Grace "The Beginning" Part One

"My Grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

Oh, Lord, My one and Only. How I long to see your face. How amazing it is to live in your Grace. How divine it is your constant Presence!

I sometimes or most of the times forget how difficult it is to be a Christian. Other times, I forget that I am living under the Grace of God. Can't seem to make up my mind,lol

Grace from the Greek word charis conveys someone superior (God) that cares and loves unconditionally someone inferior (man).

I am man. I am a sinner. I am inferior compared to the owner and creator of everything mankind has ever known. But I have been reconciled to God the Father, throughout Christ who died in the cross for my sins.

I have been around the block more than once, or even more than that. But the life that I am living now is completely unbelievable. Only a Christian can understand it and rejoice for knowing that it is the works of God, His grace that is at hand of this inferior servant.

In July 2008, I had a very difficult situation. In a couple of months it got worse. I broke to my lowest. Finally I had my heart shattered. Walked in a church that was not one of what I knew and I was pulled in from the heart. I never did not had in the church I visited since growing up (I was always church-hopping) such an intense pull. Scriptures say: "The one who enters by the gate is the shepperd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." John 10: 2-3 (NIV) 

Still giving myself that day, which I will never forget, the new so called life in Christ was so ever difficult. I wanted more. The more I read, the more unsatisfied I felt. I struggled and often said, Lord, I am supposed to be satisfied with your Word. I am supposed to feel full, yet I feel so hungry that I want so much more. How naive! I am a new Christian. Of course, I wanted more. Of course I was still thristy for more. I wanted to know so I could reach what is called a Spiritual Maturity. To know God, His promises, what it meant to be born again as a child of God. I still made mistakes and awefull mistakes. I was angry after loosing so much. Yet I was still saying that it will be God's will. After all, I was secured that nothing more worse was to happen.

Character building. What in the world is that? Well, it is how we get shaped through circumstances. Lost everything a year later. All material things, and most of all, I lost what I though God will protect and allow me to keep. My children.

Never would I have I ever imagine that evil could be so evil. Never understood at that moment why would a loving God would allow this to happen to me. But one thing for sure is that even if I did not understand it then nor I understand much of it now, God has a plan. What ever plan God has, there is no man who will change it. The same way, anything that man does it will not prosper nor stay if God will not allows it or if it is not part of His plan.

Devastation came rushing. I cried, I tried to defend myself. I got angry. I wanted the truth. I was in shock that not even a judge would allow me to present the truth on papers that I had. Proof of the perjury. I wanted answers as to why people who were supposed to be on my side, had turned against me. Older children, their family and friends, school friends, those I called friends, those I trusted everything to, Those I loved so much, became my very enemies. Still to this day, they are all gone. No questions were answered. I was completely left at the mercy of the One who died in the Cross.

Wouldn't it be nice to be on a permanent vacation?  Would you like for everyone and everything to just leave a message because you are too busy taking it easy?

I feel that way most of the time. I know that I have so many things that I need to do daily and others to accomplish by a certain time frame but when you learn to live under the Grace of God it is almost as if you were on a "permanent vacation".

Nevertheless there is always suffering and circumstances that come our way. They all are in the purpose of reminding us how vulnerable we are as humans and to develop a much stronger character in our Christianity. Many churches or denominations have different names for this process. I just call it under the wings of the Most High. It just makes me feel more grounded in my faith and believes.

I am in a complete journey with my spirituality and I am striving to become more mature as I go along. Reading and participating in various Bible studies, concerts and conferences with people that know much more than I, gives me a more intense desire to be on a more "permanent vacation" from this world.

Of course, I cannot completely disconnect myself from the world. After all, I have a loved one, children, friends, and co-workers who deserve my attention as well as all the other people and opportunities to display my utmost humility and compassion towards them and those whom I will encounter on a daily basis.

Then it is the purpose of my existence. Many are still searching why are they here for. I might still have jobs that I am not aware of that I need to get going but for the most part I was wonderfully made to worship my Creator and to delight myself with His Presence. To have a personal relationship with Him and to talk to Him about everything. After all He knows me so well that He has invited me to be His beloved child. I am content and I know as well as He knows, that I sometimes will need His discipline because I am not perfect. But the greatest part is that within my imperfection, is His righteousness. I have invited Him in my life and I placed another beach chair in my heart just for Him. Now , why not enjoy my "permanent vacation" with Him totally by my side?

Would you like to do the same?

You might have asked yourself why are you here or what will happen when you die. The answers are found by understanding God's plan of salvation and by getting to know about Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the son of God, who came into the world as human, lived a sinless life, died on the cross and rose from the grave on the third day for the forgiveness of our sins. Therefore and since He conquered death, we can have eternal life. Another words, you will know where you are going once you leave earth. In order to receive this gift of forgiveness and receive eternal life you must know:

Jesus Christ wants to have a personal relationship with you. In Revelation 3:20 reads, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (NIV)

Ask for forgiveness; Acts 3:19 reads, "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord," (NIV)

Believe and trust in the gift of God. Understand that it is a free gift of forgiveness and eternal life and that you have not earned it but that has been given to you. All you have to do is believe it with all your heart and claim it as yours. Ephesians 2:8,9 reads, "For it is by grace  you have been saved, thriough faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the goft of God. Not by works, so that no one can boast." (NIV) And Romans 10:9 reads, "If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the Dead, you will be saved." (NIV)

Pray and confess your sins. It could be as simple as you can make it. God listens. Or you can follow this common simple prayer:

Lord Jesus, I ask You to forgive my sins and save me from eternal separation from God. By faith, I accept Your work and death on the cross as sufficient payment for my sins. Thank You for providing the way for me to know You and to have a relationship with my heavenly Father. Through faith in You, I have eternal life. Thank You also for hearing my prayers and loving me unconditionally. Please give me the strength, wisdom, and determination to walk in the center of Your will. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your final step is to receive the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life. John 1:12, reads; "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God" (NIV) 

The Christian life is a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The best part is that this relationship will last until and past eternity.

 

Have you ever felt like there is no light in the path you are traveling thru? I have felt that way many times and even though I am sure there will be some light somewhere, I get scared, very scared. Our Human nature is so simple and yet so complex.

Why are we that way? Only God can answer such question and then again He does not have to. We are all called to do what He has designed us for and yet left us with "free will". I often wonder why would God do such thing. After all, we could have all do what we are supposed to do, no mistakes if we did not have "free will".

There is the key! Without us making the mistakes and stumbling around, there would be no need for His Mercy and Garce. Because We need to have something to hold unto. Because we need the Hope that is only found in Him.

I have been too many times in the shadows of the light but I finally found a way to always face towards the light. What is a lamp if it is hidden from everyone? We miss it all the time and it is not becuase we want to miss it, but because we want to be auto-sufficent and unconciously, end up in the wrong side of the lamp.

Every day I have to open teh shades and windows to let the daylight come in. The same way I sit on my porch sipping my cup of coffee and giving thanks to the Lord for another day. I listen closely to the sounds around me. God caresses me with soft winds and sings to me with music from birds. He even warms me up with a few rays of the sun as they glide under my shade. I just get so excited that I open my Bible and start reading. I take time to pray for everyone in my family and add my co-workers, friends and all the people I know. Sometimes He helps me by bringing the name of someone in need or a picture of the person. I also pray for those I will encounter throughout the day. Yes my list can be big and vast but I try to make it even bigger by adding those who have hurt me the most and then the ones who have hurt me little. Not one escapes. I think that is one of the reasons I am a morning person. Definately by 3pm I can literally say that my brain runs on auto-pilot because I am not myself, lol

Still make the best effort ever because I work until late hours of the night. The greatest thing is knowing that I am not alone and that God is with me every step of the way. It is ok if not one person sees Him next to me. I know He is there! He is my light that shines upon my day and keeps me through the night!

It is so joyful to know you are not alone!

A New Begining

Everyone wants a new beginning, a second chance, a brand new start, a clean slate. But why do many of us want to make changes to what we already have? Simple, we are not satisfied with what we have or have done. Some want even more and others just want to do it differently.

The Bible compare us with sheep and it is pretty much how we are. Sheep are followers. They go by what they feel or see. They see there is greener pasture on the other side and they just move. They follow others and "go with the flow". We as humans are pretty much that way. We mainly go with the flow of things. We go with what makes this world. We want because someone has, because it is much better than what we have, because why not have it mentality.

The problem is that we all have plenty of opportunities to start new, a second chance. Some of us have more than a second chance. We might be in our fifth or tenth time around. Bottom line, it is very hard to learn from our mistakes. It is easier said than done when it comes to ; "We need to learn from our mistakes". But for most sometimes it takes us more than one time failing to get it, to learn.

After many failings in my life, I have found a hard truth. It takes courage to start over and it takes a complete surrender to ourselves and to a higher power than ourselves. Once I have surrender to my Creator, I have learned a new way of living. One that many are skeptical about it. It is often painted as denying reality or living in a dream world.

Trust me, this is not my second chance. I have started a few times back also. They were all for various and different reasons. A few years back I had to start from a place I would had never imagine. The lowest place anyone can think of, or even lower than that. A new life not because I wanted to make a change but because everything changed around me leaving me in a place where I had to stay there for a while to assimilate what was going on. Then getting up and begin the new journey barely on my feet.

It has paid off some. Not exactly what I would have wanted but I am getting there. I am not where I was a few years back. This time I have God on my side and I am more than joyful that He is. This time I am not alone. I have the best on my side. The One that is giving me so much even though I am just so little.

Today It has been a year since one of God's works came to my life. A year later, I still have no clue why or with what purpose. All I know is that it has been a difficult yet beautiful ride. Happy Anniversary to my New Life one more time!

These past days I have been tormenting myself and I have been listening every where about forgiveness. Funny thing is that it is definately the one and only way to live a life of fullness. My day has started way different today. For once I decided to begin writing my thoughts here. I am not a skillfull writer nor I think I want to be one. I just need to re-focus and liberate many of my thoughts.

My life has taken so many turns and my brain gets tired more than enough. Many of my thoughts are commonly random and without any direction. Yet the only thing I am sure of even if it hurts me is that I want to live a different life. One where many might think it is a dream life. One where I am not going by what is in the real world.

Yesterday I spoke a lot about how God has been so Gracious to me and all the blessings He has showered me with. People might have thought I wanted to boast about that gift, but I really wanted to boast about the One who has handed it over to me.

So my day started simply by a cup of coffee and trying to quite my mind so I could try to meditate. I can never make it for a long period of time. There was this anguish I had because there was a person who I really wanted to go and see in person. I had gotten up not early enought to get ready to make myself ready and be able to get to work after getting out of that place. But surely enough, I was reminded that I was finally able to get it through the internet. How silly of me, I thought. I was so energetic to know that I could. I have been without internet for so long and I had just gotten it installed Saturday. I was trilled to be able to see Nick Vujicic pastoring in Northland Church.

It just opened my heart back unto real perspectives. Why do we often complain of what we do not have, the things we want, how come we do cannot do something and be sucessfull. Yet some people say that we do not have because we are not determined enough in life, or we do not have because we do not ask. In reality we have way too much. Yet someone like Nick who really has less than many of us, physically, has yet more than any of us can really ever have. He is unique, genuine and so much on the inside that we are not. At least Me. I yet have so much to develop to have half of what he has.

Therefore back to the forgiveness I started with, I have had this issue in my life for many years now. I have forgiven many who have dealt me the other side of the cards. many have deceived me and some of those have been the ones I have trusted the most. Yet, in the path of life, I choose to forgive them no matter what and I am willing to trust again. Why? Because it is not about not learning from the mistakes of trusting the ones I love nor about being a martir wanting to continue to go through the pain and sorrows it brings. It is because I have no room for unforgiveness baggage. It is because I want to focus on eternity. I want to live a life where my rewards are not instant like it is often found in this world. I want something this world cannot cater to me. And who can give me what I need. It only in Christ and that my friends, is all I am after.

Psalm 23:1-6


En estos últimos días me he estado atormentando y he estado escuchando mucho sobre el perdón. Lo curioso es que el perdón es sin duda el único camino para vivir una vida de plenitud. Mi día ha empezado de manera diferente hoy. Hoy decidí a empezar a escribir mis pensamientos aquí. Yo no soy un escritor habilidosos ni creo que quiero ser uno. Sólo tengo que volver a enfocar mi vida y liberar muchos de mis pensamientos.Mi vida ha dado tantas vueltas y mi cerebro se cansa más que suficiente. Muchos de mis pensamientos son comunes al azar y sin ninguna dirección. Sin embargo, de lo único que estoy seguro, incluso aunque duela es que yo quiero vivir una vida diferente. Un mundo en el que muchos pueden pensar que es una vida de ensueño. Uno en el cual no quiero dejarme llevar aunque muchos lo llamen el mundo real.
Ayer hablé mucho acerca de cómo Dios ha sido tan amable conmigo, y todas las bendiciones que me ha colmado. La gente podría haber pensado que quería presumir de ese regalo, pero yo realmente quería hacer alarde de Aquel que lo ha entregado a mí.
Así que mi día comenzó con sólo una taza de café y tratando de aquietar bastante mi mente para tratar meditar. Nunca he podido por un largo período de tiempo. Tenia una angustia porque no iba a poder ver a una persona que tenía muchas ganas de ir a ver en persona. Me había levantado temprano, pero no lo suficiente como para estar listo para prepararme ir y tener tiempo para poder  ir a trabajar leugo de haber ido a ese lugar. Pero sin duda de repente, me acordé de que yo era finalmente capaz de conseguir el mensaje a través de Internet. ¡Qué tonta mí persona, pensé. Yo estaba tan enérgico al saber que si podria. He estado sin internet durante tanto tiempo y lo acabababan de instalar el dia anterior. Me de alegria poder ver a Nick Vujicic pastorado en la Iglesia de Northland.

Su mensaje abrio mi corazón de nuevo a las verdaderas perspectivas que yo considero reales. ¿Por qué nos quejamos a menudo de lo que no tenemos, las cosas que queremos, ¿cómo es que no se puede hacer algo y ser sumamente exitoso en ello? Sin embargo, algunas personas dicen que no tenemos porque no estamos lo suficientemente decididos en la vida, o no tenemos porque no pedimos. Cuando en en realidad no tenemos demasiado comparandonos a alguien como Nick que realmente tiene menos que muchos de nosotros, en lo fisico, aún no ha sido más que cualquiera de nosotros puede realmente tener. Él es único, genuino y tanto en el interior que pocos de nosotros lo somos. Al menos para mí. Yo sin embargo, tengo mucho que desarrollar para tener la mitad de lo que Nick tiene.Por lo tanto bajo el tema del perdón segun comencé, he tenido este problema en mi vida desde hace muchos años. He perdonado a muchos de los que me han hechado al otro lado de las cartas. mMchos me han engañado y algunos de ellos han sido en los que mas he confiado e amado más. Sin embargo, en el camino de la vida, elijo perdonar sin importar, y estoy dispuesto a confiar de nuevo. ¿Por qué? No es debido a no aprender de los errores o de confiar en aquellos a quienes amo, ni acerca de ser un martir por querer volver a pasar por el dolor y las penas que conlleva. Es porque no tengo espacio para el equipaje que conlleva la falta de perdón. Es porque quiero centrarme en la eternidad. Quiero vivir una vida donde mis recompensas no son instantáneas, como a menudo se encuentra en este mundo. Quiero algo que este mundo no puede darme. ¿Y quién me puede darme lo que necesito? Sólo en Cristo Jesus, y El, queridos amigos, es todo lo que busco.Salmo 23:1-6