Our Thoughts

     Yesterday we wrote about our thoughts and how they come and go, and sometimes become actions on the broad roads of life. 

     In Isaiah (our favorite Old Testament book) chapter 55, God spoke about thoughts. He addressed those who are thirsty and those who are poor, urging them (us) to come to him. 

     He said David, "my everlasting covenant," is our "witness." David had faulty thoughts, like us, but he ended life a solid follower of God. (And in the New Testament we read that David will govern Jerusalem when the Lord returns.)

     "Seek the Lord," the Lord himself said. "Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Turn to the Lord" for mercy and pardon. 

     God continued, "My thoughts are not your thoughts nor your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." 

     "This will be for the Lord's renown, for an everlasting sign." 

 That's the "narrow road" God wants us to take. 

   

 Feeling Guilty?

     If you are like me and many others, we often do or think the wrong thing. On self-examination, we feel guilty, but of course we don't dwell on it or share our guilt with friends. 

     What if someone told us wrong thoughts are not a sin? So said a pastor on TV recently.

     Was he approving wrong thoughts? Not at all. But he explained that human beings as we are, thoughts of all kinds come and go. Jesus knows who we are, and died to pay our penalty. He offers salvation to those who repent - as often as necessary - and strive to think and do what pleases him. 

     There's another mind involved...Satan. He has a mind, all wrong, and he and/or his followers seek to work on our minds. 

     So, while aware of our shortcomings, we should resist allowing the wrong thoughts to take hold. We recognize and replace wrong thoughts with God's thoughts. We may fail, but we repent and move on. 

     Need help? It's there in the Bible God provides. We all want what benefits us to some degree or another. The best benefit is knowledge of the Word of God, which saves us from hell. 

     Let's replace our wrong thoughts as we catch them, and replace them with God's thoughts...plentiful throughout the Bible. 

     Let's replace our hidden sin nature with the truth of God's Word. We will be so glad we did. No one, not the pope, not the so-called greatest Christian who ever lived, deserves salvation. But, God loves us and wants to bring us into his family. Satan hates God and wants to keep us from joining God's family.

             Jimmy 

   

Swallow-Tailed Kite

    We planned to write about Peter Schweizer on China's exploitation of birthright citizenship - and how Christian language is used against us. But the truth is too disturbing. 

    So, we'll praise God's swallow-tailed kite (my favorite bird). 

    My bird book on the Florida's Everglades describes the kite as "loveliness of form, beauty of plumage patter, and graceful flight." I've seen one in the trees behind our Florida home and will never forget it. 

     "White feathers cover the bird's head and underparts. Black plumage with purple sheen clothes its back, it's long, narrow. pointed wings and its deeply forked tail." 

     "In flight, this hawk may soar high in the sky or swoop for a drink without pausing, it seizes prey with its talons and eats the food while flying. Its menu includes large insects, amphibians, small reptiles and nesting birds. The kite chooses tops of tall trees (as in our back yard) for nesting."

     "The female uses her talons to snatch large twigs and mosses for nest building. Spectacular flocks leave the park in August, flying to Central and South America." 

     There. Isn't that better reading than what the Chinese are doing to use nests for births in countries linked to America? To give them voting rights? 

         Jimmy

   

     

Palm Sunday    

     Jesus made a "triumphal entry" to Jerusalem on Sunday. Well, the people who loved his healing power considered it a triumph. They must have thought he came to replace the Romans. 

     In Luke 19, we read that on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples ahead to find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden.

     They found the colt, brought it to Jesus, and put him on it. Not a kingly wagon, or even a horse. A colt, which normally would not tolerate a rider. 

     When he approached Jerusalem, a whole crowd of disciples joyfully praised God in loud forces for all the miracles they had seen. "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" They through palm branches and clothing on the road.

     Did Jesus grin and wave to the crowd? No! He wept over the special city, and he warned...what enemies were going to do to them, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you. Luke 19:41-44. 

     Five days later Jesus was crucified, voluntarily enduring the sentence the Jerusalem crowd - and all of us - deserve. 

    God loves us that much. Do we recognize the limited time we have? Heaven or hell. Nothing halfway. 

  

 

Who Really Owns Your House?

     "It may be the government," writes Andree Peterson in WORLD magazine. 

      "These days, young people can't buy houses, and retired people have difficulty holding on to them. For seniors, mortgages were paid off long ago. We own them free and clear...or do we? We can still lose them. An estimated 42 million homeowners are in danger of going bankrupt.

     "In all states, K-12 schools rely on revenue from property taxes. The appraising district sets the value of your house - often inflated - for taxing purposes. The legitimate worth of your house is thus fraudulently overvalued, which gives the taxing entities an extra few thousand dollars worth of value to play with. 

     "What makes your house worth more than it was five years ago? It may be nothing. It happened because school districts are borrowing money and using your house as collateral. Money also goes to many NGO's with names like Interfaith Action of Greater St. Paul, and American Indian Family Center. 

     "You have now entered the big boy world of federal markets, of $23 trillion in property overvaluation affecting every home in the country...and of compound interest that can never be paid off. On a fixed income, this is unaffordable. 

     "One of President Trump's proposed affordability measures is to repeal property taxes. Good for him. How about we get local schools out of the bond business and have them overate on a cash-only basis?"

Who really owns your house? "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." - Psalm 24:1

A Historic Decline

     "For the first time in half a century, more immigrants left the United States than entered. Researchers examined immigration and Customs Enforcement data, which show deportations within the interior of the U.S.- away from the border - jumped 46 during Trump's first nine years in office. 

     "ICE arrests quadrupled as a whole, including a sevenfold surge in arrests of immigrants with no criminal convictions. ICE conducted more than 675,000 deportations last year. That included almost 300,000 from within the interior of the country - a record for this century. As the Trump administration continues its crackdown, net migration will likely continue to decline."

Better Than Expected

     "Economists expect the global economy to expand by about 3% this year and next. Based on strength shown by the private sector and governments last year, despite economic shocks from trade disruptions and marketplace uncertainties. 

     "Experts revised their expectations upward after observing responses to tariff increases that began in April, investor optimism and surging tech investments. Worldwide, economic growth has averaged about 3% each year since 2021.

     "Trade and market analysts were surprised that global economics, led by the U.S. and China recovered well following the 2020 recession. 

     "The risks rosy projections remain numerous: rising government debt levels, higher than predicted inflation, reduced AI investments, and economic or military disruptions to supply chains."