Challenge # 1

Challenge: Write atleast a paragraph or more that you think will describe the moment you reach Heaven and see the Father. Go!

My Example:

Imagine you're standing alone. Nothing but silence and blankness around you. You turn your head to the left, then the right. You do a slow 360 degree turn to see every aspect of the place you're standing in. There are no walls. There are no windows, nor windows. Just simple white, emptiness that seems to stretch on forever. It's a bright white- a little brighter than eggshell coloring- maybe with a hint of golden rays smeared into it. Almost like sunlight.
You call out, but nothing. Silence. you call out again, but this time, while there isn't a response still, you realize also that your voice has no echo. You ponder this and then call out again, "Hello?" This time there is a response. You hear a voice, it sounds as if it's coming from behind you and you quickly turn to find the source of such a voice. It's deep and soothing. It sounds sweet and comforting and you're trying to find what's speaking with such a voice. It's congratulating you, yet you can't seem to find the source. Then there comes a blinding light. The area where you think the voice should be is instead covered by blinding light. It's almost as if someone has put a spotlight on you, but the blankness and whit color of the place disperses it out and it blends into it around the edges. 
The voice calls out to you again. "Do you believe in Him"? 
You're confused, thinking to yourself you say, "who is him"?, but suddenly the voice calls out again. 
"Can you not recognize me? Your own Father?"
You call back to the voice, "But who is it that you are? Certainly not God".
The voice calls back, but in an understanding tone, "And why can't I be? Do you not believe in Me? After everything you've been through?"
You can't believe it's truly Him, so you ask you're most desperate question, "If it is you, then why come now? Where were you when I needed you the most? When I got put up for adoption? When I lost friends simply because of words? Why is it that I feel great, better than others, yet still feel guilty when I see the pain and suffering of the people I know? Why God?"
He responds with a calming voice, "Relax my son. You've lived a life others would never dream of. You want to know why you got adopted? It's because you needed to have a better life. I let you move from that family because you weren't going to to grow up and be happy, like you are now. I needed you to experience pain and trouble first before I let you receive the gift of happiness and love. You want to know why you've lost the friends that you have? They were not good for you. You wanted to keep clean and be happy. You prayed and wished for it, so I made it so. Those friends would've changed you and not in the best of ways. You want to know why you feel so happy and great? I gave you that gift. And  with that gift you've touched so may in your life. They've seen you're happiness, known of your struggles, and seen how you got through with all the troubles in your life. Seeing you gave them hope. They started praying again. They started trying to reach me again and I welcomed them back with open arms. You feel grief and sadness at the pain and frustration of someone else because you want to help them. Deep down you know how you affect others and you want to help them like you've helped others. None of this was for you to feel bad, but rather that you would realize just how important you are to Me, to everyone else you've ever reached out to."
You lower your head. Understanding what God had told you has brought you to shame and humility. As you're about to speak out, the Father stops you.
"I know son. You're sorry. I appreaciate the gesture, but you are forgiven. Just trust me when I tell you something and I set something in your path that might be a struggle is in fact a simple way for you to grow in your faith. Now rest my Son. Come with me and be at peace. Your time has come to come and live with me in eternally glory. Are you ready?"
The last part catches you and you suddenly realize where you are. You realize you have died, but instead of feeling of loss or shame and guilt for your sins, you feel more free and happier than ever. You walk over to the light and suddenly as you came to be in the blank place, you've left. You went to Heaven.

Why I Believe In God

Why should I believe in God?

That's a simple question, yet it means a lot. So, why should you believe in God? Well, first, tell me something. Are you a scientific person? Do like to see everything and try to understand how it works or simply how it came to be? Well, then you're in luck because i'm just like you. I LOVE the scientific world around. It's amazing. Just trying to understand every little thing around us is pretty cool, right? Well then you must be wondering, how come science has been able to prove everything and in the process not reveal there to be a God?

Actually, scientists haven't been able to prove EVERYTHING. See, they make you think that, but you have to realize that there is one thing they haven't been able to disprove. That is God. No matter how many facts and numbers they throw at the image or the idea of God, they just can't make it stick. You see, God isn't a physical being. He's not something you can touch or see. You just an not try to compare to something of this Earth. You wanna know why? Because He created this world; this universe. He's not a part of it. He's outside of it. You know science has proven how the universe got created- big bang theory- yet they can't explain how the big bang came around. Something had to have moved those particles, but what? That's where God steps in. See, you can believe in evolution and all that, but just remember that in the end, it was God who started the whole ball and chain going. So that's why you should believe in Him. He created you, this Earth, and the Universe.

Palsm

" You know, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God."

- Micah 6:8

Re-Teaching The Faith

I heard this paragraph from someone when we were discussing what it means to "live in the present [for God]". This is the opening paragraph in the book that the person was reading and it was nice to hear, what might seem weird to us, how our ancestors might have viewed God.

"Today....

God still speaks to us as he used to speak to our ancestors at a time when there were neither spiritual directors nor any system of spirituality. To be faithful to the designs of God then comprised the whole of one's spiritual life. They knew only that each moment brought a duty which must be faithfully fulfilled. Those spiritually inclined needed nothing more. They were like the hand of a clock which, minute by minute, crosses the appointed space, for, ceaselessly prompted by the divine grace, they attended without thinking to  each new task offered them by God at every hour of the day."

This makes me aware of my present surroundings a little more, so as to pause and imagine that God is in the moment there with me helping (guiding) me to my future (His providence for me). We spend so much of our time filling up our boredom and extra time with games on our tablets, itouches, and phones and also texting that we don't really look around us and actually live in the moment. If we just stop and take a deep breath, imagine God in the room there with us, and try to ignore the urge to take our cellphones out... we might actually get to experience the day in a whole new way.And if you ever get bored, or say that you're bored, just pause for a moment and just ask yourself to God, "Ok God, what do you have for me next"? Just like your coach tells you in the sport to "get in the ready position", God is telling you to get into that position too. We need to be ready for anything.

Armor of God 2

"Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with you loins girded in truth, clothed in the righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances hold your faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

- Ephesians 6: 13-17

The Armor of God 

"You're feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of Peace"

What does it mean to be "shod in readiness"? What does that look like? For starters, one can presume that, like anyone, one must have shoes in order to protect your feet from danger that's on the ground. When you go into battle, you do not no have shoes.. it just doesn't make sense. The same thing for when you get up in the morning to go to school or work; you do not not wear shoes when you walk into school or the office. So then why would you not be "shod in readiness" for God? He all gave us a mission to spread his word; the word of God, so why don't we? I heard a talk done by one of my youth ministers a few weeks back and hep put this in a new perspective. He said that so many of us have faith, but how many of us spread it? When we get "shod in readiness for the Gospel of Peace", we're actually creating a "movable faith". We let our understandings of God move us to anywhere we need to be (where God needs us to be), so that others may learn from us and come to acknowledge Him too.

 "Stand fast with your loins girded in truth"

The usual clothing of a Roman was a long tunic-like dress, sandals, and that's pretty much it. the only problem was, the Roman soldiers wore similar style clothing, so they had to use a belt to wrap up the tunic to save it from being dragged or caught on something in the midst of battle. When you go outside today, you'll probably see more people wearing some sort of belt to hold up their pants. It's simply just that way. You wouldn't want your pants to fall down in public, so then why let you self be subjected to humiliation by Satan if you're not "girded in truth"? God gave us 10 commandments and one of them says "thou shall not bear false witness" (interpreted as "thou shall not lie"), so standing fast in "truth" helps us keep to that commandment.

"Clothed in righteousness as a breastplate"

The breastplate of righteousness is the one piece of armor that protects your torso. In medieval battles, knights used to wear iron plated chest armor that covered them from their neck to their belt area. This piece was usually one solid piece of armor due to the fact that they didn't want swords or arrows to puncture through them like chain-mail did. Today soldiers in the field of battle wear Kevlar body armor that nearly protects everything around their body (especially their torso). Just as the soldiers put on their body armor, so should we be "clothed in righteousness". We need to keep out the hatred and violence to dictate what is wrong and what is right. This breastplate of righteousness helps us do so.

"Take the helmet of salvation"

One of the most important pieces of your body to protect is your head. Soldiers from all over the world, through the centuries, have always put on a helmet to protect their head while in battle. When you put on the "helmet of salvation", you're not just saying 'I am saved', you're telling the devil that there is no way for him to touch you. God has saved you and you stand only for Him. Whoever dares to harm you has to deal with you and God who is protecting you. And if God is protecting you, then who's every going to be able to hurt you?

"The sword of the spirit, which is the word of God"

The "sword of the spirit" is you main offensive weapon. When someone asks you a question about your faith; "why is there only 1 God"?, "Why do you take the Eucharist at mass every Sunday"?, even, "Why is Sunday considered the 'holy day'"?, you want to be able to respond to them with a legitimate answer. If we take our time and read the Bible everyday, then we can know God's words and be able to use them to change others' hearts and thoughts. We can help them in their ways and misunderstandings of Christ because in the end, our goal is to not just preach, but to bring the wisdom and understanding of God to everyone we know.  

"In all circumstances, hold your faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one"  

Let your faith lead you in your decisions and use your faith as a shield to block the negatives of this world; all the sins, hatred, and wrong decisions. Don't let your guard down so that the devil make sneak in at any moment and tempt you to sin or turn your eyes away from God. God is our savior. We need Him to get to heaven; to eternal bliss with Him. Your shield of faith helps you do so. It helps you deny the devil entry to reach out to you or to even touch you through other means.  

 

  

 

 

 

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   -  "But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned to me by Lord Jesus- the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God."