4 Mile prayers

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July 20 Yesterday my grandson and I went fishing. As we were on the river, I remembered many of the times we were there before. The one time when my granddaughters, 'Barbie' pole went overboard when she had a large bite, still brings a laugh to my heart, although hers was broken. "It is a wonderful thing to be alive! If a person lives to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life, but let them also remember that eternity is far longer and that everything down here is futile in comparison." For GOD will judge everything we do! I could hardly stand after several hours in the boat, but soon my youth will return and my infancy in eternity will begin. Everything, beginning anew. BE READY FOR ETERNITY!  GOD bless you.

July 19 We all have a memory loss from time to time. Some more than others and some have a name attached to them. But regardless of how we sometimes don't remember very well, looking at pictures will jog our memories. People used to have cameras and took lots of pictures, today most just pull out their phones. Regardless of how your memories are stored. Take time to look through them, remember those days and store those thoughts. I have the kids and grandkids first hunts and fishing trips where ever I look. Take time to look at the CROSS and REMEMBER the BLOOD and life given for us and REJOICE that we can still remember why. GOD bless you.

July 18 While walking in the much cooler and lower humidity this morning, I could not keep the old hymn out of my mind. I am sure that most people have heard it and have sung these words at Easter time. "HE lives, HE lives, CHRIST JESUS lives today." That realness is far too great to set aside for one particular time of year! "HE walks with me and talks with me"...as I walk along, indeed HE is ALIVE. HE alone has salvation to impart to all who heed HIS VOICE and repent and follow. HIS hand of mercy leads along both the dreary and fulfilling times. Yes, HE lives! If you ask me how I know HE lives, I repeat what the hymn states, HE lives within my heart! That cannot be erased! So, I hope that for a moment today you too will sing, at least in your minds and hearts, that HE LIVES! For HE lives for ETERNITY, wanting YOU to join HIM in that GLORIOUS city that HE is preparing. May GOD bless you.

July 17 "Watch out! Don't let MY sudden coming catch you unaware and occupied with the problems of this life, like the rest of this world. Keep constant watch. Pray that it is possible you may arrive in MY PRESENCE without having to experience these horrors." CHRIST gave the message to be watchful, look toward HIS return. Today we hear the words "Life remains the same as it has always been." And it is true that history repeats itself. But CHRIST asks us to be watchful for those signs that were 'predicted by the ancient prophets' these things will take place. Yes, this earth will pass away, yet GOD'S WORD will remain forever TRUE. Look toward the sky and be prepared for the change that rocks the world. Don't be left behind with unbelief. May GOD be with us.

July 16 "For GOD, who knows ALL hearts, knows YOURS and HE knows you knew! And HE will reward everyone according to his deeds."  There will be no grading on a curve. No one held by the judgement of others. No judgement of a group or lowering the ruling because of one's race! We will ALL be judged by the ONE PERFECT JUDGE and inside we all know it. We all understand the way that we will be judged. We hide behind a false wall; a make-believe partition of made-up ideas that lower the penalty we will be given. But those who think that, are misled by their own mindful knowledge of TRUTH. We cannot deny the truth, we cannot change the verdict, we can only change our lives to meet the criteria of the MASTER. HIS judgement is fair and we know it. Our only HOPE is in HIS WORD and our desire to FOLLOW. When we know that HE knows, our lives change. GOD bless you.

July 15 Through the years I have done some stupid things. Most of the time I knew better but wanted to do them anyway. Then one day all the teaching that I had heard became reality and the WORD of GOD sunk in! We can't force others to instantly make a change in their lives but we can be the example of what that change would be like. Thank GOD that HIS SON gave HIS LIFE to FORGIVE ME.  There remains enough forgiveness for ALL who will BELIEVE. The cost is small, the reward great. Mistakes are a part of life; it is when we willingly turn to THE POWER of GOD that we begin to turn in the direction we are supposed to be traveling and not on a road trip to nowhere. Today we can make a difference, be a LIGHT to a DARKENED WORLD. May GOD bless you.

July 14 This past weekend my wife and I went to the Iowa speedway and watched the Indy car races. They turned laps at around 18 seconds onto 7/8th mile track. It was hard to keep track of what was going on! When we returned home, we would watch the recording of the race to have an understanding of why things happened. Just as in life things fly at us quickly. Storms hit, sadness and sorrow approach and pass so fast that we have no understanding. When we are able to watch the great replays from HEAVEN, things that we don't understand now will be made clear. For now, however, we must put our FAITH in GOD. Remember from Proverbs, "Curses chase sinners, while blessings chase the righteous." While life may pass by us as a blur of confusion, GOD will show the replay of what the truth is. GOD bless you.

July 13 "Oh how grateful and thankful, I am to the LORD, because HE is so good. I will sing praise to the name of the Lord who is above all." HE put us in charge of everything HE made! "All the sheep and oxen and wild animals, birds, fish and all the life in the sea. Oh LORD the majesty of YOUR name fills the earth." Yet YOU have made us but a little lower than the ANGELS. Why have YOU even bothered with puny man?  "The wicked shall be sent away to hell, this is the fate of all the nations forgetting the LORD." YOU alone are the JUDGE; may we keep YOUR life alive in ours. GOD bless you.

July 12 Protected by HIS shield of love, we can watch as the fools of the nations are in rage against the Lord. "How strange that men should try to outwit GOD." What puny plans, that are consumed by the fire of GOD'S word. If only their ears could hear, their eyes could see. The hearts of many become as stone, unable to absorb the message of CHRIST'S sacrifice, HIS love, if only we would listen. But no! Instead, we turn toward those things that GOD has warned us to stay away from. The self-centeredness that pulls away from GOD and piles upon us division and separation. Only the WORD of GOD can heal. There is only ONE truth in a world of artificial, JESUS CHRIST! Presenting GRACE to the world from the cross. It is our choice to accept or to reject. Open our eyes LORD and let us see the ways that are prepared toward GLORY. GOD bless you.

July 11 The days are becoming shorter. The seasons will once again change. Little by little, as though we would not notice. It is not one big jump, but a slight change each day. Onward we march toward fall. Then winter, till again the flowers bloom and the heat of summer regains its hold. The mysteries are slow and pre-ordained, much like the time of CHRIST'S set return. Onward we march to the days of our appointed time. Slowly it advances, nearly unnoticeable. But just as we know that the seasons will change and can watch as the signs are displayed before us, so is the approach of the RETURN. The steps are in place,  the time foretold, the march remains constant. Those who watch can see the approach, the tiny signals that point in ONE direction. Those who remain blind cannot understand. Just as we can watch the days shorten, the days to the appointed day advance. Will you be prepared? Will you be watching? The day of the LORD will not be postponed. May we be watching and ready when that shout is heard. EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW and EVERY TONGUE CONFESS that JESUS CHRIST is LORD. 

July 10 If I have put my trust in money,  if my happiness depends on wealth, it would mean that I denied the GOD of HEAVEN. For if the MAJESTY of GOD opposes me, what hope is there? Everything on earth is temporary. Nothing will last, only the KINGDOM of GOD will remain. If we cannot find joy in that, then our promise has become merely a hope, a wish, or pleasant thinking! To know what is coming will bring joy to some and fears to others. To be right with GOD cannot wait till the time is convenient for us. Turn our eyes toward JESUS and receive what this world will NOT deliver. Then GOD will bless you.

July 9 "I know that my REDEEMER lives and that HE will stand upon the earth at last. And I know that after this body has decayed, this body shall see GOD!" The words that Job spoke after losing it all! Yet he was confident that there was NOTHING that would be able to STOP GOD from REDEEMING his SOUL. For there is no GREATER POWER on earth or in HEAVEN by which men can be saved by the GRACE of GOD. The BLOOD of CHRIST was given that we may BELIEVE and be given LIFE ETERNAL. We to can say, I know my REDEEMER lives and when I die and the worms have feasted on my remains, I will see GOD. May you have the assurance of where your soul WILL spend ETERNITY. May GOD bless you.

July 8 Some days it just feels like things are against you. Today started like many others, but just as I headed out for my walk it began to rain. I couldn't go back to bed because I had put my sheets in the washer. So I just laid down and hoped for the best. The day had begun wrong, but soon after continuing in the BOOK of JOB, I decided I didn't have such a bad start to the day after all. Funny how we can let such small things ruin what is a perfectly good day. When left up to ourselves we can sink pretty deep but when someone else has a terrible day, we see that we are not so bad off. JOB lost everything nearly at the same time. The devil took his family, his wealth, his health. Yet he DIDN'T curse GOD. He questioned why, yet he continued in FAITH. And I thought I was upset? When we keep our eyes on GOD, we will never be lost. May GOD BLESS YOU.

July 7 We go through our daily life and seldom consider what GOD has done for us that day. I have seen people that should have died-live and some barely wounded-die. There is seldom the same result to a likely beginning! Our personal outcome is based within our own being and or FAITH.  Two men go through the day together, one complains and curses GOD. The other proclaims, "We have seen the hand of GOD at work today!" The same day with different outcomes. One mad at the world, the other happy and trusting GOD. LORD, help us to see YOUR HAND at work in our lives. Let us gather the fruits of the SPIRIT with THANKFULNESS and LOVE. Keep us from being managed by the one who destroys and PRAISE the ONE that is TRUE. May we see YOUR HAND in motion around us as we receive YOUR BLESSINGS. 

July 6 As American's we feel a sense of pride. We feel that we are strong, smart and sufficient. Our nation and its people stand for something and the world knows it. But as adults we should KNOW who is GOD and who is NOT god. We are an intelligent people. We should not follow the trends or be lured away by the mere images of others agendas. We have forgotten that we used to stand and pledge allegiance to this nation and to the GOD we believed in. Today those who would want to destroy have gathered with their allegiance to others and have assaulted our schools and streets. They have an agenda of confusion and lies. Attempting to draw away even the elite. We have not been transformed into mindless zombies! We have only become complacent and lazy, allowing the enemy to take a hold all around us. Remaining silent, we are obscure in the war being raged within even our own ranks! We should KNOW who is GOD and who is not. We have to be active, intelligent and resourceful. But above ALL we must TRUST in GOD.  GOD bless you.

July 5 Yesterday I went to collect my camera cards from the trail cameras. On several cameras were pictures of small fawns but on one camera there were pictures of a doe and her fawn every other day for 24 days.  At birth the newborn was standing and did not reach the height of the mother's 1st leg joint. In each photo you could plainly see the growth, until after 24 days the fawn was as tall as the mother's belly! What an astonishing growth! In a matter of 6months that little one will be 2/3rds the size of its mother and will have been taught how to survive. Wow! As I compare that to my growth as a BELIEVER in CHRIST, I am slow in my growth.  Can you imagine that if we grew in FAITH as that fawn, what our IMPACT would be on the NATION? We are slow to grow in some areas of life, yet always eager to do what is wrong. We watch the wrong things, say the wrong words and trust the wrong things way to easily. How I wish that as that fawn, I had one purpose on my mind. That I would concentrate solely on the ONE lesson in life that makes the difference. And grow as fast in FAITH as a fawn. Maturing to be self-assured, confident and TRUE to the GOD of the universe. May we take a lesson from nature and GROW in the LORD! So that everyone can WITNESS daily our GROWTH.  GOD bless you.

July 4th 2025 Oh how I thank GOD that I was born in the USA. Of all the nations, we are part of this world that has it better than ANY nation. We enjoy the gifts of GOD'S heart and can experience sights that only the ONE TRUE GOD can make. Those who want to shout death to America or believe that socialize would be the cure, should experience their world first hand and see that life, in a nation they envision to be better than what we are born into, is a broken mirror. To complain so bitterly is a marker of how non committed to our GOD our nation has become. Turning these thoughts toward other gods, that cannot see or hear or speak! THANK GOD that many are returning to HIM, acknowledging the HONOR of being placed within a nation so wonderful. We are the LUCKIEST people on earth! We can proudly say, "IN GOD WE TRUST." In GOD alone there is greatness, everything else will pass. May GOD BLESS YOU AND MAY YOU HONOR GOD for the abundance we have received.

July 3 Some days when I'm walking, the end seems so far away and each mile drags. I wonder if I will make it to the end or be found lying in the road. Each time I pass a certain point I thank GOD. Then, suddenly, I realize that I have passed a marker, the steps are easier, the distance becomes smaller. When we are searching GOD'S WORD, sometimes it becomes a labor, but when we keep at it; the chapters fly by. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and soon the journey is over. Keep reading and soon the WORD becomes reality before us. The wonders of GOD are transformed into living pillars of stone that we can see. Each day brings a new challenge to overcome. GOD'S lessons teach how to move forward, even in these days of trials. Be strong, march toward the everlasting and leave behind the story of GOD'S WITNESS. The days of labor are short, when we know ETERNITY is just ahead. GOD bless you.

July 2 Yesterday I noted a bit on the animal instincts and those of humans.  While walking, I thought of the one real difference between the animal kingdom and humans. We as humans have been either blessed or cursed with one thing that no other living thing has, the CHOICE to disobey GOD. No animal can think at a young birth,  "I wonder what this child will turn out to be. For the hand of the LORD is surely upon him in some special way." We can obey or disobey our GOD and develop into GLORIOUS BEINGS or into that which is to be burnt. That choice is ours alone. We were made a little above, other beings. But we CAN be at the lowest level by our OWN doing. May GOD help us choose wisely. GOD bless you.