I hate changing medications, you have to get used to what they are doing to your body and how they are impacting your life – some are no different than the pills they replace, while others have a different reaction – and must be monitored.

Still foggy in our neck of the woods.  We have inversions here, often, and the sky a few feet above us is bright and shiny, the neighboring areas are bathed in sunlight, but we must endure the grey and boring color of fog.

It will go away, it helps in some fashion in as much as our temperatures often remain constant from day through the night.  The moisture is good for our plants, the grey is just bad for those that have light deprivation – the lack of sun is depressing.

I would prefer blue skies, but we live here for the year round benefit of the climate and this is just a part of it.  It will go and we will ‘survive.’

Genesis 25:30-34 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.

What was Esau thinking?  He wasn’t of course, he was hungry – and it is doubtful he was starving – it seemed like a simple statement.

He treated his inheritance lightly, and without giving it any thought said, okay you can have it for the pottage.  He hadn’t considered the ramifications – and very likely didn’t remember it until Isaac lay dying on his bed.

He took his birthright for granted and he had exchanged it for a bowl of food.

We learn later that he, indeed, lost his birthright as the first born son of Isaac.  He obviously wanted it and was quite distressed when he found out that Jacob had received his blessings from Isaac, and Isaac would not change his blessings.

How often have we done, very much, this same thing?  Anyone who has not accepted Christ is doing that – Christ came for all men and by being born we have that right of birth to God’s Grace through Jesus.

And men refuse to accept the conditions, the acceptance of that gift.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

But as Christians we too often take our inheritance for granted; we take it lightly and in doing so we fall away from God.

In this world of technological advances there is much to distract us from God.  It isn’t an excuse, but it is a reason.

Throughout the existence of man there has always been a turning away from the Creator and finding other ways to satisfy his soul.  Filling their lives with useless things and false teachings, false gods trying to make since of the world around them. 

Our inheritance is a relationship with God through Christ and manifested by His Holy Spirit – the end result is the promise of eternity with Him in heaven. 

Yet, we all too often make light of that relationship.  We take it for granted.  We water it down with the thoughts and things of this world and pull away from God.

We forget to have a time of prayer and meditation over His Word one day and the next and pretty soon, we forget to do it at all.

We start ‘taking advantage’ of all the world has to offer and end up sinning and denying the power and authority of God in our lives. 

Too often we take salvation for granted and feel it shall always be ours.

There are those that teach that once a person is saved, they are always saved no matter their actions.

I do not share that view, like many others, I believe we can fall from grace and in doing so we can lose our birthright, lose our salvation.

Hebrews 2:1-3 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

² For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;

³ How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

It is important that we take our salvation seriously, that we continually thank God for His grace and mercy and strive to lead a Holy life, even as He is Holy.

We know we can falter and fail, but we also know that He is quick to forgive us.  However, if we do not take seriously our relationship with Him, if we neglect that salvation, we may find that we indeed gave away our birthright for something that has no spiritual value, but everlasting consequences.

Later, Art :-)

Each season seems to have its challenges.  One of the hardest, for many of us, is the winter fog and lack of sunlight.  The snow may be welcomed, the fun in the snow is great, but the sky without a shining sun is depressing.

We have faith that it is there – but we don’t see it and it affects our mood.

These are the kind of days that we can reflect, we can rest, we can take care of ourselves; the sun will come back, our mood will be better – it is but a temporary situation.

Still, I like the four seasons, while each has its trials, it also has a uniqueness that allows us to grow and not be faced with the same thing every, single, day.

Genesis 23:15-18 My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.

¹⁶ And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

¹⁷ And the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure

¹⁸ Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.

Abraham was looking for a place to bury Sarah.  Sites were offered and he requested this one – the owner, Ephron, was willing to give it to Abraham as a gift.

Abraham refused to accept it as a gift and gave him the value of the land in silver.  He did it in public where people could see the transaction.

Abraham didn’t want Ephron to have any call to question the ownership of the land.  He wanted to make sure it was his, free of encumbrances and free from Ephron perhaps later resenting his decision to give the property or to have any inheritors challenge the gift.

As I read this and meditated on it, I was reminded of a person’s (military, if I recall correctly) discussion with a dissident of America in France.  This person resented the fact that American’s were so obnoxious, etc.

Not sure just how it got around to the final statement, which was – America came over here in two world wars to fight those that took your loved ones, land, homes and freedom from you.  The only thing we asked for was land to bury our dead.

I haven’t done any research on this, but I rather doubt America paid for the land comprising these cemeteries. 

That is they did not pay for it in money.  They paid for it in the blood and death of each soldier buried there and with those soldiers that were forever impacted by the war and went back home to try and recover some reasonable portion of their life.

The land, the soil the individual was buried in, was not free; it was bought with his blood.  Each and every plot.

Nothing in this life is truly free.  It is purchased with some kind of collateral.  Some things are paid for by money earned, some things are given to us, but someone had to purchase that item, whose money was spent on that item.

The barter system, of course, works much the same way – I will do this for you if you do this – the value of the trade depends on its worth to both people. 

Then there are the intangibles, the cost of something that cannot be measured with money or skills, only by the time and sacrifice of the person paying the price.

While our military people receive pay for their services, which may include going to war – the price of winning that war is the blood of the individual soldier.  His sacrifice is his life so that others are not oppressed.

Police Officers and Firefighters are in much the same situation, they are paid to take risks, but the price that is sometimes enacted is their blood - so that others can be safe.

When these servants of our country die because they did the best they could to insure our way of life was secure – we give them homage and honor.  That is the way it should be, the price of our safety is their willingness to die for us, and many do.

The blood of these servants, who died due to the actions of someone, is on the hands of those that took it.  But the price was paid by the servant, by his blood. 

Those that cause the life to be taken are held accountable (I know, this is in generalities, but that is the expectation of society – at least for now.)   

Many equated Jesus’ death as a free gift to us, one that, in order to receive it we must accept it.  We all too frequently trivialize the price.

However, the salvation of each of us is not free – it comes with a cost, there is a bill to be paid and it was paid by the humiliation, death and blood of Jesus.

God accepted the sacrifice, but the blood of Jesus is on our hands.  Our sins, our lives required a price in order to be free of that blood. 

We are not being held responsible when we accept that gift, if we acknowledge what that gift cost.  We are free of eternal punishment for our sins.

The suspect who takes the life of another may spend many years, or the rest of their life – which may be taken by the state in the form of capital punishment – in prison.  He is to be accountable for his actions.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen and some get away with their criminal behavior – whether it be war or individual actions.  Eventually they will suffer the consequences of their actions, God is not to be mocked, the result and cost of their actions will follow them for eternity.

God removes the sin from our lives, but we are still responsible for the results of those sins if it impacts another.  However, the consequences of those sins will not follow us past the grave.  We are indeed forgiven and freed by the blood of Christ.

All God asks of us, for the death of His Son, is a proper place to let His Son rest, that place is in our hearts. 

When He is there our desire to serve Him becomes more and more important to us.  He paid for us, we are His – we become the ground in which He resides to be used by Him to His Glory.

Later, Art :-)

Two visits to the docs and two to go.  I am still alive.

Some new medications, dropping others and lowering other dosages will hopefully resolve some of my issues.

Overcast and foggy, today, with a kiss of snow on the hills around us – what we can see of them anyway.

Good day for inside work.

1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

This is a verse that always strikes me in my heart.

Can I say to someone, follow me even as I also am of Christ and lead them to salvation – or do my missteps and misdeeds cause them to falter and fail?

I know that I have hurt my testimony several times in the course of these past 50+ years.  I know that I have failed God and that if I was the only Christian these people knew – or if my failing caused them to lose faith in God I have a burden to bear.

I am not perfect; everyone that knows me will say that, my children can point to many deficiencies in my life where I have let God and them down.

Fortunately, most people are forgiving and despite my many blunders still accept me – but I know that others who had only passing glimpses of those failed relationships may have been discouraged and/or angered and turned further away from God due to my actions; or those that have known me for a long time and are not as forgiving.

I have a difficult time saying to anyone, follow me and how I live and you will also draw closer to God.

As Christians, we are well aware of how imperfect a person is and we are even more aware of our own imperfections – and it often interferes with our confidence in witnessing to others.

We hesitate, or we downplay or not speak up at all for fear that our life is so imperfect that we cannot be effective servants for God.

But, we are not alone in our failures.  We are not an abomination, we are human and God understands that; while we may have stood in someone’s way and caused them to stumble, He has others that He will send their way to reaffirm our message, if not our actions. 

AND, more importantly, He will forgive and still use us in His service. 

One of the things I appreciate about the Word of God is that He didn’t hold the leaders up to be perfect – He shows how they, too, were human and failed Him at times.

Abraham is THE father of the Jews.  He is held up as the kind of man all Jews should become.  His dedication to God was unparalleled and we should immolate him.

Yet, Abraham was not perfect; he allowed Abimelech to take Sarah into his household knowing that his intentions were not just to use her as a servant.

Geneses 20:2-5 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

God intervened.

³ But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.

⁴ But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?

⁵ Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.

When Abimelech was told in a dream that he was about to commit a grave sin, unto death, he pled his case with God. 

God understood and told him to return Sarah to Abraham.

Vs 9-13 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.

¹⁰ And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

¹¹ And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.

¹² And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

¹³ And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.

Abraham didn’t tell the whole truth, Sarah was his sister, but in failing to also say she was his wife, he almost caused the downfall of an innocent man.

And not only did Abraham lie, he told Sarah to lie making her a co-conspirator and because she WAS his wife who must obey her husband, he caused her to bring God’s wrath against Abimelech.

Abraham was afraid of being killed so the leaders, whoever they might be, could take Sarah as their own. 

EVEN though he was entering these lands as instructed by God he lacked faith that God could protect him.

But we know this was not the end of the story.  Abraham lied, he caused another to lie which could have resulted in the death of innocent parties and he was afraid to trust God, he lacked faith.

God not only forgave Abraham of his sins (and this is just one example) but He set Him up as an example; a man to follow.

Romans 4:16-17 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

¹⁷ (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

We aren’t Abraham.  But to someone we have the same role to play, to live our life as holy and righteous as possible so that others won’t be led astray. 

AND if we make mistakes, own them, ask forgiveness and continue following God so others have an example to follow.

We are going to fall; we are going to falter; we are going to fail, but we cannot allow that to keep us from our service to God.

Later, Art :-)

Well, now then there, Portland experienced some real winter over the past few days.  First such storm in two years; and it, virtually shut down the city.

Central Oregon snow is different that Portland’s – and the Gorge.  CO’s snow is light and fluffy – there may be more of it, but it doesn’t have the moisture that we have.

The dangers in our neck of the world, and in ‘big brother, Portland’ is the amount of moisture, the snow packs down quicker and turns to ice.  A lot of the time freezing rain is involved and it makes for roads that re literally covered with sheets of ice.

We were watching the news yesterday morning.  They were at a scene of a bus sitting crossways in the road, from one shoulder to the other.

The bus had chains, but they were the gripping kind, they were the cable kind, they are absolutely worthless on ice.  They ‘roll’ over the ice and don’t dig into it like ‘good’ chains do and in many ways make the tires more dangerous.

As I watched them try to free the bus, and didn’t have a tow truck with a good operator at hand, I just shook my head.  Every time the ‘expert’ from the company tried to move it, it just got worse.

I have no idea how they got it out, we didn’t continue watching, but it did remind me of an icy winter many decades ago here in the Gorge.

I don’t recall whether it was 1971 or 72.  We had a heavy snow storm that settled in during the night.  I was working for the city and they had their road crews out plowing and sanding.

About 0400, or so, we received a request from the Sheriff’s Office to assist their deputy at a spot a few blocks outside the city limits.  The city didn’t like us outside the city limits, after all it was city taxpayers paying our salary. 

However, there were times is was acceptable and since we could make that decision the sergeant sent me to help.

There was a spot on the road where several, and I mean well in excess of 10, cars were piled up alongside the road.  It was on a part of the road that was on a curve and downward slope on a bridge – a very nasty combination.

The first cars slowed down too much and slide down the road into the ditch – going both ways – subsequently the next cars had to slow down so they could avoid the others, it was a sight.

I got there and was helping the deputy make sure that everyone was safe.  We blocked the street down and up the road to prevent anyone from coming into the curve.

I remember the traveled portion of the road was pure ice.  There was a thin slice of snow in the middle of the road.  We would have to run a bit on the shoulder to get some momentum to get to the center, and then run a bit on the center to get to the upper side. 

The deputy had called for the county road department to bring sand, but that required the authority of the county judge who said, it was okay when they closed shop the day before and they will get someone out there at 0800 when the guys came to work.

It proves that even local government heads can be idiots.

Evidently one of the cars on the side of the road got a hold of a tow truck – not sure how, no cellphones back then – and the owner of the company’s son – late 20’s to early 30’s - arrived to help them. 

When he arrived he told us he was there for that specific vehicle, didn’t matter that there were plenty more and his customer was buried behind and between others.

The truck was new, large and had all the bells and whistle of those times.  He hooked up his customer’s rig to get it pulled out and started sliding down the road towards the other cars.

Now we had a real mess.  Not only was the road slick, but now we had a large tow truck in the middle of the road and he couldn’t move.

A few minutes later, as we were trying to figure out what to do, another tow company arrived.  This company’s property was outside the city limits (actually just across the street – but still out) so we didn’t use them and I had no idea whether the driver was any good or not.

In addition I was looking at this bright big beautiful truck stuck in the middle of the road not being able to move and this driver was in a 1940’s truck with a single bar (no supports) coming off the back – I am thinking, what can this guy do.

Out steps this older man – probably in his late 60’s, or even older.  He tells us that one of the cars had requested his assistance.  He then latches onto the car and pulls it out of the ditch.  He started helping us get some more out and going.

The young driver (whose rig was still stuck in the road and didn’t dare move because it would slight down) came up to the older driver and said, “Pappy, can you help me?”

Pappy didn’t make fun of him, he just said, Yep.

Pappy got all the vehicles safely out of the ditch, helped the other driver and then went on home – no charges.  By this time we did get some sand for the curve and after a couple of hours helping, I went back into the city.

It was a good lesson for me, don’t judge a person’s capabilities by what they are driving or how they look – those old guys have been around and know a thing or two.

Mathew 4:24  And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

Amazing what happens when you read verses and have read them for years, and yet something pops out at you.

Those that would downplay Jesus’ miracles and healings tell us that ‘demon possession’ was just a form of mental illness.  They do not believe in the power of satan and many don’t believe that God even exists – so they must put their own spin on the scriptures to validate their belief system.

Frankly, I never really cared, one way or another.  Because even if these people wanted to believe that ‘demon possession’ was a mental illness, Jesus healed them from their afflictions – and that was the key.

Yet, as I read this verse it reminded me that satan does work in this world; there are people, for one reason or another, who become possessed by satan’s demons and act accordingly. 

This verse makes a clear distinction – possession of devils is not the same as mentally ill (lunatick) they are two distinctly different ‘maladies,’ for the want of a better word, two different conditions.  The people in Jesus’ time understood that!

One is of the mind – the other, which is far more insidious, is of the spirit.

It IS IMPORTANT that we recognize the difference AND that the difference was known as Jesus healed the sick in body, mind AND spirit.

Today the world says we are too ‘sophisticated’ to believe in demon possession.  We are more educated and our knowledge is much greater than these ‘peasants’ of by gone years.

The world holds itself up as the expert in these things and downplays the role of God in both creation and authority.  It minimizes spiritual warfare and tells us it is all in our heads.

It is precisely this attitude that God warns us about in Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

So, if that is the case, where demon possession was clearly a problem when Christ walked the earth – why isn’t that occurring now?

I think part of that is because we have been taught so long – at least through the past century and probably longer – that everything is a mental illness and demon possession doesn’t happen or at least not anymore.

Can we point to that person and say they are demon possessed instead of mentally ill – I would have a difficult time saying, preciously, just that – however,

I have seen alcohol effect people in such a way that they do things that a reasonable person does not – the phrase ‘demon rum’ has some foundation.  It grips them, tightly, they become addicted and can no longer function without alcohol, if you call them functional.

Yes, I know, alcoholics dry out, they turn from the alcohol and there is a so called ‘gene’ that most if not all alcoholics have that cause them to become alcoholics – however, those that truly give up and overcome alcoholism will point to ‘higher power’ that helped them.

If you throw other ‘mind altering’ drugs in the midst you see even more bizarre behavior and dangerous actions from the user both to society and themselves.

How much of this behavior is demonic and how much is physiological I cannot say – but I can say I believe that satan uses these things to possess, even if only temporarily the minds and souls of these people.

Have you ever experienced a mob – where men, women and children, become violent and in unison destroy property and injure – even killing – others? 

Many of these people, on their own, would never commit these acts.  There is a binding of their spirits – they can call it whatever they want – that allows them to justify their actions and it overtakes them like a fog, striking at the very hearts of their reasoning ability and makes them part of a lawless crowd incapable of thinking on their own.

Satan, cleverly, uses the world to disguise him.  The world views him as a red colored person with horns, a tail and cloven hooves – easily identified.  When in reality he masquerades as a reasonable idea that discredits God’s Word and hides his motives in terms the world, in its sin, readily accepts.

I haven’t seen the TV show that is being advertised here recently entitled ‘Lucifer.’  But the very thought of it’s being on television tells me that satan is attempting to ‘humanize’ himself, making it look like he is not that bad of a guy.

Just as Christ is alive and working in this world, so satan is alive and actively trying to destroy anything that will allow people to understand their sin and seek God’s forgiveness through His Son.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Satan, is literally, in our world seeking those that he can turn away from God.  In this day and age where so many things can occupy or minds and keep us from focusing on God, we really do have to be vigilant – lions lay in wait for the ideal time to attack.  They attack at the most advantageous time for them, and with a swiftness and ferocity that destroys the prey.

He wants us to be the prey, but, we have Christ as our shield and our warning system to keep us from harm and to defend us – either fight or flight – when it comes to those attacks.

Vs 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Satan convinces the world that his danger isn’t real, that he doesn’t exist – that the world’s (and man’s) condition has nothing to do with disobedience to God, it is just nature’s way.

We know better, and we need to help others recognize that there is real evil in this world and it can only be overcome by following and obeying God’s Word.

Later, Art :-)  

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again
Dad :-) to some, Art to the rest of ya!
Art :-) and Carla Labrousse
The Dalles, OR USA

Four seasons, how great they are – even though, at times, they are burdensome.

Winter snows, Spring flowers, Summer warmth and the richness of Fall with bright colors and harvesting of the fruit from the garden; how sad it must be to experience the same climate every day, without surprises.

Our valley, this morning, is surrounded by the low hanging clouds that are bringing a few flakes of snow.  Getting’ a blizzard right now, visibility is only a few yards.

I imagine that snow is falling at the higher elevations building up the snow base.  Crater Lake has over 200 inches this past few weeks with a settling down to 100 – a good thing. 

I was watching the news this morning, Portland has the first snow and ice storm in two years.  Accidents abound, as I watched the traffic cams I could see why – not so much the snow and icy roads as it is the carelessness of the drivers.

With few cars on the road, drivers are right on the bumper of the car in front of them instead of hanging back a bit – too many, obviously, have no concept of safe driving in in-climate weather.

Just came in from outside, feeding the birds.  There was a great chorus as they were up in the trees singing away.  Made me think of this song, it is a bright and catchy one and reminds us that even if we can’t sing well, we have a place in the choir.

All God's creatures have a place in the choir,
Some sing low, some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now! 

Listen to the bass it's the one on the bottom
Where the bullfrog croaks, the hippopotamus
Moans and groans with a big to-do,
The old cow just goes "Moo!'. 

The dogs and the cats they take up the middle
As the honey bee hums, the cricket fiddles
The donkey brays and the pony neighs
The old grey badger sighs. 

All God's creatures have a place in the choir,
some sing low, some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now! 

Listen to the top and the little birds singing
The melody with the high notes ringin'
The good owl sighs over everything,
The blackbird disagrees. 

Singin' in the night time, singin' in the day
Little duck quacks and he's on his way
And the otter hasn't got that much to say
The porqupine talks to himself. 

All God's creatures have a place in the choir,
some sing low, some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now! 

It's a simple song a living song everywhere
By the ox the fox and the grizzly bear
The grumpy alligator and the hawk above
The sly old weasel and turtle dove.

To listen to this snappy song go to:   http://bussongs.com/songs/gods-creatures-place-choir.php

Made broth out of the left over – very little – roast and the bones we had for Christmas dinner.  They stripped the bones and added vegetables – many from Carla’s garden and a few spices to make a great vegetable beef soup.  With this colder weather it really hits the spot.  And there is just something about that homemade soup that canned can never compete with.

Don’t know of how many parents receive cow pies and goat berries for Christmas, but our family is a bit different.  I asked Ken if this was for mom’s garden and he said use it anyway you wish.

Haven’t had any goat berries yet,(chocolate covered ‘something’) but I have started on the cow pie – chocolate graham cracker type crust with chocolate pudding mix – however, I had to put it together and I found he didn’t send the butter or cool whip!  Will eat it later today.

Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Most of us will have somewhere in the neighborhood of 70-80 years, some will live much longer, others, due to illness or tragedy will have much less.  What do we do with our time?

We have – all of us – 8760 hours in each year.

If we figure a third of that is sleeping, we have 5840 waking hours.

Most of our life we are engaging in work or school – 5 days a week, average of 40 hours a week give us 2080 hours.  I realize that many of us have put in a lot more hours than that – and it doesn’t include holidays and vacation days off, but it at least gives us some point of reference.

If we choose the wrong work, those hours can be drudgery and make our lives miserable – and we all too often reflect that in our non-working hours.

However, even if we are not in the ideal work environment it still leaves about 3758 hours in a year for ‘us.’

So, what do we do with those hours?

Some bemoan their fate and dwell on their problems.

Some dream of becoming great, yet, do nothing to accomplish it.

Some study and train to become better at their job, or to improve their position.

Some fill the hours with a hobby or something else they enjoy to occupy many of those hours.

We have, of course, obligations to family and friends.  We must make sure meals are served, clothing is appropriate for the weather – even going to church.

There will be days that are much busier than others, days where we deal with pain, sorrow and happiness and enjoyment – we need to take that time to do what is necessary.

But when you look at the time we have left 3758, if we just take even one hour a day, a total of 365 hours, and spend that in earnest conversation and waiting upon the Lord – ALL the other hours will have greater meaning; and we still have 3393 of those hours to do other things.

We will see a change in our attitude, our focus will be on pleasing Him and in the process we learn how we can serve Him and help others.

But few spend even 5-10 minutes a day with God.  We get too busy, or we forget – I know, I have been there and I still, even though retired, have to remind myself to take time and just ‘be’ with Him.

As you can tell, I spend some of that extra time writing.  But, even though I am focused on the Word and applying it to my life and my needs to better my relationship with Him – I have to be careful not to just write – I have to focus.

It is like the Sunday School teacher who prepares the lesson for Sunday, he can either just go through the motions or have God search His heart so He can better present the lesson and truly teach his students.  And, of course, that holds true to almost anything we do, when we just ‘do,’ we often don’t enjoy or learn.

We all have the same amount of time in a day.  We don’t know how many days we will have, but if we live each day at a time focusing first on God, we will have God’s wisdom in our heart; learning how to live and work for Him; learning how much He loves us and, of course, of His great mercy towards us.

We will then have a purpose for our life, not just existence.

Later, Art :-)

We are holding at 26 degrees, for the past 24 hours+ in our neck of the woods.  I seen where relative and friends in the Bend area are around five and friends in Burns are minus 15.

We do have our legendary wind from the North – here it is actually spitting sideways the small flakes that are falling.  Our winds are only 15 to 20 mph; The Gorge has a ‘bit’ more wind as it heads to the valley coming out the other end at Troutdale at 45+ mph – I am sure the road between us and them has even higher winds.

Watching the birds hover around the feeder, putting about a half gallon of seed out a day, humming birds are not as plentiful and they are only taking a quarter cup or so each day – which is a lot since there are only three and they are so small.

Haven’t seen any recent signs of deer, but I haven’t been down in the garden area for a while – doves and quail are doing a lot of traveling down there though.

Meanwhile all domesticated animals are spending their time in nice soft AND warm spots.

Psalm 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

Atheist: An unbeliever in God or deities

Evolution:  biology the theoretical process by which all species develop from earlier forms of life. According to this theory, natural variation in the genetic material of a population favors reproduction by some individuals more than others, so that over the generations all members of the population come to possess the favorable traits.

Natural Selection:  the process, according to Darwin, by which organisms best suited to survival in their environment achieve greater reproductive success, thereby passing advantageous genetic characteristics on to future generations.

(the above definitions from the Encarta on-line dictionary)

Survival of the fittest:  Survival of the fittest is a famous phrase of Herbert Spencer which describes the idea that there is, in nature, competition to survive and reproduce.

These and many other such terms are all wrapped up on man’s denial of God to make their life easier – to not have to answer to a Creator who has every right to define the terms of our existence.

By the denial of God these believers in a false ‘religion’ are able to make up their own rules, their own ‘moral’ code.  If at any time they wish to change it, they can, because, after all, they are not beholden to anything that requires their obedience.

You would think that these proponents of this world view would be supportive of the rich, powerful and famous – they are the fittest, they have succeeded where others have failed.

Yet, many say, you can’t do that – you have to protect the feeble, you have to have laws that control the actions of people.  So, society develops its own code of conduct as to what is right and wrong; it very often justifies changing the code as a protection – or improvement of man’s actions.

There are indeed many who do advocate that the rich and powerful should be in control – they should make the rules and they should determine right from wrong.

Interesting enough, many are the same people.  They have held themselves up to be the salvation of mankind, they pass laws that require others to obey – or be punished.  They often exclude themselves from these same requirements and hold themselves above the ‘common’ man in determining what is right and what is wrong. 

They have their own ‘moral code’ which is based on their collective ideas which change from year to year and sometimes day to day.  There is no moral compass, because morality can change at any time at their whim.

We but have to look at many of the laws Congress passes to see the truth – they often specifically exclude themselves from laws they expect the ‘common’ citizen to obey; because they have reached the ‘top’ of the food change – they are in charge.

If you have money you can have influence over others – you have doors that automatically are opened and your thoughts hold more weight that the ‘common’ citizen.

Many of these, who deny God, proclaim that THEY are trying to protect the unprotected by passing laws or referendums that require certain actions to be unlawful and other actions that were previously unlawful to become lawful.

But, many of these laws, instead of helping the oppressed, tend to hold them down and not allow them to get to the top – by the design of those at the top, they are the fittest.

What is ‘right’ is continually being changed, modified or even done away with because those that are adamant that God does not exist, have changed their minds as to the definition of right and wrong.

Perhaps one of the best current examples of these thoughts is what is happening in the Middle East where the strong are preying on the weak, demanding obedience to their codes and if any choose to challenge or disobey they will be persecuted, imprisoned, driven from their homes and even their country and often brutally slain.  They are the fittest.

That is their decision as to what is right and wrong.  Doesn’t matter that they do it under the color of religion, the bottom line is their religion isn’t of God and condones behavior that God condemns – but, they are the fittest and they believe they are in charge and can control others.

Another, of course, is China where they tell their families they may have only one child and will often force abortion on a woman who is pregnant with a second child.

The Nazis, prove that when man decides what is right and wrong it can become a basis for eradication of those that are ‘lesser’ who have not evolved, who are incapable of taking care of themselves.

The leaders claimed Norse God(s), they claimed that their Arian blood was loftier because they evolved into a superior race.  They were the survivalists of the fittest.

They were now in charge of a nation.  These men decided the fate of millions of Jews, not just those that were slain, but those that lost their homes, businesses, freedom and even their countries.

The Nazi’s did the same to the Gypsy’s, the Slavic people, the mentally ill or handicapped, any ‘race’ or ‘color’ of skin that was not acceptable to them they designed to eliminate, or enslave - all in the name of weeding out those that did not fit into their vision of a perfect person AND since they were the ones in control, they decided these what that perfect person was and the people’s fate that didn’t meet that criteria.

These men decided what was right and wrong.  They defined morality on the religion of evolution and its offspring, natural selection and survival of the fittest.

Without God and the foundation of His Word; without the obedience to His Word and the acceptance of His role in our lives we are no better than the lowest animal on the planet.

And if that is the case why do we prosecute someone that goes against societal norms?  Because we want order?  Because these actions have to be controlled?

They say that man has evolved into a reasonable thinking being that has evolved above our original nature.

But if man evolved from a stone, up through the many stages of life to become what we are today than we have no reason to comply with any code of conduct and do just what we please.  That is the base for the religion of evolution.

The fittest are in control, they pass laws that they like, they do things that they like, they are not really accountable to anyone else because they have evolved into the fittest.

What are these laws really based on – we arrest a man for murder when he went after those that tried to take something from him, or as a revenge for the killing of the person who wronged him in a violent manner – when evolution, the survival of the fittest actually shows that this action was just an animalistic action to survive.

Who decides what is right and what is wrong? – well those that are at the top of the evolutionary chain, those that have survived either by way of overcoming challenges or who have grown up in a powerful family. 

The world is in chaos because satan uses every device at his disposal to convince man there isn’t any God, that he is no better than the animals – just more evolved – and therefore can do whatever he deems appropriate.

Psalm 50:22-23 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

²² Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

When the world ignores God, declares He doesn’t exist and/or declares He has no say in our world it does so at its own peril, the peril of finally angering God enough that He says it IS enough and passes His judgement upon it.

God is alive and well, He is concerned about His people and while He hasn’t commanded the destruction of the world’s naysayers, yet, it doesn’t mean that He won’t hold them accountable.

Malachi 3:16-18 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

¹⁷ And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

¹⁸ Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

Mathew 24:25 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Man has been warned many times through the years, yet, it seems each generation must learn again, that God isn’t to be mocked.

We need to hold fast to our faith in God, no matter the provocation or temptation to abandon it.

The world doesn’t have the answer, they keep changing both the question and the facts, applying the current morality of the day for today, imposing it on history and then tomorrow will have a whole new set of rules. 

Only God has maintained the truth for which all men can be guided and which all men are responsible to obey.

Malachi 3:5-6a And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.

⁶ For I am the Lord, I change not; the final word in all discussions of God’s intentions for those who choose to deny His rightful place in hearts and minds.

One more reason to continue to pray and witness to those that are lost.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again

We will have a laid back day today, I will be centering most of my time on watching the bowl games. 

The cold air is coming in from the north and creating a lot of east wind in the Gorge – I understand into the 60 mph in some areas and others will be clocked in at the 80’s and maybe even 90’s at Crown Point.

They can have it.  While I love the changing beauty of the Gorge, I can do without the wind at this time of year.

Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

“New Year’s resolutions, made once a year, are often forgotten. God’s forgiveness is every day, and last for eternity; HE has, forever, forgotten our sins.”

I woke up this morning thinking about how people make resolutions on the first of the year and when they fail – sometimes in the first week or even less – they just give up and forget about them.

Sometimes they berate themselves for not keeping them, but most people don’t say, okay, I made a mistake, now I need to start a new.  THEN the next year come December 31 they make the same resolution adding, ‘this year I will keep it.’

Some people really use that as a mindset, as if once they fail, they can’t start again – or at least have to wait a year to try again.

I am so thankful that we don’t have to wait a year to ask forgiveness from God.  We do not need to pick a time of year to come to Him and say, Lord, this past year has been bad and I promise next year will be better – and then when we falter we have to wait another year to try again.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

There is no timeline here to confess our sins.  John didn’t say it could only be done at the first of the year, or on a Sunday or other special day, he simply says, ‘if.’

And when we do He forgives us.

As Christians we have the honor of being able to come to Him each day and ask for His guidance, mercy, love and grace. 

We can ask Him – at any time, day or night – to forgive us, and He does.

Much better than New Year’s resolutions, don’t cha think?

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again