A Student

I have been thinking about yesterdays sermon. Mark 6:1 He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.  What stuck with me was the word disciples. We know very well Christ had 12 disciples that followed him in his days on earth. They learned from him and as a result the many Christians you see on earth today are in effect the result of those 12 men. μαθητής mathētḗs, math-ay-tes'; from G3129; a learner, i.e. pupil:—disciple.  A disciple is really a pupil, someone who is learning from someone else.   I strive to learn from the Bible. From Jesus.  I felt impressed a long time ago to write this blog, not because I am so good at it but  as my statement, my purpose is to try and persuade others to make the same decision to follow Christ. as I did.  I thought about that, I don't have many followers and that is as it should be. People don't need to follow me, hopefully I do persuade them to follow Christ if they are reading this blog and not already following Christ. I read daily something from God's word, I pray, I want to hear from God. I have a very good Pastor and I try to listen to his sermon each week as I did yesterday, but I still need the word of God for myself.  I had some Uncles that I admired, you could follow them as they followed Christ. Every last one of them is gone now. I learned a lot from them. I wrote about other mentors recently, well in the last year anyway, that impacted my life. Helping me along this way. Pastors all through the years that taught me about Christ, about following Christ. And here I am many years later still following, still learning. I don't need people to follow me and this blog. What they really need to do is the same thing, follow Christ. Develop their own relationship with him, reading his word, praying to him, and following him to the best of our ability.  I thought again about thirty plus years ago when I came back to Christ. I had walked away from God. I felt like all these Christians were hypocrites. I felt I couldn't live it, and I walked away. God dealt with me over a period of time. It was like he was saying, if I really think it is that way, then why don't I show them how it is done. God didn't let me go, but talked to me sometimes in the middle of the night.  I would often cry, this isn't for me, I can't seem to live it. I went to a revival service  in January of 1984. Just a handful of people, probably less than 10 all total. It was at my Father-in Law's church in Burlington WA.  I sat in the back, I really came just to bring my first wife there to sing, because my Father-in Law asked me to. The service progressed, the song service, the offering, the special song, and then the Evangelist for this revival got up to speak. I probably hadn't been inside the doors of a church in four years. He got behind the pulpit and my recollection of what he said follows: Leon, some day you will stand before God to give an answer for your life. On that day God is not going to ask you who hurt you, who did this or who did that to you. God is going to ask what have you done with Jesus. Have you accepted or rejected him. I imagine that was the shortest sermon of his life. I got up and made my way to the altar. I recommitted my life on that night. As I think back to those years and how God was dealing with me not just on that night but the days and weeks leading up to that night. I'd tell God I can't live it, all these Christians are hypocrites anyway. I grew up in a Church that taught perfection and I certainly knew I wasn't. I quit, I can't life this. God knows my frailty, that is why he sent Jesus to the cross. Because in myself, I cannot live it, but in Christ I can. Jesus forgives every sin, past present and future. We live it in him, not in our own doing, but in him. All have sinned, if someone says they have not sinned they make God a liar and the truth is not in them. God finally got through to me. I didn't have to be perfect, that is why Jesus went to the cross, because I wasn't perfect or any one else for that matter. Yes, a lot of those Christians from my youth messed up just as I have done in the last thirty plus years.  Jesus came to forgive, to remove our sins from us, as far as the East is from the West. So I think I have a better understanding today than I did thirty years ago.  I am following Christ, a student so to speak and have been for the past thirty plus years. My life is not perfect, I gave up on that. I just follow as best I can. I read for myself, daily, from the word of God. I do go to church and I attend fairly regularly. I have a good Pastor that points me to Christ. And that is what I also try to do. Don't try to follow me. I hope I persuade others to follow Christ as I am doing.  Now I think I understand what God was saying so many years ago, show them how it is done. It is a lifestyle. I go to church, but I read for myself. I pray and ask God daily to guide me. I write this blog, not because I am so good at it, but in following Christ, I do also want to point others to him. Jesus is the way to God, to eternal life with God. There are no grandchildren in heaven. Each person has to find God for themselves. In reality God finds us just as he did me those thirty plus years ago and asked me to follow him. To be his student, to learn from Jesus how to live. To take his yoke upon me and learn how to live in this present world. I hope I persuade others to give Jesus a try. God bless, LVZ. 

Do I Own It

I used this term in a recent blog, in a more modern vernacular, do I own it. Am I successful at living a Christian life. God's grace is not something we earn, it is given freely.  Language changes over time and we even have new words today or words like own that are used slightly different than in the past.
Do I own this Christian living? Am I doing a good job of being a Christian.  The Bible instructs us to forgive infinitely just as Christ has forgiven us. If people think being a Christian is easy, its not. To obey Christ is not always the easy path. Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:21-22.  A Christian asks, what does this mean? The King James says seventy times seven. Perhaps it is meant to never be counted how many times we forgive. So when I look at this, I don't feel I own it, in the modern vernacular. If I owned it I wouldn't have to question or read this verse to remind myself  what Christ says, it would just come automatically. But it doesn't, because Christians aren't perfect.  The Church I attend is currently in the process of looking to appoint new Elders for a three year term and Pastor spoke about this, probably every time they approach someone to be an Elder, they feel they are not qualified. Perhaps it is the necessary humility on their part, but they have been prayerfully considered before even asked. They probably do not feel they own it. Probably never will.  Christians are human, they are not perfect. They don't wake up the morning after accepting Christ as their Lord and Savior with an unlimited knowledge of scripture. It is a lifestyle. It may start with a simple little prayer, Jesus forgive me for my sins, and the forgiveness is done in an instant. But the growth is a life time thing. Spiritual growth is not like physical  growth where you expect a baby to walk after a year. We instantly may start proclaiming our new relationship, but we are in a state of growth until we meet our Lord and Savior. Our understanding grows with time. And sometimes our understanding even changes over time. New born babies are selfish in the natural and they change hopefully over time to be less selfish and to think of others. Christians are not perfect, they are still learning and growing. Some grow slowly and some grow very quickly. Some  seem to have only a year of spiritual growth after twenty years. As one minister said, they don't have twenty years experience, they have one year of experience repeated twenty times. God is still working on me. But to answer my own question, Do I own it? I don't feel that I do. I am still learning and growing. I feel it will be that way until the day I die. Grace is freely given, not something we earn by living righteous lives. We are not perfect, just forgiven, rings true. I think that was one of my biggest struggles as a young Christian, thinking I had to be perfect, and knowing I wasn't. We are Christian by the grace of God, never do we earn it. I want to be mature in my faith, like Abraham, not wavering in my faith, but always trusting, even when I do not know where God is leading me. To own it implies my skill was involved. I do not own it, I am a Christian by grace, by the gift of God alone, not by anything I have done.  When God knocked on my hearts door, I opened it and invited him in.  I don't own it, I am a product of grace. Undeserved grace, freely given. I am thankful I didn't get what I deserved, but received grace instead. God bless, LVZ. 

Good Riddance

In our Daily Bread, I read a devotional about Good Riddance Day. A day people celebrate to let go of bad things.  As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12.  In that devotional they quoted the above scripture telling us how far God removes our sins from us when we are forgiven. The amazing thing about this is, it is all sins; past, present and future. To me that is amazing, because of the sins I haven't yet committed are also removed. Christians are not perfect, and I really struggled with my Christianity when I was young because I some how got the idea that I had to be perfect. All have sinned, Romans 3:23.  If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.1 John 1:8 This thing about God's grace that covers all our sins is almost too wonderful to be true, but that is what the Bible tells us. I had another thought as I read that devotion. I had a bad memory years ago that used to haunt me. It was a very embarrassing thing that happened to me when I was 16. I carried that memory for years wishing it would go away like sins. One day in a men's group, a place of safety, we were asked to tell about our worst memory. I told about it. It is like it lost its hold on me. I had another time I had unconfessed sin in my life I couldn't seem to shake it. I went to my pastor and told him about it. It was in the open. It lost its hold on me. We prayed about it together and it freed me from the hold that particular sin had on my life. Christians are not without sin, right now I am dealing with something, I want so to leave behind. A relationship that has been one sided for as many years as I care to remember. I have prayed and prayed about this for years. Phone calls go unanswered and at times I have tried to fix this. I can't fix it, the only one I can fix is myself. I think about all these things as Good Riddance day approaches. It is time to let it go just like the embarrassing moment of fifty years ago. Christians are not perfect, just forgiven. I think of the Christmas Eve service where we had communion, it is also a good time to reflect and ask forgiveness.  I repeat my self, Christians are not perfect, it was only when I thought I had to be perfect that I struggled. God's grace has freed me, I can let go of things and say Good Riddance. Good Riddance to the sins that are removed as far as the East is from the West. Good Riddance to the bad memories that use to haunt me. I think about these things and am so thankful for the grace that God gives, I don't even believe I have to be perfect any more. But I am forgiven of all my sins. That is a good place to be, forgiven. God bless, LVZ. 

Do Belief and Behavior Match?

What I see is much of the time we learn things from God's word that we can't always track back to a simple verse. We see David showing respect towards King Saul, it is shown through the total story. We see Abigail showing respect by her actions, where her husband did wrong, she quickly reacted to save his life and the others in her household. She knew what to expect. Nabal means fool and Nabal certainly lived up to his name. Do belief and behavior match? I see in my life where it didn't always match. I see in King David, his respect towards Saul who was trying to kill him, they matched. Twice David had opportunity to take the life of Saul but he would not touch the life of God's anointed one. When later he committed adultery with Bathsheba, it didn't match. When the prophet came to David talking about the rich man taking the poor man's lamb to feed his guest, David missed it, He was ready to take revenge. Then the prophet says it is you. David's behavior didn't match his belief. He knew it was wrong to have sexual relations with Bathsheba and then went to cover it up by having Uriah killed. His belief and behavior didn't match. I have often wondered about professing Christians,  do their beliefs and behaviors match. If they profess Christ, do they live as they love God and follow his commands. Do we profess a lifestyle or do we possess it. Do we love Christ and follow his commands, or do we simply profess Christianity and live any way we want. Do we live a life of forgiveness, forgiving others as Christ has forgiven us. Various times in my life this question again comes to the forefront. Do I forgive as Christ has forgiven me. Do I profess Christianity or do I possess it, do I own it. Do I live it to the best of my ability? Do I have a relationship or a religion. Perhaps the bigger question is, does God possess me? If you love God keep his commands. Do behavior and belief match?  God bless, LVZ.

Respect

I am still reading in the Old Testament, in the book of 1 Samuel.  I am reading a lot about King David. King David was already anointed King by Samuel but King Saul was still on the throne. King Saul was an evil man and was seeking to kill David. David fled for his life and those that were discontent with King Saul joined him and they constantly hid from Saul. David would not harm Saul, and one story I read was when King Saul was in the area David and his men were hiding, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. King David and his men were in the back of the cave, they saw Saul enter but did not harm him. David quietly came close to Saul and cut off a corner of his robe, but let Saul live. When Saul left the cave, David came to the entrance and called after Saul, showing the corner of Saul's robe he had cut off. David had respect for those that God put in charge. Even thought God had already anointed him King, he would not touch the life of Saul. He left that up to God. He let Saul know, he had spared his life. Saul had an evil spirit and had been intent on taking David's life. Saul killed a prophet and his family that helped David. David asked for help from a rich man named Nabal, but Nabal refused to help David. David was set on retaliation, but Nabal's wife was told about David's request for help and took it upon herself to help David. Without her husband's knowledge she loaded supplies and took them to David and asked David to spare her husbands life. David did honor her request. When Nabal heard what had transpired, he was struck dead. David had every reason to kill Saul when Saul was delivered into his hands. Saul had tried many times to kill him. David had served Saul faithfully and honored him in spite of their differences. Saul was jealous of a song that was song in those days. "Saul had killed his thousands and David his ten thousands. The singers were attributing more killings in the battles to David as King Saul led his army to battle. God eventually took Saul's life but David would not do it. David had respect for the man that God had appointed ruler before him. I think today we need to show respect for the man God has given us as our President. If God put him there, God can also take him out. I think I am reading in this story to respect the position that God had put people in. They may be wrong and deserving of judgement, but when it comes to rulers, let God take them out if he so chooses. President Trump is just as arrogant today as he ever was. It is his personality, he has not changed. I believe God put him in charged because of his strength. If Trump was another Jimmy Carter, he would not get a thing done. I think we would be better served by working with the current President then fighting him. God gives us our rulers, I don't always see the whole picture as God does. But God is sovereign, and sometimes he gives us rulers for his purposes and we don't always understand. The best we can do is pray for our leaders as God tells us to do in 1 Timothy. 1I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—  2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 1 Timothy 2:1-2.   I think we should give respect to Trump for the office he holds. God bless, LVZ.

Happy Birthday Jesus

obedience is better than sacrifice

22But Samuel replied:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as in obeying the Lord?

To obey is better than sacrifice,

and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

23For rebellion is like the sin of divination,

and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

he has rejected you as king.”  1 Samuel 15:22-23.

I remember this saying, obedience is better than sacrifice. I can point to many instances where God has taken opposition to someone because they didn't obey fully. Moses was an example. God told Moses to speak to the rock in the wilderness for water to come out. Moses was angry with the  people of Israel and when he came to the rock, he struck it. Numbers 20:11, is where this story is told. There was an earlier time at the rock of Horeb where Moses was told to strike the rock. But obedience is very important to God. God  wanted to show his power. But in anger Moses struck the rock the second time and because of Moses disobedience, he was not allowed to go into the promised land. Then there was Achan, who took some spoils when they were told not to. Because of his sin God did not protect the Israelites and 36 died because of Achan's sin. As they drew lots to find the problem, it rested on Achan. I believe our nation is in trouble because we too have turned away from God. Someone made a comment today about a Professional faith, and not having a Possessional faith. We can profess a lot of things and our hearts are not in it. I remember years ago a man I worked with. He was a professing Christian. I don't remember his name, but I remember a conversation we had. I had sold him a Chevy Nova I had. He had later traded that in on a new Camaro. We were talking one day and he was claiming a different better Camaro than the one he already had. I remember that time when name it and claim it was popular.   “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14:15 When I write about a lot of things I don't have to look back to far to see  where correction was needed in my own life. I don't look for new truth, I just try to live by what I already know. I do remember being young and wanting to study the word and find new truth. I can keep busy just applying what I already know. It is the new truth that probably gets us into trouble. But before I get too legalistic I want to mention that Jesus is our advocate with the father, when we sin, we can take it to God and be forgiven.  If we love God, I truly believe we will try and live lives that are in obedience to God's word. That doesn't mean we will be perfect. I have yet to find a perfect Christian. But we do need to try and live in obedience to God's word. I don't want to live in the past but look to Jesus as an example to follow. It is not as important where we came from as it is the direction we are headed.  I thought about another interaction I had today and my initial response would not have been  Christ like, but I thought about what I wanted to say and how it was not Christ like. Not something I would expect to hear Jesus say if he was on earth in human form. I ended up not really saying anything, because I do want to follow after Jesus and be obedient to his words. Once words are spoken they cannot be taken back. We can back pedal and try to clean it up but sometimes it is still to late. God desires obedience and if we love God we will try and live by his words as best we can. We don't need to rewrite the Bible, but just live by what we already know the best we can.  God bless, LVZ. 

God Does Not Need A Majority

7The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” 8So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others. Judges 7:7-8
10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen. 11Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the unsuspecting army. 12Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army. Judges 8:10-12   
I am currently reading in Judges and came across the story of Gideon. Gideon did not feel worthy to lead the army. The simple truth I find here in this story is God does not need a majority to deliver his people or win. Gideon is from the half tribe of Manasseh, a son of Joseph. Remember they were born of Joseph and an Egyptian woman. Gideon did not consider himself very strong or worthy of leading the army to win their freedom. Then God trims down the army to just 300 men. Notice in the verse above 120 thousand swordsmen had fallen and there were still 15 thousand. being defeated by God and an army of three hundred men following Gideon. Gideon was not a strong follower of God.  Gideon's father worshipped Baal and Gideon destroyed those alters during the night because he was afraid if his father found out. The reason the Israelites were in trouble is because they turned away from God and were worshipping Baal.  Still the Israelites cried out to God to deliver them when their oppression became to great. God wanted the Israelites to know it was God that was delivering them, and not their own strength, that is why God trimmed the army down to 300 men to defeat thousands. I would like to see the same happen today. I would like to see those that fight against God and his servant turn on themselves and destroy themselves as the Midianites did. I think that is why Trump won the way he did. God wanted to show it was his doing. Never Trump they said, and it still happened. Even in spite of the popular vote being less, Trump won the electorate. Over and over we see God wining victories with the humble and the small in number. God protected Israel then they became a nation and were vastly out numbered but still they won more than once. But God does like to get the glory and works thing so that their is no doubt, God gives the victory against all odds. God has never needed a majority to win. God uses seemingly unworthy people to do his work at times. It happens much in Bible History and it is there for us to learn. God is still sovereign, he is still in control. I don't always understand his ways, but God wins when he wants to and allows trouble in the lives of his people to turn them back to him. Just a simple truth, God can win with a small army, it is his strength that wins the battles. After all the victories, it seems over a period of time God's people become distracted and fall away, and God has to deliver his people again and again. God bless. LVZ.

Some Times Change Is Good

I cannot add and subtract, I have to fix this. To night I went to a 50th wedding Anniversary celebration. The couple had married December 25th 1968 in the grooms parents home.  I am guessing there were 200 people at this celebration. The grooms sister had also gotten married that day. A double ceremony in the parents home with a few family members present. They were like 19 and 18 when they got married. It reminded me of my first time, a very small wedding. I am sure this celebration cost many times more than the original ceremony. People were having a good time, it was a celebration. They were dancing as the evening progressed. I saw people having a good time. If Barbara and I live past my 105th birthday, we too could celebrate 50 years together. How is that for putting things in perspective. But what this blog is about is a change of my view point from the way I was raised. I would not feel comfortable getting on the dance floor at age 65 when I never have danced  my whole life. But I thought it would be nice, but I know I would feel like a fool. We see a lot of changing view points in our world today. Some is good and some is not. The word of God is clear about somethings, and we cannot change those things. I was raised in a way that taught dancing was wrong. We were not suppose to go to professional sports games and gambling etc. I have often gone to school sports activities to watch our youngest grandson play soccer, basketball, softball. It is healthy for him to participate in these things. He learns teamwork and his skills and knowledge in these games improves over time. Dancing is exercise and interaction in a healthy way with others. I saw nothing wrong with it. I do know in my younger years I wouldn't go, even as an adult when my younger brother got married, I made an excuse not to go to the reception because of the dancing and things there. I had been taught it was wrong, religious people can go to far with some things. But if you read in the Bible there was dancing like when King David was celebrating the return of the ark of the covenant. I have seen it in churches  where it was a form of worship. That is something that needed to change. On the other hand somethings have changed that should not. We have become very lax in our feelings about taking the life of a child. Someone I know is dealing with that issue right now. They are unmarried and this person got pregnant. Now not being married they have thought about an abortion. It is simply a means of saving face, a matter of inconvenience. That child did not ask to be created.  But it would be acceptable in our society to abort that child. It wasn't rape or an unwanted activity that caused this baby. The mother thought she couldn't get pregnant and did not use birth control, but now it has happened. This changed in our society and like King David we want to kill to cover up a sin. That feeling about aborting a child should not have changed. You can give the child up for adoption, but don't end its life because you committed a sin and want to cover it up. That respect for life should not change. Sometimes change is good. If it aligns with God's word by all means make a change, but if the Bible condemns it don't make it acceptable in your life. Our politically correct world says evil is good and good is evil. We need to judge these things by the word of God. We have OK's sexual sin and even taking life in our modern world. We use to condemn wearing of gold for ornament because of an obscure scripture, but we have changed, and no longer condemn it. Even in the church,  I know Pastors that are OK with abortion, but the Bible I read is not. Any changes we make in our belief system should align with the word of God, not go against it and we want to rewrite it to fit our belief system instead of checking our belief system with the word of God. There is a difference, and we need to think it through. In the end we answer to God alone.

22But Samuel replied:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as in obeying the Lord?

To obey is better than sacrifice,

and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

23For rebellion is like the sin of divination,

and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

he has rejected you as king.”  1 Samuel 15:22-23.

God bless, LVZ.

God Is Above Our Earthly Rulers.

13Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the Lord has set a king over you. 14If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God—good! 15But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors. 1 Samuel 12:13-15.    
So here we see God giving the first King over his people Israel. Scripture, even in the New Testament does tell us our leaders are from God. Civil Authority is ordained of 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. Romans 13:1
It was not God's original plan for his people, he led them through the prophets like Moses and Joshua and Samuel just fine. But since they wanted a king, God gave them a king. God warned them what would happen with a king but let them have a king.  Having a king did not make everything OK. If they followed God and his commandments, they would be good. But when they rebelled, God's hand was against them just as it was before. Today it is the condition of our hearts that regulates us. We can have the ruler of our choosing, but if we fail to follow God and his precepts we will suffer the consequences. If the King does not follow God, we will also suffer consequences. We are suffering in our country today because we have failed to follow God. We have asked God to leave us, when we took prayer and Bible readings out of school. We have brought judgement of God upon ourselves as we produce law that are contrary to God's laws. Like abortion, life and death should be left in the hands of God, it is not ours to decide who lives and dies.  We will suffer consequences as a nation for the shedding of innocent blood.  We do need God in our lives and his direction for our lives. Many do not realize or do not believe in God or that he is sovereign and over all.  He still is as he was in Old Testament days.  Especially so in our nation because we were set us as a nation under God. That influence  has bless us above all other nations on this earth. Even Bible believing Christians do not always believe that God gives us our rulers. But I do. I thought at one time I was taking this belief too far, but again and again I see in God's word where God is sovereign. We are a Christian Nation above all other nations on the planet. As we try to follow God we will be blest, as we fall away we will find his disfavor. Sometimes all that is, is just God withdrawing from us and letting us suffer our own consequences of the things we do. This hatred that we see in our nation today is not of God. This disrespect has grown over the years, and it is worse now than it has ever been. If we follow God as individuals, we will be OK. God doesn't always take us out of a mess but takes us through it. God was with Daniel in the lion's den and with Shadrack Meshack and Abednego in the furnace.19Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Daniel 319-23.  These three men obeyed God rather than an evil King. They were obedient to the king until it came time to bow down and worship an earthly image. They would not do that, they would only worship the God of Heaven. There was respect towards the king in the way they answered him. The king could throw them into the fire per his decree, but still they would not worship the image, if they perished, they perished and would be with their God anyway, delivered from the kings hand. . Our highest allegiance today should also be to God above any king or president for even political party. If we perish we perish, God can deliver us if he so chooses, if not we will be found obedient to him and have God's blessing on our lives. These men Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego taught us a valuable lesson. Follow God above everything else. These men realized God is sovereign and above everyone else, and that is how they lived, trusting God with their very lives. Sometimes we too need to draw a line in the sand that we will not cross. God bless, LVZ. 

None Of His Words Fell To The Ground

The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel's words fall to the ground. 1 Samuel 3:19   None of his words fall to the ground. As I continue to read in the Old Testament,  I came across this verse talking about Samuel the Prophet of God.  We probably all remember the story of young Samuel. His mother Hannah had been barren and she cried out to the Lord for a son. She promised God if she gave him a son she would give him back to the Lord. And God answered her prayer and she had Samuel. When Samuel was weaned, Hannah took the child to the Prophet of God which was Eli. So I googled to find out how old Samuel was. In Eastern Biblical cultures, a woman would teach the basics of the word of God to their child. Not only did weaning mean taken off his mothers milk but also had been taught the basics of the word of God. It is believed Samuel was about 5 to 6 years old when Hannah brought him to Eli the Prophet.   And there Samuel grew up in the house of the Lord, serving.  So what does this mean, none of his words fall to the ground? The verse above is in the NIV version. As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. 1 Samuel 3:19 NLT.  The New Living Translation says everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. Samuel was just a child when God started speaking to him. We probably all remember the Bible story how God called Samuel in the night and he ran to Eli and said you called me, what do you want? Eli realized after the third time that God was calling Samuel and told him to say speak, Lord for your servant is listening. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that he believed Samuel was about 11 years old when this happened.  
26And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people. 1 Samuel 2:26  If a person is a true prophet of God, all they say will be true. I remember the story of the man that wrote a book about Christ to return in 1988. He sold 4.5 million copies, I think. It never happened, we are still here so that man was a false prophet. That man retitled his book for several years by changing the year and sold even more books. I think it was after the 5th revision, the book quit selling. We do want to be careful who we listen to when it comes to the word of God. God does not tell us something that contradicts God's written word.  If it is contrary to the word of God, it is not from God. If it is not from God the words will fall to the ground, the words will not be reliable. We need to at least know enough about the Bible for ourselves to know if we are hearing truth. We do that by having a relationship and talking with God and reading his word for ourselves. We need to be like Samuel and say speak Lord for your servant is listening.  God bless, LVZ.  

I don't know if I ever told this but a girlfriend a long time ago called me LVZ's and I have used that  nickname in this blog. Anyway that is where LVZ came from.

LOVE

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 
1 Corinthians 13:13  
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 1 Corinthians 13:8
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Luke 6:35
This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:38-40

We have a hate Trump movement in our nation today. I am a Trump supporter and there are times I really want to retaliate. But God tells us to Love. We are to love our enemies and to do good to them. There are times I want to do as others do to my side. I know God wants us to show love. God loved us when we were still sinners. We didn't have to live a good enough life to obtain God's love. God loved us just as we were. God want us to follow his example. It seems since Bill Clinton was brought before congress on impeachment charges every President since has had people from the opposite party desiring to impeach them in retaliation. These men were human and often did not live holy lives. Retaliation for perceived wrongs. That is not what we as Christians are to do, but we are to love. I know I have used this example of Michelle Obama's cliché: when they go low, we go high. The progressives or liberals or what ever you want to call them, have not done that but have sought vengeance. They have tried since day one to bring Trump down, not because of anything specific, but simply because they hate him.  That is not a Christian response. I know there are Christians on both sides of the political isle. We are to love and do good even to those that we would consider enemies. These people on the other side of the isle politically speaking, they are not our enemies. Many times they are our families. This division is not of God. It is in fact driven by the evil one. Satan goes about seeking to destroy and it is he who seeks to divide and destroy our nation. So when we see wrongs done to our side in the political arena, we must not seek revenge. When we are cut off in traffic, it is a natural tendency to want to shake our fist at those person that even did such a slight wrong. It is an attempt to divide us, to destroy us. God's ways are the best way to live. It promotes peace. We are to show love. Even on the religious side, we are to show love. There seems to be a big divide between the Christian community and the gay community.  The Bible is very clear about sexual sins, they are not to be condoned among us. We seem to accept adultery, but it too is a sexual sin, just as homosexuality is, but we make out one to be bigger than the other. We are not to become politically correct and call good what the Bible calls evil. If the Bible calls it sin, we must call it sin. But we are to love and to do good to even our enemies. I think it is harder in the political arena to do this. Especially when we see mistreatment of our side. We saw the mistreatment of Kavanaugh, and we hear it daily about President Trump. We are to love and to continue to do good.  One of my examples I like to use is the Pro-lifer that killed an abortion doctor many years ago. It might be right to stand against abortion, but not to an extreme where we kill an abortion doctor. When the Bible says thou shalt not Murder, that included the Abortion Doctor. We are to love God's greatest creation. They are made in the image of God even when they do not think as we do. We are still to be a light and to do good, and to Love even across the political isle. Our highest allegiance needs to be toward God and not our political party. We should be Christian first, Political second, race second, Economic standing 2nd.  God bless, LVZ. 

Ruth

13So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. And he had relations with her, the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.

14Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a kinsman-redeemer. May his name become famous in Israel. 15He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

16And Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became a nurse to him. 17The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, the father of David.  Ruth 4:12-17

As I continue to read in the Old Testament I come to the book of Ruth. Ruth was a Moabite. It is a well known story of Ruth who was childless when her husband died. Her husband was the son of Naomi the wife of Elimelech  They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem Judah. I spent some time looking at this because the name Rahab the prostitute from Jericho came up. Rahab was the mother of Obed, the father of Jessie, the father of David the king. Some scholars say they are not the same person and others say she is.  Rahab married Salmon the father of Boaz. Because Rabab helped the spies sent out by Joshua, it was prophesied she would be well known. It seems Rahab was also mentioned as a very beautiful woman.  So here we see several outsiders married into the lineage of Christ. Rahab the prostitute from Jericho, who is spared because of her assistance to the spies,  is the mother of Boaz who marries Ruth a Moabite. Ruth the great grandmother of King David. Sinners have often changed their lives and become important to the plan of God. We are all born in sin. But we don't have to stay that way. God does use sinners even in their sins for his purposes. King David murdered to cover up adultery. Do I think President Trump was a sinner? Yes, I do. But I still think God put him in office as our President for a purpose. I think God chose him because of his strong personality that was needed in this difficult time. I also realize that God put Clinton another sinner in office prior to him. I am amazed at the hypocrisy of the left that had no problem with Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy, John Edwards and others but come unglued at Trump. God uses sinners to accomplish his purposes at times. It is not something I am proud of but I have had four failed marriages in a period of just over ten years. Not God's plan, his plan is one man and one woman for life. But God fixes us and uses us anyway. God is merciful and forgiving. It is more important the direction we are heading than where we came from. I was told by a family member, I have the record in my family for the number of divorces, a bad record at that. But I am forgiven and am trying to live the best I know. God bless. LVZ.

City Of Refuge

1Then the Lord said to Joshua: 2“Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, 3so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood. 4When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state their case before the elders of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them.  
Joshua 20:1-4  We read in Joshua as they were dividing up the land among the various tribes they were to designate cities of refuge. Cities where people in trouble could run to and be protected until they had their trial. The Church is to be a city of refuge for us today. We should be able to run to the church for help in time of need. Even today we see people needing help go to a church. I was on safety duty a few months back on a Bible Study night. I was at the door near the offices. The offices were closed that late in the evening. A family came up to the door and wanted in. Bible study should have almost been over by that time but I was not paying attention to the time. I let them in, I do not know everyone.  They needed help, they were wanting gas money to get to southern Mississippi, I forget the name of the town they mentioned. I had $10 on me and I gave them that, the offices are close and no one to contact for aid. The man of the family said he needed more, his children were hungry and that was not enough to get them to their destination.  I had already let them in the building and didn't know what more to do. I walked down the hall way and out of the back door of the offices came Pastor, I asked him what I should do, we are not set up after hours and we do not keep money in the building. He gave me his gas card and told me to take them to a near by truck stop and do what I thought was right. I took them to a gas station and they filled their tank, it was a little over thirty dollars. The man said thanks and asked if I wanted the ten back since they now had a full tank of gas. I said no you keep it.  After the fact I thought it was a legitimate need, because of the  way he offered to give the ten dollars back. Churches are to be places of refuge. A place were hurting people can come to with their needs. I remember a sermon years ago called Cities of Refuge. It has been a long time ago and there is a lot I don't remember. But in that sermon the speaker said Taverns do a better job that churches. People can come into a tavern and tell their story and they are not judged, they are accepted just as they are.  Many times we don't do as well in the Church, but we need to. We are to love all peoples. We are not to condone sin but to love the sinner. If the Bible says it is sin, it is sin and we do not have the right to call it any thing else. But we are still to love and help. Churches are to be a place of safety, where anyone can come just as they are. I believe churches are to be more like a hospital than a health club. There is not one of us without sin. In my life time I have received a lot of healing through the church. I am talking spiritual and emotional healing. I have been through four divorces, and I did take the same vow each time until death to part. But bad things happen and in our day 50 plus percent of all marriages fail in  the church and outside the church. The stats go higher for each successive marriage. You get up to 95 percent failure rate for fifth and beyond.  But the church stood by me and tried to help me. In a couple of churches I attended a Divorce Recovery class. We can't always save the marriage, but we try to learn from our mistakes and not repeat them again. the Church I grew up in, it was almost like divorce was the unpardonable sin. God forgives, but he also tries to correct what is wrong in our lives to cause the divorce in the first place. I see so many in the church today that have been through divorce, it is epidemic proportions in our land. God's perfect plan is for one man and one woman to be joined together for life. Divorce is not the only place we fail in life. There are sexual sins, we often consider homosexuality to be a big one, but it is just another one of the sexual sins and should not be considered a bigger sin than adultery.  People come to the church hurting and in sin, we need to love them just as they are and help them to heal. Churches need to be cities of refuge. God bless, LVZ.