The Light of The World

How cool is it to be light.  Light leads people out of darkness into the marvelous light (helps one to see things clearly).  Jesus is the light of the world, and once we become new creatures in Christ we possess that same light.  The light of life.  O'Lord, please let my light shine so that your glory may be seen.  I want my light to shine so bright that it will draw people to me, and then I can tell them about You, Jesus.  I want my light to reveal the truth; bring peace to a troubled situation; put joy in sad hearts, and replace hatred with love.  Thank You, Jesus, for my light, may it always shine bright.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)

Unconditional Love !

Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. (John 14:21, NIV)


Agape love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible, is selfless and sacrificial.  We have a different kind of love that we mostly display as people; a love which depends on a multitude of selfish desires.  What am I going to get out of this? Will it benefit me?  As God's children, we are to love everyone, regardless of appearance or status, but we struggle with this notion because it doesn't feed our flesh.  If we read the Bible on a daily basis, we might still struggle with our flesh, but our spirit would have the victory.  Just like we eat three meals a day (and then some) to feed our flesh, we must read the  Bible, pray, and seek God daily, and more than once a day in order to keep our spirit-man fed.  If we would be consistent, and persistent in the things of God we wouldn't have any trouble with loving God and each other unconditionally.  Amen (So be it)

Thank You for the Journey !

Lord I thank you for the beginning of my journey.  You thought of me before You laid the foundations of the earth.  You used my father and mother as living vessels to create the one and only me.  Lord I thank You that this journey has brought me to You to receive my salvation, and many deliverences.  Lord, I'm so glad that I am on a Jesus journey because there is no way I could make it without You (the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit)!  Lord I thank You even when my journey gets a little rough because I know that no matter how bad it gets, adversity builds character, and more importantly You are still in charge and in control of every area of my life.  Lord I thank You most of all for the journey ahead of me.  You know that I'm not happy with the way some things are right now, but because I can count on You, Father, I know that this journey can change in the twinkling of an eye, and that the best is yet to come.  Amen

An Oldie but Goody!

Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that he will make all things right 
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr

Harvest!

My wife and I really enjoyed this song yesterday at church as the older brother, with a style reminiscent of gospel singers of the past, lead the song. A good song like this makes me think and apply it to myself. Where is my faith? Do I have that kind of faith?

But let's just look at the words in the chorus of the song written by Minister John P Kee.

Oh lord I've come to receive my blessing,
Patiently awaiting for the harvest is nigh.
I got that Hebrews 11:1,
faith to know my blessing shall come; 
it's mine, all mine, 
it's harvest time.

Now, let's look at a very familiar verse Hebrews 11:1 (King James)
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Now let's look at the Message version:

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living.

We know all our blessings come from the Lord, which He bestows upon us on a daily basis. No matter what your situation, do you have that Hebrews 11:1 faith to know that God, not you, can handle it? Patiently wait for harvest time! 

It's Yours!

He Rose!

Easter Sunday evokes memories of baskets filled with different candies and colored eggs that my parents and I put together on the Saturday before.  I couldn't wait to get at it. All those jelly beans, except the black, licorice ones that Dad got by default, were my favorite to eat.  New clothes to wear to a family member's house for a day of fun and Easter dinner.  Easter was annual and we did the same things, the same way each year.

Easter was about the bunny and egg hunts for me, and I 'm sure millions of other children. It was fun, and we like fun.  Wow, what memories.

Memories are about remembering, so let's remember what Easter really means.  Jesus, after fulfilling the greatest, most selfless act in history by dying on the cross, rose from the grave with all power.  He had been crucified for no reason other than to save us and allow humanity to live.  He was the offering God received for the redemption of a stained people!

So before the candies and eggs, make sure your children know what Easter really means.  Before that Easter ham with all the sides, remember what happened over two thousand years ago and give thanks to the One that made it all possible.

After the Storm

The storms of life are always raging.  Some are more obvious than others.  But there was no mistaking the storms (tornadoes and twisters) that raged through sections of Texas recently.  But I choose to remember all that  I've heard and seen after the storm.  So many volunteers, there is not enough for all of them to do.  I don't think I've ever heard this about any other state in the aftermath of devastation.  It makes me Godly proud to be a Texan.

Whether we were personally affected or not, we should all take to heart what has happened here, and our lives should never be the same again.  We must all emerge from the ashes a little more humble; a little wiser; a little more focused; a little more loving and kind, and a whole lot more grateful to the one and only true living God.

People suffered great loss, but praise be to God, no life was lost.  That in itself is a miracle!