Have you ever been let down before? Most recently I started reading a series of books. They were an allegory to the Christian life. Honestly, as I read them I felt closer to God than I had felt in a long time. After finishing the first book, I just couldn't wait to get my hands on the next one in the series.
You see, something that you should know about me is that I enjoy reading and when I come across an author that I really enjoy, I want to find as many books by that author as possible. So naturally when I looked up a recent author, I wanted to find out other books that they had written. I wanted to discover more into their life, and their Christian journey.
Yet after delving into this most recent author, I decided to do research on their life. I discovered that they were a missionary to Jerusalem. I was so excited to learn more, but when I learned about the end of their life, I was disappointed to discover that they had fallen into pantheistic and new age beliefs about God. I can not tell you how much this hurt me. It stung. I was so much into what this author was saying, and I could see so many parallels in my life to what they were saying and even to their own personal life.
How could this be? I had been drinking in this author's words, and they agreed so much with Scripture, but then to find out that the one writing the book, had gone off the deep end was almost too much to bear.
Now, friends, I am not making any judgments about that person's salvation, they may have or may not have come back to Christ, who am I to say. Yet, to realize that someone that I enjoyed so much went astray in their thinking, hurt very much. In a sense I almost felt like I had been betrayed by a Christian role model, and in a sense I was.
So where does this leave me now? This is a great question. I am coming to the conclusion that there is only One who I can truly follow, and that He will never let me down. He has written a book, called the Word of God. That author did not go off the deep end before He died. He stayed on the blood stained path until it was finished. As I type this, a verse that comes to mind is:
John 10:8, which says: "All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them."
So a lesson that I have learned is that God's Word is the ONLY true and safe guide through life. Man's opinions, and writings, though flowery and nice, are not safe to put my trust in. I need the Good Shepherd to lead me.
Maybe you have faced something similar to what I am talking about, if so, why not leave a comment, and share that experience. Share how God is helping you get back to His Word, and to putting your trust solely in Him.
Proverbs 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
Proverbs 3:4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Monday, February 13, 2017
To the Other Side
Have you ever had one of those moments where you felt like you were a huge failure in life. I know I am currently going through one of those moments as my fingers press these keys down to make this blog entry. Currently, I have a family of 5 that I am trying to provide for, and the needs of providing for them are starting to increase. Unfortunately, I only make so much money. Sometimes it seems like the money is just not going to be enough to provide for all of them. Indeed, when I look to this world, and myself to provide, this is an impossible task. Looking at myself I see a burning desire to be a success in life, no matter what!
I want to be that dad who provides in spades for his family, and has a great job to do so. I have tried starting an online business, but the progression of events in the process have been very wearing on my family. Not only that, but I learned first hand that I probably am not an expert web designer. There are hundreds of people that design web pages for people all the time, and probably would do a much better job than I. I have my IT associates degree, but no one wants to hire someone with only an associates in IT.
Then there is that desire to succeed in programming. I've heard that programmers can sometimes make a six figure income. That would really pay off my school debts, and help my family become a success, I think. Yet I am met quickly by the cold choke of reality around my neck that says, "You don't have the skills necessary, and your family can't afford the strain it is going to take for you to learn them or invest in a better job.
Right now I feel ship wrecked. I started going to school to be a pastor, but that did not work out. I had a hard time concentrating due to my medication for a malady that I have. Finally, I got married and got out of school, but in 2010, went to school online at South University Online to get an associates degree in information technology.
I can still hear the recruiter's words over the phone "Yeah, having to pay off that debt is difficult. What I think you need to do Brandon, is to go back to school, and get a degree, so you can get a better job than pizza hut and pay off your student loan debt." I hungrily ate up the words and made the decision to go back to school.
Unfortunately, what I learned there did not really benefit me in the long run. Instead, I found myself only deeper in debt. Indeed, I had heard the idea that "if you are in debt, digging a deeper hole is not the way to get yourself out. Yet I grabbed that shovel and just kept on digging. Now fast forward to today, and I can't find a job, except working for my dad.
All of these ideas sounded so good, but I have fallen short big time. So how do I turn this around? Can I? I don't think that it is possible for me to at this point.
The swirling and foaming reality of debts, and failed attempts at providing for my family, have all but sunk the ship that I am in.
I've heard the phrase before: "You are the captain of your own ship" Maybe you yourself have heard that one as well. I would like to announce today, that this is a bold faced lie. The idea of being in a ship is true, but the idea of being the captain is an illusion. I am the captain insomuch as I choose who I am going to let steer my ship, but that is it. The destination is either the bottom of the sea or the other side.
So what is this "other side" all about? Where am I going? What is my goal? What am I trying to get to? I want to be a success and that, to me, is getting my debts paid off and providing for my family, and being a success in the work world.
Now after this brief look back at my life, I have a partial perspective on where I am, but it isn't good enough. I need a much better one.
Where do I turn to for that? When I started this blog entry tonight, it was because I had tried to do a video blog, but it fell apart right towards the end. So I decided to write about it.
So, to get a better perspective of things, I'm going to look at the Word of God. There is a lesson to be learned here. Let's see what it is:
In the gospel of Mark chapter 4, there is a story about Jesus and His disciples. Jesus gave His disciples a command: "And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side."
There is the other side. A goal that is given. A simply command, and to be honest, if I were the disciples and had as much experience as they had crossing lake Galilee, I wouldn't have been a bit afraid. To me, it would be routine. Afterall, these are expert fisherman. They have crossed this lake many times.
This is how things started out for me getting out of high school. I was ambitous and full of life. I had one goal and one goal only. I wanted to become a pastor, and reach many people for Jesus. I thought that somehow I had good things to share with people.
Oh the twists and turns my life took when I got to college, it would take a thousand or more blog posts to explain everything. The "other side" was only 4 years away, and I didn't make it. Indeed I have realized that every step of the way on this sea is going to be a battle and a struggle.
Yes, Jesus is in the boat, and yes He is with me, but I keep forgetting He is there.
Notice what happens next in the story:
"And there were also with him other little ships."
Do I somehow think that I am alone in all of this? I'm sure that you yourself (the one reading this) have found yourself in a similar situation. Indeed, I think that we all are on the same lake, and going the same place. Are you there yet? What about your life?
I want to know, please feel free to put it down in the comments, also, is there a Bible story that appeals to you in all of this?
"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full."
Honestly, I feel like my life is full right now of discouragements, and failures to the point where the boat is about to sink. Perhaps, I am at a point where I need to cry out to Jesus. Yet it's so much easier to try and "save myself". After all, if I can keep up the illusion that I am ok, then I won't have to be embarrised about my problems. I can keep trying, and then "no one can call me a failure." Yet what is all of this trying getting me? More wind, more storms, more callouses, more blisters, more pain, and only a bigger building sense of failure.
What do I do? Jesus is still in the boat. He has not left. Maybe I should awaken Him, especially in the situation that I'm in. I'm so fed up of being a failure, but what's the use of struggling to pretend that I'm somehow going to become a success.
***Now at this point I want you to know that this is really my rationale as I write. As I am putting the Bible texts into this blog, there is actually a battle going on***
So what does the next verse say happened? "And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?"
The question of the day for me. How can I humble myself enough to ask, but ask I will by God's grace. Even though my life is a wreck I will cry out to the One who fixes wrecks: Jesus Christ!
What is His response?
"And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."
I want to be that dad who provides in spades for his family, and has a great job to do so. I have tried starting an online business, but the progression of events in the process have been very wearing on my family. Not only that, but I learned first hand that I probably am not an expert web designer. There are hundreds of people that design web pages for people all the time, and probably would do a much better job than I. I have my IT associates degree, but no one wants to hire someone with only an associates in IT.
Then there is that desire to succeed in programming. I've heard that programmers can sometimes make a six figure income. That would really pay off my school debts, and help my family become a success, I think. Yet I am met quickly by the cold choke of reality around my neck that says, "You don't have the skills necessary, and your family can't afford the strain it is going to take for you to learn them or invest in a better job.
Right now I feel ship wrecked. I started going to school to be a pastor, but that did not work out. I had a hard time concentrating due to my medication for a malady that I have. Finally, I got married and got out of school, but in 2010, went to school online at South University Online to get an associates degree in information technology.
I can still hear the recruiter's words over the phone "Yeah, having to pay off that debt is difficult. What I think you need to do Brandon, is to go back to school, and get a degree, so you can get a better job than pizza hut and pay off your student loan debt." I hungrily ate up the words and made the decision to go back to school.
Unfortunately, what I learned there did not really benefit me in the long run. Instead, I found myself only deeper in debt. Indeed, I had heard the idea that "if you are in debt, digging a deeper hole is not the way to get yourself out. Yet I grabbed that shovel and just kept on digging. Now fast forward to today, and I can't find a job, except working for my dad.
All of these ideas sounded so good, but I have fallen short big time. So how do I turn this around? Can I? I don't think that it is possible for me to at this point.
The swirling and foaming reality of debts, and failed attempts at providing for my family, have all but sunk the ship that I am in.
I've heard the phrase before: "You are the captain of your own ship" Maybe you yourself have heard that one as well. I would like to announce today, that this is a bold faced lie. The idea of being in a ship is true, but the idea of being the captain is an illusion. I am the captain insomuch as I choose who I am going to let steer my ship, but that is it. The destination is either the bottom of the sea or the other side.
So what is this "other side" all about? Where am I going? What is my goal? What am I trying to get to? I want to be a success and that, to me, is getting my debts paid off and providing for my family, and being a success in the work world.
Now after this brief look back at my life, I have a partial perspective on where I am, but it isn't good enough. I need a much better one.
Where do I turn to for that? When I started this blog entry tonight, it was because I had tried to do a video blog, but it fell apart right towards the end. So I decided to write about it.
So, to get a better perspective of things, I'm going to look at the Word of God. There is a lesson to be learned here. Let's see what it is:
In the gospel of Mark chapter 4, there is a story about Jesus and His disciples. Jesus gave His disciples a command: "And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side."
There is the other side. A goal that is given. A simply command, and to be honest, if I were the disciples and had as much experience as they had crossing lake Galilee, I wouldn't have been a bit afraid. To me, it would be routine. Afterall, these are expert fisherman. They have crossed this lake many times.
This is how things started out for me getting out of high school. I was ambitous and full of life. I had one goal and one goal only. I wanted to become a pastor, and reach many people for Jesus. I thought that somehow I had good things to share with people.
Oh the twists and turns my life took when I got to college, it would take a thousand or more blog posts to explain everything. The "other side" was only 4 years away, and I didn't make it. Indeed I have realized that every step of the way on this sea is going to be a battle and a struggle.
Yes, Jesus is in the boat, and yes He is with me, but I keep forgetting He is there.
Notice what happens next in the story:
"And there were also with him other little ships."
Do I somehow think that I am alone in all of this? I'm sure that you yourself (the one reading this) have found yourself in a similar situation. Indeed, I think that we all are on the same lake, and going the same place. Are you there yet? What about your life?
I want to know, please feel free to put it down in the comments, also, is there a Bible story that appeals to you in all of this?
"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full."
Honestly, I feel like my life is full right now of discouragements, and failures to the point where the boat is about to sink. Perhaps, I am at a point where I need to cry out to Jesus. Yet it's so much easier to try and "save myself". After all, if I can keep up the illusion that I am ok, then I won't have to be embarrised about my problems. I can keep trying, and then "no one can call me a failure." Yet what is all of this trying getting me? More wind, more storms, more callouses, more blisters, more pain, and only a bigger building sense of failure.
What do I do? Jesus is still in the boat. He has not left. Maybe I should awaken Him, especially in the situation that I'm in. I'm so fed up of being a failure, but what's the use of struggling to pretend that I'm somehow going to become a success.
***Now at this point I want you to know that this is really my rationale as I write. As I am putting the Bible texts into this blog, there is actually a battle going on***
So what does the next verse say happened? "And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?"
The question of the day for me. How can I humble myself enough to ask, but ask I will by God's grace. Even though my life is a wreck I will cry out to the One who fixes wrecks: Jesus Christ!
What is His response?
"And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."
so I must notice Jesus response here. Friends, as I have typed this very thing out, I have just experienced peace in my life about this very situation. I have experienced a calm in my life. I can testify to you tonight, that Jesus can still calm storms. How did He just calm my ravings? I don't know, but to say: He spoke. You see friends, His Word is still powerful, even today. He can say to all of our problems, including my desire to be a success in life: "Peace be still", and it will calm down.
Are you having a difficult time? Please take your trials to Jesus. We must give these things to Him, because He promises to take them, and then give us peace.
Finally let us notice what Jesus says to the disciples, and to me with my worries of absolute destruction, and what He says to you as well:
"
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Starting Over
Lately, there have been several things that have been bothering me. The first one is the fact that I was supposed to be a pastor. That was what my calling in life was. Now I find myself in construction, and computers. The second thing that bothers me is a lack of "calling" in my life. However, yesterday, all of this changed. What led to me dropping out of college? Well, I wanted to get married, and so I did. This was back in 2009. Now in 2016, 7 years later, I have four children, and although this is great, it is still different than what I believe God had in mind for me. Yesterday, my mind was bubbling over with the "what could have beens" as far as working for God. It seems that whenever I wanted to really "go all out" for God, that my family would need attention. With four children though, that is to be expected. There is a whole world though, that does not know about Him. They need to be told that He is coming back soon. They need to know that He loves them. All of this was on my mind yesterday morning as I sat in church waiting for the sermon to begin. In my mind I prayed that God would speak to me through the message.
What He said was at some point comforting and at some point hurt very deeply. Like a surgeon with a skillful scalpel, He had to cut away at a lot of the cancerous tissue of regret that surrounded my deep boil of hopelessness. This boil had to be popped, before any relief could be found from the pain that was affecting me.
It all started as I was sitting upstairs in the audio visual room at church and talking to God. My prayer was simple... "Dear Lord, please speak to me in this message. Please show me, where I'm to go from here in my life." I eagerly waited for the Lord's reply. The service had been good up to this point. There was great Christmas songs, and a great children's story. Yet I knew the best was yet to come. So sitting down I held my 3 year old son in my lap and began to listen.
The pastor's sermon was a series on the life of king David. Maybe you have heard the story, and maybe you haven't, but for those who haven't, I want to encourage you to watch the sermon I have posted below, because this was the sermon I heard earlier.
In a nutshell, God had told me that, yes I had made a mistake, and that it would forever change the course of my life. He had great plans for me to be a great worker for Him, but that now I would have to work in a more humbler field. In other words, my life would not go in the direction that I was wanting it to go. Yet, He has not forsaken me. Before me is plain hard work. Construction and lots of it as well as working on my dad's company website. Oh, it hurts, but there is One who walks with me along the way.
Friend, maybe you feel this way right now. Maybe you feel like you have really blown your dreams for your life, and God's dreams for your life, but the good news is that God has another plan. No, it's not what He ultimately dreamed for you, but it is a plan to give you a hope and a future! You are not alone, please know that. If there is anything I hope this message will give you, I hope that is hope. Hope to replace the hopelessness that may be surrounding your life. Please watch the video in this blog entry, to see the church service and sermon that I recently experienced, and take hope once again in the powerful Name of Jesus Christ!
What He said was at some point comforting and at some point hurt very deeply. Like a surgeon with a skillful scalpel, He had to cut away at a lot of the cancerous tissue of regret that surrounded my deep boil of hopelessness. This boil had to be popped, before any relief could be found from the pain that was affecting me.
It all started as I was sitting upstairs in the audio visual room at church and talking to God. My prayer was simple... "Dear Lord, please speak to me in this message. Please show me, where I'm to go from here in my life." I eagerly waited for the Lord's reply. The service had been good up to this point. There was great Christmas songs, and a great children's story. Yet I knew the best was yet to come. So sitting down I held my 3 year old son in my lap and began to listen.
The pastor's sermon was a series on the life of king David. Maybe you have heard the story, and maybe you haven't, but for those who haven't, I want to encourage you to watch the sermon I have posted below, because this was the sermon I heard earlier.
In a nutshell, God had told me that, yes I had made a mistake, and that it would forever change the course of my life. He had great plans for me to be a great worker for Him, but that now I would have to work in a more humbler field. In other words, my life would not go in the direction that I was wanting it to go. Yet, He has not forsaken me. Before me is plain hard work. Construction and lots of it as well as working on my dad's company website. Oh, it hurts, but there is One who walks with me along the way.
Friend, maybe you feel this way right now. Maybe you feel like you have really blown your dreams for your life, and God's dreams for your life, but the good news is that God has another plan. No, it's not what He ultimately dreamed for you, but it is a plan to give you a hope and a future! You are not alone, please know that. If there is anything I hope this message will give you, I hope that is hope. Hope to replace the hopelessness that may be surrounding your life. Please watch the video in this blog entry, to see the church service and sermon that I recently experienced, and take hope once again in the powerful Name of Jesus Christ!
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Faith in God
This evening as I was studying my Bible, I was doing some thinking. Thinking about the importance of sharing Jesus with others. However, a question came to mind: " how am I going to share Jesus when I am far away from everyone around me?" Just then an idea came to my mind. What if I were to do an audio recording of myself preaching? So I got my phone out and began with prayer and to share the Word of God. I must admit that when I started I was quite discouraged. I didn't feel like reading the Bible. However instead of giving up the Lord helped me to read His word. the personal blessing that I received is incomprehensible I was blessed in so many ways. my encouragement to you friend is to read the Bible and share the good news of Jesus whether you feel it or not. His Word will help you.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
The Reporter
Have you ever wanted to get more out of your Bible study but are unsure how? Then this post is for you!
The Bible study method that I am talking about here I will call the reporter method. This method is really easy and simply involves looking at a Passage of Scripture and then asking questions about it to God in prayer as you go. In a sense you are having an audience with God. First start with prayer asking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Read the story surrounding the text. Then go back to that verse and answer the questions by the story or information. surrounding that verse.
Questions could start with:
1. Who
2. What
3. When
4. How
5. Where
6. Why
At this point see the story again in your mind and use your imagination. For example, if it is a story you could try and figure out the characters, pick one and then imagine:
What must have been going through their mind.
How might they have felt?
How were they involved in the story?
What could have been their thoughts about other characters in the story?
For thoughts that are recorded, Why did they think this way?
The list could go on and on...
Next ask how these questions relate to you using the starter questions.
Record the answers in some way! God will guide and direct you! Want to share with someone?
Pick out three of the lessons learned and discuss them with your friends. Ask questions and see what they have come up with in their own personal study. Share your findings on Facebook, YouTube or in a blog like this one. Again these are just suggestions.
Have more ways? Post them in the comments below so we all can grow! Always pray for God to guide you in the study of His Word :)
Thursday, July 30, 2015
The Bush Still Burns
Today I would like to examine a passage of Scripture found in Exodus chapter 3 verse 3. The Bible says: " And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." The first question that may come to your mind as you read this is: Where is he going with this? Indeed from a surface reading this text may seem out of place. What is missing here is context. What is that you ask? Context is the story surrounding the verse that the verse is embedded in. To better understand this verse in the Bible we need to have an idea of what surrounds this verse. Before we do that though maybe there are some questions we can ask about this verse. So let's take a closer look. Here is the verse again.
" And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt."
Here are some questions that come to my mind, and yours might be different, and that is ok.
1. What is Moses doing when he says this?
2. Why is a Bush burning?
3. When did this happen in the story?
4. How far was the Bush from Moses?
5. What happened when Moses turned aside?
6. What does this tell me about God?
Each question will help to give us better answers about the verse in question.
Next is application.
Application can happen as a result of questions as well.
1. What can I learn from this about having a relationship with God?
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Didn't Get What I Wanted But What I Needed
9Tonight did not turn out the way I wanted it to. Before I get into that it's important for me to give some background to this situation.
Tonight I wanted to go over to my brother's house. At that Point I had a thought in my head that I didn't like, but I knew it was the right thing to do. I needed to ask God what He wanted for me. How did I come to this conclusion? While I was preparing to go to my brother's tonight, I noticed a torn page laying on the bed in the guest room. Examining it a little bit closer I discovered that it was a page ripped out of the Bible. My wife told me that one of the kids had ripped it out of a kids Bible. Picking up the tattered page I began to read. The Bible Story was very clear to understand. The children of Israel would wait for the pillar of fire to lift from camp before they moved on. At this point I was pricked to the heart. I knew what had to be done, but didn't really want to do it. The unrenewed human heart is that way:(
Getting on my knees I prayed for God's will to be done. A few minutes my wife was on the phone with my brother's wife and their kids had gone to bed. I was disappointed but relieved at the same time. I was relieved because Jesus had done for me what I never could have done in my own strength! Though I was disappointed I realized that God knew best! He is so amazing!
Psalms 37:4 KJV
Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
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