Tag: Word of God

The Man Who Cries

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The Man Who Cries

Years ago, if you were to ask me, ‘when was the last time you cried?’ I wouldn’t have been able to tell you. If you were to ask me today in my life, I could tell you, it was just the other day. I’m sure many of you have seen those last day since incident signs in a workplace, for me, I rarely get beyond a week. After my GSW in 2016, I began multiple therapies. Over the last 8 years, I have done one or two therapies a year, both from the VA and WWP (Wounded Warrior Project). Even though the therapies today are not required, I have chosen to continue to grow, and add tools to my toolbox. Some of these tools are effective communication, emotion regulation, a wholistic approach to self-care, interpersonal relationships, biblical relationships, and more. One side effect however is, some of my emotions stay pretty close to the surface. For years I felt like I was walking along a desert road with no water, no shelter, and no help in sight. I felt like a broken man, in a broken land, and behind me the shadow crept nipping at my heels, waiting for the right time to strike. When it caught up to me in 2016, I was nearly destroyed. In an instant thought, I experienced a miracle, and I was forgiven. I was no longer a man constrained by my fear, my doubts, or my trauma. I’d begin to learn from new eyes, how to heal. Now, I live, with the power of the cross behind me, in front of me, and side by side with me. Jesus saved my soul, and began to put the pieces of my broken heart back together. Since then, I’ve experienced a slew of more miracles, which have unlocked a new character trait. I now cry pretty easily. My tears are not always tears of sadness, but also of joy, or empathy. 

Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” 

Here the Apostle Paul is teaching us how to be Christians with other Christians and the world around us. How do we serve a mighty God? We each have gifts and those gifts are used differently for the Lord. We are told to learn our gifts and use them. We are told much in Chapter 12. 

12 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and [e]acceptable and perfect.

3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

We see how to use our gifts, we are told to persevere, to rejoice in the hope of Christ, to not be wise of our own estimation, how to treat our enemies, and more. I have learned much in my 8 years, and have a long way to go. If I’m honest, these last few months have been some of the most challenging of my life. In reality, the song ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’, truly feels like my theme song right now. There’s a line, “there’s days when a praise come out easy, there’s days it takes all the strength I got.” The heart, a little object inside the body, that keeps us alive. The heart of the mind however, when it’s broken, boy does that affect so much of our life. A broken heart can do so much damage to our lives. In May of 2024 I wrote a post called “The Best Captain”, and it in I wrote a line “Sometimes I can hear the darkness beckon to me, it tells me all is lost.” The darkness gripped me that day in 2016, and I was smashed by the tidal wave. Today, the hardship, the heartbreak is different, but strong. 

“The storm is raging on, the lighting cracks in the sky, and I can barely hear Captain’s orders. The darkness surrounds the ship, as she creaks and groans in the treacherous waves. Fear of the ship running aground, or breaking up, or worse, I get tossed over, leaves me trembling with worry. The waves crash over the rail, and I take the full force of the wall of water. I’m wet, and cold, fear grips me, and I fall to my knees and begin to cry. Just as I do a hand touches my shoulder. “‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your CAPTAIN. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’” Cap knows just what to say when I need it.” (The Best Captain)

The Best Captain 

I know that Jesus has never left my side. I know that the demons flee before Him, quiver at the sound of His voice. I know that in this life we have trouble, and I know that it’s okay to cry. I know that what I’ve endure is not an easy thing, and not just the surgery, but other things added to it, have given just cause to cry. In my life today, I often ask questions, even from secular songs, how could this apply to me? LeAnn Rimes performed a song ‘How Do I Live’  and in that song: 

How do I

Get through one night with you

If I had to live without you

What kind of life would that be

Indeed, how do I live without Jesus? How could I get through one night with Him the King of the universe? If I had to live without Jesus by my side, what kind of life would that be? I would be nowhere without my Lord and Savior. I would be lost to travel this life on a rotten tub of a ship in the rough seas, where I’d likely sink and join Davy Jones Locker. Without Christ to save us, we are dead men. We are dead in our sins, with no hope. Without Christ we are still plugged into the Matrix. We are still blind. 

I’ve found that in my walk with Christ I have become more sensitive to the emotions of righteousness. I have found that I feel more deeply, but also hurt more deeply when I see injustice. I find that I no longer hide the feelings within, but wear them on my sleeve. Now, don’t misunderstand, if I need to, I am well adept to hide my emotions, if needed. I wonder, in my life, what Jesus would say or do if He witnessed what I have. How would it make Him feel. I have tried to have empathy, understanding, but always stand upon the truth. I’ve often found myself connecting with Captain America’s character, the hero boy scout. I abhor bullies, and injustice. It makes me both angry and broken at the same time. I feel God has given me the mission to stand up with my voice and speak out against injustice. I have spoken about the human trafficking. I have spoken against the mutilation of boys and girls happening in our world. I have spoken out against racism. I have spoken out against the evils of socialism and communism. I have spoken out against the attack on God’s people in the persecuted church. I have spoken out about the evil of killing our unborn children. I have recently felt I need to talk about spousal violence in our society, and will likely do a podcast for this subject. I indeed, feel deeply about these types of injustices, and will continue to speak out. Even though my own life is full of heartbreak, this does not mean the world stops. It doesn’t mean I don’t continue to do the work, even if it means I must drop to my knees, and cry to my Lord, to save my nation. I pray for a great awakening in my land, that we turn from our wicked ways, and seek God. I pray for the stay of the Lord’s judgment, even though I believe we are in His judgment now. Sometimes the Lord’s judgment doesn’t come as a sword, but the turning of His back. I pray we as Christians continue to seek the Lord, and continue to grow in His Word. I pray we treat one another better. I pray we do not take the Lord righteous name in vain, as we wear His holy name and yet we do awful things. These things bring tears to my eyes. My hardships bring tears to my eyes, as the stress on my shoulders is mighty. I have felt like the Greek God Atlas recently, the world on my shoulders. I have been praying the Lord lighten my burden, and I know He will when the time is right. I pray for His help to hold up the burden upon my shoulders. The King, the mighty Lord Jesus, is greatest of all. 

Jesus changed my life, and changed me. Jesus brought me to life, taking my life and giving me new purpose, He has never left my side. Jesus showed me a better way, His way, of living life. Jesus has given me His grace and mercy, and all I can do is try my best to live my life in a way that is pleasing to Him. I cannot live in fear, and even though my tears may fall, I have hope that in the end of this journey, the moment I step into glory, I shall have no more tears. I will have no more scars. I shall no more hurt. I will finally be able to rest. I long for that day, I long to be in the presence of my Lord, and finally, meet Him face to face, though I will never be worthy of it. I will never be able to work enough, or do enough, to be worthy of it, but the Lord’s blood washed me clean, and He promised to never leave me, so I’m never alone. I do not cry alone, but the Lord cries with me. Now, and till the day I reach the shores of the far distant land I journey too. 

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Study God’s Word 

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Study God’s Word:

If someone would have told me years ago, that in the future I would spend a great deal of my time in and around God’s word, I probably would have thought that it was interesting but not overtly crazy. Growing up I was not in God’s word at all. I didn’t go to a Christian school, though I wish I had. I didn’t go to Christian summer camps, or even been a part of a vacation bible school, I also wish I had. I didn’t open my Bible at all, even on Sundays, I didn’t have my Bible. In fact, as I sit and ponder those days, the only Bible I remember having is a children’s Bible which had stories, but not actually a Bible. It was not till I was older and serving in the military I received my first actual Bible. The most involved in Bible study was when I attended a small prayer group in High School. I knew the name of God, and I had faith, and I prayed, but I didn’t understand who God was. 

One week during basic training at Fort Knox Kentucky, we were invited to a church for Thanksgiving dinner. While at the dinner the church handed out a fairly simple KJV Bible. I gladly accepted it, and at the first chance I got, I bought a highlighter and begun combing scripture for verses to remember. While I would not have called this Bible study, at least I was in the word. I would get a small Gideons Bible which is just the NT, Psalms and Proverbs; I was given this on my way to Kuwait to join the battle efforts in Iraq. I spent a lot of time reading verses, combing through scripture, again searching for things I thought would be helpful and comforting, but not actually knowing God. 

Fast forward many years later; it’s 2017, I’ve lost everything, and my life is in shambles. Teaching for a small bit of time at a local church, I had a decent understanding at this point how to study, but outside of preparing a lesson, and following along on Sunday’s, I still wasn’t studying yet. But, in early 2017 all that changed. With my life crumbling around me, and having lost everything, I dove into scripture. I dove into topical study, and while I wouldn’t exactly recommend that to anyone, it was a start, and everyone’s gotta start someplace. For me, I wrote a blog, this blog, and I wrote every day, sometimes 2-3 times a day. I was hooked on learning and writing, and sharing ideas, and I was growing in the Lord. To date I have posted 848 times. I will say, the vast majority were in 2017 (382), 2018 (340), and 2019 (41). Since then, I would say, spiritual warfare gripped me, and my desire to write was severely diminished. I studied but it was different. Let us fast forward again to 2024. While the numbers on the blog for 2024 are kinda small, a mere 18, I have also started doing a podcast. A transitional period for me. My focus is now divided into writing and speaking. The difference between 2023/24, and the last few years is while there are no numbers to show this, I study God’s word just about every day. As I am going through the book of John for the podcast (Vlog), and in my personal study Luke. 

So, why is any of this important to you? After being an understudy for the youth pastor at my church, I realized how important it was to know God’s word. Not just to know what it says, but to understand it, and have it stored up in my heart. The words of 2 Timothy jumped off the page, 2 Timothy 4:3-4 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. If Covid taught me nothing, it was this, the number of false teachers is extreme. During Covid as most of us were stuck at home, I began to search for online preachers. Slowly, one by one I found in some way they were teaching heresy, or worse, blasphemy. How would I have been able to tell the difference of solid teaching, had I not studied the Bible myself. Many people today, fall within the category in which Paul is warning Timothy. They do not know the Bible so they fall into the web of a false teacher. 

Today, false teaching has grown, into what seems like a great falling away. Not only is the word being miss spoken, but a large portion has become apostate, and has compromised the Word of God to allow inclusivity, and has watered down the Gospel, more concerned with its own bottom line of brining in the world, and making the world feel more comfortable. Because of this however, it has changed what the Bible says, they corrupt it’s meaning, and in an attempt to be more inclusive, much like the slogan of Obama Care “If you like your old sin, you can keep your old sin.” Sadly, this leaves little room for the actual truth, God will condemn those who preach His word incorrectly, and those who listened are also condemned, even if they believe they are saved. The problem is, they don’t truly understand scripture, or the Holy Spirit. They were not born a new creation, have not killed the old sin with the grace and mercy of the Holy Spirit, and still live in the sin they so loved. When people come to Jesus, but do not know the cost, the giving up on yourself, your own desires, and the love of the world, picking up your cross daily to follow Him, they risk the dire consequences. When you follow Christ, there is a part of you that dies, and a new part is born. One cannot follow Christ without dying to themselves first. The faith in Christ is met with an action, and the action is dying to yourself. As Christ said, you cannot serve two masters. You cannot try to serve God, but love and be of the world. The world is under the control of Satan, and if you love the world, you live under your father Adam. 

Why Bible study matters. Lets take a look at Ephesians 4:31 KJV 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice

NKJV 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

ESV 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

NASB 31 All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice.

CAN YOU SPOT THE DIFFERENCE? 

Here’s why biblical studies matter. It’s at the end, ‘be put away from you, with all malice’, or ‘along with all malice’. In English these mean two very different things. But the root word in the original language is “óúv: meaning association, fellowship and inclusion. Being rare in.” In each translation, the word for with, and the word along, are the same, just one removed the word along. When I first read it, I read it in the New King James, and someone preached it from the NASB, and I was confused. Which one is it? I interpreted it to mean you are to put away bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking with malice, meaning to hate your own sin. But, while this can still be said as truth, the true nature of this verse is to do those things, and also, adding to it, put away malice: wickedness, depravity, malignity. 

Without true study of the Word of God, people have been getting the Bible to say whatever they want it to say. Without knowing it in your heart, you don’t know what is true, and not true. The other day I was watching a new show on Netflix, and I can’t really describe it as a documentary, because it’s littered with the world, and not Biblical truth. It’s supposed to be a documentary on a Biblical figure. In the show, they quoted Exodus 20:3 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.” They took this to mean, you should have no other gods before me, that must mean there are ‘other’ gods. Sadly, thousands or millions of people will watch this new show, and think that they may have a choice, that there are other gods to choose from. Scripture here is not saying there are other gods, but rather, we create them ourselves, and we worship the created, and not the creator. I think Captain America said it best, “These guys come from legend, they’re basically gods” Captain America responds, “There’s only one God ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that. (Avengers) Much like the golden calf on the side of Mount Sinai, or the 10 plagues God sent to show Egypt it’s made-up gods were nothing to the one true God. People have been making their own gods, and changing god into their own image since the serpents first lie to Eve. Genesis 3:4-The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Eve found this enticing, she saw she could be like God, wanting that power for herself, in her pride, taking the fruit from the forbidden tree, and eating it. Without knowing the Bible, we take God and turn him into our own version of god, and we take ourselves and place ourselves into the bible, and we become the main character. Instead of seeing the Glory of God, the Power of God, the Worship to God, and the Word of God. Without knowing scripture, scripture can be taught any which way, and we believe it. We hear the snake oil salesman and we buy what he’s selling, just as eve bought the pitch from the Devil. There are no other gods before God, because there are no other Gods. What we do, is worship the created, rather than the creator. We worship trees, and turtles, and rare birds, but do not hold an unborn baby in the same regard. We worship pride, and place it on a pedestal because we worship the pretend marginalized. We either ignore Gods word willfully, or negligently in ignorance. We allow these things to take place and we attend churches where these things happen, but we remain, and we say nothing. Most don’t know the word, and are being led off a cliff, but because they think God loves them just the way they are, there’s no reason to change. God in their minds is an all-inclusive God, and he loves us just the way we are. 

God does love you just the way you are, but there is something that is called to happen; we are called to have faith, but then, to REPENT! Our faith in Christ which causes the change in our hearts, leads us to repentance. The Holy Spirit within us, forces change, it makes us come face to face with our sin, and we become repugnant to our sin. In being a new creation, we cannot be in love with our sin, for if we are in love with our sin, we are condemned by it. Scripture is clear about such things

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 

9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Galatians 5:19-21

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Voddie Baucham on the TWO tables of the Law. 

Don’t Murder- Don’t deprive your neighbor of his life. (Not kill- they are not the same) 

Adultery- Don’t deprive neighbor of his family

Theft – Don’t deprive neighbor of his goods

False Witness – Don’t deprive neighbor of his reputation

Coveting – Don’t despise what God has given you. 

Coveting- you are not satisfied with what God has given to you. 

We, much like Eve, think God is holding back from us, and we want what we want. We want that relationship no matter what God’s law says. We want that sexual attention, no matter what God says. We want that stuff from the store, though we can’t afford it, no matter what the law says. We want to preach in church, (if you’re a woman) no matter what God’s word says. We covet ourselves. We worship ourselves. We worship false gods. We don’t know God’s word because it sits on the shelf and we don’t ever take the time to read it, and study it. Now, here’s the rub. Some read but do not see. Some preach, but do not understand. How do we know who’s who, unless we know and understand scripture for ourselves? The Apostles did not see Judas sitting right in front of them. They did not see the impending danger, and could not tell Judas had a demon in him. He blended in, a chameleon, the enemy was in their midst and they couldn’t see. If we don’t study and know what God’s word says, adhere to God’s commands, take them into our hearts, how will we know the counterfeit from the real one? 

It is our jobs as Christians to not just know Jesus as our savior, but to know his commands. Our job is to know and rightfully discern His commandments of God. If we are to know God, we must know what He as spoken. If we are to follow Jesus, we must know what He wills for us, commands us, and expects of us. We cannot live our lives in the dark, and in order for us to live in the light, we must know His word. We must keep His word in our hearts so we might not sin against a righteous and holy God, Psalm 119:11. I have come to understand the dangers of getting my theology from the world. Trying to mix secular science, and my feeble understanding of scripture, left me with little or no understanding of who God is. I did not do my due diligence in study and when the going truly got hard, I had no appreciation, no knowledge of the nature of God. My foundation was that upon sand, and everything collapsed. My life should be a cautionary tale for those who believe they don’t need to know what scripture says to live a ‘good’ life. I assure you, there are none who live a good life, no one is righteous, and everyone falls short of the glory of God. But if we do not recognize our sins, how do we repent of them? We must know what He wishes of us, and why. Know what He expects of us, and why. Know who Jesus is, and what He actually said. Know what his Apostles said and taught and what they died for. No one goes to their death over a lie, and if anyone knew the truth, the 11 Apostles did, along with many others in the early church. They knew the truth, and died for it. IF they were willing to put down their lives for the truth, and in doing so, giving us the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God, why do we not have a desire to learn and grow closer to our Lord, and Creator? Don’t put off to tomorrow, what you can do today. 

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Where is YOUR Faith?

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Where is YOUR Faith?

Matthew 14:22-23

22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.

27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

We all go through stuff in life. We all face demons, sickness, fears, disappointments, persecutions, loss, heartache, and more. We each have a choice in our lives, to follow Christ, or not to follow Christ. For many there is a feeling in their souls that something is wrong with the world, and they have a calling, they just don’t know what it is. Not everyone will feel this calling, and some will be led to seek and destroy those who do. When we look at the story of the Storm, and Jesus walking on water, yes it’s miraculous that Jesus has control over space, time, matter, energy, and the laws of physics. As creator of everything, those things are quite understandable. The story, in my not so professional opinion, is actually about faith. Peter, very much afraid, sees the Christ, and hearing the voice of the shepherd knows it’s Christ, but sadly, lets his fear get in the way. ‘IF it is you.” Is what he says. How often do we doubt like Peter? How often do we question and ignore the voice of our Lord, Savior, Creator, Redeemer?  Jesus replies with an amazing and terrifying test of faith. Peters’ faith was already doubting since he didn’t believe it was Jesus at first. So now, Jesus is bringing forth a tremendous act, “Trust me.” Jesus is telling Peter, and in Me (Jesus) you can do anything. For the moment Peter was in faith, he was obedient, and suddenly, lost focus on the Lord, and began to sink. Jesus reaches down, and rescues Peter. Without hesitation, Jesus rebukes Peter, you who have such little faith. Why did you doubt? 

The truth is, Peter represents all of us in life. Many Christians today, are A: not true Christians, but Christian only by name. Most people who say they are Christian, do so because of family ties, upbringing, or living in a socially Christian community. This does not mean they have a personal relationship with God, and most certainly means God the Father does not know them on a personal level. This doesn’t mean there is not that calling upon their lives. Many Christians are in fact like Thomas. Doubting, and questioning till the very end. They need proof. To those Christians I say, the proof is there, just follow the evidence, and see for yourself, it all points to Jesus as the Christ. 

But let us return to the faith of Peter. I have been going through a lot recently, and I have seen others around me go through a lot. It’s not an easy thing navigating this life sometimes. The Devil and his myriad of demons, attack us every day. We face temptations, and questions, situations, and thoughts, sensory inputs, of every kind. Today with the invention of the internet, television, endless supplies of shows and movies, music, and news, we are bombarded with societies inputs, and sad to say, that input is not one of Jesus Christ, but of the enemy. Paul warns Timothy to keep the faith and fight the good fight. Paul warns the church at Ephesus to hold fast, and wear the Armor of God. Withstand the attacks of the Devil, and stand their ground. We too must heed that advice and the warnings. For many of us, we are in the midst of the hurricane as we speak. 

I don’t usually get super personal, but scripture calls us to bare one another’s burdens, and sometimes it’s good to know we aren’t alone in the fight. Recently I have been struggling with some deep physical pain. The pain I have experienced has kept me in bed for more than a day at a time. On days like that, I do very little. I am unable to do much when the pain levels get that high, and even the medication I have, the stretching, foam rolling, and rest, all seem to fall short. As a man in my 40’s, I find it hard to manage, not the pain itself, but the emotional, and mental drain this kind of Chronic pain leaves behind. On top of the pain I feel, I have concerns within my immediate family that takes my attention. I have friends suffering. I see the state of my country and I weep for it. I live in a place that I no longer recognize. A place where much like the fires and darkness of Mordor in Lord of The Rings, is spreading across Middle Earth. Here too, the darkness in spreading in my very country and I am powerless to stop it. Oh, I try, I try by writing this blog, I try by preaching and teaching on my podcast, helping my community, and not keeping my faith to myself. All I can do is pray, and have faith. 

Having faith in the storm is perhaps the hardest thing a Christian can do. Like Christ said, build your house upon the rock and it’ll withstand the storm. Build it upon the sand, and watch it crumble. I have seen my faith crumble, and my world around it, as it was built upon the sand. I know what it’s like to be Peter on the water, and get scared, and begin to fall into the dark abyss of the sea. Not in a literal term of course, but in an emotional sense. In order to withstand the storm, and not sink into the water, not have the house crumble into the sea, we must realize it isn’t of our own strength, or our own ability to fight the war. Truly Truly I say to you, it is faith that wins over the darkness. Jesus walking on water is amazing, but what Jesus asks of Peter is not to trust in his all-powerful being, that controls the weather and physics, but to just have faith in Him. That faith, is where it all must start. Your faith is the foundation in which Christ builds upon in your life. If your faith is weak, your life will crumble when the right storm hits. 

Peter will one day find his courage, much like Peregrin Took from Lord of The Rigs, “Do not fear, young Peregrin Took, you shall find your courage.” (LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring) When Peter finds his courage, he is no longer afraid to speak out for Christ. He is no longer afraid to face death. He is no longer afraid to face the storm. He becomes bold, and firm, and even stands up to the mighty and influential Sanhedrin, “We will not be silenced, and will not stop talking about Jesus.” He tells them Acts 4:18-21 18 “So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.”

Peter went from afraid of the waves, to denying Christ, to eventually being martyred upside down on the cross for Christ. We must find our courage to stand bold on the word of God, and without compromising it, without changing it, share the Gospel with love and gentleness. We are to be bold in our faith, strong in courage, and resist the darkness circling round. Our lives must be built around our faith, and that faith will be tested. We’ve begun seeing signs of a new age of persecution rising up in the world, and some very close to home. Christianity will be the focus of much debate in the coming time. I fear persecution will one day reach these shores like that of old, as we have entered a time of weakness among men. For many of us in the midst of the storm in our lives, I daresay, we have not yet seen what a true storm is. If I put it in hurricane status, most of us at most have ever seen a category 4 hurricane. Without the threat of death for your faith, hiding, never wondering when the government will come and take you from home, I would say a low Cat 4 at worst. Illness, war, divorce, substance, are all bad, but not being put on a post, dowsed in oil, and lit on fire bad. Or thrown into a colosseum and forced to fight off lions and tigers and other Apex predators bad. No, we have not yet witnessed storms of that magnitude, but when the day comes, if the day comes within our lives, we must dig deep and have the faith to stand firm. 

Paul on the ship in the storm had great faith in Jesus to see them through. He had been given word on what to do to survive the storm, and while in the end, the entire ship was lost, trust in Paul, and Paul trusting and having faith in the Lord, all hands survived the shipwreck after a 14-day storm lost at sea. Paul’s faith is not seen to have waivered in the midst of the storm. Paul’s faith inspired the men around him, and even the unbelievers on the ship, saw the Holy and mighty power of God at work in Paul. 

Our faith may be tested and in that testing we will grow or fall. The strong in faith shall push through, and the seeds that grow in the shallow dirt shall burn away under the heat of the sun. Since the complete fracture of my foundation in 2016, I have come to have a stronger platform than I ever had before. I was weak in my faith and the world, the prince of the power of the air, came down upon me with full force, and I broke. Just because we break doesn’t mean we’re out of the fight. Sometimes it’s in our brokenness Jesus will pick up the pieces, and rebuild us in his Image. He picks us up, and that longing, that tiny ember inside us that has always set us apart from the world, is ignited by Jesus. That calling is turned into something more, and we find what we were missing all along was Christ Jesus in our lives. Not the cursory view of Christ, but the real relationship with him. Christians are forged in the fires of this world. The demons attack us relentlessly stoking the fire in which steel is forged into blades of magnificent might. The sword, the weapon in which a Christian will both wield for attack, and to defend one’s faith. We must grow our faith by knowing and trusting God’s word. We must hone our faith by training, and practicing our mind with the scripture of God. We don’t have Jesus with us in the flesh, but we have his Word left for us to read, to study, to place into our hearts so we may not sin against him. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, and that friends, is true power. Not power of our own, but God with Us. The storms come and though you may not be in one right now, the day will come when you are. You have to have strong faith, deep rooted faith, so the storm won’t easily topple the tree, or break the foundation of your house. 

Eye of the Storm, By Ryan Stevenson: 

In the eye of the storm

You remain in control

And in the middle of the war

You guard my soul

You alone are the anchor

When my sails are torn

Your love surrounds me

In the eye of the storm

No matter how bad the storm gets, even if the storm is to take your life, have faith in Jesus, for the worst thing that can happen is the world takes your body, but it cannot take your soul. None of us can add one single day by worrying. None of us can add one day to our Holy Devine Destiny. God the Father is in complete control, and when you are in his hands, no one can pluck you from his grip. We must have faith to step out of the boat, but never lose sight of Jesus. We must have him in our focus at all times. Whether we eat, or drink, whatever we do, do in the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31. Peter fell the moment he looked at the world, and not Christ. Peter was rebuked for his poor faith. We need to learn from Peter, and faith from Paul, and the love of Christ like Mary, who wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair and oils (John 12:3). Let us not be Christians in name alone, but true followers of Christ. Let us not be one of those who in John 6:66 followed him no more. Let us not be a journeyman on the path to destruction, but that of the narrow way to the Father. Let us have faith like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to face the fiery furnace in the book of Daniel. Let us have courage like David to stand firm when the enemies are at in front of us. Not because of our own power, but we know the Power of Christ. We know what he has done, what he will do, and it is not for our sake, but for his Glory alone. We are dead in our sins, and if the lions take our lives, all the faster we unite with Jesus in Heaven. Do not fear the storm, for each of us has a date with death, and none can prolong our time by one minute if it be the Fathers will. Let us let go of our fear, let us let go of the worry, and doubts. Let us put our sights upon the one true King, and Lord of lords, and trust in Him with our whole heart, the priority of our lives, and let us merely stand firm in our faith, while HE fights the war. Let us be the strong, courageous, zealous warriors we are called to be, but put our whole faith, in Christ. 

Go in Peace, and Love, Sharing the Gospel and Making Disciples of all the Nations. 

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