BARTERING – – – IT’S A DEAL – – – OR NOT ?

Bartering for food !
Bartering with no cash !
Bartering with no laws ?
Bartering with no rules ?
Bartering for survival ! X

Bartering in the good old days !
Bartering—pioneer doctors accepted whatever people had for ‘payment’ !

Bartering for what’s really important X
Bartering for faults X
Bartering for forgiveness X X
Bartering with God X X X
Bartering with God—on His terms ! ! ! !
Bartering for sin X X X
Bartering with the devil X X X

Bartering with debt ?
Bartering “owe my soul to the company store” X
Bartering “own you ?” X

Bartering—all is negotiable ? ? ?
Bartering—everything has its price ? ? ?
Bartering—everyone has his price X X X

Bartering for inheritance ! ? X ! ! ? ? X X

Bartering with self to make decisions ?
Bartering with self to justify X

Bartering on the internet ? ! ? X
Bartering with AI X X X X

Bartering with extremist terrorist, shiite muslim religious leaders ruling Iran X X X X X X X X X X

TRUST IN THE LORD

Have you ever had someone tell you to “just trust in the Lord,” and yet you felt they didn’t catch much of sharing in your burden or pain ?

Between Christians, when one of us is hurting, is it our job to fix their problem with Bible verses—or—show them we care so, ‘for real’, that they know some of their burden is lifted, because it is shared ?

Indeed, both, but not the first without the second, first.

GOD IS STILL ON HIS THRONE

God is STILL on His throne.
As though it seemed for a time that maybe we couldn’t see it.

GOD IS ON HIS THRONE

because

GOD IS – – – “I AM”

Always was
Always will be
Always IS

No thanks to us,
Except
We can reject Him from the throne of our life.
Or
We can let God be God in everything.

? I AM CONTENT ?

Paul didn’t boast about being content.
He boasted about his afflictions, and listed them (long list).
And then he said, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”
He lists the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Paul also said it’s so much better to die and be with Jesus.


Been a couple roughest weeks of my life—rough month !

When I pray, “Lord, take me home”, can I be content ?
Actually, yes.
For the first time in my life, I’m ready to let go of everything here.

And then I pray, “Lord, if there’s something else You want me to do here, I’ll do it.”

“FLEE YOUTHFUL LUSTS”

Ok, lusts can be very strong (strongest?) in youth.

FLEE YOUTHFUL LUSTS

– – –

What about lusts in adulthood ?
Does temptation get any better ?
Actually, temptations get better at what they offer, and opportunities for the first time.
So,

FLEE ADULT LUSTS !

– – –

What about lusts in middle age ?
Does temptation get any better ?
Same answer.
So,

FLEE MIDDLE AGE LUSTS !1

– – –

What about lusts in senior years ?
Does temptation EVER get any better ?
Don’t count on it.
Fight it harder than ever.
So,

FLEE SENIOR LUSTS !

– – –

“Fight the good fight of faith, and in the end receive the salvation of your souls.”

“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.”

ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD

And, sometimes, He let’s us see that.

The promise is not that we will always see all things working together for our good.

We do not have to create something, or condition ourselves to say something, to show that God is working things for good.

You see, we want the puzzle pieces to fit in our timetable and in our field of view.

“We know” even when we can’t see.

“We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

GOD’S MILLS . . . SLOWLY

“God’s mills grind slowly,
But they grind exceeding small.
While with patience He may linger,
Yet in justice He grinds all.”

FEAR OF THE LORD

Fear God Now
Surrender
Confess
Accept
Serve
Him

FEAR GOD THEN
TREMBLING
TOO LATE
FOREVER
H E L L

RUNAWAY(S)

1-Runaway train of _ _ _ (fill in the blank, add to the list)
2- Runaway kids
3- Runaway spending
4- Runaway debt
5- Runaway technology
6- Runaway inflation
7- Runaway crime
8- Runaway protests
9- Runaway violence

10- Runaway power
11- Runaway passion
12- Runaway screen speed
13- Runaway temptation
14- Runaway pornography
15- Runaway sex addiction
16- Runaway sex trafficking

17- RUNAWAY CONTROL

18- Runaway fear
19- Runaway anxiety
20- Runaway disconnection
21- Runaway uncertainty
22- Runaway information worship
23- Runaway self worship
24- RUNAWAY EVIL

It was #12-“Runaway screen speed” that triggered me and got this list started.
Almost everyone recognizes that too much in our world is going too fast, but nobody can afford to do anything about it, even if we wanted to.
We can’t get off the merry-go-round that’s spinning faster and faster—we could get hurt—we would lose just about everything.

So we don’t talk about it—a worn-out topic—we’ve got to keep going.

A few people have their niche carved out, their oasis in their week to slow down and be normal.
The rest of their time, and the rest of people, continue to fuel the race to go even faster.
Just watch I-35 for awhile (oxymoron—race track with speed limits)

So, normal is not the list above.

So, how much faster can we handle ?

So, what is the human speed limit ?

Has man ever been here before ?
Crime ? Yes
Evil ? Yes
Sin ? Yes
Information ? No
Consumption ? No
Speed ? No
Communication ? No
Knowledge ? No
Expectation ? No

WISDOM ?
RESPECT THE OLDER ?
VALUE THE PAST ?

I may be the only one—or one of only a few–
— who grew up without tv
— who does not have tv now
— who considers that an asset, a blessing
— who can look at all the Runaway everything engulfing us everywhere around us— engulfing us like a tsunami—and not be swamped by it
— who can be distressed by it, yes, but not engulfed by it
— who does not participate in the high speed ‘competition’ (like watching I-35 traffic differently – read RELIGIOUS RITUALS on this website)
— who wants to talk about what’s happening with all the Runaway speed
— who can look at all this differently because “I have to”, because “I can’t compete”, because “I’m too old”, BUT that’s not all . . .
— who may be too old, too slow, too over the hill, BUT that’s not all . . .

I have some wisdom–

  • from 75 years
  • from Daddy
  • from God
  • from the Bible
  • from stuff I’ve been through . . .
  • . . . “through many dangers, toils, and snares . . .”
  • from Amazing Grace—
    “grace that brought me safe this far,
    and grace will lead me home.”

I write because I believe this wisdom can be “making a difference in your life in the parts that are for keeps”.

There’s more to my writing than warning about the impending, inevitable crash, from going too fast.

We’re missing what can only be gained slowly—and we don’t even know what it is—‘the old school’ (enter “PIONEERS” in the search bar above).

FAITH – – – WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR ?

What is your faith good for ?

What difference does your faith make ?

What do people around you know about your faith ?

Does your faith make waves ?

Should your faith make waves ?

Is Jesus satisfied with your faith waves ?

Is the devil satisfied with your faith ‘waves’ ?

Are you satisfied with your . . . ?

Are you a comfortable Christian ?

–

COMFORTABLE CHRISTIAN ?
Unbiblical Oxymoron !