Animal Stories

 In another small town, I used to live in there was a Civil War mansion. It was huge and intrigued me, to say the least. Made out of beautiful red bricks and columns that were carved in so much detail. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that it had been a plantation at one time. One day I dared to walk up to the door and knock. An elderly man came to the door dressed as like a butler would have worn clothes back then.  

I asked him if I could talk with the owner of the mansion. He told me to go around to the back door and he would tell her that she had a visitor. I began to feel a little strange. Nonetheless, I did as he said. Truth is stranger than fiction, believe me. He led me into a big room filled with old antiques. A huge table draped with a crocheted table cloth. A centerpiece of an old harvest basket...very old and dusty was placed in the middle of the table. A very tall woman entered the room wearing a flowing silk robe. She had long thick flowing black hair. She sat down at the table and didn't say a word. I introduced myself and she said hello. The room began to feel cold or maybe anxiety was happening to me.

I told her I was very interested in the mansion and could she tell me a little about herself. She said the man was her husband. I began to feel a little more normal at that point. She slumped in the chair as if she didn't want me there. "Are you surprised that I'm in my nightgown at this time of day"? She asked me without a smile but in a very monotone voice. I told her no. I asked her if she had lived there very long and she said twenty-five years. I told her that I desired to see the inside of the mansion and I also wanted to ask her if she was a Christian. She said that she never left the house. She added that she wrote animal stories and hundreds of them had been published. She started talking about animals and how she left a little water spout drip a little for a stray animal that should come by. The look on her face let me know that she did not want to talk about Jesus at all. 

My first and last thought as I was escorted out of the mansion was that she was a real witch. Was she? Maybe. I thought it was very interesting that she did not say goodbye to me. She did hear from me that Jesus died for our sins. It was good to get out in the fresh air where it was warm. Even as I write this that strange feeling comes over me. What God did with that visit I may never know.

 

The Tape Recorder

God will call you to do the most unique things. While in another town visiting my brother and his family I was told about my cousin who had brain cancer and was dying at home. I asked if it would be possible for me to go see him and they said that he didn't want anyone coming to visit. It was sad news for he was a very young man about thirty years of age, but God had a plan.

When I returned to my home God called me to do something I had never done before. Stanley came to mind and his soul was lost. One evening my husband brought home an old tape recorder from where he worked. He thought I would enjoy it. I bought some tapes to record on and the first thing that came to mind was Stanley. The Holy Spirit was leading me on this one I knew. God was calling me to make a tape for Stanley telling him about God. I began talking to him about dying and how he needed the Lord because heaven and hell were real. Then came the reading of scriptures to him. Many of them.

I then mailed it to him and about a week later I got a thank you card in the mail from his Mother. Stanley had passed, but she said he had listened to the tape for hours upon hours and just before he died he told her that he loved God!! Oh!! What joy filled my heart!! He went to heaven. If God calls you to do something He will do it!

Paper Hearts

This is not about the origin of Valentine's day, but rather the heart of our Savior who loves His children. John MacDuff says it best:

 Does a mother's love exceed all other earthly types of affection?

    "As one whom his mother comforts--so will I comfort you."

He loves His children in tender ways that we can only know as He allows us to experience. His love is not of earthly manner, but the eternal we cannot explain. He will never condemn His children or hurt them. He is above the earthly father we wished for and never had. 

On this day of Paper Hearts let us set ours on eternal thoughts and give thanks for all that He has given us in this life and the life to come!

Troubles Troubles Bats and Grubbles

CS Lewis once said, " Three hundred years ago people in England were putting witches to death. ... It may be a great advance in knowledge not to believe in witches: there is no moral advance in not executing them when you do not think they are there". What does a witch look like, we wonder? We know they are evil, but could you spot one at a glance? Why is this important to our faith anyhow? So many questions, but we will try to find some answers.

We know for a fact that they do not look like either of the witches in the movie, "The Wizard of Oz". No warts on the nose or black pointed hats. No white shimmering blonde who sounds too good to be true. Both are evil. We know that there is no such thing as a "good witch". May our children be spared from this hellish movie. I have posted a witch who claims to be a real one. If we were putting witches to death in this century do you think she would be bragging about her profession? Hardly. She would be hiding in a dark hole somewhere.

The fact is real witches do exist. In Salem, they set their alarm clocks for 3:00 am every night so they can wake up and pray to their master, the devil. They love to be surrounded by flickering candles. They drink each other's blood. Today we have the "contemporary witch" who practices "seductive psychology". This really hits home when we think about how it affects our faith. The Apostle Paul warned us to put away Philosophy due to its worldly view of life and God. Faith in God alone, not of man's wisdom!

A Donut Is Not a Lamp

Don't you just love it? Not the donut, but the absolute truth behind the statement. Been thinking about this controversial thing of absolutes that thrive in our culture today. Heard a good joke the other day. A man told God that he could make another person. He told God to wait just another minute while he ran to get some dirt. God told the man, "You get your own dirt"! Get the meaning? Only God can create dirt. Science proves that man cannot create dirt.

Math seems a little out of whack these days. Common Core math says that we can make an equation anything we want it to be. So there is much deception in Math today...2+2=5 it shouts. There are no morals in Math, so it is easy to manipulate the thinking of mankind. There are no absolutes in Math, that is if you are dead in your sins and do not know the truth.

A lot to think about when trying to prove there is a God. Can you prove the fragrance of a violet flower? Can you explain it? You can't see the fragrance or touch it, so it is with God. When Jesus said, "You must be born again" he goes on to talk about the wind and how it blows. The sweet Holy Spirit operates in the same way. He touches whomever the Father tells him to and causes the dead conscience to come alive so the Spirit of man can be born again. The only way I can prove a living God is when He touched me and I came alive to the "truth".

 

The Mayflower II

In the mid-80s a handful of wealthy businessmen met together and formed a plan like none other since 1776. It was a wonderful dream that could have come true and who knows with its powerful thought could one day really happen.

The first case of AIDs took place in Australia and soon spread to the United States. During that decade homosexuals began to dance in the streets announcing that the time had come for them to celebrate their wickedness. A great uproar took place in this country and hence the dream of "The Mayflower II" was born.

The dream consisted of a ship carrying only young men and women would flee the upcoming dread of those wicked days ahead. The old would have to say their goodbyes to the young. These businessmen had sought out a huge strip of land in the Caribbean to build their new world. It would take them at least a century to complete the blueprints for their country.

Today we are seeing what they saw on a small scale. The dream wasn't in God's plan, but they were filled with ambition to escape the horrors that would come upon this nation. We too often have that dream of leaving for another place where only we would abide with other Christians. That day is coming my friend sooner than we think. Christ has promised to return and take us back to a place where He has been preparing before the beginning of time. That will be our beloved  "Mayflower II".

We Do Not Fear God

 Friday morning she walked down that long hallway to take her last breath. She couldn't feel the white crisp sheets below her only minutes later. Age 38 and now she is ready to take her last breath on this earth. Being on death row for several years she came to know a minister who came to the prison often to see her. She got saved one year before her execution. Guilty of a murder she knew that God had forgiven her so she had peace beyond understanding. 

We fear eathly Judges, but not the ultimate Judge who will send us to our eternities. It will either be heaven or hell. There is no in-between. If you are a Christian it's most likely that you will never face that execution table, but we would do well to think about facing God before we take our last breath on this earth.

Fingerprint of God

My cell phone requires my thumbprint in order to unlock it. Technology today is a true wonder, isn't it? My thoughts exploded thinking about all of the thumbprints in the world! There are 7.8 Billion people on this planet and there are no two thumbprints alike! Just think about it and let your thoughts shine with the wonder of His majesty!  

Before the beginning of time, we were a blueprint in the mind of God. Satan will tell us that we are not, but rather we are something ugly that crawled out of nowhere according to Evolution. Thumbprints prove him wrong! They are something we never think about, so take a minute and think about how big God is! 

Regrets

 We all have them and the devil wants to make you sad by using them against you after you have been saved. The regrets are real and the happenings are real, but there is another side of the coin. What the enemy hates is that God teaches us to learn from those regrets and pass that wisdom along to the young girls today who are growing up. If you have been a drunkard you will no longer take a drink for you know how it can destroy your life and your loved ones. You won't need AA or any rehab. The desire for alcohol will be GONE. If you have committed adultery you will hate that sin and you will no longer have the desire to do it again. The hurt from that sin would be so ugly a bitter taste would linger in your mouth! 

There are also regrets of omission. Mothers have not taught their daughters to be young ladies who love God and His Word. They never held their children when they were growing up. They never got inside their world to know that little hurts mean great big hurts to them. They never learned how to love their children. Yes, we must be taught how to love. If we do not seek the teaching of older women who have grown in the faith we will have so many regrets when we are their age. Teach your daughters to love the kitchen. Teach them how to cook. Teach them how to sew. Look for their God-given gifts such as a love for musical instruments and encourage that child to pursue it. 

Use your regrets for teaching tools! 

King David Had...

The greatest human mystery in the Old Testament is about King David. He had three hundred wives and seven hundred concubines. God allowed this due to the hardening of their hearts back then. The mystery is he had no conviction of sexual sin with the concubines, but only with Bathsheba? 

Beware of Mormons like Glenn Beck! They still believe in having many wives. Many people listen to him I know, but they are not considering that he is a liar even when he speaks the truth about politics. He is a Wolfe in sheep's clothing!

Praise the Lord for sending Jesus Christ! He set it straight about a man having many wives. He said this was not so "in the beginning", it was one man and one woman. This is how God designed marriage. If you are a Mormon reading this maybe you have never been told that Jesus corrected the whole culture's thinking about marriage. 

Prayer Is a Dull Word

"I'm a shell of a man. My bones are decaying". There are two words that put the Christian in a depressed mood...Prayer and Death. We have left our first love...Jesus. Does anyone spend five minutes in prayer every day? We are so distracted by the cares of this world we fail and then we feel guilty. 

Jesus told us to go into our inner room and pray in secret. Then the Father will reward you. (Matthew 6:6) The "inner room" is not a place, but whether it is time alone with the Lord. We have drifted away from talking to God leaving us to the world who desires to devour us.

How do we get back to our "first love"? It must begin with prayer. If we spend three minutes a day alone with God perhaps our hearts will be turned back to Him who wants so much to bless us in all spiritual things. Above all, the blessing of really "knowing Him".

Saying Goodbye

Been thinking about the young men who gave their lives so we could be free. It's an awesome thought that these precious men who some might never have shaved or owned their first car would face death on the front lines at Normandy and other places like death camps in Korea.

What happens to a soldier who dies in the field? A few days before they left home they were in malt shops with their girlfriends. Maybe they had a birthday just before they boarded that military bus. They were proud to wear the United States uniform. These young men were filled with courage to the limit without knowing what they would face come that time when a bullet had their name on it. Mothers were filled with fears and tears. 

Does God call a young man to be a soldier? I believe so. We will never know how many gave their lives to Christ at those times, but the number must be staggering when they came close to death. Jesus said, "There will be wars and rumors of wars, but the end is not yet". Matthew 24:6. God knows the condition of this sick world and He was there on the battlefield when one young man among many called upon Him for eternal life. May we bow our heads in our hearts and remember them for being so brave at such a young age.

9 Days To Nowhere

What a strange "thing" has come upon the world. Our President has described it as a vicious and smart virus. Our daily lives have changed in only a few months to make us feel as if we are living in a communist country. We long for the days when we could eat in a restaurant gathered around the table with friends, but now we are ordered to stay away from each other for the sake of not spreading this virus. The nation has shut down and we have been ordered to stay at home. As a child of God, it makes me ponder where we are headed. 

Is it a judgment from the Lord as we grieve over millions of people who are without work? In the end, we shall say only one thing, "God's plan is unfolding".

To the world who is perishing God's plan makes about as much sense as the title of this article. To those of us who have the Holy Spirit, we rest in these words: GOD IS IN CONTROL OF THE UNIVERSE. The picture below comes from the worst Pandemic ever...the Spanish Flu in 1918. It took the lives of 50 million people. 

"If Only"

The two most famous words ever spoken by a lost humanity.  "If Only" Hitler hadn't come into power..."If Only" the Titanic had swayed to the left that horrible night. A little closer to home would be the words "If Only" I had done it this way instead I would have a better life. These and a million other things whispered by souls who have blamed their sorrows on those two words. If I made a list in my life based on these words it would be very long indeed. I'm sure that Adam would never have partaken in the eating of that "forbidden fruit"  if he had known the outcome of it.

The good news is "God did know". We will never know the whys of great mysteries like the "holocaust" or our own decisions that took us down a road that if only we could go back and change we would do so in heartbeat. That old adage, "when life hands you a lemon, make lemonade" does not come from God. If we live in the flesh then "we have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel" adage crushes our trust in the one who created us. Then we live our lives in doubt before God as His child. We are a miserable lot and God should mop the floor with us! Whether we like it or not God orchestrated humanity to where we are today. No more "If Onlys" for us! Now, we must say "God is so Awesome no matter how things look". If we say anything other than this then we are made liars and we live in defeat inviting Satan to rob us of all joy salvation provided to those who trust in Jesus Christ.

Matthew 26:41 " Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Do You Love Your Children?

Your answer to that question will determine how you define the word "love". Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments". (John 14:15). Teach your children these and you will have sown great seeds of wisdom in them for life. First, teach them the Ten Commandments which are essential to every Christian. They are so important because they lay out a blueprint for living life God's way. Begin with these.

Later, teach them the only two commandments that are in the New Testament found in Mark 12:30-31 "30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[a] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] There is no commandment greater than these.”

These are the greatest commandments, but don't throw away the baby with the bathwater! The Ten Commandments have been tossed aside today as if they do not apply to us, but ALL scripture is essential for the Christian life! 

God's love is not mushy or romantic, it is just and full of mercy! 

Do You Want To Be Healed?

I encourage young women to contemplate this statement made by John MacArthur, "Women were created to have babies". That just about says it all according to God's government roles in this world. Is he being sarcastic and putting women on a lower scale than men? No. He is simply stating the truth in God's Word. God elevated a woman to the highest degree when she was chosen to give birth to the Savior of the world. Women were not designed to sign the Constitution of the United States. They were not to hold political office. Now, what does this have to do with the title question that Jesus asked?

Many Christian women are working and leaving their children for the world to raise. They will reap ungodly children and the cost will be a lifetime of sorrow. Do you love your children? Today society is under the rule of Satan, who demands the heavy burden that you are of little worth if you do love your children enough to take on the hard and endless task of raising them in the love and nurture of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You can be healed from the demands of this world if you want it. If you want it.

Who Has Bewitched You?

"Who" is the keyword here in Galatians 3:1-2... O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

My Dad was a staunch believer in "water baptism". He believed if someone was not water baptized they would never go to heaven. How sad to live with this doctrine that so burdens those who uphold to it! It brings sorrow to the living who has lost loved ones. 

The "Who" is without a doubt those who preferred living under the law instead of Grace. Also known as "Man's Doctrine". Did my Dad go to heaven? Yes, I believe he did because he believed in Christ. It is a shame though that he lived with such a Doctrine that put him under a heavy yoke. The "yoke" of Jesus is light and full of Grace.

Do Animals Go To Heaven?

Snails are so slow it must have taken them one hundred and twenty years to reach the Ark. That's how long it took Noah to build it. They probably made it just before God closed the big door. Maybe He even waited for them to get there. He loves His creatures and they are too numerous to mention. Just thinking about all of the fish in the sea staggers the human mind.

Some say animals go to heaven and some would disagree. In Revelation we see Jesus coming back on a white horse. We see in the new heaven and earth that the Lion will lay down side by side with the lamb. We should, however, be careful not to confuse "creature" belonging only to the animal kingdom.

Genesis 2:7

 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

I believe that animals do not have a soul, therefore, they will not continue after death as man does. The animal kingdom was not made in the image of God like a man. Man has a will and animals do not. Man has a Spirit. Animals do not. (Genesis 1:26-27). Only a Spirit can be raised from the dead unto a resurrection. The Lord created animals for our food here on earth as well as our enjoyment. When we get to Heaven we will never grieve for anything!

Do You Think It's Not Real?

In the middle '80s I found myself involved in a great and terrible regret. I want to warn you of something that very few Churches do today and that is "Church Discipline". I was zealous for the Lord and knew nothing of what was about to shake my world and leave me with a deep regret that I will never forget. 

A man and his wife had been married for several years. They had a ministry called "The Joy Ministry", but our Church was their home. One day he went to the Pastor and confessed that he had been having an affair with another woman for the last two years. Our Pastor was a very godly man and after much prayer decided to exercise Church Discipline on him because he was going to divorce his wife for the other woman. The Pastor pleaded with him not to do that, but he was determined to have his way. 

It took place on a Wednesday evening and only eight people showed up, including me. The couple sitting in front of me warned that my judgment could come back on my own head. I ignored the warning. The man refused to repent. The Pastor then asked for a vote from among us as to remove him from the Body or not. I was one of three who stood up and voted yes. 

Here is the warning: My motive for voting yes was done out of a self-righteous Judgement.  I would learn this a long time later. My vote was also done out of ignorance about Church Discipline. It was not even a year later when my vote did come back on my own head. If you ever encounter this in your Church make sure that you have been educated about this thing or else you will face a regret that will haunt you for the rest of your life.

The purpose of church discipline is the spiritual restoration of fallen members and the consequent strengthening of the church and glorifying of the Lord. When a sinning believer is rebuked and he turns from his sin and is forgiven, he is won back to fellowship with the body and with its head, Jesus Christ.

How Many Times Have You Heard It?

When a loved one hurts our feelings we hate them for their cruelty. Let's be honest, we do! Most of our life we have heard it said:

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good".
 (Romans 12:21)

Most Christians would give a comeback like "forgive them". Nice, but when the hate crops back up in the near future we see that we have not forgiven them. When someone hurts us it's so difficult to forgive because we love ourselves too much. If they would come to us and say they are sorry it would be so easy to forgive, but in my life, this has been rare. So, how do we overcome a hurt with good?

Probably each Christian would answer differently, but it has been my experience to completely forgive through the Holy Spirit when I examine the other person and what is going on in their life. When I put myself in their shoes, as the old adage goes, then I am overcome with sympathy for that person which leads me to pray for their situation. I overcome evil by praying for them and the hurts that they are going through.