Thanksgiving & Fall Posting

Howdy y'all; I know it has been a while since I last wrote and for that I apologize. I was doing a study in the Muslim faith and the impact it is having in the world, and I want you all to know that all around the world Muslims are impacting life, laws and the way of life in England, Germany, France, Switzerland and Spain. They are moving in to all of the countries in the European Union and are bringing court cases to the forefront for rulings on Sharia Law. They are trying to push for Muslim women to be forced to follow Sharia law and wear complete veils, and to be able to punish women if they break any of the rules put forth in the Koran! So far ALL of the countries have been successful in blocking their efforts, thank God! IF they are ever able to have their laws passed into national legal systems we are all one step closer to being attacked and killed because we are Jews, Christians or any other faith but Muslim (Islam). I urge you all to keep praying that all of their efforts to get Sharia Law into ANY country. Especially the United States, fail. We are in danger because we have a president (for a little while longer anyway) who is very supportive of the Muslim faith, and has even put them into positions of leadership in some of our Federal departments.
We have a lot to be thankful for as this year comes to a close! We are still very blessed even though we are heading for financial ruin as a country. God will continue to bless us and protect us, BUT it is our responsibility to keep OUR religion and our beliefs in God and Jesus Christ lifted up, and to keep reminding our senators and representatives that we need to keep our country ". . .under God,. . .". We are a christian nation even though it is not specifically entered into our Constitution and Bill of Rights. More than half of the framers and signers of the Constitution were ordained clergy! Many of their private letters and writings support the Christian faith and the importance of keeping it part of what we do in the world and in this country. See for yourselves if you feel so inclined. Google the writings of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, John Hancock, George Washington and the other founding fathers and you will find out just how much they valued their Christian beliefs. Even Benjamin Franklin, who was a professed agnostic, still valued the "Golden Rule" and the Christian Faith. They did want to keep a separation between "church and state" ; BUT that was only because they wanted to guarantee that EVERYONE was able to worship as they pleased! Freedom of religion was the promise and yes, that goes for everyone; Jew, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Bahia or whatever. The RIGHT guaranteed by our Constitution was to guarantee our worship as we pleased; but NOT to keep others from the practice of their faith or to demand that all signs of their religion be destroyed or removed from public view! Long ago I had a teacher who taught us that; "Our rights end where another one's right begins." What that means is that I do not have the right to infringe or prevent another person's rights and that they do not have the right to infringe upon or prevent their rights! Kind of a different way of saying; "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Jesus Christ's greatest commandment was; "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind and spirit and to love your neighbor as yourself." we are all commanded to do so and the Ten Commandments are also a directive to Christian and Jew alike. One of the other things we should do is to continue to pray and to pray continuously as Paul directs us. Pray for our loved ones, pray for our country, pray for all of those we know who are not "Born Again", pray for our military, pray for every person who asks us to pray for them and also to pray for our enemies!
Now IF you are not "saved" or "Born Again" I ask you to pray this prayer; Dear Lord, Father God, I believe that Jesus Christ came to earth to be your representative and that He is your Son. And that He came to suffer and die and then be raised again for my salvation. Lord, I repent of all of my sins and I ask that you cleanse and purify me and my heart and take away my sinfulness and my sinful nature so that I may be more like Jesus, and be worthy to enter your kingdom when the time comes. Lord God, I ask that you fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank you God for your Son Jesus Christ, thank you for your forgiveness and you grace. I praise you and worship you! In the name of your precious Son Jesus I pray; Amen.
If you have prayed that prayer and REALLY mean it you are saved and you are "Born Again". PRAISE GOD!! I praise God and pray for His blessings on you and your life. If you have a Bible I suggest you start reading it every day. If you have been doing it, keep it up. I find that if I study a few verses in the Old Testament and a few verses in the New Testament every day you will find that you will be able to read it cover to cover in less than a year. God bless you all. In Jesus Name I pray! Amen.

A Continuation of our Study of Islam and the Muslim Faith

Once again I want to remind y'all that this is a Christian BLOG, but I have been doing a study on Islam and Muslims, and I want to pass on some of what I have been learning so I hope you will all bear with me! I hope you all had time to go to Genesis and do some reading especially in Genesis 11: 26 31. and continue along in Genesis to follow the story of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Ishmael and Hagar. It is a very interesting study and a good read. I love the Bible and I love to study and read in it over and over. It seems like every time I go to it and read something I had read previously I find something new to apply to my present situation. It is an awesome book and once you start reading in it you will be drawn to it over and over.
Where I left off was with the animosity that is established between Ishmael and Isaac. It is a very complicated relationship and to fully understand it all you really should read it all for yourself in Genesis. My reason for even mentioning it is because Ishmael is the "father" of the Arabian race, and the Arabians are where Islam begins and Ishmael is also the connector between God and God's covenant and the basis of the Monotheistic beginnings of Islam and the Muslim people. The covenant connection, the enmity between the Hebrew people and Arab people and Monotheism is where we find Muhammed and his meditations that were the basis for the Koran. The enmity and the rest will be more important a bit further along in this discourse. So back to Muhammed. Muhammed was born sometime in the year 570 to 571 C.E. He was born into a family that was one of the leading tribes in Mecca (the Koerish) and he was to find sorrow on the day of his birth because his father had passed away just four days previously. The name Muhammed means "Highly Praised" and his full name is Muhammed ibn Abdullah, by traditional knowledge he is a "Hanif" and one of the direct line of descendants of Ishmael. He has become known as "The Seal of the Prophets" meaning that there may have been many prophets before him but none will come after him. Muhammed is a name that has been given to more male children than any other name in history. So strike one, he is born without a father, strike two his mother dies when he is six and he is taken in by his grandfather. Strike three his grandfather dies when he is nine. He is then taken in by an uncle (Abu Talib) who because of failing fortunes has to put him to work on the family farm tending his goats. Even though he is an orphan he is warmly accepted by his uncles family. Even then it is reported that "the angels were opening out young Muhammed's heart and filling it with light." To say that times were tough for young Muhammed in the world of sixth century Arabia would be an understatement. Descriptions of what it was like by contemporary historians, and later ones said that if they had to condense it down to just one word it would be "barbaric". Conditions for the life of a Nomad in the desert had never been serene or comfortable, there was constant heat and freezing temperatures at night, wind storms that could actually scrub the skin off your body, lack of water and the constant scarcity of material goods and material comforts. When you add to all of this the fact that the average Bedouin felt almost no obligation to anyone other than his immediate family and tribe, and was in a constant mood for a fight, which was exacerbated by the constant burning heat and was a brigand and thought that wars and fighting were a badge of male virility and bravery you can understand just how awful conditions were. Now stir this all up with a general breakdown of the magistrate of Mecca it made for chaos, brawling and bloodshed. Drunkenness and gambling were commonplace, dancing girls moving from tent to tent and again the blazing sun all inflamed the "sons of the desert", and made for a rough and tumble world of depravity that disgusted young Muhammed. What passed for religion was a mix of animistic, pantheistic, polytheism rife with beasties, sprites, powerful Jinns or Genies and demons. Personifications of all "the things that go bump in the night" in the desert. There is absolutely no evidence that it ever inspired any type of religious feeling or fervor and certainly would not inspire any form of moral conviction. The area that was Arabia was ripe for religious deliverance and most certainly ready for a "deliverer" and that man was Muhammed. He was feeling that the angels of God (Allah) were filling him with light and speaking to him (this underlines his character beautifully according to historians) and all around him was depravity, tribal fighting and bloodshed and of course the drunkenness and debauchery that disgusted him; what was a young man of upstanding character (and reportedly) a sweet and gentle disposition to do? It is also probable that his early trials and tribulations made him very sensitive to the trouble and suffering he saw all around him. It is said that he was always willing to reach out to others and offer help, especially to the poor and weak. It is reported that he had a strong sense of duty, honor, honesty and a commitment to truth. As he grew into manhood all of those traits inspired titles like "the true", "the upright" and "the trustworthy one". In spite of his concern for others and his commitment to help them he remained aloof and separate from them which seems a common trait for men of his ilk.He remained isolated in all of this chaos. He saw the lawlessness, the immorality and depravity, the constant fighting among the tribes, and the more he saw the more the disgust grew for the whole Arabic society of the time and the more he matured the more his meditations and thoughts turned inward. In 596 C.E.., at the age of 25 he turned his sights to the business of caravans and trade and went into business with a wealthy widow named Khadija. She was very impressed with his diligence and integrity, and soon her being impressed with him turned to affection, and soon that affection turned to love. Even though she was fifteen years his senior they were married. History reports that they had a very happy and satisfying relationship. He did have other wives later in life but Khadija was his comfort and solace in a world that turned to desolation in his eyes. No one seemed to believe in him and at times even he didn't believe in himself, but through it all Khadija stood by him and offered him the support he needed and bolstered his failing feelings of worth. It is reported by historians that Allah (God) worked through Khadija to comfort him and lighten his burdens. After his marriage to Khadija and before his actual ministry began there was a period of preparation, spiritual communion and meditation that lasted about fifteen years. His need for time away from the world made him turn to a cave that he was familiar with on the outskirts of Mecca on Mount Hira, a huge outcrop of rock that erupts out of the barren desert. In this cave Muhammed found the solitude he needed for his meditations. His visits became more and more frequent as time went on. He meditated on good and evil, on the barbarism he saw daily all around him, the superstitions and pantheism and the moral decay that was the accepted norm, and in his desperation he reached out to God (Allah) the God of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. Allah was worshipped in Mecca, but not as the supreme God but as a god amid a pantheon of gods, Jinns and demons. To Muhammed Allah (God) became the supreme provider, the God above all other gods. For Muhammed, Allah inspired real religious feelings and devotion in his heart. Allah being real, became the central focus for Muhammed, and was fearfully wonderful and as real as the universe He created. Muhammed felt that Allah was far more than his countrymen could have dreamed and even more than he could have dreamed. Allah's awesome majesty filled his mind, heart, soul and his cave. His Allah filled the whole universe that Allah Himself had ordained. This God, this Allah was not "just" a god or even a god above all other gods. This Allah was THE God, the One the only true God without rival, La ilaha Allah! Muhammed cried out from his cave to Allah; "there is no God but Allah!".
So, with that, I am going to stop for now, and pick up later today or maybe tomorrow. Remember that this is a Christian Blog and for me Christ is my connection to God, for it says in scripture, "none come to the Father but through Me." and I believe that Jesus is the only true Son of the living God, and to find salvation and forgiveness for my sins I must repent of my sins and ask Jesus to come into my heart and fill me with the Holy Spirit. It is by His blood that we are saved, Jesus Christ went to the cross willingly as the pure and perfect sacrificial Lamb, and the payment for my sins and actually for all of us and all of our sins. How awesome is that? If you are not a "born again" believer in Jesus Christ you can be, and all you have to do is pray what they call the "sinners prayer": Lord I am a sinner and I repent of my sins and ask Jesus to come into my heart and fill me with the Holy Spirit. Wash away all of my sinfulness. I believe that you are the only Son of the living God and it is only through You that I can have salvation. Lord enter my name into the "Book of Life". I thank You God, and I praise You. Amen.

Muslims & Islam in America

I am a "Born Again" Christian and I have been doing a Bible study on the "End Times" and I have also been delving into the Muslim faith and how it is effecting life in these United States of America. The more I got into it the more concerned I became, and soon that concern escalated to alarm! I am NOT "Islamophobic", at least I do not think I am because my concern is based on the facts as they have unfolded to me over the time I have been doing my research. I think it would be a good idea to share some of what I have found out with any and all who might click on this site. This is a Christian website and I have been concentrating on Christianity and how one might become "Born Again" in the past here. Well anyway, let me say that there has been a lot of stuff in the press and on the TV news lately about Muslims, Islam and Mosques and where they should or should not be built and related subjects. We are also involved in a war with Muslims and our troops are on Muslim soil, but there has not been too much in the news or on TV about who and what Muslims are and what exactly is Islam about. Things like where did it come from, who started it, and what is some of it's history, laws and beliefs. I am by no means an "expert" on Islam, the Muslim faith or Muhammad, BUT I have been doing a lot of research as I have stated above, and I would like to share some of that with others who may have the same concerns that I have. So, to begin, I think it might be best to touch on some of the history and foundations of Islam. First of all, and this is significant, it is what is called a "Semitic" religion with some of the same roots as Judaism in that it traces it's foundation back to Abraham and for this we must go to the book of Genesis (I sincerely hope you will go to the Bible and read it for yourself) in the Old Testament and specifically chapter 11 and verses 26-31 where we find the "begots" and the begot we are interested in is that of Terah who begot Abram when he was 70 years old (who became Abraham a bit farther along). Terah was in the direct line of Shem, one of Noah's sons and where we get the "Semitic" roots. So Abraham was married to Sarai (who later became Sarah) and Terah takes Abram and his wife Sarai and grandson Lot and they left the land of Ur of the Chaldean's to go to the land of Canaan where they dwelt until Terah died at the ripe old age of two hundred and five (205) years old. The Lord spoke to Abram and said "Get out of your country to a land I will show you." Now this is where some of the animosity that the Muslim's have with the Jews because this is the land of "milk and honey" that was given to Abram forever and ever, and God promises to make of him a "great nation". Sarai was barren and could not bear Abram a son so she sets it up with one of her handmaidens, an Egyptian girl named Hagar to sort of pinch hit for her and go to bed with Abram so that he could have a son. This was kind of a standard operating procedure back then, that if a man's wife could not bear her husband a son one of her handmaidens could do it for her and the son, if there was one, would be his heir and inherit all he had in the way of animals, land etc. Well, Abram went in to her as Sarai wanted and her handmaiden, Hagar, did as she was told and slept with Abram. The result was a son who was named Ishmael. Now the problem was that the Lord had promised many things to Abram, and his son would inherit it all and would become a great nation and his offspring would be as numerous as the grains of sand on a beach, but it was to be the son of Abraham and Sarah that would be the rightful heir. Soon after (about 13 years later) Sarah did bear a son for Abraham who was named Isaac. This is where it gets very complicated. Sarah was jealous of Hagar and Ishmael and ordered Abraham to banish her from the tribe. Abraham didn't want to because he truly loved Ishmael, but he did as Sarah wanted and ordered them to leave. They wandered in the dessert for a long time and just as they were about to die from thirst and starvation God intervened again and promised that Hagar and Ishmael would be blessed and Ishmael too would become a great nation and have man y descendants. But the Lord proclaimed that there would be a great rift between the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac which continues to this day (fighting between the Jewish people and the Muslim people). I am going to stop here for now, but I will continue this tomorrow. This is a wonderful story and I urge you to go to the Bible and read all of Genesis. Also remember that if you want Jesus in your life and want the forgiveness of sins and the salvation that goes along with that all you have to do is pray . Ask Jesus to come into your heart and ask for the Holy Spirit to cleanse away all sinfulness and He will. If you believe that Jesus was the ONLY Son of the living God and ernestly pray for forgiveness, you will be saved and you name will be inscribed into the "book of life", and once your name is there it can NEVER be removed. You will have the salvation offered to all believers. God bless you all and I look forward to our time tomorrow. PEACE!

Jesus is Alive and well and at the Right Hand of the Father

Howdy y'all; Here we are at the tail end of September and fall has really made itself know with a bang! I love this weather with it's warm days and cool nights. For many years we have enjoyed sitting out on the porch in the cool of the evenings just chatting, playing Uno or some other card game or board game, and sharing in Christian fellowship. And sometimes sharing our Bible study time. When family or friends are not around I love just sitting out there with my wife or even alone is wonderful. My bird feeders were always a pleasure during the days and sometimes in the early evening when things are cooling down and in the beauty and peace of twilight the birds stop by for a bedtime snack. My heart swells with joy and wonder at the beauty of God's handiwork. What an awesome God we serve! If anyone questions the existence of God I direct them to the wonders around them. The beauty of the clouds, trees, birds and even the air we breath itself can remove any doubt if one truly sees with an open mind and heart. Think about the grass and trees, how they are made, how they have chlorophyll in their makeup to create energy and food for themselves and the animals and insects that depend on them for life, or for that matter, how we depend on them for cleansing the air of CO2 and put out Oxygen for us to breath. Look at the human body and how it works; how each vein, vessel, tendon, muscle, skin and other organs work! We are NOT accidents of nature or evolution. Nothing so complex and so perfect in form and function could just be an accident. There has to be a creator to organize and orchestrate the world and all of it's wonders. I am convinced in my heart, mind and soul that every day I wake up to, every breath, every beat of my heart is a gift of a loving and caring God. I know what many people as unbelievers will say; that there is no God or creator and it is all an accident of chemistry and evolution. All I can do is show them what I see and pray for them, that God will move in their lives in a meaningful way. I know there is illness, tragic deformities and dangers all around us. I see the evil that is in our hearts as part of the human condition and all I can say is that God has His hand in all of that as well. Why, I don't know! In Genesis God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, and He also created Adam and Eve to be tillers and caretakers of His garden. In the beginning there was no illness no evil in the hearts and mind of "man" (I use that inclusively). I know the story of the "Tree of Knowledge" and how Eve was tempted by Satan and took the apple and then gave it to Adam to eat. By that act of disobedience and willfulness sin came into man and we have been paying the price ever since! Romans 5:12 - "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin: and so death passed on all men; in that all have sinned." Sin, by definition in Judeo-Christian circles is "separation from God", and therefore SIN is ANYTHING that separates us from communion with God!! God wanted us to be with Him and to be obedient to His word; to love Him and worship Him. For that obedience we would have been free of illness and death and would have been in control, or have dominion over Eden and all of God's creation. Adam and Eve ruined that perfect scenario. But now, even in our "fallen" state, God still loves us. I know that God has given us "free will" and wants us to turn to Him by our own choice and to turn away from our propensity to sin. God gave His promise that if we obeyed Him in all things and interacted with each other in love we could inherit the Kingdom of God. He gave His "chosen people", the Jews, or Israel a land of milk and honey and His love IF they obeyed Him. Did they do it, did they obey Him? Sometimes they did and they had His favor in the times they did, BUT in the times they turned away from Him and His love they fell out of favor and were sent into exile. Our sinful nature seems to ALWAYS win out over our obedience to God. BUT, Here is the "good news", that God still loves us and cares about us even when we are sinners! How wonderful and awesome is that!? In Romans 5:8 we read; "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners , Christ died for us." GOD wants us ALL to repent of our sins and turn to Him. God gave the LAW to His people in the form of the Ten Commandments, but even with these simple rules to live by we couldn't do it. The law, instead of bringing us closer to God brought us condemnation to everlasting death because we all are sinners and cannot obey even these simple ten commands from our creator. Romans 3:23 - ". . .for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Now here is the real beauty of God, who like a perfect father, wants only the best for His children. He gave us a way to come unto Him and be worthy to share in His Kingdom; to be heirs along with His only true Son Jesus Christ. By that "gift" of His grace through Jesus Christ we are saved! Psalm 32:1-2 - "Blessed are they whose sins are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not count against him." By one man, Adam, sin and death came into the world and by one man, Jesus Christ, salvation and life everlasting is given to us. By the death and blood shed by Jesus Christ we are cleansed of all sin, His blood washes us white as snow. Jesus was the "perfect lamb' sacrifice. IF we believe in Jesus and His son-ship through God we are no longer condemned to eternal damnation and death! We are saved, we are made clean, we are brand new! By accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior we are covered by God's grace! Praise God, no longer sinners condemned, but sons and daughters and heirs, and therefore co-heirs with Christ to God's kingdom! We are made righteous, by the act of accepting Christ! By Gods grace are we saved and that grace is given to us because we have repented of our sins and are washed in the blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8 - "For by grace are ye saved by faith; and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God." and in; Romans 5:15 - ". . .and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many." As you are reading this; I ask you; do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? If you do I praise God and thank Him for bringing a brother or sister to this blog. If you do not know Jesus as your personal savior, but you would like to, I ask you to join me in a simple prayer: Lord God I repent of my sinful ways and I turn to you and thank you for sending your only Son Jesus Christ to suffer and die for me on the cross. I ask Him to come into my heart and to leave the Holy Spirit to dwell within me forever so that I may join into fellowship with Him and with you Lord. By the blood of Jesus I am washed clean and healed of my sinful nature. I praise you and thank you Lord for the gift of your grace by which I am saved. I thank you for the gift of eternal life. Amen. If you truly repent and truly believe in Jesus Christ as the only son of our living God you are "BORN AGAIN" You are made brand new, washed clean in the blood of Jesus. If you don't have a church where you can find fellowship I suggest that you find one that you can be comfortable in. If you have a church, talk to your pastor and tell him about your decision to ask Jesus into your heart and how you might serve in the church. If you live near Grapeland Texas I suggest you come on over to the church I attend which is New Hope Missionary Baptist Church just off highway 287 North. It is a great church and we have a wonderful pastor, a great church family and joyful Gospel based worship. I also suggest you read your Bible regularly. Try to read it cover to cover, jump around in it if you want to because you don't have to read it straight from Genesis to Revelation. I have, and many people have done it too. If you don't have a Bible just about every church I know of has Bibles available in their pews, and some give Bibles to a person who is baptised in their fellowship. There are some books in the Bible that I and many believers find to be helpful and a comfort at different times. The Psalms are awesome when you feel like the world is pressing in all around you. Romans (and chapters 5,6,7&8 in particular) are great to learn about faith and God's grace. The book of James is great to read and re-read over and over. Read them all because, . . . all scripture is given by God and is important for instruction and Christian growth. (I have paraphrased a bit there!). God is an awesome God. Do NOT be discouraged if you find yourself sinning again. No one is perfect, and even the most dedicated, born again Christian sins. The only person I know of who was perfect and without sin was Jesus Christ, and you know what the world did to Him! Jeremiah 33:11 - ". . .praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; and His mercy endureth forever . . ."

September - Roshashanah

WOW! Can you believe it is already September! This is the month in which Roshashanah is celebrated. That is the Hebrew New Year! It is also considered The Day of Atonement. In the Hebrew tradition that Jesus grew up in it would be a day of prayer and a time for asking for forgiveness from anyone you may have sinned against. I think we should celebrate the Day of Atonement as Christians too. We have all, at one time or another wronged someone or sinned against someone we know. How nice it would be to ask for their forgiveness and also forgive those who have sinned against us. We pray that in the Lord's Prayer. Wouldn't it be nice?
Well, anyway, on to my point for today. It seems like the older I get the faster and faster the days go by. When I was 18 years old an older friend of mine told me that the days would seem like they went by faster the older I got and I told him he was full of beans and nothing could make the days seem to go any faster than they were right then, when I was eighteen. Well, I was wrong, and he was very right! Back in the day, as they say now, it seemed like I had all the time in the world. I was working two jobs, taking classes and still was able to find time to go fishing with friends or go and shoot some hoops with buddies. When my step children were in school and doing different things, having to be chauffeured here and there for track or baseball, T-ball, football or whatever it seemed like there was time to do all of that and still have some time for myself and my "fun things". I wonder what makes the difference? There are still only 24 hours in a day. Still only 7 days in a week, sixty minutes in an hour! Is it our "energy level". I know I had more energy back then. But still there were chores to be done, wood to be chopped, split and stacked. Lawns to be mowed, fields to be plowed, meals to be cooked, household chores top be done. Still with all of that, I was able to find time to hit the rivers or streams for a few hours of fishing, or time to go hunting with friends or my step-son. Maybe it is because now that I am retired there is not the press for time as there was back then. I had to manage my time more closely to be able to get all of the "got to's" done and that left more time for the "want to's". I don't really know . . . but I do know it seems like I have less time to get things done than I used to. Any way, the point of all of that is to get to this realization that I had about spending time with God. "Back in the day"; I would get up at 4:00 or 4:30am and spend at least an hour with my Bible and with my prayers. Now I kind of fit it in whenever I can and that is not fair to me or to God. What I have decided is that from now on I am going to set aside a special time for God, the Bible and my prayers. For me morning has always been my best time. It is usually quiet and peaceful early in the morning and what better way to start the day than with my Lord and Savior, my Bible and my prayers. I will still set aside my Saturday evening prayer time at 8:00 central time to do my Prayer Warrior devotions and prayers. That is the time we all agreed upon to spend in prayer so that all of us would be praying at the same time. When two or more are agreed in prayer ". . .It shall be done!" The real point is that we ALL need a special time to reflect on life, God, prayer, service to others and especially on the people who really mean the most to us. One of the things I figured out a long time ago was that if I just read a couple of chapters in the Old Testament and a few chapters in the New Testament it wouldn't take long to get the whole Bible read cover to cover! I have done that many times in my life and I plan on doing it many more times. There is so much wisdom in the Bible that you realize that there really is "nothing new under the sun", and that just about any situation you come up against in life is already written about in the "Good Book". I have found that the Holy Spirit gives me a new understanding of the scriptures at different times! I have read a passage and had it speak to me about a certain situation in a certain way, and read the same passage at a different time and had it speak to me about a completely different situation and in a completely different way; and for both of those "understandings" to be right on the money EVERY TIME! I'm not exactly sure why or how, but the Bible is truly the "Living Word of God". I have heard many people criticize scriptures and say that it is too "confusing" or too "contradictory" and friends I have to say there was a time when I thought the same thing! You know what the difference is? It is the power of the Holy Spirit! Once you give you life over to God and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit fills your heart and understanding it makes ALL the difference in the world! We are all human and we all stumble and fall away from the Lord at times, BUT if you are truly responsive to the Holy Spirit and to the Biblical "Truths" of God's Holy Word; and if you truly try to live your life according to His commandments the Bible is alive and speaks directly to you and your heart. Every time I read it I find something NEW! Some new truth that I can hold on to that helps me make it through another day. Life is hard there is no doubt; and it is NOT fair sometimes. But with God, the Bible and prayer we can face all things and defeat all of life's foes and woes. One of my mom's favorite verses and it is also one of mine is: Philippians 4:13 - "I can do all things through Christ which strengthenest me." or as it says in the NIV version of the New Testament "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." With God nothing is impossible. Romans 8:31 ". . .If God is for us who can be against us. " I want to leave you with this thought: Pray, pray alone, pray with others, pray in your church and most of all pray in your own special quiet place. I would also like to tell you all to read Romans 8 the whole chapter. There is much in there for you to discern. Read it prayerfully and with your heart open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. You won't be sorry!

Revival is still going on!

Well folks; I have to say that our four days of REVIVAL at my church went very well! Brother Lamar Denby brought the message with power from the Holy Spirit. Awesome! What is even more wonderful is that the Spirit of Revival is still going strong. I have been attending services here for quite some time, and I have prayed about joining the church long and hard. I felt my prayers had been answered, and I had expressed my desire to formally become a member to our Pastor, and he brought it up to the church membership. Leona and I were officially made members of the church after my Baptism on Sunday. Even though I had been Baptized by "Immersion" twice before it was my pleasure to be Baptized once again in New Hope Baptist Church. Baptism is the outward symbol of an inward commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I felt, once again, the Joy of knowing Jesus, The Holy Spirit and God the Father. The Power of the Holy Spirit flooded over me as I was lowered under the water and symbolically buried with Christ and then brought up out of the water to be resurrected and reborn of the Spirit of God! It was wonderful! I felt brand new, Born Again and revitalized in my Spirit. God is so good all the time! It is funny because I had been feeling far from God, and felt like my Joy had been slipping away for a little while and the Baptism was exactly what I needed. God answered my prayers once again because I had been praying about those feelings for a while! I am flooded with the Power and Joy of knowing the Holy Spirit strong within me. All Glory to God. I have been reflecting on what it means to be an Heir to the Kingdom of God. We are promised, in scripture, that once we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and our name is written into the "Book of Life", we are then Heirs with Jesus to all the Powers and Riches He has inherited as Son of the Living God! Romans 8:16-18 states; "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God, and if children the heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we also be glorified together.". It is also confirmed in James 5:5 "Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which He promised to those who love Him". Being Heirs to the Kingdom is also mentioned in: Hebrews 11:8-10, Titus 3:6-8, Ephesians3:5-7, Galatians 3:25-29 and many more places in both the Old and New Testaments. What does it mean! It means that we are truly heirs to the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ as we are joined with Him as brothers and sisters. That means that we can have the same powers to heal, make the blind see, the lame walk and cast out evil spirits THROUGH Jesus Christ. We cannot do it under our own power but we can by faith through Jesus Christ! God said so, He promised us and we all know that God keeps His promises. It is where we fall short in our faith and obedience that keeps every born again believer from performing these miracles. We pray, but we pray weakly at times, we don't pray in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. I says in James 3 that if we are "double minded". The whole book of James teaches us how we can be completely filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. James is an awesome book, and one we should read often until it becomes implanted in our hearts and minds. James 1:5-8 tells us exactly how we should pray, and how we can receive from God. Look it up! As believers we are heirs to the Kingdom, but just as Deuteronomy 28 tells us about how we can be blessed by God as heirs. Chapter 29 tells us exactly what we can expect if we are not obedient to God. Open you Bibles my friends. Don't rely or expect your Pastor to do all the work for you. "Study to show thyself approved". We can expect ALL of our needs to be met as Born Again believers, and IF we can come into obedience with God and are not "double minded" we can also expect to perform miracles through the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit! It is God's promise! God bless you all.

Update on Revival

God bless y'all! Folks I have got to tell you that the Revival at New Hope Baptist Church has been awesome so far, and Brother Denby has been on fire with the Holy Spirit! You could literally feel the tension in the air caused by the Holy Spirit filling the whole church. Satan was on the run!! There was no room for him there. A number of folks went up to the Altar to rededicate their lives to service for Jesus Christ! Tonight he preached on the scriptures relating the defeat of Goliath by little David and how David sent Goliath's head to Jerusalem but how David kept the armor of Goliath in his tent. He likened that to the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in us through Jesus Christ and how we ALL as believers in the Salvation power of Jesus Christ is the ". . . something we have in our tents". People all around me were standing up and giving a "hand clap" for Jesus or shouting out "Halleleulya" or "Amen" and so was I. Brother Lamar was ON FIRE for Jesus. I was reminded a number of times of the saying; "that surely God is in this place". Amazing, wonderful, thrilling. There are not enough adjectives to describe just exactly what the feeling was that moved through the church. Someone sent me an email with a link to a quick short cut to scriptures based on "key words" and I explored the site and found a number of features that are awesome helps in doing bible studies. I am going to try to include them here for anyone who might like to check them out. Go to: http://www.biblegateway.com/ This site is awesome! There many different versions of the Bible available from the King James to New King James all the way to New International Version and many, many more. There are search helps and links to "Bible Verse of the day" . I love it and I use it often to do my research. Remember that all one needs to do to be born again is to renounce Satan and your sinfulness and truly repent and then accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and thereby accept the gift of the Holy Spirit into you heart. To believe and to know that you have been "Saved" is awesome. In a flash scriptures seem to be more clear and your understanding of them growing. The PEACE that fills you up, and knowing where you will spend all of eternity, WOW! Amazing! God bless you all!