Deuteronomy 33:7
“And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies.”

Moses is giving one of his 4, (if memory serves), departure speeches. In this one he is Blessing the individual tribes.

The Lord is ready to bring him up the mountain, so he can see the Promised Land, and be buried where no man can find him.  

He was to See, to observe, to know, the Promised Land,  is there,  but not to enter.

A great man of God, the Auther of the first 5 books of our Christian Bible and also of the Jewish Torah.  The book of the Law.

Moses, loved God, knew God, walked in the ways of God, yet is not allowed to enter the Promised Land. 

Why not?  Sin.  

He was told to speak to the rock, to receive water for the people.  The first time he received water from this rock, he was told to strike it.

He struck it again, the second time, instead of speaking to it, as he was told.  This was the Sin, that kept him from entering the Promised Land.

He was now,  ready to die.  He had brought the people to the border, someone else was to bring them home. 

One hundred and twenty years old. His eyes had not dimmed, his strength not diminished. 

So he is Blessing the tribes.  You can read them all in Deuteronomy 33.  I would like to focus on the blessing of Judah.

Deuteronomy 33:7
“And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies.”

The blessing of Judah can be looked at in three parts.  The first is for the Lord to  hear the voice of Praise, (Judah).  

The book tells us the Lord inhabits the Praise of His people. 

In 2 Chronicles 20: we learn the Power of Praise.  As Praise, (Judah), led the army into battle,  the found their  enimies destroyed before they arrived.

The only thing they had to do was to collect  plunder. 

Saints, learn how to Praise.  Scripture songs, are God’s songs, sing them back to Him, lift up God’s  word, remind Him of His promises. 

Learn to focus, meditate, pray, speak the Word of God.  He watches over His Word to preform it.

The second part of the blessing:  “bring him unto his people.”  We can easily over think this one.

My take on it is, Lord bring Praise unto whosoever will.  

Praise is available to all, Praise will shew forth God’s marvelous works.

The Lord is Worthy to be Praised, by Praise we can be saved from our enemies. Praise Glorifieth God.

This saints is the purpose of Praise, to lift up God to all, to remind Him to fight on our behalf.  

It looses the Power of God in our lives.

“Let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies.”  

The third part of the blessing.  Our hands to be ready, willing and able, to do the work, and for the Lord to be a help (a shield, a covering, a hedge of protection, a strong tower, a place of safty), from our enemies. 

Moses knew the Lord and God.  He encourages us to learn to Praise.  To find the path to the place of rest in the Lord.

Psalm 28:7
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.”

Lord, please open our hearts and minds to Praise.   Amen

Do we want to experience all God has for us?  Or do we wait for “that day?”

Today is the day of Salvation….

Our home, the place we walk, talk and exist, the land of forgetfulness. 

We forget, how precious and costly our liberty and freedom is. (Many fought and died, for us).

We forget, or never realized the investment, work, and worry someone put into that company we work for. Which allows us to hold our heads high, while we provide for our families.   

We forget, or never knew, what life was like before the Government became our Momma. 

 (Seat belts, helmets, air bags, cafe standards, cars that get great mileage, but are ruined if you bump a sign post).

As Christians, We forget, just how much God gave us. The Creator, the Great I AM, the Supreme Ruler of all, (Jesus).  

He became man, so we could know the Father. (The Eternal, Existent One, the Law Giver).

He became man, no longer made in the likeness of God, as Adam, but made in the likeness of Adam. (He was born into sin).

Jesus was of the seed of Abraham. He was all man, He did no miracles,  mighty works, or healings, until after He humbled Himself, to be Baptized for the remission of sins.  (John’s Baptism).

As He came out of the water, He received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and heard, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Why was the Father pleased?  

He humbled Himself to show us the way to the Father,  obedience.  

The Baptism in water, symbolic of the Remission of Sin, was so the Holy Spirit could enter, to teach, guide, comfort, empower and defeat the Prince and Power of this world.

After this was the temptation.  Satan’s first defeat.  Then miracles, signs and wonders.

Many wanted to join with Jesus,  “But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,  And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.”

Jesus choose twelve, those who would not forget, to carry His Word and His Work forward. 

That is our job now. We must not live in, “the land of forgetfulness.”

Psalm 88:12. (KJV)

“Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?”

We see no signs, wonders, and miracles, righteousness is laughed at, ridiculed, denied.

For this to change, the Light must Triumph.  

People we need to let the Light of Jesus shine, if we hope to overcome the darkness.   Amen

In The Old Testament we had the “Spirit of God.” He covered the earth, the “Spirit of God ,” was with Joseph,  to interpret dreams, to give the Wisdom, that saved Egypt and the Hebrews from the 7 year drought. 

Joseph was made second only to the Pharoah, in power and stature in the land.

Latter we find the Lord giving the “Spirit of God, ” to build The Tabernacle in the desert.   That “Spirit,” is still given today.  To empower us to build His Kingdom,  His Church. 

It is a “Spirit” of Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge in all manner of workmanship. 

It is a Spirit that empowers Prophets, Teachers, Leaders.  It fills us with His Word and Power to share the Gospel.  It is the Spirit, Jesus promised to those who believe. 

The “Spirit of God ” the “Holy Spirit, and the Holy Ghost” are all interchangeable names   of the Comforter,  the One who teaches and leads us to all truth, and gives us Wisdom, in the New Testament. 

This Spirit, throughout the Bible has caused the barren to give birth. Gives Words of Knowledge, Wisdom and Prophecy to those who have open hearts and minds to the will of God.

Jesus Baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire.  

People were filled with the Holy Ghost, while we are only given a measure of Faith.  The measure to believe, if we will.  

We must build up our Faith, but the Lord fills us with His Holy Spirit and Power, to share His Word, Heal the Sick, Reveal His Will, Comfort the Brokenhearted,  Touch the hearts and minds of those in need.

If we allow Him, He will give us a prayer language.  A language we do not understand, our Spirit speaks directly to the Spirit of God. 

The Perfect Prayer.

The Gifts of the Spirit are available to whosoever will, the problem is so many won’t. 

We seem to think, the Lord forces the Gifts upon those who have them.  When the reality is, we must seek them, ask for them, learn to use them, to multiply them.

The Lord would have us be Powerful, Bold, Strong in the Lord.  By the Power of the Holy Ghost. 

The Holy Spirit leads us to all truth, fills us with Power to do the will of God,  leads us to the peace that passes understanding. 

We can deny and reject Christ.  This greaves the Holy Spirit,  when we deny the Holy Spirit we are walking in a dark and dangerous place.

There is no where to hide, when we deny the Holy Spirits, call and Presence in our lives.

We really should seek Him, recognize Him, invite Him tonlead and guide us in our Walk with the Lord.

When we take the Yoke of Jesus as our own, we will experience signs and wonders following.  We will experience the Lord as our Shepherd,  we shall not want.

He will supply all our needs in the riches and glory of Christ Jesus. 

Is that not what we want?  It is what I long for. Amen

This tale is about my mothers side of the family. I didn’t know this until just before Mom died, but I was named after her brother, who had died as a teenager. 

I will have to check with my two remaining aunts about him.  I cannot remember his story.

Archie and Ina Currier.  

He was over six feet tall, had to be close to 275 lbs.   A big man, who worked with his hands.  (Wood working mostly).

She was five foot nothing, maybe 100 lbs, kept the house and the 7 kids in line. She baby sat me often.

On one such occasion, my Aunt Shirley and Uncle Ty were back visiting, after being stationed overseas with the Air Force.

They had a little red, car, (Italian, I think), that had wings on the back, much like the 57 Chevy.

I was running in the yard, and tripped on a tree root, fell onto the back wing, drivers side and broke my nose.

Gram, took me inside, kept putting water on ny face, which caused it to bleed more.  She called Mom, off to see Dr. Mason.

I do not remember if he set it, or sent us elsewhere,  but it turned out straight, if a little big.

(David had broken Martha’s nose with a shovel when they were young,  her nose, ended up with a bump and slight turn).

I think I was in the third grade, I had two black eyes and a broken nose.  My nose hurt, and I wasn’t able to wear my glasses.

It was frustrating to be home from school, TV on, that I could only hear.  I am a big talk radio fan today.  

(I was black eyed broken nosed cote… not my favorite jingle).  

They lived on Pleasent St. On the corner across from Lumbards.

They had a barn, I wasn’t allowed to play in,  (Bummer), and the front porch that was only a couple of steps up off the ground.

The side porch, all (wrap around?) was a full story above the ground.  

I was playing on the porch, minding my own business,  when Grampa saw me.

Now, the real problem here was that my Grandmother loved cats.  I have no idea how many, (5 to 7 maybe?), but Grampa decided I was old enough for this piece of Wisdom. 

He grabbed a cat and tossed it off the front porch and explained how they always landed on their feet.

WOW, HOW COOL IS THAT!!!

After imparting this Wisdom, he proceeded to his chair in the living room.  (He was the only guy I knew who ate peas with a knife).

Well, this revelation called for expermentation.  Could this possibly be true?

So I grabbed a cat.  I want you to realize, to prove this a three foot drop, was simply, not enough.  

I  needed the long side (10 or 12 foot), plus I would throw the cat up in the air as hard as I could, with a good spin.

How else could this be proved?  Well it was getting harder to catch my test subjects, when Gram, looked out the window. 

I had no idea that, that little woman could make so much noise.  

I couldn’t tell a lie… So I threw Grampa under the bus.

She shook her finger and let him know how much she appreciated his input in my life.  

I only remember  one more word of Wisdom from him.

I do not know what the occasion was, but my cusin Buster was staying at our house, over night.  We had a tent set up on the front lawn.

In any case we were in the living room at Grama’s house, it was getting late and I told Grampa I was going to take a shower and wash my hair, before going to bed in the tent. 

I believe with all I am that he said:  “You’ll catch your death of cold, if you do that.”

He died that evening.  

Many fond memories from my youth. I hope you enjoyed.

This is a copy of an article that was in the Fitchburg Sentinel, Thursday, February 3, 2005.

I spoke with the author, Gerry Martel, he assures me that the Bob’s Fix-it Shop in this story is not my Dad, or his business. 

It certainly caught his essence though.   I hope you enjoy.

Real mechanics are a dying breed:

When I think of auto repairs, please deliver me from those guys in the white frock coats who are as medicinal as a surgeon getting ready for a heart transplant. 

You know the type I mean.  They’re the rosy cheeked service managers in immaculate hospital garb, with clean fingernails and grease free hands.

I want a dirty, filthy pawed mechanic with permanent grease under his fingernails, who at least, looks like he’s on speaking terms with the inside of an automobile engine.

I’m not looking for a brain surgeon,  I simply want one of those guys from a vanishing breed known as a “mechanic”.

Today, the new car industry calls them “technicians”.  Most of them can’t ad lib out of a paper bag.

A few years ago, before self-service, these truly special motorheads who loved cars inside and out, lived at the local gas station.   Yes, they were scruffy, but they were prepared to keep you going usually quickly and at a fair price.

But, I digress, let’s go back to the special guy in the white coat who started my phobia.  The year was 1984, and as a young stud, I bought an “arrest me ” red Z-28 Camaro, customized as a convertible. 

GM wasn’t  building drop-heads in the mid-eighties.  The 305 CID 190 HP V-8 featured duel exhaust and was to be my pride and joy.  It didn’t take long for yours truly and the local police to get to know each other on a first name basis.

From day one, this car had a most disconcerting habit.  When I started the Z-28 in the morning and the engine was still running rough, there was a horrendous banging underneath that sounded like a duo of rock drummers warming up for a concert at Yankee Stadium. 

It scared the devil out of me, but miraculously, this noise would disappear as the engine warmed up.  I can’t remember how many times I checked the undercarriage.   Nothing was loose, twin exhaust pipes were secure.

I brought my pride and joy to the Chevy dealer and the rosy cheeked “doctor ” in the white coat and the clipboard met me at the service desk.  I explained in detail about the horrible noises when the car was cold.

He took my name, address, phone number and started writing furiously,  repeating out loud “banging from underneath car when cold, disappears when engine is warm.”   I confirmed most vehemently.   “That’s the problem,  the car’s brand new and must be fixed.”  

The look he gave me was as if I had made an indecent proposal.  Undoubtedly, the thought of dirtying his surgeon’s coat must have unnerved him.

“We’ll have a machanic check it out and give you a call when it’s ready” all the while shoving the clipboard in my face for the usual signature.

Two days later,  I got the fateful call.  “Your car has been diagnosed,  Mr. Martel, and I’m happy to say it’s not critical and you can pick it up anytime.”

I was smiling, for the first time since I bought the car.  Finally, I was going to enjoy my new ride.  Arriving at the dealership,  there was my proud steed outside awaiting its master.

I jumped in the Z-28, found the keys over the visor and started it.  The two drummers were as loud as ever.  The ratatat brought our “Dr” Whitecoat doing the hundred yard dash.

“Hey, you can’t drive that car without taking the release form to the cashier”.   At that moment I was no Mr. Charming.   

“Listen Buddy, I’m not taking this clunker out of here till it’s been fixed.  You heard the banging as well as I did.  What have you been doing the last few days.  I thought you said it was “nothing much.”

Icily, he told me that the problem had been diagnosed and it was “nothing much” but there’s nothing we can do about it.  Of course there’s no charge for the diagnosis, it’s part of your GM Warranty.

I went ballistic.  “Tell me what this “nothing much” is that you can’t fix.”  Mr Whitecoat dramatically grabbed a piece of paper from his clipboard  and drew an “X” brace in the Camaro’s frame.

“Unfortunately,  in the assembly, something went wrong and the tailpipes were not properly centered.  They are too close on one side causing the pipes to hit the frame when they are cold.  As the engine warms up the vibration lessened so the pipes did not bang against the frame anymore.”

My ex friend, explained again that this might be an annoyance, but it would not hurt the performance.  He even had the audacity to tell me he had graduated from GM’s Mechanics School, with honors, and that his word was gospel.

It was late and I was tired from my day’s work and disgusted by the badgering I had received from the dealership.   Under my breath I uttered something close to “you arrogant S.O.B.,” signed the release and headed home in my “eight banger.”

The next day, I took the Camaro to Bob’s Fix-it Shop.  Bob was the man.  Sure he was dirty, he was greasy, but he also knew his way around cars.  I explained my dilemma and, in a flash, he was under the car, grunted and slid out.

Next step, he grabbed his acetylene torch and his creeper.  I heard a hissing sound and maybe 10 minutes work.  Bob reappeared from the bowels of the Z-28, wiped his dirty nose with his own dirtier hand and said, “all fixed, that’ll be twenty bucks.”

What Bob did was to enlarge the holes around the pipes another one-half inch or so, for extra clearance.  Simple as that.

To this day, when I visit a car store and I am greeted by a Mr. Whitecoat,  my gonads tighten up.  I know two things.  I am probably going to pay more than the job is worth and probably be treated in a cavalier manner.

Real mechanics are a dying breed and are invariably dirty from doing an honest days work.

(Photo courtesy of Janice Packard Roy)

This was written by Gerry Martel, in the Fitchburg Sentinel, February 3, 2005.

It sounds like Dad… except Dad would have charged 10 bucks, not 20…

Thanks for the memories Gerry. 

Orthodox or unorthodox that is the question.

Some of us believe what we are taught, that’s it, there is no more.

That is why so many believe in man made climate change, transgender, transracial baloney,  and that the founding fathers were terrible men.

All this is taught in our Public Schools.   It is our fault that they have gotten so far from the truth.

Why have Christians, laid down and let prayer be taken out of school, along with the pledge of Allegiance. 

That is bad enough.  

It also happens in our Churches.   The teachings, of the founding fathers of our Denominations is what we believe.   Period 

We hold that above what the Bible tells us.

Saints,  it is up to us to:

2 Timothy 2:15  (KJV)

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

If we don’t study the Word,  what is it we believe?   We are responsible for what we believe.

Acts 17:11.  (KJV)

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

We need to be more noble, search the Word daily, be open to the revelation of the Lord, and receive it.

Then share it.  

Revelation is not ours alone.  Will it be accepted?   Not by the Religious. Only by those seeking the Lord.

I pray we all will seek the Lord and trust the Holy Spirit to lead us to all truth.  Amen