To live one's life to Coram Deo (in the presence of God) under the authority of God and to the honor and glory of God. As Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments."(John 14:15)
From the age 13 or 14 I can remember struggling and wanting to discover my purpose in life. Why was I here, what am I to do? Is it about me? It was the wrong answer the that last question that lead to the end of myself. Fast forward several decades and now I yearn to be in his presence to hear Him say "Job well done, Michael!"
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Sunday, March 28, 2010
I am a Christian
The words below were spoken back on September 13, 1980 by Charles Malik who gave an address called "The Two Tasks" at the opening of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. He was the Lebanese Ambassador to the United States. I have not read a more beautiful exposition of how I too have come to love Jesus and find my life worthless without His love and His pursuit of me. This is what I would tell you if you ask me how and what it is to follow Christ; our Saviour.
I speak to you as a Christian. Jesus Christ is my Lord and God and Savior and Song day and night. I can live without food, without drink, without sleep, without air, but I cannot live without Jesus. Without him I would have perished long ago. Without him and his church reconciling men to God, the world would have perished long ago. I live in and on the Bible for long hours every day. The Bible is the source of every good thought and impulse I have. In the Bible God himself, the Creator of everything from nothing, speaks to me and to the world directly, about himself, about ourselves, and about his will for the course of events and for the consummation of history. And believe me, not a day passes without my crying from the bottom of my heart, ‘Come, Lord Jesus.'
I am a dead and lifeless man without you Jesus. The joy you have set in my heart is beyond the words I can express in words or in speech. I only hope you can see it my smile, in the way I treat you and others. I am devastated that He gave me the ears and heart to hear His call. Amen
I speak to you as a Christian. Jesus Christ is my Lord and God and Savior and Song day and night. I can live without food, without drink, without sleep, without air, but I cannot live without Jesus. Without him I would have perished long ago. Without him and his church reconciling men to God, the world would have perished long ago. I live in and on the Bible for long hours every day. The Bible is the source of every good thought and impulse I have. In the Bible God himself, the Creator of everything from nothing, speaks to me and to the world directly, about himself, about ourselves, and about his will for the course of events and for the consummation of history. And believe me, not a day passes without my crying from the bottom of my heart, ‘Come, Lord Jesus.'
I am a dead and lifeless man without you Jesus. The joy you have set in my heart is beyond the words I can express in words or in speech. I only hope you can see it my smile, in the way I treat you and others. I am devastated that He gave me the ears and heart to hear His call. Amen
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Are you giving life?
If I had to boil down one central idea to give to my friends it is this message that in each of us lies a love question we all need answered. Consider this in your heart do you give life to your wife/husband and/or significant other?
“Let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Ephesians 5:33
God made Adam first and put him in the Garden with a job to do, a mission to fulfill. In the heart of every fallen man is the self-doubt that wonders, “Am I man enough to climb this mountain God has called me to? Can I fulfill my destiny?” A wise wife will understand that question at the center of her husband’s heart. And she will spend her life answering it, communicating to him in various ways, “Honey, I believe in your call. I know you can do this, by God’s power. Go for it.” In this way, she will breathe life into her man.
God made Eve from Adam, for Adam, to help him follow the call. In the heart of every fallen woman is the self-doubt that wonders, “Do I please you? Am I what you wanted?” A wise husband will understand that question at the center of his wife’s heart. And he will spend his life answering it, communicating to her in various ways, “Darling, you are the one I need. I cherish you. Let me hold you close.” In this way, he will breathe life into his wife.
By Pastor Dr.Ray Orlund
I hope you spend the rest of your time breathing life into your Eve/Adam by answering their question.
“Let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Ephesians 5:33
God made Adam first and put him in the Garden with a job to do, a mission to fulfill. In the heart of every fallen man is the self-doubt that wonders, “Am I man enough to climb this mountain God has called me to? Can I fulfill my destiny?” A wise wife will understand that question at the center of her husband’s heart. And she will spend her life answering it, communicating to him in various ways, “Honey, I believe in your call. I know you can do this, by God’s power. Go for it.” In this way, she will breathe life into her man.
God made Eve from Adam, for Adam, to help him follow the call. In the heart of every fallen woman is the self-doubt that wonders, “Do I please you? Am I what you wanted?” A wise husband will understand that question at the center of his wife’s heart. And he will spend his life answering it, communicating to her in various ways, “Darling, you are the one I need. I cherish you. Let me hold you close.” In this way, he will breathe life into his wife.
By Pastor Dr.Ray Orlund
I hope you spend the rest of your time breathing life into your Eve/Adam by answering their question.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
There’s got to be more to life than this!
Angst: strong worry and unhappiness, especially about personal problems (Cambridge Dictionary)
I have noticed a common sense of “angst” that cuts across almost all of us. There is a sense that life is not what we thought it would be like. There seems to be an undercurrent, especially in those rare times when we truly quiet our minds and assess the status of our hearts. We check in on our hearts and it whispers to us that familiar notion, “I was made for more than I am living; Am I not a king or princess?” We wonder where our life went astray. This sense we are not living out our true purpose. Ask anyone this question and I will bet a “yes” or a blank look as their mind quickly assess if honesty is the best response to keep their facade of “life is good” going.
This noticing of ourselves I believe is a nudge from God who made us in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:27). God’s image is not shown in our failures or shortcomings. For He created each one of us that we might live a life that glorifies Him (1 Corinthians 10:31)(Isaiah 43:6-7). If God is love (1 John 4:18) and we are His image bearers then our true selves must reflect His love. Love is patience, kind, doesn’t envy, never boastful or conceited, nor rude and never selfish (1 Corinthians 13:4). These are expressed in our compassion, friendship, truthfulness, intimacy, and giving up ourselves for the benefit of others which in turn glorifies God. These actions reflect His nature and our natural self before the Fall of our parents; Adam and Eve.
However, our image is marred by evil. Evil is the thoughts and actions which take us away from glorifying God. The evil has taken hold in each of our hearts because we, like our original parents chose to rely on our own abilities and not of our creator who made us for His purpose. This going away from God’s purpose is the definition of being a sinner. We are totally depraved in the presence of God (Romans 3:9-18) and not worthy of His grace, which He gives to us freely out of no act on our behalf (Genesis 6:5). Yes, I said trying to be good is not what our salvation and our predestined royalty is about. All sin has its roots, very simply, in lying to ourselves, others, and God. This, my friends, is what is keeping us individually and collectively in “angst”. We are constantly fed a stream of lies by evil, the ruler of earth and our culture (Matthew 4:7-10). Evil whispers in our ears that we are not good enough, pretty enough, smart enough or worthy of anything that is good. This pervasive doubt is why we don’t believe in heaven, for evil has convinced us that there is no such place. So out of this lie and doubt/unbelief, we try to be our own god (little “g”) and create heaven on earth.
We do a pretty good job at creating this false heaven; the heaven on earth I call the “American Dream”. We wall ourselves off to anything that is not comfortable or easy. We worship earthly success over Godliness, for we have become creators and controllers of our own destiny. Any of us who have lived long enough or have been broken realize that we have no control over our existence, life just happens to us. We are so mired in the busyness and mess of our lives we cannot step back and understand the larger story of our lives. It takes being broken to understand, we control nothing. It is the greatest lie the enemy to life tell us; that we can control our lives. We erect these walls out of fear of losing control, for if someone else is truly driving, where will He take us? He may just take us out of our comfort zone.
Most of daily existence is lived in this fear that is outside our walls. These are specially built walls which we think protects us. These visible and invisible walls are constructed in our minds by our beliefs in materialism and consumerism, and is re-enforced by bad behavior modification/suppression (religion) and painted by a pretty coat of numbness. In order to keep our walls up, we must oppress the rest of the planet by hording its resources. Once in a while we peak over the walls and see a broken world that we know needs our help! We look at the wall and tell ourselves “it’s too high, I can’t go over there it’s not safe, and/or I really can’t make a difference in what’s going on over there.” This “looking over the wall” adds to our angst and fear.
I have learned that behavior modification or better put using our own will to try to suppress our evil sinful ways, will only last for short stints, and then our wickedness returns shortly, followed by the guilt of having regressed and failed. This guilty knowing reveals itself in our angst. This behavior modification/suppression is what Religion teaches us and is why most of us at some point left the church and God to get away from the burden of guilt. Jesus spoke of this burden that the religion lays upon their congregations (Matthew 23:1-4) describes why so many don’t want to go to church.
The root of the problem is that culture/evil tells us to love ourselves MORE at the cost of others. This is not the commandment Jesus tells us to live by. He commands us to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves equally (Luke 10:26–28). Jesus commands us to love. Commandments are calls to action, something we do. Therefore, it is not a warm fuzzy feeling He asks us to find in ourselves, but a call to action. Maybe the way out of the guilt and the way to truly live is to look at the root of the problem and that is, who and how should we be loving? We all know the prevailing wisdom set forth by almost all the self help authors. They tell us to love ourselves and to strive for improving ourselves over the call to improve/help others. The message is “get what you want in life by taking it.” Looking at any magazine stand will give anyone a great snap shot on what dozens of so called experts want to tell you and I how to improve ourselves, thus resulting in a more joyful life. If this knowledge of self improvement is so easy, so accessible, and widely read/heard, shouldn’t it be self-evident that our culture is continuing to grow happier and happier, thus each generation is more joyful than the last? I don’t think the state of the world and the American family point to any such reasoning or that the success of these messages is having on us.
In my late teens and twenties, I too fell victim to these self-help shamans, who peddled these false ways. They spoke of prosperity and those things that come with it; fame, fortune, contentment, and safety. I drank the Kool Aide and became drunk on its promises. At some point in my thirties, I had attained everything they spoke of. I had won, or at least I thought. But deep inside there was this gaping hole of discontentment and angst. I tried to ignore it. I did a really good job of keeping my life busy and numb mostly by buying man toys and searching for the next river or outdoor adventure or business to conquer. The walls were doing a good job of keeping me from being able to see myself for what I was made to be. Then God made His will for me evident. He began to break those walls down around me. He took away my prosperity and what He revealed was a man who wanted to love and be loved (John 1:12-13). I began to feel and to have emotions. I now see people not for what they can do for me, but how can I know them and love them with my gifts (John 3:3). My heart and eyes opened to a whole new reality, like going from black/white TV to HDTV. This new way of seeing/feeling life is now filled with a whole range of experiences, from seeing pure evil, pain, suffering, brokenness to joy in finding love and seeing my son smile when he senses my approval, seeing brokenness restored, and all the while watching how God works out His will in others. It is a wild ride my friends. Nothing like I thought life would be like, but at times a sense of content rolls over me. Not often enough but the angst is still there!
I now know the angst feeling is God telling me that He has much more for me beyond this earthly life. He wants me to take my talents and my prosperity and give to those who have been disadvantage by geography, society, government, and economics. I will use this angst, not spur myself onto acquiring more things or in the pursuit if self actualization, but as God’s prodding me to take the gifts and wealth He has entrusted me with and spread it to those that are in need. It also pushes me to tell my story so that others can identify their angst and the hole in their hearts, in hopes they may too find a life worth living in high definition.
We are not alone in this angst and we are not without a guide, a Sheppard (John 10:10-11). Angst connects us all to God’s promise and His will. We just have to love Him and others by taking up our cross (Mark 8:34) and following Jesus for He came to show us the way. By loving others, our action(commandment) of love changes other’s lives for the better and not by sheer coincidence it give us Life and stores rewards for us in Heaven for eternity. Jesus said "for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:36-36)
May your angst nudge you back towards becoming the man/woman God designed you to be. My hope is you realize, that you are not in control, and that you were made for more. When angst arises it is the holy spirit, your intuition; a helper that Jesus put in the hearts of us all, which guides us to reclaim our true image (John 14:16-18). The answer is contained in our hearts, and by having faith, you and I will work out our way to God by following Jesus and not the ways of culture. Your heart is good. Let others see it. It contains your true image. This journey of the heart will hurt for their will be much suffering in giving up ourselves. Life/Salvation does not come cheaply. Live in angst, but do not ignore it.
I love you all more than you know.
I have noticed a common sense of “angst” that cuts across almost all of us. There is a sense that life is not what we thought it would be like. There seems to be an undercurrent, especially in those rare times when we truly quiet our minds and assess the status of our hearts. We check in on our hearts and it whispers to us that familiar notion, “I was made for more than I am living; Am I not a king or princess?” We wonder where our life went astray. This sense we are not living out our true purpose. Ask anyone this question and I will bet a “yes” or a blank look as their mind quickly assess if honesty is the best response to keep their facade of “life is good” going.
This noticing of ourselves I believe is a nudge from God who made us in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:27). God’s image is not shown in our failures or shortcomings. For He created each one of us that we might live a life that glorifies Him (1 Corinthians 10:31)(Isaiah 43:6-7). If God is love (1 John 4:18) and we are His image bearers then our true selves must reflect His love. Love is patience, kind, doesn’t envy, never boastful or conceited, nor rude and never selfish (1 Corinthians 13:4). These are expressed in our compassion, friendship, truthfulness, intimacy, and giving up ourselves for the benefit of others which in turn glorifies God. These actions reflect His nature and our natural self before the Fall of our parents; Adam and Eve.
However, our image is marred by evil. Evil is the thoughts and actions which take us away from glorifying God. The evil has taken hold in each of our hearts because we, like our original parents chose to rely on our own abilities and not of our creator who made us for His purpose. This going away from God’s purpose is the definition of being a sinner. We are totally depraved in the presence of God (Romans 3:9-18) and not worthy of His grace, which He gives to us freely out of no act on our behalf (Genesis 6:5). Yes, I said trying to be good is not what our salvation and our predestined royalty is about. All sin has its roots, very simply, in lying to ourselves, others, and God. This, my friends, is what is keeping us individually and collectively in “angst”. We are constantly fed a stream of lies by evil, the ruler of earth and our culture (Matthew 4:7-10). Evil whispers in our ears that we are not good enough, pretty enough, smart enough or worthy of anything that is good. This pervasive doubt is why we don’t believe in heaven, for evil has convinced us that there is no such place. So out of this lie and doubt/unbelief, we try to be our own god (little “g”) and create heaven on earth.
We do a pretty good job at creating this false heaven; the heaven on earth I call the “American Dream”. We wall ourselves off to anything that is not comfortable or easy. We worship earthly success over Godliness, for we have become creators and controllers of our own destiny. Any of us who have lived long enough or have been broken realize that we have no control over our existence, life just happens to us. We are so mired in the busyness and mess of our lives we cannot step back and understand the larger story of our lives. It takes being broken to understand, we control nothing. It is the greatest lie the enemy to life tell us; that we can control our lives. We erect these walls out of fear of losing control, for if someone else is truly driving, where will He take us? He may just take us out of our comfort zone.
Most of daily existence is lived in this fear that is outside our walls. These are specially built walls which we think protects us. These visible and invisible walls are constructed in our minds by our beliefs in materialism and consumerism, and is re-enforced by bad behavior modification/suppression (religion) and painted by a pretty coat of numbness. In order to keep our walls up, we must oppress the rest of the planet by hording its resources. Once in a while we peak over the walls and see a broken world that we know needs our help! We look at the wall and tell ourselves “it’s too high, I can’t go over there it’s not safe, and/or I really can’t make a difference in what’s going on over there.” This “looking over the wall” adds to our angst and fear.
I have learned that behavior modification or better put using our own will to try to suppress our evil sinful ways, will only last for short stints, and then our wickedness returns shortly, followed by the guilt of having regressed and failed. This guilty knowing reveals itself in our angst. This behavior modification/suppression is what Religion teaches us and is why most of us at some point left the church and God to get away from the burden of guilt. Jesus spoke of this burden that the religion lays upon their congregations (Matthew 23:1-4) describes why so many don’t want to go to church.
The root of the problem is that culture/evil tells us to love ourselves MORE at the cost of others. This is not the commandment Jesus tells us to live by. He commands us to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves equally (Luke 10:26–28). Jesus commands us to love. Commandments are calls to action, something we do. Therefore, it is not a warm fuzzy feeling He asks us to find in ourselves, but a call to action. Maybe the way out of the guilt and the way to truly live is to look at the root of the problem and that is, who and how should we be loving? We all know the prevailing wisdom set forth by almost all the self help authors. They tell us to love ourselves and to strive for improving ourselves over the call to improve/help others. The message is “get what you want in life by taking it.” Looking at any magazine stand will give anyone a great snap shot on what dozens of so called experts want to tell you and I how to improve ourselves, thus resulting in a more joyful life. If this knowledge of self improvement is so easy, so accessible, and widely read/heard, shouldn’t it be self-evident that our culture is continuing to grow happier and happier, thus each generation is more joyful than the last? I don’t think the state of the world and the American family point to any such reasoning or that the success of these messages is having on us.
In my late teens and twenties, I too fell victim to these self-help shamans, who peddled these false ways. They spoke of prosperity and those things that come with it; fame, fortune, contentment, and safety. I drank the Kool Aide and became drunk on its promises. At some point in my thirties, I had attained everything they spoke of. I had won, or at least I thought. But deep inside there was this gaping hole of discontentment and angst. I tried to ignore it. I did a really good job of keeping my life busy and numb mostly by buying man toys and searching for the next river or outdoor adventure or business to conquer. The walls were doing a good job of keeping me from being able to see myself for what I was made to be. Then God made His will for me evident. He began to break those walls down around me. He took away my prosperity and what He revealed was a man who wanted to love and be loved (John 1:12-13). I began to feel and to have emotions. I now see people not for what they can do for me, but how can I know them and love them with my gifts (John 3:3). My heart and eyes opened to a whole new reality, like going from black/white TV to HDTV. This new way of seeing/feeling life is now filled with a whole range of experiences, from seeing pure evil, pain, suffering, brokenness to joy in finding love and seeing my son smile when he senses my approval, seeing brokenness restored, and all the while watching how God works out His will in others. It is a wild ride my friends. Nothing like I thought life would be like, but at times a sense of content rolls over me. Not often enough but the angst is still there!
I now know the angst feeling is God telling me that He has much more for me beyond this earthly life. He wants me to take my talents and my prosperity and give to those who have been disadvantage by geography, society, government, and economics. I will use this angst, not spur myself onto acquiring more things or in the pursuit if self actualization, but as God’s prodding me to take the gifts and wealth He has entrusted me with and spread it to those that are in need. It also pushes me to tell my story so that others can identify their angst and the hole in their hearts, in hopes they may too find a life worth living in high definition.
We are not alone in this angst and we are not without a guide, a Sheppard (John 10:10-11). Angst connects us all to God’s promise and His will. We just have to love Him and others by taking up our cross (Mark 8:34) and following Jesus for He came to show us the way. By loving others, our action(commandment) of love changes other’s lives for the better and not by sheer coincidence it give us Life and stores rewards for us in Heaven for eternity. Jesus said "for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:36-36)
May your angst nudge you back towards becoming the man/woman God designed you to be. My hope is you realize, that you are not in control, and that you were made for more. When angst arises it is the holy spirit, your intuition; a helper that Jesus put in the hearts of us all, which guides us to reclaim our true image (John 14:16-18). The answer is contained in our hearts, and by having faith, you and I will work out our way to God by following Jesus and not the ways of culture. Your heart is good. Let others see it. It contains your true image. This journey of the heart will hurt for their will be much suffering in giving up ourselves. Life/Salvation does not come cheaply. Live in angst, but do not ignore it.
I love you all more than you know.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Don't Go To Church
"If you want your life to go well stay away from Jesus." John Piper, Pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church. Good reason to not go to church or believe. My life has gone to well. FaceBook Status Post
From AS - Yes, but in context this could mean that life is easier in some ways for nonbelievers because they never have to question their choices or examine where their free will leads them astray.
September 12 at 8:19pm
My Reply - My experiences tells me we can get away from not believing or from not questioning our own wills until the big Bang happens in our lives. The bang that signals "i am not really in control after all". When that happens we two methods of living 1. numb up, get addicted drugs, alcohol, sex, sports, tv, shopping etc (takes our mind off of reality and ourselves) 2. Pray to God to save us from destructive(evil) self for Him to open our hearts to understand pain is part of life and is good for our souls growth and that He is in control. For if you know pain, you surely know love. You cannot really love in choice number 1.
September 14 at 5:35pm
From AS - I totally agree that you are closed off from loving fully until you relinquish your false sense of control. All I was really saying is that "stay away from Jesus" is kind of a tongue-in-cheek suggestion that believers know is the way nonbelivers cruise through life thinking of no one but themselves -- they can define their life according to their own precepts and stay away from the things that push them into the pain of self reflection. Narcissists are all about this concept.
September 14 at 10:01pm
My Reply -Do you think they will make a pill for Narcissism? How would it work? Remove our selfishness!! Maybe then we could put it in the drinking water and change the whole world!
September 15 at 9:58am
From AS - Yes, but in context this could mean that life is easier in some ways for nonbelievers because they never have to question their choices or examine where their free will leads them astray.
September 12 at 8:19pm
My Reply - My experiences tells me we can get away from not believing or from not questioning our own wills until the big Bang happens in our lives. The bang that signals "i am not really in control after all". When that happens we two methods of living 1. numb up, get addicted drugs, alcohol, sex, sports, tv, shopping etc (takes our mind off of reality and ourselves) 2. Pray to God to save us from destructive(evil) self for Him to open our hearts to understand pain is part of life and is good for our souls growth and that He is in control. For if you know pain, you surely know love. You cannot really love in choice number 1.
September 14 at 5:35pm
From AS - I totally agree that you are closed off from loving fully until you relinquish your false sense of control. All I was really saying is that "stay away from Jesus" is kind of a tongue-in-cheek suggestion that believers know is the way nonbelivers cruise through life thinking of no one but themselves -- they can define their life according to their own precepts and stay away from the things that push them into the pain of self reflection. Narcissists are all about this concept.
September 14 at 10:01pm
My Reply -Do you think they will make a pill for Narcissism? How would it work? Remove our selfishness!! Maybe then we could put it in the drinking water and change the whole world!
September 15 at 9:58am
Friday, September 11, 2009
Chasing False Dreams
Is this how you want to feel? This is short video excerpt taken from Quarterback Tom Brady after wining his 3th superbowl ring. "There has got to be more than this?"
Watch Video Click Here
There is an answer Tom!
Watch Video Click Here
There is an answer Tom!
Thursday, September 03, 2009
A Visit From God
Jesus came to show us the Way to the Father and Not the way to the mall or lake or Vegas. He said take up your cross, lay down your life, and follow Him to Calvary. Where you going fellow Christian? Facebook Status Post
From SM - the problem has always been the middle-man. Know what I mean?
September 4 at 10:48am
From Me -Perfectly put my friend from a far away land. We are pushed to the middle where it is safer and easier. No one gets put on the cross for riding the couch. Our culture is about the middle it makes us not a threat. A threating man is one who is passionate and who is on purpose. Take any great man the masses usually hated him.
September 4 at 11:19am
From SM - the problem has always been the middle-man. Know what I mean?
September 4 at 10:48am
From Me -Perfectly put my friend from a far away land. We are pushed to the middle where it is safer and easier. No one gets put on the cross for riding the couch. Our culture is about the middle it makes us not a threat. A threating man is one who is passionate and who is on purpose. Take any great man the masses usually hated him.
September 4 at 11:19am
Friday, August 14, 2009
Arranging My Life
I am finally done (maybe) trying to Arrange my life. Anyone else gotten to this point Yet?
By AS on August 15 at 11:54a
No amount of arranging seems to make a difference. I just point myself in a direction and try to follow wherever it is I'm supposed to go!
By AS on August 15 at 11:54a
No amount of arranging seems to make a difference. I just point myself in a direction and try to follow wherever it is I'm supposed to go!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
To Feel Life
Lord thank you for letting me FEEL life for removing the numbness that this culture imparted on me for so long. For I know pain all to well but do I ever now know joy! Lord make sure I continue to have pain in my life. Please make my life hard, serve up loss, disappointment, and brokenness often.
BP on July 15 at 5:29pm
Amen :) !!!
AS on July 15 at 10:12pm
This makes me happy for you.
SM on July 16 at 12:26pm
leather, whips and chains involved here? sounds like the ultimate masoch prayer while getting spanked... naughty boy, you!! lol !! Cheer up Mike !! Come visit...
GW on July 16 at 12:35pm
Great meeting under the stars and all GOD's glory talking with you my friend. Know as your friend and brother from another mother, always there for you!
ME on July 16 at 12:39pm ·
Its been a good week much to be happy about. Healing is always sweet. Can ya taste it!
AS on July 16 at 1:59pm
I know exactly what you mean. I've done a lot of healing, just in the past month!
BP on July 15 at 5:29pm
Amen :) !!!
AS on July 15 at 10:12pm
This makes me happy for you.
SM on July 16 at 12:26pm
leather, whips and chains involved here? sounds like the ultimate masoch prayer while getting spanked... naughty boy, you!! lol !! Cheer up Mike !! Come visit...
GW on July 16 at 12:35pm
Great meeting under the stars and all GOD's glory talking with you my friend. Know as your friend and brother from another mother, always there for you!
ME on July 16 at 12:39pm ·
Its been a good week much to be happy about. Healing is always sweet. Can ya taste it!
AS on July 16 at 1:59pm
I know exactly what you mean. I've done a lot of healing, just in the past month!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Way, Truth, Life in red letters!
“If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.” Gandhi
I would go further to say "all of the world" would Be!
I would go further to say "all of the world" would Be!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Not Between PLEASE
One day joy will visit again yet only for a short time and in joys departure I will come to know God more. If you find me numb and not passionate please wake me, share with me a struggle or wound so that I may return quickly to realizing Life needs/is pain. Without pain I cannot recognize or fully appreciate the fleeting moments of pure joy. I would rather be crying in pain and crying in joy then be in between.
Simone Weil was right; there are only two things that pierce the human heart: beauty and affliction.
Simone Weil was right; there are only two things that pierce the human heart: beauty and affliction.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Life Vs Death
Until death looked better than living I don't think I understood what to have Life truly meant.
KO at 5:27pm May 11
Amen brother!!!
TV at 10:08pm May 11
Makes sense to me!
KO at 5:27pm May 11
Amen brother!!!
TV at 10:08pm May 11
Makes sense to me!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Numb
No longer numbed by culture and my own ego I find the movement of my heart tough to bear. The energy and pain it takes to follow Jesus is much more than I ever expected. The church does not tell us the reality of this and they go so far as to tell us that Christianity is full of bliss and reward; the easy way. Maybe that’s numb Christianity, the so called DOING Christianity they are referring to. Numb meaning I shied away from any type of pain or sorrow. I avoid any sort of situation where compassion was needed. It felt awkward when someone told me they were hurting. I did not know what to say or do. Funerals no way! I looked for any excuse not go. I remember a good friend of mine died in college from a tragic car accident. His funeral was so unbearable to me. So I did life with an unreal positive outlook and convinced myself that if I was just positive enough nothing would go wrong. People that had problems just had bad karma from not being positive. How wrong I was, how dumb, how insensitive I must have been. In short I thought I was a little god that I controlled my world. Well in a way all that pain and sorrow built up in me stored in my heart and then over time I cracked. God started the process of cleaning me out. He took it all my marriage, a successful business, and all my materials thing after that he called my name and gave me my heart back clean and opened up. Now I can feel my heart again the numbness gone but not forgotten.
There is almost a guilt I feel when I tell people about my faith and love for God. Guilt in that I am telling them if they choose a life like I have (God chose me to have) they will no longer be numb and without the numbing medication of culture and their ego life will be painful. The pain I feel is seeing so many people losing their hearts and living for their own neediness and self satisfaction. I see the effects that anger and pride have on those they love. The harm this causes their wives and kids is hard to bare. I see through them into their brokenness; of the wounds their loved ones inflicted on them over the years. I see people walking around bleeding and in silent pain. I pray Jesus heals them; stops the onslaught from the devil on their hearts. Only thing that quenches this pain is love. Love of a woman, love for my kids and family. This only gets me back to feeling even, far from the joy the church promises. It is loving God that gets me above and beyond the pain.
So I tell you my friends that my life of old was like comparing a black/white TV when we had the old rabbit ears and most stations came in a little snowy/fuzzy to that of our modern color LCD flat panel TV. However, I am not seeing the Kingdom in high definition. I ask God every day to give me the eyes, ears, and heart to see His Kingdom. Lord will you give to me high definition for I want to know You more? I cannot go back to old way of life, no way I would rather die. In a way I am dying. In this process of dying to things of this world, I no longer find a need to acquire material things, conquer woman to make myself feel like a man, keep up with the Jones’, needing to make myself look good in the eyes of others, or worry about the judgments’ of others. I look forward to dying and my soul being released to be with God and loved ones who have passed before me. I look forward to eternity with those that I love.
There is almost a guilt I feel when I tell people about my faith and love for God. Guilt in that I am telling them if they choose a life like I have (God chose me to have) they will no longer be numb and without the numbing medication of culture and their ego life will be painful. The pain I feel is seeing so many people losing their hearts and living for their own neediness and self satisfaction. I see the effects that anger and pride have on those they love. The harm this causes their wives and kids is hard to bare. I see through them into their brokenness; of the wounds their loved ones inflicted on them over the years. I see people walking around bleeding and in silent pain. I pray Jesus heals them; stops the onslaught from the devil on their hearts. Only thing that quenches this pain is love. Love of a woman, love for my kids and family. This only gets me back to feeling even, far from the joy the church promises. It is loving God that gets me above and beyond the pain.
So I tell you my friends that my life of old was like comparing a black/white TV when we had the old rabbit ears and most stations came in a little snowy/fuzzy to that of our modern color LCD flat panel TV. However, I am not seeing the Kingdom in high definition. I ask God every day to give me the eyes, ears, and heart to see His Kingdom. Lord will you give to me high definition for I want to know You more? I cannot go back to old way of life, no way I would rather die. In a way I am dying. In this process of dying to things of this world, I no longer find a need to acquire material things, conquer woman to make myself feel like a man, keep up with the Jones’, needing to make myself look good in the eyes of others, or worry about the judgments’ of others. I look forward to dying and my soul being released to be with God and loved ones who have passed before me. I look forward to eternity with those that I love.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
The the following is a compilation of passages of The New Testament using the verses 10:10. This number sequence I have used for years going back to the sports number 10 I used on many jerseys. I hope this speaks to my story and my life to come taken through God's Divine word.
Do not take along any gold or silver no bag for the journey. Who divorces his wife and marries another woman. The kingdom of God is near. May have life, and have it to the full. He saw heaven opened. It is with your heart that you believe. Who trusts in him will never be put to shame. And do not grumble warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. We will be in our actions when we are present. We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, take away sins. You must prophesy again about many peoples.
Do not take along any gold or silver no bag for the journey. Who divorces his wife and marries another woman. The kingdom of God is near. May have life, and have it to the full. He saw heaven opened. It is with your heart that you believe. Who trusts in him will never be put to shame. And do not grumble warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. We will be in our actions when we are present. We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, take away sins. You must prophesy again about many peoples.
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