Tears of Hope

     I listened to a man singing a simple child song on television. His eyes teared up during his performance. The song was about not giving up on hope and the positive connection that we can have with each other. It was about not giving up on our belief that our world can be better place. This singer lived a hard life of doing drugs and getting drunk. Just like many celebrities he lived his life excessively. I believe that song brought back memories of his own childhood where he was more hopeful and had a better outlook on life. In a way that song soften his heart and brought a few tears to his eyes.
     I saw in the tears of this musician even though he was very old there was still hope for him to change his ways. Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." When the hardness of the heart softens it starts becoming pure and in this purity the light of God's truth can be understood. Empathy and hope can still be restored if your heart can still move you to tears. I believe as long as we are still alive and no matter how old we are we can still be redeemed and start a new path in our lives. Tears in our eyes brought on by a song that we heard could restore our hope and bring us a new beginning.

Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

I Don't Fit In

     What if you feel that you don't fit in? What can you do? You can wait until the world changes around you but I feel that it could take a long time before that happens. You could change and be like them however I do not feel that you want to be like them. I feel the only option that you have is to be the person you want others to be. If you want others to change you must set the example.
     Jesus Christ was rejected by others. Jesus said in John 15:18 "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you." The world hated the Savior of the world, the most perfect man who ever lived. So if the world hated Jesus you know that they will find a way to hate you. What does this mean? You have to keep on living even if some people will hate you because you will eventually find the ones who will love you as you are. There are people out there who do not live their lives by hate there some who have good hearts.
     If you are around people that do not understand you and they even dislike you, look elsewhere for your friends. There are other people in the world who also feel that they do not fit in maybe in time you will find each other. In the meantime keep on being the person you want others to be. If you want them to be friendly, be friendly yourself. If you want them to be more understanding then be more understanding as well. If you think our world is lacking love find that love within you and pour it out onto our world. When we try to change ourselves for the better our world will look better in our eyes.

Our Path to God

     Jesus Christ is our path to God. Through him, we are saved. The way he lived his life is how we should live ours. He patterned his life after God's and he wants us to do the same. In his ministry, he shows us what true love really is. He submitted totally to the will of God and gave up his life for us all.
     Jesus had the courage to stand against those who persecuted him without giving in. He endured and stood firm. He persevered and kept on serving God. His faith was not weakened nor did he doubt his purpose. He gave his love for his people. He forgave them and comforted them with his words. Jesus spoke and taught us what the real truth was. He conquered the world without violence and lived his life in peace.
     Jesus Christ is our role model or should be. He is our only path to God. I know that I far short of his example but I will keep on trying anyway. He showed us what we could be if we just follow his way and make the right choices for our lives. His way is the way out of our trouble and a way to a better life. Love and happiness are within our grasp through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

John 14:6  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
   

The Burning Embers Within Your Soul

      I met a guy who had an anger problem. He was mad and spoke a few swear words my way. This made me angry and I wanted to confront him however I fought back that feeling and walked away. I carried that feeling of anger toward him every time I thought about him, throughout my day. I could not understand why a stranger I did not know could provoke such intense feelings within me. I thought about it and then I began to understand. I had hidden anger within me that I was not aware of. These were like burning embers within my soul. All someone had to do was to pour some fuel upon them to set them aflame like that stranger did with his swear words.
     When I realized that I had hidden anger within me this realization brought me a feeling of peace. I realized that it was not the stranger that was making me mad but those burning embers within my soul that was causing me trouble. If they were not there that stranger could not have set them aflame with his words. If they were not there when I had met that stranger maybe I would have just smiled and walked away thinking that guy was just having a bad day. I would not have let what he had to say bother me throughout my day.
     I do not know exactly why I have a hidden anger problem but it is there sensitive to the words of others. It is something that I am working on and trying my best to have a total peace within my soul instead of a partial one. I do not like having strangers being able to ruin my day with their hurtful words. If I had no burning embers within me there would be nothing to set aflame. I love the feeling of peace within my soul rather than a feeling of hate towards another.
     I have to be more aware of myself in how I am feeling. When you think you have everything under control then something happens like a few swear words from a stranger that set your emotions aflame. I can have peace if I can find those hidden burning embers and put them out before someone sets them a fire. Maybe this is a way that we can have a peaceful world if every one of us would put out the burning embers within before they get the fuel they need to burn out of control.

Romans 12:18 "If  possible, so far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."   

Happiness Through Self-Expression

     Don't you feel at times that what you say and do does not really matter at all? It seems to me that our world tells us that the winners get all the glory and the rest of us get the sorrow of not being the winner. When we do something for our own enjoyment whether it is sports, art, music or some kind of hobby there seems to be somebody there to criticize us. They tell us that what we do just doesn't measure up to a professional standard. They make us feel like we should not be wasting our time if what we do does not make us money or earn us professional recognition. In their mind, we will never be a winner so we should just quit.
     There are so many people who want to give us their opinion whether or not we want them to. Can we not just do things that we enjoy and love without the fear of not being good enough? In a contest, there is only one winner however if we are just having fun why should we worry about winning? Can we not just set back and relax and enjoy the things that we do without having any pressure or anxiety of not reaching somebody else's expectations?
     In a contest there are winners but even if you lose and do your best and love what you do, can you really call yourself a loser? You are doing something that you love and in my eyes that makes you a winner. Many people do not even try.
     If what we do inspires us and we can express those emotions through our activity, does that not make us feel happy? I know to do something that brings me happiness makes me feel like a winner.
    All of us do need an outlet of some kind, a way to express yourself to the world. Whether or not we get encouragement, we should continue to do things that we love. We can let the activity that we do be our self-expression. Even without saying a word, we can show the world how we feel inside. We do not have to achieve greatness in order to enjoy that activity. Love what you do and be happy and be thankful and you will feel like a winner everyday.

Ecclesiastes 5:18 "Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot."     

Love, More than a Feeling

     Is love more than a feeling? I believe it is. Jesus said in Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," I doubt most of us would have warm feelings toward those who are hurting us in some way. Matthew 18:21,22 "Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and forgive him? As many as seven times?" ²²Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times." These verses show me that my love should have patience, endurance and not to give in to anger rather than just having a feeling of affection.
     Jesus said to his apostles in John 14:21 "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." He also said to them in John 15:12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." Jesus is telling us to love him and one another by our actions. What are the actions of love? 1Corinthians 13:4-7 "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth ⁷Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." As we can see love goes beyond our feelings for each other. Love is the way we should be acting towards each other and not just the way we feel towards each other. God wants us to be kind and compassionate whether or not we feel like it.
     Jesus said in Luke 6:27,28 "But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." Jesus wants us to be like his Father who shows love to everyone. Matthew 5:45 "so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." We must show our love by doing what is right towards everyone if we want God's approval. We cannot wait until we get a loving feeling to show our love. In every situation, we must ask ourselves, what would Jesus do? He would act with his love and do the right thing every time.
     The apostle Paul encourages us to keep doing good. Galatians 6:9 "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."   

Choosing What We Need from Within

     Choosing what we need from within is being spiritual complete in every situation. Imagine we have a beautiful fruit tree within our mind and each piece of fruit represents an emotion. One piece of fruit might represent joy and another love, there is one for peace and another for happiness. We could continue and say there is one for thankfulness and one for forgiveness and all we have to do is to reach out and take one if we are in need.
     Choosing what we need from within is reaching for some happiness when we are sad. When our mind is troubled we will reach for the fruit of peace. If we have hate or guilt then we could use some to forgive and to forgive ourselves. 2 Timothy 1:7 "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." Through God's spirit within us, we have what we need to have strength, peace of mind, love, and self-control. All we have to do is to put our mind, our thoughts and our prayers towards that to which we want. We have to make the effort ourselves and not to wait on others for our answers.
      You need to think about these questions. If you are alone who will forgive you? How will you find your love? Where will your joy come from? Can you be happy all by yourself?  The answer is you can forgive yourself, you can find love within yourself and have joy and happiness. You do not have to depend on others to give you what you need. All these things are within your reach just put your mind to them and choose them. God has given you what you need.
     God's word has instructed us to change the way we think. Ephesians 4:22-24 "to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." If we place our trust in God and do his will our lives will change for the better. By listening to his words and doing them, our thinking will be lifted up to a higher place.
     We need a better way to live our lives and the Bible gives us God's wisdom to do just that. The Bible has inspirational stories to lift up our spirits. In today's world, there is much negativity. Sometimes we do not have any uplifting events or stories to tell. We even have a hard time to think in a positive way. This is where reading the Bible will give us a different outlook on life. We can read about how Jesus and the apostles endure a difficult life and how they cope with it. We can pattern our lives after them and find our hope within this negative world.
     Philippians 4:8,9 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me--practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

Don't Worry, Trust in God

     Don't worry, trust in God for he is in total control. There is no government, nor powerful men that can change his plan for our world. What he has planned for us will come into being at his appointed time. Believe in God and give him all of your trust for he will never disappoint you. In our eyes, our world may look chaotic but God is guiding us every step of the way. If we were to live long enough we would see the return of his son, Jesus Christ and nothing in this world or universe can stop that from happening. It is God's will. So I say to you don't worry for you are in God's hands.

     Do not let fear of current events overtake your emotions. Rest your hope in God for he will carry you through your troubles. When you fall he will catch you when you cry he will comfort you and when you are weak he will strengthen you with his spirit. God cares for you and he loves you. Tell God about your worries and your fears and trust in him to give you the answers that you need. Do not spend your time worrying about what you cannot control, some things are way out of your control and only God can handle it.

     Release your anxiety and relax, believe in God's words and wisdom. Trust in God that he is doing the right thing every day in your life. Our doubts will drown us in an ocean of our troubles but to place our trust and our hope in God will rescue us and save our lives. I will walk with God in total trust. I can rest at night knowing that our world is in his loving hands. So don't worry and trust in God with your whole heart. Believe in his words.

Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." 

        

The Breath of Life

     What I like to do most is to find the truth about who we are. I look to find what we all have in common. A lot of people see divisions. They look at the world with their prejudice and bigotry. They preach about nationalism like it was their religion. I want to put aside all that and look at all of us as one people under God, who are equally loved by God.
     Today, I want to focus upon what God gave Adam at the beginning to bring Adam to life. Genesis 2:7 "then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." The breath of life that God gave to us is common to all of us. We can not live without it, without we will die.
     When do we really notice our breath? When we get ill and our nasal passages become blocked. When we do hard work or some sport where we run out of breath. Some people have panic attacks and their breathing becomes rapid. It seems to me, the only time we notice our breath is when something goes wrong with us. These occurrences of lack of breath show us that the way we breathe and how we breathe is important to us.
     A professional athletic whether a runner, a weightlifter or a swimmer tries to control his breathing when doing his or her sport. A panic attack victim will try to control their shallow breathing with some deep breaths. When I am in an anxious situation, I try to calm myself by concentrating on my breathing rather than letting my anxiety take control. Controlled breathing can calm the mind. Our breath is a gift from God isn't a good idea to know how to use it in every situation.
     I was reading about a therapy used on post-traumatic victims, especially veterans. These people have suffered the unimaginable. Their past thoughts bring back horrible images into their minds and because of that, they cannot see a hopeful future for themselves. The therapy that has been successful for them is called mindfulness. It focuses on the present moment only. It begins by calming the mind through proper breathing and thinking not on your past or your future by only on yourself and your environment in the present moment. Why, because you cannot change your past and you must change the way you think in the present to have a successful future. This all begins by learning how to breathe. Our breath not only keeps us alive but if we use it properly, we can live more happily.
     Just something so simple as learning how to control your breath can make a big difference in your life. God's gift "the breath of life" may be a gift that we all should be taking a closer look at. Calming the mind in a chaotic world does have its benefits. Learning how to breathe during strenuous work or exercise can make your life easier. The breath of life is in all of us, maybe we should all take a moment to breathe and thank God for his wonderful gift.

Job 34:14,15 "If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, ¹⁵all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust."