Can We Do It?

"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (I John 4:11).

I love this passage of scripture. In fact, it is the verse of scripture we use to close every podcast on blogtalkradio every Thursday evening. It is a reminder to us--that since God loves us--in spite of us--that we should love one another--in spite of us. That's love--unconditionally.

Now, why should we love others--unconditionally? When we truly love like God loves because He is Love, we don't have time to think about: hating, criticizing, judging, being vengeful, plotting to kill, steal, destroy, manipulate or lie. When we see things in others that we "do not like" we pray for them, while still loving them.

I can imagine that there are many people who have stories to tell about wayward children--those who just would not listen. In fact, I was one of them. Things turned upside down for me when my mother chose to move to Michigan from a small community in West Virginia in my senior year of high school--I lost it. I rebelled and created all sorts of havoc (for myself) including not finishing high school on time. I hated the high school I was attending and finally quit--needing just two classes to graduate.

Where does a rebellious child go with no high school diploma? Anywhere they want to go--they just don't succeed at much of anything. At any rate, I took the two classes during summer school, and went on to start a college career, but was still in a rebellious mode. Consequently, it took me twenty-five years to obtain a Bachelor's degree, but once I went at it, I refused to stop. Hence, the completion of doctoral coursework at over 60 years old. Did I learn anything? Absolutely! My mother loved me in spite of me, God loved me in spite of me, my children love me in spite of me and I learned to love myself--in spite of me.

Can we do it? Can we receive the love of God for ourselves and yet not love others? Can we learn to love self (a prerequisite for loving others)? Can we learn to love others--unconditionally?  When we learn to love, we'll change the world-one person at at time because love, like prayer, changes things.

Father, in the name of Jesus, speak our hearts and help us to love like You love. Show us the way to change ourselves as we work to change the world by creating an atmosphere of love.

Battlerama Super Tweens On The Side (excerpt)

“We’re going to have to take them to Botcha-ku,” said Natony. “He’ll know what to do.”

“Yeah, but will he do it to them or to us,” Bodak said. “He’s going to be really po’d about this.”

“Well, he can be ticked off all he wants to be. We have done our part. Now it is up to him to finish it,” Ariak chimed in. Her green eyes bore down on Kiara as if she thought that would make Kiara speak, but it didn’t.

“Okay,” Ramar said, “let’s just move them out.”

“I know you don’t trust us,” she said to the huddled group, “but we really are trying to get you back to your side of reality. We won’t try to touch you again, but you must follow us and do it quickly.”

Anthony was the first to move and he signalled the others to walk behind him in single file. They moved out as one column, looking neither to the left or to the right, their hands down by their side. When they reached the outer boundaries of So-Shun Forest, the trees parted for them to enter and then closed ranks behind them. The six said nothing, they simply kept moving forward.

Suddenly, Ramar stopped. “Wait here,” she said. “This is as far as we go.”

She clapped her hands in a quick, rhythmic way and a building rose from the ground, covered with tree leaves of all sorts of colors. Before the door opened, she stepped back and signalled the others to do the same. When the door opened, Botcha-ku walked out and stared at them.

“Have you accomplished your mission?” he asked Ramar.

“We have obtained powers, but one got away and we were unable to touch their pendants.”

Botcha-ku took a pendant from around his neck, but before he could do anything with it, the flying carpet of leaves appeared overhead. Everyone looked up, but they could not see anyone on it. When Irot, Tori’s alter flew about the flying carpet, she was exposed to the metallic top and fell to the ground. Just about the time, Tori hit the ground, the drink the six had earlier wore off and all of their powers were restored to normal, but the alters had to be defeated.

When Botcha-ku realized the Six had their powers, he ordered the others into a fighting stance and they were about to ignite a fight, but the carpet of leaves turned over and they were all exposed to the metallic surface, and they felt the power drained from them. Now, all they could do was to fight—yam-yam-style.

Maria signalled the Six not to use any of their powers in front of Botcha-ku as long as he was holding onto that pendant. The Six fought the seven like they had never fought before. There were twirling kicks, and high-flying kicks, and jabs and punches, and twists and twirls like they had never seen before.

“Blossom!” Anthony called. The six stood back-to-back, turning clock-wise or counter-clockwise without ever missing a beat. Since the seven alters could not break the line of the six, they were soon defeated; especially when Maria started working on their minds. When Botcha-ku saw what was happening, he attempted to run back into the building, but Shane was faster and blocked his way.

“Either we all go back or none go back,” he threatened, Botcha-ku.

The seven attempted to rise up again, but this time, Derek pulled up a tree and leveled them before they could do anything.  “Now, stay there,” he admonished, as he piled another tree on top of them.

When Botcha-ku attempted to wave his hand, Sutfol and some of the trodles appeared. Sutfol held Botcha-ku’s hands together and the trodles pulled branches from the trees which he used to tied his hands.

“Now,” Sutfol said. “You will kindly allow our friends to go back to their reality or you, too will stay.”

“I will not,” Botcha-ku stammered. “They will not return.”

Battlerama Super Tweens On The Other Side available on www.smashwords.com or www.amazon.com  Enjoy!

The Hour of The Anti-Christ!

"Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour" (I John 2:18 NASB). [Reading the entire chapter will keep this verse in perspective]

When John is writing to the Believers in the early church, he reminds them of a number of things. He reminds us that we should not sin, but if we do, we have an advocate in the person of Jesus Christ. He reminds us that some of have known the Truth for a while, but may have strayed from it. He reminds us that those who cannot love those they can see will continue to walk in darkness. He reminds us that if we say we know God, but are not willing to obey God, we are liars. In his earlier writing--Jesus tells us through John that Satan is the father of liars; so if we lie, we declare Satan is our father. John is constantly reminding us of the love of the Father towards us and the love that Jesus demonstrated for us.

If we believe that God loves us, why can't we do what we are supposed to do--obey His Word? Simply put--we have difficulty obeying God because we have allowed the world to influence our thinking and behavior--through the anti-Christ--those who are against Christ and His teachings. 
How do we know this is the hour of the anti-Christ? We simply need to look at the environment in which we live. Sin abounds and those things that God has called sin is now refuted by the anti-Christ. Kids are killing other kids, no one wants to control their temper and killing seems to be the only means of resolving a difference. Lives are destroyed by the abuse people suffer--drugs, alcohol, mental, physical, and sexual--and the anti-Christ gloat and say there is no God. Lying seems to be second nature to some and they do it as easily as they breathe--without even thinking about what lie they are telling. Many practice deception in order to gain something from others because they know if truth were known, they would never have anything. What is Satan's job? His role in the atmosphere is to kill, steal, and destroy, deceive, and encourage people to lie. There is no truth in him so he can only lie.

Watch those around you. What are they doing? Do they practice to deceive others in order to illegally or immorally gain benefits from it? Do they lie so much they cannot even keep up with what they have said? Are they capable of seeing themselves as they really are or do they make excuses for living outside the will of God?

Even though this is the hour of the anti-Christ--all is not lost. There are a number of born-again Believers who will not stop praying for the lost, who will not stop praising God for His goodness, who will not stop loving all--unconditionally, and who will not stop promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ--no matter what!

We can be encouraged by our affiliations with those who have a relationship with God, and with continued study of the Word and communication with our Father. We know that He will never leave us alone. We know that we can call upon Him at any hour of the day or night. We know that when we cannot stand against the winds of evil, He gives us strength to carry on. We know!

Therefore, we know--that this "hour" of the anti-Christ will only last for a season--not for all eternity and because we understand these things must come to past, we can be rest assured of the outcome because we know--the end of the story. We Win, in Jesus' Name!

Father, in the name of Jesus, help us to keep our spirits encouraged and our minds focused on You. We can survive the attack of the anti-Christ because recognize the tools they use to manipulate those who do not know You. Strengthen our resolve to keep pushing forward, sharing the Gospel where ever we go and spreading the love of Christ that is shed abroad in our hearts. Amen!

The Path of Life!

"You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand" (Psalm 16:11 NIV)

If we know there is a path that leads to life, there must be a path that leads to death. When we are at a crossroad in our lives--standing at the intersection--trying to determine which way to go--God makes it known to us which path we should take--if we hear Him. Sometimes, because of our haste to get where we "want to be" we take the wrong path and miss the joy that was waiting for us on the path where God wanted us to be.

There is a way that "seems" right to man, but the end thereof is death. The paths we take don't always lead to a "physical death" but they do manage to kill the soul, deprive us of joy, and deter our spirits with sadness. Those roads we choose when we allow the flesh to dictate our every move instead of waiting and listening to hear God. Most of us have made wrong turns and it took us a while to find our way back to the path were God wanted us to be--where we now know joy, peace, and love.

Was there any joy on the path of destruction we took when we did not know better?
Was there peace on the paths of confusion and chaos that we followed when we thought people were more important to us than God?
Did we ever find true love--unconditional love--along the way we chose, looking for love in all the wrong places?

Thank God for Jesus! Because of His love for us, we are now on the right path--the path of life--understanding and experiencing the abundant life that we are promised when we follow Jesus. The joy of The Lord is our strength and we know on this path, we are never alone and when we get tired or weary, He is always there--the pillar on which we can lean, without fear of it crumbling. We have access to the peace of God that surpasses all understanding--on the path of life. No matter what is going on around us, no matter how much chaos or confusion ensues from those who are influenced by the enemy, we can know and have peace in our spirits and joy overflowing.

Make sure you are on the right path--the path of life--so you can experience the joy and love of God and share it with others.

Lord Jesus, thank You for speaking to our hearts and turning us around from the paths of destruction on which we once travelled. Thank You for loving us enough to make a way for us to have access to heaven and eternal life.

Who's Watching Over You?

The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. Psalm 145:20

Who are the wicked?

The wicked are those who refuse to acknowledge God and certainly won’t live according to His principles.

The wicked see no wrong in doing anything that appeals to their flesh.

The wicked see no wrong in doing anything that makes them look superior to others.

The wicked have no conscience and therefore, they see no wrong in anything they do.

The wicked have no heart to love, just a soulless void that can only be filled with hate.

The wicked care nothing for others and enjoy the plights of the poor.

The wicked do not even honor their own; when one falls into depravity the rest look on with envy and jealous, never mindful of the end results.

So who watches over the wicked? The sworn enemy of God is their overseer and he delights in their depraved thoughts and actions and when one falls  to the bottom of the pit of pitiful, the enemy laughs and moves on to the next one—who doesn’t have a clue or a spine. These are the wicked.

But the Lord watches over those who love Him and even when it seems like one of us is about to fall, an angel by direction of Love swoops in makes sure we do not utterly fall. Those who love God acknowledge Him, praise Him, worship Him and most importantly—obey Him. We obey by loving others—even when they are unlovable and cannot return the love. We love each other enough to respect and honor one another. We love each other enough to be considerate of each other. We love each other enough to tell each other the truth of any matter. We love each other enough to give sound advice and direction in all things. We love each other enough to hurt when one of us hurts, to rejoice when another rejoices and to comfort those who are grieving. Love never takes pleasure in the injustices that many suffer at the hands of a few.

The wicked are not so—they love to see injustice prevail over those who cannot stand for righteousness on their own. And God knows—those who are His and He gives strength to weak, and rest to the weary. He give courageous where there was none and determination to fight through to the end. He gives us boldness that overrides the boldness of the enemy and puts him to shame. He gives us hope—that we will endure to continue the journey upon which God has started us. He gives us love when we were unlovable and forgiveness for our sins. His grace and mercy shall surely follow us all the days of our lives!

What then will follow the wicked?

Who is watching over you and guiding your thoughts?

God's Voice Should Be Louder!

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1

Satan (as depicted by the serpent in this segment of scripture) will always attempt to undermine God's word. He did it in Genesis--influencing Eve's thoughts about the fruit of the tree; he did it with Jesus, trying to tempt The Word with the Word of God right after Jesus had fasted for 40 days), and he's yet doing it with the people of God and those who deny Him.

He uses subtlety and half-truths to convince those who acknowledge God and then he blatantly lies to those who deny God.

How does he get away with it? Too many people who know God are not speaking loud enough to drown Satan's lies with Truth! Too many who know God are not actively trying to counter the lies that Satan spreads. Unfortunately, too many who claim to know God have also fallen under the spell of the master of deception's ploy to deceive. When people attempt to be God and choose to live outside of Godly principles, then we know Satan has deceived--"even those whom God has chosen" to do His bidding.

Know God and don't be ashamed to proclaim His Goodness from the Rooftops and the Valleys and all points in between. Our God Reigns! And it's time for us to put Satan in His place--back under our feet so he cannot be heard! Remember--in the end--We--the people of God--Win!

Lord Jesus, give us the courage to be bolder than Satan in spreading the Good News--about salvation, repentance, forgiveness, Your Grace and Mercy, and ever enduring Love. We thank You for hearing and responding to our requests so that only You may get the glory in the lives we live!

Entering Into The Promise!

“Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief”( Hebrews 3:16-19 NIV).

In the midst of teaching about the bible, many have heard the sermons, the teachings, the instructions, the invitations and in spite of all that—rejected the promise of salvation. The promise through Moses was to go into the land of milk and honey—being saved from the harshness of what their lives once were. However, since many could not follow instructions—and rather chose to ignore the God who had brought them out of Egypt—and rebelled against all that Moses was trying to instill—they never saw the promised land.

We can look at this passage of scripture and see how things went awry then, but can we look at our lives and see the same thing happening? Why is it that so many who were taught, rebelled? Why is it that people some would rather promulgate sin than live a life that moves people into promised land—heaven? Now, we really need to think about what we do and how it relates to “entering into His rest” or living a life of turmoil and confusion.  Since we know that God is not the author of confusion (Satan is), all of the confusion in the world is a result of people living under the influence of the author.

God says: Give your all to me and live for eternity.

Satan says: Surely, God doesn’t mean what He says.

God says: I am a jealous God and I don’t want you to worship other gods.

Satan says: Build a monument unto me so I can cause confusion in the land.

God says: I will never leave you or forsake you.

Satan says: The minute you get in trouble, you’re on your own.

God says: I will always love you.

Satan says: What’s love got to do with anything?

God says: Your body is the temple where the Holy Spirit dwells.

Satan says: It’s your body. Do what you want with it.

God says: Think on all the things that bring honor and glory to Him.

Satan says: Here—smoke this, snort this, shoot-up this, drink this, use this and allow your mind to rise above your circumstances.

Satan knows that a mind is a terrible thing to waste, which is why he wants yours wasted and why he attacks the mind.

This conversation could go on for years, but I hope the point is made. Whatever God says, Satan always has something to say to counter it-the opposite and when we receive the opposite of God’s promises—we have only ourselves to blame.

God help us to recognize the tricks of the enemy. Help us to see the deceptions, the lies, the destruction he causes and joy he steals when all hope is lost. Help us to submit to You and resist the influence of all who don’t know You. Help us to recognize those who are sincere, from those who are simply posturing goodness—on a superficial level so may enter into the promise. We thank You for hearing and answering prayer.