Hello Guys and Gals!
Tomorrow is Easter. This is the day that we celebrate the Lord Jesus Christ rising from the grave, which he went to willingly so that we might be able to restore our relationship with God the Father! It was by Jesus' own power that he rose again. It was not by anything else than His love for us that He did this! He rose so that we might have life and life more abundantly!
If you are lonely, or in pain, or feel unloved, or what ever may be bothering you this night; know that I am available for you to speak with and pray with!
Please take the time tomorrow to pray a prayer of thanks so that Jesus will know you are thinking about Him and what He has given to us this Easter. I know He will appreciate it and it just might draw you closer to Him!
God bless you all this night and tomorrow for Easter as well!
23 April 2011
18 April 2011
Putting God First!
Hello Guys and Gals!
What I am about to talk about is very hard. It is hard because it involves something in my past that caused me to both become a very bad person and eventually draw closer to God!
Over 20 years ago, I was in love with a woman. She was everything to me. She was the one who helped me come to the understanding of my need for Salvation and it was because of her efforts along with many others why I accepted Jesus into my heart!
This woman was older than I and we had one of them relationships in which we both could tell what the other was thinking or feeling, even if we were miles away. When we were spending time apart so that we could figure all of this out, I found out she was engaged to marry another man. I went to see her. I asked her how she could marry this guy. She told me that she loved me more than she did him. She said that when she was with me all she could think about was me and she could not put God first in her life. She said that she was marrying him because with him, she knew she would be able to put God first and that she knew the necessity of that need and that is why she was marrying him.
Years later, I was with a friend of mine working in his garage in the evening. Suddenly I could not think of anything but her! I guess I got real quiet because my friend asked me what was wrong. I told him that I couldn't stop thinking about her. Him knowing my past with her of course. He told me that whatever the reason, I would find out eventually why I was thinking about her.
The next day, I went to the grocery store. I got out of my car and stepped up onto the curb and literally bumped into her. We visited shortly and I found out that her plane had landed the night before at the same time I started thinking about her. Such was my relationship with this woman that whenever she is near, I still know it! To this day I have never loved another woman, yes even my own ex-wife, as much as I loved this woman!
I have finally learned to put God first in my life! I have been through hell and back with my life. It was one that I would never have wished for this woman that I loved so much. Then again, maybe part of the reason I went there was because I couldn't have the woman I loved so much.
Yet through it all, Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior, was there with me and rolled in the mud and the grime with me so that He, in His infinite love for me, could pull me out of a life of sinful depravity! Only by the strength of His mighty arm was this even possible! Such is my love for Him now that I love Him now even more than I love her! I may have been putting her first back then when she led me to Salvation in Jesus Christ, but now, that Salvation has been perfected in me, through His steadfast love, so that I can truly place Him first in my life!
See, I know now what I did not know then. The fact that even had she chosen me over him, that our life would not have been good and that it would probably have ended in divorce, for the simple reason that we, her and I, did not put God first in our lives!
Jesus said to those who questioned Him in Matthew 22:36-38,
36 Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the great and first commandment.
Again in Matthew 6:33 He says,
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Listen to the truth as I have learned it from His hand! If you put God first in your life, you will have a much better life than if you do not. It does not matter if you have the love of your life with you or not. It does not matter if you have money or not. It does not matter if you have fame or not. It does not matter if you have friends or not. What does matter is that you put God first! If you do that, He will give you all the desires of your heart!
God bless you all this day!
What I am about to talk about is very hard. It is hard because it involves something in my past that caused me to both become a very bad person and eventually draw closer to God!
Over 20 years ago, I was in love with a woman. She was everything to me. She was the one who helped me come to the understanding of my need for Salvation and it was because of her efforts along with many others why I accepted Jesus into my heart!
This woman was older than I and we had one of them relationships in which we both could tell what the other was thinking or feeling, even if we were miles away. When we were spending time apart so that we could figure all of this out, I found out she was engaged to marry another man. I went to see her. I asked her how she could marry this guy. She told me that she loved me more than she did him. She said that when she was with me all she could think about was me and she could not put God first in her life. She said that she was marrying him because with him, she knew she would be able to put God first and that she knew the necessity of that need and that is why she was marrying him.
Years later, I was with a friend of mine working in his garage in the evening. Suddenly I could not think of anything but her! I guess I got real quiet because my friend asked me what was wrong. I told him that I couldn't stop thinking about her. Him knowing my past with her of course. He told me that whatever the reason, I would find out eventually why I was thinking about her.
The next day, I went to the grocery store. I got out of my car and stepped up onto the curb and literally bumped into her. We visited shortly and I found out that her plane had landed the night before at the same time I started thinking about her. Such was my relationship with this woman that whenever she is near, I still know it! To this day I have never loved another woman, yes even my own ex-wife, as much as I loved this woman!
I have finally learned to put God first in my life! I have been through hell and back with my life. It was one that I would never have wished for this woman that I loved so much. Then again, maybe part of the reason I went there was because I couldn't have the woman I loved so much.
Yet through it all, Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior, was there with me and rolled in the mud and the grime with me so that He, in His infinite love for me, could pull me out of a life of sinful depravity! Only by the strength of His mighty arm was this even possible! Such is my love for Him now that I love Him now even more than I love her! I may have been putting her first back then when she led me to Salvation in Jesus Christ, but now, that Salvation has been perfected in me, through His steadfast love, so that I can truly place Him first in my life!
See, I know now what I did not know then. The fact that even had she chosen me over him, that our life would not have been good and that it would probably have ended in divorce, for the simple reason that we, her and I, did not put God first in our lives!
Jesus said to those who questioned Him in Matthew 22:36-38,
36 Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the great and first commandment.
Again in Matthew 6:33 He says,
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Listen to the truth as I have learned it from His hand! If you put God first in your life, you will have a much better life than if you do not. It does not matter if you have the love of your life with you or not. It does not matter if you have money or not. It does not matter if you have fame or not. It does not matter if you have friends or not. What does matter is that you put God first! If you do that, He will give you all the desires of your heart!
God bless you all this day!
13 April 2011
Making A Mountain Out Of A Molehill!
Hello Guys and Gals!
I am writing this today to give some clarification to any who may misunderstand an event in my life. It seems that a lot of the trouble I have been having with my family has come from misunderstanding. I have started talking with my family again. This time, they contacted me and I think they're finally trying to understand where I am in my life.
It was said to me during this conversation that I was making a mountain out of a molehill. I replied that this is one of the problems because what they were perceiving as a molehill, to me, it WAS a mountain! In this incident, I did everything right for the FIRST time in my life! Nobody believed me! I understand that my past actions were very influential in them not believing me. But this was a mountain for me and holds huge significance in my life! I did do everything right and it was the first time I did so. It is very important to me that people understand that this was a life changing moment in my life that holds real significance in the formation of my integrity!
It is important to me that when I tell someone anything, that I am believed in what I have told them. Integrity is when what you say and what you do are the same thing! I tell people not to lie. It is very important to me that I do not lie! I am not perfect. I still make mistakes. But I also tell people that when you do make a mistake, you should try and make it right with those you have made the mistake with!
I have been attempting to do that. But my family has not understood how important that event was in my life and why it is so important to me that I be believed that I told the truth that day! It truly was a mountain for me! There have been many misconceptions with this whole affair. All I have ever wanted was to get to the whole truth of the matter. I believe that my mother and I have made real inroads into doing that very thing tonight. We did not end, either one of us, being happy at what we talked about. But I think understanding has started to come around! For that I am thankful and glad!
I hope the healing continues. But please, in your own life, when you come across someone as stubborn as I am about something that you do not understand, please keep in mind that what you see as a molehill, may be a mountain to them! Try to see it from their point of view and seek to understand the whole truth of a matter on all sides so that healing may come!
God bless you all this night!
I am writing this today to give some clarification to any who may misunderstand an event in my life. It seems that a lot of the trouble I have been having with my family has come from misunderstanding. I have started talking with my family again. This time, they contacted me and I think they're finally trying to understand where I am in my life.
It was said to me during this conversation that I was making a mountain out of a molehill. I replied that this is one of the problems because what they were perceiving as a molehill, to me, it WAS a mountain! In this incident, I did everything right for the FIRST time in my life! Nobody believed me! I understand that my past actions were very influential in them not believing me. But this was a mountain for me and holds huge significance in my life! I did do everything right and it was the first time I did so. It is very important to me that people understand that this was a life changing moment in my life that holds real significance in the formation of my integrity!
It is important to me that when I tell someone anything, that I am believed in what I have told them. Integrity is when what you say and what you do are the same thing! I tell people not to lie. It is very important to me that I do not lie! I am not perfect. I still make mistakes. But I also tell people that when you do make a mistake, you should try and make it right with those you have made the mistake with!
I have been attempting to do that. But my family has not understood how important that event was in my life and why it is so important to me that I be believed that I told the truth that day! It truly was a mountain for me! There have been many misconceptions with this whole affair. All I have ever wanted was to get to the whole truth of the matter. I believe that my mother and I have made real inroads into doing that very thing tonight. We did not end, either one of us, being happy at what we talked about. But I think understanding has started to come around! For that I am thankful and glad!
I hope the healing continues. But please, in your own life, when you come across someone as stubborn as I am about something that you do not understand, please keep in mind that what you see as a molehill, may be a mountain to them! Try to see it from their point of view and seek to understand the whole truth of a matter on all sides so that healing may come!
God bless you all this night!
08 April 2011
Does Jesus Think Of You As His Friend?
Hello Guys and Gals!
I haven't written in a while and for that, I apologize!
I want to know today if you believe that Jesus thinks of you as his friend? It is not a hard question. It is actually a very simple question. In other words, do you talk to Jesus the same way you do one of your friends?
I was always intrigued by how Abraham is referred to as being a friend of God. And if you think about Abraham and his talks with God, he wasn't afraid to approach God and try to bring Him round to Abraham's way of thinking. Think about the conversation Abraham had with God about Sodom. Abraham kept talking to God until he 'talked' God into agreeing not to destroy Sodom if He found 10 righteous people there! Sadly, there wasn't even that in that city. But the conversation they had, Abraham knew it was God he was talking to and was very respectful in it, yet we also see that Abraham was intimately familiar with God to the point that he was unafraid to voice his objections to God about the destruction of all the people of Sodom. That, my friends, is friendship! That is what it is all about!
So I ask again, how often do you just chat with God? Do you wish Him a good morning when you wake up? Do you ask Him how His day is going? Do you ask Him if there is anything you can do for Him today? Do you tell Him when you see someone you are really attracted to about how you are attracted to that person? Have you ever told Him a joke? Do you perceive Him as laughing with you when you find something particularly amusing?
In other words, do you share all the little intimate details of your life with Him like you would your best friend? This is what I'm getting at! Does Jesus, when He looks at you and thinks about you, know that you share with Him as you would your friend?
I try to share my life with Him in this way. I desire to know Jesus as intimately as I know my other friends. I desire to know Him as I know a best friend! For that is what He is to me, my best friend!
May God bless you all this day through your friendship with His Son, Jesus Christ!
I haven't written in a while and for that, I apologize!
I want to know today if you believe that Jesus thinks of you as his friend? It is not a hard question. It is actually a very simple question. In other words, do you talk to Jesus the same way you do one of your friends?
I was always intrigued by how Abraham is referred to as being a friend of God. And if you think about Abraham and his talks with God, he wasn't afraid to approach God and try to bring Him round to Abraham's way of thinking. Think about the conversation Abraham had with God about Sodom. Abraham kept talking to God until he 'talked' God into agreeing not to destroy Sodom if He found 10 righteous people there! Sadly, there wasn't even that in that city. But the conversation they had, Abraham knew it was God he was talking to and was very respectful in it, yet we also see that Abraham was intimately familiar with God to the point that he was unafraid to voice his objections to God about the destruction of all the people of Sodom. That, my friends, is friendship! That is what it is all about!
So I ask again, how often do you just chat with God? Do you wish Him a good morning when you wake up? Do you ask Him how His day is going? Do you ask Him if there is anything you can do for Him today? Do you tell Him when you see someone you are really attracted to about how you are attracted to that person? Have you ever told Him a joke? Do you perceive Him as laughing with you when you find something particularly amusing?
In other words, do you share all the little intimate details of your life with Him like you would your best friend? This is what I'm getting at! Does Jesus, when He looks at you and thinks about you, know that you share with Him as you would your friend?
I try to share my life with Him in this way. I desire to know Jesus as intimately as I know my other friends. I desire to know Him as I know a best friend! For that is what He is to me, my best friend!
May God bless you all this day through your friendship with His Son, Jesus Christ!
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