Maintain your life with God in 2015

Jude 1:20-21 - But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.  

As the time ticks closer to the end of 2014 and the beginning of a new year, 2015, I am excited to see what the Lord will do with the church this year. There is an old gospel song that says :

LORD WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING IN THIS SEASON
PLEASE DON'T DO IT WITHOUT ME
DON'T DO IT WITHOUT ME..

I don't want to be left out of what God has planned. We must do our part to upkeep the relationship with God and He will do His. I am praying for God to confirm to me what His plan and purpose for my life. I am trying to decide to stay on Face book or not. Next month I will be working a brand new contract at work and I am excited to see how the Lord will use me there. Are you excited of what the Lord has in store for you?

So how do we maintain the relationship with God? From what I have been taught it is by reading the word of God everyday, fellowship with your brethren, praying without ceasing and obeying God's commandments. God will do the rest. Reading the bible everyday will teach you about who you are in the body of Christ and you will learn what God's will is. Going to church or going to a bible study is a good thing. You come along like minded folks who worship God and you learn together about God. It is where you should learn about loving your brother and sister in Christ. Your church family. Go to church and look around. Those are the people you are going to spend eternity with. Praying is the way you communicate with God. In any relationship there must be communication between the two party's involved. Prayer is a lifestyle not an emergency exit. Don't turn Jesus into your very own glove box Jesus that you only pull out in case of an emergency. Seek the Lord's face everyday and you will find Him. Obeying God's commandments is an expression of love. Think of it this way. When a child obeys his or her parents, they do it because they love their parents and trust them. If you are struggling with this, ask the Lord for help. Dig deep into your bible. It also doesn't hurt to praise God through worship either. If you don't like to worship then heaven isn't for you because what do you we will be doing in eternity? We will be worshiping the Lord. He doesn't care about how you sound. He cares about the status of your heart and that will you be willing to worship Him. Remember, He is worthy of ALL praise. All of it.

Thank you all who have subscribed to my blog and follow it. Please bare with me if sometimes I seem to go off the deep end. There are times I feel beat up but soon after the Lord comes and picks me up. We cant stop. We must keep going so we can get to the end. The finish line is where Jesus is. Our exceedingly great reward and all the other benefits of following Him are at the finish line. By the way, if I do decide to take myself off of Face book, I will continue to write on this blog. I hope that someone will step up and share this blog with their friends and family.

One thing the Lord has taught me is that I should content with what I have. That I don't need to sell t-shirts, pay someone to post my blog on their Face book page to get more people to read the blog, and I don't need a huge audience. I also don't need to raise money because I am dong fine with the free stuff. The Lord entrusted me with a certain amount of people and I will be happy with that because as long as I stay faithful with the small things, I will be entrusted with more later.

I pray for all of you who follow me on Face book, Twitter, Google plus, Instagram and on this blog. I always pray that the truth is spoken because your salvation matters to me. I don't want to steer any of you away from God. But the total opposite. I want to point you and direct you to God. I love you all but Jesus loves you more. May God bless us all with strength to run our race, to have faith to persevere to the end and may we be found doing His will when He returns.

Happy New Year!!!

This Christmas I want love and forgivness

John 3:16  “For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

If you cant forgive someone even for the most horrible crime imaginable or the most petty mistake, if you wouldn't be able to do anything for somebody even if it meant your life or the last 5 bucks in your wallet, you don't know the love of Christ. Because that is the way Jesus loves us. He will forgive sin no matter how petty or serious the offense is. Jesus gave His life so that many could live. He would even give you His last 5 bucks just so you don't go hungry. I am not trying to discourage anybody. Be encouraged. Let His love be the goal that we want to meet. If you lack love, ask for it. Pray and ask for it. If you cant forgive somebody, ask the Lord to give you strength to forgive that person. You can not do this on your own in a righteous way with out Jesus because our righteousness is in Him only. Change your ways, ask to be forgiven of your sins and believe in Jesus. Today the Lord showed me how much I lack in love. But I know the standard and I strive and fight for it. I cant stop! There have been times when I feel like stopping and quitting. But the Lord gives me strength to keep going after my exceedingly great reward. The Lord corrects me. I don't like it but I know He does it because He loves me. I do like the results. Like a good father He spanks me and tells me how much He loves me. Thank God that He isn't dealing with my sin anymore. Now that I am new creation and all things are made new, He is dealing with my lack of patience, my lack of compassion, my idols that need to be brushed off. I am being purified like fine gold so that when Jesus looks at me, He sees Himself in me. This is love. This is grace. This is what is available to you. How do I know? Because it was made available to me and I accepted the gift. I never deserved the gift but Jesus paid the price to get me off death row. He took my place. That is love. With every crack of the whip, with every punch thrown at His face, ever inch the nails that were driven into His hands and feet, and every hour He spent on the cross, He did it because He loves sinners. He didn't come to save those who think they deserve heaven because of their self righteousness. He came for the hooker on the strip, the meth addict, the gang banger planning a drive by, the banker who is funneling money out of peoples bank accounts to his own, Jesus came for them. That is love. Thank God for Jesus! Thank you Lord that we can celebrate the real reason for the season. The day God came to the world to save the world because He loves sinners so they can become saints. Merry Christmas!!

Partiality and my tattoos

I meant to write this blog on Monday night. My best man of my wedding Kevin told me I should write on my blog as soon as it came to me. Well during and after my shower that night the Lord showed me somethings.

At church during bible study we are studying the book of Matthew. I also had just finished reading Matthew at work on my own. What stuck out was about showing partiality.  It had been a theme for like a week. I asked the Lord to help me not show partiality.  Oh boy did he ever.

We had family night at men's bible study and some of the guys brought their wives and friends. I got there late because I got off work when the event started. Before I sat down to eat I had this idea to say hello to every body before I ate. I did. Except one person. I didn't know them and to be quite frank, this person creeper me out. It felt odd when the thought went thru my mind. I finished my rounds and for some reason I stared at this person enough to get a good look at them. I was showering and praying God and all of a sudden I was remembering when I said Hi to everybody. I was feeling good about myself until I remembered the person I skipped. Conviction hit me so hard. I asked for forgiveness and repented. I couldn't believe I did that. 

When I got out I started thinking about my tattoos.  I don't know why. I don't like my tattoos and I wish I could get rid of them. But the Lord could still use them. I was going to explain what they started to mean to me and I got to a tattoo that I really am ashamed about. Earlier I had asked the Lord to turn any No for the Lord  to a Yes for the Lord. I began to write about and then I was bombarded with shame, embarrassment and what people would say. I stopped and I didn't post it. There was a no for the Lord. 

Why didn't I post it? Well when I came to my senses a little bit later, it was deleted.  I asked the Lord to help me to be more obedient. Yet I failed Him and denied Him like Peter, I know He still loves me. I am not rebelling against the Lord. It's sin in me that the Lord is taking out of me. My failure will be a lesson learned.

So let me tell you about my tattoos and I'll start with the most shameful one...get it over with. I have a tattoo on the right side of my neck of a old flame I had. Thought she was the one. I always said I would never do that. Never say never. Please, take it from me. I hate it. I do the best I can to hide it which I am probably not doing a good job of it. I won't get any more ink on my body. So I won't cover it up with another tat. The tat says Estrella ('star' in Spanish). The 5 pointed star represents the enemy. No not the ex. I pray the Lord forgives her and saves her.  There, call me stupid, a knucklehead,  a fool....whatever.  I know that I have the capacity to love a lot that for my beloved I would sacrifice myself. Back then was that woman, now it's Christ and my wife.

I have a tattoo on my left arm that is a barb wire band. It was my first tattoo. I got it on spring break 1997 in Mazatlan, Mexico. It represents bondage to me now. Well the bondage that the devil tried to have on me. In fact the guy who tattooed me was a warlock. He knew my full name and I didn't tell him it. That vacation was a bummer.

Then I have a mural on my right arm which is like 3 tattoos. The biggest one is an Aztec with a knife in one hand and a heart in the other. Raising his arms up to the 2 other tattoos. The one you see now is a cover up tattoo. It's a bald eagle attacking a serpent. The tat covered up is my old tagger name Mimik. It's covered up because it was a horrible tattoo.  It was done all wrong.

The enemy tried to tag my body up with his graffiti,  defacing the temple of God. Lord have mercy,  I didn't know. But I know now and I won't get anymore tattoos.  Last year I was with my buddy talking to these teenagers and one them said he had the number of the beast on his leg. I got to tell him to look at my arms and neck and told him that God would forgive him because He forgave me for my tattoos. See..the Lord took something meant for bad to something good and for his purpose.

I am not saying it is okay to get tattoos. If you have some already,  don't get anymore. If you don't have any, leave your canvas alone and be pure. Everybody nowadays has tattoos.  Be unique and stand out by not getting any ink.  Pray and ask the Lord to show you if you should get a tattoo. I asked and my answer was that I shouldn't mutilate my body anymore. Good enough for me.

Well now that all my business is out there now, I hope my friends and family don't judge me too harshly. Because the Lord will judge you the same way you judge others. God has plans for me and my tattoos. I hate them. But they can be used to win souls for the kingdom of heaven.

Some basic instructions before leaving Earth

I recall when I was considering starting this blog I asked some of my friends what my blog should be about. One of them told me I should write about how to live in these times. Over time that comment has become louder and louder in my head. So here I am, writing about what I have learned about how to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Abide in Him because with out Him you cannot do anything. He is the vine and we are the branches.

I want to say that I am not a pastor nor have I been to seminary. But every believer in Christ has been authorized by Jesus Himself to preach the gospel. Yes, anybody can pick up a bible preach the word of our Lord. But please, before you do that, STUDY YOUR BIBLE! In fact we are commanded to do so. Matthew 4:4 says "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Doesn't matter what you read or where you start, its all truth and all His word. 2 Timothy 3:16 says "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Yes, even you who just got saved. Some of the most powerful words I have ever heard have come from recent converts. They kind of remind me of a baby rattle snakes. When they bite, they don't know how to regulate their venom. But I believe that it is amazing to see a new believer speak such powerful words. It is quite impressive when a babe in the faith speaks up and speaks the truth. Its proof that the Lord is sovereign and can use anybody to tell the world about the good news of our savior Jesus Christ.

Luke 21:15 Jesus says "for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist." We are commanded to tell everybody about the gospel. We are assured that the Lord will be with us and never leave us alone. Now I am not going to to tell you this and say I have this down. I don't. But the Lord is patient and He is working with me. In my weakness, He is strong.  I am sure that I am not the only one who perhaps is shy, unsure, and/or embarrassed to share the gospel. But the Lord has overcome the world and in the Lords timing, we will overcome this fear. Perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18). And without love, you cannot do anything (1 Corinthians 13:2). I realized a few months ago at the Arab American Festival in Phoenix that I didn't love people the way Christ loves people. Since then I have prayed that the Lord softens my heart more, to show me how He sees people, and to show me how to love all people. I am beginning to see that I am becoming more bold and courageous for the Lord.

A good friend and inspiration to me, Dakota Smith told me last summer after his trip to the Philippines that he asked the Lord to help him live carelessly for Jesus. To not care what people say, think or do when he spoke about Jesus. I remember before he went on this mission trip how he was and when he came back he was a totally different person. A man on fire for the Lord and I wanted what he had because I didn't have it. I was tired of being lukewarm. I wanted to follow him as he followed Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). I don't want the Lord to spit me out because of my lukewarmness (Revelation 3:16).

Another great mentor of mine was my brother Mario Trujillo. I asked for a mentor in prayer and this is the brother the Lord chose for me to follow as he followed Jesus. I remember when I first got to know Mario. He gave his testimony at church and I felt a connection with him. We have spent time in prayer, bible study and out preaching in public. By listening and watching him, I learned what the Lord wants from me. If you don't have a mentor, someone who is more mature in their faith than you, ask for it in prayer. James 4:2 says "...You do not have because you do not ask God." As an added bonus, the Lord sent me my big brother Bo Horlen who had been a missionary for 30 years in the Philippines planting churches. I like talking to him because no matter what I have going on, he assures me that everything will be okay and is in the Lords control. I remember one time on the phone I told him that he must think it is silly the things I say, since they must seem child like to someone so mature in their faith. But Bo told me that it never gets old and he doesn't mind it at all. Then the Lord also sent me another brother by the name of Jeff Palen. I go to his bible class after the main service at church. I relate to Jeff because we both have worked installing cable. I did it in the Army and a bit for Cox Cable, he works for Cox Cable. He has a wonderful family. I like to hear him preach because he looks at everybody and when he looks at you, he makes eye contact. Just makes the message he is preaching much more personal and powerful. Him and his wife invited a couple times to their house and they were great hosts. So get around like minded people who will always point you up to the Lord.

So how does one love like Christ you might ask? Well first you have to realize that you personally cannot ever achieve this with out FIRST loving God with all you mind, body and soul. But even before that, you have to realize that the Lord first loved you (1John 4:19). Once you love Him, you can love others. In fact, those are the two greatest commandments our Lord gave us. Once you understand this, loving Jesus and people becomes easier.Matthew 22:37-40 says "Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” See when you love the Lord, you obey His commandments like a good child obeys their parents. When you love the Lord with everything you have, you want to know Him more. When you love you dont hate, you dont steal, you dont covet, you dont gossip, you dont slander, you dont lust , you dont murder, you dont lie and most importantly you dont worship other gods.

Dust off your bible and read it everyday. I'd like to share what I have done and maybe this might work for you too. I dont like to read so I started reading all the short books in the new testament. I am almost done reading the new testament and right now I am reading The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Its taken me about 4 months to do this. I will admit that I wasn't always faithful but the Lord is ALWAYS faithful. Or may I suggest to try doing the Proverbs challenge? Read one chapter of Proverbs everyday for 31 days. See if it doesn't change your life. I tried to read my bible from front to back. To be honest I got to about to Leviticus and I got bored. I was following this reading plan and obviously it wasn't for me. But the Lord knows me and He knows what I need. Lord willing, I will read the entire bible. 

As a follower of Jesus we must hate sin and anything evil.  Some may say, "Nick, its just this and that, its not that bad". You have already been deceived. Isaiah 5:20 says " Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." Is the word of God not true? So what about this verse says its okay to lie to your kids about Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny? "But they aren't real Nick! Its just a little white lie." Lying has never been, nor will it ever be a good thing. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." I could go more into detail about evil things called good and visa versa, but I will be here all day. 1 Peter 1:16 says "for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." Holy means to dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred. Romans 12:2 says "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."


MONEY. So many of us, me included, trust money and worship money more then we do God. Lord have mercy on us! Money is not a bad thing but it is the love of money that is the root of all evil . When you love money, you will do anything to get it. Even it means you screw some people over. People have died, families have been obliterated, people have lost their faith because of the love of money. You cannot serve two masters. You cant have one foot in with the Lord and have your other foot in the world. In my walk with the Lord, I have begun to not trust money. He is the reason I have a job. He is the reason I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, food in my belly. Matthew 6:26 says "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?" In 1 Timothy 6:10 it says "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." Let me tell you, trusting in the Lord with money is a release from bondage. Before I was saved and my bank account would get low or in the negative, I would freak out. Id start selling things and I would become restless until I got more money. This past summer I quit my job and I was out of work for about a month and a half. Praise the Lord my wife still had her job but it wasn't enough to make ends meet and I still was getting my money from my V.A. disability. Still wasn't enough. But I didn't stress and I just waited on the Lord. I kept myself in the bible and rested on His promises. The Lord supplied everything we needed and we had enough.


Over the course of my life, I have heard so many people complain about giving to their church. Or people wont donate money to ministries or lend to the poor. When you tithe or when you donate money or when you give to the poor, you are investing in the salvation of other people. It shows you have concern for your salvation and the salvation of others. I always have heard that people don't like to give to the church and such because "they just money". No. YOU love money and you don't want to give it to the Lord who is the reason you have money to begin with. Keep your money if you don't give it cheerfully to ministry. In 2 Corinthians 9:7 it says "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." Proverbs 19:17 says "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done." Build your treasures in heaven! Luke 12:34 says "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  

I will touch on is a subject I shamefully know all too well. But thank the Lord that He has delivered me from sexual immorality. Porn, per-marital sex, bestiality, prostitution, sodomy, homosexuality and anything sexually perverted is a sin. I am not the one who says it, the LORD says so. Now before everybody goes and calls me a homophobic Christan, let me share my view of homosexuality. The bible calls it sin and so do I. But do I hate gays? Do I want them all dead? No, not ever. I hate their sin, but I don't hate the person. See, we all are born into sin. Any one of us could have been gay because it is a choice just like every other sin. Some will say "But I was born this way!" Yes, you are right, we are all born in sin. This is the reason we all need to be BORN AGAIN and then deny our fleshly desires. Before I was saved I was a womanizer. I was born straight and I chose to like women. I objectified them. The Lord delivered me from this sin and now I am born again. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." Me being a womanizer doesn't make me any better or any worse then somebody who is gay because in the eyes of the Lord we both need to repent and be born again. Sex is meant for marriage and sex before marriage is a sin. 1 Corinthians 7:9 says "But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion." 

The last subject I will talk about is sobriety. Galatians 5:21 says "Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" and Proverbs 20:1 says "Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise" and Ephesians 5:18 says "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit." The word doesn't say don't drink. It says to not get drunk. That is when drinking becomes a sin. We all know how much our own bodies can take before we feel tipsy. I will admit, I on occasion drink some wine or have a beer. But for the most part, I don't drink alcohol. Not because I think it will make me closer to God or because its some unwritten religious rule. I choose not to drink because one, I hate the feeling of getting drunk and the hangover afterwards. Second, I know it is a sin. I am weak and I will submit to the temptation to get drunk. But please, pray about it and do what is right for you. For me its drinking on occasion but for the most part staying away from alcohol. For some staying completely away from alcohol is what works for them and that is absolutely fine. Romans 14:1-4 says "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand."

I hope this helps somebody out. I know writing this blog in particular has been eye opening to me. It has shed light on how far I have come in this year and nine months since I surrendered my life to the Lord Jesus Christ. It has also exposed some sin that still needs dealing with and by His grace and my faith in the Lord, I will overcome the enemy. There are many more ways we should live and it is outlined in the bible. I encourage you to read your bible or listen to sermon or go to a bible teaching church and get educated biblically. Philippians 1:5-6 says "for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,  being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ". Don't be like me because I am so anxious to be perfected. I really hate sin, but that is a good thing because before I got saved, I didn't mind sinning. But what reminds me to wait on the Lord because His timing is perfect. Its not a sprint, but a marathon. At the end of the marathon and we reach heaven and we stand in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ,we are all winners. 

FINAL NOTE: I mentioned a few people who have made an impact in my life but there so many more who have helped me out. Please, dont take offense if I did not mention you. It doesn't make your impact any lesser then the 4 gentlemen who I mentioned in this blog. I love you all the same.