Video Testimony: Let me tell you how Jesus saved me

I recorded a video where I share some more about my testimony. I hope you enjoy it, are encouraged by it and are blessed. To God be all the praise, honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

How many times shall we forgive?

So how many times must we forgive someone for doing us wrong? Matthew 18:21-22 "Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." Matthew 6:14 says "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you."

The take away: Never stop forgiving those who do wrong against you. If you forgive them, God will forgive you of your sins. If you do not forgive, you will not be forgiven. So if you feel like your patience is running out and you feel like your going to get mad, deny those feelings and forgive. You will feel much better and happier. Ive said it once and ill say it again, forgiving someone does make what they did wrong to you  is right. It means you release the anger and bitterness which are not from God. Show mercy like you would like to have mercy shown to you.

Jesus > Religion

It's not about if my religion is right or your religion is right. It's about God is right and He has set the conditions upon which we can be reconciled with Him. Any deviation from His conditions is rebellion. Don't follow the traditions and religion that man kind has made. Simply do what God says. All the pomp and circumstance of man made religion cannot save you. There is only ONE way to heaven and it's through Jesus Christ. Praise God that He made only one way and not multiple ways. Jesus said in John 14:6 that He was the way, the truth and the life and that no one can see the Father unless it is through Him. Repent and believe in the gospel and you shall have eternal life.

Is God a gift ungiver?

There are two conflicting teachings within Christianity in regards to salvation. Either we are once saved, always saved or you can loose your salvation if you don't do what God commands. Honestly, I am confused about the matter. On one hand, we know God is merciful, kind, graceful and loving. But God is also a righteous judge and He must punish sin. Gods gift of salvation is free. Its a gift. Why would God take back the gift He gave away? He doesn't need salvation, we do. We have a choice to accept or reject the gift. Maybe its not about the validity of Gods gift, but the validity of our faith. Is our faith real? Did we really repent and were born again? Or were we caught up in our emotions and when the emotions pass, things go back to normal? Was our salvation authentic or fake? The questions are rhetorical questions. They are questions you should ask yourself and examine yourself.

There are folks who will say that God has predestined people and He knows who will be saved. So why do we need to go out into the world and preach the gospel if God already knows who will be saved? If we are predestined, then if a person is supposed to be saved, they will be saved because God commanded it. But we have free will. Some teach that we have no say in the matter when it comes to salvation and that we are too sinful to realize our need to be saved and nor can we make our own choice to follow Jesus. So God forces His salvation on those He predestined. Love doesn't force itself on others. So why would God do such a thing? If we are all predestined, then why is there a command to tell the world to repent and believe in the gospel? Did Jesus give us this task to keep us busy while we wait for His return? Or was it so that we can go find the lost and bring them to the light? Perhaps we are predestined but since God is the only one who knows who are His, and we don't, God would lead us via the Holy Spirit to those who are His so they can be found and set free from their sins. It may be a little bit of both. In Hebrews 2:3 there is great question asked. "How will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?"

You know, this is important. We have to get this right in this life because what we do here will dictate where we will spend the rest of eternity. I know at least for me it is. Obviously there are some teachings that are the foundation of the faith and cannot be changed. For example, Jesus Christ is Lord. He is God the Son, the image of the invisible God. Jesus was fully man and fully God the entire time He walked on Earth. Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead 3 days later. Our faith is based on those teachings. Most Christians agree with those beliefs. But when it comes to subjects regarding when the tribulation will take place or what skin color Jesus was, those are not subjects that if you don't get quite right, you wont be in sin for believing that. But we have to know and be convinced that we have accepted the gift of salvation that God graciously has given to us. I believe it dictates how a person will live. Will the person be a casual believer or a disciple of Jesus Christ? In my opinion, once saved always saved makes it too easy. Believing in Jesus is so much more profound than believing He lived once 2000 years ago. Its trusting in Him and obey His commands out of love and not out of obligation. But, I also believe that having an unhealthy fear of God is very bad for the growth of someones faith, but also is a false, unbiblical image of Jesus Christ our Lord and God. Once again, perhaps its a little of both?

Some people say "I believe that if you are once saved, always saved, you can live anyway you like because no matter what, you are saved because you prayed a prayer a long time ago." That may not always be the case. If we give Satan an inch, we all know he will take a lot more. So why give the enemy a way into someones life? When you got born again there should have been a change inside you that comes out. You are a new creature and all the old has been done away with. On the other hand, a person who lives thinking that you can loose your salvation, could lead to a life of unhealthy fear of God. Fear that God is waiting to smash you like a tiny ant at any time you commit a sin. It could also lead to a worked based faith where a person feels the need to add to their own salvation by doing works. Yes, I know that the by-product of our faith is works and without works our faith is dead. Its not the works that is the problem, its our heart and our motive. Is the works really for God or is it really for you? That is something, though, that only God can judge because He knows our real motives. There will come a day when God will judge our lives and including our true motives.

Would God take away salvation? The real question is were we ever really saved?

The Gospel According to (Insert Your Name Here)

Disclaimer: I am not saying that what I write is Biblical canon. Nor am I adding or taking away from the word of God.

The word "gospel" is defined as the teaching and revelation of Jesus Christ. The gospel is also good news. So my gospel, is my story on how Jesus revealed Himself to me and what He has taught me. The good news is that even a wretched sinner like me can be saved by Jesus Christ and so can you.

The gospel is knowing that I didn't have to earn salvation because it was free and given to me as a gift from God. But it cost Jesus His life so that mine could be spared. The good news is that a person who is saved does not have to endure the mighty wrath of God and be separated from Him for eternity.

I was born again in 2013. The prequel to my salvation was...lets just say a huge mess. I found God when literally everything I relied on was taken from me. I was forced to make a decision on the day I was born again. At the fork in the road I had to decide to keep going my way or go down God's way.

Being a follower of Christ has not been easy. I use to foolishly think that Christianity was an easy cake walk. I've done some very difficult things in my life, but being a disciple is nowhere close to easy. Although, there are some good times and those are very good. In the storms is where I grew and matured spiritually. I also began to understand God a bit more and know Him more.

My gospel story is not yet complete. Lord willing, there is still a lot more days that are exciting, nerve racking, supernatural, amazing, joyful, fulfilling and the most difficult. If this is how I must come to know God, then so be it. Its not the most luxurious life, but we are not suppose to be living for the now, but for what is to come.

Tithing is not commanded to Gentiles

Money and the church. This is a hot topic and a touchy subject but I am going to stir the pot anyways. I know what I am about to write is going to upset people and I may lose followers. But after reading the Bible some more and studying the subject, I found that tithing is not commanded to the New Testament church. Not Jesus, not Peter, not John not Paul commanded to do it. We are encouraged to give with a cheerful heart what we have decided in our hearts. So, you dont have to give 10 percent of your income because you can give whatever amount you please.

What God cares about is whats going on in your heart, not in your bank account. Are you giving out of compulsion, or our of man made tradition? Or because your church leaders have taken the verses about tithing out of context. I went to a church and for 3 weeks straight all they preached about was tithing to the church more money. At the beginning of every service, they had people who were tithers to the church and they told their story about how God blessed them. That is great because the testimonies that come with them are good. But I felt like the church was more concerned with making money than the condition of the congregation's eternal soul.

So what if you aren't tithing, then what? Is the Lord going to punish you? No. Some folks cannot afford to pay tithe but feel that if they dont give a large sum, their tithe means less. I read a quote I would like to share with you.

"Quit preaching tithe lessons to broke people," he said. "Let's teach them how to get on a budget. ... The natural byproduct of a Jesus lover when they have money is giving." - Dave Ramsey

Amen to that. But that is not how its done anymore. Praise the Lord for churches who still offer budget classes and for Pastors who care for their financial well being of their flock. Now, one thing I want to address is for those who are tithers and who gladly give to their church or a ministry. For those who do it, if you are obeying the Lord, then do it. All I am saying is that the Old Testament command of giving 10 percent of your income, isn't in the New Testament. Jesus didn't do away with the law, but fulfilled it. We are in Jesus Christ, so the law is already fulfilled through Him. No longer must we obey the laws that were given to the Jews. Obeying what God says is a by product of our salvation.


Remember that Jesus said that those who obey the two greatest commandments are His disciples. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Love others as you love yourself. If we do obey those commands, we have fulfilled our requirement. Without love we can not do anything and we are nothing without love. God is love and without Him we are nothing and can not do anything of eternal significance without love. So don't think I am saying do not tithe, or give an offering or give alms to the needy. It's not how often you do it or how much you give. It's the motive behind it. This should be encouraging and freeing to some. In my experience, God has blessed me more when I gave out of love than out of obligation.


Remember Jesus told the parable about the Pharisee who gave from His riches and a woman who gave all that she had left. It was the poor woman who pleased God because it was because of the condition of her heart. I actually saw an interaction like this recently at a small conference I went to in December. The Pastor was done preaching and he asked for an offering. He asked that if the ministry blessed you, could you bless the ministry. By the way, that kind of invitation is so much more inline with scripture. It's partnering up with God through that ministry by giving. Almost everyone gave it seemed like. People gave what they could and some gave more. I'd like to believe they all did it out of love and obedience towards God and they had given out of a cheerful heart and gave what they decided was good. God gives us the choice to give what we want to give. Anyways, I was an usher and I helped pass around the containers to collect the offering. I saw one guy drop 100 bucks like nothing. I wish I couldve done that at the time. Then a woman came to me and said "I am sorry. This is all I have." She dropped in less than 50 cents. She seemed ashamed and walked away quickly. Right before we were done collecting the offering, the woman came back again and dropped in a handful of pennies, dimes and nickels. She apologized again and I once again said it was okay and blessed her and thanked her. But do you see what this whole false teaching of tithing has done to the church?! Poor folks don't want to give because they are ashamed because their offering/tithe/ gift/ whatever is too small. But God also knows our true intentions.


Also, I want to remind folks, you can also give by giving your time and talent to benefit others. Not just on the church campus, but also outside of church where all the lost folks are. God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. Nothing He gives us is just for us to have and not share it with others.

In conclusion, once again I want to remind people this: I am not saying you can't give 10 percent to your church or favorite ministry. If 10 percent is what you decided is good and you give it cheerfully, then praise the Lord and do it. If all you have is a couple dollars or coins and that's all you can/want to give, then praise the Lord and do it. If you don't have income or a very tight budget, give yourself (time and/or talent). But I am saying the command to tithe 10 percent to your church is not found in the New Testament and Jesus fulfilled the law so that we do not have to do it. Remember that if you fail at one of the law, you are guilty of all the law. Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly and because we are in Christ, we are not guilty of the law anymore. Hallelujah!