Driving on Prayer

                               Driving on a prayer

    This post is an excerpt from a book on my career as a truck driver. It happened shortly after I got my own truck and stepped out in faith.  It had to be on faith, because I took the last $1500 dollars out of my checking account to make the down payment on my twenty-three year old truck. The only money I had when I started was the advance from my first load and that is how I survived till I retired. Looking back it was an awesome trip. 

      Everything went fine for about six months and then my first crisis hit.  The load I was picking up was in Salina, Kansas going to Mountain Top, Pennsylvania.  Yes that is the real name of the town.  While deadheading to Salina from Colorado I noticed a loud growling coming from the rear of the truck. I got to Salina and dropped and hooked trailers.  Before leaving Salina I decided it was time to take Bertha to the doctor.  His diagnosis was severe.  The rear ends were about to go out.  It would cost $3400.00 to fix them right.  It was far more than I had. My company had a policy they did not give loans till you had been with the company a year.  Even if I could get them to advance me the money I had already earned it would not be enough.

     Not having that kind of money and no way to get it, we would just have to see how far we got.  Bertha made it to my home okay but the low growl in Kansas was a roar by Indiana.  Fortunately the load was very light and pulled easy.  After the week end I had about six hundred miles to go.  It went okay till a place called Lamar, Pennsylvania.  Stopping to eat and spend my time in the Word I picked up a local copy of the truck trader a newspaper add caught my eye.  It was for a company that specialized in repairing rear ends.  In one corner of the ad was a little Christian fish logo.    

       Upon calling the company they told me if I could make the twenty miles up to their shop they would check it out and could get to me the coming morning.  On my way there Bertha gave me the scare of my life.  It was a very long hill up to their shop.  A band blew off my turbo. It sounded like the engine was blowing up. It still ran though it pulled very weakly.  We made it to the shop about three in the afternoon and the manager did the inspection.  He said they would start in the morning and have me out by noon.  When I asked how much it would be I explained my financial situation.  He said don’t worry about it.  He told me to get a good night’s sleep and pray about it. H said he would see me at seven in the morning.

      Next morning he knocked on my door and opened the hood.  He fixed the strap on my turbo and backed me into the shop.  In an hour and a half they had it apart. True to his word by noon they had the whole thing rebuilt and ready to roll. Then he gave me the bill for $1500.  That was almost two thousand dollars cheaper than Kansas.

     Again I called my company not really expecting much help.  With the pay I had coming I was only a few hundred dollars short. So I asked about the loan again.  She asked how long I had had my truck on with the company and I said six months.

      

       She replied by asking me how long I had driven for the company and I replied about a year. She informed me that Saturday I had gone over the one year mark.  They based it on time with the company not time in my truck.  They lent me all the money.  They took it back at one hundred fifty dollars a week.  When I told the manager he laughed and said, “That was a good prayer, you can’t beat God.”  He was right about that.

      After that experience I never worried about how things would work out.  When God has his hands on the wheel you can’t go wrong.  It says the steps of the righteous are ordered of the Lord.  It also says all things work together for good to them that believe on his Word.  That is our part we have to believe.  We also need to ask for help and guidance. In Joshua 1: 8 KJV it makes clear that those who follow God’s Word will be blessed, but it also says we must make the effort.  We do not just sit back and wait on things to happen.

      David did not wait for God to take care of Goliath.  He rose to the occasion and picked up five stones and went out to meet Goliath.  Goliath did not lose because he could not whip David.  He lost because he was over confident and self-centered.  He did not assess the power of what a slingshot was capable of in a skilled set of hands. God did not leave David hanging either.  David picked up five stones. It tells later that Goliath had four brothers. In my life time I have seen the bigger guy get trashed over and over.  Also I have seen the little guy win against all odds. It reminds me of the old saying, “It is not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, it is the size of the fight in the dog” Probably one of the truest proverbs ever written.

     Learning to trust God does not happen suddenly.  Our trust grows as we learn to know what God can do.  David had his path prepared by dealing with wild animals that were every bit as deadly as his adversary Goliath. The thing that counted was he knew God would give him the victory.  There was no doubt in his mind.

If You Have CDL, A Ticket Or Legal Issue Pending, In Another State, You Might Want To Read This

          Is your license in jeopardy? It could be and many of us would never realize it. The Federal laws have changed and states you do not even live in can now suspend your license. I discovered it totally by accident.  No pun intended.  When I went to the Indiana license branch to renew my license in December I was told my license had been suspended by the state of Massachusetts.  When I inquired as to what or why they informed me it was related to an incident from October of 2002.  This totally dumbfounded me as I thought the issue was settled long ago.

        It took me from December till May to get it all straightened out.  It was done with no help from Indiana or Massachusetts.  After many frustrating calls to both states I called the attorney of the company who had sued me and he, I meant she, the legal assistant of the attorney, got the matter straightened out.  If Lisa had not been so conscientious about her job I might still be walking.

      Here is how it happened.  In October 2002 I was delivering a load in the Boston area.  I had to make a left turn into my customers receiving area.  Because traffic was backed up I could not complete the turn.  A motorist going in the opposite direction decided to back up and let a person out of a parking space to his right front. He evidently did not see my trailer sitting crossways behind him. In the process he backed into the side of my trailer. Irony of it was he worked where I was delivering.  Anyhow we exchanged information and then he left the scene of the accident.  It did no damage at all to my truck.  Having taken pictures and exchanged information I thought I was covered and never called the police.

     Lesson learned by me was, no matter how minor the accident, call the police and get a report to protect yourself.  The gentleman who backed into me went to his insurance company and filed a claim.  Well they sued me to reclaim the $760+ dollars in damages to repair to his car.  I did not get this notice until May of 2004.  In January of 2004 I had a heart attack and was no longer driving. I had turned in my CDL in April or May. I wrote the State of Massachusetts explaining why I could not come to Massachusetts.  I later received a letter from the small claims court saying they had judged against me and I would be liable for damages plus interest. They also threatened to suspend my license.  I immediately sat down and wrote a letter explaining what happened and sent pictures to back up what I was saying.  I never heard anymore on the matter.  In December of 2006 I renewed my license in Indiana and had no problem.  At least I thought so.

       It seems the law changed, or gone into effect, between 2006 and 2012 and states can now suspend the license of another state.  Once that happens you are at the mercy of the system in getting it straightened out.  Had I not kept a copy of the small claim judgment I would not have had the name of the attorney of the company who sued me. In frustration after hours of sitting on the phone calling state numbers which no one ever answered I tried the attorney’s number. I figured with interest the cost would now be close to $1500.  After discussing the matter they decided if I would send half of the original $760 they would release the judgment.  I sent the money, but the nightmare was not over. I received a notification that until I paid a $100 reinstatement fee they would not release my license.  Being kind of over a barrel I sent the money. A few weeks later I got a letter reinstating my license.

     In the course of the discussions I had with Indiana, Massachusetts, the attorney, Lisa the legal assistant and several others I learned several things.  I definitely was not the only victim and it was happening pretty often. Any judgment for money, any unpaid ticket and any unsettled legal action can cause you to lose your license.  The state you committed the offence in can legally suspend your license under federal law.  I personally feel that somehow violates the Constitution, but if you want your license back you will settle the issue.  The lady on the Massachusetts help desk, while sympathetic, stated the law is the law and she had to enforce it as it was written.  Indiana told me that once an action is taken and a license is suspended under the federal law they have no authority to over ride or issue you a license. The irony of it to me is that there was no ticket or driving related charge.  It was strictly over the amount of the judgment not being paid.  Because I did not physically appear in court the judgment was decided in favor of the insurance company.

        If you are traveling and get a ticket and decide you can blow it off because it is not in your home state you better think again. They can make your life absolutely miserable and believe me you do not want to deal with any state bureaucracy.  Also beings you will have a suspension on your record you can be forced to pay high risk insurance for up to five years. If for no other reason, that is a good reason to get the matter settled and move on with your life.

Building a Hedge of God's Protection Around Yourself

       In the spring of 1982 I felt like I was getting ready to take on the world.  I had just finished my time at Vincennes University (VU).  Having left the Army after thirteen years in the October of 1978 I started my adventure at VU January 1979.  I finished with an AS in Business Management, an AS in Recreation and Leisure Services and quite a few classes in Commercial Art.  Being in my thirties I was much older than most of my classmates. Not bad for a high school dropout with a GED.

      Surviving school was and adventure.  I worked nightshift full time as a bartender at the local American Legion.  Days when not in classes I did yard work and landscaping. I bought ten new canoes thru the local boat dealer.  My fellow students had time to go on canoe trips over the weekends.  I dropped them off and picked them up when they were done.  It was not making me rich, but it helped make ends meet.  Having a family of six my obligations did not allow me the carefree college life of my fellow students.

       My goal had been to start a company making playground furniture out of timbers.  It got sidetracked by the reality of life.  I expanded my landscaping and started a mobile home repair business. Stumbled into residential tree trimming which paid well. I had the equipment and my partner had the talent to climb and cut.  He convinced me to quit my bartending job so we could go full time.  The next month he got called back to his union job and left me hanging. I expanded into building custom decks, which fit with the landscaping and mowing.  One problem I had was that all my businesses were seasonal or summer work.  I cut firewood and basically did whatever I could to survive each winter.

       In spite of all the hassle of trying to survive I felt truly blessed. In the spring of 1983 I was mowing a yard and the thought crossed my mind I should be giving some of my money to the church. I did not attend one at that time. As I picked up the paper before mowing I found an unsealed and open envelope with a stamp on it addressed to Oral Roberts.  I never cared for Oral Roberts, though my Mom did.  Feeling that it was a sign I started sending Oral Roberts money.  That lasted till I started getting calls at my home asking for more money than I had sent. Later sharing that story someone said it was probably just a coincidence and that someone had probably stole the original money.  That thought had never crossed my mind. If that was the case who was the blessed person, Oral Roberts or the person who’s money I replaced. Over the years I have found I am just as capable as the church at finding people in need and helping them.  If I do it more of the money gets to those with needs.  The church still needs help though. The problem I have with most churches is their focus on building programs. Yes we are to build the church, but it is a church of people, not stones and mortar.  When you look at all the money being spent on TV ministries, many with their feel good, get rich messages are leading people astray.  Read the 13^th Chapter of Ezekiel and you will see what God thinks of false ministries.

       My ministry out on the road was simple.  When going into the truck stop to eat I would look for the person sitting on their bags.  Or for one who looked lost, or down and out.   There never seemed to be a shortage of them.  I would invite them to eat with me and that gave me a chance to find out their story.  I would always pay for the meal.  If I was moved or felt they had a legitimate need I would give them more than enough to pay for the meal and tell them to keep the change.  It was not much but it helped.  Lacking that kind of person to help I would look around the restaurant. If I saw a large family with well-behaved kids I would have the waitress bring me their bill and I would pay it.  It may not have been the perfect ministry but at least I was doing something.

       Getting back on track, things boomed for me the next few years.  It went well till my wife talked me into going to a family cookout.  I had grown to the point I needed part time help for a lot of the work I was doing.  At the cookout was a group of bikers. They had a club house and there was always someone who needed some money to either fix their bike or party.  I did not care which the case was.  I paid by the job and they got the same money if we worked two hours or five hours.  They were motivated, smart and hard workers.  The problem was I started hanging with them.  Work slowly became secondary.  The road to the bottom was starting down a long hill.

       It ended at the absolute bottom.  After spending six months living in a van in Fort Meyers, FL I came home and turned my van into the bank. I had caught up my bills while I was in Florida.  One bank had sued me and the court sent me a letter to be in court or be held in contempt.  So I quit my job and came back to Indiana.  Where I had no job and no prospect of getting one. 

        When I reached that low I was sitting on the bank of the Wabash River at a local park and made my peace with God.  I told him I had nothing but my time.  I restarted my life by giving ten percent of my time to studying His Word.  In less than three years I had recovered all I had lost and was starting over.  I went door to door looking for work. It led to a job as a warehouse worker for a local moving company.  From that I moved into trucking which is what I did until I retired.  I learned to drive a truck while I was running from God and in Vietnam. 

      This post basically covers the transitional years from when I left the Army till I started truck driving for a living.  It fills in a gap in my book and gives the basics of how I got from one part of my life to the next.  It had been my intent to drive a truck when I left the service.  I took a terminal leave and worked for a guy for sixty days for basically free to show I could do the job.  When my discharge was final his boss would not let him hire me because of my lack of civilian experience.  Later in time that experience would benefit me more than once. The guy who had given me the chance finally had his own company and he recommended me to one of his truck owners as a driver.  That job opened the door later in my career by giving me experience pulling a refrigerated unit. I was disappointed when I got out of the service and it did not work out to drive, it all did work for the good in the long run. God is always tending to the hedge around our lives.  Our walk with him determines how he trims it. It can be a hedge of protection, or a hedge of correction. If you look at my last post and read the scriptures listed at the end concerning hedges you will learn a lot about how God works in our lives. It is only nine verses or chapters.  If you read it with the desire to get understanding it will open your eyes. There is a verse in the Bible that says we reap what we sow. If you look back over your life you will see that what you have planted or given out is exactly what you have harvested.  If you have just come to know the Lord, start praying for crop failure on any bad seed.  Then pray it is not to late.

         It was not the first time, nor the last time.  God has often used experiences from my past to open doors in my life.  He has also kept doors closed in my life till he knew I was prepared to go through them.  In the Bible it says the steps of the righteous are ordered of the Lord and all things work together for good to them that believe.   Sometimes we will not even know it is happening.  At least not till we look back over a long period of time and see the whole thing in a different perspective.  The farther I walk along the path of life the more times I can see that what I sometimes thought were bad things actually worked in my favor.  As the country song says, “Thank God for unanswered prayers.”  He knows what is best for us and what we have need of.

       A lot of things happened in this short seven year period of my life.  Looking back I can see that my life was being rearranged to my benefit.  Many of my future experiences would be influenced by the events happening during this time period and leading up to it.  Even my last year in the Army when I was assigned to write stories for the command newspaper in Panama would play out and open doors for me.  It is opening writing doors because I can honestly say I have experience writing for a newspaper.  The experiences themselves are providing substance for stories.  Hopefully the stories I write are not just about me and my experiences, but examples that will help others to avoid some of the pitfalls I experienced and was lucky enough to walk away from.

Building A Hedge Of God's Protection

      Surviving in the world today is a hard thing to do.  Especially when you have no job, mouths to feed and the need to provide shelter. As the old saying goes been there and done that. It is purely by the Grace of God that I am here today.  God provides a hedge of protection that protects us from the evil in this world. Left to my own devices I would have starved to death.  At one point in my life I had my own business and was making what I thought was good money.  The problem was I lost sight of the source of my blessing. I had to get as low as I could go before I realized that I had turned away from the source of my blessing.  I had lost my business, my house, my car and my family.  In retrospect there was no need to have lost any of it.  The reason I did lose it all was by feeling that “I” was doing it all.  I was the master of my destiny and that I could do it on my own.  Looking back it is easy to see dozens of ways it could have been avoided, but God was letting me “do my own thing.”

       In reality I knew where my blessings were coming from. It was a willful choice to turn away from God.  It was not that I intentionally turned my back on God.  It got to the point I started taking for granted the blessings I was receiving. Slowly I stopped tithing, I stopped looking for God in the things happening in my life and worst of all I quit giving even verbal thanks to him. God simply removed his hedge of protection and let me see how well I could do on my own.  Having reached a point where I had virtually nothing and the only way I could look was up. I did.  I told God I understood the error of my ways.  I had nothing.  I promised to tithe 10% of my time to the Lord as it was all I had to give.  The next several years I spent at least two and one half hours a day in the Bible.  It was easy when I was unemployed, but it became a challenge when I had a job. It was a period that changed my life.  In less than three years I had my family back and had recovered all my losses and then some.  God is good to His Word.  My desire now is to return to spending that time with the Lord.  Notice there are a whole lot of I's in these first paragraphs.

        In the course of studying God’s Word many things became clear to me..  One is that God does work the same yesterday, today and forever just as His Word says.  He does provide a hedge of protection for us.  Just as Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  While that verse is in Matthew, Jesus was quoting it from Deuteronomy 8:3.  If you study the Bible you will find it says, “5Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” Proverbs 30:5  At that point a shield.would have been handy. The Bible gives us many stories as examples of how and how not to live our lives.                

        Hedges are mentioned several times in the Bible. The first is in Job 1:10.  God is having a conversation with Satan.  Satan wants to harm Job but he can’t because God protects Job.  In the course of the Book of Job we get to see what happens to a person when God removes his protection.  At the end of this post there is a list of verses that show what and how a hedge works. How it works is determined by our walk with the Lord.  In Hosea 4:6 it says, “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will reject thee.”  Notice it says my people.  It does not say sinners or heathens.

       God does not wish that any should perish. II Chronicles 16:9 makes that clear.  It says, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.  He makes it clear in Ezekiel 33:11 that he does not desire that the wicked die, but that they turn from their evil.  He also makes it clear in the next couple verses that trusting in your own righteousness will not save you if you sin.  It is cut and dried and as they would say in this day and age.  It is either God’s way or the highway.  He does not play let’s make a deal.

       Three verses in the Bible changed my life. The first was Luke 6:46 “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things I say.  That means I have to do what he said to do.  He told his Father to forgive those crucifying him.  In Matthew 6:14 he makes it clear the same is required of us.  The last commandment he gave as far as I can tell was in 1^st Corinthians 11:23-30 that we partake of the body and the blood of Christ every time we come together in remembrance of him and what he did.  Will taking communion get me into heaven?  No I do not think so, but I do think it shows I am seeking to follow His Word as he proclaimed it.  Very few churches besides the Catholic Church; the Church of Christ which has two kinds, instrumental and non- instrumental and the Christian Churches actually do so.

        In Haggai 1:6 we are told, “You have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe yourselves, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it in a bag with holes. 7. Thus saith the Lord of host: Consider your ways.”  This was God’s judgment for failing to follow him and His Word.  God offered them a solution in Malachi 3:10-12,  10“ Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruit of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts 12. And all nations shall call you blessed. That is a pretty awesome challenge.

        America may have had a Malachi blessing, but we are definitely turning towards a Haggai curse. The 28^th Chapter of Deuteronomy gives the blessings and curses that befall a nation that follows God and one that turns its back on God.  The first fourteen verses describe the blessings.  The remaining fifty-four verses describe the curses that befall a nation that turns its back on God.  Read it and make up your own mind where America is headed as a nation.

         Hopefully you will read the verses that I put at the end of this post.  You will see why you want to have a relation with God.  Especially one in which he puts a hedge of protection around you and your family.  If you feel you are walking with God may you be encouraged to look at the hedge you presently have.  Is it growing or dying.  I challenge you to spend some time in the study of God’s Word.  Especially if you feel you are coming up short in life and see if it does not fill the void.  All the blessings may not be financial, some may be doors opening and protection for loved ones.  You will see the difference if you just open your eyes and look for it.  

Verses dealing with Hedges 

Job 1:10         

Prov 15:19

Ec 10:8

Isa 5:5
Eze 13:5 Warning against following false prophets

Eze 22:30 Warns that there was no one to stand in the gap.

Ho 2:6

Mic 7:4

Mk 12:1

Further Down The Path, Part Eight?

                               

                                 Time is fulfilled

           This may not make a lot of sense to some people, but if you have read my book online for free it may fill in some interesting gaps.  I do not know if it is significant for others, but the time sequences in my life seem to happen in circles.  I kept pondering this and had to write it so I could sleep.

    14Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

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      Here I sit at my computer at 1:30 in the morning.  Why am I doing that because certain things that have been happening lately?  It has bought me a feeling that I am approaching the end of another circle in my life. My book “A Little Further Down the Path” shares several of the circles I have experienced in my life.  To me the Bible talks and shares things in several circles.  Some long and some short, but they are circles which end up back where they started.  It has been fifty years this month since I left home and started a large circle in my life.

     In Genesis 15 God told Abraham what land would be a big circle in Israel’s experience.  He told them they would go into captivity for four hundred years and then they would "return to their land".in the fourth generation.  Over the years the length of a generation has been a point of discussion in many of my conversations about the Bible. Israel has been removed from their land and returned several times in history. God makes it pretty clear on two points, it will be 400 years and they will return in the fourth generation.  I am not a mathematician or a Bible scholar but common sense tells me those generations have to be more than 100 years.  The only place I find God giving a time frame longer than 100 years is Genesis 6:3 where he says man’s time will be limited to 120 years.  The strange thing is that Moses lived 120 years and yet he never entered the Promised Land.  With the wondering in the wilderness 470 years had passed when they reentered the Promised Land.  Four times 120 would be 480 so they did return in the 4^th generation.  You would be amazed how many preachers have told me I am wrong about that number because it does not fit “their” calculations.

       Most of this is in my book and I need to not repeat that stuff but explain why I find the circles of time in my life significant. It is mainly because they are getting much shorter. I tell how I went to Vietnam and returned back to the very point I started.

       Another circle started about 1981 and ended about 1990.  It started when I asked the Lord to show me how he would punish a man if I turned the matter over to him.  I did and he did.  I certainly did not expect it to happen. It was a very humbling experience when it did, because how he did it, which was to give me that man’s job.

        The next circle started on 7 February 1992 with the crash of a military C-130 into a hotel in Evansville, IN.   I was interviewed by CNN and it restored a long lost friendship with a person I grew up with and had lost contact with. I had a heart attack on the 22 January 2004 in Baltimore, MD ending my trucking career. That circle ended when I flew into Louisville, KY and looked down on the fleet of C-130’s parked on the tarmac.  It was the home base of the aircraft than crashed into the hotel. It started before I got my own truck and ended with the end of my driving career.

       In August 2010 my youngest daughter, Glenda Lynn, passed away after a seven year battle with a brain tumor. She left me her Boston Terrier, Forrest Gump, in her Will.  She also left her home for her sister to administer till her children are of age to receive it. Glenda was a nurse by profession.  This month my grandson and his girlfriend who had been taking care of the home moved out. We decided to rent the house rather than let it sit empty. The lady who is going to rent it is the niece of the lady who owned it before my daughter bought it.  She is a x-ray technician and she has two Boston Terriers. A strange coincidence?

       In March 2011 I started a blog with the encouragement of my daughter Angel.  She had done one for a class she had taken. She teaches Spanish. She knew I liked to write and she encouraged me in that direction.  In May of 2012 I went to my first writer’s conference.  It was at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference.  It was a rewarding experience and had many neat people.  I am a bit of a people watcher and one lady caught my attention.  She walked with a large stick much like they used in the Lord of the Rings.  Her attire was a little different also.  While curious I did not approach her.  My mind muddled over the matter for a year.  In May of this year I returned to the conference.  After signing in I went upstairs and sat down.  The first person I had a long talk with happened to be the 80+ year old mother of the lady I had seen the year before.  She informed me of the details of her life and her daughters and all I had to do is listen.  That was another time I had asked the Lord to open my understanding and he did.  The Bible verse that says, “You have not, because you ask not.” has taken on new meaning for me.

       It may mean nothing but my circles seem to be getting smaller and quicker.  On May 5^th I went to the Indiana State Gourd show for the first time.  I make crafts from gourds and have started growing my own.  At the state show I saw a neat looking and very large gourd and did not think at the time to ask who made it.  On my way to the writing conference in Ridgecrest, NC I decided to stop by the Kentucky State Gourd show on the way.  Several people I met in Indiana were at the Kentucky Show.  One was the Indiana secretary.  She told me the story of the gourd and then pointed out a man in the crowd.  He was the one who had made it several years before.  I wanted the information because I hope to write an article about it.  So that circle was finished in less than a month.

       

        All this got me to pondering the meaning of it all.  That was when I realized the fifty year cycle for me. The 50^th year of Jubilee is very significant in the Bible.  It signifies the beginning and ending of time.  One of the reasons I did ponder so hard was that the keynote speaker told a story about a man who laid hands on him when he was a kid.  The experience had never left him. It made me ponder a man in my own home town that I had not heard of or thought of since leaving over fifty years ago. Today, well I guess in reality, yesterday I was looking at Facebook and guess whose picture is on my time line.  It was that old man that I thought of at the conference.  It is a strange coincidence, but I could not get it out of my head and so here I sit. This brings me back to the Biblical sequences of time.

        If we go back to my opening statement.  When the Jesus made the above statement he was telling the Jewish people that they had reached a point where the Gentiles would take over world affairs.

             22For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 24And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

     It is my belief that when Israel returned to the land in 1948 that prophecy was fulfilled.  Which also remind me of the verse in 2^nd Peter 3:8 where it says,

         8 Dear friends, don’t forget that for the Lord one day is the same as a thousand years, and a thousand years is the same as one day. 9 The Lord isn’t slow about keeping his promises, as some people think he is. In fact, God is patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost.

     Based on that logic we are entering the seventh day. Roughly two days were before the flood. Two days were from the flood till Christ and two more from Christ till now.  So is it time to enter the millennium and the Lord’s Day of Rest.  I really do not know, but I feel I can now lay down and sleep, having cleared my mind.

       Like I said before I could die before I get out of this chair, but I believe I will be here when the Lord returns in power and glory and I am getting the feeling by looking around me that, that time is not that far off.

      If you should happen to read the free book posted on my blog, it is in seven parts.  Please if you read none of the rest of it, please read part seven as it brings what I am trying to say together.  Hopefully this does not bore you to bad.  I did go right to sleep at 5AM when I finished it. It is now 10AM I am up and life goes on.

          There is a verse in Luke 9:62 that says to never look back when you have put your hand to the plow. The reason is really simple.  In the course of life we travel in the circles and seasons of life and sooner or later we come back to where we started.  We can then see the crookedness of our paths and hopefully correct them as we move on in life.

Obama Care or "Abomnicare"

                           Abomnicare, Will we survive it?

      The title is not a typo.  It is my personal name for Obama Care.  He may care but he has no business background and not a clue at the burden he is putting on average Americans.  While, supposedly, well intended it is quickly being seen for what it is.  It is an abomination of, supposedly, good intentions.  

      The reality of Obama Care is starting to hit home.  It would more properly be called the Abomnicare program.  As it is implemented it is busting the budget of low income Americans.  Worse yet it is actually going to reduce the number of people covered by health care.  As the details are released it is becoming a nightmare for many Americans.  People who have worked with companies and institutions for twenty or more years suddenly have no health care.  If the nation’s economy was in better health maybe it would work.  However the country’s economy is not in good shape.  Many states are on the edge of bankruptcy.  Decisions are being made totally based on the bottom line.  The effect on individuals is not a consideration.  The survival of the system is all that matters.

       How do I justify saying that?  Well I have seen firsthand how it is working.  School systems which have fixed budgets are making decisions to keep the schools running. One of the simplest ways is to reduce the number of people eligible for benefits.  That is done simply by cutting hours so that an employee is working less than forty hours a week.  They then become part time employees. It does not necessarily affect the teachers but the kitchen, maintenance and administrative staff may be fair game.  That is how state and county budgets are considering dealing with the problem.

      Corporate America is using much the same system.  They are passing much of the cost on to their employees.  They are not giving full time positions.  The ones that already are full time are being hit with highly increased cost. Raising the deductible and copay maintains company profits at the expense of the employees.  The attitude of the companies is take it, or leave.  With the economy in chaos and no alternatives the employees are being put between a rock and a hard place.  They have a choice between the frying pan and the fire.  Neither decision is a good choice, but which is the lesser of two evils.  If they keep the job, at least they will still be able to eat and pay their house payment as long as they do not get sick.  The irony is that though they have insurance if they get sick the copays may destroy them economically.  That is not a big change.  Many of the people forced into filing bankruptcy in America do so because of excessive medical bills.  They can’t pay the medical bills and still provide for their family’s needs.

       I am proud of America for rising above its prejudice and divisiveness.  Yet it raises the question of whether America can survive under a president that understands politics and the election process, but has no clue about administering the business needs of America.  Yes the economy is slowly recovering and the market is going up.  Every minor hiccup in the economy causes a setback.  If a real crisis arises it may push us over the edge. Abomnicare may become that crisis.

Why All The Evil? Jesus Said So

      Why is there so much evil in the world today.  Well it is no surprise to anyone who has read the Bible.  The Bible says there will be evil in the world especially in the end time.  Jesus himself warned us that at the end of time it would be just as it was in the days of Noah. He mentioned that people would be marrying and eating just as they were in Noah’s day. With the move toward same sex marriage the end must be near.  If it does not happen soon marriage as the Bible proclaims it will cease to exist.  If we look at what the Bible says about the time of Noah it becomes much clearer why there is so much evil.  In Genesis 6:5-7 it lays it out pretty clear why God destroyed the earth the first time.

  

         5And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.   6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

      Sounds pretty much like this day and age.  So what causes evil or where does it come from.  This sounds strange but it comes from God.  The Bible says so in Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. So why would God create evil?  If you search a little deeper you will get the answer.  Isaiah 54:16 makes it clear God created the waster to destroy.  What does he destroy?  He destroys evil, but he thinks it gives him power.  Ultimately it only leads to his own destruction.

      In Romans 1:18 it makes clear why and how God uses evil for his purposes.  He does it to punish unrighteousness.  If you read on down to verse 28 thru 32 it makes clear God gives up on those who will not listen and lets them receive their just reward.  Let me make it clear I do not think I am in any way above or better than any of those described.  The first step to changing your life is acknowledge that God is in charge. In this day and age most treat the Bible like a salad bar.  I will take this, but I do not want this.  They try to conform religion to what they want.  The truth is that mankind has earned the judgment that is coming on mankind.  Almost all the things mentioned in the following verses are very common place in this day and age.

      18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.  20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:  21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.  26For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;   29Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:  32Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. 

      So how do we know it is the end time?  In 2^nd Timothy 3:1-9 it gives a description of what it will be like in the end times.  It makes clear that men in the end of time will have a form of Godliness, but deny the power of God.   

    

1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,  4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.  9But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

       Evil is having a field day in America.  This is supposed to be a Christian nation. Yet when we see the evil unfolding daily in bombings and shootings how can this be.  We have a broken government that can’t manage its affairs or finances and allows ungodly practices.  If you stand up and proclaim what the Bible proclaims you will be shouted down.  If you are not shot by some “Christian” who’s rights you are violating.

        There is a price to be paid for not standing up and proclaiming our faith and trust in God, not only as individuals, but as a nation.  As we used to say in the Army, “You are either part of the solution or part of the problem.” There is no middle ground.  If it keeps going the way it is going the Rapture will not even be noticed in America.  Contrary to the popular Left Behind series, God sets the standards and places the bar and this nation is coming up far short.  The feel good version of Christianity practiced by most churches is going to come up way short of the mark on judgment day.

         So who am I to judge America?  I am nothing and nobody and really this is just some stuff I have been studying for myself that has made me question my own walk as a professing Christian.  I am certainly falling far short of the mark.  The thing I am trying to figure out is how do I make a better impact on the world?.  The solution starts with fixing me, but I have to figure out what all I have to fix first.  It is a lot of things I am sure.  What stimulated me to thinking on this whole matter was a movie I recently watched with Andy Garcia and Eva Longoria called The Greater Glory, which was about a leader in Mexico who tried to ban the Catholic Church and the revolution that followed and people dying for what they thought was right. In the end the Catholic Church made peace with the government and abandoned those fighting for the “faith.”  Years later the church declared them martyrs for their faith.  What it got me to wondering was how far do you go in standing up for your faith?  Do you fight and kill for and in the name of God or do you get down on your knees and become a martyr?

        Maybe it will take enduring the tribulation of the last days and martyrdom for many to get it. The purpose of writing this is not to condemn anybody, but to provide food for thought.  Could we do more to make this a truly Christian nation?  The answer is an obvious yes.  The problem is how do we go about it?