Love?

Where has my love gone? Loving God first where did I go wrong?
Focus lost focus on the One who made me and gave me a song
Life is short now how did I forget that compared to eternity I don't have very long
Am I living with an eternal perspective telling the truth of how He isn't just a story like King Kong
Sometimes my priorities are out of whack and in the battlefield of my mind I am playing spiritual ping pong

When did I forget that I was a more then a miracle on more then one occasion
How God was there who brought me back to life though His divine invasion
I know that part of my life is subjective, yeah I know you need persuasion
Me defeating death in that moment? No there was no way I could perform an evasion

Loving my neighbor as myself? Not always easy for me
Look at them and what they do are you blind can't you see?
They do terrible things and it seems to get worse on my tv
Wait self get off your high horse humble yourself and take a knee
Wasn't I like them? Wasn't I a captive to the world, flesh and the devil before God set me free?
Ah I see I see when God told me to love others He meant the way He loved me

Thankful

Sitting thinking and contemplating what it is I am the most thankful for

No it's not black Friday going my way to get something at the store

It's something beyond the material although I am thankful for those too

For example life would be a whole lot different without my clothes on or a shoe

A roof over my head with some covers for my bed and food to be well fed

But how about the fact that I can breath and comprehend what I read or the fact that I am not brain dead?

I have two eyes to see with two ears to hear I can bend my knee and have emotions to experience fear

Some don't get the chance to dance or love or laugh or shed a tear and some right now will only get to live another year

I complained about what I lack but have I counted what I have already within and around

I have two legs and feet that can walk the ground

and some complain that someone can't sing but have they thought for a second that someone else would love to have a chance to get to even hear that sound?

I have a brain and a mind to think and a heart to beat while I have longs that breath involuntarily

What's more? I have where I was born along with the friends memories and family

I could lost the opportunity to be born and have what I did and sometimes I took these things for granted as a kid

I am here and my prayers were answered because I am with the woman of my dreams

I remember dreaming about my soul mate and writing a poem about her in my late teens

What is the bigger picture? What is someone or something that is easy to miss?

Have I really thought about what or Whom took the time to create all of this?

I am thankful to Someone and am in gratitude to something so I don't buy that ignorance is bliss

That Someone is a King Who Reigns Supreme and I hope that you are starting to get the theme or understand what I mean

He was always there gave and went above and beyond in giving when He shared

Why He gave His life and paid the ultimate price and His name is Jesus Christ the One who cared

He went through the place the most darkest and dim He took on the gravity of the whole world's sin and did something that no one even dared

Transplanted from the domain of darkness to the domain of light through grace and the gift of faith He gave

I became free from captivity and was no longer bound to the chains of the enemy and was no longer Satan's slave

The one old master offered condemnation while the other met me where I was at and forgave

He freed me from my destiny where we all head the clock ticks life away to the grave

I have joy and peace I have the Holy Spirit in me that in prayer He will never cease

This message was inside and was meant to be spread so I stepped back and let the Lord give the release

Don't lose heart

The world is bombarded with information and as the saying goes "knowledge is power" but what kind of power? Words do have power. Whether in written form, verbal, television, the internet, the radio, songs and so on. We need to have a filter of these words or they will take us captive and destroy our lives.
The Bible says to take every thought captive and bring these thoughts to Christ. The Bible says that there is power in words. Who's words are you going to allow to take over your life? I know we live in the enemies terrain as seen in 1 John 5:19
"We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one."

Did you see that? It says that the whole world is under the SWAY of the evil one.

If you take a look at the thesaurus there are words in relation to the word sway that might open your eyes. Here are just a few of them:

Authority, control, empire, government, mastery, regime, reign, rule, etc.

I think it is important to focus on the first part where it says "We are of God"

With identity comes confidence. Although presently the enemy has the world under his sway fear not for God wins in the end. I encourage you to read the book of Revelation.

Don't step back though. Stand in the presence of the true ruler Jesus Christ who reigns over all creation. Go forth in His strength and light. Be salt and light. Take every thought and stronghold and tear it down in Jesus name.

Let Him use you to be the true change to this world.

Don't let the enemy trap you in fear. The fear of man in a snare. 

Another word for snare is entrapment. The fear of man is a trap that bonds you into a mental slavery and the fear causes you to cease from progress. Fear of God leads to wisdom and wisdom leads to increase in progress. Fearing God doesn't lead to a trap because fearing God leads to freedom. 

Your spirit and soul are not a citizen of the place in which you live because in truth you are a citizen of His Kingdom. It is time to think, speak and live like you are a part of His Kingdom. When you fear this world that is passing away you are no longer trusting the King.

Trust Him and you can make a difference in your lifetime. 

I am reminded of the Chronicles of Narnia. 

When the two sons of Adam and the two daughters of Eve were sent into a world they weren't called to fear but to courage. They seemed to gain courage in the presence of Azlan knowing that Azlan knew what he was doing and would seek their good in the end. Azlan would defeat the foe. So they raised their banner and put on their shield and armor. They went forth and lead others to a war that they knew would be won. Are you living in God's confidence or yours? 

Take heart from the One who should rule your heart and don't lose heart by allowing the one who shouldn't rule your heart be dragging it down.

Live in the Kings presence. Share this truth with others.

Share your story.

What life lessons have you learned from a Biblical perspective?

A lesson on tithing

It was a time in my walk when I was young in truth and the way of the Lord when I learned about the lesson on tithing. I bring you back to the first year of my walk where at this point in time I was jobless.

At the prayer meeting in the local church it was my turn to share a prayer need and I mentioned how I was seeking income. Everyone prayed over me and the next day I received a phone call. It was my friend Jim who was a little older then me. He told me  (not knowing that I prayed with some people the night before) that he can offer me some income by helping him clear some land by cutting down trees, shrubs, and vines. 

It was rough work to say the least. I had to haul loads and loads of the debris back and forth over a bridge to a grinder. I had to stand in mucky muddy dirty stinky water near the top of my boots. It was mosquito infested and the air was heavy. It rained off and on for the next few days. 

From my prior experience doing labor work with construction during the crazy hurricane season of 2004 I gained a work ethic that prepared me for this job. Because I was jobless and desperate I took the job without complaint. 

I remember the Biblical wisdom I had in my mind that the moment that I memorized. One was to work as if unto the Lord and the other was to be content in all things. This helped me get by with this type of job.

Later I was reading in the Bible where Jesus mentions the women who gave all she had and this inspired me.

So the following Sunday at Church I gave my full pay check to the church in the offering plate as a step of faith. It was a huge risk and gamble on trust with God at the time but I wanted to see what it was like to fully trust Him. 

It felt exhilarating and freeing to trust God with my money.

A couple of days later I received a phone call from a girl I knew at church. She asked me if I was still looking for a job and I told her I was. She said she was connected to someone who she could give me a good reference to. So she gave me the number and told me to call it. The project manager answered the phone and interviewed me. I didn't know if I did well at the moment until I received a phone call and he said I was will have a 2nd interview. 

I came in and got the low down on the name of the company and what they do. They were called CII and they provide service to military personal as their main client throughout the United States. What they do is update systems of communication.

On the outside I was smiling and nodding but on the inside I was thinking to myself " I don't have experience for this job!"

Somehow they liked me and wanted to hire me.

I had to do some drug tests, background checks, and the whole 9 yards so to speak.

When I found out the type of hours and pay I would get at the age I was I almost flipped.

They offered a full time schedule at $15 with benefits including health and dental, per Diem, Hotels paid for on the road and so on.

I was excited!

After around 3 months of working I got in with the wrong crowd.

Bad company corrupts good morals.

I stopped reading my Bible and going to church. I stopped tithing.

I wanted to be "In" with the crew.

I started to drink with them and get drunk.

I squandered the blessing.

The Bible says you reap what you sow. I sowed t the flesh and I received the discipline I deserved.

One day I came in work with a hangover and felt terribly sick. I started puking everywhere and the Boss sent me home to recover.

When we got back in town he wanted to see me in his office.

He told me he had to let me go because they didn't need me anymore.

On a Spiritual level I knew what was truly going on.

The Lord gives and takes away. I reaped what I sowed.

I learned a few valuable lessons that day. If you don't tithe your robbing from God:

Malachi 3:7-12 (HCSB)

                                                                                                                                        Robbing God

⁷ “Since the days of your fathers, you have turned from My statutes; you have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Hosts.

But you ask: “How can we return?”

⁸ “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me!”

You ask: “How do we rob You?”

“By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions. ⁹ You are suffering under a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me. ¹⁰ Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this way,” says the Lord of Hosts. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure. ¹¹ I will rebuke the devourer^[a] for you, so that it will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the Lord of Hosts. ¹² “Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of Hosts.

God will bless you if you tithe. Your sin can lead to blocked blessings.

Trusting God leads to security. Being in the Word keeps you discerning. 

The flow of thought

I feel as though there are multiple distractions in my life.
There is nothing wrong with having multiple interests. It broadens your awareness to the world around you. I know I have learned a lot by dabbing my feet into different topics of information however it feels as though some things don't get done and maybe it is better to follow something to completion. It is easy to start things up. The hard part is following it to completion. I love the feeling of satisfaction I get when I get something completely done. I also love the excitement of something new and undiscovered as well so there in lays my problem. I can read around twenty books at a time no joke and even not get the information mix-matched but at the same time there seems to be a train of thought in fluency when reading one book to completion over reading several over a longer period of time.
This also goes with my research. You can research on several different topics at a time and that is what it looks like for me when I have around 5 or more tabs up researching different things and it causes me to bounce all over the place or as my girlfriend would say "go down different noodles" which I believe she caught that terminology from flipping through a book called "Men have waffle brains and girls are made from Spaghetti" or something like that, I could be completely wrong and let's just say she is one gorgeous genius. It paints a wonderful picture though because if you look at spaghetti noodles they are all mired and meshed together kind of like our brains when thinking on different topics. I don't buy the hype though on books like that or "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus" although there is truth in those books it doesn't necessarily mean it is completely true. For example not every single guy is exactly alike nor is every girl exactly alike in fact no one is exactly the same as another person, we are all unique and several ways which is wonderful and amazing at the same time, we should find that interesting. I know I do. Anyway here I go rambling again. Back to the main point, as I was saying I sometimes have had 5 tabs up but other times it went up to as much as 30 or more. Now I am not going to say you shouldn't do that because sometimes when you're on something or researching something it sparks something else which leads to other websites and google searches hence the extra tabs. Sponinuity isn't a bad thing and it could create a lot of creative juice that will start flowing.
But sometimes it is good to stick with one subject and master it until you grasp it. It sticks in your memory more so than bouncing around. Also take not of the things you learn. Maybe save them on a flash drive or something like that so you can visit it later and master each subject of interest. This world is filled with a wealth of information.
Sometimes on one subject it could get really interesting and lead down a giant rabbit hole spiraling down and down until your world turns upside down and you can't look at things the same anymore. This has happened to me. I am what you call a non-conformist. I challenge the norms and what has been taught to me my whole life from everyone especially school and the media. I don't buy the "official" story like some people do. I actually take a step back and think for myself. I look outside the box. I look for the alternative. I look past the hype past the words into the what caused what and the root of everything I encounter. I think in cause in effect. I think in abstract. I think what if. I think beyond what we are told to think. I look at life from all angles. I challenge the norms as my friend Jeremy would put it. Life is a giant complexity of pieces of information here and there like a universe of puzzle pieces that need to be put together piece by piece. The only way to make sense of it all is to go the One who can make sense of it all. The One who knows everything. This One I am referring to is God. If inventors such as Nikola Tesla can study the Bible and ask God for wisdom, knowledge, understanding of the world around them and invent things that most people would deem impossible could it be that there is nothing new under the son and that we too can seek God's guidance for vision, understanding t make sense of it all. Why fully rely on people? I think to myself that these people who made a difference in this world, the people who during their lifetimes were looked at as raving lunatics were the very people who proved others wrong and did the impossible. The pioneers of society. I refuse to believe that I am a mere person that is a blur in the mass of society lumped together following the crowd to God knows where. I am independent as a thinker that is away from outside sources expect God. I am open to what people say and think alive and dead but I don't take anything in as full truth. I weigh it in against reason and logic and pray seeking God's wisdom and knowledge.
He is the Creator who created me. He is intelligent and I am created in His image. He knows all things and therefore can show me all things. Solomon asked for wisdom and God gave him wisdom. In the book of James it says we can pray for wisdom but with belief.
God dwells within me. If other people did significant things in their lifetimes so can I through God. If Paul did great things for God's Kingdom through Christ who gave him strength than so can I.

The Case on Casey Anthony

It's interesting to me how people were so caught up on Casey Anthony

Yet how can it be that although I agree that is was wrong what she did and there was substantial evidence to prove that she was the one that left Caylee  for dead we would rather spend our time and energy on this instead of the One who rose from the dead and offered salvation when He bled and there was more evidence to prove his innocence yet it doesn't make sense that we walk by in life as if in ignorance from His offer to His heavenly residence because of our "intelligence"

Oh "how great we are" like a C.E.O. of our existence we think we run the show not taking the time to think of the origin of our existence

like a stubborn child we want to have our way so we fight back in resistance but He pursues us with truth in love with consistence

There is several upon several ways to prove who He was and what He did on the cross

But we would rather waste our lives talking the gibberish of the world instead of taking a stand defending the truth of Christ and reaching to the lost

We think taking up the cross is reading the Bible and going to church and maybe talking about Jesus to people from time to time

In reality it means so much more than that but we live like we have it all together just doing enough to get by and this is our crime