Saul of Tarsus was a deeply religious man. He believed in the God of Israel. Saul had devoted himself to God. He graduated from the school of Gamaliel. Saul went to Jerusalem with Gamaliel to become part of the religious leaders there. He was young and energetic. The leaders of the day sent him out to try and stop the teachings of Jesus and the followers of the Way (Jewish Believers). It was on one these trips that something happened to Saul. He was on his way to Damascus to capture and imprison any followers of the Way. Because Jesus was died so they thought, it would be easy to capture His followers. Saul was traveling with many people when a light shown from heaven. Everybody saw the light but only Saul heard the voice of God. God spoke to Saul and asked him if it was hard to fight against God Himself. Saul was blinded by the light. The people with him had to lead him all the way to Damascus. He was blind for 3 days. God spoke a one of the followers of the Way to go to Saul and speak to him. As the man spoke to Saul the scales fell from his eyes. As Saul could see with his eyes and his heart, he became the Apostle Paul. The Jewish Believers were still afraid of him because he had done much damage to the followers of the Way. The story is in the bible for a reason. That God can take anyone and turn them into a mighty person of faith. God can even take a jackass and make him a preacher. He did this for me. God isn’t stopped by anyone or anything anywhere. God said that love is the greatest thing on this earth. It is a truth. God is love. And anyone who ask can receive from God. This is how Paul was converted.
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Darkest before the Dawn
It is a fact that the night is the darkest before the dawn of the sun. It is the time of great turmoil for many people. The dawn has always been seen as hope for tomorrow. It is the beginning of a new day and a second chance. Hope is a fragile thing in our lives. We want to believe that there is a future. But after we screw up our lives we can’t see anything especially hope. And it becomes most apparent in the dark of the night when we are alone. Did you know that it is be design? The term is coming to oneself. Coming to the understanding that we can’t do anything by ourselves. That we need help to live our lives on this earth. That is why the dark of the night affects us so. King David had taken another man’s wife and she became pregnant. Then he had the husband killed in battle. For all that God gave him, he was going to lose his life because of this. For all the torment this caused, it wasn’t until his son, a prophet, came to him and confronted him. That David faced the Lord and the consequences. All this happened in the dark of the night, when David understood that he had sinned against God and was going to die. He turned to the Lord to ask for forgive him. God did forgive him, but the consequence was that his family was destroyed because of it. If we turn to the Lord, there is nothing that God wouldn’t forgive and restore us back into the kingdom. But that doesn’t always include the consequences. Consequences can be far reaching. It may go on for years. But there is hope in a new day. Perhaps God will change His mind about the consequences. There is always hope in God, when the sun arises after the darkest part of the night.
Seekers
There is a hole in our lives. We are always seeking to fill it up. Most people don’t what is missing in their lives. But are willing to look for this missing piece to fill that hole. It starts very early in life. As kids we look for something important for our lives. Most want to firemen, policemen, soldiers or doctors. They think that will fill the void in their lives. As we get older we look in different directions. When girls come into view, then we need money to pursue that direction. Depending on whether or not we go on to college, which is a whole new avenue, our search intensifies. But somehow in the back of my mind I knew what would fill that hole. I started drinking in college with buddies. It continued after college without the buddies. I was drinking up to 10 mixed drinks at one sitting. I knew I had to quit. Finally I walked away from it and never regretted that decision. I was 28 years old and still didn’t fill the void in my life. I was miserable. I began seeking a new job opportunity which turned into a calling. As these businessmen introduced me to the one person who could fill the hole in my life. To my surprise the person was always there waiting for me to turn around and see Him. Of course that person is Jesus. He began to fill the hole in my life, not with booze, or drugs, or sex. He filled my life with love, joy and peace. And I became whole for the first time in my life. As the bible says, in Matthew 6:28-32 “And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”
What do you have?
Many people say that they have nothing. There is a story in the bible about Elisha. A widow came to him to ask of God. She said her husband, a faithful minister in their church had died. He left debt and the collectors wanted the money or their two sons to be sold into slavery. Elisha asked the woman, what do you have? She said all they had left was a quart of olive oil. Elisha said to go to all their neighbors and ask for pots and jars. He said as many as you can get. She and her sons did just that. Elisha said to go into your house and close the door. He said to pour out the oil into the pots and jars. The woman and her sons did. When the finished filling the last pot, the quart was empty. Then Elisha said go and sell the oil, pay the debt and live on the rest. God wasn’t concerned with what they did or didn‘t have. What God wanted was for them to believe and trust that He would provide. What God is concerned with is our faith. As it says in the bible, All things are possible to them that believe. The story is in 1 Kings 4:1-7. And the other bible reference is Mark 9:23. Faith is what moves God to action. You must believe that He is and is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Faith in God is the only answer for this lost and dying world. And all you have to do is to believe and ask Him for forgiveness.
Great Gain
What is enough? How much does it take to satisfy your desire? What is the end result? It’s funny how our heart desires things. We want what we want. All of our lives are planned out to acquire things for our lives. In the past few years there had been a minimalist movement in America. People have been going for tiny houses. Houses so small that they are the size of a room in most houses. It is a backlash to the greed that is rampant in our country. But how much is enough? If you gain the whole world and lose your soul, what is it worth? It is unfortunate how much it cost us to gain the whole world. Do you know the cost? Are you willing to pay the price? Understand that there is nothing wrong with having money. It is when money becomes your god that everything goes sideways. When money is more important than people, it is very destructive. My mom use to say all things in moderation. She was saying that you control the things you do and what you own. And do this with balance in your life. It was and is good advice. By most standards, my parent were middle income. They had a large home and a motorhome. We were comfortable. It was a blessing. I worked for extra money since I was 13 years old. I developed a good work ethic. But it wasn’t until I found the Lord did I become satisfy with life. My life has been blessed. My family and I never lacked for anything. If I needed I received from God. You know God spoke to me and told me not to look at catalogs. They gender greed in your life. But more than that I learned a most important lesson about being satisfied in life. God says it much than I. In 1 Timothy 6:6, 7 “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”
To Try the Patience of God
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.
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.
