Preparing for Eternity....What's Your Plan?

It is one of the most definitive actions that occurs each year at this time...the turning of the page of the calendar as we say "Goodbye" to last year and welcome in all the joys, trials, speed bumps and triumphs that surely await us in this NEW YEAR....for us, this is 2026!

I am currently teaching my Sunday School class at McConnell Memorial Baptist Church in Hiawassee, a series, I have entitled, Preparing for Eternity....What's Your Plan? I mean, after all, isn't the start of a brand new year front loaded with what many call, NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS....those well-thought out plans we make to improve ourselves, our station in life, our retirement portfolio or some other meaningful endeavor that bears our attention.

Yes, we call them, RESOLUTIONS, but aren't they really well-intentioned plans that we believe will drastically improve some area of our life ? And if truth be told, our Heavenly Father is on point with this mentality.  In fact, He gives us forewarning that He has a plan for our lives as given to us by the prophet, Jeremiah, who shared this with God's elect in Jeremiah 29:11....For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (NIV) 

So if God has a PLAN(and He's the Creator and Ruler of the Universe), what should that say to you and me about making plans...not for just these days on this dusty orb, but for the hope that lies before us....HEAVEN! SO THE QUESTION I PUT TO MY SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS,

What are your Plans for Eternity? 

Now for many that may seem like a silly question, right? But let's stop and think about who our God is and how He reigns in this world and the next? First, we know from Scripture, our Heavenly Father is a God who ordained man to work. In Genesis 2:19-20, we read, ^{19 "}Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals." So, naming the animals was Adam's first job as he began to work for His Creator...and that same mindset that God has work for us to do for our good and His Glory has not changed. It will follow us to Heaven, as God gives each of us work to do in His heavenly kingdom. So my question to you is, what do you want to do for God when you get to Heaven and what plans have you made to be prepared for that work?

 

Now, we all know that making plans to do ANYTHING for God has a caveat....simply put, ARE THE PLANS I HAVE MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD'S WILL? And once again, God's Word speaks directly to that question in James 4:13-15 as follows.... ^" Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that." (NIV)

So, our plans for Heaven totally rest in the WILL OF GOD; however, it is my personal belief that God will want to use us in His kingdom by using the talents, interests and joys of our life well-lived on earth, so that we might bring to fruition His will in His Kingdom of Heaven.

Therefore, why not plan for work in Heaven by doing what God has gifted you to do as you sojourn here on this dusty orb, we call our temporary home? Plan to use that beautiful voice to sing praises to the King here on earth so that you might join the angelic chorus in Heaven. Or use that willingness to share the Good News of Christ here and now, so that you might be a messenger of God's love in His glorious kingdom as you worship Him with words of joy, love and praise.

Now, I don't know what talents or gifts of service God has bestowed on you; but this one thing I do know...GOD'S GIFTS OF SERVICE, NOW, WILL BE GREATLY WELCOMED AS WE SEEK TO SERVE HIM IN OUR HEAVENLY HOME....AND IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO MAKE A PLAN IN ACCORDANCE WITH HIS GREAT AND AWESOME WILL...SO,

What's your plan for Heaven? And if you need some help in "fleshing" out a plan that prepares you for service in His Heavenly kingdom, be sure to come back to get the rest of what God has given you to help in getting ready for later.... by living for HIM in the here and now!!!!

Plans in motion....following God's Heavenly directions,

WPQ

 

Poem for the day....

If you working for the Lord
On this earth, both here and now;
But you're not sure if you've got this;
And you're wondering if somehow?
 
The Lord is sending you mixed signals,
So you struggle to understand?
What could God want from you?
What truly is His plan?
 
His plan is plain and simple;
He 's working for your good.
A plan that brings you hope and joy,
Living for Him as you should.
 
So don't become discouraged,
Or pout if things don't go your way.
Remember, He has a plan for you,
So you need not be dismayed.
 
Commit your life in service to Him,
So that in all you do or say...
God's blessings will flow down to you
As you lead others to walk His way!!!
 
WPQ © January 2026

 

 

 

R U Running from....CHANGE?

It has been said there is only one thing in this world that remains constant…and that is CHANGE!!!!

If that is true, then it behooves one of wisdom to prepare for the inevitable. We are continually  inundated by both political parties to expect change. The upcoming mid-term elections already have all the political pundits, spewing their propaganda about the outcome of the elections that are still over 11 months away, before many of us cast our votes for new governors, state and local representatives...and most of all the Senate and House of Representatives races that will determine the balance of power for the remaining years before our next Presidential election in 2028. Yes, CHANGE IS INEVITABLE AND WE CANNOT RUN AND HIDE FROM THAT MENACE WE CALL..... CHANGE!

In fact, we only have to read the daily headlines to see that our world is in a constant state of fluctuation….financial disarray, rising and falling levels in the stock market, unemployment, spiraling food and health costs…. All producing…change…Change….CHANGE.

Now for most of us, change is something of a dirty word, or at least one that makes us very uncomfortable. We strive to live our lives in a calm and peaceful manner; free from the upheavals of change. Yet, try as we might, change happens! In fact, God’s word tells us that change is coming; but praise be, it also tells us who is in charge of that change.

“I am the one who creates the light and makes the darkness. I am the one who sends the good times and the bad times. I, the Lord, am the one who does these things. Isaiah 45: 7 NLT

Our typical response to change is one of fear and trepidation. We all too often begin to look at our circumstances rather than our provision. Unfortunately, change seems to always bring fear before it births faith. Fear seems to focus on the worst rather than hold claim to the best.

When God chooses to interrupt the natural flow of our life with change or something that we have never encountered before….we choose panic over praise. James, the Lord’s brother, wrote in his letter, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds (change, my interpretation), for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4

Yes, when calamity or change occurs that is unsettling or disheartening, we can view the presence of the problem as the absence of God ….and our simplistic response is to try and run away from the mess we find ourselves in. Or… we can do the unexpected; we can praise Him from whom all blessings and problems flow!

We can take comfort in and find joy in the midst of any trial if we will but remember that God is on our side…and that He is in control. He is working all things out for our good… so that we may be perfect and complete in Him. We still have a responsibility to do what we CAN....but when we reach the end of what we can do, it is time to realize that what is left is not what we can't do; rather it is what God can and will do on our behalf. 

So….change is coming and you have two distinct choices….Prepare to Panic … or… Praise His Provision…for no matter the magnitude of the change that comes…our God is sufficient to meet and exceed ALL OUR NEEDS.

Standing firm….Praising His Provision,

WPQ

Poem for the day:

Sufficient for today are the problems we can see

As we wait upon the Lord in surrendered humility.

Never knowing what the future holds 
Nor where life's roads may lead...

We follow in His footsteps...we listen...trust...believe!

We hear His voice telling each of us 

That change will come our way;

For we need not fear life's outcomes

If we trust  Him and obey.

So welcome change with open arms

For no matter life's ups or downs;

When you're trusting in God's Holy Word....
You're planted on SOLID GROUND!

WPQ © October 2018

R U DEPRESSED OR TRULY BLESSED?

There's a lot of depressing news being permeated throughout the airwaves these days; and they bare a strong resemblance to the old adage that says: Due to the recent financial difficulties, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off! Now, I know that things are not as good as they could be; but, heaven (and God) knows, THINGS COULD BE MUCH WORSE! So as we approach the upcoming day that we as Americans set aside to give thanks; well, let’s do just that….GIVE THANKS!

In fact, if truth be told, we find in God’s word that giving “THANKS:” is an imperative! It is a direct command from the Great I AM. Throughout the Psalms, David continually wrote to praise the Lord and to give thanks. In Chapters 106 and 118, he begins each psalm with this admonition, “Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.” Time and time again, David reminds us to give thanks…to let our hearts overflow with thanksgiving. In fact, in over 33 passages in the Bible, we are commanded to give thanks to our Father who is the giver of every good gift.

So in a few days from now, as you gather with friends and family members and recount God’s blessing during this past year, don’t look at the shrinking balance in your checking account and lament how poor you are…rather; remember if you have any spare change just lying around the house, you are already wealthier than 75% of the world’s population. In fact, yesterday, my wife and I counted the change we keep in a glass flower vase, near the back door...a place to dispose of any loose change I might have in my pockets or we find in my wife's billfold....SPARE CHANGE...SOUNDS LIKE A STRANGE WAY TO DESCRIBE MONEY?  However, we found, after counting, there was $38.17 in the jar...more than a worker in Nigeria would make at their job in a MONTH....and this money was just sitting in a jar, oblivious to the world and its needs.

Yes, times may be hard for many of us here in America, but that does not relieve us of God’s command to obedience as we bestow our praise, honor, adoration and gratitude on Him who has given us all that we have.... and for many of us, MORE THAN WE NEED. However, we should not give thanks to God because it our duty or just to be obedient to his Word;  but rather, we should give out of love and gratitude for the immeasurable blessings of God on this great nation.....and on us, individually! Times may be hard and they may become harder…but we, as followers of Christ, are called to a higher standard of thanksgiving…we are to praise him and give thanks in ALL things…the good and the bad…in the best of times and the worst of times.

Why not begin today, with your celebration of this Thanksgiving season, by doing the following….set aside some time to make a list of the things for which you can give thanks and after each one...take time to BLESS THE NAME OF JESUS….tell Him, personally, what and why you are thankful and how, even if that blessing were stripped away, you would still give thanks and bless his name…..for scripture tells us, “What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, yet lose his own soul.”

This Thanksgiving do the one thing that will honor God and bring glory to His name….Tell others how thankful you are that you belong to Jesus. This simple act of telling others that you are a child of the King will elicit praise from your lips and will demonstrate a heart filled and over-flowing with thanksgiving. For it is in every act of worship that we demonstrate our love for our Heavenly Father....and through EVERY praise and work of obedience that we show a humble and thankful heart.

So go ahead  and prepare for A BLESSED AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING and....May God bless you as never before!

WPQ

Poem for the Day:

In harmony with one voice we raise

Our grateful songs of thankful praise.

In song and dance we do proclaim

That we are blessed in Jesus’ name.

May all creation spend each day,

Praising Jesus in every way…

And may the very rocks cry out;

The valleys sing, the mountains shout...

And echo through each humbled heart

As all who know Him do their part….

To sing and worship all our days

With hearts filled with eternal praise.

WPQ 2011

IS THE WATER GETTING TOO HOT?

If you are like me, you have probably heard the old apologue describing a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out; but if the frog is put in tepid water, which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of sinister threats that arise gradually rather than suddenly. Unfortunately, this premise is false, because a frog in water that is gradually heated will jump out! Furthermore, a frog placed into already boiling water will die immediately, not jump out.

But let us consider that this old metaphor may carry in it a grain of truth regarding the lack of urgency on the part of the frog in water that is ever so gradually being heated to the boiling point...what is the perceived danger and if perceived, when would it jump out? Now, I ask this question because I believe we, as believers, are living in a pot of tepid water when it comes to the sins of our society and our less than urgent attention to deal with the threat of the water temperature as it continues to rise.

You see the devil, with his demons and minions, are the ones that seem to have their hands on the knob that controls the heat that is being applied to the "water" of our mental, physical, social and spiritual states in these latter days....and what do I mean by that accusation? In the physical realm, our American population has over 70 million adults considered obese and another 99 million that are overweight; and our children are right on our heels as their numbers continue to rise in being obese or overweight....all from eating too many "carbs" and their lack of exercise and healthy eating habits. In the social realm, we have lost the desire to actual communication face to face. Rather it is not uncommon to go to a restaurant and see a family of four, seated at a table, with their faces, all enthralled in staring at their phones...and don't get me started about the filth of pornography that is literally a click away when you Google any medical condition that has to do with personal health issues. 

In seems there was a time, not so long ago, when we all used to be social beings as we spent time with family and friends; but, those days and hours of pleasurable conversation are gone because of the social and political divide that has swept across our land. I am still mad, as well as totally bewildered, that we have become like a third world country that enables one to believe they have a civil, if not moral mandate, to shoot someone because they espouse a moral or personal conviction on faith; or, the genocide of the unborn; or, a personal vendetta to attack and seek to kill a person who has been sworn to protect the citizens of our country against lawbreakers and those who have entered our sovereign nation illegally...and the devil keeps turning the knob as the water of complacency continues to rise and we continue to stew in the process.

And last, and certainly to me, the one that is most concerning....the spiritual state of America! What happened to upholding our first amendment right to freedom of religion and our freedom of free speech? We have forsaken our mandate from Jesus Christ to proclaim the Gospel as we have allowed those with political power and clout to kick us out of the schools of our nation, making it an offense to pray in school then filling our young children's heads with the amoral idea of homosexuality, unprotected sex and the greatest lie of all....that children should be able to change their God-given sex at the behest of some school psychologists and money hungry doctors, all the while perpetuating this evil and not notifying the parents as to the procedures that are being done to their children!  GOD HELP US as the devil continues to crank up the heat, as we, the proverbial frogs, sit complacently in boiling water, clueless that our death is imminent!

We cannot afford the luxury of our stupidity as we continue to "go along to get along."  There is nothing wrong with being a tolerant person until your tolerance becomes a "tripping stone" or "parking curb" that causes you to fall and spill your brains all over the parking lot. And I speak from experience regarding this, having spent my energy more than once from tripping over a parking curb; and then racing like a full back, trying to score a TD over the last six yards, before I fell flat on my face, tore my pants, skinned both knees and hands, and wiped out a good pair of pants as I skidded across the pavement.

Trust me, we do not want to be remembered for our falls; rather, we want to be acclaimed for our stand for Christ in these last days... before His return....and since NO ONE KNOWS THAT DAY OR TIME, we  need to stand strong and get out of the water of the devil's induced apathy and share the Good News of Grace and Mercy and Forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus. Then, let us once again claim our birthright as citizens of heaven, who now sojourn on earth for a little while, as we prepare to leave this world behind for the riches and glories of Heaven...COME LORD JESUS COME QUICKLY,  and rescue us from the "boiling waters" of the devil's cistern of this fallen world!

 Leaping for safety and the Arms of Jesus,

WPQ

 

Poem for the day....

Life can be such a battle,
To face the rigors of each new day;
Spending our time in service to our King;
Seeking to show others, His will and His way!!!
Staying the course so others will see,
That we have a call to obey;
To turn back the devil's schemes and ploys;
To be immovable each day as we pray....
 
To give our hearts and minds to Him
That was led as a lamb to the slaughter;
To know when it's time to bail from the pot,
That is filled with the devil's boiling water?
To live a life that honors our God;
To be righteous, holy and devout....
To know when it's time to take a stand;
When to rise up and call sin out?
 
To no longer hide in the shadows;
But be courageous, strong, and true.
To live a life that directs others
To place their faith and trust in....YOU!
 
wpq © october 2025
 

IS TIME ON YOUR SIDE?

There is one immutable resource that everyone has at their disposal; be you rich or poor; smart or intellectually challenged; free or held captive....if you are alive, breathing and have your wits about you, then you qualify for this resource...the resource of TIME! Yes, each day when you wake up, you are given a new 24 hour commodity of time...you can use it for any number of reasons; but at the stroke of midnight, that 24 hours is OVER and the clock starts ticking all over again. The rock band, The Rolling Stones, wrote and recorded a song in 1964 entitled, TIME IS ON MY SIDE, which told his lover that though she had left him, SHE WOULD COME RUNNIN' BACK TO HIM, OH YES SHE WOULD. This was never a favorite song of mine; I guess it just never struck a chord with my heart or mind; however there is someone who spoke quite eloquently about time and how it works for and against us in this life...

His name...KING SOLOMON! If you go to the Old Testament and search for chapter 3 of the Book of Ecclesiastes, it tells us,

there is...A Time for Everything

There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time. There is a time to be born and a time to die. There is a time to plant and a time to pull up plants.  There is a time to kill and a time to heal. There is a time to destroy and a time to build. There is a time to cry and a time to laugh. There is a time to be sad and a time to dance with joy. There is a time to throw weapons down and a time to pick them up. There is a time to hug someone and a time to stop holding so tightly. There is a time to look for something and a time to consider it lost. There is a time to keep things and a time to throw things away. There is a time to tear cloth and a time to sew it. There is a time to be silent and a time to speak. There is a time to love and a time to hate. There is a time for war and a time for peace.

God Controls His World...Do people really gain anything from their hard work? I saw all the hard work God gave us to do.  God gave us the ability to think about his world, but we can never completely understand everything he does. And yet, he does everything at just the right time.  I learned that the best thing for people to do is to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live. God wants everyone to eat, drink, and enjoy their work. These are gifts from God.  I learned that anything God does will continue forever. People cannot add anything to the work of God, and they cannot take anything away from it. God did this so that people would respect him. What happened in the past has happened, and what will happen in the future will happen. But God wants to help those who have been treated badly. (Found in the Easy to Read Version)

 So my question is...HOW ARE YOU SPENDING YOUR COMMODITY OF TIME EACH DAY? Are you squandering it on foolish endeavors or planting seeds of faith in new ground? If planting, are you watering adequately with prayer, petition and supplications or letting the weeds have their way in your new garden of obedience to the Creator of the Universe? Are you looking and preparing for the harvest of God's abundant blessings or are you gripping and complaining of a bushel not filled to overflowing? Are you wondering where the TIME went and upset that you did not do all that you told God you would accomplish for His Kingdom? Well if any of these situations tilt your world off its axis....here's the GOOD NEWS....TOMORROW IS JUST HOURS AWAY BEFORE YOU CAN TRY AGAIN....and with the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit, you can trust Him to make all things NEW so that you can say....

TIME IS ON MY SIDE, OH YES IT IS.... BECAUSE GOD IS IN CONTROL AND I WILL GO WHERE HE LEADS AND DO AS HE COMMANDS SO THAT ALL WILL BE WELL WITH MY SOUL...AND I SHALL KNOW PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING AS I LIVE EACH SECOND, MINUTE AND 24 HOURS OF EACH DAY FOR HIM!

 May it ever be so, AMEN AND AMEN!

 WPQ

 

Poem for the day....
 
Living in this fast-paced, modern world,
With all its worries and concerns;
Can make one often anxious,
When we think we've got hours to burn?
 
We gulp our food as we check our phones;
Where do all those hours go?
Until we lay down our weary heads,
With little for our day to show...
 
That we are living as the Bible instructs;
Helping those in spirit as well as deed.
To see someone whose just getting by
And give them what they need.
 
For that is what our Savior taught
By His words; but more, His life;
For we are to help those adrift
In the midst of storms and strife.
 
So lean into the works prepared for you;
Spend wisely your commodity of time....
So that when you lay your body down;
God's peaceful rest will be sublime!!!
 
WPQ © October 2025

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SATAN'S DECEITFUL NATURE....THE WAR CONTINUES

As we turn our thoughts on getting back to that GOOD OLD TIME RELIGION, let us continue to evaluate this new spirit of progressive Christianity that tells us to believe the mindset that says, we know better than God; that since these words were written by mere mortal men, thousands of years ago; then truly the plain sense of the words of the Bible cannot be trusted, and that the old, proven paths are not proven at all. In fact, the very God of the Bible must be recreated if He is to live up to our enlightened standards. This would be bad if it was some uprising of intellectuals, spouting this rubbish from afar; however, it is worse, unfortunately,  because it is being espoused from the pulpit of so many of our "modern day churches." The teachings of Jesus to love our enemies is still true; but we have allowed these "enemies" to stand in our pulpits and tell us that sin is okay. We are told to accept homosexuals, love 'em and praise them for their willingness to bring, what was once called "sin against God and sin against humanity,"  out into the open forum so that ALL mankind will no longer call this type of lifestyle, "SIN";  but rather celebrate their "forward thinking" that they know better than God how to live their lives and be fulfilled, while living a lifestyle, corrupted by sin.

BUT, we should know better! For when we begin to think in such a manner, what we are then left with is simply our religion—a faith without a backbone; a bible with which we have chosen only the parts that fit our distorted mindset and a god that we have created in our image, based on our values. Augustine summed it up nicely: “If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself." Christ warns, on many occasions in His words to us, "And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near Therefore do not go after them." Luke 21:8....and that is EXACTLY what we see happening in so many of our long, established houses of worship here in the United States.

We should also take to heart the message from the Apostle Paul when he writes in 1 Corinthians 9 &10, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."

However, there are two more passages from GOD'S WORD, THE BIBLE, that tell us not TO BE DECEIVED....Don’t be deceived! “Evil companionships corrupt good morals.”  I Cor. 15:33 WVB;  as well as, ^"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." Galatians 6:7 NIV

AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE DOING...WE ARE MOCKING GOD with our outlandish ways on how to live and our smug attitudes that thumbs our collective noses in God's face, calling Him out and daring Him to correct us and our demonic mindset....A MINDSET that tells us to believe that we are GOD and HE IS NOT!!!

The following excerpt is from Michael Brown ©2022  and the reason I wrote this series... But, again, this is not merely an intellectual battle. At root, this is a spiritual battle, one that can only be won through prayer, fasting, through clear Gospel proclamation, through resisting the enemy, refusing to compromise and walking in genuine, heartfelt love. The spirit of the age will be against us (“You are so old-fashioned and outdated!”). The spirit of the flesh will be against us (“You are such boring legalists!”). The spirit of that ancient serpent will be against us (“If you want to be on the right side of history, you need to abandon your inflexible, fundamentalist mindset!”).

But the Holy Spirit is with us, and by His power we pull down these deceptive strongholds and demolish these destructive ideologies. We do it by wrestling in prayer in the secret place before we raise our voices in the public square. We do it by pointing to the inevitable trajectory of progressive beliefs, as little by little, they depart further and further from the faith until even the most fundamental doctrines are denied. We do it by exposing the moral bankruptcy of a faith that questions God’s integrity and His Word, producing bondage rather than freedom. And we do it by setting the captives free, offering them radically new life through the Gospel and a true encounter with the living God through His Son, Jesus.

In the days ahead, this battle will intensify. The foundations of our faith will be questioned as never before, and the “old ways” will be rapidly abandoned. But be encouraged. Progressive religion is no better than a beautiful sandcastle, soon to be washed out when the tide comes in.

It is that holy tide, in the life and power of the Spirit, grounded in the Word of truth, that will carry us to victory and deliver many from its deception and the adjoining lies. (End of Michael Brown insert)

Don't be one of those fools of which the Bible speaks of in the days that lie ahead...where in 2 Timothy 4:3, it reads," For there will come a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, because they have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in line with their own desires." Evangelical Heritage Version

Those times are upon us and you must choose whom you will serve...the GOD of AGES PAST, who sent His Only Son to die on a Roman cross for your sins and mine; then rose on that third day to now stand at the right hand of the Father, waiting for that trumpet blast to GO GET GOD'S CHILDREN AND BRING THEM HOME TO ETERNAL REST.... OR....You may choose the God of YOUR OWN MAKING AND THOUGH NOT A PROPHET, I DO NOT FORSEE A HAPPY ENDING FOR ANYONE FOOLISH ENOUGH TO MAKE SUCH A CHOICE! 

May the God of that GOOD OLD TIME RELIGION FOREVER DWELL IN THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF THOSE HE HAS CALLED TO BE HIS OWN....AMEN and AMEN!             

 WPQ

 

 Lyrics from Old Time Religion...

Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
It is good enough for me

It was good for my old mother
It was good for my old mother
It was good for my old mother
And it's good enough for me

It was good for the Hebrew children
It was good for the Hebrew children
It was good for the Hebrew children
And it's good enough for me

Well, give me that old time religion
Well, that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
It is good enough for me

I want that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
It is good enough for me

 

 

Another Step A Way ....

As we continue our study of how we got so far away from that Good Old Time Religion, we must next look at the family...and how the dynamics of family, raising children, technology and sports have worked quietly behind the scenes to disrupt and even destroy the family unit here in America and across the world.

When I was being raised as a child, my family had a different dynamic than most. There was my dad, mom, my younger sister, me....and my aunt (my father's younger sister) and her daughter who was six months older than me....and all this new family came to be shortly after I had my sixth birthday. It was quite different; adding a sister/cousin and an additional mom....talk about a double whammy when it came to being chastised and disciplined. But, as families did back then, we settled into life, loving and leaning on one another for familial support. My sister now had someone she could play with and thus, not spend her time, bugging me....and I had another mom who was a great cook. We did what most families did back then....go to work and school, play outside until the street lights came on or my dad hollered for us to come home for supper or school work; went to church Sunday morning for Sunday School, worship service; back at 5 pm for Youth Choir; Wednesday family supper, prayer meetings and youth activities...and if all was going well, a vacation trip each summer for a week's vacation at the beach or to the mountains to visit aunts, uncles and other cousins. I played baseball and took up golf and basketball in junior high....and my all-star baseball team traveled some in the summer before school began in the Fall.

But the mainstay, rock-bed foundation of our family was our evening meal. WE ALL SAT DOWN at the same time, ate the same thing, seated around the dinner table as we discussed the highs and lows of our day... parents and children all joining in to share what was taking place in our lives. If the phone rang during the meal, it rang until it stopped...no one got up to answer it, thus breaking our family circle that was sacred at dinnertime. Everyone was given a chance to share, no interruptions, and seconds, both in food and conversations, was always allowed. The only night we did not eat together at home was on Wednesday night, when we ate at church; or if a special occasion occurred and we went out for dinner. Fast food was NOT AN OPTION....only thing about fast food at my house...how fast I could eat it, so I could be excused and get back outdoors!

There were no answering machines to take a message; no cell phones, tablets or personal computers, vying for our attention; no tweets, no Instagram, no selfies, no self-inflicted interruptions to take us away from what mattered most...SPENDING TIME TOGETHER, CATCHING UP ON LIFE, EATING A GOOD MEAL, TALKING ABOUT OUR SUCCESSES AND OUR "SPEEDBUMPS"....AND LETTING THOSE WE LOVED KNOW THAT WE HAD MISSED THEM DURING THE DAY!

But all one has to do is look at what modern technology has done to the family dynamics in this modern era....everyone coming and going their own ways, with little to no interaction with others in the family. Hardly ever eating together; both parents working and the kids involved in almost every sport imaginable; running from one end of the county to the other; exhausted and distraught, shortened hours for sleep, homework....but plenty of time for X-box or other diversions that may add to self indulgence, but do little for self-worth and self-improvement. 

Church life is almost becoming an extinct activity for families. Forget Wednesday night at church or Sunday afternoon choir for kids and young people....they are all wrapped up in traveling team sports, often leaving on Friday afternoon to go play in a tournament that won't wrap up until late Sunday afternoon; or participating in a swim, track or gymnastic event that takes them away from attending Sunday School/Bible Study or worshiping together as a family on Sunday. SPORTS FOR OUR CHILDREN HAVE BECOME THEIR IDOL AND WE DRIVE THEM TO WHEREVER THAT MAY TAKE THEM...until they can drive and then, they leave to go play and we go back to taking a long nap on Sunday afternoon. 

No wonder our world is being turned upside down with all these "woke" and "off-beat worldly views." God has been left off of our "things to do" list and our children, our families and our churches are suffering the ill effects of trying to teach our children to live a "good life" with a broken compass that gives them neither spiritual guidance nor heavenly directions....What we need is to return, once again, to that 

OLD TIME RELIGION.....AMEN AND AMEN,

WPQ