Food, clothing and shelter, we strive all our lives to obtain these things. But is it enough? We would not survive very long if we didn’t have these things. But is it all there is? We know that there is more to life than this. But why do we settled for just this part of life. We are a materialistic society. We have more things than anyone else in the world. And the world wants what we have. This is strange and somehow wrong. The wealth of this nation is funding the rest of the world. After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was a ghost town. A million and a half people had lived there. It was strange to drive through there. Everything had collapsed. All the money that had flowed through that town was gone. It was the largest migration since the 19^th century. It has been 10 years since that hurricane and New Orleans is still not the same. More money has poured into the city than you would think. But it still hasn’t made the difference. But we are not just materialistic people. There is more too us than that. We are spiritual as well as physical. The life of people is translated into a city. And New Orleans has lost its heart. And no amount of money will bring it back. We need money but not at the expense of our lives. If you keep scratching for money and don’t see the other side of life, you have missed what life is about. All those intangible things that we ignore are the important things in life. They are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. By the way these are the fruit or manifestation of the Spirit of God. And everyone can have them for the asking.

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If you look around at man you will wonder why we were created. The world is such a jumbled mess and all thanks to man. If there isn’t a war, there is a famine and if not a famine, a disaster. And it is all due to man’s efforts. This imperfect species that has control of this earth, I wonder why the earth hasn’t burn down yet. I look around at the fear and hopelessness people are suffering through. And wonder why man hasn’t given up yet. I do understand it and know why it is like it is. Man wants to god over his own destiny. Man sees himself as the supreme leader of his life. He is large and in charge. This is the biggest lie in the world today. Man doesn’t have the power to change a thing. Man can’t even get out the mess he makes. So why would he believe that he can rule the world. It is more of a hope than a belief. But it is false hope. But we all know that there is no higher power than man who he will submit himself to. I not know whether to laugh or cry at that this megalomania. I thought this way for a long time. But when I came to myself I discovered that there was someone who was looking out for me. And He had to power to change my life. What was so surprising to me was that He loved me the way I was. For God so loved the world. This is the reason why we were made because of God’s love. Everyone knows this scripture which is man’s shame. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). It is time to believe what it says. There isn’t much time left to this world, so use your time wisely.

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There are so many versions of Jesus in this world. I have seen just recently that people tried to show Him as just human and not divine. Many other religions recognize Him as great man. Some even says He was a prophet. All of this is to discredit Him as the son of God. The bible says that there is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved. It also says that in the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and tongue confess that Jesus is the Lord of all. Why do you think that people wince at the name of Jesus? They get angry and curse when his name is said. Have you noticed all the TV programs that proclaim the devil is all powerful? It is an effort to replace Jesus. When I first became saved, I was angry at the devil for leading me around by the nose. So I went on seek and destroy missions. After a month, God stopped me and asked what I was doing. I said I was getting rid of the devil. God said no, I was still following the devil. He said follow me and when you encounter the devil, cast him out in my name. God knows what He is talking about. Follow Jesus and everything else will fall into place.

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Do you remember the first time you saw something and it was the most amazing thing that you ever saw? That is called wonder. We say that things are wonderful. Or we say it was amazing. What ever happened to that feeling we used to have? Has the world driven it out of us? Has so many bad things happened to us that we have lost the wonder of the world? We grow up and wanted to be sophisticated adults. Knowing everything and not being surprised by anything. But what we have lost is what we need in this world. The northern lights of Alaska are amazing. The color of a sparrow is wondrous. The beauty of a Lilly is spectacular. Every sunset is gorgeous and new every night. Jesus was preaching and people were crowding around him. The disciples were keeping the crowd at bay. There came some children to see Jesus. The disciples pushed them away. Jesus saw this and rebuked the disciples. Jesus had the children to come and told his disciples never to do this again. Jesus said for if you do not become as one of this children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. The life of God is a wonder.

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I look at what it took for me to understand. I know maybe I am as hard-headed as my dad said I was. It took me a while to see what people and the bible were talking about. Many times I wanted to understand but just couldn’t see it. I know God was very patient with me. I guess that is what love is about. Patiently waiting for someone to come around and do what is right. I have hit walls many times and couldn’t go through. Only with the intervention of God did I even make my way through. I have hopes and dreams that I want to come true. When you have to stand before God and surrender all of your dreams. It can be a crushing defeat. But God took defeat and turned it into victory. The starting place for me was surrendering all that I am. I had to die to myself to accept the promise of God, Jesus. I wondered why He would want me. I had become a real jerk, arrogant and combative. But He saw in me something worth saving.  God sacrifice His son to give the opportunity to be set free. I have people that love me. But I only have one person who loves me unconditionally. The bible says for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever shall believe will have everlasting life.

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What season is it? I watch TV and the weather has gone crazy. It is May and people are still shoveling snow. The weather in western part of the country is worse, hail and tornados. The record rainfall is unbelievable. There isn’t one part of the country that is not affected by the weather. No one can change it or stop it. There was a hurricane on the eastern seaboard, a month before hurricane season. We all know that there is only one person who can stop all of this. That is God Himself. There are stories throughout history where people have fought against God. None were ever, ever successful. The tower of Babel comes to mind. The people were in one accord and spoke one language. They were going to prove they were more powerful than God. The king was building a tower to shoot an arrow at God to prove he didn’t need Him. God scrambled their language after scattered them across the earth. They showed God alright. There is only one person who can help in the season of need and that is God Himself.

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All throughout the ages God has had a people. No matter what was going on in the world, there has been people faithful to God. Between Adam and Abraham, God has done spectacular things on earth to and in front of man. Still man, as a whole, didn’t respond to God. So God decided to choose a people who would trust and honor God. He chose the Hebrews. God chose Abraham and made him the father of many nations. He had 12 great grandsons, who became the nation of Israel. The Law didn’t come in until Moses. What the Law did was to separate the Hebrews from the rest of the world. Showing the world the way to God. The Hebrews didn’t always keep the Law. When this happen trouble came to Israel. They believed they were the chosen and nothing was going to happen to them because of it. But God’s word is the truth and will judged anyone who breaks the law. Pride came into Israel and nearly destroyed them. But God had made a covenant with Abraham and He is going to honor it. But God says many times in the bible, it is the Jew first and then to the Greek. Everything we have as a Christians came for the Hebrews. Most people think Jesus was a Christian. But He never was. Jesus was and is an orthodox Jewish Rabbi. God wanted to show that the Law cannot save you, because no one can keep it. Only with a change of heart can you keep the Law. And only God can change your heart to keep the Law and Commandments.

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God divided the world into 2 groups, Jews and non-Jews(Gentiles). God started with the entire world to reveal Himself. But after He was rejected by the world, God chose the Hebrews. Their job was to show that God was real and that He existed. What happened to the Jews was the same as what happens to Gentiles who belong to God, they became peculiar. The world saw that they were different. It is funny how people who are different from themselves are feared and rejected. So the Jews stood out from everyone else. And people could see that they had something real. Many people came to see what was different. They were drawn by the grace and goodness of God. Did you know that unless God draws you to Himself, you can’t come to Him. It isn’t up to man to decide when they will come to God. So if you put it off and refuse God’s mercy, you might lose your chance forever. And that is even sadder than not knowing. God wrote His laws and commandments in our hearts. He did this so we would know who God is and what is expected by God. Nobody wants to hear about sin. Sin is being separated from God. When we are born, we are in sin and separated from God. You can thank Adam and Eve for that. But God gives us a choice. And He will deal with us literally for the rest of our lives. I have known people who gave their hearts to the Lord on their death bed. And I have known of a person who gave his heart to the Lord when he was 31/2 years old. This is the real purpose of our lives. To come to the saving knowledge of Jesus before we die. Because we cross over in death, it is too late to do anything.

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We are in the age of information. It comes so fast it is hard to process it all. The news media tries to keep up with it. But most of the time it is just nonsense. Everybody has ideas and usually it is displayed on social media. All this information is not always informative. It is just new. I have heard this story before. Oh yes, the people of ancient Athens had itching ears to hear something new and endless discussions. But never coming to a conclusion. It seems that information is more to confuse people than to help. Having more information isn’t always a good thing. Most people believe that they receive information about this world through their mind. You can see with your eyes, hear with your ears, speak with your mouth, but that is only part of the information you receive. We as a human being are made up of a body, soul and spirit. The body comes from the dust of the earth. The soul is the life that God gives to unite your spirit and body. The spirit is who you are and is eternal. When people talk about your heart, they really mean your spirit. God made us in His image and likeness. We have attributes that God has that we can access, such as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, gentleness, meekness and temperance. Our heart searches for these attributes all of our lives.  Hoping that we can find them in the things of this world. That is why the heart is a lonely hunter for God. The only way to receive what God has is to receive it from God himself. There is no other way that the Heart can truly be satisfied. Straight is the gate and narrow is the way.

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Troubles seem to come to us as easily as the sun rises. I see it in people’s eyes. The sadness and lack of hope that anything will work right. People become afraid of circumstances and I hear in their voice. And they don’t know what to do. Ever felt like a stranger or an outcast in your own home? I grieve for that mother who buried her teenage son yesterday and for the families that lost their fathers. People who have no hope are willing to do anything to try get some safety back in their lives. This is how wars are started. I use to live this way. I had no hope that anything would work out. It was so frustrating. It scared me so much that I was willing to do anything. Then I was shown that hope did exist. Hope in my life came when people believe that I was worth something and my life could be good. People showed me that there was a way. It took almost three months for me to believe that this could happen to me. They used patience and love to show me the way. And when I began to believe my life began to turn around. You see the only hope for this world is Jesus Christ. He can change lives and restore us to our proper place. When I saw how much my Father, who is in heaven, loves me, I began to cry for the sin in my life. God believes that every person on earth has value. And His judgement is correct. God never made any trash. All of creation is perfect. And you can be again. Accept the hope God is offering.

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