Genesis 1:27: ‘So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

We see that God, created man in HIS image, yet God is Spirit, thus man’s Spirit is in God’s Image, not man’s body! Most born-again Christians already know this and yet, they misunderstand it completely. Have you ever wondered, WHY that is? God knew before HE ever created man, that we would end up living sinful lives.

And so it is today, we are a broken and fallen species, as compared to what God had originally wanted us to be like. This is the reason why our physical bodies fail us continually. It must then be noted, that as long as we live on this earth in these bodies, we will continue to fail our Lord and Savior. Thus the reason for this next bit of Scripture:

2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; Behold, all things are become new.”

Again, we know this Scripture as born-again Christians, yet, as before, we fail to truly understand what is being said. Again, we forget that the Lord is talking about our spirit. Because our physical lives are so filled with SIN, we do not understand that as long as we live here, in these Physical Bodies, we are in a sinful nature.

Have you never understood the Scriptures?

Matthew 26:41: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Mark 14:38 “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.”

Two verses of Scripture that say the exact same thing, yet does anyone truly understand them? Most will state they do understand and then the pious ones think it means or is stated to others and NOT to them, as part of the collective of Man. Has it never occurred to anyone, that to be born-again is to admit your need of Jesus Christ because of your SIN? It must be understood that our SIN which is in each of us, separated us from the Lord. Do you believe that you live a more “righteous” life than others? Do you think, if you are a deacon or an elder in the church, that you are “more saved” than another? Do you believe that because you attend church often, that you are more saved by grace than others? If so, then you must have missed the verse that says:

Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

This verse in not speaking just to the unsaved…it is speaking to all of us, all the time! So now, who are the pious ones and who are not? Evidently, there are some that simply do not understand what they read and we can find this in churches everywhere. It is in the pulpits and that makes it much more insidious as well. Obviously, there are some that are stuck in: “It’s all about ME!”

Obviously, there are some who believe they are better than others, covered more graciously by the Lord than others. It is also obvious, that we see others acting this way, which is just like the Pharisees in the days of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And Jesus called them a “brood of vipers.”

Every single one of us is fallen and the Lord must humble our prideful selves. It is either that or this verse was missed:

Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goeth before destruction, and and haughty spirit before a fall”.

Oops! I know I stepped on some toes there. Come now people, let’s be brutally honest here. Stop and look around. Does this world fall into the area of humility, especially before such a righteous and just God? Absolutely NOT! How do you think we got to where we are right now?

A nation of people that believe we are deserving of the best, when we do little to nothing to earn the best. We “expect” to be given this or that and many times you may find yourself expecting these same things of the Lord, in your prayers! Let me say this: “Pride” is the most insidious SIN of all, because we tend to find it close to home more than anywhere else!

It is pride that drives us to thinking we NEED that new car or that new house, when we already know, we can NOT afford it. Pride puts us in the credit hole, because we THINK we need this or that and we must have it today, yesterday is more preferable. Pride is instant gratification!

Pride is thinking we deserve something more than someone else. Pride is when we forget there are those that have absolutely nothing; no clean water, no clean clothes, no food and the list goes on and on! Pride is when we turn our collective backs on the elderly, the poor, the sick and infirmed, the homeless.

And what is worse, we go out and work soup kitchens or the like and then feel we are better than another for doing so. Is it any wonder, when we consider pride, that we see it taking place, far too often, in the pulpits of America? Somewhere along the way, some have come to believe that preaching and teaching the Word of God…deserves big bucks! (That prosperity is more, godly than humility!)

Acts 20:35: “I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Somewhere along the way, some believe that this means, “You give and give deeply…to ME!” Am I stepping on some toes again? In other words, some want you to believe in giving…and they want you to feel the need to go out of your way to give as much as you possibly can. And then they sit there and receive every single bit of it. This is the: “Prosperity Gospel.”

And then you wonder why people are so turned off to church, you wonder why the assembling together of believers is failing, the attendance is down in church. You wonder why people in general have such a dislike for anything concerning the Lord—they are watching the hypocrites in the church and over the broadcasting airwaves. They see what they term: Legal Theft.

Is it any wonder that the world is going to hell in a hand basket? Does any of this make sense to you? And to think for one moment, that the Lord Jesus Christ…God in human form…knelt and washed the feet of HIS Disciples! What better example of humility…of true honor…than for God to do such a thing? And we haven’t even begun to add in HIS ultimate sacrifice of death of that Roman cross for you and me.

We should thank the Lord for giving us what we “need” instead of what we want; otherwise we would never know the difference between true humility….and pride. When we attend church, it SHOULD be in humility and honor of a loving and understanding God. If it were not for HIS love for us…there would be no humanity.

“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

I am able to attest to the verse above. As an “old” man now, I am able to look back through MY time and see the hand of the Lord at work and I am so very thankful for the grace of my Lord and Savior. It would seem that the, “It’s all about ME” syndrome is so alive today because few ever look back and see the Lord’s hand in their lives. AMEN?

So many times in my life, the Lord watched out for me in my innocence. So many times HE was aware of the different avenues I COULD have gone down, but HE guided my thoughts change    toward HIM. So to that end, praise the Lord for HIS grace and love. I could have been dead many times over! And I am so very sure, that you can do the same thing and see where HE has been working in your life as well.

Let me give you a small example: As I have related before, my dad was in the military for thirty plus years. I entered the military after high School and became a member of this exclusive club as well, however short it was for me. In many ways the military is a grueling, never ending, never softening—day after constant day…in your face…experience to be in!

In that way, I sort of hated it, especially being so far from home so many times, especially at certain times, like Christmas. It kills my heart to think back at all the tears we all shed when that song, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” (Bing Crosby) was played, especially during the war in ‘Nam. I know it broke my dad’s heart in World War II.

I remember two Christmases, where I was in the bush, eating (the first time) K rats, a little square meat covered in green preservative from a can, a can of crackers, a can of some sort of fruit, 4 cigarettes, 4 matches in paraffin, a P38 and gum! OH! I forgot the chocolate! Merry Christmas to me, I remember!

The second time was at an LZ (Landing Zone) somewhere, eating what they called an: “In-Flight Lunch”! It was a slightly stale ham and cheese sandwich, a small block of dried coffee, a packet of sugar, salt and pepper and of course water from my canteen. All I said then was, “I can’t believe this. Christmas and this is what we get?” Then someone, somewhere, played THAT song and I cried my eyes out! Just like the others around me. So much for War time, right?

As a military brat, we were living in Clark Air Base, Philippines and we had just moved into our new quarters on base, what they called a “barn.” These homes were huge, with screens everywhere! I had gone out back to play and I found a snake and it was very nice to me, so I decided to raise it. I named him, of all things considered, Charlie! Well in the beginning, I fed him bugs. He didn’t like it if the bugs were dead already, so I was literally forced to bring him live bugs and that was pretty awful for me.

So, as time went on Charlie began to grow and his diet had to change as well. He would hear me call him and he would rise from the grass and wave so to speak. In the end I was forced to bring him field mice and such, along with a small cup of clean water. He loved milk but it made him sick and he would throw up, so it was water from then on.

One day, my dad had seen me feeding my pet snake and when I came in, my dad wanted to talk with me about the snake. He told me he was very sorry, but the MPs were on their way to get the snake, it was against the military to have a pet snake. The MPs came out and shot my pet snake dead, because my snake was a cobra! Well….I didn’t know! I cried for a few days over it, never once aware that Charlie would be so dangerous for me to have, even though I loved Charlie dearly. Of course now days, I know the danger that was lurking in my backyard, not only for me, but anyone else that would venture into the back yard. I also know, the Lord was there each and every time, though I never knew it!

This speaks of the Lord and HIS wisdom despite of the fact that I didn’t know the Lord yet. He held back the normal desires and intuition of that deadly snake and taught me about love at the same time, How Incredible…is THAT? Even then, I was in the hands of my Lord. He had a plan for me, to someday become overwhelmed in HIS love for me and then to tell others, like you, of my life. Awesome God!

I can still see Charlie as I would softly call his name and he would rise from the foot tall grass and sway back and forth. I would tell him what I had for him to eat and then I would show him. Of course, Charlie was not versed in etiquette by any means and gulped the thing down whole. I on the other hand, was telling him to chew carefully, to prevent him from choking. Charlie at times would wrap around my leg or my arm, depending on which was closest and I believed Charlie loved me. What are the odds, Charlie never spit in my eyes to blind me, or even worse tried to bite me and kill me—as would be his nature? It was the Lord and that’s all I can come away from it with.

Now days I think in terms of Daniel and the Lion’s Den. The Lord controlled the lions, just as the Lord controlled Charlie. The Lord had a plan for my life, at some point in time, and HE did not want me to pay the usual payment of death as a child. How incredible is that? I’m sure you have had your own occurrences at some point in time, let me know what they were. I would love to hear your story.

How exceptional is it, that the Lord God cares for you and me, even in the midst of our own ignorance? The Word of God tells us that HE knew us before the foundation of the universe! It simply blows me away, every single time. Of course, I might add, HE does so and we only figure it out…in hindsight. I cannot think of a greater expression of HIS love for me, than for me to be “thinking back” and then notice that in my ignorance…HE Loved me and cared for me.

It takes your breath away, doesn’t it?!Of course it was always my mom’s response that made us kids sort of giggle, “Yee Gods and little fishes! WHAT…were you thinking?” I understood what she was saying, but “Yee Gods and little fishes?” What was up with that? Where on earth did she come up with that one? I will never know for sure, but suffice it to say, it was used way too many times in my youth. I will always remember those times and laugh (my you know what off) about it!

I praise my Lord for this story and so very many others like it. It was part of my life and the Lord gave it to me. At times, I hated my life. Looking back though, what would I be…IF…HE had never intervened, had never changed something, somewhere along the way?

Who would I be today?

Would I be saved as I am now?

I do not know the answers to those questions, but one day, very, very, soon my Lord and Savior, my Jesus Christ, my loving and generous GOD…will answer them. So on that note, those times, those days, have not ended just yet….there is more to come and I can barely contain myself.

Please tell me of your experiences, praise the Lord for the outcome and we’ll meet at the feet of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!