A Racist Incident

I want to write about something that happened to me when I was 16 years old. I grew up in a church and with parents that did not encourage sports. It was probably more of a parental thing than a church thing but I do recall one of the 28 important Bible Truths was not to attend professional sports events. It was because of that I think my parents used that to not allow us to play in sports.  It could have been an economic issue as, by the time I was 16, there were eight of us kids. There would have been costs associated with playing sports in public schools. We were poor.  I am sure a religious reason would have sounded more holy than an economic reason. We were not allowed to go out for sports at all. I do remember playing softball in the neighborhood as a kid in the Dakotas, but I don't think I had ever played basketball in my life at that time. I don't know if at that age I had ever seen a basketball game. I am telling all this to set the stage. I was clearly out of my element when new in Washington State, I rode with a church kid to play basketball with a friend of his. He took me along with him because my parents were visiting his parent and I was his age. There were three of us in some sort of basketball game shooting baskets. I am white of course, my friend who took me with him was white. The third person was black. He may have been the first black person I ever saw in my life. We were in Bremerton WA when this happened. I was clearly out of my element and being new and age 16, I did not want to look stupid. During the course of our playing the black kid made a basket and as he passed by me in a friendly fashion he held out his hands toward me upside down. I had no clue that I was expected to slap his hands. I really didn't, honest to God. And I didn't. I may have learned as we played if the other white kid slaps his hands or if he slapped the white kid's hands during the course of our playing. But right at that time I remember thinking what is this, I don't want to look stupid. He only extended his hands to me that one time. As I thought back to this incident, I think he thought I didn't want to touch him because he was black. I think my lack of basketball skills was probably evident. But I had never in my life saw someone slap another person's hands that we see is so common today.  I honestly say I didn't know what was expected of me and I was out of my element and did not want to appear stupid at age 16. I don't know that kid's name. I wish I could go to him today and explain as I have in this blog. It happened so fast, I had only a second or two to think about it as he passed by. And he never extended his outstretched hands to me again. Could there be times in our lives when things that look racist are really not racist if we knew people and their backgrounds? I don't think I intended to be racist on that day, I think it was plain ignorance on my part. God bless,  LVZ.

Montana State University Essay Contest

Listening to Dennis Prager I learned about the essay contest the Univerity of Montana held to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr Day.  It was open to all students.  Any student could write about what Martin Luther King Jr means to them. Is this a bad thing? Would it be a could thing for everyone to celebrate a good man like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr? I think Dr. Martin Luther King Jr did a lot of good for all Americans white, black or any color. I think he practiced Biblical principles in his protest and did things right. They didn't go about destroying businesses in the areas where they protested. Montana is .43% black. I grew up in South Dakota which at one time was .6 percent black. I don't know what it is today. I never saw a black person before I was age 16 that I know of.  So the story is that about 6 people wrote an essay for the contest celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr day. Telling what Dr. King means to them. How is this bad?  No Black person entered the contest. They chose 4 winners all of them white. How could they choose anyone else? It was only white people that entered the contest. I imagine they were all writing good things about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It is a celebration of a good man. There were eleven thousand protest responses. How could they choose someone other than a black person to win the contest. It is racist what the protestors said. Even white and black people protested the contest. What is wrong with people? How is writing an essay saying good things about a good man and what he means to you racist? Why does it matter what color the winner was? Is not that racist in expecting the winner to be black? What Dr. King did in his life was good for everyone in America and beyond. He did help black people for sure, but he lifted everyone higher. What is wrong with the 11,000 people that protested white people winning this contest when only white people entered?  Remember Montana is only 43% white. I think the attendance of black people at the university is higher than that but I don't know what it is. But what is wrong with the 11,000 people that protested this contest celebrating the life of a good man? It does not make sense to me. God bless, LVZ.

Doubt

27But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”  Matthew 14:27-31
Doubt is a terrible thing to have. Here is when Peter walked on water.  Peter took his eyes off Jesus and he immediately began to sink. This chapter starts off talking about Jesus hearing about John the Baptist being beheaded. When Jesus heard it he went to be by himself.   A crowd followed him and when he saw them he began to teach and it was getting late in the day and he commanded his disciples to give them something to eat. The disciples had found five loaves and two fishes. Jesus took them and blessed it and broke the bread and fishes in pieces. Then Jesus gave the pieces to his disciples to feed the crowd. After the crowd of 5000 men plus women and children were fed, they took up 12 basketfuls of pieces left over. After that, he sent the disciples on ahead across the lake in a boat and Jesus dismissed the crowd and went up into a mountain to pray. Later Jesus came down and walked on the water to the boat. There was a storm and the boat was being buffeted by the wind.  When they saw Jesus coming they were afraid, they thought Jesus might be a ghost but Jesus called out to them, it is I, do not be afraid. Peter upon seeing Jesus says if it is you bid me to come to you. Peter starts off walking on top of the water but he looks around him at the storm and begins to sink. Jesus reaches out his hand and pulls Peter back up. Jesus asks Peter why did you doubt? Do we believe these stories? I remember one Sunday morning at a church when the deacons were having a special program that afternoon. As was the custom they had a lunch prepared for those that were staying for the afternoon service.  A Deacon got up to make the announcement and asked the people not to stay if they were not going to stay for the afternoon service. The Deacon said we don't have enough food for you if you're not going to stay for the afternoon service.  I heard that and I didn't stay, but I thought how many times have we taught about this feeding of the five thousand and don't believe it ourselves.  Could they not have blessed the food which I am sure they did and could not God have blessed it to be enough with leftovers like he did in Matthew chapter 14?  Back to Peter walking on the water. We are living in stormy days politically. It is tempting as we look around to take our eyes off Jesus. Let us not doubt in the midst of these stressful days and continue to trust in Jesus. We will not sin if we trust in Jesus to the end. Do we see the storms around us and doubt? Do we even believe that God can bless the food like he did here in the book of Matthew? How big is your God? Can he still do the same in your life today? Keep your eyes on Jesus there are storms ahead.  God bless, LVZ.

Sowing Seeds Matthew 13

37He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

40“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.  Matthew 13:37-43.  

This whole chapter is filled with parables about sowing seed. Jesus tells about sowing seed along a path, in rocky soil, and in weeds, and even in good ground. And then later in the chapter are the verses above where the enemy sows weeds among the good seed.  But several places these parables describe the end of the age where the tares sown by the enemy will be burned. There are those that have heard the word preached over and over and have rejected it. At the end of this age, we are now living there is going to be a judgment day. The angels will gather the wheat, the good seed into God's storehouse. The bad seed will be burned. The seed that fell along the path, the birds of the air came and ate it up.  The enemy of our souls came and snatched that word up before it had a chance to take root. The seed that fell among the rocks, it sprouted but the cares of this world overtook those hearts and they did not remain. They died out, they did not take root and learn how to live as a Christian. But some seed fell on good ground, they dug down roots by learning more of God. They read his word, they followed after Christ and learned how to live in an evil world. It took a lifetime for them because they did not mature until the time of the harvest. But in the harvest, the angels gathered them into God's kingdom in heaven and the scripture says they will shine like the sun. Ever seen a beautiful sunny day after a long rain spell. It is so refreshing. There God's harvest will be enjoying the Son.  Souls that believe in Jesus and live by following him are God's harvest. Souls that reject the gospel are the tares and the weeds that will be thrown on the burn pile. What a contrast. Basking in the Son on a beautiful day or being destroyed on a burn pile. Have we landed on good soil? Have we heard the gospel and heeded its message or have we rejected it and explained it away. It really is a choice that we make when we hear the gospel. Jesus died on a cross for the sins of the world. All souls are mine, belong to God. The question that will be asked on that day when the angels go about gathering the harvest, what have you done with Jesus?  Have you accepted and believed in him, in his name, or have you rejected him and the gospel that was sent to save your soul. It is your choice. God is not willing that any should perish, but some will be bad seeds and reject the message of the gospel. When they stand in the flames of hell it will be too late. It is a choice and everyone is given enough faith to accept the gospel if they choose to.  It really amounts to a choice to accept or reject.

I know there will be those that hear these words and reject it. When you stand before God and answer for your life, you will not be able to say you did not hear. You may toss it away without so much as further thought, but God knows what you did with it on this very day. It is a choice to reject or accept. You don't have to know or understand it all to accept. To accept is just a starting point, and the roots start growing and take hold in good soil, they take on nourishment from God and his word and grow through a lifetime until the harvest. I have often said Christians did not know it all the day after they accepted Jesus. The seeds are not mature on the first day, the growing season for us is our lifetime.  God bless, LVZ. 

Truth Again

I wonder how many times I have blogged about truth? I read an article the other day about 13 things we believe that are not true. Two of the things on that list stuck with me. George Washington had wooden dentures. I know I have read that and believe it until I read this article. It seems it is not true. Another one that stuck with me as I believe in one of my recent blogs I said the average person only uses about 14% of their brain. It seems it is not true either.  Our brains are active even when we sleep, at least parts of it are. The article was saying about 10% was the figure commonly used when stating how much of our brain we use. A famous motivational speaker used it, I think it has been a belief of mine since public school. A long time. I don't remember the rest of the list but those two things I definitely believed. We hear many falshoods growing up. Even incorrect Biblical beliefs can often be traced back to one individual. I know over the years I have changed my thinking about a lot of things. One thing I know is the Bible is true. If there are errors, it is in our understanding of the Bible. Some things are plain, other things we need to interpret the Bible by the Bible. Sometimes it is in our culture, we are taught incorrect attitudes. Prejudices are taught. It seems we see children left to themselves often do fine with children from other ethnic backgrounds. What do our colleges and universities teach these days, mostly leftism.  Many don't know history or the things that use to be taught in schools but global warming and how many of us are victims in one form or another. The climate changes and has since the beginning of time, nothing new. Before the days of Noah it had never rained. God caused rain to fall down and it has been raining ever since. There is a cycle to water, it evaporates, forms clouds, condenses and rains. When it rains it waters the earth and things grow. Then it evaporates again or flows through the ground to rivers and stream and finds its way back to large bodies of water and the cycle repeats.
 27For he draws up the drops of water;
they distill his mist in rain,
28which the skies pour down 
and drop on mankind abundantly. Job 36:27-28. The sun doesn't rise or set but if you look on your smart phone you can probably find the time given for your area that the sun rises and sets. Yet we know it is stationary and the earth revolves and rotates giving the appearance of the sun rising and setting. That another cycle set in motion by God.
21Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,

and its people are like grasshoppers.

He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, 

and spreads them out like a tent to live in. Isaiah 40:21-22
There are people that still believe the earth is flat and pictures sent back from outer space are fake. A believer in the flat earth was killed recently as he was trying to prove his flat earth theory.  Someone mentioned recently about scripture in the Old Testament talking about how the plowman will overtake the reaper. "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills, Amos 9:13. Many places farmers do plant a crop in winter.  Many times our understanding of the word of God is imperfect. But enough info is given to every man whereby they can accept Jesus as savior. Enough info is given to enable them to believe if they choose to. Jesus is the Son of God that is a truth you can base your eternal destiny on. God doesn't force it, he allows us to make a choice to believe or not believe. God bless, LVZ.

Red Flags

Do we ever see red flags in a relationship and ignore them? I understand being loyal to friends and in relationships but many times in my life I have seen people trying to beat an addiction and perhaps they have family that is also addicted.  Sometimes they have to distance themselves from toxic family members if they really want to fix themselves. I saw a young man locally that is very loyal to his race. That is the way he has been taught and several times he has had their back and when push comes to shove he gets thrown under the bus. They don't cover for him like he does for them. It is cases like that where you can't go wrong with the truth.  The truth is what it is and when the smoke clears if you have told the truth even if it goes bad for you you have still done right. If you are part of an organization and if you are in a position to change the organization, perhaps it is OK to stay and try to change it for the better. But if not and you see red flags, don't ignore red flags. Bad company will influence you in the wrong direction. I don't know where I am going with this. It is on my mind. When I see red flags I want to move on. I was a part of an organization that does some good things, they really do. But scripture told me not to let your left hand know what the right hand is doing.
2“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  Matthew 6:2-4   This particular organization wanted to do good things but they wanted a writeup in the newspaper every time they did something.  That is how it felt to me. The Bible tells us if we want that recognition that is all the reward we will get. I still want to do good things, but I don't feel I have to get recognition every time.  I help deliver meals on wheels and it is no secret but I don't feel people have to know every time I do this. After the tornado hit in 2014, I was at a Lowe's getting some things I needed. Lowe's was short-handed that particular day probably in part because of the tornado. I was behind an old man that needed a piece of plywood for a repair. He needed help to load the plywood. The clerk asked me if I could help him I said sure, no problem. The clerk let me have some small thing for free because I was willing to help. I get out to the old man's truck and help him load one piece of plywood into the back of his truck.  He insists on paying me twenty. I explained I really don't need to get paid every time I help someone. I told him what Lowe's had already done, they gave me one item for free as a token of appreciation.  I really didn't need to get paid, sometimes we can rob someone of a blessing from God. In this case, God knew my heart, I did take the twenty rather than argue the point. I think my real point is don't ignore red flags. God gives them to us to help us in our walk through life. As I thought about this some more, I was helping a person by loaning my lawnmower when their lawnmower broke. That 's a good thing right. I was hauling the lawnmower about 15 miles one way.  I started off not expecting anything in return. I would fill the lawnmower with gas before I took it over there. I would drop it off and go about my day. After a year or two or three, I started feeling used. They were not refilling my lawnmower when they got through with it. I didn't start off expecting anything but after this drug on for years without receiving anything in return I felt used. And it was my fault because when asked I said I didn't want anything. But I did. I had an expectation that they would at least top off the fuel tank when they were through. I expected to just help them for a short time until they got their lawnmower fixed or a new one. So I don't think it is bad to want some compensation or some show of appreciation especially when it becomes long term. I finally quit helping after I replaced my own lawnmower the second time. If you want to use a lawnmower like it is a commercial lawnmower, you might want a commercial-grade mower. When trying to help people is it necessarily wrong to expect something in return?  I helped someone with a ride to Birmingham, it is a tank of gas. Is it wrong to expect a tank of gas in return? I don't think so, I have still given my time to help someone, and the wear and tear on my vehicle. I guess I am learning, we can still help people without feeling used in the end but for me, it means speaking my expectations.  God bless, LVZ.

Praying For Things

As I am reading in Matthew now, I am in the ninth chapter. I see where Jesus went about healing whatever the need was. A girl that had died, a sick daughter, some blind men, a woman that had an issue of blood. A demon-possessed man that was mute, and perhaps others. What was the need? Jesus healed it. I think God has been trying to show me something. This First Step Prayer as I have been trying to lead in our community, I thought it was a good name and it is. The first step is calling on God. I often thought in my younger years that God doesn't care if I buy a chevy or a ford, and while that may be true, God wants to be involved in our lives. I think that is what God is trying to teach me. We are to pray without ceasing. I believe we are to pray about everything. In a relationship, we often talk about insignificant things. Just daily happenings. I believe God wants us to tuned in to him as we walk through life. Even insignificant things. Small decisions, just talk it over with God as we walk through life. I don't think God cares so much about if I buy a blue shirt or a green shirt, but I do think he wants to be with us and guide us through life. I was blessed the other day, I was driving absent-mindedly and was on a street that is notorious for the police staking it out to give tickets. I knew this, but here I was absent-mindedly driving 54 in a 30 zone. As soon as I saw the blue lights, even before I looked down at the speedometer, I knew I was speeding. I pulled over and the first thing I said, I was speeding, and the officer said yes, 54 in a 30. He took my license and walked back to the patrol car. I prayed, God I know I deserve this ticket, I am guilty, Just help me to do better. I was really asking to be let go on the ticket, but I need to watch my driving. The officer came back with a warning. I thanked God. The real need in that situation is my driving. I didn't want a ticket, but I certainly deserved one. I am familiar with Thomas Street. It is sort of like a country road, very few houses in that area, just woods and so it seems to be so easy to drive faster. My only ticket in my 7 years in Mississippi has been on Thomas Street. This is my second warning on Thomas street. I believe God is attuned to the real needs in our lives. The real need is I correct my driving, and I won't have to worry about paying tickets. the point is God knows our real need. Not just that I don't want to pay a ticket, but my driving needs to be corrected. First Step Prayer, whatever the need, let us learn to take it to God. Like the woman that had an issue of blood, I believe the other gospels give more information, I think she had been dealing with that for twelve years.  She had spent a lot of money on physicians to no avail. Just let me touch the hem of his garment, just let me get close enough to Jesus and my needs will be met. What do we have need of today? Our world is sick, we are all in need of Jesus the physician.  Seek for him while he may be found. First Step Prayer, just take our daily lives to God in prayer. Let it be the First Step of our day. Jesus, we need you in everything we do. Be our constant companion this day. Give us our daily bread, our daily needs. God bless, LVZ.

Good Choices

Did you ever stop to think about the good choices you made that blessed your life? One that comes immediately to mind is finishing High School. No kid likes school, now I really can't say that because even I liked it at times. But I wanted so to leave home when I turned 18 and was old enough to leave but I chose to stay and finish High School for the diploma. It was a good decision. But no decision I ever made compares to being a Christian.  I didn't understand it fully at the beginning and it has been a life long process, but no decision I ever made has impacted me as much as becoming a Christian. It affects every area of my life. It helped me be a better employee, a better father, a better husband, it has helped in relationships. Often it seems I learned some stuff to late, but none the less I learned throughout life. Another decision that I made was paying cash for cars and I did well as long as I kept it up but as things got better for me I decided I needed brand new and payments. I want to get back to the freedom I had in those days when I paid cash. Buying a house even if it was modest was better than paying rent. I owned it and most of the time could do what I wanted and didn't have to answer to a landlord.  After a period of time, the house payments were less than rent. Back to finishing High School, I was able to get a job that I liked that I doubt I would have been able to get without that diploma.  Back to paying cash for cars, I once bought a car that became one of my favorites for $200 that lasted me a good ten years. Once I prayed about a new Chiropractor when I had moved to a new community.  I trusted that the one I chose was an answer to that prayer simply because I had prayed and asked for help. Many years later I realize even more that it was a direct answer to prayer although I really couldn't see the whole story at the time. When I think about it there were other things I prayed about and they ended up being very good things for me. Several times I prayed about where to attend Church and hindsight being 20/20, I was blessed because of the choices I made. I didn't always see it clearly right away, but in time it became clear. Another time I prayed about a different car, I wanted something dependable to take my mom to a family reunion. I prayed about it and that very night in the classifieds I saw what I needed, a low mileage older car that was adequate and I had enough money to pay for it.  I was the first caller and got the car. It really was a blessing. I struggled in my marriages, I prayed to God help me if you want me to be single then help me to be happy by myself.  Please block it in some way if it is not the right relationship. I met Barbara a few years later. Neither of us is perfect, but I am so thankful for Barbara. It was a good decision.  I can look back at a decision after decision where I made the effort to trust God and it turned out good. I believe God put it on my heart to move to Mississippi even before I met Barbara and before I retired and I can see where even though I made other bad choices, that was a good decision. I am sure the longer I think about this, the more stuff I will come up with. I have learned a lot and am still learning as I live this Christian life. There have been trials, it is not without challenges, but I really think my life turned around after I asked Jesus into my heart. I still went through several divorces, I still went through troubles on the job, and various other trials but I see God's hand in even the rough places. I thank God for even some of the trails that helped me to correct some areas of my life. I still don't have it all together and I expect I will be learning till the day I die, but looking back I thank God for his hand on my life. God bless, LVZ.

Fulfilling Prophecy

One of the reasons we know according to the Bible that Jesus is the Christ is the prophecies he fulfilled from the time of his birth. He was prophesied to be born in Bethlehem.
6“ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler

who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ^b Matthew 2:6

Here further down in chapter 2
15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Matthew 2:15. 

18“A voice is heard in Ramah,

weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children

and refusing to be comforted,

because they are no more.” Matthew 2:18

, 23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene. Matthew 2:23
So here in the 2nd chapter of Matthew, we see four prophecies the scripture points to that Jesus fulfilled. There are many more. King Herod killed all the boys age two and under because he didn't understand that Jesus kingdom was not of this earth. But God warned Joseph in a dream and he took the child and his mother and fled to Egypt. So first Jesus was born in Bethlehem, then out of Egypt God has called his son.  The deaths of the boys 2 and under were fulfilled in verse 18. Then in the last verse of chapter two, he shall be called a Nazarene.  These things point to this particular child as being the Christ. The one who would die for the sins of the world. All the way back to Genesis we can find prophecies of this son of God who would redeem God people from their sin. All it takes is a belief in this scripture that Jesus is indeed the son of God. Accepting the Bible to be true and accepting that Jesus is indeed the son of God that taketh away the sins of the world. John 3:16 says whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have eternal life. It is really that simple to believe in Jesus and that he died for our sins. God bless, LVZ

Choices

My youngest Grandson plays basketball and I have often seen him double-teamed. One game recently, his team won 21 to 1. All 21 points on his team were made by him. His team doesn't win every game. I told him that when he is double-teamed, there is someone on his team that is open. He has played against teams that were larger and older than he and his teammates. And sometimes they lose. But they learn to fight for every point they get. Difficult battles can teach us skills. I thought about a pastor I follow on the internet. He made the statement that he reads the Bible from cover to cover every quarter.  I thought about that, is that even possible. Sometimes I stop to check things out. He is of Jewish background and in the Old Testament days, young Jewish boys would memorize the first five books of the Bible to try to get accepted as a student under a famous Rabbi.  There were choices to be made. I determined that reading through the Bible every quarter is a possibility, but it would require some discipline in my life to accomplish that. I'd have to give up something else that I spend my time on each day. It would be a choice. So many things in life are choices that we make. I made good choices and bad choice and I reap the benefits of the good choices and suffer the consequences of the bad choices. I need the determination to accomplish some difficult things in my life.  Sometimes those choices have life long benefits. I wanted to quit High School the day I turned 18. I had about 6 months of school left. I chose to stick it out and at least finish High School. I believe I have reaped the blessings of that decision even to this day. I turned my life over to God and it was a long journey but I believe I am reaping the benefits of that decision even to this day. I am overweight and it has consequences, I need to make hard choices to eat less and exercise more. It is really a simple formula but hard to do, Last few days I have been sick and it has been raining so I haven't been walking. Once this is over I will have to work hard to get my average steps in before this month is over. It is going to be hard. It is a choice I will make one way or the other.  Eating less doesn't depend on the rain, it just may be harder. eating smarter could help. Fewer sweets and coke. I love coke, I love ice cream, cookies and the list goes on. It is a choice that I will have to work hard at if I want to succeed. A lot of life comes down to the choices we make. Good and bad, I make both. God help me and God bless, LVZ.

God Uses All Kinds Of People

I have heard criticism of Christians because they support Trump. That is what the Bible tells us to do, so I have no problem with that. I have made the statement that God gave us Trump, but he also gave us Obama. When you say something like that immediately you will have someone on one side of the political fence or the other side object.  How can God use Trump if you're a left-leaning Christian? Or a right-leaning Christian will object how could God use someone like Obama?  When we go through the Bible, we see some good kings and some bad kings. God put them there for a season. I think there was one king that was only king for seven days. Hezekiah had 15 years added to God's plan when Hezekiah prayed. I am reminded of the story of the poor widow woman who's cupboard was bare. She was a Christian and she prayed for God to supply her needs. She was praying at an open window and a young devilish type man heard her pray. He thought I will play a trick on her and went and bought her some groceries and set it on her doorstep and rang the doorbell and hid around the corner. The poor widow lady comes to the door and she immediately thanks God for answering her prayer. The devilish young man comes from around the corner and says God didn't do that, I did.  The poor widow lady says God still did it even if he sent it by the hand of a devil. Her prayer was answered.  I believe George W. Bush was a Christian and a good President but I also believe he was more of a swamp creature, attuned to the political nature of his job as President than say like Trump. Trump is not a political negotiator, he will negotiate with whatever way works. Political maneuvering or not so political, whatever it takes to get the job done. There are all kinds of people. If you read the DISC system, there are "d" personality types, "i" personality types, "s" personality types and even "c" types. A book I was reading tried to define Biblical characters that we are all familiar with like Joseph, Paul, Peter, John Mark, and others. The book gives examples of why they thought they were that personality type. People are all kinds and can be a mix of different personality types.  It is like a pine tree forest. Here are all these pine trees and they all look alike but yet each one is different. No two are exactly identical. They tell us Identical twins are not identical, they at least have different fingerprints if nothing else. I guess their DNA is like 99.99 the same. The point being we do not have to be cookie-cutter Christians. God has a purpose for each of us using our bent for his purposes, even President Trump. So I do not have a problem supporting Trump. Like many others, I wish he would stay off twitter, but I still think God gave us Trump. Then again he wouldn't be Trump without twitter.  God bless, LVZ.
Romans 13:1-2, 1 Timothy 2:1-2

The Bummer Lamb

Bummer lambs are lambs that have been rejected by their mothers. Maybe the mother ewe died or had twins. Maybe they are just old and don't want to raise another lamb. Once they reject a lamb they never change their mind.  These are called bummer lambs and the shepherd will take them into his home and bottle feed them. He will hold them close to him and keep them warm. When they are old enough he will put them back in with the flock. When the shepherd calls for his sheep in the morning, the bummer lambs are the first to run to him. It's not that the shepherd loves them more, its because the bummer lambs know better than the others that the shepherd loves them. In this life, I have met many children that could be called bummer lambs. Rejected in many ways by the parents that were to love us unconditionally. We live in a dysfunctional world, and if you look around you, you will find bummer lambs. Children that have felt rejection in some way. Maybe it wasn't even intentional, but none the less, they felt rejected. God has always said suffer the little ones to come unto me. He sought out the rejects of society. I often think of the woman at the well in Samaria, married five times. She had been rejected many times. But Jesus sought her and brought her into his kingdom that day at the well. So many of us in this world didn't have that parent that believed in us and said you can do it. They didn't invest their lives in us. They were just living day to day like most of us. Not realizing the impact we could have had. Jesus is the good shepherd that takes care of the bummer lambs. In our country, today 1/3 of all families are single-parent families.  Often these single parents are overworked just caring for the physical needs of their children. So many did not have that parent that believed in them, you can do anything you want to do. We faced rejection, in this sinful world.   Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. Psalm 68:5   Jesus is the good shepherd and he cares for the orphans and orphan in spirit. Many years ago after my first divorce, I saw first-hand how divorce affected my children. I also took note of how many fatherless or even motherless children there were around me. At church, in my neighborhood, all around me, if I looked I found fatherless children.  These are the bummer lambs in our generation and God loves them. God bless, LVZ.

God Does Not Change

6“I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.

“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

8“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes and offerings. 9You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. 12“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3:6-12
This section is probably the most used Tithing scripture ever. I don't know that for a fact, but I think it is.  God is saying the descendants of Jacob have turned away from God's decrees. They have not kept God's decrees, his laws, his commands. God once again is asking for his people to return to him. God specifically mentions tithing and says they are robbing him when they don' tithe.  If I have learned one thing, God doesn't need my money, he owns everything to start with. All the cattle on a thousand hills are his. The Church doesn't need my money, they have a much larger budget then I have already. But God is after the heart. Where your treasure is there will your heart be also. Is your treasure in your bank account? Your bank account will show what you treasure.  I am at the end of the Old Testament, and it seems over and over again God has been trying to get his people that strayed away to come back to him. That seems to me to be the prevailing overall message in the Old Testament Prophets. It is our schoolmaster to bring us to a knowledge of Christ. God says here he does not change, his laws and his rules have not changed over the centuries. We have seen God repent and spared Nineveh, at Abraham's prayer, God spared Lot. God promises blessing upon our lives if we will turn back to him. We are under a curse and the only way to get out from under that curse is to turn to God. The fourth chapter of Malachi talks about the arrogant and evil burning as stubble. That is the curse we are under. 17“On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. 18And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.  Malachi 3: 17-18  On the day when God finally acts, his treasured possession will be spared. It will be a big difference between those that serve God and those that do not. Those that served God will romp around the pasture like well-fed calves. I have seen that in a heard of cattle when calves will run and play and they are just so full of joy. That is what God is promising on the day that he acts, there will be joy in the hearts of the righteous. The evil will burn as stubble. Only God himself knows the day he will act. It is for a set time. Even Jesus at the right hand of God does not know the exact time. It is coming and over and over again God asks his people to return, all souls are his. We are his creation, he wants our hearts. Return to God while there is time. There is ultimate healing in heaven. A sister in the Lord just passed away in the last few days, she had been fighting cancer for quite a while. She is now healed and in the presence of her God. She is romping around like a well fed calf. God bless, LVZ.

Sweetheart

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and I had a good day.  The men at coffee tease me that Barbara's name is sweetheart.  I actually started that on purpose years ago. Mississippi Diamond was a nickname I gave to her and even wrote a poem, Mississippi Diamond.  When you have been married a few times as I have and had relationships with similar names, you can make a bad mistake. I was married to a Jenie, Joanelle then a Jean, then a girlfriend Joanie, Penny and perhaps some other similar-sounding names. It is terrible when the wrong name slips out so I purposely developed a habit of using names like Honey, Sweetheart etc.  One of the guys at coffee in a new relationship that also did a slip of the tongue with his new girlfriend recently didn't think it was such a bad idea. I have for years replaced a name like Morley with Mason or vice versa. I can't tell you how many times I have been called Leonard, Leo, etc. When you have a bad habit of substituting names it is a good plan. Sometimes it isn't even close like Jenie and Jean or Jenie and Penny. I even call the girl behind the counter sweety or sweetheart, just a habit I tried to develop. Unfortunately, I still substitute names and can't always put rhyme or reason to it.  It is not a nice thing when it happens in a relationship.   God bless, LVZ.       One thing I know I will never quit making mistakes until the day I die, they just happen. 

What Are We Giving To God?

7“By offering defiled food on my altar.

“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’

“By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. 8When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.   Malachi 1:7 
What are we giving to God? The law was our school master to teach us how to respond to God.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Galatians 3:24
The Old Testament which Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. God has been trying through his prophets to get his people to turn back to him and they will not.  In these first chapters of Malachi, God is telling them about themselves. They cry out to God with tears but they will not obey his rules, his laws, his commands. That he why God allowed them to be carried away captive, they profaned his alters. They were to give God perfect sacrifices, but they did not. They sacrificed lame and blind and unacceptable animals to sacrifice to God. Would you do that to your king, your governor? God is not pleased with their sacrifices. But 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. 1 Samuel 15:22  We see another Prophet telling the people god wants their obedience. To obey is better than sacrifice. "If you love me, keep my commands. John 14:15  In the New Testament we find John telling the people if they love God they will keep his commandments. God really wants our hearts. If our heart is really towards God we will obey. If our heart is toward God, we will give him the best of our animals, the unblemished lamb for our sacrifice. But we are told obedience is better than sacrifice. God really wants our hearts. The Old Testament, the law was teaching us, God wants us, God desires a relationship with us. He wants our hearts. We are cursed, God promises a curse to those who profane his altar. There is a curse, we are already under a curse when we do not follow God, his ways, his commandments. In these first two chapters he even mentions divorce, we were to protect the family, the wife of our youth. God's plan has always been one man / one woman for life. We profane his altar when we do otherwise. Divorce is something I know about. It was not God's design. It was because our hearts were hardened that God even allowed divorce. Once again we see God wants our hearts and that is through obedience to his ways. I want to add here that divorce is not an unpardonable sin. It is because someone's heart was hard that it happened in the first place. Someone somewhere was not obeying God. When a man and a woman come together in marriage God joins them and he says not to divide what God has joined. Under Moses, he allowed it because of hardened hearts. It is still the same today. Divorce happens because of a hardened heart, disobedience to God. Women and men do not treat their spouse their partner the one God gave them as he commands. Through Jesus Christ God forgives even divorce. We do not get to change God's rules to fit our progressive society. The commands that were to teach us to bring us to him, do not change. Today we are trying to make the Bible fit us instead of us fitting the Bible. It will not work. God is still sovereign and he sees what we do and he sees our heart. The Ten Commandments are not about rule-keeping, it is showing us the best way to live life. God is our father and he wants to bless not curse his children. He has been teaching us all through life, come to me. God desires a relationship with us. He desires our hearts. These offerings we bring to God, if they are unblemished they show we love God. What are we giving to God? Have we given God our hearts? Our pocketbook? Do we give God the leftovers or do we show him we love him by giving the unblemished sacrifices of an obedient heart? To obey is better than sacrifice, to heed is better than the fat of rams. God simply wants our hearts. If you really love God, you will try to keep his commands. What are we giving to God? Are we giving him what we don't want ourselves, the diseased, the blemished the last of our time?   Do we give Him the first fruits, the best, the unblemished? Do we give God our heart? God bless, LVZ

Why Is It So Hard?

We the Christian community believe in one God. We believe that Jesus died for our sins on a cross and rose again and sits at the right hand of God.  There are things we see differently, there are things I see differently today than 50 years ago. As a child learns to walk, he will fall down repeatedly but he gets up and tries again until he is able to walk and run without even trying. I think our spiritual journey is the same. Ups and downs struggle with our belief system. Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome." Genesis 32:28
Israel formerly Jacob was given a new name, the name means something. He struggled with God, and that name carries over with God's chosen people called Israel throughout the Bible. We Christians today that were grafted in, are spiritual Israel. I think we still struggle with God and with humans.  Abram's name was changed to Abraham because he was to be the father of many nations. Saul of Tarsus became Paul sometime after his conversion. Simon was called Peter by Jesus, Peter, Petra meaning a stone. But the name I am interested in is Israel because it describes people as struggling with God. There are many times we struggle with a sovereign God when we don't understand some things. People are killed and we wonder why didn't this sovereign God stop the accident or recently little Cupcake, a three-year-old was abducted at a birthday party and was killed and found in the garbage in a landfill. We struggle with things like these, why couldn't God stop this, or we go through tough times and wonder why? Why did Job have to go through all his difficulties? So many times we struggle with things like these. The man that wrote the words "It is well with my soul". He had just lost his daughters and as he was crossing the ocean about where the ship had sunk and his daughters had drowned, he penned those words to the song it is well with my soul. We struggle with God and so many things that we do not understand. It is OK to struggle with God. In my past, some of the times when I felt the weakest as a Christian were some of the best times. I write a lot. I pick a verse and comment on it. I do not have a corner on the market, perhaps there I times I am even wrong at least in other people's views. I remember being taught to explain the word with authority.  Many people do that and how many religions different denominations do we have. I believe it is so important to study and learn for ourselves. I listen to others and read stuff that others write, but I still read the Bible for my self and try and understand it. I think it is a mistake to only read other people's stuff.  I see denominations that teach according to their organization. I have been in Sunday School class and see people read the lesson from their national or international organization word for word. When I see this I wonder did they study for themselves other than reading the lesson prepared for them in a booklet? The danger I see is groupthink. We see it in politics all the time especially in our politically correct climate right now. I understand not wanting to spread heresy, but if there is no room for individual thought, and the person at the head of a train of thought is wrong do we automatically follow like the followers of Jim Jones to death of mass suicide? Scripture is not of private interpretation, meaning you do not have your truth and I do not have mine. What happens when your truth and my truth collide?  Jesus is the truth and the life and the way. We need our truth to match his truth. I don't have a corner on the market when it comes to knowing scripture, I am constantly learning.  I have said this many times, we don't wake up the morning after we become a Christian and know the whole Bible from cover to cover. We begin to learn what it means to be a Christ-follower and many times we may stumble like learning to walk. We have a goal at the end of our journey and that is where we are headed, but so much life is lived on that journey to our goal. I often have a destination in mind on a road trip, but so much of the enjoyment is on the way there, between where I started from and where I am going.  There are hard places along the way, hills to climb, but it will be worth it. And the journey getting there is enjoyable in spite of the hard places. The hills may be hard to climb but sometimes the view from there is worth it. I am thankful to have been a Christian for these many years.  I have made mistakes, but I also hope I am learning from them. Sometimes we learn more from our mistakes than any other way. The hard places, the difficult times can also be a blessing. Sometimes God allows hard things to turn us to him.  God bless, LVZ.

Everybody's Truth

"What is truth?" retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him. John 18:38

I was challenged recently and I backpedaled or deleted some lines I posted.  It is a political year and facts and figures flow freely and much challenging and truth checking of statements. All of the democratic nominees in the last debate were given Pinocchios when fact-checked. I guess that doesn't hold very well for your truth and my truth especially when they differ. If you're a leftist you go to your leftist site for truth and if on the right you go to a right-leaning site for truth. So is it really truth? A major TV preacher some years back describes his home as a 2 bedroom cabin. That two-bedroom cabin was 6,000 square feet.  A two-bedroom probably fits the definition of small to fit the cabin wording, but the 6,000 square feet is 3 times larger than anything I have lived in myself. I am not sure I have ever been in a house as large as 6,000 square feet. So what is truth? Is that acceptable to describe his 6,000 square foot two-bedroom as a cabin? Where do we or should we go for an answer to the truth?  Global warming advocates leave out some years of weather to support their stats. Is the standard for truth different for you and for me? When we talk about your truth and my truth and we disagree then who's truth is truth?  I am not going to attempt to answer this question today. Even in Christians circles, we have disagreements on truth. So should we have a standard for truth? Where would this standard for truth be kept, who is the arbitrator of this truth? Is it the Democratic party and if so why?  Is it the Republican party and if so why? Whichever way you go, you will have a lot of people disagreeing with you. I think the truth is important and in a court of law, we swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.  Why do we invoke God's help at the end of that statement? Is God the final authority for truth? Truth must be important, in the news today Roger Stone was recommended for 9 years in prison for lying to congress, while others noted rapist robbers and others get half that or less.  Lying to congress? How many in congress have lied to us the American public? Here in  Mississippi, a few years ago a 7-year-old girl was run over by a vehicle and killed when she stepped off the bus. The exit door on the bus is on the curbside. The bus was next to the curb. The front door of her house was less than 50 feet away. The school bus stop sign was out. The school bus red lights were flashing. The woman that ran over and killed this child was never charged with a crime. There seem to be different standards for truth and justice. What is truth? What is justice? I think we need a standard that is the same for everybody. God bless, LVZ.

I don't know how I made that mistake but I was talking Roger Stone and wrote John Solomon. John Solomon may have written the article I read, he is a reporter. I don't really know how I did that. I can' t even find the article where I could have made that mistake, by substituting names. thanks,  I did a short search but just a mistake, after the fact I can't always duplicate my mistake. 

Give Careful Thought

15“ ‘Now give careful thought to this from this day on ^b —consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. 16When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. 17I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not return to me,’ declares the Lord. 18‘From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought: 19Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit.

“ ‘From this day on I will bless you.’ ”  Haggai 2:15-19.

Here God is talking to his people through the prophet Haggai. God struck the work of their hands trying to get them to return to him. In the first chapter got talked about how they worked for wages only to put it in a purse with holes in it. Why do you live in panel houses and the temple of the Lord is in ruin? God's desire was for his people to turn to him.
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 2 Corinthians 6:16.
 In the New Testament, we see where God's people are his temple. God is wanting us to fix his temple, US. You and me. God is not willing that any should perish but that all might come to the knowledge of Christ living in us. God wants to restore his temple, you and me. How do we become this temple?, By inviting Jesus into our hearts. When we repent of our sins we become God's temple.  God's desire all through the Old Testament was for his people to return to him. He wants to bless them. He wants them to live in peace. God does not want his temple to be in ruin, falling down in need of repair.  He does not want our purse to have holes in it. God desires good things for his people. Many people do not realize the Ten Commandments are the best way to live life. The moral code that God gives is for us to live our best life. Give careful thought to this and restore God's temple to its original state.  Seek the Lord while he may be found, and allow a work of restoration to begin in your heart. Before sin, Adam and Eve had a perfect existence. How we often wish they had never sinned. But there is a better day coming. Someday there will be a new earth and a new heaven. Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. Revelation 21:1. Give careful thought to the fact that we are God's temple in the New Testament. Build that temple, allow God to work in our hearts and minds. God bless, LVZ.

Unity VS Unanimity

Unity VS Unanimity. I watch Fireside chats by Dennis Prager. This one was episode 120 with 11 young people from around the world. It was twice as long as normal but was a very good one. I guess there are several things that are directing my thoughts toward the words unity and unanimity.  People are so different and yet the same. I don't know if that makes any sense. Just watch people smile. We like to see people smile. But everyone's smile is different. Some you see no teeth, some upper teeth, some lower teeth, some both uppers and lowers. But smiles are nice. If someone smiles at you, you feel more comfortable with them. In that way, they are the same but everyone is different. I meet with some men on a weekly basis of late. We were discussing differences in churches. Actually, the other three men are or were Pastors.  One Pastor told about going to a Black church and the door to the sanctuary was closed and he tried to push it open. The usher on the other side pushed back on it. Being a big man he pushed back even harder. It was humorous. But in a Black Church, there are certain times when you don't move. When someone is praying to God or reading scripture are times in a Black Church when you do not get up to go to the bathroom. In a White Pentecostal church when someone was praying is the exact time you would get up and move to find a bathroom if you needed one. That is what was happening in the pushing on the door incident above. Someone was praying or speaking to God in that Black Church at that moment and the usher was guarding the door to the sanctuary. The White man didn't know that and later apologized. Christians can be so different from one another yet they seek to be like God. The left politically in our nation want us to think exactly the same about everything. Climate change, abortion, marriage, gun rights; it seems if you disagree on any one point you are not awake. We have conservatives that are gay, but they agree with other conservative values. We have conservatives that are agnostic but will agree with many other conservative values. I believe on the right we have more freedom to think a little bit differently. We are not one-issue voters. I believe we can unite to support our country and not have unanimity in every value. For the past three years, I felt securing our southern border was the number one issue facing our country.  After the impeachment fiasco, the Russian Hoax, and so many other things anti- Trump I have begun to think the most important issue in our country is the corruption in government. The left is very united against anything Trump. It can be good even very good for the country and they will fight it if it makes Trump look good. I am not sure I fully understand this. The only thing that makes any sense to me is it is about power and control. The left does not have it right now and will do anything even if it is wrong to regain control. They will destroy the country to regain control if that is what it takes. That is how it appears to me. Kavanaugh was a good man and worthy to be a Supreme Court Justice but the left would destroy a good man to keep the balance of the court in their favor. I think we need to have unity to do what is good for our country and not have to think exactly alike. I see it in the different churches that I have visited in the last few months to promote my community prayer meeting. We are so different in worship styles and if you are a Christian Church, there is at least one belief that is central to Christianity. That salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone. But we can be so different in so many other ways. Just like the individual smiles I mentioned above.  I believe in spite of unimportant differences we can unite to promote the health of our community and our nation. One-third of our families are single-parent families today. Our families are hurting, and so is our nation. There are differences across the world as the Prager Fireside Chat pointed out, but we can have the same values and be united to change our world for the better. We need unity but not unanimity. I mentioned this fireside chat because I thought it was very good and related to my thinking about how different people are and yet the same.  God bless, LVZ.

The Blessing of First-fruits

It seems it is so easy to become legalistic when talking about Biblical attitudes and practices. It is something I try to avoid (being legalistic). When you look at a checkbook after a deposit is made what are the first checks being written? For years I have given a tithe. But what happens to the order of checks written. Sometimes Sunday is as late as the seventh of the month. I wrote a check for tithe on the seventh, but did I not write a check for the mortgage, the car payment, groceries, etc before the 7th of the month. I know this is sounding like I am being legalistic because I didn't write that check for tithe on the 1st day of the month. The Biblical principle was started long long ago, the principle of firstfruits. If I lay 10 $1 bills on the table which is the first? They all look identical. As hard as I try not too, I feel I come off legalistic. But the principle of first fruits, God comes first. Some speculate that was the problem with Cain's offering in Genesis before he killed Abel. Abel gave of the first fruits. But something was wrong with Cain's offering and God spoke to Cain. It is possible it was just part of his harvest but not the first part? Anyway, this is one of the things that has come to mind as I was asking God about my wicked ways. I am wanting to practice this giving the first 10th to God, not just a tenth. Most tithers know about Malachi 3:10;  Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 
I have known this verse for as long as I can remember. But it seems there is a First Fruits principle that I don't see in this verse.  "The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. Exodus 34:19
Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. Exodus 22:29

There are many other verses the talk about the first of animals and crops belonging to God.  We see it in the first commandment, God wants to be first. 3“You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3    I use biblehub.com for my scriptures so I am actually using a mix of versions and I don't always note which version I have copied. I do believe the writer of "The Blessed Life" which I am reading does a very good job of explaining this First Fruits principle. I am not doing as well. The other thing is so often when we talk about tithing and receiving God's blessing, many come off sounding like give to get. God gives from a giving generous heart and that is what he wants from us, a giving heart. The author talks about how God even challenges us to test him in this area. One other thing he mentioned was 10 signifies testing.  He gave the examples of the ten plagues in Egypt, the ten commandments, how many times did God test Israel in the Wilderness, how many times was Jacob tested by Laban changing his wages, how many days was Daniel tested in the first chapter of Daniel? 10 is the answer to all of those. So here God is testing our faith. Will we give God the first tenth and believe God will bless the other 9 tenths to meet our needs? Do you really believe God? Your checkbook will show it. It is a new habit I want to form to make sure God comes first in my checkbook. I hope I don't sound as legalistic as I do to myself. Even Barbara said it, you sound like you want to be perfect, I said no I want to try this First Fruits principle. I want my 90% to be blessed. God doesn't need my money but I need his blessings.  Note I said my 90%, it is all God's. God bless, LVZ.
From time to time we still run into people that think the King James Version is the best one. My reply to them is Christianity is global in many countries and languages. King James Version is an English language version, there is no King James version in Spanish or German or French. There are some better versions but often it helps to read more than one version. In 1611 King James printing there was a disclaimer that the writers added their thoughts explaining that very thing. Languages change over time and the King James version was just an attempt to make something better. Today nobody talks with thee and thou. Mostly I use NIV and ESV but using Bible Hub I can easily look at other versions.