Thank You, Lord

Praise God!  Sometimes, I just feel like saying "praise God!"  It doesn't matter what time of day it is or what I'm doing, I just have the urge to scream out "praise God!"

Why?

I'm programmed for this type of action.  I was made to love God and praise Him, continually.  My mother told me yesterday that in church, one of the speakers read from Psalm 34.  I recognized the number and book but I couldn't recall what the chapter was about.  Instead of checking yesterday, I saw it this morning and I'm glad I did.  It made me feel better.  It made me feel revived and things suddenly started to make more sense.  Things seemed to "click."  Any negative thoughts about the day or things to come were quickly washed away and made no sense to me anymore.

Psalm 34 reads...

1. I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth
2. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
3. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
6. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
7. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
8. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
9. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
10. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
11. Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
13. Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
14. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
15. The eyes of the Lord are upon the rigtheous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
16. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
20. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
21. Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
22. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.


After reading this prayer out loud, I felt immediate rejuvenation of my spirit; I felt so good that I elected to stay home a little longer to write about it.  Try reading this prayer out loud, in a private place.  And don't just read it, try to understand it or feel it in your heart.  Ask the Lord for help (I know it can be difficult reading the King James version of the Bible).

I love this chapter and I love God's Word.  Whenever I feel lazy or lack the courage to go on with the day, I seek God for help.  He will always answer and help is never too far away.  Just pray and listen.  A friend once told me that "prayer goes a long way" and I believe I may have mentioned that before in a previous blog.   It's true.  God loves when you talk to Him.  It's what we're programmed to do.  Praise God!  Thank you, Lord!

The Power of The Holy Ghost

Growing up Roman Catholic, I was taught that there were three separate entities that made up God.  The first being The Father, then The Son, and then The Holy Spirit.  Most people think of The Father first as God.  Then Christians will say Jesus is Lord (The Son).  But what about The Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is God that lives within each of us.  Jesus' disciples were baptized with The Holy Ghost upon his resurrection.  This passage is found in John Chapter 20 or Matthew Chapter 28.

I returned to church today after my two week no-show.  I felt The Holy Ghost move within me today to a point where I had to bow my head to The Lord and come to a full-bowed position, just about on me knees for a period of time in prayer.  The urge to bow my head is just one of the many ways The Holy Ghost can and will act in you.  Each person and each time is different depending on how The Lord wants to speak to you and how He wants you to worship each time.  Sometimes a person feels unbelievable joy and wants to run, shout, jump, and dance.  Other times, The Holy Ghost looks to humble a person and bring them to their knees.  Either way, The Holy Ghost is powerful and should not be ignored or disobeyed.

"Where I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men." -Matthew 12:31

What Do You Think?

Today, I missed church for the second week in a row.

Both weeks, I woke up at quarter to 11 and did not have enough time to make the near half-hour drive to I Am's Temple. I love going to service on Sundays and I look forward to it but for some reason I have a difficult time waking up (like most Americans).

I left my house at 10:50 and noticed I didn't have a sufficient amount of gas in my tank to make it to Plainfield. So, by the time I finished getting gas, it was 11 and since service usually ends around noon, I decided to stay home.

I felt terrible though. I never miss church unless I'm visiting my girlfriend in Pennsylvania or plan a once-in-a-year trip somewhere. Unfortunately, I Am's Temple is a small church and doesn't do multiple services, otherwise I would attend a later one. Anyway, before returning home I went to grab a coffee while I was out.

Arriving at the same Dunkin Donuts I've been going to for four years, I swung around the drive-thru and saw a young boy canning for his baseball team. I thought to myself, "Okay, I'll give him a couple bucks." So, I got my coffee, pulled up to him and said, "What's this for?"

He answered me, "Stampede baseball team." I already knew what it was for, I just wanted to make the kid feel like he did something to persuade me to donate. I don't know why I do that. I feel bad he was out there in the freezing cold holding an old tin coffee can looking for change, not even dollars, change.

I took two dollars and said, "I got you buddy." His response was, "Thank you, sir."

As I drove away, reflecting on what I had done, it soon dawned on me: I could have and should  have done more for him. What do you think? I was headed to church that morning where I was going to throw a $20 bill in an envelope as my offering. I definitely could have substituted a church envelope for that boy's can. Instead of feeling satisfied with what I had done, I felt regret and sadness. Nearly choking up for the rest of the ride, I understood that though the young boy was only expecting change or single dollars, it wouldn't have mattered to me much if I had spent that $20 on his cause that morning. After all, charity is something that the Bible tells us we should have.

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."

-Corinthians 13:13

If I ever happen to miss a service again and I'm able and willing to donate a $20 bill...you can bet that if I see a good cause, that's where my money will go. And it's not because I feel bad for missing a service or just because I'm looking for glory out of it. My anonymous donation is what Jesus tell us to do. Even then, I would not be as charitable as The Lord. But I shall not stop seeking to love like Jesus did and still does.

Praise the Lord!

Forgiveness is Mutual

God will forgive you, no strings attached. Just ask Him.


"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you."
-Matthew 6:14


Or is there really a string attached? Cause I think I spotted an "if" in there, am I right? Jesus tells us that we must love others and forgive others because God loves us and He will forgive us.


Now, if I'm not mistaken, I do believe we are forgiven more than we forgive. Just look at human nature. The words vengeance, revenge, and payback are common among everyone, even children. To be Christian, we must understand that it is a part of our duty as a follower of Jesus to forgive just as much as it is a promise that God has already made to us.


The Lord's prayer even says, "forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." This is also found in Matthew, Chapter 6. It's right there in black and white. Forgiveness is mutual. We are both asking for God's forgiveness in prayer and also proclaiming to Him that we will forgive just as He does. It is an agreement and it is written in ink (in the Bible) and spoken with our lips. What we say has power over us and God will hold us accountable for everything that we have spoken.


"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." -Matthew 12:36


So as Christians, we should understand that though we are forgiven and cleansed of our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ, we still have a duty to practice the same forgiveness that the Lord has granted us.


Forgiveness is a product of love and without love, we cannot have a relationship with God. God is love.

"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." -1 John 4:8

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God is good

Stop and listen.

There's a struggle between good and evil within all of us. We go through it everyday. With every decision that we make, both the Lord and the devil speak to us. The voice of evil is loud, makes its presence well known, and will try to cast doubt in you. It will attempt to consume you by using things against you (situations, people, life in general). Most people heed to this and try to use their own rationality to fight it; however, we are not made to fight it on our own. We need help.

That is where God comes in.

His voice is gentle and will not scream out to you, unless of course by Divine Will He intercedes. When I'm battling with something, a particular conflict, I immediately try to put "my two cents" in. It can frustrating and unsatisfying. However, when I look towards God to help me and I ask Him for help (through prayer), He answers. He may not answer immediately but there is always an answer.

Have you ever felt uneasy about a situation?

Have you ever felt uncomfortable with the words you choose to speak to someone?

Do you feel unsatisfied no matter what you do?

There's a perfectly good reason and it's not something you can answer on your own. It's something that took me a long time to realize. It took me just about 22 years. I'm incomplete without God. I'm incomplete without his interjection in my life. The minute I began praying and believing in His Word, I saw changes start to manifest in my life. First off, I grew happier and more satisfied with everything I did. Second, I started to implement changes in my routine to compliment how God wanted me to live (going to the gym, eating/drinking better, language and how I interacted with people). Thirdly, I grew more confident and started to have more faith in God and the works He was doing in me. Since "I found Jesus," I've been saved...no doubt about that.

Even the music I listen to has changed. I used to listen to hard rock bands that spoke of misery, despair, depression, and a whole slew of negative things. It took a little bit of time but soon I grew out of that and I'm more careful of what I listen to. Am I still guilty of playing secular music? Absolutely, but overall the music I listen to has a more positive sound to it (mostly Christian rock/hip-hop).

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that God is good and He isn't just a list of rules and regulations for everyday living. The more you develop a relationship with God through prayer and understanding, the happier and more satisfied you will become. Am I saying you'll grow filthy rich and drive the luxury car of your dreams? NO WAY! I mean, maybe...if God chooses to bless you with such things. But happiness is really what you make of everything you have. It's learning to appreciate the things you have and know that no matter what, God is the one thing people can't take away from you.

It's true what they say, that God lives within you. Through the Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit if you're a Roman Catholic), God dwells inside of you. Your body is a temple for the Holy Ghost. Realize that and understand it and soon enough maybe you'll start to see that you do have a choice to be happy or not. Being unhappy will no longer make sense to you.

I haven't gone to bed a single night unsatisfied or unhappy since "finding Jesus." And it's been over a year now.

Try praying tonight. Ask God for help in whatever way you need it and let Him know you're sorry for what you've done in the past to deny Him. They call that repentance. God is merciful and He will forgive you. He cannot tell a lie and it says in the Bible in the most famous verse: "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten son, so that our sins may be forgiven and we may have eternal life." -John 3:16

While you're at it, say a prayer for others. Say a prayer for your enemies. Jesus did say "Do good to them that hate you." -Matthew 5:44

I could write about God for hours...but I must get some rest. Until next time, please remember and try to comprehend this: God is good.

Introduction

I'm stranded alone on the side of a highway.  I don't know what's going to happen to me or how I got here.  All I know is that I did something terribly wrong and made a serious misjudgment.  I yearn for a second chance, for an opportunity to start over.  But how?

Hi, my name is Shane and I'm a pretty easy-going person.  On the outside I'm funny, outgoing, and adventurous.  I like to stay busy and keep my life moving 100 mph.  But there's a side to me that not everybody has the opportunity to see.  There's a part of me that burns for love, compassion, generosity, and mercy.  One may argue I display many of those qualities on a routine basis freely.  However, I feel that I do not exhibit them enough.

I'm a Christian and I've been a believer in Jesus Christ for as long as I can remember.  Raised a Roman Catholic, I made my Confirmation and continued on living my life.  It was up to me from that moment on to go to church, say my prayers, and hope for the best.  But like most young people, I wasn't going to invest my time in "religion."  It was boring and while it made sense to me that good was better than evil, I just figured I'd be better off focusing on school, work, and enjoying my youth.  Little did I realize how important my faith would become to me.

Let's take a step back in time.  One year ago I began attending I Am's Temple church on a regular basis.  My mother had become a devout Christian and my uncle is one of the church's pastors.  My uncle and I had always conversed about Jesus and "religion" since I was 13 years old.  That's one of the ways I stayed interested in God.  Last winter, I met up with him and had a Bible study which helped open my eyes to a lot of the unanswered questions I had.

To make a long story short, developing my faith in God and understanding the Bible has helped me improve my life drastically.  I went from feeling lost and unsatisfied to becoming replenished with enthusiasm for everything, even the smallest of things like mopping the approaches at my bowling alley job.  Overall, God has been one of the greatest, if not, the greatest thing to ever happen to me.  He has enabled me to build confidence in myself and learn to appreciate everything that I have, no matter how small.

In short, I feel complete. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." -Psalm 23, Verse 1.