Roy’s Blog: “What Makes You Happy?”

https://bphowlett.wordpress.com/2020/01/18/roys-blog-what-makes-you-happy

Proverbs 15:13 “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.”

Being happy is serious business. The entertainment business is huge, from sports facilities in every town, to large recreational parks across the country. We run ourselves to death trying to find what makes us happy. But, does that “happiness” last? Not for long.

Does it make you happy when you look at your spouse? What about when you look at your child? Does just looking at them foster such love that happiness overflows your heart? From the things I’ve read in recent years, this is not as much the case as it used to be, or should be. More and more people look at their pets with the adoration that should be aimed at their children/spouse.

What about Sundays? When you wake up on Sunday morning, are you happy at the thought of going to church? Do you have to force yourself out of bed, drag yourself through the church doors? Does the thought of God–make you filled with a happiness you can’t even contain? If not, ask yourself why not? Maybe your priorities are not focused where they should be.

Philippians 4:4 (NASB) The Bible says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice!”

Psalm 68:3 “But the godly are happy; they rejoice before God and are overcome with joy.”

Roy’s Blog: “Mustard Seed Faith”

https://bphowlett.wordpress.com/2020/01/17/roys-blog-mustard-seed-faith

Matthew 17:20b “…for truly I say unto you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”

Luke 17:6 a  The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed…”

The Lord calls this degree of faith, that is capable of attaining such great results, “faith as a grain a mustard seed.” The mustard seed is called in the Bible “less than all the seeds that be in the earth”. Mark 4:31 (KJV) In other words it was tiny. In Israel this tiny mustard seed grows into a large tree.

The Lord uses this tiny seed as an example of a faith that can move mountains. It’s an example of a faith that once planted grows large and spreads out branches.

We are all confronted daily with many questions and problems that seem like mountains, impossible obstacles. This is where we need to change our way of thinking. Even a small amount of faith can do great things.

You may be damaged, you may feel miserable and weak. Mountains of cares and problems confront you, but that tiny spark of faith can blossom into a mighty tree.

Don’t have even that tiny faith? “You have not, because you ask not.” Ask for that tiny bit of faith and watch it grow.

 

Roy’s Blog: “The Clock Ticks”

https://bphowlett.wordpress.com/2020/01/16/roys-blog-the-clock-ticks

Romans 13:11-12a “This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”

Jerusalem and Cairo Energy Ministries (Egypt) have issued a rare joint statement. Israel has started pumping natural gas to Egypt from two massive offshore fields, marking a major milestone and historic cooperation between the two countries that were in previous times bitter adversaries.

Also, U.S. President Donald Trump may release the long-awaited “Deal of the Century” before Israel goes to the polls for their third election attempt in a year. When presented, this will have earth-shattering results.

The stakes are high. The rumor mill is on overdrive.

Next week, Vice-President Mike Pence is going to Israel for the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkena death camp. He will be there along with leaders from thirty other countries including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In the past, meetings in Israel have been followed in a month or two by new significant announcements by President Trump.

Times are changing. The clock is ticking.

Roy’s Blog: “Trust Me”

https://bphowlett.wordpress.com/2020/01/15/roys-blog-trust-me

Psalm 7:1a “O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust.”

Who are you going to trust?

We are a cynical nation. Nobody really trusts anybody anymore. What’s behind this decline in trust in our society? The answer is “truth decay”. Not that many years ago, a man’s word was his bond. You make a deal, seal it with a handshake, and you were bound that deal until it was done. Both parties knew the deal would be kept.

In our society today you can’t trust the news media to tell the truth. Many of our history books have been rewritten to reflect a new agenda. And, you certainly can’t trust the majority of the politicians. We have to have lawyers draw up legal, binding documents because you can’t trust people to keep their word anymore.

This causes stress in our lives, because we are wired to be a people of trust. When God created you, He wired you in such a way that you desire to trust in something greater than yourself. He wanted you to turn that trust toward Him.

If you don’t trust God, you will find something, or someone, else to trust in. That will create stress, because anything you put your trust in besides God, can fail you.

Whatever you value the most is going to shape your life. What (or who) you value most is what you are going to put your trust in. If it’s not God, you life can veer off the path He set for you. If you trust “your gut” or “your heart”, these will also lead you astray, because you are an imperfect being just like the rest of us.

Jesus said “Don’t be afraid. Just believe in [trust] Him.”

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.”

Roy’s Blog: “Sweet Memories”

https://bphowlett.wordpress.com/2020/01/14/roys-blog-sweet-memories

Proverbs 10:7a “The memory of the just is blessed…”

Memories affect our lives in many ways. Preachers will use memories from their past in sermons. Many authors will draw on memories from their past to form their stories. Older people will think about memories of their growing up years or years spent with a loved one for comfort and to pass on to children and grandchildren. Sweet memories.

I remember years ago working at a large nursery supply. It seems like just a few years ago. I would load soil from a creek bottom into an old Chevy truck, making trips back and forth to the nursery, mixing the soil. I can still remember how it smelled.

The fun part was driving the truck down the crooked road to the creek, skidding and sliding back up the road when it was slick from a rain. That was a fun memory. One thing I hated though was pushing a mower through and around all the pots and other nursery supplies in the East Texas summer heat. That old lawn mower was the hardest thing I ever tried to push. Little things, but they are sweet memories.

They may seem small to us now, but those little memories in our history are what form us. Remembering events from our past help us to make decisions, make us who we are. Even bad memories help to form us if we grow and learn from them. God gave us the ability to remember for those reasons.

Roy’s Blog: “Only A Miracle Will Do”

https://bphowlett.wordpress.com/2020/01/13/roys-blog-only-a-miracle-will-do

Matthew 21:22 “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Everyone wants to see a miracle, but believe me, no one wants to be put in a storm that requires a miracle. The only way you need a miracle is you have a problem. A problem nothing else has been able to fix.

I like miracles. I see them often in people’s lives. But I don’t like the storms and heartaches those people go through only a miracle could solve. Sooner or later, you are probably going to need a miracle. The phone will ring, or you will hear a knock on your door. You may face a crisis beyond anything you could imagine. You’ll cry out for a miracle. I know. I’ve been there.

There are miracles happening every day. Miracles we don’t even see. If we stopped to think about things, we might recognize a few in our lives that we may have attributed to–luck. “Wow. It was lucky we had to stop at that gas station to get the tire fixed, or we might have been involved in that crash.” Luck or miraculous intervention?

Our God is still a miracle working God. The Bible is the Bread of Life. It is Living Waters. His Word can remove mountains, in the name of Jesus!

“Nothing is impossible with God.”

Roy’s Blog: “Luke-Warm Life”

https://bphowlett.wordpress.com/2020/01/11/roys-blog-luke-warm-life

Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it, for the time is near.”

Revelation is a lost blessing for our generation. Why?

It is a blessing on the reader, and a blessing upon the hearer who takes its message to heart. But, because of neglect, these blessings are almost totally lost on this generation.

Ninety-two percent of people in the United States own a Bible. But less than fifteen percent ever read it. The prophecy of Revelation foretells our future in detail beyond our imagination. Sadly, most people, even within the church, are leading a luke-warm life toward God and toward His word.

Revelation predicts a luke-warm church before the rapture. That prediction has come true in our generation. It predicts a “new world order” under the ruthless son of perdition. It warns of a “one world government, a one world currency, and a one world religion”. These things are being pushed by certain government agencies and religious groups around the world, including the present Pope.

These are all birth pains the world will see beginning before the end times. Jesus said, “When you see all these things occur, look up. For your redemption draws near.” Luke 21:28