Saturday, May 27, 2023

May 27, 2023

Watch out for partial truths; they can become more slanderous than a lie. I was talking to my five-year-old grandson about working a job and mentioned that a person couldn’t just stay in bed all day. His response was, “My mom stays in bed all day!” What! Are you kidding me? She has three young children; who’s watching them while she sleeps? Anyone not knowing the truth might assume ill of her; however, she works nights and sleeps during the day, and other adults in the house keep an eye on the rug rats. If you have ever worked at night, you can sympathize with her situation, and it’s commendable for her to do what she has to do to provide for her children. 

The mainstream media is a spreader of partial truths, ruining our country. People get up in arms over hearsay of incomplete stories where critical information is left out on purpose. Only when you begin looking into the story through other avenues will you finally understand the entire situation.


We must be willing to go the extra mile searching for the truth rather than react carelessly to a partial truth. None of us are immune to becoming hoodwinked, so don’t repeat what you heard until you know the entire story.


The qualifications for an overseer and deacon of the church are presented in 1 Timothy 3, and one of those qualifications is that they must have a clear conscience; the best way to ensure they have a clear conscience is to love the truth.


The Matthew Henry Commentary says: “The practical love of truth is the most powerful preservative from error and delusion.”


They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 1 Timothy 3:9

Friday, May 26, 2023

May 26, 2023

Oh boy! Paul always seems to stir the pot when it comes to women. What he says about how a woman should behave tends to touch a nerve in many of us. However, I can understand why he had to put it into words, and if it's included in the Bible, you best believe it came from God! You either believe all or none of it is to be believed. As women, we know how to maneuver to get what we want from a man; it's not that hard; look at how gullible Adam was when Eve gave him fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She used her persuasiveness to convince him it was safe to eat, and it opened up a whole can of worms that we are all paying the price for today. A man of God will learn to resist a woman's ploy. As a woman of God, we are to adorn ourselves with the character of Jesus and let that tell the story about who we are, not our clothing or lack thereof. God has given us the tremendous responsibility of teaching our children to respect his word, show them who he is, and obey his commands. We are to train them to become good citizens so that they remember their training as adults. Our job is paramount for the future of society. If we are successful, our children will love and respect God and love others. Remember, I'm just the messenger.

likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 1 Timothy 2:9-10

Thursday, May 25, 2023

May 25, 2023

It does my heart good to gather my family together. Though with all grandsons, it makes our time chaotic. Bless their hearts; they are so rambunctious. Their Pawpaw is one of them, adding to their hyperactivity and exuberance. It's not always easy to get everyone together because we all have lives of our own; however, for the sake of the children, we set aside time, as painstaking as it can be, to show our love and to give the children the opportunity to play together. They need one another. One day very soon, they will be grown and will cherish the effort we made to make sure they felt the love of their family. 

For years, we have tried different churches. Finding one we both love has been a difficult task. There was nothing wrong with any of the churches we've attended, and we've loved many like-minded believers, but I enjoy a Spirit-filled experience, but Richard is more of a calm Baptist. We finally found one we both love, and it happens to be a straight-laced Baptist church that still sings the old hymnals. Surprisingly, it had nothing to do with the experience; it's that we've finally found our people. 


The Bible makes it very clear, as the family of God, we are to gather with other believers, his children. It's the same as our families getting together for a meal. It is important to Him that we love one another, and the only way we know his kind of love is through other believers. If you are not attending a church, it's important that you find one and start going; it's part of God's plan for his children. 


The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 1 Timothy 1:5


A couple of our boys are missing from the picture; however, these are the craziest ones!

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

May 24, 2023

One of our grandsons is staying with us for a few days, and he loves it here. He can ride his bicycle anytime without fear of cars because we have a long driveway. Yesterday, as he was riding, the cows came close to the fence. He returned to me with jubilant happiness because they let him pet them. The cows love it when we take them greenery to eat, so we took them a few branches of cuttings. All but one came running to enjoy what we had brought. That was all it took to entertain him; I didn't have to worry about him for a couple of hours because I gave him the clippers, and he cut his own branches to feed them. He even loaded his bicycle with brush; I've never seen anyone so passionate about cows. He might be a country boy, after all; he even ate the okra that he picked! 

His feeding the cows is the perfect example of what it takes to bring others to Jesus. Those who are supposed to receive the gospel will receive it with joy and will come because they were appointed, but those who are not selected, like the one cow who didn't want the greenery, will reject it. 


No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

May 23, 2023

One thing about my family, everyone works to earn a living. We expected our children to work hard; we trained them that way. Now, they teach their children the value of money and what they can accomplish when they put their heart into their work. We made them help in laborious and backbreaking areas to show them the jobs they might have to do if they didn’t complete their education. As a result, they are all handy around the house and are unafraid to get their hands dirty. I’m very proud of them. 


We see able-bodied people today living off government handouts, laying around the house, getting fat, and allowing others to pay their way through this life; it’s pathetic. I’ve seen and rented homes to them, and it irritated me at how conniving they were to get handouts; I didn’t participate, making them work extra hard to get their free rent. If they had put that kind of effort into a job, they would probably have more than enough income to pave their way through society. 


Scripture says that if you don’t work, you don’t eat. It’s the one scripture used often, not taken out of context. The words may not be exact, but they are scriptural, and it also says to stay away from such people. Paul worked in addition to teaching God’s word. He had every right to get paid for his work in the ministry but never wanted to be a burden to others. Our society would be so much better if we stopped paying people to be idle. 


For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 2 Thessalonians 3:10


As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Thessalonians 3:13-14

Monday, May 22, 2023

May 22, 2023

When I watch what is happening, and I see people believing some ridiculous things, but not just believing them, actually defending them, I can regard them as being delusional. Is this the strong delusion that Paul wrote about?

Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12


There is no other way to describe what is happening; these people must have blinders because they defend some of the most absurd things. If it’s true, and this is the delusion Paul writes about, there is nothing we can do to convince them otherwise; the blinders are from God. Their destiny is hell because they’ve rejected Jesus and love living in their sin. I don’t know if our prayers can brake a delusion that God placed upon them, but we must continue to try for the sake of our family and friends. Maybe our prayers will soften the heart of God for those we love.

Sunday, May 21, 2023

May 21, 2023

Many people are suffering today, either brought on by themselves because of their decisions or because the enemy is using others to try and sift them like wheat because they are living for God. Here is some good news; you only have to sit back and watch. God sees what is happening to you; he sees your faithfulness to Him and his Son and will seek vengeance on those persecuting you. We can count on him to do what he says, and the Bible repeats that promise from the Old Testament to the New Testament. You do not need to lift a finger in response; your only action is to praise and worship him while you are waiting because you know that there is nothing you can do that would equal and be harsher than the vengeance of God.

since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10