Rain: Catching Rain Water? Natural H2O.

Rain (Natural H2O) is something people either love or hate. Sometimes we all simply forget how important water is, thus the rain that supplies it. Think about it a moment. We take everything (at least many things) for granted. 21^st Century man is incredibly lazy when compared to men just 100 years ago. That is a fact. I now know! I need rain water.

H20 from the sky makes our hair wet and ourselves uncomfortable, soaks our clothes, adds to our being cold, makes driving dangerous, and causes things to be messy – but also sustains life, waters crops, and provides power for everything from cleaning to commercial industry to transportation and cooking.

Rain and rain water are vital to our existence. At present, my home water line is in disarray and being repaired by me, and I realize just how important water is now and what our forefathers and primitive ancestors went through to obtain it. At present, the pioneers or folks in ancient Israel have little on this fella.

Yes, rain is being caught around here in 3-gallon and 5-gallon buckets and containers for bathing, cleaning, and personal use. I catch it, carry it, dump it, and then replace the bucket for more! This takes time but feels great while doing it.

Ironically, the rain and weather itself is also preventing me from fixing the pipe problem! In a real sense, the rain is creating its own demand, kind of like a natural version of Supply-side Economics (excuse the reference, I hold 2 Economics Degrees). What goes around does indeed come around. Water is a perfect example.

 Evaporation – Condensation – Precipitation, etc… How does that go? I forgot. Anyway….

I, for one, think it is great to occasionally get back to the past and experience what others did centuries or even millenniums before us. There is a wonderful feeling of practicality in occasionally performing menial but very necessary tasks in everyday life. It keeps us grounded and appreciative of our overall places in this existence. I hope my rain water buckets are running over!

~ Jimmy Hall is a professional business writer, crafting web content, business plans, resumes, letters, and other forms of written material for clients /404-580-1501.

Knowing Something Versus Applying Something

I love to read and study and write about what I know and have learned. That’s me. To a great extent, that is my life. Education (especially in a spiritual sense) is a wonderful thing. However, knowledge without application is virtually useless for the learner.

Rewriting what is learned simply helps others and not the original reader (much). Why? 

There is a huge difference between knowing something versus applying something that you have learned. Just as faith without works is dead, knowledge without practice or application is almost dead.

A great example would be a certain person I know. She is likely a slightly better than average Christian, but still depends upon what others tell or teach her as opposed to understanding anything more than the basics herself.

Furthermore, this woman watches tv preachers a couple of hours per day. But, it is almost an exercise in futility; because, she never applies anything she sees or hears. Nothing about her changes in a positive manner.

In essence, tv preaching is just another favorite television show to her. For a decade she has stood still in her Christian walk, and her circumstances in life have deteriorated steadily. See what I am saying here?

In many ways we are all guilty like my friend, even if to a lesser extent. We make learning (even our Faith or Christian walk) simply an activity as opposed to an applicable part of our hour by hour lifestyle. We rarely process what we know intellectually and practice it to the point of being wise. Our facts rarely affect us to become wisdom.

If we continue to read and study and learn without using what we know in our own lives, all we are doing is making ourselves great Thursday night trivia players at some local restaurant or sports bar. Something tells me that there is a much better use for all the information that we grasp, if only we would learn to functionally apply what we know.

Learn – know – understand – apply – be wise.

~ Jimmy Hall is a professional business writer, crafting web content, business plans, resumes, letters, and other forms of written material /404-580-1501.

JESUS CHRIST: Son Of God/God ~ by Jimmy Hall

I generally write what I know, and what I know is that Jesus Christ created the universe (John 1) and is the Son of God and God (1 John 5) and Savior of those of those of Mankind that believe upon Him correctly and truly (John 3, 1 John 4). This is a fact. Why and how is this so?

God made a wonderful world until Satan and the fallen angels and the first pure man and woman on Earth (Adam & Eve) also fell and corrupted the planet by continuing the rebellion from Heaven on Earth by sinning (Genesis 3, Isa 14, Ezek 28).

God the Father is perfectly holy and cannot be in the presence of sin, due to his holy and righteous nature (Lev 11, Lev 20, Isa 59, Eph 1, 1 John 4, Heb 12, 1 Peter 1). Therefore, to commune and be with God, or He in us, we must have our sins atoned for by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and Sacrifice for our sinful nature that separates us from God the Father (Matt 1, John 3, Acts 13, Matt 26, 1 John 3, Col 1, Rev 1, Col 3, Heb 8).

In essence, God sees Believers in and of Jesus Christ through the prism of Christ’s person, sacrifice, and perfection. He forever advocates (1 John 2) intercedes for His own (As Saint Paul demonstrates and teaches - Jesus’ torture, shed blood, execution on the Cross, and rising again from the dead took the place of sacrifices and rituals for Believers.

Now our election, calling, conviction, atonement, acceptance, confession, sanctification, and eventual glorification all rest in the work of Jesus Christ that was foreordained before the foundations of the world (Romans 8, Eph 1).

The bottom line is that mankind is tainted by sin, and cannot know God or be in His presence without a cleansing of this sin. From birth we are sinners (accountable from the time we know bad/evil from good) and therefore must be reborn or recreated via belief in Jesus Christ and what He has done and continues to do in other ways.

Eternal life in Heaven is dependent upon overcoming sin, and sin is overcome through Jesus Christ. Everyone is individually accountable to God. Rejection of Jesus Christ means eternal Hell for non-Believers, period. You will be alive forever somewhere, but it takes acceptance of Christ for that place to be Heaven.

~ Jimmy Hall is a professional business writer, crafting web content, business plans, resumes, letters, and other forms of written material for clients /404-580-1501.

Prosperity Gospel: 4 Errors Of The Prosperity Gospel Of Copeland, DuPlantis, Murdock, and Others

Tv preachers such as Copeland, DuPlantis, Murdock, and others may be enjoyable to watch, because many unlearned Christians and new converts feel a need to be a part of something or some group. This bunch truly can be funny. But, fun is not always good for unlearned Christians or Non-Believers/Seekers.

A 60-70% Gospel is not all that pleasing to God – though it can be useful at times. (Knowing the truth, I sometimes watch, preferring bad Christian programming to good secular stuff.)

Sadly, even some longtime Christians are fooled by this New Age “Prosperity Gospel,” that focuses on false wealth as opposed to Jesus Christ.

Generally, these tv cash-making machines err in 4 principle ways:

1^st: Jesus Christ said that we are NOT to store up and gather wealth and possessions on Earth (Sermon on the Mount). Our treasures and wealth are to be in Heaven, via the next life. The prosperity gang says exactly opposite, claiming that wealth and possessions are great for us, and also lure the lost world to us. How convenient! Are they correct or is Jesus right?

2cnd: In a well-known Biblical story, Jesus was asked what to do to be His follower, by a person that already knew Scripture and kept the Commandments. Jesus told the guy to get rid of all of his possessions (give them away) and follow Him . Does this sound like Jesus wants Christians to be wealthy to you? NOPE.  (Jesus once also said that following Him might mean not even having a place to lay your head.) Again, the prosperity gang doesn’t teach this part of the Gospel either!

3^rd: Jesus actually said that we are to take no extraordinary thought about food and clothing or making money for it, that our Heavenly Father will provide if we just have faith and use common sense. God even takes care of birds.

The tv preachers again contradict Jesus by telling us to “sow seeds” into their ministries to be multiplied to make cash for ourselves! True, Jesus says that we will get back more (not necessarily in money) than what we give, but it must be given with a pure heart without the expectation of a return. 

Copeland and company again pervert the Gospel of Christ on this. They present giving as an investment, like the stock market! (DuPlantis asks for ministry money, while bragging about his huge mansion and $100,000 gold paperweight on his desk!)

4^th and lastly, if God wanted Christians wealthy, wouldn’t Jesus’ own family and His closest followers have been wealthy and prosperous? Did Jesus, His followers, and friends do it all wrong!

We know Jesus’ family was NOT well-off, because they gave the smallest temple offering (birds, instead of beasts). You won’t hear the prosperity preachers talk about this fact either! Maybe they think Jesus’ family lied and withheld offerings?

The bottom line is that The Gospel is about the person of Jesus Christ (Christ Jesus) and His suffering, death, and resurrection from the dead to defeat sin, death, and Satan for His Elect Believers. That is what should be focused on, instead of false prosperity doctrines and perverted lies by tv preachers with a good gimmick (even if some mean well).

The lure of potential wealth never saved anyone, only Christ and the Holy Spirit do that by atoning for & convicting those called by God the Father….In fact, wealth is generally (not always, depending upon its use) spurned in Scripture.  AMEN. Hint: $100,000 paperweights and mansions are not a good use of God’s wealth, especially when you are begging for folks to send your ministry cash for “God’s Work”!!!

Choose ye this day whom you will serve, God or mammon….. 

By Jimmy Hall

Reading My Blog: Be Educated And Be Amused

Like anyone else, I like my blog to be read, and like to feel like I am teaching and sharing some relatively important info. I consider it to be a part of my ministry.

This blog encompasses Christianity, Life, Fitness, Relationships, Philosophy, Recreation, and Everyday Events. When I am long gone, my words will remain, just as yours will if you post online.

Still, currently, reading my blog can be both educational and amusing. It might even be used by God to save your soul or ammend your false religious beliefs. In another sense, it might help you walk through life. 

By browsing around here, you get the benefit of my years of reading, writing, studying, knowledge, and living in only a short while. This is a good thing. In a sense, I paid your dues.

I want my blog to be inciteful and always thought-provoking. I will always strive for that for myself and my readers. 

Keep in mind that it is not just what you know that is important, but rather how you learn to know and how you implement what you know. Faith without works is dead......

Satan: The Devil Is Real

In the modern world, we have somehow made Satan (the Devil) into some type of fable or make-believe entity or person. He’s not. Satan is alive and working against us 24 hours per day. He’s real.

Jesus Christ Himself often speaks about the Devil and the Bible records His words to him. These instances were not simply parables or teaching lessons. Satan even tried to persuade Jesus to worship him, ludicrous as that was. (Recall Jesus’ meeting with the Devil after fasting.)

Satan was once an angel in Heaven with God. At some point in eternity-past he led a rebellion in which roughly 1/3 of the Heavenly Beings rebelled against God. God did not take kindly to this, and cast Satan and his bunch out and upon the Earth. (It can be argued that even Hell was made, initially, for them.)

At any rate, since this happened, mankind has been negatively influenced by Satan – in a sense God has used Him and his crew to somehow measure the intentions and faith of human beings. It was even the Devil that first tempted Eve and led her into sin, and she then tempted her husband Adam. At that point sin entered the Earthly realm.

Satan and evil spirits and demons have the singular goal of roaming, killing (spiritually & physically), and destroying those that serve God and worship Jesus Christ. The Bible describes Satan as a lion seeking whom he may devour. He is also said to be “The Father Of Lies.”

The point of all of this is that Satan/the Devil is not some fictional character that ignorant children dress-up as on Halloween. He is a real person and spirit, not to be messed with. The blood of Jesus Christ should be prayed over us, and Satan often ordered to leave us alone in Jesus’ Name. This is no game, but rather real life. (Much sickness is due to Satan’s works.)

Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price at the cross for all that will believe upon Him and His redeeming work. God the Father gave His Son Jesus as the sacrifice for our sin, so that we can fellowship with Him. At the cross Jesus suffered and died for our sins, then later rose from the dead – thereby conquering death, sin, and Satan for us all.

Accepting Jesus’ Christ’s completed work at the cross is of eternal importance. Without His payment for sin, man is doomed to eternal Hell with and like Satan. Get it?

Jesus defeats the evil works of Satan. Only through Jesus can we do battle, in this life of spiritual warfare, with Satan and His followers and demons. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Satan is sin and death. Amen. Jesus and Satan are both REAL.

Sunday: What Is Sunday Today, A Sabbath?

What is the day of the week that we call SUNDAY? Is it the modern day Sabbath? A rest day? The Lord’s Day? The first day of the week? How do we define it?

Traditionally, Sunday is the first day of the week – the day God began Creation on. Somehow, following the ascension of Jesus Christ back into Heaven, we have changed it to the Sabbath (simply because the Apostles/Disciples decided that first day of the week was the best time to meet and give tithes and offerings to the local storehouses.

Keep in mind that (later) the Catholic Church thought It would combine the functions of giving and worshipping, and change the Sabbath to Sunday. In reality, the Sabbath is a day of rest FOR MAN, by God’s example. Jesus Christ said it was; so, that settles it.

We confuse the resting and the functional things, and have combined them. (Remember, people tithed thousands of years before Christ, and still had a separate Sabbath.) We do and change many things in the Name of God, don’t we? People like convenience.

Our Seventh Day Adventist friends are correct that Sunday is not the actual Sabbath. The Sabbath is/was the seventh day of the week, as originally instituted by God (Saturday). But, it is a little more complicated than that. How?

To Jesus Christ and the Jews, the various days of the week begin at SUNDOWN, not midnight or sunrise. For many people around the globe, this is still true. Who is to say they are wrong? (Again, we often take it upon ourselves to change God’s Original Laws, especially with respect to food, holidays, and the Sabbath – despite His eternal Biblical decrees.)

Maybe worst of all, there is little difference between Sundays (our so-called Sabbath) and any other day of the week. God originally set a Sabbath day apart for rest and worship of Him. Today it is football day, grass-cutting day, shopping day, etc. Is this what God intended? NOPE.

What is the solution to the Christian dilemma of the Sabbath? Since we cannot individually change the collective day of the Sabbath, we should at least make sure that as individuals we have one day a week set apart for It – no matter what day It is. Each of us can be directly responsible to God for having a personal or family Sabbath, right?

Every single day should be holy, but God does want an extra special day for His acknowledgment and our rest. Remember, we are taught in Hebrews that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What He wanted then, He wants now. Get it?

We might be unable to change the world in an instant, but we can change ourselves and have a true Sabbath on an individual and family level, can’t we?

College Football: College Football Without Booze?

For many people, especially those under about age 60, the college football season means tailgating, booze, socializing, cooking, wearing their school sports clothing, and crazy fun. College football is like a fever, especially in states like Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, California, Florida, and the South in general.

To a great extent, college football is a sort of “religion.” I do not mean that it is pagan or wrong, just very consuming in and of our American culture. And yes, we often overdo it in various ways. (In my home state of Georgia, September through January is ‘Dawg Time’ period. In the last 40 years, booze and football season have become synonymous with each other.

This presents a great dilemma for me, the blog writer. I am also a college football fan, but have not drunk booze in well-over a year. (The Georgia Bulldogs are my team. Furthermore, the town I live in is also abundant with Alabama, Georgia Tech, Florida, Auburn, and Ohio State fans.) I love football but miss the socializing that goes along with it!

The point is that I can take only so much of going to sports bars and simply eating, playing Keno, and watching tv. Without alcohol, there is little excuse for the craziness and overboard behavior. It’s simply not very much fun being a nondrinker in a drinking crowd. Get it?

There is also the aspect of being single. Watching college football in a bar without drinking booze is like window shopping with a limited budget. How? Lovely women are all-around, yet it is far more difficult to fit-in and meet them without the confidence afforded by alcohol. That’s a social fact.

To make matters worse, some folks even assume you are a nut or religious nerd if you do not drink! I am a Christian, but not a boring one. I like fun, a bit of frolic, and being around people at ‘arm’s length.’ I am an avid people watcher, and selectively a people-meeter.

What is my solution for college football season? I watch most of my football either at home or in local neighborhood restaurants without all the craziness, to avoid the madness. I suppose I truly act “nerdy” as charged!

I use football Saturdays wisely, eating and staying up-to-date on that week’s scores, saying hello to friends and acquaintances, and keeping one eye peeled for a feminine “needle in a haystack.” For me, this is everyday life anyway.

After all, I once sat at a bar drinking a Coca-Cola, watching Georgia play a lesser known team, and won $2,000 playing Keno while eating pizza flatbread! Football without booze doesn’t have to be all that bad!

Jimmy Hall (404-580-1501) writes resumes, business plans, and web content for clients...

Halloween: My Halloween Thoughts About Distractions

As a child, I absolutely loved Halloween and everything associated with it, especially “trick-or-treating,” and dressing differently. I loved the busy activity in the dark neighborhoods, the lights, the sound of laughter, and seeing the socializing taking place in all surrounding neighborhoods. (Yes, I also liked the candy!)

At the time I did not associate what I considered to be good Halloween fun as even being remotely evil, not even when we all grew older and started rolling yards and pulling pranks. (Don’t say you never did it!) I was your typical, good, yet ignorant guy until I was 21 years old, period.

Age 21 was my first Halloween as a real Christian. Things were different. I do not mean this in a pious or self-righteous way, just factually. It dawned upon me that dressing-up like God’s enemies, acting like a fool (contrary to Scripture), and participating in pagan activities was not pleasing to God – nor Christian. Common Sense 101, right? Nor was endorsing kids’ actions (like my past ones) okay either.

Much of my life I was exactly as many people still are today. I viewed the counter-holidays like Halloween and their activities as innocent fun. In reality they are distractions. (I do NOT mean that trick-or-treating is wrong, just the way in which it is usually done, not taking Satan or demons or evil things seriously.)

Think about this for a moment: For every original holiday with any Church or Christian association at all, Satan has a counter way of celebrating the holiday. How? Please read-on.

Halloween used to be All Saints’ time, and was the day that the Protestant Reformation (really everyone’s Reformation) was acknowledged. Now it is a time of acting like God’s enemies and acting foolishly. Who sees modern Halloween and thinks of Jesus??????? Few. It is simply all a distraction.

Easter was traditionally meant to honor the resurrection of Jesus Christ (then Christ Jesus) after He willingly gave His life on a Roman Cross and then rose from the dead to atone for the sins of Believers in Him. Now Easter is a time of egg hunts, rabbits, candy baskets, games, and clothes – things that have nothing whatsoever to do with Jesus and what He did for mankind. (No, forget the ‘newness of life’ argument!) All distractions.

Christmas should be about Jesus coming to Earth and being born as a human baby for our sakes. Now, it is about a lie. What lie? SANTA CLAUS. Yes, the Bible says that lies are from Satan, that He is the Father of Lies.

There is no real Santa that goes to every house on earth bearing gifts. Yet, this character grabs the majority of attention during the Christmas Season, distracting from Jesus Christ. Satan is the Father of Santa if he is the Father of Lies as Scripture says. We even lie to kids for Satan about Santa! Christmas nowadays is about Santa and gifts and nonsense. (The Prophet Jeremiah even warns against Christmas Trees, which we praise.)

Are you seeing the pattern here? Halloween, like Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving is a big distraction by Satan to take away any holy or Christian significance. You simply cannot argue with the facts.

Georgia Bulldog Football: How ‘Bout Them Dawgs!

For about 4 decades I have been an avid University of Georgia Bulldog fan. Even before that I was a young observer that actually followed both Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia on the gridiron since about 1967. (At some point every adult Georgia citizen or resident must choose one team or the other or be considered a panderer. As kids we could like both.)

The 1980 Season once and for all cemented my decision as a Dawg fan. (I had been leaning heavily toward Georgia, versus Georgia Tech, since the ’76 Sugar Bowl Season when Georgia had completely destroyed Alabama 21-0 in Athens, prior to meeting a guy name “Dorsett” in the big game.) Why? A guy named Herschel Walker joined the team.

Herschel Walker had quite a cast of characters with him, as well. Georgia played like a unit or team that year (and for a few years thereafter) and the fabled number 34 added to the excitement. (We also had Coordinator Erk Russell’s  “Junkyard Dawg” defense that would bend but not break.) Coach Vince Dooley’s “Dooley’s Dogs” simply ROCKED both side of the football!

Between Herschel Walker’s play on the field and announcer Larry Munson’s description of Herschel’s play over the radio, I was once and for all hooked. We were the best team in the nation again that year, ranked #1 at the end of the season in both polls..

Like many other fans, I often watched the games on tv, accompanied by the radio. (If the truth be known, Munson was what always kept me glued to the radio during Georgia games, even well before number 34 ever came to play in Athens, Georgia.) Larry’s catch phrases became a part of my everyday lingo, as did particular calls he broadcasted.

Since Munson’s retirement and death, Georgia Football has lost a little of its luster, and I have certainly often been disappointed in Georgia’s play over the past 10 or15 years (even turning on them a few years ago for a brief spell), but the point of it all is their tradition and football culture. Even Georgia’s “UGA” symbol is the most recognizable mascot in all of sports, period (as ranked by multiple national sports magazines).

Like it or not (and Alabama fans don’t) Georgia is the prototype Southeastern Conference Football Team to America, and has been since the 1950s. Each league has a team that the country identifies with, and the SEC’s has always been the Georgia Bulldogs.

We are “the Face” of the SEC. The special combination of players, coaches, mascot, success, academics, tailgating, announcing, and image has always been best at the University of Georgia – and hopefully always will be.

GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JIMMY HALL IS A BUSINESS WRITER, 404-580-1501.

Happy Labor Day: Make Labor Day Count!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a great Labor Day, and symbolic end of summer. If possible, both rest and use some of this extra time wisely to take pressure off of the rest of your week.

We tend to use holidays for marking points in time. I do it constantly, to the point of beating myself up - missing my late parents. On this day in 1970, 1986, 2004, etc... I am just like that - especially around Labor Day.

Surprisingly enough, one day in upcoming years what we do today will seem like a big deal in restrospect. That's life. That's the human mind, memory, and condition. 

All of this this is especially true for nostalgic and sentimmental creatures like myself. As Paul McCartney once sang and wrote as a Beatle, "... then we will remember the things we said today..."

I guess the whole point is that holidays are a time to rewind, juice-up, socialize, and also work without being under daily work pressures. Everything we do on Labor Day seems like it is "extra" or a bonus. It almost seems like fun!

Ok, friends and acquaintances, let's go into the fall full speed with purpose and intent! Again, Happy Labor Day!!!!!