Category Archives: Daily Life

Update: My Complaints

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Talking too Loud!

Today I’m going to do some complaining. I hope you don’t mind too much. Ha ha.

Talking Too Loud

I like to sit in my favorite restaurant in the morning for breakfast and read. So, I like it quiet. I don’t mind normal conversation, but there are always a few people that talk too loudly. Their voice is heard almost no matter where I sit, and it’s hard to concentrate on my reading. It’s very annoying! I almost want to say something to them, but I don’t want to embarrass them. You know, it’s almost as if they want people to hear them. It’s like they take pride in being heard by many people. Maybe they have a secret desire to be a preacher or a politician or a comedian—but never get the chance.

Derek Chauvin

I’m not a fan of his, but I think he got a bum deal. I don’t think he is guilty of murder. He was just doing his job. In fact, he acted in accordance with how he was trained. When Floyd resisted arrest, Chauvin used an approved method of restraint.

Last night I listened to a segment on Newsmax. I heard that it has recently been found that there was no evidence that Chauvin killed Floyd. Yes, there was never any scientific evidence that his knee caused any trauma to Floyd. There was “No life-threatening injury identified.” In fact, did you know that the actual prosecutors did not believe that any of the officers should have been criminally charged? They thought the case should have been thrown out for lack of evidence. It was suggested that since Floyd had 16.6 grams of Fentanyl in his system, maybe that was more the cause of his death, since 2 grams is considered to be a lethal dose.

Then why and how was Chauvin convicted of murder? Two reasons: 1) Keith Elison (Minnesota’s AG) decided that he would take over the case. He saw to it that Chauvin would be seen as racist and would be convicted. 2) Chauvin was convicted not based on evidence, but on political and media driven pressure. The public convicted him! This sounds to me an awful lot like Jesus’ trial. Pilot rendered Jesus guilty based only on what the crowd wanted. They said, Crucify Him! So He was!

Like I said, I am no fan of Chauvin, but I am disappointed in this country and in my state of Minnesota, that we will sentence a person based not on evidence but on popular opinion. Where is the justice?

My writing

I’m not presently writing any books. I’ve been going back and re-writing—editing. Truthfully, I’m kind of discouraged. I like to write, but not many are buying. I may look into a different self-publishing company, one that is more Christian based. Lulu is open for anything. I also need more money and more direction and support. I can’t do it all myself—which is what I have been doing. Enough complaining!

My reading

I would like to write a book on heaven. But before I start I need to do more reading on the subject. I read the book Heaven, by Randy Alcorn and now I am reading a book on heaven by John MacArthur. So far, I don’t like it—too negative. He spends too much time in telling the false teaching of heaven. I already know that. I want to know what the truth is about heaven. I may have to just do my own Bible Study, to go through the entire Bible and see what it says. That’s the best way anyway.

I’m also reading a book about William Tyndale. I’m enjoying it. He lived in a difficult time and place—in the 1500’s in England and also Germany. He was brilliant. He was so dedicated to his work of translating the Bible into English, from Latin and Greek, and he also examined Luther’s German translation. He wanted the common man to have a bible to read in English. Since the Catholic Church was against his work and against his teaching, he was always moving around from place to place—hiding. They eventually labeled him a heretic and at the end was burned at the stake.

I am only halfway done with the book so that will not come until the last few pages. Terrible to think about!

I will end my complaints here. I hope I will have a better day—and that you will too.

Cloud Formations

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When the sky is bright and partly cloudy with gusts of wind, cloud formations can be very beautiful. Lately, I have been thinking of writing on the subject of heaven. And when I look heavenward through the clouds it gives me a greater incentive to write on that subject. For when He comes in His glory and when we go to meet Him it will be “in the clouds.” (1 Thess. 4:17; Acts 1:9; Rev. 11:12)

Continually Cleansed from Sin – 1 John 1:7

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This morning I ran across something very enlightening to me from 1 John 1:7.

Reading from 1 John, beginning in verse five, 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. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

Now verse seven is the verse that became enlightening to me: 7 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.

I know I have read that verse over 100 times before, but it did not hit me as it did this morning. And I immediately had to go back and read it again to see if I read and understood it correctly. And yes, I did! The verse says to us that if we walk in the light as He is in the light (that is, if we are Christians), then we have His promise of two things: 1) We have fellowship one with another, and 2) the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

It is this second promise that really hit me—because it has no condition attached to it other than becoming a Christian. What I am saying is that, when I sin I don’t have to do anything to get His forgiveness and His cleansing. It is automatic and certain! Yes, because I am His child and walk in the light I automatically receive His blood cleansing. I don’t even have to worry about whether I remembered to confess my sins or not or whether I repented of my sin or not. No. Just because I am one of His and walk in His light I am cleansed by His blood.

Repeatedly I have been told that if I sin I need to confess it, then to ask God to forgive me in order to be cleansed of my sin. And isn’t that what verse 9 tells us? Well, yes and no. Verse nine, the confession of sins, is something a Christian automatically does. It is in his new nature to repent and feel bad about sin and confess it. In fact, the words “if we confess” should read “if we keep confessing.” MacArthur comments that this “continual confession of sin is an indication of genuine salvation.” It is part of the miracle of the new life God gives us at salvation. It is what every Christian naturally does when he sins.

I really like what John MacArthur says about verse seven.

A genuine Christian walks habitually in the light (truth and holiness), not in the darkness (falsehood and sin). Their walk also results in cleansing from sin as the Lord continually forgives His own. Since those walking in the light share in the character of God, they will be habitually characterized by His holiness, indicating their true fellowship with Him. A genuine Christian does not walk in darkness but only in the light, and cleansing from sin continually occurs.

And this continual cleansing, we could add from verse nine, occurs automatically when we naturally and continually confess out sins whenever we sin. He does the cleansing by His blood.

Hence, we are always walking in the light with Him. We walk together with Him in the light, being cleansed continually by His blood.

Standing at Attention

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I had a dream last night. I was in boot camp. As dreams usually go, it was sort of disjointed; but anyway, I remember that I was sitting back, sort of rambling on about something. And then I was asked by a stern voice behind me why I was not standing at attention like everyone else. It was sort of a Gomer Pyle incident. Well, suddenly, in my embarrassment, I realized that I was not at attention as I should be, and I quickly snapped to it.

When I woke up from that short dream I immediately wondered what God was showing me—maybe that I am too lax in my life, and that I am not serious enough and steadfast enough in His program; that I need to get with it.

I was in the Marine Corps from 1969 to 1971 and I never had trouble standing at attention. In fact, I think my conduct was good. I was a good Marine. But lately, now in my old age (at 72) maybe I am becoming a little lax. Maybe I am letting things slide. I think I need to ‘get with the program” more (God’s program).

When I think of standing at attention these words and phrases come to mind: being still, rigidness, readiness, alertness, being cautious, watchfulness, not being lax or slack or laidback or careless, looking my best, being fearless, bold, steadfast, courageous, resisting evil.

And usually, when you think of standing at attention you think of standing with other solders in straight lines—all ready for inspection. So, the picture is of the readiness of a combat unit ready for war.

I think God wants me to understand my dream as how I can be better prepared for the war against the flesh and all evil. He is telling me that I am too lax, too slack, too laidback, undisciplined, too unprepared to do battle against the enemy and evil.

Here are a few verses that come to mind as I think of standing at attention.

Matthew 26:41. Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

I remember those days in boot camp while standing at attention. It was the perfect opportunity to be still and pray and listen to the voice of God—and my drill instructor!

Isaiah 50:7. Because the Lord helps me, I will not be dismayed. I have set my face like a flint to do His will; and I know that I will triumph.

I remember wearing those wool dress uniforms. They were very itchy and uncomfortable. Standing at attention very still was helpful. I was determined to be strong through the discomfort. Now, 53 years later, I also need to be strong and determined, and to resist all evil and trouble.

Joshua 1:9. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Standing at attention is taking a position of strength and courage. Showing fearlessness.

1 Corinthians 15:58. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

When we stand at attention in our mind in the army of God we demonstrate to the world and to the angels that we are steadfast and unmovable in any work for the Lord. We will be steadfast to resist all evil and continue in the work of God as He has planned for us to do, knowing that our labor for Him will not be in vail.

Those Who Trust In Him Have No Worries In Drought

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We had quite a year of drought, but the Christian has no worries or fears. God will continue to bring His blessing to him.

Jer 17:7-8

7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

whose confidence is in him.

8 He will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit.”

The Unresponsive Heart – Matthew 13:4, 19

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I sometimes wonder how some people can be so insensitive to sin, without a bit of guilt or remorse. I’m thinking about those who do sin for a living and think nothing of it. They seem to thrive in it, and the gospel has no effect on them.

I’ve been reading The Gospel According to Jesus, by John MacArthur. He has some very good incites on the parable of the soils from Matthew 13:3-9.

And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 “And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 “But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 “And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 “And others fell on the good soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 “He who has ears, let him hear.”

First we need to explain that the seed represents the Word of God and the gospel; the sower is one who presents the gospel to the unbeliever; the soil is the human heart—or the people; and the birds that ate the seed is Satan.

The purpose of sowing the seed is to build the kingdom of God—to save souls for His kingdom. In the parable, Jesus describes four kinds of soils (or four kinds of people) that the seed falls on. The first three described (vs. 4-7) is soil that is not prepared correctly for the seed of the gospel to germinate. These people will not be saved. Only the fourth kind of soil—good, fertile soil—will respond to the gospel and be saved.   

In this blog we will focus on the first soil mentioned (v. 4). The sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some of the seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.

This first soil is soil that is hard-packed. It is soil that is on a path that has been packed down by people constantly walking on it. The seed that lands on this path, as you can imagine, has no chance of taking root. The hard-packed soil represents people with a hard heart. Like the hard-packed soil, their heart is hard. It has been hardened by repeated sin and abuse. The Old Testament called these people “stiff-necked.” Their repeated sins and rebellion against God has made them what they are: unresponsive to the gospel (and the Word of God), unconcerned, indifferent, even hostile to the gospel. These are definitely unsaved people; because a believer will commit sins and even be rebellious, but he will not stay that way. The Holy Spirit will cause him to repent and he will be delivered.

Hence, this parable is directed to unsaved people. They need a heart change. The soil of their heart needs conditioning. The hard-hearted person has no chance of being saved unless his heart is softened. How?

By prayer and by the Word of God and by love from a kind friend.

It is a sad thing to see this person; they have no understanding of the gospel and no sorrow over their sin, because the devil has plucked all the seeds of the gospel away. They seem to be so oblivious to sin, to living a sinful life. These are the ones who march for Pride month; these are the ones who fight for abortion rights; these are the ones who sell themselves to pornography and also the ones who love viewing it; these are the ones who have no understanding of the truth and the Word of God and will call Christians and conservatives extremists. They fight for global government and for the climate change movement. Most of them will not repent and be saved. Much prayer is needed for the few who will be saved.

New Covid Wave Coming

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Whether it is coming or not, we know now what to do. We know that masking does not help, nor does any more shots. I think the best thing to do is let ourselves get it so we can get some immunity. I think it is also wish to just go about our normal way of life and refuse to be afraid–refuse the lock downs…if possible. At any rate, I will go about my normal business and will not just stay in my apartment. Being out in the fresh air is the best things we can do anyway.

Here is an article.

HERE WE GO: WHO Sounds Alarm Over New Covid Wave Coming This Winter

By Cristina Laila Sep. 7, 2023 12:23 pm

It must be election season!

It is all hands on deck right now to bring back Covid mandates. Mask mandates are slowly making a comeback in schools across the country. Joe Biden recently announced he will be wearing a face mask since Dr. Jill supposedly tested positive for Covid.

Los Angeles County may bring back mask mandates due to the new Covid variants BA.286 and EG.5 New Yorkers were told to mask up over the Labor Day weekend.

The World Health Organization sounded the alarm over a new wave of Covid.

“We continue to see concerning trends for COVID-19 ahead of the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere,” WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said Wednesday at a press conference.

Read Entire Article

Jesus Is Both Savior and Lord

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In the last one-hundred years there has been an effort to divide Christians into two groups: carnal and spiritual (Read 1 Cor. 2:14-3:3). And they have likewise said that many have received Christ as Savior, but not as Lord. They would be the carnal ones. They would be saved but not really committed to Christ.

And surprisingly, some have been okay with this, because they say that if they accept Him as Lord they would be guilty of human works.

But this is crazy, because that would be dividing Christ. For He is both Savior and Lord. And so, when we seek to be saved we must accept all of Him, in all that He is—Savior and Lord. He must be our Savior and our Lord. If He is not, we really haven’t accepted Him (the real Him) at all.

And, as far as being guilty of “human works,” Jesus tells us that true faith requires works (James 2:14-26); that without works faith is dead. And works is not something we do without His help. He is the worker in us. When we are saved He gives us a new life, a life that naturally does the work of God.

And by the way, if you are called a carnal Christian, you may not be a Christian at all. Because carnality is not of God. A carnal person is a person void of spirituality, or void of the Holy Spirit. So here it is: a carnal person is a pagan, not a Christian; and a Spiritual person is a Christian, because he walks by the Spirit and he does the works of God (Romans 8:9-11).

However, there will be periods in the Christian’s life when he takes the wrong road or gets off track. But that will be only temporary. God provides for him a way to get back on track—he will just need to repent of his sins and start again. And this will happen many times because we are still in our fleshly body. And God understands this—and so should we. But we endeavor to abide with Him from day to day failing along the way, but getting back up again and again. And thank God that He has provided for us constant forgiveness and cleansing (1 Jn 1:9).

We depend on His constant forgiveness and cleansing; yet we strive to abide with Him and trust Him more.

Update: It’s update time

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I’ve been struggling again with my perfection thing. Lately it’s been with my latest book publishing project—with getting the book cover perfect, centered. Now I’m trying decide whether I will just leave it, or send it back to the printer and try again. I will take another day or two to make my decision. But I just hate to be delayed again. This is why I hate publishing—delay, delay, delay. My painting is somewhat the same. I mean, I am a perfectionist on that too. I don’t want to see any mistakes. Oh, I long for my perfect, redeemed body when I shall see Him face to face and be like Him.

It’s Monday—new beginnings. A day when I like to read the comic Garfield. A day to be lazy and need my coffee. Laughing helps. I also have found some help this morning reading an article in the sports section of the newspaper about how my baseball team did. I enjoy reading how our newest pitcher, Keuchel, did—so encouraging to hear his positive words as to how he went about his pitching.

I’ve been reading the book Mayflower, by Nathaniel Philbrick. There is so much in this book that I didn’t know about how or country got started. There was so much tragedy and death that I had no idea about. And most people know hardly anything about what is called King Philip’s war in 1675-1676. This war, the English against the Indians, was so very brutal—even worse than the Civil War, but thank God it was short. This was all before the better things happened—like the writing of the Constitution, etc. But overall, our country still was born of much blood and strife and prayer.

And now it seems that our country is on the edge of great disaster and ruin. Much prayer is needed. We need to turn to 2 Chron. 7:14, to find the promise of God if we will pray. We who are Christians need to pray.

Things to stay away from:

  • All new age rainbow stuff.
  • AI-Jesus. If asked about this, point them to the true Jesus in the Gospels.
  • AI-bible. It is false.