Author: admin

In sweltering heat, we all welcome cold water and cold drinks. When heat gets to us, we welcome relieve, as in air conditioners or fans.  Some people can only live in cold climates.  I remember in NY back in the early 90s it being in the single digits and people were cold and complaining.  In the news, someone interviewed a hotdog vendor about the cold.  Being from Russia, the weather was a welcomed relief because he was accustomed to -20 degrees F.

Speaking of cold, everyone has had experiences where people have been indifferent, or have done cold things; leaving us scratching our heads.  Maybe people have given us the cold shoulder, or relationships have sometimes gone cold.  Getting dumped, or dumping someone, is considered a cold act.  Cold can impact us.

Around 1997, we officially moved into our log cabin.  We eventually bought a 400-gal water tank and connected it to a water pump.  Showering was like this:  Stepped in the tub, turned on water, held our breath, did a little wiggle dance (for mental purposes), and took a plunge into the cool water, which we sometimes welcomed, yet oftentimes, it was outright cold! For sure, it was a quick shower!  

Cold, we know, refreshes us.  Like being in a stuffy room sweating bullets and then stepping into a fully air-conditioned room!  Ahh, what a relief!  We feel revamped, restored, and renewed!

God wants us refreshed.  He gave us cold weather to soothe our souls.  And while heat is good, it is the cold that replenishes us.  Here’s a refreshing thought: all of this world’s commotions will soon end! Evil will be eradicated forever!  God’s good news Gospel will be lived out! Great news will be delivered by His messengers, the angels!  Consider: “Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7 ASV).

Talk about crisp, cold, and pleasing news!  “God’s word is so satisfying!  “Warm” up to it!  Please the Master-serve Him!

“Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters” (Proverbs 25:13).

God Bless!

Sam

This school is the easiest to get into.  In fact, no one has to apply! Everyone gets in!  You don’t have to send in a video showing how you locked yourself out of your car or your apartment.  You don’t have to convince anyone that you don’t have what it takes to jump from one tree to another while holding a cup of water, and being suspended over infested waters…OOPPSS!

At the school of hard knocks, graduation comes at different levels and at different times for its students.  Some learn quickly, others, well-they’re still there.  This is the school that prepares one for life.  It’s where one requirement is for you to knock your head against the wall enough times to finally learn what you should, and shouldn’t do. Hard Knocks is a prestigious institution.  The most intelligent people, not to mention the smarty-pants, have attended its facilities throughout history.

This institution is established in every town, every city, every country, in every corner of the earth with an enrollment in the billions! Tuition is “On the House.” Whether you feel compelled to attend or not, it’s not an option.  Everyone ends up there one way or another.  Maybe you opened your mouth and said a barrage of things-to the wrong person, or put something together the wrong way as two guys I knew once said, (Edgar): “I know how to take apart a bike and put it back together.” Speedy: “Me too, with no parts left over.” And Georgie laughed ‘cause he knew sometimes there would be parts we didn’t know what to make of!

Yep, the School of Hard Knocks is a hands-on school! You don’t study the theoretics of it, you actually live the experiences!   Most people don’t even know they’re enrolled!  That’s how good the school is.  The ticket out comes through learning not to repeat the same mistakes. Many, graduate with honors! From awards for having the most bumps on their heads, to those with temperaments, some receive band-aids, head bandages, lotions, kerchiefs, and other goodies as proof of mastering some “hard-knock” areas! Here’s some counsel fit for every student, smart, foolish, and regardless of your major:

“The ways of fools seem right to them, but the wise listen to advise” (Proverbs 12:15 NIV).

Song/video on YouTube: The Hard Way-(DCTALK)

God Bless!

See you soon at re-enrollment-I’ll have a few head-bandages!
Sam

It was 1974, and we were listening to hits like Love’s Theme (Barry White and The Love Unlimited Orchestra), Machine Gun (The Commodores), Could It Be Magic (Donna Summers), etc. Songs played an important part in our lives.  We’d sit and talk about them, what we thought about them and how they impacted us. We used to go to the local record shop and get 45s (RPM) at 3/$2.00.  To think we could get albums (12” LPs) for $1.99-$3.49 each! We definitely had stuff to talk about.

Talking about talk, one hot summer night, our friend, Ray was on the phone with his at-the-time girlfriend, Ms. D. for seven hours!  I don’t think it was sweet nothings they were talking about because it sure was something to go that long!  That sure was a call.  Let’s look at Calls.

In the song, Let’s Just Kiss and Say Goodbye (the Manhattans), a line says, “I called you here today for a bit of bad news…”

And a line in the Christian oldie, Lose My Soul (TobyMac & Kirk Franklin), we hear, “Since I got that call, no more Saul, now I’m Paul.” Meaning, just as Saul, who persecuted Christians was stopped in his tracks by Jesus and transformed to Paul-now an advocate for Christ, we’re changed once we get called by God.

We’ve all received calls in the past; waiting-for calls, unwanted-calls, interrupting-calls, past-due-calls, good-news calls, and bad-news calls, etc. that may have impacted our lives in some ways.

I remember getting a call one time.  As soon as I answered, a female began talking and talking. She went on and on. She explained some issues she was facing and I gave her some advice-as best I could.  Finally, after about twenty minutes when I told her that she should report her issues, she said, “That’s why I’m calling you!”  “Wait a minute, aren’t you Housing (office)?”  I told her I wasn’t.  That’s when she realized she was speaking to a stranger.  She asked why I didn’t stop her.  I told her I tried but she kept going.  Seems she was determined to speak her piece without letting anything stop her-which she did.

Have you made a call, a special call, as in one to God?  He says:

“Call unto Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).

Did you know God calls us? He has called us in righteousness (Isaiah 42:6).  Why? Because He loves you!  He’s made a personal invitational call to spend eternity with Him; not a mere seven hours!

In the first episode of The Chosen, Jesus calls Mary by name.  She immediately knew that it was God because Jesus had never met her before, yet knew her name.  God knows you better than you know yourself.   He knows your name. When you hear His voice, do not harden your heart (Hebrews 3:7,8)!   And like Samuel, (1 Samuel 3:9) answer the call!

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; you are Mine” (Isaiah 43:1)!

Don’t put Him on hold!

Answer Now!

Sam

Around 1967, our dad had bought our first car-a Comet. It was nice in sky blue with white portions. On a trip somewhere, my little brother Nels got sick.  Feeling like throwing up, I told our dad, and he said, “Put his head out the window.” Meaning, get some fresh air.  Instead, Nels released his contents!  My mouth opened wide in disbelief that the wind had taken it so fast!  It went swoosh right to the windshield of the car behind us! We saw the driver wave his hands in anger!  Quickly, I told my parents and my dad laughed.  He may have sped up some after that!

Isn’t that how life is-here one second, gone the next?  Many people don’t understand the differences between having and practicing a religion, and being saved. Being religious means man reaching up to God trying to appease Him through man-made ways. Salvation means God reaching down to man redeeming him back to fellowship with the Godhead, and only comes through Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross.  Jesus put it this way: “The wind goes wherever it pleases.  You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.  So, it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8)

Translation: Through religion, man tries to appease God. But under salvation, the work’s already done by God.  Plus, we’re led by the Holy Spirit and He, like the wind, directs our steps.  Therefore, we’re led by the works of the Holy Spirit.

When we “do life” according to our will and ways, we’re moving in the wrong direction.  There are millions upon millions of people making sacrifices and pledges, paying indulgences, pursuing “saints”, tracking the stars, reading horoscopes, being superstitious or “good,” etc. but to no avail. We can’t meet God’s standard of goodness, which is why He did it all for us. He alone gets the glory.  Moving in the right direction begins with releasing what’s in our mouths-not throwing up (!), but a confession of sin, guilt, repentance, and acceptance of God into our lives.

START NOW!

Sam

Scully and Mulder were everywhere searching for clues that would lead them to alien life.  They left no stone unturned as they followed lead after lead pursuing an evasive truth.  They risked life and limb, faced the threat of insanity, endured death threats, and encountered forms of abnormalities as they inched closer but further from the truth that could bring them face-to-face with higher beings, intelligence, and the origins of life.

Man continues the pursuit.  Few have found the path leading to it.  Hundreds have claimed boarding a ship through abduction while others claim to have had close encounters with strange life forms.

 Likewise, millions have paved their own path to God leaving no stone unturned; But it is far from the Truth. Jesus said that if man didn’t worship Him, the stones would cry out (Luke 19:40).

             Like Pilate, when Jesus told him that His reason for coming to earth was to bear witness to the truth, He was asked, “ What is truth (John 18:38)?                                                                                                                                                                                                   Jesus didn’t risk or lose His life for us; He laid it down in love, voluntarily.  He told the world, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man comes to the Father, except through Me.  And no man goes to the Son except the Father draws him (John14:6).

Yes, the Truth is out there; not in the form of a blob, not an alien, not strange phenomenon, or a jellyfish with tentacles emitting sound waves or aura, but a person; Jesus, and He’s looking for you.  Once you have found the Truth, your searching will be over. No abductions will happen, but adoption will take place as Jesus claims you for Himself.  No, you won’t go to the “Mother Ship,” but you will go to the Father’s abode.

So, look up and stretch your arms out.  Yell if you want.  Shout from the mountain top, “Where are you, Truth, where are you?  You’ll be amazed to know that the God who’s larger than the universe, is also small enough to dwell within your heart. The answer, my friend, is in a soft whisper saying, “I AM here within you.”

“Look! I stand at the door and knock.  If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends” (Revelation 3:20).

It’s not a coverup!
God Bless!
Sam

---

 

Sometimes parents tell their kids to leave certain toys or games behind. Sometimes teachers have taken things away from students, only to return them later. That doesn’t make parents or teachers mean or cruel. Sometimes those things can be a distraction in our lives.

Growing up, I remember experiencing an embarrassing moment!  It must’ve been Halloween, and in the evening, my mom had me walk with her from our second-floor apartment to the 5^th floor where our “new” baby sitter lived. She was an old lady. As we turned past the second floor on to the third floor, I realized that I had with me a yellow pacifier which I sometimes used.  I was 4! I also had a very small box.  Mom told me to forget about it; meaning, we weren’t going back down to put it away.  So, I stuffed it in the small box. 

The problem was, there were kids on the stairways and they wanted to see the candies I had received! I refused to open the box! Up at the “new,” but old, baby sitter’s house, her granddaughter also wanted to see my goodies. I had to muster up some courage and get mean refusing to show them…I learned I should have left it behind!

God calls us to leave things behind in the sense that He doesn’t want other things competing with His position in our lives. Possessions aren’t the only things that can interfere with God’s plans for us, but there are things that weigh us down, including past decisions, hurting relationships, hang-ups, etc. Yes, even as embarrassing as they may be, He prefers we “box” them, be strong, and refuse to give in to outside temptations demanding we reveal them to the world.  You may or may not have candies in your box, but God’s sweetness is enough to saturate our lives. In this walk, you may have to climb several floors to reach your goal, it’s the same with God; He wants to take us heaven bound.  Make that your goal.

“Brothers and sisters, I know I still have a long way to go.  But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me” (Philippians 3:13 ERV).

LETITGO!

Sam

If you’re an X-File fanatic, you know The Truth Is Out There. If you follow newspaper stories or TV shows on Aliens, you’ve heard of others’ encounters with those from beyond the galaxies.  From abductees to people who’ve visited spacecrafts or other planets, to those who claim to have engaged in physical contact with odd-headed beings, the numbers of those believing that aliens exist amongst us have increased in the past few decades.  Actor Dan Akroyd starred in a funny movie; My Step-Mother is an Alien.  An alien took on human form to experience life…sounds like God coming to earth in human form disguised as a child. Hmm.

If you closely examine old-world paintings from the 1400s, like The Madonna, you’ll notice small spacecrafts in the distance, or blimp-like objects that seem to show alien participation in daily, or special events. Actually, I think they were angelic beings present in the affairs of men.

 Needless to say, the world is obsessed with alien life.  I think that belief will soon play a significant role in the biggest event the world has known.  But, aliens aside, let’s see why scripture says we’re not alone.  Just before Jesus’s death, resurrection, and ascension, He told His disciples, “It is expedient that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement:” (John 16:7, 8). 

We are not alone because God the Father is omnipresent-Everywhere at all times.  Jesus is seated at the righthand of God interceding for us (Romans 8:34).

 The Holy Spirit, also known as the Comforter, is everywhere working in the hearts of men to draw them closer to the Father.

In the end, we’re not alone, not because of aliens, but because of God’s presence and His heavenly host.

God bless,

Sam

Growing up in the 50s & 60s, it seems everything was slapstick comedy.  Among them, slapping each other left and right, were Abbott and Costello, and The Three Stooges.  We laughed at it. We even had parents say, “I’m gonna slap you silly.” We thought it was normal.  Even some TV commercials told us it was the slap-happiest time ever.

Many movies featured a woman slap a guy and say stuff like, “How dare you!” And, “Why, you two-timing, good-for-nuttin’ beast!” followed by a slap. 

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, King Herod killed James, John’s brother.  He planned on killing Peter too, but first placed him in jail surrounded by 16 guards.  I can just picture him saying, “Let’s see you get out of this one!”

Check out the story:

“The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.  Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell.  He struck Peter on the side and woke him up.  “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrist.  Then the angel said to Peter, put on your clothes and sandals.”  And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him.  “Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.  They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city.  It opened for them by itself, and they went through it.  When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him” (Acts 12:5-10).

Here was an amazing rescue by an angel of God!  He led Peter out of the jail by first slapping him awake!  As you can imagine, the soldiers searched high and low for Peter, who managed to escape 16 men while half asleep!  I’m sure Herod thought, “Why did I have to challenge him?” Read it to see that it was such an embarrassment, all the guards were put to death.

God’s powerful angels will do what it takes to minister to His people.  No, they’re not little chubby kids as angels, and no, they’re not sexy girls in lingerie as men often wish them to be.  They’re God’s mighty warriors and messengers-usually, scary, or intimidating to look at.

Have you been visited by an angel? I’m sure you have, but you’ve probably chased them away many times.  Most of us have unknowingly. How?

“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14)?  Every time you turn away those “religious nuts,” you’re turning away angels sent to rescue and save you.  Turning away from God, now, that’s a slap in the face.

God Bless,

Sam

This day is dedicated to those dads who have fulfilled their duties as dads in their kids’/or their wives’ lives. Dads aren’t perfect, and some have popped in and out of their family’s lives. They come with all kids of baggage.  Some carry small bags, while others may carry shopping bags.  This day celebrates the courage for being counted in a role determined by God for the existence of the family unit.  I thank all fathers who have braved daughters, sons, and wife.  It’s not an easy calling, but doable.

We can get all the tips needed from our heavenly Father who “showers us with all kinds of blessings” (2 Corinthians 9:8), “For he cares…” (1 Peter 5:7).  God is the epitome of what constitutes a dad.  He sacrificed His Son to bring us into His Family. He forgives all our sins, He heals our afflictions, and He provides not only sustenance, but sun, air, and life.  Remember your heavenly Father today.  Honor your dad this day.

God Bless,

Sam

Tomorrow we were going to have a weekend of romance! That’s right, a full weekend of watching romance movies on TV!  But, being the Father’s Day weekend, I convinced my wife to swap it for a weekend of Mysteries.

It’ll be romantic trying to solve all those mysteries together!  Hey, I’m not the only romantic in this relationship!  Just this afternoon my wife invited me to the pharmacy!  I asked, “What for, to drool over the meds?” “YEP” she replied with stars in her eyes…she loves me so. Now that’s taking it to the next level!  

Now consider God, He knows romance.  Say, What? Do you picture God with a whip and an angry face?  That’s not Him! He’s madly in love with His creation. His arms are stretch-out wide waiting for you.  He poured out His love for you on the cross.  Took YOUR place there.  That’s right; you who’s crying, you who’s at the end of your wits, you, contemplating ending it all, He’s calling out to you right now!  He’s calling your name!

Yes, with all our quirks, habits, and sometimes unruly behavior, God is still crazy in love with us.  He’s romantically in love with you! Can you believe the God of the universe has forever had His eyes on you?!  Can you believe He’s prepared a place for you to live at in heaven, and is returning to take you there?  Now that’s a mystery!  Read His words directed at us:

“You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride! You have captured my heart with one glance from your eyes, with one strand of your necklace” (Song of Solomon 4:9 CEB).

Don’t let your heavenly mansion be given to another!  Claim yours today!  How? Love Him back! Tell Him! He’s listening for the voice of His beloved! Take refuge in His arms.

“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry” (Psalm 34:15).

“In you, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me” (Psalms 71:1-3 NIV)

Spend this weekend romantically in love with God! Not watching TV romance, but in His presence!

God Bless!
Sam