Greetings and Salutations,

Not much has changed in our neck of the woods, a little bit going on in the city, but pretty quiet this time of year.

Just sitting back, this afternoon, and relaxing.

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Habakkuk 3:17-19  KJV  “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

¹⁸ Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

¹⁹ The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.”

Interesting passage, and it comes from the OLD Testament.

We all too frequently forget that God had a covenant with His chosen people, the Jews.

While they had to work hard to adhere to the laws of God, they knew that in doing so they would eventually see Him.

We on the other hand have but to lift up our Savior, Jesus Christ, and ask his mediation between us and God.

While the Jews knew that death did not bring them before God, the gates of heaven were closed, they did know that after the Christ came God would open those gates and those that had lived for Him would be accepted into heaven.

We on the other hand know that the work has already been done and that to die, in Him, is to walk through those gates and be with Him.

Habakkuk learned early on that no matter his financial or physical condition He can still have the Joy of His Salvation.

Christians around the world have, through the centuries, suffered deprivation, tribulation, hate, persecution, prosecution, incarceration, torture and even death – and STILL they remembered the Joy of their Salvation.

Without them Christianity would have been even more difficult for us.

Many of our brethren are suffering even today AND in America as well as the rest of the world – yet, they stand by God and remember the Joy of their Salvation.

Now, how often do we thank God for our Salvation and remember that Joy we had when we knelt before Him, confessing our sins and asking they be forgiven?

AND the weight off our shoulders was a real feeling, it lifted our spirits, it lifted our shoulders and we truly felt Joy.

No matter how difficult we have it, no matter how picked on we may feel, no matter how hateful others may treat us, when we live for Christ we can still have that Joy of our Salvation.

Luke 6:22-23  KJV   “ Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.

²³ Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.”

If we have forgotten that Joy, it is time we meet with God until we receive it.

Later, Art (-:

Greetings and Salutations,

What a beautiful ‘Spring’ day in our neck of the woods, just several weeks early.  The temperature is mild and the sun is lighting up our corner of the world.

But, it is nice and we will take advantage of it, today, we are supposed to have rain the rest of the week; but no snow.

As part of the package from the fitness center I had a half hour with a personal trainer.  We went over my current routine and she added a couple of more exercises, just need to slowly up my workouts.  It only took 70+ years to develop this fat body, hopefully it won’t take that much to lose some of it...

Still can’t do a lot with my right arm, frustrating, but I know it is better than it was a week ago, it is just taking time.

Patience.                       

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Romans 12:3  KJV  “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

As I look back, in my life – especially my law enforcement life – there were indeed times I thought myself as being above, it wasn’t long before I was brought down; but that didn’t entirely stop me from thinking more highly of myself than I should have.

Law Enforcement in our community is very fortunate, we don’t have the council people, mayors, commissioners leaning on us to do something that will benefit them – at least not when I was working.

I can count on one hand times that I had someone call from one of those positions and announce that they were in that position and demanding certain things be done – which in the end would benefit them over someone else.

We always told them the same thing, we will enforce the law.

I am not naïve.  There are people in almost every community that have power, either in a position or by finances – that can influence decisions made by others.

I was just fortunate enough not to have very many on my doorstep.

Pride, sense of Power, sense of entitlement that we deserve absolute respect can afflict most people – not everyone, but far more than not.

It is easy to have happen to us.  We accomplish something, or attain a certain stature in the community and believe that we are something special and deserve more than the other guy.

It can happen in the church, just like it does in the world, where we can become prideful of our leadership position, where we can think more highly of ourselves than we should.

In the war against evil, there is but one General and He places people in positions that He deems not only worthy but have proven themselves to be faithful.

Part of that faithfulness is how the person reacts to their responsibilities, do they puff out their chest, or do they go about doing the best they can without trying to attain accolades?

Power and position can be used for the good of those we serve, or it can be misused to the benefit of those in power or to those they feel they wish to empress or gain acceptance from.

No one is secure in any position they have, if obedience to God is not in their hearts. 

We are placed in positions, not for our benefits, but because God sees something in us that He can use to bring people closer to Him.

The skills, gifts, knowledge or abilities we have are to be humbly worked so we can be used by Him.  If He wishes to honor us with praise, so be it, but it shouldn’t be our goal, and it shouldn’t be our goal to have others acknowledge our work.

We should always want to do our very best in whatever role we find ourselves.  If it is deemed we are worthy of being ‘promoted’ either in position or to others as recommendations, so be it, but we shouldn’t let those things ‘go to our heads.’

Even dictators have to answer to somebody, and while it may take a long time for it to happen, when it is done they are dragged down to the pits of the world.

Whatever I do should be for the Lord and I should not inject my pride into the mix.

Frankly, that is extremely difficult for me.  I often have to remind myself not to do something to get praise, but because it needs to be done – as directed by Him.

Later, Art (-:

Greetings and Salutations,

Quiet time in our neck of the woods, however, they are having an Eagle watch at the Dam Visitors center on Saturday and Sunday this month from 0900 to 1500.

They are indeed majestic creatures.

There was a bit of sun today, and it will be coming and going throughout the weekend, or so they forecast.  It actually is in the 50’s right now, not a normal winter day.

As a matter of fact it feels more like March than January; and as I have said earlier, a bit disconcerting.  We are getting a bit of snow on the mountains, which is good, but we need a lot more than a bit!

But Carla enjoys playing in the dirt and will be doing so this afternoon.  She has some bulbs she didn’t get planted this fall and leaves to move so she will be happy.

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Galatians 3:26-28  KJV  “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁷ For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

²⁹ And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Paul realized that those that had been born Jewish felt they were greater than those that were not – even though both “groups” had accepted Christ as their Savior.

The great Apostle, Peter, could have resolved it, but did not and actually aligned himself with those born Jews for fear of their anger; and the two groups were separated.

There are so many different churches in America today.  All too often we argue over little things, even though we believe in the foundation that Christ laid; even though the differences are minor we find ourselves separating ourselves because we feel we are more pious – or because they feel they are more pious.

God doesn’t look at color of skin, or any other human divisiveness, He doesn’t look at which church we belong to – again with the caveat that the church follows the tenants as set forth in His Word.

He looks at the heart.  We may be seen as pious by those around us, but if our heart isn’t right, it makes no difference what denomination we belong to, or what actions we may do – we will be rejected by Him.

When we accepted Christ, we became children of Abraham and part of God’s promise to him that his offspring would be more than the sands on the shore, or the stars in the sky.

He doesn’t care where we came from, or what our beliefs were before we accepted His Son; He only cares that we did accept Him and that we are striving to serve Him.

When we work for a business we have a job to do.  There will be those in charge, there will be those doing various means of paper work and there will be those that are doing the physical labor. 

But as a group they are members of that business and are recognized as such.  Each helps the other to accomplish the goals of the business; and while some may have more responsibility and accountability and thus make more money, in the end it is the cohesiveness of the work of the employees that make the business successful – each position is vital to the business and without that person or position others have to work harder and not as efficiently.

God will place some Christians over others as a means to conduct the business of the Church, teaching, preaching, serving others in His name, but we are all equal when it comes to being part of HIS Church.

May I always remember that Christ’s Church has many members, some whom I may not agree with all they believe but as long as we have accepted Him as our Savior, and that we are all striving to serve Him and help others find Him, we are all His Children.

Later, Art (-:

                        

Greetings and Salutations,

Not a lot happening in our neck of the woods.  We are getting rain, a gentle rain that allows the ground to soak it in – some run off, but for the most part it is going deeply into the garden.

Getting some snow on the mountains, need a lot more, but any is appreciated!

Forecast is for overcast this next 7 days, what does concern me is the temperatures, all above freezing.  Nice for this time of year, but the cold kills a lot of the bugs that create havoc in the garden in the summer – looks like we will have to rely on other measures.

As I work out I cast my gaze over the Columbia River, watching birds flying around.  One mighty eagle was sitting on one of the Indian fishing platforms, looking for a meal.

Now, my question is:  Since those platforms can only be used by Indians to fish off of (even white men married to Indians are not allowed to fish off of them) does the eagle get cited?

Anyway,

Thought I would share this with you, from a reading this morning:

Mathew 18:31-32    KJV  “So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.

³² And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.”

The first recorded incident of deviled ham....

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Genesis 25:30-34    KJV  “And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

³¹ And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.

³² And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?

³³ And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

How many times have I pulled an “Esau” and insisted I get my needs met right now, instead of giving God time to bless me?

While not said, Patience would have been the key with Esau.

With all the servants this family had, someone could have whipped up a meal for him.

It is doubtful he was starving to death.  Yes, he may have been very hungry, he even may have gone days without eating and the smell of Jacob’s meal would have caused his mouth to water.

But, for the sake of immediate gratification, he gave up something that was of immense value, his birth right; the right to all of his father’s possessions.

Those possessions would have been worth millions in today’s markets, and he gave it all up for a bowl of mush.

While many today would say, “Oh, come on now, we know he didn’t really mean to give up his birthright, it was just a way to get fed quickly.”

Esau would agree with those people.  He even later claimed that Jacob had stolen his birthright.

But, he didn’t steal it.  Esau sold it to him for a bowl of mush; he agreed to exchange his birth right for that meal.

But, back then a person’s word meant something and wasn’t to be given lightly.  A man’s word was his bond and if he didn’t live up to it he would be ostracized and never again trusted.

So, he gave up his birth right for a bowl of porridge.  He couldn’t wait a few minutes to have a meal prepared for him; he had to have it right now.

Oh, Lord, so many times I have been impatient and moved forward when if I had just waited I may have received incredible blessings from you.

Please help me trust you; please help me be patient as you work through the many things in my life.

I don’t want to give up a possible blessing for a bowl of mush.

Later, Art (-:   

Greetings and Salutations,

Things are looking up in our neck of the woods.

Today, as I drove down the road, I saw three homes that had been recently placed on the market – all three had sale pending signs on them.

When people are once again willing to purchase homes it is a good sign that the economy is improving.

There are still companies advertising for employees, even after the Christmas season is over.

Now, I pray, it continues.

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Proverbs 3:5-6  KJV  “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Trust. 

I do trust the Lord.

So, why don’t I have the patience to allow Him to work things his way; to see the victory we can have by trusting Him?

I pray; and He doesn’t do things immediately.

He doesn’t do it the way I want him to...so, out of frustration I try and get it done ‘my’ way.

We know that may work ‘sometimes.’ 

However, when we decide we know better than God on how He should do things all too often we find that we make things more difficult.

Instead of getting things done His way, the way He plans, we get in His way.

Trust, patience, two words with the same meaning when it comes to being a follower of Jesus Christ.

When we truly learn to trust in Him, when we learn to be patient, we develop the wisdom He wants us to have to better serve Him, to better draw closer to Him.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

I need to have that kind of trust.

Mathew 18:3-4   KJV  “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Not truly trusting in Him.  Not truly having patience to allow Him to do His will.  That is a special kind of arrogance, when I think I know as much or more than God.

May I humble myself as that little child.

Later, Art (-:

Actually saw sun today in our neck of the woods.  We have some low clouds right now, but we are ‘promised’ more sun today – Carla is so looking forward to playing in the dirt this afternoon; even if it is pretty wet.

Seeing lots of Bald eagles out by the dam, not sure why they return to our area every year about this time, but they are more than welcome to share our space – beautiful birds.

As I read about the hard winter on the east coast I am thankful it is not the same here – at the same time hoping that something will change so we have much more snow on our mountains.

It is hard to believe that it is the 9^th of January and we have had but one real snow and a bit of rain.  Still early in the winter, and there is time for us to have that snow to help with irrigation this summer.

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Proverbs 4:5-6  KJV  “He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

⁵ Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.”

The last few days God seems to be telling me to ‘grow up’ so to speak.

There is so much in His Word we need to read, understand and share with others.

1 Corinthians 1: 17-19  KJV   “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

¹⁸ The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

¹⁹ And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,”

“may give unto you”  (me)  “ the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:”

So be my prayer this day!

Later, Art (-:

       

Greetings and Salutations,

We are experiencing another grey day in our neck of the woods, temperature is mild, snow has all but disappeared as some still sits in the shady spots. 

This is not the winter I thought we were going to have, and a concerning one for our farmers, ranchers and orchardist, and for those, like Carla, who enjoy raising their own vegetables in their own garden.

I have very little mechanical ability.  My Dad and one of my brothers were/are very good with their hands and ability to figure things out.  That gene lies dormant somewhere deep inside me and absolutely refuses to show itself.

Yesterday, Steven helped me change the battery in one of the rigs, not a big thing, but I had forgotten how heavy those things are and right now I still have difficulty using my right arm.  We got it taken care of; course the guy had recent experience when Celinda’s folks were stranded with a dead battery and he replaced it for them.

Then, just about an hour before she was to go to work, Carla finds that the plumbing under the sink is leaking and we had water all over.

Now, not only am I not a plumber, but this fat older body has difficulty working at odd angles – who am I kidding, any angle that requires being on my knees.

I found the problem, one of the drain pipes had come loose.  I got it fixed as my knees and back kept screaming at me.

That leak was stopped.  But, two Tylenols later, another one soon developed, small but a leak none-the-less.  My body and mind rebelled at having to get back down under there.

I sent out a call for help to two of my daughters – not quite a bat signal but similar.  Yes, daughters.  These ladies have that gene I passed down from my Dad in full operation.  They are far handier than I ever was and one of them always comes to the rescue.

Both Deed (and her husband Josh) and Teresa have been life (and money) savers for us for a number of years.

This time it was Teresa.  She came up after getting off day five of a two week twelve hour graveyard shift.

The dog growled, at 0630, but didn’t continue it and while it woke me, I went back to sleep.

We got up just before 0800 to find that Teresa had just finished fixing the plumbing problem – the trap had a very small pin hole, but the metal was so weak, it was crumbling, it would have given away more and more as time would go on.

After diagnosing the problem, she went down to Freddie's’ and got a replacement, finishing up as we got up.

Since it was Teresa, the dog didn’t continue alerting us, and she got it done with neither Carla nor me aware of her visit.

I appreciate the fact my kids take mercy on their Dad.  AND they don’t laugh at my inabilities – at least not in front of me.

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Hebrew 12:11  KJV  “ Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

“Every person should see to it that he is fully cleansed from all sin, entirely surrendered to the whole will of God and filled with the Holy Spirit. Then he will not be known as what he does, but as what he is. He will be a man of God first and anything else second.”  Tozer

EVERY Single one of us, that profess to follow Jesus, has a calling.  It may not be into full-time ministry, it may not be as a teacher or some other ‘recognized’ leader in the church, but God has something He wants us to do.

Most parents work hard to help their child become good citizens.  If they stray from the rules they correct them, it may be gently – at first – but if better behavior doesn’t occur they must use more significant measures.

The correction isn’t pleasant for the child, it isn’t what they want to hear or do; and it can be very trying on the parents but the parents realize that if the behavior isn’t corrected the child will become worse in their conduct as time goes on.

When the child’s conduct is improved, then it is less stressful on everyone – not only in the family, but those who have contact with them.

When we start a new job we are told/shown what to do.  If we don’t do it correctly then the trainer has to help us correct the work.

If we choose not to follow those directions we may find ourselves suspended for a bit, placed in a lesser position or if we still don’t correct our work, we will lose the job.

The correction processes are not designed to embarrass the employee (or shouldn’t be) but to make them better at their job so they can be depended upon.  As they improve and perform their tasks well, they may be given more tasks and an opportunity to climb the business ladder.

This pattern is what God has been doing from the formation of man.  He wants us to be holy.  We cannot do it without knowing what is required of us – and He has given that in His Word, guidance by the Holy Spirit and in the wisdom of those He has placed over us.

If we falter or stray, He will correct us.  Usually, depending on the offense, it will be gentle at first, but if it isn’t corrected the discipline will be more difficult for us.

As we grow in Him, we can look back and see that His discipline was guidance for us to make us holier and more acceptable to the calling He has made on us.

No one likes to be disciplined, whether deserved or not, but to grow we must not only accept it, but learn to adjust our behavior so that God can use us more effectively.

The calling of God on our life might change as the years go on.

I know of one elderly lady who used to be extremely active in her church, visiting members of the congregation and being a real role model.  As she grew older she wasn’t able to continue in that ministry, but did what she could.

Eventually she moved to a Nursing Home.  There she ministered to those who also resided there, and when she became bed ridden, her prayer life became her ministry.

God wants to use us.  It is up to us to listen to Him and to follow His Holy Spirit as He teaches and trains us for the calling God has upon our lives.

Later, Art (-:

Greetings and Salutations,

(Thought I had sent this out yesterday, but didn’t so will now.)

Well the day began with overcast again in our neck of the woods; however, the sun decided to break through this afternoon.

Working on the rehab of the shoulder and bicep but it is taking so much longer than it is supposed to – but it is slowly getting better; just have to remember and not stress it too much – have done that too often and set me back a bit.

James 1:4  KJV  “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

There is that word again, PATIENCE, I have so much difficulty with this, it has haunted me all my life.

I sometimes think I am gaining ground only to find that something comes up that makes me start grinding my teeth again.

Little things can be the worst, they sneak up and attack without warning – but, my desire is to indeed have patience that He can use me when and how HE wants; and not let those other things bet between us.

Later, Art (-:

Greetings and Salutations,

 

WOW, woke up to sun shining on the hills around us; in our neck of the woods today.

AND it has stay shining down on us all day.  Still a bit crisp, but love it.  Now, for the colder nights that shall follow, I ‘think’ we are prepared for them, though.  Even if we are forecasted as being 31, I do believe it will be a bit colder up here.

Mountains are getting a bit of snow, but it is just teasing right now, not enough to make much of a difference.

Got a few things accomplished today, not enough, but a few.

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Mathew 5:43-44  KJV  “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

⁴⁴ But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”

I can remember asking my first Pastor, ‘what am I supposed to pray for these that are described in verse 44?

He just looked at me and didn’t reply.

Do we pray that they suffer accidents, illnesses or problems greater than others?

Do we wish the worse on them so that they can’t continue to harm us?

Nope.

Often time these people have no idea who God is; they have no inkling of how they should behave to others.

They are upset with us, or they really do hate us and want the worse for us.  If they could they would wipe us off the face of the earth – and unfortunately, in many countries this indeed has happened to Christians who live their faith.

Our prayers should be that they find God and understand who Jesus is and how He can change their lives – not for our sake, but for theirs.

No one said it is easy, no one said that our adversaries will change – especially how they treat us – but, if gives us a strength to endure that cannot be done in any other way than to pray for them – truly pray and mean it.

There have been hundreds of true stories that have been shared with Christians over the years by other Christians that show people can change – and usually it is because of how the Christian acted toward their adversary.

The adversary found that the inner-strength of a Christian through the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit can, indeed, make a difference in a person’s life AND they have found Christ as their Redeemer.

Some people would have us believe that once we are a Christian all our cares will be swept aside; that we will have no further problems.

History tells us that thinking you will never have problems is just a pipe dream.  Christ, Himself, suffered and if He suffered how can we possibly think we are above that?

While suffering is not something any of us want, many times it makes us stronger; it makes us more capable of relating with others and helping them through similar problems; and, there will be people watching us to see how we react and to see if Christ really does make a difference in our lives.

2 Corinthians 6:4-7    KJV  “ But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

⁵ In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;

⁶ By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,

⁷ By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,”

That is part of our responsibilities of being a Christian.  I don’t see anything in these verses that says, “don’t worry it will be easy.”

And praying for those we have problems with won’t be either.

I want it to be, but I also know that satan is doing all he can to prevent each one of us from being effective in our lives and testimonies.

Later, Art (-:

Greetings and Salutations,

Yep, in case you were wondering, another grey day in our neck of

the kitchen; so it stands out in my mind a bit.

As the weeks went on without the sun shining Dad became more and more agitated, the woods.  Temperature was hovering at 33 when I went out this morning, with rain gently falling – fortunately, not freezing.

The forecast is more of the same, for a while.  The longest I can remember without any sun was 42 days.  AND that just happened to be the time when Carla’s Dad and Mom were here remodeling the lack of sunshine was getting to him – prefer that explanation to he was ready to throw us out as he had to work around 4 kids, Carla and I in a kitchen we still had to use.

He left on a Friday, came back Monday with a whole new ‘attitude.’  Central Oregon has sunshine almost year round and the two days he was down there seemed to re-kindle his energy.

The grey doesn’t have too much of an effect on me, although I do feel a bit better with sunshine, until it is 110 degrees in the garden – then I kinda rethink it.

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Romans 8:38-39   KJV  “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

³⁹ Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

These verses are very important to us, especially right now.

While our brother and sister Christians have been going through difficult times through the centuries, we in America have not been challenged as much.

We are now, and with the hatred that is going on within our country, where the slightest thing can ‘offend’ people and get others trying to ‘purify’ from all offensiveness the past and condemn those that say anything against their agenda, it may very well get worse in the oncoming months and years.

But, no matter what happens in our world.  No matter what happens in our lives, God is still consistent.

While people are demanding changes, and what is ‘okay’ today is a horrible act of hatred and offensive act tomorrow, He doesn’t change.

His expectations are the same.  His mercy and grace are the same. His love for us is the same.  His desire to bring all mankind back into His arms is the same.

Malachi 3:6  KJV  “ For I am the Lord, I change not;”

Hebrews 13:8  KJV  “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

With God, He doesn’t say one thing today and another tomorrow.  He is consistent; IF we turn to Him we will always know where we stand – it won’t be different tomorrow with Him, but as we grow in Him, we will be different.

We can tell the seasons; we can tell the speed of the earth and where we are in relationship with other celestial bodies of the universe. 

We know the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.  We know it will be the same, day in and day out.  We know that the hours of daylight change and we can know to the minute what that change will be from one day to the next.

As God created a world where there is complexity, yet dependable outcomes, so He is complex, but He is constant and reliable, IF we follow Him, depend on Him, learn from Him we know He will be with us – He has never changed.

Later, Art (-:                             

Greetings and Salutations,

Another grey day in our neck of the woods.  Although as I drove east on the other side of town I was given a quick glimpse of yellow light coming through the clouds. 

It is nice to know there is still a sun up there.

It is quiet here today, just me, Blaze and the cats – all of which are asleep.

Carla will be home soon with a few honey do’s for me, I will be getting started on them in a few minutes so at least she can see I am trying......  (-:

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“The Scriptures declare, "Abram fell on his face" as the Lord talked with him (Genesis 17:3). Abraham was reverent and submissive. Probably there is no better picture anywhere in the Bible of the right place for mankind and the right place for God. God was on His throne speaking, and Abraham was on his face listening!”  A.W. Tozer

Genesis 17:3-4  KJV  “And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

⁴ As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.”

As Christians, we have such a close relationship with God the Father that we sometimes take Him for granted.

He is not our buddy, He is God.  We need to focus when we pray, when we talk to Him and give Him the honor do His position.

No there isn’t a problem with saying quick prayers of praise, thanksgiving or needing help.  He would rather we contact Him than not.  But that isn’t enough for our spiritual growth.

All too often we don’t spend enough time just being with Him.  Listening to Him with the exclusion of all others, no talking, no texting, no phone, TV or radio, just concentrating on who He is and understanding that we ARE in the presence of God, not some fishing, golfing, hunting, etc. buddy.

Going into a court room we must stand for the judge as he enters and leaves.  It is a sign of respect and understanding that this is his courtroom and he IS the judge who will pass judgement on those entering it.

If a person doesn’t show respect for the judge and his court room they can find themselves in jail being held for contempt of court.

God deserves far more respect, far more honor than a judge or even the highest position in the land. 

We need to remind ourselves sometimes that God is the Creator and has the power of life or death over everyone in this world.

He Created the universe; He sent His Son to be a Sacrifice for us; we owe Him homage and honor more than anything He created.

When we take the time to worship and praise Him, not in a rote sense but an on the spot conversation with Him, we find that we grow spiritually and can accomplish more things in our day.

Later, Art (-:

More fog and low clouds in our neck of the woods, looks to be that all week long.  Temperature supposed to be fluctuating between 31 at night and mid-30’s during the day.  (sigh)

For the first time in years I saw midnight on the 31^st of December.  I had gone to bed at my same time, long before midnight, woke up for some reason, and got up for a couple of moments just in time to join AllClassical with the count-down; wished Carla, Steven and Celinda a Happy New Year, then went back to bed.

Through my many years I have found that New Years is here at 0800 as well as midnight.

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2 Corinthians 5:17  KJV  “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Every ‘New Year’ we hear of people making resolutions on how they want to improve themselves in this new year.

Many have great ideas and really are meaning to follow them, but by February or March they are all but forgotten.

It does take will power and dedication to change one’s habits and improve ourselves.

Especially when we try and do it ourselves. 

We know it is better to have a buddy doing the same thing so you are helping each other out and keeping each other accountable.

But, there are things we cannot control ourselves, things that will come back to us as satan uses our memories to beat us down and tell us we aren’t good enough.

The only true way we can improve ourselves is to accept the sacrifice Christ made on the cross and ask Him to forgive us.

For some people things that they are doing they know are wrong, disappear and they truly overcome them, immediately, thanks to the Holy Ghost’s purification of our mind, heart and soul through Christ.

We can’t improve ourselves to the point of having those sins forgiven; and we don’t need to do that.

Christ isn’t asking us to be ‘good’ in order to be saved, He isn’t asking us to cast aside all our bad habits or sins before we can be saved; He asks that we accept the sacrifice and God through His Holy Spirit will be the one that will watch over us, teaching us, showing us and helping us be free of those sins.

As I said, some have a complete turnaround, immediately, while many of us have to fight the “old creature” that satan keeps harping on, but either way, Christ makes of us a new creature.

We look at things differently, we act differently, we strive to be pleasing to Him and therefore are more able to help others.

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, I just ask God to help be do the things He is asking me to do, to help me be responsive to His Spirit and for His help in making me a better man.

I use the Holy Spirit as MY buddy, and hopefully I will remember to be in constant contact with Him as I make those improvements.

Later, Art (-: