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| Dateof Comment 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! 04/18/2026 Paul gives 6 steps for success: Ephesians 5:15-20 NLT Living by the Spirit’s Power 15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. -> [You can tell especially from that one political party that they live like fools. They need to live by the Spirit to minimize the stupidity. A good dose of Holy Spirit is good for all of us.] 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. -> It is easy to step back and let the other guy do it. Time is short and many need to hear about Jesus OR PARISH.] 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. -> [ This one is hard if you do not communicate with the Lord. PRAY, listen and think before you act.] 18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, -> [This one is a no brainer. We can relate to this in either our past or in the present from other people who have already done or are still doing this.] 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. -> [I probably have dropped this one because I am not musically inclined at all. While eating breakfast this morning I witnessed the manager softly singing with the radio while she worked. We could do the same using a tune from the K-Luv radio station.] 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. -> [Oh man, we cannot forget this one. This is top thing we should do before we start our day. When Israel grumbled it was never good what God did next.] JESUS IS STILL LORD!!!!!!! 04/16/2026 Have you ever wondered why Christians are persecuted? If you truly follow the principles of Jesus Christ you are the type of people who could be trusted. Your convictions mean that people will have no worries about you trying to steal anything of theirs. In fact you would even watch over and protect there investment if they have to do something. Why would you not strive to know these kind of people. This tells me that many people are ruled by the devil. Paul talks about the two spirits of light and darkness: Ephesians 5:8-13 NLT 8 For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! 9 For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. 10 Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. 11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. 12 It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. 13 But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, What is in the light of Jesus that drives the enemy crazy? I know that the enemy is proud of committing evil so he does not care if he is caught. Is it fear of punishment. We know Satan had a pride problem. That is why he was tossed out of heaven. Does getting caught destroy the ego of the enemy? Remember the old vampire movies that when the light hit the vampire he began to break apart. Does the presence of the light burn the enemy? Or does the light remind him of his future home? Matthew 25:41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. The light was really strong when Jesus walked the earth. This is how demons responded to the light. Matthew 8:28-32 NLT 28 When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gadarenes, two men who were possessed by demons met him. They came out of the tombs and were so violent that no one could go through that area. 29 They began screaming at him, “Why are you interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before God’s appointed time?” 30 There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding in the distance. 31 So the demons begged, “If you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs.” 32 “All right, go!” Jesus commanded them. So the demons came out of the men and entered the pigs, and the whole herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water. I firmly believe that the light of Jesus coming through us reminds the devil of where he is going and it angers him greatly. It was his light and the name of "Jesus' that cast the enemy out of men. Paul and Jesus's disciples kept this up after Jesus ascended back to the Father. After all would you like to be thrown out of your house. That is why the enemy wants to attack us. He wants us to feel his pain and hoping we we turn our back on God while doing it. If you have a conscious at all, the light allow you will see what no good the enemy is up to. He does not like to be discovered. That is why he is so fond of the darkness. Let's continue to give the enemy nightmares whenever he sees the light of Jesus radiating from us. Let's let the name of Jesus send the enemy packing. The light definitely tells the enemy that we are coming. If the light is intense enough like that of a God fearing church, the enemy will flee. He does not want his secrets exposed. I wonder if the EPA would classify the "light of Jesus" as a pesticide. It is dangerous and very effective in weakening the power of the enemy. Pay attention to mannerism of Jesus around the enemy. Jesus spoke with authority that was not insulting to the devil. He just stated the facts why the enemy was wrong and even allowed him options like the pigs. I actually think Jesus could have sent those demons to hell but that did not fit into his Father's plan. Jesus knew that his authority was greater then Satan's and always remained cool when he was around the enemy. You can't say that about the enemy though, he was always testy around Jesus. 04/14/2026 Do you ever wonder about some scriptures that you read? This is a verse that caught my attention: Galatians 5:18 NLT 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. Galatians 5:18 Amplified Bible 18 But if you are guided and led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the Law. I then thought back to the old Testament when Moses was on Mount Sinai getting the 10 commandment. We know that one commandment is "Thou shall not kill". After God just gave the law to his people and he was about to send his people into a new land where they were about to kill people to take possession of the land. We also know that our God is jealous and does not like anything that rejects him. Today, it is like that in Iran. God sees a nation with over 93 million people who need to hear about Jesus. The current leadership has prevented this. I believe God is using the US military to change that. Our military does not murder people but they protect us from our adversaries who will not stop unless they are destroyed. As long as we are doing God's will, he is pleased with our military in what they are doing. I do believe we are in the last days and Jesus wants Iran. It is cool to watch people being released from oppression because of our military. I pray God blesses our military greatly as long as they continue to release people from oppression just like God wants it. Before you do anything unusual, make sure it is Holy Spirit leading you and not the enemy or you will commit a great sin unto the Lord. Jesus Over Iran!!!!!!! 04/12/2026 Our pastor is talking about love and the topic of anger was the key focus today. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 NIV 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. I am not knocking righteous anger like Jesus had. Boy, he sure did make those tables fly twice in his ministry. It is that worldly anger that catches us off guard. Some of you may be like me. Unlike that political party that is angry at everything all the time, I seem to have these areas. If I had a muscle car that was as quick as my reaction time, you would be impressed with my quarter mile times. Love looks for the quarter mile times like that of a Prius when it comes to anger. Paul is not the only one who talked about this. James had his input also. James 1:19 Listening and Doing My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, Why is quick anger so bad? God's word talks about it: Ecclesiastes 7:9 9 Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool. Ephesians 4:26 26 "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. Proverbs 4:23 23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 15:1 1 A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. Proverbs 22:24 24 Don't befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people, 25 or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul. Proverbs 29:11 11 Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back. Psalm 37:8 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret, it leads only to evil. Let's encourage one another to have our anger reflect what love asks of it. We do not have to do it alone. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help. Do what ever we can to help someone through this anger issue. 2 Corinthians 13:11 NIV Final Greetings Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 04/11/2026 Job 31 is an interesting chapter. Job was going through his life to see if there was something he missed living his life that made God want to put him through what was happening to him. From this chapter I could see why God was bragging Job up to Satan. That man was always concerned about how he was treating other people and God. Job was a man with integrity. One thing that Job did not know is that you can be tested and never do a wrong thing. His so called friend did not understand this either. In fact here is an example of what Jesus was talking about in Matthew: Matthew 7:3-5 NIV 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? Elihu was such a man: Job 32:1-5 NLT Elihu Responds to Job’s Friends 32 Job’s three friends refused to reply further to him because he kept insisting on his innocence. 2 Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the clan of Ram, became angry. He was angry because Job refused to admit that he had sinned and that God was right in punishing him. 3 He was also angry with Job’s three friends, for they made God appear to be wrong by their inability to answer Job’s arguments. 4 Elihu had waited for the others to speak to Job because they were older than he. 5 But when he saw that they had no further reply, he spoke out angrily. God is a God of Justice. He comes after those who have a plank in their eye. Pay attention to what happened to his friends because he prayed for them: Job 42:7-17 NLT Conclusion: The Lord Blesses Job 7 After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has. 8 So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the Lord commanded them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer. 10 When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! 11 Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring. 12 So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. 14 He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers. 16 Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. 17 Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life. Job is definitely a biography with a great ending. Do you think maybe God is trying to tell us this story can happen in our own lives? I believe it is. How are we going to handle the tests we may encounter in our own lives? Encourage people who are being tested to see if they will stand with God. Do not be like Job's friends who only depressed him. Depression makes testing more difficult to go through. LET LOVE LIVE AGAIN!!!!!!! 04/10/2026 Peter understands what Jesus did for us very well: 1 Peter 2:24 NLT He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. I hear about what Jesus has done for us many times but I do not hear as much about, "and live for what is right". Even though works cannot get us anywhere when it comes to salvation, it sure does please God when we live for the right things. The more we love Jesus, the more we should want our lives to please him. LET LOVE LIVE!!!!!!! 1 Thessalonians 4:1 NLT Live to Please God Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. 04/08/2026 Paul has to be driving the "do not judge" people insane. Here is another case telling us to watch for people who are sinning and get them on the right path. You have to make a judgment call on what is sin based on how God defines "what is sin": Galatians 6:1-2 NLT New Living Translation We Harvest What We Plant 6 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. Paul understands what Jesus said in Mathew: Matthew 7:2 NLT 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. Paul admitted he was not perfect either and understands what sin is. He also knows that sin needs to be exposed and removed from the church. He also knows what is like to be trashed by people who think they are right. That is why he said, "You who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path." Sin has this strong drawing power and he did want any of us to fall into the same sin that we are trying to remove. It is interesting how much easier it is to overcome sin if you have someone supporting you in Love. Paul wants us all to help each other to get through whatever burdens we may be going through. This is the key "Help" We all think our schedules are important enough that we just do not have the time for people. This is what Paul says about that: Galatians 6:3 NLT 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. Can I have another piece of that humble pie? The end goal for all of us is to look more like Jesus each day. 04/07/2026 Christian people many times do not realize how good we have it in America until you see what Paul had to go through. 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 NLT Paul’s Hardships 3 We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. -> [This is why we model our lives like Jesus. This probably is the most important step.] 4 In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. -> [I tend to be on the impatient side. Paul's method pleases God much more then mine.] 5 We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. -> [I have not experienced this. This is a blessing given by God for living in America. If we do not stand up for godly principals, America will change into something like what Paul faced.] 6 We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. 7 We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. 8 We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. -> [Do things only to please our King. Jesus warned us we would see opposition if we serve him. His opinion is the only one that counts. I have not mastered this section like my King wants me to be. I have not given up here either.] 9 We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. -> [God has kept me from experiencing this. I need to thank God for the protection he has given me. What happened to Paul will happen to all of us if we do not take a stand for godly principles and against demonic ones.] 10 Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. -> [Now, this is the attitude to have. Paul has me beat on this one too. But, I am not giving up and I am going to have this same attitude.] Just continue to give thanks to God for allowing us to live in America. It is work to live like Jesus but we all can do it. It will require prayer and that power that only the Holy Spirit can give. Admit you cannot do it alone. The Holy Spirit works better when we are humble. 04/05/2026 Today is the day we are celebrating because a man changed the entire world because he gave himself for it: 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NLT Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. What Jesus did is timeless! Jesus will always be Lord!!!!!!!
