Bro Larry Carson’s blog

We all have heard great pearls of wisdom out of the mouth of “babes”, but there is a wealth of wisdom which can be learned from those who have lived many years in this life. Following is a reprint of a column written by Regina Brett of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. By the way, Ms. Brett is 90 years old.

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons
life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the
column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.
Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to
disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying
alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first
paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the
present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others.
You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't
be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye.
But don't worry; God never blinks

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or
joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you
stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life,
don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the
fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In
five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your
business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of
anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting
everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw
everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you
need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show
up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

I could go on and on about many of these, but there are a couple that warrant a quick follow up. Number 40 is a classic. I have never heard it put this way and if we all know it is true if we really stopped and thought about all the crazy stuff we feel is so traumatic and so horrible in our lives. I think each one of us knows there are tons of people all over the world with a billion times bigger woes than we could ever dream of.

Number 26 goes right along with number 40. Looking back five years, were the earth shattering crises we were dealing with then really that important? I imagine, looking back we see them from a different perspective and that they were not quite the “end of the world” situations we thought they were then.

I love the idea brought forth in numbers 8 and 15, they both made me chuckle for they are oh so true. Of course I love number 34 because it is entirely true. God loves us because He is love.

The person who sent this to me advocated reading through this list daily.   I think maybe it is about time we started listening to what those who have managed to live 90 years have to say. Obviously they have done something right to have lived so long, don’t you think?

Shalom,

Bro. Larry

Take a moment and see how you respond to these five questions regarding a hypothetical series of events:

WHAT IF:

You woke up tomorrow morning and went to your computer only to find out the internet had crashed and there was no longer any way to "get online"? Would you;

1. Immediately call Al Gore and ask him to please invent another one.
2. Compose a message describing the end of "life as we knew it" to be submitted later.
3. Resort to the next best media which is the television for vital information.
4. Praise God .

WHAT IF:

After finding out the internet was no more, you quickly find out all the satellites have crashed and there is no television available. What would you do?

1. Frantically look through the attic searching for the "rabbit ears" grandpa used to use.
2. Pull out the old VCR and watch original "Star Trek" episodes for clues as to what is going on.
3. Resort to the next best media and start calling everyone you know to see what is up.
4. Praise God.

WHAT IF:

You attempt to call your friends and family via your cell phone and find out there is no service because all the cell towers have gone down. What would be your reaction?

1. In a total state of panic write a note and attach it to the leg of your pet bird and send it away.
2. Find some used cans and string and hook a phone line to your neighbor.
3. Race outside and attempt to drive to your friends and family's homes.
4. Praise God.

WHAT IF:

You go to your car and find every car battery on earth is dead. What would you do?

1. Steal the neighbor's kid's tricycle and start peddling to your mommy's house.
2. Watch your life pass before your eyes as you collapse from running for the first time in years.
3. Decide communication is overrated and go back inside to ponder your existence.
4. Praise God.

WHAT IF:

By the time you go back inside there is no electricity, no natural gas and no water. What now?

1. Curl up in a ball on the floor crying "why me" and wait for the drugs you took to kick in.
2. Pack a suitcase and head out to live in a cardboard box in the park.
3. Decide to "rough" it and set the house on fire for heat and light.
4. Praise God.

Of course the best answer to each of these silly questions is #4. How can a person get to the point where regardless of what transpires around them, the attitude of heart is still to "Praise God"? How can a person get to the point where "praising God" is not just for the blessings He bestows, but for the blessing of life itself?

If our joy, as believers, is strictly dependent upon outward circumstances such as those given in the outlandish examples above; there is NO WAY to have any joy. Happiness is dependent upon outward conditions but joy never is. We have joy on the inside as a gift from God. Happiness is result of things done or received outwardly, but joy is the finished reality of what God did for us in Christ.

It may make us happy to have internet access on our computer, a satellite dish to receive 465,389 channels, a new fangled cell phone that does everything but mow the grass, fancy cars and trucks that are the envy of those around us and comfortable homes filled with beautiful furniture and abounding with high tech toys of every kind. But, what happens if all these "THINGS" don't work, are destroyed or taken away?

Surely one of the happiest men who ever lived was Solomon. He was blessed by God with every material article of wealth a person could ever dream of. Yet, because he allowed his heart to be stolen from God, he ended up being one of the most miserable men who ever lived. Despite "having it all" in the material realm, he became spiritually destitute and in so doing became inwardly miserable.

By comparison, Job had it all and it was all taken from him. He lost his wealth, family and status. Yet, he refused to "curse God and die". Job managed in the face of unbelievably difficult circumstances to keep his heart right with God. God ended up blessing him with twice as much as he had to begin with.

I pray that during these "interesting" times we seek to praise God no matter what and never allow anything going on to us or around us to cause our heart to not be right with God. In these difficult times, each of us should consciously strive to switch from seeking happiness based upon THINGS to dwelling on the joy we have because of the abundance of all God has blessed us with in Christ Jesus.

Blessings,

Bro. Larry  

I think at times we, as Christians, seek to find cut and dry/black and white answers to questions dealing with our current culture and world when there are none. Going back to the natural desire to have a law to guide and direct us, we seek specific guidance to every possible situation which arises and magic formulas to deal with any problem. When these things are not there, we get frustrated and demand the Bible be re-written, at least in our minds.

The instructions for life found in the Bible are not like a recipe card with detailed instructions for each ingredient. The Word of God gives us broad guidelines in matters of living so that we understand the basic will of God for our lives. God expects us to learn these guidelines and then depend on the Holy Spirit for specific instructions on specific matters.

In order to walk with any degree of confidence, we must know a few basic things:

1. We must understand the basic nature of God

2. We must have a general knowledge of the Bible

3. We must be able and willing to listen to the Holy Spirit

4. We must be a person of honesty and integrity

There are certainly many more things involved, but these four are absolute "musts" in order to live, think and walk uprightly before God. This is how Noah lived. This is how Abraham lived. This is how David lived. This is how John the Baptist lived. This is how the apostle Paul lived. But most of all, this is how Jesus lived.

UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF GOD

Everything starts with gaining an understanding of the basic nature of God. If a person does not know God, or has the wrong understanding of Him, the journey stops before it begins. The nature of God is composed of those things God IS. What are some of the things God IS:

1. God is LIGHT

2. God is LOVE

3. God is PATIENT AND LONGSUFFERING

4. God is GENTLE AND GOOD

5. God is TRUE

6. God is ETERNAL

7. God is JUST AND RIGHTEOUS

8. God is ALL POWERFUL, KNOWING AND PRESENT

9. God is PEACE

10. God is MERCIFUL

The list could go on and on couldn't it? Just from these ten things, it is very obvious that God is basically GOOD. Yet, many think of God only as "an avenging fire" or "full of fury and wrath". Yes, He is those things at times when people or situations call for them. But, in His broadest sense, the thing that best describes God is that He IS LIGHT and in Him is NO darkness at all. There is nothing bad or evil or vindictive or mean about God. Although He is just, He is not a dictator.

GAINING A KNOWLEDGE OF THE BIBLE

Where do we learn about the nature of God? It is through our knowledge of His Word. The more we read the Bible, the more we see how God has dealt with humans and humanity for thousands of years. The Bible shows us how God handles the threats and evil of men who hate and despise Him. The Bible shows us how God looks on the heart and not on the outward appearance of people. The Bible gives us personal and intimate knowledge of God's heart as well as His actions.

The greatest thing any of us can do is just READ THE BIBLE. Read it daily and read it all the way through. The greater our working knowledge of the whole Bible is, the greater our ability to grasp who our God is along with how and why His does what He does. God need not be a mystery to anyone if they will simply invest the time to read His Word. The Word of God is the physical manifestation of God's Heart and will. We cannot possibly know either without an understanding of the Bible.

LISTENING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

Jesus promised his disciples that He would send the Comforter (Holy Spirit) to lead them into the "all truth". 1 John speaks of how the Holy Spirit teaches us. As wonderful and awesome as the Bible is, there is no way it can tell us everything. Jesus told the two men on the road to Emmaus that it would fill all the books on earth just to describe all He did while on earth. If the Bible were to tell us everything there is know about God and the things of God; it would take a thousand lifetimes to scratch the surface of each book.

The Holy Spirit "fills in the blanks" as far as applying our basic understanding of God and our working knowledge of His Word to the daily situations we encounter. As we walk by the Spirit, we listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit giving us specific instructions which allow us to glorify God is our lives. As we walk by the Spirit, we are to practically apply our knowledge of God and the Bible. This is the missing link in many believer's walks. They know oodles and oodles of scripture but they can't seem to figure out to live it day by day. Walking by the Spirit is how this is done.

BEING A PERSON OF HONESTY AND INTEGRITY

All of this information is worthless if a person is not willing to be honest and walk with integrity. We will all fail more times than we get things right. We must be willing to "confess our broken fellowship" when we fail or we deceive ourselves. There is no room for pride or ego when it comes to walking with God. The only confidence we have is IN HIM. In and of ourselves we are nothing and can do nothing worth doing. Our abilities and strengths lay IN HIM and nowhere else.

It take's a big person to be honest enough to admit failure, deception or weakness. Anyone can tell the world "How Great I Art", but there are precious few who are able and willing to admit they are human and make mistakes and fall short of the perfection of God. Unless a person is willing to walk with humility and meekness they are guaranteed of failure. It may take awhile, but they will fail. Honesty toward God, with oneself and with others is absolutely vital to being able to walk with and for God.

CONCLUSION

Amazingly, in the midst of a crooked and perverted world which totally had rejected God, Noah was able to walk uprightly and in a way which pleased God. Noah's walk did not depend on what anyone else did or did not do. It was between him and his God. If Noah could live righteously in his time, so can we. The key to living this way lies in our intimate relationship and fellowship with our God and His son Jesus Christ.

Make no mistake about it; we need each other and fellowship with each other, but the key to our success in walking uprightly lies in our fellowship with God. Allow no one or nothing to interfere with your relationship with your Heavenly Father. Guard this relationship with your very life, for your very life depends on it.

Blessings,

Bro. Larry

Do you mean what you say and say what you mean? This in part marks the difference between someone of integrity and a hypocrite. When someone says without saying it; "Do as I say but not as I do" they are a hypocrite. Our world is full of hypocrisy and our leaders are for the most part arrogant hypocrites. Those are harsh words, but true ones.

If I were to go to the salvage yard and tow a beat up car to the body shop where the outward appearance was made to look good, then clean all the burnt oil off the engine, give it a quick tune up, put new tires on it and finally roll back the odometer; I would have what APPEARS to be a good clean used car. In every city in America there are scores of used car lots full of these very kinds of cars. Every day in America, thousands of unsuspecting people pay a fortune for what APPEARS to be good vehicle only to find out quickly it was a fraud.

When people put on a façade and become someone they are not, they are no different than the unscrupulous car dealer who deliberately deceives the customer through saying something is what it is not. I cannot express how deeply God hates fraud, hypocrisy and lies. The devil is the father of lies and he is the expert at turning pure trash into an APPARENT treasure.

You could find a bum living in a cardboard box and with time and work turn him into what would APPEAR to be a fine upstanding citizen. In medical offices all over the world there are people who claim to be Doctors who never set foot in a Medical School. They forged documents and lied their way through the hiring process to get the job. In medical offices all over the world there are doctors, lawyers and even law enforcement personnel who were forced to leave one area but who lie their way into the same job in another.

Professional liars are hard to spot and harder yet to capture. By nature of their trade, they are excellent at what they do and rarely slip up. Those who we read about that are convicted of fraud are usually the amateurs for the true professionals seem to always find a way to never get caught or convicted. It is unbelievable how many people in all walks of life are nothing but wolves in sheep's clothing, making their living through pure deceit and fraud.

How do you feel after finding out someone you trusted was lying to you all along? Makes you feel real good doesn't it? Of course not. You feel betrayed and like someone took a dagger and thrust it into your back. There are few feelings more powerful than those produced by betrayal. A current well known politician is finding out what happens when you lie to those who support you financially and otherwise. His attempts to reach his previous supporters to apologize have been met with rejection and scorn.

"Hell has no fury like a woman scorned" was supposedly penned by Shakespeare and perfectly describes the attitude of anyone, male or female, when they find out they have been betrayed. It is beyond my mind's ability to comprehend how people honestly think those they defraud, lie to and steal from aren't going to be a little upset when they find out. It is also unbelievable to me to see how people are caught, they supposedly repent, and then turn around and do the same exact thing over again with a new set of unsuspecting people.

True repentance does necessitate true forgiveness, but to show how much love our Lord Jesus Christ had; He forgave WITHOUT any repentance ("Father forgive them for they know not what they do). As deeply as the betrayal of Judas must have hurt Jesus, I know He would have forgiven him and taken him back if he would have just repented. Another subject for another time.

It takes incredible sharpness and vigilance to be able to separate the real from the counterfeit. When Jesus sent out His disciples, He told them to be wise as serpents yet gentle as doves. Jesus was urging them to accept nothing at face value yet remain guileless. In other words, don't believe everything you hear and see but do not "cop an attitude" just because of what you hear and see. Just because someone looks like they crawled out of the nearest sewer doesn't mean they are bad person any more than the guy in the expensive suit is a good person.

There are some within the Body of Christ with the special "gift" of being able to sniff out those who are trying to deceive and defraud God's people. Those with this ability can spot a fake a mile away. It would do us all well to listen to these "spiritual Geiger counters" and take heed to what they are telling us. I have met and been close to some of these kinds of people over the years and they almost seem to be able to "see through" people right off the bat.

To avoid "being taken" we must slow down and honestly evaluate and if need be investigate what we are hearing or seeing. We must compare spiritual things with spiritual to make sure they line up. Just because something "looks good" does not in any way make it good. Just because something looks bad does not mean it is bad inside. The ability to discern good from bad and truth from the lie is absolutely essential to winning in our walk with God. It should be our sincere desire to not be counted among the victims of the multitude of charlatans standing on every corner tempting us with their wares.

Blessings,

Bro. Larry

Living The Balanced Life

Why is the Dead Sea so dead? Because it is all inlet and no outlet. For this same reason the Great Salt Lake in Utah is sterile. A body of water which only receives water and never releases any as a rule will become stagnant.

As believers we need to strive to practice the "3 Rs" of receive the Word of God with meekness, retaining the Word of God with conviction and releasing the Word of God with boldness. Almighty God designed living things to operate best when they freely operate using the "3 Rs".

As humans, we must eat or we waste away and ultimately die. We need not only food but the proper food to grow and be strong. A bag of chips is food, but of course we all know an apple would be much more nutritious. To live, we must first receive nutrients via food, supplements or other means.

If the human body immediately released what we fed it, we would never be able to receive the benefits of what we put in. The whole purpose of why God designed the intestinal tract the way He did was to allow ample time for that which we eat to be digested and then ABSORBED by the body. Too many times we tend to forget about the importance of retaining.

It is interesting that when the body fails to get rid of excess fluid, the term "retaining fluid" or "fluid retention" is used to describe what happens. The result is bloating and swelling and a general feeling of being miserable. I have dealt with this problem from time to time. It is neither pleasant nor the way God intended the body to function.

In due season the body must expel the waste that is the result of the long digestive process. We all know what happens if the body decides to dilly dally around on this end of things. Constipation is of course a very uncomfortable thing and the longer it persists the more dangerous it becomes. Toxins back up in the body and the mind becomes very dull. All because the release part of the mechanism is out of whack.

Spiritually we should strive for the balance of daily receiving a nutritious serving or two of God's Word. We should attempt to read the Word of God on a daily basis. This is equivalent to eating at least one good and well balanced meal per day physically. Reading more than a verse or even a chapter is needed to maintain maximum spiritual health.

In our spare moments stuck in traffic or sitting on the throne we should strive to think about and meditate upon what we earlier received from God's Word. This process is vitally important for it allows us to absorb what we read or hear and make it our own. It is nice to know that God is love, but it is essential to know that God loves ME. Retaining the Word of God with conviction is how we allow the Word of God to become personal to and for us.

Finally there is the release part of the equation. There are so very many believers who do such a wonderful job studying the Bible and thinking about constantly but then fail to ever release it. Releasing the Word of God with boldness is a combination of speaking and living that which we have received and retained in our lives. This simply involves the DOING of that which we have learned we can and should be doing as believers.

Of course we need to release the Word for the benefit of others, but we also need to for our own sake. We can study the Bible all day long, memorize verses and be able to quote huge sections of the Word of God and that is fine. In this sense one can say they "know" the Word of God. This is true in an intellectual type of way. But, God desires we know Him and His Word in a much deeper manner.

When a person experiences what they have learned, then the knowledge becomes experiential and personal. A simple and very important word study to try some time is the Greek word "ginosko" which means to know by experience. If you ever study this word you will find incredible and wonderful things available to those who know by experience the Word of God.

I pray this simple reminder may help us all to remember that in our walk, we must seek to not become one or even two dimensional but strive to achieve the balance of receiving, retaining and releasing the Word of God. When we do find this balance we "feel good" spiritually and look good to others too.

When we are receiving an abundance of God's Word, retaining it with conviction in our hearts and releasing it with boldness to those we around us we become the most appealing fruit tree those hungering after righteousness have ever seen. When we are operating the "3 Rs", we are healthy trees planted by rivers of living water and abounding with fruit ripe for the picking by those who are hungry.

Blessings,

Bro. Larry

Angels Unaware?

What if the dirty and haggard looking guy who stands at the exit to Wal Mart with a sign reading, "will work for food" was an angel sent there by the Lord to see how many Christians would scorn him, mock him, avoid him like the plague or simply ignore him?

What if the old guy who trudges around town everyday with a backpack full of who knows what and who daily shows up at the Senior Citizens facility for lunch and then to Wal Mart and then to Walgreens and then to the post office (all the while never saying a word to anyone but himself) was an angel sent by the Lord to see how many Christians would turn the other way when he approached, snicker as he passed them by or whispered about his "problems" when he was gone?

What if the crazy lady whose odor can be smelled a block away and who seemingly has only one set of clothes which she wears 365 days a year as she zips up to the post office everyday to get her mail was an angel sent by the Lord to see how many Christians would ignore her, be rude to her or laugh at her when she had left?

Every town has people like those mentioned above.  I have spoken to all of these people at one time or another and, at least as far as I know, none of them are angels. But, each has a story to tell in words or actions, and each reminds me of the line about not knowing what is in another person unless you have walked a mile in his shoes.

The man wanting to work for food is a Christian who also is a Viet Nam vet. He has been in and out of hospitals for years. He is on medication which has helped his mental and emotional problems, but he cannot seem to hold a job. He really is more than willing to work for food, but the vast majority of people either give him bags of recently purchased food or give him a $5 or 10 dollar bill. That is really not what he wants, but he can't stop the people for no one ever stops to talk. They give and run.

The man with the backpack simply will not talk. He will listen and seems to comprehend everything said to him, but he will not talk to anyone (including me). He apparently needs nothing in this life and that which he does everyday makes him happy and bothers no one. His story is spoken not with words, but in their absence. Literally God only knows what his story is, but it obviously is one that entails great hurt.

Why people call the lady "crazy" is a testimony to people's shallowness. She is not crazy at all. She is just a grossly obese woman who cannot walk far so rides her scooter all over town. She, cannot reach many places on her body to properly bathe herself. She is quite aware of the stench she emits, but no one has ever volunteered to come help clean her up either. She wears the same clothes for they are comfortable and she has no means to get other clothes. She lives strictly upon her meager disability income. These are people whom I met in The Netherlands (except the Viet Nam Vet whom I met in Lubbock) while serving a church in Ralls.

People are people and not sideshows at the circus. People are the way they are for a reason. Something in this life has forced them to become introverted or extroverted or mean or whatever. Because no one talks to them, they become more and more what they appear to others to be, whether they are or not. Believe it or not, almost every poor soul who has no home and uses papers as covers and eats out of trash cans, has a story. They didn't just end up in the condition they are in.

Men and women who suddenly lose a child through an accident or disease and turn to alcohol or drugs to find relief are usually the ones who end up on "skid row". As their addictions increase, they become impossible to live with and usually lose their families and jobs. Whatever they have is spent on their addictions and in time they find themselves with no home, no job and no family. Most of these people end up in shelters for short times as they try to "sober up", but most end up back on the streets.

There are some who enjoy being professional "bums" and I must confess I have a hard time showing  sympathy for they simply do not want to change. But, there are thousands upon thousands of people who simply got thrown a curve by life and struck out. They end up at the bottom of the pile and spend their lives trying to survive. These people need and want help and someone who is willing to listen and not preach at them.

The next time you see one of "those people" wandering around town or standing on a corner with a sign; instead of ignoring them or muttering things under your breath about their appearance, try talking to them. You might very well be in for the surprise of your life upon hearing the "rest of the story" of who they are and how they came to end up in the situation they did. Who knows, one of them might even be an angel sent there unawares just to see if you have enough compassion to stop and help.

Blessings,

Bro. Larry

The State Of The Church

Here are ten questions to ponder upon while reflecting upon the current state of Christianity:

1. Why do so few Christians pay any attention to what is being advocated and professed by their leaders; whether locally or denominationally?

2. Why do so few Christians pay any attention to the erosion of truth spoken at their church?

3. Why do so few Christians stand up and take a stand on issues blatantly contrary to what the Bible teaches?

4. Why are so many Christians content to "play church" and not play an active role in turning the church into a living and vital organism instead of a sleepy building?

5. Why are most Christians afraid to even so much as wear a cross let alone share their faith with even their next door neighbor?

6. Why are the vast majority of Christians content with this life and have little or no desire to see Christ return?

7. Why do so many Christians feel that as long as they are a "good person" they will make it to heaven when they die?

8. Why do Christians almost immediately focus on their differences of beliefs instead of looking for common ground of like mindedness?

9. Why do Christians go out of their way to look for reasons why they cannot participate, be involved or actively help lead within their church.

10. Why do so many Christian men not have the level of commitment and service that the women do within the church?

By and large, the basic answer to each of these questions comes down to one thing-lack of commitment. There are committed Christians just like there are committed people within any group. But, the level of commitment within Christianity appears to be dropping while rising among other faiths. This is not a good trend and shows the influence of nearly nonstop tactics by the enemy to embarrass and disgrace committed Christians.

There was a time when this was a Christian nation and the overwhelming majority of its citizens were not ashamed to be called Christians. Now, although still in the vast majority, most Christians refuse to take any pride in their faith and instead make every effort to hide who they really are. God forbid one gets that horrible "mark of the Christian". It seems that avoiding being labeled a Christian is a fate worse than death to many.

Christianity has finally begun to feel the effects of decades of nonstop ridicule, mockery and defamation of character. With each passing day those who used to dwell in closets due to their evil lifestyles have come out and told the world who they are and what they do. These people take great pride in telling everyone they practice things which are strictly prohibited in God's Word. They laugh at the notion of accountability and refuse to consider the possibility of any retribution for their behavior.

With no fear of consequence, these bold spiritual felons parade around the sets of television shows and movies proud as can be at who or what they are. Anyone who dares confront these people is quickly labeled intolerant, prejudiced or judgmental. Unless something is specifically prohibited by law, these people feel the freedom to do as they please, where they please and with whomever they please. With no moral constraints, evil knows no boundaries.

This spiritual filth has now oozed into the church under the guise of progress. Any Christian who dares hold to the old "Puritan" way of thinking is quickly becoming more endangered than the bald eagle. Those who stand firm on what the Bible says are trashed as radical extremists and painted to be the true villains. Those who stand up for the truth are shouted down and their views are trampled under the feet of the crowds clamoring for yet more and more "freedom".

People do not like being told by a Christian that their lifestyle is wrong. In fact, they will gladly do whatever it takes to silence the nagging voice of accountability. There is no way those who have deliberately decided to chose a lifestyle absolutely prohibited in God's Word are going to yield to intolerant cries of fanatical Christians.

The unfortunate truth is that many who sit in positions of leadership and stand in the pulpit every Sunday morning have either been intimidated into no longer speaking out against behavior contrary to God's Word, or do it themselves. Pastors, priests and others who were charged by God with the oversight of His people have made a mockery of the truth by sanctioning evil or practicing things absolutely contrary to sound doctrine.

With no dependable conscience speaking the truth in love, the church has proceeded to waffle on issue after issue, ultimately caving into those who threaten to take their millions of dollars elsewhere. In large churches as well as small ones, money talks and commitment is but a rumor. The dirty secret is that a huge chunk of Christianity's leadership has sold out the truth to maintain financial stability and be able to build their mega complexes complete with many thousands who believe basically nothing of any consequence.

Due to lack of commitment, the sheep who attend many of these places see nothing wrong with what is and had gone on. They are happy and wealthy and that is all that matters to them. These are sad truths and although they are not yet universal, the day is fast approaching when they will be.

Blessings,

Bro. Larry

THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO YOU

Your nation could fall in any number of ways, even in one day, especially considering her hidden financial oppressors and her hate filled enemies. You may yet have opportunity to literally die for your wife, children, grandchildren, brother or neighbor, so prepare yourself. Or you may have opportunity to show them how it is to be done. Or you may have the opportunity to pass from this life to the next in isolation devoid of the necessities of life.

You will show the power of God in weakness one last time and His Son will come to light. His cause will advance more quickly and His body will grow more compact and faster, so prepare yourself. His Divine sequence moves on and you are a vital link in it. Jesus died for the sins of the world and still sheds the accumulated blood of His corporate body, to point to others what He has already accomplished. Jesus will be magnified in your body if you live, or if you die; so be sober minded about your future.

Follow in the footsteps of James, Peter, Stephen, Jesus, and untold numbers of others knowing that your destruction can be one of God's master chess moves. Maybe God will reverse evil plots and save you like He did Daniel, David, Moses, and Joseph? In any manner prepare yourself to manifest the good character of Jesus in you. Let the excitement grow about how every day brings you closer to the separation of your body and soul! Have you committed your life to God? Then be assured that only those things that are best for you on the highest absolute level will happen to you, even though to the average person they will look bleak and cause them to hang and shake their heads in despair or fear. Remember, my little trouper, there are many things worse than death. Are you breathing? Pray, for it does not matter what has happened or how bad it is. Have you stopped breathing? Then you are being transported and must pass past your hidden accusers one last time.

You must trust that God knows the times and people that you live among. He will know whether or not to prevent tragic events or not, and He will know where to set their limits. From the time of the first man, Satan has always caused God's people to suffer, so be watchful. People of profound evil also cause God' people to suffer, so be mindful. You are reaping what you have sown and that is some of what is happening, but very much of the general overall conditions are because of the sins and rebellion of those around you, i.e, the larger community, and your nation. Do not fear those who can and probably will destroy your body, but fear Him alone that has charge over you, my valuable soul.

You need something to lead you back to love, i.e, to always choosing the highest good of all. You need something to lead you back to pure character and back to God. Something to lead you back from the fall and out from under the servitude of sin. You need exactly that which God has provided. You were born in those who freely chose to disobey, and so you need to be led back to freely obeying. Purity and cleanness qualify free choice exercised wisely. Sin and shame qualify free choice exercised foolishly. If you could not resist God then that aspect of you as created would not exist, and you would not be the crown of His creative pleasure. There is one easy way God could have prevented rebellion, accidents, and sin; and that is to have not created you (mankind). Look at how things are clearly? Your free will in you, is encased in sinfulness because you are in your ancestors, and this places a proportionate limit on your access to the provision. Get out of the encasement and you remove the limits to the provisions. Your perfect provision is blocked by a will that is diminished by previous foolish choices.

You have a useful life prepared for you by no one less than God. Holy Spirit has led you into a higher level of life. You may never be aware of how much of your life was an on-purpose training exercise. This is even more believable when you consider the lives of many Biblical characters. Many testimonies you have heard are full of accounts of provisions given to them long before the they accepted Jesus. This just indicates that some wills are less diminished than others, and that the providence of God includes many minor adjustments along the way because of the results of conditions developing by the multiplied choices of the masses.

When you obey and submit to God, then that which He has provided kicks in. God works against you when you are in sin mode but not to the extent of removing choice from you. When you are on board with Him, He works 'to will and to do his good pleasure' from the inside out. He never works with you in this way or anyone else while in sin mode. Do not underestimate the eternal spiritual laws at work behind the scenes of God's eternal moral government. All of this is not a giving up or removal of your power to choose but rather a synchronization and blending of your will with His.

You now have the essence of free and right choice. You have chosen to have God choose what is best for you, because you know He knows what is best. You have chosen to search for God to direct your every step because He can see most clearly. You have chosen to commit your life to Jesus. You have chosen God. Because of this practice, your choices now are often produced by God. Your new level of choices flow naturally from new thoughts and feelings resulting from God in me (the center of your heart). You protect all of this because it gives you great advantages over your adversary. You now have a new fail-safe guidance system that is very difficult to disrupt. You are tapping into provisions that you were previously limiting with a diminished will and unbelief.

You are provided for in one way when you are in submit mode, and provided for in a different way when you are in rebel mode. This is not partiality because everyone has both modes. You are trained to stay in submit mode by at least three things; revelation, regulation, and advantage. You are trained to stay out of rebel mode by at least three things; revelation, regulation, and loss of advantage. In submit mode you end up a winner, in rebel mode you end up a loser. In submit mode you are practicing love, for the whole system is designed for the highest good of existence and the highest good of all. Why have such a rule from heaven upon the earth? Because God has to deal with you in either mode and manage your finite choices and your infinite capacity for choice. If you were possessed with a legion of vile spirits, the motion of free will would still persist in you, as it is recorded in a certain case in Scripture. You may not sin without the influence of evil spirits and other people, but if you do, you will bare your part of the blame. If you do not sin, you will gain the provision of a much needed advantage.

Blessings,

Bro. Larry

There is a difference between being honest and being negative, although at times it is very small. The old saying about whether the cup is half full or empty is of course the supposed difference between an optimist and a pessimist. So, is the cup half empty of half full? Is one really more accurate than the other? The answer is that both are correct.

People who give the weather usually are positive people who smile a lot. As a result, they will tell us that the day will be "partly sunny" instead of "partly cloudy". This is because for some reason the word "cloudy" is viewed as a negative word. I don't think anyone who has endured a drought or had to work outside in 100 degree weather would view a cloud as a negative. Whether you call it partly sunny or partly cloudy, it is describing the same thing.

For many years in my life I subscribed to the notion that being "positive" was some kind of magic panacea for all that ails a person. It is very interesting to note that the entire "positive thinking" movement never really took off until Norman Vincent Peale wrote his best seller; "The Power of Positive Thinking" many years ago. From that one book sprang not only a new way of thinking but the silly notion that being honest is being negative.

I am not defending being negative and I am not saying that all the "negative Nelson's" out there are right; but I am saying that just because a person gets up in the morning and immediately starts confessing positives does not guarantee that any of those positives will ever happen. I know all about the supposed equation that goes something like this: Confession of belief yields receipt of confession. In other words, you talk yourself into or out of believing anything.

So, I wake up feeling like some mafia thug came in during the night with a baseball bat and had smacked every joint in my body. Not only that, the entire US army had marched on top of my body all night. In other words, I feel like ... Somehow I am supposed to drag myself to the bathroom, look at this haggard creature in the mirror and say "I look and feel GREAT!!" Maybe in my younger years I could do this, but now days I find the whole idea repulsive.

Some great philosopher once said that if something walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is probably a duck. I say that if every joint in my body hurts, I have a headache and the foolishness of every stupid thing I ever did to my body is letting me know about it; I have a right to be honest for a season. Why do I have to somehow muster the wherewithal to confess that "I feel GREAT" when I feel just the opposite

There is a fine line between denial and positive confession. I have known people who refused to go to a doctor because in their mind it was caving into a negative. They would lie in their bed trying to talk themselves into good health. The sad reality was that many times they just got sicker and sicker in the process.

I know all about why we strive to not confess negatives and how we MUST confess what the Word of God says and claim the victory we have in Jesus. This little blog post is not about that side of things. I am talking about the foolishness of denial. If my arm is broken it is broken. Either I pray and it gets healed, or I need to get to the doctor and get it taken care of. If I cut a huge artery or vein, I do not have the time to try and talk myself into believing I am healed. Either I pray and get healed or I call 9-1-1 immediately.

The point is that when a negative comes up, the first thing to do is PRAY. But, if that does not change anything, it is not being negative or of little faith to either confess how you really feel or seek help. If you go to a doctor's office and always say "I feel GREAT", why bother going? Too many people get into a state of denial when it comes to physical situations because they do not want to be "negative".

When my wife gets a headache, I do not expect her to tell me she is fine. One look at her and I know she isn't. We always pray, but if the headache doesn't go away immediately out comes the medicine. The same holds true if I am having chest pains. Dealing with the situation at hand is NOT being negative, but in reality is being honest and smart.

Bro. Larry