Love - All year round

Today, I went to my local dollar store to pick up something for the kiddos. No it wasnt candy or little heart shaped sweethearts. If you must know, it was diapers. But, that isnt the point of this little intro. I wanted to let you in on a secret. First, let's start with the question the lady asked me behind the counter. Now I have known these women for a little while so it was ok for them to ask me any question they wanted to. I was a little shocked by this one though. She said, "Tj, why, if you love someone do you wait until the last second to buy something for someone for Valentines day?" (I WAS NOT BUYING ANYTHING, IT WAS JUST A QUESTION) I proceeded to let her in on my secret - and I am going to let you in on it to. Here goes - I told her "I dont really buy things for Valentines as I show my love for my wife and kids everyday of the year, or at least i try." Here is my point; I believe that our families deserve our love every day of the year, that we should expose them to excitement and joy and enthusiasm about who they are each day of the year. My wife is the most special woman in my life and Yes i want her to have a good valentines day but I know that I dont have to go out and Buy her things for this one day because I DO LOVE HER ALL THE TIME. I do show her my love every day of the year.

The bible says -
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.   It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part,  but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.   When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.  For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”  1 Corinthians 13:4-15

This is truly what love is. A description of who we should be if we love someone. Do I get this right all the time. NOPE. I am lucky if I get it right half the time, but I do make an effort and I believe that my family sees that. Know this - please, make sure that your family knows you love them, not because you bought a heart-shaped box of candy or some flowers, but more because you love them and seek what is right for them every day of the year and not just Valentines day.

And for all you single people out there...wishing you had a man or woman for valentines day - remember to seek A man or woman after the heart of God and who will cherish you every day - not just this day!

As far as my wife goes - She is an integral piece to my puzzle and I love her more than i can possibly express in a few words. She is amazing and wonderful and awesome and special and smart and intelligent and kind and everything i wanted and still want in my wife. There is nothing if this world or not of this world that i would give up in trade for her. Thank you for being my helpmate and thank you for always being you! I love you! #ilovemywifeeveryday #amazingissuchasmallword #thegreatestoftheseislove

Jesus loves you guys and so do I!

How do I get to Heaven?

How do I get to heaven???

You work hard all your life and build mansions here on earth and are extremely rich...yet you still cant pass through the gates of heaven...But you had it all...

Or you are the nicest person and give everything you have to everyone around you...you store up zero treasures here on earth and live your life to bless those with what you have been gifted...and you die and your name isn't in the book...you are not allowed to enter Heaven... and as you are exiting to leave and go through the gates to hell...

You scream, "but all I ever did was bless others"

And you hear through the tears - "Yes you did...and it was beautiful. And nothing saddens me more than to know that you never turned to Jesus."

Jesus said that "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

So what does this mean exactly?

Just as it says - Read it again - "I am the Way, the Truth and The Life. NO ONE can came to the Father except through me."

You have to realize that God has given you the directions. He has laid out the map for you. Jesus said the words above because He knew HE was the only way to Heaven. He knew that He would lay down His life for our sins so that when God saw us, He would see Jesus - BUT you have to confess that you are a sinner and ask for Jesus to come into your heart. You have to change your lifestyle and develop a relationship with the one who Saved you! (this is stated in James 2:17-26)

God will not allow sin to enter Heaven, and if you haven't been covered by the blood of Jesus - He will see your sin! This means that you will go straight to hell......

you will not pass go... 
you will not collect 200 dollars....

I hear so many people preach about Romans 3:23 - "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," 

But they tend to leave out what I call a key verse - Romans 3:24 "and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

Because Jesus went to the cross for us we have freedom from sin. Yes we sin every day of our lives but as we read in verse 24 - we have redemption through Jesus. All was forgiven. 

So HOW DO I GET TO HEAVEN?

You have to ask Jesus into your heart. You have to confess that you are a sinner and faithfully believe that he died on the cross for you - and rose three days later and walked out of that grave. That He left us the Holy Spirit, (John 14:15-18), as he told the disciples he was going to, and live a life that would be pleasing to Him. Live your life to glorify the name of Christ. Prayerfully accepting Christ into your life is the only way....He is VERY specific about this...as you have read.

If you have any questions, prayer requests, or thoughts about this topic, feel free to ask..if I have any answers I will share them...if not I know a few Pastors and will definitely try to connect you with the right person! 

ALSO... Come see the movie "Heaven" from the Billy Graham Association this Sunday morning at our local church. It is going to be a great time of fellowship and learning. If you have any questions about that - let me know in the comments and leave me your email address!

Be blessed everyone and I love you all!

Love Is.... PART 2

First, I want to start by saying that I never had intentions on writing this second part this far away from Valentines Day....But we all know that God's Plans are different than ours...I fully believe He intended for me to write this now and not then...

Now that we got that explanation out of the way, we will move on to the meat of this post...

Love Is...

Stop right now and ask yourself what exactly is Love?

How exactly would you define Love?

Love is defined as - "An intense feeling of deep affection"

Some of the synonyms of the word Love are - deep affection, fondness, tenderness, warmth, intimacy, attachment, endearment.

Sounds like to me that Love is a pretty intense word. When we tell someone that we love them, we are not telling them this just to hear ourselves speak. We are letting this person know that they stand in a very high regard inside our hearts and that there isn't anything that we wouldn't do for them....am I correct in describing what it means in us when we tell someone that we love them?

We we try to love someone that rejects us....this becomes harder than ever...am I correct? Lets say that you are loving someone who just doesn't seem to have the same feelings for you or who you are or what you are trying to give them...Our bodies ache for the approval that comes from the relief of not being rejected...we want to be loved by the person we are pouring our hearts out for...and yet the love never comes..... or it comes too late?

This is how Jesus feels sometimes towards us. How many of us are having a bad day and instead of turning to the savior...we turn away. We look for relief in something or someone else. We reject the one who loves us past all of our thoughts and actions...His love is UNCONDITIONAL...there is no Card for membership to His love. It is always there - ready to be poured out freely to us...and yet we still turn away.

Today is Easter, (well it was when I started writing this blog post...LOL), and we celebrate His Resurrection, but why did He go to die in the first place? Why did Jesus freely give His life for us in the midst of our horrible sin filled lives? He loved us that much...He wanted to DIE for us long before we came around Just to show us exactly what love is...

Remember I asked you to define Love....Its simple...Its Jesus....Its being Jesus to those who need it or don't need it...Its taking Jesus to the broken hearted and sharing Him with them...It's simply loving each person just as Jesus does!

Love is.... Part 1

Well Valentines Day is right around the corner and watching this video reminded me of a few things.

First let's talk about a sad reality facing so many people today.

That Divorce IS an option - right?

Or is it?

First off, let me state that what I am about to write, In NO WAY condemns anyone that may have had to go through a divorce. It in NO WAY judges anyone that has gone through a divorce. Sometimes they happen. For reasons that the outside world cannot see and it is our place as CHRISTIANS to love that person...BOTH OF THEM...and try to help them in any way we can!!!

Divorce has seemingly become the first option in this world of so many trials and tribulations in a marriage. How many times have you fought over where a picture is to be hung, and it turn into something more than it needed to be? Or had a fight about some silly comment that really shouldn't have been said? Or shot your better half a look that meant SHUT UP and have them ignore you and keep moving in their conversation. (YEP, that's me...LOL)

In the United States alone the divorce rate is 3.6 percent out of 6.8 percent of marriages per thousand. (Found at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/divorce.htm) This amounts to over 50% rate of divorce... So we cannot say that divorce isn't our first option when the going gets tough!

But how can we change this trend? How can we make our lives better and the lives better for the number one in our lives? By living these few scriptures out when it comes to our families and other half! That is why I shared the video above as it shares a beautiful story of how these scriptures can come to life!!!

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Says:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

These scriptures are so beautiful in describing how we should love someone! How we should strive to better someone - and my next post will elaborate on this awesome collection of scripture!

For tonight I want to leave you with this scripture to ponder and answer this - How can you use it in your everyday lives to make a difference with each other?

Proverbs 18:21 says -
"The tongue has the power of LIFE or DEATH..." (Emphasized by me)

This means that the WORDS you speak, can speak Life or Death into someone life. I.E, "I think your crazy" - even though your joking can cause a door to be open - whereas if you said "I think you are a blessing" or "I think you are a masterpiece," - this allows the person to see what you truly see in them and you have spoken true LIFE into them!

Remember Jesus loves you and so do I! Writing you all again soon!

Offering...

Magnificent Holy Father

I stand in awe of all I see

Of all the things You have created

But still You choose to think of me

Who am I that You should suffer

Your very life to set me free

The only thing that I can give You

Is the life You gave to me

This is my offering, dear Lord

This is my offering to You, God

And I will give You my life

For it’s all I have to give

Because You gave Your life for me

I stand before You at this altar

So many have given You more

I may not have much I can offer

Yet what I have is truly Yours

This is my offering

I absolutely love this song. Maybe it's for personal reasons - as this song was played in our wedding baptism video or maybes its a perfect description of how I try to live everyday. Some days are harder than others and bog us down and it's hard to stand in our faith or rely on Him who gives us strength. It's those days that I am reminded that it's not always going to be roses and daisies but we still have to Praise Him who made us. We still have to give Him glory and remember the beautiful blessings that we have in our everyday lives. Tonight's post is short but sweet. I want you to ponder the words above. They are from a song titled Offering by Third Day.

I will give you MY life for it's all I have to give, Because YOU gave your life FOR ME.

Such power behind those words. Jesus laid Himself down to be beaten, torn, ripped apart, spit upon, screamed at, defiled in torment, hung from a cross, and stabbed and yet did it for love and KNOWINGLY did it.

THIS IS WHY I GIVE HIM MY LIFE - Its all I have to give - It is my offering.

Maybe you want to do the same thing - and if that's the case - feel free to comment or send me a message - and I will pray for you, with you, around you, and help you to Understand and Know Jesus. I don't have every answer but HE does - Let me pray with you!

The Bible says - "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10)

So if you decide to come into the Kingdom - Know that He is throwing a party for you in heaven - Know that you are loved and celebrated no matter your answer!

Jesus loves you and So do I!

Proselytize Part 2

PROSELYTIZE means: Convert or attempt to convert (someone) from one religion, belief, or opinion to another.

So last night you read my post about how an atheist is basically calling us out as believers - and if you didn't catch it, here is the link to it... Proselytize Part 1, and I will share exactly what I am talking about. Penn Jillette says - "how much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that..."

Such strong words from a Non believer and to use the word Hate. Do you hate your neighbor enough to not share the gospel of Jesus with them? Do you hate the person at the grocery store that you can't share the gospel of Jesus with them? Do you HATE anyone enough to not share the Gospel Of Jesus with them?

Let me put this into a different perspective for you...

Let's say that you were going to the mall and you had your Jesus T-shirt on and your key chain hanging out that said WWJD - and someone walked by and said to you...OH WOW...another Holy Roller...another Jesus Believer...THERE IS NO GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and starts to walk off......

And you said nothing and turned and walked away and carried on with what you were doing...and then it was time to go and as you walk outside the mall you see ambulances and cops everywhere. Curiosity grabs you by the heart...what if they didn't know Jesus. What if they went to hell today??? And as you walk by the ambulance you see them put the sheet over the head over the very person who told you inside.........
Question is answered right there....you know this person just went to hell....you HATED them enough to keep your Jesus breathmints in your pocket and not share HIM WHO SAVED YOU, with THIS person! 

This brings tears to my eyes...how many opportunities do we miss everyday to share the gospel....Francis Chan uses an amazing illustration using a rope....

IMAGINE with me that there is a rope that wraps around the world INFINITELY and never ends...and you have about four inches in your hands....Wrap some tape around that four inches and look at the rope...The four inches represents what you do here on earth and the rest of the rope is ETERNAL LIFE in Heaven. Everything you do in that four inches affects lives here for the ETERNITY of the rest of the rope...I hope this makes sense.

So tonight I leave you with one of my favorite groups of scriptures - Matthew 5: 43-48

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

I love this group of scriptures as Jesus is specifically calling us out to LOVE OUR ENEMIES and Pray for those who persecute you. I challenge you to love someone who might seem unlovable...Remember the person from my story - who knows if you stopped and loved this person and showed them Jesus...you might have stopped the accident from happening and given him the second chance he needed!

Jesus loves you and so do I!!

Proselytize Part 1...

Today has just been a pretty good day of refreshing. I took the couple hours of kiddos napping and spent it listening to my wife read some devotionals and also we listened to some small sermon samples online from some of our favorites.

We saw some awesome videos from Matt Chandler and Francis Chan. We listened to a few worship tunes from David Crowder and Lacey Sturm, but tonight I just felt something hit me while watching another Matt Chandler sermon Jam.

Tonight as we got everyone settled, I knew that I needed to come up with a post tonight and wasn't really sure where to start.

A while back a friend sent me a video of Penn Jillette talking about a guy he met. Penn goes on to explain to the camera that he is an atheist in case we didn't know and then goes on bragging about this man he met. He tells all about how the man had talk to him and was Very Sincere in saying that he liked his show and how good this man was. He explains how the man was Sane and looked him in the eye when talking to him. He then explains that this man hands him a small pocket Gideon Bible that has the New Testament and Psalms. He is just blown away at how kind the man SINCERELY is to him and keeps talking about it.

He then goes on to later say "I don't respect people who DON'T Proselytize, I don't respect that at all, If you believe that there is a Heaven and a Hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, or whatever, and you think that, uh, well it's not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward, and atheist's that think that people shouldn't proselytize - just leave me alone, keep your religion to yourself....UH, How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize, how much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that... i mean If I believe that without a shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you and you didn't believe it and that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where i tackle you and this is MORE IMPORTANT than that...."

PROSELYTIZE means: Convert or attempt to convert (someone) from one religion, belief, or opinion to another.

What Penn is saying here is very easy to understand. If you yourself believe that Jesus is real and there is a heaven and hell, why would you NOT share your Jesus with the world....Why would you not want to share his love with others. Why would you NOT want to save them and give them this gift. I want to elaborate a little more on Penn Jillette and how awesome of an individual he seems and how this man may have changed his outlook on some Christians...but that is for tomorrow night in part 2 of this series!

Jesus loves you and so do I!