Work......

So I've been out of work due to medical issues once again. The devil is attacking us by trying to throw these issues at us. Notice I said trying. My wife and I knew that when you do good in the Lord's work, satan will attack. Well that's fine and dandy, I guess. But he's gonna get tired. We keep getting stronger and stronger, not only in the ability to lean on each other, but in our faith in God as well. Since I am out of work, we thought we would would volunteer some of our downtime between appointments and such at a local Christ based theater where we consider ourselves affiliated. What better way to counter satan's attacks than to step up more for God? As many of you know, any time you deal with the public, you'll get a little of the good, bad, and ugly. For the most part, people are kind and courteous. Of course there are always some that keep a frown on their face and prefer to be rude. And that's all good I guess. I have personally enjoyed volunteering my time for God. My wife and I, both, have enjoyed it. There is nothing better in this world than to do God's work, no matter how small it is. Whether it's pastoring a church, or ushering at a play, it pleases our Father.

It's Hard

Jeremiah 29:11 says this, "For I know the plans I have for you." says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
This sounds relatively easy. And it is almost always the advice from the outside voice to the one who is troubled in some way. In a day where good people suffer, good people are persecuted, good people are condemned, it is hard to think that Jesus, our Lord and our Savior, would allow good people to suffer. Pains of this world are harsh. From cancers to wars to condemnation and persecution, it seems we have it pretty tough. Read closely, plans for good and not of disaster. If we are looking at the world, we won't find any plans for good and not of disaster. This world is full of corruption and dismay. So seek not anything of this world. The rest, to give you a future and a hope. Without Jesus we have no future, we have no hope. If we are His people then our future is there, in heaven with Him. That is our hope. That is our good. And that is NOT disaster. What makes us think we should ever rise above Jesus and not partake in suffering? Jesus came down here to buy our salvation at a very costly price. And we turned our back, after demanding he die for nothing, while he hung on a cross, alone, bearing the sins of all of us. So alone to the point that His Father, God, turned His back because the sin Jesus bore was too great. God had plans for Jesus. And those plans were for good, not of disaster, and for a future and hope. Jesus has those same plans for us.

Life, Death, and Time

In the beginning of spring, there are so many signs of new life. The grass is getting greener. The trees are beginning to regain the leaves. Bushes are beginning to bloom. As spring turns into summer, and over the course of summer, life remains. Some remain almost the same throughout these seasons while others flourish. As fall rolls around, we begin to see the early signs of the fading away of these things. The leaves, the grass, the blooms, all begin to die. Soon, all the leaves have fallen and the grass is brown, bushes barren. Over the next few days I have related this to our lives as human beings. See, my wife and I visited an old cemetery the other day. I took my time, reading the headstones and absorbing some of the history. As I looked at the dates, perspective began to set in, I guess. Our life is like the seasons from spring to fall. We will be born, and we will die. There's no way around it. Just like we were born, we are appointed to die as well. Now, seeing that the appointed date of death is unknown to us, time is a beautiful gift from God. Life, well, that's just the time between birth and death. As I read the headstones and looked at dates, I realized that the gift of time is very different for everybody. Some people had 40-50 years of time on this earth. Some had as many as 80 or 90. And unfortunately, some only had a few months to a few years. Proving that death arrives unannounced. So why do so many people take advantage of the gift of time? I don't have an answer for that. But no matter the amount of time, it is a gift that isn't guaranteed. It is time to grow, spiritually, mentally, physically. Learn what God wants from you and do it. It is a time to love, and love wrecklessly. Don't waste time dwelling on negative things that will only drag you down and focus more on things that will create positivity. God looks at the life we have as the time He has given us. Don't waste it. The only time promised is the time it just took for you to take that last breath....

Baptism

On June 15,2012,i had the amazing privilege of marrying the most wonderful woman I've ever known. We began our relationship with a common goal, to base our marriage completely around God. Marriage being the most important relationship God created, He used His Son, Jesus, and the Church as a model. At our wedding ceremony, just as Jesus humbled Himself to serve the church, I humbled myself, knelt down, and washed my wife's feet. A public display of humility and servitude towards the woman that I declared my love to. Over the course of our marriage, we have loved each other, praised God through thick and thin, and strived to learn and live as biblically as possible. With all that, we decided to be baptized together. A very special moment. I went first, and went to stand to the side as my wife went. Little did I know the pastor would ask me to join her in the water, to assist in the baptism. He simply said could do that now. At that moment, this special moment just exploded with symbolism and was a moment to be cherished deeply. To have my wife, the woman I lift to God in my prayers, in my arms as she was being baptized was..... indescribable. I was honored to do this for her. In doing so, the pastor "had a moment" before we got out of the water, as well as many in the congregation. I knew we had something special, and with the amount of people who approached us afterwards, others do too. I am blessed to have her as my wife. And we are blessed to be backed by an making God.

End Times

I watched a YouTube video today that was very interesting, calling out Barack Obama as the antichrist. Using two verses in particular, Luke 10:18 and Isaiah 14:14,and translating the president's name to come to this conclusion. The pronunciation of Barack is similar to the Hebrew or Aramaic word for the term lightening, while O is combining the word with heights. Translation to old language is pronounced close to Bama. End result of translation, Barack Obama equals lightening from the heights. We associate the heavens with being above the clouds which is what satan said he was ascending to in Isaiah. Makes sense, and while I can't debunk this, I can't really disagree either. During his presidency, Obama has manage to deteriorate and demoralize our nation as a whole. He has made us look weak and foolish to our peers and our enemies. If we look at recent events in the world, and watch John Hagee's Blood Moon sermon, this is definitely looking more and more like the end times than ever. It is not going to get better, I'm afraid. But I am thankful for the forgiveness and salvation that Jesus has gifted me with. When worse turns into worst, we will have ascending to our eternal home with Jesus Christ.

False Gods

This may be a touchy thing for some. But hey, it's what I feel led to share. I serve an amazing God that has also served me as well. I do not have any interest in serving any false gods. I am, however, interested in what makes other people tick for other religions. So I looked at a couple of other religions and key points. I'll start with my own.
Formed in approximately 30-33 AD, Christianity, God is the creator of all things. He sent His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to this earth. He served as a model for us, living a perfect life. He also was the Sacrificed Lamb that died for our  sins. God and Jesus, joined by the Holy Spirit, form the Trinity. The key part of Jesus' death was the resurrection after 3 days, and later was witnessed ascending to Heaven. There are no man made requirements to be baptized, only need is to be born again in the Spirit. And our salvation is free, He paid the price for our sins.
The next one I'll look at is Islam. Formed in approximately 622 AD, Muslims worship Allah. Allah is the creator of all things, and there is no Trinity. While Islam still recognizes some of the same prophets of Christianity, their main prophet is Mohammed. Mohammed is portrayed as a man who makes mistakes but never sins against God, so his humanity serves as a reminder that other humans can aspire to lead a good life. An interesting thing I found is Shahada. Shahada is taught from a young age and it means "death for Allah." And this is taught as a motivational tool from a very young age for all Muslims, men, women, and children, to seek death for Allah. Wow.
Next up was Mormonism. Founded in early 1800s by Joseph Smith, it has some far fetched beliefs. It teaches that the god of this earth was once a mortal man on another earth. He became a god by following Mormon laws in his previous life. According to your commitment to the laws, I assume, you will reach different levels of heaven. Brigham Young, Smith's successor, taught that God Himself came down and had sexual relations with Mary to conceive Jesus Christ. In order to reach an exalted state in manhood, you must be a good Mormon, tithing 10%, follow various man made laws and ordinances, and be found worthy, by the other worthy Mormons, of course.
Last is the Jehovah's Witness. Founded in the late 1800s, Jesus is also a single person and not part of a Trinity. Also is not omniscient. And, just like the other man made religions, there are man made rules. One must attend 5 meetings a week, one cannot be baptized until they have studied their material for 6 months, went door to door, and passed a test before elders of the group. One must refuse to vote, refuse to sing the Star Spangled Banner, refuse to celebrate Christmas or birthdays, or join the military. If you leave the JW organization, you will be shunned. Oh, they also change their bible frequently and tell followers they are closer to the light or the truth.

For me, these man made religions are hard to follow or understand. It doesn't seem fair to be judged by other men and for them to tell me if God forgives me or not. Or to think that my merciful, wonderful God was an alien, so to speak, rewarded for following the "rules." If I was a young child and I was being motivated and taught to seek death for my God, it would definitely cause me to shy away from that religion alone. Instead, I have chose to follow a God that loves, forgives, and requests me to spread the Gospel of His good name to others with the same love that He gives me.

Do You Even Repent, Bro?

Repent, to feel sincerely sorrowful for one's wrongdoing or sin, to turn away from that sin and live to the amendment of one's life. Jesus calls on us to repent from our sins. I think a lot of people feel that this is for Him. And while it is, He also wants us to do it for ourselves. More so than we think. If we live something over and over and do not repent of it, it begins to loom over us like a dark blanket. That's the Holy Spirit at work. To repent, cast all you sins at His feet, turn and leave them. I think one of the reasons Jesus wants us to do this, aside from no sin entering Heaven, is so that we can experience the full freedom He has given us to live abundantly. See, that little hindrance will prevent us from being full of Christ. It will prevent us from being the witness we need to be. It will stop us from fully worshipping God the way we should. This will have a snowball effect on our relationship with Christ. 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 says (9)yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. (10)Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. He wants us to repent to experience joy and freedom versus the devil's plot to cause sorrow with sin and lead us away from God unto death, not everlasting life. Who's plan are you following?