Additives, preservatives and sugar, oh my!

The caption said "Red neck wedding cake" but if you like it... enjoy. Actually, I think I have had everything on this "cake" and if you don't think too hard about all the additives, preservatives and sugar, well its not too bad. Now, don't get me wrong, this is NOT DIET FOOD! I love to eat, but these things aren't normally on my list. I can say without a doubt that they are NOT ON MY WIFE'S LIST. However, this does bring up an interesting topic, which the Bible does discuss in the book of Romans.

Rom 14:1 Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions.
Rom 14:2 One man has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.
Rom 14:3 Don't let him who eats despise him who doesn't eat. Don't let him who doesn't eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him.
Rom 14:4 Who are you who judge another's servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand.
Rom 14:5 One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind.
Rom 14:6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. He who doesn't eat, to the Lord he doesn't eat, and gives God thanks.
Rom 14:7 For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself.
Rom 14:8 For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord's.
Rom 14:9 For to this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Rom 14:10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Rom 14:11 For it is written, " 'As I live,' says the Lord, 'to me every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess to God.' "
Rom 14:12 So then each one of us will give account of himself to God.
Rom 14:13 Therefore let's not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother's way, or an occasion for falling.
Rom 14:14 I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
Rom 14:15 Yet if because of food your brother is grieved, you walk no longer in love. Don't destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.

World English Bible

In ancient times food was offered to the "Gods" and later sold in the meat market. So, some early Christians wouldn't eat meat because it MIGHT have been an offering. Likewise, many first century believers had been Jewish and still wanted to observe Jewish holy days. Where do we draw the line; what do we do? Give people the benefit of the doubt and some latitude. Does this mean anything goes and we can do ANYTHING WE WANT? No, for I believe we should use the New Testament as our standard and if we go beyond that we are on shaky ground indeed. The bottom line is that I don't answer for you; all I really can do is to encourage you to think about how you apply the New Testament teachings in your walk with God. I have to give an account for what I do and hope some of what I say might make sense to you as it does to me. This is a very good starting point and who knows, you and I might actually agree on many, many things and grow to accept more about each other. Please don't ask me to eat a twinky though, my doctor would have a fit.

In God we still trust!

I don't like country music, but this video had a message I could not resist. This land has seen a lot of change since it became The United States of America, but there still are many people in it that who will say "AMEN" to its message of "In God we trust". Sometimes I look at the news and wonder what will become of us, but when I see something like this I know that despite all our many problems there still is HOPE for our nation. I remember being quite down a few years ago, and a Lauren Linder shared this Bible verse with me and I have remembered it. I hope you will think of it ever so often as I do.

Psa 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust the name of Yahweh our God.

Do whatever you can, for as long as you can to keep the American dream alive. Don't let anyone take it away from you, especially our elected officials; they are supposed to be our servants. Begin and end your day with a prayer for our country, its worth it!

Thank you Sharon Whitman for sending me this video; I needed it!

The right direction?

Everything was black; I couldn't see a thing, but I could hear voices. What I heard was unsettling; we are losing him, go faster!! Then I began to see a fog like light in the far distance and finally the fog became a bright light, then all was black again. I found out later that my heart had stopped, but the paramedics had brought me back. It was 1974; a full decade before I even heard of out of body experiences, but I am telling you the truth; this really did happen to me. However, it did make me think and caused me to study the Scriptures and really examine the Christian faith. People will believe what they will, but as for me, I know what I saw and only I know the changes the God of Heaven has worked within me. Think about this passage from the book of 1st Corinthians and see what I mean.

1Co 15:1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,
1Co 15:2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
1Co 15:4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
1Co 15:5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
1Co 15:6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
1Co 15:7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
1Co 15:8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
1Co 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
1Co 15:11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
1Co 15:12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
1Co 15:13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
1Co 15:14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
1Co 15:15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.
1Co 15:16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.
1Co 15:17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
1Co 15:18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
1Co 15:19 If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
1Co 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1Co 15:21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

English Standard Version

How many people would it take to convince you? How close would you have to come to death before you would even begin to believe? I had to come very close because I was taught that religion was bunk, stuff only soft hearted fools believed in. Well, everybody is different and only you can convince you, but one thing is for certain; we all will die. When that time comes, I hope you are going in my direction because I would like to be with friends, forever!

What will you do?

Ever felt like this? You are in the spotlight and everyone is watching; your next move is probably the most important one you will ever make and now its up to you. What will you do? The answer is ... what you MUST do. The Bible tells the story of just such a situation in the book of John.

Joh 19:13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha.
Joh 19:14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, "Behold your King!"
Joh 19:15 They cried out, "Away with him, away with him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar."
Joh 19:16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,
Joh 19:17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.
Joh 19:18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.
Joh 19:19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."
Joh 19:20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.
Joh 19:21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but rather, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'"
Joh 19:22 Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written."
Joh 19:23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom,
Joh 19:24 so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, "They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." So the soldiers did these things,
Joh 19:25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
Joh 19:26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!"
Joh 19:27 Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
Joh 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst."
Joh 19:29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.
Joh 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

English Standard Version

Jesus had performed many miracles and coming down from the cross would have been just another. However, that was not the plan. A sacrifice had to be made and Jesus did what he had to do because he really was exactly who he said he was. Neither your or I could have done it, only Jesus. The spotlight was on him and he made the correct choice. The question is... when you are confronted with the realization of what he did for you.... What will you do?

Spring

Spring is on its way; now those are words I like to hear! Winter can be a tough time in the Northeast and spring means relief. Relief from bone chilling cold, from ice, dreary days and cabin fever! I wonder, what makes is so wonderful? Even spring can have its rainy days, windy storms and flooding. More than the mere relief from winter, spring means LIFE! It is a celebration of beginnings, new flowers, crops and of course it is a time for births! If you ask most parents to be whether they want a boy or a girl they will often answer: "I don't care what it is as long as it is healthy". But what if they have a child that is NOT HEALTHY, WHAT THEN? What good can come of bringing a child with a "problem" into this world? Read this passage from the book of John and find out.

Joh 9:1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
Joh 9:2 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
Joh 9:3 Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Joh 9:4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.
Joh 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
Joh 9:6 Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud
Joh 9:7 and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
Joh 9:8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"
Joh 9:9 Some said, "It is he." Others said, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the man."
Joh 9:10 So they said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?"
Joh 9:11 He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed and received my sight."
Joh 9:12 They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."
Joh 9:13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.
Joh 9:14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
Joh 9:15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."
Joh 9:16 Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them.
Joh 9:17 So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."
Joh 9:18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight
Joh 9:19 and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"
Joh 9:20 His parents answered, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
Joh 9:21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself."
Joh 9:22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.)
Joh 9:23 Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
Joh 9:24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner."
Joh 9:25 He answered, "Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
Joh 9:26 They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"
Joh 9:27 He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?"

ESV

There you have it; even a child with "problems" can be valuable, in fact he was invaluable. His condition could not be explained away; his unique testimony showed the power of God, which is why he was born with his "problem". Each and every one of us has a problem, whether we like to think about it or not: sin. Only Jesus is the answer and he is THE ONLY WAY to life the way was meant to be. With him we have life, without him we have something less. So, in this season of beginnings, let us take some time to reflect on the beautiful emerging spring around us and spring into action for the God who brings both life and light to our hearts.

An ordinary place

This picture is unusual because it isn't. No, this isn't double talk. Most of the time I select pictures for the blog that are unusual and mean something to me, but in this instance I deliberately chose something that was ordinary to prove a point to myself. Most of our lives are spent doing ordinary down-to-earth every day things. We take a lot of things in that "ordinary" life for granted; working, commuting, buying gas, having meals, etc.. Then something happens and a typical ordinary day changes into something very memorable. This was the case in the life of one man as told in the book of Acts.

Act 8:26 But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Rise up and go along south on the highway going down to Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a deserted place.
Act 8:27 And rising up he went. And, behold, an Ethiopian man, a eunuch, a potentate with Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship!
Act 8:28 And he was returning. And sitting on his chariot he read the prophet Isaiah.
Act 8:29 And the Spirit said to Philip, Go near and join yourself to this chariot.
Act 8:30 And running near Philip heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, Indeed, do you know what you are reading?
Act 8:31 But he said, How should I be able except someone shall guide me? And he called Philip near, to come up to sit with him.
Act 8:32 And the content of the Scripture which he was reading was this: "He was led as a sheep to slaughter, and as a lamb voiceless before the one shearing it, so He does not open His mouth.
Act 8:33 In His humiliation His judgment was taken away. And who will recount His generation? For His life is taken away from the earth." Isa. 53:7, 8
Act 8:34 And answering the eunuch said to Philip, I ask you, about whom does the prophet say this? About himself, or about some other one?
Act 8:35 And opening his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, Philip announced the gospel to him, Jesus.
Act 8:36 And as they were going along the highway they came on some water. And the eunuch said, Behold, water! What prevents me to be baptized?
Act 8:37 And Philip said, If you believe from all the heart, it is lawful. And answering he said, I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God.
Act 8:38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
Act 8:39 But when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip. And the eunuch did not see him any more; for he went his way rejoicing.

LITV

Philip went to a deserted place because an angel told him to and he met the Ethiopian eunuch of Candace. There he told the eunuch about Jesus, he was baptized and went on his way. There you are, an ordinary day in an ordinary place, but something wonderful happened. Life is full of things like this, you don't look for them, they just seem to happen. Well, maybe yes and maybe no. I am of the disposition that God has something in store for each and every one of us, so be on the lookout, something wonderful may yet come your way this very day. An angel of the Lord may or may not be involved, but who knows what is next?

No way out

Dante's gate to hell is terrifying sight. I have never thought about Hell much, except that I don't want to go there. However, someone I used to work with confessed that in a drug-induced state he had visited there. What struck him most was the sense of ever-present dread at the overpowering hatred all around him... and the searing, scorching heat!!! There were beings (I assume the cast down angels) with rather large fangs and hands that ended in razor sharp nails. However, their most prominent feature was their crimson eyes that glowed with intimidating hatred. This vision scared him so much that he actually stopped his wicked lifestyle for a few days. However, even this experience wasn't enough to stop him for long and I am sorry to say his old ways returned and even became worse. The Bible refers to Hell in several places and this one is told by Jesus himself in the book of Luke.

Luk 16:19 And there was a certain rich man; and he was accustomed to don a purple robe and fine linen, making merry in luxury day by day.
Luk 16:20 And there was a certain poor one named Lazarus who had been laid at his doorway, having been ulcerated,
Luk 16:21 and longing to be filled from the crumbs that were falling from the table of the rich one. But coming, even the dogs licked his sores.
Luk 16:22 And it happened, the poor one died and was carried away by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. And the rich one also died and was buried.
Luk 16:23 And being in torments in hell, lifting up his eyes, he sees Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luk 16:24 And calling he said, Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering in this flame.
Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Child, remember that you fully received your good things in your lifetime, and Lazarus likewise the bad things. But now he is comforted, and you are suffering.
Luk 16:26 And besides all these things, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those desiring to pass from here to you are not able, nor can they pass from there to us.

LITV

No way out, none at all! Hell is a place you really don't return from. It is something to be very, very afraid of. Yet how many untold myriads of those who refuse to follow God will be there! This isn't just a one time experience like my co-worked had--- its forever! Final judgment and that's that. It doesn't have to happen though, people have the gift of free will and the opportunity to change as long as there is life. So, listen, already! Turn to God for help, before its too late, and the hope of heaven turns into the despair of the utterly condemned sufferer.