Tag: christian

The Veteran

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The Veteran

No matter the politics, or which side of the fence you sit on, the veteran serves this country. The constitution that all of you Americans enjoy the freedoms given, was paid for and continues to be paid for by the veteran. No matter what you’re faith, your heritage, respect for out veterans that gives us the protection we so appreciate. It is by the blood we have the greatest gift we could ever hope for. Beyond our beloved country we have the kingdom of Heaven we fight for. I am a United States veteran of foreign wars but beyond that and more importantly I’m a veteran of this spiritual war we fight daily. I am a soldier for CHRIST AND I’M THANKFUL TO CALL MYSELF A VETERAN FOR GOD.

Just as veterans shed blood for our freedoms, Christ’s blood was shed for our sins, Hebrews 9-13-14“For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the [b]purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without [c]spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” While there is no more blood needed to be sacrificed, the continuing war rages on and we are on the front line of an invisible war, that we cannot see, but we feel the effect every day. Satan and his demons interfere in our human affairs, but no matter the day, Christ still sits at the right hand of the father on high, and we are always on the winning side. Freedom always takes blood, and blood with no spots was shed for you and me, and all those before, and all those to come after. How wonderful it is to know the army of saints in which I fight for. God, Jesus Christ is the greatest general of all time. Jesus Christ’s war plan is perfect, and we soldiers of Christ shall fear not for we know the way the story ends. We shall not fret over the lost, and do not cry for saint’s who’ve fallen in the name of the Lord who were beautiful soldiers who live for the Lord, instead rejoice and be glad in their new home seated in front of the father in Heaven. Be grateful for the saints who’ve been slain in the fight against darkness, for they are at peace now. I shall not fear the evil for I know who art with me who protects me. Psalm 27:1-2“The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked came against me. To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell.”

I fought a war of men, and now I fight a war, waged in the spiritual. We sacrifice by picking up our cross and letting go of this world. Much like picking up a weapon giving up a life at home with families, soldiers prepare for battle, rush into danger and fight the war. The sacrifice is never in vein and we shall be blessed for more than we could ever hope for. Stay focused on our General and trust with every breath we take until the last. We will be rewarded for fighting the good fight, and finishing the race.

Live For God, Live For Love

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Live For God, Live For Love

Psalm 90:3-4“You turn man to destruction, And say, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night.”

 

Awaken to God, allow your heart to be opened to God, trust that God has made you, and though we are small, God gives us hope in Jesus Christ. This faith is so big that even the faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain. God is so great He paints a masterpiece daily. We are a part of that painting, and we often forget how big God is, and how very small we are. When we consider the vastness of our universe how expansive it is, and yet how perfectly it all fits together how can we not think there is a great creator? From the perfect spin rate of the earth, to the perfect tilt, to the perfect distance from the sun, and at only 500 seconds for the suns warmth to touch us here on earth, we are blessed at the wondrous expanse of the cosmos.

 

You are a tiny blip of dust in the sunbeam. In a quote by Carl Sagan“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there–on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.” God is great, God is perfect and it’s not for us to figure everything out. When we realize how small we are we can realize what God can do. When we are smaller then a grain of sand and God is so sovereign we can realize we were never meant to travel this life alone. A journey around the sun, 584 million miles, at almost 900 spinning miles per hour, and we think we are ordinary. God loves us tiny little creatures, He cherishes us so much that Jesus was born to fix, and restore our very nature of our selfish sins. Jesus Christ hung on a tree to show us how important we are. Jesus Christ had a chance and in a perfect act of love, no matter the pain, no matter the humiliation, the matter the temptations, remained on that cross to take the full wrath of the father, and that makes us extraordinary. We are small yes, but God knows every tiny bit of who we are and God knows each one of us individually. In my life, which is nothing compared to eternity with God, Jesus knows me by name. With so much in this universe Jesus Christ wants more than for me to be ordinary, and for that find the joy to awaken you, the blood that saves you, and find that at least for me, the universal sacrifice took me from small, to extraordinary.

 

God came to our blue little marble in the vast expanse of the cosmos to rescue us, to give us a chance, a single chance of something so special, so wonderful that to just follow the son, so that we may be gifted, inherit the kingdom of God. This God who created perfection, created every single one of us to be vastly different from the next person, a breath of life to live in a relationship with God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NKJV)31 “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” No matter what we do, we do it all for the glory of God because God will be around long after I return to dust, He was here long before I was thought of, and I trust that a God big enough to paint the cosmos pays attention to a little creature like me.

 

I hope that I can find favor in God, draw in God’s wisdom, and be filled with a sense of peace in the vastness of chaos that is this life. What are you living for, that our lives have become all about ‘me’ and we think we are big stuff on this blue ball floating in the vastness of space? Knowing I am small, and God is big, I feel comfortable knowing that it isn’t about me, and I never have to take this journey alone. I know that Jesus Christ is my savior, my hope in a world that seems so dark. I know that when I live according to God’s rule, and living for God’s glory, that I may be forgiven of my selfish sinful desires. I know that no matter how big the universe is, God came to this tiny blue marble to save us because no matter how amazingly small we are, God knows my name. That is love, and that’s the kind of love we should share with everyone we meet because there is no greater gift than that of love, unconditional, unselfish love. This life is a miracle everyday, and the miracle is not that we are living on a perfectly planned planet, in a perfect spot in the universe, the miracle is that God wants to go with on our every day journey, and we deserve to do more then give a nod to God, but our whole, undivided heart is for God. How wonderful a thought, how wonderful a sentiment, that God loves and adores little ol’ me.

 

 

You Test Me!?

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You Test Me!?

Satan tested me recently by tempting me away from my faith for the carnal and deny Gods truth. What is truth you ask? Is truth something we all have, a subjective viewpoint in which anyone’s perspective has merit and truth is in the eye of the beholder? The Devil wants you to believe that anything goes so long as you believe it’s ‘right’ in your heart. Scripture is clear about truth, and if we do not believe that scripture is the divinely inspired word of God, and encompasses truth, and we can easily fall to ruin when we believe our way is right and God’s way is ‘optional’. Proverbs 21:2 NKJV 2 “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.” We cannot underestimate how important it is that we trust in our Heavenly fathers plan. We cannot view our salvation is some cosmic counter and enough good will win the day. It’s a sad truth, but truth never the less that those who do not know and love Christ shall not make it to eternal paradise with the Father. It all comes down to knowing truth, Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV) 12“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” We must understand that the truth we needed to understand was given to us as divinely inspired, a set of non bending rules that lead to one, and only one truth, Jesus Christ was the Son of God, was born of the virgin Mary, grew to be a man, ministered truth, love, and compassion, was tried and convicted and sentenced to death by way of the crucifixion, died, buried, and on the third day rose from the dead in fulfillment of the scripture. This is truth; the only truth that matters is Jesus Christ. We can never fulfill all of the law, all of the time, but as Christ said, there is only one way to the father, through Christ alone. John 14:6 (NKJV) “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus doesn’t say, ‘so there’s my way, and there’s this other way, and depending where you live, you can try this way, all these different paths lead to the same place, so pick whatever one works best for you.” Jesus says “I am THE way.” And then, follows it up with a very important message, if you want to get to Heaven, if you want to live in paradise you must follow Christ.

 

With the Devil seemingly nipping at my heels it’s now more important then ever that I hold fast to my beliefs because I believe in the sovereign word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV)16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” If we are to believe in Christ, and believe that God is good, and perfect, then God’s word is perfect, just as the cross was perfect, and so the word of God is also perfect, and we cannot put faith in ourselves that we know what’s best. God is our Abba father, and has given us rules for us to follow that are pleasing to the Lord.

 

We know that God loves us because he gave his only begotten son to take upon the sins of the world, so that we might live. John 3:16“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” We have to have faith in this truth, and know that the world wants you to take the word truth, bend it, twist it, turn it into your own meaning, and that is exactly what Satan does. Satan uses parts of truth, to twist perceptions to believe that, that truth is the same as God’s truth. Man’s truth is never the same as God’s truth, and we must defend against the wolves that try to attack it in the night. It’s not the word that we must defend, but be able to eloquently rebuke attacks against us about our faith. Jesus doesn’t need to be defended, God doesn’t need us to argue his side of things. We are told to love others as Christ has loved us, and to share the Gospel. Whether someone listens to it or not, that’s on them. We cannot change hearts and minds, only God can do that. Who are we to think we know better then God? The last ‘person’ to do that was Satan, and look where that God ‘him’. Satan will test you, he will bully you, he will lie to you, and try to make you believe in false paths. We cannot fall for these deceptions, and we cannot allow ourselves to fall victims to his schemes. The biggest battlefield is for our hearts and minds, and we must protect that, and read and know the truth, and that’s the words found in scripture. Read your Bible, learn God’s unyielding truth, and seek God’s wisdom.

 

 

 

Don’t Go To Sleep

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Don’t Go To Sleep

God comes to you in mysterious ways. We never know when the Holy Spirit will fall on you, and we certainly don’t know when the Lord will use you. I find myself perplexed as I have recently received validation that I am ‘wise’ and filled with the Holy Spirit. I never considered myself to be able to speak with authority on scripture, but twice in twenty four hours I have received such validation, and now the question has changed. I find it odd that God would use a man like me to do these works for Him. I wonder my strength to follow the will of God. I question my worth and value in this decision of God’s. I guess the closest person from scripture is Gideon. I know it’s not me that offers the change found, or the advice that comes from my mouth, I know it’s not me. I struggle taking any credit for helping, but at the same time, God gave me free will, and I could have very easily gone to bed. How often do we ignore the calling of the Holy Spirit and do what we want?

 

Judges 6:1515 “He said to Him, “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”

 

Gideon tells the Lord ‘wait I think you have the wrong guy! I’m not strong, I come from the poorest tribe!’ The Hebrew translation for youngest is tsa`iyr or insignificant, and he means what he says. God however addresses Gideon as a mighty man of valor. What an honor for God to see such a wonderful quality in the youngest, and weakest of his brothers. God see’s the capability of a person, the truest potential that may not have been realized yet. God doesn’t make mistakes, and it’s in those times we are to humble ourselves before the Lord and trust and not question. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, don’t ignore it.

 

We cannot fathom the impact we may have on a life if we just listen to that voice telling us the path to take. It would have been so easy for me to go to sleep, put off a conversation that it seems had major impact. The Holy Spirit guides and all we have to do is stop fighting for the steering wheel. What if Paul had decided he’d had enough after his first missionary journey? What if he decided he didn’t want to be beaten, or stoned anymore so he stayed home? What if he had decided he was going to allow fear to win over the instruction of God? Stand tall, and be full of valor of the Holy Spirit in your life. Don’t go back to bed when you are called to God’s work. Don’t allow laziness, or fear keep you from getting out of your comfort zone and going into the world we are called to be in to make real possible everlasting change.

 

Fallen Brothers

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Fallen Brothers

Recently I was watching on of my favorite shows Seal Team and when I saw a particular episode where a seal was killed. It got me thinking about the fallen brothers and sisters in Christ. My time in Iraq I lost friends and even after I left my brothers were still being killed. As I have watched the news from time to time and I’ve seen terrorist organizations murder innocent Christians. The persecuted church worldwide is an ever growing death toll passing genocidal proportions. Knowing what was coming doesn’t make the reality any easier. We watch from the TV and the newspapers, and as we understand the world is a dangerous place we must remain faithful in Christ and understand our hope is above not here in this life, but an eternal life with our creator.

Romans 13:4 (NKJV)4 “For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to executewrath on him who practices evil.”

The Lord watches over and will repay with swift justice when the time comes. The sword of righteousness will fall on the enemies and vengeance will be the Lords.

We cannot allow the losses we see to stop us from continuing the mission. We have to take our brothers and sisters sacrifice and never allow that be in vein. In Revelation you see the martyrs who’ve died proclaiming the word of God. You see their sacrifice was not in vein, and we must continue to fight the fight and never grow weary. Rev 9“When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;” Rev 20“Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

Faith isn’t easy when the world around you crumbles to ruin. As it says in 1 Corinthians 12:26 (NASB)26 “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” In some circles it is believed that 255 Christians are killed every month, and more are raped, abducted, or detailed without a trial. Just recently we saw a Pastor released after a long imprisonment. As terrible as it is to watch from afar, it’s worse when you have to see it in person. Loosing fellow soldiers in the line of duty was heartbreaking. The world it seemed was unfair as the lives of good men were extinguished far, far too early. The brothers and sisters that have died in the name of Christ have gone onto a better life. Those who die are far better off as they go to a far better place. 2 Timothy 2:3 (NASB)3 “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” The hardships we face are in this life. “Living is not for the weak.”(Arrow) and those of us still living will be the ones to continue facing the fight. We should not pity the dead, but pity the living.

 

 

 

Are You A God?

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Are You A God?

You walk through life saying you are in control. You believe your way is right, and you stand by your decisions. You constantly say that nothing can be done to change your situation and things are hopeless. You live in constant misery and pessimism. You live in constant fear of tomorrow, or worse, yesterday. We have become a society of placing Jesus on the shelf and much like a cosmic genie we ask for help when we need it, but otherwise it’s “I’ve got this.” How bold we have become to think we know better then God. How daring have we become to think we can make it through this life and not need our Savior Jesus Christ. Have we truly gotten to the point where we believe we know more then God, or worse that God cannot handle our problems? We have put God in a box, and we have become our own gods.

 

Exodus 20:3“You shall have no other gods before Me.” I have often ministered to those whom struggle with their faith. Not in the way of questioning God, but rather thinking their life will never improve. I have seen despair rule over people, and people who feel God is irrelevant and does not care about them, or cannot change anything for them. We have placed ourselves above God by putting ourselves on a pedestal and thinking we are more important than God. We believe we are in control and God is fine where He is, and so long as ‘I don’t bug God, he doesn’t bug me.’

 

We have become selfish, close-minded, one tracked minded people. We have become a judging people, where we judge God and believe God is so insignificant that we are truly here on our own, and we don’t need God, or God can’t change our path. We have a hard time fathoming how incorporated God is in our lives, and we believe that the Holy Bible is antiquated, and we believe we make gods that work best for us. We have gotten to a point where we no longer worship God, we worship many gods, we worship ourselves.

 

In Genesis 3:5“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  A lie is told, but not an entire lie, but a subterfuge leading Eve to believe it would be better to understand good and evil as the Lord God knows good and evil, thus moving mankind to place self ahead of God. We the children of God now believe we know more, we know better then God.

 

We are a foolish people thinking we are so big. Tim Challiessays this “The first way we can put God in a box is through our misunderstandings of Him and His nature. We have a responsibility to know and believe what He has revealed of Himself in the Scripture. Furthermore, we may also try to define God in a way that is simplistic or that is inconsistent with who He is.” https://www.challies.com/articles/putting-god-in-a-box-doctrine/

 

We call ourselves Children of God, but in reality we are rebels of the throne. We rebel against the rules laid down for us, and we ignore the teaching of our father. We deserve Hell, but we often believe we deserve Heaven simply because we are ‘good’ people, not because we love Christ. We believe now whatever we want our own truth to be, and we believe that truth is subjective to everyone, and we will face the mistakes we’ve made and unless we understand to Put God first again, we shall not find ourselves in perfection. If you decide to worship idols, worshiping things in your life and not God above, then we have become our very own god. God shall not stand and watch without judgment, and if we choose to try and be god’s then we should be ready for the war to come to us, the punishment for placing God of the Universe on the shelf as just another god will be heavy and swift.

 

We are children of God, and we shall not rebel, we shall not diminish God and grow ourselves. We are lost and we are weak, we are impressionable by the fallen Angel Lucifer. We are but faulted humans, with small minds, and with those minds we attempt to understand the mystery of God and when we cannot, instead of understanding the vastness of what we don’t know, we try to make God fit into our own understanding, thus minimizing God, and again, raising ourselves up to be our own god. Shame on us, shame on all of us for being so incredibly weak, incredibly gullible to Satan’s lies, and thinking we know better for our lives.

God Won’t Leave

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God Won’t Leave

 

I wrote to you and you said stuff too. I fell for your lies and you left me feeling like a fool. How could I have not seen it earlier, instead I had to feel. You said you cared but then you were gone. How can someone care then disappear? I believed you and gave you my attention my ear as you lifted me up and told me a beautiful lie. I listened to you and fell for the line that wasn’t true at all. How often have I fallen for the same lie over and over in my life? The truth is sometimes hard to swallow, as I have now been smacked in the face with, you didn’t care about me at all, just about yourself and as soon as I didn’t give you a certain feeling, you left. How long I have looked for something real, someone truthful, and faithful, but have come up empty handed. Thankful I am that God doesn’t leave me the first time I don’t live up to his expectations. Thankful God’s grace and love are bigger then anything I could ever imagine. I am thankful that the God who created the universe loves me enough to lend me His ear, hold me when I’m sad, and never leaves me.

 

Isaiah 41:10 (NASB) ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”  God’s grace is something amazing and we often overlook it because we are too busy to count the blessings we have. I have had an all out yelling match with God, but I know He’s still there. He can take my faults and love me just as I am. As I watch one by one the majority of new people I have met have left and have done so without a word with their exit. God is my hero and knowing God won’t leave or forsake me gives me strength to carry on past the hurt.

 

I am a person, and I feel but it seems my feelings don’t matter much to the majority of people I have in my life. Thankfully God hears my heart and knows my feelings. I may not always get what I want, but God doesn’t set out to hurt me like other people do. People have forgotten the feelings of others, and it’s a sad day when close friends no longer show they care. Watching as people lie, and say whatever they want to try and get something is heart breaking. God though, doesn’t have to lie to get anything from us. Joshua 1:9“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

 

Dealing with the emotional fall out from so much disappointment, it’s hard to understand how this happens, but God will strengthen me, and I will watch as the purging wildfire continue to rages on in my life.

 

 

Brother’s Keeper

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Brother’s Keeper

Growing up without stability I struggled to understand God’s plan. I wondered if I had been cursed early on in my life. I wondered if God hated me, and if I was being punished for being a mistake. I felt like I was the one loosing, but in reality, I was gaining more then I could have ever imagined. I wasn’t loosing anything, but gaining strength, understanding, empathy, and a heart for those suffering. I was being shown a life style so I might be able to one day help others in need.

 

Life moves faster now but it’s the truth I’ve needed. I have needed a brother to tell me the truth, to be there for me to show me something real in this life. What I experienced led me to wonder the meaning of this life as at the time I had only experienced pain and suffering. I wanted to run away from everything, and bury my feelings, and hope to forget all the pain. God however doesn’t work like that. I’m reminded of the movie Star Trek: The Final Frontier, “Damit Bones you’re a doctor, you know pain and guilt can’t be taken away with the wave of a magic wand. There the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are, if we loose them we loose ourselves. I don’t want my pain taken away, I need my pain!” I understand now that I have needed my pain.

 

I have so much in the way of anger, sadness, frustrations, and fear built up that I buried and now, like an undead zombie it rises and comes back with a vengeance. The pain was real but time wouldn’t erase it because I never wanted to look at it. Thankfully though, Jesus Christ held my had all those years. I tried to tell myself it was in the past and it wasn’t important, but I was wrong. The past is important because it teaches us valuable lessons. As Kirk mentioned, I need my pain, and it’s only been recently I truly understood that.

 

The God of all creation never leaves us no matter where we are and what season we’re in. We need to remember to have faith in the storm, but also in the peaceful streams. We need to remember that God gives us the tools we need to handle the job every time. God doesn’t send us into the pit without a plan. God doesn’t leave us to fend for ourselves and certainly isn’t an angry God with a magnifying glass if we are just mere ants. God loves us, and wants us to do great things for Him, and because we are each special, given unique gifts, and each of our experiences can be used God gives us the path, it’s up to us to find it. As for me, I have been given special gifts to help me along my way, and I didn’t always see them for what they were till they were too late.

 

In my childhood I didn’t have any siblings, but God knew my heart, and He knew my struggles, and because of that He gave me brothers not of flesh, but of the blood of the Holy Spirit. Daniel was a brother to me for many years. We have remained friends all these many years later even though we live very different lives now. Matt, was my closest friend from 1994 for almost two decades later. While Matt and myself have drifted apart as life usually happens, we do keep in touch, and I know if anything were to happen, he’d be right there to help me. When I had moved to a new high school I met a boy named John, and he became my best friend. We were very close till he died unexpectedly when he was 18. I went many years without a brother in my life, but by the grace of God a few years back I met a man named Glen, who would be a brother not only in friendship but also in Christ. Glen would be there to show me the path, he would keep me on track, give me encouragement, hope, and love in Christ. He has truly become a brother I could never have imagined. I know God doesn’t do anything by accident and Glen and my meeting was certainly not an accident. A brother in Christ who teaches, guides, encourages, and helps see and discover the mystery of the word of God is an amazing feeling. All that pain I felt for so many years, now seems necessary for the path I am currently on, and having someone like Glen in my life (Speedy) gives me clarity to why, and now so many years later, I realize the refining process that I was going through, gives me peace in the understanding.

 

Genesis 4:9“Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Hebrew word for keeper is shamar meaning to protect, to keep track of to observe, and thus the question, are we my brothers keeper? Yes, we are brothers in Christ, and I know that my job as my Glen’s brother is to protect him, to keep him safe, to observe, and to take care of him when in need. I am my brothers keeper, and vise versa. Yes we are responsible for our own lives, but we are family, and family takes care of family.

 

I have often had friends come to me when they only needed something, and cared little for the state of my life, but the relationship with my brother is very different. In the darkest of my days, I know he’s right there for me always. Living in Christ is not an easy thing to do, but when we living with Christ shining through us, we become a light in the dark. Jesus Christ is our brother, our savior, our King, and we can only hope to be like Him. I thank God every day for the brothers he’s given me throughout my life. I am grateful for the time I have had, and look forward to many more years with my brother Glen.

 

Brother: Needtobreathe

 

Ramblers in the wilderness we can’t find what we need
We get a little restless from the searching
Get a little worn down in between
Like a bull chasing the matador is the man left to his own schemes
Everybody needs someone beside em’ shining like a lighthouse from the sea

Brother let me be your shelter
Never leave you all alone
I can be the one you call
When you’re low
Brother let me be your fortress
When the night winds are driving on
Be the one to light the way
Bring you home

Face down in the desert now there’s a cage locked around my heart
I found a way to drop the keys where my failures were
Now my hands can’t reach that far
I ain’t made for a rivalry, I could never take the world alone
I know that in my weakness I am stronger
It’s your love that brings me home

Brother let me be your shelter
I’ll never leave you all alone
I can be the one you call
When you’re low
Brother let me be your fortress
When the night winds are driving on
Be the one to light the way
Bring you home

Brother let me be your shelter
Never leave you all alone
I can be the one you call
When you’re low
Brother let me be your fortress
When the night winds are driving on
Be the one to light the way
Bring you home

Brother let me be your shelter
Never leave you all alone
I can be the one you call
When you’re feeling low
Brother let me be your fortress
When the night winds are driving on
Be the one to light the way
Bring you home

Brother let me be your shelter
Never leave you all alone
I can be the one you call
When you’re low
Brother let me be your fortress
When the night winds are driving on
Be the one to light the way
Bring you home

 

 

 

 

In Need

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In Need

My God, my God, I cannot do this alone. I try to swim but I get caught among the waves. We don’t always know how much, but we are always in need of your grace and mercy. I don’t often think about being in need of God in regards to all things in my life. We go through life and we hop in the car, we drive to work, or the store, or even to church, but we don’t often think how important our relationship with God is in even the smallest details of our lives. We take our lives and many aspects of that for granted. How badly we need God in our lives, and rarely take the time to thank God for all of the small things, yet when we need something we turn to God in a second.

Philippians 4:19 (NKJV)19 “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” The text says God will supply all your need, not some, not just what’s convenient, but God gives us everything we need because we are loved as His children. If we are to be given everything we need from God’s riches, then we are getting the best of the best based on what we require. Which means, if we require a swift kick in the butt, it’s going to be a darn good kick. If we require a particular lesson, that lesson will be tailored to fit God’s plan.

I have often chosen my path and because of my own choices I have missed out on opportunities in which God has laid before me. When we consider that God waists nothing, and that has led me to wonder if my actions now had lined up with God’s plan. I often think that God gives us what we need, and that we have a choice what we want to do with the gift. We have in mind our own path, our own plans, and we obviously attempt to make the best decisions we can but we are human, and we don’t always the best choices.

Two years ago, I made a choice and that choice may have had a lasting impact on my life. I had someone come into my life, and I choose to walk away for my own reasons, but now two years later I have not been given a gift like that again. Did I slap away God’s gift, and tell God I could do what I wanted on my own? How many times does God give us a gift for our hearts, and we pass it by? What good is a gift if we never open it, or just leave it on the shelf? I have often felt in the last two years that I may have passed by my chance to happiness. I have often wondered if God would be gracious and give me another shot to get it right. We make so many choices everyday, and it’s impossible to know if we are always making the right choices but we have to be in constant prayer. When we look to the gifts God places in front of us, are we acknowledging them as gifts, or just random occurrences? Are we making life about what we want, or are we making our walk about God?

Every single day we breathe we must look at the changes in our life and ask ourselves what we can do to ensure we follow God. To do that we must be in constant prayer, we must vet where the gifts come form in our life, and realize there are gifts from God, and gifts from Satan disguised as gifts from God. Don’t be so quick to turn away from God in prayer. Don’t forget to look to God for all things big and small. We don’t always get gifts in life when we think we should, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t God’s perfect timing. Prayer in all things will help us along the right path. As for me, I know I need God because I don’t want to miss out on God’s blessings in my life. I want to be paying attention for the gifts when they come and not let them go because they don’t align with my own plans.

Invisible

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Invisible

Colossians 1:15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Jesus Christ

Have you put thought in the true power of God? The creator of the universe in perfect harmony loves you. Jesus Christ walks with us every single day and is with us while we are on this journey of discovery. We often find ourselves feeling alone, and angry that we don’t feel God. We don’t always see God around us, and we don’t feel okay. See, when we look further in the letter by Paul we find more of the mystery of God. Colossians 1:16“For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.” God is so big, and so powerful, we underestimate the awesome power that we have in our corner.

I have walked through this life questioning my faith on occasion. It wasn’t so much a question of whether or not God was real, it was more of ‘Does God Care?” I’ve struggled with the amount of pain I struggled through, but when I think back, and knowing what I know now, the invisible God who’s everywhere, was with me the whole time. God promises never to leave or abandon us. There’s a war going on in the shadows all around us, and we are the targets of the enemy. This war that takes place invisible is not to be understated. The spiritual warfare that Paul talks about is very much real. While the characters are invisible the affects are as real as they come. The fallen angels that followed Lucifer now called demons help him lay the lure to see what fish they can catch. We are easily drawn to the world, sin is a powerful, attractive force. It can be very difficult to see sin for what it is and walk away. While the enemy is always trying to draw you out away from your protection, Jesus Christ is with you reminding you of the right path.

When you commit a sin and you feel that sense of emptiness afterwards, or that sense of shame, that’s the Holy Spirit filling you with conviction, reminding you what you did was wrong, and that you need to repent of your sins. We cannot see the Holy Spirit but much like the air we breathe it’s there, surrounding us all the time, we just have to take a moment away from the world and truly focus on the force that surrounds us, and flows through us.

The Devil’s affects are very real even though we can’t see him and his demons skulking around us. He wants us to forget that he’s not the only one in this world. Jesus Christ and the army of Angels protect over us. It’s hard to remember how gracious God is to us when we feel the suffering of this life. “You’re gonna suffer, but you’re gonna be happy about it.” (Prizinor of Azkaban) Ron says this to Harry about his tea leaves. The connection to scripture is very real, we are told we will suffer, and in Colossians 1:11 “strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;” This life takes time to get through. And as I was once told recently the process of gold refinement is a slow process. The gold is heated as the impurities rise to the top, scrapped away, and then put back into the fire. Each time a little more of the impurities are scrapped away till eventually the gold is so shiny in it’s molten state the gold smith can see his/her reflection in the liquid. We are the same, that in every trial, in every struggle a bit more of the impurity is burned and scrapped away. If we are to live in Christ then we must allow those impurities to be removed. If Jesus is the gold smith we must allow ourselves to be put back into the fire so one day when he looks at us he sees his reflection in us. We may not be able to physically see Christ but his presence is clear. This life is but a fleeting moment in the prospect of eternity and if we are to join the angels, and God in perfection then we must be willing to allow the forging process to make us strong, make us shiny and new. When the pain is gone and the worry and doubts fade away the purest gold will be all that’s left in our hearts, and as we face judgment at the foot of the cross the final impurities will be washed away in forgiveness of our sins and we will be allowed to enter heavens gates, if we trust in Jesus, love him with our whole hearts, and believe in the process we must endure to get there. Our savior suffered for us, and who are we to think we shouldn’t have to suffer? As for me, I brace for each of the storms in this invisible but very real war for the souls of man. On that day I reach the gates of Heaven, I pray for two words from my Lord, “well done.” I can live with the suffering now to one day walk with Jesus in perfection.

Don’t give up on yourselves and trust in the refining process. I can’t help but not think of the song Hard Love by NEEDTOBREATHE. I’ve used that song many times in my writings, but it is so true. “It’s gonna hurt but don’t you slow down.” “It takes some time to make your courage strong.” It’s true that as long as you breathe there’s hope, but we cannot place our hope in this world, we must place our hope in Heaven, and our Savior that’s there preparing a place for us. There’s no hope in this life for this world, except that salvation awaits us. We are never promised and easy life, we are never promised peace while we breathe this air, but in Heaven our hope resides. No the process getting to Heaven isn’t easy because we have to first live this life, but what a worthwhile venture. I can take the beating, and the ridicule, and the pain because I know that one day Satan will no longer have dominion over the place I live. While I am here on this world, I know that Satan is spreading pain and suffering all around, but in Heaven the throne has God almighty and he loves his Children.

We may not be able to see the Holy Spirit, but we can feel it all around us. All we can do is ask Jesus to take our suffering and use it to glorify Him. Have faith in Christ, and give thanks to being alive another day, and doing work that will glorify the King. Heaven is worth the suffering of this life, and since God waists nothing, we can always find good in the trials we go through, we just have to look for them. Change your perceptions and give thanks for the opportunities to praise Jesus, and draw closer to God in the fire. Never give up hope because our hope is not in this world,  but in the Heavenly home.