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Stories and thoughts about life written by Vange.

When Mainstream Becomes Truth

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The biggest mistake is to think that humans can be perfect. Another is to think that humans are capable of being holy by their own words or actions. Lastly, that the pope or any spiritual leader is a perfect man. An automatic or quick judgement would be to say that the bad person is the murderer, but it wasn’t a murder who pushed for the killing of Christ. It was a high-priest, in other words, a Pharisee who wanted Jesus crucified for the reason of blasphemy. They didn’t believe He was who He said He was, the Son of God. His ways were different from their religious ways. They hated how Jesus made them feel unrighteousness, which sounds very familiar these days.

Years back, I would exercise around a block by work and I would see flowers off the side of the sidewalk. I found out later that it was where a business man was shot by his partners while he was taking a walk, shortly after he told them he wanted out of the illegal business they were involved in.

I’ve heard more stories as such. It’s a sad thing that most of society worships money and power to the point that they would orchestrate illegal acts that can harm others and put their loved ones in danger. Some would go through great lengths to cover up their mess, in business, in personal dealings and even all the way up to the government.

It’s not about having faith in the honor or legitimate practices of people in power as we are all flawed in our flesh, weak in temptations and without strength to speak the truth and stand up to the pressures of the crowd. What the majority is for or against or what comes from the mainstream media now has the power to set what is right from wrong & rather then looking into other news sources, we just follow along. One of the most disheartening circumstances is to be in a position where someone is intentionally going behind your back and ruining your reputation. Even more hurtful is when the person listening to the lies accepts it as truth without question.

Too many times The mainstream media would present news without showing an actual video to back up the information, more like a hearsay, while other news channels that others aren’t too familiar with will show live videos or recent recordings of first-hand information, such as many people giving their testimony under oath about fraud. But the mainstream media doesn’t show any of it. In fact, they censor it.

Imagine a world where citizens of a country are fed lies, where the truth is hidden from them & the elite and the government take away their rights. Most tragically, our First Amendment, freedom of speech taken away. We can deny it as much as we like, but the truth is, we are humans, flawed and tempted, capable of being corrupt and wicked. However, we are each individuals that can think for ourselves. We don’t need others telling us whom to hate or who the bad guy is. We’re all born with instincts, although sometimes it gets buried in mud. The Lord can resurrect it.

Jesus said while on the cross in Luke 23:34 NKJV
[34] Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. In other words, “These humans on earth don’t know what they’re doing.” A desire to be righteous, too be seen as good, admired, or feel better than someone is something that all of us are guilty of. It’s human nature. Fighting against are human tendencies takes super-natural strength.

But the pressures of life, can throw us off causing us to question our own decisions and forgetting about our purpose. We make decisions based on the pressure from others, the belief that what is true, becomes false because that’s what more people believe. Not wanting to feel like a fool, not wanting to have others hate you, reject or despite you, you follow along with the main belief that everyone holds true, not listening to the loud voice within you. Then you make the wrong decision and spend forever in shame and deep regret, wishing you would’ve made the right decision and not have been influenced by the pressures of society.

It takes much faith in God to walk in fear and trembling across a high bridge that can shatter at any point. The truth is that we should only fear God. Luke 12:4-5 NKJV says…[4] “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. [5] But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! People don’t want to dig into big issues that need resolution, instead turn away and make believe it doesn’t exist. We’ve put a band-aid on our problems, a temporary fix that will always arise.

We live in a broken society where dignity is compromised, morals are laughed at and people will sell their soul for money or power. The integrity and morals of our society have been plummeting and rather than cleaning up the mess, our leaders are willfully blind to it not wanting to turn away or resolve. Money, greed and power corrupts our soul and some go through great heights to hide the shame.

My prayer tonight is that the truth will come out in all the chaos and mess that’s happening in our country. The leaders and planners of violence and corruption will be exposed, judgement will be brought forth and that the mainstream media will no longer be able to blind the public with lies. I pray that truth will win and the root of corruption in our government will be cut out. Keep us safe during this time of lawlessness and chaos. In Jesus name. Amen.

Death Inside of Us

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We can be physically killed in many ways. According to the World Heath Organization, the number one cause of death is heart disease, but what about what kills us on the inside? What kills our spirit/soul?

There are many testimonies out there from people who were dead for a period of time and came back to life. They’ve have commonly said that the worst part of hell wasn’t the heat of the fire, the horrendous stench or the constant screaming, but was the eternal separation from God.

The book of Isaiah 59:2, says “… your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”

Sometimes we feel like we’re living hell on earth. There are cities, neighborhoods or indoor spaces that can feel hellish. Some of us have a strong sense of what has happened in a space when we walk into it or can feel a dark presence close by. Some of us have walked into places that feel like the devils party & also walked into places that feel like heaven on earth with angels all around.

There is that spirit within us that’s screaming for a touch of heaven, a moment with our Heavenly Father and being at peace in His arms of unconditional love. Some have been corrupted in a state of innocence and carry false guilt throughout life. There’s that association of heaven in all of us that can become buried or suppressed to avoid the recall of trauma. There’s also the actions that we may take that can be sinful because of the UN-fulfillment of our spirit, leaving us feeling all the more empty and the continual sin grows the hole in our soul. Then we become immune to our sin, no longer seeing the stain on our dirt-covered robe and the more sin, the further apart we get from the unconditional love from above. We separate ourselves unknowingly or unconsciously.

However, the Father above is always waiting for the prodigal son/daughter to come home. The big lie is, is that you can never go back. God has already paved a way back home through the cross. The story of the prodigal son reflects this going back to Him.

Luke 15:18-24 NKJV
[18] I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, [19] and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”‘ [20] “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. [21] And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ [22] “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. [23] And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; [24] for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

The story of the prodigal son illustrates the love, forgiveness and mercy God has for us. He awaits our return to Him. Just like the laws and rules of this country, there are such as heaven, but the punishment for our sins has already been paid for with what Jesus took on the cross. Upon believing and confessing, we can receive grace and once again be reunited with Him, feeling spiritually fulfilled once again. It’s one thing to feed our flesh, but feeding our spirit is only through our connection with God.

Matthew 4:4 says, “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'” It is our relationship with God, the speaking to, listening and having faith in Him that keeps us alive on the inside.

I pray that the gift that God brought into this world 2000 years ago to show us how much He loves us will be clear and evident for all & they will feel His peace, joy and love this week regardless of any hard circumstances. I pray that they will hear God’s voice in their heart, heal and turn into His path, that they will know without question, with full truth and confidence that God loves them unconditionally, they are never alone, You are with them and always waiting for them to reach out to you.

Remembering the birth of our Savior from 2000+ years ago. Merry Christmas!

Hard Times for Preparation

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I try to recall the times I felt like life was beating me up, when times got so tough I’d try to not allow myself to stay beat down and now just getting off another roller-coaster. With Christ, I can lift up my hands and know that He has me grounded.

When times get tough, I try to remember that it’s just an obstacle course. There’s falling on your face and being humiliated and sometimes emotionally crushing, but the hand that pulls me out of it is the saying, “God is good all the time.”

If I had to climb a 70 foot mountain, days later, a 30 foot mountain would not be a big deal. I have to remember that God’s love is also allowing us to go through hardships, only to make us better fighters, being able to take on harder circumstances thrown at us.

The Bible says in Philippians 1:6 NKJV
[6] “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”

As sometimes we may walk away from where the Lord leads because we may feel we can’t, unable or may not identify ourselves with it, but to remember that there’s one that knows us more than we know ourselves, our creator. As a way to prepare you for the blessing He has for you, sometimes it requires hardship. Then & years later looking back and saying, “I get it.”

Beyond the Stars

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It has been a few months thinking about getting a telescope and other astrophotography equipment only to spend hours looking and taking photos of the stars, but I would have to go far out to see anything.

The last time I spent hours looking and taking pictures of the night sky was during my first visit to my parents house in Hawaii. Each house in the neighborhood is almost 100 feet apart from the next and 3000 feet above sea level. The first time I arrived to their house when the car lights went out, I looked up and saw colors that I’ve never seen before in the night sky. I have been to places with little light pollution where the stars were so easy to see, but I never been at a time and place where the belt of the Milky Way was so clear. I spent hours and days sitting outside on the deck at night while my parents slept. Some nights my Mom would catch me outside.

When I look at the stars, my thoughts are beyond just science and life outside of this planet, but God’s hand of creation. I cannot look at the stars without thinking about Him. What’s more amazing is how this big God loves us all and reached out to us through Jesus.

Genesis 1:1-5 NKJV
[1] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. [3] Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. [4] And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. [5] God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

I think about how He set everything in place and how He knows us and thinks about all of us.

Psalm 139:17-18 NKJV
[17] How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! [18] If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.

I think about how big His love is when He sent His Son, Jesus to come to earth and reunited us with our Creator.

John 1:1-3 NKJV
[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Thankful in a Storm

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It’s Thanksgiving Day and something is resonating within me that’s pulling me in completely opposite directions, faith or fear. Despite the distress in my soul, I’m thankful with hope for the future. About ten years ago, I thought I might die. I remember crying out to the Lord in my distress. That night I had a dream that I was carrying a backpack full of currency from around the world, later realizing that I was an old lady in my dream, around the 70s. God knows I’ve always had the desire to travel the world before I leave this earth. That dream was a confirmation that I would be fine and soon after, physically, I was fine.

There’s been many times in my life where I’ve felt so blessed, walking on clouds with everything working out for me, but life always has it’s storms, some that can drive one to the ground just waiting to die, but I can honestly say that if God’s hand wasn’t there to pull me out, I’m not sure where I’d be today. Even in the toughest times, I know that I’ll get through it because my life is in the hands of a good God.

I’ve had my share of lonely times having spent some holidays alone, feeling like the world is against me or completely misunderstood. Even though harsh seasons come, the sun will eventually come out. At times it feels like the hard season will never end, but I have to trust God through the season, even if it doesn’t make any sense. I know He’s shaping me through the flame as fire pulls out the impurities of gold making it rise to the surface.

What I’m most thankful for today is my Lord and Savior Jesus, without Him, I would be dead on the inside, lifeless, empty and without hope. Because of Him, I don’t have to fear the future as He will give me the strength and tools that I need to take on the storms of life as they come and always be my backbone. I’m thankful for life and good health. I’m thankful that during uncertainty, I can put my faith on a faithful God full of mercy and grace.

I pray that HOPE, JOY and PEACE will come to anyone struggling to be thankful today, but to have hope for the future and to know that they’re not alone, God that you let them know that you are there with them and that they are loved by you, God that you would let them see the light after the storm and bring healing to their soul. In Jesus name.

What’s in It?

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My daily food menu growing up wasn’t too different from other Americans. I had my days of bologna, frozen burritos, cheese hotdogs and of course, Mc Donald’s. All so good at the time, until you find out what it’s actually made out of, even worse, when you find out what it does to your body.

Sometimes food is so good, you don’t want to know what’s in it or where the meat comes from, but even after finding out, we still go back to it or continue eating. Like bologna, Vienna sausage or Pâté, made of meat scraps, including organs and other parts of a pig or cow, but together with other ingredients, like bread and cheese, tastes good.

Aside from the scrap meat, the more unhealthy part are the additives, just to name a few: modified corn starch, sodium erythorbate, mono-sodium glutamate, sodium nitrite, wheat flour. Other lunch meats or bacon typically contain nitrates.

Table salt contains more than sodium chloride, but other ingredients to prevent it from sticking together like sodium aluminosilicate. Sea salt is less processed and typically does not contain additives.

Flavored coffee contains antifreeze which is used to get the flavor into the beans. Flavoring added to brewed coffee is typically artificial and contains corn syrup for sweetness. Coffee creamer usually contains highly-processed ingredients and chemicals, including the powdered version. Half in half from the grocery store’s refrigerated section usually contains only milk and cream, but some have additives for flavoring for longer preservation, like sodium citrate or disodium phosphate.

It can sometimes be a nuisance to constantly check ingredients, but to have a food allergy, it becomes essential. It seems the easier way to avoid food with preservatives or harmful chemicals is to eat food that’s closest to its raw state, unprocessed, organic and fresh.

Blessed by Weakness

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Living a life of dependence on another is expected for a child, but once we get to a certain age, the idea of dependency is something to turn away from. I still remember when a friend told me that living my life for God meant living a life of prayer and dependency on Him. After all my friends at the time we’re working on becoming completely independent, the thought of having to dependent on someone was discouraging to hear, but the ways of this world doesn’t often match up to God’s ways.

I realized later that being dependent would become the blessing in my life when it comes to depending on the One that can move mountains and bring miracles. Being dependent on God means letting go of trying to control a situation after realizing that you are powerless over it.

With a false perspective of thinking that God is around to only punish or control, it’s hard to see that God would want us to have faith in Him. In order to depend on anyone, you have to trust that person. Trusting someone is also having faith in him/her and it takes a relationship and time to build trust, although sometimes trusting in something or someone can be done blindly.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

From the day I surrendered my life to God, it’s taken much time to learn to trust Him, especially when times are tough and nothing is going the way I expected it to go, at that point of my life. I have to keep remembering that it’s like trying to see a large painting when standing so close to it. We don’t see the whole pictures until we step far enough away from it. I have to let go and stop trying to control the situation, especially when I find myself running around in circles with nothing changing. I have to let go, surrender, realize that I don’t know and that I need to depend on God to help me. Almost every time, He answers immediately, although other times, I have to wait for His time & just trust Him.

It sounds like weakness and it is, but what’s weaker, is not admitting my weakness and continuing to live in denial. I have to keep going back and tapping into the source, which is asking Him for strength. The continual turning to Him becomes a blessing as it strengthens our relationship with Him and our trust when we see His hand of faithfulness and grace come into every difficult situation. This is when our own weakness becomes the blessing in our life & sometimes what seems to be a horrible thing is just the beginning of a turning into something good.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 says :
[7] And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. [8] Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. [9] And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I don’t have everything figured out. When life doesn’t make sense I can trust Him, knowing that God is cooking something good in the kitchen. It smells really good, but I don’t know what it is. But when it comes out, it’s going to be amazing because I know that He is amazing, that He loves me and He has good plans for me. I trust Him & that’s what gets me through the tough times.

Without ever turning to our friends or relatives, we would have no relationship. In the same sense, without ever turning to God, we would have no relationship. The more we turn to Him and eventually see His answered prayer, the more we realize that we can depend on Him. The prayer may not come the way we expect or when expected, but to keep hope alive, we just hold on without knowing, trusting and letting go of our own understanding of it.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

I pray right now that anyone that this blog/message has spoke to will come to full awareness of how much God loves them and wants him/her to depend on God for all difficult situations in life, that they will realize that God doesn’t want anyone to be burdened by hardships, but to give the burden to God and let Him work out their difficult situation so they can live with peace & joy knowing the God is faithful. I pray that they will learn to depend on God and their lives will be very blessed by it. In difficult situations that they can let go and trust you, knowing that things will get better and trust that God will work everything out. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!