reflections for Friday 18 April 2oo8

Forgiven!>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

This one word is so hard to do at time and so hard to believe at times and I guess it's according which side of the word you are on. Sometimes we hold people hostage with this word, sometimes we have so much guilt that we can't believe we are set free when someone says, "I forgive you." I have been on both sides of that word and to be honest neither side feels good. I have hurt, I have been hurt, I have carried the guilt of the hurt I have afflicted on someone and sometimes it's hard to let go of it.

But then I always remember what Dr. David Jeremiah says whenever I know I have went to God and asked for forgiveness but I still carry the "weight" of it. Whenever I get into one of those, "I know God is forgiven me but I just can't forgive myself" David Jeremiah's comment, "If your Heavenly Father has forgiven you and forgot it what gives you the right not to let it go...are you God?" and that shuts me down and makes me let it go. One thing my queen always says, "It's okay to be convicted but not condemned" because Christ Jesus has already paid that huge price for me. Knowing this in my heart I have no right and no reason to carry that burden with me because His blood has insured me that I can never be taken out of the loving arms of God.

Now, as I have always made it clear...does this mean I do not pay a consequence for my decision? Yes I have to because God is not a genie in a bottle, whenever I get myself in a mess I can just "wish" myself out of that situation. Adam and Eve paid for their decision, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, King David, King Solomon, Peter, Paul...I can go on and on because in the end God forgave them for their sins but God could not violate his own laws and principles. For me, the more I realize this the more I try and not make decisions that I know will hurt not only myself but my family in the end.

The wonderful love of God lets me know that when I come to him with a open heart, pride set aside, and ask for true forgiveness, He gives it to me and will forget it. I may have to still deal with the consequences but I would rather receive his chastisement than His wrath. In the end I try and be a wise man instead of a clever man because the older I become, I don't have time to keep coming up with ways to get out of situations and you realize day in and day out, time is too precious to waste.

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Friday/Weekend

"For every thing that lives is holy, life delights in life."
~William Blake(1757-1827), America: A Prophecy

great audio message for Friday...
The Struggle With Unforgiveness
Dr. Charles Stanley-In Touch Ministries

reflections for Monday o4.14.o8

When In Doubt--->more
devotion from rbc ministries

One of the most cool things about being a follower of Christ is that my Heavenly Father covers all questions of life for me...even when I doubt. Yes, I said the "D" word.

This devotion is a great one and I will keep a couple of this in my wallet along side the bible passage as well. We as Christians have doubts from time to time and again God knows because he created us. No, not to doubt Him and to be honest we would not have doubt but we live in a fallen world so we at one time was separated from God but through the blood of his Son we have that connection again, but again we still have human emotions, love, hate, sorrow, sadness, anger, doubt.

What this devotion is saying to me is that when we are by ourselves sometimes, when we are going through something that is so heavy on our heart we tend to ask God, "Where are you? Is this pain worth me going through? What's the deal?" and it's okay to have questions like that for our Heavenly Father because one of the most import things is that He wants that closeness with His children. He wants us to know that He is there for us every step of the way and that He ALWAYS sees the end results of what we are encountering certain situations.

Now this is not to say that God puts us in harms way for His amusement because He is not like that at all. There are things we go through to make us stronger and if we were truly honest with ourselves most times we go through certain "valleys" in our lives because of the choices we have made and not being obedient to God's word. I said "most" not all. What about those who have been raped, molested? I would never say God planned something like that because again God does not plan evil for our lives and He does not tempt us "just because." I can say this for myself...

Being a child of molestation and ridicule growing up because of my stuttering it has made me the man that I am. I try to be a man that is more compassionate when it comes to children that are talked to harshly. There is a difference between "disciplined" and just plain meanness toward a child. When our grandchildren are over I make sure they are a gift from God, they are blessed with certain talents, gifts to make this world a better place. I make sure that they check out their surroundings, be very observant, and try to instill in them that "words" do matter and that life is precious because if you teach them to love and respect themselves they will see others in the same light.

My pain has also taught me that when I come across someone that has difficult with their speech to have patience, compassion for them because I know how hard it is when you want to say something and the words cannot come out fast enough or you stumble and stuttered. It's makes life unbearable at times and you dread to have someone call on you to speak or to read out loud. I am so thankful that God has taught me how to deal with stuttering and how to put myself in their shoes when it comes to speech because some people will stutter and stammer over their words for the rest of their lives. Coming up with those two blows against me you know I cried out to God "why me?" How could he allow someone to violate me that way and how could he allow me not be able to speak like other children? You talk about doubt, it was there in Spades.

But I am older, and I am wiser and I realize God did not allow me to get molested because that was his plan...that evil act was done by that person because of their own free will and I know in the end God will deal with that person in His own way , His own time. God did not want me to be laughed at when it came to my speech because like I said earlier, when Adam and Eve allowed Satan to become the ruler of this world imperfect crept into this world: disease, evil thoughts, evil acts, jealousy, murder, greed and so forth. My stuttering allowed me to fight for me find a way to overcome it and to be able share with the world that it can be teach you that words are truly important and that in a weird way to let you know, "yes, words do matter.

When doubting God it does not make you less of a follower of Christ, but a better Christian because it will draw you closer to Him and you will want a closer relationship with your Heavenly Father and in return you will become a brighter light for Him in the end. So ask away..He's always willing to listen and help you through your rough patches in life.

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Monday

great messages for today:
Never Try to Catch a Falling Knife{Part I}{Part II}
A New Beginning-Greg Laurie

Thru the Bible Questions & Answers-o4.12.o8
Thru the Bible-Dr. J.Vernon McGee

"the fountain of content must spring up in the mind, and he who hath so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in the fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he proposes to remove."

~Samuel Johnson(1709-1784)
The Rambler

image:allposters.com

reflections for Wednesday o4.o9.o8

The Oyster Man>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

Today's devotion and Bible passage speaks volume to my heart and spirit. It allows me to know that I do not need to be perfect in order to have Christ in my life or to share his Good News. Sometimes we a Followers of Christ get to a point where we begin to nit-pick others who has just giving their lives to Christ and forget sometimes where we were when we realized that we truly need God to help us in this fallen world.

It's so cool to know that of myself I may not be a scholar when it comes to words but God has given me other gifts when it comes to sharing His goodness, His love, His commandments for one's life. This does not mean I do not study His word, pray and have a close relationship with Him but this also means I do not look down upon others who's speak is not adequate or smooth flowing. Knowing God and sharing His word for me is to spread it the best I know how while continuing studying, meditating on His wonderful instructions for my life. Isn't it funny how Jesus Christ chose his disciples who not well known, well educated when it came to studying the scroll but had common sense work wise, street wise and did not go around saying that they were Christ but won people over by telling others how Christ Jesus changed their lives. I am learning every day that I am not perfect, never will be perfect. I can not speak for others when it comes to Jesus Christ but I can speak for myself when it comes to letting people where I was and where I am now because of knowing the Christ loved me when I was at my lowest.

This does not mean that all came to Christ when they were down and out. To many, I looked liked I had it "going on" so to speak, I did not smoke or drink, I gave up the night life long ago but in the inside I was and empty shell. Had mood swings because I truly did not love myself. I was lonely, I felt that I needed someone in my life to make me feel whole. I may not have ran the streets but I was still living outside the will of God by having sex outside of marriage, living with a woman. I thought I had the best of both worlds but every day more and more I was realizing it was a lie. Once I broke off that relationship, alone in my apartment, I cried out to Christ saying, "If I never find someone I am okay with that as well, I'm just tired of living this way." Those days were not easy but allowing God into my life each day made me realize that no person can make me feel whole the way his Son can.

Being a follower of Christ is not smooth living all the time because as passage says, "Satan is the God of this world[this is the cause by Adam & Eve...God gave us dominion over this earth and my forefather and mother gave it over to Satan in the garden and God can not violate His law once He has put it into place.] Being a Christians does not mean you have to be perfect in order to serve him. It takes work on our part every day and we will make mistakes and that's okay because when you are sincere about God, He knows at times we will "zig" when we are supposed to "zag". God's love us where we are but will not leave us where we are.

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
and have a Wonderful Wednesday.

Beginning today I will be linking this site and podcast whenever I post here...

MoneyLife article...
Impulsive and compulsive spending
MoneyLife podcast from today and yesterday

great message for today from In Touch Ministries
Things That Cannot Be Shaken

reflections for o4.o7.o8 Monday

Why? Why? Oh, Why?>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

This question has been ask by Christians and non-Christians, "Why does God allow suffering in our lives?" I'm not going to sit hear and say I have all the answers but I can tell you how I take disappointments in my life now. Even though times I may not like it, I may not agree with God's way of maturing me but I can say in the end it has made me a better person.

First and foremost I now step back and ask MYSELF, "Could I have had a different outcome if I would have chose a different path?" I say this because many times I could have had a better outcome if I would have listened and obeyed the Holy Spirit. I'm getting to the point now that I have to be honest with myself because most of the times I have brought this on myself and I have to take responsibility for my actions. Noticed I said most times because lets be honest, many times we do not want to do it God's way because (1) we do not like to admit we are not always in control (2) pride...plain and simple.

Sometimes God allows things to happen in my life because as the devotion says, sometimes we have to be matured in certain situations, certain trials because in the end it will make us a stronger Christian for His kingdom and we can also be there for someone who later down the road might be going through something similar. I am learning that when God is allowing something to happen in my life that may bring me pain I am learning when God allows this heartache it's only chastisement and not His wrath because if it was the latter I would have no where to turn because in the end I do not want him to turn me over to my own ways of living.

I remember being in the world and when this situation or that situation did not go my way I would cry out to Him and back then I thought I was being punished by God. But in essence God was trying to get me to come back into his loving arms because now that I look back they was nothing for me out in the clubs, trying to sleep with every woman I encounter; as the ol' folks would say to me, "there's nothin' out there those streets for you boy!" Having to go through trials and pain even as a Christian is not a fun thing to feel but saying to myself, "I don't understand why this is happening in my life at this moment God, but I know in the end it is for my own good." I have also learned that God will sometimes but rarely give me the answer to my "Why's" but he gives me the answer to my "What" questions. Many times God will flip the script and begin to ask me "Why" questions which I do not have the answers. I have stop asking why when my eyes were open in reference to reading the book of Job. If you noticed God never really answered Job questions but in the end Job understood what God was trying to bring out of him character wise and he[Job] also realized that God was with him throughout his ordeal. Painful for Job yes...did it make him a better person in the end...yes.

As a follower of Christ, next time instead of asking "why?" ask God, "What are you trying to have me do or learn from this situation?" The answer may just surprise you.

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Monday.


audio message for today...
Separating from Unbelievers -- Part 2
John MacArthur{Grace To You}

Reflections for Saturday o4.o5.2oo8

Words Of Life>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
~John 6:68

For me that passage sums it all up for me every time I get discourage. After truly getting to know Christ Jesus on a daily basis, "where should I go?"I know life is not perfect, I know life is not fair, I know things will not always go my way but at the end of the day and at the end of my life, who else will be there for me?

The words of Jesus Christ is truly like a sword. He tells me about myself, what I need to improve myself, what I do and do not need in my life, what I need to hear, what I need to say because in the end, God may not leave me but he has given me the choice to life or death(spiritually wise). It's amazing how sometimes devotions just flow from one day to the next for me and then other times devotions and Bible passages and verses seem to have no mean for me at the time and then out of the blue when I think it doesn't apply to me it's there when I need it. As I read this devotion it reminded me what I have been going through all this week: allowing "too much of nothing" information wise filter my thoughts and how I have decided now to truly watch what I allow into my thought process.

Getting back to the point in my life where first thing in the morning I want to gravitate to God's word instead of hopping on the computer and see who has read my post or downloaded my podcast is a good thing for me. I know that without Him, I will worry of non-sense and in the end it will rob me of precious time with him, with my queen. Praying, getting on my knees when the Holy Spirit tells me to in the end only helps my walk with Christ Jesus because in the end having a peace of mind is ultimate gift. One thing I can say time and time again, Jesus holds no punches when it comes to telling you the cost when it came to giving my life over to him but that is a true friend...he tells me what I need to hear instead of what I want to hear. I can walk away from him if I wish in the end...

"Lord, to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal life."

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Saturday/Sunday

Wisdom for this morning...
Thru the Bible Questions & Answers - Dr. J. Vernon McGee

Reflections for Friday o4.o4.2oo8

What Should I Do?>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

Experiencing Inner Peace>>>more
devotion from In Touch Ministries

Both titles of the each devotion I experience every day and I believe many other do as well. I have to admit, I have let my walk with God slip and now I am getting it back because I have found that when walking with God I am able to experience inner peace and I go from "What Should I Do?" to "I Know What I Must Do". When following God's plan it is sometimes necessary to not allow so much of the world to influence your decisions. Just this morning while watching MSNBC I noticed how the reporter when speaking the Rev. Al Sharpton how she kept gravitating to the negative and how he[Sharpton] and to keep pushing it back the positive. Isn't it amazing how the world is drawn to the negative like a moth to the flame but then turn around and ask, "How come it's so much bad in the world?"

This I know why it's evil in the world because of my fore-father and mother: Adam & Eve. Once they tasted the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil sin came into our world and the trick Satan tries to do day in and day out is for everyone to concentrate on the negative in the world. I am not saying to look at the world through rose colored glasses but to realize that many times the decisions we make for our lives plays a huge part of what we will experience much in life. We need to be caution but not fearful, we need to know when to speak and when to listen, we need to learn how to say no, and most important, we need to know that we cannot please everyone or live by people's standards. It's hard to do sometimes because of what we have been through in life but the more we look to our Heavenly Father the more we realized how to handle certain situations, what we can change in our lives and what we cannot change.

I am learning this day by day because I struggle with this but as I write this I am realizing that when I struggle with what God's want with my life it is me that is wasting valuable, precious time because deep down I know he wants the best for me and I have to constantly seek Him and obey Him because I know in the end He knows what I need and how I will handle success and failure. The more I force myself to seek His goodness the more breakthrough I will have when it comes to decisions and having that peace within. I say force because when you let your walk slip from God, Satan will fight you tooth and nail to stop you from seeking God's goodness for your life and that is what I am struggling with now but I see good news ahead because God has allowed me to see what he[Satan] is doing and as long as I wake up each day that is another day I have the chance to draw closer to my heavenly Father.

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Friday/Weekend

I do not follow Dr. James Dobson that much but sometimes he has pretty good segments from time to time that need to be shared with the world and these are to programs that everyone should take heed to in reference to finances

from Focus on the Family

• Let the Buyer Beware 1
• Let the Buyer Beware 2

Reflections for Thursday o4.o3.o8

Right Place>>>more
devotion from rbc ministries

Have you ever read a Biblical passage and every verse that you are acquired to read speaks to you? I mean ever verse is like it REALLy spoke to you? Reading the acquired reading for this morning (Proverbs 16:1 thru 9) did that for me. We are supposed to make plans, we are suppose to prepare for our future but sometimes things do not map out the way they that they should and we sometimes get bent out of shape...okay I get bent out of shape at times but in the end isn't it funny how they work themselves out many times. Now I not talking about just going through life and having a "what will be, will be" attitude, that's not good. I'm talking about sometimes how we may have planned something one day and got their a day early but you end up meeting someone you haven't seen in years and have a chance to catch up on old times. Or you may have left out of the house 5 minutes late thinking you are going to be miss out on the best opportunity of a lifetime only to find out if you may have left out on time you could have been in accident once you past a section of a road you normally travel.

For me today is a time to begin getting out of my own way. It's really cool how you can come across so many messages that tell you that it's time to take a different approach to situations. Last night before going to bed I finally had a chance to listen to brother in podcasting show (Clarence of "DoYouKnowClarence?") and he hit the nail on the head or as my queen says it, "You hit the nail on the head with the hammer."(I love it how she says the whole thing out like that, it's so cute). From what I took from Clarence's show is that we have to real with ourselves, we have to see ourselves for what we truly are and where we are at that moment so we can finally realize how our Heavenly Father sees us and for me when you do that you can begin focusing on how to improve yourself. I too have had those conversations with myself that I'm being interviewed by Tavis Smiley or Terry Gross, having my face on CNN chatting it up with Anderson Cooper or talking to Keith Olbermann but sometimes we live in that world and not take care of what we need to do in the present.

These 9 verses from Proverbs speaks volumes to my heart today. It tells me yes map out what you need to do for that day but don't get upset if it doesn't work out the way that you planned. We may say with our mouths and may be sincere when it comes to doing some things but God knows what in our heart what we are really seeking. The verses says to me, before my feet hit the floor thank God that he has given me another day to see to bring glory to him. Don't envy boastful people because in the end God knows what is best for them so keep living the way you need to live.

I have to really begin reading a chapter a day from Proverbs because just think if I truly read a chapter a day and followed out what the almighty says how far ahead I would be in this game called life? If just 9 verses from just one chapter woke me up spiritually like this just think what the rest of the book can do for me?

Be Blessed, Be Safe,
& Have a Wonderful Thursday

two great messages to get you started today...

"DYKC?™ #19 — No Other Gods, Before ME"
from DYKC

The Struggle With Temptation-Pt. o1
from Dr. Charles Stanley