Prayer. Praise. Worship. Thankfulness

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18  "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." In Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." In Psalm 28:6-7 "Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplications! The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him."Read those verses a few times and let that sink in. Let it marinate on your mind and meditate on them. Read them slowly and savor the taste because the Lord is good. Then continue reading. It's okay, I will wait. 

I thank God for every hit and every person who has taken the time to read what I post. To be honest, when I use to look at the statistics for my blog and only see a few hits on what I just posted, it would bother me. I know the Lord is using me via this blog to edify, teach, correct and encourage the end times church. I would write what I thought was hot holy fire and only a few people are reading what I post. But the Lord is showing me to give thanks even for the few people who come to my blog. He is the one who draws them in. Not me. So thank God for the few who follow me and read my posts. You are all a blessing to me. I thank God for entrusting me with you. So what if my ministry isn't huge? So what of I have a few followers?  Jesus didn't do it for the numbers. Like the old saying goes, "It's not the quantity, it's the quality." My readers quality is like fine gold. What I post isn't for people who want their ears tickled. My blog isn't for the lukewarm. It's called 'MY BURNING HEART 4 JESUS' for a reason. My audience is for those who are on fire for the Lord. Perhaps that's why I don't have thousands or millions of followers and hits on my blog. This blog is dedicated to my Jesus and the true church of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. 

(Amazing...that wasn't even how I was going to start this post. Praise the Lord.)

The Lord is answering a prayer I prayed a while back. I asked the Lord to show me the authority that I have been given through Jesus and what is available to me through Jesus. I prayed for joy. I prayed to have more faith in Him. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness.Disclaimer: I am not bragging or boasting on myself but boasting on the the Lord according to the scriptures. A couple months ago, at work things were tough. We were under staffed and had more work than we could handle. Customers were calling in angry. We couldn't win. I almost wanted to quit my job and when I would pray, I would just complain. Nothing changed at work and I just felt discouraged. I needed to change and what changed was this. When times got hard, when I felt discouraged, when I was mad instead of dwelling on that I began to dwell on my God. P.P.W.T. - Prayer, Praise, Worship, Thankfulness. I would start praying, praising the Lord and worshiping Him. I'd let Him know what I was feeling still. I let my petitions and supplication be presented to Him. I learned how to minister to the Lord through a prayer group I have been going to on Sunday evenings. The Lord began to change my discontent heart to a heart of contentment. 

The Lord also is showing me how to yield the sword of Spirit more effectively, which is the word of God, to combat my feelings. My feelings were real but they are not the truth. There is only one truth and that is Jesus Christ. Feelings make a great caboose on your train but makes a horrible engine to pull that train. As I prayed as loud as I could without distracting my colleagues, I'd quote verses to remind me that the Spirit that lives in me is greater than he who is in the world. In between calls (I work at a call center) I would read my Gideon Bible or I'd sing a praise song. The enemy tries to distract me though. Songs I haven't heard or thought of years would come to mind. I'd start reading about the news on bing.com. The Lord would show me I was being distracted and I'd focus on Him again. It's a struggle but we were born into a war on the losing side. Now we switched sides to the winning team and our old team hates us even more. So be it. 

Another thing that the Lord has shown me that works fantastic is before I start work, I pray and I pray to the Lord to give me strength, that He would be glorified by my work, I'd pray that I work heartily for Him, and that work is an act of worship. I'd ask the Lord to help be slow to anger, slow to speak and quick to listen. I pray that I would bare good fruit and that it would all be for His glory. Work is much better now. Dedicate your work to the Lord. So what if my company is still under staffed, we still have angry people calling in, we still have too much work but my God is bigger then all of that and He is with me! 

Recently I saw a video where the Pastor was saying to have an attitude of gratitude. The Lord brings to my remembrance what my life was life like before I got born again. My eyes tear up not out of sadness but out of gratitude. God didn't have to save me and letting me fry in hell would've been right because I was sinful. But the Lord had mercy on me. The Lord drew me to Him and I had to make a choice and that choice was who I was going to serve. I had already lived it up and what the devil had to offer wasn't good. I was so unsatisfied and disappointed with my life. I am so glad now that I turned to Him and that He has been faithful with what I committed to Him which was my life. When I remember that and see how much I've grown I cant help but pray, praise, worship and be thankful. When I think about what is yet to come, I am excited and thankful to be a part of God's great plan. 

So I went to work and just started blessing God and doing what He said to do. My car isn't the nicest but thank you Lord my family has a car. My job doesn't pay what I would like and sometimes it sucks but thank you Lord for my job because I have a job. The devil tries to tempt me by glancing at women where ever I am at but I thank God for my wife because He gave her to me so that I may learn how to love like Jesus loves the church I thank God that my wife is a Godly woman. In all situations, circumstances, good times, and bad times God is worthy of all praise. He is still good, powerful, holy, righteous, wonderful, awesome and every praise there is! Even when things aren't going our way, they are going the way God wants. Don't let the enemy attack you and make you complain. Make those situations make you praise the Lord. I promise you whatever is attacking you won't attack anymore. Those feelings and thoughts will go away because it's driving you to worship and focus on God. That is not what the enemy wants us to do. Jesus is worthy of the highest praise even when life sucks. After having this attitude of gratitude,  joy that I haven't had in a long time began to bubble up. I was so happy. Pray for me that when times get hard that I would still seek the Lord's face. 

Anyways, praise God and thank you for reading this very long post. My prayer is that someone reads this post and they are encouraged. For a season I felt like I hit a plateau. If you hit a plateau,  seek the Lord with all your heart and He shall be found. I found the Lord afresh in prayer, worship, praise and having a thankful heart. I know that this seems really basic but the Lord breathed life into my prayer life and put a new meaning on many things. This is the last post of 2015. See you again in 2016 Lord willing.

A Psalm 27:4 kind of year

Psalm 27:4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. 

My prayer for 2016, and I hope it is yours too, is what is written in Psalm 27:4. As I was praying this morning the Lord brought to my remembrance this verse. I shared it recently on my Facebook page. But the Lord has given me much more understanding about this verse. 

The one thing we should ask for and seek after is to dwell in the presence of the Lord. His presence gives life, it gives wisdom, it gives peace, and a it gives us a whole lot of other things. If you had a transcript of your prayers, would seeking God's presence be amongst them? If not this could be the time to begin to ask the Lord for this. It's according to His will, so He will listen. In Jeremiah 29:13, the Lord says that when you seek Him with all your heart you will find Him. Seek Him out in prayer, in worship and reading His word. 

Next David says what He will seek is to dwell in the house of the Lord for all the rest of his life. In Isaiah 56:7, the Lord says that His house is a house of prayer. God will not turn away anyone who desires to worship Him regardless of where they are from. His house is a place where everyone can come to pray. The Lord also says that He will make those who join themselves to the Lord, keep from defiling the Sabbath and hold fast to His covenants (verse 6), God will make them joyful. 

The last sentence says "to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and inquire in His temple." A man by the name of Don Stewart hit the nail right on the when he said this "The beauty of the Lord means that, in his nature, the Lord possesses everything that is desirable. His character is one of perfection. Consequently believers are to desire Him above all. If we delight ourselves in Him He promises to give us the desire of our heart. This desire will be the Lord himself. Believers are commanded to reflect God's beauty in their conduct." Wow, well said sir! 

To inquire in His temple always threw me off. So I looked up the meaning of the word "inquire". It means to seek information and to ask questions. So in other words, to seek wisdom and knowledge in the temple of the Lord. It's okay to ask questions. God has the answers. Nothing is too hard or impossible for Him. What an awesome God we worship!

Christmas 2015

Six days until the end of the year. Behold! 2016 is almost upon us. I can honestly say things changed for me this year. I turned 37 this year. 10 years ago I was in the US Army in Iraq on my final tour. I never would've guessed back then I would be where I am now. For instance, 10 years ago being a Christian was not on my to-do list. I wasn't even sure back then I would be married or have kids. I thought I would be a bachelor and alone forever. I had no hope. I digress..

So what changed for me? I am still working at the same job. I am still married. I am still living in the same place. I am still a Christ follower. Things changed in my inner man. The Lord is beginning to reveal to me what my purpose is. What my spiritual gifts are. How to fight the good fight. I learned on a grander scale how desperately I need Jesus every hour, minute and every second of my life. My wants and desires are more Godly. I am maturing in my faith. 10 years later after the Army, I have hope.

Can you say the same thing about yourself or are still in the same you were when you got born again? An infant in your faith. I am not bragging about myself because this transformation is all God's handy work. I am doing my part and God is doing His. Are you doing your part? Its so simple that people over think it or under achieve. Pray, read, worship, and repeat daily. Not just on Sunday. I finally understand this relationship with God. I am not religious because me personally I am not doing man made rituals to gain God's love and salvation. You don't have to either.

Salvation is a free gift given by God so that no one can boast about how good they were to get it. Salvation is a gift that nobody deserves but because God is merciful and loving, He offers it to anybody who is willing to take it. Salvation is free but it will cost you everything. What??? That doesn't make sense. To me it does and let me break it down. Jesus paid for our sins on the cross. Jesus took our place on the cross. That should have been me and you on the cross taking the brunt of God's holy wrath. Jesus willingly took our place. Tell me, did your god die for you because it loves you? Mine did and He can be yours too. The resurrection of Christ was a big deal. Jesus was too powerful to be defeated by death. It's like when you wait for a check to clear. Jesus payment was good enough for all the sins of the world.

I learned that Christmas is not really a Christian holiday. For one, it's not biblical. I am not taking away the glory from the fact that 2000 years ago our Savior was born. It just wasn't on December 25th. How do I know? Go to Luke and read about the birth of Jesus. When the angels appeared to the shepherds who were grazing their sheep, it could not have happened in the winter, it's too cold. Some people say that Jesus may have been born in the spring or summer. And another thing, we are not commanded to celebrate the birth of Christ. Am I right? Just go to the bible and look for a verse. I dare you. Is the birth of Jesus still a big deal? Yes of course but let's do what the Bible says to do. Nothing more and nothing less.

As time passes, the more and more I see prophecy coming true. Earthquakes in various places. Famines, pestilences, wars and rumors of wars. People are evil, lovers of themselves. Homosexuality is all over the place. Folks are raising up teachers and Pastors who tell then about phony grace, health, wealth and prosperity. They can't endure the sound doctrine. False prophets have infiltrated the church. You know what? We are still only in the beginning of birthing pains. There is still many prophecies in the Bible yet to be fulfilled. What an exciting time to be a follower of Christ! Why you might ask? Because for thousands of years folks have longed to see this time and we get to be a part of it and live through it.

In conclusion, if you really want things to change in 2016, start doing what we are suppose to do which is to fear the Lord and obey His commands. That is mankind's all. We know what needs to be done. Right now as I am writing this things are coming to mind. Feed and minister to the poor. Visit widows and orphans in their afflictions. Visit prisoners. Make disciples and teach them God's ways. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Let's not abuse God's grace and let's not be lazy. People are going to hell.

My prayer for next year is and will be that God breaks my heart for the lost even more. To be honest, I still don't care enough. I want to be bold for the Lord, careless for the Lord and dangerous for the Lord. I ask anyone who reads this to pray for me. Ask the Lord to give me wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and discernment on how to live a life that is pleasing to Him. Please pray for my ministry. I would really appreciate it very much.

Life breaks us, but God makes us stronger

Matthew 11:28 - 30 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. 

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifice of God are a broken spirit: A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Psalm 31:12 I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind; I am a broken vessel.

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

Have you ever looked back at your life and realized it God who kept you alive? When I think about it and remember the times that I should been dead I know now it was not coincidence, or by chance or by luck. It was all God! What He has ordained to live, cannot die. In the book of John, there were many times when the people wanted to arrest, stone or kill Jesus but it was not His time. As long as God has a plan for your life, you cannot die. When God says YES, nobody can say no. 

There times when I've had knives put to my side and threatened to be killed right on the spot. I've been shot at. I grew up in a rough neighborhood full of gangs, drugs and violence. I lived in literal war zones. I use to be in the US Army and I was stationed in South Korea on two occasions. The Korean War never officially ended because there was no peace treaty singed, only an armistice. Both times I was there the North wanted to start something. The troops who are there are only a speed bump to slow down the North while reinforcements come. So my life expectancy was short. I was also deployed to Baghdad, Iraq. Both times I was put in some situations that threatened my life. But God had a plan for me. I consumed things that could've and should've killed me. I put myself in situations and surroundings that could've been the death of me. I use to live recklessly and putting myself in danger because I didn't want to live anymore. I had enough of what this world had to offer. But God!

But God had a plan and purpose for my life and He wasn't done with me yet. He said that He could use a guy like me in His ranks. The world had chewed me up and spit me out but God saw potential in me. I don't live for this world anymore because I now live for God.  I am far from being perfected and I still do have some rough spots. I am a mess, but I am His mess now. I kid you not, I hit rock bottom back in 2013. I had to be broken down in order to be built up a new. I gave my life to Christ and my life was radically transformed. I am not the same person I use to be. I can not take any credit for change that has happened because in the past I had tried to change and I failed miserably. I tried counseling, going cold turkey, more counseling, medications, recreational drugs, hobbies, etc. Nothing else worked only Jesus worked. If it weren't true I would not write about it and try to tell the world about it. 

My prayer is that somebody who reads this would give their broken life to Jesus and He will put it all together and also give somebody a new purpose. Come with all your baggage, come dirty, and come with all your brokenness. Jesus will remove the heavy yoke and place His light yoke on you and carry it with you. Jesus will clean you up from all your filthy sins and get down in the deep parts of you that need cleaning. Jesus will put you back together into something beautiful and useful for His purpose. Just like a kintsukuroi pottery. It is the art of repairing a broken pot and repairing with gold or sliver lacquer and understanding it is more beautiful because it has been broken. I will use myself as an example. Before the Lord could use me, He had to break me. It was not pleasant at the time and I did not understand what was going on. I look back on it now and I am glad that it happened because I am better for it. I had to be stripped of everything and I had to land on the Rock so that I could be broken. Once broken, the Lord began to put me back together and mend me. He mended my relationship with Him by forgiving my sins, mended my soul, my mind, my spirit, my life, and my marriage, etc. I can go on. In the eyes of God, I am much more beautiful now that I have been broken and mended by Him. He can do the same for you if you allow Him. He is just a prayer away. 

This message just came to me..

I wasn't put on God's green earth to tickle ears and sugar coat His message. I was put here to please Him, not people. Being right with God sometimes means being wrong with friends, family, work colleagues and strangers. I want to do my part in spreading the Gospel and waking people up to the truth. Some might say that I post too much about Jesus and Bible verses. That I take Jesus way too serious and it's like as if that's what I am all about. My reply is YES you are 100% correct. Jesus took me serious when He hung on the cross wounded and beaten for my sins. If Jesus is all I have then I have everything that I need. He died for me publicly so I will live publicly for Him. I am all about Jesus. I will never stop preaching. I will never stop sharing my faith. I will never deny my God even while being threatened with death and torture. There is nothing so bad that I could experience here on earth that I will say "I wish I didn't go through that so I could know Christ." I love Jesus because He first loved me! My dear friends and family, repent from your sins. Come as you are and Jesus will transform you. I am who I am now not on my own effort. The Spirit of God that lives in me has changed me. If it can happen to a guy like me, I know God can do it for you. I am nobody special. I'm not rich, famous, smart, strong, good looking, or talented. God's power is made perfect in my weakness because when I am weak, Jesus makes me strong. I invite you to give Jesus a chance. Seek Him and you will find Him. Don't just come for the change in your life, but come to know Jesus. I use to not believe and I use to think I was good enough to make it to heaven on my own merit. I was so deceived! If I would've died without knowing Christ I would have gone to hell. The meaning of life is summed up in this: to find Jesus Christ and serve Him. Anything else falls way short of the glory that is available to you through Christ Jesus. Jesus died for YOU because He wants a relationship with YOU. Don't be scared. You will never regret it. If you are born again, share your faith with others. Some of your friends and family are going to hell because you stayed silent. Let that sink in. 

I love you all and be blessed in Jesus name.

Foul language and Anger

I cant believe that I have to write about this subject. But more and more I am seeing people, who say they are born again and love Jesus,using on a regular basis foul language. There is a reason its called "foul" and "bad" language. There shouldn't be anything that makes a true follower of Christ so angry that they use that type of language. You might then ask me "Do you ever cuss?" To be totally honest, yes. Do I do it habitually? No. I slip. I fail. I stumble. I repent, come into agreement with God that its sin and wage war against it. What is available in Christ is that we do not have to resort to the use of foul language, even when we have "righteous anger".

Before I was born again, I use to say bad words almost all the time. F-bomb here, MF that, GD this,etc. I use to say that I liked to use cuss words as a way to vent my anger and my feelings. Because my emotions and feelings were so strong, that I had to use this foul language in order to make my point clear. What nonsense! I was such a fool. After being born again, the Lord took away the use of these words. Slowly, I began to use these words less and less. The anger, malice and rage that was in me slowly became peace. With the transforming power of the Holy Spirit I was delivered from this.
We are in a state where our inner self is being renewed every day and our outer self is wasting away (2 Corinthians 4:16). When you are born again, you are made new inside. You become a clean vessel for the use of the Lord.

When studying for this, I found this wonderful website called www.thetruegospelofjesuschrist.org which is written by Robert Olsen. I really liked his understanding on the matter of why can believers still sin. Here is a quote that helps explain the point I am trying to make. "Here is the reason: although you are new and righteous in spirit, your mortal body is not new; it is exactly the same as it was before you were saved. Your physical body has not yet been redeemed and, therefore, it has not yet been freed from sin in the way your inner spirit has been completely and forever freed from sin (Romans 6:7, 18, 22; 1 John 3:9). This is why your mortal "house" causes you to "groan" ...2 Corinthians 5:2,4 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, ... [4] For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. You are spiritual perfection living inside mortal imperfection."

By no means am I making excuses or saying it is okay to sin. We have been set free from sin and we should strive to not sin any longer. In Galatians 5:17 Paul writes that the flesh and the spirit are contrary to one another "and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." Using myself as an example again, I do not wish to use cuss words. Ive been set free from that sin. But in a moment of weakness, my flesh gets the best of me and I give into the sin. Am I still wrong? Yes. Does the penalty of sin still carry the same wage? Yes. The apostle Jon wrote in 1 John 2:1 "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." If it weren't for Jesus, we would be in a WHOLE lot of trouble. 

I had a recent transaction with someone who was a friend of mine on Facebook. He began to allow his love to turn cold because of all the sin and evil going on. In Matthew 24:11-13, Jesus said "Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved." This guy  was so frustrated with people believing in the prosperity gospel, following false prophets, and how sin is abounding. In his comments he was using cuss words to express his, what he called, righteous anger. He felt that because of this anger he had, it as okay to cuss for all his followers to read. I disagree with that because I know what the word says about anger and foul language. We are allowed to have righteous anger but the anger should not make us sin. Ephesians 4:26-27 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.

The sins of others should not provoke us to sin. Yes, righteous anger is allowed. But this can turn into unrighteous anger very easily. Godly anger should be under control. But don't let the anger control you! Bob Deffinbaugh wrote on www.bible.org that "Anger may prompt one to speak to a brother in a way that is destructive. Just as speak may edify or build up others, it can also tear down and destroy. Anger which is not properly resolved may lead to slander or false testimony."

Cuss words don't make biblical truths more truthful. If anything, it misrepresents God. In the examples we have of the Lord becoming angry, nowhere does He ever display that His holy and righteous anger ever consumes Him. The Bible says that God is slow to anger. Not once does God or Jesus drop an F-bomb or tear somebody down using foul language. We are to be Christ-like which is what the definition of a Christian. So if Jesus doesn't use cuss words, what makes us think its okay to use those types of words? Oh, because you have righteous anger? That is an excuse to sin and that wont fly with God.

There is nothing godly about cussing and using foul language. Don't be a man or woman of unclean lips. Anger will label you a fool. I wanted to write about not using cuss words. But that is just the tip of the iceberg because it leads to other subjects. Take it from somebody who use to cuss worse than a sailor on a daily basis until the Lord touched me and made me new. I give Him all the glory, honor and praise for the change that has and is occurring in me. I am a living testimony of His magnificent power through His amazing grace and love. I would have never stopped habitually using foul language on my own because I was too weak to do it. My flesh is weak. But my Jesus is strong! Seriously though, if you have a problem with cussing, ask the Lord for forgiveness and help. Repent from your sin and resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Ephesians 4:29 - Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Ephesians 4:31 - Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 

Colossians 3:8 - But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

James 3:9-10 - With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

Proverbs 18:21 - Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

My statement of faith

I must make it clear to my readers what it is that I believe in. I want to be honest and transparent with all of you because you deserve the transparency. I know that on minor doctrinal subjects we may not agree on but, on the major doctrinal things we should agree on if you are a biblical Christian. I know that I may loose some followers, friends, and family. I am prepared for this. As I loose readers, my prayer is that the Lord will keep the followers that need to stay and replace the ones that were lost with folks who are like minded. I want to assure you all that I prayed and researched the things I speak about. I didn't just take my Pastors word for it. I sought the Lord and He gave me wisdom via the Holy Spirit and the Bible. I encourage you all to go to the Bible and especially to the Lord for confirmation about what I have written. I dont claim to know it all because I only know in part, just like everyone else. These are the majority of my beliefs. You are welcome to comment. I love you all. Keep me in your prayers because the spiritual attacks on me are getting stronger. I must be doing something right if the enemy is coming after me that hard. Hallelujah!!!

What I believe in:
*I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

*I believe that Jesus is the Word of God.

*I believe Jesus is God.

*I believe that Jesus is the only savior of humanity.

*I believe the work on the cross is good enough and plenty to cleanse us of our sins.

*I believe that Jesus rose from the dead after 3 days to prove He was the Son of God and His sacrifice was atonement for the sins who believe in Him.

*I believe one day in the future, Jesus will return to judge the world in righteousness and save those who believe in Him.

*I believe that we do not need to add or take away from the Bible because it is perfect the way it is.

*I believe what the Bible says about creation, the fall of man, and the prophecies about Jesus Christ and the end times scenario.

*I believe Jesus was 100% God but also 100% man, born of a virgin.

*I believe that Jesus died on a cross for the sins of the world.

*I believe He was resurrected 3 days after dying on the cross and is alive right this very moment.

*I believe that you must be born again in the spirit in order to see the kingdom of God.

*I believe you must be baptized.

*I believe you must repent of your sins in order to be forgiven of your sins.

*I believe in the process of sanctification (the life long process of being made holy).

*I believe that we are not suppose to live our best life now because our best life is yet to come.

*I believe that when you are born again, you are given the gift of eternal life.

*I believe you must be baptized in order to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

*I believe that we are in a spiritual war against Satan and his demons.

*I believe that there is no one else or any other name given to humanity by which we must be saved and that salvation is only found in Jesus Christ.

*I believe that through suffering we learn obedience, we gain strength and how to submit to the Lord.

*I believe that we show we love Jesus by obeying His commands.

*I believe in the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Separate, but yet are God at the same time). We have one God but manifests Himself as Father, Son and Spirit.

*I believe that prayer works and it is powerful because of who the prayers are directed to.

*I believe in miraculous healing, signs, wonders and miracles because the Bible says that signs and wonders would follow those who believe.

*I believe that there is a place called Hell and most certainly God will send people there if they reject Him.

*I believe that God created men and women and made no mistakes about our gender.

*I believe that God wants to have a relationship with us.

*I believe that after the Bible, any other "revelation" or addition to God's word is a false doctrine.

*I believe that men and women are already equal but are called to different responsibilities and duties in life.

*I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman only.

*I believe God created everything.

*I believe Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Him.

*I believe God is love but He really hates sin and so should we.

Jesus through the Bible

I found this on tumblr. I hope you like it.

Jesus Through the Bible

In GENESIS, Jesus is the Ram at Abraham’s altar
In EXODUS, He’s the Passover Lamb
In LEVITICUS, He’s the High Priest
In NUMBERS, He’s the Cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night
In DEUTERONOMY, He’s the City of our Refuge
In JOSHUA, He’s the Scarlet Thread out by Rahab’s window
In JUDGES, He is our King
In RUTH, He is our Kinsman Redeemer
In 1st and 2nd SAMUEL, He’s our Trusted Prophet
In KINGS and CHRONICLES, He’s our Reigning King
In EZRA, He is our Faithful Scribe
In NEHEMIAH, He’s the Rebuilder of everything that is broken
In ESTHER, He is the Mordecai sitting faithful at the gate
In JOB, He’s our Redeemer that ever liveth
In PSALMS, He is my Shepherd
In PROVERBS and ECCLESIASTES, He’s our Wisdom
In the SONG OF SOLOMON, He’s the Beautiful Bridegroom
In ISAIAH, He’s the Suffering Servant
In JEREMIAH and LAMENTATIONS, it is Jesus that is the Weeping Prophet
In EZEKIEL, He’s the Wonderful Four-Faced Man
In DANIEL, He is the Fourth Man in the midst of a fiery furnace
In HOSEA, He is my Love that is forever faithful
In JOEL, He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit
In AMOS, He’s our Burden Bearer
In OBADIAH, He’s our Savior
In JONAH, He is the Great Foreign Missionary
In MICAH, He is the Messenger with beautiful feet
In NAHUM, He is the Avenger
In HABAKKUK, He is the Watchman that is ever praying for revival
In ZEPHANIAH, He is the Lord mighty to save
In HAGGAI, He is the Restorer of our lost heritage
In ZECHARIAH, He is our Fountain
In MALACHI, He is the Son of Righteousness with healing in His wings
In MATTHEW, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God
In MARK, He’s the Miracle Worker
In LUKE, He’s the Son of Man
In JOHN, He is the door by which everyone of us must enter
In ACTS, He is the Shining Light that appears to Saul on the Damascus road
In ROMANS, He is our Justifier
In 1st CORINTHIANS, He is our Resurrection
In 2nd CORINTHIANS, He is our Sin Bearer
In GALATIANS, He redeems us from the law
In EPHESIANS, He is our Unsearchable Riches
In PHILIPPIANS, He supplies our every need
In COLOSSIANS, He’s the Fullness of the Godhead Bodily
In 1st and 2nd THESSALONIANS, He is our Soon Coming King
In 1st and 2nd TIMOTHY, He is the Mediator between God and man
In TITUS, He is our Blessed Hope
In PHILEMON, He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother
In HEBREWS, He’s the Blood of the everlasting covenant
In JAMES, it is the Lord that heals the sick
In 1st and 2nd PETER, He is the Chief Shepherd
In 1st, 2nd, and 3rd JOHN, it is Jesus who has the tenderness of love
In JUDE, He is the Lord coming with 10,000 saints
And in REVELATION, He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

I am on tumblr by the way. If you are also a part of that website, please follow me and I will follow you back. Its under "My Burning Heart 4 Jesus". 

2015 Worship Music For Believers of Jesus Christ

Check out this worship playlist I am putting together.

That is so Christian of you

Romans 12:2 - "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

That is so Christian of you. How many times have you heard that through out your life following Jesus? And for what? Doing what is right in the sight of the Lord and not living up to what the world thinks Christians ought to be like. I don't know where this idea came from that followers of Jesus are pushovers, pansies and wimpy. Also, apparently we cant be judgmental. Don't we ask God to give us discernment so that we can judge what is good and evil? Being a follower of Jesus Christ is the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life. Think about it for a moment. An imperfect being trying to be perfect before an all powerful, all wise, living God. Denying your very flesh and what you were born into. Living a sinful life is so much easier than living a life of righteousness. Its so much easier to conform to this world and not be transformed in your mind and not prove what is good and acceptable. Personally, I do not want my best life now. I want my best life in eternity.

Ive been thinking about this statement "That is so Christian of you." What is it suppose to mean? Is someone trying to insult us? In my pondering, usually it means that we do not fit into the category or mental image that a Christian is suppose to be. I guess we are suppose to fold over like an old wallet. Ever watched  "The Simpsons" and seen that character Ned Flanders? I really believe that is what the world views Christians as and when we don't follow suite, we insult our non believing friends and family. Here are a few exerts that stood out to me from the Wikipedia page about Ned Flanders. After reading this article myself, I could see where some people get this crazy idea about how Christians should be like.

"A devout Evangelical Christian with an annoyingly perfect family, he is among the friendliest and most compassionate of Springfield's citizens and is generally considered a pillar of the Springfield community."

"Firmly religious, he can be timid and something of a pushover. He is a Republican and  a devout Evangelical Christian who strictly follows the Bible literally and is easily shocked when challenged on any point of dogma."

"Flanders is very honest and sincere in carrying out the Christian doctrines of charity, kindness, and compassion. He is frequently shown doing volunteer work, and is rigorously honest and upright, even going so far as to spend an entire day tracking down a Leftorium customer in order to give him the extra change that he had forgotten to hand over."

"In the later seasons, Flanders has become more of a caricature of the Christian right, and his role as an irritating "perfect neighbor" has been lessened. For example some recent episodes Flanders has appeared to show rather prejudice attitudes against gays and people of religions other than Christianity."

 Some of you might say that some of these attributes are good and Christ like. I would have to agree. But the problem people have with believers is that they take the Bible literally! That's when people want to say "That is so Christian of you". Here is a story about someone I know. Last year this gentleman that I know of, his cousin daughters back in his home town was going through a harsh spot. She wanted to move out to Arizona and she was told that he might be able to help her. After much consideration and prayer, he and his wife accepted. Word got around back in his hometown and one day his mother calls him very angry on the phone. She told him that he was wrong for what he was doing because he hardly knew this girl, that his cousin's kid was bad news and his wife would become jealous because his cousins daughter was an attractive young lady. He was shocked because he saw this young lady as family and would never want to cheat on his wife. He stood his ground and told his mother that  he believed that the Lord opened this opportunity for him to share what he had been blessed with. He saw that this may be a way he could share the gospel with his troubled family member. His mother took it as he was disobeying her and committing a sin. His mother said, "That is so Christian of you! Disobeying your own mother!" Don't worry, since then, my friend and his mom have reconciled and my friend apologized to his mother. The troubled young lady got her own place. She also got a new job in her hometown. My friend made himself available to what the Lord told Him to do and not even his dear mom could change that.

My friends obedience to his parents had a limit. It ended when it would make him disobey God. Acts 5:29 says "We ought to obey God rather than men." Yes the Bible does say to honor your mother and father. But that has limits. Our greatest commandment is to love our Lord and God with all of our heart, soul and mind. Jesus said that if we want to show Him that we love Him, we would obey His commands. When we become immovable and stand firm in the word of God, that's when we show our true colors and it makes others angry. Yes, Christians are suppose to be loving, kind, patient, helpful, joyful, upright, humble, take the Bible literally and honor our parents. This is what the world likes to call being religious. The word Christian means "Christ follower". If those are traits of a devout, evangelical Christian then those have to be traits of our Lord Jesus Christ and we are to follow them.

There are also examples throughout the Bible gospels where God and Jesus displayed some characteristics that non believers and even some Christians would say are not very "Godly/Christ like". In the gospels, on more then one occasion, Jesus called people hypocrites, and vipers right in the peoples face. He cleared out the Jewish temple with a make shift whip and flipped tables because the temple was turned into a market place when it is purpose was a house of prayer. He rebuked people and corrected them sternly. If Jesus were here in the United States and went to your church, you might say His actions were not very "Christ like". Non believers who pick and choose what to read out of the Bible say that the Old Testament God was mean. He killed people, placed plagues and curses on "innocent people". Some would argue that what happened to Job was unnecessary and down right cruel. In Exodus 15:3 it says "The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name." In Isaiah 42:13 the bible says "The Lord goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war He stirs up His zeal; He cries out, He shouts aloud, He shows Himself mighty against His foes." When you can create things by merely speaking them into existence, then maybe you can make the rules. Until then, God rules. God is a spiritual being and if you are not of the spirit, you will never understand Him unless He gives the wisdom. People try to make God equal to man but God is far more wise, powerful and holy than us. Who can we liken unto Him? Who is like the Lord? NO ONE and not even close. 

As persecution towards Christians around the world increases, be of good cheer my brothers and sisters. Jesus warned us about this. 
John 15:18 - "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you."
John 16:33 - "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
Lets follow the example of the original apostles. Acts 5:41 - "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." The devil will try to discourage us with our closest friends and loved ones.  When we stand up for our beliefs, he will try to bring us down by making us feel guilty. The feeling of guilt maybe real, but it is a lie straight out of hell because the devil is the father of all lies and there is no truth found in him. In Ephesians 6:10-13, Paul writes, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm." The next time someone somebody says "That is so Christian of you", think if what you are doing is Christ like. If it isn't Christ like, be humble and admit to the mistake because that would be so Christian of you. If it is Christ like, be humble and don't say anything because that would be so Christian of you. 

There is a chance somebody might want to use Mathew 7:1 "Judge not lest you be judged" verse. Which is usually used totally out of context. But if they kept reading Matthew 7:1 -5, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
Jesus is talking about judging with righteous judgement and to not be a hypocrite. For example, if I told someone that they shouldn't get drunk, but at home I smoke marijuana using the excuse that God made all plants for us to consume, that is being a hypocrite.  Do not let anyone tell you that you cant judge.  We can judge if something or someone is good or evil. We are not to condemn people to hell if they are non believers. You never know down the line that person might get born again. Believers can judge believers. God judges non believers. With that in mind, someone might quote Tupac and say "Only God can judge me." That should scare people because God sees everything, knows everything including our thoughts and the motives we have. But that is why God sent His only Son to the world so that whoever shall believe in Him will have everlasting life and shall not perish.

Okay I am done. God bless!

Can sinners go to heaven?/Are Christians allowed to judge others?

Can sinners go to heaven? You must be saying to yourself, "what kind of stupid question is that? NO! Of course not!". If sinners could not go into heaven, then heaven would be empty. Stay with me now, I have a point to make and it will make sense in a moment. Forgiven sinners are the ones who go to heaven. Those who obey the commands of God go to heaven. Those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord and is our Savior, will go to heaven. Those criteria have to be met, or no go. Here is a saying I'd like to get known..."Full submission or no admission". We must fully submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and everything that it means to submit or there will be no admission into heaven.

Can I get an AMEN?

Some of you might say that I am being too harsh or that we will always be sinners. Well I've read the New Testament and nowhere does it call born again followers of Christ a sinner. Do we have the capability to sin? Yes. But how else do we learn how to war against the devil if we don't fight against our sins, temptations, trials and tribulations? Don't ask God for an easy life. Ask Him to give you the strength to endure it. 1 Corinthians 6:9 "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,  nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." Gods word says that unforgiven sinners wont inherit heaven UNLESS they repent. 

The flesh must be put to death, Romans 8:13 "For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." Before I was born again, sexual immorality was a major sin that ruled my life plus all the other sins I was involved in. All of my sins carried the same price as homosexuality, adultery, sodomy, stealing, drunkenness and etc. The price is death. Jesus paid for my sins with His life and blood. THANK YOU JESUS! How can we not be grateful for that?  I had to repent and put my fleshly lusts to death and live by the Spirit. So can a homosexual make it to heaven? Yes. But only after repenting from their sin and putting to death their flesh. The same goes for every other type of sin. Stop doing it, deny your sinful nature, pick up that cross and follow Jesus. 

I didn't use to like to read but I read a lot now. I like to get on social media outlets and read the comments of other people who say they are followers of Jesus Christ. Some of these folks need to read their Bible because they got it all wrong. They twist scripture and bend the Bible to fit their sinful lifestyle. Lets pray for these folks because they are being deceived by the enemy. Now before you go and tell me to "Judge not", the Lord does say that we can judge. We must judge righteously though and do it the way He says to judge. Its called having discernment. I learned how to judge. It was a hard lesson to learn because I had to foul up a bunch of  times before I got it right. But by Gods good grace, I learned how to judge righteously. If you are born again, you are righteous. So if something contradicts what the Lord has commanded, its wrong. Not because we say so but because the Lord God says so.

Lets see what the Lord has to say on the matter. Let me remind you that when God makes sense, make no other sense!  

Matthew 7:18 "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." 

Matthew 15:18 "But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them." 

John 7:24 "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”


1 Corinthians 2:15 "But he that is spiritual judges all things..."

1 Corinthians 6:2-3 "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

1 Thessalonians 5:21 "By all means use your judgment, and hold on to whatever is good."

The Christian is not to judge hypocritically or self-righteously, but Scripture repeatedly strongly encourages believers to evaluate carefully and choose between good and bad people and things. The Christian is to "test everything" (1 John 4:1).  More and more I see that people who call themselves followers of Christ allow sin to continue to be a part of their life. They are not waging war against it. For example, if there happens to be somebody at your job who say they are Christian, but after inspecting the spiritual fruit you discern that they are not very Christ like. Lets say one of them blasphemies Gods name all the day long. The other has a Scripture out of Matthew displayed on their desk but while you are on break you happen to over hear a conversation they were having with another colleague and they were cursing like a sailor. Or maybe they dont dress modestly.The God, via the Bible, calls those things sin.

I know that what comes out of the mouth flows what is in a persons heart. Blaspheming the name of God, not being modest and cussing ,it is not Christ like. I could understand once in a very long time you just so happen to let a cuss word slip and immediately start asking the Lord for forgiveness and repent. But everyday saying "Jesus!" and "Oh Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" as a way to vent out your anger is wrong. His name is Holy, Holy, Holy. Did you know in the Jewish culture saying something three times means that its perfect. So God is perfect in His Holiness. How dare we use the Lords name in vain.

Also we are commanded to not use foul language. How can we use the same mouth to bless the Lord and then turn around and insult another human being? We are also told to dress modestly so to not make others sin by looking at us and making them lust. I use to curse really bad. I use to use the Lords name in vain many times and when I was younger, I dressed inappropriately. I don't do that anymore because the Lord has washed those sins away and has renewed my mind. He has given me new desires and I dont desire those things any longer. His grace doesn't give me or any follower of Christ a license to sin. Its a license not to sin. Would I judge a person who is not born again like I just did these two believers? No. A sinner is going to sin because they don't have the option not to sin. That is why we share the gospel with nonbelievers. A born again Christian does have the option to not sin because Jesus gave us that option. So use that option because we have been set free from sin. Don't get angry if somebody corrects you. We should always correct fellow saints out of love.

Anyways, I know that I got a bit side tracked but this has been on my heart for a while. Something just fired me up and I had to write about it. Call me critical. Call me judgmental. But that's what God calls use to do. I like to call it the gift of discernment. The Lord was good to me and answered my prayers. With that in mind, call sin what it is. Sin. Don't make excuses or sugar coat it. Repent from sin and wage war against it. Remember that only forgiven sinners go to heaven. Its a free gift, but it will cost you. Imagine your sin is like a back pack full of poop and its all you have. Jesus offers you salvation, eternal life and a relationship with Him in exchange for your worthless bag of poop. Its all you have and you give it to Him. It cost you everything you had but it cost you nothing because what you had was worthless. It cost the Lord His life to give you what He gave you so it wouldn't cost you anything.

Good night and God bless!

God's mercy is steadfast and unwavering

Someone asked if God was more merciful now or less. I replied that God's mercy is steadfast. First lets examine what steadfast means. Steadfast is defined as: fixed in direction; steadily directed, firm in purpose, resolution, faith, attachment, firmly established, as an institution or a state of affairs,

firmly fixed in place or position. God's mercy doesn't change. His mercy doesn't depend on how God feels. I think God is being merciful even now. He hates sin and because He is a righteous judge and because of that fact, sin must be punished. The wage of sin is death. Yet, here we are, alive. Jesus dieing on the cross for our sins is not only a display of God's love towards us but also a display of His mercy. So easily could God annihilate the world because of sin and it would be right for Him to do that. Yet His grace and mercy are new everyday. Some may say well if God is so good and merciful why is there death, war, crime, and diseases? The Bible says that Satan kills, steals and destroys. On the other hand, God is the source of life, He gives everything to us and makes things new. 

It was us who allowed sin, death, illness and all the ugliness into this world. It's was man's choice to disobey God and attempt to be like Him. It's the first lie we believed from the devil, the original sin. But God was still merciful. Mankind still exists today despite all our wrong doings. God still sent His only Son to die on behalf of mankind. We have to get a real grasp on this. Let me tell you a story. So lets say one day you are driving and minding your own business. Life for the most part is good. Not perfect, but good. Then out of nowhere, you were involved in a car wreck and you were severally injured. Doctors tell you that you actually died for a moment. The other person involved was driving very intoxicated and impaired, but DIED upon impact. You might say that the driver who was impaired got the sweet part of the deal because they don't have to deal with all those hospital bills and being crippled for the rest of their lives. Where was God's mercy for you who was minding your on business? This is how I see it. Yes, I agree that being now physically impaired due to an accident is not desirable but the fact of the matter is that God kept you alive. He decides when your time is up. He still wants to give you a chance to find salvation in His son, Jesus Christ. I suggest you seek the Lord and don't waste this chance. On the other hand, the other driver, although they died and don't have to deal with the stress and woes of this world, they have it much worse now. They must own up to their sins and if Christ was not their Savior, they are doomed to hell. The impaired driver rejected God by ignoring warnings, doing what hey wanted, constantly poisoned their body, put other people's lives at risk, and whom God showed mercy and grace over and over again. This car wreck may have been God's mercy on others by taking out this person who not only was a danger to the people surrounding them, but also to themselves. On the flip side, this may have been Gods wake up call for you to get right with Him. Sometimes when someone dies, it's a show of mercy so that the person doesn't have to suffer anymore or others don't have to suffer. 

God is a righteous judge. He is not a corrupt judge. Because He is a righteous judge He must judge sin accordingly. God punishes sin with death. One of two must happen in a person's life while on earth. 

1) They accept Jesus as Lord and Savior because  Jesus took the death and punish for their sins. When they die physically, their soul will live in eternity with God. 2) They don't accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and then when they physically die, they face the judgement and wrath of God. They will have to pay for their own sins and the punishment for that is your soul will burn former in eternal torrent, damnation and eternally separated from God. God in His mercy gives us a way of escape and that is through Jesus Christ. If God just let us sin all we wanted and showed us mercy by letting us into eternity with while still being sinful would mean that He is corrupt, Jesus died in vain and He is and liar. Sin, death, war, etc was never part of God's original design for mankind. It was designed for us to have an intimate relationship and fellowship with God in paradise. But God being merciful, He gave us free will. He didn't design us to be robots. He wanted our love and worship towards Him to be genuine and given freely. God is love. Love doesn't force itself on anyone. That's also a former of mercy. In conclusion, God's mercy doesn't change. He doesn't change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We change because of our age, feelings, and circumstances. God is solid and is immovable. That includes His mercy. 

Here are some Bible verses that tell about Gods mercy. You will find in these verses they mention how Gods mercy is ABUNDANT, GREAT, PLENTIFUL, TENDER, and RICH, Here is my challenge to my readers. Read the the following verses and ask yourself if Gods mercy is more or less now?

2 Samuel 24:14 And David said to God, I am in great distress: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.
Psalms 86:5 For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy to all them that call on you.
Psalms 145:9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Luke 6:36 Be you therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Biblical Warning! - There will be HELL TO PAY

There is so much sin and evil in this world because there is no FEAR OF GOD. Everybody will stand before the Lord and be judged and if you did not receive Jesus as your Lord and SAVIOR, there will be hell to pay for all your sins. God desires that no one perish but the date has been set and nothing is going to stop it. But you can avoid being punished for your sins. You can be forgiven. Repent! The Kingdom of God is at hand!

An amazing weekend

The weekend of August 29-30, 2015 will be a memorable one for me and many individuals. This testimony of what our Lord did has it all. Be warned, its a long story but I am promise you that you will be blessed by the end. So, I had planned on working on the family rally wagon because the Lord blessed us with enough money to buy some parts that it needed. I ordered an external transmission cooler, some new horns, and HID headlight bulbs and ballasts for the blacked out headlights I bought a couple years ago for the car. Mind you, I am not so much of a car guy anymore. I use to be. Cars were my passion, hobby and god. But God changed all of that once I got born again. I still like cars and I know how to work on them a bit, but my passion is now for Jesus. This particular weekend my church witnessed a Godly couple get married and I also planned on going to church and going to the mall with my brother in Christ Gabriel and our sons to share the gospel at the mall.

Saturday, August 29th. I went to a prayer breakfast. I had inquired about becoming a Gideon. The Gideons is an evangelical organization that gives free bibles to people who cant afford them or who need a bible. They have become famous because in some hotels rooms you will find a Gideon Bible in the room. A gentleman I know from my church called me and told about it. I was the youngest guy there, and I am not that young anymore. I am 36 years young, 37 this coming November. Its okay, they made me feel very welcome. It felt good to be surrounded by other believers who were like minded. I ordered a pancake breakfast. When it came time to pay, I noticed that my debit card was not in my wallet and I don't carry cash. I should have took this as a sign of the kind of weekend I was going to have. Well I waited until everybody left and I asked the manager if I could leave my phone there as collateral so I can go home and get my card. My wife had it. I came back and paid for the meal and went to the auto parts store to get some tools. I got home and got myself ready in my coveralls and gathered all my parts and tools.

It was ridiculously hot out side as it usually is here in Mesa Arizona and I don't like to work on my car in the heat and I had anticipated the repair to not take a long. The heat here is dry and it will zap out all your strength from you in a snap. Before I got to work, I prayed that God would give me strength, wisdom and patience to get the job done. I did the hard part first, the transmission cooler. It was a messy job and a bit more difficult than I expected. I will confess that there were times I got a bit frustrated, complained and laid on the ground in exhaustion. But the Lord would remind me to praise Him and He would give me strength to go on. Also my wife would come down and give me water and later brought the fan down stairs for me. What a wonderful and thoughtful wife I have. Thank you Lord for such a Godly woman. So I got it done installing the transmission cooler, so I thought. This will be mentioned again later on in the story, make a mental note. Once the cooler was in, I installed the new Hella super tone horns for the car. Its me and my wife's favorite modification by far. I recommend everyone to upgrade your horns to these babies because people will move out of the way when they hear these horns go off.. So then I did the headlights. That took longer than I wanted plus by then I was really tired and I began to get irritated. Oh, I almost forgot I had a wedding to go to that night and I had to finish with enough time to clean up and arrive on time. Thank God I got it all done in time, cleaned up and went to the wedding.

The wedding was great. Two people I admire because of their faith got married. Jesse and Heidi. I know Jesse from men's Bible study, we have gone out preaching together. He also gave me some fantastic advice that I will never forget. Last year at the Arab festival Jesse and I were on the evangelism team. It was tough crowd and I also was still not so confident in my preaching skills. We sat down for a break from all the walking and we started talking. I shared that sometimes I get a bit preachy with my kids. Jesse told me to keep on preaching to them because even though they may not understand what I am talking about now, later they would. He told me his parents would minister and preach to him and his siblings while they grew up. He said most of the time he didn't know what they talking about but as he grew in faith, the Lord began to take those seeds his folks planted when he was a child. This young man is a mature man of Christ. His wife Heidi, I don't know her very much but from what I do know of her, she is a Godly woman. The Bible says that a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. One time at a men's bible study family night we prayed for one of the brothers wife who has problems with her stomach. Heidi say something in prayer to the Lord that became a part of my prayer language and I have mentioned it before. This is who I copied it from. "Lord I believe but help me in my unbelief". These two are a great couple that was predestined before the foundation of the world and I wait with anticipation to see what the Lord will do in their lives. I cried at their wedding. One thing I want to mention, at their wedding reception, they had some really cool Bible tracts. I took a few and later on in the story, one of them would be used to lead someone to the Lord.

Sunday, August 31st.  I woke up for first service. My wife and kids stayed home because they didn't wake up when I did. The message our Pastor had was simply put, amazing. The Lord was working in my heart through this message about the high cost and honor of discipleship. Following Jesus may come at a high cost but our salvation came at an even HIGHER cost. The Lord calls us to follow Him, to be His disciple and take His yoke. Early in the the ministry of Jesus, He was followed by large crowds who wanted to see Him work miracles and listen to Him preach. They left everything and followed Him. A blind man was healed and began to follow Jesus. Several women followed Jesus. But the large crowd began to dwindle when the cost got too high. In Luke 18:22, just tells the young rich man to sell all he owns and give tit o the poor and follow Him. But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. A scribe in Matthew 8:19-20 told Jesus he wanted to follow Him where ever Jesus went. Jesus said to him "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head". That scribe was never mentioned again the Bible. In John 6:66 "After this many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him". Jesus didn't come for a huge following. He came for followers who are willing to take up their cross. To come after Christ whole heatedly. To push aside a "self centered" life by denying yourself. Deny what? Your agenda, time, money, leisure, career, and priorities. Taking up your cross isn't something that should be always associated with sadness or grief. Taking up your cross is saying "yes" to prayer, Bible reading, God's prompting, service, fellowship, time, talent, treasure, sacrifice, and suffering. In Romans 8:17-18 it says"Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later". I decided to say "yes" to taking up my cross. Little did I know that only a few hours later, I would be put to the test.

So after church me and my brother in Christ Gabriel met up at the mall. Earlier in the week he mentioned he wanted to go to the mall and take our son's with us to show them what it looks like to go preach the gospel to the lost. My son Santino is 7 and Gabriel's son is 6. Our first interaction we had was with a man who couldn't talk and had a cane. I believe he was deaf also but could read lips. Gabe asked him if we could pray for him. We laid hands on him. When I touched this man I was reminded about the deaf and mute man Jesus healed. I recall praying that his ears would be opened and that he would be able to speak clearly in Jesus name. I recall hearing Gabriel praying for this mans leg and salvation. We didn't see a miracle but he did take a King James Bible we gave and he allowed us to pray for him. We got the first person out of the way and that was good. We walked around and Gabriel gave a woman who was sitting in front of a barber shop a tract. As we looked back, we could see that she was reading the tract. Praise the Lord. We got our sons involved by sending them out with tracts in hand and they delivered a couple tracts to a couple who were at the mall. I admire their child like faith and obedience. They didn't question nor complain. They just did what we told them to do. A short time later, we met up with a security guard who Gabe talked to earlier in the week. He was nice Native American man. His name was David and he was having problems with his son. Lift him up in prayer if you can.

So we walked upstairs and we ran into that security guard again. He was talking to a young lady. She just got discharged out of the hospital and had no way back home to Globe , AZ. She came to the mall to see if by chance she would run into someone she knew from back home so she could catch a ride. The security guard asked us if we could do something. This was Gods prompting. She told us she just got out of rehab. She blacked out and woke in the hospital. She had also been suffering from seizures. So Gabriel and I laid hands on her and began to pray. The Lord told me to command the demons to come out in Jesus name. I was reminded about the story of the boy who suffered from seizures and Jesus healed him. She was weeping and the more we prayed for healing and commanding demons to leave in Jesus name, the more she wept. I felt really hot and tears were coming from my eyes. This was intense! As my brother and I were praying, we started to hear a woman's voice pray with us. It wasn't the voice of the woman who we were praying over. Someone walked by and saw what we were doing and she joined in. That was awesome! So when we were done, I asked the woman we prayed over for her name.  Her name is Mary (please pray for her). I asked her how she felt. She said she felt a lot better and that she had been delivered. The Lord told me to ask if she wanted to be born again and she said yes. Gabriel handed me one of the tracts from Jesse and Heidi's wedding because it had the sinner's prayer in it. So we lead this young woman to the Lord and now she is a child of the one true living God! Hallelujah!

The next thing that needed addressing was getting Mary back home. The Lord was prompting me to take her. I called my wife to get the "okay" because I cant make these kind of decisions with out her consent. Its dishonoring to her. When I told her what I was planning, she hesitated. I told that I'd give her 5 minutes to pray about it and see what the Lord says. I talked to the woman who joined us in prayer. Her name is Ellen. Ellen said her church doesn't go out to preach out in public. She is looking for a church that does that. We invited her to come to our church. Ellen also said she would be interested in joining us one time and that we should ask the Lord if it would be His will, she will come and join us. Ellen talked to Mary and bought her some food. During that time I called greyhound and they had no buses going to Globe. I checked with Amtrak, they don't go through there. The Lord planned this so that me and my wife Erin would be the ones to take her home in our car. Erin calls me back and she said "Lets do it." I was so excited and happy. I got to minister to Mary and she was receptive and she was reading the Bible we just gave her. I went home and my wife and my daughter Jocelyn came with us. Santino went with Gabriel and Benicio to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Later on, Gabriel told me that Santino hugged him at Chuck E. Cheese. I asked my son about that and he said he was very grateful to Gabriel for bringing him to Chuck E. Cheese and that is why he hugged him.

So we get on the freeway and about 10 miles into the trip we stopped at a Chevron in Apache Junction. Got some gas and some food. Mary said she felt weird having us pay for her stuff, but we told that it was okay. Of course we didn't mind because the Lord had blessed us so that we could bless her. We got back on the freeway and all of a sudden, disaster struck. Remember that I said earlier that I thought I was done installing the transmission cooler? Well, all of a sudden the car just revs up and the car is slowing down. I look back , I see a plume of white smoke. I knew what it was. Something happened to the transmission cooler. Some how we had enough momentum to get off the freeway, and pull off at the next exit and into another Chevron gas station. I get out, Erin pops the hood and cooler looks fine. So I look under the front of the car....the undercarriage is lathered in transmission fluid and one of the lines came off. All the transmission fluid was gone. The clamp was defective. I thought I tightened it down all the way and come to find out, it stopped turning. I tried to turn this clamp when I took it off the hose and it wouldn't turn after a certain point. I felt embarrassed. I wanted to freak out and get angry. Which is what I use to do before Christ. How did I manage? With prayer and praise. Even when things seemed out of control, God was still in control. Every spiritual attack of discouragement was met with praise and prayer. Next time something doesn't go your way, start praising, quoting verses and praying. The enemy doesn't want to drive you to worship the Lord and the attacks will have NO power over you.

I needed a new clamp and I asked Erin to go and ask if they had a screw driver and hose clamps. She was praying that the Lord would some how provide and He did! They just so happen to sell hose clamps and a set of screw drivers. With the new clamp on, all we needed was transmission fluid. I asked Erin to go check to see if they had some. She prayed and yes, they had a bunch of it. But, it wasn't the right kind. This all happens just as a cashier is getting off shift from that Chevron and she offers to take me to the auto parts store for a long funnel and transmission fluid. The Lord used the time while I was repairing the car so that my wife could minister to Mary. I got the funnel and 5 quarts of transmission fluid and filled up the transmission, cranked the car on and took her on a short test drive. Praise the Lord the clamp held and the car was running fine. I picked up the girls and we were on our way. The rest of the way there my wife and I ministered to Mary. She listened. We arrived in Globe, we all swapped phone numbers, and we hugged good bye.

The drive back we were just so filled with joy for EVERYTHING that happened. Yes, even the car going out of commission for a bit. It was the way the Lord planned it. He called me, Gabriel, Erin and Ellen to serve and we responded. We were told to sacrifice and we did. Was it all worth it? Absolutely. Because of all of this, someone got born again. The Lord was glorified and there was a party up in Heaven for Mary.

No more fantasy football for me

Last night I made a decision to not play fantasy football anymore. I use to like playing it and for the past 4 years was in a league. I wanted out last year but I couldn't and then I surcomb to the temptation of playing again.

Fantasy football is such a time waster and also took time away from time with the Lord and my family.I was in the process of setting up my draft order. Since I won the championship last year and ofcourse I wanted to repeat. I probably spent an hour or more setting up my draft order. My thoughts during that our were selfish and mean. I stopped because it was getting late and I planned to finish today. I was browsing through the league to look at the settings. I was even offered a way where NFL.com, for 20 dollars, they would set up my draft order for me according to the settings of my league so that I have better chances of winning. Oh buddy that was tempting because I wanted to win. But just then I saw "Delete your team".

The Bible says that God always gives us a way of escape from all temptations. I had to make a choice at that very moment. Continue to play fantasy football or deny myself and follow Jesus. I wasted so much time in the last 4 years on this game and I didn't want to play it anymore. Here was my exit. The Lord gave me this exit and I recognized it and took it. I didn't hesitate one bit and it was great. I am free!

Now I will have all this time to spend with God, my family and whatever else the Lord guides me to. I would've missed out on a lot. Fantasy football became an enemy to me because it robbed of my time with the Lord and fed my fleshly desires. I have a desire to put my flesh to death so that Jesus can live through me and if that meant not playing fantasy football, so be it! Fantasy football isnt evil. The Bible says that where your treasures are that is where your heart is(Matthew 6:21). My heart belongs to the Lord and I want to store my treasures in Heaven. I am looking forward to what God has in store  for me because I know He will replace fantasy football with something better and greater.

"What I want ain't here"

I wrote this on 8/19/15. Here it goes, I hope you enjoy it.

"What I want ain't here" By Nick Diaz

Sitting in front of my flat screen feeling like wanting to scream because with every click on my remote and each passing scene, what I want ain't here. So I get up and go to the liquor store because I am hangry and thirsty. I walk by the cashier ans she is flirty with me. I can't make up my mind on which fleshly desire I want to quench firstly, what I want ain't here. Now I'm on a mission because so far nothing seems to satisfy this flesh that my mind can't repress. I must confess this is so heavy that even Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime could not bench press. But I digress...
What I want ain't here, not even close and not even near. But one day it will be here. The sky will crack open and my Lord will appear. The Kingdom of the Lord will make its premier.  No more boredem, no more anger, no more hunger, and no more tears. So what I want ain't here and nothing else will do, not until my Lord comes back. That will be the day all the saints will cheer.

(By the way, "hangry" is slang. Ever been hungry and because of that you are angry? The word for it is hangry .)

A set of tires from the Lord

The last few months I have been praying and pleading with the Lord for help with my lack of trust, faith and belief in Him. I am not saying I don't have faith or I don't believe or trust in God. I just know that there is more that is available than what I currently have and I want more. Never become content where you are with God but thank Him for bringing you this far. Always strive for more and He will give you more. Just like when Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord. He didn't stop until he was blessed. It literally changed Jacobs walk forever. Well, the Lord answered and I want to share how that happened. Because if it can happen to me, it can happen to you.

In Mark 9, there is a story about a father who seeks Jesus to heal his son who was possess by a demon. Mark 9:24 reads, "Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”. That verse became a part of my prayer life. I knew I lacked and I couldn't do anything within my own power and will to fix it. Trust me, I tried and failed. We must examine ourselves and see where we need healing, strength and help.

About 2 weeks ago, the beginning of August, I was driving home on the freeway and all of a sudden I heard something as if my front driver side tire blew out. I pulled over and a strip of my tire started to come off the tire. I knew that I needed tires soon but I wasn't ready to buy a new set. I cut the strip off and finished my drive home. On the way I began to pray. I began to seek the Lord's righteousness and Kingdom. What came to mind was Philippians 4:6 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;". I knew I had no way within my own power and limited funds to get new tires.

I prayed and asked for prayer. I was attacked heavily spiritually because I kept getting tempted to worry and stress out while i waited for the Lord to answer. I learned how to fight back with prayer, worship and scriptures. I knew how but I felt the Lord strengthen me. The enemy had nothing on me! It took about 4-5 days for my answer. I had posted on Facebook a prayer request for tires. I was not asking anyone for money, just prayer. I knew God was going to come through with this blessing because His word says that He cares for me, I had asked in Jesus name and God knew what I needed even before I asked for it. I already knew that He knew our car needed tires. On the 3rd day, Saturday, I finally called around for some prices. I was tempted to go get a title loan. But me and my wife decided to wait on the Lord. I got a real good deal at one place and a very high price at another but I couldn't afford either. I would've been happy with used tires at that point as long as they were better than what I had.

Sunday morning me and my family went to church. One of the first people I ran into my the best man at my wedding Kevin, who was doing security. He asked me about my tires. I really didn't want to talk about it, plus I had to get my kids to Sunday school because we got to church late. I told him I'd talk to him later. He said he had something for me and I kind of knew what he was talking about but I wasn't sure. I walk into the worship center and take a seat. After I sat down I got a tap on the shoulder from the person behind me and they gave me a white envelope with the word TIRES written on the front. "Randy told me to give you this". Randy is a good brother of mine and what's funny is that I walked passed him and the Lord highlighted him to me as I was walking in and I shook his hand. I didn't look in the envelope right away. At the end of service I looked and it was 200 dollars towards the new set of tires. I Thanked Randy and he said "Don't thank me, you know who this is from".

The next day at men's bible study, I got a hold of Kevin after the study was done. We talked about the tires. I told him I had some money but I was shirt 180 dollars. Kevin said "I knew you were going to say that!" He pulled me aside and gave me another 200 dollars. He said the Lord had told him that I would be short about 180 dollars. I am so blown away at this point. I finally told my wife, totally forgot to tell her haha. She wanted to cry with tears of joy. We prayed and thanked the Lord. The next day, my younger brother Kristian messages me on Facebook and tells me to check my Pay Pal. He sent me 200 dollars. I needed tires but I also needed an alignment and the LORD knew that!

I had to work the day my wife took the family rally wagon to get some new rubber on. She said the guys at the shop were courteous, nice, they charged what I was quoted and they did a fast job. I worried a bit that she would get treated differently because she is a woman ans they would over charge her. But I gave it to God and look what happened. My wife was treated well and we got the tires the Lord blessed us with. Hallelujah!

DISCLAIMER: Before I go any further, I don't believe in God so I can get health/wealth/and prosperity. God took care of the one thing first when I was born again, my sin. After that, I became His child and like a good Father, He takes care of me. God is pleased with faith, even if it's the size of a mustard seed. I took God at His word and I knew in my mind and in my spirit the Lord would come through. I just had to be still and know that He is God. God is faithful! I don't preach prosperity. I preach Jesus Christ the risen King of kings who came to save sinners from God's wrath and repentance.

So what are you suppose to take away from this? How do you apply this to your life? Go and read your bible everyday and pray. If you know you are weak or lack, devouring Gods word and prayer is how you will get stronger. Man does not live on bread alone, but from every word that comes from God's mouth. Believe that God says who He says He is. He all powerful, all knowing, and NOTHING is too hard for him. You got believe that you are who He says you are in Christ. If you a born again Christian, a blood bought believer, you are His child, you are His beloved, you are a saint, you are His portion, you are a royal priest, you are co-heir with Jesus, you are His friend, you are holy because He is Holy, you are redeemed and you have been justified. There is nothing that can separate you from the love of God which is steadfast. It never diminishes and it's such a great love that it cannot be measured. His love for His people is relentless and it's powerful. The love of God, once it's truly experienced, is life changing. It will change the way you live, the way you pray, the way you worship and change your walk with Him. Sometimes God's love hurts but God uses all things all for the good of those who love Him who are called according to His purpose.

So yea, I am barely making it. I live pay check to pay check. But God always makes sure me and my family has a roof over our heads, our bills are paid on time, food is in our bellies, I have a job and gas in our car. Through the suffering I have gotten to know the Lord more. But those are the least of my blessings. Knowing that Jesus saved me and my family, that He has our back and has grown me and my family spiritually, that I am most grateful and blessed. I've learned that whether in abundance or in need, I can do all things through Christ Jesus. Praise the Lord who sits high and exalted in the heavens! Worthy is the Lamb of blessing, honor and praise!