Thoughts ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZONPRTOFF dateof comment Look Inside Data Conditions:Order: 1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|21|22|23|24|25|26|27|28|29|30| Dateof Comment 05/18/2026 Just as King David was to Israel and Judah, President Donald Trump is to America. They both fought for the people and I consider them warriors. I thought about our president when I read these verses: Psalm 4:1-2 NLT 1 Answer me when I call to you, O God who declares me innocent. Free me from my troubles. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer. 2 How long will you people ruin my reputation? How long will you make groundless accusations? How long will you continue your lies? Our president may not be perfect but he has every president beat since 1900. Hum, this is about the time the central banks took over the worlds financial system in 1913. I think the Holy Spirit takes his talents to new levels above what he can do alone. Our press is like a bully in school. They like to trash everyone who does not fit their narrative. I pray that President Trump stays bold and the people around him to stay loyal to him and the people. He does have a big and important job to finish. He also need the gift of endurance too. 05/17/2026 Understanding GodOther than what we read about God in his word, I feel there is still tons of information that we are missing about the God we serve. God is involved in almost every crazy thing going on today but do I have a clue why it is happening the way it is? No, maybe this is the reason: Ecclesiastes 11:5 NLT Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. Romans 11:33 NLT Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! God's word only shares what we need to know about him, to live like Jesus and to be intelligent when we speak to others about Jesus. He does share additional things with his prophets about his upcoming plans but his final plan is that we will always need him. Amos 3:7 NLT Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets. 05/17/2026 I consider myself to be someone who loves people but it seems weak when you read this: Philippians 2:14-18 NLT 14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, (Paul gets me on this one. I seem to need to complain once in a while and you have to argue with the lefties. But there lies the danger:) 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 16 Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. 17 But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. 18 Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy. It sure looks like Paul is looking out for our best interest. He want us all to experience what Jesus has to offer. 05/16/2026 Every day that I get up there is always something that I seem to fall short on. Paul gives us hope if you are like me: . Philippians 3:12-14 NLT Pressing toward the Goal 12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Jesus Is Lord!!!!!!! P.S. You are right that this is work but aren't all the good things that come our way a result of hard work except salvation. Jesus did all the work here. We just reap the benefit. 05/16/2026 Did you ever wonder if Ezekiel was a procrastinator? You may ask why I brought this up. God told Ezekiel that if he did not tell the people what he said that he would be responsible for what happens next. This happened in: Ezekiel 3:16-21 NLT A Watchman for Israel 16 After seven days the Lord gave me a message. He said, 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately. 18 If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 19 If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me. 20 “If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 21 But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.” Then God warns Ezekiel again later: Ezekiel 33:7-9 NLT 7 “Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. 8 If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 9 But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself. I may be blowing smoke hear but God brought this up twice. I just do not remember the other prophets having to go through this. All of God's prophets are to reveal to people what God says unless there is a timer on the exact time it is to be revealed. 05/14/2026 I hear about the forgiveness of sins a lot but never hardly hear about the consequences of sin even if we are forgiven. Here is one example from our God who not only forgave but was in the restoration business. It was costly to some people. Ezekiel 44:10-14 NLT 10 And the men of the tribe of Levi who abandoned me when Israel strayed away from me to worship idols must bear the consequences of their unfaithfulness. 11 They may still be Temple guards and gatekeepers, and they may slaughter the animals brought for burnt offerings and be present to help the people. 12 But they encouraged my people to worship idols, causing Israel to fall into deep sin. So I have taken a solemn oath that they must bear the consequences for their sins, says the Sovereign Lord. 13 They may not approach me to minister as priests. They may not touch any of my holy things or the holy offerings, for they must bear the shame of all the detestable sins they have committed. 14 They are to serve as the Temple caretakers, taking charge of the maintenance work and performing general duties. Even though these next men may not be perfect but they continued to obey God. God had this to say: Ezekiel 44:15-16 15 “However, the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok continued to minister faithfully in the Temple when Israel abandoned me for idols. These men will serve as my ministers. They will stand in my presence and offer the fat and blood of the sacrifices, says the Sovereign Lord. 16 They alone will enter my sanctuary and approach my table to serve me. They will fulfill all my requirements. As sins can be forgiven, the consequences can mean jail, destroyed relationships, and trust. This is why Paul always talks about living like Jesus to avoid all of this despair. Is one moment of pleasure worth a long time of regret? I remember one couple who prayed that their children would be caught trying to sin in school. Those kids soon learned that they would be caught and disciplined for their actions and quit getting into trouble. As Gods children we should know to that we will be caught also. God want to restore us not destroy us. We also have free will to do what we want. The famous saying is "Chose wisely" before you do anything. 05/14/2026 The clothing the priests wore are very interesting: Ezekiel 44:18 NLT 18 They must wear linen turbans and linen undergarments. They must not wear anything that would cause them to perspire. I firmly agree about that perspiring part. I dress as cool as possible. I wonder how that worked for the priests when it was 110 degrees out side. This next thing makes you wonder what the priest saw in the inner court of the temple. Ezekiel 44:19 NLT 19 When they return to the outer courtyard where the people are, they must take off the clothes they wear while ministering to me. They must leave them in the sacred rooms and put on other clothes so they do not endanger anyone by transmitting holiness to them through this clothing. The New Testament talks about living holy lives but holiness itself can harm people. We know about Moses face beaming when he was in the presence of God. The people could see it. Ezekiel never mentioned what might happen if people came into contact with holiness. We do know that the priests had to clean themselves before they entered the inner court or they would die. Ezekiel brings this up again. Ezekiel 46:19-20 The Temple Kitchens 19 In my vision, the man brought me through the entrance beside the gateway and led me to the sacred rooms assigned to the priests, which faced toward the north. He showed me a place at the extreme west end of these rooms. 20 He explained, “This is where the priests will cook the meat from the guilt offerings and sin offerings and bake the flour from the grain offerings into bread. They will do it here to avoid carrying the sacrifices through the outer courtyard and endangering the people by transmitting holiness to them.” Even though this is interesting, I am sure glad that Jesus simplified all this for us by giving his life for us. There was a lot of work and danger done to provide a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus took out the work and danger that sacrifices required for the forgiveness of sins. But now we have a different kind of work to do because we now serve the King of kings. It is time for us to bring his dreams into reality. 05/13/2026 Paul definitely defined how Jesus can change our views on things and the power Jesus has to make us righteous before the Father: Philippians 3:7-11 NLT 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! For some reason the suffering part is not making me jump up and down. America still has some God left in her and it has kept potential suffering away from us. The important thing is to not lose that joy that Paul had if that day would come. 05/12/2026 Even the free gift of salvation requires some work if you truly want to please our King: Philippians 2:12-13 NLT Shine Brightly for Christ 12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Notice the key things: 1. Obeying God 2. Deep Reverence 3. Fear America I feel has lost the deep reverence and fear for the God whom we own our existence to. We then quit obeying God because he becomes an inconvenience. In order for God to work in our lives we have to obey him. Does your heart have the desire to please him? God is wanting to work within all of our lives. As Paul says, "His working in our lives gives us the desire and the power to please God." My buddy talks about this very thing that is happening in the ghetto today. God is moving mightily there just because they please him. Today, I really do not hear much about having a deep reverence and fear when it comes to our God. Maybe it is time we should speak up about it. Job 4:6 NLT Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope? Job 15:4 NLT Have you no fear of God, no reverence for him? Job 28:28 NLT And this is what he says to all humanity: ‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.’” Job 37:24 NLT No wonder people everywhere fear him. All who are wise show him reverence.” Proverbs 9:10 NLT Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. Proverbs 10:27 NLT Fear of the Lord lengthens one’s life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. Proverbs 14:27 NLT Fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death. Proverbs 15:33 NLT Fear of the Lord teaches wisdom; humility precedes honor. Proverbs 19:23 NLT Fear of the Lord leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm. Check this out. It can even lead to prosperity. Proverbs 22:4 NLT True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life. Proverbs 31:30 NLT Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Do you want a powerful prayer life? Hebrews 5:7 NLT While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. It is sad, but I do not hold my King in reverence as much as he deserves. I need to be more conscious of the God I serve. I really do want those things that King Solomon talked about in Proverbs. 05/11/2026 Jesus Christ sure does a lot of firsts. He has done this with forgiveness: Ephesians 4:32 NLT Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. And he did this because of love: 1 John 4:19 We love each other because he loved us first. Jesus Christ Ultimate Psychologist! He knows how to fix our lives for the best if we follow his advice. 05/07/2026 Do you ever have those days where you are not feeling very joyful and you have no desire to pray because you have this frustration towards God. After all he let me go through this unpleasant test, and I am not thankful for what is just happening. It is now time to throw a pity party. Then you get someone like Paul that points out my inadequacies. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Paul understands this: When I am not living this verse that means the enemy has me where he wants. He wants me to not be joyful and not pray to weaken me even further. The final cut is missing out God's blessing because of a weak spirit of gratitude. God is looking for people who live what Paul talks about. I bet we all can improve in this area. I am still working on figuring it out. 05/06/2026 There is a guy who sells real estate in California and has a podcast on the corruption of its leadership. He relates what they are doing to destroy his life and the people around him. What makes him so interesting is that leadership in Colorado would love to destroy our lives too. He is exposing all kinds of dirt on its leadership. I then started reading Ezekiel. Now this is California: Ezekiel 34:2-6 NLT 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? 3 You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. 4 You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty. 5 So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal. 6 They have wandered through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them. Too many people are in the position of leadership to abuse those under them. People in California are scattering from the state. Businesses are moving, and many have lost everything while leadership steals everything from them. God is fed up with this abuse: Ezekiel 34:10 NLT 10 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and I will stop them from feeding themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey. Now I know God loves California even with all the nut jobs that live there. He wants to restore this state and all other states like it who are abusing their citizens. Ezekiel 34:11-16 NLT The Good Shepherd 11 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep. 12 I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. 13 I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live. 14 Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them, yes—feed them justice! Man, if you get God involved rescuing people, I would not want to be in that leader's shoes who made him angry. Leadership is very important. You need to be like President Trump who asks the gardener how could we do this better. Or Elon Musk who can get people to fulfill his dreams by asking the right questions. We need to inspire people and the first step is by treating them right. But even if we are abused, it is no excuse to abuse someone who is going through the same thing you are. This also greatly angers God and he is going to do something about it. Ezekiel 34:17-19 NLT 17 “And as for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to his people: I will judge between one animal of the flock and another, separating the sheep from the goats. 18 Isn’t it enough for you to keep the best of the pastures for yourselves? Must you also trample down the rest? Isn’t it enough for you to drink clear water for yourselves? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19 Why must my flock eat what you have trampled down and drink water you have fouled? What is common here is selfish ambition and the lack of love: 1 Corinthians 16:14 NLT And do everything with love. Galatians 5:14 NLT For the whole law can be summed up in this one command:“Love your neighbor as yourself.” 05/04/2026 Now you know why God's prophets are so important to him. He truly loves us but he is also Holy and will only take so much evil. Ezekiel 33:11 NLT 11 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die? This is all that Jesus is asking too. He wants us to repent and live as a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 05/03/2026 I really believe the most dangerous words we can say is "I did this". Pharaoh took credit for what God did and he got a reaction from the God of the universe: Ezekiel 29:3 NLT 3 Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: “I am your enemy, O Pharaoh, king of Egypt— you great monster, lurking in the streams of the Nile. For you have said, ‘The Nile River is mine; I made it for myself.’ God was about to destroy Egypt because of the foolish words one man spoke: Ezekiel 29:8-12 NLT 8 “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will bring an army against you, O Egypt, and destroy both people and animals. 9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. “Because you said, ‘The Nile River is mine; I made it,’ 10 I am now the enemy of both you and your river. I will make the land of Egypt a totally desolate wasteland, from Migdol to Aswan, as far south as the border of Ethiopia. 11 For forty years not a soul will pass that way, neither people nor animals. It will be completely uninhabited. 12 I will make Egypt desolate, and it will be surrounded by other desolate nations. Its cities will be empty and desolate for forty years, surrounded by other ruined cities. I will scatter the Egyptians to distant lands. God then explains how he is going to do it. Pay attention because King Nebuchadnezzar was on God's payroll: Ezekiel 29:18-20 NLT 18 “Son of man, the army of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon fought so hard against Tyre that the warriors’ heads were rubbed bare and their shoulders were raw and blistered. Yet Nebuchadnezzar and his army won no plunder to compensate them for all their work. 19 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He will carry off its wealth, plundering everything it has so he can pay his army. 20 Yes, I have given him the land of Egypt as a reward for his work, says the Sovereign Lord, because he was working for me when he destroyed Tyre. Our God is also a God of restoration but there are consequences. Ezekiel 29:13-16 NLT 13 “But this is what the Sovereign Lord also says: At the end of the forty years I will bring the Egyptians home again from the nations to which they have been scattered. 14 I will restore the prosperity of Egypt and bring its people back to the land of Pathros in southern Egypt from which they came. But Egypt will remain an unimportant, minor kingdom. 15 It will be the lowliest of all the nations, never again great enough to rise above its neighbors. 16 “Then Israel will no longer be tempted to trust in Egypt for help. Egypt’s shattered condition will remind Israel of how sinful she was to trust Egypt in earlier days. Then Israel will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.” You do not hear about Egypt much in the news today just because of the words our God spoke over her. If you want destruction in your own life just take credit for the things that God does in your life. How many of us have solved problem just because God implanted a thought in our brains? Those same thoughts may keep us from going to a place that would harm us. We will never know fully what our God does in our life. To be safe we should always confess "God and I did this together. He gave me the talent and wisdom to accomplish this." Never think of yourself as great, King Nebuchadnezzar took credit for being a God and he was forced to graze in the pastures for seven years until he realized his place in relation to God. Eventually he too lost his kingdom. Maybe this is why Paul talks about being humble. He wants to protect us from all of this. 04/29/2026 I was reading this from Paul and he mentioned some things I have been guilty of: Philippians 2:3-4 NLT 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 1. I have been at a buffet and I have to admit that I have left the burnt or dried out stuff for someone else. 2. Maybe I am only partially humble. When I do something it is tempting to be the best. I do realize that 20% are better then I am at anything. The rest do not have a chance. I hear about the cool things about the people involved in our ministry. Whether it is a patrolman's skill doing a pit maneuver, firefighters saving property and lives, swats perfection in handling a rifle, or a college student getting A's when the rest have difficulty getting a C. Some of you are exceptional in your field and I love it. The odds are those around you know it too. What is important is not to develop ones ego but use your talent to help those around you get better at the same skills you have mastered. I think that is what Paul wants us to do. 3. The last one can be more difficult. My interests lie in whether it can do 0-60 in 3 seconds. My computers have to be in the same league. So I have a tendency to not be interested in slow things. Maybe it is because I am slow. One thing that we have in common is the love of talking about Jesus. I love to hear the stories of what Jesus does in peoples lives. It is easy to talk about the Lord for half an hour because he is interesting. As he transforms one's life, all the sudden our interests start to align more and more. Some of the things you miss by not taking an interest in people are classmates who lived nearby and give their hearts to Jesus. After he passed away, I found out he like to do what I do and he Loved Jesus. This was an opportunity I missed. Another is a cool couple who grew up with me. Because I was into my thing, I did not know about their daughter in law keeping their son and grandchildren away from them. They have no access to their children at all. This is something I should have been praying for and I am praying for now. They need to see the kids. Paul wants us to be here for people, to either pray for them or encourage them. He does not want us to always be distracted by our interests. 04/27/2026 Paul wants us all to honor the name of Jesus in some fashion. You can see it in his letters that he writes: Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV 15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. If we do not understand God's will for our life we may end up disobeying him. The world does not have the answer to this question. His will will always align with his word and involves changing the lives of people around us. What happens if we really don't care or do not ask the question about God's will? Could something like this happen? Ezekiel 3:17-19 NLT 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately. 18 If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 19 If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me. Let's not be afraid to talk about Jesus is some honorable fashion around people everyday. Tomorrow, it could be their salvation. 04/24/2026 I have been reading Ezekiel and it proves sins have consequences. But why do we seem to fall into this trap. I think I know why? I use GPS on the farm to run tractors to save fuel and stress. We sometimes use a cheaper version of GPS that works fine. It appears to be doing its job with driving straight and minimal overlap. The GPS satellites are always moving and this causes minor errors in the navigation that you do not notice. They continue to get worse as time goes on. That line is gradually moving. The more pricey service we use to. It uses the position of a fixed object, the cell towers, to make sure this line is not moving. I could start anywhere in the field with this service and never overlap. I get into major problems if I start in the middle of the field with the free service. In our lives, we are too often on the free service the devil offers. Everything appears to work great while we are slowly drifting away from the path God put us on. God's service is more work then the devils but his written word which when accessed frequently tells us when we are drifting so we can make adjustments to our course in life. Ezekiel is proof of what happens to people when we drift so far from the path God put us on. Jesus knew exactly why it happened: Luke 8:12 NIV Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Our souls, just like my tractors need a reference point to stay precise. My tractor needs a cell tower. You and I need the "Word of God". Let's supercharge God's word by getting the Holy Spirit involved too. Let's keep sin from doing this to us: Ezekiel 14:21-23 NIV 21 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments—sword and famine and wild beasts and plague—to kill its men and their animals! 22 Yet there will be some survivors—sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding the disaster I have brought on Jerusalem—every disaster I have brought on it. 23 You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign Lord.” I believe God has good plans for America now. But how close are God's feelings to those when Ezekiel was his prophet. Let's live for God to make sure this does not happen to us. 04/21/2026 I believe that most of us are looking forward to the return of Jesus. Because Paul loved people and he loved doing what Jesus called him to do, he was torn between desires: Philippians 1:20-24 NLT Paul’s Life for Christ 20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. I have no idea on how many people will go to hell when Jesus comes for us. As long as we are still here, they still have a chance to be saved. You really have to love people a lot to give up the chance of going with Jesus to bring more souls into the Kingdom of Heaven. Paul even does this with chains on: Philippians 1:13-14 NLT 13 For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. 14 And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear. Jesus will return when our Father says so. Lets take advantage of this time to continue to bring souls into the Kingdom of Heaven until his official return. The end is closer then ever and because of this we need to assume time is running out to bring people into the fold. Even if I am wrong, just look at how many people will have heard the message of Christ because you continued to speak to people about Jesus. I would call that a win for God! 04/20/2026 For the ladies out there, do you have a husband that seems to only remember this part of Paul's message: Ephesians 5:22-23 NLT 22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. The verse before this just reminds us both to: Ephesians 5:21 NLT Spirit-Guided Relationships: Wives and Husbands 21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Paul even has more to say about what us men are to do for our wives: Ephesians 5:25-30 NLT 25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. 28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. 29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. 30 And we are members of his body. Guys, you may not believe this but your wife may be smarter then you are. It is wise to consider her input. You will be responsible for failure if her advice is wise and your advice sucks. Always talk things over with her to come to a solution, but God requires you to make the final call. Wives, it is OK to let us guys take the blame; but if you both agree on a solution, you need to support him as a team if the outcome is unexpected. God loves it when guys love their wives. He really loves it when wives put up with the crap we seem to give our wives. You ladies really are amazing how you stick with us when we seem to mess up. God also loves it when you truly love your husbands even with our faults. 04/19/2026 Are any of you out there obstinate and hard-hearted like I am sometimes? Do you have people telling you that his is a bad thing? Well, I have good news for you. God creates people like this for his purpose: Ezekiel 3:4-9 NLT 4 Then he said, “Son of man, go to the people of Israel and give them my messages. 5 I am not sending you to a foreign people whose language you cannot understand. 6 No, I am not sending you to people with strange and difficult speech. If I did, they would listen! 7 But the people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn. 8 But look, I have made you as obstinate and hard-hearted as they are. 9 I have made your forehead as hard as the hardest rock! So don’t be afraid of them or fear their angry looks, even though they are rebels.” This brings up other questions about this verse. You always wonder why God sent Ezekiel to speak for God if they were not going to listen. I do believe it has to do with judgement. Before God sends someone to their destruction, they will remember being warned by both God and his prophets. We know Jesus loves the one and if it saves one this is good thing for him. This is really true when it comes to salvation. Then comes to next question. Why did God give Ezekiel a hard head? Is this when head butting became a thing? If someone tried to attack Ezekiel he would regret it. After all God said, "Don’t be afraid of them or fear their angry looks". I can see Ezekiel giving someone a head butt right now. Problem solved! Which brings us to question two. Why did God say, "No, I am not sending you to people with strange and difficult speech. If I did, they would listen! ". I believe this happens from the attack of the enemy. He knew of God's covenant with Abraham and he intentionally works harder to destroy what pleases God. Don't kid yourself, just because we try to live for Christ, he is working overtime to make us rebel against God. To you obstinate people out there, the enemy is going to find it difficult to change your heart. You are going to preach the word just because the enemy says you should not. You have a gift that can glorify the Kingdom of God. Don't use it to glorify yourself or refuse to learn new things. Praise the Lord for obstinate people!
