Over the past several days, I have been thinking a lot about Christmas and what it means. I have also been reading the bible through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John contemplating the words these fine gentlemen wrote about our Savior and His birth, life, and death. Through my reading, I came to a passage that I believe most people forget is a verse dealing with the true Christmas story and that is, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Around Christmas, we all get caught up in hustle and bustle and forget the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas truly is a year round holiday that we tend to only celebrate in December of every year. Jesus was sent here and "possibly" born on Christmas day for us. He came so that we could be saved of our sins and we only take the one day to celebrate the birth and then we celebrate the death and resurrection on Easter. This Christmas, let's celebrate, but continue to celebrate throughout the year... Celebrate Christmas with your families opening gifts and being merry but do not forget the true meaning of Christmas: Kindness, Peace, Love, Happiness, and Hope.
Verses of the Day: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”–John 3:16 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"–John 11:25-26 Videos of the Day: The Christmas Shoes by Newsong
As I sit and think about some things that have been going on and the fact that I had a horrible migraine about 12-14 hours ago, I begin to feel that without God's wonderful love and compassion for me and all His children, I would definitely be nothing more than a mere, feeble individual, no better than a parasite feeding off of an unsuspecting host. I know though, that God is always there with me and all I have to do is and have faith that He will answer my prayers; I just have to believe and ask it in His name and it will be given to me. To some, that is extremely difficult to grasp.
We all have days where we think the whole world is against us and sometimes, there are people against us, people who become our enemies over their slanderous comments about us or our families. I remember I used to get very upset about thigs like that; things that would happen to me and I would lose something, whether an item or position to someone whom I never liked because of the way they treated me or my friends or my family. However, as I grew older, I came to understand that I let this stuff happen to me because I did not put God first... I did not ever ask for Him to help me in anyway. I always believed in God, don't get me wrong in that aspect, but I never really put Him first; I never really trusted for Him to take care of my needs and problems; I had very little faith if any at all and the more I think about it, I had no faith. Things did change as someone very dear to me, though I was unsure of how much that person meant to me at the time, I received the best advice I have ever been given when it related to my life and my faith. This person told me, "You have to put God first. It's in your priorities... You put God first and He will take care of the rest of your priorities; He will be involved. Put God first and then its up to you whether you put yourself or your family and then your job or career. If you do that, trust me," they said, "And life will be so much better and you will instantly feel better about the direction your life is going in." I heard this back in 2002 from a person whom I hold very dear in my life, though sometimes I may not show it nor do they believe it but rest assured, it is true. The person I speak of is my loving wife, Kassey. She has been there through everything... Through our ups and downs... The loving the irritation... The good and the bad... The best and the worst... She has been nothing but good to me and she has done a marvelous job keeping herself, me, our house, and our family together and united. She has been and continues to be a wonderful wife and mother and she is one fine cook if I must say so myself. I really appreciate all that she does but I know, even though she does all of this and makes me extremely happy, none of it is possible without God. He is the ultimate rock for us to stand on... With Him, Kassey is able to raise me up to where I can stand on mountains, where I can walk on stormy seas, where I can be strong... They make me more than I can be. I am proud to be a part of such a wonderful family and would take nothing in the world for them. I am grateful that she continues to stand by me while I am away and will be there for me when I get back home and I am ultimately thankful that God will always be there for me and for the vessel He sent us so that we may live forever in His Kingdom.
May God continue to bless those of you who take time to read this whenever I get one out and even those who do not. Thanks for stopping by and God bless you always.
VERSE(S): But you, O LORD, have mercy on me; raise me up, that I may repay them. I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever. Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
Often times, things get rough and many get dismayed over those things. These times, we forget the good times, those times when we think we are untouchable and can do anything. However, once these rough times come, many of us do the last thing we think of; we call on God. Many don't search for Him when things are going smooth and easy; it takes a major downfall or hardship for those to begin to seek out God's help and compassion. It is quite disheartening the more I think about this. Then, there are those out there, a large number of folks who do not even believe that God exists and those folks, I am saddened about. I often wonder what would happen if God quit trying and just turned away. I know I how I would feel and would probably give up if nobody believed in me. I say to those of us who know the truth and believe, pray... Pray for those who do not believe and those who do not even know of the great and glorious things that our God has done; we must share His wonderful word to everyone.
When the tough times come, don't lose faith or hope; just look to God. God will give strength to you in the troubled time as well as those times when we don't think we need Him for anything.
I wish everyone the best and I look forward to being able to post on a regular basis now that I have settled in here in Iraq. Take care everyone and may God bless each of you in all that you do.
VERSE
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
Well, it has happened... I have now decided to blog a bit. About 6 or 7 months ago, I was doing some daily inspirations and received some wonderful feedback on them. Well, as I moved around from place to place doing various things for the United States Army, I became preoccupied with much of the minor things that I had to do that involved my Army commitment. As I sit here today, I think about commitment and what it means. I have often thought about what is my purpose and I think I have found one of those purposes and it is doing what I do in the Army. However, there is more with that... I believe that God has kept me in this occupation and career path for the purposes of spreading his word to as many soldiers, both lost and saved, as I possibly can. I have shared much hope and love with the new guys that I have come in contact with while being back at Fort Bragg, NC in the 82nd Airborne Division. A funny thing actually happened a few months ago and again a couple of weeks ago. I shared a couple of my favorite verses with some folks, one of which considered himself to be agnostic. I spoke with this one individual directly and more indirectly to the rest because I felt that God was having me speak more directly to him. The more I spoke with him and shared with him about God and what He has done for me and my family, especially when I made a commitment to listen more to His word and work for Him, the more this individual began to have a belief that God was real and he began to accept some of the scripture and truths. The truth of God has been shared through Jesus, the disciples, and the apostles; through our faith, God exists. "Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:29
I pray daily that the lost will be found and saved because it is heartbreaking to believe that some have not been saved and others will not be saved. This is especially disheartening when there are those out there who believe, yet will not share the word with those who are lost because of what people may think of them. As I think of this, I think of the following passage: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." John 15:18... Remember to those of you who fall into this category, I was once this way, that you may be scorned by a person initially but they will think about it for at least a little bit and it may actually touch their heart... Also, Jesus, the Messiah and our savior was persecuted by those He came to save and through the hatred and abuse, made the ultimate sacrifice and gave His life so that we who believe in Him shall spend eternity in heaven with Him.
If Jesus did this for us, what then shall we do for Him?
Daily Verses
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. John 3:16
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. John 15:18
Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. John 20:29
To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 1 Corinthians 9:22
DAILY VIDEO/MUSIC
May God bless each of you this day and in the future.
I am 28 years old and I am in the US Army w/ the 82nd Airborne Division. I am married with 1 child and 1 on the way. I attend Columbia Southern University and aspire to be a Physician Assistant and later a Medical Doctor. I am an avid USC Gamecocks fan. I like to fish and play baseball and watch College Football.
