FEAR

What are you afraid of? I’m not talking about spiders, snakes, horror movies, clowns, or even going outside without your make-up on (ladies you know who you are). I am talking about what are you afraid of, what is giving you fear that you are limiting yourself from greatness. There are times in our life that we hold back to be safe, not made fun of, comfortable, or plainly to be mediocre. If we don’t draw too much attention to ourselves then maybe we can slide by in life and not have to deal with failure because we are not searching for success. Dale Carnegie stated, “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” In essence if we aren’t vulnerable to fail and understand that it is through those failures that we can find success we will never see our true potential. This quote I feel should truly strike the nerve in you to reach for more, “Don’t aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.” Put your all into what you love and success will follow. How many are you are in jobs you don’t like, have bosses you hate, and co-workers that annoy you? Have you ever stopped to think about how the heck did I wind up here? Maybe you have a passion and love for something but you put it to the side because you couldn’t risk it, why? Sometimes we have to take a step of faith to understand that god has blessed us with talents and those talents are to be used, and more importantly used to glorify him. The bible says “whatever you do in word or deed do it all in the name of the lord.” Can you glorify God where you are at? Sure, and I hope that you do, however, wouldn’t you like to take a step out that and not handcuff yourself to mediocrity. If you are fearful to take that step remember this verse, “be strong and courageous and do not be afraid the lord goes with you each and every day he will never forsake you.” I don’t want you all to get what I am saying to you twisted, I am not saying you can’t be happy where you are at or that you are a failure because you are not a professional baseball player, but instead a garbage man, that’s not it. I am saying why not reach for the stars, success is measured differently by different people. For me I love time with my family, and I love helping people and sharing Christ with others. I prayed that God would lead me and at first I was shocked at how he closed doors I wanted and opened doors I needed to achieve those goals. I put trust and faith that he would guide and provide for me and my family. If success was based on money for me, I would be a failure, but since it is not I haven’t worried about money or had concerns of money since I put my trust in Christ. What are you looking for? How are you looking, and what do you need to get there? There is this great song by Switchfoot, a line from the song goes something like this, “This is your life, are you who you want to be, this is your life are you everything you dreamed that you could be when the world was younger and you had everything to lose.” In psalms 32:8 the lord says, “I the lord will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” If we put our trust and faith in the lord He will guide us to greatness (greatness that only comes from the Lord). Proverbs 3:6 states, “In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and he will direct and make straight and plain your paths.” Recognize the Lord is there waiting for you to turn to him for help and he will make plain your path. This reminds me of the story of how I met my wife. When I was working at an afterschool care in Folsom, I was asked to go help at one of our sister schools down the street, that was solely pre-K and under in age. I dreaded it, but, nonetheless I went and did my best. I was sent to the 2-year-old class, all of you who have children understand the age of 2 is extremely difficult, now imagine 20 of them. Yet as I worked, I noticed through the diaper smell and the many noses that needed to be wiped, i got a glance at an amazing woman that was beautiful and more importantly she handled the chaotic realm of 2 year-olds with such grace and ease. I knew I needed to know more about this person, so like the mature adult I was at age 22, I ask a friend to get me the 411 on her. I went out of my way to try to keep our relationship going leaving her notes and trying to let her know I was interested. My wife told me at first she didn’t really get me because I was shy and didn’t talk to her much (those who know me that is as far from my personality as possible) but I kept going. The school stopped needing my help and I went back to my afterschool care, I was both relieved and bummed, I know I really liked this person but didn’t know how to go about it, so I prayed. I prayed God if you want this person to be in my life not just for a while but forever make it obvious to me, help me to see without a doubt that this is who I am supposed to be with for the rest of my life.” I prayed this prayer after not seeing or talking to my (now) wife for 2 weeks, and out of the blue she calls me at my work to ask me if I wanted to go to lunch with her, I had to decline because of scheduling but promptly scheduled dinner. It was God answering a prayer, what I was not able to do on my own God made so clear for me, and I am very grateful for his guidance. So if you are struggling to put yourself out there to know that the answer from God to me could have easily have been NO but it is ok, God is there HE wants your concerns and he wants to guide you to a successful life in Him. Success where all the treasure are stored in heaven waiting for us, a success where you go home happy because you know your life has meaning and purpose. Success where you can say at the end of the day I am blessed because Jesus is in control and I am just enjoying the ride. God is great, there will still be struggles and suffering along the way but that is our way of showing our trust and dedication to God that we know and believe that he will put us “on the path that is direct, plain, and straight (Prov 3:6)”

Why so STRESSED!?

Stress, what is it? In our world we have made stress a daily part of our lives, in our jobs, in our homes, in our schools, in our churches, in pretty much everything we do.  Researchers are now finding that stress is a more serious to our bodies than just being a little irritable. According to the American institute of stress, “The incidence of heart attacks and sudden death have been shown to increase significantly following the acute stress of natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis and as a consequence of any severe stressor that evokes "fight or flight' responses. Coronary heart disease is also much more common in individuals subjected to chronic stress and recent research has focused on how to identify and prevent this growing problem, particularly with respect to job stress.”  We have been allowing ourselves to become so overwhelmed with stress that it affects how our bodies function. How do you deal with sudden change in your life, for example the sudden loss of a loved one, or being fired from a job, or have a toddler in your home, or a middle schooler? How do you manage your time if you are a parent that has multiple children that are all involved in different extracurricular activities? For the younger readers out there, are you stressed because you are trying to fit in, because you don’t have enough money, or the right clothes? The world wants us to feel less than sufficient, why do you think we have the phrase “keeping up with the Jones’?”  Stress if we allow it will kill us. Where can we find peace and contentment in our lives? There are plenty of answers if we open our bibles.

            Let’s start with discussing the story of Job. He was a just and good man, who always strove to please God throughout his life. The Lord rewarded him for his piety with great wealth. He had many hundreds of large and thousands of small cattle. His large and close family of seven sons and three daughters comforted him. But the Devil was jealous of Job. He began to vilify him before God, "Does Job fear God for nothing?... But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face." Then God, in order to reveal to all how faithful Job was to Him and in order to teach people patience in their sufferings, permitted the Devil to take away all of Job’s possessions. One day robbers came and drove away all his cattle, slew his servants, and a terrible tornado from the desert destroyed the house in which Job’s children had gathered together, killing them all. Job not only did not complain against God, but he said, "God gave, and God has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." The Devil, put to shame, was not satisfied with this. Again he began to slander Job, "All a man has will he give for his life. But put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh (that is, strike him down with disease), and he will curse You to Your face." God permitted the Devil to deprive Job even of his health, and Job was stricken with the most terrible disease — leprosy. Then even his wife began to persuade him to complain against God. His friends, instead of consolation, only further grieved the innocent sufferer with their unjust suspicions. But Job remained firm, did not lose hope in the mercy of God and only begged the Lord to testify that he was suffering in innocence. In his discourse with his friends, Job prophesied about the Redeemer and of the future resurrection: I know that my Redeemer lives and on the last day He will raise from the dust this my corrupted skin, and in my flesh I shall see God. I shall see Him myself; mine eyes, and not the eyes of another, shall behold Him (Job 19:25-27). After this, God, having shown to all the example of devotion and long-suffering in His servant Job, appeared Himself and commanded his friends, who had regarded Job as a great sinner, to ask for prayers from him for themselves. God rewarded His faithful servant. Job regained his health. He had seven more sons and three daughters, gained back twice as much cattle as he had before, and lived another one hundred and forty years in honor, quietly, piously and happily.

            Wow! Talk about true events to be utterly stressed out about, to curse God and be genuinely angry. But instead Job says, “God gives and he takes away, blessed be the name of the lord.” Job found peace and comfort through his relationship with the father. When his wife and friends finally gave up on him he still continued to glorify the lord. Even when is body was weakened and he was in absolute agony he did not falter but understood that his suffering would ultimately be taken away on the day our savior calls us to judgment, and for job that brought him peace. In our lives when bad things happen we question everything and try to find blame. We say things like, “why do bad things happen to good people,” Job was the ultimate good person that tragedy kept striking. For job when it rained it didn’t just pour it became a full on natural disaster. Yet he did not waiver he did not grow weary, because if God was with him he would be able to endure.

            Below is a video I created using the song from Casting Crowns, I will praise you in this storm. It is an inspirational video that can help us to see that God is worthy of praise in good and bad times and that his love is the ultimate comfort we need to rely on him and to not stress over what is out of our control.

After watching this video we can address some other stressors by looking into Matthew chapter 6:25-34,

“Do Not Worry

    ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

   ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

            This is God stating, If I take care of all these other aspects of life that are pretty insignificant wont I surely take care of you as well, my creation my chosen people. God has a love for us it is when we put our pride in the way and hinder God from working in our lives that we stress over our issues. For if we surrender to Christ and allow him control we are not fixed on good or bad things we are fixed on Him. As Paul said, “we have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live but Christ lives in me” if we have that mentality we know that all we are, and all we will be, is the body of Christ reaching and working for him. We then will truly understand that we don’t have to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow has enough trouble of its own, and focus on today because after all that’s why we call it the present, it is a gift from God. If you think about it today is the best day you will ever have today, can’t change it embrace it and enjoy another day of life, God has great plans for you allow him to work in your life and trust in him on sunny days and days that may be full of rain.

Finding Love

What do we know about love? The bible says that "4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8Love never fails."(1Cor.13:4-8) I think we as normal functioning humans don’t always see love in this same capacity. What do we see love as? If we were the ones writing this scripture it would probably say something like this, "I'm in a hurry to find love, love hurts, if I was only loved like ______, love is lust, love is a broken heart, love is temporary, and love is not what I expected...." We are flawed. We often view love as a behavior, attitude, or action that is layered with expectations. There is probably a time in your life where you have said (hopefully to yourself) I will love you if you do this... Or if someone would love me my life would be filled with... What if I were to say love is so much greater than this.

 To get to the root of love I think we need to view the way God loves us. Let’s take another peak at the scriptures, the bible talks about love like this, "For God so loved the world he gave his only son to die for us, so that you ever believes in him will not die but have eternal life (John 3:16)", or "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8)." Think about that kind of love, knowing that we were the reason His Son was to die he loved us enough to send him anyways. God’s love is unconditional, everlasting, and sufficient.

 Let's break down what we are learning about love into steps. We just learned this STEP 1 God LOVES you regardless of who you are or what you do he is in love with you! So much so that he made you in his own image. WOW it is like when you have your child and the baby is born you look at them and see yourself and you get so overwhelmed with love it brings you to tears because you created them and want the absolute best for them. God is our father and loved us even when we were still sinners, he sacrificed himself for us!!!!! 

              So now that we know we are loved unconditionally and that God is LOVE, what comes next? Let’s once again look to the word of God for some inspiration. In Matthew the 22nd chapter Jesus said "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with your entire mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself." When searching for love Christ wants us to look for love in him first. Not just to see how much he loves us but to give him our love as well, we are called to love him with our whole being (heart, soul, mind, and strength). Then we can understand and know how to put that love towards others.

So STEP 2 is for us to LOVE GOD! We have established that God loves us and we know now how to be loved, secondary to knowing how to be loved is how to show love. Jesus explained in order to show true love you have to put your all into it. Your all includes your mind, soul, heart, and strength. To get a better grasp of this we should break each of these attributes down.

         Mind: To love with all your mind is to be thoughtful to the person you love. In the case of loving God we are putting every thought into service and worship to him. How thoughtful are you in your relationships? Do you go out of your way to find new ways of making a special person in your life feel loved? Is your mind wandering when they are talking to you? When we love something with our entire mind we are focused on them and give them the attention they need, not for our gain but so their needs may be met.

            Soul: There is a verse in the bible that says, “What would it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?” Our soul everything that is within us is called to love our creator. God wants your body to be filled with a desire to be a part of and love him! Put that into terms of a personal relationship you may have in your own life, do you find yourself waking up and every ounce of your being is so excited to be with the person you love? Or have you waivered and fallen into the trap of being tempted to look elsewhere? People are always looking for greener grass on the other side but I am telling you this, it is the person that has pride of ownership of their lawn that keeps their grass full and green. A well cared for lawn requires fertilization, watering, mowing, and aeration. Your relationship may need to be watered and fertilized when you are putting your soul into everyone takes notice, because it will be a lawn that is beautiful.  When your all is being poured out into your relationships both parties will feel loved and trusted.

            Heart: Matthew 13:14-17 states “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. ¹⁵ For this people’s heart have become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” God is letting us know that it does not matter how many things we have lined up for healing if our hearts are not their we will never be fulfilled. God wants all of our heart dedicated to him, striving for closeness, where our heart beats in accordance to the will he has preordained inside of us. Think about this in your own relationships, if your heart is not in to it, it doesn’t matter how many therapy sessions you go to, or how many hours you pray for God to intervene, it takes an open heart to receive the healing it needs. Think about how in love you were when you first saw your significant other, the butterflies, the heart racing, how you would do anything to make that person happy because you were so “in love”…. That may not have been love completely but the feelings were important to your union. Those feelings don’t have to go away, if your whole heart is into your relationship you will find time to create that experience again, you will find a time to leave the kids with a sitter and go on a date, you will find the time to surprise your spouse with flowers at work, or to take them out to lunch, put your heart into the experience of loving, without it love does not exist…. There is a reason we use the heart as a symbol for love.

            Strength: Ecclesiastes 4:12 states, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Think about this where does strength come from? What makes you strong? If your relationship with your spouse is grounded by the love of God, that is a triple threat, you love for one another (2 strands) plus the love of God (1 strand), creates a cord of three strands that is not easily broken. However, in order for that to truly work you have to put all your strength into your part. Don’t be easy to give up, or waiver because of superficial concerns, justify ungodly actions, or trivial issues that Satan puts forth to weaken your cord. Lean on the love of God and put your trust in his guidance to overcome the issues in which the devil wants you to stumble and fail.

            God truly does want you to find that person he has set out for you but as he said in scripture love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and then love your neighbor as yourself. Learn to love through building a relationship with God, and through that process of learning you may have a better idea of the wants and needs God has in store for you. Be a person that loves your mate with all your heart soul mind and strength, creating a bond that is not easily broken. Allow healing in your life, and lean on the strength of Christ to pull you through Satan’s strongholds. 

What is Healing

Many of us have been hurt at some point in our lives and are in dire need of some healing. The question that never really gets asked though is what do we need healing from? Some of you may say that you were abused (physically, verbally, emotionally Etc...), others may say from grief or trauma of some sort. I like to believe that there is one true source in which we need our healing from and that is SIN. Don’t let me lose you hold on for a little longer and hear me out on this, our issues our neglect, our hurt, every negative source in our being is held there by the stronghold that Satan has over us. Think about this, "29“Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house." (Matt. 12:29) In order for us to receive what God wants for us in our lives we need to bind up Satan so we may have the ability to have our lives free. Christ did this for us, and gave us the platform in which we can bind the devil. In Matthew chapter 4 it tells us of the first thing that Christ did in his ministry. After being baptized Jesus was led to the wilderness and he fasted for 40 days, there he was met by Satan. Satan came at Christ with temptations and Jesus could have easily have said be gone!!! or ZAP!!! Your history, he is after all the son of God. However, he didn’t.... Why??? He didn’t because this would be a perfect opportunity for him to understand "Flesh" temptations and to give us a template of how to bind Satan using "weapons" God has given us. Christ answered every temptation with the preface of "It is written..." We have such an amazing tool it is to word of God. The word cuts through Satan and exposes him for what he truly is. When the knowledge of scripture is joined with the power of prayer you have now become public enemy number one on Satan's watch list, because now you are POWERFUL! so let’s view it this way, if you are searching for answers, healing,  purpose, hope, love, connection, mercy, reason, or understanding the bible says this, " 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33) Christ wants us to seek him FIRST, and all these things will be given unto you... and when we do that we can understand that. "28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose.29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^l

37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, ^m neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:28-39) 

               Christ wants us to have a life that is free from mental illness, free from grief, free from baby mamma drama, he does..... but, we need to seek him first and understand this world is not our home we are passing through; we are living our life here gaining our treasures in heaven. Paul said it best when he said to die is gain to live is Christ. He clarified this by saying I have been crucified with Christ never the less I live, not I but Christ lives in me, therefore the life that I now live by the flesh I live by the faith in the Son of God who loves me and gave himself for me!!

    If you are having trouble in your life, if you are struggling, God wants you to surround yourself with Godly people and rely on his word and the power of prayer to get you through, as it is written "if Christ is for us who can be against us." Shutdown your pride and give it to Christ, stop being a victim but instead be enslaved by the love of God, stop being addicted to worldly hurt yet be overwhelmed by the renewing of your heart and mind. Christ has a love for each of us that is why he gave his son so we may have a chance to be with him, let’s celebrate that and put our trust and faith that he will guide us on the path that he has set before us.