I am a man who grew up with little faith but found myself lost in MYSELF. It took 31 years for me to come to understand that there is something far great than me out there. It was someone who wanted me even more than I wanted him in my life. His name was Jesus Christ and he Suffered for me Far Greater than i EVER understood.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Why do we believe in God?
Have you ever ask Why? Father Barron give a good explanation that make sense to me. God is Great is Good
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Re: Concerning "diminishing" knowledge and understanding
Knowledge and understanding does not diminish (at least not by our own efforts) however, the knowledge and understanding of an individual either remains stagnant with an increase in stupidity or a further degree of ignorance because of his failure of further investigation.
James says, (NKJV) James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
We have no excuse really not to increase in our knowledge and understanding of who Jesus is. What keeps us away (I believe) is our self induced fears that we will find the truth of who He is and realize how unworthy we are and that He really does not need our help to save us!
God bless you all in the love of Christ!
By : Pastor Santos Auli
My take
Fear, yes Fear is the main reason (i) believe many do not try to fully learn and understand what Jesus did and who he was. Listen we are a people of Sin and he was sinless and on his own free will took on ALL our sin in the Cross. I often think of Matthew 27 :46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli,t lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"). I feel its that image and those words of a battered bloody sinless man dying in our place that scare many people. When i read into the word I take out the word My God, My God, and replace them with my name. It's a hard pill to swallow but in a sense its the truth. What is even worse is we would rather turn our Eye and not Look at HIM there in our Place and find out more about who he is and why he did it. I know in my heart it was the Love for us that led him to his Cross that was Meant for us.
Friday, April 22, 2011
The Greatest Saddest Day Ever!!!!!
Good Friday is so very good,yet so very painful. This is the first time in my life when I can honestly say that I understand the totality of what good friday is all about. I never knew what all the fuss was about and why everyone seemed so somber yet peaceful. Now I know the complete significance of what and why good Friday is so important. I open my Bible to Isaiah 52:13-53:12 and read the words the prophet spoke all so many years before Jesus walked on this earth.
Isaiah 52:13-15 NLT
See, my servant will prosper;
he will be highly exalted.
But many were amazed when they saw him.
His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human,
and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.
And he will startle many nations.
Kings will stand speechless in his presence.
For they will see what they had not been told;
they will understand what they had not heard about.
Isaiah 53:1-12 NLT
Who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
My servant grew up in the Lord 's presence like a tender green shoot,
like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him.
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.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God's paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.
He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man's grave.
But it was the Lord 's good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the Lord 's good plan will prosper in his hands.
When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.
This is the words he spoke that came true in the Gospels fullfilling his ministry's promise from our Creator. Read John 18- 19:42 and see for your self where the old and the new testament meet. See the truth written from the word of God. I wanted to include some other Scriptures that should also bring the truth of how Great this Sad Good Friday is. Lets look at a few real quick....
Luke 23:46 NLT
Then Jesus shouted, "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!" And with those words he breathed his last.
We read these words in Psalm 31:1, 5, 12-13 HCSB
Lord, I seek refuge in You;
let me never be disgraced.
Save me by Your righteousness.
Into Your hand I entrust my spirit;
You redeem me, Lord, God of truth.
I am forgotten: gone from memory
like a dead person-like broken pottery.
I have heard the gossip of many;
terror is on every side.
When they conspired against me,
they plotted to take my life.
Luke 23:46 HCSB
And Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into Your hands I entrust My spirit." Saying this, He breathed His last.
Psalm 31:15-24 HCSB
The course of my life is in Your power;
deliver me from the power of my enemies
and from my persecutors.
Show Your favor to Your servant;
save me by Your faithful love.
Lord, do not let me be disgraced when I call on You.
Let the wicked be disgraced;
let them be silent in Sheol.
Let lying lips be quieted;
they speak arrogantly against the righteous
with pride and contempt.
How great is Your goodness
that You have stored up for those who fear You
and accomplished in the sight of everyone
for those who take refuge in You.
You hide them in the protection of Your presence;
You conceal them in a shelter
from the schemes of men,
from quarrelsome tongues.
May the Lord be praised,
for He has wonderfully shown His faithful love to me
in a city under siege.
In my alarm I had said,
"I am cut off from Your sight."
But You heard the sound of my pleading7
when I cried to You for help.
Love the Lord, all His faithful ones.
The Lord protects the loyal,
but fully repays the arrogant.
Be strong and courageous,
all you who put your hope in the Lord.
Hebrews 4:14-16 HCSB
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens-Jesus the Son of God-let us hold fast to the confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.
Hebrews 5:7-9 HCSB
During His earthly life, He offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the One who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. Though He was [God's] Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. After He was perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him,
Philippians 2:8-9 HCSB
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death-
even to death on a cross.
For this reason God highly exalted Him
and gave Him the name
that is above every name,
The Good Friday Atonement was made for us. Although how painfup it is to know what he did for us, never forget it was his New Covenant of Love that drove him to accept our sin and take the Thorns, Whips, Nails, Spear and cross for us. His Love and Love alone took this burden so we can one day be with him in Heaven. Thank you Jesus, we love and praise you. You are my Lord and I love you for all you do for me every day.
Isaiah 52:13-15 NLT
See, my servant will prosper;
he will be highly exalted.
But many were amazed when they saw him.
His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human,
and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.
And he will startle many nations.
Kings will stand speechless in his presence.
For they will see what they had not been told;
they will understand what they had not heard about.
Isaiah 53:1-12 NLT
Who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
My servant grew up in the Lord 's presence like a tender green shoot,
like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him.
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.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God's paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.
He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man's grave.
But it was the Lord 's good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the Lord 's good plan will prosper in his hands.
When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.
This is the words he spoke that came true in the Gospels fullfilling his ministry's promise from our Creator. Read John 18- 19:42 and see for your self where the old and the new testament meet. See the truth written from the word of God. I wanted to include some other Scriptures that should also bring the truth of how Great this Sad Good Friday is. Lets look at a few real quick....
Luke 23:46 NLT
Then Jesus shouted, "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!" And with those words he breathed his last.
We read these words in Psalm 31:1, 5, 12-13 HCSB
Lord, I seek refuge in You;
let me never be disgraced.
Save me by Your righteousness.
Into Your hand I entrust my spirit;
You redeem me, Lord, God of truth.
I am forgotten: gone from memory
like a dead person-like broken pottery.
I have heard the gossip of many;
terror is on every side.
When they conspired against me,
they plotted to take my life.
Luke 23:46 HCSB
And Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into Your hands I entrust My spirit." Saying this, He breathed His last.
Psalm 31:15-24 HCSB
The course of my life is in Your power;
deliver me from the power of my enemies
and from my persecutors.
Show Your favor to Your servant;
save me by Your faithful love.
Lord, do not let me be disgraced when I call on You.
Let the wicked be disgraced;
let them be silent in Sheol.
Let lying lips be quieted;
they speak arrogantly against the righteous
with pride and contempt.
How great is Your goodness
that You have stored up for those who fear You
and accomplished in the sight of everyone
for those who take refuge in You.
You hide them in the protection of Your presence;
You conceal them in a shelter
from the schemes of men,
from quarrelsome tongues.
May the Lord be praised,
for He has wonderfully shown His faithful love to me
in a city under siege.
In my alarm I had said,
"I am cut off from Your sight."
But You heard the sound of my pleading7
when I cried to You for help.
Love the Lord, all His faithful ones.
The Lord protects the loyal,
but fully repays the arrogant.
Be strong and courageous,
all you who put your hope in the Lord.
Hebrews 4:14-16 HCSB
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens-Jesus the Son of God-let us hold fast to the confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.
Hebrews 5:7-9 HCSB
During His earthly life, He offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the One who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. Though He was [God's] Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. After He was perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him,
Philippians 2:8-9 HCSB
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death-
even to death on a cross.
For this reason God highly exalted Him
and gave Him the name
that is above every name,
The Good Friday Atonement was made for us. Although how painfup it is to know what he did for us, never forget it was his New Covenant of Love that drove him to accept our sin and take the Thorns, Whips, Nails, Spear and cross for us. His Love and Love alone took this burden so we can one day be with him in Heaven. Thank you Jesus, we love and praise you. You are my Lord and I love you for all you do for me every day.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The liquor store encounter!
I would like to tell you the man threw away the Vodka Bottle right then and there but that is not how the story goes. The man continued his path but now has a ringing thought in his heart every time he has moments like these when he turns to his vice instead of God to cure his self doubts and fear and stress. He seeks God even more everyday. He wonders if the words the man said where true and is he anointed. So he continues to try even though he falls to live up to the expectations the Man in the Liquor store Told him he was. After all he is here typing this Blog right now and has fallen many time but I keep trying. I must be what the man told me to be and the man God wants me to be. We all should strive to be as God has made us, in his image for his likeness and love. God Bless everyone who reads this and may you have your Encounter somewhere so that maybe you will become aware of what you are here for.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Thanks Adam!!!! No I mean it.
So I spent some time today reflecting on things. I sat there and wondered if Adam and Eve had not ate from the Tree of Knowledge what would have happened? Or what would have happened if Adam didn't just blame Eve for the fact that he ate the fruit. Could he have righted the ship then and there? I still think not, you see God made us with free will so I believe free will is quite a freedom and a sacrifice. With this freedom i feel regardless whether it was Adam or Cane or anyone else we would have failed. So i say Thank You Adam for allowing me to understand how much God loves me.
You see God sat up in heaven knowing what we would do. He knew our freedom would take advantage of us and it did. We fell HARD and FAST. Through Time we had chances. Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David ect ect but God finally gave in and did the amazing thing of becoming flesh, feeling pain and suffering for us. He took the painful step forward to let us become able to be close to him. I sit back and think that we would have been set in the Garden if it was not for Adam, yet now we are seeking a eternal Garden and Thanks be to the Sacrifice of Jesus we even have the chance. What is even more amazing is the LOVE we received during Jesus short years here with us, He brought us a New Commandment and it was LOVE. You see God Gave us all Law to live by and we did and still do a bad job with it, but Love is Different. Love is deep down emotional feeling that never really lets go. Every person, even the worst at some time in there life had felt LOVE! So what better way for God to show us his true power and might then by the Love he sent us in his Son Jesus who was nothing other than LOVE. So thank you ADAM for showing me LOVE, although it took many years to find, I really know Love, Love in him, for him, by him!
John 15:17 NIV
This is my command: Love each other.
1 John 4:19 NIV
We love because he first loved us.
John 15:12 NIV
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
John 15:9 NIV
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
Ephesians 6:24 NIV
Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
Proverbs 8:17 NIV
I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.
1 John 4:11 NIV
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
You see God sat up in heaven knowing what we would do. He knew our freedom would take advantage of us and it did. We fell HARD and FAST. Through Time we had chances. Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David ect ect but God finally gave in and did the amazing thing of becoming flesh, feeling pain and suffering for us. He took the painful step forward to let us become able to be close to him. I sit back and think that we would have been set in the Garden if it was not for Adam, yet now we are seeking a eternal Garden and Thanks be to the Sacrifice of Jesus we even have the chance. What is even more amazing is the LOVE we received during Jesus short years here with us, He brought us a New Commandment and it was LOVE. You see God Gave us all Law to live by and we did and still do a bad job with it, but Love is Different. Love is deep down emotional feeling that never really lets go. Every person, even the worst at some time in there life had felt LOVE! So what better way for God to show us his true power and might then by the Love he sent us in his Son Jesus who was nothing other than LOVE. So thank you ADAM for showing me LOVE, although it took many years to find, I really know Love, Love in him, for him, by him!
John 15:17 NIV
This is my command: Love each other.
1 John 4:19 NIV
We love because he first loved us.
John 15:12 NIV
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
John 15:9 NIV
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
Ephesians 6:24 NIV
Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
Proverbs 8:17 NIV
I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.
1 John 4:11 NIV
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
The Thorn in Your Side
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 7 especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself. 8 Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. 9 But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may reside in me.10 So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Do U have a THORN in your Side? I do!!!! its the fact that we really deep down know the thorn but we hide it and ignore it. We think that its just us being us. I know my THORN, and i struggle every day with it. For me the Thorn is the fact that i run so fast to a bottle verses a Bible to deal with my own demons. You may ask me how i know it is my Thorn and i Will tell you that every morning i ask God to take this away from me and he Doesn't. I think that as Paul had his thorn in him it is a reminder of his need for Christ Grace in his life. I feel this way because every time i wake up i find myself pleading with God to rid me of this and i actually feel that i am Speaking with him. It is giving me the connection with him i want. Before i knew him i never seaked him, but now i am always asking him for help. I have all i need even in weakness, but God is always still there for me. His Grace will always see me through, AMEN
Do U have a THORN in your Side? I do!!!! its the fact that we really deep down know the thorn but we hide it and ignore it. We think that its just us being us. I know my THORN, and i struggle every day with it. For me the Thorn is the fact that i run so fast to a bottle verses a Bible to deal with my own demons. You may ask me how i know it is my Thorn and i Will tell you that every morning i ask God to take this away from me and he Doesn't. I think that as Paul had his thorn in him it is a reminder of his need for Christ Grace in his life. I feel this way because every time i wake up i find myself pleading with God to rid me of this and i actually feel that i am Speaking with him. It is giving me the connection with him i want. Before i knew him i never seaked him, but now i am always asking him for help. I have all i need even in weakness, but God is always still there for me. His Grace will always see me through, AMEN
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
G.O.S.P.E.L - Inspirational Videos
It doesn't get any more clearer and COOLER than this.... Praise Be to Jesus for Providing my Ticket to Eternity. I just can't forget it and neither can you.!!!!!!!!!
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