Journey into Forever

        Reading Psalm 106 this morning.  If this Psalm doesn't say it all....I'll eat your hat!  It recounts how, time and time again, God's people forgot His works, disobeyed Him, walked on His mercy.  And yet, every time, He returned to them at their first hint of repentance.      Read it.  If you can't plug yourself into every verse, then you are a much better person than I .  I see my life throughout every verse in this Psalm.  A mind forgetful of what He's done .  A heart deceitful and cold.  A selfish desire to live my life for me rather than for Him.  And yet......      Time after time after time, He turns His mighty head back toward me at the slightest evidence of  return to Him.  I would have stopped the senseless bouncing back and forth long ago......but not Him. He loves and wants us so much, He keeps thinking " This time will be different.  This time she will be steadfast.  She will get it right this time."      And yet He already knows.  He

  " Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ."                 -Philippians 1:27     It's been quite a week. As many of you know, we said goodbye to a friend of over 45 years this week. Right after his funeral, we left for a small vacation to see friends in western Kansas.  Riding in a car for 6+ hours gives you a lot of time to think.  Of course, losing a friend makes one think a lot about eternity.  And, as promised, I have been thinking a great deal about holiness.  I wonder how closely the two are related.  I suspect they are very close.      Even 45 years ago life was very different .  Families spent a lot more time together.  Church wasn't an option, or even a "sometimes " thing.  You went every week , as did all of your friends. And, being normal kids, we were all curious about the  forbidden stuff... things like sex, nudity, alternative lifestyles, all that.  We couldn't just watch primetime television

My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. - Proverbs 3:11-12 I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it. -Psalm 101:3 Ouch! When I was a child, my parents didn't know a thing about time out, positive reinforcement, or behavior modification. They usually modified my behavior with a fly swatter applied to my behind. Worked pretty well, and was a pretty good deterrent for the same poor behavior later. And guess what......I still loved them anyway. I knew they loved me, and that was the reason for their correction. They wanted me to grow up and be a productive, polite citizen. A person that people could stand to be in the same room with. And, for the most part, it worked ( although some might disagree). Our Heavenly Father has the same desires for us. If our earthly paren

Well, for everyone who reads this blog, I just finished a new one for today...came in to preview it, touched one button and it all went away. I'm going to take that as God's doing, since I had just prayed about it before I posted. When I asked Him to change what needed to be changed, I guess He did. So I am going to pray for a day or two about what He would have me do. This much I know. I know God has called me to this. I know I am supposed to continue. He has left no doubt in that. Right now,the old instinct of running for the hills has kicked in. But I know better. Please pray with me and for me that God will give me clear direction as to what He would have me do. For some reason, I need to post just these scriptures today. I hope they speak to you. It is always best to simply read what God tells us directly, rather than someone else's intrepretation of that Word. "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but