Tuesday, April 25, 2006

IMAGINE Part II

IMAGINE THERE IS A HEAVEN!!!




I love to whistle; I sometimes think that I can whistle almost as well as I can play the trumpet. Sometimes I catch my self whistling tunes that I don't even realize what I am doing; I just hear the tune, and I whistle along. My brother in the Lord, "Catfish", heard me one day at work whistling along to the John Lennon song Imagine, and told me that he did not think that I should be whistling that song. this prompted me to go to the internet and look up the history of the song.

BAD LYRICS

I was really shocked at what I saw; "imagine there's no Heaven, no hell below???" This is not a Beatles bashing blog, but I need to say this. I could never in my wildest dreams imagine that there's NO heaven; I am sad that there really is a hell below, but for the Chistian, hell may as well not exist, except for one reason; that reason is to explain the reality of hell to those who don't know, so that they can go to a very real Heaven.
The song goes on to say that "you may say I am a dreamer". NO..I will say that to imagine that there is no Heaven is a nightmare! Please Lord, let me wake up in Heaven, and thank you Jesus! I am now whistling "When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be, when we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory!"

IMAGINE

As I said in "Imagine" January 16, just imagine what it will be like to have the "King of the Universe take you in His arms like that." This could be a dream come true for you who read this; would you like that? Imagine the reality of it. Ask Jesus into your heart today and then, it will no longer be a dream.

FILL IN THE BLANKS (put you name, along with your heart, in the blanks)

"For God so loved __________, that He gave His only begotten Son, that if ___________
believeth,_________ shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

Saturday, April 22, 2006

this is an audio post - click to play

Who is this Jesus?




Who is this Jesus???

By Larry Wiseman


So just who is this Jesus that so many people talk about? Some say He was the son of God, some say He was a prophet; others say that He was the son of man, or even just a man, while still more say that He did not exist, more say that they don’t know or care who He is or was, and there are those who say that He was simply a joke. Many say and many pray and wait for His eventual coming again, but there is one thing for sure…almost no one can say that they’ve never heard of Him, no matter who He may be. Some use the name of Jesus Christ to swear with, and others, instead of swearing, pledge an allegiance of faith and servitude to a King that they have never seen.
Multitudes of people “think” they know who Jesus is, and millions are certain that they know exactly who He was and is. Some force their explanations of Jesus to conform to their own innovations and imaginations, while others use the Word of God to prove their case. There are several versions of God’s Word, and most of them agree who Jesus was and is; some versions have been written for the sole purpose of convincing others to believe in a certain doctrine or belief system.
So as you read this, what is your conclusion as to who Jesus Christ really is? Will you turn to the Bible, some theologian, your own belief system, some other person’s belief system? If you ask for help, you will be flooded with hundreds of well meaning people who seemingly know that they have the answer. Logically speaking, some will be wrong, some will be accurate and correct, while others will have a strange mixture of truth and fable. Question: If there is a real Jesus who has any power at all, especially if He is God Himself , don’t you think that He would want an individual that is seeking Him to know who He is? So who do you believe??? It has been said that everyone believes in something, even if it is oneself. So many people claim to have the answer, and he or she can usually be extremely scholastic in explaining where they derived their version of the truth from. Many will be extremely correct, but how do YOU decide? Is it possible that one can find the truth without being a “bookworm” or a great student?
Spirits
Remember this…one day, you may realize that if God exists, that he has a Spirit who is capable of conveying any message that He wants to come forth. Spirit of this, and spirit of that…Spirit of America, Spirit of St. Louis, Spirit of God, Spirit of man…on and on…who can we really trust? In a debate over any issue, the person who wins is the one who is the most convincing; the one who seems to be the most believable! Depending on the circumstances, it is possible that, given the right resources, along with the power of influence, that most people might be convinced of anything. Just look at the “kool-aid” drinkers in the Jonestown massacre. It is a good thing that “you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all the people all of the time.”
So who is this Jesus? Do you know, or do you just think that you know? Is the Earth round or is it flat? Who convinced you of anything, and how were you persuaded to know it for a fact? There really is only one source to know who Jesus is. Men have the answers, given in God’s Word, but you may say “I am tired of depending on men, and I don’t even believe the Bible!” Many share your sentiments, so if you were ever to be convinced of the reality of God, the Bible, or Jesus, what would it take to convince you? If you were asked who you are, would you say that you “know” who you are…certainly, based solely on your own consciousness. Well then, Jesus should know who He is then, right? So let’s just ask Him, but where is He? You will notice that I have yet to give you a reference to convince you of my personal beliefs…personally I do believe that the Word of God is a real, living Word, unlike any book ever written, but let’s pretend that I am unable to convince you of this.
The only way that you will EVER know who Jesus is, even if you are a staunch atheist, or an agnostic, is to ask God. You don’t believe in God? Well, ask Him anyway! “How silly,” you say. Well, if you ask Him, and He doe not exist, then this non-existent God will never answer you, right? On the other hand, if there is a real God, who created the entire universe, and all that exists, then He certainly is capable of giving you an answer as to who Jesus is; it may not be an answer as you humanly perceive that it should be. But since (or if) God is really God, then He can show you things that cannot be denied, so be prepared for a life changing experience, once you begin to seek who Jesus may be. Which brings me to my dare…I personally dare anyone to really, sincerely ask God if He exists, and to show you who Jesus is, You may say that you have asked, and NO answer came…I dare you, once again, to keep on asking…what do you have to lose? You may be pleasantly surprised at what you have to gain. If and when God comes to you, like I know He will, then ask Him to guide you to the right people for growth and guidance. Larry Wiseman



Why did I write the preceding article?

During a recent prayer time, I felt lead by the Holy Spirit to think through the process of the article that you have just read. I believe the there are several categories, if you will, of people in this world some of which can be classified as spiritual, some not so spiritual, some not spiritual at all, and others who would like to be spiritual, but for one reason or another, are not willing to surrender or commit to anything that causes them to lose control of his or her life. People who love God are happy about it, and love Him, and can’t seem to get enough of experiencing God in their life. There are others who only have God in their lives when they need Him, still others wish at times that they did not know anything about God, because He represents the guilt and conviction of the sin in their lives.
There is still another very large group of people in this world that do not know God, and are sick and tired of “religious” people who either force Christianity on others, or they are sick and tired of seeing people claim to be Christians, and not walk the talk. In a strange way, I respect this group, for they somehow understand how a decent Christian person ought to act, and are honestly disillusioned and disappointed, when they see the failures of Christians. “Who is this Jesus?” is not meant to denigrate the importance of truth or the Word of God, but, in fact, a message to all… that without the power of the Holy Spirit, no one can understand what God is all about. Christians should stand ready to “give an answer to all men”, “study to show thyself approved”, so that when God’s Spirit does work in a non-Christian’s life, we can be used of God to “feed His Sheep”. We must remember that we do not do the saving; we must allow God to do His work, and simply be His tools for ministry.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Honor Thy Father and Mother


These are two people who knew what honor means, and we honor them for lives well spent...Ruth and Ned Wiseman






















Hello...most of my life, I had the Biblical concept of "honoring" my parents as that of showing respect in their presence, or not saying disrespectful things behind their backs etc. I was raised to have respect for my elders; something that kids today are sorely lacking in, and my parents were the kind of people that commanded respect, but more than that, they both were deserving of it.

I felt that it is fitting...
It is fitting then, that even though my Mom and Dad have passed on, that I pay tribute to their lives. I could not possibly write enough words about them, to adequately describe what they meant to me when they were here on Earth, much less what they still mean to me and everyone in our family. On behalf of my two wonderful sisters Audrey and Virginia, and my "Godly man" brother Ralph(and their respective families), I would like to say that we miss our parents, but oddly enough, they don't miss us, for they are safe in the arms of Jesus, and if we could really know what life is like for them now, we would not want to cheat them, by bringing them back. We were all blessed to know them as people, blessed to be their children, and blessed with the hope and assurance of seeing them again one fine day! Both of them in their own right were truly incredible people, and they knew that anything that may have appeared to be great about them was strictly a gift,"graced" upon them by God.

Longevity is Rare...this day and Time!
In a day where divorce, infidelity, violence, and immorality run amuck, longevity in marriage is rare. Our parents were married to each other for 64 years, and divorce was never an option for dealing with life's problems. "nuff" said; I am proud of them for that! There is not enough time and space to tell the life story of Ruth and Ned Wiseman, but a few highlights should suffice to convey the wonderful life that they had, individually, and as a couple.

Mother
Mom was a great mother and home-maker who reached out to everyone she knew, in love, and volunteered in the every community she lived in. During WWII, she worked as a nurse's asst. at Kennedy Hospital in Memphis. During the 1960' she worked as secretary for the 111th Intelligence Corps for the US Army. She was a Cub Scout den mother, a Sunday school teacher, a pink lady at the Hospital, and loved to feed people. More than anything, she loved Jesus, and always tried to point anyone she knew to the Cross. She loved to sing, and had an angelic alto voice that would make the meanest man in the world break down , and cry. She loved flowers, ceramics, and playing the piano. Behind every great man is a great woman, and Ruth was the entire cheering squad for her husband. One of the things that my Dad was lacking in was education, and she encouraged him to further his education often, and even helped him in his career at Delta Airlines; assisting him with clerical work.
Daddy
Our Dad was probably a genuis; I don't know what his IQ was, but if he set his mind to do something, he just learned how, and did it. I have not known anyone like him in this world, except for my brother Ralph, and me. We are only similar to our Dad because he was our mentor; we are still trying to be like him; it will take a little more time. Dad was not perfect; he had a bad temper, which even he seemed to shed as he grew old, and my brother and I have mellowed now, too. With all of the rough upbringing that Ned Wiseman had, he somehow, by the Grace of God, sought after and maintained character, character that meant doing the right thing at all costs. I think that the one thing that impressed me most about him was that he refused to "kiss up" to people to get ahead; he could have been much higher up in his job, but he wanted to get where he did, on his record only or nothing at all. He was a very successful man; this webpage could not tell it all; Dad taught us that if something breaks, fix it; if you don't know how, learn about it, and fix it. I came home from school one day, and found our television completely dismantled, and Dad was repairing it... it was working fine by that night. My brother Ralph has that talent; he had his own television repair service for about 20 years. Over all the years of my own "do it yourself" projects, I knew that I could call Daddy if I got into trouble. Dad gave his life to Jesus when he was in his thirties, and before he died, he told me that he could go happily to be with God now because all of his children were "saved", and in the fold; that was his greatest legacy.

Today we honor them...
I have not always honored my parents, but since I became a Christian in 1982, I have tried to. My siblings have honored my parents with their lives, also. My brother and his wife Rita put their lives on hold to stay with my aging parents in their latter years, and my sister Virginia was my mother's care taker for the last two years of Mom's life; my sister Audrey took care of all of Mom's affairs, even years after she passed away. We all, in our own ways have tried to honor our parents when they were with us, and now, I would like to honor them again, and I pray that the Father will give them a little glimpse, just to show them what their lives have meant to us, and the awesome legacy of love, that they have passed on to us, and all who knew them.