Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Random Post
The beauty of God's creation can be seen everywhere !!! I shot this photo of thunderstorm clouds from my backyard as they approached from the west/southwest.
Monday, July 20, 2015
March 7, 2007
March 7, 2007...a day which was like no other I have ever had up to that point. Let me first back up some five months to October 2006 when on a mid fall night, with a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart, I asked Jesus to save me. I didn't ask him to save me from hell, nor from circumstances, nor from the devil or the world. I asked Jesus to save me from me, from my sinful wicked self. I knew that Jesus and Jesus alone was the only one who could save me because it was He who had paid the price...who had paid the debt for my sins when He came from heaven, born of a Virgin and lived a sinless life and being fully man and fully God, offered his life and and shed his innocent blood as a sacrifice for my sins. Who on the third day rose from the dead, the victor over death and hell, and salvation for all who would believe.
The LORD tells us through his servant Paul in his letter to the Romans , " That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10: 9-10)
That night Jesus did just that, He saved a sinner such as I and so much more. He began a new work in me. Through the Holy Spirit and His written word, the Lord began conforming me to his image. As I sought to learn more and to grow, the Lord would allow me to have new verses to songs to sing unto him. Allowed me to memorize portions of His written word, not to brag or be boastful with others, but to have hidden in my heart to share only as led by Him and to teach, encourage and chastise me as he continued (and continues) to conform me into the man He wants me to be.
March 7, 2007 was a Wednesday and was a busy day at work. I was working for Fedex Express at the time in a northern Virginia suburb of Washington D.C. Our priority overnight delivery commitment time was by 10:30 AM. Most of my delivery route was residential with some businesses along the top sections of my assigned area of service.
To say that the morning was rough would be an understatement. Not regarding work, I had seen busier days before and since. There was a battle, attack after attack, from Satan, those that follow him and I am sure in part from my own sin natured flesh that I battle with daily. All through the morning delivery cycle, I would pray, quote scripture that the Lord had given me concerning many of the things I was fighting that morning and by the time I had finished my morning deliveries and started my 60 minute lunch break, I was spiritually, emotionally, and physically exhausted. Having parked my truck behind one of the businesses at the top of my route, I quickly set up my afternoon run of deliveries (80 plus stops) and grabbed my lunch from my storeall box in the cargo area of my truck and placed it in the cab. Once everything was set, I went back to the cargo area and closed the door behind me and began praying. I may have started the prayer but the Holy Spirit certainly finished it because He led me to pray what were the deepest thoughts of my heart. Yes I was grateful that God had seen me through and strengthened me against the trials and temptations of that morning and I thanked him.
But that wasn't the end, Satan had sown seeds that morning of doubt. Doubt that God had ever forgiven me, doubt that he had truly saved me or ever would, doubt that he even cared. Even though I hadn't really dwelt on those thoughts yet, the Lord knew they had been planted by Satan and in the midst of my prayer I told God that even tough the morning had been rough, it wasn't really the heart of the matter. I told him that I needed to know once and for all, now and forever if indeed I was a born again child of his by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. I asked Him to forgive me for my doubts and for my weakness. I asked him not to answer my prayer in my way but in His way and that even though I did not know how he would choose to answer, I graciously and gratefully thanked him for answering because in His time I knew He would answer !!!!
I did not have to wait long !!!!!!!
I finished my lunch and had about 20 minutes left in my lunch break. I grabbed the Bible that I kept in my delivery truck and turned to the 4th chapter of James in the New Testament where I had been working on some verses that I felt God had been leading me to memorize. Those two verses are very simple (at least they would be later on) but during that lunch break, I could not get any two words to stick in my memory. No matter how hard I tried, it just wasn't happening. I had but a few minutes left and said to God that apparently He did not want me to learn those yet and started to close my bible. As I did, my eyes caught the right hand column of that particular page. At the top was one verse by itself before the beginning of chapter 5. I read that verse before closing my bible and putting it away. Little did I know that as I read that verse, God was writing it in my heart. James 4:17 says, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." I smiled and thanked God for allowing me to have that verse and said that "I guess this is what you wanted me to have today." I ended my break and began the deliveries, I had one stop on Kendra Way and then a other on Keepers Park Drive. It had began to drizzle rain mixed with snow. I parked the truck on Keepers Park and bagged the letter and walked about 50 feet from the truck to the door and scanned, rang the bell and placed the letter at the door.
Turning to walk back to the truck, I looked up and there was a man standing next to my truck with his car parked next to him. I had not heard anyone pull up and had heard no vehicles but yet there he was. I approached the drivers side of my truck and he smiled as I drew near and held out a small slip of paper and pointed to the address written on it and said "where?". The man was Asian and when he would speak, spoke broken english. At the same time I am from rural Arkansas and yes I have that southern accent so I knew he might have trouble understanding me. I looked at the slip and it had a house number along with Valla Drive. Not only was there no Valla Drive on my route, there wasn't one on any of the neighboring routes that bordered me. I told him there was no Valla Drive in Centreville. He shook his head and questioned "no?" And would not go away. He just stood there with that piece of paper, content yet with a somewhat sad look on his face. I looked at it again and repeated that there isn't a Valla Drive in Centreville. He didn't leave, he just stood there and I looked at the paper again shaking my head no. It was then I realized, and the house numbers matched, that he meant Bella Drive, which was on my route and not that far away. With the language barrier and me being pressed for time I really didn't want to try to explain to him how to get there so I said again which I reasoned was techinally true, There is no Valla Drive. He didn't leave, I looked down and as I did, before I spoke again a still small voice echoed in my heart "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him, it IS sin." I looked up and immediately said "I think you mean Bella Drive !!!" The mans face lit up and his smile seemed to go from ear to ear as he replied with a simple, "YES!!" I explained to him how to get there....down the hill and up to the light, hang a right at the light, first street on the right is Silo Valley and the second right is Bella Drive." He jumped into his car and took off. By the time I had gotten to the intersection to go to the square for 2 deliveries, I could seem him turning south of me at the correct light and headed to where he wanted to go. I thought I was finished but I wasn't, the Lord had other plans.
The Lord began convicting my heart that I had not done right concerning the man. To be honest, in hindsight, I was arguing with God that I had done the right thing. He quickly let me know and burdened my heart that that was not true, I did not know that the man had indeed made it to Bella Drive. On a normal day I would have had several deliveries in the Bella Drive area off Field Encampment Drive but that day was a rarity, I had none. I had planned on going the back way out of the square and bypassing that area altogether, saving time, and making it further south into my route. Again, the Lord had other plans !!
I submitted to God's will and drove out of that square and down the road to the light and turned onto Field Encampment and slowed as I neared Bella Drive. I gazed in towards where the townhouse he had listed was and his car was not there. It had been about ten minutes so I figured he had come and gone and began driving to the end of Field Encampment to make my way down to Storehouse Drive. I looked up as I passed the end of Uniform Drive to my left and my eyes shot wide open. That man had turned to the left instead of right and had been searching all the small streets in the wrong area. He saw me as I came to a stop, looking before making a u-turn in the middle of that wide street and motioning for him to follow me. I pulled into Bella Drive and parked a couple of spaces down from the address he had listed as he pulled into the parking spot directly in front of where he wanted to go. I slid open the passenger seat window and leaned out and pointed to the house number listed on his paper. I looked at him as he spoke but couldn't understand what he said but I didn't have to, the look on his face said it all. He was lost and I had come to find him and had taken him to where he needed to go and he was beyond grateful. I smiled my own big smile and waved goodbye as I started the truck up and pulled out back onto Field Encampment.
I had to pull the truck over for a few minutes before driving on down to Storehouse Drive and get into the cargo area as I burst into tears of great joy and gratitude for what the Lord God Almighty had just done in those few moments of my life. He had answered my prayer in His way, using His Words to guide me, teach me, and correct me. It was not my actions but God's that had shown me with that one simple verse I was indeed a child of his by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
The LORD tells us through his servant Paul in his letter to the Romans , " That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10: 9-10)
That night Jesus did just that, He saved a sinner such as I and so much more. He began a new work in me. Through the Holy Spirit and His written word, the Lord began conforming me to his image. As I sought to learn more and to grow, the Lord would allow me to have new verses to songs to sing unto him. Allowed me to memorize portions of His written word, not to brag or be boastful with others, but to have hidden in my heart to share only as led by Him and to teach, encourage and chastise me as he continued (and continues) to conform me into the man He wants me to be.
March 7, 2007 was a Wednesday and was a busy day at work. I was working for Fedex Express at the time in a northern Virginia suburb of Washington D.C. Our priority overnight delivery commitment time was by 10:30 AM. Most of my delivery route was residential with some businesses along the top sections of my assigned area of service.
To say that the morning was rough would be an understatement. Not regarding work, I had seen busier days before and since. There was a battle, attack after attack, from Satan, those that follow him and I am sure in part from my own sin natured flesh that I battle with daily. All through the morning delivery cycle, I would pray, quote scripture that the Lord had given me concerning many of the things I was fighting that morning and by the time I had finished my morning deliveries and started my 60 minute lunch break, I was spiritually, emotionally, and physically exhausted. Having parked my truck behind one of the businesses at the top of my route, I quickly set up my afternoon run of deliveries (80 plus stops) and grabbed my lunch from my storeall box in the cargo area of my truck and placed it in the cab. Once everything was set, I went back to the cargo area and closed the door behind me and began praying. I may have started the prayer but the Holy Spirit certainly finished it because He led me to pray what were the deepest thoughts of my heart. Yes I was grateful that God had seen me through and strengthened me against the trials and temptations of that morning and I thanked him.
But that wasn't the end, Satan had sown seeds that morning of doubt. Doubt that God had ever forgiven me, doubt that he had truly saved me or ever would, doubt that he even cared. Even though I hadn't really dwelt on those thoughts yet, the Lord knew they had been planted by Satan and in the midst of my prayer I told God that even tough the morning had been rough, it wasn't really the heart of the matter. I told him that I needed to know once and for all, now and forever if indeed I was a born again child of his by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. I asked Him to forgive me for my doubts and for my weakness. I asked him not to answer my prayer in my way but in His way and that even though I did not know how he would choose to answer, I graciously and gratefully thanked him for answering because in His time I knew He would answer !!!!
I did not have to wait long !!!!!!!
I finished my lunch and had about 20 minutes left in my lunch break. I grabbed the Bible that I kept in my delivery truck and turned to the 4th chapter of James in the New Testament where I had been working on some verses that I felt God had been leading me to memorize. Those two verses are very simple (at least they would be later on) but during that lunch break, I could not get any two words to stick in my memory. No matter how hard I tried, it just wasn't happening. I had but a few minutes left and said to God that apparently He did not want me to learn those yet and started to close my bible. As I did, my eyes caught the right hand column of that particular page. At the top was one verse by itself before the beginning of chapter 5. I read that verse before closing my bible and putting it away. Little did I know that as I read that verse, God was writing it in my heart. James 4:17 says, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." I smiled and thanked God for allowing me to have that verse and said that "I guess this is what you wanted me to have today." I ended my break and began the deliveries, I had one stop on Kendra Way and then a other on Keepers Park Drive. It had began to drizzle rain mixed with snow. I parked the truck on Keepers Park and bagged the letter and walked about 50 feet from the truck to the door and scanned, rang the bell and placed the letter at the door.
Turning to walk back to the truck, I looked up and there was a man standing next to my truck with his car parked next to him. I had not heard anyone pull up and had heard no vehicles but yet there he was. I approached the drivers side of my truck and he smiled as I drew near and held out a small slip of paper and pointed to the address written on it and said "where?". The man was Asian and when he would speak, spoke broken english. At the same time I am from rural Arkansas and yes I have that southern accent so I knew he might have trouble understanding me. I looked at the slip and it had a house number along with Valla Drive. Not only was there no Valla Drive on my route, there wasn't one on any of the neighboring routes that bordered me. I told him there was no Valla Drive in Centreville. He shook his head and questioned "no?" And would not go away. He just stood there with that piece of paper, content yet with a somewhat sad look on his face. I looked at it again and repeated that there isn't a Valla Drive in Centreville. He didn't leave, he just stood there and I looked at the paper again shaking my head no. It was then I realized, and the house numbers matched, that he meant Bella Drive, which was on my route and not that far away. With the language barrier and me being pressed for time I really didn't want to try to explain to him how to get there so I said again which I reasoned was techinally true, There is no Valla Drive. He didn't leave, I looked down and as I did, before I spoke again a still small voice echoed in my heart "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him, it IS sin." I looked up and immediately said "I think you mean Bella Drive !!!" The mans face lit up and his smile seemed to go from ear to ear as he replied with a simple, "YES!!" I explained to him how to get there....down the hill and up to the light, hang a right at the light, first street on the right is Silo Valley and the second right is Bella Drive." He jumped into his car and took off. By the time I had gotten to the intersection to go to the square for 2 deliveries, I could seem him turning south of me at the correct light and headed to where he wanted to go. I thought I was finished but I wasn't, the Lord had other plans.
The Lord began convicting my heart that I had not done right concerning the man. To be honest, in hindsight, I was arguing with God that I had done the right thing. He quickly let me know and burdened my heart that that was not true, I did not know that the man had indeed made it to Bella Drive. On a normal day I would have had several deliveries in the Bella Drive area off Field Encampment Drive but that day was a rarity, I had none. I had planned on going the back way out of the square and bypassing that area altogether, saving time, and making it further south into my route. Again, the Lord had other plans !!
I submitted to God's will and drove out of that square and down the road to the light and turned onto Field Encampment and slowed as I neared Bella Drive. I gazed in towards where the townhouse he had listed was and his car was not there. It had been about ten minutes so I figured he had come and gone and began driving to the end of Field Encampment to make my way down to Storehouse Drive. I looked up as I passed the end of Uniform Drive to my left and my eyes shot wide open. That man had turned to the left instead of right and had been searching all the small streets in the wrong area. He saw me as I came to a stop, looking before making a u-turn in the middle of that wide street and motioning for him to follow me. I pulled into Bella Drive and parked a couple of spaces down from the address he had listed as he pulled into the parking spot directly in front of where he wanted to go. I slid open the passenger seat window and leaned out and pointed to the house number listed on his paper. I looked at him as he spoke but couldn't understand what he said but I didn't have to, the look on his face said it all. He was lost and I had come to find him and had taken him to where he needed to go and he was beyond grateful. I smiled my own big smile and waved goodbye as I started the truck up and pulled out back onto Field Encampment.
I had to pull the truck over for a few minutes before driving on down to Storehouse Drive and get into the cargo area as I burst into tears of great joy and gratitude for what the Lord God Almighty had just done in those few moments of my life. He had answered my prayer in His way, using His Words to guide me, teach me, and correct me. It was not my actions but God's that had shown me with that one simple verse I was indeed a child of his by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
What do I Believe ??
What does this guy from Arkansas believe? You may be wondering that...or not, ha!! Allow me to share with you a few of the things that I believe, expressed in simple terms to be explained in further detail in future posts.
1. I don't just believe but also know in my heart that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
2. I believe in the Trinity....God is one yet three...God the Father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit.
3. I believe the Holy Bible is the Written word of God, without error and divinely inspired and given to us by God through His Holy Spirit and through the servants he chose to write those words.
4. I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation and that there is no other way to God but by and through Jesus.
5. I believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ (just as he told us...see number 3 above)
These are but a few of the things which I believe God teaches us through his written word.
1. I don't just believe but also know in my heart that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
2. I believe in the Trinity....God is one yet three...God the Father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit.
3. I believe the Holy Bible is the Written word of God, without error and divinely inspired and given to us by God through His Holy Spirit and through the servants he chose to write those words.
4. I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation and that there is no other way to God but by and through Jesus.
5. I believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ (just as he told us...see number 3 above)
These are but a few of the things which I believe God teaches us through his written word.
A NEW BEGINNING......
A few years back while still living and working in northern Virginia, I had created and blogged a few times but fell by the wayside after the knee surgery and moving back to my native home area in northeastern Arkansas. Five and a half years later, I am still here in northeast Arkansas and will be until one of three things happens: (1) the Lord Jesus Christ calls me home through a physical death, (2) the Lord Jesus Christ calls all of us who are born again in and through him home to heaven, or (3) HE leads and moves me to another place where HE has chosen to use me for HIS purposes. There is so much more that I could write but I want this post to be an introductory post rather than a life's history. This is not a blog of hate nor is it a blog of self righteousness. It is simply a blog where as a born again believer and follower of Jesus Christ I can open my heart and share not only what God has done for me but how many times I have failed God and sinned against God, only to find mercy and forgiveness through a broken, contrite and open heart before God.
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