Tag: christianity

Rehashing the Past

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Rehashing the Past

From the time that we are born, to the time that we die, there are both good and bad things we experience. We know from scripture why bad things happen, and simply put it’s because sin entered the world, and good and evil are present every day. But what happens if we experience the bad and we do nothing about it? In the past, I’ve talked about the dangers of compartmentalization for coping techniques, for further read you can follow this link. https://thearrowpreacher.wordpress.com/2017/06/16/a-past-long-forgotten-the-dangers-of-compartmentalization/

Years later after I believed everything was tucked away in a nice box, sitting on a shelf somewhere inside my mind, where a closest door remained locked, bolted, and guarded, never to be reopened, a foul evil creature grew inside that closet and it was hungry for revenge. I realize the symbolism is a bit out there, but in all reality the events of September 16thwill forever be etched in stone as a dark mark on my reputation and my ego. That day left me with shame, guilt, and fear. As I have tried to move on from that day, it’s hard to imagine I was ever so low in my life. The thing about being low and never dealing with it is when that hidden monster comes back to exact revenge for being put away in the closet. So how do you make peace with that angry monster? You must be brave enough to confront the beast, to face your fears, and don’t back down when it gets hard.

In the next week I will be started a series of therapy sessions designed to manage particular traumatic events in my past to deal with and manage those events so I control them and they do not control me. Those memories are difficult to think about and while on the surface it looks like everything is just fine, if I’m truly honest with myself there are feelings buried deep down that I have gotten pretty good at hiding and masking. After two years ago however it’s time to finally face the monsters and be rid of them once and for all.

It is in scripture and therapeutic techniques I will find peace. I have been praying to God to prepare me for the trials ahead, and calm my heart, and allow me to see the light in such a dark place. Psalm 107:13-16“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.” It is in my heart the darkness rests, and for many years I have not allowed the pain to surface, but in an instant the defenses cracked and out came the monster angry and bitter, spreading lies and fear, and on that day, the monster won. Today however I am older, wiser, and more in control, I shall not fear the monster any longer, as I will fight the war on my terms. Psalm 91:4-6“He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.” Jesus comforts me, and protects me. I know I am protected as I go forward. The past cannot hurt me anymore, and I will not allow it to control me. Isaiah 41:10“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

 For all who deal with past traumas, hardships, and pain, there is always hope. Tomorrow doesn’t have to be full of darkness and pain. In order to be rid of it, we must first see our enemy and rise to the occasion to face it head on. God is with you, so if you have a past, face that past in a controlled and safe environment, don’t wait till tomorrow, live in peace today.

Two Worlds Collide

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Two Worlds Collide

A while back I met someone who was a different denomination as myself. While I never put much thought into the many denominations of Christianity, it wasn’t long before I started noticing a lot of differences in the way we worshipped. She had said something to me that caught me off guard one day, she said, ‘so you’re going to stop talking to me now aren’t you?’ I was taken aback when I heard that. I had never known anyone to be so worried about how others saw them based on their personal worship choice. That was a couple months ago and I’m happy to announce we are still friends despite significant differences in worship style.

A few months ago I met someone else, but instead of being a different denomination, they were a different religion all together. Come to find out they were a practicing Pagan. Much to my surprise it’s more common then I thought it was. I had decided I wanted to judge them by the content of their personality and their character not by the faith they chose to follow. (Not that we should be judging anyone) I found they were sweet, and kind, and caring, and generous, and an all around lovely human being. We should never be so quick to judge someone because when we do, when we judge based on their faith, or the way they look, we take away the possibility to learn, to witness and to truly meet wonderful people in this world. (Disclaimer: Satan worshipers truly do frighten me.)

It’s important for us as Christians to understand something; we are not to spend all of our time just hanging out and fellowshipping with other Christians. We cannot evangelize, we cannot minister, we cannot witness to unbelievers if we never go out of our own church. The Great Commission was very clear, “Go Forth to ALLthe nations of the world and baptize.” Given the opportunities in my life I’ve been able to share the gospel to many different faiths in my life. I have witnessed to Pagan’s, Muslims, Atheists, and while I don’t know if I’ve ever had an impact on their salvation, what I do know is it’s not my job to convert people. My job is to share the Gospel and the Truth of Jesus Christ, and to witness and love my neighbor. Once I do that the rest is in God’s hands. We can’t pick and choose who we want to talk about the Gospel to, we must understand that it’s never our place to judge others, and it’s important to know that while we may not be the direct link in the chain that causes someone’s heart to change, we must trust in God’s will, and God’s plan, and leave it up to faith.

In the past year however, I have also met a few different couples that their marriage is in trouble. It always hurts my heart knowing that marriages suffer, largely because I have been married twice, and both times I have been left standing alone trying to pick up the pieces of both a broken heart, and a broken life. The first time I got married, I married into a family that was completely non-religious. They weren’t atheists but I wouldn’t exactly call them Christian either. Sadly, at that time in my life, I was less concerned about differences in faith, than I was with being alone in life. When that marriage ended with an affair, and then the following destruction of everything I had I soon realized how important it was to not get into a relationship with someone who had a completely different set of morals than myself. My next marriage would be to a woman who’s family were devout Christians. I spent time getting to know them, watching them at church, seeing how they lived their lives, and even though no one’s perfect, I saw enough faith to determine I shouldn’t base someone’s past mistakes on their current standing with God. While that marriage also ended due to an affair, I have to acknowledge we as humans do become lost and walk on poor paths. I have learned my vetting process needs to be a lot more stringent and I need to focus more on how they worship, how they behave, and truly dive into their moral compass. That leads me to the next major point, the marriages that I have witnessed recently have been very unequally yoked.

Scripture tells us it’s not good for believers to be with unbelievers. 2 Corinthians 6:14“14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what [a]fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what [b]communion has light with darkness?” I am a firm believer that a persons faith is strongly tied into their moral compass. While this isn’t always the case, it will undoubtedly always create conflict. A persons faith will always come into play later in life, when it comes to children, or going to church, or even how we choose to treat one another. Generally when worlds collide it isn’t as epic as say a DC-Marvel cross over. While sometimes people of different faiths and religions, and cultures can get along great, that isn’t always the case. It’s important to be a united front in your life concerning your spouse. If you’re not on the same page it can cause a great deal of conflict, but even more so, if you’re not in the same book at all. I have often been a firm believer that you can “Love” someone, but that doesn’t mean they are right for you in a relationship. Love is a strange thing and while we may fall in love with someone of a different faith, or even someone whom we share nothing in common, we must realize that it takes more then LOVE to make a marriage work. Marriages that work are built from commonality, meaning similar interests, beliefs, goals, etc. Take out to many similarities and you may still love, but problems generally arise as cracks in the foundation become apparent. So what I’m trying to say is this, love everyone because it’s what we’re told to do. Be quick to listen and slow to speak. Learn and observe and always be respectful of those people you meet, even if they come from a different walk of life. Be careful of love that isn’t built on a well balanced foundation because if you jump into a marriage before the foundation is inspected, you may find that there are cracks and an uneven slab. You can’t build a house on a bad foundation. It’s okay to be friends with people of different faiths because it always gives us an opportunity to witness, so long as everyone is respectful and willing to listen. But most importantly, don’t sacrifice your own faith and love of Jesus Christ to try and make a relationship work. Our lives always have to love God first, then the rest follows. Jesus Christ always has to be our first love no matter how low we get, or how lonely. Always put your faith and trust in Christ and never sacrifice that belief for anyone.

 

 

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Are You Super?

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Are You Super?

Recently I found a new Lego set containing Bat Woman. Recently I have found myself busy with school, with yoga, with Bible study, and yes, I’m still blogging every day. Someone asked me recently how I have been able to manage everything I’ve got to do, and somehow come up with a blog post every day. I didn’t know the answer then, and I still barely know now. God has blessed me over and over with a topic and inspiration. I think the definition of super is a regular person rising to the occasion to stand against injustice, and stand for something bigger then themselves. 2 Timothy 2:15“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” I was thinking about the story of Bat Woman. In the new 52 Kate Kane is an intelligent woman who attends a military academy but after a question of her sexuality she steps away and moves back to Gotham City. While there she is mugged and with her military training she’s able to fend off her attackers but is knocked to the ground. Batman comes in and helps her off the ground, and this is where she becomes fixated with Batman. From this point forward she starts her path of fighting crime. Here’s a woman who decided to not stand by when she knew she could make a difference. Scripture talks about the importance of standing up and doing what’s right.

Habakkuk 1:13“13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he?” The prophet was trying to understand how God would allow an evil country to win over a good country. The simple answer is God always has a plan. It’s in our hardships we truly learn who we are. When we trained in Korea my platoon didn’t get every breach right the first few times. We practiced over and over again till we became a well-oiled machine. Every superhero’s story starts off with some kind of tragedy. It’s in this tragedy that a person decides they won’t stand for the weak to be bullied and pushed around. I have watched as bullies have picked on someone weaker them themselves my whole life. Sometimes it’s been me who was the weak one, and sometimes I was the one to look on the situation. In every situation we have a choice to make where we can either allow our presence to make a positive impact, or a negative one. The thing with bullies and watching but doing nothing is the impact shows your own character. Imagine you’re the little kid on the ground getting punched and kicked by the school bully. You look down the hall and you see two students just watching, but choose to walk away. Laying on the ground your heart sinks, and you question what’s wrong with people. Every test is a test of faith, a test of character to see what kind of person we really are. Through the ashes of tragedy something beautiful can be born. Each and every one of us has the chance to be super in some way. James 4:17“17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Standing by and doing nothing when we know it’s wrong is the same as committing the sin ourselves.

While many may not condone vigilante justice, one cannot deny the good this world would have if a man like Superman was flying around saving the day all the time. If a man like Batman created fear in the heart of criminals, would people feel safer walking around a dangerous city at night? While this is a highly subjective question, a man or woman who stands up to do what is right despite what the world says is right answers to God. God will always work in tragedies, violence, and hardships, even if we don’t see it.

Years ago when I was in Iraq I lost some very close friends of mine. I knew them, but I never knew their families. After their deaths, the years that followed would allow me the opportunity to be apart of a close adopted family. That incident brought together scouts, and medics, and the families of the fallen. Now, many years later we still talk, and we still have reunions. While loosing them was tragic, the bond we share, and the lives we’ve been apart of all around would never have happened otherwise. For me, having that family has helped in my own recovery, and when I was laying in the hospital recovering from the lowest point within my life, I was met by my family who came from all over the country to visit me, because they love me. You don’t have to be a super hero to be super. You just have to choose every day to do what is right over what is easy.

Rainbows

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Rainbows

Genesis 9:13-14 “13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud;”

I’ve always thought rainbows were beautiful, but not till I started reading Genesis did I realized they were mentioned very early in scripture. Now we know that science can explain what a rainbow is, light refracting through raindrops, but at this point in Scripture Noah and his family are just leaving the Ark after the flood. As this represents the covenant between God and mankind, I also look at it another way. It doesn’t always happen of course, but usually a rainbow signifies the end of the storm. Even in the movie the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy wishes she could go to a magical place, over the rainbow. We sometimes think of rainbows as somehow magical, of beautiful happenings in nature that are quite the spectacle to see.

No matter how we look at a rainbow, they bring joy, or happiness, even if it’s just the spectacle of them being in the sky. Rainbows are a reminder of Gods love and grace for us. No matter how bad the storm was, if we look to the sky and see a bright rainbow we know the storm is over. While the rainbow is a symbol of the covenant with man to never again flood the whole of the earth, we are lucky enough to have a new covenant with God. After the fall from Eden, mankind could not be in the presence of God. We were no longer pure, but worst then a dirty diaper before our Lord. God set forth a plan that would take hundreds of years. When we think God moves too slowly for us, we truly don’t realize how God works. God doesn’t play the short game, and while on occasion he may answer our prayers in the here and now, more often then not God is working things out for the future.

God spent 400 years in silence between the Old and New Testament. In that time there were moving pieces on the board, and God is patient while we are not. We are a people of wanting change right now. We want fast food prayers, you order, God delivers. But that doesn’t work and God just laughs at our foolishness. When I think back at Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, she was dreaming of being anywhere other then on the farm. While things on the farm weren’t perfect, she was trying to escape her woes instead of putting forth the effort to fix them. We do the same thing in many different ways. In the last year, I have been a part of a social app and during my time there I have found a new escape I hadn’t really considered, on line roll playing. These roll playing conversations often consume someone’s life. There is no desire to talk to the person you’re roll playing with about real life, it’s always just the fantasy world. This is a person’s ‘over the rainbow’. So many people today find escape in drugs, or alcohol, on line roll playing, or video games. Addictions of all kinds have popped up on this planet all because fiction for many is better then reality. It’s a sad state of affairs we find our selves in when we no longer want to face any problems but instead turn to means to deaden the internal pain, dull our minds, and kick the can down the road for yet another day.

Sadly it isn’t just reality people are hiding from, it’s all negative feelings or emotions. We’ve become a society that at the first sign of trouble, or the first time someone’s brings up negative emotions, or ‘vibes’ as it’s called today, people run away. I have watched several people personally leave our ‘acquaintanceship’ because I had a bad day and wanted to talk about it. People only want to hear positive things; they don’t want to be bothered with reality. So long as life is rainbows and puppies they are happy, and anyone who threatens that is expendable. Because of this people no longer build relationships, they build acquaintances, and barely that. In the last 7 years I have been to several weddings, and I’m sad to say that all but two have already ended in divorce. During the wedding the rainbow seemed so bright and vibrant, and sometime over the course of their incredibly short marriages, that rainbow became gray and disappeared. It’s sad to think about how many people end their marriages these days. While I don’t know all the details of their divorces, those details are irrelevant. People have stopped living their lives in the way God says we should live, and we have stopped putting God first in our marriages. Sadly those kinds of relationships are about self, and not about the other person. When we ask what’s in it for me, or how does this make me feel, and we no longer ask ourselves what we can do for our spouse, we will grow in resentment, and heartache. We cannot continue wishing for what’s over the rainbow. We must face reality and live according to God’s will for us.

 

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I’m not saying you can’t dream, but especially when it comes to relationships, focus on what those relationships are really supposed to be. Find some happiness in your life the way it is and make that flourish. No the grass is not always greener on the other side. Stop taking for granted the gifts you have right now. Embrace them, and enjoy them. You don’t want your life to become stagnant though, so balance tomorrow and today. Enjoy your sunshine, enjoy the rainbow, and remember God’s always with us each and every day. Give thanks for another sunrise, and the many, many blessings we have. Hope in Jesus Christ came slower then the Jews wanted, but it wasn’t their timetable, it’s God’s. Trust in God, and focus on what you can change, and pray for the things you can’t.

 

Women, Why Women?

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Women, Why Women?

Have you ever put any thought into the reason so many people reject the idea of the resurrection of Jesus Christ? There are a few things I’d like to talk about concerning the resurrection of Jesus but first thing I’d like to do is talk about Mary, and Mary, the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. During that time women had no rights, and were treated not much better then property. The law stated they did not qualify as legal witnesses. Why then would these two women be important to justification of Christ’s resurrection? Credibility. If the men who wrote the account of what the Mary’s had seen, and ultimately believed them, if it were to be a lie, Men would have been the first because that would have carried more weight around the world. Instead women were the first Christ came to, and no one would create such a lie at the time.

First and foremost one thing needs to be made clear, the Gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are eyewitness accounts. These separate witness testimonies despite popular belief do ‘match’ completely because no matter what 4 people you put someplace as witnesses, none of them will give the exact same description and account of each event. In fact, if the stories were completely identical, it would seem more likely the event was fabricated and rehearsed, but that’s not what we see. And, if you were to say that each account was written by the same person just slightly different, forensics show that each Gospel was indeed written by someone different. One example is Greek historian Polybius and Roman historian Livy, both disagree in regards to Hannibal’s route crossing the Alps in Italy, however no historian question the actual trek itself. (McDowell, J., & McDowell, S., PhD. (2017) During the burial of Jesus Christ a large stone was placed in front of the tomb, and at the request of the Pharisees, a detachment of Roman Guards would stand watch to deter anyone from attempting to steel the body of Jesus Christ. Along with the guard a seal was placed upon the ropes showing no one would enter. The stone used would have weighed approximately 440 pounds. The idea that the Disciples were in cahoots to steal the body from well trained armed guards is debunked in scripture itself. Matthew 26:55,56, and Mark 14:49,50 both describe the Disciples scattered and hiding away from the Romans. It’s not likely that if this story were made up they would admit to such cowardice; however, the writers remained truthful, even to their own shame. Also, a secondary note was crusifixion at the time was highly public, and was done so to bring shame upon the individual and the families. To use this has a launch pad for a new religion would have had a much harder sell, then some other way.

Women:

Women found the tomb of Jesus empty, and again, if you were going to start a religion with credibility, you’d use more credible witnesses. Women at the time would be stoned to death if they were raped, and they were unable to obtain property. Women, also weren’t supposed to be out of the house without a male family escort. Why then would anyone use women as the starting point of their religion unless it actually happened? The Romans kept grueling details about each capital punishment, and there are documents which predate the writings of the New Testament. Philosopher J.P. Moreland affirms these points in preaching and sermonettes in Acts, and Creedal Statement of the Death, Burial and Resurrection. There are competing reasons that Jesus’s tomb may have been empty by both Jewish records, and Christian records, both agree the tomb was empty, both disagree as to why. This common idea that Jesus’s tomb was in fact empty, first found by women, while Roman guards were on duty, and without further alternative theories by Jewish and Roman officials, the continued eye witness accounts would have left both unable to refute any of the facts. Jesus would appear over a span of 40 days which is discussed in all 4 Gospels. He would appear not only to his Apostles and disciples, but to over 500 at one time. The soldiers standing guard would have been elite solders and failure in those days was not tolerated. Those soldiers would have suffered greatly for failing at their duties to include floggings, whippings, or even decapitation, neither a fate anyone would want to die for considering all they had to do was guard a 440 pound rock. “The Romans and Jews could not produce Christ’s body or explain where it went. Nevertheless, they refused to believe. Even today, men and women still reject the resurrection, not because of the insufficiency of evidence, but in spite of its sufficiency.” (McDowell, J., & McDowell, S., PhD. (2017)

It isn’t a matter of evidence because there is evidence all over the place by Christians, Jews, and Romans in regards to the life and death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ. The fact is people will rebuke facts all day long, and people will argue the grass is blue just to spite your face. The cross is offensive to people because it represents each and every one of our faults and failings. We don’t like being told we are sinful, and we don’t like being told we aren’t good enough to enter into Heaven. The truth is, while we can bring evidence, and further go over eyewitness testimony, and while there have even been Atheists turned Christian in the pursuit of the truth, people will always turn their backs on truth, especially if it means having to look in the mirror. It’s sad to say that many Christians are only Christian by name, by status, but few actually know and understand what it means to be a follower of Christ. I look around and I’m ashamed at how many Christians lie, cheat, steal, abuse their spouses or their children. I’m ashamed at those Christians because they aren’t really Christians, but the damage done to the name of Christ, to the body of us who are truly saved in the blood of Christ, is beyond sad. While Christ’s name will live on, because Christ lives, and while Christ will continue to save lives, make a difference is those lives, it’s our job to stand firm, and stand apart from the world. As scripture says, Romans 12:2“2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”

Don’t underestimate the need of Apologetics, and the teaching of history and facts in the pursuit of your own studies. Evidence that demands a verdict: Life-changing truth for a skeptical world. Is a phenomenal book and resource, along with The POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF APOLOGETICS, BY HINDSON, and CANER. Stand apart, and do your own historical research. Study scripture, and understand the nature of what it means to be an eyewitness. There is more then just scripture if scripture isn’t enough for you. But all the evidence points back to one incontrovertible truth; the Bible is the one truth. Not a truth, no one persons truth, the truth. The price of being a skeptic is high, and if this is the only life you’re worried about, then that’s okay. As a Christian all we can do is give scripture, point out facts, and let God do the rest of the work. Go forth and be blessed this day.

 

Refrences

McDowell, J., & McDowell, S., PhD. (2017). Evidence that demands a verdict: Life-changing truth for a skeptical world. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

 

Why Can’t I Drive The Car?

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Why Can’t I Drive The Car?

Have you ever wondered why your parents told you, ‘no you can’t drive the car.’? The answer is pretty obvious, you’re not ready. We are equally young in our faith. We start off as it says in scripture on the milk, and eventually work our way up to the meat and potatoes. When we are but babies in our mothers arms we are cared for and provided for in everything we may need. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, John 3:16“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.” This is just the skim of scripture, the milk as it were. This is what you must understand as a baby Christian, but this isn’t where your journey ends, it’s only the beginning. When you become a Christian your true life starts, and everything before it was merely just learning blocks in preschool preparing you for life as a Christian. I myself have experienced many tragedies, traumas, hardships, and heartbreak. There’s also been much joy, and happiness, and blessings along the way. Each and every event in my life at some point in time can be used for me to further the gospel of Jesus Christ. We all have experiences that mold our perspective, and in that we all have our own vantage points, and that uniqueness is a gift from God.

1 Corinthians 12:1-11”12 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: 2 You know that[a] you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb[b] idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus [c]accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are [d]diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works [e]all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by [f]the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”

With each of our gifts and ministries we can be apart of, because we are but babies fresh into the faith, we aren’t ready to focus on our gifts and ministries. It takes time, but we jump in right away and test the waters. As part of our path we are to grow in our walk with Christ, and also in our own gifts. Like any pro athlete, or musician, practice, repetition, and guidance must be used to grow in skill, and to become proficient. Scripture is the same way. We cannot truly excel if we never move beyond the milk. If we are content in baby stage are we truly doing all that we can to bring glory to God?

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 “12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink [g]into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.”We must understand that before a baby can walk first it must develop strong kneecaps, and the muscles in its legs and hips must grow and develop. As a child grows we accept that we start off slow, and work our way to harder things along the way. Our brains grow and develop as we learn new things, experiences in life form us, shape us, and hopefully we have a strong spiritual family to shape us as God fearing children. But what does this have to do with driving the car? If God wanted us to get right to going out and telling people about Jesus Christ and share the hope and love to all, we would be gifted with all the right things to say, all the scripture we’d ever need, and we’d have all the answers. That’s not the case though. You wouldn’t let a 10 year old drive you to Walmart because they aren’t mature enough, their brains haven’t matured yet, even their size may not be mature enough yet. But when the time is right they will one day come to you and want to learn how to drive and that’s when you look at them and start to train them on drivers safety. The key word in that sentence is train them. When Paul was blinded on the road to Damascus he was gifted by God, the Holy Spirit, and yet he went to be vetted, and trained by the Apostles for 3 years before he started to evangelize, preach, and teach. We must be trained in the ways of the Lord, and we get there by reading, studying, learning about God, and using our trails to help build us for trials down our path that will be harder then before.

With every passing day of doing Yoga the workout will get easier and easier. Eventually I will no longer get anything from them and I can either sit idle, or I can move on to the next step. I wouldn’t want to start off at level 3 or 4, but it forces me to continue to grow. The key word in that sentence is grow. Every day we are on this planet we are given the opportunity to grow closer to God. Every trial we face, every love we have, every skinned knee, job, and loss, and anything else you can think of is an opportunity to grow closer to our Father. We can look at our lives with frustration, and anger, and bitterness if we want to, but ultimately that will not change your situation, nor will it bring you closer to God. If we truly hated our children we could give them the keys at 10 years old and tell them to knock themselves out, and they likely would, literally. The disaster that would come from allowing your child to go through such an experience when they were clearly not ready for it, all you would do is set them up to fail. While there is a lesson for failure, this is not the context for that lesion. All of you new age Yoda fans, sorry, not today. Being good stewards of our gifts, and not squandering them, not being foolish and careless, and being wise and deliberate with the spiritual gifts, and most importantly the gift of life is by far the most important lesion we could learn. Each lesson we face we should try to find the good in it, and understand that our lessons may be a chance to witness to others, or a chance to grow to God, or an attack of the Devil, or an attack of this world. It’s even very possible that the hardships or lessons of your own doing. We are often our greatest enemy causing our own pains along the way. God will usually try to get us to stay away from a particular path, but if we ignore the warning signs and choose to drive straight for the cliff, that’s on us. So before you start throwing a temper tantrum about how unfair God is, ask yourself how you can serve God no matter what circumstance you may find yourself in. And don’t rush into things you’re clearly not ready for, that’s one of those signs saying ‘cliff ahead’, but if you like cliff jumping, by all means, jump away. Just remember, sometimes God will stop you from splatitng on the rocks below, sometimes he wont.

 

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When Your Heart Hurts

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When Your Heart Hurts

Today’s blog post will be dedicated to a very lovely lady I have had the pleasure to get to know. She’s the most empathetic, and loving woman I’ve ever be blessed to know. No matter the hardships that befall you, turn to the Father and place your trust in Him. He gives us gifts and sometimes it’s in the most unusual circumstances, but God always works in mysterious ways. It’s not our place to question, it’s just our place to smile, say thank you, and Love Jesus for everything we have. God Bless Alice, you’re never ever alone.

 

We’ve all be there, broken hearted, torn, crying, lost and not sure where to turn. After my ex left I was broken, and I felt as if I’d never be whole again. There are days even now two years later when I wonder what more my heart can take, what more hurt can I  endure. I have watched a great many tragedies, and have seen the revolving door of new people in and out of my life. What I have learned is to be sure my foundation is solid. I have wanted nothing more then to find myself someone special, but as I have moved forward I have now realized there’s a reason I hadn’t found the right person. It wasn’t so much as the right person for me, it was the right person for the path I am now on. It’s funny how just a year ago I never imagined the path I’d be on now. I still find myself surprised at each new path God places me on. It’s funny, after my near death experience back in 2016 for a while I was at ease with everything that was going on in my life. I was calm, and I was sure that I was so unsure of the future, but it was completely okay because no matter where I was, God would be in control. As time passed I slowly began to feel the doubts creep in, and I began to feel the pull of regret, doubts, and despair flood my heart, and I found myself being crushed by the weight I couldn’t carry alone.

In the months and now years of recovery of the worst heartbreak I’ve ever had, I have found clarity of faith that I have never had. I have become a pawn moving my way up the board, and one day hope to become a knight. The road to becoming a knight is a perilous one, and not to be undertaken lightly. The closer you get to God, and as you become one of his strongest tools, so shall you be subjected to more attacks, more scrutiny, and a bigger target on your chest. When you are broken hearted, do not fear the pain, instead accept it, and grow from it. When you are lost, turn to God to be your compass. When you are hurting turn to God to wipe your tears away. When you are sad and depressed turn to God for healing and trust that the gray skies will part. We are all down on our knees at some point, but always remember that our trials are for many purposes. We often think that when we go through a trial it’s because of us, something we are to learn, and while that’s quite possibly true, it’s also possible that it’s our witness that’s on trial. How we respond to depression, and anger, and heartbreak is just as important as any other day. We have the opportunity to show others the love of Jesus Christ in our lives. While this may not change our fear, or the hurt we feel, we should always hold onto the hope for tomorrow. God has made each and ever one of us important and it’s in scripture we find a hope that washes away all tears, washes away all doubts, and builds us stronger tomorrow then we are today. Luke 12:7“7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” We don’t often think about Christ’s love for us as an individual love, but the truth is Jesus would have sacrificed himself for even just one soul, but as God planned we are each, every single one of us, worthy in God’s eyes of saving. We are God’s people and our Father loves us unconditionally. We have a father that wants us to join Him in Heaven, and that wants us to know him. We have a father we can call Abba, and we know that no matter how much we hurt, how much we cry, how lost we feel, our Abba is never not with us.

It doesn’t matter if you suffer from depression, anxiety, heartbreak, or addiction, there’s always hope on the horizon. The first thing to know is God never leaves us. Second, is God will always provide a solution to the problem. God loves us, and God wants us to succeed even if there’s a hard lesson to be learned. God often gives us the tools we need to make it through our hardships. God also gives us help along the way. We may not expect the help to come from where it does, but we must verify by testing the apparent gifts, but if they are truly gifts from God, we must always appreciate them, and treasure them. I haven’t always been the best at doing this, and I feel if perhaps I would have done something differently I wouldn’t have ended up divorced, but regardless where the blame is to be placed, if any, I am on this path now because of that event putting this timeline in motion. Trust in God that even when we screw things up, or when the Devil intervenes, God is still working things out. All things in our life will be used to glorify God, the good, bad, even the ugly. Don’t fear tomorrow, instead focus on God today and ask how you can glorify God with whatever your going through. Never doubt yourself for you’re a child of the King. We all have limitations, physical, emotional, mental, but in our weaknesses, God grows our faith and we must turn to God and give all the glory. Embrace the gifts God has placed in your life to include and most importantly Jesus Christ. Be strong, be courageous, and be willing to take a chance by trusting in God the Father.

Living Your Identity

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Living Your Identity

Bruce Wayne lives his life as an eccentric billionaire playboy. He has his day job, his public persona but when the sun goes down and he dons the cowl, the true Bruce Wayne comes out. The true face is the one that criminals fear, and the one that stalks the streets of Gotham City. You can look at nearly all the superheroes and understand why they hide their super identity from the world. In The Dark Knight Rises Bruce Wayne tells Robin why he needed to wear a mask and it was to protect those people he cared about. I feel as if we as Christians have a secret identity, and that identity is Christian. I feel like we go to work and we never discuss our faith with anyone. We go to the grocery store and our faith stays at home. Even worse I feel like we go to bars, and strip clubs, and all manner of sinful things (no I’m not saying drinking at the bar is sinful), what I am saying is we check Christian at the door. How often do we hide who we are because we’re afraid of what someone might think? How often do we not stand up for what’s right as a Christian because we’re afraid of being ridiculed, or persecuted for it?

Not long ago I was in the grocery store, and I ran into someone I go to church with. We talked for a while and went our separate ways, but while I was grabbing what I went to the store for, I got a feeling in the pit of my stomach I couldn’t quite shake. I’m something of a newish good ol’ country boy. I like guns, and bows, and I listen to rock and roll, and I drink wine, and beer. I don’t drink to get drunk, but I feel and felt that if that person saw me buying beer that I would be judged. There are two things I’d like to say, one; we as Christians are some of the most judgmental people on the planet. Two, we as Christians are some of the most gossiping people on the planet. I fully understand and respect Christians that choose not to drink, however, those who condemn people for drinking have no real basis to do so. Drinking a beer or two doesn’t make me a bad Christian. Drinking a glass of wine doesn’t make me a bad Christian. Why are Christians so afraid to stand out, and the ones that do, why are they so afraid to be able to live who they are? This is a big problem many Christians face today, but it comes back to judgment.

I have felt in my life that I needed to hide my faith from others. The desire to fit in, the desire to be liked overwhelmed what I should have done and I hid who I was. Sadly I paid for that mistake as I ended up marrying someone who did not share my values, did not share my faith, and when the time came, I was left with nothing. I knew I shouldn’t have put my faith in the closet like that, but I was afraid that I wouldn’t ever find someone who cared for me like my ex-wife did, and when things got a little tough, she walked away without fighting to save the marriage. We as Christians must realize that our relationship with God is the most important thing in our lives. We must always put God first, and trust that our faithfulness will be rewarded. We should never deny Christ as Peter had. Matthew 26:70-74“70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” 71 And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” 73 And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” 74 Then he began to [a]curse and [b]swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.”

Every time we turn our backs on Christ, and we keep our faith locked away because of any reason, it never matters why, we are no better then Peter. We must not be ashamed of our faith, and we must never let fear be the reason we say nothing. We are promised persecution for our faith, and if we are truly going to accept Jesus as our savior, we must accept the struggles that come with it. Now, that being said, as for the other issues, we need to remember something, we are not holy, we are not righteous in any way. We are in no position to judge anyone else. The ONLY thing we are to do is politely call someone on their sins, and offer loving aid to help them. We are not called to pass judgment on someone. We are not called to dictate what is or is not acceptable from the world standards. The only place we just be going to determine what is and what isn’t okay is scripture. Let me point something out to those Christians who think drinking is a sin. John 2:1-11“2 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” 11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and [a]manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.”

So here is the Son of God at a wedding. Read verse 10 again, the master of feast called saying at the beginning of the party the good stuff is put out, but by the time everyone is drunk and happy, the cheap stuff is put out because no one cares anymore. Jesus didn’t turn the water into bad wine even, he made it into the best wide they’d had. Now, I’m not saying it’s okay to get drunk, but what I am saying is, there’s nothing wrong with having drinks in moderation. Scripture says not to be a drunkard, and what that means is we do some stupid stuff when we drink. We must stay sober minded not to do sinful things under the guise of alcohol. There is no excuse for doing stupid things while drunk. The choice to drink is yours and drunk is never an excuse. Now on the flip side, we must stop thinking we have the right to judge others. We don’t know what anyone is going through, and we have no place to pass any kind of judgment for any reason. Our place is to love, and be there for others. Our place is to share the Love and Gospel of Jesus Christ, and show the world what being a Christian is all about. No one wants to be around gossip, or judgmental self-righteous people. I have heard so often from people who have sworn off church because they always felt like they were being judged by people in the church. How much damage has been done by people of the church because of actions such as these? The numbers frighten me because I think of all the souls that are potentially lost because we as Christians have not conducted ourselves in the best light.

Someone once said to me that you had to be able to connect with your congregation and it was important that you are approachable. I come from the military and one thing veterans do is drink. Most veterans drink far to much, but it’s common place to have a beer with friends, and laugh and joke, and I find most veterans are more likely to open up at a gathering after having a beer or two. As a (hopefully) future reverend, I hope to be able to reach the veteran community. I hope to be approachable and if that means having a beer or two with veterans, to me it’s no different then having wine at a wedding. The reason I was so concerned at the store is because I know how some people are and some topics are touchy subjects for some people. I neither want to be the subject of gossip, nor the subject of someone’s judgment. Ultimately however, my actions are between God and me. I trust that if I stepped out of place I would made aware of it, and I would have to face the consequences for my actions. We should never have to hide because of fear. Growing up I hid I was a nerd in school because I was terrified I’d never be accepted. Now I have a blog post that I am literally comparing the Gospels to today’s age of the Geek. What I was once afraid of I now share proudly. I am a Christian, I am a nerd, I drink beer, and I talk to sinners. I talk to non-believers, and I converse with people of different faiths. I am decorated Army Veteran, and on occasion I might use a curse word. It should come as no surprise to anyone that I too am a sinner. I too fall short of the glory of God, and I to struggle with the world and my faith.

We are all attacked by the Devil, attacked by the world, attacked by the flesh, but we always have to fight as hard as we can. We draw our strength from our Lord and Savior, and we are covered in protection when we ask for it. Psalm 91:4“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” Let’s all cool it on the gossip, and let us all stop judging one another, and just love one another. Lift up one another in talk, not tear down. Live your identity and remember it’s Jesus’s judgment we must be concerned with, not that of man. Never be afraid to be who you are. I’ve been condemned for being a Christian and the more I study, the more I preach and teach, the less tolerant those around be become. It was fine me being a Christian as long as I didn’t talk about it. It was find being a Christian as long as it didn’t come up in conversation, but now, more and more people are proving to be less open to hearing me out, and even as far as no longer supporting me and my path. I have found it difficult as my mornings now start with yet another person pulling their support. One by one acquaintances drop away and I find that as the Devil pushes me, I must remain vigilant and affirm who I am. I am a Christian, and I am a man seeking redemption for years of mistakes and sins. I am a man driven to help others going through hell on Earth that I’ve experienced. I’m a Christian who wants to share the love and grace of Jesus Christ, not because of something I think might be true, but what I know to be true by the evidence within my own life. I’m a Christian who loves the Lord and will stand firm as I am taunted, and exiled from parts of my old world. I have faith in God the Father, and I know he renews that Faith, and through the hard times, or the peaceful times, I will not bend a knee to the world just because it wants me to. I will not acquiesce to be silent in my faith. I am a Christian, and I will live my identity. I don’t need to hide who I am, and I won’t.

Behold The Power of Thor

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Behold The Power of Thor

“Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” The inscription on the fictional hammer of Mjolnir. Thor possesses this hammer and the power is power within. When his powers were stifled by Odin in the first Thor movie, he was sent on a journey to discover himself. He needed to discover the true nature of a leader, of a King, and what it meant to truly be worthy of the gift of Thor. What are we worthy of before God of the universe? The answer is absolutely nothing. We deserve nothing but its through Grace we are gifted eternal life. When Thor betrays his father Odin, the King, he is cast out, stripped of his powers, stripped of his rightful place in Asgard. Odin being a loving and benevolent King and father did not send Thor to Earth without the possibility to return. He enchanted the hammer Mjolnir to give Thor back his power if and when Thor displayed himself worthy, to submit to the power of Thor which was to be kind to others, to be selfless towards others, and to be humble, all traits to make a great future King. In our walk with Christ we are told nothing we do in this life would ever make us worthy of the perfection of Heaven. Heaven cannot have a black mark within it, so in order to be worthy, we are washed, cleansed by the Blood of Christ, and we are made new, burning away the flesh of old, and becoming a new creature, submitting ourselves, humbly before the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:17“17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

What does it mean to be unworthy? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Unworthy as “a : lacking in excellence or value : poor, worthless b : base, dishonorable” In scripture, we see what we are to in the presence of God, Isaiah 64:6“But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like [a]filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.” When you look up this verse in the Hebrew it actually means our righteousness is like a dirty menstrual rag. The rag a woman uses to clean herself during her monthly cycle is how we are compared. That’s pretty low, and yet we see our salvation, and grace regardless of what we are worthy of. Ephesians 2:8-10 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Much like Thor we have failed to be worthy of the kingdom. We however have hope in Jesus Christ, as Thor had hope in the hammer. In the Old Testament of the Bible the Jews looked forward to their savior, they where holding out for a hero to save them for their enemies, and when the day came, they rejected the truth because it wasn’t what they wanted. Thor regained his strength, his power through the change within himself. The Hammer gave him his strength back, but the hammer isn’t what gifted him his true power. The cross is what the Jews looked forward to, and we as Jews and Gentiles look back towards the cross, it’s not the cross itself that gave us our hope, it’s the blood of Christ that was spilt. We were washed with that blood, and since then we have the power of the Holy Spirit flowing through us. We must only believe in that power, believe in the sacrifice made for us to be saved from eternal death, and be given eternal life.

When Thor’s hammer is broken by his opposite Hela, he feels despair, lost, powerless, but in time, he found the power didn’t come from the symbol, it didn’t come from the hammer, no, the power was inside him all along. We don’t get our power and strength from the cross; we get the power from the Holy Spirit of Christ, which flows through us. We don’t need to carry a cross to have the power, we don’t need to eat the bread and drink the wine to have the power, those are merely symbols of the power given, the power of Love, Mercy, Forgiveness. We are gifted with Eternal salvation as brothers, sisters, children, of the King. We are God’s hands and feet, and we work not for ourselves, but to show the glory of God within us. We share the good news of Christ because when we submit to the Lord, and we love Jesus for everything done for us, we should be excited and unable to contain our joy. Much like Thor would make the thunder come when he had strong emotions, we to should bring the sunshine and rainbows everywhere we go, because we have the power of the Holy Spirit, and we must allow Jesus Christ to work through us in all we say and Do. Don’t let the Devil break your cross, don’t let the Devil destroy your world, stand up, stand tall, and remember that those whom attack us “know not what they do.” So forgive them, and pray for them, and love them regardless, and you will inherit the Kingdom to live in peace, and joy for eternity. Perfection is what awaits us, and we to, like Thor, are forgiven for our insolence, our disobedience, our faithlessness, and our sins that make us dirty. Isn’t that a wonderful thing, to have hope knowing we could never earn it because we don’t have it? Jesus paid our ransom for us, He paid for the ticket into Heaven, and asked only one thing in return, Love and follow Christ, and Love your Neighbor. Simple, and yet so many will never submit to a higher authority, and so many will never know the love and grace of God.

 

 

God Said and We Must Trust

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God Said and We Must Trust

Genesis 2:1818 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

Some days when I feel alone, when I feel discouraged, I think back to what God said and I know that in this season I may be alone, but I must put my faith in God that He has a plan bigger than I can see. It’s not easy going through life without the things we desire most, but if something is truly good for us the Lord will provide when the time is right. Being patient is one of the hardest things we as humans have to do. There are a lot of things I am patient with, but being alone is not one of them. While some people can go their entire lives alone, some people are wired for those human connections. Be strong in your faith, and trust in the Lord. Walk closely with Christ and listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling you. Find your purpose God has planned for you, and always trust in the process. God doesn’t make mistakes, and for every hardship, tragedy, struggle, God is with you working out the details. Do not loose hope, and do not despair, Jesus Christ is the truth, the way, the life. In his death we were given eternal hope, so never fear tomorrow, focus on today, and trust the plan. God