THE HUMAN ZIPPER

July 27th, 2012 | By admin

STOP THE WORLD I WANT TO GET OFF

July 23rd, 2012 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

In the ancient 1970′s, I can’t remember the date, there was a Broadway play by the above name. At that time we in America were fighting the Vietnam War and there was a lot of drugs and discontent in America. I didn’t see the play, but I always thought it was about the discontent in America.

One thing is for sure, when you’re here, you can’t get off as long as you live. It’s not a peachy clean world, but we have to make the best of it. Sometimes we forget that. It’s how we perceive things that make it good or bad. It’s how we adjust to things that make it good or bad.

Many times teens make the wrong decision and try to make things better by drugs and alcohol. That doesn’t work. You have to wake up, and the waking up is worse than the drugs or alcohol. That does not help the situation.

As a parent, I know I did not do the correct thing sometimes. It’s funny, but we are not given a book of instructions. We have to do what our instincts tells us is right. I wish I had gotten a book of instructions. When I made the right decision and my children had thought I hadn’t, I could have opened the book and said, “Here on page 425 it says, ‘da-da-da-da.’” I would have liked that, but my book must have slipped out in the hall. I never received it.

What do you do? Slam the door in their face, jump in your car or motorcycle and screech out of the drive way? Do you find a junkie and get some drugs? Then you don’t feel a thing. Finally, you have to face your parents, and you hate to see them. You hate what they are going to say to you. You don’t feel like talking to them with the buzz in your head. You want to stop the world and get off. Can’t do that. You’re on to stay.

Why are you so dissatisfied? Is it because you did not get your way? Grow up! As an adult, you will rarely get your way. When you have a job, you work for someone and have to do what they say. It isn’t easy. You even go to the bathroom when they say. It’s time you start learning now to be an adult and realize you don’t get to do everything you want.

Christ hung on the cross for six hours in excruciating pain so you could have forgiveness of your sins. Let me tell you how hard it was for Him. The Roman soldiers laid him on the cross and drove nails, big nails in his wrists. Fill of your wrists between the bones. That’s where the nails probably were. Then they put his feet together and drove nails through both of them. A deep hole was already dug and the end of the cross lay at the top of the hole. The cross was rough hewn, not smooth wood, and they let the cross drop in the deep hole. Think of the jar Jesus had when the cross hit the bottom.

As time went by, Jesus had a hard time breathing. He had to push his body up by his feet to breathe. The roughness of the wood on his back probably made his back raw, and the pain was horrible on his feet and lungs to get a breath. This is how much He loved you.

Christ did not want to stop the world and get off. He was willing to die for you that you might obey His will and go to heaven. He still loves you, no matter what you do. He wants you to be a Christian.

DEFEATING DISCOURAGEMENT: WHEN ENCOURAGEMENT DOESN’T COME

July 20th, 2012 | By admin

This is an article via Paul Holland. We all need encouragement. 

            We all need to hear encouraging words. What happens if the encouraging words do not come? What if people – even family or Christians – do not encourage us when we need it? It can be discouraging and hurtful. What do we do?

NEGATIVE REACTIONS

            Pretend we don’t need them. But that’s a lie – it is self-deception. It creates in us a “martyr complex”. We start feeling like a victim. It may help us feel good for a while, but it will have devastating results on our inter-personal relationships if we continue in that mentality.

            “Toot our own horns.” Have you heard it said, “If you don’t toot your own horn, no one else will”? Proverbs 27:2.

            “I’ll show them! I’ll do even more where they have to notice me!” But that usually backfires. Paul was not praised for preaching without pay. He was criticized for it – 1 Corinthians 9. The Pharisees did not commend Jesus for His miracles – they tried to kill Him for them. Plus, again, if done very much or for very long, it leads us to do things to be seen of men, which is what Jesus condemned in Matthew 6 – three times.

            “Nobody appreciates me. I won’t be hurt again. I’ll just quit!” Quitting is not an option. Consider God’s promise in Galatians 6:9 and Colossians 3:23-24. We are His workmanship – Ephesians 2:10. We can’t quit being who we are in Christ.

POSITIVE REACTIONS

            What if people – even family or Christians – do not encourage us when we need it? It can be discouraging and hurtful. What do we do?

            1. Remember God does not forget what we do. Hebrews 6:10. Jesus is right now, preparing a place for those who serve Him – John 14:1-4. The day of judgment will be a day of great reward.

            2. We should examine our own hearts and our own motives. Luke 17:5-10. We do not serve God for the praise of men. God does not owe us any praise.

            3. We can encourage ourselves in the Lord. 1 Samuel 30:6. How? Prayer – 1 Samuel 30:8. Remembering God’s good deeds from the past. Sang psalms.

            4. Work to prevent the absence of encouragement. 1 Samuel 23:16. These were friends. No doubt Jonathan felt this way about David because David felt that way about Jonathan. Proverbs 18:24. We need a Jonathan in our lives. Christian friends are the best.

            5. We can invite encouragement by being encouragers. Galatians 6:7-8.

From Bill Bagents’ chapter “When Good Words Don’t Come” in the book Easing Life’s Hurts, written by Bagents and Jack Wilhelm.

ASK AUNT MARY – DRINKING

July 18th, 2012 | By admin

by Aunt Mary

Yesterday out county voted whether to have liquor sales in our county or not. There were “yes” signs and “no” signs in many yards. Mine had a “no”sign that was stolen twice. The third one stuck. So far, it is still standing, but I thought someone would get it last night. The vote was to not have liquor sales.

In my lifetime, I’ve seen a lot of drunk people. I wonder if some of them would have been embarrassed if they had known what they were doing. I was embarrassed for them. They were people I had known and grown up with, and then to see them acting like idiots embarrassed me.

Did they think it made them feel important to down so many drinks? They probably thought they were in the “in crowd”. They weren’t. They were sickening. What does liquor do to your body?

Drinking causes several things to happen to your body. The first that comes to mind is liver disease. You know your body cannot function with a diseased liver. Cirrhosis of the liver is one disease that is caused by drinking. It kills you.

Two other things I notice is Beer Belly and wrinkled, rough, dry skin. Beer Bellies are very prominent and are not pretty. A lot of men have them. Everyone knows they are beer drinkers. The wrinkled, rough, dry skin is usually seen in women, or at least that’s where I notice it. It’s not pretty, but when you have been drinking for several years, that is how you look. Is that the way you want to look? You wrinkle as you get older anyway, so why make it worse?

What does God say about drunkedness?

1Co 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1Co 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Those two scriptures are pretty clear. If I want to live according to the will of God, I can’t drink. Taking one drink can lead to more and more. Before long you will be a drunkard. I’ve smelled it on people’s breaths, and I don’t think I want to drink it. If it tastes like it smells, I know I don’t want it in my mouth.

Before you take a drink, think about what God says.

ASK AUNT MARY-GOD KNOWS ME

July 11th, 2012 | By admin

by Aunt Mary

Yesterday part of my Bible reading was Psalm 139. I love Psalm. David is so tender in his talking to God. Sometimes we forget that God is a friend, and we lash out at him, but David knew He was his friend. Read the first few verses with me.

Psa 139:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Psa 139:2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Psa 139:3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
Psa 139:4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
Psa 139:5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
Psa 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Psa 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psa 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
Psa 139:9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Psa 139:10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Psa 139:11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
Psa 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
Psa 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
Psa 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

It amazes me, even at my age, that God knows me as well as He does. He knew me before I was born. He knows my thoughts before I say them, even before I think them. Isn’t it a comforting thought to know we are loved that much?

If God hears our thoughts, he hears us when we think how much we hate our parents, doesn’t he? We’ve all had thoughts we don’t wish anyone to hear, but God does. Besides hearing all that, He still loves us. That’s a lot of love. Think how much more He’ll love us if we clean up our thoughts! Really, He can’t love us anymore than He does right now. He gives us all the love He can.

It astounds me that God knows what you think as you read this. He knows if you agree with it, or if you are laughing at it. He knows if you are saying, “Amen.” He knows if you are calling me names that we cannot print in this blog. He knows you. He knows me. He knows how sincere you are about Him.

When I was a little girl, sitting in our little one room church building, we’d sing a song about an “all seeing eye watching you.” I’d look around the room of about 40-50 people looking for “the eye.” That is a good way to explain God. He is watching all of us, ALL of us. Not just a few, but ALL of us. I love Psalm 139. It brings me back in focus. God is all around us. He’s watching us and knows us well.

INDEPENDENCE DAY

July 4th, 2012 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

Today in America we celebrate Independence Day. On July 4, 1776, men gathered and signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They made a stand against England to be a free country. They fought and died to have the freedom we enjoy.

The main reason they left the European countries was because they could not worship God as they wanted to. They were punished for reading the Bible. Then when they came to America, the English imposed horrible taxes on them. How greedy some people are.

How would you feel today if your church doors were closed to you? Some would not care at all. Others would be appalled and hide in their houses to worship God. We are so use to this freedom I’m sure it would be hard to give up.

Our nation was based upon religion. It’s strange today when religion is not mentioned so much, but it was important to the founders of our nation. Maybe we need to get back to that. We would be happier people. We forget about God more than we remember Him.

How are you going to enjoy the 4th of July? There will be fireworks, parades, cookouts, and who knows what else. Will you remember the freedoms we enjoy? I hope so, and remember how Christ died on the cross for us that we may have freedom from our sins. That is the most important freedom.

WHERE IS GOD?

July 2nd, 2012 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

Today we have been fooled by so many magicians and politicians that we are led to believe that there is no God, but there is. He is still alive and well, and in Heaven.

Several years my husband and I took a long dreamed trip to Scotland. I was teaching a class of 6-8 year old children on Sunday mornings in church. When we returned, they were anxious to hear about the trip. They were all boys, so they asked how we got there, how fast the plane flew, how high, etc. They wanted to know what the clouds looked like when we flew above them. One little boy was quiet, but finally asked, “Did you see…?” He pointed his finger to the ceiling. Then he quietly said, “God.” (more…)