Well, one day last week Mother Nature changed up her routine from hot and dry to cool and wet, for a few hours. Yes, that was rain! Though it turned out to be just a tease of a couple of inches of precipitation, lawns, trees and flower gardens greedily drank it up and within 24 hours began to show their glory in living color once again. Amazing what a little rain water can do for foliage and attitude alike. If you’re like me, I get tired of the same weather day after day and especially when it’s hot and dry what seems like forever. This “Diablo Summer”, as one local weatherman has called it, has and continues to cause a lot of problems across the countryside. Farming and ranching has suffered greatly and the end is no where in sight. Fires have consumed the vegetation on thousands of acres of land and cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to homes and other property. Dry, shifting, settling earth, is causing building foundation problems and is evident on the front page of our local newspaper this past week. It seems the weather has affected our 127 year-old county courthouse. A big ole crack on the outside and some noticeable problems on the inside of one corner of the building have brought about an evacuation of a portion of the courthouse until a high powered engineering firm can determine what’s going wrong and what to do about it. Originally built to standards that would enable it stand forever, I guess the warranty just ran out. I suppose a few million dollars down the road we’ll get a new warranty.
One night a wife found her husband standing over their baby’s crib. Silently, she watched him for a few minutes. As he stood looking down at the sleeping infant, she saw on his face a mixture of emotions. Touched by his unusual display, she slipped her arms around her husband, “A penny for your thoughts,” she whispered. “It’s amazing,” he replied. “I just can’t see how anybody can make a crib like this for only $64.95.
[Isaiah 51: 4-8] I am encouraged when I pull my local newspaper from the mailbox and read at the top of the front page, “Thank God for the rain”. There are some, and in increasing numbers I might add, that say it’s all in the cycle of nature that we do or don’t get rain and eventually it has to start raining again. The God of the Bible is a powerful God and if he sees it a fit time to cut off the rain from the country, that’s what’s gong to happen. If the lack of rain, or an abundance of tornadoes, or numerous floods, or earthquakes is what it takes to bring us to our knees in prayer and repentance then so be it. Look at it this way. If you continually crash automobiles, will your insurance company continue replacing them? If you constantly fail courses of learning will you graduate from high school or college? No! In fact somebody is going to come down hard on you for your actions and deny you the benefits you seek. If we continually sin and disobey the Creator, if we constantly insist on having our own way, how can we expect to reap the benefits promised by God? No foundation on this earth is strong enough to withstand time. All earthly things will crumble and disappear in time so why invest your life totally in earthly pleasures? I’m convinced of life after death and for my need to get to know God and obey him and his righteous ways. Jesus, the bedrock of truth and righteousness, is everlasting and the only foundation worthy for building an everlasting life upon. No matter what happens in this life I am already devoted to the next life, eternal life with my God who loves me and chastises me.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Repentance Intervention
I took a few days off last week, joining my siblings and other family members for a little reunion. My elder sister organized it and for a change we got to enjoy one another in a different way than in the past ten years or so, as no one was sick nor were we about to bury a loved one. It seems my sister was always tending to logistics of the situation that brought us together and never had the time to relax and just be her self. Well, in a round-about way she suggested we leave our problems at home and come to enjoy a walk down memory lane as a family and friends. She had inherited all the stuff our parents had held dear to them, mostly photos, and as we went through them we even discovered things about the family we never knew. It was a great four days together and I enjoyed myself, except for one thing. You’d think at my age I would at least know to watch where I’m going, especially in a strange environment. While spending the afternoon at my nephew’s house, I was walking one way and looking another, and when I decided it was time to check my bearings, I turned to look and, WHAM! I walked straight into a spiral stairway bustin’ my head open. I did as good a job as any ten-year-old could and panic spread throughout the house like a wildfire. I had no intentions of sitting for hours in a Houston hospital ER waiting for stitches so talked my brother, a retired Navy Corpsman and civilian PA, into closing and patching the wound the best he could. Yeh, leave it up to me to liven up the party.
Leaving home was a little nerve racking as we’ve been experiencing a rash of burglaries in the area, but I left the homestead in the hands of the Lord, which worked out just fine. Everything was just as we left it, still no rain and the politicians are still out for themselves. One more of my predictions came to fruition. America’s Got Talent contestant, Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. won the top prize and well deserved it. “Silhouettes” came in second, but “iLuminated”, third place, was a much better presentation for me. Nevertheless, the show is nutty, goofy and great, just what the typical American family needs to be watching as an alternative to deceit, violence and spit in the Lord’s eye shows. I personally refuse to watch most of what’s on the four major networks. Pay TV was laughable in the ‘60’s, but soul saving in this present day.
[James 4: 13 - 5: 6] In the book, “Once Blind - The Life of John Newton” by Kay Marshall Storm, John perceived slave trading a sin and feared God’s wrath upon England because of it. His fight to abolish slave trading, standing on his own foundation of repentance and belief in God’s Word, John Newton had this warning for the Parliament of his day: “It is righteousness that exalts a nation, and wickedness is the present reproach, and will, sooner or later, unless repentance intervene, prove the ruin of any people.” We need to push the ACLU and like organizations attempting to abolish Christianity in this country aside, and instead of covering up references to God and Country in Washington and other capitals, we ought to be polishing them so they gleam in the eyes of our elected officials reminding them of how this country was born and who is truly maintaining her presence in the world. If no intervening of repentance is forthcoming, our grandchildren will not enjoy our freedoms. Our situation is not hopeless if put in the hands of God. “God saved me so that people would look at me and say, ‘If God could save John Newton, (your name?) He can save anyone.” Amen.
Leaving home was a little nerve racking as we’ve been experiencing a rash of burglaries in the area, but I left the homestead in the hands of the Lord, which worked out just fine. Everything was just as we left it, still no rain and the politicians are still out for themselves. One more of my predictions came to fruition. America’s Got Talent contestant, Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. won the top prize and well deserved it. “Silhouettes” came in second, but “iLuminated”, third place, was a much better presentation for me. Nevertheless, the show is nutty, goofy and great, just what the typical American family needs to be watching as an alternative to deceit, violence and spit in the Lord’s eye shows. I personally refuse to watch most of what’s on the four major networks. Pay TV was laughable in the ‘60’s, but soul saving in this present day.
[James 4: 13 - 5: 6] In the book, “Once Blind - The Life of John Newton” by Kay Marshall Storm, John perceived slave trading a sin and feared God’s wrath upon England because of it. His fight to abolish slave trading, standing on his own foundation of repentance and belief in God’s Word, John Newton had this warning for the Parliament of his day: “It is righteousness that exalts a nation, and wickedness is the present reproach, and will, sooner or later, unless repentance intervene, prove the ruin of any people.” We need to push the ACLU and like organizations attempting to abolish Christianity in this country aside, and instead of covering up references to God and Country in Washington and other capitals, we ought to be polishing them so they gleam in the eyes of our elected officials reminding them of how this country was born and who is truly maintaining her presence in the world. If no intervening of repentance is forthcoming, our grandchildren will not enjoy our freedoms. Our situation is not hopeless if put in the hands of God. “God saved me so that people would look at me and say, ‘If God could save John Newton, (your name?) He can save anyone.” Amen.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
I Believe
I'm taking a little vacation and havent written anything this week. Here's something I'd like to share with you. Get some tissues and find a quiet place to enjoy the next 5 minutes. www.andiesisle.com/creation/magnificent.html (Copy and Paste Link to your browser)
Saturday, September 03, 2011
Clutter
When I attended school, the year never started until the day after Labor Day. The week prior was devoted to at least one day at the New York State Fair and attending the modified stockcar race on Labor Day. The same evening was spent at a different racetrack for another big race, capping off another summer. Today I have no desire to travel on holiday weekends. There are just too many people trying to get somewhere as fast as they can and then return home in the same manner. I’m still totally amazed at our abilities as human beings when it comes to how we function in the chaos we call driving. When you seriously think about it, nearly all operators of powered vehicles are quit skilled at performing the act of transporting themselves from one place to another, without incident, numerous times a day, day after day. Accidents occur but seldom due to equipment malfunction. The root cause of accidents is operator error, mainly due to distraction, or the brain has been artificially enhanced with a substance foreign to the body, which impairs judgment and the ability to make quick decisions. Unfortunately, people are making poor decisions as they rocket around in their personal entertainment center on wheels. What ever happened to plain vanilla basic $5000 transportation?
It might be a good thing that NASA has to stand down for a period. It seems, according to Slate.com, the space junk whizzing around the earth in low orbit is posing a traffic problem. Tracking all this junk is really getting to be a problem. On February 10, 2009 the first accident in space was recorded. A derelict Russian communications satellite, Cosmos 2251, ran into a working American one, owned by the company Iridium. The collision totaled both satellites adding 2,000 more trackable pieces of space junk to the already 19,000 plus pieces being tracked in an attempt to avoid such collisions. A warning to Iridium by the US Air Force that the satellites were about to pass in close proximity was ignored and; crash! Well, here’s an entrepreneur’s dream in the making, Space Junk Collection and Disposal. This is a rather serious situation. Ground controllers are very concerned that one day a chain reaction of collisions will send thousands of pieces of junk out of control crashing into good satellites, destroying our entertainment and ruining our day. Decisions, decisions; oh what to do, what to do.
[John 4: 20-24] The “religious world” today is much cluttered with different practices and ideals which can cause ripples of mixed feelings about how God should be worshipped. I grew up, and participated, in a “Christian” denomination embroidered with pomp and circumstance, including a copy-cat European cathedral type building to the personal identifying costume worn by worship leaders. I don’t remember learning much about souls being saved or a personal relationship with God himself, but I did come away with a reverence for the One who created the universe. I believe. I want it to be perfectly clear; I’m not looking to collide with anyone. When I was introduced to the simple concept of worshipping God in spirit and truth, supported by His Word only, I breathed a sigh of relief and felt I had arrived home. Are you making a personal decision of returning to, or starting, to worship God? Do you think the best entertainment or a well known preacher is the best place for you? Worship is not a commodity. Don’t look for the place that will give you the biggest bang for your buck. Religion is all about getting to know God and his will for you. It’s quiet and serene.
It might be a good thing that NASA has to stand down for a period. It seems, according to Slate.com, the space junk whizzing around the earth in low orbit is posing a traffic problem. Tracking all this junk is really getting to be a problem. On February 10, 2009 the first accident in space was recorded. A derelict Russian communications satellite, Cosmos 2251, ran into a working American one, owned by the company Iridium. The collision totaled both satellites adding 2,000 more trackable pieces of space junk to the already 19,000 plus pieces being tracked in an attempt to avoid such collisions. A warning to Iridium by the US Air Force that the satellites were about to pass in close proximity was ignored and; crash! Well, here’s an entrepreneur’s dream in the making, Space Junk Collection and Disposal. This is a rather serious situation. Ground controllers are very concerned that one day a chain reaction of collisions will send thousands of pieces of junk out of control crashing into good satellites, destroying our entertainment and ruining our day. Decisions, decisions; oh what to do, what to do.
[John 4: 20-24] The “religious world” today is much cluttered with different practices and ideals which can cause ripples of mixed feelings about how God should be worshipped. I grew up, and participated, in a “Christian” denomination embroidered with pomp and circumstance, including a copy-cat European cathedral type building to the personal identifying costume worn by worship leaders. I don’t remember learning much about souls being saved or a personal relationship with God himself, but I did come away with a reverence for the One who created the universe. I believe. I want it to be perfectly clear; I’m not looking to collide with anyone. When I was introduced to the simple concept of worshipping God in spirit and truth, supported by His Word only, I breathed a sigh of relief and felt I had arrived home. Are you making a personal decision of returning to, or starting, to worship God? Do you think the best entertainment or a well known preacher is the best place for you? Worship is not a commodity. Don’t look for the place that will give you the biggest bang for your buck. Religion is all about getting to know God and his will for you. It’s quiet and serene.
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