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Public and Private

8 Jul

Little Faults Are Easier To Confess Than Big Ones

My old neighbor in Saskatchewan has been known to say, “A wise man admits his weaknesses. I’d admit mine if I had any.” His wife Ruby is always ready to suggest a few of his weaknesses, but Ed claims that they do not count as they are a matter of her opinion not proven fact.

If it’s hard to be humble, it is also difficult to admit even little faults about ourselves. We may get lots of practice speaking about the various-sized sins of others but confessing our own mistakes may choke us up. It is said that confession is good for the soul. It is also suggested that we confess little faults to persuade people that we have no big ones.

Sovereignty

3 Jul

Sovereignty Used To Belong To God

When Ed, my old neighbor from Saskatchewan called last week, he wanted to know what I was doing.  I told him that I was studying the sovereignty of God. He was quick to say that he thought God was no longer sovereign over many or much. I suggested that it is a matter of perception. Maybe folks forget about God unless they want to ask a favor of Him or blame Him. God is in control, but that doesn’t stop us from wanting absolute power for ourselves. We tend to have control issues wanting things done our way, which we think is the only right way there is.

I told Ed that it is from the Bible that we say that God is in control or sovereign, as rightful ruler over everything and everyone in the universe. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. God is, above all things and before all things. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. (Revelation 21:6)

Anger Danger

3 Jul

Anger Is Like A Forest Fire; It Burns Out Of Control

“I have had an outburst of anger that I’m not proud of admitting,” I told Ed my old neighbor in Saskatchewan. He wasn’t surprised because he knows I suffer from the occasional thunderstorm of temper. My anger can come up fast or simmer and then boil over, causing a mess rather than serving a useful purpose.

Ed said to me, “Is this, ‘Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song? You used to sing to me how somebody did you wrong after you had a fit of anger.”

Lord’s Prayer

21 Jun

Time For Fasting And Prayers In The Summer

Ed, my old neighbor, was suspicious when I told him that I have declared a weekly day of fasting for myself during the summer. “Does your fasting mean that you are so heavy that you are using fasting to starve a few pounds off?” Ed asked me.

“Not exactly,” I answered, “I have been eating too many cookies, and desserts, and my weight is too high, but a day of fasting each week won’t be enough to change my waistline. I will be using daily prayers to help me gain more self-control over my snacking after supper. 

Family Connections

12 Jun

Traveling To Tie Family Cords Together

“A five, day trip to our grandson’s graduation was good for our car,” I told Ed my old neighbor in Saskatchewan. He could not figure out how a trip could be useful for our car. I explained that the eight hours of driving one way at top interstate speed was what the car needed. Before the trip the dash engine light had lit up. The dealership said that I needed to drive the vehicle at higher speed for a longer drive, instead of short trips at low speeds. After our trip to Portland, Oregon, eight hours there and eight hours back. Our car’s engine light has stopped coming on.

Ed feels traveling eight hours for high school graduation is too much. He has his own ideas about how high school graduations should be conducted. If Ed ruled the school system, high school graduations would be for the school staff and the graduates only. It would be at the end of the last school day. On that day the graduates would get their diplomas with a handshake and, a solid direction to each one: “Now go to college or university or get a job, as you are all done here!”

Distorted

10 Jun

Don’t Correct And Criticize Others – Let Them Do It Themselves

“Why is it that folks feel they have a right to criticize and correct others?” I asked Ed, my old neighbor in Saskatchewan. Ed believes that it may be genetic as everyone seems to have a critical streak in them from childhood to old age. Children accuse parents of being able to find fault with them anywhere or at any time. Parents accuse teens of having an insatiable enthusiasm for criticizing everyone and everything. Most people end up blaming themselves from time to time. Politicians spend their lives criticizing each other. Ed summed up his opinions on criticizing by saying that everyone likes to correct and criticize others, but they do not want to be corrected or criticized themselves.

William Telle famous for shooting an apple off the top of his son’s head in1307 is reported to have said: “Our present time is a criticizing and critical time.” I think that today, 2019 might also be described as a critical time. We are entitled to our own opinions, but our thoughts are not necessarily right except for ourselves. We can share our views but must not be surprised if someone wants to criticize them.

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