The most dangerous place to be in this world is trying the patience of God. God is love and loves the world beyond anything we know. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an end to God’s patience. God goes beyond any point to bring us home. He gave us a free will, so we could choose Him. Then God shows His love by intervening in our lives, so we can go home. Man has this innate ability to destroy everything that he has and unless God intervened. Otherwise, we would be dead in our sins. Yes, we start out as sinners, separated from God. God has more tolerance for sinners than He does for wayward saints. Sinners don’t know better. Sin will separate you from God, whether you are sinner or saint. Because if you know better and don’t, it is sin. People think because God didn’t strike you down immediately with lightning, He not going to. It took 400 years for God to destroy the kingdom of Judah. I have seen His judgement happen in the blink of an eye. God will always give us warning, before a disaster happens. Point in fact, God has been warning all people about the end of the world. It has been over 20 years, that there has been TV programs about the end of the world. What do you think global warming is? After the flood, God said, He would not destroy the earth again with water but with fire. Noah preached repentance for 100 years before the floods came. God is preparing the hearts of man to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then it is up to us to choose or not. But when we stand before God in judgement, there is no excuse that man can make. As it says in the bible, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.
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411 – Gathering Info
Information has come at us at an accelerated speed. It is as if we are being bombarded with info. Some we can use and others well. The internet has revolutionized our lives. We live faster than before and die soon than expected. Everybody wants to live forever, but that’s not going to happen. Despite all the new drugs to come out on the market every day now. Life expectance is shorter. It has to do with our lifestyle not our life in general. We gather info faster. It seems that children grow faster or mature before they are supposed to. For a while parents when wanting their 5 year child to excel at school. They put them in special schools to give them a head start on learning. You know what was not so surprising was that all the children caught up to each at 7 years old. Like it always was designed too. Our lives are design to go in a certain way. We are individuals but in general we are the same. Despite our schooling, or environment or money spent on each of us. There are certain things that will happen to each of us. God gives us opportunity to develop as an individual through our world. But we are judged accordingly by the same standard. Yet we seem to what to change that standard to fit our wants and desires. But it’s not healthy. You can’t eat like a pig and expect your heart to survive. You can’t go in extreme weather without protection and live. You can’t murder people and expect to survive. As the bible says in James 3:13-17 “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom……But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” (KJV)
Thoroughly Exhausted
This weekend, we put our second son in the hospital with heart problems. Our son is a strong healthy 34 year old. So, he had chest pains that went to his arms. He had heart problems two years ago, but we thought it had cleared up. Saturday, we went to the hospital. They put him in a room and began tests. He was hooked up to all kinds of monitors. They began with blood work and medicines to relieve the pain. My son doesn’t complain about pain. But when he does, it is serious. My wife stayed with him the whole time he was in the hospital. On Monday, they did a stress test and found an adnominally. So, the doctor had to do an angiogram on Tuesday. When they went into his heart, they found nothing. It is like the adnominally had disappeared. The doctor said himself, it was a miracle. Ok course, it was. He was released from the hospital that afternoon. He has to go back next Monday to see the doctor. The whole time, I was working, going to the hospital and going home each night. We found out that the room he was in was ICU. Last night, I slept through the night. I didn’t wake up at all. When I woke up, I felt like someone had beaten me. Every muscle acned. It was all caused by anxiety. Did you know that God says in His word, Do not Fear, over 260 times? I am thoroughly exhausted. But I shouldn’t be. Because fear is the opposite of faith. If your trust God with your life, then trust Him with your family.
A Timed Event
It is a time I have chosen. It is Sunday morning and time to get up. My cat is there to remind me that I chose this time. And there is no time like the present. It is time to get out of bed. It is time to feed the cat. It is time to write the blog. If my son’s dog was here, it would be time to walk to dog. Our lives are scheduled. There is just so much time in our lives and we have to use it accordingly. I have always heard all of my life how people can’t wait to retire. So that they will have time to do what they want. The sad reality of this is that most people don’t live long after they retire. It has to do with using the time given you by God correctly. Time is a gift that has to be used. As most people have heard the saying that time waits for no man. This is true time is relentless. Time was set in motion by God and will continue until it has completed its course. What will happen at the end of time? God has written down a few things that will happen. The earth and the world are temporary. In the end God says that the earth and the heavens will roll up like a scroll, disappear and be replace with a new earth and heaven. And all the people who are alive on this earth will disappear of the face of this earth to reappear in heaven to face God eternally. Again it is all about making that choice in our lives. I saw a herd of sheep and goats the other day. I was reminded how at the end of time God will gather all peoples, dead or alive, to Himself. And He will separate the sheep from the goats. All the people who are His flock of sheep are gathered into everlasting life in heaven and all the people who are goats will be sent into damnation. Life is a timed event. So use your time wisely and choose God over the world.
A Journey
What is that saying, oh yea, a journey always begins with the first step. It doesn’t matter where you are going, life is always a journey. The journey from being a baby to a toddler, then the journey from toddler to childhood. Then the journey we make from childhood to adolescent. Then we make that all important journey from adolescent to teenager. For most people that journey almost kills us. Then the journey to adulthood is easier than becoming a teenager. I traveled a lot when I was a child. My parents believe that part of our education was to see the world and all its beauty. Which I still believe to this day. There is so much to learn when you travel and see different people and places. All of this gives you a unique perspective. It increases your understanding about life itself. And what this world needs is understanding. My wife had a limited amount of travel in her life. So, on our honeymoon, I took her across the country for 2 weeks. We went through the South and up to Washington DC. The first thing she wanted to see in Washington was the First Ladies dresses at the Smithsonian museum. I wanted to go to the National Air and Space museum. We stayed for 2 days in Washington, but it wasn’t enough time to see everything. Our life with God is a journey that we all must take. Many people are afraid of the trip, because it will reveal what is in their heart. That is the most important part of that journey. The only way to be healed is to see what is there. When we do, God is able to deal with us. The journey has always been about becoming whole with God and as a human being. Take that first step with God and ask Him to heal you. And I promise you, you will never be the same again.
A Full Moon
I don’t think there is anything more beautiful than a full moon. The bad weather came and went. The skies are clear and the moon is shining. After all it is spring and the rain cleared the air. The earth just righted itself. And I am thankful to God that He hears me and answers my pray. I really didn’t want to be running around in the rain all day. It seems that I am more like a cat each day. I like my comfort. It isn’t always like that. There are times that I just don’t want to see, but I do have to go through it. As God says in every temptation, He always makes a way of escape. So that I or anyone else will be able to bear the trial. I try to learn as much as God is willing to teach me. Because if I don’t learn it the easy way, I will have to learn it the hard way. It is funny how everything is moved through pressure. The wind, the waves, the weather and us are all moved by the amount of pressure applied to us. At the full moon the barometric pressure upon the earth is released. Sometimes strange things happen at the full moon because of this release. But I am enjoying the beauty of it all. It is so easy to find ugly in this world. All you have to do is just look around. But finding beauty sometimes takes time and effort. As you know beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There is a lot to be said about looking for beauty instead of the ugly. As God says in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” {KJV}.
To Bring All Things to Remembrance
I can look at a face and remember it from 20 years ago. But you tell me a name from last week and I can’t place it. It is funny how that works. My memory is selective. What ever caused me pain, I tend not to remember. Then again, I remember things that were extremely painful. My parents bought a set of World Book Encyclopedia. I was in high school. I read the entire set of books. It took almost 2 years, but it helped me in college. And yet I can remember things that happen to me years ago and have trouble with last week. I had dyslexia when I was young. With the help of my mother, a special education teacher, I was able to read on a college level. I like to read. History is my hobby. You wouldn’t believe some of the stories of my family, from pirates to preachers. When I came to the Lord Jesus, I had never read the bible. I began to read the New Testament, only stopping when God would teach me something. I have read the New Testament, twice, and the Old Testament, once, in 40 years. The Holy Spirit was teaching me all along the way. It took time to learn what God wanted me to learn. Now the Holy Spirit reminds me of a scripture in time of need. This is how I write my blogs. God shows me what He wants me to think about. And the Holy Spirit begins to write the blog in my heart. I am not that good of a wordsmith. I am sure you have notice misspelled words and incorrect grammar. The Ideas and understanding of God’s ways are all the Holy Spirit. You see He brings all things to remembrance (John 14:26).
A Life of Prayer
I watched a young squirrel make its way across my fence, up a tree and across a neighbor’s roof. And I realized that squirrel spends his life in prayer. “And creation groaneth for the revelation of the children of God.” Rom.8:19-22. And if that squirrel can pray its whole life through, where do we fall in place? Prayer is talking to God. That squirrel lives in the presence of God. He’s not afraid to approach God. In fact, that is the place where he wants to live, in the safety and security of the arms of God. God has wanted man to do the same thing, since Adam. God gave man a free will, so he can choose God freely. This honors God. Our Father is pleased and joyful when man chooses Him and not the world. Talking about God’s creation, He talks about sparrows, that not one of them fall to the ground without Him knowing and caring. Then He says that man is worth far more than a sparrow (Matt.10:29). Living the life God has called us to is a life of prayer.
Communicating with Someone else
We all know how to talk. Some will talk your ear off. When I talk to people, I must be aware of how much they can receive from me. Everybody knows how to tune out another person when they are talking. If the conversation, is unwanted, it happens in a hurry. I chose my words carefully. But there are times that I can’t get a single idea across to anyone. It frustrates me. I want people to understand what I am saying, even if they don’t like it. I look for people to communicate with. I search for that person who will be interested in what I say when I start talking. I have a brother, from another mother, who will listen and talk to me. We can talk for hours and never be bored. I get to talk to him every so often. He lives in California. I want my words to have meaning. I don’t want to be known for vain babbling. Look it up. When I came to the Lord, He told me to be quiet and listen. I didn’t need to say anything. I was there to learn. Then God told me what He told Samuel. He said that my words wouldn’t fall to the earth but accomplish the thing they were sent to do. That is when I became very silent. My words have power and will accomplish many tasks. God says that life and death are in the power of the tongue. Communicating isn’t just talking. It is relating an idea to another person. So that, another person will understand.
What is Familiar?
For most people Saturday is a day off from our regular jobs. It is a time to run errands and get honey-dos finished. It is funny that we say we are off from work but do more work than we do at our regular job. This is all too familiar to us. Sometimes we get to do things that are just for fun on our day off. Unfortunately that is mostly rare occasions. I should say fortunately. If we didn’t try to accomplish our goals all the time, we would become complacent and lazy. Doing things that are familiar is how we operate our daily lives. It is also how we learn things by repetition. My wife and I went to our friend’s baseball game yesterday. It is out in the open. We sat in lawn chairs while we watched 10 year olds play their hearts out. It was a fun day. But it is all too familiar. We have done this for years with our sons. Many times familiarity will breed contempt for life. Which will lead to behavior that will destroy things. I have watched people over the years. Some have accomplished things in their lives, while others have gone into a death spiral. Things that they did became familiar and then a habit. Then if the habit was a bad choice it lead to death. Did you know that a habit is formed by doing something over and over for 30 days? And it can be broken by not doing it for 30 days. It all comes back to the familiar choices we make over and over again. We all have a free will and can choose the path we walk on. As the bible says broad is the way that leads to destruction and narrow is the gate that leads to righteousness. And few that find it. Look for that gate and choose that familiar way in your life.
Joseph1637/Crain Blanchard 