Who?

Who can make my hopelessness disappear?
Who will persuade my heart not to fear?
Who will save me from these tears?

Who will tell my soul that God is in control?

Who?

Who will do?

None, but You!

Scriptural food for thought: "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in [H]im, and [H]e helps me." (Psalm 28:7a; New International Version)

 Image Source/URL: http://www.sanctiangeli.org/scotland_nun/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jeshua_jesus.jpg


To God be the Praise, Honor, and Glory!
Forever and Always!! 
Amen, Amen, And Amen!!!

Jesus...? Who Is He...?

Please, watch the video below to find out more...


Video Source: JESUS IS ___. from The City Church on Vimeo.

And as for me...

Jesus is my LORD and SAVIOR;
Jesus is the King of kings;
Jesus is my hope and strength;
Jesus is my EVERYTHING!

JESUS, please let these words be full of truth, and pleasing to You!
It is in Your Precious and Powerful Name that I pray,
Amen, Amen, and Amen!

Scriptural Food for Thought: "Then [H]e [that is, Jesus] asked them, "But who do you say I am?" Peter replied, "You are the Messiah."  

(Mark 8:29; New Living Translation)

Let all glory, honor, praise, and power, be given to You!
Yesterday, Today, and Forever!
Amen, Amen, and Amen!

As for me... Let me Be Your Mouthpiece!

The content of this particular blog post, "birthed out" of a stirring in my heart; a stirring in my soul. A stirring caused by a deep and vivid awareness of how many people still need to be set free from slavery. And this time, I am not just talking about the slavery of sin. This time, I am talking about slavery in a literal sense.... Can you believe it still exists in the 21st century? I certainly couldn't. But I was rudely awakened to the cold, hard, truth. And I cannot help but feel compelled to share my awakening experience with you. Therefore, if I may, please allow me to explain it to you...   

It all began, as I watched the first four Passion 2012 sessions streaming online; (especially the ones regarding slavery and human trafficking). I was taken aback by them. My mind could not conceive, that even now-in the 21^st century- slavery still exists! It sounds utterly unbelievable to me! But the fact of the matter is, that 27,000 people around the world, still find themselves under the heavy burden of slavery in some form. For instance, there are some precious people, who have worked at rice mills under the hot sun, for 18 straight hours a day, for very little money. And as if that were not enough, they are still in debt with their “master”-so to speak; which in turn, further traps them into this vicious cycle of slavery. A cycle which must be broken!  I understand it must be hard to believe; (for it certainly was for me.) But once again I say, slavery is an ongoing cycle, which can be perpetrated from generation to generation if not stopped.  

As a matter of fact, according the account of an actual slave who works at a rice mill, both his grandfather, and father, worked at the same rice mill until they were deceased. This particular individual, started working at the rice mill, as a slave, at the age of twelve. And he is still enslaved. He does not have the money to pay the ever-increasing debt to his master; (which has been passed on from his grandfather to his father, and from his father, to him.) You see the vicious cycle here? And if something is not done about it, his son is very likely to have the same fate. But it doesn’t have to be this way…

We CAN do something about it! We MUST do something!  

We cannot sit idly by, as we watch the perpetuation of slavery in the 21^st century!

We cannot simply ignore their suffering, and not actively participate in some way, shape or form, in order to change their harsh reality!

But before I conclude this blog post, and tell let you-the reader- know how you can join us as we fight for freedom, I cannot neglect to mention human trafficking. It may sound like a distant reality…until you hear about one story. One Person. One Face. One Life. And suddenly, everything changes….

She is a young Russian woman, who had no choice but to go back to her parents’ house-along with her little daughter-after her husband left their country of origin, in search of work and a better quality of life. Only, he never returned. Hence, this young mother had to fend for herself, her daughter, and her family. She started looking for a job opportunity in a foreign country. And she found it; she found a job offer in a newspaper advertisement. She applied for it, and got the job. She was to go to Lebanon. She was initially told that she had a six-month contract. However, when she finally arrived in Lebanon, things were different; VERY different. What she thought was supposed to be a six-month contract, gradually escalated from extraneous hours of housework, to scarce meals, to starvation, and ultimately, to being forced to sleep with men…

...She was trapped; with no way to escape. She had become yet another victim, (among thousands of others), of human trafficking, and slavery.

 So, you see, it is no longer such a distant issue; (is it?)...

...It has certainly become a vivid reality to me. And it MUST be stopped!

We must do something!

If you would like to join us in this fight to end human trafficking and slavery, please click on the following link: https://secure.268generation.com/dosomethingnow/give/freedom (or copy and paste the URL.)

 
Your prayers, donations, gifts, and contributions to this quest for freedom are greatly, sincerely, and wholeheartedly appreciated! Thank you!

As for me, I cannot go now.

But my heart goes out to you!

I love you!

I care for you!

My heart breaks for you!

I hear you!

And though I cannot go now, please let me be your mouthpiece in the meantime…

You are not alone!

You have a voice!

We hear you!

We will speak for you!

You are dearly loved.

Hold on, just a little longer….

Freedom is surely coming for you!

That is what I pray,

In Jesus’ name,

Amen, Amen, and Amen!

Scriptural food for thought: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36; New Living Translation).

May God bless you all!

To God be all Glory, Honor, and Praise!

Forever and Always!

Amen! Amen! And Amen!

Making Good On A Promise

As a new year begins, I thought I’d make good on a promise… But I am a little ahead of myself.  Allow me to explain: 

You see, a few days ago, I was reminded of something; an event -a miracle, in fact-which happened many, many, years ago. … Back when Jesus walked the earth… (Please, don’t drift off here; bear with me.)  But before I get to the heart of the matter, let me give the reader a little background information as to the context within which this particular miracle took place. Here I go: 

You see, Jesus had just found out, that John the Baptist, who was Jesus’ cousin, (humanly speaking), and more importantly, had been appointed as God’s messenger to prepare the way-and thus, the people for the first coming of Jesus Christ-by leading them to the repentance of their sins, and by baptizing them with water, (refer to Matthew 3:1-13, and Luke 1:76-79), had been beheaded by King Herod. 

Hence, Jesus headed-along with His twelve disciples-to a deserted place. But once the multitudes heard about what had taken place, they left their cities, and followed Jesus on foot.   

(Meanwhile, Jesus was on a boat, crossing to the other side of a river...) When Jesus left the boat, and saw the great multitude of people, He had compassion on them, and He healed those who were sick among them.

As evening approached, Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus to dismiss the multitude, in order for them to go to the nearby villages, to buy food. For, as noted earlier, Jesus had been followed by a multitude of people, to a deserted place, it was getting late, and Jesus’ disciples did not see how a great multitude could be fed, given their remote location, and the scarcity of food.

But Jesus, in all of His wisdom, put his disciples’ faith to the test, by telling them to feed the multitude. This can be clearly seen in Matthew 14:16. It reads as follows:

“But Jesus replied, "That isn't necessary -- you feed them."  

(Matthew 14:16; New Living Translation)

The disciples, in turn, naturally replied with disbelief; (much like I do sometimes...) Saying:

"Impossible!" they exclaimed. "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish!"  

(Matthew 14:17; New Living Translation)

But Jesus, surprised His disciples yet again, by teaching them an amazing lesson. Yet, before we go into that, let us go back to Jesus’ response to His disciples’ claim regarding the scarcity of food. The Word of God reads as follows:

“Bring them here," [H]e said [referring to the five loaves and two fish]. Then [H]e told the people to sit down on the grass. And [H]e took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and asked God's blessing on the food. Breaking the loaves into pieces, [H]e gave some of the bread and fish to each disciple, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand men had eaten from those five loaves, in addition to all the women and children!  

 (Matthew 14:18-21; New Living Translation)

Isn’t that amazing? 

Isn’t wonderful to see the wonders that God is able to do with what is made available to Him?

He fed 5,000 men-not counting women and children-until they were all satisfied! And as if that were not enough, there were twelve baskets of leftovers. (I don’t know about you, but that constitutes quite a miracle to me!)

  

You see, even now, as I read this small portion of Scripture, I am reminded, (yet again), that of the lesson that Jesus taught his disciples. It was unquestionably a lesson of faith; yes. But other lessons can be learned from it as well. For instance, I have learned-or better yet-reminded of the fact, that it is not about how much-or how little-we have to offer Him. But rather, about what making what we do have-that is, whatever has been entrusted onto us-available to Him. Only then, will He be able to multiply what we make available to Him, and cause His Holy Name to be glorified! (Amen! Amen! And Amen!)

I, for one, do not have much to give… But I am making good on a promise to give Him my “five loaves and two fish…” (Matthew 14:17b)…My heart, my life, and these words of mine…

I know these aren’t really mine to begin with. For everything belongs to the LORD! (Amen!) Yet, these are the “five loaves and two fish” (Matthew 14:17b), which God has entrusted me with. Therefore, may God take them, and multiply them. So that His Holy Name may be glorified! (Amen! Amen! And Amen!)

Before I conclude this blog post, I strongly encourage you-the reader-to take some time to dive into the Word of God, and read this remarkable, and miraculous, true story for yourself; directly from its source. The account of the multiplication of the five loaves of bread and the two fish, is found in the book of Matthew, chapter 14, beginning from verse 13 thru 21.

May this remarkable true account of a miraculous event, minister to your heart, twice as much, as it did to mine!

May the LORD our God, bless you and keep you all!

Have a very blessed and Happy New Year!!!!

To God be the glory, honor, and praise!

Forever & Always!

Amen, Amen, and Amen! (Hallelujah!)

Guilt Magnet

I often find myself torn between who I am, and who I would like to be. I find myself, constantly-in fact, daily- fighting in an internal battle between my human nature, (that is, the flesh), and the spirit.  I struggle with living out biblical concepts like: Fully trusting and obeying God, depending upon God, and waiting upon Him; (just to name a few.)

The truth is, there is nothing I want more in the world, than to be the person that God Himself created me to be. I want to be of service in His Kingdom; I want to be an instrument in His hands; I want to be a jar of clay; I want to fulfill the purpose God has set for me…But by the same token, this burning desire within my heart to please God, to bring a smile to His face, joy to His heart, and to be in complete sync with His will for my life, doesn’t always translate so smoothly into corresponding actions. And here’s where I falter. Here’s where I so often fail. Here is where I feel so much like the apostle Paul when he said:

“When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it. It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am!”  (Romans 7:19-24a; New Living Translation) 

In other words, I want to trust God with all of my heart; I want to obey Him fully; I want completely depend on, and wait upon, God. But the fact of the matter is, I stumble and I fall. And as a direct-and almost immediate-result of this stumbling and falling of mine, guilt follows, not far behind; creeping into my heart like a chronic disease that doesn’t want to leave. It attempts to rob me of my peace. And it often succeeds; (at least temporarily.) I dare say, this has become a vicious cycle for me. Because every single time I fall, I’m reminded of all the wrong that I have said and done in the past. Consequently, guilt settles in like a stubborn thief; weighing heavily on me.

Now, in my heart and soul I know I’ve been forgiven, redeemed, and made new by the precious blood of Jesus Christ! (Amen!) By contrast, I cannot help but to feel disappointed in myself; because after all, God has always shown His faithfulness and goodness to me. He has never deceived me. He has always been there for me; even before I came to believe. So, I cannot help but wonder why I struggle to fully trust, obey, depend, and wait upon God; (among other things.) It makes absolutely no sense to me. Nevertheless, it is truly, and honestly, the predicament in which I often find myself.

Thankfully, there’s hope for me, and for all of those who believe. For the Word of God says:

“That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to [H]im and never stop trusting [H]im. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for [H]e faced all of the same temptations we do, yet [H]e did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive [H]is mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.”  

(Hebrews 4:14-16; New Living Translation)

And what’s more, if we come to God wholeheartedly, and confess our sins, He’s more than willing to forgive us, and cleanse us from our sins; also permanently lifting from our shoulders, the heavy burden of guilt that comes along with them. For it is written:

“But if we confess our sins to [H]im, [H]e is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”  

(1 John 1:9; New Living Translation)

In closing, I would like to express my heartfelt and eternal gratitude, for the abundant love, undeserving grace, and the Everlasting mercy, which God Himself pours upon me every day.

(Thank you, Jesus!)

So, my prayer for us all, is that GOD ALMIGHTY may always keep us in His perfect Peace, and guilt-free; (provided we confess our sins before Him, daily and strive to change our ways.)

May we always know that the precious blood of Jesus Christ, poured out for you and me on that wooden cross, is all we need to be completely washed clean, and totally free from the burden of sin.

And may God have mercy upon us all, as we strive to answer the call that God has given us all:

To develop a loving, intimate, and genuinely sincere, relationship with Christ as we walk through this life; waiting expectantly for His return! (Amen! Hallelujah!)

MAY GOD HIMSELF HELP US ALL!

In Jesus’ Precious name I pray,

Amen & Amen!

May all the glory, honor, and praise be given to God always!

Amen & Amen!

Free Indeed!!!

When I see myself through the lenses of God’s love for me, I’m no longer small and weak;

I’m no longer meek…

I finally begin to see, who God has called me to be.

Not because of me; but rather because of God’s love, grace, mercy, and heartfelt compassion for me.

I’m no longer a collection of flaws, or wrongful thoughts.

I’m no longer held captive by the lies of the enemy;

Because God has set me free indeed! (Amen! Hallelujah!)

And I will not let go of this freedom given to me!

Because God has set me free indeed! (Amen! Hallelujah!)

So, I will choose to believe!

This I know indeed: I will choose to believe!

Because this road that I’m on is not my demise;

It is the road through which I’m sanctified.

God is not a man that He should lie!

And I will find sweet grace in His eyes…

God is not a man that He should lie!

So, I will choose to believe!

And as I’m sanctified, let His Holy Name be Glorified!

(Amen! Amen! And Amen!)  

   

Let all glory, honor, and praise be given to God Almighty! 

Forever & Always!

Amen, Amen, and Amen!!!  

What if Jesus Came Back Today?

Lately, I have been pondering upon a very intriguing, and frightening question. A question which led to several follow-up questions, and consequently, compelled me to engage in self-examination. And today, I'd like to take you-the reader-on a little journey in an effort to describe how this self-examination process unfolded. My hope by doing so, is to humbly encourage you to also devote some time for self-examination. Perhaps you may never have thought about it before. But examining our individual lives, is a vital part of our spiritual growth, as we strive to lead lives that resemble that of Jesus Christ; following in His footsteps. In other words, examining our daily choices, particularly the way we choose to spend our free time, the type of conversations we choose to engage in-or not-as well as, the TV shows and movies we choose to watch, can be an incredibly eye-opening experience. But before I elaborate on the subject, please allow me to digress, and go back to the beginning of it all.

As I mentioned earlier, I have been pondering upon an intriguing and frightening question. And such question is this: "What if Jesus came back today?" Thus, naturally propelling follow-up questions such as: "What would He find me doing? "Would He be pleased with the way I spend my time and lead my life here on earth? The quest for sincere, objective, honest and transparent answers to such questions, consequently led me to engage in self-examination. Quite frankly-but not surprisingly-a number of things came to mind, which require change. Especially with regards to the way I spend my leisure time; (which just between you and me, happens to be quite a lot... :)). As I attempted to objectively examine my daily choices, I discovered something that ought to have been quite obvious, yet I still managed to be amazed by it. Perhaps I may not have been amazed by this "discovery" in and of itself; but rather by the fact, that it was so overt. And yet, I had made little or no effort to change it. This "discovery" I made, pertains to a number of habits of mine. These habits are not necessarily sinful habits. But they are constant distractions which subtly rob me of time, and even-I dare say- temporarily shift my focus from the things of real significance and/or importance. That is, heavenly things; things with eternal implications.

One of these distracting habits of mine, is spending the majority of my free time on social network sites. Such as: Facebook, twitter, orkut, so on and so forth. Now, please do not misunderstand me. I'm not suggesting or implying that spending time on social networks is necessarily bad. It can-and is-used for good.  But by the same token, it can also be distracting to me at times. Again, my intention is not to play the blame game here. After all, if someone is to blame, that someone is none other than: Me, myself, and I. For I alone am responsible for the choices I make. Once again, I cannot emphasize this enough:  My intention is not to blindly criticize the existence of social networks; or the Internet for that matter. If that were the case, I would have to delete this blog, or resign to the possibility of being called a hypocrite.

The point I'm trying to make is this: Access to the internet and advanced technological gadgets, such as i-phones, i-pads, i-pods, Notebooks, Notepads, laptops, and the good "old fashioned" cell phones, can be-and are-wonderful things. For instance, we can now share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people from all over the world, from all walks of life and different backgrounds, thanks to our access to the Internet. We can share our faith and hope in Jesus Christ with friends and family members, through social networks, blogs, websites, and TV broadcasts. We even have Bible apps (applications) on i-phones nowadays! (Isn't that amazing?!)

By contrast, we must not forget to mention the fact, that the incredible technological advancement which we are witnessing in post-modern day society, also contributes directly and significantly-from my perspective-to the astounding increase of things, both material and virtual, competing for our precious time and attention. And we wonder why we often find ourselves, out of breath, out of time, stressed, fatigued, and even sometimes, depressed. (But I digress...That should be a topic for a future blog post.)

In closing, please allow me to say this: Everything in life, has its pros and cons. Technology is no different. I have said it before, and I'll say it again: Technology, in and of itself, is not bad. The problem arises, when we become chronically distracted, addicted, or even enslaved by it. And that is why, we must be careful to examine ourselves, examine our hearts, our minds, and our daily lives. (I for one, am the first in line.) We must avoid chronic distractions, and weed them out of our hearts, before they enslave us, and shift our focus from what really matters: Heavenly things. We must strive to keep our eyes upon Jesus at all times. We must ask God to help and guide us in living lives that are pleasing to Him. We must constantly remind ourselves, that life here on earth is a vapor. We do not know what tomorrow brings. We do not know when He will come to take us home, or when we'll go. We do not know. Therefore, we must always be ready to go. For we do not know what tomorrow brings.

May the LORD our GOD have mercy upon us all, and lead us constantly in His Everlasting Light, so that we may not be caught by surprise when that frightful, yet glorious DAY arrives!

In the glorious Name of Jesus I pray,

Amen, Amen, and Amen!

Scriptural food for thought: "Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Christ is [in you]; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith."  

(2 Corinthians 13:5; New Living Translation)

"Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the LORD." 

(Lamentations 3:40; New Living Translation)

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses in the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race [H]e has set before us."  

(Hebrews 12:1; New Living Translation)

 

Let all glory, honor, and praise be given to the LORD our GOD always!
Amen, Amen, and Amen!