Giving Freely

The act of giving ones heart freely is truly noble, daring. It is an act of love that I hold in the highest regards in a persons character. But what happens when that heart meets a cruel, mean and hateful heart? Many bad hearts WILL be met when traveling this road. But will that freely given heart be able to face that hurt with their head up, with the grace of an adult and not the grief of a child, learn from the experience and move on? Or will it withdrawal into itself, it's cave, scared and scarred not allowing anyone to touch or hurt it again until it learns to "GROW UP?"

I've seen too many friends withdrawal, not to be seen again. And it hurts and saddens me to see it. But praise God, He is the great physician, who can heal and restore all who seek his face.

I pray that we all may be that Light that shows this path of love to the hurting, the lost, the down trodden.

My encouragement has been given.
The rest is up to you!
"the Christians"
"the Doers of the Word"
"HIS WORD"

Untitled Hymn:

Zephaniah 3:17

"The LORD your God is in your midst,
A victorious warrior
He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

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I thank the Lord for blessings of hard times and struggles/trials of life. Those times soften us and make us moldable and pliable for our Lord and Savior to work a good work. They have given us an ability to truly enjoy the blessings we now have been given.

I hopefully will be updating more often now.
I love you all

July Seventh

Our day is upon us.
Tomorrow

We pray that the Lord will use our engagement, wedding ceremony, marriage and lives to glorify His name. Further His Kingdom. And work miracles in others lives!!

God Bless
"WE" love you all!

Envy In Life

Psalm 37-
Security of Those Who Trust in the LORD, and Insecurity of the Wicked.

A Psalm of David.

1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
2 For they will wither quickly like the grass
And fade like the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.

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A group of simple but devout farmers stood by a dusty truck and expressed their frustration. One of their peers- a very irreligious man- had avoided church, gotten drunk on weekends, and generally rejected God. Yet here it was October, and he had the best crop in the county. Why had God rewarded this man's work when he flaunted his disregard for God's way? The conversation was intense, and the men seriously questioned their faith.

Finally one farmer who hadn't said much spoke up. "Fellas, I don't know everything 'bout the Bible, but I'm sure it ain't written in there that God settles all his accounts in October!"

People who follow God don't always see the immediate benefits of that trust. Worse, they sometimes have to watch others get away with doing evil. This Psalm promises that, in time, living God's way will give you "the desires of your heart" (verse 4).

But not necessarily in October!

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It says to "Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him" (verse 7a). The Psalm is not talking about waiting for direction from God to make a decision or some sort of action in your life. No "voice" or "leading". But rather to wait patiently BY not "fretting because of him who prospers in his way" at this time (verse 7b). (We can not take 7a and not apply 7b in context; it's one whole sentence.)

For His blessings WILL come in time, and while we wait, we are to carry on with our day to day lives "doing good", "cultivating faithfulness", "delighting in the Lord" and "trusting in His teachings" (verses 3-5).

If you do this, He promises to bring the blessings (verses 4b and 6).

I love you all

A Seekers Story

So it's been awhile since my last post... and I apologies.
Life has been pretty crazy lately with all the planning and stuff. I promise in the very near future to be back to properly maintaining this blog.

In the mean time, I would like to share a "Seekers Story" with you that I've read recently. It's a quick story, but with a bold message and a bold confession.

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I became a sexaholic at a very early age and developed a secret life. As the years went by, my addiction became worse and worse until evil was almost totally in command of my life. Pornography ruled me. I knew its power and recognized its hold on me, but could not act; I was powerless over the evil that gripped me. I could see my marriage of 28 years was fast coming to an end. Still, I could not change my course.

Then one day, four and a half years ago, at the urging of my daughter and wife, I went to a "Seeker service" at my wife's church. This experience ignited a spark - the beginning of my salvation. Although my secret was still hidden at the time, God began to slowly and gently open my heart. Finally my secret became known.

My coming to know Christ has been slow. Approximately ten months ago, after three and a half years of Christian counseling, 12-step programs, and church involvement, I began praying directly to Jesus to take my hand and lead me out of my despair and hopelessness. That was when my life really started to change.

Today I am beginning to feel like a human being again. God has worked miracles; my lifestyle and attitudes have changed. The power of prayer is real! I asked God to hold my marriage together and He did! It's on the mend. Can you believe it? Yea God! Yea God!

Even though more than half of my life is behind me, I am very grateful now for the opportunity God has given me through Jesus Christ to be born again. What a tremendous gift to a guy who for such a long time traveled down some very dark roads.

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"The power of prayer is real."
"What a tremendous gift.........."

Just a reminder that no matter what place in life your at, and how "dark" your roads may be. And with any problems you may face in life.
God IS good! And Faithful!

I love you all

God's In Charge

1 John 4:4 - God's Spirit, who is in you, is greater than the devil, who is in the world

Satan has no power except that which God gives him.

To the first-century church in Smyrna, Christ said, "Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer for ten days. But be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life" - Rev. 2:10

Analyze Jesus' words for a minute. Christ informs the church of the persecution, the duration of the persecution (ten days), the reason for the persecution (to test you), and the outcome of the persecution (a crown of life). In other words, Jesus uses Satan to fortify His church...

Even when Satan appears to win, he loses.

From Max Lucado

Stand strong

I love you all

Let There Be Light

This is Thomas Edison with his invention. The light bulb.

And this is Philippians 3:14 - I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

We're running a race, we're fighting a fight, we're trying to "re-invent" ourselves to be like Christ. I think about Thomas Edison and how he finally invented the light bulb. He is an example of perserverance, of fortitude, and of character and how we as Christians should fight even harder to be like Christ (Phil. 3:14). But we often forget how hard the fight is at times. We use Phil. 3:14 as a key verse in our lives, only to forget about the preceding verse:

Phil. 3:13 - Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Catch that: "forgetting those things which are behind"

Thomas Edison failed over 10,000 times before he finally got the light bulb right.
We fail constantly also.
Peter denied Christ three times. DENIED! Meaning:
1. To declare untrue; contradict.
2. To refuse to believe; reject.
3. To refuse to recognize or acknowledge; disavow.
Now that's serious failure!!

But we press on, forgetting those things which are behind, (but not ignoring sin and repentance; a broken and contrite spirit and heart: Psalms 51:16-17) continuing to fight, like Peter, like the apostle Paul.

Edison said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

But what again are we fighting for, what was Paul talking about apprehending in verse 13? It's answered in verses 10 and 11. That objective is to know Christ and all that is included in this knowledge, that is, experiencing His power, sharing His sufferings, being made like Jesus in death, and experiencing resurrection from the dead.

Phil. 3:9-15

So let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (Heb. 12:1).
Lets fight the good fight.
Lets not be held down by past failures.
But know that Christ's blood allows us to standup, straight and tall.

I love you all

Fighting For Freedom

There sits Simon,
so foolishly wise
proudly he's tending his nets
Then Jesus calls,
and the boats drift away
all that he owns he forgets
More than the nets
he abandoned that day,
he found that his pride was soon drifting away
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Matthew was mindful
of taking the tax,
pressing the people to pay
Hearing the call,
he responded in faith
followed the Light and the Way
Leaving the people
so puzzled he found,
the greed in his heart
was no longer around
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Every heart needs to be set free,
from posessions
that hold it so tight
'Cause freedom's not found in the things that we own,
It's the power
to do what is right
Jesus, our only posession,
giving becomes our delight
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We show a love for the world in our lives
by worshipping goods we posess
Jesus has laid all our treasures aside
"love God above all the rest"
'Cause when we say 'no'
to the things of the world
we open our hearts
to the love of the Lord
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Oh, and it's hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things
we leave behind
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Simon had pride, Matthew had greed. We all have our struggles! "But Oh, it's hard to imagine the freedom we find, from the things we leave behind!"

So now I'm engaged (to a beauty), and I find myself fighting for freedom. Not from her though :). A different freedom, a freedom from myself. My selfishness. I have new desires, new dreams, new expectations. But in those dreams and desires, there is no room for selfishness. I'm striving to be a good husband and a Godly head of the home. I'm learning new ways of loving, thanks to her, and desiring to love her like Christ loves the Church.

1 Corinthians Chapter 13

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

This is what I'm trying to learn. Without love, I'm nothing. It's not about me, her, or a wedding. It's about a marriage! A life, a lifestyle! And like William Wallace, I will fight for love AND freedom.

So, I want to encourage all the singles. Die to self NOW! There is no better time. Now is the time when you can become as close to God as you possible can with no distractions. Learn and grow, sacrifice. Your relationship with Christ will flurish, and you'll be way ahead for the future.

"But Oh, it's hard to imagine the freedom we find, from the things we leave behind!"

I love you all

New News

The future Mrs. Paul Grimm:

Elise Kaupp
from Gridley Illinois

The Lord has truely blessed us!!

Sorry for my resent lack of posting, I've been busy :D

A New Identity (long, but worth it)

Jesus had an uncanny knack for cutting through "small talk."

Nicdemus, an important member of the religious ruling class, came to Jesus late one night. Was he afraid to be seen with Jesus? Did he want to avoid the crowds? We don't know for sure. But when he began his conversation with a few polite remarks, Jesus cut right to the chase. His statement in St. John 3:3 can be loosely paraphrased, "Nicodemus, you're right about my spiritual position, but you're dead wrong about yours."

Jesus knew that Nicodemus didn't need a lot of tact- he needed truth.

Nicodemus's robes, his title, and his degrees impressed everyone in his religious circle. But Jesus saw right through those outer trappings. He knew that a human heart beat under all that finery- a struggling heart that was tired of carrying the weight, the responsibilities and the endless need to appear "in control" of his religious condition. So before Nicodemus could even formulate his question. Jesus gave the answer, telling him in effect, "What you need is a new start, Nicodemus. It's not too late."

If you, like Nicodemus, are counting on your accomplishments to lead to some sort of ultimate fulfillment or spiritual security, Jesus says the same thing to you.

Accomplishments can't be joy. Titles have no feelings. Degrees don't laugh. Even religion can get in the way of knowing God, because religion is mostly what we do. That's what was happening to Nicodemus, and what Jesus tried to address in their conversation. Life with God means becoming a "faith-follower" and "faithful follower," not trying to be a "do-gooder." Jesus knew that Nicodemus, a religious leader and teacher, didn't understand this basic truth.

Nicodemus needed to make a break with his religiously legalistic past, and to make a new spiritual start in his life, one that centered on a relationship with God based on truth and grace. Jesus called this new start being "born again."

Then Jesus made mention of something that happened centuries before, in Moses' day (verse. 14, from Numbers 21:4-9). When a plague of poisonous snakes killed many Israelites, Moses followed God's command to make a bronze snake and attach it to a pole. People who had been bitten didn't have to pray, go to the temple, try to drain the poison, or do any kind of "religious" act. They were simply told to take God at his word, look at the snake, and believe. Those who did were miraculously healed. Those who didn't died. (By the way, this biblical event is the origin of the snake on the pole in medical insignias.) By using this well-known story as a metaphor for his own crucifixion, Jesus knew that Nicodemus would get the point- God sent Jesus to earth so that people could believe in Him, trust Him, and have eternal life.

He further explained this principle in St. John 3:16-17, one of the most famous verses in the Bible. These verses contain the greatest message, from the greatest source, describing the greatest love, demonstrated by the greatest sacrifice ever given. It contains important news for everyone, especially those who think they have to "be religious" to get God's approval.

The bad new is that we can't do enough to gain God's approval. The good news is that God has already done it on our behalf.

What would prevent you from accepting Jesus' invitation to Nicodemus? Being born again isn't complicated. Simply agree with Jesus that you have a spiritual need that you'll never be able to fill through your own efforts. Then recognize that Jesus didn't come to condemn you, but to pay for your sins, forgive you, and to begin to remake you from the inside. Finally, come to Him as your rescuer and leader and ask Him to do what he said he was dying to do- give you eternal life. This is not a cheap gift; Jesus gave His very lifeblood to obtain it. But it is a free gift. And it's yours for the asking.

Note: Later in Jesus' ministry, Nicodemus defended Jesus when the religious leaders of his day condemned him unfairly (St. John 7:50-51). Nicodemus also showed up at Jesus' death, where he and another influential leader, Joseph of Arimathea, prepared Jesus' body for burial (St. John 19:38-42). Beyond that, we don't know anything about Nicodemus or his response to Jesus' invitation.

But God does.

-modified from The Journey

I love you all.

Drum Roll Please!

So these are my nieces Jacie (4yrs.) and Naya (2yrs.)
I know.... I know.... adorable!!
What can I say.... it runs in the family!!

Now I'd like to introduce my third niece born Monday at OSF.
You can see her pictures (six pics) at OSF website by clicking this link.

Alia Nicole Grimm
Born: 03-27-2006
Birth Time: 12:57 pm
@ OSF Saint Francis Medical Center
Weight: 7 lbs 10 oz
Length: 20 in.

God Bless
I love you all

I Found It

My heart is restless in me
My wings are all worn out
I'm walking in the wilderness
And I cannot get out
I need You, Oh, I need You
Blessed Savior come
I need You, Oh, I need You
Fill the every longing in my soul

CHORUS:
Oh, how I need You, Lord
I need Your perfect Word
With tearful eyes to see
The sin that I afford
I need to weep and pray
For all the thousand ways
That I have failed You just today

My bed is soaked with sadness
My sadness has no end
A downward spiral of despair
That I keep falling in
I need You, Oh, I need You
To You my soul shall fly
I need You, Oh, I need You
Yaweh, how I love You more than life

CHORUS

Your silence is like death to me
So won't You hear my desperate plea

Today my soul is soaring
Way over mountains high
Though I can see the valleys
They're all just passing by
It's not that I am stronger
Look at my feeble wings
But I've been lifted higher
Yaweh's lifted me in His own strength

Oh, how I love You, Lord
I love Your perfect Word
With tearful eyes to see
The God who always will endure
Now I will celebrate
For all the thousand ways
That You have shown me grace
And made my heart in grace to stay
You've made my heart in grace to stay
Lord, make my heart in grace to stay

I need You, Oh, I need You

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To be let off the hook!

Have you been there?!
Do you know what I'm talking about?!

The power of God's touch!
Have you found it?

Let me explain the comic. Charlie lost a library book, and over the course of eleven comic strips he has been called a liar, a thief, and has horribly worried himself. His failure is all he thought about, he didn't sleep, didn't eat, and let others point out his failings. Then he finds it!!

Peace is evident!
Have you ever watched someone you love experience this? It truly is inspiring, uplifting, and just causes one to tremble with excitement. OR, are you that person? Have you pondered your life only to realize that you've been a liar, a thief, a coward, someone deserving of Hell, a failure?

God loves you just the way you are, but too much to leave you that way! The Great Physician is knocking. Matthew 7:7 - Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

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I've been there! Many times. But God's Grace is sufficient, I've sought, and time 'n' time again, I've found it.
Grace.
God reaches out. And knocks.

I pray that someone is home.

I love you all

Put Some Mustard On It

1. Faith plants a seed
2. We're baptised and converted by God
A. The convertion continues throughout life.
3. We surface to fight nature. Our human nature and trials in life. But, we grow through the experiences.
4. Fruit is produced.
5. We continue to grow our roots deep, drawing nigh unto our Father and He will draw nigh to us. (James 4:8) The deeper the roots, the more we can resist being uprooted.
FYI: The diameter of a trees roots are the same as the diameter of it's branches (it's fruit). No more, no less. The tap root is as deep as the tree is tall. So..... if you want to produce a lot of fruit.... you must have good, large roots.
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So use your roots to tap into some Living Water, and don't be afraid to grow.
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I love you all

Hebrews 6:1 - Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (NASB)

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I like the story of the little boy who fell out of bed. When his Mom asked him what happened, he answered, "I don't know. I guess I stayed too close to where I got in."

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Easy to do the same with our faith. It's tempting just to stay where we got in and never move.

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Pick a time in the not-too-distant past. A year or two ago. Now ask yourself a few questions. How does your prayer life today compare with then? How about your giving? Have both the amount and the joy increased? Can you tell you've grown? And Bible study? Are you learning to learn?...

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Don't make the mistake of the little boy. Don't stay too close to where you got in. It's risky resting on the edge.

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If you can look back a year and honestly say you've grown.

That you don't have the same problem you did a year ago.

Then you are successful in life.

Success for a Christian isn't measured by money, position, or ownership, but by whether or not you've grown in grace, in love, and in joy.

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I, personally, struggle with the edge of the bed.

Sometimes with being to close to it, but mostly with trying to stay holding on to it. I usually find myself hanging onto the edge just by a finger or two, already having fallen.

Just holding on to The Rock seeking His foot hold.

When my walk becomes a crawl.

Tired

Weary

And yearning just to be held.

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But I believe pity parties to be selfishness and nothing more. I also believe selfishness to be the root of our sinful nature. Just about all sin can be traced back to selfishness.

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So what do we do when the armor becomes dull. We're still wearing it, but its dull. When we're a duck on water. When we're tired and weary. When our walk becomes a crawl.....

...... keep crawling. Trials are made to go through, not around. We must walk through them, not run from them.

We keep hanging on to that edge of the bed. Seek and ye shall find.

And God will not only carve out a foot hold, but He'll show it to you. And then we read the Instruction Manual on how to climb.

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You don't drown by falling into the water, but by staying there.

Move away from where you got in. Grow

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I love you all

A Case For God?

This is an article writen by: God said, Man said

The word of God is the foundation of life and truth. Every jot and tittle is holy altogether. But the revisionists and biblical minimalists have continually raised their hollow objections each time God speaks. Nearly every verse of the King James Version majority-text holy writ has been attacked. If that sounds like an exaggeration, consider this: minority-text revisionists have made 13,000 changes in the scriptures alone. That's enough for two changes for every verse of the Bible and that's just part of the evil.
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The very first chapter and the very first verse of the Bible is a good example of Satan's incessant attack upon the truth. It reads, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
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The first three words are, "In the beginning." One of the world's major religions disagrees. Their leader Buddha said, "No origin can be perceived." Thus the circle of life or reincarnation doctrine stakes out its position against the word of God. The next two words, "God created," have been aggressively attacked by the pseudo-wise with the teaching of evolution and its big bang theory. Satan knows all things collapse when God's word is rejected. Remember, we are literally made out of words (see "Made Out Of Words" on this site). Satan's purpose is only fulfilled when he kills, steals and destroys. Religion and academia under Satan's direction have attacked thoroughly. For 6,000 years they've attacked. They've attacked the authenticity of the authors. They've attacked the manuscripts. They've attacked the original translators' scholarship. They've attempted to debunk every supernatural account and they've attributed the Word of God to be the words of mere men. During 6,000 years of trying, Satan and his minions have failed miserably. Those truly seeking truth can still find it.
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Some hearing or reading this commentary literally cringed when they heard me say 6,000-year-old-earth.
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On one occasion when I mentioned God's position of the world being about 6,000 years old, a fellow Christian who was present laughed at such a concept. He wasn't laughing because he had proved this position through diligent search, but he simply believed the adversarial position because of constant bombardment. Years ago I picked up a young man hitchhiking a ride. I asked him what he thought of Jesus Christ. His reply was that he didn't believe in Jesus Christ, he believed in evolution. I asked him to tell me what evolution was. After a long pregnant pause he sheepishly said he didn't know what evolution was. He believed it because his teacher told him it was so.
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The Bible clearly teaches the earth to be approximately 6,000 years old. Conversely, evolutionists claim years into billions. Ancient secular history goes back about 5,500 years and the trail grows ice cold. The reason the trail grows ice cold is simply because there isn't much more history beyond it. Remember the need for witnesses in order to certify truth. Collaborated historical record is witness of the past. Two or more credible historians, for example, recording a history, certify it's validity. The Bible lays out the foundation for proof in Deuteronomy Chapter 19, Verse 15:

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One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

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Being that credible recorded history, which is proof of the past, does not exceed 6,000 years, it is impossible to prove the earth older than 6,000 years. Credible witnesses cannot be produced because there aren't any. Pseudo-sicence consistently throws up straw-men arguments speaking of billions of years of time which are regularly discredited by sound science. There are over 107 scientific measurements that speak of a young earth, from the earth's young magnetic field and young moon evidences to population growth rates and present rates of continent erosion.

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In regard to the earth's age, God's word clearly chronicles it's age through the genealogical record. In Genesis, Chapter 5, Verse 3, the Bible's genealogical record of mankind begins with the statement, "And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth;" If you read this chapter to its end it will end with Noah begetting his three sons. If you add the years between each father and his son, you will arrive at the time of Noah's flood. It was 1,656 years from the day Adam opened his eyes until the time God destroyed the earth by a worldwide flood. If you add the rest of the genealogical spans recorded in the Bible until Christ, you will basically arrive where Archbishop Ussher did in the year 1654 when he declared the years before Christ to be 4,004. Now add the years from the birth of Jesus Christ until today and you will have an earth just over 6,000 years old.

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In their ancient records the Miautso tribe of China traced their genealogy back to the beginning of time and the world's first man and they called his name "Dirt." Please note that the book of Genesis says that God created man out of the dust and called his name Adam. The Hebrew meaning of the name Adam is "red dirt."

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During the 1,656 years prior to the flood of Noah things were dramatically different. One of the major reasons for this difference is found in Genesis Chapter 1, Verses 6-7:

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6. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

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Firmament is heaven or space. There are three heavens. The space around us and the sky are the first heaven. Outer space, where the planets, etc., are, is the second heaven and the third Heaven is where God dwells (II Corinthians, Chapter 12, Verses 2-5). So God separated the water into two bodies by firmament. One body was under the firmament and covered the earth. The other body of water was above the firmament (sky). Thus, you had two bodies of water separated by space or firmament. It is important to note that prior to the flood of Noah, there is no record of rain.

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Genesis Chapter 2, Verses 5-6:

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5. And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
6. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

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God watered the earth with a mist. The first record of rain is in the days of Noah when God opened the windows of Heaven. Note that the token of the covenant God gave Noah assuring him that he would not destroy the whole earth again by a flood was a rainbow. A rainbow appears to be something Noah had never seen before. The ancient civilizations of Babylon, Egypt, Greece, India, Hawaii, Indonesia, Europe, Asia & Australia testify of a water canopy above the firmament. In the 1850's British archaeologists found about 20,000 clay tablets in the ruins of a library excavated in Ninevah. Among these were 12 tablets with astonishing text. (It's important to remember that these people were not adherents to the Bible.) The 12 ancient tablets known, as the Epic of Gilgamesh, described the destruction of the earth by a flood extremely similar to the Bible's record in Genesis. Other ancient civilizations tell a very similar story. The water canopy was rained down upon the earth.

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According to scientists a water canopy of that magnitude would have very powerful benefits. One of these benefits would be a greenhouse effect making the whole world tropical. For example, if you had a greenhouse you would have tropical temperatures inside with frigid temperatures outside. So then the water canopy God describes in Genesis would have as one of its major benefits a balmy tropical temperature encompassing the globe. Every day would have featured a beautiful, rainless, cloudless, postcard sky. However, immediately after God opened the windows of heaven and rained down that water canopy, the greenhouse effect ended and the north and south poles went into an immediate frigid deep freeze. According to an AP science writer, and I quote, "The frigid Arctic regions were as balmy as present-day Florida some 90 million years ago according to researchers who found fossils in northern Canada of a crocodile-like animal."

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The AP science writer was only half right...balmy temperatures, yes...90 million years ago, no.

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In a book titled, The Waters Above, by author J. C. Dillow, the following excerpts were found:

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Baron Toll, the Arctic explorer, found remains of a saber-toothed tiger and a 90-foot plum tree with green leaves and ripe fruit on its branches over 600 miles north of the Arctic Circle in the New Siberian Islands. Today, the only vegetation that grows there is a one-inch high willow.

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And again Dillow reports:

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Dr. Jack A. Wolfe in a U. S. Geological Survey Report (1978) told that Alaska once teemed with tropical plants. He found evidence of mangroves, palm trees, Burmese lacquer trees and groups of trees that now produce nutmeg and Macassar oil.

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In northern Siberia and Alaska there are an estimated 5,000,000 elephant-like mammoths destroyed by a flood and frozen in ice and permafrost.

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Kellog, an expert on ancient civilizations recounts their record which tells of a visible water heaven that was titillating with light. These ancient civilizations claimed this water heaven was home of the gods and that it obstructed the power of the sun god. One day this water heaven was banished and cast down to the earth and the sun came riding through as the conqueror of heaven, the master of the wind and rain. Until the worldwide flood that took place in the days of Noah, approximately 4,350 years ago, there was a water canopy above the firmament and the climate was balmy...every day was a beautiful, cloudless, post card sky.

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Another major benefit of this global water canopy was the filtering out of ultraviolet killer rays from the sun as well as other sun related detriments. Ultraviolet radiation is responsible for at lest 60 major diseases such as: cancer, high blood pressure, strokes, Altzheimer's, down's syndrome, mental loss, arteriosclerosis, just to name a few.

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Many of God's critics, being ignorant of the benefits of the water canopy, have ridiculed the tremendously long lives of those who lived before Noah's flood, before the end of the water canopy. Methuselah, the oldest man who ever lived, lived until the ancient age of 969 years. The average pre-Noah lifespan was 911 years or 13 times longer than we live today. Imagine living in a perfect tropical atmosphere, perfect air, perfect water, perfect diet and without harmful effects from the sun. The obvious result would be long, long healthy life...13 times longer. The pre-Noah water canopy is central to the explanation of what has perplexed many about the idea of a young 6,000-year-old earth.

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Any thoughts?

The G.A.P. (Gospel According to Paul) ;-)

James 1:5 If any of you lack sminkle, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

So in what way, in what form, do we recieve this sminkle?

Romans 5:3-5 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulations produce sminkle.

James 1:2-3 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith produces sminkle.

Eccl. 1:16-18 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more sminkle than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great sminkle. And I gave my heart to know sminkle, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much sminkle is much grief: and he that increaseth sminkle increaseth sorrow.

So we see that there are two kinds of sminkle, Godly sminkle and earthly sminkle. And typically we recieve this sminkle through the hard times, the trials of life. The valleys and the climbs up the hill. Not the good times, not at the peaks.

1 Cor. 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1 Cor. 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Cor. 3:19 For the sminkle of this world is foolishness with God. For it is writen, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

So we see that Goldly sminkle is definitly our goal.

Gen. 30:27 ....I have learned by sminkle that the Lord hath blessed me....

So what do we do with this God given sminkle?
Share it.
Pass it on.
And use it to help others.
To the Glory of God.

So.... in case your asking yourself, 'just what is sminkle?'
It's a word that I fabricated to be a noun, verb, or however it fits.

smin-kle (sm-ng'k-l) (noun, verb, ?)
1. wise, wisdom, knowledge, patience, long-suffering, experience, hope, ...etc.
2. sminkle- the wrinkles (inkle) that form around your eyes when you smile (sm). Sminkle.

I have great respect for sminkle.

I love you all

Horsepower

Psalms 19:1- The heavens tell the glory of God

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Matthew 6:26- Look at the birds in the air. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them.

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How vital that we pray, armed with the knowledge that God is in heaven. Pray with any lesser conviction and your prayers are timid, shallow, and hollow. But spend some time walking in the workshop of the heavens, seeing what God has done, and watch how your prayers are energized...

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Behold the sun! Every square yard of the sun is constantly emitting 130,000 horse power, or the equivalent of 450 eight-cylinder automobile engines. And yet our sun, as powerful as it is, is but one minor star in the 100 billion orbs which make up our Milky Way Galaxy. Hold a dime in your fingers and extend it arm's length toward the sky, allowing it to eclipse your vision, and you will block out 15 million stars from your view.... By showing us the heavens, Jesus is showing us his Father's workshop... He taps us on the shoulder and says, "Your Father can handle that for you."

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Consider the earth! Our globe's weight has been estimated at six sextillion tons (a six with twenty-one zeros). Yet it is precisely tilted at twenty-three degrees; any more or less and our seasons would be lost in a melted polar flood. Though our globe revolves at the rate of one-thousand miles per hour or twenty-five thousand miles per day or nine million miles per year, none of us tumbles into orbit....

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As you stand.... observing God's workshop, let me pose a few questions. If he is able to place the stars in their sockets and suspend the sky like a curtain, do you think it is remotely possible that God is able to guide our lives? If our God is mighty enough to ignite the sun, could it be that he is mighty enough to light our path? If he cares enough about the planet Saturn to give it rings or Venus to make it sparkle, is there an outside chance that he cares enough about us to meet our needs?

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I love you all

A Morsel of Kindness

1 John 3:17- Suppose someone has enough to live and sees a brother or sister in need, but does not help. Then God's love is not living in that person.

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Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian writer, tells of the time he was walking down the street and passed a beggar. Tolstoy reached into his pocket to give the beggar some money, but his pocket was empty. Tolstoy turned to the man and said, "I'm sorry, my brother, but I have nothing to give."

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The beggar brightened and said, "You have given me more than I asked for- you have called me brother."

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To the loved, a word of affection is a morsel, but to the love-starved, a word of affection can be a feast.

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Besides, you never know, we may be entertaining angels unaware?

Failure and Faith

Exodus 3:11- But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"

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When it comes to heroes revered by three world religions, no individual shines brighter than Moses. The deliverer of the Hebrews from Egypt is mentioned more times in the New Testament than any other Old Testament figure, and is the most prominent prophetic figure in the Muslim Koran. What is it about Moses that makes him a hero to so many?

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The juxtaposition of failure and faith is probably at the heart of Moses' mystique. We can identify with Moses' failure as a young man guilty of manslaughter. And we can also identify with his fears and doubts when God called him to be the deliverer of his Jewish countrymen. But beyond identifying with Moses' humanity, we revere his faith- he was brave, faithful, outspoken, compassionate, and loyal. And he kept his eye on the eternal prize. Moses was all we know we are and all we know we want to be. He was a failure, but he was also faithful. And God honored his faithfulness instead of rejecting him for his failure. If you have failed, don't give up. God used Moses, and He wants to use you.

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The worst failure is failing to act on (have faith in) that which you know to be true.

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You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.

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(That was sent to me by a couple that I love in my home church of Morton, they have always shone me love. And I love them for that.)

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1 Corinthians 4:10- We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.

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Luke 6:22- Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.

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Mark 8:35- For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.

Matthew 16:25, Luke 9:24

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Mark 13:13- And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

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1 Peter 2:13-17- Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

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So I ask myself sometimes, "Why me?" ...(Don't we all at times?)

But once we truly realize in our hearts that, "we're dead already," then we can "really live!" Free.

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A tough lesson I've learned is that when I'm having a "pity party" and feeling sorry for myself- God only sees SELFISHNESS!!

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I just encourage you all to step back and refocus on the "big picture" of eternity, and then glory in your tribulations.

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Romans 5:3-5- And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

2 Corinthians 12:10, James 1:2-4

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But Satan won't back off just because you refocus on the "big picture," ...but it will give you the strength to fight on.

God's Cake

Sometimes we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God have to do this to me?" But God didn’t do it to you. Sometimes bad things just happen. And God can take a bad situation, use the experience to mold us, and bring something out of it that will glorify Him. Here is a wonderful explanation that was e-mailed to me.
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A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.
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Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.
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"Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers.
"Yuck," says her daughter.
"How about a couple raw eggs?"
"Gross, Mom!"
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"
"Mom, those are all gross!"
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To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the same way. Many times we wonder why we go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good!
We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!
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God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.

I hope your day is a "piece of cake!" Cause even sunshine burns if you get to much!

I love you all