GOT PUMPKIN?

Candy, Candy, Candy.

That is all the kiddies are thinking about this weekend. Candy and more candy. Halloween is approaching and the kiddies are excited. Well, I enjoy candy too.

I prefer to focus more on a harvest theme than halloween. Somewhere in all the ghosts and witches and skeletons, I lose it.

Angels are better than witches any day. I would rather focus on the goodness of the Lord than celebrate evil spirits and bad thinking.

So, my vote goes for a higher view, a holier outlook, a more positive take.

Witches and evils spirits are real so I would rather not give them any place. Years ago I will admit that we put too much time into the halloween scene, but not today.

Harvest-time fits me better. What about these pictures?

Neat

The carved pumpkin was done by Jerry Callison. He brought it to our harvest festival at our church, and you know who is in the other picture.

She is a beauty! I am so blessed.

CLOSE TO THE END

Here is a comment made by my daughter, Jennifer, from my blog from yesterday. I thought her words were telling, particularly coming from the younger generation.

Jennifer wrote:

It's very scary to see where our society is headed. I don't understand what this generation is thinking, without morals that come from God our society will break down. If everyone gets to make up their own morals then who gets to draw the line in the end? Who is to stop the pedophile? Don't people see where this is headed?? Sadly I only think it's going to get much worse. I believe we are witnessing the beginning of the fall of The United States. It's freaky that we are possibly witnessing the last days!

Another thing that keeps startling me is how what used to be wrong is now right and what was right is now wrong. In fact just having the opinion that homosexuality is wrong is dangerous and labels you as being wrong, unfair and the taker of others civil rights! It's going to be getting even scarier! Now is the time to be hiding God's word in our hearts before they take away our right to have a Bible! Some people won't think that's possible but I believe it's coming and it's going to happen sooner than we think!

***

Milton here again:

Society has always made moral choices. Actually they have to be made for the well being of mankind. It is a total fallacy to say that no one has the "right" to make moral judgements. To make no moral judgment is to make a moral judgement.

So here is the bottom line. Judgements and moral decisions are going to be made. The question is who is going to make the moral judgements and what morality will they chose? Someone's morals will prevail. It is just a matter of whose.

I choose to follow the Judeo/Christian model. It works. It is true. It brings blessings!

Imagine driving in a city with no red lights where everyone drives at breakneck speed giving no thought to intersections. One could only guess how many wrecks and deaths would occur.

Today's society wants no red lights, but that is suicide and will not work.

Yes, Jennifer, Jesus is coming. We are close to the end.

FOUNDATIONS OF TRUTH

Our world is turning morality upside down. The truth of generations past is being forgotten. It is implausible.

If we cannot take The Word of God at face value, can we at least accept how generations past have lived? Has all mankind been wrong and this generation all of a sudden become the enlightened generation of all generations?

Is marriage, as all past generations defined it, truly between a man and a woman? Or has this generation discovered truth missed by centuries of life?

Morality has always been dumbed-down. People have always wanted to sin, so regrettably to their own hurt. But todays' generation seem to think they are smarter. They think they are the enlightened ones. No one knows better than they know.

I don't think so. Time has a way of sifting truth out. God's Word hasn't changed. Mankind hasn't been wrong. Centuries of foundational truth lived out are higher than these "so called" enlightened ones.

When will we learn?

CONSISTENCY

Life without consistency can become tragic. When there is not consistency in how we live, act, and behave, then things begin to fall apart.

Leave flour out of a cake recipe and see what happens. You won't have much of a cake. Leave honor out of our marriage vows, and you won't have much of a marriage. If we fail to walk with integrity, then respect becomes tarnished.

On and off again functioning just doesn't get it done. A car that cranks and then won't crank cannot be depended upon. It loses its dependability. You just don't know if you can trust it to take you on a long trip or to work or even to the grocery store. It is not dependable. It is inconsistent.

Great relationships are made when you know you can totally trust the consistency of the both parties' lives. That is a winning combination.

By the way, that is God's way.

I once heard that the single greatest requirement for effective preaching is that people must believe that the preacher believes what he is preaching. That believability is determined first by the consistency of what the preacher lives. If the people see it in the life of the preacher, then they will believe that preacher truly believes what he is preaching.

It goes back to the consistency issue. It seems to me that we need a revival of consistency about as much as anything thing else.

Solomon put it this way. He wrote:

Proverbs 25:19

Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble Is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.

How about praying today that God will help you be more consistent. That is my prayer today.

HOW LONG?

Faith cannot be separated from patience. Faith often finds release and answer immediately and that is wonderful.

But what if you had to wait 24 years for your answer to come? Would that still be faith? Or what if you didn't see what God had promised turn into reality for 400 years? Would that be faith too? Abraham and Noah knew that faith required patience. Some in the Bible waited even longer.

Hebrews clearly notes that it is through both faith and patience that we inherit the promises.

"..but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised."

The writers notes that we should be"

1. Diligent

2. Not sluggish

3. Imitate

That makes for a good formula. How long before the answer comes you have been seeking from God? Be diligent. Don't be sluggish. Imitate those who have inherited. The answer will come in His perfect time.

Have faith and be patience. You will inherit.

CONNECTING

Meeting new people and making new friends adds to life. This should be a daily venture for all of us, especially for Christians. Christ in us reaches out toward others. Usually, all it takes is a smile and a brief kind gesture. Most people respond.

Last week I connected with numerous new people and made new friendships. I have found that motorcycling is one of the easiest ways to connect with people. They don't know that I am a preacher. They just don't expect preachers to ride. It removes their preconceived notions.

I have had people pull up next to me at a red light, or store, or restaurant and start up conversations over Big Red. They each have a comment or question to offer. Many times I have used this conversation starter to get a word in about the Lord.

People need to know the Lord. They need to know God is love and that He sent His son to die for us. They need to know that they can spend eternity in heaven.

May God help us to connect and graciously share His love.

458 MILES ON BIG RED

Thursday I left Switzerland, NC, headed toward home. I have spent this week riding the mountains in NC, with several guys from Jax and Alabama. It was a man trip while Wanda was with her sisters and Mom on a ladies trip.

Traveling with the guys makes for all kinds of manly stories, you know just like the girls but opposite. Guys are ok, but don't come close to riding with Wanda. Sorry guys, that is just the way it is. We did have a super time stopping here and there, looking at Parkway views, sipping coffee, and tailgating from the back of Big Red. We actually stopped at a couple of antique shops and a furniture outlet. One of the guys was a girly man.

We had a christian gang going there. We prayed before every ride for safety and for our families back home, and we all gave thanks for a safe ride.

I saw turkeys, deer, and dead animals all up close. The turkey flew right over my head, and the deer were thirty yards or so in front of us crossing the Blue Ridge. Believe me, they get the right-of-way.

When we left Switzerland, our intent was to stop in Columbia, SC, overnight, but we arrived there sooner than we anticipated and just kept riding, and riding, and riding. We finally stopped here in Jax.

That makes for about 458 miles in one day on Big Red. There were numerous stops along the way, but we were ready to get home. So home we headed.

The Autumn leaves were just glorious. The beauty of God's creation is beyond words. That what makes riding in the open so enjoyable. You are just out there in all of it.

Oh, one final thought. Thank God for a safe trip with only one issue, a dead battery on Big Red. That was minor and replaced quickly. I can't wait for the next trip. Life is good.

The pic above was taken in Switzerland, NC, at the inn we stayed.

Wow!

What color! What fun!

And God made it all!