EVICTED

   God dwells in the hearts of believers, not in buildings made by human hands, and not in institutions created from the imaginations of men.
   More than this,

      GOD WILL NOT DWELL WHERE GOD IS NOT WANTED.

   Ever since the United States Supreme Court banned prayer in public schools, this nation evicted God from the minds of children.

   Not only did we evict God from schools, we also evicted the Bible, Christmas, and Easter, which has led to evicting God in public places all across our land.

   People say,

      "How could a loving God allow our children to be killed in schools?"
   But perhaps we should ask: 

      "How could loving people resist the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, while teaching their children to do the same?"

  Our nation is crumbling beneath our feet, leaving our children on shifting sand:  all because people began to fill the minds with the knowledge of men while evicting the knowledge of God.
   But God is not slack concerning His promises, for this nation and for any nation that evicts God while prohibiting children from hearing the Word of the Lord.
   And now we are facing the consequences of our decision because we evicted God by saying that God is not welcome here.

      "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:

             because thou hast rejected knowledge,

            I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me:

            seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God,

            I will also forget thy children.

        As they were increased,

           so they sinned against me:

           therefore will I change their glory into shame."

           (Hosea 4:  6-7)

A MIRACLE IN ME

   On the morning of February 15, 2018, my day began as most of my days have begun for at least forty years---with a cup of coffee.  This cup of coffee was different because I kept slurping coffee below my lower lip and drenching my chin.  As I continued to sip I continued to slurp, and my napkin was absorbing more coffee than my mouth.  

   When my wife awoke, she talked to me and I tried to talk to her; but my words felt like they were twisted on my tongue and came out slurred.  Again and again I tried to speak clearly, but I could not.

   Quickly recognizing the situation, Linda used the word "stroke" and I agreed.  Just as quickly we got in our car and she drove me to the hospital. 

   Along the way to the hospital, my slurred speech became clear again and I was able to tell the medical staff about my experience of slurping coffee and slurring words.  Following a CT scan of my brain, however, I returned to slurring my words.
   After that, I was air-lifted via helicopter to Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis, admitted to the intensive care unit, and, for 24 hours, I underwent examinations and observations by the stroke trauma staff, followed by an additional 24 hours in a semi-private room. 
   Just after noon on Saturday, I was released to go home, and it was as if I had never had a stroke at all!  My brain was free from any damage, my motor skills had no damage, and neither was there any change to my vision or hearing.
   Some people will say I was lucky, some will say this was all chance; but I say this is a miracle in my life because I believe that only God can perform miracles.
   What, then, shall I do with this miracle in my life?
   At this point in time, I do not know the answer to the question.  Suffice is to say for now is that I, at this time, am to make this miracle known:  with the belief that God will make more known later because I believe this miracle in me is not for me alone.

      "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: 

           be not dismayed; for I am thy God: 

        I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;

          yea, I will uphold thee

        with the right hand of my righteousness." 

                   (Isaiah 41: 10)

   

   

THE INVISIBLE YOU

   "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground,

        and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; 

           and man became a living soul."   (Genesis 2: 7)

   You are your soul and your soul is you.

   You are uniquely created, for there is no other person in the world like you.

   God also created your voice just for you, for there is no other voice in the world like yours:  for even twins have different voices.

   You are truly a one-of-a-kind.

   You are also invisible, living in and through your human body.

   You live your life from the inside out:  seeing the world through your eyes, hearing through your ears, and speaking through your mouth.
   Knowing, then, that you are invisible inside your body, how do you use your body, or how do you exhibit your personality to demonstrate you to others?---knowing, too, that you have the power to be truthful, as you also know that you have the power to lie and to deceive.
   You are your soul and your soul is you, living in and through your human body.
   How will people know you, or how will they know this invisible you?
   People will know you by your actions and by the words you speak out of your own mind.
   Therefore,
     
      "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross
       Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above every name:  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  (Philippians 2: 5-11)

   For Jesus was also invisible in His human body, but people have come to know Him because of His actions as well as by the words He speaks out of His own mind.

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THINGS INVISIBLE

   The words in our minds are invisible, the words we speak are invisible, our memories are invisible, and music is also invisible. 
   By these examples we know that invisible things exist in our own minds, which is impossible to deny.
   To believe in invisible things, however, is to believe by faith and not by sight.

      "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the words of God."  (Romans 10: 17)

      "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."  (Hebrews 11: 3)

      "Now faith is the evidence of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  (Hebrews 11: 1)

   Jesus said unto Thomas,
      "Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed:  blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."  (John 20: 29)
      
      "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh:  is there anything too hard for me?"  (Jeremiah 32: 27)

   God is therefore the Creator of all things visible as well as things invisible, and God gives us the faith to believe that these things are true.