Strong Coffee

As I entered the room there was a deafening silence. For a hospital... this was out of the norm. At any other time there are nurses shuffling in and out, IV's chirping, TV's blaring, custodians rattling carts. Here, there was a erie quietness that made me stop and wonder what was missing. James was lying in his bed. His sheets were pulled over his head . Only his fingers... holding the corners were visible. The linens outlined his body like a cadaver. I called his name       "James"   He lowered the sheet to his chin "Why do you have the sheet over your head?" I asked.     "The light is bothering my eyes" The room was dark. Only a faint light strained through drawn blinds. His eyes were moist.   "Im chaplain Thomas here at the VA. I came by to see how you are doing". "Not too good....               I have a tumor on my brain. They're going to operate           ...

  Awareness of God...fellowship with Him...communion with Him is not an issue of hard or easy. Dwelling beneath the shadow of His wings is simply the surrendering of your consciousness and stillness to the Almighty God.  Tuning your frequency to capture His voice as He shouts and thunders His majesty in all creation.  Capture the aura as the train of His robe fills your temple (Isa 6:1).  He is with you; near you; in you.   Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide; When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me. Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day; I need Thy presence every passing hour; What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r? Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be? Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me

ⓙⓐⓜⓔⓢ ➃:➃ ...Do you not know that  friendship  with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Worldly ease is a great foe to faith; it loosens the joints of holy valour, and snaps the sinews of sacred courage. - Charles Spurgeon Friendship with the world is when we choose to make an unholy alliance with carnal things over and above our relationship with God. To be entangled with the trappings of this life at the expense of our fellowship with God is an unfruitful and dangerous place to reside. All followers of Christ are vunerable to this trap simply because we are in this world...but not of it. ⓐⓜⓞⓢ ➅:➀ woe  to you who are at  ease  in  Zion...  The only benefit that I can see from the accumulation of worldy goods, wealth, and treasure is to have more to give for the cause of Christ. Otherwise...padding our life with earthly comforts can l...

AMONG THE MULTITUDE Among the men and women the multitude, I perceive one picking me out by secret and divine signs, Acknowledging none else, not parent, wife, husband, brother, child, any nearer than I am, Some are baffled, but that one is not--that one knows me. Ah lover and perfect equal,    I meant that you should discover me so by faint indirections,        And I when I meet you mean to discover you by the like in you.                                            -Walt Whitman A seeking sinner...A seeking Savior. The twain will surely meet He entered the back of the chapel seeking counsel. He was uncertain of the reason he stopped by here...now...today. He was driven by hunger. Hunger for something ...

Words failing...fawning about...grasping at syllables. Pointing to his head... his heart. Hoping in some magical way I understood his internal war. A heavy heart buckles under the torrent of tears. At last an audible sentence that clarifies his struggle. "I've seen things. It keeps me awake." Sleep was a stranger to him. Rest was replaced with a dread of ghostly images. Fear had looted his soul. The weight of exhaustion was heavy on his eyes. "It was an IED. It killed the lieutenant outright. My buddy behind me lost his eye. I got shrapnel in my shoulder and stomach. It should have been me that died." Regret...sorrow...loathing...the sum of his fears. Emotions were wild and unpredictable. The uncertainty of each moment was evident in his composure. Compassion mixed with sympathy gave me the urge to embrace him, to grasp him like a mighty oak if only for a moment...to give him a sense of anchor. We sat for long periods of silence. In short word...

Strong Coffee: ...Nor Shifted Sphere Confuse Thy Brain : Words failing...fawning about...grasping at syllables. Pointing to his head... his heart. Hoping in some magical way I understood his ...

To deny the existence of hell upsets the entire balance of Scripture. For there to be no hell there would have to be no freewill. If there is no freewill then there would be no transgression. If there is no transgression there is no law. If there is no law then there is no sin. If there is no sin there is no punishment. If there is no punishment then there is no death. If there is no death, there is no need of salvation. If there is no need of salvation; there is no Jesus. If there is no Jesus there is no righteousness. If there is no righteousness then there is no God. If there is no God ... There is no heaven. If there is no heaven it is still the abyss