Today as I drove by the house I spent the first 18 years of my life in. I saw that it was in much disrepair. The paint was peeling, the yard was overgrown and there were dead appliances in the driveway. I barely recognized the place I grew up in or even the neighborhood. The miles of empty farm land had turned into a sea of houses, developments every which way one turned. The berries and cows and horses and sheep were all gone. What farm land was left was unkept. The small town that was near by, was now a booming metropolis. The realization hit me that the farm country I was raised in was gone, the place I had known as my home for 18 years no longer existed. Most of it had been swallowed up in city, the land that was left was sadly neglected. With the passing of my parents, I realized was also the passing of a lifetime of memories. All Gone, but not forgotten. I am thankful that my life is not based on those memories but on the Lord. It saddens me to know that everything familiar to me is gone, but it does not overtake me. When the Lord saved me, I began a new life with a new home that awaits me, sometime in the future. That home will bring all the joy and safety that we wish for on this earth but can never attain. Everlasting peace, joy comfort and most of all, foreverness with my Savior who died for me and is always loving and faithful. Hallelujah!
Gwendolyn

Who Do We Trust In

Has anyone noticed lately that the new money our government is printing has an important omission. I have not had the newest money, but have been told that the words "In God We Trust", have been conspicuously excluded from the face of our coins. When did this decision occur? I didn't hear anything in the news alerting us of this fact, if it is a fact. It does not surprise me that this kind of decision would insidiously creep in. It would be noticed mostly by those who care whether or not God is pre-eminent in our culture.

It is a logical step to expunge from our money any reference to our God, since it has already been taken from our institutions of learning and our court houses. Should we really be surprised when it disappears from the face of our money? An attempt to ignore the existence of God has been little by little stealthily overtaking our land.

Some of the Christians who were angry about the ten commandments leaving the courthouses, were not obeying the Word of God themselves, at least not in a way that anyone would notice. I believe God removed them, because we don't really care about them anyway, the stones they were written on were as idols, the words were not principles to follow.

It is frightening to be "in the hands of an angry God." When New Orleans was hit and when the twin towers were demolished, we as a nation, took note of God for a couple of weeks or so, then went right back to our old ways. The only change that could be seen were lots of words. Words, words and more words.

There is a terrible misunderstanding in our land, that is, that we think if we only say something that is good enough, there doesn't actually have to be a change, it's just enough to say so. There are some musings that I have learned over the years from some of the elderly folks I know. They go like this, "Your actions speak so loud, I can't hear a word your saying." Another is "I would rather you do what you say than for you to just say it." (unknown authors) AND still another for the believer is this one, "the non-believer will not read the Bible, but he will read the Christian." (author unknown to me)

If we as a nation think that all we have to do is speak of God, when trouble comes, He will come to our rescue. But He will come to the rescue of those who love Him, and those with a broken and contrite heart. If we don't love or follow Him we have no reason to expect Him to be there when we are in dire need of help.

This nation is in terrible danger, not only by terrorists, but ultimately by the angry hand of a Living God. The only solution is brokenness over our sin and repentance toward Him.

This should be our prayer, not for more blessing but for repentance of a worldly, selfish and out of control people who, most of the time, think they don't need God.

Gwendolyn

Do Dogs Really Converse?

I do believe that dogs converse, in another language we do not perceive. Their speech develops from undiscerned utterances, although colorful and expressive, they make their thoughts known to one another.

The two dogs of which I speak are called Esau and Jacob, two are as one. Each bares the marks of a mother in common. One is opposite the other, although most curious, both are still the same.

Esau possesses the body of the the herder kind, with the face and color of the German sort.
Jacob, although sharing the blood of Esau, has the face of the herder and the body of the Deutsche. They are most inseparable, as they guard their domain, faithfully discharging their duties as protectors while delighting in their function.

One day as they recline in their beds of grass, they turned their heads to scrutinize the expression of the other. Esau exudes an utterance, half growl and half howl as he makes himself known to Jacob. Jacob responds with a similar intonation.

Several modulations of this sort transpire until each rises from his position and shares a joint howl. Was this a discussion on the benefits of communal howling? We shall never know I suppose. But what sport it was in watching the caper, a memory never forgotten and barely believed by those who were not witness.

Do dogs really converse, my answer most clear, is a resounding yes, not only do they share thoughts but they do it with delineation. Trying with humans they do, with a little success, oh how marvelous is God's blessing, the dogs!
Gwendolyn

What Is Real Love?

Today as I was reading in the Proverbs, I pondered the state of our culture and realized that, we as a Christian culture have been placing our emphasis on the positive much too long. Because we have been careful to make everything "positive" we have created a society that has difficulty hearing correction or rebuke. The result is that those listening don't hear the rebuke because it has been cloaked in marshmallow terms so that the focus is on how much the rebuker likes me and not on the message at all. We have used the scripture "a quiet answer turns away wrath" to the exclusion of "rebuke in the presence of all, that all may fear." I Timothy 5:20 & 21
and Proverbs 20: 30, "Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, as do stripes the inner depths of the heart." Proverbs 27:5-6, "Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of any enemy are deceitful."

In Proverbs, the Lord, many times, hits us over the head with the hammer of what is at the core of our human nature and then He gives us his very best to know the change that is needed in our lives.

Some examples of this might be: Proverbs 21:29, "A wicked man hardens his face, But as for the upright he establishes his way." or Proverbs 22:15, "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him." Proverbs 24:24-25, "He who says to the wicked 'You are righteous,'
Him the people will curse; Nations will abhor him, But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, And a good blessing will come upon them."

The Lord gives us a picture of our fallen nature first and then He gives us hope in His perfect way. If you do this......then you will not be accepted. If you do this.....then you will experience My blessing and approval.

We as a culture are taught to do the opposite of God's way, that is to win the sinner by our pretty smile first and then maybe they will hear what I am saying. God's way tells us to expose the wickedness and rebellion first and then bring the hope that God can change us if we repent. This needs to be practiced among the people of God first and then with the world. The Believers need conviction to turn from their sin to live a more Holy life and the non-believers need to be shown their sin to repent for salvation. Proverbs 29:5, "A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet." Proverbs 26:28, "a flattering mouth works ruin."

The modern man flatters a person first and then gently tells their views. The person who has just been flattered, only hears that and nothing else. How many times have we seen someone who acknowledges their flaws, in a conversation like this, actually go away seemingly in conviction and change nothing about their lives. I suggest that very few become truly convicted and repent, turning from their sin and obeying God, because they are not sorrowful over their sin.

In a discussion with my husband it came up that he was in many "sensitivity training classes" in his job as a managing engineer. The premise was to flatter first, then explain the problem. This works in business because people want to please the boss to keep their job. They know that they could be fired if they don't do what the boss wants. But in the world for evangelism, this does not work because the hearer does not HAVE to change anything in order to keep something he wants. God's way is always perfect and must be followed even when we don't see results. A person's reaction to the rebuke is not a measure of right or wrong in the encounter. A violent reaction to a rebuke only reveals the inner heart of rebellion in the man who harbors pride and bitterness.

It is interesting to note that a man who acts violently angry when he encounters disagreement is a man who is deeply fearful. The fear is the loss of control, and an intense need to win in order to regain the control of the conversation. When we encounter anger over disagreement, it is likely that the angry one lives in a state of fear and lacks the faith necessary to be willing to step aside and let someone else be right. Anger in a conversation is a form of manipulation.

Many times we can be gentle with a person, but there are also times that we need to be sharp. We as believers need to walk more closely with the Holy Spirit to be able to discern when to be sharp and when to be gentle. Let's let the Holy Spirit tell us what to do and be, not the culture.

God Bless You with His Wisdom
Gwen

Toil: Drudgery or Purpose

In the world of man he must swirl, toil, spin and grind, only to collapse in a heap of weariness at the end of the day. What have we accomplished today, but more chores that will not stay finished. Tomorrow they will need to be done again, and then again and still again. Over and over and over again we spin and toil as the ants do and at the end of it, we grow old, then older, and even older and then we die. Such is the realization of the unsaved person who must toil to enjoy and accomplish as much in this life as he can before he expires into a heap that dissolves into the dust. Such a languor and hopelessness that lurks, unnoticed, at the soul of man.

Not so for the Christian

In the world of the Christian he must toil and spin and grind but to him, all his toiling, spinning and grinding, has purpose and meaning. He seeks to please a God of perfection who makes sense of all that we do. We grow older to grow wiser, and work harder to accomplish an eternal goal. At the end of it all we receive an eternal reward and enjoy forever a life that is joyous beyond our human understanding. Nothing on earth can compare to the riches and love that we will experience when our work on earth is finished. We will look into the face of Jesus Christ, remembering all that He did for us, and praise Him with unspeakable joy for the rest of our existence, while we delight in His love.
Working with Hope today and looking forward to the end of it all.
Gwendolyn

Psalm 1: 1-2

Blessed is the man who walks not in the council of the ungodly, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in His law he meditates day and night.