The Author and Finisher

7 years ago, I spent 6 weeks in the hospital and 3 years rehabing a broken back and neck. They took my stomach out. I went from 210 pounds to 110 pounds. Couldn't process food, got malnutrition, lived on grapes and soda crackers for a year, couldn't walk.

'THEY' said, at one point, I only had three months to live. Went through 7 months of withdrawls from the pain killers they were giving me.

Like I said, that was 7 years ago.

Today, I am still alive
I am back in the mountains I love, walking, eating, and praising God. I am VERY healthy for an 'old man.' I can out hike most kids.

Yeah, the valleys are tough, BUT, He will carry us through them.
Be still and know that He is GOD and He will get you where you need to go.

To overcome fear and worry we got to live in a world where fear and worry exist.
 

He works that in us, we don't even need to fear or worry that God will remove the fear and worry from us. He will, He is the Author and Finisher of our faith all we got to do is look to Him.
 

If God has a plan for ya, it aint over till He says it is! Is it?
Trust me, He has a plan for ALL of us!

Two Brothers

Two brothers, Ishmael, the first son, whose Mother was Hagar, and Issac the promised Son, whose Mother was Sarah, were both blessed by God.  Both shared the same Father; Abraham.

One was the promised son, whose parents had some problems waiting for the promise, Have you ever had that problem? I have.

One was the result of his Father and Mother trying to bring about God's promise; in their own way.

Ishmael hated Issac.

They became nations. The Arab world hates Israel still.

When you look at the map of Israel you will see, pretty quickly, the Arab world, descendants of Ishmael, have more land then tiny Israel; about 10,000 times as much!
They have enormous wealth from oil. Israel is only about 150 miles by 50 miles in the midst of a sea of Ishmaelites.

I would surmise, God kept his promise to Ishmael pretty well don't you?
How much does it take to be satisfied with the blessing you have?

The promise to Issac was to become a blessing to the entire world - The Messiah would come from his line. Quite a different promise then the one made to Ishmael, eh?

"If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." 1 John 4:20

I think there is a lesson in that don't you? Hatred is never satisfied.

New Life

New Life begins on our knees, not because there is something innately Godly about being on our knees, but because it is a humble way of admitting God has ALL the answers, not us . . . we just have facts. Facts are not Truth, Jesus is!

The thing about getting our prayers answered is to actually do some praying.
Matthew 7:8

When we are frustrated by Ol' So and so should we pray, "God change Ol' So and So, or should we pray Lord change me, or should we pray for both. Then what should we do after we have prayed. see Matthew 7:8

If we actually believed Matthew 7:8 and actually did it, would we then have it or not?
Would we continue to complain or beg?

Complaining and begging are not praying, agreeing with God is . . . praying.

After we BELIEVE, we ASK, then we RECEIVE, the receiving part is done by steadfast TRUST. see Hebrews 11 a good 'receiver' doesn't need to check on his/her 'seeds' everyday to see if they are growing.
A Good receiver has a lot a time to go fishing.  :)

". . .much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17

The Power of His Might

People who are 'called' to serve the Lord are seldom looking for their own blessings, but are looking for those He wants to bless. They have set their desires aside for those of the Master.

In the doing of it, they encounter the Adversary on a daily basis.
They are faced with negative situations, fear, sorrow, pain, and even death,

Those things can and will take a toll on you physically, mentally, and spiritually.

"Finally . . . they realize . . . they have to BE STRONG IN THE LORD . . . and in His MIGHTY POWER." Ephesians 6
They become well armed SOLDIERS.

Wonder how one does that? Don't you?

Ususally, when I speak the word of God, two things happen. Those who serve another master can't get away fast enough, and those who serve The Master want to have a cup a coffee and talk some more.

The spoken word of God IS the "Power of His Might." Ephesians 6:10
"To those who are perishing it is the fragrance of death and to those who are being saved it is the fragrance of Life." 2 Corinthians 2:16

(Ya know ya are either perishing or being saved by how ya respond to the word of God. If ya run from it, when ya hear it; perishing. If ya run to it, when ya hear it, being saved. Ya just got to do the math . . .)

Jesus used the spoken word to defeat the Adversary in the Wilderness.
"It is written" "It is written" It is written"



When the Adversary speaks, give him the word of God. There is something about the word of God that causes him not to want to hang around those who use it.

"Who has stirred up this king from the east, rightly calling him to God's service? Who gives this man victory over many nations and permits him to trample their kings underfoot? With his SWORD, he reduces armies to dust. With his bow, he scatters them like chaff before the wind." Isaiah 41:2

The Sword of the Spirit IS His word! Ephesians 6

What good is a sword if we never use it?

Worry and Fear

Livin the way I do, some days I eat and some days I don't. To really learn 'Not' to worry, I got to be willin to live in a world where there are things to worry about.

Just like a yougnin has to give up the milk bottle, he has learned to depend on, so he can move on to solid food, we got to learn to give up on all a the 'milk bottles' we as adults depend on and they are many; aren't they?

Its only when there is no visable means a provision that I get an opportunity to see and really know WHO I should be depending on, instead a WHAT I am depending on..

See Matthew 6:25-33 then, start livin it, not just quotin it. It will be hard at first, but in the end, it will be worth it!

To defeat fear, I have to be willing to face it, head on, in His power, not mine.
David, Samson, Gideon, and all the Heros of faith did. Even Jesus did . . .
" . . .neither or fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow . . . Romans 8:38

Jesus was fearful in the garden the night he was betrayed. He sweat great drops of blood and prayed, "Father if it is possible to take this cup from me, BUT IF NOT, your will be done; not mine"

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Someone said, "Every body worries!" If every body played in traffic would you?
Our heavenly Father knows what you need because He came as a man and faced all the problems we face; even death. He overcame Death, Hell, and the Grave so we could too!

Live Until Ya Die

I'm an old man now, near blind, broken in body, and there aint too many that give me any account. Heck, ran out a coffee yesterday, but still got JESUS and livin in the most beautiful mountains there are.
 
Those mountains are full of things to be afraid of . . . in a lot of peoples minds . . . and they are full a things too beautiful to describe; most will never see them . . . or trip over them, as I so often do these days . . .

They say I am too old to be foolin around in those mountains . . . But Jesus says, 'No evil will befall me nor any plague will come near my door, but He gives his angels charge over me to keep me in all my ways!"

What time I am afraid, I put my Trust in Jesus!
When I put my trust in him, choose to praise Him, and think and speak what He says about me, instead of what the world or the 'church lady' says about me, fear just melts away and is replaced with peace. If it works for me, it will work for you. Romans 12:1-2

Jesus is greater then all my fears . . . Ya either choose to be in fear or ya choose to be in faith. The Just shall live by Faith.

He gave us Life, shouldn't we Live it?

True Freedom

A Perfectionist has a lot of expectations every day. A perfectionist thinks they have to finish everything they start; perfectly.

There is no room for error. If they don't finish perfectly, there will be hell to pay for themselves and everybody around them.

God says, "It is impossible to be perfect, as I am perfect, and even harder to pretend to be. My Son Jesus, who is perfect, will finish, perfectly, what you can't finish and Hell has already been paid!
Enter my rest!"

As one who was trained by a Perfectionist to be a Perfectionist, I've spent many long years feeling miserable about my failures. Big waste of time.

Jesus didn't come to beat us into perfection, He came to be perfect FOR us.
He came to set us free from the burden of being perfect.

" Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us."
Romans 8:32-34 NLT

"He led captivity captive . . ." Ephesians 4:8
What is holding you captive today? Someones opinions, fear of failure, The burden of perfectionism, condemnation? If you are in Christ, there is NO MORE CAPTIVITY!!!
Jesus took captivity by the throat, and put it in prison.
"It is for freedom you have been set free! Galatians 5:1

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

Some Thoughts About Money

Just because the money sometimes goes away, our faith and Trust in God shouldn't, should it? It's just a test kids, try to pass it.

He's got an answer, just wait for it and then do it.

It is the doer of the WORD who is blessed, not always the one who has all the money.
Possessions are not, true wealth, they are fun, but they are not TRUE wealth. Faith and Trust in God are true wealth!

When ya got that and it is real, you will have everything you need and abundantly more

When I had wealth everbody was in someway courteous and friendly. They went out of their way to curry my favor. When I gave all my wealth away and moved to the mountains, well they just disappeared!
Wonder why that is . . . I'm the same person, just without wealth.
"The LOVE of money is the ROOT of all evil." Words of Jesus

Where does real help come from? Worldly riches, worldly power, or does it come from somewhere else?

God loves poor people because they generally Trust Him more . . . . They have to.

Father forgive us today for depending on our money more then we do you. Help us to Trust you, even when there is no money.
"

Habakkuk 3:17Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

17 For even if the fig tree doesn’t blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines,
even if the olive tree fails to produce,
and the fields yield no food at all,
even if the sheep vanish from the sheep pen,
and there are no cows in the stalls;

The Givers Reward

One morning the Holy Spirit said to me, "I want you to be a giver today."
In my circumstances that morning, I said to Him, "I really don't know what that would be or how it could be done."

He said, "Don't worry I will lead you."

That morning, a homeless man showed up needing a ride to Town to take his dog to the vet. Twenty five miles from the mountain. I took him. I had some gas and a truck to give.

Later, a man showed up wanting a few walking stick blanks for a church related kids project. I gave them to Him because I had some.

Then, there was the kid who needed gas to get home. I found a twenty dollar bill laying on the ground not too far from where he was , , , he got the gas he needed and went home to his parents . . .

Some where in the Book it says, "Every gift you give will come back to you." it might not be today or tomorrow and sometimes it will come in the shalom you experience just doing good because it is good to do it . . .

"Jesus suffered the cross . . . FOR the JOY that was set before Him." Hebrews 12
Joy is the givers reward.

To be an imitator of God, using Christ as my example, (Ephesians 5), I have to learn To be a GIVER, For God so loved the world He GAVE . . .

Like everything else I have to learn about God I have to practice it to get good at it. Being a god like giver requires having eyes to see what someone really needs.

Maybe that is done by giving a ride to the grocery store to someone who needs a lift.
Maybe it is, spending time with someone.
Maybe it is in giving a kind word to someone.
Maybe it is sharing a meal with someone.

It aint always about money and building Cathedrals, even if the Preacher says it is..
(Don't get me wrong here, I enjoy a good cathedral as much as anyone.
I'm just sayin, our true Tabernacle is in Heaven, "Store up your treasure in Heaven where moth and rust do not destroy."
The question is How so I do that? There are as many answers to that question as there are people, preachers, and denominations.
It is the answer you hear spoken in your own heart by the Holy Spirit that matters.

Give to someone with a pure heart.
Doing good should be done just because it is good to do it and for the Joy it brings to the Giver, and maybe it is the way God works for the Giver and the Receiver.

Give to someone in need with a pure heart, there are NO Qualifiers in giving.
Doing good should be done just because it is good to do it.

Have ya ever noticed God don't talk much, He just 'DOES' most a the time

Power and Wisdom

It takes two things to get stuff done. Power and Wisdom.
 
Wisdom to know where and when to start and where and when to stop.
Power to remove obstacles and to get things up and running. Without a good supply of both, projects falter and fail.

With Power and Wisdom, in ample supply, projects not only succeed but often exceed our expectations.

1 Corinthians 1:24 "To those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the POWER of God and the WISDOM of God."

All things are possible with God. Through, and in Christ, the POWER and WISDOM of God, "God does exceedingly and abundantly more then I can think or ask!"

Getting a revelation of Jesus, his death and his resurrection will gives us those two things POWER and WISDOM.

Jesus said, "Without me, you can DO NOTHING."

"Christ in us the hope of GLORY!"
( I think 'Glory' is an old English term for the FINNISH line and being the one to cross it!

The Otherside of Proverbs 14:12

'There is a way that might NOT sound right to a man and it leads to Life.'
God will give us the right answers when we need them. Just don't expect them to always make sense.

Sometimes, in the process of becoming who we are intended to be, we can find ourselves in places and situations, that just don't make sense to those who 'KNOW.'
I give you Jobs buddies.
If ya read Job, ya will see, much of what Jobs comforters said to him about his problems made a lot a sense. They 'thought' they had the answers

Yet God said of them, "They did not speak rightly concerning my servant Job."

It is best to serve the Master's wishes and not the wishes of others even though it may make you look foolish.

Do the Math

Some Algebra for ya . . . . Why God told Adam and Eve NOT to eat from the tree of Good and Evil . . . .
 
How many ways can 6 truck Drivers be assigned to 6 trucks?
 
Answer: 6 = 6*5*4*3*2*1 = 720 different ways to assign the drivers.
 
How many possible solutions are there to any given problem?

How do we really know what's right and what's wrong in any give situation? We don't.
We have to fail with the wrong answers until we find the right answer; when we try to solve our own problems.

God intended, from the very beginning, to take us past the process of failure, by giving us the right answers, right into success. He still is.

We didn't listen then and I wonder if we are listening now.

The Holy Spirit leads us and guides us into ALL the Truth. We just got to learn to listen.

Called to Peace

A lot a the time people live the way they do because they can't live the way other people want them too. They don't have the tools. I know; I am one of 'those.'

When I came to Jesus, 35 years ago, I was a terribly broken person. I didn't believe anyone really loved me or cared for me. I didn't know how to live around people, still don't.   In a lot a ways, I am still both of those things . . . Broken and socially dysfunctional . . .

What is different about me, in these last days of my life, is that I finally know 'Someone' really loves me; in spite of my broken and dysfunctional state. 
In that, I have found two missing elements in my life; peace and a strange thing called JOY.
 
That has made all the difference. Ya are called to peace kids. Go where the peace is; The Prince of Peace . . . Yeshua/Jesus!
If He loves us in our dysfunction then He loves us in whatever state we are in. He becomes our strength, when we FINALLY let Him.

"If the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead, lives in us, It will also quicken (enliven) our mortal bodies" Paul of Tarsus

If we choose to live where Peace is, eventually we will have Peace; in us Peace is a person . . . The Prince of Peace.

Temporary verses Permanent

Will temporary solutions ever solve permanent problems?

There's a pill for bout everthing these days yet, people are just as sick now, if not more so, then they ever were. Seems like for ever new pill there is a new disease don't it? 
There are a a million diets that never permanently solve our weight problems; do they. There are more obese people now then there ever were. 
The Politicians are always the same . . . yet, the government is falling apart . . .

"Every good and perfect GIFT comes down from my FATHER. (Apostle James)
Don't know bout others, but my Father is a Great Father! He 'GIVES' me what I need. 'WHEN' I ASK Him for it, and most a the time I don't even deserve it!

He heals me when I am sick, He feeds me when I am hungry, He provides for me in every area of my life! He inspires me! He lifts me up when I'm down. He delivers me when I fall.  He corrects me when I am wrong.  He renews my strength when I am weak. Heck, there aint an ounce a fat on my whole body!   

Everything I need was given to me 2000 years ago when Jesus died for me and rose from the dead for me!  All I have to do is receive what he has stored up for me.

He gave me a home, near a river full a fish! A Mountain full a food! A well to draw water from. He fills me with love, peace, joy, and righteousness! He GIVES me everything I need for life and for godliness!
He is ALWAYS with me and He is always GIVING to me!
 
As for me, I prefer eternal solutions to my permanent problems not temporary ones.

So world, keep yer pills, yer diets, and yer politicians; I'll keep on following Jesus!
Sometimes we just have to remember the things He GIVES us are a GIFT; not a paycheck.

Everything I need was given to me 2000 years ago when Jesus died for me and rose from the dead for me! All I have to do is receive what He has stored up for me.
Today, as you read your New Testament beginning with the book of Romans, make a list of everthing that comes to us as a gift and everthing that comes to us by earning it. See what ya come up with.

A Rich and Satisfying Life

Amazing how when ya move into the sunshine, sunshine gets all over ya aint it?
How does that work anyway?

"Don't worry about 'ANYTHING,' instead pray about 'EVERYTHING,' tell Him what you need and thank Him for it . . ." Philippians 4:8-9

Living by faith, (trust), is just that simple . . . . Jesus came to 'GIVE' us a rich and satisfying life!

O Death Where is Your Victory?

My 'Angels Trumpet' bloomed this morning. The Blossom is about 6" across and wonderfully fragrant! It just makes me smile Thank You Sir!

"Where O Death is Your Victory?
…Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.… 2 Corinthians 15:51-53

'Angels Trumpet'

Don't know how this got in my garden. I didn't plant it. I thought, as it was growing, it was a sunflower. Turns out it is an 'Angels Trumpet.' They aren't supposed to grow here. It's gettin ready to Bloom . . . .

The Plan

"My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather then where a church has already been started by someone else. I have been following the 'plan' spoken of in the scriptures where it says;
Those who have never been told about him will see and those who have never heard of him will understand" (Paul of Tarsus) . . . Romans 15:20-21 & Isaiah 52:15
It's all about following the PLAN isn't it?
All the 'Shalom' of God is tied to following the PLAN.

In previous verses of Romans chapter 15 Paul said, the Gentiles were brought to Christ both by the message of the Good News and by his work among them.
Vs 19 tells us what his 'work among them' was then and should be today:

"The Gentiles were/are convinced by miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God's Spirit in conjunction with the Message"

Never miss a chance to lay hands on and pray for the miraculous among them.
If we are following His plan, the miraculous should and will be there.

Good Thinking

Fallow - to plow harrow, breakup, and till land without ever planting any seed.

“Does a farmer always plow and never sow? Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting? Does he not finally plant his seeds?” Isaiah 28:24-25

I said, 'Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.'
Hosea 10:12

“ Let God transform you into a new person by CHANGING THE WAY YOU THINK.” Romans 12:2

What seed should we plant in our fallow Ground? Jesus said the Word of God is our seed.

It's not so much about us being in the word rather it is more about the word being IN US.
Some wisdom from the mountain . . .
Good thinking first takes admitting our thinking might need some help.

Some Good Fruit

Sometimes we want our 'fruit' to 'look ripe' before it is . . .

Patience, a fruit of the Spirit, COMES THROUGH THE COMFORT OF THE WORD, not suffering.
Romans 15:4

What that means is this, When I TRULY BELIEVE what the word of God says about my circumstances, and I apply it to my circumstances, the fruit of that application is PATIENCE.

If I BELIEVE what God's word says before I am in the fire, then I should BELIEVE it when I am in the fire, and I will have more HOPE after I am delivered from the fire.

"When Doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer!"   Psalms 94:19

Time and Chance

On my way to work . . . . :)

"I observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. Those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time." (Solomon)

Who holds time and chance in His hands . . . ? Time and chance happen when ya are following His plans. Ask Him to lead ya ever day . . . He will

A Little Pool of Water . . (A Meditation from Psalms 95)

There was a little pool of water way back in the wilderness. It was a very small pool of water.
Though it was the only water around for miles in any direction very seldom did any one weary for a drink stop there. You see the water was bitter. In the eyes of many travelers it was of no value and never would be . . .

Then a man, who knew of the pool, led some people there to drink. The people complained and criticized his leadership; as many are wont to do.

The man heard a still small voice inside him say, "See that little sycamore tree over there; take a bit of its bark and throw it in the pool; the water will become sweet again.

The man did so. Somehow the wood from that little lonesome tree changed the pool of water for ever. The people rejoiced!
The pool was no longer called Meribah . . . .(Bitter)

Amazing what the application of a little Sycamore wood can do. They say the cross Christ died on was made from Sycamore . . . . hmmmm

Be like the pool. Don't worry bout what people think of ya, Jesus has a bit a that wood for us too . . . It'll sweeten us right up, then the whole world will want a drink!

Planning that Leads to Success

Proverbs tell us, "Good planning leads to success."
We have plans for ourselves and others.  We are always willint to pin our plans on others aren't we?
Other people have plans for us and themselves.  They are more then willing to share their plan for our lives aren't they?

God has a plan for our good and not for evil, so we might have a Future and a Hope.

What I have to ask myself is this, whose plan am I following TODAY; mine, someone else's or the plan with a future and a Hope;  which is God's plan?

"There is a Hope that does not disappoint, because the Holy Spirit has poured out the Love of God in our hearts"
Romans 5:5 The Love of God is Jesus!  What's in our Heart?

Our Hope is always tied to our plans . . . or is it His plan that is always tied to our Hope?

Jesus came so me might have Life and that more ABUNDANTLY!  Jesus is LIFE!