TEAM*

 TEAM = Together Everyone Accomplishes More.
I heard a story this morning about a horse pulling contest. The winning horse pulled 9,000 pounds. The second-place horse pulled 8,000 pounds.  Together they were able to pull 35,000 pounds. This example was surprising to me, I did expect they could pull 17,000 pounds. 35,000 pounds is more than double, 17 plus 17 is 34.  I heard that Michael Jordan's coach once told him, he could help him win a super bowl ring, but it would require teamwork. Michael was good, but as a team player, he was even better.  Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken."  The message I heard was about Pastor's and Pastors cannot do it alone. I think every church I have been to in my life, there have always been Elders or Deacons or both. The scripture reference this morning was Exodus 18, where Moses's Father-in-law was giving Moses advice about how to lead the Israelites.  Moses needed help, Pastors need help. I recently had a conversation with a Pastor and he was having difficulties. Even in a small church with a small congregation, a Pastor cannot do it alone. In a marriage, husband and wife need each other and they will accomplish more together than either one will do alone. A good marriage, that is. Think of two donkeys pulling opposite directions and you have an example of a bad marriage. A good marriage would be like the two winning horses in the pulling contest mentioned above. That is why a President has all these people under him to help him. He will never accomplish alone what he could with a team. A sports team can have a Michael Jordan and the other team can shut Michael Jordan down. Teamwork and Michael Jordan's team can still win. It is like that in everything. We are not designed to go it alone. That is something I see in my life, I need my wife. I cannot do it alone. A husband and wife TEAM. A church with Pastor and Elders and Deacons, a TEAM. My job was on an ECAT Team (Electrical Corrective Action Team). Not one faction of the team could do it alone. My lookaheads that my team hated were good for the ME's. It made their job easier and saved the company money. You can find example after example. we need each other. Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto and we need each other. Especially as Christians, we need each other. God bless, LVZ.

Political thoughts

As I listen to what is happening in our country today with President Obama and his executive orders. I think he is literally buying votes for future elections from the Hispanic voters. They will be the ones exploited in the future just as the blacks have been currently. For example, the liberals used the Michael Brown incident in many political ads this last election trying to get out the black vote. The message was expect more of this (shooting of blacks by white police officers if you don't vote Democratic). This is sic, just plain sic. With his latest executive orders, why do we even pay congress? Obama is like a dictator, we do not need congress to make and change laws, we have Obama and his executive orders. No congress needed. On  the other had what happens if the Republicans over ride and do what they are suppose to do?  They will look bad to the Hispanic community and even if they change what is happening and stop this buying of votes, Obama still wins for his party. The Republicans, even doing the right thing, will look bad and have a reputation of being against Hispanics for years to come. Just like it is now with Black voters, they fall into believing the lies of the liberals and vote for many of the things that are actually hurting the black community instead of helping them, and cussing the conservatives in the meantime. I cannot explain the minimum wage fiasco like an economist can, but look at some of Walter Williams (an economics Professor) writings about what raising the minimum wage actually does to the Black community. Walter Williams is Black if you do not know who he is. Yet many blacks will vote for the policies that are actually hurting their people. I expect the same thing will happen in some ways for the Hispanic communities for years to come and the Republicans will be blamed. I am not saying one party is better than the other. But most of these politicians are about power and not about doing what is best for their country and the people they represent. If there ever was a time when we need to pray for our nation and our leaders it is now. I believe it is going to get worse, and I sincerely hope I am wrong.  God bless, LVZ.

Murphy's Legacy*

Cousin Murphy passed away into eternity. At the Monday Night memorial service, some were talking about the Murphy they knew.  He wasn't perfect, some said he was a poor communicator. What I took note of were his children. Murphy may not have been a good communicator but his children seemed to have learned their need for a relationship with God. Many times we take our children to church and do the best we know, and think we did a good job. But it is when children get out on their own, we see if our training took hold on them. Every generation has to find God for themselves. What is more important in life than to know that we need God? Murphy was thought to not be a good communicator, but it seems he passed on to his children something money can't buy. Many times I will look at people and think if only they knew God. If only they had that faith in a time of hardship. If only they had that relationship going to help them with their children. We are a foolish people if we deny God. The fool has said in his heart there is no God.  My thought was Murphy communicated something to his children that will be better than Silver and Gold.  When I look at his children, I think perhaps he communicated the most important thing in life very well.  God bless, LVZ.

Is Christianity just an emblem we wear?

I was talking to someone recently about Christians.  Do we change on the inside or just put on a name?  We can buy so many different vehicles these days, from Cadillac and Lincoln to Spark or a Focus. We can take Lincoln name plate and attach it to a Focus but that doesn't make it a Lincoln. We can attach a Cadillac emblem to a Spark and that does not make it a Cadillac.  It is what is on the inside that counts. We as humans can put on a name plate Christian, go to church every week but if there is no change on the inside, what are we really?  I think about it in terms of race also. Black White, Brown, Red. These descriptors are not really as important as Fruit of the Spirit. Shouldn't the most important descriptor of us as individuals be Christian? Shouldn't that be more important than race. Does it matter what color a Cadillac is? Isn't it the interior and the features that make it a Cadillac, be it black or white? Sometimes I look on facebook at different postings and I wonder if some Black people think only White people can be prejudice. I feel like if we deal with the interior and the features, such as fruit of the spirit, wouldn't Christians begin to look alike no matter what color they are? I realize we will not think alike on every subject, but wouldn't the differences be more like the color on the outside of the Cadillac. We come from all walks of life. We all have had different experiences, and we have had similar ones. Wouldn't it be more important to try and be Christ like in our attitudes and actions, our words?  We can become the Christ like individuals  if we work on the inside. It takes more than putting on a nameplate. Allow God to change us on the inside, we cannot  become what God wants us to be by just putting on a name plate.  You cannot change a Focus into a Lincoln by just changing the emblem. What comes out of our mouth, is it love based or hate based. Take a look. God bless, LVZ. 

scammers

I have been getting a bunch of scam calls in the last few days. First a number that shows up on the phone and says SKYPE. They played like they were AT&T and wanted computer information saying I have errors on my computer. The phone number was a Florida prefix but they said they were from California.  First these providers do not call you. Anyway I took down the phone number and called AT&T and reported it. The phone number was shut down almost immediately. Then I got a call from the District of Columbia, saying the government wanted to give me an $8400 grant that I would not have to pay back. I could use it anyway I wanted. Buy a car, pay bills or what ever I wanted to do with it. It was a loyalty thing. The government appreciates that I pay my tax bill and my bills on time and they wanted to do something for me. I laughed,  I just broke out laughing. The number was 202-666-3391. The guy said your laughing? and I said yes, thats about the best one I have heard in a long time.  Then a few minutes latter after I filed a complaint with the FCC and called AT&T again, I noticed they have tried a couple more times to call me. the next one I picked up, they said, we have kidnapped your son. There is somebody in the background with a slight accent saying Daddy daddy help me, pay the ransom, they are going to kill me.  Mind you this is the same telephone number that was going to give me $8400 grant from the government if I would just give them a card number so they could transfer the money to me. Again, I broke out laughing, you gotta be kidding me? I said go ahead. Are you done yet?  The guy said I have to get off and go to work/ I said you call this work, scamming people?  I think I actually pissed him off because I was laughing at their silly attempts to scam me. It is unbelievable, do people actually fall for this stuff?  the SKYPE number showed up again. that number is 786-664-7971. These are the ones that were trying to pass themselves off as AT&T. I do have better things to do then talk to scammers all day. I hope they quit, but if they don't,  I can always use a laugh. God bless LVZ.

Its just Pastor*

I hope I am not picking on something insignificant but this bugged me just a little. We have a men's breakfast about once a month. At the last one, our Pastor spoke.  He had been asked about a year earlier to speak at this breakfast. Most of the time we have a special guest speaker from out of town. Many of those speakers have been asked a year ahead of time also. Anyway, I saw a young man that is at breakfast a lot of times, but I didn't see him that morning. I asked him about it, where you, you missed the breakfast? He said, I knew it was just Pastor and not a special speaker so I didn't go. I thought about that, many of the speakers we have are someone else's Pastor. They leave their congregation to travel to speak at our breakfast and many times they are also speaking for Sunday Morning service.  Our Pastor would be a special speaker at someone else's Church in another location. He prayed about what to bring to us on this particular morning just like any other speaker would have done. He gave a good word. It just bugged me to have someone say it is just Pastor. He prayed, he prepared just like any other special speaker would have. I think he was a very special speaker and should have been recognized as such. As I think on this subject there are two verses that I looked up: Matthew 13:57 "And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house." In looking at this verse, these people Jesus was talking to did not believe his words, they didn't trust him, he was a carpenters son, how did he have this knowledge? And I think how as I mentioned above one young man said it is just Pastor, because Pastor did not travel to be a guest speaker at our breakfast,  but was speaking in his own house you might say. But contrast this attitude with what a verse in 1st Timothy 5:17 says: "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine." Isn't that what Pastor is doing, laboring in the word and doctrine? It may be in his own house. but he prepared and prayed about what to bring to the men of the church that came to this breakfast. And this is a Pastor that pays attention to context and rightly dividing the word. This is the Pastor that has taught me more about rightly dividing the word and keeping in context than any place I have been. According to this scripture, he is worthy of double honor.  Some times I am not sure if I still pay enough attention to context, Reading before and after the verse you are looking at. Asking the who what where when and why questions. In a recent blog I talked about context and mentioned Jeremiah 29:11 and just today I heard someone use that same scripture out of context to encourage others. That's why we need Pastors that have and are willing to spend the time to rightly divide the word of truth. They are worthy of double honor.  God bless, LVZ.

100% Commitment

I have had a couple thoughts about 100% commitment. Sometimes we hear marriage is 50 / 50. While I would agree that there may be some compromise needed at times, I don't think the 50/50 thought is correct. 100% committed is what is needed. Each side needs that 100% committed attitude.  In Genesis 2:24 "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." As I think about this, it sounds very committed, 100% committed. I heard a sermon a few days ago talking about being committed to marriage or are we committed to a person. The more I think about this, the more I think there is a big difference between the two. In the verse above, the word cleave has the following meaning:  to cling, stick, stay close, cleave, keep close, stick to, stick with, follow closely, join to, overtake, catch.  This has a 100% sound to it. Being committed to marriage sounds more like the Pharisee legalistic approach. They tried to follow the letter of the law but would often not understand the spirit of the law. Marriage is a union between one man and one woman for life. We live in an age where groups in our country are trying to define marriage differently. We live in an age where most TV shows celebrate anything other than commitment to one man one woman concept. Divorce is easy. I know I have divorced 4 times.  I see countless shows where adultery is common place. We see over and over again where a man and a woman are having a baby and when asked when are they getting married? Many say maybe a year or two down the road.  Our society does not cherish that 100% commitment.  I believe God intended it to be a 100% commitment. A commitment to a person, not the institution. A live breathing person who has feelings and can be hurt. A harsh word or careless actions can damage the relationship. Stick, stay close are word describing cleave. Stay close, live your lives together. Sure we don't like the same things. I know of very few woman who like hunting. I know very few men who like shopping. Cleaving says, join to. In Matthew 19:6 "Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." I am not advocating
a legalistic commitment to marriage, but a commitment to a person that is committed to you as well. No more twain but one flesh sounds 100% committed to the spirit of the law. I do not think we should stay in an abusive situation, but if someone is committed to us, we need to stay committed ourselves. We need to look to stay close, cling, become one to the person, not the institution of marriage. For men I always think of Ephesians 5:25, Husbands love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. another version says for her. In Job 31, Job says he made a covenant  with his eyes to not look upon a young maiden. that is in the spirit of being 100% committed. I have heard the statement: men will be men, many times, this is not a statement that supports 100% commitment. It is almost like we expect men to be unfaithful. I have heard this from Christian women. !00 % committed to a person is God's plan. How old is God's word? That is how old the one man, one woman concept started. One man one man or one woman one woman is not from the beginning and never was part of God's plan. Neither is adultery. Both are described as sinful in God's word and are contrary to God's perfect plan. When we fall short of God's perfect plan there is forgiveness when we repent and walk a different direction. 100% commitment is God's design. God bless, LVZ.

Root of Bitterness

A root of bitterness, this is something that could be from way back there in our past. I think of the time when a Lead I had lied to my boss about me. I remember that to this day. Our Boss sent me to work on Freighter issues first and then if there were no freighter issues, I could work on something else. My lead and his buddies wanted to work on the freighter, but they were to work on the other issues. What happened is they took all the freighter issues, even though they knew I was suppose to handle them. The Boss asked me why I am not working the freighter issues, I explained what was happening. The Lead told a different story and said that was not true, I was not working them so they had to. I felt hurt, because my Lead lied and I thought our Boss was believing him, and not me. The Boss pulled me back into the main group, and the Lead and his buddies continued as they were doing. I hurt because I knew that the jobs I was suppose to work were taken  before I saw them, they knew but they didn't like it. There was another situation that happened while I worked under that Lead. They would hold open jobs that were completed until Saturday. That way they would justify overtime for Saturday and Sunday because they had all these jobs open. I was not appreciated, because I knew what they were doing, and when I came to a job that was done, I closed it and messed up their overtime. They did not appreciate me. Perhaps that is why they lied on me, they didn't want me out there in their group.  Years later I look at the situation and realize I lasted 30 plus years. That lead did not, he was gone a few years after these incidents. Perhaps the Boss really did know what was going on, and for him the best way to resolve the issue was to bring me back to the main group. I hurt and it is things like this that can cause a root of bitterness to grow in us. That is not the only time a lie was told on me, or my words were changed to make it sound differently than what I said. These things if not cut out of our lives, they will put a bitter flavor in us. I still remember that hurt to this day, and feel I shouldn't. We don't want a root of bitterness over anything to take hold in our lives.  Hebrews 12:15 "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;"  These are  the types of things we need to cut out of our lives. Not letting anything flavor us with bitterness. I have thought about this many times, perhaps it has flavored my witness, my words. Look diligently the word says, look carefully and beware. Sometimes us imperfect Christians are the reason others do not become Christians. They see beyond the fancy wrappings and see us for who we really are. Christ wants our hearts and all that is in it. There is nothing too big for God to handle. It need not trouble us, it is not too big for God to handle. If we give him our heart and all the stuff that is in it, he will heal us. Many times I prayed and asked God to help me keep a tender heart, when I was wronged. These things happen to all of us. When we are wronged, do we take them  to Jesus and let him clean it up? Or do we hold it inside of our heart, and expect that someday that person will make it right. That will probably never happen. Let God clean it up.  Years later, when I worked at a different location and became a Lead. My Boss was a new supervisor and expected it to be difficult to get the level 4 upgrade for me. They had to deal with the bosses from other locations to get approval for the upgrade. She came back and said it was a slam dunk,  no problem at all, they remembered me from the days when I worked at their location, my reputation preceded me.  Let God handle everything, he can fix it. God bless, LVZ.

Random thoughts

I don't think I have pissed anyone off lately with my blogs so I must be doing better.  I think it is a lot of my political blogs that piss off liberals. As I listen to today, read the paper and face book, I hear much being said about Obama and his executive orders, about how Obama care was purposely written so the average voter would not understand it to get it through.  One thing that I hear so much of from politicians seems to be the end justifies the means. Lie, deceive, what ever you have to do to get elected or get your project through the houses in Washington DC. It seems so many think the voter is stupid. Sometimes the voters are just too trusting of someone they believe in and support.  If it is the other side, the other party, the other view, we are a little less trusting. I really think we need more everyday people to represent us in Washington and our state capitols. They justify a seven term senator because he can get more done for our state, as they credit Cochran for getting much needed funds for Mississippi after Katrina. But really, the whole country knew how hard this area was hit and I don't know if it would have made that much difference in the amount of dollars had it been a first term senator. Stories like that help him get elected, but could you prove it wouldn't have happened with a first term senator? Look at all the flack Bush took because the liberals didn't feel he responded quick enough? Where was Cochran then? How does he get credit for helping Mississippi and Bush gets flack? Look at the flack Chief Justice Thomas got for misbehaving and we praise a liberal President who misbehaved in the same manner and more often. If he is liberal, it is his private life. If he is believed to  be a conservative, it matters big time. I understand that a Justice is a pretty important job, but so is President. I just don't understand how we can be so two faced when it comes to politics. We try to keep a President from winning a second term by showing forged National Guard papers. We want to keep him from being reelected saying he is dishonest by using falsified papers. At least one liberal told me that it was OK, because their purpose was to keep Bush from winning reelection. Make him appear to be dishonest by being dishonest yourself. Is it only me that finds this very troubling? We need integrity in our elected officials, we need integrity in our thinking. God help us.  God bless, LVZ.

Context

I was listening to a radio program today and they were talking about context of scripture. One lady was irate when the host said a certain scripture should not be used as many use it. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I thought the host did a very good job of explaining this verse. There are some basic questions you want to ask to understand a scripture. Like who was it written to, who wrote it, who, what, why, when, and where and an H.   I forgot the H and am going to have to ask again. A lot of Christians use this scripture to encourage themselves or others when going through difficulties.  The host was explaining this scripture was not written to us today. It was written to the Israelites at a certain time when they had been carried away into Babylon and would be captive for 70 years. When the seventy years was over, God would fulfill this promise to the Israelites. This promise was to those people at that time. for a specific people in a specific place and time. There are other scriptures that a person can use that do apply to us in context. All he was saying was don't use that scripture to apply to everyone because that is taking it out of context.  As I read Jeremiah 29, I understood what he was saying.  Romans 8 is a good chapter for encouraging someone and it does apply to us today. I know I am not the best at this context stuff and am trying to get better. But context is important, without it, you can make the Bible say a lot of things that are not really scriptural. Like Judas went out and hanged himself, go and do thou likewise. Two separate scriptures used out of context and together can say something really outlandish. Remember we had Jim Jones, Waco Texas and many others through the years. The lady said something like if it sounds good and right it comes from God. We do need to interpret scripture with scripture and just because it sounds good and right does not mean it is. I heard a young lady say Church is in your heart, when someone was reluctant to go out into the rain to go to church. Try and find that in scripture. God does look at our hearts, but he also tells us to:  "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." Hebrews 10:25   She meant well and it sounded good but maybe it was not scriptural in the way she used it. As for the original subject and host and caller above:  Romans 8:28 and on through the end of the chapter is the verse the host was saying could be used to encourage someone and not be taken out of context.  I probably didn't explain this as good as the host on the radio. Context rules, interpret scripture with scripture and just because it sounds good does not make it true or make it apply to us today. God bless, LVZ.
 

I

Pastor Wolfson in Tacoma has preached a series of three sermons so far on "I". He has given me a lot to think about as he always does. Do we have a contract or are we committed? Have our dreams turned into expectation?  This one which I heard tonight as I listened to the second in a series, he talked about are we committed to marriage or are we committed to a person? Having been raised in what I consider to be a legalistic church, being committed to marriage is legalistic sounding, like the Pharisees. Being committed to a person like Barbara and Barbara to me, sounds a lot more like love. Being committed to marriage is maybe OK in that we want to protect the sanctity of marriage as something between one man and one woman for life. But if it is to hold something together that is three days dead, it stinks. Sticking together through thin and thinner doesn't do any body any good.  We need to be committed to a person, trying to make this a good thing. Elevating that person VS tearing them down, now that sounds much better than just sticking it out to the end with an abuser or a user. I don't think we have much to offer if we are teaching to just stick together for the sake of marriage. If the relationship is growing and getting better, we have something to offer. A couple that has a thriving relationship would be appealing to others. A lifetime of world war three probably doesn't appeal to any one in this day and age of easy divorce. So much teaching of the Bible can be subverted.  I don't think it is meant to celebrate and encourage a lifetime of world war three. I saw a short video on facebook about a young woman who's husband asked for a divorce. She teared up as she saw the papers. After a minute of contemplation she said she would sign the papers if her husband would hold her at  least once a day for the next thirty days. The first day they met at the place they first met. I may not have these in the right order. The husband reluctantly hugged her but he did. Then another day it was where he proposed , and where they first kissed. As the days went on, it was noticeable that it was easier and easier for him to hug her. It appeared it turned things around for this couple. There was a movie out called Fireproof where a young man and a woman were  headed towards divorce when the young man's father steps in and encourages him to take a Love dare, a 40 day challenge to work on improving his marriage. In the end of the movie they stay together and their relationship improves drastically. And I think that is what the Bible is really trying to teach us. God wants us to have a thriving marriage, a growing better relationship. I heard someone say marriages move, they either get better or worse with time. A big problem in any marriage is the "I" problem for one or both partners. This series of sermons has made we think about past relationships and my current marriage. I want it to grow and get better. They do not stand still. the other alternative is to get worse.  Often times I think of Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also  loved the church, and gave himself for it." Another version ends with "and gave himself up for her".  There doesn't  seem to be much of an "I" problem in Christ's actions. He is our pattern, and our hope.  God bless, LVZ.

Presidents

I listened to President Bush's veterans day statement and then a few minutes later I listen to President Obama's Address talking about honoring our vets. On both sites I read some of the comments people posted below. I read many many positive statements about GWB. He is a class act, he is genuine, some would say I didn't always agree with him in office but his words were heartfelt and genuine.  They were positive and kind postings, and many said what a good President he was. He genuinely cares about the troops and people in general. I think I read one post that mentioned the deficit. But at least 90% were of a positive nature. Then I listened to BHO's address and read the comments below. Immediately I noted the negativity of the posts. Some stated, he always has an angle, whats in it for me. Many critical of the President. I was amazed at the different spirit portrayed just in the comments to each of their words.  There were not the kind words, like I read on GWB's posting. It was a contrast to me. My thoughts went to how true it is that we reap what we sow.  GWB is not considered to be as good of a speaker as BHO. Many say BHO has the verbiage and smooth talking capabilities, but it did not feel genuine. Even when GWB was President, I always felt he was genuine. I have never heard GWB attack BHO's policies. GWB has largely been silent and has avoided criticizing BHO even when asked by news reporters. If he made any public statements it had to do with his Presidential library or as in this case a tribute to our Vets. Many stated he is more Presidential in his actions. BHO is very vocal about many things, but his actions do not support his tongue.  I think I need to stop blogging tonight because I do not want to be overly negative. But note the spirit that follows these two men. God bless,  LVZ.

Another election

I do not expect much to change. The people in office are about power. It does not seem to matter which party they belong to. I voted my conscience. We have a seven term senator and I think he should have been retired. 7 terms at 6 years = 42 years.  I think we need term limits. I believe there are a lot of good people that would represent us in Washington if given the chance. But there is too much money required to win a Federal seat. I believe there is a lot of influence peddling that goes on. We only seem to be upset about it when it is the other party's candidate or perhaps a candidate from another state.  I really think we would get better representation if we had term limits. One term for a Senator. Two terms for a Representative. If they serve two terms as a Representative and do a good job, perhaps one term as a Senator after that, totaling 10 years. I believe we would have no trouble filling the spots in any given state. After so many years in office it seems they have an unfair advantage over  newcomers running for office. They have many more times the money to run a campaign, and it is insane the amount of money that is spent to remain in office.  We are suppose to be represented by the people for the people. These carrier politicians seem to forget what they went to Washington for. Perhaps a really good person could spend time as a governor or as a state representative or senator before going to Washington, and still spend most of their time in public service. Their retirement benefits need to be eliminated and just get what the citizens they represent get, Social Security and what ever else they put aside.  I  think the President and Vice President should remain unchanged as far as their retirement benefits. I don't know how we the people could get this implemented, but I believe it needs to start with term limits and get enough people in office that actually care about the people they represent. Then they can make changes to the retirement system. Perhaps it should be a public servant retirement system that is more like the teachers and Police and fire department personnel. Something needs to change, and  I believe we would need term limits across the board, in every state. If  half the states had term limits and the other half did not, the states that do not have term limits would have an advantage with long setting Senators and Representatives. But how could this ever happen? There are too many powerful people in Washington that would never let this happen like our seven term Senator.  If the majority of people in this country wanted that, couldn't we get a petition started and get something like this voted in? I think we should start by retiring anyone who has more than ten years in Washington. Make it a level playing field. Maybe we could get rid of some Harry Reids . We have about 47 first term Senators. We have 5 that are in their 80's, 15 have been a Senator for more than 20 years. Maybe it could be done in stages, retire any one in their 80's. then make a mandatory retirement at 70 some time later.  then when we have a more level playing field put term limits in place. Even the first term Senators would probably not want term limits. We have a minimum age, why couldn't we have a maximum age? I understand the need for a minimum age, because our thinking is not mature until a certain age. That too differs from person to person. Could not the same be said for us as we get older? We do not all suffer with dementia, but it is something that does happen to some as we get older. Should we not protect ourselves with age limits on the upper end also? I think we have two individuals from our state that should have been replaced this election and they were voted in for another term. Thad Cochran (Senator) and Alan Nunnelee (Representative). Thad will be 82 by the end of this term, and Alan has had a stroke and physical difficulties. I saw a picture in the paper of Alan and you could tell by his face he had a stroke. He should have been replaced. Thad is too old and does not have the energy any more. He also should have been replaced. These are not lifetime appointments, but they have power when they have been in there awhile, and do not want to step down. We, the voters should replace them for their own good and ours.  God bless, LVZ.

Change

As I think of this word, change, I think of the different way I think about some things today than I did  thirty years ago. I remember a time when my Father-in-law, Papa Johns would ask me to preach at his church. I think Papa Johns wanted me to be a preacher. I would try to do my best that I knew at that time. I don't think the same way any more. I was a member of the same denomination that Papa was a minister in. I will say Papa took his calling as a Minister of the Gospel seriously. I respect the man and minister that he was. I remember at that time as I would prepare to speak at Papa's church I would pray. I would read my Bible and as I was preparing for what I was going to say.  I would read every sermon I could find on that subject I was thinking on. When I say every sermon, I mean from that denominations publication. I thought that was smart at that time, being an uneducated student of the word. The word of God needs to be interpreted by the word of God. Perhaps these individuals who wrote the sermons I was reading also did that, I mean interpret the Word by the Word. Or perhaps they did what I did. I see how my way of thinking at that time could perpetuate an error and while I was correct per my denomination, I could have been incorrect per God's word. If they made in error in their thinking, I was copying that error by my interpreting the word by their sermons. I have since learned that that is not a safe way to interpret the Word of God. Perhaps that is why there are denominational differences. I also remember people talking about a vision of the church. I prayed for a vision of the church but I didn't see it the way they spoke about it in that denomination. I believe God answered that prayer even before I realized it. But I was still looking for a vision that matched that denominations thinking. I now realize that was not scriptural, and I have changed my thinking. As I look back on that time, I believe I was sincere, but sincerely wrong in my thinking. That is what we have to do, to change as God corrects our thinking. I often wonder how I made this change, I was pretty indoctrinated in that denomination. But I also know that that denomination has made some of the same changes in their thinking and what they teach over the same years. I probably could not belong to that denomination as a member because I have been married 5 times. I thank God for revising some of my thinking, before I met some situations in life. I would have gotten discouraged with the turmoil in my personal life and I believe I would have quit as I did once before. I don't think I could be a preacher as Papa wanted me to be, but I do need to feed myself from the word. I feel like I am still correcting some of my thinking from time to time. Perhaps that is the way it is for even Ministers of the Gospel. As they mature and keep studying, perhaps they too change as did the denomination I grew up in. As for being married 5 times, I believe God's perfect plan is one man, one woman for life, until death do part. We are imperfect people at best and we fail in different areas of our lives. I do not believe that divorce is an unforgivable sin.   I do believe I need to work at this marriage I am in and make it work, until death do part. There are other denominations that have some of the same beliefs and think they are the true church as did my denomination. Perhaps they too interpret by denomination. I am still working at this and do note that my thinking is often influenced by my upbringing, both good and bad. That is why we need to daily feed ourselves from the word and allow God to change us.  God bless, LVZ.

The end

Someday we all will come to our end.  I know that the Bible tells us all have sinned. The penalty for sin is death. I believe there is an eternity. Jesus is that bridge to take us from our sinful lives to that eternity. I enjoy life, most of the time. I have had some bad days, but more good than bad. Does Jesus just make our lives better? Or is it more than that? If the Bible be true, and we come to the end of our days and stand at a judgement. At that judgement day we need to be found in the book of life. That bridge is Jesus. In the days of Moses as he was trying to get the Israelite peoples released from Egypt.  God brought plagues on Egypt. The first plagues just hardened Pharaoh's heart. The last plague is the one that convinced Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. The last plague was the death of the firstborn throughout all Egypt. The firstborn of people and animals in the land would die in this plague. There was only one way for any household to escape the effect of this plague. Each household had to select a lamb on the tenth day of the month. On the 14th day of the month, they were to sacrifice the lamb that was chosen and roast it and eat it that night. When they slaughtered the lamb they were to put blood of that lamb on the upper and side posts of the door to their house. The death angel would pass over when he saw the blood on the door posts. This has significance as this is also what Christ was called, the Lamb of God. Many have heard of the pass over feast. We must have the blood of Jesus applied to our hearts to pay the penalty for our sins. All have sinned.  It was that blood of the pass over lamb that caused the death angel to pass over those households in the time of the plagues. It is that blood of the Lamb of God that will pay the penalty for our sins. It must be applied to our hearts. If the Israelites had only sacrificed the lamb and ate it and didn't follow the instructions including the blood on the door posts, the plague would have entered their household as well. The lamb that was chosen had to be a year old, a male, and without blemish. So was Christ as the penalty for our sins, he was without blemish. When he stood before his accusers he was found innocent, and Pilot washed his hands of it. The Jewish people took it into their own hands and crucified Jesus. Jesus was innocent, he was perfect, there was no sin in him. He was the only one that could pay the penalty for our sins. He was the lamb that was slain for the sins of the world. There is no salvation in any other.  I do not know how to be a good witness, this is the way that God planned for the redemption of man kind. There is an end to our lives as we know them here on earth. After that is the judgement. We must have the blood of Jesus applied to the door posts of our heart to escape the eternal death. life is natural as is death. We all face it someday. The hope of eternal life is found in Jesus. Every person that ever lived has sinned. We try to do good, we try to live good lives. but all of us find something in our lives that is not right. God knew that and that is why he made a way for us through grace. It is a free gift that anyone who accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior can have that blood applied to the door post of their heart, not by anything we have done. We cannot live a good enough life, we all fail, we all sin. Jesus was the payment for those sins. It is a free gift, received by asking Jesus into our hearts. Repenting of our sins and asking Jesus to cleanse us. It is not hard, it is free. It just takes a few words, Jesus forgive me and come into my heart. Anyone who comes to the knowledge of their sins is eligible to receive  his gift of forgiveness of their sins and eternal life. Its just a few heart felt words and that is all it takes to have Jesus blood applied to the door post of our hearts. I do not know how to explain it any better than that.  God bless, LVZ.

Who do we vote for

I was thinking about how we vote at times. Some wouldn't vote for Mitt Romney because he was a Mormon and because he was rich. Mia Love and Tim Scott, the first thing the new casters bring up is they are black. Those two are quick to say they did not win because they are black. They won because of issues, of character. I think of in the past we voted into a second term a known adulterer. That doesn't show good character, but then someone who uses his head like Mitt Romney and is a moral person does not get elected because of his religion. Then we vote into office Obama because he is black. Many have said that is why they voted for him, he is black. I get called asinine for some of my beliefs and some have said my thinking is convoluted. But when I look at how we vote people into office that have the morals of an alley cat, and won't vote for a guy with morals because he is rich and a Mormon, how convoluted and asinine is that? I may be overly optimistic right now as I have seen so much on social media with people talking about the issues. Perhaps it was a mistake to vote for someone based on their color or based on the lies they tell to get elected and we know they have bad character, lie under oath etc. I have said it before, good character is what we need to look for. A major corporation with 100,000 + employees will fire a CEO for having an affair with an underling because that shows bad judgement and they don't want someone with bad judgement running the company. How much more important are the political offices where the elected person could be representing the whole country. It like we don't see it, how stupid is that. They lie and slander opponents and one Democrat in Mississippi sued an PAC for slander and won the law suit. He lost the election but the PAC had to print a public apology in the newspaper where they slandered him. We really need to look at the character of the individuals we elect for public office. Not their color, not their political affiliation, or discount them because they are honest about belonging to the Mormon Church. On the other hand Obama distance himself from the Pastor and the Church he attended in Chicago to get elected. Obama thought it would hurt his chances of getting elected. How dishonest is that? Tell which person was more honest and showed good character? I didn't vote for the Republican candidate for Senator in Mississippi because I thought it showed poor judgement when he was outraged that some overzealous supporters of his opponent took pictures of his wife in a nursing home and were going to use them in campaign ads. That was wrong, but then don't use that information and make your own negative campaign ads against the other guy. He was right to want his wife left out of the ads, and he should have left her out of his own ads. His outrage that the other guys supporters were going to use that against him was OK. Don't go into dirty politics and use that same info against them. You want her out, leave her out in your own campaigning instead of making it a negative against the other guy. I determine then, I was going to vote for the Democrat regardless of which idiot won the Republican nomination. They were both using dirty political campaign tactics, and I didn't want either of them.  Another day another rant. God bless, LVZ.

Honesty and integrity

Today I read about Mia Love, a newly elected representative from the state of Utah.She is Black, she is a conservative. She ran as a Republican and won. First thing reporters bring up is she is black and a woman. Mia says her winning had nothing to do with either being a woman or being Black. She won because the state of Utah wanted somebody in office that was honest and had integrity. I do not know her, but I agree. Those are things we should be looking at in the people we vote for to represent us in public office. The reporters kept wanting to talk about her being black and a woman. She kept talking about integrity and honesty. She said she did not get elected because she is a woman.  This was refreshing to me. Utah did not want a lot of dirty politics. I agree. It really turns me off when someone starts campaigning in a negative way. Slandering the other guy seems to be the norm. I think people are beginning to look at that. I believe that is why a democrat won the mayors position in Tupelo. The republican candidate was slandering and running a negative campaign.  I tend to be republican but I am starting to look at other things. Are they running a negative campaign? Do they slander the other guy? Do they have a reputation for being honest? The political platform they are running on is not enough. The other thing is when you voice a somewhat conservative view point on Social Media, you are automatically attacked. Asinine, convoluted are some of the nicer terms. If you give a Biblical stance on Homosexuality, your a homopho. There is no tolerance for someone to voice a different opinion than the liberal line.  Everyone has an opinion, I may not be right in my thinking, but it is still a free country and we should be able to voice an opinion different than the main line liberal spiel, without coming under attack.  If it is bad for a white guy, imagine what it is like for someone of the 2% black that think and vote and talk conservatively. They come under attack. They are called traitors to their race, called Uncle Tom's and much much worse. If you disagree with anything Obama says or does, they will tell you it is because he is black. There is no room in the liberal thinking to allow it to be because you think conservatively. It has to be because you are racist. When you really stop and think this through, who are the racists? Economists will show facts and figures about why the liberal agenda like raising the minimum wage does not help but actually hurts the ones they are saying they are helping. What do they come up with? something like trickle down economics does not work, never has and never will. No facts or figures to support their argument just the liberal line.  On face book I have heard a few blacks that are beginning to think differently. It did not work to vote for Obama just because he is black. I think some are starting to see through the lies. A liberal will tell you if you listen to fox news, you are getting a slanted view of the news, they do not see that a left leaning news organization is just as bad or worse as in the case of George Bush's forged national guard papers.  All that is long forgotten.  I do agree that fox may be leaning toward the right in their reporting, but many of the others are leaning toward the left at least as much or more. So I get told I am an idiot because I don't listen to something other than fox news. Truth be told, I really do not listen to fox news, but to a liberal I must, other wise how could I possibly think conservatively. I will vote for either a democrat or a republican or other depending on who I believe has integrity and is honest, not by how many promises they make that they cannot possibly keep. This is my rant for today. God bless, LVZ.

Hardened Hearts or Soften Hearts*

In Matthew 19:8 "He said unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so."  The Biblical standard for marriage has been one man and one woman for life. The Bible says the Pharisees were tempting Jesus in this conversation given to us in Matthew.  they were asking about divorce. There were several thoughts on that subject even in Jesus day. The thing I want to focus in on in this blog is the hardening of our hearts. I have been married and divorced more times than I want to claim. Many times we do not seek God when we enter into what God's perfect plan represents a lifetime commitment. Divorce is easy today. It is not looked down upon as it once was. I am not sure that that is good or bad. It probably doesn't matter for this blog. I do not know if I can say every time divorce is caused by one or both persons in a marriage hardening their hearts, but what else could it be?  I would think it has to be. God joins us together when we take those vows that say until death do us part. It is intended to be a time of a man and a woman becoming one. Their purpose, their goals should be for both. So much of the time it does become an "I" problem. When we want our needs met, and it seems to be more important than the needs of a spouse.  I think I am a pretty good guy, but if I am terribly honest and could feel comfortable telling all. I didn't do everything right. I believe as a young man I was very selfish. So there was some hardening of hearts in those relationships. On my part as well as the other half. I think it is still something I need to watch to this day to keep my heart right. Sometimes people would stay together and their marriage would die a slow death. My first marriage was like that, a slow death. Could it have been salvaged? Perhaps, but I know I was done. My heart was no longer in that relationship. I have heard it said when one or the other is done trying it is over. It really takes both partners wanting it to work and trying to make it work in order for a marriage to last. It can last and it can be an ever-improving relationship, vs a slow death. I don't think a relationship sets still. It gets better or it gets worse. We need softening of our hearts, we need a servants heart, one that truly cares about the other persons' needs. I often think of the 5th chapter of Ephesians and how God tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for her.  I believe men are to be leaders in their home, and that would be by leading as an example not pushing or shoving to impose our will. Christ gave his life. That represents sacrifice on Christ's part, doing what is best for us. I remember a time when I think I got it right. My second wife, when we were together, asked me to pray about where we should attend church. I did pray about it and I thought of that scripture in Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it;"  That scripture came to mind as I prayed about this and I asked myself, how would I apply this to myself in this situation? I am white and my second wife was black. The black church is different from a white church and I thought this is her culture represented in a black church. She had family in that church. The man that gave her away when we got married was a deacon in that church. I chose Second Baptist Church in Everett, WA. I know to this day that I had found God's will in that situation. That church was a blessing to me. Her words to me when I told her what I had decided, (Not her exact words, but close enough)  How in the world could you pick Second Baptist?  To this day believe I found God's will in that time of praying and asking and looking at his word to find the answer.  I was a white man, how could I make a choice to go to a black church? I had never been to a black church before going to Second Baptist. I was the only white person there. I felt so out of place at the start of attending. They accepted me, and there were times when I forgot they were black and I was white. I was on the trustee board, and I really did feel accepted and a part of that congregation after the initial getting used to it. I believe that is the opposite of hardening a heart, I was looking for and praying for what I thought was best for my wife. Her culture, her race, her family and some dear friends of hers were a part of that church. I heard a good word from the pulpit. I was accepted. That was almost 20 years ago and I feel I made the right choice, The marriage didn't last and even after we were separated, I still felt accepted and kept participating as a member of the trustee board up until the time I moved to Tacoma. I know she didn't want to go there but she did as long as we were together. I think there were other areas in our marriage where I did not do as well, and it died a slow death. I still look back to that time and situation as a way to find God's will. I was blessed for following God's will.  I believe God made some changes in my heart at that time. We can make progress by following God as best we can. We can also go downhill, by hardening our hearts. That situation is an example of how we need to seek God and follow his ways. That is not the only time I prayed for direction in finding a church to attend. The results have not always been the same. This last time when I prayed, even though I am married to a black woman, I did not feel lead to a black church. But I still feel I found the will of God, I still feel I had my wife's best at heart when I chose the church I am attending now. I do not always know what God's purpose is, but I do know he has our best interests at heart. I wish I had always sought God's direction in every part of life, I would have made many better decisions. But I am still learning. As a leader in the home, I still attend with my wife when she wants to attend the church she has been a lifetime member of. We go together.  That is still being the leader of the home. God wants to soften our hearts towards him. Hardening our hearts is not of God. I think God had a purpose in me being a part of a black church for so long and has done a work in me. I do feel I am where God wants me to be. I miss my family, and my old home, but I truly believe God is still working on me. I want to keep a soft heart and be where God wants me to be. I believe a softened heart requires a forgiving spirit, and I must forgive. Even Ex's must be forgiven and they need to forgive me, to be right with God. I threw that last statement because I do not want it to sound like it was all their fault. I too,  need to be forgiven. I hope they make heaven their home just as I am trying to make it mine.  I cannot fix them, I can only fix me. Sometimes we try to fix everyone but ourselves.  God bless, LVZ.

Our Leaders

Sometimes I find this hard to do. Especially as we get closer to another election. I am always tempted to post some of the negative things you hear about our leaders. Beginning in Exodus 22:28 "Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people." We have been very vocal in this country and say many bad things about our leaders. It is wonderful to have freedom of expression. I see the negative postings of our police and after the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson MO, it seems to have escalated. My last post referred to Romans chapter 13.  Then I just quoted Exodus 22:18. In 1 Samuel 24:5 it begins with King David being conscience stricken after cutting  off  a corner of King Saul's robe.  David had already been anointed the next king of Israel, and King Saul was out to kill him. Then in verse 6 David talking, 'He said to his men, "The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the Lord."'  There are many more scriptures, Ecclesiastes 10:20 "Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say." Like I say it is so tempting for be to be very negative about a president I didn't vote for. But the Bible does want us to honor our rulers. It seems we have a disrespect for authority in our land. I think this is what we reap when we dishonor our leaders. That does not mean we have to be fake and act like we like someone we don't. We can honor and respect even those we don't like just as King David did when he valued the life of the King and would not harm him when he had the chance. Remember that Saul was trying to kill David. God had already anointed David as the next king. David would not lift a finger to harm King Saul. He let God take care of it. Romans tells us that the authorities of the land are established by God. We need to honor our rulers, our authorities. They are ordained by God. I believe to be a policeman is a calling, the same as a minister of the gospel. They are God's servants to serve God's people. We need to respect them, we need to honor them. Yes there are going to be times when they get out of line, but just like David did when King Saul was out of line, he would not harm him. We are teaching the next generation to disrespect authority with many of our actions. Some of the actions and protest of the past have been legitimate, like what was accomplished under Dr Martin Luther King Jr. He, Dr King, did it God's way. He was not destructive, but worked to make things better. We need to keep that in mind as we participate in the coming political season. Honor our leaders and lets try and not slander, spread falsehood and all kinds of things that come over the Internet. Is it going to promote a better political climate or are we teaching the next generation to disrespect authority, if it be our national leaders or local police. They are public servants and should be respected as such. Even if we do not like them or their policies. We can vote at the poles, we can discuss and not slander. They are God's servants, respect them as such. God bless, LVZ.