The Gospel

Why I Read the Bible

                This is such good subject for me to explore on. If you would have asked me a year ago, I would have told you I was reading the Bible because I just love to read. Ask me today, and I will tell you that I read in order to study the word of God. Studying the word of God is so much different than just reading the Bible to read it.

                About a year back, I got bored and told my wife that I was going to read the Bible from cover to cover just to see how long it would take me. Now keep in mind, I can read full novels in about a day if I am truly interested in the book. So I borrowed a Bible from my wife and just started to read it. In about 3 weeks I had finally completed reading it and was completely horrified. I mean I picked up this book and found it to be one of the most captivating yet terrifying stories I had ever read. The Bible tells us about all God’s work and the life and trials of Jesus as well as the history of the Church. Now I know what I am saying is shocking to some, but please stay with me. What I had learned from this experience of reading the Bible from cover to cover with no guidance is that that is not the way to read the Bible for your first time out. I mean without the guidance or Christ in your heart, you see a God who in the Old Testament was ruthless in his conviction of wanting people to do what was commanded. I mean he started wars, wiped the earth clean, and if you disobeyed him you usually wound up dead. I was so shocked by the Old Testament that I could not get the message of the New Testament. I mean I was so jaded I could not even catch the understanding of John 3:16 which tell us “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” I was so concerned with what I had read in the Old Testament that the truth behind this statement was lost to me.

                Fast forward to the present. I started to attend Church with my wife during our kids VBS this year. On the first night of our adult study, I made my thoughts known to the group about what I felt the Bible was about. You know the horrific story I had read in 3 weeks. I was totally expecting to get crushed by the people in the group, but some agreed with me and all supported me. I was then told that I should have started the other direction. Start with the New Testament and work backwards you know. I had never thought about it that way. Well by the 5^th night of my adult study I had accepted Christ into my heart and found my Salvation through him. I also started reading the Gospel in a different way. I started with John, now mind you this was in June of this year; I am still in John because as I read through my Bible I find myself jumping back into other books of the Gospel to find out the references that support certain verses that I am reading. After I was saved and fully gave myself to the Lord I went back and read John 3:16 again and something jumped out at me; John 3:17-18. “For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the one and only Son of God.” I mean for real, how could I not notice this sooner. I was completely blinded in my thoughts and heart but now I truly see and have been awakened. My pastor, and sorry Greg if I get this a little wrong, had stressed to us to be In the Word, Under the Word, and in Prayer. Since I heard this I have done everything I can to stay true to this. I go to church faithfully now in order to be under the word, I read the Gospel daily but more important that just reading it, I find myself trying to dissect and understand what I am reading, and finally I am in prayer throughout most of my day now. And you know what; I have never felt more complete, happy, and alive. I love God and his son Jesus Christ, my family, as well as all I come in contact with more everyday as my mornings begin.

                So for those who are scared to read the Gospel, I say this to you. Stop being scared, pick up the Great Book, and open your heart. This book will speak to you if you are willing to let it and it WILL TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE.

G.E.D.D.

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Community

What’s Wrong With Our Communities Nowadays

                I have spent the better part of the last 13 hours trying to figure out how to approach this subject. I definitely due believe that this is part of my daily walk with the Lord. The event I attended yesterday and participated in, showed me just how amazing Jesus Christ was to do all that he did for the world. I know that some of this blog might seem petty and irrelevant to some and maybe offensive, but if you actually take the time to read and listen to the message it should hopefully make sense.

When I was stationed in DC and drinking all the time, one of the things I looked forward to every year was the Chili Cookoff in downtown DC. This was an awesome event, you pay your money for the entry, have access to tons of awesome Chili samples (that you had to pay for), could go to numerous local bars (which all charged a cover, and you had to pay for your drinks), and you were able to act like drunken fools with those in your community that you would not remember the next day. All in all, after about 200 dollars, it turned out to be a great weekend that I could not remember most of. I mean come on now, that is the best way to act within your community right. Get drunk, start a fight, meet new people you can forget later, I mean what else could you ask for right. Now I will say this, if that last sentence made sense to you and you actually relate to it, WAKE UP and get a clue.

                I have recently learned that the best way to spend time with the people in your community is to serve your community without expectations. Eventhough I say this, I am finding it much harder to do than to say because there you can still get frustrated because you do have an expectation. I will say, before I was saved by Christ, if someone had come by from a Church group and offered a day or evening of FREE entertainment and food, I would have definitely been apprehensive and suspect. I mean in this day and age, who offers anything for free with no expectations other than to commune with the people in their community? I mean why in your right mind, would you take your own free time, go to a location where you don’t really know anyone, and offer to make them food and good conversation? That has to be what goes through most peoples minds when a community has this offer put in front of them by a group of God faring people. You might ask yourself right now, man this guy seems a little upset and you would be correct, but not for the reasons that you are thinking.

                I have been deployed to one of the most deprived and miserable places on the planet, and let me tell you something, when you have been to a place like Iraq and see people who are in real need of things you get a different perspective on life. I mean come on now, even in a place where you could get blown up just walking down the street, if you where to offer a free meal and games to play for the children, you would not be able to cook fast enough to feed all the people who would come out just to eat, play, and tell stories.

                Not us in the United States though. You can go door to door a week early, take the time to make up flyers announcing a block party with free food, bouncy house, music, and good company and the community you went into will just not show up. Whether they make it their purpose to just not be home or watch you cook and just not come over, it doesn’t really matter the reason but in my mind it is just sad. I have held these same kind of events while in the military with the difference that it was called a fund raiser with a price on the food and fun, and tons of people will show up to blow their money. Why not do it for free. Do we avoid this because we are scared to talk to people who Believe in their faith in Christ? I mean are we scared that if we eat the food from the people from the Church that we might be infected? Come on now, get real. I think that our communities really need to start looking at themselves, are they truly a community or just a group of people who live near each other.

                For those who do take the deliberate time and effort to avoid a good time that is completely cost free just so they don’t have to be around those who are trying to be good stewards of Gods image, I say this to you. You will not deter me, I will not give up, and I will continue to extend myself in friendship to you and let you know the glory of Christ. Thank you and God Bless.

G.E.D.D.

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Put it on the Altar

Hello all,

I have been out of the loop for a few days due to a situation that came into my life, that I am actually basing this blog on. I have heard several times over the past few weeks while at service the saying "Put it all on the altar," without really understanding the meaning. Now I believe I have a better understanding of this saying.

This last week has literally sucked for me in a physical sense, but in a spiritual sense, it has been outstanding. First off the week began with an ambulance being called for me last Monday night due to some abdominal pain that I was having. Let me tell you this pain felt like I was going to die. I know that during this episode while I was in the ER I was definately praying out loud for Gods help.

I followed up from the ER visit with my normal Dr. that Thursday and was told that I had a bad gall bladder and that I needed to be referred to surgery. So the next day I spent the whole day at the hospital running tests and talking to the surgeon. We aggreed that I would have my gall bladder removed on Tuesday the 19th of July. After going back to work and explaining what was going on, I suddenly came to the harsh realization, I am not in the Military no more. What exactly does this mean you might ask? Well for one, it means that when you dont work, you dont get paid. HAHA new concept for me after being in the military so long.

So I decided to go back and ask the surgeon if he could push my surgery one week to the right so my paycheck would not be so affected. He told me no, that the gall bladder had to come out as soon as possible. So I called my wife and explained to her what was going on, and also to let her know that my next paycheck was going to be real bad, and to see what our options were. Well we could ask my parents for the money to cover us, could ask her parents, or take out a short term loan. Well after some discussion we went with option 4, which was to pray as a family and put it all on the altar and let God take care of us.

Let me tell you, it worked. At about 6 PM that night, I started to have another abdominal attack. This once again landed me in the hospital, which in the end resulted in the surgery being performed on Saturday. This in turn made it to where I could go back to work earlier to maximize my hours for my pay period.

Sometimes it truly is remarkable the way that God works. I know that He is watching my family and myself, and we love Him in the Agape way and will serve the Lord any way He directs us.

G.E.D.D.

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