Success and Failure Blog

The climb at first sight seems unattainable and risky but when you include a team of experts with your calculations than you see the end in sight. This is true with anything you do from scaling that rock wall to chartering a plane to Haiti’s; you plan using others input to make your plan come together. So, you would also need others to guide you on your journey to your heart.

My experts consist of counselors, pastors, Holy Spirit, Bible, authors, and church family they know me best. Trying to make this journey on my own would take me nowhere really fast. I tried that once and it was a disastrous to think I could accomplish what others do in a day, month, a year. Silly really…

Why did I think I could do this on my own? Let me give an example that the Holy Spirit gave me:
Looking across Lake Bountiful (my name for lake) I saw Jesus Christ on the opposite shore. I thought gazing at the water it would be a short distance I can swim this. So, I set out at an easy pace and found that there was a under current and looking up at the shore I wasn’t any closer. Getting tired I turned back and found myself back at my side of the lake. Scanning the shore I notice a boat and pulled it over and got in and set the oars to start my journey again. Again, my focus was not on Jesus Christ but my ability to pull on the oars to glide across the water. Looking behind me I wasn’t going across but going down stream. “AWWW!” Turning the boat around and focusing on the horizon and rowing at the same time was hard and tiring. I was caught in whirl pool spinning me out of control and was back on my side of the shore. “Aw!” Dropping to my knees I cried “Lord, help! I can’t do this on my own. It looked so simple. I thought I could do this. I was wrong. Please, Lord Help.” Standing up I gazed across the water and I found myself staring into my Father’s eyes the bluest of blues and I reach out and I was in His arms and He held me tight.

When you experience the arms of Christ and His forgiveness it transforms you to another place and person. All of sudden you are not alone in your plans for your future you are asking for others input. You are praying for God’s will be done in your life. The Holy Spirit pricks your heart and you begin to change and forgive. Why? The Lord forgave me of my sins for He gave up His life for me. So, I can have a life with Him. A relationship that brings tears to my eyes… When I think of all He has done for me and is still doing for me; my heart wells with love.

My Jesus is real and there is nothing I can do that will send Him away. He says in his word that He will never leave me or forsake me. (Hebrews 13:5) The Lord has a plan for me for hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) The Lord fights for me. (Deuteronomy 3:21) There is hope for a tree if it be cut down it will sprout again.(Job 14:7)

Do you know that the door is always open (John 10:9) for you. When you approach this door do it with boldness (Hebrews 4:16). Focus your eyes on the prize which is Jesus Christ. God raised us up with Jesus Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 2:6) We who are sealed with Christ have everlasting life. But, you who do not know Jesus Christ and is still playing at the gate will have fire and damnation. We do not know when are time is up on this earth we can die tonight in a car crash. Do you want to take that chance?

The Lord is waiting for you to come out of this world. I lived in this world through some horrific times do I want to repeat that time? No!!! My time now is hard with unemployment but the Lord keeps blessing me with His presence and His provisions. Life is good. My hope is in the Lord. I trust Him with my life and future. I can’t imagine life without Him. He is the hand that guides my walk I do nothing without Him. Jesus is light to my darkness.

Come to the waters of Lake Bountiful and give your life to the one whom will turn your tears into hope. In His arms you will find rest from your burdens. In His arms you will find peace that passes all understanding. In His arms you find refuge and strength in times of trouble. In His arms your heart will flourish and grow in the likeness of your Father. In His arms you will have eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Thank you, Lord that I do not have to do this life alone. You have given me eyes to see and ears to hear. You have given me a church family that prays for me and we have life together.

I pray Lord, that you draw your people to yourself and impart your Holy Spirit to live in their lives. Give them wisdom and strength to walk this path. Put your angels around about them keeping them safe. Bless them, extend their boundaries, and keep them from evil in Jesus Christ name. Amen.

He who was seated on the throne (God) said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  Revelation 21:3-4

 (John writes) He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.  Revelation 21:5-7

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants (you and me) will serve him.  Revelation 22:1-2a, 3

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.  Revelation 22:17

Eternal Life!!!

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The Problem of Evil

Since the beginning of time, there has been a war raging in the cosmos. It is a war that starts in heaven when Lucifer decides that he wants to be God. Lucifer was God’s most beautiful creation. He walked before the throne room daily and was considered an archangel. But Lucifer became jealous of God, and it was out of that jealously that Lucifer convinced one third of the angels to join his efforts to overthrow God and become God himself. It was at this point He ceased being an archangel and became the Prince of Darkness. The Devil’s revolt resulted in him being cast out of Heaven by God and ever since Satan and God have been enemies.

In our time we look forward to the day that evil will no longer hold sway in the world. We long for a heaven on earth. And one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth. But until that day comes when evil is finally no longer, evil still remains and causes much pain on the earth. In God’s original creation everything that God created was good. In fact for a time, humanity itself knew no sin. Then man sinned, and evil manifested itself into the world. Evil can be defined “as the refusal to accept the true God as God. True evil elevates itself or another to replace God.” The question often arises, if God being holy and just knew that evil and sin would come to the earth than why did He not prevent it or stop it? There are three reasons why God allows evil to continue in the world and they are the following: 1.) God created man with free will and thus gave man the ability to choose to accept Him or reject Him, 2.) The fact that evil and suffering is so prevalent in our lives reveals the fact that we have our own inadequacies and that we need God, and 3.) God allows evil because He does not want His children to get used to the present life because as the Bible says, we are just pilgrims and sojourners passing through and as believers, Heaven is our final eternal state.
God created man with free will and thus gave man the ability to choose to accept Him or reject Him. God did not create evil. God did create persons with freedom who could practice it. So we are who actualize evil, not Him. He could have created a world without the possibility of evil, but He preferred a world with free choice. God created us with the power of choice. To quote from Ravi Zacharias,
“What would it take to create a loving world void of evil? A world in which love is capable of meaningful expression and experience would also imply a world in which there is choice. If someone tells you that they love you, those words mean something because they are freely given. If you learned that someone had told you they loved you but that they had been forced to say it, their words would not mean very much. Thus, if we want to speak of a loving world, we must also speak of a world in which choices are exercised. And in such a world, there is also the possibility of choosing a course of action that is not loving, i.e. evil.”
True love implies and demands a free choice! Or else you would have a fixed environment in which humanity would be robots. Alvin Plantinga claimed the following:
“If God creates human beings with true, morally significant free will (where humans can freely decide to act in ways that really do advance goodness in the world, or really do cause evil in the world against self, others or world), and if God wants a world in which there are significant amounts of moral goodness, it’s possible that God cannot get that kind of world without significant amounts of moral badness as well. After all, if people are left free by God, then the morally significant states of the world will in large part be up to the decisions of humans, not up to God.”

The fact that evil and suffering is so prevalent in our lives reveals the fact that we have our own inadequacies and that we need God. Simply put, all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. When Adam and Eve sinned, God promised that one day there would be one coming that would be a sacrifice for sin and would make a way for people to have there relationship restored to God. That was done when Jesus died on Calvary. Jesus took all of humanities sins, and bore them for all of humanity so that people might have a chance to be saved and inherit eternal life. We see here that “Christ’s atonement guarantees the final end of evil and suffering”. Alcorn says, “The drama of evil and suffering in Christ’s sacrifice addresses the very heart of the problem of evil and suffering. One day it will prove to be the final answer.” The answer to the problem of evil and suffering according to Alcorn,“is not a philosophy, but a Person; not words, but the Word.” Jesus Christ is the answer to the problem of evil. Only He can help us with the feeling of inadequacies and the feelings of hopelessness. Only He can save humanity from their sins. Only Jesus can provide true lasting peace.
God allows evil because He does not want His children to get used to the present life because as the Bible says, we are just pilgrims and sojourners passing through and as believers, Heaven is our final eternal state. If everything was perfect and no problems ever surfaced and there was no pain in life then people would not have to rely upon God anymore for anything. Alcorn points out that “in order to appreciate our eternal future, we will remember the sufferings of the present.” Because we have pain and suffering, we must rely upon an Almighty God. Human beings do not have all the answers. Dinesh D’ Sousa writes.

The only way for us to really triumph over evil and suffering is to live forever in a place where those things do not exist. It is the claim of Christianity that there is such a place and that is available to all who seek it. No one can deny that, if this claim is true, then evil and suffering are exposed as temporary hardships and injustices. They are as transient as our brief, mortal lives. In that case God has shown us a way to prevail over evil and suffering, which are finally overcome in the life to come.”

So in reality, in the big picture evil and suffering is only temporary. So every trial and every tribulation that we may face in life is well worth it, because one day those that believe in Jesus will receive new resurrected bodies that will no longer be corrupted. We will be in Heaven where Jesus is, and there will be no more sin. Revelation 21:1-7 best illustrates what will happen in the end: 1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
In conclusion, we have seen the three reasons why God allows evil to exist in our present world. According to Ed Hindson and Emir Caner,
“What evil forces us to conclude is either God is not good, or that our conception of God’s relationship toward us needs serious rethinking. The evidence about evil drives us decisively to this latter conclusion. God uses evil, suffering, and disorder to drive us to Himself. If He gave only good, we would be self-satisfied. If he had given immediate death when we sinned, He would be just. That He gives us partial goodness and partial suffering now forms a texture of hope that in the future, He will in fact make all things right in a final consummation and restoration. God is not through: He will continue to work on us, like a persistent sculptor working the metal with hard blows and constant lighter corrections, to help us become worthy of happiness if we receive Him and submit to His plan. On most occasions, it seems, we do not know why God allows certain evils. But we know someone who knows these things, and we can therefore trust Him to make good on His promise that “he who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

1 Timothy 1:15-16 (Paul writes) ……. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would  believe on him and receive eternal life.

1 John 1:8-9 ……. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, (realize that you are a sinner and there is nothing  that you alone can  do to earn your way into Heaven) he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Romans 6:23 ……. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 3:21-26 ……. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified (made right with GOD) freely by his grace (giving you what you don’t deserve) through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He  did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

John 3:16 ……. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

1 Corinthians 15:35-44 & 50……. But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised?  With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable .

John 5:24 ……. ”I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

Revelation 21 ……. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this   down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

1 John 5:5 ……. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

1 John 3:1-3 ……. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. AMEN!!!

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Avatar is a blockbuster movie about a fabulous utopia. One might wonder, is it possible that there could be an even better place?

Not only is there a wonderful place of perfect peace, with no suffering, but you can have your ticket punched to go there someday.

The Bible promises that in Heaven, there will be no pain, no suffering, no tears, no heartache, no sorrow. Imagine, a world where you won’t have to suffer anymore.

Avatar sounds like a cool movie, but it’s over after a while. Heaven, however, is forever! And, it’s the most beautiful and fabulous place you can imagine! Nobody has seen, heard, or even imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love Him. He wants you to be ther esomeday.

In this world, we have problems, though. Life is short, and full of trouble. Why? Because of sin.

God made this world perfect, but He gave people free will. People chose to sin. Becuase of that sin, death was brought into the world. Things are so corrupt here. they decay, they grow old, they get ruined. Pople, animals, even the planet itself has problems.

The problem is, we all have sin in us, too. but, God made a way for us to get rid of the sin. he came to this world to suffer and die on the cross for your sin, for mine, for everyone’s. Then, He rose fromt he dead.

he rescues us from 3 potent p’s when we receive Him by simple faith, believing that He took the punishment for our sins when He died on the cross, and then he rose from the dead, conquering that great spiritual death that haunts us. What are those 3 potent p’s He saves us from when we receive Him?:

1. He saves us from the penalty of sin. Because of our sin, we can’t get to heaven. Heaven would cease being perfect if *any* sin were allowed in it. Just thikn – if anyone could be mean to someone, or hurt them, or anything bad, it would stop being perfect. Remember, Pandora had problems because of the threat. But, Heaven will have no problems.

The penalty for sin is separation from god’s love and goodness forever, in a place of outer darkness, with wailing and gnashing of teeth. it’s full of all the people who rejected God’s perfect love over the years, and all those who received his perfect justice becuase of their sins.

You don’t have to go there, though. You can be saved from the penalty of sin by trusting in Jesus Christ to forgive you right now.

2. He rescues us fromt he power of sin. We all have sin natures. But, when Jesus saves you, he comes to live in you through the Holy Spirit. then, He can guide you to do what’s right, to live a Godly life where you keep away from sin.

You won’t always succeed, becuase of that fleshly nature. that’s why this world still isn’t perfect. We should be making it better. Christians should be known by their love. However, we are not here to save the world from sinners. We are here to save sinners from a lost and dying world.

And, the benefit is that you will still be in this world, so you can make this world better while you are here. But, you will be doing it to glorify God. And, if you mess up and you do sin, then we have the promise that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

That’s Jesus saving us from the power of sin – the closer we stay to Him through prayer, Bible reading, etc., the further we’ll be from sinning. We will be as protected from the power of sin as we want to be on this world, until we go to the next. There is where…

3. We will be rescued from the presence of sin.

that is the promsie of Heaven. That one day, we will be rescued fromt he very presence of sin! No more suffering, no more pain, no more heartach,e no more death, no more of any of that bad stuff. You will have eternal life, that will never end! That is so amazing!

Pandora is a wonderful, fictional world. But, it’s nothing compared to the wonders that await us in heaven. Are you going? If you have ever chosen to let Jesus Christ forigve you for your sins, you can receive Him right now, by simple faith.

And, one day, you can go to that real life Heaven, which is more incredible and amazing than the most imaginative person could invent!