ALL OF YOU...

God wants all of us...get a concordance and look up eyes and ears, minds, body, soul, spirit and heart. In various pssages in different contexts God asks for eyes that are not blind (John 9), hearts that are open and honest not hard and stubborn and calloused....he wants ears that can hear (Mark 4; Luke 18)...all so that the can reign in us...
There are many things that blind us or make us hard of hearing. It sure is easy to let the spirit wander and the heart focus on things we may like or things which make us feel good...God wants all of us...that is Lordship...He wants us to come to him open, vulnerable...like children...ready to experience and learn and try...
You know that is no so hard when you think about it...opening up and letting God in...humbly giving him our all...then he can work....

Matthew 7:1-5

Another penetrating thought from the Master. Jesus knew human kind all too well. Ever heard someone say "I have a sense about people....," "I can read people pretty well." My thought is most of those people whom were sensed or read never had a chance to tell you what they were thinking at the time...How easy it is to think we know the motivation of another or know why they think they way they think or do what they do. Husbands and wives never know one another well enough to be on point about why something is said or done.
What about error? Why do people believe some of the things they believe? " I know why, they are dishonest or perhaps a little stubborn or they just will not listen to what is right." Talk about arrogance! But how would one know if a person who just made the last statement was arrogant?
Only ONE person knows the heart, motivation and desire of another (unless it is spelled out). We humans have no telepathy which allows us to interpret the inside of another. Oh we can see when an action is wrong or when a stated belief is out of line with God's will. But looking beneath that, beyond the words into the spirit and mind belongs only to God. Jesus reminds us in the passage above to leave judgment to God. Verse 6 tells us to be aware of people who reject God's will (don't give pigs pearls) but we must never make the mistake of going beyond that and thinking we can sense anothers heart, motivation or spirit. What a relief...I do not have to answer for anyone except myself. How liberating not to have to decide about your inner workings. We leave that to the all knowing Father. Foree

Matthew 5:43-48 WHEW!

Before you read the text above take a second and remind yourself about the "GREATEST COMMAND." You know what it is! Now take another trip through the passage in the title. That really lets us know what love is. It is remarkable to me that God knows His creation so well. We have a tendency to love those with whom we agree, and really feel connected to people who think like we think or make decisions similar to our own. If the color is right and the politics are correct - If agreement comes easily and If people give us as much grace as we give ourselves....If no one cuts us off and on and on it goes....Enemies! We do not speak to them, have them over, give them a gift or a phone call...we even allow ourselves the privilege of speaking against them with someone we "love." Through it all Jesus says if we love those who love us SO WHAT! Everyone does that..even thieves have honor among themselves....WHEW I would have to be reborn to love my enemies...and that is the idea. May God create us into what HE wants us to be. foree

Matthew 5:37!

There are a lot of really heavy commands from Jesus. If you call someone a fool you are in danger of hell fire (Matt. 5:22). If you only love people who love you, you have not accomplished anything (5:47). You cannot even lust let alone commit fornication (5:28) and you should cut your hand off if it causes you to sin. Then there is 5:37 - "let your 'yes' be yes and your 'no,' no." Keep your word Jesus says!
If you sign a contract - keep it! If you make an appointment - show up! If you tell someone you will help them move - do it! If you promise at the altar to be there till you die - hang around! Promises are made, agreements are entered and vows are taken. Sadly not keeping one's word does not seem as grave as adultery or being unloving. Oh well, I changed my mind, my heart is not in it, it is monetarily beneficial to do something different. Another road is taken, a different decision made and a word is broken. No big deal. Except to Jesus who believed your word should be your bond. Foree

People

You know it does not take long to find out Paul is right (Romans 3) "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." You get married and soon enough your spouse finds out you are not perfect. Friends have feuds and disagreements too. Even places like church where you expect to find the very best people have problems. If you read scripture thoughtfully you will notice that all of the NT letters were written to Christians in churches who needed instruction, admonition, edification, correction and discipline because THEY HAD NOT GOTTEN IT RIGHT.
So what shall we do with all this imperfection running loose? Jesus says to treat others as you would be treated - love your neighbor as yourself. A little reflection tells me I do not reject myself because of my failure. Honestly I give myself leeway because I know my heart, my motives, my intentions. So, I give myself a break. God calls it grace and he has poured it out abundantly on all of us. Maybe, just maybe all those imperfect people need a little grace from me....I wonder how that would work? Foree

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas has always been a real special time for me. It meant my sisters and brothers, whom are mostly older than me by several years, would come home for the holidays. It meant the bay window in our house in Raton would have a decorated tree in it which we cut down ourselves(the decorating it was always a special event). We hung our stokings on little red chairs because we had no fire place. It meant a very difficult nights sleep for a young boy who had visions of Christmas morning and what it might bring. It meant thinking about how the siblings would feel as they opened the gift you bought especially for them. It meant another turkey dinner with Mom's dressing, home made yeast rolls, wonderful fruit salad and Grandma Foree's creamed corn (nothing like it in the world). Christmas afternoon was a time for shooting. Dad would gather up the guns and off we would go to the old sawmill and shoot cans and paper targets. We played "42" and Monopoly and through it all we ate really well made at home pie: apple, pumpkin, cherry all with whipped cream. Often we would get out the song books and sing away the evening. In Raton we usually had a white Christmas and that made it all the better.
Christmas was a gathering of family and friends to celebrate togetherness. It was/is a wonderful time. I hope it is a great one for all of you. Foree

On the left is the Whitetail taken on the same hunt as the Mule deer. We (my hunting buddy and I) were riding a 4 wheeler in some rolling, thickly covered, hills and drove upon this deer while he was laying in a bush. His head was the only thing we could see. He jumped and ran and my buddy and I were frantically trying to get off the wheeler and take a shot. I happen to get one off and three shots later he was down- 4:30 in the afternoon. Note, if you can see it, the drop tine over the right eye - this is a special gift for a hunter. The rifle is Ruger M77, 7MM caliber with the Nikon scope. The Mule deer in the other picture here has a 24in spread. This was one of the best hunts I have been able to take. Enjoy - Foree