There is so much going on I have a hard time keeping up. Today I must submit to a psychological evaluation for the department of rehabilitation. I've done this before. It's a battery of tests that includes and IQ test. Look forward to seeing how much my brain has improved. All of this is to jump through the hoops necessary to get help purchasing the equipment we need for our building performance certification. First thing on my list this morning is to crawl under the truck and search again for the wiring problem that has caused the rear lights to no longer work. This makes the truck unsafe to drive as there are no brake lights, and undrivable after dark. There are no dash lights now either.
I will be going to a prison for four days starting Thursday, so have much to do before then. Our missionary friend is arriving Wednesday. We will pick him and his wife up at the airport and enjoy a dinner together, but then I must leave. Hate to miss any time I have a chance to spend with this man of God.
Farming is a constant battle with nature. But we have at least won with the watermelons and some cantaloupe. Water pressure continues to be a problem. We have decided to install a booster pump to help that. Sold some of the stock I inherited from my dad to help with that. It would be nice to have more than a dribble coming out of our new shower. Salt and mineral buildup in the pipes and new shower head is an issue. Talked to a farmer with the Kairos prison ministry who told me about putting in elemental filters that should help some. More expense we can't afford but I will see if I can build one myself and just buy the activated charcoal used in bulk to save money.
Here's the bible reading Cherie and I did a few days ago. It is a significant teaching that Jesus made, through His example, and one we all need to contemplate on. This is out of the book of John, thirteenth chapter.
1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. 2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." 8 "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." 9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" 10 Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. 12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Jesus taught time and again about how we are to not think too much of ourselves, consider us as being too important to bow before anyone. Humility is the principle key to our faith. It is the opposite of pride and pride is the source of all sin, including the reason for Lucifer's downfall. Pride flies into the face of God, before whom we all shall bow. It is because of pride we have resentment, jealousy, anger, or any of the many other problems we all face. There is a quote from president Roosevelt's wife that stuck with me. "No one can offend me without my permission" Hmmm, that says a lot. It is pride that allows offense. "How dare he/she say that. Don't they know who I am?" is a thought process that often goes with being offended.
I knew a pastor once, who would expound from the pulpit on how offended she was when someone, who was sick with a fever, actually asked her to come and wipe her brow with a wet cloth. It bothered her so much that I heard this story several times in church, and each time my heart would break. How she missed the heart of God in this, how blind she was to her own pride. But more important than that was my concern on the effect this "Servant" of the Lord had on those she is a shepherd to, on how she was leading them down a road our Lord does not approve of. We pray for her every day, often several times a day, for the fruit of her ministry has been division and the self exaltation that comes from pride. God sent prophets to her, though some didn't know they were prophets, and all were chased away.
A prophet isn't just someone who foretells the future, a true prophet does much more than that. They lead others away from sin, and often do it by exposing those sins to the light of God's word. This is what Paul said about it in 1 Corinthians 14:24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all ; 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed ; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.
I was accused (and we know that Satan is the great accuser, and the source of all such things, the putting down of others to build yourself up) of using the Word of God to manipulate others. All I did was quote the scriptures in bible studies to go along with what was being taught, but it seems that those words cut, exposed the hearts of some who heard, and thus they lashed back. But they lashed back in private, behind closed doors, and never to my face, instead talking about me, not to me. I love them, and pray for them, for I fear for them. I know my God, and His heart. Without repentance judgment comes. No, I am not offended. I knew it was happening for all this was revealed to me by my Lord. I am saddened however, and greatly troubled in my spirit that the way of the Lord will be maligned because of those who bear His name.
"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened." -- Sir Winston Churchill
Got work to do. Bye now
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