As I reflect on my forty days with Jesus Christ in Matthew 5, 6, and 7 I am trying to decide what the Holy Spirit has taught me. What does Jesus Christ have to say to me in the twenty-first century after his death? How is his message relevant to my life today? I wonder if I would recognize him any better today than the folks did in his lifetime. I am looking for His second coming; the question is what am I looking for that is different from the Jews of His own time? Would I receive the message of God’s desirable attributes: to be poor in spirit (humble), mournful, meek, seeking righteousness, being merciful, being pure in heart, being a peacemaker, and being willing to accept persecution for His sake? I would not be very successful in the eyes of the world if these words were a description of me.

 

When I think of being humble and meek my dad’s response when faced a particularly sticking problem comes to my mind. “Never use force, get a bigger hammer.” I didn’t understand the wisdom till much latter. When you have great strength you can be gentle and not need to force things. I am sure that dad was not thinking of spiritual truth and yet there it is.

 

Would world see me as either salt or light? I think not. The critical point of course is does God see me as salt or light.

 

In this day of relativism, secularism, and narcissism accepting that Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law of God and the prophecies of the Prophets is not even politically correct. People would think me insane if really tried to live by the Ten Commandments and establish a right relationship with God. Even in many gospel teaching churches they preach that it is impossible to follow God’s law. Jesus was very clear when He said “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:20 this statement does not leave much room for deciding right and wrong by popular vote. Was he just kidding?

 

Just in case I might be struggling with the original laws Jesus raises the bar. Jesus says that unprovoked and unresolved anger is the same as murder, Matthew 5:17. And it get’s worse when he tells me that just looking at woman with lust in my heart is the same as committing adultery, Matthew 5:27.

 

Oh and by the way Jesus says don’t resist the evil man. If some guy slaps me on the cheek I should turn the other cheek. Jesus says “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” Matthew 5:42. He wants me to love my enemies. What he really says is that as far as it my doing I should not have enemies.

 

It is good to give to the poor only I should do it in secret so that only God knows what I have done. He wants me to pray in private, again so that only God knows.

He teaches me a very simple prayer; “Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom com, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one,” Matthew 6:9-13.

 

Can you see why Jesus Christ is not popular today? Can you see why His message is not well received? The world teaches that it is every man for himself that I should be out to get everything that I can. If it feels good it must be okay. The world even teaches that there is nothing evil. Sex with anybody and everybody is just fine. Drugs are no problem. Even in the church there are people denying that Jesus Christ is the risen Son of God.

 

The truth is that in these three chapters on the Sermon on the Mount Jesus Christ outlined exactly what God expects from me, how he wants me to live, and how I will be rewarded.

 

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” Matthew 6:33.

 

Jesus goes on to tell me not to judge my brother, to pay attention to my own shortcomings and seek the wisdom of God. He tells me the gate is small and way narrow that leads to heaven.

 

Clear back in high school sociology I was taught that acceptable behavior is determined by what any given society decides is acceptable. There is no absolute truth about how people should live together. In some cultures it is acceptable to kill and eat people who are not part of the culture. It can be acceptable to have more than one wife. We are told today that marriage can be defined any way the majority wants. So marriage could be two men, two women, one man, a woman, and a dog, or any other combination of beings. I was taught that morality cannot be legislated, that it is strictly a personal thing. I was not a very good student as I refused to believe the teaching.

 

The bottom line is that it is up to you. You can decide what is right or wrong or even if there is a wrong. When you believe this you are making yourself sovereign, making yourself God. When it comes right down to it do you believe that there is absolute truth or is everything subject an individual point of view, opinion?

 

The question then is: “how is that working for you?” “How is this working in the world today?” I believe that I will try to walk more like Jesus Christ. It will be a process and I will surly stumble. The good thing is that Jesus Christ has already picked me up. I am seeking the small gate that leads to eternal life with God.

This article about dad and mom appeared in the the October 1955 issue of Farm Journal. Dad's name was Leo William Harsh. I made two small changes to the article by changing the then acceptable term for the enemy to just plain enemy. I believe that this is a very inspirational story.

Some of the people mentioned in the story without names are Harold Trautwein (the banker who did loan dad money), Von Penlend (the coal trucker who bought the first hoist and many others) and Duane Rutherford (the young salesman).

Dad seved on the USS Medusa, I believe that ...<< MORE >>

As I read 1 John 3 verse one I have three thoughts about the magnificence of God. First, there are no words to adequately describe the love that God has for us. Second, there are now words to adequately describe any of God’s creation. And third, words are the way we communicate with each other and God. It is obvious by my words here that I believe in the God of the Holy Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the one true God, the creator of everything that has been created. Having said that I am struck ...<< MORE >>

Proverbs 16:7

 

⁷     When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord,

he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.

 

As I read this verse this morning it occurred to me that what a wonderful thing it would be for even my enemies to live at peace with me. So my prayer is for my ways to be pleasing to God. I will continue to seek His kingdom with all my heart. Christ told us how to please God; it is spelled out in the Gospels by Matthew.

Matthew 5 :21-30

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder,  and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother  will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

²³ “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

²⁵ “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. ²⁶ I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. 

 

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’  ²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

 

This is really only a beginning of having my ways be pleasing to God; actually the beginning is my repentance, the acceptance of Christ as the Son of God and my savior.

2 Chronicles 7:14: 'If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

It is critical that Christians pray for the coming elections. There is amazing power in united prayer.  Pray with others whenever possible. Try to keep in mind that Christ died for everyone involved in this election.  

The power of prayer overcomes any obstacle or ungodly influence and, indeed, does great things!  Please share this with all of the believing brothers and sisters that you know.

Psalm 32:6-7 - Pray that Christians will be motivated to pray faithfully for this election and that the Lord will deliver Godly and faithful leaders.

Psalm 16:7-8 - Pray that the Lord will give wise counsel and guidance to His choice for president in this campaign.

Proverbs 16:13 - Pray that the people of our nation will seek God’s truth and not be led astray.

Psalm 18:32-36 - Pray that the Lord will arm the candidate of His choice with strength; that He will guide him in this campaign and that He will sustain him and give him victory.

Hebrews 11:32-34 pray that God's candidate will, through faith, persevere and maintain courage throughout this election.

Psalm 125 - Pray that those who trust in the Lord will not be shaken.

Psalm 86:14-17 - Pray that the Lord will defeat those who have no regard for Him in this election.

2 Cor. 12:9 - Pray that the Lord will empower and enable His candidate in any area of weakness.

II Kings 13:16 - Pray that the Lord will put His hands on the candidate of His choice for president (and his team) and guide them in this election.

Proverbs 1:5-6 - Pray that God's candidate will listen with discernment, add to his knowledge, and receive wise counsel in this campaign.

John 16:33 - Pray that the man of God's choice would be given wisdom and ability from the Lord to overcome any obstacle or difficulty during this campaign.

Acts 17:30 – Repent and pray for the repentance of the people of our nation.

 Luke 12:54-57 - Pray that God's candidate and the people of our nation will be discerning and do what is right.

 Phil. 4:13 - Pray that the Lord's choice for President will have special strength and unusual ability from God.

Habakkuk 1:5 and 3:2 - Pray that the Lord will do something that will utterly amaze us and give His servant victory.

All the days of the election be encouraged to set aside a time of fasting during this time to commit this election to God in whom we put our trust.  Acts 14:23

Presidential candidate John McCain has chosen person with excellent credentials as a running mate. The Governor of Alaska, who ran a very successful campaign against the incumbent from her own party, has made significant improvements in the government of Alaska in a very short time by reducing wasteful government spending. In her previous job as Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska she made significant improvements and while increasing spending reduced the local tax burden. She is a successful business operator, homemaker, follower of Christ, and mother of five children. As a college graduate, mother, homemaker, businesswoman, wife, and politician she has proven that she is able to balance the many demands of personal and public life.

Sam Harris writing for the current issue of Newsweek sees things another way and proceeds to trash Sarah's life and qualifications. I addition he insults a sizeable segment of the American people particularly women.

“The prospects of a Palin administration are far more frightening, in fact, than those of a Palin Institute for Pediatric Neurosurgery. Ask yourself: how has "elitism" become a bad word in American politics? There is simply no other walk of life in which extraordinary talent and rigorous training are denigrated. We want elite pilots to fly our planes, elite troops to undertake our most critical missions, elite athletes to represent us in competition and elite scientists to devote the most productive years of their lives to curing our diseases. And yet, when it comes time to vest people with even greater responsibilities, we consider it a virtue to shun any and all standards of excellence. When it comes to choosing the people whose thoughts and actions will decide the fates of millions, then we suddenly want someone just like us, someone fit to have a beer with, someone down-to-earth—in fact, almost anyone, provided that he or she doesn't seem too intelligent or well educated.” Sam Harris, Newsweek, Sep 29, 2008

It is difficult for my small mind to fathom the bravery of Sam Harris to deny God; he must have a great deal more faith than I do. For him to be critical of Sarah Palin’s credentials on the basis of lack of education is ludicrous beyond imagination. Sarah earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Idaho in communications--journalism. Is Sam saying that her school or her choice of major is somehow second rate? What an insult to the thousands of University of Idaho graduates. I am reminded of the one time Monday Night Football commentator Howard Cosell who was so able to point out the shortcomings of various professional football players while never playing the game. He was even proud the fact that he had not played the game. Sam has never run a business, run for office, won an election, nor had a baby. What are his credentials?

Here is a little chart showing the education and work experience of several former presidents and I believe that it shows no extraordinary talent or rigorous training by any of them. Mostly they just wanted to be president of the United States and were willing to run for office. Harry S. Truman for example never graduated from college and had no foreign policy experience. He had not even been briefed on the war situation or the “Manhattan Project” when he took over the office. I believe he did have extraordinary talent and certainly did not have rigorous training. He is listed as one of the ten greatest presidents ever. He was down to earth and not very well educated. Clearly he would not be seen as qualified by Sam Harris and most other of the critics of this day.

Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer and a governor of Georgia with no foreign policy experience and only a little education from the United States Naval Academy.  Here again a talented person without rigorous training. 

Then there is always Lyndon Baines Johnson a teacher turned politician educated at Southwest Texas State Teachers College. There is not comment need here.

Presidential Education and Experience
President		Term	Education	Occupation
Franklin Delano Roosevelt	51	March,1933 –April, 1945	Harvard College (1903), Columbia Law School	Lawyer, Political Official
Harry S. Truman	61	April, 1945-January, 1953	University of Kansas City Law School	Farmer, Political Official
Dwight David Eisenhower	63	January, 1953—Jan., 1961	United Sates Military Academy	Soldier
John F Kennedy	44	January, 1961—Nov., 1963	Harvard College	Author, Political Official
Lyndon Baines Johnson	55	November, 1963—Jan., 1969 Completed Kennedy’s term	Southwest Texas State Teachers College	Teacher, Political Official
Richard M. Nixon	56	January, 1969—Aug., 1974	Whittier College, Duke University Law School	Lawyer, Political Official
Gerald R. Ford	61	August, 1974—January, 1977 Completed Nixon’s 2nd term	University of Michigan, Yale University Law School	Lawyer, Political Official
James Earl Carter, Jr.	53	January, 1977—Jan., 1981	United States Naval Academy	Farmer, Political Official
Ronald Wilson Reagan	70	January, 1981—Jan., 1989	Eureka College	Actor, Political Official
George H. W. Bush	65	January, 1989—Jan., 1993	Yale University	Businessman, Political Official
William J. Clinton	47	January, 1993—Jan., 2001	Georgetown University, Oxford University, Yale University Law School	Lawyer, Political Official
George W. Bush	55	January, 2001—Present	Yale University, Harvard School of Business	Businessman

 

It seems to me that Sarah Palin is eminently qualified to be Vice President of the United States and I am praying for God’s will in the matter.

“I am woman hear me roar” Is the governor of Alaska really superwoman? I want to believe that she is everything that she is touted to be. The opposition is running on the idea that we as a people want change and believe they are correct. It looks to me that this Republican ticket will bring real change. Here is a woman is who lives her Christian convictions, she has been married to her high school sweet heart for twenty years, they have five children, the youngest of which she gave birth to knowing that he would need special care. Sarah got elected as governor of Alaska over the incumbent Republican by a landslide and moved in to clean house. She has the only executive experience of any the other candidates in running $10,000,000,000 budget with 24,000 employees in the largest state in the nation. She has taken on big oil. She has succeeded in one of the largest “old boy” environments in the country. She cooks for her own family in the governor’s mansion. She is articulate and not a little attractive. She has lived in a small town environment where everybody knows everybody’s business with absolute transparency. If is there is any “dirt” we already know about it. Oh, and did I mention she is not an attorney.

Maybe we can all vote for a real change for the first time in American history and get on step closer to a woman president. I would love to see the glass ceiling shattered by a real woman.

Bullheads are noxious weeds that tend to grow in sandy gravelly soil and usually show up in the fall. They don’t seem to require much water and they are tenaciously difficult to eradicate. They will mature and grow their nasty little burrs even if when sprayed with weed killer. The only way to really get rid of them is pull them one at a time making sure to get as much of the root as possible. They must be completely removed from the area and totally destroyed by fire. I know that God does not make mistakes and I am sure that He has some grand purpose for this noxious weed. I will be sure to ask Him when I see Him; of course it will not matter then.

I have been studying the Pentateuch and several ideas have presented themselves to me. God is showing His character. He is defining himself for us. God tells us what is pleasing to Him and what is displeasing to Him. He demonstrates His incredible forbearance in not totally destroying His creation in the face of great disobedience and lack of faith even by the most faithful of servants Moses. When God gives Moses instructions for Joshua as he prepares to lead the people into the Promised Land God warns them many times not allow evil into their lives. Evil is like the bullhead once it gets started it spreads with a force that is hard to stop. One little plant is easily plucked from the soil and destroyed when it first appears. If you mistakenly call the plant good it will take over your garden.

God told the people “¹⁶ If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse a man of a crime, ¹⁷ the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. ¹⁸ The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother, ¹⁹ then do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from among you. ²⁰ The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. ²¹ Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”  The Holy Bible: New International Version, electronic ed., Deut 19:16-20:1 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984) and again “²² If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

²³ If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, ²⁴ you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.” Deut 22:22—24 and yet again “⁷ If a man is caught kidnapping one of his brother Israelites and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you.” Deut 24:7

 

At least ten times in Deuteronomy God says the people must discern evil, convict the guilty, and purge them from the assembly. His people are warned that they must not tolerate evil in their midst. Somehow in our society we have decided that in our “Christian” love we must tolerate evil. We are paying the price for that. Jesus tells us in Matthew ⁴³ “When an evil  spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” Matt 12:43, 44, 45

I am sharing this interesting article by Michael Masterson with you.

I’ve written very little fiction lately, despite the fact that it’s been a priority item on my task lists. I set aside an hour or two (of my 12-hour workday) for writing/editing short stories or working on my novel. But I never get to it.

There is always something else that eats up my time — some also-important business task. I’ve been rationalizing this failure on the basis of priorities. Currently, my most important goals involve my Florida-based publishing businesses and my real estate development in Nicaragua. Each of those two jobs is full-time. Add them to my ETR responsibilities and you have a good reason to neglect writing fiction.

But I’m not going to neglect it anymore. Starting today, I’m going to spend five minutes — first thing every morning — tackling this priority. Five minutes is much too short a time to get much done. If it’s editing or writing I’m doing, I’ll be lucky to finish a paragraph.

So why the five-minute objective?

Because setting aside an hour or two didn’t work. And I’ve got to face the fact that if I haven’t been successful in the past six months trying to do an hour or two a day, I’m not going to be successful in the future.

I have to do something to change my pattern. But instead of doing something big and dramatic, I’m going to do something small.

Change Your Life
My new approach is inspired by a book I just read: "One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way." Author Robert Maurer explains his theory with an anecdote from his own experience. Rather than swearing off carbs, hiring a personal trainer, or getting his stomach stapled, Maurer began his weight-loss journey with one very small step: He threw out the first French fry on his plate.

As time passed, he threw out two, then three, and then four fries (or whatever it was he was eating). By taking these tiny steps, he lost 45 pounds in 18 months.

"Taking minute steps to achieve a seemingly impossible goal is the cornerstone of kaizen (pronounced kay-zin)," explained Deirdre Donahue, writing in USA Today. Developed in the 1950s, kaizen is a Japanese theory of gradual, incremental improvement resulting in quality, balance, and satisfaction.

We’ve talked about incremental improvement many times in past ETR messages. But always in the context of business management and product development. "One Small Step Can Change Your Life" made me see it in a new way: as a method of personal improvement.

There are two things that distinguish this concept from the prosaic productivity advice to "start a stalled project by doing one small piece of it":

1. With kaizen, you can begin with really small steps. In my case, with five-minute increments.
2. You increase those increments slowly and only when you feel like doing so. There is no pressure to hit a certain target by a certain date.

I like this concept of micro-change. It’s starkly different from the macho, cold turkey, do-it-all-now approach to change I’ve favored in the past.

"Americans have this myth of the big change," Maurer told USA Today. But big change causes anxiety, he says. And anxiety paralyzes the part of the brain that controls thinking and creativity. "If one begins by taking tiny steps," Donahue explains, "panic and anxiety can be sidestepped."

In my case, the thought of writing fiction panics me, because I know, deep down inside, that I don’t yet do it very well. Believing myself to be an incompetent fiction writer, I find it both painful to practice and humiliating to reflect upon. My ego wants me to already be good at it. My superego recognizes the gap.

With fear and pain working against me, an hour of writing fiction every day is simply too much. It doesn’t sound like too much, when compared to the three or four hours of business writing I do, but the business writing is easy for me. And what I write is usually pretty good. Time expands or contracts depending on your relationship to it. When it comes to writing about wealth building, healthy living, and success for ETR, time flies. When it comes to writing a story about a man and a woman, time creeps.

So beginning today, I’m going to write fiction for five minutes. And I’ll do that every day from now on. Five minutes doesn’t worry me. I’m confident I can handle that. And I won’t think about increasing the time right now. I won’t chart a calendar that takes me from five to 60 minutes in so many days. Instead, I’ll be happy with the five minutes I know I can do.

In "One Small Step," Maurer talks about how an overweight, hard-working mom finally managed to lose a lot of weight by exercising. She began by stepping in place during commercial breaks while she was watching TV. (She watched only one show a day. At first, she marched during only one commercial — a total of 60 seconds of exercise.)

"The mini-march became longer and longer," Donahue explained, "until by the end of several months, she was completing full aerobic workouts."

"The bigger the change you want," Maurer says, "the more anxiety you will experience. Interestingly, his formula for overall success in life begins not by confronting your fears but by asking yourself questions about your feelings:

• "What am I happy about?"
• "What am I excited about?"
• "Who do I love?"
• "Who loves me?"
• "What am I grateful for?"

Compare what you are doing now (and how you feel about it) with what you really want. If you think change is needed, begin by identifying one specific thing you can do to move in the desired direction. Take that one specific change and break it down into the smallest possible increment of change. (Like tossing away one French fry.) Start with that.

You’ll know you’ve chosen the right first baby step if (1) thinking about doing it doesn’t cause anxiety, and (2) doing it energizes you.

Once you’ve begun, resist the temptation to take bigger and bigger steps. Remember, making a habit of doing something small is much better than starting but then stopping doing something big.

I’ll let you know how I do with my fiction writing. If you decide to try the kaizen approach yourself, share your experience with us on Speak Out.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.