Tuesday, December 28, 2010

BAD MOUTH

swearing in cartoonImage via Wikipedia
 Luke 6:45   A good man (or lady) brings good things out of the good stored up in his (or her) heart, and an evil man (or woman)brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his (or her) heart. 
 For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

“PROFANITY IS NO INDICATION OF INTELLIGENCE”
 Several years ago when we lived in Farmington New Mexico, I was going to get a hair cut and my six year old daughter wanted to go with me. When we got to the barber shop there was only one customer ahead of me and he was in the chair.

D'Anne and I sat down, picked up a magazine and began the wait. Suddenly the man in the chair let out a string of vulgarities. (People who have limited vocabularies do that) I was shocked that he would use that language in front of my daughter, so I told him I would appreciate it if he would not swear in front of my little girl.

That didn't go over very well. He got red in the face and made some defensive statement (without swearing). I thought for a minute he might grab the barber's straight razor, but he settled down and kept his mouth shut. I was glad because I have never been much of a fighter.

Years have passed and this idea that it is acceptable to regurgitate filth in public is no better. As a matter of fact it is getting worse, and it bothers me greatly. And if you have noticed the “fairer sex” is beginning to be as bad as the men. If you are just a woman in today's world, you are probably cursing, But if you are a lady, then that kind of garbage won't come our of your mouth and you should demand that it not be used in your presence.

And men, why would you pay good money to take a “sweet young thing” to watch a raunchy movie and submit her to the humiliation of being cursed at by some vulgar mouthed, under educated, over payed, low life? If you do, don't be so hypocritical as to tell her you love her! And honey, if he does, give some serious thought before going with him again, or if he is your husband, it is time for a discussion about what you want your family to look like and your children to sound like.

A country, city, community, or family will look and sound like the population.

WHAT DO YOU SAY AMERICA? LET'S GROW UP AND CLEAN UP!

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Thursday, December 23, 2010

THE GIFT

II Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

 The leaves had fallen, the air was cold, some snow was blowing, and it was almost Christmas. Our three children had already written Santa assuring him that they had been good and had enclosed a list of the items they wanted.

Now it was up to the big man in the red suit.

Jo Anne and I had no trouble finding the two “Baby First Step” dolls that Donna and D'Anne wanted, but not one store in town had a “Johnny Lighting” remote controlled car that Dave had his heart set on.

I desperation, I made several calls to Albuquerque and finally located a store that had one left. They promised to hold it until I could get there.

Doesn't love drive us to do strange things?

My only son wanted a “Johnny Lightning” and I drove over four hundred miles to make sure he got it!

But our Heavenly Father showed greater love than that when, on the most important day on the calendar of time, He sent His own son through the long corridors of space to purchase the gift of salvation for you and me.

If you haven't unwrapped your gift of salvation, This Christmas season would be a good time to accept His free gift and make the upcoming twelve months the best year of your life.

Merry CHRISTmas to all to all a great new year!
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Friday, December 17, 2010

THE THREE WISE WOMEN

What if the Three Wise Men had been the Three Wise Women?
Someone has suggested that if that had been the case, the following would be true.....

1.They would have asked for directions and arrived on time.

2.They would have helped deliver the Baby.

3.They would have cleaned the stable.

4.They would have made a casserole.

5.They would have brought disposal diapers as a gift.

Funny but probably true! But they weren't women, so what do we know about them?

You will have to read Matthew 2: 1-12 to get the answers to the following questions.. (Don't be too sure you know the answers without reading)...

1.Is it true that verse one states that, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea...” ?

2.Is it also true that the first verse says, “Behold, three wise men from the East came to Jerusalem” ?

3.What kind of camels does the scripture say they were riding?

4. Does verse two say they followed the star from the East?

5.How did the chief priests and scribes know where Jesus would be born?

6.How did the Wise Men know to go to Bethlehem?

7. Do you think they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy because the star finally stood over the stable where the Christ Child was?

8.Is it true that they presented gifts to Jesus of Gold, incense, and Myrrh?

9.What did Herod tell them when they returned to Jerusalem?
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Well, if you read the scripture, you may be surprised at how many errors there is in the nine questions..But to close this out let us be reminded of three things.

1.They were dedicated to learning about Christ and was determined to seek, and worship Him. How about us? Are there “earthly” things that are more important to us than that?

2.Upon meeting Jesus, they gave Him the very best of all they had. He doesn't expect any less of us.

3. After meeting Jesus they didn't walk the same path back. When we seek, find, and meet Jesus, we will follow a different path through life. The Bible calls it the Highway of Holiness.

What path will we follow in the New Year?

My favorite bumper sticker of all time is the one that reads:

"WISE MEN STILL SEEK HIM"



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Monday, December 13, 2010

IT'S IN THE BOOK.

Ephesians 3:4.....”Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ.”


I was a sophomore in high school and had probably never read anything larger than a “Classic” comic book in my life. I'm not proud of that, but that's just the way it was.

Then, Mr. Harrison, my high school English teacher brought me a book and challenged me to read it. I can't believe I read the whole thing! And it was over 350 pages!

“Thank you Mr. Harrison, you are one of those teachers that made a difference in my life.”

Well, years have past since then and I still have a hard time losing myself in “just any” book. But the Bible is not “just any” book. It is every book we will ever need bound into one.

I'm concerned that today so many people are reading books written by man about God and so few are reading the book written by God about man.

II timothy 2:15 reminds us that to be approved by God and to be able to know the truth, we must study the Word of God.

Someone has said that the person who does not read is no better than the person who can't read. Apply this to the Bible and the result is spiritual ignorance.

Let's get into the Word, so the Word can get into us.
PS. I wrote this for me....I want to do better.



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Sunday, December 5, 2010

The Dawn is coming!

Psalms 30:15 “...Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh the morning.”

I walked a mile with pleasure:
She chatted all the way;

But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with sorrow,
And ne'er a word said she;
But, oh! The things I learned from her
When sorrow walked with me.........Robert Hamilton

Sorrows are like clouds that engulf our lives and darken our souls, but we are never beyond the sight of God. When we have met the challenge and kept the faith, He moves the clouds aside and once again the rays of God's glory come streaming back into our lives.

Even in the final sunset of our life, If we have given our life to God and lived by His word, we will experience a dawn that is like none we have ever seen, and the new morning will find us in the presense of God, where we will live for etenity in the greatest joy we have ever known.  The victory cry of 1 Corinthians 15:55 is, "...Where O Death Is Your Sting?"

If you are experiencing sorrow today, take heart in these words recorded in John 16:20.
“Ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned to joy.”
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Lord, Don't let me forget today that the darkest hour is just before the dawn and
JOY COMETH IN THE MORNING!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Willy Wallywort from Wallyville USA

I can't believe I wrote this long, dumb story. And when you read it you will say the same thing. There is nothing devotional about this one!

Once upon a time there was the happiest, nicest, little man named Willy Wallywort. Willly lived in a delightful little town called Wallyville. One of the best things about Wallyville was that every one had a good job making all the stuff that the other folks in town needed to be happy.

Willy worked at the food market on main street, and all of the farmers kept the market full of good things to eat.

His cousin, Joe, worked in the cobblers shop and made shoes for the whole town.

Willy's neighbor was Dr. Goodguy who kept everyone healthy. If they couldn't come to his office, Dr. Goodguy would go to their house and even give them medicine.

Willy's big brother, Windy, went to work every day at the saw mill with lot's of other men from Wallyville. They cut the lumber everyone needed to build their homes, and some of them worked in the furniture factory.

Then there was Parson Paul. Everyone loved Parson Paul because he loved them so much. Everyone in Wallyville went to church on Sunday morning all dressed up in their Sunday clothes and sat in their favorite pew.

They didn't have a clothing store, in Wallyville because, since all of the men worked, the women stayed home and made the clothing.

They didn't need a restaurant either because the mothers prepared the meals and the family always ate together.

One of Willy's favorite thing to do was to go fishing. You see, Wallyville was built right on beautiful lake Wallyia. There were lots of “fish frys” in Wallywille. And did you know that not one person had ever crossed the lake to the other side. It was so far across that you couldn't see the other side, and besides everyone was happy just to stay on their side of the lake. They were all busy taking care of each other.

THEN IT HAPPENED! One day a big boat came from across the lake and tied up to the towns fishing dock. Willy wondered who they were and what they wanted. They didn't look like the men from wallyville. On the side of the boat were the letters: CHINA. But what nice people they were! They started unloading big boxes of clothing, shoes, furniture, and barrels and barrels of all kinds of food.

Then the town's mayor, Bill Burp, came out to meet them. The ships captain was a lot smaller than Mr. Burp, but his smile was a lot bigger and everyone liked him. His name was Captain Charlie Chopsticks and he said he had come to save our little town. I don't think anybody knew we needed saving. We all had jobs and were taking really good care of each other.

But when the people in town saw all of the wonderful things they unloaded, everybody wanted some. “My”, they said, “we can just get all of the things we need from the big boat, and we won't have to work any more.” Then all the ladies said, “ Yea!, we won't have to cook and sew anymore. “ Every one was amazed at how inexpensive everything was on the boat, so they just stopped making shoes, growing food, and making furniture and started living from the big boat.

But it wasn't long before they realized that they didn't have enough money to buy everything they wanted. So Captain Chopsticks said, “Don't worry, I will loan you the money to buy everything you need.” So everyone in the village started buying and borrowing, buying and borrowing, and buying and borrowing until they owed the big boat lots more money than they could afford to pay.

Then Captain Chopsticks quit smiling and said, “We can't loan you anymore money or bring you anymore of the wonderful things you have grown to love until you pay your bill.”

Suddenly, everyone in the village started looking for work but realized that they had become a village of consumers and had stopped being a village of producers. When there is nothing being produced there are no jobs to be had.

Then Mayor Bill Burp had a great idea. He said, “We will just make all of the people in the village pay a high tax on everything they own or consume.” “With that money we can pay off the big boat and everyone in the my office can get a big bonus.” Then the people hated Mayor Burp and the village wanted to string him up.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY: If the village is going to survive, it will have to stop the big boat and rebuild it's own shops and factories so the people can return to work and be producers instead of just consumers. When that happens, the unemployment rate will plunge and the economy will soar in Wallyville USA.