Why Can't We Just LOVE One Another??

As I sit and read posts today that are put out on social media, I am reminded that this world truly is full of hopeless and confused souls. It saddens me to think that so many people feel as if there is no God which in turn leads them to having no faith. Never mind, the fact that they feel completely responsible for every good fortune in their life. These people don't stop to think about, let alone thank the one being that made their freedoms possible. They are too consumed with patting themselves on the back because they are self made. They do not see any good fortune in their lives as blessings, they see them as entitlements for their hard work. As easy as it would be for me to just discredit their beliefs and shake my head at their absurd analogies, I simply can't do that. You see, today's society and their beliefs is a direct result of the actions of so called "Christians" today. What really makes me sad is that there is so much hurt in this world. Unfortunately, a lot of that is a direct outcome of something that "Christians" are doing or not doing for that matter. They tend to look down on those who think differently than they do, they want to discredit other's beliefs yet show them no love. They want to tell others how they are wrong in their thinking and belittle those who don't agree with them. They want to scream from the rooftops about how certain things are wrong, but have no compassion. Here's the problem with all of that ... YOU ARE NOT SHOWING THE LOVE OF CHRIST!!! Jesus didn't beat people over the head to make them believe in Him. He didn't insult, mock, belittle or humiliate those that didn't believe either. Jesus simply loved, He loves today, just as He loved then. It is our job as Christians to show the love and compassion of Christ to those who don't believe. It is our job to turn the other cheek when others come against us for they know not what they do. As believers, we do know better, therefore, we should do better. We all know what God has forgiven us for and not one person among us is completely sinless. We all have our past that we brought to the table when we came to Jesus. Some of us have even had to come back a few times after falling off, but Jesus forgives all and He forgives ALL SINS!! So I challenge each of us as Christians to be just that ... be the hands and feet of Jesus. Share the good news of your Lord and Savior, but most of all PRAY ... Pray for peace in the lives of non believers, Pray for God's touch in their lives, Pray for their souls instead of being judgmental and discrediting what they believe, show them love because LOVE always wins. "Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins" 1 Peter 4:8

What do your thoughts focus on?

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2 .... How often do we find ourselves beat up, depressed or even angry about things that find their way into our hearts and minds? The enemy knows how to take our attention away from God and if we aren't careful we can find ourselves trapped in that mind set. Remembering to keep our thoughts and hearts focused on what is of God will keep us in perfect harmony and allow us to live a life free of bondage. We obviously can't stop thoughts from coming, but we can certainly control what we engage in. The lifespan of a thought is determined by how much attention it receives and if a thought is never put into word or action then it will die unborn .... Proverbs 4:23 tells us to Guard our hearts above all else, for it determines the course of our life. Just sharing some "thoughts" with you guys tonight.

Hello ... What Is Your Name?

For those struggling with the past because others just won't let it go!! Remember, no one is perfect and they constantly try to remind you of your past to keep from looking at their own. All you can do is be the bigger person, keep your head up and eyes focused on the ONLY ONE that matters and know that you are somebody special. God has you right where HE wants you, and HE has who he wants in your life. We all have regrets, we've all been defeated, we've all been lost, we've all been beat down, we've all had to make tough choices, we've all been hurt by lies and the dishonest opinions of others. Sadly some will choose to live their entire life in this state of defeat, but we encourage you today to take a look at the life you could have ... Best decision of our lives was to turn it all over to our Heavenly Father so that we could live a life free of worry, sorrow and drama. We are entirely too blessed to be stressed. Each and every day is a gift and a blessing from above, and we will not let the opinions and actions of others dictate our happiness. Be Blessed and May God's Grace and Mercy find a space in your lives.

Lyrics by:

Matthew West ~ Hello My Name Is ... 

Hello, my name is regret
I’m pretty sure we have met
Every single day of your life
I’m the whisper inside
That won’t let you forget
Hello, my name is defeat
I know you recognize me
Just when you think you can win
I’ll drag you right back down again
‘Til you’ve lost all belief
These are the voices, these are the lies
And I have believed them, for the very last time
Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I’ve been saved, I’ve been changed, and I have been set free
“Amazing Grace” is the song I sing
Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I am no longer defined
By all the wreckage behind
The one who makes all things new
Has proven it’s true
Just take a look at my life
What love the Father has lavished upon us
That we should be called His children
I am a child of the one true King

Where Is The Compassion and Love

Compassion is something that is lacking in so many areas of our lives. What is compassion? Webster defines it as this: noun: a feeling of wanting to help someone who is sick, hungry, in trouble, etc. :  a sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. So I ask you, how do you define it? What does compassion look like to you? Is it kicking someone when they are down? Is it playing off of someones feelings and emotions? Is it taking advantage of a bad situation? I'm sure most all of us would answer "no" to these questions, unfortunately our society as a whole screams an entirely different answer. I'm am terribly saddened by situations that are taking place right now in Ferguson, and my heart breaks for all of those involved. What was already a terrible situation is being made worse by the actions of a few. It has now become what seems like a race war and that just adds fuel to the fire and knocks us back hundreds of years. We have come so far and grown so much with racial barriers. To be thrown back to a time of hatred based on ones skin color is certainly a step in the wrong direction. When are we all going to realize that we are all God's children? He made us different on purpose not to be inferior to one another, but to learn and grow from each other. If you take a look at Genesis 1:26 it says: Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." Nowhere in that scripture does it say anything about any one particular race ruling over these things ... it says mankind in our image. We are all created in God's image just the same and our skin color does not determine who is less valuable in the eyes of the Lord. We are all His children and we are all loved just the same. Racism and hate come from the devil himself because he knows if he can keep us fighting one another then we are not following the most important commandment that God gave us:
Galatians 5:14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself".  What I am seeing right now is far from love, and I'm certainly not seeing any compassion.

I am just as upset as the next person about the incidents that have taken place. I'm saddened by the events that led up to it, and heartbroken for the loss of life as a result. My heart truly hurts for the family of this teenage boy, as does it hurt for the family of the officer involved. None of us will ever know the true story because sadly one party is no longer here to tell his side. Now following these devastating events more tragedy is taking place with hate groups coming together to protest. These people are coming together  in angry mobs because they are all going off of speculations and witness statements being released by the media. We are all old enough to know that the media is notorious for reporting things half way at times. They are all in such a hurry to break a story, that shortcuts are often taken and truths get lost. Then you see speculations about what happened. All it takes is just one person to light a fire of fury under just a few people and it spreads like wildfire. Out of all of these people lashing out in anger and hate not one of them was present during the altercation. You have more innocent lives being effected by the actions of a few that are lashing out and calling for riots. People are hating one another again simply for the color of their skin. I'm just gonna be real for a minute, first off I don't have a racist bone in my body. I don't see color and I certainly don't treat people different based on their skin color. Why? because as I have stated before, we are all God's children. You see last year I was put in the hospital and had to have a blood transfusion. As the nurses were getting me prepped they brought in the two pints of blood I needed; you can rest assured that I did not question the race of the donor. I was simply grateful for the generosity of those that gave in order to save my life. I didn't care what race they were, because guess what ... we are all the same on the inside, we were all created equal in the eyes of the Lord. So tell me this, with all the hate going on in the world right now, if you were in that same situation and needed blood would you question the race of the donor? Most likely not, because you would be just as grateful as I was to the faceless donor that was saving your life. So why hate each other in the flesh? Truth be told if some of these people now feuding with one another had crossed paths at any other time in life then they might have possibly been friends. Why does the careless actions of a few people dictate how we now see ourselves as a human race?

We are all very familiar with the old saying "love is blind", and it's true, love really is blind. When you add love and compassion to the mix you begin to see people lifting each other up, not tearing each other down. No, I am not completely ignorant to the fact that we've all had to overcome some history. I am very well aware of the days of slavery and when women had no rights. I am also very aware of just how far we've come from those days. You see we all want to hate each other for things that none of us even had to endure. I hated to learn about things that people had to go through all those years ago. In my own flesh and heart I was angry at the people that did such awful things. Even now I watch movies and just get disgusted at how things once were. I just look at the television with tears in my eyes, and hurt in my heart, and wonder how someone could be so awful. Can't they see, we are all human beings, we are not animals for crying out loud. Yet, the ignorance went on for far too many years, and even today it is rearing its ugly head. I am saddened by things that we learn about in our history books. It makes me question so many things, even in current events I just shake my head and say why? Why God is there so much evil in the world? Why God is there so much hate? You start to hear statements that start off with: Well if there is a God? Or, Why does your God allow such things to happen? We are all so quick to question God, but it isn't God doing these things. It's the evil in this world, the devil that infiltrates our homes and hearts and leaves nothing but a path of destruction behind. We sit back and think of how terrible our current events are with school shootings, bombings and riots to name a few. We think about how bad that is and why on earth would a loving God ever allow innocent children to die. We begin to lose hope in mankind and start to even question our faith. My Papa used to say all the time "What has been, shall be again", and he was right. If you look back over the course of time you will see how history tends to repeat itself over and over. Every time in the face of adversity we seem to fall apart at the seams and start tearing each other apart. Pointing fingers and laying blame instead of standing tall together to overcome the obstacle that was placed before us. Each and every time we fall right into the devils trap.

John 8:7 says: When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." In this scripture Jesus is referring to a woman who committed adultery. In those times you could be stoned to death for committing such an act. You can see that Jesus has compassion for her so he challenges her accusers. Although, He knew what sins she committed He still loved her and forgave her of her sin. However, He also knew that no man among them was sinless. Just like today, not one of us has a completely sin free life. Yet we all stand on our pedestals so quick to throw out judgement and anger, ready to attack anyone that we feel wronged us somehow. This isn't the way of the Lord and it sure isn't loving our neighbors as ourselves. So many people standing ready to stone a man for a sin that was committed. Is it wrong for us to feel anger? Absolutely not, it is however wrong to sin in your anger. Both sides of this tragedy is hurting and no one wants to believe that the person they love is capable of doing such evil things. As I said earlier, no one really knows the truth or the intentions behind the events that took place in the middle of the street by either party. What we have now is a disastrous mess left behind with the devil dancing in the streets rejoicing at his victory. We have hate and division among us and we all know that nothing good will come of that. Ephesians 4:25-32 says:  Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor for we are all members of one body. "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you. 

I realize there are things that happen in life that are so gut wrenching and hurtful, and we just want to retaliate by whatever means necessary. I just urge you my brothers and sisters to think before you act. Think about the ripple effects of your actions, think about all the wrongs you are responsible for, think about the people you have hurt, think about the times you've had to ask for forgiveness, but most of all think about how you felt when you were shown forgiveness, love and compassion. Will it ever take away the memory or the pain, probably not, but it certainly won't hurt so bad. At the very least you can find peace when you show God's love and mercy to others.  I realize today's post didn't seem very inspirational, but there are times that we just have to be real. We have to stop and take in all the mess that is going on around us and try to find some middle ground. While my heart hurts I just don't see how fighting will help. So I choose to pray and love each and every one of you the way God loves me. None of us are without sin and none of us have any right to throw stones, so let's first start with ourselves and our own actions before trying to correct others. We are so quick to punish those who sin against us; yet we forget that the One without sin took the ultimate punishment for ALL OF OUR SINS so that we didn't have to. He lived a life free of sin, but took the beating and death sentence that we all deserved .... Now that is what I call LOVE.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is LOVE.

1 Corinthians 13:13 

When The Waters Are Raging On

Do you ever just feel like the waves of life just keep crashing in without giving you a chance to catch your breath? Do you ever wonder where God is during those times? Well He is right there in the boat with you. Sometimes in life He allows the storm to rage on. It is during these times that He is molding and teaching us. He may be teaching us endurance, patience, strength, trust or He might just be testing our faith into new levels of worship. Whatever His reason may be you can rest assured that there is a purpose behind it. So don't lose hope and don't get discouraged, because He is right there with you. He is walking along beside you and He can calm your storm at any time. So just keep pushing through, keep praising, and keep looking up because your breakthrough is coming!!!

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2

You Are An Overcomer

Trying to overcome the negative in our lives can often times be challenging. We all deal with some type of adversity, for some, it's daily. We often times wonder why people do the things they do. Unfortunately, no one can really answer that question for you but that person, and their answer isn't always the truth. Sometimes they come up with an excuse or reason trying to lay the blame on you for something you did to them. They may even try to blame it on someone else. Although, the truth is, people do what they do to get a reaction out of you. Can we control the things people say and do? Absolutely not, but we can control our reaction and our response to them. We have to realize our own self worth and know who we are in God's eyes. Once you realize that then it doesn't really matter what people think of you, right? Well that is easier said than done. I know because some times these people are our family, they are friends that we've known our entire life and they are people that you never would have thought would turn their back on you. It's the people that mean the most to us that hurt us the deepest. We have all been on that path trying to turn our lives around and do better, only to have certain people constantly tearing you down. You will never make it, You will never amount to anything, You are just wasting your time they say. More times than not they will get you off track and put you right back where you started, leaving you feeling like a defeated failure. These changes for you don't have to be anything in particular, it could be making a big move, losing weight, changing jobs, going back to school, quit smoking, going to church, taking up a new hobby, making new friends, stop partying etc. 

For some people change is very hard to accept and they don't like it at all. They don't like to see people move on from where they are, they don't like to see people succeed or do better for themselves. So they try to get in your head and discourage you in any way possible. Telling you lies straight from the devil himself about how you won't ever get any where. Lies that remind you of who you were and where you came from. Just because someone doesn't agree with your decision, doesn't mean it's wrong for you. They don't know what you are going through and they don't know how God is working in their life. So instead they talk bad about you or make negative comments about things that they know nothing about. It would be really nice if people would tend to their own life. When they are busy focused on God and their life then they don't have time to talk about, or gossip about someone else. It really is sad that some people put on their church face for the congregation, but in their personal life they are consistently messy and slanderous. They shout from the rooftops and pat themselves on the back for their own accomplishments of "private bible study" or their service is ministry. When the only One that matters already knows what they are doing. He also knows their heart. When you serve God be it in your personal time or in a public setting, you should only be focused on the approval of God and not the approval of man. It is rather hypercritical to praise yourself for deeds that you have done when you are only doing them for public recognition. If these people are in fact being true to God and walking out a genuine Christian love for others then they would not spread slanderous things about others. They would not encourage drama and they would mind their own business when it doesn't concern them. No one person is perfect we are simply forgiven and we all will make mistakes, but when people constantly cause friction in the lives of others, have they really changed? Are they being a true christian? Are they being like minded with Christ? These are the people that you really should try to avoid in your life. Unfortunately, the church is so full of people like this that are hypocritical and judgmental that is can be discouraging. You are trying to start over and start a new life for yourself only to have people look down on you with their self righteousness. 

So I encourage you today to just try to look past these people. Surround yourself with people that will care about and love you through prayer. They will pray for the same guidance and confirmation that you have been praying for, instead of causing turmoil and drama. Just remember that God can open doors that no one can close and He can pour favor out on every area of your life. Sometimes He may even have to remove you from where you are and take you away from the negativity that surrounds you. It's not running, it's taking a step of faith and walking out a path that God has set before you. So for your negative Nellie's and naysayers ... just because they don't agree with what you are doing doesn't mean it is the wrong decision for you. A very dear friend of mine shared these words with me and I genuinely believe them with all my heart "If it's God appointed, there ain't a demon in hell that can stop it". So, say farewell to anything and everything that is holding you back and take that step of faith into the arms of God. 

Don't be mislead: "Bad company corrupts good character."

1 Corinthians 15:33 

You Are Not Alone

Today it is with a heavy heart that we reflect on just how fragile life can be. Yesterday the world lost a man that brought much laughter into the homes and hearts of many of us. Although we may not have known him personally, there were many that did. Robin Williams was a beloved husband, father, son, among many other titles, but to us he may have been a way to escape. His ability to make us laugh through comedy may have made us forget our own problems, even if only for a moment. I don't pretend to know anything about him or about his situation. I like the rest of America am going strictly on what has been made public through news broadcast and media. With that being said, I find it so very sad that someone who brought laughter to so many quite possibly died by his own hand due to depression. Of course the official cause of death has not been released, I am again going off of media reports. Whether or not it was suicide is not the point I am trying to make today, although it does bring attention to a very serious matter and is what has prompted today's post. 

A very famous quote by Robin Williams says "I used to think the worst thing in life is to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone."  I know for some of us we feel like we are all alone in this great big world. So we may stay in places and situations that we are familiar with because at least we aren't "alone". Sure it may be a terrible relationship or an abusive situation, but we find ourselves believing that there isn't anything better out there. We stay because we are scared of the unknown forgetting that we are completely miserable and depressed in the situation that we are in. Depression is a silent killer, it can not always be seen, and can often times turn into other addictions such as: alcohol, drugs, cutting etc. When someone is depressed they find other ways to "kill the pain" so to speak by trying to do things that make them forget. 

Unfortunately, sometimes that can turn into alcoholism, drug addictions and attempted suicides. When someone gets to the point of feeling like there is no purpose in living any longer, they can't find the positive in any situation so they feel like that is their only escape. Sadly, their choice of escape is a permanent solution to what is most of the time a temporary problem. It really hurts my heart to know that there are people out there that do not know love. They do not know what it feels like to be cared about by others. They felt so alone in this world that they felt no reason to live, and for that I kind of blame society. We live in such a cruel world that children are taking their own lives because of bullying. Seriously, these days kids can be so mean and hateful. Let's face it, as adults we can admit to doing some pretty stupid stuff growing up. Some of it no different then what kids these days are doing. The only difference is today we have social media and so many outlets for tortured kids to be reminded over and over of the humiliation that they felt from a bad decision they made. Then it's not just their classmates that are laughing and making fun of them, it's all over the worldwide web, where just as many cruel adults are weighing in with their comments and opinions. In my opinion people go way too far when they hide behind the protection of their computer screens. They sit in the comfort and safety of their own homes doing and saying things that they would never dare tell someone in person. What ever happened to compassion and love? What happened to adults being adults and teaching their children right from wrong? We have evil misguided children because this world is full of evil misguided adults. Why not try teaching your kids to make friends with someone who is always alone? Or how about just teaching them not to make fun of people period? Just because someone is different than you doesn't make them weird or abnormal and it certainly doesn't make you better than them. 

Today let's be reminded that we are all loved. We are all created equal in God's eyes and we all have a purpose for being born. So if you are suffering today and feel like you are worthless, then let me remind you that you are somebody. You are loved and you are cherished. Just know that this earthly place that we walk among is only temporary. If you just accept your Heavenly Father into your heart and let Him fill the voids of your life where man has left empty then you will see your worth. You see God loves each of us equally no matter how bad we are; and no matter how much we try to deny Him. All we have to do is accept His love. His grace and mercy are never ending and He can wipe clean every mistake you've ever made. He can pull you out of any situation you are in, but you have to be the one to turn to Him. So for my brothers and sisters that are hurting let me share this scripture with you from Psalm 34:17-20 "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all of their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken." So you see, you are precious in the eyes of the Lord and you have a purpose. If you need prayer for anything then please do not hesitate to reach out to us because that is what we are here for. Let us help bring you up out of the darkness and into the light so that you can know what true love is. 

For my fellow believers, I challenge you to find ways to show love to others. I challenge you to reach out to someone who may be dealing with depression. I challenge you to not be so quick to judge each other when you hear rumors. We all know that everything we hear is not the entire truth, so why jump on the first band wagon that comes along with the latest gossip. Maybe instead of being so quick to believe the trumpet blower, you reach out to the silent party and offer prayer. More times than not the one blowing the trumpet is the one with things to hide. Although, placing blame and pointing fingers at everyone but themselves will keep the attention off of them. Playing the victim will keep everyone on their side, but be very careful when you fall into this trap because just because they shout the loudest doesn't mean they are being entirely truthful. While everyone is so busy tending to the trumpet blower the silent party is losing more and faith in human kind. They keep to themselves only to hear more and more of their business through the grapevine and only partially true. They lose friends and family members because they choose to not take part in the "he said, she said" game. They finally just accept all the blame because it just isn't worth trying to convince an army of people who clearly have all the one sided information. When in the grand scheme of things they don't have a clue!!! It is situations like this that we find out how strong we are. Sadly not everyone is as strong and they are only made to feel worse because they feel like they have been completely abandoned. They might make a final attempt to reach out and ask for help, but when they do ... they are made to feel worthless all over again because no one has ever gotten their side so they finally decide that it is no longer worth it. So they do the unthinkable and make a drastic decision to end their own life, because no one cares about them any way, right? 

Don't let this be your story, don't be the one that passes judgment on someone because of something you may have heard about them. Learn the truth, get the facts and then pray for all parties involved. Don't add to the chaos by continuing to spread rumors or by turning your back on someone that could literally be crying out for help. Take the time to find out the truth, and show God's love, grace and mercy in every situation that you may find yourself in. Someone reaching out to you may be their last attempt at saving their life, so don't be so judgmental. I am sadly reminded that people who have so much influence, fame and fortune are often times some of the loneliest, saddest people on earth. Always questioning if the people in their life genuinely cares for them and if they would still be there if all the fame and fortune were gone. Too many stars in Hollywood on the path to destruction, because money and fame can not and will not make you happy in the end. 

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34 

Note: Movie Recommendation ~ To Save A Life 

Fantastic movie that deals with a student's and Youth Pastor's first hand guilt at ignoring someone's cry for help.