Renewing Your Mind – An On Going Project

“A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel” (Pro. 1:5)

Hey Gang: One day as I was traveling to make a speech, I asked God to give me something new, vibrant and alive that I could share with the group.  Shortly,  I stopped at a Burger King  and noticed a movie promo advertising Star Wars that had the following saying on the bottom, “Your choices, determine your destiny”. 

That hit my hot button.  Continuing my travel I sensed God saying to me “There is a prerequisite to that statement that is the driving and determining force, “Your VALUES determine your choices and your choices determine your destiny”.   

What you think determines what you do?   The mind is a terrible thing to waste.  No kidding!  But mere knowledge isn’t going to remedy the situation.  A lot of brilliant people have done some pretty stupid stuff.  Our minds don’t need more information to get it right.  The Word says, “Our minds need transformation”. (Romans 12:2)  The only one who can enter our hearts and transform our minds is God.

I have been struggling with a problem recently and finally threw in the towel and said, “Okay, God, I give up.  I know I cannot get this thing straight in my head.  And I believe God’s response was  “Wow”, “I can’t believe it – you are finally getting smart.”  Why don’t you just relax and do it Paul’s way, as found in Colossian 3.  "Die to self, put off those things that are offensive to God, fill your heart with the gifts of the Spirit and then relax and let me handle the problem."

When dealing with the alligator-up-to-the-arm pit problems that come into our lives far too often, do we not seek solutions to those problems in our human strength?  Unfortunately, we all, too, often find our solutions with a 'sorry Charlie', attached to them. 

Jesus was very clear when he warned, “If you do not fill the vacuum in your chest cavity that is just the size of God,  Satan will tromp with his hob nailed boots.  Self-help books or guru’s are not going to help, hard work is just what is says – hard work.  There is only one way out of the closet of pain and agony – Father God! 

Soooo, good buddies, God must change our minds in every detail (don’t expect it to happen over night – it takes time)  You aren’t a passive part of the mind  renewal process.  First, you must invite Him to do His work.  Then, once you have “learned the truth that is in Jesus….there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes” (Eph. 4:21/23).   Paul made it very clear in  Romans `12:2 “But let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”

Blessings,

Gramps

Ambition Can Determine Your Path

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.  For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? (Luke 9:24-25).

Hey Gang:  I have learned, in my sojourn on this earth, that “if” (there is one of those little words  you need to pay attention to) you want to have a life filled with joy, peace and comfort,  then give your life away to God. 

I have heard it said that this person or that person has a lot of potential, yet they do not succeed or develop that potential.  So, I have modified that statement by saying there is a prerequisite to developing potential – ambition.    Ambition is natural and is the catalyst to developing potential.  There can be no success without getting up from our lounge chair and developing the God-given talent that He gave us.

Do we not all want to succeed, have a happy family life, friendships, financial security and good health?  In other words, do we all not want want a great life?

In our Scripture of the day, Jesus taught about the great irony of ambition – He said, “You have to lose your life in order to gain it”.  This places you in the choosing mode; you must answer the question, is my physical life more important than my eternal soul?

 Jesus taught that gaining everything on earth – all those things that are supposed to make us happy - will still leave you emotionally bankrupt, if you don’t have a spiritual relationship with God.  God wants you to live with ambition and purpose, but He doesn’t want your focus to be self-centered and self-directed.  Let God be your priority.  Jesus' counsel to his children is- “IF” you let living in His Kingdom be your ambition, you will find the peace that surpasses understanding.

Recently, I watched the professional football draft.   Thirty two young men became very rich, very rapidly.  Now, if you would ask them, money was not the driving force but rather their love of football.  That may be a driving force today, but when it comes to contract time – that suddenly changes and greed becomes the driving force.  But I also suspect there may be a wee bit or 'power' connected to the attitude of the super stars of this world.

I also suspect that the bangles and beads of this world often becomes the driving force in our lives, not loving God, and our neighbor as our selves. Many miss Jesus' warning, “What profit is there if you gain the whole world and lose or forfeit yourself.”

Soooo, my young friends, today the news reported that a young man, who had all the potential in the world as a football player, developed that talent to the point where he became a Hall of Fame type linebacker, killed himself.  Perhaps he never heard that Jesus “..is the way, and the truth and life, no one comes to the Father but through Him”. (John 14:6

Fresh Outpouring of the Holy Spiri

A truth to get your ticker ticking this morning “When God breathes the breath of His spirit, everyone knows He has come”.  Luke put it this way, “And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting”

(Acts 2:2).

Did you ever stop to think about what must have gone through the heads of the disciples when “There appeared to them tongues as a fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the spirit was giving them utterance.“  (Acts 2:3-4).

This they knew!  He had arrived!  When God breaths the breath of His Spirit everyone knows He has arrived.   Wow, is that not awesome.  According to Luke,  the coming of the Holy Spirit was as a “sound from heaven”

   

Did you ever wonder what the sounds will be like when Jesus comes on His stallion to take back what is His?”  The Village once had forty horses, including twelve Belgians.  One day we were blessed to have a dust devil set down in the far corner of the pasture. That immediately got the attention of each and every horse. I will never forget the sound of those forty horse running from one side of the pasture to the other, and feel the very ground shake as they ran.  

Something else happens when Holy Spirit comes, He shakes up everything in sight.  At

Pentecost, the religious rulers in Jerusalem were upset and deeply concerned at what they saw taking place among Jesus' followers and tried shutting down the effects of that mighty blast from heaven. 

But, the Holy Spirit moved on Peter anointing him to say, “You can threaten us and jail us, but you cannot stop the mighty wind that is blowing through the land.  You can command us to shut up, but we cannot stop speaking.  God has breathed upon us, anointing us, and we have to speak the words He has given us”.

Soooo, young folks, keep in mind that Malachi informed us there would be “former rain” and “latter rain”.  Outpourings of the Spirit are described by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the minor prophets. Malachi also offers proof that the greatest work of the Holy Ghost – the Latter rains, is happening right now, in our generation.    How we need to pray that God will give us the boldness to be as Peter and speak the words that He has given us.

Blessings,

Gramps

A Commandment with Promise

Keeping Jerusalem United 

3000 years ago the Jewish King David established his capital in Jerusalem. To this day, no other nation can claim a stronger historical or spiritual connection to the city. No other nation has preserved religious freedom for all that live and worship there. It has never been the capital of any people group besides the Jews. Yet, in 1980, when Jerusalem was declared the capital of the reborn State of Israel, the Embassies of the world relocated to Tel Aviv. That's when the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem was born: to show Christian support for Israel's sovereign claim to an undivided Jerusalem. Three decades later, that support is needed more than ever

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord Your God gives you.” (Exodus 20:12).

Hey Gang:  I mentioned in the last morning message that I had done some serious black pot cooking.  I might add the beans, and ham and salads and fresh baked bread with strawberry jam was fabulous. 

Black pot cooking requires your personal attention throughout the cooking process.  The key to successful black pot cooking is to control the heat.  If it gets to hot, it burns the bottom of what you are cooking, and if not enough heat, the obvious result is a underdone end product.  That is part of the enjoyment of black pot cooking, for it makes one stop the business of the day and get a good book and sit back and patiently wait for the finished product.

But this time was different.  For some reason my dad was the focus of my thoughts.  I want you to know I loved my daddy, but as a boy growing up I did not believe my daddy loved me.  I used to think he was an angry man, but as I have grown older I believe my daddy was really a frustrated man. 

He was not  school educated,  but he certainly was a self taught person who could literally fix anything and everything, but, as I think about his life, I realize how frustrated he was because his life was filled with failures and disappointments.

He married and started his family during the tough depression years.  The only work he could find was as a coal miner.  They tell me he was a good coal miner and worked hard to be productive, but one day an accident ended his coal mining years.  He and mom then opened a bakery and just as it was beginning to thrive it burned to the ground.

He then went to work for a bus company as a driver and life seemed to stabilize for him but, one day tragedy struck again – the company went out of business- and, at age 57 he lost all of his retirement.  But once again God provided and he was able to find work as a school custodian in California. 

I do not recall ever sitting on my daddy's lap, or him spending undivided time with me.  I do not recall him ever telling me I had done something well.  I don’t recall him ever saying much of anything to me.  But God does move in mysterious ways.  When he was in his final years on earth he contracted the hideous disease, Alzheimer’s. We cared for him in our home for those final years.  One day, I was doing the dishes and felt his presence behind me.  He said, Kermit, I want you to know that I love you.    I waited more than sixty years to hear that.

Soooo, ladies and gentlemen, my counsel to you this morning is keep the faith and trust that God will give you the desire of your heart.  It may take sixty years, but He is faithful and true to meet our inner most needs.

Blessing,

Gramps  

Let Me Cry With you

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both n Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even in the remotest part of the earth.”  (even in Michigan)  (Acts 1:8).

Hey Gang.  This was a fabulous day.  It was warm, the sun was out bright.  It was just about perfect - weather wise.  It was a great day to get out the black pots and do some serious over the fire cooking.  Soooo, we dug out the Carncross recipe for his famous Maple syrup beans and cooked a couple pots of beans and then cooked a pot of chicken stew and finished it off with cooking and flavoring a ham.  All this while grand ma set a batch of home made bread. That, when covered with grand ma’s famous frozen strawberry jelly, is the perfect topper to a perfect meal.  Now I ask you, are you not licking your chops?

It was always great fun when we camped in the Teton Mountains, set up camp with the black pots, skillets and all the cooking utensils, and watched the faces of the hot dog and hamburger brigade as they walked by.  The aroma of ribs cooking over an open fire, and the smell of baking bread soon brought a crowd of people who wanted to know what we were doing.  And there was always the taste test with the oohs and aahs. 

It was a wonderful opportunity to meet people and even get into serious conversations that often lead to what was going on in their lives.  But isn’t that the way God works?  The church and corner soap box preacher are important cogs in God’s redemption wheel, but I suspect His main focus in reaching the lost is the folks he sends across our path each day that need to know there is a Savior who loves them and wants to come into their lives and sup with them.

I love the story of the grumpy old neighbor that complained about everything.  And then one day tragedy came into his life, his bride of many years was killed in an accident.  After her death the old man just sat on his porch and rocked in his rocking chair.  One day, the young six year old lad, who was often the recipient of the old man’s complaining, went up and crawled up in the old man's lap and sat with him for a spell.  When his mom asked him what he said  to the old man, the young boy said, "Oh nothing, I just cried with him".  

Soooo, my young friends, our world is filled with people who need to have someone come up and sit in their lap a spell and let them know we feel their pain.  As I read the 'red' in my Bible, I find that Jesus spent His time on earth sitting in people's laps and telling them, 'I have prepared a way through the wildernesses of life for you.  Fear not.  Just trust and obey!'

Blessings,

Did You Complete Your Task?

Holy Land Picture of the Day

Israeli fisherman Today's picture is of an Israeli man using a centuries old traditional hand held net to fish in the Sea of Galilee. It reminds us of Jeremiah 16:16;  "Behold, I am going to send for many fishermen," declares the LORD, "and they will fish for them; and afterwards I will send for many hunters,  and they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks" "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and do not lean your own understanding.   In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight" (Ps. 3:5-6)  Hey Gang:  I was never very successful in talking to my Wing Commander brother Del about the Lord until I happened to mention that God's world kind of centers on flying.  The Bible is filled with the stories of flying, Paul flew to the third heaven, Michael and Gabriel earned many frequent flyer miles but the one that seemed to get his attention was stories about birds.   Isaiah gave us a wonderful  and very powerful verse that centered on the magnificent creation of God, the EAGLE.  He wrote, "Those who wait upon the Lord will gain new strength".  That verse carries a heap of clout for me as I grow older.  There are days when my' get up and go has got up and wen't.  I can attest to the fact that, when we hit those clinkers, the Lord stands ready to rekindle my joy by giving me a shot of His strength. Isaiah goes on, "They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary".  I am a great believer in the seed planting principles of the Bible.  One day as we talked he was rebuilding his Cherokee airplane.  His hands were busy and his mind available for seed planting.  I loved my brother with a hero-type love and when I received the call he was near death, it sent shock waves through my heart for I knew he had not made his peace with God. And then I received a call from his son who was with him in those final hours and walked his daddy through the plan of salvation and heard his confession and acceptance of the Lord. I tell you this story because I want you to know the importance of fishing, in your walk with the Lord.   One morning Jesus told the disciples to cast their nets one more time, even though they had just completed a fishless night, and they came up with 153 fish!  I have learned that some folks need 153 different words of encouragement and seed planting before it penetrates to the control box of their hearts. Soooo, my young friends, as you prepare for your day in the mission field, make sure you take your fishing rod with you.  Keep in mind, our task is to plant as many different types of seeds where ever we go, so that along the way our seed will hit the hot buttons of those God sends across our paths.  But, also keep in mind,  you are a sower and not a harvester.  So, hitch it up and get out there and get about doing some sowing!. Blessings, Gramps

Fresh Outpouring of the Holy Spirit

A truth to get your ticker tickin this morning “When God breathes the breath of His spirit, everyone knows He had come”.  Luke put it this way “And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2).

Did you ever stop to think about what must have gone through their heads when “There appeared to them tongues as a fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the spirit was giving them utterance."?  (Acts 2:3-4).

This they knew!  He had arrived!  When God breaths the breath of His Spirit everyone knows He has arrived.   Wow, is that not awesome.? According to Luke,  the coming of the Holy Spirit was as a “sound from heaven”

   

Did you ever wonder what the sounds will be like when Jesus comes on His stallion to take back what is His?”  The Village once had forty horses including twelve Belgians.  One day we were blessed to have a dust devil set down in the far corner of the pasture. That immediately got the attention of each and every horse. I will never forget the sound of those forty horse running from one side of the pasture to the other and feel the very ground shake as they ran.  

Something else happens when Holy Spirit comes, He shakes up everything in sight.  At Pentecost, the religious rulers in Jerusalem were upset and deeply concerned at what they saw taking place among Jesus followers and tried shutting down the effects of that mighty blast from heaven. 

But the Holy Spirit moved on Peter, anointing him to say, “You can threaten us and jail us, but you cannot stop the mighty wind that is blowing through the land.  You can command us to shut up, but we cannot stop speaking.  God has breathed upon us, anointing us, and we have to speak the words He has given us”.

Soooo, young folks,  keep in mind that Malachi informed us there would be “former rain” and “latter rain”, outpourings of the Spirit described by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the minor prophets.  He also offers proof that the greatest work of the Holy Ghost – the Latter rains, is happening right now, in our generation.    How we need to pray that God will give us the boldness to be as Peter and speak the words that He has given us.

Blessings,

Gramps

Comfort Of God's Presence

Holy Land Picture of the Day

Olive Oil Press Today's picture is of an ancient Olive Oil press. It reminds us of Leviticus 24:1-2; "Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Command the sons of Israel that they bring to you clear oil from beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually.  Outside the veil of testimony in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the Lord continually, it shall be  a perpetual statue through out your generations. “A voice is calling, Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness, Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God”….:Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 40:3/5) Hey Gang:  I have a special love in my heart for the wilderness.  When I think of my sojourns in the land of ‘milk and honey” my thoughts turn to the many times I got my hands dirty planting seeds in the desert of Zin or restoring the ancient walls of Oboth or harvesting the crops that God so bountifully provided,  I feel a sense of peace and comfort settle into my heart.  Isaiah had much to say about the wilderness.  He penned words of comfort and hope, seven centuries before the birth of Israel’s Messiah found their fulfillment in the ministry of John the Baptist in the wilderness of Judah.  I would suggest that John had a booming voice that tended to get one's attention when he cried out, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord” (John 1:23). Just for a moment let's go back to a night hundreds of years before John’s arrival.  I suspect there were many times when the Jewish refugees, who found themselves in captivity, would gather and get out the old, weather beaten Isaiah Scroll that told them of better times, the memories of days gone by, before the pain and agony of the present day.  Their ancestral homes gone, their indescribably beautiful Temple, reduced to rubble.   Graves that once held their loved ones, now defiled and uncared for. As they read Isaiah’s prediction of Judah’s captivity in Babylon, they understand all to well what the prophet was saying.  Their past glory was only a memory, their present life is nothing more than endless days of hard service in a strange land, and their future shrouded in uncertainty.  Or so it seems. Then came words almost too wonderful to believe.  Words of comfort at a time when there was only discouragement.  How was it possible?  Could it be true?  What could possibly turn their night into day, shouts of pain into joy? The arrival of God’s comfort would be announced by His messenger in the wilderness.  Is that not the way of God – when the rubber-is- hitting-the road and we are up against the wall – walking deep in our wilderness?  He is faithful and true to never leave us or forsake us.  Sooo, young friends, when you turn on the news and see the ominous dark clouds gathering over our nation and world, remember God is well aware of every jot and tittle that is going on and is not the least bit nervous.  I challenge you this morning to read and head I Chronicles 7:14. Blessings,  Gramps

No Greater Love

"

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal Iife".  (John 3:16)

Hey Gang:  How many ways can one say," Thank You Lord for I am so wonderfully blessed".  I, and the bride of my youth celebrated fifty-five years of sharing our lives through many wildernesses, many high mountain experiences and many times when the road was filled with pot holes. 

There are some things that for me are impossible to put into words but King Lemuel  did such a magnificent job when he wrote, "An excellent wife who can find?  For her worth is far above jewels,  The heart of her husband trust in her, And he will have no lack of gain.  She does him good and not evil all the days of her life". (Pro. 31:10-12)

He went on and penned these words "She girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong.  She senses that her gain is good: Her lamp does not go out at night...She extends her hand to thepo0or, and she stretches out her hands to the needy" (31:17-18/20).

"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.  She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue" (31:25-26).

And then he concludes his description of the blessing of a loving and faithful help mate by saying "Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all.  Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised".v29-30).

We celebrated our fifty-five years together by attending a wedding and as I listened to the young bride and groom exchange their promises to each other it brought back wonderful memories of that day when I stood by the altar of the church and watched my bride come to me.  There are no words that can adequately describe the feelings that I had in that moment but let me also share that I have relieved that wondrous miracle of God's blessing mega multitudes of times in our trip to this world as "one". 

And I prayed that this young couple would commit their marriage to Jesus as we did that day and Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 will be their commitment to each other and to the Lord, for a strand of three cannot be  broken. 

"An excellent wife, who can find?  For her worth is far above jewels."  Amen and Amen!!!

 Blessings,

Gramps

Holy Land Picture of the Day

Israeli nuts and dried fruit Today's picture is of nuts and dried fruit produced and sold in modern Israel. It reminds us of Genesis 43:11; "Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man as a present, a little balm and a little honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds"  Why are We So Much Smarter When We are Little Squeezers? “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart” (I Cor. 9:6-7a) Hey gang, Why is it when we are small and growing up we only stuck our finger in the fire once and learn  that is not such a good idea.  I learned very early it was not a good idea to sass mom or dad or the bully down the street who was six inches taller than me.  I suspect each and every one reading this blog or email this morning could relate stories of woe where they tampered with God's irrevocable laws and paid the Piper for it.  But, as we grow older, do we not sometimes become slow learners?  I came across a neat little story where the daughter of a business executive asked her daddy, who was preparing to go out on the town, “Why do you wear that black suit and bow tie when you know you will be deathly sick and have a splitting head ache tomorrow?”  A short trip through skid row with your children is not a bad idea.  But, only if you are not making the same mistakes those made to earn their position in the gutter.  It is always amazing to me that there is no question smoking and boozing and drugs are not good for your body and you will pay the piper down the road for using them. But it does not matter how much the price of these life-destroying things cost, people will sacrifice the finer things of life to purchase them. I wonder if someone opened a “Reap What You Sow School of Higher Learning" if anyone would come.  I confess there are many times when I stuck my fingers in the fire, even though I knew it was going to be painful.  But did you know the more you stick your finger in the fire the less the pain.  We can become so immune to pain, scar-tissued,  that we no longer feel it. Paul gave fair warning to all when he wrote, “God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows this he will also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit  will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Gal. 6:6-7).  Paul's counsel,  “Don’t lose heart in planting the good seeds, “for in due time we will reap………..when we do not grow weary”. (v.9)  Paul closes this bit of truth with a challenge to those who love the Lord: “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” (V.10). Sooooo, it is time to close this epistle and get about some plowing, disking, planting, fertilizing and cultivating but keep in mind God is the harvester.   Blessings,  Gramps

Do You Have A Godly Foundation?

“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand” (Matt. 7:26).

Hey Gang:  Let me share a story of woe this morning.  My niece purchased a new home, one that had just been completed. A beautiful house in a very nice neighborhood.  She was so excited on the day she moved in and walked from room to room enjoying all of the workmanship that went into building the home.

And then one day it began to rain and it rained and it rained.  Several weeks after the deluge of waters from the heavenlies, she noticed a crack in the wall.  It was just a little crack and the contractor said “it is just the house settling” and when it has completed the process we will come in and fix the crack.

But the crack grew larger and the corner of the house began to sink and in a panic she again called the contractor who informed her he would come in and reinforce the corner and all would be well.  But that, too, did not work and the house eventually had to be torn down and rebuilt.  You see it is impossible to build a solid house on sinking sand.

Is there a spiritual parallel to that story?  God warned us of that very thing happening to us when we do not build our lives on solid ground.  He also gives us many pieces of wisdom of how to build on solid ground in His word. 

Take heed of Luke's words, “Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like:  he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when the flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it has been well built”  (Luke 6:47).

But there is a down side to Luke’s words, “The one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation, and the torrent burst against  it and immediately it collapses, and the ruin of that house was great”(Luke 6:48-49).

Sooooo, good folks, we will make choices today, some good and some not so good.  Some will add mortar and strength to our foundation and those that are not so good will be as the rains that destroyed my nieces house.  Protection: fill your tank with God's high octane fuel before you enter the mission field this morning.

Blessings,  

 Gramps 

Scat and Get!

Holy Land Picture of the Day

Crossing the Jordan Today's picture is of an IDF vehicle crossing the Jordan River during an exercise. It reminds us of Genesis 32:9-10; "Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,' I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies" “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature, the old things are passed away; behold new things have come” (2Cor. 5:17). Hey Gang:  I have come to the conclusion that one of Satan’s greatest weapons he uses to keep us in bondage is our memories.  Would it not be tremendous if, each day, God wiped away the memory of all of the things we have said and done that does not bring honor and glory to our Lord? But tragically our memory banks tend to hang onto all the things that do not bring honor and glory to God and we forget the victories God has given us.  Does that mean that we give more credence to the things that Satan surfaces in our minds than the things that God surfaces in our minds?  I think we could say 'YES’ to that.  But, is there a way to have victory over Satan’s using our memory banks as a weapon against our walking with the Lord?  Again I would say 'Yes'. Did you ever have gross thoughts creep into your head when you were in prayer?  Pastor Mumford, an old country preacher suggested that was God’s way of purging those thoughts from our hearts by giving them to God.  In other words, it was God’s laxative for cleaning out things that do not belong in the heart of His children. So, what do we do about memories that do not bring honor and glory to God?   James gave us sound advice when he wrote, “Submit therefore to God, Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (4:7)  But, keep in mind, when Jesus was in the wilderness and had defeated Satan at his own game, deception, Luke gave us a clue to the way we can expect Satan to act.  He wrote, “he (Satan) left Him (Jesus) until a more opportune time.” (Luke 4:13). And how do we resist the devil?  By filling our heads with weapons - God's Word - that make him flee from us.  I have often taught the principle that our heads are filled with knobs to hang things on.  Unfortunately, most folks have not placed these weapons that will defeat the evil one in our memories for use when the enemy shows up. Let me make a suggestion to you this morning by installing a weapon that works very effectively for me.  I have found that Satan does not like praise songs when sung from our heart.  He certainly does not like the little songs that I learned as a child, ‘Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so’. and ; ‘This Little Light of Mine I am going to let it shine’ and ‘Lord Make me a sanctuary of Your love’. ] Soooo, my young troopers, What say ye?  Are your knobs filled with God’s word and His songs?  Are you equipped to sing praise to Him when slouth foot comes calling?  I have bad news for you, he will make his rounds today.  As Pastor Wigglesworth said when Satan came calling on him in the middle of the night, “O,  its only you and he went back to sleep.  Paul says, "Rejoice always and again I say rejoice!"  Hey, give it go today and check it out! Blessings, Gramps

Crooked Things

Holy Land Picture of the Day

Pomegranates Today's picture is of a fresh pomegranate from an Israeli orchard. It reminds us of Deuteronomy 8:7-8; "For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey." Solomon, in his quest to see all the works that have been done under the sun discovered “What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted” (Ecc. 1:15). Hey Gang, Now here is a piece of trivia that you will probably never need, “God made some things crooked.” ( I mean bowed and bent).  I am blessed to live on a beautiful six and one half acre plot of ground that has a hundred or more trees on it.  In a recent exercise in futility I set out to find a pole two inches in diameter and six feet long that was straight. After looking at nearly all of the trees I found none, not one. Have you ever come across a stick that was perfectly straight?  How about green beans or squash?  Did you ever come across a river that runs straight with no curves?  Job 26:13 refers to God’s modus operandi of making most things crooked.  “His hand has formed the crooked serpent.”  Since God looked upon all that He had made and said “it was very good” (Gen 1:31),  one must assume that His using the crooked or bent methodology was no mistake.  So, if it was not a mistake, He must have some purpose for the way He created every object, whether crooked or straight. God also made each of us the way He did for a reason.  It is always amazing to me how few people are satisfied with the way God created them.  If I would have created me, I would have given me far greater brain power, a warmer heart and the strength to move mountains.  But as I look at myself I realize I haven’t used very much of what He built into me. The point, God made each of us as it pleased Him.  Should that not be enough?  And then we take that raw material and with His guidance and help develop it into a being that brings honor and glory to Him.  So what is God’s expectation of us?  “To improve ourselves where we can, and to accept those areas we have no control over". Does that mean when we are within the will of God all will go well and smooth?  Not in your sweet bippy, adversity causes growth.  The adversity we face may seem like “crooked things” to us, but God has allowed them for a very specific reason.      Sooooo, when we learn to accept the events of life as God’s plan for us, we can experience God’s peace in our hearts.  The bad news, as long as we are in this life we will hit crooked things.  The good news is God can take even the most crooked and turn it into good for those that love Him.  Blessings,     Gramps