Your Dreams

 

When Joseph was a young teen, God gave him a dream.  He dreamed that his ten older brothers would fall down and worship him.  Not a great way to get close to your stepbrothers.  And when his brothers had the opportunity, they threw Joseph in a dry well to let him die.  Not good.  Then one of them had the brilliant idea to sell Joseph as a slave.  And Joseph’s life just got worse.  Joseph could have gotten bitter, but he didn’t.  He remained faithful to Mr. Potiphar even when Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph falsely.  Potiphar had Joseph thrown into prison.  Not good.  But Joseph kept his integrity and God blessed him.  After interpreting the butler’s dream, Joseph was promised help.  But he was forgotten in prison for two more long years.  For thirteen years, Joseph’s life spiraled downward, but Joseph didn’t forget his dream.  When God presented the opportunity, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and was made second in command of all of Egypt answering to Pharaoh himself.  Can you imagine Joseph’s brothers’ shock when they saw him seven years later?  He was now in a position to get even with them.  But he didn’t.  That’s because Joseph still had his dream.  God had taken Joseph on a crooked path to get him where he needed to be.  In those terrible events of Joseph’s life, God was at work.  Joseph didn’t blame his brothers because God was using the brothers to do God’s will.  Genesis 50:20, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”  Hey, what about your life?  Are you frustrated with your difficulties?  But do you realize that God knows exactly where you are?  Hey, God is actually using those difficulties to make you into what He wants you to be.  Relax!  Trust in God.  Let Him be in charge of your life.  Remember your dreams.  And let those dreams be the dear Lord’s dreams.  He loves you more than you can ever imagine.

Unseen Danger

 

I took my two grandsons canoeing Monday after school.  Nights are getting longer and days getting shorter, so there won’t be many more canoeing days on West Chickamauga creek.  I told them to wear old shoes so that they could get out of the canoe and explore the sand bars and mud flats.  Greyson’s old shoes were tight, and he wanted to take them off, but I insisted on him keeping them on.  The sand bars and mud flats looked safe enough to him.  What he didn’t know was that broken bottles and rusted tin cans were everywhere … just under the surface.  Trashy people throw stuff into the creek, and bottles and cans float downstream until they get hung up in debris or stuck in the sand.  They rust or break (cans or bottles) and are buried over time and remain as unseen hazards.  I remember cutting my bare foot on a piece of glass in Winter’s Run when I was ten years old (sixty-three years ago!). Hey, the dear Lord knows the dangers that lurk around us.  He knows the traps that Satan uses to try to destroy us.  But we can’t see the spirit world: demons and angels are invisible to us.  But make no mistake, they are just as real as you and I are!  Paul said in Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  Dear friend, you are in a spiritual battle today.  You may not see it, but it is going on nonetheless.  Read Ephesians 6:10-18 and be on guard today!  And, as verse 15 says, keep your feet protected with the “gospel of peace”.  Look out for Satan’s broken bottles and rusted tin cans!  Look out for Satan’s trash!

How Far Can You Jump?

 

How far can you jump?  Can you jump further than me?  You probably can.  But if we were both to stand at the edge of the Grand Canyon, would it matter if you could jump further than me?  Would it even matter if you could jump twice as far as me?  Not really, because we both would plunge to our deaths.  That’s because no one could jump across the Grand Canyon.  Paul says in Romans 3:23 and 10, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God … There is none righteous, no, not one.”  The point is not that we are better than someone else, the point is that we are all sinners.  We are all guilty before Almighty God.  But thankfully, Jesus Christ paid for those sins!  And Jesus Christ can carry us across the Grand Canyon, if we will just let Him.  Repent of your sins and Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  He can do what you can’t.

New World Order

I remember with fascination in August 1961 when the Berlin Wall went up.  I was in the seventh grade and watched the events unfold on our black-and-white TV.  Then in October 1962, I watched as soldiers near my home in Edgewood, MD went on full alert patrolling in full battle gear as the Cuban missile crisis developed.  When President Reagan and Gorbachev met in 1985, there was world-wide hope for a new era of peace (they called it glasnost).  As discussions with the Russians continued, Soviet bloc nations began to defect.  In November 1989 the Berlin wall came down, and German reunification happened overnight.  I remember how lightning-fast changes took place.  While governments held discussions, the common people took things into their own hands.  They simply tore the wall down from both sides and embraced one another.  The entire world order changed in just a few short months.  Hey, someday soon, Jesus Christ will return as King of kings and catch His children up to be with Him in the clouds.  Things will be totally changed.  This second coming of Jesus will be a surprise to most people.  If you are one of His saved ones, you (we) will be snatched up by Jesus Christ.  If you are not one of His saved ones, you will go through one of the most horrible times ever to come to pass in the history of mankind.  Hey, this will happen … it’s just a matter of when!  The question is, “Are you ready?”  Read I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and then Romans 10:9-13.  Think about it … but don’t take too long.  Think and then make a decision … before it’s too late.

Writing a Check

 

I went by Home Depot a while back to pick up some trim for my house.  I gathered up my stuff and got in line.  The check-out line was moving rather slowly, even though there was only one man ahead of me.  Being the nosy person that I am, I peeked around the older customer and noticed that he was writing a check.  Now, I’m not saying anything against older people because I am one!  But I was intrigued.  It has been months since I had seen someone writing a check in public.  The man finally left, and it was my turn.  I mumbled to the cashier, “Wow, that was freaky!  Writing a check!”  She smiled and answered, “I’ve never even written a check!”  Are we living in a new world or what?!  Hey, in the end times, the new world order will require identification to buy or sell, not unlike a chip under the skin on the back of your hand (or forehead)!  John said in Revelation 13:17, “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”  I use my credit card to slide, chip, or tap for almost every purchase that I make.  But after reading Revelation once again, I think I’ll start using cash a little more.  What about you?  Hmmm?

Who Do You Belong To?

 

Forty years ago, our church wanted to buy four empty lots at the end of our dead-end street.  But two of the vacant lots were part of a three-lot tract with a house on it.  We bought the house to get the lots, and my family rented the house from the church.  The house was adjacent to a duplex also owned by the church with two other church families in the duplex.  All three families had children, so the back yards of the houses were always alive with kids and kids’ activities.  Often, arguments would bubble up and tempers flare.  I would have to call in my children to reduce tensions.  Sometimes my children would complain that the problems weren’t their fault.  “Why do we have to come in?!” they would say.  I would explain to my children that I had no control over the other children.  I only had control over the children with the last name of “Whitely”.  Fair or not, it was true.  Hey, that’s the way it is with our heavenly Father.  We are called Christians and bear the name of Jesus Christ.  The Lord corrects His own children and watches over us because we belong to Him.  And while other folk get away with evil, God watches over His own children correcting and directing.  David said in Psalm 73:12, “Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.”  The ungodly will prosper because this world is their only pleasure.  But they will not prosper in the world to come.  God’s children will prosper in the world to come.  Hey, be encouraged when God corrects you, because that correction is proof that you belong to Him!

Stumble

 

I have to get up two or three times in the night to go to the bathroom.  It’s just part of being an old man.  I could turn on the light to be able to see my way to the bathroom, but I have a hard time getting back to sleep after my trip to the bathroom.  Again, a part of being an old man.  And I would wake up my sleeping wife.  So, I leave the light off.  I know my way around the bedroom, and I can find my way to the bathroom and back in the dark.  But the only variable is my rolling desk chair.  If I remember to slide it under the desk before I go to sleep, all is well.  But If I forgot to slide it under the desk, I stumble over it, wake up my wife, and fully wake up myself.  A big mistake!  Then I am wide awake and my wife is wide awake too.  Both people in the house are not happy because I forgot to secure my desk chair.  Hey, do you have any stumbling blocks in your life?  They could be physical, or they could be hidden sins.  A stumbling block could be a bad habit or a short temper.  Whatever your problem is, Jesus Christ is the answer.  Psalm 55:22, “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”  The dear Lord will uphold you. Yes He will!

Teacher or Savior?

 

Jesus Christ did not come as a teacher to show us the way to heaven; Jesus came as the Savior to provide the way of salvation to take us to heaven.  He did not show us the way; He was the Way Himself.  Jesus did not teach us reformation; Jesus offered us redemption, for He alone is the Way to God and heaven.  Jesus said in John 14:6, “… I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”  Hey, don’t read Jesus’ teachings to become a better person; accept Him as your Lord and Savior.

Stuffed

 

I took my two youngest grandchildren to the Tennessee Aquarium four years ago and there was a shallow tank where they could touch small sharks.  I asked the lady if the sharks ever nipped at any of the kids who petted them.  She assured me that they didn’t.  She said, “We feed them just before petting time.  We actually feed them too much, so they don’t want to take another bite.”  Hey, sometimes we are like those little sharks.  God has blessed us so much in America that we are “stuffed” with His blessings.  We just couldn’t take another bite, even if we wanted to!  Solomon got it right when he said, “Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.” Proverbs 25:16  Today, let’s step back and take a closer look at God’s blessings upon us and upon our nation.  Let’s be a little more grateful and be a little more thoughtful.

Cowboys

 

I got tired of television’s reality shows, so lately, I have been watching the old cowboy movies and programs on Dish channel 217.  They call it Grit TV.  It has “Laramie”, “Wyatt Earp”, and “Death Valley Days”.  Many of the guest cameo characters got their start on these feature shows and went on to star in their own programs.  But it’s confusing to me.  I can’t wrap my mind around a cowboy show that has the captain in “Gilligan’s Island” in it.  And Lloyd Bridges from “Sea Hunt” with a cowboy hat.  But the worst was seeing Aunt Bea slinking around in a saloon scene.  Why, Aunt Bea ought to know better than to be in a saloon, being from “Mayberry, RFD”.  I watched one show entitled “The Cowboy and the Redhead”.  But it’s in black and white, so I’m not sure which one is the redhead.  Oh well …  Solomon said not to long for the “good old days”.  He said in Ecclesiastes 7”10, “Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.”  The old days or the new days are not better or worse, just different.  And you are right Solomon.  There is nothing new under the sun.

Nylons

 

This past Thursday was the second day that I helped my grandson, Bennett, with his science fair project.  It brought back wonderful memories.   Well, most of the memories were wonderful.  Years ago, I helped my students through the Scientific Procedure with all the supporting stuff: logbook, research, apparatus, data, display, and paper.  Thursday, I got to help my grandson work on his Van de Graaff generator.  Bennett and I needed vinyl tubing and some nylon to generate the static electrical imbalance.  So, we stopped by CVS pharmacy to get some ladies’ nylons to use on the upper roller.  And yes, I felt awkward buying ladies’ stockings.  Bennett must have too, because he wanted to stay in the car to do something or another.  I had to read each pantyhose label because some had a Spandex or Lycra blend (I needed pure nylon).  As I read each label, I kept looking around to see if anyone was walking by.  I didn’t want to be seen reading pantyhose labels.  If the manager watched the security video of me, he would have suspected me of shoplifting with all of my shifty glances.  I got my pantyhose, quickly bought them (at the self-checkout kiosk) and hurried to the car.  Solomon said in Proverbs 17:6, “Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.”  What a grandfather won’t do for a grandson!

Hour of Being Right

 

Last evening, my wife and I had a … well uh … well a disagreement.  But I have found that the best thing about a disagreement is kissing and making up.  ;<)  So, the first thing this morning, I told Kathy that I was going to get along with her all day.  A tall order for me.  A little later, the scheduler called me about my heart catheterization for tomorrow.  My dear wife was a little melancholy, so I cleverly asked, “Will you let me be right for an hour before my procedure?”  She thought for a moment and said that she would.  Then I pushed my luck and said, “I think that I’ll save my ‘hour of being right’ for a later time.”  But I had pushed her too far.  She said, “You know that it has an expiration date.”  Hmmmm.  Now, I’m not sure what to do.  Should I use the “hour of being right” or take a chance of it expiring.  It’s a difficult decision for me because only my wife knows when it expires.  What would you do?  Paul said in Ephesians 5:21, “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”  I have found that an argument ends when one party just won’t argue back.  So, if one of us gives in to the other, there is no argument.  But now back to my “hour of being right” …

Hidden

 

My first trip to Romania was scary.  I knew nothing about the country or the people or the government.  So, I got advice from a dear couple who had escaped from Romania many years ago, Mia and Costel Oglicie.  The Oglicies translated Bible study lessons and smuggled them back into Romania.  The communist officials would confiscate any Bibles or Bible study books that they brought, so Mia and Costel would translate the study books, memorizing them as they did.  Once inside Romania, they would transcribe the Bible lessons and have them printed.  The border patrol guards would interrogate them and search their car - but to no avail.  The guards would pull out door panels, stick knives into upholstery, tear open sun visors, and pull out the back seat looking for forbidden Bible materials.  But they found nothing.  That’s because the Bible study books were committed to memory - they were hidden in Mia and Costel’s hearts.  Hey, if some zealous government official were to confiscate your Bible, Sunday school quarterly, or small group lesson, would you be at a loss?  Or do you have God’s Word securely “hidden in your heart”?  Think about it.  Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

Difficult Times

 

I am overwhelmed with the kind words from so many friends following my medical event (I still don’t think it was a heart attack).  Many have said that they were so sorry for me.  But did you realize that the Lord was not sorry for my problems?!  Hey, everything that happens in my life is under the control of my heavenly Father.  God uses good and bad things to teach me and to accomplish His ultimate purpose for me.  For the Lord, there are no bad things and good things.  He uses them all!  Paul said in Romans 5:3-5, “… but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed …”  (And just a reminder: never pray for patience because the dear Lord will give you tribulation to teach you patience.)  But what a wonderful chain of events that follow tribulation!  Hey, let the Lord direct your life.  Don’t wallow in pity with hard times.  Rest in the knowledge that God is using every event in your life for your good.  Yes, He is!

An Important Person

 

Years ago, my mother was flying back to Maryland from our tiny Chattanooga airport.  As we were walking to the gate (back in the days when you could walk to the gate) she grabbed my arm and excitedly said, “That’s Reggie White!”  And with that, my mother walked right up to him and introduced herself.  She pulled out her little camera and asked if she could get a picture with him.  Good-natured Reggie White agreed and stood up, but my mother had a better idea.  She had my little five-year-old son hold up his small hand in front of Reggie White’s huge NFL-sized hand, and mom snapped the picture.  What a memory!  Hey, we have the chance to interact with someone much more famous than Reggie White every day!  We can get out our Bible or get on our knees and have a personal meeting with the Creator of the Universe.  How exciting that should be for us!  But all too often, we take it for granted.  Hey, let’s renew our excitement to meet with God every morning!  Read His words with the thrill that we should have when we come into the presence with our Maker!  Really, really meet with God this morning!  God said in Jeremiah 29:11-14, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD.”

Heart Problems

 

My recent event at Memorial hospital is fodder for many posts.  Sorry.  But at least they have a happy ending, for which I am thankful.  Thursday, I was on my way to get Prevacid at the drug store for my stomach problems when my dear wife intervened.  Chest pressure was not something to treat at home, she said.  I wisely (albeit stubbornly) listened to my wife and drove to the emergency room.  They took me right back and drew blood. The first report revealed a heart enzyme number of 100 (normal is <70), indicating a heart attack.  They gave me nitroglycerin under my tongue.  In 2 hours, the next test revealed a number of 400.  So, I was scheduled for a heart cath the next day (Friday).  After an x-ray, EKG, sonogram, and more bloodwork, a coronary artery was opened and secured with a stent.  I came home with four new meds and a small bottle of nitroglycerin to carry with me until my next stent this coming Friday (prayers solicited).  That little bottle with twenty tablets is a solemn reminder of my current condition.  I may or may not have chest pains before Friday.  But if I do, I am prepared.  And that little bottle is a reminder of what is going on inside of my chest.  James 4:14, “… For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”  It seems like just yesterday that I was in elementary school, and here I am pushing 74 years old!  Life is really so short!  James said it is like the fog on the bathroom mirror when I get out of the shower that vanishes in two minutes.  Hey, use your life for good because it will be over very soon.  Really.  You may feel sorry for me facing another heart catheterization this Friday (again, prayers solicited), but you may have something worse before this Friday!  I’m not trying to discourage you; I’m trying to encouraging you to settle things with God and your fellow man.  Hey, refer to James 4:14 again.  Get things right with God, get things right with your spouse, get things right with your children.  And then have a great week!

Dialysis Bag

 

My wife goes to dialysis three days a week.  She is a trooper and doesn’t usually complain.  But if she does, she gets a pass from me.  I donate platelets and plasma at Ft. Oglethorpe Blood Assurance about once a month, so I understand a little about what my wife goes through.  The difference is that my donation is voluntary, only one hour long, and only once a month.  Her dialysis is mandatory, three hours long, and three days a week!  My wife has a bag that she takes with her to dialysis.  It has in it her blanket, pillow, headphones, Kleenex, cough drops, Band-Aids, lip gloss, animal crackers, and medicines.  And when she gets home after her morning at dialysis, she is so done with that bag!  I wash her blanket and pillowcase, but Kathy doesn’t want to see that bag at all (until the next dialysis session).  She tosses that bag into the back of the bedroom where she can’t even see it, because it reminds her of difficult times.  Peter tells us to dispose of our cares just like my wife discards her dialysis bag: I Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”  Jesus confidently tells us to throw our cares upon Him.  Hey, Jesus can handle your problems!  Yes, He can!  Don’t worry, don’t fret.  Just throw those cares upon the strong shoulders of the dear Lord, just like my wife throws her dialysis bag into the corner.  And the best part of the verse is that Jesus CAN take care of your problems, and that Jesus CARES about your problems!  Yes, He does!

Praise the Lord!

Well, my picture today doesn't look very much different from the one yesterday (certainly no better), but the background is different. Yesterday the background was Memorial hospital, but today's background is my bedroom. Praise the Lord! Yesterday about 11 am (they moved it up from 1 pm) I had a heart Catheterization, and a stent was inserted to open a coronary artery (This Friday, I'll get another one done). Modern medicine is such a blessing! And I am grateful to you for your prayers and kind words. One day I am in the hospital with chest pains and the next day I am at home with a new lease on life! Wow! And just like my coronary artery was opened up to renew my 73-year-old heart, God has given us new life Christ. Paul said in II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." I have a new heart physically and a new heart spiritually. Hey, have you been born again? Did you let Jesus give you a new spiritual heart? Message me and we can chat. Let Dr. Jesus, the Great Physician, do His work. No bill will be in the mail! ;<)

New Car

 

In 1974 I bought a brand-new car.  It was actually the only new car that I ever bought.  It was a 1974 American Motors Gremlin.  I paid $2,770 for it, right out of the showroom in Rockwood, Tennessee.  I was so proud of that car.  I can still remember that new car smell.  But, some six years later, I sold my old, worn-out Gremlin for $600.  And I was glad to get that much for it.  Hey, nothing lasts forever.  Everything wears out and wears down.  Everything, that is, except for God.  Our old world may wear down, but our dear Lord is eternal.  “They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment.” Hebrews 1:11  One day, I’m proud of my shiny new car and just a few years later, it’s a rusted old piece of junk!  But it’s great to put your faith in the eternal God of the universe who never wears out and Who never changes!  Hey, have you put your trust in God?  Right now would be a good time to trust in the Lord.  Message me, and we can chat.

New York Yankees Hat

 

July 20, 2019 I attended the funeral of a dear friend.  Brother Bob Humphreys (1934-2019) was 85 years old and had been a pastor/missionary for many years.  Brother Bob had a great personality and was loved by everyone.  Brother Bob had a New York Yankees baseball hat he wore everywhere that he went.  When asked about the hat, he would tell the story of Micky Mantle and Bobby Richardson, two famous Yankee ball players.  Theirs was an unusual friendship.  Micky Mantle was a hard-living, hard-drinking superhero for the Yankees and Bobby Richardson was a clean-living homebody churchgoer who played second base for the Yankees.  After liver failure, a liver transplant, and liver cancer, Mickey Mantle was in the hospital dying.  Bobby visited Mickey in the hospital, once again sharing Bible verses with him.  Mickey Mantle trusted Christ as his Savior only days before his death in 1995.  Brother Bob Humphreys told that story hundreds of times sharing the Gospel with hundreds of folk.  “Thank you, Brother Bob, for being a faithful witness.  Thank you for the great example that you were.  Enjoy your heavenly reward.”  Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”