In the Bible Jesus says, “Do not conform to this world, But be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect”. I believe that if we are paying attention to the world today that it is pretty obvious that it is not what we desire in life. I have never in my life seen the truth compromised as much as it is today. Our leaders and our media have destroyed the truth and their credibility especially over the last few years. It seems like there is no truth anymore. Just say whatever or do whatever you want and call it the truth. I don’t want to be a part of that world. I want to be in the Kingdom of God where God’s Truth is the way and the life. I believe that God’s word is the one and only Truth. Its not that bad really, try it and you will probably love it.

Romans 12:2 – Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

God Bless You and have a great week…..Stay Safe.

Hilliary Scott sings a song titled “Beautiful Messes”. Her lyrics reminded me again of this crazy idea that Christians are “Perfect”. Where did Christians and Non-Christians get the idea that Christians are “Perfect”. I believe in Jesus and He is my God. I don’t really care to even be called a Christian. I am just a guy who believes in God and that Jesus is God. I can guarentee you that I am far, far from being perfect.. Following are some of the lyrics to her song…..

We ain’t perfect no…We ain’t even close…We got holes in our hearts…We got scars we don’t show…Lay it down at foot of the cross…Give it to the one (Jesus) who can carry it all…Even at our worst, to him we ain’t lost causes…just beautiful messess.

Romans 3:10 – As it is written, There is no one righteous (Perfect) not even one.

God Bless and Have a great week

The problem isn’t the U.S. Constitution or the American Flag or the Pledge of Allegiance ( which says one nation under God, indivisible, with LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL). And burning the American Flag is not going to change anything. The problem is us, all of us and we need to get better . We need to change. And most importantly, our leadership needs to get better. Our flag and country are not racist but some of the people in our country are racist. Millions of Americans already know this but our leaders are selling us out for power and greed. This is the greatest country in the world and we the people need to get better. We are still “one nation under God”. That God is Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We need to turn our eyes towards Him.

2 Chronicles 7:14 – Then if my people will humble themselves and pray, and search for me, and turn from their wicked ways I will hear them from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.

I believe this and need to change and get better. God Bless You and have a great week.

Dignity…….Probably the most important 7 letter word to our self-esteem. Dignity is defined as “the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect….a sense of self-respect”. When we lose our dignity, everything goes downhill. Personally, I feel that every person should be shown respect. Every person counts. We should always be on the look-out to restore a person’s dignity. If a person feels he has no self-worth, no sense of belonging, then I believe his dignity is in danger. You lose it and its hard to find it again. If you want to help the addicted, the homeless and the down and outers, then help them restore their self-image. Give them back their dignity.

1John 3:17 – But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?

Have a great week and God Bless you…..

I heard the song “Love Never Fails” by Brandon Heath and instantly loved it. Below are the words of his song. I hope you love is just as much.

Love Never Fails

Love is not proud..Love does not boast..Love after all matters the most..Love does not run..Love does not hide..Love does not keep locked inside..Love is the river that flows through..Love never fails you. Love will sustain..Love will provide..Love will not cease at the end of time..Love will protect..Love always hopes..Love still believes when you don’t.. Love is the arms that are holding you..Love never fails you. When my heart won’t make a sound..When I can’t turn back around..When the sky is falling down nothing is greater than this. Love is right here..Love is alive..Love is the Way the Truth the Life. Love is the river that flows through..Love is the arms that are holding you..Love is the place you will fly to..Love never fails you.

1 Cor 13:13 – Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully know. And now these three remain; faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

God Bless You and have a great week……

Life comes at us. Its relentless at times. Fast and furious at times and what we all share in common is the way we deal with it and its victories and defeats. Some people do pretty good at, others utterly fail at it. Still others turn to alcohol and drugs to numb themselves to it. Some try self-help books and others the newest book on human psychology. So is there an answer? Each one of us has to find their own way. The way I chose is Jesus. In the Bible Jesus says, “I am the Way……” I have found many answers, much inspiration, purpose and meaning in trusting Jesus with my life in this increasingly crazy world we live in. It isn’t magic and it doesn’t happen over night. Its a long journey in which I am still traveling as I write these words. I think differently, see differently and feel differently since I began this journey. I make it a point to pursue Jesus everyday through learning about who he is and what he is about. I just keep trusting him with my days (which is hard for me because I am a control freak) and just trying to let go, Below are some of the books that I truly believe in.

The Holy Bible

One Way Love by Tullian Tchividjian

Faith That Matters by Fredrick Buechner and others

Have a great week and remember there can by Joy in the Journey….Find your way. God Bless you.

Our faith does not demand us to be perfect. We are going to make mistakes, say the wrong things at times, do the wrong things at times, etc. Of course it would be better for us if we listened to what Jesus is encouraging us to say and do because it will make our lives better. It will make us better and give us hope and a future. What God really wants from us is our hearts. He wants us to have faith, to believe in him and his word. He wants us to trust him. To be still and know that he is God. To be the branch on the vine. To stay attached. There were a lot of ‘Bad Boys’ in the Bible that Jesus used to do great things. And I think the more one grows closer to Jesus the less ‘sinning’ he probably does. But we will never be perfect and there is no condemnation in Jesus. He is all good. People just put words in his mouth and say things that are not true and all of the sudden people get negative attitudes towards him. Like I said before, we need to just have faith and believe. Personally, he is everything to me.

God Bless you and have a great week.

You read the Bible and what is clear is that Jesus (The Word) spends a lot of time talking about our need for redemption, forgiveness, grace and unconditional love. It appears to me that the word of God would not be addressing this so much if there wasn’t a great need for it. Stop and think, the fact that Jesus would die on the cross to redeem us is over and over telling us through his word in the Bible that we have a great need for this redemption. We are broken, plain and simple. I used to think we were all born good and some of us went down the wrong road and messed up our lives. Now I am more and more sure that we are born broken, sinners, and through Jesus Christ can redeem our lives. I know a lot of people who don’t believe this and I find it hard to believe also……but I am afraid it is true. This is not a condemnation, its a warning that only through Christ can we truly find truth and redemption.

John 14:6 – I am the way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

God Bless You and have a great week.

One of the greatest and well known scriptures in the Bible is 1Corinthians 13. Verses 4-7 goes as follows, “Love is patient; Love is kind; Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrong doing, but rejoices in the truth…..” So if we can be patient, kind, and not envious or boastful or arrogant etc., then God will find our actions Godly. Writer Dallas Willard has a little bit different idea on what’s being said here, Willard feels that what is being said is “that it is Love that does these things, not us, and that what we are to do is to ‘purse love’. As we ‘catch’ love, we then find that these things are after all actually being done by us. These things, these Godly actions are the result of dwelling in Love”. Thus we become these admirable traits or behaviors.

Thank you Dallas Willard for once again shedding new light on centuries old writings—-The Holy Scriptures. They are the writings that just keep on giving. Amen

God Bless You and I hope we all “catch” some love this week.

Success is never final, failure is never fatal, its courage that counts.

So what is courage?

Rudyard Kipling writes that courage is “filling the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run”.

Henri J.M. Nouwen writes “the word courage comes from the latin word ‘cor’ , which means ‘heart’. Heart in this instance refers the center of your being, the center of all thoughts, feelings, passions and decisions”. Thus a courageous life is a life lived from the center. In the Bible scripture from 1corinthians 16:13 tells us to “Be on our guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

We are all somebody. We all have a purpose. We all need to believe that we count. We need to have hope. That God has plans for us. God does not throw away anybody. We need to be courageous and stand by God’s word in the Bible that encourages us to live the life that God has chosen for us.

Be Strong and Courageous this week as you begin this new year……God Bless you.