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Autumn leaves in the breeze as pretty as you please.

As the earth prepares for this cold and our bones remind us that we’re getting old,

We should be grateful to see it, thankful to meet it and hopeful of what it will bring.

There is something special about this season, there is more than just one reason.

We’re faced with what we have done with the time.

Whether our failures outweigh our successes or not, we are faced with reality albeit it cold or hot.

In the fall we take responsibility for these things.

For reflection is the view of the day, as we’re planning to be in a better position anyway.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s never all of your fault.

We’re all a work in progress, but I must confess this truth:

To be in a situation you don’t like is a mental health offense. Your reasoning benefits someone else.

One of the greatest uses of Autumn is the timing. It’s time to leave unproductive things and people behind. We use the Winter to recover and focus on what’s ahead. By Spring we’re doing a new thing and the Summer is full of nothing but fun!

It is only then that we can meaningfully say, “Autumn leaves in the breeze as pretty as you please.”

We can learn a lot about our country by the things that are “trending” in social media. You know, the things that hit facebook, twitter or youtube that get the greatest number of likes or dislikes. The most recent of these was really disturbing to me in many ways.

Now, I try not to be judgmental as I know that we all enjoy the freedoms of our country and this is part of the American way to exercise freedoms. The youtube video that I have posted in this blog was very disturbing to me. A 25-year-old female was belligerent on a city bus in Cleveland, OH. Her aggression was toward the bus driver and in an interview with a local station in Cleveland, she reported that the driver insulted her because he was treating her like she couldn’t afford the fare for the bus. The video shows the two of them going back and forth hurling insults at each other until there is a dare. Although it can’t be made out too clear on the video, the idea of spitting was introduced and the female apparently did it.

The 59-year-old bus driver who had been driving the bus for more than 22 years stopped the bus, approached the female and gave her a nasty uppercut to the face. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0gLEsjE8Ao&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Worse than this video in my opinion was the likes and dislikes tally and the comments. People made fun of this scenario and felt that she deserved what she got. I looked at this and instantly thought about her father. I wondered if she had a father active in her life and how he would respond or feel about watching this. As a father, to say it bothered me is a huge understatement.

For the life of me I cannot think of a single reason why a man would ever need to physically abuse another person. It makes me wonder what level of hate do you have to reach to make it “ok” to display this type of violence. I felt sorry for this man because his environment and nurturing produced this product of a man. This man has no regard for mankind, his job or any authority. I say this because he had no mercy on this woman. This woman could have been my mom, sister, wife or daughter. Or yours. He definitely had no regard for his job because I’m not sure that any amount of years of service makes it “ok” to punch out a customer. And finally, regard for authority was missing because he does live in the civilized world and battery is still a crime. It would be hard to believe that this man felt threatened by this woman.

I wonder if he has any regard for Jesus? I keep emphasizing the man because I’m a man and I am thankful that I don’t know this level of anger.

The woman was wrong. I feel bad that she is clearly missing a few life lessons that could have been applied in this case which may have avoided this altercation all together. She either forgot it or never received it and had to suffer the consequences. Smh.

There are many benefits to being a child of God, but I have to tell you about my personal favorite.

When you live in a world where it is more common for things to be unfair than fair, conditional rather than unconditional, and untruthful rather than truthful, it is refreshing to know that God has flipped the script for his children. Satan schemes and plots against us desiring to see us fall. We see this great battle being fought between God and Satan and we have become collateral damage.

You see, there is a reason for Paul’s statement in Romans chapter 8. You know, “All things work together for good ….?” Yeah, I knew you knew that one! There is a reason why God’s will is always accomplished. No matter what weapons are formed, no matter what lies are told, no matter how much power there is, God always has the final say.

Why, you ask? Great question!

In the Gospel according to John, Jesus says this to his desciples: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” You want to know why all things work together for good? Here’s why: Jesus says that in him we MIGHT have peace. That’s because it depends on how much we are willing to trust him. Then he gaurantees that we are going to have trouble in this world. There are some people who still don’t get this idea because by now we all should be expecting trouble. These people become devastated at the very sign of trouble and are normally not leading productive lives because they didn’t trust in God. The last thing he says is the greatest and that was for us not to worry about the tribulations we will face as a result of living in the world because he has overcome the world! Did you get it? Let me break this down just a little bit more for you.

A preaching friend of mine explained it this way: He told the story about a looney tunes cartoon. The Road Runner and Coyote. He talked about how the Road Runner was not the smartest of birds yet always seemed to escape whatever scheme the Coyote had for him. The Coyote considered himself a super genius and would come up with all these elaborate plots to catch the bird, but they all failed. One particular time the Coyote had the Road Runner surrounded on a mountain top with dynamite all around. There was absolutely no escape — or so it seemed. When the Coyote blew up the mountain and the smoked cleared, the Road Runner was suspended in mid-air defing the laws of gravity still standing on a little piece of that mountain.

The point is clear: No matter what Satan plans to do to you in this world, Jesus has already overcome it which means that anyone in Christ has overcome it as well. The Road Runner had a deal with the writer of the show. The deal was whatever predicament the Road Runner found himself in, the writer would get him out of it. If God has lead you to it, then he will lead you through it.

This does not account for the negative experiences and pains we put ourselves through. These are the trials and tribulations that James 1:2 talks about counting them all joy. These are the same trials that God allows to make you stronger. These are the very same trials that 1 Peter 2 says are “thankworthy to God” if we end up suffering for having a conscious toward God.

My friends, this is all about the relationship you have with God. Selah.

There is so much confusion about what the bible says. Part of the problem is in how we interpret it. It seems that too much subjectivity has entered into the understanding of scripture.

I want to attempt to make this process easier. I want to take the mystery out of bible study. God has never been the author of confusion, but yet we have had people blame God for the confusion.

In a culture where everything is done for profit and power, we would be foolish to believe that these factors are not present in churches. The basic thing we need to understand is how universal the teachings really are and how simple it is to understand.

So let’s look at the basics:

1)      God’s affection for the world was so great that he sent his son to die for them (John 3:16).

2)      God created us in his image and likeness and wanted us to operate based on the intellect he gave us (Gen. 1:26, 27). So based on intellect we would discern or understand all things.

3)      Just as we were born into mankind through the joining of a man and a woman together, so we must be born into the spiritual family by the water and the spirit (John 3:1-7). This is no more a symbol than your natural birth into your physical family. God actually wants everyone to be born again. (See the book of Acts to see the consistency of water baptism together with the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ).

4)      Jesus spent time on this earth to demonstrate to us how to live a lifestyle that honored our Father in Heaven. So we read about Jesus yielding himself in obedience to the Father in heaven (Philippians 2:1-11). We see Jesus changing lives by loving, helping encouraging and sacrificing for mankind.  We who belong to him must follow in his footsteps as he declared: “By this will all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another” (John 13:35).

The bible is perfect and pure and not at all confusing. If this is the only thing you knew and you practiced it faithfully with everyone you came in contact with, you would have a crown of righteousness that awaits you. This issue today is not about what your parents or grandparents did, or what is done where you are, this is about what the bible teaches and how you respond.

In love, I am inviting anyone who is interested in really understanding Christianity not as a system of religion, but as a way of life, I would love to study with you. I’ve always wanted to have a virtual bible class. If you are so inclined and are hungry for the truth then you reading this blog today was not an accident. I am here for you!

Dan Gilbert: The surprising science of happiness #TED : http://on.ted.com/i8rt

Darkness coming to enlightenment that’s permanent and true;

The day my soul was lifted up by a man I never knew.

He walked this earth many years ago and turned it upside down;

I never could have saved myself, I was lost and now I’m found.

How could someone dare to die for another man?

How could someone be deemed so worthy?

That’s when I realized it had nothing to do with me.

Could someone be so righteous and holy? Really? How could this be?

This level of love makes no earthly sense;

I cannot comprehend it.

It stimulates me very spiritually;

The logic I can’t go against it.

This new enlightenment I know has changed my life forever;

This new bright light, that I cannot fight I must now begin to reflect it.

So what you see in me is not me at all; Its the enlightenment within me.

When I forgive, when I love it’s all done the same; unconditionally in fact.

For all these virtues I choose to do to restore a life intact.

I’ll be thankful forever for the life I got; no matter what happens in life.

I’m  forever overjoyed and excited now for the love of my new boss;

I’ll live my life from this moment on in the shadow of the cross!

I was reading the book of Jude the other day and the last two verses really captured my attention. Verses 24 and 25 says, “24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”

Jude ends this marvelous letter by giving salutations and sharing the Gospel of Christ. Jesus Christ is the one who “is able to keep us from falling”. It’s interesting how sufficient he is! First Peter 2:24 says, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

In addition to having the ability to keep us from falling, there is a honor bestowed on us. You see we, in our sins, are alienated from God. A relationship in Christ restores us by way of a New Covenant which is sealed in his blood. This is how he presents us “faultless before the presence of his glory (or his head –God) with exceeding joy.” Christ brings us back to God and gives us a relationship with him like no other. Because of Christ we now know God as our Father and he deals with us as his children.

Every now and then there is a need to share the good news concerning the Gospel of the only wise God our savior. By his divine power he has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who has called us to glory and virtue. He gives us access to the divine nature where we have escaped the corruption of the world through lust.

There are so many ways to given by man to come to Christ. Martin Luther gave a way; John Calvin gave a way; John Wesley gave a way; John Smyth gave a way; Charles Russell gave a way; and even Mary Eddy Bakker gave a way. All of their ways are different and all of them give you another name in addition to Christian – (i.e. Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Jehovah Witnesses).

If the Queen of England told you she wanted to give you something and asked you to go get her chest of fine clothing and her chest of diamonds, which would you go and get? I hope you said both. You see, we understand that because she used the word “AND” you would grab both because the conjunctions ties together to independent things making them equal. You would never think to grab one and not the other. The word “OR” may make you do that, but not “AND”.

With that said:

“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:16).

“The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:” (1 Pet. 3:21).

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:” (Romans 6:3-5).

Just saying…