An Act of the Will

“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:10-11).

Hey Gang:  I love the fifteenth chapter of John.  It makes me feel all gushy and secure knowing I am attached to the vine.  Now think about that, Jesus, the Son of Jehovah, Almighty God, desires the we attach to His vine.   Wow, is that not out-of-sight? 

But wait a minute.  Grab hold of John 17:20 and 21 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You Father are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me”.   

Do you hear what He is saying?  As believers, children of the Most-High God, we are one with He (Abba Father) and His Son Jesus Christ! We are one with the Creator of the universe!!  

Jesus is not finished,  He goes on, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me” (John 17:22-23).

Can you get your heart and mind around the truths that even in this busted, sin filled, broken world that grows darker each minute of every day, as believers in Jesus Christ we are in oneness with God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son?

Our Pastor has been pounding the point that the only way you will come into understanding of who you really are is to get into the Word and prayer closet and get very quiet before the Lord and serious about connecting with Him as Lord through the Holy Spirit with the Oneness of the God-head. 

Sooo, unless you develop those hooks on the inside of your cranium on which to hang knowledge and keep them filled with a constant input of His Word you are vulnerable to the deception that Jesus warned about in the Olivet discourse.  His warning: “See to it that no one, misleads you.  For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ and will mislead many” (Matt. 24:4-5).

As hurricane Florence approached the shore of America and news makers were warning that it was going to be catastrophic with record setting winds, flooding that would cause humongous damage, I   asked the question, what does one do when they have no Lord to pray to?  Where does one turn when they do not have the assurance of God’s promise that He will not leave them or forsake them?

My friends, if there is one out there who opens the Gramps Morning Messages and is not secure in the Lords hands, I pray you will follow the leading of Isaiah when he said, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.  (Isa. 55:6).  Mark 1:15: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe the gospel.”

I close this epistle with a favorite verse -one of my thousand or more favorite verses: “For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace: The mountains and the hills will break forth with into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees in the field will clap their hands” (Isa. 55:12). 

Blessings,   

Gramps

A Very Serious Word from Gramps!

We just returned from a conference of Prophecy Guru’s whose theme for the three- day conference was Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in he Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight”.  

Dear Family, friends, and all others who might read this message.   As I was driving home from Norman, Oklahoma, a thought entered my mind, not once but rather on a continual basis, that I should send out what the thirty-three presenters centered on - in the eighty workshops.  No, I did not attend all eighty but I did attend fourteen- those I knew personally from their witness and materials.

So, my first point: “How does one test a prophet?”  Jeremiah answers this question: “The prophet who prophecies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent” (Jer. 28:9).   Do they:

• Glorify God rather than themselves (John 16:13)
• Do not give their own private interpretations (2 Peter 1:20, 21)
• Point out sin (Micah 3:5–8)
• Warn of coming judgment (Isaiah 24:20, 21)
• Edify the church (1 Corinthians 14:3, 4)
• Give messages that harmonize with the Bible (Isaiah 8:20)
• Teach that Jesus came in the flesh (1 John 4:1–3)
• Have a Christ-like character (Matthew 7:16–20).
• Are obedient to the will of God (Deuteronomy 18:18).

My second point: the thirty presenters came from every corner of the Country, but their message was the same – “You need to make sure your house is in order”.   I was also amazed that, in the fourteen workshops I attended, each began by laying the foundation for their message by opening the Word and sharing many examples of fulfilled prophecies. 

The message?  America is nearing that time when they will join all the other great civilizations that declared ‘God is off limits!’  We are a nation have kicked Him out of our schools, out of our government, out of our public affairs and most tragically- out of many churches.

We have murdered 60 million of our most vulnerable citizens and continue to murder them at a rate of 4,000 per day.  It is said that the most dangerous place in the universe is their mother’s womb.   We as a nation consume more than half of the illegal drugs produced in the world and one day soon every state will have legalized marijuana. 

We spend $13.3 billion dollars per year on pornography, and 60 % of all porn websites are in our nation.  Cohabiting partners has increased from half a million in 1960 to over 14 million in 2018. The divorce rate in 2018 was the fifth highest in the world, at 46%.

My question to you, have you checked out the only totally true book that has ever been written and published to see what is coming in our future?  There are mega multitudes of fulfilled prophecies in the Bible, the only book that tells us precisely what is going to happen.  Jesus said, “I do not want you to be unaware.”  He also said, “I do not want a single person to perish.”

Question:  If you encountered a need in your life to move to a far city, what would you do?  Would you check to see what was available? or would you just get in your car and start driving?

Question:  If the Bible is filled with prophecies, like the return of the Jews to the promise land after 2500 years in the diaspora, and the ancient language restored, and swamps and desert turned into productive lands -as prophesied, do you think Jesus’ words through John in Revelation are irrevocable words?

Well, folks, I pray you have gotten what I am trying to say.  We have two choices that will determine where you will spend eternity: One in Matthew 25:34 “Come you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”  

The lake of fire! (by default)!  Matthew 25:41: “Then shall he say unto them on the left, ‘Depart from me…into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”.I have asked many youth  at the Village, “What is the most important word in the English language?”  They have given many great answers but missed the one that carries eternal significance, the word “Not”.  In Matthew 25:12 to the five foolish virgins who were not prepared, Jesus answered, “I do not know you”.  Words with eternal significance!

 We were doing a workshop years ago when we had a very hostile man who had been ordered into the class.  He let us know very early he would be there in body but not mind.   When he learned we use Biblical principles for our teaching, he fumed, “That Bible stuff.” ”What Bible stuff?”,  I asked. When he could not answer, I said, “You don’t believer in what you have no idea what it is that you don’t believe!”.

  

There is a principle hidden in that exchange – many people are struggling today when there is a huge feast that is available to them that also has eternal value connect to it – called salvation.  I pray, Lord, all who read this will receive it in the spirit it as written – concern for their salvation and relationship with You!

Blessings,

Gramps

A Most Disappointing Question

Jesus said, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him and have seen Him.  Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”  (John 14:7-8).

Did you ever have someone ask you a question or make a statement that sent shivers up your spine?   I believe Philip’s comment to Jesus did that very thing to the Master.  He had spent three years preparing the twelve for that day, when His tenure on earth was over and He would return to the Father.

They were there when Jesus turned the water into wine; they were there when He healed the woman with the issue of blood; they were their when He touched the leper and removed the leprosy; they were there when He walked on water and calmed the sea and they were there when He raised Lazarus from the grave.

And now, the night of His last supper with them; the night He humbled Himself by washing the disciple feet; the night He announced to the disciples and to the world that “Now the Son of Man is glorified. He served His disciples the wine and bread and said, “This is My
body which is given to you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

Would that not be enough?  But note Simon Peter’s question: “Lord, where are you going?” Then Thomas’ question: “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”  Do you think that Jesus might have been a wee bit depressed?  Did He lose faith in his hand-picked twelve?  

 I thought about the questioning of the disciples, knowing their dreams had been dashed, learning His tenure with them would soon come to a close.  Think about that, if you had just spent three years of your life following, learning, and modifying life-styles, would you not have been in a dither when You heard Him say, “I must leave you soon?” 

And on the day when His words became reality at a place called Calvary, would you not have felt that your very life had come to an end?  Does it not sometimes take tragedy to get our heads cleared and headed in the right direction?  That came for the eleven came when gathered together, “Suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  And there appeared to them tongues of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.  And they were filled with the Holy Spirit”. (Acts 2:2-4).  

And, at that moment, the prophecy of Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, He will not fail you o forsake you”, was fulfilled.    

Notice Jesus words: ”I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19-20).

So, I ask you this morning, have you humbled yourself before Jesus lately and let Him wash your feet?  Have you partaken of the fruit of the vine and the bread in commemoration of the tremendous price He paid to relieve you of your sin burden?   What say you?

Blessings,

Gramps

Waiting With Anticipation and a Lot of Eagerness!

“And they cried out (those who had been slain because of the word of God) with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the Earth?” (Rev. 6:10).

Hey Gang:  I have been into the book of Ezekiel many times in the past several years but have never really ask the Lord to help me dissect and grow deeper in my understanding of Ezekiel’s words.  My reason for this trip through Ezekiel was my interest in how many times God said “I will” and ‘Then you shall know that I am the Lord”. 

As I read it this time I got the deep feeling that Ezekiel was preparing the hearts of the Jews for what is going to come down at a future date.   He stated his ministry began in the fourth month on the fifth day of the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin, or around 597 BC. 

For many believers the book of Ezekiel is mostly a perplexing maize of incoherent kaleidoscopes of whirling wheels and dry bones that defy interpretation.  I do not disagree with that, but I find so many pearls that each time I go back to Ezekiel’s words, I find those pearls begin to surface with meaning.

Now one does not have to be a rocket scientist to understand the Lord’s words in verse 11: 17: “I will gather you from the people and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel”.  Now the world has great pains with this because they have no foundation on which to hang this piece of covenant truth!

You need to go back to Genesis to build a foundation to receive this verse, and a multitude of other verses that say the say thing.  (To Abraham’s descendants) I will give you this land, “So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.  Now that seems pretty clear to me.  Who is doing the giving? God almighty!  One would think that God almighty would have some credibility and clout in the world body (the UN) - but such is not the case.

I suspect God knew there would be some problems throughout the years as to who really owned the land which is “apple of God’s Eye”, so He stepped up the decree in Genesis 17:7-8 by established an irrevocable covenant; it is irrevocably established between God Almighty and His chosen people.  In verse eight, Ezekiel makes it very clear that it is, indeed, an everlasting possession signed by God.

 Do you think that more saner minds should have come the conclusion that they are dealing with a losing cause in their arguments that Israel never was Jewish? Or that there never was a Jewish Temple? Or that in the last Century the holocaust was just something someone dug up out of their imagination?  

Getting back to the rocket-scientist mentality, one might think that after the enemies of Israel got their clocks cleaned, they would try to find a way to live in peace with those who seem to be so much stronger than they, but as we know such is not the case.  But there is a growing question throughout the world as to why God would protect Israel when they have rejected Him all those generations. 

The answer is very clear.  The Lord God made it clear: “it is not for your sake, O House of Israel That I am about to act, bur for My holy name, which you have profaned in their midst.  Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight” (Ezekiel 36:22-23).

I have heard a multitude of reasons why people do not study prophecy.  As Grandma Jessie would say, “They are all right for they are personal opinions. “ But I wonder, if the real reason is that we like to have very smooth and easy paths to follow when we are studying a subject area- and, if we do not have a clue how to study and research, we tend to ignore the subject. 

In my studies I often end up the day’s study with more questions than answers -but have learned, if I return to the same areas tomorrow a light often goes on.  Prophecy to me has but one purpose, to be used to open the hearts of those who have rejected the Word thinking there is no proof in its content. 
When I show them Genesis 15:17-21 and the Newspaper with headline, Israel is Reborn, it tends get their attention.  Try it, feels good when a door is opened.

Blessings,

Gramps

Why My One Leg is Shorter Than the Other....

Hey Gang, Did you know I am a Pennsylvania Hillbilly and lived my early years in a three home coal-miners village way back in the Appalachian Mountains?  They used to say we lived so far back in the sticks even the hoot owls carried knapsacks and they pumped sunshine to us every Saturday morning.  If you know anything about the coal miners of that day, you know they were generally uneducated men who were held captive by their lack of skills.

In my teen-aged years I was on the same path as my dad and did not do well in school.  I certainly did not have the confidence that I was of much value to anyone.  And then two things happened in my life that turned me around.  I met a pearl-of-great price who become my bride and I was drafted into the military.  The military proved to me that I had talents and my bride, through her confidence, love and commitment, provided me with a new direction for my life.

When I finished my tour in the Air Force, I became an Air Traffic Controller for the FAA but God said, “Don’t get too comfortable” and closed that door.  I then returned to college, graduated and worked my way up in the Juvenile Justice system in California but again God said, “Don’t get too comfortable” and closed that door.

What now, Lord?  There is a story in the Word about a man named Abram, whom God renamed Abraham; He also received a call “to not get too comfortable”.  As a matter of fact, God said to him one day, “Pack it and follow my directions to where I will send you and I will do a mighty work through you.” 

Suddenly, he became my role model.  God said to me, “Pack it and follow my directions and I will provide everything you will need to do a work for Me”.  I do not use the word “mighty work” as I mentioned, my foundations did not include how to build and manage anything let alone a ministry that would one day grow into a Place of Miracles. 

       

I often asked the question, “God, why did You choose me to develop the Village?  Were there not better educated, more experienced people that would have done a better job?”

So why me Lord?  His answer was clear, “Because you were willing.”  I say all of that aimed at one person out there who will read this gramps message this morning and is seeking a word from the Lord about what they should do with the remainder of their life.  I leave you with one piece of advice that worked for me every time – “God knows how to close doors”.  If you feel God is saying go, then go!  If you misread the call, God also knows how to divert the path into His path. 

 My legacy – God said go.  I went.

So, my young friends and family – trust and obey for there is no other way than to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.  Do not get too comfortable; BE AVAILABLE!

Blessings,  

Gramps

Hang In There! Your Redemption Draws Near!

!“And they cried out (those who had been slain because of the word of God) with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the Earth?” (Rev. 6:10).

Hey Gang, A head-line crossed my four-sided monster this morning: “Are we experiencing a dress rehearsal or the beginning of the real thing?”  At a recent group meeting of some of the prophecy guru’s the question was asked, “What is the number-one sign that would tell us where we are, in relation to the coming of the Lord to collect His family? As they went down the line each presented their case for their number one sign. 

Such subject areas as apostasy was given attention- for 2 Thessalonians does tell us “Don’t be deceived for the apostasy must come first”.  There is no question that many churches and denominations have chosen to go their own way.  A mega-pastor of one of the largest ‘evangelical’ churches in the U.S. is attacking the Old Testament again, this time insisting Jesus rendered the ‘Ten Commandments null and void - issuing one new law “as a replacement for everything”.   

  

Some listed the rapid ‘increase in trial and knowledge’ and was worthy for a high place on the list of signs.  And they went on and on.

So it is, I can remember a s boy the milk and ice men delivering their wares by horse drawn carts and now we are talking of sending people to mars in the coming near future.   As an air traffic controller during the advent of the jet engine I can attest that dealing with the increase speed and multi differences between jet and prop was astounding.

Another next suggestion was the rebirth of the nation Israel.  A question was asked of an old country preacher to prove there was a God.  His responded without thought, “Israel.”  All nodded in agreement for there is no way Israel could survive without the hand of God covering them with His mighty hands of protection.

Jerusalem also rated very high.  Victory over the Old Temple Mount in 1967 gave Israel control of the holiest site in Israel, for the first time since the 1900.  The decision by our President to move the United States Embassy added to the strength and credibility that Jerusalem is now recognized as its capital in the International Scene. 

All agreed that ‘Israel’s neighbors trying to push them to the Sea’ is a very strong sign that the end is rapidly approaching.  There is no question their neighbors are armed and read to attack Israel once again. 

Other signs considered as worthy candidates for their list:  the coming together of the          Gog and Magog alliance; the Roman recovery; the rapid move toward one world government; advanced technology and the one least recognized in the world - the world wide preaching of the Gospel.

All worthy subject areas for the top list of signs being seen today, but there was one old gent at the end of the table who had not spoken yet.   When asked what his choice was, he responded, “I have two:  The first is the exponential curve (J Curve) growth that we see in every facet of our lives and perhaps the most important is the convergence factor.  All these signs on the list continue to accelerate at a profound rate.    

           

 The Lord’s answer to the question, “How soon Lord?”  “And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also” (Rev. 6:11).

Sooo, Are You ready? If s, Who is coming with you?  Look up redemption is coming soon!

Blessings,

Gramps

A Yoke Is Not A Bad Thing

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, AND YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  (Matt. 11:28-30).

Hey gang:  Are you dealing with some tough issues this morning?  Read the Scripture again and get it firmly implanted in your mind and heart.  Jesus never said anything that was not truth, ‘nothing but the truth’, so help me Abba Father.   But, to understand what He is saying, we must do some fast tracking through the Word and find out what He meant. 

In the Greek the word ‘easy’ literally means ‘well fitting’.  William Barkley, in his Daily Study Bible Series, tells us that there is a legend that Jesus was the best yoke maker in Israel and folks came from heather and yon to get him to tailor-make a yoke that would not gall their oxen. 

It has been suggested that Jesus had a sign above his shop door that read “My yokes fit well.”  Perhaps, here, He is using a picture from the carpenter’s shop in Nazareth where he had worked throughout the silent years.

Jesus said, “My yoke fits well”.  I believe what He means is that The life I give you is not one that will gall you.  Whatever God sends our way is made perfectly to fit our needs and our abilities to the “T”.   

But preparing for yokes is a learning experience.  Paul gave us the following instructions: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions so that we will be able to comfort those who ae in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:3-4). 

So, my young friends, when you think your yoke is especially heavy, keep in mind- a yoke chosen by Jesus and perfectly honed by the Master Carpenter - will not ‘gall’ your spirit.

Blessings,

Gramps

Oh, I Wish i Was So Wise When I Was A Young Whipper-Snapper! (second half)

“A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness” (Pro. 16:30).   “Where is the wise man?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the debater of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world” (1 Cor. 1:21).  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  A good understanding has all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever” (Psalm 111:10).  

  

Hey Gang, Continued from yesterday.

I believe God saw this time coming to our nation and gave Paul the following as a wake-up-call:  “Where is the wise man?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the debater of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”  (1 Cor 1:21). 

In the past years as Director, and then President of Eagle Village, I have interviewed and trained many young people to be effective warriors when working with youth with behavior problems.

 At the end of the training period, when they were ready to take on the responsibilities of caring, witnessing, coming along side kids who were dealing with tough issues in their lives, I shared with them that an old salt came along side me and trained me to be a good air traffic controller; he said, “One day you will see aircraft flying around in your head” – a fact that happened several weeks after I began active controlling of aircraft. I was ready.

In my lifetime I have been blessed to have people, gray-haired people who have come along side me and shared the tools of survival in this world and about things in this world that frequently do not work out the way we might want them to.  

What a superb piece of wisdom that was;  I ended up working with the most unpredictable animal in the world, the teenager who had a tendency to make bad decisions! 

Do you remember the story of Rehoboam when he was challenged by Jeroboam to lighten the load on the people when he was established as king?  He first consulted with the elders, meaning the gray-haired gents who sat at the gate and made decisions.  Their consul? Listen to the people, remove the pressure and they will serve you.  I suspect Reoboam had a different idea in mind and sought out like-minded thinkers who were the young men, who did not have a clue about how to establish a government of the people, by the people and for the country.

Their advice? Turn up the heat; screw the lid down! “The king answered the people harshly, and King Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the elders”.  (I Chron 10:13).  The bottom line of that decision, Israel, under the leadership of Jeroboam became a nation in rebellion.

I do not have a clue if Ford or Kavanaugh were totally one hundred truthful.  I tried to remember something that I had done thirty-six years ago, when I was a mere fifty years old; however my only true recollection was that I was up to my arm pits in alligators with the responsibility of caring for hundreds of kids and a whole barn full of staff.

Well, this turned out to be a longer dissertation than I intended, and I give you permission to agree or disagree with me.  But,  I do want to share one last very important piece of advice from someone who walked this earth in perfection.  In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said this, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged”.  He went on and added, “For the way that you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you” (Matt. 7:1-2).   Do you get the message? We will be judged as we judge others. 

In closing: there was a political ad in the paper which showed a picture of President Trump with the caption, “You think they are trying to get me, but be not fooled, the real object of their wrath and anger is YOU.  That could have eternal implications.

Blessings,

Gramps

Oh, I Wish I Was So Wise When I Was A Young Whipper-Snapper!!

“A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness” (Pro. 16:30).   “Where is the wise man?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the debater of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world” (1 Cor. 1:21).  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  A good understanding has all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever” (Psalm 111:10).    

BE ADVISED:  THIS TURNED OUT TO BE MUCH LONG THAN I ANTICIPATED BUT IN REVIEWING IT I DO NOT SEE ANY PLACE I WANT TO CUT SO HAVE DECIDED TO BREAK IN HALF TODAY AND HALF TOMORROW.

Hey Gang.  I assume everyone out there has kept their head out of the sand and up to speed in what is happening in the swamp, called Washington, D.C.  I confess I have gone from high blood pressure to extremely high blood pressure during what I, personally, believe is an extremely dangerous way to conduct business at any level of relationship, but especially at the top government level where their actions impact on every citizen in our nation.

To give you a tiny example of how I believe the actions  driving one of our political parties, are dangerous to the stability of our nation, let me share two messages that came across my computer this week.  These are people we know personally:  first is from a young lady, very intelligent, but one might observe that she is very secure in her opinions!

She wrote: “Though all the evidence and even Kavanaugh’s own behavior during the hearing support Ford’s allegations, that shouldn’t even be the determining factor.  Regardless of whether or not Kavanaugh assaulted Ford, we do know with 100% certainty that Kavanaugh lied about numerous details yesterday to the Senate Judiciary Committee and to the American public.  He is a liar.  That ought to disqualify someone from the highest court of the land.  If the GOP approves Kavanaugh, they demonstrate their disregard for the truth, the law, and the constitution.  It’s treasonous.”

The second from a person who has survived the wars for the past 79 years and carries the scar tissues of experience.  She wrote:

“Gonna vent.  I am 79 years old.  I have lived through Carter, Reagan, Clinton, 2 Bushes, and Obama.  Never, never in my lifetime have I seen a President be scrutinized over every word he speaks, humiliated by the public to the point of wanting to hurt someone, slandered, ridiculed, insulted, lied to and about, threatened to murder him, threatened to rape our beautiful first lady, and have his children insulted and humiliated.  I am ashamed of this Country.  I am ashamed of the ruthless, hating, cruel people that have no morals, and feel they have the right to say and do the things they are doing.  I don’t know how to fix it.  I wish I did.  Every other President after they got in office were left alone, they weren’t on the news 24/7 being dissected by every word out of their mouth.  Always being pressured to do this or that and so now we have pleasure of discussing tax reform but for how long.  Whoo – hoo, I am sooo not excited.  Leave him alone and let him do his job.”  

As I read and reread the word of these two ladies from different generations, I had totally different feelings.  In the one I felt anger, even hatred and no room for discussion or seeking understanding - even the truth.  She had made up her mind, period.

In the other I felt sadness, deep hurt and a degree of anger for what has become to this once very proud, powerful and light to the world.  A recent leader in Canada said before his Congress, “Who will replaced America in our world, if they go down?”

Tune in tomorrow for the second half. 

Blessings,

Gramps

Have You Hit the Wall Lately?

Paul states the problem: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Cor. 4:9-10).  Isaiah gives us the antidote:  “They who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength”  (Isa. 40:31).

Hey Gang:  Found this description of those times we hit the wall and feel like throwing in the towel in a neat little devotional- “Man of God Walking by Faith”: “Experienced athletes know the feeling all too well.  Marathon runners experience it at about the twenty-mile mark.  Cyclists meet it while riding hard into a headwind.  Mountain climbers encounter it about two-thirds of the way to the summit.  The feeling is the same: you feel as though you have run full-speed into a wall.”

Athletes are not the only ones who “Hit the wall.”  As I have grown more mature (older than dirt) the walls requiring physical labor have grown more frequent and often very much higher.  What I was able to do in a day, a years ago, has been reduced to a pittance of those accomplishments.  The simplest tasks have become like climbing that mountain carrying a fill pack.  I have found that in recent years even waking up can be a chore.

Now at the age of 85 I feel qualified to pass along a piece of wisdom that may help someone deal with the walls that continue to impact their lives.  True, my body ain’t what it used to be, but I find that is no excuse for getting out a rocking chair and doing as Ike said he would do, “slowly start rocking”. 

Paul put it this way: “That He, God, would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Eph. 3:16-17).  The next word in my God’s Promise Book is ‘Success’.  Solomon gave us these words of wisdom: “If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength’ but wisdom brings success” (Eccles. 10:10).

There were many times in the development of the Village that I had to take my ax into God’s workshop and allow Him to sharpen it.

How sharp is your ax this morning?  Perhaps you are facing “a wall” right now.  How will you handle it?  Will you try to go around it, dig under it, perhaps even get out that ax and chop it down.  God stands with His arms our stretched saying, “If you wait for the Lord you shall have new strength”. The Lord’s promises never fail; He stands ready to provide you with all the strength you need to conquer that wall.      

Blessings,

Gramps