An old prospector shuffled into the town of EIidio, Texas leading an old tired mule. The old man headed straight for the only saloon in town, to clear his parched throat. He walked up to the saloon and tied his old mule to the hitch rail. As he stood there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.

The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, "Hey old man, have you ever danced?" The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, "No, I never did dance... never really wanted to."

A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well, you old fool, you're gonna' dance now," and started shooting at the old man's feet. The old prospector, not wanting to get a toe blown off, started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet. Everybody was laughing, fit to be tied.

When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon. The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, and cocked both hammers. The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air.

The crowd stopped laughing immediately. The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly. The silence was almost deafening. The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels.

The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man's hands, as he quietly said, "Son, have you ever kissed a mule's ass?"

The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No sir...... but... I've always wanted to."

There are two lessons for us all here:
Don't waste ammunition.
Don't mess with old people.

willfull warfare

Does "spiritual warfare" exist?  I think anyone who has given himself over to the leading of the Holy Spirit knows that it does and is conscious on some level of the daily need to be watchful for those moments that trip us up and result in the chaos of our lives.

Can we blame "spiritual warfare" for all the negative impacts on our lives?   Not all, certainly some, but there is one point we must take responsibility for.

We must, in most cases, allow ourselves to be swayed, lead, moved to acts of personal destruction.  We must take responsibility for being sideswiped.

It is on me to say alert, to be watchful, to continue the righteous walk.

With all the serious issues at hand in this country, people are seriously discussing the 2016 presidential campaign?  Really? 

It's time to stop playing, "What if ...?", and get serious about making some decisions affecting our nation NOW!

The one sided commentary and bias pretending to be factual news reports from ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX and NBC "news" is disturbing.

God is listening

Millions of Americans, on a regular, daily (hourly?), consistent basis, proclaim, "God Damn!".  American television, movies, music, radio, and all forms of entertainment use His Holy Name as an expression of disgust, of anger, and of condemnation.  "God Damn" is only followed by "Jesus Christ" and the "F" word as "acceptable" cursing for our eager ears.

Might He be answering America's "prayers"?

Exo 15:3  The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.
Exo 15:4  Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.
Exo 15:5  The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.
Exo 15:6  Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
Exo 15:7  And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.

Exo_20:7  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Lev_18:21  And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

Lev_19:12  And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

But those who call on Him for salvation, shall not fear, but ready for the next life, His glorious return and a new life on a new earth.

Mal_3:16  Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. 

Rev 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Rev 21:5  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Rev 21:7  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Psa_72:19  And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.

Psa_113:2  Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.

gingrich: "do the right thing"

Gingrich to GOP: Stop negotiating on fiscal cliff

Greta Van Susteren interviews Newt Gingrich on the looming "fiscal cliff".

fiscal cliff or crepe

Lemme see if I understand this  "Fiscal Cliff" correctly.

 If The BAD GOP does not give the GOOD DEMOCRATS every and all concessions regarding raising taxes, and agree to NO TAX CUTS on anyone or for any program, then our economy goes over the cliff and we be in REAL fiscal "trouble".   Right?  But isn't this the same thing we've been facing for the last four years?

What about the non-tax paying screaming illegal gay alien wall street squatters that are homeless, jobless and clueless? Why do they get no attention now? Isn't Mr President gonna help them or is he gonna let the unions handle them?

The Real mystery in this go round is, of course, whether one man or woman in Washington, of any party, can or will do the right thing at any time; "right" being defined as good for the American people as a whole and putting ZERO dollars in any politicians pocket.

what's your glimpse?

Randy Alcorn, in his book, "Heaven", states, "The best of life on earth is a glimpse of heaven; the worst of life is a glimpse of hell.  For Christians, this present life is the closet they will come to hell For unbelievers, it is the closest they will come to heaven.  The reality of the choice that lies before us in this life is both wonderful and awful."

Alcorn leads us into a wonderful journey, searching for Biblical truth and enlightenment on the realities and expectations of our future home.

Is my mind set on my future home?  Is yours?

Randy Alcorn leads us on the journey in "Heaven".

the not so humorous side of religion

Merriam Webster defines religion as "a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices", and " a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith". 
  
By these definitions, I would qualify that I am a religious person, as should anyone with any type of belief structure, be it faith based, political, regional, organizational, etc..I think, however, when someone probes my character with the "religious" question they are more looking for my faith based structure.

I maintain a relationship with The Lord Jesus, but I don't consider myself part of a religious faction or of  the trappings of formality. I believe that The Bible is God's Word to humanity, both to me and to you.  Whether or not each of us follows the instructions remains a personal choice.  When we follow along with a group of others, to also adhere to a formatted list of additional rules, proceedings, tenants and coordinated agreements, we step into my definition of religion.

Merriam-Webster defines "Christian" as "one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ".  I fall into that defined category, so, for me, let's leave it there.

According to Mary Fairchild, About.com Guide , "Today in the U.S., about 79.5% of adults (247 million) identify themselves as Christian."  She also notes, "Of the approximate 2 billion Christians in the world today, 279 million (12.8% of the world's Christian population) identify themselves, as Pentecostals, 304 million (14%) are Charismatics, and 285 million (13.1%) are Evangelicals, or Bible believing Christians.".


Clearly, if we are all reading the same book, one has to wonder why there are so many differing views on the contents.  We can not logically blame the Writer, though millions of "non-believers" would argue this point, so we are left with "religion".

The precipitate of this train of thought  was the following article brought to us by our liberally canted but always thought provoking guardians of the news at CNN: "Birthplace of Christ" to be first Palestinian World Heritage site?.

I was bemused by several of the passages and the (possibly unintended, though I think not) portrayal of the fallacies of organized "religion" combined with regional politics and tourism.

"Bethlehem, situated in the West Bank, about eight kilometers south of Jerusalem, is considered the Palestinian Territories' top visitor destination partly due to the religious significance of the church."

"She said the center considered Bethlehem's inclusion on the list "as a Palestinian dream, and as a reward of 11 years of work in the field of preserving the cultural and natural heritage in Palestine."


"Visitor numbers have hit record highs in recent years, but, according to a report into developing tourism in the town, Bethlehem has yet to properly capitalize on its potential. The majority of the visitors were day trippers on short visits, meaning the full economic benefits of tourism did not flow into the town."

So, while the Palestinians want to kill all the people of Israel, they also want to make sure they get their fair share of tourism dollars associated with the "Christian" shrine.

The local "Christians" looked even worse, "The condition of the church, which has suffered extensive earthquake damage in its history, has been of concern. One of the issues is that responsibility for its administration is shared between three religious authorities -- the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic churches. On occasion, tensions between the groups have spilled over into violence; in December, about 100 Greek Orthodox and Armenian clerics fought with brooms when a tussle broke out while cleaning the church."

Yup, It's a "Holy Place", according to the tour guides, but watch out for jihadists and infighting among the caretakers!

Money.  Prestige.  Power.  A strong Travelocity rating. Oh, how that "Little Town of Bethlehem" has grown.

I'll continue to follow the teachings of Jesus, because that is what I believe God wants me to do, as outlined in His instruction manual, The Holy Bible.  I'll go to church and fellowship with like-minded believers, as also outlined in the book; and I'll do the best I can to be a good neighbor to mankind.

But I'll shy away from swinging brooms and selling souveniers to "the place where Jesus slept".

growing the body

Greg Laurie shares a few thoughts on church growth.

"I would suggest that one reason they don’t work is because they tend to approach church as if it were a business. For example, some church growth experts are telling pastors their “customers” no longer attend to commune with God, but to “consume” a personal or family service. In a recent survey of 1,000 church attenders, respondents were asked, “Why does the church exist?” According to 89 percent, the church’s purpose was “to take care of my family’s and my spiritual needs.” Only 11 percent said the purpose of the church is “to win the world for Jesus Christ.”"

"A careful reading of Acts 2:42-47 shows that the early church didn’t make bigger and better their business. Instead, they focused on five priorities: worship, prayer, evangelism, learning, and loving. The passage ends with the words, “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved”(KJV). The first church didn’t have a problem with growth because God took care of the growth as they took care of honoring His principles"

Read the  entire article on Greg's Blog