Traveling

~ Baptism: Why? When? How? ~

Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

— Matthew 3:6 —

     A confession of sin… and choosing to repent. Baptism represents a turning from sin. To take that step towards God and away from sin…

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire…”

— Matthew 3:11 —

“For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

— Acts 1:5 —

     It is a symbolic act. The true baptism is not with water… it is with the Holy Spirit. I am not really concerned about what other people think of me. I am concerned about what those close to me think. I avoid tripping people up on stuff… and baptism doesn’t seem to make people trip… so there’s no real problem with not getting baptised, right?

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”

— Matthew 10:32-33 —

“in all your ways acknowledge him,
   and he will make your paths straight.”

— Proverbs 3:6 —

     Even though it is only a symbolic ceremony, there is still acknowledgment before man and God. Kind of like the marriage ceremony. A marriage is official as soon as the judge hands over those marriage papers. But the marriage ceremony is proclaiming before God and men, We’re married! Baptism seems to carry the same type of ideas… I’m God’s! 
     After the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs, then baptism by water is an acknowledgment before God and man of what God has done in your life. The above passages make pretty apparent what happens to those who disown Jesus. You must acknowledge God in all things. Identify yourself with the Christ…

“…Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, …”

— Matthew 28:19 —

     Do I want to be a disciple? a follower of the Christ? Then I must get baptized. I am all tied up right now and things are looking really… painful. Pray for me. I’m disheartened and I don’t know what else to say… I think I know what must be done and it’s going to turn my relationship with my dad to … Just pray… *sigh*

Father, Your will be done. I’ve been praying about that for longest time and I’ve been thinking about Your will, Your plans for my life. Baptism. Such a tangle, such a mess. Guide me, Lord. Lead me and keep me from straying, my Shepard. Help me, I can’t do this myself. I am so fearful… and even though I know there is no basis for my fears, I fear still…. Pick Your time, pick Your words… I pray all this in my Savior’s name, Amen.

~ I don’t know… ~

– “I am human.”
– “I don’t know everything.”

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
   all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
   To him belongs eternal praise.

— Psalm 111:10 (NIV) —

This post doesn’t seem to be getting anywhere… but I’ll leave it here, it case it means something, to someone… ^_^

~ ThAt‘s cRaZy… ~

“Insane” requests from a loving Jesus….

Your “crazy” Christian here today to pass on an “insane” request from our Lord and Savior. A reminder of how far we have to go to follow in the footsteps of Jesus… and how far away we are from the ways of this world. Yes, I’m feeling a little schizo today… *chuckles*

   Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
   Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times (Or seventy times seven) …”

— Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV) —

Here’s a little poem that was inspired by this verse. God bless and keep you guys. ^.^

(old post)

~Setting An Example~
(WWJD?)

Wounds that don’t bleed,
Scars that don’t show,
But I cannot help but forgive.
Seventy-seven? or was it Seventy times seven?*
Seeking to forgive as God forgives you.
Seeking to love as God loves.

*Matthew 18:21

(/old post)

~ Who do you say I am? ~

Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?”

   When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
   They replied, “some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
   “But what about you?” he asked, “Who do you say I am?”
   Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
   Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

— Matthew 16:13-19 (NIV)–

   I think this is important for those who believe in absolute truth. If you do not believe in absolute truth, this passage will probably mean nothing. No need to read further, my thoughts will most likely be categorized in your brain as “waste of time.”
Consider yourself warned.

===================================================================

     Jesus started by asking his followers: Who do people say I am? (Read: What’s my rep? What do people think of me? What have you heard?) And the disciples gave Jesus all sorts of rumors and theories… Things heard from the Jews, the Pharisees, the Gentiles… This can be found today in those who assume to know Jesus, even though they have never tried to meet this man through the Bible. Are you assuming because you’ve read it somewhere? Because someone tells you Christianity is brainwash, does that make it true? ^_^

     Jesus follows up by asking his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” (Read: Who do you think I am?) And Peter answers: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter’s answer is based on his own experiences on what he has seen for himself. It is not secondhand knowledge passed onto him through others. Peter met Jesus and recognized Him as the Christ, the Messiah. The Son of the living God. He is divinity come down in human form. Peter affirms God at the same time that he acknowledges who Jesus really is. Do you acknowledge there is a living God? Do you acknowledge who Jesus is?

     Jesus then confirms Peter’s answer. God has opened Peter’s eyes. In order for someone to know and truly see who Jesus is, requires God to open his/her eyes. It is not from men. Remember that in order to acknowledge Jesus and God, God must open their eyes. Humans have no such control. Christians cannot open eyes… cannot make people acknowledge the truth. If that doesn’t humble an evangelist, I don’t know what else to say. We are here to speak truth, to say what we see, what we hear… It is not in us to convict, to make people recognize truth.

     And then Jesus returns in kind. After Peter acknowledges Jesus for who He truly is, Jesus tells Peter who he is: “… you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church…” Jesus tells Peter who he is… his purpose, God’s plans for him. It seems to me that this reaffirms, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 6:33 KJV?)

    Jesus finishes with a promise to Peter. He tells Peter, you will be the starting place for my church. This is before Peter denies 3 times… Jesus knows what will happen. He knows what Peter will do. He tells Peter that he will be the bedrock of a church… and this church will not be overcome… not even by the “gates of Hades”, possibly representing death, other gods, or the after-life…

   Peter is given the keys to heaven… perhaps the key is knowing how to get into heaven… knowing the Savior. There is only one way to the Father. Jesus says that quite plainly: “…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NIV)

   Bindings… sorry that part is beyond me… Not sure what that part means. The only thing I can see here is that what Peter does on earth will have a significant impact on what happens in heaven. 0_0 Talk about responsibility…

Life Application: hmm… *gnaws on it a bit* I’m wide open on this one… Go meet Jesus for yourself?

==Prayers==

Father, America seems headed for war. There are so many arguments for war, against war, for diplomacy, for use of force, against unilaterlism, against terrorism, for the sake of the iraqi people, against the regime, for the global economy… it all just gets so convoluted… I pray that You will guide our world leaders on the right path. Thank you for answering my prayers… I have been doing a bit of chatting with friends and I am glad to see Your hand in their lives. Keep Your good work going until completion… If it is time for You to dispense justice through war, so be it. If it is time for peace and bringing criminals to repentance, let it be so. Either way, I pray that Your will be done. Keep me in Your ways Lord, my current job and my daily activities are cramping my time with You… I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen.

~ This side UP (The Greatest) ~

Ever get the feeling God wants to flip your world upside down? Then I ask you… Is your world right side up? ^_^ Perhaps your view is upside down.. and God’s just correcting it…

First, a couple WORDs from my sponser: GOD!

The came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

— Mark 9:33-37 —

   Strolling down the way… boasting about which disciple was the best…. comparing notes… “I’m better at ___.” “Well, I’m better at ____. What do you think, ____?” And so the argument goes on and on… Jesus stands by… watching this glimpse of pridefulness… but he lets them argue on… getting all worked up… trying to see who is top dog… as they “sell” on their strengths and “down-played” their weaknesses…
   Finally, Jesus gets finished walking.. or perhaps… just tired of their bickering… He asks them “What were you arguing about on the road?” and suddenly… they are suddenly silent. The Lord is speaking… and their minds suddenly start churning… “Is he going to yell at us for being stupid?” “Was there something wrong with this?” They are no longer caught up in the moment… bickering about who’s better… they are more likely wondering what Jesus is going to say about their bickering… (Be still… and know… I AM God. – Psalm 46:10) 
   Jesus calls them over… not in anger… but in patient love. He calls them over and says to them, the answer to their unspoken question: “WHO IS THE GREATEST?” The servant is the greatest… and not just the head servant… but the lowliest servant will be the greatest. 
   As their analystical minds try to figure out this piece of mind-flipping logic… He takes a child and places this little child in their midst. A little one in the middle of all this full-grown, experienced men. And says: “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” If you love me, you will make this child feel at home. You will be a servant… servant to those who are lowly. Like this child… so small, so lacking in power in anyway the world would measure by… spiritually, physically, and mentally… That will make you the greatest. But even in this, I think we can see another implied point… Jesus came to serve… and in order to serve Him, you must serve those who are lowly… you must be transformed into the form of a servant. And from this service, you become a servant of Jesus… A servant of God.

Life Application: You want to be great? Impressing men will do nothing. Work for God!

{ Pride in yourself does nothing… following worldly standards of success will lead to nothing… feel free to double-check this if you like… go accumulate money, assets, a beautiful spouse, vacations to wonderful places… and see if it brings you any joy. any happiness… or does it bring strife and unhappiness… depression and mistrust…a bit of fun to be paid later in unhappiness.. and ultimately… emptiness and loneliness that no human can fill… Denial hurts… oh yes it does… }

Remember which side is UP. God is UP. “Greatest” in this life is nothing compared to greatness in God’s kingdom. For ALL will be revealed when His kingdom comes… and all things evil and good will be known in full.

Father, Thank you for the wonderful touch of Your Word… the bread of life… I want to serve, Lord. Show me when… show me how, I can serve. I am just a servant. nothing more, nothing less. God, may Your will be done… and may I learn truly… what greatness is. Keep me from pride, which so easily entangles… let me not get caught up in bickering… Instead… may I be… (a lowly, invisible) servant? *sigh* I know I cannot ask that… my heart will not agree to that request… one day at a time, Lord. Show my heart who’s boss… I pray for my friend PL… he is deeply troubled… I pray Your hand would be upon him… to comfort him during his time of turmoil. I cannot help him. Show him more of You, so he can learn to follow You, all the days of his life, in thanksgiving and in joy. Give me loving patience to deal with my fellow drivers, Lord. I am always lacking… may You shine thru my weaknesses. I pray all this in the name of the greatest of them all… God comming down as a servant, Amen.

*wipes his eye* So what if I’m tearing? I’m touched!

Another Servant Verse
— Matthew 20:1-16 —

~ digging through email forwards II ~

A recent addition to my “God”-forwards archive… enjoy~!

THE ANT AND THE CONTACT LENS
A true story by Josh and Karen Zarandona
 

Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was very scared, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took a hold on the rope, and started up the face.

Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda’s eye and knocked out her contact lens.
 
Well, here she is, on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn’t there.

Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry. She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found. She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff.

Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom. At the bottom there was a new party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff.

One of them shouted out, “Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?”

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it?  An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it.

Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words, “Lord, I don’t know why You want me to carry this thing. I can’t eat it, and it’s awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I’ll carry it for You.”

I think it would probably do some of us good to occasionally say, “God, I don’t know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it’s awfully heavy. But, if you want me to carry it…”

God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I am
nothing, but with Him…I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:14)

============================================

Prayer Request:

Father God, my sister is working on a business plan… and is also considering Law school… Lord, what is your purpose for her life? I don’t pretend to know. Father, direct her ways. May her every step… be one that be pleasing to you. In every thing may we glorify You! Open her eyes Lord, let her see Your wonderful love and care in her life… I cannot do it, but if it is Your will, it will be done. I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen.

~ Masturbation ~

I said I would not dodge the hard questions… so here’s a question that came to me. I think I would probably prefer to keep the subject matter “clean” but I think we are mature enough to handle talk about sexual matters without getting stupid. (I hope you know what I mean…)

Of course, most important, the Word!

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go to hell…”

— Matthew 5:27-30 (NIV) —

I was thinking about masturbation today… (Yeah, that idea comes up more often than I’d like to admit…) And so I decided that since it makes me so darn uncomfortable, I’d like to share that uncomfortable feeling in the best way possible. ^_^ Semi-anonymously over the internet…
*chuckles evilly*

     ‘Do not commit adultery’ is Jesus pointing backwards in to the Old Testiment (then known as the Torah), the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). He likes to do this… I think that Jesus was talking to the Jews, who probably learned the Ten Commandments when they were very little… He says, look here’s what God told you back then… and let me give you the low-down. (aka God’s Commandment #7, Magnified & Amplified Version) Check it out… God told you, don’t screw your neighbor’s wife. But God really means, if you want a woman just from looking at her, you’ve already messed up. So if you think that not screwing that girl next door that’s such a hottie is enough… think again! Just watching all the parts that jiggle, bounce, bend, twist, …etc is WRONG! DOH!
    
     And in case that isn’t enough of a kick in the head… Jesus goes on… If you keep screwing up, just rip your eye out and chop off your hand. Goodness… whew… Jesus says, it’s better for you to be maimed in this life, than to have this sin keep you out of heaven. Imagine that… a guy minus an eye (tore it out himself) and minus a hand (chopped it off himself)… Regardless of whether you take this as figurative or literal, it still paints a very gory picture. And Jesus said it’s BETTER to be this way than lusting! That leaves me wordless… (And brings up ideas of what is the real difference between [Jesus] Christian values and worldly values) Yes, brothers. God is serious. Don’t look at those things that jiggle, bend and twist on a woman. Don’t glare at me like that… Jesus said it, so Bring it up with HIM!
     
     Which brings me full circle back to the original title. Masturbation. I think it’s bad. Is it a sin? I don’t know… I have never been able to do it without lustful thoughts. <insert some comments about Porn, Hentai, Ecchi, Sex stories, playboy, hustler, penthouse, maxim, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition here> Yeah… you get the idea </insert> So it’s definitely a sin for me. Praise God for bringing me out of it. Much to my heavenly Father. I’ve been clean for over 3 months now… God-willing and my stupidity nonwithstanding, I’ll steer clear of the temptation of lust. Staying away from women is a whole other story… *chuckles* By the way, I put up an alias of Sammy because of this particular weakness. Samson, I feel ya man… Delilah…must’ve been quite the babe…
    
     God, thank You for all these supportive brothers and sisters. All because, You loved us first. ONLY after we realize this can we fully love others. Work is good, hard, but good. I’d like to pray for the pastor of Trinity, pray that You will give him a good expositional sermon and let Your Word spill forth from his lips. To give life, to give spiritual food to the sheep of Your flock. Fill him with the Spirit, because the burden on those who lead is great… for those who lead, must serve, as Jesus showed us.
     Thank you for speaking to me, even though I have not opened the bible since last sunday. I feel so spiritually malnurished… why do I do these things? I know I need the food of the spirit… and yet, I don’t follow the shepherd until the hunger pangs get too strong and I’m weak with hunger… Lord, you are my shepard, I shall not WANT. Please help me learn how to do this AGAIN. For you guide the foolish and make fools of the wise… so let me be Your fool. I pray that you will let me be an instrument of Your will… one day at a time… Until the day comes when the work is done. When Your Son comes again… till then, let me be a tool to bring Your Will to be done on earth, Lord. I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen.

~ “Don’t Mislead” => Disclaimer ~

     My thoughts can be misleading… A friend brought this subject up while I was talking about another controversial post I felt I should put up. He referred to this passage:

“Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.” 

— James 3:1-2 (NIV)–

     He interprets this to mean that I should not post on xanga about what I think or my interpretations. He brought up the point of misunderstanding, people can misunderstand what I say. And do I know “absolute” truth? People may misunderstand regardless of how perfectly worded something is, does that mean no one should teach?

     Then who is to say who can teach and who cannot? I don’t know the absolute truth, I am not God. But I still think I need to share, actually, I must share. It is true, I stumble, I am going to be wrong in some cases. I am imperfect. But I can point people in the right direction: God & Jesus.

     I am here to share, I am not a teacher. I accept that. I have never gone to theology classes or seminary. So ask me a hard theological question and I’ll go… “Huh? what did you say?” I acknowledge his point about teaching, it’s very important role… one should not go lightly into a teaching role. yes, HeavenlyLove, theknown, skluvjesus, HaHaCinCin, and all the other teachers out there that I missed, you guys & gals are important. ^_^ *chuckles* If those who teach, mislead those they are leading, then God will reveal that and judge you for it. *shivers*

     So after chewing this thought for awhile… I have decided to post a disclaimer: small print, at the top of my header… Sounds good? ^.^ (Yes, brothers and sisters, that is a request for feedback… )
    
Thank you, Father, for giving me something to think about. I live to please You. If this xanga sharing/ testimony/ thoughts is displeasing, You know what to do with it. Jesus taught all the time, I’d like to think that teaching would be following in his footsteps. Keep me always in Your Word and may You put the words in my mouth. I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen.

P.S. Until this disclaimer is up, I will postpone any new posts… Disclaimer first, posts later. ^_^ Until we meet again, brothers and sisters, may God keep you in his hands.

~ Morals & Ethics ~

What is good? What is evil? What is right? What is wrong?

— A world without God —

When I was in high school, before I knew God, before I knew about Jesus, This is how I thought… There is no such thing as “right”. How can there be such a thing?
     Think about it, we have what humanitarians call “right”, the rich should give to the poor because the rich have more than enough, and the poor need support. So what about those who worked hard for their riches, don’t they deserve to enjoy what they have worked for? So therefore is pleasure and enjoyment wrong? hmm… the conclusion then seems to be: the harder you work and more money you have, the more support you should give to the poor. I’d rather be a lazy bum… don’t work and get support.
     How about communism? It says that commercialism is evil. Workers should get paid for the work they do, and in commercialism, the worker’s pay must be less than the value of the product. And everyone should be on the same level, hmm… sounds good. Has any country ever reached the third and final stage of communism where everyone is a worker and there is no longer any proletariates? (yes, my spelling sux…) Nope… dictatorships and/or totalitarian rule… but no country has yet to get that particular system to work… beautiful specification, but no real world implementation of the system yet… scratch that one off as too idealistic…
     So then why don’t we do the easiest system. Right and wrong based upon me. So whatever is bad for me is “wrong” and whatever is good for me is “right”. Screw the poor, forget about the government, whoever cares about other people is stupid. Just look out for #1. Follow the laws as long as it is in your best interests… in other words, don’t break the law when the cops are around… If you think about life that way, love becomes nothing more than a four-letter word. There is no difference between lust and love. Self-sacrifice is stupidity; kindness and caring are just a waste of time (unless it gets you something, like sex…) One-night stands make a lot of sense in this context… you just want sex, no strings attached. Some people can live like this, I am not one of them. I care too much, even when I say I don’t, even when I have repressed my emotions and feelings beyond recognition, I know that deep inside, this is not the way to live.
     Buddism. Now here is something interesting… I must give up all desires… because desires cause suffering. The way to nirvana is by meditation. To desire nothing, when you have reached this stage, you will become one with the world. Because in fact, this world is just an illusion, there is no self. So what happens when you meditate upon a desire you wish to be rid of day and night, and devote yourself to ridding yourself of desires, but you cannot do so? What do you do then? Suicide will get you nowhere, you’ll just get reborn. Whether or not God exists is irrelevant. But these are the words of a man, no more, no less. He never claimed to be God, never wished to be worshipped. Just stop all your desires by living your life the “middle way” and become one with the world. The piece of logic that throws me is this… If you desire to desire nothing, isn’t the desire to desire nothing, itself a desire? How then does one get rid of that desire? (If I have misrepresented the ideas of buddism, I am sorry and would like someone to correct me. seriously.)

— My world with God —

     God is good. Would someone like God command you to do evil? Exactly… ^_^ So then, what is evil? If someone tells you a good thing to do and you choose another route, what would you be doing? Yup… I think that’s pretty simple. As always, it’s alot easier to say than to do. So let me quote from my little instruction book… ^_^
    
     One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
     Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

— Matthew 22:35-40 —

    
Father God, thank you for your guidance. Thank you for all these brothers and sisters who raise me up during times of trouble and turmoil. My cup overflows, Lord. I am blessed indeed. I pray all this in the name he who died for us, Amen.

Edit: Utter grossness, so much so I could not help but share…
(Warning: Do not read while eating or drinking!!!) 
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~serey/gross.html
This link provided courtesy of imrealsleepy

~ Taken for granted ~

God, I realize now how much I have been taking my time at your house, or in this case, one of your houses of worship for granted. My father has told me in no uncertain terms that he does not want me going to my current church any longer. He dislikes… maybe that’s too kind, hates? the leaders of my current church. Forgiveness is not to be taken lightly… The situation is beyond my remedy. It is either I keep going to my current church and end up in bad relations with my dad, or I find another church and lose the fellowship I have just recently learned to enjoy, with friends I was getting to know, and with a family like any other… tied by blood, Your blood. I have recently finished reading a book called “Out of the saltshaker, into the world” I think this might be Your way of telling me to get out of the saltshaker. Father, please let it be done Your way, because I am sure that if I did it my way, everything would get @#%@#$’ed up beyond my imagination. If it is Your will, guide me to another church. You may shut the door, but you always open a window. Give me peace and let me rejoice in You, Lord. I am crushed, but not abandoned. Broken down, but not destroyed. Come what may, You will still be with me, help me to remember that.

I pray all this in the name of Jesus, on whom our hopes, our dreams lie, Amen.

P.S. Yes, I want to cry. A man can cry. “Jesus wept.” But the tears will not come. Maybe they will come later… just sadness in my heart, to have to choose between two families by blood.

~ Miracles ~

Healing the lame, rain of fire, raising the dead, dividing the Red Sea, calming storms, exorcising demons, edible mana appearing on the ground, feeding 5,000 with 2 people’s worth of food, water to wine, walking on water, spliting curtains without a touch, curing disease by touch, just by saying a word…

What makes a miracle, a miracle?

I think there are many things that can be explained by “natural” phenomenon. There could be a medical explanation for how Jesus got a lame person to walk… the power of belief can make people do things that they normally would not do. The dividing of the Red Sea as the Israelites fled Egypt is sometimes explained as a combination of high winds and earthquake. Probability of something like this actually happening: as close to zero as humans can imagine. (I’m not good at math, does it show? ) So then what really constitutes a miracle?

God breaking through. That is what a miracle is. Taking something ordinary and adding the “oomph!” that takes it to extraordinary. Breaking the “laws” of physics. Showing that the wise don’t really know everything. That there are somethings that we see as impossible, are actually possible. God makes all things possible. It defies what we see as “true.” It takes a sense of God, of something beyond us and what we can do… in order to believe in a miracle.

Everyday, doctors affect lives. If something awesome happens, it’s called a medical breakthrough. If someone lives when all doctors think the person should be dead, they say he/she pulled through because of a great fighting spirit. How come even if probability is against you, do you try anyway? Because somewhere deep within, we know that even if everyone was to tell you it is impossible and everything points the other way, God makes all things possible. To walk on water, to be loved by God, to have something that seems out of reach… Joy, Peace, Hope, Love….

P.S. By their very definition, miracles are not normal. If a miracle ever was to become a “normal” event… it is no longer miraculous… it is normal (taken for granted).
Case and point: Human Life, Growing, Healing, Consciousness, Weather Forcasts…

   During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
   But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
   “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come ot you on the water.”
   “Come,” he said.
   Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
   Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

— Matthew 15:25-31 —

God, you are beyond something I can touch… beyond something I can see.. beyond the limits of my mind, my ken. Thank you for showing us that there is something beyond us, beyond human control. That we are not the end-all-be-all of life. It is good to know. I would be very very afraid, if everything I did was all that mattered and there was nothing beyond me and what I can do… In Jesus name, Amen.