Tag Archives: jesus

Gratitude

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This is one of my favorite subjects. I have already written on it twice and I would write on it far more if I didn’t think people would get tired of reading about it.

Maybe I should start with what started me down this track. It is a Bible story I read many times before it really hit home what it was about. Jesus healed ten lepers but only one returned to him and thanked him. Jesus asked something like, Were there not ten? Where are the other nine? I would guess that Jesus was likely well pleased with the one and disappointed with the nine.

If you look, really look at the story, you will realize that Jesus had three messages here. First, be grateful when someone does something for you. Don’t take it for granted. It is a good lesson regardless what your religious beliefs might be, even for the atheist.

Secondly, a word of appreciation goes a long way. Don’t you think that it made Jesus feel good just to hear those two words of gratitude. Every day, God does things for us. Every day, we take it for granted. That includes me, though I really do try to say thank you for it all. It is simply impossible to be fully aware, let alone to say thank you for it all. Instead, most of us are as the Hebrews as they complained about only having manna to eat. I really hate to admit it, but I would have likely been one of the chief complainers if I were there. Even today, I know I am poor example. God provides things and I complain.

Finally, we should be thankful for what others do for us, even if we are paying for it. It is so easy to neglect being thankful to those we pay for work. You should see the surprised expression on the faces of people I say thank you to in, say in restaurants. Sometimes, it outright confuses them. It’s okay. I like to see that kind of confusion. It makes me feel better to see that I have improved their moment in time for that day.

Sometimes, I really confuse them. I tell them that they have my permission to have a good afternoon. I know they enjoy it. I can see it in their faces. Oddly, some find it funny. The fact is, I really mean it. Okay, it does not lie within my power. However, if I did have the power, I would do as I can to improve their time as they put in a hard day’s work.

And, if there are any atheist reading this, you need to pay particular attention to this. For when we say something to improve the lives of others we will also improve life for ourselves. If you don’t believe me, just try it. I submit that it is impossible to have a bad attitude while you thank someone for what they do for you.

And you know what, It doesn’t cost a thing.

Daily writing prompt
How do you express your gratitude?
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The Laws of the Road

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I’m headed down the road and out of the corner of my eye, I see a police car. Instantly, my eye goes to the speedometer. We all do it, or at least most of us. None of us wants a speeding ticket. Not only is it a heavy fine, but my insurance would go up too. Perhaps, maybe I would lose my insurance altogether. For that matter, if I get too many speeding tickets, I could lose my operators license and have to walk a while, or maybe I could get a bicycle.

Yet the law does have a purpose, a reason to exist. Take for instance the car I saw coming up quickly behind me as I was going over the I-55 bridge on Goodman. I was going west at slightly below the speed limit as I was approaching a car in front of me going slower.

At this particular time, the traffic was not that bad and if the man wanted to get in the right lane and take the southbound lane for 55 he could have moved over and would have been completely unobstructed. However, instead of getting in the right lane, he quickly dodged in front of me without warning from the right and then into the left lane.

It somewhat confused me because there was noting at all keeping him from moving into the left lane before he reached me. Then, of all things, he made another lane change to get in front of the car in front of me. While I was still shaking my head about that maneuver, he moved over to the right lane and took the cloverleaf down to southbound I-55.

The wife and I had to just laugh at it, dangerous as it was. We couldn’t make up our minds whether he was a driver who was having a hard time making up his mind or if he was just a very reckless driver. Law or not, if his insurance agent had seen that little stunt, he would have probably had a very difficult time ever getting insurance again. Certainly, if I were his agent, I would have pulled his policy in a heartbeat.

I don’t know why people pull stunts like that. It absolute served no purpose and it did put others in danger. Regardless, most of us try to follow the rules of the road. It is a benefit to others when they know what we are going to do and it is even a benefit to ourselves. As my brother used to say, on our birthday, we all like surprises. While driving, not so much. It is far better that others know what I am going to do and it is better that I know what all the other drivers are going to do.

The rules of the road, the laws help us do that. Without the laws and conventions, driving would be far more difficult and very dangerous. Driving at whatever speed we want to go, might get us to our destination faster. On the other hand, we might not get there at all.

I have often said, I do respect the policeman, but maybe just a little less when he pulls me over. I mean there are many others out there that disobey laws much worse than me. Moreover, I do have places to go and people to meet. Besides, I was only going 5 miles an hour over the speed limit.

Indeed, in some such situations, it is most difficult to remember that that law enforcement officer is literally risking his life in order to keep me and my fellow motorists a little safer, in spite of my wanting to go just a little faster.

When you come right down to it, the motor vehicle codes of the various states are relatively new laws. They came onto the scene only sometime after 1900 when cars became commonplace, especially in the cities. In addition, the roads and highways have been built. In the days of the old west, it would be very difficult to find a street with a painted double yellow line, or for that matter, a left turn lane. It is fortunate that Edison invented his light when he did. It would be difficult to see where we are going and of course, there are the signal lights that started popping up all over the place.

Laws in general, however, are not new. Moreover, they are a vary important part of life. They are extremely necessary for civilization. Today, we have a political party that it would seem would like to do away with the laws and the law enforcement. I guess. I am a little guilty. However, it is the lawyers I’d like to reduce.

I have no idea when the first laws were made. I am sure there are some that would have some accurate estimates. Nonetheless, I suspect, the first time more than 50 or so people started to live in one village, some laws of some type started being made, even if they were not written. As I said, they are a requirement for people to live in proximity to each other. If not, the people will be at each other’s throats. In some regards, thy are anyway.

It is both Biblical and historical that when the Hebrews left Egypt, they were twelve tribes, not a nation. As near as I can tell, there were no laws, no rules. The only law they lived under were the laws and edicts of Egypt and the Pharaoh. It only made sense that one of the first things God did when He brought them out of bondage, that he gave them laws to live by.

However, these were not just any laws. They were the laws as made by God and they were presented to the Hebrew people as a gift. If they lived by them, the new nation would thrive and become rich and powerful. On the other hand, if they did not live by the law, then the nation would suffer. Indeed, Moses told them if they did not live by the law and refused to repent, that they would be sent into slavery.

It was not only a warning but a prophecy. Israel was first taken and then about a hundred years later, Judah became slaves. Both nations were warned & warned again and finally, as forewarned, the punishment was announced and carried through.

Before we go too far with this, let’s take another closer look at the law, first the Ten Commandments then many more. The combination was later referred to as simply the law. Let’s get one thing straight. The law was not given to all of mankind, but only to Israel, at least as near as I can tell. I have read the Bible many times and I have yet to find anything that says that the law was given to anyone outside of God’s chosen people.

God connected a blessing to the law, that if they obeyed the law, the nation of Israel would be great. We, as non-Jews are not given such a promise. However, there is a certain logic that tells us it is to our advantage to follow the laws. Would anyone suggest that lying would be a good thing for a nations citizenry? Is theft something that that would benefit any country? Certainly, if we could do away with murder in this nation, it would be far better for the US or any nation, for Mississippi or for any state and certainly for any city, great or small.

Yet as with the traffic officer, we have become defiant. There are those who want to defy the laws, whether from God or man, and we live and die recklessly as the man who gig-zagged past me and the car in front of me. He defied the law and he got away with it. No officer was there to see him so he did not get pulled over.

Yet, we all know that we are better off with the law and it would be better if the man had been caught in the act, so to speak.

Is it so horrible that we post the Ten Commandments in public places. On the other hand, is it better that we not remind the lawless to live by the law, regardless of where that law comes from.

Let’s face it. There are those in all societies that don’t like the law and they don’t like seeing it posted in front of them. They would prefer to ignore it. When they drive recklessly and are involved in an accident, it is someone else’s fault, not theirs. I mean, the streets, the cities, the world does belong to them, right.

Define Religion

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Not a fan of even the word religion. I am a Christian. That is to say, I have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Religion is for people who like to follow rituals. Many times, God has scolded the Israelite people for mindlessly following rituals, for being religious while leaving God out of it.

When Jesus set up His church, He left but two rituals, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Even so, people have made this into a ritual and they leave Jesus out of it. Many of those who go through the ritual have no relation with God. They do not love Jesus nor do they desire to do his his will.

They call themselves religious but they love not his children, but rather kill them before they are born. Some would go so far as to kill them after they are born. They look at God’s children as an inconvenience to be gotten rid of as a wart or something cancerous. However, many show up on Sunday and chant the words without even considering them.

Old Joe calls himself a Catholic, but he has intentionally said and done things that result in the deaths of thousands. Truth be told, I don’t think the man has any relationship with Jesus. He might call himself Catholic but I can’t see any proof of him being a Christian.

Such can be said of many. They have their faith in their church, their religion and or their preacher. When they see Jesus face-to-face, they will realize they should have had their faith in Jesus. Only, it will be too late. Some with have decades to accept Jesus as their Savior. They will have no excuse. There is simply no religion that will save them and it will be too late for any extensions or revisions of their remarks.

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Do you practice religion?
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The Experts

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I actually did have some college. I had 1 semester in electronics, in which I carried a B+ average. I really should have stuck it out but there was a lot going on back then an I ended up in the Marines. There were downsides, but the Marines did give me the equivalent of a 2 year degree in electronics. By the way, they did teach me a few other things too, such as how to shoot.

Going back to the college, I had a teacher that said a thing that really stuck with me. He said that an expert is someone who knows a whole lot about very little. His argument, of course, was that we should never zero in so much on learning one thing such that we remain ignorant in all others.

It is so true and, as I go through life, it only becomes clearer to me how true it is.

However, it is also true about turning things over to so-called experts, people who know a whole lot about so little. So I ask, are teachers experts? Have they become highly knowledgeable on teaching while not really knowing what they should teach and why.

I have seen teachers I could not understand. I have seen English teachers that sent notes to parents with subject verb disagreements. My son’s teacher accused him of losing a book later found in the teacher’s lounge. Now just what does all this teach our kids?

We have turned our government over to experts who know how to write laws without knowing what kind of laws are needed. Some of them have never run a business or even held down a real job. A great many of them don’t understand the basics, such as the law of supply and demand.

Some experts seem to think they know about gender changes when they never learned the difference between wrong and right.

As you can well imagine I can go on, but you get my point, or I hope you do. I suppose you might be one who wants to turn the world over to a bunch of people who have a great deal of knowledge on very little.

Matthew 24:6 and ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars

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Many sermons have been preached on the passage including these words. Many times, the words have been quoted.

It’s not my intention to preach, just put forward an observation. As near as I can tell, things will unfold more rapidly from beginning to end.

As I look over recent history, I certainly see the wars and rumors of wars. Over the centuries, there have been a lot of them. A person could spend a lifetime doing nothing more than studying wars: what led up to them, the sequence of the war and results.

However, it does seem as if things have picked up some. If you look from 1900 on, there have been wars and rumors almost continually. Even during the time just before WWI threats were quickly building.

While there were no world wars for a while after the 1st war ended, there were skirmishes all over. In addition, no sooner did the first war end things started shaping up for the 2nd. In a little over a decade Hitler already started establishing his empire as did Mussolini. Hirohito was very close behind.

Though it was hoped peace would follow, Korea, Vietnam and revolution in China soon followed. Then the rumors of war came with the Iron curtain and the Bamboo curtain.

Then, suddenly, we marched into Afghanistan and Iraq, twice.

Israel has had it’s own wars. The seven day war, Yom Kippur war, a few skirmishes to the north and south.

And yes. How can a person forget nine-eleven. Maybe not a war but I think it does quality as a rumor of war.

I am sure I left some out.

As I said. Just an observation.

Before it Was Good Friday

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For those unaware, God likes to plan things.

Not being a professional historian, I don’t know the exact day but God does. The day we know as Good Friday, likely is on or very near the day Israel celebrates Passover. I think God planned it that way. You see, passover is a picture, a foretelling of the day Jesus would die. The lamb was an imperfect picture of of Jesus and the blood of the lamb was a symbol of the blood of Jesus. The blood of the lamb protected those who had the faith to put the blood on the door jambs between them and the wrath of God, in the symbol of the death angel.

Just as the innocent lamb had to be killed, Jesus had to be killed. Just as the lamb’s blood had to be shed for the passover, Jesus’ blood had to be shed for all men. As the scripture says, there is no remission of sin without the blood of Jesus. Not only did Jesus die for us but also shed His blood for us.

Some don’t like the Christian religion because of the blood. I hate the shedding of blood, even the lambs. But how much more precious is the blood of Jesus. And when He himself said it was necessary, He knew it was and is absolutely necessary for man’s salvation, like it or not. As the hymn says, there is power in the blood, specifically Jesus’ blood

It was planned, not for a week or a year but at the very creation. Among other things, it is a picture of God’s love for us, collectively and individually. However, it is more than a symbol. Without it, our death would be certain.

But also, it is more than something that had to be done. It is a demonstration of his love.

But God in His infinite power did something never done before. While some were raised from death, Jesus was alone with God at the time. Moreover, when Jesus came out of the grave, it was forevermore. If you had the ability to search every grave, you would not find Jesus there.

Some put little importance on His resurrection, but if He could not come back to life, then His promise for eternal life is empty. I really don’t think God would come up with an incomplete plan.

So it is, He died to pay for our sins. He rose again from the dead so we can. The third part, he left to us. We do not have to have to accept the salvation He paid for. It’s ridiculous to refuse it, but most do, strange as that might seem.

Good Friday is for us. What we call Easter is for us. Our salvation is completely and totally paid for. Yet some will try to arrange their own salvation by being good. There are some who will try to earn their own salvation. Some simply ignore it, not really realizing what they turn their back on.

One thing is certain. We all die. God has provided for us a way

to spend eternity with Him. If we don’t accept it, we will spend eternity without Him, which is far worse than death.

For those unaware, eternity is a long time.

A Side Effect of Pride

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1st, let me speak of the well known. Of all sin, pride is one that angers God most. I can easily reason why. It does frequently stand in the way of a man’s salvation. The man that believes himself good, also believes that he has no need of salvation.

Ludacris as this sounds, it is a common stance by many. How many times have you heard, I am far better than most. Why shouldn’t I be allowed into heaven.

I suppose, this means anyone better than Hitler will have to be permitted in.

Another problem with pride is that it causes us to have a distorted view of things. It causes one race to think of themselves as being superior to another. I am xyz, so WE are better than them. WE always will be and God has said so. Some think that was how Hitler thought, this even though he consiered himself superior to God’s chosen people, this even though he was half Jew. ( That’s crazy nuts) This is what happens when you let Satan use pride to twist your mind.

Then of course, there are the atheist who plant their feeble 2 feet and say to the world, there is no God. It is the ultimate pride. He believes that, poof, the whole Universe just exploded out of thin air.

Oops. That would be impossible, right. there was no air, thin or otherwise.

To get to my point, finally. Jesus, while walking this planet was born a Jew. That is to say, He very probably appeared to be Jewish. His hair was likely dark brown black or even red, unlike painted by the Europeans. His skin might have had an olive overtone or maybe pale. I will be the first to admit, I don’t know. He was a decendant of David, who was pale and red headed.

On the other hand, the possibilities of His skin being black are very remote. I won’t plant my feet and defiantly say his skin was not dark, but I am just going by the hints in the Bible.

I know there are those who prefer to buy manger scenes with black characters. The only thing I add. Be careful that you don’t turn the figureines into idols. The is the first step in idolotry is pride.

One of the Most Asked Questions

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I suppose it has at some time been asked by millions, perhaps billions. If God has all this power, why does he permit satan to continue live on planet earth.

First, let me say, I don’t know. I have considered the question considerably, though likely from a little different view. Most ask why doesn’t God just kill Satan? I have asked what is it that stops Him from destroying the devil?

What’s the difference? Well, we all know God can destroy Satan. That’s a given. It really breaks into 2 questions, doesn’t it? First, He can utterly destroy the devil. On the other hand God can confine him and make him pay forever for all he has done. Obviously, God has decided on the second. This is not conjecture. The, Bible makes this clear in the book of Revelation. The fact is, Satan knows his destiny, all the while fighting to stop it.

So. Just what stops God from doing it right here and now? The Bible cautions us from speculation. Certainly I have no inside track. No one has spoken to me from mountain tops. However, I do have the ability to reason, as we all do.

Therefore, let’s look at some things that are Biblical and do some some sound reasoning. First, the Bible calls Satan the Prince of the Air. What does that mean? Well, as any prince, he has power and he has authority. Remember, for sure, power and authority are two different things.

Before man’s fall, Satan had power. However, he had no authority on this earth. In Genesis, we are told that Adam had the authority, as given to him by God.

Suddenly, once Adam ate the fruit, Satan had the authority. Something happened. There was a transfer of authority. Perhaps it is as a transfer of a deed. I don’t know. Maybe I am oversteping it. It is partially conjecture.

However, one thing is indisputable. Satan has authority that he did not have before. He is the prince and God, being of perfect righteousness, recognized this authority. If He simply took the kingdom back, that wouldn’t be right.

It shows a difference between our thinking and God’s thinking. We, in a similar situation, would simply destroy Satan. Instead God’s plan is different. He bought back the authority, that is He purchased the authority with a price.

That price was His only son, a sacrifice slain from before time.

Then, at a time of God’s choosing, He will use his power and He will do it with full authority. He will not destroy Satan, his demons or any of those who have rejected Him. Instead, they will suffer an eternal punishment for all the wrong they have done and for every evil thought they had.

Regardless, if I be completely right or not, just maybe if you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your savior, it is now the time to change that.

To Jesus, the Son of the living God, all authority has been given. Hence, he has the the power and authority to save everyone. However, Jesus is righteous. He will not force you to accept Him. You have the choice. You have the right to reject his gift of salvation. It is the power of Satan to give you false reasons to deny Him. No one will force salvation on anyone.