What Our World Needs

There are six things the Lord hates,

seven that are detestable to him:

17haughty eyes,

a lying tongue,

hands that shed innocent blood,

18a heart that devises wicked schemes,

feet that are quick to rush into evil,

19a false witness who pours out lies

      and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. Proverbs 6:16-19
Man are we in trouble if God were to take vengeance. Does this describe our world, our political arena anyway. Haughty eyes, look at us deplorable here in the central U. S.  We don't know anything, you are not woke if you don't accept the leftist view on things. Low information voters, if we don't vote like the big city, we are nothing.  A lying tongue, Russian collusion, this rape from 25 years ago, the Kavanaugh accuser, and the list goes on and on. Hands that shed innocent blood, Anyone think of 60 million innocents in our country and we try to push this industry to other countries?  A heart that devices wicked schemes, lets see now,  how about the sheriff in Alabama that destroyed public property and wasted public materials and deleted public information to make the incoming sheriff look bad. Sounds like they learned from Hillary.  Or how about Huckabee's predecessors in Arkansas when he became Governor years ago and they nailed his office door shut. Sound like mature politicians or immature teenagers? Do we really think these immature teenagers, I mean leftist politicians have a better idea?  Think about that for a minute, one side wants to lower the voting age, to sixteen. Did you listen to the Democratic debates, Spanish really? Do you think this was about fixing America or about getting votes and control? How about our intelligence community that tried to take out Trump if he so happened to win. A story comes out about Trump and the news media jumps on it without verifying the story if it looks bad for Trump. False witnesses, Jessie Smollett come to mind,  Trump and Kavanaugh accusers. What about stirring up conflict in the community, any one watch Black Lives Matter, or the pipeline protests, May Day protests. Does this sound like the world we live in to anyone but me?  If there is a God and I believe there is, what must he be thinking when he looks at America.  Our swamp in Washington must look evil to God. They made a dossier to get a warrant to spy on the Trump campaign. I am still looking for the left to follow Michelle Obama's cliche just once. When they go low, we go high!  Am I going to far with this word today? This is what comes up in my mind as I read these words.  Clear my head for a minute, what does the Bible tell us to do?
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  Philippians 4:8
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.  Romans 12:9
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:10.   Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 1 Corinthians 13:6
 It seems a little love is needed in our nation today.
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. James 2:8

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, Luke 6:27  
What the world needs now is love, sweet love 
It's the only thing that there's just too little of 
What the world needs now is love, sweet love, 
No not just for some but for everyone.
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16
The second half of this blog sounds so much better that the first half. It seems God has a better plan than what we see happening in our land today. In politics, it about power and control.  In God's way it is about love. Which is a better way to solve the worlds problems? We can fix this world one heart at a time with God's love. Jesus died for everyone of these if we will believe in him. God help us, God bless, LVZ. 

Writing

I already know I am not a good writer. When I go back and read what I have written, I see misspelling, and it is not clear. That is because of my lack of ability to write it has nothing to do with the readers. Here is another thing Dennis Prager said that resonated with me. Writing is a mirror of what is in your mind. When you look in a mirror you can see the physical and you can fix your hair or get rid of that pimple. When you write, you see what is going on in your head. If it is not clear perhaps it needs more study. Often I read what I just wrote and it sounds fine to me, but if I read it a day or more later, it doesn't sound as good. It may not be as clear as I thought it was on the day I wrote it. Writing helps me solidify what I believe, and make it clearer. Often you will see me address the same subject over and over again, especially if something new has caught my attention. We don't know it all. I didn't wake up the morning after I became a Christian and knew the whole Bible from cover to cover.  My thinking has changed over the years. I don't know it all. The Church I grew up in that thought they taught the whole Bible, well believe it or not there are other groups that think differently about some issues that think they have an insight better than the next group. I think my family has used my Dad as a bad example. If that is what Christianity is than I don't want it. I am imperfect also. But God never quit working on Dad. He had some good qualities as well as bad, but he didn't quit. I saw a change in his last months that he was alive. God works on us until the day we die. If we hold Dad's imperfections against him, he may end up in heaven while we miss it altogether. And that would be sad. Ted Bundy, a serial killer could on his death bed have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord and make it in, while goody two shoes, who goes to church every Sunday year after year and does not see their own sin but only their good works may in fact split hell wide open. I am a work in progress, as is any other Christian I know. Writing helps me see what is going on in my head.  I am not a good and clear writer, but writing is good for me. Sometimes it points out my lack in certain areas.  I actually think it would be good for anyone to look at the mirror of what is going on in your head. Writing keeps me in the word and meditating about what I read and that is good. Often that is one of the many ways God speaks to us, through his word.  My theology may not be perfect, but I am forgiven of my sins, I believe Jesus is the only way to God as scripture says. Jesus is the truth and I seek to know him better. You won't find peace in the politics of our nation. But it can be found in Jesus Christ. If we want to save this country we will save it one heart at a time as Jesus becomes Lord and Savior of hearts and lives. We may lose this country but we will not lose our eternity with God if he is our choice. Here is a quaint saying that is so true. Know God, know peace. No God, no peace. I'll bet there is a bumper sticker with that saying.  Our eternal destination is a choice we make on this side of eternity.  God bless, LVZ.

Decision

Life is one decision after another.  Think about it. Some decisions have lifetime consequences.  I made a decision to get married when I was twenty years old. I had dated Jenie for a time after I first met her in the summer I was 18.  Her parents moved to Grand Ronde Ore, and we lost contact with each other.  In the summer I was 20, we reconnected.  I made a trip to Grand Ronde to see her. When I got there she was visibly pregnant. She told me what happened. I felt sorry for her, and the child she was going to have. I made a decision  to marry her so that child would have a father. It is a decision that has affected the rest of my life.  In 1984 I made another decision that affected the rest of my life. After walking away from God some years earlier, telling myself, Christians are nothing but hypocrites. God dealt with me over a period of time and in January 1984,  I made the decision to try and live a Christian life again. God I will not quit, I said. That decision I consider to be the most important decision of my entire life time. It changed me and still is affecting me today. Over the course of the years I made more decisions. I made a decision to divorce in 1993. I made a decision to marry a second time in 1994. I made a decision to divorce again in 1999. I made a decision to try marriage a third time in 2000 and immediately regretted that decision and it took me a year to get divorced in 2001. In 2002 I made a decision to marry again, and divorce again in 2004. A series of decision that have affected my life. I made a decision to take CATIA classes in the late 1980'a, I don't remember exactly the year. It affected the course of my employment. I made a decision to go to the Engineering side after taking many CATIA classes.  Some decisions were good and had positive consequences, some were bad and had negative consequences. All choices I made affected the rest of my life. Life is one decision after another. I made a decision to marry again in 2007 and made a decision to move to Mississippi in 2012. I made a decision to seek an accountability partner in 2013. It has been a stabilizing decision in my life.  Some decisions were wise, some were not. All affected my life. Some good, some bad. I have no one to blame. I take responsibility for the good and the bad decisions I have made.  The decision I made in 1984 to try again to live a Christian life was the most important decision of my life. That relationship with God has continued through the good and the bad decisions I made since then. God has stood by me even when I didn't listen and made bad choices. That decision has eternal consequences. That is why that is the most important decision of my life. We are one decision away from good or bad consequences. I made some bad financial decisions since moving to Mississippi, they have affected me negatively. All through life I have made decisions about so many things.  MY decision to marry in 2007 turned out to be good. I couldn't see down the road very far, with my history I wasn't sure but I went ahead anyway. I have been blessed. I am learning to seek God about even small decisions in my life.  I am asking more and more for direction. So many of my decisions were impulsive and not given a lot of thought.  Seeking God's help in making decisions is one of the best things I have done. When I started looking for a church in 2012, after I moved here, I prayed and prayed, God help me. After becoming discouraged I finally visited Hope Church after several months of seeking God 's help.  That first morning after months of searching, I knew in my heart God had answered my prayer. God has confirmed that decision again and again over the next few years.  I wish I had prayed and sought God's direction for every decision I made. I ask God to guide me every day. I don't ask God if I am getting fast food if I should go to Wendy's or MacDonald's.  I don't ask if I should fill my gas tank at Shell or Phillips 66. But I have learned to seek God in so many decisions. Life is full of decisions that affect the rest of our lives. We are one decision away from good or bad consequences. The drug addict has probably regretted the first decision to use drugs, the recovering addict is probably thankful for the decisions that helped them walk away from drug addiction. Decisions made every day of our life can have life altering consequences.  Seek God's guidance for life's decisions, some have eternal consequences. God has a view of the past, present and future that we do not have.  God bless, LVZ.

Hard On Myself

I can be really hard on myself. I think it may be a trait from the negative upbringing I had.  I remember a Life Insurance salesman came to my house trying to sell me life insurance. I didn't feel I had the money to do it and I gave him my negative outlook on life. He said if you really feel that way why did you bring kids into this world? I have never forgot that question. I don't remember how many years ago that was.  I have a lot of past I need to forget.
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17

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

We see a lot of that today in politics. If they can't find something they will go back to High School or 25 years, 40 years ago to find something negative to try and bring someone down. I am not the same person I was even five years ago.  If I ran for President they would destroy me with my past.  I am not the same as that timid teenager that almost couldn't talk when I first left home. In the 80's my supervisor called me the quiet one.  Now you can't shut me up. I try and write something everyday on this blog. My theology may not be perfect, but I espouse what I am learning. I had to stop for a minute after I wrote the word espouse. I was hoping I used it correctly and I did, but not a word I have used much.  I am learning. Sometimes when I can't spell a word correctly, I rewrite the whole sentence to use a different word. I have gotten into trouble with my words before. I used the term indifferent one time, in good, bad or indifferent.  It has about 4 different meanings. Indifferent: neither good nor bad; mediocre.  I intended the second use of the word I just copied.  The person that was hurt by my phrase, good , bad or indifferent attributed the first use of the word. having no particular interest or sympathy; unconcerned. I don't think I had looked it up before I used it or perhaps I wouldn't have used that term. I am still learning. I was taught perfection in Christianity in my early upbringing, and it caused me a lot of difficulty. We were told we had the whole truth rightly divided. And we do want to rightly divide the word of truth.  I listened to a Preacher recently, Harvard educated, with a Law Degree and as a preacher he said he didn't feel he had everything right on every issue. But he certainly spoke with boldness.  We have seen a lot of that in Christianity, those that think they have the whole truth better than anyone else. I have changed my outlook on many things over the years. And I still need to. I was raised where divorce was almost considered the unpardonable sin. Here I am divorced 4 times and sometimes I dwell on the mistakes of the past. I am not back there anymore. I hope I have learned some things. I am a new creature in Christ and on my journey towards him. Sometimes like one preacher said we can't get to the promised land if we are constantly looking back to Egypt. We can't drive down the road looking in the rear view mirror all the time. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. God removes those sins from us as far as the East is from the West.  I haven't forgotten many things, but hopefully I learned from them and am doing better. I believe in God's Grace and Mercy. We see it again in the political arena, going back even 30, 40, 50 years sometimes. Sometimes people have changed and we need to leave that long ago past in the past and look forward.  If a person has constantly led the same behavior all those years to the present, it may show a pattern, but if all we can find is in the past leave it there.  Thank God I am not the same person I was 20 years ago even 10 years ago. I need to let some of that go. I can learn from it but I don't need an anniversary of sin.  I don't need to dwell on it and certainly don't need to repeat it. One Pastor gave this example, so many numbers to choose. Pick one but don't pick number 5. Get the number 5 totally out of your head. Don't dwell on the number five, but pick a totally different number. Are you able to get the number five totally out of your head after repeating it so many times? Let the past stay there in the past and move on.   God bless, LVZ

Wisdom

5Get wisdom, get understanding;

do not forget my words or turn away from them.

6Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;

love her, and she will watch over you.

7The beginning of wisdom is this: Get ^a wisdom.

           Though it cost all you have, ^b get understanding.   Proverbs 4:5-7
Words from what we consider the wisest man that ever lived. Here Solomon is telling us to get wisdom above all else. Though it cost everything you have, get understanding.

7That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” 

8Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. 9Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”  2 Chronicles 1:7-10. We probably remember the story told of two prostitutes coming before Solomon told in 1 Kings chapter 3. The two women were living in the same house and each had a child within days of each other.  During the night one mother had accidentally smothered her child, she took her dead child and traded places with the other mothers live child. In the morning the mother realized when she looked at it, it wasn't her baby. The mother took her case to King Solomon and he ruled cut the baby in half and give half to each mother. One mother was fine with the judgement, if I can't have the baby neither can she.  The real mother was willing to give up her child that it might live. Solomon then changed his ruling and gave the child to his real mother.  This is given as an example of Solomon's wisdom.  In this Proverb we are told to get wisdom above all else. It will guide us through life. Knowing how to make good judgments, good decisions will watch over us in life.  I can think of so many times in life when I made bad decisions. We often learn to make good decisions from the experience of making bad decisions. I wonder what life could have been like if I had followed Solomon's example and had asked for wisdom early on. I feel I could have avoided so much trouble in my life. I remember clearly asking a minister about marrying a young woman. The minister knew the young woman from the neighborhood and that is why I was asking him. His response to me was you have a good heart but you need a wise heart. I am not sure it was his exact words but something similar. I didn't marry the woman and years later I was very thankful that I didn't.  But still I didn't use the same care always.  I was warned twice about two of the women I married. I didn't listen and I suffered heart ache because of it. I would be much further along in life if I had used wisdom and had asked God and waited on God for his direction. So much of life, I was impulsive and did what I wanted to do at the time. Wisdom, seeking God for direction could have save me much trouble. Not only in marriage decisions but in financial decisions that I have made. After making so many mistakes in my life I can see where if I had just listened, or even sought advice from an expert, I could have made better decisions. A lot of the problem financially is wanting things now and not waiting for delayed gratification. The Bible has answers for life if we will seek it and listen to God. God the creator of the universe and has the knowledge to keep the universe working forever, does he not know us and able to guide us in what is best for us?  We are his greatest creation. All of our days are known by him before one of them happens.
 10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10

Fear of the Lord is respect. This does not mean we cower down before God because we are afraid he is going to squash us if we do wrong. It is an understanding that God is sovereign. God is loving and kind, and gave his son to pay for our sins. To respect God, we understand that he holds life in his hands. He knows what is best for us. God will not give us what will destroy us. Sometimes I believe he just sits back and lets us go our own way, knowing the trouble that is before us. God is able to help us if we will just ask. So often we think we know better. I didn't know Trump, what I saw was an arrogant man, but God saw that he is what this country needed. I am so thankful God answered our prayers and gave us Trump for our President.  I was on a road trip during the 2015 Presidential election of 2015 and I saw sign after sign where ever I went, pray for our nation. Sometimes it was on a church billboard, or a sign in the yard, but over and over I saw signs pointing to the fact that Christians were praying more than we had in many years for that election. I know I did, and I believe many others did also from all the signs I saw on that road trip.  I would have picked a different President. Trump was too arrogant, I saw others that seemed to have more grace and just looked more Presidential to me. But am I thankful for answered prayer. God is a sovereign God and he can give us what we need. We needed a very strong individual to deal with the swamp as we call it in Washington. After the fact I see no other man could have dealt with the swamp as successfully as Trump has. We need to continue to pray for God's direction in our personal lives and for our nation. Our nation is still in trouble, we need God's help to move forward. I am thankful for a sovereign God that knows what is best for us and answers prayers accordingly. God bless, LVZ.

Life Is A Marathon

Life is a marathon, I have been on this earth for 60 plus years. I have grown up into adulthood during those years. I have changed what I believe in some areas over my lifetime. I have learned many things over those years, and have unlearned or changed my viewpoint about somethings. One thing I have learned over the years is you don't have to win every battle to win the war. I have lost some battles. Be not unequally yoked is a bit of wisdom that comes from the Bible. I have been unequally yoked. My first wife and I looked at so much of life differently, we were unequally yoked. My Dad and my first wife's Dad were both ministers in the same denomination. You would think we had it all together. We were as different as night and day. At one time I would not have recommended people of different religions to marry. But as I have grown older and I hope wiser, I don't see a problem with a Baptist and a Methodist getting married.  I do see a problem with a person of Bahai faith and a Christian faith uniting. The Methodist and the Baptist believe a majority of the same things. I think being on the same page as how to discipline a child is so important, for the child. A united front. There are always going to be differences, two people don't always agree on every last detail, but they need to present a united front to that child. Religion, o how I have changed in my marathon of life. I have changed from believing that the church I was raised in was the true church to it being a part of many Bible believing organizations that are a part of the true church. That was a hard transition for me. But on my marathon I have noticed other organizations that have similar beliefs. Some probably think Baptist is the only way to go, some think Pentecostal is the only way to go. But in reality some of the differences are not cut in stone. Jesus is the way to God is cut in stone. That is the only way to God. You can get there by being a Baptist, you can get there by being a Pentecostal and I could add many more names to the list, but you do have to believe on Jesus and his death on a cross for our sins.  I am still adjusting my thinking over the course of this marathon. I want to believe the Bible and trust it has the answers for life. I can't know it completely by just becoming a christian. Dennis Prager, a Jew,  has compiled a commentary of the first five books of the Bible. I think he said he spent thirty years doing this. The Bible is the greatest book ever written. It has answers for life for running this marathon. It has answers for life is you are married or single, male or female, young or old. In sickness and in health, it has answers for life. God's ways are designed to help us live the best life possible. One of my favorite examples is one man / one woman for married for life. You have children, they are common to both of you. You don't have to be concerned with if this woman or man will do the same for your children as her own.  They are the same. In blended families you have additional problems with disciplining the children of the other parent.  When you get old, your grandchildren are still common to both of you. It is easier with grandchildren than with children so perhaps I should go no further than the added difficulties with her kids, his kids. But blended families still present a challenge. Marriage is difficult alone. two people just don't think alike on every issue. But add to the mix, an ex that still has an influence on your kids and grand kids and you see, you have multiplied the issues from one man / one woman for life. But add more to the mix and it gets more difficult. We blend together and if we are wise we recognize each others strengths and weaknesses and adjust accordingly, trying to capitalize on each others strengths. I am sure I can add to this  with time as I journey forward on my marathon.

10Listen, my son, accept what I say,

and the years of your life will be many.

11I instruct you in the way of wisdom

and lead you along straight paths.

12When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;

when you run, you will not stumble.

13Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;

guard it well, for it is your life. Proverbs 4: 10-13.
The Bible has wisdom for life, for running this marathon. Many of us have failed to follow God's perfect plan, but then he extends grace and mercy and continues to guide, if we will listen.
 God bless, LVZ.

The Gospel

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is an amazing thing. It is the story or His Story of the God that came down to man in the form of a baby. Lived among men for 33 years. Was tempted by Satan and replied with scripture for every temptation and resisted Satan's attacks. Jesus at then end of his 33 years on earth was lead to a cross to be crucified for our sins. When Jesus said it is finished and died on that cross, there the earth shook, the veil of the temple was ripped from to bottom. One of the guards watching said surely this was the son of God. 45From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, ^c lemasabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). ^d

47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

48Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and ^e went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:45-54

They didn't understand. They mocked him, he who saved others, let him save himself. If he be the son of God let him come down off that cross and save himself then we will believe. Jesus had to die, it was God's plan for the redemption of man kind. Sin has to be paid for. Jesus paid the sin debt for every last one of us. He was perfect, none of us are. He was the only one that could atone for the sins of the whole world. He did it willingly. Knowing he was going to the cross, he prayed to his heavenly father, if there is any other way, let this cup pass from me. But he submitted to God the Fathers will and went through with it. It was a cruel painful death, he was innocent of any wrong doing. He died on that cross for one reason, to pay our sin debt. We are not perfect. We all have sinned. I struggled with that in my younger years. I didn't fully understand. I thought that somehow if I became a Christian, I had to be perfect. And I would see things in my life that didn't match up with scripture. I'd quit, I can't live this Christianity, I am not perfect. I would want to live by the Bible, but ultimately I would fail and quit. Perhaps this is for others, I just can't live this. I saw sin in my life, no matter how hard I tried. One day some 30 plus years ago God dealt with me again and I decided to try again. Win or lose no matter how big of a hypocrite I was, I would not quit. Did I ever sin again, Yes, many times over, but as I purposed in my heart that day in January of 1984, i would repent again and again. Every time God brought something to my attention, I would repent again. I did not quit, I understand now that none of s is perfect. We are simply saved by Jesus death on that cross. It is not anything we do, we can never, no matter how hard we try live a perfect life. Our sin debt was paid by Jesus on that cross when we believe in him. He didn't stay in the grave. On the third day, he left the grave, that was sealed and guarded by soldiers. He had foretold, but they didn't really understand. I will rise up on the third day. He conquered death, it is no more to be feared, because just as he raised himself, he will raise us up on that great day.  I didn't understand for so many years, I was taught perfection and thought I had to be perfect. Peter wasn't perfect, Jesus knew and told him when you are converted strengthen the brethren. Peter denied know Jesus three times before the cock crew, just as Jesus said. Then Peter understood, and repented. He then became a great voice for God. He was uneducated, a fisherman by trade, but after the death and resurrection, he understood. Paul was educated, a very smart man. He persecuted the Christians, even stood by when Stephen was stoned. But he was confronted by Jesus on his way and he too believed and understood. It doesn't matter how smart you are, how uneducated or educated you are.  Jesus died for each of us. We each have the ability to believe in Jesus and his Crucifixion, his death, his burial and his resurrection. When we repent and believe in him, our sin debt is paid in full. It is an amazing thing and has changed countless lives over the centuries, but that was God's plan for the redemption of man kind. All can attain it, it doesn't depend on our smarts, wealth, good looks or anything we possess. it depends totally on Jesus crucifixion. He paid the sin debt for every one of us. All it requires of us is belief in him. Something anyone is capable of doing if they choose. It is a choice, to accept or reject the gospel. Eternity, where we spend eternity depends on our decision. It is an amazing thing, God's mercy and Grace. We can't earn it, it is a gift from God. We can never live a good enough life to earn it. We simply accept him at his word, and believe in him. God bless, LVZ.

Truth*

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6
There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” Acts 14:2
Jesus is the truth. I am a very political person. I listen to political figures and sometimes I get wound up positively or negatively by the things they say. I post stuff on face book that supports how I believe politically. I don't like to post scripture and Bible on face book. I do sometimes, but not often.  I reserve most of that for this page. We talk a lot about truth, political candidates like to spout what they feel is truth. I heard one in a discussion saying he was speaking truth to power. What does that even mean? The individual disagreed with another political candidate and voiced his contrary opinion and they went back and forth. I suppose somehow his truth was better than the other politicians truth. Every one talks about their truth. The politics of today is not going to save us in eternity. The only truth that will save us is Jesus. Jesus died on a cross for you sins and mine. My politics is not going to save anyone. Jesus is the answer for the evil, the hate, the lack of love in this world today. Jesus is the truth that matters. If we don't have an eye to eternity, we will be lost. I don't know what the next election holds. I hope Trump wins again, but we see a barrage of lies coming out and we are called all sorts of evil names for believing and supporting him. But in eternity this election and the next election and the ones after that will not matter as far as eternity is concerned. I know this life is short, eternity is eternity. there is no comparison between the two. The hate that we see in the world today is generated by the evil one Satan, to destroy all that is good.  I believe leftist are controlled by the evil one. Look at the protests and the damage done to businesses and people. People assaulted, cars and homes and businesses damaged. This is not of God who tells us to love even our enemies. God who tells us to do good to those that despitefully treat us.  What side is behind the evilness we see on college campuses? What side tells us to be disrespectful to a person we disagree with in a restaurant? Our hope needs to be in Jesus. The politics in this world is about power today. Who is in control. And there are some bad ones on both sides, but most of the destruction and disruption in our land today comes from the far left. But Jesus is the answer, he is the truth and the life. No one can come to the father except through Jesus. Out political system will not save us for eternity. Who supports the protests that shut down our freeways and the destruction of police vehicles, and supports the attacks on police (God given Authority).  The Right did not disrespect the former President, we didn't agree with his policies but we didn't go out and attack people of his administration in restaurants and public places. We did  try to change things through the votes and congress. We didn't attack every move Obama made through the press.  Of course I understand the Media that is suppose to be impartial and just gives us the facts, supports the leftist agenda and reports accordingly. Inspite of the record unemployment and the good things that this administration does, 90 plus percent of the media coverage is negative. You have to go outside of the main stream media to get accurate reporting. Is this really truth that we are hearing as some woman accuses Trump from some incident from 20 plus years ago. There have been so many attacks on this man and now this leading in to the campaign for the White House in 2020, I don't believe it. You remember the story about the little boy that cried wolf over and over again, until no one believed him any more. I believe that is what is happening in our country. There have been so many false reports over the last three years, why would this one be any different?  The only truth we can find and believe is in the Bible.  Jesus is the only answer for the evil in this world today. Do not put your hope in a political figure but look to the one that can save us for eternity. I don't think we have seen the worst yet. I think it will get worse as we head closer to the next election. What will we believe?  God is the answer and we can trust and hope in him. Jesus is the answer for the evil in our world today. There is no other solution. Politics is about power and controlling us and what we believe. Jesus has our best interest  at heart at all times. In him we need to put our trust and our faith. Not in Donald Trump or the 20 plus democrats running against him.  Jesus is still the answer for our world today. I will vote for President Trump again but my hope for this world is in God alone. God alone can change the hate in hearts into love for each other. God is the only truth worth trusting in. If Trump wins again, and I hope he does, it will not change the hate in the hearts of men. Only God can fix hearts and that is what will fix our world, one heart at a time. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. There is no salvation in any other. I don't know how many more Presidents I will live under.  But eternity is closer than it has ever been in my lifetime. That is the truth we need to be concerned about.  God bless, LVZ.

Left, Liberal, Democrat

As I have listen to some of the political commentaries, I think I have a better understanding  of Left, Liberal, and Democrat. We have had some great Liberals / Democrats. There are some Democrats and liberals that are probably conservative on some issues. Likewise some conservatives that have some liberal views.  The biggest difference being less government or more government. The two Democrats / Liberals that immediately come to mind are John Kennedy, Henry Jackson. But I don't think I have the same respect for any one on the left. I try to be more careful about things I say because I have mistakenly said things about Democrats, when it was a leftist belief / issue that I had a problem with. The same with liberal, when I have said things about liberals, it was probably really about a leftist issue. There are democrats that are very conservative in some of their views. I think I would classify myself as a conservative more than a Republican. There are conservative thinking individuals that are gay. There are conservative thinking individuals that are  Black. There are Jewish individuals that are conservative thinking. There are a lot of Democrats and Republicans that claim Christianity. What it really comes down to, we vote on multiple issues. We are not just one issue voters. I was just coming to voting age when Senator Henry Jackson was a senator, I believe I voted for him but I really don't remember. I don't remember who he ran against.  I think I was in the first grade when Kennedy ran against Nixon and won. We voted in school and in my classroom I voted with the majority which was for Kennedy. My father was disappointed that I voted for Kennedy in my first grade class.  In the first Presidential race after I reached voting age, I voted for Nixon. I don't agree with every Democrat or Liberal view. I am quite sure I don't agree with any leftist views.  I probably would agree with a few Democratic/ liberal views.  But often I catch myself using the term Democrat or Liberal when it is really a leftist view point I disagree with.  There is a big difference. The leftist have taken over the liberal name and democratic party.  I most certainly identify with conservatism over Republican. The left are the ones that come up with all the hateful terms for anyone that disagrees with their viewpoint. I think if we could get rid of the left we could work out differences between liberals and conservatives. A lot of hateful talk comes from the left. I think our best work has been when the two sides compromised. There is no compromising with the Left.  I think we see that in recent days with Joe Biden coming under attack for saying he worked with the other side on many issues.  I am glad Joe Biden didn't back down.  Not that I would vote for him, I am conservative thinking. The point is, it is the leftist that are destroying this country, not the Democrats or the liberals. Look at who is behind most of the protests, like the keystone pipeline, or Black Lives Matter. When you see hate flare up who is protesting? The leftist left a huge mess behind them when they left the Pipeline protest area in North Dakota. Look at what happens when the Tea Party protested, they cleaned up after themselves. Is it just me or is the majority of hate coming from the left that is calling everyone else haters that disagree with their position, what ever it be. Just my view on this, my opinion for what it is worth.  God bless, LVZ.

How Important Is Truth? *

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 (NLT)
This is probably a well known Biblical verse. But is it our truth that will set us free? It is a common thing to hear my truth today, is it really the truth? The Nazi's believed Jews were inferior, you could say that was their truth and many Germans believed it, to the point of killing millions of  Jews. They may have believed strongly that the Germans were a superior race, but that didn't make it the truth. At one time in this country, many believe Blacks were inferior race and we made them slaves. That was a southern truth, that many believed, but that didn't make it truth that would set you free. I grew up in a church that taught they believed the whole Bible and they had the whole truth. But if you look at that organization, I believe they have split two or more times just since the '90s.  AOC is going around the country calling our border detainment centers for detaining illegal aliens, concentration camps and she may believe it strongly, but is that really truth? It may get votes. We went through confirmation hearings where Kavanaugh was accused of serious things when he was a teenager, to keep him from being nominated, did that make it true because a woman spoke it? If a woman tells it we are supposed to believe it? In our country, we are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, but I am not sure truth matters as much as party ideology anymore. We are willing to destroy a life for our political ideology. We depend on our courts getting through to the truth and that's why innocent until proven guilty is so important in our country. If we are being tried for a crime we didn't commit, we would certainly want the truth to come out especially if we are innocent of the charges. There were some young men charged with rape and it came out later the woman had made the allegations up. It wasn't the truth. How important is truth to us today? Is truth more important than political ideology, or political correctness? Are we willing to destroy lives for our cause and throw truth out the window? Thou shalt not bear false witness against our neighbour is one of the ten commandments. Is our political affiliation more important than truth? In recent years there have been two children killed while getting off a school bus, one woman has never been charged. The woman drove around the right side of a stopped school bus with its lights flashing, went through the child's front yard, between the school bus door and the front door of her house and ran over the child and killed her. I don't understand why a Grand Jury has not brought charges against her. Are there political connections there somewhere that are more important than truth, I don't know what it is, I was not on the Grand Jury? If we seek my truth and not the real truth will we see more injustice like this?   I am sure the parent would like for truth to prevail. But if we pervert justice for political causes do we end up seeing innocents killed with no repercussions? We go after Trump for collusion with the Russians and the only collusion seems to have been on the other side where they used the FBI and Department of Justice to try and keep Trump from winning. As the truth comes out, it seems to be pointing to the other side. Do we want the truth or do we want to win politically? The Bible is true, it is sometimes used to promote what we believe. Many Christians used scripture to support slavery, and it may have been their truth but not the truth. American Gospel, the movie points to the Americanization of the Gospel, does that make it truth? I think we can know the truth but I think we have to want it above everything else. Even when it hurts us, we must still embrace real truth and not make it what we want.  It comes from God and he needs to be the most important thing in our lives. Do we honestly want the truth even if our political side loses? So I ask this question again how important is truth and do we really want the truth? If we don't get the real truth and just our made-up version of the truth, we will not be free.  Are we willing to accept a truth that hurts us and may see our side lose? That is the truth, the real truth that will set us free. It is not a political truth, what our side wants truth? God help us to actually want the truth that will set us free. God help us and God bless, LVZ. 

Offensive Way In Me

24See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:24

I have been reading Psalm 139 for a couple of days. There seems to be a lot in this chapter. The last verse stood out to me today. Several thoughts come to mind. 1. a few days ago while drinking coffee with some guys at the local Hardee's, a couple of guys were telling about a trip they took up into Tennessee. They went to some Civil War graves along a river. I don't remember the cemetery or the river they mentioned.  As they were talking one guy said if it hadn't been for that river the South would have won the war. I am not sure what the river had to do with it. It was there for both sides but I do suppose one side had to cross it.  Without thinking as I do sometimes, I said; Aren't you glad the south lost? After this came out of my mouth I realized I am the only northerner sitting there, everyone else was local to the Tupelo area or at  least a southerner.  No one said anything for a minute or two. I think in reality they probably were glad the south lost. The major reason the war was fought was the peculiar institution of Slavery. But there is a pride to being a southerner. 2. My wife tells me I intimidate Black People. There was an incident a few years back when a black man pulled a gun on me and I called the cops. Some friends of my wife didn't think that would be the end of it. They were afraid I have him killed, because after all I am a White man. 3. I know a few years earlier, it was my first time in Nettleton, I answered the phone at Barbara's house. A man threatened to harm Barbara's son over a dispute about a few hundred dollars. I told her about it and when her son came home they talked about it. I was sitting on the couch with my laptop. As they were talking I heard them mention the man's name. I typed it into the computer and came up with his address. I wrote it down and a few minutes later Barbara sends me to the store.  We had a GPS in the car. After going to the store, I type in the man's address into the GPS and away I go into the country outside of Nettleton. I find the address and no one is home, I wait a few minutes and someone drives up, I ask, are you the one I talked to a few minutes ago on the phone about Haji? Yes was his answer. I said I just wanted you to know that I know where you live and drove off.  I intimidated the guy, and as easy going as I think I am, I didn't think I was trying to intimidate him. But what was that if it wasn't an attempt to intimidate.  Anyway, he called the Lee County Sheriff Department and a few minutes after I get back home, a Lee County Sheriff deputy pulls up in the yard.  The Deputy was a few houses away from where I had gone in the country to talk to this guy and saw me go by.  When the call came in, this deputy asked to take it because he knew who it was.  He had seen me and Barbara in church the day before.  He gets my side of the story and nobody got arrested. 4. One day in Hardee's, the same group of men were drinking coffee, there was a lady sitting near us that was watching the window.  Soon a man came in and they started arguing. The lady went to the bathroom to get away from him.  He went back outside and kept watching through the window.  She peeked out the bathroom door and saw his back was turned to ward her. She went to the far side of Hardee's restaurant and sat in the corner as far away from the window as she could get. He looked in several times but couldn't see her. I deducted that they were having a dispute and she was afraid of him. The man came inside again and saw her in the corner. I told the men if he walks towards her I am going to have to intervene.  The man started towards her and I got up and got between them. I told him you have to leave. We spoke a few words and he did leave, with me. I believe I told him if he didn't I would call the police.  We talked outside for a few minutes and he left. The lady came over and thanked us. She was his wife and she was indeed afraid of him and was trying to leave him.  We prayed with her and I never saw her again.  Sometimes I just stick my nose in where it probably doesn't belong. There have been other times when I have intervened in what I saw as a domestic dispute in public. I am getting to old for this and one of these days someone will shoot me. That verse has made me think about some of my actions over the years, some have not been as noble as these. I have offended people. We can't always fix it, some people do not want to fix it and there is nothing you can do about it.  I think it is important that we try and fix things. Relationships are possibly the only thing we will take into eternity with us. But sometimes we can't, the other side is not willing to make amends. Or perhaps a stronger word is to forgive. If we do not forgive, neither will our Heavenly Father forgive us.  Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Romans 12:18. (NLT)    Sometimes it is beyond our control but I believe we do need to try.   It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. Luke 17:2 (NLT).
Forgiveness needs to be a core value of life. It is for our own good. Often it does nothing for the offender, they still stand before God some day.
        3You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

4Before a word is on my tongue

you, Lord, know it completely. Psalm 139:3-4. 

All our ways are known to God, even the words we speak are known by God before we speak them.  I can't fix everything that has been done and said. I ask for God's mercy.  God help me, and God bless, LVZ.

Lack Of Fathers

10For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.  Hebrews 12:10-11. (NLT)

As Fathers Day came and went I reflected back. At one time I actually thought I was a good father. Today I am not so sure. Hindsight is 20/20 and I made a lot of mistakes in my life. A lot of my mistakes had to do with the word NO.  One thing I am thankful for, my heavenly father has my best interest at heart at all times, even when he says no. In my daily devotion I am reading Psalm 139, and I see where there is no place to hide from God. As I am thinking and reflecting back, my parents had a plan for me, they enrolled me in a computer school (ITT) in my senior year. I didn't say anything, I knew then I was just waiting to get out of the house. If you know my family history, we all left ( there were eight of us) as soon as we could. Two weeks after graduation from High School,  I left for good.  I worked those couple of weeks after high school,  picking strawberries to have a little cash in my hand. I left home with $25 in my pocket. You know what the majority of my working years were? I was a computer operator. I learned CATIA on the job and for 20 plus years of my 32 years I worked a lot with CATIA. CATIA stands for computer aided three-dimentional interactive application. My heavenly father that knew all my days before one of them happened to be. 16Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16  God has a plan for each of us and God seeing the big picture and being sovereign can manipulate life that doesn't fall far from what my parents in their frailty had thought for me. I had imperfect parents and I couldn't wait to get away from home.   God gives us our parents. I am thankful for mine, as imperfect as they were.  I see in this world a lot of fatherless kids with an orphan spirit because they did not have what I had, an imperfect father that in his own way truly loved me. It was my Heavenly Father that healed the broken spirit in my life. When I look back at that day when I had finished my first 40 hour CATIA class and realized Mockup that I loved was going to be a thing of the past. Mockup is still today my favorite all time job.  I thought I was pretty smart looking at my job and evaluating my future. Today I realize it was a sovereign God that was guiding me through all of life. He had my best interest at heart the whole time. He saw my beginning and my ending.  God has disciplined me through the years, has said, No more than once. What I am thankful for the most is the day I decided to follow Jesus to the best of my ability.  It was the most important and life changing event of my entire life. As much as I loved mockup, and as much as I loved CATIA, God has been the single stabilizing factor in my life. God loved me when I was unloveable. As messed up as I was being raised in a dysfunctional home in a dysfunctional world, he loved me just as I was. I am thankful for the life I had, I am thankful for the parents I had,  as dysfunctional as they were. I believe my parents did the best they knew. It wasn't much when it came to raising children, and me the same way. I look around at life and especially since my first divorce and have noticed all the fatherless children I have come in contact with. They didn't have a father and sometimes not even a mother. Let me show you what I mean: Lamont Thomas, Evan Jenkins, Danny Jones, Sara Pemberton, Ron Hilstrom, Miciah, Devon, Kerra, Candice, Cookie, Audrey, Chiquitta, Asia, Monique and her sister and her brother; Katelynn and her sister, Asia Mcullough, Detra Darden, Jazzmine Darden, Amanda Darden, Kronika, Jiovonni Simpson.  Sam and Todd Miller and my list goes on. Jordan and Brianna Seffens, Bobby and Sinia Vines, There are many names I have forgotten. They were on a list of fatherless children I have met over the years. Some through divorce, some were the product of a prostitute and a john. A couple lost their father through a traffic accident when they were small. Our permissive society is probably the biggest root cause. I can add some of my grandchildren to this list. Gio and Callia being raised by a step father, a good man, probably under appreciated for what he does in raising kids that he did not father. Addy another grandchild. Elijah being raised by a single mom, whos father is involved minimally. Each story is different, and some I don't know the reason. But each of these names and more represent a fatherless and sometimes motherless child. There were more, there are faces I can recall but no longer remember the name. Mahogany and Rayford.  Jamie Turner,  Eric Brown and another brother.  I had more than many of these, I had an imperfect father that worked hard every day of his life and put food on the table and a roof over my head for 18 years. That was more than many of these names had. Over the years many of these have reached adulthood and I no longer have any contact. Some I really didn't know except there was no father. Smallwood, I can't recall his first name. Divorce, traffic accident, or a product of a prostitute and a john, or someone who just planted a seed and left. I believe anyone reading this could find the same thing where you live, work, go to church, if you just look around you. Another name comes to mind Barron.  Quita's Children (7) and even the Brown Children (4) across the street. their father comes home about once or twice a year it seems like. I don't know the reason other than economic, the job is far away and they want to maintain their home here.  It is an epidemic in our country and we feel fathers are not that important. Then there are fathers that are raising Children that are not theirs. We have a lack of fathers in our world today. Look around you and I'll bet you see the same thing as me.  Fathers Day does not generate the same interest as Mothers Day, and I understand that a mother carries the child for nine months, but make no mistake, fathers are greatly needed. The lack of fathers in our world is reason for much of the trouble we see.  God gives us the parent we have, and if we grew up in a home with both a mother and father, we are truly blest. I know they were imperfect, we live in an imperfect world and we so desperately need the intervention of our heavenly father in our lives to heal the hurts of our fallen world. So many of these have an orphan spirit, something lacking in their lives because of an absent father or mother or both.  God, our heavenly father that has our best interest at heart at all times, even when he says NO, is what the world needs today. God help us.  God bless, LVZ. 

Passing On The Things We Have Learned

I do not unpack scripture as well as my Pastor or other pastors. God gave them an ability to teach us as we listen to them. In the beginning before a written Bible was available, God's people passed on what they had learned to their families and perhaps to others they came in contact with. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9.  These commandments, God's ways, God's precepts, God's standards,  are for more than head knowledge. They are meant to transform our lives. We all have a story to tell, we all have a journey we have trod. Sometimes I wonder, am I doing the right thing?  I don't feel I am all that good of a writer, but perhaps my children and my family are the only ones that will read my story. I think of something Dennis Prager said, about writing our story, not all of us have the skill to write a book, but we can still tell our story. On these pages I write things I learn, perhaps writing them helps me to remember them and apply them to my life. This word that we read is meant to transform us, to change us into the image of our heavenly father.  Sometimes I feel I am a slow learner, I have been on this journey a long time and I am still learning. Others seem to have grown quickly. We are all on our individual journey and sometimes it is not good to compare to others but to compare how we match up to Christ himself.  So what have I learned? Am I passing it on to those that follow? Can I say follow me as I follow Christ? Every person alive has an influence on others. We are not all Billy Grahams, or Zig Ziglar. But are we impacting society in a positive way or a negative way? Am I passing on what I learn from God? God has the answer for life, how to live the best life possible.  I look at some financial decisions I have made. They weren't that good. Do you want to go to someone for marital advice that is in his fifth marriage? On the other hand we learn more from the mistakes we make possibly than any other way. I remember when I first became an engineer and was creating electrical drawings. I had worked on these drawings for 6 months under a lead engineer. I thought I knew the process, so did the lead engineer. He took a 6 month leave of absence and recommended me to take over this set of drawings. The first set of drawings I did was for the most difficult customer we had. I blew it. The planner was so upset with me. We had a meeting with my supervisor. The planner outlined the errors as he saw them. I spent that summer doing ADCN and DCN's to the set of drawings I produced on my first customer. I learned more from the errors I made on that first set of drawings than the whole previous six months. My life has been full of errors. Here too I think I have learned much from the errors I have made.  God has  a plan for us, each of us.  I am reading in the 139 Psalm and there is so much in it. God knows me. He is familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, God knows it completely.  There is no place to hide that God cannot find me. Even in the darkness, it is as light to God.

16Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

         before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16
 This verse is one of the biggest reasons I am against abortion. God knew everyone of our days before one of them came to be.  Psalm 139 is a wonderful chapter.  Do you know that young Jewish boys learned or actually memorized the first five books of the bible?  I can't imagine that.  I saw a facebook post where this 90 year old woman was able to quote a bible verse for every letter of the alphabet.  Like the letter Y, she would be able to quote a verse like the one above that starts with the letter Y. I didn't hear all the way to Z, but I did hear from A to at least the letter R. The lady had dementia but with prompting from her daughter she was able to quote the verse for the next letter of the alphabet.  What would a person use for Z?  Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, "I have become a foreigner in a foreign land."  Exodus 2:22 (NIV).  The Bible is meant to transform us, to guide us in life. It is not meant just for head knowledge, so we can see how many verses we can quote. When the Bible instructs us to forgive others it is for our health. When it instructs us to marry for a life time, it is for the best life possible, not to make it harder. Blended families are more difficult than one that has endured a lifetime with the same husband and wife with all their children common to them.  When we learn to be generous, we are blessed.  When we teach our children to honor their parents it is so life will go well with them as God promises. He is the author of life. Here is an interesting thought, in Yellowstone Park when they reintroduced wolves into the eco structure of the park, it affected every other species for good. It even affected the health of the streams of water through it.  The deer population was healthier because the  the wolves drove the Elk into higher elevations and they weren't competing for the same grass as the deer. The coyotes fared better. The trees along the streams were able to grow because the Elk were driven into higher elevations. The beaver did better because the trees we able to grow larger along the streams because the Elk were not stripping off the leaves of the young trees.  The article said even the streams were healthier. God is an awesome creator.  The only ones that probably didn't like the wolves coming back were the ranchers because they would lose a few calves to the wolves also. But the God that is able to create such a delicate balance in nature, does he not also know what is best for us?  God bless, LVZ.