Life is much better when a man has a good woman to share life with.”

Keep your head, keep your feet, and keep your heart!”
                    –Emerson Hough  (54-40 or Fight)

       “However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.”
                    –1 Timothy 1:16 (NKJV)
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       Thank you Lord for the breath You give me, and that I can walk.  Oh, I may not be as spry as I used to be and able to hump over the hills and through the woods, but I am still able to get from one place to another.  I can watch a hawk glide through the trees, smell the aroma of a flower, and taste the sweetness of Annie’s apple pie.  Everytime I go to the doctor, I look around and am thankful that I’m not in as bad a shape as those I see.
       Far too often, even Christians, bemoan their grievances, aches, and pains.  Older folk sometimes get together to compare who is taking the most pills, what new pain they have this week, or to show that they are in more misery than the others.  Often this is done in jest, but then again, sometimes we get to complaining too much and are not thankful enough.
       When I begin to “count my blessings and name them one by one,” I get overwhelmed with the goodness of God.  Through all the years He has been good to me and my family.  In struggles, He has helped us.  In sickness, He has touched us and several times healed us.  In sorrow, He has comforted us.  In the good times, He has been there smiling down upon us.
       No, I try not to be negative, but once in a while it just pops up.  Woe is me, I just need to go eat some worms…   But then I remember, I dislike the taste of worms.  They are dirty, slimy and don’t taste so very good.  No, I think I’ll treat myself when the woes hit me.  A piece of pie, a bite of cookie is much better than a worm.  Or we could go further and think of a nice, juicy, broiled t-bone over the fire and its rich aroma; its mouthwatering taste most definitely is better than an old worm.  
       See the woes bring on a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness but in Christ we have both help and hope.  He gives me strength for each day, for each hour.  He says He will never leave my side, and I have the assurance that He is there even when I don’t see or feel Him.  He gives that wonderful blessed hope that He will return and take me to glory either by the rapture or the grave.  
       He gave me the ability to work, and work hard knowing that I work for Him, and for His glory.  He gave me the ability to think, to study, to better myself for my future and my family, again all for His glory.  We tend to get caught up with work, or education, or career, and forget that they are gifts from the Lord and we should honor Him but doing the best we can (Colossians 3:17,23).  
       No, I try my best to stay out of the mulligrubs and not murmur.  It doesn’t do much good anyhow.  Lord, I pray, help me, help me to stay on the “sunny side of life.”  Think of all the good things:  biscuits ‘n’ gravy, the vistas I’ve seen from the tops of mountains, the campsites I’ve enjoyed.  Think of my wife: her smile, her help, her servanthood, and her cooking.  Think of my kids, my grandkids, and how You’ve taken care of them.  Too many blessings to count.  God’s goodness and faithfulness is so apparent.  Ahhh, sometimes I just want to sigh in His presence.

There was no nonsense when it came to dealing with enemies, or those who were evil.”

                    –Louis L’Amour  (The Lonely Men)

       “For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns.”
                    –Isaiah 62:1 (NKJV)
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       Do you feel panicked by the darkness of our culture?  Is it beginning to overwhelm you?  It seems that Christians, in these times, are more fearful than faithful.  We need to be calm, rest in that calm assurance of the Lord.  There are many out there groping in the dark for answers; it is not becoming that Christians join in with them when we have the “Light” to guide our way.  This Monday morning we look at the first part of Psalm 72.

               1 — Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
               2 — He will judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor with justice.
               3 — The mountains will bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
               4 — He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, and will break in pieces the oppressor.
               5 — They shall fear You as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
               6 — He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, like showers that water the earth.
               7 — In His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.  (NKJV)

       Notice how many times righteous or righteousness is mentioned in the Scriptures above.  Righteousness is the doing of what is right.  But how is “right” determined?  Is it relative or absolute?  Our culture today is saying that there is no absolute right or wrong; it is all relative and up to the individual.  How wrong they are! (and that is an absolute)
       Who, today, determines what is right?  The government, the court system, the individual–no, it has already been determined.  God’s holy law is written within the hearts of man.  Sure he can disregard it, to his own peril and that of those near him.  Society will suffer when it is decided that they will go away and against God’s declared moral laws.
Culture/society will break down when it moves away from the righteous standards of the Almighty God.  However, that is what the postmodernists (the woke culture) wants to happen–the deconstruction of moral standards.
       George Wood states, “Any branch of government losing this perspective [the standards of God’s moral laws] descends into the quicksand of moral relativity and ethical chaos.”    Of course, chaos is the great cleanser according to Nietzsche.  Break everything down, do away with God and His laws, start over again with the new, enlightened woke society.  To do that the refreshing of the Holy Spirit will leave the nation.  And to think of that is frightful.  We already have a taste of inadequacy when man tries to establish his own laws contrary to what God has set.
       Stay calm…never forget–God is still in control.  No matter what man might try to do, he cannot thwart God’s purposes.

                   “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed,
                   Great David’s greater Son!
                   Hail in the time appointed,
                   His reign on earth begun!
                   He comes to break oppression,
                   To set the captive free;
                   To take away transgression,
                   And rule in equity.”
                             –James Montgomery

There is no other book on earth more inviting, soothing, encouraging and life changing than an opened Bible.”

                    –Ken Pratt  (Return to Willow Falls)

        “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.'”

                    –John 14:6 (NKJV)
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How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World

Key Verse:  “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”  –1 John 5:19 (NKJV)

       I pray that those reading these lessons take them to heart.  This world is evil and the devil desperately wants to destroy, especially the children.  Study the history of Israel–the false gods that the people brought into their worship believed in child sacrifice.  Our country is no better for there are many children offered to the devil via the form of abortion.  The killing of the innocent.  However, there are many ways to sacrifice children and one of them is to not teach them about God.  Let them wander and stray in the abyss of the evil in this world.
       My daughter sent me the following.  Read it and see if you don’t agree that we are moving more and more to an apostate culture.  “Where are the true believers?”  So shouted the prophets.  This study was made in 2012, so I wonder how it has changed.  I do not think it has improved.  The study was made by McDowell, Barna, and Nappa regarding the Christian teenager.  Remember this was 2012 so this group are now in their twenties.

               –41% were uncertain whether Jesus was physically resurrected.
               –63% didn’t believe Jesus to be the son of the one true God.
               –44% believed the Bible to be just one of many authoritative voices about Jesus.
               –33% believed that Jesus is not the only way to heaven.
               –only 5% studied the Bible daily.
               –a growing majority believe the Holy Spirit is only a symbol of God’s presence or power rather than a person of the Trinity.
               –60% are uncertain, unsettled, or confused about whether the Bible can be trusted.
               –70% express persistent, measurable doubts that what the Bible says about Jesus is true.

       These were supposed to be “Christian teenagers,” however, in their beliefs/doctrines there is a doubt as to the depth of their Christianity.  There is a growing trend toward heresy and I’m waiting for parents, preachers, and leaders to proclaim, “Thus saith the Lord!”  The atmosphere of our culture is to doubt the Bible, mock Jesus Christ, and serve whatever god they want.
       Why do I speak about doctrine so much?  Go back and read the above statistics.  We are to guard the truth–the doctrine.  We are to trust the holy written Word of God–the Bible.  What is being taught in our homes, for that is where it must start?  What standards are being laid by the parents regarding the truth of the Bible and Jesus Christ?
       I didn’t refer to the Scriptures that I had planned for today’s lesson, but one of them states, “…and there is a sin leading to death.” (1 John 5:17)  I will not get into detail about this now, but part of it is believing the doctrines of the antichrists, and refusing the testimony of the Holy Spirit in regard to the Son of God.  Some say that revival starts in the church, but I will say that revival starts with the individual and moves to the home.  This world is under the control of the devil and his evil, wicked way; do not give into his or sacrifice the children to him.