We often sit back and think to ourselves, what are the things in this life that truly matter? Okay, I guess I am saying this because I have wondered the exact same thing before. Maybe there are many who do not, I don’t know. The thing is this: What about those who ask this same question? I know many watch celebrities come and go, and some have great success and then pass away. They wonder if their fame and fortune was all that mattered to them, or was it a side-effect in their quest for better music?

I know in all my years, I have loved different songs, some were and still are my favorites; the “Golden Oldies” for instance. I know I have remarked before that I love the older Country music, but then I ask myself, if I am doing nothing more than showing my age. And it seems important to note, that sometimes I did not like the artist, but loved a particular song.

Other times I love a song for a more personal reason, because I was always played certain songs in diners when my mom and dad and my sister and I were traveling. Or it could have been Patsy Cline. The point is, there is always a reason for our love of music; one of the more resonating things in life.

Having said all of this…How odd is it…we see almost nothing like this about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? In my last article, I spoke about all the blessings we receive from the Lord, despite whether we are saved to Jesus or not. Why is it we can feel so bad about the passing of a celebrity and relegate the death of Jesus Christ to only once a week at church, if that?

How odd is it…the celebrities can have vast personal wealth and yet that wealth is only temporary at best? How odd is it, that we will play and replay certain songs after an artist passes on and yet we never find time to play and sing, “The Old Rugged Cross?” Or maybe “How Great thou art?” Does any of this make any sense to you?

Again, I am going to ask you, who deserves the thanks and the praise, the glory for all we have?

Yesterday, I found out I am growing cataracts and if in the near future, if I do not have cataract surgery, I could lose my eye sight. So now the big question is, when should I have surgery? Most everyone would be all concerned about this, if it were their situation. My thought is this: My life here on earth is temporary, is this surgery really all that important?

There are others that still write for the Lord and they are completely blind; should that change my mind? I will indeed have the surgery and in the near future, because this is a blessing from the Lord to be able to see. I will not take it for granted.

Along with this, there are celebrities that are blind as well. Does this change their abilities to write and play music? I would be willing to say that they would give their right arm to be able to see, again; it is a gift from the Lord. Since I am able to see, it is to the Lord to whom I give the glory. I thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for my sight. Every single ability we have, is a gift of the Lord God and none other, thus we should be giving HIM all our thanks and glory.

To be honest, I do not care who wrote and performed “Hotel California.” I am not trying to be obstinate here, it’s not a song that I particularly like. It’s a personal choice by each individual and different individuals will have different likes and dislikes; we are all unique and having stated that, our choices will be unique as well.

Psalm 105:1-5 “O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember his marvelous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth.”

Here is where the difference truly is! We are able to see, to play and write music, to enjoy listening to it, but in truth…the Lord God is reason we are able to do so. The Lord God has given us every single ability, HE has even given us the next breath of air to allow us to live on, where is the Praise and Honor for HIM?! As I go about my daily life, I want to make sure that I praise and glorify the Lord for all the things and abilities HE has given to me, even when I realize, I do NOT deserve any of them.

We so often forget, that the simple fact that we are alive, is because HE Loved you and I first. The Lord God chose to create each and every one of us, but HE did so for HIS Glory. As fallen and disgraceful as each and every one of us are, we should be on our faces, thanking HIM. If one is willing to face the truth, no one has the right to any fame or glory, for anything we could ever do, because the Lord is the reason we are alive to begin with.

Who gave us the ability to sing, or to write music, or to write articles about HIM? The Lord God…Jesus Christ. Maybe this will lend some understanding for HIS Holy Word, the Bible. The Lord God is able to lay claim to every good thing, for every good ability we could ever have,. Thus…HE deserves our devotion and love…at every turn of every day.

Why is it that we forget this? How can we be so narrow minded as to forget to give our thanks and love, to the Lord who is so deserving? No two days are exactly alike, no two sunrises are exactly alike and no two trees are exactly alike. Who is it that is responsible for all of this? It is NOT…you or me. It IS the Lord God…Jesus Christ…who deserves our never-ending love and devotion…that deserves our thanks.

John 15:1-7 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Psalm 18-1-3 “(To the chief Musician, a psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said,) I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.”

We deserve nothing! We have sinned against the Lord God and we deserve death eternally, of our own account. It is the Lord that saves us and covers our sin with HIS blood from the Cross; it is HE that makes us able to be presented before the Lord God Almighty. We have one decision to make, will we or will we NOT follow the Lord Jesus Christ?

That’s it…the only reason for our life here on earth! That is the only free will choice we have to make. This is true because every single thought we could ever have must be allowed by the Lord God! Our next breath of air is dependent on HIM and no other.

You have problems, the Lord knows about them and has always known of them. You and I can NOT hide from the Lord and we can NOT hide a single sin from HIM, our every thought which comes from the intent of our heart is known by HIM!

I do not care what anyone says, God is all-knowing. If someone does not understand this, then they need to re-read the Word of God and ask the Lord, in all earnestness, for HIS wisdom and discernment! There is absolutely NO other way!

I was sitting and thinking this evening about a person that once made mention to me and my belief in God; he does not believe in a God. More than likely, this is because God never made Himself known to this individual. Therefore this person does not believe that God exists. It was most troublesome for me to think about, to say the least. And I must say with everything all around us, God is everywhere and in everything, without a doubt.

So for the sake of argument, what if God decided, no more oxygen…everyone and everything with life would be dead within 10 minutes. Even water, H20 would cease to exist, because the one part of it would no longer be there, leaving only hydrogen. Or what if God said no more calcium?

Your bones would fall apart as well as your teeth, and your heart would begin to have problems because calcium is part of the cardiac enzymes. We could go on and on, with say, No light at all! No Sun, no moon, no stars, can’t even strike a match. Total Darkness! Wow… What a concept, right?

And there is no God?

There are so many things that we as humans take for granted and yet God is there at every turn to make the daily difference for you and I. So yes, I was dumbfounded!

We enjoy a good barbecue cook-off right? But if there is no light, how would anyone be able to cook, if there is no oxygen, absolutely everything dies. No fires, no heat, the entire planet would be in a deep freeze, like has never been known before! Earth would be nothing more than a planet devoid of life, just like the moon.

How is it that politicians can run about as they are right now, and discuss the problems in Saudi Arabia, or Iran, Iraq, Syria, or maybe the financial problems here in the USA and Europe, while taking for granted … everything the Lord God Almighty provides? And this is from one second to the next. This is also a problem with every single person that is alive on this earth, right now.

Genesis 1:1 ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Isaiah 43:11 “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”

Isaiah 45:5-6 “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.”

I know there are some that do not like it when I state, we humans are the fallen species. What I read in the holy Word of God is that we are indeed fallen; we make all the mistakes, we are the ones taking God Almighty for granted. How blasphemous to the Lord God can we be? too often. born-again believers should show others how blasphemous that really is. There are so many blessings the Lord gives all of us, saved or lost, every single second of every day. Yet we fail to Thank HIM for our blessings. We do NOT have the right and we should never have the occasion, to take HIS blessing for granted.

Matthew 5:45 “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (emphasis added)

All that we think we need to do in this life is just a lot of nothing if we do not put the Lord God first. If when we rise in the morning, we should be willing to thank the Lord for another day, but we forget that HE supplies our every breath of air throughout the night. Before we eat, we should be thanking HIM for the food and drink, for without it we would die.

Sunlight and the rain from God allows us to grow food and raise livestock, or have we forgotten this? We turn on our water tap and expect water to come forth. We should be thankful to HIM for that. You go to work every day and thankfully to the Lord God, you have the intellect and ability to work as you do, have you thanked HIM for this? Every time you jump in a swimming pool or the lake or the ocean, do you thank HIM that oxygen and hydrogen are there, as they are?

How much more do we need to be shown by the Lord God, before we realize HE created it all and just for you and me? I live in the Texas hill country and I thank the Lord, my Lord God, for all those beautiful stars in the sky at night. I don’t care what they really are, it is enough for me to know God created them for me, just as HE did for you. Give HIM the thanks and the praise HE deserves.

P.S. Why do we hurt someone who loves us so much and does everything to show us He does every second?