We come bearing gifts

What are we coming to church for? To many I fear are coming to receive and to take home, to few come to give. I certainly don't mean a tithe or offering, but worship. I would rather be a lowly shepherd coming to worship with my small flock of sheep any day than to be a wise man knowing how the markets operate, or knowing when to buy/ sell/ trade on Wall street. Remember those that come to worship always get their first. Wise men came to see the young child (Matthew 2:9 "When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was." ), that was in a house not in a manger as verse 11 of the same text says ("And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh" ). It was around one to two years later, after the birth. Shepherds came to see the Jesus the same day he was born (Luke 2:11 "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord") and they went and got there to see him on the same day, "And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger"Luke 2:16. I hate to be the one to bust your bubble but the shepherds and wise men were not there on the same day or at the same time.

Shepherds are lowly, no one in the eyes of society, the poorest of the poor....disrespected, unappreciated, yet that is exactly who God chose to come see and worship the Savior first. Wise men brought gifts, shepherds shouts and praise, which will you bring?

Hair Day

Comb it, braid it, weave it, curl it, straighten it, dye it, perm it, crimp it, wash it, shampoo it, condition it, dry it, highlight it, moose it, wet it, scrub it, spray it, flat iron it, steam it, slick it, style it, net it, wear a hat on it, brush it, grow it, Afro it, beehive it, swirl it, bun it, french twist it, stick gum in it, spend big money to replace it, cut it, trim it, ponytail it, put bows in it, shave it, donate it, fake it (wig), or just simply get up and go with it. Anyway you do your hair remember God has them all counted and numbered! If you lose a hair the count doesn't go from 2,345 to 2,344 no God says hair 278 just let go. He knows more about you than anyone else. He made you wonderfully and fearfully. Trust in the creator to help you with all you do today, for He careth for you! Will their be bald heads in Heaven? Full heads of hair? If nothing ever dies there will we all have long hair like cousin "IT" since cutting it would produce dead hair - what about toe nails? My mind is a dangerous thing, who can know it. One thing is for sure if nothing dies their no one will have dead skin cells falling off their pretty little heads = no dandruff. Blessed day.

Is GOD LOVE

Is God love? I have heard this question asked so many times. How can God be love if people are suffering and dieing as they are today, in war, poverty, and disease? How can God let people starve to death in Africa, India, Asia, and yes America, small children even, if God is Love? Questions such as why does He allow rape, adultery, drugs, and murder to even exist? All legitimate questions i believe, and all rightfully deserve a biblical answer. Here it is, you ready? Remember you don't have to agree with me, you have every right to be wrong! HA HA HA.

God doesn't allow any of it we do!!!! He didn't invent murder - it was Cains choice; nor adultery - it was Davids decision. God never allowed a home to be broken - Eve did by disregarding Gods Word and listening to the Devil. Know that the "wages of sin=death", yet God gives life.

Still one may beg the question, "What about all those suffering with no food in Africa, and around the world?" The TV is full every Holiday season with commercials of pitiful children starving that rips even the coldest of souls heart out. (My opinion) Your money sent over their to feed the poor is a waste of time. Jesus said "the poor you have with you always" = never will the world be without starving people, children. The cure is Jesus alone. Put money in a trustworthy missionaries pocket and send them the gospel which is the Bread of Life. Only when they repent of sin and accept Jesus and not religion and tribal rituals will they be fed. If God can split the Red Sea (and he did), and tell the fish to get in Peters net on that side of the boat, more than he could drag in - doesn't it stand to reason he could cause enough fish to swim to their African shores and creeks to feed them all and more? Yes of course He can, and will if He alone is their God. Jeremiah said he never saw God children forsaken or His seed begging bread, meaning he will take care of them that are His own. Whenever a person comes by the church asking for grocery money or gas money rest assured they are lost. Elijah had no meat or bread and God sent a raven to feed him, and He promised to not give his children a stone that came begging bread - He will take care of you. Now if your lost it is by Gods grace your not already dead and in Hell. Sinner know he will not meet a lost mans physical needs as he does for his children, He died on Calvary to meet the spiritual need first - then he takes care of all the rest. So give them a meal - they will be hungry tomorrow, BUT give them the message of the Master and He will feed them all the days of their life. Lord give us this day our daily bread. Amen

A Subliminal Christian

I hate subliminal imaging (dRiNk pEpSi). Introduced in 1897, the concept became controversial as "subliminal messages" in 1957 when marketing practitioners claimed its potential use in persuasion (gO tO ChUrCh). Visual stimuli may be quickly flashed before an individual may process them, or flashed and then masked, (cHuRCh=Go) thereby interrupting the processing, don't you hate that?

Well truth is most Christians are subliminal in that they hide their faith and expect others to just see the quick prayer over their food that could be mistaken as a yawn, nose wipe, or a muttered word. "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost" 2 Cor 4:3. Or some chose to live worldly and blend in, then get mad if the preacher says on Sunday to repent and live right because someone is watching your life. NEWS FLASH - if your saved you have lost people watching your life - do they see Christ crucified in you, or are you hiding it, using only subliminal imaging? On judgement day I really don't believe a good response would be "but I thought they saw the Bible in my car trunk, and knew I was a Christian"!!!!!!! So the real question is Who are you hiding the gospel from? Classmates, co-workers, children?

Save the Planet?

It has always amazed me how people get so worked up about saving the planet! I am for bamboo bowls and compose piles and think supporting local farmers is right. I like solar energy, and think (don't eat) organic food is terrific. I'm all for more efficient shower heads and clothes dryers to save me moo-la but will it matter in the end? I have not received any fines for littering so know this is not a venting, or vendetta about a ticket or the like. People argue about trash, pollution, and smog but does it matter at all. Save the planet - it is a figure of speech I guess. Go green, drive a Hybrid, burn vegetable oil not petroleum. I'm for recycling but refuse to wear Patagonia's PCR fleece vest ($70) that is made from recycled soda bottles. Oil drillers are getting their ear full these days around the gulf, and here as well. Whales, walruses, snow owls, platypuses, O' my. Know that even if we destroy the O Zone and all of that stuff the planet will still be here - it may be a cold, dead, lifeless rock the way we treat it but it will be here. We should concentrate on saving people. Thant is what God is focused on - seeking to save that which is lost. People need help - need truth, need God. I would trade all the snowy owls in the world for one soul to know Jesus as Lord and I love animals.

Just for the record this planet is going to burn up, aka, be destroyed one day anyhow. God said He was make a new Heaven and a NEW EARTH, and the old Heaven and earth will pass away.Revelations 21:1"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. "

Only those believers that Jesus died and arose from the grave will escape the real pollution- sin.

2 Peter 2:20 "they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ"

Here Peter says the earth will be destroyed in fire:

2 Peter 3:5-7 "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."

Get all the Hybrid cars you want, nothing but the blood of Jesus will save you from that day. I don't really care if you hug a tree, hug a bug, or hug your momma , but you had better hug on Jesus first and foremost. Love what is here now (people) and gone tomorrow! People are the only things on planet Earth that have a chance of not burning forever. Save the people not the planet, by getting them to Jesus.

Smoke em' if ya got em'

What do you identify with smoke? To a young man i met today he related it to sorrow, for his house burned to the ground and he lost family members due to smoke inhalation. I relate it to birthday parties since my childhood was filled with happiness. To timber cutters smoke means run, or danger. To the lost man it signifies an end unwanted, and undesired.

There are different smells that smoke makes depending on what is being burned. A house fire smells like tar b/c of the shingles, that tar smell is overwhelming. A brush fire smells quite different. I personally always love cool fall mornings because of the wood fires people use to heat their homes with. It is a sweet smell to me. Birthdays have their own unique smell as burning wax candles are burnt and blown out - to me that smell means it is a time of celebration. Then i also remember that poor little squirrel that didn't understand just how electrical currents flow and the aroma of burn hair turned my stomach. Incense is used by many to make a room or house smell better. In the Holocaust testimonies of people burning in concentration camps was a most horrid smell, that was detectable for miles. I do not like smell of smokers smoking, I thank God for Credit/Debit cards and gas stations that accept them so I do not have to go inside to pay and come out smelling like smoke. Diesel smoke, factory smoke, train smoke, match smoke, electrical smoke, machine smoke, marijuana smoke (which I personally have never tried), candle smoke, gas logs smoke, cigar smoke, plane smoke, liquid smoke, fireworks smoke, grill smoke (which I like), Japanese restaurants cooking smoke in front of you smells good. Food burning in the oven has its own unique smell (gag),What smoke smells bring you joy? sorrow? celebration?

To God, some smells please and some he dislikes as well....a sacrifice for sin is a sweet smell to God but no sacrifice is needed today because, Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for sin that appeased a Holy God forever.
Rev 8:4 - He likes the way incense smells with prayers
And the smoke of the incense, [which came] with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
Rev 15:8 - His glory is smoking hot
And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Rev 9:2 states that the bottomless pit is filled with smoke- not a smoke I want to smell.

The bible says smoke arose, and it arises, rises up....aka it goes up.... to the heavens so to get to heaven do as the Hebrew children did and follow the pillar of smoke... following the smoke will lead you up to a higher place. Jesus died on Calvary to take you to a higher place if you call on him to repent of your sins. Smoke em' if ya got em'

Bridge Heading Where?

Two points of view here when beholding such a sight. A) is this a bridge to nowhere; or B) is this an adventure into the great unknown? Both a little scary, both are filled with mystery. Some day I feel I'm on the bridge to nowhere - nowhere good anyway, and at any moment could step off into the end of life as i know it. Yet there is an excitement of pursuing across such a bridge to see what awaits, an adventure if you will.

I am not talking about what awaits after death at all - for I know where I'm going then. It is the now that I speak of. What does this day hold - do we want to run across to see or creep over if fear? Normally I would run over, but as of late in my life at least, I have been walking more cautiously. In fear really of what new horror awaits just out of sight. But things were not always such.

The overwhelming majority of my life has been a run to get their and get it done. Now I have a different approach. In good days we have no problem heading over - in more trying times we naturally are more cautious to say the least.

What is over their? Treasure and gifts; rewards or ruin; gloom or glory; vipers or victory? So much of our life we think we have planned out but in reality we really don't know what is ahead - death, disease, deliverance?

The only one who can find any amount if comfort is the child of God. He alone knows what is over there, and he alone can help or hurt us with it. It is hard to say but true none-the-less, whatever is over their is for our good and his glory. Sometimes you wonder how can He get glory from such a tragedy as death, or heartbreak - but i have seen it, beheld it with mine own eyes. In funerals souls come get saved. In tragedy hearts and lives knit closer together and to him as well. He allows the pain so as to administer the cure. As Job said and as we also may say (who knows what is over their) "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord"