Scripture
I am not ashamed of it, for I know the One in whom I trust, and I am sure that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until the day of his return.
~2 Timothy 1:12, NLT
Quote
Our spiritual life is a matter not of experience, but of faith. No one knows the fact that he lives spiritually but he believes and hopes this.
~Martin Luther {Commentary: Romans p.87}
God’s way of relating to humans is by faith. The scripture is very clear on this matter–It is impossible to relate to Him otherwise. First of all, He is invisible. This is what astounded the pagans when they encountered a real Jew. The Babylonians taunted the Jews–“Where is your God?” The pagans could see their gods; they could carry them in a bag or sit them on a mantle in plain view for all to see. The Jews spoke of a God no man could see. The answer they gave the pagans that I like best is, “Our God is in heaven and He does what He pleases.” This blew the pagans minds, who on earth would worship a god you cannot see? The pagans believed in gods they created, the Hebrews believed in the God who created them; There is an infinite difference. The fact that God is invisible makes empirical knowledge impossible but it does not make Him less real, not to those who believe.
I have struggled with doubt most of my life. Sometimes I think I am a direct descendant of Thomas. That said, there are things I do not doubt. I know for a fact that I am a sinner, totally depraved and that I live in a sin cursed world that is anti-Christ. I know for sure that I take refuge in Christ. He is my only hope of salvation. I know for a fact that God is holy and merciful: if He was other, we wouldn’t be here. I know that I fear God. I respect His word and His power. I know that I want to please Him. I know I love His word and I want to obey Him. I even know that it is His grace that is working in me that gives me the desire to please Him.
I do not know why He loves me. I do not understand why Jesus would leave the glory of heaven to take my place on the cross. I have no idea when He is going to return. I do not know what judgment or heaven will be like. I believe with all my heart, heaven is a place of peace, rest, worship, celebration and discovery. I am excited that sin and death will not be there and Jesus will be. We cannot take wealth with us when we depart this world but we can take our love ones. This means people have greater value than things. I know we should love people and use things: not love things and use people. I know that loving God with all my heart and loving my neighbor as much as I love myself is the most important thing in life.
I know you want to hear good news and I want to share good news: I hate to be the bearer of bad news BUT… Big Mama is ticked with Dolly Parton after reading this statement on FB…
“I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen,” Dolly Parton said. “And of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!”
She also said regarding changing the name of Dixie Stampede…
“When they said ‘Dixie’ was an offensive word, I thought, ‘Well, I don’t want to offend anybody. This is a business. We’ll just call it The Stampede,’ ” she said. “As soon as you realize that [something] is a problem, you should fix it. Don’t be a dumbass. That’s where my heart is.
I am sad, I like Dollywood theme park but I don’t guess we will go back. We canceled our annual membership a few weeks ago due to the way they were handing the virus. The last few months have taught me that I can live without sports and I can also live without Dollywood. June had chided me for fussing about her removing the word “Dixie” from her dinner show. I haven’t been back and will not go back as much as I love good food and horse shows. I am proud to be Dixie born. I am not ashamed of my heritage. Doesn’t it seem a little strange to you that Sherman was hailed a hero for murdering women and children and burning down entire cities. I bet our grand kids today {government educated} do not know what a Carpet Bagger is. How can the truth about the war of Northern Aggression not be told? By the way, the word YANKEE offends me. Change the name of the NY baseball team. What about the NY Liberals? Or, the NY Clintons? Hey, I got it, the NY Leftist. Just in case you read this Dolly, BLM is a Marxist group that is stirring anarchy because their sponsor George Soros is a Marxist just like his idol Saul Alinsky. Do a little research Dolly and all of you DA’s that believe BLM is about black lives. BLM and the Covid-19 mishandling are about sabotaging the presidency of Donald Trump. Dolly has messed up and she doesn’t even know it: she has ticked Big Mama and Big Mama was a staunch supporter. Taylor Swift can also take a hike. If you are a bleeding heart, mindless liberal, stay out of Dixie and leave our music alone. You are giving real Country music singers a bad name. There is a reason we call it COUNTRY MUSIC. It is not CITY MUSIC and it is certainly not HOLLYWOOD MUSIC. Dolly got corrupted when she went to Hollywood. Nine to five did her in. No, I’ve never seen the movie but I can promise you it is shallow, too shallow for an intellect like myself. It would be like watching a movie with that idiot that played in dumb and dumber. I can’t think of his name.
Take this crazy messed-up world; you can have–Just give me Jesus!
On the Bright side: Mark Byrd and LIVING FAITH hit one out of the park yesterday. That got a standing-O for GOD BLESS THE USA. If you want to hear a great country music singer, check out Danville Baptist Church on Sunday morning at 10:15. Facebook live does not do this boy justice. You need to hear him live. He sings gospel but he could make it on the Opry Stage. I am trying to come up with a name for the band. You know how I like to rhyme but I am having problems…these are the words that rhyme with MOOSE… boose, coos, cruce, deuce, goose, hoose, juice, loose, Luce, mousse, noose, nous, puce, sluice, spruce, truce, use, Zeus. I have already coined the phrase…TURN THE MOOSE LOOSE but there is not a good word in the list for the group. The MOOSE AND THE JUICE just doesn’t sound right. I will have to stay with Hailey And The Comets till I come up with something. By the way, thank you Charity for singing my song again and of course I loved that last one…All I know is I am not home yet, this is not where I belong. Take this world and give me Jesus, this is not where I belong.