CONVICTED OR CONDEMNED

The summary of what you are about to read is that God loves you so much whether you love Him in return by words or by deed. Continue reading if you want to hear more about the Love of God. 

God Wants You To Prosper

One of the ways the devil has robbed us of our benefits as a disciple of Jesus is that until we become poor we cannot be righteous, holy or bring pleasure to God. Someone once said affirmatively that there are people that are like Christ living in this world (yes I agree) but they are only found in the villages where there is no civilization and they live in penury (I disagree).

You can live in the city and be righteous. You can be rich and be holy. You can be wealthy and be like Jesus. 

THE EXEMPLARY YOUTH

For the cycle of man's fleeting life, like the cycle of the revolving year, has its succession of seasons -- its springtime of childhood, its summer of youth, its autumn of maturity, and its winter of old age. The season of youth is a very glad and glorious time. It has all the freshness of spring and all the fertility of summer. Yet it is a season of great and frequent perils (Bible Illustrator NT).

Youthfulness is accompanied by vigor and vision which is an attractive tool for the enemy (devil). For this reason we fight battles with the devil that we cannot afford to lose because at the old age when we would realize that all is vanity, we would no longer have the strength neither the vision(Acts 2:17).

FRIENDS

We are influenced by our friends, even more than our families, probably because we spend more time with friends than with family as we grow up. I assume this is why an adage says “Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are”, and not “show me your family”. Our lifestyle is defined by the company we keep. Therefore it is paramount that we chose our friends wisely. Our friends don’t choose us but we chose them. It is our choice to

REPENTANCE

I was just wandering why I kept doing the things I had never wanted to do again because after doing those things, I feel unattractive to the Grace of God.

I have been thought that determination will not do the magic but only Grace could set me free from this ‘thing’ that easily entangles me. Only Grace could set me free from self righteousness. Only Grace could take me to the everlasting realm I longed to live through holiness and refined righteousness.

So I began to consciously look out for Grace. I thought that Grace was a knowledge I needed to attain. I tried to apply the principle of Grace. I forgot that Grace is a function of the Spirit and not of the flesh. I tried to apply Grace to my human reasoning but I ended up becoming my own grace. The inevitable result was that I got more entangled.

If you have ever felt this way, you are not an alien.

If All Men were like Joseph

Joseph, the husband of Mary.

It sometimes seems like Joseph gets swept aside in the story of the Nativity. Mary and Jesus are the main characters, and Joseph seems to have gotten the supporting role. Yet, as I have studied Mary this last year, and Jesus Christ's interactions with women, the more my appreciation for Joseph has grown. He exemplifies every good trait that you could want in a husband, a father, and in a man. I know so many good, good men who are a lot of like Joseph, but I also know that there are so many women in the world who suffer because of the bad choices of men. So as I've thought about Joseph I've found myself wishing that ALL men were like him and here is why.

A Secret to Marriage for Life

We didn't talk for two days after I wrote about him. Them. It wasn't because he wouldn't but because he couldn't.

"I know it's all true because I've lived it," he quivers, "but it's still hard to believe when you see it in writing." My words are a mirror to their lives, an undistorted reflection of what I've observed for over 30 years.

At 75, he and his bride still hold hands. At times I've seen them look at each other, with grins telling secrets, eyes sizzling. Their son ignored it because — gross — but I thought it was amazing.

Marriage is a hard thing, and untended, it will cool.

I want heat.

Even the most blistering of fires will eventually dwindle to ash if not fed. 

Give me flames.

When I wrote about my father-in-law, apparently I poked a bear. Not a mean grumpy grizzly, but more along the lines of Pooh — not exactly a willy, nilly, silly old bear, but sweet nevertheless. With all manner of deference, he suggested a different title (his, based on a poem he penned 25 years ago, is better) and that I might want to rethink my choice of words in one spot (because I "might present myself better"), so I did.