I was thinking about my friend James Maloney's last message preached at our church in August of 2020 before he went to Heaven that December. He spoke about "Connecting With God As Sons" the night before, he spoke on "Being God's Friend". Both of these messages were from the heart of a man who had discovered the infinite value of a deep personal relationship with God. This from someone. well acquainted with the supernatural manifestations of signs, wonders and miracles which were quite common in his ministry. He once told me that each miracle and each healing just made him want to know Jesus more. James was a true friend to me. We talked often about a lot of deep things. In my last few conversations with him in the month before his passing, the conversation was all about relationships. He actually sent me several photos of his family. He was so proud of his new grand daughter! James taught me a lot about God's supernatural gifts, but in the end it came down to "who do you love". 

 This little chorus that we sing at our church, speaks to the necessity of depending on the Lord Jesus Christ for strength, protection and deliverance.  

Sometime we face insurmountable opposition from forces we cannot control or overcome in our own strength. By trusting in the Lord, we are able to tap into His Divine energy for the task. "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the lord, and in the power of His might" Ephesians 6:10 and Ephesians 3:16 (KJV)  "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man".

The Psalmist David discovered a place with God that became an impenetrable shield. He referred to God as "shield and buckler"

Psalms 91:4-7 (KJV) He shall cover thee with his feathers,

and under his wings shalt thou trust:

his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night;

nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness;

nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side,

and ten thousand at thy right hand;

but it shall not come nigh thee.

We are living in times of trouble, danger, threats, pandemics, wars, etc. It is good to know that there is One willing to shield us in the midst of it all!

Then if per chance we become captured by some evil thing, God is our Mighty Deliverer! 

Psalms 50:14-15 (KJV) Offer unto God thanksgiving;

and pay thy vows unto the most High:

15 And call upon me in the day of trouble:

I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

After all, Jesus said that deliverance was part of the reason for His coming into this world; 

Luke 4:18-19 (KJV) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Make Jesus your source of strength and power. Make Him your place of safety. Make Him your Shield. Call upon him today to deliver you from everything that holds you captive! There is great freedom in Jesus Christ our Lord!  Run to Him, call upon Him, Seek Him and you will find Him!

1 Chronicles 16:10 (KJV) Glory ye in his holy name:

let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

 Without God, Mankind is very very lost! What an understatement! The Roman Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, "what is Truth?". His question reflected the total darkness of the human mind that does not know God. The embodiment of Truth was staring him in the face and he could not see it. Jesus declared in John 14:6, "I am the Truth." 

We are living in an age when lies are so prolific that the truth has become obscured from view. When truth is lost, there can be no freedom. John 8:32 "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."

The more lies people believe, the less freedom they have. Lies suck the liberty out until there is nothing left but tyranny. We must contend for the truth!

(AMP) Galatians 5:1 IN [this] freedom Christ has made us free [and completely liberated us]; stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off].

It is a foolishly dangerous thing to listen to liars, compromisers, scoffers and false teachers in any setting. This can be in the process of education or on the daily news or in a public eatery. Those who deny God, the Bible, true history or science will get you to bow your knee to tyrants, villains, bullies, thieves and murderers.

Psalms 1 (TPT)  THE TREE OF LIFE

1 What delight comes to the one who follows God’s ways!

He won’t walk in step with the wicked,

nor share the sinner’s way,

nor be found sitting in the scorner’s seat.

2 His pleasure and passion is remaining true to the Word of “I Am,”

meditating day and night in the true revelation of light.

3 He will be standing firm like a flourishing tree

planted by God’s design,

deeply rooted by the brooks of bliss,

bearing fruit in every season of his life.

He is never dry, never fainting,

ever blessed, ever prosperous.

4 But how different are the wicked.

All they are is dust in the wind—

driven away to destruction!

5 The wicked will not endure the day of judgment,

for God will not defend them.

Nothing they do will succeed or endure for long,

for they have no part with those who walk in truth.

6 But how different it is for the righteous!

The Lord embraces their paths as they move forward

while the way of the wicked leads only to doom.

Part Two

What can we do about all the bad seed we have planted over our lifetime? Obviously, we do not want the harvest they will bring! So then, are we doomed to face the consequences of our own mistakes? No! At least not totally. There are some steps we can take to eliminate or at least greatly reduce our evil harvest.

REPENT. God gives forgiveness and crop failure to those who are truly sorrowful for their sins.  We know "that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new" 2 Corinthians 5:17  This enables us to be free of eternal punishment for past sins and also to no longer own their harvest.

RENEW.  Once we have repented of planting bad seeds, we need to reform our actions to match the harvest we desire to reap. Romans 12:2 (KJV) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.  We change our thoughts and speech and actions by renewing our minds according to God's will which is His Word.

REPLANT.  The best way to change a crop is to overwhelm the old seed with lots of new, more powerful seed.  We must actively engage in a fervent campaign to plant good seed by speaking prophetically (under Divine inspiration), and doing good every where.  Acts 10:38 (KJV) How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.  Believe that as God was with Jesus, so is He with us as we go about doing good.

REJOICE.  Take joy in the expectation of a great harvest to come! God has high expectation of our lives bringing Him a good return from the investment of His planting Jesus as Seed into our lives. His Word will not return without the intended harvest! Colossians 1:27 (KJV) To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Isaiah 55:10-11 (KJV) For as the rain cometh down,

and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither,

but watereth the earth,

and maketh it bring forth and bud,

that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth:

it shall not return unto me void,

but it shall accomplish that which I please,

and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

The whole Earth operates by the Law of seed time and harvest. Genesis 8:22 "While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."

Every living thing begins as a seed and produces more seeds for generational purposes. You began as a seed yourself and all you do is governed by this law.  Your life is a seed that produces a harvest. Your words and deeds are seeds that produce a harvest. 

The harvest is determined by what seed is planted. Genesis 1:11-12. This law prohibits any variance from this principle. Galatians 6:7 "God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

If people could just get this one thing into their heads, they would be able to predict their own harvest. i.e. If you plant corn seeds you can expect corn. If you love you will be loved.  If you use angry words, people will respond angrily. etc, etc.

Going through life ignorant of this law of seed time and harvest will cause strange behavior,  such as blaming everything on the devil or even God. Yes, God put this law into effect, but we are responsible for how we live accordingly.  Do not blame God for a harvest you did not want when you planted the seed for just that!

Most of what we call "judgment" is simply the reaping of a harvest based on the seeds we ourselves have planted.  It is not God beating up on us, but rather the fruits of our own wicked behavior.  We live in a culture that does not understand this, so we do not take responsibility for the consequences of our own actions.

Can we pray for crop failure? We can, but do you really think God will suspend His own laws? Perhaps we should pray for His forgiveness and mercy as we repent of our disrespect for His laws.  Make the law of seed time and harvest work for us rather than against us. 

Think of your own mind as a fertile ground that will grow anything that is planted in it. Watch out for what enters there through the eyes and ears. Cast down every thought that could produces a bad harvest. Watch over each word that comes out of your mouth so that you only say what you want to grow. 

Remember this always, "WHAT YOU SOW YOU GROW!"

 IT IS TIME TO INTENSIFY!!!

Yes, 2022 is a year that will probably make or break a lot of people.  Things are really heating up. All around we see signs of trouble, conflict, turmoil and disorder.  We hope and pray for better days, but the truth is, our enemy is aware that time is short so he is fighting mad. What do we do?

Intensify.  We must, with conviction, meet fire with fire.  Whatever you think is a good thing to do, do it more. Pray more. Love more. Fast more. Read your Bible more. Witness more. Go to church more. Give more, etc. etc.

The only way to navigate the storms that lie ahead of us, is to get as close to the Lord as possible. He can take each of us by the hand and lead us peacefully through whatever lies ahead.  

Do not put your trust in government, economics, medicine, education or anything else of this world. Only Jesus can be trusted. Only Jesus can satisfy your soul. Therefore, intensify your efforts to get as close to Him as humanly possible.

Read Psalm 1; Psalm 23, Psalm 91; Joshua 1; Matthew 5

Be Thankul Unto God

THIS IS OUR WORLD TODAY

 2 Timothy 3:1-9

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

It is more important than ever for God’s People to give public praise to God before the heathen:

1 Chronicles 16:24-25

Declare his glory among the heathen;

his marvellous works among all nations.

For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised:

he also is to be feared above all gods.

 "I AM SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS"

 "I AM SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS"

I have found that I am using the words above or their type more often now than ever before. I am thankful that I am a survivor and these words are not being spoken over my passing. I am getting tired of all these people dying around me though. I hate death and consider it an enemy, even though it has no lasting victory over a Christian Believer. I still hate death and what it does to good people.  In this season of almost everyone's passing being blamed on Covid, we know that the numbers prove no more are dying this year than in previous years. Then why is our perception changed to where is seems like death is everywhere?  Could it be due to the death count being reported with greater frequency? Perhaps. I do know that death is part of the human experience and few are able to escape its eventuality (Enoch and Elijah). So as I often say, "if you live long enough, you will die". The question is when, how and what then? We have little control over the when and how, but we can prepare for the "what then?" Every time we speak words of condolences to someone's passing, we should be reminded to get our own house in order. It amazes me how many people do not. One of these days either my number or yours will come up. Are we prepared? What we do now will affect our hereafter. It is the truth and we cannot escape. So here is the deal: Repent and Believe on the Name of Jesus Christ for your salvation. Declare openly and loudly that Jesus is now Lord of your life (owner and ruler) and you will be safe in the hereafter. Making Jesus Lord of your life is how you take care of this important matter. Just do it!!! You cannot stop death, but you can out smart it and live beyond the effect of dying.

"I know they are in a better place". Let that be words that people can confidently and truthfully say when you have passed away. have found that I am using the words above or their type more often now than ever before. I am thankful that I am a survivor and these words are not being spoken over my passing. I am getting tired of all these people dying around me though. I hate death and consider it an enemy, even though it has named on Covid, we know that the numbers prove no more are dying this year than in previous years. Then why is our perception changed to where is seems like death is everywhere?  Could it be due to the death count being reported with greater frequency? Perhaps. I do know that death is part of the human experience and few are able to escape its eventuality (Enoch and Elijah). So as I often say, "if you live long enough, you will die". The question is when, how and what then? We have little control over the when and how, but we can prepare for the "what then?" Every time we speak words of condolences to someone's passing, we should be reminded to get our own house in order. It amazes me how many people do not. One of these days either my number or yours will come up. Are we prepared? What we do now will affect our hereafter. It is the truth and we cannot escape. So here is the deal: Repent and Believe on the Name of Jesus Christ for your salvation. Declare openly and loudly that Jesus is now Lord of your life (owner and ruler) and you will be safe in the hereafter. Making Jesus Lord of your life is how you take care of this important matter. Just do it!!! You cannot stop death, but you can out smart it and live beyond the effect of dying.

"I know they are in a better place". Let that be words that people can confidently and truthfully say when you have passed away.

 Aaron and Stephanie Thomason just celebrated their 17th Wedding Anniversary on Saturday, August 14th. I remember back to that special day in Amarillo, Texas. It was epic for us all. The addition of Stephanie to our family has been such a wonderful blessing to us! She is pert near perfect! We love her personality, smile, character, spirit, and determination. She has been a great wife, mother and daughter in love.  Praise to Jesus and Randy & Tammy Voight for their contributions. We love Aaron and clearly, so does God! Happy Anniversary y'all!

Here we go!

 My heart is heavy as I see what is happening to my home country. A once united and strong nation standing under God’s grace has now largely departed from the vision of our founding fathers. We have forsaken the guiding principles that made this nation great and prosperous. We have allowed evil godless people to hijack our country. They seek to destroy the foundations and build something ugly in its place. God cannot and will not stand idly by. He has to answer their defiance. Judgment is coming! Those of us who stand with God will witness horrible things. We must be ready to administer saving grace to all who turn to God in these days ahead. It will not be easy or safe. Our time of being smiled on by our government leaders ended. Now we are targeted as the enemies of their agenda and they desire to eliminate us. God will preserve  us and His judgments are not for us but we will witness some hard stuff. Our joy will be in the harvest of many souls during a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the End Time Harvest. We are there! Stand firm. Be strong. Hold the Line!