Faithfullness – The Arrow Preacher

Beyond Measure

May 31, 2024May 31, 2024 thearrowpreacherLeave a comment

Beyond Measure

Since becoming a true Christian, something I’ve heard in that time is “You Can’t Outgive God.” I’d say that’s beyond true. When I became a Christian, not that I didn’t grow up knowing who Christ was, but when I truly understood and surrendered to Him, the creator of the universe, I found a new understanding. In recent years I have found myself fighting for every inch on the football field of life. In the last several years I have struggled financially, living paycheck to paycheck, barely scrapping the bottom of the barrel every month. See, I live in a tent in the back yard of my mother’s house. I’ve lived in a tent for three years now. It isn’t a small camping tent, but it is still at the heart of it, a tent. It’s hot in the summer, and cold in the winter. Until recently the winters could be rough. Having power but not fire, I was able to only heat a maximum of 30 degrees at great financial cost. 30* each night would raise my bill nearly 200-$300 dollars. Thankfully this year someone donated a pellet stove but came at the end of winter and was no use to me, so far anyway. Summers are hot, with no shade, and the temperature inside the tent can become upwards of 130*F. A bit hot, I’d say. While, I’m not complaining at all, this is the life that I had been handed, and I have been making the best of my situation. Recently I was about to leave the house and before I did, I checked my bank account and saw $68 left. While of course it was enough for the end of the month, it wasn’t enough to buy any groceries. Money has been the bane of my existence for some time now.

Years ago, I remember asking God for patience. I had undergone hardship and loss. Having such a small income, and worsening health, my ability to work became less likely. Somehow, the Lord has supplied every need I’ve had over the last several years. In times of absolute need the Lord would supply me with the means to manage a problem, even from as far away as a longtime friend who sent me money to help. Though she did not know what my need was, she sent money anyway, because she felt I needed help. The amount she sent was the exact amount I needed to fix my car. And of course, we cannot forget the winter stove which was anonymously donated. That stove will change my life in this upcoming winter. While those are only two examples, there are many more over the last 8 years. The Lord saved my life in the back of an ambulance when all those in the ambulance thought my days were done, the Lord had other plans for me. How magnificent is the Lord and His ability to take the most awful things, and turn them into blessings. Not knowing how the bills would be paid, and certainly not knowing how I’d be able to put food on the table, or fix things when needing to be fixed, the Lord has taught me patience, by immersing me in situations where patience was needed. There has been another virtue the Lord has taught me along with patience, and that’s been trust, and faith. Faith in Him, and knowing in that faith that He will work things out. Not that I won’t have trouble, but He is with me in that trouble.

Over the last several years as I mentioned, my health has been deteriorating. Not a day goes by I am not in a tremendous amount of pain. I have done my best to try and enjoy life, and to do things with the youth at my church, go for hikes, and walks, do my own yard work, but as I said recently and many times before, “everything I do comes at a cost.” The key is whether or not I am able and willing to pay the cost. As a famous line in a marvel film once said, “The bill comes due, always.” Thankfully Jesus paid the ultimate bill for me, a bill I could have never paid for. Having very little chance to work and make any significant amount of money, I have found myself concerned about my future. Would I ever be able to take care of my family? It is no secret inflation has risen in the United States, but sadly the veteran income does not equal a living wage. Where I live the average rent in around $1200 a month, and that’s recently just the bad neighborhoods. Sad to say, that’s what I used to pay for a pretty nice apartment back in the day. Now, it’s just the crime ridden places, that this is the cost of rent alone. Now, with the average being 12-1500 a month, let’s take a look at veteran pay. For a 100% the average income (Which is public record) is around $3900. It doesn’t take a budget expert to see where this could become a problem. After you take rent, and add insurance, and other exploding bill cost, you can see where even an apartment would be very tight. Sadly, for me, a few years back, I was faced with several very large bills in which I couldn’t pay for, and it left me with credit card debt I couldn’t get out from under. I was facing a fire, one that I could not put out, but only mildly control. A few more emergencies and those balances would nearly max the account. Again, am I complaining, no, it’s just the facts. In order for us to understand the enormity of the Lords blessings we must understand the enormity of our situations. Much like my debt problem, that I couldn’t pay off, we have a debt problem we couldn’t pay off either. Jesus paid that debt. Jesus willingly came to earth, placed himself in harm’s way, took himself out of safety and perfection to come to this dismal little planet, live a sinless but difficult life, and then hang on a tree he created for himself to be crucified and buried for our transgressions. He paid a bill for not just one person, but the entirety of the worlds transgressions, but why?

We are sinners by birth, a curse passed down from Adam to the rest of humanity. We are born with a debt, a mark we cannot hope to pay. We in our sin nature reject God. You do not have to teach a child to hit someone when they get angry, they do that on their own. You do not have to teach a child to lie, they do that on their own. You do not need to teach a child not to share, they do that all on their own. As Voddie Baucham once said, “Vipers in Diapers”. By our very nature we are born with sin, born with an innate sense of pride, and we want things our way. Have you ever seen a child throw a tantrum in a store because they didn’t get what they wanted? That’s the natural behavior of a child, and yet somewhere along the line we have people teaching that we are innately good. It is only by God’s grace and mercy are we good, and only good by earthly standards. By holy standards, none are good, nor are they righteous, no, not one. Jesus paid for our sins, He paid the debt we could not, by his own life. I heard it said once, if you scratch a car in a junkyard no one cares. But if you scratch a Ferrari or some other nice car, you’d likely go to jail for it. The story came with a point, it’s the value of a thing that makes it so special. Jesus was valuable which is why his life was enough to pay for the rest of humanity. He was perfect, God incarnate, and thus His sacrifice, to be the spotless lamb, would be enough to pay the debt, to be the propitiation, the substitution on our behalf. We are sinners, in need of a savior, and Jesus was that sacrifice so we may have restitution with the Father.

In the last few years, I had become increasingly aware of the mounting debt I couldn’t get out from underneath. Having realized I’d never work again, I didn’t know how I would manage. I didn’t know how I could take care of my family. If I was ever blessed with a child, I didn’t know how I would ever be able to provide. The nights of stress kept me awake. In recent months my car had begun making strange sounds in the front tire area, and in recent days that sound turned from bad to worse as metal on metal could be heard. Needless to say, my concern for a major repair cost was on my mind. Why would God place this physical burden upon me, but not change anything else? Why wouldn’t God heal me so I could go to work to take care of my family? In recent years, especially this year, teaching and ‘preaching’ the word of God has become my primary job, yet one I do not make a single penny for. Years of telling God I wouldn’t do well as a pastor, or preacher, God it seems thought I was funny. I continued to tell God what I wouldn’t do, and here I am, writing about God’s grace, and sovereignty. A few months back the Lord provided me the way to get a mic and a cheap camera for my computer. I resumed my podcast, and now I do two podcasts a week and I still write. While I don’t get paid for what I do, the Lord has called me to do this ministry, and I have obeyed His call. Having not worked now for over 20 months, I have found I enjoy putting together lessons and being in His word. Very few days go by when I am not opening the Bible and learning something new. The days I do not get a chance to dive in, at the very least I am reading a devotional. Very recently I have started a prayer journal, and keep up daily with prayers and praises to the Lord. As my car’s looming repair was over my head, (and at the time of this writing, has not been repaired) I knew I was in trouble. The Lord’s timing is perfect.

Over the last several months I have been preparing for a social security trial in which I would go before a judge and plead my case, with the help of a lawyer. I was under no illusions my case, while strong, wasn’t a sure thing. Patience has been the keyword in my life for a while. Waiting several months on end for a decision, only to be rejected, and having to move forward to the next phase, has taught me valuable lessons. Through our entire life we often try to feebly make our way through life, using our own idea to fix things on our own volition. We often think we know what’s best and we try to fix things on our own. When we try to fix things on our own apart from God, we most frequently screw it up. Thankfully, patience, and trust have left me with a new respect for God, and to trust His plan. I have learned to trust God and to do so with His timing, and not my own. God has shown me He is greater than all my own understanding, and by trusting in Him, I believe I am being, for lack of a better term, rewarded. My continued faith through adversity and strife, has brought me here, where the Lord in His mercy and grace, has shown me favor, and thus providing me ‘a way out’. It is said the Lord will not put more on you then you can handle, but the true statement is the Lord will not allow you to undergo temptation without a way out. Jesus is the way out of temptations. I believe my situation has given me insight to the difficulty in life itself. I am, thankfully seeing a change in situation, a change in the winds upon my face, and the seas ahead.

As I am expected to see significant changes in my life, I am left knowing that all my struggles, and time have not been in vain. All my strife has not been for nothing. The Lord uses everything we go through, from the traumas of living in a broken world, to the test He himself may bring upon us to discipline us, or to strengthen our resolve. What the devil uses for evil, the Lord will use it for good. While I do not know the reason for the years of struggle, and now the sudden reversal of fortune, one thing has stood out to me, it will not be an easy transition. I am very aware of my concerns of returning to a life of poverty, and worse my failing to provide for my family. I believe that while it has yet to dawn on my brain the nature of what’s about to change, I will, in time adapt, albeit keep a close eye on the devil and his desire to destroy me. I have spent years trying to rebuild my life, and while I will remain in this beautiful white, canvas tent, I will be able to pay forward the blessings the Lord has given to me. While I do not know what that looks like, the Lord’s people are never shy of need. Years ago it brought me great joy, and I believe a greater joy to the Lord, for me to provide a car for a friend. Paid for by my hard work in the military. How I have wished to be able to be there like that, for people again. I do not know what my future holds, nor am I brazen enough to say all my worries will end, but Lord willing, I will have some time to breathe, and perhaps enjoy a little of God’s beautiful creation. God blesses each of us in different ways. The biggest blessing I have been blessed with, is not a change of fortune financially, but that of love. I was brought to this place, and not by chance was I introduced to those whom I would now call family. The Lord’s providence is at work, even when we do not see it, He’s working.

I think back to the 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testaments. Was God sitting down playing games, not paying attention to us little people? No, he was moving pieces, working in the world, setting up governments, they would rise and fall, and change the landscape of the world. Eventually Rome would take over and through Rome, roads, and pathways, cities, and trade were established. These things made the way for the Gospel to be moved throughout the known world. Why was Christ born when he was? So that he would die on the cruelest torture device ever created by man. So His disciples would go and spread His Gospel to the known world. God was working then, and He’s still working now. We cannot ever know just how many tragedies He’s saved us from, or how many wrong choices we’ve avoided because of His intervening. We just don’t know what He’s actually doing. What we do know is God is good and wants good for us. Do we put ourselves aside to do His work? Do we bring Christ into every aspect of our lives, or do we just say hello on Sunday and Wednesday? Do others know we are a Christian because we always talk about it, or show Christ in our daily actions? Or would you die and no one would have known one way or another? Life is short, a vaper in the cosmos, and we have a great opportunity to seek God, because if you have the desire, it means He’s calling you. No one comes to the father unless He calls them first. Sheep do not come unless they are called. Our blessings are beyond measure; beyond anything we could comprehend. Our blessings far exceed our wildest imaginations, considering what treason, what being an enemy of the throne would bring as punishment. Death, certain death, but not a death outside of existence, but the soul survives the death of the body, therefore leaving an eternal punishment of the soul. No one is sent to Hell from God, but rather, in our obstinance, in our defiance, in our own lust for power and control, we walk the wide path straight to the fires of Hades, Hell. Christ’s gift to us, his freely given gift of grace and mercy every moment of every day, that we are not wiped from existence, but rather a gift of salvation, or being made clean of our sins, so that we may through our faith in him, enter into Heaven. Sadly, in this life, we are seeing nations falling to their desires, their lusts of power. While the Lord may hand people over to their own demise, some will remain who chose to accept the Lords’ gift, and will lay everything aside to follow Him. The rewards are beyond measure, but for me, I’d do it without the rewards. I seek no rewards, other than one sentence. “Well done, my good and faithful son.” I want to please my Lord, I want to know He’s proud of me in what I’ve become, and what I’ve fought through to be. I want to be known as a servant for Christ, and have him be pleased and proud of me. All I want is his hug and acceptance of me. I don’t wish to have bobbles, or jewels, or mansions, just to be with my Abba Father for all eternity is reward for me. It’s a gift beyond measure, so no matter the hardships faced, and those I’ve yet to endure, I pray for the Lords strength to replace my own, as I try to be a good man in the sight of the Lord. A man who God loves, and a man He’s proud of. God’s in control, He’s the good captain, and I’m just trying to do my best, and follow His commands. God has not made me a rich man of money, but a man rich in love. God has shown me favor in His love, and perhaps someday, I will no longer call this beautiful white tent home, but maybe, just maybe, I’ll have a real home, made of brick and mortar. Lord willing. The greatest gift the Lord has ever given was the gift of life through his Son Jesus dying on the cross. He created us for a relationship to Himself, and redeemed us in his Son.

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God is Good

September 6, 2018 thearrowpreacherLeave a comment

God is Good

This seems like such an easy message, but so few truly understand just how impactful it can be, God is good, and God is good all the time. I have been down and from the deepest pits of despair I have know that God is still there. I may not have always been on speaking terms with God for my own selfish, lost reasons, but God as Abba (Father), has never turned His Holy back on me. When we are upset and angry with God it’s us that walks away. We are children who storm off and slam the door to our rooms. I was an angry person for so long I ran from God. We would fight constantly. I felt like I was being taken out to the whipping shed so often I couldn’t sit down anymore. What I couldn’t understand was it wasn’t God, God wasn’t the source of my pain, the Devil was.

It’s easy to feel like you’re alone, but the truth is we are never alone. Romans 8:28 ESV“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” We know that no matter what we are going through God is there. Psalm 31:19 ESV“Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!”

Living life with depression isn’t easy. Living life with severe depression can be debilitating. Knowing God is there is sometimes the only hope people have that suffer from depression is trusting God is still there. I’ve spent time laid up in my bed and the only thought that’s gotten me up is knowing that I need to post a blog entry, or homework, or to go to church. Knowing these things are to bring glory to God is often the only thing that gets me moving. I can’t imagine how people who believe in nothing find anything hopeful when things in life don’t go very well. Worse, when people suffer traumas and if not one, or three, or even five traumas later if they believe in nothing, how they manage to keep moving forward is something I will never understand. Psalm 145:9 ESV“The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.” Knowing everything the light touches, and everything it doesn’t is all under the mercy of God is such a warm thought. Knowing that everything in my heart is touched by God, and every sorrow I feel Jesus Christ felt and took it for me. Knowing that the love of Jesus Christ is what lights up the darkness. The darkness that covers those with true horrors in their life is lit up by the grace of God.

Sometimes in life when you need to fix something, you have to make a mess before you build it back up and make it pretty. The human heart, and the psyche are sometimes the same way. In trauma therapy you often need to talk about the worst things in your life you you’ve ever experienced, and you talk about it some more, and then some more, and each time it feels like the wounds are fresh, just as painful as the first day it happened. Going over the events, and talking about them, and talking about the emotions in a particular way is how we slowly start to clean up the mess. Knowing that God is there keeping you safe, keeping me safe, has been a comfort. Knowing I am broken to pieces right now, is only a temporary thing because I know that one day God will use me to help others and bring precious glory to His holy name. Trusting in the Lord and that He has plans for me keeps me fighting and moving forward. Even when I don’t think much of myself, I know that the Lord loves me. Jesus Christ died for me, and I know that one day I will leave this broken life behind, and I will go home to where I truly belong, and why, is because God is good all the time. God is Love, God is Grace, God is Joy, and God uses broken things just like me. If God can use a broken man like myself to spread the Gospel, God can use anyone to show others hope and joy, and faith that tomorrow will be better because this life is only temporary. We have work to do in this world, and we can’t let the Devil win. We must hold strong, and never give up. If God never gives up on us, we can’t give up on ourselves either, and we certainly can’t give up on God. We are never alone.

Emotionally Compromised

July 27, 2018 thearrowpreacherLeave a comment

Emotionally Compromised

“There will always be storms, and emergencies, and chores to take care of in your day to day life. No matter how well we plan, or how careful we are there will always be just one more thing to take care of. We must always take time to rest and recharge. We must use that time to give thanks for our blessings, the grace we’ve been given, but also appreciate the hardships that come our way. The day to rest is commanded upon us, and we must allow ourselves time to reflect as God once did before all of creation. Our God shows us how to rest and leads by an example of its importance. Shall we not celebrate the day the Lord has marked as Holy and shall we not sing joyful songs and fellowship and truly find rest if not for one day a week? Rest today, for tomorrow’s burdens will be there tomorrow. Do not worry about them today.” AP

“I know you have pain because I feel it too, that doesn’t mean that Gods untrue.” AP We can’t and won’t always see the reason or reasons something goes wrong in our life. We can’t expect life to never hit a brick wall, or to fall on our faces. When my ex-wife left me and had an affair I found myself looking at my worst nightmare, and I fell down angry. I screamed, and cried to God angry, and I was so furious I literally saw red in my vision. What is it that causes us to turn our backs on God? Most people who turn Agnostic, or Atheist do so after suffering some kind of major catastrophe in their lives. I’d love to say this is simply just my opinion, but it isn’t. There are generally two kinds of people in this world. Those who after tragedy turn and grow closer to higher power, or those who curse and turn away from a higher power, so what are you? When bad things happened to you, were you the type to blame God, or turn to God?

In the last few weeks I have found myself facing hard questions. I have found myself having to listen and pray and shoulder the responsibility of being an ear. My first instinct is always to be try and fixing a problem. I have spent a large amount of my time in thought trying to create solutions to life’s problems. For me, and perhaps one of the hardest things I will ever have to learn in my path to ministry is how to shoulder that responsibility and never show the stress it crates on me. Not long ago I realized I had been impacted by something I had gone through and I found myself unable to be objective. Of course just like Starfleet Regulations 619 “Any command officer who’s emotionally compromised by the mission at hand, must resign said command.” I felt I had emotionally compromised and decided it was best for me to remove myself from the situation until such time I could regain composure, and be more effective. When you hit your emotional limit, where do you turn? Do you turn to hatred and build bitterness in your heart, or do you turn to God and understand the nature of sin?

CS Lewis once said “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity) We must understand the nature of our emotions. We often desire answers to the cruelty and malice of others. Someone once told me after a school shooting that there was no God because if there was how could He let innocent children be slaughtered? While painful, it’s hard to explain the nature of Sin to someone who’s already angry and bitter over the sins of the world. I know from my own experiences when I was emotionally upset, the last thing I wanted to hear was scripture. I wanted to be comforted, and more then anything I just wanted to yell and be heard.

When catastrophe strikes often times people need shoulders, not answers in the moment. There’s a time and place for answers, but before any counseling is done, we must evaluate the situation by ascertaining what mindset someone’s in. There is a time and place for scripture, and though that may be where we want to go, it may not always be the best time. As the Apostil Paul wrote in Romans 12:15 ^“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” Sometimes showing love, and compassion, and just being an ear for someone going through a hard time is all the ministering they need. It’s easy to loose sight of that sometimes, and when you’re in ministry long enough it’s easy to become a little callous to the hardships of others. There’s another quote by C.S. Lewis “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.” (C.S. Lewis) When scripture tells us God is with us always, we must always remember that when we laugh, God laughs. When we cry God cries. When we are happy God is happy, when we are sad God’s sad. When we suffer we must go to the Lord and share our sufferings with Him. But at the same time we must go to our friends and share our suffering with them. It’s in our times of need it gives those around us a chance to be there for someone, a chance to make a difference and show love and compassion. Many people who follow Christ feel that need, that desire, and not to share our feelings is simply depriving them a chance to share the gospel with a friend or loved one in need. When the time is right of course.

Romans 8:28“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” It takes a great deal of faith to look at tragedy and see the good in it. Sometimes we may not know or understand how any good could come from any issue. I have seen so much hurt, and death, and tragedies in my life I cannot begin to understand all of it. What I do understand is we have free will, and those around us have free will. God did not force neither of my ex wives to have affairs, but he also did not stop it. If he were to stop someone from making a choice that wouldn’t exactly be free will anymore. As long as there is sin in the world there will always be pain. As long as people are people there will always be conflict because no matter how upright or righteous we are we will never be perfect. We must trust that those who walk with the Lord will reap the benefits of it, and those who don’t will suffer the inevitable consequences. I don’t know what the purpose has been for me to go through everything I’ve gone through except to say I now have first hand knowledge of some pretty intense hardships. Having all those hardships behind me I will be able to relate and connect with those whom I encounter during my time as a crisis counselor. It’s this path I feel the embodiment of loving your neighbor comes into my life. I feel there are many different ways we can be there for others in their time of need, and this particular path is mine. I often found in my times of crisis I didn’t always have someone to turn too. I hope one day to change that. I hope one day I can be to someone what I wish I had.

If we truly want to understand the world we must understand the love of God. We must truly understand the sacrifice made for us because of one simple little world, that there’s nothing simple about, Love. Love is the only thing that can change this world. Love is the only thing that can heal a broken heart. Love is the only thing that provides comfort to the sick. Love is the only thing that’s truly worth living for. We are loved by Jesus Christ so we can walk through this world as ambassadors and through the teachings of Christ we could bring change to those we come into contact with by simply loving them. The greatest of all the commandments is to love. Without love this world would be a dark place. If you are the one going through troubles be sure to reach out for someone you can count on to be there for you and who will offer Christian love. If you are the one someone’s reaching for, be sure to love them with patience, and compassion. It’s not always easy, but love isn’t easy. In fact the verse says ‘Love suffers long.’This verse is how 1 Corinthians: 13:4 starts. No matter how hard our day has been, how horrific our situation, we must always remember that love endures all things. Of course we will fail someone and we’ll get angry, or frustrated, or short-tempered that’s apart of life. We aren’t perfect and we won’t always see eye to eye, but loving someone regardless is a command not a suggestion by Christ. Failure to do so is a sin, and as all sin is equal at the foot of the cross, consider that the next time you turn a blinds eye, or choose to ‘hate’ someone. To know God is to know love, and if we are truly going to call ourselves Christians, we must understand that loving someone is not based on the things we like about them, the things we have in common, or anything else for that matter. If we are going to fix this world it’s going to be through love, it’s going to be through apologetics, not by taking up arms, or turning our backs on people. Jesus never turned his back on anyone even when he knew they were wrong. He loved everyone, and died for everyone not just the marginally good people. If you’re feeling emotionally compromised remove yourself from a situation so you can come back fresh and ready to love. We only get one chance for a good impression and as a Christian we should strive for every first impression to be a Christ Like impression. So go out there and love your socks out. Be kind and loving to all whom you encounter. Spread joy and love and change the world one person at a time.

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It’s a wonderful thing to be able to share the blessings and teachings of Christ with all of you. For those who read my works in Christ, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Recently I came across an amazing home business based in Travel and Entertainment that’s the real deal. The savings found through this business are amazing. If you shop online, like to go to movies, or travel, this gift card for you can save you up to 50%. Please enjoy your gift as a symbol of my appreciation and gratitude. God Bless.