49 things that truly matter, in my humble opinion.

Ecclesiastes 9:11-13King James Version (KJV)

11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:

Tomorrow I turn 49 (by the mercy of God). I suppose that my age and my health are causing me to feel a little philosophical. I may not have very many folks that listen to anything I have to say, but I thought I would tell you all some of the things of importance that I have learned in my time on this earth. 

Maybe it will help some of you.

1) Our first priority is Jesus. Period. Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 
2) Jesus is God alone. 

1 Timothy 1:16-18King James Version (KJV)

16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

3) The only biblical plan of salvation, given by Jesus and the apostles, is Acts 2:38. Proof? John 3:1-8, Acts 2:37-40, Acts 10:43-48, Acts 19: 1-7. 

4) In matters of priority, God created the family 4000 years BEFORE he created the church. Church is important, to be sure. But, the family is the higher priority. 

5) Jesus didn't go to the cross to create a religion. HE went to the cross to gain relationship with whosoever will enter into it with him. 

6) Holiness is still necessary.

7) Holiness is NOT a system of rules and regs. That's religion. Holiness is an abiding relationship with Jesus on the inside that changes how you think, act, and look on the outside. 

8) Though I am not against  church buildings, the early church met in homes and fields (sometimes underground). There were no church buildings, as such, until 200 plus AD. Therefore, local churches should be MUCH more people focused and MUCH less building focused.

9) As much as we may not like it, Gospel music has always incorporated the musical styles of the day. From Handel's Messiah to today's "Gospel rap," this trend has never stopped. That's not to say that all "Gospel music" is pleasing to God- it depends on the heart of the hearer and the words of the song. But, if God can speak through a donkey, he can speak through modern music. If we are going to insist upon doing things exactly the way they did in scripture (musically speaking), then we need to go back to the Jewish style singing and instruments they used back then. Anybody know what that is? 

10) The best glimpse of the love of God that I've ever personally seen is the faithfulness and forgiveness of my wife Della Mae Winskie. She has put up with a lot over the last 16 plus years. And scripture tells me that God is much more forgiving than my wife! Amazing!

11) My dad may not be perfect, but the older I get, the more I appreciate the little things he does and has done. I love you, Butch Winskie.

12) I love all four of my children (William Martin, Erica Martin, Heather Sinsley, and Jonathan Winskie). I truly pray that we can have a loving gathering together very soon! And please bring my grandchildren so we can spoil them! 

13)  After my heart attack and death on the table, I understand that every day is a gift from God. Let's make the most of each second he gives us. 

14) All the things we strive for and all the things we think are so important in this life, won't matter a hill of beans when we stand before Jesus on judgement day. He won't care what political party we supported, what music group we listened to, or what car we drive, He won't be concerned with the size of our house or bank accounts. He will be concerned with how we worshiped and obeyed him. He will be concerned with how we treated our fellow man. He will be concerned with how we loved our families and friends.  

15) The USA is the greatest country in the history of the world, as long as we stick to our founding documents and stay with the Bible. The extent to which we have walked away from scripture and the Constitution, is the extent to which we have torn away much of that greatness and replaced it with false gods and terrible government. 

16) I remember being told that if you have gained 1 close friend for each decade you live on this earth you are doing well. At the time ( I was a teenager), I thought I had a lot of friends and that's how it would always be. I was wrong. I have a hand full of good friends and I thank God for every weird one of you! (I'm weird too)

17) What you believe is not based on what you say, Rather what you believe is based on what you do. Jesus won't say, "well said, my good and faithful." He will say, "Well DONE, my good and faithful servant," 

18) Enjoy your parents while you have them. One day, you won't be able to pick up the phone and call them: and you'll wish you could. 

19) We owe a great debt of gratitude to our founding fathers and veterans. Look around the world a bit, an you'll see that we are still the best thing going. 

20) Enjoy your children while you can. One day they will grow up and move out. 

21) Sometimes, we have to apologize even when we haven't done wrong, in order to maintain a good relationship. It's not so much about who's right as it is about keeping the relationship together,

22) A day well spent with family is far better than weeks in the company board room. 

23) Education (in and of itself) is not what helps you. Rather, it's what you are educated about that makes the difference. 

24) War is sometimes necessary to defend yourself. The best way to stop a bully is to defeat them. 

25) Guns truly do not kill people. However, if somebody breaks into our home and threatens my family, a gun will kill and intruder. 

26) Grandchildren are to be enjoyed, spoiled, and handed back to the children. 

27) Anybody who is cruel to animals and children, deserves to be locked up and beaten daily. 

28) You can't pick your children's spouses, and there will be things about them that irritate you. So, raise your children to seek God about their prospective spouse. And pray that the Lord will help you not go off on the ones they choose. 

29) Men, work hard and try hard to take care of your family. That's your God-given job. 

30) Your children will, to some degree or another, rebel against you. So, I say stay weird. When they rebel, they will be normal!

31) Seek the Lord with your whole heart in all that you do.

32) That person in your life that drives you crazy and makes life hard? Yep. They were put there by God to encourage you to pray and for you to be a witness to. No matter how bad they are treating you, they are watching your life to see if your walk matches your talk. 

33) Yes, your wife is right the majority of the time. She was put there to help you be a better man. Listen and change and she'll stop nagging. 

34) The hardest thing for men to do is to admit we are wrong. A real man admits his mistakes and repents. A sorry man won't.

35) There is no scripture that uses the term "woman of God." Can we please stop using it? 

36) That saying, "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" is a lie. If we keep our enemies close, we shouldn't be surprised when they stab us in the back. 

37) The pastor or preacher is not in the family chain of command. It says, God- husband-wife-children. It doesn't say God-pastor-husband-wife-children. Men, we are the priests of our homes, not the pastor. It's high time we act like it!

38) Head of the home does not mean Lord of the castle. We are heirs together of the grace of God. We may have different jobs in God's word, but we are in this thing together. 

39) Racism has NO place in the people of God. Jesus made all nations of ONE blood. We go to heaven together or hell alone. 

40) Government is not the answer for our national (or international) problems. What makes us think they can solve our personal problems? Jesus has the answer, not government.

41) If we spend all our time chasing entertainment (TV, movies, games, books, etc), we should not be surprised to find ourselves alone and broke when we are old. 

42) Open your mouth with positive things as much as possible. The world has enough negative. 

43) Preachers are meant to "reprove, rebuke, AND exhort WITH all longsuffering AND doctrine." If we can't (or aren't willing to) do all of it, then we should do none of it.

44) Part of the churches job IS to help those in need. Stop complaining about it and start doing it. It'd God's money anyway. If we do it, the Government won't have to and will have no excuse for trying to run our lives.  

45) Regardless of our past training or what we want to believe, God is always right. 

46) No matter how good the restaurant, home cooking will always be better. 

47) The worst thing a man can say to their wife is, "my momma didn't do it that way." Conversely, the worst thing a wife can say to her husband is, "my daddy never did it that way." Neither statement is a good idea. 

48) Where science and the Bible disagree, science hasn't caught up to God. 

49) The grass that looks greener on the other side, will be full of ants and other pests when you get there. 

OK, I hope this will help somebody. 

God bless you all.