What Voice Are You Listening To?

 Friday, March 7, 2014

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life" (John 5:24)

Hey Gang: Did you ever literally have another person’s life in your hands?  Where a mis-spoken word could lead to their demise?  I have.  As an air traffic controller, on any given shift of work I held more than a hundred aircraft filled with people in my hands; one missed communication could have placed one, or more, of these aircraft in a life- threatening position.

 One night, while working at the Selfridge AFB Rapcon, I was idling away the remaining hour of my shift by tinkering with the long rang radar scope that allowed the Ground Controller at another facility to line the aircraft up with our radar and thus land the aircraft safely.  As I tinkered, I listened to the ground controller give instructions to the pilot. But, I noticed there were two aircraft taking her instructions.   The direction finder soon proved that she was also giving instructions to the wrong airplane.      

   A call soon corrected the problem and the aircraft was safely vectored to his home base.  The pilot thought he was following the instructions that would lead him to safety, but without immediate corrective action, the T33 would have soon run out of fuel and fallen far short of his Rehoboth (home base). Do you see the analogy painted here?  We may think we are following the right path when, in reality, we are slipping further away from the Lord. 

 Moses gave us the formula to remain strong in the Lord and not be subject to following the wrong voice when he wrote, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  These words which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in our house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deut.  6:5-7). 

 Soooo, my young friends, unless you feed your heart, soul and mind with the things of God and stay in constant communication with Him, you may choose to follow the wrong voice.  In His teaching on what is to come in the last days, Jesus said: Be not deceived". (Matthew. 24:3).  If He were standing beside you this morning, He would still say, “Be in My word and be not deceived. Listen to His voice.

Blessings.

Gramps

PS So very important today when we hears voices on the Media, so much other communication. phones full of blogs, etc.    – It is important to check it all with Gods Word and direction.

 

Do You Feel Like You Are In God's Shaker?

 

Monday, March 10, 2014

Hey Gang:  The writer of Hebrews wrote these words, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.”  Yet once more,” denotes the removal ofthose things which can be shaken, as of created things so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.  Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.  (Heb. 12:26-29).

  James wrote, “Consider it all joy when you are in the shaker knowing the testing of your faith produces endurance and endurance the perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing”  (James 1:2-4 Hainley rendition).

 Yes, my young friends, we are going to go through increasingly more difficult shakers as the end of the Age of Gentiles, described so clearly in the Prophets and Revelation,  The writers of Hebrews and James also knew that, but they also had the words of Jeremah in their computer banks.  Notice the power verse in Jeremiah 29:12 where God said, “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” 

 As I little twerp I dreamed of the days when I could make my own decisions and do what pleased me.  And then that day arrived, and I walked into the world of reality.  The Amish have a saying that goes like this: "To quick old and too late smart!"  I have learned the wisdom in that statement a thousand or so times - each time I think I have the answer and tell God to take a hike that I can handle this "back-against-the-wall experience.  My life has consisted of a never-ending line of peaks and valleys, some top-of-the-mountain times when I allow God to be in control, and the drudgeries of the valleys, when I say, ‘okay I will take it from here.'

 In the past several weeks I have encountered some new valleys.  It is common to hear people refer to the older years as the Golden Years.  I have modified that to say Golden Years for the medical profession.  I have always been super blessed with good health but in the past several months my body has been sending me messages that my four score years is catching up with me.

 There are new aches and pains, new infirmities which gives me the right to grumble- right?  No, when I feel like doing that I turn by attention to those restricted to wheel chairs or life threatening conditions and I say, "Thank You Father for the wonderful gift of health!”   

  Soooo my young friends, when it feels that God has you in His shaker turn to Isaiah 25:1 and shout to the heavens,  “O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness". Having a tough time? Find someone that is worse off than you and bless them.

Blessings,

Gramps

Do You Do It To the Least of These My Brethren?

 Monday, March 17, 2014

"But love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men"  (Luke 6:35). (NASB)

 Dr. Luke followed this power-packed verse with another power-packed verse that has been engrained in my heart and life: "Give, and it shall be given to you.  They will pour into your lap a good measure - pressed down, shaken together, and running over, for by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”  (Lu. 6:38).   

 Hey Gang:  I came across this neat, but very understandable, explanation of the difference between heaven and hell- this is only a story!!

A holy man was having a conversation with God, one day, and asked Him to show him heaven and hell.  God led the Holy man to two doors.  The holy man opened one of the doors and then looked in.  In the middle of the room was a large round table which a fantastic pot of stew that made the holy man's mouth water. 

 But the people sitting around the table were thin and sickly; they appeared to be famished.  They were holding spoons with very long handles which were strapped to their arms. Each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons to their mouth.  The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.  The Lord said you have seen 'hell'.

 They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.  There was the large round table with a large, fantastic pot of stew, just like the one before, which also made the holy man's mouth water.  The people were equipped with the same long- handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. 

 The holy man said, "I don't understand". "It is simple," said the Lord. “Entering heaven requires but one skill, (different from accepting Jesus) you see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.  In other words, those in heaven, having received Jesus, were focused on the Golden Rule: ‘do unto others as you pray they will do unto you’.

 In the very early years of developing the Village, making budget was always a very tough chore.  God supplied but did not spoil us with a dime more than we needed!  It was time when I learned that sacrificial giving was very difficult for many folks, including myself.  Coming out of the depression, the son of a coal miner, I tended to have a fear that if I gave it away, I would come up hungry. 

 And then a dear elderly lady, who resided in a local nursing home, taught me a wonderful lesson. She sent me a very special gift, three dimes, a nickel and two pennies, I knew this is what she had left after taking care of her financial responsibilities.  One thing I have learned, in my sojourn on this earth, ‘you cannot out give God!’

 Soooo, friends and neighbors, remember when Jesus died on the Cross He was thinking of you (John 17:20). When He defeated Satan and rose from the grave, He was thinking of you. When He ascended into the heavenlies and sat down at the right hand of the Father, you were on His mind and He now is your intercessor and one day, soon, He will hear His Father say – ‘time, go for it’.  Soon, He will come and collect all those who love Him as Savior and Lord and are committed to Him totally.

 Blessings,

 Gramps