The Long Way Up

This old gem of a blog post came from ten years ago when a slew of major life changes started taking place. Change is the only constant. The sooner we learn to adjust, the better will we be at adapting, adjusting, and innovating. - - - - - December 9, 2008 I had a conversation with my mother last week about my brother and sister-in-law starting a new life in New Zealand. We talked about them getting involved in the church there and how my sister-in-law has been saying that their fledgling congregation could use someone like me [down pride!]. I told my ma that my brother is the one who is needed in ministry there, that's why he's there. And she replies, "Well, he's still adjusting to life there." This got me to thinking last night while showering. "Isn't our life here on earth about adjustments anyway?" No matter how old or young we are, no matter how comfortable or uncomfortable our life situation may be, no matter how far ...

It's become a habit of mine lately to get really old articles from one of my past blogs, and re-post them here under my 'throwback' series . This time around, however, the article I chose also fits into my parenting series category, so I guess this entry is going be a two-birds-with-one-stone kind of deal here. As an introduction to this blast from the past (for my Parental Guidance readers), the Bible clearly instructs fathers and mother in Proverbs 22:6 to "train up a child in the way he should go" so that "when he is old, he will not depart from" whatever lesson or principle his parents have taught him. I wrote this blog entry over ten years ago keeping in mind the dynamic between the two generations in the body of Christ -- the old and the young. Nevertheless, having read it again a decade later, I realized these truths were super-applicable in the parenting arena. God bless you as you read! - - - - - This is part of the Great Commis...

When I was just a fledgling preacher/teacher speaking in front of lots of people from a pulpit,  printed or written down outlines were a necessity since I hadn't had a wealth of preaching experiences to draw from and speak out of. This is one of my earlier 'teaching' outlines that I used in our now defunct Saturday night service. - - - - - Text: 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 Jehoshaphat was the fourth king of Judah and the son of Asa. As one of David's descendants, he had a lifestyle of devotion to God, seeking God, crying out to God, and instructing people in the ways of God. 2 Chronicles 17:3-6, 18:4, 31, and 19:9, 10 give glimpses of this. Here are seven things we learn from Jehoshaphat's life, particularly during an impending war described in 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. 1. WAR WILL ALWAYS COME UPON YOU (v. 1-2) Life is a battlefield between two kingdoms -- the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God. Whether you seek it or not, ask for it o...

I entered 2019 with a very promising direction and a new-found relationship from God. Without warning, the forces of darkness worked immediately to sow fear, anxiety and confusion into what should have been unhindered bliss and rejoicing in the Lord. It wasn't until I felt that my back was pushed against a wall that a holy anger for the devil's minions arose from within me, prompting me to speak God's promises back to Him, and rebuke the enemies surrounding me and my girlfriend. As I prayed over her and myself, I felt God's Spirit finally taking hold of our hearts, setting our souls at peace, and the demons of fear, anxiety and confusion, rendered powerless by the Name of Jesus. This ten-year-old blog entry still strongly resonates with me, and I feel like this is a reminder for me to keep bathing my life, and my relationship with my girlfriend, in prayer, faith declarations, and Bible scriptures. God's word is powerful! - - - - - Raise Your V...

I find it so amazing that some of the spiritual insights I got from the Lord from a decade ago still resonate (loudly and strongly) with me to this day; perfectly speaking into the current season of my life. God's Word is indeed timeless! - - - - - REST from January 11, 2008 "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him... Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him." [Psalm 62: 1, 5] There has been so much striving in my life. Striving to overcome sin. Striving to resist the devil and take authority over him. Striving to get more blessings from God. Striving to become a better Christian. Striving for more anointing. Striving to grow. Striving to be closer to the Father. Over the past four years of my life I went through many seasons in the Spirit that exposed me to these areas in my life where I strived instead of finding rest in the Lord. There's always been this part of me that wants to do all I can to acc...

Here's another article I dug up from one of my really old blogs. This is an eleven-year-old essay but the contemplation pertaining to the topic at hand has never left the inner recesses of my mind. - - - - - Half way through 2007 [my] Pastor Joe [DiSarno] preached about the qualities of God's love. Agape love looks so different from man's concept of love. Agape thinks more about the welfare of others than the welfare of self. Agape gives more than it takes. Agape is more than just feelings. As Pastor Joe spoke on the matter over a period of a few weeks, I began to think that agape -- unconditional love -- is such a tall order. It's the kind that is not based on feelings. It's the kind that's always extravagant. It's the kind that's always willing to make sacrifices. At the end of this series of sermons, two questions came to mind: who can measure up to such high standards, and can I measure up to such high standards? The answers? Well,...

I stalk people on social media every now and again. Last night, I was perusing the older posts on a friend's blog and caught a glimpse of the changes in her tone of writing, life priorities and outlook in general. Upon telling her of my stalkery behavior, she later on mentioned that she herself has noticed her growth over the years as documented by her voluminous posts. Today, I decided to start reviewing my really old posts from another blog. I only did a light browsing through the titles of former entries and the first paragraph previews, but I could already see the vast difference between the old me and the now me. There was an overabundance of naivete and legalism peppered all over my writings... but at the same time an obscured depth of understanding of biblical truth. This is one of the blog entries I found from around ten years ago... and found it quite amusing. - - - - -  I was having lunch at the office cafeteria the other day when I overheard so...