Category: Riots (Page 3 of 4)

Through Afflictions, We Know That God Will Do Something Better

August 14, 2020 / Butch / 0 Comments

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The dictionary says:

Affliction: A state of pain, distress, grief, or misery.

That is a sorry state of affairs. Who would want to be afflicted?

Some examples of affliction:

A single mom with one child has to work had to provide for her son, and also pay the bills.
A young college student is taking 18 units of credits. He has a job to help pay for his tuition. Then he goes home on the weekends to care for his ailing mother.

Those afflictions are hard to bear, but in each case the person is doing it out of love.

Do you have overwhelming burdens?

Is life not good to you?

Here is a recipe for a cure for all of this:

Be joyful.
Be prayfull.
Be grateful.

You are saying WHAT? You want me to do all that during my afflictions?

Yes, and I am saying for you to do those three things without ceasing. During these times we need to have a running conversation with God.

He is our fortress, our protector, and He is our loving Father.

He knows what each of us is going through. God is not ignoring us. He is taking the same steps we do, and is walking beside us each step of the way.

I have had my share of physical afflictions, and some wonder how I can be upbeat through all of my pain. It is simple for me, but hard to understand. The more afflictions I have the more help I can give others who are going through the same things.

When I think about my afflictions, I think of Paul who had many more afflictions then anyone can emagine.

He was shipwrecked, bitten by a snake, beaten, thrown in prison, and people wanted to kill him.

His thoughts on that were that he too could use those moments to reach out more to others.

Another person who had way more afflictions than we can grasp was Jesus Christ. He was shunned by his own people. They cursed at him, spit upon him, beat Him, put thorns on His head. They even crucified Him.

He had many afflictions, but He knew that God had something better through all of His torture.

How about you? Do you feel overburdened? Are you thinking the world is out to get you?

You are not alone. Many people are feeling the same way with all the turmoil that is around us. There are the Pandemic, rioting, shootings, killings, threats from our enemies.

We are under daily afflictions.

Stay strong! Be grateful for what God has in mind for you. Pray without ceasing, and, yes even be joyful.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

Are You Desperate for God’s Word?

August 13, 2020 / Butch / 0 Comments

I am as bad as some are who don’t read their Bible every day. I think about God often. I pray to Him every day. I never miss a prayer, but I miss times I could be reading and learning.

In my prayers I need to start asking God to give me the desire to read His Word. I need to be hungry for it. I need to realize that it is life’s manual for survival.

I have come up with a plan to stop whatever I am doing and read every day at 10:00am. It doesn’t need to be a long time in the book. Just read!

It just happens to be 10:00 am, so I best be reading.

(Later)

I felt the need to read Proverbs. Most of Proverbs was written by Solomon, the son of David, who was the King of Israel.

Solomon was a very wise man. He made judgements for people. They lined up to ask him his advice.

One day two women came before him both claiming that a child was there’s. He asked them many questions to see who the real mother was and then he said, “I will have the child cut in half and you both can have him.” One woman screamed, “No Master! This woman can have my son so he will still be alive.”

Solomon instantly knew who the real mother was, and gave her the son. She truly loved her son enough to give him away so that he could live.

That is what I learned by reading today. I am blessed!

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Are you struggling during all the turmoil right now? A pandemic is killing our people. There is rioting in many cities. There are many people out of work because of the pandemic.

How can we survive all of this?

Go to the top of this page and read again. We need to be in God’s word to survive. We need to find comfort and hope through His Word.

God’s Word is a manual of guidance we can all use. Just take one half hour of each day to read His Word and grow.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

The Best Four Letter Word in the World is Hope

August 9, 2020 / Butch / 0 Comments

Times are not friendly on our planet. There are riots, pandemics, shootings, and violence.

Some people do not know what hope is. They hide in their basements and try to not face the world.

You often see the picture of an animal sticking his head in the sand out of fear. That is what we are facing.

What things do we need to do to overcome all of this?

Suggestions:

God never wavers. He is always by your side.
Jesus went all the way for you and I to have eternal life.
99% of what we worry about never happens.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
Block out all the negative stuff in your brain and replace it with positive stuff.
Walls form. Work your way around them, through them, or under them.

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In the title I mentioned that hope is the best four letter word in the world. Well, the worst word in the world is hopelessness. Just the opposite of hope.

Hope is an anchor for our lives. This anchor solidifies like a boat in the wind. our hopes are in the promises of God.

Hope is my favorite word. I have two books with the word hope in them. The first one is Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World. This book won a national award from the Readers Favorite Awards. You can order a copy from this site.

My second book that is almost finished is called, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life. This book is reaching out to veterans and current service members who may be struggling with PTSD, TBI, depression, anxiety, etc.

Why am I writing this book? I am heart broken that 22 veterans or service members, are taking their own lives every day. Yes, I said every day. I am hoping this book will help bring that number down to zero.

Cling to hope. Hope gives you a chance to face life as we know it today.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

God Never Calls us to do Something easy

July 29, 2020 / Butch / 0 Comments

We are certainly in tough times in our country. The Pandemic virus is growing fast. There is mass rioting throughout our country. People are out of work because of the Pandemic. Children can not go back to school to learn.

I was told the other day that this is a huge sign of the end times.

It may be, but what do we do if it is?

We need to have FAITH!

1 Faith is always true.

2. Faith always goes forward.

3. When God speaks to us we have enough faith to say yes.

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God is in the business of doing the impossible. It sure makes you wonder why he is allowing so much chaos. Remember…God is in charge.

The world was shocked when President Trump won the presidential election. Shouldn’t have happened? GOD IS IN CHARGE!

He is watching over us. The next question is… Why is He allowing so much tragedy to happen? This is a tough question. However, God gave us choices. He allowed us to make our own decisions, and then face Him later. That is why dictators exist. That is why there is sex trafficking. That is why there are wars. That is hard for us to have to face, but it is reality with god.

All the rioters, seem to think what they are doing and is noble. They think they are heroes. God will be speaking to each of them later.

How about you? Are you walking the narrow path, or the wide path to destruction? God knows and you know. He knows every hair on your head. There is no place to hide from Him.

Now, I have made God sound like a mean, awful person. Know that He loves you very much. He made you in His own image. He wants the best for you.

BUT, we have to abide by His rules, not ours. There is a wonderful manual to guide you on how to act and how to be. It is called the Bible. If you read and live by it, you are in God loving graces.

So, God never calls us to do anything easy. A friend once told me,”Life is tough and then you die.” Pretty sad. That was many years ago that he told me that, but it still sticks with me today.

Don’t be allowing the dark side to overcome you. Look to the light, which is Jesus Christ our Lord. He died so that you have a chance for eternal life. I say you have a chance, because you have to accept him as your personal savior to receive that gift.

Life IS tough, but be strong and know that God is with you during your storms.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…Never, ever, give up!

How Many Times Should We Forgive Someone?

July 27, 2020 / Butch / 0 Comments

I have been watching the movement of Representative John Lewis from his hometown to the Capitol Rotunda, to be put on display.

This man was a furious warrior fighting for the black community. He marched with Martin Luther King. He was beaten many times, and was arrested 40 times for his support for the black community.

No man, since Martin Luther King, has done more for civil rights in our country.

He spent over 16 years in Congress.

Was he a Democrat or a Republican? DOESN’T MATTER!

He fought for what was right.

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We need to find more leaders like him. Dedicated to helping others and fighting for what is right.

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I am switching to some negative things to bring up another point.

Portland, Oregon has had 60 straight days of rioting. There are many fires, many beatings, many arrests, and many people hurt badly. Many of those hurt are police officers, trying to keep the peace.

The Federal Government has come to help. We will see how that works out.

There is widespread rioting in many other big cities. Interesting in that all of those cities are run by Democrats.

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So, should we forgive those who are rioting? If so, how many times should we forgive?

Jesus told a parable about forgiving. It started when Peter asked him how many times should he forgive? Seven times? (That was four more times than the Jewish acceptable number.)

Jesus rebuked him and said, “No! 70×7!” That is 490 times. (Matthew 18: 21-34.)

Some things to remember:

As longs as there are issues, there is an opportunity for forgiveness.
Our God is a forgiving God. (How many times have you asked Him to forgive you?)
Forgiving others is a must to be a part of God’s Kingdom.
We must mirror God’s love and forgiveness.

Some other thoughts:

God has help mend any hearts that are broken.
My sin was great, but God’s love was greater.
For God so loved the world that He sent his only son, so that we may have eternal life.
Pray for our leaders in the nation, and in your home state, to make decisions that are for the good of the people, and not themselves.

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Think on these things, and be at peace knowing that God is watching over you and protects you.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forskaen.

You are never unloved.

And above all, never, ever, give up!

Garbage in Garbage out, or God in God Out

July 23, 2020 / Butch / 0 Comments

It seems like our country is on a pace of complete disarray. Rioting, shootings, burning buildings, people getting beat up.

How did we get to this point?

As retired teacher I can say that as each year went by, the students became more aggressive. I would talk to their parents about it and they would say, “They are just being kids,” and shrug it off.

If children aren’t disciplined properly at home. They grow up to be those who are on the streets causing havoc.

They have lived their lives with garbage in and garbage out. All they hear is garbage, and it is planted in their brains. Therefore garbage out, is what comes from them.

How do we turn this kind of problem around? We need to start in the homes. We need to teach what is right and wrong.

If there is a Godly home, the family will have a God in and God out. They will teach their children about God. Make sure they grow spiritually, and get them involved in a church.

As they grow, they will see that their lives are much more acceptable to others, and keep growing.

How about you? Do you talk garbage in, garbage out, do you have God in and God out at your home.?

I look at it this way. It is the monkey see, monkey do theory. If you guide you children and the proper path and be a good example. Your example will have then saying, “I want to be like them.”

But if you do drugs, drink heavily, and use bad language in your home Your example will have your children also wanting to be like you. Garbage in garbage out.

Take inventory of your life. See if your path is the right path for your children to follow.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

We Need to Spread Love, Not Hate

July 3, 2020 / Butch / 0 Comments

How can we exist will all the turmoil going on around us? The Pandemic is growing fast again, with even other strands coming with it that are much more contagious.

We still have huge unrest in our country. Rioting, arson, tearing down statues, killings, Looting, and terror.

Where do we go for help? What can we do to overcome this?

We have a ugly new problem raising in our country. It is the “Karen’s,” that are causing it. They verbally attack black people with hateful words and even have pointed guns at them.

They have no concept of love. They only know hate.

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What the world needs now is love, sweet love! Where do they get it?

Well… it is simple to figure out of you are a Christian. We are suppose to be the poster child’s for love, right? Unfortunately that is not completely true. There are people right in my home church who seem to love to degrade others.

I am very saddened by this. I can not understand how someone can hate so much. They must hate themselves.

What we need to do is put God first in our lives. We need to try to live a life like Jesus. He never sinned. He never was mean to anyone. He loved everyone.

Speaking of posters child’s. We should be a poster child that shows love to everyone. What a difference that would make in our world today.

If you are struggling with thinking about wrong things, take an inventory of your life, and see where it is coming from. Push the negatives out of your mind and feel it with love and understanding.

Love is not just a four letter word. It is the word that changes the world.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

So many Problems Attack us All At Once

July 1, 2020 / Butch / 0 Comments

I had a great message online from my church on Sunday. I also was on a phone conference with a dynamic young man who is on fire for the Lord.

From the phone call I wrote down two of the quotes from Taylor Wilkens, area leader for FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes.)

Everything can be chaos around us, but God will help us through the storm.
There are so many bad reports coming from TV and newspapers, when will the good reports start coming in?

He is spot on, and we need to realize that. We are never alone in this world. God is always there for us through the good times, and the bad times.

We are overwhelmed with negative TV, and news in general. When is the last time you saw a feel good story? We need to be strong and block out all of the negativity.

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Referring to the protesters, My Pastor said, “Fireworks are exciting. The start is good, but then it is just a pull of smoke.” This reminds me of all the protesters who think what they are doing is right, but in the end they are causing more harm than good.

My Pastor also said, ” You have a house that you have built. You worry about room sizes, where to put the windows, the paintings, etc. Did you think about the foundation? Most people don’t.” Our foundation is the Bible. We get all our guidance from it. If we live by the Bible, our foundation will be strong.

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We were told that in reality we are just apprentices for God. We are still learned and growing. You never out grow being an apprentice. I am up in years and I am still learning much.

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There is an abundance of fear in our world. We can help others with fear. Reach out to those around you. See how they are doing. Help them if they are struggling. It may be right in your own neighborhood.

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We read the story about Peter wanting to get out of the boat and walk to Jesus. We need to get out of our boat and help others. What fear is holding you back from getting out of your boat? Ask yourself, “Why can’t I get out of my boat? Remember, God is not done with you yet. He needs you out of your boat. If we walk with Christ and not towards Him in the water, we are at the safest place to be. I realize that stepping out of a boat right now with all the storms around us is hard, at best, but we Have Good on our side. We win!!

Sorry for the many different topics here, but they were building up in my head, and I was getting a headache. :0

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never every give up!

How Can we be Humble Through the Pandemic, and Rioting?

June 22, 2020 / Butch / 0 Comments

Pandemic, rioting, businesses being burnt, statues being tore down, people being killed, and much more. So what can we do to counter all of this?

I have been thinking of this for several months. It was overwhelming for me, and I did not have good answers.

I watched my church message online yesterday, and they shared some ideas.

The first quote I heard was, “Nothing is impossible with God on your side.” That got me in a better mood.

Then they spoke of being humble. What? I am suppose to be humble when the world is crashing around me?

Then they hit me with a verse that woke me up! “Everyone who exalts himself will humbled, he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 5:4-6.

They mentioned that we need to stop going on rabbit trails. They are scattered and often lead to nowhere. I was doing that. I was running around trying to understand what was happening.

Then our Pastor give us four things to help us be humble:

Love God more than yourself. We need to know who is in charge and lean on Him during the storms.
Love others by serving them for God’s glory. When we reach out and help, not only does the person we help feel good, but so do we.
Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit. I often take this for granted. We need the Holy Spirit to guide us at hard times.
We need to hang out with people who are also pursuing a God fearing life. Just being in a group of believers can give us a lot of confidence, and love.

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Are you fearful of what is happening? Are your storms getting to hard to face? Do you want to stay in bed all day to avoid the world?

You certainly are not alone.

I feel your pain, and I suggest you totally depend on God as your fortress. he is stronger than any Pandemic, He will hug you during the rioting. He will give you wisdom to understand. He has told us many times:

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

Pretty clear there. We just need to rely on Him to protect us and guide us.

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Remember:

You are not alone.

You are not forsaken.

You are not unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

How can we face the Rioting, Looting and the Pandemic?

June 12, 2020 / Butch / 0 Comments

The days along and tedious. The pandemic seems to be spreading again. There is rioting, looting and arson. How do we face this dilemma?

I have a lot of time, of course, to think about this. Let me share some thoughts:

Use Your Hardships to Shine

There is always someone or something that is worse off than what we are facing. When I was teaching I had a young lady in one of my classes that was severely handicapped. She was strapped to a electric wheelchair. She couldn’t move and had no control of her hands. There was one thing I noticed with her. She was always smiling. She never got upset. She never got too hurt when the other students picked on her. When I came in the classroom she was the first one I would look for. Why would I do that? It was because of her attitude about life and her circumstances. She knew she was handicapped. She knew she couldn’t play on the swings and slides with the other kids, but she was out there laughing and cheering on the other kids. Believe it or not, I realized I wanted to be like her. She was a wonderful example of someone who seemed to have the whole world against her, and yet she faced the storm head on. BTW… She was a bright student. she had an aide with her at all times, and she took all the tests, by having the aide write the answers down. She was very good at math. I still think of her often.

Let People know When You Are Hurting

I had another student with Tourette’s Syndrome. That is a disease where the child blurts out nonsensical words for no reason. He also had a tic in his face. His face would twitch a lot. He had a hard time getting along with the other kids. Mostly because of his handicap. I decided to let him move his desk up close to my desk. I could look over his shoulder and see his work all day. I could see that he was very hurt by other kids picking on him. So I had a little class “counseling,” session. We sat in a big circle and I asked each kid what was bothering him/her. Most of the kids couldn’t really think of what was bothering them, but it came to my student I had my desk, he unloaded. He said he can’t help what he is doing. He said he wasn’t trying to offend anyone. He had tears flowing. I saw that several other students began to cry. I ended the session and a little miracle happened. One of the students came up and asked if my student could move his desk next to him. I agreed and the class applauded when he moved. From then on he was in the good crowd and not an outcast. What did I learn from this…Everyone needs to be heard. Being silent doesn’t help anything. Let others know of your pain and hurts.

How does this fit into you and I facing a pandemic, rioting, looting, arson?

To me it shows that we can make it through anything. We can conquer our fear and worries.

I had many other student examples of perseverance, and courage. We need to think like these children. Take on our fears. Take on the worries, and with God’s help we can conquer anything.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

Category: Riots (Page 3 of 4)

Through Afflictions, We Know That God Will Do Something Better

Are You Desperate for God’s Word?

The Best Four Letter Word in the World is Hope

God Never Calls us to do Something easy

How Many Times Should We Forgive Someone?

Garbage in Garbage out, or God in God Out

We Need to Spread Love, Not Hate

So many Problems Attack us All At Once

How Can we be Humble Through the Pandemic, and Rioting?

How can we face the Rioting, Looting and the Pandemic?

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