Will the truth please be told?

Sometime's truth is hard to find – or receive from someone that we care about. Even if the truth can be hurtful, or is perceived to be hurtful, sometimes all we want to know is the truth from friends or family. Yet do they always tell us the truth, even when we can handle it? Sadly, no, we are often lied to, or just never told the truth – even though we deserve it. I always would love to hear the truth – rather than a lie – or nothing at all. Maybe this is a little personal thought… but I can handle the truth now and would love to be told the truth, even if it does hurt.

Sometime's all we desire is freedom from things that we do not know where we stand at… that is all I want is to know the truth…

One thing I know for certain is that I need not fret over things – just allow the one that knows truth to handle things because – he knows what we need to know.

Seeking Truth…

Have you said hello today?

Seems like a silly question doesn't it? I mean we say hello to people all the time, yet how often do we put emphasis behind that hello? Most of the time we just mean it as a customary greeting… but I challenge you to put interest in that hello you say to a stranger on the bus, on the street, or in that coffee shop you so love to visit every single morning J Make it personal and ask them how everything is for them, make it genuine and not forced. Give the stranger a smile, Maybe it is just what they need to see from someone.

A smile may just make all the difference in the world for someone that needs to feel loved.

Have a great day

Late bus…

Some mornings just start out bad and get worse from there, you know that feeling. First, you wake up later than you wanted to, then it takes you the customary 10 – 15 minutes to literally wake up – even though you got up., and then the worse thing – especially if you ride city transportation… you get to the bus stop and realize that you missed the bus that you really wanted to catch, so you have to wait 30 minutes until the next one comes (hopefully on time). Then you get downtown, but your bus that gets you to your work has already left… so now you've got another 30 minute wait until that bus makes it downtown. What a bad day that is…

Well, you know maybe the bad day for you is not really a bad day at all. Maybe, just maybe the bad day is a divine appointment that you have been given by God to share His love with someone on the bus. It could just be that it was meant for you to miss those few busses so that you could be in the right place, at the right time. In addition, maybe the road construction that stops the bus along the way is a way to get you to calm down and relax so that you will be able to share without being upset. Some days we just need to realize that God is in control and that He places us where He desires us to be – when he desires us to be there. Oh yeah, one more thing to realize, sometimes the flagman at the construction site allows way too many cars through at a time, but maybe that is another way to just realize to relax and take it easy. Some days do start out bad, yet if we handle those trials correctly, we can overcome the more difficult ones too.

 

Why?

An open letter to the creep who attacked and Killed Anne Presley:

Sir, Why? What did it get you to attack such a wonderful person? What thrills did it give you to repeated beat her with whatever object (or objects) that you used? Also, what were you motives originally? Were you going to rape her and when she might have started to fight with you, Is that when you decided to punish her? Well, Now instead of just facing attack charges, you will now face Murder charges and I know that you will face the wrath of fellow prisoners when you are put in prison. Moreover, even if it takes a while to catch you, you will face justice for what you did to Anne. Whether that is justice by the Court System, or if by some weird reason you are able to get away with this, you will face the justice of God. So I ask you to turn yourself in to the authorities and admit your guilt. Life is too short to live with the guilt of murder, admit the wrong now and it will be better than living with the wrong and dying without God.

Yes, now this open letter is to tell you that there is forgiveness available to you, not from the court system, but from God. Confess your sins to Him, Admit that you are nothing without Him in your life, Go to the authorities and turn yourself in and leave your old life behind. I know it sounds crazy, but if you go on living with the fact of this murder in your life without accepting the fact that it was wrong and accept the punishment that the court gives you, your punishment from God will be much was than what man can give you. Without God, we are forever separated in eternity from others and we will live in isolation in a place called hell. It is called hell because you will forever be in pain, punishment, and loneliness. There are no parites in hell like some people may think… it is all hurt – all the time!

So, here's the deal, I plea one more time, first admit to God your wrongs. Second, turn yourself in and admit your guilt to the police and courts, and to the family in the court. And lastly, accept the punishment that the court gives you.

Thank you

Saved by Grace!

Acts 15:5 – 11 (NIV) Key scripture 8 – 11

"Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."  The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

1. God knows the heart of all men and women.
   
   1. He accepts everyone no matter what they look like.
      
   2. He gives the Holy Spirit to every believer.
      
   3. He gives all who trust in him a clean slate.
      
2. If God knows the heart of every man, we should not force someone to prove their faith by doing things that may be hard to do.
   
   1. We show our lack of faith by making others prove theirs.
      
3. We are saved by God's grace when we put our faith in Jesus.
   
   1. We do not have to prove that our salvation to anyone because when we accept Jesus, It will show in our lives.
      

      
       

 

 

Home is not where I wanted to be

Before I begin, I must acknowledge that this is a sort of complaining post… yeah I know, I should not complain or gripe, yet things happened today that I did not like. Ok with that said, I was going to go to my church this morning with a lady that lives in the neighborhood, have rode many times with them and have not had any problems before with her not showing up or calling to inform me that she is not going… until today. I was all ready to go, standing outside at time for her to come, but she never did, not sure why because no one called to tell me if something was wrong. It really left me on a lurch, and not in a good mood in ways. Yes, I did attend a church, my old one. It was ok, just not my church now and I was looking forward to being there today, as it was Worship service today and tonight was going to be Baptisms of some of the homeless guys that we minister to in Little Rock.

I do not like the fact that I have to rely on others to go to church, or that I have to ride the church bus sometimes… especially when the church bus pulls off and leaves me at church, even though service was not over, and I was not informed of the possibility of leaving before service was done. However, I digress there… sigh, I just wished I could have a way of reliable transportation, even a nice motor scooter, or motorcycle would be ok with me. I just am tired of always relying on others to get me places.

Of course, I know I have no one to blame for this situation except myself. I screwed up in not staying at jobs, saving enough money, watching my credit usage… Oh, how did I mess up…? Bad decisions haunt you when you really need the help that I do… God, I confess I messed up and need your help.

Trusting His providence…

Matthew 6:19 – 21

• Earthly treasures can be lost, but God's treasures are never lost and can't be stolen.
  
• By placing our treasures in the right place, we show our trust in God, rather than the world's financial markets.
  
• If we treasure the world's treasures, we prove that our heart does not belong to God.
  

Matthew 6:24 – 34

• When we allow the fear of not having enough money to rule over us, we can't be used by God to reach people.
  
• Worry causes us to be focused on worldly issues, rather than the issues of the Kingdom of God.
  
• By worrying about food, clothing, money… we neglect the importance of life and how precious it truly is.
  
• By focusing on problems, we forget that God will provide for those who trust in Him.
  
  • Let go!
    
    • He will provide for us.
      
      • Matthew 10:29 –31 "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."
        

The Race

What is the race? Is it some sort of contest where there is only one true winner and all the contestants behind him are runner's up? Or is it a contest where each runner runs the race just to finish it?

Well, that is the truth of the real race that we run. We each have a goal to finish what we start in life. Some of us have goals to be Doctors, others Policemen, and some CEO's of a major corporation. And those are all good goals to have in life, but there is a different race that we are also running, the race to share the love of Jesus and win souls for Christ.

The race is not an easy one to run because there are many distractions, detours, road blocks, and other events that will try to keep us from finishing our race, but if you understand how to deal with them correctly, you can reach your goal and finish strong.

To deal with a road block in your race, you must first realize that it might be there to keep you from going the wrong way. God sometimes places things in our way to keep us from harm, or from going in the wrong way. He knows what is best for our lives. Yet some roadblocks are not from God, they may be placed in our path by demonic forces to keep you from the path that God truly wants you on. These are sometimes life events, diseases, choices to make, or choices to make that look good to the eye yet are not right to make.

To determine whether the road block is good or bad, ask some questions about it…

First, ask yourself whether if the reasons for the roadblock are sound. Could the outcome of bypassing the roadblock lead to disastrous circumstances? Do you see that there is good if you take the detour? What if you cannot see either way- How can you truly know if it is from God or not? Pray for peace and that God will reveal to your spirit the right path for you to take. By doing this, if the road block is not from God, it will fall apart and you will be able to move in the right direction that God wants you to go. And if God did place it in the way, rest assured that He knows what is best and will guide you in the way that He wants you to go.