In our neck of the woods we are awaiting for the new arrival of a baby, the mother is a friend of Deed’s. 

She arrived at the hospital this morning at 0100 and as of this writing is still in labor.  Deed and her husband were talking and he told her he was going to go home and feed the dogs, she explained to him that in doing so he may very well miss the event since they live over an hour away.

Deed will take care of the dogs – I don’t think they will starve over the next few hours, anyway.

This is the couple’s first child and it has been an interesting journey of not fully understanding the process, ‘Grandma’ Labrousse has helped answer some of the questions and concerns and I just kinda shake my head.

But, I wasn’t much better with our first born.  We went on a fishing trip on the Metolious River with Carla’s sister and her husband.  To get to where we could fish we had to drive for well over a couple of hours and the last part of it was on a narrow dirt road.  We didn’t catch any, in case you were wondering, although Carla did lean far over the swift waters to get the line out of a tree...

This was about three or four days before Vicki was born.  I can remember a friend at church telling me how foolish I was to take her so far away and ‘YOU will end up delivering that baby yourself” then asked me if I knew how.....

All our kids survived Dad’s ignorance, and I have stories on each of them and some of the ‘now’ entertaining issues on their births – none of them were ‘simple.’

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“I hope, by God’s Grace, that I am truly a Christian, not deviating from the faith, and that I would rather suffer the penalty of a horrible death than wish to affirm anything outside the faith or transgress the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Jan Hus

John 14:6-7 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

⁷ If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”  KJV

Jesus was clear: I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

As a Christian how can we preach anything but that?  As Peter preached after being filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost:

Acts 4:10-12 “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

¹¹ This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

¹² Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”  KJV

This was the power Jesus told them to wait for, and this is the message that the Holy Spirit demanded to be told.

There are those that said Jesus never said He was the Savior; yet, He said it many times, if not directly but showing how He fulfilled the Scriptures of the promised one, and then many times as above, He was clear about his divinity.

There are no excuses, the Bible contradicts itself; does it now, or is that what you try to say it does?

The Bible was written by a bunch of old men and therefore not really relevant; of course it was written by men, but as the Holy Spirit directed them.

The world has changed and we, as Christians, need to change with it; or are we just too lazy or too ‘scared’ to stand on the Word that says God changes not?

The excuses continue in so many ways, but that is all they are excuses.

If a person doesn’t want to accept God’s promise of salvation through Jesus Christ we cannot force them.  We can share until either they do, or they tell us to shut up – and, yes, I have had some tell me that, even in my own family.

Doesn’t mean that we give up on them, we can pray and one of the things we can pray about is to have someone else, who can reach them, come into their life.

The mission of a Christian is not to water down or change the message from God so it is more palatable to today’s society, but to stand firm on His Word, regardless of what others may feel.

I have been told that I am going to feel awful foolish when I die and see others in heaven that followed a different path, or when there is nothing after death.

My answer is simple, if I am wrong and you are right I have nothing to worry about, if I am right you are wrong then you have an eternity of pain and suffering that you will receive and will look back at all the times you had an opportunity to accept Christ and made light of it.

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” 

With that truth in mind, Lord, give me the wisdom in dealing with the people you send my way to give them the words that will strike to the heart of their souls and make them more open to your guidance to Christ.

Later, Art (-: