spirituality

The King Within

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Transformation of Jesus painting by Vange
Transformation by Vange L.

If you’ve ever watched the movie, The Gladiator, that is one of my favorite movies. What I like about it, is how it focuses on a character by the name of Maximus who went from a commander of an army to a slave; yet although he became a slave, he still had the same ability to lead a team in a fight to victory. He did not loose his identity because he was no longer a commander. He was still the same man that a dying emperor had chosen to take his place. Although Maximus was not a prince nor in the blood line of one, the man on the inside had what was needed to rule a nation and being a slave did not take away what was already embedded inside of him.

Watching the movie jogged my memory back to a story told by my pastor at church. Occasionally churches do outreaches, where they distribute many items to those in need, within or outside of the country. It takes money, volunteers, preparation and time. Sometimes people choose to volunteer their time, others donate money or personal items. The need was announced at the beginning, then at the end of service, a man who wanted to financially help out requested to meet with the pastor. When the pastor first saw the man he noticed his rundown looking clothing and his scruffy facial hair. He could have passed for a homeless man so when he told the Pastor about the amount of money he wanted to donate, it was an absolute shock. The homeless looking man wasn’t just rich, but he was a King from another country.

Before Jesus came into the world, He sat on a throne as king, but He chose to come into the world as a peasant. He did not come dressed as a king with gold and expensive clothing or with a palace. Some came to the realization of Jesus as King by being around Him. Some experienced His miracles and others, His love and grace. He came for everyone: the rich, the poor, the lame, the sinners, even the ones that the world would consider scum. He hung out with a few people that society abhorred, like a tax collector or a woman who once sold herself for money. He touched and healed lepers or what society considered, the unclean. He did not live extravagantly, although He could have by turning water into wine, healing the sick or by being all knowing. He did not need riches to accomplish His purpose, nor clothing to get people to realize that He is the Son of God. People saw that He is Lord, when they looked at His heart. He took the cross as a criminal would and along with it, the sins of the world: the hatred, anger, pain, bitterness and everything else that needed to be washed away in order for us to be clean and right before God. The sin that would have killed us, He took it upon Himself on the cross. With that powerful love comes surrender and worship.

Isaiah 53: 4-5 “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

Religious Comedy

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One of my favorite comedians, Jim Gaffigan. Portion about Jesus from Beyond the Pale. Hilarious!

Foreshadowing of Dreams

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I had a dream a few weeks back. It was one of those dreams that was vivid. The clarity was like I was really there. I was riding in my sisters SUV, either passengers side or the seat right behind. We were driving through winding roads. The car was very close to the edge on the right side of the road. Beyond that, a very steep drop. Trees covers most of the side of the mountain. At a point we were going very slow and again, I looked outside the window and looked down at the valley very far down from the car. I could see the water below us. It was crystal clear. I could see the colorful rocks underneath the water. In that moment, we lost my dog. When woke up and saw my dog in the morning, I felt relieved and thankful that she was still there, cute as ever.

Few weeks after I had that dream, I find myself riding in my sisters SUV on winding roads, trees all around on a steep hillside. We were driving to Yosemite. I sat behind the passengers seat and to the right side of me, I look down, very close to the edge of the road, I see an extremely steep drop. We were about 3000ft above sea level and I can see the valley, streams and a lake as we move along.

When we arrived to Yosemite, we walked straight to the river. I sat on a rock surrounded by crystal clear water, while dipping my feet in to feel refreshed. The rocks were colorful. The river was shallow and the rocks beneath can be clearly seen. At that moment, I received bad news, like in my dream, I lost my dog. In reality, my dog had passed away.

Sometimes it seems as though God forewarns of future events in a dream or a still voice inside as a preparation for the future. Although painful, sometimes heartbreak can bring us closer to God. When life is a party, God is forgotten, but in the hard times, we draw near to Him. God is close to the brokenhearted and as the tears fall, I feel myself drawing close to Him once again.

Psalm 34:18 KJV
[18] The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saves such as be of a contrite spirit.

Falling off the Path of God’s Promises

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There are many stories of people who find God or who grew up in the church and later fall off the path later on in life, taking anew path that leads to an empty soul. The beginning of finding God is like a honeymoon stage where one is so in love with God. All the love songs point to God and the experience is a high that lasts for months, constantly smiling, laughing and loving others, but without trials, how can love and faith be tested?

Just like in any relationship, there’s circumstances that can make it or break it. I have a deep respect for couples who have been married for more than forty years. Through thick and thin, they have fought through hardships and learned to forgive, work together, compromise and sacrifice some of their own desires.

Even outside of a relationship there’s always a battle in life, a test of strength. After surrendering my own will to God, I was high for three months, but after that, there’s more the walk. The faith of a believer is constantly tested. Sometimes life can get so hard that it turns Believers away from walking towards God and then walking into a dark life, but God seems to have a way of bringing them back.

Faith without backing or reinforcement is like a tree with shallow roots. When a storm comes, it’s roots are ripped out from the ground and topples over. When Jesus was in the desert, he was tempted, even tired and hungry, He still overcame temptation.

Ephesians 6:13-14,16-17 says Wherefore take unto you the whole amour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. [14] Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; [16] Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. [17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Just like in a marriage, there’s a fight to stay on the path that leads to life. Truth, righteousness, faith, salvation and knowing the Bible are a few ingredients, but there’s also another factor that enables us to fight temptation. Jesus did not minister to the crowds alone, He had twelve other men with Him. Fellowship is pertinent for any walk. The serpent tempted Eve when she was alone. To have others around praying with you and offering support through hard times will keep any Believer from tipping over like a dead tree or getting off the right track. When you know the voice of God, you can easily identify when it’s not His voice in your mind.

When Looking for Life’s Answers

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Some big events in life can keep us questioning why and sometimes we’ll never know the answers, years later or till the day we leave this earth. However, sometimes answers come as we live life. Sometimes the answer remains a big mystery and can cause us to turn to various sources: astrology, tarot cards, meditation, secret societies, other philosophies or theologies, dark rituals and or various religions. We seek answers on this earth, but the big picture is beyond the universe.

Years ago I believed that there was a God somewhere out there, but I had no faith in His existence. I had no sight of who God is. Anything bad that happened I would call karma if it was similar to something I had done to someone else.

There were times in my early adult years where I learned how to pray the rosary. I thought I was doing something that God would be proud of, along with touching the feet of a baby Jesus statue. I tried reading a King James Version Of the New Testament and ended up throwing it aside frustrated trying to understand it.

I think about the way people lived back in the BC days, some sacrificed babies or humans in front of their community. They felt that God wanted them to do that to heal their land, not knowing, they were bringing a curse upon themselves.

I think about the time I spent at a friend’s birthday party playing with the spirit board and when I went home the next day creepy things started happening in my life. I started having horrific dreams of not being able to wake up or something holding me down while I was half asleep, but I would always wake up after calling on Jesus. When we mess with spiritually dark things, we opening up the wrong door in our lives that allow spiritual torment. Sometimes it can be someone in our ancestry, family or an event that happened in a place we’ve moved into.

After walking through life in darkness, not knowing the “whys” in life, accepting circumstances just as they are without any meaning, living religiously and being tormented with horrifying dreams and thoughts, life finally made a turn when I started to read God’s word, the Bible and finally came to know who God is and that He actually exists. The horrific dreams stopped and eventually, God delivered me from many other things, not just in me, but from the generation passed down to me. The Lord is always at work. After fully placing my life in God’s hands and reading His word, life made perfect sense. I no longer had to search for answers elsewhere. I found truth, peace and joy in life through God.

John 14:6 say, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me.”

After reading the Bible, I came across a scripture that speaks against repetitive prayers such as the rosary.

Matthew 6:7 says, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do : for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”

It also says that God is spirit and He does not live a statues. John 4:24 says, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

So praying in repetition and touching the feet of a Jesus statue does not please God. As Abraham went up to the mountain to pray and trusted God so much, willing to let go of his one and only son, his heart was all in. What God wants is your heart, a relationship with you and faith in Him.

Although life still has its hardships, God is still at work on my heart, allowing the hardships to strengthen my faith and trust in Him. Many times I felt angry toward God for my situation, but it’s only because I don’t see the big picture. I can’t see God working behind the curtain, then it becomes a question of, “Am I going to choose to believe that God is good and am I going to continue to trust Him,” and thus far, it’s been yes with a greatness later on. Even in the most devastating loss in my life, I still trust Him and know that one day, I will see my Mother again in heaven.

Having the Lord in my life and growing in knowledge of Him through reading the Bible and prayer, the events in life become the brush painting the canvas of God’s masterpiece and everything that brings it together is like the poetry of life telling a love story God’s undying love for humanity.

Praying for Your Enemies Testimony

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Discerning the Voice in Your Head

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In the book of Genesis, God made man on the fifth day. In the second chapter, God made a woman from man’s rib. God also told the man not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In chapter 3, the serpent came to tempt the woman to eat the fruit.

God says to Adam in Genesis 2:17, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Meaning dying inside.

But in Genesis 3:5, when the serpent tempts Eve, he tells her “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” She fell for the serpents lies and ate the fruit. Then Adam and Eve realized that they were naked and felt ashamed.

Adam and Eve were living in paradise with all the food in the garden that they can eat and weren’t allowed to eat from any but one tree and yet that wasn’t enough. The serpent knew one thing, to change their perspective of God or cause distrust, meant causing them to hide from God, in other words, breaking communication or connection to their Creator. The serpent twisted it in a way where it made God look like He was holding something good back from them. The serpent wants to establish doubt and distrust in God. He also placed in them, the intent of exhaulting themselves when he threw in, “you’ll be as gods.”

The fall of Satan who was called Lucifer in heaven, started with pride.

Ezekiel 28:17 says, “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground…” He was a beautiful angel who couldn’t handle praise, it filled him with pride and made him believe that he can take over the throne of God, his own Creator. How foolish! Thrown out of heaven and fell to earth, then becomes the opposer, the accuser, the tempter, the one that leads the weak astray. His whole goal is to bring as many people as possible to the fiery pit of hell.

The conclusion has already been set, God has the victory, but everyone has a choice on which path to follow or who’s voice to listen to or who to live for. Everyone has a choice to worship God or idolize people, tangible items, the serpent, other false gods or just themselves. Some think that somehow there’s a lack of knowledge for one that believes in God, but there’s a lack of wisdom for someone who thinks there is no Creator of living beings on this earth. There is a recipe for how living things function, a purpose. Nothing is thrown together, there is no random Big Bang, no random universe. Planets aren’t scattered everywhere, there’s a consistent pattern and each has its place in a galaxy.

There’s a song by Nicole C Mullen that I’m reminded of. In her song, my redeemer lives, she sings, “who taught the sun where to stand in the morning? And who told the ocean, you can only come this far? And who showed the moon where to hide ’til evening? Whose words alone can catch a falling star? Well, I know my Redeemer lives…All of creation testifies This life within me cries….yeah The very same God that spins things in orbit Runs to the weary, the worn and the weak And the same gentle hands that hold me when I’m broken They conquered death to bring me victory.”

As time passes walking on the path of life with God, the knowledge of Him grows and the familiarity of His voice grows that when the serpent comes, lies can be easily detected. Trust or faith in God shall leave no room for the serpent to deceive and will be powerless.

Who’s voice are you listening to and what is influencing your decisions in life? Who are you putting your trust on? Do you trust God or are you being led astray with lies entering your mind?

If you’re tired of walking on a path of emptiness, pain, hopelessness or depression and you’re ready to surrender your life to God. If you hate your life, stop living your life for yourself and start living for God.

You can pray this prayer out loud. Lord God, I’m tired of living my life for myself or others. I surrender my life to you. Take me as I am and show me your powerful love. Fill me with your peace, joy and love to overflowing. Change me inside so I can see that you are a good, loving and a faithful Father who will never leave me or forsake me, a Father that knows my name. Lead me to knowing you personally and bring people into my life that can walk this path of life with me. Thank you for your answered prayers. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!