I keep getting behind on my blogging and it's getting a bit frustrating because I know I should do it but get caught up in other things so I know I need to spend less time on my Facebook account and more writing Here and finishing my novel.
Now onto my Title>
It's no secret how I feel about Obama, I dislike what He's doing and I'm not shy about saying my opinion either, I don't wish death on Him, I just wish He would get out of office.
Now over that I must say lately I have seen a few things here and there that caught my attention that were good.
Like the fact that He opened a new Nuclear Power plant and opted to go for our own drilling while we wait for clean energy to kick in a bit better.
Now I'm not oblivious to the British Petroleum situation and I'm not blind to what a tragedy that was and how we're going to be cleaning it up for quite some time.
Now saying that I must say that it was still a good call because we need it, I know most would question why I would say continuing to drill for oil after such a tragic thing happening is good and I can only tell you one thing.
Other countries are continuing to drill.
Do you think that we're the only one's who do off shore drilling?
We need to think about the cost of gas, Yes life is important too but think about the fact of how the economy would be boosted if gas was only $1.00 or less!
With gas prices down business owners would have to pay less for shipments and in return product prices would go down, we could go places and tourism would be up around the country.
What a positive effect low gas prices have don't they! :D
Now on the other hand besides off shore there are plenty of places that are land locked that have oil, as a matter of fact there is so deep of a reserve our grandchildren would have low gas prices through their lifetime also!
Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for taking care of the earth and being good care takers, after all if we poison our own water supply what good would that be?
I'm all for new power and energy sources but at the same time I don't think we need to fret either about the scam of "global warming".
I'm kind of in the middle between making sure we are responsible and not being so uptight that we don't progress to make life better for people.
Getting back to what I was saying before I got side tracked, I may not agree with nearly anything He's done but I must say that With at least those two things He's been bumped up from a flat out F to a D- as far as grades go.
Don't get me wrong, He's still got a long way to go before I up His grade again for a while but still I'm giving Him a fair shake on that.
Now all He has to do is support Arizona and follow their example for Illegal immigration , cut back spending which includes NOT bailing out Greece and other countries!, Repeal the Social healthcare bill and the list goes on.
Let no man say I wasn't fair in my views because this should be proof enough that I do give credit where credit is due when it's earned.
Let me leave you with these quotes...
These men ask for just the same thing, fairness, and fairness only. This, so far as in my power, they, and all others, shall have.
Abraham Lincoln
Fairness is not an attitude. It's a professional skill that must be developed and exercised. -Brit Hume
Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
The National day of Prayer: Becoming an outlaw for God.
I'm going to do something different than what's on the list and I've been so busy with my other Projects that I haven't gotten to anything on my list of Topics.
I did get to thinking though, Today is the National day of Prayer and a governmental Judge said that it's "Unconstitutional" to pray.
What kind of world are we living in that it's against the law to pray where we want to in public?
It's our right to pray, despite popular belief this country was founded on Christian principals as seen in their writings, our founding Fathers meant for us to have freedom to choose a religion and to Keep the government out of the churches business in dictating what people can and can't believe or telling the people what Churches they can or can't belong to.
It was not to keep Religious Principals out of Government, It is the Ethics of the people that keep the Government in line and keep our freedoms in tact.
This was because of the Fact that there was Religious oppression coming from England and the founding Fathers were trying to escape that Oppression.
Now there are people in government who are stripping our rights to worship in our way, all we wanted was to recognize our heritage on a national level, we weren't trying to force people to pray or forcing people of other beliefs to convert.
We would like to see that happen on people's own accord but what's strangely sad is it seems that while Christian rights are being stripped other religious rights are being presented, what do you think would happen if the government said that Muslims couldn't pray?
May the 6th we move forward and we are praying anyway with or without the government's permission and there is an outcry by anti-Christian groups because we're still praying despite them not recognizing it as a national thing.
WE the people will bring this to the forefront and recognize the National day of prayer as our right.
They can't stop people from praying, The can't tell us what we can Believe, It is our rights as Americans and most of all it is our Human right.
If it is Illegal to Pray then I will be an outlaw, I am not accountable to Men...I am accountable to God.
If you are a believer please keep praying for our Government because those in office need guidance.
If you do not believe that is your right but please respect our right to pray, we're not forcing you to pray and that is not the goal of the National Day of Prayer, the goal is to gather those who do believe to pray peacefully for our nation, our leaders and most importantly the world.
Yes we can pray any time of the year but it seems so scattered that if we have one day to band together it brings us together as a Church whole, no matter what Denomination.
We are the Body of Christ and we must keep our spiritual freedoms in tact because if we don't it won't be too much longer until Prayer really will be Illegal.
Let me leave you with this quote from the movie Kingdom of Heaven>>
"A King may move a man, a father may claim a son. That man can also move himself. And only then does that man truly begin his own game. Remember that howsoever you are played, or by whom, your soul is in your keeping alone. Even though those who presume to play you be kings or men of power. When you stand before God, you cannot say "but I was told by others to do thus" or that "virtue was not convenient at the time." This will not suffice. Remember that."
I did get to thinking though, Today is the National day of Prayer and a governmental Judge said that it's "Unconstitutional" to pray.
What kind of world are we living in that it's against the law to pray where we want to in public?
It's our right to pray, despite popular belief this country was founded on Christian principals as seen in their writings, our founding Fathers meant for us to have freedom to choose a religion and to Keep the government out of the churches business in dictating what people can and can't believe or telling the people what Churches they can or can't belong to.
It was not to keep Religious Principals out of Government, It is the Ethics of the people that keep the Government in line and keep our freedoms in tact.
This was because of the Fact that there was Religious oppression coming from England and the founding Fathers were trying to escape that Oppression.
Now there are people in government who are stripping our rights to worship in our way, all we wanted was to recognize our heritage on a national level, we weren't trying to force people to pray or forcing people of other beliefs to convert.
We would like to see that happen on people's own accord but what's strangely sad is it seems that while Christian rights are being stripped other religious rights are being presented, what do you think would happen if the government said that Muslims couldn't pray?
May the 6th we move forward and we are praying anyway with or without the government's permission and there is an outcry by anti-Christian groups because we're still praying despite them not recognizing it as a national thing.
WE the people will bring this to the forefront and recognize the National day of prayer as our right.
They can't stop people from praying, The can't tell us what we can Believe, It is our rights as Americans and most of all it is our Human right.
If it is Illegal to Pray then I will be an outlaw, I am not accountable to Men...I am accountable to God.
If you are a believer please keep praying for our Government because those in office need guidance.
If you do not believe that is your right but please respect our right to pray, we're not forcing you to pray and that is not the goal of the National Day of Prayer, the goal is to gather those who do believe to pray peacefully for our nation, our leaders and most importantly the world.
Yes we can pray any time of the year but it seems so scattered that if we have one day to band together it brings us together as a Church whole, no matter what Denomination.
We are the Body of Christ and we must keep our spiritual freedoms in tact because if we don't it won't be too much longer until Prayer really will be Illegal.
Let me leave you with this quote from the movie Kingdom of Heaven>>
"A King may move a man, a father may claim a son. That man can also move himself. And only then does that man truly begin his own game. Remember that howsoever you are played, or by whom, your soul is in your keeping alone. Even though those who presume to play you be kings or men of power. When you stand before God, you cannot say "but I was told by others to do thus" or that "virtue was not convenient at the time." This will not suffice. Remember that."
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Upcoming Topics
It's been a hard thing to choose a next topic to talk about so I'm going to make a short list off the top of my head and go from there.
The Differences between Killing and Murder.
The Evils of Socialism and the Deceiving of America
Abortion.
Decisions and how they affect and Shape us and our world view.
Having the Heart of David: Chasing after God.
Drinking Deeply in thought and Spirit.
The Watered down Mentality.
Changing vantage points of us and how we view the Bible.
Forming the Well.
Standing on the Precipitous.
We are Trees: Taking root in your Faith.
Faith and Logic.
Sailing in your Worship.
Judging, Rebuking and God's laws.
Letting your Dreams die.
Sound of silence:Death of noise pollution.
Getting off the bottle: Growing your teeth for the Meat of the Bible.
Gaining Wisdom.
Walking away: Starving your Ego.
Owning up: Taking responsibility for our actions.
No Regrets: Not living in guilt from the past.
Christian: Christ in us being a "little Christ"
Body of the Church: God's dwelling place.
God's investment in us.
These are just a few things I've wanted to talk about because there's a lot of Misconceptions about things or just flat out lies people have accepted in their thinking.
I don't think people truly think about these things or see them at skewed angle so they don't fully see things for what they are thereby missing a lot.
The Differences between Killing and Murder.
The Evils of Socialism and the Deceiving of America
Abortion.
Decisions and how they affect and Shape us and our world view.
Having the Heart of David: Chasing after God.
Drinking Deeply in thought and Spirit.
The Watered down Mentality.
Changing vantage points of us and how we view the Bible.
Forming the Well.
Standing on the Precipitous.
We are Trees: Taking root in your Faith.
Faith and Logic.
Sailing in your Worship.
Judging, Rebuking and God's laws.
Letting your Dreams die.
Sound of silence:Death of noise pollution.
Getting off the bottle: Growing your teeth for the Meat of the Bible.
Gaining Wisdom.
Walking away: Starving your Ego.
Owning up: Taking responsibility for our actions.
No Regrets: Not living in guilt from the past.
Christian: Christ in us being a "little Christ"
Body of the Church: God's dwelling place.
God's investment in us.
These are just a few things I've wanted to talk about because there's a lot of Misconceptions about things or just flat out lies people have accepted in their thinking.
I don't think people truly think about these things or see them at skewed angle so they don't fully see things for what they are thereby missing a lot.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Living Fearlessly
Fear, Just about everyone is afraid of something, there's whole books dedicated to phobias and what people fear.
Fear holds even the very best of us back, you will never get anywhere or do anything if you fear what hasn't happened yet, if you fear all the bad things happening nothing good will come either.
I found out a funny little fact that I find interesting to me, a study said that more people had a fear of public speaking than death.
Interesting thing fear is, the idea is that people take something that hasn't happened yet and allowed it to control them.
How odd that something that has yet to happen could control a person's actions.
There are some like myself who really have no fear of things and get past that what if mentality,
Now off the top of my head I honestly can't think of one thing I fear, maybe because I know God is looking out for me and even if something were to happen then there must have been a reason and I won't have to worry about bills any more.{That last part is a joke but you get the jest of it.}
I watched tv once and a show was on where they showed peoples fears of things and this woman had a fear of balloons of all things.
Now as I stated, some have no fear and that can be a good or bad thing as long as you don't take either too far.
What is the difference between the two types of people?
I often wonder to myself why fear is like a tornado and it effects one person while leaving another in tact.
I have been in car accidents before and I was fine, I got back on the road and drove again, making sure I was a bit more careful next time.
However I have seen people who get into a car accident and are so mentally wounded that they can't set foot in a car, Bus or any other transport without freaking out or breaking down.
I've been bitten by dogs and yet I love dogs, others get bitten and they can't even see a picture of a dog without fretting, as if the dog will leap out of the picture to bite them.
Fear doesn't do anything but hold us back serving as a what if reminder and keeping a person in a physiological prison.
Throughout History Man has known fear does nothing for people except damage people and we can either rule our fears or we can let it dictate what we can or can't do.
There are whole groups of people who fear Germs so they don't go out and clean excessively not realizing that they are doing more damage than good.
I don't use hand sanitizer because people who use it all the time wind up with weaker immune systems because the germs get used to it and their systems can't handle things when something does come along.
I do use soap in case you were worried. :)
There have been many great quotes about fear>
Sven Goran wrote “The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.”
“FEAR is an acronym in the English language for "False Evidence Appearing Real""-Neale Donald Walsch
“You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.”-Mary Manin Morrissey
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.”- Ambrose Redmoon
and of course one of the most famous by Franklin D. Roosevelt “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”
The list goes on forever including Bible quotes and there is a whole wide range of things out there to be afraid of and there are always things that will happen whether you choose to be afraid or not but I choose to let it not manipulate me.
On the other side there are people who show no fear but do so foolishly thinking that if they push it God will save them from impending doom if He still has things for them to do.
I'm not ragging on thrill seekers by any means, they have equipment or know the equipment is safe before doing things or at the least know what their doing. {Sometimes}
There must be a balance between living and using common sense with caution.
For instance there are people who practice snake handling in churches, these are deadly venomous snakes that can kill you and they think this proves their faith.
why would they think this you ask??
It's because of a scripture Mark 16:18 that says "they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
This has mislead many people to believe the wrong thing resulting in many deaths over the years when this scripture has been taken out of context.
The full scripture says>>
He{Meaning Jesus} said to them,Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Seeing the full scripture shows that EVEN if we are to be poisoned or bitten by snakes we will not be affected, we aren't to tempt fate by pushing anything to prove our faith.
Having said everything I have I must say this next, some people have a fear of talking to others about God or Jesus or the Bible.
This is what the Bible has to say about fear>>
Psalm 23:4 says "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me."
Ps. 27:1-3 says "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident."
Psalm 56:11 says "In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me."
2 Timothy shows that Fear does NOT come from God and states "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
God doesn't want us to fear anything because if He is for us who can be against us?
It's at this point people usually ask this question.
Q.If He doesn't want us to fear Him why is it called the fear of the lord or fear the lord your God?
A.This is a misunderstanding and merely something that takes a little bit of study to understand.
The real meaning for the fear of the Lord means to respect God enough to Obey His Commandments, I'll explain Further.
For someone who doesn't Believe, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God {we must all face in the end}, which means eternal separation from God-Luke 12:5 & Hebrews 10:31.
For the believer however, the fear of God is something much different. The believer's fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 says “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ’God is a consuming fire.’” This reverence and awe is exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to God.
Proverbs 1:7 declares, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Until we understand who God is and develop a reverential fear of Him, we cannot have true wisdom. True wisdom comes only from understanding who God is and that He is holy, just, and righteous. Deuteronomy 10:12, 20-21 states “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.” The fear of God is the basis for our walking in His ways, serving Him, and, yes, loving Him.
Some redefine the fear of God for believers to “respecting” Him. While respect is definitely included in the concept of fearing God, there is more to it than that. A biblical fear of God, for the believer, includes understanding how much God hates sin and fearing His judgment on sin—even in the life of a believer. Hebrews 12:5-11 describes God’s discipline of the believer. While it is done in love as in Hebrews 12:6, it is still a fearful thing. As children, the fear of discipline from our parents no doubt prevented some of our actions being mistakes. The same should be true in our relationship with God. We should fear His discipline, and therefore seek to live our lives in such a way that pleases Him.
Believers shouldn't be scared of God because We have no reason to be scared of Him.
We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love -Romans 8:38-39. We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us as in Hebrews 13:5. Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His ways so that it saves us pain later, and worshipping Him in awe.
Fear is never a good thing and won't control us unless we let it.
I hope this Helps you understand a little bit better, Let me leave you with two last Quotes.
"Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold." -Helen Keller
"A life lived in fear is a life half lived." -Spanish proverb
Fear holds even the very best of us back, you will never get anywhere or do anything if you fear what hasn't happened yet, if you fear all the bad things happening nothing good will come either.
I found out a funny little fact that I find interesting to me, a study said that more people had a fear of public speaking than death.
Interesting thing fear is, the idea is that people take something that hasn't happened yet and allowed it to control them.
How odd that something that has yet to happen could control a person's actions.
There are some like myself who really have no fear of things and get past that what if mentality,
Now off the top of my head I honestly can't think of one thing I fear, maybe because I know God is looking out for me and even if something were to happen then there must have been a reason and I won't have to worry about bills any more.{That last part is a joke but you get the jest of it.}
I watched tv once and a show was on where they showed peoples fears of things and this woman had a fear of balloons of all things.
Now as I stated, some have no fear and that can be a good or bad thing as long as you don't take either too far.
What is the difference between the two types of people?
I often wonder to myself why fear is like a tornado and it effects one person while leaving another in tact.
I have been in car accidents before and I was fine, I got back on the road and drove again, making sure I was a bit more careful next time.
However I have seen people who get into a car accident and are so mentally wounded that they can't set foot in a car, Bus or any other transport without freaking out or breaking down.
I've been bitten by dogs and yet I love dogs, others get bitten and they can't even see a picture of a dog without fretting, as if the dog will leap out of the picture to bite them.
Fear doesn't do anything but hold us back serving as a what if reminder and keeping a person in a physiological prison.
Throughout History Man has known fear does nothing for people except damage people and we can either rule our fears or we can let it dictate what we can or can't do.
There are whole groups of people who fear Germs so they don't go out and clean excessively not realizing that they are doing more damage than good.
I don't use hand sanitizer because people who use it all the time wind up with weaker immune systems because the germs get used to it and their systems can't handle things when something does come along.
I do use soap in case you were worried. :)
There have been many great quotes about fear>
Sven Goran wrote “The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.”
“FEAR is an acronym in the English language for "False Evidence Appearing Real""-Neale Donald Walsch
“You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.”-Mary Manin Morrissey
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.”- Ambrose Redmoon
and of course one of the most famous by Franklin D. Roosevelt “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”
The list goes on forever including Bible quotes and there is a whole wide range of things out there to be afraid of and there are always things that will happen whether you choose to be afraid or not but I choose to let it not manipulate me.
On the other side there are people who show no fear but do so foolishly thinking that if they push it God will save them from impending doom if He still has things for them to do.
I'm not ragging on thrill seekers by any means, they have equipment or know the equipment is safe before doing things or at the least know what their doing. {Sometimes}
There must be a balance between living and using common sense with caution.
For instance there are people who practice snake handling in churches, these are deadly venomous snakes that can kill you and they think this proves their faith.
why would they think this you ask??
It's because of a scripture Mark 16:18 that says "they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
This has mislead many people to believe the wrong thing resulting in many deaths over the years when this scripture has been taken out of context.
The full scripture says>>
He{Meaning Jesus} said to them,Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Seeing the full scripture shows that EVEN if we are to be poisoned or bitten by snakes we will not be affected, we aren't to tempt fate by pushing anything to prove our faith.
Having said everything I have I must say this next, some people have a fear of talking to others about God or Jesus or the Bible.
This is what the Bible has to say about fear>>
Psalm 23:4 says "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me."
Ps. 27:1-3 says "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident."
Psalm 56:11 says "In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me."
2 Timothy shows that Fear does NOT come from God and states "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
God doesn't want us to fear anything because if He is for us who can be against us?
It's at this point people usually ask this question.
Q.If He doesn't want us to fear Him why is it called the fear of the lord or fear the lord your God?
A.This is a misunderstanding and merely something that takes a little bit of study to understand.
The real meaning for the fear of the Lord means to respect God enough to Obey His Commandments, I'll explain Further.
For someone who doesn't Believe, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God {we must all face in the end}, which means eternal separation from God-Luke 12:5 & Hebrews 10:31.
For the believer however, the fear of God is something much different. The believer's fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 says “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ’God is a consuming fire.’” This reverence and awe is exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to God.
Proverbs 1:7 declares, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Until we understand who God is and develop a reverential fear of Him, we cannot have true wisdom. True wisdom comes only from understanding who God is and that He is holy, just, and righteous. Deuteronomy 10:12, 20-21 states “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.” The fear of God is the basis for our walking in His ways, serving Him, and, yes, loving Him.
Some redefine the fear of God for believers to “respecting” Him. While respect is definitely included in the concept of fearing God, there is more to it than that. A biblical fear of God, for the believer, includes understanding how much God hates sin and fearing His judgment on sin—even in the life of a believer. Hebrews 12:5-11 describes God’s discipline of the believer. While it is done in love as in Hebrews 12:6, it is still a fearful thing. As children, the fear of discipline from our parents no doubt prevented some of our actions being mistakes. The same should be true in our relationship with God. We should fear His discipline, and therefore seek to live our lives in such a way that pleases Him.
Believers shouldn't be scared of God because We have no reason to be scared of Him.
We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love -Romans 8:38-39. We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us as in Hebrews 13:5. Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His ways so that it saves us pain later, and worshipping Him in awe.
Fear is never a good thing and won't control us unless we let it.
I hope this Helps you understand a little bit better, Let me leave you with two last Quotes.
"Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold." -Helen Keller
"A life lived in fear is a life half lived." -Spanish proverb
Monday, April 19, 2010
Diamonds and Faith
I wrote this a while back in my Facebook notes but I thought I would put it up on my blog too because I liked it.
Do you know how Diamonds are made?
Diamonds are made only one way, they start out as a ugly lump of coal, then with enough time and pressure the ugliness falls away to show the diamond in the ruff then a jeweler comes along and cuts out all the unsightly bits and when it's done it shines brighter than any other, such is that of Life and Faith.
People ask how God can make good people suffer but I don't see it as suffering so much as being shaped to be a brighter Gem, we pretend to want to change or even want to change things about us that might appear unsightly to the world.
It's something painful which we tend to forget, our lives start out with a lot of sin much like coal then we go through pressures of life and some depending on how big of diamond they will become, it will take a bit longer or more pressure to break through to the diamond inside.
When we go through getting rid of a lot of the sin in our lives there's still all the rough bits that need to be worked out so that's where our Jeweler comes in.
God comes along and starts striping away the rough parts until we're polished and brighter than not only what we were before but can show others what good can come out of what seemed to be bad situations.
Once a diamond is done it's one of the toughest substances in the world and that is what we strive to become and once that happens we can go through anything and affect life rather than us being affected by it.
Let me leave you with this Quote...
“The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear" - Daniel Defoe.
Do you know how Diamonds are made?
Diamonds are made only one way, they start out as a ugly lump of coal, then with enough time and pressure the ugliness falls away to show the diamond in the ruff then a jeweler comes along and cuts out all the unsightly bits and when it's done it shines brighter than any other, such is that of Life and Faith.
People ask how God can make good people suffer but I don't see it as suffering so much as being shaped to be a brighter Gem, we pretend to want to change or even want to change things about us that might appear unsightly to the world.
It's something painful which we tend to forget, our lives start out with a lot of sin much like coal then we go through pressures of life and some depending on how big of diamond they will become, it will take a bit longer or more pressure to break through to the diamond inside.
When we go through getting rid of a lot of the sin in our lives there's still all the rough bits that need to be worked out so that's where our Jeweler comes in.
God comes along and starts striping away the rough parts until we're polished and brighter than not only what we were before but can show others what good can come out of what seemed to be bad situations.
Once a diamond is done it's one of the toughest substances in the world and that is what we strive to become and once that happens we can go through anything and affect life rather than us being affected by it.
Let me leave you with this Quote...
“The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear" - Daniel Defoe.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Trying to Kill my flesh
Well I really didn't know what I wanted to post this on so I'll write until I find something.
It's often weird to me, I write and more often than not I wind up writing some lesson about God that I had no intention of writing in the first place but I guess you can't really help but write what's inside you.
In blogs or writing period people's inner self naturally comes through the words on the page and despite meaning this blog to be about my life I somehow always come back around to God.
I realized something not long ago which is something I wished I would have learned a long time ago.
I was told before years ago and through my life that I had a critical spirit and of course with me being as stubborn as I am took offence to it because I didn't like anyone telling me who to be.
The one thing I didn't see was that they weren't telling me who to be, they were trying to help me change the negative things that were doing harm in my life.
It took my own search of Who I am/was to see what I needed to change in myself, I've always had a heart after God, this isn't to say I didn't look at other religions but my search led me straight back to the true God again.
God showed me many things in my life, amazing things that were beyond the physical world.
My journey and search for God's goal for my life has been interesting to say the least but now I have a very good idea of what God has planned for me and I am very excited about it.
Recently I had a debate or argument over point of view with an old and dear friend of mine and it really wasn't until recently that I really realized how useless the flesh side of me was until then.
Despite My knowing and being confirmed by others I realized that no matter what I do or say or how much proof I have I cannot change anyone.
This is beyond my friend, this goes to other places also, online forums and real life as well.
It seems people will always want to believe what they want to believe and there is nothing I can do about it, it has to be God who does it because if it were me there are plenty of people I want to smack and shake them.
I can't live in that old self anymore, there is no room for my flesh and God at the same time.
It is a very hard thing indeed to die to your flesh, in fact I don't think people realize that they're living in the flesh or realize that they can't have both sitting there.
It's like having a small closet packed with clothes and then trying to have a winter jacket in there too, it's not going to work very well.
in the past I have had a critical spirit and I see now that it does me no good, it just brings too much negativity over something I can't control.
I guess I saw that maybe I didn't trust God as much as I thought I did because if I did trust Him I wouldn't have to force anything or get upset if someone doesn't understand what I'm saying, even saying I'm wrong when I know I'm not.
These are things I cannot control, I can't control people and I think once I came to that realization that I should trust God enough to show my words as truth.
In the end there are far too many people to waste my time trying to argue with them when it's out of my control and nothing I do will change them, it has to be God, He can do the work.
That doesn't mean I'll stop talking to people what's right and wrong or what the Bible says, it just means I'll stop trying so hard it frustrates and makes me want to scream.
I will try to stay true to that and try to work hard on getting rid of that critical spirit and if anyone can help me it's God.
Keeping it in check that it won't creep up on me will be hard but I know it's something I need to do in the end because I want a soft pliable heart and moldable to what God wants to use me for.
When that happens I believe I'll be able to talk to people better and God will be able to use me in the way He intended to use me.
It's often weird to me, I write and more often than not I wind up writing some lesson about God that I had no intention of writing in the first place but I guess you can't really help but write what's inside you.
In blogs or writing period people's inner self naturally comes through the words on the page and despite meaning this blog to be about my life I somehow always come back around to God.
I realized something not long ago which is something I wished I would have learned a long time ago.
I was told before years ago and through my life that I had a critical spirit and of course with me being as stubborn as I am took offence to it because I didn't like anyone telling me who to be.
The one thing I didn't see was that they weren't telling me who to be, they were trying to help me change the negative things that were doing harm in my life.
It took my own search of Who I am/was to see what I needed to change in myself, I've always had a heart after God, this isn't to say I didn't look at other religions but my search led me straight back to the true God again.
God showed me many things in my life, amazing things that were beyond the physical world.
My journey and search for God's goal for my life has been interesting to say the least but now I have a very good idea of what God has planned for me and I am very excited about it.
Recently I had a debate or argument over point of view with an old and dear friend of mine and it really wasn't until recently that I really realized how useless the flesh side of me was until then.
Despite My knowing and being confirmed by others I realized that no matter what I do or say or how much proof I have I cannot change anyone.
This is beyond my friend, this goes to other places also, online forums and real life as well.
It seems people will always want to believe what they want to believe and there is nothing I can do about it, it has to be God who does it because if it were me there are plenty of people I want to smack and shake them.
I can't live in that old self anymore, there is no room for my flesh and God at the same time.
It is a very hard thing indeed to die to your flesh, in fact I don't think people realize that they're living in the flesh or realize that they can't have both sitting there.
It's like having a small closet packed with clothes and then trying to have a winter jacket in there too, it's not going to work very well.
in the past I have had a critical spirit and I see now that it does me no good, it just brings too much negativity over something I can't control.
I guess I saw that maybe I didn't trust God as much as I thought I did because if I did trust Him I wouldn't have to force anything or get upset if someone doesn't understand what I'm saying, even saying I'm wrong when I know I'm not.
These are things I cannot control, I can't control people and I think once I came to that realization that I should trust God enough to show my words as truth.
In the end there are far too many people to waste my time trying to argue with them when it's out of my control and nothing I do will change them, it has to be God, He can do the work.
That doesn't mean I'll stop talking to people what's right and wrong or what the Bible says, it just means I'll stop trying so hard it frustrates and makes me want to scream.
I will try to stay true to that and try to work hard on getting rid of that critical spirit and if anyone can help me it's God.
Keeping it in check that it won't creep up on me will be hard but I know it's something I need to do in the end because I want a soft pliable heart and moldable to what God wants to use me for.
When that happens I believe I'll be able to talk to people better and God will be able to use me in the way He intended to use me.
Friday, April 16, 2010
The reality of God's forgiveness and Grace
Forgiveness, Everyone likes to be forgiven whether it be from a hurt friend for something that happened or God's forgiveness for our sins.
God has set a standard for everyone to live by which is to not sin and since that is impossible, God sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins as a payment so we could be forgiven for our crimes against God.
We all have sins we deal with but culture seems to have a liberal understanding of this with all sorts of Ideas outside of the Bible what God says is right in wrong.
They make excuses like "I'm a good person" in an attempt to justify their behavior in continuing their life in sin.
Then there's the other type of person who dismiss' God altogether saying that there is no such thing as sin, no right or wrong and that sin is subjective.
These notions are false, much like the Idea that there is more than one way to get to heaven.
Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
People think that by forming their ideas of God in their image that He'll be ok with how they live their lives even if it clearly goes against what God has said.
I've heard some people say "Well My god wouldn't send anyone to hell." but that's just it, their god wouldn't but clearly God said He would.
Matthew 13:42: "And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
Matt 25:41: "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." This passage relates to Jesus' judgment of all the world.
Mark 9:43-48: And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched." The reference to fire is repeated three more times in the passage for emphasis.
Luke 16:24: "And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame." This is a plea described as coming from an inhabitant of Hell.
As a sign in Georgia puts it "Just because you don't believe in Hell don't mean you ain't goin' there."
In making God ok with whatever they want they become idolaters no different than Pagans who worship the earth or other things God created.
People have a tendency to like the title of Christian but they are so in name only, the sad fact is most don't see a reason to go to church so they don't go except observing for holiday services.
Their reasoning behind it is that there are too many Hypocrites or they don't like anyone telling them how to live their lives.
That is very spiritually immature and shows they have no interest in God and His ways or even getting close to God because if they won't listen to those God has put up to help us understand His word better.
This is not to say that all pastors are right in their theology or that there aren't Hypocrites in the church but people fail to realize a few things.
1. Pastors with wrong Theology.
This is why we need to read the Bible making sure that we know when something doesn't line up with scripture and know if someone is correct or not.
Those who are correct show us a point of view that we couldn't see and those who aren't will be exposed by those who know what the Bible states.
2. Hypocrites.
These people are the ones who are Christian in title but do not study God's word so they go out and act like the rest of the world and then go to church asking for forgiveness but never trying to change.
What people SHOULD be asking themselves why they can't be the person to be an example for others.
You might be interested to know that Matthew 7:22-23 states "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
Also Matthew 7:16 says "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?"
These two Verses show that you will be able to tell who are real christians by plastic ones and that these people who claim to know God, He will tell them that He does not know them and that they are evil.
So as you can see the hypocrites will not go unpunished by God and their deeds will be seen because they're hearts will be open before Him.
There are reasons for Church, the first church started as home groups, breaking bread with each other and what some fail to see is that we are there to help strengthen each other in faith.
The people are the church not some building but the Idea of church no matter how big or small is based on the people being with each other.
It's easy to get lost in a big church but this is where you must pray for what church God wants you at and a church that lines up with the Bible says.
In Proverbs 27:17 it says "As iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."
Matthew 18:20 states "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
These two verses alone go to show that you cannot be by yourself and expect to keep on track, you have no one to be accountable to and your actions to stay on the straight and narrow.
This is not to say you can't read alone but it's always good to have others to confirm correct teaching.
Now having set that right let me Get back to God's forgiveness...
The whole Idea of God's forgiveness relies on the fact that we need to have real repentance which means doing a 180 from our sins.
Everyone has trouble with falling into traps of their own, we're only human after all but at least making an effort to try and turn from it is what counts.
There are some who think they can continue sinning and just ask for forgiveness, God knows your heart and knows if you're honest with wanting forgiveness or if you're trying to fool God but they're only fooling themselves into thinking that their hearts aren't revealed before God.
God's forgiveness works on Repentance, if someone is not honestly repentant then God cannot forgive them.
There are those as I stated that don't believe anything is a sin and with that they cannot be forgiven.
This is not to say people cannot be forgiven on their deathbed, the point is that your ask for forgiveness is about being honestly being sorry for what you did.
Some think they can use this as an excuse to wait until the last minute but this is faulty thinking and here's why.
1.You don't know when you'll die, anything could happen and you could die at any moment without warning.
2. You loose time...
When you're a witness to others you gain your reward in heaven through both bringing others to Christ and also through what you did in your life.
Now this is NOT to say that works alone will do it by any means, James 2:20 says that faith without works is dead and Vise Versa but you also have to look at and consider Ephesians 2:8 which says salvation is by grace through faith.
We were meant to do good works but not rely on them totally for our salvation because it has already been worked out but is only part of who we are supposed to be in Christ.
3. God knows our hearts.
Waiting for the last second is a major problem due to the fact that God knows you've been putting it off, they try to postpone living for God so they can live their own way and then when life is over they think they can fool God into thinking that they were sorry for living in sin.
The problem is that they're hearts are exposed before God, He knows when they're trying to fool Him or if they are really being honest.
I hope this has shown you a great deal and helps you understand the truth behind the grace of God.
We must be honest, Repent accept Jesus is the only way, we cannot earn our way to heaven and should not wait for the last minute because we don't know when that will be.
After reading this please do yourself a favor, if you're trying to play games and trying to fool God into forgiveness while wanting to live your own way because you're only fooling yourself and it's both a shame and a waste.
Please read or reread as many times as needed, meditate on it and pray if you still don't understand.
God has set a standard for everyone to live by which is to not sin and since that is impossible, God sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins as a payment so we could be forgiven for our crimes against God.
We all have sins we deal with but culture seems to have a liberal understanding of this with all sorts of Ideas outside of the Bible what God says is right in wrong.
They make excuses like "I'm a good person" in an attempt to justify their behavior in continuing their life in sin.
Then there's the other type of person who dismiss' God altogether saying that there is no such thing as sin, no right or wrong and that sin is subjective.
These notions are false, much like the Idea that there is more than one way to get to heaven.
Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
People think that by forming their ideas of God in their image that He'll be ok with how they live their lives even if it clearly goes against what God has said.
I've heard some people say "Well My god wouldn't send anyone to hell." but that's just it, their god wouldn't but clearly God said He would.
Matthew 13:42: "And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
Matt 25:41: "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." This passage relates to Jesus' judgment of all the world.
Mark 9:43-48: And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched." The reference to fire is repeated three more times in the passage for emphasis.
Luke 16:24: "And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame." This is a plea described as coming from an inhabitant of Hell.
As a sign in Georgia puts it "Just because you don't believe in Hell don't mean you ain't goin' there."
In making God ok with whatever they want they become idolaters no different than Pagans who worship the earth or other things God created.
People have a tendency to like the title of Christian but they are so in name only, the sad fact is most don't see a reason to go to church so they don't go except observing for holiday services.
Their reasoning behind it is that there are too many Hypocrites or they don't like anyone telling them how to live their lives.
That is very spiritually immature and shows they have no interest in God and His ways or even getting close to God because if they won't listen to those God has put up to help us understand His word better.
This is not to say that all pastors are right in their theology or that there aren't Hypocrites in the church but people fail to realize a few things.
1. Pastors with wrong Theology.
This is why we need to read the Bible making sure that we know when something doesn't line up with scripture and know if someone is correct or not.
Those who are correct show us a point of view that we couldn't see and those who aren't will be exposed by those who know what the Bible states.
2. Hypocrites.
These people are the ones who are Christian in title but do not study God's word so they go out and act like the rest of the world and then go to church asking for forgiveness but never trying to change.
What people SHOULD be asking themselves why they can't be the person to be an example for others.
You might be interested to know that Matthew 7:22-23 states "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
Also Matthew 7:16 says "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?"
These two Verses show that you will be able to tell who are real christians by plastic ones and that these people who claim to know God, He will tell them that He does not know them and that they are evil.
So as you can see the hypocrites will not go unpunished by God and their deeds will be seen because they're hearts will be open before Him.
There are reasons for Church, the first church started as home groups, breaking bread with each other and what some fail to see is that we are there to help strengthen each other in faith.
The people are the church not some building but the Idea of church no matter how big or small is based on the people being with each other.
It's easy to get lost in a big church but this is where you must pray for what church God wants you at and a church that lines up with the Bible says.
In Proverbs 27:17 it says "As iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."
Matthew 18:20 states "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
These two verses alone go to show that you cannot be by yourself and expect to keep on track, you have no one to be accountable to and your actions to stay on the straight and narrow.
This is not to say you can't read alone but it's always good to have others to confirm correct teaching.
Now having set that right let me Get back to God's forgiveness...
The whole Idea of God's forgiveness relies on the fact that we need to have real repentance which means doing a 180 from our sins.
Everyone has trouble with falling into traps of their own, we're only human after all but at least making an effort to try and turn from it is what counts.
There are some who think they can continue sinning and just ask for forgiveness, God knows your heart and knows if you're honest with wanting forgiveness or if you're trying to fool God but they're only fooling themselves into thinking that their hearts aren't revealed before God.
God's forgiveness works on Repentance, if someone is not honestly repentant then God cannot forgive them.
There are those as I stated that don't believe anything is a sin and with that they cannot be forgiven.
This is not to say people cannot be forgiven on their deathbed, the point is that your ask for forgiveness is about being honestly being sorry for what you did.
Some think they can use this as an excuse to wait until the last minute but this is faulty thinking and here's why.
1.You don't know when you'll die, anything could happen and you could die at any moment without warning.
2. You loose time...
When you're a witness to others you gain your reward in heaven through both bringing others to Christ and also through what you did in your life.
Now this is NOT to say that works alone will do it by any means, James 2:20 says that faith without works is dead and Vise Versa but you also have to look at and consider Ephesians 2:8 which says salvation is by grace through faith.
We were meant to do good works but not rely on them totally for our salvation because it has already been worked out but is only part of who we are supposed to be in Christ.
3. God knows our hearts.
Waiting for the last second is a major problem due to the fact that God knows you've been putting it off, they try to postpone living for God so they can live their own way and then when life is over they think they can fool God into thinking that they were sorry for living in sin.
The problem is that they're hearts are exposed before God, He knows when they're trying to fool Him or if they are really being honest.
I hope this has shown you a great deal and helps you understand the truth behind the grace of God.
We must be honest, Repent accept Jesus is the only way, we cannot earn our way to heaven and should not wait for the last minute because we don't know when that will be.
After reading this please do yourself a favor, if you're trying to play games and trying to fool God into forgiveness while wanting to live your own way because you're only fooling yourself and it's both a shame and a waste.
Please read or reread as many times as needed, meditate on it and pray if you still don't understand.
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