OOOUCH!: Unbearable Pain

At one point or another we have all experienced some type of pain.
If there's something we can all agree on it's that pain is pAiN!
Physical or emotional, pain does not discriminate, and when it hits it HURTS!

Dude (or dudette - depending on who's reading) I remember this one stomach ache I had when I was yey high. I was curled up like a ball; a fetus; a fetus in a ball... whatever
The pain was so sO So SO unbearable that all I could do was cry; and cry I did!

What's your pain story?

Check it: Physical pain or emotional pain; which is worst?

I don't know either; that's why I'm throwing it out there...

Isaiah 53

Jesus suffered some excruciating pain. Watch THIS and try not to cry like I almost did (the song is one of my favorite all time songs, "Here With Me" by MercyMe).

This is the closest I think any movie director has come to illustrating Christ's true suffering.

"He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." Isaiah 53:3-5

Forget my stomach ache! Jesus was pierced, crushed, beaten, and whipped. I don't think we got that....


Jesus was:
a) PIERCED
b) CRUSHED.... crushed? ... ... ... CRUSHED!
c) BEATEN
d) WHIPPED.... and I know 99.9% of all of us got whipped when we were younger, but this is way WaY waY worst than ours.


I can't even imagine dealing with even one of these, but some way, some how, for some reason, He just took it like it was nothing, not just because but just because, not like whatever but whatever, you know--dust your shoulders off and keep on moving. . . for your sake. . . for my sake

.... whipped!

For my sake.... CRUSHED!

...for my sake... beaten

for my sake... pierced.

Imagine the pain - if you can.
Imagine the agony - if you can.


Check it: THat pain was fresh bread compared to this:

"As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?''Why do you call me good?' Jesus asked. 'Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.' 'Teacher,' the man replied, 'I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.' Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. 'There is still one thing you haven’t done,' he told him. 'Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions." Mark 10: 17-22

Nothing hurts more than rejection.

These past few years have been the toughest for me yet. I, like millions of others, have gone through some very rough times, but nothing so far has compared to these past few years. In them, I have suffered severe emotional pain, most -if not all- caused by the feeling of being rejected, unwanted, unseen.

I gotta pause for a minute... ... ...

For what purpose was He pierced...
For what purpose was He crushed...
For what purpose was he beaten...
For what purpose was he whipped

...if when He asks me to follow Him I say, "Hell no!"

Then why go through all of that for? For what purpose?


Luke 15:5 "...there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!"

"Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." Revelation 3:20

He endured all that pain so I could repent and return to Him, so I can open the door and let Him in. He endured all that pain so you could do the same too...

I don't want to continue causing Him this unbearable pain....

do you..?

Enjoy this song by Larnelle Harris called "Were It Not For Grace" and a song by MercyMe called "Finally Home"

Relax, They're Just Hatin'.

I always say that the only reason people hate on me is because I have something they want but they can't have; and it's true! As a matter of fact, this is true for everybody. If I could go to one of my haters and ask, the conversation would go something like this:

Conversing With a Hater

ME: "Yo hater!"
HATER: "Yo, get out my face man!"
ME: "Yo hater, let me ask you something: why you playa hate so much?"
HATER: "Cuz!"
ME: "Cuz what?"
HATER: "Cuz! You swear you all that! You swear you got it like that! You ain't got (BEEP)!"

I better stop, this conversation could get foul and ugly!

John 15.
I'm sure that back in the days, someone had to think: why do people hate so much?
I'm sure during Jesus' time, someone had to think: man, what's up with all these haters?
I'm sure one of Jesus' disciple was walking somewhere and a hater gave him one of them 'I'm hatin' on you' type looks, and the poor guy was like, "Geez! this guy hatin'!"

In John chapter 15 Jesus is kickin' it with his crew, taking a stroll, mindin' their own business, having a convo. I'm sure since it's Jesus we're talking about here, He started saying some interesting stuff like:

"I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing." John 15: 1-5

At least one person in the crew must have thought, "Man, that's deep! But He's right, though. I mean, before when I'd be fishing, I really didn't catch that many fish. But ever since I've been kickin' it with Him all this time, I'm a fish magnet. Huh..."

Someone else must of thought, "That's why business has been blooming! Since I've started chilling with J, things have been going alright. It sucks for my competitors..."

Before anyone thought any further, Jesus wanted to finish what he'd been saying:

"Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father." John 15: 6-8

Maybe no one thought this but I am: no wonder at times I'm able to undergo life's fiery trials. It's because those were the times when I was kickin' it the most with J! The times when I've gotten burned I was too busy kickin' it with someone else. . . WAIT A MINUTE, I ain't hear a thing from my haters then!

"This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me." John 15: 12-15

That right there is very VERY cool! I am friends with Jesus. Think of the cheesiest movie you've seen about high school students. Jesus is the coolest guy in the entire school, like the All-American Quarterback for the football team, and the disciples are the geekiest, no life, unpopular freshmen; but they're ALWAYS seen with the All-American. The only exception is that Jesus, instead of being an All-American, He is The Almighty!

BAck to the story. So things start making sense now. It's like an equation:

ME + JESUS = MUCH FRUIT
therefore
ME - JESUS = LESS FRUIT

I like that. I like that a lot! The crew liked it too. As a matter of fact, they LOVED it!

Now, it just so happened that the disciple who got that dirty look from that random hater was pretty good in Math, so after he made some calculations in his head, something troubled him, so he had to ask, "Yo, J! I've been getting dirty looks all over, man. Now, from what you've just said and from what I've seen, you're pretty tight with your Father, you know, the whole vine and branch thing: yo, do you get hated on too, like, a lot?"

Jesus probably gave him the 'you have no idea' look and then said, "If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you... Anyone who hates me also hates my Father... This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: 'They hated me without cause'." John 15: 18-25

Jesus was hated on too.

So what does this mean to me and you? What does knowing this do for you and me?

Simple: let 'em keep hatin'.

The fact of the matter is, we're the ones kickin' it with J. The fact of the matter is YOU're the one kicking it with J. The fact of the matter is I'M the one kickin' it with J. They hate because we're kickin' it with J. It doesn't (or shouldn't) bother me (or you) whether father or mother or brother or sister or friend or foe or church member (where church stands for C How U R Constantly Hatin') or pastor or anyone hate simply because I'm kickin' it with J.

Check it: the important question to always ask yourself (that I'll always ask myself) is: Am I kickin' it with J?

Nothing else matters. Period.

Enjoy this song by the group Philips, Craig, and Dean called "Friend of God" - you may click on the song title and it'll send you to the YouTube page.

Forget Justin; God Been Brought Sexy Back!

So check it! This morning I decided to spend a little time in communion with God by singing a few of my favorite MercyMe, Michael W. Smith, and Casting Crowns songs and then picking up my old, beat up KJV Bible that I've had since '95 or '96.
This Bible is so old that it customized itself: it's detached from Proverbs 18 till the very last page. Not the last page of Revelations, but the very last page... So if I wanted to walk around with the books starting from Genesis to Proverbs 18, no problem; from Proverbs 18 to whatever, still no problem!


Anyway, that's not the point. I still love my Bible. A lot.


The point is that I read Jeremiah 33. That's when I discovered something amazing: God been bringing sexy back; so take a back seat, Justin Timberlake!

What do I mean by that?

Check this out!


This is SO sexy!

Remember Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden? If you said yes you're lying because you can't remember something you've never seen! (that's a bad joke, HA!) Regardless, we know the story. So, blah blah blah, boo hoo hoo, they sinned. Not good.

See, up unto Adam sinned, God's creation was perfect; in other words, God's creation was sexy. Nature had a certain swagger to it: the animals, the trees, the grass, the sky, the sun and moon and stars and clouds. You get my point. Then boo hoo hoo, blah blah blah and Mommy and Daddy did something really bad.

Check this: up until that point, forgiveness was not in earth's vocabulary.

WHAT?!

There was no need for Adam to forgive Eve or vise versa because sin had not yet penetrated the earth's atmosphere. But once it did, and Mommy and Daddy did that really bad thing, in short, sexy went bye-bye. As a result of this, we too do really bad things, REally REAlLY bad things.


NOW THIS IS WHERE IT GETS JUICY:...

At times, when I do something REally REAlLY bad, OVer and OveR again, for a LoNg LOnG time, I feel alone, desolate, dirty, unworthy, filthy, awful, (insert your own). Check out what God has to say about this: "I will cleanse them of their sins against me and forgive all their sins of rebellion." Jeremiah 33:8

God is clear in what He wants to do.

Now here is where He brings sexy back: "Then this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them." Jeremiah 33:9

Did you catch that?... ! NO? Here, I'll detach it: Then this city will bring me joy... See it?... !
God takes joy in forgiving! Meaning, He does not get upset! Meaning, He does not have long face! Meaning, He is not huffing and puffing! Meaning, He doesn't catch an attitude! MEANING, He does this FOR FUN!

Catch this: ...this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth! Meaning, when we receive God's forgiveness, we automatically do something that on most days we really would rather not do: witness! HOW? Dude! We are transformed! That weight is off our shoulders! We feel light as a feather! and in turn we simply tell others how we felt before and how we feel after receiving God's forgiveness: THAT's witnessing! THE AFTER EFFECT? Dude! People become drawn to God simply by what they see in me, in you! Tell me that's not SEXY!

It gets better: “This is what the Lord says: You have said, ‘This is a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’ Yet in the empty streets of Jerusalem and Judah’s other towns, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord. They will sing, ‘Give thanks to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, for the Lord is good. His faithful love endures forever!’ For I will restore the prosperity of this land to what it was in the past, says the Lord." Jeremiah 33: 10, 11

When sin lives in me, in you, we are like a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared. Picture that for a minute (go ahead, take your time.... .... .... .... ... ... ... ... ... ...)

Remind you of anything? Maybe this: "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished." Revelation 20:1-3

When sin lives in me, in you, and we have not yet accepted God's forgiveness, we are microcosms of how "that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan" is going to be when me and you are having our Thousand Years Pre-Eternity Party hosted by DJ I AM. Once we accept God's forgiveness, Jeremiah says in verse 11 that, "The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord. They will sing, ‘Give thanks to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, for the Lord is good. His faithful love endures forever!"

This needs no explanation; just picture it... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

I'm having problems figuring out what to write next, because this is simply amazing.

God's forgiveness has the power to transform me from a 'desolate land where people and animals have disappeared' to 'a place where the joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord'.

All this happens because of something He does for fun.


Just like that.


Yeah, God definitely been brought sexy back!

PS: Check this song out by Casting Crowns called "East to West" and a song by Philips, Craig, and Dean called "How Great You Are". You may click on the song titles; I've linked them to their YouTube page.

Enjoy.

Mete

I remember one of the most interesting words I leaned in high school was 'mete'.
I remember when I first saw the word I did not even know how to tackle the pronunciation.
I remember when the class finally found out what it meant I thought it was one of the coolest words I've ever learned:

Mete

Part of Speech: verb

Definition: administer, distribute


I remember my amazement with 'mete' was simply because of the length of the word; four letters, two of which are the same letter. So cool!

I may sound like a word freak; better yet, you may be thinking I'm a word freak. Actually, I'm really not! It's just that some words, although small, are so powerful; like 'mete'.



Matthew 6: 12, "... and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us." NLT



We all know the Lord's Prayer by head and heart. But I ask, how many of us actually understand it? I believe that I have yet to fully understand what it all really means, and in trying to understand it I've put some serious thought into it.

Read carefully: and forgive us our sins...

This is me and you asking God to forgive us our sins. Simple. It's like saying, "Yo God! (well, not 'yo' since He is God; it'll be more like 'dear God') I want you to forgive me (please)."

There is nothing wrong with asking God to wipe out all of the sins we've ever committed during the minute, hour, day, week, month, year, century, lifetime... As a matter of fact, God wants us to ask Him to forgive our sins. He even said that He'll take our sins and lock 'em up in some sort of special case, tie it up in some special way with some special strength and throw it somewhere deep in the ocean so it can sink somewhere deep into the ocean and never remember them again!

So so cool!

So for the most part, we want God to simply forgive our sins. Period.

Period...?

Look closer; there's more: ... as we forgive those who have sin against us.

What does that say?!

Oh, sorry! It says:... as we forgive those who have sin against us!

Don't you wish I had just left it in the smaller font? In reality, that's exactly how some of us see it. Better yet, that's exactly how I sometimes see it.

This portion of the verse illustrates me forgiving someone else for something that person has done to me.

There's nothing wrong with that, right? For example, if I'm standing at the check-out line in Walmart and some random dude bumps into me and says, "Oh! forgive me", with no problem I should let him know it's cool by saying something like, "It's cool" and give him some kind of subtle look to say, "... just don't do that again, dude."

But I'm not sure that's the kind of forgiving Jesus is referring to in this verse. I believe He was/is talking about things way deeper than just some random dude bumping into me (or you) at Walmart; something along the line of, for example, being betrayed by a loved one, or someone falsely messing up your reputation and ruining your entire persona, or someone murdering my/your mother or father or sibling or husband or wife or fiance or boy/girlfriend or best friend...

Get it?

Let's write out the entire verse, "...and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sin against us."

Let's write it out again, in a different way, "... and mete to us forgiveness for our sins, as we mete forgiveness to those who have sin against us."

Almost getting it?

To really understand what this verse is saying, the key word is 'as'; what do you know, another small yet powerful word!

As

Part of speech: conjunction

Definition: in the way that; to a degree

What the Word is really saying is that we can only obtain the same amount or quality of forgiveness we are giving to those who have offended us.

Huh?

MEANING, if I forgive partially (which is not really forgiving), then when I pray and say, "Yo God! (well, not 'yo' since He is God; it'll be more like 'dear God') I want you to forgive me (please)", we're implying, "... in the same way You see I forgive so and so for having done such and such."


I'm gonna let that sink in for a bit. . . . .




When I think about it, this is really something hard to do. Personally, I have suffered a lot of pain in my short life so far and there are a lot of people whom I have yet to forgive entirely. I know if I try to take on this requirement on my own, then I may never obtain God's forgiveness. I don't think that me as a human I know how to forgive, and that is why I must ask God to not only help me forgive, but teach me how to forgive.

True forgiveness only comes from God. God is a God of forgiveness!

Jeremiah 33: 8, 9 "I will cleanse them of their sins against me and forgive all their sins of rebellion. Then this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them."

This is one of the many promises God has made to you and me. So it only makes sense that if I'm having problems learning how to forgive, I should go to the Fountain of forgiveness.

Think about it: in life people are going to continue hurting us in the worst possible ways, some intentionally and some not. What is the good of carrying around the weight of these burdens in one's heart? The key is, once we've let go of them through forgiveness, God promises to mete peace and prosperity.

peace and prosperity....

peace and prosperity...

Peace and prosperity...

Peace and prosperity...

Peace and prosperity...

A Walk with God: a poem

In the silence of my room
As I was deeply asleep
I was awakened by the sobs of the Almighty
as He began to weep.

"Lord, what are you doing here?
Tonight I failed to pray!"
He looked in silence and answered,
"There are things on my chest I need to say."

"But, ... Lord,
How is it that you got in?
You cannot be in this room
So filled with sin!"

"MY presence has made it clean.
Never mind that, we have to talk."
Lost in the moment I failed to realize
that He and I had began to walk.

We walked for what seemed like hours
And He gently held my hand
I listed as He spoke of the stars
And how time and time He numbers the sand."

"Never in my many years
Have I felt this confused..."
He stared blankly for a moment
then continued, "I feel so abused."

Tears began filling His eyes
and God began to cry.
I simply stood in silence
wondering, wondering why.

From all the people in the world
The CREATOR has come to me!
For as much as I reasoned
I could not think why that could be.

"Lord, why is it that You cry?
Please tell me what troubles Your gentle heart?"
He looked at me, shaking His head,
"I just don't know where to start."

I looked deeply into His weary eyes
And saw an ever growing pain.
Then amazingly it happened
as He cried it started to rain.

"Please speak to me, Lord.
Is there anything I can do?"
Before I uttered another word
He told me, "I cry because of you."

I did not know what to say
And for the first time I saw His face.
His eyes locked with mine.
My heart was running a race.

"You say that you know Me
and even call Me by Name.
Yet I look at those who know Me not
and the comparison is the same.

"In the tough times you want me.
In the good times you don't.
On the Sabbath you respect me
During the week you won't.

"Sometimes I wait there
Just dying for us to talk
Trying my best to keep you
From walking in the dark.

"You'll never know how much it hurts Me
Whenever I see you cry.
Yet you won't come lean on me
And instead you rather die!"

The more He spoke the more I cried
Because He only spoke the truth.
He mentioned His disappointment
About me wasting my youth.

"Lord, please forgive me
For having caused you pain.
Forgive me for ignoring You so much
And for taking Your name in vain.

"It's just that at times
Life simply gets too rough..."
"I had to allow some things to happen
Since you only remembered Me when life got tough!

"You've changed so much through the years
You don't call on me even when trials are bad.
My angels beg me and beg me
To stop looking depressed and sad.

"What have I done to you?
Have I caused you any pain?
Do you not see if I guide you
You'll have eternal life to gain?"

"How do You want me to answer
If my life is filled with sin!
How do I explain to You
The situation I am in?

"I know You're loving and graceful
So kind and so sweet.
I feel Your ever present protection.
I know You guide my feet.

"But at times life's consequences
Simply leads my mind to doubt.
Although I know You lead me
I want to take my own route."

"Ever since when does an instrument
Know what is best for it?"
"Father, that's exactly my point.
I cannot see how Your pieces fit!

"At times You tell me to go
Yet the place I cannot see."
"Do you not remember I promised
That with you I'll ALWAYS be?"

"Well, how about the many times I've cried
The sound of my pain you did not hear..."
"Wait a minute! Stop right there!
Remember: Let not your heart fear...?"

"And the times my vision is blurry
From the endless tears in my eyes?"
"My son, I've always been there
I've partaken in all of your cries...

"Do you know when you hurt I feel it
When you laugh I laugh too.
When you've fallen I've picked you up
Your dark skies I've turned blue.

"When you've felt you were on high
Is because I carried you on My back.
In all of your tough times
I've provided so you wouldn't lack.

"When you've turned your back to me
I've still given you my 100%.
When you felt defeated by life
I've cheered you the times you said: I can't.

"Do you remember when..."
"Please, my Savior, please do not speak."
I interrupted in that manner
For my body felt very weak.

He looked at mi in silence
And began caressing my face.
He gently pulled me towards Him
And I was engulfed in His embrace.

I cried bitter bitter tears
All this time I knew I was wrong.
My tears came to a halt
Because Jesus was singing a song.

The tune was simply heavenly
It had a certain effect on me
And the more He sang the more I felt
The chains around me set me free!

I cannot recall the lyrics
I do remember, "...your sins forever be gone."
Strangely I joined Jesus
In singing this sweet sweet song.

All these hours we were still walking
But we stopped before this great door.
"Lord," I asked, "where are we?"
He answered and said, "Just look, there's more!"

As the door slowly opened
In recognition I fell on my face
Knowing that for eternity
I would thank Jesus for finishing my race.

Apologize

Hello World!

I want to apologize for the time I've spent away.
Everyone has problems, sinners too. And although it is no excuse,
I've let these problems get the best of me for a very, VEry, VERy VERY long time.



I'm BACK!

Not Fully Awake Yet

Have you ever been sleeping and someone walks in the room and call your name, not too loud, not to soft, and in your sleep you're wondering whether or not someone is actually calling you..? It's happened to me that once I was sick and I had taken some medicine, afterwhich I was as drwosy as I could get, and went to sleep. Well, it looked like I had just came from the outside on a rainy day and just dropped on my bed. Because I was so wet, my sister then decided to change my shirt so that I wouldn't get more sick. She walks into my room and calls me to wake me up.

I was so drowsy (and we all know how good that drowsy sleep is) that in my sleep I heard my name being called but at the same time I didn't.... and yet I did.... but didn't; get it?

Long story short, when I awoke the next day, I was told, by my sister who was laughing hysterically, how she had managed to get me to sit up on my bed while I was still asleep to change my shirt and how, in the process, she taunted me and mocked me in my sleep - siblings!

Well, my life up to the previous year was very much like this: I was sleeping and drwosy and caught in between sleep and drowsiness and reality. You see, I always knew God had a plan for me and that he wanted me to do something in specific for Him, but in my (not so) previous condition I kinda' heard him but not really.... but kinda'... but not really; get it?

Unlike my sister, He did not moch me; however, he did manage to get me up on my bed and is now currently trying to change my clothes - let me explain:

Last year my family was shaken up by an experience I know many families have gone through, are going through, and I will go through: infidelity. My father (or the man who helped my mother conceive me..) abandoned his family for his second family. When I confronted him about the situation, he was clear in showing that he took his decision and was not backing down from it. Obviously, my two sisters, my mother and I were affected by the news; but God is good, and He will never let His children dwell in shame nor sorrow, so we got over it pretty quickly (and NO! we ain't frottin').

In the middle of all of this is when God managed to get me to sit up - still confused?.... Good!

Check it.

It was always my mother's prayer, starting from the moment she was in labor of her only son, that God would take him into His service and deliver her from her pains. God did just that: deliver her from her pains, I mean. Ever since I can remember, I've been told that one day I would become a soldier of/for Christ. Of course I didn't think so. My goals were to first become an architect, then that changed to a graphic designer and computer scientist, then that changed to a camera man for ESPN - I know, the youth these days!

In one way or another my mind was set on the final career path, so I begin attending a school which had a program specializing in filmmaking and video production (that sounds so cool!). Throughout the years, however, even people I didn't really have any sort of relationship with would tell me that I "looked like a preacher" and things along that line. My girlfriend at the time (now fiancee) even told me that she could imagine, better yet, see herself as "a pastor's wife"....

WHAT?

So in my quest for doing things my own way, the man who helped my mother conceive me decided that we (his first and ONLY TRUE family) were not good enough and decided to go to his second family, period.

The day of my confrontation with the man who helped my mother conceive me, on the phone, I asked him a very serious question: "Pop, do you realize that you're playing with your spiritual life? Do you realize that when Jesus comes back He will ask you account of YOUR family? Do you realize that the choice you're making can make you lose your eternal life?!"
His answer was chilling: I've made my choice and I'm standing behind it...

It was at that time, where I heard God's voice calling me in my sleep, in the midst of my drowsiness. Finally, I began accepting the task that God had already set out for me even before I was conceived. Silently and privately, I took the decision to do what I am born to do: prevent someone from throwing their eternal life away for earthly pleasures. If I achieve such difficult task, even if it's ONE person, then I have done my work and I can rest in peace.

However, I'm not fully awake yet. Day by day I become more and more aware of the need this world have of someone and something real: Jesus and His word.

If you're asleep and/or drowsy..... WAKE UP!