How Hard It Is To Be Believers Through Faith

MARK 4:35-41
With the coming of evening that same day, he said to them, 'Let us
cross over to the other side.' And leaving the crowd behind they took
him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him.
Then it began to blow a great gale and the waves were breaking into
the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his
head on the cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, 'Master,
do you not care? We are lost!' And he woke up and rebuked the wind and
said to the sea, 'Quiet now! Be calm!' And the wind dropped, and there
followed a great calm. Then he said to them, 'Why are you so
frightened? Have you still no faith?' They were overcome with awe and
said to one another, 'Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey
him.'


REFLECTION
In this Gospel, one realizes how difficult it is to be a disciple. It
was just an ordinary trip after a long, intense day. Jesus and his
friends leave the crowds and turn to the water. The lake is placid.
The disciples look forward to quietness and peace, maybe even a
sunset. They are with the Lord. Life is good at this point.


Everything changes in a flash. The boat is swamped by a great gale.
For the disciples, the irony is that though Jesus is with them, he is
fast asleep. What do you do when God is sleeping in your boat?


"Why are you so frightened?" a puzzled Jesus asks. "Have you no
faith?" He was right there, no further than an arm's length, more
powerful than the wind and the waves.


Lord, we doubt, we stumble. It is our nature. Teach us a bedrock
trust, an unquestioning faith. We will do everything we can. But You
are greater than our minds can conceive. In the end, faith is your
gift. Open our eyes to see Your true nature. Help us to believe.

Our World, Hurting and Wondering

Hello everyone,

Let me start with a prayer! Father God, we ask you this day to give the suffering, hope, and a  sign that you care what happens to those whom fully believe that You are indeed who You say You are in your Living Word the Bible. Help us all to show compassion to one another in troubled times as well as the good times. Guide and protect us this day and every day here forth. Keep us from the darkness that is trying to run this world we live in. Answer the prayers of those faithful people who are earnestly calling out to you for help and relief from pain and suffering. Gives us the courage and  strength to pass the many tests we all go through in our daily journey through life. Give us all a clean soul, a renewed sense of human spirit, patience and the mindset that all things are possible by You and You alone. I ask these things in the Sweetest name of Your Son Jesus Christ whom You sent to this planet earth to redeem us from our transgressions.

Thank You God for always being there for us to turn to.

Many are facing serious problems in this world today. The homeless, the hopeless, sick bodies, minds, weak in spirit. Many are suffering, pain, loss, confusion and lack of understanding why their circumstances have become so bleak. Millions of people in the world today are wondering, what have we done to deserve all that is happening in our lives and why do I feel my prayers aren’t going to be answered?

Faith is the key issue. If we have strong faith, we are able to endure all of the wows being thrown into the mix. We must believe beyond the shadow of doubt that God almighty is in control and He alone has set life as we know in motion from start to finish. He, God gives us the strength to endure pain and suffering and allows it to so be, just as He allowed Himself to become the Son of Man in flesh to come here, be tortured, die on the cross, that horrible death for you and me, so that we could be reconnected to His glory.

In closing, all I can say is, do not let calamity, perdition, injustice in this mortal life erode you faith. stay the course,be vigilant and remain in touch with the Divine Creator for He knows our every need and will provide it when asked for. Don’t expect to receive what you want, you will however, get just what you need! Amen

May God Bless you all this day!!

Arthur (Art) 

Doomed without Him

A message from 1 John 1:5-10 says,

Thus is the message we declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

 

 

Perhaps, the writer here wanted to express how magnanimous a personality Christ was and continues to be. For one to attract such crowds there had to be something more than just the miracles. There had to be some connection the masses felt to be so drawn to our
Savior. There had to be some message people longed for and could only find it in Jesus.

Healing is a loving act. Whatever may inhibit us from becoming fully alive in our everyday actions should be a grave concern. Because, we're never truly happy when there's a scar on our soul. More than the physical handicap seen by the naked eye, the inner wounds and ill
feelings affect us psychologically and somehow manifest on our bodies.

When we long for the Master's touch for cleansing, for us to be made whole, a new life is reborn. We feel more alive than we've ever been. It's difficult to blame the healed leper's enthusiasm, who for so long had been shunned by society. Hopefully, we can be just as happy when
we allow God to take away all that disturbs our minds and extremities, so that we can be found rejoicing in his love once more.

Something to Ponder

The greatest evidence that man has a darkened mind and a corrupt nature is not the existence of the gambling den, nor the house of ill fame. The greatest evidence is unbelief; the fact that the human heart definitely and positively refuses to listen to the voice of God; that there is a heart which hates the light and loves darkness; and the greater the light which is rejected and refused, the greater the darkness, and finally God who is Love and Mercy can do nothing else. In fact, He must mete out judgment for a race which refuses to listen to His voice. That has been the story of the race from the beginning. God did not leave man, after he had transgressed, without light. Man had the light of creation and though there was not a written word, yet there was the Word of God nevertheless, and yet as you follow the Divine Record, you find that man's evil nature was evidenced by turning away from that Light. And though in 1650 years of the first age of this earth, they built cities, invented instruments, were lovers of art and music--the race wandered away from God, the earth became filled with violence and vileness, the voice of God was rejected and finally God had to bring a judgment upon the earth. And let no one imagine that that judgment, the deluge, is a myth; it is not. It is written in the Book and it is verified by science, by geology and by tradition.

Author unknown

New Years Prayer

This is a prayer that my Sister-in-Laws Son wrote and forwarded to me!



Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray you open doors for the person who
Sent me this as well as those I am sending it to. Only you can open
Door’s no man can close and for that we honor you today.
Thank you for the open doors of life, health, strength, prosperity, wealth, and love.
Also thank you for closing the doors of death, sickness, weakness,
despair, poverty, and bitterness.
We love you today Lord and we give you all the glory,
the praise. I seal this prayer in Jesus' name Amen!!!

Remember:
God closes doors no man can open & God opens doors no man can close.

Mathew Ch.6 Vs.8
Your Father knows the things you have
Need of before you ask Him.

Bless our Troops in the Field

 

Recently I received this email from a friend and thought it an honor to pass it on. A young Marine wrote this poem and letter to his father a short time ago. In the letter to his dad the young Marine requested that his dad disseminate this poem to as many people back home as he possibly could.

So the least I could do is publish it for that Marine who’s out there doing the most for us. Defending the great country that we live in!

The Marine

We all came together,
Both young and old
To fight for our freedom,
To stand and be bold.

In the midst of all evil,
We stand our ground,
And we protect our country
From all terror around.

Peace and not war,
Is what some people say.
But I'll give my life,
So you can live the American way

I give you the right
To talk of your peace.
To stand in your groups,
and protest in our streets.

But still I fight on,
I don't fuss, I don't whine.
I'm just one of the people!
Who is doing your time.

I'm harder than nails,
Stronger than any machine.
I'm the immortal soldier,
I'm a U.S. MARINE!

So stand in my shoes,
And leave from your home.
Fight for the people who hate you,
With the protests they've shown.
Fight for the stranger,
Fight for the young.
So they all may have,
The greatest freedom you've won

Fight for the sick,
Fight for the poor
Fight for the cripple,
Who lives next door.

But when your time comes,
Do what I've done.
For if you stand up for freedom,
You'll stand when the fight's done

By: Corporal Aaron M. Gilbert

Thank you Corporal Gilbert for standing in harms way for my freedom. You may never know how much it means to me.

Semper Fidelis  Marine

Blessed are the poor in spirit

 

When we are down and our spirit is at an all time low, feeling the harshness of life’s realities pressing in on us, do we fit the title of poor in spirit?

I would like to think that what St. Matthew had recorded Jesus as saying in the beginning of the Beatitudes describes a state of being that all of us experience from time to time as we live out our earthly lives dealing with all emotions that come along with the task.

I am here today writing to relieve some of the strain I feel is pressing down hard on my own spirit condition. Prayer always helps, but sometimes it takes a little extra effort, such as writing down thoughts or creating a place in the mind where nothing exist but you and your own thought of God and His perfect, majestic plan for your future as well as present.

As I write this post I am devoting my full attention to giving God praise for somehow keeping me open to receive all blessings He has for my life! I know He has plenty and it is my hope that He would somehow allow me to share them with everyone that I am in contact with here in my physical existence.

I pray that someone out there reading this will be touched by what is said here and spiritual uplifting occurs.

Faith is a wonderful thing when you add patience to it, all things becomes possible it seems.

Oh Lord, help me remember that nothing is going to happen today, that You and I can’t handle together!

Art

Isaiah 26:4

Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Je-ho’vah is everlasting strength…