Category: Life&#8217;s wonders

September 9, 2019September 9, 2019

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Aspects of His Story—For His People |Christian Basics Series

People have asked me what the most important thing about Christianity and its influence on the world are. Some of these I have written about before. Now, I am tasked to give my opinion on five historical events that have influenced the church today. I stand with the following but could also give many different answers for the last one.

A bit lengthy but these aspects are too important to shortchange

Jesus’ Death on the cross.

His life and influence have been felt all over the world throughout history (His Story). We have the Four Gospel Writers giving us the horrific events that took place before and during Jesus’ hanging on the cross.

A copy of the second Medicean manuscript of *Annals*, Book 15, chapter 44,

Non-Christian historians who wrote about the historical figure of Jesus. One was a Jewish historian named Flavius Josephus and the other was a Roman historian named Tacitus (Copy of Letter above). Both wrote about Jesus and the repercussions of His actions, along with his disciples.

Pliny the Younger was the governor of Bithynia et Pontus around 11 A.D. He wrote about Christians following a Jewish Teacher named Jesus whom they called a God. Moreover, Pliny was fearful that this faith would spread like it already was throughout the Roman Empire. Although he did not personally write about Jesus, he did write about the influence of a person named Jesus over His disciples and was not happy with the way Christians were worshipping and taking people’s faith away from the gods of Rome.

All accounts both in the Gospels and by outside non-Christian writers validate that Jesus was a person who came to influence the Judean nation, the Roman Empire, and later, the whole known world.

Without Jesus’ death, there would not be a story of Redemption. The Redemption of grace and mercy given to humanity, to be able to reconcile ourselves back to complete communion with God. Jesus became the Last Sacrificial Lamb to take away the sins of the world. With His death, the final sacrifice on the Temple Mount laid a foundation for all who would come asking for God’s forgiveness.

The Resurrection:

While Jesus’ incredible work of the cross is without compare, the Resurrection of Jesus is as important as His Sacrifice on the cross. Without Jesus resurrecting as He and the prophetic scriptures said would happen, Christians would not be here, able to say that we through Jesus have conquered Death’s sting.

If the cross brought a sweet-smelling aroma to God’s Throne room, the resurrection sealed or stamped the Sacrificial Lamb with the Heavenly Stamp of approval. You see, Jesus had to conquer Death, yet the His disciples, the hordes of hell and his earthly enemies did not understand that.

His disciples were dejected and felt rejected. They had seen The Messiah of Israel do astonishing miracles. Yet, their Rabbi and future’s Hope had dashed and crashed away with Jesus’ Death on the cross. These men, laid hidden, fearful of the Jewish authorities. Not able to understand why their beloved Teacher was now dead.

Most of the Sanhedrin, who opposed this simple, poor, interloper called Yeshua, thought they had gotten rid of this nuisance who called Himself the resurrection and the Life., The Way, Truth and Life, The Good Shepherd, The Bread of Life, etc.. These devout legalistic men who wanted power thought they had stayed in power.

Satan and his hordes who saw Jesus born and made every effort to get rid of this baby God as soon as possible. These evil forces which influenced the soldiers of Herod’s Guard to kill the innocents in Bethlehem and its surroundings. The same evil horde with their leader taunting Jesus as he was being beaten and whipped. What must have gone through satan’s mind seeing Jesus tortured, hanging on the cross, dying a gruesome death, His body buried in a cave? This evil demonic swarm must have celebrated seeing the shocking event of God dying by the hand of His most precious creation. Satan had won, or so he thought.

“How I wish I would have been there,” is every Christian’s thought. The event of the resurrection changed life itself. We are now the heirs of this resurrection and the hope it gives us. The hope of one day resurrecting into eternity, and finally becoming whole once again. This event is the blessed hope Paul speaks of in Titus. The hope of everlasting union with our LORD and Savior Jesus, when He comes for us.

Fire flame on black background. blaze fire flame textured background. Premium Photo — Corutesy of Freepik

Pentecost:

Fifty days after Jesus became our First Fruit of Resurrection, the third most important event happened to the Church of Christ. Without it, the church would have died a wimpy and minute death. You see, what the Death and resurrection were for us, the filling of the Holy Spirit was just as important. This filling is where we as Christians get our power, not through anything we do, but through the Power of God’s Spirit.

Jesus needed to go through this sacrificial Death and why we as Christians celebrate it today as the most important of events in world history. The eye witness accounts of his Death and burial cannot be rebutted by any critic because there were too many witnesses to Christ’s ministry, crucifixion, Death, and resurrection.

We also have the enemies of Jesus who by their silence after the miraculous events, did not deny a resurrection or that Jesus performed great miracles. They tried to bribe Jesus away and force His disciples to not preach in His name.

1517 Basel printing of the Nitey-Five *Theses*

The Reformation

With a widespread movement, there tends to be a downhill period of moral decline and corruption. This corruption happened to the Christian church when it became universal, and its leadership became too powerful.

With absolute power, comes absolute corruption. No checks and balances for its leaders.

There were too many followers and too few who could read the Word of God. Illiteracy was the vehicle for leadership to take grasp for power. God led Luther to pen Ninety-five Theses where Protestants, later on, would protest with The Five Solae or Alone’s or Only’s.

The Reformation revolutionized faith in Christ alone and not the church, the word alone and not with traditions of men, faith, and grace alone without bribing your way to heaven, and God alone instead of a man absolving your sins away.

The Internet

I remember seeing a chart that looked like a hockey stick. It was a timeline showing the technological progress of humankind. We see the agricultural age for most of human history and then the great boom of the industrial age. We then accelerate the knowledge pace when we hit the digital age, and double the knowledge with the information age! The internet can be used for evil, but I am an optimist. The Gospel has been preached throughout the world.

Just this blog alone has made it to 87 countries and counting. From Brazil to China and in every continent except Antartica. Imagine Paul having the internet? What would Christianity look like if he had his hands on such an incredible piece of technology?
This is the Golden Age for sharing the Gospel. This is our time to impact history. We have learned from Scripture and those that have come before us.
Let us make the world know who Christ is and what He has done for them! Go and make disciples of all nations…

If you want to know who Jesus is and what He did for you:

August 16, 2019August 16, 2019

Know God

References:

Flavius Josephus

Full Transcripts of Tacitus letter about Christ

4 Gospels:

Supernatural Kinda’ Love |Christian Walk Series

I have changed the names of my neighbors out of respect for them and their privacy. This happened on 7-1-2019:

We were woken up by a loud thunderous noise around 5:40ish in the morning. My wife and I knew what that dreadful sound was. Car alarms went off, and I thought it was my daughter’s car parked in front of our house.
I got up, my wife got on her phone right away and called 911. The impact of the collision that happened was pretty damaging.
After hurrying outside, I saw our neighbors across the street, walking out.
“Are you okay?” Dan asked the gentleman who had hit his son Nathan’s car and totaled it.
I saw the man sitting in his car, a little bit of blood running down his nose and knew he was in good hands with our neighbor. My neighbor’s wife Sheryl was in her element, she went back and forth with the man in the car, and then to her son, and to the police officers who had arrived pretty quickly; she remaining calm, cool and collected during these stressful moments.
Sheryl went back into her house to get her cell and started taking pictures of the scene once she was back outside.

“Their poor son was stunned. The nice looking car of his, had been struck hard; the impact opened up the passenger doors and the gas tank opening, which was on the opposite side of the collision. The car is not drivable.“

The man who collided into my neighbor’s car was driving to his new place going West up our street and had fallen asleep from all the busyness of moving. It was his last load, and he must have been exhausted.

“What should have been a left turn at the stop sign for him, turned into one of those surreal tragic moments in one’s life where you wish you could have done a thousand things differently.“

Once I knew the man was physically okay, I asked if he wanted some coffee, and Dan jumped on it, telling the guy that he already had a pot ready. My neighbor dashed into his house to get the coffee for the poor man who was still a little dazed and confused, inside his crashed vehicle.

“The man who crashed had called his wife who came to help him out. She had a baby in her car, and Sheryl dropped everything she was doing, including being by her son’s side to minister to the wife of the man and her baby.“

Sheryl stood next to the window where the baby was and let the man’s wife go and help her husband, or at least, go to make sure that he was all right.

When the incident was all done, and I knew everyone was okay, I went up to reflect on what I had joyously seen.
Yes, I did say joyously.
You see, I know my neighbors. They are Christians. Even in the disheartening event of losing one car and also needing work on their truck, they could have gone into DEFCON 5, but they didn’t.
Instead, both of them ministered to the couple and their baby.

I got to talking to the officer who was at the scene first and left last, said he had never seen such goodness from any scene he’d been in. He thanked all of us for rushing in, and helping the guy and his family out.
Honestly, I didn’t do anything but just reassure the young couple and tried to be there for my neighbors. I encouraged them to take this in stride and that they had been blessed not to have anyone physically hurt.
Dan and Sheryl, also told the young couple the same thing.

“All this to say is, that God’s love and sweet smelling aroma permeated the scene in our street.“

The young guy and his wife went home, thanking God it wasn’t worse.
Our neighbors showed the world what Christian love is.
I got to witness the surprise reaction and ministering to the man and his wife. Also got to talk to the officer and encourage his “cynical”(his words) mentality from years and years of seeing the darkness of this world firsthand.
He said he wanted to move to our block because what he saw was abnormal. He usually has to calm the people at the scene down and take control. He didn’t have to do that this morning, and for that, I am blessed to be part of.

My neighbors, my wife and I know where this superantural kind of love comes from. It is the connection we have to Jesus, the King of this universe. He gives us this kind of love for our neighbors. It doesn’t come from us, becasue if it did, the reaction from Dan, Sheryl and Nathan and the rest of us, would have been different. Had it been different, then there would be no sweet smelling aroma to give but just another pile of rubbish to be added to this hurting world.

The Lord was manifested in the kind of calming peace that my neighbors showed…

Enough to leave a sweet smelling fragrance to the people that had damaged their property…

If you don’t have this kind of calming peace or supernatural kinda’ love, you can have it. Just get to know God personally:

Know God

July 2, 2019July 2, 2019

June 28, 2019June 28, 2019

This Agenda, that Agenda! I Worry Not!

Our country is in an identity crisis. We have lost our way. There are too many voices in our country’s head fighting to get their selfish means.
Some of these voices are from a small minority who have planted an agenda that is going to take our country into chaos.

Additional ideologies are creeping into the psyche of our country. Mindsets that 40 years ago would be laughed out of existence have taken root in society.

I am not here to debate hate or division. I am here to try and bring some sanity back. I will use only one ideology whose agenda has gone overboard…

One ideology wants the whole world to know their sexual orientation 24/7/365 day a year. As if sexual orientation is the only thing that people identify themselves as a whole. This agenda has permeated every aspect of our culture to the point that it has lost its meaning, and rightly so.
You see, when I wake up, I don’t get ready to do battle against everyone else who may not be a Hispanic heterosexual Christian male. I don’t walk out and great my neighbors by saying,” Hey neighbor; you know that I am a Hispanic Hetero Christian male! I just want to make sure you know this!”
Alternatively, if I am at a gathering, I don’t wear a Tshirt stating Straight Hispanic Christian Male in the House! Wouldn’t that be absurd?
So why are we being inundated with an agenda that is sweeping the nation and taking over TV programs, News, Shopping centers, and Public Schools? Me being Hispanic does not make me want to tell everyone that I am Hispanic. I think they’ll be able to tell. Me being a straight male will also not make me want to tell everyone I am. This too, will be evident.

This is the most essential point:
Me being a Christian is also one of those things that people should see. If I have to tell that I am a Christian, then I have failed to show them Christ’s love.
We are in a spiritual-mental battle for the next couple of generations. We cannot be divisive, nor can we just stand there not doing anything about it.
We don’t have to scream They vs. us.

What we must do is:
Pray for guidance from the One who created all of us.
Follow what Our Lord and Savior told us:

 "By this, people will know you are my disciples. What is the THIS Jesus was talking to His disciples about?

It was the selfless and unchanging Love of Christ. A kind of love that moves mountains, and tears spiritual strongholds apart. The type of love that destroys division in families. Love that unites instead of tearing apart. Love that serves others instead of taking advantage of them.

Once we have this kind of love, we can then do the third part without having to tell others what we are doing. We need to go into the world and notify them of Christ’s love for them. The undying-selfless-sacrificial love that has withstood invading armies, Coliseum lions, Roman masters, and Ceasers, beheadings, floggings, crucifixions, burning at stakes and power hungry spiritual shepherds who should have known better.

This is what Christ wants form us. He doesn’t want us to go toe to toe with all these agendas. Because here’s the secret:

Agendas come and go. Ideologies come and go. Political pressure comes and goes. Politicians come and go. Tech company fascists come and go; but God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. His will is going to be done. No person, country, political power, or satanic hordes will ever get in His way. They have tried, and they have failed. These agendas will look influential, but they are already defeated by the Most Holy One of the universe.

We must not waiver; we must stand firm in Him. Not by power or might but by the Spirit of The Living God will He conquer hearts and minds…

I Got You My Child! |Letters to my Kids Series

Dear Grandson,
I was walking with you recently, and as you ran in the grass as fast as you were able to get to the next set of trees, I thought of this:

These trees have huge roots coming out of the ground. These are pretty perilous if you don’t see them. I should know, about a decade ago on a Sunday, I was walking our dogs at four in the morning before going to church to serve. The dogs were puppies and very clumsy, specially the boy. He bumped into me regularly and that morning, he was already at eighty pounds. As he walked in front of me, the sidewalk’s hump which was made by the same trees you so joyfully and gingerly were walking on top of, made me stumble and fall.
The tree roots unearthing the sidewalk, the awkwardness of the puppies still learning to walk in unison with me, and my balancing muscles not fully awake yet at four in the morning, caused the perfect storm for the fall. I broke my pinky finger that morning.

Now I was watching you running and stopping between trees right before getting to the same big and visible roots where a decade ago I stumbled and broke a finger. You were waiting for me to grab your hand. That is one of the rules I have for you, and one that you learned early on when you started walking with me. You are always to wait for me to walk on anything that looks bumpy or when crossing streets, this rule included these big ol’ roots.

As I saw you going at full speed, I was joyful to see you run and laugh and then wait for me so I would take your hand. You still listen to us and it is a wonderful thing to see you joyful.

As you grabbed my hand you would say, “You got me Poppa?”
I would just smile and say, “I got you dude!”
And you would grab my hand harder while happily walking like a tight rope artist through the root gauntlet.

It makes me think of how God is delighted with His kids in the same way. He wants us to listen to Him so that we will be like you running through the gauntlet of uprooted sidewalks and unearthed roots. I want you to always grab a hold of God no matter where you are in life.

God has set rules and boundaries in our lives so that we don’t hurt ourselves while we are here on our life journey. You see my grandson, by constantly listening to God and hearing His guidance, we too could grab hold of God’s hand as we are tightroping through the treacherous paths that we come across on our journey.

God will always say,”I got you My child! Continue holding on to Me and I will guide you through the tough parts of life. Sometimes you will fall, but I will always be there stretching My Hand out to help you back up and protect you.”

Isn’t it time to listen and be guided by the Creator of this universe? The God who knows this earth’s dangers inside and out?

Why don’t you grab a hold of God and allow Him to have your back on the journey you are going through? I promise that you will be better off with Him by your side.
He will always say,” I got you my child!”…

How to Personally Know God:

Know God

June 25, 2019June 30, 2019

June 20, 2019June 20, 2019

The Increasing Spell Of Technology On Humanity

Everywhere I go, I see the same thing. Technology is a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, it makes our life more comfortable. Everything from voice commands to GPS help getting us to our destinations.

On the other hand, we must get a handle on technology’s grasp on our lives. For humanity is falling under technology’s spell. It doesn’t take an Orson Wells to figure out the root problem.

I’ve never seen many families so connected to the tech on their phones, that they have almost entirely disconnected from living in the moment. This is the shameful side of technological progress.

As human beings we must not chip away at our humanity. For this is the one special thing we have above all other creatures. This connection is not only in the natural world but in the spiritual world too.

Some of you may be saying that all creatures in this world are connected spiritually too. That humans aren’t the only ones to have this spiritual connection. It may come as a surprise to you, I believe that animals also have a spiritual connection. This connection is between Creator and His creatures. But this is for another post.

Back to the spiritual connection.If I may be so bold as to say that the way one handles his people connections here on earth, is the way that same person handles his or her connection to God.

I know that there may be some people squirming in their seats right about now. But think this through and give it a chance to resonate with your please. I know I had to evaluate where I wanted technology’s impact in my life, without becoming a slave to it.

I don’t know who is selling the above, but I loved the genius way they are making money and helping families reconnect without technology!

We have to ask ourselves:
What exactly do I have this device for & can I get rid of it?
Will it get to the point that I am craving using this device more than I want to?
Does this device help or hinder my relationships when I am having family or friends time?
Does this device need to be with me all the time?
Or can I leave this device at home or in a designated spot while I reconnect with the most important people in my life?

If you have answered the above questions and you are not sure if you can get rid of your devices, maybe it’s time that you fast away from them and just enjoy every minute of life moments. I know I have, and it’s made me a better husband, dad, poppa and friend to those I interact with in person.

I ask that you give this fasting from your device a chance. It will be hard but I promise it will be well worth it…

A Father’s Day Letter To My Kids |Letters To My Kids Series

Letters to my Kids Series
A Father’s Day Follow Up

Deuteronomy 6:1-8

Kids,
Yesterday was a pretty memorable day for me. To be more precise, each day is extremely special to me. I had cancer a few years back. The things that I took for granted are the things I cherish now. My wife and kids, and now their kids. The relationships in my life and those unique family and friends moments that can never be relived.
These are the things which drive me every day to reinvent myself for His kingdom. It took a severe sickness for me to realize the preciousness of it all.

Kids if you are reading this today, do not take life for granted.
We are born with a certain amount of days and then hopefully, I know you know God as I do; so when your days are done here in this life, you can step into eternity knowing that your Redeemer lives. The Redeemer of your life. The decision that all of you made to Christ is what I am most proud of, and this is the greatest gift a father can ever get from his kids.
I know that my Redeemer lives. Jesus gave me additional time to get to know my grandkids. I ask Him to provide me with even more time so that I may continue teaching you and the grandchildren. That’s what I am supposed to do above all else. Point all of you to the Redeemer of Life. To the One in whom I put my unwavering trust.

You see, without Jesus, there is no life past this existence. Not an experience that you want to go through on your own. Jesus came to Redeem and pay for all my failures.

Without Christ, I would not be able to face my eternal entrance the way I will be. Without God’s grace and mercy, I would be condemned to a perpetual payment so horrific, that I would cry out for mercy day and night forever, with no ability to pay personally for the sins I committed in this life.
Kids, when my days draw to an end here on earth, I want you to continue teaching my grandchildren about our personal faith in Jesus, our Savior.
Let them know what Christ did for them. It’s not popular today to talk about personal sins or a place called hell. Even my autocorrect did not want me to spell hell.
However, just because society doesn’t want to acknowledge that word, hell is genuine. Just like heaven is a powerfully real place.
What I experienced yesterday on Father’s Day as a family, was incredible.

Yet, the most rewarding experience for me will be seeing all of you and welcoming you into God’s kingdom, the second time. Since you accepted and committed yourselves to God here on earth, the second welcoming will be even more incredible.

I ask that if anything should happen before all my grandkids have the understanding of making a personal commitment to God, that all of you continue to point them to the Lord.
My Father’s Day was incredibly special because I thought of my dad here on earth and my Heavenly Dad, who is preparing a place for all of us. I know that should God bring me home, all of you will be fine. I want this for my grandkids too…

GET TO KNOW GOD LIKE I DO:

June 18, 2019June 17, 2019

Know God