Talk With a Leftist

 I had a talk with a leftist a few days ago over coffee. It is the first conversation with a leftist that ended well. We are still friends. We had coffee again the next day. But usually, our morning coffee group avoids politics when our leftist friend is there.  It was just me and him. We disagreed about almost everything, imagine that. There have been several times when this leftist and a conservative were ready to take it to the parking lot. It used to be we could talk politics. Often, we learn new things if we can be civil. Our country is at a dangerous place when we cannot talk politics and disagree and still be friends. I read an article where a conservative when he was young and still in college had a date with a liberal, and the evening went fine until they talked about Presidential candidates, it ended the date quickly. It was the first time for this man for a friendship to end because of who he supported in the last election. But it seems to be the norm today. It starts in college which is a place to exchange a lot of ideas. Just not politics. The writer of the article stated some stats show the percentage of friendship breakers is higher on the democratic side than the conservative side but still in the double digits among republicans. It is really sad when you consider all the other subjects, we can disagree on from even food we like and dislike to being a person that loves Ford or Chevy cars over the other. My wife like the color orange on a car until she had one and everyone knew it was her. She no longer wants an orange car or other color that stands out. You can't do anything about the weather, but when it comes to politics and religion, those are things you can change. Our country is at a dangerous time when hate for a candidate like Trump is so strong, they raid his home to desperately find some reason to keep him from running again. In every election there is a side that wins and a side that loses and we use to realize it wasn't the end of civilization when the other side won. I wish we could go back 30 to fifty years and talk about anything. Exchange Ideas and move on, this is what I think and that is why you think such and such. Our politics today separates families and friends. God help us, LVZ.

Another Funeral

 I went to a funeral today. It wasn't someone I knew. He was a brother to a friend of mine. I went to support my friend. We humans are you-nique as was this man. God created us in his image, and we are all special because of that. What is man that you are mindful of him. what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.  Psalm 8:4-5 (NLT).  The NIV says we are a little lower than the angels. I believe Angels are ministering spirits, but we have something unique being created in the image of God. We do not become Angels when we die, it may be a popular belief as we hear about people getting their wings and we probably all have seen "It's a Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart. But it is not scriptural, we have the ability to make decisions and choose.  Angels as ministering spirits go and do as they are told. We can choose to believe in God and can choose to follow God in this life. It regulates where we go in eternity. We have something unique, we are able to be in a relationship with God himself. I think of Enoch, he was a friend of God and God took him. Genesis 5:24. There is no record of him dying and being buried, one day God just took him. One day Elijah just went up in a whirlwind.  2 Kings 2:11.  God took Moses and buried him himself. The LORD buried him in a valley near Beth-peor in Moab, but to this day no one knows the exact place.  Deuteronomy 34:6.    Don't know why it was different, but yet on the day of Jesus's Transfiguration, both Moses and Elijah were there. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Matthew 17:3(NLT).  We are all special in God's eyes. This man today was only 8 months older than me.  The time for me is getting closer with each passing day. We have a choice where we spend eternity. God desires for us to be there with him in eternity, the choice is ours. We get there through Jesus Christ, he is the only way to eternity with God. If there was another way, we could all choose that way. But Jesus himself said he is the way. Jesus is the only way to an eternity with God. We are special to have that choice. God bless, LVZ.

Don't Pickup Strangers

 Years ago, we had more hitchhikers than we do today. It's not safe to pick up hitchhikers. Like one hitchhiker asks the driver, how do you know I am not a serial killer, and the driver says what are the odds of two serial killers being in the same car. I did pick up a hitchhiker years ago, I was about 19 years old, and as soon as he got in the car he had an epileptic seizure. At the time I didn't know what that was, and I drove immediately to the nearest hospital emergency room. It scared me. But Andy Stanley for the purposes of his message explained what a stranger is. Someone stranger than you. I like that definition. We are all flawed walking through this life. All of us have been born in sin. If we say we have no sin, we lie, and the truth is not in us. I think that is a good idea in going through life to associate with people less strange than we are. Find people we want to be like. When choosing a church look for good people, not perfect, there are no perfect people. When choosing a friend choose someone who has it together, someone farther along on the road of life, that you can learn good things from. We pick up things, actions, and attitudes from those we associate with. The Bible tells us to not form friends with angry people. Proverbs 22:24 (NLT), Don't befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people.   When I moved to Mississippi, I moved far away from everyone I knew, all family, friends, Church family, etc.  I felt I needed an accountability partner. I prayed about it, and I formed a friendship with an administrative pastor of a church. It's been maybe 8 or 9 years now, and I am so thankful for that friendship. I can learn from him, and I have. I looked at several people and did want someone that could help me. I hope the friendship is mutually beneficial, but I feel like I found someone better than me in many areas of life. It has helped me.  As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.  Proverbs 27:17(NLT). I have a group of men called Iron Sharpens Iron; we pray together every week.  We need to surround ourselves with good people that are trying to head in the same direction as we are. We need to be salt and light to the world around us but be choosy with those you allow close to you. When you pick a church be choosy, don't just pick the first one that accepts you. Through the road of life, don't pick up strangers. We can talk to people, even try to help them. If they drag you down open the car door and let them out.  Don't pick up strangers. God bless, LVZ. 

Closing Accounts

 This post is about forgiveness again. We all have debts owed to us; it is going to happen to us if we just live life. Someone somewhere is going to hurt you.  If you do not cancel the debt, you allow a root of bitterness to grow in your heart. Like Andy Stanley says, if we told our story, friends would understand why we are hurt. Our stories make sense, people really do owe us, whatever the wrong is. If we do not forgive, we allow a root of bitterness to grow in our heart. As I was thinking about this I thought of a vegetable or flower garden and if you don't take care of it, weeds will grow. And after a period of time the weeds overtake the whole garden. Weed seeds, who even knows how they get started, they just do and most of the time they grow better than the good stuff.  Our hearts are like that, they need to be weeded every now and then. I think that is what communion does, it gives us a chance to look over what is growing in our hearts and just like weeds, bad things in our hearts need to be pulled out. Our salvation actually hinges on us being able to forgive as Christ has forgiven us. We need to follow Christ's example in forgiving others.  Unforgiven issues become a root of bitterness, a weed of the heart. Unforgiveness will move into the basement of our heart and start lifting weights. If we hold accounts open hoping the person that owes the account will pay up, we allow a root of bitterness to start growing. We as Christians need to close those account no matter what the other person does. Pull the weeds before they get a good root system going. Don't allow the sun to set on your anger, take care of it as soon as possible. Close accounts. God bless, LVZ

Closing the Account

 Here I need to give credit to Andy Stanley for these thoughts on part of a sermon where he talked about closing the account. This is once again talking about forgiving others.  Andy said several things that stuck with me. When there has been a wrong done and that is why someone needs to forgive, they have been wronged. That is not even an issue, there is no question, you have been wronged, and forgiving someone does not change that. It is you that closes the account by forgiving.  Sometimes they can't even pay the debt, they can't go back and unspeak the words that were spoken. It is impossible. Often the damage cannot be undone even if they wanted to. That is why the injured must close the account. It made sense to me, because I have been the offender at times. I have been on both sides, the offended and the offender.  Andy gave three steps to close the account. 1. Identify WHO. Who injured you, who owes the debt? 2. Determine WHAT. What was done to injure you? What is the debt that needs to be paid? 3. Declare it CANCELED. Identify who and what, write it out if you have to. They (WHO) did this (WHAT) to me. Then you declare it canceled. You declare the debt has been paid. You forgive the offense, the deed that was done. It is true that often they couldn't even pay the debt if they wanted to. The debt is too big, or perhaps they don't even know the debt exists. You cannot eliminate the offense, but you do cancel the debt. Just like Jesus did for our sins, he canceled the debt, Jesus declared it paid in pull. Because he forgave us, we forgive others. We follow his example. Even when the offender realizes his wrong and says he is sorry, the debt is not paid until the offended cancels the debt. Sometimes Andy says stuff that really sticks with me. There was more to this sermon than cancelling the debt, closing the account but once again it speaks to forgiving others, a core value of being a Christian.  This part really stuck with me. I have been there and couldn't pay the debt. Both to Jesus and to others.  God bless, LVZ. 

To Tattoo or Not to Tattoo

 I grew up a legalist. If you read any of my post, I've said it or you can pickup on it. So if you had asked me about Tattoos in the past I would have been against it. Tattoos or body piercings, nose rings, etc. all fall into the same category. I grew up in a denomination that taught against wearing jewelry, even wedding bands. I no longer belong to that denomination. But even they have changed in the years since I have been gone and they now wear wedding bands. It is a legalistic view to not wear wedding bands as wearing gold for ornament. I don't want to go into all that detail. Leviticus 19:27-28 (KJV):  27You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. 28Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.  Other versions like the NLT, NIV, or EVS use the word Tatoo any marks in place of print any marks upon you. It was a Jewish law and was meant to keep the Jews from worshiping other gods by cutting themselves and other extremes of worship. I don't know anyone that tattoos their body these days to worship another god. But if people use verse 28 that last part that talks about tattoos, do they also follow verse 27 that talks about shaving your hair or trimming your beard? It is a gray area that people can believe either way. The main point is to love people regardless of which way they interpret these verses. It is not repeated in the New Testament so many feel they have license to have tattoos. Coming from a legal upbringing, I used to be against tattoos, but prefer to remain undecided these days.  I still would choose not to get a tattoo. I have changed my thinking about wearing a wedding band also.  We can practice legalism or practice license to do all sorts of things that have absolutely nothing to do with salvation. Salvation by Grace, the forgiving of our sins by Jesus Christ is the message the world needs to hear. To tattoo or not to tattoo, to wear a wedding band or not to wear a wedding band has nothing to do with Salvation. Can we just love one another if it is a gray area that is not clear?  In a world that divides over everything can the body of Christ show love and tolerance for each other in the gray areas of scripture. God bless, LVZ 

If You Believe In Jesus

 What is the requirement for being a Christian? I heard Franklin Graham just talking about it tonight. If you believe in Jesus, you are part of the body of Christ, if you have realized you are a sinner and have confessed those sins and asked Jesus to come into your heart. I grew up in a certain denomination and I really felt like I had to be part of that particular denomination up until about 36 years of age.  Even then it was a struggle when I attended a church that was not part of that denomination, I felt like I was going against God.  The gospel is so simple even a cave man can do it, to borrow from a Geico commercial. But in our denominational world, I believe the same struggle exists today. People feel they have to be a part of a certain denomination because that is where they were raised. I heard it in a safety seminar one time, the speaker was called the best in the business because he was part of the organizers church.  I hear it from ministers about other ministers, he is one of the good guys, he is one of ours (from our denomination). Denominations range from legalistic to license and it is not a requirement to be a part of a certain denomination to be in the family of God. Why do so many feel it is? Why do people stay in the denomination they were raised in when they see bad leadership, and they still stay?  I saw on Facebook a person moving across country and looking for a good church in the area they were moving to, and they ask of a church in their denomination? Would a better question be of a prospective pastor, how is your relationship with your spouse? If we believe in Jesus for the remission of our sins, we are part of the body of Christ. When looking for a church, pray about it and ask God to help you find the right place for you. God bless, LVZ   

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

 Don't excuse yourself by saying, "Look, we didn't know." For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve. Proverbs 24:12 (NLT).  As I thought about this verse, I remembered on my road trip in the year 2001,  I was driving through Eastern Washington on Hiway 2, in a small town. I saw something I wanted to look at, and immediately made a U-turn. I immediately got blue-lighted. The cop gave me a ticked for making an illegal U-turn. I said I didn't know; I didn't see a sign, and I certainly didn't see the cop. The cop said there are signs all along the road. After I was through getting the ticket, I continued driving and sure enough there was a sign on every block, NO U-TURNS, I just hadn't paid attention to them. He did write me a ticket. I think that was the year I got four tickets and My license was suspended. How many times have I done something like that and said I didn't know and in reality, I wasn't paying attention to the signs? God understands all hearts, and he sees you, just like that cop that I did not see saw me make an illegal U-turn. He who guards your soul knows you well. Romans 2:6 (NLT) says: He will judge everyone according to what they have done. Or how about Job 34:11 (NLT): He repays people according to their deeds. He treats people as they deserve. Proverbs 5:21 (NLT): For the LORD sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. When we stand before God we will not have an excuse, God sees all that we do, he even knows our motives. God's record does not lie. We will be repaid for the actions of our life. If we give even a cup of water to a needy person God will repay. This is not all bad, if our deeds are good, we will get what we deserve. We don't work our way into heaven through good deeds, but we will be rewarded for the deeds we have done. The important question will be what have you done with Jesus? God bless, LVZ

Fossil Fuels

 Green energy, electric vehicles, water reservoirs at dangerous levels for producing electric power. This comes at a time when the government is pushing electric vehicles which will put more pressure on our water reservoirs for producing electricity for electric vehicles.  Climate change according to experts will get worse. Take the lives that were lost in Texas in a recent winter when the wind turbines were frozen, and the solar panels were covered with snow and could not produce electricity at a critical time. At the same time, we have an abundance of fossil fuels that God has blessed us with, and we are not using because of the same climate change experts. We do not want to use or produce nuclear energy either. It feels like the left will be fighting against itself as the two needs collide Farmers need more water for food production and often are restricted from getting all the water they need (California, leader in leftism), by the government that is pushing for electric vehicles that are vying for the same water to produce more electricity for electric cars.  I just don't see how this can end well without using fossil fuels. How we need President Trump in office. I am sure the 87,000 new IRS agents will target conservatives. But don't we all cross those left / right boundary issues at some point? We have many issues more than the current hot button issues. Will individual left leaning people cross that boundary at some point and also be a target of the 87,000 new IRS agents? That remains to be seen, but I predict it will happen as most things the left does comes back to bite them. God bless, LVZ

Psalm 116:15

 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. Psalm 116:15 (KJV). Lost another friend. This woman was younger than me. Her husband died two years ago. They were pillars in our church. I am a person that is moved to tears easily, always have and probably always will. It is my makeup; I can't change it. I shed some tears during the funeral. I have never been to their home, but they were church family. I did consider them friends. They did a lot for our church, a blessing to our community. We don't work for our salvation, but we do build up treasure in heaven. I think the Patterson's will have many treasures in heaven. There is reason to rejoice, Gail no longer suffers from cancer and cancer treatments. She is reunited with her husband and probably other family members that I do not know.  Some things you won't find in heaven, handicap parking spaces, hospitals, Hospice centers, Doctor offices, wheelchairs, crutches, eyeglasses.  I don't know if I ever thought about that until Pastor said in his sermon, there will be no handicap parking spaces in heaven. Did you ever think about the things that will not be in heaven. Will we lose the memories of those loved ones that didn't make it?  No tears, no headaches, no backaches. I've known many people that expect their loved pets to be there. I don't know, I don't find scripture that says so. There will be joy. We that believe in Jesus, we expect to find him face to face.  I heard a man say recently he made a date with his wife that died before him. Another friend said he would meet his father by the eastern gate. I don't know who all will be there. There is a saying the biggest surprise in heaven will be the people we thought would be there and are not and the ones we didn't think would make it and are there. I have thought about it, and I don't know the number of my days. I plan to be there. I'm a southerner, I was even born in SOUTH Dakota. When the day comes, I'll swing by the southern gate in the New Jerusalem. There is scripture that says: Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8 (NLT). Scripture also says when Christ returns the dead in Christ will rise first, then we that remain will be caught up with them in the air. I thought about my last colonoscopy, one minute I am talking to a nurse, and it seems the next moment I am waking up from the anesthesia and wonder what happened. Time did pass (I don't know how much time) but it seems I was just talking to the nurse.  I don't have all the answers, but I do know eternity never ends.  I thought about the time I gave an old suit to a family that asked for it so they could bury their son and brother. I was worried it was too small, they said not to worry, the funeral home would make it work even if they split it in the back. I don't think we will be wearing the clothes we were buried in; will God clothe us as he calls up yonder? What about those that are called up in the rapture in their pajamas? Or what if we are taking a shower at the rapture. The creator has it all figured out as he also has a place prepared for us.  Just some silly thoughts, but some day we will have the answers. God bless, LVZ. 

 

 

In The Shadow Of The Cross

A beautiful song I first heard by a German Quartet. My Dad had a record of it, and I use to love to listen to that even in German.  I didn't understand German so I looked up the words. In my mind I can still hear it.

1. In the shadow of the cross let me hide,
   There the Savior for my sins bled and died;
   There the precious, cleansing fount
   Flows so free from Calv’ry’s mount,
   In the shadow of the cross let me hide.
   • Refrain:
     In the shadow of the cross I will rest,
     For with everlasting peace I am blest;
     Here I dwell in love unknown,
     Streaming down from heaven’s throne,
     In the shadow of the cross I will rest.
2. In the shadow of the cross, blessed place!
   Living only for the Lord, by His grace;
   What He says I’ll gladly do,
   Ever standing firm and true,
   In the shadow of the cross, blessed place!
3. In the shadow of the cross, safe retreat,
   Ever sitting lowly at Jesus’ feet;
   While His presence is so near
   I shall never, never fear,
   In the shadow of the cross, safe retreat.
4. In the shadow of the cross, here I meet,
   In communion with my Lord, oh, how sweet!
   And my soul is borne above,
   While I revel in His love,
   In the shadow of the cross, here I meet!

Cell Phones a curse or a blessing

We used to live without cellphones, now if I forget mine when I leave the house,  I go back to get it if I am going to be gone for more than a few minutes. We don't worry about long distance anymore. Or saving money by calling collect to someone who is not there to let family know we made it home OK. Remember those days? We no longer have to look for a pay phone, or we kept track of the dollar pay phones. Never lost the phone when it was hanging on the kitchen wall. Ever been to dinner with someone that has to take their phone calls during a dinner with a group of Friends. Or has your cell phone rung in church because you forgot to turn it off? Curse or a Blessing? At times it is both. What if you're out on the road broke down somewhere, it is sure nice to have that cell phone or even see an emergency and can call immediately.   I can take pictures with my cell phone and even videos. I don't need to wear a watch.  A good cellphone cost as much as a computer. (It is a computer).  I keep a list of books I want to buy and read in the notes area. It has a built-in phone book for all your important calls. I can bank with it, even take a picture of a check and deposit it. It can tell me how long I was on the phone. It takes messages and sends texts. It is hard to keep track of Elders and Deacons, three new ones are added and three roll off every year, I have a list in my phone. I have a list of safety team members in my phone. It is an alarm to remind me of meetings.  I have a note for lawnmower parts, like blades and oil filter numbers. I have air filter sizes listed for the house. It has a search engine (it is a computer) to look up stuff. I can use it as a GPS. I can look up area maps. I can check on the weather and get weather call for a tornado coming my way. I can answer the doorbell even away from the house.  It is even my Bible, and I can get dozens of different versions on it. It can be a curse like when people text while driving and cause accidents. It has a calendar on it, and I can get reminders of birthdays and important dates. With a cellphone one should never ever forget their anniversary no matter how busy they get. It's a curse because Facebook, Twitter, MeWe and Truth Social are at your fingertips. I still miss important calls when I'm in the shower and forget to look at it when I get out. I can't hear it ring on the lawn mower. My grandkids have two middle names and I have then written down as well as birthdays. I still can't think of everything, I bet this list could be twice as long. I can block robo calls and others that annoy me.  Bored waiting for your spouse, it has solitaire and sudoku on it.  I forgot to read my scripture today, time to pull out the cellphone.  God bless, LVZ.

Encouragement

 We love encouragement. Just talking about answered prayers with several members of the safety team I am on, I was encouraged by the stories of answered prayer. I think when a person has learned to trust God and you see his faithfulness in supplying our needs, and you tell your stories it encourages others to trust God. A friend talked about his desire for a fishing rod and his job didn't pay that much in the early days. But he had been saving for his fishing rod and a need came up to repair a tire and he spent his money he had been saving for the fishing rod to fix the tire. His wife asked him how he was doing as far as saving for his fishing rod and he explained about using the money for the fishing rod to fix the tire. His wife was disappointed that he had used his money for the fishing rod to fix the tire. He said when the time is right God will provide as they walked into Walmart. As they were walking in the parking lot, he saw something blowing in the wind ahead of them. He put his oldest daughter down (as he was carrying both of them) and told her to step on that paper blowing in the wind. His daughter stepped on it and it was a $50 bill. He went in and got his fishing rod that day. It is incidents like that that build our faith in God. God does provide our needs and sometimes even out wants.  I told a story of my own, I had made a bad decision to marry someone I had no business even being in a relationship with. It was not going good and as I prayed one day about the relationship as I was driving down the street. I told God, I really didn't know what to do, I know God hates divorce, but I felt this woman was cheating on me. She didn't want a divorce and I couldn't prove she was cheating on me although I felt like she was. We were separated and living in different places. As I was praying about my situation, I said God I can't see what you see, and I really don't know what to do. Is this person really wanting to fix things and am I being too hasty in wanting a divorce?  I felt impressed to turn one or two blocks over because the street I was on was where she was living at the time, and I didn't want to appear to be spying on her and drive past her house. As I pulled up to cars in line at a stop sign on the street a short way over from where she lived, I was about 4 cars back, I saw her walking across the street at the intersection in front of us. I watched as she went to the gas station and got into a van. It was the van of the guy I thought she was cheating with. Then it is like I heard a voice in my head say, I showed you this so you would know, don't go over there and make a fool of yourself. I was at peace with seeking a divorce. I did not go over there and make a fool of myself. One other time I got a phone call in the middle of the night. I didn't know who called, but they said if you want to know where your wife is she is at the Motel 6 in Skyway. I drove by the Motel 6 on the way to work the next morning and saw the van I recognized in the parking lot. I came by later about the time I thought they would be leaving and sure enough as I was walking toward the parking lot entrance, here they came, I waved to let them know I saw them and went on my way.  It is not worth going to jail over someone that has no morals, and it is better to just walk away. It took a while, but I did get my divorce. I say that story because even though I put myself in that situation God still helped me in the midst of my trouble. I have never forgot how God answered that prayer in my time of turmoil. God is concerned for our welfare and loves us. Even in that situation where I did it to myself, God still helped me out of it.  I am encouraged by thinking back on my own answered prayers and the answered prayers of others. God bless, LVZ.

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. 1Thessalonians 5:11 (NLT).

Freedom

 I love Freedom.  This thought comes to me because of Dennis Prager's 250th fireside chat. Dennis told about not wanting to eat dinner at home with his parents when he was 15 years old. His parents allowed it and gave him $1.50 on weeknights to get his own dinner. It was a freedom thing to him. And as he travels, he always rents a car to get himself around.  I identify with that and so I wanted to explore the ways I love freedom. Slaves yearn to be free, but human nature wants to be taken care of until we get old then we really want to be independent as long as we can. I wanted to leave home at 18. I didn't like my home life and I wanted to leave as soon as I could.  A very kind couple took me in and allowed me to stay with them until I could get a job and be on my own. I am very grateful to them to this day. I am sure I could have stayed with them longer than I did but I loved my freedom as a young man. I didn't have a great job, but I managed. I ate a lot of spaghetti in those days, and I could fill up the gas tank on my car for $6.00. It was tight but I loved being on my own. I loved to travel, road trips as I call them. I would take a month off and get in my pickup with a canopy and sleep in the back and get a shower in the morning at a Truckstop. I didn't like paying for the cost of a motel especially if I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep. I felt like it was wasted money. On a road trip if I had trouble sleeping, I'd get up and drive until I got sleepy and try again.  When I went through my first divorce at age 38 to 39, I stayed at Mom's house for just a short while and I just didn't like it, it wasn't my space. I lived in the back of my pickup with a canopy for a while, I'd take clean clothes and go into the exercise area where they had showers and get a shower in the morning and go to work. I was still paying the mortgage and the other bills where my ex and children lived, including groceries and didn't feel like I could afford rent anywhere for myself. That is until security at my place of employment caught me and said I could not do that, I had to get a place to live. My first option was renting a room in a house, I did not like that. I soon found a cheap studio apartment in a bad section of town with a shared bathroom. I liked that much better having my own space. My landlord had a very small one-bedroom apartment in a better part of town for a little bit more money and I moved there. About the same time my ex reported me to support enforcement for not paying child support. That was actually a blessing, they set my child support at $500 a month. A lot less then I was paying for the mortgage, telephone, electricity and groceries where my ex and children were living. Because I had checks to show where I paid for all that stuff, I did not owe any back child support.  When you look at all this stuff, I really did value my freedom. Once on a road trip I stopped at an aunt and uncle's house to spend the night. I was welcome but they noted I was just like my dad, just show up without any warning. I don't like to plan trips and don't know when I will be anywhere, so I didn't do that again. I realized how inconsiderate it was to just show up without any warning. We are in danger of losing our freedoms that we love so much with our bickering back and forth for power between the left and right. We want power and control, but do we realize what we are giving up having that power and control. Once our freedom is gone it will be very hard to ever get it back again. Think about all the freedoms you have, is it really worth it to lose it to have control of the other side? When one side gets that control, in reality we all will lose our freedoms, because it will be the political elites that will then control all of us. In the end we all lose.  One side's politicians will win but we will all lose in the end, and it will be the few and powerful in Washington that will control us all. God bless, LVZ. 

One Mina Person

 I can't remember what I wrote last week, or even a few days ago. Sometimes I read old posts and I absolutely do not remember writing it. Years back I visited a church in Tacoma, about late 1980's I think. Some years later I visited and actually started attending this church at their new location, in about 2010. New visitors would meet with the pastor after the service, and I told the Pastor about a prior visit at the former location near the Tacoma Mall. I remember he had a white picket fence as a visual for his sermon in the late 1980's. He knocked the fence down as part of his sermon. Oh yes, he said I preached that in January of 1989 I think he said. I can't even remember what I wrote a week ago. He remembered the Sunday; he preached it possibly 20 years earlier. I know some people have photographic memories and he may be one of those people. He was a very good pastor, and I really enjoyed attending his church. My current Pastor is really good at breaking down the word in a format that is useable and often the sermon sticks with me for days as I ponder his sermon and try to apply these things to my life. I don't have the talent these men have. But I read the word for myself and ponder the scriptures every day. Even if we can't quote the scriptures word for word (I even try to memorize scriptures at times), it becomes a part of us. Like putting on clothes. I might compare myself to a one talent servant or a one mina servant. But God expects even the one talent servant or the one mina servant to at least put the money in a bank and draw interest on it and not bury and hide it in the ground. Luke 19:11-27 tells the parable of the ten servants who were giving minas to work with while the master was gone. Matthew 25:14-30 is the parable of the three servants given bags of gold or talents depending on the version Bible you read. The Luke parable was about ten servants. The servants were not given equal amounts of minas or talents, but they were all expected to use what God gave them. A talent was worth about twenty years wages for a laborer according to the footnotes. A mina was about 3 months wages for a laborer according to the footnotes in my Bible. I do different things, like this blog where I try to persuade readers to follow Christ as I have. I say it was the most important decision of my life to follow Jesus.  I don't have a big following on this blog, nor do I have a big following on the First Step Prayer that I facilitate once a month. But I feel God laid these things on my heart to do. I at least want to draw interest on the talent or the mina that God gave me. I remember when God was dealing with me many years ago and it was like God said, "If you think being a Christian is so easy, then show them how it is done." I was very critical of Christians back then when God was dealing with me, and I have learned that Christians are not perfect.  But as I pray and as I read scripture and ponder it on these posts, I feel I am trying to show how it's done. Just going to Church does not make you a Christian any more than going to a barn makes you a cow. Somewhere along the way you have to decide to follow Jesus. You take whatever task the boss gives you to do and just do it the best you can.  I feel I am only a one talent / one mina servant, but I at least want to do something with what God has given me and occupy until he returns for me. The King James version of Luke 19:13 says: And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.   Do something if you claim to be a Christian and be busy, do business until Christ returns. My pastor spoke about this a few weeks past and perhaps I have already written about it. Whatever secular job you may have, you also have a boss in Jesus and sometimes he just wants you to be an example of a good productive employee. Living the principles of God's word in day to day living.   You don't have to be a Preacher or a Bible teacher to work for God. Do what you do the best you can and live for Jesus to the best of your ability. Just be the best one mina person you can be and occupy, do business until Jesus returns. God bless, LVZ.

The Raid

 It seems obvious the raid on Trumps home is purely political. I sometimes wonder if everything the left does backfires. They have just given another reason to elect President Trump again. Why is the left so afraid of Trump?  Trump put Americans first for his 4 years in office. Even if they are for globalism, another 4 years is no big deal. But so much corruption has been exposed, and it is I believe the reason they are scared. They say they are looking for classified info that Trump might have and shouldn't have, but I think they allowed Hillary to have an unprotected home e-mail server with classified info on it and it seems it was OK.  We saw Martha Stewart arrested and jailed for insider trading and yet that seems to be common place in the DC swamp. Pelosi's husband trading on insider information from her.  It seems like they are going after everyone for the very things the left is doing themselves. Talk about lies, they discount Hunters laptop, and believe a false dossier about Trump. The raid is simply another attempt to try and prevent Trump from running again. It seems everything they do points to the fact we need him again. I think it is backfiring and I really hope it is. Trump has attitude but has done the country no harm. I can handle a few mean tweets, as he puts America back to energy independence and makes America respected around the world again.  Even Biden has had to start working on the border wall, as southern states ship the illegals to Washington DC. I hope another 4 years of Trump will be long enough to finish the border wall. A few mean tweets are nothing compared to border security, energy independence and lower gas prices, less inflation, and so much more. I am ready for Trump again. God bless, LVZ.

Negative VS Positive

 I was just thinking how negative sounding my post Freedom Of Speech was.  Then it dawned on me I was reading leftist stuff.  Isn't that what the left is, negative? BLM is protesting, wanting to destroy the nuclear family. What about all the protests, starting with Ferguson MO, was that not mostly negative?  Destroying businesses in their path. IS that why they always seem so angry and destructive? If hatred is in out hearts wouldn't what comes out of our mouth be destructive?  I think of listening to Dennis Prager, and the often happy tone of his fireside chats. I think of his book, Happiness is a Serious Problem. We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal that endowed by their creator with certain [inherent &] inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.. There it is again in our declaration of independence, the pursuit of happiness.  I really want to be more positive and happy, I guess I need to quit reading leftist opinions and literature. Then I thought of some of the things the Bible tells us to do:  Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourself with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowances for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all clothe yourself with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. Colossians 3:12-15 (NLT). And: But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things. Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT). I think I need to read the Bible before I post and leave the leftist literature alone. Do you see the difference? What God desires for us to develop in our hearts; tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and PATIENCE (one really needs that in dealing with the left). How about making allowances for each other's faults?  There is that word forgive again.  Above all, most important is to clothe yourself with LOVE.  How I need these things in my life.   And didn't I see joy somewhere in those passages?  I need the Bible and the attributes it tells me to put on, how about you?  God bless, LVZ.

A Choice

 People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD. Proverbs 19:3 (NLT). Interesting Proverb and as I read it I thought back to a time in my life when I was angry with God. I guess I blamed him for what imperfect people did. He made us that is true, but he gives us free choice, we make decisions every day to follow God or to not follow God. God's way is the best way but often we fail at living life God's way. Do we blame God for the choices we make? He gives us free choice. If we end up in hell it is because we chose to be there. I often think of the time I returned to being a Jesus follower, the evangelist made a statement or actually asked a question, what have you done with Jesus? Have you accepted him as Savior and Lord or have you rejected him. If you ever had a time in your life when God confronted you and asked you to follow him, you said either Yes or No. If we said yes, we did an about face from the way we were headed and started walking a different direction. If we said no, we chose a life without him. It was our choice. God bless, LVZ.

Freedom Of Speech

 I am going to try BlogSpot again. I know I was censored but it seems maybe google has allowed freedom of speech again. ? Maybe?  Speech is not free if you can only express opinions that the left agrees with. The left has been exposed for their double standards and their lies. Opinions do not even have to be based on facts, its what you think. Then the left prints books like White Fragility and White Rage and I'm like no wonder they are confused if this is the only stuff they read. A chapter about Obama with the title of  "How to unelect a Black President,"  I kept trying to find what they are talking about. They were talking about Obama  and it seems someone said something bad about Obama. He was elected to two terms and served them to the end. He didn't get taken out of office prematurely. I can't think of any President that the other side didn't say something bad about. That's all you got? Reagan was shot, Kennedy was shot and killed. Every president has had some crazy say bad stuff and even threaten to kill them. I heard bad stuff about Nixon, Kennedy, LBJ, Carter, Ford, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama and Trump. Oh, and don't forget Biden, even his side is saying bad stuff about him. So far just saying bad stuff hasn't unelected him either.   So we had a black President for two terms and that is all we can have from now on, a black President? I didn't understand the chapter at all. It didn't make sense. Obama was elected for two terms, he filled both of those terms, Is every President from then on supposed to be black?  They are the ones that selected Biden, a white man. I worked with a guy that was delayed at an airport because of Obama flying in and other flights were delayed. He was not an Obama fan, and he said why don't they just shoot the @#$*&^. He was called aside and interrogated for a couple of hours. He learned not to say stupid stuff even in jest.  The left doesn't like the supreme court decision so a crazy wants to kill a justice and they protest outside their homes. Don't worry about me reading leftist books and become a leftist. I'm not that crazy. If that is all they read and listen to no wonder, they are idiots. The cunt cap crazies, the BLM that burn down black businesses and destroy black businesses, and they are supposed to be for blacks? With friends like that who needs enemies.  They don't seem to understand if they destroy this country and the right loses their freedoms, so will the left lose the freedoms they have. Are they all insane? Everything the left touches they destroy. They have a right to their opinions like White Rage, and White Fragility. Opinions don't have to be based on facts and can be full of lies. But don't suppress everyone that disagrees. Most of it doesn't even make sense, like how to unelect a black president that served a full two term to the term limits.  Its garbage and it doesn't make sense. God help us. LVZ. 

Diversity

 I am thinking about the diversity I see in God's created beings. Especially his greatest creation, his image bearers. I look at the trees in the forest, and each one is unique. There are cedars, alders, maples, pine, hemlock, cascara, mimosa, dogwoods, apple, plum, pear and so on. But even in each species, like the cedar, no two are identical. This one has a top split into two, or that one has a broken branch halfway up, no other cedar has one exactly the same. Millions of them, but no two alike. I look at the uniqueness of God's image bearers, the eyes are spaced differently, the nose is different, the ears are different, the mouth is different. Different shaped heads yet specific patterns immerge. I come from a family of 4 brothers and 4 sisters. We have a family resemblance to one another yet some look more like Dad's features, and others more like Mom's features, yet no two are identical. My two youngest sisters have a dad shaped head, yet one has blond hair and blue eyes like our grandfather on Mom's side, the other brown hair like dad's side and brown eyes. I remember my Uncle Joe as he aged, he reminded me more and more of Grandfather Hauff. Is it any wonder that this God of creativity does not make us to talk and think exactly the same? I look at the body of Christ with so much diversity, is it no wonder that there are so many denominations just within the body of Christ, yet we all believe in the virgin birth and a Second coming of our Savior. Should we expect them to think exactly alike? I visited 12 different churches in Verona a few years ago and it was like each had its own personality. They all believe that Jesus died for our sins. I picked a church 10 years ago to belong to and at first, I thought how I will ever find one to replace the one I left in Tacoma. But 10 years later, I think I actually hit the jackpot. I didn't know the people all that well in the beginning but today I think it surpasses what I left. How could I be so blessed? There is a diversity in God's creation that simply amazes me. Male and female, he created them and yet so diverse. The sound of our voices so diverse we can tell each other apart by the sound of our voice. Some can sing beautifully, and others can't carry a tune. Then we have Willy Nelson, Johnny Cash, John Denver, and Elvis Presley. Some have a southern accent and others that North Dakota accent like we heard in the Movie "Fargo". Down here you hear the word bypass and on the west coast it was the freeway. In LA it was the 5, the 405, and the 605. There is so much diversity even in thought, yet all are image bearers of our creator. I have made financial decisions, some good, some bad, I suffered for the bad and was blessed by the good. I also decided to follow Jesus, some chose a different path. It is their choice. But I believe there are eternal rewards for following God. I also believe there is a different eternal destination for those who reject Jesus. It is a choice we make. So many choices in life, the autos we drive, the homes we live in, the neighborhoods we choose to live in. But the Bible tells us there is one way to God through Jesus Christ. There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12 (NLT). We cannot change our looks that much (aside from plastic surgery) sun tans, long hair, short hair, and even today there are choices like green or red or blue hair, but can we change the shape of our mouth, or the distance between our eyes? There are gray areas in the Bible, but some black and white, is it any wonder there is so much diversity in thought? With all this diversity there is still just one way to God. God bless, LVZ.

A Theologian

I am going to post something on this site again and see how it will be viewed. I liked this site better but I believe it has been censored since March of 2020. 

No matter how hard I try I don't feel I can measure up to the abilities of my pastor and other pastors/theologians I listen to. Over the years I have learned a lot from various pastors, Scooter Noland, Bill Wolfson, Charles Stanley, Andy Stanley, and so many others and sometimes in the books I read. But I am still a theologian, not anything like the ones I just listed. If we are Christian, we need to be in the word of God on our very own. I guarantee my theology in a large part is influenced by these Pastors I spoke of. Over the years I will often forget who said what and fail to give credit. But still a very big part of my theology is because I am in the word for myself. I believe that is how we learn to discern between a good word spoken and heresy. We each need to prayerfully be in the word for ourselves. There is nothing or no one that can replace our individual study. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. John 16:13 (NLT). But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative--that is, the Holy Spirit--he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. John 14:26 (NLT). I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11 (NLT). When we become a Christian the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. The Holy Spirit will teach us, but we need to be students of the Word ourselves. I believe that is fundamental to knowing truth is being a student of the word. We really all need to be theologians. I do not have the gifts and abilities of those that preach and teach the word, but I still need to study on my own and look to the Holy Spirit to teach me. I need to hide it in my heart. This is spiritual food and we need it daily just as we need physical food and drink to live, so that our spiritual life can be nurtured and grow up in Christ. Being in the word is just as important as physical food and drink. This blog as I ponder spiritual things, is my attempt to show how it is done. To be a witness in my own way of the things God has done in me along this journey called Christianity. Perhaps an arm chair theologian is a good way to put it. God bless, LVZ.