Tag: love

Have a Fighting Heart

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Have a Fighting Heart

There are nights we hurt, when the lies of the days, or the weeks have just gotten us down. There are years when we feel like no matter what we’ve done we aren’t good enough. There are years when we experience so much pain we don’t know how we’d ever be able to put ourselves back together. There are times when the bullies never stop, the attacks continue to come, and no matter how hard we try to run away from the pain it seeks us out, finds us, and breaks us into a million little pieces. The thing with trying to put yourself back together is you can’t. You cannot ever put together a broken heart, or a broken spirit because you didn’t make it. You don’t have the instructions so when you try to do it on your own, you’re without a doubt going to get it wrong. There’s an answer to how to fix the broken things in your life, and that’s Jesus Christ.

In my youth I struggled with bullies to the point where I cried to God to let me die in my sleep. I hated who I was, where I came from, and wanted nothing more then to hide and never be seen again. I know I wasn’t worth anything. I wondered if I ever could be loved, and I questioned how God could have made such a mistake in me. As years passed I slowly buried those feelings, and I found a fighting nature. I grew up placing my value in what other saw in me, and I missed the meaning behind the Gospels. I would watch as one person after another leave for one reason or another, and I would continue to pile that pain, all those rejections into the closet and dead bolted the door. I had no idea how to feel better, or what to do to fix my brokenness. I made mistakes, and sadly I would pay for them. I had the best of intentions to try and put humpty dumpty back together again but every time I tried there were chips and cracks that seemed to be spreading out further and further into my own psyche. Those cracks largely affected my self-esteem and as I watched one person after another leave I questioned my worth and my value to the point it very nearly killed me. There’s a important lesson to be learned in all of this however and that’s without Christ we are nothing. Without the love and grace given to us by God we would be hopeless in a dark world, condemned to an eternity of fiery torment and torture.

While I was driving to Church a new song I’d never heard before came on K-Love, Beautiful by MercyMe. The song seemed to come right through the radio and place a healing hand over my heart. The lyrics spoke to my cracked and fractured heart, and I realized, for so many years I had missed my healing all along. It’s not about how other see me, it’s how God sees me, and that God has given each and every one of us gifts, and talents to use, to bring His name Glory. We are so important to God, yet we don’t value ourselves very well. If you are sitting there reading this and if you believe you’re not worth anything, just take a moment to remember that Jesus Christ wants a relationship with you. You are made for so much more then you’ll ever know. God tells us in scripture that one hair on our head is more important the all the birds. We need to have the heart to fight because in this world of spiritual warfare we must not allow the lies of the Devil to break us down. The lies we are told are not truth, and we cannot keep them inside as if they were. We must rid ourselves of those negative hurtful thoughts, and remember that we are treasured by God and not one of us is created as a throw away. Every single one of us has a divine purpose by God. Every single one of us is given talents we must learn to use. Every single one of us is exceptional, and unique. We must keep our eyes focused on the Lord, and let the healing touch of Christ cover us like a warm blanket and remind us just how extraordinary we are. We all have a purpose and we aren’t alone in our walk. 1 Peter 4:11 (NKJV)11 “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the [a]oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the [b]dominion forever and ever. Amen.” In all things we do through our pain or our triumphs we must do it to the glory of God. If we are not using our gifts we are wasting them. We know that nothing goes to waist in our universe. Matter cannot be destroyed, just changed, so we know that we are here for a purpose. We can choose to waist our potential, or we can rise above the challenges and be something great before the eyes of God. To read more about the dangers of wasting your talents I urge you to read the parable by Jesus in Matthew 25:14-30https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A14–30&version=NKJV

 

Beautiful By: MercyMe

Days will come when you don’t have the strength
When all you hear is you’re not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart, they’d see too much

You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred
You are His
You’re beautiful

Praying that you have the heart to fight
‘Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight
For all the lies you’ve held inside so long
They are nothing in the shadow of the cross

You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred
You are His
You’re beautiful

Before you ever took a breath
Long before the world began
Of all the wonders He possessed
There was one more precious
Of all the earth and skies above
You’re the one He madly loves
Enough to die

You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful
In His eyes
You’re beautiful
You were meant for so much more than all of this
You’re beautiful
You are treasured you are sacred you are his
You’re beautiful
You are meant for so much more than all of this
You’re beautiful
You are treasured you are sacred you are his

 

It Can’t Be All Bad

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It Can’t Be All Bad

Recently I was reading the news. It’s a chore now that I don’t enjoy doing, but I want to stay at least somewhat informed of big issues or happenings around the world. As I was skimming through the headlines, I quickly remembered why I don’t enjoy reading the news, IT’S ALL BAD! I searched for a while only to find a few ‘throw away’ posts but nothing really of anything extraordinary. Here’s the thing about news though, the things that are most popular is what you’ll find. Nothing sells better like bad news, or something sexy.

I was looking at new ways to light my Hogwarts Lego castle and I moved the internal lights to the front to light up more of the exterior of the castle. When I did this I realized I could see areas of the castle I hadn’t seen at night before. It got me thinking about the news and what we see, or rather what we choose to see. Things can only stay in the dark if we don’t shine light on them. The shadows that haunt this country, or even those that haunt us as individuals can only remain shadows if there’s not enough light to force the shadow away. If there’s a dark spot we should be able to turn the light on and force that darkness to retreat. Of course the excessive bad news is the work of a sin-ridden world. We know that the sin will continue to grow, and it’ll continue to spread like a wildfire cancer upon this earth. The sin will grow and become more visible as long as Christians don’t take control of how things are run. Christians have allowed our own homes to fall to the deepest depravities and we do nothing. Men leave their responsibilities as women are having children more and more out of wedlock. We see child crime on the rise, and as the jails are overflowing with criminal activity we can only blame ourselves. I know it all seems very bleak and cold, but there is hope, Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 5:10“10 But [a]may the God of all grace, who called [b]us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, [c]perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”

Don’t fear the darkness; simply turn on the light and watch as the shadows scatter in fear. We know how the story ends, and we must live our lives according to Christ. Titus 2:7“in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility,” No matter how dark the world gets we are commanded not to conform to it, but to be a good representative, an ambassador of Christ. We know where we are going when we die, but those who are still lost in this world still need to be unplugged from the system. It’s our job to educate, to guide, to lead by example. If we can’t do that we have no business calling ourselves Christians. We must hold ourselves to a higher standard not because I say so, but because Jesus Christ said so. How long will we allow our own homes to crumble to ruin over and over again? How long will we allow the neighborhoods to crumble all around us? How long will we allow the poverty in this great nation to grow and have more and more people struggling to make ends meat? We must stand up and do better. We must evangelize harder, preach louder, and not allow the world to stifle our voices any longer. Don’t let the darkness snuff out our candle of light and hope. Light is stronger then dark, and we must remind the world we won’t be pushed around or bullied any longer.

Junk

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Junk

I was going through my emails recently, and frustrations as always, as my inbox was filled with loads of junk mail, sadly the junk box missed. I was thinking about what someone told me about my blogs being helpful to others. While I appreciated the compliment of course, I found myself concerned about the millions around the world who are seeking truth, seeking knowledge in their salvation through Christ, and the wolves circle. I think about all those so called preachers out there who pervert the gospel in order to gain power, to gain wealth, all under the disguise of the Word of God. It’s a scary thought when you think of how many people have been led astray by such junk.

Recently in the news there was an article about one of the top ‘prosperity’ preachers out there, and he was saying his congregation needed to buy him a new jet because Jesus would want him to have more then one. When I think about the kind of cost of that airplane, and then those who are in desperate need of food, medicine, shelter, and who’ve never heard the name Jesus Christ, I am ashamed to consider those types of pastors Christians. They have preyed on people’s fears, their desires for hope, and instead of finding truth, they are met with lies. Sadly thousands have fallen victim to that kind of prosperity gospel and undoing that kind of damage is extremely difficult.

I wish I could say prosperity gospel is the only enemy out there disguised as truth, but it’s not. Churches like the Westboro Baptist church that have perverted the word even more then prosperity seem to have no shortage of followers. While that’s an extreme example of the lies being spread from a pulpit, there are churches all around the world telling lies and leading people down the wrong path. There are a growing number of churches teaching false doctrine and largely a Jesus plus one ideology. It’s being taught that you need Jesus, but you also need this ‘other’ thing. I’ve heard so many different examples ranging from women having to wear dresses to church to men always having to wear a collard shirt to church. I’ve heard churches talk about how you need to do so many works to be ‘right’ with God, and the list goes on and on in churches all over the world. Lastly the claim that the only true Bible is the King James Version. This is beyond far from true. First of all, the KJV has been revised several times. Second the KJV isn’t written in other languages. If we were to try to read the original KJV we would be unable to because that form of English isn’t spoken any longer. There are translations out there that aren’t very good, but to say there is only one Bible you should read from is simply not true. On that note no matter what Bible you choose to read from you should ALWAYS do your own homework as to the language the bible was written in, Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. This can be done on websites such as Blueletterbible.com

Here’s the message in a nutshell, there is no amount of works that will save you, or make you right before the eyes of the Lord. There is no way for you to beg, borrow, steal, or barter your way into Heaven. The only way is Jesus Christ. John 14:6 6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Our works are but dirty rags before the Lord. When you are following Christ you will want to do more, you will want to volunteer, and help others, and your heart will turn to a giving heart, and the ways of the world might affect you differently after you submit to Christ. We will be rewarded in heaven for what we do, but that’s not the way into Heaven. Put your faith in Christ and be sure to verify what you read, and what you hear that sounds like it’s the Word of God. Do not be sheep led to the slaughter. You are the master of your own ship; led by Christ, so don’t let someone else lead you off course. Always check your heading with the Lord and make sure you continue to shoot that azimuth often.

 

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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.

Are You Special?

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Are You Special?

Can you sing or dance, draw or write? Are you good with people, and empathetic to their needs? Are you good at doing budgets, or just drawing up flyers for the week? Once in a while, but if I’m honest more often then not, I don’t feel as if I’m special in any way. The world has been unkind to me and as I’ve been diving into some of the feelings residual from my many traumas I have questioned if I’m at all special in any way. The world (Satan) has taught me that I’m not special. From an early age faced with bullies, and troubles at home, then in my early relationships with women, and subsequent failed marriages, all I have known is rejection, abandonment, and failure. I have been conditioned to believe I am not worthy of love, and not worthy of grace. But in truth, this is all a lie.

Many of us put our self worth in the wrong place. Many of us place our value in our gifts, our talents, our homes, or cars, or jobs, but what happens when those things fade with time? What happens when we loose a long standing job, or a wife we loved most dearly? These things can make us feel low, and make us feel like we are failures in life. When my first wife had an affair and left I felt like I was kicked in the face. I questioned over and over what I had done wrong, and why I wasn’t good enough. I was tossed away like used trash. This would repeat itself just seven years later and I would once gain place my value in how good of a husband I was, by what someone else thought of me. I would nearly allow the disgrace crush me and destroy me.

Someone told me once, in life we carry a bag (rucksack). We walk along life and we constantly pick up rocks and put them in our bag. The longer we go the heavier the bag is and we can’t move under the weight. Life is the bag, and rocks are circumstances and events, and stress we encounter. If we choose to hold onto everything, and we choose not to ever drop any of those rocks, we will crush ourselves. Some rocks we have to keep, but others, we are free to let go. Cleaning out the bag is a choice and though letting some stuff go might be hard, eventually it’ll be like it was never there.

I have been told I am an excellent photographer and a fair writer. I could become famous for my writing, but that would never be why I’m special. It’s not about what I can do, or what any of us can do that makes us special. We aren’t special because of the gifts we are given, simply because we are given those gifts to be used to bring glory to God, so before God the gifts he gave us aren’t what makes us special at all. What makes us special is being who we are meant to be before an almighty God. What makes us special is that Christ died for us freely, in love He sacrificed himself so that we may one day live to love God, know Jesus, and in the end die and join Jesus in Heaven. We are special because God placed life in each and every one of us. God handcrafted every single person for a divine purpose. We are created in love, and scripture tells us just how important we are. Luke 12:7“Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” God knows every hair on our head and if God knows even the smallest details, how can we not be important.

Psalm 139:13-16“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” We are Gods works, we are Gods creation and we can hide nothing, every dark thought, every dark desire, God see it all. No matter how badly we mess up, God loves us regardless. We may see our self worth in the things we do in this life, but we ought to see it in the love given to us by God. Psalm 139:14“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

 We are all sinners. We all are born in sin and those who do not have a strong moral compass will do the most damage and harm. If we understand what the nature of sin is, understand where our salvation comes from, and truly understand what God tells us love is, then we find our true value. It’s not in people, or the talents we have, or the things we do, it’s grace, it’s forgiveness. If each of us makes mistakes then we shouldn’t allow someone else to determine our value. We should never allow another person to steal our joy. We must put our value, our joy, and our hope in one place, Jesus Christ.

I may be a fair writer, a decent photographer, a Master Lego Builder, but it doesn’t matter what I do, or how much I love, I am nothing without Jesus. I know I am loved by Jesus and nothing will ever take that love away. I know that no matter how many people reject me, or turn their backs on me, or never give me a chance, I am important to God my (Abba) Father. I shall never know hatred before God, or be let down by God in any way. I am not worthy of God’s love, but in grace alone I am given hope. Through Love, real Love, I am blessed with a forgiveness I could never earn, yet I have anyway. I will grow old and one by one I will stop writing, I will stop taking photo’s, and one day I will stop building beautiful Lego sets, but I will never stop loving Jesus. I will never stop proclaiming the truth that tells each and every one of us, why we are something special. It doesn’t matter what mistakes we make because we are always just one step away from Jesus. Jesus is always waiting for us.

If you don’t know the truth and the love of Jesus Christ, let me pray for you today. Father God, I come here humbled before you, lowest as I can go, and I know that without you I am nothing Father. I know that you created me for a purpose, and no matter the hardships I’ve faced, or the demons that tempt me in the night; you are the lighthouse guiding me home. Your Love and mercy abound me with the soft blanket to comfort me in the cold. I know there are many out there who do not know your love, and if any come before you today, I pray their hearts be softened, and allow that door to open. I pray hearts burst open wide and accept who your Son is, why your Son came for every single one of us, and believes with their whole heart the truth that is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I pray that we come before Jesus humble and gracious for the life we have to look forward to in Heaven. I pray that we don’t wait for tomorrow because tomorrow isn’t promised to us. I pray we know what we have to do today, and in our darkest hours you will come before us shining like a lighthouse out to sea, guiding us back to the safe harbors. I thank you my God for giving me talent with words, and an understanding of your Holy Scripture to reach out to those around the world, to bring honor and glory to your Sons most Holy of names, it’s in His name I pray Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

 

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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.

The Power of Friendship

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The Power of Friendship

In my life I’ve not always been blessed with lasting friendships. I have met people that I once believed were friends that would eventually leave. I have been constantly in need of making new friends, new relationships. When I left my first high school I knew I’d have to start over, and with that fresh start hope to reinvent myself. I made friends over time, and I thought after four years the relationships I had made would last. Sadly as with all things, they rusted and began to fade away to the power of time. Now as an adult, years after my military service I have been left in search of those relationships yet again. While I have made some very strong relationships I have found few my age, and even fewer that I’m able to have a legitimate social circle. As I have grown older and with maturity have begun to realize even though my heart desires fellowship, and a closeness that seems elusive, I know that the one relationship that matters the most, is one that I have. The love and closeness of God is what’s gotten me through the dark times I’ve faced over the last two years.

I never would have dreamt two later I would be where I am. As I am not truly any further along then I was two years ago, I am on a new path. As I have had trials a plenty in that time, I haven’t felt as alone as I once had. I am able to maintain a sense of peace and joy because I know where my true joy comes from.  Psalm 3:3“But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.” I have been attacked over and over as my heart longs for better circumstances. I have tried to keep up my fortress and protect my heart and mind from the attacks of the great deceiver, but in my fleshy, sinful self, I have failed on numerous occasions. It’s in this failure I realize I am not strong enough alone. I would never be able to manage by myself so it’s that realization I seek answers in scripture. Psalm 46:1“God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” I know where to pray, and how, and I appreciate the complexity of the relationship between God the one and only God, to a seemingly insignificant speck in the universe such as myself. That’s the biggest catch of all though isn’t it? We aren’t insignificant. We are important to God; we are loved by God, every single last one of us. We are created by God for a purpose and that purpose is to have a relationship with God. Every person alive has gifts given to us by God. Though we struggle at times, we are commanded to help one another. God however is the ultimate fortress. Psalm 71:3“Be my strong refuge, To which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress.” Don’t doubt the love Jesus Christ has for you. Don’t doubt your importance. This life is ever changing, and when we assume we have no other options, that’s when we limit the power of God.

God is grace, and love, and hope. Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”The New Testament is full of the message of hope and love. The law had already been laid. The foundation was already set. The setting on earth was right, and ready for the most important message of scripture, Jesus Christ. Christ was the savior the OT spoke of so often. Jesus was blood scripture look forward to, and the blood we now look back to. Jesus came and gave us hope so we might not die. The promise of death made by God after eating the fruit from the forbidden tree set us on a path of hell, and yet God saw that wasn’t good, so He made the plan and promised a covenant for salvation. We find that promise fulfilled in history. Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Galatians 5:22“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,” In life we can feel down, and we can feel crushed under the weight of our sorrow, and disappointment, and despair, but if we truly know Christ, and we can truly stand and say we know for a fact where we are going when we die, then there is no sense of letting this world crush your joy. Sure we may face situations that don’t try our patience, our resolve, but in all things we must grow closer to God. Proverbs 17:22“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

 (Harry Potter : Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 Spoilers)

I was watching the movie Harry Potter recently and when I was thinking about it, it was love that saved Harry’s life. It was love that his parents showed to him. It was love that brought Harry, Ron, and Hermione together.

Love is why Christ chose to stay on the cross and shed his blood for us. Love is the greatest of all the commandments, and we must remember that in our day to day lives. It may not come down to how many friends you have, how big or small your family is, it’s the quality of those relationships. I am blessed with the friends I have now. While a part of my desire is not fulfilled, I know that if I were to ever need anything the friends I have would be there for me in a moments notice.

I have found it difficult to meet people who are mature and desire real friendships, real substance in those relationships, but thankfully, I have a few that I can trust and know that they aren’t going anywhere. It’s hard for me to comprehend someone who isn’t going to leave me. Most of my life I have faced friends leaving, or as I often thought of it, abandoning me. I have seen death in my life, and it has taught me to value what I have because I, or we, never know when we could loose it all. Life is about the relationships you have, the differences you make, and the love you share. Don’t let friendships pass you by, and don’t get sucked into the busy world. Make time for those in your life that are important because we never know how much time we have. When you look back on your life, what are you going to focus on? Will it be how much money you have in the bank, or that you didn’t spend enough time working? It’s relationships people think about in the end, and if that’s a universal truth, why not learn from that, and focus on relationships now? Don’t let time slip by you without taking action today.

 

 

 

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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. The links below will show you how the business works, and show you what it has to offer. God Bless.

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I Am Not Innocent

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I Am Not Innocent

I am not deserving of this life. I am guilty of a great many sins, and I am guilty of failing and falling every single day. I cannot help but realize how lost I am in this life. I am a ship blown by the wind tossed upon the sea with no hope to make it to the sunrise. I am no better then a murderer on death row. I am no better then a man 2000 years ago that was set free. One simple act, an easy idea to understand, and yet the depth of the subject, the depth of the meaning surrounding that single most compassionate act in the history of mankind, JESUS CHRIST took my place. When the crowd gathered in front of Pilate and called for the savior of mankind to be crucified, Pilate offered an alternative, a man known to be a rebel, known to be a murderer, known to be a thief, and when the choice came, the crowed double downed and called for Barabbas to be released instead of Christ. How can we stand by and think to ourselves how much injustice there is in this act. The sovereign of the universe made a choice to do something that was beautiful and scandalous at the same time. In this life we’d never want to watch an innocent man be put to death in the place of a known criminal. The thing with this verse however, is we are always Barabbas. We are always the sinner and we don’t deserve salvation. We cannot work enough, do enough, be good enough to ever earn our way into Heaven. Jesus sat in front of Pilate silent, and through actions alone, sent the message that He would willingly take the place of all known sinners. Barabbas is a symbol for every single one of us. All sin is created equal at the foot of the cross. We look through our human, earthly eyes and we see ourselves better then someone else because of our own sense of morality. The thing is though, coveting what you cannot have is just as sinful as murder.

Matthew 27:17-2117 “Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. 19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” 20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!”

 We are never going to be better then Barabbas. We will always have sin in our life, but we have hope knowing that in that moment Jesus said not just to Barabbas by his actions, but to the world that He would willingly take our place to allow his blood to trickle down the cross touching the earth as a sacrifice to break the chains of sin, to break the bondage that held us in a hopeless world. I know I will never be able to do enough, work hard enough, and love enough, to earn a place before the Father. I know that there is only one way, Jesus Christ, the truth the way, the life. Jesus had the power to walk away, to let a guilty man go to the cross for his action, but in the greatest symbol to show us the mercy and grace of God, Jesus knowingly, willfully, and would always do it again, give his on life, give his own blood for all of our sins. No, I am not an innocent man, and knowing how guilty I am, I can love deeper in the knowledge that God loves each and every one of us.

 

 

The Days Are Numbered

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The Days Are Numbered

The days come and for the first time in a while the sun was shining with low humidity, and a nice cool breeze felt amazing. With no storms in sight it was finally a day that wasn’t horrible just stepping outside. Not a bad day at all to be out running errands. It’s days like this that even when there’s so much to do with appointments all day, I feel at peace. Even with my new sessions of EMDR trauma therapy, and finding out one of my doctors is leaving their position, I have still found a sense of joy in this day. How often do we make it through the day, the weeks, the months without feeling that sense of joy? When we get caught up in the world, we forget that every day we wake is a blessing and a gift of God. How often do we forget to take a moment in our day to appreciate the little things? Psalm 118:24“This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” David often found himself dealing with struggles, life changes, depression, and even amidst all of these things, he always remember where the little gifts came from. God, of course is the giver of all things, and we are commanded not to be conformed of this world, and we are told to live within our day, not worried about what tomorrow will bring. This doesn’t mean not to make life plans, but certainly not to become overwhelmed when something knocks the train off the track. Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow for it will worry about itself. Matthew 6:25“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one [aa]cubit to his [ab]stature?” We will not add one day, not one hour to our life by allowing ourselves to be overworked, overwhelmed, overtaxed. We cannot always change our circumstances in the moment, and yet we allow ourselves to be worked up, stressed often to the point of crying or shaking, which there’s nothing with crying, but we should not allow ourselves to worry so much. This is of course easier said then done, but in our struggles every single day, we should make a good effort towards trusting in our Father, and allowing our worries to be passed to God and trust that in all things the details will be worked out.

While I often wish my life held less stress, more play, more love, less obligations, and way more fun, I realize that we must take time to be adults and face each and every day with one question, ‘no matter what today brings me Lord, how can I glorify you?’ Matthew 6:31-3431 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” It’s hard enough worrying about all the big stuff in our lives, yet we drive ourselves to worry also of all the small insignificant stuff. We must learn to resist the worry. Think about why we worry so much, we worry because we don’t’ know what we are going to do about a problem, or a situation. We have doubts it can be taken care of and handled, but if we truly say we have faith in the Lord, it’s in that that we should be able to let go and let God. We cannot beat blood from a stone, and we cannot move a mountain all on our own.

Life is so short, and we spend so much time being angry, we are resentful, and we hold onto that for months, years, or even our entire life. There’s no reason to allow that to remain in our bodies. We would never want to allow poison to stay inside our bodies, so why do we allow ourselves to carry so much negative energy? Why do we allow ourselves to fuel our heart with so much hatred, and pain? We never know how much time we have, and one thing we must remember is the true nature of forgiveness. Matthew 6:15“15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” We do not want to hold onto that cancer that festers the longer it’s in our bodies. We may encounter things in our life where we don’t feel like justice has been served, but it’s not our place to find justice, or revenge. Justice is paid by God, and we must trust in God that no one gets away with anything in this life. Everything we do good and bad is cataloged and categorized. We must believe that if we cannot let go of that anger and hatred and forgive those of the wrongs they’ve committed against us, we also will not be forgiven.

It’s hard when you feel cheated, when you feel let down by someone so close to you, but as we are all sinners in a fallen world, we must understand that we learn from every situation, good and bad. For every bad situation we can learn what not to do on someone else’s actions, or learn what not to do again from our own. We can learn, and we can grow, and we must always grow closer to God with every breath we take. One day this life will end and we will get to go home, if we love and accept our savior Jesus Christ. This life is just a short time, but our real home awaits us, don’t sacrifice that home by holding out in this one.

Facing Down the Cosmic Bully

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Facing Down the Cosmic Bully

Life, is full of its ups and downs. Scripture is clear about where our blessings come from. James 1:1717 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” If our gifts come from the Lord, then what about our misery? Misery is a strange thing because it can come from more then one place. We are often our own source of misery but aside from ourselves making poor life choices, the Devil is truly the biggest cosmic bully around. How do we stand up to a bully that big? What chance do we have when we are facing down a bully of that size? If we are to believe in the fundamental fact that Jesus Christ overcame death, and He saved our souls from eternal damnation, we must also believe that there are forces of both light and dark all around us. The spiritual realm although we cannot see it, is very real. Angels the forces for God, and demons, the forces for the Devil are constantly at war all around us. For those who are more in tune with their relationship with God they can sense when the forces of the Devil are around. It’s a lot like the Matrix, you can’t see it, but you know it’s everywhere within the world around you. You can see it when you take out the landlord’s garbage, or even when you pay your taxes.

We are in this world, but we are commanded, for those who follow Christ are not to conform to the world. The world is sin, and we must resist the temptations that come to us. Being in this world as a Christian invites troubles into your life. The Devil will use anything and everyone to dissuade you from giving your heart to Jesus, or if you have given your heart to Jesus, to make you doubt that relationship. The Devil is the ultimate bully, and he is jealous of our relationship with the Father. He might be a child throwing a tantrum, but even a child can cause a lot of damage when they have angelic powers. Don’t forget that just because the Devil was cast out from Heaven, doesn’t mean he was stripped of his powers. Angels and Demons are very much real, and just because we can’t see them, doesn’t mean the war isn’t waging all around us. The war is not for land, or resources, the war is for our very souls.

We know that the battle wages every day, and as each of us is filled with both the spirit and the sins of the flesh, it stands to reason that sometimes the pull of the flesh will win. This doesn’t mean the draws to a person; it means the part that is alienated by God. The flesh is the rebellious, stubborn, and often disrespectful side of us that refuses correction, and to acknowledge ones own faults. We are governed by sin at times, and we can fight it, but it’s inevitable that we will fail, and fail often. It’s that reason that Christ died on the cross, His blood shed for us, because there was no scenario where we could enter into heaven on our own merits or works.

What do we do when we find ourselves in the midst of a spiritual battle, and how do we know what it is? First you must ask yourself if you’ve ever been tempted to do something you know is wrong? Tempted to smoke cigarettes, tempted to steal something, tempted to lie, tempted by sexual desire, all these things are signs of spiritual warfare. The Devil uses our desires of the flesh, uses others, uses sickness and diseases, anything and everything to try and wedge a gap between you and the Father. The Devil and his legion of demons are always pulling people, pushing people, and causing mischief all around the world. He tries anything he can to raise doubts, to cast blame, even to the point of lying to us making us feel like we are worthless.

A movie I’ve been watching lately that I can’t seem to get enough of is Avengers: Infinity War. I was thinking about Thanos and his motives for doing what he does. While Thanos may actually be right around the fate of the universe he’s missing one important aspect, faith. There’s one scene where Thanos is talking to Gamora about needing to be the one to fix things, and she tells him “You don’t know that.” Thanos is misguided in his methods and no matter if you agree or disagree with him, he is a cosmic bully playing god and he has no business doing so.

(Spoilers Ahead)

 Even though Thanos seems to be unstoppable there’s a point where Thor’s new Ax, Stormbreaker cuts through Thano’s power and actually stabs him in the chest. Recently as I’ve been watching that, I have been thinking about our own fight against our biggest cosmic bully, the Devil. If the Devil attacks us, do we have our own Stormbreaker to cut through his attack and stab him in the chest? The answer is yes, absolutely! Stormbreaker is essentially the power of the Holy Spirit. We know that we have the Armor of God, Ephesians 6:10-18. “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;” This verse ends with prayer, telling us that in all things we must be willing to pray. Stormbreaker at the heart the word of God that cuts through Sin, desire, and any attack the Devil may throw at us. No matter the direction the attack comes from, whether it be through people, or sickness, or even our own sinful failings, the Word of God has all the answers. It in itself is the ultimate weapon against the biggest bully around. While we don’t have the power to be rid of Satan, we do have the power to fight him off, to force him back, and for a time have him removed from our presence.

During the temptation of Christ, we don’t see Christ using force to remove Satan, we see Christ using the word of God. Christ could have used force to remove the Devil, but since we don’t have that power, it serves as a lesson to each of us, how to fight on the battlefield beyond what we can see. We must never underestimate our own abilities because scripture tells us, Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”If God is with us we then have the power within us to withstand the attacks of Satan, and cast him away from us as Jesus once did. It may not be as flashy or glamorous as Thor flying above Wakanda throwing his beautiful new toy, cutting through Thanos’s blast and stabbing him in the chest, but never the less, we do have the power to stand up to our tormentor. Don’t underestimate yourself and never give up the fight. As long as we continue to believe in God and trust in Him, we will always have hope. One day our time to fight will be over and we will be called home. We will leave the fight for the next person after us, and all we can do is hope we have passed on our knowledge and love of Christ for the next generation to come. Have faith and in this spiritual battle that wages on, don’t forget to Love, Forgive, and live in Hope. In the battle here on earth, one thing we need to remember is there is no need to fear. There is nothing the Devil can do to remove the ransom paid for us. So long as we remain faithful to our Lord and Savior, we may suffer in this life, but this life is only temporary.

Sacrifice

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Sacrifice

What would you be willing to give up for Christ? If you knew then entrance into Heaven was to give up something, a sacrifice of some great importance to you, what would that look like? When you look back at the Apostle Paul and you consider what he gave up, his sacrifice was extensive. To understand completely you first need to understand who Paul was. Prior to his conversion on the road to Damascus, he was a high ranking Pharisee. He had studied under some of the greatest priests, and had notoriety of celebrity proportion. Paul had power, he had authority, he had money, and he had a life of luxury. What would possess a man to give up all that for a life of beatings, of poverty, of torture, of prison time, in what we would call a dungeon by today’s standards. Paul would have had a life of comfort and as he had a reputation cruelty and hatred towards Christians he wouldn’t have much to worry about in the ways of suffering. That’s not what God had planned for him however. As he was known prior to Damascus as Saul, his transformation seen in Acts was not the following of someone looking to better their life with hope. Saul was living large and gave everything up because of what God had done to him on that dirt road. He would loose his sight for three days, and in the years following he would face persecution by those whom he at one time would have been looked up to. He gave up everything of comfort imaginable for a life of uncertainty, pain, and suffering. No one would do this if they weren’t absolutely sure of the truth.

Psalm 54:66 I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good.” David knew as King, he was promised the position by God, and by God it would be taken away. We see David fail in his responsibilities as King, and his choices lead to dire consequences. But in all things, David would understand eventually the error of his ways, and he realized he must sacrifice the sin nature that dwells within the heart, and trust in the Lord.

Isaiah 1:11“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats.” God is telling Israel He doesn’t burnt offerings, he’s not looking for the outward symbols of sacrifice, what He wants is the inward sacrifice. He wants to see the hearts of his people change. To give up ones self to become something else.

Mark 12:33“And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, [a]with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” It’s not a matter of what we do for the Lord. Someone can go to a soup kitchen every day and volunteer. They can go to Church and sing some songs, even give some sermons, but it’s about what is on the Heart, and God knows the heart.

1 Corinthians 5:7“Therefore [a]purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed [b]for us.” This is referring to dough, the leaven, used to make bread. This is saying the old dough is bad, it’s sour, and it must be thrown away. The new bread, is that created by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and knowing He is the only truth, the only way to life everlasting. We begin to understand what is meant by sacrifice.

Again when we think about what Christ asked of his followers, drop your nets, drop whatever it was you were doing and instead, pick up your cross and follow “me”. Christ was asking these men to leave the certainty of a solid days work, their homes, money, food, in exchange for truth. Some of the Apostils like Matthew who was a wealthy tax collector gave up a lot to follow Christ. Matthew much like Paul had money, and power, and a nice home, nice clothing, and never had to worry much about the ways of suffering. It takes a lot for someone to give up a life of luxury for a life of uncertainty and eventually pain and suffering.

I have often thought of superheroes as being good examples of righteousness looks like. This is especially true when you look at some of the more squeaky clean heroes, Superman, Spiderman, Captain America, etc. While there may not be as much of a physical toll for each of these characters, there are certainly emotional tolls; this is particularly true with their personal relationships. Something is always sacrificed when duty calls and the costume comes out. For characters like Batman, the toll is emotional, and physical. Bruce Wayne literally gives up his body to fight the good fight. So what is it that we sacrifice in our own lives? Do we give up our time to work for charities? Do we give up our money to tithes? What about our freedom? Would we be willing to give up our home, our jobs, our life in the name of Jesus Christ? For many people there are limits, there’s what’s okay to give up in the name of Jesus, and then what’s not, and sadly, I think the same goes within our own hearts. We are willing to give fractions of our heart to Jesus, but if we’re honest about it, do we truly give 100%? I think this is something we as Christians truly need to examine. To truly submit, there is going to be a little suffering along the way.

When we are truly ready to submit to the Lord, the idea of wealth, power, fame, control, the very essence of what was promised to Christ in the temptation of Satan, we would be more willing to endure that of Isaiah 50:6“I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.” No one truly wants to be beaten, or ridiculed, or imprisoned, but to sacrifice means, to give up the desires of the flesh, to be apart of this world, so that in Heaven we would be in the grace of the one true King. Jesus Christ came to serve his people, He came to be more then just a Leader, but to show us the nature of love, and the nature of humility. Matthew 20:28“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” The sovereign King of the universe allowed Himself to be beaten, tortured, spat on, ridiculed, nailed to a cross, and give up His life for us sinners.

Micah 6:8“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love [a]mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” We must learn to be humble, to lower ourselves before the Lord. We must learn to put God first, and then ourselves second. We must learn to trust in the Lord’s plan, and walk where we must, do what we ought to do, and serve where we are led to serve.

Do not mistake my words, I am not saying in any way that if you’ve not be flogged, or beaten, or became wealthy, or live in protective walls that you are somehow not sacrificing for God. What I am saying is make sure whatever you do, you do to bring Glory to our Father. We may not have physical scars of what we sacrifice for the Lord, but there should be some signs of that sacrifice. Paul gave up everything for what he KNEW to be the truth, and gave up everything for it to include his life. If Paul is willing to give up so much, what are we willing to give up? Galatians 6:17“17 From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” What scars are we willing to bear in the name of Christ?

For me a reminder of sacrifice is my Gideons Bible. Just looking at it, you can see how worn it is, and for me this is a symbol of my willingness to sacrifice for the Lord. Doing what’s right even in the face of danger and facing our own potential mortality in the process, to put ourselves in harms way to be there for a brother. This beat up old bible is truly one of my most prized possessions. It wasn’t read as much as it should have been, but there are marks in its pages finding scripture to encourage during time of war. The whole Bible shows signs of abuse and water damage. That Bible was with me on every single mission in my left breast pocket of my uniform right under my ballistic vest. It was with me when I jumped into the water to retrieve the body of a friend killed in action. It was with me the day I witnessed Hell on earth. Every hot summer day, or cold winter night, it was by my side. That Bible is a representation of my body which I gladly put on the line to do what I felt was right in the name of Jesus Christ. Making a difference in a part of the world that hated me just for the flag I wore, and who was willing to kill me on live television. I carry my own scars in the name of Christ, and I shall certainly earn more before I go home in glory.

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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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.