Look Closer

Things happen to everyone everyday. Lately, I've been going through some very tough times. Just recently, I found myself upset at God, telling him how unfair whatever I was/am going through is. I even pointed my finger at him while I was saying that too, tears streaming down my face, the veins on my face bulging out.


I even questioned his whereabouts now that I was/am the one who need(ed) him the most. I told my friends, who were with me at that moment, "You hear over and over again in the Bible that God knows everything, God hears our every cries, God this, God that... Where the heck is he now that I need him?"

Watch this skit: "Everything" by Lifehouse. ONce you're done, keep reading below...

That day I found the answer: God was right there, by my side, showing me his love through a little baby.


You see, my friends have a baby boy, Andrew, that I consider my nephew. The entire afternoon he was cranky and whining a lot. Until he got to my house, and saw his Tio (uncle) crying in pain.

If it's safe to say, he forgot about the discomforts he was feeling, and when he saw me--better yet, when God saw me--he reached out to me in the form of Andrew's hands to caress my face, my head, my back. He put a smile on my face, and made me forget about everything I was dealing with.

As a side note: it is great to have Christian friends. The entire time, without knowing, both of them were praying that God showed his love towards me through their baby. And he did!

That's when I realized something: the times I don't see God or think he's not near, it's not because of any other reason than me allowing so many other things--people--get in the way, blocking my clear view of him.

It's not his fault.

It's my fault.

Enjoy "Everything" by Lifehouse

Beware of the 'IF' in Life

I'm gonna be a man about it and put my business out there, regardless of what anyone may think about me afterward: I'm afraid of mice. A lot! The fact that something so much smaller than me can move so much faster than me and fit in holes so much smaller than its own body... that just freaks me out. A lot!

That's why I say be afraid of the quiet and small ones--or things--because you never know... you never know


IF

It's small and quiet; 'IF' is. A perfect formula to strike fear. Instead it strikes doubt in the mind of the one who tries to confront it. You see, 'IF' is the perfect military strategist. It knows it cannot overpower the enemy on the outside, because the enemy is too strong. So it presents itself for what it is: small and quiet. Its goal: inner destruction. It has not need to speak, because once present, the enemy has two equally fatal choices:

A. Say its name out loud, allowing easy access to the mind

B. Simply look at it and say its name in the mind

Either way, the mind is where it going to reach, so the enemy picks his poison; regardless, defeat is inevitable, when faced with 'IF'.

And it's so subtle, 'IF' is. It's kind of like watching a movie with a subtle tune in the background that at first you don't notice, but once the tune stops, you notice its absence after a while--if you even notice.

Know what I mean?

That's what makes 'IF' so dangerous, how subtle it is. It reminds me of this story I once heard:

Two lions were starving! One was much older and wiser than the other.

After hours of searching the terrain for food, they spotted a herd of Zebras down by the greenery. Finally, they will have some food! But the younger noticed something strange in his companions behavior. "What's the matter with you? Let's run down roaring so we can get ourselves one of these Zebras!" he said. The much older lion replied, "Run down and they'll flee from fear. Walk down subtly and we can catch as many as we want."

Genesis 3

"Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, "Yea, hath God said, 'Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" Genesis 3:1

I gotta give props to it: the serpent is a smooth animal. He was real smooth with it. It pretended as if--oh! oh! here goes that word--it didn't know what God really said to Adam and Eve. If it hasn't hit you yet, that's what's called the hook. The 'hook' is that catch phrase or that question that engages you in a thought process or a conversation, mainly to end up buying or doing something you initially didn't want to.

"Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, [as she giggles: Silly!]” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die." Genesis 3:2,3

Eve was hooked!

"You won’t die! [as it giggles: Silly!]" the serpent replied to the woman. "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil." Genesis 3:4,5

Matthew 4

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry." Matthew 4:1,2

This guy was hard core; Jesus was. I didn't go into no desert for forty days and forty nights after I got baptized to fast; I don't know about you. But Jesus did. For a month and nine/ten days (give or take) Jesus had no food, no water--granted he didn't go in February, that is.

Ever been hungry? Better yet, ever been starving? Ever spent a month and some days without eating? Imagine the hungriest you've ever been in your life so far, and multiply it by... a lot!

"During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread." Matthew 4:3

Check it.

'IF' has an interesting characteristic about it. It takes a fact, something known, established, concrete, changes its entire nature and distorts it into a lie, a condition, anything else...

Fact

"So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27

Lie

"You won’t die!" the serpent replied to the woman. "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil." Genesis 3:4,5

Fact

"After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy'." Matthew 3:16,17

Condition

"During that time the devil came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread."
Matthew 4:3

The walk down that road is not a good one, because there is nothing but doubt, deception, hurt, and too many unanswered questions. Unfortunately for us, Eve and Adam were unable to resist and defeat the powers of 'IF'. Fortunately for us, our last hope did not depend on them. Fortunately for us, our final hope depended on the One who not only resisted but defeated the powers of 'IF' and its #1 fan, Jesus!

So here we are, on life's journey. Not an easy one; no, not at all! And we experience many things, tough things, that makes us question God. I was recently speaking to a friend who, unfortunately, is seeing his parent's marriage crumble before his eyes. And this dude is feeling the full blow. Having been there myself but a year or so ago, I know what he is going through and the things that are going on in his mind.

So we sit down to talk, and it's good that he spoke and got many things off of his chest. I remember telling him that when I was in his place now, I asked God many questions. I asked God a whole lot of "why's". At the same time there were many other questions racing in my head--just like they were racing in his head--just like they race through your head. And Satan seizes the opportunity: "If God loves you so much, why is he letting you go through this hard times?" "If God loves you so much, why doesn't he make the pain go away?"

"If God loves you so much, why is he letting your parents get a divorce?" "If God loves you so much, why did he let [insert name] die like that?" "If he's such a loving God, why doesn't he do anything about it?" "Why didn't he do a miracle like he did back in the days?" "If he's soo good, why didn't he do as you asked? Didn't he say 'to whom asks it will be given'?"

I can keep on going, trust me

But like I told my friend, these are very legitimate questions that are not legitimate at all. What Satan is trying to make you forget--to make me forget-- is that "...faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

So when Satan throws an 'IF' at me--at you-- I'd respond like this: "It is because God loves me he is allowing me to go through hard times! He obviously sees something I cannot see, so I am trusting that he will lead me through whatever the situation may be."

But a better response is this: "Get out of here, Satan, for the Scriptures say..." Matthew 4:10

I want to respond like Jesus when he stood face to face with an 'IF'.

Always remember that God promised he'd be with you (and me) ALWAYS, even after this world is destroyed! So beware of the 'IF' in lIFe.



Enjoy "La Belleza de la Cruz" (The Beauty of the Cross) by Cristal Lewis

The Prayer

Saints of God I wish you all a Happy Sabbath!

As we once again celebrate this day of rest God has set aside for us

let us pray this beautiful prayer

Psalm 139

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

We are all in need of change in our lives and we cannot perform this change ourselves. Just as a vehicle cannot perform its own oil change, or fix its own engine, unless a certified mechanic do all of these things and more, we too are unable to change ourselves unless The Mechanic transform us into his liking.

This is my case, at least

Happy Sabbs!

Enjoy "The Prayer" by Yolanda Adams and Donnie McClurkin

Like Father, Like Son?

Note: This entry has a lot of sentimental value.

"Ask a little boy who he wants to be like when he grows up and his answer would most likely be, “I wanna be like my daddy!” Ask that same little boy who is his role-model and he will mention his father. To many sons, their father is the image of who they want to become and who they aspire to be. To me, my father is the image of everything I do not want to become, a person I do not aspire to be.

I do not hate my father. The Bible says in Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother…” We have several similarities: I look like him, we have similar hands, I’ve discovered that I laugh somewhat similar to the way he laughs, we are both laid-back, and regardless of how much we eat, we never gain weight. These, among several others, are things of nature, biological, unchangeable. Because of our similarities, there seems to be a tendency for society to assume that if my father walked down a certain path, naturally, because I am his son, I too will walk down that path. Thus far, I have proven that assumption otherwise; for example, my father never graduated from neither high school nor college and I have done both. He has taken taxi-driving as his career choice. On the other hand, I have chosen to pursue a career as a theologian.

As a child my father was not a major part of my growing up. My parents were separated while I was yet young. Their separation was not marital but physical: my father left Venezuela en route to the United States in search of a better life, leaving my mother, my sisters and I behind. The plan was for him to work in order to reunite us with him some time later. During the long years of separation, my father briefly visited twice. At the early age of eight I did not realize how important his presence would have been for me, therefore I relied on the presence of my mother to show me how a man should be like. A young boy cannot look up to his mother for guidance on how to become a man. Instead of playing with remote-controlled cars, part of my early manhood included fighting with a life-size doll belonging to my older sister and trying on my mother’s dresses and shoes with my two sisters.

By age ten I learned that my father had broken the seventh commandment and that he’d dragged me into a situation where I had to witness it shortly after arriving to the States. After almost ten years without knowing my father, I finally found myself living in a small Brooklyn apartment with him and his lover and her daughter and my older sister. Because of my mental innocence, I could not fully understand everything I was daily being exposed to. “I thought he was married to my mother…” “Why did he kiss this lady on the lips?” “Why is her stomach getting bigger and bigger…?” Although these thoughts crossed my mind, I refused to understand the reality, my reality. Shortly after, I began to gain a clearer understanding of what it took to be a man and so I began my pimpin’ career as an eleven-year old, with a girlfriend in church, school, and around the way.

Life took my father away from me for another three years and reunited us again by the time I had reached fourteen. By then I was not so mentally innocent; I had eaten of the fruit of life’s hardship and my eyes were widened. By that time, too, my mother was no longer living alone in Venezuela. She had managed a way to reunite herself with the rest of her family in New York. For the first time in almost fifteen years I lived in what seemed to be a normal family: father, mother, and sisters. Because of my father’s mistake, however, the relationship between he and my mother was destined to cross bitter waters. In my eyes, he never took responsibility for his actions or offered an apology adequate enough for what he had done. Instead, he insisted in incorporating his mistake into his family’s everyday life and insisted on pretending that things were on good terms, and insisted...

I recall some “man-to-man” conversations my father and I have had and he always managed to say, “Son, you have to be a man. A man blah blah blah…” by the time he’d reached that far, my mind kept saying, “It takes a man to make a man."

This essay was written a few years ago for an English composition class I was taking, and my professor loved it.

The key is the introduction:

"Ask a little boy who he wants to be like when he grows up and his answer would most likely be, “I wanna be like my daddy!” Ask that same little boy who is his role-model and he will mention his father."

Matthew 5

In this chapter, Jesus broke it down for his disciples. After he hit them with what we know as the Beatitudes, he plunged head first into some touchy things, cuz' he got it like that!

In other words, he hit them with what I'll call the "Forget What You Heards":

"You heard the commandment that says...But I say [screw that!]..."
"You heard the law that says...But I say [screw that too!]..."
"You heard they told our ancestors...But I say [screw all of them!]..."

Obviously Jesus didn't say screw this or that, but he surely preferred his way of doing things, cuz he got it like that!

In the "Forget What You Heards" Jesus was presenting the disciples, and all those who had gather to hear him speak, a new lifestyle, a new way to think, a new way to speak; a complete makeover. He must have noticed that they were not striving to be like ultimate role-model, you know, the big G.

And like I've said time and time again, Jesus never leaves us hanging; so he points them in the perfect direction:

"But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:48

I cannot imitate anyone else here on earth and expect to be perfect. Achieving perfection is not impossible for humans, because Jesus is actually encouraging us to be perfect! I know I don't want to be like my dad, but I sure as heck want to be like my Father: perfect!


Enjoy "He's My Son" by Mark Schultz

Where's Waldo?

Oh man! Let's take another stroll down memory lane...

Where's Waldo?

Remember them books? Spending hours at times looking for one lil' dude, Waldo? Man! Those were the days! I'm so excited just writing about it! I mean, who comes up with such genius?! That's what Where's Waldo is, genius!

And how about the entire scene, huh? I mean, goodness! What detail and complexity! I mean, who has that amount of time to dedicate to each individual figure like that? And then there are the other little details that you gotta find, like Waldo's key, or the other characters, a scroll, a pair of glasses,... and the list goes on and on and on; just like these paintings.. I mean, man! This is great stuff!

I get confused by just looking at one of those pictures, you know?

Am I the only one this excited about this?

Can you imagine yourself in one of those paintings? Can you imagine all the commotion you'd be surrounded by? All the noise of people talking, walking, eating, laughing, crying and complaining, singing, burping, and once again, the list goes on and on and on... Matter of fact, NYC has nothing on Where's Waldo, yo!

The crazy thing is that all the commotion and confusion of a Where's Waldo joint is the same commotion and confusion of our world, country, state, city, zip code, block, house, life.

Get it?

The crazy thing is that all the confusion and commotion of a Where's Waldo joint is the same confusion and commotion in our spiritual lives. At least in mine.

You know what I mean? Way too many people talking. Way too many fresh and new ideas. Way too many doctrines. Way too many a lot of things. You know? Way way way too many voices?

1 John 4

Some say more is better. I'll add: not always, in parenthesis. There are so many spiritual voices that at times, it's hard to hear God's voice clearly. Feel me?

Honestly, like on some real stuff, we've filled our mind with so much junk that's it's hard at times to hear ourselves. Imagine having a million flies in trapped in your head, constantly buzzing and buzzing and buzzzzzing. . . How can you hear your own thoughts, or anyone else outside your body talking to you?

It's kinda like that, spiritually. Except that, it gets trickier. A lot trickier.

"Beloved, believe not every spirit..." 1 John 4:1

Straight forward. In other words, "Dudes, don't believe everything you hear, because everyone kinda looks like Waldo, but they're not." It's a stretch, but stay with me.

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1

This ain't no Where's Waldo game. It says here that too many wanna-be's are out there. This is telling me that there are too many posers and pretenders posing and pretending to be what they're not. Things just got trickier, huh?

Check it.

I got this from yesterday's Sabbath School lesson:

"The spirit of the antichrist says that Christ came in a special form that could not sin, thus denying or rejecting the accomplishment of Christ, excusing sin in the flesh, and declaring that nobody but Christ can live above sin since Christ's flesh was different from ours."

Have you ever heard that it is impossible to live a sinless life?
Do you believe it's impossible to live a sinless life?

"These are the foundation stones of antichrist theology, which form such concepts as the immaculate conception or the Arian view that Christ is a created being. With this knowledge, once can not only identify the essential spirit of antichrist but also avoid it... Teachings from God show that because Christ actually came in the flesh, He was able to leave us an example of how to overcome sin...
The spiritual teaching that we can never overcome sin in this life is one of Satan's deadly lies. Overcoming sin is not an option. It is essential to the plan of salvation." Collegiate Quarterly, p. 59, Lesson 6, Monday, August 3.

Can you see it? Can you see how easy it is to misidentify Waldo? I personally believed that it was impossible to live a sinless life, until recently. It's that easy.

"Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." 1 John 4:2,3

Just a side note:

Antichrist, who's that? Well, anti- means contrary to; against; in opposition to; opposing. I'll assume Christ does not need to be defined. So antichrist is he who opposes, is against, is contrary to, Jesus Christ, aka Satan, Lucifer, whatever you wanna call him. Here is what the Bible further say, "And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist." 1 John 2:22

The question is: who are we listening to?--sorry: who am I listening to?

Yo, if you haven't peeped yet, we are living in the final hours--not to sound too biblical. And if we let ourselves get swayed by everything and anything we hear and/or believe, without researching their biblical roots, dudes and dudettes, we ain't gonna go far at all. And that's a bit scary.

Just like always, God never leaves us hanging, you dig?

"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them [them meaning the antichrist dudes and any other dudes trying to take our crown of victory away]: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.[he! he! he!]" 1 John 4:4

Enjoy "Voice of Truth" by Casting Crowns

Also, enjoy "Where's Waldo"; if you want to kill some time online, you know

Untitled Post

Jesus left us with homework as he was being taken up to heaven.

He said, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you." Matthew 28:18-20

In other words, our main jobs as followers of Jesus is to tell others his teachings.

Agree?

This is interesting: "For the word of God [in other words, Jesus' teachings. Remember Jesus said that everything he spoke came from the Father, God] is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable." Hebrews 4:12,13

Great.

So this is the type of message we've been told to tell those who need to be told.

Personally, I would not like it if someone exposed my innermost thoughts and desires. I wouldn't like it if a message pierced my soul and spirit, joint and marrow.

I'd be highly upset, to say it nicely.

So what if I don't wanna do it?

Ezekiel 33

WARNING:

The following are not the words of the author of this post.
If you experience any problems, you may contact
1-800-THE-WORD to speak to one of His representatives.

"Once again a message came to me from the Lord: 'Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman. When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people. Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives. But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’' 'Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths.' "
Ezekiel 33:1-8

Oh, by the way, we are all watchman.

Thankfully, the message does not stop there:

"But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself." Ezekiel 33:9

Strong words.

I'm just gonna leave it as that...


Enjoy "Your Will" by Darius Brooks

Party Time!

Happy Sabbath!

You ever wonder why no one ever says 'Sad Sabbath' or 'Sorrowful Sabbath' or anything of that matter?

I think that'll be an oxymoron. No, I'm not calling anyone a moron; that's just how the word is.
There is no reason to be sorrowful or sad or depressed on worried on the Sabbath, because that's the Lord's day!

Imagine how you'd feel if on your birthday, or wedding day, or graduation day, or any special day of yours, someone or a group of people show up to your celebration sad, depressed, sorrowful, worried.

That would really really really suck.

Psalm 150

No one wants to be that guy who messed up the party with his negative attitude. I mean, do you want to be that guy...?

Think about it, it's never cool being that guy.

Friend 1: Hey! What's going on?
Why are all these people gathered around?
Friend 2: Some dude being a party pooper!
Friend 1: Oh, don't tell me it's that guy!
Friend 2: Yea, he just had to be that guy...

Really though! It's not that serious.

"Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heaven!
Praise him for his mighty works;
praise his unequaled greatness!
Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn;
praise him with the lyre and harp!
Praise him with the tambourine and dancing;
praise him with strings and flutes!
Praise him with a clash of cymbals;
praise him with loud clanging cymbals.
Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!

Praise the Lord!" Psalm 150

Get your praise on on the Lord's Day!


Enjoy "You Reign" by MercyMe. If I've linked this song already, then enjoy it again.