Who's Label is on your life?*

Nothing original, it seems I hear something or see something I want to write about. If I hear something in a sermon, I try to make it mine. I don't mean to plagiarize, I do try to make it mine. Learning the Bible is not about how much of it I can quote. How much knowledge I have gained. It's about trying to put it on me. My last blog I thought about some of the attributes of the world I had taken on in my life. A sermon I heard made me think about some of the changes that I saw in my life.  It is supposed to work in the opposite direction. The bible, church attendance, a relationship with Jesus, its suppose to change me to look less like the world and more like Jesus. I have actively been going to church for years. I have been reading my Bible sometimes more consistently than at other times, but I can see how we can slowly take on the wrong attributes after time.    Who's label am I wearing. If people look at me do they see Christ's label on my life or do I look like most of society?
I read the bible, I go to church, I listen to sermons because I want to look like Jesus. It's not a contest to see how much of the Bible I can quote.  Ephesians 5:11-13 "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:" That very last part unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That is what I want to measure against. We measure children against a wall to show how tall they have grown. We measure our hearts and lives against the backdrop of Jesus Christ to see how much we have grown to look like him.  When God had the prophet look at the sons of Jessie, he wasn't looking as man looks for the tallest, for the most handsome. for the smartest, for the best personality. He was looking at the heart. Jessie brought all his sons before the prophet, but God said no this is not the one. He failed to bring the youngest, he wasn't the tallest, he wasn't the strongest, he wasn't the smartest, he didn't have the outgoing personality, he was herding sheep. But God saw something in David's heart that he didn't see in the others. What does God see in our heart? I know people that labels on the clothes make all the difference. I once looked at a shirt and it cost $100. I don't know the label that was on that shirt. I do know I didn't buy it. I do want to buy into God in changing my life that I might measure up to the stature of Christ. I want the label of Jesus Christ on my heart, on my life.  Most everyone would recognize the image below as a 1958 Edsel. Am I as recognizable as a Christian? I want to be. Mostly I want to be welcomed into heaven at the end of my days. That part is easy. Just asking Jesus to forgive us of our sins and make him Lord and Saviour. Looking like him is not as easy but we have to start somewhere. That somewhere is where you are and who you are at this moment.  God Bless, LVZ.

What has happened to integrity?*

I know I have talked about this scripture before Titus 3:2 "To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentile, shewing all meekness unto all men." In a Mississippi paper recently a PAC (Political  Action Committee) apologized for false statements it made about a political candidate last year. The candidate did not let it slide but took the PAC to court for slander. He won and the PAC ran the apology signed by a couple of officers of the PAC.  The lawyer/candidate was not after money but wanted to set the record straight and did want the apology.  In 2004 some forged national guard papers were used to discredit George Bush. An investigation found the papers had been signed by someone who was no longer in the guard on the date of the signature. It was embarrassing for a national news organization that ran the story. A co-worker of mine told me that it was OK for them to use the forged papers because they were trying to stop Bush from winning.  It seems we have come to a time when we feel the end justifies the means. This is wrong, wrong,  wrong. It is not OK to slander just so our side can win. I see it starting to happen in a mayoral race locally, win by slander. What happened to integrity? What happened to standing for what we believe in. So we lose, didn't we use to care more about standing for what we believe in than winning. Isn't that part of what sports in school were about. Try your best, but if you do lose be a good sport about it. Now it seems it's OK to do whatever as long as we win. Wining seems to have become more important than integrity. I think it is wrong and we need to get back to valuing integrity, honesty, run a race on what you believe, not to win. If the majority side with you and you win so be it, if you lose and the other side won at least it was an honest race. God bless, LVZ.

Power of the Tongue*

Proverbs 18:21 "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall love it shall eat the fruit thereof." As I thought more on this subject, our words can really hurt or bless others. My last blog I briefly mentioned this scripture because as I was talking about keepers, sometimes I have caught myself trying to say something nice about one person and the way I said it totally put down someone else. As I went thru four divorces, there was some hurt that I felt at those times. My response to some things could have been very negative. I feel I have healed from my prior relationships and don't feel as antagonistic as I did at one time. I remember one time thinking about sending a card to a guy to thank him for taking out the garbage(my ex). I used my better judgment and did not do that. Can you imagine the hurt that could have been felt by the individual I was referring to? I got thru the hurt and was even able to see where I did some things wrong. I had to change myself. But O the words I could have used as I was going thru those hurts. I wish I could go back knowing what I know today, I think I could have done better. Part of my thinking today stems from a message I listen to called "Limiting Beliefs". It happens in relationships, we use careless words and hurt our spouse. We can bless people and encourage them. We can find the good instead of the negative. Parents use a thoughtless word and hurt their children for years. I don't remember my Dad saying anything good about me as I was growing up. It seemed it was always negative. I remember as a small boy late at night as we were driving somewheres, Mom said something like I was a good boy most of the time. That was like water to a man walking thru a desert. Just a simple kind word meant so much. I read one time that it takes 20 positive statements to make up for one negative statement. Negatives are powerful and we seem to remember them. I want the power of my tongue to be for the betterment of mankind. Think of the negatives we hear in any election campaign, character assassination is commonplace. Yet the Bible tells us to slander no man.  Things can be said that are not true to win the seat in the house. Recently in the newspaper, there was an apology written from a political action committee. It was the result of a lawsuit brought by a lawyer who was slandered during the campaign. The political action committee used half-truths, partial truths, outright lies to win a few seats in the house. Slandering the opposing party candidates in key races. They won the seats they wanted. But this lawyer did not let it go, he took them to court for slander and won. He did not want money, he wanted a public apology and got it in the newspaper. I remember a few years ago when forged national Guard papers were used to discredit George Bush.  A lady I worked with who was against George Bush thought that is was OK for the news media to use those papers because they were trying to stop George Bush from winning. We are in a sad state when it is OK to use falsehoods so our side can win.  OK,  enough political stuff, this was not meant to be a political blog. It was meant to be about the power of our tongue and how we use it for good to bless people or for bad to get our way at any cost and hurt people in the process. Let's use the power of our tongue for good.  Truth matters, it's not ok to slander, to tell half-truths, to outright lie to win. I never forgot this incident, years ago I hid a Boeing phone that was in my work area to keep others from using it. It had an outside line so everyone would come to my area to use that phone to call outside the company during work hours. Someone complained because the phone was missing. The lead probably guessed what happened and he came to me and asked if I knew anything about the disappearance of that phone. I beat around the bush because I didn't want to admit that I hid the phone.  Finally, he says Leon, just give me a yes or no answer, do you know where the phone is, that all I want to know. I know if you just give me just a yes or no answer you will not lie to me.   Another time I messed up some drawings pretty bad when I was a new engineer, it was causing a lot of work for the ME's, A meeting was called to get to the bottom of what happened.  About 10 minutes into the meeting I spoke up and said I did it. What do we need to do to fix it? In about another 5 minutes the meeting was over.  My supervisor was so relieved, I took the burden off him to protect me by just admitting I made the mistake and let's get on with the fix.  Let's use the power of our tongue for truth and good, not just to win our cause. God bless, LVZ.

First*

Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." As I was thinking of what to write about this time, I was listening to a sermon about family matters. This verse was mentioned just briefly. The statistics for marriages say 50% fail. Some Christian radio program did a survey on marriages where the couple prays together. They found that only 8% of Christian couples pray together. They also found that of that 8% that prayed together only 1% of those couples got divorced.  Hmm. I know that praying together with my wife was always a struggle. My first wife, the first time I ever saw her was at a revival in Hermiston Oregon. Both of our fathers were ministers in the Church of God of  Prophecy.  From the outside, it may have seemed we had a lot going for us. I do know we did not pray together at least not very often. 2nd wife, I met at a singles Bible study at Northshore Christian Church. Here was a woman that seemed to have this church stuff down. She studied the word of God faithfully, tried to teach it to others, but I do know it was difficult for us to pray together. We were separated for 9 months one time and every week we would meet at church and sit together during the church service and then not see each other again until the next Sunday. We did finally get back together for a while, but I doubt we made much effort to pray together. That marriage lasted about 5 years. I can still remember the Amens she said about every two minutes during a Pastor's sermon. Wife number 3: I was a two-time failure at the time I met her, I was lonely. I met her at Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Baptist Church.  We barely made it one month before we were separated. I don't think we ever at any time prayed together. I did a lot of praying after I married her. I also remember thinking if this doesn't work, I can just get a divorce like I have two times before. Well, it didn't even come close to working. It was almost a year from the time the marriage license was signed to the time the divorce papers were signed. I was now a three-time loser when it came to marriage. I was still lonely. I moved to Tacoma and started attending Eastside Baptist Church. I met this young lady outside my apartment building one day. I thought she has been brought up in church and we became friends.  One Sunday I noticed a lady at Eastside that had a strong resemblance to my new friend.  When I saw the young lady again, I told her about the lady at church that looked like her. She asked,  where did you go to church at? I said Eastside. She said that's where my Mom and Dad go. My new friend was not going to church at all. Months went by and we remained friends, until one day she asked if she could move in with me.   I let her move in to try and help her and we got married shortly thereafter. But we did not even go to church together except for once in a while, much less pray together. The last two marriages were very difficult for me and stressful. I was still lonely even though I was married. Once again I signed divorce papers for the fourth time.  I have prayed many a prayer during each of these marriages, and I saw God answer some of these prayers in an awesome way. After this fourth divorce, I started praying God if you want me to be alone in this life help me with my loneliness and to be happy by myself. Change me, help me to live a Christian life as a single man.  I still wasn't doing that very well, and I was very lonely.
God if you want me to be single help me to be happy with it. I went to a divorce recovery class several times.  That was very helpful to me. As I tell this story, I see where I had finally started to seek God for me, not to find the right woman. But to help me be the Christian man I needed to be to please God. It was not easy. I had a couple more girlfriends that just did not work out, and I kept praying God if you want me to stay single, help me to be happy with being single. Help me to deal with my loneliness in a healthy manner. I think I was finally seeking God first and asking him to guide my steps. To block any relationship that was not in his will. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. I remember praying asking God to help me be the person he wanted me to be. If it was to be single than I just wanted to be content with it. That is something I started seeking to be the right person, and not look for the right person. I don't know if that idea was planted in my head thru divorce recovery class or if it was just where God had led me to, but I do remember asking to be the right person for someone and not looking for the right person. I do remember asking God If you want me to be single for the rest of my life, I am willing, just help me to be happy alone.  God brought Barbara into my life, I was more or less thinking this isn't going to work. She lives in Mississippi and I live in Washington state. I have already failed in four marriages and I don't see how this can work out. But I do remember in a session of divorce recovery a minister saying if God has someone for you and you are here and they are there halfway around the world. God will move you to where they are at or will move them to where you are at. Barbara came out to Seattle WA for her sisters 70th birthday and we saw each other for the first time. We had talked on the phone for several months and wrote a letter or two.  We actually liked each other when we met. This is a keeper, we need to pray together. I want to be in the 99% group rather than the 1% percent group for the fifth time. God intended marriage to be one man, one woman for one lifetime. For better or worse until death do part. So far it has been 6 good years.  God Bless, LVZ.

Friends*

Facebook says I have 37 friends. I try to be selective about who I befriend on Facebook. Proverbs 18:24 says "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: their is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." When I was young, I don't think I knew how to make friends. I started first grade in Bismark, North Dakota. Second,  third, and I think part of 4th grade was in Mandan, North Dakota. The rest of 4th grade, 5th, 6th and part of 7th grade were in Hosmer, South Dakota. Part of 7th, 8th, 9th and part of tenth grade in Mobridge, South Dakota. I finished the 10th grade in Olympia, WA. The 11th grade was in Everett, WA. Part of my senior year was in Snohomish, WA and the last part of my senior year was in Arlington, WA where I did graduate. That averages out to a year and a half in each school. (Average). I envy people who had friends from the first grade thru to their senior year.  Barbara's best friend has been her friend for 20-30 years. I remember one name from Hosmer, South Dakota. Ronnie Stoeker, he was my best friend at that time. I haven't heard from him in years and don't really know where he is at.  I don't remember any one's name from any school prior. I don't remember any names after up thru the 12th grade. I think in moving so much and changing schools so often, I don't think I learned how to be very social, in fact for many years I was very quiet.  Most people I know of for many years probably are from the Church of God Of Prophecy. And I think over the years a lot of my friends have been Church-based because that actually was a constant in my life up until into my thirties. For me to know someone for more than 25 years they would have to be in the Church of God of Prophecy.  I couldn't belong to that organization after my first divorce. I had gone elsewhere prior to my divorce and I look back and think it was the hand of God in my life because he knew what was coming. I was going to Sisco Heights Community Church during my first divorce. I had good friends there during my first divorce. Then I also had to relocate.  I didn't try to make a lot of friends outside of the church because I was not a drinker or smoker. Even today I may have a drink occasionally but I would not choose a friend that was inclined to be a consistent drinker.  The same with work, however, I did learn to hang out with some of the smokers on my crew to be friendly and to associate with them outside the office.  I went thru 2 more divorces and changed churches mostly to avoid contact with an ex. Except for this last time, I stayed at Eastside even after Linda and I divorced.  Pastor Banks was the one that married Linda and I and he insisted that we let him marry Barbara and I.  So even Church wise I was challenged to keep friends because I was always moving on with my life. Now I have moved 2500 miles from where I lived the majority of my life. I am a distance of 2500 miles from my family. Maybe this is God's working on me to correct another area of my life. I have prayed about it because I think a good male friendship is a healthy thing. I had a good friend of the best kind in Virgil Derrick, but he moved away even before I left the Church of God. He now lives in Wilson Creek, WA. He was the kind of friend I desire to have again. He also left the Church of God and actually pastored an Assembly of God Church in Eastern WA for about 10 years. I have a friend here named Johnny who knows how to be a friend. He cannot read and write but he is a good friend and I have had to borrow things from him many times. He kept my lawn mowed before I got moved down here. I think my having been an Engineer may intimidate him, although I try not to come off as better than him. I borrow from him more than he gets help from me. Friendships need to be two way.  I have prayed about this and have asked God to help me in this area. I am friendship challenged.  I think it is healthy for men to have a close male friend, and for women to have a close female friend. A preacher one time said a counselor is a paid friend. If we have a good friend base we would probably need fewer counselors. A friend who can be honest with you and close enough to you to tell you when you're wrong.  We need friends, I need friends. Jesus has been that friend that sticketh closer than a brother. God bless, LVZ.
As I went back through my blogs, correcting spelling and rammer, I want to note that I have an accountability partner for the past 4 years at least, at this writing.   A friend I can count on to tell me when I am wrong. It was something I prayed about and God answered. 

People leaving*

I see so many people that I knew leaving for eternity.  I noticed Barbara will mention people she knew and went to school with are gone. Papa Johns left late last year.  I noticed this week another father-in-law went to the other side. Horace Watkins Sr, 79, Gaffney SC,  departed this life last month. He was very nice to me, I only met him once. I felt accepted, and wish I'd gotten to know him better. He seemed to be a laid back country boy. I think we would have gotten along fine.  I noticed his sister, Oleatha Smith, 81, Gaffney SC, joined him in eternity ten days later. I actually knew her better than my father-in-law. Oleatha was living in Everett WA during my second marriage. It reminded me of my fathers passing, an older brother and his oldest sister also passed within 10 days of Dad's passing.  May we meet again on the other side. Last year Leotis Jenkins 73, Renton WA,  another father-in-law passed on into eternity. Barbara Jenkins, Mother-in-law still living.   I believe all of these were Christians, and I plan to visit with them in eternity.  Soon  I will be part of the old generation. My mother is still living, my father passed on some 11 years ago.  Deacon Jones and Carolyn Jones are still on this side of eternity and I appreciate and love them very much.  Carolyn once told me that I will always be her son-in-law. They have been good to me. I never had the privilege of meeting Barbara's parents, they've been gone for a while already. I heard one time that if a daughter has a good relationship with her father, she'll treat her husband right.  I have heard Barbara talk fondly of her father, and she treats me right. As we get older, it seems we pay more attention to obituaries. We do not know the number of our days, it pays to be ready. Psalms 90: 10 "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon  cut off, and we fly away. verse 12 -  So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." It is wise to know God . A God who paid a debt he did not owe for us who owed a debt we could not pay. God Bless, LVZ.

To Forgive*

Matthew 6:15 "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."  A few days back I mentioned this scripture in my blog titled "Options".  To forgive is not an option.  As I was thinking in the early hours of this morning, my thoughts drifted back to a time long ago.  I try to pray for my children and grandchildren every day. As I was praying for them this morning, my thoughts did drift back and thinking of the influence people have either for good or bad. My thoughts drifted to a person that I thought had a bad influence on my grandchildren. The thought struck me, have I truly forgiven this person? I need to, forgiving is not an option as I recently wrote. My relationship with this person ended almost 20 years ago, but this morning I had that thought enter my mind and I had to ask God have I really forgiven her. God help me to forgive. I thought of that scripture that says God will restore the years that the cankerworm has eaten. It was then that the thought came into my head - destroy the cankerworm - and I caught myself, what was I just thinking? I need to forgive, it is not optional. God help me to forgive, even as you have forgiven me. After all these years I was just amazed that a thought like that could enter my head. God does help me to forgive. Create in me a clean heart. See if there be any wicked way in me. Check the corners of my heart and clean out anything that is not like you. Jesus would forgive a person like that. I cannot imagine Jesus coming up to a sinner and thinking like that. Like the woman at the well, he would forgive and say sin no more. That was probably God speaking to me this morning and showing me something he found in the dark corner of my heart. Forgiving is not an option for anyone. We MUST forgive. It needs to be a habit in our lives to forgive any wrong that is done. God really has to help us to forget. That I believe only God can do by erasing our memory. We have to choose to forgive. It is a conscious effort on our part, It is OK to ask God to help me to forgive. I have heard of people like Corrie ten Boom asking God to help her to forgive as she met one of her captors some years later. Forgiving is not optional in any case, it is an absolute necessity. God bless, LVZ.

Referrals*

I have been wandering about today researching information and contractors for building a house. I want to build a new house. There are many ways I could go scripturally with the thought of building a house. Build upon a rock, don't build on sand, etc. I was driving around an area where I saw new construction. I saw a man just sitting there where I saw forms for a slab foundation with the red clay soil built up. The man was a plumber, and as I looked around I saw that the plumbing had already been laid under this soon to be house. I know someday I will need a plumber so I asked if he had a business card. He said, "I've never had a business card, my whole life I have just always worked off referrals." I thought about that and Proverbs 22:1 "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and  loving favor rather than silver and gold."  A business card would tell me what a man does, his business name, phone number etc. But as I thought about this man and what he said, if he has worked his whole life off referrals, he must be doing his plumbing well. I asked some more questions about someone who can do soil sample, and he gave me a name.  There are places around here where the soil is good for farming but not for building. A soil sample is needed to see how much soil I may need to take out and then build up with red clay to put my foundation on. A good soil is needed so your foundation does not sink and crack the floor and the brick if you use brick siding.  I asked if he new of any houses build with a certain type of siding, he said just down the road a ways you'll see a house being remodeled and there is a guy there with a pony tail, he is a sider and he may be able to tell you and he can probably give you the names of some framers.  I remembered seeing the guy earlier when driving thru that area. I got more referrals, and told me of a house he sided up on Hiway 25. Anyway, none of these guys had a business card. It was all by referral, and it made me think of having a good reputation has carried them all these years. The one framer had been doing framing for 42 years. The drafter was still using pencil and paper, he was 65, and the only place a person offered to give me a business card was at the lumber yard. He also was a sider, but even though he had a business card, I had no idea of his reputation. It made me think about the above scripture and the old way of doing things by referral. I could find someone to do soil testing in the phone book but thru referrals I found one. The plumber told me a story about the soil tester. His boring machine broke and he had the plumber dig down with his backhoe until he hit a certain kind of soil.  Then the soil test guy said cover it back up. The plumber said I have never dug a hole for now reason in my life. The soil tester reached in his pocket and thru a penny in the hole. Bury that penny. :) God Bless, LVZ.

Eisegesis*

I like to talk scripture, however, I have never taken any theology type classes from a school other than Bible Training Institute when  I was much younger. I thought a lot about Pastor's sermon last week when he mentioned the two styles of preachers. Eisegesis, Exegesis. Spell check still says Eisegesis is spelled wrong, but I looked it up on the Internet and that is the way it is spelled there. I hear a lot of people speak about the Bible and being very authoritative about their viewpoint. I don't like to come on that strong. I have seen too many things I thought strongly about when I was younger and think much differently now. I do like to look at scripture and try to see how it fits me today. I believe the Bible is to shape/mold us closer to the image of God. I believe growing up, I heard a lot of Eisegesis type preaching, which is a style that "leads into" or finding scripture that fits my thought pattern. I think what I try to do most days is more of an exegesis type "lead out of" examination of a text. However, I think I still use Eisegesis when I am talking about a certain issue. I am not totally sure that it is wrong, but I think the exegesis style of examination is a better way to allow God to speak to us. My last blog I was already thinking about this and as I looked at the scriptures in Galatians it was hard for me to not go into an Eisegesis mode even though I didn't want to.  I wanted to look at that scripture in an Exegesis style and apply it to my life today. I don't think the Bible is something that changes, I think it is me that needs to change as my understanding of the word improves. And that is where I think the Exegesis style of examination of the word is better. However, when you travel this Christian road awhile and learn scripture and apply it to your life and compare it with your individual history I think the Eisegesis come into play. I can see where Eisegesis can lead to error and we need to be careful in studying and quoting scripture. I believe studying the Bible is a way for God to speak to us. I do want his input in my life. As I age, I do want to look more and more like Jesus. Sometimes I feel the world has had more influence on Christianity than Christianity has had on this world. Then this nation, the greatest nation on earth is a result in a big way because of Christianity and yet I feel we are slowly and sometimes not so slowly drifting away from God as a nation. I do not want to do that in my life. I want to end this year looking more like Jesus than I did at the beginning. God has been good to me and that is one decision I know I made right. When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour was a turning point. It hasn't always been easy. Sometimes I think I took one step forward and then two backward.  It is the ending that matters most. I want to pattern my life after Jesus and the word of God.  God bless, LVZ.

Tyler Perry*

I went to see Tyler Perry's newest movie, "The Temptation". As with all of Tyler's works, it was great.  I am still thinking about this movie. I was waiting to see what happens next.  I remember telling my children years ago, whatever you do in life, do it for the betterment of society. Tyler's movies are excellent. There is a message for us thru the movie, and I like that. George MacDonald was a famous writer who lived from 1824 to 1905. There was a sermon in his stories and I liked that.
The Temptation had a message but I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone wanting to see it. It was very good and the message came thru. Since this movie was about temptation I will refer to I Corinthians 10:13 "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." I Corinthians 6:18 says, "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body: but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body."  Some time back I wrote about Joseph of the Bible. When he was tempted with fornication, he fled and that is what we need to do flee. I think this world fails to tell us there are consequences for our sins. Sometimes the consequences are in this lifetime as the movie showed. I have actually prayed for crop failure in my life. I don't want everything I deserve. What I do want are God's mercy and grace.  God Bless, LVZ.

Living*

Luke 24:5 B"..... Why seek ye the living among the dead?" We just made it thru Good Friday and Easter Sunday. A lot of people went to church on Easter. In Church, we call the people that only come on Christmas and Easter,  Chreasters.  Then there are others Christmas,  Mothers Day and Easter, CME's.   All kidding aside, Easter is what makes Christianity different. Jesus is alive and well and desires to live in the heart of men and women. They can dig up bones and find DNA years after people are gone. There is no DNA left in the tomb where Jesus lay from Friday evening to Sunday morning. There were a lot of good religious leaders, but when they died, they stayed there in the grave. Our society tries to teach us there are so many ways to get to heaven. Martin Luther King Jr was a powerful religious leader. He is still in his grave. Mohamed is still in his grave.
Martin Luther the monk, tried so hard to live a good life. One day he too realized we live by faith and passed that message on to later generations. We cannot live a good enough life to make it. Martin Luther still lies in his grave. Mother Theresa, did awesome good works, but she is still in her grave. We cannot make it by good works as some want us to believe. We do want to do good, we do want to bless those around us. Don't stop the good that you do, just know it takes more than good works. It takes accepting Jesus into your heart and life. That's why Easter happened, so Jesus, who willingly laid down his life on a cross to pay the penalty for my sins and yours.
I know that I am not good enough. I try to be good and help others. I try not to be a troublemaker, but without accepting Jesus it is no good. You cannot do enough good deeds to pay for your sins. But everyone has the ability, has enough faith that they too can except this Jesus as Lord and Saviour.  We need not follow some talented awesome speaker, its not enough. I hear different ones refer to the writings of Mary Baker, or even great leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Billy Graham is another great speaker that comes to mind. Others are famous on TV and are great speakers and have large followings, but it is not enough. We need to know Christ and the pardon of our sins for ourselves. It's not enough to know scripture and quote it. It's not enough to attend church every Sunday and shout Amen. Lives need to be changed. Seek a living resurrected God. Seek a relationship with a living Lord and Saviour, nothing else comes close. I pick on MLK Jr the great Martin Luther, Mother Theresa, and others, not because I want to dishonor their names. I believe I'll see some of them on the other side, but not because of their good works but because they had a relationship with GOD.  What have you done with Jesus? have you accepted or rejected him? I am scared for our younger generation, there is so much in this world to lead them away from and not to Jesus Christ. There are so many ways and so many telling us there are other ways to God. It is simple and o so simple, believe on him, Jesus Christ. I believe we are the last generation. If I am wrong, I've lost nothing. Some think we have slowed the hand of God thru our prayers. So many have loved ones they desire to see on the other side. Perhaps it is those prayers that have slowed the hand of God. Prayers of Gods people have slowed Gods hand in history more than once. A while back I wrote I felt selfish, knowing this Jesus and not passing it on to my children. Are you seeking after a living God or following the words of someone who has not been able to come out of the grave?  Who's words will you trust?  God Bless, LVZ.

Who's in control?*

Luke 2:3 "And all went to be taxed, everyone to his own city." When I read this I thought about all we hear on talk radio or newspapers about our current President. Last President, it was the Liberals that thought President Bush was awful, to put it mildly. This time around the Conservatives are upset about everything from where Obama is taking vacations to his Obamacare. I can just imagine the things being said during the time this scripture was talking about. Joseph and Mary the parents of Jesus lived in Nazareth, a town about 100 miles from Bethlehem. There were no autos or airplanes but per the laws of the current government at that time Joseph and Mary had to travel those 100 miles to be taxed in Bethlehem. I could imagine the harsh words being said by a person like Mary. Maybe not Mary herself because she already knew she was caring the son of God. But imagine another young couple, a woman being great with child as the bible says. Having to ride a donkey 100 miles to be taxed. This is terrible, what kind of a ruler would make a law like that. Why can't they just send their taxes to the government like we do today? They didn't have checking accounts, wire transfer, etc., like we do today. I am sure they had a lot of dishonest people just as we do today, that would take your money and run. Joseph and Mary being from the ancestral lineage of King David had to travel to Bethlehem to pay their taxes. It didn't matter that she was close to the end of her pregnancy. Nothing mattered that was the law.  But the prophets of hundreds of years before had told about the birth of the savior. He would be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2. God used the laws of this evil King to get Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem that scripture would be fulfilled. God is in control and he will use evil Kings to accomplish his purposes if necessary. Proverbs 8:15 "By me kings reign, and princes decree justice." Thinking conservatively as I do, I do not agree with some of the things Obama does. I do believe God is in control and maybe shaping things for the future. The laws being created may be as awful as the law that required an almost full-term mother to travel 100 miles by Donkey to fulfill a prophecy, but know this God is in control. He allows some things to accomplish his purposes. We can suffer consequences for laws we pass that are not pleasing to God. God has boundaries that cannot be passed. The righteous do not have to be a majority to change things, they just need to get God to move. The side God is on is always going to win in the end. We will discuss what side that is depending on our liberal or conservative-leaning. But in the end we will see God is doing something, we may just not know what it is. God is in control.  God Bless, LVZ.

The Hope of Easter*

I went to an Easter program at Hope Church. I thought it was very good. It started off with Luke and John, writers of two of the gospels telling what they saw at Easter. They started off telling how God created everything that was created. Mary, the mother of Jesus, then told how God had selected her to be the mother of Jesus. These three narrators traded off telling the story of Jesus ministry from his first miracle of turning water into wine and on. Then the play started with Jesus triumphal entry riding on the back of a donkey.  The crowds were shouting praises and waving palm branches.  He healed the lame, blind, lepers.  Some of the story was narrated, some acted out in the play. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss for thirty pieces of silver.  Jesus was arrested and tried and found innocent. The crowds demanded Jesus be crucified. Why three days earlier they had praised him?  He was whipped, the makeup had made the character look like real blood was running down his sides. This was a play and a good one. They were telling that old old story how Jesus came down and took the sins on the world on his shoulders.  2000 plus years ago, Jesus was whipped for real. The skin was torn from his frame.  Still, the crowd insisted that Jesus be crucified.  Pilot gave him up and he was crucified.  A crown of thorns was pushed down on his head. He carried his cross until too weak and he stumbled.  A man named Joseph carried his cross the rest of the way.  The next scene shows Jesus on the cross between two others.  He was laid in a tomb with a large stone. Sealed and guarded by soldiers. The play has a character representing Satan coming out, acting like he won.  Angels roll the stone away, Jesus has risen, he is not dead. In fact, he overcame the grave.   The name of the play was “The Hope of Easter”.  Jesus is our hope when he gave his life on the cross to pay for the sins of the world.  Jesus did not stay in the grave but arose on the third day.  No other religious leader has risen from the dead. Jesus is the Hope of Easter. God Bless, LVZ.