‘‘Twas The Day After Christmas

‘‘Twas the day after Christmas
And all through the village
People’s holiday refuse lined the roadside
Just waiting to be pillaged.

There’s a tv box here
 and a new recliner to boot
There’s a turkey’s cooked carcass
And plenty of fruitcake to suit

In all of the rubbish
 and trees in the trash
You’ll also find The Christmas Spirit
That was discarded so fast

If Christmas is so important
And you say that it’s true
Why isn’t this Christmas spirit carried over
Practiced all the way through

There is a reason
 and this is no lie
The real reason for Christmas
 is that Christ came to die

When you believe that reason
It also must be said
He was also buried for three days
Then rose from the dead

Believe on him with out delay
And you too will find
It’s not a Christmas Holiday
It’s actually God’s plan to mind.
- Original poem by Tim Delello
Published by Happy Day Publishing Company 12/26/17 8:22am

Lessons From The Zombie Salmon

Sometime ago I was able to go salmon fishing in Upstate NY. I was so excited when my lure had been taken by a fish. As I struggled to bring the fish to the riverbank I noticed the fight was not nearly as hard as I had envisioned. When the fish broke the water’s surface I found that I had been busy “landing” a zombie fish. I was frustrated. What I had caught was a near dead stinky white spotted fish that was of no use. It couldn’t swim upstream. It floated with the current. It couldn’t spawn. All it could do was destroy the life of the eggs that other salmon had spawned and fertilized to propagate the species for one more year. 

I’ve had my fair share of zombie Christians too. They also have no fight. They refuse to spawn spiritually. They sit around not picking the progress others are making and destroy the lives of the future of the church by devouring their zeal and enthusiasm. They aren’t involved in the church’s outreach. They don’t give faithfully. They just stick around wasting their life interfering with the hopes of fishermen lining the shore. They too stink. Everyone can tell they stink. They are very offensive. They are bitter, condescending, and full of scorning. 

The only recourse is to drag them out of the water and let them die so they do not destroy any other “eggs” or waste anyone else’s time and energy. Zombie Salmon refused to swim upstream. They took their time enjoying the river and weren’t focused on the time they had left. They got distracted by the world around them and didn’t pay attention to the changing of seasons and times. When they came to adversity they stopped swimming. Sure they are in the river but they are NO good to anyone. Not even to themselves. Nobody wants a zombie fish. Not even the bears (Satan) will eat them. They line the riverside rotting to death. Their meat is rough and nasty. They are a detriment to everyone and everything around them. 

Don’t be a zombie salmon. Keep swimming. Leave new lives alone. Stop offending. Pay attention to the seasons and times. Overcome adversity. Don’t be a distraction to those doing the work. 

Repent Of Your Sins

The only thing a person has to repent of for salvation is from anything they are trusting in for salvation other than Jesus Christ. Romans 11:6. Hebrews 6:1-2. Repentance towards God means “God is right my way is wrong” and faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ means “I am trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and him alone” for salvation. Anything else is a work of our own self righteousness and is not of faith. It is heresy. It is putrid. Nobody has ever come to God by their conscious, by works, by the law, by religion, by the blood of animals, by sacraments, by turning over a new leaf etc. 

If you peddle any such trash you are a heretic. You are a false teacher. Your god is your belly. You are a messenger of antichrist. 

Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace are ya saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast

Titus 3:5a

not by works of righteousness that we have done 

Romans 6:23 for the wages of sin is death...(not repentance...not membership...not religion...not reform...not remorse...DEATH. )

But the gift (freely given- not earned- not bartered- not a contract based on your self righteousness or sincerity to give up the things you are convicted of or over) of God (not of me or of you or of some preacher or some religious thought or action) is eternal life (all that man contributes to is death) through Jesus Christ our Lord. (He’s the only way in. His death burial and resurrection. Anything else is a false gospel.)