When I Feel that I Have Nothing

     When feel that I have nothing I still have my faith in God. An atheist does not believe in the existence of God but I somehow I have always believed there is a God. Feeling the spirit of God within my life has always felt natural to me. When I had my doubts and when I got to a point when I did question his existence that experience left me with a strange feeling. It was something I did not like. In my life I never felt abandoned by God. In my life I had much troubles but I have always felt the spirit of God near me and I got through them. So when I say when I feel that I have nothing the only thing that I really feel that I do have is God watching over me.
     When Job had nothing but his life, he still held strong to his faith. The apostle Paul was beaten and persecuted he also remained strong in his faith. Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and when he die he said "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" These men of God remained loyal to God to the very end of their lives. When bad times came to them they did not give up for they knew they still had God on their side.
     The times that I feel that I have nothing I still praise God and pray to him. When hard times come sometimes your faith in God is all you have. I will not lose hope for God will be always with me. Today might be bad but with God's help tomorrow will be better and if tomorrow never comes I know I will be in God's hands. Job 12:10 "In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind."
     

In Our Times of Distress

     In our times of distress our faith can sometimes be shaken. The meaning of distress is extreme anxiety, sorrow or pain. I believe many people experienced distress during this pandemic when they saw their friends and loved ones die from covid. Many people prayed for their recovery but yet they still passed away. Many people out of their distress could have turned bitter and believed that God was not listening or even cared. They may even lost their faith and said that God does not really exist. Times of great distress can weaken or even break our faith in God.
     I personally believe that our times of great distress should draw us closer to God rather than to push us away from him. God has always promised us a better life in his kingdom and not in today's world. Jesus said his kingdom is not of this world in John18:36 "Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." We will have to continue to endure the unfairness, cruelty and suffering of this world until we are standing in God's kingdom.
     Our hope is in God's love. The apostle Paul said this in Romans 8:35,38,39 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
     Our future is with Jesus. John 10:27-29 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."
     Jesus has power over death. John 11:25,26 "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" He said this to Martha before he raised her brother Lazarus from the dead.
     In our times of distress we can be shaken but not broken. We can put our lives in God's hands. If we or our loved ones do die we know Jesus Christ has the power to resurrect us. Our future hope is not in this world has it is now but in how God will someday remake it. During our time here we can always rely on God's strength to help us. Psalm 73:26 "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."  
     
     

God's Presence in Our History

     God has been with us since the beginning of our time. He created Adam and Eve. God went on to help Noah, Abraham and Isaac. He was there for Jacob and Joseph. God then went on to instruct Moses in how to bring his people out of Egypt. God made David king over Israel and his son Solomon a very wise man.
In time God brought his only begotten son into our world to die for our sins and to instruct us on how to live our lives. Jesus Christ made a way to bring us to God's kingdom so to bring back the paradise that was once lost to us.
     God has invested a lot of his time in the human race and he will not abandoned us now. No matter how bad our world will become God we be with us until the end so to bring us a new world to which to live. This was his plan from the beginning to bring us back into his kingdom. The sacrifice of his son will not be in vain. We will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
     Revelation 21:1-3 "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God."
     God's presence in our history has been a very long one even today he is working to accomplish his plans. Psalm 33:10,11 "The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations" Even though the world may look out of control, it is not out of God's control. The plans of his heart is for all generations God is leading us ever step of the way. God's presence in our history is forever. 

Resentment an Obstacle to Our Happiness

     As we live our life, we are going to encounter many different people. Some of these people we are going to disagree with is about their opinions, beliefs, and lifestyle. We are also going to have disagreements with our own family and friends. Our constant disagreements can lead us to a feeling of resentment. Our resentment and anger can overwhelm us and make us bitter toward the people we meet. I know we want to be view as kind and approachable but with to much anger and resentment we may become a person whom people are trying to avoid.
    The meaning of resentment is a feeling of indignant displeasure or persistent ill will at something regarded as a wrong, insult, or injury. For example, if you were to get treated in an unfair way you may begin to have resentment towards that person. If someone was very rude to you, you may develop resentment towards them. However you can also have resentment towards those who you never met just by the way they look and their different opinions on life. If we are not careful our resentments can grow and take over our entire life.
     As a Christian you have to be careful that your resentments do not overly multiply. Some strict religious practices can make people resentful of the people around them who do not live by such restrictions. We cannot live our life being mad at the world because they are not doing the things that God wants them to do. We have to strive to keep our inner peace and learn to forgive for forgiveness is the opposite of resentment. The less resentments we have the happier our lives we will be.

     The rock group The Beatles sung a song called "Let It Be". The lyrics of the first verse is "When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me speaking words of wisdom, let it be." These are wise words to live by when you see something you do not like and something you cannot control just walk away and let it be instead of adding it to your list of resentments. Let it be and place it in the hands of God to take care of because his hands are way much bigger than ours. A wise man said, "Expect much from yourself and little from others and you will avoid incurring resentments."

A Favorite Bible Verse

     One of my favorite Bible verses is Revelation 21:4 "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." Our whole world seems to be in chaos right now but God will bring his order to it. I believe many people has lost sight of this that God will one day bring us peace and happiness to our entire world.
     Instead of listening to God's words of peace, love, kindness and compassion, we are becoming more like the people in Noah's day. Genesis 6:5,11-13 "The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt. for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth." It is clear that if people turns away from God's guidance, there is a good chance that they themselves will become corrupted and violent.
     I know that our government must be neutral in order to rule fairly over us, however it must also have a moral code in order to protect it's citizens. There are some people that we must be protected from who are immoral to a point of harming others. Our leaders must act in an ethical way so that violence and corruption do not over take us.
     I know that some people do not believe in God and they live by their own rules. I only hope that their rules do not include giving out fear and violence. People who live their life without out believing in God are taking a risk that there is no devil. I personally believe we need God to protect us from the devil's destructive plans. It always seems to me every time that we ignore our spiritual growth evil grows stronger. A person who's mind is focused upon the teachings of Jesus Christ is not thinking about doing something evil. A person who is looking into the light is looking away from the darkness.
     Even though some people have turned away from God's teachings, they can still come back to him. They can let the teachings of God to soften their heart so to let go of their hate and violence. They can learn to live in peace and be our brothers instead of our enemies. We all can be a part of God's new world, living together in his new order without death, pain or sorrow for God has the power to changed it all.