Tag: faith

8 Days of Giving Thanks! |Thanksgiving 2019

Via The Gospel Heral Life

We shift gears today to be thankful:

This month is a reminder for me about how precious life is. With my mom passing on about this time (a week ago) in 1993. To say that I have sweet and sour memories in November is an understatement. But as my brother in the LORD Michael Nuñez very thankfully explains about his mom, I have the same memory of my mom. She was the most faithful person I have ever met. Her debilitating rheumatoid Arthritis never kept her from trusting in God or grumbling to God, at least not in front of her children.

Even more of perfect timing, Michael did not know my mom passed on around this time, and when I asked him to write something he was thankful for, he sent this. In God’s perfect timing, I picked my brother in Christ because of what he has written in past years, always starting on the first day of November.

Michael is one of the few who has been doing this and I want to celebrate it!

Take a look at what he wrote for today’s Thanksgiving Month:

Day 20 of Thankfulness… Yesterday I made mention that I was thankful because I get to instruct my son in the way of the Lord. Today I am thankful for my mother, who did just that, teach me about Jesus. To cry out to him, to seek his forgiveness and guidance, and so much more. (My Dad played a significant role as well, but this is about my mom, not Dad.. she was not perfect (neither am I), but she was perfect for me (as I am to her) Missing you today. Proverbs22:6

#happybirthdaymom

Michael Nuñez November 20, 2019

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The Man On the Rooftop |CaliforniaEducational Agenda

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By Oscar Roca

 

My take on this story, I don;t know who original person was who told it:

A man was stuck on top of his rooftop after the area had been flooded. He pleaded with God to save him. A few minutes later one of his neighbors came to help him on a small canoe, “Hey neighbor come down so we can get out of here!”
The man on the rooftop said, “No, you go ahead, God will save me!”
The neighbor pleaded to no avail and finally said goodbye. Another neighbor came to help, but he told the neighbors the same thing.
The man on the rooftop heard what sounded like a helicopter. All of a sudden he heard the Helicopter pilot telling him to take a leap of faith and grab on to the harness.
“No thanks, God’s got this. I’ll wait for him,” the man on the rooftop said.
A few hours later, storms came back, and the water levels reached above the rooftops, sweeping the man away.
Now this man was facing his Creator.
“Lord, I waited for You, why didn’t You come to rescue me?”
God stood up and replayed his whole life in a flash, but towards his last moments on earth, he slowed them down enough where the man was praying and pleading for God to do something… Then God pointed to the neighbors and the Helicopter, ” I did, but you sat in your rooftop doing nothing. I sent you helpers, and yet you did nothing. All you had to do was take the leap of faith and move…”

I am glad I don’t have any grade school children here in California anymore. Because if I did, I would take them right out of the public school system and then get a lawsuit going against the sophomoric, ill-intended representatives who have passed this fantastically bizarre new indoctrination.

When my kids were getting ready for grade school, my wife and I made a decision to home-school them for a bit. It was the best period of their learning. At the age they were in, they had absorbed everything being taught to them. To the point that both were above their grade level when tested at the local public school, they would be attending in the future.

I must say, I have told them that I wish we have homeschooled them more but I have no regrets. The public school system we had them in, was a solid one.

Fast forward to now and I can’t say the same thing about the California school system. The agendas being pushed towards kids who can’t even tie their own shoes right, is simply quite frightening and staggering.

Schools are indoctrinating babies, yes, because they are babies, and it is utterly ludicrous, asinine, irresponsible and criminal.

When I was that age, I wasn’t thinking of whether I was a boy or girl. It never came into my mind or thought process. All I wanted to do was play and eat, and play again. Even school was about the two things I thought of, not whether I felt feminine or if I identified as something other than a boy.

  • It is time young parents, it is time grandparents, it is time Christians, wake up and be heard.
  • First by protesting this unjust and unGodly new “Health Education Framework” being passed in California.
  • Secondly by letting these so-called educators know that they can’t put any new curriculum, sex education or any other thing that goes against your faith and moral values!

  • It is time to stop a small minority of people from dictating what should be taught in schools.

  • It’s time to take our rights to have teachers teaching without agendas; from those who would harm our children and grandchildren, and the best way to do this is to protest their foolish teachings and by lawsuits.
  • School districts or rogue teachers will no longer be able to teach from their secret agendas.
  • They will concentrate on teaching Reading, Writing & Arithmetic without adding their personal agendas and indoctrinating our children and grandchildren anymore.

  • This Independent-of-political-party-male-father-grandfather is fed up seeing what the Left has done. Especially to young impressionable children.

  • It’s time to bring this state back to the center and not allow any more secret agendas to infiltrate our children and grandchildren’s minds.
  • The job of educators is to teach school studies and school studies alone.
  • The job of parents is to teach them eveything plus morality and faith.

  • It is not for school districts and rogue teachers to teach their personal political, sexual or religious views. 

  • To those that say, “I’ll let God take care of this, I say to you, remember the story of the man who drowned in his own rooftop…

 

TAKE ACTION:

Focus On the Family

References:

Health Education Framework

LifeSiteNews

 

 

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‘Til Wedding Day Do Us Part! |Marriage Series

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Isncript.com

—Imagine being so enthralled in the action that you forget the commitment?

—We have many young people committing to a marriage & not ready for it.

I remember when I was younger, a few of my friends were getting married. Their future wives were so hypnotized by the whole ‘getting married process’.

—Now before I go on, I want to make sure that I don’t come across as anti-ceremony; this is by far the opposite of what I am.

—Marriage is to be celebrated. It is to be shared and witnessed by friends and family and made a priority before the LORD.

 

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BUT.…yes there is a ‘but’…

—But, what I have noticed even in some young Christian couples, I will say this again, some have turned the thrill of the action of getting married, to the all-encompassing reason why they are getting married. They have subconsciously turn their Wedding Day into an idol.

When young engaged couples have asked, I tell young couples getting married this:

  1. Please be careful not to get caught up making the Wedding Day planning the main thing and forget about the life-long commitment of marriage.
  2. Many churches have great marriage classes and counseling but it is not enough.
  3. Brides plan their wedding day in more detail than finding out about how the other person is doing spiritually, mentally and financially.
  4. Again, the latter should not play a huge part in committing to the marriage but it should be looked over from both sides.

—Parents, please do not forget this most important part:

  1. You have done a great job praying, studying for your kids’ school and Devotion time.
  2. You have taken them to soccer or baseball or swimming through their time with you.
  3. You then hear that your son or daughter is engaged, and you’re happy for them.
  4. But this is just the beginning.
  5. As parents, you are responsible, not the church, for the spiritual well-being of your kid.
  6. Now also, your future son or daughter-in-law.
  7. This is where you jump in and make sure both of them have a firm foothold on The Rock. Because the foundation in faith is the most important part of starting a life together.

—It is not how much money the wedding is going to cost or how many family and friends you’re going to be able to invite.

—The real thing everyone in the family needs to be thinking of is:

— Have we done enough to have these two engaged people stand firmly in their faith so they do not get divorced in the future?

—Dads and moms, you are the most important person in the wedding. So goes your leadership in this, so goes the rest of the wedding.

—Your son or daughter will be enamored with the process and date of ceremony that you’ll need to be their compass.

—You’ll need to bring them back to reality. Specially if it’s a daughter. Trust me, I know!

—This pre-wedding day process is for you to remind them of all the things you have taught them about God and about marriage.

—Let them know that the Ceremony Day is just that, a day in their lives that some will remember vividly, but a flash in time for most invited guests.

AND MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL:

—Let them know that they need to go and speak to as many people whom they admire, from your Christian circles. Those who:

  1. Have been married for a short time.
  2. Those who have been married for a long time.
  3. Those who are divorced.
  4. Those who are in ministry.
  5. Specifically those who are pastors.
  6. Ask them this:

            a. How is your marriage doing?

            b. What would you do differently for your marriage and the wedding day?

            c. Any advice for us?

—If they are willing to answer all the questions, keep them as mentors. Most of them will automatically tell your kids how a strong faith in God & constant prayers helped them through the many obstacles of marriage and family…

More on this on next post….

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Blessed are the broken — They will be Transformed & Renewed! |Blessed Are The…. Series

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There are storms in life that grind us down to the point of wearing us down to find dust and floating away with the hurricane’s forces.

Sometimes as Christians, some of us are ready to throw in the towel. You’ve heard it said, “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be broken…” I love this saying . It is an excellent saying. But it’s not entirely accurate; God wants the broken vessels. God wants broken people.

How do I know? Because He had to break me for me to submit to His will fully. Don’t get me wrong; I have never doubted that God exists. Faith is not only knowing who God is and trusting Jesus on a personal and intimate level but also listening to Him and having Him rule your life.

It is in the act of submission, not like other faiths, but in the complete submission that brings a renewed faith, spirit and change in your life which transcend all your human understanding.  One that lifts, penetrates and oozes out of your every being.

Faith that doesn’t fear what men will do to you. A faith which emboldens encourages and enthralls your whole spirit, mind, and body.

This kind of faith is what God wants from us. This kind of faith moves mountains, breaks empires, restores marriages, gives life to others, sees good in the storms of life, and when you break in its power, brings you closer to the Creator of the universe.

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By Oscar Roca

You see, when you think that you can’t handle life’s storms, when you feel you have been broken to the point of being powder starting to float into the atmospheric heavens, God snatches you and makes you whole again. It is the action of calling out to Him with all your spiritual might that He then can perform miracles for His glory. The state of being in His clutches. Not those of a tyrannical God whose claws are piercing through your body like a predator trying to keep its prey from escaping; but as a mother’s touch to her babies, making sure that she is covering them with her body and wings, to keep the storm from hurting them.

Right now, one of my daughters has felt this storm come like the apocalypse. I will not give details, but I know that she is now looking up to God and asking Him to see her through this of many challenges in her young life.

If you are going through something that has steamrolled you and you are not able to get up, call on The One who can lift you up and miraculously bring you into His strong tower. Whatever you are going through, know that people have gone through something similar, and they are battling a storm too. Some people try to survive on their own. Others call out to the One that can calm the storm and bring you peace through it. Sometimes, if not all, God will not take the storm away, but like Jesus’ disciples when they cried out to Him found out, God is always there for you.

Even if you think He’s sleeping while you’re drowning, He is there, and He is aware. Jesus will calm the storm and see you through it if you let Him…

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He is Not Here…! |Passion Week-Resurrection Sunday

This is a very special Blog Post for a very special Holy Week. Culminating today when our LORD and Savior Jesus the Christ, played a joke on Death’s sting (1 Corinthians 15:55 )! I usually don;t do a post on Sunday’s but for this, I will make an exception…

00F188C9-EFA2-44C2-973A-7A5ED806B59E.pngPlease click on links to get the full text:

The Death of Jesus
“45 From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. 46 About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”…..50 When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit. 51 At that moment the veil of the temple was  torn in two from top to bottom. 

The earth quaked and the rocks were split.52 The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.…”- Matthew 27:51

E04FA4FA-DAEB-4C53-9283-B9F92A12A58F 2.png…5 As the women bowed their faces to the ground in terror, the two men asked them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. 8 Then they remembered His words. 9 And when they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and to all the others. .. 11 But their words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women.’”… Luke 24:5-11

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  • Jesus had completed the once for all sacrifice. His body had been tortured and killed.
  • As Jesus gave up His spirit, His body dying., the Curtains of the Temple  ripped from the top to the bottom. It is said in Jewish writings, that the veil or huge curtain was as thick as a man’s hand. So roughly 4-6 inches thick.
  • In order for the veil or curtain to rip, it would take a supernatural event to make it happen.
  • This incredible statement found in Matthew’s Gospel gives us the finished work of Jesus the Messiah or Christ or Savior of the world.
  • Once He obediently became the blood sacrifice for the world, there was no need to have a Temple here on earth since His death on the cross was sufficient enough for taking (Hebrews 9:26) our sins away forever.
  • After they had buried Jesus, they sealed the tomb with a Roman Seal. No one was to break the seal, If they did, whoever was responsible would have the full might of the Roman forces against him.
  • Yet, with the most powerful army known to man, Jesus showed them who was more powerful. The tomb was rolled away by The LORD Himself!
  • The Roman soldiers saw everything but knew what their punishment would be for letting a dead person escape from the tomb they were guarding (Matthew 28:12)….yes, my attempt at humor….so the Chief Council in Jerusalem helped them out.
  • Why because the death and resurrection of Jesus put them in a fantastic bind. This non-graduate from their Rabbinic prestigious schools had, for three years or so, made fools of the wisest of learned men in Judea.
  • Jesus knew the scriptures, and spoke them with authority ( Mark 1:22). The authority of being the Messiah of Israel.
  • John called him The Word who became flesh ( John 1:-5 ).
  • Jesus had to die in order for humanity to once again come into a holy communion or relationship with God.
  • This is why Jesus came to be born of a virgin ( Isaiah 7:14 ).
  • Preach His Good News of salvation through Him and just Him (Isaiah 61:1 , Luke 4:18 , John 14:6 )
  • Be arrested, tortured and die ( Matthew 16:21 ) at the hands of the Council of Judea.
  • He also told His followers that he would die and come back to life ( see above link Matthew 16:21).
  • So today, Resurrection Sunday (Easter Sunday), we celebrate our freedom. Just as Jesus beat Death’ sting and rose to life, we one day when our bodies give up, will also rise up from Death’s door and live again ( Romans 6:5 , 2 Corinthians 4:14 )!
  • May you have a blessed Sunday and may you get to know Jesus in a personal and saving way.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

 

If you want to get to know God:

Know God

Steps to Peace With God

How Can I know God

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The Passionate Jesus —Get to Know Him Personally This Passionate Week |Passion Week Series

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  • The Roman Road leads to the edge of the cliff and into the bottomless pit unless you confess Jesus as your personal LORD & Savior

  • That cliff will always keep you separated eternally from God until you choose His Son, who has paid the death contract for you.

  • We all carry the death contract from the day we are born and it gets heavier the older we get.

—This Sunday will start the beginning of a great and awesome week. Where God did a wondrous work of sacrifice though His Son Jesus the Savior for those who out their trust in Him.

—Passion Week starts with Palm Sunday( Matthew 21) and ends on Resurrection Sunday. But it doesn’t end there. You see, the story starts with Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity. Who is the Creator of this universe. He spoke and the Big cosmological Bang happened.

—From the beginning of time, Jesus knew what was going to happen when He breathed life into humans.

—Yet, with all His omnipotent knowledge, He still obediently humiliated Himself by leaving His throne and coming down to earth as a human baby. That is unimaginable to me.

—That God would become flesh & bones(John 1:14; Hebrews 2:14 ). With the same carnal needs. With all of the weakness of a human body (Hebrews 2:17) which starts decaying the minute we are born.

—He was 100% human—100% God. I won’t try to explain this in 1-3 sentences because theologians have tried answering this wonderful and mysterious truth in volumes of books.

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By Pete Rose 

  • Just know that the chances of 1 person fulfilling a few prophecies or predictions are astronomical. Jesus has fulfilled over 350. Yes, 350. If I was a Vegas man, I would place my bets on Jesus. I would take what He said and the predictions or prophecies He fulfilled as facts.

  • Now comes the most extraordinary 3 facts to take away from this:

— Jesus was tortured & died on the cross (Matthew 27)

— Jesus was buried  (Matthew 27:56-66)

— Jesus resurrected from death 3 days later (Matthew 28:1-15)

  • If this was not true, the greatest Empire and military in history, would have:
  • —Made a ridicule out of Jesus by displaying His body
  • — And/or killing off Jesus’ disciples for lying.
  • —Solving the mystery of where the body was hidden.

But neither of those things happened, why?

— There were too many witnesses who saw Jesus after His death. (Acts 5:32)

—The story was never fully disputed & the disciples continued preaching in the same city Jesus was buried. The Sanhedrin could not shut them up! ( Acts 5:32; Acts 23:24)

—The rest of what happened to His followers as they multiplied has been chronicled in the Bible and in other historical chronicles. (1 Corinthians 15:2-4)

  • Jesus disciples were:

—Beaten to stop having them share the Gospel of Jesus.

—Tortured to deny Jesus as the Messiah—Savior of Israel and the world.

—Killed for not recanting. It was the other way around, people like Paul of Tarsus chained up to his jailers converted many of them until he was put to death for His Lord and Savior, Jesus. 

  • Yet, His disciple remained faithful to the story of:

— Jesus,

—His teachings,

—His miracles,

—His crucifixion,

—His death

—His resurrection.

  • All this along with changing the mightiest empire that ever was through:

—Person to person sharing of the Gospel of Jesus.

— One on one disciplining on how to be followers of Christ.(2 Thessalonians 2:15)

—Continued fellowship of the church of Jesus who were called people of the Way.(Acts 2:46)

  • Yet still there are:

—Doubters to Jesus being who He said He was.

—Almost two thousand years later, Jesus is still controversial.

—People are still coming to know Him personally.

—Others are still scoffing at the stories they hear.

  • No other person in history has been:

— Loved & hated.

—Admired & Despised

—Worshipped & ridiculed….

  • Jesus remains a central figure in modern history.

—Countries have come and gone.

—Scoffers have said that Christianity is dead countless times.

—They have vowed to make Christians disappear.

—Yet, Jesus’ followers remain strong as always.

— The Bible remains the most read book in History because it’s His Story!

  • All this, due to a humble Carpenter who:

—Was born in Bethlehem

—Raised in Nazareth

—Taught scriptures to the masses by His Authority

—Said that He was God

—Fulfilled over 250 prophecies written centuries before His birth

—Healed the sick and lame

—Raised people from the grave

—Walked on water

—Gave sight to the blind

—Gave grace, mercy & peace to this sinner!

  • May you get to know Jesus the Messiah—Savior of this world during this most Holy of Weeks.

Get to know Him, here is how:

How Can I know God

Steps to Peace With God

Know God

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New Birthday Tradition |Friendships

If you are taking the time to read this, I want to thank you for it, even if I don’t know you. I hope that you find this helpful in your lives. This is something I will start this year. It was an idea that flashed through my mind a day before my birthday last week. 

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— I’m beginning a new tradition. Every year on my birthday I will be sending a thank you message to all those that have affected my life. I always make sure that I remember those that helped me in my life in one way or another.

  • I wish I could tell the people who were there for me in whom I have lost touch with, what I feel about having encountered them the life stages where they came into the scene.
  • Every person I have ever met has taught me a lesson in life. Some, have given me priceless and precious moments. A few, have taught me that not all people we come across are looking out for you, even at churches.

— I have and do know people who are not Christians that hold to a more reputable friendship than a few who profess to be Christ followers.

  • I have learned to learn from and move on from  toxic people; it is quite rare that I have done this, but one must choose life and those who encourage it. 
  • While getting rid of those relationships which will ultimately chip away the pavement on the road you’re traveling on your journey.
  • These types of relationships, you must learn from even more but keep as far away as possible.

— The Bible speaks of friendships that sharpen you spiritually and mentally. 

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— In Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17, it explains those friends who encourage and keep their friends accountable and close. This is what I look a for when speaking to people. Some shy away from this responsibility, and some thrive on helping and being there for you — both sets of friends needed in your life.

  • The shy ones, will when given a chance, surprise the daylights out of you!
  • The straightforward friends are the ones that you need even closer.  They are the ones who will keep you in check sometimes, with tough love.
  • These two types of friends are hard to come by. Just like looking for a valuable treasure at the beach, it takes hours and hours of investment, but when you find these true friends, you give glory to God for their relationship.

—Some friends we may not see in a long while, yet when you sit with them, it’s like you never lost contact. Those are also the friendships I don’t take for granted. I enjoy catching up with them and knowing about their lives.

— All this to say, I am truly blessed to know and have shared time with everyone I have come across. I have learned, cherished and kept all of what people have taught me through knowing them for a short, or long time.

  • So from now on, every birthday the Lord gives me will be a thank you to them. It’s a better present to give to others than for others to give to me…

 

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Marriage—Kids—Divorce—Marriage—Kids—Left Behind |Mariage & Divorce Series

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Deuteronomy 21:15 KJV

I recently had a conversation with a couple who are older and their kids have not visited them for a while.

  • At first, I was disappointed in their kids because no one should go through life lonely & not visited.
  • I did not say anything to this couple, and they kept telling me how the kids were ingrates and unloving towards this person and the spouse.
  • Then as they kept talking, I picked up that both of these people were married a few times each.

  • This is where my mouth didn’t let my Christian sense catch up.

  • I went into my subconscious sales mode of probing for more information that had been dormant a few years since leaving all sales jobs behind.
  • The more questions I asked, the more they explained their true ordeal.
  • Both had left their kids behind from their previous marriages each time they had met the “one” they would live happily ever after. The combined total of kids was five kids left behind.
  • Then I asked (what most people who leave a trail of mental and spiritual blood and pain behind) the question that very few kids from such marriages ask their     parents, or should I say the parent that leaves —
  • “Did you see your kids when they were young?
  • “Did you go and see them regularly?”
  • “Or talk to them during the week by phone or in person regularly?”
  • “Did you make it a point to communicate with them always no matter what?”

  • Their response— “No, blah, blah, blah, poor excuses, woes me, nobody cares about me!”….was the usual answer to me.

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  • Now, here comes the shocking part, both professed to have a relationship with Christ as their Personal Lord and Savior. They both are physical and verbal decision to follow Jesus and ask Him to forgive them of all the things they had ever done.
  • I then asked them, yes I know, my mouth was faster than my Christian sense again, “How’s your walk with Christ?”
  • Now for those that don’t know what this walking with Christ is, it means that you communicate with God in a way that you would with your spouse, kids, grandkids, good friends, but with an incredibly more profound fashion.

  • Walking with God takes your whole being! You just don’t sit and pray and say, ”Thank you, how do You do and goodbye.”

  • This walk with Christ is a thing that happens with constant and consistent communication and obedience to what God has in your life.
  • It is where you sit long enough not to literally throw up all your spiritual and physical needs. It is not a one-way conversation.

  • Believe me, I have had many of these types of conversations with God. But the ones that give me a more genuine sense of grace, mercy, peace, and joy no matter the situations, are the ones when I just sit, being tired of the way things have been going when I don’t listen to God’s guiding Spirit.

  • I explained this to the couple, and both were highly surprised at all my questions. They closed up and said that no one could judge them but God. I told them they were 100% correct. But I did not stop there…I know…I know…but again, the words were screaming to come out of my mouth, “You are 100% correct. God is the only One that will judge all of us. I see that you love each other and that love needs to be taken to your kids that were least behind.
  • Some people take a few decades to get things right with their kids after such a terrible ordeal of breaking up as a family. I understand that.
  • But what God says in his word is that for me as a man, Deuteronomy 21:15 tells me to love my kids and also my first wife.
  • Had I been remarried, I would make sure that my unloved or as the King James puts it: “The beloved, and another hated, and they(wives) have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated, then it shall be…that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn(second, third, fourth marriages) before the son of the hated(first marriage), which is indeed the same of the firstborn….giving him(first marriage) double portions.”— Deuteronomy 21:15 KJV
  • I explained what that meant. That all kids in their order were to have their parents’ full attention, money and time. I thought they were going to explode, but the husband looked at me, tears welling up. Realizing that he had not invested time into his kids or even thought of giving alimony cheerfully.

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  • The wife had a hardened heart. She looked at me and said, “See what you did! You are judging us!”

  • I ignored her… looked at him and said, there’s still time left to mend your kids. —””They need an apology. They need their dad to say, “I’m sorry for everything I caused you. It wasn’t your fault what happened between mom and I. Please forgive me for not being there and for leaving you. I want to be in your life and want to make so much better effort to hear you out on everything.””

  • The wife started leaving, walking to her car. He stayed, and I heard the best thing he could have said…”Will you pray with me to give me the strength to face my kids?”

  • And there it was! It was his shame that had kept him away from his kids. Guilt and fear are horrible burdens to carry around for so long.

  • I smiled and told him that the Lord had heard his tears and petitions already and started praying with him, in public, not caring who saw us.

  • That day, this man’s walk became real. He had listened to what God had been nudging him to do.

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  • I saw him a few months later, he was alone.
  • The wife was not able to handle sharing him with others. Specifically, his own children, who are adults now and with their own kids.

  • She never apologized to her kids nor did she ever ask God for forgiveness. How do I know? The man told me he pleaded with her to no avail.

  • All this to say, may your walk be filed with the grace, mercy, and peace that Christ can give you daily, hourly, and by the minute. May you be humble to ask Him to help you by cleansing your wrongs and guiding your rights. May He fill you with the strength to withstand a little humble pie (humiliation) when asking for forgiveness from all those you have left behind who call you dad, mom, uncle, aunt, poppa, nana…

  • Go and make things right for those firstborn, second born, third born kids and the unloved spouses left behind.

 

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Look Outwardly Not Inward |No more “Woes Me” Syndrome

WARNING: Not for sensitive people.

Why I don’t allow someone to continually have “Woes Me” syndrome.

And why I tell them to keep their eyes off of themselves and onto others…

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Hebrews 12:2

  • Feelings, emotions, personality assessments, all good and useful.
  • Periods of stress, loneliness, and depression come to all people, no matter who you are.
  • My siblings and I dealt with this early in life. My parents left their home country to give us opportunities.
  • I left a close extended family. My mom’s older sister took care of us when we were young. My mom had rheumatoid arthritis, and my aunt stepped in to be our guardian.
  • My aunt and uncle already had five kids when three more were added to their ranks. They loved us as their own.
  • I remember not knowing why we were living there and why my parents would just up and leave.
  • I didn’t understand, because my young mind couldn’t comprehend the things keeping me away from my parents.

Then we came back here. My aunts, uncles, my grandmother, cousins and the rest of my extended family disappeared.

 

—Jump forward to when I was 28. I got the worst call of my life.

My mom finally lost her battle and was resting from her life long physical war. She was finally pain-free and more alive than what we could ever imagine.

  • Again, I was missing her, and my adult-sized mind couldn’t comprehend her not being there. 
  • It took a toll on my siblings. My sisters were in their 20’s, and my younger brother was three years younger than me, but his mind never grew up past the day we both left home. I had just turned 18, and my younger brother was only 15.
  • My older brother and sister were adults…carrying self-inflicted heavy burdens from life long challenges they both had to personally deal with.

—I got the second worst call of my life. I would have to travel three thousand miles to say, “see you later” to my older brother.

—My older brother went home to be with the Lord. I was devastated. We had always talked and promised to stay in contact no matter the distance. He had called a week earlier and seemed to be finally happy in the stage in life he was in. He had married a younger person who probably didn’t realize what she was getting into. Yet they were content.

—My older brother had made a decision to follow Christ. He was not perfect, yet his over stimulated and active mind couldn’t let him sleep most of the time; hence the heavy alcohol consumption.

I knew his battles were just beginning. I prayed with him, and that was the first time I had hope for his life to turn around, but it would not be.

—A few years later, the third worst call of my life. My younger brother lost his battle with self-inflicted drug and alcohol abuse.

— There were 3 brothers, 2 had gone way too early in their lives. I was in my early 30’s, and for the first time in my life, I wanted to scream out to the world. The pain was intense. If you have not felt a loss of a parent, or sibling, you cannot understand.

  • I wondered why God had me going through this. I wondered if I had done anything that had “offended” God.
  • I knew the instant I said this, the Lord answered me and my mind went to Jeremiah 1:5:

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—I laughed. Not because of the Sender of the message but because of the last words—prophet to all nations.

  • The thing is, God wasn’t saying that I would be a prophet but that He, the —Creator of the universe, the Lord God Almighty, who holds the universe in a perfect symphony, knew me before I was born.
  • Before I breathed my first smog infested breath, God knew me. He knew I would be born, and saw my life before it started and after my physical time on earth is done. He sees all because He is all.
  • This is one of the most powerful thoughts I have ever had. One that sat me down, staying still for a bit. If you know me, you know I’m fidgety. Being still is not my thing.

  • Then I see people complaining about work or about being lonely. Most have not gone through one-fourth of what I have.

  • And please, I am not boasting! I would not wish going through my experience on anyone.

—For those who are always looking inwardly at your own lives, stop doing it.

—Look to the Perfecter of our faith. Jesus is the only One that can change your circumstances. He will not take you out of the fire

—He will a make way for you to endure the painfulness.

—Because He has taken our depressions, our burdens, and our fears.

  • All this to say, life will bring you challenges. Things that might seem overwhelming will all pass. The battles you are fighting spiritually, mentally and physically will also vanquish away.

—I ask you to do a few things:

  • Parents don’t pass on your personal fears and shortcomings.
    Pass along your strengths and allow God to work on you and your kids’ weaknesses.
  • Life brings you battles. In those battles there will be defeats. But there will be more victories.
  • Specially if you follow Christ.

Jesus tell us in John 16:33–

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—For those going through some tough times.
—Or those who have allowed the enemy to convince them that they were born this way and that their personality is that way.
—Or those that are too shy, too angry or too lonely.

  • Going to counseling is terrific. Getting a personality assessment is a useful tool.

  • But those things are just tools.

  • They are not written in stone.

—Do not allow yourself to be placed inside a box.

—Do not allow yourself to shortchange what God has for you.

Instead of looking for self-improvement, look to the One that can change your mindset permanently. Not to psychology or self-improvement.

—Take your eyes off of you and start looking towards Jesus. Be like Him. Pour yourself out on helping others.
—The more you do, the less you have time to sit around allowing the enemy to infiltrate your mind.

—Had I not been serving in ministry all these years, I am not sure if I would be the same. 

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—I kept my eyes on my wife, kids, work and ministry. This was the saving grace of God. He allowed me to go through all the Greek Tragedy, for me to keep running the race and not looking behind. 

—I kept my eyes on my Redeemer. I am still keeping my eyes on Him. Not some self-improvement assessment or psychological profiling. Not on the weaknesses of my parents or what sister Mary Margaret(fictitious name) told me in school. Not what my counselor in High school told me. 

—Had I listened to their advice on the things I should not be able to do, I would not be here telling you to keep your eyes on Jesus and reflect His Grace and love of salvation unto others. It’s time to stop whining about how life has been unfair and start living the life God wants you to fulfill through Him…

How Can I know God

Steps to Peace With God

Know God

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