Guard Your Thoughts, Watch Your Words, And Be Cautious In Your Deeds!

The Days Are Evil
And
All I'm Saying To You 
Is 
Don't Be MAD!

Mad!?!

What Have I Got To Be Mad About!?!

I Am Not MAD!

You Misunderstand Me!

Huh!?!

What Are You Talking About!?!

Dencita, I Am Not Talking About Mad
As In Angry, Upset, Ticked Off, Incensed!

I'm Speaking About Miriam, Aaron And David!

Pardon My French
But What De Bird Does Miriam
Aaron And David Have To Do With Me!?!

We Only Sit In The Same Class 
And We Don't Even Socialize!

Again, Dencita, You Misunderstand Me!

Maybe If You Were Making Sense
I Would Readily Understand!

Okay, Okay!

Sheath Your Blade!

Oh, Dear! I'm Sorry!

Please Tell Me What You Mean!

Very Well!

I Am Speaking About

Prophet Miriam

Prophet High Priest Aaron

And

Shepherd, Sweet Psalmist, Warrior, Prophet, King, David!

What On Earth Are You Getting At Major Payne!?!

What I'm Getting At Dencita Dansing-Round Is Sin!

Sin By Thought, Word And Deed!

Oookay! 

You've Got My Full Attention!

Miriam And Aaron Thought Of

And

Spoke Evil Against Their Brother
The Nation's General

Almighty God's Man Of Business

Their Younger Brother, Moses

And

Did Evil In The Sight Of The Holy God!

David Thought, Spoke, And Performed Evil

Against Both Bathsheba And Her Husband

His Friend, Uriah The Hittite! 

What A Man Thinks He Speaks!

What A Man Speaks

He Ultimately Performs

And

That Is How We Sin

By Thought, Word And Deed

And

Offend The Living God!

And

Lest You Forget

The Offense Is A Bill

And

The Bill Must Be Paid

In Your Skin

And

With Your Soul!

The Lord Does Not Accept Perishable Gold!

Oh, Dear!

Ephesians 5:15-16
Is
A Decidedly Serious Word Of Caution
To All Of Us Who Desire 
The White Robe Of Christ's Righteousness
The Gold Crown Of Glory
The Victor's Palm
And
Jesus Christ's Words Of Commendation: 

"Well Done

Good And Faithful Servant!"

Work Out

Your Own Soul's Salvation

With Godly Fear

And Trembling!

To Live Circumspectly 
Is 
To Live Carefully Cautious In Both Words And Actions 
In Your Desire To Avoid Known-Bad Consequences 
Aka You Want To Get Home To Be With Jesus 
So You Will Avoid Doing Anything At All 
Which Will Transport You To Hell! 

The Times Are Evil Indeed 
Because 
Truth Is Cast Down In The Street
Sweet Things Are Bitter
Lies Are Called Truth
And 
Good Things Are Called Evil
And 
Evil Is Become Good! 

Even Fools
- Who Say There Is No God -
Are "Wise" In Their Conceit 
And 
Their Loud Voices Are Carrying 
The Unweary Away To Damnation! 

Beloved, 

All Of The Word Of God 
Is 
To Teach Us, Warn Us, Feed Us
And 
Lead Us Into All Truth 
Which Will Guide Us Home To Be With Him Who 
Is 
The Truth! 

Jesus Christ 
Is 
Also Our Light 
And 
He Is Our Life
And 
He Has Made The Way To The Father's Home Plain 
For Us To See And To Navigate! 

Evil Has No Future 
So Trust The Truth That Cannot Die! 
See To It That You Do Good Always 
And 
By Almighty God's Great Grace 
You Shall Arrive Safely In The Eternal Home 
At The Time Appointed! 

Guard Your Thoughts ... Guard Your Heart
Watch Your Words 
Be Cautious In Your Deeds
Be Enduringly Faithful
Pray Penitentially
Obey The Word Diligently
And 
Hold On To Your Hope In Jesus Christ! 
Business As Usual 
Is 
No Longer An Option!

EMULATION: Zealous And Jealous For Whom!?!

The Question Is A Vitally Important One:

Whom Should I, A Committed Christian, Please!?!

What Are The Options!?!

The Options ... My Only Options Are

Please Me Aka Please My Self, My Flesh

Or 
Serve The Spirit Of The Eternal God

By Whom We Are Sealed Against The Great Day!

Wow!

I Don't Envy You!

You Don't Envy Me!?! 

Brother, That's Truly Rich!

I Don't Envy You!

Me!?!

Yup, Buddy!

You've Got Yourself The Same Options

And 

So Does Every Other Living Soul On This Earth!

Oh, Dear! 

But, How!?!

Why!?!

All People That On Earth Do Dwell

Fall Into Two Categories

Which Shall Be The Only Two Classes Of Persons

Who Shall Be ... And Have Been 
On The Earth Since The Beginning Of Time:

• Those For Jesus Christ The Lord
•      Those For Satan The God-Fraud
•      Those Who Elevate Self
• Those Who Elevate The Savior 
• Those Who Live In Heavenly Light
•      Those Who Walk In Damnation's Darkness 
• Those Who Love Truth
•      Those Who Love And Tell Lies
• Those Living With The Faith Of Jesus
•      Those Living With The Doubt Of The Devil
• Those Who Shall Be Saved From Sin
•      Those Who Will Be Lost In Sin
• Those Who Will Be Eternally Blessed And
•      Those Who Will Be Eternally Damned

To Put It Plainly

There Will No Switzerland-Class

No Neutral Class When Christ Comes!

Everybody Will Walk Under Their Own 
Personally-Selected And Approved Banner

And

They Will Not Be Able To Change Their Minds

For Their Choices Will Be Fixed And Final

And

They Are Sealed In Their Decision

In The Books Of Heaven!

This Is Serious Business!

You Telling Me!

The Decisions We Make Today

May Be Our Final Decisions

So I Suggest To Us All
Confessing And Repenting Of All Known Sin
And

Denying Self, Sin And Satan

And

Accepting The Gift Of Almighty God

- The Life Of Christ -

So That In The Day Of Reckoning 

- The Day Of Accounts -

We Will Not Be With The Rabid, Hardened
Unrepentant, Bold Sinners Forever Lost!

We Must Count The Cost!

If This Is Such A Big Deal

Why, Then, Are All The "Experts"

Even The Priests And Pastors

The "Wellness" Experts

Pushing The Idea ... The Ideal

That Self Must Not Be Denied

That Self Must Be Nurtured!?!

Oh, Let Me Count The Ways:

• Lie Of The Devil 
• Filthy Lucre 
• Power
• Position 
• Prestige
• Greed
• Lust

And

This Is All So That Satan 

The Father Of Lies

The Arch-Deceiver

That Murderer Most Foul

Will Be Able To Raise Up An Army Against The Lord

Even As He Throws It In The Lord's Face

That We Don't Love Him

And

That His Immeasurable Sacrifice For Each One

And 
All Of Us

Was Totally For Nothing!

Satan Hates The Power Of The Christ 
Who Was On Calvary's Cruel Cross

And

He Hates That There Are Those Of Us ... Faithful 

Who Willingly Choose To Deny Our Selves

For The Lord Christ Who Denied Himself

So That We Might Live Again 
Immortalized, Glorified, Incorruptible
And

Return To The Father's House

As In Go Home To Be With Our Heavenly Father 

Who Really Desires 
Our Purchased-And-Adopted-As-Children 
Personal Presence There!

Brethren,

Almighty God Loves
And

Condemned Satan Hates 

And

Redeemed Man Must Choose His Very Own Fate!

We Either Love The Holy God Who Does Create

Or Follow Satan, The Devil
Who Well And Truly Decimates!

Please Recognize That There Is A Difference

Between Loving God And Following Satan!

Man Follows Satan Because Of Sinful Self

And A Carrot On A Stick!

If We Truly Love The Lord

We Will Deny Self And Abhor Sin

And 

We Will Follow Him Faithfully

With Or Without Reward!

Yup!

I'd Say You Got It Right!

We Need To Be Zealous For Salvation

And Jealous For The Name Of The Eternal God! 

Don't Forget, Brother

Zealous And Jealous Also Work For Satan

Who Desires To Be Worshipped As The Holy God!

What's Our Bottom Line, Then!?! 

Read, Search, Dig

Pray, Plead

Work, Watch

Endure

Be Obedient 

Be Faithful

Be True
And

Never Give Up
Because

Jesus Christ Is Blessing, Nurturing

Keeping

And

Sanctifying 

Those Who Are To Him True! 

With All That We Have Said

My Decision

My Only Option
Is

To Serve The Holy Spirit Of Truth! 

Indeed! 

Heaven Awaits Christ's Faithful
And I ... By His Grace

Intend To Be Among Them! 

I'm With You ... With Jesus! 

AMEN!!! 

I Charge Us All, Brethren:

Do Not Be Too Wise 

To Believe The Living Word Of The Eternal God!

Through the Fire

THROUGH THE FIRE

Genesis 1: 26 - Let us make man in our own image and in our likeness.

Genesis 2:19 - Lord God formed all the birds of the air and the beasts of the field and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

On any given day, Hilda, Carmen and Sybil could be heard preaching the Bible to any and all who would listen, and to even those who couldn’t be bothered to listen.

They could be heard boisterously uttering phrases like “Too blessed to be stressed!” “Thank God for Grace!” and “I’m glory bound!” and “Bless Jesus, I’m saved!”

You could hear them singing:

Pass Me Not, Oh Gentle Savior; Open my Eyes That I May See; I’m Climbing Jacob’s Ladder; Onward Christian Soldiers; and I am Delivered, Praise the Lord!

But, there was something not quite real about any of them.

If you passed by Sybil’s house on laundry day, you could hear her singing:

“I don’t like work, and work don’t like me, and that is the reason that I’m so hungry. Hallelujah, I’m a bum. Hallelujah, a bum again. Hallelujah, give me a hand out to revive me again!”

If you passed by when Carmen’s husband had gotten drunk and beat and curse her and the children, you would know that she had completely forgotten all about the catch phrases that she loved to quote to people when she was on her “Jesus Juice!”

You could hear Carmen asking the Lord to let the day come when she would ask Him to give her five minutes to “out that cretin’s lights” permanently. And that was after she had used enough technicolor phrases to make even a sailor blush!

As for Hilda, when she left off her preaching stint every Wednesday morning outside Dolphus' Shop, she stepped inside for the requisite flask bottle of Cockspur Rum which she said was for when “King Arthur kicking in me old tail!”

Of course, after she had taken a liberal dose of her “medicine,” she set about doing her Christian duty to, as she said, “The poor, morally bankrupt and lost souls.”

Everybody knew that was Hilda-speak for “I am going to give and get the juiciest gossip on everybody in this neighborhood!”

And, of course, there was Ms. Daisy. The most devout of the neighborhood Christians.

Daisy could hardly walk during the week, and needed help to do even the most basic things to keep herself comfortable. But, when Church day came along, Daisy could outwalk and outrun everybody, rain or shine, to be the first one in the Sanctuary. She was the one to speak to if you wanted to know the 411 on “them deceitful people in this church!”

These women had forgotten their examples from the Bible: Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Job, King David, Nehemiah, Paul, Dorcas, and on and on.

The Christian’s Lot

The lot of a Christian is hard, often bitter, and contentious. There is no minimizing that.

Look at the Master. He didn’t do anything wrong. He did all that was right in the sight of God and man, and yet, ultimately, he was brutally scourged and finally murdered.

However, with Christ as the only binding example of the Christian walk, we Christians are called upon

1. To be WISE, beyond education, training, situation or circumstance. We must remember that our current situation is NOT our final destination, and we must look beyond what is to what is possible.

2. To be temperate. We must do all things in moderation, including eat, sleep and work and play.

3. To seek to find our innate gifts. Think back to Genesis 2:19. God gives each of us gifts — we only have to seek for, recognize, accept and use, better yet, exploit them. If you want more gifts, remember, first, to use the ones with which you have been blessed.

4. To be our brother, and sister’s keeper. If your neighbor, your husband, or wife, mother, father, brother or sister hurts you, and you can help, even if he or she may have despitefully used you, you are required to assist that person. For, you are to heap coals upon that person’s head and let the Lord take vengeance, which He says is His, and which He will repay.

5. To surround ourselves with positive people, and to set a positive example for those who are otherwise. We must live up to our calling and project a sense of self that is worthy of our Christian calling.

6. To be rounded, a pie, if you will. A bible-thumper does not a Christian make, nor a slice a whole pie. We are to find the things that bring us and others joy, and stop sucking the air out of the atmosphere with our sour looks and pious expressions which only cover very shallow and one dimension beings.

         By way of analogy, I give you Life as told by the Rose:

Rose, that I am, while beautiful to behold and fragrant to the nose, is sheathed in protective thorns to keep at bay those who would mishandle or abuse me.

          As it relates to life, we are to observe, and enjoy, and handle said life wisely, or else the thorns

that are life’s prods to growth with tear us to pieces.

          I also give to you the analogy of the Redwood tree. That giant in nature which grows in community and toward heaven in all majesty.

A Redwood tree will never grow in isolation. It will never reach its potential if left to its own devices. At 1,000 plus feet of height, it needs the community of the brotherhood as support for its growth toward grace, as it cannot grow alone and be called by its real name.

           I also give to you the analogy of the Waterlily. The most fragrant and beautiful salve to the weary and wandering soul who gets life, and attains its regal stature and poise from growing where it is planted, in the dirtiest, dankest, smelliest, swamp imaginable.

In short, that Waterlily has learnt to “grow where it has been planted!” It has found its purpose in life and it lives above its surroundings while being a beacon to the lost, the weary and lone.

Finally, I want us to consider Samuel 16:7 - ... The Lord looketh on the heart.

We must not minimize people just because they are not like us in face, body, clothing, speech, education, living accommodation, financial acumen, bible mastery, or even in smell.

As Christians, we are to be as the Shepherd David:

David took his HARP and played for the soothing of his enemy King Saul’s soul.

David also played ,and sang unto his God of the desires of his heart and his personal observations of the Lord’s creation. David gave thanks and praise while seeing to the welfare of his parents, the displaced of the community; his followers; his army and the stranger within his gate.

David was not arrogant because of his elevation from the sheepfold. He accepted his chastisement when he was convicted of doing wrong in the sight of God and man, and he repented and became that beloved “Man after God’s own heart!”

David always sang of his faith in His Creator and TESTIFIED of His Creator’s saving grace and power.

David, that wise singer, songwriter, harpist, conqueror, builder, and King, after having found his purpose, and after having confessed and was forgiven of his sin, behaved himself wisely in all his ways, and the Lord, God, was always with him. **BJC**