Tag: heaven

Time, Talent and Treasure (2025 Goal Setting)

There are only a few more days of 2024, then the calendar rolls to 2025. So what will next year be like? What’s in store? And most importantly it’s time to think about: what can I do with what I’ve been given? How will I make what I have grow?

TIME

Time is limited here on earth, there is a “time for everything”, time is a God given “resource” that isn’t replenished, once it passes, it’s gone; so how we spend our time is important. The Book of Ecclesiastes, written by King Solomon was given both great wisdom and wealth and wrote about “time.” His conclusion is this:

When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil. – Ecclesiastes 12:13 written ~970-930 BC

The Book of Ecclesiastes has valuable insights we can apply to our own life, it’s a quick read, only 12 brief chapters. Here is a link to chapter 1: Ecclesiastes 1

Jesus reminded his disciple, John, of this “reward” in the vision when Jesus appeared to him on the island of Patmos after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus said:

“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”- Revelation 22:12-13 written ~90 – 96 AD

Every year of life we are given by God has a purpose; seek Him (pray to God) to understand the purpose He has for us; don’t waste time while living because we will be rewarded according to what we have done. God gave us free will to choose what we want to do with our time, but the wisdom is knowing that God ultimately gives us: what we choose. He allows us to choose evil rather than good, or good rather than evil, and one day we will get the “reward” for this (good or bad). So be intentional with choices; understand what the future holds and plan for this today.

TALENT

Each of us is created uniquely and gifted by God with a distinct personality, talent, ability, skill, etc. How are we using that talent we’ve been given (for God’s kingdom ultimately)? If we CHOOSE (of our own free will) to ask God for the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will start to change us so that we love what God loves and hate what God hates. (Yes God actually hates 7 things: here’s the list.) Once we willingly agree to “surrender” to God’s will (here is the surrender prayer Jesus taught), if we ask for the Holy Spirit, we will receive. The Holy Spirit gives us “gifts” as He determines what we are ready for, so these are God given spiritual talents. We know from Paul that these spiritual talents (gifts) are given for the following reason:

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. – 1 Corinthians 12:7

In other words, not for our benefit, but for the benefit of others.

The Use of Spiritual Gifts

1Now about the spiritual gifts [the special endowments given by the Holy Spirit], brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans, you were led off after speechless idols; however you were led off [whether by impulse or habit]. 3Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by the [power and influence of the] Spirit of God can say, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is [my] Lord,” except by [the power and influence of] the Holy Spirit.

4Now there are [distinctive] varieties of spiritual gifts [special abilities given by the grace and extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit operating in believers], but it is the same Spirit [who grants them and empowers believers]. 5And there are [distinctive] varieties of ministries and service, but it is the same Lord [who is served]. 6And there are [distinctive] ways of working [to accomplish things], but it is the same God who produces all things in all believers [inspiring, energizing, and empowering them]. 7But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit [the spiritual illumination and the enabling of the Holy Spirit] for the common good. 8To one is given through the [Holy] Spirit [the power to speak] the message of wisdom, and to another [the power to express] the word of knowledge and understanding according to the same Spirit; 9to another [wonder-working] faith [is given] by the same [Holy] Spirit, and to another the [extraordinary] gifts of healings by the one Spirit; 10and to another the working of [a]miracles, and to another prophecy [foretelling the future, speaking a new message from God to the people], and to another discernment of spirits [the ability to distinguish sound, godly doctrine from the deceptive doctrine of man-made religions and cults], to another various kinds of [unknown] tongues, and to another interpretation of tongues. 11All these things [the gifts, the achievements, the abilities, the empowering] are brought about by one and the same [Holy] Spirit, distributing to each one individually just as He chooses.

12For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts, though many, form [only] one body, so [b]it is with Christ. 13For by one [Holy] Spirit we were all baptized into one body, [spiritually transformed–united together] whether Jews or Greeks (Gentiles), slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one [Holy] Spirit [since the same Holy Spirit fills each life].

14For the [human] body does not consist of one part, but of many [limbs and organs]. 15If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” is it not on the contrary still a part of the body? 16If the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” is it not on the contrary still a part of the body? 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole [body] were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But now [as things really are], God has placed and arranged the parts in the body, each one of them, just as He willed and saw fit [with the best balance of function]. 19If they all were a single organ, where would [the rest of] the body be? 20But now [as things really are] there are many parts [different limbs and organs], but a single body. 21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22But quite the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are [absolutely] necessary; 23and as for those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, these we treat with greater honor; and our less presentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24while our more presentable parts do not require it. But God has combined the [whole] body, giving greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25so that there would be no division or discord in the body [that is, lack of adaptation of the parts to each other], but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. 26And if one member suffers, all the parts share the suffering; if one member is honored, all rejoice with it.

27Now you [collectively] are Christ’s body, and individually [you are] members of it [each with his own special purpose and function]. 28So God has appointed and placed in the church [for His own use]: first apostles [chosen by Christ], second prophets [those who foretell the future, those who speak a new message from God to the people], third teachers, then those who work miracles, then those with the gifts of healings, the helpers, the administrators, and speakers in various kinds of [unknown] tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31But earnestly desire and strive for the greater gifts [if acquiring them is going to be your goal].

And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one of the choicest graces and the highest of them all: unselfish love].

[a] 10 I.e. wonderful events or occurrences beyond human capability which manifest the supernatural power of God and fulfill His purpose.
[b] 12 Lit is Christ. – 1 Corinthians 12 (Amplified Version)

Jesus told this story also:

Parable of the Talents

14“For it is just like a man who was about to take a journey, and he called his servants together and entrusted them with his possessions. 15To one he gave five [b]talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and then he went on his journey. 16The one who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he [made a profit and] gained five more. 17Likewise the one who had two [made a profit and] gained two more. 18But the one who had received the one went and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19“Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20And the one who had received the five talents came and brought him five more, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted to me five talents. See, I have [made a profit and] gained five more talents.’ 21His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’

22“Also the one who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have [made a profit and] gained two more talents.’ 23His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’

24“The one who had received one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a harsh and demanding man, reaping [the harvest] where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter seed. 25So I was afraid [to lose the talent], and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is your own.’

26“But his master answered him, ‘You wicked, lazy servant, you knew that I reap [the harvest] where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter seed. 27Then you ought to have put my money with the bankers, and at my return I would have received my money back with interest. 28So take the talent away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

29“For to everyone who has [and values his blessings and gifts from God, and has used them wisely], more will be given, and [he will be richly supplied so that] he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have [because he has ignored or disregarded his blessings and gifts from God], even what he does have will be taken away. 30And throw out the worthless servant into the outer darkness; in that place [of grief and torment] there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger]. Matthew 25 (Amplified version)

TREASURE

God gives wealth to some, He gave it to Solomon, He gave it Job, but just like “talents” and other gifts of the Holy Spirit, wealth is a resource, to be used for the benefit of others. When we have a healthy relationship with wealth, it will be used for the good of others. But if we love wealth more than God, it will lead us into evil. (For the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Not money itself, but the love of it more than God. Here is a link to this topic in scripture.) This truth is the same for the gifts of the Spirit: if we don’t use the gifts properly for others and use it selfishly for our own benefit, it will lead us into evil. Gifts and wealth are “resources” to be used for a purpose and nothing more than that. Job is aware of this when he says:

Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, saying:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

and naked I will return.

The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away.

Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing. – Job 1: 20-22

This first chapter of the Book of Job is insightful: (link)

Jesus gave this example:

The Parables of the Treasure and the Pearl

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it. Matthew 13: 44-46

Reading these verses again today, this stood out: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a Treasure (when we discover it, we will give all we have to keep it) but also The Kingdom of Heaven is like a Merchant (a person) looking for “fine pearls” – God’s children (believers) are the “fine pearls” and Jesus is like the Merchant who gave his life (all he had) to “purchase” us (by Jesus’ death on the cross) from evil.

No greater love is this than for someone to give his life for another. – 1 John 15:13

God is looking for believers who love Him back. Jesus said this:

Treasures in Heaven
(Luke 12:32–34)

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. – Matthew 6:19-21

Jesus also said this:

I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches? And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?

No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Luke 16:9-13

As we roll into 2025: What are your plans for the Time, Talents and Treasure God has given you?

I pray for abundant blessings to you, from God, for all who read and take this post to heart truly seek God’s will and purpose! Happy New Year!

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Loss.

Everyone deals with loss differently. This morning when I woke, I found out my smiling, happy, “funny smiling” little 1 year old nephew Sebastian went to be with God at 3:30 am. I was at a loss of words, we all were praying for a miracle leading up to this. I firmly believe in the possibility of miracles; they can happen through the power of God’s spirit, but what we don’t know is God’s will and plan and whether or not our request matches up with that. Yes, God works all things for the good of those He loves, but that doesn’t mean that our knowledge and understanding is as broad as God’s. He knows things we don’t, so this is where trust in God is necessary.

God grieves with us, death was not part of His original plan for us, but the evil one, Satan, changed that when sin entered into creation. But it won’t be like this forever. I didn’t understand until recently why God protected the tree of life in the garden of Eden after sin entered, but I finally do: God didn’t want those he loves to live with sin eternally. Life spans in the Old Testament were once incredibly long, but because of sin, God shortened life spans. This is another truth revealed by God in the Bible and it is a protection for those God loves; our time here is limited and those with shorter life spans are more protected by God.

The power, peace and strength that God extends to those “in Jesus” is amazing. I have so much love and respect for my brother Kevin and his wife Shay for the way they were strong, loving, faithful parents doing everything possible for Sebastian; there is no way they could have been as strong as they have been if they didn’t have the faith in Jesus they do. I pray they are comforted and that God continues to reveal His goodness going forward because this is not something we can prepare for, strength will be needed; please pray to Jesus with me for them! I also pray for sweet little MJ, Sebastian’s sister, she is such a happy, playful, sweet girl with a very grown up personality and ask that you pray for her too. Pray for the whole family.

Heaven isn’t the final destination, but during this time, Sebastian will have the greatest Dad of all (God) caring for him until God’s kingdom is brought to earth, then we (those who believe and follow Jesus’ way) will be living once again without pain, suffering, death in real living bodies, but glorified ones we can’t yet comprehend. This is not the end, this is a transition time: read more about this here.

This is the truth; all praise, honor and glory to God for ever and ever. Amen.

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When the Obvious Isn’t.

How many times have we had this happen: something that puzzled us becomes known and then we think: “Wow, I should have seen that!”? Often it happens when we consider another person’s thoughts, another person’s perspective, someone who notices something we didn’t initially, until that person points it out. This is how each of us can help each other. So many people throughout my life have unknowingly influenced me; they unknowingly contributed to my direction in life: some were positive influences and others were negative influences, but both influenced change in me. This is also a reminder to “be thankful in all circumstances.” when that influence contributes to a positive change, and even if the circumstance is negative. But sometimes the change was negative: a great reminder to be intentional with friendships.

Those are examples of “small details” in life, the bigger picture in life is something that I gradually became aware of, through other people who pointed out very obvious details that I’ve passed over so many times throughout my entire life:

There is a literal Kingdom that has been and is forming right in front of us; it’s a “right in front of your face” “secret” formation (only because we are “blind” to it), so subtle that many don’t see it!

Thinking about a “Kingdom” in a literal sense is not something a US citizen would necessarily embrace, and many others may not either because of the mistrust and corruption we see every day. But this literally is happening right now, but not by force as many historical Kingdoms have formed in the past; with this one, each of us is allowed and encouraged to decide if we choose to live in this Kingdom which is currently forming.

Something finally connected with me this morning, many people might know the words to this prayer, but many of us may have simply memorized it, not thinking about each and every word. Here is the prayer, the prayer Jesus gave by example of how to pray to God:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
    but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’

This is what I see now, some of which I didn’t see before:

  1. Where is God? “in heaven“- a spiritual realm we can’t fully comprehend because we haven’t seen it, (click the links for supporting documentation).
  2. Hallowed: “greatly revered and honored”- God, and only God, is to be worshipped, nothing should be more important than God in our lives (the first 3 Commandments given by God, summarized here)
  3. your kingdom come: This is literal, I didn’t comprehend this until now! God’s Kingdom will be coming to us, to earth, a NEW earth with a NEW ruler (Jesus) pay attention to how many times Kingdom is referenced, Kingdom – of heaven, not only that but the bible references “heavens”, plural, not a single place where people will permanently be! There is a new literal place that is offered to those who accept God’s Kingdom and God’s commands/God’s Kingdom’s rules will live, a place so beautiful, so challenging to describe, so peaceful, without sickness or evil.
  4. your will be done: God’s plan will happen, but along the way people’s choices are allowed by God, but eventually His plan will prevail, Jesus was part of God’s plan, part of God’s plan from the very beginning, prophesized by Isaiah approximately 700 years before Jesus was born!
  5. on earth as it is in heaven -the Kingdom of heaven will be brought here, to earth, under Jesus as ruler (see prior links)
  6. Give us today our daily bread – if we seek God first, all that we need will be provided to us, Jesus said this.
  7. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors – Jesus explained how important it is for us to forgive others, it affects us if we don’t forgive.
  8. and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. This is where we see that those who are still controlled by the devil, do not recognize Jesus; it is our choice to break from and abandon that (be born again) and with the help and power of the Holy Spirit given to those who obey and ask God for help in Jesus’ name, we can overcome that slavery to sin.

It’s pretty amazing how much is within this simple prayer and referenced in other teachings Jesus gave us and throughout the Bible! There are a couple of videos I recommend on this subject, if you, or someone you know prefers to watch rather than read ?

Video 1: The Kingdom of God -AOC Network

Video 2: Walking in the Spirit – AOC Network

Video 2: The Millennial Reign of Christ – Pastor Daniel Batarseh

This is something I certainly look forward to! I love to travel, so I think about the beautiful places I’ve experienced (like driving the Na Pali Highway in Oahu, HI), or other places I’ve only seen through photos….and God created all that, but He has plans for something even better than that, something new- now THAT is VERY exciting to think about!!

by Categories: Face Fear, FAITH, God, HAPPINESS, Improvement, Love, Make It Count, priorities, RELATIONSHIPS, TRAVEL, USATags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

What do I need to do to get to Heaven? Believe? Obey?

This is a follow up to “Heaven or Hell?” Most Christians will say all we need to do is believe in Jesus, so a bunch of people who don’t understand what “believe” means feel a false sense of relief, erroneously thinking: I can live however I want, because I believe, I have God’s grace and I will go to Heaven. (WRONG!)

But what did Jesus say? Jesus didn’t say all we have to do is believe! He said:

Believe what you want to believe, it’s your choice how your live your life, but for me, I don’t want to find out when it’s too late: I’m focusing on keeping The Commandments. So what are the commandments and where are they in the Bible? Exodus 20 (linked to Bible)

The 10 Commandments:

  1. Acknowledge there is only ONE God: God is not “whatever/whomever” modern society/culture tells us is okay to believe, all “gods” are not all the same, people do believe in different Gods. God has a personality, God is a spiritual being, God has emotions, God is living, God is our Creator, God is love, God created love, God will not be mocked, God is just, God is powerful. (bible link)
  2. Love God above all. If you want to “test” your adherence to this one, fill in the blank with what comes to mind: Who or what is most important in your life? _______ Be honest answering this question, only you will know your honest answer. If you answered anything other than God, you have a potential “idol” in your life, you are potentially worshiping something other than God and you may not even realize it! There is something else that many may not realize is breaking this commandment: if a person prays to a “saint” that person is breaking this commandment. We are supposed to go to God with everything, why would a person pray to someone less than God? Wouldn’t it make more sense to pray to the most powerful, most capable directly? It really doesn’t make sense, but it is taught in a Christian faith. There are parts of the Bible when a person falls down on their face in front of an angel who visited, and the angel often tells them: basically don’t worship me, I’m just a messenger. Other biblical people did great great things, had incredible roles given to them by God, as there are some people today doing the same, they were (or are) God’s messengers, but they were (or are) human, not God. They deserve respect, but NOT our prayers addressed to them. (bible link)
  3. Only say God’s name with respect when referring to Him. Yes, when a person cusses saying “God…” that is breaking this command. (bible link)
  4. Every week, devote a day to resting and connecting with God. If we don’t, we are breaking this commandment. As I understand, originally the Sabbath day was what we refer to as Saturday, but some religions changed it to Sunday, for what reason, I’m not sure, but this is one of those “technicalities” that may not be worth debating? It’s probably more important to identify: What’s the main point of this command: resting and making it holy (connecting with God). Get your work done the other six days, but on the 7th day, take a break, connect with God. (bible link)
  5. Realize that our natural parents were used by God for us to be here and God wants us to honor our parents. Some people have wonderful loving parents and some people don’t, but that isn’t what matters. They are human, and not perfect, just like us, so they deserve “honor” for bringing us into this world and this was important enough to God to issue a command to us regarding this. (bible link)
  6. Do not murder/kill anyone. For those who happily say: I don’t have to worry that I’ve not broken that one! Jesus put a heavier meaning on it and we all break this commandment! Jesus tells us “anger” is included in this command! Read Matthew 5: 21-25 (here) and more about fighting, paybacks, enemies Read Matthew 5: 38-48 (here) and the (bible link) to the command.
  7. Do not commit adultery. But Jesus puts a heavier meaning on this command also: looking at someone lustfully, Jesus also addresses divorce, remarriage and oaths. Read Matthew 5: 27-37 (here)
  8. Do not steal. It’s worthwhile to read the definition of “steal” because it happens a lot today in business, politics, and among people in general. (bible link)
  9. Do not lie (deceive others or make an untrue statement). (bible link)
  10. Do not desire something that belongs to someone else, whether the desire is for a material thing or a person. (bible link)

It’s interesting in the Bible when the Commandments were given to Moses by God to share with people, the people were in fear of God, but what Moses said is interesting:

20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

Fear was used by God to TEST people and keep people FROM SINNING. When Jesus talked with his disciples, he also elaborated about the commands:

We need God to make the impossible happen: Jesus made it possible for us (he was the final sacrifice). We need Jesus to get to Heaven, we couldn’t do it by being good, because we fail at that. We need the Holy Spirit’s help living our lives: wisdom, guidance, self-control, etc. Obedience to God’s commands does matter because it shows our love to God; deliberate dis-obedience shows disregard for God and what He’s asked of us; it doesn’t show love to God. So if we honestly BELIEVE this, then we will try our best to live the way God wants us to live, out of thankfulness and respect for God because of what Jesus did for us. If we mess up along the way (and we will, Jesus acknowledged that), God is the most forgiving of all, but He also won’t be mocked, and don’t forget He is omnipresent (nothing is hidden from Him) and He is just, so it does matter how we live. It is important to remember that some of the most well known figures in the Bible broke commandments: Moses killed someone out of anger, David committed adultery and killed Bathsheeba’s husband, Paul (Saul) had persecuted and killed Christians prior to his conversion but he ended up writing much of the New Testament. However, the one thing in common all these people had was love and respect towards God and Jesus’ death and resurrection was the price paid for sin. This further supports Jesus’ statement that the 2 greatest commandments are: #1 Love God and #2 Love Others.

God acknowledged Jesus when Jesus was baptized:

People in the Old Testament also acknowledged Jesus, these are just a few examples, because I’m still studying the books written by the Prophets:

Isaiah (740 BC to 681 BC): Jesus’ birth and second coming referenced (here) and (here) and (here) and (here) and (here) and (here) and (here) and (here) and so many more places that I haven’t underlined in my study bible yet.

Jeremiah (626 BC to 585 BC): Jesus (here)

Ezekiel (593 BC to 571 BC) Jesus (here)

Daniel (536 BC to 530 BC) Jesus (here)

Joel (c. 609 BC) Jesus second coming (here)

In summary, from what I’ve read, it doesn’t seem like we can ignore The Commandments and anticipate Heaven. God knows our intentions and we will be judged after we die, or if we are alive, after Jesus returns.

Jesus said we have to be “born again” to enter God’s kingdom. “Born of the Spirit” (read this)

Regarding Jesus’ return: this is something else that wasn’t focused on very much in the “religion” classes I had growing up. But it’s very interesting reading what most of the Prophets in the Bible foretold will happen prior to and when Jesus returns. That event remains in the future for all of us, as of now. I may write about that next? As I was speed reading those books looking for the references to Jesus, I was amazed how connected each Prophet’s book is regarding the future and how similar the Old Testament is to the New Testament’s Book of Revelation and also what Jesus told his followers about his return. Things that can’t be ignored.

by Categories: FAITH, God, Improvement, Love, Make It Count, Marriage, priorities, RELATIONSHIPS, SexTags: , , , , , 1 Comment

Heaven or Hell?

I’m back again! I started this topic through IGTV but after a day of posting and then watching a “documentary” last night about “Evangelical Christian Fanatics” I thought I better have a back up, so the videos aren’t taken out of context. Anyone who wants to “discredit” a person can easily take “snippets” of a video out of context and use it to harm them. This topic will be a sensitive topic for many people because “truth hurts”: we don’t want to see ourselves anything less than “good,” HOWEVER, despite our shortcomings, God still loves each and everyone of us in our current state and hopes that we CHOOSE to love Him back, but He doesn’t force this; it remains our choice until we die, then our choice is “sealed” for its destiny!

For me, the most critical aspect/”take away” from reading the Bible (from a selfish viewpoint, which we all have; we want to know: “what’s in it for us?”) is:

There is eternity and it’s either Heaven or Hell.

Matthew 25:46

For me, the most important aspect from reading the Bible is God’s love for us. It’s hard to find that unconditional love from anyone here on earth, that’s for sure, haha, but we have it from one source: God.

There are so many lessons, insights, wisdom and teachings from the Bible. And there are many different interpretations of the Bible from various religions. Personally, I don’t affiliate with ANY religious denomination because I don’t believe we should be divided, we should simply be Christians. I believe what is in the Bible (this also is a choice: to “believe” this) and when it comes to interpreting/understanding confusing topics, I believe we should first pray to God requesting clarity and understanding from Him. It doesn’t hurt to talk to others who are educated on the subject matter to hear their interpretation about a subject, but before we accept what they say, pray to God and ask God to show us the truth in a personal way. The most important question I wanted the answer to is:

How do I get to Heaven?

  1. We must accept, acknowledge that Jesus is the way to God, here is the supporting information from the Bible:

2. We must TAKE ACTION: Repent. (if you want to go to Heaven, those who didn’t repent were/are destroyed) here is the supporting scripture:

3. We must TAKE ACTION: Get Baptized. Even Jesus was baptized, surprisingly. Why? Because He was here to show others the way to eternal life (Heaven) and to lead others by His example. In that same way, he wants Christians to be a living example to others, but since we are not perfect, when we don’t live how God intends, we become a bad example and do more harm than good. This is a commitment that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Baptism is an outward sign to others that we have surrendered to God and choose to live as He instructed. Jesus showed us the ultimate surrender, He prayed and asked God twice if it was possible, to take away His suffering, but also in the same prayer submitted to God’s will, as the prophesized sacrifice who would “atone” for all our sins by His death on the cross and resurrection thereafter. When we sincerely intend to live this way, it is a sacrifice, a living sacrifice but God offers us help through the Holy Spirit giving power, that others do not have or receive.

4. We must TAKE ACTION: Then pray to God and for the Holy Spirit.

5. We must TAKE ACTION: Obey God’s Commands. This subject will be my next article because there is too much detail about what this means to cover here, so I’m only showing the scripture that tells us we need to obey God’s commands:

In summary and what the Bible tells us about Heaven (eternal life) here are a few quotes from scripture about eternity:

Believe what you want; it is your choice. After I read the Bible, began studying it, and continued praying; I ended up believing. It changed my prior beliefs. As I always remind people: God did not and does not force anyone to believe this, so neither should any of us (force our beliefs on others). But I do believe we have an obligation to let others know what we have learned because it may become important to them; then they can make their own choice. The relationship with God is personal anyway. Love is a choice and that’s the greatest commandment that God gave us: to love God and love others….which means allowing people to make their own choice.

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God and Relationships: Healing, Forgiveness and Love

Last night before I went to sleep, when I prayed, I asked God if He would inspire me with something meaningful to share because I haven’t written in this blog since June, I wanted to write, but I haven’t felt inspired for awhile. Well, God answered that prayer at 6 am this morning when the title of this was the first thought I had as soon as I woke up.

It amazes me how the Bible shares wisdom with us “scattered” throughout the book, through different messengers, but all giving the same message.

This topic is consistently timely because we interact with people on a daily basis and need God’s help “dealing with” people, and more appropriately “dealing with” ourselves. I’ll explain the image for this article and how it relates:

We need God in our relationships: any relationship with God as a part of it equals love.

God is love.

MAKING EXCUSES

I believe in being accountable for my own actions, not making excuses (understanding what leads me to something, but not blaming my actions on someone or something else). I’m responsible for my own actions no matter what happens around me. I personally choose to react the way I do. So why is it that I allow different standards for others? I allow excuses for them. Excuses justifying other’s actions or behavior, when I wouldn’t allow myself to act that way. I made excuses because I thought trying to be a Christian meant accepting other people as they are, and not being judgmental of others, which it does, but there is more to this:

A Christian should help others be aware of the wisdom from God through the bible (awareness only -not judgement nor retaliation- that’s reserved for God) – don’t be silent, speak up, but don’t do this in anger, do this in a loving way to build up the other person, in the knowledge of God, not tear them down.

DO NOT JUDGE:

GO TO THE BIBLE AND IN PRAYER GO TO GOD FOR ADVICE, STRENGTH AND WISDOM:

HEALING

I had to think: which comes first: healing or forgiveness? It’s a challenge to forgive someone if we haven’t healed from what happened. But we also can’t heal from it unless we forgive it (let it go). So maybe it’s a combination of healing and forgiveness, but first and most importantly seeking God. This is where we NEED God: to heal and to forgive. There is no question about that. I often think of this simple statement which is so true:

Hurt people hurt people.

Pastor Rick Warren

It’s something I keep in mind whenever someone hurts me. It’s important to have that perspective, it makes it easier to accept someone for who they are. We can’t know everything that happened to someone during their life. If someone was loved throughout their life, they wouldn’t hurt. So because they have been hurt (and haven’t healed), they hurt other people. So it’s so important for all of us to heal from the hurt other people caused in our lives.

FORGIVING

If we want a great relationship with anyone, we need to be able to forgive, regularly! Forgiving someone doesn’t mean allowing what they did to continue as if it doesn’t affect us. But if the other person who hurt us is truly sorry, that person will do their best to not do it again and ask for a second chance. If the person truly wants forgiveness and tells us how they have changed and why they have changed, then we need to offer forgiveness. (If this is an abusive situation, we may need to offer forgiveness but not remain in that person’s life for safety reasons. This type of situation requires other qualified individuals’ assessment of the situation.)

WHY WE NEED GOD FOR HEALING, FORGIVENESS AND LOVE (and Eternity):

HOW WE GET THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

On our own, we are going to fail, that’s the truth, but if we have the Holy Spirit in us, we will succeed. So how do we receive the Holy Spirit? God sends the Holy Spirit to us if we ask and OBEY God:

And this is why we need God in all of our relationships. We need a relationship with God so that we can have good relationships with other people through the strength of the Holy Spirit in us.

Once we have a relationship with God, he will protect us until the end of times.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN TELL IF SOMEONE HAS A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD (these qualities will be evident in that person’s life):

We obviously need God as the priority in our life, so the rest of our life can fall in place. As in any good relationship, there is an exchange of giving and receiving. This is no different with God, we aren’t going to receive the power of the Holy Spirit unless we obey God’s commands (sin keeps the power of the Holy Spirit from us). God always loves us, but the power of the Spirit is reserved for those who obey Him. The power of the Holy Spirit makes our lives more peaceful, provides joy, wisdom and enables us to love in a more godly way than we could on our own.

I hope you found this helpful for your relationships!

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