Here I Go Again!

“One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are you not the Christ?  Save yourself and us”.  But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation” (Luke 23:39-40). 

Hey gang, since writing the first Morning Message, I have referred to the importance of making choices many times.  God created into us a free will - with the choice of where we will spend eternity.  In my tenure, as exulted Eagle of the Village, I spoke many times to groups about the work that we were priviledged to do. I always asked God to give me something new and special to share with each group. 

On one accession I stopped by a Burger King for a hamburger and noticed a Star War advertisement on the wall that said: “Your choices determine your destiny”.  After getting back on the road ₌I heard that still, but huge, voice whispered in my ear, “ The saying was not complete. It should read, “Your Values Determine Your Choices which in turn Determines your Destination”.  Not a bad saying to hang on your bathroom mirror.

The absolute bottom line of choices is that God gives eternal choices which have eternal consequences.

Much has been said about the penitent thief, and it certainly warrants our admiration.  But while we rejoice at the thief who changed, dare we forget the one who didn’t?  What about him, Jesus?  Wouldn’t a personal invitation have been appropriate?  Wouldn’t a word of persuasion be timely?

Did not the shepherd leave the ninety and nine to pursue the one lost sheep?  Did the housewife not sweep the floor until she found the lost coin?  Yes, the shepherd did, and the housewife did, but the father of the prodigal did nothing.     

The sheep was lost innocently.  The coin was lost irresponsibly, and the prodigal son left intentionally.  The father gave him the choice.  Jesus gave both criminals the same opportunity!

There are times when God sends thunder to stir us.  There are times when He sends blessings to lure us.  But then there are times when God sends nothing but silence, as He honors us with the freedom to choose where we will spend eternity.

I wish I could say all of my choices were right on and brought glory and honor to God, but that would be one of greater falsehoods of all time.  I look back over my life and say, “What if?” What if I could make up for some of those bad decisions?  And praise God, I can and I did!  One good choice for eternity offsets a thousand bad ones on earth.

So, my young friends, Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount gave us a choice that held within it the key to where we will spend eternity: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you”.  (Matt. 6:33). 

Blessings,

Gramps  

I Never Thought i Would See the Day!

Extreme weather

I Never Thought I Would See the Day By Jan Markell November 14, 2017 pt 1 Dr. David Jeremiah had a sermon series some years ago with this title. Like me, he noticed aberrations in the culture and in the church and stated he just didn't think he would live to see them.  I've come up with my own list as 2017 winds down. It has been an historic year to say the least. Things aren't falling apart; they are falling into place. I didn't think I would live to see: The earth reeling in an apocalyptic manner, yet most going about business as usual -- eating, drinking, and enjoying life. Every natural disaster preceded by words such as "unprecedented", "history-making", or "of biblical proportion."   A hurricane (Irma) so strong that it was measured on a device that tracks earthquakes. A major U.S. newspaper say that someday "everyone will get willingly micro-chipped." Planned Parenthood team up with Satanists and cooperate in their mutual evil. Some people heed the warning signs of impending natural disasters but scoff at the ultimate warnings that Jesus is returning soon and you must be ready. America seriously talk about the possibility of an EMP attack and Hawaii warn of a nuclear attack by North Korea. Over 40% of Americans say they would prefer socialism over capitalism. Actors in Central Park simulate the assassination of a U.S. President. Satanic outfits be granted IRS tax-exempt status while Christians and conservatives are overlooked and ignored. A leader of the Catholic Church in South America state that Pope Francis is paving the way for the Antichrist. A major U.S. newspaper -- The Washington Post -- call Satan good and call him a great representation of secularism. A discussion of womb transplants for men. Preschoolers being lectured by a demonic horned creature that transgenderism is normal. The "powertainment industry" (Hollywood) so weakened due to scandals that its influence is diminishing as people boycott films in disgust. The Boy Scouts allowing girls to join the organization. Word of a revival in North Korea. The son of a Hamas leader, who is now a Christian, tell the United Nations that Palestinian leaders are a bunch of terrorists. Rick Warren state that he hoped his partnership with a Catholic leader would become the ecumenical model for the entire world. K - 12 U.S. educators demonizing Israel and lauding Islam. A Democrat Party leader -- Donna Brazille -- blow the whistle on Democrat Party corruption. Politicians usually circle the wagons and protect their own. The daily scoldings I get from people protesting my pre-Tribulation Rapture-timing theology. (This is not a salvation issue, folks.)  The return of the bubonic plague.  A prominent secular talk show host said we live in interesting times -- too interesting. He longs to go back to the 1950s. He doesn't understand that the last days would be characterized by a departure from the normal and an acceleration of the aberrant. He can't grasp the fact that the Bible predicted a lot of what our headlines state today.   It's all falling into place. I Never Thought I Would See the Day (Part 2) By Jan Markell June 20, 2018 Last November I wrote an article listing a number of things I didn't think I would see in my lifetime. Prophecy Update even turned it into  a short videothat almost 200,000 people have viewed. Now six months later, I've come up with another list of unbelievable happenings that I never thought I would live to see. Sure, we live in crazy times. A lot of things the Bible predicted are now happening at break-neck speed, but it still leaves me speechless. Here's my updated list I never thought I'd live to see: Churches would not just recognize the Islamic holiday known as Ramadan, they would join in on the "celebration" while hundreds of innocents were being killed at the very same time. Women's sporting activities would be curtailed because transgenders can now participate as women even though they are males. The WWII anti-Nazi term "the resistance" would be applied to those opposed to a U.S. President -- Donald Trump.  Lucifer would get his own TV show, first on the Fox Network and now on Netflix. In fact, he is glorified as a good guy -- handsome, charming, and funny. Someday Christ-rejecters won't be laughing. Netflix will also have an animated drag queen series for children. (But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea: Matthew 18:6). I would turn on any form of media and the only story being talked about would be President Trump -- and always in a negative light! Can't the Left give him an ounce of credit? And what about all the other significant stories the media is just ignoring? My tax dollars would be spent to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars to better understand why lesbians are obese. Seven out of nine Supreme Court Justices would all agree on a religious liberty case -- Colorado baker Jack Phillips. There is hope for our Republic! Public libraries in my neck of the woods -- the Twin Cities -- would have "drag story hours" with cross-dressers -- for little children. Talk about the return of the Days of Noah. The Department of Homeland Security would announce that it intends to compile a comprehensive list of hundreds of thousands of journalists, editors, bloggers, and folks like me. They will collect any "information that could be relevant about them." The residents of Gaza would take Japan's gift of kites for the children of Gaza and use them as incendiary devices to burn down southern Israel. (And Israel is to make peace with such barbarians?) Wiccans and pagans had a scheduled gathering in Maryland. God had other ideas. He caused a flood to cancel the event. Christianity would literally be expelled from public schools, but Islam would be taught and praised. The Left has gone apoplectic about the separation of kids from parents at the border but defends and even celebrates the permanent separation: Abortion. Private conversation would be at risk thanks to Alexa, Google Plus, our iPhones, and more, literally spying on us. Today's world has no secrets. I have left so much off of this "I never thought I'd see the day" list that it grieves me. You have a saturation point. I don't want to push you that far. But I suspect eve George Orwell would be shocked at the tide of our times! The Bible says there would be a day when good would be called evil and evil good (Isaiah 5:20). We are there. These happenings remind us that we're not in Kansas anymore and things are all falling into place!   God is using the negative as a megaphone to say that "I am coming soon!" Look up. Our redemption draws nigh.

Is Your Faith Anchored on the Rock?

“So faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17).  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

Hey Gang:  Have you ever wondered if there a difference between things that just happening and harassment?   Let me put some meat on that question.  In our years of development of Eagle Village we learned that when a new program was coming on line, our family would go through tough times.   It was almost like our family was the test tube to prove the new idea was from the Throne Room of heaven and not from yours truly.   

Recently we watched another of those wonderful experiences when two young lassies, who had given up all hope of ever graduating from high school when they came to us, received their diploma. Wow, was it awesome to see the tears flowing freely, not only from the two girls and their families, but many others who have invested in their lives. All were there to celebrate their achievement, include your truly.

As I stood at the back of the Chapel and looked at the hundred or more heads in front of me, so many wonderful pictures flashed before my eyes, pictures of frustration and agony and pain but also pictures of tremendous victories that we were blessed to witness.

I remembered the day we left California for Michigan and did not have a clue what was down the road waiting for us.  As I look back, I have no doubt that Satan knew what God was going to do something through this vagabond family. Most folks truly believed that we were weird to leave good job, sell our house and put the lives of our four little ones in jeopardy.

He (Satan) made the trip across country an experience in endurance.  I often wondered, if we were like Job whom God allowed the enemy to test.  But we were determination and a had deep faith that it was God who placed us on this path.  And, with every trial, obstacle and test, there was no question that God had prepared for all the trials and tests, and they had a purpose for giving us the faith for our two years in the wilderness.    

As I stood in the Chapel, I the thought of the woman who had suffered with hemorrhaging for twelve years; she believed with all her heart, if she could just touch the hem of Jesus garment she would be freed from this bondage.  Notice, what Jesus said to her after He healed her: “Your faith had made you well” (Matt. 9:21).   Jesus touched and healed but it was the faith of the woman that triggered His touch. 

As I searched the Gospels, I found that in every healing that Jesus blessed people with, the response was the same from the Lord, “Your faith has made you well”.    So, I ask you again, are you anchored to the Rock?  

The trip across country was a story-book experience with nine tests of faith by the enemy.  The early years of development of the Village were filled with ‘alligators up to our armpits’ that wanted us to fail, but in each experience, God said, by your faith I will be in the fiery furnace with you and you will not be burned.  What joy it was to be a tiny part of the celebration of two beautiful children of the Master who achieved a plateau they never thought they would. 

By the faith and efforts of many, two young lassies have a confidence and faith that they can now climb to higher ground.   You, too, could be a part of every child that finds hope at a place called Eagle Village by becoming a prayer warrior and giving a little of your time to cover each of the hundreds of children who find their way to our door.   What a wondrous joy it is to know in my heart that we helped these two lassies, and others, along for I prayed for them through-out their tenure at Eagle Village.

If you would like to change lives and join the prayer team, contact Eagle Village Office 1 231 832 2234 and ask for the Chaplain’s office.

Blessings,

Gramps

One Verse Understood is Better then Ten Chapters Without Understanding!

“He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you” (Gen. 22:2).

Hey Gang, I have been blessed to hear tapes by Ray Vander Laan who paints panoramic descriptive pictures in his teaching of the Word. Listening to his presentation opens a whole new awareness of what is truly being said in the Bible. For you see, I have been a reader of the Word for many years, but I was a superficial reader or surface reader. I was not a ‘connector of the dots.

 God recently blessed me – my Bride bringing a book by Lois Tverberg titled Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus -into my life that has begun to open doors in my study that have laid buried all these years. And I want you to know this new direction in my study has blessed my sox off.

The author, who attended a series of sessions and trips, under the teaching of Ray Vander Laan, said it was like drinking from a fire hose. I certainly agree with that description. But let me give you an example of how looking beneath the surface of the words and digging reveals how the culture, the history, the language, and even the geography of that moment set the table for what was written.

 In the morning Scripture we have the story of Abraham’s command by God to take Isaac, his only son to Mt Moriah and sacrifice him to the Lord. It is a very familiar story that we tend to read over and move on.

 For all of my Christian walk and study of the Word, I just assumed that Isaac was a small child. As a matter of fact, I did not question the picture of Isaac as a young child carrying sticks under hi, in one of my Bibles. But think about that for a minute. In verse two we read that Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, took two of his young men with him and went to the place that God told him to go.

 I believe it is safe to assume that the two Lads and perhaps even the donkey were carriers of the needed wood for the sacrifice. Keep in mind that Abraham was not preparing to roast a prime rib roast, which, in itself takes more than a few pieces of wood. To offer a sacrifice to the Lord did not mean offering a seared or very well roasted body but rather reduced to ashes which required a very hot fire for a prolonged period of time.

Again, keep in mind Abraham was more than one hundred years old when Isaac was born. The story tells us, “He (Abraham) carried the fire in one hand and a knife in the other. (verse 6). We are not told how the wood got from the debarkation where the donkey and the boys were left behind, point to the mountain. So I believe one can assume that Isaac was he bearer of the wood for the sacrifice.

When I envisioned that it was Isaac who toted he heavy wood, the story took on a totally different tone for me. Now, I no longer see that the story is just about Abraham’s unshakeable faith in God; but it also shows me that Isaac had to be a willing and obedient participant in his pending sacrifice.

Willing and obedient to submit to his father’s will! Once again, I challenge you to think about this story and see it as a foretelling of another hill outside of Jerusalem where our Lord willingly and obediently carried His cross (wood) and laid down His life that all who believe in Him could be freed from the bondage of sin. Did He have to? No, “He could have called down ten thousand angels, but He choose to die for you and me”. (Psalm 91)

Blessings,

Gramps

Oh., No Lord, I Would Never Do That!

“Let love be without hypocrisy.  Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (Romans 13:9-11).Hey Gang, did you ever run into a book or a segment of a book that screams to you, this is worthy to be shared with all in your inner most circle, your outer most circle and all that are not included in either.  

The book, Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus by Lois Tverbe.  It is a ‘WOW’ book that is cover to cover with experiences that Jesus encountered where, through his wisdom, he left those who confronted Him standing in His dust with their jaws flopping.  It is a book that drives you to makes sure that you are on the Jesus Team.

Chapter fourteen is dynamite.  It is filled with several incidents where Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes on a point of law -only to be amazed by the wisdom of Christ- who just wrapped their tongues around their heads again.

Let me give you a fabulous, power-packed example in the story of The Exceedingly Ugly Man.  It seems a famous second century teacher, Rabbi Eleazer, was ambling down the path, having just completed a study session and was basking in the glow of his victory.  Rejoicing in the fact that he had put three obscure passages together to win a heated debate.  Only his donkey heard his soft chuckles of self-congratulation.

As he came around a bend he came upon a bedraggled peasant, an exceedingly ugly man with malformed face, with bulbous eyes and nose to match.  Recognizing the Rabbi, the peasant bowed and with the traditional greeting saying, “Peace be upon you, Rabbi!”  Rabbi’s response, “Raca, how ugly you are!  Is everyone in your village as ugly as you?”

The peasant spoke back, “I don’t know,” But go and tell the craftsman who made me, ‘How ugly is the vessel that you have made.”  Is that not a fabulous response to an ignorant question?  

Remorseful the Rabbi fell from his donkey and prostrated himself before the man.  “I submit myself to you, forgive me!”   In this classic tale, “The Rabbi and the Exceedingly Ugly man,” a great scholar is humbled by a simple man’s reply to his insult.  The Rabbi had forgotten a very basic point, that God is the creator of each and every one of us. God was the potter and man’s features were God’s handiwork.  To say the man was ugly was to suggest God lacked artistic skills. 

The peasant’s point, every human being should be treated as a special creation of God, because all are precious in His sight.  But there is also a hidden point here we do not want to miss.  Human beings are not just clay blobs thrown randomly together on God’s pottery wheel to look like whatever they will.  Each person is the Master’s own self-portrait in physical form.  Not only did the Rabbi insult God by saying He was a lousy artist but also that He, too, is ugly! 

Is that not a lesson we all need to hear today?  James put it this way, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness” (James 3:9). – His very image’.  Is it not ironic to praise God in church and curse out the guy who crosses in front of us on the way home?  

Paul, tells us in Philippians 4:8:  “…to think on these things”.  I think I will close this Gramps Morning Message and do some thinking.  Why don’t you join me?

Blessings,

Gramps

And So, The Table Hath Been Set!

“O, God, do not remain quiet; Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still.  For behold, Your enemies make an uproar. And those who hate You have exulted themselves.  They make shrude plans against Your people,  and conspire together against Your treasured ones.  They have said, ‘Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more” (Psa. 83:1-4). 

Hey Gang, When was the last time you prayed for the Peace of Jerusalem?  When did you take sacrificial time from your busy day and spend time in your prayer closet seeking God’s protection for the ‘Apple of God’s Eyes.’ 

In Psalm 122:6 God makes it pretty clear that we are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and tacks on a blessing, “For those who do that those who do may prosper”.  David goes on and  seeks the favor of the Lord on those who take His beloved Israel to the throne room of heaven, “May peace be within your walls and prosperity within your palaces…For the sake of the house of the Lord, our God, I will seek your good” (vs. 7-9).

Zechariah, a book for this very hour, gave us a warning that we need to heed, “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the people around, and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah” (Zech. 12:2).  My good friends, one has to be totally blind to not know that is precisely where we are as a world right at this moment.

Zechariah went on, “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured.  And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it”. (Vs. 2).

Now skip over to chapter 14 and read: “For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled but the rest  of the people will not be cut off from the city.  Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.” (vs. 2 -3).

No, don’t stop there, check out the next verse: “In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives and the Mount will split, half going east and half west, and the waters will flow out of Jerusalem”.  (vs. 4-5, 8 Hainley rendition). 

This morning a message arrived from Jonathon Bernis, President of Jewish Voice that alerted his readers (mostly Jewish) that Iran has now successfully totally surrounded Israel with their military and allies. Their  one heinous plan in place – to annihilate Israel- putting in to practice Psalm 83; thus  I titled this Gramp’s Morning Message -And So, ‘The Table Has Been Set’.     

These allies are confident that they now have the fire power and troop displacement to complete the task.  They call it the Iran plan when, in reality, is the Satanic Plan, for he knows his days are in the final chapter and his date with the Lake of Fire firm.  He knows his only chance of preventing that date is to wipe every Jew from earth, negating every prophecy pertaining to Jesus’ return to earth.  If the bookies were placing odds on that event happening, they would classify it as a no-brainer, based on the history of God’s Word being fulfilled in the past to the exact degree.

My good friends, there is no question the table is set for the final chapter of planet earth as we know it.  I have checked it out very carefully and determined that I do not want to be here for that final chapter. I plan  to be home with the Lord in the heavenlies.  Make sure you have prepared your mind, heart and soul for the day when Father God says to Son Jesus, “Go for it, bring your kids home for the Marriage Feast of the Lamb.”

Blessings,

Gramps

The Book Has Closed

“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:56-58).

Hey Gang:  There is a sadness and heaviness in my heart this morning for I lost an old friend.  The tractor doctor call with the sad news that the Allis Chalmers D 14 was declared dead from the cancer of no oil into its extremities.  He assured me it was a painful and quick death and it did not suffer.   A least as much as I am suffering today for the loss of this old by faithful friend.

As I stood in the shower this morning, the thought came into my mind that it really was not the tractor that I mourned but the memories that went back more than fifty years  of a similar Allis Chalmers D 14 that I had the privilege of getting to know first-hand. 

It was in that period that I refer to as our Abrahamic period:  we answered God’s call to sell our California home, quit our jobs, pack our four kids into two very suspect vehicles and go to a place that He would show us. 

We did not have a clue where or what would be waiting for us at the end of our journey, but Satan did He threw many monkey wrenches in our path, hoping for us to reverse course and turn from whence we came. 

For two years I was the only ‘unemployed director of a non-existent boy’s home.’  There were many times when I cried out, as did David, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.  O my God, I cry but You do not answer.  (Psa. 22:1). (Crowd standing near His cross heard Jesus utter this same first line. Matt 27:46.)

It was during those wilderness years when the door swung open for me to help a farmer and ran into my first Allis Chalmers D 14;  it became my sanity.  I loved to greet it in the morning and hear the roar of its engine.  This along with a dear lady by the name of Jesse who happened to be my land lady who mentored me and encouraged me and am sure she did a heap of praying for me, filled the long empty hours.

As I stood in the shower, many of those very precious memories resurfaced in my mind.  The evenings when we played ball in the yard with the kids, the time I built the kids Christmas gifts, for we did not have money to purchase things, and my months in the sugar-bush to help a friend  he need.

I learned, in the first years of the Eagle Village, that not one single minute of those two years of waiting was wasted.  God was honing my wheel for what was to come.   

So, yes, I will miss the Allis Chalmers D 14 tractor, but I will never forget the wonderful experiences they provided for me.   Isn’t that the real VALUE OF THE BANGLES AND BEADS OF THIS WORLD?  These fade away. BUT, our relationship with the LORD never fades.  Eternity goes on…… and on………. and on………………. and on………………………………

Blessings,

Gramps

Reality Check Number Two: An On-Going Saga that Picks Up Steam!

“I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.  Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.  On that day, when all the nations of the ear3th are gathered against here, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations.  All who try to move will injure themselves” (Zechariah 12:2-3).

Hey Gang, Remember Jesus’ words (hillbilly rendition), when the world looks like it is in a blender and being torn from the east to the west, it is not time to discouraged. Jesus made it abundantly  clear that His children are not to become despondent but “…look up because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28). 

Never before have we neared this point in history where all the nations of the world have the seeds within them to turn against the Apple of God’s eye. If there were a doom’s day clock mounted on Times Square, it would read within seconds of tolling its final doom for this earth as we know it.

Never before in the history of mankind have we had the mass weapons that can annihilate every living soul on planet earth.  Not only do we have such weapons for mass killing, but we are not satisfied, nations are in a frantic race to build even bigger and more sadistic killing devices.  And, as the news continues to tell us on a daily basis, there are heartless, sadistic minded people in our world who are itching to press the triggers of these killing devices.  In Matthew 24:22 we read the tragic warning from the lips of Jesus, “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short”.

Satan is in a final battle and he knows it.  As we read above, he is already mortally wounded and at the mercy of God as to when the word will go out for the angel of Revelation 20, with chain in hand, to roll and put the scoundrel of all time in the pit where he belongs. I believe there will be rejoicing in the heavenlies as the choir sings a chorus of Hallelujahs to Our Lord and King on that day.

 Satan knows the Scriptures very well and knows he lives under the fulfillment of a death sentence. He knows there is a place already prepared for he and his minions -the Lake of Fire -which burns with fire and brimstone.  In a sense he is battling not only to prevent his death sentence from be carried out but also knows his quest to replace God as God will have gone up in fire and brimstone.

Paul in his letter to his adopted spiritual son, Timothy, said: “Realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come” (2 Tim 1:1).   My dear friends and family, we can change Paul’s words now to “Difficult times are here!”  If there was ever a time when we need to be locked into Jesus as Lord and Savior it is now!  Again returning to the words of Jesus, “To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it” (Rev. 2:17).

Blessings,

Gramps

Humility? You Gotta Be Kidding!

“You younger men, likewise be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with HUMILITY toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time” (1 Peter. 5:5-6).

Hey gang:  Well, the time for the politicians to fill the airways with all the wonderful things they have done and if re-elected will do in the future has passed.  I sense if the words “I” and “me” were expunged from their rhetoric, most would be dumb founded as to what to say. I do believe that, if a brave hearted soul were to open a store in the Belt Way selling humility, they would soon find themselves in bankruptcy court.

In his book Humility, The Beauty of Holiness Andrew Murray defines humility as a place of entire dependence on God.  Pride is the loss of humility and is the root of every sin and evil”.  In other words, when we allow pride to take over the control mechanism of our heart we have chosen to “…go our own way”.  (Isa. 53).

Murray went on to say that, if a person wants to be like Christ, then humility will be their primary characteristic.  Jesus said, “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.”  (Matthew 11:29-30).

In Matthew 5:5 Jesus gives us the opposite of pride: “Blessed are the gentle (meek), for they shall inherit the earth”.  I always thought piety would be the highest standard when measuring a Christ like person, but Jesus calls on His children to take on humility as we place our total dependence on Him.

Now hear this, after researching the word humility, I find there is a needed ingredient to implementing humility - being thankfulness.  I have learned that folks who tend to be pride-bitten demand certain things but humble people accept with gratitude what the Father has given.

So, my friends, as you traverse through this day open your mouth and sing the little chorus, “If you want to be great in God’s kingdom to be a servant of all.” and put it into action.

Blessings,

Gramps