Tag: faith

Why I became The Arrow Preacher

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Why I became the Arrow Preacher

A question I’ve been asking myself is why this path? Why have I chosen to dawn the hood, teach myself to be an archer, learn the Bible and teach others. I don’t know the path I live on, or where it will take me. All my life I’ve felt out of place, I have felt like something was wrong. The only part of my life that makes sense, the only part of my life that seems to be going well, knowing that I am writing and making a difference. It feels good knowing that I am in some small way doing God’s work.

For so long in my life I wished I could be someone else, anyone other then who I was. I dreaded every day I would wake up and head out into the world. I never cared for what I saw in the mirror, or the pain and suffering I had in my heart every day. I had always had a love for archery and characters that were archers. One in particular the Green Arrow became a quick favorite of mine. For years I would dress as the character for Halloween. I continued to train myself with my bows and as time went on, more and more people started to call me the Arrow.

During the time I spent under the hood it became clearer I was more comfortable under the hood then that everyone saw me as every day. As I began to write on Facebook the more I wrote the more people started to gravitate to it. In time the suggestion would start to come that I create my own blog, separate from Facebook, A place where my voice could and would be heard. Eventually I would be told by the right people, at just the right time in my life to start this blog.

Over the last few months as I’ve seen my blog take flight, I now find myself evaluating where I’m going. I find myself comfortable in my reasonable success with my blog and finding a sense of pride with each new country my blog is viewed from.

These days my persona feels more real then my life. I feel I am doing my best work when I am writing and reaching out to others. God has blessed me with some wonderful abilities, and I am thankful every day for them. To allow my pain to reach others and not let that pain destroy me I can only praise God. My pain the suffering I’ve endured has taught me much it will not be in vein. If I can reach others in similar pain, those who’ve gone through depression, anxiety, divorce, self loathing, the thoughts and feelings we all have at some point. God has blessed me with a great deal over the years. As I have survived on setback after another in my life, it is always God who’s lifted me out of the shadows, brought me back into the light, brought me back to life. The war is far from over, and as I see myself a warrior for Christ I will not give up till my last breath is taken to bring others unto his flock.

I will continue to use my gifts, use this hood and this mask, and to use my bow to reach others any way I can. This blog is an outlet for the daily struggles I face, along with things I know others have and are facing. I can only hope to reach as many people as possible. For all of my followers, THANK YOU! I am so grateful for each and every one of you. I am honored so have such wonderful followers.

Pass On What You Have Learned

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Pass On What You Have Learned

 When we start in our faith we are but babies. As we grow in our faith we grow stronger in both our connection with God and our understanding of that faith, we mature in it. It is important that as we grow in our faith that we learn to pass on what we have learned. In order for us to live up to the commandment we have been given we must realize the importance of passing on the word of God to the next generation. Joel 1:3 “3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.” This sentiment is shared again in Psalms 34:11 “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.”

Although I’m not a father I can understand the opinion that a father wants his son to have a better life then his own. Proverbs 3:1 “My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments;” If we are to leave behind a legacy the most important legacy we can leave is the continued teachings of Christ. Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Fathers must be roll models. We were made to lead the household. We were made to be strong and courageous. We may not always know the right path to take, and we may not always get it right everyday, but praying everyday to God for the strength, wisdom and courage to be the best dad you can be is so essential.

Today there are too many kids who don’t have a father. Today there are to many sperm donors that abandon their kids and walk away from their responsibilities. What is it that makes a boy lay with a woman and walk away when there is a child involved? So many males in our society today think of themselves as men, they have how many kids, with how many women, that doesn’t make you a man, it makes you a boy with no regard for morals or responsibilities. It truly makes me sick how many close friends I have who are single mothers, trying to play the roll of mother and father, work full time and still barely making ends meet. It isn’t fair or right for a family to live like that. Sadly it’s becoming just the way it is. More to it though, how many people live such a morally gray life? How many people who are raised Christian turn their backs on it, or how many live a life of hypocrisy? We are all hypocrites and we are all sinners, but to what extent? Do we hurt people on purpose? Do we lie to the ones we love to their face? Do we treat the people we love with distain and loathing? What is the driving force to have affairs, to cheat on the ones we claim to love? Why can we not be happy with what we have? Why can we not separate like adults, and why do we have to tear someone down to the very bottom before we are satisfied with leaving well enough alone? Where does our hatred, our rampant antipathy come from? We decide to destroy the very foundation a life was built upon for what cause? The simple answer is sin, and most often a form of unhappiness from within. We often push outward what we are feeling within and we don’t always know how to focus that energy so it usually comes out as anger, hatred, words and actions towards the person we are usually closest too. Sadly that’s part of why so many marriages, so many relationships end today. We just don’t know how to handle. It’s easier to quit and run away then it is to face yourself in the mirror. It’s easier to turn your loved one into the bad guy so you can look at yourself and feel okay with your decisions. The sad part is, while you are making yourself feel better, we don’t care about the pain we inflict on someone else. We don’t care about how much our anger and hatred is destroying their world. The old saying is true, “fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to the dark side.” (Yoda)

To love is hard; to love unconditionally is near impossible for so many. When you’re heart isn’t with the Lord, to love as Christ loves, to give as Christ gave, to sacrifice as Christ did, is beyond what most are comfortable doing, because that means putting your faith in something bigger then yourself. It means giving up that piece of yourself that must be in control, that must be held on to in order to protect yourself from harm. The truth is though if we are truly with someone, and trust them, and we give ourselves to someone to love them and want to make them happy with everything we are, if both people in a relationship would spend all their energy being their for the other person everyone’s needs would be met. This isn’t an easy thing to do, and it’s not without practice, but it can be done. How strong are you? How willing are you to merge to vials of sand together to become one inseparable bowl of sand? If nothing else is passed on in life, what does it mean to love, the greatest commission of all.

Love above all else, love your God, love your, neighbors, pass on Love.

 

 

 

The Battle Between Good and Evil (May the 4th Be With You)

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The Battle Between Good and Evil

(May the 4th Be With You)

We all have both good and evil inside of us. We are born as innocent, yet we can quickly learn hate, or love. Much as the force it’s easier to Hate then it is to Love. Shadow Arrow Season 2 “Everyone has a demon inside of them. The “dao de jing” recognizes the yin and the yang, opposing forces inside all of us. The darkness and the light. The killer and the hero.” As I have spent my life and more recently the last year preaching and teaching I often find myself falling to famous movie quotes, Vader “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” When we do not have faith in God we will find anything to see us through. We wander in the dark aimlessly seeking refuge. 1 Corinthians 13:6 “6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”

It’s a tricky thing finding the balance. Most great villains in most movies actually believe what they are doing is the right path. Isaiah 5:20 “20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” The battle between good and evil will continue till the end of days. What side will you choose? Just as there’s the Jedi, and the Sith what side will you choose to be on?

Today is May 4th, National Star Wars Day. As we have loved or I have loved Star Wars for my entire life, I find the fight depicted in Star Wars the draw of the dark side to be accurate to the draw of sin and the lies of the Devil. It’s never easy to always do the right thing. Being human we won’t always make the right choices. What we can do though is fight the pull of the dark side the best we can and fight for the light, fight for justice, fight for love.

My biggest fear has always been that of abandonment. “The fear of loss is a path to the dark side.” (Yoda) I learned the hard way how true this is. When I suffered a great loss it put me in the darkest place I’ve ever been. Only the light of God pulled me from the brink of death.

As faith is defined Hebrews 11:1 “1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” As stated by Obi-Wan Kanobi “Your eyes can deceive you; don’t trust them.” We know that we have to have faith in what we can feel, faith in the world beyond our own understanding. The inspiration of the persona for this blog is of course the hit TV show Arrow. As Oliver Queen survived a 5 year crucible he constantly struggles against the darkness inside and the light inside. “If the darkness inside outweighs the light, instead of repelling Darhk’s magic, you’ll end up fueling it. You will only make him more powerful.” In order to fight the good fight we must always learn to resist the darkness, and gravitate toward the light. “Do or do not, there is no try.” (Yoda) Felicity Smoak: “You honor the dead by fighting. And you’re not done fighting!” Never stop fighting till the Lord calls you home. It’s worth the fight to live eternal life in perfection.

Don’t Get Caught in Satan’s Web

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Don’t Get Caught in Satan’s Web

 Many depictions of the Devil are that of a serpent slithering here and there to and fro. This is depicted in Genesis. He walks around the world as depicted in Job 1:7 “And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” Satan cast out of heaven because of his jealousy of the Humans. Isaiah 14:12 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” I however see Satan as more like a spider. The Devil wants us to forsake God. He wants us to give in to our earthly desires. The Devil’s jealousy of man because God loved man more then the Angels, is why He works so hard to break us.

The entire life of Job 1:6-12 was that of the Devil working to show God that man will sin against God. But that never happened. Job proved the Devil wrong. Satan has since continued to try and ensnare us in his web of deceit and lies. Satan tempts Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11. During this time Jesus resisted Satan and did it using only Scripture. Satan is like a Funnel-Web Spider. Caught in its web the spider’s bite is toxic to humans. Satan wants to catch us in that web and never let us go, eat us for dinner.

You have to be smart enough to see the web before you get caught in it. Don’t fall for the tricks of the Devil for you will forever be caught, snared in His web of lies. We must learn the weapons of warfare, 2 Corinthians 10:4 “(For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)” Ephesians 6:12 “ For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].”

 Never in our lives will we face a greater threat then that for our soul. We must learn to protect ourselves. The enemies are trying to trick and trap us every minute of every day. We have the tools, and the weapons we need to fight back. Never be afraid of the darkness, light it up with the light of God. Psalm 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

 

When the devil hits you fight back with love

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When the devil hits you fight back with love

 Egypt April 9th 2017

Germany Dec 19th 2016

USA Nov 28th 2016

France July 26th 2016

Germany July 24th 2016

Germany July 18th 2016

Bangladesh July 1st 2016

USA June 12th 2016

Iraq May 11th 2016

USA Dec. 2nd 2015

France Nov. 13 2015

USA Apr. 15th 2013

USA Sept 11th 2001

 These are only a fraction of the terrorist attacks worldwide. The list would be far more to list. The Devil thrives on hate, destruction, mistrust, and sinful desires. What can we do to fight back against something that comes so easily to so many? Love, 1 peter 4:8 “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” When we choose love over hate that love snuffs out the darkness. “The people that are trying to make the world worse never take a day off , why should I. Light up the darkness” – Bob Marley We can overcome and kick the Devil right back where He came from when we choose to love over hate. There is so much pain and suffering in this world, so much hate it’s hard to remember to love. Hate breeds fear, and fear leads to hate. When we choose to follow the light of the world, the hate will be snuffed out, for darkness cannot survive in the light. It only takes a little light to push away the blackness that tries to survive but can’t.

There are so many terrorist attacks that occur every year all around the world, and yet we only hear about a small fraction of them. We may not be able to stop every attack but how we choose to handle them when that day comes is our choice. Much like Boston in 2013 we too can choose to let love define who we are. The city of Boston when under siege rallied together to show the world they would not be bullied into submission, they would not bow to terrorist, would not allow such hate to overrun it’s city, and they succeeded. For all the death and destruction that day Love became the rallying cry. That city showed the world in one unified voice it wasn’t afraid. Just as New York had done so many years prior, this country stood up and decided to fight back. While some decided to fight back militarily, others decided to stand to make a difference. Change lives, fight for Love and never stop spreading the Gospel. Never stop praying for your enemies.

Love though never easy in the face of so much pain and suffering is about harmony with your relationship to God. Even as Christ was being nailed to the cross and murdered for a crime he did not commit, he asked the Father to forgive them. That’s true love. Never forget that we are not to follow the commandments we like or agree with, we are to follow them all. And the greatest of commandments is to love thine neighbor, and not just the ones we like, but all of them. A single barb from barbed wire from the most well known concentration camp in all the world stands rusting away but the reminder of both the good and evil that exists in this world. In every tragedy we can see and find remnants of love if we just look close enough for them. Private D. Doss a medic saved 75 wounded soldiers atop of Hacksaw Ridge in 1945. He then continued to save lives until wounded himself a while later and removed from the field of battle. His love for his fellow soldiers was second to none. Through all the hate and suffering he was the light that shined onto the battlefield, a warrior for God he fought because he felt it was the right thing to do. He never carried a firearm, and never fired a single shot; yet he made more of a difference then most do the entire war.

There’s always an alternative to hate. Be the definition of love. Hope, and faith and love concur all.

Bat signal in the sky

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Bat signal in the sky

How do you know Jesus is next to you? Is it the warm feeling in your heart when something special happens, when something works out despite all odds? What if you could look to the sky, and see the signal to let you know God was still watching over you, would that give you comfort? When the disciples where walking with Jesus for 3 years even after all the miracles He preformed they still doubted the true nature of who He was. Even if there was some sort of Jesus symbol in the sky just as the Bat signal didn’t stop all crime, there would still be doubters in the world.

In my life there’s been enough evidence for me to believe that Christ not only existed, but also was the Son of God. John 20:29 “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” Even Thomas who had followed for 3 years didn’t believe without actually feeling the holes in Jesus’s hands and side. If someone who lived with Jesus for that long could doubt, it’s understandable how we could doubt even today. James 1:6 “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” When we feel lost and feel like we cannot go on any further we must look to the sky and pray. Even if the signal in the sky isn’t there, we must know that God is always watching.

Let’s people know he’s still out there, let those who are weary know that Jesus is with them. Be there for those who need help. Take comfort in knowing that no matter the circumstances you find yourself in Christ our God is still with us. Find your own signal, find something you can grasp onto to remind yourself He’s watching. The bat signal in the sky was a way to tell Batman there was trouble, but also to remind criminals the Bat was still there. We too can find and keep our own signal. When I was in Iraq I kept a small Gideon’s Bible in the breast pocket of my uniform under my body armor. This was a constant reminder to me that God was always with me. As beat up as that bible is now I no longer carry it, but I have found other things to remind me. Now I wear a ring with the Armor of God passage. Every time I look down I am reminded of how precious my time is here, and how every step I take God is always with me. It’s not always easy to have faith, but we need to know, when we really need it God will always be there for us, because even when we don’t need His help, Gods with us. Pray earnestly always and have faith even when you cannot see.

Leap of Faith

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Leap of Faith

Sometimes in life you have to take a leap without looking where you may land. We don’t always know why God leads us down a particular path, but one thing is certain, there is most certainly a plan.

It’s been over 30 days now since I have been back to work. Just when I thought all hope was lost I get a call out of the blue asking if I’d like to go to work for a new account manager. Without hesitation and without knowing all the details I agreed. “God” I asked, “This is obviously part of the plan, if this is what you want me to do, I will follow your path.” I don’t know where my future will take me, but I have faith, and that faith no matter where the river takes me, I’ll not fight it.

What would you do if you had to take a leap of faith? What would you do if Jesus asked you to drop everything, leave everything and follow? Would you do it? 1 Peter 2:21 “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” Christ asks us to pick up our cross and follow. This is noted more then once in scripture. When Christ gathered his 12 disciples he asked them to take a leap of faith, giving up their jobs, their wives, their families, to follow the Lord. Matthew 4:19-22 “19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.”

 As I move forward into my new life and I watch the old fade away, I too must decide what am I willing to give up, what am I willing to leave in order to follow my calling. The incontrovertible fact is I cannot, I will not stay stagnant in my walk with Christ. I know that many may think I’m crazy for pursuing the life style I am working towards and even hated by some, I know that I would rather be judged and hated by them, then judged by God. Matthew 10:22 “And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Nothing this world can do to us is worse then the fate we face if we don’t follow the Lord. Ephesians 6:16 “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;” Don’t let fear be what stops you.

 The Devil will lie to you to keep you from taking that leap. The Devil will try to persuade you by giving you all the reasons not to. The voices telling you, you aren’t good enough, not pretty enough, not strong enough, not smart enough, are all the lies because the voice of truth is anything in God is possible. Our path isn’t always the path we are meant to be on, and we must learn to discern the difference. Have faith and take a leap out of that plane, onto that path, make the move, make the change. Make a difference.

GRACE

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Grace

I spent my life thinking we had a special connection. I worshiped you, and knew you were with me, but I resisted in so many ways. I kept and held onto resentments. I was so angry even though I held it all in. In my youth I felt your presence but I was an angry kid. I spent all my time going from one trauma to the next, one school day to the next, putting all the bad in a box, a box on a shelf in a closet and closing the door. I kept believing that couldn’t be what life was about. There was more to life and there was more to you oh God.

I didn’t know much about the Old Testament in those days. I didn’t know about the hardships of Job, the trials of David. I never understood the reason for trials, I never understood the paradox of the more you suffer, the more you needed to lift your heart to God. Even now into my adult life I have questioned the why, I’ve wondered the reason to take everything I held dear. That was right up till recently. 1 Peter 5:10 “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle [you].” We will always have to suffer a little while. Perhaps the reason for it is simple. How do we face adversity? How do we react under horrible situations? James 1:12 “Blessed [is] the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” Are we tempted not just in the ways of the world, but tempted in anger? Of course we are. Every trial is a test of our faith, our character.

Look at Judy Hopps from Zootopia. Here’s a bunny in the big world where bunnies were good for only carrot farms and making other little bunnies. One bunny chose to overcome the world, push beyond, and achieve greatness in those trials. There will be times when you want to turn back and run home. There will be times when you feel the world is too much, but that’s when we need to lift our needs, our hearts higher to the Lord. Romans 5:3 “And not only [so], but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;” For all our trials, for all our misery on this world there is hope. Romans 8:18 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” We are never alone even if we feel like we are. We may not always have someone sitting with us, we may not feel like our friends and family are there for us, but the truth is as nice as it is to have those things, having and knowing God is with us is more important.

We cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve the world and the Lord at the same time. We must not hold onto idles, we must reach for our God, and live according to the Lord above. No matter how bad this world may treat you the end goal is far greater. Any mountain worth climbing is worth the work to get to the summit. Any goal worth having is worth working for, so work for the goal of Heaven. Believe in your God with all thine heart, and have faith that pain is temporary. Do not be angry about your trials instead embrace them. Turn them to your advantage, and you shall be rewarded with Glory. Give your whole heart to the Lord. The top of the mountain you can see for miles. We are amongst the trees, so we only see a little, God sit upon the mountaintop and can see all. One day we too may understand the why. Have faith, have love, have compassion, have empathy, and love thy neighbors to include your enemies.

Deeds of Darkness

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Deeds of Darkness

When we feel lost and we cant take a step, when we feel afraid and we can’t take a breath, just close your eyes and fly away, fly to a place of light. No matter the day, the matter the night, our savior came to show us the sight. Called to love, and called to fight, the word is heavy, heavier then might. The fog rolls in and blinds and burns, a toxin all around, and the soul doth yearns. A voice cries in the dark, but black as night, and no one in sight. Equipped to fight from head to toe, the word says what we reap so then we sew. Oh Devil the lies you tell, you can’t fool me. Romans 13:12-14 “The night is almost gone, and the day is near Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” The face of prize is the face of Christ. 1 Corinthians 16:13 “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” No matter the fight we must follow the will of God. We must listen to the heavens and let the will of God be done. NEVER QUIT            Never surrender.

1 Timothy 6:12”Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Patience is “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” When the world is cruel, and the savior calls, we must turn around from our path. Love and forgiveness is the path to peace. We may not be able to see the future, but we can live every day for Christ.

The Feathers on the Arrow

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The Feathers on the Arrow

“Fletching: The plastic vanes or feathers on an arrow. Fletching creates wind drag and also can cause the arrow to spin similar to a rifle bullet, providing stability and accuracy in flight. Fletching is made up of three or more vanes or feathers.” Psalm 127:4-5 “4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.” What keeps a Christian on the straight and narrow? What keeps a Christian on track? What keeps us accurate in the most adverse situations? Staying in the word, reading the Gospel.

Proverbs 3:6 “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

 Isaiah 26:7 “The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous.”

 We are the arrows of God and our path is kept true because we believe and we follow the word and the teaching of Christ. We can be the black arrow that pierced the heart of Smaug. We can be the arrow fired to split another arrow, a thrown bottle cap, we can be used with pinpoint accuracy if we have faith in our God given abilities to reach others.

There are millions, perhaps billions of lives not saved yet, and we as Christians can help make a dent in that number. We can use the skills God has given to us and we can do this only after we master our fear and our knowledge that we have been saved and we no longer face eternal death.

Fly straight, and be true. Let God’s words be our feathers.