Trucker Logic

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                                         Trucker Logic
                                         

       A while back I had the chance to revisit an area I went to originally in 1986, when I first started trucking over the road.  In the process I learned a couple things.  First get a new map.  Especially if the one you are using is almost 20 years old.  Things change.  The Atlas I had on this trip was new in 1997.  Add to that the couple years it takes to put a map together and this map was probably at least 18 years old. The cause of this adventure was to see if a road I went down way back when I started trucking was as bad as I remembered it.  It was, and maybe even worse than I remember it.  The sign below is the one on the road today.  When I did it back in 1986 it was a different sign.  Back then the sign said, "Not recommended for vehicles over 42 feet in length." My truck was right at 60 feet in length, but the trailer just happened to be 42 feet.

  

                                        

   

     Well first let me tell how I got to this point so you can understand my dilemma. I was driving a flatbed and had emptied out near Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  My dispatcher told me to go to Spruce Pine, North Carolina and get loaded.  He did not give me directions and that should have been my first tip off that I was being set up.  My company was a union company and paid on percentage of revenue.  Because of that the company reserved the right to route our trips to make sure we did not waste money.  They did not route me so I took out my trusty map and saw that U.S.421 seemed to be the shortest way to Spruce Pine. It was, and is till you get to Boone, NC. Then you take 321 south to Blowing Rock, North Carolina.  There you have to change to highway 221. When you do, the first thing you see as you turn onto the road is the sign pictured below.  At least today that is what it says.  That is not what it said 26 years ago.  Back then it said what I said earlier. The maximum recommended length was 42 feet, which just happened to be the length of my trailer.  That did not include the tractor.

   As most truckers would I consulted my Atlas.  That is when it got interesting. Via 221 the distance to my destination was 37 miles.  If I did not take route 221 I had to go down to Hickory, NC.  Then you had to go across I -40 to Asheville, NC.  Finally the detour went from Asheville to Spruce Pine.  The total distance was almost a 160 miles instead of 37 miles.  After considering all the facts I used some good ol' trucker logic.  It said not recommended.  It did not say you couldn’t go that way, like it does now.  I figured if I moved my trailer axles all the way forward I would not be that much over what they recommended.  So I slid the axles.  Surely it could not be that bad?

     And off I went.  A couple of miles into the trip,  after meeting myself coming and going, I started pondering the wisdom of my decision. It was extremely curvy.  I came to a sharp right hand curve.  I made several attempts to make the corner but every time I did my trailer tandems kept hitting a rock. It was not that big of a rock but I could not take the corner any wider.  It was several hundred feet down on the left side and several hundred feet up on the right.  I was at a point where I had an option.  Either back up around all the curves for 2 or 3 miles or drag the trailer over the rock.  Initially I tried to back up, but it was not going well.  Soon my frustration level reached its peak and I pulled the trailer till it went up over the rock.  As soon as I did two thoughts ran through my mind in quick succession. If there was another or worse situation ahead I could not back over that rock. The second was that short of using a crane there was no way to turn my truck around.  At this point I was committed for better or for worse.  If I did get stuck out here it was going to be a long, long walk to a telephone to call my company and admit my stupidity. 

      My next exciting event was meeting a car full of site seeing tourists.  The last thing they expected to see on that stretch of road was a big truck.  One car almost ran off the road trying to avoid me.  Because of the blind curves to the right I had to get in the left lane to get around them. This generated quite a bit of excitement both for them and me.  This road goes around the side of Grand Father Mountain.  Today this road can be avoided in a car by taking the Blue Ridge Parkway. While that is a good idea in most situations as it is a very is a pretty road. It is a scenic drive with many lookouts and small waterfalls and off limits to trucks.

  
      There were a few places where the cliff hangs out over the road like the one above, which I used for a fulcrum.  Had I been pulling a van trailer I would not have been able to get through the 30 some miles.  As it was, it was bad enough with a flatbed trailer. Several miles into the trip I came to a point in the road pictured above. There was no way to get wide enough to make the corner and after several attempts and getting my trailer only three quarters of the way through I did the only thing I could do at that point.  I used the side of the boulder for a pivot point to literally drag the trailer around the corner by making the tires slide on the pavement.  Not a normally accepted method of turning sharp corners.

     It took over three hours to go the 37 miles.  It was not much of a time savings and I doubt it saved much fuel either.  When I called dispatch after loading I started venting.  Soon I realized the dispatcher had the phone on intercom so the whole office could hear. They were getting a great laugh at my expense. Later I learned I was not the first and probably not the last driver that the dispatchers had played their little game with.  However I did learn something from it all. When I see a sign I know it is there for a reason.  Also when I see a sign for trucks in North Carolina I take it to heart.

 

    If you found this funny or interesting I have a couple more funnies on "how not to go down a hill" One is my 11/7/11 and happened in Arizona.   The other 4/12/12 happened in Vietnam with a load of bombs on my truck.  Thanks for taking the time to read it. The links to these stories are now on my home page. You can find many of my other trucking stories by simply typing truck or trucking on the search bar on my home page. 

Are We In The Last Generation?

    This Generation Shall Not Pass, 
                                 Until All These Things Shall Be Fulfilled
                           ( Are we that generation)

   The Bible states in Matthew 24:34 says, "This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." As Jesus is the one who made that comment I certainly feel it is true.  The question I have and have discussed with many is,   What is a Generation.  Over the years I have heard 20 years, 30, 40, 70 and my preference which is 120 years.  Each has Biblical references to validate it.  The question is what does God have to say about it?  Which if any time frame does His Word reinforce. Many people tell me what does it matter? Why should I care?  Then they usually quote the Bible verse from Matthew 24:36. " Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the Angels of heaven, but my Father only." However he then goes on to describe what shall be happening at that time.  It evidently was important to Jesus.  We can know that by reading what he said..  Think about this.  Jesus was to die the next day.  He knew it was his last day, yet he took his time to give all kinds of warnings of what was to happen at the time of his return.   He did not spend it reminiscing about their time together or telling them of the wonderful times they would have in heaven later.  He spent that last day and that last time with his disciples warning them to prepare for what was to come.
      What is to come? Well you can read that in several of my earlier blogs that deal with things that could or might happen based on what the Bible says will happen.  However that is not the focus of this particular blog. My goal is to show that yes we do not know the hour or the day.  However Jesus made it clear that we would be able to tell from the events going on around us that we were in the "Time of the End."
    Matthew 24: 42-47 says " 42Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man comes. 45Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing. 47Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods."
      Verse 46 makes clear there is a blessing for his servants who are prepared and ready at his coming. It is our duty to teach people to be looking up and ready.  Yet in many churches today the attitude is. I don't want to hear what all that end time mumbo jumbo says.  I just need to "Love Jesus" and I am covered.  Really?  Those who feel that way need to read Matthew 7:21-27. Jesus makes it clear it is not just about hearing his Word, but doing his Word.  He makes clear many will hear the Word, but they are not doing it.  Those who do that are lost.
     It is really easy to get sidetracked when you are dealing with things from the Bible.  The key is staying focused on God and on His Word.  It contains everything we need to know.  We just need to take time to search his Word.  By studying his Word I came to understand the time frames that represent a generation. Numbers 32:11 says, "None of the men that came up out of the land of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward,shall see the land."  So those twenty and under represent one generation. In verse 13 it says, that they wandered in the wilderness till all of the generation that rebelled died in the wilderness. So if you add forty to the twenty years that they already were we get two different numbers.  If they were twenty and wandered forty years that would mean those being sixty and less were a generation.  So the time frame of that generation could be considered forty years also.  All those born more than twenty years before leaving Egypt died in the wilderness.  So we have 20, 40, and 60 year time frames.
     Genesis offers us a different time frame, but it requires paying attention to what the Bible says. God told Abraham his seed would be sojourners in a land that is not theirs. That is in Genesis 15:13, but it also says they shall enter in, then they shall afflict them four hundred years.  When they first went into Egypt they were not afflicted.  It was after they had been there some time that they became afflicted.  Exodus 12:41 makes it clear they left Egypt 430 years later to the day from when they went in.  Remember they were to be afflicted 400 years.  God did not say how long they would be in Egypt directly.  What he did say in Genesis 15:16 was that they would be there till the fourth generation.  Well we have seen the numbers 20, 40, 60, and 70.  Well none of those numbers work if they were to be there for 400 years. Four times 70 equals a period of 280 years, which is far short of 400 years.  So we need another number that works.
     Well in Genesis 6:3 God said the days of man would be 120 years.  This number will work.  Four times the number 120 equals 480 years. So if they left Egypt at 430 years and wandered in the wilderness for another 40 years they entered the promised land after a period of 470 years.  That is inside the fourth generation guideline that God gave.  The question is which generational timeline did Jesus mean when he said all these things would come to pass in this generation.
     It is clear that he did not mean the generation he was talking to as he told his disciples in Matthew 24:2 that the temple would be torn down.  So he had to mean another time.  Well when the temple was torn down the nation of Israel was dispersed and left the land and Israel ceased to exist until the "Time of the Gentiles was fulfilled." which Luke 21:24 makes clear began when the temple was destroyed.  However when these prophecies begin to come to pass as it says in verse 28-31 we will know that the end is near.
     In Matthew 23 37-39 Jesus laments over Jerusalem and says he would have gathered them under his wings, but they will not see him again till they say "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." In Luke 21:29-31 it mentions when you see the "fig tree" putting forth it's leaves.  You will know it is near the time. Most scholars feel that prophecy was fulfilled when Israel became a nation again.  That was passed or allowed by the United Nations in November 1947.  So if you are using the 70 year generational sign we could expect the end around 2017.  However if you add 120 years, which God used to determine the generations of the Egyptian period,  to the 1947 return of Israel as a nation you are looking at the year 2067.  Many people do not know it, but Sir Issac Newton was a person who tried to determine the end time.  He came to the conclusion the end would be in 2062.  Which when you allow for the error in the Julian calendar it is pretty close to right.
    Just remember Jesus said when you see all these things starting to come to pass, it is a sign.  There are many signs mentioned in the Bible but a few have come to pass in the last few years.  Revelation 11 mentions and deals with the two witnesses to the end time.  It said clearly they would lay dead in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days and then they shall rise up.  What makes it pertinent to this day and time is that it says clearly the whole world will see it and exchange presents.  That could not have happened till the last twenty years or so.  It can happen now though.
    Let me give two more signs of the end times that are spoken of in the Bible that are in the process of fulfillment. In Daniel 12:4 it says many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased.  Well almost anybody has to admit there has been a knowledge explosion in the last seventy years.  Actually it started right before the time of Martin Luther in 1517.  In 1436-1440 the printing press was invented.  Suddenly the Word of God could quickly and easily be shared with the whole world.  It allowed God's Word to reach the uttermost (farthest) parts of the earth just as it was told by Jesus in Acts 1:8.  The explosion of knowledge did not mean the prophesy of traveling to and fro was fulfilled, but when a sailor named Columbus took Isaiah 40:22 to heart, believing it meant literally what it said.  He was able to convince King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella that God's Word was true.  With their financial aid the farthest parts became accessible.  Other contemporaries of Martin Luther are noted for the explosion of knowledge, DaVinci, Michael Angelou, followed closely by Newton, Galileo, Sir Francis Drake and the explosion was underway.  It is just coming into its own in this day and age.
     There is a free book on my blog divided into seven parts.  It deals with the end time and will be the source for my next few blogs.  Hopefully I will be able to show how it also gives reference to sources of knowledge from the Bible that say we are in the end time.  Because of events in my life and in my past I felt and feel that I will be standing here on earth when the Lord returns in glory, but having been technically dead once already I realize that if I am or am not does not matter.  God's Word will be fulfilled either way.
    One of the few parts of the Left Behind story line that I agree with is that those of us still here on earth will go through a period of great tribulation before Christ's return.  If you read Matthew 24:29-31 you will come to understand that Jesus said there will be a period of "Great Tribulation" before his Angels return to gather the elect.  So those who are saying we are gone before the tribulation period are preaching a false doctrine.
It is also why we have to be prepared.  That is why he warned us.  So we can prepare for his coming, but also and mainly so we can share the promise of his coming with others.  How bad will it be.  Well Revelation  9:18 says a third part of mankind will be destroyed.  That is over 2 billion people in this day and age.  We have been warned to get ready.  If we are right with God, it does not matter if we go before, during or after the rapture.  We just know where we are going.  The Bible says the rain falls on the just and the unjust.  We will not be exempted because we are Christians, but we do know where we are going if we do not survive.  That is not the case for those who do not know Christ.  It is our duty to see that they do know him.  Let's get to work cause the time is short, either way.

2012,The Bible versus The Mayan Calendar, Points to Ponder

      Does the Bible validate Mayan Prophecy or is it the other way around.  If we just consider the actual and verifiable facts.  Most of what the Mayans say is going to happen does not disagree with the Bible. In the Book of Isaiah a lot of the things that are prophesied to happen are in total agreement with Mayan predictions. Verse one starts off saying.  Before I go any farther let me declare I am not an authority on the following issues.  However I find a lot of interesting, at least to me, coincidences about what the Bible says and what I hear people conjecturing about the Mayan prophecies.  To do this justice would take a book. My goal is to show what the Bible says will happen in the end time.
      "Behold the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof."  That sounds bad enough, but from there on it just gets worse. It makes clear that the curse that shall happen will effect all mankind."  Verse 6 says that those that are left will be desolate and that the inhabitants of the earth will be burned and few men left.  The punishment comes because the people of the earth have transgressed God's laws, changed the ordinances and broken the everlasting covenant.  You say what covenant?  Well just before I sat down at this keyboard I was watching television and they were arguing that same sex marriage was okay.  President Obama has finally said that he supports it.  That would not be that bad until you read Daniel 11:21-24 It says a leader shall enter peaceably taking the kingdom by flatteries,  and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers;  he shall work deceitfully and shall become strong with a small people.(Gays?)  That being said, this is not about the Antichrist.
       This is about the natural disasters that shall befall the earth in the end times.  It will be a time when the joy will leave the earth because of all the things befalling mankind.   In Isaiah 24 verse 19-20 says, "The earth is utterly(Webster's definition of utterly is totally) broken down, the earth is dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.  The earth shall move to and fro like a drunkard.  The sun and the moon shall be confounded. Revelation 6:12-17 proclaims there shall be a "great earthquake," the sun will be turned black and the moon will become like blood, every mountain and island will be moved out of their place.  It says the kings and mighty men shall hide themselves in the dens of the rocks and beg the rocks to fall on them and hide them from the day of God's wrath upon the earth.
                 As if the above is not bad enough in chapter sixteen things get much worse.  In verse eighteen it says, ' And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a "great earthquake," such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great."  That sounds like the biggest of the big ones. However that just adds to the destruction that happened back in chapter 6 where it implies a quarter of mankind was killed. That would be almost one and a half billion people.  That is a lot of dying. In Revelation 9:18 it says a third part of mankind was destroyed.  When you take away one and half billion that leaves roughly four and one half billion.  However at another point it says a third part of mankind will die.  That is another one and a half billion.  That means half of mankind on the earth today will have been destroyed.  That is hard to fathom My understanding of that destruction is that it was military in nature. Of course it could be some kind of natural disaster, but regardless that would be almost unimaginable.
     This is not the first mention of destruction of the earth. In Genesis 7:11 it says the fountains of the deep were broken open.  This contributed to the flood at Noah's time.   Job 41:31 says he makes the deep to boil like a pot, something man had no knowledge of till the last sixty years or so.  So much for the wonders of modern science.  The Bible talks of mountains under the deep(sea) and he stretches out the heavens like a curtain. It also says the heavens flee from the face of God.  Where have we heard that one before. Oh!Yes, the universe is expanding.  Modern science is mostly plagiarized from the Bible.  The knowledge has always been there. In Genesis 10:25 It says the earth was divided.  Earthquakes are mentioned a lot in the Bible.  If you get a Concordance you can look up each verse that uses the word.  Many events are related to or in the time of great earthquakes. So when the Bible talks of one greater than any man has experienced it means a big one.
      If you read my blog of 25 April 2012, America Under A Threat, Worse Than Katrina you will get a picture of one of the worst recorded earthquakes in American history.  The ones at  New Madrid, Missouri in 1811 and 1812 were so strong they rang church bells in Boston and cracked sidewalks in Washington, DC.  That quake caused much greater and broader damage than the one in San Francisco that is often mentioned as the "Big One"  The San Francisco quake was actually a small one by comparison.  The Bible says a far greater one is coming sooner or later. I can safely say that because we know about that one.
      Recently there has been a lot of discussion of "if" a pole shift could happen and what the consequences would be. Well scientists argue they can prove it has happened in the past.  They argue it has happened on a fairly frequent schedule. The following link is one small part of the puzzle, typing in pole shift on your search bar will bring up many theories on the issue.  You can learn a lot with a little research of the matter. http://www.naturalnews.com/030996_bird_deaths_pole_shift.html  The link I have enclosed mentions changing runway numbers.  Further research on my part makes me wonder if there is not more going on than is being admitted.   The magnetic pole over the last few hundred years was moving at the rate of one to two kilometers per year.  However in the 40's to the 50's the pace started picking up and now it is moving toward Russia at the rate of 45 to 50 kilometers per year.
      Why is that important?  Because it could mean a pole shift is imminent.  Many scientist argue that nothing will happen physically to the earth in event of a magnetic pole shift.  They say only the magnetic poles are effected,  that it will have no effect on the geographical poles.  The geographical poles represent an axis between the north and south polar axis around which the earth spins.  It is oriented in relation the the physical spinning of the earth.  The magnetic poles are not truly aligned with the geographical poles and tend to move on their own.  It is believed it moves because of shifts in the earths core.
       If you consider both scenarios you have to ask yourself who is right.  From my experience of playing with magnets I believe magnetic polar shifts will cause a lot of shifting in the earths crust.  Will it be a complete reversal of the physical earth.  I do not think so, but a major shift I do believe is likely.  If you look up and check into it you will find out there are hot spots on the earth's crust.  The two most known to Americans are the one at Yellowstone and the one that created the Hawaiian Islands.  Those spots have moved eastward at a fairly regular interval in a plainly seen direction.  If you take two magnets and try to push the like poles together the magnets will move a little at first.  As they get closer together there will be a sudden and violent shift away from each other.  If it happens on the small scale it makes sense it would happen on the large scale also.
     Why should a person care?  Well it is pretty simple, if a major shift happens and it forces a movement in the plates which make the tectonic mantle of the earth.  Something has to give. Something will give.  It will trigger major earthquakes not locally but world wide.  If it creates enough shifting and pressure on the Pacific plate I could see the earth breaking or tearing all along the trench which creates the Marianne's Trench. Of course there are other things that can effect this happening besides the magnetic pole shift.  When you consider water finds its own level.  That means if the ocean rises 2 feet because of global warming in rises 2 feet all over the world.  Not just along the coasts. That means that the Pacific plate has millions upon millions of tons more water bearing down on it.  Then you add the effect of the super high tides caused by the perigee full moon, which brings it to its closest point of the year and pulls even more millions of tons on to the Pacific plate.
      There is evidence for this theory.  Just as the mountains on America's west coast are being shoved up by the Pacific plate shoving under the North American plate.  While the North American plate is moving steadily westward the eastern Atlantic or European plate is being shoved east.  Which means they are both pushing at opposite ends of the Pacific plate.  As the western edge of the Pacific plate is being shoved under the eastern edge of the Asian plate it is creating the same kinds of mountain ridges to the west of the plate.  Looking at a relief map such as the one put out by National Geographic you can see the ridges being formed along the line of the Marianne's Islands and throughout the Philippine sea.  Proof that the Pacific plate has pushed under the Asian plate.  My theory is every so often the western edge of the Pacific plate breaks of the bottom of the Asian plate and makes a major shift along most of its length.  This is caused by the millions and millions of tons of pressure. ( I will be adding a graph to show what I am saying in the next couple weeks)
      This effect could trigger volcanic activity on a scale most people can not even comprehend and I personally do not want to comprehend.  It would create tsunami's that could literally kill easily a quarter of mankind if not more  of those living near the oceans and in close proximity to sea level.  Could Los Angeles slide into the ocean as has been predicted for years.  I do not know, but I do know the size of the tsunami's we would be talking about could destroy many countries very far inland.  I could see Florida being completely submerged as it sets so low to sea level.  The problem with it is that when it does happen.  It will be so sudden and so catastrophic that no one will be able to move to safety in time to avoid the consequences.
      The sad part is contrary to the concept of global warming which does happen every so often.  It is, in the realm of geological time, just a very brief period.  Then it starts sliding towards a global ice age again. My question is what causes this periodic warming.  It happens about every 125,000 years or so. Could it be caused by a minor shift in the earth orbit caused by the earths alignment with the Galactic Center, the sun and the other planets that causes an effect to the earth's orbit similar to the one that causes the moon to come closer to the earth on a regular basis.  It happens at an interval of 1 year, 1 month and 18 days.  The earth could have the same thing happening just over much longer spans of time.  Something is definitely happening as you will be able to see in the next few paragraphs.
     It is not my goal to preach gloom and doom.  My goal is to wake people up to the danger they are living in.  Prophecy is being fulfilled in our time.  Jesus said in Matthew 24 there would be wars, famine, pestilence and earthquakes and these are the beginnings of sorrows.  It says clearly that it should magnify into a period of tribulation.  Then immediately after the tribulation of the those days the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give its light. Could that be because of all the volcanic activity caused by the shifting and earthquakes.  In John 16:21 it compares the time to a woman in travail or labor.  Well when a woman goes into labor she has labor pains which start out mild and increase in intensity and duration.  You might find this information I have taken from a chart by the USGS interesting.  The following link will let you see the charts for yourselves if you question my numbers. The link is  http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/other/quake1.html  or just type in USGS earthquakes per year since 1970 and it will take you there.  Here is what I found interesting though
           
Total earthquakes per year world wide.  I stopped at 2010 as it was the last full year listed.
2002 - 1341
2003 - 1358
2004 - 1672
2005 - 1844
2006 - 1865
2007 - 2270
2008 - 1948
2009 - 2057
2010 - 2136

     What I find interesting is that the whole period since 1970 shows a steady increase.  It appears to be directly proportional to the increase of the magnetic pole shift and of course the melting glacial ice.  The melting ice shifts millions of tons of pressure from one plate to the other.  Is that a coincidence or an indicator that we should be looking for the poles to shift at some point in the near future.
     Another thing I learned in the course of my studies, which I alluded to earlier, was that their is a period of global warming roughly every 125,000 years.  They can verify this from ice core samples dating back almost a half million years.  It happens like clockwork.  It is followed by a very long period of global cooling.  The coincidence I find to that, is that as the earth completes a wobble on its axis every approximately 125,000 years.  The earth completes its circle of the astrological houses. Again coincidence or is there a relationship or cause and effect. The recent perigee moon, where the moon is closer to earth than normal made me wonder.  If the moon's orbit is not circular but a little oval, what if the earth's orbit of the sun is a little bit off of circular. This could be the cause of the periods of global warming. What I learnt from watching the program on global warming is that there are much longer periods of global cooling than warming.  Each global warming period happened after a rise from a very, very deep ice age.  So does the melting of all the ice allow the earth to move in way that causes the magnetic polar shift. Could the melting of the ice release pressure from the crust that allows the core to shift. We are talking in time periods that mankind can not comprehend as we have not been here long enough see the effects.  We have not been on earth long enough to make it through one whole cycle.  (Hopefully I will add a graph later to show what I am trying to explain)
     Maybe science needs to take a look at the whole cause and effect  thing.  The point I am trying to make is that maybe the Mayans were smarter and understood more that we are giving them credit for.  However our Biblical history goes back to the same time frame as the Mayan calendar.  About 5,000 to 6,000 years ago so maybe they actually validate each other.
     Jesus gave us signs of a time of the end.  It must have been for a reason.  It may be time to get right with God cause there are events coming that will effect all mankind.  If you have your eternal salvation taken care of it is not a problem.  If you don't though it could be a major problem.  As the Bible says, "The rain falls on the just and the unjust."  Jesus made that clear in one of his parables when spoke of a wall falling.  Just as Isaiah 30:25 talks of a great slaughter when the towers fall.  If you look in the Bible and study it.  Often high mountains means nations.  While rivers and streams of waters means understanding in God's Word.  In Verse 26 it talks of the light of the moon being increased like the sun, and light of to the sun shall be seven fold. In the day that the Lord shall heal the breach of his people.
     I like to let the Bible interpret the Bible and in Joesph's dream his father was like the sun and his mother like the moon and his brothers like the stars.  When I read the sun is darker, is it because the fathers are not teaching their children.  When the moon is turned to blood, could that be a reference to abortion.  Finally when the stars fail to shin, is it because they are not being taught and giver the light of understanding. Something to ponder anyhow.
     To me, I believe that just as it says in Daniel,  that knowledge shall be increased   I believe it is Biblical knowledge that shall be increased.   There will be increased understanding to those who believe.  So they can share and bring others to  know the Lord before that great and dreadful day  The Bible makes clear that the coming of the Lord is not until after that great and dreadful day.   So you can come to your own understanding, but I hope you are not like those mentioned in Micah 7:15-20.  "They shall lick the dust of the earth like a serpent; they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth; they shall be afraid of the Lord, our God, and shall fear because of him."  That is only verse 17 of Micah, you need to read the rest to get the whole understanding of what it says.  The Lord will complete what he has promised in his Word.  You can take it to the bank.   If you do not believe it, well my prayer for you then is may God have mercy on your soul.  If you have questions feel free to ask me and I will answer the ones I can.  The Bible says "his people" perish for a lack of knowledge.  So are those who survive the smarter ones who understood the warnings God was giving, or are they the unsaved that are left behind to endure the tribulation, which as I understand it is after all this chaos and turmoil.  A time of great darkness and torment.
    If you would take the time to read the last chapter in my book Further Down The Path, Part 7,which is at another location on this blog, just use the search bar.  It will explain why I think we are in the last days.  One thing I have also learnt since writing it is that our calendar is off by two years.  So instead of seventy years being October 2017 it would be October 2015.  Which does not leave time for the 42 months spoken of by Daniel, but God is the one who sets the day and time.  I am still not trying to set a date, just showing there is a pattern to the Bible and that I believe as it says, "I am the same, yesterday, today and forever."  God does not change what he has done, he will do.  He will reveal himself.  His Word says no man should be judged unless there are two witnesses.  Well I believe those two witnesses mentioned in Revelation are Enoch and Elijah for one good reason.  The Bible says, "Every man is appointed one time to die."  Those two left here and were spirited up to heaven without dying.  They have been witnessing how heaven operates for over 2000 years and when they come to tell mankind what is wrong.  They will have things to say mankind does not want to hear.  I am sure.  They will be killed for their testimony.  Then after three days they shall rise up and ascend into the heavens.  The Bible says the whole world will see it.  That is something that could not happen until just the last few  years.  However, now it can and sooner or later it will. Just as it could not have ended without Israel being a nation.  Which they are again after 2000 years, which fulfills many prophecies.
God is still unfolding his Word, just take the time to read it.

You Need No Man To Teach You

        Many years ago I had an experience that I value to this very day.  It permanently altered how I look at things when it comes to religion.  It taught me how to test the spirits.  There are a lot of confused and false doctrines out there in the world today.  Learning to discern what is of God and what is not of God is one of the hard things we must do as Christians.  The secret is to be thoroughly grounded in the Bible.  If it goes against the Bible, it is going against God.  There are a lot of awesome speakers who call themselves preachers yet have no true knowledge of the Bible.  They have "their" view of the Bible. Which is not necessarily the same thing.
       Being a trucker it was often my experience to attend church on the road.  When people asked me what church I attended I would say, "I attend the church of the eighty foot parking lot."  It was the truth.  When you drive a truck that is seventy-eight feet long you need a big parking lot.  Many times I would attend a church regardless of the denomination.  The criteria for me attending was a place to park.  As long as it is a Christian church it should be founded on Christ.  Even if it is not totally in line with the Word of God there will usually be at least a couple of people who have a relationship with Christ.  Over time I met some really interesting people in some pretty interesting ways. Spent New Years Eve one year in a parking lot in Madawaska, Maine with a couple feet of snow on the ground. It is about as far north as you can get in the continental part of the United States.  I was delivering air conditioners.  However as I learned these were not regular air conditioners.  These were a type that allowed them to recirculate the air so they could save energy by not heating the subzero air that was normal in winter for them.  The only place open in the whole town was a Subway sandwich shop.  I went in and ordered.  Just to make small talk I asked the guy working there if he knew of any churches in the area.  He looked at me funny, with a smile on his face, "Sure," he said stretching the word out into a statement. "there is one in the basement."  Because of the smile I thought he was kidding, but he assured me there was definitely a for real church in the basement.  After eating I wondered downstairs and sure enough there was a sign on the door.  It was a couple hours till meeting time.  So I went back to my truck.
        Sitting in the truck I was facing the door to the church.  To kill time I did paperwork and tidied up the sleeper area.  Finally I saw some people starting to filter into the "church."  I waited till a few minutes before service time and I wondered in.  The people were all very friendly.  The guys mostly had beards and the women all wore head coverings.  It was a different kind of meeting from any I was used to in my past.  They were focused on the end time message and it went on for a few hours.  After the service we all sat and talked and they shared some fliers with me that gave a rundown of what the church believed.  They were a very sincere and very nice bunch of people.  I would like to go back and see how they are doing sometime.  However not in the middle of winter.  It was a Spirit filled New Year's Eve.
       Over the next few months I attended several services. For some reason I kept running into a situation.  After the service the preacher would corner me and say.  "I perceive you are not filled with the holy spirit." Well it boiled down to the issue of tongues I discovered.  Following the Lord was not an issue for me.  I was sure I was where the Lord wanted me to be.  Doing what the Lord wanted me to do.  You would have to read my biography to understand why I am so confidant in saying that.  Anyhow after the third time it happened I took the matter to the Lord in prayer and told him to show me by his Word if I was not in the "Spirit." Well the next time I opened my Bible I turned to 1st John 2:26-27 and it set me at peace with myself, it reads,"26 These things have I written unto concerning them that seduce you. 27 But the anointing which you have received of him abideth in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."  Reading that verse humbled me.  I had read it several times in the past, but I had not seen the meaning in it.  One of the next verses I turned to was Jeremiah 17:5 "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.  It seemed to me the Lord was confirming to me that I should not worry about what the preacher in the truck stop said.  When I read Matthew 24:4-5 I was convicted that I was right, "4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5. For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ and shall deceive many."  Suddenly I had peace in my heart in the situation.
     My life verse is Proverbs 3: 5-6, it was given to me and written in the back of the Bible presented to me after my baptism at Bible camp.  I did not always follow it, but I found it when I was at the lowest point in my life and it has guided my life every since.  At that low point I had nothing and I told the Lord.  As I have nothing I will tithe my time in your Word.  From that point on for years I spent two and a half hours a day in the Bible.  At first it was easy because I was unemployed, but when I started working it became harder, but I managed to get it done.  I broke it into three sessions, but they totaled at least two and a half hours.  That was a time when I really grew in the Lord and came to know he was guiding every step of my life.  My job was to search my heart and make sure I was actually listening to him and not myself or some outside source that would set me on the wrong path.
     The verses I have listed so far should guide anybody who is sincere in their walk and search for the Lord.   As my walk with the Lord progressed I found John 3:8 and it has guided my life pretty much since I found it.  Sometimes it makes me go in ways that I would not normally go.  A couple times because I followed it when it did not make sense it actually saved my life.  Those stories are to long to put in this piece, but if I get a message that anyone is interested in knowing how that happened I may share it latter.
     The final two verses I want to leave with anyone who is seeking the Lord in their life are really pretty simple but not applied by many people. The first is Hosea 4:6  "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shall be no priest to me: seeing thous hast forgotten the law of the thy God, I will also forget thy children"  That is a pretty heavy saying.  If you do not seek God he will turn his back on you.  He is not talking to the heathen in this case.  He is talking to those who profess to believe and follow him, but have no time for him or his Word and use their own misguided views to create their own concept of worship that they are comfortable with.
    This final verse is one that I have to constantly fight to obey.  However when you learn to walk in it and not use your own mind and just follow your heart where God leads you.  You will not go wrong.  It is hard because we try to do so many things on our own and don't let God get involved till we have no other way to turn and sometimes then it is to late.  Using this verse is what allows you to hear that small still voice and opens your eyes to see what you would not normally see. The verse is Matthew 7:7-8 all we need do is ask.  Jesus himself told us so.  It is reaffirmed in several places. Matthew 21:22, Luke 11:9-13, John 14: 12-21 and finally in John 16:23-30.  Getting a firm grip of those verses will help your walk with the Lord tremendously.  Also James 4:1-6 explains the cost of not getting it.  Just understand as it says in James 4-6 if you know the Word and apply it Satan will flee from you and has no power in your life.
    There is an old Indian proverb.  There are two wolves, one good and  one evil.  They are battling and the one that wins is the one you feed.  If you are not grounded in the Word and don't know how to defend yourself with the Word and build up your strength in it.  You will easily fall prey to the evil wolf, however, you can hold him at bay and defeat him if you pray.  Which do you want in your life and what happens is determined by your actions.  Are you the victim or the victor.
     

Money, Who Turned Off The Flow? How To Turn It On

       Sometimes it is hard to decide which direction to go and what to do.  Especially when you are going through major changes like losing a job, ending a relationship or even discovering that though you still have a job, it does not make you enough income to meet your needs or pay your bills.  Sooner or later something has to give. It has been my misfortune to be in that position several times in my life.  Especially the one where I was working my butt off, but still did not have enough to survive on.

       My solution when I found myself in that situation was usually to find a second job or if that did not work, create one. The double income would usually make it to where I could meet my needs.  However I am retired now and looking at the job market from the outside.  A couple things struck me as I have watched my grand kids enter the job market.  They are not getting a fair shake for a couple reasons.  First there are barely enough minimum wage jobs to  go around.  Not that a minimum wage job is something to aspire to. The second is that the minimum wage has not even come close to keeping up with the cost of living.  When I entered the job market the minimum wage was fifty cents and hour.  Yes I am old, seventy plus some.  If you think that is bad my grandfather told me back during the depression he worked 12 hours a day and 6 days a week, that is 72 hours, for the princely sum of $3.

     Time to get back on track.  At the same time that the minimum wage was fifty cents a bottle of pop was a nickel and you got two cents back when you took the bottle back.  Also a candy bar was a nickel.  They still had penny candy that was three pieces for a penny and best of all gas was only 17 to 19 cents a gallon.  Not so anymore.  Well with pop at a $!.50 a bottle, that is 30 times what it cost way back when.  If you figure in the deposits it would be even more.  Candy bars have done about the same amount of increase.  Gas has had the lowest increase with only costing 23 times what it cost in the late 50's or early 60's.  That means if the minimum wage had just stayed even it would be between $11.50 and hour and $15 an hour.

      The price of gas has kept pace with inflation.  The seventeen to nineteen cents it cost way back then was roughly 34% of the minimum hourly wage.  So at today's prices it is still close to 34% of what the minimum wage "should be."  Most other things that people buy in the course of life have also gone up many times what they cost way back when.  The new price of a car has gone from the $2700-$3000 range into the $35,000 to $45,000 dollar range.  Oh yes you can still buy the low end cars at lower prices, but even they are many times what the low end cars cost back then.

    What is sad is when you project the annual income levels of the minimum wage.  If you take the 40 hour week times 52 weeks per year.  The annual wage for a minimum wage worker back then was just a whopping $1040 dollars.  That is versus the present working minimum wage that would get you an annual salary of $15,040 per year.  While if adjusted to the rate of increase of the cost of living.  That wage would bring you $31,240.  Sounds incredible but what is considered a middle class wage today is in reality only a  minimum wage job.  My method for figuring this rate out is not very scientific.  Basically what I did was take what the buying power of my wage back then could buy and what it can buy now.  In other words an hours pay would buy me ten bottles of pop out of a machine.  The same pop today would cost $15 and the same for the candy bar.

        What does all that mean. It means the buying power of American wage and therefore the standard of living of the average American has diminished greatly.  It means the middle class wages have been diminished also.  Your labor does not get you the buying power it did back then.

       So when today's youth go to work they are only making twenty-five to thirty to percent of what my generation did.  So now they need two and a half jobs to just break even.   They can forget getting ahead.  That is why my grandchildren have been urged to get a good education or create their own job.  The odds of getting ahead on a minimum wage job are slim to none. Even if you are a master at managing your money.

      It is about knowing that when life gives you a bunch of lemons you learn to make lemonade.  Use what you have to work with to your advantage, especially your brain. I entered the work force in my early thirties.  Not that I was privileged or anything like that.  I just spent thirteen years of my life in the Army making up my mind what I wanted to do. The military taught me a lot of skills which I was able to translate into jobs in civilian life.  Just writing this blog is one example.  My last year in the Army was spent writing for the Command newspaper in Panama.  That job became available not because of my writing skills, but because my Commander saw some of my pictures displayed for a photo competition I entered and he liked them.  He needed a photo/journalist and I had half the skills which were learnt from my hobby.

     This story is not about me though.  It is about the American working class and the fact they are being bent over and having it stuck to them.  They in general do not even realize it.  The only way you are going to get ahead in the world we live in today is create your own job.  You have to figure out what level you want to live at and go for it to make that kind of money.  You say but I do not have the skills to do that.  Well you better learn to grab hold of the shirt tails of someone who does and be the ultimate good worker for them. Giving them a full hundred percent of your support.  Even entry level management jobs in today's market are really only at where the minimum wage "should be."

     The only and best way I know of to get ahead is to learn to let your money work for you.  Instead of you working for your money.  Basically it is learning to see opportunity when it knocks and taking full advantage of it.   When you get that tax return invest it.  You have to look for a "real deal."  What is a real deal, something you can buy for 10 to 20 percent of its actual value, OH YES, AND IS NOT HOT.  You can find the deals if you take the time to look.  They are out there.  Then advertise the item through some form of free advertising.  Something like Craigslist or if your town or county has one, an online yard sale site.  If you do it a few times and turn the profit back into the business it will not take long to get to where it actually makes you some income and an easier life.

     One bit of advice.  Do not use advertising media you have to pay for.  I use the local newspaper to go find yard sales and deals.  It costs as much as $40 to put an add in the paper.  Often times that is more than a lot of people make off their yard sale.  It is bad enough to sell stuff that you no longer need at a loss, but to make the loss even worse is sad.  I understand that things wear out and kids grow up, but often when I look at yard sales I see lots of stuff that people are selling that I am sure they bought it on a whim to start with.

      Another place to look around is for stores that have super clearance sales.  I do flea markets and farmers markets to sell stuff myself.  I generally enjoy it.  I have found that there are a couple of chain stores in my area that when they need to clear shelf space they sell stuff.  Brand new still in the box and at 10 to 20 percent of the marked value.  If I buy a $10 item for a $1 and sell it for $4 the person buying it gets a good deal and I am multiplying my money,  which means my money is working for me.  It is not rocket science but it works.

      Here is an example.  You see a deal on a riding mower for $200 and you know it costs way over a $1000 new.   So you buy it and sell it for say $500.   You just made $300 for a couple hours of wheeling and dealing.   That is what a minimum wage job pays for forty hours of work and you did not pay taxes on it.  Of course I advise you if you get into it big time to keep track and pay your taxes.   The government does not like getting ripped off.  That is their job.