THE CHILD IS BORN

The child is born.  The Baby Jesus, born in a manger, a humble place, so insignificant but yet full of significance.  It proves to us that God among us does not flaunt His power and excellence even though it is very attainable.  Imagine if He was born in royal influence, rather than a stable, would we have been able to understand how God's love operates?  Imagine if He was born in wealth, would the people listen and follow Him simply because of His worldly influence?  Stop and think about that.  As humans we are attracted to delusions of grandeur, it is simply human nature.  Our intellect cannot comprehend wealth in God's love as compared to diamonds and pearls.

I can understand perfectly why God chose for Jesus to be born in such a humble circumstance.  First, it was for protection.  Protection from His life being taken which could halt God's plan.  His birth was incognito as they disappeared among the crowd when there was an order to kill all the newborn baby boys.  The second is because He wants to be relatable and more humbly below the lowest of all humankind.  This way, the blurred vision of worldly riches will not come between Him and us.  God is all powerful and a genius for planning such life for Jesus.

After the Christmas story, the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, He is now living among us and spreading God's word, breathing life to the Bible, a book that is ever so timeless but timely.  Small wonder this is the greatest story ever told.

Now you can choose to believe it or choose to reject it but ultimately, you will have to accept it, because EVERY knee shall bow to Jesus when He returns for those of us who love Him.

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

REFLECTION

It is easy and quite normal for humans to shift focus from ourselves to others especially when it pertains to accountability.  It is in our nature to be protective and succumb to self-preservation and so it goes with every living species.  Our protectiveness does not just entail life-threatening situations but the line goes as far as the emotional realm.

No one is faulted for this however, after all, we all have a need to be justified and validated.  There is another side to this double-edged sword, however, and that is growth.  When we rebuke correction, our growth is stunted.  Often we default the solution baton being passed to God.  While that is acceptable and God desires it, going one step further into self-realization encourages growth.

What I mean by this is that when it comes to forgiveness, it is easy to simply say "I forgive."  Forgiveness doesn't stop there.  True forgiveness seeks forgetfulness.  God forgives and forgets because He is the almighty one whose love is immeasurable, unlike ours.  But when growth happens, so does love.  When you make the paradigm shift and focus on yourself, rather than waiting for the wrongdoer to do so, you not only progress spiritually, but you also urge the change in the forgiven.  The wrongdoer has his or her own accountability to God.  We need to remove ourselves from God's responsibility to cast judgement on that person.  When the baggage is not released, the forgiveness is like water washed away in the stream.  Holding on to resentment from that wrong done does not equate to forgiveness at all.  It will eventually fester inside of us and will manifest itself in every aspect of our daily relationships with others.  This is why the enabling saying goes, "Be kind to others, you don't know what they're going through" points to.  Again, human nature ensues.

To truly forgive is to forget.  This is what God has been teaching us about Himself.  When we are truly a reflection of God, we have to learn how to do this and perfect it.  Start with a clean slate.  What a blessing it would be if the guilty party could see the love and kindness coming from the wronged which could eventually change the guilty.    But that is not for us to patrol this change, because at the end of our time, we are only accountable for ourselves.  This is never an easy task, but with growth, baby steps are taken.  When that happens, our lives and hearts become wholesome and pleasing to God.

Until my next rant.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

HERE'S LOOKIN' AT YOU KID, THROUGH ROSE-COLORED GLASSES

When you look at yourself in the mirror, how do you feel about the person staring back at you?  How holy is that person?  Well, I'm pretty sure the quick answer to that would be "not too holy" or "well only God is holy," etc.  Human nature is self-deprecating because we know that we were born sinners.  I do not dismiss sin as to say that we can't help being sinners because when in a deep relationship with God, we purposely avoid sin until we become pros at it.

Since we have established such fact, it doesn't mean that God sees us the same way.  God is unexplainable, and you would go insane if you even attempted to understand God.  Our finite minds cannot and will not be able to achieve such complexity.  However, with a deep desire to truly get to know Him, He will reveal Himself to you.  He loves you and He wants nothing more than to know that love is reciprocated.  

Furthermore, and most importantly, God sees you through rose-colored glasses because His spectacles are stained with His Son's blood who saved us, gave His life, as sinless and as perfect as He was and is.  I do not insinuate in the least or to encourage you into complacency as a sinner.  On the contrary, I urge you to seek God, seek His mercy and His love so that you can turn away from sin and work on becoming a better person.  Some of us have began our journeys, yet there are still miles to go.  I believe God is just waiting for the right moment to scoop us all up who love Him and it will be soon.  Just look around you until you realize that the world is on its way to demise.  The signs are everywhere.  Don't ignore them.  It is never too late until Jesus' return.  I've always said, don't get caught with your pants down.

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

KILLING WITH PRAISE

Most of us are still inhibited when it comes to praising God.  I see people, and I include myself, a little shy or embarrassed to raise our arms in church when worship songs are sung even though your heart is full and bursting with adoration of God.  We are still self-conscious about what people around us may say.  The funny thing is that everyone or at least majority of the attendees think the same thing.  

What's even funnier is that when I'm alone at home listening to worship songs, I have no problem stretching my arms out to heaven, head thrown all the way back, eyes closed singing along at the top of my lungs!  Goosebumps start to plague my whole body and tears come streaming out feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit with the blast of joy streaming out of my heart to my esophagus and out my mouth!  How I wish I could do that at church.  But again, it's that self-conscious notion of the fear of making a mockery out of myself that holds me back.  Something I definitely have to work on.

The Bible teaches that God is fit to be praised wherever we are, expressed through words and music, at all times for His greatness because He is worthy of our praise!

But why?  For what purpose? I am willing to bet that God already knows He's awesome, He already knows the names of those who love Him.  So why?

It thrills God to be worshipped and praised.  He knows our hearts more that we do our own and praising Him brings glory to Him and it literally makes Him happy!  Think about what your dogs think about you, someone who oh, maybe once in a while spends time with them but regardless of your treatment of them, they still love you.  Now multiply our kindness to our dogs 1000%.  That's how God loves us and when we praise Him, it brings Him joy.  What privilege is that for us to bring God joy?

Another reason is that praising God is our best weapon against satan!  When we praise God, it cements to the evil world that God is worthy of our praise and worship.  It is worst for satan because he hates to see that.

So go ahead!  Raise your arms, sing at the top of your lungs, lift your hearts up to God because He is worthy of all those things and there is nothing to be ashamed of.  If anything, you might be able to encourage others to do the same!

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!

LET OUR HEARTS BE ONLY FOR HIM

There is a common misconception that God purposefully hurts and is this big, powerful, scary guy who lives in heaven.  How else could a grieving spouse look up in the sky and curse God when his or her loved one dies?  We fail to understand how much God loves us because of the limitations of our brain's understanding. 

Perhaps this influence is triggered by such stories as Abraham's challenge when God asked him to kill his precious son Isaac as a sacrifice.  You see, Sarah, Abraham's wife was barren.  When Abraham was more than a hundred years old and Sarah 99, God spoke to Abraham and told him that He will make Sarah pregnant with a son who would pave the way for Abraham to become father of many nations.

Small wonder that when Isaac was born, he became most precious to Abraham, not only because he was blessed with a son after being childless for over a century, but he was the catalyst for Abraham to become the father of many nations, just as God had said.  

However, there was one problem.  The older Isaac became, the more obsessed Abraham became of his precious son.  He upheld Isaac's place in his heart higher than God's.  God saw that this was about to consume Abraham completely which is why He asked Abraham to take Isaac up to Mt Moriah to sacrifice him to God.  

Imagine how Abraham agonized over this the night before he was to do it.  As a father who loved his son so much, after years of barreness, after he had raised Isaac and prepared him to be the leader of many nations, after God Himself had said the same to Abraham, and now this?  Faithfully, he did what God had asked him to do and made the journey up to Mt. Moriah, the same mountain upon which Jesus will have been crucified.  

But yet, at the right moment, God stopped Abraham in the nick of time as he raised his hands to kill Isaac.  It was a test of Abraham's faith, of his loyalty to God, of his idolatry of Isaac.  When God's place in Abraham's heart was replaced by his son, God gave him a good lesson in banishing idolatry and placing God back into his heart's priority.

These bible stories are incredible.  Each story uncovers layer after layer which will eventually all lead to loving God.  Layer by layer is a lesson that touches us in different ways.  Another point in this story is that when God told Abraham to stop, there appeared a lamb out of nowhere that was stuck in the thicket which became the sacrifice in place of Isaac.  God put the lamb there so that Abraham could still have a sacrifice to offer God.  The lamb symbolizes Jesus, who was to come, already written in the plan of God to be sacrificed in the old testament as well as the new testament.  Praise be to God!  How awesome and wondrous is He?

Not only would Jesus save Isaac from being slaughtered by his own father but all of us sinners as well.  The Holy Bible, in all its glory, being the most read book of all time, lives and breathes if we allow it to live and breathe in our hearts.  It's like the gift that keeps on giving, as we learn and peel off its layers, that are never ending in its purpose of leading us all back to God.

Until my next rant.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

YOUR HOUSE OF WORSHIP

You've seen it on tv, you've read it online, you see it in your family and friends' lives, in the children's eyes, in animals, it's all around you.

There is no escaping the truth, that God is everywhere.  Yet, you choose to dismiss it.  As if you can truly run away from it.  There is nothing a true believer can do or say who can convince you, because you shut your ears and heart to it.  But there is no denying the presence of a powerful and omnipresent God in everything you see.  You can't get away from God, no matter how you try.  It's like saying everything you see around you is just a figment of your imagination.  If that is true, what is your truth? 

Evidence has debunked claims by scientists and atheists about God's inexistence.  These enemy- ridden people are adamant about their truth.  But somewhere inside of each of them are questioning and researching stretching themselves to a far reaching truth even though it makes them look silly and idiotic.  They question and research because they themselves are finding it difficult to find evidence to back up their own beliefs.

I am not immune to these types of people.  I unashamedly tweet and post about God all the time.  Once an atheist gets a hold of any of my tweets or posts, the immediately bombard me with insults, questions, etc.  It doesn't surprise me in the least because where God's loyals are, satan's loyals are too.  I do notice, however, that they never face me alone.  They employ the help of other atheists who are, what seems to be, on standby, in case a Christian happens to discuss God in their social media posts.  Funny how they feel the need to have back-up and all I need is God to provide the words for me to meet their sneers.  So in Jesus' predictable style, I kill them with kindness.  Not only does it bother them to high heavens, it frustrates them as well.  They almost always have to spew the final insulting words, as if they're purposely trying to hurt my feelings.

You see, when an atheist attacks, they have no idea who they're attacking and how God's ideals work.  They think that their nasty words will suddenly make you realize what a fool you have been to believe there is a God and drop God just like that and agree with them.  Did I mention "silly?"  They live a very hate-filled life, very self-centered and sinful.  How very sad if one really thinks about it.  

This is precisely why we need to pray for them, bless them and show them Jesus through our actions and words.  This world has a lot of hard work to do for Jesus, but the reward is sweet.

A tiny church sits alone but inside boasts grandeur of God's love for all of us.  Thank God for churches, sacred and shelter to find the most wondrous of all love, agape love that calls out to whomever wants to come and worship the greatest love giver of all.

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER! and yes, especially atheists!

I BEG YOUR PARDON? WHO'S WEIRD?

From conception, we as individuals were preordained to become replicas of our parents or guardians, if you will.  At birth, we have no control over what we wore, what we were fed, our location, our parents, our siblings, or what place we hold in the family.  Similarly, when we are slowly exposed to the rest of the world, our surroundings dictate how we are to act in public, etc.  We are told by our parents whom we were to associate with, in fairness, mostly for our own good and well-being.

God has created us equally but differently.  He holds the power to give each of us some minuscule differences to distinguish ourselves from the next person.  Even identical twins have differences.  God's purpose for our lives is to individually love Him and develop a close relationship with Him.  So why would we ever even think and do as others think and do?  

We each have accountability at the end of our lives.  When that time comes, we cannot reason with God how we acted and did certain things based on what so and so did.  We are as individual in our brains and in our hearts because God purposely created us in that way.

Look at this woman with a goose on her head.  She doesn't care what others see in her whether they think she is weird, crazy, or just plain odd.  She is my subject because she mirrors who I am.  I conform to God's examples, being myself and pleasing only Him.  After all, every one else is human just like me, so why would I even want to please a fellow human being rather than God?  Something to think about, eh?

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

If all the wealth was removed from our world and we were all the same, the same cars, the same size houses, the same amount of food, the same clothes, etc. and the attainment of wealth no longer mattered, what would our worth be?

If all that every person was to vie for is to gain as many friends and the goal was to have as many friends and family, how would we act?

Remove satan from this world and there will be no more strife, no more pain, suffering, anger, violence, etc.  How wonderful would it be if we did not have to compete with each other?

The promises of God to us in everlasting life is exactly that.  He promised that when Jesus comes back He would create a world wherein satan would have zero contribution.  He promises that because He had to sacrifice His own Son to a physical death to forgive our sins, He would make it worth Jesus' life and whomever attests that His sacrificial lamb is Lord, they will be saved from the damned eternal company of satan.  I hear eternal fire is just that, non-stop burning forever. Yikes!  No thank you.

You may ask, "Is it that easy?  Just profess Jesus is Lord and turn away from your sins?"  The answer is YES!  

You see, when you follow Jesus and love Him, you are acknowledging that God the Father does love us unconditionally.  It is not uncommon that dogs love us unconditionally no matter how bad they are treated.  Sometimes I think God created dogs to be man's best friend to show us what unconditional love feels (what is the word dog read backwards?).  But God is the most powerful source of such deep and unconditional love!  It is unfathomable how such a being could love us that way.  But it is not impossible.  You see, when you have a deep relationship with God, no matter what sin test is presented to you, you would not even hesitate to defy such a test.  There is no effort at all, because you are protected.  You have a shield called Jesus who is omnipresent and ready to pounce at any wiles thrown at you by satan, your enemy.

When we make a decision for Christ, though, our perspective changes.  When we shift our eyes away from this world to heaven, we see things with an eternal vision.  There is a paradigm shift in our priorities to reflect what is really important. We recognize the things of this world for what they can be, distractions, waste of time, empty pleasures.

We know enough about what heaven is like to get our curiosity going.  If God is the powerful source of joy and happiness, what does that say about our future eternal life then?  What kind of place did Jesus prepare for us (John 14:3)?  What would it be like not to worry about pain, suffering, hunger, sickness, sorrow or death?  Our own brains cannot even handle what we are about to trek in our eternal life.  I'm excited about it, aren't you?

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

THE KEY TO LOVE

As humans we have the deepest need for intimacy.  It is a characteristic that we were born with, some are fulfilled and others unfortunately aren't.  If there is ever an evidence of God in this world, this inborn characteristic trumps any other.

We all strive for that connection with another human being.  Financial security can only briefly satisfy such longing, a sort of band-aid, if you will.  God shared with us His own longing to be loved by us, sacrificing His most precious Son, although never demanding that love to be reciprocated except giving us unlimited chances to love Him back.  Our faltered humans, even the most devoted Christian followers, continue to function with one foot in and one foot out.  We constantly seek that deep love and intimacy from another human being who is just as erroneous as we are, even though we know that such perfect love does not exist in any of them.  But yet we continue to strive and to seek that person who we think will fulfill such undying love for us.

Not only is such mythical creature non-existent, we ourselves fail to realize that we have disappointed and failed the ones we are married to or have a relationships with.  We cannot righteously accept responsibility and hide behind a smokescreen and shift the blame on others.   But in reality, we disappoint others just as much as others disappoint us.  It just depends on who endures the most.

We regard our partners with such high expectations that the very moment we are disappointed by them, we are devastated.  But instead of bickering, we need to just cherish those deep intimate moments we shared and hold them near and dear to our hearts because such a euphoric state is how God's love feels like.  This fleeting euphoria is the diluted version of God's love for us.  The magnitude of His love for us doesn't even compare,  it is merely a taste of how much love He can give which is why it is critical for His presence to be in our lives and in our hearts.  

Jesus comes back as our bridegroom and we are His bride.  You may wonder if the person we had the greatest connection with would still be the same in heaven.  I wonder that too.  However, in my heart of hearts I feel that the greatest connection we had in this world will pale in comparison to our connection with God then, and that it simply wouldn't matter in the grand scheme of all things.  

Perhaps this is the very reason why relationship is such hard work.  We seem to have to exert so much effort to stay together but the more we seek a better relationship, the less we know of it.  Kudos to those who have mastered it by staying married for years and years.  The grass is always greener where you water it.  It is important to get stronger with our relationship with God.  In my personal life, the stronger my relationship grows with God, the greater love I feel.  Much greater than any love I've ever known.

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Le Chamelèon

The chameleon.   We all have heard the phrase, "true colors."  I believe God created things to remind us and give us examples of any message He wishes us to learn.  The chameleon changes colors in any environment it touches in order to blend in and be unseen.  We can liken this animal to what God wants to teach us about blending into certain people, group or circumstances in order to  fit in.

With it, integrity comes to mind.  There are some people out there who try to chameleon themselves into certain groups, relationships, situations, etc.  They morph themselves into the person they are with in order to be accepted or even loved by the other.  They are people pleasers.  The problem with that is they lose their true identities.  A woman will please her man to feed their own insecurities thinking that this will keep the relationship intact.  They figure out later on that feeding into someone's personality is the total opposite of what the we want.  We all compliment  our opposite.  Just a fact of life.  She has not learned that two opposites working together create a strong bond just like two polar opposites of the magnets attract.  When that happens, each can contribute to the other to become whole.

The same goes with church goers.  They spend the time in church in order to be accepted by a Christian group.  However, sooner or later, the "true colors" will come out and contaminates the group.  

The same goes with political figures.  A man runs for office, tells the nation a lie to do what is good for the country and once in office, transgresses into his own agenda.

We have to be mindful of ourselves when it comes to being a chameleon.  Did you notice I said "ourselves?"  Yes, because there is nothing we can do about others.  We are only in control of our own destiny, our own fate.  We are accountable for our own actions.  Let us not waste our time being in a relationship where we magnify someone else's imperfection by just riding the wave with them.  I don't mean conflict, I just mean mixing our own worth into the relationship so each would see the difference in people and embrace those differences.  The caveat to being a chameleon or morphing into a relationship is that dissatisfaction will slowly surface and then resentment sets in.  When resentment sets in, then it leads to another broken relationship. 

Here is my God pitch then.  When we morph ourselves into God, then we cannot fail.  When we are on the path where God wants us to be, it is fail-proof.  Why?  Because God's way is perfect.  When we choose His way, we have no recourse but to have integrity.  God blesses those who bless Him.  He was serious when He said, there is no other way to Him except through Jesus.  So if that is true, any of our ways as humans do not and will not reach God.  But when we do what God wants in our relationship, how can it ever fail?  Think about what God really wants us to be for others and then morph into that.

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

IN THE MIDST OF DARKNESS

(Used Acrylic skins to collage)

It has been said that light chases darkness, but darkness cannot chase light.  Light simply cycles itself and technically leaves, and darkness happens.  

Do you notice that darkness seems to be associated with sadness?  When our hearts break, when we are sick, when we are in pain, when we are grieving, darkness seems to heighten the emotion.  

In the light of day, everyone is awake.  If we needed comfort, someone is there to assist us.  Friends and family are available to speak with, but at night, when everyone is in a slumber, hardly anyone is there for us.

God didn't promise that our lives would be free of difficulties.  He did not promise us perfection and that we will, as human beings exposed to satan, experience grief, sadness, strain, etc.  What He did promise is that He will be there with us and will never allow us to experience more than what we can endure.  

This is our life as human beings still living in this world that is ridden with pain, loss, hurt, and suffering.  

In Revelation 21, Jesus promises His return and His new city will merge with ours.  He also promises no more pain, suffering, etc.  which makes sense because there will be no more darkness.  Our bodies will be transformed into perfect ones.  There will be no more death.  We will live with Jesus forever!  I can only imagine!  Praise be to the Lord!  These are the things, His promises, that we have to focus on.  It absolutely makes living in this imperfect world a lot easier to handle. 

God knows our hearts and He knows that the people who love Him will seek Him sooner or later and He will have His arms outstretched for us to run to.  He will have His arms around us until we can adjust to whatever ails us, until we can stand back up on our own and be able to move on with the knowledge that He is there with us to support us along the way.  He loves us dearly and each and every one of us is precious in His eyes!

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

BLOW IT IN A BUBBLE AND LET IT GO

Easier said than done, you say.  I can relate.  There are trying times in our lives where as human beings we seem to hold on to worry and stress even though we know that God has a plan for us.  Whether or not you are faced with Christian memes on Facebook, sometimes friends' advice bombard you, we tend to hang on to our worries like we have been conditioned all our lives.

I get it.  It's very hard to let that stuff go.  That is because in this world where the devil runs amok, he is right there telling you that God is really not helping you get through your circumstances and to be fair, we all believe it.  It's not that easy to just let it go, because we think that if we do, it the worst will unravel right before our very eyes, as if the alternative would really help it anyway.

The visual I present to you for this message is exactly what I did.  I used to love the saying, "when you are faced with bad situations, pretend to blow it out in a bubble and watch it float away."  That was before my relationship with God was strong.  But I can tell you as I sit here writing to you, there is still that human emotion that won't let it go.  I have to force myself to do it sometimes.

I would pray about the things that worry me and ask God to take it.  Then reluctantly, I visualize myself giving it up to Him to handle.  Whenever that little evil voice tells me it ain't gonna happen, I silence it with, "If God is for me, who could be against me?" and "No weapons formed against me will ever prosper."  Then, I follow it up with the vision of God being the almighty power and if He can't fix it, no one can.  Somehow, I am able to gather up the courage to fully let it go!  Yes, it is hard to get through those steps but with the right attitude, the right heart, it IS possible!  Because after all, with God ALL things are possible.  He didn't say some, he said ALL!

Coming back from vacation, I knew that my classes at Michaels would grow stale.  If the vacation wasn't already planned, I wouldn't have gone at all.  I didn't want to have that pause in the flow because I believed that the more I put my schedule out there, the more people would flock to my classes.  However, to make a long story short, what I thought would happen, happened.  Imagine the heartbreak I had when the parking lot was thin as I parked to do my first class coming back from vacation.  I used to be able to at least talk with people coming in and introduce myself but that wasn't even possible.

I felt defeated.  I asked God, how can I get people to come?  At that point I just surrendered myself to Him.  "Here God, you do it."  The day after next there was another class scheduled.  I called and got the same response, no sign-ups.  As I sat here today, I see a message from the store saying someone IS signed up after all.  Yes, I didn't have a full class, but I knew right there that the grace of God was upon me.  It's like He said, small proof but proof nonetheless.  Praise God, give Him the glory!  I love it when I get that from God here and there.  It wasn't a grandiose thing BUT it is His way of telling me, I'm still here working in the background for you.  I bet His grandiose proof is now on the way, and you know what?  It will be more than I expected or imagined.  

For now I wait... in the meantime, I blow it out in a bubble, let it go... and let God!

Until my next rant.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

As a child, I used to sneak into my parents' room to secretly play with my dad's guitar.  His guitar hung on the wall, not allowing any of us children to touch it.  My rebelliousness gets the best of me sometimes because of my desire to learn how to play the guitar.

I asked my cousin to teach me some chords and I learned about 5 easy chords my little fingers could handle.  But with those five easy chords, I was able to play several different simple songs.

When I was old enough to be able to afford my own guitar, I practiced for at least an hour everyday learning more chords, so I can play more songs.

The desires of my heart urged me to do those things and as I progressed, the process became easier and easier as the chords got more complicated.  No matter how complicated the chords were, it was worth it to me because I delved deeper and deeper into making music.

I can compare this whole process to prayer.  Some people think that prayer is only to ask God for a favor, healing, help with finances, etc.  However, when you become a seasoned prayer, prayer includes a heart to heart talk with God, asking him for advise, telling Him you love Him, etc.  How do you pray?

When I pray, I talk to God like I talk to a confidante.  Contrary to popular belief, when there is a one way conversation, you feel silly, but I just don't feel that way when I am having a conversation with God.  I cannot explain it in simple words because there are no words to appropriately do so, but just feeling that He is present with me listening and responding.  God is omnipresent.  Trying to fit Him in a category that our little minds imagine is ludicrous because His power will never fit into our tiny box of expectations.

What is incredible is that when you make this kind of conversation/prayer a habit, it changes you.  When people who pray a lot pray out loud, they pray with familiarity and confidence.  When they pray, you can sense that you are in the presence of the Lord.  They just don't know the Lord, the Lord knows them.  God loves hearing them pray.

Let's tap into that type of amazing life that is waiting for us all, if we just practice praying we come into His perfect presence.

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

NO ESCAPE

There are days I feel like this diver.  She is deep under water with only a limited amount of oxygen in the tank to sustain her until she can come back up for air.

Life feels that way.  I'm sure I am not the only one who knows the feeling.  When there is turmoil and evil all around, sometimes the pressure is too strong that you feel closed in with only so much air to survive, until being fully engulfed.

But then there is that knowledge that we can take in as much air as we want.  It is free to everyone to breathe in and out as much as we wanted.

So with the awareness of being able to take in as much oxygen as  you can, why do some people choose to stay underwater with limited amount of air?  Some people are so ignorant of the fact that relief is just beyond that surface that they stubbornly stay underwater until the could breathe no more.

God is a God of wisdom.  What He teaches in between the front cover and the back cover of the Bible is how to get to the surface.  We need not look farther than Jesus, our Lord.

No lie, as simple as requesting Jesus to help me find something I have misplaced and He does it for me, there can never be a request or a prayer that is too small or too large for Him to grant.

The water around this driver represents life.  More specifically, life's bashing from the devil who runs amok on this earthly existence that chokes the life out of each and every one of us.  The closer you are to evil, the easier your life is.  After all, why would the devil spend any time on taking your soul when he already owns it halfway?  The closer you get to God, the more trials you seem to have.

But you ask, "If God loves me, why would He allow bad things to happen to me?"  Well, the answer is simple.  God is a God of mercy.  But He doesn't dole out favors or pardons willy nilly.  He is a God of Love.  He loves you enough to allow the bad experiences to happen just like a good parent does, so one, we learn from it, and two, we call on Him and get closer to Him and love Him as much as He loves us.  Sometimes God will allow bad things to happen because when He grants the solution to that bad experience, we will be able to appreciate Him more.  He also allows bad things to happen to pave the way to the good tidings He has in store for you.

So instead of wasting your time breathing in the limited amount of air, why not come up for a bottomless amount of air.  God's air.  

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

AS FAR AS EAST IS FROM THE WEST

So you've confessed your sin to God and you were forgiven.  However, a few days later, you start feeling guilty about it again.  You have let satan dredge up that sordid sin again even though you have been previously forgiven.  The joy of forgiveness received from God is that God doesn't remember the sin once He has pardoned you for it.    However, because we are humans, very erroneous ones i.e., we, not God, falter and just can't believe that He forgives us just like that!

Guilt destroys our confidence.  We feel insecure and carry around this awful feeling.  Guilt damages our relationships.  We feel inadequate and focused on such inadequacy that we fail to focus on our loved ones.  Guilt keeps us stuck in the past.  We cannot move on or try to make things better because of that burden of guilt we carry around.  

But this is the exact reason why God is such a loving Father that He forgives us of EVERYTHING!  Everything that bogs us down, everything that satan lied to us about.  God said "I, yes, I alone --- am the one who blots out you sins for my own sake and will never think of them again." Isaiah 43:25

"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1:18

Furthermore, God forgets!  Psalm 103:12 says "As far as east is from the west, so far ha he removed our transgressions from us." 

The best advise I can give anyone who is guilt stricken, and we are all guilty of this, is to let that burden go.  Ask God to forgive you for whatever it is that is still eating you up, know that He WILL forgive you, and once forgiven, lock it up in the forget closet and throw away the key, because God did.  Release and free yourself from it and move on.  You will feel so much better, I guarantee it.  Keep it locked up, don't try to get it back out!  That would be so silly!

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

THE GREAT PROTECTOR

One of my most favorite Bible verses is Romans 8:31.  What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?  If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

No matter where we are in life, there lurks strife.  Problems are often accompanied by stress.  We can always battle it on our own but it costs us something, whether it be money, time, headaches, sleepless nights, the list goes on and on.  

When we are faced with such life trials, the human in us thinks about the worst possible outcome, because as humans, we are not created nor wired to handle problems on our own.  Believe it or not, God is the master problem solver.  Yes, He will allow these things to enter into our lives but just because He does, it doesn't mean He will leave us on our own to fix it.  He wants us to experience the negative influences of being human so that we would lean on Him for guidance, assistance and protection.  As young and inexperienced children make mistakes and their parents fix their messes, so does God.  He is our Father.  NO ONE can handle the biggest, baddest problem we could ever face but God Himself.

I remember a story once told.  In an Indian tribe, boys are put through a test of endurance by leaving them in a remote spot for 24 hours by themselves inside this circle.  The child must stay inside that circle for the allotted time to become initiated into becoming a warrior.  This boy was taken to the spot by his father and left there all day and all night exposed to the wild animals.  The boy was terrified as he endured the darkness of the night, hearing the howling and the growling of the danger around him.  He is hunched over curled up in a ball crying and trembling in the darkness.  Little does he know that a few feet away, his father is standing by him with a bow and arrow ready to fire at anything that comes close to his son.

That is how much God loves us.  He is our protector, He is present in our time of need and He has His bow and arrow pulled, ready to destroy anything that could harm us.  We need to keep this thought in our hearts because God would not let us carry a cross too heavy for us to bear even though He allowed His only Son Jesus Christ to die for us. Now if you don't feel special after knowing this truth, I don't know what will.

If God be for us, who could be against us?

Until my next rant.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

FREEDOM

What is freedom?  Does it mean that we are free to do anything and everything we want to do in our own home or our own country?  Does freedom mean the same to you as someone from a totally different culture?  Do you feel free or enslaved?  From what?  

Most of us experience conditions in life that make us feel enslaved.  True freedom comes from a mature mind, acceptance of life in general and all of its imperfections.  I believe that freedom is achieved mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  You are what you think.

However, I'd like to go even farther with the word freedom and it is the most important one for me.  Spiritual freedom, that is.  There is no denying that our material existence in this world is temporary, but we are not just made up of matter.  We are moved by our spirit.  Our spirits thirsts for a deeper and divine love.  Turning away that love only leaves us yearning for it even more.  We sometimes lose our way and replace that divine love with something that feeds the "matter" in the form of food, drugs, sexual addictions, etc. but we all know that no matter how much the physical body is fed, it doesn't penetrate into the spiritual.  Some people will get that.  However, again, because they refuse the divine love, they seek a peek at a fictional future from astrological signs and psychic readings.  This type of search is a very dangerous one.

Enter, Jesus.  God loved us from the gate, that is a non-argument.  But then, He wanted us to understand who He is and how he works.  In the old testament, the way to atonement is through animal sacrifice. The fattest cow, sheep or whatever they owned was killed as offering to God in atonement.  But humanity didn't really get that.  It was so easy to offer atonement to God, after all, whomever had the animals to offer could easily atone with God but loses the essence of the repentance of the sin.  God forgave but He also wanted us to learn from it so that we can have a stronger relationship with Him, and the stronger our relationship with Him, the less we tend to succumb to the temptations of the devil.

He then sent Jesus, who was up in heaven with Him.  But not only did He send His Son to us, He also wanted to feel what it was like to be us.  He took the greatest pain that humans can muster up.   He found out what it was like to be crushed, despised, rejected and in deep emotional pain.  He knows the quiet desperation we endure when faced with mounting bills, job loss, marital discord, parenting challenges, etc. which if we were wise, sends us to our knees.  Jesus became one of us who can relate to our struggles and hardships.  Jesus kneels next to us to revitalize our energy, provide relief from our stresses, set us free from sin and enable us to endure life's discrepancies.  Through the Holy Spirit, again, God in Spirit, we are freed from all of life's storms and offers us a fresh start.

Our God is an awesome God!  Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

RUTHLESS TRUST

Now that you are a Christian do you ask yourself if faith has tiers?  What I mean is that are there different levels of trust in God?  

So you start out as a baby Christian, so coined by seasoned ones.  You have many, many questions.  You try to follow the teachings of the Bible and you wonder if others falter in their walk every now and then.  The answer is yes.  Since this is an established fact, how do you climb the ladder of faith?

The answer is the closer your relationship is with Jesus, the more seasoned Christian you become.  When nothing else matters in this world, when you are being persecuted because you choose to become a Jesus freak, when you have more enemies who cast you out of their circles because of the paradigm shift they see in you, you may just have climb up that ladder to a higher level.  

But by no means are you out of the woods when it comes to sin.  As a matter of fact, the closer your relationship is with God, the more the devil works in you, laying out your faults, telling you lies because we, as humans, are still vulnerable to the devil's wiles, until our earthly bodies transition into our heavenly perfected bodies.  But again, it doesn't mean we give in to sin.  We are glorified by God when we turn away from it.  In my walk with the Lord, when I do turn away from sin, it seems He rewards me with something better than the choice I would've made.  That's just how God works.  If you honor Him, He will honor you.

Ruthless trust is the courageous confidence that despite suffering and evil, terrorism and domestic conflict, God's plan in Jesus Christ cannot fail.  All of us will progress slowly into the final plans of God wherein we will all see each other as equal in His eyes without looking at each other's shortcomings and we will all rejoice in the Holy Spirit who makes us one with the Lord.  

Ruthless trust is what we should give God.  Just sayin'.

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

GREEN WITH HOPE AND LIFE

We often associate the color green with the word envy.  When I painted this woman green, I was going to talk about envy.  But I felt it was a negative subject so instead, I decided that a more positive green color association equals life and hope.  

We are often impressed when we see and hear about some act of courage when people die for others and give their lives up for the common good.  We tear up when bravery is shown by mere humans and we sing their praises.  The reason is because we see that there is hope in life in this world.  Those courageous people mirror what Jesus Christ our Lord and our Father God had to give up.  But what Jesus gave up was a life of a deity, a divine life and He showed us how much He suffered and the trek to His physical death was a slow and painful one.  I often wondered why He wasn't just stabbed by a sword and been given a quick death?  Why did it drag on?  In my humble opinion, I can only surmise that it was because God wants us to understand that at the end of pain and suffering in our own life, there is hope.  Just as Jesus rose from the dead, in all His glory, we can see how hope transforms our lives of suffering in the flesh into a glorious state in the eternal.  God, in Jesus' expense showed us just how enormous His love for us is.  It is so enormous that He gave it a new name, Agape.  It is a kind of love that could not be fathomed, could not be explained.  It is the kind of love that can only be felt through the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit was given to us by God, through Jesus' death so that His love could be felt in our hearts always so that we can always be reminded that there is hope.

When spring comes, the whole world turns green.  God never ceases to give us reminders even in our surroundings, He always sends a message that after the cold frost and misery of the dead of winter, we can all pretty much be certain that everything will come back to life again.  We feel the transition of things start to come back to life.  We know we will feel the heat of the sun again, crops will bear fresh food again.  That is how God wants us to be reminded so we won't ever forget Him.  

Read Romans 5:1-11

UNTIL MY NEXT RANT... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

REPENTANCE

Here's the breakdown.  When God created us, someone messed up.  We could've been sitting pretty, perfect in ourselves just like the God who created us.  Those people were Adam and Eve.  That's water under the bridge, though.  At this point, we are individuals and as individuals, we have individual relationships with God which is sacred between us and God.  However, because we cannot save ourselves from the screw up of Adam and Eve, God His only Son,  who gave  up His life as a sacrifice so that the old Adam is cancelled out by the new Adam, Jesus Christ.  He could have just as easily fell for satan's tricks while in human flesh and failed just as Adam did but He gained victory over the devil's wiles.

God extends the life eternal in paradise to us on Jesus' account.  Why is He doing that for us when we are such sinners and quite frankly, don't deserve it.  That's because He loves us and the only way we can escape judgment is to repent. There is only one way, and repentance is it.  

To its very core, repentance is a paradigm shift.  It is resetting your brain, your mind and your heart from that which you have grown to believe, whether it is from parental influences or environmental influences.  It is not easy to do this.  We have to surrender everything we've ever known to God, God then injects faith that Jesus Christ, His Son, died on the cross to forgive our sins, providing us with somewhat of a blanket forgiveness, no matter what the sin is, and then and only then can He absolve us from our sins and allow us to start anew.  

But even in that circumstance, we are but mere humans.  Humans are not immune to keep sinning, but because of that change of heart, we now, on our own recognizance, will refuse to sin or try our might not to become repeat offenders.  Even when we slip, God is always there for us ready to forgive.  

But most of us are confused with the meaning of repentance.  The word alone is often resisted because old habits are hard to ditch.  Understandably so, since we are human and it comes full circle.  However, the closer our relationship is with God, the less likely we are to fall for sin.  We will never ever be perfect, but when we become mindful of the goodness of the Lord, the less we are inclined to sin.  It's just how it works.  We start to understand within our hearts that sinning is no longer okay.  We begin to see the things of the flesh for what it is and realize that a moment of pleasure from the commitment of a sin is no longer worth the pain we cause God, the only one person who truly has our back.  We can no longer see people as reliable, or material things for completeness, nor politicians  or government to make us hopeful.

The more tenured we become in God's will for us, the more we strive to make a contribution to the kingdom of God.  The reward in this life is a fruitful one until we transition to heaven and the reward in heaven, well, as it was pointed out in the Bible, is beyond what we can even expect or imagine.  I don't know about you, but I am excited to find out what it is.  Ergo, my blog posts to you along with an artistic creation I share with you being obedient to the task God has assigned to me.

Out with the old way of thinking, sacrificing the enjoyment of what the world has to offer, in with the enjoyment of what heaven has to offer.  

We need to repent the old life, because repentance is more than just turning from the wrong ways; it is embracing the right ways.

To begin your trek to repentance you have to build relationships with your family by discipling to them, your friends, co-workers, etc.  Taking every chance to call them to faith.

Jesus already did all the work, all we have to do is embrace salvation by making that paradigm shift from worldly to heavenly.

Until my next rant.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!