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WILLIE WONKA'S "WORLD OF PURE IMAGINATION" IS NOTHING IN COMPARISON TO GOD'S GLORIOUS AND MAJESTIC "WORLD OF HOLY AND REAL CREATION OF UNFATHOMABLE DELIGHTS" THAT AWAIT HIS CHILDREN IN HEAVEN
NOW HOW IS THAT FOR A TITLE FOR A BLOG PAGE? Stay with me folks, and it will all pan out and make more sense as you read on.
Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I pray you have been having a blessed and productive day in The Lord on this beautiful Thursday, August 24, 2017. My day has been a bit hectic, but only because I wake up with an active mind and a long list of "THINGS THAT I NEEDED TO GET DONE". It seems the older I get the longer that "TO DO LIST" gets. Perhaps it is because, when we are in our early fifties and grow older, we finally arrive at a place in our lives where those things that we once thought were so crucial (successful careers, financial gains, fame, and the best of everything we thought life had to offer) aren't what is important at all. When a man finds himself facing the reality that he is now in his mid-fifties, early sixties, his paradigm shifts -- he slows down and begins to stop and smell the roses-- the very same blooms that he has planted in a garden that he never took the time to establish and nurture. Okay, enough with the "middle age blues" song and dance stuff folks. Who am I kidding? Yes, I may find myself not caring as much with what other people may think of me. And yes, I live in the real world where I am no longer young, fresh and as agile as I was in my early twenties. But phooey on deciding to grow old, crotchety and inactive. Who cares that when I go out to a restaurant the waitress just assumes I am a Senior Citizen and I get 10% off of my bill when I go to cash out my ticket...Thank you God!
I jokingly tell folks I meet that it is a good day when I wake up and my name and picture isn't in the Obituary section of the local newspaper. If I am still breathing then God still has work for me to do. I am determined to keep pressing on in this life and when you surrender your life to God and His plans and purposes He has for you, I tell people to get ready, hold on tight, and prepare for the ride of your life. My body may be 54 years old, but in my spirit, I am in my early twenties and by His grace and mercy, I believe I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me - Amen? You know folks, there are even times when I find myself standing in utter AWE and AMAZEMENT at God's Faithfulness to His Promises. It is as I stand in this amazement that I oftentimes feel like a young boy who is experiencing things in life for the first time again.
When God reveals Himself to me in various ways, I find myself becoming giddy like a child in a candy store (much like the scene when Willie Wonka finally reveals his secret "World of Pure Imagination" to the chosen few children, who have found the Golden Ticket. As they enter the mysterious majestic building and welcome the children into The Grand Room of Sugary Delights, the children scramble about discovering that everything they see is edible; oversized flowers that have cream-filled centers; a river made of hot chocolate with billowy marshmallow fluff; and taffy vines that cling to on an edible white chocolate picket fence and so much more.. If it is not obvious to you yet, the 1971 movie entitled "Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory" was one of my favorite childhood movies. The big reveal of The Grand Room and everything being edible and made of candy always had me drooling and salivating. As kids the only time that I and my three brothers saw candy was at Halloween. Now I realize that in certain Christian camps today, parents forbid their kids from celebrating this holiday because it is affiliated with Satan. I personally would offer kids today to celebrate a Harvest Festival at a local church where they still can dress in appropriate costumes and play games and receive plenty of candy. However, back in the early 1970's my parents only saw the holiday as something that allowed kids to dress up in fun costumes and go door to door in the neighborhood and get candy dropped in a brown shopping bag. I must interject with a confession here: I didn't use a chintzy old brown shopping bag-- I used one of those large plastic Yard Leave Bags; and yes, I would circulate the entire neighborhood (up to twelve blocks minimum), come home and put on a different costume and try to change my voice and go to the same houses for a second portion of goodies. I know folks, I desperately needed Jesus back then! My attempts to "double-dip" in the second time around disguise wasn't always a success because some elderly lady would yell at me, "Say, you've already been here earlier...that's you isn't Jerry Hudson?" Of course, this would abruptly end my quest for seconds. I wouldn't be as bummed about failing to bring in more sweet loot a second time around, but I would be frustrated that I wasn't able to disguise my voice when I hollered "Trick or Treat" at those same doors again. (Perhaps that is why I became an actor when I grew up-- I learned how to disguise my voice as I studied the various accents from other countries. I do a mean "British Accent" and I'm not too bad with a "French Accent" but I sometimes slip and slide into a "Spanish Accent".)
Wow, talk about jumping onto a Rabbit Trail? Sorry about that folks. Let me get back to my story about Willie Wonka! I found the idea of those children tearing open the wrappers in the chocolate bars in hopes of finding the Golden Ticket very intriguing. In fact, for weeks after watching :"Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory" I would rush out to the local drug store down the street and buy as many Hershey's chocolate bars I could with the money I would make from my paper route. Of course, I know this sort of thing only happens in Hollywood movies, and I never found a "golden ticket" when I tore open those wrappers, but I never stopped looking for one either (and I had more than my share of stomach aches from all of that chocolate).. Oh, but to be one of the chosen few who would retrieve the Golden Ticket-- and now I can say that when I met Jesus Christ and made Him my Lord and Savior, I received THE GOLDEN TICKET (The Gift of Salvation and Redemption through Jesus Christ). A peculiar analogy? Perhaps!. But I do think it is a very approprie homology indeed! Like the Dove Award Winning Song by Christian Artists Mercy Me - I CAN ONLY IMAGINE - It is true! I can only imagine, or perhaps I really can't begin to fathom at all, what Heaven is going to be like. A Golden Ticket (The Gift of Salvation because of Jesus Christ Our Lord, Savior and Redeemer) and Streets of Pure Gold? I have heard from those whom have experienced The Blessed Privilege of Visiting Heaven that the flowers sing, the River of Life is like a shiny sheet of glass and the colors are breathtaking and almost indescribable! (And for those of you who know me well, I have already been asking God for a couple of Zebras grazing in the backyard of the home Jesus has built for me-- who knows, maybe these zebras (and all animals in heaven) will also be able to talk! This is why I say it is almost Unfathomable to begin to imagine what Heaven is going to be like.
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1 Corinthians 2:9New King James Version (NKJV)
9 But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.
Thank you for visiting my blog page and please stop by again. Also, please tell your family and friends about this new blog page. Stay tuned, because I never know when The Holy Spirit may give me a Prophetic Word or a Word of Knowledge, or have me share a divine Vision or Dream for You (and/or The Body of Christ). Be blessed and be a blessing to someone today in Jesus' Name!
Much Love, Prayers and blessings Ya'all! :}
J.
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