House-cut Keeps Me From Being (too) Vain

With all the seriousness and gloom we have been surrounded by, I wanted to write something a little less serious and light-hearted.

I don’t want to use the word quarantine, but I did get a shelter-in-place haircut, or a house-cut, hey, I may have just started something. And no, I didn’t get a house-cut because Blake Shelton got his haircut by Gwen Stefani. I actually got my haircut first.

I’m the type of person that goes to a barber, haircutting establishment (I don’t want to use the word beautician) to get a haircut. I don’t have too much going for me, but I do still have my hair. I haven’t had a haircut in weeks. The barbers and hair salons are all closed where I live. And my hair looks like I could slick it back. It looked bad and it was bothering me, so we took matters into our own hands and I got a house-cut.

It turned out pretty good and it feels much better, next time we’ll get the sides shorter, but I was impressed and it keeps me from being so vain that I have to wait for the barber shops and salons to open up. I’m not embarrassed to walk around. I don’t even need to wear a hat.

And the house-cut keeps me from being too vain. Like I said, I normally am vain and go to a haircutting establishment. I even have (had) a standing appointment every two weeks, but now, who knows I may save a little money and have my haircut at home from now on. I just looked up house-cut in the dictionary and it’s not a word, maybe I’ll get credit for creating a slang word. Take care, stay safe and God Bless!

Praying and Washing My Hands

I’ve been praying a lot lately, and washing my hands. I’ve been praying that God has mercy on us and wipes out the Corona Virus. Or, God certainly has the power to wipe us out, but I pray that he doesn’t. I’ve been praying that we turn back to God and seek his face, that we put him back number one in our lives, that we don’t have false idols. When I am reading the Bible, I notice that worshipping anyone other than God makes God mad. I’m praying that we repent from our sins, we’re all sinners, and none of us are perfect. And, I’m so thankful that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

When Michael Jackson died in 2009, that’s all you heard about on the news was how distraught everyone was about losing him. Kobe Bryant just passed away and I hope we are not worshipping entertainers, athletes, anyone except God. Sports, has been shut down, School is closed, but then again we’re not allowed to pray at school anymore either.

I’m praying that the kids can get back to going to the parks and playing, and that they can get back to school soon too. That we can get back to watching football, and basketball (sports in general). We just need to be careful not to worship the players and Sports and not to put it before going to Church and worshipping God, and I’m washing my hands.

I’m praying that we can get back to attending Church in person and that I can get back to attending pastoral meetings with my fellow brothers, so we can find the Pastor that God has in store for our Church and I’m washing my hands.

I’m praying for people that may not have accepted Jesus into their lives or that don’t believe in Jesus. I pray that they come to know Jesus and accept him as their Savior before it’s too late. We live in an unpredictable time, we are seeing tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, diseases, hurricanes and more. We need to be ready to go and meet our maker.

I’m also thanking God, on a daily basis for my countless blessings that I don’t deserve. I’m truly blessed. Let’s not forget to thank God, even in these times of despair and uncertainty.

And, I’m praying that God will forgive me of my sins. I know I am not perfect, that I am a sinner. I’m repenting for my sins and washing my hands – Stay Safe and God Bless You.

Are You Lucky or Blessed?

Are you blessed or lucky? Am I blessed or lucky? My family returned from Germany, March 20th, after visiting my wife’s family and celebrating her 40th birthday with her twin sister. We arrived on March 10th and planned on staying until March 25th, but our plans were changed by the Pandemic, Corona Virus.

First, we were told all American’s had to be back with in the U.S. by Friday, March 13th, but we just got there three days earlier and ignored the warning. And, the 4 0 celebration was planned for the following day. However, our return flight kept getting cancelled. My wife spent hours on the phone trying to book our return flights. We finally got a flight that didn’t get cancelled, however, we had to fly from Frankfurt, Germany with a layover in London, England and then to Dallas, Texas, five days early, as opposed to or our original flight from Frankfurt, Germany, straight to Dallas, Texas.

On the way over to Germany, I sat two seats away from someone that coughed the entire flight and didn’t bother to cover their mouth. We walked through Dallas Fort Worth Airport, and Frankfurt Am Main Airport and I don’t think we practiced social distancing lining up, to check in on the way over. On the way back, they did ensure we spread out when we exited the plane in Dallas, before we checked in with the CDC that was waiting for us there.

We arrived in Dallas and were screened for the Corona Virus, passed our screening and were told to self-quarantine for 14 days at home. We did and never developed any serious symptoms, yes, we had a sniffle or a cough, but nothing to get too worried about.

I said all that to say this, am I lucky or am I blessed that we flew all the way to Germany to visit with family, celebrate my wife and sister-in-law’s 40th birthday and to visit with some old friends and made it home safe. God was definitely with us when we drove back from Dallas to Arkansas, because we were exhausted. We took turns driving, but somehow made it home. Are we lucky or blessed? I believe we are blessed, God was definitely with us.

I’m blessed! I have a beautiful family that loves me, and we are healthy. I have a job right now, when according to CNBC ‘Another 6.6 million file for unemployment’ (9 March, 2020). I have a roof over my head. I have a loving Church family, and have many more things to be thankful for.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/another-66m-americans-file-for-unemployment-benefits-as-layoffs-show-no-letup/ar-BB12nLmw?ocid=spartanntp

I’m sure all of you have stories to share about your Corona Virus experiences, are you lucky or blessed? I’m blessed!

What Can We Learn Form the Corona Virus?

First of all, this is just my opinion, but I think we need to slow down. I believe that God slowed us down by having some of us shelter-in-place and some of us even quarantined. We have such busy lifestyles now, people working Saturdays, and even Sundays, which is supposed to be set aside for the Lord, a day of rest to glorify God. I think God slowed us down for a bit, telling us Don’t forget about me, don’t forget to put me first, don’t forget to worship me, and don’t forget to enjoy the beauty of the world that he (I) made. It reminds me of the song So Will I by Hillsong Worship, “And as You speak a hundred billion galaxies are born, in the vapor of Your breath the planets form.”

Exodus 20:8-11 ESV “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Mark 2:27 ESV “And he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Those are just two passages about the Sabbath day in the Bible, there are many more. God wanted us to slow down, especially on the day of rest and I think we did for a while. I just hope we can learn from this and heed his warning.

Another point I want to make is that we need to turn back to God and put him first. Oftentimes we get caught up in our world. We need to put God first in everything we do. We need to make sure we don’t have false idols and that we are not worshipping anyone or anything but God. We just saw Kobe Bryant pass away and I saw many Facebook and Twitter posts of how people were distraught and I am sympathetic towards his family and friends. I tried to not get too distraught over his passing. I just hope we are not worshipping entertainers, actors, actresses and athletes.

I especially feel sorry for anyone that doesn’t know Jesus as their personal Savior. My prayer is that people that are lost, that they turn to Jesus in this time and accept him into their hearts and repent from their sins and ask to be forgiven to have everlasting life with him in Heaven.

And even all Christians, we are sinners and maybe we are getting caught up in our busy lives and may not be putting God first in our lives. We all need to repent, and ask God for forgiveness. We need to turn back to God and put him first, take time to pray and read our Bibles. In this time of social distancing, many Churches are turning to social media, and Facebook to put their Church services on, and their devotionals. We need to take time to watch them and worship God, to get back in the word of God.

Also this time has allowed us to spend more time with our family. We just got back from Germany on 20 March, and my family was quarantined for 14 days, with schools being closed there is more time to spend with family. While it was a good time, it did get stressful too, you have to get creative with things to do as well. It rained a lot here in Arkansas and we were not able to get outside much and some states have shelter-in-place in effect. I just hope we come out of this Corona virus stronger and that we learned something from it and that may be different for every person. For me I got to spend time with my family and slow down and was reminded to appreciate God’s beautiful work that he created. The beautiful mountains, creeks, rivers, lakes, and forest here in Arkansas. And how much I love and don’t want to take my family for granted and to remember to put God first in everything I do. I believe there is more work to do, there are more revivals to have, more Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames to have, more seeds to plant and more hearts for God to convict. God Bless you all.

https://realityoutreach.org/

Praying Selflessly

In Samuel, Hannah, married to Elkanah, couldn’t have children and Hannah desperately wanted to give her husband a child. In those days, if you couldn’t have a child, you were considered inferior. Peninnah was also married to Elkanah and she taunted Hannah about not being able to have children, driving Hannah to the point of tears. Also, in those times, if you couldn’t have children you were looked at as inferior.

Hannah wanted to give Elkanah a child so bad, she prayed this prayer: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut” (Holy Bible Gift & Award Edition, New Living Translation, Second Edition 2007) And the Lord blessed Hannah with a son, she named Samuel. You can read more about Samuel in the Bible.

This is Jesus’ instructions to his disciples when asked how to pray: Luke 11:1 “And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples. 2. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3. Give us day by day our daily bread. 4. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” (Holman KJV Study Bible 2012)

Hannah wanted a to give Elkanah a son so bad, she dedicated him to the Lord, for his service. When we pray, are we praying for our own selfish desires? Or are we praying to honor the Lord, for God’s glory?

I was recently listening to a daily devotional from an old Air Force friend and he inspired this article. It’s easy to justify just about anything, when we pray. I just recently bought a truck and I prayed that if it was God’s will, I would be able to buy it, that it would still be there when I went to look at it and that I would be approved for the loan. I also said that I would use the truck to haul things in, like firewood, or whatever, trash to the dump. I mean everyone in Arkansas has a truck, but like I said, it’s easy to justify it to the Lord, but is it really justified in God’s mind? I was able to purchase the vehicle. I use it to go fishing and it’s better to drive down dirt roads, than my other vehicles. I make sure to thank God for allowing me to have it, every day.

But we must be careful when we pray to ask ourselves, are we praying for our own satisfaction, or are we praying worshipfully? Are we ready to hand over our children to the Lord for his service, like Hannah did, or are we praying for their health and safety so we can hold on to them longer?

Are we praying to be able to use our possessions to glorify God and for his will to be done, or are we simply asking for things to fulfil our selfish desires? I hope that is not the case with the purchase of the truck.

If we are not careful, our selfish desires could turn out to be things we idolize or covet and that would anger God. We’ve read many times in the Bible not to have false idols, whether it be worshipping false Gods or possibly other things we could idolize. We certainly want to put God first in everything we do.

Kobe Bryant recently passed away, I am sympathetic towards his family and friends, but we must be careful not to idolize entertainers, actors, athletes or anyone else. We now have the Corona virus wreaking havoc on the World, and it could be because we are not putting God first, we need to turn back to God. I especially feel bad for the lost people that do not know Jesus.

I’m guilty of this, my password should be based off Jesus. I should do a better job of putting Jesus first.

One question we can ask ourselves when we pray is: How is my prayer seeking God’s glory? Or is my prayer for my own selfish desires? We need to pray more like Hannan did.

Rooted in Your Spiritual Walk

Luke 8:4 “And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spoke by a parable: 8:5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 8:6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 8:7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8:8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears, let them hear. 8:9 And his disciples asked him, saying What might this parable be? 8:10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 8:12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 8:13 They on the rock are they, which when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 8:14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” (Holman KJV Study Bible 2012)

I have to say, I am a sinner and I fell into the group of not having roots and I fell away from Jesus. I gave into temptation. I was drinking, and while it may not be a sin to drink (a little), I wasn’t drinking a little. And I fell into other temptations as well. I wasn’t going to Church, I wasn’t reading or studying the Bible. I certainly wasn’t meditating in his word.

But now since moving back to my hometown, I am attending Church on a regular basis. I wish we could go to Church now, but we have one more week left of staying home.

It was such a blessing to move back home, my wife was invited to attend a Church and I dragged my feet at first, but I am so thankful that my wife was invited by some very nice people that attended the Church.

I fell in love with the preacher’s ability to convict my heart and then the pastor ended up leaving and now we are searching for another one, but then we fell in love with the congregation and how stead fast they are in their spiritual walk and how much they love one another.

If you ensure you have a rooted spiritual walk with Jesus, you won’t be apt to fall prey to the World’s temptations like I did. Now, I am rooted and ready to serve the Lord.

If you are not spiritually rooted, then the World’s wind may be able to blow you in any direction, but if you are spiritually rooted, reading your Bible, praying, attending Sunday school, going to Church, and in tune with the Holy Spirit, then the World’s wind won’t be able to move you to the devil’s temptation. Are you spiritually rooted?

These Four Walls

We got back from Germany March 20. We cut our visit short by five days, our flights back to Arkansas kept getting cancelled and we were lucky enough to finally make it back home. We had a productive time in Germany, shining our lights and planting seeds with some family members, now we’re praying that God convicts their hearts.

When we landed in Dallas, Texas, the CDC was there to greet and screen us, they asked if we were having any Corona virus symptoms and answered no but, were told to Social distance ourselves for 14 days. I asked so we aren’t quarantined? They answered, we don’t like using the word quarantine, so basically, we are self-quarantining or shelter in place for 14 days. However, we are all supposed to be practicing social distancing, keeping ourselves away from people, to limit the spread of the virus.

We’re on day 8/14 and it is a challenge. This time at home can be used to spend more time with our family. We can spend time playing games or building puzzles with our children. We downloaded ABC Mouse for the kids to learn. We watched movies with the kids, but it is challenging as well, being cooped up in the house with our six-year old and four-year old, sometimes they play nice and sometimes they don’t. I bet their getting tired of playing with each other, they may be getting tired of looking at each other.

We have one more week left to go before we can go out in public and interact with different people besides each other, however, we are going to be careful to distance ourselves from others. This next week maybe we can do a better job of spending more time with each other and less time on our phones. We’re doing our best to have patience with each other and love one another and I think this is what this time is all about. It’s about helping our neighbors that can’t get out and go to the grocery store to pick up supplies they need or running other errands.

A Facebook group was created in our county called positive vibes in our county and I think it is an excellent idea. It warmed my heart to see a post that said someone was feeling apprehension about going to the store with their two small kids and someone stepped up and said that they would go and do their shopping for them. This is just one example of what we should be doing in these times of uncertainty. Instead of hoarding and acting selfish, we need to look out for each other and help where we can. Remember to love like Jesus.

This time can also be used to pray, get in the Bible and meditate on God’s word. It’s also a time to ask God for forgiveness and repent because we are all sinners. We need to remember to put God first and not have “idols”. Kobe Bryant just passed away. I am sympathetic towards his family and friends, but I am not distraught about his passing. We need to be careful to not idolize people we don’t know, athletes, entertainers, musicians, etc., etc. Also, this time can be used to spend time with our families without arguing, yes it is a stressful time, but we need to make the best out of the time we have with them.

I believe this is a test from God and some of us are failing it miserably. If you don’t know Jesus, now would be a great time to accept Jesus into your life as your Savior. God Bless you all, six more days to go.

Accept Jesus as your Savior

If you don’t know Jesus Christ and haven’t accepted Jesus into your life as your personal Savior, now would be a great time to, especially with the uncertain times we live in now.

Below is a site that tells you how to accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your Savior.

https://www.wikihow.com/Accept-Jesus-Into-Your-Life

How to Accept Jesus Into Your Life – Steps

Trust Jesus Christ today!
Admit that you are a sinner and that you need God’s help.
Be willing to change your mind and turn from your sin (repent).
Believe that Jesus Christ died for you, was buried, and rose from the dead.
Through prayer, invite Jesus into your heart to become your personal Lord and Savior.

Here is a prayer you can say to invite Jesus into your life:

Please forgive me for my sins. I believe that you sent your Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sins.

I believe that you love me. I believe in my heart who you are. You are theSon of God. I confess with my mouth that I am a sinner. I accept you Lord Jesus as my savior. Please cleanse me from my sin and create a new and clean heart in me. I do believe that you are my savior and I now want to live for you as my Lord and my God. I know that I have eternal life in you because of the work you did on Calvary’s cross for me. Thank you, God. In Jesus Name. Amen.Here are the scriptures behind this prayer:

Prayer to Accept Jesus

This is not an all inclusive list, if you want more information, contact your local Church.

Planting Seeds

My family and I just returned from visiting Germany, we were celebrating my wife’s 40th birthday in her homeland with her twin sister and the rest of her family, and we got a chance to spread the good news about Jesus to some family members.

My wife’s daughter downloaded the Bible app on her phone and is reading the Bible daily. I spoke to my daughter and her boyfriend was very receptive to what I had to say about Jesus and being a believer, mainly what it means to be saved by God’s grace. He even stated that he has read my blog. After visiting with us, my daughter watched “Breakthrough” and inquired how to get K-Love on her phone. I would call that a breakthrough!

My wife also had some very promising talks with her Mom that may have opened the door to her curiosity.

We spent time with two old friends that are mutual friends as well, that we shone our light on and also piqued their interests in the way we are living, no longer drinking alcohol, and one stated, “he needs more Jesus in his life”, I even played K-Love on his Google speaker.

http://www.klove.com/

This trip to Germany to celebrate the life of my wife and her twin sister, turned out to be an opportunity to shine our lights and plant seeds, all we can do now is pray and continue to shine the light and trust that God will convict their hearts.

Inside Goosebumps

I was praying the other day, and I was talking to God, telling him that I was a sinner and thanking him for sending his only Son to die on the Cross for our sins. I thanked him for being a sinner saved by his grace. I told him that I had backslid for a while, that I had gotten away from going to Church that I only prayed when I wanted something, used to drink alcohol (I’m not saying drinking is a sin. I’m saying I told God that I quit drinking and it’s best for me not to drink) and was asking for his forgiveness, but I told him I was back that I was thankful for all his blessings and how I didn’t deserve them, but he continues to bless me anyway.

And I got the most peaceful feeling I have ever had. I felt goosebumps all over my body, but these goosebumps weren’t on the outside of my body, they were on the inside of my body and they traveled from my head to me toes real slowly. I was thanking God for his presence. I was feeling the Holy Spirit. It was amazing and I didn’t want it to end. It lasted for a few minutes. I believe God was telling me it’s alright, that I’m back now, going to Church, worshiping him, reading the Bible, shining my light, spreading the good news about him to others, and that everything is going to be alright, as long as I don’t take him for granted again and continue on his path he has set out for me.