A Gay Man

I loved him so much!  My brother, James, turned to homosexuality when he was twenty-six years old.  Before that he was deeply in love with a woman who chose someone else. He "chose" to turn.  He was so handsome, he could have been a movie star!  He lived in Kansas City, Mo and attended a Gay Church.  I witnessed to him every chance God gave me, but to no avail.

When I found out that he was dying of AIDS at the age of forty-nine my heart was broken. I called him immediately.  He told me not to preach to him.  He died two weeks later in his living room surrounded by his gay men friends.  God gave me grace over his death.

He is in eternity today and it is "forever".  When I think about being separated from God FOREVER I cannot bear the thought!  Eternity never ends!  I thank the Lord for going to the Cross to save those who would come to HIm.  My name is written in the Lamb's book of life and the struggles here cannot compare with the glory to come in heaven!  Just sharing my personal thoughts today.

I have decided!

My daughter said to me the other day, "Some people have a relationship with God and then there are those who have a relationship with Religion".  It was such a deep statement that I had to write something about it.  I'm on the internet a lot and sometimes I meet people who have never been born again.  I have some very precious friends online that are real in their lives about the Lord and I thank God for each one.  

How can we know if someone is really born again or not?  There have been tons of books written on the subject, so who am I to write one more thing about it?  For me it is the test of time and watching their lives that reveals the truth.  We are commanded in the Word to test "every" spirit to see whether or not they are of God. (I John 4:1).  Lay hands on no man suddenly (I Timothy 5:22).  Christians are not perfect, but the striving to be obedient to God must be there.

Only God knows the heart of a person, but testing the spirit is so important to the Body of Christ.  I have decided that if God has instructed us to do it, then we must and for those who belong to the Lord it would behoove us to examine even ourselves to see if we be in the faith. (2 Corinthians 13:5).  That's how essential it is to "test" every spirit!

Laura

About three years ago I met Laura.  She was holding a cardboard sign asking for help outside of Walmart.  When I was driving by the Holy Spirit gave me instruction to do something concerning her.  I was to make a sign and write John 3:16 on it and go to where Laura was standing the next morning at 10:00 am.  After I had been there for about five minutes she came over to stand with me.  As we talked she confided in me that she was the daughter of a Baptist minister.  She also told me that she lived with a man who had several girls working "the beat" for him in exchange for food and shelter.

I told her that God had told me to come and see her.  She said her father was too strict and she wanted to be out on her own.  She worked part time at McDonald's and then in the mornings she worked for this man.  She had no car so he took her to work and the place where she was to stand.  I told her that she must be very special if God wanted me to come and see her.  About an hour later the "man" showed up to get her and she told him she wasn't going with him.  He was very upset and gave me a hateful look as he drove off that I will never forget.

I don't know what became of Laura, but I know God did something in that young girl! I hope that she went back home to her parents.  Oh, the power of the Holy Spirit!

Character

Why are sweet memories so important?  I'm old now and they keep me warm on a cold winter's night.  Good memories build character.  Combining God's Word and sweet memories result in a child of God who will someday know that his Heavenly Father is loving. So many today find it difficult to relate to Him as loving.  This is a real dilemma for the Christian.  It hinders his walk in the faith and stunts his growth in his relation to God as his Heavenly Father.  How can we pass down the Father's love and power if we cannot relate to Him ourselves?

Most of us had fathers who were not loving and some of us had no father at all our lives. How can we get to know our Father in heaven?  Jesus said if we had seen him we had seen the Father in Heaven.  (John 14:7)  When we study the character of Jesus we see a compassionate Lord toward His people.  Our Heavenly Father is compassionate to His own and even in this life to those who will never know Him.  He is a compass of compassion. He is even loving in His discipline toward His children.

The Cross of Calvary is spelled "Compassionate".  This is how I see my Heavenly Father.

One Brownie

After much thought it behooves me to warn people about eating too much white flour and too much sugar.  Sounds simple I know, but in all reality these are the two killers among us in the Church today!  Our bodies are created by the living God and we are not to abuse them.(I Corinthians 6: 19-20). This article will address the Body of Christ.  There are some illnesses we cannot control, but most of them we can.

Heart disease and type 2 diabetes are illnesses brought on ourselves.  Today we are a "fast" generation and it is killing us!  Are we not warned in God's Word that if we are given to appetite then we should put a knife to our throats? (Proverbs 23:2).  I know you have heard this over and over about eating habits, but have we looked at it through God's Word?  Will over eating send you to hell?  No, but do you really want to leave your family so soon? I'm not a health food fanatic, but it is heavy on my heart that our children are so obese and some will even die from it!

When we go to a fast food place on a regular basis we do harm to ourselves. The Word tells us to do everything in "Moderation"!  There is an old saying, "It is alright to eat one brownie, but not the whole pan". 

May God help us to take care of our bodies so that we might serve the Lord with energy and have a good testimony to the world.  When you see an obese preacher, what is your first thought?  Oh, God deliver us from an ungodly appetite in the name of Jesus Christ!  Give us strength to do it Lord! Amen. 

500

In the spring of 1970 my heart became burdened about abortion.  I had received some information from Knights of Columbus and what I saw broke me into tears.  After all this time God has reminded me of something that is very important.  At that time the law in Missouri was abortion could only be done if the life of the Mother was in danger.  In this information sent to me I learned that there was an organization called the ACLU who would soon be coming up against the US Senate to legalize abortion.  

In the information I got from Knights of Columbus it said that if every "district" in the United States had only 500 signatures on a legal petition then they could win the fight against this group who wanted abortion on demand.  I went to a local lawyer and he was pro-life so he gladly drew up a petition for me costing only $5.00.  They were placed inside Churches and I went door to door for signatures.  A week later I went to pick up the petitions from Churches.  There was a total of eleven signatures!!  Disappointment could not have covered what I was feeling at that time.  The pastor of one Church was embarrassed and told me that he was sorry, but people were comfortable with the present law in Missouri.  How did my effort turn out going door to door?  I got two signatures.  One woman told me that her son had turned out to be a homosexual and she wished he had never been born!

What if every Church in the United States would sign this petition?  It would over turn Roe vs Wade, but you know I'm wondering if there would be anymore signatures today than back then?  Of course, we know that abortion on demand was legalized on January 22, 1973.  There are lots of petitions online, every time you see one please take the time to sign it.  

Thank you and May God stop the insanity of killing unborn human beings!

100 Years

Remembered an awesome thought today that gave me some real peace.  I have been fussing and fretting about some things in my life.  It came to me, "what will matter 100 years from now"?  We can get so wrapped up in the problems of this life that we tend to shut out what is really important!  There are three things people are consumed with daily: Will I have enough money to pay the bills this month?  Will I get cancer?  How can I make my life better?

Many years ago while we were having dinner with a friend, I was distressed about the price of gasoline.  He smiled and said, "Will it matter 100 years from now?"  I guess you could have hit me between the eyes with a big stick!  What will matter, really?  Eternity with Christ equals "peace"!  The pain I have today, those relationships that have gone bad, or trying to make the world a better place was suddenly of no great importance anymore.  We must remind ourselves that this life is "temporary".

Psalm 90:12

New International Version (NIV)

12 Teach us to number our days,
    that we may gain a heart of wisdom.