WHEN DOES A CARROT SEED BECOME A CARROT?

 

The carrot seed is a “potential” carrot, but will never be a carrot until it is implanted into a fertile environment that is designed to “trigger” the the miracle of the life cycle and growth.

However, once that seed is implanted and RESPONDS to the fertilization, IT IS A CARROT! It is no longer just a dormant seed. It is not a blob. It is a baby carrot! It doesn't have to be an eighth of an inch long to be called a carrot. It is a carrot from conception.

WHEN DOES A MALE SPERM BECOME A BABY?

The sperm is a “potential” baby, but will never be a baby until it is implanted into a fertile environment that is designed to “trigger” the the miracle of the life cycle and growth.

However, once that sperm is implanted and RESPONDS to the fertilization, IT IS A BABY! It is no longer just a dormant sperm. It is not a blob. It is a baby human! It doesn't have to be an eighth of an inch long to be called a baby. It is a baby from conception.

In Jeremiah 1:5, God spoke to Jeremiah and said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;”

Baby at 8 weeks

In my early years I swallowed the idea that a fetus was not living until the 12th week ...Our nation was sold that bill of goods back then, and that is one of the reasons this abortion thing got to where it is today.

I am not writing this to put a guilt trip on any one who has been touched by the act of abortion...Many of us have been.  Ignorance is always the devil's workshop, But God understands and forgives. We don't have to wallow in guilt and unforgiveness.

I also know there are reasons, "of life and death," that requires prematuraly removing a baby.

BUT IT IS TIME TO FACE THE FACTS!

"IF IT IS NOT A BABY, YOU ARE NOT PREGNENT"

We are murdering almost 4000 babies a day in our country!

We have got to stop this heathen practice of sacrificing our babies to the gods of pleasure on the alters of self.  If we continue to murder our own children, The true and living God will finally say, "Enough Is Enough" to our nation. Not only will God hold us accountable, but our children and grandchildren will pay a very high price for our rebellion.

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Galatians 6:7

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

RICH OR POOR?

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As a young child, I have memories of outhouses, wood cook stoves, and baths taken in a galvanized wash tub in the middle of the kitchen floor.. I've eaten lots of red beans with baking soda biscuits and water gravy. A lot of my clothes were made by my mom from the missionary box or feed sacks.


And you talk about early American furniture. In one house we had cabinets made out of orange crates and a couch created by my mother from an old army cot.

But you know what? If we were poor I didn't know it.

I had a mother and father who trusted in a God that also became poor so that we might be rich. Not rich in houses and land or in the abundance of things. You can have all of that and still not be rich.

True riches are the things that can't be taken from us, such as peace, contentment, joy, faith, wisdom, humility, and love. All of these things come from God, not the world.

We don't enjoy life because of the things God gives us. We enjoy the things God gives us because of His life.

Philippians 4:19
“But my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

WHAT IS TRUTH?

“The truth of the matter is....” “To tell you the truth....” “Truthfully speaking....” “Just to be truthful....” I'm sure you hear one of these phrases or something similar from time to time. But the truth is, do we really know what truth is?

How would you define truth?

One definition found in Webster's New World Dictionary says that “Truth is conforming to fact”. Great! Now all we have to know is the meaning of “Fact” and we will know what truth is.

I had one college professor who told us that a fact is simply a theory that has never been disproven.

I guess that is why 2+2=4 is a fact. Because it has never been disproven. The law of gravity is a fact because it has never been disproven. It is a fact that two cars can't occupy the same space at the same time, because it has never been disproved. If it is ever disproved, our car insurance will go down.

Because of the reliability of these laws that govern our universe, we can establish truth as something that can be defined, observed, and and applied to the physical, and scientific world around us. As a “matter of fact”, we have no control over truth in the scientific disciplines.

Truth is truth whether we like it or not. You will never fall up a mountain, and I will never walk home from an airplane in flight. God established the truth of these laws and if we want to have a good, safe, and long life, we will have to abide by them.

If we brake them, they will break us...And that is the truth because it has never been disproved!

If we have to live by a set of physical laws based on truth in our physical world, shouldn't we have to live by a set of spiritual laws based on truth in our spiritual world?   If we want to be happy we will!

There is a set of truths taken from a book of spiritual laws that we must observe it we expect to have the inner peace, happiness, and hope that God intended for us to have.

Yes, that book of truth is the Bible. And the laws of truth are called the Ten Commandments, You can find them recorded in the Bible, in the 20th chapter of the book of Exodus.

The Bible is a book of truth because it is the inspired word of God and has never been disproven. It passes the “Fact Test” and will stand as the standard of truth as long as mankind exists.

And just as in the physical world, if we break them, they will break us...And that is the truth because it has never been disproved!

In John 14:6

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

And again in John 8:32 we read;

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

 

If you are bound by anything that is destroying your life today, why not trust in the Truth of the Bible and experience the joy of total freedom in Christ Jesus who is all truth.

WORK?

A man once asked hIs friend,  "How many people work in your office?” The friend replied, “Oh, about half of them.”

Robert Frost wrote,  “The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.”

I once viewed a film clip of a TV reporter who followed a street beggar to a nice home and ask him why he didn't throw away his cardboard sign an get a job.  The man replied, "Begging is my job.  If you think it isn't hard work to stand on that street corner all day, in all kinds of weather, you are crazy." (Self employed?) I'm sure he had a state tax number.

I think we have a “work ethic” crisis in our country today and I share the concern once expressed by Paul Harvey when he said, “When everyone gets on the wagon, who is going to be left to push?”

Paul was certainly concerned in II Thessalonians 3:9-10 when he said that as Christians, we should have a strong work ethic and be an example for the world to follow. As a matter if fact, he says that if we don't work we shouldn't be allowed to eat.

Now there's a novel idea that would bring our the welfare protesters!

TODAY IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY

( I did not write this but I thought it was so good that I decided to share it as a blog)

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind,

please help."
There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat.

 He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.

The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning?   What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way."

I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.."
Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind.

The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.

WHAT ABOUT THE LAW?

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I recently read some comments about the laws under which we live in this country. (And world)  Some expressed the opinion that we had too many.  Others said that the problem was not only the quantity, but quality of the laws.
All of this discussion got me to thinking.  (You can tell I'm thinking when rust comes out of my ears and idle chatter comes out of my mouth)
 
I certainly agree that we have more laws than we need. There are only ten laws needed and they are found in the Bible at Exodus 20: 1-17. They are called the Ten Commandments. If all of mankind dedicated themselves to obeying these ten laws, there would be, “Peace on earth and goodwill toward men.”

We are free moral agents and each of us can make our own choices concerning these laws, but they were here in the beginning and they will be here at the end. To try to discredit or destroy them is as futile as trying to destroy an anvil with a rubber mallet.

Character, ethics, or morality is not legislated. It is embraced, and it is embraced within the context of the Ten Commandments. We are all imperfect beings and subject to failure, but the closer we live to these ten laws the closer we live to the divine purpose that God meant for our life to have.

THAT IS MY BLOG, AND I AM STICKING WITH IT! 

THE PURPOSE OF THE PATTERN

I remember one year when my wife, Jo Anne, sat by the hour cross stitching Christmas stockings for our grandchildren. She has also produced some beautiful cross stitched pieces of art that hang in our home.

But have you ever seen the back side of cross stitching?

Why is it that on the back side there is a stitch for each stitch on the front, and even though the colors are all there it is still void of beauty and in such disarray?

The answer is in the purpose for the pattern. You see, the purpose of the pattern is for people to see the beauty of the artist's creation when viewed from the proper perspective.

Our lives are like that.

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

Being called according to His purpose simply means that everything that happens in our lives, the good and the bad, are woven together by God so that viewed from the proper perspective, the world sees the beauty of His Holiness.

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“Lord, today I want my life to be viewed by those around me from the proper perspective.  Please don't let them see all of the ugly mistakes, poor judgements, and bad decisions I have made.  But let them see the result of your grace that takes those and produces a puropse that can glorify you.