Creating Thought

“we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 As we approach the end of this calendar year (2015) and the beginning of the next (2016), are you intimidated by the prospect ahead? I know that I am. I struggled every day with fear and worry because of how drastically our culture is changing. What has been comfortable is going away and what is coming in its place is a culture that despises God and all things that honor God. What changes will take place in 2016 and in one year from now, what changes will be be reflecting upon? The forces of wickedness in this world are building and godly wisdom and reason are being shunted aside. What do we as Christians expect? Remembering again that the disciples of Christ, when he was here on the earth and when he was crucified and died though that it was over. Some actually believed that Christ had failed in His mission and tha

The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me? Psalm 118:6 What can man do to me? Good question. If we think along our normal temporal plane we would say "Man can do a lot to me." After all, have we not seen the Christians who are beheaded because they would not reject Christ and convert to Islam? Have we not seen the reports of women and children being raped with impunity? Have we not seen those who have be caged and burned alive because they did not agree with the militant Islamists?  Yes, we have, and it is natural and normal to react to these things with fear.  We fear that this will be us, it will come to our door and sooner rather than later. We fear that our government does not have a plan or strategy to protect us. We fear that we are looking at a future that is in control of the evil one and there is little we can do about it.  But the Word of God is this; "The Lord is for me; I will not fear;" whatever man can do to me is of little consequ

Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not   envious toward wrongdoers. 2  For they will   wither quickly like the grass And   fade like the green herb. Psalm 37:1-2 Do you believe this?  In view of the increasing violence and acts of terror in our country and the world, is this piece of the Word of God something you can take refuge in?  I know that it is difficult for me to not fret because of evildoers. First of all I have a black belt of many degrees in fretting.  I don't find myself being very envious toward wrongdoers - that caution is given for those who wish they could be rich like the wrongdoers are rich. No, that's not really me. But I do fret the doers of evil, the ones that walk into a concert hall and kill nearly 100 people against whom they have no specific complaint.   But we know they are coming our way. It is only a matter of time and over that time we will see a progression of evil that will come closer and closer to our safe place. And when it does, no one

"When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?" Psalm 56:3-4 November 14, 2015 Where were you on this day? Where were you the day before in the afternoon when the news of the terrorist attacks in Paris came your way? How were you five minutes after you first heard the news compared to before you had heard them?  If you were like many of us, one of the feelings (among many) was probably fear. Fear that that can happen in our country. That has actually happened in our country so you probably did some mental comparisons with 9/11 and a few mass murders in our country. How about now?  Are you still afraid? Did you do as I did and say something like; "Well, I'm never traveling to Europe, that's for sure."?  Maybe you are not afraid, or at least you are not willing to admit it even to yourself. But you realize the when this kind of attack comes closer to

Be of sober spirit , be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 (NASB) If anyone was qualified to make this statement based on personal experience, it was certainly Peter. Peter, who had, of his own accord falling down under the attack of the devil and failed to keep his bold promise. Peter had promised in the most explosive terms his unfailing allegiance for Jesus Christ.  At their last supper together Jesus spoke to Peter about what he (Peter) was going to go through and they had this exchange. “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has  demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”   But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!”   And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.” Luke

If you are a Christian.  If you have believed and placed your faith in the words of Christ. If you have accepted the free gift of eternal life that was purchased for you on the cross by the death of Christ and secured through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Then the path of your life will include testing of your faith. It is simply a promise given to us by Jesus and in His Word, the Bible. And it is not always easy to understand. When your speak out about your belief, you will encounter disbelief - sometimes in the form of ridicule and hate. But be encouraged. God is your refuge. He will never fail you or forsake you. You can believe this.  "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.  (John 16:33) A great truth is this: No matter how difficult life becomes in this world, it will be overcome in an instant. Present difficulties will be replaced with etern

Why have I started writing in the blog again?   Because I have been given a burden.  Because I envision that the culture of our country, which has always been in a state of change, is making a significant pivot away from morality and toward a standard of godlessness. What once governed our laws and the judgments of our courts is being washed away and replaced with a worldly standard that does not include God's precepts.  Because those who confess to be Christian are being tested.  This testing will prove some to be false confessors and others to be true confessors. When it comes time to stand up and lose what we have, some will stand up and lose and others will keep what they have and remain seated, adopting the accepted standard that is being implemented.  Because each day there is evidence that the enemies of the cross of Christ are gaining strength and momentum. They are being enabled by the courts which have rejected God and His word as the basis of sound judgement and are

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18 This is just one. There are so many passages which should give us a heads up about what it really takes to live as a Christian. It is a given, "the sufferings of this present time" statement can be compared to so many others that talk as if suffering was a common occurrence in the lives of those who were the recipients of the letters from the Apostles, Paul, Peter, John, James and the author of Hebrews.  It was not a rare thing.  Declaring to be a believer of Jesus Christ and a follower of His word had a price that included loss.  It also had great rewards. But in the American Church today, and as it has been for a long time, trials and sufferings because of what we believe have been pretty much non-existent with a few exceptions.  Yes, there has always been times, even in the United States where believers suffered because of their

For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ (2 Corinthians 1:5) What do you know about suffering? Do you think about it very much?  It's not really a subject of choice - especially for those of us who are called according to His purpose in this country.  Oh sure, we know that people suffer because of war, poverty, various tragedies of weather and what is generally called "acts of God."  A friend is suffering because her close friends were in a very bad traffic accident and although the occupants of the car are alive, they are in critical and serious condition in the hospital. So the four passengers are suffering physical trauma and psychological trauma and my friend is suffering from the concern for them.  Another friend is suffering from the effects of chemo-therapy.  Actually two friends are experiencing that. Chemicals that kill the cancer cells also kill the healthy cells leaving little to rejoice ove

The last post here was more than one year ago and I wrote about the work of imagination. Actually it was the release of my book "The 4th Kind" which was the subject of the post. It was just 14 months ago. Much water has passed under the bridge and as I look back, the changes that have taken hold, not only of me personally but of my world and world culture in general, have been astounding. My impressions and reaction may be more intense than what others are noticing. Some, I believe are on the oblivious side of the line while others are on the alarmist side.  What about you? If you take a few minutes to consider the past 12-18 months, how much has changed in the world you live in? Are you pretty much at ease and expect that not much has changed and things are on a pretty steady course?  Or are you nearing panic mode and are wondering what is going to happen to in your near future? I know not everyone thinks as I do. I also know that some are thinking that