Forgiveness

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the “Good News” that our sins have been forgiven, and that a way has been provided for us to be saved from sin and death. In the Holy Bible God declares this Good News in both the old and new testaments.

King David of Israel wrote about forgiveness 1,000 years before Jesus was born. Convicted by the Holy Spirit, he confessed his sins to God. He received forgiveness, and God led him to a better way of life.

Psalm 32 

A Psalm of David. 

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
Do not be like the horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near you.

Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;
But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;
And shout for joy, all you upright in heart! *

From time to time King David stumbled and fell. He suffered consequences for his sins, but God loved him, forgave him, and brought him back into fellowship.

(2Samuel Chapters 11 and 12)


Jesus Christ was crucified and rose from the dead. Trust that His sacrifice was all that is needed to blot out all of our sins; past, present, and future. Believe in Him and He will give you everlasting life.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18 NKJV) *


Believers stumble. Sometimes they fall. Like King David, God will restore the believer to fellowship. We must repent of our sins, confess them to God, and live to please the Holy Spirit; rather than our sinful human nature.

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
(1John 1:5-10 NKJV) *

When you surrender yourself, without reservation, to Jesus Christ, He will make you into a new person. (2Corinthians 5:17)   Please, give yourself to Jesus Christ today.


* https://biblehub.com/nkjv


The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

To God be the Glory

 Psalm 27

A Psalm of David

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.

One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord

All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me.

Teach me Your way, O Lord,

And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!

  The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

  

* https://biblehub.com/nkjv/psalms/27.htm

 

 

Retirement

IF:

If you are still wearing clothes that you wore to work before you retired 10 years ago

If you buy gas at the lowest priced filling station available

If you ask your doctor to prescribe generic drugs from the insurance company’s “preferred generic” formulary

If your checking account balance is less than fifty dollars at the end of every month

If the only out of state trips you take are to visit your grandchildren

If you do your own yardwork and home repairs to save money

If you wait for the things you need now to go on sale before you buy them

If you shop for almost everything at a “discount superstore”

If the groceries you buy are mostly the house brand

If you let your 15 year old car go 10,000 miles between oil changes

If the “new” camera you got for your birthday was purchased from an advertisement on Craig’s List

If you shop regularly to cut the cost of your car and homeowner’s insurance, and if they are “bundled”

If the term on your term life insurance is running out, and if you may have to renew it at a much higher rate to meet the requirements of your mortgage company

If the biggest consideration when you got your “retirement car” was its gas milage

If your computer is over six years old

If you stream your TV rather than use a cable or satellite service

If people call you a cheapskate behind your back

If you defer needed repairs on your home and car because you can’t pay the higher credit card payment

If you notice when the price of something (everything) goes up, but your income doesn’t

If you liked President Trump and Vice President Pence because they understood and tried to make things better for the average guy, retired or not; and because they cared

If you don’t like being ignored and brushed aside by President Biden and Vice President Harris … being told that we (meaning the little guys) have to “sacrifice for the good of the collective” when our money doesn’t last until the end of the month

If you wish that the Biden administration cared more for we the people and less about converting the U.S.A. into a “socialist utopia”

If you wish that the federal government would quit diminishing the buying power of your money by spending more than they take in

THEN:

         You must be “retired and on a fixed income.”

Please don’t get me wrong.  I am grateful for every blessing we have: a house to live in, a car to drive, food to eat, clothes to wear, medical care … all of it.  We thank God every day for taking care of us.  We don’t deserve all that we have got.  That is why we give God the glory for what we have.

All I am saying is that it would be nice if the Progressives would just get out of the way. If they can’t figure out how to make things better, then at least they might stop making them worse.

We can get by for the next four years.  Americans are resilient, adaptive people.  Personally, I am asking God to give me the same attitude as the Apostle Paul when he said, “… for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity …" (Philippians 4:11-12 NASB) *  Praise the Lord.

 

 *  https://biblehub.com/nasb

 

Praise the Lord

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate acquitted former President Donald J. Trump.  The second attempt to impeach him failed, just as the first one did.  As I thought they would, all 50 of the Democratic Senators voted to convict.  They were joined by seven Republicans.  A “super majority” of 67 votes is required for conviction, and their combined 57 votes did not get the job done.  I had feared that more Republicans would vote to convict, and I am glad I was wrong.

A lot of people will be unhappy with the outcome.  As with the post immediately preceding this one, I urge everyone to accept the Senate’s verdict peacefully and move on.  Hopefully, we can put this divisive episode behind us.

I am not so naïve that I believe the opposing camps in our national government can reconcile and work together.  After the dust settles, I hope that they will at least try to find common ground where they can.

Personally, I know that God alone is sovereign, and He alone ordains the outcome of events like this one.  I trust that He will work all things together for the good of those who believe in Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)  All I can do is to thank Him for answered prayer; that lies do not prevail in the long run and justice will … if not in this world, then in His Kingdom.  Praise the Lord.

P.S.  Happy Valentines Day!

 

 

And The Beat Goes On

The U.S. Senate has begun to try former President Donald Trump on the articles of impeachment proffered by the House of Representatives.  Forty-five Senators have declared on record that this second impeachment is unconstitutional.  The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, has refused to preside over the trial, presumably because he thinks it is unconstitutional and that the evidence is not sufficient to bring the matter to trial.  Notable constitutional legal scholars like Alan Dershowitz have said this impeachment is unconstitutional and that the evidence does not support the charge that Donald Trump incited insurrection.

Still, the Senate plods determinedly on.  We the people wonder, why?  Donald Trump is no longer the President, and he cannot be removed from office, which is the result of a conviction by the Senate.  Isn’t this even more than unconstitutional?  Is it not unjust and a violation of fundamental fairness?

The Apostles Peter and Paul were living in the Roman Empire when they wrote their epistles.  Much has been written about how the Pax Romana brought peace and prosperity to those Rome ruled.  We owe much to the legacy of Rome, including language, republican government, the importance of infrastructure, and legal principles.  Rome was, however, a harsh and cruel master that ground others down to build itself up.  They valued fairness, but they were selective in its application.  At times, the Church was severely persecuted.  Yet, through Paul and Peter the Holy Spirit urged believers to submit to civil authority:

Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme,  or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.  For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.  Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. (1Peter 2:13-17 NLJV) *

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.  Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.  For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.  Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. (Romans 13:1-5 NKJV) *

There are passages in the Holy Bible that are easy for me to comply with.  Some passages are more difficult, like those on forgiveness, loving your enemies, and even loving others in general.  In all, I am only able to obey if I set aside my sinful human nature and yield to the Holy Spirit.  It is only permissible for the Christian to disobey civil authority if we are being told to do something that is contrary to God’s commands as given in His Word. (Acts 4:19-20, 5:29)

Therefore, I urge my fellow Christians and other Americans to keep the peace.  Brace yourselves for the possibility that the Senate will convict former President Trump.  The Democrats have 50 votes and excellent party discipline.  Five of the 50 Republican Senators did not publicly declare this impeachment to be unconstitutional.  It is entirely possible that Donald Trump will be found guilty of inciting insurrection.  If so, there is no appeal, and he can never hold public office again.  That, my friends, is the real reason his enemies have him on trial.

If the Senate votes to convict, we must elect a Republican majority in both the House and the Senate and keep them there.  We must elect a Republican president in 2024.  We cannot do that until our state legislatures, in the states where it is needed, reform the election laws to give us just and legal elections.  For the next two years, that is where we the people must put our best, peaceful, legal efforts.

 

*  https://biblehub.com/nkjv

 

 

Attitude Adjustment

I haven’t posted for roughly two weeks because I want this blog to be for Jesus Christ, and not for me to vent angry feelings.  If I am not able to honor Jesus in what is said here, whether about spiritual matters or temporal, then I am not revealing Him to others.  Rather, I am using His blog for my own selfish purposes.

We are called to be “salt and light,” (Matthew 5:13-14) pointing out what the Word of God says regarding current events.  In His strength, we must allow the Holy Spirit to use us to restrain the spirit of antichrist, until we are taken out of the way. (2Thessalonians 2:7)  If I am too angry to do that in a way that gives reverence the Lord, however, then I must be silent until I can.

Additionally, the core intent of this blog is to show others the way to Christ, to explain how to live in Him and for Him, and to tell the joy of doing so.  The things of this world are transient, but His kingdom is forever. (Isaiah 9:6-7)  That must be our primary focus.

So, in the attitude of service, let’s seek the things of God first, and trust His promise that He will give us what we need. (Luke 12:31)  Please remember to pray for me, for our leaders, and for the United States of America.

Thanks for Making My Point

My Grandma used to say that, “When you point your finger at someone else, three fingers are pointing back at you.”  Maybe that is quaint, and a little trite, too.  It seems to me that sometimes Grandma was a lot wiser than the Representatives and Senators we send to the U.S. Congress.

Today, the Democrats, and sadly a few Republicans, in the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump a second time.  Ladies and Gentlemen of the Congress, thank you for making my point.  Now, in case you missed it, the point is that you are the ones responsible for the civil unrest in Washington, D.C. on 6 January 2021; not President Trump.

The 2016 election was a repudiation of the failed leadership and Progressive policies of President Barack Obama.  Instead of listening to the people, admitting that at least a few mistakes needed to be corrected, and then trying to find common ground, Democrats and RINO Republicans “resisted” everything President Trump and his supporters wanted to do to make things better.  You even tried to impeach him on false charges.  You did not cooperate with the new administration on a single major point.

Donald Trump was your worst nightmare, so you determined amongst yourselves to do whatever it took to keep him from being reelected.  You even monkeyed around with democracy’s cornerstone … free, fair, and legal elections.

Your total disregard for the will of half of our people created the social unrest that resulted in thousands of outraged people demonstrating peacefully in Washington; and a few of the protesters exceeding the law by occupying our Capitol.  We condemn the violence, property damage, and disrespect, but in your hearts you know the President did not cause it.

It is true that President Trump has never learned to temper his remarks, or to fully anticipate the consequences of what he says.  He doesn’t always remember that when he says something it is not just Donald Trump saying it, it is the President of the United States.  However, on 6 January he urged his supporters to use their freedoms of speech and assembly to peacefully petition the government for a redress of their grievances … as provided by the constitution; nothing more.

The truth will always come to light.  The truth is that you know that President Trump was not directly responsible for the violence that occurred on 6 January.  The truth is that Democrats, establishment Republicans, and “career politicians” of all persuasions are impeaching the President for “inciting insurrection” to make it impossible for him to hold public office again, as provided by the 14^th Amendment.  The truth is that you are ignoring the best interest of your country to gain a temporary political advantage.  You have no shame!

It may have been Shakespeare who wrote that, “Many a truth is oft spoken in jest.”  Well, here is a jest for you, perhaps from Bob Hope or Will Rodgers:  “In America we make the front ends of horses and then ship them to Washington for final assembly.”