Tag: prayer

The Improvised

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The improvised 
Sitting here in the ER alone as I’ve sent mom home to rest, gather supplies, and get ready for the long day, I find myself pondering what I guess most people ponder when looking at a life altering surgery. Who are my loved ones, who cares who doesn’t? Is my Will complete and dang did I leave the stove on? I am reminded of so many one liners but I’ll spare all of you the boring repartee and just know that I haven’t forgotten about my avid readers. I may be out for the day, but as long as I have a phone I’ll still work my guru magic and post something. 
While I was here I was able to doodle a little something and while it’s not finished because as you’ll all see I’m no artist, I haven’t lost sight of my goal. I will continue to work on my ministries and with Gods grace continue to touch lives. So as I get ready for what looks so far to be surgery, back surgery it is. While the surgeons are deliberating and I’m going on almost 24 hours awake, I’m reminded of some bible verses. 
1 Peter 1:6-7 “6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”
Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.”
We may have setback and we may have plans that go off the rails but even in the darkest of days the brightest of flowers may still bloom. 

Is That Really Necessary?

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Is That Really Necessary?

So recently my life was thrown a curveball that I truly wasn’t expecting. I looked at the situation, and I used wise mind as I attempted to put my emotions down for a moment to make a solid Godly decision. Just when I thought my life was moving in a particular direction it’s like I am running towards the finish line, and all of a sudden a zombie pops up and chases me around for a bit. It’s funny and terrifying. I recently came to the conclusion I don’t know who I am. In the last 8 months I’ve started to grow some plants, I’ve started doing small crafts, I move to pray for someone as my first go-to, I step back from my situations and pray before making any big decisions, and I am learning to accept and let go of what I have no control over.

When we want to play the white knight we have to realize sometimes we just can’t. No matter what we do we have to make sure we stay right with the Big Guy Upstairs. We can’t always be the heroes. We need to understand our place and understand that sometimes we have to say ‘Go ahead and stick your finger in that light socket, you won’t like it.” I think God does that to us sometimes. We get warning after warning about what not to do and eventually God says, “fine have it your way, but don’t cry to me when this doesn’t go well.” Abba truly tries hard to keep us on the right path, but we’re stubborn. We want it our way, our time, and we don’t care what we have to do to get our Whopper our way.

I understand that we don’t always see the puzzle past the single piece in front of us, but when the puzzle we’re working on gets thrown out for a brand new puzzle it seems a little unnecessary. I realize that God has a sense of humor, but still, the curveballs just make it difficult sometimes. I think about David when he faced Goliath. Here’s a Sheppard boy who probably played with that sling a whole bunch for years. He probably had little to no training with his Sword, but that stone. Much like Luke Skywalker “I used to bullsey womp rats in my T-16 back home. They’re not bigger than two meters.” If you’re David are you looking to God and asking, “Really? This is all I get, just this tiny little rock? Do you see that guy? Are you sure about this? Alright, alright, the rock it is…” David had faith that even though it seemed weird, it seemed far-fetched, it may not have made sense, the key is to trust God even if we don’t see the picture in the puzzle. We must have faith that even the strange things that come and go from our life that we know God is working the band like a perfect conductor of the most beautiful symphony ever written.

We ask God if what we go through is necessary, but we already know the answer and that’s if it’s strange and out of the blue and not of our own doing, then the answer is yes, it’s important. We may be put through trials brought forth by the free will of others, but it’s all part of the great circle of life and we as Christians must always keep the faith. Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” We were made free from bondage to no longer be slaves to eternal damnation, but instead free to make our choice, free to follow or not. We are free to embrace our gifts or throw them away. Remember that the Lord Giveth, and the Lord Shall Taketh Away. Even in the strangest of times, the darkest of days, Life and Love can always find a way.

 

Feeding the Darkness

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Feeding the Darkness 

After a tragedy in your life you may find yourself on a perpetual lope, you’re on repeat playing the same tone over and over again. In that you are holding onto the pain and suffering caused by whatever trauma you’ve endured. What happens when we get stuck? Anger breeds upon itself. Proverbs 29:11 “Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.” When we allow ourselves to stay angry we put ourselves inside a fortress and we don’t allow anyone to enter. When we do that we cut off our relationship with anyone who wants to love us to include friends, family, and most importantly God. Ephesians 4:26-27 “26 In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” This being a longer verse let’s talk about it. When we are angry we often find ourselves unable to make sound judgments. We open the door and everything we have is ripe for the taking when the Devil finds us in a state of suggestibility. The evil whispers in our ear to do things we usually wouldn’t do. I believe the general idea of these verses is telling us to turn that anger into something we can use. Redirect that anger and make good of it, allow ourselves to focus and help others. Build others up instead of tearing down in our anger. Find a way to let go of the bitterness, rage and anger that sit in the pit of our stomachs and spawn more negativity.

When we find ourselves getting angry which is a normal emotion, how we handle it is what’s important. Ecclesiastes 7:9 “9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.” We must learn to extend our fuse, make it harder to be provoked to do something harsh. The Devil wants us to fly off the handle because when we do we often hurt those closest to us. This damages the positive relationships we have and thus harming the relationships with God our Father.

 The phrase “Kill um with kindness.” Isn’t just a clever euphemism it’s actually a Biblically derived statement. Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” When others get angry if we find a way to maintain calm, it’s hard for the other person to keep shouting when instead of the reverberation affect, you act as a dampener. It takes two people in the ring to box. Without the opponent you just look silly shadow boxing yourself. Proverbs 15:8 “18 A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.”

 Be the calm in every storm. When we argue with one another and we start to yell, we start to curse, we start to dredge up the past, when we start resorting to name calling and all manner of vial things spew from your mouth, that is feeding the darkness. It’s not just focusing on your own pain, it’s also fueling others pain to grow as well. Often we argue with the ones we love the most and instead of allowing yourself to fall into a cycle of self loathing, self destruction, self gratification, allow yourself to see the error in your own way, and others will see the difference. We cannot change others, but by our own actions we may influence by allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us, to work through us and affect those around us. Anger is contagious, hatred is contagious, but so is love, so is kindness. It’s much harder to love and overcome things that make us upset or the things that hurt us, but we cannot be the judges of that. We cannot be judge, jury, and executioner because we aren’t qualified to do that. All we can do is love, pray, and be a positive influence on those around us. No one wants to be around the Big Green Guy all the time. They want to be around Bruce Banner instead, the mild mannered scientist whose got a good heart. Be the person with the good heart that everyone can see. Don’t let the disease spread through you and your life, learn to let it go. Forgive and Love. Those are the keys to living a happy life.

 

 

 

The Right Place At The Right Time

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The Right Place At The Right Time

This morning I woke up a little before my alarm and decided to get out of bed instead of snoozing a little longer. I got ready and left 20 minutes earlier than normal. I wasn’t more then 10 minutes from the house when I saw headlights in front of me flashing at me. I could see debris in the road and that’s when I saw the car upside down. I pulled over as soon as I could, grabbed my duty belt and ran to the car. The woman who flagged me down was on the phone with 911. I had my flashlight and I started to search for the driver, but they weren’t in the car anymore. I franticly searched the surrounding area and that’s when I saw a man lying on his back in the grass. He was bleeding from him nose, mouth, and several other places of exposed skin. At the time he looked as stable as he could be so I knew not to touch him or move him. You could see he was breathing so that was a good sign. As I realized the 911 dispatcher could get a name using the plate I asked the woman to let me talk to 911. I gave the plate number and that’s when I saw it, in the backseat under the crushed metal of the SUV an infant car seat. My heart fell to the floor as I choked out what I saw to the dispatcher. I handed the phone back to the woman and began looking for a possible infant somewhere in the huge field the car crashed in to.

After a little while of searching the field I returned to the man and found his breathing had changed. He became erratic and it almost sounded like a bit of gurgling coming from his chest. It wouldn’t surprise me if he broke a rib and deflated a lung in the impact. The car from what it looked like impacted about 100 feet away or so against the fence and the embankment and flipped, eventually hitting the fence again in another spot, and flipped once or twice more before impacting the tree where the vehicle settled on it’s roof. The man was roughly 20 feet or so from the vehicle, surprisingly still breathing. The woman and I could hear the sirens now and as the deputy was the first on scene I flagged him down. Within a minute later the ambulance arrived. I left my flashlight on the fence providing light for them to work. As he started to move around a bit, I held is head in place and waited for the paramedics to get all the trauma gear they needed. When they arrived they took over and I went to help the deputies search the field more for the possible injured child.

After 45 minutes on scene the man was long gone as cleanup started. The woman and I waited for the State Troopers to arrive, which sadly didn’t happen before I decided to leave and come to work. I know I was in the right place at the right time, I know that all the mud on my pants and boots tell a story. I know that God placed me right where I needed to be and when. Today I had Gods eyes to see what I needed to, and his Heart so I had the compassion to stop. I had my duty belt with me and I had the gloves, flashlight, everything I needed for the day. God wants us to listen to that little voice in our heads to do something. I left for work 20 minutes earlier than I usually do and now I realize why. Are we listening to the Holy Spirit in our lives? Are we going where we are driven to, listening to that little voice inside us to allow ourselves to be used for the good of Gods will? Galatians 5:25 “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” We must listen for the voice, listen for the word. Psalm 25:4-5 “Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.” Our souls can catch the fire, the fire rises in us and we are consumed by the Holy Spirit, and we know we are walking with God.

We never know why something happens the way it does, but we know that in all things God’s working for our good even if we can’t see it. Praise God in the greatness of the day, and the sorrowful of the night for we are never alone.

Broken Sky

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Broken Sky

The pain inside caused by you shattered like a mirror to the floor all around.

God protect me so I can put the peaces back together.

God give me your eyes so I can see the reasons why.

The tears that fall, fall like bricks to the ground. The flood all around now from tears I’ve spent.

Why would you do this I scream, why oh why I cry.

Nothing’s all right, nothings okay, I’m fine I say, but the lie that lies.

I’m broken hearted and I feel fractured inside, torn to which way to go.

A second chance, a third and forth, but nothing helps.

God tells me I’m more than what I feel. Tears drench my shirt, my desk, my everything.

I’m not who I once was, I am afraid, and I don’t know what else to do.

God hurts too, or so the Bible tells me so.

God am I being punished for my mistakes, is this only path?

God says no, no punishment, free will makes the heart break.

We are more than the mistakes we make. We are remade in the light, washed by the waters.

God stay with me tonight, God hold me tonight, Abba I need you today. I’m broken.

God my pain is deep and I feel like I’ll never be whole again. Abba save me from my sorrow.

God my God please save me tonight. Help me fight what I feel, help me feel today I can be saved.

God please bless me, please don’t make me wait. God my God help me, I need to feel you here.

God my God I know that I’ll be stronger in the end.

God my Abba please stand with me in this fire, please help me not feel the pain as the fire burns away the old.

God my God please help my heart, please hold me tonight. God my God don’t forsake me tonight.

What don’t kill ya makes ya stronger I know, but I can’t do it alone. My God my God don’t let me fall tonight.

The Hard Love I feel, the pain inside, fractured and broken, I am shattered in the mirror on the ground.

God my God, my Father, please piece me back together better than I was before.

My God my God please allow me to be rid of the rocky road, protect me from the Devil, please I beg of thee.

How do you communicate with God?

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How do you communicate with God?

For new Christians I’ve heard this question asked many time over, ‘How do I talk to God?’ I’ve always thought of God as an unquantifiable being that deserved the utmost respect. When I talk to God I feel as if I’m talking to an old friend, but the truth is, if we follow scripture we need to remember our place. Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” In all things be thankful to God. Thank God for the good and the bad knowing that even in the bad there is hope and there is purpose. We may not understand the purpose but the understanding though it would be nice, isn’t required of us. Luke 11:9 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Do not mistake this verse. This verse is talking about heaven and the Holy Spirit. The God of all is King over all. We need to remember that when we ask, we ask humbly. God is not Santa Clause and doe not ‘owe’ you anything. We were not owed eternal salvation; it was given, and given at a high cost. If God never gave us anything we ever asked for we would still have more then we deserved in the grace of Heaven.

We as Christians are called to do more then pray. While we do pray for everything under the sun, and not just our galactic wish list, we are supposed to pray for one another. More then just praying for one another we are supposed to confess to one another. James 5:16 “Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Part of our communications is talking with and praying for other Christians. We are part of the 3-way call and although our generation rarely uses the phone to ‘TALK’ to anyone, back in the day we used to talk to more then one friend in a conversation over the phone. While no one on this early plane can absolve you of your sins, we are still supposed to encourage others by knowing when they failed, lift them up and help them seek the right path. Knowing when people fail doesn’t make them any less worthy. We all fail on different levels, but no matter what it is, failure happens. It is in our failures we learn the most, so as Christians we are commanded NOT to judge, not shouldn’t judge, and it’s in this moment we turn to the Lord in prayer and as for the forgiveness of sins.

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” Hebrews 4:16 Pray with conviction, but with respect. Pray for answers when you are lost and do not know the way. Allow the questions to come forth, and allow the Lord to answer and teach you. Even if we do not know the words or how to explain it, God knows. We need only to thank God for being in our lives, thank God for the blessings and respect the phenomenal cosmic power. We know God is more then just a genie to come to our beckon call. First God can and has brought people back from the dead, and no I don’t mean Zombie. Second, although God doesn’t and wont force love because of the nature of free will, God will do everything to place you in favorable situation to meet the right person for you. And well, how you handle it whether you blow it or not is on you.

Either way you look at it, God is our King. God is our Abba (Father) and should be treated with the fear and respect you would have for anyone that could squish the whole earth like a Vader force choke in a second. Have respect, but always approach God with everything on your heart.

 

Hiding in the Shadows

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Hiding in the Shadows

As a Christian do you consider yourself a child or an adult in your faith? If you’re a Christian do you use your bible or does it gather dust during the week between services? If you’re a Christian do you stand up against injustices? If you’re a Christian do your fellow coworkers and neighbors know? If we became persecuted how many would stand out on that faith and take whatever punishment fit the crime? Now that I’m sure most of you just lied, we’re going to get into the persecuted church today. Christ says “You will be persecuted, but I will be with you always.” North Korea, India, Africa, Iraq, and many, many more countries are not just persecuting Christians around the world, they are committing genocide. A man named Father Douglas a priest in Iraq has been shot, kidnapped for 9 days, his church was blown up, and during his captivity he was tortured. Even after all his troubles Father Douglas still fights the fight for Christ. He still serves in Iraq for Christians despite the dangers to his life.

Franklin Graham “We as Christians we need to wake up, if we don’t do it now, it’ll be too late.” As the attack on Christianity has been on the rise over the years as Father Douglas stated, America needs to say the truth, the truth is Genocide. What would you do if the men with the Kolishnakov’s come lookin for the man with the Bible? Do you throw the Bible out the window, or do you hide under the bed? Do you continue to fight the fight despite the risk, or do you deny Christ? Grace Wesley:” I would rather stand with God and be judged by the world, than stand with the world and be judged by God.” In so many places in the world now, the Christian church has gone underground. Much like Christianity in the early days of the church meeting in the Catacombs of Rome to continue preaching and teaching, but doing so in secret. You can’t preach and teach if you’re dead. It’s easy to grow hatred in your heart, it’s harder to love, but to follow the Jesus way, we know that when we are facing trials, and facing persecuted God is with us, heart breaking with us in prison. As I heard recently, It’s better to be in prison and be tortured, then being in two prisons, when we hate we not only have our prison of our bodies, but a prison for your mind. Loving our enemy is not easy. As I have experienced war as a Christian I was fighting those who hated us just because of our religion. Watching my friends die at the hands of radical Muslims I struggled to find peace in forgiveness. I struggled to pray for my enemy. I struggled not to hate.

Christianity is under attack in our great nation and sadly people don’t realize the truth. As we hide behind the lies of tolerance, we are not truly living in a world of tolerance. Christians are not aloud to pray, we aren’t aloud to even utter the name Christ in school. We have found many loose their lives, their jobs, their friends, and as time continues we find that even TV shows that have a spiritual basis are challenged and eventually removed. Remember Rachel Scott the first victim in Columbine High School. She was shot because of her faith in Christ and she refused to step aside from that faith. We’ve seen around the world these attacks by radical factions grow in strength and in courage as they find inspiration upon each attack. When we can no longer say Merry Christmas, have Christmas parties, or even have religious holidays off such as Easter, we know we are moving in a particular direction. There have been several states or cities that have made it a requirement that the Church preachers hand over their sermons for review. Why are we allowing the government to dictate terms for the church? How many court cases has their been about religious freedoms in these many years? The 10 commandments case that went in front of the Supreme Court and lost. The attacks on schools for saying the pledge of allegiance all because it references God. Even within the military there is supposed to be no open prayer anymore.

Where do you stand, what line are you on? Do you stand with Christ and shout to the world that you will not be bullied and convinced to stay quiet, or do you conform to the world and stay silent and allow your God given rights to be trampled on and taken away? How many college commencement ceremonies have gotten rid of the benedictions? Stand up and fight back. Fight to educate those around about the persecuted church. Fight back for the rights to pray when and where we want. Fight back to preach how we want without having to answer to a faceless government, and never forget that what God gives us, God can also take away.

Where In The World Is God?

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Where In The World Is God?

Some of you, perhaps dating my age a bit, are familiar with the books, game and show, “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego”. The idea of the game was as a new gumshoe you had to follow the clues around the world to locate the master thief Carmen Sandiego. This took both skill and mindfullness to track down this master theif all over the world. You had to know your stuff. The show was designed for the ages of 10-14. So, if you’re up to it where going to answer the question, where in the world is God?

Alright gumshoe listen up. God is somewhere out there and He’s waiting for you. Your mission is to follow the clues and find God before the time runs out. I hope you’re ready for this because if you loose it could be your eternal soul.

Your whole life you can live and not have the answer to one of the few great questions of all time. The first and most important question, “Is there a God?” The short answer is of course there is. The hard part is trying to prove it. We of course can get into a full-fledged apologetics debate, a full-fledged theology debate, but the fact remains it is the opinion of this Blog that God not only lives, but also loves us and never leaves our side.

Do you remember when you were a kid and you’d wait all year to send your letter to Santa Claus? Do you remember when Christmas morning arrived and all the presents were under the tree? How the mind of a child works, the faith that something or someone is real without ever having any kind of tangible truth. Children play together of different races, ethnicities, sexes, and mange to get along just fine without the help of us adults. Where does that love and wonder go as they get older? The world is a dangerous place for not only your body, but also for your mind and your soul. The world will tell you to question what you’ve learned, tell you to unlearn, tell you to broden your mind, and to close your mind. The world wants to shape you in it’s image. It wants to teach you and unteach you at the same time. If you have a particular mindset the world will tell you it’s wrong, and will try to force you to change, sometimes by force. Where is God in all of this?

God knowing how the world would treat His children came up with a plan. The plan was to love us, guide us, diciplin us, and give us a tool to live by. The Bible says many things about the world, and the lust of the flesh and the lust of the world itself. We love violence, we thrive on debauchery. The things that make us feel good are also the things that are the biggest lies. Morpheus “The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work… when you go to church… when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.” God is always with us. God surrounds us, and comforts us when we are in need, when we ask for Him. We know there is so much wrong with the world, but do we ever truly understand why? The world is a fallen world, one of Sin, and that sin is what causes broken homes, war, poverty, hatred, crime, and loss. The feeling that something is wrong is no different than knowing something was wrong in the Matrix. Morpheus: “What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad.” The world is divided up into two categories, those saved, and those unsaved. Those who are unsaved are not the enemy, but they will try to sued you from your faith. The Devil will use anyone He can throw into your path to pull you away from Christ. In that, if the ‘system’ is the world, and the saved are those unplugged then you can see how if there was one being looking over all the world God would be everywhere, all at once. Morpheus: “The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you’re inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.”

The argument that if there were a loving God that there would be no pain which is false. I say without hardships you never find your true potential. I believe that without reward there is no purpose to try. If there is nothing after this life and we just end, then why obey mans laws? Without some form of higher moral code, then the code of man is worthless. Why not just take what you want, do what you want, and enjoy the fruits of all your evil wicked ways. If there is nothing to hold us accountable then why do anything at all. God didn’t create slaves, He created humans to have a relationship with us, and with that gave us free will, and thus not making us slaves to his will. We have the choice to follow or not. We can see in the world the battle of good and evil everywhere we turn. Every time we see good, every time we see empathy, we know that God is alive and with us and on the move. We see the world through tinted glasses and we but only follow Christ and we can see a bit more clearly. When we see the transformation in those people who become saved the difference is astounding. There is a noticeable difference in the human condition. We have seen miracles in this world even if they are few and far between. If we examine the actual evidence and set aside any preconceived notions we may hold, the evidence is fairly conclusive. Some skeptics will argue forever, and some of the leading scientists will argue the contrary that humanity is a random convergence and nothing more. The existence of Christ is not in question. There is enough evidence to prove he lived, the question then is was he the Son of God? When you break down what we know of examining cold cases such as the well-known Cold Case investigator J. Warner Wallace we find that the eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ resurrection and His prior miracles are not likely to be a fabrication. First and foremost that many people who lived and died vowing that Christ rose from the dead is unlikely that a group that size would be able to keep a conspiracy alive that long. Each of them died horribly and under extreme stresses and knowing they were going to die if they didn’t recant their statements died for the truth.

Further more those who claim the Bible contradicts itself because the authors don’t seem to mention the exact same things in their accounts as the others just don’t understand the nature of eye-witness accounts. This too is something you would see from different witness perspectives. Don’t believe me, that’s fine, read a book. The point is, God is everywhere. God is always with us, and we only need to ask and God will save us. The bills been paid and all we have to do is believe and follow. It’s not always the easiest of things to do, but it certainly beats the alternative of being tortured nearly to death by the most brutal means imaginable, and then forced to drag a piece of wood a mile or so to your own place of death, then while bleeding, while thirsty, while exhausted being nailed hands and feet to a thick wooden cross, lifted up and as your body starts to pull down with your arms spread you begin to asphyxiate. You will either die from blood loss or asphyxiating, and if that doesn’t happen before your set time, they break your legs so you can no longer hold your own weight, and you die shortly thereafter. This doesn’t sound like a fun experience to me. If what suffering I’ll go through in this life is to build my character and suffer even just a little as Christ suffered, then I’d gladly take my end over Christ’s. John 5:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” The sacrifice was paid for us. We will never have deserved it, but we have it never the less. Matthew 24:11-13 “11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” There will be many false prophets you will encounter in the world of men. They will get you to walk away from what you really want. They will get you to buy into their schemes like used car salesman’s using misdirection, flashy terms, sweet talking, and when all else fails, bold face lies.

Remember that God is everywhere and the love is endless. Don’t give up hope, and never give up the faith. Remember those still plugged in are part of the system and that system is designed to keep you a slave. The Devil wants to keep you plugged in, draining the life from you, growing stronger the more souls he steals from the Lord. The end of the war is foretold, what side do you want to be on?

 

The End of The Road

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The End of The Road

I recently found myself in a tough spot, to try and make it in the house I’m living in which is my house, or move out, let it sit empty while on the market, hope it sells quick, and in the mean time find any place I can to lay my head at night. I suppose the house is the last remnant of my old life, the last vestige of a life that fell to ruin. As I packed the house I found myself feeling intense emotions. I felt hurt, and broken, I felt anger, and sorrow. How could this have happened, and more importantly how did it happen to me twice? I suppose I’ll never get a reason for all of this. I suppose the reason is only for a sense of closure and not really all that important. When we find ourselves at the end of a road where do we go, where do we turn? I wish I had an answer, but I truly don’t. Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” We always want to do things our way, walk our path the way we want to. The incontrovertible truth is we won’t get very far, except to the end of the road. Proverbs 22:3 “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.” We may not always see the danger coming. Sometimes we are blind sided by it but those are the times we must put our faith and trust in the Lord.

When we feel as if every turn in the labyrinth we travel is one dead end after another we have to ask ourselves if we are following the road God has planned for us. Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” God promises to help us in our walk. The question is do we trust in the Lord when we can’t always see through the fog? Do we truly follow Proverbs 3:5-6? “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” I find that many people struggle with understanding the meaning of some of the scripture used to help guide. Many people I think want to try and use scripture like Jeremiah 29:11 to show that God is responsible for evil things. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you future and a hope.” If God promises hope, and peace why do we struggle so much? It’s the big picture we are missing. It isn’t about the short-term struggles we have, it’s about the peace and joy of an everlasting life. If Christ suffered as the sacrificial lamb and he was without sin, then we sinners certainly won’t be so lucky. Our hope comes from the knowledge that our suffering in this life won’t be for nothing.

One thing we as a fallen people try to do is, when we get to the end of that road and are faced with that brick wall, we often try to dig through it, force our way through regardless of the fact that the wall was placed there as a deterrent by God. We by nature are stubborn, and we want what we want. Sadly when our road comes to an end, we have to find the new road God wants us on. That’s never an easy task, but we don’t usually get a say so in the matter. Finding yourself at the end of the road can be stressful. When we don’t know where to turn, or find ourselves facing that wall by surprise, finding a new way can be difficult. Having faith is hard, but having a strong enough faith to not let life beat you down can be even harder. When we face the end of the road we have to believe there’s a purpose for it, and a purpose for us. Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Listen for the Holy Spirit and follow the path you are being guided to. Have faith and trust in the Lord. Matthew 17:20 “He (Jesus) said to them, ‘Because of yoru little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” This parable shows that a mustard seed when it starts off is small, but as it grows it does so into a huge tree. Again it’s about the journey, and the time it takes to get from point A to B, not something that happens over night. We will all face our own sets of brick walls here and there, however the disappointment can’t consume us when the wall shows up in our path. Don’t despair and don’t give up. When we truly open our eyes we see that we have the whole world in front of us.

 

Lian Yu (Purgatory)

thearrowpreacher4 Comments

Lian Yu (Purgatory)

Before Christ we were trapped by sins in an eternal death. The Roman Catholics believe Purgatory is a state in between death and heaven where you expiating sin prior to entering the gates of heaven. This is the atoning for sin meaning to pay for or redeem. While the idea of there being a purgatory is highly controversial we won’t be getting into that debate. I am by no means trained well enough to go down that rabbit hole and open that can of worms. Instead, the purgatory we will discuss is the one inside our own minds, and the situations we find ourselves in. If purgatory is a form of prison it can be postulated that your own mind can be a prison. We know this because we have thoughts we often don’t want to, we remember things that bring feelings of pain of hurt. We often find ourselves in situations that bare similarities to those that we’ve been through before, almost as if history itself is being repeated. For some, being trapped in the past is the worst kind of Hades we can have. For others they get themselves into situations that are trouble over and over again. While I don’t believe this is a form of punishment while on this earthly plane of existence, I do believe that if we are repeating the same mistakes and we aren’t learning from them, then perhaps God is trying to get us to pass the test to move on. Other times we go through the same thing over and over because of our own choices, even if they are destructive.

I myself have experienced purgatory. When I returned from Iraq I found myself constantly expecting the next IED to go off, constantly scanned every place I went for insurgents trying to blend in. Every shadow there was the enemy lurking just waiting to attack. Then the thoughts came back of the war. All things considered I’d say my platoon and I were lucky. Yes we took casualties, but as many times as we were attacked the damage was superficial and rarely caused any injury. Even though that was the case, the attacks and the feelings that were left behind, where in fact imprinted and left behind for later reflection. Over time it felt as if those memories would show up and torture me at random. It felt as if I were a prisoner to them, my own personal purgatory.

In the last few years I’ve known several people who’ve gotten themselves into ruts of destructive behavior. They would claw themselves out only to get to the top of the mud hill and as soon as they got out, stand up, stretch, turn and swan dive back into the thick of it. One would guess they loved being in that destructive cycle. The truth is it’s harder then people think to break free. Once we are mentally trained for something it’s very difficult to break that cycle. There are a lot of factors that can play into it, where you live, your friends, the music you choose to listen too, even some shows you may watch. (Disclaimer: No I’m not blaming movies, or music, or video games for bad behavior. However there is enough evidence that some, i.e. a small percentage of the population are susceptible to suggestion from these outlets.) The truth is our hearts can and will be influenced by the things we surround ourselves with. Eventually it’s like ingesting small amounts of lead over time. It may not kill us right away, but eventually we will end up with lead poisoning. It’s best to avoid that stuff when we can. Find positive and influential things to fill your life with, either, friends, movies, churches, music, whatever it may be, as long as it’s going to lift up, rather then manipulate behavior in a negative way. 1 Peter 4:15-16 “15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. 16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.”

So all that being said, how do we avoid entering into purgatory? Well, in a religious sense don’t be habitual sinners. If you are mean and cruel to people and bad things happen to you, chances are you brought that upon yourself. By changing our focus and changing our hearts and minds, giving up and sacrificing our worldly self to Christ, we can then move forward cleansed and free of old sins. Our daily walk should prevent us from entering into man made, self-made perpetual prisons. A purgatory for your mind is harder to achieve. Sometimes we have no control over the trauma’s we endure. I have always been a firm believe of a two pronged approach therapy. The first is for your mind, to actually work on the event that caused the issue. The second is for your heart, and that’s a spiritual journey by someone in the clergy. We can’t have one without the other because we must take care of both the heart and the mind. Both will influence the other, and both have to be in a healthy place and a healthy balance. Don’t allow yourself to be held prisoners by the horrors we may face. Find your spiritual footing and allow those people in ministry to help you. Do not create your own purgatory, instead allow yourself to freely walk away leaving everything behind that held you in chains. Repent for your sins and within that repentance remember it’s not just saying you’re sorry, it’s making an action to make up for the mistake. Mark 5:4 “because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.” Jesus freed us from the bonds of sin, and the eternal damnation that followed for it. It takes strength and dedication to overcome the chains of the world, the lustful desires that bind us to our prisons. Fight the sin urges, flee from sinful drama, and seek Godly counsel when in need. Always has if what you are doing glorifies God, and if you don’t think it will, or wouldn’t talk to your pastors or priest about what you are thinking of doing, it’s probably not a good idea to do it.

We can’t always help what happens to us, we can’t always help the scars it leaves behind, but how we choose to handle each of those situations, where we choose to get help for them will be the defining factor as to our eternal future. If life gets hard and you choose to turn to the bottle chances are that bottle will become your purgatory. If you choose to turn to the counsel of God, you’ll undoubtedly have better luck. Don’t create your own prisons, and don’t go searching for purgatory.