Trinity 101

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. How is everyone doing? I pray that you all find this blog in good health and spirits. I am currently in Elkridge, MD. I pretty much had yesterday and today off as far as not having any runs. Of course, it never feels like a day off when I am away from home. In fact, it is torture. But, it does offer me some time to get things done in the truck and to relax. Today, I want to write a blog that someone has requested. Actually, that someone was my wife. My wife does struggle with the trinity, which many people do. I have even heard people who said they know the trinity get it wrong. It is very difficult to understand because God is spirit and we are human. We really don't understand the spirit world. My wife is very smart though. She does understand a lot about what the Bible says and she has grasped a lot within a very short time that she has been a Christian. It amazes me. She also asked a very very good question one day while we were talking about the trinity. A question that everyone should ask when they don't understand something someone is saying when it comes to the Bible. "How do you know that what you are saying is true. Show me in the Bible." I was amazed and very pleased. We will never understand everything in the Bible. Well, not in this lifetime anyway. There are things that puzzle me. When someone tries to show us what they say is true in the Bible and we struggle with it. We may have to give up on trying to understand it and simply ask, "OK, just show me where in the Bible does it say that." If it is in the Bible then we may have to just accept it as fact without understanding it. But if the person can't show it in the Bible, then we shouldn't accept it. Do watch out though, there are things in the Bible that can appear to be one thing, but when you understand the context, it is something totally different. Be sure you understand the Books of the Bible and the events going on. For instance, a very popular thing used is that God approved slavery. This is false, you have to understand what God was saying and doing and the events of the time to understand the laws of Moses time. This blog is for those that are struggling with understanding the trinity. I am not going to go into the trinity real deep and will try to keep it real simple. I will first show where in the Bible it shows that God is three spirits in one and then give you an example of how this works using the earth family. The Bible references I will use will show that the trinity is true and the human example will hopefully help you understand. The trinity is something that I do hold passionate cause it does show God's love for us. Understanding the love of that the Father has for the Son and the Son for the Father is just amazing. And then seeing how this is supposed to be put into action in our family really helps me out in so many ways. My relationship with God has grown so much since my understanding of the trinity. I see why Jesus showing this while on earth was so important. Jesus always made it clear when He was talking about the Father or if He was talking about himself. He also clearly talked about the Holy Spirit. He always talked about the Father as another "person" and the Holy Spirit as another "person" If you believe that all three are the same "person" then you would have to say Jesus had multi-personality. Which, I don't think He did. Let me give you a few examples. John 5:42-44 "but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God[a]? Anyone who has done jobs where you go and represent someone or a company knows what it means when you go in the name of that person or company means. You are able to do anything as if you were that person or company. As a truck driver, I have lawyers who work in my name. If I get a ticket, I don't have to go to court at all. The lawyer goes in my name. They are able to make deals for me and sign any papers in my name. Here, Jesus is saying that He has come to earth "IN MY FATHER'S NAME." Now, if God is one spirit, how could He come in His own name? It would make no sense at all to say such a thing. That would be like me going to court and telling the judge that I have come in Joseph's name. I would probably have everyone stunned for awhile. lol Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Here He speaks of Father. He didn't say God or speak of Himself. He specified "Father." He does this again in many passages like Matthew 5:45, Matthew 5:48, Matthew 6:1, Matthew 6:4, Matthew 6:8, Matthew 6:6 and many many other passages. If God was one spirit, Jesus would have said "me" instead of "Father" Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Something interesting in this passage. Notice that people run to Jesus saying "Lord, Lord" and then Jesus says that only those who do the will of "His Father" will enter the kingdom. In this passage, Jesus is clearly saying that He is Lord and that the Father is in heaven. Matthew 10:20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. The spirit of the Father that is referred to here is the Holy Spirit. Jesus is speaking of the Holy Sprit as a separate sprit and not as Himself. Matthew 10:37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Here is one of many passages where Jesus speaks of Himself and not the Father or the Holy Spirit. Notice that He is saying that we are not to love our father (earth father) or mothers more then Him (Jesus). Matthew 11:25 - 27 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Jesus was speaking to His Father in heaven here. He didn't speak to Himself. He also clearly says "all things have been committed to me (Jesus) by my (Jesus) Father. The only way we can know the Father is through the Son, Jesus Christ. And in another passage you will see that the only way to know Jesus Christ is through the Holy Spirit. Matthew 12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Again, two different spirits here. Jesus says you have to do the will of His (Jesus) Father in order to be His (Jesus) brother and sister and mother. Matthew 12:32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. This is the unforgivable sin which is also called blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It is the only unforgivable sin. Notice that we can speak against Jesus and the Father and be forgiven. But if we speak against the Holy Spirit, we will not be forgiven. Another indication that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are separate spirits. There is a reason why it is important not to speak against the Holy Spirit and why that sin can't be forgiven. Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, We are baptized in the name of three different spirits Mark 3:29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” This is the same thing said in Matthew 12 Matthew 3:16 - 17 As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased." Here you had all three spirits. The Son (Jesus), the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of God), and the Father (the voice from heaven). This wasn't one spirit playing all three parts of God. Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Again, two spirits of God here. The Holy Sprit and Jesus. Matthew 26:39 Going a little farther, He fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet, not as I will, but as you will." Some of Jesus' prayers can be argued that He was just setting an example for us. But there are other, like this one, that we can't say that. This was a real plea He was making to His Father. And if you read the whole story, you know that no one was watching Him do this prayer. Another good example of a bunch of prayers Jesus did that can't be said to be an example were the one Jesus did every morning. Jesus was the Son who was here on earth in the flesh. He had feelings. He was afraid to die and His flesh didn't want to die. He was asking His Father to not let it happen but then says if it has to then let it be. The morning prayers Jesus did was cause Jesus did miss the relationship that He had with His Father in heaven. Think about it. The Father, Son (which was the Word), and the Holy Spirit lived together since .... well .... forever. Now, He is on earth and don't have that personal contact anymore. So, He made it a point to get up early and pray. These are just a very small amount of verses that show that God is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three spirits in one. Now, you may have heard people use the following as a way to explain this: I am a man. I am a father to my kids, a husband to my wife and a son to my parents but I am one man. This is a poor example of the trinity cause I am one body with three different responsibilities. I have never spoke to my daughter telling her that I do the husbands will like Jesus has told His disciples that He does His Fathers will. God isn't one spirit with three different responsibilities. God is three different spirits. Each Spirit is Different with different responsibilities and the three work together for the same goal. Here is an illustration I like to use: My wife and I are individuals and two different people. We each have different responsibilities, but as husband and wife, we are one and we are the Jones Family. Two people with one goal in life and one in spirit. We both love to spend time together and to talk. We both want what is best for our family and work together to make sure that our family is OK. Nothing can take us apart. We are two people who are one. I am my wife and she is me. The Father, Son, and Holy Sprit are three who are one God. The three have the same goals and work together. They love each others company and communicate all the time. They love each other. I pray that this has been helpful. Take care and God Bless Love, The Oklahoma Tomcat Follow me at www.twitter.com/oktomcat Friend me at www.facebook.com/oktomcat watch my videos at www.youtube.com/oktomcat read my blogs at http://theoklahomatomcat.blogspot.com

Serve your employer

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. - Ephesians 6:5-8 NIV


Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How is everyone doing? I pray that this blog finds you in good health and spirits. Things are going pretty good out here. I am currently temporarily assigned to our Best Buy account out of Elkridge, MD. This is a brand new account that Werner got. Another trucking company use to have it but they messed up and Best Buy got rid of them and contracted to us. This goes to show how easy it is for companies to lose customers and this does affect every employee. Werner grabbed three experienced drivers, I am one of them, and put us on the account temporarily just in case something goes wrong. Our job is to help shuttle trailers around and to stand buy as back up drivers. Once our bosses see that everything is going smooth and back up is no longer needed, then we will go back onto whatever account we were on. For me, that is 48 states. I like this account, just not too fond of the location and that they deliver to areas like NJ, MD, and Washington DC. Oh man, I had to deliver to stores in Washington DC last week and it is crazy. No wonder why our elected leaders are crazy, I would be too if I had to drive in that area. The bicycle riders are the craziest too. They weave in and out of traffic and don't really watch what they are doing. A couple of times a bicycle rider rode in between my truck and a car on my left. THAT IS SUICIDE!! You can tell they don't know a thing about big trucks otherwise they would know that I can't see them at all when they ride along side my truck.

Anyway, Saturday my boss said something that reminded me of a blog I wrote in July of 2010 titled "Huge changes at the Jones Family" In this blog I asked if God is pleased when people don't use the gifts He gave us. The answer of course is no, He isn't happy. Anyway, my boss told me that he will be unhappy when I leave this account. He said that I am very good at my job and he doesn't have very many people who can back a truck like I can. You see, God gave me my gifts. All I do is use them as God has told me to. That is the other thing. It is terrible that if you work as God has told us to, you are looked at as a "brown nose" in todays society. Do you realize that if every Christian worked as God has told us to that every employer would bend over backwards to hire Christians. Not just cause we are Christians, but cause everyone would know that Christians are hard workers. God is smart. He knows what employers want and He told us how to get the promosions, the raises, and keep our jobs. Now I know some people will see the Bible verse above and say, "But that is talking about slaves." Actually, back in the time that these verses were written, if you worked for someone, you were a slave or you were an apprentice (a slave learning a skill). If you were not able to make it on your own you would willingly be someones slave and work for board, food, and a little spending cash. Today, you work for someone for money to pay for board, food, and other things. So, in a sense, you are a slave to your boss and therefor, this verse applies to you. And notice that it says not to work just for your boss' approval. Meaning, don't just look good in front of your boss. God is always watching you and He is the one you should impress. If you impress God, you will impress your boss. God knows that an employer will know a fake. One day I was shuttling trailers from one side of the building to another. As many of you know, your boss isn't watching you when you are a truck driver. My boss just sent me a huge list of trailers to move. So, I started moving them as fast, but yet as safe as possible. I knew my boss wasn't watching and he couldn't see what I was doing on the qual-comm cause I was staying around the building (qual-comm can track drivers from city to city like a GPS). I could have taken breaks and played on the computer and my boss would not know. But I work for God who would know. So, I kept moving the trailers. After I got the last trailer dropped, I sent a message to my boss saying that the trailers have been moved and went to the guard to get the locks for the trailer. As I was getting the locks, my boss came out and said, "You got all those trailers moved already. You are a one man show out here." He was impressed. There is a reason God tells us to work hard and to work as we are working for Him. It is human nature to look at our boss and think "Why should I work so hard for this man. Who is he? He puts his pants on the same way I do." But if you are a Christian and love God, then you know you can't honestly say those things to Him. You know you have to work extra hard for Him and He doesn't put His pants on the same way we do (if He wears pants at all. lol). God is someone and He has done a lot for us. Therefor, when you work, work for God and not for your employer. Treat your employers equipment with care because it belongs to God, do what your employer says because it is God who wants you to do the work, and respect your employer cause by doing so, you are respecting God. In doing this, you will notice the rewards that God will give you. But also, keep this in mind. You should be concerned for your employers success anyway. If your employer fails, every employee fails. You want your employer to stay in business cause if your employer doesn't, then you are out of a job.

Now, when I am talking about the good job I do at work, I really am not bragging. I am human and I know it is very very hard to get motivated to work. Now, I do have a slight advantage, I love to drive trucks. So, I do enjoy my job. But, I am a very lazy person. Very lazy. I would love nothing less then to get paid to be home and play on the computer all day long. If anyone can find me a job where I get paid as much as I do now to be home and play on the computer all day, please let me know. I also know how hard it is to have a positive attitude when things go wrong, and how hard it is to listen to a man who has never done what you are doing at your job. I know, I am human and I have those exact thought. But the thing is to let the Holy Spirit push you in the direction you must go. Understand what God wants you to do when it comes to work and that God wants you to listen to your boss. God has given you the gifts and the ability to do the work He wants you to do. All you have to do is do His will.

Well, speaking of work, I better get to bed so I will have the energy I need to do my work. Y'all take care and God bless.

Love,
The Oklahoma Tomcat

You can find me on facebook at www.facebook.com/oktomcat or follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/oktomcat. I am also on youtube at www.youtube.com/oktomcat

Following the Holy Spirit

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. How is everyone doing? I pray that this blog finds everyone in good health and spirits. Things have been going kinda rough out here. My student has not been following highway signs. He will end up in the wrong lane, taking wrong exits, missing exits, and taking wrong turns. I held him back from moving on in his training (pretty much failing him) and gave him lots of lectures. I even let him make the mistakes hoping that he will see that he must follow the signs. None of it worked. He just kept making excuses and telling me that he can pay attention to the signs. Well, this morning he continued to miss every exit and even changed lanes into an exit only lane when we are not supposed to exit. A couple of times he made last minute emergency lane changes to avoid exiting the highway. I was done. I took the steps needed to turn him over to safety for evaluation. After we got to our destination I told him the mistakes he made because he wasn't paying attention to signs. Again, he made excuses. I told him that he has been doing this for over a week now. I then told him that I will be taking him to the terminal and safety will evaluate him and determine where he goes from here. Then he started blaming me. He asked how many students have I turned back to safety. I told him that in the 8 years I have been training, he is the only one. He then drew the race card. He said that is probably because he is black. It is a good thing that I am well prepared for people who use the race card. I told him that it is interesting that he thinks that I can train truck drivers for 8 years and that he would be my first black student. It is also interesting that he thinks that I could work in the safety office and never have a black truck driver come into the office. I have found that people who pull the race card usually don't think before they speak. They act on emotion. I gave him a good speech about what he just insinuated and then told him that what he just said tells me that my training him is over with because he thinks I am racist and therefor he will never listen to me. But then I felt a little tug. Actually, it was a push. I was being pushed into giving him a test. A test to let him prove he can follow signs. The push was by the Holy Spirit. But why? Why would the Holy Spirit want me to even consider giving this student a second chance? I know he has not been following signs. I had my student pick up the map and route us to our drop yard in Kansas City, MO. I had him write down the route. I told him that I will give him one more chance to prove he can follow signs. He routed himself and he will do all the driving. I will not say a word. If he failed then there is no excuse we will head to Omaha, NE. He agreed and was excited. He double checked his route, triple checked. It was a real simple route. I-29 South, I-435 West, exit 54 and go east on Parvin Rd, then South on Kentucky. He gets going and all is going good so far. He makes it to I-435 without any problems. He then comes up on exit 54 and the exit sign says that the first road is 48th street and the second road is Parvin road. He comes up on the first road and stops. A sign in front of him says "No trucks east on 48th street." He turns on his blinker to turn east ... then makes the turn. I think to myself 'he actually missed that sign and is going to mess up.' He then comes to a red light and across the road there is a sign that says "No trucks." The light turned green and he continued east on 48th street. I waited until he got to the sign and I told him to stop. I pointed the sign to him. He tried to tell me that he saw the sign and was about to stop. I then had him turn around and we went to the other sign. We pulled over and I pointed it to him. He was silent. I then got us someplace safe to park and I reminded him of our agreement earlier. I told him that he has no excuse for missing the first sign and he should not have waited til we got up to the sign to stop. I believe he didn't even see the second sign and would have gone on past the sign. He didn't say a word and I actually saw his eyes water. I knew that he finally saw that he was missing the signs. I then had him continue taking us to the drop yard. Once at the yard I felt another push by the Holy Spirit. I saw that the Holy Spirit helped me get through to my student. He knew that my student was going to mess up real bad and knew that it would open my students eyes. The problem before was that my students eyes were not open to see his mistake. Now that my student's eyes were open, he now may learn and pay attention. Now the Holy Spirit was asking me to continue training the student. So I lectured to the student some more making sure that he saw what I have been getting onto him all this time. That he wasn't paying attention to signs and that it was something he had to be aware of and that he had to start paying attention. I can't teach someone how to pay attention. He also had to realize that I have been doing this for a long time. I am not knew at training and I have a very good record when it comes to students leaving my truck. Then I asked him if he wants to learn to drive professionally. He said yes. I told him he has to listen. He said he will. I let him know that I will continue to train him.

When we are given a gift we do have to remember who is ultimately in charge. I was ready to give up on this student. Especially when he played the race card. That is something people have to think about. If you play the race card, it will not always give you the results you want. Someone like me looks at it as you are not going to cooperate anyway cause you think I am racist. But in this case, my boss (God) told me not to give up on the student. God knew that if I give him a test where the student was going to make all the calls, the student would mess up and see that he has no one else to blame. Especially when I went back and showed him the signs he passed. God does know what best to do. God knows everything that will happen and if we follow Him then everything will work out. I am so glad that I followed the Holy Spirit because down deep inside. I never want to turn a student into safety.

Take care and God Bless.

Love,

The Oklahoma Tomcat

http://www.facebook.com/oktomat