Great Remembrance

   At least one time a week, I like to remind all of the readers of this blog, and ones visiting, about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or as the Apostle Paul called it, what is of First Importance. This is the basis of Christianity and the very foundation of HOPE Ministries of the Upstate.
   Here is a way of depicting this Marvelous Truth. There was a Creator. This creator made everything that you see when you simply go outside. The trees, mountains, sky, bird, the entire Earth! But even more importantly, when you look in the mirror, what you see is also this Creator's creation.
   However, His creation disobeyed the simple commands of the Creator, and in that, the creation starting worshiping itself. And all of His other creation starting worshiping themselves. The Creator had to be just and could not let them go unpunished. The penalty for such insolence is death.
   However, one day, the Son of the Creator, Jesus Christ, the One and Only Son of God, came in to mediate and substitute our death for life by dying brutally on a Cross, for us. And now, this day, we have the option of accepting this call of forgiveness and salvation that Jesus Christ offers us, and it is the most important decision that we will ever make. Christ died for our sins! That is of First Importance, and the salvation offered should be of Great Remembrance to the believer and follower of Christ Jesus!

Growing in the Word

   Have you ever heard a brother and sister of young age going back and forth about who should be able to play with a certain toy that they share? They go back and forth arguing what they both think to be fact.
   However, whether both, none, or only one of them figure it out, there is only ONE truth! They both go in with different precepts of what that truth is, but there is still only one.
   As Christians, we believe that EVERY word of the Bible is true. We do not believe that some of it is true, or maybe certain stories happened, but imagination might have taken over for the writing of some of it. We simply believe that ALL of it is true.
   Therefore, if we have disputes about how things are or what fact is, we need to discuss it with each other, USING WHAT THE BIBLE says as the one and only guide and dictator of the actual TRUTH! Discuss the Bible with others, and let it guide you to Ultimate Truth!

The Virtue

   Those who say that they want to be like Christ CAN NOT lack one thing: and that is patience. You may read that sentence and think that you have heard this all before and want close the blog, but I urge you to continue reading.
   To be like Christ, you must be like the One who is the "Prince of Peace." Here is a simple but profound statement that you may not have heard before, peace is non existent without patience. Whenever peace is around, patience is somewhere in the midst.
   Jesus had disciples that had the great passion and will to follow Him. However, they were by NO means perfect, therefore, to sanctify them, Jesus had to have patience. It takes patience to both lead others to Christ, to be and example of His, and to grow in Christ yourself.
   Monitor your patience towards others this week and remember, to be like Christ, patience is something that you MUST have.

What we Let in

   In the year 2004, over 603,000 deaths were caused or linked to second hand smoking. Can you believe that? That is a pretty large number. However, most of you know that to be considered second hand smoking, this means that one was not smoking or holding the cigarette themselves, but someone else nearby was.
   They, however, inhaled the exact same smoke and, sadly for these, paid the price of their lives. The victims were not careful enough about what they let in. Its not just about what you do, it is also about what you let inhabit you or what you inhabit in.
   Have you ever heard of a song that does not in any sense glorify the name of Christ, but you can not seem to help but move to the rhythm of the song? The song may even be disrespecting the teachings of Christ. However, music is one of those things of great power. Therefore, we must watch meticulously of what music we listen to and whatever we let in to our spirits, and our bodies. I urge, no challenge, all of you to take inventory of what we let in.

Defensive Walls

   One of my personal favorite pastimes is the game of soccer. In the game of soccer, as most know, there are many official positions. There are forwards, midfielders, defenders, and a goalie on the field. The forwards are in the enemies territory and they try to score with the ball.
   The defenders, for the most part, basically stay relatively in their own territory and their job is to make sure that the other team does not score. This is obviously done easiest by making sure that every time that the forwards have the ball, we disrupt the play by either stealing the ball or kicking it out of bounds.
  We should live the Christian life like defenders when it comes to forces that the enemy brings against us, however, we should not live like defenders when it comes to our brothers who only try to bring growth in the faith. We must not defend ourselves against our brothers who only want to help us in the faith by showing us what may be hard for us to see from the inside out.
   Let us grow off of these observations that come truly out of love, so that we may truly become closer and grow together in the faith!

Hope In God

   You can ask almost any child that grew up with a single parent, it is absolutely expected for every parenting role to be fulfilled by that one person. If it is a mother, she must be a mother, but her child also expects her to protect and toughen her children. If it is a father, he must be father, but he is also expected to nurture his children as a mother would.
   However, we know that this burns single parents out. Sometimes not every parental requirement is fulfilled when both of the parents are in the home, just because there is no human that is perfect at parenting.
   The child, however, puts their hope in the idea that this one parent with be the perfect equivalent of two, and this generally leads to some disappointment.  
   This is not just for the situation of a single parent, but for any situation in life. Your trust should be in the Lord! Otherwise, putting all of your trust in mankind, whether one person or many, will lead to disappointment, but God NEVER fails!

Judging a Book

   Tonight, we will look at an extremely abridged version of the Founder and CEO of H.O.P.E. Ministries of the Upstate. Skipping past the birth and the childhood, we will go straight to his adult life to the point where he was taken to prison.

   This was for borrowing a car and not returning it. Yes, he had permission to initially drive the car, however, it was not returned in a timely fashion. Therefore, he was thrown into prison.

   He had been before and therefore he was put in the part of the prison those who had committed violent crimes had gone (in which he did not commit.)

   When he got out, I am sure that he can attest to the fact that he was judged greatly by manner simply because he had went to prison before. However, if they had only knew that he would have a vision for such a ministry, and that God would use him in so many wonderful ways, they would have never judged him like that. You do not know that future for others! Do not judge a book by its cover!

Not a Game

   I used to think that I could do absolutely anything because I was greatly invincible. In my world, I could jump tall buildings, save the entire town from sure destruction, and do anything possibly imaginable!
   Therefore, when my caring mother warned me not to touch the stove top, I could not help but to try it anyway, because I truly thought that I was invincible. I lived in my own little world basically. Every
   Of course, that is the mindset of a child. Even in the Faith possibly, those who are new or have just accepted may look at Christianity as this surreal fairy tale.
   However, I learned quickly when I touched the stove top that my mother was absolutely correct and serious in telling me not to touch it. It was not a game!
   No matter how invincible you seem in the Faith, sin is NOT a game! Neither is ANY part of the Faith. Heaven and Hell are real! So is Jesus and the Salvation He offers! Dont take it lightly, the Faith is NOT a game!

Authority

   A lot of people tend to look at this nation at get depressed and disappointed by the status of this government. There are many whom, after not voting, complain about the status of the government and all of its faults.
   I am not disagreeing with the fact that this government is corrupted to some extent depending on what you believe. This nation was founded on Christian principles that have seemed to progressively diminish with time.
   For example, homosexuality is not a Christian principle in which this nation was founded on. However, this has become an accepted principle lately in this country and is even passing through legislature.
   However, we need to realize that the government was placed on His shoulders. He knows the authority that has been put over us, and He allowed it to stay there. Therefore, even though we do not agree with everything that happens in it, we should respect that the Lord has put it there, and He is in control! Therefore I urge you to take your trust out of the government and put it in the Lord entirely!

Little By Little

   Time and time again, because we cannot do it enough, we mention the Gospel! Or which, as Paul states, what is of First Importance. Your ONE and ONLY ticket to Eternal Life with God Himself through the incredible sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ.
   The acceptance of Him is the key to the Eternal Life. That entire process is called Justification. You are now justified by Christ to the Father that your sins have been forgiven by the acceptance of the sacrifice of Christ!
   After that comes the process entitled Sanctification. In short, this is the process of "becoming like Christ". This is the one that requires great seeking in the Truths of the Lord and it takes time! The point of this post is to oppose the viewpoint of those who say that they are "there" or "have arrived". Sanctification is ALWAYS A CONTINUATION for no one on Earth is perfectly like Christ! Remember that sanctification continues until you leave this Earth, therefore run the race of becoming like Christ with much perseverance!

Pointing to Christ

   In Matthew 28, of which most know as the Great Commission, we are called to go and MAKE DISCIPLES of All of the Nations. Making disciples of all nations. There are two parts to that statement. We will be focusing on the first part, the making of disciples.
   H.O.P.E. Ministries is a discipleship program for six men at a time in where the founder and president takes them and leads them in discipleship for six months.
   Paul states that we should live lives that show the example of Christ! This is of course our goal as believers in leading others to Christ. However, our MAIN goal is to lead others to Christ!
   Pointing others to Christ is the ultimate goal and we must remember that He is the only one that is Perfect and Completely Holy and the Only One that Saves and sanctifies. Therefore, when we mess up, we trip not those that we disciple because we did not point them to us, but we pointed them to Christ!

Tragedy

   Sometimes things happen in which we do not know how and why and are powerless to stop the event itself. The most common of these examples is death.
   In a previous post, it was discussed how death is our servant to the eternal life with Christ Jesus Himself! We realized that, even though sometimes bitter- sweet, it is the stepping stone to eternal life! However, at the same time, none of us want those that we love to leave this Earth, especially by surprise or tragedy. Some would say that every death is a tragedy in fact.
   Most of the time, the part that hurts the most is the fact that it seems explainable. Its that we have absolutely no reason why they died when they did. We feel as if their time had not yet come.
   However, the good part is that our Trust in the Lord releases us from needing a reason. Our Peace and closure comes from Him, therefore we realize that even though we dont know exactly why what happened happened, we know that the Lord does and it is ALL in His perfect plan!

Not on Feelings

   When one goes to bed at night, they probably have every single intention possible to get back up the next morning. In fact, most believe so so avidly and instinctively that there is little or no question in their mind. And every time that they wake up, they prove the definition of faith, which is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
   Their simple faith that they would wake up was a hope for they knew not the future! And when they woke up, it was evidence for what was not seen the night before. However, just because someone goes to bed sad or angry or mad does not affect their deep faith that they will wake up the next morning.
   Waking up is not guaranteed, however God is always faithful! And when we have True faith in Him, our feelings do not impede it whatsoever. No matter what happens in our day, our faith is not shaken for our God is the same, and ever faithful, day and night, no matter our feelings! Bottom Line: True Faith does not depend on feelings! Feelings change, but God does not!

Vitamins and Minerals

   I have recently researched a lot about the body and optimal health. There are a lot of advertisements and false statements that are just trying to sell products, however, the genuine information is that no matter how much one runs, or works out with weights, or whatever one wishes to do, it means nothing if the right nutrients are not in the body.
   Although the body naturally produces most of these nutrients, they are the gas that runs the body essentially and so most believe it is a good idea to supplement. Without the proper nutrients, the body has nothing to fuel the building of endurance or muscle.
   In our Christian walk, praying is an great part and nutrient to our faith and our relationship. However, we are called to the supplement of the WORD OF GOD, the Bible, the Ultimate Vitamin. Without that, it does not matter how much one attends church or assists the homeless, there would be no foundation or fuel to build on. The Word of God is essential to our Christian walk and life!

Not the Bricks

  On a mini vacation, we did not find a church close by that we chose to attend for the weekend. I personally had never been to the area before in my life and knew not any of the churches around.
   Therefore, we as a family decided to watch a service online of a church that we all know of and have received the Word of God from many times before.
   The worship was engaging, and the sermon was as well. But many, especially those from traditional backgrounds, would say that church would have to take place in a building. In a pew, with a preacher in front of the entire watching congregation.
   But tell me, is the Spirit of God hindered by space? Is the Holy Spirit stopped by a computer or technology? Absolutely not! The Bible says that when two or more are gathered together in His name, He is in the midst! That means that church is NOT the bricks, its the people that come together to give God glory!

Living Hope

   Do you remember while growing up, your mother would always tell you not to touch the stove top? She would warn you time and time again as she ran to stop you from touching the top so that you would not hurt yourself.
   At school, you maybe read books that warns against the danger of touching a hot stove top and heard teachers talking about it as well, however, that was just talk. Until that dreadful day, when you decided to go against the advice of those around you and touch the stove top! And boy did you feel the burn! Now, at that point, you had a living experience!
   Christ is our living hope! However, He is only the LIVING hope to those that have had a LIVING experience in Him! It takes me than just reading a Bible once a week and attending a church service, it takes a complete submersion in the Lord and for Him to completely transform and renew someone! Then, Christ is more than just a figure of history or religion, but a True Living Hope!

Do Unto Others

   The famous phrase that you heard everyone generally say is, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This is an amazing and, I believe, true statement that should be followed! We should treat others with love and kindness as we would want others to treat us.
   However, tonight I would like to introduce another phrase to you. Do unto others as Christ has done unto you, to the best of your ability! Try that one for "radical!" This phrase could be summed up into one word- forgiveness!
   We have stated the Gospel many times, of how Christ died for our sins so that we may be with the Father in the end and forevermore! That is the Ultimate Forgiveness!
   So if we are to treat others in the way that Christ did and does us, does that not mean we are supposed to forgive even those who pierce our sides and crown our heads with thorn, curse us and forsake us, calling us everything but holy? I challenge all of you, do unto others as Christ has done unto us!

Most Important Story

   Imagine for a second that you and a bunch of your friends decided to hear a case about  someone accused of  committing a crime! Both physical and everything inside of you know that this person is innocent, yet you and all of your friends decide to convict him anyways!
   The man is tried and convicted, as the father just watches all of this happen. See, it was destiny for the son to have to die, so the father forgave those who asked him for forgiveness. He offered forgiveness to all of those who convicted his son and gave it to those who accepted it.
   However, there are some that heard of the forgiveness offered by the father, and did not want to accept it. Therefore, they were not spared from the wrath of that father.
   You see, the father in this story is God the Father, and the Son is Jesus! We are offered forgiveness and a path to the Father through the Son Jesus Christ, and if we choose not to accept it, we void our chance to be spared from the wrath of the Father! Jesus isnt a fairytale, this is the most important story of Life! Accept the forgiveness that Jesus offers!

It Takes Patience

   Since HOPE Ministries of the Upstate is a discipleship program/ ministry, I wanted to make the subject of tonight's post discipleship itself. I'd like to start by stating that discipleship in this ministry does not stop because of has graduated the physical program! Discipleship continues for the rest of the lives of all those who follow Christ!
   Discipleship is a following of Christ, through the inevitable fellowship of others that follow Christ as well. Through this sharing of each other's experiences and lives in essence, we are to grow in Christ together, those stronger in Him leading those that are not so strong!
   As one can derive, and as the founder and CEO of this ministry can surely attest to, this surely requires a mass amount of patience in many ways. The patience to listen, understand, share, evaluate, learn, and respond to the lives of others who yearn to be disciples! However, this patience brings wisdom upon yourself leading to growth. I encourage you all in your discipleship to realize that patience is a great gift that brings wisdom and growth to all of those that endure it!

Death: Our Servant

   Now before you get upset or make many detrimental assumptions about the title of this blog entry, let me explain. If you are not in Christ, let me say, it is the most important life changing, better yet life saving, decision that you will ever make and could ever make! Jesus Christ lived 2012 years ago.
   He lived an absolutely perfect life here on Earth. Knowing that we all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of the Lord, something had to be done to deliver us to God. For the wages of sin is spiritual DEATH, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!
   So Christ died on a bloody cross that He was nailed to so that we may be forgiven for our sins. Three days later, He was risen from the grave and shall live forever more. Therefore, if we accept Him, we will live forever with the Father!
   How do we get there? Does God live right beside the RadioShack down the road? No. We are going to the temporary resting place of Heaven. How do we get there? By shedding our physical body back to the ground,, through death (hence the title) as our spirits go to God! Therefore, although sad, death is actually our servant to bring our spirit to the Father if we are in Christ!

Where is our Time?

   Have you ever seen the family in which the parents do not have that much money to spend on their children? The reason is that they simply do not have a lot of money so on Christmas and birthdays and such, they give what they can but as far as material things go, that is usually not that much. However,m anyone who saw the family knew clearly that the love of the parents to the children was very evident.
   So I bet you may be wondering how I can be so sure of that. Well, the family does not have a lot of money, but everywhere they go they seem to be smiling and content. Why are the children so happy, they know that they are loved. How are they so sure? Because even though the parents did not have money, they gave something of much more importance, their time!
   Some say that they absolutely love the Lord. They have a Bible in their house and in their car. But one question that will either disprove or justify their statement is how much time is actually spent with Him! We put our time into what we love! Where is your time with the Lord?