My Easter Message To You!

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!

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!

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!

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!

The Rights Of Citizenship!

Hello Guys and Gals!

I got into a very fun debate the other day with one of my favorite friends in the whole world! I made this statement on FaceBook:

"If you are NOT an American Citizen, then the rights of U.S. Citizens, guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America, are NOT your rights! If you do want to become a Citizen of the U.S.A., then go through the proper legal means to attain that Citizenship, and then those very rights will be a right guaranteed to you as well!"

This friend of mine quickly pointed out a very good passage of scripture to me. Leviticus 19:33-34:

33 ‘When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.
34 ‘The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.

My friend convinced me through more debate that my statement was too general in the way I first stated it!

Over the next couple of days I could not get this debate out of my head. So I asked myself why. I started thinking about both sides of the issue.

I do fully agree with my friend that we should not do strangers who reside with us any wrong! And anyone who comes to the USA with the true intent of becoming as one who is native to the USA, abiding by our laws, our beliefs, and our constitution, then yes, they should be accorded all the rights with their good intent that a US Citizen would have!

But someone might say that everyone should have those rights no matter what. Well let us take a good look at exactly what that statement is saying.

First of all what constitutes a citizen?

A Natural Born Citizen can be defined as:

Currently, Title 8 of the U.S. Code fills in the gaps left by the Constitution. Section 1401 defines the following as people who are "citizens of the United States at birth:"

Anyone born inside the United States *
Any Indian or Eskimo born in the United States, provided being a citizen of the U.S. does not impair the person's status as a citizen of the tribe
Any one born outside the United States, both of whose parents are citizens of the U.S., as long as one parent has lived in the U.S.
Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year and the other parent is a U.S. national
Any one born in a U.S. possession, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year
Any one found in the U.S. under the age of five, whose parentage cannot be determined, as long as proof of non-citizenship is not provided by age 21
Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the U.S. for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service included in this time)
A final, historical condition: a person born before 5/24/1934 of an alien father and a U.S. citizen mother who has lived in the U.S.

This information was found here: http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_citi.html

A Naturalized Citizen, on the other hand, has certain requirements that need to be met in order for that person to become a Naturalized Citizen. These requirements are:

Foreign nationals who wish to become citizens of the United States may do so through the naturalization process. Citizenship confers many advantages -- the right to vote, protection from the government, access to certain jobs and benefits, and the option to hold public office. All naturalization applicants must meet a number of filing requirements, described below.

Age

An applicant for naturalization must be at least eighteen years old.

Residency

An applicant must be a legal permanent resident in the U.S. The applicant must have an I-551 (Alien Registration Card) to proceed.

Residence and Physical Presence

Just before applying, a naturalization applicant must have been physically present in the U.S. for at least 30 months out of the previous five years. However, if the applicant was absent for more than six months but less than one year, the applicant may still be eligible if he or she can show that the absence was not an abandonment of resident status.

Good Moral Character

A naturalization applicant must show good moral character during the five-year period prior to application (three years if married to a U.S. citizen or one year for certain military exceptions). Murder convictions are a permanent obstacle to naturalization, as are aggravated felony convictions on or after November 29, 1990.

Certain criminal convictions in the five years prior to the application will bar naturalization, but even if the applicant fears that a conviction will ruin his or her application, all convictions must still be disclosed. It is far worse to have U.S. immigration authorities discover a falsehood than to disclose the issue.

Attachment to the Constitution

An application for naturalization must declare the applicant's willingness to support and defend the U.S. and the Constitution. An applicant declares his or her "attachment" to the U.S. and the Constitution at the time he or she takes the oath of allegiance.

Language

Applicants must be able to read, write, speak, and understand English words in ordinary use. Some applicants may be exempt because of age or mental condition.

U.S. Government and History Knowledge

An applicant for naturalization must demonstrate knowledge of the fundamentals of U.S. history and certain principles of U.S. government. Applicants are exempt if they have a medically recognizable physical or mental impairment that affects their ability to learn or understand these topics.

Oath of Allegiance

U.S. citizenship is conferred after the oath of allegiance is taken. A modified oath may be available in certain instances, such as religious opposition to oaths.

Legal Help with the Naturalization Process

Successfully naturalizing in the United States requires a thorough understanding of the steps involved, and careful preparation at each stage. If you or a loved one are considering becoming a U.S. citizen through naturalization, you should contact an experienced immigration attorney who can guide you through each step of the process and protect your legal rights

This information can be found here: http://immigration.findlaw.com/immigration/immigration-citizenship-naturalization/immigration-citizenship-naturalization-requirements.html?DCMP=KNC-Immigration-Law&HBX_PK=united+states+citizenship+requirements&HBX_OU=50

I want to focus specifically upon the Naturalized Citizenship because I believe that many things should be of particular note here!

1. The right of Protection from the Government only comes with Citizenship!

2. An applicant for Citizenship must be of Good Moral Character!

3. An applicant must declare their willingness to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America!

4. Applicants must be able to read, write, speak, and understand English words in ordinary use!

5. Citizenship is not granted until the applicant takes an Oath of Allegiance!

So the Right of Protection from the Government and the application of the Bill of Rights guaranteed to a Citizen of the United States of America under the Constitution of the United States of America is only given and guaranteed to actual Citizens of the United States of America! Therefore all rights such as a speedy trial, a court appointed attorney, humane treatment and everything else that the Constitution grants to their Citizens are only guaranteed to Citizens!

But we still extend and grant these rights to Non Citizens! Why? Because we are a Nation who believes in the Golden Rule where we treat others the same way we wish we would be treated!

So with all this, let's take another look at my statement above as well as my friend's passage of scripture.

My statement clearly states the case I have laid out for you as to who is considered a Citizen of the United States of America and that the Constitutional Guaranteed Rights of the USA are only guaranteed for Citizens of the USA as defined above!

But what about being strangers among us? This passage clearly indicates that we should treat those who live among us as a native citizen. Yet let us not confuse the fact that the US Constitution does not govern it's people by Holy Scripture but by the Constitution. So even if we are Christians and we believe the Holy Scripture, we should also follow the law of the land and that which defines the Law as is stated by Paul here in Romans 13:1-6:

1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;
4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.
5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.
6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.

I believe that it all hinges upon the foreigner who lives among us part of the passage. Let's look at the intent of someone from a foreign land who would choose to live among another people. They would be living among another people because they see something in the way that those people live which they value and want part of! What could this be? I believe that it is the freedoms and rights that every Citizen of the USA has that you will find in no other country on the face of this planet!

I believe that there are those who come to the US in order to commit crimes and terrorism against it's citizens and do not have Good Moral Character or Intent to live among us and abide by our laws! I believe fully and completely that each and every one of these subversive persons who come to the US with evil intent should not be given any rights whatsoever as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America and that the authorities should use any and every means at their disposal to stop them from committing evil acts upon the Citizens of the USA!

But what about torture you may ask. I fully believe that those who use Enhanced Interrogation Techniques in our government do so with full knowledge that those they use them upon have evil intentions for the US Citizens and should have full clearance to do whatever it takes to protect it's people!

But just so we are clear, Enhanced Interrogation Techniques is NOT Torture! Anyone who wants to know the true difference between the two simply needs to talk to any person who was a Prisoner of War to a foreign country where they do use Torture to get information out of the PoW! Just talk to them and then compare what they say to Enhanced Interrogation Techniques as shown by any of a number of articles or news stories easily looked up on a web search!

The simple truth is that the US Government treats their prisoners better than any other government in the world! Not only that, but they also graciously grant rights, guaranteed only to Citizens of the US, to many who are not Citizens and have evil intent to do harm upon US Citizens!

So everyone out there who is says that we should be guaranteeing the Rights of a US Citizen to even non citizens, I say that you are wrong! The reason why is because if the roles were reversed, I can guarantee you that your rights would be the first thing to go under their authority!

In the end, it does not matter whether rights are given or rights are taken! What matters is that God will ultimately dispense true justice upon all evil doers and give forgiveness to all who accept His Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, as their Lord and Savior! All hail King Jesus, Lion of Judah and my best friend!

May God bless you all this day!

Conditional vs. Unconditional Calvinism!

Hello Guys and Gals!

I know many of you are not aware of what a 5 point Calvinist is! Here is a brief description: TULIP!

1. Total Depravity (also known as Total Inability and Original Sin)

2. Unconditional Election

3. Limited Atonement (also known as Particular Atonement)

4. Irresistible Grace

5. Perseverance of the Saints (also known as Once Saved Always Saved)

These points and their definitions can be found here:

http://calvinistcorner.com/tulip

But I want to focus on the 2nd point here! I used to believe in something called Conditional Calvinist! I used to believe that I was one!

A Conditional Calvinist is one who believes that God, Who exists outside of time, looked into a Believer's future and saw that point at which he would accept Jesus Christ into his life! God then supports and guides that Believer to be able to reach the point of decision where he will make his Free Will choice to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior!

That is what I used to believe I was! I no longer believe that! I now believe fully and completely in the second point of Calvinism that my 'Election' to become a Believer is totally Unconditional and that even my Free Will choice was something given to me by God so that I even had the power to accept the Grace of God to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ!

Take a look at Ephesians 1:3-6!

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

It states that we were chosen by God before the foundations of the Earth existed so that we would be able to receive His gracious gift of Salvation which he freely gave to us through His Son, Jesus Christ! And He did all this simply for the 'good pleasure of His will.

"But that's not fair!" you might say. What does fair have to do with any of it? Have you never made something and destroyed it or thrown it away simply because you can do what you want with your creations?

Let's take a look at Romans 9:20-24!

20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it?
21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?
22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,
24 even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.

This passage is a clear view of God's rights as the omnipotent Creator! He does have the right to make vessels to fill with His mercy as well as vessels to fill with His wrath and vessels for every other thing which He decides to pour into them! It is His right and His right alone to do this!

"But that means that we do not have Free Will!" you might say. I would argue that we do still have Free Will.

Take a look at John 3:18-20!

18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
20 "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

In this passage of scripture it is evident that all Unbelievers are judged because of their unbelief in Jesus Christ and that they loved darkness rather than the Light!

Now take a look at Acts 18:9-10!

9 And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent;
10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city."

This passage shows that God had people in that city who have not yet come to Him and He was sending Paul to preach in that city so that they would come to Him!

Look at Ezekiel 33:11!

11 "Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’

This is where God declares to all wicked His desire for them to turn away from their evil ways so that He does not have to put them to death as He takes no pleasure in it!

Look at Romans 9:16!

16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.

Again, we see here that it is solely on God's judgment with each and every one of us, believers and unbelievers alike, that He may have mercy on those who He chooses and judgment on those who He chooses!

In conclusion, I now believe fully and completely in Unconditional Election! Simply that God chose us believers to be elected into His grace for the simple reason of He simply chose us and not someone else!

All the good that comes out of me can only come out of me because God has poured it into me in the first place!

May God bless each and every one of you this day!

Straight To The Source!

Hello Guys and Gals!

This is going to be a tough one for me to write. The reason it is tough is because of a friend of mine who believes so strongly in something that I do not fully believe in. I don't want to hurt my friend's feelings or minimize his beliefs in any way. I don't want to minimize what he has gone through in his life. But that is not the same as what I have gone through in my life and where God has led me. One thing God has instilled within me is the Truth! When He shows me His Truth, I am humbled with the knowledge that He chose me to talk about it!

The topic for tonight is addiction! I am a Methamphetamine Addict! I have been for a very long time, over twenty years now. I am not using and have been clean for quite some time now. If you want to know how long, then just ask me!

My friend believes in an organization that I do not believe is right for me. It was right for him! He found a focal point in his life with them so that he could be free from his addiction to Meth. That focal point is the organization he went to in order to get the help he needed. I am very proud of my friend and I'm glad that he found his focal point in them. But that organization is not for me!

And yet, I'm clean! I am clean from using Meth and have not had any cravings for it since I did one very important thing. I prayed! I prayed to God and told Him that I had not the power to say no to my cravings and I had not the power to become clean and I had not the power to free myself of this addiction! I told God that if He wanted me out of this life, then it would have to be by His power that gets me free from it! I told Him I had not strength or will to do it on my own! Then I earnestly asked Him to lead me out of that life of lies, deceit, abuse, and immorality! So He did exactly that!

From the very instant that I prayed that very prayer, I have not had one single craving to do Meth again! It left me instantly! It left me completely! And there is no doubt in my mind, heart, or soul that it was Jesus who took those cravings from me and freed me from that horrible life of addiction!

John 8:34-36 states:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed."

I was a slave to Meth! Meth was my Master! But Jesus walked into my sin and broke the shackles that bound me, my own cravings! I am free from those cravings! I am free from that sin! I am free from my former addiction! Yes, I said former! I said former because since Jesus made me free, I am no longer a slave to it and no longer an addict of it!

My friend told me that the 'church route' never works! If he reads this, I do not want him to feel like I am speaking out against him but only from my heart! He is my friend and I value him very much! But I also want him to know that the organization he went to for his help in becoming clean also prays before and after each meeting to God! So if that organization has any power or strength to combat addiction, then it comes from God and has no other source than that!

I am not taking the church route! I am taking the relationship with Jesus route! I believe it is the only true route in life that matters! I could care less about any church out there when it comes to the truth! If they speak the truth, I will support them in every way that I am able! But if I find that they are promoting even the littlest of lies, then I know they are not a true church of God and I will not support them!

I want my friend to know that all that he has done is wonderful in my eyes! I want him to also know that there are many paths to freedom from addiction. I believe that all those paths that truly free one from addiction have but one source, that of God Himself! So instead of going through a middle man, I went to the source and it is with Him that I place my life!

I am very blessed by the people whom God has brought into my life since that prayer! I value each and every one of them! My friend is also one of them.

So, to my friend, I ask that you read this in the spirit it was written and not as an attack against what you believe!

May God bless each and every one of you this evening!

A Word Of Encouragement!

Hello Guys and Gals!

As you all know, I am looking to have Bariatric Surgery! I have an appointment this morning with my Dietician who is going to be letting me know if it will be scheduled soon or not. I am very nervous about it. I have been sick with a head cold the last month or so and I know that it affects my blood sugars and therefore my weight. Have I lost? Have I gained? Have I stayed the same? I will find out today.

Then a friend encouraged me this morning. He told me that he liked the positive impact I was having on those around me! To my friend who I will keep anonymous, thank you very much! I needed to hear that!

I was reminded of a verse. Matthew 16:24 which says:

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?'

Also 1 Timothy 4:7-8:

'discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."

I am reminded by my friend's word of encouragement that it doesn't matter so much that I lose this weight or not; what does matter is me doing God's will in my life! So whether I have this surgery or not, I will continue to use my tongue which is sharper than any two edged sword, to speak the truth as God has revealed it to me! Please note that I will always back up what I say with references to the passages or documents or evidence that has led me to believe what it is I am saying.

So thank you my friend for your word of encouragement this morning!

May God bless each and every one of you this day!

So I Lied The Other Day!

Hello Guys and Gals!

I did something that I am profoundly against in my life. I lied!

Let me clarify. I was in a really good mood one night and someone asked me if I was irritated with him. I told him no. This was a lie. But I didn't mean to lie. I really was in a good mood and, at that time, I wasn't irritated with him. I was irritated with some things about him but I didn't really think when I simply responded that I wasn't. But I still lied!

Well, I didn't see him for a few days and the Lord and my conscience nagged at me again and again until I saw him again. So when I saw him again, I waited until we could talk privately and then I told him that I lied to him and also that it wasn't intentionally done but it was done never the less! I then apologized to him for doing so!

I proceeded to talk to him about the irritations that I did have with him and told him that I hope not to hurt his feelings about anything but I still felt the need to tell him anyway.

He was great! He listened patiently as I talked with him and told him the problems I was having. I asked him if he would work on them and he agreed.

I believe that I did the right thing in approaching him and speaking to him and asking his forgiveness for my lying to him. Whether I intended to do so or not, I still sinned against him. This was why I apologized to him.

Then I started to think about what I would do if I never had the chance to correct my mistake. What if I didn't know the person and would never see them again? Or what if something happened to someone which prevented me from being able to apologize? These are all very difficult questions for me!

Has any of you ever done something you regret and not been able to apologize for it? You know the feelings I'm talking about then. The guilt! The shame! The frustration! How do you make up for something that you can't make up for?

Hebrews 4:13 says:

'Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need.'

So you have backslid on God. So you have sinned against your fellow man. So there is no way to right the wrong with that fellow man. But you can right yourself with God! When you find that you have sinned against God or your fellow man, go boldly to His throne of grace and thank Him that He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, so that we may be reunited with God in a loving relationship that is guilt free of the sins we have committed! It doesn't matter how far down the path of sin you have gone or even what sins you have committed! What does matter is that when you turn away from your sins, Jesus is standing right there, right behind you, ready to lead you back to the true path that leads to a loving relationship with God the Father through the Son, Jesus Christ!

I turned from my sin and when I did so, Jesus was right there giving to me His grace that I could work with Him to restore my relationship with my friend and also with God! I can now rest in the knowledge that the grace of God has allowed me be guilt free of all the sins which I have committed, even though I may never see the persons I have sinned against again!

See, forgiveness is not for those whom you have wronged! It is for you who did the wrong in the first place! For a life full of guilt and shame is no good life to live and it will drag you down every time. But being free of that guilt and shame in your life is the true freedom that Jesus came to free us from!

Romans Chapter 6 says this better than I ever could in verses 14-23:

'For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

Isn't that one of the most beautiful passages of scripture ever? I do love it! We have been freed from sin! Thank you Lord Jesus for your sacrifice so that we may be restored to a loving relationship with God the Father and Yourself!

May God bless you all this night!

Let Us Reason Together!

Hello Guys and Gals!

Let us reason together today! What do I mean by that? I mean let us use reason and logic to communicate with each other in an open and honest way so that we can explore the beliefs that we have!

I have often posted in my blog or in other places and my posts are always backed up with links or notes on how to reference the same material which I used to support the argument that I have made! Now there are many times when someone will tell me that I am wrong to say what I say. They go on to tell me that what I have written in my blog is way off target. Okay, how and why?

These same people are always willing to say I'm wrong or off target but never expound upon the reason why I am wrong or off target, let alone back up what they are saying with any supporting evidence of what they talk about. This is an argument that comes purely from emotion. This comes from a person who has not explored the reasons why they believe what they believe. This comes from a person without any foundations to their beliefs!

When I say I want to reason with you, you can be assured that I will be truthful in what I believe and that I will tell you why I believe it as well as giving you a resource so that you can see where I developed that belief within me! I will be more than happy to listen to you and try to grasp what you are trying to tell me even if you do not agree with me. But I will never tell you that you are wrong about a belief you have without telling you why I believe you are wrong and showing you where to get the supporting evidence of my belief!

I guess what I am getting at here is this; if you are going to confront someone on what they have said, have the integrity to also tell them why you believe they are wrong and also know from where you get that belief and show that person whom you are confronting your reasons and foundations for why you are confronting them. If you can't do that, then you are like sounding brass! This means that you are all noise without any music!

Speak your mind! Absolutely! 100%! But do it with logic and reason and not just emotion! Don't get me wrong, emotion is important because it is like an alarm clock within us saying this is important to us when we feel it. But without logic and reason, that emotion is like a brass symbol being banged about without any harmony within us! So listen to your emotion, but also explore why you have that emotion and figure out for yourself why you believe what you believe in order for you to feel that emotion!

May God, my Lord and Savior, give you a special blessing today!