Category: Being Thankful

Thanksgiving 2018 |Gift of Salvation

As this month draws closer to the Thanksgiving weekend, I have been writing on my journal all the things I am thankful for. Yet I missed putting it on social media. This was done on purpose, so I could simply give you the most important thing I am thankful in my life.

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I am thankful for…

  • The gift of salvation through Jesus our Lord and Savior.

This is the most important blessing in my life. It is God’s greatest of gifts to mankind. It is where I have become who I am. It is nothing I have done but everything that God is doing for me.

  • Jesus died on the cross and paid a horrible price. For me!
  • The price I should have paid. But didn’t!
  • Jesus took my sins and paid for them by dying on the cross. For me!
  • As soon as I knew what Christ had done for me, I felt an emptiness in my stomach and knew I had to ask Jesus to forgive me. 

You see, whenever there is a car chase on television, you see the helicopter lights are turned on in darkness, every detail on the place the spotlight is pointing to, showing incredible and minute detail.

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Ault-Bright Light at Russell’s Corners 1946

Anything crawling on the ground can be seen. Anything which is hidden in the darkness is brought up front and center of the light.

  • As I asked God to forgive me from all the bad things I had done and thought of, something happened in that instant.
  • Jesus, took those sins and as if by a space-time continuum, nailed them at the cross where He was hanging.
  • When Jesus hung on that cross, He took every sin there ever was, and would be, and absorbed them into the bloody cross, dripping with His perfect blood.
  • As if the wooden beams which made up the cross were absorbing everything unholy into the cracks and crevices, never to seep out of the grainy, splintery pieces ever again.

Just like the scarlet worm which digs itself into the grainy wood when it’s time to bring about the next generation of scarlet worms; the worm will never move again while the little ones start nourishing from its body. Jesus hung in that cross and gave His life for us to be forever sustained by Him spiritually. Add I am the bread of life and Take this and eat it…this is my body…

Brings me back to thinking about the Psalm regarding the verse saying but “I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.”

  • I was one of those offspring who killed my heavenly Dad in order for me to be forever nourished and counted to be saved by that scarlet blood…

May all of you be blessed this Holy Day Season. May you come to know the saving grace of Jesus…

Get to know Jesus. You won’t regret it!

Take the next steps to truly knowing God:

Steps to Peace With God

How Can I know God

Know God

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My House, My Job, They’re My Life |Priorities

“”47 So the high priests and the Pharisees assembled the Council n and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our Temple o and our nation.””— John’s Gospel chapter 11 ISV

This is the conversation which took place after Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. These were members of the Highest Court of Israel. They would be like our Supreme Court mixed in with the best Theologians in the land.

Yet all this wisdom and only a few of the leaders were believers of Jesus from Nazareth. Most of them were so empty spiritually, that they had missed out on the over 300 prophecies concerning their Messiah. So much so, that they were willing to keep their beautiful Temple which Herod had rebuilt, and hold on to it and their homeland no matter the consequences. They would have to get rid of the guy that was performing extraordinary miracles not seen since the days of Moses and Joshua.

  • But before we get all ‘holy” on them, ask yourself this question.
  • What thins or things are you holding on for dear life to?

You see, this is the same daily conversation that people all over the world have about Jesus the Carpenter from Nazareth.

  • Do I want to follow Jesus?
  • What of He wants me to leave all these things I have accumulated behind?
  • What if I have to give up my party life?
  • What if I have to stop cheating people out of money at work?
  • What will people think about me if I become a Christian?
  • How will I look to my family if I leave their religion?A

The questions you will be asking yourself are valid. But also ask yourself these:

  • How am I able to handle that high stress job?
  • Will the stress finally land me in the hospital?
  • Will I be able to keep the house I could barely pay the monthly mortgage on?
  • Do I really need the expensive cars and unnecessary extravagant  lifestyle choices I have?
  • Have all the material things and my long hours at work have me slowly drifting away from a relationship with God?
  • Whatever it is, nothing  and I mean nothing is better than having Jesus the Lord, Savior and Redeemer of this world come into your life.

If you choose to have a personal relationship with Christ, watch the everyday miracles that He will do for you in your life. Jesus loves you and asks that you trust Him to lead and guide you. And unlike those temporary luxury things, or high stress job you’re in, He will never leave you nor forsake you.  

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Gustave Doré – Crucifixion of Jesus.
  • Stop trying to kill Jesus off from your life for the sake of keeping your ‘temple and country’.

Instead of killing Him out of your life, ask Jesus to come into your life and bring you back from the dead. If you commit yourself to him, your life will never be lost again…

Resources:

How can I know God?

Know God

Steps to Peace with God

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The Only Action to Take |Gift of Salvation

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Some people say, “When you do an act of kindness, it’s good Karma!” If someone does something horrible, then you hear, “Wait until his Karma catches up to him!”
We’ve all heard of people saying there’s Karma in every action we take. The definition of this Buddhist and Hindu belief is that a person’s actions in this life or previous existence is a deciding factor in where a person will end up in the next life.

  • Although I don’t agree on the belief of a previous life or recycling into the next, I do believe that a person’s action will, in fact, be the deciding factor of where they spend eternity. You notice I said action and not actions?

The Word of God makes it indisputable in Hebrews chapter 29 verse 27 that it is appointed for a person to die once and then God’s judgment will be passed.

  • Here’s where the total opposite belief of what Karma is, comes in:

As human beings, we can never obtain a perfect balance for our next life on our own. We are never going to be good enough to achieve perfection. Only God, the Creator of the universe is perfect.
He is the only One that can judge us by His standards. And through the eternal measures of the heavens, we always fall short.
Here is where we have the chance to make destiny ours. We can, in fact, receive perfection. But here’s the catch, it’s not by our own actions.
It is by the time action that Jesus the Savior of the world, who is also the Son of God in the Trinity. He came and lived a perfect life. We can’t fathom this because we can’t live this kind of perfect life.
Some like the Buddha, Francis of Assisi, and Mother Theresa of Calcutta,  tried their best to lead good lives. Notice I said good and not perfect?
They through their own actions could never be good enough for their efforts to cancel out their sins.
All people have sinned and are in need of saving grace that is only given through Jesus. All people including Buddha, Mother Theresa, and all the other “beatified” human beings who have passed from this life into the next have died and were buried. None came back to life, except One.
People’s actions will not be good enough for them to enter into God’s heavenly Kingdom on their own accord. Before you tell me that this is extremely harsh to say, I am not the one saying it. The Word of God is clear on this. I wish I could say otherwise but then I would be making myself God and trust me, I am and will always fall short on that measure.
Instead of getting angry or depressed because you realized that you can’t make it into heaven on your own, why not ask the One that can help you. He is the only One that has died, been buried and risen from the dead. His name is Jesus the One they called the Carpenter, The Nazarene, The Way, the Truth, and The Life.

  • Ro 8_38_392018-10-22 at 5.05.06 PM.pngGet to know Him, I promise you will not regret it.
    Below are reference links to most of what I mentioned here. Do your own homework and make the right decision.
  • Once you make a decision to follow Jesus, he will never leave you! Nothing will be able to separate you from His love.
  • Don’t leave it up to your very own “Karma” to find out too late…

 

 

 

 

References:

No human being is righteous in God’s eyes:  

https://biblehub.com/romans/3-10.htm

https://biblehub.com/romans/3-23.htm

Jesus is sinless:

https://biblehub.com/isaiah/53-9.htm
https://biblehub.com/1_peter/2-22.htm
https://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/5-21.htm
https://biblehub.com/1_john/3-5.htm

Christ came to save us:

https://biblehub.com/romans/8-38.htm

He is the Only One that can save us:

https://biblehub.com/john/14-7.htm

Ask Him to be your Savior:

https://biblehub.com/romans/10-9.htm

Welcome to the Family of God:

https://biblehub.com/hebrews/10-22.htm

Got more questions?:

Steps to Peace With God

How Can I know God

Know God

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Heal, LORD,Save(d),Praise You |Healing Marriages Series

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—Rafaw— YHWH —Yashaw—Yashaw —Tehillah—

The above five simple words come from Jeremiah 17:14.

Heal Yahweh, save, saved, praise

  • It’s not a magic hocus pocus formula for someone who is in poor health.
  • It’s not a repetitive prayer for us to keep chanting like a mantra.
  • But these five powerful words are words we need to know.
  • We have to remember the state of Jeremiah’s mind and spirit.  The Lord used him to warn Israel of their coming doom.
  • Jeremiah had to proclaim the word of the Lord no matter the consequences. There were false prophets telling people who God would save them.
  • Like today, we have many “pastors” telling people what they want to hear. Yet the Word of God never changes.
  • It hasn’t in over 4,000 years and even if the gates of hell open up wide to let the forces of evil influence mankind, the Word of God will always be. Because it’s light and truth. It gives people life, a renewed vitality that shines so bright, the forces of evil scatter.

— Jeremiah spoke these words when Israel was going to be decimated.

— I want to encourage you today. Whatever calamity you’re going through. Whatever dark and deep valley you’re stuck in, remember, the God who created all things, the One who calls us by our names, He is here! Still reigning and still in control of all things.

So if you are feeling down, or see nowhere to hide, call out to the only One who can help your situation.

—Healer, LORD, save, let me be saved. I will praise You!—

  • You see, Jeremiah saw what God would do to Israel. He saw the future calamity. No wonder he is called the weeping prophet.
  • Had I seen what Jeremiah saw, I would be in a fetal position crying out and with my thumb in my mouth trying to comfort myself.
  • Yet this prophet of God endured the visions and called out for Israel to repent and draw close to their God.
  • The God that had worked miracle after miracle with their ancestors.
  • The One who parted the stormy sea for them to cross to safety.
  • He is still here, and He still does everyday miracles.

—Call out to Him today! Let Him take your calamities and let Him part the deep storm you’re treading in.

Heal LORD, save! You have saved us, and we praise You!

Timeline of Jeremiah

Get to know God:

How Can I know God

Steps to Peace With God

Know God

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I wish Siri Had A Please & Thank You Button |LETTERS TO MY KIDS

 

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  • Please and Thank you…Those wonderful almost extinct words that are going away like the cassette recorder, the landline phones, and prudent public education.

Gone are the days that I hear kids asking for something without sounding like dictatorial commands. I see it everywhere. I see it in this millennial generation but they are not the only ones. People my age are beginning to be affected. It’s like one of those zombie movies which starts out by patient zero contracting a deadly form of virus. Then turning patient zero into a walking dead like person moaning and groaning at everything without any form of intelligible words coming out of them.
When I hear a person barking out orders to people in public, it makes me cringe. Especially if they have kids around them. We are becoming the Siri and Alexa Commander Generation.

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I wish Siri and Alexa had a special button that would make everyone asking them questions say please before their services could answer anything. Then in order for Siri or Alexa to take the person asking to the links or information, they would have to say, “Thank you, Siri,” or “Thanks, Alexa!”
Imagine a world where you go to order food or grab a coffee, and you hear every single person saying those two precious words!

  • When I do hear those tow precious words coming out of someone, I hear angels in heaven rejoicing because another angel has earned their wings….okay, not really but it’s almost like that in my mind.

Believe or not, when I do hear those two words being used by a family, I will go by and thank the parents for doing a wonderful job in teaching their kids those two very small but hugely important words.
You see, without the constant training of kids asking, there is no humility. Without kids thanking, there could be no spirit of gratitude.

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So parents, adults, and everyone in between; let’s please get back to having a spirit of humility and of gratitude…Thanks and God bless you all…

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God’s Pebbles on the Road |My Story

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Isaiah 40:11 Berean Study Bible

A young man was so eager to leave his parents that he started on a journey with just the bare necessities on his backpack.

He had all the essentials to survive since his parents had taught him how to survive well enough for him to endure the long road ahead of him. This young man started his journey and soon found a partner along the path he was traveling in. Both travelers were going in the same direction and found that they enjoyed each other’s company, so they decided to hike together.

Along the way, they encountered rough patches, and in the dark hours of the night, they would unexpectedly stumble over small rocks and pebbles on the road. They would have to stop and check their shoes and feet often. Sometimes one would have to be helped out in carrying their loaded backpacks or with other nuisances along the way. Yet, this couple kept traveling.

They met a very loving and wise man along the way who was walking with his flock of sheep. The man seemed to know everything about life and the dangers of being out here without the proper equipment.

He told them that he was going their way and would light their steps at night with his lamp as long and as far as they allowed him to travel with them. The young travelers loved the stories the wise man told. He was a shepherd and would wander near and far with his flocks. He knew all the roads and also the ones less traveled.
The shepherd told them stories of his flock and of the many times he would fend off wild animals and thieves who came at night to hurt his sheep. His lamp and staff were always by his side. The more they traveled with the Shepherd, the more they stopped noticing the rough patches on the road. One night the young man felt a horrible pain in his foot. He had not been watching his steps and hurt his ankle so bad that he told his fellow travelers that he would have to stop. The young man was about to quit his journey and tell his partner and the wise man to continue without him.

As soon as he said this, he felt the strong arms of the shepherd carrying him. He also saw his partner as she picked up all the baggage he had been collecting along their journey. They carried him and his equipment a long distance until he was able to heal.

The young man was forever grateful to both his friends as he was able to continue his travels with them. When his partner needed help, the young man was there to help her.
The couple didn’t realize that the wise man was always there for them and never seemed too tired of helping them. Even with the sheep he had to take care of, he never complained. Instead, he patiently walked with them to their destination.
The wise shepherd promised they would like their new home and sure enough, the place was incredible. Enough pastures for their own little flock they had picked up along the way. The land had a running river with the best water the couple had ever tasted. Their little flock would finally be safe. They decided to stop walking and settle in this perfect piece of land. They were even more joyful to find out that the shepherd owned all of this and was giving it to the couple and their little sheep. The shepherd would always be nearby in case they needed him.

They told him that they would regularly place an extra setting on their table for him to come and dine with them. He smiled and said to them that he would always have time to eat and talk with them. The young couple was finally ready to live their life together.

This journey I am in, has been such a wonderful blessing to me. I was able to do what I have been called to do, and that is to tell stories about God’s love, grace, and mercy. I started with short skits at church and went on to write plays while serving full-time.

I am a storyteller in a world which needs the Greatest Story to be told in a way that opens people’s hearts to its saving grace.

I am reminiscing about the promise I made to God for His incredible and loving gesture of allowing me to live after being diagnosed with kidney cancer. I am living in extra innings so I can continue on life’s journey until I finish what I have to for Him.
The doctors told me I was one of those people lucky enough to have survived this type of cancer because there are no symptoms or signs of the sickness until it is too late.

I told them like I let everyone who is willing to lend an ear that I am not lucky. Luck had nothing to do with! It was the miracle of knowing Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. God tells us that Christ bore my sins, He took my sickness upon Himself and healed me.

After being diagnosed with the hated ‘C’ word, my journey took a different turn. My world was turned upside down, and everything I thought I needed to do was changed in an instant.

Yet, for those that have struggled with some type of illness or loss, I can tell you that God is faithful. He is a God of refreshing. God never promises us a safe and pain-free life but gives us enough pebbles on the road to step on, so that we develop into what He has called us to be on our personal journey.

May you be like that young man who started walking on his journey with only one thing on his mind. To touch as many lives as possible, pointing them to the Shepherd that always walks along with us with His lamp to light the way…

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