God's Valentine Day

     The elderly couple had been married for 70 years.  Since the first day of their marriage a box had set in the closet.  The wife had told her husband to never look in the box.  Finally, curosity had its way and the husband sneaked into the closet and opened the box.  It contained a pair of baby booties and a large stack of 100 dollar bills.  He confessed to his wife that he had sneaked a peak and she said that it was alright.  "Tell me what is so amazing about the box that you did not want me to look in it."  The wife said, "My mother told me to never have an argument.  When I became angry she said for me to crochet a pair of baby booties."  The husband said, "You mean you only got angry with me twice in seventy years."  To which the wife replied, "No, every time I got a dozen pair crocheted, I would sell them.  That's where the money came from."
     There must be a lot of love for a marriage to endure 70 years.  Valentine Day is just around the corner and a lot of people will be expressing their love through giving cards, candy, flowers or other gifts.  I don't know if I ever met someone who did not like Valentine Day.  I remember a valentine day when I was in the 7th grade in which I had a crush on a 10th grade girl.  I bought a beautiful Valentine to give to her.  I mean it was special, I probably paid a quarter for it.  People called that type of attraction puppy love.  I don't know about that but it was sure real to the puppy.  A lot of people get married on puppy love and it usually leads to a dog's life.
     But no better day pictures God's love for the human race than Valentine Day.  In order for Valentine Day to have a meaning there must be a giver.  Someone must give a gift to their loved one.  Oh, what a gift God gave when he gave his only begotten Son to be the Saviour of the world.  No man loved greater than the love of God. 
     Then there of necessity must be a receiver of the gift.  The lover thrills when the card comes, the candy or gift is exchanged.  It would be a rare occasion when a person would refuse the Valentine on Valentine's Day.  And so it is with God, he only offers his love it is never forced.  The scripture says, "He came to his own, but his own received him not, but as many as received him gave he them power to become the sons of God.
     Oh, joy of all joys, one day God singled me out of all the people in the world and said, "I want you to be mine."  He makes the same offer to each and ever individual in the world.  Thank God he loves us in spite of our sinfulness.

Where can you find God?

     The drunk had somehow found his way home as he had done so many times before.  However, this time his head hurt terribly, and he was sick of his stomach.  Upon seeing that his wife was still awake he began to implore her to pray for him.  The wife began by saying, "Oh, God, have mercy on my poor drunken husband."  At this point, he interrupted her by saying in a whisper, "Don't tell Him that I am drunk!"
     It is obvious that his conception of God was completely off base.  However, far too many Christians have a conception of God that is almost as bad as the drunk.  What type of being do you perceive God to be?  Rest assured, God is not all things to all people.  He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  Man cannot manipulate Him into being something that he is not nor count on God to take their side.
     Someone asked Abraham Lincoln which side he thought God was on during the Civil War.  His response, "My concern is which side is on God's side."
     Far to many want a god of convenience; one who would be around in times of need or when things are not going very well.  Then when all is well they really have no need for God, yet they hope he will hang around until needed.  Rest assureds God is not a part-time god nor will you will find him moon-lighting as a service for individuals.
     The values of most are ever changing in accordance to the whims of society.  God's values are absolute; things are right or wrong, black or white, and never a mixture of the two.  It should be no shock to anyone to discover that God did not give us ten suggestions but rather Ten Commandments.  We often speak of breaking the Ten Commandments as if by disobeying the commandment somehow broke it or rendered it no longer effective.  One can not "break" the commandments; however, he may break himself against them in trying.
     God is much like the manna he sent to the Children of Israel.  He is always there as promised.  They could not store up manna for a future use; it would ruin.  There would be no manna on the Sabbath day, and I am sure that first Sabbath day some came out to gather it and went home hungry.  God will be there for you as he has promised.  Search the scriptures and claim His promises that he makes to you.  You will find He will be the same for you when things are tough as He is when all is well with you.  You can count on Him.

Fighting The Man In The Mirror

     The worker was spending another night in a different motel in another town.  His line of work necessitated being in different areas on a regular basis.  He often worried about the security of the motel in some of the places he stayed.  Such was the case this night.  He went to bed tired with the security issue on his mind.  Sometime during the night nature called, and he arose to go to the bathroom.  The outside light was the only light coming into the room, and, as he came around the foot of the bed, he saw a movement to his right.  He focused on the movement and saw a man standing in the bathroom doorway.  His instincts caused him to raise his fists and drop into a protective crouch, only to see the man do the same thing.  "I am in a fight to the finish," he thought.  He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that during the night the door to the bathroom had closed, and he was looking at his own image in the full-length mirror.
     Ever so often the fears we face are much like the man in the mirror.  They really are not going to be able to hurt us.  So many of our problems can be blamed directly on the man we see in the mirror.  When we see the fear as it really is and not as we imagine we have taken the first step in conquering our fear or our perceived enemy.
     Christians should take great comfort in the promise of God to never leave us nor forsake us.  His constant encouragement for us to cast all our cares upon Him because He cares for us should sustain us in whatever we face.  No one ever faced a more chalangeing foe than young David in facing the giant.  It goes unnoticed, often, that David could not fail because he had already been anointed King of Israel.  Our God knows the ending much better than we know the beginning.  It is so simple- a prayer for us to pray, "not my will, but thy will, oh God."  With that being my desire, all else makes no difference.

Battling Giants

     I am sure that young David was very curious as to what the army of Israel was doing.  No doubt he did not need any encouragement from anyone when his father said to go check on his brothers.  We sometimes forget that David had already been anointed king of Israel.  But the lad was not expecting what he saw once he arrived at the camp.  The army of Israel was sitting in their tents and day after day Goliath, the giant, hurled challenge and insults at the army. 
     The first question we need to ask is, why was there a giant in the land?  He was a left-over from the time the children of Israel crossed into the promised land.  Their command was to kill all of the enemy.  Now, years later, they are still being troubled by the giant.  There was only one family of giants in the land when they sent out the spies.  They were the reason the children of Israel spent forty years wandering around in the desert.  Now the problem remains.  Young David recognized the problem and chose to do something about it himself.  His faith in God enabled him to be victorious.
     Today, many, are facing giants of a different nature in their everyday life.  The giants of fear, financial problems, temptations, etc.  Many of the problems that we face as Christians are giants that have been there for a long time.  Some of them we brought with us this side of the salvation experience.  They taunt us, they tempt us, they cause us problems in our everyday lives.  I think we can easily understand that David alone, did not defeat the giant.  The giant problems we face today are such that we by ourselves can not be victorious.   But rest assured faith in Jesus will accomplish the impossible and allow us to see the invisible.  The scripture gives us the assurance that we are not alone and He will never leave us.  David threw the rock, God did the rest.  When we trust in Jesus, victory is already on the way.

The Most Priceless Possession On Earth

     The sun has set on the last day of 2011, and with the setting the door closed on dreams and plans that once leaped within the hearts of individuals, at least for this year.  Hopefully, tomorrow will dawn, not only a new day but a new year.  I am so afraid that most people have not even tried to determine what life is all about and why they idly procrastinate while time, seemingly, comes and leaves us behind.
     In the dawning of the new year we would be better prepared to face the new year if we would take an inventory of the past year and see what, if anything, we have done that would make the world better for some of the folks we come in contact with.  The average person begins to offer an alibi for their shortcomings by pointing out the absence of things in their life that others have--if I had more I could do more.  To do this shows that we do not have a clue as to the most priceless possession we have- time.
     Time is the great equalizer.  Ultimately, the prince and the pauper reach the same point in their life, in which time has run out.  But, until we approach that moment, we are all the same.  The octogenarian and the baby have the same amount of time--the ever present moment.  Neither can accomplish a single thing, tomorrow, the next hour or even the next minute.  We are bound by the moment at hand.  Somewhere there is a young man entering college, a drug-addict trying to quit, a young couple planning their marriage, a godly saint waiting on the moment to cross over;  all live in the ever-present now.
     God has been gracious to allow me to be upon this earth for seventy-four of the New Years.  Along the way, I had thoughts as I suppose everyone does--"How much time do I have?"  There was the "now" of my graduaton from highschool, graduation from college, marriage to Doris, birth of our children, joys, pains, deaths they all had their now. Let me assure you, it is no small comfort to realize that I have as much time as I ever had--just now.  The obvious consideration for 2012 is how can I be of value to my God, my family, my community and my country?
Without comprehending the essence of time and the purpose of life, it matters not how many New Years your ever present now allows you to see.  It all will be in vain.  If you value life, don't squander time for that is the fiber of life.

I'm Dreaming Of A Right Christmas!

     The onslaught against Christians in general and Christmas in particular continues.  More and more stores are only showing advertisements with "Happy Holidays", no mention of Christmas.  Latest word is that the senators and representatives can not put the words, "Merry Christmas," on their mail.  We have no one to blame but ourselves.  To use a previously published phrase,  the opossum, Pogo, said, "We have found the enemy, and it is us.  Take a stand, now.  Let businesses know that if they are against Christmas, we are against them.  I'm dreaming of a right Christmas.
     I am dreaming of a Christmas in a land where it is normal for a family to not lock the door when they leave the house.
     I am dreaming of a Christmas in which parents are not afraid for their children to play outside unsupervised.
     I am dreaming of a Christmas when the simplest of gifts are deeply appreciated.
     I am dreaming of a Christmas where even adults believe in the spirit of Santa Claus.
     I am dreaming of a Christmas where Christ is the central theme of Christmas.
     I am dreaming of a Christmas where unknown people can meet on the streets and say, without fear of hurting some one's feelings, "Have a merry Christmas!"  After all, it's Christmas and has been for hundreds of years.  Those who are offended knew this was the custom before they came here.  They are free to go back.
     I am dreaming of a Christmas where everyone understands, that in Algebra,  an X stands for an unknown, and Christ takes the place in Xmas.  Perhaps, in that context X is appropriate for many who do not know the Christ of Christmas.
     I am dreaming of a Christmas where our president is unashamed to beseech the blessings of God upon our great nation instead of bowing to those who would wipe the  name of Christ from Christmas.
     If you are new to America or under thirty or forty years of age you are probably thinking, that is an impossible dream.  But it is not an idle dream; it is a recollection of Christmas' past in which many of us today still remember.  God do it again!

We Have Found The Enemy....

     Years ago in a comic strip the little opossum, Pogo, made this statement, "We have found the enemy and it is us."  That is the problem in about every imaginable situation.  We are our own worse enemy.
     The most dangerous enemy that confronts us, as a free nation, is found within our own borders.  We, as a nation, have come to the point- the same as a movie of a few years ago, "we are sleeping with the enemy."  Many of the enemy are encamped within the confines of Washington, D.C.  Congress is filled with men and women who have abandoned their promises of doing "the will of the people" and have their own particular agenda of promoting themselves.  Until a new constitutional amendment is passed that prohibits congress from making laws that affect the citizens of the United States and does not affect them or prohibits them from making laws affecting them that does not affect the citizens of the United States we will continue to have problems.  Congress needs to be under the same health care plan, retirement plan, and insurance plans as the average citizen of the country has.  If they want more let them pay for it like everybody else.
     The man in the White House is his own worse enemy.  He would like to blame his problems on everyone else, but he is his enemy.  He became irritated because of those who claimed he was born outside the United States.  This could have easily been avoided by producing a birth certificate in the beginning and releasing all of his records pertaining to his work and education.  He might also deflect much of the criticism about his being a Muslim by boldly declaring on national TV that he believes Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  That is the mark that distinguishes a Christian.  It is not if your name is on a church roll, or you follow a certain dogma, it is your belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
     The atheist crowd acts as if Christians were their enemy.  It is hard to understand how something that does not even exist (that would be God in their mind) can even disturb their imagination.  If that is not enough for them to worry about, try worrying about this.  In Christian America they are free to choose to believe in God or not, but should the Muslims take over the country some day, they will be forced to, at least verbally, say they believe in a god or die.  Who is the enemy here?
     Inside the ranks of Christians I find that here we have become our own worse enemy.  In our well intended attempt to live at peace and harmony with all men many have broadened our thinking and weakened our position by declaring that the Muslims worship the same God we worship.  Sorry about that, but the last time I checked, the Christian God had a son that was dearly beloved, his name is Jesus.  The Muslims deny that Jesus is their god's son.  How can that be the same God.
     It is time we recognize that we are our own worse enemy.  Sometimes it is the termites on the inside of the church that do more damage than the woodpeckers on the outside of the church.  They are so deadly because they are so quite about their work.  It is past time that we let the Word of God be true and every man a liar.  I MUST SAY IT!!!