When asked what my motto was, I said, "visions are real."  Being a visionary person is incredibly important.  Otherwise, our imagination is limited and the creative side of our brain grows dormant.  What does a blind person see?  We learn about this in today's podcast.

We continue with our series of short stories in the bible that need explaining.  This is part 2 of Naaman being healed from our last week's study.  We discover this week that Gehazi, Elisha's servant, steels the gifts from Naaman that were intended for Elisha; the very gifts he refused to receive.  Gehazi is caught and punished and his family suffers too.  We learn how our ego, greed, and pride can run interference with our life with Christ.

Naaman was the commanding chief of the King's army and loved by the King.  He was sent to see Elisha because of his leprosy.  Naaman becomes indignant because Elisha wouldn't personally see him to cast healing over him.  He was sent to the Jordan to wash 7 times.  Naaman left angry and stomped away.  This story expresses the need for humility and humbling ourselves before the Lord.  How humble are you?

We are starting a series about the meaning of stories in the bible.  This particular story is about how Elisha caused a lost ax head in the Jordan river to float.  His prophet friend that lost the ax head while working, prayed to Elisha to help him find it...he was distressed because they were poor and he borrowed the ax.  We are learning about casting and what Elisha did to retrieve the ax.  Remember, prayer is not a monologue, but it is a dialogue with God.  Elisha was a teacher of his students, but he was a doer as well.  He demonstrated leadership.

Some people refer to Psalms 91 as the soldier's prayer. We learn from this chapter about 12 things that God will do for us, and 7 tasks that God wants us to do.  It's important that we recognize Him as our place of refuge, our guide, and that He has sent angels to watch over us.  There is a lot to learn today.

Mr. Warner was my metal shop and mechanical drawing teacher at Lincoln Jr. High back in the 60's.  He was a stern man that taught me some life skills and I know he liked me as a student.  Sometimes it took a slap on the leg with a short stick to get a person to pay attention and learn fast!  He was a great mentor and a REAL man that taught us Respect, Encouragement, Attitude, and Listening skills. I miss him.

We can easily be discouraged when someone asks us if we are holy?  This holiness centers around at what we work at doing.  Here are the take-a-ways in today's podcast!

. Be holy (accept Christ)…living a holy life (work at it.)

. Live in peace, and work at it!

. Look after each other

. Keep people from falling short of the grace of God

. Watch out that you don’t become susceptible to the poisons of this world, and then pass it along to others like a virus.