Song: " Come home, come home Ye who are weary come home..." 'Softly and Tenderly', written by Will Thompson, (1847-1909). Thompson was inspired to write this song after attending one of D.L. Moody's meetings. He visited Moody when D. L. was dying and the famous evangelist said this, "Will, I would rather have written ‘Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling’ than anything I have been able to do in my whole life."

I noticed a pastor of a local fellowship over in Louisiana was presenting a series for the new year entitled, "Refocusing". That sounds appropriate to me as we are already dealing with the 10th day of 2019, here on this Thursday. That refocusing theme reminded me of how easy it is for any of us to end up with distorted vision. The Apostle Peter wrote about how and why this can happen in a believers life in the first 9 verses of his second epistle (letter): "Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,  as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,  by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins." Notice he was writing to fellow believers. It can happen to anyone! If we fail to add those virtues to our Christian life, bad things, very bad things can result. The word shortsighted in the Greek is the word we get myopia from. Distorted vision. Blindness. And, the worst thing of all, one can forget they have been cleansed from their sins. Talk about a need to REFOCUS, not just as a metaphor, but as a reality. For me. For you. For us all. Amen.

No. I am not going to change my blog category into one that features mostly theological materials. I write about what I have in my heart and mind, therefore, if I tend, at times, to go on and on about spiritual matters, well, you can guess who most likely needs it the most. You got it right the first time! That very difficult trio that is always my toughest obstacle, Me, Myself, and I. It has been that way for a long time. Let me see, for at least the past 72 plus years. I could easily give you a lot of the ways one can tell if they have neglected to focus on those things God says are vital to our life for Him. How? Let me summarize it this way: Been there, done that. I know what preachers have said for years is true, "There's not much worse than a true believer who is out of the will of God." That distorted view becomes front and center and the things that should matter most are no longer on the front burner. Some seem to think this could not happen to them. Really? I would only say this about that. Even thinking that puts one closer to being there. Here's a verse for us all to consider: "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." (The Apostle Paul's letter to the local fellowship meeting in Corinth, Greece, 1st Corinthians, Chapter 10, Verse 12, as rendered in the New King James Version, NKJV).

Ted Williams with Babe Ruth.

Last Monday, the wife and I went and walked at the mall. On our way back we stopped at the store to pick up some small bottles of water. Some of the mostly elderly folks we minister to at the apartments prefer water instead of coffee. I picked up one of those 24 packs and went to the checkout. The fellow behind me must have been in his early 40's. He was talking up a storm. He sounded like he was in sales. He grabbed a Hot Wheels car off the peg and said, "There it is. I wanted one for Christmas but I didn't get it. I'll just buy my own Lamborgini." With that, he threw it down on the conveyor. I looked back and handed him one of our Santa cards and told him next time he might want to ask the right person. He got hold of that card and acted like a kid. He seemed excited and happy. He went on, "Hey, this should be in your wheelhouse. What do you know about Ted Williams?" I told him I knew a little since he was one of the greatest major league hitters of all time. He then hit me with a couple of questions. I think he was getting them off of his cellphone. He asked if I knew why Ted Williams wore the number 9 on his jersey. I told him I didn't know. He said it was because he flew F-9 jets in Korea. He then asked if I knew the fellow who was Ted's wingman on many of his sorties. I admitted I didn't know. He said it was John Glenn, the famous astronaut and later respected US Senator. He told me if I had been able to answer those questions he would have allowed me to be his wingman for the day. What a character! The cashier was taking it all in and bobbing forth and back like a cork being hit by a fish. I'm not sure about the number 9 on his jersey. I couldn't validate that part of his story, however, it is true that Ted Williams and John Glenn flew many times in Korea as wingmen. The things you have happen to you when all you wanted to do was get some water. Fortunately, we were the only ones in line at that time. Enjoy the rest of your day and may God bless us all is my prayer. Amen. ....More later.