If you're reading this, and you didn't read the last blog about my trip to Birmingham, scroll down now and read it first. This one will be much better if you read it. Trust me. :)
I ended my last blog encouraging you to help someone when you see them in need, because it's what you should do, and I promised you that God will listen when you need help. :)
Yesterday on my way home from work I had a massive blow out. I ended up being stranded for quite some time then, eventually had to walk to get a ride. I have a spare but it's mounted to the bottom on the vehicle and I did not have the tool needed to get it down. I left my vehicle there overnight and this morning had to go to the doctor because I was still sick. After leaving there I went to begin working on the vehicle again, hoping I could manage to get the tire down somehow. As blanco and I pull up what do we see 100 yards from my vehicle, another car, two men, broken down. Their tire had also blown out. So we pull over (we had borrowed mom's vehicle to go work on mine). We made sure they didn't need help and stood by them while they finally got their tire on and I asked to try the tool they used but it didn't work. Anyway, we stayed calm and were about to leave, but all of a sudden, a man pulled over and checked on us. Not only did he have some wood to place my jack on to prevent the jack from sinking so far into the ground and slipping, but of course, as God would ALWAYS do, he had just the tool needed to get my spare tire down. Saving me pain, time and money.
God is good.
Seriously, even when it seems wrong or hard (I had to walk a mile and wait nearly twenty four hours) He still cares.
He still loves you.
He still has the best planned for you.
Amen. Amen.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
He is certainly listening
Though I already knew it in my heart, yesterday I learned something in a new and special way that spoke louder than it has before. It's a simple fact that has the power to give us all the hope in the world if only we would realize it's truth.
That fact is, that God is certainly listening.
Yesterday because of the excitement of the day ahead, me and some of my friends, who were all staying at my house, had a hard time sleeping. Finally hunger got the best of us so we left for huddle house around 4:30 AM. :)
When we got there our waitress instantly noticed our crosses and our Bibles and struck up conversation. During our time she told us her husband is a pastor and he also does some Christian rap music but really wanted to work with some rock music. This was especially exciting because the friends I was with and I are in the beginning stages of starting one ourselves. :) we got contact information and she wants us to play whenever we get everything ready. Exciting news. :)
So we head back home and take our showers and get everything in order for our road trip to Birmingham.
Before leaving, I of course got everyone around, we held hands and prayed.
Here's where the story all begins. ;)
I asked God to USE us today. To do whatever it took to use us. :)
Oh boy, He was certainly listening.
So we loaded up and headed east.
We had a wonderful time laughing and singing while driving down the road just enjoying the fellowship and we finally made it to Alabama Adventure, rode the rides, got some sun, yeah yeah. (not important) :)
Then, because of the sun and heat my blood sugar began to drop (something we most often consider a bad thing)
Obviously I needed to eat, just like everyone else,
but because one of my friends had lost his wallet I had to pay the admission price for more people than expected. Which left me broke and unable to afford the high price of eating at any place like this. (another thing we consider bad, not having enough money)
So we decide to drive to Birmingham since it was so close, and we wanted the spicy chicken sandwhich from Chic-fil-a. :)
While heading there, because of the confusion of the highways with all the turn offs I messed up and took the wrong one so we had to make a circle to get back to the highway and right before we got back on we saw two cars on the side of the road. No men, just women. Obviously in need. We stopped and found out she had a flat tire and was on a slope. The jack couldn't get the tire high enough because it was a small-cheap-o jack, BUT I had a floor jack. :)
So we stop and help. She instantly began thanking God for us coming by. We told her how we didn't even mean to, but we missed our turn. Duh, it's God. :)
But, we found out that the vehicle was too low to get my jack under it. So now, we don't know what to do, but then another car stops.
A large black man and his wife. He asks if we need help and we explain the problem we have and he says, lets pick it up. So three of us get the front and lift. Cody gets the jack under the car (of course, this man was the biggest reason we lifted the car, no doubt). He then asks if we can handle it from there and we tell him of course, yes. He then explains that he and his wife had JUST lost there son. He had died for some reason and they were literally on the way to the hospital now. They weren't crying though. They said Jesus overcame the grave so they knew their son wasn't in one now. :)
I had to walk off and let Cody finish the work.
I began crying because of what I had just experienced. Not because they lost their son. Even they knew better than that, but because of their unselfishness. These people stopped at a time when everyone in the world would have understood them driving past because they wanted to help.
I saw how selfish I've been in my life. There have been many experiences when I've been in comfort and have passed people by in need of help and not stopped. And I'm not just talking about people broken down on the side of a highway.
There are broken and needy people all around us. Jesus even said the poor will always be with us.
There were other several great things about yesterday but most wouldn't be done justice unless you were there and I don't want to water down anything so I will just leave you with the biggest one to me.
Next time you see someone in need, I urge you to stop.
You'll never know how great your actons will impact them.
Plus, one day you'll be in need and seeking and needing help and when you are you can know,
He is certainly listening. :)
That fact is, that God is certainly listening.
Yesterday because of the excitement of the day ahead, me and some of my friends, who were all staying at my house, had a hard time sleeping. Finally hunger got the best of us so we left for huddle house around 4:30 AM. :)
When we got there our waitress instantly noticed our crosses and our Bibles and struck up conversation. During our time she told us her husband is a pastor and he also does some Christian rap music but really wanted to work with some rock music. This was especially exciting because the friends I was with and I are in the beginning stages of starting one ourselves. :) we got contact information and she wants us to play whenever we get everything ready. Exciting news. :)
So we head back home and take our showers and get everything in order for our road trip to Birmingham.
Before leaving, I of course got everyone around, we held hands and prayed.
Here's where the story all begins. ;)
I asked God to USE us today. To do whatever it took to use us. :)
Oh boy, He was certainly listening.
So we loaded up and headed east.
We had a wonderful time laughing and singing while driving down the road just enjoying the fellowship and we finally made it to Alabama Adventure, rode the rides, got some sun, yeah yeah. (not important) :)
Then, because of the sun and heat my blood sugar began to drop (something we most often consider a bad thing)
Obviously I needed to eat, just like everyone else,
but because one of my friends had lost his wallet I had to pay the admission price for more people than expected. Which left me broke and unable to afford the high price of eating at any place like this. (another thing we consider bad, not having enough money)
So we decide to drive to Birmingham since it was so close, and we wanted the spicy chicken sandwhich from Chic-fil-a. :)
While heading there, because of the confusion of the highways with all the turn offs I messed up and took the wrong one so we had to make a circle to get back to the highway and right before we got back on we saw two cars on the side of the road. No men, just women. Obviously in need. We stopped and found out she had a flat tire and was on a slope. The jack couldn't get the tire high enough because it was a small-cheap-o jack, BUT I had a floor jack. :)
So we stop and help. She instantly began thanking God for us coming by. We told her how we didn't even mean to, but we missed our turn. Duh, it's God. :)
But, we found out that the vehicle was too low to get my jack under it. So now, we don't know what to do, but then another car stops.
A large black man and his wife. He asks if we need help and we explain the problem we have and he says, lets pick it up. So three of us get the front and lift. Cody gets the jack under the car (of course, this man was the biggest reason we lifted the car, no doubt). He then asks if we can handle it from there and we tell him of course, yes. He then explains that he and his wife had JUST lost there son. He had died for some reason and they were literally on the way to the hospital now. They weren't crying though. They said Jesus overcame the grave so they knew their son wasn't in one now. :)
I had to walk off and let Cody finish the work.
I began crying because of what I had just experienced. Not because they lost their son. Even they knew better than that, but because of their unselfishness. These people stopped at a time when everyone in the world would have understood them driving past because they wanted to help.
I saw how selfish I've been in my life. There have been many experiences when I've been in comfort and have passed people by in need of help and not stopped. And I'm not just talking about people broken down on the side of a highway.
There are broken and needy people all around us. Jesus even said the poor will always be with us.
There were other several great things about yesterday but most wouldn't be done justice unless you were there and I don't want to water down anything so I will just leave you with the biggest one to me.
Next time you see someone in need, I urge you to stop.
You'll never know how great your actons will impact them.
Plus, one day you'll be in need and seeking and needing help and when you are you can know,
He is certainly listening. :)
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Ready for the Fight
A few days ago I decided I wanted to begin something new that I know I needed to be doing.
In Matthew 6 in the middle of Jesus' most famous sermon He says: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.
After reading these words and truly taking them to heart, I decided this is what I needed to do.
So the next day, I did so.
I prayed for the people I know hate me. The people who are angry with me and that don't like me. I thought I had did good, but after time had passed I looked back and noticed something. The prayers I had for those people were not the same as the ones for people who loved me like I love them.
The passion wasn't the same.
There wasn't much joy.
Maybe you can relate?
Maybe you've tried to pray for people like these and couldn't.
Or maybe you can't even make yourself do it.
I know I've never been able to before.
Could it be we can only think of their problems?
What they've done to us.
We say we don't judge but does that only apply to people that we love.
I hear Christians say things all the time that bother me like:
That church is full of terrible people, or I can't believe he/she did that. They're horrible.
Sure, we all know people who have done and are doing things that are wrong, but judging is judging is judging.
We cannot justify our actions by the actions of others or by our intentions.
There are many more reasons I could list why we have such a hard time praying for people that hate us, or maybe we hate them even though we shouldn't. That isn't the point of this blog.
So I asked God what was missing because I wanted to pray for and love my enemies with the same passion, confidence, and love as I do those that I pray for daily.
I found that for most of us, the problem comes from confusion. We are looking at the wrong enemy.
If we see people as the enemy we will always have a problem loving everyone.
We will never be able to accept people the way Jesus did.
Now, lets go to Paul's words in Ephesians 6. In verse ten he tells us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. And to put on the whole armor of God- here's where most people stop. They are so ready to become a warrior but they attack the wrong enemy. If we keep reading he says so that we can stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle NOT against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers and the rulers of darkness.
You see, there is most certainly a war going on.
But we are attacking the wrong power.
Our war is against the devil and powers of darkness.
If we could truly grasp that people are not our enemies, no matter what they may do to us or our family, it would truly change the world.
So, I simply ask you, who have you been fighting against?
If it's against people like most of us, why don't we disarm this physical war and love them.
People are people.
They need love.
They need forgiveness.
They need you.
Remember, there was a time before you accepted Jesus or were just immature and didn't get everything you needed.
Would it have done any good for people to hate you and tell you you're hellbound because you aren't perfect?
No.
I know I'm rambling but I just want us to understand,
we are to love everyone as we love ourselves.
If we could truly get this,
it would change the world. :)
In Matthew 6 in the middle of Jesus' most famous sermon He says: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.
After reading these words and truly taking them to heart, I decided this is what I needed to do.
So the next day, I did so.
I prayed for the people I know hate me. The people who are angry with me and that don't like me. I thought I had did good, but after time had passed I looked back and noticed something. The prayers I had for those people were not the same as the ones for people who loved me like I love them.
The passion wasn't the same.
There wasn't much joy.
Maybe you can relate?
Maybe you've tried to pray for people like these and couldn't.
Or maybe you can't even make yourself do it.
I know I've never been able to before.
Could it be we can only think of their problems?
What they've done to us.
We say we don't judge but does that only apply to people that we love.
I hear Christians say things all the time that bother me like:
That church is full of terrible people, or I can't believe he/she did that. They're horrible.
Sure, we all know people who have done and are doing things that are wrong, but judging is judging is judging.
We cannot justify our actions by the actions of others or by our intentions.
There are many more reasons I could list why we have such a hard time praying for people that hate us, or maybe we hate them even though we shouldn't. That isn't the point of this blog.
So I asked God what was missing because I wanted to pray for and love my enemies with the same passion, confidence, and love as I do those that I pray for daily.
I found that for most of us, the problem comes from confusion. We are looking at the wrong enemy.
If we see people as the enemy we will always have a problem loving everyone.
We will never be able to accept people the way Jesus did.
Now, lets go to Paul's words in Ephesians 6. In verse ten he tells us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. And to put on the whole armor of God- here's where most people stop. They are so ready to become a warrior but they attack the wrong enemy. If we keep reading he says so that we can stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle NOT against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers and the rulers of darkness.
You see, there is most certainly a war going on.
But we are attacking the wrong power.
Our war is against the devil and powers of darkness.
If we could truly grasp that people are not our enemies, no matter what they may do to us or our family, it would truly change the world.
So, I simply ask you, who have you been fighting against?
If it's against people like most of us, why don't we disarm this physical war and love them.
People are people.
They need love.
They need forgiveness.
They need you.
Remember, there was a time before you accepted Jesus or were just immature and didn't get everything you needed.
Would it have done any good for people to hate you and tell you you're hellbound because you aren't perfect?
No.
I know I'm rambling but I just want us to understand,
we are to love everyone as we love ourselves.
If we could truly get this,
it would change the world. :)
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