ANGELS CAN’T – – – GOD WON’T

November 11, 2023 By Leave a Comment

ANGELS CAN’T . . .

Angels sent to destroy Sodom, had to drag Lot back into his house and hold back the gay mob and strike them blind.
The next morning the angels had to grab the lingering Lot and his wife and his daughters to get them out of town.
They used force to make them leave to escape destruction.

BUT, the angels could not prevent Lot’s wife’s destruction, after escaping.
Her free will prevailed—she had to look back at the good things she was leaving.
By the way, when Lot told his sons-in-law to escape with their wives, they laughed it off and perished with the city.

GOD WON’T . . .

One Christmas Eve, alone in a church parking lot (after a special greeting with a sweet three-year-old ‘angel’ in the service), I cried out to God with the ultimate “WHY?” question of my life,
“God, WHY didn’t you save my marriage, and my family ?”
God answered,
“I don’t, I won’t, override free will.”

So there you have one answer to the question of what God can’t do—or won’t do.

Filed Under: Educational, Faith Based, Family, Inspirational

LOSE YOURSELF – – – FIND YOURSELF

November 11, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Don Wildmon told the story on AFR of a man named Wright, working for the Air Force with a title, Inventory Specialist.
I didn’t write down details before deciding to pass this on.
So it’s not as clear as when Don shared it on “It’s My Turn.”
– – –
Mr. White was a very upright man.
He wrote a sincere letter to his superiors explaining why his position was not necessary and that his own job should be eliminated.
His letter went up through the channels for several months, no doubt with some chuckles along the way.
Finally it came to the top level commander, and he took it seriously and agreed with it.
Result, Mr. White’s position and job were eliminated.
Mr. White received a $1000 check for his input.

– – –

And . . . Mr. White was promoted to a Supervisor position.

It’s so good to hear when integrity is recognized and rewarded, especially integrity with humility.

– – –

Add Jesus’ words:
“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

Filed Under: Inspirational

ONE WRONG SEX – – – AND NOW THIS . . .

November 11, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Please read my recent article
CONTRADICTORY – OR – COMPLEMENTARY
I refer to things in the Bible we might not understand, and things we can understand.
– – –
I will get to the title of this article later.
But first—reality check and more encouragement for the true Christian life.

God loves us, and shows His love, and we can receive His love—and yet we cannot understand Him, because God is beyond our understanding.
– – –
What is happening in the world today is also beyond understanding, and we try to get hold of something to keep our sanity and personal peace.

Some seek and offer resolution by explanations through Bible prophecy.
I’m not smart enough or anointed enough to join one, or offer my own.

There are conflicts in this world—in life—in our life.
There are loads of conflicts in the Bible, because it tells history like it is, even with His People.
His People—Israel, the Jews.
His People—Christians, Jesus Followers.
You could say we’re stuck in this world with evil, and we’re stuck in this body and soul with its power and pattern to pull us down.
If we follow Jesus, we will have conflict—from outside and from inside ourselves.

Remember, when we accept Jesus and follow Him, we have it all—forgiveness, peace with God, heaven, promised rewards—we just don’t have everything we want, here, like understanding why so much bad stuff is happening.
We have the Truth, the Bible, with loads of promises to “fear not, for I AM with you . . .”—and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are praying for us now.
– – –
– – –
If these verses seem cliche or antithetical at the moment, so be it—they still have power in our lives:

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
“In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
“We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to those who are called according to His Purpose.”
“We’ll understand it all by and by.” (song)

And if you’re really serious,
“All who live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”

– – –

“I will serve Thee because I love Thee;
You have given life to me.
I was nothing until You found me;
You have given life to me.
Heartaches, broken pieces, ruined lives
Are why You died on Calvary.
Your touch is what I longed for;
You have given life to me.”

“Teach me Your Way, O Lord,
Teach me Your Way.
Your guiding grace afford,
Teach me Your Way.
Help me to walk aright,
More by faith, less by sight.
Lead me with heavenly light;
Teach me Your Way.”

“Thank You, Lord, for hearing me;
Thank You, Lord, for knowing who I am.
Thank You, Lord, for seeing me;
It’s so easy to get lost these days
In the shuffle and the noise.”

“God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed.
Let not my enemies triumph over me.”
– – –
– – –
And now, turning to what prompted this article, and the title—

“Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman (Hagar), the other by a freewoman (Sarah). But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh (out of the will of God), and he of the freewoman through promise (God’s promise),  which things are symbolic. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.  But, as he who was born according to the flesh (Ishmael) then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit (Isaac), even so it is now.”—–from Galatians 4

Perhaps the most puzzling and disturbing reality in today’s world conflict—Israel vs Muslims (Arabs)—is how it started, and what God said about it.

3800 years ago God promised Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son and a great nation of descendants like the stars and the sand.
But they were old, and years kept passing with no child.
Sarah got Abraham to have a child with her servant girl Hagar.
That was Ishmael.
Then, years later Abraham and Sarah had the promised son.
That was Isaac.

– – –

That one time—sex outside God’s will—and now this, today, in the headline news—all-out war between descendants of Ishmael (Arabs, plus Islam) and descendants of Isaac (Jews).

The part I can’t understand in this story spanning two-thirds of human history, is what God said to Hagar when Sarah made Abraham kick Hagar and Ishmael out (for conflict in the home).
God met Hagar in the desert when she and her son were about to die.
God told her to keep going, that He would be with them, and that He would also make a great nation out of Ishmael.
God kept His promises to her, in spite of human weakness, doubt, and sin—and in spite of my not understanding why He did so—with the results we see today.*
– – –
– – –
Can one act of sex cause this much trouble, this much hell, for this many centuries, for this many people ?
The Bible records it as it happened, then—and the news reports it as it happens, today.
Isaac’s descendants and Ishmael’s descendants—all-out war again.
No peace.

Never say sex outside God’s will can’t hurt anybody.

Consider the Truth in our own lives—how you and I must take God and His Word seriously, literally, completely, continually, in everything.

*God repeatedly raised up evil nations to punish His people for their sin, to bring them back to Him.
It worked—sometimes it took awhile.
He will do it again, and America also meets the conditions now

Filed Under: Educational, Faith Based, Family, Inspirational, Political---Cultural, Time

WHEN NOAH WENT INTO THE ARK

November 11, 2023 By Leave a Comment

“Noah went into the ark a minority.
He came out a majority.”
—–Adrian Rogers

Filed Under: Faith Based, Inspirational, Political---Cultural

WE NEED . . . IN OUR SCHOOL

November 11, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Who can we enlist to start a campaign with people carrying these three signs around my school (Temple High School), and your school, and then another school ?
– – –
WE NEED THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
IN OUR SCHOOL AGAIN
– – –
WE NEED PRAYER
IN OUR SCHOOL AGAIN
– – –
WE NEED THE BIBLE
IN OUR SCHOOL AGAIN
– – –
And, cards could be given to passersby:

“Your laws ignore our deepest needs.
Your words are empty air.
You’ve stripped away our heritage.
You’ve outlawed simple prayer.

Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question, ‘WHY?’ . . .”
—–Darrel Scott, father of Rachel, killed at Columbine High School.
Watch Darrel Scott’s testimony and poem before the House Judiciary subcommittee on crime.
– – –
– – –
I’m not good at printing signs.
I’ll go alone, but would like others to join.
– – –
Got the prayer.
Got the plan.
– – –
I’d like to know the rules for carrying signs on sidewalks, without asking for permits.
– – –
If a few people, and then thousands of people across the country, carried those three signs in front of their school, some would make the connection, and God would make the difference.
– – –
Please note my emphatic emphasis on “our school” (not schools)—that’s where change starts !

Filed Under: Education, Faith Based, Inspirational, Political---Cultural

“AMERICA, AMERICA, GOD SHED HIS GRACE . . .”

November 4, 2023 By Leave a Comment

America has indisputably been blessed by God because America had God’s Foundation on God’s Word, even before the Revolution, and we called upon Him throughout our history.
American Exceptionalism, on display for all human history.

IN GOD WE TRUSTED
GOD BLESSED AMERICA

As I was reading the Bible chapters for the previous article, SO YOU WISH THE WORLD WAS DIFFERENT, I was particularly caught by Ezekiel 20.
It is different from the chapter before and after chapter 20.
It is straightforward and clear to follow, as it reviews God’s perspective on leading the people of Israel.
And it struck me so black and white, thinking about America as I read how God dealt with Israel so severely, because He cared for them so deeply.
He would not let them go, even when they turned from worshipping Him.
He had to turn them back, to bring them back, for the sake of His Name, because He had broadcast to the world that Israel was His “chosen” of all people.

There may not be a Biblical record of America being similarly chosen by God of all nations, but there is abundant circumstantial evidence of His hand in the affairs of this country from day one.
For starters, our founding documents were inspired and written by people anointed by God with Bible principles for governing by the people, that go back long before the Declaration.
This had never been done before.
Others have eloquently reviewed hundreds of details in the rest of the American story, that have God’s handprint.

My question here is this:
After all God has done for this country, and through this country, I don’t know if God feels obligated to send what it takes that will turn us around and bring us back to Him in true repentance, like He always did for Israel ?

Then . . . He caused Israel to ‘disappear’ after nearly four millennia, and now . . .

He may, He can, cause America to disappear after nearly four centuries.
He is obligated to do something—judgment—serious, swift, complete, undeniable, unavoidable judgment.

Can God be influenced in any way at this late hour ?

For sure, we cannot expect another reprieve—like 2016-2020, which was an answer to many prayers—without a fundamental change in America to God.

Back to a similar time in history, God said He would have spared Sodom for a few righteous—50, 40, 30, 20, 10—3 was not enough.

In America today, I’m afraid we have a mistaken notion of what it means to be righteous, one of the remnant, those Jesus knows, His people, humble, praying, seeking His face, seeing our specific wickedness to get rid of.

We get used to Bible verses on sin and repentance and teaching on them, and we think we satisfied them.
But we expect to avoid anyone that gets personal about my sin and points a finger in my face and says, “You’re the man.”
Daddy did that, and people did not want to hear it, and preachers hated him, and wanted him gone, and one called on God to kill him.
It cost Daddy to speak against evil in the church, in Christians, repeating Jesus’ words.
It cost John the Baptist to confront the Jewish King Herod for his sexual sin, telling him it was unlawful.
It cost Dietrich Bonhoeffer to confront the church that condoned Hitler, finally getting caught plotting to kill Hitler.

When evil gets bad enough close to home, pacifists become activists.
When sin slaps us in the face, we say something (or do we?).
When Jesus’ words convict us, we stop laying up treasures on earth (or do we?).
When Jesus tells us to get rid of our stuff—because that’s where our heart is—in order to follow Him, do we ?

Living too long accustomed to the good things Sodom had to offer, Lot’s wife’s heart was there.
Even after God sent His angels for escape, she had to ‘just look’ at what she had to leave behind.
The cost was too great for her to leave it all, and it cost her EVERYTHING.
What is the cost to American Christians of what God is calling us to leave behind now ?
What greater cost when we just can’t do it ?

Do we think we can continue with all the good things we have going, in each of our lives, and still follow Jesus with our whole heart ?
Sounds like the deadly rationale of Lot and his family in Sodom.
They chose to live there, and they lived well there—too well, too comfortable.
We are living in Sodom—times ten.

– – –

Something has got to register.
WE’VE GOT TO BE DIFFERENT—DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT !
OR ELSE ?

God may not save America.

God will judge America, severely, now.

God will judge His people in America, for “anyone loving the things of this world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

Filed Under: Educational, Faith Based, Financial, Political---Cultural, Time

SO YOU WISH THE WORLD WAS DIFFERENT ?

November 4, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Ok, list five ways you wish the world was different.

For each of the five, list something you can do that will change the world to make it different, like you wish it was.

Now, will you do those five things ?

Will that change the world ?
Will you make the world different, the way you want it ?

Honestly, the answer may be no.
Or, you may have to claim you made a small part of the world different like you wish.
Isn’t that what everyone has to settle for, basically ?
Except for dictators and militant religious fanatics that kill to meet their wishes for the world to be different.
So far even their wishes don’t change the world for long.
But they keep trying.
And that’s why the world is shaping up for one more attempt to change the whole world to meet the wishes of ‘someone’.
– – –
There are always others wishing the world was different—but different from your wishes for different.

So, does wishing, and acting on one’s wishes, make the world different ?
In 6000 years of history the world really hasn’t changed, at least not for the better overall.
– – –
Actually, most wishing the world was different is just a chance to complain.
While some may identify with your complaint, we all quickly grow weary of bemoaning, groaning, and complaining that doesn’t do a bit of good.
Even God got fed up with His Chosen People over their grumbling (after multiple miracles of deliverance and multiple miracles of provision), and He took severe action numerous times to teach them a thing or two.
Then they came around—repented—for a little bit.
Then . . .

Their problem . . .
The problem with all of us human beings is this:
Repent is followed by Repeat.

But here is hope:
If God is involved in our life, in our heart, then there is always room for
Repent followed by Repeat followed by Repent again.

This pattern (with Israel) is related in the Bible several times, and it gives us comfort when we see our own miserable human condition, and it reminds us to take God’s justice and His provision and the fear of the Lord seriously.
We serve the same God that led the Israelites—He chose them, and He chose us by His mercy* and grace.*

Please read these three chapters, that give a dramatic review of God’s care for Israel—deliverance, provision, judgment, forgiveness, blessing, and repeat.
Psalm 78
Ezekiel 20
Psalm 106

*His mercy—not getting what we deserve from God
*grace—getting what we don’t deserve from God

Filed Under: Educational, Faith Based, Inspirational, Political---Cultural, Time

WITHOUT ME, YOU CAN DO NOTHING

November 4, 2023 By Leave a Comment

If the ‘Me’ in the above statement is Jesus, then:

“Without Me you can do nothing” means God called you to do something, as long as you don’t try to do it without Jesus”.

Filed Under: Educational, Faith Based, Inspirational

LORD, WHAT DO YOU WANT . . . ?

November 4, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Lord, what do You want me to do ?
Lord, what do You want me [to do] ?
Lord, what do You want me . . . ?
Lord, what do You want—me ?

– – –

Yes, I want YOU—your heart, your mind, your plans—surrendered to Me, so I can then show you My plan for you for today, and direct your path to do it, with freedom and peace.
Then, proceed, but don’t worry !

Filed Under: Faith Based, Inspirational, Time

WE DON’T HAVE TO COME BACK, WE JUST . . .

November 2, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Today I heard the story of a sea rescue station that answered many distress calls from boats and ships in trouble during storms.
The rescue crew had a number of seasoned sailors, most particularly the captain, and they took on new members as needed.
There was one very bad storm when a call came, and they prepared to go for the rescue.
When one of the new recruits saw the severity of the storm, he spoke of his concern to the captain, “This storm is so bad, we might not make it back.”
The captain turned to the young man, and thought of all the rescues in his memory, and calmly said, “We don’t have to come back; we just have to go.”

That is the meaning of ‘calling’ in life.
We may have some choice in what we do in this life, but real purpose happens when a calling from beyond compels us to faithfulness, amid all odds when necessary.

Stories of heroism in all walks of life inspire us to pursue our own, individual calling.
When that calling comes from God, whatever we do for our life’s work has eternal meaning, as our goal includes bringing people to know Jesus.

Filed Under: Educational, Faith Based, Inspirational
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