In Psalms, Moses was talking about man. He said in Psalms90:10 “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. …..12 ¶ So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Man’s life is about 70 to 80 years and there will be strength, labor and sorrow. He also said we need God to teach us the number our days or to be mindful of each day that we have and do the right thing. Most people believe they will live forever. When they find out it is not true they become disillusioned with God. God doesn’t promise us forever on this earth. We are eternal being that will live forever in the next world. All God promises on this earth is now. Now is the time, today is the day as the bible says. The opportunity that God gives us is knowing that each day is precious. Not only in His sight, but in our sight also. We need to take advantage of the gift God gives to each of us and as an author has said before “Seize the day”.

http://www.joseph1637.com

joseph1637@juno.com

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 became 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.

I see people struggle with this question all time. I have been walking with the Lord for 35 years. When I began I was just glad to have my sins forgiven. I didn’t care about the rest. God began to systematically teach me about the kingdom. It wasn’t all fun and games. There were hard truths that I had to learn. I had to keep my heart open to be able to receive from God. I had to keep it open to the world to be able to let God flow through me. I tell you I got beat up many times. But the end results, which is still going on, is a blessing that I wouldn’t miss for the world. Some people look at God as big man with a big stick. If you do something wrong, you get hit with the stick. Some people think He is Santa Clause. He is there to give them what they want. I have never seen God strike in angry. I have seen Him destroy an entire coast line. Who do you think is directing the weather in this country? He has always accomplished His goals in love. He wants the best for you and me. God will do what it takes to help us achieve to right goal. By the way which is sharing heaven with Him. As the bible says, we are bought with a price, our lives are not our own. That price was the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus the Christ.

Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. There is no accounting for taste. One man’s trash is another’s treasure. Not everybody sees beauty the same way. But there is a beauty that everyone recognizes instantly. I talked about an older woman that is a customer. She wears glasses, she’s skinny and has buck teeth. However there is something beautiful about this woman. She always has a smile on her face from ear to ear. She is always pleasant to speak to and genuinely is excited about today. I wish I had that attitude all the time. We are always attracted by this beauty. It seems that not everyone has it. But you know everyone can get it. The beauty I am talking about is in the soul of a person not on the exterior. How do we get this beauty for ourselves? It’s funny that this beauty is offered to us free of charge. All we have to do is accepted. You see the beauty that I am talking about is the beauty of God. When people saw Jesus they said he was the most handsome man they ever saw. The word is comely. The beauty they were attracted to was the beauty of God. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Gal.5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

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 tornadoes. 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.

Who is in charge of your life? There is a saying that a man who represents himself in court has a fool for a lawyer. It is a true statement. Everybody would like to believe that they are the captain of their soul. The master of the own destiny. As you get older you understand that this is not necessarily true. So many people who do it their way crash and burn. We are in charge of which way we can go. But the consequences are sometime horrendous. We are social beings and our lives are not hidden under a rock. Sometimes I wish they were. God made us dependent for a very special reason. He wanted us to depend on Him. God knew that when we did things on our own, it wouldn’t work the way they are supposed to. Murray’s law was formulated for man by man. Whatever can go wrong will go wrong. God said, you first must believe that He is and a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. So seek God and you will find Him, ask and it shall be given and knock and it will open to you.

One of the hardest things in my life was and is owning up to my mistakes. I like to think that I am a reasonable and bright man. But it isn’t always the case. I make mistakes like everyone else. I have made some I will never talk about. God only knows what they are. This makes me a human being. I am not perfect. This makes me nervous just talking about it. But I had to see my flaws before I could go anywhere with God. It isn’t fun. It is a pain in the rear. God accepts us just as we are. Afterwards, He begins to work of us to change. When His light shines on our lives, it reveals what is there. I had things tucked away so no one could see it, including me. As God shined His light on my heart, things became visible. And I cried a lot. This is what I was supposed to do. God only worked on one thing at time. So I wouldn’t be over powered by the process. What is happening is am being turned into the image and likeness of God. A process of which is not over. Until I stand before God in heaven, the process will continue in my life. Thank God.

I was watching a movie, Sargent York, a true story. It was about a young man who lived in the hills in Tennessee. He was a hell-raiser. Until one day he almost died and he knew that God had spared him. He gave his heart to the Lord and served God as best he could. World War 1 happened and he knew he didn’t want to kill another human being. He became a consciences objector, but served in the US Army. During a battle, thousands of soldiers were being killed. Sgt. York set out to get to the top of the ridge to stop the machine guns killing the US soldiers. He risked everything to stop the killing. He killed 23 German soldiers and the rest surrendered. He captured 132 German soldiers. York was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was the most decorated soldier of WWI. When it was all over he said that he was as much against killing as he was in the beginning. The bible says, no greater love has any man than to lay down his life for another.

I went to supper at a local restaurant. When I was checking out, there was a young mother with her seven year old son ahead of me. They checked out, picked up their food and headed to the door. I finished checking out and headed to the same door. The young boy opened the door for his mother. He saw me walking right behind them and held the door for me. There were two doors to exit and he held the door for me again. I thanked him and he replied. I know his mother taught him manners. But she taught him something even more than that. She taught him to be gracious. Most people think of being gracious as something from the Old South that has died off. People flock to south Louisiana because of the friendliness of the French people. Hospitality was practiced in the Old South. But it is still practiced today. Seeing the need in another person’s life and doing something about is hospitality. It is a form of graciousness. I hold doors open for anyone. It doesn’t make a difference who they are. If there is a need, then it needs to done. The bible put it very plainly, Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

What can a single person do in the face of the world? You would be surprised how much can happen. Let me tell you a story of a small church in North Carolina. If this church had twenty people in the church, they were doing well. But the people in the church were believing that God was going to do something mighty. They had invited an evangelist to preach at their church. The deacon of the church had members of the church to pray with him each night for revival. They trusted God to move in their congregation. This story happened almost one hundred years ago. The evangelist came and preached. There were about five people saved in this revival. Some people would say it was a waste of time. But the deacon knew that God had moved and answered their prayer. Because that night Billy Graham was saved. That little church in North Carolina has part of the reward from God for the saving of millions of souls. What are you believing God for? Do you think it is worth the time to ask God to do something? God says test Him and see what He will do for you.

http://www.joseph1637.com

joseph1637@juno.com