Jesus Is Cool

Greetings:

I had a friend that always went around saying, “Jesus is cool.” He would say it all the time, and any time he got the chance where it would fit in a conversation. One day, I decided to ask him why he was constantly saying, “Jesus is cool.” Especially since he rarely darkened the door of the church he claimed to be a member of. His response to me was, He liked his style, Christ was loving, caring and forgiving, totally unlike the one in the Old Testament. He didn’t hold all those old laws over our heads and make us do things we didn’t like. “What things are those,” I asked him, trying not to offend him. His reply, “You know, those things. I dropped it there to proceed down a different course of questions I thought would be more productive.
I asked him, “Have you ever read John chapter 1: verses 1 through 18?” “Sure I have” he said confidently. “Then you know who Christ is, because it states: ‘All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.’” “Yea, so what are you saying,” was the response as though I had said something trivial.” “Do you understand English,” was my next question. “So you’re saying Christ had something to do with making the earth?” Yes, it’s very clear,” I assured him, “read it yourself.”
“Then why doesn’t it say Christ was God in the Old Testament?” which was a very good question from him. “Oh, but it does,” was my comeback. In 1st Corinthians 10 verses 1-13 the scriptures make it absolutely clear who Israel was following in the dessert, “verse 4 states: and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”
“What do you say to that?” I asked my friend. “I have a bible at home and it doesn’t say any of that,” was his reply, and end of conversation. Jesus is cool, my friend was right, but He was the creator, the one that gave the laws to Moses. Hebrews says, “He’s the same yesterday, today and forever.” Have you looked in your bible lately to see how you’re worshiping, perhaps it time you checked, just like my friend.

Sitting In My Head

Greetings:

I was listening to a news show the last evening and one of the anchors mentioned someone sitting in another person’s head. I ponder the meaning of the expression and decided they are those in my realm of influence that tend to occupy space and time in my noggin. It’s not pleasant to come to that realization because it means I’m letting others bother me in ways that brings satisfaction to them. They are those where being in others heads is their goal in life. It garners them a sense of accomplishment to see their victim’s squirm under intense pressure they created.
Many friends or neighbors often stop by in my head just to bring by a weekly dose of friendly antagonisms. They deliver timely gossip deriving from being in others heads shortly before they were evicted and moved on to me. We seem to take up residence in others heads without knowing it and have to be asked to leave often by the slamming the minds shut. We really try to be neighborly but some folks just take advantage of the open door policies in our heads.
The politicians really get into my head on occasions and they’re the nastiest bunch of all, because they’re so hard to get out. They’re like ticks buried on a hound-dog once they’ve established their presence in your head. All they want you to think about is them, all they talk about is them; we need to invent some interior head-wash just for them.
The one I want taking up residence in my head more than any other person or thing is God. But, He is the hardest to get to stay; I have to keep inviting Him in. I try and keep His commandments because He said if we did, He would be in our hearts and minds, and that is exactly where I want God, taking up space in my head.

War on Women

Greetings:

 

            We hear a lot about wars these days. Many places in the world conflicts are ongoing between different factions for any number of reasons: religion, better status, or corrupt government. I keep hearing from different news sources there is a war ongoing right here in the good-old-US of A. There seems to be a serious war being waged and they call it, “The war on women.” Now what right-minded man or person would wage such a war?

                        But I have to say I haven’t seen this mythological war occurring in my neighborhood, nor any bodies on the sides of roads as a result of this conflict. And I soon discovered to my shock and dismay, it’s not a physical war. It turns out to be what they call, “a quiet war.” It’s a war to end all wars in the social realm of America’s society. The evil white male has been a bully too long and now he has met his match.  The main battle has taken place where he least expected it, right in his own home.

            Perhaps the opening salvo begins with a simple suggestion, the wife stays home, has children, teaching and mentoring them while the man makes the living. This is unacceptable and demands a swift reply of shock and awe proportions, holding back peace and serenity within the home until such demands are dropped and never to resurface. What were you men thinking?

            I was raised to be somewhat smart about picking my battles and I have to say, this is one war that wouldn’t fair well for men, if it were true. In a battle with women, the women have all the advantages; they’re more cunning than men for one thing, and they have all the allies on their side, kids and neighbors. They garner the larger amount of sympathy and have enormous amount of recourses in social advocacies and regulatory bodies. Men are only allies to other men and I have to say, we have a lot of traitors among our ranks.

            Seriously, is there such a war occurring? We all know there are social injustices everywhere in society. It will never be totally equal for every person male or female, black, white, or brown. But women and other minorities have made giant strides in the last half-century. There is equality if you look for equality, and there is inequality if all you do is spend you life searching for it.

            In Isaiah 3:12, it says women will be our rulers, perhaps we men have already lost the battle and we don’t realize it, yet! It also says that those who take that lead cause us to err and destroy our ways. The battle may be lost, especially for men. Christ will return one day and the wars were having between one another will cease; who will care who won or lost at that time?

Ringing True

Greetings:

 

            Hundreds of years ago our currency was mostly in the form of coins. Counterfeiters would use nickel or copper to make matching coins replacing the silver ones. In order to tell the difference, merchants would drop coins on a hard surfaces listening for the tones they would make. A counterfeit coin was believed to have a flat sound while the genuine coins tone would be sharp sounding. This was called ringing the Coin, and from that we get the phrase, “Rings True.”

            What rings true with most good hard working folks in this world today is honesty. We have a sever deficiency of honesty in our society today, especially in our government. In order for any culture to exist in harmony with its prospective leadership, the leaders must have an air of truthfulness surrounding them.            Its sort of like trusting your neighbor, you might not want to leave your house unguarded if there is no trust between you and them.

           What rings flat sounding are the constant promises of a utopian society where everyone is supported by Government. The more they promise on the campaign trail of give-a-ways, the flatter sounding politicians become. No politician can replace genuine sound of charity done by a friend or church. Truthfulness and charity comes from the heart and we all know politicians have no hearts, “just kidding.” Of course they have the heart of man, but not of Godly designs.

            What rings true is Jesus Christ, His words, and His promises. We must begin once more to listen for the sound of purity and honesty. We find those qualities only one place, in our bibles, and they give us the true wealth we seek as humans. Christ rings with truthfulness, and Satan’s world, (earthly governments) is flat with evil and dishonesty. If the pages in your bible say one thing, it rings with truthfulness. If any man, preacher, or government tells you scripture means something different from what it says, that is the flat ringing sound of deceit.

 

Cahoots

Greetings:

 

            To be in cahoots with a person is said to mean you’re in some kind of shady partnership or dealings that might not be perceived to be legitimate.  The word has its origin in medieval times and comes from the word (Kajuetes), which means “little Cabins.” During the medieval times little cabins were supposedly occupied by bandits or robbers, and over time people saw these “Kajuetes or Cahoots”, as places where bad people banned together to plan their bad intentions.

            These were places where bad folks came together with like minded interest and bad designs for so many others. Many with like minds today are in cahoots to silence the Christ people and His message. Satan owns the cabins they dwell within and do their deceitful scheming. Satan gives them purpose and direction and keeps the world on message.

            Some folks say God is evil and Christians are the ones in cahoots. Perhaps we are; would that be shocking to hear? We as Christians are in cahoots with God to the total defeat of Satan and his minions. It doesn’t mean we’re evil, or god is evil. It means we have like minds and a laser like purpose to see God’s will achieved here on earth.

            I like being in the “little cabins” with Christ, some might even call it a huppa. Because that is where Christ church (Bride), will be at His return. Then we will live together for an eternity in cahoots, but good cahoots.

The Secret of Life

Greetings:

 

            Everyone wants to know the secret of life. By the way they all talk about it; you’d think it was as elusive as the preverbal snipe. Every day or so, you see on TV another miracle drug, device, or cream that will add years to your life. If you look seventy, after applying the cream you’ll look forty. Then use the electrical device for another ten minutes and you’ll have the shape of a twenty-year-old. Last but not least, if you take two tablets a day, you’ll feel like a teenager again, run marathons, ClimbMountains, all-the-while doing it with life-alert hanging around your neck.

            Is the secret of life food, more money, more creams, pills, and mechanical devices? Or is the secret something more tangible. No amount of creams, pills, or any other product cane save us from aging. We may look better getting there, and we may even feel better about ourselves, but we’re all heading for the same conclusion, death.  

            The secret of life is happiness. The secret of heath is found in your bible, the one place no-one thinks to look. The secrets for all our life’s conditions can be found in the pages of the bible. The joy of life isn’t a mystery and needn’t be, we make it that way. If we believed what the bible taught we wouldn’t need the other things, but who would make all that money off our fears? No one would, that’s the real secret, now you know.

When The Heart Stops Beating

Greetings:

 

            They say when the heart stops, that person is clinically dead. When the heart stops loving, are they dead? When the heart gradually stops caring, are they dying? When the heart slowly stops hoping, has death crept into the lives of man?

            In Proverbs 4:23, it says: “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are all the issues of life.” Out of the heart comes evil, hate, selfish-ambitions, drunkenness, revelries, contriving, lusting, greed, boastings, pride, envy’s and all other manners of sin. These are the things that lead to death; death of a man and death of a nation.

            The things that keep the spiritual heart beating are: Love, long-suffering, caring, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. These are signs of a healthy being, which can look forward to a long life. Morality is the life blood of a nation, it is the fluid that supplies the necessary nutrients required to maintain a healthy body. Without morality, life gradually slips away.

When our heart stops beating as a nation, when it stops its rhythmic pumping of morality, we will be clinically dead as a nation. There will be no more signs of life in our national limbs. No more detectable sounds of hope; not a hint of prayer.

            Our nation is sick. It’s sinking quickly into a coma of despair, if something isn’t done soon, it may become too late. Viruses invading our system of laws contain copious amounts of regulations and edicts. No medicines will cure the ills of our society, only a transfusion of life-giving morality. Where do we look for such a cure; we look to its creator, Jesus Christ. He is the healer of our woes. Christ is the physician with the right medicine, and the right amount of doses, but we’ll never be the same nation.

We’ve been made weaker from the lack of life-giving morality, even if we’re cured tomorrow, a whole generations will suffer from our neglect of the body of this nation.

            When the heart of a nation stops; can it be revived? Yes, with the power of Christ.

But, is it too late? We’ll soon see. Have a wonderful Sabbath!

 

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Day Off

Greetings:

 

            I hope this greeting finds one and all healthy and in good spirits. Each year on this day, we as Christ disciples are faced with a dilemma. Because we don’t celebrate Christmas, we don’t believe it’s the true birth-date of Jesus; we’re left with nowhere to go, and nothing to watch on TV.

            It’s a great time to sleep-in or do home projects providing you bought what you need yesterday. If you go out to eat, you may be relegated to Chinese restaurants, because they are the only ones open on December 25^Th.  But you may be surprised by the menu, the one Christmas Day I found myself in one, they served turkey with the traditional items.

           You could take you’re family to the park for a picnic, providing the weather cooperates. Maybe you could go fishing, or hunting, anything outdoors with your family (weather providing). You could play football with the family or just watch one of the many games on TV. Perhaps today would be a great time to clean out your storage building or the attic that’s been collecting clutter for ages.

            We find ourselves once more with a day off and nothing to do, and nowhere to go. Maybe what we could do is break out the bible, look closely at all the scriptures. View this time of year though the eyes of someone who lived in Jerusalem two-thousand years ago. Western thinking minds, can’t grasp the nuances of that time and place, we inject our culture and thinking into a foreign land, creating a factitious reality.

            But we have the day off, what is there to do?

Opened Doors

Greetings:

Helen Keller once wrote, “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; But often we look so long at the closed door that we don’t see the ones that have been opened for us.”
Unable to hear or see from the age of two, Helen Keller overcame huge adversity in life and learning. She saw more in life than with mere eyes; she understood doors are meant to pass though, not something that should stop you. But, too often, many people let external issues in life dictate their futures. We even let friends and family members influence us into bad decisions.
Helen Keller shows us we are far more adaptable than we know. She overcame problems most of us will never face in our lifetime. We are creatures of habit and most folks don’t enjoy too much change in our lives; so, we’re more than willing to listen or take advice from someone often times, we barley know. As long as it fits into our comfortable world and avoids rocking any boats, it’s the medicine, we seem to need.
Doors were meant to open, and meant to be challenged; we should never leave a door unopened that is a path to success. Christ said: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me”. Revelations 3:20. If you knew there was a door somewhere and Christ was waiting on the other side, would you hesitate to open the door? Would you deny yourself the opportunity to have Christ as a part of your life?
The door to Christ is there, it has always been there, and maybe you’ve never seen it before. You might ask, “Where is such a door in this world?” It’s as close as your beating heart, the beats you hear are the knockings of Christ on the door, and all you have to do is open it to Christ.

Please

Greetings:

 

            My parents were sticklers about us being polite to our elders and grown-ups. A proper amount of respect towards adults was always demanded from us children, there was no such thing as talking back or disrespect. Please and thank you was the beginning and end of nearly all our conversations, nothing less was expected in our home, school, and any other place we might find ourselves. So, in the spirit of my up-bringing I thought I would attempt an exercise in politeness towards my government.

            Would you please tell me why it’s a good idea to control every aspect of everyone’s life, and thank you? To be as polite as I possibly can; I must say, I don’t want to participate. I know you think you care, but it’s not necessary for you to know everything about me; so, please leave me and every other law abiding citizen alone, thank you.

            Please, quit taxing beyond our abilities to pay. I ‘m confident you’re in dyer need of more revenue, but you have everything we’ve got and you keep spending more and more. You expect us to tighten our belts and contribute, but when will it be your turn to cut your budgets and live on almost nothing? We would be grateful for your participation in this matter, thank you.

            Please don’t ask me to accept the murders of unborn babies; it makes me sick to think of how many children have perished at the foot of the god of promiscuity. I know you believe it’s just an unwanted thing unexpectedly produced from a night of guiltless pleasure, but it greatly bothers many of us because we view life begins at conception, thank you.

            Please, let us worship the way we have always worshiped, I’m certain it’s not any of your concern as to why we feel one way or another based on our view of the bible. Thanks for your version, but I have already decided what’s true and what’s not,

without the help of any regulatory body or foreign nation, thank you.

            Thank you, for listening to these few words of protest, please feel free to abide by any of these suggestion, and one more thing. Could some of you sit down and for once earnestly read the constitution of the United   States? I think you might find it very useful when in the future you decide to get a little pushy, like you have been lately. Please take this in the spirit it was given and remember, it’s “We the People,” and if there is any adults in Washington, would one of them please read this to Congress, and the President, Thank You!