It’s hard to face pain. It’s hard to forgive someone who hurt, corrupted, manipulated, stole…etc. from you. How rotten that person is to do such a thing! Or if it’s not a person, sometimes it’s anger toward God for allowing it to happen. Whatever the case, as much as we feel some person doesn’t deserve it, we must let go and forgive. We may not forget or let that person in our lives again, but we need to forgive. Matthew 6:15 says, “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Bitterness or un-forgiveness is like plaque in our heart. In a similar way, bitterness is like the plaque, not so much clogging up our arteries, but when it sits in our heart and keeps storing up, it blocks up all the love inside of us. We become angry inside for so long that we begin to loose remembrance of why. Instead of thinking about how someone doesn’t deserve your forgiveness think about someone who needs to forgive you. If you want to be forgiven by that person and or by God, then you should also forgive others, even if that person does not deserve it, but do it for freedom in your heart.
If it’s too hard to forgive, pray for a miracle, that God will give you to ability to forgive that person/s. Sometimes in doing so, He will help you understand that person & things will change. I pray that anyone who’s been harboring un-forgiveness will find the strength in God to release it and be set free.
It’s been too long since the start of the protests. At first it all seemed like it stemmed from the death of G. Floyd, but after many captured moments of these protests, one starts to wonder, what the heck does burning down buildings, loitering small business, graffitiing residential neighborhoods, steeling frozen burritos from the grocery store and most of all, burning bibles have to do with #blacklivesmatter? Absolutely nothing!
I get how one can harbor hatred toward the police because of unfair treatment where justice did not prevail or other wrongful actions or accusations that would leave one bitter or raged with anger. This might lead to mistrust towards authority and wanting to destroy buildings that house police. But one must realize that not all police are as the ones that have broken the trust of the public. It’s unfair to categorize one cop with another that has violated his/her duties & this stands for everyone else, such as generalizing one person with another based on race, gender, economic standing, etc. We are all messed up human beings with issues and many of us can’t handle power. We make mistakes and need counsel to help us get back on the right path.
Beyond the whole point to protesting for #BLM, the footage captured is falling further away from its purpose. Black owned business are being looted and burned. Black cops are being shot. It’s really not about #BLM. All the riots happening around the nation is an attempt to bring about anarchy. Their goal is to get rid of the police. These rioters hate this country. They burn our Country’s flag. They graffiti historic monuments in our nations capital and take down statues that represent our history. Bad or good, it’s a part of our Country’s history & a reminder to learn from the mistakes of the past.
These anarchists are burning bibles, going naked in the streets, some convulsing and found to be on drugs when arrested. They hate #trump & one thing’s for sure, he would not allow anarchy in this country. Anarchists are lawless. Burning bibles have nothing to do with #BLM, this is an act against the Word of God. These may be satanists, humans under the control of darkness.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 NKJV says… [9] The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, [10] and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. [11] And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, [12] that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Be careful to not be wrongfully swayed. Seek the truth. God is one of order, law, love and peace, not of lawlessness, cursing, revenge and hatred. We are never above God in righteousness or judgement, but flawed beings, always in need of a savior to take our mess and make us right before God. Jesus paid the price, we just have to receive the gift.
Romans 5:10 NKJV [10] For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
I’ve been thinking much about the flesh and the soul. There’s this movie called, “God is not Dead,” where this professor turned his back on believing in God because his mother died. I’ve heard many times, people questioning, “If God exists then why did He let a specific person die,” under various circumstances.
Truth is God loves all of us. His love for human kind is unfathomable to the human mind. Our love is so conditional, based on looks and performance or maybe who someone is from the inside, their heart, mind or stature, but God can love the person that our human heart and mind thinks is the most disgusting person alive. It’s hard to grasp.
So why does He allow certain people to die and leave our lives, going further into how they die, maybe a brutal death. Life is but a square sometimes with defined boundaries, but beyond the square there’s something greater. It’s like getting so close to a huge picture, you can’t see it from up close, but when you take a few steps back, you see how it all comes together.
Earth is like a waiting room where we wait to be called. We wait for someone to call our number. Amongst billions of people on earth we all have a set number, a set time to be called. The important thing is being ready. Some of care so much about our flesh, but forget that it doesn’t last forever, like a machine that eventually stops for long years of use so our bodies retire. The sufferings of old age, pain and struggle prepare for exit. There is no warranty for the shell we live in.
On the inside, there’s our soul, immortal, everlasting, full of life. Between the flesh, something that perishes over time and the soul, that last forever, which one is more important to take care of?
We never know when our time may be, the importance is preparation. Who’s hands will your soul fall into? Where will you be when your body decides to retire, in heaven, in hell or wandering the earth?
It is known that the #1 fear is death. I truly believe as the word of God says, aka, the Bible, that when that time comes, I’ll be in heaven seeing the glory of God, not because I earned a ticket to heaven, but because God bought the ticket for me through Jesus Christ on the cross, that all my junk and issues have been washed away as I accepted His gift of salvation. * JOHN 3:16
Getting the soul prepared is a higher priority. It is not our flesh that goes to heaven, but our soul that leaves the body after we pass & that is the part of us that will be on the judgement seat, which is why the death of the flesh is not as important as the condition of the soul. So the question of why someone died is not the important part it’s whether they are in God’s presence.
Life on earth is a passing, even as Billy Graham said. There is another dimension that we have yet to see. Whatever condition this finds you in, just remember God is all around and His love reaches to the greatest depths. No one is too broken for God to fix. Nothing is hidden from Him.
Hebrews 4:13 NKJV [13] And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
God knows everything about your past, nothing is hidden and His hand is never too far to pull you out of the pit. He is quick to forgive. Don’t leave this earth before getting right with God. He’s gone a long ways to reach you. The Lord is there when you least expect it. All you have to do is call on Him & ask Him to come into your life & show you His ways to eternity. He’s waiting for you to ask.
I’ve been thinking much about the flesh and the soul. There’s this movie called, “God is not Dead,” where this professor turned his back on believing in God because his mother died. I’ve heard many times, people questioning, “If God exists then why did He let a specific person die,” under various circumstances.
Truth is God loves all of us. His love for human kind is unfathomable to the human mind. Our love is so conditional, based on looks and performance or maybe who someone is from the inside, their heart, mind or stature, but God can love the person that our human heart and mind thinks is the most disgusting person alive. It’s hard to grasp.
So why does He allow certain people to die and leave our lives, going further into how they die, maybe a brutal death. Life is but a square sometimes with defined boundaries, but beyond the square there’s something greater. It’s like getting so close to a huge picture, you can’t see it from up close, but when you take a few steps back, you see how it all comes together.
Earth is like a waiting room where we wait to be called. We wait for someone to call our number. Amongst billions of people on earth we all have a set number, a set time to be called. The important thing is being ready. Some of care so much about our flesh, but forget that it doesn’t last forever, like a machine that eventually stops for long years of use so our bodies retire. The sufferings of old age, pain and struggle prepare for exit. There is no warranty for the shell we live in.
On the inside, there’s our soul, immortal, everlasting, full of life. Between the flesh, something that perishes over time and the soul, that last forever, which one is more important to take care of? We never know when our time may be, the importance is preparation. Who’s hands will your soul fall into? Where will you be when your body decides to retire, in heaven, in hell or wandering the earth?
It is known that the #1 fear is death. I truly believe as the word of God says, aka, the Bible, that when that time comes, I’ll be in heaven seeing the glory of God, not because I earned a ticket to heaven, but because God bought the ticket for me through Jesus Christ on the cross, that all my junk and issues have been washed away as I accepted His gift of salvation. * JOHN 3:16
Getting the soul prepared is a higher priority. It is not our flesh that goes to heaven, but our soul that leaves the body after we pass & that is the part of us that will be on the judgement seat, which is why the death of the flesh is not as important as the condition of the soul. So the question of why someone died is not the important part it’s whether they are in God’s presence.
Life on earth is a passing, even as Billy Graham said. There is another dimension that we have yet to see. Whatever condition this finds you in, just remember God is all around and His love reaches to the greatest depths. No one is too broken for God to fix. Nothing is hidden from Him. Hebrews 4:13 says, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
God knows everything about your past, nothing is hidden and His hand is never too far to pull you out of the pit. He is quick to forgive. Don’t leave this earth before getting right with God. He’s gone a long ways to reach you. The Lord is there when you least expect it. All you have to do is call on Him & ask Him to come into your life & show you His ways to eternity. He’s waiting for you to ask.
For as long as I can remember I always felt in my heart that God exists, but my thoughts of who He is changed throughout the years.
My first experience of God’s answered prayers was when I was five years old. We were locked out of our house and as my Dad went to try to find the way of getting the spare key, it started to rain. As we were all standing underneath the eave outside in the rain, I felt a push to pray for it to stop raining so I looked up to the sky and I asked God to make it stop raining. Shortly after, it did. That could’ve been a coincidence, but interestingly, I can never forget about that moment.
My parents were Catholic and forced my siblings and I to go to church. I felt like it was a waste of my time, as I could be at home watching my favorite cartoon TV show, the Simpsons. Eventually I was forced to go to Saturday school at church for classes that would lead to being “confirmed.” I went religiously, but instead of learning, I slept in class. I never got confirmed. Actually, I stopped going. Somehow I convinced my parents to stop bringing me.
Even if I stoped and my “confirmation” didn’t happen, I still reached out to God, but not with repeated prayers or what I read from a book. It was a normal conversation. It didn’t make sense to pray in repetition it’s like talking to someone repetitively…that’s annoying, that’s not a real conversation. I kept on having conversations with the Lord for years until my freshman year in college when I started an anthropology class. I didn’t realize that my faith was dwindling and I wasn’t praying much. That same semester I met a girl named, Yanni who asked me if I know what the meaning of life was. She invited me to church and from there, I met other women and studied the Bible with them. I was so surprised at the words in the Bible. I’ve always read the King James Versions and never understood the old English, but studying with others helped make the meaning behind the words clear to me & started to gain an understanding of it.
They seemed to emphasize sin and confession and to me it seemed like I needed to submit my life to Him because I was too weak to stop myself from sinning. I started to hide myself from theses women as I felt they were pushing bible studies on me without even asking if I wanted to or not. So I ran away from them and as I continued to read the Bible, I kept seeing contradictions. I made an attempt to not turn my life over to God but looking for words that I can use to justify not following Him. Living for God in my perspective was about living a tight path with dos and don’t rules. I didn’t want to live like that. I wanted to stick to the idea that I have full control over my life, but not too long after, I realized that I don’t.
I went to University in the South Bay, but lived in the mid-Bay Area. My commute to school took about 30 minutes. For two weeks I felt that I was going to get into an accident. Every time I felt that I would pray for God to protect me. Then one morning I woke up to take a placement test at school. As I was getting ready to go, I felt a push to dress with sturdy clothes so I wore my denim jeans, a hooded sweater and most importantly, my boots with a thick sole.
As I merged into the freeway, there we’re a few cars closely surrounding me. As I turned the wheel back and forth, my car spun around with each turn. It wasn’t raining but somehow, I seemed to have lost control of my car no matter how I turned the wheel. There I was, thinking I had full control over my life. When I realized that I didn’t have any control over my car, I reached out to God, surrendered control to Him and put the protection of my life into His hands. I saw my car going straight to the tail end of a van and letting go, I prayed, “God, please protect me,” then shut my eyes.
I don’t remember feeling much after that except my car tumbling around and a heavenly embrace. All sounds disappeared around me except for the sound of chimes. When my car stopped tumbling , it landed upside down and when it stopped moving, the sounds around me came back, the traffic and everything else. I opened my eyes to shattered glass everywhere and hanging from my seatbelt upside down. I moved my legs to step on all the shattered glass on floor of the freeway. With sturdy boots, my feet were heavily protected. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I was able to release the seat belt I was hanging from.
Shortly after I got out of the car, there were people that came asking if I was ok. A man put a blanket over me to help with the shock. Eventually the paramedics came and the people that were there to help me disappeared. I don’t even remember them leaving, but as soon as the paramedics arrived, they were nowhere to be seen. I still wonder from this day if some or all where angels.
I remember being in the back of the paramedic van. There was one man in there, telling me how my condition was a miracle, that car accidents similar to the one I’ve just been in, usually result in death or in critical condition, usually an eyeball or brain left behind on the freeway.
When I got to the hospital, they tested my urine for internal bleeding. The results showed that I was completely fine. The only marks I had were tiny red dots on my hand from the broken glass and small bruises on my knee that hit the steering wheel. The doctor said it was a miracle, as did many other people involved. My car was totaled. The van that my car hit flipped to the side. The couple inside was perfectly fine. Thank God!
This was a turning point in my life. While I was on the freeway being interviewed by highway patrol, that was my first proclamation that I was going to follow Christ from now on. That moment helped me to realize that God does not want me to surrender to Him so I can live a life of do and do not, but the truth that was made clear was that He loves me and that I don’t know what’s best for me. My surrender meant God taking my hand at times I’ve gotten off the wrong path and leading me back to the path leading to life, joy, peace and love. Who am I to doubt the one that created me. He knows me more than I know myself.
Several months later, I gave my life to God through baptism & I’ve never been the same. After I got baptized, I see, feel and hear the Lord with me. I’ll never forget sitting at the park the day after and instead of my mind being filled with life’s troubles, all I could hear around me was nature: the birds singing, the water moving and the leaves swaying in the wind. That was the first time I felt God’s peace and when I stepped out of the totaled car that day, that was the first time I felt God’s love for me & my faith came that day as I realized that what the Bible says about His love for us…is the truth. His love is as a Father to His child in a pure and incorruptible way.
For as long as I can remember I always felt in my heart that God exists, but my thoughts of who He is changed throughout the years. My first experience of God’s answered prayers was when I was five years old. We were locked out of our house and as my Dad went to try to find the way of getting the spare key, it started to rain. As we were all standing underneath the eave outside in the rain, I felt a push to pray for it to stop raining so I looked up to the sky and I asked God to make it stop raining. Shortly after, it did. That could’ve been a coincidence, but interestingly, I can never forget about that moment.
My parents were Catholic and forced my siblings and I to go to church. I felt like it was a waste of my time, as I could be at home watching my favorite cartoon TV show, the Simpsons. Eventually I was forced to go to Saturday school at church for classes that would lead to being “confirmed.” I went religiously, but instead of learning, I slept in class. I never got confirmed. Actually, I stopped going. Somehow I convinced my parents to stop bringing me.
Even if I stoped and my “confirmation” didn’t happen, I still reached out to God, but not with repeated prayers or what I read from a book. It was a normal conversation. It didn’t make sense to pray in repetition it’s like talking to someone repetitively…that’s annoying, that’s not a real conversation. I kept on having conversations with the Lord for years until my freshman year in college when I started an anthropology class. I didn’t realize that my faith was dwindling and I wasn’t praying much. That same semester I met a girl named, Yanni who asked me if I know what the meaning of life was. She invited me to church and from there, I met other women and studied the Bible with them. I was so surprised at the words in the Bible. I’ve always read the King James Versions and never understood the old English, but studying with others helped make the meaning behind the words clear to me & started to gain an understanding of it.
They seemed to emphasize sin and confession and to me it seemed like I needed to submit my life to Him because I was too weak to stop myself from sinning. I started to hide myself from theses women as I felt they were pushing bible studies on me without even asking if I wanted to or not. So I ran away from them and as I continued to read the Bible, I kept seeing contradictions. I made an attempt to not turn my life over to God but looking for words that I can use to justify not following Him. Living for God in my perspective was about living a tight path with dos and don’t rules. I didn’t want to live like that. I wanted to stick to the idea that I have full control over my life, but not too long after, I realized that I don’t.
I went to University in the South Bay, but lived in the mid-Bay Area. My commute to school took about 30 minutes. For two weeks I felt that I was going to get into an accident. Every time I felt that I would pray for God to protect me. Then one morning I woke up to take a placement test at school. As I was getting ready to go, I felt a push to dress with sturdy clothes so I wore my denim jeans, a hooded sweater and most importantly, my boots with a thick sole.
As I merged into the freeway, there we’re a few cars closely surrounding me. As I turned the wheel back and forth, my car spun around with each turn. It wasn’t raining but somehow, I seemed to have lost control of my car no matter how I turned the wheel. There I was, thinking I had full control over my life. When I realized that I didn’t have any control over my car, I reached out to God, surrendered control to Him and put the protection of my life into His hands. I saw my car going straight to the tail end of a van and letting go, I prayed, “God, please protect me,” then shut my eyes.
I don’t remember feeling much after that except my car tumbling around and a heavenly embrace. All sounds disappeared around me except for the sound of chimes. When my car stopped tumbling , it landed upside down and when it stopped moving, the sounds around me came back, the traffic and everything else. I opened my eyes to shattered glass everywhere and hanging from my seatbelt upside down. I moved my legs to step on all the shattered glass on floor of the freeway. With sturdy boots, my feet were heavily protected. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I was able to release the seat belt I was hanging from.
Shortly after I got out of the car, there were people that came asking if I was ok. A man put a blanket over me to help with the shock. Eventually the paramedics came and the people that were there to help me disappeared. I don’t even remember them leaving, but as soon as the paramedics arrived, they were nowhere to be seen. I still wonder from this day if some or all where angels.
I remember being in the back of the paramedic van. There was one man in there, telling me how my condition was a miracle, that car accidents similar to the one I’ve just been in, usually result in death or in critical condition, usually an eyeball or brain left behind on the freeway.
When I got to the hospital, they tested my urine for internal bleeding. The results showed that I was completely fine. The only marks I had were tiny red dots on my hand from the broken glass and small bruises on my knee that hit the steering wheel. The doctor said it was a miracle, as did many other people involved. My car was totaled. The van that my car hit flipped to the side. The couple inside was perfectly fine. Thank God!
This was a turning point in my life. While I was on the freeway being interviewed by highway patrol, that was my first proclamation that I was going to follow Christ from now on. That moment helped me to realize that God does not want me to surrender to Him so I can live a life of do and do not, but the truth that was made clear was that He loves me and that I don’t know what’s best for me. My surrender meant God taking my hand at times I’ve gotten off the wrong path and leading me back to the path leading to life, joy, peace and love. Who am I to doubt the one that created me. He knows me more than I know myself.
Several months later, I gave my life to God through baptism & I’ve never been the same. After I got baptized, I see, feel and hear the Lord with me. I’ll never forget sitting at the park the day after and instead of my mind being filled with life’s troubles, all I could hear around me was nature: the birds singing, the water moving and the leaves swaying in the wind. That was the first time I felt God’s peace and when I stepped out of the totaled car that day, that was the first time I felt God’s love for me & my faith came that day as I realized that what the Bible says about His love for us…is the truth. His love is as a Father to His child in a pure and incorruptible way.
Born so innocent without a clue of what’s out there that can damage you. Then as time passes and the aging continues, life throws many surprises at you. As you try to follow the right path, you are steered in the wrong direction through temptation, pressure, force or simply…deceit. After walking in the darkness for so long, you loose your way, you begin to forget about who you are. The media becomes your compass along with the majority of the crowd, mostly negative, and when you realize that you’re not at the mark of society, you feel like you’ve failed, desperately seeking justification or approval from external factors or the words of others. Now, you are more deeply lost.
That dark long road was wrong after all and it’s too hard to turn around and go back.
Look to the light that shines in the darkness. As long as you’re not in hell, that light is around, waiting for you to turn around and surrender your will.
It’s hard to surrender when you still think you can save yourself, but the most powerful thing, is surrendering to the one that loves you so much that He died for you. He took all the despair and grief in exchange for you to have hope and joy.
He’s there…all you have to do is surrender, place all of it at the feet of Jesus. He will carrying you out of the darkness and into the light…the right path, full of purpose, peace, joy, strength, forgiveness and love.
vange 
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