Sometime in the next twenty or thirty years or so, I will be checking out of this hotel called earth, and I will be staying in my permanent home in Heaven. One day it dropped in my heart that I wanted to leave something behind for my kids and others that would be of eternal value. I’m not a rich man in money and goods; besides, that stuff is not in itself eternal. I observed how the Apostle Paul wrote letters that were preserved and passed down to others. That guy is still winning souls by the millions and blessing millions more. So, I figured if I took sixty years of what I have learned in walking with the Lord, and got it down to the basic Bible message that will benefit all, that might be of eternal value. I’ve been through a lot in those sixty years. I can say one thing about it all: God is faithful. He is true to His Word. He is true to His Spirit-anointed Son, Jesus. He is true to me and to all people. We can truly trust God. I am very thankful that by His mercy and grace, we can all have an abundant-life relationship with Him. Abundant life starts by having peace and assurance that because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross, we are made right with God. Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ brings us into eternal life with Him, and releases the blessings of God upon us. For sixty years I have loved to share Jesus, and it gets sweeter as the days go by. But, back to what I started to say. I want to leave something behind of eternal value, so I wrote a book. It is entitled, “What is God’s Answer for Me, and the Rest of the World.” If we will take the Word of God at face value and get the over-all picture of the revelation of Jesus Christ (Christ means “Spirit-anointed Messiah”), we will find God’s answer for our life. You can catch a fish and serve it to a person for a meal, or, you can share with that person how to get the equipment and how to fish, and you can feed that person for a lifetime. And, they can teach others how to get the equipment and how to fish. So that is what I have attempted to do. I have taken sixty years of Bible study and walking with the Lord (and times of not walking with the Lord), and I have put it into words that will give you the understanding of how to get that equipment and how to use it to your and others benefit. I, of course, would like for every person to read the book. It’s not a money-making scheme. It is a message, replete with life experiences, that is burning in my heart to share with all. Amazon and Barnes and Noble carry it.
Author: admin
preachJesus77
Rescued and Rendering Gratitude
I marveled as I heard the story of one of my daughter’s dogs she rescued. To look at the dog with his scarred head, you would think he had been in many fights. But the fact is that due to gross neglect, the dog was covered in deep bacterial infections and fungi with running sores all over his head and body. These deep sores left scars. His internal digestive condition was such that his body was not digesting food, so he was malnourished to the point of starvation. Those infections were in his paws so he could hardly walk, and certainly, each step was with pain. These sores and his skin condition made him extremely sensitive to touch. Just to touch him would cause him to react. His lowered immune system caused him to be resistant to cure and healing, and it made him subject to any infection, fungus or any other debilitating condition that might come his way. With much hair missing and being covered with oozing sores, he was a sight to behold. Most would think he was worthy of a bullet to put him out of his misery. But not the heart of an animal rescuer. The heart of the animal rescuer sees beyond the present condition and rolls up the sleeves and proceeds to administer the cure. The daily routine was overlooking the reactions from frequent, painful medicated baths. Internal medications had to be administered daily. Slowly, his digestive system had to acclimate to nutritious food. In that period of time there is much regurgitative and diarrhea reaction. Slowly, patiently, daily, the rescuer administers the cure. In time, the conditions are conquered. The dog goes from torment to tranquility. Knowing the story, one can understand the loving look of gratitude that emanates from the dog’s gaze to his owner and master. What a picture of how the Lord Jesus works to rescue those who are out of the path of abundant life! Many people are carrying many spiritual bacterial and fungal sores. Outwardly, we can look really good and pretty, but inwardly we can be filled with fear, skepticism, hatred, bitterness and evil thoughts of all kinds. We can adapt to our misery, but we are sore to the touch, so easily offended and angered. Our walk is affected by sore feet. We can’t handle good, spiritual food so we spew out negative opinions wherever we go. The Good Shepherd, Christ Jesus, draws us to Himself and takes us in. His daily, loving, tender, patient care administers the Word of truth and the Spirit of life and power to us. Slowly, our torment is transformed into tranquility. The very image of Christ is formed within us. In Him there is life, peace, purpose and power. Living in the life and nourishment that only Jesus can provide through His Word and Spirit, is the way to abundant life and contentment. With Jesus as Lord and Master, we can gaze upon Him and render praises for all eternity.
Good Muscadine Juice
I like that red muscadine juice that Post puts out. We keep a bottle in the refrigerator and a back up in the pantry. I don’t care for the wine. Dad used to make muscadine wine. The juice was good starting out, but by the time it went through the fermentation process, it lost all its sweet goodness. Besides, I messed with alcohol, and now I don’t indulge in the bottled (or canned) spirits. But the muscadine juice, I like. I like to use it every morning to take communion. It’s not a religious ritual with me. It is just a reminder. The Word says as often as you choose to do it, do it as a reminder of what the Lord has done for us. There are a couple of pills and a vitamin that I take first thing in the day. I just call them my communion “elements,” and with a big swig of the muscadine juice from the refrigerator door, I serve a reminder to myself. I say, “Thank you, Lord, for taking a beating so I can be healed and strengthened and my youth renewed; and thank you, Lord, for dying on the cross and shedding your blood so that my sins are all taken away and I have the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to my account. Thank you, Lord, that I stand righteous in your sight because of what Jesus has done for me.” This starts every day off with a fresh realization of what I have in Christ Jesus, the Spirit-anointed Son of God. God wants us to keep in mind what Jesus has done for us. That’s why He gave us the ordinance of communion. He wants us to “discern” or realize the worth of what Jesus did for us and apply it to our life by faith. If we partake of communion (the Lord’s supper) “unworthily” or “irreverently,” not understanding and applying His work to our life, then we live under condemnation and in weakness and sickness, and sometimes even premature death. If we partake of communion as just a religious ritual, not stopping to thank Him for what He has done, and apply it to our life by faith, then we continue in bondage. Communion is designed to help set us free in every way so we won’t fall under the same condemnation as the world of spiritual darkness, defeat and sickness in body. Whether we do it corporately at church or privately at home, or both ways, it is to serve to liberate us in spirit, soul, and body. It is God’s ordained reminder— “This Do in Remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). We are to examine ourselves to see what we are dwelling on and believing. Do we have sin in our life? Then by faith, run to the blood for cleansing. Do we have sickness in our life? Then by faith, run to the broken body of Jesus for healing. Remember what Jesus has done for us.
Successful Business
Over the years I have engaged in different businesses. When the rage of the age was waterbeds, I put in a waterbed store. It lasted about a year and a half. I had a vision and desire, but I did not have sufficient capitalization and a solid business plan along with some of the other proper preparations for a successful business. How does the saying go? “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.” That’s basically what happened. Through a financial settlement, I later in life put in a combination art gallery, book store, gourmet coffee shop and worship center. I had the money, but I did not have the research and plan. I took some ideas from another part of the country and tried to apply those ideas to the local area. People in this area hardly new about latte, cappuccino and coffees such as that, at that time. People were accustomed to craft items, but were strangers to bronze art. The type books I carried were not the books that fit into the mainstream demand of the general public at that time. Now these items are well known and widely distributed. Timing was a factor. Successful business needs proper provisions in operation, proper planning and operating by that plan and doing things in proper timing. These are just a few of the factors involved for a successful business. The same things can apply to the operation of the kingdom of God. Along with vision and desire, we need to have the proper spiritual equipment and provisions in operation. Being born again and baptized in the Spirit of God are the basic provisions of spiritual life and power. Our “business plan” for the kingdom of God is given to us in the Book, the Bible. In God’s business though, even understanding and “going by the Book,” needs to be done through the revelation of Jesus Christ given by the Spirit of God. It takes living in and by the Spirit of God to properly discern God’s business plan. It does not operate by a carnal understanding. This only brings division. Also by the Spirit, we are able to discern and operate in God’s timing of things. Just because something is revealed to us does not mean it is time to implement that action or activity. Just because something might be good does not mean it is God, and in God’s timing. Just as successful business is dependent on careful adherence to the factors involved, so does operating successfully in the kingdom of God depend on our careful adherence to the guidance and leadership of the Lord. When we are operating out of God’s daily Word (Gk. “rhema”) given to us by the Spirit, and not just head knowledge of the Word (Gk. “logos”), then we can operate in God’s purpose with God’s power. “Lord, help us all to wait upon you and shut up long enough to hear you, and do what you want us to do.”
Frozen Creek
I am hearing of little prayer meetings popping up around the area (Benton, Saline County area). I am a part of a couple of those meetings. We meet together at five in the morning before the work day begins and share what is on our hearts and pray about things before us. There is no set order. Mixed in with this is that we freely worship and give God praise and thanksgiving. We encourage each other with the Word of God to stand on the promises of God for those things set before us. These are excellent sessions. I would encourage any of you to get together with one or two others and do the same. This morning, we had seven people present. Last Wednesday morning we had four present at a different location. It starts the day and the week off together with the awareness that God is on our side, and that is the winning side. One morning one person shared a short video on his phone of a frozen creek during the past winter freeze that we have had. It was shared that even though that creek was frozen over so that it appeared that nothing was moving, once you broke the ice, you can see that it is still moving just as much as ever. Jesus likened His life in us and His power upon us as a river (John 4:14; John 7:38-39). When we are drawn to God by His Spirit and enlightened and convicted and converted to believe in Him, we receive His life within us. Being drawn to Him and enlightened and convicted of our need of Him is God working in our life to show us Jesus. It is when we really see and understand that what Jesus did for us is what makes us right with God, and we really commit our life to Him through repentance and faith, that we are changed. We are converted. We receive that life of God within us. After we receive that life, different factors of everyday life can cause our creek to “freeze over.” Especially in the realm of religious ways of doing things, we can get frozen over. It appears that nothing is moving. It’s the same old thing over and over. The hammer of the Word of God can break the ice. The fire of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God, can melt the ice. Then, we can see the move of God. The move becomes manifest. This is what we see in the life and ministry of Jesus. This is what we see in the early church. It all starts with prayer. We are called the house of prayer. When we start praying, really praying on the basis of the promises of the Word, and start yielding our lives to Him, the frozen creek gets “busted.” The thaw begins. The life of God within becomes the demonstration of God for all to see. But it all starts with believing prayer.
Use the Provisions
Since doing physical work most of my adult life since a very early age, retirement has been a change for me. Now, I sit a lot. I’ve been writing a book that should be available in the early part of this year. The title of it is “What Is God’s Answer for ME (and the rest of the World)?” I have been learning to play the keyboard since the beginning of 2020. My care giving job has minimal physical activity. In the same proportion that I was physically active most all my life, now I am sitting. Because of a change of insurance, we visited our new doctor today. The clinic we will be going to gives routine tests and screenings in the two or three initial introductory visits. Well today, one of those tests indicated that I am prediabetes. They provided a print out giving all the details of the exam and diagnosis. Bottom line is that my activity level is not burning all the energy I am feeding into my body. My metabolism is not matching my meals and my activity. This is a common problem for many of my age and activity level. So, it is time to increase physical activity and watch what, how much, and when I eat. I was walking two miles a day. Somehow that has been cut back over time to maybe a mile on some days. You know how it is. And right now, I am reminded of a little quip I heard many years ago: “An excuse is poor at its best.” Okay. So, in the midst of inactivity, I will increase activity. There are leaves to rake (which I did some of that this afternoon), and Silver Sneakers to take with an indoor track to walk. Plus, we have an almost one-and-three-quarter acre lot on which we live. Five times around the yard is a mile. I have a bow flex gym set in my shop that I obtained from my son David, years ago. I have only used it sporadically. The provisions are in place. There is no excuse good enough to justify the negligence of using the provisions. My outcome will be determined by my input, by how much effort I put into using the provisions. It is the same in the kingdom of God. Conditions exist in our lives that are detrimental to us and to others. Jesus Christ has suffered and paid the price so that we are provided for everything we need to overcome things that are working against us. Sin, lust, bondage, sickness, negative thinking and attitudes and the devil himself—all these things can be working against us directly or through other people. But God! God has not left us without resources—His Word, the fullness and leadership of His Spirit, fellowship with others of faith, and ministries set in the church to help. It is up to us to use the resources or not. Our outcome is determined by our input.
Scammed!
I went to a new specialist that my primary doctor referred me to. After a few days I received an email from that clinic regarding payment. The window gave a link offering to view the balance. My thought was, “This is a new year. I’m going to get this little bill paid right up front and not let it ride.” I had gone through the same procedure many times before to pay other doctor bills in the past. So, I clicked on the link, and instead of a balance, it gave me the steps to fill out my personal information. My thought was, “Oh this is a new doctor, so I’ve got to give this information out to get set up with him.” I also had this thought, “I don’t like to put my social and all this personal information in here, but people do it all the time, I’ve got to just trust it is okay.” So, with a grind in my gut, I proceeded to fill it out. Then I got to the “balance”—two dollars. Whoa! That’s not right. I called the phone number given. Disconnected. I had just step-by-step fallen victim to a scam. It all looked the same as the real thing. I called the doctor’s office. Then, I went to my bank (I had to wait fifteen minutes for them to open up). The bank had already put a “hot card” flag on my account. I went in as soon as they opened and I got a new card and a new number. I then spend the rest of the day calling the attorney general’s office getting advice on what to do, and social security (on hold for hours) and the three major credit bureaus to freeze my credit accounts. I was gun shy to clicking on any link. I told that to the man at the attorney general’s office, that I don’t trust any web site or link. I asked him, “If I pull up Experian or TransUnion, or Equifax, how do I know it is a real site?” He gave me the exact address of each and assured me I could navigate these sites safely. Well, lesson learned. Personally, I like to look at someone in the eye and hand them the money and get a receipt handed to me showing the transaction. Those days are just about gone. We have to adapt. We have to work smart. It is the same in the realm of the things of God. There is a lot of fake stuff in the name of the Lord that will rob you of blessings and leave you empty. It looks real, sounds real, but it is less that what Jesus paid for and provided. An encounter with Jesus will transform your life with cleansing by the blood and God’s life coming in you. What Jesus provided for will empower you with the Spirit of God coming upon you in supernatural power. Don’t be scammed. Follow Jesus Christ.
Time To Get Out of the Pen
A smile, a chuckle or a laugh out loud is my usual response to my little furry dog friends Waylon and Willy when I walk out to the pen to let them out. When from the house I see them standing there wanting out, I will walk out there and open the gate to let them run around the place for a while. When they see me coming, those two little twelve-year old fur balls will go ballistic, jumping up on the fence, turning circles, growling at each other, grunting and squealing. They are so happy to see their “master” who they can have “communion” with in the freedom to run around the place and sniff out something new and exciting. The first place they usually head is the last place they saw the neighbor’s cat hanging out by the creek. Occasionally, if the cat is still on the property when they are released, a hot chase is ensued sending that dude quickly back across the creek. Willy in particular is so proud to walk with me. His little prancing gait with his head held high with a quick glance back to make sure I am right there with him is so cute. We’ve prayed them through a few health issues and sought to take care of them well, so they are both in apparent good health. The highlight of their day is to be with their master. They love the petting and attention, but they also just love my watchful oversight and presence while they go about their exploration of the place. Each day reveals new things—a good squirrel chase or a rabbit chase, sniffs of where a stray dog might have come through or whatever else might be interesting to them. But the bottom line of the delight is that they are in the presence of their master. Is not this the worthy goal for an upcoming new year—to start each day off in the presence of the Master, and go through each day with His love and provision right at hand? Is it not the one worthy goal to know you are under His watchful eye to guide you as you go through each day and to protect you from any impending danger? Yes! That is something to be excited about. What a privilege to have the King of kings and the Lord of lords to come to you each day to “let you out of the pen” to walk and run in the pleasures and responsibilities of daily life! It is by faith in the cleansing blood of Jesus that we have life, and by receiving the fullness of His Spirit we have release from the natural confines of life. By His abundant provisions, we can know Him and walk with Him and enjoy life, health and victory in every way. He comes to us to help us and take care of us. Let us start off each day of the year with Jesus.
Good Things of Life
We had our annual Christmas function at the church. After the regular Sunday morning service, we had a pot-luck dinner and exchanged gifts. The men brought a man’s gift, and the women brought a woman’s gift, and the children did the same for each other, and, we had extra gifts for visitors. It was good to observe lots of people being delighted with and enjoying their gift. Afterwards some young ones and adults got on the mike and sang Christmas carols and other songs with piano accompaniment. My wife, Barbara, plays by just hearing music, so she can just pick up a tune and go with it in the key the people are singing. We all had just a good ole’ time. Concerning gifts, one of the gifts that I ended up with was a tin of butter cookies. I’ve never seen any butter cookies like these before, and boy are they good! They are kind of soft, and they crumble in your mouth with a good buttery flavor. It’s hard to quit eating them! But I’ve got to if I’m going to finish this article! We all enjoy lots of good things in life. God has purposed give us gifts to help us enjoy life. Jesus plainly said the thief (the devil) has come to steal, kill and destroy, but He said “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Life in this world brings its challenges and “bad things.” God does not bring them, but you can know that when we face the challenges and go through the “bad things,” He is right there to help us and teach us how to overcome. It all started in the garden of Eden. “Eden” comes from a word meaning “pleasure.” God originally put man in a garden of pleasure. God’s intention was for man to enjoy life, so God’s gift to man was a garden filled with good things. Sin messed it up, but Jesus came and fixed it up. He gave Himself as the gift so we can have life. Life is being connected to Him in spirit. That is being born again. We are born again when we really see that our connection with God is by the righteous sacrifice that Jesus became for us. When we see that what Jesus did for us is what makes us right with God, we are connected to God by the Holy Spirit. With that connection of God’s life, we can yield our life to Him and be filled with His Spirit with that life more abundantly. In the Spirit there are good gifts that God wants to share with us to enable us to overcome all things. God’s season of gifts is year-round—the gift of Jesus, the gift of life in Christ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. God’s peace on earth and good will toward men are year-round gifts to all who will believe and receive Jesus.
Fruit Salad
I like a good fruit salad. I like it with pecans, apples, bananas, blueberries and raspberries. Then you can throw in a little pineapple, orange and mango, but not much. That pineapple and orange is a little acidic for me. My mother used to put shredded coconut and marshmallows in it. Any kind of fruit and berries and nuts will make a good one. Just chop up what needs to be chopped up. The small stuff like nuts and berries don’t need to be cut up. Put a generous amount of whip cream on it, and you are in for a treat. I even dribbled a little caramel macchiato coffee creamer on my latest fruit creation and it was good! Well, that’s how you come up with good new things—do a little experimentation. That caramel creamer along with the whip cream was pretty good on my taste buds. Of course, I like milk and cream in most any form. When I was a kid growing up on the farm, we had a Jersey cow named Myrtle. She would give a gallon of milk a day and half of that gallon would be cream. That cream would rise to the top of the wide-mouth glass jar by the next morning. To dip some of that fresh cream off the top of the milk and mix some sugar with it and put it on fresh fruit—that’s what got me hooked for life. I would dip it off and take it straight! So, I still like milk and cream to this day. And I like it on my fruit salad. They say what you experience in your first five or six years or so is what you become for life. Must be true, because I sure enjoy my milk and creamy stuff. Good stuff! Now the only down side about eating my fruit salad is that those raspberries, or blackberries if you use blackberries, have little seeds that get stuck in your teeth. They are hard to get out. Rather that wearing your tongue out trying to get those seeds out of your teeth, the other good part of a fruit salad is when you can get hold of some Plackers or dental floss, and you can get to your tooth brush to get those pesky seeds out. It is a relief to get the annoying seeds out of your teeth. A lot of times in the good things in life, we sometimes pick up some pesky seeds that are annoying. They are faults and failures that we are dealing with. They are mis-steps and mistakes. They are harsh words or short attitudes. In the good things of life, whatever it is that is bugging us, it is always good to get it cleaned out. That’s why we have the Savior Jesus Christ given to us. We don’t have to carry the annoying things. We can take it to Him and He will cleanse and bring us into rest and peace.