I have been writing my blog to the general population, not just to Christians. Everyone needs to be encouraged about life. This particular blog is directed to Christians. Not everyone will understand what I am talking about, but just listen. When we were strangers from the love of God, we felt that heavy burden of sin in our lives. It was so heavy that we just couldn’t stand it anymore. We looked for relief everywhere. Until we came to God, there was no relief for us. When God forgave us the sins in our lives, the burden of sin was relieved. We felt the joy of God and began to learn of Him. New Christians are at church every time the doors are open. They participate in all the activities they can. It is because they want to be in the presence of God and fellow believers. I have seen baby Christians perform miracles far beyond their ability or knowledge. God is willing to give to anyone who ask the kingdom of heaven. I was told as a new Christian that the joy and enthusiasm would wear off after a while. I prayed that it never would happen to me. God told me that it didn’t have to happen. It was a choice. As a Christian learning about the ways of God, I became a threat to the devil and his kingdom. So, resistance against me became stronger. But God doesn’t allow any resistance to be stronger than I could handle. God said that He would always make a way through the storm. Because we have to go through the storm to prove who God is. I’ll continue this tomorrow.

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Right after Cain killed his brother Abel, God asked Cain where is your brother? Cain answered and said a truth that rings down through the centuries. He said, Am I my brother’s keeper? The answer is yes. We are our brother’s keeper and are responsible to God to maintain that relationship all of our life. It is the truth of family. The most basic unit in this world is family. We are social beings and live by having a relationship with each other. That old saying is also true, no man is an island. More than not, people who have gone crazy believe that they are alone in the world. On the other hand, there are stories of friends or people who have loved you, just because. Those relationships never seem to end, even though they live across the country. It is all about the importance of family in our lives. We all have parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and lots of cousins. Then there are your best friends, which you are blessed to have at least one in your life. Then there is your wife or husband and let us not forget our children. Of which, they will never let you forget the fact. There is nothing in this world that will complete us more than our children. It is like they are the final piece of the puzzle of our life. They are the only ones who can teach us about unselfish love and devotion. Do you know why we are structured that way? We are God’s creation. The bible says that all of creation groans for the revelation of our older brother, Jesus Christ. You see we put Him to death, but God raised Him from the dead to lead our family back home to God. It is the importance of family.

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Children are interesting. They are half you and half your spouse. And still they turn out like who they are. My wife and I wanted a large family, but we realized very quickly that you should have as many children as you can afford. We have 4 sons, as different as night and day. Yet they have many of the same qualities. We wanted them to grow up as brothers, who loved and cared for each other. I have blond hair and blue eyes. My wife has black hair and dark brown eyes. She wanted our sons to have blond hair and blue eyes. They were all born with a full head of black hair and dark eyes. You never know how it is going to turn out. But they were all healthy and strong. And the we are grateful for. My baby is 28 years old and has a son of his own. So, what would you do for your children? How far would you go to help or defend on of your children? You know there is a very real reason why God gave us children. He wanted us to know the joy and the pain of having children to raise. He wanted us to know and understand the responsibility that comes with children. He wanted us to understand how bare up under the weight of being responsible for another human being. We complain about 1 child or 4. How hard it is to keep them in control and going in 1 direction. Just think if you had mankind as all your children. Think about the pain and sorrow they would cause you. Then think about the joy you would receive when 1 child comes home to stay. You see we are all children of God. And how longsuffering God is toward us. Think about the pain that you caused your parents and the pain your child caused you. And God still wants us to come home.

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What do you see when you look at someone? What is it that made you look at them in the first place? What was it about the person that drew your attention? Where they tall or short. Where they fat or skinny. Where they male or female. Where they a different race. Why do you even notice anyone? It’s funny, I listen before I look. I listen to what is going on around me. I find it more interesting than looking at people. Art Linkletter had a TV show called, Kids say the darndest things. If you listen to people, you will hear almost anything. But what I am listening for is something very special. I am listening to hear their heart speak. If you actually listen to someone, they will tell you who they are within minutes of talking to them. Because if you listen, their heart will speak clearly about what is in it. Do you ever get frustrated with people who will not listen to you? I tell you a truth, many times it isn’t they don’t listen, it is that the pain in their heart is great. And what you are saying is magnifying it. Everyone has a heart. And that heart is fill with their life and experiences. Sometimes it is good, but not always. Try an experiment, when you are talking to someone, close your eyes and listen to what is being said. You will be amazed what you hear, ever out of your own mouth. Then you will actually be able to see who that person is.

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Everybody wants the good life without conflict. To have all the good things in life flow to us without any strife is almost impossible. There seems to be a natural resistance to everything. In electricity, the amount of resistance measures the strength of the electricity. That same principle also measures us. It is a law of physics, for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. Laws of physics happen despite who we are. It is the rules and regulations of the universe. The same is applied to diamonds. The greater the pressure produces the greater diamond. I know that we would much prefer to had a life free of conflict. It seems that we would live longer and happier than with stress and conflict. There is a proverb that says, iron sharpens iron. It takes something as hard as iron to sharpen it. And I don’t know anything harder than man’s head. The trick is not to let it overcome us. If we are defeated by conflict, it’s like we have to recycle back through the system. And we will recycle until we get it right. It is so much easier to get it right the first time. And with that we need a person to show us how to succeed. This is why we go to school. But that will only take us so far. What we need is a constant companion and mentor to show us the way. And guess what there is one. He will come and live with us and show the way. He is available for everyone, which is incredible in itself. Of course, His name is the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. And not only is He there for us, He is a gift from our Father. And with this mentor, we can have the good life. And all you have to do is ask.

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Getting things to happen at the right time is almost impossible. We have our timetable. And believe that things should work when we want them to. But reality is that they hardly ever work like they are supposed to. So, developing timing is a skill that we all strive for. I have seen people with impeccable timing. Things just fall into place and work. Then there are those who couldn’t get it right if their live depended on it. I think I fall somewhere in the middle of all that. I wish I could say that everything works out just like I want it to. Like I said I wish I could. When I came to the Lord, I would pray and things would happen almost instantly. I think that God did that to encourage me in the faith. I love that way He did that for me. It was a blessing that my prayers were answered so quickly. The longest time for an answered prayer was 22 years. It was God’s timing. I don’t see further than my nose unless God shows me. I was at a drive-in to get something to drink. This was early in my walk with God. God wanted me to turn around and tell this man that He loved him. I was too embarrassed and afraid to say anything. After the man left, God spoke to me and said, It took Me all of his life to get him to the place to hear that I loved him. It was God’s timing. And I missed it. I learned how to move in God’s timing. I didn’t want to miss out on anything anymore. Timing is everything. And learning how to move in God’s timing is a real blessing and a gift of God.

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When we think about home, we think about growing up with our parents. We think about our brothers and sisters. And of course, we think about holidays at home, with the sights and sounds of family and food. So many things go through our head. Most of us have fond memories of home. There is a song written before the American Civil War called Home Sweet Home. Everyone in America knew the song. During the Civil War, there was a battle called the Battle of Stone River. It was known by another name. It was called the Battle of the Bands. On the evening before the battle, the Union and Confederate forces faced each other across the river. The regimental bands, on each side, began to play music. On each side, the bands tried to out play each other. Finally, before lights out, one band began to play Home Sweet Home. Every band on both sides began to play the same song in unison. Every soldier on both sides began to sing the song. It took everyone by surprise. When they finish singing the song, they began cheering for each other. Because they missed their family and homes. Some say that the war would have ended if they could have reach each other. The call of home is as strong a pull as anything in our lives. The strange thing is that this world isn’t our home. And that strong pull to go home isn’t physical, but spiritual. God put that pull or desire to go home in us. So, that we want to go home to our Father. And the funny part of that is all we have to do is get up and go home. He is there waiting for us to return with open arms.

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Everything we see in this world, we see because light reflects off of it. The blue sky is light reflecting off of the dust in the air. The blue ocean is light reflecting off of the deep water. If the ocean is green, it is light on shallow water. If there was no light, we couldn’t see anything. We can see light at nighttime for more than 15 miles. Everything seems to come to a halt in the darkness. I was caught in a snow storm on top of a mountain. It was pitch black. Where all you could do was to stand still until the storm passed. Our life revolves around the light. There are places on this earth where it is darkness for 6 months of the year. it affects people’s lives. So much so, that they have to receive light therapy. Our health is received from sunlight. Then explain to me why so many people are blind standing in the sunlight. We have received and received from God’s grace and people just spit at God. Our lives, our health, our wealth, our families, our comfort, our food, our everything comes from God. God said that the eye is the lamp of the soul. If there is light there, we can see clearly. But if there is darkness in our eye, then great is the darkness within. God also says that He brought a great light into the world. And because of the darkness in man’s heart, they hated the light. The light is Jesus Himself. It says in Matthew 5:15 “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.” (KJV). It seems to be getting darker, day by day. So, I ask you, where is the light?

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If only we could go home again. We look to the past and see the good things that happened to us. We choose not to remember the bad things that happened. When we think of the good things, then look at our present life and wonder why. Nothing is all good or all bad. There is always a mixture of the two. But those echoes call to us. And promise us comfort. But they are what they are memories. Our life is a choice. We choose what we are going to do. No one can make us to do what we don’t want to. This is called free will. Man, as a whole, received this free will when Adam and Eve sinned against God in the garden. Free will is being like God, but without the power to change anything. Even Jesus acknowledged that man is like God. But free will has been more of a burden than a blessing. It makes us accountable to God for everything we do and without any benefits. If God would have left us in this sorry state, we would have no chance at all. God, being merciful, decided to provide a way that we could be redeemed. He said if we will turn away from our past and faced Him, God would open a door. That door has a name. It is the name above every name. The door’s name is Jesus. There is no other way by which a person can enter into the kingdom of heaven. You know what is sad, is that most people will reject God’s offer. But the offer stands, as long as, you are alive on this earth. Because once you died, the offer ends and judgement begins.

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You ever watch a clock and it seems that time slows down. Then when you look away for a while and time spends up. Time has been the same since it started. It doesn’t go any faster or slower. It is consistent all of our lives. And on top of that, we only have just so much of it. If we waste our time, it is gone never to return again. I have seen people that have lived over a 100 years and those that lived only a few days. Each person has just so much time. Then what happens? How much time do you have? It really doesn’t make a difference how old you are. We are entrusted with so much time. What we do with it is strictly up to us. Why is that? Why do we have to make all the decisions about our time? Why do we have to be responsible for our time? It seems that we give our time away more often than not. So, why are we accountable? Each of us has free will. That is the right to make any decision we will. But we are accountable for those decisions, both here on earth and in the world to come. Do you know why God established governments? He did it to keep the peace, because man has a free will. God talks about time. He says that now is the acceptable time, and today is the day of salvation. It is now that God guaranties, not tomorrow. So how much time to you have left?

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