A Reluctant Message

 I like to read short stories & books.  I love to listen to a song with a story.  I recently re-read the Book of Jonah.  It’s only four short chapters & we all know (or should know) the story of Jonah & the whale.

If you read thru the 4 chapters of course the main theme is Jonah doesn’t listen to Gods message & is punished by being swallowed by a whale.  He’s spit out 3 days later due to whale indigestion.  After this horrible experience he obeys Gods message.  

That’s the main theme, but is it the main message?  It is not…the main message is that Jonah was reluctant to follow Gods charge to him to go to the people of Nineveh & prophesize their destruction due to their continued wickedness, because he already knew the eventual outcome of his message.

  Jonah tells us in verse 4:2….he knew God “was gracious & compassionate, slow to anger & filled with unfailing love.”  He knew that if he stuck his neck out & told the people of Nineveh of their impeding destruction….he may be made to look the fool when nothing happens.

But something did happen.  Something very key to Nineveh not being destroyed.  In chapter 3 we see the people, from least to greatest, go without food & humble themselves in sack cloth to show their remorse & sorrow.  Even the king of Nineveh fast & shed his royal robes & donned sack cloth, declaring “everyone must turn from their evil ways & stop all their violence….pray earnestly to God & He may yet have pity & not destroy us”.  This was key to convincing the people the truth Jonah’s message held.

And that’s what happened.  God seen their remorse & their turn from evil & had mercy for Nineveh & spared its destruction.  So even though Jonah felt God set him up, the people actually saved themselves, Jonah was just a messenger.  Had the king & the people not believed the message, their destruction was certain.

So….to put a modern spin on this….what if at some point we had indisputable proof of Gods existence & His message was directed at our world?  How many people would still turn their backs on living proof, historical documentation & the promise of salvation thru eternity, just so they could be some kind of something here & now, but not later?  How many people would turn from their evil ways, humble themselves, pray for forgiveness & acknowledge Gods existence?  And how many would rejoice in knowing their faith in God…has finally been answered?

Evil has coursed in man’s veins since we left God’s Garden, which we did of our own free will.  Evil is, so evil does.  Evil knows it has no tomorrow so it does it’s damage today.  When cornered evil strikes, when confused evil hides & when caught evil lies.  However, evil fades when faced with the truth, justice, wisdom & love.  It fades into the darkness seeking weaker spirits.

All around us we see Gods message, we just have to open our hearts & minds to hear & see it.  For when we do our spirit & soul is enriched & we become as one body in harmony with the peace only God can provide.

Jonah was a reluctant messenger, but he eventually delivered a message that saved countless lives, but it was only because someone listened & someone prayed…& that is the moral of Jonah’s story.

Be blessed in all you do today & tomorrow.  

Share your faith, it may save someone’s life.

A Musical Love Story

 

Long, long ago before time was kept by mechanical hands, it was kept by the suns shadow & the moons glow.  Time was different then, life was simple & what is now modern man was just beginning his timeless journey.  

I have dreamt of such times.  When all you had or needed was provided by nature & your bare hands.  Survival was your physical priority, but there were also magical moments of discovery & loves emotions dominated the warm days & cool nights.

In one of these dreams a man & a woman were walking on the beach.  Holding hands & rubbing shoulders they strolled the sand when he saw something within his reach.

Wading into the crystal clear water he knelt down & picked up the pinkish ivory like conch sea shell.  It was old, almost ancient, & wore to a smooth texture with the front horn area slightly broken one could tell.

Admiring it he gently cleaned the sand & removed a couple of old mullosk remains from the horn.  Now a hollow chamber existed thru the conch shell; he gave it to his mate as a token of love once torn.

She held it with both hands & placed a subtle kiss on the shattered face of the conch shells broken horn as a gesture of thanks.  As she did she happened to exhale ever so slightly & a low deep resonating sound was born.

They both looked at each other & she tried the kiss again with her breath held until she exhaled & the first musical conch sea shell note this Earth ever heard, was heard. 🐚✨

Book of Hebrews Chp. 11…. Psalm 66-68

Where It Started

 

So here I sit where I started so long ago.  What have I achieved since then?  I guess not much in the eyes of man.   

Forty five years ago at 16 I hitch hiked past this very spot on my way to new adventures.  It’s been quite the journey & I have little in the material world to show for it.

But I have more than anything this materialistic world can provide.  As the cars & trucks pass on the inter-state, I sit in mine & look thru a fountain at the hustle & bustle of a week end day.  

None of this was here 45 years ago except the hi-way.  Much has changed, but the trees that are left remind me of those first steps I took on my road of life.

A road that led me to the thoroughbred horse track in Cincinnati, then the track in Detroit, then at 17 I joined the U.S. Navy…and my eyes opened to a whole new world.

From there the road split in many directions; I often took a wrong turn, but I always seemed to get back on track & feel my best days lay ahead.  

It is said all roads lead back to the same place and as I sit here where I started so long ago….I can testify to that truth.  Have a superb weekend.  Be Safe & Be Healthy…🐝.   

Book of Acts Chp. 26  ✨

A Revealing, An Oath & A Promise

 Ok so I’ve bared a lot of my experiences, observations, thoughts & opinions on this blog.  Two hundred & ninety or so posts, but only a few reading this know much if anything about me.

Since the past doesn’t really matter, I won’t bore you with that, but if a blog is a diary of sorts, what’s my entry for today?

Well, today I am 61 years old & help care for my 85 year old mother who has ALS, aka…Lou Gehrig’s disease.  I liquidated or stored most of my belongings and moved from North Carolina to her home here in Florida.  I have been here for 3 months or so now.

The community we live in has a 36 hole golf course, several pools, a conference center, tennis courts, work out areas, wilderness trails, a private school, lakes & ponds with fish & skies with hawks & osprey, etc, etc.

They are building 100’s & 100’s of homes in this corridor northeast of Tampa.  Life is good for many folks around here, something I have not always been accustomed too.

My days for the most part are free, but I care for my mother after dinner thru the morning….yep, I got the night watch.  But you know what….it keeps me outta trouble & I have wonderful natural settings & wildlife all around me & my buddy Roscoe to talk too.

There is a fox den in the hedges, all kinds of water fowl, ospreys, split tails, brown & golden hawks in the air & trees.  With bass in the ponds, hogs & deer in the forest, squirrels & bunnies in the yard it’s a beautiful place to go for a stroll.  At night we’re just far enough from the big city lights to enjoy star filled nights in between the often rainless thunder & lightning storms.

Having my days free has helped me get reacquainted with this area.  My mother has owned this house for over 40 years; so yeah I got some roots & memories of this area.  My options are very open.  I can reactivate my LLC…Sensory Solutions & Systems….,I can do side work, I can work from home, or I could continue to watch for fox & hawks & see what tomorrow brings.

The Revealing….

One thing very few people know about me is that 14 years or so ago I took an online course & registration to become a Minister.  I partly did it just to see if I could qualify & pass….which I did & did.  I am not ordained or certified in any particular religion, nor do I want to be, it was more a personal & spiritual goal to accomplish.  For years, over 30 really, I have felt God’s calling.  But, I was scared.  Not of God…but scared of my fellow men & women and of being wrong.  The consequences of false prophecy & worship far outweigh the earthly benefits some cater to. 

I have a lot of non- traditional Spiritual views.  They are Spiritual views because they are not religious views.  I am independent & non-denominational.  Religion is ceremony, religion is not Church.  The Church stands on its own, because it is God’s Temple, Christ’s Body & the Spirits presence is there….if it is a Church first & foremost, rather than a religion by name, label, deed & belief, which is secondary to its main mission which is bringing the Words & Ways of our Lord to the world.

In so many ways religion has clouded the basic spiritual concepts, traditions & realities of Truth, that the average person is left dazed & confused & ultimately disappointed in “religion”.

Church is a Holy place for praise & fellowship with God & each other thru the Holy Spirit in the Lord’s House.  

Any religion is a belief of one kind or another that may or may not be worthy of being attached to any Church as defined in the previous paragraph.  With religion brings a label, a stigma…True & Free Spirituality has no labels, so it can never be stigmatized.

Unlike so many in our society who chase fame & fortune by bargaining with the devil, I made a pact with God…& I’ll close this post with that pact.

The Oath….

I said, God….I’m scared.  I’m scared that this is a false calling.  If it is & I ever write, say or do anything that would mislead another person away from You & Your teachings….or if I am or ever become something other than a messenger of Your Words & Deeds….then strike my words & strike me down.

The Promise….

An answer was given to me that said two words & two words only…. “I Promise”.

Those Words & that Oath are sealed in prayer & my words are still here on this blog & in my daily actions & I am still alive to enjoy foxes at night & hawks in the day.  To this day I hold to that Oath & that Promise because of all He has & continues to reveal to me.

Praise God, Love Jesus & call on the Spirit & your life will begin to be what you’ve always felt you could be.

Reflections:  Bible Book of Job 38-41 

New Living Translation, the ending may surprise you as it did me & Proverbs 16:33 sums it up nicely. 🐝✨

Note: If you look closely at the opening pic there’s the small head of a morning dove in the left side of the chimney.  All morning she was up there cooing her gentle call, but I guess I was the only one to hear it. 🕊