God first

These first four commandments as one Pastor said are about relationship with God. He wants to be first in our lives. The problem with our country today is we have removed God from first place. Some will disagree with what the forefathers intended. The Bible can be relative where ever we are. It was relevant to slave and slave owners. It doesn't mean God approved of slavery, it just means God is there for us what ever our lot in life. At one time there was a lot of discussion about the King James version being the correct and most accurate interpretation of the original manuscripts. How does that work for you if you live in Russia and speak and read Russian? Or how does the English translation of the Bible work for you if you live in Japan and speak and read Japanese? The Bible is intended for us to guide us, if you are a business man or a farmer. Man or Woman, child or adolescent. It was there to help even slaves in time of slavery. Perhaps this great nation will fall, God will still be there for us. He is not dependant on this nation to survive to change hearts and lives. He has been changing lives before the great reformation. He was there for people before the Bible was written.  God was there for Joseph when he was a slave in Potiphar's house.  God wants to be first in our lives, that is what the first four commandments are about. We have an election coming up, and many will be looking to change President to another party and some will be looking to keep the same political party in office. One Pastor said if we are looking to a political party to fix our lives, we are looking to the wrong source.  God is the one that changes hearts and lives.  We can live Godly and contentedly under any government.  God is over all. He sets Kings up and takes them down.  Sometimes, he lets us have our way and we suffer the consequences. The commandments give us the requirements to make God first. It will work under a King or a Dictator, a liberal or a conservative. A Mormon can be President or an atheist  and God is still over all. Yes,  I will vote my conscience when the times comes, but  Godliness with contentment is great gain. Is my passage for eternity ready?  Yes, it will not matter who is President. It will not matter if this nation falls as some are afraid will happen.  God is the source of life.  He is the creator and wants to be first, all else needs to be secondary. People that are unhappy with this President will be unhappy still, no matter which way it goes. God is the source of life. God is still over all. II Chronicles 7:14 has the answer for our nation today. I intend to be ready if my God calls me home tomorrow or I live to be one hundred.  Every day above ground is a good day, the next day below ground will be even better.  God bless, LVZ.

The third commandment

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. (The short list)

Exodus 20:7 "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." (this was taken from the NIV).  As I started to go back over these commandments, I have thought a lot about them. Two different Pastors that I listen to have recently preached sermons on the ten commandments and I have taken a new look at them. I believe it will take me some time to do this, one at a time. One Pastor asked the question, which commandments do you have struggles with? It is partly because of that question that I am taking another look at these commandments. The other Pastor in his sermon was talking about the third commandment and he shed a different light on it then what I normally think about. So many times we have looked at this as using profanity, God this and God that. But as he was speaking on this, and related some incidents from his past where people would represent God, God told me such and such. We use God to add strength to what we are saying. The God club. Or how about the TV preachers that try to get your money?  Plant a seed, is a common term. As I thought about this, how if we misrepresent God, even as I write this blog, God will not hold me guiltless. I never thought about it beyond the use of profanity. But as I read this verse from the NIV Bible and it says it this way, Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Would this be like attributing things to God that he did not say to get what we want? Like when we are kids and someone tells us, God is going to get you for that. Using God as a club. I have heard stories of people going to a Pastor and saying God told me I am going to work with you. Or God told me you are the mate he has promised me. God has never spoke to me audibly. I have felt he said things to me in my mind. Once as I was praying about a divorce I was going through, and I felt God showed me what my spouse was doing, I felt like he said to me in my mind, now I showed you this so you would know what is going on, not to go and make a fool of yourself by making a scene. And when I met my wife for the first time I felt like God said in my mind, don't let this one get away. It was not an audible voice, but I felt like God spoke to me. If people say God said this to me to tell you to get something they want, are they misusing God? Does this verse mean something more than just the profanity we attribute to this verse? Using God as a club to get what we want? God told me to tell you, so and so. God can speak to me directly and to you.  Sure sometimes he will speak to us through his Prophet, his preacher. I have had incidents like that also. Once in my second divorce, when I was feeling pretty low and unloved. I was hanging around the wrong people. I knew it, but I was excusing my behavior.  One Sunday during the time in about 1998, when I was in the midst of my second divorce, working a lot of Sundays. I worked many weekends  because I hated going home to an empty house. I was missing a lot of church. keeping bad company.  This particular Sunday I felt the need to leave work and find a Church. I was living in Everett and traveling to Renton to work. I didn't know Renton very well. I drove down Renton Avenue looking for a house of worship, it was about 10:00 am.  I spotted a little store front Baptist Church and stopped and went in. There were only about 5 people there. A gray haired Black minister got up to speak. His text for that Sunday morning was Psalms 1. "Blessed is the man that does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers."  I knew God was talking to me through that minister that morning. Nobody had to say to me,  God told me to tell you.  I knew God saw the company I was keeping and he cared enough for me to speak to me directly through his word. Have we manipulated children to get them to do what we want them to do and used God as a club? God can speak for himself. He may use another person as his voice piece as he did that minister that Sunday morning, but he spoke to my heart directly. I hope God may use me as his mouth piece at times but I never want to misrepresent God, Perhaps the verse above from Exodus means more than just our every day profanity. Perhaps it does include:  God told me to tell you to do what I want you to do. Yes I think I have struggled with this commandment and played the God card as I said in a recent blog. I am so glad God is so merciful, and forgives and removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. God bless, LVZ. 

Prayer

I was thinking last evening about how does God answer prayer. I think of some of the different times I have prayed, sometimes for the same thing and I get a different answer. For example: in the 90's when I was married to my second wife, who was Black, I prayed about what church for us to attend and I believe I did get an answer. It was a Black Church, and in hindsight, I believe it was God's answer. Yet here a couple of years ago under somewhat the same circumstances, I am married to a Black woman, and I pray about what church to attend and I don't get an answer of a Black Church. Hope Church was the answer I got, and once again in hind sight, I believe it was God's answer. I look back and I see some things God was doing in my life as well as in the life of my partner. God's answer involved two people, sometimes it may involve more than just me and my partner, but for the sake of this blog, it was for me and my partner, my spouse.  They were different people, my second spouse was more familiar with the White Church than I was with the Black Church. I want to make a statement here that I just feel I need to make when I start talking about more than one spouse.  God's plan has always been one man, one woman until death do part. It is often times because of one or both persons hardness of heart that divorce happens. In my case I am now in my fifth marriage. God forgives and we move on. Do I think God could have fixed those marriages?, yes except when one persons heart is hardened it could be a life time and sometimes it is best to move on. I can't go back anyway. I could have spent a lifetime alone waiting for God to fix somethings. It would have just been another way for God to fix me. Anyway with my second wife, she was more familiar with the White Church than I was with the Black Church, I believe God was fixing something in me, but I also believe God was trying to fix something in my second wife. In hind sight I do believe I had God's answer for that time. Now fast forward to the present. once again married to a Black woman and searching for a church. God doesn't give me an answer of a Black Church this time, it is a mixed congregation but still mostly white. I don't know that I will ever fully understand God's working, but in hind sight, it always seems to have been the best. My current and last wife is also Black,but a totally different person, and perhaps I am even a different person than I was in the 90's. God has been working on me for a while. Why would God give me an answer of a Black church last time and not this time? In our human thinking if it worked last time wouldn't it work this time?  We are in a whole different part of the country. It is much more Black and White even today. I don't think the Black Church is the same down here as it was back up north. I even heard a Black Pastor make a statement about the Black church in the south, something like he didn't know if he could be a part of the Black church in the south, it was so different. I believe there is still a lot of prejudice in the south, but I also believe it is on both sides. I believe there are a lot of good people that are not. Even though I am at a predominantly white church, with only just a few black families. One of the Elders is Black, The chairman of the Deacons is Black. One of the worship leaders was Black until he moved to Memphis. So I feel that this Church is integrated, and does not select leaders based on color but on qualification.  These are good men. God sees into our hearts and he knows what both of us need. I do believe I found God answer, I don't always understand fully and I can't make it make sense in my human thinking. But I have experienced God's answer to many prayers and I am always amazed at the result. His answers always seem to be better than what I expected. I look back in hind sight at answered prayer many years later and sometimes, not always see God hand working something in my life. I see a purpose and change in my life from some of those answers, and I am thankful. Sometimes I look at times I just made a decision and didn't wait for God's answer, it hasn't always been good. God does what is best for us. I believe this answer is what is best for both of us, and I believe hindsight will show that to be true. I feel God has confirmed this answer in so many ways already. I wish I had always prayed and waited for God's answer. I wonder how much trouble I could have avoided. I saw God answer even when I was in trouble in a bad marriage, once it was even while I was still praying. and  I am still amazed at his answer to this day. In praying for a Chiropractor years ago, I look back and am amazed at God's answer. How do you know?  Some times I just prayed and moved ahead and didn't realized God had answered until years later. Once I prayed about a car, I really had a need, and It was one of the best deals I have ever gotten. I haven't always prayed, sometimes I haven't always had a need and just wanted something new. But I look back at the time I had a need and prayed, and God answered. I wish I'd always prayed and waited for God's answer in so many things.  God bless, LVZ.

Erasing the lines

I really lacked for a good title for my thoughts today, but finally settled on Erasing the lines.  I thought how the Germans under Hitler believed they were the super race. Feeling superior to the Jews and others around them, even to the point of taking the lives of so so many Jews. I would sometimes equate that to feeling superior. I thought about how religion sometimes does something similar. The Church I grew up in taught they were the true Church and that someday all Christians would come to them as Christ drew all Christians into one body. I felt pretty special at the time I believed that. It was once again almost like a feeling of superiority. In fact I heard one lady testify to that effect concerning the women in her group she was attending. All these other Christian, when they got good enough would belong to her church. I saw the movie, Selma, and was reminded of the struggles black people went through to get their equal rights. How there was a culture in this country that felt they were superior. Many white people supported the equal rights movement, as they should, it was the right thing to do. It seems many times through out history we have come to the same problem over and over again in different ways. A feeling that we are better because of a race, a religion, or even in this day and age a political party or political leaning. IE: conservative or liberal. The result, once again is a dividing line between us as a people, as a nation.  We need to not let anything give us an attitude that we are better than those around us. It separates us. I think how hard Blacks have worked to get equal rights, and now that they got there, they seem to keep separate. To me it is slightly different, I don't think they feel necessarily superior, but perhaps because of the battles they fought to get equal rights, they banded together as a race. They were not alone, many whites supported them. But I feel they still keep themselves separate, through black churches.  I think of the first time I attended a black church, I felt so out of place, as the only white in that congregation. Where did the line of separation come from in that case, It was internal to me.That church welcomed me with open arms. I was made to feel one of them. Not all black churches made me feel that way. Sometimes I felt a constant battle to fit in, to be excepted. Perhaps the same is true today, when one black attends a White church. these are self imposed lines to some degree, internal to us.  Most segregation in this day and age is self imposed. I am white, I think white, I give white man looks, because I am white. I think like a conservative, and vote most times like a conservative. I thought of another kind of separation talked about in the Bible. this was between the Jews and the Samaritans. The Jews would take the long route to avoid contact with the Samaritans. Or how about the Publicans. Publicans and sinners they called them, once again the Jews hated them. But Jesus crossed the line. He ate with them, visited with them, told them about living water or being born again. Jesus told them what they must do to be saved. He did not condone their sin, but showed them a  way out.  He did not condemn them but forgave them. What lines have we drawn or what walls have we built in our society today? I have seen this in my own life, Blacks that do not feel comfortable asking me a simple question but will ask my wife, who is black. Or sometimes the role is reversed, and a black is in a white group of Christians, and they feel uncomfortable being the only Black. God is not drawing those lines, we are. Many times it is internal. Yes there are cultural differences. When Germans came to this country they settled in areas where other Germans settled. My ancestors would go to a German speaking church. But over the years they became one with the earlier Americans. Perhaps there are still areas where there is separation because of cultural differences. But once again, we have come a long way and those are self imposed lines. I chose to attend a Black church years ago, sometimes I was  the only White. Yes it felt a little awkward at first, but I got over it. I had prayed about it, where to attend church. We were a mixed couple. As I was praying about this concern, I read Ephesians 5;25  "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;"    I was asking as I read that how do I apply this scripture to this situation, looking for a church for a mixed couple, mixed race, mixed culture. I thought,  my wife is black, that is her culture, her race, she had family attending that church. I thought that is how I apply that scripture to my life at that time.  I chose a Black church. When my wife at that time asked me if I had decided , I said yes, Second Baptist, a Black Church. The first words out of her mouth were "How the hell can you pick Second Baptist?"  I was White, and I am sure she expected me to pick a White Church.  We had visited Bethany Christian Assembly, Bethal Baptist, Meadowdale Baptist Church and others. But I believe God was trying to erase a line of division in my life.  I believe, he is trying to do that again today.  We may not all think alike, especially culturally and politically, but we are all made in the image of God, and spiritually we can cross that line. Perhaps that is what Jesus wants to do in this day and age, just like he crossed the barriers between Jew and Samaritan, between Publican and Pharisee, and Sadducee, Greek and Hebrew, even slave and free. We do not need to have monolithic thought on every detail, but we can erase the lines between us culturally and politically and worship the God who created us all. We were all created in his image. Perhaps there is another line we draw, once I had a girlfriend who worked at Walmart, a co-worker asked if I was still seeing Walmart Girl as he called her. Yes, I said. He said you are an Engineer, you can do better than a Walmart Girl. Jesus taught against those types of division also. Do you see one come into your midst in fine raiment and another in rags and you show respect of persons, God is not pleased.  May I be an eraser in his hands and work to erase the lines between us. Many of these lines are self imposed and learned. A child has no problem crossing lines of political, economic and race. Neither should we.  God bless, LVZ.

Busted relationships

Just in talking and in normal everyday living I noticed once again how important a forgiving attitude is. We are human and all it takes is a little discomfort, like a rainstorm, for a raised voice or a facial expression and a wrong word can be said. In any relationship that forgiving attitude is needed. Between husband and wife, parent and child, sibling against sibling, friend against friend. I noted yesterday, just in kidding around a wrong word can be said, and feelings can be hurt. It is an everyday possibility, we are human, we get tired. It can happen between neighbor and neighbor, or church member against church member. But O, that forgiving attitude, how far it can go to keep relationships strong. It is needed in every relationship. It is a core value of life. A forgiving attitude, a forgiving spirit is so needed today. It doesn't minimize the hurts that are caused by the careless word or action. Those are real, they hurt, sometimes minor sometimes major, but they are real. I just have to look at myself to see how easy it is to say the wrong word, to be in the wrong attitude. God is the only one I know of that can help us to develop that forgiving attitude. He is the master at it, look at all he forgives. He is our example, just think of all he has forgiven us. We need to be like him, it is forgotten, thrown away as far as the east is from the west. Relationships don't need to be busted, it just takes a forgiving attitude to start the healing process.  God bless, LVZ.

Mayor

I once again spoke and shook hands with the Mayor of Tupelo. I like him even if he is a Democrat, I believe he has integrity, something we need to look for in our leaders.  I like what he said, it only took a couple of belly punches to get him down to earth after winning the election. He gave credit to all the city staffers. They are the ones that do the heavy lifting, and it is they that should get the credit.  I like that, when he acknowledges those under him and those that work with him, Aldermen and Alderwomen and other staffers. As the church leaders offered up prayer for this leader,  he requested they include those that work with him. He commented on the church starting with a call to prayer for our nation and our national leaders.
  I believe that is what is going to fix this country. Not Obama , not the Democrats, not the Republicans, but God's people humbling themselves, repenting of their sins and asking God to intervene in our nation. It is going to take a heart change in our leaders to go the right direction. Not the Republican, or Democratic party, but God. II Chronicles 7:14.  I believe every Christian Church in America needs to go to their knees on behalf of our country. I know I have blogged on this scripture before. We are headed into the next campaign period and believe me the campaigning has started. We need to call out to God. Thank God for some leaders of integrity, we need more and in the national positions as well as local offices. God bless, LVZ.

Blogging

I like to blog,  but sometimes I feel really legalistic. I want to say what I say in a loving and kind manner.  I want to stand up for truth, but in a manner that would please Jesus. Perhaps its just the mood I am in. We seem to be in a down ward trend in this nation. The Gay and Lesbian culture really fights hard to promote their causes. It may seem like they are winning, day after day their cause seems to get the attention of those in political power. Judgement day is coming. We are bombarded daily with the political correctness of their cause. God is still on his throne. We seem to be more concerned with political correctness than spiritual correctness. But on Judgement day, which no one wants to consider, I do not think it will matter if we are politically correct, It will matter if we are spiritually correct.  I equate their lifestyle to be the same as adultery, a sexual sin. Lets not legitimize sexual sin of any sort.  How have we treated others made in God's image? While I want to make a stand about what I believe, I do not want to be uncaring and calloused. All were made in the image of God. Even those that disagree with me. Help me to be a child of my heavenly Father even when I disagree or am at odds with others spiritually and politically. I do not want to mistreat those made in the image of God. Jesus would patiently point out the errors of others, not condemn them. I hate to get in any discussions, it seems the conversations go bad quickly. There are some things where there is wiggle room.  There are some things that are absolute. Keep the faith, we will be judged not on political issues, but on the condition of our heart.    God bless, LVZ.

The Second Commandment

So here I am taking a look at the Second Commandment. You shall not make idols. Exodus 20:4-6 "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above , or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments." 
This sounds serious to me.  I think this is closely tied to the first commandment. Once again, God wants to be first in our lives. He is a jealous God, he visits the iniquity  of the fathers of those that hate him unto the third and fourth generation of their children. This ought to make us think, how seriously God considers these commandments. We often equate love and hate to be opposites.

The definition of idolatry, according to Webster, is “the worship of idols or excessive devotion to, or reverence for some person or thing.” An idol is anything that replaces the one, true God. The most prevalent form of idolatry in Bible times was the worship of images that were thought to embody the various pagan deities.

An idol is anything that replaces the one true God, according to Webster.If we do not have time for God in our lives, what have we replaced God with? That is our Idol and our god. The one true God is a jealous God. He does not want anything to replace him.  He shews mercy to thousands that love him.

John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

John 14:21 " He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."

He wants to be first in our lives as both the first and second commandments show. I honestly struggle with keeping him first in my life. I try and do what I know to do, and I believe as the scripture above states, I am loved of my heavenly Father. And that is a good place to be. Do our actions say that we love God or hate him?  If ye love me, keep my commandments. God bless, LVZ.

The first Commandment

"Thou shalt have no other Gods before me."  Exodus 20:3 So far this year I have heard a couple of sermons on the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt have no other gods before me, is the first commandment. These sermons have caused me to  think a lot about these commandments. One Pastor asked, what commandments do your struggle with? So I started to think about these commandments.  In Mark chapter 12, verse 30 "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."
When I read the first commandment from the old testament, it doesn't sound as hard to keep as it does in the New Testament. The New Testament version is Jesus speaking.  It becomes clear that what this commandment is saying, God wants to be the most important thing in our life. What ever is more important in your life than God, is your god. I hear people say they love God, he is in their hearts. I will say it bothers me to hear people say that when they do not attend a house of worship. Recently, many Seahawks fans either went to the game last Sunday or watched it on television. They are fans, they love the Seahawks, they scheduled time to be at the game or to watch it. I didn't watch it or go to the game. Would you call me a serious Seahawks fan if I didn't feel it was important enough to at least watch the game? Is God really your God if you don't make time to spend with him?  It is a heart thing. The verse in Mark is saying love God with all your heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, with all thy strength. What does that look like? What should it look like?  I think it would look like someone who wants to worship God, makes plans to be in his house regularly. I think a person that loved God with their whole heart, mind, soul and strength would want to read from his word. I think there are times when I struggle with this commandment. Is God really number one in my life? What ever we find more important then God and spending time with him, is our god.  God bless, LVZ. 

Racial tension

As I think about the protests that have been happening. As I read what people are saying with Martin Luther King Jr celebration happening at this time of year.  I try to understand. I didn't live in an area where all this racial discrimination and the civil rights movement was happening. I lived in South  and North Dakota up until 1969. I heard the stories of family members that were picked up by the police and questioned and never seen again. I understand there there could be some deep seated hurts among Blacks in this country. I didn't live in an area were there were white only and colored only drinking fountains. Nor did I ever see separate doors for entering a doctors office. By the time I was around any black people all this had changed. Are things not better today then they were in the 50's and 60's?  I lived a somewhat sheltered life, and didn't know what was meant by a drug problem when I moved to Washington State at the age of 16. For lack of knowledge and probably to be funny, I said some things in times past that would make me cringe if I heard them come out of someones mouth today. I remember the first time I came in close contact with a black boy, about my age. I had never played much sports. That is a whole story in itself.  We were playing basket ball and during the course of our game, this young Black man held out his hands for me to slap and I didn't know what it was. I didn't slap his hands. I wonder today if he has any idea it wasn't because he was black, but I didn't know what was expected of me, and I didn't want to make a fool of myself.  I know today that is all that was. He held out his hands for me to slap and I should have slapped them. I honestly didn't know, and I was trained to not ask to many questions.  I just think things are much better today. I just think when we see black and white couples marrying and dating. When we see black and white living in the same neighborhood, going to the same church, that things are better. I believe there is always going to be improvements needed. We regress, if we don't practice skills and behavior. When you listen to these speakers you tend to think nothing has changed. I believe it has, as much as we want it to. If young black men are having a difficulty getting jobs, its it because they have street cred? Is it because they have their pants down to their ankles? Is it because they can only talk in Ebonics. I don't see black woman having as much of a problem getting jobs. For the most part they talk better and dress more normal. Yes I said it, a man wearing his pants down so you can see his boxers is not normal.  Is there prejudice? I am sure of it, in fact I believe all of us have some prejudices.  I believe it is a condition of the heart. If a young black man were to start wearing his pants like they were designed to be worn and talked in American English or even Southern English and not Ebonics or slang, he would be considered trying to be white. So many of the problems I see today, to me,  are self imposed. I would not want to hire someone to work in my business that looked and talked like a gang banger.  If a young man came to me dressed in a normal way, talked normal, even in a southern accent, and another came dressed like a gang banger, couldn't talk  anything except Ebonics and slang, who do you think I would hire?  If things are as bad as some of these speakers and protesters make it out to be, I am not seeing it. I am white, I am in my sixties. I never lived in the south until a few years ago but I am not seeing the  lack of change.  In fact from what I have heard, the stories and newspaper articles, movies like Mississippi Burning and The Help, it seems like a lot has changed. We do not live in a perfect world, we never will this side of eternity. The schools are integrated, I don't see National Guard troops forcing integration. I don't see whites only signs. I don't see colored only water fountains. I see black and white being friends openly. I see black and white couples that are married. I see black and white going to the same church. I see black and white members in city government. We have a black President. What is it that I, as a white person,  am not seeing that would cause people to say nothing has changed?  God bless, LVZ.

Kindness

This thought is from a King B Woodard video. He pulls up to the gas station and it is cold outside. A woman is pumping gas and a grown man is sitting in the car. I try very hard to make sure Barbara's car has enough gas. I did forget the other day, I meant to do it the next morning and forgot. If I drive her car when we go some where together, the last thing I try to do is fill it up before we get back to the house. Maybe if it is just to the store and back and there is still more than a half tank, I may not. As a general rule I fill her car up with gas every week. Most times I make it a point to open her door. I think it is a gentleman thing to do. I take her car to get it serviced. I don't know for sure but I don't think she has put gas in her car more than three times in two years. Following is a video clip of a young black man in a hoodie falling asleep on the shoulder of a Jewish man on a New York Subway.
 .This Photo Proves That Humanity Is Amazingon.aol.com

It was thoughtful and kind. The Jewish man stated the picture would not have gone viral had it not been a Jewish man and an African American.  He is probably right, but shouldn't we all practice more kindness.  I am glad I saw that picture. We need to see more of the positive happenings in life. A protest will garner more news coverage and be seen over and over again. I heard or read one time that it takes 20 positives to make up for one negative. This positive image will probably only bee seen once, but news reports of the negative happenings  will be shown over and over again.  Recently on a flight, there was a young boy in the row in front of me. He was probably having a hard time with his ears as we reached higher elevations, He was tired and cranky. His mother was doing her best. I distracted him for a moment, and touched his little fingers on the seat back, we made a little game of it and another passenger also joined in. The little boy quieted down. Perhaps the distraction got his focus off his own misery. It was a small thing, but it was a kindness to try and help the mother with her child. I am sure there are many other ways we show kindness. My neighbors across the street have a mudhole in their driveway. Me and another neighbor helped them level their driveway area and spread some gravel on top of it, from my gravel pile. Didn't have to do it, but it was a kindness. I think little kindnesses like this happen everyday and we don't notice. I have tried to get these neighbors to come to church, with no luck so far. I think whatever kindnesses I show are largely the result of my wanting to be Christlike. 2 Peter 1:5-8 "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

 God bless, LVZ.

Tolerance

As I think about what has happened in France, I wonder if we are much different in this country, under the surface? Liberals seem to think any one who thinks conservatively is not thinking and Conservatives think the same about Liberals.  We see the intolerance in our Nations Capitol with our lawmakers. Our President has already stated if our lawmakers come up with a plan for immigration, he'll veto it.  How many other times have you heard one side or the other get up and slam the other side? If someone thinks differently there is no tolerance. I know it is not as extreme, but will it be far off?  I was verbal about my support for George Bush as President. What I heard from the other side was, none of you conservatives, think for yourselves, if George Bush jumped off a cliff, all conservatives would jump off with him. I don't know if I can tell you how I became a conservative thinking person, but most times it makes sense to me. It doesn't mean I don't think for myself. There is a lot of intolerance in our land today. If you are a Bible believing person and quote scripture that would say homosexuality is a sin. Your immediately labeled a homopho. There is no tolerance for thought other than the mainline Liberal view. I believe the Bible also says do not commit adultery, but am I labeled because I quote a scripture that says adultery is a sin?  I think Abortion is murder, which the Bible also says do not murder. I may believe that way but I have presence of mind to know killing the abortion doctor is wrong. Killing or mistreating a gay person is wrong. Mistreating any one created in the image of God is wrong.  Maybe my views are old fashioned to some, I have  a Bible to back up what I believe. What do you base your belief on? Political correctness? that changes as times goes on, from one year to the next. God does not change, his heart has always been to do what is best for us who were created in him image. We will not all think alike, just don't forget that other person is also created in the image of God.  If we looked at people that way perhaps there would be more tolerance. The ground is level at the cross. God bless, LVZ.

When I was young

When I was young I couldn't see out into the future. I didn't know the joys of children and grandchildren. I also never saw the heartache and disappointments from relationships gone wrong. We learn from them. Hopefully we use our mistakes to better ourselves. I never saw how important it was to choose the right partner in life. But after you have raised a couple of kids and they are raising their own children you look back and wish you would know what you know now. Experience comes from making mistakes. Sometimes we actually learn more from mistakes than we do with the positive training. One job in particular brought it home to me. I was learning a new job and I was good but I was still under the direction of the lead engineer. This lead left on a six month leave of absence and in his absence he recommended me to take over his drawings.   I thought I knew it well. My first set of drawings that I did on my own were messed up. As this customer's Airplane came down the line, error after error was discovered as they tried to build to the drawings I had produced. I had to make so many changes to this set of drawings, But when the next customer came down the line, I had it figured out. I learned more from my mistakes on that first set of drawings then the previous six months working under someone else where they had the final say. It is like that in so many things, in life especially. Many the time someone will warn us and being young we know better and do not heed the warning. But down the road when our experiences have taught us a few things, we will say, I wish I had listened. So many times I look back and think, I wish I had listened. I want to tell a story about one time I did listen. I was newly separated and going through a divorce. My ex had custody of our daughter. There were times when she was almost a straight A student. Her last report card before I left was 3.4 GPA. The next report card had dropped to a 1.17 and then she dropped out. I was disappointed, knowing how important school was. I talked to a senior employee on my job. He told me, I'll tell you what you have to do. You find out something expensive that your daughter really wants. You have to buy it and dangle it in front of her nose, like a carrot in front of a donkey. You are out of the house and have no say. My daughter wanted a VW bug.  Ifound one that had been restored and looked like a brand new car. It cost me $6000.00. I took her with me when it was finished to pick it up. I told her, this is yours when you show me a high school diploma. Of course she will tell you that is not the only reason she went back, but I believe  it helped. And I would not have wanted to see the consequences if she hadn't. Sometimes those older than us can give us some good advice if we will listen. If we can learn to listen, we don't have to have all those bought lessons. Lessons we paid for in the school of hard knocks. I wish I had listened more when I was young and hadn't bought so many lessons from the school of hard knocks.  God bless, LVZ.

it is simple*

Our Sunday School teacher just this past Sunday went over the simplicity of the gospel. In fact, it is usually the intellectuals that have a problem with the gospel. They want to understand it. Some times to our carnal thinking it doesn't make sense. We understand loving our neighbors, at least the good neighbors. But Jesus takes it farther, loving your enemies. When we think of the religion of Islam, what is sometimes called the religion of peace? It is not. their book tells them to kill the infidel, those that do not believe like them. They will be rewarded for doing so. Contrast that to a simple gospel that tells us to love even our enemies. To love even those that would do us harm. We are to love everyone. There are no dividing lines to figure out who to love and who to not love. It is simple, to love everyone. Love even those who disagree with us. Love our enemies.
Matthew 5:44 "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"
Tell me which sounds more like the religion of peace? Wouldn't loving your enemies be more peaceful than Jihad?  It is simple, it is either, or: Romans 8:5 "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit." It is our choice, to follow God or to follow the flesh. To follow the things of God (spirit) or the things of this world (flesh). It is our choice.  But that doesn't make it unpeaceful. In the verse above from Matthew, we are to love even our enemies, even those that choose to walk after the flesh. I am not saying they are our enemies if they choose differently. I am just saying the word of God tells us to love everyone. There is no dividing line, no diving line for race, political standing, economic standing, educational standing. There is no dividing line. One of the core values of a Christian is to be forgiving. that is hard at times, but it fits with even loving your enemies. It is simple, there are no dividing lines. It is in us to try and figure things out, it is our intellectualism that makes the dividing lines. It is we, our own selves that choose to divide along with race or ethnic group. we worship many times with ethnic groups. Black Churches, Korean Churches, Hispanic Churches, Scandinavian Churches.  We don't have to follow ethnic thought, sometimes it is contrary to God's wishes. Are these people that are protesting in Ferguson, following the spirit or the flesh? Are they promoting peace or hatred? Is this what God wants? All lives matter to God. Not just Black, or White, Yellow, Red, or Olive skin. The life of the Police officer matters too. It is just that simple, is what we are doing after the flesh or after the spirit? Does it honor God or does it dishonor God? It is one way or the other, no in-between. It is that simple. God bless, LVZ.

Visiting the Iniquity

Exo 34:7	Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

My thought today was about how our sins can affect future generations. I choose this particular verse because the first part also talks about God's mercy. Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. God has and does forgive sin. In  the middle of this verse, and that will by no means clear the guilty. Even though God forgives, there are consequences that we do not escape. His mercy extends to thousands and I think it is good to keep that in mind. God uses even the bad things for our good. He has a way of turning things that were meant for bad, into good. I think of the story of Joseph and how his brothers sold him into slavery.  I am trying to make a long story short. Talk about bad, his own brothers sold him to be a slave in a far off country. But God used it for good. When a famine hit the land of Josephs father and brothers, they came to the land of Egypt where Joseph because of his integrity and wisdom had been put in charge of the food supplies. The brothers of Joseph had heard there was corn in Egypt. They did not know it was because they sold their brother as a slave and he had become Second in the land as far as political power and authority. God used the bad that they had done and saved them. There brother Joseph, saved grain from the years of plenty, to tide them over the years of famine that had come upon the land. Not only for Joseph's family, but thousands upon thousands of the Egyptians were blessed and saved through this famine. Sometimes there are consequences for the things we do. Now think about the last part, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon children's children to the third and fourth generation. Man I do not like this part of the verse. My sins can affect my children and grandchildren. Wouldn't this be a deterrent for us, knowing that there are consequences that reach to our children? I pray for crop failure, because I do not want this for my children. I want the blessing for thousands, the mercy extended to my family. Live a life that honors God, and you receive God's blessing on your life. God is merciful, mercy for thousands. God is longsuffering. He works with us bringing us to a place he can bless us, but he has not forced his will upon us. He warns us of the consequences. Like a parent with their child, they try to teach them and warn them. Many is the time a parent will discipline their child to teach them. to keep them from  harm. First they will warn them. if you do that there are consequences, and so many times just like that child, we test the boundaries. A parent may punish us to teach us to keep us from further harm. So is our God, he tries to help us, he warns us. He is not a big God up there just waiting to squish us, but he warns us, Don't do that, there are consequences that will hurt you if you continue. Lovingly forgiving us with his mercy that extends to thousands. Think of a parent that loves their child and they put consequences out there to protect their child, not to harm them. So is God, he wants what is best for us.

Num 14:18

The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation

How often do we not heed God's warnings?  Some times the consequences are way off in the future, and we think we got away with it. Did I say, I pray for crop failure. Sometimes when I look back I don't want to reap what I sowed. I also believe that we reap from the good that we sow and I want to continue to sow good seed and I do want a bountiful harvest where I sowed good seed. I do want those blessings to extend to my children and children's children.  God is long suffering, but I do not want to go beyond the long arm of his longsuffering. God bless, LVZ.

For He Careth For You

Is God relevant to our lives?

1Peter 5:7

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

As I think about this, I think God and his word are relevant to every area of life. I think my biggest problem is waiting for God to answer. Even in the past two years, I wish I'd prayed and then waited for God's answer. I look at marriage, I am in my fifth. I think I learn the hard way in many things. Does it have to be that way. I think if we learn to cast our cares on God, trust him, and wait for his answer, life would be so much better. There have been times when I waited for God's answer. One time that comes to mind was when praying about a church to attend. There are a lot of good churches, and I visited many, but I waited and waited and visited again. I remember being discouraged. I was hoping to find a place as good as what I left in Tacoma. I thought, maybe I have my sights set to high and I am just going to have to choose. Then it happened, I visited another church and right from the first Sunday, I knew it was right. I didn't visit no more for the purpose of finding a church. They say hind sight is 20/20. It has been two years and I feel I made the right choice. I married so many times and didn't spend as much time looking, as I did in buying a car. I feel God came through for me, and in his mercy, gave me someone who was a helpmate. Someone there beside me day by day.   I raised children and didn't pray about it as much as I did looking for a church. If I could do over I think I would, but would I? I wouldn't have the experience I have now. It is fine to think I'd do differently but I probably wouldn't because it took those mistakes to give me the experience I now have.  I can go forward casting all my cares upon him. Perhaps if I could warn someone, trust God, don't make all the mistakes I made.  Cast all your cares upon him, and trust him, wait for his answer. God careth for you, in all area's of life. God wants what is best for us, God even uses the bad things for our good. What an awesome God.   God bless, LVZ.

Communication

I think I communicate better today that I did 40+ years ago. Communication happens when both sides of the communication have a meeting of the minds. Communication does not happen if only one is talking. Have you ever tried to talk to someone and you start to tell a story and they interrupt and tell you a story of theirs and you wait until they are done and then continue with your story. Sometimes it is frustrating. I have caught myself doing just that. Do you ask the other person questions, do you listen perhaps as much as you talk? I have caught myself interrupting the other person to say something I wanted to say. 40 + years ago I had a hard time speaking up. I would hold things in until I was ready to explode. Can you communicate by telling your need without condemning the other person? I had a person a while back call me about something I said. They misunderstood what I said.
Sometimes if you look a word up in the dictionary, you will find more than one meaning of the word.  In this situation, the person took the first definition and didn't read any further. This person also didn't allow any explanation. No, this is what you said and I am hurt. There was no communication that day or since. It is sad. This is a pattern in that persons life. Almost any person they talk to, it is one sided. I have wondered, how is that working? In a relationship, male / female, I can guarantee, the other person wants to be heard. If they are not heard over and over again, I expect the relationship doesn't last and they both go away hurt.  There was no communication. If we could just learn to listen as much as we talk. Do you ask questions? If you misunderstand, do you ask for clarification? Or do you just assume that the first words in the dictionary are always the ones that apply. What is the purpose of the 2nd and 3rd definitions given, if they never apply?  Why do they waste paper and ink to write them if the only definition that works is the first one? Have you ever noticed in our society how many times the same words used in different situations mean different things? Especially if you include the slang of the day.  Or opposite words meaning almost the same. What is a person saying when they say that is a cool car? Or that car is hot? I heard someone say one time, tell me like I am a four year old. Do you ever watch a person facial expressions when talking, and sometimes you will know immediately, that didn't go the way it was intended. Misunderstanding, they took the words you said and had a whole different meaning than what you thought you said. It happens, Or I have seen it happen with me, the words that came out of my mouth said the opposite of what I was trying to say. Communication is two ways, speaking and listening until there is a meeting of the minds.  God bless, LVZ.

+75 / -60

On the street cred list you get 75 points for being shot multiple times and survived and minus 60 points for getting straight A's. I got on this subject  a while back when I read someones post, they were rightfully proud of their accomplishments, getting a degree etc. But then this person said, now all they need is Street Cred. Then I looked up Street Cred. I know they were just joking around. Here is another example of having the wrong goals and putting value on the wrong things. I saw a young man in Tacoma once wheeling around in his wheel chair.  He'd been shot and survived, doomed to a wheel chair for the rest of his life.   He had Street Cred, he was born black +5, at least 65 points for being shot and survived, possibly 75 points if he'd been shot multiple times. I believe he was a 23rd Street Crip, he was in that area of Tacoma, another 70 points. Do you see where I am going with this? Minus 60 points if  he was a straight A student. Minus 50 points if he could speak proper English. Anything that could help him to get a job and be self supportive would have a negative value on it. Stuff that will make it difficult like a prison record is a plus. Having a baby moma at sixteen and duplicating the cycle is also a plus. You go down this list and you just want to shake your head, how could anyone want these things for themselves.

Psa 139:14

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

God places value on us because we are made in his image. Just because we are. He has our hair numbered.

Mat 10:30

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Do we look at ourselves from God viewpoint?  His values promote quality of life. Most of all, you can come from the street and a single parent home and he values you just the same as the person born on the other side of the tracks. I don't need Street Creds, but I do need God.  We can be messed up and when we let him in, he changes us. He can take the garbage out of our hearts and fill it with fruit of the spirit. Love, Joy,  Peace, and the list goes on. Perhaps I am getting on another subject, but do we care what God's view is? Not only on how we view ourselves but on how we live day to day. I found times in my life, when I excused my behaviors. I even found excuses for my behavior in God's word. So do I really care what God's word says? If I disagree do I find something to support my behavior or do I try and change and conform to God's view? I think I am getting into another subject that I need to save for another blog.   God bless, LVZ.

Playing the God card

Recently I posted some words on the bad language used on Face Book. Since then I listened to a sermon from my Pastor and it gave me more to think about.

Exo 20:7

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Ever use the God card? By that I mean using God 's word to manipulate others to get what you want?

I think about the times I would justify some of my actions by the word of God. Like Adultery, wasn't King David a man after God's heart and he committed adultery. We can incorrectly use the word of God to justify sinful actions.  Or when a parent or minister says to their kids, when they do something bad, how can you do this to me. How will this look for my kids to do such and such. The kids may be in a mess and hurting to boot and we are worried about how we look to others. Christians do not like to think about spiritual abuse, but it happens. I suppose you could have called me a goody two shoes in days gone by. I remember times when I used Church as a crutch to not do some family stuff I should have done but just didn't want to. Blame it on Church, it was an easy way out and it sounded so good, maybe even spiritual. I remember a person that had a scripture reference as part of their legal signature. I won't mention their name, but it would be like me signing a legal Document "Leon Vilhauer, II Cor. 5:8". I don't remember exactly what verse that person used as reference so don't look it up. It impressed some people, wow they must be spiritual.  But where the rubber meets the road, when we want to look spiritual, we probably are not. False humility, I once heard about a guy that tried to show how humble he was by crawling up to the pulpit to preach. Even in Jesus day, the priest would wear scriptures on their clothing. The trouble is God really does see into our hearts and these theatrics don't fool him. We might as well be honest and tell God how it really is.   We may fool people but we will not fool God. I grew up in a legalistic church. We did not go to movies, professional sports games, dances etc. They also taught against strong drink. I know a young man one time raised in this environment. When he was grown, his girlfriend wanted to go to the movies, but he didn't. He said My Dad taught me not to go to the movies, then he went and sat in a tavern all night. I don't think he fooled his girlfriend. He certainly didn't fool God. We cannot clean ourselves up to be good enough for God. It's like someone once said you can't clean a fish until you caught him. God has to do the cleaning of our hearts, after we come to him just as we are. We must open our hearts to him when he knocks on our hearts door. I have played the God card in the past, may I never do it again. God is worthy of honor and respect. God bless. LVZ.

Tupelo honoring officers

I read an article in the newspaper where Tupelo city council has changed some wording in their rules regarding pay for recovering officers. A year ago in December of 2013, two police officers were shot. One was killed and left behind two small children. The other officer is still recovering from his injuries a year later. His sick leave and vacation have long been used up. Other officers have donated some of their sick time to support his officer. They had a law revised in the state legislature called after the names of these two officers that would allow the city to continue to pay the officer during his very long recovery with out having to deplete every hour of sick leave he has available. What happens when he is fully recovered and back to work and gets the flu or has some other need for sick leave and his hours are all gone. His recovery has already been a year long. I thought this was a good move for the city to find a way to continue to support his officer who was very severely injured in the line of duty.  I am proud to be associated with a city that supports its public servants in this manner.  I wish these protesters would take a look at the dangers our officers face every day and the severe consequences they face when these situations go against them. What happened to these officers is why our police officers have to be so careful and take control of any difficult situation the encounter. They want to go home alive and uninjured at the end of the day. These Tupelo officers were responding to a bank robbery. The suspect was a young black thug with no respect for others much like Michael Brown.  To me it is amazing that there is so much fuss over this young thug who would no doubt have killed the officer if he'd gotten the upper hand. After the video I saw of Michael Brown beating up a senior citizen and his disregard for the welfare of others, I cannot believe a person of his temperament had his hands up. In Tupelo we saw what happens to the officers if these thugs get the upper hand. One is dead and the other is still recovering after a full year. It makes me sick to see this happening in our country. The disrespect displayed towards our public servants who lay their lives on the line for us. And making an angel out of a thug who probably would have kicked and beaten the officer like he did that senior citizen if he'd gotten the chance. Every time I hear more of this hands up, don't shoot,  making this thug a saint, it just makes me sick. Especially when so close to home we still have a recovering officer after a full year.  I hope the black people in this community have not forgotten the sacrifice of their public servants one year ago.  Some of Tupelo's city Alderpersons are black and I am sure they support these public servants with out regard for their race. We need to quit making everything a black and white issue and be one. I am proud of Tupelo, and their city council taking this action to support their public servants. God bless, LVZ.

Do I want to know what God thinks?

I started down this train of thought in a recent blog.  Somethings today are politically correct that I think God tells us are sinful. Do we care enough about what God thinks to be politically incorrect and trust God. It seems many times in the political arena, the end justifies the means. If our political team wins, we are going to do what we feel is best for our country so does it really matter how we win? I think there are a lot of political supporters of just about anything that feel that way. What if I am wrong, am I willing to try to change? I have been told growing up, two wrongs don't make a right. I believe Martin Luther King also felt that way, because he tried to change society by peaceful means. Many disagreed with him but he did more to change things in this country than  any one else I can think of. I guess that amounts to my opinion. We are politically incorrect if we  present scriptures that would say Homosexuality is wrong? Do we care? Is being politically correct more important than what God thinks. I think it is a sin much like adultery, but goes deeper because it is not natural. We live in a culture where Adultery does not seem wrong anymore. Its human nature, and if I have heard it once I have heard it a dozen times. Men will be men, some woman will say about a cheating spouse. We minimize it, I have been in that situation, with a cheating spouse.We live in a culture were many live together before they get married. I have lived with someone outside of marriage more than once. After all King David was a man after God's heart and he committed adultery. It doesn't feel as bad when you can point to King David as an example. But is that what God wants? Do I care? Was God pleased with King David's adultery? No, God wasn't, and the child that was born of that wrongful relationship died.  I feel that relationship between same sex couples is sinful.  It is not  the natural use of the body, so is it a worse sin than adultery? Sometimes I think our actions say it is different.  But is it?

Rom 1:26

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

I am not trying to justify either one. The main point is, do we care what God thinks? Are we willing to change to conform to what God thinks? I think even in the church we want to be politically correct. Could it be because we want adultery to be OK? and if same sex is OK politically than Adultery is certainly one step better. Its not against nature? or is it? 

1Co 6:18

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

Why does the Bible say we sin against our own body when we fornicate?  Both of these sins are sexual in nature and I believe the Bible wants us to flee, run away from sexual sin. Don't put ourselves in a tempting situation. Flee at the first sight of this kind of temptation. it is a strong desire and between male and female, a natural desire.  Flee.  When looking us the word flee it is used when people are in danger. When they were in danger,  when they killed someone, they were to flee to a city of refuge until it could be looked into. Swift flight to a place of safety, mountains or city of refuge.  In the New Testament it is used several times to flee youthful lusts, to flee from Idolatry, and in 1 Timothy it is talking about the rich fall into temptations and snares and foolish and hurtful lusts. and it continues: the love of money is the root of all evil.  Then it says in the next verse flee these things. All indications are to get away from these sins as quick as we can. At first sight, move the other direction. go to a place of safety. We are living in an age where these sins are common place and considered normal. We can be lulled into compliance, into a place of acceptance and it will seem normal.  I think God considers it a danger and that is why he tells us to flee.  Fornication is illicit sexual intercourse and I think it applies to both homosexual and outside of marriage. I don't think we should make one worse than the other. We don't shun adulterers, we love them and try to help them. I think we need to be more concerned about what God thinks than what is politically correct.  I don't see this as a hate thing. I don't think I am homophobic, but I simply believe the bible wants us to flee these types of sins. We see it in almost any family anymore, same sex relationships. I have recently seen pictures of cousin that seems to be in a same sex relationship. My very first thought is am I wrong, this is my cousin. Every day it seems there is something on television saying this is OK. DO we care what God thinks, and what God tells us through his word? IS his word more important than being politically correct?  God bless, LVZ.  

A Simple Grace

The first time I watched Blue Bloods I didn't think I would like it, but I did. I really like Tom Selleck in this role as Frank Reagan. In every episode, at least that I have watched , the Reagan family has a Sunday Dinner together. They say a simple grace before their meal. The other day as I watched, I thought about how this acknowledges God. It respects God, and I felt better about my own simple grace. Thank you,  Lord for this food, Amen. Simple, short, not a show, but it just plain shows respect towards God. We thank you for these gifts you have given us, is about what they say in their grace before their meal. It really impressed me that as simple as it was, they respect God. I like that about their show. I had dinner with some cousins recently and I really enjoyed my time of fellowship.  Even more than the meal, just talking and getting to know some cousins that have been distant over the years. Christian families, they always say a grace before their meal. Then as we were leaving, we prayed together. These little things, they show respect towards God. After all, it is God that wakes us up each morning. Even if we have an alarm clock, which I don't anymore. I do, but it is a time piece that I can look at to see what time it is, the alarm has not gone off in that thing for a couple of years. God wakes us up, he has provided food for our table, shelter over our heads, clothes on our backs. When we were growing up, he gave us the imperfect parents that we had. A father as imperfect as he was worked hard to provide for us. A mother that also worked for most of the years as well as taking care of us and the home as best she could. I never realized how blessed we were to have two imperfect parents until I saw so many kids that didn't have any. One child that made me appreciate my parents more than anything was a young girl named Asia. She never even knew who her father was. At least half of her years in childhood, her mother spent in jail or prison for drug related offences. She lived with a grandmother that didn't want her and even said so in front of her. Several times I bought her a few clothes, and one year in particular that was all she had for her first week of school and she wore them every day. So many ways, we were blessed, God is worthy to be respected and thanked with even a simple grace. I have family, when we get together we do not and I wish we did. Just a simple grace to thank a Sovereign God for all he does for us. It doesn't have to be a show, just a simple grace that shows respect for God. We live in a fallen world and so many of us had imperfect parents and were/are imperfect parents ourselves.  I often think how well we turned out, thank you God. One brother a painter, several sister have a job sitting at a desk. One sister is about the best with children, I have ever seen. One brother was able to manage a store even as a teenager. His boss would depend on him to run the store even as a 16, 17 year old kid. One brother is noted for his fishing, even on Christmas Day one year while the family was together, he was fishing. We turned out really well, imperfect parents and all. A simple grace, thank you God for all you have done for us.   God bless, LVZ.

Born White VS Born Black

A while back I blogged about street Creds. I started this post back then and never finished and published it.  Today I want to. Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."   I noticed as I was reading Street Creds that it gave 5 points for being born black and minus 5 points for being born white. We have no say in how we are born. As I read Genesis 1:27 above I realize God create us in his image either way. God created one race. We are equal in God's eyes. The first time I looked through Street Creds, I didn't notice the minus signs for the lower half of the list. I questioned some of the items and it wasn't until the next day when I reread my blog where I copied the list over into my page that I noticed the minus sign. The street cred list is a negative list to begin with. Promoting bad stuff as a badge of honor. We have no say in how God created us so we are equal at the start. What we do and make of our lives as we grow is largely up to us. We make choices either for good or bad. We can live our lives for the betterment of society or we can drag society down with us. That choice is up to us. God created every race on this earth in his image. We have no choice where we were born. I noted that the Street Creds list gave a minus 2000 points if you were born in certain states. Once again we have no say in where we were born. As we reach the age of accountability we do have say in where we go from there. I emphasize that God created only one race in his image. Male and Female, both were created in his image.  What we need is credibility with God. God is the one that can change our hearts and lives. Do you know God and does he know you. Are you on a first name basis with God? We don't need Street Creds, but we do need God.   God bless, LVZ.  

Maturity

Sometimes I think I like to blog because it is a way of thinking through stuff.  You see it on paper and it makes you think about a different angle. On one of recent blogs I touched on having a forgiving attitude and  that possibly it shows maturity. As I thought about that I thought of the scripture that tells us to become as little children for theirs is the kingdom of God.  I thought about how we learn to be racist as we mature.  I thought about how it is supposedly mature adults that are protesting the shooting of a couple of criminals because they are black and the officer was white. Actually in the second incident, the officer was not white, but he is being portrayed as white because that fits the bias of the protesters. They are not listening to the whole story. Children do a better job of listening than these mature agitators. So that makes me think it's not a maturity issue, because they are adults. They have an agenda they are working towards. Possibly it is a spiritual issue. When I read scripture like Romans 13, I need to honor and respect civil authority. I do not think they even care if it is Biblical what they are doing. A political agenda does not have to agree with scripture. They are adults, and would probably not appreciate me calling them immature. In reality, they are not thinking this through. I didn't live  in the racism of the past. None of us are. No black is drinking from a colored only water fountain. Blacks no longer enter the doctor office from a back door. Is everything the way it should be? Probably not but we have come a long way from the old days. Its almost like they want to put us back there. This attitude towards police is dangerous and we are seeing people on the edge using this as a excuse to shoot at our public servants because they are white. I think maturity would require us to think things through and think about the consequences of our actions. I do not think these agitators are thinking this through or it indeed meets a political agenda, and they do not care. Then as I look at family issues. Sometimes it is so hard to see the other sides point of view.  How do we get there from here. The hurts are legitimate. Having grown up in a church, it is so easy to hurt those you are closest to. On the job it was difficult to not step on toes. I was told once, I had a calming effect of the office. I had peoples skills and that was something they could not teach. They could teach the technical skills but if you didn't have the peoples skills, they felt it was very hard to teach those skills. Business ethics was another area of concern. The company I worked for had yearly classes touching on ethics and how important it was to running a good business. Many times I thought, this is stuff I learned in Sunday School. Family issues, how many could be solved if both sides had a forgiving attitude in their way of living?  I learned that in Sunday School. It hurts me to see a rift in the family. It hurts me to have a son that won't speak to me. Are the hurts legitimate? Yes, I grew up in a dysfunctional family, what makes me think I did not carry some of that over into my own family. I am here to tell you. I did. I am here to tell you there is a certain amount of dysfunction in just about every family, even when we say we don't want to be like our earthly Fathers, we end up carrying some of those traits with us into adulthood. I learned the answer in Sunday School years ago. Jesus is the answer, he is the one that changes hearts and lives. Over and over as I see issues in families and in my own life, Jesus is the answer. He is the one that can eradicate the bad stuff out of our hearts and put the fruit of the spirit in its place. I believe this with my whole heart, he is the answer for our troubled families, he is the answer for our troubled societies. He is the answer for the discord in our nation between blacks and our predominately white police force. Yes, perhaps I sound Pollyanna to some, but I believe Jesus is the answer for us to mature. For me to mature and look at things in a more thought through fashion. Instead of blowing up at the issues that come at us in every family, we could learn to listen more and talk less. Jesus listens, and he does not force his way on us but like a good Shepard  leads us gently into relationship.  For a lot of what I would call maturity issues, Jesus is the answer.  God bless, LVZ.