Why Do I Blog?

     Why do I blog? For me it is kind of like, why do painters paint or singers sing? They like what they do or even love what they do. What they do is a way of expressing what they feel inside and a way to share that with others. My blog gives me a way to express the way I feel inside more importantly the way I feel about God and I can share that great feeling with others.
     Where else can you talk about God outside a church? You can easily strike up a conversation with someone about sports, music, news, politics, television shows and celebrity gossip in your everyday life. Where are you going to talk to someone about your feelings about God's word? If you are a spiritual person like me you need some kind of outlet to express yourself and blogging for me is that outlet and I find it to be satisfying to me.
     Granted I will not get a great following but this blog is a personal blog. I will not be trying to sell you anything but to share my feelings on biblical matters. Mostly sorting out my own feelings about God. If people do read this blog I feel bless to be able to share my feelings with them.

Baptism: A Symbol of Dying and Resurrection

     When I was looking through some Bible scriptures I came along this one in Col 2:12 it said, "having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead." This brought to me a crystal clear image of what baptism is all about. The water that we go under represents the grave or the tomb of Christ. When we go under the water it symbolizes our body dying. When we are raised out of the water it symbolizes our resurrection.

     Romans 5:4 said the same thing it said, "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." What are we putting to death at baptism? Col 3:5-8 said, "⁵Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶ On account of these the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ In these you to once walked, when you were living in them. ⁸ But now you must put them away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth."

     What is walking in the newness of life? Col 3:12-15, "¹²Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful."

     We see baptism is a public declaration that we have accepted Jesus Christ and we are following in his footsteps. We die to our fleshly ways of living and then we are raised up to a spiritual way of life. We do this by dying symbolically then rising from the dead in a symbolic manner through baptism.                                                                   (ESV)

Glory to God

     If I have nothing I still have God. People may let me down but God never does. God sustains me through everything. His spirit lifts me up when I am down. God gives me purpose for my life. His word the Bible answers my questions and gives me wisdom to use in my life. God gives me hope when I feel hopeless; Even if my body does die my spirit reaches out to God to live forever. Because of his mercy and love, I am raised up to be a heir in his kingdom. Glory be to God forever and ever. Amen.
     Psalm 86:12 "I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart and I will glorify your name forever."

   

Our Way or God's Way?

     Lets start out and call our way the fleshly way. In Gal 5:19-21 said, "¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these...." Now God's way is the spiritual way. Again in Gal 5:22,23 it said, "²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control...." We see by this that God's way is the greater way without question.
     God said in Isaiah 55:8,9 "⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
     Romans 8:7,8, "⁷ For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; it cannot. ⁸ Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." Now those who chose God's way Romans 8:14 said, "¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God."
     So I say what King David said in Psalms 25:4,5 "⁴ Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. ⁵ Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long."  Amen!                                                 (ESV)

Your Body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit

     1 Cor 6:19,20  "¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own. ²⁰for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." God created us to be a temple for his Holy Spirit. He communicates to us through his spirit. He pours out his love and his gifts to us through his Holy Spirit that dwells within the temple (our body).

     This is who we are a living temple to God's Holy Spirit. Our purpose and our life's happiness depends on our understanding of that fact. Our life belongs to God who created us in his image. Our body, mind and spirit functions according to the way God made us and if we try to go against that Holy way then, we are heading for disaster. Romans 8:13 said, "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." Jeremiah 17:10, "I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."
     A bear cannot not be a bird nor can a bird be a bear. We are according to the way we were designed. God made us his sons and daughters and within each of us a temple to his Holy Spirit. We cannot cater to our fleshly desires over our spiritual needs to do so is going against our true nature. The apostle Paul drives home that point in 1 Cor 3:16,17, he said, "¹⁶Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? ¹⁷If anyone destroy's God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."                                                                                   (ESV)

Giving Praises to God for His Wonderful Creations

     I give praises to God for his wonderful creations; the sky above and all the wonderful birds within it. The night sky with all the stars and the moon. What about the beauty of the ocean and all the creatures below it. How awesome are the sunsets above the land and the sea. What about the beautiful landscapes and the creatures that live upon it. There is much to be thankful for. God in his infinite wisdom and love have given us much to look at and to appreciate.
     In Psalm 19:1 said, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." Psalm 8:3,4  "³When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,⁴what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?"
     We seem so small compared to everything around us. Why does God care, because he loves us. In John 3:16 it said, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Because of that love, God has given us this beautiful World to live in and when I look upon his creation I see his power and the beauty of his spirit. I am thankful for God's love and my heart is moved to give praises to God, for his wonderful creations. Psalm 150:6 sums it up in a pretty good way, it said, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!"         (ESV)

To Love and to Forgive, are Important for You to Being Happy

     If you were to stand in a crowded mall and looked around you would see many different people doing many different things. People are busy. They are occupied with doing their own things. No harm in doing that we all do it. But what happens to the one that is looking around when he or she is lacking love or feeling lost in a our world. Those people are rather sad inside and down in spirit.
     When you are rather sad and down in spirit the world looks different to you. You start to think that the people in the mall don't care about you. You feel like you are invisible to them. Yes a lot of negative things swim around in your head when you are a little depressed. You think the world hates you and doesn't care but you are wrong. Those people that you are looking at do care. They are human beings just like you and you do not know everyone's story in life.
     When you are alone and hurting you want to be loved. You want someone to care about you. But do you really want everyone in the mall to stop what they are doing and come over to give you a great big hug and maybe a little kiss on the cheek? That would be a lot of people giving you hugs and kisses. I think at some point you would be calling out to mall security for protection. ha!
    Maybe you are not seeing the whole picture in your depressed state of mind. People do love you and do care, but you do not see it that way. Remember you are standing in a cloud of darkness and you are not seeing the world clearly as you should. Your vision on things is clearly impaired. To see things clearly you must work on yourself. The change that you truly want is the change inside of yourself. You need to drive out the darkness within and replace it with a inner lightness of being. Is it hard work? Not really, it is more like everyday I cannot give up type of work. It is redundant, doing something over and over again but is it not what you are doing now with your bad thoughts?
    You must work everyday on yourself in order to have a brighter outlook on life. Here is where to love yourself comes in. Make a conscious effort to think about loving yourself. Let that thought have as much time that you can give to it everyday. You must push yourself to think about other things, starting with how to love yourself,  and you do deserve love. We have to change the way we think if we want a change in our life.
    What if you have hate inside your heart? You must try your best to push it away with forgiveness. Forgive people. Forgive everyone even strangers. Practice forgiving everyone. Extend your love to them even if you do not have much love to give. I would say even to pretend to do this until you get the real feeling of doing it. Do not wait until you have the feeling to love or wait until you have the feeling to forgive because that is what you are doing now and it is not working. Try to do something different. Try Change! Change your mind and your heart through thinking a different way.
     Do not let anyone steal your love away. Keep loving even if others are hating. Keep forgiving even if others are cursing you. Why, for your own sake, for your own peace of mind. Do not let them make you into them. Be yourself and love yourself and forgive them and be the happiest person that you can be. The power is within you to make it happen.