Having experienced the real thing, I have to admit the same nausea, rejection and sadness came upon me. Even my heart hurt slightly. It was a very mild version of the same thing.
When events like this occur in our life it is important to immediately take our eyes off from ourselves and start putting things into perspective. Selfishness is the root of all unhappiness, depression and grief.
Life will go on regardless of what we are facing. The awesome news is that we are going through something and eventually we get through it. We might come out a little battered and bruised but that depends how long we want to stay in the storm. If we want to get out of it quickly then the scars won’t be as deep and we will heal faster.
This life is short; shorter than we can even imagine until the end comes when it’s too late to do things differently.
Life is meant to be lived in the present and not in the past.
Sure I am disappointed but more so, I am grateful to have had the time I did.
Life is changing once again and I hate change. But that is unrealistic to think life will remain as it is today. Everything that we can see, touch or smell is temporary. But our memories, which are unseen, can last a lifetime.
Always keep the good memories and leave the bad ones in the past where they belong. It’s too much a burden to carry sadness, grief, resentment, bitterness or anger around with us each day.
Happiness, peace, joy, hope, love and contentment are no burden at all, so fill your life with these instead. Focus each day on the good things that life brings us. That way when disappointment comes, which it will, you will have a storehouse of good memories to draw upon to get you quickly through your storm.
Life is like a coin. There are two sides to everything. We can look forward to a promising future; look at the good things in our life; see the bright side in every circumstance (the front of a coin), or we can always look at the poop; the shit in our life; the bad in every situation (the tail side). The choice is yours. Do you want heads or do you want tails?
Yesterday morning I sent out a tweet about atheism and someone looking for what I believe was a fight responded. I believe this since he/she wasn’t a follower of mine or anyone I follow. This person obviously was uncomfortable or unsure of his/her opinion or why were they looking for people to go after. I never search to find people who speak against the existence of God to tell them they are wrong so I have to ask myself why the person came to me.
The tweet came from my Pinterest account that I repined from someone else. It wasn’t originally submitted by me. However, it was based from the Word of God, from text that is two-thousand years old that has stood the test of time and text that I have evaluated myself.
Everyone, including atheists, ultimately knows there is a God (Romans 1:19; 2:14–15), so we are literally “without excuse” (Romans 1:20). The statement, “Prove to me there is a God,” continues. God did show up in the person of Jesus Christ, but they crucified Him (1 Corinthians 2:8). The atheist or agnostic rejects the truth in unrighteousness & will deny the clear evidence for God. They invent “rescuing devices” (Romans 1:18–21)—like the idea that aliens planted our DNA on earth.
The tweeter accused me of being indoctrinated, which is ridiculous. The person decided to make accusations without even knowing me. Granted there may be some people who have been indoctrinated by so-called religious beliefs such as cults or family beliefs, but I am not one of them.
I am very skeptical when it comes being indoctrinated by any organization, religion, political views, the media or even mankind. I weigh everything! I retain an open mind on everything with the exception of those things that I have determined to be absolutely true through close examination, time, and personal experience.
I have the ability to rationalize which I find is lacking in today’s society. People today accept what they are told without weighing both sides of the information they receive. For examination, if they were raised a Democrat or Republican by their parents they continue to be so because “we’ve always been that way.” The same holds true with many people who call themselves Christians. Their parents were Catholic, Baptist. Presbyterian or another religion, for example, so they just continue the tradition.
Not me. Like I said, I am skeptical about everything.
As a small child I believed what I was told until I found out differently. If my parents told me something I believed them until I caught them in a lie. Then I had to reexamine everything they taught me. The same goes for what mankind has told me, political parties, and so on.
If someone tells me something that I have never heard before I will believe them but on the other hand I place that in a section of my mind looking for confirmation of whether it is true or not. Or if I have enough information from experience or other bits of knowledge I can compare and evaluate. I do not quickly toss away what I have been told until I have given it enough thought and honest evaluation to make a determination and even then I don’t consider it closed.
Every one of us has questioned whether there is a God or not. I determined as a teenager that there was a God though simple observation. I looked outside my bedroom window and saw a tree. Man has never created anything out of nothing. Man has never been able to recreate a tree out of a void. Man has never been able to even reproduce a tree that can reproduce itself through a seed. Therefore, I determined that a superior being had to create it. It didn’t just show up here. Someone had to create it at some point.
The more I find out about the human body the more it confirms my belief in a superior being. We call that superior being God.
I don’t believe in the theory of Evolution. For one thing it is just a theory. All I need is one scientific law that disproves it’s not true. But though time I now have hundreds of truths that prove Evolution is false. But I have yet to find anyone or any scientific evidence that can disprove Creation.
I don’t believe the earth is millions of years old since I have seen scientific evidence uncovered during my lifetime that disproves the dating of the earth. Until such a time that scientist can prove otherwise I will stick to what I know has not been disproved. I have seen too much evidence that supports the earth being more in line with the Bible, including the age of the Grand Canyon.
There are universal truths that I stand on that have not been disproved.
I know for a fact that there is good and evil, right and wrong. I know for a fact that which man believes is good is not always good. I do know through personal experience that what the Bible says is good is good. And what it says is bad is bad. I have yet to prove otherwise.
Basic reasoning tells me that if God loves me He wouldn’t just let me go stumbling through life without some kind of guidance. So He gave me the Bible. It is my instruction manual. This life is complex. God is my Father. If He is my Father, then I can look at my earthly father to get a general idea of what a father is like. Unlike my earthy father, God is the perfect Father. After all He created me so He knows how He created me to live.
We find that in everything that man had made. When used as designed we have success. When we try to use it in a way it wasn't intended for we run into problems.
I use very simple rationality to weigh each matter.
The fact is, Jesus existed. There is more firsthand documentation that still exists to prove this. More so than any other human being. Through multiple witnesses, God stated that Jesus was His Son and Jesus confirmed the fact Himself through His ministry. Jesus fulfilled hundreds of prophesies about His coming. To do so, one would have to be God in the flesh. The scientific probability of a human doing it is zero to none. No one has been able to prove otherwise. Jesus has never led me astray either. I believe in Him. I believe He is who He says He is.
I could go on and on but the fact is that I now have four decades of experience to draw on. Four decades of making bad decisions and good decisions.
I have tried man’s ways and I have tried God’s way. Man’s ways always, always, always brings problems and regret. God’s ways never have. I have tested and tired the two. I will stick with God’s ways since He has never been wrong or led me astray.
I have so much more that I have discovered and personally encountered in my lifetime that proves to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that God exists and His ways are best. That matter is closed. I have not take anything for granted.
I must ask you dear reader, are you willing to take the risk of whether God exists or not. Whether Jesus is the Son of God. If eternity, heaven and hell are true is it worth waiting until you get there, when it’s too late, to discover the truth.
I know for a fact that God exists and therefore I believe in a heaven without the presence of evil and I believe in a hell without the presence of good. But the love I experience from God and the blessings every day are worth believing in Him, regardless of the afterlife.
You see, I experience a taste of heaven every day of my life from God. And I experience a taste of what hell might be like from man. I want heaven, and I want God in every aspect of my life. I have not been indoctrinated. I have experienced, lived it and tested it myself.
Choose your words carefully since they are returned to you, either to convict you or to bless you.
I saw a tweet this morning that said “Why are there so many stupid people in this world?” What a foolish question to ask. We are all ignorant about something. This came from someone who often says ignorant things. Don’t we all?
Hasn’t that happened to you? I know it has happened to me. I have criticized someone only to do the same thing myself in the future or be reminded later that I had done the exact same thing in my past. It’s like it turns into a self-fulfilling prophesy. In fact, the words we speak are prophesies about our future.
I’m beginning to understand how important our words are. I’ve known since I was very young that the words we speak are important but each day I’m understanding it more and more. I have enough years behind me to confirm how important our thoughts and words are.
Words are like seeds. What we plant is what we will reap. I think God gave me a good Gibbs head slap a few years ago and I’m finally waking up realizing how important every single word that I release from my mouth is. Even our thoughts are extremely powerful. They can be life changing or deadly.
No wonder the Lord said to say few words.
Ecclesiastes 5:2
Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.
Ecclesiastes 5:3b
And a fool's voice is known by his many words.
We will give an account of every idle (careless; useless) word we’ve ever spoken in the day of judgment.
Matthew 12:36-37
“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
I don’t know about you but I haven’t had to wait until the day of judgment since I am constantly being convicted by my useless idle words.
Our words speak what is in our heart. What we think about the most will rise to the surface and escape our mouth and convict us about what we really think.
I know this person who says things that insults all of her friends and she doesn’t even realize it. She even insults herself since she is the same person she is always irritated about. Haven't we all done this at some point in our life?
Sometimes we need to just step back and listen and evaluate what we are saying. Do we like the sound of us? Would we like to hear that all the time?
The Bible is a wealth of information for successfully navigating this world. It blows me away constantly with the wisdom it holds and the answer to the things we face each and every day.
The bottom line is: Only release the words that you want to be returned to you. Never release words that you don’t want in your life. This is a valuable lesson to learn.
Take a look back at a recent or past event in your life that you were troubled about then ask yourself ‘was it worth it?’
Were the nights that you tossed and turned with worry worth it? Did that solve your problem? Were the tears you shed worth it? Did those tears solve anything? Was the anger inside of you worth it? Were the consequences of the damage you did to your health, to your relationships because of your worry, anger, frustration worth it? Did any of that solve or change your situation?
Is or was hating your job worth it? Did it destroy your happiness? Was it worth it?
Now, don’t blame your circumstances since they were only circumstances. The only thing you can blame is your attitude. We often cannot change our circumstances but we can change our attitude.
We can put our faith towards the circumstance working out in our behalf or we can put our faith in that it won’t. Which outcome do you prefer? That’s where your faith should be.
If you know that difficulty can confront you at work, while driving, with family members, while shopping, then is it worth getting upset over? It comes with the situation. Instead find a healthy way of getting through those times. Change your attitude.
Our expectations end up being our desires. If we expect to be unhappy then why are you angry when you are? Isn’t that what you expected? Isn’t that what you hoped for? Our expectations are our hopes.
Everything in our past is now in the past. When we honestly look back at those times, we see how foolish our attitude was. We should have just smiled knowing it is a momentary event, then continue with the day enjoying every minute.
The things we worried about last week have been forgotten, but the damage that we caused ourselves will remain. Was it worth it?
This is what Joyce Meyer tells herself every morning so a couple of years ago I decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised that something wonderful happens each time I profess it aloud, most often within the half hour.
Sometimes the "wonderful" is an event or something physical. Other times, it is a prayer answered, or the realization of a blessing received and not noticed, or a prayer answered that you thought wasn't, or to experience a feeling of love inside that is so powerful that it wants to explode. This is why it is so exciting wondering what the "wonderful" will be that day. It surprises you each time it happens.
Yesterday, I said it aloud again in the morning and kept waiting all day long for the “wonderful” to appear. Granted, blessing upon blessing happened but no “wow” moments like I’m accustomed to when saying this phrase. I must admit that I’m sure God answered that request almost immediately but my mind was focused on something else and didn’t realize it.
Last night in the darkened bedroom as I was waiting to drift off to sleep speaking to the Lord, I was overcome by the realization that God has given me the desires of my heart and all I had to do was to delight myself in the Lord. I practically cried myself to sleep, not from sorrow but from happiness. That was my “wow” moment.
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
When we get so caught up in earthly desires we fail to experience the best things in life. The things that bring true happiness... the things that bring everlasting happiness... the happiness that the cares of this world cannot destroy or take away.
For over two years now I have drenched myself in the Word of God. I have listened to hundreds and hundreds of Christian messages from a half dozen or so Bible teachers that God has brought into my life in the pursuit of happiness.
I just wanted to be happy. Isn’t that what we all desire?
We are constantly on the search for happiness instead of going to the source of all happiness… the Lord.
The world will tell you differently but I’m here to ask you… have you found it out in the world? In worldly possessions... in worldly pursuits... in worldly beliefs? I don’t think so. You can find happiness there but without God being in the center of it, the happiness you experience will only be temporary. Then you will be off pursuing something else. Searching and searching for something you will never find. Happiness is internal, not in external things.
True happiness is when you understand how this world operates and conform to it. The only way to do that is to go to the Creator. He created this earth for us to enjoy but there are laws that govern how it operates. If we don’t know those laws they bring death or unhappiness. Just like the law of gravity. When we cooperate with it, we can use it to our advantage. When we don’t believe in it or disregard it, then it will kill us or hurt us.
There are also truths that you will only find in God's Word. Once you understand these truths you know why things are the way they are.
This morning I was faced with my last tweet from last night.
Psalm 119:50b
Your word has given me life.
God’s Word has given me life, the life I always have desired. God has given me the desires of my heart and continues to each and every day.
All it took was me to surrender my life to Him and meditate on His Word. It was the best decision I have ever made. And it is available to you as well.
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
I’ve heard this verse from every minister. I have read it a hundred times, but a few weeks ago this verse jumped out at me and spoke to my heart causing me to meditate on each word.
The Bible scriptures are powerful and are meant for our advantage. We are to use them to navigate this life.
2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
Each word is not randomly placed. Each word is important. Each word in the scriptures is powerful in of themselves. To really understand the Bible we need to “know” the Bible. We need to break down the scripture then meditate on it allowing God to speak truth to us. We are to mull over them throughout the day. That way we get a deep understanding what they mean. The more we meditate on them the greater the revelation. That's when we can grab hold of them and use them. They become as seeds when planted in good soil that produce a great harvest (Mark 4:9).
Joshua 1:8
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Success and prosperity aren’t restricted to our career or to wealth. It applies to our emotional well-being, our spiritual well-being, our health and so much more.
Psalm 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
We find delight when meditating on the Word of God. It keeps us in harmony with the way God created us to live in this land.
Now back to the verse in question:
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Many of us have become accustomed to just throwing the word “hope” out there myself included. But to really have hope in something requires faith to back it up. Faith is the “substance” of hope. To have faith we have to see it coming to pass before it does. We need to imagine it happening and we need to expect that our hope will be fulfilled. If not then it is just wishful thinking with no back-bone behind it.
James 1:6-8
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
When we hope for something it is a form of asking. It should be something that we believe will happen. If we are always wavering how will our mind know that it is really something that we want?
The definition of hope is: noun: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen; a feeling of trust; verb: want something to happen or be the case.
If we hope for something it should a desire. The good news is that God is in the “desire” business.
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
However, we have to play by His rules.
Jesus said in John 10:10
The thief (Satan) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
God wants us to have an abundant life; an abundance of peace, joy, contentment and more.
The next time you hope for something make sure it is something God wills for you then put some faith behind your hope. Give your hope some substance. Imagine your desire coming true then hang on tight believing that it will come true without wavering until you see it come to pass.
Remember, the prayers we pray, the things we ask of God, our hopes and desires He fulfills if we ask and believe in faith without doubting. When we don’t see them answered it is because it was against the word of God, we stopped believing for them or we were so focused on something else we didn’t recognize they came true.
Our prayers, hopes, and desires aren’t always answered exactly how we expect but they are always answered as we prayed. God must work through people. Our prayers, hopes and desires mostly come through us acting on what God instructs us to do or through other people hearing God and obeying Him. They aren’t always instantaneously answered. They can take time.
This is my new goal. I will give substance to my hopes. My imagination and thoughts will give evidence to my hope and I will start seeing better results. I don’t want my hopes just to be thrown out into the world to be blown away. I want my hopes for other people and myself to come true. There is great joy witnessing a hope for someone else being fulfilled.
