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Saturday, October 3rd 2009

9:29 AM

October 3, 2009: Giving

  • Mood: Intent
  • Music: Ambient music from the satellite
Saturday.  I'm working and it's raining today. 

Giving

I need to tithe more diligently.
 


"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"

Luke 6:46



When I do not tithe or give as God has commanded, everything in my life suffers.  When I pay attention and make sure I tithe and give more, everything, including income, just begins to fall into my lap.  I cannot explain it in any other way.

I pray that God will give me the diligence to pay attention to this facet of my faith more earnestly.

Until tomorrow...

Come believe.

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Monday, September 14th 2009

8:20 AM

September 14, 2009: Getting Help

  • Mood: Hopeful
  • Music: Chris Tomlin: God of This City

Nice cool day...almost as if autumn has already arrived, although that's not until Sept. 22, I believe.  Today's run will be enjoyable.

Getting Help

God is there to help us.  Today I realized that I am having some internal problems and issues that have plagued me for years.  In the past I would let them get the best of me and displace my personal issues on others through anger and blame.

Today, through my close relationship with God, I was able to see that my issues are just that: my issues.  Blaming someone else is an easy way to avoid admitting that I'm not always strong and that I may be "faulty".  I need some help.  I may need to see  a counselor to work through some of this stuff.  Doesn't mean I'm not a good believer, a good husband, a good dad, a good lawyer.  It just means I have some stuff to work through.

In many ways, going to see a counselor is like getting the help we need from God.  We need to be able to unashamedly pray to God and ask for help.  So I do that now: 

     "God, please help me deal with my emotional issues.  Whatever it is in my body that causes me to get depressed or feel inadequate, please help me deal with that in the way that only You can.  I pray that instead of taking my issues out on others, I can admit my faults to others, before You, and receive your blessings. I pray that my emotional issues do not cause me to exacerbate problems such as financial woes, normal sources of stress, and work issues.  I pray that I can turn to my wife and my children and my friends as sources of support, and not see them as sources of more pain.  I know that as long as I have You, I have nothing to fear.  I pray these things in the name of Jesus, Amen."

I would also like to share these words, which I have posted on the main page as the weekly Bible verse:

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."

2 Peter 1:3-4.

God is great.  If this believer had to attest to only one thing, it is that today is the first time in my life I could honestly admit that I suffer from chronic depression.  God has helped me to see that.  God has helped me to see that my depression issues are not my fault, and that I can still function as a healthy member of society. 

As I always say in my blogs, being a believer doesn't mean life won't be hard.  But as in this case today, I can affirm that being a believer sure does make the hard things in life easier to deal with.  Because as the passage from 2 Peter above states, through God's divine power, of which I have knowledge, I can escape the corruption in the world, such as the lingering thoughts inside my head telling me to get angry with others for my own faults. 

Thank you, God.  I love you, I trust you, I believe in you, and I know you exist with all of my heart and soul. 

Until tomorrow...

Come Believe.

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Friday, September 11th 2009

10:49 PM

September 11, 2009: Remember

  • Mood: Reminiscing
  • Music: Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
Raining all day.  Somber weather for a somber time.

Remember

As I watched a special session of Congress meet on the evening of September 11, 2001, and as I watched President  Bush address Congress and the nation, I vowed to do something with my life.  I vowed to do something that would serve my nation and fellow citizen.

I became a lawyer. 

On September 11, 2001, I was a senior at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University).  That morning I walked into the Student Rec center under a crisp, blue autumn sky.  I was going to work out before class.  I saw the first burning building along the row of tv's in front of the treadmills, each with a bouncing co-ed on it, eyes glued.  By the time I hit the last tv, the second jet slammed into the second tower. 

That night my parents (my wife and I were living with them during my final semester of college), my wife, my kid sister, and I watched the news and President Bush's address.  I knew that I had to do something with my life. 

I graduated a few months later, magna cum laude, with an English degree.  Six months later I was on my way to the Texas Department of Public Safety's State Trooper Academy.  I had spent six months getting into the program.  I was one of almost four thousand applicants.  They chose less than 350 of us to enter the program. 

I spent a week at the academy and realized I didn't want to be a state trooper due to the strain it would put on my marriage.  I would have loved the job, but not the resulting divorce.

Two years after that I started law school at St. Mary's.  I graduated in 2007 and have been practicing on my own for almost two years.  Since September 11, 2001, my wife and I have had 4 children, the oldest is now 5.  It has been easy to forget in that time just what I vowed to do on the evening of September 11, 2001.

Today I realized it all over again.  But as I read my Bible this morning, I realized that the vow I made 8 years ago didn't include God.  I wasn't living in the Way back then.  I was achieving great things, but I was lost.

Today, I again vowed to make my life about helping others, but with a bigger purpose.  Today I vow to continue to minister to others in any way I can about God.  About Jesus.  About the Word and the Way. 

I pray for the dead of 9/11/01.  I pray for those who fight against evil know.  And I pray for myself and for you so that we can be better and bigger ministers for God.

Until tomorrow...

Come Believe.


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Thursday, September 10th 2009

6:21 AM

September 10, 2009: Do You Truly Believe?

  • Mood: Happy
  • Music: DMB - You and Me Together

Raining again today, but I love it!  All the bar ditches and stock tanks are overfilling.  Yesterday there was actually a road closure.  The reason this is so awesome is because we have not had any real rain around here for over a year.  Keep it coming, Lord!

Do You Truly Believe?

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

Hebrews 11:6

I think that verse is so incredibly important to understand.  You cannot please God, in any way, without faith in Him.  God will not let you come to Him, for anything, if you don't truly believe that He exists and that He will reward you for earnestly seeking Him. 

I ask myself that question:  Do I truly believe?  Or do I try to convince myself daily that there is a God and that if I behave myself some good things may happen for me?  I am a lowly sinner of a human being.  I have nothing to offer God.  All I can do is live by His commandments, the teachings of Jesus, and share that with others.  And in my opinion, the reason I believe that is because I know that I truly believe in God and that it is only by His grace and love for me that I have anything.

I believe not only that God exists, but that He is my creator.  Think about that.  I truly believe that He created me, the earth, and you.  If I believe that, how could I not believe that he is there, existing?

What about the faith part?  Faith is believing in the unseen.  All we have to show that God exists that is tangible is the Bible.  Everything else is based on faith.  But for a believer who is wrapped up in the faith completely, as I am, the next thing that solidifies the belief is the answering of prayers.

What about you?  If you consider yourself in the faith, living the Word, do you truly believe?

Until tomorrow...

Come Believe.

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Wednesday, September 9th 2009

6:46 AM

September 9, 2009: Revelation

  • Mood: Pondering and Searching for More
  • Music: Collective Soul - Listen

Raining and cool this morning.  Work has me on the road today.  Just thanking God that it has finally rained A LOT and continues to rain at home.  I hope it rains wherever you're at!

Revelation

Read it.  It's the last book in the Bible.  It will scare the hell out of you.  If it confuses you, read the Left Behind series or do some research on the Book of Revelation.  In it, John talks about his vision of how Jesus will return.  What is scary are the events leading up to the return of Christ. 

There are many different schools of thought on how Jesus will return, and whether there will be a Rapture seven years beforehand.  There are even names for the separate belief systems.  For my part, I just say that Revelation gives us a good idea of what is going to happen to Believers and non-believers. 

There is a Book of Life.  The living and the dead will be judged.  Their name will be searched for in the Book of Life.  If you are a true believer, you will be in it.  If not, you will not be in it.  Those in the Book of Life will enjoy an eternity with the Lord.  Those not in the book of life will suffer an eternity in a lake of fire. 

So how do you get into the Book of Life?  Simple...you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, believe in the Word of God (the Bible), Glorify God first, love and serve others second, and think about yourself last. 

Ha!  Not so simple for someone who hasn't ever heard of Jesus or God or is self-absorbed or believes in another God figure or etc., etc., etc.  The simple truth is this:  There is only one God, the Father and the Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, of all things seen and unseen.  He gave us Jesus, who brought the gifts of forgiveness from sin and eternal life.  To me, you either believe that or you don't.  I hope for the sake of your soul you do.

So that's how you get into the Book of Life.  See you tomorrow.

BUT WAIT!  I'm kidding...I know it's not that easy to absorb.  Becoming a Christ follower and a Believer takes time and effort.  What I have written above is absolutely true, but it has taken me almost four years of getting back into a relationship with God to completely accept His love for me and reap the benefits of a day-by-day walk with Christ. And I will learn and re-learn the dynamics of that relationship as long as I walk and breathe on this earth.  Much like I practice law, I practice my faith in God.  It's constantly evolving and growing.  There are setbacks.  I will make mistakes.  But I will be in the light of God's love for me.

If you do the same thing, at some point you will look at what I wrote above and say, "Yeah, that just about sums it up."  But it's the DETAILS that make all the difference, and unfortunately, the details take TIME and FAITH and EFFORT to learn, absorb, understand, and finally, to live.  But it can be done.  It starts with one simple step....

Pick up your Bible (or buy one) and start reading the New Testament.  Don't start with Genesis at the beginning of the Old Testament!  It will confuse you.  Start with the New Testament, maybe Matthew or John, and then move forward.  Read it over and over again.  Research what you read.  Plug into a church and study with others.  Don't worry, they are just as confused as you are!  Form a small group or bible study group and immerse yourself in God.

With time, you will find out that you are feeding the Spirit inside you.  And after a time, you will be ready for rebirth through Christ Jesus.  I dare you to try it. 

So if you're past that point already, read Revelation.  If you're not to that point yet, get there and then read Revelation.  It's a vision, and it's very symbolic.  For example, Jesus comes with a sharp sword out of his mouth.  Well...that sharp sword coming out of his mouth, cutting down the evil army is the Word of God.  Get the picture?

Do you want to be behind that sword or in front of it?

Until tomorrow...

Come Believe.

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