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 04/02/2026 The bible does not talk much about what Jesus felt about things as he became a man. Being a guy, I am sure he began to notice things like women are things of beauty, learning to read, a trade, and discover who he was. What went through his mind when he read Isaiah 53 & 54 when it talked about him and what he was going to happen to him in the future? What would I do if I discovered what he did and that was my life foretold? Jesus loved his Father so much and understood that his Father had a plan for his Life. Jesus knew about Jeremiah 29:11-12 NLT 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. Jesus believed this so much, that he did the will of his Father with everything he had. And we know he prayed constantly to his Father. Another thing that Jesus did was love people. He knew that he was going to change the lives of his people forever. That is another thing that drove him. He always talked about the harvest being great and like a good farmer he did not want to lose that harvest by being complacent. Near the end of his ministry, he even talked with his disciples about what he was about to face. They did not understand what was going to happen to our Lord but Jesus was more interested in preparing them for what was about to happen then running for his life. That is the ultimate sign of true love and doing the will of the Father. When Jesus knew the end was upon him, he really did not want to follow through with what he learned. But he did not run but prayed three times to let this cup pass: Matthew 26:36-46 NLT Jesus Prays in Gethsemane 36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” 37 He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. 38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 40 Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? 41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” 42 Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. 44 So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!” God has never revealed to me how my life will end. For this, I am grateful because I know I would never handle it as well as Jesus did. Paul is another one who was revealed that he would suffer serving Jesus. He also handled it well. I pray that God helps me through these kind of trials because I will fail on my own understanding. We all know the rest of the story. JESUS CHRIST IS RISEN AND ALIVE TODAY. Both the cross and the tomb he was on/in are empty. As his children we now come into the Kingdom of Heaven. This was impossible before Jesus shed his blood for us all. We are lucky being born today because Abraham had to wait a long time for Jesus to open that door to the Kingdom of Heaven. We could be there tomorrow if we are called home. JESUS IS LORD!!!!!!! Ephesians 1:7 NLT He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 04/01/2026 Do you think that Jesus just got through reading the book of "Job" when he said this? 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? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. What started out to be something to help Job, Job 2:11 NIV 11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. Ended up making his life miserable. It was like we are not going through this so you must have some sin in your life and you need to ask forgiveness. God was allowing Satan to test Job and what his friends said to him was not true. It only made Job depressed with their talking points. These guys had more sin in their lives than Job did. God did not brag about Job's friends to Satan at all, which tells you something about their character. The motto of this story is that we can work together to clean our lives for Jesus. But do not try to fix everyone else when you are busted yourself. It is like using a broken wrench to loosen a nut. You may end up rounding the corners on the nut and now you got a real mess. 03/31/2026 When it comes to atheists, David said it and God put it in as part of his written word: Psalm 14:1 NLT Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! One thing about not believing there is a God, what you do is not identified as sin and you can do anything you want. But this is only true if God does not exist. Paul says, " Romans 1:20 NIV For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Colossians 1:17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. When we close our minds to God and other things that conflict with our beliefs, they do not exist in our minds. I call it stupidity but David calls these people fools. If I am wrong about God, I have lived my life blessing people and I will just disappear. The atheist on the other hand if he is wrong will spend eternity in hell. I have seen God work too much in my life and others to be fake. Open your eyes and your mind, look around and look up. The Rocky Mountains and other places in the world have God written all over it. Only man can turn it into a dump. You can also see God in the heavens and inside the building blocks of our DNA. Why, because Jesus is Lord!!!!!!! and he does not mind showing off his handiwork. 03/30/2026 Isn't it interesting how God gets blamed for everything. The enemy seems to never get blamed for anything and he is usually the cause of most bad things. I am not sure if I want God to brag on me like he did Job to Satan. He could allow the devil to test me like he did Job. The question is how I would handle it? I wonder how many times the devil makes attempts to allow God to test us like Job? Jesus brought up one of these times: Luke 22:31 NLT Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. Job had know idea he was being tested. Neither did his so called friends. They blamed everything on the sin in his life. God only does these bad things if you are evil. The motto here is if you do not know if someone is being tested, you either keep your mouth shut or ask if you can help in some way. You have no idea what God may be doing in that person's life and you may ruin everything. Job at first did a good job not blaming God: Job 2:9-10 His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.” But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong. As disease prolonged itself, Job began to wear down: Job 6:4 NLT For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows. Their poison infects my spirit. God’s terrors are lined up against me Then Job starts blaming God for what the enemy is doing to him: Job 9:28 I would still dread all the pain, for I know you will not find me innocent, O God. Job 16:7 “O God, you have ground me down and devastated my family. Job 16:9 God hates me and angrily tears me apart. He snaps his teeth at me and pierces me with his eyes. Job 16:11 God has handed me over to sinners. He has tossed me into the hands of the wicked. Job 19:22 Must you also persecute me, like God does? Haven’t you chewed me up enough? Job never lost his reverence to God Job 16:20 My friends scorn me, but I pour out my tears to God. Job would have done so much better if he had friends and family that stood by him. Negativity is a life breaker. With encouragement, he would not have been so down on things. God is about to remind Job about all the things that he is. The true measure of love is given by those who stand with you when you are being tested. We all can pray that the testing will be over soon but actions of helping out are needed right now. We all have the power to encourage or discourage. What would Jesus do? Oh yeah, let's start blaming the devil instead of God when things go wrong. It is true that God can stop anything but "free will" prevents God from treating us like a robot. Prayer and fulfilling Gods dreams are the only things that help shield us from the enemy. Paul survived a shipwreck and a poisonous snake because it was Gods dream to send him to Rome. When we pass a test, God can make thing even better then it was before the test. Job experienced it and so can you. 03/29/2026 There were two Star Trek movies the "Wrath of Kon" and the "Search for Spock". Spock used the phrase, "The needs of the many outweighs the needs of the few or the one." As much as God loved his son it was that important to him to send him for our sake. God sent Jesus, who freely gave his life for the many. Just as Spock gave his life to save the ship. Just like Jesus he knew that something had to be done to save us. Time was running out. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. In the next movie when they found Spock, he did not know who he was until Captain Kirk said, "The need of the one outweighs the need of the many." This made Spock stop and think. He then said it the correct way and begin to remember who he was. Jesus is different here. Jesus loves the one as much as the many. I firmly believe he would have given his life just for me. Remember this Easter that he also gave his life just for you. He loves the "one" very much: Matthew 18:12-14 NIV 12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish. 03/28/2026 With Easter being the 1st Sunday in April 2026. This verse says it all: 1 Timothy 2:5-6 NLT For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. You and I were also born at the right time. JESUS IS LORD!!!!!!! 03/27/2026 President Trump may not be perfect but he acknowledges the name of Jesus Christ before men. This is one thing that makes him a great leader. When we acknowledge and live for Christ this will always be true: Psalm 62:7 NLT My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. I see this verse in action in our conflict with Iran. God gives us victory because Iran denies him. I pray President Trump continues to live for Christ so our nation will see more victories that come from our Lord. It is no different in our personal lives when we deny the enemy, God can do the same in our lives. 03/26/2026 Paul a man who wrote much of the New Testament even had to admit that he faced things that reminded him of who he was. Those things prevented him from getting too prideful because of all that God has revealed to him personally: 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 NLT 7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. 8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. Satan likes to remind us of our past. I could be wrong here but I feel Satan was giving Paul nightmares about how he use to kill Christians. Paul could see them being killed over and over again. God reminded him, "I already forgiven you and do not hold this against you but Paul I do not want you to forget where I brought you from." Paul's attitude is now: 2 Corinthians 12:10 NLT 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. So our individual weaknesses are used by God to give us power and to keep us humble. If Paul, as great as he was, experienced this; do not be surprised when God uses our weaknesses to accomplish his dreams. 03/25/2026 If you are like me I like it when things go smooth. This verse does not meet my requirements: Philippians 1:29 NLT For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. Even Jesus prefers to not go through suffering: Mark 14:36 NLT “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” He accepted that suffering and change the world for you and I. If you think about what Paul is saying that it sends a message, "We have been called by the Lord to be his. We love him and have given our lives to him. The enemy causes suffering because he hates anything God loves. He goes after those who exalt the name of the Lord the most because he goal is to make you stop. The enemies suffering can be a gauge on the Kings approval level. It is true that when we are ineffective for the Lord that the enemy leaves us alone. People who we should be talking to go to hell and even our own salvation may be at risk." Paul says this: Romans 8:17 NLT And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Sin brings on suffering for even the ungodly. This type of suffering is not fun either. This suffering does not please God in anyway and is not a way to store treasure in the Kingdom of God. Suffering created by the enemy does create treasure because you are doing something for the Lord that is making him angry. Look at like this, your suffering is "profit taking" in the Kingdom of God because you are serving the Lord. 03/21/2026 It was a beautiful spring morning and I looked up into the sky and noticed all of the jets spraying chemicals in the air. They say it is just weather modification, but I do know that they are spraying barium and aluminum in the sky. These are all toxic to breathe. As I was thinking about how they are trying to poison us, God gave me this word, "You and the people in the ghetto have been praying Psalm 91 over your life. Don't you realize that Psalm 91 can even protect you from those chemicals that are being sprayed on you." I begin to realize that I have been putting limitations on God again. I firmly believe that if you were forced to take the vaccine or even drinking the poisonous fluoride they put in our water, that Psalm 91 is powerful enough to overcome these two things too. If you think fluoride is safe, just remember this: It is a 30 year federal prison sentence for dumping fluoride in the water and look at the warning label on the tooth paste. Long ago, I put a tiny amount of sodium fluoride in peanut butter and placed it on the ground. It would kill all the black birds that were crapping in the cattle's feed bunk. It is so deadly that even our Kitty cat tried to eat some of the peanut butter too and died instantly. We loved our cats too much and had to quit doing that. What good are strong teeth when fluoride affects your body negatively? Make sure you audibly declare Psalm 91 over you and your family. If you are living for God, it will protect you too. Continue to learn what people are trying to do to harm us but sometimes we just have to give it to God. My buddy and I never became sick once this winter and that was due to the power of God's word. It only gets better as more people cover you with the power of this chapter. My buddy and I are truly thankful to those who covered us with the power of God's word? 03/20/2026 I do have to admit I am not the sensitive type and I sometimes miss those burdens that are going on in other peoples lives. Many times those people just need some encouragement that we can give. Paul had a story about another person changing his life: 2 Corinthians 7:5-7 NLT 5 When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. 6 But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus. 7 His presence was a joy, but so was the news he brought of the encouragement he received from you. When he told us how much you long to see me, and how sorry you are for what happened, and how loyal you are to me, I was filled with joy! Let's be a Titus to God's children. We too can make the same difference that Titus did to Paul. I know some of you are doing that now. I bet those people appreciate you for doing this. Let's all look towards encouraging other people. 03/19/2026 Man, it is already spring. Soon we are going to have many college graduates who are soon going to enter the work force. Paul has a word for you: 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 NLT The Temple of the Living God 14 Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? 15 What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? 16 And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 17 Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. 18 And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. If you are in it for the money, evil will probably win over you. This is not how you impress Jesus. Look for businesses that have morals and preferably a connection with Jesus Christ. This same message applies to people already in business. Don't believe evil will not influence you when you expose yourself to it, because it will. If God has a plan to bring a business to salvation, he may want you there. But you better be sure you are called by him. He will give you the strength to overcome any evil that may exist. If you are not called by God you probably will fail. Just like Timothy, you should follow his example: 1 Timothy 6:11 NLT But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. I am thankful for our coming graduates. Especially those who know Jesus. They will determine if we become one nation under God again. My generation dropped the ball on this one. I really believe that God has some big plan for you college students. I will be excited to see it put into action. LET JESUS LIVE in your lives!!!!!!! 03/17/2026 I have watched how people who trust other people will want them to work for them to make their own life better. The question is, "Do I put the same trust in God believing that he will also improve our lives by turning things over to him?" Romans 15:13 (New Living Translation) I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. 03/16/2026 I believe that they are right when they say Jesus is coming back soon. I also believe there is no better time to talk to people about Jesus then now: 2 Corinthians 6:2 NLT For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. If Paul could have done bold print in his letter, he would emphasize what I did. 03/15/2026 It is spring and it feels good to go out into the sunshine and get some fresh air. The warmth of the sunshine feels good on the skin. We feel refreshed, and when we go back inside we don't think much more about it. Our sun, when we expose ourselves to it, we experienced something that we don't notice. Our skin picks up the rays of the sun. Those rays give us vitamin D, increase our bone density and strengthens our immune system. I have been exposed to many sources of light but none do what our God created sun does. Those who sell sunscreen will tell you that no exposure to the sun is what is good for you. Just as the light of our sun changes our physical lives, there is a light that shines in the spiritual side that also changes our lives. We we have a spiritual light that does the same thing. He is called the light of the world. John 8:12 Jesus, the Light of the World Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” You are right that Jesus is in heaven but they say Jesus is God and Hebrews says this: Hebrews 4:12 NLT 12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Sometimes we read God's word and we may not understand what we are reading now but we are exposing ourselves to something that is alive and it is changing our lives even though we do not realize it now. Those people who are in God's word a lot can confirm this is the case, but in time it all begins to be revealed. That is why persistence matters when it comes to God's written word. All other literature is dead. God's written word is the only thing that grows our spiritual lives like the sun that helps heal our physical bodies. Proverbs 30:5 NLT Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection. 03/13/2026 You always hear about God hardening Pharaoh's heart like that is the only thing God is capable of. Our God is a God who also softens hearts. After Israel upset God so bad, he exiled them into slavery for 70 years. There are some amazing things God did to allow the people to finally come home: Ezra 1:1-7 NLT Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Return 1 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom: 2 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Any of you who are his people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you! 4 Wherever this Jewish remnant is found, let their neighbors contribute toward their expenses by giving them silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock, as well as a voluntary offering for the Temple of God in Jerusalem.” 5 Then God stirred the hearts of the priests and Levites and the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. 6 And all their neighbors assisted by giving them articles of silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock. They gave them many valuable gifts in addition to all the voluntary offerings. 7 King Cyrus himself brought out the articles that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his own gods. I never hear about this side of God. He did not stop here. Nehemiah was about to see what God was about to do: Nehemiah 1:3-4 NLT Nehemiah’s Concern for Jerusalem 3 They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.” 4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. God was about to do something for Nehemiah like he did for Ezra: Nehemiah 2:1-6 NLT Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem 2 Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. 2 So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.” Then I was terrified, 3 but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.” 4 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” With a prayer to the God of heaven, 5 I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.” 6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request. Here are two occasions where our God softened hearts. What is really interesting about Pharaoh of Egypt, King Cyrus, and King Artaxerxes, is that the method God used on each brought Glory to his name. What we have to realize that God does not just make people stubborn. 03/11/2026 It amazing how much Christians fail in understanding God's word. We know the biggest one is: Matthew 7:1-2 NLT Do Not Judge Others 7 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 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 commands us to judge those in the church and remove those who abuse the grace of Jesus Christ. The next one they like to twist is: 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. They substitute the word "problem" in place of "temptation". Again Paul proves us wrong again about our problems: 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 NLT 8 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. 10 And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. Paul said, "I cannot do it without God". God lets us get overwhelmed because he desires us to come to him. Think about this. Maybe, if we come to God earlier before the crapola hits the fan, that the situation may not get so far out of control. For us guys, it is still manly for God to help us out of a situation. He wants to do it again and again. God never gets tired but he wants us to learn something from every challenge we face. Jesus says: Matthew 11:28-30 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” With Jesus, there is always a happy ending! 03/09/2026 Even as Adam walked the earth, God predicted this day would come: 2 Timothy 1:9 NIV He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, This grace came at a steep price. Let our hearts show how much we appreciate it by how we live for our King. Jesus is Lord!!!!!!! 03/09/2026 I have been watching what has been going on in Iran. I noticed that the women were anxious to shed their burkas. Those things had to be extremely uncomfortable in the summer. Their expressions on their faces were like they were just released from prison. I am glad the women in this country do not have to cover up like this. After all why should our women be uncomfortable. I would never want to cover up like that unless it was below zero outside. Paul did have dress codes for women discussed in 1 Corinthians 11: I have never had anyone challenge how things are done today. I see women praying in public and teaching about God. I sense that God is pleased with our women. I think it is cool also. Just like men, women have to watch things that can make them fall into sin. I feel that as men we have not handled our roles of being a godly man like God wants us to be. He has been forced to elevate women into roles that men should be doing. I have seen that women are capable of showing us up. Now check this verse out: 1 Corinthians 11:14-15 NIV 14 Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. Verse 14 talks about long hair for men as being a disgrace. Jesus was a Nazarene and the men had long hair. I doubt if Jesus was embarrassed with his hair. Paul in Verse 15 talks about her long hair as a physical covering of her head. I thought that Paul meant she had to have a towel over her head to be covered. You ladies just keep that beautiful long hair so that you stay covered. This comment may not change your world but it is interesting to see how today compares with then. I do think it is still a good idea for guys not to wear hats in church. In the end, God is more interested in what is in our hearts then what we wear. Oh yeah, we are going to church not a strip club. 03/08/2026 One thing I remember growing up is when we wanted to start a game of some kind that I was always one of the last to be picked. This is not good for the self esteem of a child. As I began to figure things out and get taller the rolls changed. I was either a captain or one of the first to be picked. The choice was based more on how I looked compared to everyone else then actual performance. It was no different for the vineyard workers in Jesus's time: Matthew 20 talks about grape harvest where all the growers would hire people in town to help with harvest. The growers were looking for able bodied workers leaving the old and frail people behind. The Kingdom of God is different it wants to give all of us a chance. Matthew 20:1-2 NLT Parable of the Vineyard Workers 1 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work. The Kingdom of God is persistent. It is always looking for people to help with the harvest. God never gives up on us. Matthew 20:3-7 NLT 3 “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. 4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing. 6 “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’ 7 “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’ “The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’ The Bible does not mention the condition of the last workers at the end of the day. I feel that they were either old or feeble. That was why they were rejected from the harvest. I have talked to older people myself today and they mention their age is against them. We serve a God who can even use old people to bring the harvest into the Kingdom of God. He can even give favor to the down trodden: Matthew 20:8-16 NLT 8 “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. 9 When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. 10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. 11 When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’ 13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? 14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. 15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’ 16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.” I have never seen God reward work equally. Some people may have sacrificed much compared to most people. Maybe people are rewarded just because they are treated like an underdog. God has the right to bless someone. Even if two people are working hard to solve a problem but one discovers the solution first. That person has the right to the royalties of his discovery. The question is are we going to rejoice for him. James says something about those who don't: James 3:16 NIV 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. Do not let envy or selfish ambitions destroy your heart. I went to church with the man who started Otterbox. There was nothing special about him other than he had a dream and was willing to take it to the next level. I was envious of him and said to myself, "I am not going to buy anything from him." God showed me how dumb I was and I love his cell phones cases even if it makes him rich. I also discovered it is hard to be thankful for what God has given me when in that state of mind. When we are envious or try to destroy someone who is in our way to success, it becomes a real problem. It would be cool to be able to speak to him again and tell him how I like my cases. This time I will for sure have the love of Jesus in my heart.
