God showed Ezekiel a valley full of dried bones. He said to Ezekiel speak what I tell you. God had Ezekiel to speak back into existence the nation of Israel. God performed His word. He did it so that people would know who God was and is. How many times has God showed himself to you? Where God has done miracles in front of your face. It has been so many times, I can only give you a few examples. My third son had spinal meningitis at 6 months old. God healed him in 3 days. God loved me when I was unlovable. He brought me from death’s door to life. He had healed my family. And why would He do that for me? For God so loved the world that He gave. Can you think of things that God did in your life? Even when you weren’t following the Lord. God will show Himself to everyone on this earth. He said He would do just that. This is to give everyone an opportunity to come to the Lord. You must first believe that He is. And when you do come, He will provide for us. When God becomes real in your life everything changes. So people will know that He is the Lord.
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There is a news story about a police officer rescuing a duck and her family. The duck laid her eggs in a storm drain. When they hatched they couldn’t get out. So the officers figured out a way rescue the ducklings and released them all in a nearby lake. The ducklings all rushed to mama under her wings. There they were safe. One reason I like the King James Version of the bible is because it is flowery. It is very descriptive. One of the practices of the Jewish people is wearing a prayer shawl on their heads. It is called a tallit. The bible refers to it as under His wings. It is a trust issue. It is like your mother putting her arms around you and you feeling safe. The bible says that you must first believe that He is and He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Trusting in God is a real issue for some people. They haven’t found people that are trustworthy. God is wanting for us to move close to Him. The only way you will ever find out is the move toward Him. Let Him prove to you that He is trustworthy.
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Knowledge isn’t understanding. Understanding isn’t wisdom. Wisdom is understanding the knowledge and applying it. It is only through experience that wisdom becomes real. We are in the information age. There is a lot of knowledge out there. I can google just about anything I want to know. The bible says that the devil knows and fears God. That didn’t stop him from rebelling against God. Only when he and his angels were cast out of heaven did they get their wisdom about God. Our first step with God is knowledge. We read to find out who He is. Then God Himself gives us the understanding of the word of God. Then we as God’s children apply the understanding putting it into practice. Then we obtain wisdom for our lives. There is so much to learn. I have been studying for 35 years and have reached a conclusion. I know very little about God because He is so vast. But the little I know keeps my heart and mind at peace. It also protects me and my family from harm. It provides healing for us. It provides us with a purpose for this life. It provides us faith in the Almighty. The bible says if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can say to the mountain be thou removed and cast into the sea and doubt not. It shall be done by our Father who is in heaven. Wisdom for all the ages comes from God Himself.
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My father served in WWII. He served in all theaters of the war. He first fought in Alaska. Then he transfer to the Signal Corps and they shipped to England. He went to Africa with the 3rd Army. After Africa he went back to England. There he was involved with D-Day. My father land on Omaha beach on D-Day +1. He served again in the 3rd Army until Germany surrendered. I have a picture of him with Uncle Neal, a medical doctor also army captain, at Berchtesgaden. When I was old enough to ask dad about WWII, he never wanted to say anything. My brother and I served during the Vietnam. That when I found out why dad never wanted to talk about his service to our country. Dad died 32 years ago. But there are still men and women alive who served in WWII. Service to our country is honorable. And we should be thankful for the people who did just that. We enjoy a lot of freedoms that we wouldn’t have if they wouldn’t have. It is just a shame that the only time that people come together is in time our world crisis. Billions of dollars were spent to save our world, maybe we need to do this for our own betterment.
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My life is like a tale being told. I was born into a family eventually of 6. I was reared by a conservative mother and father. I went to a private school. I was taught religion. I attended church all my life. Then I graduated from high school. I went to college and then served in the military. When I came to myself I didn’t know what to do. All the preparation didn’t prepare me for life. I wandered around for years. Wondering what I was supposed to do. Until one day I met the Lord and my life changed. I finally knew who I was and what I was supposed to do. I began by reading the bible and studying. I found out that I was a son. A child of the living God, who loved me and care what happened to me. As I grew in the Lord, I gained strength and courage. I began using the word of God to do the work I was called to. People’s lives were changed. People would walk up to me and tell me how I helped them in time of need. I have always been amazed at what God has done through me. And on top of that, God gives me the reward for doing His will. I have the best of both worlds in the here and now. As a Tale being told.

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There is a John Steinbeck short story called “Flight”. A young man kills a man and flees for his life. They chased him to the top of a hill. There he knew he had to face the truth. He stood up and the police shot him dead. The tragic story is about taking courage even though it may kill you. We are placed on this earth to prove the truth that we are the image and likeness of God. We walk in this world trying to figure out what is the best way to live our lives. Not everyone succeeds. The only way we can possibly live this life is by taking courage. Our parents tried to teach us how to live the right way. They wanted the best for us. When I was a teenager, I thought my parents were brain dead. As I got older, I saw the wisdom of my parents. My dad died 31 years ago. For the longest time after his death, I heard my father’s voice. Whenever I had a problem, I could hear inside me my father’s voice giving me wisdom. As I discovered my father wasn’t as stupid as I thought. That wisdom always gave me courage to face whatever I needed to. And I would take courage and face life as I am supposed to.
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Jesus lived in a country that was occupied with foreign battle harden troops. The Romans allowed people to go about their daily lives as long as they didn’t start trouble. If a roman needed assistance by law he could ask anyone to help him and they had to do it. They built their garrison next to the temple in Jerusalem. Just in case the Jews started trouble. They could be in the temple in minutes. No Jew was willing to risk the destruction of the Temple. The romans taxed everybody every year. Jesus’ younger step brother was a tax collector, Matthew. The romans were hated by all. They conquered the world by force. They kept peace in the empire by force. Jesus never preached rebellion. He never told people to rise up and throw the romans out. He told them to love their neighbor as themselves. Judas on the other hand was a zealot and did preach rebellion. Jesus’ teachings did get to Judas. He understood God’s way. But he never thought it was for him. He had killed people and there was no hope for him. You know that Peter and Judas committed the same sin. They betrayed Jesus. The difference was that Peter believe that God would forgive him and Judas didn’t. Judas died a lonely death. Peter led the church in the first century. Forgiveness is there for anyone who will trust God and believe.
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When I came to the Lord, I literally stopped talking. Before I knew God my tongue was the worst part of me. I could easily carve people to pieces with my tongue. It was sharp and poisonous. People didn’t want to be around me. As the Bible says in
James 3:6 “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” (KJV)
The fires of hell came out of my mouth and burnt anyone around me. So when I received God into my heart, I was changed and couldn’t speak with the fires of hell. I just stopped talking. I would speak to people but with great caution. When I got married, my wife had to pull anything out of me. I didn’t speak. It’s not that I didn’t have something to say. But I wanted it to be just right. My wife likes to talk. She go on about anything. She gets phone calls that last a couple of hours. I still guard my mouth and speak judiciously. The bible says that anyone who bridles their tongue controls themselves. I don’t want to run off at the mouth ever again. I will have to account for all of my words when I stand before God.
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I went to a fast food place to get a hamburger. There was a father and son waiting on their order. The boy was 1 year old. I asked. He was cute with his little shirt and shoes. He was at the front door looking out at all the people. Then he was next to his dad waiting for his food. He had no fear of anything. He was walking around looking at all the new things in his life. This is the joy of wonder. Somehow we have lost the joy when we became adults. There is no more curiosity in the world around us. It seems that there is nothing new for us to discover. Where did it go? Why did we lose it? Can we every get it back? For the past several years I have being taken pictures of clouds. The most interesting ones only occur before a storm hits. I have seen many unusual cloud formations. They were different colors and shapes. I have become interested in clouds because my life was about the same thing. And I didn’t like what I was looking at. Did you know that a sparrow is about 30 shades of brown? A blue jay has about 25 shades of blue on it. God created this world for us. He put everything in place. For God so loved the world that He gave.
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Man is constantly changing. Changing into something different, a metamorphosis. It seems that we can’t always control the change. Many times our situation and circumstances will effect a change that we don’t want. Sometimes we just can’t get out it. How do I know because I lived a life just like that. It started out by being hurt by the people around me. The more it hurt the more I became angry. The more I became angry the worst my situation became. It got so bad it became a death spiral. What I wanted was what I wanted, not what was right or good for me. Thank God He protected me from myself. I know for a fact if I hadn’t turned to God, I wouldn’t be alive today. What I was doing was destroying anything and anyone that got in my way. Even though I came to the place where I wanted to get out the situation, I couldn’t. My brother invited me to join their Amway business. We met at a local Cafeteria. The man who had the business was the manager of the cafeteria. We met there for coffee before it open to discuss business. I would always arrive early. Before my brother arrived the two business owners began talking about what God had done in their lives. They did this each time I was there. They weren’t talking to me about God but each other. I listen for 3 months. And finally one them asked if I wanted to go to church. I said yes. There during the service I found the answer to my problem. I accepted God into my heart and He began to change me into His image and likeness.
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