Category Archives: My Writing

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.

What’s on my Mind? Biden, Jim Jordan, Faith …

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First and foremost, on my mind is suspicion of Biden. I don’t trust him. He seems to be playing both sides. He says he is for Israel, but at the same time he is aiding Hamas and delaying Israel’s war effort. I think he is just trying to get votes from both sides. It is all political.

Second on my mind is why Jim Jordan is being stopped from being Speaker. I think he would make a very good speaker—but liberals won’t allow it. Do they know what they are doing?

Thirdly, and more personal, is my thoughts on the subject of obedience and faith. I give the credit to John MacArthur in his book, The Gospel According to Jesus. He points out that some say that obedience and faith should be regarded as separate, that obedience is works and should come after faith—something like that. But MacArthur makes the point that the two should always be together—as James points out, faith without works is dead.

And what is really coming to light for me now is that when we are disobedient to God, we are in sin; and so, this tells us that when we sin we are lacking in faith—or we are not trusting God. I know that we—even good Christians—will never be perfect in obedience and faith; but this is something we have to be constantly working on. I mean, we cannot let up in our effort to be holy and godly. And on the brighter side, when we are more obedient, God makes us happy (or joyful). And when we are obedient we have more hope and steadfastness and resilience in evil times. In short, obedience to God is the key to the victorious Christian life—because in our obedience we are trusting in Him.

Fourthly, as I trust and obey Him, I plod along with everything else. I have two books that I am editing. I am nursing a thing in my mouth called lichen planus (sort of a disease which apparently has no cure; but I am using mouth washes, aloe Vera gel and clove to try to get rid of it, or at least sooth it).

I am also reading two books; the one I mentioned by MacArthur, and a book by Bill O’Reilly, Killing the Witches. This book falls in line with the one I just read, Mayflower. The Mayflower arrived in 1620 and the witches tragedy occurred later at about 1680. I say tragedy because they were killing girls that weren’t witches at all. They were just suspected of being witches. It was much like the Catholic inquisition—burning Christians alive. Terrible!

My blogging has slowed down, but now that I am not working much, I will try to pick it up again.

The Tribulation: My Latest Book

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I have just finished writing my latest book, THE TRIBULATION. I think it is my best book and I hope you will consider getting it. It is available now at my Lulu website: https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/lordteachustopray/

As I have noted on the book description,

This is not a book on all the personal tribulations/trials we may go through [now]. It is on the seven-year Tribulation written about in the book of Revelation, and also in the Old Testament prophetical books. The Tribulation is a product of my study of Scripture, and also from a few other bible scholars whom I trust. As to its content, about half of the book introduces the Tribulation, giving important information as to it setting, its purpose, and its nature. Then in the second half, the judgments (the seals, the trumpets, and the bowls) are expounded on, and each Tribulation event is highlighted. I’m sure that this book will serve you well in your understanding of The Tribulation as it is given to us in the Scriptures.

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.

Update: Working and Publishing

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I haven’t been blogging lately because I have a job going–getting out early and too tired to do anything after work. And the days have been hot and humid. But I don’t want to complain. It’s good to be working, making money. But today, Saturday, I have free and back again.

I have a new book coming out soon–probably in September. The title is THE TRIBULATION. I’m going through the publication process now. I self-publish all my books (with the help of Lulu.com). Please look for it; and also please pray for the process of publishing to go smoothly.

That’s all for now.

Update: Lewis and Clark Reading

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I have been reading this wonderful book on Lewis and Clark by John Bakeless. The first few chapters were a little boring—with a lot of background stuff. But once I got into the reading of the expedition it was quite good. I am thrilled with all their adventures. Every day they are faced with a new challenge. But they were prepared for most of it. They kind of knew what they would face with the Indians, the Missouri river, and the wild animals. So, they brought along many things to trade with the Indians; and they recruited a few expert hunters. They were always well fed with fresh meat—buffalo and deer, and other small animals.

I was so impressed with Lewis, with his knowledge of the wild—how he knew of all the natural berries and herbs to use for eating and health. Several times he used wild herbs and berries (choke cherries) to restore health to those who got sick.

I am about half-way through the book now. I just finished reading about how they encountered grizzly bears when they were in the area of present Montana. They were especially ferocious, and big—some up to 1,000 pounds. They commented that since the grizzlies had never experienced the loud and deadly rifle shots, they did not fear them. And their hides were so tuff that it took 5 or 6 shots to kill them.

I was amazed in my reading of the bravery of the men, how they continued on even after being chased by huge wounded bears for miles. And it was amazing, miraculous that no one was killed by the bears. In fact, in the entire expedition there was only one death; they were well prepared and very good survivors.

When I say “they,” there were more of them than I originally thought. It wasn’t just the two men. There were about 30 or 40 of them—most were soldiers in the army. And there were also a couple Indian squaws, including the famous Sacagawea who was the best interpreter, and also very helpful with many things.

Well, that’s all I will write today. I’m gonna do some more reading of this book and drink more coffee at my favorite hangout. Good day to you!

Armageddon — An Introduction

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I have been writing a book on the Tribulation, and I am at the end of it. The last chapter, which I am beginning now is entitled: Armageddon, The Fall of Babylon, and The Judgement of the Nations.

ARMAGEDDON

When we think about Armageddon we should think of it first as a war, or as an extended, escalating conflict. Then at the very end it will be a bloody battle, normally called the Battle of Armageddon.

In my research I found that some of the most popular authors on this subject seem to be quite sure that the campaign of Armageddon involves eight phases or stages: 1) the gathering of the armies of the Antichrist, 2) the destruction of Babylon, 3) the fall of Jerusalem, 4) the Antichrist moves against the Jewish Remnant, 5) Israel is saved, 6) Jesus Christ Returns, 7) the final battle, and 8) Christ ascends to the Mount of Olives.

Using the same Scriptures, I came up with a slightly different and shorter list of stages. Here are my five stages: 1) the gathering of the armies, 2) A Great Earthquake, or a nuclear exchange, 3) the fall of Babylon, 4) the fall of Jerusalem, and 5) the climax of the battle, or the return of Christ. Also note that I am not positively sure about the order of stages two, three, and four; but I will do my best to explain things as I see them, as you will read in upcoming blogs.

My Update — Three Things

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I’ll start with a few complaints. Aside from an aggravating health situation, the weather here in Minnesota is most unpleasant. It’s dark, cloudy, humid, cold, and dreary. I don’t mind it being cold, but I like a sunny day. God, please give me a sunny day!

Respect for Marriage Act

Is that an oxymoron? If I didn’t know what it was I would praise it. Marriage is a beautiful thing. And though I am divorced, I still believe it is good—as is all of God’s creation. But this Respect for Marriage Act is a farce. It is telling us that we have to respect the so-called marriage between people of the same gender. Well, I don’t! True marriage is only between a man and a woman. Anything else is a perversion and is dishonoring of their bodies; they are changing the truth into a lie, and are changing what is natural into that which is against nature. Consequently, they do not like to retain God in their thoughts and they have given themselves over to a reprobate mind (from Romans 1:24-28). But marriage between a man and a woman is good and honoring to God. It is what God designed from the beginning—the two shall be one flesh.

My Reading

For some reason I have gotten into reading about African American history, and recently about Booker T. Washington. Wow! He was such a great man. He has done so much for his race and also for the poor whites and all people in the south after the civil war. He was a great educator. His emphasis in his college was to get his students working in a trade as well as into books. And so many from his college became great leaders and moral people, as they were trained also biblically and morally. And it was a hard task, because blacks coming out of slavery then were kept from any kind of education. Most did not know how to read or write or how to keep themselves clean or in good health. Hence when they came to school, Booker T. trained them in the art of bathing and brushing their teeth, etc., as well as how to read and write. And they were also expected to learn farming and building. All of their school buildings were built by the students. And they even made their own bricks!

Retirement

Retirement is a big change for me. Sometimes I feel that I am getting lazy. I think I need to force myself to walk more and work more—even though I am retired. I do like to keep up with my customers and paint for them when they ask me for work. Lately, I have been asking myself, what is retirement? What should I be doing? How should I be winding down? I don’t want to be like some who spend all of their time in front of a TV.

Update: Feelings about every Little Thing

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I’ll start off with my overall feelings—how I feel, generally, about everything, about every little thing. I mean it seems like so many things are beginning to pile up on me and making me anxious. I suppose that’s why I think it’s time for an update. I need a vent. I need to put things in perspective, to organize, and most of all to bring things to the Lord—the One who knows it all and who cares.

I can’t find an adequate description of how things are with me. There are fears and worries and tiredness and some regrets and some health issues and just a lack of clarity about things. And then I worry about what is happening to me. Okay, I have a list I want to work through—mainly for my sake, but you can listen in if you want.

The News

I heard the other day that, I think it was about 65% of people, don’t believe the news—TV news, newspapers, all of it. News people these days have an agenda. They aren’t true journalists. They have a plan. They write the way they want to influence people. For instance, the reason that they are writing in the papers and on TV news about the Jan. 6th subpoenas and about those who are refusing to come, it is all an effort to get people to think badly about what Donald Trump did—so that they will think twice about voting for him. Again, its all politics. Its all about stopping Trump. It’s so sick! I could say more, but I think that’s enough on news for now.

My Reading

I’m reading United States of Socialism, by Dinesh D’Souza. Generally, I think it’s a good book—very informative and true. But sometimes, like the news, it gets to be too negative. I guess I have to also be reading the Word. It’s like drinking coffee. For every gulp of coffee, we should also take one or two gulps of water, especially on hot days when I am working outside. My doctor told me that.

My Writing

I’m an author, so most of my writing will be on a book. And then I will transfer parts of it to my blog. I’m writing now on the Tribulation. That sounds pretty negative, but I’m actually being blessed by the writing—because I’m using the bible as my main source. I’ve gotten to the point now where most of what I write comes out good on the first try—no editing requited. But recently that’s not been true—because of a hard passage in Revelation. Anyway, I was fairly sure of this one thing I wrote. Then last night because of additional reading on it, I know now that I will have to change it. It must be changed. And when you are writing a biblical commentary on a passage, it is critical to get it right. And when you do finally get it right after the second or third try it will always be a blessing and worth the effort.

My Jobs

It’s always nice to take time off. But I’m getting the itch now to go back to work—at least a little. Oh, I’m a house painter if you didn’t know. I’m retired, but I’m thinking that as long as I feel good enough to work, and want to, I will. I like painting and I especially like doing it to help people. It’s something God has gifted me at and put me into. However, it seems that because of my aging, I have more worries about it—about every aspect of it: doing it right, not falling off a ladder, pleasing people, all of it. Well, I’ve come to the end now on this blog and I feel better. Thank the Lord.

Finishing My Life Well

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Lately, I’ve been giving some thought to finishing my life well. I’ve been asking myself these questions: what will I have achieved in my life? or, Will I have done all the things that God has called me to do?

I suppose the unspiritual person would concentrate on worldly achievements, on greatness, wealth, and popularity. And even the Christian may be tempted to measure himself with these things: how much wealth have I stored up? How popular am I? or even How great I am, as far as my position in the community?

Then when I looked at a few Scriptures, I was pulled another direction. I first looked at Ecclesiastes 12:13: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” It’s hard to judge how much I have done that. I would say that it’s a daily thing—to walk in His Spirit and obey Him every day.

I also looked at Micah 6:8: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”  This is another one of those daily things and hard to judge how much I have kept up with this. It is something that I can only do when I am constantly walking in His Spirit.

Then I was led to a very familiar passage, Psalm 131:1-2:

1 Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.

2 Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.

It is a song of accent of David, and tells us of David’s childlike trust in the Lord. Here we can definitely see in David how we ought to conduct our lives; and if we are old, how we ought to finish our life.

For me, I ought not to give my thoughts to greatness or high achievements, even if they are regarded as spiritual, or “for the ministry.” I ought rather to quiet myself and be contented with the Lord—meditating on His word, listening to His voice, walking in His Spirit and doing His will.

Moreover, I ought not to pressure myself with how many books I should write, or blogs I should write, or with ministry goals. My focus should be to daily and hourly keep my heart right with Him and to walk humbly with Him—and then to be open to see where He leads me.