Lamentations 3:40-48

 Hello All!  God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  THIS IS A TIME TO BE DILIGENT AND FOLLOW THE LEADING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

   Elections are in process, early voting is over and the polls open tomorrow. Nov. 8 early and will stay late.  It is time for all Christian Americans to vote along the lines of the Bible. Christians, YOU ARE NOT DEMOCRAT,  REPUBLICAN, LIBERAL, OR INDEPENDENT!

You are a CHRISTIAN and should vote along the Biblical lines. 

  Jeremiah was distressed with the way people were acting in his time as well.  Take a gander at Lamentations 3:40-48 - take time to really READ each scripture and not just scan.

  V. 40 Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the LORD. 

  V. 41 Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say,

               v. 42 "We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven us. (43) You have engulfed us with your anger, chased us down, and slaughtered us without mercy. (44) You have hidden yourself in a cloud so our prayers cannot reach you.  (45) You have discarded us as scum and refuse among the nations. (46) All our enemies have spoken out against us.  (47) We are filled with fear, for we are trapped, devastated, and ruined. (48) Tears stream from my eyes because of the destruction of my people!

   This relates to many events happening in our world today. We can watch the news, listen to the liberal media and politicians promises and become discouraged, frustrated, and angry.  We have to remember one major thing--GOD IS, YES IS IN CONTROL.

      If you have not gone to the polls yet, please keep your Christian values in check and vote accordingly.

   Thank you for reading with me today.  Love you all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

Lamentations 3:31-39

 Good morning all.  God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!!!

   Here we are, in America, and coming to another election which is fast approaching.  So, what do we do.  We should all want the election to be for the ones who love the LORD, not along party lines.  The only party line we should be voting is the Christian party line, led and guided by God's Holy Word---the BIBLE!!  

   Yet, there are many "Christians" who will ignore God's Holy Word and "do their own thing".  Jeremiah was feeling as many of us are at this time, in America, seeing all that is going on and the fight against Christian values that the liberal media, progressives, LBGTQ+, BLM, and other radical groups are pushing.

  Do we, as the church and as Christians stand up!  I say yes, not only yes but, FOR HEAVENS SAKE YES!!!!  90 years ago the church in Germany was told to stand up. Out of 12,000 pastors, 6,000 took a stand -- 3,000 for the Nazi regime and 3,000 against the Nazi regime, and 6,000 did nothing.  You see the outcome.  

  Many say the church should not be political, but to this we say bunk.  When Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,” Jesus was drawing a sharp distinction between two kingdoms. There is a kingdom of this world, and Caesar (our government) holds power over it. But there is another kingdom, not of this world, and Jesus is King of that (John 18:36). You and I are part of both kingdoms, for now.  Under the government, we have certain obligations that involve material things. Under Christ, we have other obligations that involve things eternal. If the government demands money, we give, however, remember—it’s only riches, and can become an object of worship or greed. IMPORTANT to make sure you also give God what He demands.

    In all this I am saying we should not compromise our Christian values with the world.  As we go through the rest of what Jeremiah is saying you will see his frustrations and be able to relate those to your life as well.  Take time to read each verse and allow it time to sink in.

Lamentations 3: 31 For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever.

 32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.

33 For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.

 34 To crush underfoot all prisoners in the land,  

35 if they deprive others of their rights in defiance of the Most High. 

36 If they twist justice in the courts-doesn't the LORD see all these things?  

37   Who can speak and have it happen without the Lord's permission?  

38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?  

39 Why should we, humans, complain when punished for our sins?

God sees all.  We muddle through life, some caring, some caring not, Some true Christians believing God's word, and some "Christians" who pick and chose parts of God's word. Where are you???

Are you standing with Jeremiah or the Herodians and Pharisees of Jesus' time?  Hope this all made sense to y'all.  Love you all.

In Christ's Love and Grace,

Johnny

Stories of the Bible! Giving, willingly and with a grateful heart back to Go!!

 Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!!!!

  So often we hear the stories of the Bible and they are "good stories" but don't relate to us.  Last time I spoke of Adam and Eve.  Now, let's look at their sons - Cain and Abel.  Here is what the Bible says:

  Genesis 4: 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

  So what is the problem here?  Notice Cain brought"some of the fruits" of the soil to offer, whereas Abel brought "fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock".

  Cain seemed to give as he should, but not of his best.  Able gave of his best in offering to the LORD.  If you continue to read Genesis 4 you will find Cain was now angry.  But why?  Because he did not willingly give back to the LORD. Now after a conversation with God, still not seeing that evil was upon him, he wanted to take his anger out on someone.  Well, we know the story from here.

  Relate this to you and your life.  When have you given freely and willingly to God as did Abel; then reflect to when you gave grudgingly back to God as did Cain.  

   Well, I went to church Sunday. I just wasn't moved.  I had other things I needed to do rather than sit in church.  Or, possibly, yep, I read my Bible this morning, I took 2 minutes before I went about my business and I can pray later.

   It could even be that you didn't want to, or running late because you hit the snooze too many times.

    We must give back to God in our discipline to Him and His word.  There are 1,440 minutes in a day (24 hours), Which means a tenth of that would be 144 minutes or 2.4 hours a day.  You say, I don't have that kind of time, I work.

   Yes, but this can be easily attained.  As we cruise through the course of the day we can pray as we are driving, read scripture before work, during lunch, at home while relaxing and at other opportunities.  

  Some will say I don't have time to read the Bible, oh, by the way, I just finished reading this great book about (you fill in the blank); you need to read it.  That book won't draw you closer in a relationship with the LORD like the Bible will.  So what is most important?

   While I am telling you this, I, as Paul, am the chief sinner about not getting into the Word as I should.  Am I pointing fingers at you? NO!  I am preaching to myself and you just happen to get in on it.  However, it is food for thought.

   I pray, and ask that you pray for me, you, and the world to get more involved in living for God.  Thank you and may your day be blessed.

In Christ's Love and Grace,

Johnny

Food for thought! The stories of the Bible!!

  Hello my fellow Christians,

  I do hope all is well with you. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!!!!

   Okay, we hear the stories of the Bible, we read or listen to them, then go on about our business.  But, have you really thought about them?  Well, have you?

   Let's look first at Adam and Eve.  We won't talk about how they came to be, but when they were in the garden.

  Genesis 3, the sin in the garden of man and woman.  First, satan comes disguised as a serpent and speaks to Eve. Genesis 3: Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

  Okay, satan is being subtil, aka sneaky. And he speaks to Eve.  Well, we know what happens here.  Yes, the sensory attributes of humans take over and when Eve sees the tree - the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit .

   Yes, how often do we let our eyes do the talking for our logic?  Well, let's move on.  She eats of the apple and so does Adam and then what happened?

Now here is the catcher -- 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;

They were naked before, no problem, but now what?  Have you ever done anything and then wished you had not?  Don't you imagine this is where Adam and Eve are now!

   Now God or Jesus (which many believe this to be), is  walking in the garden and he asks where they are.  Here is the response: 10 And he (Adam) said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

  Then God (Jesus) asks who told you that you were naked?  Then comes the blame game, Adam blames Eve for giving him a bite, and he blames God because he says God created woman. The woman blames the serpent.  Anyway you know how this goes.  So, let us think of this in another way.

    You are given a perfect and beautiful home in the perfect location you chose.  You were told it was yours to do with as you please, except, don't let strangers in and never invite strangers in.  Then, in a moment of  weakness, you see a person outside the fence and through the gate.  That person is asking for just a small handout or a morsel of food.  So, you decide I'll let him in, what could it hurt.

   Well, your agreement was NO STRANGERS at all.  You did not adhere to the agreement. So, suddenly you are out of this beautiful home and cast into the street to work hard for a living.  You, in a moment of weakness, gave in to temptation.

   This is Adam and Eve.  Their instructions were: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  Since they violated God's word, they were cast out of the garden of Eden and had to toil for a living.  How would you react?  I can only imagine that Adam and Eve were terribly sad, probably cried, and then wondered how they could have done this.  And, yep, they probably blamed each other for a while and had major arguments.  

   Again, what had God told them:  3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

   What do you think?  Do you think they were distraught, angry, and frustrated that they disobeyed God? Did they wail and cry?  Just food for thought.  I thought you might enjoy thinking beyond just the story we get in Sunday School.

  Thanks for reading. Love you all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

Are you a fruit bearing vine, OR, a vine to be thrown away? John 15:1-17

 Hello fellow Americans and Christians,

   God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!!!

  Jesus first wants us to accept Him as our LORD and savior; then LOVE the LORD GOD and our Neighbor.  But, also, Jesus wants us to produce fruit for the glory and kingdom of GOD.  Are you?  Take a self evaluation and see if you are working for GOD or for YOURSELF!

  Great question to ask yourself and do a self evaluation, then let JESUS change your life!  Take time to read and meditate on John 15, about Jesus being the true vine and us being the branch.  

John 15: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

It is time to let JESUS really, actually change your life. Love you all.  

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

 Good morning everyone. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!!!

   I would like to ask for your prayers for the United Methodist Churches in America.  They are going through a big controversy at this time.  Some wish to change the book of discipline and in doing so it deviates from the Bible teachings and God's word.  There are many "Christians" in this world that do not believe the Bible is appropriate for today and wish to may it a pick and choose type book.  Just pick what you want from the Bible and ignore the rest.

Look at Revelation 22: 18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.    This should be a sobering thought and statement to many.

There are some "Christians" who do not believe in the virgin birth, AND, think there are more ways to get to heaven than just going through Jesus.

Some people believe the United Methodist Church is against the LBGTQ+, and this is their argument which is false.  This is a diversion tactic to try to get more people to align with their agenda.  The truth is, this is a scriptural concern, not a "gay, transgender" thing.

We have to take care and be certain we study the Bible ourselves, analyze the situation and the so-called "facts" being thrown out to us.  Remember, the end times says there will be false prophets and there are some filling the pulpits at this time in these days.

There are some who are as Thomas in John 14: 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

These may be the people who question everything and have doubts.  However, Jesus tells us in John 14: 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

This should be clear for everyone.  If you maintain any doubts read the Bible at John 14 and see what Jesus says.  In fact, read the book of John and don't just read it, but meditate on the words given to us.  

Just like the song, Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus; He'll change your life.  Thank you for reading today.  Love y'all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny 

Good morning everyone!  God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!!!  When you woke this morning did you look out and say thank you LORD for the beauty you have given us?  Did you look in the mirror to see the miracle, the beautiful miracle GOD created in you?   So often we just take things for granted.  I am 73, almost 74 and I complain about my knee hurts, my shoulder hurts, I can't sleep, and on and on.  I am certain my wife is tired of hearing my complaining.    Out of my mouth should come the words more like:  It is a beautiful day; dear, you look great;  I love you more each day; It will be a great day in the LORD, or something beautiful and positive.   Winston Churchill said, "the pessimist see difficulty in every opportunity, but the optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty".  We all have Jesus as our savior and we do need to be optimistic.  If God is with us, then who........................! Yes, you got it!  Yes, we need to be one who shares the love of Jesus; Romans 10: 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!      How are your feet?  Are you bringing good news?Isaiah said in 52: 7 How beautiful on the mountains    are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace,     who bring good tidings,     who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion,     “Your God reigns!”Yes, we must bring good tidings and proclaim salvation.  GOD REIGNS!!!   We need to be as David in the Psalms,sharing the word, and planning to live in the house of the LORD once taken from this earth.  Look at Psalm 27: 4 One thing I ask from the Lord,     this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord     all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord     and to seek him in his temple.This would be magnificent, wonderful, and forever.  Wow!  Take a moment, look in the mirror, thank GOD for the miracle he produced-----YOU; then look outside and see the beauty GOD has laid before us.  Thank you for reading today. Love you all.In Christ's Love and GraceJohnny