Making a Difference in your Life, in the Parts that are for Keeps!
Advice to younger generation:
And,
Advice from 88-yr-old cousin to 75-yr-old:
“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the difficult days come,
And the years draw near when you say,
‘I have no pleasure in them.’ “
For quite some time I have realized one of the blessings of having older friends and acquaintances–
Don’t Complain—Be Thankful.
Be strict enough so it means something.
Be strict enough so you can show mercy that means something.
I’m not the only one weary of ‘finding a church ?’ and giving up.
Then what ?
Many have given up on church—many of my friends—and Sunday has no meaning different from the other days.
Many families are left without spiritual leadership and direction, when the father and husband does not step up to his God-given place in the home (that the church had served, filled, before).
Many have tasted the blessing of worshipping together as a family, with other families, and hearing simple, rich teaching from the Bible to satisfy their souls.
Then something went wrong, and they forever cannot fail to see the fallacies and pitfalls in every other church they might consider.
–
“Lord, give me wisdom to give a word of real encouragement to someone in that place.”
–
Christians, Jesus Followers, we need each other—together.
If not in a ‘church’, then let’s get together in a home.
That’s how real church started at the start, at the beginning.
Let’s start over.
It’s time.
–
And, God knows we need the break.
“The Sabbath (day of rest) was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
There is freedom in one care-free day spent with God with family and friends.
Response :
“Struggling (weary) to keep working every day—can’t afford to skip a day every week, and not work.”
Dichotomy like tithing – is it a blessing, or “I can’t afford to tithe.”
–
One Day
No Work.
No Plans.
No Rush.
No Worry.
No Hurry.
No Regret.
No Kidding.
No Excuses.
No Delay.
Nothing else to say.
D O I T ! ! !
“How are you ?”
“I’m on the way to heaven, so I’m good.
How about you ?”
“BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.”
And how long does that take ?
“YOU CHART THE PATH AHEAD OF ME, AND TELL ME WHERE TO STOP AND REST.”
And just how long will that take ?
“REST IN THE LORD, AND WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM—FRET NOT . . .”
How long ?
SO ?
“v.1-I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
v.2-He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
v.3-He has put a new song in my mouth
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.”
—–from Psalm 40
It takes faith for me to post that, in the middle of a ton of obstacles, and miracles !
After the successful mission of B-2’s and supportive aircraft over Iran, Trump thanked all the people who were part of it.
And then he paused with emotional meaning, and said, “and I thank God.”
Another brief moment—and unscripted—“I love you, God.”
W O W !
That got to me, and hits me again as I write this.
Have we ever heard that from the President, in all of American history ?
That confirms what Donald Trump already said several times, “God saved me to save America; I believe that.”
Read his two Presidential statements on Palm Sunday (posted on this site).
As this President continues to “acknowledge God’s hand” in America and in his life, “God will direct our paths.”
Every American must do likewise !
“Stay relevant by not trying to be relevant.”
—–Jenna Ellis, about John McArthur’s ministry, Grace To You
(“Jenna Ellis In The Morning” on American Family Radio 7-7-25—afr.net)
Is God fair and balanced ?
You better hope not !
– – –
If God was fair, then we would get what we deserve.
If we got what we deserve, we would be gone instantly.
If God was fair, we would all go to hell right now, because that’s what we deserve for sin, for our sin, for rebellion, refusing what God says in the Bible.
If God was balanced, we wouldn’t fare any better.
God’s balance scales are calibrated by His justice, not our ideas that His judgment should give us a break.
When we see God’s patience, and judgment seems to be deferred, and we think the delay means approval—we don’t see the end of the chapter, the end of the story.
“Do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?”
“God’s mills grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small.
While with patience He may linger,
Yet in justice He grinds all.”
But what about Jesus—wasn’t He the perfect example of fair and balanced ?
NO !
Jesus’ life and death here was anything but fair, especially for Him.
He suffered the worst, the ultimate ‘no fair’, and then offers us the best, the ultimate ‘no fair’—full payment and pardon for our sin and promise to be with Him in Paradise.
That is not fair, but it is glorious, and I heartily accept it—PRAISE GOD ! ! !
Now what about Jesus being balanced, as psychologists and scholars like to suggest ?
He criticized severely, and He forgave compassionately—sounds balanced.
If we had been there, we would have protested His imbalance.
When Jesus called out the top dog religious leaders and raked them over the coals and called them bad names repeatedly, there is not an ounce of compassion recorded.
When Jesus forgave very bad ‘sinners’ on the spot, without (outward) prerequisite conditions, the ‘good guys’ complained to high heaven that Jesus didn’t know anything that God would know, how terrible these people were.
Jesus saw the heart of repentance in these sinners, and their love for Him for great forgiveness—and He sent them on their way with a command and power to stop sinning.
Okay, here is some ‘balance’ from the heart of Jesus, with tears and with judgment.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing !”
“Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.’ “
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
“All that the Father gives me shall come to me; and he that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.”
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