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The Grinch

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Today, I played the character the Grinch for our town Christmas parade. It was an experience. One I’ll never forget. Never done anything like that before. I have to do it a couple more times, hopefully I get better at it.

It was weird, people coming up asking to take pictures with the Grinch. It was expected though. Just weird. That’s why I need to get in character and stay there while I am the Grinch. It was hard denying myself here. Jesus tells us to deny ourselves. Put on a mask and try it people, it’s really hard. But Jesus had a point there, deny yourself and follow him. We are fleshly and denying the flesh is hard, even doing it as the Grinch character.

You have to understand that I’m a laid back kind of guy. I’m one that doesn’t do pictures and avoids sticky finger kids. But for the sake of their joy, I’ll be the Grinch. Jesus says that Heaven belongs to the children.

Now, for my own sake, being the Grinch is taking me out of my comfort zone. I needed that. Life is getting, not boring, but monotonous.

I was telling my wife I wanted to do something different. Of course she came with questions like, “like what”? and I was like, I have no idea.

So, I’ll start with the Grinch. I’m a little “grinchy” at times anyway. I can do this, right?

The things I do for my Hospital…SMH Carnegie Tri-County Municipal Hospital

That picture is after I took the Grinch mask off. It took me about 2 hours to remove it. That was no fun. I was more of the Grinch in that time then I was prior. Oh the agony!!!

I did however enjoy it. And I got a few great pictures as well. Like the one below of the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who. My daughter played Cindy Lou Who. She’s awesome!

We, the Hospital I work for, had a Whoville float in the parade. We won the Grand prize.

Front of Float

I hear it came with a… Check!

Putting the mask on took several hours… that too was no fun. I didn’t even get to finish my coffee I had just made myself before my makeup artist (my wife) began. Where’s the fun in that?

Photo by Aleksey Lisovsky
Poor coffeee…I’m sorry!

It was fun…I heard the comment, “you know he loves it!” Who every they were talking too knows more than I do I guess… It was different. I loved that! I hope to keep doing things differently. Denying myself as Jesus wants us too.

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Christ is hard.

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I’m trying something new here, something I feel the Lord is telling me. I just wish he would just tell me plainly what to do. I hear people say the Lord told me this and that, did he really or is it something they feel the Lord telling them? I don’t hear a small still voice or a voice of thunder or anything, just wind blowing.

I read his word and I pray for wisdom and understanding. The Holy Spirit does his job of bringing the word to mind when needed, but I don’t hear a voice. I’ve said at one time God told me this or that, but I didn’t hear God say anything. I just felt that’s what God was saying. But if God is talking wouldn’t that be considered scripture? Confused? Yes, I am. Scripture is were we get our understanding of God.

Do we hear God’s voice? or is it just something we feel?

This is so hard. Because at anytime we can be like I feel God telling me to make a video or write a book or buy a new house or… and is that God or is it just us, us hoping that it’s God telling us to do something we want to do?

I want to write. I feel God telling me to write. Is it God? His word doesn’t say do what you want, no it actually says the opposite, deny yourself and pick up your cross daily.

This life as a Christian is hard. It’s hard because you want to follow everything Christ tells you. It’s hard because when you try to follow everything you’ve been taught to follow you struggle with something. That something you’re struggling with is misunderstanding. Yes, we misunderstand some of the scripture we are taught, or we are taught it wrong.

God wants what’s best for us, because he loves us. When you love someone you want what is best for them. To not want that for them is not to love at all. Understand that correctly. To love is wanting the good for the other. Don’t get the wrong idea here, we are to love everyone as we love ourselves. We what what is good for ourselves, we need to want that for other people too.

I starting writing this because I wanted to show up. I want to help others understand Christ. I starting writing because I need that help too. I want help understanding Christ as well. I need people to show up and be there, not only for me but for those who don’t have someone there. Show up for someone today.

There is so much I want to say and yet I keep holding back. I guess I’m afraid of saying the wrong thing. Something I may not be able to correct fast enough… I don’t know. I do want to say something, though, to teach something. To show something. But I want to be led by Christ. I can’t share the word of Christ if I’m not doing anything. I can’t sit on my couch watching Netflix all day.

I have to do something.

I’m going crazy!

I noticed I haven’t written on my blog for over a month. Why? Well, there is no good excuse. Time does fly though. You see I was sick at the end of October. I was out of work for a week and still feel the effects of that sickness today. When I say time flies, I mean I feel like it was last week when I was sick. Last week when I posted to the blog. I’m starting to think that God turned time up a bit. Where has it gone?

Well, I’m going to show up a bit more, hopefully everyday. I have to show up because I have something to say. God loves you! He sent his son to die for us. He gave up his son. Who can do that for someone else?

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The Face of God

The Face of God

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Jacob was alone, he had sent his servants and family well ahead of him. During the night, another man showed and they began to wrestle. We can only speculate what got them two to wrestle. Maybe they were sitting around talking and one ask the other, “Hey, you want to wrestle”? or is it possible that Jacob was jumped from behind? Only two people could answer that, one is Jacob and the other… they did wrestle though, all night long. The bible says until daybreak. Again we can only speculate how long the battle took place.

Jacob was kicking butt. He must have been a scrapper because the bible says that when the man noticed he wasn’t winning he touched Jacob’s thigh, which was out of joint. The man then said to Jacob, “Let me go, for the day breaks”! But Jacob refused!

Why did Jacob refuse?

During the battle as the day was breaking, I imagine Jacob realizing that he was not just wrestling a man, but what the bible says as God. A preincarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. So now we know that the other person was actually God.

Then the Lord said to Jacob, as if he didn’t already know, “What is thy name”? In which Jacob answered, “Jacob”! At this time, our Lord told Jacob that his name would no longer be called Jacob but Israel. The bible goes on to say: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and has prevailed (won success)! Afterwards Israel asked for the Lords name? But the name never came, only, “Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name”? And the Lord blessed him there.

At this point I assume the Lord left Israel there alone again. Jacob (Israel) standing there, probably thinking about what just happened. Thinking about his thigh. Thinking how blessed he is, decided to name the place, Peniel (The Face of God). “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved”, Jacob says.

As Jacob passed over Peniel we can the the sun rising, shining and casting a shadow of Blessed Jacob onto the ground below. We see Jacob limping and with each step he must be smiling, “I’ve wrestled with God”! 

Genesis 32:24-31
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This is the King of the Jews

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This is the King of the Jews
Photo by Ricky Turner on Unsplash

Christ, hanging on the cross was laughed at by those saying, “He saved others: let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God”. Christ, being who he is, hung there, not making a move to save himself, but hanging there to save those laughing at him and the solders who were mocking him and offering him vinegar. The solders looking up at Jesus, saying if you’re the King of the Jews, go and save yourself as it was written above his head, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS”.

Satan was in full attack mode when Jesus was hanging for our lives.

I believe he (Satan) was using those around Jesus — the rulers, solders and one of the criminals that hung with him, which said, “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us” — to do his dirty work.

As we now know, wickedness and righteous hung with Jesus, the other man that hung there on the other side of Jesus rebuked the other with a rhetorical question, “Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?” and he went on saying that they were rightly accused and are getting what they deserved, “but this man” he says, “has done nothing wrong” and then he ask Jesus to remember him when Jesus arrived in his Kingdom! Jesus didn’t leave that man as if he was a mushroom, Jesus say’s, as I imagine Jesus’ blooding dripping eyes looking over at him, “Verily I say unto thee, Today you shall be with me in paradise”.

Oh how I would love to be with Jesus in Paradise. We can’t even imagine what it would be like there. But one day soon, it’ll be here on earth.

Here is a question I want to answer…

  • What is this paradise Jesus is talking about?

Stay with me and let’s seek the truth together. As Peter says, I’ll will remind you of things you already know.

Luke 23:35-43