Helping Others

We in American are extremely blessed, overabundantly, exuberantly and impossibly blessed. I often catch myself worrying over some trivial problem or becoming frustrated in the perceived tardiness of something I desire.

God gives to and blesses each of us so that we may give to another some of what we've had, whether time, skills or money. There is war, famine, disease and death still to be found in this fallen terra firma. Rather than becoming frustrated because you lack that plasma television or your boss just yelled at you, rather, spend your time and set your mind to the task of looking for ways to help others. In this country and elsewhere.

You will quickly find that having less creates more joy than having more.

Let's all begin our search anew and be the light to all we meet.



Matthew 25: 34-46

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Insufficient Riches

I was just reading in the paper about the deaths of actors Heath Ledger and Brad Renfro. These were two young men that had the whole world handed to them and the whole world to look forward to, and yet, they chose suicide and drug addiction. Their examples once again illustrate the truism that fame and riches are simply insufficient. Only through the saving grace of Jesus Christ are our lives made meaningful and whole.



1 Timothy 6:8-10
8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Proverbs 11:28
Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

Psalm 49:15-17
15 But God will redeem my life [a] from the grave;
he will surely take me to himself.
Selah

16 Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,
when the splendor of his house increases;

17 for he will take nothing with him when he dies,
his splendor will not descend with him.

BUT

1 Peter 1:7
These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.


2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

Officer Safety Issues-concealable Firearms

One of the growing areas of concern for Officers is the profileration of concealable holsters/hidden firearms. Pictured are some of the ones that have been brought to my attention as of late. Look out and be careful...

Psalm 38:12 Those who seek my life set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they plot deception.

In the here and now

I rarely am satisfied with anything. I am truly a Yes…but person. One of the biggest tasks that I have been attempting to accomplish is the ability to have Joy in the here and now. I want to be able to sing in prison like Paul or find “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” ability.

But there is another aspect of this concept that I am currently dealing with and that is appreciating God’s blessings when things are good. I have been in a long long dry spell at work and now it appears that a rare opportunity is arising that was well worth the slight work related suffering that I experienced.

However when I was in the middle of work morass I had to force myself to appreciate all the millions of other, and more important, things that were right. My wife and two children and been an abundant and overflowing blessing that would have been worth an entire career pushing a squad around. But why did I have to force myself to this mindset rather than enjoying the moment?

Have joy during persecution but have joy during the blessings also. Stop yourself from looking for more and/or better and appreciate what you already have been given by God here and now. The things of this earth are fleeting praise God for what you have been given before you look back and realize what you have lost.

Psalm 145:6-8

6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
and I will proclaim your great deeds.

7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.

The ten best movie endings

The ten best movie endings (without some of the classics that everyone knows about)


10. Napoleon Dynamite-finally someone to play tetherball with…
9. Clerks-nothing changes they just keep on keeping on…
8. Razing Arizona-The Dream, then I see a table…
7. Fuzz-Yul Brynner’s deaf terrorist reaching up from the water to retrieve his listening device
6. Rocky-Adrian! Adrian! Adrian!
5. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly-one more bullet to cut the ugly from the noose and ride out into the sunset
4. The Road warrior (Mad Max 2) Sand in the tanker? Was he tricked? Did he know? Where does he go from here?
3. Star Wars-KA BOOM –pass out the awards-enough said
2. The Life Aquatic: Steve Zassou-the Bill Murray character carrying the child on his shoulders down the pathway-in some small way he “gets” it.
1. Indiana Jones: Slowly wheeling the ark of the convent to be lost once again amid the piles of crates in a federal warehouse.

End of the World!!!!!!!

Another sign of the end of the world (the 14th or so seal), is when the Simpsons episodes start to come true...spooky...here is the episode...

"New Kid on the Block" is the 8th episode of The Simpsons' fourth season. Sub plot: Meanwhile, Homer goes to the restaurant with Marge, but Marge is allergic to fish. Homer orders the all-you-can-eat and eats everything. Captain McCallister kicks him out after midnight. He goes to trial with his lawyer, Lionel Hutz, claiming false advertising. Homer and the captain make an agreement: Homer is put on display as "Bottomless Pete; a remorseless eating machine", or "nature's cruelest mistake".

Here is the article...

La. men say eatery banned them for eating too much
Posted by Pedro Ramirez III January 03, 2008 10:23AM
Categories: Breaking News
In news from across the nation:

HOUMA, La. -- A 265-pound man says a restaurant overcharged him for his trips to the buffet, then banned him and a relative because of how much they consumed during their visits.

Ricky Labit, a 6-foot-3 disabled offshore worker, said he had been a regular at the Manchuria Restaurant, eating there as often as three times a week. But on his most recent visit, he said a waitress gave him and his wife's cousin, Michael Borrelli, a bill for $46.40, roughly double the buffet price for two adults.

"She says, 'Y'all fat, and y'all eat too much,'" Labit said.

Labit and Borrelli said they felt discriminated against because of their size.

"I was stunned, that somebody would say something like that. I ain't that fat, I only weigh 277," Borrelli said.

Accountant Thomas Campo, who spoke for the restaurant because the owner's English is limited, said the men were charged an extra $10 each on Dec. 21 because they made a habit of dining exclusively on the more expensive seafood dishes, including crab legs and frog legs.

- The Associated Press


"We have a lot of big people there," Campo said. "We don't discriminate."

The argument over the bill grew heated, and police were called. The police report states that the disagreement was settled when the restaurant said the bill was a mistake and, to appease Labit, the meal was complimentary.

Labit said he insisted on paying but was told not to come back. He complained that when seafood on the buffet line runs out, the restaurant only grudgingly cooks more. Campo said the proprietress tries to reduce waste of quality food.

The God of Providence

There are biblical truths that I know intellectually but still have to experience now and again to make them “feel real”. The most current one that I am experiencing is that our God is a God of providence and just because you are experiencing negative life/professional experiences does not mean he has removed himself from you but rather he is more active in your life than ever before.

I have had a very professionally trying two years. Nothing went right, everything that could go wrong did go wrong and every opportunity that came up was brutally stripped away from me. I took and long hard look at myself, fixed a few things but still nothing seemed to improve. I recommitted myself to prayer and the Bible but still found myself in the same morass. I knew that everything is according to Gods plan and that he is a God of providence but my trial seemed arbitrary and pointless and I soon found myself fighting a victimed mindset.

However the single coolest opportunity has occurred at work that is greater than all of the things I was prevented to become and would be well worth the pain of the last two years. I have been given this opportunity and I will discuss it when it is totally locked in, right now it is 99% sure it will be mine.

The amazing thing is that if any one of the negative experiences that I went through turned out positive I would not have been able to take this position. I have always wondered how Paul found such great Joy in his pain and suffering but now, and again, I see that in the low and troubled times great things are brewing if you just trust in the Lord. This is a principle I once again “feel” and know.

Hebrews 11

By Faith

1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he[a]considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring[b] will be reckoned."[c] 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.

23By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.

24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea[d] as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[e]

32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned[f]; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.