Teutul’s Part 2

I am getting really tired of all the mud slinging on the latest incarnation of the American Chopper show.

As it stands now, the lawsuit is done; Senior and Junior came to an agreement which included Jr. getting his web bike back. There was even a moment of uneasy friendliness between the two as Junior went to his old digs and picked up the web bike.

Now, all the Teutul kids are still keeping Sr. at arms length claiming it is best to keep some distance. Jr. wonders if his father is going to make an attempt to be friendly, Sr. is blaming Jr. because Mikey won’t talk to him. Mikey says he will talk to Sr.with a therapist. Sr. said he would go fishing with any of the kids of his and just forget the past.

This is all like a motorcycleversion of All My Children.

THE FALLING APART OF THE TEUTULS WAS, IN SOME ASPECTS, A BLESSING IN DISGUISE.

Mikey is sober now and has his own business. Where would he be right now if the falling apart had not occurred? Passed out on his dad’s couch again? He certainly would not be a business owner with some direction in his life.

Jr. has his own business, he has a simply drop dead gorgeous wife and he has a home that looks just fantastic. Jr. mended fences with Vinnie, and the two are working together and are successful.

Jr. got to prove he could do it on his own. The consulting thing was not HIS thing. Maybe the struggling he goes through to keep his business solvent reminds him of the struggles Sr. had to go through to keep multiple businesses going.

Vinnie left because of the chaos but he has his own business, he works with Jr. again, is in the limelight again (for better or for worse) and all of them got to tell their side of the story on television.

I don’t get Vinnie’s attitude toward Senior. Vinnie got to travel the world on Sr.’s dime. Had thousands of dollars of worth of free tools given to him, and even got to build his own bike at cost. The Teutul’s even shingled his house for him. There seemed to be type of family dynamic at times, a good friendship between all of them.

I understand not wanting to work in a war zone, but now Vinnie works with Junior and they have to talk about senior and the problems week after week. THAT would suck, coming to work day after day to face a build, deadlines, and know that the same old crap is going to get rehashed again, and again, and again, and with camera’s in his face as well.

Truth be known, the show that helps pay the bills, and gives both shops all the publicity, is also keeping the feud going by keeping the stress going.

If I could offer one piece ofadvice to all the Teutul’s that they would all hear, it would be this: “mend fences before someone dies.”

Okay that sounds weird, I know that, but anyone of us could go at anytime and if one of the main characters of the Teutul drama would end up being laid to rest, then all the recriminations would be present in the news.

Imagine Jr, or Mikey tellingDiscovery that they regret not having made amends when they could have. Or Senior regretting not talking to Jr. when he could have.

For my point of view, it seems that Senior is making a pretty fair attempt to let it all go. I can understand also, that Mikey is defending his brother and may be wondering how building bridges with senior would affect things with junior. It’s time to let it all go.

I can understand how Paulie visiting his father would be difficult at first. Jr designed the logo that is prevalent on everything Sr has. That logo is on everything associated with Orange County Choppers and is recognized the world over and because of getting fired, and all the legal action, Jr has no legal association with his logo.

I can also understand that Paulie may still be smarting from the years of aggravation and the multiple lawsuits. But now that it is all over, forget about it. All these grown men are acting like stubborn five year olds.

For the average viewer such as me, I am tired of the drama. I love the skill of the two teams. I love seeing a new bike week after week, but I hate how the format of the show has changed from bike building at first, to celebrity bike builder status, to family drama with a few bikes thrown in for good measure.

I started watching all those years ago, because I wanted to see how a motorcycle was built. Then we were introduced to Nub and his genius with paint. Mikey then came in, and we were introduced to Rick, and Cody, and Vinnie. And we saw bikes being built.

I was also watching shows like American Hot Rod, Monster Garage, Biker Build off and All the Jesse James specials that highlighted his building skills, and they boy is skilled, quite different, but skilled nonetheless.

I also watch shows like Son’s of Guns, and American Guns. These shows are also a Discovery channel reality series, like American Choppers. But these shows are focused on building guns.

All these shows had certain themes in common but I want to see the BUILD, not the family drama. Senior criticizing a build is part of what a boss does. But the family drama and the crying was not what I tuned in to see.

The builders were hired to build. I enjoyed watching Orange County Choppers move from small shop to a bigger shop and eventually on to the world headquarters. But in watching week to week and enjoying the building and painting skills, I also had to endure the drama. The throwing of tools, the stomping off and leaving team members short handed on a time strapped build, was wrong.

There were times when I wanted to write in and ask the producers to get both the Teutul’s a set of boxing gloves and watch Senior destroy Junior then tell him to “get back to work.”

My kids used to watch the show with me, and were shocked by all the bleeping that had to be done in some episodes. They understood those bleeps were “bad words” but they were surprised at how many per show.

All in all though, I have enjoyed the show. I have watched many fine bikes being built and roll out of O.C.C. and I can see some more mighty fine bikes spring from P.J.D. I have watched the show from episode one and I guess like a soap opera addict, I will keep tuning in.

I want to now see not only what the bike is that is being built, but I want to see Rick visit P.J.D. I also want to see how the family drama eventually works out. I also want to see Paul Jr. be successful. I want to see how Mikey’s business does, and will Sr. ever get a painting?

I also want to see Vinnie take charge on a project and work it from conception, to unveil. I am more than sure he has learned quite a bit about designing since the Mikey & Vinnie bike.

With lawsuits from Cody, and Justin Barnes, plus the default on his building payments, just how much longer will O.C.C be in business?

Well……until Wednesday for the next installment, later.

Should We Or Shouldn’t We?

I have recently gotten back into church. I had not been present for a couple years. I had some issues I was not facing, I had a weird work schedule at times, and there were times when I was just plain lazy and did not want to go.

The Lord has been working with me in quite a few areas of my life over the past year and I decided it was time to follow scripture and return.

Now that I am praying regularly again and making much more of an attempt to follow scripture and let God guide my feet, I see changes in my life I need to pray about, and one of them is witnessing.

Witnessing is simply testifying of the change Christ has brought about in your life, telling people about how God loves them and wants them to come to Him as well.

This can be done in a number of ways, conversation at work, a person’s actions, or through a church event such as a door to door ministry. And the door to door ministry is the main focus of this article.

There are churches who believe in going door to door and inviting people to attend their church. Everyone is familiar with Jehovah’s Witnesses, they are big on trying to get in your home and try to show you their way of doing things.

A church I used to belong to in Salina used to simply make up flyers about the church, our services, our values, and such and volunteers from the church would simply go door to door and give a flyer to any who would accept one and invite them to attend. It was that simple.

We did not stand at the door and condemn. We never tried to enter unless bade to do so. We never tried to tell people that their way of doing things was wrong. We never tried to insinuate, cajole, or coerce, we simply invited. And trusted the Lord to do the rest. But, we did make the effort.

I am a big fan of doing this. I believe it goes along with the great commission in Matthew 28:18-20. Believers are to “Go ye therefore…….” go is a verb, it shows movement. When we knock on a door and invite people to church, Christ is also knocking, seeking entrance from the lost. He has to be invited in.

According to the notes in my study Bible: “The triumphant, living Lord sends forth His ambassadors to proclaim His gospel throughout all the world. The Great Commission is not just an order, but a pronouncement of victory by the risen Savior to His disciples.

Fulfilling the Great Commission shows faith and obedience. I know churches that do not go out. I have heard it said that we need to trust in the Lord to bring people in. True, but, we also need to be about or Saviors work as Christ did His Fathers work.

Now, I know there are many ways to get the word out. There are churches with Facebook pages. And there are blog sites to go to, and there is always witnessing to those we work with. It is right to go to the elderly, and to those in jail. All those can be effective,
and should be utilized.

But I also firmly believe that the Lord wanted us to personally go and knock on doors and let those people who we do not work with, or have not seen in jail, or who are not in a nursing home, know about us. How are people going to find our website or blog if we are not putting out the word that we have those things?

Doesn’t it make sense to hand out a flyer and have the church’s physical address, as well as our internet testimony links on there as well? People need not even leave the home, just get online and check us out or read the flyer that we hand to them. And if they have no internet, then the flyer says it all.

Going to door is not easy, and I have been yelled at and I have had doors literally slammed in my face. My former Pastor would say that all the effort and expense is worth it if one person comes to know Christ as Savior.

Knocking on doors makes us vulnerable, it is a leap of faith every time your fist raps the door because you could get griped out, or get a door slammed in you face, or a person may accept it with a smile and say thank you, or you get turned away because people are already satisfied with the church they have.

I associate a door to door ministry with James 2:20 as well as Revelation 3:20 In this day and age where people do not really talk about God like they used to, I believe it is more important then ever before for a church to demonstrate it’s dedication to God by having some kind of door to door ministry.

A church can’t be ashamed or embarrassed or too timid to go out boldly and spread the word that Christ died for those whom He loved, and it is for you….and you….and you….that God the Father gave His Son to literally be a sacrifice for the sins of the entire population for all times. We can not save ourselves by any means, and we needed Jesus to die for us.

In the book of Revelation, the church at Ephesus is warned that they have fallen away from their first love, which would be their devotion to Christ. The Bible is not allegorical. The things written in those sacred pages are true and are here for us to learn from and apply to our lives. And Christians are told to go into the world and witness of the saving grace of God.

Churches can send missionaries to China, but hesitate to take volunteers to go canvass a few neighborhoods? Is that really practicing what we preach?

Christians have lost ground by not fighting as we should for our rights in Congress, it would be a crying shame to ignore our obligations to Christ by letting this part of our commission fall by the wayside. I firmly believe that it will soon be illegal for those who do practice the door to door form of testimony. So we better get to it while we can.

There are “other” churches out there who do not hesitate to go and testify about their faith and their beliefs, and the longer we wait to suck it up, the more ground we lose.

Paul was sent to be a missionary to God. He made four great missionary journeys and travelled thousands of miles to testify. Paul did not have it easy by any means.

“²³Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.

²⁴Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.

²⁵Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

²⁶In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

²⁷In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

²⁸Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.

²⁹Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not?

³⁰If I must needs glory; I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.

³¹The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.

³²In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:

³³And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.” 2^nd Corinthians 11:23-33

Paul went through all that to preach the good news of Christ, yet some who claim Christ as Savior are uncomfortable walking around a residential neighborhood handing out flyers inviting people to attend service?

Earlier in my article I mentioned the book of Revelation and the church at Ephesus. When the Lord said “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee…….” He is pointing out their mistakes and giving them a chance to repent and set things right.

We as, Christians need to reignite the fire, the passion for going about the Lord’s work. We can not do what is comfortable to us and ignore the rest. We will be judged on our works and rewarded accordingly.

And while we are sitting at home feeling good about going to church and praying, the lost are out there and they are perishing in their sins daily. How can we feel good about church if we have no testimony, if we are not actively going about God’s business?

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faithwithout works is dead? James 2:20

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

LIARS?????

“A man is never more truthful than when he
acknowledges himself a liar.”  Mark Twain

“Liars share with those
they deceive the desire not to be deceived.”  Sissela
Bok

 

I just had another incident in which someone close to me asked advice of me but told me half of a story. This individual made it sound as if he was trying to help someone when, In My Opinion, he had other motives.

Now, when a person tries to tell someone something and they leave out a good portion of the story to make themselves look good, is that lying? Sure it is. Webster’s dictionary defines a lie as: 1. to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive. 2. To create a false or misleading impression.

Okay, so why do people lie? Simple, in my opinion, I see two main reasons for the average person to lie, deception, and insecurity. A person lies to make themselves look good or hide something.

But it is not entirely wise to “lie by omission”, leaving out parts of the story, when asking advice. It is always best to include everything to your confidant so a full picture is presented so the correct advice is administered.

In this case, the individual asking the advice of me also asked advice of my wife. The two stories were different and formed an entire picture of the activities. I look at it like I was lied to because the information my wife was told was not presented to me.

So why would someone close to me ask for advice using only half a story? Simple, in this case the individual wanted to be looked at as the “hero” of the story when his motives were, as I see it, based on jealousy.

First of all, I hate it when someone, anyone, does this. It means they are hiding something and think I am dumb enough to not catch on.

Second, it shows that they do not trust me enough to tell me the whole story. That also gets under my skin. Why bother contacting someone for help and at the same time lie to the person trying to be of assistance?

Third, this person should know me well enough to know what I would say should he be totally honest and put all the cards on the table. So the story gets changed to try to make it look like the antagonist is the one being hurt.

Hiding information is lying to someone else. Making yourself out to be something you are not is lying to yourself. Either way, none of it is good.

I, as a parent, am used to this and this article is based on the latest attempt by one of my children to feed me half truths and seek advice. It is a slap in the face since this child is old enough to get married and have a family of his own.

A grown adult needs to learn to handle responsibilities and deal with the consequences of his or her own actions. Lying, in this context, is a clear demonstration of immaturity, with the ATTEMPT to create a veil in which to hide the true reason for this child’s actions.

I would actually prefer that my kids don’t even bother contacting me for advice if they can’t be truthful. If they are embarrassed about the situation they are in, then they should have thought ahead. But I hate thinking that my kids either do not trust me enough to tell me what is going on, or just don’t want to “hear it again.”

I am not saying that I have never lied, and I am not saying I have never made mistakes. But I am saying that I always tried to always be totally honest with my kids and taught them to do the same, regardless of the consequences.

When one of my offspring tries to pull the sheep dip over my eyes by telling half-truths to me then discussing the entire issue with someone else, and I get the full story later…..I am just glad the individual lives in a different state.

I am not one of those parents who gets lied to then thinks “oh well, at least he contacted me.” That’s a load, I am never grateful to be lied to, especially by one of my own kids.

If it seems as though I am writing this with a rather harsh tone, you are right. This is not one of my researched and thought over pieces. I am not happy and I am blowing off steam rather then argue.

This is not the first time this kid has done this and I would bet money it will happen again. After all, I have four kids. I am a master of smelling the manure as it is being spewed.

My Fractured Fairy Tale

It’s late, I am tired but not really sleepy. I was thinking, for some reason, of the cartoon Fractured Fairy Tales, part of the Rocky & Bullwinkle show that I used to watch as a kid. So I wrote my own fractured fairy tale.

I have never tried this kind of writing, this kind of comic style followed by a lesson at the end. I have no idea how it will go over, but here goes.

My Fractured Fairy Tale

Narrator: “Many years ago there were two brothers, Zeke and Hank…….

Zeke: “I’m not a Zeke, sounds goofy, I’m Ralph”

Narrator: “Many years ago there were two brothers, Ralph and Hank and these brothers were very poor, but very close.”

“As they grew they were determined to work hard, have families, and provide better for their loved ones then they had received.”

“Both worked a lot of jobs over the years to find one’s they liked. They worked hard, married, had families, bought cars, paid off dentists, and bought their kids………”

Hank: “I didn’t buy my kids, there a point to all this?”

Narrator: “Shut up you old coot and stop interrupting.”

Narrator: ….”And bought their kids all the things they never had and through it all both families stayed loving and supportive”.

Narrator: “Now the brothers are older, their kids have grown and moved away and the wives have passed on. The brothers are still together in the same assisted living……”

Hank: “Assisted living my hair piece…..this is a dang blamed nursing home.”

Narrator: ”….One day Hank and Ralph were sitting on the sun porch talking about how they had lived their lives and the jobs they had, and how things would be better if they could have a do over in life. Then out of the blue two pair of magic track shoes appeared.”

Ralph & Hank: “MAGIC TRACK SHOES?”

Narrator: “Uh, to allow you to run into the past?”

Hank: “Are you nuts, we can hardly walk to the can when we gotta go.”

Narrator: “Okay….out of the blue a golden thunderbolt stuck in the floor at the brothers’ feet.”

Ralph: “And scared us to death?”

Narrator: “Uhhhhh….. you old coot, can I just please tell the story or do I have to just skip to the point now?

Hank: “Heheheh, there’s a point to all this?”

Narrator: “Shut up and listen and you’ll see”. “Okay……….out of the blue, two pennies dropped to the floor. One penny in front of the brothers’ feet.”

Hank & Ralph: “NURSE, WE CAN’T REACH OUR MAGIC PENNIES”

Nurse: “Magic pennies huh, you boys been trading meds again?”

Hank: “I don’t remember, can you give us our coins, and let the narrator finish”?

Nurse: “Narrator, youse two hearin voices”?

Hank & Ralph: “NO”

Ralph: “Just yours, sweetie pie”

Nurse: You cough dust you’re so old, so stop trying to hit on me.”

Narrator: “These were no ordinary pennies; each penny was inscribed with MAKE A WISH, TOSS INTO WATER AND RECEIVE A GIFT.”

“The brothers both had the same wish since they had both made many mistakes in their lives, if only they could go back in time and make better lives for themselves.”

“Grasping their pennies, they decided to head to Hank’s room, and toss the coins in a sink full of water. Their power scooters were going full tilt as they rounded the corner by the nurse’s station and Ralph spied Ms. Grady’s full bedpan sitting outside her door. Each brother made his wish and as was just about to toss the coins into the bedpan when Ralph said…”

Ralph: “Hank, that’s not water”

Hank & Ralph: “Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww”

Ralph: “She needs more fiber”

Narrator: “That’s disgusting.” “Anyway as the brothers got to Hanks room they filled the sink full of water, wished to go back to the past and fix their lives and tossed the pennies into the sink………..and waited.”

Ralph: “Well, I’m waiting to go back to my youth.”

Hank: “Yea, me too, I wanna be young enough to have my own teeth again”

Narrator: “The brothers sat and stared into the sink for a long time and were surprised when one of the pennies floated to the surface, then the other.”

Ralph: “Well dang blame it…pennies don’t float, what in the name of Gurdy’s truss is going on here”

Hank: “Who’s Gurdy”?

Ralph: “That pretty young redhead in the north wing”

Hank: “She’s 67 years old”

Ralph: “Well, I’m 75”

Hank: “Forget the ladies, what’s going on here, no wishes and floating pennies, we been jimmy-jacked, hornswaggled, and bamboozled.”

Narrator: “As the brother’s sat in front of the sink staring at the water and the floating wooden pennies wondering what’s going on, the nurse came in and gave Hank and Ralph their medicine.”

Ralph: “Hello sunshine.”

Nurse: “Dust”

Hank: “I get three white ones.”

Ralph: “I like the pretty colors, yellow, red, and blue.”

Nurse: “You boys have it backwards; Ralph is supposed to have the three white ones. And Hank is to have the yellow, red, and blue.”

“Hey didn’t you boys say you were hearing voices earlier”

Hank: “The Narrator, he gave us the magic coins, told us to toss them in water for a wish.”

Hank: “So we filled the sink, made our wishes, tossed the coins in the water and nothing. We were jimmy-jacked.”

Nurse: “You too took the wrong meds again. When that happens Hank can’t stop talking and Ralph, you do everything you hear.” It was like each of you had a snoot full.”

Ralph: “What about the magic coins?”

Nurse: “Those were game tokens from the fair the other day. If you tossed it into a bowl of water you got a prize. You both been carrying them around for days, they must have fallen off the arm of you’re scooters while Hank was talking.”

Nurse: “Come on boys, let’s get you outside and get some fresh air into those withered old lungs.”

If there is any point at all to be made from the silliness I wrote above, it would be this; don’t waste your life for there are no mulligans, and no do-over’s. Everyone gets one shot at life and it is a most precious gift.

In 20 or 30 years from now, will you regret the course you took on you’re journey? Garth Brooks had a song that said a dream is like a river, ever changing as it flows and the dreamer is just a vessel that must follow where it goes. Well, that may be true for a dream, but you don’t have to turn control of your life over to circumstances and just coast along.

This is your life, and you’re journey, make the most of it and be done with the regrets. Learn from mistakes, forge ahead never quit. And never, ever think you have to go it alone. Remember, Christ not only died for us, He created the river, He knows the waters, and He is a most capable Captain.

Relay For Life

Note: This Article was written four years ago, I had a different attitude then.
This is also dedicated to a loved one who I just fund out has been fighting this sinister disease. God Bless You May.

This is my take on how my participation in the Relay For Life Cancer Walk affected me.

When I showed up at the Cancer Walk, I did so not knowing what to expect. I had never been to one before. My participation was due mainly because the committee I am on was responsible for getting members together and building teams to help raise money.

Upon arrival I had a sort of lackadaisical attitude towards everything and was sort of disinterested. I was more or less there out of obligation, and not really to help.

As I started to walk I heard a lady reading a list of individuals who had succumbed to cancer or was currently battling this dreaded disease. The purpose of the reading was to remind those who were present just why they were there. I wondered if this was going to be going on all night as I turned on my media player and adjusted the volume to drown out the reading of the list.

The main thought going through my mind was if this would drag on or go fairly quickly. I had downloaded about 3 hours worth of music onto my player, but would that help kill time?

After about an hour of walking everyone was asked to take a seat . At this point I was expecting some yakking before my obligatory time was up and I would be free to go home and get some rest.

As I sat and listened I heard stories from two speakers. They told those present how this disease had devastated families. I heard stories of faith in God that helped strengthen and encourage. I saw two grown adults cry on stage in front of others, and through it all I found myself moved to tears. My attitude of obligation that arrived with me was replaced by one of admiration and the desire to do more to help.

Before the walk resumed, the crowd was shown 119 flags. These flags represented the number of people expected to be diagnosed with cancer in Ellis County by the end of this calendar year. The participants of the walk were asked to take a flag and dedicate themselves to trying to save the life of one of those expected to be stricken with Cancer. I left with one of those flags.

I had long known that Cancer can strike anyone at anytime. But I had never really given it any serious thought before. My family has no Cancer on either side. We have heart problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s. (maybe I need to get an Alzheimer’s walk going to raise consciousness) But unless a person is face to face with a life threatening illness, one tends to selfishly turn a blind eye to the suffering of others.

That night, I saw only the smallest part of the dread, the worry, the fear, and the financial drain that is caused by this disease. But thanks to the speakers I also saw the strength, faith, and hope that can come from an individual who has decided to turn to a source greater then themselves.

By the end of the night I had a new attitude towards helping and I am writing this so others might see that when you help raise consciousness, and funds for others, it may someday come back around and be helpful to you as well. Helping others for the sake of just helping will tell you something about yourself and earn you someone’s appreciation. Who knows, you may save a life by thinking of someone other then yourself.

So as I close, I would like to pose a question to any who may be reading this. If it was you, stricken with a life threatening malady, would you want help? If you answered yes, then you know how any Cancer sufferer feels. Now do something about it.

Geoff Kuhn

Humility, or Trap?

A couple days ago, on my way home for break, I clicked on my radio and decided to forgo the usual music that I listen to and turn to the gospel station. I heard a preacher, Charles Stanley I believe, deliver a message about living for God and feeling, useless, lonely, and depressed.

As he talked I realized I would not hear the whole sermon if I went home, so I drove and listened until the sermon was over. The message was, it felt, directed at me and I praise GOD ALMIGHTY I decided to drive for thirty minutes to hear that message.

I found out tonight that false humility, insecurity, or thinking that you are lower then the belly of a roach in the hole he sleeps in, is wrong, especially for Christians.

When we are saved, it is out of love. Christ knows the condition we are in when He erases our sin and puts our name in the Book of Life. He knows that we can not measure up to Him and He did not die so we can. Christ died to save us from our selves and the sin that so easily befalls us.

If we sin, and we will, we need to repent and move on. We need to trust in God, not think that He is constantly irritated with us over every mistake we make. God made us human, inferior to Him for a reason.

We need to walk, we need to grow, we need to have faith, and we need to stay strong and be positive, and know that the same Bible that shows us the path to salvation also promises power through Christ.

We are not to think of ourselves as scum, or lowly, or inferior. We, the saved of God, are Children of God, and we have a Godly inheritance, why on earth should we think of ourselves as inferior and limit the effect God has in our lives?

Humility is one thing, a negative attitude is another. A Christian with a negative attitude limits his service to God by thinking he is not good enough to do the will of the Lord. Lack of faith creates inner conflict and it tends to grow.

A Christian with low self esteem needs to understand and realize that growth can only come when he breaks the patterns of his life that lead him toward this negative behavior. Christ does not have much room or use for negativity.

Once an individual is saved, Satan can do nothing about it; we are Christ’s and will be so for eternity. But he can limit the effectiveness of our testimony with negativity, IF WE LET HIM.

Satan knows where the gaps in our defenses are and if were are not constantly fortifying ourselves, putting on our armor, praying, and being constant in the word, sooner or later he will slip in and do his best to make us ineffective. And if we end up backslidden, it is because WE LET IT HAPPEN.

Christ defeated every demon He ever met in the Bible right down to Satan himself. Christ gives us power to defeat Satan in our daily lives, through Him. In Ephesians 6:16 we are told to put on the whole armor of God to stand against the wiles of the devil.

The shield of faith shall quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. But armor is useless if not put on.

A while back I was reading 1st Corinthians 10:13 which states that God will not let a Christian be tempted with more than they can handle. But with the temptation there is also an escape. Faith, that old reliable shield is one means of escaping temptation.

We have all seen movies where the hero is fearless and always gets his man. And we have seen the movies where there is always a sniveling scared character that everyone makes fun of. Christians start out as the sniveling scared little weasel, when Christ saves us we change and are supposed to grow and be the hero of the story guided by God. We are not supposed to revert back to, or stay unaffected by the presence of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives.

The preacher I heard on the radio that night was talking about breaking patterns in our lives that lead to negativity. Negativity stunts growth and puts us in bondage to habits, not faith. In order to grow in the Lord, there has to room in our hearts for the Lord.

Quenching the Spirit

Quenching the Holy Spirit
Quenching (noun) the act of extinguishing

Have you ever gone to Church and heard a sermon that makes you want to just hop out of your seat and run? You just feel so hyped up by the Pastors sermon you want to run and yell and testify, right then and there?

When you hear a sermon that really fires you up, and you leave the Church really feeling the sermon, then what? How do you convey the feeling of “being on fire for the Lord”?

This is not just a metaphorical or hypothetical situation. There are times in all our lives when our Sprit filled enthusiasm is doused by worldly concerns, or doubt, or laziness. Here are a few examples.

After church, you go home, and maybe discuss the sermon with your wife and even spend an extra hour or so researching the scriptures and you feel the influence of God’s Holy Spirit but instead of nursing that influence…….

You grab the remote and relax from your weeks work and settle into the recliner and slowly quench the Spirit filled enthusiasm you left Church with and it may be another week while back in church before you even remember the feeling.

You go outside and start working on the vehicle. The sermon is fresh in your mind but you have to replace a serpentine belt on the car. Before long, things are going wrong. A bolt is stuck, you’ve bang your knuckles when the wrench slipped and there is blood all over the tool. You are sweating everywhere and the stinging in the eyes does not help. It is then that the fire from God is replaced with anger and possibly a few choice words. And the Spirit filled enthusiasm you left Church with is slowly extinguished.

You head to Wal-mart after church, traffic is slow and you need to get home and get some work done. No one has eaten yet, you are hungry. Besides, you know that your husband does not really need the new camouflaged vest for deer season, the one he has now is fine. Traffic starts moving and the person ahead of you is doing 20 instead of 35 and you start wishing things would move along and you start doing a slow boil and slowly quench the Spirit filled enthusiasm you left church with.

Witnessing too can be frustrating. While witnessing to my aunt Carol and her family, there was a time I drove from Salina to Hays to take her to church in Hays. Before going to her house to get her, I went to Wal-mart and saw her there bike shopping for her daughter.

She asked why I was in town and when I told her it was Wednesday and we were to meet at her house and go to church, she told me she forgot. She did not go that night and I felt as though I made a 200 mile round trip for nothing.

But we are encouraged to “Rejoice evermore” and “Pray without ceasing” and we are also encouraged to “Love thy neighbor” and to “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

Things happen in our lives and we at times handle them wrong, that’s a given. But how is our reflection to others during our trials?

Reflection, what am I a mirror? Yes, every Christian should reflect their faith, love, and devotion. People should see the love that is in us through the Holy Spirit.

How many people will go to a football game and wear a silly looking cheese hat and cheer their favorite team, while painted up in the team colors, but will not discuss matters of faith? Where is the enthusiasm, where is the Spirit filled joy that comes with being a believer?

Some will enthusiastically go to a race, or a game, or a movie, or fishing, or golfing, but has no enthusiasm for church. That too is a reflection of the person.

It is so easy to rattle off “yea I believe in God” but James 2:20 says “But wilt thou know, o vain man, that faith without works is dead?” Enthusiasm for God should promote works as a means of demonstrating faith. It also shows growth in the Lord.

I know as well as anyone how hard it is at times to stay enthusiastic when it seems the world around you is collapsing and you are alone. But sooner or later a Christian should remember that Romans 8:31 states……”If God be for us, who can be against us? With God in our corner we can not be spiritually defeated unless we concede.

Folks, don’t loose enthusiasm for God, don’t let the world beat you down to the point of not caring. Don’t go to church out of any sort of obligation; go out of faith, to learn how to serve. If you are looking for something bigger or better then God to devote your time to, you will come up empty.

I will now close with Psalm 55:22 and Psalms 84:11 and hope these verses encourage you. If you want the blessings these verses will bring, grab a Bible.

Walls of Jericho

PEOPLE JUST DO NOT GET IT. I am so tired of shows like Ancient Aliens which is on the Discovery Channel, constantly misinterpreting the Bible.

The episode of Ancient Aliens that got me frustrated was one that was talking about the Ark of the Covenant being an actual weapon, a type of futuristic technology that was responsible for the fall of Jericho.

The Ark of the Covenant is a container designed by God to hold the Ten Commandments. The Ark’s dimensions and design are given to Moses by God. The Ark is made of shittim wood which is, I believe, Acacia. The modern dimensions of the Ark would be, roughly, 45 inches long by 27 inches wide by 27 inches high.

The Ark was, in essence, in my opinion, a type of tabernacle for the presence of God who led the Israelites. Gold is used to cover the Ark because gold represents power. Two Cherubim are on the lid, which is the Mercy seat. The Angels represent servants of the Most High God and their heads are bowed in reverence. God spoke to Moses from the Mercy seat and His Presence came from between the two Cherubim whose heads are bowed in reverence.

God’s presence dwelt with the Ark and was symbolic of God being with His people, with the Israelites, and He “went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night.” The Israelites were not just stumbling around in the desert for 40 years; they were led by God, personally. Exodus 25:10-21

Now, before the Israelites came upon Jericho, Joshua, who became leader of the Israelites after Moses died, (Deuteronomy 34: 5-12) “looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand.”

Joshua went to this man, which shows bravery, and asked “Art thou for us, or for our adversaries”? Joshua was inquiring of the stranger whose side he was on.

The stranger replied “Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come.” And Joshua fell down and worshipped Him and asked “what saith my Lord unto His servant?”

“And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.” Joshua 5:13-15

This was not an angel, this was the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ and it was he who destroyed Jericho. Joshua was allowed to worship the “captain of the host of the Lord”. Compare Joshua 5:14 to Revelation 19:10 when John fell at the feet of an angel showing him a vision “to worship him,” John was told “see thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant”.

Now, compare Joshua’s meeting to when Moses saw the burning bush. Moses was instructed to “put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Who was Moses talking to; well he described himself as “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Exodus 3:5

Pre-incarnate means Christ showing up in the Bible before He was born of man. One example would be Daniel 3:25. Another would be Genesis 18.

Christ’s birth on Earth was not his origin. It was the beginning of his life as a flesh and blood man. Jesus said, in John 8:58 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am.” Notice he said “I am” He did not use a past tense, meaning that He has existed long before His Earthly birth.

Now Jericho was double walled, each wall was up to five feet thick, and fortified. The city of Jericho had a spring for water inside the city walls and harvest may have been completed (based on Joshua 3:15) but there was certainly food and water and there was protection. Jericho was “straightly shut up because of the children of Israel.” So they were ready for a siege.

Now, the Lord instructed Joshua and the “men of war” to circle the city once a day for six days with the priests, who shall bear before the ark (God’s presence) and seven trumpets of ram’s horn. On the seventh day they were to compass the city seven times and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. “And it shall come to pass that when they make a long blast with the rams’ horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat.” Jericho’s walls fell down flat out of God’s will. There were no weapons used. Only the power of God. Joshua chapter 5 verses 1:21

It amazes me that mankind seems to want to spend more time trying to prove God wrong or change how His miracles were performed then to just believe that the Bible is correct. There are at least 40 Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah that were fulfilled with Christ’s time on Earth.

And Christ performed over 35 miracles ranging from turning water into wine, to raising Lazarus from the dead.

The Bible itself is a miracle since it was written over a course of many years and through many generations and on into man’s future. This is not a novel that someone decided to just sit down and write. Man put the words down, but GOD narrated. And the prophecies within are only fulfilled by God.

In this book we see our beginning in Genesis, and we see man kind’s final fate in Revelation. We are allowed to choose the path that our life will take, but we also have Christ telling us “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

Christ can only be invited into your live. He will not force His way in, it has to be a free choice. But once Christ is with you, He will change your life and you will have a different perspective on life and what the scriptures mean.

God, Christ, The Holy Spirit are real, they are not allegories, and they are not fables. Once invited into your heart you will change. If Christ is not welcome in your life, you are living on borrowed time and the end results will not be pleasant.

Spiritual Fear

Today at work I was thinking about Galatians 5:22 and the fruit of the spirit and I remember the verse that says God does not give us the spirit of fear but of perfect love. 2nd Timothy 1:7 Romans 8:15 & 1st John 4:18. This got me to thinking about the context of just one word; fear.

2nd Timothy 1:7 says “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Verse 8 says “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.”

Paul obviously knew the power of the Lord. He is asking others to be partakers in the Glory of the Lord despite the suffering that can be involved in glorifying God.

Paul spent most of his life in jail or accompanied by a guard and yet this man still praised and worshipped God. He had no fear for what would happen to him here on earth. He knew that to die in the service of God is gain as mentioned in Philippians 1:21.

So, if we are Christian. If we are saved, If we claim to be a servant of the Most High God, then what do we have to fear? We should have a reverent fear of God first of all.

“Fear is a part of the Christian walk in the sense of profound reverence, the unwillingness to violate God’s trust in us. Believers need not fear eternal rejection, as a result of God’s judgment. (John 5:24) But this does not mean a Christian’s approach to God be casual and flippant.” (Quoted from my King James study Bible). The verses that correlate with the quote above are Acts 10:35 & 13:26. 2nd Corinthians 7:1 Ephesians 5:21 Philippians 2:12 and 1st Peter 1:17.

There was a time when the name of God was spoken in fear and trembling now we use God’s name in vain daily. If we do not have a reverent fear for God then we are in serious spiritual trouble.

So, if we have a fear, a reverent healthy fear of violating God’s trust in us, who then or what else should we fear, nothing.

Satan uses fear to manipulate. Satan uses panic to control people. Satan has a bag of a thousand little tricks to get us to react to fear. People do not think clearly when they are scared. People make rash decisions when they get scared. People get upset and blame God for the situations they are in when it was avoidable in the first place.

Here is the key; Satan only has as much control in our lives as we give him. James 4:7 says:”Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” This verse shows that with subjection to God, the devil is a foe that is clearly defeatable. God gives us the power through Christ to resist Satan every time he assails us.

Jesus himself was tempted by his old nemesis. In Matthew 4 verses 1-11 we see Satan trying to get Jesus to worship him. It was allowed to go on for a short time and Christ was tempted three times and each time Christ simply quoted scripture.

Now look at the first sentence of verse 11. “Then the devil leaveth him”… Jesus used the scriptures to rebuke Satan and he fled. It is an example of the power of God in our lives if we do our part. It also shows that the scriptures are a very powerful and effective weapon against our adversary.

Earlier I stated that Satan was allowed to tempt Jesus. I made it sound like Satan was given permission to tempt Christ. I believe that Christ allowed it to happen to show several things.

First, Christ did not fear Satan. Second, Christ allowed Himself to be tempted as every other human being on the planet is tempted. Third, When Jesus rebuked Satan it showed Christ’s authority over him. Fourth, the rebuke could also be looked at (at least in my opinion) as the coming fulfillment of every prophecy concerning Satan’s defeat since Genesis 3:15.

Christ also knew the scriptures or He would not have known that Satan used Psalm 91:11 out of context when he tried to get Jesus to jump off the top of a temple. A Christian needs to know his bible and how to apply it.

We also need to look at 1st Corinthians 10:13 which says; “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

Man is going to be tempted throughout his life. But God gives us ways to get through the trials. But we need to be faithful to God and devote ourselves to Him.

Earlier I mentioned that Satan only has as much control in our lives as we give him. Christ can also be limited in a person’s life. You can’t expect God to fight the battles of those who are only fair weather friends.

Fear comes from lack of faith brought on by lack of fellowship with God. “And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith”? Mark 4:40

I love the story of Jesus walking across the sea of Galilee as told in Matthew 14:22-33. We are all in a sense like Peter. He was questioning God by saying “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” Peter was testing God, looking for evidence that Jesus was who He said He was.

The men on the boat were scared already because they thought Jesus was a phantasma, a ghost, or spirit. Christ confirmed that it was Him by saying “Be of good cheer; it is I be not afraid.”

Then Peter said “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” Then Christ bid Peter to come onto the water and Peter began to walk on the surface of the stormy water.

But Peter took his eyes off Christ and noticed the wind and waves. The bible uses the term boisterous in describing the wind. And then Peter got scared. The consequences of his fear was that he began to sink. Peter then did what all backslidden Christians do when we get into trouble. He cried out saying “Lord, save me.”

“And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”

Peter’s dilemma was a direct result of his lack of faith. Despite the fact that Christ was directly in front of him, Peter lost faith, panicked, and needed the help of the man who earlier told all in the boat to “Be of good cheer” and to “be not afraid.”

All Christians are in the position to either do God’s will, or make excuses for not doing God’s will. And fear should not be an option. Remember if God is for us, who can be against us?

Jr. vs Sr.

Okay, I am on pins and needles waiting for Monday to see the final episode for this season of American Chopper: Sr. vs. Jr.

I started watching American Chopper from episode one, which began in March of 2003, because I wanted to see the mechanics of building a motorcycle. I never missed an episode at first because they were showing the kind of detail that I like to see on a show that highlights building.

The meeting of the customer, the designing of the bikes, the building, the painting, the re-assembly, and the presentation of the bike to the client all used to take up to three episodes. Now, one episode per bike is pretty much the norm.

I found it to be a real pleasure to watch either Justin Barnes or Nub do the paint, especially the airbrushing. Those two painters really know their stuff. And I like the creativity of both painters when presented with a theme and given carte blanch.

I kept watching as the bikes and the fighting got more elaborate. I also loved the addition of Rick, Vinnie, and of course Mikey.

I stayed watching as the show devolved from being a show centered around bike building to a show about the Teutuls dysfunctional relationships.

The show still centered around bikes, but I did not watch to see Mikey cleaning his pool. Or skeet shooting, or dicking around with snowmobiles. Or watching senior get cortisone shots and get all doped up. Or Vinnie getting his back waxed. And by the way, Mikey should have had the stones to do it as well. It was, after all, his idea.

I was amazed at all the celebrity attention as well. Actors, sports stars, and talk show hosts were all vying for a piece of the Teutuls.

I was honestly shocked with the final feud between The Paul’s that ended in Jr. quitting/being fired and the lawsuit that came of it

I was disappointed when it went off the air, but the old reruns were still on so I kept watching. I was surprised to say the least when the show came back as Jr. vs. Sr.

Now the show is about the personal feud between the Paul’s, and Jr’s attempt to build his own shop and reputation as Senior tries to keep his business from going bankrupt as he is in foreclosure with his 12 million dollar shop.

I am tickled pink that Vinnie is back with Paul Jr. and I was pleasantly surprised to see Cody working with the two since they gave him so much crap at O.C.C. It’s nice to see he did not take it too seriously.

Now, there are thousands of “which side are you on” sites that ask people to choose which Teutul is right or wrong. And that is a very tricky question since to some, both sides are pretty clear especially with all the publicity that the show affords.

I can see Senior’s point of view in some areas. He is the boss of O.C.C. and it began with him building bikes in his basement. And I can see a boss getting pissed when a person who works for the company, even if he is a shareholder or partner, comes in late there are rules to follow and some things are just unacceptable.

Senior is a sharp tongued………..uh, individual and never seemed to have much good to say about his sons. Senior may have had the money and clout to get the business going, but it was a lot of Junior’s ideas as a designer that greatly contributed to the company.

Hell, several years ago here in Hays, Ks there was a shop selling O.C.C. merchandise and I bought a few items myself. Shoot, the store I used to work at was selling Orange County Choppers hats and I just had to have a couple.

Now I need to get at least a V-Force hat or shirt and a PJD hat or shirt.

If I remember correctly, Jr. designed the familiar OCC company logo which is currently known the world over. That in itself has helped the business prosper. Jr. is a great designer. Junior has shown that he has the skills to help Sr. pay the bills. Junior can build tanks and fabricate and in my job does a good job thus he contributed to the company.

Sure, the Paul’s both seem to be a bit egocentric but I believe that is because each one is trying so hard to prove the other one wrong that attitudes flare.

But I also want it plainly known that I also loved the show because of the other members of the team such as Vinnie and Rick and Jim. As well as Christian, Jason, Cody, and the rest of the O.C.C. crew. would not be where it is today if not for the hard work and dedication of the rest of the team.

Now Jr. Is on his own and has Vinnie, Cody, and Nub back in his corner. And If I could meet the crew of Paul Jr. Designs I would tell them that it is okay to do at least one show now and then where the competition is not mentioned. I, as a viewer would also love to know a bit more of the back story concerning Vinnie and Cody and V-Force Customs.

Basically I love the show and I support Jr. in his struggles with Sr. and hope the new shop prospers.