Conquering Giants

Have you ever experienced the giants of Monday morning?  You go to bed on Sunday night dreading getting up the next day, because you know the problems you have in store for the week.  I remember one place I worked, early every Monday morning we had an officers’ meeting.  I hated going to bed on Sunday night because I knew what the next morning would bring.  I would have nightmares concerning the job.  This became a giant of a problem for me and almost made me sick.  Finally I quit and found a job I enjoyed.

The problems we have in this life, if we let them, can grow into giants.  How do we handle them? Most of the time our fearful thoughts make them look so large, that we become afraid.  Let’s go to the Bible  and see what happened to one giant.

Who hasn’t heard the story of David and Goliath?  This is one of the first stories taught in Sunday school to little children.  We read about this in 1 Samuel chapter 17.  Saul and the men of Israel are in battle against the Philistines.   In verses 4-7 we are introduced to Goliath’s size and how heavily he was equipped for battle.  He issues a challenge to the armies of Israel in verses 8-10 and verse 11 tells us, Saul and all Israel were dismayed and greatly afraid.  That is, when Goliath appeared, they were shattered and had much fear.

You notice in verse 16, Goliath presented himself forty days , morning and evening.  I imagine every time he saw Saul and the men of Israel fleeing,  his confidence was strengthened.   When do most of your troublesome thoughts appear to you?  Is it not morning and evening?  When you try to flee from them, does this give them strength over you?  If given time, our problems can wear us down to the point we do not know which way to turn.   Saul and the men of Israel fled from Goliath instead of facing him.  The solution to get rid of him was with them all the time , but they did not recognize it.

God showed them, and us, something that day.  They could not present a champion to challenge Goliath.  God chose one for them, and in verse 28 we read of David’s older brother’s anger toward David.

David was not afraid in facing Goliath, because he had faith in God.  He trusted in God and did not forget what God had already done for him.  Read verse 37.  David’s faith and trust in God had previously been tested.  God delivered him from the paw of the lion and bear, and he knew God would do the same with this Philistine.

God surprised the men of Israel by removing Goliath with a shepherd boy and one stone.  Do you think the brother’s of David would have sent for David to come and kill Goliath?  I don’t think so.  Sometimes God shows us His glory by choosing one, who we think is weak, to bring glory to Him and His people.

Look what a shepherd boy did by having faith and trust in God. He removed a problem for the army of Israel and this gave them the courage to pursue and defeat the Philistines.

David stood up for God and what seemed impossible was made possible.  Can only one make a difference by standing up for God’s commands?  Does Chick-fil- A ring a bell?

I don’t need to turn my small negative thoughts into giants.  Fearing them and running from them will do this very thing.  We need to have the faith and trust in God as David, and expect God to deliver our giants into our hands in a way we could never imagine.

Thanks for reading. Let God help you defeat your giants today.  Please send comments to rhepler52@yahoo.com or rhepler52@gmail.com .

I need your help. I am thinking about having this blog published as a devotional book for families or bible classes.  I will add scripture and questions at the end of each story and will sell as an ebook or paperback.

What are your thoughts? Also, please invite others to read my blog.  You have been so encouraging over the last year.  I am sorry I can't post something each day.  Right now time will not permit.  I enjoy doing this so much and look for the day I can do this full time.

Thanks again!

Rick Hepler

"Do you want some cherry tomatoes?"

Yesterday afternoon, I was in the garden picking cherry tomatoes, and  though it has been hot and dry, there were hundreds of ripe little tomatoes on my six plants.  I had picked all we could eat and was wondering who I could give the rest of them to. About that time, I saw a man pushing a grocery cart down the street loaded with aluminum cans.  As I approached him, I could see he was hot, tired and drenched in sweat.  He chose a hot day to be picking up cans.

I asked him, hoping he would say yes,  "Do you like cherry tomatoes?"  He couldn't hear me and came closer. I repeated the question and he humbly said, "yes sir, I sure do". Most of his front teeth were missing.  He seemed very timid.  "Do you like corn and peas?" "Yes sir, I was raised on a farm and I enjoy anything out of a garden" he said, with very much gratitude in his voice.  He didn't have a bag or anything, so I got him several bags for the corn and an ice cream bucket for the tomatoes.

I told him if we get the rains, we would have a good turnip patch.  He said he loved turnips and turnip greens.  I told him to be watching and when they were ready he was welcome to get all he wanted.

He looked tired, but he also looked hungry.  I told him my name before I left and  he told me his.  "Thank you sir, I really appreciate it," he said as we shook hands.

Usually when someone tells me their name, I am thinking about what to say next and quickly forget it.  Not with this guy. Something about him I really liked and felt drawn to.  As I looked back, he was happily gathering tomatoes and I was happy that I had met him.

He doesn't know it, but he helped me more than I helped him.  I know nothing about this man.  He could have been drug addict or had a criminal past.  I don't care.  All I could see was a fellow human being hot and tired and I don't know why, but something urged me to call out to him. 

I thought I had problems, not any more.  With the current economic problems, I imagine, having enough food and cool shelter is a major task for him.  Yes, he might be on welfare and food stamps.  But one thing I know, my compassion for him and his well being flowed as river in my soul.  It was good to feel like that again.

We have millions in this country just like him.  They need help, whether they are on welfare or abusing welfare they need help.  This help does not have to come from the government and it does not necessarily need to be money.  We all need direction and encouragement. 

As I was reading last night, I could not get this man out of my mind.  I hoped he was alright.  I wondered where he lived.  Did he have a family?  Then I realized I had given him something else the heat and drought had not effected.  It was a fruit when given, helps the giver and the recipient.  As I showed him the tomatoes, I also showed him, not realizing at the time, fruit of the Spirit, kindness and love, that God's Spirit had produced in me to give away. (Read Gal. 5:22)  This fruit produced a smile on this man's face and gratitude in his heart.

As you know from my recent post, I enjoy working in the garden, planting seeds, watching them grow and eating the fruits of my labor.  I enjoy more, God's Spirit working in the garden of my heart, producing a fruit I cannot grow in the garden.  A fruit, when I show and give away, can change me and the world I live in.

After I read Galatians chapter 5 last night,  emotions swelled inside me.  Then I turned to one of my favorite chapters of the Bible, 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Nothing matters in this world if I don't have love.  I can give fortunes away, and sacrifice all of my time, but without love, it profits me nothing.

I hope this man comes back to the garden.  I want to show him, not what I have done, but what God, if allowed, can produce out of the garden of the heart.

The fruit of the spirit and lasting love is another solution to bringing our great nation back where she needs to be.

Each day let's make a goal to give away some fruit of the Spirit.  I think we will be surprised at the difference this will make.

Please send your comments to rhepler52@yahoo.com or rhepler52@gmail.com .

Thank you so much for reading.  Please share with others.

Rick Hepler

What Are We To Do?

The news from the past few days has been very disturbing to me and probably to you also.  A successful business man publicly states his values and biblical beliefs and many are wanting to boycott his business.  That business is Chick-fil-A.  Read what he said:
 
           " We are very much supportive of the family-the biblical definition
              of the family unit.  We are a family owned business, a family led
              business and we are married to our first wives.  We give thanks
             for that...We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but 
            thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values
            and operate on biblical principles."
                                                                         Dan Cathy, CEO, Chick-fil-A

Now read some responses to that statement:

            "What the CEO has said as it relates to gay marriage and gay
              couples is not what I believe, but more importantly it's not what
              the people of Chicago believe."
                                                                         Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of
                                                                         Chicago

             "I want responsible businesses in my ward..."
                                                                         Proco "Joe" Moreno,
                                                                         Alderman of Chicago

             "Chick-fil-A doesn't belong in Boston because of Cathy's
               discriminatory stance."
                                                                         Thomas Menino,
                                                                          Mayor of Boston

Mr. Cathy is a living example to the solution this country needs.  He believes in living by biblical principles, encouraging strong families by being married to his first wife and promoting family businesses that care for their employees.  Any other business you know of closed on Sunday?  You know, we used to do that in our country when I was a boy.

Read the part of his statement, "...but I thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

Can we really do this?  Do you share the same beliefs as Mr. Cathy?  I do! Look what they are doing to him. Does the church you attend, share the same beliefs on marriage as Mr. Cathy? When are they going to do the same thing to me, my business, and the church where I attend? What about your business, the church where you attend, your family?

As Christians, how are we to act in this situation?  First let's go to Luke 6:22-23. "Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!  For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. "(NKJV)  We are going to be just
fine through all of this, if we remain steadfast and faithful.  Jesus said we would, so don't be afraid.  (Please remember the first part of Rev. 21:8-"But the cowardly...")

How are we to treat those who oppose us?  Jesus says in Luke 6:27, "But I say to you who hear: love your enemies, do good to them who hate you,"  We can love our enemies without compromising God's will.  Look at Christ.  He died for everyone, but did not compromise His father's will and also, He was without sin.  We cannot sit by and do nothing. People need to know we love them but cannot approve of their sin.  Read Romans 1:18-32.  The last part of verse 32 should get our attention.  ...that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.(NKJV) That is, they are worthy of God's wrath.  We don't go out and kill them.  Always remember 2 Peter 3:9.  The Lord is not willing that any should perish but all should come to repentance.

What will make us strong?  Be like Joshua: "And if it seems evil for you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,...But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)(NKJV) (Read
1Thes.3:14-22)  Bottom line, be good and stay away from evil.

What did Jesus say in Matthew 12:25?  Can we be divided as a nation? What about as Christians? What about as a family? What did Christ pray for? Read Christ's prayer in John 17:20-23.  He wanted us to be one as He and the Father are one.

In closing, we as Christians must not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ.(Ro. 1:16)  God told Joshua to be strong and of good courage and not afraid because, He would be with him. (Joshua 1:9) I trust God, that He will be with us also.

Please share this with others. 

Thank you so much for reading my blog.  We are a majority with God, never forget this.  Pray for our country and the children of our land that this nation will afford them the same freedom as we have enjoyed, to serve our heavenly Father in peace.

Please, you can send your comments to rhepler52@yahoo.com or rhepler52@gmail.com .

Thanks,
Rick Hepler





                                                                
         

Do You Like a Clean House(Heart)?

Have you ever been put in this situation?  It is a Sunday afternoon, you are getting ready to take a nap and the phone rings. Someone you haven't seen in years is just passing through town and would like to come by for a visit.  You have been busy all weekend with the kids, dishes from lunch are in the sink, kid's clothes and toys are scattered from one end of the house to the other and they say, " We will be there in about 20 minutes" . 

You hang up the phone, and immediately your body goes into emergency house cleaning mode.  You are praying that they don't ask for a tour of the house. You only have time for cleaning what is visible and you ask, "why of all days, did they choose today to visit?" .

I remember when I was a child, mother was in the hospital for about a week.  You can imagine what our house looked like, with Dad and the three of us boys there a week at home without Mom's supervision.  It was a "Jesse Moment".  Jesse lived down the road and if there was an Olympic game for the quickest house cleaning, I believe Jesse would win the gold metal.  She would come in the door cleaning and we sure didn't need mother coming home to a dirty house.  Dad would always go get her when we needed major house cleaning.    

We all like to have a clean house when company comes.  We don't want people to say that our house was a mess.  Oh, the stress of what we think people may say about us when they leave.  We always say this will never happen again then gradually we let this lay around or do not pick up that and the house needs a thorough cleaning again.

Most of the time we stress the importance of the externals, a clean house, car, shoes, windows, etc., but forget about the internal matters of the heart.  In Matthew 23:24-26, Jesus reminded the Pharisees of this very thing.  They had a heart, inside, problem and He stressed to them to first cleanse the inside, that the outside would be clean also.

In Psalms 51:10, David prayed for God to create a clean heart in him and renew a steadfast spirit within him.   Why did David want God to create in him a clean heart?  David had a weakness, the lust of the flesh, that led him to adultery with Bathsheba. (Read 2 Samuel 11:1-4) The 51st Psalm is a prayer of repentance from David to God.  David knew his weakness and the thought in his heart that led him to sin against God.  He wanted a clean heart, so those thoughts, which he still had in his mind, would never surface again to tempt him.  Also, he wanted a steadfast spirit to help him control those thoughts.

The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.  Also, in Matthew 15:19, Christ says, "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness and blasphemies."  I now know why David wanted God to create in him a clean heart.  He knew the internal battle he would have each day. He needed a clean heart and steadfast spirit to keep those past thoughts from tempting him again.  Also, David valued his relationship with God. A relationship developed when he was young.  When he strayed from God, he knew God well enough to confess to Him and go back to Him.

When we have a clean house, it makes us feel good.  We are prepared for visitors. We have to do certain task each day to keep it that way.  As mother would meet us at the door, "take those muddy shoes off before you come in the house", we must be gatekeepers of our own hearts, keeping out thoughts of the past, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

What if we, as a country, prayed to God , "Create a clean heart in us O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within us" ? What would begin to happen?  What if you prayed this prayer? Would your life be different?

After writing this, I realized the thoughts generated by every day life can clutter up a clean heart.  The TV and Internet are two main sources of making a clean heart dirty.  As mother would not let us boys come into the house with muddy shoes, we should not let this filth come into our hearts.

Please pray that we all will desire clean hearts and steadfast spirits.

Please share this with others and send your comments to: rhepler52@yahoo.com or rhepler52@gmail.com .

We can't make a difference alone, but we can with God. He needs to know we want to make a difference.  Pray! Pray! Pray!

Thanks for reading!

Rick Hepler

Do We Have Weeds In The Garden?

Weed: a plant considered, unattractive, or troublesome, especially one growing where it is not wanted, as in a garden. (American Heritage  Dictionary)

I have written  about my enjoyment of gardening in past post. I think in order to to have a productive, beautiful garden, the most important task is to keep the weeds out.  Weeds, if allowed to grow in the garden, can take needed moisture and nutrients from your desired plants, and if left to mature, they can produce numerous seeds that will present a problem for years to come.

When my children were young and wanted to help me in the garden , I would ask them to chop or pull the weeds out.  It didn't take me long to realize, they did not know a tomato plant from a weed. I just assumed they knew.  I was wrong.  I had to teach them the difference between an vegetable plant and weeds.  Also, I had to explain why we chopped the weeds out.

I explained to them that a good gardener can identify the different weeds and chop them out, because  if you allow them to remain, they will produce hundreds of seeds that will sprout every year.  Eventually, the once beautiful and productive garden is lost to the weeds.

All gardens have weeds, but only productive ones are weed free from daily weeding by the gardener.

The christian life is like a garden.  When a person becomes a christian they are babes in Christ, just like a newly planted garden.  To grow and be fruitful in the Kingdom , they must know how to identify sin (weeds) and each day work  not allowing sin to get rooted in their life. Like in the garden, they can't allow any sin (weed) to stand.  Sin left in your heart will only spread and choke out your christian life.  A christian must be vigilant every day, the same as a good gardener weeding his garden each day.

What would happen if I didn't train my children to properly identify weeds and to chop them out?  Or what if they left some weeds to grow because they looked pretty to them?  What if they mistakenly left the weeds they called good and chopped out the good garden plants which produce good fruit because these plants did not look as good as the weeds?  How long would it take for that once beautiful, productive garden to get choked out by the weeds my children let stand because they liked the way weeds looked in the garden.

Weeds in the garden, if left to stand and grow, choke out the plants that provide food and nourishment to us, and they eventually are left dead or unproductive.
Sin in the heart does the same thing to a Christian's life.  Sin if allowed to be full grown, brings spiritual death. (James 1:14-15) (NKJV) 

I learned to identify weeds from my parents, but specifically from a weed science class I took in college.  I also learned from my parents what was sin.  Then as I read God's word,  I learned the different types of sin, their causes, and the results of practicing them.  To be a faithful Christian, I cannot call any sin good, let it grow, and manifest in my life. It would be as unproductive, as a garden overcome with weeds, and my christian life would be choked out to die.

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20) (NKJV)  When I leave a sin in my life that I like participating in, am I calling evil good?  When the leaders of this great country support what God calls an abomination as good, and protects it with laws, and those who call this evil are called several names and may even be arrested,  is this what Isaiah 5:20 is referring to ?

When I enjoy a beautiful garden, my desire is to keep it beautiful and to keep the weeds out. All of them! No weed should be desirable to me because of its harm to the garden. To enjoy a beautiful Christian life I must have the desire to love God with all my heart, soul, and mind.  The actions that God calls sin, I must also call sin and not let it have a place in my heart.

Can I change from a sinful life? (Read in 1Cor. 6:9-11)  If I call myself a Christian can I continue allowing the sins of the past in my life that the goodness of God's grace will over look? (Read Romans 6:1-6)
What happens when I am tempted and sin on occasion? Continue to walk in the light confessing the sin and the blood of Christ washes the sin away. (Read 1John 1:1-5)

By the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we now have weeds in our gardens, and sin in this world, because of their disobedience to God's command. But God loves us so much, that He already had a plan if place that would wash that sin away and make us righteous before Him.

In our country today we have a sin problem.  It seems that we are at the place of no return, but with God all things are possible. (Read Matthew 19:25-26)

Allowing weeds to remain and grow in the garden never has and never will be productive.  Common sense tells us this and also we can see it with our own eyes.  Allowing sin to flourish in the churches and this country does the same thing.  Do we not have eyes to see this?

Can you imagine what the world and our country would  be like if every one who claims to be a christian, spoke the same thing, identified sin as God does, called evil for what it is, and embraced the goodness of God?

The cost of doing this will not run our country's deficit up.  The price has already been paid.  God's Son, Jesus, died on the cross and paid it in full.  Some do not believe in God nor His Son, or they believe in Him, but do not follow Him in the way He has instructed.  We can perfectly see the results of this today.  Our garden is overtaken by weeds and is now non productive and almost choked out.

What if we all pitched in and chopped the garden out?  How would we do it?
For a start, we all need to read, 2Ch 7:14 and James 4:10 and believe it.  Do you believe God's ways or man's ways can get us out of this mess?  I think I will go with God's.  You do remember He created us and the whole universe?  He sure did not create this mess we are in today. ( I believe man did.)  I think I am going to go with God's way.

This does not begin with someone else.  It starts with me.  I need to identify any weeds in my garden and then eagerly and lovingly help my brothers and sisters in humanity to do the same.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". (Philippians 3:13) (NKJV)

Can I do this? Can you? Can we do it together?  If we do not desire to take any action, what will our grand children's garden look like?  Will it be our fault if they lose their garden to weeds?

Please send this to all of your friends and family to read and pass on.  Let us have courage to follow God and His ways instead of man's.  Do you think we can do this with God's help?  Let me know if there is a better solution out there, because if we continue on the path we are on, it is leading us to definitely a huge weed patch.

Please have the courage to comment at rhepler52@gmail.com or rhepler52@yahoo.com . All comments are confidential.

Thank you so much for reading this and the encouragement you always give.

Rick

"Working In The Garden"

Yesterday we had a much needed rain.  Our garden looks much better today. What a difference rain makes.  It will be a couple of days before I can get back to my daily routine of chopping out the weeds. I try to chop out the morning glories, grass and other weeds when they first appear.  I just came back from the garden and the morning glories are everywhere. You can't turn your back on them for a moment.

Working in the garden each day is a great stress reliever for me.  After I am finished, I have a chair in the backyard that I sit in, admiring my work.  My son-in-law and father-in-law also help.  We can chop out the weeds, fertilize, tie up tomato plants, plant other seeds, but we can't make it grow. Creation is God's part.  He created each vegetable from which we get the seeds to plant, provides the earth to plant them in and the sunshine for them to make food and the rain for their watering.

When we do our part, each plant that God has created stands out and makes the whole garden beautiful for everyone to see.  God then gets the glory for creating such wonderful vegetables, because  people know that nothing in the garden was created by us.  Through our daily efforts, the vegetable plants stand out and no weeds are present to drain them of their beauty.

We are the same way.  When we believe Jesus is the Son of God, obey His Gospel, and show our love for Him by keeping His commandments, His blood continually cleanses us from our sins.  Each day, we can weed out of our minds negative and sinful thoughts.  We do this by reading and meditating on God's word. (Read I John 1:5-10.) When we repent and confess our sins, it is kinda like keeping weeds out of the garden.

You know what weeds do to a garden.  They choke out the good plants and  cause them to produce little or no fruit. People will pass by and say, " that garden is a sore sight."  God gets no glory from what he has created .

We are the same way as the garden.  Remember, God also created us.  When we let our light shine before men that they may see our good works, our Father in heaven will be glorified.  People will see God's goodness, mercy and grace through us. (Matthew 5:14-16)

The world is like weeds in a garden ready to sprout in our hearts at any unguarded moment.  We must be vigilant about what enters our minds.  The fruit of the Spirit should be in all of our actions. (Gal. 5:22)  If one falls, those who are spiritual need to come to help restore him in gentleness.  (Gal. 6:1)

Remember, we bring glory to our Father in heaven when He reigns in our hearts.  The world notices our good works and it is refreshing for them to see God's love through us.  But, if sin controls our life we no longer show light but darkness and we distance ourselves from God, influencing others to do the same.

What does your garden look like? Are there any weeds in it?  What does the garden of your soul look like?  In times past I have lost my garden to weeds and gave up.  The garden of our soul can be overtaken by sin.  But our heavenly Father will never give up on us.  His Son's blood is always ready to cleanse us from our sins if we believe in Him and obey His commandments.

God uses us as his hands and feet to produce beautiful gardens from what He has created.   He can also use us to produce beautiful people. (Matt. 28:18-20)

Please send comments to rhepler52@gmail.com or rhepler52@yahoo.com

Thanks for reading.  Your comments are always encouraging.  Also, progress is being made on my book " Failure: Master or Teacher? "

Thanks again,
Rick Hepler

Ivory Soap Words

As I was watching TV last night something happened in the show that prompted urgency, and the detective said,"Oh s _ _ _!".  This was around 8:30 PM on a regular cable channel.  This brought back a memory of this word from 56 years ago when I was 4 years old.

I can't remember what I did last week, but I can remember that night very vividly. It had to have been a Saturday night because we were having hamburgers.  Mother would go to the grocery on Saturday and she would always fix hamburgers on Saturday night. Also, mother and dad would give me a bath in the kitchen sink every Saturday night, getting me clean for church on Sunday. 

Well, they told me to get my clothes off.  I ran under the kitchen table and I let it out. Not once, but three times. "s _ _ _, s _ _ _, s _ _ _!". I do not know where I had heard that word or why I even wanted to say it, but mother looked like she had six arms trying to get me out from under the table.

The next thing I knew was a big bar of Ivory soap being wallered around in my mouth.They said, "don't you ever say that word again" and they tried to wash my transgression out of my mouth with that white bar of Ivory soap.

That night, not only was I clean from my bath, my language was cleaned up for the first time. No, I don't cuss today, but it is not because of my Ivory cleansing, but from another cleansing that has had more of an affect.

Have you noticed the foul language used in our country today?  You can't watch TV without hearing it.  I like to watch the "Swamp People" on the History Channel, but they have to bleep almost every other word. The worst foul language, in our country today, is using God's name in vain. Movie after movie usually has some form of using God's name in vain.  If someone uses the N word or a word describing some people, they either will be ridiculed in the press or forced to resign from their job.  I do not think we should use those words either, but what do we do to people who use God's name in vain? Nothing is ever said about it and the usage is increasing. The media is silent.  What are we becoming, when God's name means so little to us? Do you think God will bless this country, when we don't even reverence His name?

"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain." (Exodus 20:7) "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."(Matt. 12:37) (NKJV) This should be more powerful than a bar of Ivory soap.

Think about this.  A good way to start getting this country back on track is to reverence the name of the One who created and blessed her.  We cannot be successful until this happens.

I need your comments on this.  Please send your comments to rhepler52@gmail.com. 

Thank you so much for reading my blog.  It is good to be back!

Enjoy,

Rick Hepler

Have We Lost Our Imagination?

im-ag-i-na-tion: 1. a) the act or power of forming mental images of what is not actually present.
b) the act or power of creating mental images of what has never been actually experienced, or creating new images or ideas by combing previous experiences.  2. anything imagined; creation of mind ( Webster's New World Dictionary  Of The American Language)

The other day I was talking to someone about the state of our economy and the mess that we have in our government.  I realized, that I had fallen into the trap of 24/7 news media.  I even thought, there is no way we can get ourselves out of this mess.  I had let the negative news media and government rob me of something I used to have, imagination.

I remember when I was a freshman in high school attending my first athletic banquet.  Football was the only sport that I participated in, if you want to call wearing a uniform and sitting on the bench participating.  This one player received trophy after trophy.  I began to see myself getting a trophy next year.  I also imagined what it would feel like receiving a trophy in front of all my peers and their parents.  That image and feeling stuck. Even though at the time I was one of the smallest players on the team, I kept my imagination going until the next season, which in turn produced belief, that produced action, subconsciously.

The next year I received most improved; then my senior year, the hustle award.  All of this was due to my imagination of getting a trophy playing football. I imagined: the outcome, the emotions, sound of the coach's words making the presentation, and the applause of my friends. I imagined this so much, that I subconsciously believed it was happening.  This produced the action and persistence needed to reach the end result.

We, as citizens, need to imagine we can make this country better instead of seeing what we have now, moral and financial bankruptcy.  I need to imagine the good that I can do, and ideas to improve myself and my attitude.  Impossible, should not be envisioned.

We as citizens can come up with products in our country that the whole world needs.  We can think of ways to bring our jobs back home.  What we cannot imagine, is depending on our government getting us out of this.  We need to teach our children how to have healthy imaginations that will propel them on to creating better lives and develop courage that will carry them through life.

There was a time in this world when man used his imagination, but is was for evil. In Genesis 6:5 "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (KJV Bible)  Do you remember what God did? 

Would that verse describe the imaginations in man's heart today in our country?  Have you looked at television lately? Gone to the movies? Watched the news? What do you see? Sex, hate, murder,profanity, using God's name in vain, lying, greed and doing everything else that God disapproves of.  What are the imaginations of our culture? Where is it leading us?  Will God bless or discipline us?

Would Judges 17:6 apply today? "In those days there was no king in Israel,but every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (KJV Bible) What about Isaiah 5:20? "Woe unto them who call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. "(KJV Bible)  Have you said anything about homosexuality lately?  What about mentioning Jesus at school?  Do you think many Americans have the same imaginations in their hearts as the men in Genesis 6:5?

When we imagine ourselves doing God's will on earth, we will begin to see our country change.  I mentor fourth and fifth grade boys at the local elementary school.  I tell them they can read books and use their imaginations to go or do anything in the world.  God has given mankind the capability to imagine.  None of His other created beings on this earth have this capability. 

We are so blessed. Let's begin to use our imagination to create solutions to the problems we have today and read Philippians 4:8-9 each day to get ourselves in better spirits.

Until next time, I hope you have a good day!

Thanks,
Rick

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