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Multiple Sclerosis is a disease
that has touched my family. Please
pray about helping in the fight against this disease. Click here to see how. Some
good friends of mine have Cystic Fibrosis. Please pray about helping here as
well. Click here to see how.
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OCTOBER 2011 - FEBRUARY 2012
Previous Journal Entries: SEP 2011 | AUG 2011 | JUL 2011 | JUN 2011 | MAY 2011
SEP 2009 to APR 2011 | AUG 2009 | JAN to JUL 2009
OCT to DEC 2008 | JUL to SEP 2008 | APR to JUN 2008
| JAN to MAR 2008
January 26, 2012
Faith
Some people when asked about their Christianity respond with
something like, "Well, some things you just have to take on faith." I guess I don't know what that means. They seem to be talking about God or Jesus or
something, but I don't get it. It
doesn't take faith to believe that God exists.
The existence of God is intuitively obvious to the most casual
observer. The fact that randomness does
not exist proves there is an intelligent creator or creators.
James 2:19
"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons
believe that—and shudder."
Next time some atheist tries to tell you that the universe is the
way it is by random chance, ask him to prove randomness exists. Since it doesn't exist, he will fail. Randomness is an imaginary concept with no
corresponding reality. There are certain
bounded areas of reality where within the scope of certain limits randomness
operates in the sense that all possible outcomes that match a certain set of
rules are equally likely. Like if you shuffle a deck of cards each card has an equal chance
to be the one on top. (Well actually they don't, but for all practical
purposes they do.)
But everything in the universe is not equally possible. Take that deck of cards from the previous
paragraph and throw them up in the air and they will land in a scattered group
on the floor. They will never, ever, land
in a neat stack of 52 cards all facing the same direction in order by suits and
value. They will never even land in a
disorderly stack of all 52 cards on top of each other, facing the same way or
not. (Unless you glue them together or leave them in
cellophane wrapper or something like that.)
These atheists want us to believe that we are the result of an
accident. Not a chance. Impossible. It would only be possible in a universe where
all events are equally likely, a random universe. We don't have a random universe. Cards pitched into the air never land in a
stack, let alone an ordered stack. DNA
does not happen by accident. Cells do
not form by chance. Tissue does not grow
by happenstance. Speciation does not
occur randomly. What we see around us
was done on purpose.
Perhaps you still disagree.
If you can't tell the difference between a car and a car wreck, you
might as well quit reading right here.
I'm not the one who is going to be able to help you.
Psalm 14:1 "The fool hath said in his heart, 'There is no
God.' … "
Well that only takes us so far.
That gives us intelligent creation, but it says nothing about the
creator or creators except that it or they are thinkers. One or more than one? Good, evil, neutral or both? Still alive? Interested in us, or
indifferent?
The Nature of God
Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God’s
invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen,
being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."
Well, His power and intelligence we have seen. (See comments on Faith above about
intelligence. The fact that there is a
creation shows His power.) What about
his divine nature? What does creation
tell us about His nature? The phrase
"without excuse" is a hint.
The passage is talking about our moral obligations. What does the universe show us about good and
evil?
God must be good because evil has no power without good and yet
good has power to do things without evil. Consider those evil men who flew
airplanes into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. It is hard to
imagine a more evil act and yet without the power of goodness it would have
been impossible for them to do it. They had to have self-discipline and
perseverance to overcome their ignorance and learn how to fly those airplanes.
They had to have mutual trust and loyalty to coordinate the attack. They had to
have courage to fly an airplane to their certain death.
Please do not misunderstand. There is no suggestion here that
these men were good. However, without some good traits they would have been
powerless. You can have self-discipline, perseverance, loyalty, mutual trust
and courage and never do anything evil at all, only good. But if all they had
was hate, lack of discipline, mistrust, fear, etc. they could do nothing. The
power to accomplish anything, whether good or bad, comes from good, not evil.
Here is another way to express the same idea. Suppose someone told
you that if you stay out in the sun light too long your skin will burn unless
you apply sun block lotion. If you believe this and apply sun block you avoid a
painful burn. If you do not believe it you will burn because the statement was
true. The truth has power whether you believe it or not. Suppose someone else
told you that if you stay out in the moon light too long you will burn unless
you apply moon block lotion to your skin. They just happen to have some to sell
for $12.95 a bottle. If you believe them you have wasted $12.95. If you do not
believe them nothing happens. The lie by itself has no power at all. It is just
a weak, dark, wriggling thing lying on the ground, helpless. It has no power
until you add your belief to it. Your trust and belief, good things, gives the
lie the power it needs to steal your $12.95 and destroy some of your dignity.
Because in this universe good is powerful and evil powerless, it follows that
in the end good will triumph and that God is good.
OK. God is powerful,
intelligent and good. That still leaves
a whole lot of questions unanswered. One or more than one?
Still alive?
Interested in us, or indifferent? Well, as far as I have been able to
determine, that is the limit of what we can know about Him unless He decides to
show us more. Thank God, He did.
Revelation
It's called the Word of God.
You don't have to take it on faith either. It is confirmed by verifiable evidence. I have a web page about the truth of the written
Word of God at http://www.tntcarden.com/atheist/Falsifiable/Bible.htm. That answers the question about how many gods
there are - one.
I have a web page about the truth of the living Word of God at http://www.tntcarden.com/atheist/Falsifiable/Jesus.htm. That answers the question about whether He is
still alive - He is. Together they
answer the question about His interest in us - He loves us. This is further confirmed by answered
prayer. See http://www.tntcarden.com/atheist/Falsifiable/Prayer.htm.
I'm not sure what people mean when they say you have to take some
things on faith. The only thing I take
on faith is that God will keep His promises, and given His perfect track record
so far, that takes very little faith, maybe like a mustard seed.
Thank you God, for Who you are, and for Your
limitless love and grace. Amen.
----------------------------------------
January 25, 2012
Forgiveness Continues
It has been a week and a half and my forgiveness continues. I feel like my old self again. It is like getting out of jail. Last night I took my wife out to
celebrate. We went to Olive Garden and
then star gazing. Thank
you Beth Moore and June Hunt.
Thank you, Lord.
----------------------------------------
January 17, 2012
Forgiveness
This weekend I just finished reading two interesting books - Get out of that PIT by Beth Moore and a
book with some long title I don't remember whose subject is Forgiveness (How to forgive when you don't really feel
like it maybe?) by June Hunt. They both were very good. Beth Moore is much funnier and easier to
read, but June Hunt gave a lot more real life examples. I can recommend both of them highly.
I'm not the sort to hold a grudge and forgiveness generally comes
easy to me, however, I'm in a situation now I can't get out of, where there are
people who hurt me daily, and have for some time. Thanks to these books I am now able to
forgive them daily. At least I have for
two days running. I'm hoping and praying
it continues.
Lord, please help me to continue to forgive as You
forgive. Amen.
----------------------------------------
January 6, 2012
Hurt feelings and those that
wield them
I have little patience with people who seem to think I owe them
some explanation and apology if their feelings are hurt. "That was rude," they say, as if
that settles the matter. To me it seems
to be just a manipulative trick to try to begin to take control of me and/or
the conversation. They use their own
feelings as weapons so often; I have to wonder if they even know what their
feelings really are. If I have done
something wrong to you or said something offensive, certainly I owe you an
explanation.
However, if all you do is claim you have hurt feelings without
also being able to say what I did wrong, or what was offensive, you are the one
who is being rude. How could you jump to
the conclusion that I am rude when you have no evidence? I'm offended.
You owe me an explanation and apology.
I am responsible for what I do and say, not how you feel. Why do you assume I intended to hurt your
feelings when you have no evidence?
I am not responsible for how you feel, unless I did something to
cause it. I am not responsible for your
misperceptions, misunderstandings, and false conclusions. Those are your problem. I'll be glad to help you with them, but you
make it difficult for me if you start out the conversation with accusations
intended to control me, instead of queries genuinely seeking understanding.
Lord, I certainly do not want to hurt anyone's feelings. Help me not to. Please give me wisdom to deal lovingly with
people who try to manipulate me. Amen.
----------------------------------------
November 25, 2011
Eleven Years
Today, after 11 years we sold our land and cabin in Humphrey's
County.
God's hands were all over the transaction. It happened very quickly and it was very
timely for us.
Lord, thank you for your loving watch care over us, and thank you
for all the good times we had in our cabin over the years.
----------------------------------------
November 5, 2011
Time Flies
I'll put up a November page when I get a few more posts for it.
Daylight savings time starts tonight. I think it is stupid, but I can't figure out
how to ignore it.
My friend Kirk came up with the idea of doing a Facebook bible study.
It has been sort of replacing my blogging time. Take a look at http://www.tntcarden.com/Bible. If you want to join, just let me know and
I'll add you to the group.
Lord, please bless our FaceBook bible
study. Amen.
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October 26, 2011
Bloody Nose
When my nose started bleeding while I was in my office I went to
the men's room to get it under control.
Soon the basin and counter looked like a crime scene and there were a
dozen people, men and women, standing around trying to help me with advice and
remedies. This is the e-mail I sent out
to my co-workers to express my thanks:
-------------------
To all of you who helped me yesterday afternoon with my nose bleed
I am grateful. I don't know who cleaned
up the mess, but I'm really thankful for that.
If I missed anyone on my "to list" please let me know. I was not exactly at my best, so I may have
forgotten someone who was there trying to help me. (Not that being at my best would have helped
my memory that much, but it is a convenient excuse, and I'm using it.)
For those who want the gory details:
The thing Debra rigged up with rubber bands behind my ears, and a
paper towel under my nose, that made my ears look
extra handsome, and blocked the bleeding worked to get me home. The bleeding had just about stopped when
about the time I arrived home, but I sneezed and it all began all over
again. After I had been bleeding about
two hours total, we decided to go to the emergency
room. (It also helped the decision that
I remembered that Attila the Hun died of a nose bleed.)
At the emergency room they put a clamp on my nose. I remarked to the nurse as I looked in the
mirror that it was amazing how a good looking man looked great in anything he
put on. She laughed. I guess she thought I was kidding. An hour later the bleeding finally stopped
and we removed the clamp. I put the
clamp in my pocket. They took four tubes
of my blood with a needle to make sure there was enough blood left for me to get
home. That seemed a little counter
intuitive to me to take an extra half pint of blood to measure if I had enough
blood, but what do I know.
Another hour went by and I got up to go to the bathroom. It started again while I was in there, so I
was glad I had the clamp in the pocket to stop it quickly. The doctor said that it was normal on a nose
bleed like mine for it to restart a little bit now and then. He said go on home and if it started back
up, and the clamp would not stop it, to come back in and they would pack it. Apparently they would stuff my sinuses with
gauze to stop it. As nice as that
sounds, I'm just as glad to not have it done.
I went home and all has been well ever since.
The doctor said they see a lot of this kind of thing this time of
year when the heaters come back on. He
guessed it had dried out my sinuses. We
haven't had our heat on yet this year, so further discussion led us to my CPAP
machine. He said the humidifiers they
have on them help, but that they will still dry out your sinuses. He said I should use a saline solution to
keep it from happening again. I'm
following that advice.
I still have the clamp in my pocket, just in case. For a nickle, I'll
let you see it. For a dime, you can
touch it. For a quarter, I'll let you
try it on. OK. Out of gratitude I'll waive all fees.
Thanks. Really,
really.
Thor
--------------------
A couple of people did come by to see the clamp and touch it, but
nobody wanted to try it on.
Thank you Lord for good friends who helped me in my distress,
especially those who stayed after their normal working hours were over. Help me to be that kind of a friend to
them. Amen.
----------------------------------------
October 16, 2011
A Dime and a Quarter
I forgot to put my telephone on the charger last night. This morning it is dead and I feel
disconnected. Where does this feeling
come from? I spent most of my life
without a cell phone and it seemed normal.
I remember I used to go around with a dime in my pocket in case I had to
use a pay phone. When it went up to a
quarter, I carried a quarter. Then one
day I needed to make a phone call and I could not find a pay phone. Then I got a cell phone, and somehow, it has
become a necessity, like my wallet and keys or the dime or quarter. Odd.
God, thank you that I can always call on You
even when I have no money and nothing else works. You are an awesome God! Amen.
----------------------------------------
October 15, 2011
Friends
Proverbs 18:24 "A man of too many friends comes to ruin, But
there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."
I stumbled on someone on Facebook today
who made a remark I found interesting whom I did not know. I clicked on their wall to see if I could
tell more about them and they had almost 5,000 friends. I wonder if that is what the Bible was
talking about about when it said "A man of too
many friends comes to ruin." I'm
sure I do not know. I can't puzzle it
out. Why would too many friends ruin
someone? I don't get it.
On the other hand I think I do understand the second part --
"But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." I have found a few such friends this
year. Last spring I experienced some
health problems which led to some significant changes in my life. The doctor found I had heart problems and a
growing tumor in my lung. God has miraculously
changed the growing tumor into old scar tissue, but my heart continues to be an
issue. I am trusting God for
healing. However, this time has been
difficult for me.
When I thought our ministry was going to come to an end friends
picked up the pieces and kept it alive, showing me it was not "my"
ministry but God's. A
joyous lesson to learn.
When some people I thought cared about me chose that time to
abandon me, others drew closer and supported me. One of these wept and begged me not to
die. He was more concerned for me than I
was. Even now I am amazed at the depth
of feeling so many have for me. I know I
do not deserve it. God is so generous
with me.
I am particularly happy with my church, Faith Baptist Church. We have been members just over a year now,
and they have been exceptionally supportive.
I've been involved with several churches in my life. Faith Baptist is made up of humans, so it is
not perfect, but it is the best church I have ever known. It is full of real loving Christians,
that truly follow Jesus Christ, and actually care about each other.
Lord, thank you for good friends.
Help me be the kind of friend who sticks closer than a brother. Amen.
----------------------------------------
October 11, 2011
Injustice
During His arrest and inquisitions in Matt 26, Mark 14, Luke 22
and John 18 what does Jesus show us about what our behavior should be in the
face of injustice against us? It is what
Jesus did not do about injustice that is most surprising:
In Matthew 26:1-4, Mark 14:1-2, Luke 22:2 we learn that the
leaders of the Jews plotted to kill Him, Jesus knew about it, and yet did
nothing to escape them. Injustice is
inevitable in this fallen world. We need
to trust God for justice, not our own understanding.
In Matthew 26:14-16, Mark 14:10-11, Luke 22:3-6 and John 18:2
Judas begins to conspire with the enemies of Jesus. We find out during the Last Supper that Jesus
was aware of this. He did not condemn
Judas, or try to exclude Him from their feast.
He also did not change His location for retreat in prayer in the garden,
which He could have easily done to avoid arrest. We need to continue to do God's will without
giving into our fears.
In Matthew 26:20-25, Mark 14:18-21, and Luke 22:21-23 Jesus confronts
Judas, and warns him that it will not go well with him if he persists in his
determination to betray Him. When Judas
does not repent, Jesus drops the matter.
We should confront people with their wrong doing against us when we
become aware of it. However, once we are
sure they understand what they are doing and the possible consequences it is
not up to us to be their conscience.
In Matthew 26:31-35, Mark 14:27-31, and Luke 22:31-34 Jesus
predicts the disciples will abandon Him.
They all make promises the do not keep.
Jesus never condemns this for this.
We need to distinguish between injustice due to malice (like Judas) and
injustice due to weakness (like the disciples.)
We need to be patient and forgiving of each other's weaknesses.
In Matthew 26:47-55, Mark 14:43-50, Luke 22:47-53 and John 18:3-11
Jesus not only does not resist arrest, but He does not allow His disciples to
resist either. He makes it clear that it
is entirely His choice to not resist, for He has the power to stop it. Jesus points out the cowardice of those who
arrest Him, but He does not harangue them and even heals one of their number who is injured.
Those who betray us continue to be our neighbors and therefore proper
objects for our love and compassion according to the will of God.
In John 18:12-27 there is a part of His inquisition not reported
in the other gospels. Jesus answers the
initial questions, but it becomes clear quickly, that no one is going to give
Him a fair trial. He asks them to make
clear and fair accusations if they have any.
It falls on deaf ears. We need to
give even the most evil people a chance to repent, and we need to consider the
possibility that they might have fair reason for accusing us.
In Matthew 26:57-68, Mark 14:53-65, and Luke 22:54-71. Jesus is silent before an illegal trial,
false witnesses, and false accusation.
Finally the high priest invokes his authority as high priest to demand
an answer in the name of the living God.
Jesus responds with the simple truth.
He is condemned, demeaned, and beaten.
Those 12 legions of angels He mentioned before are still available, but
He does not resist the injustice.
Injustice is inevitable in this fallen world. We need to trust God for justice, not our own
power.
In John 18:28-40, after the illegal inquisitions of Annas and Caiaphas, Jesus is taken to the Roman governor,
Pilate. Even Roman governors were not
supposed to have trials in the middle of the night. Jesus responds to Pilate who tries to set
Jesus free. "I find no guilt in him,"
Pilate says in verse 38, but he does not have the courage to stand for justice
in the face of the political pressure from the Jewish leaders. (In is interesting to note that ancient
legends say that Pilate eventually became a Christian and helped the early
church in Egypt.) Pilate had the power
and the responsibility to prevent this injustice. He failed to do so. We need to be careful that we do not go too
far in not resisting injustice.
Sometimes our roles and responsibilities put us in a position where we
are duty bound to fight evil. When we
are called on to fight injustice, that does not mean we abandon mercy and
compassion, but if God puts the sword of justice is in our hand, we must wield
it fairly and well.
Romans 13:1-4 "Every person is to be in subjection to the
governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those
which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority has
opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation
upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear
for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do
what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of
God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not
bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings
wrath on the one who practices evil."
God, help me be a man who puts love above justice, trusting You for justice.
Amen.
----------------------------------------
October 9, 2011
Listening
Proverbs 23:22
"Listen to your father who gave you life, and don't despise
your mother when she is old."
I used to have this really stupid idea that because I was a Christian, and my parents did not profess Christ, that I was
wiser than them. If I had ever put it
into words I think I would have realized how dumb it was. It is only in retrospect that I have come to
understand that was the way I thought about it back then. I missed out on a lot of good wisdom and
probably could have made a lot of decisions better if I had troubled myself to
listen to my father more.
Father in Heaven, please help me to listen very carefully to You. Amen.
----------------------------------------
October 8, 2011
Darkness and Light
Proverbs 20:20 "Whoever curses his father or mother — his
lamp will go out in deep darkness."
Lord, my lamp went out long ago, for this and many other sins
overwhelmed me. You are the light that
found me in that deep darkness. May Your light forever illuminate my path. Amen.
----------------------------------------
October 7, 2011
The Curse and The Christ
Deuteronomy 27:16 "Cursed is the man who dishonors
his father or his mother. …'"
Galatians 3:13 "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law,
having become a curse for us … "
Lord, I deserve the curse, for I have dishonored my father and my
mother. I can not
bear the curse. It would kill me. Thank you for rescuing me. Please help me to never commit this sin
again. Amen.
----------------------------------------
October 6, 2011
Steve Jobs
There can be no argument that he had an impact on the computer
industry. In his honor, several people have
posted a quote attributed to him and then said glowing things about it, glowing
things with which I completely disagree:
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone
else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of
other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your
own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to
follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you
truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." - Steve Jobs
I suppose it should not surprise me that in today's "me
first" culture this would be viewed as wisdom, but it is foolishness. Don't consider anyone else's thoughts? Don't consider any wisdom from previous
generations? Trust your own inner
voice?
Matthew 15:19 "For out of the heart come evil thoughts,
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders."
My life with Christ did not begin until I came to the end of
myself. I'm the last person I would
trust. If I had followed Steve Jobs'
advice, I'd be dead. I don't want to
speak ill of the dead. He was probably a
very nice man, but this particular utterance is just arrogance. My life is worthless unless it is about
pleasing Him, not me.
Holy God, please let me listen not to my inner voice, but to the
voice of Your Spirit within me, to Your voice on the pages of the Holy Bible,
and to the wisdom of the good Christian people who surround me, and who pass
down their wisdom from ages past. Amen.
The First Commandment with
Promise
Deuteronomy 5:16 "Honor your father and your mother, as the
LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and so that you may
prosper in the land the LORD
your God is giving you."
What is the relationship between the commandment to honor your
parents and the promise that obedience would lead to a long and prosperous life
in the Promised Land? Is this a general
promise of individual long life and prosperity, or did it mean that if the Israelites
obeyed it generally they would survive a long time as a prosperous nation? Or both? Or neither?
LORD, my God, whatever blessings I have forfeited by disobeying
your command to honor my parents, I ask that you have mercy on me, and restore
those promises to me in Christ. I am
heartily and completely sorry for this terrible sin. Amen.
----------------------------------------
October 5, 2011
Honor your father and mother
Matthew 19:19 "'Honor
your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'"
The command "honor your father and mother" or
"honor your father and your mother" appears 8 times in the
Bible. That is the same number of times
as "love your neighbor." (That
is based on an search of the NASB at biblegateway.com.) Other verses that have the same idea of
treating your parents with respect, honoring them, obeying them, or caring for
them, appear several dozen times. I
suspect honoring your father and mother was something God wanted to emphasize
to us.
Lord, I'm so sorry I did not read and heed this command as I
should have while my parents were still alive.
Please forgive me. Amen.
----------------------------------------
October 4, 2011
Wise and Foolish
Proverbs 15:20
"A wise child brings joy to his father, but a foolish child
despises his mother."
Proverbs 23:25 "Let your father and mother have joy, and let
her who gave birth to you rejoice."
My parents made no claim to be Christians. I witnessed to them many times and often
presented many arguments from my study of apologetics. You never really know the condition of
someone else's soul, so I still cling to hope that they are safe in heaven due
to some unwitnessed last minute conversion or
something else out of God's limitless storehouse of grace. If I hear something from one of their old
friends that sounds like anything remotely Christian, I celebrate it. If I had it to do over again, I would not
argue with them. I would show them so
much respect and love that they would see Christ clearly within me, and decide
Christianity was at least something worth considering.
If your parents are not Christian I urge you learn from my
mistakes and treat your parents so good that they see God clearly in your love
and honor for them. Why not? Why limit yourself to the minimum you believe
is required? Why not get enthusiastic
about honoring your parents, not in honor of them, but in honor of Him. You have nothing to lose and much to gain.
Heavenly Father, I was a foolish and arrogant son to my parents. Please forgive me. Allow me to be a wise son to You.
----------------------------------------
October 3, 2011
Adults
or Children?
2nd Timothy 3:1-5 "But realize this, that in the last days difficult
times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful,
arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents,
ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without
self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness,
although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
"Disobedient to parents" is listed in the middle of a
long list of evil things people will do in the last days. Is there any way to understand this except
that it means adults are expected by God to be obedient to their parents? There is no help in the Greek. I studied it, and it is translated well. (Romans 1:30 has a similar list which also
has "disobedient to parents" in the middle of it.) Does God expect adults to continue to obey
their parents their entire lives? I
don't know. At a minimum I think He
expects us to continue to obey any Godly principles our parents taught us, and
that we should certainly submit to any reasonable request our parents might
make. But is that all? It is an academic question to me, since my
parents are dead, I raised my children to think for
themselves, and would never presume to try to tell them what to do.
After thinking this over for a while I finally decided Paul meant
children, not adults. I think in both cases Paul is talking about young
children because of the context. In one he is talking about signs of the end ti...mes and in the other he is talking
about what human society is like when God is not given His proper precedence.
How may times have we
observed unruly children in a public place and thought of it as a sign of the
decay of our culture. I think that is the kind of thing Paul means.
Father in heaven, I am sorry I was not more obedient to my parents
when they were alive. Please forgive me
and help me to be an obedient child to You. Amen.
----------------------------------------
October 2, 2011
Bragging on Dad
Proverbs 17:6 "Children’s children are a crown to the aged,
and parents are the pride of their children." Everyone brags on their grand children. How many brag on their parents?
When I was a child, my father did something which in retrospect is
quite remarkable, but which at the time seemed ordinary. Once every month or two he would have
various well educated people in his living room for several hours of lively
conversation and debate. What was remarkable
was that we children were free to participate.
It was never by constraint. We
did not have to participate. My
recollection is that my siblings did not take as much advantage of this
opportunity as I did, however, memory being what it is, that may not be
accurate. I think I learned more in
those interesting hours than I did in weeks of school. I was taken seriously and my remarks were
treated with as much respect as anyone's, but mostly I listened. This was just one of many things my parents did
to try to make sure I was well educated.
God, I am thankful for the care my parents took in trying to see
to it that I developed a good mind. To
whatever extent they succeeded, please help me put it to holy use. Amen.
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October 1, 2011
Washed in the Blood
Proverbs 30:11-12 "There is a kind of man who curses his
father and does not bless his mother, there is a kind who is pure in his own
eyes, yet is not washed from his filthiness."
God, I am so sorry for all I have ever said bad
about my parents, and all the chances I missed to bless them and give them kind
words. Please let me be
washed of my filthiness by the blood of Jesus Christ. It is my only hope, my only rescue.
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| JAN to MAR 2008
LIFE IS
A BEAUTIFUL GIFT – PAY IT FORWARD - BE AN ORGAN DONOR
Please consider becoming an organ donor. You can be a hero. It is just a little heart symbol on your
driver’s license. 
By the time they take
your organs you won’t need them anymore.
Why not be generous?