Greetings and Salutations,

    It is a pleasant day in our neck of the woods.  We still have snow tucked away from the sun, but it is quickly melting.  It will not be long until Carla’s garden will be ready for her hand.

    I came across and article the other day that was interesting, to me at least.  It was on the practice of Charivari.

    It started out hundreds of years ago in Europe.  The practitioners would be unhappy with the choice someone made in marriage.  It could be they didn’t like one spouse or the other.

    It could be that they felt the widow(er) got married too soon and several other reasons – and they would show their displeasure by disrupting them with deeds, such as running off with the husband during the wedding night (or wife as Alan Refsland can attest) returning him or her the next day.

    They would damage some of the property and in some way just make it uncomfortable for the newlyweds.

    In America it came over and was continued in southern states.  Eventually it lost the stigma of displeasure and became a fun event for the revelers, if not the newlyweds.

    Carla and I used to participate in such shenanigans.  It has been several years since we have done so, but some I remember fondly.

    Shower stalls or tubs would be filled with wadded up newspapers, one couple found several cow bells under their bed, they would lay down hear one, remove it only to find out that there were more.

    Unscrewing light bulbs, setting up cupboard doors so when they were opened a box of rice or something would come spilling out.

    Canned food labels were removed, things hidden away that they might want – nothing malicious, just to let them know we loved them.

    We knew people that would set the clocks in the house backwards so when the victims got ready for work, they would be late.

    We did it differently, we set them ahead.  We never knew how well that actually worked until one day we did it on a young couple.

    They came back from their honeymoon to the usual challenges from a Charivari.   After some clean up they retired, set the alarm clock so they could get up and go to work the next morning.

    The wife got up and fixed her husband breakfast, turning off the clock radio so he wouldn’t be disturbed while she went about her work.

    They finished breakfast and then went to his mother’s house – can not remember if one of them was taking her to work or going to work with her, however when they arrived she was not ready for work.

    They tried to rush her, but she kept saying it was an hour earlier, finally they called ‘time’ and found out she was correct.

    For weeks the wife kept trying to find out who was responsible.  They were a popular couple in our Youth Group so they were sure it had to be some of them, but no one would fess up.

    One night, during church service, I handed her an envelope – she was sitting just in front of us.  She looked through the pictures and turned around and loudly – enough that we got a dirty look from the Pastor – saying “IT WAS YOU TWO!  Carla and I just smiled.

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Romans 15:13  KJV  “ Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

    As we look on what the world deems a reason for rejoicing, we tremble at what we have become and are becoming.

    When a government can be enthusiastic and celebrating the passing of a bill that allows the taking of a baby’s life right up to the birthing process we have to wonder how much longer God is going to allow us to live without terrible repercussions.

    Eight states allows that, including the state of Oregon.

    AND far too many churches not only do not condemn such behavior but embrace it.

    There is hope and there is salvation for those that participate in this barbaric act.  But, they need to ask forgiveness and change their behavior.

    I used to be proud of this state, the individualism, the opportunity to grow in an environment that was concerned about God’s blessings.

    Used to be.

    Now, when I am asked if I am from Oregon, I make it clear I am from CENTRAL OR EASTERN Oregon; but even in our neck of the woods we are seeing the putrefying of our society and the increasing disconnect with our God.

“ Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

    Frankly, it is only through the Holy Ghost that we can have joy and peace.  It is only through Him that we can have hope for our nation and families.

    When it is illegal AND we morally condemn a person who kills a dog or cat in a perceived “inhuman method’ yet, it is a moment to rejoice for a person who has taken a life through abortion, we have to be concerned for the morality of our nation.

    Christians need to be heard.  They need to be praying every day for this nation and the conscience we have somehow formed destroying all decency.

    I look outside and I see new life springing up because it is Spring.

    The birds sing in gratification.

    The flowers bloom and start to display their beauty and fragrance exclaiming that growing season is all but upon us and a promise of tomorrow really is out there.

    There is hope for a new dawning.

    Our world has survived many cultures that resemble this country’s future if we do not change – those cultures destroyed themselves using the same Godless behavior and excuses we see in America today.

    There is new life coming soon in nature, let us pray that it will also come in our nation as a renewed growth in us and a strong renewal of vibrancy will fill the hearts of those that are being led astray with this world’s so-called all-encompassing anything goes, morality.

    As a nation we are fortunate.  Unlike many cultures that have fallen before us, we have millions of men, women and children who believe in God and believe in His Word and who are praying for all of us.

    But let us also not lose sight of the blessing God has poured out on our people and rejoice in Him.

    Through the power of the Holy Ghost, this nation CAN change.

“ Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Later, Art (-:

Greetings and Salutations,

    Pretty day in our neck of the woods.  Temperature in the 40’s, sunny, bit of a breeze all of which should help slowly melt the snow without causing too many floods.

    We do need to get the snow off the ground so the company that is going to cut down our diseased pine trees can do so; then we will get them off the hill side and sliced into lumber before the beetles start hatching and continuing onto other trees with their killing way.

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    What is the value of a man?

    “As of 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency set the value of a human life at $9.1 million. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration put it at $7.9 million — and the Department of Transportation figure was around $6 million. Are any of these the right answer?”  Frank Partnoy, from The Globalist 2012

    “In theory, a year of human life is priceless. In reality, it's worth $50,000.”  However, “Stanford economists have demonstrated that the average value of a year of quality human life is actually closer to about $129,000.”   Kathleen Kingsberry, Time Magazine 2008

    “At current prices, the average body is worth about $80,000 to the 'cadaver industry,' which finds lucrative uses for the roughly 130 pieces of body tissue that are extracted, sterilized, cut up, and put on the market.”  Touchstone Magazine 2008

    “If you take a dollar's worth of elements plus the value of your skin, you might be able to get $4.50, which we'll round up to $5, so you'll feel better about your chemical value.”   Thought company, internet site.

    Then of course life insurance companies have actuaries that help them determine what a person is worth over a period of time. 

    It also depends on the person’s financial worth, is a billionaire’s life in this world worth more than a teacher, police officer, doctor, fireman, etc?

    These values are based on the world’s measure of valuing a person, which usually means a monetary worth.

    We do hear of the great minds, people who do heroic things in defense of life having a great value to mankind and not necessarily monetary in nature, still is done with the world’s value system in mind.

    Some are valued by their ability to play a particular sport, some of whom receive 10’s of millions of dollars a year; when we translate to actual time performing they are making more in one appearance than most of us do in a week or even a month.

    But to those that sign the contract the athlete is worth it.

    We place the value of material things on what someone thinks it is worth and what someone is willing to pay for it. 

    A diamond may be worth millions of dollars to someone, but to me it isn’t, I can’t afford it and frankly have no interest if I could.  To me it has no value.

    Basically, the monetary value of something is what one person is willing to sell it for and another person is willing to buy it for; it may be worth a lot more to the seller than anyone is willing to pay.  Is it then worthless?

    No, it just means that the price is too high for those that are interested and have the ability to buy it.

    The value of most things lies in the eye of the beholder.

    How valuable is a mother, father, sibling?  Does it matter how they raise their children and the values they teach them?

    How valuable is a spouse?

    Those things are not measured by dollars and cents (for the most part.)  They are valued by a more emotional and how they are actually beneficial to us.  

    Then of course there is the spiritual value of a person.

    How valuable was Christ to the world when He was sentenced to death?

Mathew 27:9  KJV  “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;”

    Thirty pieces of silver.

    But what is His value to us?

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

    We cannot buy or work our way into heaven, we can only have eternal life through Him.  To us He is our ticket into heaven and thus of enormous value to us spiritually.

    What is our value to God?

John 3:16-17  KJV  “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

¹⁷ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

    He gave His only Son.

    So, what really is His value to us?  How do we show it?

Titus 3:7-8  KJV  “ That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

⁸ This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.”

Later, Art (-:

Greetings and Salutations,

    Blue skies, wind a bit warmer day in our neck of the woods.

    Still, the compression of the newer snow on the top of the older snows and then driving on it has created a bit of slipperiness on our driveway.  It is leaving, but it takes a bit more time.

    Do you ever apologize to your animals?

    Occasionally I have to ‘correct’ Ozzy, our oldest cat.  She is at least 15 years old and a bit cranky at times.  I always feel bad when I tell her to stop (usually it is picking on one of her two daughters) feels like I am telling an older person that they need to shape up.

    But the other day I really felt bad about going after Phantom, another cat that adopted Carla a few years ago.

Phantom is a large neutered Tom.  He is passive aggressive in his confrontations with the other cats – who don’t like him even a little bit.  When they hiss and snarl at him, he just lays down and looks at them.

    He likes to be petted and ‘loved’ the only problem is he kneads ya and bites you – he isn’t being mean, it is just his way of showing he likes you – but it sure gets old, and we can’t get him to stop.

    He is by far the noisiest cat we have ever had, and we have had a number of them, he meows more in any given day than all the rest of the cats to in a year.

    One of them has made a bit of a truce with him, BaFuzzy and he like to lay on Carla’ lap and legs at night while she sits on the daveno.  It has come to the point when they do that they have to tolerate the other one either just inches away or actually touching them.

    The other night I heard some real commotion coming out of the bathroom, a lot of hissing and meowing.  I went in to find one of the cats being attacked by Phantom and they were trying to get away.

    I went in and the other cat ran towards the kitchen with Phantom hard on its heals.  I finally got between them, and thinking Phantom was the aggressor tried to corner him.  The other cat ran back into the bathroom.

    As I turned to follow it I looked into the living room and both Ozzy and Abby, were coming around my chair – the cat being chased was not either of them, although it had the same markings.

    I went into the bathroom and the poor cat was trying to climb the curtain that is above and around in the pet door.  I got a hold of it and showed it the door.  I was surprised it didn’t try and attack me, it was so scared, but it didn’t.

    I actually had to apologize to Phantom, who I really don’t get along with that much, for defending the household – including our other cats; you know, that ain’t fun.

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Mathew 24:25-30  KJV  “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

²⁶ And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

²⁷ But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

²⁸ And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

²⁹ And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

³⁰ But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.”

    As I read this this morning, I remembered some of the times that I had the blessings of God to do a task, but somewhere along the line I took my eyes off of Him, faltered and had to have Him reach down to save me.

    But the thing is, He did save Him.

    Very little can be done without the Holy Spirit.  We sometimes forget that in both our planning and our work.

    Now, we cannot do any planning and sometimes accomplish tasks for God without consulting Him, but we are not as effective as when we are in tune with Him.

    Some advocate that we shouldn’t plan anything when it comes to working for God.  If we let the Holy Spirit guide us we will accomplish what He wants.

    They base their beliefs on the verses that tell us not to worry about tomorrow, or go into the world with only the clothes on our back and He will provide for us.

    However, when we read His Word, we see that He had a definite and planned manner in which He created the heavens and the earth and all that abide in them.

    We see specific plans on how He wanted His tabernacle to be build and what and where the items were to be placed in it.  There are many other examples, but we don’t need to list them all to see nothing happens by chance with God.

    There are times that we don’t have time to plan, but still are able to successfully complete a task for Him.

    Usually though, that ability comes from spending time with Him and being in tune with the Holy Spirit who guides us.  That relationship is not hit or miss, but one that is developed over time on a daily basis.

    Once we are undertaking something for God, whether large or small, it is important that we don’t lose sight of Him along the way – and in doing so find ourselves drowning in the wash of the turbulence around us.

    AND there will be turbulence when we step on satan’s toes, there always is, he doesn’t like it.

    If we find ourselves having to call upon God to save us very often, we need to reevaluate how we are serving Him.

    That begins with spending quality time with His Word and with Him, not just praying to Him, but listening to Him.

Later, Art (-:

Greetings and Salutations,

    Still have snow on the ground in our neck of the woods, but it would seem somebody doesn’t think we have enough.

    My day, once I have performed my daily ablutions, starts with doing my chores and taking care of the animals under my charge.

    I feed the cats and dog, make sure they have fresh water.

    I ‘nuke’ the bird seed (except for the Hummingbird feeder which I do change every few days) to keep them from sprouting up in the yard.

    I then take it out and place it in feeders and sprinkle some on the ground. 

    Easy, peecy, only takes a few minutes.  Sometimes I have to shovel a bit of snow, so it takes a little longer, but it still isn’t very demanding.

    Our farmers and ranchers don’t quite have it that easy.  While it has been a few decades ago Carla’s Dad raised cattle.

    Dad wasn’t always able to be there to feed and water the cattle as he had to work, as a carpenter, away from home.  Spending all week out of town and coming home (weather permitting) for the weekend and then back so he can start work on Monday.

    Mom, Norm and the five girls had to take the hay out and feed the cattle (Carla remembers doing it after school.)  No matter what the temperature or weather conditions were; rain, snow, hot weather didn’t matter, the cattle had to be taken care of.

    They didn’t have a well and the irrigation water (which they could get for the cows and personal use in the summer) was shut off in the winter.

    They had to drive the truck into in to town, 6 miles away, load up a large tank on the truck (I recall seeing it, I ‘think’ it was like 500 gallons) and haul it back to the ranch.

    They put some in the cistern house for their own daily use, dishes, baths once a week, washing clothes, etc. and then took care of the cows until they had to go back in and get more water.

    I never had that situation.  I have always had water by turning a faucet, using it for whatever I needed.  We were always on city water or we had a pump drawing it from a well.

    We did have friends, we would visit, that had a hand pump in the kitchen for household use – during the summer they would take their baths in the irrigation pond, and would bath during the winter using a tub on Saturday nights.  And of course, the outhouse out back, but that was as close as I came to ‘roughing it.’

    I think I like my way better. 

    But I appreciate and admire the families that grew up in such an environment, took care of themselves, their family and their animals, worked hard without asking for government support and made a good life for themselves.

    And, in doing so, made this country great.

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    God is not silent.  It is the nature of God to speak.  The second person of the Holy Trinity is called “The Word.”  A.W. Tozer

John 1:1-2  KJV  “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

² The same was in the beginning with God.”

    God speaks to us daily, some days we don’t realize it, but He does.  It usually comes when the Holy Spirit nudges us to do something for God, or reminds our conscience that we should not be doing what we are either thinking of or acting on.

    When we read the Bible He speaks loud and clear.  We sometimes get it muddled up because either we do not want to read what He is telling us, or, it seems confusing because we read it in bits and pieces and do not STUDY His Word.

    People say the Bible contradicts itself, it doesn’t.  In some places it summarizes something, while in another it elaborates on the same thing.  Without reading and comparing it can appear confusing, but when we study it we understand what He is saying.

    We may need assistance on how to find that information and we can use references and people who have studied the Bible far more that we have to help us – however, we must be sure that anything we read or hear that promises us that it will help MUST not speak against the Word itself. 

    And, unfortunately, there are many so called ‘spiritual leaders’ that do just that.

    I can remember a popular evangelist preaching at our church about a year or so after I accepted Christ.  I was a bit surprised at the content – can’t remember it now – but what I remember vividly is the answer I was given by the Pastor’s wife when I asked her if it were true.

    Her comment “I am not sure yet, I need to research the Word, myself before I will accept it.”

    The world has its own interpretation; and it comes in the form of leaders that what to twist the Word for their own benefit. 

    Unfortunately, that interpretation is much easier to follow, because it doesn’t demand the holiness that God does and it sucks people in because it is easier and less demanding on them.

    Following Christ is not an easy road to follow.  It is not for the faint hearted.  But we do have the Holy Spirit to help us along that road.

    Paul states this situation clearly:

1 Corinthians 2:12-14 KJV  “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

¹³ Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

¹⁴ But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

    So, as we prepare our day, let us not forget to schedule and spend a time with God, read His Word and listen to what He has to say to us.

Later, Art (-:

Greetings and Salutations,

    Not much is changing in our neck of the woods, temperature last night at midnight was 11 degrees, it won’t hit 32 degrees tonight and we are forecast to have several inches of snow coming our way the next couple of days.

    We are not alone, of course, it is an interesting winter for all of us.

    In the cartoon, Mutts, the cat loves his little red sock playing and holding it closely to his chest.  I put some catnip in some of my old socks and I am getting that same reaction from all but one of our cats.

    Phantom doesn’t seem to care, but the others enjoy them.

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Titus 3:2-7  KJV  “ To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

³ For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

⁴ But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

⁵ Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

⁶ Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

⁷ That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

    We get upset with someone, doesn’t matter who or why but we start ‘bad mouthing’ him to others.

“ To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.”

    We see a person out drinking and carousing, doing things even he knows is wrong.  We start ‘bad mouthing’ him to others.

“ To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.”

    We never did any of the things that we see someone else do; their sins are far more serious than we even thought of doing.

“ To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.”

    It doesn’t matter.

“For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.”

    One of the things that is occurring in our nation today is to demonize someone we disagree with; instead of disagreeing in a civil manner we are seeing people mocked and attached as a person.

    It is dangerous ground for a Christian.  How can we show the love of Christ when we are showing spitefulness?

    It is hard.  We see our foundation being destroyed by others.

    We see government condoning sin by legalizing it and woe onto those that disagree with the government.

    Pastors are being told what they can preach and what they can’t; businesses are told their beliefs are not acceptable in our society and they are being fined and shut down.

    We no longer wait until and investigation can be conducted to condemn actions, and vilify the person who did the action, that are found to be correct or justified after an investigation has been completed.

    We do have a right to be upset with much of what is going on in our country right now, but it seems like both sides of any issue want to shout the loudest, scream out names and if that doesn’t work physically attack opponents.

    I wrestle with this, probably why it is the issue for me to address, personally, this morning in my devotions.

    I honestly don’t know how to address some of the people that are so far out there in their beliefs and not only opposed to the scriptures but gleefully do all they can to mock them; without personally attacking them.

    Unfortunately, I am not the only one.  But, as a Christian we must find a way to condemn the statement without speaking evil of the person.

    It is easy to say, but, God, look at what is going on, never has there been such an attack on your Word.

    He then points to the many nations both in the past and currently that have/are doing this very thing and have been since the beginning of man.

    AND God prevails.

    Still, it is difficult for me,^“ To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.”

    I truly need the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Later, Art (-:

Greetings and Salutations,

    In our neck of the woods, February was the roaring lion and March is nurturing the off spring; think actual Spring is going to take a bit longer this year.

    It was nice yesterday seeing the blue cloudless skies, of course that also meant that we would have colder weather – at midnight last nigh my outside thermometer said 11 degrees.

    Clouds came in and we warmed up by morning to 24 degrees as I went out to feed the birds.

    I can remember when we first moved her Carla was excited because she had two to three months more growing time than we did in Redmond.  She could actually start planting in early March – it has been a little later it seems with each passing year – and it definitely going to be later this year!

    She has her seedlings in the windows though, ready for when she can plant!

    The “Hummers Heated Delight” worked very well last night.  Even though it got down to at least 11 degrees the fluid didn’t freeze and the little guys didn’t have to wait for me to get up to put the feeders out.  Good product as far as I am concerned.

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Mark 9:23-24  KJV  “²³ Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

²⁴ And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

        I have always struggled with this, do I truly believe or am I just saying so, I can sympathize with the father of this child who had a demon within and he wanted Jesus to cast it out.

    I want to believe when I pray, I want to think that whatever I ask for will come about because of that belief.

    Yet, I also know that God’s ways are not my ways and His timing is not necessarily my timing.  I want something to happen right now, but right now may be either inappropriate, or can bring more glory to God at a later time.

    Then of course it also depends on what we are asking for, we pray for the salvation of people, yet, it also depends on their willingness to accept Christ.

    Many times people will pray and then end the prayer with “but YOUR will be done.”  I may be wrong but I always thought that was ‘hedging’ their prayer.

    Any prayer request is going to depend on the will of God and there really is no need to say that unless you are questioning your own beliefs.  (Just my opinion, not shared, I am sure with a lot of fellow believers, but this is my meditation and thoughts.)

    And, then, of course, there are sometimes other criteria we may or may not be aware of; the father of the young man had come to the disciples to ask them to cast out the demon, they could not.

Verse 28-29  “ ²⁸ And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?

²⁹ And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”

    That is why a quick two minute thanks to God in the morning before we go about our business is just not enough – it IS better than nothing, but if we want to be truly effective for Him we need to be closer to Him.

    To get closer to Him we need more than a few minutes with Him, we need to study His Word and spend time listening to what He is telling us, not just telling Him what we want and expecting Him to grant it.

    Being a follower of Christ is serious business; and it ain’t easy if we are serious about it.  It doesn’t matter whether we are the Pastor or a member of His congregation, we have a duty to serve Him in thanksgiving.

    Our avocation does not let us off the hook.  With a few exceptions we can and must make time to put God on our DAILY schedule.  We may have days where we are limited more than others, but we still need to make that time count.

“This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”

    We never know when we are going to be called upon, but God, to do a task that requires us to be fully prepared to deal with satan in extreme cases.  We need to be prepared and that only comes by spending time with Him.

    How much time depends on each individual Christian and God.

Acts 6:2-4  KJV  “Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

³ Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

⁴ But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”

    We know spending time with the Father was extremely important to Jesus!

    The apostles found that they needed more time to study, pray and prepare their sermons unencumbered with doing daily chores that took them away from their primary obligation, leading the flock.

    We may not be ministers or teachers, but we do have responsibility to share the Gospel with others; there will be times we won’t have an answer and must tell them that we will get back to them.

    However, if we can draw from our relationship with God and the time we have spent with Him, we can most often answer those questions and keep the discussion going, rather than shutting it down for the day and find out they lost interest while we were researching.

    We want to be right, so that research is not a bad thing, but we can be better prepared the more we have at studied His Word and spent time with Him.

    It is not unlike doing our jobs.  The more time and experience on the job, as well as doing whatever study is required the better we can do that job.

    Police officers go to an academy, they work with a training officer (TO) that has been on the job for a while and is experienced in policies and procedures, and the law as well as everyday service.

    As the recruit gains experience the less they have to rely on their TO to guide them.  They know the law without having to run back to the car and look it up in the book to see what he should do with the offender.

    Some recruits learn quicker than others, sometimes it is just a better ability to grasp the work, sometimes it is because he has worked harder in learning the job – but either way, they all have to spend time with the process.

    As Christians our policy and procedure manual, and the ‘laws’ we follow are the Word of God.  Listening to the Pastor or teacher who is giving good information is good, but we still have to spend time on our own with the Word and with Him to better serve Him.  Some Christians grow faster and are more effective earlier than others, but even they cannot circumvent the process to be truly effective for Him.

    And that comes from not only reading God’s Word, but studying it and talking with Him, more than just a minute or two a day.

Later, Art (-:

Greetings and Salutations,

    Well, now, then, in our neck of the woods we have SUNSHINE. 

    As the sun came over our hill from the east it was faced with extremely DARK clouds across our valley – however, the sun has won out, for now and I see a lot of blue sky with some high light clouds.

    Doesn’t do much for us down here though, it is 28 degrees in the shade and I am not sure it is much higher in the sun – gotta get my weather stuff set up when things clear up so I have a better handle.  The old one gave up, Carla got me a new one, but didn’t get it up yet.

    Now, not complaining, we need to have the snow melt slowly; a real positive Carla mentioned was that, at least where we are, the ground is not frozen, so as the snow melts it goes into the ground not down the street, again, as long as it is slow.

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Isaiah 40:29-31  KJV  “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

³¹ But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

    The world, thanks to satan, has come up with a number of different ways to be strong, not just physical strength but mental, without having to admit God has anything to do with it.

    I have been told that only wimps are ‘religious’ because they don’t have the ability to overcome anything.  They use ‘religion’ as a crutch when they should stand on their own two feet.

    I have been told that to improve myself I must look within and concentrate on being a better person using a variety of techniques to accomplish that, all I need is within me.

    God only helps those that help themselves.

    There are other statements, that in of themselves, are just as false, but that isn’t what I am concentrating on right now.

    We do have natural abilities that when used can be built upon by practice, guidance and time.

    We do have a lot of inner-strength that carries us through each day and we often don’t begin to use all we have.

    I read recently about the fallacy of that very thing.  When faced with challenges, we should draw from the depths of ourselves what is needed to fight them.

    I may have a lion within me, but I still don’t want to face and fight a tribe of lions coming at me by myself.

    However, we can gain strength to overcome when we rely on God to be that strengthening agent. 

    As Christians we face an enemy every day of our lives.  While we may do all right ‘most of the time’ we need God to give us the protection necessary to protect us and defeat him.

1 Peter 5:7-9  KJV  “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

⁸ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

⁹ Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

    We are facing an enemy, in America, that is far more resilient than any we have yet faced.  He has gathered together people in power to work on his agenda, bring others into the ‘fold’ and to defeat the nation and the Christians that are living here.

    We cannot defeat this enemy on our own.  While we can be used of God, if we do not have the power of God we cannot defeat the enemy.

    Oh, we can quote scripture but it is being twisted and changed to the point that what is good is evil and what is evil is good to the point that unless we can really explain it and not just have sound bites it is almost meaningless, satan makes sure of that.

    I am not saying it doesn’t have an impact, but it is being marginalized as much as possible by satan.  God will use His Word but it is a lot more effective when a Spirit led and filled Christian is using it.

    God may not call us to be a spokesperson, or leader, but even if we are not we can ask God to empower those that are and continually hold them in our prayers.

    We may hate to ask for help, for we are told it is a sign of weakness and we also feel that way, so we struggle with our problems and do ‘the best we can’ to defeat them.

    We don’t need to; there is nothing wrong with saying I can not do this alone, despite what others may tell us.

God is here to assist us and to take help us through the most heinous battles and make us stronger and more powerful to deal with them than we ever can on our own.

    Not always does it turn out like we want, we may pray for a person’s infirmities only to have them pass away; we may pray for a positive outcome only to have it turned the other way; God uses us and these situations to show His glory if we but let Him.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10  KJV  “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

⁹ And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

    When we are personally ‘strong’ we try and do things in our own strength, but when we realize that we are not strong enough we can then allow God to work within us and we will overcome our weakness whatever that may be.

Later, Art (-:

Greetings and Salutations,
In my granddaughter’s neck of the woods they had 36 inches of snow in one day. The pileup, from snow removals, was 41 inches while there was 108 inch pileup in the bowl.
The first winter Carla and I moved here they had a pile of snow, from the streets, in a vacant lot downtown, if I remember correctly is was where Penny’s is now – or at least the parking are.
They ran a contest of when that pile would completely melt down, Carla made a guess but didn’t call it in, she would have won – it was May 3rd several weeks after the snow had stopped.
Not sure when this batch will be gone. As I write it is only 29 degrees out there and probably won’t get much higher. As the weeks go on things will change, but I am interested in just how long it will take the piles I had to make from the paths will melt off completely.
I am feeling better now, not sure what the problem was/is but Carla’s potato soup, I am sure, helped.
So, as part of the thank you, I will be baking a whole chicken with all the trimmings which will be ready for her when she comes home from work.
I am such a sweet guy, but do me a favor, don’t ask her!
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Mathew 7:13-15 KJV “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
How often have we heard:
That there are many paths to heaven? 
God would not send someone away if the person is dedicated to their religion, no matter what it is, God will honor all of them?
No thinking Christian can accept this idea. 
Christ is quite clear in His teachings.
John 14:6 KJV “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME
But as I consider all of this, one thing did strike me. There ARE multiple paths to the gates of heaven. Doesn’t make any difference what you believe, you will arrive at those gates.
The problem is going to be getting through them and residing with God, His angels and those that have been redeemed by Christ.
Every person will have their day in ‘court.’
Hebrews 9:27 KJV “ And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
But 
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
THOSE are God’s terms for joining Him in heaven.
The Holy Spirit prompted John to write:
Revelations 21:26-27 KJV “And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.”
“but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.”
So, how do we get into the Lamb’s book of life:
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Jesus is the lamb that was slain. It is He who has written the Lamb’s book of life, and to be included we must accept His truth.
That alone should be enough for us to understand why only one path leads INTO heaven, but still there are those that say their beliefs should be enough, their works should pave the way for them to enter the gates for their permanent rest.
But it isn’t:
Mathew 7:22-23 KJV “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
What I do find interesting, and I will listen/read your views if they are different, is that JESUS will be making the judgements on who shall enter in.
Mathew 5:21-23 KJV “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”
God has given Jesus, His Son, the authority to pass judgment on those that travel all these different paths to arrive at the gate to heaven.
Now, I haven’t figured out whether they enter in and go into a ‘courtroom’ or they are never given the opportunity to see the other side of the gates.
What is important though, and for a Christian should be the resounding answer to those that say they can reside with Him for eternity in heaven by following whichever path THEY wish to follow: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Later, Art (-:

Greetings and Salutations,

Yep, still have a LOT of snow in our neck of the woods.  Just hunkering down while we await more melt-off.

Carla made her potato soup for us to eat.  That along with a toasted cheese sandwich is pure comfort food, she always fixes me that soup when I am not feeling well.

My mom used to make potato soup, but she would put cabbage in it, that is the way dad liked it.  I didn’t particularly care for it and fortunately we didn’t have it often.

Carla used to babysit at the house, it started with a friend whose husband left her and her two boys – they were about our children’s ages.  The mother worked as a cook for one of the service clubs.

She was and excellent cook. 

Carla would make potato soup every once in a while, for lunch, and the kids ate it up.

Once day the mother came to Carla and asked her how she made her soup.  Seems that the boys wanted some potato soup so she fixed it for them – but, it wasn’t as good as Carla’s.

Recipe wasn’t a secret, potatoes, milk, onions, garlic, salt and pepper, thickening and fried-bacon cooked in a cast iron pot.  But the combination is fantastic and left overs are even better as the flavors blend together.

Anyway, I shall partake of that delicious soup in a few minutes.

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We all too often take the commands and directions from God as if they were suggestions.  We rarely see serious repercussions from those decisions although it does happen at times.

But how serious IS God when He tells us something?

How serious is our refusal or forgetfulness in not doing what He has told us to do?

We may not take it seriously, but God does:

Numbers 20:8-13  KJV  “ Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

⁹ And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him.

¹⁰ And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

¹¹ And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

¹² And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

¹³ This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.”

Moses, one of the most beloved men of the Old Testament.  A man, handpicked by God, who led the children of God out of Egypt at the age of 80.  A man that often-beseeched God not to destroy His people for their disobedience.

A man whose faith and conduct were as close to being perfect as any human can possibly be – ‘made a mistake.’ 

That, as we must realize, is a euphemism for SINNING.

Yes, He was angry with the people and He had a lapse in judgement, he was told to speak to the rock, not strike it and he sure wasn’t supposed to make himself equal to God “he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?”  “And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice:”

He besmirched God’s name and inserted himself in the miracle of obtaining water.

And because of this one incident, he lost the privilege of leading the Jews into the promised land.

God takes His commandments very seriously.

This seems to be an incredibly harsh punishment for such a minor offense in the scheme of things – or so we might rationalize.

But, we think in terms of our own judicial system, especially here in America; it just doesn’t appear to be THAT serious to us – but it is just one of the examples that God give us telling us that He is the judge and there is no appeal from His decisions – and He takes disobedience to Him seriously; especially when HIS authority is usurped!

And Aaron, who was but the spokesperson for Moses (and of course the first high priest) – and who had actually done ‘far worse’ sacrilege when he commanded the golden calf be formed and worshipped was also told he would not be part of the people going into the promised land, but that wasn’t all.

Numbers 20:24-28    KJV  “Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.

²⁵ Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor:

²⁶ And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.

²⁷ And Moses did as the Lord commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.

²⁸ And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.

So, not only did Moses suffer the humiliation and pain for his disobedience, but HE had to remove the garments signifying the high rank of Aaron, his brother, the man who had been his spokesman, the man who he was extremely close to and who he respected and love, and lead him up to a mountain where he would die.

God takes disobedience very seriously.

We are far too casual in our service to Him.

Because Christians have been washed with the blood of Christ and we can go before God and ask His forgiveness any time day or night, we often forget that God is quite serious about our disobedience.

AND there are always consequences to that failure.  We may not recognize them, we may not understand when it happens, but I have seen ‘promising’ Christians not go as far as they should have in Christ because of disobedience. 

But, our God is also a forgiving God.

He did not remove Moses from his leadership position.  He continued to use him as the person who spoke directly to Him, who He used as the leader right up and until the time of the crossing into the Promised Land.

That had to hurt Moses.  His spirit had to be heavy because he had disobeyed God; and as a result of his disobedience he was going to miss the opportunity on which his entire life had been designed for, leading the people into the Promised Land.

However, Moses continued his service to God.  He continued to stand as the intermediary for the people to God. 

He did not quit because of his humiliation, pain and maybe even being angry with himself – or even God, although it isn’t recorded – for what he had done and the punishment that he was given.  He accepted the judgement and continued to serve God.

God did continue to bless him.

The fact is we fail God almost daily.  We do things that we know we shouldn’t; say things that are inappropriate for a follower of Christ; do not do things we know we should.

We also know that we can go to God and ask forgiveness, knowing the He will do so because of His covenant with us through His Son, Jesus.

But we lose something each time that happens.  Even if we do it without thinking or unintentionally, we have sinned and need that forgiveness anew.  It is even worse if the sin is deliberate.

Sinning is not a minor matter.  We need to be mindful of our actions at all times and the closer we are to God the less chance we will have of not following the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

The final thought though, is no matter our sins, we can be forgiven and we can still serve God.

Maybe not in the capacity we may like, but He can and will use us to His glory, the important thing is to keep as pure as possible and rededicate ourselves to His service. 

Daily.

Later, Art (-: