For the Heart that’s breaking….

Well, it doesn’t take a whole lot of wisdom to realize men and women will fail us. As things work in the world, it is usually when we most need them to be there for us. Regardless of what this mixed up culture wants you to believe, the world is full of self centered, self proclaiming and self deifying people. The culture is stuck in a circular breathing pattern that will eventually suffocate society as we know it. We as a people are so caught up in the mindset of self gratification – at all cost, that we don’t have an inkling of an idea of proper social grace or a genuine sense of community. We can’t get past ourselves or get over ourselves long enough to see the person standing right next to us, let alone our spouses and children.

All of this self indulgence in what I want has created several generations of socially, emotionally and Spiritually lost people. The damage to our soul is so deep that we no longer believe there is a soul to connect to anything beyond the personal experience of our existence. We have elevated man to the heights of deity, there is no other higher power – we are it! So relationships, emotional and spiritual needs are relative to the thought process and circumstances of the moment. The alcohol abuse, drug abuse, sex abuse, child abuse, and a whole host of abuses that we don’t even want to get our minds around are not the symptoms.  It is the results of power hungry people, shoving the people’s rights in our faces until we have become bloated on the sins of the intellectual elite, its all about me and what I can get or take.

The world is FULL of hurting and dying people! The mass media has so seared our senses with these haunting images, talking heads and opinion writers that we gaze at the spectacle with indifference. The sin of it all has mutated our judgment to the point that we have begun to believe the lies, and embellish them with every conceivable vice imaginable to man and non man. Yes, I said it. The demons delight in this world spinning out of control. No longer do the Godly have enough influence in the culture to have a positive impact on its direction. Correction is no longer an option; plead with as many as we can on the way out…  God has turned us over as a nation and a world to the lusts and desires of our own hearts.

However; for that Heart that is breaking, there is still HOPE. Yes, General, in this case HOPE is a method. The intellectual elite have deduced Faith to “comfort for those with an intellectual deficit”. However; the time is fast approaching when those that still believe in the Creator and His True Headship to this world will be revealed from the Spiritual world to the physical world of this Day. For the broken hearted there is Comfort. To the broken hearted there can be peace, and love that filters through every tissue in your body to the very core of your soul. HE IS REAL! God loves every human that ever walked this earth, past – present – and future. This world didn’t happen by chance, it was created by a being that wanted fellowship, companionship, and unconditional love. God created the heavens and the earth for His and our pleasure. Man walked with God in the cool of the evening, living in freedom and peace with only one rule to obey, only one in all creation.

Through the manipulation of a fallen angel, man was deceived and convinced to sin against God, disregarding the one rule that God put before us. This decisive and disobedient act, cause God pain, and forced Him to exercise Judgment and Punitive Action against man. The events from then leading to this present day are the consequences of that action some 7000 years ago. However; don’t be disheartened, God through His Great Love for us provided a way. He created in His Son, a perfect unblemished sacrifice to pay the penalty of our sin. Jesus Christ through His total Obedience to His Father came to the earth to teach us how to live a life that would be right with God. He taught us what attitudes we should have upon taking up our Spiritual Cross and following Christ’s footsteps. At just 33 years of age, He was sold for 30 pieces of silver to a corrupt government at that time by a betraying “friend” – and He was crucified as a completely innocent man. Guilty of NO law, no offense, of no sin – totally and completely blameless. HE Died for you and HE Died for me… Paying a price for prison ransom that we on our own are incapable of paying… Broken hearted, here is your Joy, here is your Peace, and here is your redemption, to be ushered in to an Unconditional Love that starts at the foot of that old Cross.

Jesus Christ is the True and Only son of the True and Living God, and Christ left us with a very important message… There are not many ways to Heaven… There are NO prophets that can pave your way to the afterlife. Jesus Christ said “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; NO MAN cometh unto the Father, but by ME”… The apostle of Jesus Christ, Paul wrote that “there are none righteous, no, not one”. He also wrote that “all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God”. These two statements qualify the human, for standing before God on our own we all fall short, and are without excuse. Paul also tells us that “the wages of sin is death”, death, separation from God and our loved ones, banished to Hell, a very real, a very painful and a very dark place.

To the broken hearted; I bring you a message of Great Joy… In the Gospel of John, he very eloquently offers us this message. “For God so Loved this world, that He gave His only begotten SON. That whoever believes in Him, Shall NOT Perish, but will have ever lasting life.” For God sent not His Son, into this world to Condemn it, but that through Him and His work on the Cross, this world might be saved! Might you be saved today? Might you see the error of this world and the path that we are on? If you simply acknowledge Him for Who He Is by the Power God gave to Him to be – Lord over all. Upon accepting His gift of Salvation through His redemptive work on the Cross bowing the knee and heart and declaring Him as your own.  You too can have the Joy of knowing Christ will carry your name to the Father.  He will wrap you in His righteousness until that day in which all in Christ will be transformed just as He did.  He put an end to death upon raising up from the depths of that grave.  We shall then cast off these wicked fleshly bodies and forever more walk in the new glorified body with Christ. Yes broken hearted there is One that will Love you unconditionally, that will walk with you your remaining days on this earth, offering comfort, strength and a real relationship. He will never walk away, and He will teach your heart to Truly Love!

I) God Spoke To Joshua

The Expository Book Study of Joshua

Joshua 1 Verses 1 through 9                    I) God Spoke To Joshua
Week #1 26 May 2010                              Week 22 of Teaching Ministry

1Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, 2Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. 3Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 4From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. 5There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 6Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest. 8This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

What an awesome experience it must have been for Joshua. God, The Great I Am, had spoke to Moses in the past, but now here He is speaking to Joshua! This was God’s new man for the job of delivering His people safely home into the “Promised Land”. The Generation of doubters and malfeasants had now passed, God’s people purged of those involved in the heathen acts of idolatry. It was now time for God’s people to move, and take what He had given them through the Promises spoken to Moses. Joshua himself had come of Spiritual Age, to lead in such a way that would be pleasing to God. An inheritance was about to be passed on, and claimed!

In his opening paragraph of his Commentary on the book of Joshua, Harold A. Ironside stated that “the book of Joshua is distinctly the book of the inheritance”. He went on to say that “Joshua links very intimately with the Epistle to the Ephesians in the New Testament”. We will further investigate that comparison further on down the road.

Let’s step back for a second…

Can anyone tell me the meaning of the name Joshua?

(Jehovah the Savior / or / Jehovah our Salvation /or/ “Yahweh Saves”)

1) As we open this Book of Joshua, we see the Divinely appointed Leader of God. His mission, to Lead or Pilot God’s chosen people out of the wilderness. His name, Joshua, the model or “old testament type of Jesus”, that God wanted to fill His purpose. Moses led the people to the very outermost boundaries of the Promised Land, but it was Joshua that took up where Moses left off.

2) Before we enter the study of Joshua, we must first understand the impact of these two people on us today. Thirty-six times in the Old Testament Moses is called “servant of the LORD.” He was servant in the sense of being totally loyal and obedient (with but one exception, Num. 20:10-13) to God’s commands. But the title was an honorable one; a “servant of the LORD” was a privileged person who could look to the Lord for protection, and who on occasion had a direct hearing of a divine message. GOD – Literally spoke to Moses.

 

3) Now, while the Relationship Moses had with God was not the same as the physical sight & manifested contact that the 1st Adam had with God in the garden, it was indeed none the less a relationship. Moses loved God, feared God and honored God. God also Loved Moses, once again calling him “My Servant”.

4) The scriptures tell us that God commanded Moses to climb Mount Nebo, where He (God) showed Moses the Land to which He promised His people.

5) We are told that Moses died there on that mount and that GOD buried him. God buried His servant; God loved this man, and in spite of his failure with the water at Meribah (Num. 20:10-13) – GOD Buried Moses. A symbol to us today of the importance of our faithfulness, the importance of obedience and the importance of devotion. That even though we travel in this flesh – GOD Loves us, He provides to us Mercy and Grace to cover our failures in His Son’s redemptive work at the Cross.

6) God said to Joshua, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel… Verses two & three obviously call Joshua into action, to get up and move out in military terms. Commanding him to get his troops formed up and all their belongings and head over the Jordon. However; if read too quickly and mechanically you may miss an important statement implying Authority, Ownership and Validation of Genesis 1. “Unto the land which I DO GIVE to them”. This statement implies that I YOUR GOD, have the Authority to carry out this transaction. That I YOUR GOD have current deed and title to this land and all that is. And finally, it validates the creation story by the previous statements. GOD gave this land to the nation of Israel. To that point, every place that the sole of their foot shall tread upon was theirs. Then at the end of verse three, He – Almighty God verifies and secures the promise He made to Moses. He spoke these words to Joshua, how reassuring it must have been for Joshua. I wonder if he (Joshua) contemplated the magnitude of the event at that time, or if he just stood in awe? God has fulfilled His Promise, sealed by His Word – the Truth of Life.

Manifested before their eyes, the Land they had dreamed of for many years. In verses 3 and 4, God lays out the real estate, giving Joshua the boundaries and borders of this new promise land.

7) In verse 5 God tells Joshua that “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee”. God was saying to Joshua that NO Man from these other areas will stand in their way. That victory or conquest would be certain and somewhat easy if they keep their focus on God. When we go with God, He assumes all the risk, He shoulders the responsibility of Success, His Promises and Word are at stake. Once again, all He asks or commands is our Fear, Respect, Reverence, Praise and Obedience. He told Joshua, that just as He was with Moses, He would be with him, that God would not fail him, nor forsake Him.

a. Faith requires a level of submission that does not come easy. For wrapped in our faith, we must embolden our Trust in the unseen, unheard being of GOD. 1st – Trusting His written word to be True and Valid, literally breathed by our Heavenly Fathers own words to the humans holding the pen.

b. Faith requires a spiritually healthy level of Fear, Respect and Reverence for the Creator, while in awe of His power and wisdom revealed to us in all His creation.

c. Faith requires a level of reliance upon establishing and proving our Trust, we must move to rely on His ability to provide victories in the battles that we face every day.

d. Then our Faith should produce a heart of Thanksgiving, Praise and Obedience to the Father. That Obedience produces the Joy in our Father that He Blesses us then with Victories to vast to mention.

8) Verse 6 is awesome for those that love to study the Bible, because the King James version or interpretation of the original Hebrew text is quite intriguing. God told Joshua to be “strong and of good courage” which must have been so encouraging to Joshua. The God of the Universe was showing him, you have all this as your inheritance, this land my people will divide amongst themselves. Then the neat part, look at the tense in “which I sware unto their fathers to give them”. The King James says “sware” current tense that God sees time all in the same frame, which in itself is so deep we could park there for a night or two.

BUT, I would rather believe that GOD made his promise at that moment in time while speaking with Joshua. At that point in eternity present GOD made His promise known and concrete to the fathers of Israel. For their Faith had sealed their salvation in Christ’s Blood yet to be spilt. It is so wonderful, so delightful to study this concept in the light of the knowledge that God has given us through His word. The fathers of Israel heard God’s promise to deliver, the promise land. His promise of the Messiah yet to appear in eternity future was already known to God – as we have been told so many times, in God’s time and will.

To all those men that stood in Faith and Service to and with GOD. That at that very moment He rewarded their faith and obedience with the Promised Land. Verse six gives us a glimpse of the immensity and timeless state of Eternity from God’s perspective. All the while showing us the reward of Faithful Service, and Obedient Living… Praise God.

9) Verse seven we see God’s conditions of Israel’s acceptance of the Promised Land. God is saying here that total victory depended on FIRM and CONSTANT Obedience by Joshua and the people, to all the Laws of God. ***(For in God’s Economy of Time – Christ’s work on the cross had already been completed – Faith would save these people for the Spotless Permanent Lamb had already been slain in Eternity Future. Remember, from God’s perspective reality is Timeless)*** Notice that once again, God refers to Moses MY Servant, and the Laws that Moses delivered unto the people of Israel. One thing to remember here – Joshua and the people were to stand strong in GOD’s strength, God’s Power through His Word. He set the tone, and exhorted them that it would take a greater strength of character to obey His Word faithfully, than it would be to win battles on the battlefield.

10) GOD Cannot Fail! His Word is the Only Truth! Verse eight informed Joshua that the law shall not depart from his mouth or his mind / memory. That Joshua and the people are to Meditate on it Day and Night!!!

They were to learn the Law so that it would become 2nd nature to them. It would be only then that they would become prosperous and have success in their battles and endeavors. This too is a model for today. For it is only when we read God’s Word, hide it in our hearts, and live in it each day that we can fully understand and successfully live our lives in Christ. As I am teaching our teens every week for the last nine weeks – YIELD and SURRENDER! Read and Learn His Word.

11) Our final verse for tonight’s Study, verse nine, God questions Joshua. “Haven’t I commanded you?” “Have I not encouraged you and instructed you to be Strong and of Good Courage?” “Have I not said to thee, Be NOT Afraid, and don’t be dismayed?” He said again, Joshua – “I AM THE LORD thy GOD, and I am with you where ever you go.”

I don’t have time to unpack all of this tonight, but these words of encouragement and command to Joshua also apply to our lives here today in June of 2010. He is our God, and He does go with us – we must have Faith and must not Fear the world. We must stand in courage and be strong to the end – in His Strength. God does not condone any actions we take on our own apart from Him. He doesn’t understand when we choose our own way over His. He does not accept any service where we seek our own reward. He is God, and He carries His own reward, we must learn!!!! This is not for the faint at heart, for as we learn our Responsibility and Accountability increase. Hence the “fear and trembling”, for when we truly understand the magnitude of the responsibility we have for the Truth we hide in our heart – it is indeed humbling. We are first responsible to God for the knowledge He allows us to have. We then have a responsibility to our Christian Brothers and Sisters, and we have a responsibility to those around us that do not know Christ.

We must learn and understand that it is not brainless to blindly follow the will of God when our intellect cannot discern His way. He is God. Not too long ago I heard Alistair Begg make statement concerning a quote that he had heard. “You know you have heard it said that God Said It, I Believe It, and that Settles It For Me! Well folks, I must tell you tonight, that I must disagree! For I believe God Said It and that Settles It period, I don’t care if you agree!” We as a corporate church in this world and this country have lost our direction of UP!!! God is to be revered, He is to be feared, He is to be Loved!!! He is God and I am not, therefore as His Creation He is my Father, and I will obey out of Fear and Love for the Father. Praising Him all the time for giving me Christ, who painfully and bloodily paid the price for my sin. He said it – that settles it. I am lost without Him, and with Him and In Him I am His joint heir in the Fathers Gifts and Blessings. When God Speaks – WE SHOULD LISTEN!!! Praise God, Amen.

Keep Going!

If You Love Jesus Christ

KEEP GOING!

Walk In The Spirit, Not The Flesh!

Be Busy About His Work...

His Return Is Drawing Near - Be Ready!

A Heart Of Thanks For The Many Blessings

Good Morning Dear Ones,

Your humbled servant has been in Church Leadership off and on for the last 12 years. The Lord has provided many blessings over the years, and had opened the eyes of this man many times to error in my walk and methods. He, Christ gets all the Glory and all the Praise for any and all blessings received through this ministry.

This past week, a dear brother in Christ accompanied this ole' soul to Parkside Church in Chagrin Falls, Ohio for a Pastor's Conference. Oh my goodness, what a blessing this event was. God's Spirit was with this event, the Preaching and Teaching was absolutely wonderful. The Basics Conference took us back to the basics of Christianity. The underpinning of our Faith - Jesus Christ Taught, Lived and Shared.

This week's posting is simply to Thank the Lord for the opportunity, and the folks at Parkside Church for their sacrifice and efforts in making this Pastor's Conference a wonderful success. God and His Son Jesus Christ were surely Exhalted, Praised and Glorified by 1,300+ men.

Praise God from whom All Blessings Flow!

RC

A Mother's Day Tribute...

A Mother's Day Tribute to the Women in My Life!

Slices from the manuscript... The book that can't seem to find it's way to completion

My Grand-mother Hall taught me boldness, she was a tiny lady physically, but she was a giant spiritually. She would share the gospel on the street with anyone willing to listen; in the 1960’s you could do that without being sent to the funny farm.

Grandmother Hall could not have survived in this politically correct world we live in today. She and my Grand-dad taught me to pray, the secret and love of hiding His word in my heart. How I loved to hear her sing, she exemplified the Joy of Christ in the heart of a Christian. It didn’t matter if we were pulling weeds in the garden, washing dishes, cleaning the house or cooking dinner, she was always singing with that sweet elderly vibrato. It was awesome, what I wouldn’t do to hear those songs again.

She loved to smile, share and serve – and probably one of the most humble people I have ever known. Grandmother Hall had a large spirit; she exemplified the clay pot, overflowing with the Holy Spirit. She loved her family and prayed for each one by name every day. Oh, how I miss the power and strength that those prayers provided us. We as a family were better, and we experienced God’s blessings deeper and were more fulfilled because of her faithful and unending prayers. When I think of prayer warriors, Grandmother Hall is right at the top of the list. She was a tiny but yet strong women on her knees before her Lord.

Grand-ma Tormey was my personal prayer warrior, because she prayed me through to salvation. God blessed that devotion and prayer by allowing her to see her grandson come to the saving knowledge of Christ in her church one Sunday night. She prayed me through, while I know I was in all my grandparents daily prayers, it was grandma Tormey that held my hand through church services to keep me from doodling. She would kindly and gently encourage me to listen, and pay attention to what was being said. She and Grand-dad sat behind me as I prayed the sinner’s prayer, and my eyes were opened. The night I accepted Christ, she called me into her room at bedtime. She had tears in her eyes, and said “boy – I’ve been praying for this for many years, praise the Lord one has come home, now let’s pray for the rest.”

Grand-ma served faithfully in the church as head of the Woman’s Prayer Group. They raised money to provide Bibles for folks and sent all kinds of care packages to the missionaries supported by their church.

One Thanksgiving we were having a nice meal at Grand-ma and Grand-dad Tormey’s house. All the aunts, uncles and cousins were present. The guys were out on the back porch swinging on the swing and sitting around just talking and having a good time. The weather was kind of damp and drizzly and a tad bit chilly. We were all sort of talking, and I don’t know when the stranger actually appeared, but there was a genuine hard luck hobo staring us in the face standing at the top of the steps. My dad (former Marine and Police Chief) was getting ready to escort him out and Grand-ma stopped him. She said just wait a minute, I’ll be right out. She then went inside and prepared this humble older gentleman a plate fit for a king. Brought it out onto the porch and had one of us kids get up out of the lawn chair we were in so that he could set down and have his Thanksgiving dinner.

The power of that one little kind deed left a lasting impression on quite a few of us that day. She exercised her faith and obedience to Christ in front of the whole family – what a powerful testimony that was.

Mother, oh Mother – I love you so much, you have become a sweet spot in my heart. I have watched your tender heart grow, and love to watch you with your great-grand babies. You have become a bit of a confidant for me, which has been kind of neat itself. Your lessons of the early year have stuck with me, and I do remember the heart aches, the tears and the frustration. Most of all I remember you exercising commitment, and faith and trying to get us to church on Sundays.

When I think of all the times you sacrificed for us kids to the point of missing meals while we ate; my eyes well up in tears. You were always there for me, and I was too proud to see it – or want it. I know the reasons for your former tough shell; no one can say that shell was un-warranted. God has helped you overcome, and your heart has become so tender and I see a twinkle in your eye that I don’t remember ever seeing before. I live to see you smile, to have your hand touch my cheek with tenderness and occasionally a warm embrace that only a loving Mother knows.

I have heard it said; that next to the Lord, a Mother knows her son’s heart best. I hope you see His heart in mine Mother, and if you do – look a little harder and you will see your “Daddy’s” heart too. He helped mold me into the man I have become, while he walked the earth, as well as now living in his memory. I loved him so, so much, and I miss him beyond words, but I know he is with his Savior, and the physical pain is gone. I am spiritually proud to be Robert Tormey and John Hall’s grandson, I humbly stand on their shoulders, and I take their torch and carry it boldly to run my race. I pray that I can only run the race as hard, as long and as spiritually centered as they did.

On a slightly lighter note, please forgive the little guilt trip I tried to force on you those many years ago concerning our home in the country when it was time to move. I now know and understand that too was God’s will in as He provided the catalyst to start things in motion to meet my wife and eventually my Boss and my Pastor, His ways are not always understood.

Mother, I truly thank you for your undying love and all the forgiveness that you have exercised over the years. Thank you for the endless prayers wishes and hopes. I don’t know that I can live up to them all, but you must know if I can – I will! Your labors of love do not go unnoticed, and if I miss one or two, I pray that Christ will give you reward with extra hugs when that time comes for you to see Him.

My little Sister Vickie, when she was still in diapers I fathered over her like she was my own. There is seven years difference between us, and she lets me know that once in awhile just to keep me humble. She was the apple of her daddy’s eye and her big brother’s too.

She has had to make quite a few adjustments in her life time. She was going through a rough marriage situation quite a few years back. The choice she was making didn’t sit well with me, and I made the mistake of complaining about it to my Grand-dad Hall, which I wrote about earlier. He used that situation to teach me in very real terms what Christ meant when he commanded us to love our neighbors, our brothers and yes our sisters unconditionally.

She is married to fine gentlemen that has built his own business, they live in the mountains of central PA; they are doing well and I am equally as proud of her and her husband. She has two boys and two girls. As Grand-dad Tormey called her – “the lemon squeezer”, a term of endearment, of fondness and love that only we will probably ever understand. She is still her oldest brother’s precious baby sister. Love yah Bink!

My Sister in Laws Kate and Patti are a blessing from the Lord, both hold a special place in my heart.

My Brother David, Colonel in the USMC married a wonderful girl, Kate, after he graduated from VMI back in the early 80’s. Kate is the perfect Officer’s Wife; she is loving, supportive, protective and is just a real sweetheart. Kate and David have a great son, John Tyler. He is a great kid, talented and intellectual he plays guitar. Kate has always show love, respect and honor for her family and I have both love and respect for her.

My Brother Chris, has brought Patti into our lives, she is a sweet heart, a real keep Chris! Patti is one of those girls that you just love her from the first time you meet her. She is so kind, supportive and helpful with our parents. She brings organization, laughter and balance to Brother Chris; of course, he still lives in the macho error, so he would not admit that to anyone. Patti has adopted Chris’ grand kids as her own, which is wonderful to watch. Chris has one Son, Chris Allen, who has blessed Chris with two grand children. Patti has been a wonderful influence on Chris’ life, and to watch Chris with his grand-babies is a wonderful tender site.

My Daughter Renea’, I stand amazed before Almighty God at the power of Love for a child. This girl from the day she took her first breath has held her Daddy’s heart in her hand. I have been her champion since the very first day. She was supposed to be my first boy, but God had other plans. I was an active duty Marine at the time she was born, being an NCO living off base I had to get up every morning at O-Dark Thirty. Renea’ made very sure that I went in Red Eyed… Yes, our dear sweet new baby was a tad bit colicky. Thru her life she has provided plenty of drama and excitement, none of which I would trade for a split second.

She fell in Love with a young man, and married him; I proudly call him my 3rd son. Shawn is a good God fearing man, and far enough right of center that we have plenty to talk about when he is around. He and Renea’ then blessed us with wonderful Red Head Grand Children, beautiful kids… My Renea’ has a true Mother’s heart, she loves and adores her children, and she sacrifices for them and nurtures them. While I would love to see her put more trust in God, her worrying about the children is stress she need not carry. She still is Daddy’s little girl, and I am very proud of her and where she is at in life. Renea’ has a heart for children, they have served in the Church in the Awana program, but sick children have pulled them away from that full time service this past year.

My Son’s both blessed me with Daughter in Laws Betsy and Michaela.

My oldest Son Joshua married Betsy; she is a sweet, beautiful blonde who is aspiring to be a nurse. Betsy and Josh have given us two beautiful grand kids, a little girl and a little boy. They are precious, and it is fun watching my Son develop parenting skills, I think they are finding that books and advice do not always address the reality of the “strong willed child”. Betsy keeps a very clean house, and she is a working mom out of the home as well as going to school full time. She and her husband get their kids to Church nearly every Sunday. For now, that’s all a Father can ask, Spiritual maturity will come, so I am a very happy Father looking over these two. Betsy and Josh are a lot alike, which is fun to watch sometimes, they would be great in a children’s ministry in church. Hopefully they will figure that out.

My youngest Son John married Michaela, when I first met Mikey (Mike ee) I fell in love with her heart. She has such great capacity to love, and she showed so much love for my Son. With some on / off time prior to getting married, I think she lost some confidence, but that will come with time. She is a sweet heart, and they are newlyweds, so things will fall into place and she will make him a good wife. They too are in Church nearly every Sunday, which with time God’s word will saturate their hearts and He will begin to become more important in their lives. Mikey is a phlebotomist, and she has a real heart for people, a tender heart at that. It is my prayer that God will grab her heart and use her in ministry somewhere; she truly has the heart for it.


These women have all had an impact or influence in my life. I thank my Dear Lord for each and every one of them. It is my sincere prayer that He will Bless those that call Him LORD, and that He will call unto Himself those that don't yet know Him as Lord.

God Bless and Happy Mother's Day Ladies,

My Prayer This Evening...

Dear Precious Lord,

...grant me the wisdom & heart needed to exercise meekness in the face of those that would persecute for defending the Faith.   Father, Please forgive those brothers and sisters in Christ's Name, that bear little or no fruit of the Spirit that they claim lives within them...   Then Father, Teach me to yield and surrender to YOU only, while giving me strength to show no compromise to the world.  Teach me Father to stand with a humbled heart in YOUR service, and let me claim the desire to say "here am I Lord, send / use me".  I Love You Dear Lord Jesus, and I pray to the Father tonight in your Precious Name...

Amen.

Words to Encourage?

I have been told that I am too “black & white”… I have been told that I am too old fashion… I have even been told that I have it all wrong; God wouldn’t destroy a world full of people that are basically good…

What? This world has morally digressed through history, because we learn nothing from our mistakes… We just find ways to more creatively window dress that which is wrong, immoral and yes evil. Satan is alive and well, deceiving all that harkens to the call for fleshly pleasures.

The word of encouragement for my friends and brothers and sisters in Christ is… Let not your hearts be troubled, Christ will arrive soon, He carries with Him eternal peace for those that “know Him as Lord”. But be not fooled world, our brief exit from your lives will set into motion a series of events that will bring with it His Great Judgment that will soon follow.

The Words of Encouragement this morning… There is still time to willingly bend your knee, bow your head and heart and name Jesus Christ as your Savior, Lord and King… For when He comes back and touches foot on this earth again, it will be to bring Judgment and Restore Order. At which time it will be too late to willingly acknowledge Him, you will then be forced to bend that knee and bow that head and see Him as King and Judge.

It’s not too late – yet…