As we hear frightening “predictions” about the year 2012, we would be led to believe that the world is coming to an end very soon. We see the disaster/doomsday movies like Independence day (1996), The Day After Tomorrow (2009), portraying destruction on a massive scale. We have programs on TV such as, “Life after man”, which looks at how life would be after mankind is wiped out. We also heard about the Y2K bug, global warming, the melting of the ice caps and the long forgotten, “hole in the ozone layer”. The Mayan calendar stops at the end of the year 2012, resulting in all sorts of religious, scientific, astrological and historic reasons why this calendar foretells the end of mankind or life as we know it. The Mayan predictions have many people in an uproar, coupled with the natural disasters seen all over the world, global distress, global economic… read more
Inspiration
Today I watched the Francis Chan sermon called “Holiness†and he talked about some verses that we don’t normally hear about. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ‘the two,’ He says, ‘shall become one flesh.’†1 Corinthians 6:15-16 The image that Paul paints here is very strong. You see as Christians we are all part of the body of Christ, this isn’t something to be taken lightly. We all know that sexual immorality creates a spiritual bond between two people. When we are involved in sexual immorality as Christians, whether it be pornography or sexual activity outside of marriage, it’s forcing the spirit of Christ within us to engage… read more
You know those mornings where you wake up, and you just breathe in the day? The days where you are genuinely excited about what is to come!, or when you walk out of your house into a fresh Summer day, and the air smells sweeter then it ever has? The days where you just inhale everything that is around you – and you tell yourself… ” Remember this moment, Remember this day, Remember this feeling”. Picture your favorite day, or a moment where you felt so on top of the world that you can’t help but smile at everything! Now… picture your life everyday…waking up every morning with that feeling, that excitement, that purity! Some people may say that its impossible to feel this way all the time, but I must say I completely disagree. Because lately, when I open my eyes to a new day, I can’t help but… read more
You’re not just another man. You’re not just another teacher. You’re not just another priest. You’re not just another god. You are the great I AM, the one and only. Beside you there stands no other, you are the infinite one, by your word kingdoms arise and fall, and by your sovereign whim men live and die. You never sleep for you never tire and you are in need of no thing from anyone or anything. You sustain yourself by the might of your own mighty right arm. No man of the earth or angel of the heavens can bring any word against you, nor can we offer anything to you to increase your worth. You dwell in inapproachable light which emits from your own holy righteousness. You are and by you all other things exist and have their being. You sit enthroned, in total control of all… read more
Many people believe that if they are good (perfect in every way), they will go to heaven, when they die. The question is sometimes asked, if all of the “good people†in the world do not believe in Jesus, will God send them to hell when they die?, well my answer is no, they would not go to hell! read further and you will understand my statement. Genesis 4:7 tells us, If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it. A righteous God would not send someone that has lived his or her entire life as a good person (committing no sin against man, God or himself) to an eternal damnation to hell, but unfortunately there are no such person living today, the… read more
I had a friend whom I truly loved with all my heart. If she would’ve asked for my eyes I would’ve given them to her easily. Anyway, in early 2007 she ended our friendship and that hurt me deeply since she was my best and only close friend. One day as I was going to work I felt so sad, so rejected, so betrayed, so humiliated, so ugly, so worthless, so stupid, so bitter, was so full of hatred and vengeful, and angry. I literally dragged my feet to work but as I entered the warehouse I decided that this is not me: I am a child of the living God, I haven’t been following Christ until now only to give in to bitterness and unforgiveness, I am the man who everybody asks, “Why are you so happy?†and now I was so bitter, sad, and angry. I decided that… read more
This is my dear mom. I really cannot describe how much she loves me, and if I start then I won’t end. The sacrifices she has made, her service to me, her attention and care, and her constant thoughts and striving to provide for me good things is truly amazing. If I spend the rest of my life serving her and giving her good things I would still not be able to give her half as much as she has given me until now. The thing that amazes me about her is not only how much she cares about me but the manner she does it! She doesn’t ask for anything in return, she does it sacrificially, and it seems that it is her joy to take care of me! All she wants from me is to be happy! How good of a deal is that? Beside she is an… read more
I think all of us have two sides to our personalities: sometimes we are out going and sometimes we like to be alone; sometimes we like classical music and other times we just want to listen to electric guitar; sometimes we like change and sometimes we don’t. Generally speaking I love routine, I don’t like change; however, in my relationship with God I like change for many reasons: 1) The word ‘relationship’ is an active and dynamic word to me. For example, we cannot have a meaningful conversation with someone—and know that person personally–if we keep repeating the same dialogue to them every day. 2) God’s goal for our lives, and it should be our goal too, is to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ. And we all know He is perfect and so if we keep growing spiritually every day for the rest of our… read more
This week the topic that has been on my heart is faith and trust. For some reason it really bothers me when people say that they can’t trust in God because of what He puts them through. I’m still relatively young and I know that I haven’t experienced many of the trials that other people have, but I have had my fair share. But during the toughest times of my life, when I am a broken and confused mess, I can feel God better than ever. During those times I feel an unexplainable peace that I don’t feel at any other time, I feel indestructible. When I turn my attention to God and off of my circumstances I feel a deep joy welling up inside and I know that it doesn’t matter what happens to me because I have God. It’s so dangerous to base our faith on circumstances, only… read more
This Inspirational Art was done on a whim after I was viewing entire photo groups on Flickr with Piclens. I actually looked at a lot of great photos very fast. Last year this was impossible!!..at least I did not know about Piclens then. “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Daniel 12:4 We have so much knowledge at our disposal now more than ever, with Google, Wiki and all the social networks out there, and not to mention all the modern inventions which have only taken place since the 19th century…it’s unbelievable!! The Lord never leave his people blind to what is going to happen, the only people who are blind to what is happening are unbelievers. It was the same way when Jesus came to earth…. read more
To seek knowledge, is to advance in wisdom. I often tell people that there is a difference between reading the Bible and studying the Bible. Anyone can read a book, but have no comprehension of what’s really going on. Many people say the Bible was written by man, yet they sometimes leave out the fact that it was also inspired by God, the Almighty. The Bible withstands any test and has survived the trials of man. I am so surprise to find out how many great scientists and inventors were actual Christians. The solid proof of Dinosaurs in the Bible from Genesis to Job. Seeing how the architecture of one cell is more complex than the city of New York and how cells have tiny microscopic parts that resemble actual gears and dump trucks. Evolution is put to shame and our faith is lifted up by the proof of A… read more
For some reason I, and I believe many Christians, are aware less of God’s just nature than any of His other characteristics. We seem to forget that His justice is just as powerful and important as His love, grace, mercy, and absolute control and power. This is evident in our preaching. We seem to try to strip the message of the cross from God’s justice, anger, vengeance, and hatred towards sin. I believe the consequence of this is the absence of godly repentance, and false hope in salvation. Somehow in our minds the Lamb of God, the Savior of the world, is not quite as present as the Lion of Judah, the Lord of Lords. May be we are scared to think about God’s justice because we don’t like to think about the day when we will stand in front of Him and give account for our actions. Or may… read more
I have been thinking lately, isn’t it weird that so many celebrities and people who win the lottery end up in such a mess? They have everything that life can offer, the best of everything we are chasing, yet they end up in rehab or simply just losing it. Mel Gibson, Lindsay Lohan, Elvis, Tiger Woods, the list goes on and on. All of these celebrities have been at the top of the world at some point but all of them have ended up worse off in the end. I almost think it’s a blessing that us “normal†people can’t ever end up rich enough to acquire all of our desires. It’s weird that this is what happens to our role models yet we keep striving to be like them. How can I show you that there is something far better out there? How can I explain the true… read more
The subject of hell, most times, is taken to two extremes by Christians, either we strongly condemn people to the fiery depths or we refuse to talk about it at all, fearing that people may condemn us. Everyone believes in death, because we see death all around us and it is now fully a part of the human condition, but the majority do not believe in hell. We cannot see hell until, and if it is revealed to us and we truly cannot identify with it. In the garden of Eden mankind could not identify with death, because we were not created with death in mind, but it was promised by God to Adam and Eve that, if they disobeyed Him by eating of the tree of knowledge, their punishment would be… death! “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely… read more
We all know God loves us, we are told this from the time we are very young, at least I know I was, and I am so glad that I know this, yet how many of us not only have a head knowledge of the love of God, but really understand and bank off of this fantastic and most glorious truth? God loves you. What does this mean? Well to start, we have to know what it means for God to love, what God’s definition of love is. Take a look at Romans 5:6-11, read it through again. God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That’s the love of God, he didn’t die because he had something to get from us, but because He loved us and wanted to be made much of. We were worthless worms, fighting against God,… read more
I feel utterly inadequate and unworthy to share any Biblical truth with anyone, because how can a law breaker like me promote the same law he breaks? I am no less of a hypocrite than anyone else ever lived. But if every Christian stops sharing Biblical truths because he or she is not perfect then the gospel will not be preached anymore. Joseph Reassures His Brothers – Genesis 50:15-21 And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the… read more
“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to… read more
The Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is truly the wonder of all wonders. It seems that the more we know our God the more we realize there is so much more we don’t know. Yesterday as I moved to the back of the streetcar I smelled this terribly disgusting smell of someone who really needed to take a shower. The smell was so strong almost all the streetcar smelled bad except the very front of it. I immediately moved back to the front and sat there, but even there the smell was so overwhelming I was considering getting off of the streetcar, that’s when I realized how terribly disgusting I—a sinful person—must be to our Holy God. I mean, the difference between two human beings is finite no matter how much of a physical cleaning one of them needs. But the huge gap between a completely vile creature and… read more
In Part 1 of this study we looked at the book of Romans (12:1-2) and determined that there are three lessons that we can learn from the passage. We focused on the first lesson, Present your bodies as living sacrifices, it’s an easy thing to say but so hard to live out. How does our life say to God that He’s the most important thing? Take a look at the world and the things they are sacrificing themselves for, then take a look at your life and see if you are patterning it after the world or after the things of God. If we are not patterned after God, then we should be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Do not be conformed to this world, Be transformed by the renewal of your mind The first thing I see by reading through this is that by default we… read more
Today we will be studying Romans 12:1-2 and discovering some vital truths that every Christian should know to be effective in our walk with Christ. Let’s take this one step at a time, because the passage has some hard sayings which are so easy to pass over, but so desperately needs to be taken to heart if we are to be serious in our pursuit of righteousness. First of all, lets read the verses then break them down and see what God is asking of us. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect…. read more
The wisdom of God is so far above man, it is on a different level altogether. Our intelligence, even at its best, is so small. God compares it to the distance of the earth from the heavens, such a vast span, it cannot be measured. We think that science in all its Glory can solve all the problems we have in the world, but we do not understand that man’s biggest problem is not physical, but it is one that is spiritual. What is man’s spiritual problem? We have broken the law of God and in turn, we are separated from Him and now we want to become God. We look at science as something to replace God, we even start to question the existence of God. We ask, if there is a good God out there, why are so many problems in the world, why are people dying, starving… read more
I have spent a lot of time thinking mostly about the future. For a long time I have had a plan in my mind about how my future was going to work out. As you who are older and/or wiser than me know, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.†This has been a hard experience but it has also been a very healthy one. It was good to step back and take a look at life after the future I thought was so certain, vanished. I realized that God was simply a part of my plan and that ultimately I was still living life for myself. I wanted to live out my life how I had planned it and I essentially told God that He could come along for the ride, because I wanted some of Him in my life. I realized though that it’s… read more
There is a depth in God whereby one enters the friendly fire that is Him and wishes to be no place else. It consumes a person in the same way love consumes the lover. His consuming fire enters the spirit of man and burns with the same fire that burns within Him. It consumes everything in its path, like a roaring fire when it overtakes and consumes everything in its way. If there be any hesitance at entering in, that consideration melts before Him. One is totally immersed in His fire and realizes such baptism is the baptism into Him. I was pondering about this… Dross is everything that comes to the top and is burned off. Malachi 3:3 speaks of the Lord, for He is the REFINER and PURIFIER of our very being. And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the… read more
This week I wish to summarize what I experienced and learned in Austria. It was one of those times that words can’t even come close to describing, yet I feel like there is one word that summed up what I felt and that word is freedom. One of the things I really experienced, is that God is overwhelmed with love for us. This may sound basic and to be honest I could have told you this before but in Austria I really felt this. It really made sense to me, if you imagine someone who you love with your whole heart, you always want them to be happy and you always want what’s best for them. You don’t want them doing things they don’t want to do to make you happy, you are overjoyed when they include you in things that they love to do. This means that God doesn’t… read more