I believe this article will help us to get our hearts right, so we can receive God’s help and blessing.

I ALSO BELIEVE THAT GOD WANTS YOU TO CALL ON HIM IN YOUR TIME OF NEED, BUT WE MUST APPROCH HIM WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE IF WE ARE TO EXPECT HIS HELP AND BLESSING.

All prayers to the Father must go through Jesus; can you imagine what humility He went through by coming to earth, as a human, and undergoing all the torture He went through, just to save us. Yes, when we call on Him it must be with a humble heart.

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10, NIV).

Some of you might say: “I need help, not just words,” but I disagree. Your help will only come from the Lord, and where do you find him, except in God’s Word. It might also come to you in a way that you do not expect. It might not be what you want, but what you need, and God knows what you need before you even ask. 

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 29:13, NIV).

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews ll:6, NIV).

God is not far away!

“God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring’ (Acts 17:27-29, NIV).

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3, NIV).

There are many people who are hurting and call out to God but sometimes it seems to them that God is so far away and does not hear there cries. Why! I believe that I know the “why” and I am going to give you some suggestions to help you have an effective prayer life, but first I want to tell you why I spend hours writing these articles and praying for people.

“Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NIV). 

I do have motive for doing this and it isn’t to cover up any sin, for penance, or to work my way to heaven. My ticked to heaven has been paid for by what Jesus did on the cross and by the grace of God. I write these articles because I am trying to be obedient to what I believe God has called me to do, and out of Love for Jesus my Lord and Savior.

I could be golfing, or spend a lot more time fishing or some other fun thing, instead of spending hours writing articles and reaching out to share my faith with others and praying for their needs. There is nothing wrong with golfing, fishing or any other form of recreation; sometimes it is a good way to spend time with the Lord. 

I certainly do not expect everyone to do what I do. I am retired now but I have had a wonderful life. I feel that I have been truly blessed by God, and now for the remainder of my life I want to spend my free time serving Him by sharing my faith and praying for others who are hurting. Hoping in some cases, to even help them find there way to Jesus or providing scripture to help there faith to grow.

My intention is never to judge anyone, but just to share with others what God has put in my heart by the Holy Spirit.

These are tough times that we live and I try to be optimistic, but I don’t see things getting better anytime soon. I believe that this article and some of my other articles will help you to get through the difficulties that you are facing. There is light at the end of the tunnel and I believe that if you put your focus on Jesus and God’s Word, He will help you to get through any difficulty that you may face.

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3, NIV).

“I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2, NIV).

There is something that I just cannot get out of my head! How could Jesus, who helped to create the universe and help to design all life on earth, love us so much that He would come down from his throne in heaven, be mocked, beaten, tortured, and nailed to a cross, all for the likes of us, sinners. Jesus is also God, and part of the godhead, just as the Father and the Holy Spirit.

The English language doesn’t have a word to describe this kind of love. The closest word in the “Greek Language,” is “agape,” which means and unconditional love.

Jesus closest friends trembled and went into hiding when they had seen the torture that Jesus was going through. Three times Peter denied that he even knew him . The night before he was tortured and crucified His sweat turned into droplets of blood while He prayed.

Jesus asked us to share His love with others and to pass on the good news of salvation (through what He did on the cross), to others. Should we not do what God has asked us to do!

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13, NIV).

God has put a burden in my heart to reach out to those who are lost, confused, and don’t know there way to God’s grace and mercy, which is available in Jesus. I must do what I can to help them see the truth and the only way I can do it is by the grace of God, the love of Jesus, and by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. I am nothing but an instrument, made available to God to be used for his purpose and glory.

I really do not believe that Jesus had to die on the cross for us! I believe that he did it out of his love for the Father and also His love for us. He knew how much the Father loved us. This kind of love is so hard for us to understand. I believe that when He was suffering, the Father and the Holy Spirit were also grieving. Remember! The trinity, is one God, and three persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

I will not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ because it is the power of salvation to those who are lost. I also believe writing articles of faith, hope, and love is what He has called me to do and I am only trying to be obedient to this calling. I don’t know why He called me to do this because I have never done any writing before and my grammar isn’t very good either.

When sharing my website on facebook, someone once asked me sarcastically, about my website: “Where do I send the money?” What I do is free and you will not even find an address on my website, just in case you really did want to send any money.

I am nothing special but just a sinner saved by God’s grace and mercy, and I have to struggle with sin just like anyone else. There are times that I lose control of myself and my tongue and have to ask Jesus for forgiveness, but I will always try to improve and become a better person than the day before. 

One thing that I will never do is to forget the love of Jesus and what He endured for me on the cross. He was the only one who could make us righteous with the Father. He took our place on the cross and the pain that He endured should have been ours. Who can understand this kind of love?

NOW WHAT IS THE GOOD NEWS IN THIS DAY AND AGE?

Actually there is plenty but lets start with the bad news first!

I have heard the cry of so many people who are hurting. Many have no job and don’t know how they will feed themselves or their family. Some are very depressed and have a hard time facing each day. For others it is a health issue. The list just goes on and on.

I have also heard some people say that they have tried religion, going to church and even tried to be a nicer person. Some said that they even tried prayers but they didn’t seem to work. If you are a non-Christian the Spirit of God is always reaching out to you and wanting you to come to Jesus, but when you become a Christian He expects more from you than just calling on Him in your time of need.

Why doesn’t God’t intervene in your life and help you?

Could it possibly have something to do with attitude! I think there is some people who believe that God is just supposed to come down here when they need Him, and the rest of the time you pretend that they don’t even know Him. 

 ABOUT SOLOMON, SON OF DAVID.

It seems that we can get so wrapped up in our problems that we lose site of the one who can fix them but most of the time it is problems that lead us to the Lord. If you had everything in life, why would you need the Lord.

King David’s son king Solomon had everything and may have been the richest man that ever lived. He started off as a king and Godly man but as time went on his focus became more on material things than on God. He had wealth, many wives, great power, respected by his people, yet he began to hate life.

He finally found out the reason for his unhappiness. It was because he hadn’t obeyed God and kept his commandments. He finally made a statement that the foundation of happiness is being obedient to God (Ecclesiastics 12:13).

Many people believe that their happiness is due to not having enough money, but the fact is, that they could have all the money in the world and still not be happy. Read up on the people who have won lotteries!

This is what Solomon said at the beginning of the book of Ecclesiastes:

“Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2, NIV).

You can have everything, but without God you will never be happy. I thank God for all the problems that I had earlier in my life, because if I had not had them I probably would never had turned to the Lord. Sometimes problems can be a blessing in disguise.

On some of the Christian facebook pages that I look at, I see people each day that thank Jesus for what He has done in their lives. They also use their names and are not afraid to testify in public to what God has done in their lives. I also know what He has done in my life. This one fellow on face book testified that God had been calling him for twenty years, yet when he called on God, He answered him immediately.

I would suggest that before we pray to our Father in heaven, that first we examine our attitude.

I believe that God would love to intervene in your life and help you. I believe this because I have heard thousands of testimony’s from people who testified to what God has done in there life. On some of the prayer pages I see fifty to one hundred testimonies every day. I also know what He has done in my life I can testify that  my prayers have been very effective. Prayer works. There has been things that happened in my life that I know only could have happened because of divine intervention. I have also heard many testimonies from people in some the churches that I have attended. They testified to the wonderful things that God did in their lives.

If you would really like your prayers to be effective and have God intervene in your life, I am going to offer a few suggestions.

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16, NIV). 

First of all I think it is important to know a little about the God we are praying to and why we were put on this earth.

“Jesus answered,  I am the way and the truth and the life. No one c omes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would also know my Father as well” (John 14:6, NIV).

What did God create us for?

The Bible said that God created us for his pleasure.

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption” (Ephesians 1:4-7, NIV)  

Is God fair and just?

“but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth for in these I delight declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:24, NIV).

How do we give God pleasure?

I can only think of one way that we can give God pleasure. We have something that is worth a lot to God and is only ours to give. God can not take it from us. It is this thing called LOVE.

Why should we love God?

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God , but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10, NIV).

We should choose to love God because He first loved us. I have already explained how much he loved us through His beloved Son and what He did on the cross. God probably could have sent angels to die for us but He gave us the best He had to give, Jesus, who was nailed to a cross and paid the price for our sins.

He also gave us a beautiful world to live in. It is really messed up now but that was only because of Adam’s and Eve’s sin.

How do we show God love?

We can do it by giving praise to Him, thanking Him for what he has done in our lives, and for giving us our daily provisions. We can also show Him love by reading His Word and being obedient to what it says.

“But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:5, NIV).

Why should we put God first in our lives?

Well after all He is our creator, and He showed us how much he really loves us; especially through His Son Jesus.

God restored us back to Himself through Jesus and there is going to be a new heaven and earth, for us, for all eternity.

“So we can fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18, NIV).

“That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of the righteousness” (2 Peter 3:12-13, NIV).

Isaiah 65:17 and Revelation 21:1 also mention a new heaven and new earth. 

It is going to be a beautiful place without suffering, evil, or sin, because He is going to lock the devil and demons away for all eternity. 

“And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:10, NIV) 

We will also have new bodies that will not age and be free of pain.

“And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21, NIV).

God knows what you are going through down here. Remember what happened to Jesus. Do you know that everyone of the apostles were martyred except John, he was exiled to and island for life. This is where God gave him a vision and he wrote the book of Revelation. Steven was the first martyr, and Paul was also martyred; both of them because of their faith.

God knows your pain, He loves you and wants to help you. He also wants to be part of your daily life, but we cannot approach God with an attitude that we only want Him when we need Him to fix things.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7, NIV).

If you want your prayers to be effective, than your attitude on how you approach God is so important. Remember God is a Holy and sovereign, He will not succumb to our demands.

If you want God to intervene in your life and help you with your problems, the first thing you have to do is come to Jesus with a sorrowful and repenting heart, and accept Him as your Lord and Savior as I showed you in my articles: “How To Get Right With God—And Be Sure of your Eternal Salvation” and “God’s Redemption Plan—Jesus, The Only Way To Heaven”.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate” (1 Corinthians 1:18, NIV). 

After you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior for the forgiveness of your sins and eternal life, pray to Him and show Him your sincere heart. For instance: 

“Father, I am sorry for my sins, sorry that I messed up my life and never called on you. I want to change Father, I want to live my life for you and do your will. I want you to be part of my life every hour of the day. I also want to know your will for my life and seek courage and  guidance from the Holy Spirit on how to be obedient. Please change my heart Lord and help me to be more righteous. Help me to forgive and love others like you loved us. Your Word says that if I seek you I will find you. Your grace, mercy, and promises are sufficient for me. Please help me to be content in each day. I pray that you will help me to provide for my needs, and also the needs of my family. I love you Lord and I will never turn my back and walk away from you. Thank you for your forgiveness through what your Son Jesus did for me on the cross and your promise of eternal life. 

You don’t have to pray this exact prayer, but instead, use your own words. If you want God to move in your life, show Him what’s in your heart. I believe He knows your heart and hears all prayers. He gave you His best; give Him yours, and than see what He will do in your life, one day at a time.

“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:7-8, NIV).

 GOOD NEWS IN TIMES OF DEEP PAIN AND SORROW.

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink,’ or ‘What shall we wear,’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:31-34, NIV).

God wants you to be at peace and have joy in your life.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, foodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22, NIV).

What can I say to a parent who has just lost a child or who has lost a loved one; what is going to help them with their pain? What about the husband, or wife, whose spouse just told them they found someone new and wants a divorce? What about the person who can’t find work, or who just lost their job and don’t know how to feed their children or pay the bills? There are many other stories of people hurting. For a lot of people it could even be a health issue.

I could tell you that their is probably someone out there that is worse off that you are, but that won’t help your pain, and might even make you feel worse.

I just heard a man give a testimony about his life. He was born with no arm’s or legs. His name is Nick Vujicic and if you would like to hear his story just google his name. Many websites will pop up. Also there are videos of him speaking.  All he has to do things with is his one little foot with two toes. He mentioned the ordeals in his life growing up and how the other kids would tease him and make fun of him. It was very hard on him, and except for God’s love, he probably would never have made it through this.

It is hard to believe, but when this man spoke he was so happy and full of joy. You could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice.

He said that he had seen God do healing miracles for others as he prayed over them and wondered where his miracle was! Just one arm would have been nice!

He wasn’t bitter about his situation and trusted God, but I bet that their were times in his life when he struggled with his feelings. As he told jokes about his body, he said that God has given him a peace and joy that surpasses all understanding.

He travels all over the world and tells everyone of the love of Jesus and the peace and joy God has given to him by the Holy Spirit. He just keeps sharing the gospel (good news) of Jesus and how others can be saved through  Him.

God uses the weak and humble for his purpose and He is using Nick in a powerful way for His glory. It is truly amazing what God can do with a life, even one with a half of body, if he is totally surrendered to Him.

What can I tell you that may help you with your pain?

I can tell you that God is with you now and will never leave you.

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6, NIV).

I can also tell you that if you surrender to Him and accept Jesus as your Savior you will have a wonderful future for all eternity.

THIS IS A STORY ABOUT A MISSIONARY, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE IT WITH YOU.

I remember a story about a missionary and his wife who spent thirty years in a poor country ministering to the people and helping them with their needs. He suffered many hardships while there and even lost two children do to disease and almost lost his wife. He also suffered many other hardships while there but still gave the best years of his life serving God. While arriving home to his country the people in his home church forgot he was coming and didn’t pick him up at the airport.

He was angry and disappointed. He told his wife that nobody even cared that he had come home or about what he had done for the last thirty years. They had to take a taxi home and he grumbled all the way.

After arriving home he was still grumbling so his wife told him to go into the bedroom and talk to God and see what He says, so he did.

After emerging a short time after, his wife asked him what God said!  With a smile on his face hes said: “God told me that we really are not home yet.”

You see, earth is not our real home, heaven is, and for all eternity. I believe that when he arrived there the angels rejoiced; the Bible says that the angels rejoices over each person who comes to Jesus and are saved.

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous person who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:10, NIV).

How many years will we have to be in heaven before we forget how much we suffered here on earth. Will it be a thousand, 10 thousand, or maybe 100 thousand. When we see what God had prepared for us in heaven I really don’t think it will take that long to forget how much we suffered here on earth.

 ”However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9, NIV).

These are hard times that we are living in and even though I like to be optimistic, I watch the news a lot and I just don’t see things getting any better. People are hurting and crying out to God for help. I believe that it is good that they do and I believe God wants to help them. But I also believe that you have to come to Him with a loving and repenting heart. You have to be sorry for the times that you failed Him in the past and be willing to change.  

If you don’t have time for God, do you really expect that He will have time for you?

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33, NIV).

How much time do you spend in prayer or reading His Word? How important is your creator to you? God desires to be in every part of your life, not just five minutes a day or just when you need Him. You can reach God any time of the day through the Holy Spirit who is in you. Remember when you became a Christian you also received the Holy Spirit.

Put God first in your life if you really want to see what He can do. I am not being judgmental because I am also just a sinner saved by God’s grace and mercy, and I am only speaking what God has put in my heart.

Before asking God what he can do for you, first you might ask yourself what you can do for Him! He does have a plan for your life, but He will not force you to fallow it. He did give us a free will.

Your attitude may be to ask God to provide for your need and help you to get you through each day. Also give Him thanks for the provisions He has given you. 

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8, NIV).

If you want an idea of what heaven will be like read my article “The Mystery of God and Heaven.”

Whatever you are going through don’t expect you situation to change overnight. Just keep praying and reading God’s Word. God’s time is different than our time.

I consider myself to be blessed because I have a wonderful wife, a great family, and enough money to live on, at least for now. It was not always like that though, I grew up very poor and had to overcome many adversities in my life. When I look back in my life I believe God was always with me and watching over me, even though I was not faithful to Him. It was as if He new more about me than I knew about myself and now I give thanks to Him for taking care of me.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1, NIV).

If  you have been handed a lot of hurt and are full of anxiety and pain, where is your help going to come from! Who knows you better than your Father in heaven who created you! Jesus make a way for us to come to the Father, and if you are to be helped, He is your only hope. It is time to swallow your pride and receive Jesus as your Savior today, for the forgiveness of your sins and eternal life.

If you click on any message individually they can be printed separate to be read later or share with others. If you click on the first page of the main feed all the messages will be printed. Sorry, some them are quite long but when the Holy Spirit guides me to write, I write what I believe  He is saying to me. I am nothing but a servant being used for God’s purpose and glory. If there is anything that goes against God’s Word, stop reading immediately, the Holy Spirit will never tell you to write anything that goes against God’s Word, after all, the Bible was written by man but inspired by the Holy Spirit. I hope that these articles give you hope and inspire you. Praise God.

It is God’s will that everyone have more faith and the reason we do not is not God’s fault, but ours. It is not wrong to ask God for more faith. In Luke 17:5 even the apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith.

“There are a lot of things in life that are difficult to understand. Faith allows the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see”  John Maxwell

As a flower needs water to grow, so also for our FAITH to grow, it needs to watered by prayer, God’s Word, and being obedient to what God has asked us to do.

As we experience God’s presence, love, and faithfulness, our faith will Grow.

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words” (1 Corinthians 2:13, NIV).

“Ask and it will be given to you; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7, NIV).

I believe that all the articles I have written so far have been written under the guidance, and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Once again I am stepping out in faith and trusting God for guidance, wisdom, and inspiration on what He wants me to write. If I do not feel His guidance and presence on me, I will not write. Without God, I am nothing, and I do not expect anyone to ever listen to me, but listen to the God (Holy Spirit) in me.

I have written these articles to give people hope and to help there faith to grow. My only gain is to be faithful to what God has asked me to do. I do not know why this is His plan for me, but I truly believe that it is. I also believe that if you will take the time to read this article to the end you will come away with more faith, and be more prepared for the work of Christ.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16, NIV).

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6, NIV).

What is faith?

According to the Oxford dictionary: “reliance on trust; belief in a religious doctrine.

According to the Bible: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews ll:1, NIV).

Hebrews 11th chapter is called the faith chapter. It tells of many who came before us who had great faith.

What is the purpose of having more faith?

Is it not to have fellowship with God and to be used by Him for His purpose and glory? Look at all the men and women in the Bible who had great faith. God used them in a might way and it is His desire to use us as well.

Where does faith come from?

According to Paul, God has given us a measure of faith:

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought , but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3, NIV).

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2,NIV).

I have heard many people say: “I wish I had more faith,” but the kind of faith most people want is faith that would drop out of the sky and land on their heads. You can have more faith but you must act on faith to make it grow. If you do nothing, it will not come to you.

From the beginning of creation there have been men and women of great faith who have been used by God to fulfil his purpose. Those men and women were not afraid to put their faith in action. Faith without action is dead. If you do not act on the little things God has asked you to do, do you really expect Him to give you more to do?

These are just a few people with great faith that were used by God, Abraham, Moses, Job, Enoch, Elijah, Elisha, and David. In the New Testament there was the first Christian martyr, Stephen, who was stoned to death. The apostles were all martyred for their faith, except John, who was exiled to an island for the rest of his life.

What happened to Paul because of his faith?

“I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, ; in danger from my countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians ll:23-28, NIV).

Are you still with me? Do you still want more faith?

I am not trying to scare you, there is very few people in this Country who are martyred for there faith today, but in other parts of the world, there are thousands.

I believe that God will never give you more faith than you can handle and I also believe that every Christian who was martyred for their faith would do it all over again.

“Come near to God and he will and he will come near to you” (James 4:8, NIV).

“But seek his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33, NIV).

How can we come near to God?

I believe that faith comes by spending time in prayer, spending time in God’s Word, and being obedient to what God has asked you to do. The more you do what He has asked you to do, the more you will see his faithfulness, and the more He will review Himself to you.

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17, NIV).

I always believed that there was a God, but in my early life He seemed so far away. Today He feels very close to me, at times, it is as if He was standing right next to me. This kind of faith did not come all at once, but a little at a time.

I once heard a scientist say that if we could get to the end of the universe, we would find God. Although I also believe God is everywhere, I believe that you will no more see God there than you will see Him at the bottom of the sea.

To find God we must not look “out there,” but we must look within. The only way to God the Father is through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said: “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him know” (John 1:18, NIV).

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:6-7, NIV).

“Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? (John 14:9, NIV).

If we really want to find God, where do we begin?

Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

I believe the first step to the Father is through Jesus and making Him your Lord and Savior for the forgiveness of your sins and eternal life. If you need help with this click on my articles: “God’s Redemption Plan” or “How to get right with God.”

“For it is by Grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8, NIV).

The reason that I say this is because when you receive Jesus, you also receive the Holy Spirit who will guide you into all truth.

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13 NIV).

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you receive from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19, NIV).

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13, NIV).

If you are not ready to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior than there is no need to read any further because without the Holy Spirit your faith will never grow.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews ll:6, NIV).

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17, NIV).

For those who really want to have more faith, become closer to God, and to be used by God, please stay with me and read on.

Jesus is in heaven: “But I tell you the truth; It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor (Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7, NIV).

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16, NIV).

If Jesus is in heaven, where is our connection? Jesus taught us how to pray and through Him we can pray to the Father but He is in heaven! Our helper and intercessor is the Holy Spirit.

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness . We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints (Christians) in accordance with God’s will” (Romans 8:26-27).

ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT

Some think of the Holy Spirit as an entity, or a dove (Luke 3:21-22), because he descended from heaven when Jesus was baptized, but He is MUCH, MUCH, MORE. He is GOD, the third person of the Holy Trinity; He also has a personality and we have been created in the image of God; in His image means, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

“Than God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness” (Genesis 1:26, NIV).

This term “us” and “our” have been used several other times in the Bible when God was speaking.

We also know that all three were involved in creation because in Genesis 1:2; it says the Holy Spirit created the world, in Hebrews 1:2; it says the Father created the world, and in Colossians 1:6; it says that the Son created the world.

The Holy Spirit is mentioned many times throughout the Bible; form Genesis to Revelation. So if we have been created in His image and likeness, shouldn’t we want to know more about Him?

What is The Holy Spirit like?

To start with, He is a person and not an it. He is also God, the third person of the Holy Trinity, and shares all the attributes of the Godhead.

He is eternal, Hebrews 9:14; omnipotent, having all power, Luke 1:35; omnipresent, everywhere at the same time, Psalm 139:7; and He is omniscient, all knowing, 1 Corinthians 2:10-11.

He has intellect, emotions, and will. He will guide us (John 16:13), He speaks (Acts 13:2), He will lead us (Romans 8:14), and He also convicts us of sin (John 16:8).

He will intercede for us (John 15:26. He will testify for us (John 15:26). He can be lied to and blasphemed (Acts 5:3, 4, 9), also (Matthew 12:31). He can also feel grief. (Ephesians 4:3).

“However, as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him, but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galations 5:22, NIV).

EVERY CHRISTIAN HAS THE HOLY SPIRIT

God has given us the Holy Spirit (John 14:16; 16:7).

We are born of the Holy Spirit (John 3:6, 8).

We are baptized by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13).

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20).

Our fate has also been sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).

Is there a difference between having a portion of the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit?

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18, NIV).

“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly (Acts 4:31, NIV).

I believe that there is a difference between having the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit. When I see all the times that “filled with the Spirit” were used in scripture there seems to be a supernatural power implied.

“He is a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord” (Acts ll:24, NIV).

There has been a few times in my life when God has given me a new direction on what He wanted me to do. I have felt His presence so strong that it was overwhelming.

“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4, NIV).

Last July was one of those times. I felt that He wanted me to do this web site and share it with others. I have had no prior experience with writing and in High School I hated English. Though I faced many obstacles, I never really had a doubt that this was His will for me.

July was the first time I  have ever been on facebook. I feel the presence  of the Holy Spirit almost every day and He guides me on what he wants me to write. If I do not feel His presence, I will not write. What I have to say is not very important, but what God in me (Holy Spirit), has to say is. Everything that I write I give scripture to support it.

When you do what God wants you to do, He is faithful, and will help you overcome every obstacle.

Jesus said: “If you than, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Luke ll:13, NIV).

If you want more faith and God’s presence in your life He, will give it to you, but first you have be faithful in the little things He asked you to do, like praying and studying his Word. Knowledge of His word will help you to handle the bigger things that He might ask you to do.

Some will say: “Lord, I don’t know what you want me to do!” The truth is that you do know.  He wants you to pray, to sing praises to Him, to study His Word (the Bible), and He wants you to love others the way He loves you. When you are faithful in these things, He will fill you with his presence and give you other things to do.

If you are faithful to what the Holy Spirit is guiding you to do, over a period of time, you will know when He is speaking to you. One thing you can be sure of is, He will never ask you to do anything that goes against scripture. If He asked you to do something, there should be a peace in your heart about it.

Don’t be afraid of stepping out in faith and making a mistake, or you will never do anything. I have made many mistakes but I will never give up trying.  It is better to try, and fail, than never try at all, and the more you study scripture, the more God will be able to use you.

You see, the devil also knows scripture and if you try to step out in faith and witness to someone without having some knowledge of the Bible, the devil will have a field day with you.

God wants you to be an instrument that He can use to fulfil His purpose but He doesn’t want you to go out into the world without putting on the armor of God. You will find what the armor of God is in Ephesians 6:10.

We should desire more faith and more of the presence on God because God commands it:

“Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

He also gave gifts to the Holy Spirit to give to us, one of those gifts is faith, but all the gifts are for the purpose of building up the church for the glory of God. To see all the gifts read 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you” (Romans 8:11, NIV).

“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:5, NIV).

Do you really have a desire to have more faith and all that God has for you? Do you want more of God’s presence in your life and be a vessel that God can use for His purpose and glory? You can be that vessel. This is what you have to do.

1. The first thing you have to do is give Him your time. The more time you are able to give to God, the more God will use you.

2. Like I have mentioned before, you have to spend time in prayer and God’s Word. Some people think that you have to set aside a certain time of the day to pray. The truth is that through the Holy Spirit (who is in you), you can pray any time of the day, while sitting, standing, running, walking, driving etc. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us and helps us to pray.

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints (Christians) in accordance with god’s will” (Romans 8:26-27, NIV).

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba,” Father” (Romans 8:15, NIV).

3. Step out in faith. What good does it do if you have a great knowledge of the Bible but are afraid to step out in faith and do what God wants you to do. Does your knowledge benefit anyone? If you did something by faith that you believed God has asked you to do and it turned out wrong, that is ok. This experience will help you to know when the Holy Spirit is speaking to you. He will also help you to fix what was wrong, and make it right. It is better to step out in faith and do something, even if you made a mistake, than to never do anything at all.

4. Be persistent. Don’t give up! You are a man or woman of God, not a sissy, be strong.

5. God has given you the Holy Spirit, the more you learn to hear and trust his voice, the more you can be used by God. When you think God is asking you to do something, this is what you should ask yourself. Does this feel right? Is it scriptural (God will never ask you to do anything that goes against scripture)? Are there other things that happened in your life that support what God asked you to do?

Did you know that Jesus ministry didn’t really begin till He was 30 years old and only lasted three and a half years. Look what he accomplished!

God does not want you to be stressed out about what He wants you to do, or doesn’t want you to do. You should feel blessed and full of joy that you will spend all eternity with Him. There will be times in your life when you feel that you don’t know what God’s plans are for you. These are times to relax and spend time studying the scriptures and listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you, so when He does ask you to do something, you will be prepared.

“It is written: ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4, NIV).

When God does ask you to do something you will know it. You will feel a strong presence of the Holy Spirit, and what He wants you do will feel so good, so natural, so right, and you will also feel a sense of peace and joy.

Don’t think that when God ask you to do something there will not be obstacles. The devil will be right behind you, but when you pray and ask God “what next,” He will make a way, either by tearing down those obstacles or showing you the way, around them. He is always faithful to what He calls you to do.

Some of those obstacles can actually be spouses, family, and friends with good intentions telling you to do something different that what God is telling you to do. Job had friends with good intentions but they were wrong. You have to pray and trust what God’s will is for you, not the will of others with good intentions.

There have been many men and women in the Bible who had great faith and were greatly used by God. I believe along there faith journey they overcame many obstacles in their life before their faith grew. Abraham was very old when God promised that he would be the father of many nations, and Abraham believed Him even though Sarah was way beyond her child bearing years. He seemed to know and trust God even when things seemed impossible. With God all things are possible.

“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26, NIV).A few other great men and women of faith were, Enoch, Elisija, Elesia, Ruth, Job, Ester, Moses, Paul, the apostles etc. I am sure there were obstacles in there live that tested there faith.

Hebrews Chapter ll is know as the hall of fame of faith and worth reading about what great men and women of faith have done.

Some people will tell you they have faith but it is a personal thing. Does this please God? Maybe they don’t have as much faith as they think! When God gives you faith He expects you to put it to use for his purpose and glory. If people are ashamed of their faith and won’t share it with others, than they are not really being faithful to what God has asked them to do.

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15, NIV).

Friends don’t let friends drive drunk, and neither do friends let friends go to hell without at least trying to share the love of Jesus and His salvation to them.

Trusting in God is easy when things are going well in your life but what about when things are not going so well. Abraham trusted in God even when He asked him to sacrifice his one and only son. He believed that God would resurrect him again. Is there a similarity between what God asked Abraham to do, and what God did by sacrificing his one and only Son for us? Is it because of Abraham’s faith in God that He made him father of all nations?

What about Joseph trusting in God when he was sold as a slave by his brothers and later cast into prison because of false accusations. Later God raised him up and made him prime minister over all Egypt. I have already shared the verse on what Paul went through because of his faith.

The purpose of faith is to have a relationship with God and be used for His purpose of building up the body of Christ for His glory.

Just like a good watch has many parts all working together smoothly, so does the body of Christ have many many people working together for the purpose of building up the body of Christ.

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:4, NIV).

The thing that God asks us to do can sometimes seem so insignificant but might be very important to the body of Christ. Pennies seem small and insignificant, but if you collect enough of them they can be used to accomplish great things for building up the body of Christ.

David had faith in the God who gave him strength to kill a lion or bear and trusted Him again to give him strength to fight and kill Goliath. Read 1 Samuel Chapter 17. When we are faithful with the little things that God ask us to do, He can give us more faith and fill us with the presence of his Holy Spirit, and also the confidence that we can accomplish bigger things that He ask us to do.

Can we lose our faith?

I believe that you can lose your faith! I believe that faith is like a muscle, if you don’t exercise it, the muscle will weaken.

When God delivered the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians who kept them in slavery for 300 years, He performed many miracles and signs and wonders, yet after a few years they had forgotten what He had done for them.

After two years in the desert they could have went into the promised land, but because of their lack of faith they spent forty years wondering around in the desert until everyone in that generation were dead except Joshua and Celeb who trusted God. It was Joshua and Celeb who led the next generation into the promised land.

If you read the book of “Judges,” you will see that when Israel was good and worshiped God, He blessed them, when they started worshiping false Gods, He punished them. This same thing is repeated all through the Old Testament. How easy it is to forget what God has done for us.

I see this same thing happening today in the body of Christ (church); I see people on fire for the Lord and a year later they have went back to their old ways and seem to have lost all there faith.

What happened to them? Has God changed? I think not! That means they have changed and got sucked up again by the pleasures of the world, instead of the things of God. If we are not careful sin can take a hold of us.

I hope that this article has helped you in building your faith and keeping it. I hope that it will help you to be all God wants you to be. I hope that you are continuously filled with the Holy Spirit and faithful to the end when Jesus comes to get you and takes you home.

“Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:12, NIV).

These are the words of Paul:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7, NIV).

After all, we are the children of God, the Bride of Christ. Should we not honor Him with our actions, words, and being obedient to what He has asked us to do. He loved us so much, and has paid such a great price for us by suffering and dieing on the cross for us, should we not love Him back. I love Him and praise Him because He is everything to me.

“You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:14-16, NIV).

May God bless you and give you strength in your journey of faith.

“To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Revelation 3:24, NIV).

Sometimes this description might help you identify depression in someone you know.

Where does it come from? Can I ever find joy in my life again?

First of all I am not an authority on this subject. I am only sharing my story and opinion in the hope that it might help others because I believe that everyone deserves to be happy and have a sense of peace and joy in their lives and I believe this is also God’s will for us.

“The ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing ; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Isaiah 51:ll, NIV).

I believe that there are different stages and levels of depression, they could be from mild to severe. I also believe that it can be caused from a physical disorder as well as mental or spiritual disorder. Because there are different causes of depression, there are also different cures.

From my experience with depression there is one thing that I do know, you can never give up on life, no matter how bad it gets. When you give up on life and go into your own world and deeper into depression your pain will not get better but worse. Look again at Wikipedia description of what will happen to you and the feelings that you will have. If you are in a severe depression, you need help and that help could come from physical as well mental or spiritual treatment. A good Doctor or Physiatrist may need to prescribe medication to help you get out of this depression but to stay out and fine peace and joy in your life, you need to get right with God.

To help you do this just click on my articles, “How To Get Right With God” or “God’s Redemption Plan—Jesus, The Only Way To Heaven.”

If you don’t get the help that you need, you might get thoughts of suicide, and suicide might seem like the only option that you have to find peace in your life. I can assure you that this is not your only option and this will mean that you will have to fight and claw your way out of this hole that you found yourself in.

Guilt is an emotion that you will find in a depression and you will have to deal with it. Jesus loves you and when you except Him as your Lord and Savior He will forgive all your sins but it is up to you to forgive yourself, and also others. Remember it took you a long time to get where you are and it will take a while to get out, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, if you keep on going and that means there is no retreat available.

If you are struggling with the fact that you think yourself worthless, I will tell you that God thinks you are worth plenty, so much that He sent his son to die for you. The Bible tells us that you were wonderfully made in God’s image and likeness, so lets cast out this self-pity and fight your way out of this depression. It will be a battle but you can do it. God does have a purpose and plan for your life and as you spend time in prayer and studying his Word He will reveal it to you, if you ask Him.

You might also need to find an outlet for your anger and anxiety such as a physical activity and I will talk more about this later on.

MY STORY

Like most people I had bouts of depression during the early part of my life but the worst was when I was 32 years old. I had been drinking quite a lot at this time in my life and with a two year old and a four year old, I thought it was time to grow up and mature so I decided to quit drinking and smoking at the same time. I am a very stubborn person and when I decide to do something I have the determination and will never back down.

The problem was that even though my heart was willing, my body was not and I slowly started slipping into a depression. After several months without alcohol or cigarettes I became very depressed. It is crazy how one minute you are on top of the world, or in this case on top of the Mackinac Bridge, and the next minute you are deep into a depression.

One night I was so depressed that I started to drink again. I hated to fail at anything and really became upset with myself. I just couldn’t find it in me to forgive myself and I started thinking that my family would be better off without me. Thoughts of suicide began to overtake me and it seemed like this was the only way out of this depression.

If it weren’t for my God and my wife getting me the help that I desperately needed I probably wouldn’t be here today. The doctor said that my depression was caused by a chemical imbalance probably do to giving up smoking and drinking at the same time. After taking medication for a short time, and a lot of physical activity, I did get better and never smoke or drank again. That was 33 years ago and I never had a problem with depression since that time.

Sometimes when we are to hard on ourselves and quit on life, we can go into a depression but I would like to tell you a story about someone who was dear to me, and who never quit on life, even through she faced extreme difficulty and spent a large portion of her life living with pain.

THIS IS THE STORY OF NINA

This is the story about a young lady fresh out of college and just finishing her first year of teaching. Nina was a beautiful young teacher, full of life and just loved to teach children. She was only 19 years old and taught English and Latin. Nina had everything going for her and so much to live for until the awful day when her world came tumbling down. She was in the library on the second floor preparing her lesson when a deranged madman decided to blow up the school.

This deranged angry madman was the school treasure and also the janitor. He was also on the school board and was upset because the other school board members voted to build a new school. This would raise his taxes and he feared loosing his farm.

During the previous months leading up to that tragic day of the explosion, he wired explosives all through the basement of the school. On the morning of May 18, 1927 he set off that explosion killing 45 people and wounding 58 others.

Thirty-eight of those killed were children between the ages of 6 and 8 years old.

After the explosion Nina ended up in the basement of the school buried with ruble. It took several hours to dig her out and when she finally emerged she had a broken right arm and left foot. Four teeth were knocked out and she was cut through the lip to the cheek. She had cuts and bruises on her body, a dislocated ankle, and a lacerated tongue, which took several stitches. She spent six weeks in the hospital. Because she took so long healing, she could never go back to teaching the next year. She never taught school again at Bath, Michigan.

The name of this madman was Andrew Kehoe and about a half hour after he blew up the school there was another explosion. Mr. Kehoe wired up his car full of explosives also. He drove over to the school that he had blown up earlier and stopped near by. He called the school superintendent over to his

car and than blew it up along with himself, the superintendent of schools, and three other people including a young boy, all dead. He also injured some other people. The explosion was so strong it destroyed several other cars and almost completely destroyed a house.

At first they didn’t find Andrew Kehoe’s body for it had been blown down the street and ended up in a ditch.

The night before he blew up the Bath school he killed his wife and blew up his house. They found her charred body in the back of his sheep barn.

The people that knew her said she was always cheerful and pleasant. Some had said that God only new what that poor women suffered being married to Andrew Kehoe.

Before the Oklahoma bombing this was the largest mass murder in this country and it was in Bath, Michigan.

I came to know Nina in 1970 and at that time I was 23 years old and she was 62. At this time she was married to a wonderful man who was very kind, generous, and had a great sense of humor. She also had three beautiful girls who were conceived late in life. She was always pleasant and cheerful, despite the pain of arthritis that she suffered from that fatal day of the explosion. Most of the time you would find her in the kitchen cooking for her family, and my, that women could cook.

She loved people and people loved her. She always put the needs of others above her needs. There were days that she was in so much pain that she could hardly stand it but she just kept on going.

Her husband developed cancer twice and she had to take care of him during his surgery and other treatment. After his death in 1974, Nina became very depressed because she missed him so much, but in time overcame it. There were times when she was in so much pain that I once heard her say “why don’t the Lord just take me,” but she never quit on life. She knew that the rest of her family needed her and this was a special women who just kept on going on.

I was with Nina when she passed away in the hospital and I could see the life slowly disappear from her tiny delicate little body. During the last minutes of her life she seemed at peace as if to say, I am finally with the Lord and no more will I have to suffer.

You see, Nina was my mother in law and she was married to Sherwood Fair and they had three beautiful girls, Sandra, Mary, and Cheryl. I am married to Mary and she is so much like her mother, another special lady.

There is a point that I am trying to make in all of this, and that is how different people react to the difficult circumstances that life throws at you.

Nina who despite the situation she found herself in because of the tragedy in 1927 and the daily pain she suffered ever since, had the courage to keep on going and make the most of her life. She always tried to be cheerful and  spread love and kindness to everyone she came in contact with. Even amidst her pain you would find her in church giving praise to the Lord almost every Sunday. She died 1999 at the age of 91 and I just want to pay tribute to this wonderful lady in this verse:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7, NIV).

Than there was Andrew Kehoe who gave up on life and and gave into self pity and became this person full of hate and evil who didn’t care about his life nor the life of anyone else, even little children.

I believe that when you give up on God and life that you make room for the devil. Where else does this kind of evil come from?

If there was anything good that came out of this tragic day in 1927 it is the fact that 500 lbs of explosives in the basement of this school did not go off and only half of the school blew up. If all of the explosives would have went off there would not have been anything left of the Bath schoolhouse.

Our attitude in life on how we face diversity is so important. The more that you seek the good in life the better person you will become and the more that you give into the evil things of life, such as hate and unforgiveness, the more evil that you will become.

“Do not be overcome by  evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21, NIV).

“the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22, NIV).

I believe that our thoughts come from threes sources, our past experiences, God, and the devil and when you reject God it just leaves you and the devil. I believe that Andrew Kehoe’s thoughts had been influenced very much by the devil.

If you would like to see more on this subject just google “Nina Matson, MI.” Several web sites will pop up where you will find more information and pictures concerning this disaster.

“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19, NIV).

“Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” ( Thessalonians 5:15, NIV).

FORGIVENESS

We have to forgive others, not because they deserve it, but because you deserve it. Forgiveness is the only way that you can be set free from hatred, anger, and revenge. Unforgiveness will destroy you and you deserve better, you deserve to have peace and joy in your life but unforgiveness will rob you of that. Sometimes there times that you even have to forgive someone like Andrew Kehoe, but unforgiveness is not a burden that you want to cary around with you the rest of your life, you have to let it go if you ever hope to peace and happiness in your life again.

Jesus said: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your hevenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14, NIV).

This was a bold statement that Jesus made and I believe that it is because Jesus knew what unforgiveness would do to us. There are many other verses in the Bible that tell us we must forgive others, even our enemies.

HOW I PUNCHED AND CHOPPED MY WAY OUT OF A DEPRESSION AND STAYED OUT

For some of you who have never been in a depression, you might find this remedy a little silly, but for those who have been in a depression you may find that this technique, that I will describe, might just work for you.

When you are in a serious depression there might be a lot of confusion going on in your head; you might just feel an emptiness with all of your emotions bouncing all over the place.

You might have feelings of hate for others and at the same time, feelings of guilt because you hate them. You can have this anger toward others whom you love and they are trying to help you. This is like a vicious circle and you can’t find your way out. It might seem like you cannot get out but I believe that you can because I did it.

How do we get out of this mess?

As a little child I was raised to be strong and not to cry. When I was disciplined, if I cried I would get double punishment. Please don’t ever do this to your child. Crying is a way of releasing something deeper that is going on with them. If you cannot stand their crying, send them to their room until they are done. This is a way of letting out their anxieties and frustrations and sometimes this might take awhile.

I learned to store my anger and frustrations inside of me, and when something or someone would set me off, my anger explode out of me and it would not be a pretty site to see. Sometimes the thing that set me off would be just some little thing that really wasn’t very important. I usually would end up hurting someone that I loved and cared about and than I would have feeling of guilt.

You are a child of God and He does not want you to be depressed; you certainly do not deserve to be depressed. You have to learn how to forgive yourself, love yourself, and come to the realization that you are not perfect.

I believe that when in a depression, two of the worst emotions we have buried inside of us is “anger” and “hate,” and we have to deal with them.

In a depression you might find that you hate a lot of people and when you hate someone and won’t forgive them, that person has control over you. Whenever you are around a person that you hate you might find that your blood pressure will become a little elevated. This is a body defense mode which is telling you to get ready for a battle. Sometimes a person can have control over you without them knowing it, or little do they care. This is your problem, not theirs and you have to learn how to deal with anger and hate or you will go deeper into your depression.

You do not ever want another person to have control over your feelings and now I am going to tell you how I dealt with this problem. You have to realize though that I had a lot of anxiety bottled up inside of me, some from quitting smoking and drinking at the same time and some from previous years.

I believe that when you give up any addictions in your life you are going to have a tremendous amount of anxiety and you need to find a way to let it out or you will find your self in a depression.

I am going to tell you how I got out of a depression and and how I dealt with my anger.

I went to M.C. Sports and bought a punching bag. When someone made me angry, and because the anxiety stored up inside of me it wasn’t that hard to do, I would head for my punching bag or chopping block. Every time that I punched the bag, or chopped wood, I would tell myself that I was going to like this person and forgive him for anything that he did to me. I was determined that he was not going to have control over me and sometimes I would spend hours punching and chopping. Finally that anger for that person disappeared and I began to like them again. They were never able to have control over me again.

I would do the same thing when I would get strong urges to my addictions of cigarettes and alcohol. As I hit the bag I would tell myself that this addiction would not have control over my life. Instead of taking my anger out on others, I would take it out on the punching bag.

Slowly I came out of my depression and never smoked or drank since. I also have never had any problem with depression again and this was 30 years ago. I do have a problem with eating to much though, but still not to far over-weight. (haha lol) I haven’t used the punching bag in about 20 years but someday I might have to break it out of storage and punch my way out of about 10 lbs. (lol)

There was someone at work who made me angry every time I saw him and by using this process I learned to forgive him. He had no more control over me and in time we actually became good friends.

I believe that any kind of positive exercise will help you get rid of your anger and anxiety, but forgiveness has to be the center of your focus. Later on in life when someone or something provoked me there was nothing like a good tennis game to burn off my frustration. Don’t let others to have control over your feelings.

I Believe that anger and hate are at the center of a depression and getting rid of these emotions are vital to getting out of a depression, but we have to do it in a positive way without hurting others.

You will be surprised what you can do with “anger” when you put it to good use in a positive way. There is a lot of energy there.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by renewing of your mind. Than you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is” (Romans 12:2, NIV).

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8,9, NIV).

Like I stated before, I am not an expert in this area but I an only telling you what worked for me. One thing that I do know is if you are in a depression you need to get out as soon as you can. Prolonged depression can cause all sorts of aliments, both mental and physical. If the things that I have suggested do not work for you then at the end of this article there is a few more websites and phone numbers to try.

There are a lot of people in the world who are hurting and some have lost their jobs, lost their homes, burdened with illnesses and just don’t know where to turn. Sometimes life can be very cruel but there is one thing to remember; we came into this world with nothing and we will take nothing out of it.

The only thing that matters is what we do in between. Sometimes we have to fight and struggle to get through life but one thing to remember is this; earth is not our permanent home; we are all going to die, and if you are a Christian, Jesus promised that He has an eternal home just waiting for you.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3, NIV).

“Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1, NIV).

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4, NIV).

And to all those around the world who are reading this, do not let your hearts be controlled by hate, but give love a chance. Overcome evil with good. We have all descended from the same mother and father, Adam and Eve. Thank you for taking the time to read this article and may God bless you.

“But I tell you who hear me : Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you…Do not judge, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:27, 37-38, NIV).

OTHER HELP:

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance – www.ndmda.org – (800) 826-3632

Men get Depression – www.mengetdepression.com

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org – (800) 273-TALK (8255)

(Just google “depression” or “suicide” and you will find many more web sites to help you)