to the sword. All this strategy was always about what they wanted or needed. So when God talked to man about trusting Him and He would provide, people thought it was a joke. I said it many times that I couldn’t trust anyone but myself. The only problem with only trusting myself was that I don’t have the power to change anything. The only way I saw that things would change was by force. And once you begin with force, you have to have it to accomplish your goal. You know that was one really good reason why God didn’t give us power. Sometimes people think they have the power because of money, greed, an army or any other means to force people to comply. God has destroyed nations with His word. God has built nations with His word. This is real power. When you begin to plan you strategy for life, if you don’t have God with you, there is only one outcome. So what is your Game Theory for your life? Does it include God?
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I love to watch the sky and look at cloud formations. Sometimes I am not so careful because I look at clouds when I am driving. This morning the sky was fill with red clouds. They were in a most unusual pattern. I should have stopped and took a picture but I didn’t. Did you know that the sky is a witness to God’s love? So are the forests filled with beautiful trees and rivers that run into the sea? The birds in the air and the animals that roam the earth all testify of God and His love for us. There are so many people trying to explain the earth and all the things in it. And it is sad that most of them don’t believe that God is. I have never been able to grow a tree because I said so. I can’t change the color of my hair on command. I can’t grow taller by saying it. But God set in motion all these things for me. The sun rises and set on time because of God. God made the earth and all the creatures for our pleasure. And all these things do one thing loud and clear, they testify of God, Himself. It has always amazed me how people try so hard to prove that there is no God. And after God made the earth, He made man and place him in the midst of it. God gave man dominion of all the earth. Of course, man has tried to destroy it as fast as he could. That is why I look at the sky and the clouds. I want to see God in His creation. Every so often I see God in man. When I do it brings tears to my eyes. This is how man was always supposed to be. God has always want His beauty to shine in man. It can happen, I know I have seen it. All it takes is a willing heart. God has always been right there next to you. All you have to do is ask.
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Home is where your heart is. This is a true saying. The heart I am talking about is you. Where is your home? My parents lived near me. It was always easy to go home and visit. My dad died 30 years ago and my mom died 15 years ago. I miss them terribly. My brothers and I sold our home a couple of years after my mom died. When I began with God, He gave me a home that would always be there. It was before my parents died. God knew I would miss them and grieve. I tell you I am homesick, not for the house we lived in. I am homesick for heaven. I want to go there now, but God has plans for me that I must complete. This blog is one of those plans. God brought me all this way and taught me so much. It would be a waste not to empty my heart before I go home. What I learned took a lot of hard knocks to get it into my head. God was my teacher and He didn’t leave anything out. My understanding isn’t like most others. I had to unlearn many things. I took a different path than most. You know why most Old Testament men of God lived in the wilderness? Not only was God teaching them, but their theology was different or radical from the religious leaders. When they showed up in town, most people became afraid. The people knew that these people knew God and their world was about to change. Did you know that the children of Israel killed most of their own prophets? They didn’t want what God had for them. And God was only trying to bring them home. Home, I am lonesome for my family in heaven. Do you know where you are going? Have you figured out where your home really is? Have you figured out where your heart is?
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Patience wasn’t always my virtue. I had to learn to be patience. When I was younger my motto was go fast, or hurry up. For some things it works, but not for everything. When I began to learn patience, it was like pulling teeth. It hurt all over, but I had to learn to be able to handle the real things in life. When I was in college I really considered becoming a doctor. I look at the 12 years of school and the several $100,000 dollars it was going to take and decided that I wasn’t. I wasn’t willing to live to day. I wanted the future now. It just doesn’t work that way. No matter who you are or what you are, patience is the virtue needed to live your life. God began teaching me patience when I was single. Thank God for that. Because when I was married I needed it a lot. Sometimes it was hard and then sometimes it was easy. No matter what I was going through I had to have patience. It was like I learned layer at a time. When I had a victory over a small problem, it was tested with a larger problem. It seemed to never end. After I married, we had 4 sons. With each son there were different situations. As they grew so did the need for patience. Until I could carry the load, I always relied on God. In fact, I still do. God is the example of patience. Just look at who He has to deal with, man. I have understood God more since I became a father. I love my sons but they can be a royal pain. All those times I became frustrated and angry actually paid off in my life. I learned to be patience in all situations of life. Because I know that my Father in heaven is patiently waiting for me to get there.
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The shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line. Mathematically it is correct, but not always in life. You have heard the sayings, I take 1 step forward and 2 steps behind. It seems that harder the task the behinder I get. It took me 2 years to research a book. The next one took me 5 years. And that’s not the longest. I took 25 years to research my best one. It sometimes get frustrating when I don’t receive the reward up front. But I know that the reward isn’t always measured in monetary gains. I am a distance runner. I am in for the long haul. I like to run also. When I began running, most people would double over in pain after a mile. I developed a resistance to pain. I wouldn’t even be breathing hard. I enjoyed running. No one could catch me. So I ask you the question again, How far is far? I was watching a movie where children were walking across a wilderness to reach to other side. They commented how far it was. And the people responded and said, what did you expect, it is the world. Do you ever think you will reach the other side? Where will your travels take you? Some people end up across the street from where they started. Some end up across the world. To get to the other side of where you are going is always a journey. I like to do that in a hurry. But it doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes I receive my reward instantly. Sometimes I receive my reward after 25 years. But I always know that I will not stop until I get to the other side, come hell or high water. So how far is your far?
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Some people search all their lives and never find what they are looking for. Some people don’t know what they are looking for. You can see the most obvious ones. They look like they are in a fog all the time, clueless. You would be surprised how many people actually are clueless. They walk around with the latest gadgets. They are up to date on the latest fads. They wear the coolest clothes. Some even make good money. But they couldn’t find their way out of a paper bag. It is sad, because they don’t want to hear anything to help them or change their lives. Things don’t make the man. It is who you are that really counts. You have known people that knew who they are and are wonderful people. But they were older clothes, out of fashion. Don’t care for the latest styles. And they are genuinely happy and content. It always amazed me when I met them. Many times I was jealous of them. But I wasn’t going to change even if it killed me. And it nearly did. No one wants to admit that they don’t know. But it is actually the first step. You have to come to yourself and understand that you need help. Seeking the truth is the way to begin. There is an old joke that is very true. Here it is, there was a man caught in a flood. He went up on his roof to wait for help. A guy in a rowboat comes by and offers help. The man says no thanks I’m waiting for God to rescue me. 2 other people come by and the man says the same thing. Finally the flood kills him. He wakes in heaven and asked God why He didn’t rescue him. God says I sent 3 people to rescue you. How many people is it going to take before you accept God’s help?
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