Present Joy, Future Hopes

5/29/2019

Whew, boy! I am on a diet! I don’t know exactly which or what or how this diet will figure out, but I know why!! For about the past 6 weeks, we’ve had trips, company, and several flimsy excuses for me to ignore the better eating habits and major on excess and bad choices, desserts, etc. It cannot go on. I have a mark made, a starting weight, and I’ll keep you posted. It would be nice to set the end goal (what I intend to lose), but I want to do some study first. I’ll try not to bore you with too much blah, blah, blah.

Speaking of study, I intend to put more effort into personal study, several areas to cover for a variety of reasons. A few months back, I made a list of “Facets of People’s Lives” to take a look at and study as a sort of bellwether for understanding my world. Each area of future studies, whether Scripture, business, social, or political, will be affected by these “facets.”

Prompted by first a solid disagreement (not an argument) with a preacher friend, then augmented by thoughts I’d like to write to my children and grandchildren soon, I think it is a good idea to do fresh study before responding to life’s challenges, don’t you?

We’ll see how this unfolds inside an expected busy Summer. 

We (Blue Jug Alkaline Water and Health Markets) are about to gain another store, the 9th, in the countryside town of Mineola, TX. A small town with population growth all around within a few miles of it, constituting enough households to warrant a store. We’re pretty optimistic about these folks and their chosen area. More later.

Today is the last day for our grandson’s visit. It has been such a pleasant visit having him with us and staying just a few miles from us. Barb and I were present in the birthing room when he came into this world, just a few days from being 26 years ago. Until he was 21, he lived very close to us, and for a short time, for the sake of his work, he lived with us. Now, he’s a New Yorker! Making his way in the world (living in NYC for most of the last 4 years, now in Middletown, NY.) He goes back today, resuming his work in the IT world. We’ll sure miss him.

I wonder how the world would look if there was no Bible—no word of God. There would only be the will and thoughts of man entangled with themselves. There would be no standard. So, there would be no “tether pole.” Remember the schoolyard game, Tether Ball? A straight pole, fixed into the ground or concrete, a rope fastened to a spinnable pivot at the top of the pole and a ball (about like a volleyball) fixed to the end of the rope at about waist high to a Jr. High child. One swung the ball around the pole and the other tried to hit the ball back around to the opponent who did the same thing. If they were equal in ability, they kept the ball in the back and forth semi-circle. If one were able to get the ball past his opponent and hit it again, the opponent had no choice but to step closer to the pole, for each turn around made the rope shorter.

The Bible, the word of God is the Tether Pole! Without this great standard of truth, the world would be as all opponents with no method of gradations for an understanding of justice, nor civil order. It would be chaos, like Scrabble pieces turned upside down and scrambled! So, that which comes from the tether pole, the truth attached without loosing, gets bombarded with “hits” from the opponents. When the opponents of the truth “outsize” the proponents of the truth, the only defense is to get closer to the truth! “Study to show thyself approved unto (the Author) God, a workman (one who moves closer to the Word in order to improve his position with Truth) that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (able to hit back with a lesser rope length) the word of truth.”—2 Tim.2:15 (parentheses mine)

The word of God, the King James Bible to the English speaking people of the world, has only one aim. That aim is not the building of a religion. Its aim is to create peace from the chaos of the opponent. The word will teach you who the opponent is, what his tactics are, how much stronger he is than you are, and how the strength to oppose him can be brought to you by the Author of the word himself. As the strength of the tether pole itself is not noticeable until the game has begun, so it is with the Word of God: the Author’s strength is made known (manifested) when His words are attacked. 

Those who stand close to the Word (the pole) are its defenders. Where do you stand? Is the word of God your vital standard, your “tether pole” in the world of chaos? It is for me. Do I always handle the circling ball properly? No, but if I get closer to the pole, the word of truth, the gospel of my salvation, I’m surer, I’m abler, and IT, the truth of God will always win.

Thanks for reading, the Elder