Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’"

Good morning and welcome to Tuesday's edition here on this January 30, 2018. I read one of those flashback vintage facts that got my attention. A young woman, aged 16, didn't know what was actually happening when she was instructed to disembark off the Titanic before it sank. She thought it was all a part of the itinerary of the trip itself. She didn't know the seriousness of it all until she later reached New York. While we might use the word clueless to describe her situation, there's no debating that not knowing the truth can have far-reaching implications. When I read that little story about the young woman it reminded me of the lesson I taught this past Sunday in our Bible Study class. That lesson focused on The Book of Acts, Chapters 18 and 19. In one situation there was a great communicator named Apollos who was a wonderful Bible scholar but was not fully aware of the whole account about the coming of Jesus, The Messiah. A husband and wife team, associates of the Apostle Paul, went to Apollos privately and explained the truths he was unaware of. Immediately following this account, we find the Apostle Paul coming in contact with a dozen men who had previously become disciples of John the Baptist but they had not even heard about the Holy Spirit coming in a special way on the Day of Pentecost. At any rate, after questioning them, Paul determined they had not trusted Jesus and he presented the whole truth to them and they responded in faith and were baptized in Jesus name. So many today have a hit and miss understanding of the truth about heaven and hell, about our need of salvation, and how one can be made right with God. Being religious is not enough. Being on a Church roll is not enough. Nothing short of one crying out to Jesus the Christ in belief and repentance will bring about the saving of their soul, for time and eternity. Never believe it doesn't matter what you believe. Never!

I realize that some of those who read what I write each day prefer more of this and not so much of that. Maybe some would rather me not write so much about spiritual matters. Others would like it if I never mentioned politics. It's okay. We all have our preferences. The trouble for me is that I write this blog right off the top of my old noggin. When that spinning wheel lands of a particular spot, that's what I attempt to share. For instance, I support our President in his efforts to revitalize the American economic engine. I do. At the same time, I am often appalled at the religious broadcasters who are in the tank for President Trump, no matter what the issue might be. They don't need to do that. Do they? I voted for the man but there's no way I can agree with every iota of everything he has done, is doing, and will do, going forward. These folks really get me going when they use the Bible to try and defend some of the stuff going on. As for as the Scriptures, commentary, and other Bible-related matters I discuss, they are a part of who I am. Not that I have arrived, but, I am a fellow struggler on my way to my real home in heaven and I've been provided a life here by the Lord God of heaven and that life is the one I share with folks each day in my blog. I also enjoy the walks down memory lane and the reminiscing about the 'good old days'. And, I do notice things. Which reminds me, when I walk the mall on Saturday mornings, it seems there are always a large number of folks camped out, waiting on the Apple Store to open. What's up with that? Directly across from that business, the Lego Store is often filled up with adults and children sitting on the floor crosslegged playing with Lego blocks. Before regular hours. Some folks will get up early for almost anything. Like waiting in line, playing with blocks on the floor, or, maybe even walking around.

Maybe this day's musings will look smaller when I enlarge the print. Just joking. You will have to admit that we are living in some pretty strange times. We have things that are hard to process, all around us, on a 24x7 basis. The women celebrities show up for some big event and lecture everyone on the way into the venue on how they are there to call attention to how they are sick and tired of women being treated as sex objects. Yet, they say that with a straight face while exposing much of their body to the world in their choice of clothing. Really? Why do they dress that way? It calls attention to themselves and what does the way they dress communicate? I also read about a college up in Connecticut that wanted to demonstrate their free speech creds by allowing a conservative to speak on their campus. Good for them. Right? Not so fast. They also in the same paragraph offered counseling for any of their students that might feel despondent, threatened, or hurt by this activity. I don't even want to get into the details of the latest surveys from the most respected polling organization devoted to Church and Christian matters, the Barna Group. The bottom line is just this: As a percentage of the population, the overwhelming majority of our current younger teens through those in their twenties, do not, and I repeat, do not, share the values or the commitment to Bible defined morality that has previously been the foundation of our beliefs. Overwhelming. The history of our nation is marked by times when the need was great and God sent revival to intervene. We need that today. We do. We really do. Let's all pray that God will respond again for the sake of His Name and the good of these children that need Him. Amen. ....More later.