An Inside Look

Sometimes I wonder if many today take an inside look. Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test my mind and my heart. Psalm 26:2 Do you ever look inside when angry and wonder why you are angry? Sometimes it is easy to just find someone to blame and be stuck there. It is hard to take that inside look and make changes.We are the result of many decisions we made through life. I went through some difficult times in my life and at one point in 1993 I saw a Doctor at work because I came into work and knew something was seriously wrong with me. That Doctor sent me home on medical leave for a month. Things were very wrong at home, and as this Doctor said, I was emotionally empty and had absolutely nothing to give to anyone. I had to see a Doctor once a week for the next 30 days before I could go back to work. I had to fix things at home. I was the only one that could make the changes I needed to make. Even though I still had kids at home, I knew I had to leave. It was hard. I left the house and lived in the back of my pickup with a canopy on it. I didn't see how I could afford a place of my own and still pay the mortgage, the telephone bill, the power bill, groceries etc. at home. I did the best I could. My employers security caught me living in the parking lot of my job and said, you cannot do this: you have to find a place to live. My life was really messed up at that point. But God intervened and helped me through other people to make changes. I remember at the time going to support groups and one I attended for one night was standing for your marriage. I listened to the other people in the group and I took an inside look and realized I didn't want my first wife back. I took an inside look and I wasn't being honest. I had grounds for divorce and there was no way I wanted to go back. I realized after that inside look if I continued to go to this group I was a hypocrite. I found a divorce recovery group and went to that. Many times in life I had to take that inside look, and many times I didn't like what I saw. I had to make changes. There is no one who could fix my life except me and God. God don't necessarily come in and fix us without our cooperation. Many many times over the years I had to look inside and with God's help make changes. In the story I started to tell above, I first found a room to rent, but knew I needed my own place. I then found a studio apartment with a shared bathroom. That worked for a while. All this time I am still paying the mortgage, groceries, light bill, telephone bill at home. Times were hard. Then one day my landlord came to me and said I have a tiny one bedroom apartment for just a little more than you are paying here. You don't really fit in here, and I think you will like it better. I moved. God intervened in my life at that point and my soon to be ex wanted child support and took me to support enforcement. She thought she would get back child support for the many months I had been gone and paying the mortgage, phone bill, groceries, power bill, telephone bill. I had checks to show everything I had been paying to support my children. In the end child support was less than what I was paying and because she was living in the house, it was her responsibility to pay the mortgage.  She wanted to sell the house because she couldn't make the payments. I agreed and the house went up for sale. I believe God intervened and the house sold for a full price offer in 3 days time. Life got easier for me at that point.  I did get a divorce and moved on. There are many times I had to take an inside look and make changes. I was the only one that could do that. I could have spent the rest of my life pointing at my ex and how she ruined my life. I didn't, I realized I needed to make changes in my own life and my own attitude. God helped me, and I have been blessed. I look back and I see God's hand in so many ways. But I had to be willing to change and not get stuck in a rut by blaming others and stay in that rut. I had to move on and heal. Life isn't always fair. I had to sell a home that I really liked with five acres. But the story doesn't end there, through many more trials and tests, and more self examination, I am where I am today. Blessed and content. God has been really good to me. He stood beside me through every hard time. Even when I made bad decisions and suffered for them, God was with me and helped me through. God bless, LVZ.

Work For God

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23,24.  I thought back to my working years after a recent conversation with a cousin. We were talking about some of the challenges we faced as Christians on the job. He was working at a company in a right to work state where they didn't have to be union members. He had a good work ethic. He just worked at a steady pace, not trying to be fast just pacing himself. He had no trouble meeting the quota for parts. But Union members did not like it and he was harassed. The really sad part was another farm boy that also had a good work ethic and just wanted to make a living. This farm boy was harassed in like manner, and one day to even the score for all the harassment got a gun and was going to even the score, but was arrested before he even made it to work and spent some time in jail. These coworkers who harassed him for just being a good worker really are at fault. This man was just trying to do a good job. He wasn't trying to make them look bad, he just came to do a job and make a living the best he could. My conscience guided me many times on the job. One reason why I think working for God works is because we know God sees all, even when the bosses don't, God does see all.  One time a crew I was on would leave all the jobs open even after they were completed, and on Friday when the lead talked with the Boss, he would say I have 50 jobs open and we need to work Saturday and Sunday to catch up. Then on Saturday and Sunday they would close the jobs out. My conscience would not allow me to do the same. As I would look at jobs and see everything had been completed, I would close the job. This did not go over very well with the lead and others that agreed with his method of getting overtime. I was soon transferred back to the main group. But I saw that later I was still working for the company and that lead was gone and no longer there. This Lead lied on me and I thought the Boss took his word over mine when I was sent back to the main group. I  ran into this same type of dishonesty many times in many ways over the years. Once I came down out of an airplane and saw six of my co-workers sitting at a work bench on double time, shooting the breeze. A supervisor happened to be walking by as I came down the steps, I commented, this is what you pay double time for and pointed to the 6 co-workers shooting the breeze.  I once took over another mans job because he was so far behind and I realized as I was looking at the job why he was so far behind. It seems this co-worker was working on his home projects on company time with company materials and that was his reason for being late on the job completion.  I reported it to a supervisor and word got out that I snitched. It got rough, really rough for a while. Even when we work for just any company on any job doing legitimate and legal work we need to look at is as working for God.  God does see all. I remember after a Vice President and a military officer went to jail for making a deal to sell airplanes to the military and the Military officer had a promise of a job at our company. That was illegal and they got caught, spent time in jail.. The company then sent every employee to ethics training every year. I thought as I sat in this ethics training, this is stuff I learned in Sunday School. I remember another employee that would openly play solitaire on his computer day after day and when merit raise time came, he didn't understand why he didn't get a raise. Everyone else understood that saw him playing solitaire, day after day.  We really do work for God no matter what job we do, and we need to do it honestly and ethically to the best of our ability. God bless LVZ. 

An Attitude of Forgiveness

In my life time I have experience wrongs several times. One thing I learned and I hope I learned it well because I do not want to face bad hurts again. It is absolutely necessary to learn to forgive. I have seen it in my self and in others when there is a hurt, real or perceived and a person does not forgive, it hurt them deeply, not the offender. The offender who hurt them may not even know or understand the hurt they caused. It is real to the person hurt, perceived or real. It is real to them. The attitude of an unforgiving spirit will take the life out of a person. They can become so bitter and that seems all they can focus on is the hurt. Many times there is nothing an offender can even do. Can you take back a harsh word? Can you make it unsaid? You can't, there is nothing you can do. Sometimes even a sorry aggravates the hurt person even worse. Perhaps there are wrongs that can be righted, if you stole something you can return it. You can give it back or replace it. But if it is actions or spoken words, you cannot take them back. The person injured can carry the hurt for years and no one but they alone can fix the issue. It is called forgiving. it doesn't release the person that did the wrong, they may still have to answer to God for their words or deed. They still owe a debt. But the person by forgiving releases their own soul to be healed. It is so important, I consider it a core value. It is not necessary for the offender to do anything for healing to begin. The offender doesn't have to say he is sorry for healing to begin. He doesn't have to pay what ever debt is owed for healing to begin. Healing begins when the hurt person forgives. Sometimes people will get hung up on a hurt and it like stops growth. That attitude of forgiveness is absolutely necessary to have a good life.  It doesn't mean you have to be a Christian to forgive. In fact you cannot be a Christian if you have aught that you have not forgiven. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  Matthew 6:14-15  I really believe it is law of living well, to be able to forgive. I doubt there is a person alive that has not hurt or offended someone in someway. Or on the other side of the issue, I believe everyone alive has been hurt by someone somewhere.  To have a good quality of life it is absolutely necessary to be able to forgive. An offender can go through life and not realize the hurt they have caused, but that is OK,  because the hurt person can heal when they forgive the offense or debt owed them.  It requires no action on the part of the offender to fix ones soul. I have seen people hold on to a grudge for thirty years or even more and the only one hurt is themselves. To forgive is a core value for living.  God Bless, LVZ.

Choices We Make

We make many choices in life. Some good some bad. None of us were raised by perfect parents. We have the parents God gave us but there is not one parent that is perfect. Some may be better than others. There are many choices in life we make and we are blessed or not so blessed. I remember at age 18, being unhappy at home and wanting to leave. I had not finished High School yet, so I stayed under my Fathers roof until I finished High School. That is a decision I made that blessed me. I started working and supporting myself. I had many jobs and after I made a move to Everett in 1973, I started working for Scott Paper Company and started buying my first home at age 21. Also at age 21 I started raising the first of two Children. These were good decision that blessed me. At age 25 I found myself unemployed and times were hard but I had two children to provide for and I did the best I could. At age 26, I took a chance and went to a one month class through the Boeing Company and although they didn't promise a job, at the end of the class I did end up with a job I loved. It was a good decision and I am still blessed today because of that decision. I took classes through the Boeing Company after hours and some of those classes allowed me to become an Engineer (Tech Designer on the engineering side). I was blessed because of that decision. I went through some hard times, times when I really felt like quitting, but I stuck it out and today I still reap the benefits of the decision to stick it out through the hard times. My parenting didn't guarantee any of these blessing. I could have made different choices. I could have quit when the going got rough, but I didn't. I made mistakes that hurt me, I didn't blame it on my parenting, I got through it.  One decision I made was greater than all other decisions and it probably influenced a lot of my other decisions. I had grown up in Church but I fell away and actually was pretty bitter about things. But one day I was confronted with what have you done with Jesus. I made a decision that day to follow Christ. To accept him as Lord and Savior and I have reaped many benefits from that day forward. It seems that was a turning point in my life. I still went through some of the difficulties I briefly described above, but I also made some choices that I believe had God's signature on it.  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20. I made good and bad decisions all through my life but that one decision when I accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior towers above all other decisions. When he knocked on my hearts door and I let him in is the greatest thing I have ever done.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20.  From that day forward, he has never left me, like he promised above in Matthew, he has been with me always, in bad and in good times. It was the best decision I made in my life, to follow Christ. It has eternal consequences.   God bless, LVZ. 

See You later

I'll see you later are words we say as we part from someone who we expect to see later. I went to another funeral. This was for my Uncle Reiny. He passed on to eternity as the result of an auto accident. Uncle Reiny has joined the See You Later Club.  Uncle Reiny was a character, he liked to tease. I heard so many laughs as his daughters talked about their dad. The pastor spoke about our Uncle. He was an usher for almost 40 years at this very church where they held the funeral. Uncle Reiny wasn't a preacher or a teacher. He was a servant, he was an usher, a greeter at the door. That is the thing that impressed me was how God used his personality and blessed it as an usher. He was unique, he could tease you and greet you with the same words. We do not all have the same gift. Uncle Reiny used his gift to bless others. It may not seem as important as being a good teacher, but many remember Uncle Reiny's greeting and making them feel so welcome as they came to church. He was a good Dad, and as one cousin told a good Uncle. He tried to be a father figure to a 9 year old who lost his own father. It makes me feel old to be losing my uncles. Once again if someone asked me how the funeral was I'd say great. It seems like a contradiction to say a funeral was great. But it is because as a Christian we know we will see them later. On the other side, one person said if not on this side on the other side. See you later or see you on the other side. I don't know all about it yet, but it is like they fall asleep on this side to wake up on the other side, with a new body that doesn't age. The things that were broken or damaged on this side are made new. We see other relatives that passed on plus all the others that made it to God's presence. My hope is to see Uncle Reiny later. My hope is to join that See You Later Club. That hope rests in Jesus Christ.  If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:19-22 God bless, LVZ.

Love is a Christmas Word

On face book I saw a post from a friend to post a Christmas word that starts with the first letter of your first name.  My name starts with L, the only word I could think of was LOVE. Greater LOVE has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13. “For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16. By this we know LOVE, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 1 John 3:16. Christmas Day is a day we celebrated Jesus Christ's birth. The same Jesus that we celebrate on Easter, that died and rose again to pay the penalty for our sins. Recently I sent off to Ancestry DNA for a relative that doesn't use a computer much. The thought came to me about Jesus DNA. The researchers would find half of his DNA would be Jewish, but the  other half would be something they could not explain. If they could analyze James Jesus brother, they would find a half sibling. James the brother of Jesus would have DNA that would show he had the same parent on his mothers side but his fathers side would be different from Jesus. God was the other half of Jesus DNA. Jesus was the only one that could pay the penalty for sins because of his unique DNA. Sins must be paid for, The Jesus who's birth we celebrate on Christmas Day paid the penalty for all sins on the cross of Calvary. That is where the word LOVE comes in and how it is a Christmas Word. The scriptures above tell us there is no greater love than when some one lays down their life for others. That is what Jesus did at Calvary. It was out of Love that Jesus gave up his life for our sins. He knew that when he came to earth, that was his purpose  for coming as that babe in a manger. Have you LOVED Jesus back by accepting him as Savior and Lord. Have you LOVED him back by accepting his virgin birth as truth. Love is also an action word. We can say LOVE over and over again, but it is action that really speaks LOVE. Actions like Jesus actions when he went to the cross willingly. He could have called ten thousand angels to rescue him, but he knew he had to go through with it. He did it willingly. LOVE is an action word. His actions when he laid down his life for us spoke LOVE. LOVE for you and for me. That is why I say LOVE is a Christmas Word. God gave his only son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. LOVE is an action word, LOVE is a Christmas Word. God bless us on this day we celebrate the birth of Jesus. LVZ. 

In a manger?

I suppose every Christmas we hear or read the Bible story of Jesus being born in a manger. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,  and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:4-7
God planned this, he made it happen. Mary was a virgin, some think as young as 15. She was betrothed to Joseph, the scripture says they had not come together. It was an arranged marriage as happens in some cultures. With God planning this, couldn't he have made sure there was room for them in a local Inn? He brought the shepherds from a far distance, he guided the wise men on their journey. Couldn't he have reserved a place for Joseph and Mary in a clean room? I don't pretend to have the answers. Reading about this I found prophecy saying Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. Reading what others wrote about this, God wanted to make him accessible to all mankind. Jesus was not to good for anyone. He is the king of kings but he was not raised in a palace. Yes he was the son of God, he was human and God at the same time. God can move the heart of a King to do his bidding. He created all life as we know it. We were created from dirt. God created the universe with all the planets in their rotation around the sun. Numerous other suns were created that we know as stars. He did all this, created all the animals in the Genesis account. Yet when Jesus, God's own son was born,  he was laid in a cattle trough to feed animals. God does things for a purpose, it was not an oversight. God who causes the planets to stay in their orbit did not get too busy to arrange a room for Mary to conceive Jesus. It was on purpose. He came to serve others. He had a lowly birth so any one could approach him. You do not have to be some body to come to Jesus. This had to be the point God was making in allowing Jesus to be born in what we would probably call a barn in our day. Over years I heard people say they would not come to Church for various reasons. Some don't want to come perhaps because they are poor, they cannot dress up in nice clothes. Jesus was born in an animal stable, barn,  shed, manger, what ever you may call it and laid in a feeding trough for animals.  I believe it was to show is not too good for any one to approach him. The thief on the cross that was hanged with Jesus for crimes he had committed called out to Jesus,  remember me when you come into your kingdom. A lady with an issue of blood that no one could cure touched the hem of his garment in a crowd and Jesus knew because virtue had gone out of him to heal this woman. A leper, an outcast of society was healed by Jesus. The Tax collector despised by the Jews came to Jesus. Zacchaeus was a wee little man the children's song used to say.  The lame man that laid by the pool  waiting to be healed. Helpless to even get into the water when an angel troubled it. I believe Jesus  was laid in a manger to tell the world that anyone can come to Jesus for redemption of sin and healing. You cannot clean yourself up good enough to come to God. We must come just as we are. The woman at the well, a Samaritan despised by the Jews, was approached by Jesus himself. And Jesus knew all about her and that she was living with a man though not married to him. There is no one that cannot approach God for any reason. I believe that is the point of the redeemer  of mankind being laid in a manger, born in a stable for farm animals. We look at hospitals today, all sanitary to protect against infection. Jesus was born in a place for farm animals, it was not clean.  I truly believe the point was that anyone in any state of life, the drug addict, the prostitute, the alcoholic, the murderer, the abuser, all can find grace and mercy at the feet of Jesus. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28. That is my thought why would God allow his son to be born in a barn.  God has a purpose for the things he does, it is not by accident. Jesus because of his lowly birth is accessible to all mankind. That is what God wants to convey to mankind. Regardless of your condition, of your position in life, Jesus can be yours. He is just a prayer away. The King of Kings, and Lord of Lords was born in a barn. He gave his life on a cross for us. He rose on the third day to conquer death. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.   Revelation 3:20    God bless, LVZ.

Supporting our President

As I think back to the eight years of Obama, he went a different direction than many of us liked.  That was his agenda and his vision for the US.  We now have Trump, because enough of the US did not like the direction our government was going. Give it a chance, if the economy and our border is not more secure, we can change in 4 years. Trump is someone from outside the swamp in DC. Most of the people in his cabinet if not all of his cabinet is from outside the swamp in DC. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  Trump is doing something different. Yes I agree he is not a politician. But it seems the politicians have got us into the mess we are in. Romans 13:3-7 (ESV) For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.   Lets give Trump a chance, he is doing something different, and I really do think we need something different. Obama had very little experience.  As I recall, he had less than one full term as a Senator from Chicago. His experience prior to that was what? Can you even tell me?  Yet here is Trump with decades of experience in running large companies. I heard people say he has no experience, yes in the political realm, but I am not sure that is what we want? More experience in the political realm, isn't that insanity, to do the same thing over and over again and expect something different?  I believe God gave us Trump. Lets work with him and give him a chance. Our government was designed to be run by citizens, average people wiling to serve for the greater good of the country. Trump is giving up a good life to serve. I believe is is putting in a cabinet that also want to serve the American people. What I see looks good. These liberals that just want to disrupt and tear things down are not helping America. I believe that is why Trump won, there are enough of us that are unhappy with the swamp in DC and we want a change. Obama was good at voicing we want change, but he came from the same swamp, doing the same political mess we are tired of. I believe God is behind this and of course those that don't believe in God may not see that but if they will just shut up and give him a chance their lives may improve also. When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan. Proverbs 29:2 (NLT)  I m expecting good things. I am not saying Trump is a righteous man, but I believe God put him there. He is surrounding himself with some good people. God bless, LVZ.

Overcoming Sin.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:9.  

I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. Psalms 32:5

He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. Proverbs 28:13

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.  James 5:16
If we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us. I like this it works. We all sin, God knows that and that is why he sent Jesus. Many times in my life I have had an issue with one sin or another sin and I brought it to God. He took care of it. Sometimes it may have taken longer than others but if I kept that sin on the altar, God would cleanse it from my life. Men will probably always see a pretty young lady. But we do not have to act on it. We can appreciate the beauty God created and move on, we do not have to act on it. One minister in his 80's was asked when does this quit for men, that we stop seeing beautiful women. He answered about 3 days after your buried. The main thing is we do not have to yield or act on it. It is not a sin to see pretty. It is a sin to desire and dwell on it and act on it. I remember once having an affair with a young lady from work. It was hidden but it bothered me. I couldn't seem to get over it and it had a hold on me. I confessed my sin to my Pastor and he prayed with me.  I was able to walk away and stop the relationship. Sometimes keeping it hidden seems to keep you bound. This was a constant struggle for me until I married a good woman that was faithful to me. Many a prayer was prayed over this sin in my life. I kept it before God and did not try to hide it from God. He knows anyway. I grew up under emotional abuse, and I developed that pattern in my life. For a while I didn't see it for what it was. But when I could see it, I brought it to God and once again over a period of time, I was able to overcome that sin. I did not try to hide it from God. I kept it on the altar. Even before we get victory over the sin, we are forgiven. If we confess and do not hide it, God is faithful to forgive and cleanse it out of our life. It can be  anything, just keep it before God and he will cleanse it out of our lives. If we hide it , conceal it as Proverbs says, we will not prosper or get rid of it. It requires being honest before God. God this is what I am dealing with. God this is what I am having trouble with. Some times we may need to confide in a trusted Pastor or friend to help us pray. James tells us to confess our sins to one another, that we may be healed. I would only confide in someone I knew I could trust. Some times the wrong person will help us justify our sin instead of getting rid of it. It works, and God sees everything anyway, so trust God to cleanse us and mold us into the persons he wants us to be.  God bless, LVZ. 

Student or Disciple

As I thought about yesterdays blog, God sees the heart. God knows if our heart is in it. We can fool people but we cannot fool God. That statement "Students don't go to Heaven" stuck with me.  We can learn Christianity.  We can talk like a Christian, we can go to church every Sunday. We can dress up in a nice suit of clothes, carry our Bible in our hands and our heart not be in it. Many times in the scripture we can read of the Pharisees and their efforts to look good to the people around them. They would put scriptures on their forehead, they would have scripture on the borders of their garments. They really looked religious. Perhaps they fasted and said their prayers. He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14  Do you see the difference in attitude?  One was a student and knew how to look but God looks on the heart. One came to God in a contrite and broken spirit. One saw his need for a heart change, he was a disciple that wanted to be like Jesus. One was self sufficient in his knowledge, from outward appearances, he looked good. He was a student. He did some things he was suppose to do, but there was no heart change. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. God works on the heart. It is that heart change on the inside that is going to make us stand when the storms of life come our way. Without a heart change, we take flight and collapse when the storms of life come our way. I have thought back to some major storms in my life. When the rain cleared, when the dust settled, I was still standing. God did a work in my heart years ago when I came to God like the tax collector or publican in the scripture above. I am not saying my life was perfect, I am saying like the Tax-collector, I saw my need to repent of the sins in my life. I knelt in prayer many a day and said God forgive me. My precious Uncle Val once asked me, why have you been married so many times? Then he said I'll pray for you. There had to be a heart change. The imperfections of our life can be fixed when our heart is tuned towards God. When we look to our creator to fix what is wrong with us. That is what the tax collector did in this scripture, he turned to God and said fix me. I am broken, I am not what I am suppose to be. I need to be forgiven. I need to be changed and made into your image. The tax collector is saying, I need a heart change. The tax collector is the wise man in the story of the house built on the rock. The Pharisee is the foolish man that built his house on the sand. Without the heart change we will not stand but collapse.  A disciple has a heart change and wants to be just like Jesus. A student learns of God but is self sufficient in his knowledge, If you gave a student,  a  Bible test, he could pass it. A disciple lives it, and is changed from the inside out. If we want to stand in the storms of life, we need to be more than a student. We need to be a disciple.   A heart change is required.  God bless, LVZ.

Students don't make it to Heaven

I heard this today, "Students Don't Make It To Heaven".  I thought about this.  The scripture used was one we are familiar with. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”  Matthew 7:24-27  When we were kids we sang a song about the wise man that built his house upon the rock and the foolish man built his house upon the sand. So what does that mean: Students don't make it to heaven? We can be students and learn scripture, quote it and not live by it. We can go to church every Sunday and sing praises, and live any old way on Monday through Saturday.  Religion is what many call it. The Christian religion is no better than any other religion if there is not a heart change. That is what this scripture is saying, that is what the children's song is saying we learned in our childhood. The wise man who heard the word of God and put it into practice is the wise man whos house  stood through the storm. One person made a comment, both houses looked the same, they were both pretty to look at. The difference was after the storms of life came. The wise man's house was still standing. It had been build on a sure foundation. That foundation was a relationship with Jesus. As Jesus dealt with the wise man and heard the word, he put it into practice Sunday through Saturday. When the wise man felt convicted of sin, he repented. Forgive me, how do I do better? How do I get rid of this sinful nature that so easily overtakes us? The wise man applies the word of God to his life. He resists temptations that come to everyone. As Ephesians says with the washing of water by the word. The foolish man built his house on sand. He heard the word, he could quote it but excused the sin in his life. He didn't repent.  When temptation came as it does to all of us, he didn't resist it, he excused it. Every body does it. All have sinned. And we have. The difference between a student and a disciple is the difference between a wise man and a foolish man.  The student learns, he goes to church, but Sunday through Saturday, he lives as he always did. No change. Perhaps it doesn't even bother him. I am human, and we all are. Do we want to be like Jesus or just know about him?  Are we students that learn and quote the good book or do we live it to the best of our ability? Even when our best is not good enough, do we excuse it or repent. Do we try to take on Godly character?  Or do we just learn about him. I think of some things I have done over the years, I struggled with sin. but I remember repenting. God I am sorry I sinned, forgive me and help me to do better.   A disciple wants to be like Jesus. A disciple follows. We can look the part, dress in our Sunday best week after week, talk like a Christian.  We maybe even pray over our meals like a Christian, but is our heart in it? Or do we see how far we can exercise our freedom  and still call ourselves Christian. Does our Christianity affect how we live through the week? If we didn't tell people we were Christian would it show in our actions and in our words?  If we didn't tell people we were Christian, would they know by our behavior?   I want to be a disciple, I want to be more than a student. When the storms of life come my way, I still want to be standing after the storm passes through. I want to be the wise man that puts the word into practice in my life. God bless, LVZ.

What if I Lose?

One program I sometimes watch on TV is the Andy Griffith Show. I like it because of the values they show. Andy is always teaching Opie how to live as a good person. In one episode Opie joins in a race, a 50 yard dash, and loses.  Opie has a bad attitude because he didn't win. Andy tries to talk to Opie and tells him it is important to know how to lose. Actually in life, when we compete in sports or whatever, there are more losers than winners.  We saw this in the election this year, with 15 plus Republicans and two plus on the Democratic side, and others like Jill Stein. There is only one winner and many losers.  I think many people in this nation need to watch this episode of the Andy Griffith. Barney in usual form decides to give Opie an example of a sore loser.  We teach our children in sports and other competitions how to be good losers, but when they reach adulthood, the lessons got lost. For the first time in my life I plan to run for a local office. I hope to win, I will knock on doors and put out signs etc. but somebody has to lose. I believe God has put this on my heart, I have prayed about it and did a lot of thinking on this. It is still a couple of weeks before I can get signatures to even qualify. What if I don't win? The person I am running against isn't a bad man, I listen to some of the things he says in meetings and many times I agree with him. Sometimes I don't agree with him. There is no guarantee that I will win, try as I might, I have to be open to losing.  I hope to win, but if not at least be a good loser.  God bless, LVZ.

Fake News

It seems the fraud perpetrated in this election seems to have hurt the very people that started it.  I have seen people for years that supported dishonesty as long as it served their cause. For some reason this year it backfired. I cannot explain it, I have read articles talking about the lies and fake news and it seemed to have been designed to hurt Trump. But it hurt Hillary instead. Now the very ones that promoted it to win, and used it to discredit Trump lost they say because of it. One creator of false news, a very committed Hillary supporter, couldn't understand how it went wrong. He disguised it to look like it came from a Trump follower but the trail led to him.  When I say I cannot explain it, I do attribute it to God working his will.  When you look at old testament history, you can find examples of similar things happening as God turns things around in favor of his people. I think of the story of Joseph, how his brothers sold him in to slavery because of their jealously. In the end God used Joseph to save them all. As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. Genesis 50:20.
 God can and does turn things around. Our ways are but foolishness to him. And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.  For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. 2 Chronicles 20: 22-23.  Many in the news and of liberal political views are having such a hard time understanding what happened in this election. They do not believe nor understand that God is still in control.Just as the people of Israel under Jehoshaphat cried out to God in this story, God intervened and Israels enemies actually destroyed themselves. To me it is no surprise that the false stories generated by the left worked against them. I will say the battle is not over. We need to continue to pray for our nation. I think of Brian Williams and his fake news, Hillary and her narrative that Benghazi happened because of a video. They knew the new was false when they said it, but that is what they set up to tell the American people and the families of the Benghazi victims. We heard of Clinton's coming in to Bosnia I think it was , under gun fire and they had to run for cover. Yet we see the videos of her receiving flowers upon exiting the plane. They have used false reports and lies over and over again and yet do not understand when it works against them. I believe it was God that turned these things around and let their own lies destroy them. God alone has our best interest at heart. It is not a liberal or conservative agenda that is best for us. It is God's will that is truly best for us and make no mistake, even if you do not believe in him, God is still on his throne.  Christians in this country have cried out to him and God answered. That is what I believe happened.  God bless, LVZ. 

A Good Name

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. Proverbs 22:1
There have been instances in my life when I chose to keep a good name no matter what the consequences. One incident that comes to mind was in the summer of 93. I had a habit of burning paper trash and as I got done especially in the summer time when it was dry and hot, I would wet the area down after the fire was. out. On this particular day I received a telephone call as I was watering plants in the yard. As I made the way around the yard I would go back to the area where I burned the trash and wet it down. The telephone call interrupted my routine. I forgot to go back and finish watering.  In the middle of the night, I heard metal noises in the yard and as I looked out the window I could see the reflection of a fire. I got up and went outside to see what was burning. My pump house and shed  and the wood shed next to it were burning. We called the fire department and I ran to get the water hose and spray the side of the house to keep it from catching on fire. The water would not turn on. The fire had already destroyed the wire to the well pump and a composite water line into the well had already burned. I ran to the pond with 5 gallon buckets and splashed water onto the side of the house to keep the fire from spreading. Soon the fire department got there and put the fire out. The Fire Chief came up to me after the fire was out and asked question if I had any idea what happened. I thought I am going to jail, because I knew it was my fault. I told him what I thought had happened. I had burned paper trash over beyond the pump house and I forgot to come back and wet the area down. I believe it had continued to burn unseen by me and made its way through dry grass to the pump house.  I just knew I was going to jail, a policeman was there also. I decided I need to be honest what ever the consequences.  I could have lied and said I didn't know. The Fire Chief said they would call it an accidental fire because of that. It would save them a lot of time investigating because there had been a rash of arson fires further south and this didn't fit the pattern for those fires. There was another time I chose to keep a good name, and it cause me a lot of heartache, but I got through it. I saw someone or rather came across the knowledge that a co-worker had been stealing time and materials from the company we worked for. I chose to report it. I could have ignored it and continued just doing m job, but I felt as a Christian, I had to report it. I went through hell on the job for a period of time because my co-workers found out I had reported it. I was a snitch and they didn't feel they could trust me. They could trust each other as they stole from the company but not a snitch. Sometimes being a Christian and standing for what I believed was right has cost me something. I do not regret the actions that I took on that day. It hurt and eventually I moved to another department. God blessed my efforts and protected me. I am very thankful. Through the years I have tried to witness to others and feel I have not been effective. I see the results in my life, how God has protected me in many situations. I see others going through life and I think if only they knew the God that I know. Life still happens, bad things happen, but God has brought me through it all. I remember a difficult time when all three cars I owned were broke, and I was broke. I lived six miles into the country and there was no bus line. I didn't know what I was going to do. A friend brought one of his cars out to me and let me use it until I got on my feet again.  I got one car running and took it to the auction and sold it. I used that money to buy a beater pickup truck and an engine to put in my other car. Once I bought a $50 dollar car and it got me through to better times. Being a Christian has not made my life perfect. but I found God has stood with me through every trouble I have been in and helped me through it. I remember one time in a difficult marriage, I prayed God help me, to know what to do. In that instance God answered as I was still praying. I have not led a perfect life, but I am thankful to know God. He has helped me through so much of life's difficult times. I do not regret being a Christian. It has cause me trouble at times when I chose to have a good name above other things. I wish others could see what I see.  They have to find God on their own.  I see people going through life's troubles and I wish they could know the God I know.  God is faithful.  God bless, LVZ.

Divider in Chief or DIC

When I first heard Obama's words after Ferguson to the rioters, Keep Doing What your Doing, I thought this is going to be bad. It has, there has been an attack on our law enforcement officers that seems to have escalated since Ferguson. Yesterday I heard his comments to Military Personnel at his last speech to the Military as Commander in Chief. It reminded me of his words at Ferguson, it may be bad for our country. They put a subtitle under Trumps picture on Time magazine, divided states of America. As Trump says , he didn't divide America. Obama did that. I believe Obama has earned the Title DIC, Divider In Chief.   May it stick and may it be his true legacy that he left  for this country. God help Trump and bless Trump as we work to repair the damage that has been done. God bless,  LVZ.

It is scary in Face book land

When you read face book post after face book post of all the terrified people because Trump won. People want to leave the country because of all the White Supremacists that voted for Trump. Some post talk about putting us back to Jim Crow and segregation etc. So I went to a Second grade Christmas program my grandson's school put on. I thought about all this stuff I read on face book and I watched people coming in to the auditorium. More than 50% black. I didn't see anyone scared to sit next to a white person. I didn't see sections where whites gathered and other rows where Blacks gathered. Even saw some Hispanics. When you read on face book of the terrible direction our country is taking and the fear people have I thought for sure I'd see some indication of it in the deep south of Mississippi.  Nope, any row I could see had some white, some black. I didn't see fear on any one's face especially a black person sitting next to a white supremacist. I thought how would I know a White supremacist anyhow?  Maybe some of these face book posters need to go to a second grade Christmas program in the deep south, and see what it is really like. I heard of a Black Church in Tupelo where every single member voted for Trump. Of course this is second hand or possibly third hand info and would be considered hearsay. But isn't a lot of what we read on face book hearsay? Maybe it would be good to get away from face book land and go to a second grade Christmas program. Or perhaps a Christmas Program at a local Church putting on some Christmas play and see if there is fear in the eyes of the average person. Did I mention, I live in the deep south? I would not be surprised to see Trump win by an even bigger electoral college vote and popular vote also in 4 years. I think people are actually relieved that Trump won and it is only a very narrow margin of extreme Liberals that are having nightmares.   Trump is not a savior, God is still on his throne. As I said in a recent blog, I believe this election had God's signature on it. I read some analysis of election results and they are not sure where these White Supremacists came from that voted for Trump. Below copied from an article by Larry Elder:

Fact: Based on exit polls, Trump got a lower percentage of the white vote than Mitt Romney did in 2012, and a higher percentage of the black vote and the Hispanic vote than Romney. Initial post-election tabulations find that nationwide, Trump won 209 of the 676 counties that voted for Barack Obama twice — in both 2008 and 2012. And he won another 194 of the 207 counties that Obama took only once — in either 2008 or 2012. Did a raft of white supremacists move in and change the vote? Or did the voters' latent racism suddenly erupt in 2016?

Read more at http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/elder120816.php3#7g418jux8Merl5hS.99

I think there is a lot of hearsay in face book land and scare tactics being used by Liberal Diehards that still can't believe they lost. Michael Moore needs to get a life.   Lets continue to pray for our nation and President -elect Donald Trump. If things improve it will be God's doing. God could fix our land with Hillary if he so chose.  God bless, LVZ.

Divided

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Our nation seems to be very divided for that reason I believe we do need to continue to pray for President elect Donald Trump. It seems every decision is criticized, every appointment is put down. A non political candidate won, and he won in spite of opposition from both parties.  I don't think we should expect his decisions to follow conventional wisdom from the swamp in DC. He won because he is different, expect his cabinet and his decisions to not fit the norm. If he had run as a conventional Republican, Hillary would be President elect.  He is running against opposition greater than any previous President. Let us support this President in prayer. This whole election has God's signature on it. I believe God is trying to do something to save our nation. If God has his way we will lead peaceful and quiet lives. God is not the author of division and confusion. That comes from another source.  Trump did not cause the divide we see in this country. In fact the ones responsible for the divide are still trying to divide and fight with every thing they can. Let us pray for this President and our nation. Let us pray for unity. We can accomplish great things working together. We will see a revitalized economy and peace in our nation as we work together. Think of the words you hear from various sources, who is trying to divide and fight progress? Look at the source, where is it really coming from?  This verse also says to give thanks. I give thanks for Donald Trump, he is genuinely trying to bring our nation together. Let us support him and pray for him. God is not the author of a divided nation, that comes from another source, and listen to the words of the leaders of the Democratic party, from the leaders of Black Lives Matter and other groups. Listen and see where the division and divisive words come from. May they reap what they sow. May the division they sow come back upon them, may they truly reap what they sow. Let us sow good seed  and pray for our nation and our President and reap a good harvest. God bless, LVZ. 

God's Signature

The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ Judges 7:2 As I looked at the election, I wondered why didn't God just show with a majority of the popular vote his choice for President? I thought of the story of Gideon and how God saved his people with 300 men against thousands. Read the story again in Judges 7.  And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. Judges 7:12  I thought this is God's signature, God is saying I have done this. Here Trump is with a landslide of Electoral votes and yet the popular vote was actually in Clinton's favor. This is God's signature. I saw the video of all the people saying it will never be Trump. Newscasters, pollsters, Nancy Pelosi, Tom Hanks and many others all said never Trump.  Yet it happened. It is like God put his signature on this election, and in spite of all that was against him, Trump wins with a landslide of electoral votes. but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, Acts 5:39 Gamaliel gave some advice to his fellow council members regarding Jesus's followers, and it may be good advice to liberals today who are upset with the outcome of this election.  Stand back and see if it is of God. If it is not it will fall away on its own. But if it is of God and you fight this, you could end up fighting God. Let me tell you something, God wins. When it is his will God wins. I was thinking of the recounts paid for by Jill Stein, one state ended up with more that 400 more for Trump and another state was 4 more votes for Hillary. If this Trump movement is of God and you fight it, you could be fighting against God and God wins.  Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. Daniel 5:5 And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered^g the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; Tekel, you have been weighed^h in the balances and found wanting; Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”   Daniel 5:25-28  That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. Daniel 5:30  Life is in the hands of God, God is still on his throne. To me this election has God's signature on it and I would advise to leave it alone, least you fight against God. God is Sovereign, God still makes the sun to set and rise again the next day. God still gives breath to all those living. May God be praised, I believe this election has God's signature on it.  God bless, LVZ.

Supplications

Today or even the last several days I have not felt inspired to write anything. The political arena has somewhat died down, but you still see face book posts with catchy titles that really say very little.  One thought was on 1 Timothy 2:1-2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. I don't remember where I saw this but thought it appropriate for the time we are in. We do need to pray for our President and our President elect. I have been very impressed with what I see from Donald Trump and Mike Pence so far. I know liberals are still coming unglued, but when you stop and take a good look, I think Trump is going to do well. That is probably the biggest reason Liberals are having  such a hard time.  this scripture does tell us to pray for Kings and all who are in high positions. Since I have been at Hope, I have tried to pray for the leaders of our church every day. It is our responsibility as Christians to pray for our leaders, in the church and even our governmental leaders. I think I have learned to pray more about things ahead of time, instead of making a decision and then asking God to help me when I am in trouble already. Perhaps if I prayed first, I wouldn't have made a decision to get me into so much trouble in the first place.  Pray about everything. We do want peace. This scripture tells us to pray for our leaders so that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life. So what is supplication? As I looked that up the definition that made sense to me:  To make a humble, earnest petition; To pray to God in a humble and earnest manner. To pray humbly and earnestly and give thanks for all people, for kings and all who are in high position.  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16 I think we have seen this happen before our very eyes this year in the Presidential election. God heard our prayers and gave us Trump. I saw more signs traveling across country this year urging Christians to pray for our nation or a city setting a time to come together and pray for our nation. Franklin Graham traveled to all 50 states to gather Christians for prayer for our nation and this election. My church called us to pray  at 7:14 AM and PM for our nation. I believe prayer works, as we have seen during this election season. I said months ago if we won this election it would be because we got on our knees to get God's attention. It happened but we need to continue to pray for our President elect. the battle for our nation is not over. God bless, LVZ

An Unappreciated Gift

Many years ago I received a Christmas gift I did not appreciate.  I wanted a Leather Jacket, more of a bomber type jacket is what I had in mind. What I received was a very heavy trench coat length leather jacket with a fur collar. I described it as a coat for a rancher in Montana. I really didn't like it, it wasn't what I expected. It probably cost more that what I really wanted. It was in reality a really nice coat. I did keep it for some years and did wear it  a few times, but it really was too warm of a coat for me. I finally did give it away. I think of that leather coat now and then, and wonder if I would properly appreciate it today. It is Christmas time and we think of giving and receiving gifts. There is another gift many of us were given. Jesus gave us his life on a cross. Some may choose to ignore that gift, not what they really wanted. Not something they feel they need. Jesus gave his very life for our sins. I think many do not understand the gift, or really appreciate it or the value of that gift. That gift is the only way to God. That gift is the only way to eternal life. Perhaps it is not appreciated just as I did not appreciate the gift of that long leather coat so many years ago. It was given in the right spirit and out of love. The problem was me, I did not appreciate it in the manner I should have. Jesus gave his very life for me and he would have done it if I had been the only person on earth. Even today I wonder if I really appreciate Jesus for all he has done for me. Jesus is unappreciated by many, but still he died for them. John 3:16   For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. God forgive me if I have been calloused with your gift. Help me to appreciate what Jesus did for me on that cross so many years ago.  God bless, LVZ.