With Interest

When I was a young boy,  I wanted a bicycle.  I picked one out and my dad let me make payments to the owner of our local Western Auto Store…the at the time Walmart.  I did not know that my dad and the owner of the store, Mr. Shields,  had worked out a deal that I came in each week on what I made cutting lawns and delivering newspapers to pay off my bicycle….and Mr.  Shields would give the money back to my dad because he had already paid for the bicycle…in full.   It meant something to me but the deal was already made by my dad.  And I found out when I was grown, that my dad, actually never took the money from me…he put it into a savings account for me….with interest.  So I got more that what I put into it.

The people of Israel had been slaves for about 400 years and they were leaving slavery, getting out of Dodge.  But, just out of the goodness of God’s heart, He had the Egyptians give the people of Israel gold and silver.  This is recorded in Exodus 12:35-36. 

You see, God has a plan for us to prosper.  God has the wealth of the wicked stored up for us.  He put what the people of Israel needed into a savings account for over 400 years.  With Interest.

God has us covered.  He has stored up what we need in Jesus Christ.  Our health, our healing, our salvation, our life and it is in the bank for us.  It is one of those odd concepts that we just can have what we need because God has our back.  The scriptures  in Psalms 68:19, says that God daily loads us with benefits.  He has for us what we need…with interest.

 

A Close Call With A Train

That is what happened and it was caught on tape.  Take a look.

So, you feel lucky?  She was ……….   today!   A close call.

There is a story in the Bible about a close call.   One missed the train…the other…the train mowed down.

Jesus was hanging on a cross.  It was on a hill.  There were two guys with him.  One on his right…one on his left.  The record shows that one of these guys mocked Jesus….the other believed in him.  The one that mocked Jesus….was hit by the train….the other….well,…the record shows that although he was met with physical death….he lived with Jesus …. that day…in paradise.  A close call.

How  you doing in the close call department?

louie

 

Seasoning

 

My mom is the best cook in the world….I talked to her yesterday and she told me how to cook a specific thing….and she added that I needed to season the food…(fried pork chops) just so.      Seasoning!

Just today….in one day…I had occasion to discuss with three men….by the way…three men of God…seasons in their lives.  One is bigger than life, life of the party, big guy with a big heart.  Orange flame shirt!  Another is a family man, full of the prophetic, full of the anointing of God.  Another, a man who knows the bible better than any human being I have ever met.  A compendium of bible knowledge and memorization.  They all three are going through different struggles, different hardships…different seasons.  Seasoning. 

Ecclesiastes 3 tells a story about the seasons in life.  Times for things to occur in life.  It is a story of contrasts…juxtapositions.  Times that we all go through.  Times that are green and times that are black.  Times of life and times of death.  Times of growth and times of pruning.  Times of tears and times of laughter.  All three of these men, stalwarts of the Gospel,….are in times of tears right now, times of mourning, of tearing down, times of war, times of searching, times of gathering.  Seasoning.

What I want to say to you now…right now, is that if you are in a time of down, dark, searching….time of despair…that this may be a season in your life.  The original language for season means an appointed  time…Appointed by God…now, before you get your feathers wet…I do not think it is something God “causes” but something that God…well, uses…to season you.  Now, I am struggling with this “sovereignty” thing and have switched thinking on it….but…God is above all this…He can use anything to … well, season us.

louie

 

Fort Hood Killings

 

How can we kill our own?  Complex thing to determine…  solders in the military are brothers.  They should protect each other…they protect us.   How can brother turn against brother? There are examples in the bible about brother turning against brother.

Genesis 4:8 is a verse where this occurs.  Cain did not like his brother Abel…and killed him.  Cain was jealous…his heart was not right with God.  Hard for us to fathom.  Killing our own..  It is hard to fathom today.  It had a profound impact on that family…death and separation from God always does.

Fort Hood.  Daytona Beach.  Eden.  All places of murder.  The scriptures go further in Genesis 4 where Cain asks God….”am I my brother’s keeper.”  We are…I am…you are….  Are we keeping our brother today?

louie

 

 

Late for Work

 

I have a young guy that cuts my grass.  He does the whole row of  houses in our neighborhood.  When I moved in a few years ago, he came to me on day one and told me not to buy a lawn mower that he would take care of me quicker and cheaper than I could….and that my place would look great.  He was right.

I was late for work today.  Had stuff pile up on me and just could not get it all together.  Just a bummer day to get going.  So, I am headed out and there is my yard guy.  He is a good guy but is always going 100 mph around the yards.  Never has time to talk…..but today he stops…because I am late for work….and wants to tell me about his sick mother…really sick.

I realize now why I was late for work.  There in my yard, with a pressing need for to get to the “office” is a guy who needs to talk.  It immediately reminded me of the cat who was jumped and needed help….but 2 guys walked by…too busy to stop and the last one stayed and helped the one in need.  This is recorded in Luke 10. 

In my yard, weedwacker in hand..surrounded by the smell of freshly cut grass…me late for work…..me and my yard man stood and prayed. 

Now, if you have ever been in need,…like I have,.. like I am….to just have someone listen, to have someone care, to have someone pray for you; then you know what just a few minutes of prayer can do.  It moves God and soothes man.  Be watching out when you are late for work…someone might need you.

louie

 

If Only For A Moment…

Look at how a mom views a short time with her child….just a moment.

This is on a buddy of mine, Russell Holloway at Port Orange Counseling Center’s blog.  It makes me rethink how I view adversity.  Give thanks in all things, for this is the will of God for you,  is what 1 Thessaloinans 5:18 says.  This mom has it figured out.

 

Fingers Caught In The Door

Ever worried about your kids fingers getting caught in the door of your vehicle?  Ever had your fingers caught in the door?  My son is 4 years old.  He sits in the back seat of my truck in a car seat and closes the back door of my truck by himself.  Guess you can figure out where this is going? 

Today, he closed the back door and got his fingers caught in the door between the back and front door.  It was one of those moments that a dad just hurts all over.  My younger 12-year-old daughter was in the front seat and did not see what had occurred.  I told her at like 130 decibels…open your door…(which would relieve the pressure on my son’s fingers that were caught).  She looked at me with some curiosity…but pretty pretty quickly obeyed.  Then she saw and understood why to obey dad at a split second was important.  You see, I could see something she could not see.  Her obedience was important right then. 

Reminds me of Abram in Genesis 12.  The Lord tells Abram to “go to a land I will show you”.  God does not tell Abram where this land is…God does not tell Abram how to get there… God does not tell Abram what will happen if he does not obey…God just shouts at Abram at about 130 decibles to go to a land I will show you………because Abram’s dad, Terah was told the same thing and Terah did not obey….and Terah…died where he ended up.  In Haran…a dry place.

God has told me to do things….and I have lingered…..I have sort of just waited for some big,….”sign”.   It is because I can not see what God can see.   My son had his fingers stuck in the door and he needed relief and my daughter needed to obey what I said immediately in order for my son not to suffer…

Wonder how much I have suffered because I did not immediately obey?  Can God see something in your life….like mine….that we can not see…but we need to obey?

louie

 

I’m A Retard

Does not sound too politically correct does it?  But that is what I was hearing today at a local popular children’s park…jam packed full of kids.  This dad was one of those retro dads.  Spiked blonde hair straight up.  Tats everywhere, piercings all over, black converse tennis shoes, low slung shorts, gothic print on a tee-shirt that it took the whole day to read and then you could not understand it.  Wallet with a big chain on it.  Leather belt with some unknown sentence on it.   

OK.  I am one of those straight-laced kind of folks but the tats, the hair, the clothes, the whole deal does not turn my screws because I know that God does not look on the outer man…..and quite frankly…the cat was not that far out.  And who is to say what is “normal” and what is “abnormal”.  I could be the wierdo…who cares about that stuff.

What I was hearing was this dad…with a 2 or 3-year-old son…and the son looked just a tad bit like he was slow…it was the look of a young boy who was not totally developed…and the dad was saying to the boy…in a very  loud voice so all could hear it…Say, “I am a retard” and the young boy would repeat it…then the dad would say it over and over and over as the dad swung the boy back and forth in the swing…and the  boy would mindlessly repeat it…”I am a retard”,  “I am a retard”,  I am a retard”.  Man, it just broke my heart.

The scriptures say that in our words are life and death…blessings and cursings….that we can choose life and death…blessings and cursings…This father chose to speak into this young boy retardation…

My children noticed it too….we had time to talk about this tonight…We decide…every day,…we determine to choose words of life.  Choose blessings for you and your family.  It does not matter what me or you looks like…that has nothing to do with anything…our words do.  Choose blessings today.

louie

 

On The Road

I am on the road and out of the office.  I will be back Monday (or Sunday night) with another blog. 

Hope you will hang with me and be back Monday.

I am on the road…so I could not help but think about two other men on the road…on the road to Emmaus…they were heading away from Jerusalem.  I was headed away from Daytona Beach…Jesus had been crucified…and said he would arise and had arisen…but these 2 cats did not wait for him…I guess they really did not listen to what Jesus said when Jesus said to wait here for me.   In 3 days I will arise.

I wonder how many times I did not listen to Jesus?  I wonder how many times I walked away?  On this 7 hour drive over here…I had time to think.  I am not really proud of myself when I think about just how many times I have failed to listen to what Jesus had to say to me.  I think I may have missed the mark many times…  Headed toward Emmaus.

See you here on Monday.

louie

 

What Is In The Dumpster?

Drove from Daytona to Panama City today for some work stuff.  Stopped at a gas station to re-fuel and stretch.  I gathered up all the trash in the car and put it in the dumpster.  It was pretty nasty in there…really smelly and just nasty.  You don’t want to see what is in there.   Then I thought about the young girl in north Florida that was killed and put into the trash..found in a landfill in Georgia…… 

Get to the motel and fire up email to get some of my work done.  I stop and read James 4:14 where it says that life is but a vapor, some versions say a mist….then I check on my buddy Mike Ellis’ blog….and he did  a blog on this.  He says it better than me.   But he gets personal….check out his blog and see if you want to see what is in the dumpster. 

louie