"Family"

Next to God there is nothing more important  to me than my family.  Abraham was a great man of faith and God chose to bless him by making his descendants more numerous than the stars in the sky. God understood the joy that a family  can bring to a man. My spouse and I just returned from Captiva Island, Fl where we spent seven days with our family. There were ten of us and what a blessing it was. Some of us went para sailing, while others enjoyed paddle boarding. We all enjoyed sun bathing and shelling. By my calculations after considering the cost of air fare, housing, car rental, food and all the other related expenses the average cost of "each sea shell", that my spouse and I found, was approximately $54.00. Spending time with family was however "priceless". I love each one of them for who they are. Like every sea shell we found each family member is unique and beautiful in their own way just the way God made them. We hired a professional photographer to preserve the memories we made together.

The day before we left for home we took two of our grandsons out for breakfast. My seven year old grandson  said that "serving God was the most important thing we can do".  The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 3 that the Holy scriptures can make us wise,  "so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work".

I woke up this morning and I thanked God again for my family. I hope you are thankful for your family as well.


Gee Man

Captiva Island, FL

Went parasailing with two of my grandchildren in Captiva Island, FL.  We were 435ft. above the gulf. What a blast!! 

Gee Man

"Darkness"

The tragic events that recently took place in Colorado brought back  distant memories of my teenage years. My parents told me several times  that,  "nothing good happens after midnight".  I was always expected to be home by 11:00 pm. I thought my parents were old fashioned and out of touch with the modern world.

My high school sponsored an all night party at a local bowling alley for all the graduating seniors. I was looking forward to staying up all night for the first time in my life. My date (now my spouse) and I worked for weeks to get her parents permission to stay out all night. We were so pumped up when they agreeed to let her stay out all night. When I informed my parents they  quickly burst my bubble when they  said "no way." You have to be home by midnight. I could not believe it! I was so embarrassed that I was not allowed to stay out all night.  At the time I did not realize how wise my parents were.

"You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to darkness". (I Thessalonians 5: 5)

The scriptures are true because all kinds of evil things take place at night.  Every day you hear stories on the news about  evil things that take place after midnight in the cover of darkness.

 "But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble" (Proverbs 4: 19)

We live in a world that is filled with darkness but thanks be to God because He has called us out of this darkness into a world of light.

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what has been done has been done through God" (John 3: 19-21)

I was very blessed as a teen to have "old fashioned parents who were out of touch with the modern world."

Thank you God!

Gee Man

"Freedom"

My spouse and I  recently attended a musical  entitled "1776". During one of the heated debates the delegate from Virginia called  the King of  England a 'tyrant' who had taken their freedoms away. The delegate from Pennsylvania objected to the term 'tyrant' and he insisted that the King of England had given them their freedom so he  therefore had the right to take away some of those freedoms. The Virginia delegate argued that 'freedom' was a 'God given right' and that no  earthly King had the right to take that freedom away.

I could not help but think about the exchange between God and Samuel  when God's people rejected Him as their King. God tells Samuel  "And the Lord told him: Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their King".  The people had rejected God the very Divine being who had delivered them from slavery and given them their freedom.
 (I Samuel 8:7)

God told Samuel to warn the people that their new earthly King would take their children and send them to war. He would take the best of their fields, vineyards and animals and give them to other people. The King will oppress you.   "When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the King you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day." (I Samuel 8:18)

It seems to me that things have  not changed that much. Our Nation has turned its back on God the very Divine being that helped us secure our freedom from  the King of England in 1776.

God is the giver of every good gift but our country has rejected Him. Instead we look to our Government (our King) to take care of all our needs and provide for our welfare. We call things that are good bad and things that are bad good.  I read the ending of the book and all the earthly Kings will pass away but Jesus the King of Kings will return to claim his own.

I think Joshua said it best when he said "Choose this day whom you will serve but as for me and my household we will serve the Lord."

Your God given freedom allows you to choose whom you will serve.

Gee Man

"Happy Birthday America"

America will  turn 236 years old this week.  Birthdays are meant to  be happy and joyful occasions.   I have mixed feelings about this  years birthday celebration. I am happy and grateful that  we still enjoy freedoms like no other place in the world but I am sad that we as  a Nation have turned our back on God. This morning in our Bible class we sang God Bless America, "the land that I love, stand beside her and guide her".  I sang this song with sadness in my heart because our Nation has turned its back on God.

Earlier in the  morning our congregation along with millions of other Christians in America got down on bended knees and we ask God to forgive our sinful ways. We ask Him to raise up leaders that will lead us to paths of righteousness. We ask him to restore the Godly foundation that this nation was built on.

 Where did we go wrong? When did we first turn away from God? I don't know the answer to that question. I suppose like many other Americans I was too busy in self indulgence to notice when things began to change.

Last week the Republicans raised over 4 million dollars in one day which will be spent on this years Presidental election. The Democrats boasted that they had rasied more than the Republicans.  Conservatively speaking lets assume that both parties together raised 9 million dollars in one day which will be spent on advertisements to solicit my vote and yours.

I could not help but think about all the children in the world who do not know where their next meal will come from. I thought about the thousands of children that will die this week because they will not have access to clean water. Think about it, Healing Hands International could have drilled 1,875 water wells and provided clean water for  6,375,000 children with this 9 million dollars.

God please forgive our sinful ways and raise up leaders that will restore our country to a Godly Nation.

Amen

Clean Pure Water

I have fond memories as a young boy of riding horseback two days a week checking on the welfare of about 300 sheep and approximately 50 cattle. I was about 12 years old. I rode in the heat of the day and the highlight of that experience was stopping at a cool  water spring to quench my thirst.  I assumed that every child always had access to pure water.

I  know now that is not true. Many other small boys in  the world today are taking care of cattle and sheep  and they get thirsty too. Unlike me they have to drink water from  contaminated pools because they do not have access to clean water. Eighty- percent of all childhood diseases come from drinking  contaminated water. Some of these diseases are fatal.

Healing Hands International is working to change that. They are drilling water wells all over the world in order to provide clean water for all children.  In the USA God has blessed us with the financial resources to ensure that every child has access to clean water. How will we respond to these children?

My spouse and I have decided to partner with Healing Hands International in Nashville, TN. We are going to drill  a water well in memory of my mother Pauline Ringener Martin. She would be so pleased if she were alive. Many of my brothers and sisters at our place of worship have also helped provide clean water. Working together over the past two years we have helped drill 11 water wells which will provide clean water for approximately 36,000 people. With the drilling of every well comes the opportunity to tell people about the ever lasting eternal water that comes through Jesus Christ. (John 4: 13-14)

TO GOD BE THE GLORY !

Billy

"A Story That needs to be Told"

I just recently returned from Cambodia where I spent five weeks teaching English using the Bible. While I was there I met a sweet 42 year old Cambodian lady. She has a story that needs to be told. When she was a teenager during the Khmer Rouge years her mother was killed and she was raised by her father and later, his new wife.  In April 2011she was working as a house keeper at a massage shop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She worked directly across the street from the BEST Center where I taught English. A small church with a membership of approximately 45 people meets at the BEST Center every Sunday between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM. The church was having a party in April 2011 to celebrate the Khmer New Year. She saw the crowd and she ask her boss what was going on? Her boss told her it was nothing just some church group having  a party. She got excited and told her boss she had to go to the party. She ran across the street and "butted in line"in front of people waiting to sign in. In a very loud voice she said. I love Jesus! Can I come to your party? I will come to church I promise. She caused such a commotion that the Director of the Center agreed to let her come to the party. It turns out that she had attended another church and she told them she wanted to be baptized. They told her she would have to wait until they took a group to the coast. She said she could not wait and for two months she had been praying for God to show her a church where she could get baptized. She told her boss that she was going to become a Christian. Her boss told her that if she became a Christian he would fire her. Her boss was a man of his word. He fired her when she became a Christian. At this point she had no job, no money, and no place to live. She found a house with a small mat in a room where she could pay to sleep. She was just like Jesus. She had no place to call home. Jesus said "the foxes have holes and the birds have nests but the Son of Man has no where to lay his head."

She found another job working seven days a week as a night security guard. They would not let her off to go to church. She begged them to let her attend church. Finally they grew tired of her constant requests so they agreed to let her attend church every other week. This would not do so she quit her job and found another job as a house keeper working for a couple seven days a week. The lady of the household agreed to let her attend church services but she would not let her off to attend any other church activities. So every Sunday afternoon she rides her bike for 30 minutes to a parking lot at a hospital. The Director of the BEST Center picks her up in a van and takes her to  church services. When she gets home the man of the house where she works makes fun of her for attending church. He is usually drunk and he often tells her she cannot go to church anymore. She tells him that if she cannot go to church to worship her God she will quit. The next morning the man's wife tells her how sorry she is for the way her husband acted and she begs her not to quit.
 How many people in America do you know that would go through everything she goes through just to attend church? "God please forgive me when I take for granted my time of worship. Please forgive me for letting the things of this world distract me during worship."

This sweet lady has no idea that she could serve as a role model for all Christians.

Thank you Lord for her example of faith.

Billy