Unorthodox

WHAT DO YOU SAY?
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WHAT DO YOU SAY?

The news this SUNDAY MORNING reminded me of the day, May15,1968 a tornado rampaged my birth town of Oelwein Iowa.  My cousin and my Grandmother were about their day and the sirens went off and my Grandmother grabbed my cousin Tim and pulled him down into the basement of the family home and they found a safe shelter in the basement. The porch on the southside of the home was gone. Blown away and  not found again.  My Oelwein friends lived next door and a tree limb had blown right through their living room wall. The elm trees along their street had blown over. A corner of the high school had been damaged. Damage was everywhere. I sat in my home a couple of hundred miles away in Kansas City and made arrangements to get on the bus and head for Oelwein. Four had died, and the damage was extreme. I was 16 years old then. A friend of mine from Minneapolis met me there.

So many came to help. I fixed fences, the chimney on Grandma’s home. Cleaning and sweeping and very fortunate that the damage was minimal to Grandma and my friends there and my cousins from across the back-street were all OK. Today I think of years of writing Unorthodox Christianity and think of the so many who have died, so much loss of homes, workplaces, shelters, and so much more that happened in Kentucky and nearby. How fortunate I am for living in Des Moines Iowa and not being a victim of one of the 20+ tornadoes. I watched my morning Church show like I always do and thought “What DO You Say?” “What do you say, religiously?”

GOD is all over Sunday television. Prayer and the sermons about Jesus and the stories of His birth for us to share that has become Christmas, and gifts and get togethers and families together now changed forever for those affected by 20+ tornadoes. Thousands affected  both there and relatives and friends who heard from the relatives of friends that they grew up with and hearing of the devastation of their home towns and all the people who lost their lives. The TV sermons are talking about the birth of Jesus and the gifts of GOD. “What DO you say?” How do I, sharing Unorthodox Christianity, answer the questions of WHY?  There will be lots of “Why’s” in the lives of so many.

GOD BEGINS IMMEDIATELY. So many who survived. So many first responders. So many who started immediately checking on their neighbors, their neighbor hoods, and their relatives. So much power of prayer to fill the voids as the phone calls are made, the homes and lives to be rebuilt. The stories of miracles after miracles that saved so many from a tragedy  brought on by the physics of nature. GOD IS AT WORK IMMEDIATELY. The world is a world of constant change. GOD NEVER STAYS AWAY. GOD DOES NOT STOP HELPING. GOD knows the physics of the world. GOD knows the natural risks of LIFE. The instant power of the prayers of millions go to work to console, to help, to care.

“WHAT DO YOU SAY?”  “OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU.”  “OUR CARES AND PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU ALWAYS.”  We can not be everywhere, we can not offer as much help as we would like, but OUR CARES AND OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU ALWAYS because GOD HAS BEEN AT WORK IMMEDIATELY. The power of your prayers feeds miracle after miracle because GOD NEVER STOPS CARING FOR ALL GOD’S CHILDREN, YOUNG OR OLD.

GOD BLESS YOU EVERYDAY.

AMEN

GOOD THANKSGIVING ALL
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GOOD THANKSGIVING ALL

GOOD THANKSGIVING ALL

A cold day but sunny in Iowa. Just walked the dogs, -1*. The heavy insulated dog jackets came in handy earlier than expected. I am very appreciative of all the reasons to be Thankful this year. The exercise program that pays me at work and the opportunities to get to know such wonderful people every day. Zig Ziegler used to say “Expect a Miracle EVERY DAY”. How right he was. We expect big miracles but to categorize most, the miracles happen in simple things. A cold day, but sunny and not snowing. Dinner at my sisters and food to eat. A car to get there in, and the capability to maintain it. To be able to say “LIFE has been good to me” is enough to fill me with Thanks. Calls and Cards from friends and a warm apartment. We all could go on and on for what we all have been given but Thanksgiving awaits. Have a wonderful day and  know that OUR CARES AND PRAYERS WILL BE WITH YOU.

ME, Mack and Jake

SHARE THE MOMENT
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SHARE THE MOMENT

A beautiful sunny day in Iowa. Cool enough to be fall and bright enough to be warm.
The opportunities of any day happen when you least expect them. Take advantage of all the gifts that come your way, not just for today, but every day.
When you can not see people as the gifts and treasures that they are, you are missing most of life’s blessings. Too often, I believe, that GOD borrows one of us to touch bases with someone we least expect. It may be that child that smiles and waves at us. It may be someone who can use our help without asking for it. It may be a thank you. My dogs may say hello ask for a small treat. There is no reason to believe that GOD never stops by to see how things are going. Too many think that GOD prefers to be untouchable. This is not the picture of Jesus on the Cross. We have a tendency to believe that Heaven is one place and Earth is another. The desire for GOD is ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.

There are a lot of places on EARTH to visit. There are a lot of nice and caring people to meet. GOD can borrow anyone GOD wishes for as long as GOD requires. If you can feel the wind, you can feel GOD on the visit. Do not think GOD could care less. GOD cares for all of us. GOOD, Bad, or indifferent. I have often said that GOD watches out for the ignorant and uninformed. Why? Because I am often the ignorant and the uninformed. GOD is an active and caring energy. GOD could hide in Heaven, except for it being HEAVEN ON EARTH.

Share the moment. You may never recognize that the moment you share is designed to make HEAVEN on EARTH what it is that GOD has created. A work in progress that you are a part of.

OUR CARES AND PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU ALL.

ME, Mack and Jake

Heaven, Hereafter, or hereNOW
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Heaven, Hereafter, or hereNOW

Heaven, Hereafter, or hereNOW

From 5-30-2006

I have heard a great many sermons in my life that are to tell me what heaven and the hereafter are like. I have heard so many that I now know one thing for certain; no one has a clue.

Hereafter

I do know that if I do not choose Jesus as my Lord and savior I am doomed to eternal damnation and life in Sheol (whatever that is). I do know that I cannot be saved if I am not Baptist, (or Mormon, or Methodist, or Presbyterian, Evangelical or Episcopalian and certainly I don’t have a prayer of heaven if I am not Catholic). This causes a substantial dilemma since I cannot be all of the above at the time of my death. Of course, I will also spend a life in eternal damnation if I am not Jewish, or Sunni or Sikh, or Moslem or Hindu or Buddhist or any of dozens of other religions that inhabit the Earth.

I guess that means that I may resign myself to the “bad” place.

Then again:

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

Jesus, as a teacher or Rabbi or preacher or philosopher or son of GOD, holds forth in his hand the ultimate carrot, “Why wait?”

I do not believe that Jesus came and sacrificed himself on a cross to merely extend promises of a fancy divine hereafter. Most religions seem to offer up Nirvana in some shape or form.

What Jesus did was to come and offer us insights as to how we can positively impact the here and now. Jesus taught us how to impact the heaven that lies within our grasp right now, daily, not the after.

Whether Heaven has mansions or refers to new bodies in different times as the Hindu believe (reincarnation) is irrelevant to me. Whether we sing in a divine chorus 24/7 (or whatever time-frame is the physics of heaven) is not as relevant to my living as the promise that I can experience heaven now, as Dennis, as me. It is equally important that you can live it as you.

Is it no wonder that Jesus’ teaching was so radical that most, not even those closest to him, could comprehend His meaning? The Heaven that Jesus prayed for is within our grasp daily. ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN, what a radical and impossible dream. LOVE ONE ANOTHER, another impossible dream.

Daily? A fantasy for sure. Jesus has been the object of great debate since the beginning. Those who do not wish to change much look forward to the end of their lives firm in the knowledge (or belief) that the hereafter has the mansion they couldn’t charge here. They look toward a magic place where grace takes them and places upon them a robe of authority or position and extends divine preference based on the sign in front of the building they visited on Sunday morning or Saturday afternoon for an hour or two out their week.

And yet no one can tell me what they will do all day, every day, for eternity. More than that, they wish me to believe that they can perform this function for eternity when they get fidgity now after 60 minutes out of each week in GOD’S own house, which they built with their own money. How do they expect to be satisfied with that heavenly life when a half hour of prayer daily is a challenge. How will they adore GOD every day, all day when they can not accept the Muslim on their knees 5 times daily when they are reluctant to extend thanks at the dinner table with GOD’S blessing of food to eat before them daily.

I do not believe Jesus was about hereafter. All kinds of religion handle the hereafter. What was unique about Jesus was his preaching about the hereNOW.

Jesus did not say to the blind man, “Your sight will be restored in the hereafter”.

Jesus did not say to the lame man, “You will walk on the heavenly shore”.

Jesus did not say, “Kill your neighbor and you will be great in heaven”.

Jesus did not stand before the tomb of Lazarus and yell “Lazarus, have a great time.”

Jesus did ask of his spiritual father, “On Earth as it is in heaven”.

Jesus was about the hereNOW.

The great teachers teach us how to live the here and now. They teach us how to make the best of who we are, appreciate what we’ve been given, share the blessings of our wealth be it physical or spiritual, and enjoy the journey of our living. Jesus says to me, appreciate, share, and enjoy for the Father has tomorrow handled. Whether I play a harp for eternity, or return to this place again and again and again is GOD’S venue, what Dennis Wheeler does with His appointed days is mine. I can live an example of a Jesus or Jimmy Hoffa. I can appreciate all I’ve been given or be driven to power and it’s ultimate corruption. I can share what I’ve been given or horde it until that day when it lies in a yard sale weeks after my passing, or worse yet, is tossed into a dumpster and becomes buried with countless other lives under tons of dirt fill.

The reality of life is the hereNOW, the speculation is the hereAfter.

If GOD was less concerned for us He would not have utilized Jesus to promote a better hereNow. GOD would have left us to the Jewish law, or paganism, or mythology. We would be eternal passers by, the bad Samaritan, the righteous priest or the self focused CEO or CFO.

What if I’m in Heaven now? Do I help its dream, or hinder it? Am I promoter of it, or a thief? Am I an encourager of living or a prospector of dying? What do I feel that Jesus would have me do? If I call myself a Christian, to be true to my Jesus and myself, I should be living the best hereNOW I am capable of. I should appreciate it, share it, and enjoy it as the gift that it is.

Amen.

 

WHAT WORKS FOR YOU
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WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

What Works For You? 

I have been writing for many years now. The notes that have become Unorthodox Christianity. They go quite a ways back. Why did I even begin with the writing. It seems I need to remind myself to write more articles. Why?

It largely began with the conversation with a Sunday school teacher I have referenced before. In second grade Sunday School, in the midst of teaching about GOD creating the world and GOOD and EVIL, the teacher asked an open door, “Do you have any questions?”

“Yes”. I responded. “If GOD created everything, why didn’t GOD just make GOOD PEOPLE?”

That was the end of my religious question and answer period. I was embarking on a life where I asked questions and I looked for answers.

First question became IS GOD JUST A REALLY BIG GUY IN THE SKY? Then I touched on JESUS. Should I simply ask the questions to the BIG GUY AT THE TOP? Why Work around the middle man. My dad had worked with professional sales representatives. I guess I got it from him.

I looked up at the sky one evening when I was about 13-14 years old. I began asking GOD questions, with help from the middle man. I could not imagine a BIG GUY IN THE SKY. Too Big. Too many planets. Too many people, too many questions. Too fixed.

So here is God, a spirit that envelopes all created order, galaxies and universes we may never see. There are spiritual dimensions that we can’t even imagine and entities that even Hollywood can’t conjure up. Is GOD a celestial humanoid that only speaks one language and favors one race. A spirit (Whatever that is) that came before all physical creation, affects every single human on Earth to some extent. I have no problem believing in God (whatever a GOD is), but a God with limits on just what [HE] can or can not do?

Then you have the question of the power of Christianity, which is removed from the culture of the legend of Jesus a Messiah for what became a completely different culture that didn’t exist before Jesus? A Messiah that has yet to be accepted by the culture that refuses to accept Jesus as its own Messiah. The CHRIST of Christian is very much a separate entity from the culture Jesus came from and built around converts and Gentiles. In fact the Christian culture of early Christianity created power around an individual who preached LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

It is a wonder that a child in Bethlehem was chosen to carry the spirit and message of God to these people? When these people didn’t listen to Jesus, Jesus sent his insight for LOVE ONE ANOTHER through others who did believe in the life and story of Jesus into other cultures that didn’t speak Jesus’ language or have Jesus’ customs. Groups of other believers that translated Jesus story into their own and patterned their own beliefs along with Jesus. Could there be unconditional love in the midst of all religions without respect of culture, origin, skin tone? We have created racial preferences on EARTH which was created by a single entity to be made in “Our image”.

In the midst of it all GOD has already created that entity to be among us.

It comes in the framework of our pets, our animals, our disenfranchised friends that have a language of their own yet understand our emotions more than we understand our own. They understand our behavior and love us in spite of ourselves. They forgive us more quickly than we can respond. And there have been many millions and billions of followers that have moved forward into Jesus’ message of LOVE ONE ANOTHER, plain and simple.

GOD IS CAPABLE and HAS CREATED GOOD PEOPLE. The truth is that even the GOOD PEOPLE have been around since the beginning.

When we strip away the pious posturing and self beneficial exclusionary doctrines of certain elements of mankind that have made religious structures that make no sense in the in light of a loving GOD that created everyone to made in “HIS IMAGE”. A disciple of JESUS put it this way, GOD IS LOVE. GOD is a force of energy that too many people have refused to participate in. Look around you. Let us not forget an evil side of Succes AT Anothers Expense within the creation of the energy of LOVE that GOD has to compete with for individual attention.

And eventually UNORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY became a bit more than a question and answer period of a Second Grade United Methodist Sunday School student who asked a simple question. Why?

Because just CHRISTIANITY didn’t fit what I discovered. It didn’t fit the answers I heard of on TV. It didn’t match with JESUS.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER seemed much simpler than what I heard on Sunday mornings in church discussions. AND TOO MANY THREATS. If you do this, your off to hell. You will never go to heaven. Initially there was only HEAVEN in the first place. In the followers from different cultures who embraced the Jesus of LOVE ONE ANOTHER there was a different outlook. A LIFE IS OUTLOOK.

I discovered other things. They were shocking things. LIFE IS TEMPORARY.

Not only that, YOU CAN NOT CHANGE THAT. The opportunity you have been given ON EARTH comes with no time frame. GOOD, BAD, INDIFFERENT, a car accident, a war, a flood, a pandemic, a tornado, a world war. For many A diagnosis at birth, or in the middle of it. This life, with all of its challenges, is here and it is TEMPORARY in this format. We may follow the adherents from other cultures who believe in reincarnation, or do it over until you get it right. There are others who believe that you need to get it right and that is it. I, personally, have never imaged a day I do not get up to enjoy the journey over and over again.

UNORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY IS LIFE IS MEANT FOR LIVING, TAKE YOUR FAITH OFF OF THE SHELF.

LIVE IN THE DARK or LIVE IN THE LIGHT. YOU CHOOSE.

The variety of what you can choose is beyond my scope.

But I have always remembered one thing. “WHY DIDN’T GOD MAKE ALL PEOPLE GOOD ?”

BECAUSE THAT IS OUR JOB.

By the way we act, FORGIVE ME MY TRESPASSES (easy enough) AS I FORGIVE THOSE WHO HAVE TRESPASSED AGAINST ME (real tough).

LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU

(Way Complicated in it’s depth).

To me, the purpose of living is to participate in the adventure of life.

How you do that is what you choose. You do the best you can while you are here. I have always wanted UNORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY to give you a place where you can MAKE JESUS AND GOD WORK FOR YOU. If you so wish, have a conversation with an entity most of us call GOD. Or a carpenters son named JESUS. Wisdom is not exclusive to just these two. You will meet the wisest people at the most opportune times in your life. It will not happen by coincidence. It will happen for you by asking and recognizing it. It may be your lifelong adventure or at your last breath. You will be forgiven for what you know not what you do. And you may enjoy every moment of the journey. GOD has made all people good, it is just a matter of time.

GOD BLESS and I pray you can make your best life work for you.

It is your gift from GOD and a carpenters SON named JESUS.

WHAT COMES NEXT
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WHAT COMES NEXT

WHAT COMES NEXT?       

I was a bit lost over the last many days trying to think about what to write for this blog. Where do we go from here? What lies ahead of our days?

How often do you talk to GOD? Do you wonder just what to ask GOD? When you decide to talk to GOD what do you want to say? What will you ask? What do you want to know? What do you want GOD to do for you? What do you want GOD to say to you?

I was frustrated that nothing jumped out at me so I sat back and played a few songs that I had written years ago. Just for fun and memories. One song caught my attention.

It was a song about a conversation I had with a friend. Many years ago. How do your conversations usually go? Work, Sports, hobbies, what movie to watch? Do you talk about the kids, school, what is happening in the news?

The chorus to that song went like this in respect to the conversation:

“I’M CONFUSED.
I don’t understand.
What you said, when I held your hand.
I know I was listening and I heard every word,
but I can’t believe the words are for me”.

I sat down and I played this song again and imaged the song with GOD as the recipient. Make no mistake, GOD does music.

“Are you talking to me? This is ME, GOD you’re talking to.
I’M CONFUSED. I don’t understand.
What you said, when I held your hand.
I know I was listening and I heard every word,
but I can’t believe the words are for me”.

“What comes next? You ask?”

GOD may be all powerful, But GOD needs your Heart.

GOD may be all knowing, But GOD needs your Hands.

GOD may be the creator, But GOD needs your Time.

GOD may be very where, But GOD needs your Help.

Where you are, right now, GOD needs you to BE GOD’S LOVE.

Do not think that GOD can do everything that you are asking GOD to do WITHOUT YOUR HELP. This isn’t a TV show or blockbuster movie. This is YOU, sharing YOUR LOVE with GOD’S help. YOU are GOD’S FIRST RESPONDER. WHO ELSE IS GOD GOING TO CALL?

Accepting GOD is what starts your journey. What comes next is up to you.

You ask GOD to help you. GOD asks you to help GOD. GOD NEVER works alone. GOD asks YOU to help first. A smile, a touch, a hug. It may be a Band Aid, a ride, a cup of coffee, a LOVE. GOD didn’t create you to ask GOD to go it alone. GOD asks YOU to help. It comes with the territory.

WHY?

Because GOD LOVES YOU and YOUR LOVE HELPS GOD.

“ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN”.

What Comes Next?

What GOD needs from you.

GOD is recruiting you to help GOD.

GOD needs ANGELS.

GOD needs workers.

GOD needs 1st, 2nd, 3rd responders.

GOD created the world, but GOD needs your help to maintain it.

GOD needs you to clean it, to help each other, to share the wealth, to make the WORLD a BETTER place.

THAT IS WHAT COMES NEXT.

And that is where we all come in. GOD can not do it alone. Only our help, our LOVE, our caring, and our commitment will keep EARTH for us and our children. YOU cannot wish away YOUR PART OF THE JOB.

LOVE IS WHAT COMES NEXT.

EARTH and LIFE is SERIOUS BUSINESS. DO NOT TAKE THE WORLD FOR GRANTED. YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH THE GREATEST GIFT.

LIFE.

“Are you talking to me? This is ME, GOD you’re talking to.
I’M CONFUSED. I don’t understand.
What you said, when I held your hand.
I know I was listening and I heard every word,
but I can’t believe the words are for me”.

DON’T THROW EARTH AWAY.

GOD NEEDS YOU. THAT IS WHAT COMES NEXT.

GOD BLESS YOU.

FOLLOW THE DOGS
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FOLLOW THE DOGS

GOD provides us with many gifts. Many we don’t sometimes recognize for the sake of all our busyness. Mack and Jake are two of those gifts. They are my Guardian Angels. In a world that seems to talk faster, drive faster, work faster and proudly hurry to all tasks; A restful day is planned for today. The dogs felt no need to get up early today as the overnight was filled with thunder and the grumbling of weather since 1 AM. I was more than grateful for the rest this morning. Looking forward to a simple day that is filled with this or that. Have a wonderful day and seek out the passion of enjoyment. Our CARES and PRAYERS will be with you.

You see, we search out great things to attribute to GOD. We spend hours and days and years trying to determine what GOD is. Or what GOD does. Or why. We get caught up in debate about what is real or not. I am, today, grateful for one gift I can touch and pet, talk to when I need a listening ear, and stop walking and watch the grass grow on their command. That is the structure of Unconditional Love. Live and in Color. GOD BLESS.

ME, Mack and Jake

 

 

LIFE: ISN’T THAT WONDERFUL
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LIFE: ISN’T THAT WONDERFUL

Life: Isn’t that wonderful.

I remember lots of people in my life as a result of the words or phrases they use in their life. I am sure there are many in your circle whose cherished words of thought stand out for a great many reasons. Today’s featured image is a picture of one of my treasured people. My Aunt Vera. It has been a long time now since I could talk to my Aunt Vera but I will never forget a saying that was the core of her spirit. “Isn’t That Wonderful?” There was never a bad day that she couldn’t find a sliver of Wonderful in her day. It is easy for a day to linger on with negative thoughts all day, or week, or years. I remember her comments about the poems I would send her that would find their way to her favorite magazine. “Isn’t that wonderful,” would be a comment. “Too much rain?” “Isn’t that wonderful?” Too little rain? “Look at that sun, Isn’t that wonderful?” It created in me a search for the wonderfuls.

I have the opportunity to talk to all kinds of people on a work day. I look at it as Job Security. The other day it was a Vietnam vet using a wheel chair. I watched his progress from outside the food court, and then in line, and then to a table. Then back to the line to grab the food and take it to the table. His Vietnam hat was his story that I am sure is remembered by so many. As he was getting ready to leave he was struggling to clean up the table and take his trash to the trash receptical. I reached out to help. “Do you need any help?” I asked.

“Legs don’t move as well now. I can handle it,” he said.

I went ahead and helped saying, “It is what I do.” When I cleaned off the table he responded with “Thank you”. I asked if he needed any more help.

He mentioned no, but he did begin a short conversation of his challenges.

The list of various surgeries and doctors visits, the loss of his wife this last year. Open heart this and that, the new pacemaker and more transpired over just a few minutes. What do you say after all of that?

“Have a good day?” I said.

“Yes: Thank you” was the reply. Appreciating another day irregardless of his challenges, was his attitude.

“How is your day going?” he asked of me.

“Life is. Isn’t that wonderful”. I said.

“You too”: he replied and he was gone in the crowd.

It would have been Aunt Vera’s reply. The automatic reply that is so set in my mind after hearing it so many times from my Aunt Vera it was most appropriate. GOD surrounds us with Aunt Vera’s for just these special times.

So Monday I will be off to a not so hard of a job. “Isn’t that wonderful”.

Have a wonderful day. Our CARES and PRAYERS will be with you all.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN “IF”
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WHAT DO YOU MEAN “IF”

WHAT DO YOU MEAN “IF”     

From Mark 9: 23……

Jesus heard an argument that was going on in a crowd. “What are you arguing about”, Jesus asked. A man answered from the crowd. He said “Master, I have brought my son to you; there is a spirit of dumbness in him and when it takes hold of him it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and goes rigid. I asked your disciples to cast it out and they were unable to”.

“You faithless generation”, Jesus said in reply. “How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me”. They brought the boy to him, and as soon as the spirit saw Jesus it threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell to the ground and lay writhing there, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father “How long has this been happening to him?” “From childhood,” he replied, “and it has often thrown him into the fire and into the water, in order to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us”.

“What do you mean, ‘If you can ?” retorted Jesus. “Anything is possible for anyone who has faith”.

Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do have faith. Help the little faith I have!” When Jesus saw how many people were pressing around him, he rebuked the unclean spirit. “Deaf and dumb spirit,” Jesus said, “I command you: come out of him and never enter him again.” Then throwing the boy into violent convulsions it came out shouting, and the boy lay there so like a corpse that most of them said “He is dead”. But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him up and he was able to stand. When Jesus had gone indoors his disciples asked him privately , “Why were we unable to cast it out?” “This is the kind,” Jesus answered, “that can only be driven out by prayer”.

What do you mean “If” you can? Have you asked JESUS “If you can”? Has life thrown you a curve and you have tried everything else and nothing is working for you.

Often JESUS is the last resort for help. Many times we blame Jesus when something goes wrong in life.

We are like the young boy who told the pastor that he was never going to go to church again because Jesus did not answer his prayer when his grandmother had passed away.

The Pastor asked the young boy what had he asked of Jesus. “To make Grandma better. That she would have no pain”. The young boy asked.

“Where is Grandma now”; asked the Pastor.

“Heaven?” the boy asked.

“Yes” said the Pastor. “And she is not in any pain. And she never will be in pain ever again and Jesus did just what you asked”.

Jesus was known through the crowds of his day as a great healer. Many brought friends, relatives, and themselves to Jesus to heal them. The stories just like this one above happened daily, Many times a day. How many times have you gone to Jesus in prayer and asked Jesus “If you can, Jesus”; heal mom, or dad, or the pet dog or find the family cat”. You watch the news and a car accident takes someone you know or someone in common. Someone in church or down the street. Your best friend, your love. “IF YOU CAN, JESUS”.

“Help the little faith I have!”

More often than not we have this discussion with Jesus, IF YOU CAN? long before we ever discuss life with JESUS as our savior or our friend. Long before we even take the opportunity to get to know Jesus. Many have a hard enough time believing in JESUS period. Let alone believe in JESUS enough to believe that He can.

Can Jesus? Nice stories, nice movies, but come on, Faith?

“Why were we unable to cast out the unclean spirit?” asked the Disciples. “This is the kind that can only be driven out by prayer” Jesus replied. And Prayer is a learned function of life. It doesn’t just crop up because it is Tuesday. Take time to ask Jesus how things are going. Listen to the answers. It took you years to develop a best friend. Ask Jesus just what had to be done to make that best friend happen. Then LISTEN.

“What Do You Mean “IF” you can. What do you mean IF you believe in ME. What do you mean “Help the little faith I have!”

 Jesus asks as much of US as we ask of Him.

“What do you mean, “IF”.    “Please Help the little faith I have!”

Jesus CAN, If Jesus Knows. Start your conversation today.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN GOD
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DO YOU BELIEVE IN GOD

DO YOU BELIEVE IN GOD? 

The Pandemic has changed us a great deal. There have been other pandemics prior to this one. There was one in 1957-1958. It did not happen as a political discussion. It did occur when most households had TV, some nightly news. It did not happen with Facebook, or TIK TOK, or IPHONES, or GOOGLE. It wasn’t broadcast on international television or regulated by the CDC. It closed schools. There was no social media to tell us how to behave, how free we were to make decisions for ourselves or whether Republicans were right or wrong or the Democrats were right or wrong. We were well or sick. The numbers from 1918 had been huge. We knew to respect it.

Today’s pandemic has affected millions. An enormous number of people have died from it and we have debated if it was real or not. When I got the Asian Flu in 1957, I slept for a week. I knew it was real. I was real sick. I survived that time. For the current pandemic I took the vaccination in it’s due course this year and have survived. I wore a mask everyday. I still do at work. Other things can make me sick now. It is called older age, Arthritis, High Blood Pressure, Cancer. There have been more debates about reality or fake news than ever before.

A question comes to mind.

If I write and tell you to Believe in GOD because GOD knows what is right or wrong what should I say to you? What will you say to me? Will you say I believe in GOD. Will I take GOD’s side when people ask me if I believe in GOD? Is your question “Is there such a thing as GOD? Is GOD fake news?
These are real questions.

Do you believe in GOD in much the same way as I believed in Santa Claus?

I used to get Christmas presents from Santa Claus, I did not attribute any Christmas gifts as coming from GOD. I new the story about Jesus and Mary, and I knew that I would get some gifts from Santa Claus. I didn’t get a card from GOD. Come to think about it I haven’t gotten a birthday card from GOD. Or did I. Maybe, just maybe, GOD had to send it via a friend, or neighbor or relative. Maybe the gifts I got from my Aunt Vera came via GOD. A world of books to read and study. Maybe Aunt Vera was an angel.

What is GOD to you? GOD never called me “Buddy”. My daughter calls me “Buddy”. I call my daughter “Budette”. I never told MOM that I got beat up by a Bully when I got off the school bus one day with a classmate in fifth grade who proceeded to beat me up because I was a skinny kid and consequently easier to beat up and then brag about it. Did I question where GOD was? Did I ask GOD for help? The book department at the local pharmacy was having a sale on self defense books the day I wandered into the department in 1962. Front and Center. My dad bought me a couple of books I asked for. GOD taught me how to defend myself. GOD encouraged me to be diligent and practice. I studied and I learned and I practiced over the next 40 some years. I’m the Sunday School kid who asked the teacher “Why doesn’t GOD just make good people”?

Do I believe in GOD? I have been told and have heard preachers say that GOD will remand me to hell if I don’t do what GOD tells me to do. If GOD told you to drive the speed limit would you drive the speed limit? If GOD told you to Love one Another would you Love One Another? Why should I believe in a GOD who threatens me like the BULLY threatened me?

GOD, through Jesus, tells me that “A Father had two sons…” and the youngest left home and squandered a fortune yet was welcome back home by his father. (Luke 15: 11-32 The Prodigal Son). I believe in that GOD.

Do you question politics? What is right and what is wrong? Do you question justice and fairness? Do you debate GOD about just what does Love One Another mean? Who does one another consist of? Do you question GOD? Do you believe in GOD? Do you want to believe in GOD? Have you talked to GOD about it? What has GOD done for you?

GOD utilizes people to implement your future. GOD spreads the messages of life throughout your life. The difficult part is recognizing them. And admitting that you recognize and appreciate them. That we all make mistakes is not news. It is what and how GOD talks to us that counts. Look over your life and see just how GOD has been there. See how GOD plans your future when you haven’t even told GOD you could use a bit of help. You have no idea what GOD has planned for you and your future so always give GOD a chance. Our present day society is questioning all things. We are debating the discussions of social media and what is real and what is fake. At some point the question will come to you.

Do you believe in GOD? Why is it important? Is GOD more like Santa Claus or does GOD have a purpose? Does GOD have a purpose for you? Just who sent my Christmas card for what purpose? Santa Claus? OR mom? Or Aunt Vera?

Ask GOD. You will discover a conversationalist beyond compare.