False Testimony

16If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, 17the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. 18The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, 19then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you. 20The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. Deuteronomy 19:16-20

Sometimes I find it hard to write about something I have read in these books of Moses but as I was reading these verses, I thought about the Kavanaugh hearings and other false accusations that have been in the news lately. There were some there were some sports players recently that had been accused falsely and spent time in jail. Here lately there was what we called the #Me too movement. I had this very thought of giving to the false accusers the same punishment that would have been given to those falsely accused. I did not remember that recommendation is actually in the Bible until I read this. Deuteronomy is of course written to the Israelites as they were being led by Moses. I believe this would happen, if we did that, people would hear about this happening and would fear giving false testimony lest they get the same punishment. I think the political operatives that convinced Ford to come forward against Kavanaugh should be included in like punishment. I do believe terrible things happened to Dr. Ford, just not at the hands of Justice Kavanaugh. This is Biblical, we read it right here. I think of how women are advised in divorce action to make up stories about their ex's so support their cause. I remember when I was served with a restraining order from my children's mother and I thought I don't need this. I am not a danger to her but like the sheriff deputy said, don't look at it that way. This is to prevent her from coming near you also. What happened is I obeyed the restraining order but my ex did not. She would come in the middle of the night and knock on my window to talk to me at the place I was living when I left the family home. I regress. We need to be careful about falsely accusing someone. God knows all and keeps a record and someday we will answer for these things when we stand before God, even if we get away with it here below. God's record does not lie. I was not a dead beat Dad and when taken to court for child support, I did not have to pay one penny of delinquent child support. I had records of all I had done to support my family after I was gone. In fact the child support I was ordered to pay by the courts was a couple of hundred less than what I had been paying.  When I left the home I was sleeping in the back of my pickup in the canopy in my employers parking lot. I remember it being very cold, it was January. I would go in and take a shower at an exercise facility there at the job and go to work. Living in my truck until I was able to do better. God watched over me during those difficult years. I regress. I did feel falsely accused about some things during that time, but it is water under the bridge. God keeps a record that does not lie. I did not live a perfect life and there were things I did need to change in my life. God works in our heart. God protected me in those years and I am so thankful. God bless, LVZ. 

Biblical Morals

It seems I cannot stay away from political comments. I do good for a while but them something triggers a  thought and I just feel I have to say something. The recent election in Florida had both sides calling fraud. Nobody seems to trust the outcome of elections any more. As I thought on this if we trusted that people had a moral compass, that they would do right even when no one was watching, would we not accept election results more readily? I think it is when we don't trust that things have been fair especially against our side, we get angry.  Doesn't it seem more easily to accept if we know it has been fair and just, to accept a loss? I think so. I think it is when we feel there have been people voting twice, or dead people voting for the other side, or even illegals voting for the other side, that we get upset with loss. When people say we don't need Christian morals, I say we do. We want judges that judge fairly, we want people that count votes fairly. We want business people that treat us fairly and not charging us more than they ought. What made me angry with a contractor was when I felt cheated. When the carpenter would do things wrong and then get paid a second time to do it over and do it right. When the carpenter wanted a new tool and would add it to the list of supplies. Like the carpenter I had that wanted a new 100 foot tape measure and added it to the list of supplies for my house. I do believe he is entitled to make a wage that allows him to buy the tool he needs for his toolbox but it should not come out of the list of supplies I am paying for. His tools should come out of his wages, if I am paying for it, I want to keep it. It is things like this the Bible is addressing when it talks about honest weights and measures. “You shall have just balances, a just ephah, and a just bath. Ezekiel 45:10  A just balance and scales are the LORD’s; all the weights in the bag are his work. Proverbs 16:11 “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. Leviticus 19:35 A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight. Proverbs 11:1
Each of us desires honesty when we are buying goods and services. It is that desire to be treated honestly and fairly that spills over into the political races. We want the votes to be counted one for one and not skipped over because it is for our side. Both sides want to be treated fairly in business. The way we build trust is to treat the other side fairly. We don't cheat. I remember playing monopoly as a kid, there was one kid that admitted to taking money from the bank when he needed it, it was just a game after all. I didn't want to play monopoly with him after that. He cheated, I didn't mind losing if I felt I lost fair and square, but I didn't like losing to a cheat. We feel the same in life. we just want to be treated fairly. Biblical morals do matter if you stop and think it through. We lose trust when we have been cheated or lied to. We want to be considered innocent until proven guilty when we are on trial for something we didn't do. When we are married to someone, we want to trust that person. Biblical morals do matter. God bless, LVZ. 

Do The Math

I am fair in math questions, I think. We just went through a state election for a senator. The race was between a black man and a white woman. I have a lot of contact with black people. I have a lot of black friends. I live in a little town that is 70 to 80 percent black. I go to a church that has I am guessing 50 to 60 black people in attendance on a given Sunday. I am married to a black woman. But I think conservatively,  as far as I know I always have.  In talking to black people, I hear a lot of racist comments. I know things I say, they consider to be racist also. But I think if you look at the math, the US is not as racist as people make it out to be. Yes politically race is used a lot to sway people one way or the other. The stats I am using are from a few years back but I think they will still work to make the point I want to make. If you have 77% white and 14% black population even if every black person and every minority person voted for Obama you would still need about 50 % of the white people to vote for him to win. If Blacks were not able to vote before they got the right to vote it had to be White people that voted for them to have the right to vote. There had to be a lot of men that voted for the right to vote for women. I know Black people and women worked very hard to get the right to vote in gone by years. In the civil rights years there were probably at least 50% of the White people that supported the civil rights issues. So why do we always label White people as so racist?  There are so many issues that affect us that have nothing to do with race. Poverty, education issues have a lot more than race attached to it. The way we believe about taxing the rich is not about race. To some degree there may be more minorities that are at the poverty level, and at the low end of the education level. A lot of the good that happened in this country did not happen without white support. I know a bigger percentage of Blacks are incarcerated per their percentage of the population.  Just perhaps a lot of it has to do with single parent homes and issues like that. I saw how separating from the mother of my children affected them. It hurt my children. It wasn't a race issue, but me the father being out of the home affected them greatly. It is epidemic proportions in our country any more. People do not do the math. We believe what politicians tell us over what an expert in a field like economics tells us about the economy. We get pressured by the political community to support global warming and yet many scientist are not 94% on board with the political community like we are told by the politicians. We use so many things to divide us, ethnicity, economic status, educational status and I believe the Bible tells us we are equal, all created in the image of God, no matter what our economic, religious, educational status. The Bible tells us we all matter to God. As a Christian we do believe their is one way to God through Jesus Christ, but we don't go around the world chopping heads off of people that don't believe the same as us. We are not perfect. We are to love our enemies and sometimes we don't do a good job of that. Back to the subject on hand, I think if we look at history and do the math, the U.S. is not as bad as many make it out to be. We talk about white privilege, but in reality it is U.S. privilege that we really see. Our poor are in the upper crust of society when we are compared to the rest of the world. The poor from Honduras will do better here as poor people than they will do in Honduras. It doesn't take a math genius to figure this out.  But politics like to have us at each others throats, it gets more people out to vote. It is sad but true. The ads, especially for a national office seem to be mostly negative. But it stirs up the base to be angry and gets us out to vote. Martin Luther King did not win in the civil rights area with out a majority of white support. Think about that. If you look closely and fairly, you will see minorities are just as racist as white people. It is a human condition that requires a heart fix. If you think all white people are the same, do the math, 50 percent or more supported civil rights, 50 percent or close to it of whites supported Obama. So tell me why whites are all racists. Because we believe in a capitalist society does not make us racist. 40 or more socialist societies have failed in recent history, Watch what racism really looks like in a socialist society, it doesn't disappear. Any way this is my opinion, how I see things. God bless, LVZ.
Think about this for a minute. To get elected as President although  the electoral college is different than the popular vote, it still amounts to about 50 + percent if not overall than in the states he carries in the electoral college. So if the black population is about 14% and the other minorities are about 8%, and if Obama had carried 100% of those votes. We know he didn't but just for the point I am making, that's 22 %.  That leaves 78% white. Half of 78% is 39%. So 22% plus 39% is 61%. There had to be a lot of white people voting for Obama for him to win the election. We know not all black or other minorities voted 100% for him. The point being a whole lot of white had to vote for Obama. In fact 14% of the population is roughly on fifth of the population. He probably had twice as many White people voting for him as Black people. So why are White people lumped together as racist? Do the math.

Clothes That Did Not Wear Out

3He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Deuteronomy 8:3-5. 
It seems to be difficult for me to write something while reading the Books of Moses. Here I saw, your clothes did not wear out. I thought for sure I had seen that somewhere before and here it is in Deuteronomy.  For their forty years in the wilderness, their clothes did not wear out. I suppose as the children grew they were able to pass down hand me downs also because everyone over the age of 20 was to die in the wilderness except for Caleb and Joshua. By the end of 40 years in the wilderness  Caleb and Joshua were the oldest men in the group. Even Moses was to die before they reached the promised land. Moses was allowed to look over and see it but not step foot in it. God allowed them to hunger and then fed them with manna. He allowed them to get thirsty and then watered them out of a rock. He had a purpose, to teach the Israelites that man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from God. There is a spiritual side of life that we would be wise to not ignore. I have thought about the many things that have gone well for me, jobs that God has blessed. Transportation that God has blessed. I think of the spouse that God has given me and blessed me with. God's desire is that it goes well with us. Even when he disciplines us, it is meant for our well being, for our learning. God has our best interest at heart. The commandments are not meant to be a hardship but that we could live the best life possible. We honor parents that it may be well with us. We live faithfully with the partner God has given to us and I think of how much stress and hardship I could have avoided by following God's plan. Even today, I wish I would learn to follow God's voice in my life. Life would be better in his will. He can make many things last for us if we follow him and trust in him. If he so chooses, he can make our clothes to last for 40 years. Most of us don't really want that, we want new styles and just plain new stuff. I think of the dinner at church years ago, we bless the food so it will be enough just as Jesus did when he fed the five thousand and the 4 thousand from a few loves and fishes.  He fed the prophet from the widow lady's meal and oil during a famine. He can do it again in our lives today if we will trust him. God bless, LVZ.

Intentional Living

I have given some thought to intentional living as it came up in a small group recently. Some thing I have done intentionally that I can think of right now. I have a devotional every day, I intentionally worked at it to make it a habit in my life. I recently started attending a different Sunday School for a specific purpose which I don't want to disclose right now. It was very intentional. I think of many years ago when I was laid off from my aerospace job, I didn't want to leave the area so I intentionally showed up at a mill that was hiring day after day at their start time. I got hired because the man said if I could show up like that without having a job, I would probably show up every day if they hired me. At the end of my first year in my performance review he told me I gave 110%. He was reluctant to hire anyone from aerospace because he didn't think they would work or stay.  In fact when aerospace called me back after a two year layoff, I was only to happy to return. When I realized my first aerospace job was going away after a CATIA class I took, I intentionally took every CATIA class I could. My Mockup job did disappear but I was already working on CATIA drawings. I think marriages are another thing that require intentional living. You don't up and quit the first time things go wrong. You try to fix it. Intentional living, when I write a blog on this page it is with the intent of persuading others to follow Christ as I have. It is intentional that I write about scripture over and over again. I say that on my home page, the first think people see after my current picture is my statement that my intent is to influence others to follow Christ, as I have. I have developed a habit of reading scripture every day and praying every day. Intentional living, I sought out an accountability partner because I felt it was a need in my life to stay strong and committed. I saw in the past an inconsistency in my life in the years I lived in Tacoma when I seemingly didn't have the friend / support groups I needed. Intentional Living. As I thought about intentional living and typed it into google, I come across several people including John Maxwell. In 2015 he was talking about intentional living. I thought I came across something good to write about, there are already books written on intentional living. I wonder if I will ever have an original thought that someone hasn't used before.  I wanted to find a scripture that I could post with this blog. My mind was blank. John Maxwell said some things that got me back to my blogs home page where I make this statement:
I am a Christian. I am a Husband, Father, Grandfather, Brother. I would like to be good at all of them. I have worked as a tech designer, electrical corrective action engineer and other things. I do feel being a Christian is the most important decision I have ever made in my life. I hope and pray the words I write on this page will encourage others to make the same decision. I pray my words will be pleasing to my Heavenly Father. 
I feel that being a Christian is the most important decision I have ever made in my life. My intentional living should revolve around that. 
Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 9:23-24. 
Let us not boast in how smart we are, how strong we are, how much in things I have, but in the fact that I know God.  I said the most important decision I ever made in my life was to follow Christ. John Maxwell told about three questions he asked in a message to leaders around the world. Do you care for me? Can you help me? Can I trust you?  God cares for me so much he sent Jesus to the cross for me. Can Jesus help me, when I look back, I see so many ways God has helped me. Over and over again even when I didn't deserve his help. Can I trust you? Who can you trust more than God? I get carried away with my political beliefs, knowing full well it is God that is the answer for not only this nation but for the world. I think my intentional living needs to focus on the Lord who practices steadfast love. In my most sinful of days, God still loved me. I did not deserve his grace. The Lord who practices justice, sometimes we think God is asleep because he is longsuffering and we don't see immediate justice. The Lord who practices righteousness. God does what is right even when we don't  understand.  Intentional living should point me to the one that can fix anything that needs fixing. Intentional living should point me to the one that loves me when I don't deserve it.  Boast in this that I understand and know God. He cares for me, he can help me and I can trust him. Most of all God knows who Leon is. He has the very hairs of my head numbered. He knows every one of my days. He knows my thoughts, my hurts and even my joys. He knows those things I don't want others to know about me, and I can trust him. Who is like God, the creator of all that is, the universe, life on earth, and his favorite creation made in his image. I am not that smart or strong or rich. I am blessed because I know God and he knows who I am. God bless, LVZ. 

Murmuring

46Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord; the plague has started.” 47So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. 48He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. 49But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. 50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.  Numbers 16:46-50.
In reading in the book of numbers we find the Israelites began murmuring. We read where they sent the 12 spies into the promised land to see what was there. It was a good productive land. Joshua and Caleb both gave a good report. The other ten gave a bad report and convinced the people they would be destroyed. They did not want to continue. They had come all the way from Egypt to the promised land that God had led them the whole way. Provided manna and quail, water for them and their animals and here they are and because of the ten that gave a bad report they did not want to continue. In these beginning chapters there are several uprisings against Moses and Aaron. First the ten that gave a bad report died. Then there was another uprising of the Levites and 250 were destroyed , Three of the rebellious leaders and their tens and everything they had were swallowed up when the earth opened and consumed them.  The Israelites continued to murmur. At one point God was angry and started to destroy them and Moses and Aaron went with a censer with coals and ran among the Israelites and stopped the plague but not before 14,700 had died. After they saw their error the Israelites sent some men to conquer the land but Moses said don't  do it the Lord is not in this. The Lord had already spoken all those above 20 years old would die off in the wilderness because of their rebellion. Only Caleb and Joshua would live to enter the promised land. God did not like the rebellion and many were destroyed because of it. The ones sent out were defeated. So begins the long journey of 40 years in the wilderness. God want us to trust him and to follow his direction. These Israelites had seen so many miracles, the Red Sea parting, manna from heaven and God providing for them over and over again but they would not trust God. They rebelled against Moses and Aaron and God showed them again and again. God showed them Aarons rod came out of the tent not only budding but with leaves and actual almonds on the branch. God works through his leaders. We don't get to decide above God word. God is God and he alone is in authority. The leaders God gives us are also to follow God's direction. When they go astray, God also deals with them as he did with Aaron and Miriam when they rebelled against Moses. God is a God of order. He sets the parameters, when we go against God we will face his discipline. I can't help but think much trouble we face today is because of our disobedience to God. 
For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.”1 Samuel 15:23
In reading these books of Moses, it is hard to always know what God is saying to us. The Bible is for our learning, but what are these old records for, what are we to learn. One is to trust God and it seems God keeps a record of our lives. God knows everyone of our days before one of them happens. Towards the end of Numbers, Moses listed the stages of the Israelites travel. Where they camped and traveled to next. The version I was reading in called it stages. What are the stages of our lives. In my life I could divide it up as my childhood years in South and North Dakota.  It was there in North Dakota that I have a memory of a prayer I prayed at possibly 5 years of age. I remember discouraging years in my teenage years when I despaired of life at that young age, but God brought me through it. Prayers of a discouraged young man, that I remember from the time I lived in Everett. then I became an adult and set out on my own. I had $25 in my pocket when I left my fathers house for good. In this stage of a young adult I stayed with a young family that befriended me and it was just a few more years until I had my own apartment. God brought me through. It wasn't many years and I had my own family. I remember taking walks along Hiway Place and talking to God. I moved and got my first home that I purchased. It wasn't many years until I moved into the country and I remember going into the woods and sitting on a stump and praying to God. God blessed me with a good job and I strayed away, allowed a root of bitterness to grow in my heart. It was in that stage of my life I returned to the Lord again when I was living in the woods. I once again prayed to my God in those woods. I went through good times and hard times, and then for a little over the next ten years I went through a stage of much difficulty as I went through divorce after divorce. Much trouble was of my own making as I did not learn to wait on God. Perhaps I murmured myself in those troublesome times, but I got through them. I really think God want us to learn to trust him in life. These different stages of life passed so quickly, It seemed a long time in raising children and yet that time is long passed and I have now lived after my children have been gone a long time. I think how much we are like these Israelites and see God's miracles and still murmur and complain. God is aware of our trials and tribulations and tries to use them to develop us into his children, his followers. May we remember that many things God brought us through. Good times and bad, lean times and prosperity. Mountains and valleys and God goes with us through them all. May I learn to not murmur but to remember all that God has done. May I remember all the hard times he brought me through. Now I am in the last stage of life, I don't know how long it will be. I see people that live into their 90's still trusting God, walking with canes and needing support. They have lived long lives blessed of God. Others leave so soon, younger than I am. One day in good health and tomorrow they are gone. Our days are known by God, may he be a part of everyone of them. May I remember his goodness and all the things he has brought me through. May I learn from the children of Israel and not follow them into murmuring, but with a thankful heart live a life honoring God and trusting him through the remainder of my days. This stage of my life with a woman that loves me has been longer now than that stage of life when I went through divorce after divorce God brought me through it all and I am indeed blessed. May I trust God in the days ahead and thank him for his many blessings. When I have trusted God have been my best years. Hind sight is 20/20. I have been blessed above what I deserve. God does not remember our sins, they are removed from us as far as the east is from the west. I remember things that God's word says God has forgotten. I am forgiven and that is a good way to live. God bless, LVZ. 

Misuse

7“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Exodus 20:7
In my growing up years I always thought this meant cursing. Using God's name to damn this person or that thing. But do we ever credit God for things he has not done? Have we ever used the word of God has a club? It has been hard for me to retrain myself to not look for scripture to support what I already think but just to read and try and understand what the word is saying to me. I remember when I was young and I would read every sermon I could find on a subject and then use that. I was probably being more influenced by mans words that God's words. I believe we still need to listen to sermons and others as they speak, but we also need to develop a habit of reading the word of God first hand with no objective in mind other than reading the word.  Letting God speak through his word alone. I still use other peoples writings, commentaries, Our Daily Bread. There are many helps in our computer age on line. To look at the meaning of a word, we just need to google the word. I use Bible Hub and Blue Letter Bible. But I am trying to start a new habit of just reading the Bible from page one to the end. If something catches my attention, I may look at it more closely. To avoid misusing the word of God, I try to just read. I hope God will speak to me through my daily reading.  I don't want to be guilty of misusing the name of my God. I want relationship, I don't want to just say empty prayers day after day, but to actually hear from God as I read his word. I have heard that 90% of hearing from God is through his word. God has spoken through a burning Bush or through the mouth of a Donkey. I am reminded of the time I felt God spoke to my mind, now I showed you this so you would know, don't go over there a make a fool of yourself. Time like that have been rare. Most of the time, I will read the word and ask, what does this mean for me today in this situation. Me and a couple of friends were talking about how we moved from Chicago or Washington or where ever and it seems with hindsight we see it was God and circumstances that God used to move us where he wanted us. Didn't see it at the time but we were doing something just circumstantial, just living and following God in every day living as best we could and in hind sight we see God moved us where he wanted us. Sometimes when God speaks in unusual ways we are amazed at his ways, but other times it is only in hindsight that we see his hand. Loving God, loving each other is the way he desires us to live and he is with us all the way. Even in trouble, I have seen God's hand. Someone was talking about angels, ministering spirits and there have been times I wondered, was that an actual angel? I was walking along the railroad tracks in Tacoma one day and a lady came from the other direction towards me. When we passed she said you do not want to walk that way any further. I turned around and walked another way. Maybe it was just another person, perhaps it was an angel, a ministering spirit watching out for me. Sometimes I just don't stay on subject, got all these little side trails to take.   I really don't know. But I do know I need God for myself. God bless, LVZ.

Life Happens

This blog will be different today as I reflect on this past week.  Today is voting day and I will not know the results of our election till much later. We have prayed that this election would support our President. We can't always see everything God is doing and sometimes he has long range plans that we don't understand. Much of the time I do not post these blogs the same day I write them. Often when I do I end up deleting them later. If I ever do publish this it will be later. It has been a different week so far. We started off Sunday morning with a 3 page letter posted on the Church doors as did several other churches around the area. It was the rant of possibly a disturbed person and maybe it did not need to be taken as seriously as we took it but in light of the recent church shootings, the safety team was on high alert. We had a picture of this man and we each saw what we could of this man from a side view. A heavy beard, tattoos that were visible on his outstretched hand towards the door. A black insert in his ear lobe, black framed glasses. It was unnerving considering the Tree of Life killings in Pennsylvania in recent days. While you were sleeping Satan was roaming your halls was a repeated phrase in his letter. Crazies have been at the root of most church shootings, so what do you make of something like this? Barbara has been stressed with her servants heart as she cares for her sister and even her son's father. Which I am sure feels awkward for her, but she has a servants heart, and does what needs to be done.  We are driving down the hiway at 65 miles an hour when in the dark a mattress is in the lane in front of us. No time to react. But in hind sight I believe the hand of God was with us. Some mattresses these days are pretty thick. The Dart is not that high off the ground. I did not hit the brakes, I just tried to go over it, which we did. The mattress rolled up under the car and lifted it off the pavement. I thought later that when you hit the brakes, the front end of your vehicle lowers some, so it was probably a good thing that I didn't hit the brakes. Would it have cause the mattress to raise up and hit the windshield, I don't know but it is a possibility. The mattress rolled up under the car and hung there until I got onto the shoulder and then it rolled out the back. Stayed rolled up inside the plastic cover. It was a brand new mattress.  It happened so fast at 65 miles an hour, there was no time to take evasive action, I just had to hit it. I am thankful for the hand of God that is on our lives everyday.   And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b    God bless, LVZ.

Am I My Brothers Keeper?

This problem of division and animosity towards others started a long time ago.

8Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” ^d While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

9Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Genesis 4:8-9                      If we cannot love our brothers and sisters, is it no wonder that we have problems politically.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31   The problems we see today with political division is spiritual. There have been problems like this since Cain and Abel. Abel didn't do anything wrong. Cain was jealous, and became angry and killed his brother. Is our anger always justified? No of course not. Abel did not do anything wrong, he did not wrong his brother. But sin was in Cain's heart. God warned Cain. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to^c you, but you must rule over it.” Genesis 4:3-7  I have been angry with people that sit at a light too long and make me miss the green light. Do I really have reason to be angry? Is it that important for me to make this green light and not have to wait for the next one.  I will pull ahead in an intersection where I am making a left turn to where I will block the cross traffic and have to clear the intersection when the light changes. Not everyone thinks like me and I really have no reason to be angry. Some of our political stuff is just as silly. We are to love our neighbors. Well that liberal next door is my neighbor.  I am to love him. In the familiar story of the good Samaritan that stopped to help the man robbed by the wayside and left for dead. The good Samaritan cleaned up his wounds and took care of him. The good Samaritan did not even know the man, but Jesus said he was a neighbor to him. It is a sin problem in our nation today just as it was for Cain. It is something we can correct with the help of Jesus. We are to rule over the sin in our lives. All have sinned and come short. Those we come in contact with are our neighbors as we see in the story of the Good Samaritan. We are to be our brothers keeper. We are to care about those around us, even those we disagree with. Sometimes it feels hard to do, when we are at odds with others. In Romans a verse tells us to be at peace with all me as much as is possible. I am glad that as much as is possible in in that verse. Sometimes it is not just left up to us. The other side has a say in it. As much as is possible, I can't carry on a one sided relationship. This problem with family members is as old as the Old Testament, where we see Cain had an issue with his brother Abel. Abel did nothing wrong, all he did is give an offering to God that was accepted, while Cain's offering did not please God. We are not told why or what was wrong, but God did say sin was at the door and Cain needed to deal with it (rule over it). When we see sin in our hearts, we need to deal with it. Perhaps Cain could have asked God to help him see what his anger was about. Abel was righteous. Why was Cain angry? His anger was misplaced, and perhaps we do the same today. Do we really know why we are angry when that emotion arises in our hearts. Sometimes we need to stop and understand it before we react against someone innocent like Abel. We see road rage. Once when I was driving down the freeway near Tacoma, I was listening to a podcast on my phone. I wasn't talking on it. I was just listening like I would to a radio. except it was on my shoulder. In Washington state it is against the law to talk or text while driving. Someone saw the phone on my shoulder and they threw something at me and hit my van. I am sure their perception was I was talking on the phone. I felt it was no different than listening to the radio. Was that mans anger justified? He really didn't see the whole picture. Sometimes we need to look at anger when it appears, it is just an emotion, but it is signaling something is wrong. Is sin at the door of our heart? We need to understand it and deal with it before we do wrong. Be angry and sin not the Bible tells us. Cain sinned because of his anger. Perhaps he should have asked why am I angry with my brother, what has he done? We are our brothers keeper. Love your neighbor as yourself, consider others more important than yourself. We are to be our brothers keeper. We are to concern ourselves with our neighbor and when we see a need, do what we can.   God bless, LVZ. 

Division

We do not have to think every last one of us alike. There is room in our nation for different thought. But we see the left critiquing everyone that does not think like the left. We have Maxine Waters calling for the harassment  of Trumps staff. We see Hillary saying they cannot be civil until they are in power. We see Eric Holder saying we kick them when they are down. Again and again the left are saying these things, calling for harassment of the right. We saw the different groups that supported the right harassed by even the IRS during the past election cycles. We saw the terrible treatment of Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing. If you don't think left, you are harassed. Then Hillary can make a bad joke, they all look alike and it is passed over. We know if someone on the right had done the same, it would be criticized. Tell me again who is dividing this nation? We use to be able to have political discussion and not end up hating one another, but which side is intolerant of anyone that thinks differently? If you are Black and think conservatively, you come under fire by the left. If you are a minority and think differently than what the left wants you to think, you are criticized.  Never in this land from the very beginning has there only been one thought allowed. It is the left that is causing the division. They made good words about how tolerant they are of everyone until you disagree with them. Michelle Obama and her cliché. when they go low we go high, has been used to point out their hypocrisy. Now they changed that, when they go low we kick them, because actions speak louder than words.  There is none so blind as they that will not see. It appears to me the left will not see, will not consider an opinion other than the ones promoted by their leaders. I remember a lefty once saying to me, if George jumped off a cliff, all you right wingers will jump off with him. We didn't see eye to eye with the left. But in reality it is they that cannot tolerate a different thought. If you are a scientist and disagree with the lefts take on global warming, you cannot speak it or your funding will be taken away and your job is in jeopardy. There is none so blind as those that will not see their own hypocrisy. It is like a sickness that spreads to every last one of them. They promote division if you do not think like them. Try it and see, disagree on one little point and see what happens. I dare any lefty to try and think for themselves and disagree on something.  Talk about lemmings. And then they will defend and make excuses for those that break the law if they support their side.  Then attribute to the right those wrongs that their side has committed. It is amazing to just sit back and watch. Those that support the left will not like it, if the left ever gains control again. If it happens just watch and see. Why are all these people from socialist governments trying to flee to come here? They can become our poor and be a leg up already on the rest of the world. There is none so blind as he who will not see.  If the left wins, most except those in power will regret it. There will be no tolerance for any different thought. If you think it is bad now, wait until they have control.  This is how it appears to me, my opinion. You don't have to agree with me. I will not tear you apart if you disagree with me. But the left will.  Tell me again who is intolerant.  God bless, LVZ.

Mentoring

When I moved to Mississippi I sought for a mentor. I really hadn't thought about a mentor before. But in thinking about mentors, I had many through the years, although I didn't call them mentors. I think of my friend Virgil and the many conversations we had. We were probably mentoring each other. We could talk and discuss anything.  I remember my Pastor from Arlington and the many rides we took. I learned a lot from him. I remember Wash and Johnny when we would meet for dinner at a buffet place on Friday evening. As I look back on these things, they were mentoring opportunities for me. I think of the men's group I attended near lake Goodwin and my buddy Dave at Sisco Heights, although I didn't call it mentoring, as I think back on it, that is what it was. When I moved to Tacoma, I didn't have that, and I look back I realize, I really needed it then. All those groups of men and different friends, they kept me on track. I feel I did better with them. There was another men's group I had attended when I had moved to Everett, I don't remember how it was sponsored or by whom, but it also was a type of mentoring. Mentoring could also be called discipling. I think of my early years when I first left home and lived with a Christian couple in Aberdeen and then Kennewick, they discipled me. I never thought of it as mentoring. Mentoring could it be like an apprentice or an intern, where we work along side a more experience workman. Teaching them how to stand strong through the many temptations and trials that come against us in life. At first I thought I never had mentors, but as I thought through this, I had many. Many that showed me the way, taught me how to be a Christian. I think of my friends Virgil and Dave, Wash and Johnny. A couple of those groups I no longer remember the names. I think of Darcy H. and the counseling I received from that man of God. Pastor Jimmy A. and the times we spent together. The pastor from Warm Beech and I can no longer remember his name. So many have helped me along this way over the years.  There were specific groups for a specific purpose. I have been blest with so many mentors along the way and currently meet with a mentor for the past couple of years. I guess it has been three or four years now, I am not sure how long it has been. I know it was before I became a Deacon and that has already been three years. I am so thankful for these men that helped me along the way. When I did my worst Christian living was in Tacoma, when I didn't have these men along side me. We talked about this today and one word I thought of to describe this was intentional. It is on purpose that I sought out mentoring opportunities. It has helped me immensely. I remember three to four years ago when I was thinking about needing a mentor and Pastor preached on it one morning. It confirmed what I was already thinking.  I really don't remember when I started this season of mentoring.  Time has flown by so quickly. I would advise any Christian that is serious about living a Christian life to seek out a mentor. Find someone more experience than you and spend time honing your relationship and your skills as a Christian. It can take many forms but it is coming along side one another and helping each other on this journey towards eternity. Intentional living. Apprenticeship, discipling are just a couple of words I think of.

18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20At once they left their nets and followed him.

21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Matthew 4:18-22.   This is what Jesus did, he disciple intentionally these 12 and we today are a result of what Jesus and these men started so many years ago. Jesus is our ultimate example of mentoring. God bless, LVZ.  

A Widows Mite ( Another Idiom)

And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.  Mark 12:41-42 
The widows mite , another idiom we use from time to time that I believe originates from this Bible account. The poor widow lady put in two mites. Very little money, I suppose we could compare that to a couple of pennies. A mite was the smallest of copper coins in the time of the widow lady. Today our smallest coin is a copper penny.  What can you do with a penny today? Are there even penny candies today?  The widow lady was poor, she gave from her lack. Jesus was impressed by what she gave more than all the giving of the rich people that passed him prior to her. I am having to rethink an attitude of mine. I often don't like to see people give that are being supported in some fashion by me. Perhaps I buy groceries for someone and they in turn give some of what I just gave them to someone else. I think they are not giving their stuff, they are giving mine. After reading this I think I may be wrong in my thinking. This woman gave from her lack. She really didn't have anything to give. That is what impressed Jesus. Jesus said, she gave everything she had, all she had to live on. Perhaps as I have been critical of people giving what I gave to them, are they not in some sort of fashion doing the same thing? Giving from their lack. If they have nothing else to give are they not doing the same thing, giving all they had.  It bothers me because it was not too many days ago I said something about someone giving what was given to them, they do not have a job, they are on disability and that is not much. I don't know how this widow got her two mites. Did someone give them to her? Did she pick up grain at the edge of a field and sell it for a few coins? In reading In Leviticus or was it elsewhere, the Jews were instructed to leave a little grain standing at the edges of a field and not to go back over a field but to leave it for the poor and needy of society. Her two mites made a big impression on Jesus so that he called his disciples to him and pointed out what she had done. The widow lady gave from her heart. It hurt when she gave.  It is more than all the rest in the eyes of Jesus. I think I may need to rethink my attitude. I thought this would be an easy write about another Idiom. I had this title waiting for a day when I couldn't think of much to write about. But it has caused me to want to ponder my attitude about giving. I have always given from the blessings God has given me. Isn't that the same thing as I was just talking about giving away what someone else just gave to me? Its all God's anyway. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Giving from the heart. Or how about the Proverbs 19:17. Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed. I think it is safe to say, God is watching our giving. God bless, LVZ.

Exodus 22:28

28“Do not blaspheme God  or curse the ruler of your people. Exodus 28:20 
This is from Exodus where I am reading right now. It seems like a daily occurrence to mock our President. The Bible tells us to pray for our leaders. 
1First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2for 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
Romans tells us these authorities are given by God. 
1Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. Romans 13:1-5
I have been just as guilty in the past but I believe I have tried to show respect to Obama even though I did not vote for him. We are wrong for disrespecting President Trump or any other President. If we don't think he is doing the right thing than we really need to be praying for him.  I believe we do have the right to disagree but don't curse him.  We are in serious trouble in our nation. Respect for others is at an all time low. We see teachers disrespected, law enforcement, and our President. These people are there in their positions of authority for our good. There are many other positions of authority as well that need to be respected. I saw someone mock the President because he had trouble closing an umbrella, how many of us have had that happen. I have had trouble with an umbrella myself a time or two.  God's word tells us how to deal with probably everything in life through his word.  Any way I have blogged about this before so I'll stop now but having read this in Exodus recently, I speak about it again.  God bless, LVZ