Patience

What a lovely subject, patience. It is such an interesting concept for the human mind. Our God and Savior is the most patient of all beings. We know that God is patient for He sent His Son to die on the cross to cover the sins of our worldly habits and mind. He did this because He is the essence of Love, and scripture says Love is patient.

1Co 13:4-7 (GNB)  Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud;  (5)  love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs;  (6)  love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth.  (7)  Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.

1Ti 1:16 (ISV)  But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the worst sinner, Christ Jesus might demonstrate all of his patience as an example for those who would believe in him for eternal life.

So how do we acquire this patience? I know that I for one struggle every single day and almost every waking hour with my patience. I do need to grow more patient, so that I and my family can live a happy life. For instance, if I let the Holy Spirit grow my patience then the little things in life that irritate me won't any more.

And that is simply that, we have to allow the Holy Spirt to grow our patience. God tests us in all aspects of our lives in order to grow our patience. We have to take in what we learn from the Word for this patience to grow and for the Holy Spirit to start transforming us.

Rom 15:4-5 (GNB)  Everything written in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we might have hope through the patience and encouragement which the Scriptures give us.  (5)  And may God, the source of patience and encouragement, enable you to have the same point of view among yourselves by following the example of Christ Jesus.

The Bible shows us in these particular verses not only that God is patience, but also the simple fact that the Word was written to teach us.

So if we make ourselves get into the Word more often and on a regular basis, which is something I struggle with, then the Holy Spirit will bring about the patience we need for our simple little lives! And as we are continually faced with those obstacles in life, and we pray over them and for the answers in patience, we are ultimately growing our patience for the little things in life that can irritate us. In a nut shell to bring about more patience we need to wait patiently for the Holy Spirit to teach us as we get into the Word.

Here are just a few more interesting and powerful verses on patience.

Pro 15:18 (GNB)  Hot tempers cause arguments, but patience brings peace.

Ecc 7:8 (GNB)  The end of something is better than its beginning. Patience is better than pride.

Lam 3:26-27 (GNB)  So it is best for us to wait in patience---to wait for him to save us---  (27)  And it is best to learn this patience in our youth.

Power of Prayer

The power of prayer, let me tell you about the power of prayer! My wife and I went to Erie this past Saturday specifically to pray. We went to Saint Vincent's Hospital to pray over our brother in-law, who was flown up there from Warren General. At one point in Warren General he was actually "code blue".

We found out that he had a mass in his abdomen and that he had severe blockage in his arteries. So Melissa and I prayed over him Saturday, specifically for Christ to remove the mass in his abdomen and to clean out his arteries. We all ready knew that Jesus was at work in him when we first arrived, cause we didn't expect him to be coherent when we saw him and he was. We joked around and his spirits seemed quite well.

So the power of pray was all ready at work. But we found out yesterday after they did a sono on his abdomen, which was done after we prayed over him, that there was no mass what so ever!! We also found out today that he only has one artery blocked and that he will be coming home Wednesday!

So how powerful is prayer? It's as powerful as you let it be! The more faith you have in it, the more you can expect to receive from it! God's word tells us this same thing. So think of the miracle that we have received with no mass in our brother in-law's abdomen as you read over these few scriptures about prayer and what you can expect to receive.

Matthew 7:7-8 (GNB)  "Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.  (8)  For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to those who knock.

Matthew 21:22 (GNB)  If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

John 14:13-14 (LITV)  And whatever you may ask in My Name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  (14)  If you ask anything in My Name, I will do it.

James 5:13-18 (GNB)  Are any among you in trouble? They should pray. Are any among you happy? They should sing praises.  (14)  Are any among you sick? They should send for the church elders, who will pray for them and rub olive oil on them in the name of the Lord.  (15)  This prayer made in faith will heal the sick; the Lord will restore them to health, and the sins they have committed will be forgiven.  (16)  So then, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect.  (17)  Elijah was the same kind of person as we are. He prayed earnestly that there would be no rain, and no rain fell on the land for three and a half years.  (18)  Once again he prayed, and the sky poured out its rain and the earth produced its crops.

Now go and pray believing, receiving, and expecting what you have prayed for with the faith that will move a mountain!! God Bless!!

We Are All Part of the Body, the Church

We are all a part of  the body that makes up the Church. I was inspired to write this blog today after a story that my wife told me today about her jail ministry. No matter how little of an impact we may think we make each of us, as proclaimed Christians, has a part to do in forming the body of Christ. It doesn't even matter what "denomination" we may describe our selves as! In the few verses below you will see that your "denomination" and how big or small your roll is, doesn't matter at all!

These first few verses show us that it doesn't matter what kind of "rules" or "laws" within our "denominations" that any of us follow as believers, we are still all God's children!

1Co 3:4-9 (GNB)  When one of you says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos"---aren't you acting like worldly people?  (5)  After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? We are simply God's servants, by whom you were led to believe. Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do:  (6)  I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow.  (7)  The one who plants and the one who waters really do not matter. It is God who matters, because he makes the plant grow.  (8)  There is no difference between the one who plants and the one who waters; God will reward each one according to the work each has done.  (9)  For we are partners working together for God, and you are God's field. You are also God's building.

Now these last verses show us that no matter how minute the task may be, everything that we do to expand God's kingdom is superior to doing nothing. They also show us that all who believe in Christ and His kingdom are part of the Body, the Church.

Rom 12:1-13 (GNB)  So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.  (2)  Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God---what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.  (3)  And because of God's gracious gift to me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge yourself according to the amount of faith that God has given you.  (4)  We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions.  (5)  In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body.  (6)  So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God's message, we should do it according to the faith that we have;  (7)  if it is to serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should teach;  (8)  if it is to encourage others, we should do so. Whoever shares with others should do it generously; whoever has authority should work hard; whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully.  (9)  Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good.  (10)  Love one another warmly as Christians, and be eager to show respect for one another.  (11)  Work hard and do not be lazy. Serve the Lord with a heart full of devotion.  (12)  Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times.  (13)  Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers.

So I leave you with this, we all as Christians need to put our differences and discrepancies aside and come together as one body to gather the lost sheep and bring a massive harvest to our Great Savior's home! God Bless!!

Alone Time.

Alone time, or quiet time, whatever you may refer to it as, is what we need to do to grow in spiritual maturity and in our personal relationships with God! The major thing that we need to be doing during this time is talking to our Savior Jesus and to Abba, PaPa, Father. It doesn't  matter how we go about this, even if it is as simple as sitting alone and having a conversation with God that is as casual as you would have with your youngest child, for scripture says we are to become like children.

Mat 18:2-3 (GNB)  So Jesus called a child to come and stand in front of them,  (3)  and said, "I assure you that unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.

We know that we need to have this alone time with our PaPa, because His Son, Jesus did this, and we are to, as scripture says, conform to the image of Christ!

Rom 8:29 (LITV)  because whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be the First-born among many brothers.

Mar 1:35 (GW)  In the morning, long before sunrise, Jesus went to a place where he could be alone to pray.

Luk 18:1 (GNB)  Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to teach them that they should always pray and never become discouraged.

So we need to have this alone time and talk to God. I've been encouraged by my most favorite Pastors that the easiest and best way to grow in my spiritual maturity and for an intimate relationship with the Father, I should be praying and reading the word during my alone time.

When you are talking to God, ask questions and ponder thoughts to Him that you have. When you are doing this, guess what, you are praying! Also take this alone time to engage in a powerful relationship with Him, the Word! For reading His Word, the Bible, is literally engaging yourself with the Lord like He is sitting right in our very laps!! Isn't that just an amazing image, God sitting in our laps!!

Now don't let me fool you. I'm sure you are thinking that I must have an awesome alone time when I am able to have time to post on this blog. Well in all actuality, I struggle with being obedient in finding alone time. I don't like to read, so that discourages my time in the Word. My prayer life is growing but could be a whole lot better.

So if you find yourself overwhelmed with the thought of making and having alone time, just remember become like a child and have fun with it! Just start by having that casual conversation. As for reading the Word, become like a child and start with memorizing some verses, like you did for vacation bible school! God Bless!!

Fear Not Little Ones.

The following few verses are from John chapter 16. This chapter is where Jesus is explaining to His disciples when He will be going home to His Father. I am including the first two verses just so we can see in the last verse some of the things that Jesus has told His disciples. So take in these verses and I shall explain more following them.

John 16:20 (ISV)  Truly, truly I tell you, you will cry and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You will be deeply distressed, but your pain will turn into joy.

John 16:27 (ISV)  For the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

John 16:33 (ISV)  I have told you this so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble, but be courageous-I have overcome the world!"

So as I stated my main focus is on this last verse, John 16:33. Here, I go to the title of the blog, Fear Not Little Ones. Jesus is telling His disciples, in a nut shell, that though He may not be with them any longer that they have nothing to fear because Jesus has taken on the world and joyously overcome the world. Thusly the disciples can go out into the world and profess the Kingdom of God and do so without fear or hesitancy.

Now let's relate this to our lives. We can see this as Jesus telling us not to fear for He has overcome the sin of this world and we can then be forgiven from our sins and not fear the wrath of the Lord on judgement day. Once we have come to an understanding that we are forgiven of our sins due to Jesus' overcoming of the world, we can go out, just as the disciples did, and walk in the word to disciple to the broken world that we live in. We can do this and rely on the fact that no matter what this world throws at us, such a death, sickness, etc., we need not fear for Jesus, our God, has overcome all the world can throw!! God Bless!!

The Miracle of Life.

It's unreal to think that 5 years ago today, Melissa and I had our first child, our son Hayden. He was stillborn and is living in Paradise! Below is a small testimony that I prepared for Advent a while back. It reflects what I have learned and gained through my son Hayden. Enjoy!

                                                   The Miracle of Life
Because of God’s love He sent His own Son to us, a miracle to the Virgin Mary.

Joh 1:14 GW  The Word became human and lived among us. We saw his glory. It was the glory that the Father shares with his only Son, a glory full of kindness and truth.

Through God’s love for Melissa and I, He has sent us three miracles of life. However our first son Hayden never took a breath on this Earth. Because Hayden never knew the sin of this world, he gets to spend his life in Heaven with Jesus.

Joh 1:13 LITV  who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but were born of God.

Melissa and I believe that because of God’s love for us he took our son Hayden home to be with Him. God took him home to Heaven so that Melissa and I would discover the best Miracle of Life! After losing Hayden and Melissa’s mom we were curious as to where they were and if we would ever see them again. We realized that when we asked these questions we wouldn’t have an answer until we came to know and accept our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. On August 13th of 2005 we got our answers to our questions. This is the day that, together, Melissa and I accepted Jesus as our only Lord and Savior. That day we learned how much Jesus loved us, and how much Hayden loved us. Hayden loved us so much that he, like Jesus, sacrificed his life for us, so that two sheep could be led to the Sheppard!

Joh 1:12 LITV  But as many as received Him, to them He gave authority to become children of God, to the ones believing into His name.

We will never forget the miracle of life that brought us to Jesus. God’s love for us is so great that we can never forget the best Miracle of Life the world will ever know, Jesus! As you ponder these words, I ask that you not only remember Jesus, but also remember the miracles of life that helped you come to know God and His awe inspiring love for us! God Bless!

Jesus on a bench.

So I was lead by the Spirit and my wonderful wife to share my encounter with the verses from Matthew 25:34-46. First take some time to refresh your memory concerning these verses and then I will share with you what happened to me today.

Mat 25:34-46 (ISV)
"Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  (35)  For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.  (36)  I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.'  (37)  "Then the righteous will say to him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  (38)  When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  (39)  When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?'  (40)  The king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, in that you did it for one of the least important of these my brothers, you did it for me.'  (41)  "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Get away from me, you who are accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!  (42)  For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink.  (43)  I was a stranger, and you didn't welcome me. I was naked, and you didn't clothe me. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me.'  (44)  "Then they will reply, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or as a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn't help you?'  (45)  Then he will say to them, 'Truly I tell you, in that you did not do it for one of the least important of these, you did not do it for me.'  (46)  These people will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life."

Now that these verses are fresh in your head, I can tell you of my experience. Well, while I was running errands this afternoon one of them happened to be to Dollar General in the South Side Plaza in Jamestown. As I was headed in I noticed an older gentleman talking with one of the employees. Anyways, on my way out this same gentleman said, "Hey Sir." Knowing I was the only Sir around, I ignored him and kept walking. Then I heard this gentleman say something along the lines of, "Sir? Sir? You've got two ears to hear me. Fine, looks like you have a long road ahead of you." I continued to the van and got in.

As I pulled away I noticed a parking spot right in front of this gentleman, so I pulled into it. I got out and asked the gentleman if I could help him. He asked me if I could run and get him a McDonalds' dollar sandwich. I told him that I had no cash and that I was sorry I couldn't help him. He told me thank you and it was the thought that counted. I got back in the van and started to leave.

As I was backing up, the verses you just read came to mind. Of course not word for word. Then I thought of the gentleman sitting on the bench, and immediately I saw Jesus sitting on that bench!! Now mind you I haven't even made it out of the parking lot, but I didn't have room to turn around to go to the McDs at the other end of the plaza. I looked up and there across the street was Arbys. So I went over there and got a Junior roast beef and went back to the same parking lot and gave the gentleman his sandwich.

The smile on the gentleman's face and the peace that I felt were out of this world!! So two things to take out of this,one is keep your ears and eyes open, for God can show up in the most unusual ways!! And two, when He does trust and obey, for yours is the Kingdom of  Heaven!! God Bless!

Time Alone

Time alone, and not alone time. What do I mean? I am talking of the time that we spend alone with the Lord. Do you do it often? I know that I don't do it often enough. I take the next few words from a devotional by Daily Disciples.

Only Jesus can fill our cups, and only Jesus can love us in the way that brings rest and peace to our souls. After knowing what it is to have true fellowship with the Lord, nothing (and no one) can take His place. At times we may feel empty, this emptiness is a result of not finding time to be alone with Him.

Frequently in the Bible, Jesus spent time alone with His Father. He knew that He needed that uninterrupted time alone in prayer and fellowship. If Jesus needed time alone with God, how much more do we? The Lord promises that in His presence is fullness of joy. Having experienced that joy, we long for quality time alone with Him. Once we have the love of the Lord, we know that nothing else feels so right!

Ask the Lord to help you find time every day to be alone with Him. He hears our prayers and He desires to have fellowship with us. Jesus has made a way for us to come to Him freely. He will make a way for us to walk with Him daily if we are truly seeking Him.

I will be doing this very thing as much as possible! I try to spend time alone with the Lord on my way to school in Erie everyday. He has touched and changed my life when I am seeking His presence beside me in the car! God Bless!

God's Plans

Well I certainly struggled with excepting God's Plans at first. But I have overcome the darkness's ability to tell me that what I am doing, as far as going back to school and the loss of my job, is not where I am supposed to be. I can now turn to God's word whenever this comes to my mind, with one verse in particular. That particular verse would be Jeremiah 29:11.

God's word in this verse says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (NIV)

I had some time when I first started going back to school in which I was very oppressed. During this time I would continually question why I was where I was. Why God would take a job I loved and let it go by the wayside! Why I felt I was struggling so much at school. Well in all actuality I have kept straight A's through this first semester! And the job thing, where I was working, the truth is the company may be moving to Houston.

So back to the scripture, obviously God is all knowing, for I have more hope now than ever and the future is still ever shining! I have an awesome God, a beautiful family, and a new found understanding of letting God's plans grow!

So if you are ever wondering why am I here or what is to come next, just remember that God loves you and He knows what He is doing! He will never leave and never let you down! Even if you don't understand the bad things that are happening, God will always bring the goods things to light! God Bless!!

The Lord will ALWAYS find His way back!!

So, It's been about a year since my last post here. I begin with the title to this post, The Lord will ALWAYS find His way back!! I guess I should say the Lord will ALWAYS bring us and accept us back to His presence. I had been struggling quite a bit in some areas of my life and though the Lord and I collectively have not conquered all the areas of my struggles, He has at least brought me back to His presence and He will of course always accept me!

I will be taking my next few thoughts from the devotional Daily Hope by Rick Warren. In his devotional he talks about giving God our fears and temptations. So I will let him take it from here.

And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. Matthew 6:13 (NLT)

Let me ask you to think about these questions –

• In what area of your life do you need more self-control?

• What is your greatest fear?   The fear of failure?  The fear of bad health?  The fear of a divorce?  The fear of rejection?  The fear of the future?  

 Jesus says these things are the things you ought to be talking to him about. He wants you to talk to him about the areas where you're most tempted. He wants you to talk to him about the things you most fear.

The Bible says Jesus came to earth; He walked around for 33 years; and He experienced every temptation known to man, the same ones we experience.  It is not a sin to be tempted; the sin is when we give in to temptation. The Bible says Jesus experienced the greatest temptations ever; yet, He didn't give in.

And that means when you pray -- "Jesus, I'm struggling in this area.  I'm just not making it here.  I keep stumbling.  I keep failing” -- Jesus understands because he’s been there. He knows what it's like.


The Bible says we can have “confidence, then, and approach God's throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.” (Hebrews 4:16, TEV)

Well I have been able to find His mercy and grace and I pray that you do too!! I am still taking everything to God and making sure His blessings and His blood has covered me in each situation! I hope you can find and understand that this is what we need to do to grow in an awesome relationship with Our Savior Jesus Christ! God Bless!!