A man named Job

The bible tells us that job was a man who lived in the land of Uz. He was rich in his day and had no need of anything. Job prayed and thanked God daily. He had a great commitment to Worshipping God and he also had tremendous faith.   Job is my inspiration for acquiring faith. Job lost all of his children, his animals and all of his wealth in one day. The bible says that Satan went before God in regards to job and God gave him permission to do to job whatever he wanted to do, so he gave him boils from the top of his head to the sole of his feet. In the loss of his children and all of his wealth job never stopped believing in God.  In the book of Job, Jobs wife says to him 2: 9 dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. But Job says to his wife, what? Shall we receive  good at the hand of God, and not receive evil. Just keep in mind that the Lord did not do these things to Job but it was Satan who did this.I have personally met people who say that they no longer believe because of situations that arose in their lives. When I encounter something which seems too big to handle I revert to Job the man who never lost faith and received more blessings in the end than at his beginning. 

In my younger days of reading the bible I wondered if I could ever have job's faith. I knew that I wanted to have the faith of those people in the bible.  I wondered if things just happened or do we pray if we want things to change. So years down the road I had a problem, I don't quite remember what kind of problem it was, but my circumstance remained the same for awhile. I finally prayed and my circumstances changed. Instead of praising God I wondered again; did this situation change because I prayed? or if I had not prayed would this have been the outcome. I realized that I had been waiting for awhile and nothing changed until I prayed. So I learned to thank God and stop wondering and start believing. I suppose when I was younger I was having my battles as to whether God really answer prayers. I remember while I was in my teens I was reading and praying a lot and actually looking to the sky and asking myself " is there really a God? I also know that  while I was growing up I was always taught to pray for my meals. Well, here I am at McDonald's with some friends from school and was embarrassed to pray for my meal. I actually looked around to see if any one was looking because I did not want others to think I was crazy because I am talking to the air or wind. That incident made me realize that if I am going to pray and believe in a God who I have never seen, and some people do not believe in, I must believe in him always regardless of who I am around. It was years later when I read  in Mathew 10:33 whosoever shall deny me before men, him I will  also deny before my father which is in heaven.

After September 11, 2011 and the housing market crash I noticed that a lot of people were  committing suicides.  My only wish was that I was their to talk to that person and let them know about Gods grace and mercy.   If only they had learned to rely on the Lord.  There are times in life when we   Become overwhelmed with our problems and issues. Some people have financial problems, some have marital problems, mental issues, weight issues, family problems. I could go on and on but my point is this. For every problem there is a solution and my God is bigger than any problem that we can ever encounter. Problems, hurt and pain do not last forever. 

Malachi 3:7 says" return to me and I will return to you.  We spend a lot of time stressing about situations that we are not able to change, (not by our self anyway). If we took the time to ask God to intervene in our lives and not give up hope we would have a solution.  In my journey on this earth I have had roadblocks, some twist and turns. Life has not always been easy but it has not always been bad either. I know that my belief in the Almighty has kept me from loosing my sanity and giving up. When we run out of options and have tried every thing else then the next best thing is to try God.  He has changed me tremendously. I am no longer that irrational thinking always angry individual. I now have a peace that Satan would like to take away but what my God gives no one can take away. I truly am amazed at what God has done for me and hope that you allow him to change you.

Fervent Heat.

The planets say” I knew this day would one day come, but I never knew it would come this soon. I am ready!! The earth say” I have been building a wall of fire underneath me for quite some time and it is brewing.. Man calls it the ring of fire. The earth says” I am tired and I am ready to blow”. The sun says” I have risen early each morning for thousands of years. I have watched mankind each day, and each day they do the same thing. They have not repented, they keep getting worse in their sins and wickedness. The sun says” I am tired of rising and giving them heat so that they can live and have their food and plants grow.” I am getting old and I am ready to fall. The moon says” you can’t leave me up here by myself. You know we all need each other because we work together. The stars say” if you all blow up and fall to the earth then we have no other choice but to join you because we definitely cannot do this by our self. Finally all the planets say ” Well, I suppose it is time, let’s do this.

 

Even the elements understand that they must work together. They have an order ordained by God, but humans refuse to follow the laws of God. Will the elements and every thing in them fall slowly over a period of time or will they fall suddenly. Who on earth will be able to withstand that heat. We can barely handle 98 degrees much less all the elements at once. Whoever says that there is no heaven or hell needs to reconsider. The earth will melt in fervent heat. That day will be the day of the Lord and his decision as to when this will take place. 2 Peter 3:10 but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 2 Peter 3:11 seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness.

The Creator and not the creature.

We have all heard of him. The Creator, whose name is Jehovah, Elohim, Jesus, and God. Many people just say "God". Zondervan illustrated bible dictionary describes god as being a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable. In his being is wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.

We do not have a clear description of how God looks but we are told that we are created in his image. The main thing to understand is that God is Holy. He is the Holy Spirit which manifest himself in his son Jesus. When we become true believers of Christ, his word says ' that we are to put off that old man. Romans 1:22 That is, that ye cast off, concerning the conversation in time past, that old man, which is corrupt through the deceivable lusts,
23, And be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24, And put on the new man, which after God is created unto righteousness and true Holiness.
25,Wherefore cast off lying, and speak truth unto his neighbor: for we are members of one another.
26, Be angry but sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath,
27, Neither give place to the devil.
28, Let him that stole, steal no more: but let him rather labor, and work with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give unto him that needs.
29, Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouths: but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30, And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, by whom ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31, Let all bitterness, anger, wrath, crying and evil speaking be put away from you, with all maliciousness.
32, Be ye courteous one to another, and tender hearted, freely forgiving one to another, even as God for Christ's sake, freely forgave you.

We are told that God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it.
Genesis 1;26 says' Let us( God and Christ) make man in our image. In the image of God he created them male and female.
I can look around this big beautiful world and see that someone with great wisdom and an awesome love for us created the universe. This did not happen haphazardly!
Psalm 139:13-14 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that very well.

There is beauty and wisdom in everything that God has created. I have no doubt that God is mighty and powerful.

Some people look around their surroundings and see hate, wickedness, poverty, and vile and quickly ask" where is God? and why does he allow this? When we ask questions like these we refuse to see the truth which is right in front of us. Poverty, wickedness, hate and vileness are all caused by man.
Romans 1:23, For they turned the glory of incorruptible God to the similitude of the image of a corruptible man, and of birds, and four footed beast, and of creeping things.
25, Which turned the truth of God unto a lie and worshipped and served the creature, forsaking the creator which is blessed forever. Amen
26, For this cause God gave them up to vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.
27, And likewise the men left the natural use of the woman, and burned in their lust one toward another, and man with man wrought filthiness, and received in themselves such recompense of their error, as was meet.
28, For as they regarded not to acknowledge God, even so God delivered them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient,
29, Being full of all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness,  coveteousness, maliciousness, , full of envy, of murder, of debate, of deceit, taking all things in the evil part, whisperers,
30, backbiters, haters of God, doers of wrong, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, such as can never be appeased, merciless.
31, which men, though they knew the law of God, how that they which commit such things are worthy of death, yet not only do the same, but also favor them that do them.

Revelations 12:9 says 'And the great dragon was thrown down , that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan. The deceiver of the whole world- he was thrown down to the earth and his angels was thrown down with him.
Luke 10:18-19 And he said unto them, I saw Satan, like lightening, fall down from heaven.  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpians and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

 Everything that is not of God is of the evil one, which is the devil. So Satan is the creature, the liar, the deceiver and the murderer. As the word says, " He deceives the whole world" just like he deceived Eve in the garden of Eden.
Genesis 3:4 surely you will not die
5, For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be like Gods knowing good and evil. Since I know good and evil there should be no excuse for my actions, because I am now God. If I am now God what kind of God am I? The creator God is mighty and has all wisdom and power. Let me not forget that he is Holy and He told us to " Be ye Holy because He is Holy". If I am now a god then why do I still die? Why don't I know my tomorrow? How can I live in the flesh and be a God. There are people right now who says that they are Gods. This is the trick of the enemy.

We are made in Gods image but we are not Gods. We now know right from wrong due to the lie which was told to Eve in the garden and this still does not make us Gods. The creature which is the devil and Satan does not love us. He never has and he never will. I have never came across any writings about Satan loving us and wanting to save us from hellfire. He knows that Hell was created for him and his angels who rebelled against God. There is no forgiveness for him because he is forever doomed. However there is forgiveness for us because of Gods love and mercy towards us. He sent his only begotten son to die for our sins. Their is no greater love than this. Satan is still a liar and he is still deceiving. If we are practicing things which are ungodly then we are not serving the creator but the creature. Some people worship cars, houses, money, gold, wood stone and animals. None of these things can save us.

I cannot find anything good written about Satan. I believe this about him though. I believe that he is a coward. He knows that Hell is created for him and the angels who sinned against God and he wants to take as many people as he can get to go to hell and suffer with him. Sad but there are people in this world who act the same way, I am not going down by myself, somebody going with me". Well no one told you to make the choice that you made. We all know right from wrong. Those who choose to do wrong are serving sin not God. We cannot be a God and be full of sin, and have no love for our fellow man. There is only one God and He is not a God of confusion.

Acts 3:14 But ye denied the Holy one and the just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you
15, and killed the prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses. Looks like mankind has been serving the creature since the beginning. Well, When I see all of Gods benefits I know that there is only one thing to do and that is to serve the Creator, the one who created life and everything in this world. He is not the one trying to destroy us. The bible says, " Gods mercies are renewed each morning.

I do not like Satan or anything evil, I do not want to spend my life in hell with a creature such as the devil who has no love and will never have any. The only thing Satan does is unleash his evil on mankind through other evil men who have no love or knowledge of the Almighty. I want to honor my Creator who created me and has shown me his love, wisdom, and awesome power.

No Television

Old habits can be very hard to break. One habit that I am slowly breaking is watching television. Television can be so addictive and if you are not careful it will consume most of your day. I first realized I had a problem when I would be late for work. I had to see what was going to happen with my favorite soap opera. I gave up soaps a long time ago. I don’t believe that I am the only person with this problem. I have watched mothers with their babies, who for convenience place their infants on the sofa to keep their babies occupied.

So imagine watching television for x amount of hours; from 6months to adulthood. the amount of positive programs to watch are very few compared to the amount of crimes that is portrayed. It was too much to handle. If I listen to the news it is very sad and negative. I realized that listening to the news raises my blood pressure. We may think that television is harmless but I don’t believe so. As humans we are influenced by what we see and hear. The advertising companies knows this very well. One good example are commercials. I remember sitting on my sofa while watching television and a Big Mac commercial comes on, Immediately I feel hunger. If I do not have any money, ‘well I am going to buy one as soon as I get some money. The same thing happens with cars and so forth. I basically told myself that I do not need anyone or anything to influence me. If I am going to be influenced then it will be positive influence.

I honestly believe that television is the root cause to the world having so much crime. I have heard criminals who after being caught from committing a crime say that they saw it on television. We can all say that is no excuse but I am comparing the watching of television to being on drugs, Its addictive. The young are the most vulnerable. They want to dress like the people they see on TV. They also want the big house and the many cars not realizing that a lot of people work hard to achieve things and wealth. If television is going to teach me how to commit a crime, then why wont it also teach me how to save money instead of going out to buy everything I see being advertised. I am not knocking television but it is no longer for me. it does not inspire me, it does not lift me up spiritually, it does not entertain me and I now have free time to do more important things.

The Baby

This is only my opinion!! But I have given this much thought and this is only my opinion. I do not want to change anyone's views or beliefs. 

Most of us have read and celebrated the birth of Jesus in some way or another. We know the story" that before he came to earth he was in heaven with the father. At the birth of Jesus was the 3 wise men who came to bare gifts. Mary and Joseph and the angels in heaven were also there. One of God's gift to mankind is the birth of Jesus for the redemption of our sins. His birth was being celebrated by the angels in heaven and few people on earth. I totally believe that the wise men should bring him gifts. He is a great king, who came to earth to do the will of our father in heaven. 

Babies don't stay babies forever and  Jesus being celebrated at Christmas as a baby in the manger in my opinion takes away from who Christ is. I know that we as people also want to celebrate his birth. However' Christmas is not written in the bible and we all know it is the tradition of men to do this. I believe that when we go and buy gifts for each other, it's saying that we are equal to him. I even think that we are making a mockery of who Jesus is and why he came to earth. If I only see Jesus as a baby then  I won't see Jesus for who he really is. He sits at the right hand of God, he was sacrificed for my sins as well as yours, he was wounded for our transgressions. He is my healer, my wonderful counselor.

In my opinion, keeping Jesus as a baby takes away the fear of who Jesus Christ is. If I no longer fear him then I won't be concerned with sinning and making wise decisions about what is right and what is wrong.

Revelations 1:16 states!

And he had in his right hand seven stars and out of his mouth went a sharp 2 edged sword and his face shone as the sun shineth in his strength. As we read this verse tells us that the seven stars are the angels who are over the seven churches. Jesus having a 2 edged sword is telling us that he is a serious God and not to be taken lightly. 

We can be happy with our celebrations but does everyone truly understand the significance of who Jesus really is. Churches seem to have forgotten the word Hellfire. It's now prosperity and being blessed. 

Then there is the tree, Christmas tree. Jeremiah 10:2

Thus saith the Lord,learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them; for the customs of the people are vain; for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 4, they deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not, 5, they are upright as the palm tree, but speak not; they must be carried because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

Revelation 11:10

And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them ( the two witnesses) and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth.

I do not know the true meaning of this verse but the world is sending gifts one to another over the death of 2 witnesses of God, the only time we send gifts to each other is Christmas. I am not sure if there is a connection but I was moved by this verse and I am using it in my decision in how I worship.

Thank You

When things don't seem to go right just remember that God makes no mistakes. The journey is rough but in due time everything will be alright. 

Psalms 149: 1-4 states!

Praise the Lord, sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him; let the children of Zion be joyful in their king, let them praise his name in the dance; let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. For the Lord take pleasure in his people; he will beautify the meek with salvation.

So many times we go to the Lord with our problems, but what about when we are happy. Do we become self centered and forget that it is he who blesses and curses. Are we so absorbed with our day to day life that we forget to give thanks and praise.

Thessalonians 5:18 states!

In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all. How would you feel if you always cared for someone and protected them and they never said thank you. " my feelings would be hurt and I would consider them to be very ungrateful. Well, God also wants to hear us praise him in songs and prayers,"Sometimes we just need to take a step back and say" Lord thank you."

The temple.

Can we live on earth and be a Holy and consecrated people unto the Lord. He does tell us!

Leviticus 11:44 states!

Be ye Holy for I am Holy. We know that God is a Holy God and he requires Holiness from his people. In being Holy we must pay close attention to all areas of our lives. 

I know that the bible says' that a woman's body should be covered. Society teaches us differently. If we take a good look around us we will see that men as well as women need to dress appropriately. Without verbally speaking we send messages to each other based on how we dress. In north America it has now become the norm for young black males to dress with their pants below the buttocks. Women wear low cut blouses. Everyone seems to be showing some part of the body. Commercials, television programs, and magazines also portray women in a derogatory way which is ungodly.We as a people must not be afraid to step out of our comfort zone and dare to be different. Dare to be Godly. 

Romans12:1

I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living Sacrifice, Holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable serving of God.

Romans 12:2 states! 

And be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect, will of God.

2 Corinthians 6:16 also states!

What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the Living God. As God hath said" I will dwell among them and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

The way we treat others and correspond with one another can also be a holy or unholy experience. We are made in the flesh but we must walk in the Holy spirit. 

Gossiping, lying, backbiting, being evil and conniving are all things that God hates. 

Proverbs 6:16-19 states!

These six things doth the Lord hate: yea His soul abbhorreth seven: the haughty eyes, a lying tongue and an heart that imagineth wicked schemes, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies  and him that raiseth up contentions among brethren.

The old testament tells us that foods which are unclean we should not eat. 

Mathew 15:11

Jesus also told us that it is not what goes into a man that makes him unclean but what comes out that makes him unclean.

Not all of us has went down that road that leads to destruction, but many of us have. It is never too late to give our lives over to Jesus and to do his good will. It can be difficult when so many people around you are doing their own thing, having no regards to God but their are consequences for everything that we do. We must all one day give an account to God. So why wait until it is too late. 

The Book of Life.

I honestly believe that every human being that is born, that person's name is written in the book of life. In our lifetime some of us stray away from the faith of believing in our savior. Well when we die in our wickedness and unbelief our name gets crossed out.
We all sin and we all make mistakes. Some of us find God just like the prodigal son Luke 15: 11-32 who finds his way home and some of us never cease from our wicked ways.
  I remember reading Rev 2:15  years ago which states " and whosoever was not written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" . I remember being frightened and thinking " how do we know if our name is written in the book of life or not? After years of reading I see that God gives us guidelines such as the Ten Commandments.
  The Ten Commandments are found in the book of Exodus 20:  
1. " You shall have no other gods before me"
2. "  You shall not make for yourself a carved  or graven image- any likeness of anything that is in heaven up above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth"
3. "   You shall not take the name of the Lord thy in vain".
4.  "  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy".
5.  "  Honor your father and your mother".
6.  "  You shall not murder".
7.  "  You shall not commit adultery".
8.  "  You shall not steal".
9.  "  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor".
10.  "  You shall not covet your neighbors house, you shall not covet your neighbors wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbors".
Jesus also told us in Romans 10:13  that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Mark 2:17 states " it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. We are given the opportunity to get it right even thou we are up against oppositions. With this I say" forgiveness is given to those who ask, those who believe and those who does his will. ( not my will but your will be done).

God is the Potter and We are the Clay.

Samuel 16:7 states that God looks at the heart of man, while man sees our outward appearance. As humans we often judge each other based on skin color, how a person is dressed and how much money they may or may not have. We even get overrun by commercials,  and magazine advertisements showing us how we should look. I just believe that God made us in his image just like the bible states but we allow the enemy(Satan) to cause distinctions, distractions, and divisions in our lives. Pay attention to babies and young children. They do not notice color or body and facial features. We do not become aware of things like that until someone else tells us that such and such is ugly or pretty or cute. Who came up with this? Somehow I believe we are dishonoring our maker. It was his decision to create us and he made us in his image. So who are we to dislike another human being based on their outward appearance. We might as well go to God and ask why? No one has the authority to question his decisions so we also do not have the right to dislike someone based on their outward appearance.

Believing His Word

Christ within is about Jesus within me. After reading the bible for so many years and believing without a doubt that it is true( yes changes have been made) I have come to the understanding that as a follower of Christ Jesus, I  must keep is word and allow him to guide my Steps.

Since there are so many different translations of the bible I guess it is up to every bible believing person of faith to try and get as close to the original version as possible without losing the actual meaning of this great and wonderful book called The Holy Bible.

Sometimes it can be difficult to maintain our faith in Jesus Christ. Many times I have prayed for strength to continue in my struggles and not to lose faith. The more I pray the more dilemma I seem to encounter. Well" I have learned that it is not my problems and circumstance that hinder me but my own disbelief .

When I am faced with difficulties I forget that I do not serve a God that is made of wood and stone but I serve the Living God. The God who hears, sees, and knows all things.

Mathew 23:37 states! Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophet and stonest them which are sent to thee. How often would I have gathered thy children together as the hen gathered her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. This passage tells me just how much the Lord loves us and would like to save us all but we are unwilling due to our disbelief.

Ezekiel 18:32 also states! 

For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone says the Lord, wherefore repent and live. 

Mathew 24:35 states!

Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away. These passages helps me with my daily walk with Christ. These passages tells me that his word is true, his love for us is true and  God desires for us to repent so that he should not get angry and punish or destroy us.

We are living in an era where many are trying to dispute the word of God. There are many religions and beliefs but only one God. Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and the End.