4 Mile prayers

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   March 13 I am noticing that the puppy is getting more comfortable with its new surroundings.  He plays outside a lot and is not phased very much by what goes on around it, but is curious. He and the cat have even become friends! However, when the other dog barks at something with an alarming voice, the pup will run to me and watch alertly at my feet until the alarm passes.   That action reminds me how we often 'play' around in our earthly yard and when trouble arrives we run to GOD. When there aren't problems, we play, when difficult times arrive, we run to GOD. I wish that the pup would pay more attention to what was happening around it, just as I hope that we are seeing the times we are in. Watching the master and obeying HIS WORD pleases HIM, just as I am when the pup obeys. Be alert to the world around us, be near to the MASTER at all times. Without keeping our eye on the master, it becomes easy to become lost. May GOD be with you, may we each be aware of what is happening around us and KNOW where our Master is.

  March 12 I just was in communication with a dear friend that I met in the mountain's elk hunting. He is recovering from a liver transplant. He reported that it is the hardest recovery that he has gone through and for one that had a backhoe bucket fall on his head, I would say that is allot! But his main concern is wanting to get back to the pulpit and tell GOD'S WORD! There is another dear friend that has 2 granddaughters that are very ill. And 2 cousins that are about to have surgery. How thankful we can be when our lives are healthy and peaceful. We can witness through our discomfort the mighty price that CHRIST paid for us! Our prayers are needed throughout the days we remain on this earth for those in pain and despair but we also can look forward to that GLORIOUS day that ALL pain will be wiped away, for those who believe and our eternal future begins. Until that fast-approaching day, GOD be with you.

 March 11 "And who is the greatest liar? The one who says that JESUS is not CHRIST. Such a person is antichrist, for he does not believe in GOD the FATHER and in HIS SON."  There are many false 'religions' that tell what our 'itching ears' want to hear, because we want to believe in what we want to do! But the answer is within us, the truth is written in our heart. "And how can we be sure that we belong to HIM? By looking within ourselves are we really trying to do what HE wants us to?"  We want to do wrong and can think of many ways to justify our actions but GOD will sort the real from the fake! Be certain that the path you are own is GOD'S and not our own, that test is in the beginning of this message. May GOD'S blessings be with you.

  March 10 The puppy became more interested in another toy than the bone. So, another dog came and ate the bone while the puppy was playing elsewhere. When the puppy returned to chew on the bone, it was gone and its whining and searching were of no value. We can take a lesson from that, if we begin to know GOD and then get side tracked, by other 'toys', it is harder to find our way back, perhaps we would never find HIM again. Our message from the pup is its sorrow to have lost what it once had. And how happy it was when it had that choose of wonders. That hunger will never go away. We cannot leave and expect to return and find what we left to be laying there and then resume where we left off. We will experience a loss. Keep ahold of what FAITH you have, share with others the delicacies of that FAITH. Let it grow and never, never leave it for some other 'toy'. May GOD bless you.

  March 9 When I think that I was saved by the BLOOD of CHRIST, I sometimes feel honored and at others in fear. The judgement is hardly a thing to be taken lightly. Think of Noah's time, only 8 in all civilization were saved! GOD'S judgement is final and we are not judged by a cross around our neck or by what we say it's what we BELIEVE! We are judged by our FAITH and WHO our FAITH is in. Our lives will be opened before us and everything revealed, there is nothing that can be hidden! If it were not for CHRIST'S BLOOD, to cover the blemishes in our lives, we would be guilty and condemned. The balance of life and death is razor sharp. It is turned by only the BLOOD and FAITH and Faith without actions is dead. "If the righteous are barely saved, what chance will the godless have? Without GOD'S WORD we have NO chance, open the WORD and prepare. May GOD bless you.

 March 8 Yesterday at mens breakfast, I heard an old saying that I had forgotten. Even though I had heard it many times in the past, it was brought to light again. As we discussed the devil's temptations, it is not like a picture of a red colored, horned half man with a pitch fork. No, the antics of temptation often come by way of a friendly neighbor lending advise. Satan knows GOD'S WORD and twists it to get us to do wrong and believe wrong. He injects just enough truth to get us to go onto a wayward path. The old saying, "Theres a lot of truth in that", is just how we are deceived! If it's not ALL the truth, then is any of it true? Beware of what our itching ears want to hear and what is GOD'S WORD. "To those who believe that the things of GOD are no more important than any daily task", the wrath of GOD will reveal what is true and what is false. The truth and the way to determine what is truth are written, that we may KNOW what is from GOD or just a half truth. May God bless you.

March 7 As I read from my BIBLE, when there are verses that stand out, I would underline them or circle them. Today as I was reading, I noticed some underlined words that were neat and straight, while others had crooked lines beneath them. One could almost date the year that those lines were drawn by how crooked they now appear. The steady hands have passed unto a more unsteady hand. Praise GOD that those lines still are ledgeable and show meaning! So that I can look back at all my sins and loath myself because of the evil I have done. Then I can honor the name of JESUS CHRIST and GOD the FATHER and the HOLY SPIRIT, for the many blessings, despite my wickedness! That assurance comes from HIS WORD that is available to us all. Take the time to read and make a few underlines for yourself. May GOD'S blessings be upon you.

March 6 We obtained an American Eskimo puppy. And it does all the things that you would expect an 8-week-old puppy to do. Its sharp little teeth are biting anything that gets near it. Like that old Pac man game, he chomps on anything. And just like a child he becomes more terrible the more tired he becomes. So, he has earned the name trouble, but for now I am pronouncing it like French with a line over the e, 'tru bowl a'. Then when he falls asleep on your lap, he becomes an angel and remains that cute cuddly ball of fur until he becomes tired frow playing, then tru-bowl-a arrives! It makes me see that GOD must have his hands full with a world that HE loves but has become so rebellious toward HIS rules and commands. And yet we carry on, rebelling and doing what we know is wrong. We are untrained and disobedient, playing within our sin! Yet HE looks at us as HIS perfect creation. When do WE start to act as we should? And not just trouble toward GOD? May GOD bless you. 

March 5 As the many missiles were televised in the middle east, I remembered the verse, "Then the stars of HEAVEN appeared to be falling to earth," from Revelation. Soon after that verse the destruction of the world begins. Whether you believe the BIBLE or not, these writings are being fulfilled right in front of us! And what does the majority of the world believe? That our financial investments need to be in gold, the everlasting 'standard'! The standard of life will vanish; the gold standard will be long forgotten when the verses from GOD'S WORD become reality! And that is in the upcoming words! If you are waiting for the last minutes to turn to GOD, it is time to start your search in full earnest! Please do not be the last to abandon the worlds sinking ship! From this moment on, we are indeed investing in life or death. May GOD be your choice.

March 3 "What is FAITH? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen." When I read those words this morning, I thought, that sounds like when I go hunting! I expect to see deer each time I go. Because I look for the best spots and scout and study the area for the best opportunity to be successful. With a certainty that what I hope for is going to happen! Those outdoor adventures may not always end in success, but that is due to the fact that I am the one that is trying to control the situation. And, I know that GOD is in control of both today and the future. HE does NOT guess at what may happen or hope that things will go as planned. HE made the plan! "By FAITH, by BELIEVING in GOD, we KNOW that the world and the stars in fact, all things, were made at GOD'S command."  We each have faith in such trifle things here on earth, shouldn't we have so much more faith in our MAKER? With each passing day our confidence in GOD should be growing, until we are certain of HIS love and faithfulness for us, along with the trust of HIS Son's return! May God bless you.

March 2nd I have no idea what you look like. Although your likeness has been gathered from blood-soaked cloth. I may not see the GLORY of your face but I can plainly witness the actions of the fallen one in the world today. Your face is hidden, yet your beauty abounds all around me. I am unable to see your FATHER but HIS work is everywhere! The work of the devil is around each turn, all around is chaos, but YOUR works stand. I may not be able to see your body but I know it was broken for me. In today's world talk is cheap, and filled with lies, but YOUR WORD has stood the test of time and remains true! You care about me, because you have said so. You tell me truth, while the competitor does not and joys in my sorrow. I must keep on patiently doing GOD'S will if I want HIM to do ALL HE has promised. My FAITH, TRUST and OBEDIENCE is required as proof of YOUR existence, and because YOUR WORD is true, I know that YOUR SON has given ALL for ME. Do not let this happy TRUST in the LORD die away, for CHRIST has suffered that I may be saved. Thank you, dear GOD, for opening the door that I may come in. May GOD bless each that reads these words and follows HIS direction.

March 1st As souls are given joy by the LORD, they are also broken! The joys we are given, the many pleasures and triumphs are dashed by the sorrows of what is lost. Those who refuse to listen and be a part of GOD'S GLORY, are delt the hand of HIS fury. HIS WORD tells us of HIS judgement that is pending. Fair and just, exactly what HE has said. We cannot say that we didn't know, because we ALL know. There is no lawyer that will stand against HIS ruling, for there is no higher court. HE shows no further mercy, because the BLOOD of CHRIST was ignored! Our doom would be sealed except for the voice of HIS SON that releases the chosen from the wrath that awaits. How our hearts should hurt for those that pay no attention to GOD'S WORD and choose to follow the ever-widening paths of this world. Awaken to the trail that leads to GOD, the one 'that is less trodden', and SEEK the LORD. May you be certain of the pathway that you take, only one leads to paradise. GOD bless you.

February 28 "For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS only begotten SON, that who so ever believes in HIM should not perish, but have everlasting life." We have become too complacent in the affairs of the world GOD so loved! The news covers for weeks a few hundred that destroy and harass, yet gives a 1-minute clip of over 250,000 peaceful prolife marchers, because there is no story in it!  If a field receives rain and only produces thistles and thorns it is burned off! Our world is producing nothing of value to GOD. Even the Christians talk but seldom act! GOD wants to save us. And just as HIS SON had to learn from experience what pain resulted from obeying, we think that HEAVEN is a free ride. " Today when you hear GOD'S voice speaking to you, do not harden your heart."  Do what HE asks. The containers that were made for holding garbage surround us daily. Our actions and words are the only vision of HEAVEN that they will witness, their only hope is us to reveal CHRIST to them! Can we deliver GOD'S message as CHRIST would? May GOD bless YOU as we watch this world turning away from the MAKER, may your face shine with the POWER of GOD.

February 27 TIME! Time is no longer on our side. The time of disobedience has appeared. A time of rebellion against both GOD and man has taken over. Trouble makers and mocking have taken over. People have become hard headed, proud and boastful. Time is nearer to its end than ever before! We watch as the 'stars fall from the sky's in the form of missiles and drones and forget that GOD'S WORD uses that as a warning of the 'end times'. "Today if you hear GOD'S voice speaking to you, do not harden your heart," for HE wants to save you! CHRIST, GOD'S faithful son, is in charge of everything in GOD'S house and we must be a part of that house. Time is short, but it is not too late to become a part of the HOUSE of GOD. May the blessings of our LORD JESUS CHRIST be on your spirit while there is still time.

February 26 I must have been born at the wrong point in time. At the end of the age of a handshake and the beginning of the age of no contact. It seems that when any problem comes up the company that I'm dealing with wants me to use my phone to fix the problem. Who would ever have thought that we could take a picture and send it to someone while we are talking! Or that changing our phone number would cause a fraudulent investigation! I keep telling them that I am 76 and have a flip phone, it's impossible for me to do what they want! But they don't understand and neither do I. Gone are the days it seems that we just talk and fix the problem. Too many have cheated the system I suppose. Thank GOD we do NOT have to use the electronic devises to talk to GOD!  We can just tell HIM our troubles and understand HIS language. He tells us exactly what to do and IF we do as instructed, we are taken care of. Although those days are over in this electronic age, it is good to know that GOD remains the same, an understands our needs. GOD bless you.

February 25 As I begin to form a new batch of Amish kids into a new year of teaching and learning to hunt. I am surprised to have several Amish girls want to hunt as well. They both have gone with their brothers at least once. And both experienced the cold of late muzzleloader season. So, I was surprised that they wanted to do the hunting scene themselves! It was almost funny to see them with orange on walking through the wood's in dresses, but it does not detour them at all. It's funny that we see barriers that do not even exist and make a mountain out of a mole hill. But GOD has never failed to accept anyone that come to HIM in repentance. Looking for HIM and willing to allow CHRIST'S BLOOD to cover their sins. We can all feel free to seek the LORD and HE will accept them all. As I am looking forward to a new year of willing youth to learn something new, GOD accepts those who are excited to come to HIM. We all have the opportunity to come to GOD, we all can learn, we all can teach. May GOD bless you.

February 24 I have a friend that has been hospitalized for over 8 months and his recovery looks bleak with each visit. We enjoy a shave and playing with each other with jokes. He sticks his tongue out at me and I play hurt. We arm wrestle and he is always too much for me. We hug in a way that is truly warm. When I go home, there is such a feeling that overcomes me. Shouldn't we all be visiting our 'friends' who are sick? The gratefulness of GOD'S love has really been present. What a life he has bestowed. All of which HE has known from before we were gathered together from an egg! Yet so many disregard GOD and HIS mighty works. Sickness and sorrow will plague this world until all judgement is complete, the chaff separated from the grain. We cannot understand GOD'S reason why. But we can look at all of what others have, both good and bad, and be eternally grateful for what we have been given. GOD deals out both joy and sorrow. To those that believe, even the sorrow can be a joy. May you each visit those friends who are ill, make a friend smile and be blessed by GOD.

 February 23 I remember the old fly traps that hung in the milk house many years ago. They were sticky on both sides and if a fly or other insect would land on them, they would become stuck. No amount of struggling would get them released, in fact would only cause more entanglement with the sticky surface. As we go through life, we may see places that we would like to land. They may be appealing or just convenient and nearby. But once we are there, we become entangled in its trap. There is only one way out of its gripping power. CHRIST came to deliver us, to show us a road that is clear of traps and sorrow. All we have to do is TRUST HIM, BELIEVE HIM and GLORIFY HIM. The traps remain around us, but we will not want to go to them. Satan's old traps have captured many, but when we are aware of the danger, CHRIST will guide us away from that death. Let HIM keep you away from certain death. GOD bless you.

February 22 When I read through the books named Timothy,  it stirs me because it often shows my true FAITH. The pages tell how we are to act and how to be better at FAITH in CHRIST. We are told how the world will react to GOD'S WORD and how people will be toward the 'end times'. Each time I read through those pages I am more convinced that the days we are living in are the days of those words. Each year brings us into closer alignment with the WORD of GOD. Some do not see it while others can witness the battles all around that show the evidence written upon those pages. Take a few moments to read those short Books and then reread them 3 months later. You can then witness the decline of the world around us and I pray that with that knowledge; you will turn your heart more toward GOD. We each have within us a choice to make, we can say that things are the same or see that those words have been written for us, to show the way. GOD be with you.

 February 21 CHRIST JESUS came into the world to save sinners and we have all sinned. GOD had mercy on us, so that CHRIST could use us as examples, to show everyone how patient HE is with even the worst of us, so that others will realize that they too can have everlasting life. Some have disobeyed their conscience and deliberately done what they know is wrong. It isn't surprising that they soon lost any faith in CHRIST. But GOD is on one side and all people are on the other and CHRIST is between, trying to bring us together,  by giving HIS life for us all. So, when arguments stir up that can harm instead of helping people accept GOD'S plan of faith, we need to be doubly sure that we are not harming any of GOD'S children. For we each have strengths and weaknesses that should confide with CHRIST and left silent to man. May GOD bless each of us with HIS spirit of love and faith. 

February 20 There have been some really close basketball games lately, both men's and women's teams are having the madness of March in their minds. Teams are working hard to make themselves ready for the competition ahead. They are training to be ready, following the basics and running the plays over and over so that they are second nature. We fail all too often to prepare for the challenges ahead of ourselves. We sit back and expect someone else to do the part that we are assigned to do. The whole concept of team work has been forgotten!  We say or think, let the pastor do it,  that's his job! We have forgotten that GOD has drafted us to fill that position and if we do not perform, we will be benched!  We are all part of a team and we are playing on the team of our choice, either GOD'S or satan's. Our performance will determine who will win. Look at the score board, it is leaning away from GOD. We need to be at practice more often, as the 'game' has already begun and we are each an intricate part of the team. May GOD bless you.

February 19 As I was getting food from the freezer, I saw our humming bird feeders on the shelve above. How is it, I wondered, that birds know when to fly south or north?  "The stork knows the time of migration, as do the dove, crane and swallow. They return at GOD'S appointed time each year."  But mankind seems to fight against and does not accept GOD'S laws. We are always fighting to have shelter, working to have food and wanting for water.  While we are but animals, created just as the birds and animals, from dust, why have we not followed GOD and been so beautifully dressed and blessed? It must be our 'superior wisdom' that has brought us to the heights of having to suffer to survive! From the time of Adams sin we have separated ourselves from GOD in an endless battle to live as we want to. How different it would be to just trust GOD as All Nature does, but they are not who is in sin, they do not need forgiveness! Become closer to the Creator. GOD bless you.

February 18 We speak into existence so many things, things that we have forgotten to pay attention. We may say that we are going to do this or that and we do it. We may say that there is no way and then a way never appears! A man tells a cancer victim that the cancer will go away and when it does, we acclaim the medical procedures. What we say becomes reality and too often we never see it or thank GOD for the outcome. Put it to the test. When you're having a bad day, thank GOD that it will be better and watch what happens. "Our daily lives should not embarrass GOD, but bring JOY to HIM who invited us into HIS KINGDOM to share HIS GLORY."  Let GOD'S GLORY be on our lips, HIS song in our hearts, HIS TRUTH in our minds. Our very salvation must be spread by our voices. The power of our mouth is too often forgotten. GOD bless you.

February 17 Years ago, I wrote a note to the employees of SVC that said. Shawn Benge thinks I am crazy! The reason for that statement was that we had been working on a machine for hours and when it was repaired, I began to thank GOD. It is a longer story as we had removed the hydraulic pump many times before the wisdom of GOD became clear. But in that moment, the verse became clear that says. "In whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the LORD JESUS and come with HIM into the presence of GOD the FATHER to give HIM your thanks."  Shouldn't we be doing that every day? Shouldn't our heart ring with thanks and song, just as we breathe?  It remains our choice to praise or curse the name of our creator. Choose wisely, eternity is in the balance of our thoughts. GOD bless you.

 February 16 Nothing new under the sun, we have all heard that saying. As I look back, I can see the value in that old saying. To many times we pass over what can heal or make us stronger, encourage our faith or help us encourage others. We lose any thought of history's value because it hasn't happened for a long time or perhaps only once before in history. Like the king that was going to die and no doctor could heal his ailment. Yet GOD reveals through HIS prophet that a salve made of figs, when applied to the kings' boils, cured him. Today we would never think of such a thing. We are often too reliant on medical knowledge and forget to rely on GOD. This one act in history was not to be forgotten, as we can each gather knowledge from the past to help us today and into the future. How crazy we may say, yet we never know unless we try and with trials, we use FAITH! There is nothing new under the sun?   GOD bless you.

February 15 Have you ever been on a hike in the mountains and taken a trail that leads to a place that you don't know where you are?  You're not exactly lost, but you're not where you thought you would be either. Then as you look around it becomes clearer that it is a place that you don't want to be and as it becomes dark, you just want to get back where you are safe. Our lives follow that same pattern. "We are the ones who strayed away like sheep! We who left GOD'S paths to follow our own."  Once we feel that discomfort of being lost, we are happy to return to the trail that leads back to camp. Work toward the day when we will finally be all that CHRIST saved us for and wants us to be. Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lays ahead. May GOD bless the paths that you take, leaving behind a trail of goodness, love and a faith that conquers all darkness. GOD bless you.

  February 14 An officer in the military is commissioned to do whatever the orders are given to him. He is to do those orders to the best of their ability. As the Marines would say, 'ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do or die.' The LORD, REDEEMER, the MIGHTY ONE has commissioned each of us with a duty to tell others of HIS wonderful plan of SALVATION. Yet, some disregard the order. Some twist the WORD to mean what it is not. Some disregard the order as if it were never given at all. Those who have become traitors will be punished with the fullest extent of the law. Doesn't it also seen right that those disregarding GOD'S command will also be punished? Are you a faithful warrior or have you become a traitor? We are blessed with a commanding officer that forgives those who come and seek forgiveness. However, once we have been found guilty there is no suspended sentence! Follow the commands of the KING,  for HE alone is in command of both heaven and earth. GOD bless you.