My Thoughts

My Thoughts on Christianity and Other Things

25 Mar 2015

Why I Believe In A Young Earth

A hundred years ago there was a stream in the Cascade Mountains in Washington State that had a high level of gold and other minerals in it. And of course there were a lot of placer claims there. Years later they started building a dam to supply water and electricity for the area. This dam was completed in the mid 1960s. All the gold and other minerals are now under hundreds of feet of water.

In 2005 or 2006 there was a bad drought, causing the water level of the man-made lake to go down. I walked into a stream that used to be under water with a metal detector. And there I found what use to be a muddy creek bank so hard I could hardly chip it with a small pick ax. It was the first time I believe anyone could have walked there in 40 years. But I could be wrong about that. There could have been other droughts.

HPIM0332

Anyway my metal detector detected something in what looked like a dirt clod. Thinking that it might have either gold or a rusty nail in it, I tried to break it open. But I couldn’t. It was too hard. So I brought it home with me where I tried to break it open with a chisel and a 32 once hammer. But it was still too hard.

I told all this to a geologist at the Newberry National Volcanic Monument just south of Bend, Oregon. She said this didn’t surprised her since she has seen this before. So I said, “So it is possible for us to be older than a rock?!” She said yes, but that she has never thought of it that way before.

I then told my wife that she’s older than a rock. (I’m a very nice romantic guy.)

But this brings up an interesting question. Many people believe that it takes millions of years to create a fossil. What if someone rode their dirt bike across some mud just before the area flooded? What if the motorcycle track turned to rock just like the muddy creek bank or my dirt clod? Would they consider it as evidence, or ignore it because it didn’t fit what they have been taught?

AnswersInGenesis.org

Petrified Teddy Bear – AnswersInGenesis.org

If you Google “petrified teddy bears” you’ll get all kinds strange photos as well as people saying that none of it is true. They insist that it takes millions of years to for things to become petrified. However this link to Mothershipton shows it only takes a short time.

I know a man who was a member of Monte Cristo Preservation Association. He loaned me a VHS tape once about the town Monte Cristo. It was just a bunch of old home movies made on 8mm film. Judging by the cars, it was filmed in the early 1960s. After the home movies were spliced together and added to video tape, voice was added to explain what was being shown. Inside one of the mines; abandoned about 30 or 40 years before, was a room dug out with an 8 or 9 foot (2.5 meter) ceiling. And inside this room, from floor to ceiling were stalactite and stalagmite.

Monte Cristo, Washington 1895 – Wikipedia

Monte Cristo, Washington 1895 – Wikipedia

Wondering if it was possible for this much stalactite and stalagmite to form in 30 or 40 years, I looked it up. Every website I checked out, says it it could be a very quick or a slow process. It can also very in chemical make up, even in the same cave, or man made structure. This I didn’t know.

With this and other posts I have written, you can see why I believe God created everything in six days as told in the first chapter of Genesis. (He rested on the seventh day, remember?) I also believe John 1:1-14.

Many people have added up the generations in the Bible, then add 2015, to get about 6,000 years for the age of the earth. What I find interesting is the Hebrew calendar starts at either the first day of creation, or the sixth and of creation (for when man was created). I understand there is a small debate there. So on their calendar, the year is now 5775. And so, these are my thoughts as posted on Nisan 6, 5775.

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06 Mar 2015
1 Comment

Bad Medicine

RX

The pharmaceutical companies in the United States are required to list all the side affects to their drugs. Some of the drugs have very serious side affects. But they tell so many side affects that most people tune them out. You could almost make up your own. Such as: If you take this drug, your arms could fall off. Also you could grow a duck bill in the center of your forehead, that would quack every Tuesday.

A couple of years ago my doctor told me I had high cholesterol. She prescribed some medicine to get it under control. Instead I decided to cut out pork and shell fish. Also fish without scales like catfish. Basically I tried to eat as God commanded the Israelites in the Old Testament.

Sometime later my doctor checked my cholesterol again and found it went down a lot. In fact, she was impressed on how well the medicine worked. I told her I didn’t take any. My cholesterol was now borderline and it was all from the diet. Maybe a year later she checked the cholesterol again and found it was still borderline. She told me again to take this medicine just to bring the numbers a little lower. So I did.

One day I was in a store when some guy come up started talking to me. He acted like he knew me so I played along. (I knew I have never seen this guy before in my life.) Then he called me by name! Who was he?

Later I remembered when my wife and I drove through Southeastern part Missouri. But that’s it. Nothing else. What were we doing there? My wife said say it was vacation.

A few days later I tried balancing the checkbook. But I was having a difficult time. I always had been able to balance it to the penny, but this time it was difficult. Why? What was happening to me.

A year and a half ago we were in California for a wedding. The bride and groom had a gift bag for the guests and in the bag with all kinds of goodies was a puzzle similar to the one in this link. The one at the wedding in California took me less than hour to do. The one at this link took me over six hours over a three day period. Now I was worried. I was also having headaches. Lots of them. What was happening to me? People I’ve known for years, I could no longer remember their names. My wife was concerned.

After thinking things over I was beginning to realize all this started when I started the cholesterol medicine. I didn’t know what to do. Finally my wife told me to call the clinic we go to. Because it was after hours the doctor wasn’t in, but the nurse told me some of the side affects could be amnesia and loss of cognitive thinking. She said other things, but I’m not sure what. I do know she said it was reversible. Good. That night I stopped taking the drug.

A week later I tried doing the Garden Puzzle again. This time it took three hours. A week after that I balanced the checkbook with no problems at all. (Though I found I have made a lot of boo-boos a month before because of the drug.) I’m too familiar with the answer of the Garden Puzzle now; so doing it again would mean nothing.

I haven’t worked on any more puzzles since but am instead reviewing an old electronic text book. (Yes this old mechanic was at one time interested in electronics and also have an AA degree in computer networking.)

So now I wonder, how many other people are affected by medicine and just assume it’s ‘old age’? What about people who are already disabled?

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying such and such medicine is bad. And I am not saying do not take medicine that you need. If you need something and it does no harm to you, then it would be foolish not to take it. What I am saying is pay attention.

medical-symbol

Every year I get a flu shot. And every year I get a paper that says something like “If you have allergies to eggs or egg bi-products, do not take this vaccine.” And this gets us to childhood vaccines. Many people do not want their children to get vaccinated, yet others are saying they must get vaccinated no matter what.

Because of what’s happened to me a month ago, I am all for giving the parents the right to say what’s right for their children.

I was very fortunate that what happened to me was not long lasting and was easily reversible. Some side affects are not. And vaccines, which are designed to last a year to a life time; well if you or your child is allergic to it, it would be horribly bad. And dare I say, any government office, or official who forces parents to vaccinate their child, no matter what, is evil.

By the way, I was told to go back to my Old Testament diet and exercise more.

Posted in Christianity, Uncategorized and tagged , , ,
28 Feb 2015

Just Another Day (Story Time)

This post will greatly bother some people, and yet some others will greatly enjoy it.

This story is based mostly on the book of Job. And while many people socialite the book of Job with doom and gloom, there is also some surprising knowledge and technology in it.

Here is the story.

My day started off as usual. I woke up just before dawn, walked into the kitchen and started making breakfast. My wife was sleeping in and my son was next to me chatting about what he learned in school the day before.
“Dad, guess what. Did you know that clouds are really, really heavy?”
“Isn’t that something?” I answered.
“Yeah and the whole Earth is just a ball floating in space, with nothing holding it up!”
“That’s good. How are you doing with history?” I asked.
“OK I guess. We learned about the flood that happened a long, long time ago.”
I laughed. “You do realize that your Great-Grandparents were on that boat, don’t you?”
“Yeah, but it still happened a long time ago.” He said.

After breakfast we both left; my son to school and me to work. On the way I came across a panhandler. Life is rough and it’s getting rougher. There are homeless people, the outcast of society, living in caves now.

I continued walking and off in the distance I could see workers moving 100 ton blocks of stone into place. I watched them do it once. They used a bladder made from the hide of a brachiosaurus which some call a behemoth to move the big stone blocks. One of the stones would have the bottom hollowed out with the bladder in the hollow. When they pump water into the bladder, the heavy stone would rise up, and could then be pushed into place.

I passed along the edge of the marsh as a short cut to work. I don’t like this area. The alligators are big and mean. But the leviathans or ankylosaurus are meaner. It’s a pretty walk, but it can also be a deadly one.

Me years ago in front of an abandoned mine in Washington State

Me years ago in front of an abandoned mine in Washington State

I finally made it to work and found everyone is very sober and quiet, not knowing what the future will bring. My job is to go down into the mine to bring out the ore. The mine is deep enough you can feel the heat coming from the center of the Earth. A smelter is near the opening of the mine to extract the copper from the ore.

Inside an abandoned mine, somewhere in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State

Inside an abandoned mine, somewhere in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State

We worked without saying much. But then there is no way we could hear each other anyway. The heavy equipment is very loud as it drills tunnels through the rock. The carts hauling the ore out added to the noise. Then it all went quiet. Our last drilling machine just broke down.
“Can we fix it?” Someone asks.
“Don’t know. We weren’t able to fix the other two. We don’t have any mechanics or welders anymore.” Someone else answers.
I had to speak up, “Why are we still working this mine anyway? None of us know how to run the smelters! For the last two weeks, our civilization has been falling apart!”

Up until two weeks ago we were arrogant. With our technology we were starting to think we could do anything. We could build anything. Some of us were beginning to think that we no longer needed God. So we started to build a mighty tower as a monument to ourselves. That was when God came to confuse our language so that we could no longer understand each other. Then the LORD scattered us all over the earth, and we stopped building the city. We stopped doing a lot of things. The place is now called Babel. Soon it will fall to ruins.

People who are skilled in making things no longer know how to get the materials. They don’t know who or how to ask; since each group now has their own language and are scattered to who knows where. Our economy is falling apart. Because of this fix we are in; we are becoming primitive. We were one language with just one government in the whole world. Now we are just a bunch of minor tribes speaking in different tongues and falling into a very primitive lifestyle. I am guessing that in time our great civilization with our great technology will become only a myth.

I hope you enjoyed my story.

Some of you maybe wondering why I choose to use a bladder to move a large stone. Years ago I had to move a safe into a small room. The safe weighted about 400 to 450 pounds. (180 to 200 kilograms) It was to be place in a corner of a room behind the door. The room was small enough that the safe could not be tipped. This means a hand truck could not be used. Also the safe could not be pushed into the corner. The safe sits on two 2X4s. I moved the safe by myself. How?

Answer: I slipped a small tire inner-tube under the safe and pumped just enough air in the tube to rise the safe off the 2X4s. Than I pushed the safe and let the air out. Because of the shape of the inner-tube, I could push it only a few inches (centimeters) at a time. It was slow, but I did it. I know of no other way to do the work.

I believe if you have a large bladder and fill it with water, you should be able to move a lot of weight.

For fun look up ancient mines and technology. In a my post What Happened? I talk more about society loosing knowledge.

One more thing, entering mines can be very dangerous. Some people never make it back out alive. Be careful.

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15 Feb 2015

Seattle Christians

Meet Nicole, my guest writer. My wife and I have known Nicole and her husband for a few years. Both of them love the Lord just as my wife and I do. Hopefully this is only the first of her writings.
Steve

Seattle Christians
by Nicole

Seattle – Photo from Google

Seattle – Photo from Google

Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words. -St Francis of Assisi

I recently heard someone not local to the Seattle area use this quote in reference to Christians in Seattle. I don’t know if the person repeating it was aware that these are the words of Saint Francis, not to be confused with the current Pope of the same name. And to clarify, I think the person who said this was still making a fairly valid point about Seattle area Christians in general, and I respect this person a lot. To paraphrase, he said that Christians in Seattle tend to be quiet about their faith, and keep it private. Yes, I try to be quiet about it most of the time, but I am also aware that Christians do live in Seattle, so I’m not quite a minority, religiously speaking.

I keep my faith quiet for several reasons, but first and foremost is because so many in the Seattle area who are not followers of Christ tend to have strong opinions about Christianity, whether they understand the Bible, the religion, or not. Most of the arguments I heard against the Church didn’t have anything to do with the faith I was brought up in, but had everything to do with other Christian sects or an historical viewpoint. Those don’t apply to me, for the most part, since I belong to a lesser-known branch of evangelicals, and well, I live in the 21st century and not the crusading Middle Ages. And then in the lime-light there are the Bible-thumping “evangelicals” who adhere to very strict ideas of how Christians ought to live and aren’t shy about declaring who will be “saved” and who is going to be damned to hell. With those ideas, why on earth would I actually publicize that I’m a Christian… with my words?

I love these words of Saint Francis of Assisi about witnessing: Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words. Another way to phrase it is, “Actions speak louder than words.” I believe that the reason my acquaintance criticizes Seattle area Christians is not because we don’t talk enough. It’s because we don’t act enough. We are called to be people of action. Not just Christians, but everyone! That’s not to say that we need to live more in the moment, or that we should act first and think later. No. But we can’t just stand around and talk about stuff, and then call things good.

I’m fine with people not talking about what they believe. I almost wish more would do that. It’s difficult going to downtown Seattle and watching so-called Christians demonstrate with signs that “God is Love” and then see right next to them, or written just below, “God hates Gays” and worse. Those are very cringe-worthy signs and actions. I have no idea where their hearts are, or what God thinks about them, but I don’t identify with that as being part of “Kingdom work.”

The best personal action I can think of recently happened on the night before Thanksgiving last fall. I volunteer for an organization that works with local prostitutes, giving them a hand-up and there was a new girl there that night. For the first time ever, I was someone’s first point-of-contact at the center. She was scared that telling me she’s a lesbian would lead to me asking her to find someplace else to go. My response? “Would you like anything to eat before we get into the rest of these in-take forms?” I heard last week from the center director that this young woman has returned to us several times during the daytime and has asked about me. Wow! Do you see what I’m getting at? My words helped my actions, and reflected more strongly with them. Even more, they have impacted the organization so that she and others feel welcome to come in and get the assistance they are looking for.

Christians don’t need to be preachy or try to act all righteous. They need to forgive and act from places of grace. This still applies to me. I might do things “right” from time to time, but I need correction too. I don’t want to be remembered for my words when I’m gone from this world. I’d far rather be remembered for my actions. Hopefully good ones! I am mostly speaking to the Seattle area, but this call to better accountability in action could be for other pockets of the USA and world as well.

So many speak about their beliefs without considering if their actions measure up. We talk about helping the poor but won’t help the homeless guy begging on the corner. We say it’s a shame that people don’t have clean water in southeast Asia and Africa, but won’t donate the money to help them build proper wells. Instead, we scream that women who abort their unborn children are murderers when what we should be doing is asking them if they need counseling, or if they would like better access to birth control. There is so much inaction in the world. What can you or I do today to speak with our actions, instead of our mouths?

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06 Feb 2015

People Who Hate God

D Drawing III-A

There are a lot of people out who don’t like God. But they’re often very subtle about it. But if you pay attention, you’ll find it.

One day I was in a store and they had a lot of food samples. A conversation started about healthy foods. This food is good for this, and that food is bad for that, and whatever. About that time I said something about how when I cut out pork and shell fish my cholesterol and blood pressure went down. They were all thrilled to hear it and wanted to hear more. So I told them I got the idea from the Old Testament. Instantly they went from thinking what I had to say as wonderful, to telling me I was wrong and crazy.

I found this to be interesting. So I tried this a few more times. Each time I told someone about my diet, I’m told it’s wonderful, good information, intriguing, the people were just genuinely interested. Yet three out four people didn’t like finding out that the diet came from the Bible. Some even got verbally abusive.

This reminds me of an article I read once about an experiment someone did at Berkeley in California. He showed up one day with an ISIS flag, then an Israeli flag. Interesting. You can see the video here.

Photo taken in Dinosaur Valley State Park near Glen Rose, Texas

Photo taken in Dinosaur Valley State Park near Glen Rose, Texas

Another time I was talking to some guy and he was telling me about his travels. He said he went to Cambodia once and saw an interesting temple. He said when visiting the temple ruins (as a tourist) he saw a carving of a dinosaur on the temple itself. He doesn’t like to talk about it, because nobody believes him. People are convinced that dinosaurs and man did not live together. But he swears he’s seen the carving.

I told him I believe it. In fact there is even an eye witness account of an ankylosaurus in the Bible. (In fact I even wrote about it in “The Creature From Job”) He quickly told me that nothing in the Bible is true.

Really? So if he says man and dinosaurs lived at the same time, and the Bible says man and dinosaurs lived at the same time, how can he be right and the Bible be wrong? Amazing. When people hate God, they can say weird and bazaar things. Which brings up two verses they may have problems with:

Job 26:7
God stretches the northern sky over empty space
and hangs the earth on nothing.

Isaiah 40:22
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in.

Either they admit they are wrong about the Bible not being true or start explaining why they think the world is flat.

Anyway we really shouldn’t be surprised about this. After all, Jesus did say people would hate us.

About the temple in Cambodia, it’s called Ta Prohm. There are a lot of websites for it, and some claim that the dinosaur carving on it, is a hoax. However here is a link to one website that says the hoax is not possible because the Cambodian government patrols the ruins with AK-47 rifles.

People who hate the Lord God, most often do not like the truth. Their loss.

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26 Jan 2015

Welcome To My World

Hearing Loss Symbol

Hearing Loss Symbol

Leviticus 19:14
“Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.

“English is my second language, I have no first.” quote from me, Steve Pettijohn

Unless you had a hearing loss or deafness from a very young age, yet born to hearing parents; this may not fully make sense.

The relationship between a family member and I has taken a strange turn in the last few months. This person has entered my world.

Brief history. One of my first memories was sitting in a chair getting my hearing tested. When they found that I could hear the beeps well, they tested my IQ. When they found my IQ was good, well… they didn’t know what to do with me. So they sent me through lots and lots of speech therapy. In the 1950s and 60s no one knew what was going on. But because I can hear beeps, I made it through 14 years in the military. It was eleven years ago or so, I was finally told I have an audio processing problem. (That explains a lot)

Now fast forward. In August 2014, this relative went from a mild hearing loss to deaf in just a few days. And of course she was greatly bothered by this, and scared. She said she thought she understood hearing loss, now realized that she never had a clue.

Now I find myself in an odd role of leading her through ‘the world of not-hearing’. She would say this and that, and I would answer back, “I know. That’s normal”. She complains that nothing sounds right. She has a difficult time understanding people. So I sent her some of the articles I have written in this blog to help her out.
Afterwards, Her: “I don’t know if I can learn to do what you do.”
Me: “You can do it.”
Her: “I don’t know, I’m a lot older than you.”
Me: “I know you’re older than me. But you can still do it.”
Her: “Everything sounds the same to me.”
Me: “Yea to me too. Like B, D, E, and even the beginning of ‘October‘ and ‘awful‘ sounds the same. I also have trouble with ‘pen‘ and ‘pin‘ and many other words. Now you see why I had so much trouble learning to spell. You can’t sound out the words if they all sound the same.”
Her: “Oh yeah.” (I can’t believe it. NOW she understands? After all these years?)

As time goes on, she is going to learn a lot about my world.

I know from being with others who have grown up with a hearing loss, my experience is very typical.

So now what? I have never thought of myself as disabled because of my hearing loss, and I still don’t. She is experiencing a great drop in audio volume. Once she gets her cochlear implant the volume will be high again, however because of the implant her audio processing ability be different than ever before. At that time her hearing will most likely be much better than mine again, but because of her new audio processing difficulties she may need me to help her adjusting to her new world. The world I have lived in for nearly 60 years.

Could I be of service? I don’t know. To me this so strange because in my mind, I am not disabled from hearing loss.

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20 Jan 2015

Like The Truth?

Do you like hearing the truth? Don’t be so quick to say yes. If there is bad news, you wouldn’t like it. Who would?

Ford Courier – photo from Bing

Ford Courier – photo from Bing

In the 1970s Ford Motor imported a small truck from Japan. It was called the Courier. Then in the early 1980s Ford started building their own small trucks called the Ranger in America.

Ford Ranger – Ford Motor website

Ford Ranger – Ford Motor website

One day, maybe in about 1983 or so a friend bought a new Ford Ranger and was showing it off. I said something like, “Nice truck. Made in America.” He quickly said no, and that it was Japanese. We argued about it until I told him to open the driver’s door so I could show the sticker with the country of origin to him.

He said “NO!” Why? I wondered. I couldn’t believe it, but he said he did not want to be proven wrong. What difference did it make where the truck was made? Knowing where something is made does not hurt anybody. Cars with American, Asian, and European names are made all over the world. So what? Many American cars and trucks are made in Canada, Mexico and who knows where. And for awhile if you wanted the only full size pickup truck made in America, (I could be wrong about this) you’d buy a Toyota, which is Japanese. So why this guy didn’t want to know where his new truck was made, I’ll never know. I find it amazing. Though it’s really not a big deal.

Another amazing story is a few years before that, I was working for the railroad. We had a few women working there, repairing the box cars. Everybody worked in teams of two. Two men, two women. However because of an odd number of women, they had one woman working with one man. Things were going OK for awhile until rumors started.

Someone had started the rumor that these two were getting very interested with each other. But I knew that wasn’t true because I and my teammate were working just a short distance from them. But the rumors and the gossip continued.

Finally the rumors were that the man’s wife came to work and started yelling at the other woman. And most of the people believed it.

What’s interesting was the way the work area was laid out, there were eight other teams around these two. That’s sixteen people only a few feet or meters from them. Yet even though no one of had seen any of this, they were still happy to believe a lie and gossip about it. Why? Why do some people seem to love a lie?

I am reminded of a few things in the Bible. One is John 8:43-45 where Jesus is talking with the people a says that the devil is their father. And that he is the father of lies. That they can’t believe the truth.

Also John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Which brings up of course Matthew 7:13-14 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

Now I know these passages and the two stories I told earlier are very different in subject matter. After all one is spiritual in nature and the other is not. But… I wonder if the two may still be related.
That’s my thoughts anyway.

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07 Jan 2015

The Worthy

Mark 13:13
And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Once about twenty years ago I was “let go” from work for some very vague reasons. The owner of the business knew I’m a Christian. And it bothered him as he was doing some unethical business practices. The two of us would take turns working every other Sunday. One day he came to me and told me he was letting me go because he’s tired of working so many Sundays. I told him that with me gone he would have to work every Sunday. He had no comment. I was the only mechanic there and getting rid of me would not only increase his work load, but also hamper the business. But it seemed that getting rid of a Christian was more important than his livelihood.

A few years ago, me and two other guys had a temporary job upgrading computers in an office building. Both of them knew I’m a Christian. And I knew from the start that one of them didn’t like Christians. We would work with two of us on one floor and the guy who didn’t like Christians, volunteered to work alone on the lower floor. Near the end of our work, the guy who was working on the same floor as me, found out that the guy who was support to be working alone, wasn’t working. In fact not only was he not working, he was fraudulently signing my name, saying the work was done. The true friend told me, then told our supervisor.

People, this that I have gone through is nothing compared to what others are beginning to go through here in North America. And here in North America this is only child’s play compared to what is going on in other parts of the world.

Recently I’ve learned that this Blog was has been read in places where Christianity is illegal. Imagine just from reading what I write, some of our brothers and sisters in Christ risk arrests, torture, prison, and even death. I am greatly humbled at the thought of these very brave brothers and sisters in Christ would even consider what I write worthy enough to read.

I have been a mechanic for many years. I also have been trained in electronic technology and computer networking. And I have worked in these fields as for our Lord to the best of my ability, and also spread the good news. (but I know I could do much better) My hope and prayer is that when the time comes for prosecution in the United States, (and it will come) I will be able to show such bravery as our prosecuted brothers and sisters. I pray that my friends and family would do the same. I am at awe at the strength and grace our Lord gives them.

Photo taken in Wax Museum in Grand Prairie, Texas

Photo taken in Wax Museum in Grand Prairie, Texas

Yet I’m afraid that some of us in America will not endure. I am reminded of the parable told in Matthew 13:3-9 and is explained in Matthew 13:18-23. I’m concerned about those who will fall away at problems or persecution. There are some who back down now, just for being teased. And yet I know that in the end our Lord will be greatly pleased to tell others “Well done good and faithful servant.”

Matthew 10:32-33
“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

My wife and I will keep praying for our prosecuted brothers and sisters in Jesus name.

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29 Dec 2014
3 Comments

Revelation 22

Photo taken in Wax Museum in Grand Prairie, Texas

Photo taken in Wax Museum in Grand Prairie, Texas

Here we are at the last chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22. Revelation 22:1-2 talks about the new Jerusalem as a city and in Revelation 21:2 it’s called the Holy City. How did I miss this before? I don’t know but I did. This is why, so many times I say please, PLEASE check out what I say. I am not trained in this. In fact I have never gone to a Bible college, or had any other kind of training in this. Be wise. Do as Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:20-22. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. I pray that I am very accurate, but I’m afraid I will make mistakes and I do not want you to be mislead.

There is a river of life flowing down the center of main street, with a tree of life growing on both sides of the river. And it bears fruit each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. Revelation 22:1-2 How this will work, I don’t know, but it will.

There will no longer be a curse, for the throne of God and the lamb will be there, and His servants will worship Him face to face. His name will be on their foreheads. They will truly be His. Now Revelation 22:5 says there will be no night, so there will be no need for lamps or even the sun! For the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign for ever.

Much of Revelation is very difficult to understand. But remember an angel told John all he has seen and heard is trustworthy and true.

We are at the tail end of the Bible, and Jesus Himself says these things: He is coming soon, and blessed are those who obey the prophecies written in this book. I believe He is talking about the prophecies told to the seven churches in Revelation 1:4 through Revelation 3:22.

He also says He is coming soon and will bring His reward to repay everyone according to what he or she has done. After all, He is the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega (or the A and Z), the First and the Last. He was in the beginning in Genesis 1:1 as explained in John 1:1-14 and after the Amen in the end of Revelation 22:21. He has known everybody, past and present.

Jesus says also says, He is the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star. In other words He created man, and therefor King David, and and He is also the descendant of King David. We just celebrated His birth a few days ago on December 25th.

Now for Revelation 22:14-15. I have so many thoughts about this. I don’t know where to begin or even if I should. It would take way too must space and time. And if I get it wrong… that would be very bad.

So much of prophecy is a mystery because we’ve never seen it. I have read in commentaries at times that Israel and Jerusalem must be a spiritual place or an idea. They thought this because for over 2000 years there was no Israel. But there is now.

A few weeks ago, like myself, many of you bought and paid for your Christmas gifts in you home and maybe even in your pajamas. You mailed no letters and wrote no checks. You did not make any phone calls or even looked at a paper catalog. But you still picked out a gift and even paid for it. Today because of the Internet, this is no big deal. Yet fifty years ago, people would have no understanding of this paragraph. Prophecies in the Bible are the same way. They have to be seen first to be fully understood.

Photo taken in Wax Museum in Grand Prairie, Texas (I would have taken more, but the battery in my camera died)

Photo taken in Wax Museum in Grand Prairie, Texas (I would have taken more, but the battery in my camera died)

Revelation 22:17-19 is both a welcome and a very stern warning. Basically it says, if you change anything, you’re in trouble. I do not want to be in trouble. I have prayed for wisdom the whole time while writing the Revelation series. This is way so often I have been saying that I am not trained in this. This is also why I have often told you to read, and to check this out for yourself. I want nobody to be misled on account of me. (I don’t want you to be misled at all) So please pick up a Bible and read Revelation yourself. It won’t take long. You may agree with me or disagree. Just read.

Remember Revelation 22:20. Jesus said He’s coming soon.

And now for the last verse: The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

Posted in Christianity, Prophecy, Revelation and tagged , , , , , ,
15 Dec 2014
1 Comment

Non-Hearing Christmas

Hearing Loss Symbol

Hearing Loss Symbol

I should have written this before Thanksgiving, but I didn’t. Oh well. Christmas, New Years, and yes, even Thanksgiving, though it has already past; is a time for family and friends to be together. A lot of people have a slight hearing problem. But there are a few that have a big hearing problem. Maybe even deaf. But that’s OK. All of you can still have a Merry Christmas. You just need to know how to communicate.

First relax. Don’t let them just sit in the corner somewhere. Interact with them. Treat them like you would anyone else, almost.

As someone with a hearing loss myself, I’ll say, look at us when you talk. And when you talk, do as my wife does and project your voice. But do not exaggerate your speech. In other words don’t TAAALLK LLLIIIKE THTHTHIISSS. I don’t know what you’ll look like, but some people when they do that, look like they’re trying to make out with a fish. Please do not be a ‘Fish Kisser’.

Another thing is let us see your face. Your full face. Don’t sit in the shadows looking out. Most likely, you are NOT a cold war secret agent. We know who you are. Well someone does. Here are the lyrics and song of Secret Agent Man by Johnny Rivers in 1966. Somehow this song doesn’t seem very Christmasy. Can you imagine Christmas carolers singing this song? Also, I wonder what kind of ‘secret agent spy stuff’ Santa Claus uses in the song Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

The best conditions for communicating is in a quiet setting. But that’s very unrealistic in a family holiday gathering. So be patient with us. After all we’re patient with you. Usually.

My hearing loss is different than most. I hear, but I still miss things. The best way to describe it is like having hearing ears but a deaf brain. Yet I have 14 years of the United States military service.

For many years I went with my wife to hear the entire Handel’s Messiah. I didn’t like it. All I heard was two and a half hours of Tarzan calls. And without seeing Tarzan wrestling with alligators and fighting lions, I’d get bored. But for my wife, I went.

Then when I was writing my post Revelation 19 I found this video with words to the “Hallelujah Chorus”. I was absolutely, totally amazed at what I saw. I had no clue of what I wasn’t hearing.

So far in this post, I have the Secret Agent Man song, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town and the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah, so how about a few more, with the lyrics of course.

O Holy Night
Mary Did You Know
Silent Night
Go Tell It On The Mountain

Merry Christmas

Posted in Christianity, Hearing Loss, Uncategorized and tagged , , ,

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