I Am Grateful

I am grateful for so many things that I actually do not know where to start. Two days ago I turned 68 years of age. My birthday is during the Thanksgiving holiday, November 24th to be exact. I am thankful to be alive. I am thankful to be healthy. I am thankful for my dear wife who loves me. I love her too. I am thankful for my 3 grown children, two daughters and a son. They are all good looking, healthy and intelligent. They are all married. I have 2 awesome sons in law and one awesome daughter in law. I have 3 beautiful granddaughters; ages 1, 3 and 5. Wow! What princesses! I am thankful to be a retired teacher. I am thankful to be a minister and co- pastor of an evangelical Church. I am thankful that I am not in need. I am thankful to live in this great country. I am thankful for the five F's, which are family, friends, favor, future, and function. The first two are self-explanatory. The other 3 I will discuss. Favor means God's favor. He loves me. He has been good to me. He has favored me. Future refers to a bright future. The future is bright as long as God is included in it. With Him: it is a win, win situation. Function means I am able to function. I can think, speak, walk, help, work and just do many things. My 5 senses operate. They operate well. I pray that I refrain from taking things for granted. I am blessed. I know I am blessed. I just do not want to think that I necessarily "have it coming to me." God has been good to me. I am convinced that He will continue to be good to me. Why will He continue to be good to me? Because He is a good God. Being good to us is what He does, and does best. I acknowledge His goodness toward me and us. I will love Him, worship Him, obey Him, and serve Him. I cannot repay Him for what He has done for me. But I can remember where He brought me from. I have no plans to go back. I thank Him. I am grateful.

An Honest Politician?

Is the term "An honest politician" an oxymoron? Probably, but not necessarily. Many things are possible, therefore, I think it is possible for there to be an honest politician. It is possible. It is possible. At least for a little while, and probably not at the higher levels. I have 2 reasons to believe that it is possible to be an honest politician. Those two reasons are Joseph and Daniel. Check it out.

He Apologized For Me, What An Apology!

He is still working. He is still struggling. He is still making important decisions. He is mighty, mighty powerful. Some people cannot apologize. I was one of them, so He apologized for me. I made some serious mistakes. Mistakes that demanded an apology to a high authority. I did not recognize that authority, so I meddled with a lower authority. That lower authority made some offers I could not refuse. The offers were titillating, pleasurable and enticing. However, in their pursuit, I cancelled opportunities to take my life to a higher, more meaningful level. The one who apologized for me, also taught me to apologize for myself. When He apologized for me, He taught me the importance of recognizing my faulty actions and the importance of correcting them. He apologized for me when He said: "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." What I did was substitute some words. I substituted the name Bobby where the word "them" is, he for "they," knows for "know" and does for "do." Since He substituted for me, I also did a little bit of substituting. His was action. Mine is belief. His death. My devotion. He apologized for me. What an apology! What an apology!

Habits

If we do not form good habits on purpose, we will form bad habits accidently. I am a firm believer that habits can either be our masters or they can be our slaves. Good habits produce good results. They produce success. On the wall of a boxing gym, I once read: "The harder you work, the luckier you get." I agree. Hard work is a good habit. It produces success. Bad habits produce addiction, frustration, hopelessness, and failure. Which do you choose?

Syncretism

When a person mixes a lie with the truth he gets a lie. I refer to the blending/mixing of beliefs and practices into a single faith. This is called syncretism. In Christianity there is no room for this. Truth produces truth. Truth produces faith. Truth produces power. There is only one Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit agrees with the Word of God. It has never, ever disagreed with the Word of God. The Word of God is holy. One example of syncretism is produced as a result of an erroneous practice of the Roman Catholic Church. The practice of devotion to the saints. This is not allowed by the Word of God; yet it is practiced by the Catholic Church. For example: some Catholic believers in Latin America, especially Native Americans worship at Roman Catholic Churches on Sunday but pray to nature deities during the week. Among the descendants of enslaved Africans, belief in West African deities is combined with Roman Catholic devotion to the Saints. Called condomble in Brazil, Santeria in Cuba, and Voodoo in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. These African based religions have thousands of followers in Latin American and among Latin American immigrants to the United States. Every nation that practices these religions is a third world nation. Is it a problem? Yes, it is a problem. Why? Because such beliefs have no moral parameters, no authority, and very little spiritual power. The only solution to the problem is exposure to the truth. "The truth shall make you free." The syncretic practices cause enslavement. Only the truth can free them.