Memo to Robert 2

(Some thoughts on child molestation by Christians)

One of my Bible teachers taught a series on grace.

Near the end of the series he expounded on something I had never heard of at that time. He called it “Greasy Grace.” This type of grace is the responsibility of the church as they “Let it slide.”

The pervaders of this greasy doctrine are very liberal when it comes to forgiving and moving on, while leaving human wreckage behind.

What ever the case, they believe the church is to be gracious and to forgive and ignore.

This attitude is validated by the caveat of. “Go and sin no more,” but our forgiveness must be enlarged to accommodate the seven times seventy concept which virtually is to allow an unlimited number of offences to occur.

Matt.18:21-22 Then Peter came up and asked him, "Lord, how many times may my brother sin against me and I have to forgive him? Seven times?" No, not seven times," Jesus replied, "but seventy times seven!

So according to this scripture the guilty man has 489 more molestations to go.

I have grown weary of people trying to act against common sense by finding a scripture and applying irrationally to a situation.

If you are of sound mind, you will reject these who are always ready to "blame the church professors."

In the case of the man molesting a ten year old, the opinions are varied, coming down on the church to one degree or another but all declaring the church to be guilty of sin if they did not accept the man’s statement “I have changed” and receive him as if it never happened.

The problem I have with unconditional acceptance of the offender is that the offence continues with the victim, forever until GOD wipes away all tears.

The loss is permanent not a temporary issue.

The perpetrator has suffered loss and the child has also suffered a loss neither of which can be restored.

There are on going issues that can never be resolved and at best can only be mediated. The church has not been commanded to ignore them.

If the man cut off his finger and likewise cut off the girl’s finger it would be a constant reminder that an injury had occurred. Likewise the memory of the molestation/rape is embedded in the memories as long as life exists.

The repentant molester wants something that is not available to him and that is restoration. He may receive forgiveness from GOD but since the act cannot be undone, he must bear the consequences of his deed forever, because the offence cannot go away.

Repentance does not remove responsibility and repentance does not exonerate a guilty party it is merely the first step in a long process in restoring confidence in the offender.

What can the offender do? That is his problem to work out with GOD.

It is not the responsibility of the church to solve his problem, where ever they can be of help they should be of help.

I recall many years ago a Youth for Christ Director who was well liked and respected had an affair with his secretary, and because he was a leader the effect was profound. After he had been divorced and left the ministry he returned to church and he would sit in the back. The brethren were cordial toward him for which he was grateful, but he never tried to minister because his offence, though forgiven could not be undone.

The very idea that one can violate a child and then erase the damage by an act of repentance is untenable.

Saying I'm sorry is as worthless as spitting into the wind, as far restoring the child to what she was before the desecration.

Jesus was NOT as sympathetic toward child offenders as some would think.

Matt 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

MEMO TO ROBERT Part 1

Romans. 2:15 They show that what the law requires is written in their hearts, a fact to which their own consciences testify, and their thoughts will either accuse or excuse them.

The law as given to Moses revealed principles of conduct to be observed.

But added to that was the further revelation of the redemption process by Christ and by the other scripture writers.

The conversion of a man is an instantaneous process, but there is a lifetime of discovery of the fullness of redemption.

Acts.24:16 In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.

The apostle Paul saw the practice of men excusing themselves when they violated their conscience as totally unacceptable for any Christian at any time.

He set forth himself as an example; 1 Cor. 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

This is the measure by which every Christian must measure themselves, not just being a little better than what the church considers, “The sinners”.

There is the practice in the church today of acceptable behavior being a product of following other carnal Christians who allow almost anything in their lives. This is a formula for unacceptable to GOD permissiveness.

2Cor. 10:12 Oh, don't worry; we wouldn't dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!

How ignorant, this is Paul’s way of saying; “Straighten up and fly right.” The old saying; “practice what you preach” is still a good policy for this day and age.

Christians are required to “Live right and spit white,” or in other words walk according to the commands of GOD,

2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

And again; 2 Timothy 2:5 (NIV) Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.

Wages are what we work for, and our pay can be based upon several factors. It may be hourly, A salary, Or piece work, Likewise our service for GOD carries with it the expectation or a reward at the end of our shift.

Job 4:8 As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.

Make no mistake about this: You can never make a fool out of God.

Whatever you plant is what you'll harvest. While you can be forgiven for your sin, you will be rewarded accordingly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK8IXI259IE&feature=related

CAN YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST?

I was trying to remember, when was the first time I kissed my wife?  I couldn't remember the time or the place it happened. I was pretty sure there was a first time, it almost had to be, seeing as I have kissed her many times since, or at least I think I have - - sometime it is hard to remember.

Finally the curiosity got the best of me, so I decided to ask Hazel if she had any idea of when was our first kiss.  She began at the beginning, and gave me a detailed chronology of the evening, and told me when and where it happened.

According to her - - well you wouldn't interested in the details, which were boring, although it did bring back one memory, and that was for some reason I was happy about the event.

Oh yes, I will tell you one thing she did say (while refreshing my recollection) and that was, mind you, this was after I had did it, she thought. ”Wow this guy has something to learn about kissing.” “I'm glad she waited until much later to tell me that”. She took it upon herself to teach me the finer technique of  “How to kiss Hazel,” and I tried to be a good student.

Another thing I couldn't remember was the marriage proposal, (and once again she reminded me.) Since this was something I had never done before I didn't want to mess it up. I knew we were getting pretty friendly, but didn't know just how friendly she wanted to be. I was sensitive about some things, and if she turned me down, I wanted to be able to (as the Japanese put it) save some face, so I tried to put it in such a way that I could say, “It was no big deal” if she wasn't interested to that extent.

What I said was (according to Hazel) “If I bought you a (engagement) ring would you wear it?  Moments later, about ten seconds later she said, “Sure I would.”

Just in case she said yes, I was prepared. I had forty dollars which I gave her, and asked that she keep it in a safe place, until I could save up enough to get her a ring. Everything I could put aside went toward that project and it wasn't too long before we could visit a jeweler and purchase the ring set.

The old saying “Poor as Jobs turkey” fit us at this time. It was only due to the fact that family helped out, and Hazel was working, that we had a very nice wedding and reception that Thursday evening, December 1, 1949.

We left the church and finally arrived at the motel. While I was putting on my pajamas Hazel started to laugh (not at me, I hoped.) It seemed that her girlfriends had gotten into her going-away suitcase, and had sewn up her night gown at the bottom, neck and sleeves. There she sat, as I had never seen her before; trying to remove the stitches from her gown. I would tell you more about the evening, but that is all I can remember, and Hazel won't tell me anything else about it.

1Corinthians 7:33 But he that is married cares for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.

How Would Jesus Vote?

Do you ever wonder how Jesus would vote at election time?

Would he be an Independent (whatever that means) or a Democrat or Republican? Maybe the peace and freedom, or the green party?

Would he vote for Boxer, Pelosi and Harry Reid?

How about the legalization of marijuana? Would he approve?

Surely he would be supportive of the atheistic school system!

What about the men who aver; I am a Christian and then send 50,000 young men to their death with a hundred thousand more badly maimed and wounded? Surely Jesus would vote for them.

Or would He treat congress like he treated the money changers in the temple whip them and drive them out for they were not worthy to be there.

Few of us are in tune with what Jesus would do, but I fear that there are not many he would endorse in this election.

This election may be far more important than most of us realize for the Supreme Court may lose one or two members in the next two years.

One can only surmise that President Obama’s appointment would be a liberal/socialist like unto the last appointments, and change the balance of the court in favor of the liberal/socialists and their agenda.

All that is needed is to maintain control of the senate. Today we have a capitalist, socialist state.

Then our USA will be a socialist, communist state.  Ho hum.

NUTTIN NEW?

Ecclesiastes 1:9 That which has been - - is that which will be, And that which has been done is - - that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 3:15 That which has been is now; and that which is to be has already been; and God requires that which is past.

I have thought about these verses and the part where it says there is nothing new under the sun caused me to wonder what the writer meant by that.

Now as I look at my Mickey Mouse watch on my wrist it is newer than the sun dial the writer used. And when I go to the car dealer and look at a brand new B.M.W. With a price tag of $80,000.00 I believe that is newer than the donkey the writer rode.

We know for a fact that there are many new things invented everyday, and the writer also knew there were new items on the market even in his time.

But from GODS point of view there is nothing new. He has knowledge of all things that was, is and ever will be. Nothing can be invented that he has not been aware of, and that He already has full knowledge of. Someone writes a new song, GOD has heard it before it was written (and probably doesn’t like it).

Someone develops a new hybrid plant, GOD knows all about how it came be.

Someone decides to commit a sin -- God knew it was going to be done before it happened.

Because of GODS foreknowledge, our lives have already been scripted; our history has been recorded in GODS book. Our names have been written in the book of life. All that is left for us to do is to live out our lives as he has written it down.

God’s foreknowledge takes all of the fun out of sinning. Stealing leaves an empty feeling in our stomach, because GOD knew you were going to do it. Guilt is multiplied many times over when you realize you are guilty in GODS sight prior to doing the event. Unbearable stress occurs, knowing there is nothing new that you can do. That there is no act that you can perform that GOD hasn’t seen you do.

The time has come to own up with GOD, and walk uprightly before HIM. There is no use to try to think up some prayer that will impress him, for HE knows what you are doing, and the reason you are doing it.

This is why praying out of your spirit is so very important! There is no guile, no pretense just honesty before HIM. Doesn't it make more sense to live this way?

When Jesus saw Nathanael he said behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile. Standing without guile (deceit) before GOD is the only to go.

LEECHES

As a boy one of my delights was to go to the creek and catch crawfish, and use them for bait, and try to catch some perch fish.

In some areas of the creek there were rocks which narrowed it, and it would overflow on to the adjacent fields during heavy rains.

My uncle got a job - - hand carrying the rocks onto the creek bank; the theory being it would stop the flooding.

It was hard work for the rocks were heavy and when you turned them over you had to watch out for snakes.

I used to like to watch my uncle grab them by the tail and snap their heads off by using them like a whip.

I guess those were my macabre days as a kid. If my Uncle hadn’t of done that he would have had to deal with them over and over again and eventually get bit.

Something I hated about playing in the creeks was the leeches that would attach themselves to you and suck the blood from you. They were nasty critters and hard to get off. One quick way was to get a cigarette and burn them. They didn’t like the searing of their skin and would turn loose almost immediately. From that day till this I have hated leeches of any kind.

When you stop to think about it there are leeches of all types in every area of our lives, those who are blood suckers living off of someone else.

The media is one of the worst offenders. A person makes a mistake and they pounce upon them with one purpose and that is to eat them alive, and it becomes a feeding frenzy. As long as the sponsors keep paying them, they pursue with the intent to harm and harass others just for ratings and money.

There are none worse than the politicians who enjoy punishing the people through regulations, laws and taxation. This ought not to be, but because of so many leeches living off of the working class it will continue and grow worse.

The leeches that scam people out of their goods are among the worst and have become a cottage industry. They prey upon the elderly as well as the uninitiated.

Leeches abound in every area of life. They cannot be avoided for they have infiltrated even in to the churches and what is worse is that you can find them in families.

From the first time leeches attached themselves to me I have hated those blood suckers and I don’t expect to ever get over it.

THE OLE HOSS SWAPPER

In my days of yore there were several categories of what could be called rip-off characters.

Leading the pack was the used car dealers. They were not very honest even though some of them would call themselves “Honest John” or the like. You knew you had made a good deal if the car you bought would run long enough to get it off the car lot. They knew every trick in the book about how to cheat a customer. They would put gear lube in the crankcase instead of oil to quieting the engine from knocking.

Another trick was to taking bald tires and re-grooving them. Sometimes they would cut the groove all the way down to the tread and then paint it with black paint to disguise it. Another thing they used was the warranty, but if you had trouble you had to have their garage fix it. There were always things that were not covered by the warranty that cost you more than if you had taken to a legitimate dealer to have the work done.

Before my car experience I had observed my kin folks dealing with horse traders. They were the precursors of the used car dealers. In order to reduce the skullduggery of the dishonest traders, our town set up a place where you could lie, cheat and steal in your dealings. It was called the jockey yard.

Outside the yard all deals had to be as represented or the law would intervene but inside it was buyer beware. Most deals were shady but if you were smart enough you could make out okay. This is what caused guys to keeping back, when they wanted to try to beat the odds. This was a challenge, a duel of wits that guys enjoyed.

I used to like to watch deals being made and I remember one where there was a good looking mule for sale. I knew enough about “horse flesh” to do a quick check, you start at one end and go from there to the other end and lastly check the teeth.

Right off I spotted a flaw, and stood aside feeling smart and waited to see what others thought about it. 

The first thing I looked at was his eyes and knew immediately he couldn’t see.  While I knew the animal was blind I didn’t say anything because it wasn’t any of my business.

The animal looked like a fine mule and people would give him the once over and then they would move on until a guy came up and saw he was a sleek looking beast and he started to bargain with the trader. Finally there was a deal struck and money was changed. The buyer left with his new mule and after awhile he came back, extremely distraught to say he wanted his money back.

He had finally discovered what the defect was with the mule. The trader said a deal was a deal and explained what the rules of the jockey yard were. The man left leading his blind mule and feeling badly about his purchase.

When horse trading the non- professional never knew for sure if he got the best deal or even a good deal.

Once my uncle had a nice young filly and he concluded that she would only be good for riding and he needed a work horse. We knew a trader and tried to trade the filly for a large work horse. After a lot of jockeying back and forth the trader said oh, I can’t get rid of Bonnie, I’m a fool about old Bonnie. About this time we knew the deal was done we wanted a straight across deal and he was trying to get some boot, something extra.

Finally the deal was made, a straight across trade and we left feeling good about the transaction. The mare was a good work horse but one morning when we went to the barn yard there stood a colt. Bonnie was in foal and we didn’t know. When the trader found out bonnie had a colt he felt he should receive some pay for the colt for in his mind he had only bargained for the mare and the colt was a separate deal.

We felt he should get something so we gave him the horse laugh.

There have been a multitude of laws passed to protect us from the modern day version of the old horse traders but it is still a case of let the buyer beware.

These con artists are lurking around every corner seeking whom they may devour. Check out this story!
http://nchorselawyer.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/old-time-horse-traders-are-alive-and-well-buyer-beware/

THE SOUND IN THE MULBERRY TREES

REV. C. H. Spurgeon preached a sermon on 2 Samuel 5:24, on May 31, 1857, using the text "When thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shall bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.

“My brethren, let us learn from David to take no steps without God. The last time you moved, or went into another business, or changed your situation in life, you asked God's help, and then did it, and you were blessed in the doing of it. You have always sought God, but do not think that the stream of providence necessarily runs in a continuous current; remember, you may march to-morrow without seeking God's advice; venture upon a step which you will regret but once, and that will be until you die. You have been wise hitherto, it may be because you have trusted in the Lord with all your heart, and have not leaned to your own understanding.” C.H.Spurgeon

It saddens one to hear of ministries that are in trouble for whatever the cause may be. The ill advised use of money, allowing morals to slip to the level of sin, or being dishonest in some, or in all matters concerning the church.

There have been victories in the past just as David had fighting the Philistines but the need arose again for David to return to battle.

Today the church is under the strongest attack that I have known during my life time, and the church of today is having to fight a new battle against a Neo-Philistine army. The attacks are coming from many directions, and are empowered by none other than Satan himself.

Much of the media at its heart is anti-Christ and they will use every opportunity to amplify the failings of those who name the name of Christ.

False religions are increasing mightily and their gods are being accepted as the only true God of the universe. Alien people are using the laws of our land against the people of this land.

All this is discouraging to the Lord’s people for once knowing the truth, and the reality of our one true GOD the deception being spread abroad is detestable.

The message spewing from too many ministries is a message of greed designed to enrich the ministers of GOD. It is little more than a self enrichment service to mammon. They care not that they cannot serve GOD and mammon, for they have chosen the mammon and have bowed down to him.

Where is our David? Where is the new Billy Graham? Where is the man that is waiting for a word from GOD to go forth? Where is the sound in the mulberry trees that signal the attack on the haters of our GOD?

Where is the man who is filled with the spirit and power of GOD that can unite the true church into a mighty force that can be victorious over the Philistines and their gods?

Oh Lord how long?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AT7wa0tPVU

SHOTGUN HOUSE

The shotgun house at one time was very popular, if you wish you can visit the shotgun house in Tupelo, Mississippi; that was the birthplace of Elvis Presley.

These types of houses were built through out the United States, and there were many variations of them.

You entered into the front room and then proceeded down a hallway on the side, with two bedrooms on the left. At the end of the hallway there was a kitchen and the bathroom. So the house consisted of a living room, a hallway two bedrooms, a kitchen and bath.

Two of my aunts and uncles rented one of them and it was crowded.  After awhile the closeness of the two families became an irritant and arguments followed, necessitating one family to move.

My other aunt and uncle lived in this house for many years, and if they had bought it instead of renting they would have owned it.

The house was built with an upstairs and the people up there also rented for a long time. The land lord was a black woman and was glad to collect the rent for all those years, for she never did any thing to upgrade it at all.

It didn’t have a water heater per se, but it had what would now be called an instant water heater. You would light it and make sure you turned it off before it blew up, but it did put out hot water as fast as you could use it.

My uncle usually had a good garden and he also raised chickens, this was a holdover from his youth in North Carolina where he was brought up by his mother. I don’t think living in the city for most of his life ever got the country boy out of him; for ever where he lived, he tried to do a little farming even if it was only a few square feet of land. There were two children born to them while they lived there, and I’m sure they continue to have memories of the first home they knew.

There were mostly good memories of the old shotgun mansion for it took good care of whoever lived there. You couldn’t say it was a fancy estate, but yet it had a charm of its own.

It doors were always eager to welcome strangers and many took advantage of its hospitality. We learned much from the old shotgun house for even though it wasn’t the most ornate of homes it was the best it could be and gave one hundred percent of itself to all who entered its portals. What more could you have asked of it?

ME AND MASON-DIXON

In times past there was a line drawn in Eastern America called the Mason Dixon line. It was named after the surveyors who did the work. It became the source of many legal battles that the Crown finally settled in the 1700s.  Never the less it continued to be an irritant between the Penn family and the Calvert family.

There are many articles written about the Mason/Dixon line most of which have a few facts and then are self serving for whatever reason.

It is commonly thought that below this line was where segregation started and above this line men were treated the same. While it is true there were no slaves above the line, the differences between the races was strongly enforced and segregation was a fact.

As a young boy, I was traveling on a train from the north to the south and I didn’t know anything about a north - south line and I sure wasn’t curious about the radical wars that were going on.

Suddenly the train stopped at a town and all at once the train was being lurched forward and backward by some railway cars being added. The conductor came in and shouted something and all the black people rose and started to walk out the back and into the cars that had just been added on to the train.

All this made me extremely uncomfortable for I had no idea what was happening. I tried to be as quite as I could and waited and waited until finally the train began to move and once again to pick up speed.

After a couple of hours I got up enough nerve to ask the conductor what happened back there. He nonchalantly said that we crossed the Mason/Dixon line and that all the people of color (niggers) had to travel separated from the whites accordingly to the law. I looked back at the railroad cars and they were the same type of cars I was in, and I thought it was a case of equal but separate travel much as the schools were touted to be.

After that, I never thought too much about it, for I didn’t travel by bus or train very often. Some years later it was brought home about this distinction when my wife, children and I drove to Atlanta Georgia to visit an Aunt of mine.

We stopped at a gas station and my daughter ran to the water fountains, and discovered they were labeled white and colored so, precocious as she was she drank out of the one labeled colored.  My Aunt Jessie got very excited and called to her saying, “Don’t drink that water because it is colored.”  My innocent daughter replied, “No it isn’t colored, it is white.” Taking my daughter aside, I then explained a little about how some things were unusual in the South because of the difference in race.

Having lived out West of the Mason/Dixon, this experience was of some note because the only ones looked down upon out where we lived in Oakland, CA were the Portuguese.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8hhP9wbeig&feature=related

CAN ANYBODY FORBID

Many years ago I heard a story about a farmer who had worked late and had to travel a ways to get home. The mule he was riding was as tired as the man for his head was hanging down and his ears were flopping. It was a full moon night, and the shadows were covering part of the road. As they traveled along there was a stalk of corn leaning just over the fence and the ear of corn cast a shadow looking like a giant hand reaching out. When the mule looked up and saw the shadow, he made a giant leap unseating the farmer. As the farmer got up from the ground he said to the mule: “You old fool you are afraid of what you should be full of.”

Likewise many Christians are afraid of what they should be full of!

They draw back not receiving what is called by some the baptism in the HOLY GHOST. They have all been baptized by the HOLY GHOST INTO THE BODY OF CHRIST, but they draw back from Jesus baptizing them IN the HOLY GHOST.

They try to justify their reluctance by a false interpretation of the scripture. Much of this is because of the manifestation of one of the HOLY GHOST gifts. Peter had a strong prejudice against the Gentiles, his attitude was this is a Jewish gig and Gentiles aren’t allowed. GOD overruled him and sent him on a mission to the gentiles to preach the gospel to them.

At that meeting a strange phenomenon occurred in Acts 10:44-46

“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.”

Paul had a similar experience when he asked some men the question; Acts 19:2, "Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? Whereupon they answered they said, no, we have not so much as heard whether there be a Holy Spirit.”

It didn’t take Paul long to explain it to them, and for them to be baptized by Jesus into the HOLY GHOST.

“When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.”

One would wonder why some Christians reject this language that GOD has provided for Christians whereby they speak from out of their spirit bypassing their mind.

They insist on speaking from their mind so they can inject a bit of their carnality in their prayers when they pray. The extreme carnality is manifested when they write out their prayer.

Jesus looked at the form some prayers were taking and said; “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.“

When you pray, pray out of your heart instead trying to makeup some prayer that will impress GOD and the best way to do this is to pray in the language that GOD gives all who have been baptized in the HOLY GHOST by none other than Jesus himself.

This gift of the HOLY GHOST is multifaceted and those who reject it because of pride and without understanding it, are not wise.

WHEN THE CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST

As a kid I was fascinated by the chickens for their world was fairly complex.

If you only gave them a casually look you might miss many of the nuances that goes into being a chicken. They have gotten a lot of negative press and made fun of, but they have a peculiar life style.

The rooster is an amorous creature and starts early each day trying to arouse the object of his affection. The pursuit of the opposite sex is almost human like, so much so I don’t know who learned what from whom. Anyway in case you didn’t know what all the crowing early in the morning was all about, now you know.

I was warned not to get personal with the chickens when I was little and I tried to follow that advice, but to know them is to love them.

My mother had a Rhode Island Red hen that was her pet. She would bring her into the house for awhile each day, and it thought my mother was her mama. I would chase it through the house and it would flee to the safety of my mother’s lap that was her safe house. That is about as close, as a chicken could get to loving a human.

There was always a little trauma on Sunday dinner when one of the recognizable birds ended up on the dinner table but was mediated by the first bite of that fried chicken, especially with my appetite.

Then one day my uncle got a free box of baby chickens. They were free if you bought some chicken feed. These chickens were white leghorns and they all looked alike. They were better layers but I couldn’t tell one from another. It was like they were all clones. Anyway I felt better because when they graced the dinner table I didn’t know which one they were.

Other that Sunday dinner the great nemesis of the chicken was; the chicken hawk. It seemed the chicken hawk liked chicken as well as I did. My uncle solved this problem by putting up bird boxes so that the martins would nest in during a part of the year. When a hawk showed up those little martins were all over them, and kept the airways clear of those predators.

Having said too much I can only further say; if it wasn’t for the chicken I would be a lesser man for I got my education down on the farm. What has the chicken added to your life, this noble bird has done more for me than the bald eagle has or ever will?

There are many old sayings using the chicken as a vehicle like;

You can get this for chicken feed,

I go to bed with the chickens, and how about chicken one day and feathers the next, or the hen party. And how about these;

Nest egg - to save a little money each week

Scratching out a living - to earn enough to get by in life.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch

Don't put all your eggs in one basket –

Don't spend the egg money before the hen lays the eggs - don't plan on an outcome before
It actually happens.

Feather your nest - saving for the future

Hen house - large number of females living in the same house

Mother hen - very protective

Madder than a wet settin' hen - very angry

Fussing like an old hen – angry

Hen cackle – to laugh

Laid an egg – failed

Feeling like Henny Penny – one person doing all the work

Better an egg today than a hen tomorrow - a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

A hen that struts like a rooster is often invited for dinner - pride goeth before the fall

Scarce as hen's teeth - extremely hard to find

Chick - young girl or teenager

Roosters (get no respect!)

Hen-pecked – nagged

The rooster may crow, but this hen lays the egg!

Rooster games - willing to fight instead of trying to work out a problem.

Flew the coop - gone

Up with the chickens - waking early with the sunrise.

Walking on eggshells- treading softly and trying not to upset someone

Like a chicken with it's head cut off - running around with no direction

Like a head with it's chicken cut off - depressed

Shake a tail feather - get moving

Strutting' your stuff - Showing off

Strutting around like a banty rooster - showing off

Bird brain - senseless

Dumb cluck - senseless

You're chicken! - Being afraid

Sunny side up - cheerful attitude

Hard-boiled - tough attitude

Over easy - soft inside

Chicken out - not follow through

That just flaps my wattles - when something annoys you

Ruffle your feathers - something annoys you

Chicken hearted - Not brave

Chickens have come home to roost - the past is catching up with you

No spring chicken - you're old. Plain and simple.

Like a Banty on a June bug - all over you

Hatch an idea - put a plan into motion

Egg on your face - caught in an untruth

Squawking - putting up a fuss

Rule the Roost - to be the boss

Pecking order - finding your place

Cock of the walk - to be the boss

Do chickens have lips? - dumb question gets a dumb answer

Play Chicken - a stand off, who will give first

Something to crow about - exciting news to tell

Brood over it - to worry; to hover over a problem

Chicken scratch - poor handwriting

Stick your neck out - go to bat for someone else

Stuck in your craw - upset about something and won't verbalize what's going on inside you; carrying a grudge.

Cock sure - to brag

Bad egg - less than honest person; poor moral standards

In a stew - got yourself in trouble

Raise your hackle feathers - visibly annoyed

Cock and bull story - tall tails and elaborate lies

Nesting behavior- preparing a home (especially pregnant women just before a baby is due)

Hen Party – Ladies meeting

Empty nest syndrome - depression and loneliness when children leave home

Made from scratch - made from raw materials by hand

Chicken hawks - politicians who are pro-war but declined to participate themselves

Chicken lights - tractor trailer running lights

Tastes like Chicken - to describe the taste for any number of other meats

Use everything but the crow - use it up and wear it out; made due with what you have.

Hatching rooster eggs - wasting time and/or resources. The rooster makes all the noise, but the hen rules the roost!
What has the chicken added to your life? This noble bird has done more for me than the bald eagle has or ever will do.

MEMORIES

Memories are sometimes uninvited guests of our mind. I can attest to that as fact for more times than I can count, something from the past will pop up, which was far from what I was already thinking about.

Memories are like seeds scattered by the wind anchoring in where they will. They occupy and have their abode in the brain cells, waiting for some stimulus to activate them and bring them to the surface.

Memories come in so many forms; some are pleasant and when they arrive, and we experience the joy we first had by the event.

While salvation experiences vary, the truly born again one will relish remembering the moment of their salvation. The act of being transformed, and life permeating the life spirit within was so dramatic that reliving the experience is always uplifting.

The memory of firsts can be both an edifying and a hurtful process.

The first job, and the first time losing your job.

Your first love, first kiss (not your mother) first time saying “I love you” and then taking it back later because of being dumped.

The memories of regret, of doing something you wished you could erase but it can’t be changed.

The sins of omission and commission things you shouldn’t have done and could have done. These weigh heavily on the conscience, and carry with them their share of pain.

This list is very long and each event has its’ own place in the mind.

I am always amazed when something comes up out of the past that I haven’t thought of for years. For no reason it becomes to the forefront, and I relive it over again. Not all of the happening falls into place, and then I try to pull up more details concerning it, sometimes with success and sometimes not.

We try to keep the hurtful thing buried in the forgotten past, but sooner or later they are resurrected, and the bitterness must be tasted again.

Memories are a fact of life and everyone will experience them. The best we can do is to try to accentuate the positive, and eliminate the negative, and not allow mister in between to dominate our lives.

Though the past is forgiven it is still alive in our memory banks, and it is our responsibility to not allow it to dominate our present. Each day is a new beginning and you rebuild your life on the successes of the present, and not the defeats of the past.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3jdbFOidds

DOWNSIZING

For the last few years this process of downsizing has been going full blast, and has destroyed many people’s life style.

It would take someone smarter than me to define what all the issues are to cause this.

Companies that don’t keep up with the new technologies will usually fail. At the turn of the century there were many companies that refused change and soon disappeared.

Companies that made buggy whips, and lye soap found themselves either having to diversify or close up shop. The people who made these products also were faced with having to learn a new trade. Blacksmiths had to learn to be auto mechanics and the assembly line for building autos came into being.

In order to survive, learning to deal with change is an imperative.

Downsizing is affecting every area of our lives. In the 1980s the coffee companies started a trend that is in full steam ahead, and that was to reduce the size of their containers. The one pound size is now 11 ounces, the three pound is almost down to 2 pounds. The net effect of this is a price increase. Dryers’ ice cream still costs the same price but has reduced the container size 25%. This is an obvious price increase of one fourth more.

All these products have a limit as to how far they can shrink, and they have a new strategy, which is to come out with a new and larger size at an increased price and they can start the whole process over. People seem to accept the smaller size better than a price increase.

Downsizing affects everyone in one way or the other and since it has entrenched itself in our lives it could very well affect our dedication to GOD.

Our spiritual life is paramount and must needs be maintained at a high level. The more difficult the times, the more faithfulness is needed. In unstable times spiritual stability is a must for every Christian. Our daily living strongly affects our spiritual outlook for hope is a key to strong faith.

If you sense your faith is weakening it is probably your hope has faded. The psalmist faced a similar situation but he knew how to encourage himself;

Psalm 42:11 Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again--my Savior and my God!

One of the things to remember is that He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  We are far better off than those who know not GOD in every situation.

GOD doesn’t downsize his love for us, his grace toward us, and HE is not changed by circumstances on earth. HE is always the same, forever stable, He is our rock. We always know where we stand in relationship to him.

Come sing because you are happy in the Lord.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnLKyeY_fj8&feature=related

TWO WORLDS

Growing up we live in several worlds, the physical world is common to everyone.

Children live a in an additional world created by their imagination where they can’t distinguish the real from the imaginary. Some have imaginary friends they talk to as if they were real.

This doesn’t necessarily stop as we mature. Both men and women fantasize about the opposite sex. They create romantic situations with people who have no interest in them whatsoever.

In almost every area of our life the real world is comprised by an imaginary one. When the imagination starts to function it requires a new world in which to develop and expand; for if it doesn’t do this it will lose its essence and disappear.

Jesus issued a statement that was a concept that was dealing with two realities which defines the Christian’s existence;

John 17:14–15 (NIV) 14 I have given them your word and the world (system) has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

Jesus spoke of being in the world’s system but at he same time he was not part of it. He was saying he could function within this system and still not have the nature of the world which is a sin nature.

He succinctly stated that we as believers had the same separation from the world as he had.

This being true the question is “How then should we live?”

Paul realized that this was an issue in the Christians life, a paradox that the Christian must solve in order to receive the full benefit of conversion.

Paul understood that was a soulical problem and knew in order to overcome this problem they must have some instructions to help them.

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Beware of vain imaginations. Sometimes the things that we think and believe to be true are assumptions, or presumptions that we have created in our own minds.

It's very difficult to recognize truth from deception in this area. What we perceive to be true is not always what is true. These conceived thoughts begin to produce seeds of deception that the enemy has subtly planted in our minds. They are mere suggestions that over a short period of time can give birth to lies, evil thoughts, and desires.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5, "(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds :) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

It is interesting to note that when the apostle Paul talks about spiritual warfare the first weapon he mentions is casting down imaginations.

What are imaginations? Webster's New World Dictionary includes in the definition, "The act or power of forming mental images of what is not actually present." Also, "The act or power of creating mental images of what has never been actually experienced."

Therefore imaginations are unreal and dreamed up. They have not been actually experienced. The truth is that most imaginations are lies.

Part of the mind renewal process is recognizing where vain imaginations are taking us they are most always bad. Prior to the flood it states that the people on earth were controlled by "Every imagination of the thoughts of his (man's) heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5).

It would be profitable to ask yourself; do I really realize that I am in the world but not of the world and see if what you do conforms to who you are. It may be you still have some work to do, so on with the mind renewal process.

Some thoughts have been gleaned from others.

IF I WERE GOD FOR A DAY

Several years ago there was a TV program called “Queen for a day.”

Jack Bailey was the emcee, and he had his hands full with all the women wanting to be the queen.

People often want to be something special, at least for a short time.

As I considered this, the thought came to me, what if I could be GOD for a day?

What if you were GOD for a day what would you do?

I decided that my powers would have to be limited because there is a lot of stuff going that I don’t like, and I would be very harsh in correcting it.

As I thought on it my list grew longer and longer and it concerned people, places and things. According to me there are numerous problems that need to be dealt with.

People say so many things about me (GOD) that are not true. They ignore my words as if they were untrue and unimportant.

They violate my commands and they then make light of me as young children do to their parents.

I would probably give lock jaw to anyone who used my name in vain or told lies.

I might let lighting strike anyone who worshipped any false gods.

I would make a rule if any able bodied person didn’t work they would have to go to bed without supper, until they decided to change their attitude.

Fathers would have to raise their children, and care for their wives or else.

All wars would be limited to video games and be non violent.

All things that are contributed to Mother Nature such as earthquakes, storms and other destructive forces would be banned.

All bugs and germs could not harm mankind in any way.

I would do all this and much much more.

I would restore what man had prior the fall, the way it was before sin entered in for this is the way it will be once again when Jesus returns and sets up his kingdom on earth.

I reckon I’m glad I’m not GOD for a day, because I would not be as merciful as he is and I would judge this world most severely.

So you had better rejoice and be glad for HIS MERCY AND GRACE which endures forever.

KNOCK-OFFS

Knock-offs, are counterfeit or imitation products offered for sale, such as pirated CDs and many other items.

Sometimes the intent is only to fool the gullible buyer who simply looks at the label, and doesn't know what the real thing looks like. Others realize that most consumers do not care if the goods they buy are counterfeit, because they just desire to purchase inexpensive products that look like the real thing.

While these products cover a broad spectrum they are concerned with women’s products primarily. I have received a couple of gift watches with the name “Rolex” on it and I like them just fine.

Knock–offs is an industry of their own at present. Basically because people want nice things, and if they can buy a “Look a like” watch that would cost $10,000.00 for fifty dollars and only a watchmaker could tell the difference - - the choice is simple.

For many years before the present rage there have been knock-offs in the church and the practice is growing.

In politics it is profitable to be a “Knock-off Christian.” All you have to do is say “I am a Christian” and attend a church once in a while and you can’t tell them from the real article.

You find knock-offs both in the pulpit and also in the pew. Most significantly when they are in the pulpit they can do far more damage to the kingdom of GOD.

I find that the name “Unbelieving Christians,” identifies them very well; they profess to be Christian but are only a "Knock-off."

Certain denomination require their ministers to be in that category but if the minister believes doctrines that teach a New Birth experience and Holy Ghost baptism with signs following - - that disqualifies them.

I remember two ministers who were in theological seminary in Berkeley and they referred to a professor as “Our old atheist professor” who was teaching with tenure. They had some lively disputes with him.

Everything in GOD is acquired by faith and every new Christian needs to learn to walk by Faith, for that is the way GOD works.

There is a difference between professing something and confessing it to be true; Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.

Seemingly there is little difference between profession and confession but the two things are worlds apart.

So! Are you a knock-off or are you, the real McCoy.

THINGS I DON’T WANT TO DO

Everyone has a “don’t want to do list” included is having your tonsils removed.

Getting up if front of people and talking about something of which you are not sure of.

Asking your future father-in-law for his daughter’s hand in marriage.

On that subject I remember when I asked my wife to marry me, and she said yes. She then went and told her mother, who gasped and said, “But he hasn’t asked daddy.”

When I heard that, it was almost enough to make me forget the whole thing.

That wasn’t in my plans to ask daddy, but the thing I didn’t realize was that when you got married you married the whole family. Even though you might not be close after the wedding this still looms in the background. After some egging on by my wife to be, I concluded that this was the proper protocol and relented and faced the music.

This was something I did not want to do!  Her dad seemed to like me and when I finally got up enough nerve I went and asked him if it would be okay with him if we got married?  He with fear and trembling (he didn’t think I could support her for my prospects weren’t very good) said it would be alright with him.

Most of my life, “Things I didn’t want to do,” list was longer than my want to list (and still is).

I have got into some things I didn’t want to do and then had to tough it out, I will relate just one of them.

I had been working on my uncle’s farm and we had caught up so I decided to visit one of my cousins. I had no sooner got there when she asked what I was doing and I told her we were caught up for a few days on the farm. A man was standing there and she asked me if I would like to earn some money to which I said sure thinking she had some minor job that needed to be done, when she told me the man standing there needed to get his crops in and he would hire me.

The next thing I knew I was in his car heading for his place, this was not what I wanted to do but I was trapped into it. I told him I could only work for four days and he agreed to bring me back on Thursday, this being Sunday afternoon.

We arrived as his wife was setting the table and the man said; “This is my wife” whereupon I said hello. If she responded I couldn’t hear it. She put the food on the table and I was amazed at how much food she served, so many dishes and I liked it all and complemented her by eating as much as I could. As soon as she put the food on the table she left without saying anything, I later heard her and her husband say something to each other in whispered tones.

After dinner the man showed me my bedroom where I had a double bed, he then said we would rise early and get to the fields which was no problem for me as I always awake by 5 o’clock.
Early the next morning, when I got to the kitchen the wife had cooked a big breakfast and I ate all I could hold, and off we went to the fields. So far everything was great and at lunch time we arrived at the table where I saw that we had the same food we had the night before, but that was not a problem, I liked leftovers alright.

That evening after we had finished the days work the woman put the same food back on the table, left the room and we ate it again. There was a man there that was introduced to me as another worker that was going to help us, after eating I was tired and started to bed when the man said that the new worker was going to have to share my bed for they didn’t have another one.

Because I was tall I usually slept on an angle in the bed so as to have more room using most all of the bed. There wasn’t much I could say about doubling up so we went into the bedroom and got ready for bed, after I got into the bed the worker said, “I sleep in the nude.”

To me it was like a death experience where your life goes before your eyes, this was something I didn’t want to do. This stranger took off his clothes and crawled into bed and I still in a state of shocked gave him as much of the bed as possible. I slept on the left side of the bed and only used about 6 inches of it. It is amazing how little of the bed you need when faced with situation like this. The last thing I wanted to do was to touch or rub against this stranger.

I still sleep on the left side of the bed right on the edge of the bed after all these years for that night I implanted in my subconscious stay as far to the left as possible.

We went through the next day, big breakfast, same food for lunch and dinner. The third day she added a new dish along with the original food. The woman was what you might call a middling looker she wasn’t ugly and she wasn’t pretty. She was younger than the man and over the 5 days I was there she never spoke a word to me even though we were in the same room at times.

Thursday arrived and I finished the day, I had been looking forward to leaving this place and when we had eaten I said I was ready to go. He didn’t want to take me home. Without going to the long discussion about his promise to return me home he finally relented and drove me the several miles back and it was a relief to be out of there.

Looking back, that was something I didn’t want to do, but if I had a bed to myself, if the food had been new every day, if the woman had been at least social enough to say good morning or something, the hard work wouldn’t have bothered me but things were just too weird for me.

Something just wasn’t right, it was something you felt, not something you can describe.

THE SCRATCHERS

Shortly after the great depression I was talking to an old man, and while he was scratching himself he said; “Rich folks don’t want poor folks to scratch.” I was taken back a bit and I asked why not? His answer was, “It does them too much good.”

Another thing I heard farmers say; was they were scratching out a living on their place and that was about all.

Having a home place that you owned was a good feeling. Whether you made a good crop or not, many times was beyond your control. Weather was a big factor; actually it was the controlling factor.

Poor soil, bad seed, getting crops in and having a frost or being late all affected the harvest. Unless you had a big family everyone had to have some help at some time during the year, which added to the cost of the crop.

Harvest time was always looked forward to, because then you knew how good you had done this year. It was a time when everything had to be done right now. Along with the maintenance of equipment, feeding stock and shoeing horses were some of the things I learned from my uncle. I pretty much discovered how to run a farm from them and thought I might be a career farmer but events changed.

Harvest time was hot, dirty, and hard work. Different crops were harvested at different times. Gathering corn was important for it was used for feed for most all of the animals including the rats living in the corn crib.

Cotton picking was one of the least favorite things to do. I still remember the first time picking cotton. Before lunch my fingers were bleeding from the sharp thorns on the cotton bolls, and from there on it just got worse.

Today most of all that work is done by machinery and even though farming is long hours and hard work, it is far easier than when you had to follow a mule for most of the work.

A farmers day started about four or five AM and stopped late in the evening, and when he had some spare time he had to cut fire wood and do other chores.

The women had it just as hard for they were involved in everything as well as raising the kids. Washing clothes by hand, raising a garden, canning fruits and vegetables, taking care of the chickens, to name a few of her chores.

Most of the hard times people experience today is self imposed save for a few who are sickly.

This spoiled, pukey generation of today is a disgrace to humanity for all many of them know about scratching is buying a lottery ticket you scratch off. Still yet even when some do their best they have downers, and have to depend the one who is willing to make the storm pass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51_i1HAqp2o&feature=related

LEARN OF ME

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

It is possible to read the scriptures and even memorize them, and never come to the knowledge of who Christ is.

This is a process that we pursue after the new birth experience. It is necessary to learn what the will of the Lord is, and accept the yoke willingly without resistance.

Our guide the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth, and reveal what the will of the Lord is. Being yoked together requires agreement, for how can two walk together except they are agreed. The goal of being yoked together with Christ, is to become friends

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

He beheld the city, and wept over it, and said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not"

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

"Let him alone yet another year, till I dig about him; peradventure he may yet bring forth fruit."

"Behold, Judah, behold thy King cometh! But how cometh he? "Meek and lowly, riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass."

"Whosoever will let him come and take of the waters of life freely."

"Though thy sins be as scarlet, they shall be as wool; though they be red like crimson, they shall be whiter than snow”

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved; for he that believeth on him, and is baptized shall be saved; he that believeth not, must be damned."

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."—Matthew 11:28-30.

To experience Jesus as a friend is a relationship that is available to those who will obey the scripture to learn of Him. There is no greater intimacy than that which bonds us to Christ.

Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObyOYaGwv7g

TALE OF TWO MEN

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:

"Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.


And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Luke. 18:9-14).

Jesus tailored his message for the crowd who gathered around him. On this occasion there were many self righteous people listening to him.

The Pharisees were the elite among the Jews but were at odds with the Sadducees who also were Jews. They were the social engineers of their day and extended temple law to daily life by creating laws beyond the Torah.

In speaking the way he did, Jesus was looking beyond the cross to a time when right standing wasn’t attained by good works but by believing on Him.

Jesus was looking forward to a time when righteousness was imputed to a believer in him.

The publican (tax collector) was the prototype of all sinners who would come to GOD and declare, be merciful to me a sinner, Jesus response is ever he that cometh unto me I will not cast out.

Even though both of these men were Jewish believers (in the law) the one had an aura of elitism that kept himself apart from the publican.

In America the caste system is classified as upper, middle and lower class. The distinguishing marks are wealth, social standing, education, and politics.

These things carry over into the church where snobbery is an accepted practice. At the same time there is a careless rebellious attitude that prevails among some others. They couldn’t care less about their dress, cleanliness, and thrive on being offensive.

Then there are those who are caught in the middle and act as a bumper between those groups. Sad to say I have seen some preachers who were so full of themselves it is a wonder they have time for GOD, and there wives aren’t far behind. These things just make one appreciate those humble committed servants all the more.

Neither of these groups is willing to, or wants to change, so we deal with it with accommodation, acceptance, and try to keep the peace. Amen

Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X7FbYILM9o&feature=related

LOSING IT ALL

Bill Gates probably thought he was all set when he left Microsoft earlier this year.

Little did he know that the market had other plans. Gates' net worth was valued at $58 billion in September, down only $1 billion from 12 months earlier. But by the beginning of October, his net worth had fallen to $55.5 billion.

Steve Ballmer dodged an egg-wielding protester in Hungary last May. But six months later, he wound up with yolk on his face.

The economic crisis has battered the CEO's Microsoft stock holdings, knocking their total value down from $14.5 billion at the start of the year to $9.4 billion by early November.

Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have lost roughly half of their net worth since January, solely due to the volatile moves of the stock market. The pair is down $12.1 billion for the year after losing roughly $1.5 billion each in September.

While these men have lost billions it isn’t going to have the effect on them that a small family will feel due to the father losing his job. It reaches the entire world of these families, down to their food level. Loss is always relative to the circumstances and the effect it has upon participants involved.

Loss many times is the result of errors, and at other times, loss is the result of a lie.

Because of outright lies I have suffered loss and there is always pain associated with it.

An example of this is when the devil lied to eve and the result was the whole world was plunged into the darkness of sin and there it dwelt until the light of the world appeared.

It will take someone far more eloquent than I to extol the majesty of Christ, and what he lost when he came to this earth to seek and save mankind.

His leaving a sinless environment and coming into a dog eat dog world, and taking upon himself a human body with all its limitations; he experienced everything we do except the burden every man carries, and that is the burden of sin.

Then came the time when Jesus fulfilled his purpose for coming to earth, the LORD laid upon him the sin of us all. He became the sin bearer and carried it all to the cross.

In the space of a few hours he became the biggest loser of all time, and for three days he was separated from humanity. Triumphantly he then arose, sins paid for in full and was shortly fully restored to his original glory. The contradiction to his nature was ended.

I will never understand all the reasons salvation was and is being played out as it is.

There are so many questions I can’t answer such as; why didn’t GOD just start over with a new race? All I really know is; these are His rules, and this is the way GOD wanted it, and this is the way it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w3BOJ5V3nE

THE MAPLE TREE

The big house had burned down. It had been a large log house where grandma had all her children, all eleven of them.

For some reason when they built the new house it wasn’t erected on the old site which was at the crest of the hill.

The well was next to the old house, and the garden spot also.

The new house was small, only three rooms, and we had to walk a ways to get the water now, while before it was just outside the door.

The well rope broke and the bucket fell to the bottom of the well and sat there. To this day I can’t figure out why no one fished the bucket out of the well and put a new rope on it (many years later someone did that). But here we sat with no water at hand.

We had some springs where the live stock drank, but it was at the bottom of a very steep hill, and was a couple of blocks from the house.

So being very inventive we divided the springs, one for the cattle and the other for the household use. Every drop of water we used had to be carried up that steep hill.

Now halfway up the hill there was a large maple tree that became a stopping place to rest; for no one carried the water all the way without resting.

I would lay under that tree in the summer time and watch the clouds roll by. It was quiet except for an occasional mooing from some cow that had lost their calf. Many times sleep would overtake us while laying there.

Our buckets would hold about three gallons which is about two flushes of a toilet. So day after day we carried water up that hill and rested under that tree which had become like a friend.

I knew the flaws in its bark and each of its limbs how they spread out from the trunk.

About once a week we had a special day, it was called wash day when all the clothes were washed. You would be surprised how much water it takes to wash clothes for several people and how many trips up and down that hill.

This was in pre-bleach days when they boiled the clothes in a 50 gallon pot to get them white. I must say I still have fond feelings for that old maple tree on the hill for I enjoyed some respite from the hot, sultry weather beneath its limbs.

One of the popular songs in that day was; “Maple on the hill,” pure hillbilly music. For those who can stomach it. 
Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKCKtwR9-Fc&feature=related

THE BAND PLAYS ON

T’was when I was little more than a babe that I first heard the band playing and marching on. They came with cadence and were marching at the Quick March speed, their music was forlorn and dark. As they left we turned back and saw our grandmother was gone.

Some time later the band came again, the same music with its empting sound and grandfather had left us.

Again and again the band has come for all the aunts and uncles, cousins and brothers, and the band plays on.

A while back I heard the music again and a neighbor was no more. Sooner or later everyone will hear their song, the cadence, the marching feet and the blowing of the horns.

No one knows when their band will play, maybe tomorrow or even today, for there is no way to stay their play. It’s wise to be ready to meet that day for it comes upon you without delay and there will be no time to say “Lord save me”.

For some the song means a trip to paradise, for others a precursor of doom even though in heaven there is plenty of room enough for the perpetual one more.

The time will come when the band will play no more for the only sound we wish to hear will be a single note, played on the trumpet, and then;

The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

The promise of the Lord is steadfast and sure. Perhaps we shall hear the band marching a few more times before the great day but the joy of the future out shines the sadness of the present.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4OiMSx73Gw&feature=related

JESUS’S BIGGEST MISTAKE

I thought that morons were a dying species but I’m happy to report they are alive and well.

For instance one graduate from moron school wrote that Jesus’ biggest mistake was not getting married.

Theologically this would have stirred up a lot of debate for all his off spring would have theoretically been sinless, and could themselves have spawned a race of sinless people.

The writer wasn’t satisfied with that bit of moronic wisdom he further stated Jesus should have kept a dairy so the apostles would not have needed to write their books.

Today skeptics and atheists are so unsure of their belief, that there is no GOD, and that Jesus was a fraud that they concoct every imaginable theory as to why this is so.

A few of their quotes are;

"If Jesus made mistakes, he is neither the Son of God nor an infallible man. Christians are imbued with a psychology derived from a completed revelation. The firmer their belief in Jesus, the greater their resistance to new ideas, (the ideas they refer to is; there is no GOD).


“These same church-going individuals, when freed from the fetters of antiquated supernaturalism will gradually learn to serve mankind with the same devotion they now render to a misunderstood God.”


“The birth of a virgin, the visitation of an angel, the star in the East are phenomena contrary to natural laws and rest on insufficient authority for acceptance as credible. The probabilities are against exceptions in the laws of the universe.”

These arguments are old as the ones Satan used in the Garden of Eden. The people who devise these arguments are in rebellion against the authority of almighty GOD, and they continually try to convince themselves by purely humanistic methods that they are safe from the fires of Geheena. Being fear driven they resort to anything and any lies that will give them peace of mind.

Because of their unbelief even GOD’S gift of faith for salvation which is common to all men is now void, and they know a hopelessness and emptiness which is akin to death.

Mistakes, no way, Jesus faced the possibilities of making a mistake by His command, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'thou shall Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

Instead of worrying about Jesus making a mistake they should focus on the fact that they have made the worst mistake of all. Rejecting Christ as savior and accepting Satan as their lord for those are the only choices available to man.

Romans 1:21-22 Because that, when they knew (of) God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.

And so it was and so it is.

MEDICAL POT

Medical Pot:  Soon the prop 19 will be voted on.

This bill is somewhat complicated starting with the defining of pot. Whereas now you have the good pot and the bad pot.

If you can find a doctor who will give you a prescription then the bad pot becomes the good pot. With the new law all pot becomes good pot unless the local government decides some of the pot is bad pot because they say it can’t be sold in their area.

Local governments can tax it and help fund their budget but will still have to care for anyone whose addiction causes them to need special care. As I see it the making use of pot becomes acceptable to use pot anywhere you wish, driving, working, in home for adults and children. If the kids aren’t allowed to smoke directly they can at least get the second hand benefit from inhaling second hand smoke as the parents enjoy their high. Lately our presidents have been users of not only the weed but also the so called harder drugs.

Once we can get the state laws to OK Marijuana then the federal government will give in to the states rights on this matter. Then we can start to work on medical heroin, and medical coke and medical meth and medical pedophilia and medical whatever you can think of.

Some of the larger supporters of yes on pot are George Zimmer of, “The men’s warehouse,” also Fame and Dustin Moskovitz, cofounder of Facebook.

Supposedly the news papers are beginning to support prop 19.

This know also; that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;


Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived."

Can I have a witness to this happening today? Yes! A simple look at Prop 19.

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;"

A vote yes, means you are for 19. A vote No, you are against

MISTAKES

It has been said that they wouldn’t have put erasers on pencils - - if people never made mistakes.

I have already used up my quota of mistakes, and now I’m not allowed to make anymore. Looks like I am going to have to come up with a plan “B” for I feel another one coming on.

There wouldn’t be any divorces if people didn’t marry the wrong person. Some try to avoid divorce by not getting married, but that is a mistake also. Divorce is hard on the kids because you can’t erase them, they are here to stay.

Mistakes are the father of excuses and the mother of the “Blame game.” No one wants to take credit for making mistakes for they diminish the character of an individual and nobody wants that, at least not anyone in their right mind.

There are degrees of damage when making a mistake. It might cost a company a lot of money, and cost you, your job.

If a doctor makes a mistake, the undertaker might get some new business.

Recalls are the product of mistakes by someone, and are never fully corrected, someone always will suffer loss.

Mistakes, the one thing to remember about them is that they are a fact of life, and that they are in the past. There is nothing you can do to change that. If there is one thing you want to be a failure at, it is making mistakes.

All mistakes are a product of the present, while you may have made a mistake in the past and may make one in the future it is in the “now” where you give birth to them.

There are all kinds of remedies for making mistakes some sincere while others are little more than a cover up. The experts at the “Cover up,” are our representatives in congress. They are walking mistakes waiting to happen.

A season ago there was something that was popular among politicians and that was to rush to the platform and declare that I’m responsible for this mistake. It was like they were heroes for declaring that, and it added to their credibility. However when it came for someone to be held accountable for the grievous error, they were nowhere to be found. Their remedy avoided a penalty.

There is nothing redeeming about making a mistake! Just ask Satan about his mistake in challenging GOD while he was in heaven. His final end is just around the corner, and if misery loves company he will have a lot of company in the lake of fire.

I have made, and will continue to make mistakes but the greatest mistake of all, I have avoided - - and that is to not neglect my salvation.

Thank GOD for the new birth experience, I just love it - - as it is an ongoing daily happening. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlopbD-48Co&feature=related

I SETTLED FOR THAT

There have been times in my life when I didn't get what I wanted and had to settle for what I could get.

Going back a ways before I was born, my mother wanted a girl and she had to settle for a boy.

Let me tell you, that is no way for a boy to start out. She dressed me up like a doll until it was too embarrassing to endure! A real boy, dressed like a doll, a boy who could walk and talk, out where people could see him.

Finally I progressed to short pants, but It wasn't until I was four, that I began to protest about not having long pants. My protests fell on deaf ears, and I had to settle for knickers. Due to the fact that mother knows best, I didn't get what I wanted and had to settle for what she wanted me to wear.

When all the other guys got Levi jeans my mother bought the cheap-o brand and I had to settle for that.

When I wanted my family to stay together, my dad split, and I had to settle for that.

I wanted an education beyond the eighth grade but I had to settle for that.

When I wanted a Cadillac, I had to buy a Ford and settle for that.

There have been hundreds of things I wanted and had to settle for less, far too many to mention.

But when I wanted a wife - - guess what? I got the one I wanted, and I have kept her, and plan to keep her, because sixty years is not enough for me.

It’s amazing how getting something you want and need can make up for all the disappointments in life.

I wanted some good kids and I got them.

I wanted a nice house and I got it.

I wanted to receive Christ and be born anew and I did with no regrets.

I can say with the Psalmist,
Psalms 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusts in him.

Yes, I taste and taste over and over again and it gets better with each bite and I will settle with that.

GOOD BAD AND UGLY

The Good Bad, and the Ugly!!

There are other words that could describe the life of an individual such as lucky, unlucky, and unfortunate.

No matter how you describe your life, it is a complex existence.

Most lives are a composite of the good, the bad, and the ugly. It affects some to a greater degree than others.

These factors are easy to personify and view them as forces with a mind and will of their own, things that act either to do us good or evil.

We read and try to believe biblical scriptures like; Romans 8: 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

When things are going good, it’s yea, right on, but when things are terrible we are bound to try to find an explanation for “What’s happening?”

We think; my faith is being tested, or I just can’t see the whole picture, either of these may be true. It is not time to rush to judgment but it’s difficult to sustain faith when these ”all things” come crashing down around you and smothering you.

Then there is Mr. Ugly! He shows up at the most inopportune time, and his portfolio is to demean you in every way possible. At work he will try to destroy your testimony and define you as an incompetent, and unable to do your job properly. At church they expect more of you than you can do. and the results are a loss of confidence and respect for you.

Mr. Ugly wants to cause you to lose your mind set of, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and give you a defeatist attitude. Much of the bad is a result of what he has done to you, for he wants to control every area of your life……if you will let him.

What to do? I wish I knew all the answers, but what I do know is there is a lot more good in my life than bad or ugly. And if I stay in control and do not let outside forces control my life and decisions, then most of those negative things will not come into fruition.

As Christians we think we deserve to have a perfect life, but if you read the Epistles you will find the Christians of that age had to be so rooted in their faith they were unshakeable. It didn’t matter if it was good, bad or ugly they had a “Bring it on,” attitude and their mind set was; Roman’s 8:37 Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gN1YCbPT04&feature=related

PROTECTING MY TURF

My name is Blanch Martin, while I won’t reveal my age; but I will say I can remember when Roosevelt was president.

I waited until I was almost thirty before I got married, and by then the pickings were pretty thin. Anyhow I figured I got the best of the lot that was left. Right off we had our three kids, and finally we got them out of the house for good. I reckon I like them alright sometimes, but they were more like their father than me, and that was a downer.

My life hasn’t been my own, but that is the way it is when you have a husband and kids. Things have improved since the kids left, now all I have to put up with is my, for better or worse husband. One thing I can say about him is he worked hard and long hours, seems like he never was in a hurry to get home for some reason.

He seemed to make a lot of mistakes during our marriage but I was always there to straighten him out. For some reason he didn’t seem to appreciate my help like he should have. As I was saying we saved up our money, and now we have a comfortable retirement, and it appears he is satisfied but he hardly ever talks. I figure he don’t have anything to say so I leave him alone.

Now, I have been noticing that when we go shopping that there are a lot of these old women looking at him, and trying to get his eye. They have a hungry look and I believe that most of them are divorced or are widows.

This is not my imagination it is happening all the time. Just today there was one staring at him. She wouldn’t take her eyes off him so I stepped in front of him and gave her the dirtiest look she ever received before. I continued to stare her down till she moved on.

I watched her and ever so often she would glance over her shoulder, and peek to see if he was looking at her.

When we got home I gave him what for, and if you can believe it, he claimed he didn’t know what I was talking about.

I know these old women and all their tricks inside and out, and if they think they are going to move in on my turf they are mistaken.

One thing that has happened since this has all taken place, and that is I have taken another look at this old man of mine; because maybe these women see something in him that I don’t see.

While he doesn’t seem like much to me at least he is mine, and I’m not going to give him up.

I think I have got him straightened out now although he still claims he doesn’t know what I’m upset about, and I guess I will have to believe him - - for he could be that dumb.

THE LOOPHOLE

I recently heard a pastor relate a story about W.C. Fields when he was dying. A friend came by and saw him reading the Bible, which was something he would never do. His friend asked what he was doing, and he answered, “I’m looking for a loophole”.

I am amazed that people will try almost anything to escape the pains of hell, except the only true remedy available to them which is the salvation provided by Jesus Christ.

Some consider themselves too intellectual too accept “the Bible way” to heaven. In reality they are not smart enough to recognize the truth when they see it. Those who reject Christ either consciously, or in their ignorance will go through life groping in the darkness for that which can satisfy the emptiness within.

When people try to play mind games with GOD the best they can come up with is empty rhetoric. They talk and listen for the echo to repeat their nonsense and thereby be edified with their own foolishness.

GOD is many things, so many are HIS characteristics, which are too many to number. HE is patient; otherwise man would have ceased to exist eons ago. Along with his patience is HIS grace and mercy. These are what we cling to most of all, for we are admonished to come to his very throne room and make our plea directly to HIM.

Psalms 8: 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

A greater question is “Why is man?” What is our purpose for being? I believe the answer is; GOD is developing a society of righteous people who by freewill have chosen to be his children. His desire is a people who can be in his presence without any ulterior motive, other than to worship and adore HIM.

This can only be accomplished one way, and that is through Jesus Christ. His declaration, “I am the door,” bespeaks of entering into GOD’S kingdom through Him.

Religions are a dime a dozen, all claim to have some kind of eventual reward but their problem is they are not: “The way the truth and the life.” All their claims are a waste of good air. Christianity is called the “Know so salvation,” to know so, in the spirit, soul and body.

Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDnV_Nix1Qo&feature=related