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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In the beginning, God was. God decided to share all that He had. So He made mankind and a planet to live on. God gave everything to man. Adam could control the weather and the animals. Food just grew abundantly. Adam didn’t have to work to eat. God gave Adam a companion, Eve. So he wouldn’t be lonely. They were the image and likeness of God. They had a free will. God wanted them to live forever. But Adam and Eve sinned with their free will. God had no choice, but to remove them from the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve lost all the power’s they had. Adam had to farm the earth to grow food. But God promised them a redeemer. Man had other ideas. If God hadn’t intervened man would have destroyed the earth and killed himself. God has always had a people. Those who have believed God. Finally He made a covenant with Abraham. And Abraham’s descendants didn’t follow God. Finally God sent His son. And He was killed by man. But now God’s redeemer had paid the price for man to come back to God. And man can’t destroy that. What God has always wanted was to share His life with man. Man chose a different path, but God has always had a people. And for those peoples sake, he hasn’t burned the earth down. But there is coming a day when God will burn the earth down and destroy everything. I don’t know the time or place but as the bible says, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
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God made a covenant with Abraham. Abraham’s part in this covenant was sacrifice his son Isaac to God. Abraham knew he had to believe that God was going to take care of the only son that God gave him. This was the test of Abraham’s faith. Abraham built an altar, tied his son and put him on the altar. He raised the dagger to kill his son, when God called out. He stopped Abraham from killing his son. By faith, Abraham was justified before God. Now it was God’s turn. Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit. He was born free from sin. He was and is the Lamb of God sacrificed for our sins. Jesus grew up in a normal home with a mom and dad. Went to school like the rest of us. He grew into a man knowing who He was and what God required of Him. Jesus had friends and family. He enjoyed life on this earth. When it came time for His death, He prayed not to die. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus sweat blood praying not to die. But He knew why He was here and what God wanted. God gave Jesus a choice. But Jesus knew what His father wanted. So at the end of each prayer, He said, not My will but Yours be done. The bible says that on the cross His image was more marred than anyone. Jesus didn’t look like a human being. He was beaten to pieces. But Jesus went to the cross with joy to fulfill the covenant that God made with Abraham, mankind.
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As I looked around at my life and saw things happening to me, I wondered how I survived. Sometimes I felt so lost and that I was drowning. Then I won a victory and I was back on top of the world. I understood how vulnerable I was in this world. I tried for a long time to do everything by myself. I became so angry and bitter about the loss in my life. God was trying all along to bring me into His family but I resisted. I was looking for someone to love me for who I was. But I was so angry no one wanted to be near me. It was a vicious circle. Until one day 2 men invited me to join in on their business. We would met at a local cafeteria for coffee. Before we would started discussing business, they would talk to each other about what Jesus was doing in their lives. They weren’t preaching at me. They were preaching for me. It took 3 months for me to catch on. But when I did, I wanted what they had. They showed how real God was and that He loved me. And I found someone to love me just as I was. Jesus accepted me just as I was. He began to show me His world and the kingdom of God. All the things that were wrong with me began to fall away. I became a son of God. The bible says, “but as many as receive Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:12 KJV.
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