My Story begins

There was a time in my life that John 3:16 " For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

didn’t mean anything to me, it was just words in a book. I knew the book (head knowledge), not believing it in my heart,(heart knowledge).

At one time in my life I would have liked to have blamed my father for the problems in my life. Much like I was blaming God for every wrong thing that I felt was happening. But as I grew older I realized that I was the one to blame for my own mistakes and that my parents did what they could to guide me in the right direction. It took a few years to figure this out, and several more before I realized God was trying to get my attention. By Gods grace and mercy I’m here today to write this. I give him all praise and glory.

Looking back on my life there is no doubt that God was involved in it, I just didn’t see Him at the time.

If you have no regard for your own Father, you have no regard for God. For the bible says you should honor your father and mother. And that you should love God with all your heart and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. If you don’t do these three things how can you follow God, without honoring your own father?

Now I couldn’t of asked for a different father, he always made sure we had what we needed, not necessarily what we wanted.(Much like God does) But at Christmas time I don’t know how they did it but my sister and I always got that one thing we wanted more than anything. One for instance was in the early 80s Atari was popular and we wanted one with Pac-Man. It was a rough time that year. We didn’t have much money because my dad was unemployed but my parents cut wood and haled hay to pay the bills. My mom saved changed all year, and come Christmas morning there under the tree was a callico vision with games, and a used black and white TV. (Pac-man came later) Recently I told my dad that was the best Christmas we ever had. Because I realized how much he and my mother sacrificed so that my sister and I could have that for Christmas. Just like when I realized what God sacrificed to show his love for us. 1John 4:9 says "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him."

We went on more vacations then I can count, several a year. We went camping swimming fishing hunting, and to other states. We just had great quality time as a family. He also taught me the value of hard work, from the time we lived on the farm till the time I moved out. As children we don’t really realize what our parents are doing much like when your lost you don’t relize that God is calling out to you.

Now as you will see when I learned to honor and respect my dad, I found God some time later and realized that God was trying to discipline me and get my attention much like my own father guided and directed me. Heb 12:5-9 says

Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? Heb 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Heb 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

(Note you don’t become good to find God, you come to God as a sinner through faith by grace you are saved not by works)