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The Chosen Goes Deep

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There’s a series of shows about Jesus and the disciples that has come out called, the Chosen. It’s bible based, but there are parts that are not in the Bible that have been added, mostly conversations between the chosen disciples.

The creator of the series must have thought very deeply about everything. Watching the series broadens the way of looking at the life of Jesus.

There’s one thing I’ve started to really understand and think about is how difficult it may have been for Jesus to tell others who he really is without people calling Him a blasphemer. Even when He performed so many miracles, healing people, even raising some from the dead. Still, it wasn’t enough for some to believe that God is in Him.

Throughout the Old Testament in the Bible, there have been many prophesies foreshadowing the savior to come into the world, God in flesh. There were signs to look out for, like the brightest shining star in the night. The prophet Isaiah wrote about about these upcoming events of a savior.

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Then, in the New Testament, it follows the prophesy of Jesus’s birth.

Matthew 1:21-23 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Whenever there’s a big event coming up, we look forward to it in anticipation, especially when it is something that has been foretold decades prior. In anticipation, the three kings knew about the savior born into the world and did not want to miss one of the greatest events in history. An event talked about amongst many before Christ, B.C.

Every time I watch the parts where Jesus calls on someone by name or speaks to them as if knowing everything about them that no one would know, it always reminds me of the times when God has spoken to my heart.

There’s the part, which is in the Bible, where Jesus calls Nathaniel. He knew everything about him and Nathaniel was uneasy about it, until Jesus spoke to him about the time of his distress. Knowing that no one else would know about what he prayed that hour, Jesus knew. That was when Nathaniel realized that He is the Lord and that the presence of Gods was with him. This is like, the times, if ever you cried out and wondered if God was listening, then you get the answer in front of your face.

It’s very fascinating because God speaks to the heart. Some hear and others don’t. This gets me to wonder how it would’ve been for God to speak to me in person as a human being standing in front of me rather than inside my mind. Then seeing how God works through some of His people to have insight into other peoples lives or His healing power flowing through a human being.

The next episode won’t arrive until the next several days, but I’m waiting in anticipation. This is definitely helping my faith walk and understanding the dynamics of the stories in the gospels. It makes for a much easier understanding for those that struggle to understand the gospels.

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The Spirit of Christmas

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When I was in college, I remember coming home one day and seeing my Mom on the couch in deep thought. She said something to me that day that stuck with me until today. As I sat down on the couch next to her, she began telling me what was on her mind. As she gazed at the fish swimming around in the tank, she brought up an analogy of the fish and God. She pondered, if a human wanted to be able to communicate with the fish, he or she would have to become a fish, just as God, looking down at the earth, would have to become human flesh. According to the Bible, this is what happened. It was prophesied about in the old testament and came to pass as described in the new testament.

Most of the prophesy about Jesus coming into the world in the old testament is in the book of Isaiah, written in the years of 742–701 B.C. It is also found scattered throughout other books in the old testament.

“14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Isaiah 7:14

The name Immanuel, in Hebrew means, God with us. In the book of Matthew in the new testament, written around 60-70 A.D this prophesy comes to pass. Jesus came down from heaven to earth in human form for a purpose.

“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 

John 1:1-3

It is easy to question, why God would want to come down from His throne in heaven, be in the form of weakened flesh subject to suffering, rejection and the pain of being flogged, hung on a cross, nails in his hands and feet, all the while, being mocked by a crowd yelling, “crucify him”. Jesus healed many people, even raised people from the dead, yet He went through with the crucifixion. Even, before Jesus was born, His suffering was prophesied in the old testament in the book of Isaiah.

The book of Genesis reveals the presence of a cunning serpent roaming around in paradise waiting to cause God’s cherished creation to sin. After Adam and Eve sinned they hid from God. That was the start of sin separating humans from God.

“2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”

Isaiah 59:2

Sinfulness continued even after the flood in Noah’s days. In the old testament, people would sacrifice animals as a cleansing for their sins and burning thereafter. Depending on the sin, there were specific animals that needed to be cut for the shedding of blood as an atonement for their sin.

“With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations.”

Exodus 30:10

In the new testament, rather than having to shed the blood of an animal for atonement, Jesus became the sacrifice for our sins of the past and the present. He is known as an unblemished lamb, one without sin.

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John 1:29

“5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:5

Jesus lived a short time on earth, but He fulfilled His purpose. He was the Lamb sacrificed on the cross with His blood shed for all mankind.

“28 After this, Jesus,knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”

John 19:28-30

It was God’s love for all humanity that He purposely brought Jesus into the world to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins so we will no longer be separated from Him and be with Him for all eternity.

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

On Christmas day, God brought into the world a gift of love for all humanity, the one that would reunite us with our Creator; the one that would break darkness off our lives; the one that would take His powerful love to the cross. It was God saying, “yes, I love you this much, you are worth every flogging stripe and every piercing nail, I will carry your sins on the cross so you can be free and we can be together again.”

The little baby Jesus on a manger that Kings bowed down to was a miracle, love manifested that night under the bright star and that same Spirit of God lives today.

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:6

May God’s Spirit be with everyone this Christmas, wherever you may be. There’s hope for the future. May you have a Christmas Miracle.

Sugar Addiction

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I reached for a can of orange soda in the fridge the other day and looking at the back, I noticed that the sugar content was 57g. Wow! I remember when sugar in soda was 32g, several years back, but it seems to be increasing.

It’s hard to realize how sweet something is until you’ve weaned yourself off of sugar for a period of time. I didn’t realize that the sweet products in America contain way more sugar than products in certain countries in Europe until I lived in Spain for a few months and came back to my country. In Europe, the chocolate covered donuts were my favorite. The first thing I noticed about it was that it was not as sweet. When I moved back to my country and had soda or chocolate donuts or anything else with chocolate, the difference was clear, there’s way more sugar in food products in America.

Diabetes is no stranger in my family, my Mom, Aunts, Uncles, almost all have ended up with it, which makes it easy for me to go down that same path. I used to put at least five packets of sugar in my coffee and drank a bottle of grapefruit juice every morning, later finding out that it had 28g of sugar. When I came across a website that had a list of one-hundred some reasons why sugar is bad for the body and other supportive health sources, I decided to fast from sugar. That fast continued for three months, but at the end of that time, I did not have the temptation to go back to eating or drinking anything with as much sugar. I didn’t go back to the five packets of sugar, rather not using sugar at all, nor did I go back to the grapefruit juice. The first day I stopped drinking the grapefruit juice, one of the first clear differences I noticed was that I was not a sleepy or sluggish as usual and that continued as I stayed off of it. My body had adjusted to not taking in sugar.

Interestingly, cancer, parasites and candida in the body thrive on sugar and can cause sugar cravings. When I found about about this, I went to a vitamin shop and bought one of those small boxes for cleansing. I did the parasite cleanse first, then candida. The first two days, my stomach was going crazy. At the end of both cleanses, I noticed that I didn’t have as much of a sweet-tooth, not the usual sugar craving that I used to have. I’ve seen two very dear people who passed from cancer and one of the transitions that happens in the body that I noticed in both situations is that the appetite disappears for all food except for sugar. One of the ways to kills more cancer cells when going through chemo is to starve the cells for a period of time, then introduce sugar shortly before treatment.

Sugar can be like a drug, an addiction, sometimes a comfort in hard times. It may be that one packet of sugar is not enough, then one turns into three. Sweet becomes not sweet enough. I remember when a friend from class was having a break down from all the stresses of school work, I bought her a chocolate frosty from Wendy’s. While tears were falling from her eyes, she took that first scoop and instantly she was smiling, it was if all her problems just went away. Oh! The comfort of dessert. Like a drug, it can be hard to withdraw from sugar if the body is very accustomed to taking in a lot of it everyday, but after a few days, it gets easier.

Fake sugar in the body may be worse because it’s unnatural. I read a book called, The Seven Pillars of Health, written by Dr. Colbert. He mentions that he had a patient that started having back pains and it happened to be linked to fake sugar that he started taking. Unfortunately, fake food is a huge industry. Although many harmful to the body, it seems, will always be sustained through demand.

Gut Feeling for a Miraculous Healing

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About nine years ago I became allergic to wheat. I could not eat bread, cake, donuts, pizza and many other foods that contain wheat flour. If I ate just a tiny amount of those foods, I would swell up on the inside, have a headache, vertigo, IBS, or a rash for two weeks.

For someone who’s allergic to wheat, what happens is when it enters the colon, it makes the villi swell up for two weeks, which blocks it from absorbing nutrients. The body then becomes deprived of what it needs from food. For someone who’s allergic to wheat to continue to eat it can end up with diabetes or cancer.

If I had not spoke to a friend of mine who is allergic to wheat gluten, I would have never known what was happening to my body. She had been diagnosed with cancer twice and survived. After she recovered the second time, she withdrew from eating wheat gluten and afterwards, felt like she’s had been sick for so long. She has been cancer free ever since. It’s been nine years of gluten free eating for me. Although, here and there I get surprised when I unknowingly eat food with wheat flour.

Just to a make things more complicated, I started getting pressure right below the center of my rib cage. This would typically happen when I would eat or drink cold sweet dairy or spicy food. It would sometimes get really uncomfortable at night as I’m trying to sleep. After experience this on and off, I finally saw a doctor this Monday and she had me get an x-ray done just to make sure I’m free and clear of anything alarming and thank God, the x-ray was clear. She prescribed some pills that would decrease my stomach acid.

Two days later, I still hadn’t had a chance to get the pills. It was about that time of the day, time for the news and as I sifted through I saw the 700 club news. Thinking about how they pray at the end of the show and at times, they get a word from God for someone watching to be healed of anything physical, mental or emotional. For some reason, I felt that maybe tonight or some night they would have a word for me.

I casually thought about it and when Gordon started speaking, I heard him say, something about someone with problems with stomach acid, he went on about getting bloated, not being able to eat spicy foods, bread and pizza. Then he said God is healing your digestive system. At that moment, it wasn’t even him anymore as I felt the Lord in that moment. What timing! I had just been tested for wheat allergy and prescribed pills for stomach acid and now God heals me.

Even though it felt like God presence was in the room at that moment, I still had some skepticism so I decided to test it out the next day and today. I had cheese bread, focaccia bread, flour tortilla, semolina noodles and a hamburger with a regular bun on it. Each time, I did not get a headache, nor did I get stomach pains, bloating or a vertigo. I had been praying for the longest time for God to heal my digestive system and God has answered my prayer. It’s hard to make sense out of what has happened to my body, but it’s not supposed to, it’s a miracle. Miracles defy science. God really healed me. Hallelujah!

For those that have a similar request for healing, I ask that God will heal you as well. In Jesus name! Amen!

The Innovative Covid Vaccine Mandate

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These days, the outlook on societal issues, deemed right or wrong seem to stem from the influence of certain news sources and liberals in power. As a conservative, if you live in a liberal state, you feel ripped off. All those tax dollars you paid to the state and you get poo-pooed on with bogus new laws pushed on everyone. Mandates being passed are unconstitutional, unsafe, unfair or not well thought-out, like defunding the police or the latest, vaccine mandates.

I was told the other day, that people without the vaccine are handicap. Although those that recovered from covid have antibodies and are more resistant than people that are vaccinated, the vaccine is still being forced on them. In addition, children below 12 years old have less than a 0.1% chance of dying from covid yet, the government and schools want them vaccinated. That’s like mandating the seasonal flu shot on kids.

There are people that don’t qualify to get the vaccines because of their health condition. If they get it, they will die or their body can be permanently damaged, listed on Pfizer’s website. Nonetheless that doesn’t stop big government from forcing all of society to get vaccinated or be jobless or be unable to enter a public space. Unvaccinated people are being treated as less human, it’s pretty much discrimination.

What most people don’t know is that the vaccines currently being used in the U.S., Pfizer & Modena are a new type of vaccine that has taken two decades to get passed and would not have if it weren’t for the rush to get it out. The new part of it was the mRNA which holds a spike from the covid virus. Some sources say that the body doesn’t produce antibodies with the vaccine until covid is detected in the body, yet other sources say it takes two weeks to produce antibodies. Vector vaccines like J&J or Astra-Zeneca are similar, but don’t contain an mRNA. They contain an adenoviral vector, which contains genetic material. Some scientists say that these vaccines can’t change ones DNA or damage it, but others say that it can enter into the nucleus of our cells with evidence to show.

Sources say that the only other time the mRNA vaccine was used on humans was during the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The CDC says that the reason the mRNA vaccine took so long to pass was that it was unstable, which was solved by using a lipid. The production of an mRNA vaccine was more efficient and less costly to produce than the traditional, which carries a weakened form of the germ, not a mRNA strand.

Reports have shown that some have died from getting the vaccine, after being forced by their employer. Others have had temporary or permanent damage in their body. Considering this and the fact that it’s a new type of vaccine, no one should be forced to get it, most especially, people who don’t need it.

Some might be questioning why many religious people are against getting the vaccine. Possibly because stem cells from aborted babies were used for testing. These are stem cells that multiplied from fetal tissue.

I’m tired of hearing people talk hypothetically about an unvaccinated person getting someone else sick who’s already been vaccinated. That’s the whole point of getting vaccinated is to protect yourself from getting utterly sick from covid.

I get why people would get the covid vaccine to protect themselves, especially if they’re in the vulnerable age group or have preexisting conditions or just scared to get covid, but what I don’t agree with is taking away peoples right to choose. We are after all, a free country with a constitution that says so, not a dictatorship.

Starting the Day on the Right Book

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Every morning there’s that first decision of the day. What is the first thing that I should do? Although the first decision or action of the day may not seem so important, there’s one action that sets the arrow in the right direction, which to me is, reading the word of God.

I can’t count the amount of days where I’ve waken up on the wrong foot, looking at the wrong things on my phone, like the stock market, emails or googled something on my mind; then spent the rest of the day putting God last. Those days usually result in very little focus, getting not much done and feeling…eh.

But when I give the first time of my day to God, somehow, I get so much done, I’m very focused and more chipper than usual. There’s more to giving God the first tenth of your paycheck, but giving Him your first few minutes of the day really pays off. Days even seem much longer as if time was extended.

1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of 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.”

Love than Religion

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There are many types of religions in the world, most commonly: Buddhism, Islam, Catholicism, Judaism, Mormonism, Hinduism and Christianity. Most involve prayer, worship, bowing, singing or offerings. Others have rituals, which they believe would set them up to a higher level of spirituality. All these efforts to make one believe that through certain actions, they will become holy, a good or better person or pleasing to the eyes of God. There’s usually a set of rules or boundaries that set a line not to cross or actions that must be carried out tied to consequences.

The continual trying to be perfect on our own humanly efforts can turn into our religion and trapped us into residual traditions often wondering where is revival? Without knowing our Creator, how do we know where He has placed the true switch of joy? Do we keep believing that our religious traditions will save us? Of all religions in the world, how do we know which one is true or which God is real or fake?

The truth lays inside of each of us, mended into the fabric of who we are created to be. God placed it there before we came out into the world. Unfortunately, when we get older and corrupted by our environment, it eventually gets hidden. Truth is found when there’s no way of denying it. Sometimes it’s hard to know if it’s God speaking, especially when so many lies spoken have been dwelling inside for many years, yet He still speaks.

Aside from the bible or religious books, there are stories of people who had encounters with God, some that wrote about it and have become the basis of a religion, but what about the time when there were no books published in the world, yet there were still stories of God’s mighty hand or visitations from angels or God? People spoken about in these stories had a relationship with God. They knew God and were in communion with Him. God spoke in dreams, visions, by an angelic messenger or a burning bush. Still to this day, God speaks in dreams, visions, angelic messengers, by audible voice, a voice inside and sometimes through events, strangers or friends, but not a burning bush.

Religious traditions are mostly good practices, as the bible says in James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” However, besides doing or not doing certain things to keep ourselves feeling a certain way, what’s more important is our relationship with God. Think about all the things you do for the one you love, imagine never spending time with that person just caught up in the job of trying to please them, but never spending quality time, opening up your heart, talking to them and telling them how thankful you are, how much you love them or sharing your sorrows. Spending time talking to someone will get you very antiquated with their voice and character. Similarly, building a relationship with God is spending time in prayer, thanking God for the littlest things, sharing your sorrows and requests and worshiping Him. Sometimes, it’s a matter of just sitting and listening.

How do we know it’s the voice of God? He speaks to our heart and the bible confirms it. Image God speaking to different people and revealing who He is, then all of those people wrote it and down and just so happened to write the same or very similar thing about Him. Similar to the stories in the bible, God appears to people, there are different people spoken about that had a relationship with God and wrote about it. The stories reveal His character as a Father in Heaven. The book of Psalms 103:1-5, reveals God the Father’s love for us,”Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The book of Romans reveal the Christ, the Son of God’s love for us. Romans 8: 35-39 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. There are many other scriptures that speak of God’s love and throughout the bible we see His character. God is love. Romans 5:8 says,”8 God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Of all the many religions in the world and gods that people worship, Jesus is the only one that came down to earth from heaven, in human form, to be nailed to a cross and die for the sin of humanity so that we can once again, have a relationship with our Heavenly Father. As Adam and Eve hid from God in the garden after they sinned, we no longer have to hide from God as our sins our taken away from the blood of Jesus on the cross, we can come face to face with Him again, unashamed. We don’t have to go through a ritual or run miles making efforts to be good or right with God, salvation is a love gift from God and having faith in His love, goodness, mercy and grace is what frees us and makes us more like Him. It’s a relationship, not a religion. It starts with inviting God into your heart, confessing and believing. Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”