War

War! Just look at that cat attack the other one! I wonder what started it? Maybe its over attention from their mother, or over some catnip, or perhaps one of them didn't like the way the other one purrred. Whatever the reason, they do look serious. Which makes me think: What causes wars in the first place?


James 4:1-10 (WEB)

James 4
1) Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members?
2) You lust, and don’t have. You kill, covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask.
3) You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures.
4) You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5) Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”?
6) But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
7) Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8) Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9) Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom.
10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Pride, power and possessions are the main reasons. The resulting hate leads to death; sometimes on a massive scale. But what about Christians; Do they "war"? If they indulge in the "main reasons", they do. James give the source... the devil and he gives the cure.... purification of the heart and humility. The result: The Lord will exalt you from the low state of sin. Don't pussy-foot around it.... just get rid of the sin (inside and out). Then you will be purrr-fect!!

Warnings

It has become fashionable to bash every aspect of Christianity and this includes The Holy Bible. Our society has become so perverted, so evil, that in a way I am not surprised at all by this sticker. Someone would have to have a very warped mind to label The Holy Bible as a work of fiction because a large part of it has already been verified by the archaeologist's spade. Its content reflects life accurately and therefore the things mentioned are horrifying. The exposure warning comes from a wicked heart that loves only self and seeks to destroy the truth of God.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (WEB)

2 Timothy 4
1) I command you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom:
2) preach the word; be urgent in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all patience and teaching.
3) For the time will come when they will not listen to the sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts;
4) and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside to fables.
5) But you be sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry.

Truth may not be pretty and obedience to it difficult, but disobedience is disastrous. The above picture is just one more indication of how bad this situation has really become. Thank God for those who still proclaim the holy words of God; we need them more than ever!! The real warning of this picture is for those of us who follow God: we need to cease being uninvolved and fight this and every other attack of Satan. As far as warnings go: Satan, your end is near!!!

Scared?

Sometimes size does not matter. This is one of those times. This little cat is scaring the daylights out of the much bigger dog. Its a little surprising to see, yet it does happen. Reminds me of something that happened in 1968. I was working nights as a trash collector in Cohoes, NY and it was a cold rainy night, very dark night. We just pulled up to a collection of about eight cans (this was the city after all) and I had just reached out to take off the lid, when Mitch (my co-worker) distracted me for a second. I felt something on my arm and when I turned to look I saw... the beady red eyes of a rat!! One very large rat!! I yelled and the beast scurried back to its feast among the garbage. One hour later, Mitch was bit by one of these lovely creatures and went to the hospital. Scary? You bet! But somehow I made it through those days. This episode reminded me of this familiar Psalm.

Ps 23:1-6 (WEB)
23:1 A Psalm by David. Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.
23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
23:3 He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.
23:6 Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever.

Life is full of danger and none of us are immune to the possibility of being hurt. It doesn't matter how big you are, or how strong, or how young. You can be hurt. But for those who trust in God, there is something extra, some confidence that only comes from above that sees us through. Of course, you have to sensible and avoid little claws, but if God is with you...it really doesn't make a difference what crawls up your arm and stares you in the eye. You have help!

David, Ninja squirrels and us

Ninja squirrel; now there's a thought! Able to fly between buildings, to bend trees with his bare feet; he is the master of all he surveys! Who says the lion is the king of the jungle? Move over, Yoshi the master ninja of the North has arrived. Really? Not on your life! But it does make me think about how God views violence. Read on to see more....

Ps 11:1-7 (WEB)
11:1 For the Chief Musician. By David. In Yahweh, I take refuge. How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain!”
11:2 For, behold, the wicked bend their bows. They set their arrows on the strings, that they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
11:3 If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?
11:4 Yahweh is in his holy temple. Yahweh is on his throne in heaven. His eyes observe. His eyes examine the children of men.
11:5 Yahweh examines the righteous, but the wicked and him who loves violence his soul hates.
11:6 On the wicked he will rain blazing coals; fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
11:7 For Yahweh is righteous. He loves righteousness. The upright shall see his face.

David was chosen by God, but that doesn't mean he had an easy life. From reading the Bible, it seems that he spent much of his time in warfare. During his lifetime he was involved in so much warfare and death that God would not let him build the temple, but left that task to his son Solomon. However, I don't think he really wanted violence because it says in Scripture that David was a man after God's own heart. Also, verse 5 shows us that those who love violence are hated by God. Strong words, simple concept. If you want to be with God, don't do violence. But I can't help but wonder, if David was a man of war and skilled in fighting... did he know Kung fu? And, I know that David had "mighty men" who fought for him, but were there any squirrels?

Rejoice!

What makes you laugh like these kids? What gets you going so much that you just laugh and laugh and keep on laughing till your eyes water and your side hurts? Here is a passage from the Psalms to think about....

Ps 126:1-3 (WEB)
126:1 A Song of Ascents. When Yahweh brought back those who returned to Zion, we were like those who dream.
126:2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “Yahweh has done great things for them.”
126:3 Yahweh has done great things for us, and we are glad.

Israel was in exile seventy years; that's a long time. When they returned they were filled to overflowing with happiness at what God had done for them. They were HOME because God had brought them HOME. There is something catchy about laughter, something that lifts the spirit in ways beyond expression. How happy, how blessed, is the person who can enjoy the blessings of God. That one becomes like a little child in their delights and rejoices.

More than a rainbow

This picture of New Zealand is a little unusual because the rainbow looks like it just sets on the mountain and that the reflection in the water IS THE MOUNTAIN with a rainbow in it. Of course it is an optical illusion; the rainbow is just slightly above the mountain and both the rainbow and the mountain are see in. You just have to look closely to see it. Some things are indeed hard to see and even harder to believe, but the effort is worth it.

Josh 10:7-14 (WEB)
10:7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor.
10:8 Yahweh said to Joshua, “Don’t fear them, for I have delivered them into your hands. Not a man of them will stand before you.”
10:9 Joshua therefore came on them suddenly. He went up from Gilgal all night.
10:10 Yahweh confused them before Israel, and he killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth Horon, and struck them to Azekah and to Makkedah.
10:11 It happened, as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth Horon, that Yahweh cast down great stones from the sky on them to Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than who the children of Israel killed with the sword.
10:12 Then Joshua spoke to Yahweh in the day when Yahweh delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still on Gibeon! You, moon, stop in the valley of Aijalon!”
10:13 The sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Isn’t this written in the book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the midst of the sky, and didn’t hurry to go down about a whole day.
10:14 There was no day like that before it or after it, that Yahweh listened to the voice of a man; for Yahweh fought for Israel.

Israel was fighting against the Amorites (really a confederation of several kings) because the Gibeonites had tricked the elders of Israel into an alliance and Israel was coming to their aid. That in itself is just an ordinary event, but HOW IT WAS ACCOMPLISHED contained miracles. God fought for Israel by means of confusion and hailstones. More than that, God listened to Joshua and the sun and moon stood still until the victory was complete. I can't explain the miracles anymore than I can explain the rainbow in the picture, but one thing seems certain; it did happen and both are real. Sometimes you just have to set back and accept things by faith and this is one of those times. Anybody have a copy of the book of Jashar?

What is it really worth?

I bet you have never seen this bill before!! Not only is it for $100,000 dollars, but it is a gold certificate. Today, with all the stress on passing "tests" in school, I wonder how many people would even recognize Woodrow Wilson, let alone know anything about him. Probably, most people would never get past the amount of the bill and just not care about anything else. Does our society really run on money? No, its not a trick question. The quick answer would be something like: "Yes, of course it does". However, since we went off the gold standard, the new bills are just paper and not backed by gold. That's why the government keeps on printing more and more and more of the stuff. What is really running the country is the PROMISE THAT OUR MONEY IS WORTH SOMETHING! That promise is becoming a little thin because of all the greed out there and the political trickery that has been so prevalent over the past few decades. Consider this passage from the book of Timothy; Paul writes:

1Tim 6:6-10 (WEB)
6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
6:7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out.
6:8 But having food and clothing, we will be content with that.
6:9 But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction.
6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

It really is true that the best things in life are free. I have seen people with a lack of money and also an excess of it. Those in the excess category spend more on things they really do not need, give more to "friends" and relatives with their hands out, but are not at all content. Don't love money; pursue godliness instead. Work to provide for your real needs and not your greed's and you will be happier. In case you are wondering, Woodrow Wilson, was our president during World War I and the leader who unsuccessfully tried to organize the league of nations. Frankly, I don't care how much money he had, I just know that he led our nation through a difficult time and that is good enough for me.