Look Away From Yourself.         06-23-23

My thoughts of late have focused on a note to myself that I wrote in my Bible.lThe note was written in the 6 th chapter of Matthew and stated simply that I should  “look away from myself.” I do not remember the time or the occasion that sparked that note. That said,that note has much relevance to the Christian walk.

In my early Christian upbringing, I heard many sermons that spoke to this concept, especially from the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 6:31-33

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

However, over time these words about seeking the Kingdom of God took on a different perspective,that with the luxury of hindsight, we’re not the intent of the original. The message devolved into seek the kingdom of Ronnie. Not that the descent was that obvious or blunt. It never is. Sin has a pervasiveness that is supremely subtle. You hardly notice until one day you are in it’s clutches. Feelin’ me here?

Was this slide a blatant appeal to unbridled materialism? I don’t think so.I followed the precepts of God. But, the message became less and less about God. The message became about establishing the Kingdom of God and enjoying the blessings of that Kingdom. Serve God not because He IS God. No, serve Him for the blessings He bestows. This subtlety  

planted the seed for the message of a great majority of the church today, especially the mega church movement.

The command of Jesus was not to establish the Kingdom was it? Rather, it was about preaching the Gospel. I remember the early days of my Christian walk.Preaching the Gospel,telling someone about Jesus was the ONLY message. To preach the Gospel, to evangelize the lost world, “ to preach the Gospel to every creature,” was the focus. Jesus said that when He returned, then He would establish His kingdom.  Somehow, the church now believes that it has been tasked with establishing that kingdom.”Kingdom Now” as it is teaches. I was taught a form of that message coming up. It was a message that in my opinion focused more,though not exclusively, on the blessings rather than the righteousness of God.

Over time the focus on blessing led to a self centeredness,resulting in materialism and a pursuit of a “ victorious life.” If I serve God, my life will be victorious. I will have a wholeness with God meeting all my needs. That is the message of Kingdom Now.

Almost always that leads to a self centered, man centered view of what it means to serve God. The concepts of sacrifice and service to others get lost in the shuffle. Don’t get me wrong. No one twisted my arm. I willingly followed that line.

It no longer in my life was “ Give us this day our daily bread.” It was about meeting the mortgage and the car payments.Without even recognizing the change, well to be honest I was not concerned about the change. Smile. When the focus is always on self, whether in blessing or problems, the slide is almost imperceptible. Hence, the call to “ look away from me” becomes offensive, even noxious. It is the first step to debauchery. Pride in one’s self and life is the mother of all sin. It leads to self centeredness,and if not checked, to self exaltation. At which time, God will put a stop to it. In His own time and way. The clarion call to me and indeed all people is to look away from ourselves and seek God and His righteousness. That plays out differently in all of our lives doesn’t it? Well anyway that’s my take today.

All we must do is believe.

God Bless.

Lost Your Faith? 09-29-23

I was reading in John the other day and I came across this. verse.

John 2:24-25

“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Now,I have read a couple of accounts about this passage. Some people think that this is the initial conversion of Thomas. This is when Thomas initially got saved. Others believe that Thomas actually lost his faith here. The second explanation seems right to me. The Scriptures only call out one who never believed,and that was Judas. He was never in the camp from the beginning. At any rate,what caught my eye was the fact that Thomas said,”I will never believe.” I personally think that he lost his faith. He was not a doubting Thomas,no,he was an apostate Thomas. Because Jesus had been crucified,Thomas was blown out of the water. He was devastated.He had followed Jesus for three or so years,had witnessed miracle after miracle. Had heard the words of life coming directly from Jesus Himself. I don’t know how many miracles Thomas actually saw,but one would have been enough!If I had seen a man feed multiple thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish,that would have been enough for me. Ya feelin me here? Much less the man at the pool,or walking on the water,or what about Lazarus? I’m just sayin’ 

So this man Thomas,who has seen Jesus do all these miracles,has heard the words of life issuing forth from His lips,all of a sudden is no longer a believer.Look again at Thomas’ last words. “I will never believe.” Everything was going along fine in Thomas’s world and all of a sudden,in a flash….He was gone. Who was gone Ronnie? Jesus was gone. Not only was He gone,but the circumstances of His going were horrible.He,Thomas,(you and me)had finally found what he had been looking for,the Messiah.And now,in a flash,his Messiah had been crucified,was dead and buried.The shock and awe were devastating. Thomas had had enough,he was NEVER going to believe. 

I imagine that during those three years,Thomas had told many people about Jesus. I imagine that he had spoken many times to family and friends. I would suppose that he had told them that Jesus was the Messiah,he had more than likely told them that Jesus would heal them of their sickness,or that He would protect them from the storms of life. Isn’t that what we do brothers and sisters? Thomas was no different from us. Thomas wasn’t having to walk by faith,he was an eyewitness to what was happening.Yet,when it all came crashing down,he had lapsed into unbelief. Why? Well,I can’t say,but I imagine one reason was pain. Whaddya mean Ronnie?Well,everything that he had told people now appeared to be a lie.Messiah? Protector? Healer? I can hear the people asking those questions of Thomas right now. Maybe even Thomas was questioning himself at this point. “I will never believe.”

The pain of loss was more than he wanted to or even could endure.His faith had been destroyed.

You ever feel like that? You have told someone that Jesus will do this or that and it didn’t work out the way you said it would.You have believed God for something and it didn’t come to pass. You have been hurt. You have thought it is all a lie. You just don’t want to expose yourself like that again,not even to God.You have made yourself vulnerable and have gotten the proverbial 2x4 upside your head.You have told yourself “never again.” Perhaps you gave someone hope and they got the 2x4. Whatever,the circumstance,you have been crushed and have lost your faith. Oh maybe you still believe in God. You know enough about Him to know he is real; but you just don’t want to trust Him like you once did.And you don’t. Well,let me tell you something.I have been right where you are. And as Ringo Starr once said,”you know it ain’t easy.” 

In times like those you just have to keep on holding on.Brother Mushegan used to say,” you have to tie a knot in the rope and hold on!” Sometimes it can take a while. I imagine those eight days that Thomas endured were the longest of his life. What eight days Ronnie?Take note that Thomas was not with the disciples when they saw the resurrected Jesus for the first time.I don’t know why he wasn’t there. I can imagine why. But,the fact is he wasn’t there.He didn’t believe when they told him they had seen the Lord.Eight very long days.But…….

John 20:26-29

“Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 

Eight days later,Jesus appeared to Thomas and restored his lost faith.But,here is what we,you and I need to notice. Thomas was back with the group. He had been devastated when Jesus was dead and buried. He may have even left the group. He certainly lost his faith. But,eight days later he was there with the disciples when Jesus showed up. What made Thomas go back and rejoin the disciples. I don’know the circumstances. All I know is that through the disappointment and destruction of Cavalry,Thomas somehow found the strength and courage to press on,even when he had lost his faith. Those were eight very long days,I assure you.

Have you been disappointed in God? Even devastated? Maybe to the point of a loss of trust or even unbelief. Well,brother or sister,you are not alone. Why don’t you go to God one more time. You got nothing to lose do you? He’s there waiting for you.

John 10:17-30

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

All we must do is believe.

God Bless.

Amos 8:4-6.              8-4-23

Came across this verse today in Amos.

Amos 8:4-6

“Hear this, you who trample on the needy

and bring the poor of the land to an end,

saying, “When will the new moon be over,

that we may sell grain?

And the Sabbath,

that we may offer wheat for sale,

that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great

and deal deceitfully with false balances,

that we may buy the poor for silver

and the needy for a pair of sandals

and sell the chaff of the wheat?”

Walking around the grocery store(Kroger of course)in shock and awe about the falling food prices that are not falling,I noticed,once again,a ploy by the food powers that be. What is that Ronnie? Have you noticed the trend over the past few years of manufacturers reducing the size of the product you buy? What was once a box of 32 oz.cereal is now 28 oz. What was a pound of something or other is now 14 oz. Price is same or maybe a few cents higher,but you don’t get as much.Then,over time the price begins a slow,almost imperceptible rise. Soon, with barely a whisper,the price is now considerably higher,AND for LESS product!The blame,according to the powers that be is always assigned to this or that reason.Lately,in our day,it is called supply chain disruption or inflation,you know….whatever! Lol. Well,if you have noticed that happening you are perceptive.But,if you think this is a new scam being perpetrated on the people,think again. The same thing went on in Biblical times.

Amos was a contemporary of Isaiah in 8th century Israel. Amos was a prophet to the Northern Kingdom,Israel,along with Hosea. Isaiah was a prophet to the Southern Kingdom,Judah.A common motif that led to the downfall of both Israel and Judah was oppression. Usually economic. This was not the root cause of the downfall,just one of many results of the sin of the people. You will be astonished if you study these prophets,of the parallelism of Israel with our own country,America.It truly is fascinating if not scary at times.I’m getting off point.

Look at the verse again.

…” that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great..”

Substitute bushel for ephah. Making the ephah, or bushel “small” was a way of reducing by dishonest scales the amount of product.Hmmmm…

Back in that day money was measured by weight not quantity. The shekel if I remember was about 2/5 of an ounce. By requiring more weight for less product,you were making the bushel smaller while making the shekel greater. See any similarities? Why you ask? Read further.

By dealing deceitfully with false balances,they could “ buy the poor for silver…” Oppression pure and simple.

I wrote this with a purpose. Remember the study on rewards that I promised. Well,I am almost ready and this is a common motif in the doctrine of rewards. First,and most important,this doctrine is going to harmonize the message of the Gospel.The benefit to us is to keep us from inadvertently preaching a wrong or false Gospel,due to poor teaching that we may have received. The second is a motivation for holy living. Kingdom Now theology is the primary message being preached today in the church. It focuses on having it now. Be whole.Seek God to meet your needs.All about us in the present. The Bible I believe puts off a great many of these rewards into the future. The coming kingdom if you will. Some call it “ pie in the sky religion.” Well,I have been persuaded that that may be an apt description. We will leave that discussion for rewards. Anyway,saw this verse today and thought I would write about it.

All and I mean ALL we must do is believe.

God Bless.

Not The Way It’s Supposed To Be

 Not The Way It’s Supposed To Be.           06-30-22

My title is taken from the title of a book by Cornelius Plantinga.Plantinga says that in our world there is a sense of the way things should be,and the reality of the way things are. The sense and the reality don’t line up.Our world and by rote,we as human occupiers,are “not the way it’s supposed to be.” 

In a commentary on the 23rd Psalm, Joseph Sittler remarked that though we walk through the valley of death but one time,we spend our whole lives in the valley of the shadow of death.As we grow older that shadow becomes longer and more pronounced doesn’t it? There is a reason that things are not the way they are supposed to be. It is the same reason that our lifelong journey through the valley of death ends in death itself. Sin. Plain and simple. This isn’t the way it is supposed to be. God Almighty did not create the world or us to be like it is and we are. The reason? Sin. Let’s look more closely at the enigma of sin.

Exodus 34:6-7

“The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Moses is on the mountain with the Lord in this passage,receiving the Ten Commandments for the second time.He broke the “originals” in anger over Israel’s sin. Now,he is before the Lord,and has made a request of God.Moses has asked God to show him His glory. You know the story,God hides Moses in the cleft of a rock and passes by,showing Moses His “hinder parts.” In verse 19 of chapter 33,God tells Moses that He will “proclaim His name before him. That proclamation is in the above verse.In that proclamation God tells of some of His attributes,but then He describes in three words what plagues humanity. These three words are a thread than runs through the whole story of the Bible. 

“…..forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin….” These are three descriptions of the enigmatic problem that faces humanity.From a single act of rebellion,”…but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” From this one seemingly insignificant action,death entered the picture and spread over all of humanity. Not only humanity,but over all the earth,polluting all of creation. The pervasiveness of sin is a doctrine that we all must come to grips with. You,me,and everyone in between has been tainted,no that is too calm a word,all humanity has been corrupted. Some of the theologians call it total depravity. We have been made “unsound.” The earth itself has been corrupted.Look at this.

Romans 8:19-21

“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it,in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

There is a concept that I want to share with you before we move on. In their break with the Catholic Church way back in the 1500’s(?) the Protestant Reformers developed a doctrine called Forensic Justification. Now there are libraries built around this doctrine,way above my pay grade. But,for our purposes it is rather simple,and enormously profound.We must grasp this concept if we are to understand the nature of our relationship with a Holy God. This is important for a couple of reasons. Only one of those reasons matter here. If we don’t understand this concept, our Gospel message to a lost sinner might become skewed and imprecise. It might even discourage a lost sinner to give up on God.More on that later.

This forensic justification is a legal concept. We,you and I,before we were “saved” stood in a courtroom with a Holy God. There was no jury like we have today. Just a Holy God determining our guilt or innocence. Understand this. In this courtroom there is no forgiveness. Forgiveness is not a legal issue. Even today,in American jurisprudence there is no concept of forgiveness. The closest thing we have is a pardon. But,a pardon does not remove guilt.Judges in their legal capacity do NOT forgive. Judges determine guilt or innocence,that is all they do.With that being said,during this study keep this always in the back of your mind as we talk about sin.You,we are in a courtroom before a righteous and holy God,not an imperfect human judge.Our innocence or guilt will be determined according to one and only one standard.What will that be Ronnie?

Plain and simple. Have you,me,we ever committed a single act of iniquity,transgression,or sin? Keep this courtroom setting in mind. A single act of either of those three concepts,seals our fate eternally.It is the contention of this study,that once we see the Mount Everest of evidence stacked against us,it will be impossible to believe that repentance from sin or ANY human work can save us from a guilty declaration.What is it that you,me,or anyone else can offer God,that would cause us to be declared innocent?What is it that we could offer God that would make the slightest contribution to our innocence? I contend the answer to that question is a resounding NOTHING! If,then,we can offer nothing for our justification,how could we demand from anyone that they offer something?As has been aptly stated”when we put other people on a tight moral budget while making allowances for ourselves-when we as human beings do these things,we exhibit a corruption of

thought,emotion,intention,speech,and disposition.”

Now,one more concept must be explained here. We are talking about justification here. What we are not talking about here is sanctification or living the Christian life. This isn’t in any way describing how we “walk the walk” once we have been saved. It is very important we don’t mix the two concepts together. (which by the way is done all the time)

I am getting way ahead of myself. Take a breath Ronnie.

This study will hopefully show how pervasive sin actually is and how helpless we are in combatting it as an unbeliever,then as a believer,without a DELIVERER.A deliverer that requires only one condition from lost humanity. That we believe. Folks,after we review the evidence,(sin)that stands against us,I believe we will be convinced that believing the Gospel message is all that we CAN do.Once we see this,we can offer a lost sinner the truly Good News,the Gospel. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,you and your household.”

We will begin to look at the nature of iniquity,transgression,and sin in the next post.

All we must do is believe.

God Bless

 i love u

Hid In The Heart

Hid In The Heart                                                  08-13-19


Psalm 119:11(ESV) ¹¹  I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.


 
My, my, my, it has been a long,long time,since I sat down and penned anything for public

consumption. How is everyone? My schedule,that actually means Chloe and trying to fix the

 house up, keeps me pretty busy these days.So then, they tell me that the verse above is

 talking about Scripture memorization.Storing it up in your heart and whatnot.

That said,I was on the phone with Pastor Doug the other day and the

  subject of memory and memorization came up. I told Pastor Doug

 that a few months back I noticed that I seemed to be forgetting stuff more and more.

I was not panicked about it.Though I indeed could tell  that I was forgetting stuff.

But I did some due diligence and discovered that indeed memory does suffer with age.

So,I dug a little deeper and found that there were a few things that could slow the process

and even improve the forgetfulness. Amongst a basketful of options,one jumped out at me.

It was in fact something that Pasor Doug and this author had done many years ago. What?

Scripture memorization. Yes,years ago we had memorized oodles of Scripture.Whole

chapters at a time. The 12th chapter of Hebrews comes to mind. "Since we are

 surrounded....." Remember that one Pastor Doug? The Atlanta Post Office Federal Annex.

 So, armed with a resurrected enthusiasm,I began to memorize Scripture again.

I began with the 25th Psalm. Just a few verses at first and then added to them gradually

until I had the entire Psalm memorized. I will say more about the 25th Psalm in a minute.

I then went to Romans 2 and my journey was on. I am considering the whole book of

Ephesians. If not the whole book then certainly the first three chapters. As I was relaying

this to Pastor Doug,he told me of a friend who had lost his short term memory to a stroke

and had regained it by reading the 23rd Psalm. So, he asked me to share my experience

and this is it. I do believe my memory has improved a good deal over this time(a few

months maybe a year). Although Shelley might disagree as I had a senior moment the

other day.(smile)

I have since added Psalm 1,18(partial),19,23,25,35(partial),92.103,130,131,134,141. 1st

Cor.13,verses in Romans2,Galatians5,Phillipians 4,James 1. Ephesians 2.And so on.

I told Pastor Doug that in addition to the benefits of a stronger mind,that I truly believed

there must be a spiritual benefit to this discipline. Enter the 25th Psalm.


Let me bring you back for a moment to Psalm25. This passage of Scripture is the one

I started with. Here is the ESV rendering.

Psalm 25:4-5(ESV) ⁴  Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
⁵  Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation;for you I wait all the day long.


These are the two verses that I started with. I was reading one night and these two

verses jumped out at me. I can't even remember the circumstances.However,I remember

saying to myself this is where I want to start my memory program. So I did. Now,there are

 lots of memorization tools for Scripture.Probably they are much better and less time

 consuming than what I do. What is that Ronnie? Repetition. Plain and simple. I go over and

 over until I have it. It's admittedly slow and ponderous. The internet has quicker and better

 methods. But, for me there is something about the discipline of repetition that works.

Anyway, as I moved on to a larger portion of the 25th Psalm, I noticed something. I do a lot

 of the memorization while I drive the bus. Repeating  quietly under my breath all of what I

have committed to memory. I run through the whole gamut at least every other day

 while driving. So,as I am quoting these Scriptures  on my bus  something began

to happen. My simple quoting of God's Word began to take on a new nature. It began to be

 more than just a mimicking. You feelin' me here?

 One of prayer. I was no longer just regurgitating verses to myself, but it seemed

 the Holy Ghost was beginning to speak back to me as I spoke His Word. It was a certain

 feeling that would come over me. I could feel His presence. Then,God began to

 give me halt at certain points as I quoted,prayed His Word. The first time it happened

 was while I was quoting,praying the above passage in the 25th Psalm.My attention was

 drawn to that word 'your'. The Lord began to speak to me about His ways and His

paths,especially as they applied to my way and my path. He began to help me on my job

as my attitude towards certain people was not pleasing in His sight ;and certainly missed

 the mark as being His Way, if you get my drift. As I add to my memory banks He continues

showing me things as I pray His Word. It's kinda like a new way of doing things. One thing

I am certain of and this is it. If I will enter into His presence with His word on my lips,and if I

will patiently wait for Him and don't jump ahead into MY program of prayer, He will indeed

hear me don't you think?Why? "... for He is the God of my salvation,for Him I wait all the day

 long."

Hear this, if His Word is in my mouth, I will be praying according to His will.Yes?  No?

 I believe it will be. Anyway,what started as a memory booster seems

to have morphed into a prayer time to boot. (smile) Try it. I think you might like it.

Well,I hope this spoke to someone. It was good to break out the computer and put some

 thoughts down. Maybe the Lord will give me leave to continue.

Psalm 25:1-22(ESV) ¹ 

 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
²  O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame;let not my enemies exult over me.
³  Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
⁴  Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
⁵  Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation;for you I wait all the day long.
⁶  Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
⁷  Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me,for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!
⁸  Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
⁹  He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
¹⁰  All the paths of the LORDare steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
¹¹  For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.
¹²  Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
¹³  His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.
¹⁴  The friendship of the LORDis for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.
¹⁵  My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
¹⁶  Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷  The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses.
¹⁸  Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.
¹⁹  Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.
²⁰  Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
²¹  May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.
²²  Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.


God Bless.

Truth One On One

Truth One On One                                     12-30-17

Psalm 25:4-5 (ESV) ⁴  Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
⁵  Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

Some thoughts for the New Year.This is my verse for 2018. 

Years ago,my friend and mentor Pastor Doug, told me something about ministry that has stayed with me. The most effective ministry,he said, was one on one. While we and of course, God, can minister to one another in the sacredness of the sanctuary,surrounded by others of like faith(church), or in great evangelistic services, or wherever people come together,the MOST EFFECTIVE ministry is conducted one on one. It is the privacy and intimacy of one on one that allows people to let their hair down. To wash away all the makeup,and get down to the heart of the matter.Now for sure,it takes time to develop the trust needed for a relationship that is forthright and honest.But,that is where truth is discovered. Not too long back,God spoke those same words to yours truly. And herein lieth the lesson.

Look at that verse again. Pay particular attention to that one word..........What one word Ronnie?..........That word YOUR.

"Make me to know YOUR..... teach me YOUR........Lead me in YOUR......."""

I watched the movie "The Shack" this week. Yeah I know. The book,in my opinion wasn't that good. Some even called it sacreligious. I personally did not like the book and did not agree with some of the characterizations. But, the movie was different. It still had some sketchy issues,but there was something about the movie that I didn't find in the book. The movie had a deeper,underlying meaning that I did not find in the book. Truths about the nature of God,(He really is good,a lot if not most of His children don't grasp or believe that truth deep down),His sovereignty,(He can appear as a black female if He so desires), He can speak to His children using unconventional and non traditional means(see Balaam's donkey) on and on and on. It touched my heart. But, there was one underlying truth in the movie that stood out above the rest.

When God needed to talk to one of His devastated children,which the lead character in the movie most certainly was........when God needed to minister and heal that hurting child,He chose one avenue to accomplish His purpose. What was it you say? Just this.

God got his child ALONE. He invited him out to a deserted shack. Just him. Not him and anybody or anything else. JUST HIM AND GOD. Period. Ya gettin' my drift here?

Brothers and sisters as we walk out of yet another year,(they are stacking up!)and walk into a brand new year,let us strive to make the above verse a reality in our lives.

Do we need others in our lives? Oh yes. Community is God's idea isn't it? In laws,out laws,pastors,church families,friends.....that is what makes God's world turn. It's all there for us to enjoy. But........BUT........in the midnight hour........when facing down the barrel of a  sickness that isn't going away,when the blows and wounds from friends and foe alike are open and festering,when the guilt and confusion from past sins and mistakes come calling, when the reality sets in that the lost loved one isn't coming back in this life.......ya feelin' me here? There's only one solution. Get alone with God. Allow Him to teach you the path that you should walk,let Him lead you in HIS truth for YOUR life.

I will leave you with the ONE TRUTH for us all as we enter this New Year.

There is only ONE truth in all life. That truth will not be found in the halls of politics. It will not be found in political correctness and coexistence. It will not be found in any of the gods of this world. Whether it be capitalism,patriotism,socialism,nationalism or any other ism.It is not to be found in Allah,Buddah or any other god of this world.

It is found in One Name,One Person. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. JESUS OF NAZARETH.HE IS THE ONLY NAME UNDER HEAVEN BY WHICH WE MUST BE SAVED.

John 14:6 (ESV) ⁶  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Happy New Year!

God Bless.