Most Influential Teacher

Who was your most influential teacher? Why?

Through my journey in life, I have had a few influential teachers. My pastor has been one of those teachers. Most people go to church one day a week and then go about their business during the week.

It is rare for a pastor to go beyond their duties to really teach people how to live with Jesus in mind. My pastor is one of those people. It’s not expected that a pastor would teach more than the religious principles from the Bible.

My pastor guided me toward a life of faith, and purpose encouraging me to dive deeper relationship with God. I think that is why I am where I am with God and my faith today.

Ultimately he has helped me find the joy and fulfillment in living a life that honors God and brings His glory to pass.

Jesus taught that the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And to love others as yourself and to treat others the way you want to be treated. To seek wisdom and understanding from God. My pastor has helped me to learn all of these and put them into action.

Hate Damages Us

Hatred is a powerful emotion that can cause serious damage to the person who feels it as well as to whoever or whatever the hate is focused on. It’s often deep-rooted and difficult to heal.

Hate can be spread from one person to another, through attitudes and behaviors from one person to another. It can be used (and is) used to incite discrimination, hostility, and violence.

Propaganda can be used (and is) to instill hatred and fear against groups of people.

Politicians can use (and do) incendiary language to mobilize supporters and delegitimization opponents.

Hate Speech:

Hate speech can lead to feelings of fear, anxiety, and insecurity.

Hate speech can be an early warning of violence, including atrocity crimes.

Hate speech can make society ore vulnerable to political violence and terrorism.

Hate always has an emotional impact. Hate can’t manifest as angry outbursts, anxiety, depression, as well as PTSD.

There are ways to combat hate and discontent.

  • Monitor and analyze hate speech
  • Fact check hateful content (do your own research)
  • Promote respect for human rights and tolerance.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that” -Martin Luther King Jr

My Wish

What do you wish you could do more every day?

I wish I could spend more time with my children. Spending more time with family helps strengthen bonds, and fosters a sense of belonging, and makes great memories.

My daughter is really busy working a full time job, and also helps run her boyfriend’s successful flooring business. And my son lives out of state and his work requires a lot of overtime. So it’s difficult to get us all together as a family.

When Satan Overplays His Hand

While I was going over the past the other day, thinking of the crazy situations I lived through and it dawned on me through them all Satan certainly meant to cause me harm.

When we go through trials it often feel like Satan has the upper hand. We struggle to see what good could come out of suffering, but after a while, we gain a new perspective that what Satan has intended for harm has instead been flipped on its head and turned into good.

In Genesis 50:20, Joseph didn’t Satan when he told his brothers,

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

But, it’s not hard to imagine Satan working for Joseph and his family’s destruction every step of the way. Joseph kept his attention not on what Satan was attempting but on what God was doing.

I used to work at a faith-based drug recovery center. They had a thrift store in which the proceeds would go to help addicts seek rehabilitation for free. I talked to a few people who said using drugs or alcohol filled the void in their hearts. But seeking recovery and focusing on God changed their lives. Satan overplayed his hand in a few situations.

He overplayed his hand a lot, most notably, when his involvement in Jesus’s crucifixion. God’s love an faithfulness was evident through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection.

Satan may have won a few fights, but he will not win the war. In certain situations or temptations might seem like a victory for satan, the ultimate fight against evil is still ongoing but despite setbacks a larger war against evil is winnable through faith and commitment to God.

1 Peter 5:8-9 warns us,

“Be don’t and self-contained. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he might devour. Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers (sisters) in the world are undergoing the same suffering.”

God gives us the grace to be called to his eternal glory, while we may suffer a little while, perfect, established, and strengthened to settle on us.

Peter was talking about persecution, but the general assumption is that suffering is common to us all. Suffering and illness are a special type of suffering that Satan uses to discourage us even to the point of hopelessness. Hence, being devoured by our enemy.

However, we can render him a toothless lion by recalling when God has gotten us through and comforted us.

There are three things to remember when satan is attempting to devour us.

  1. God has already won the war. Satan cannot defeat any who stand with God.
  2. The battle is not only a physical one. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
  3. Remember the result when Satan overplayed his hand. Our victory over satan is assured by our resurrected bodies when Jesus returns.

Suffering satan’s painful arrows proves unequal to the task of spoiling our faith, and our hope grows stronger as we discover that he cannot win.

A Revelation Of What’s Coming

The Holy Bible is a book of Revelation or an unveiling of future events, often interpreted as the “end times or last days,” detailing a period of tribulation, judgement, and ultimately, God’s restoration of all things.

It teaches us how to live a righteous life in His eyes. We are witnessing some things on earth that surprise us or gives us a sense of dread. The amazing thing is that it lines up perfectly with the Bible.

The end times or last days is the concept in scriptures like Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation it speaks of a specific period of time before the 2nd coming of Jesus, characterized by various signs and events.

Jesus foretold that before His return, there would be “wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes and pestilences (sicknesses).

The Bible describes a period of intense suffering and trials, often referred to as the “great tribulation,” preceding the return of Jesus.

The Bible predicts that Jesus will return to earth, and this event is a central theme in the book of Revelation and other prophetic scriptures.

The Bible speaks of a final judgment where God will separate the righteous from the unrighteous or the good from the evil, followed by a new heaven and a new earth where God will once again dwell with His people.

The Bible warns of a “false Christ or antichrist” who will deceive many before the return of Jesus. Some theologians say he will come from the Middle East.

There are Specific scriptures and interpretations in the book of Revelation that are particular sources of prophetic material, detailing events leading up to the end of three age, the return of Jesus, and the establishment of God’s Kingdom.

In Matthew 24 Jesus gives a detailed discourse on the destruction of the temple and the signs that will precede His return, including wars, famines, earthquakes, and persecution.

The Book of Daniel contains prophecies about the rise and fall of empires, and the coming of the Messiah, and the end times.

The Bible contains many other prophecies and warnings about the future, found in the Old and New Testaments.

The Bible has a lot of symbolism and metaphors. It’s a prophetic language that often uses language and imagery that require careful interpretation.

Context is key. Understanding the historical and cultural context of prophetic passages is crucial, for accurate interpretation.

It’s important to avoid creating rigid timelines or dates for the end times, the Bible emphasizes that the timing of these events is only known by God.

The primary purpose of prophetic revelation is to reveal God’s character, His plan for salvation, and Hid ultimate victory over evil.

It’s no surprise we are living in chaos today. God shows us all of this in His Bible through the Pages -His revelation on what’s happening.

Tattoos

What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?

I have a tattoo already on the calf of my leg of a panther. While It doesn’t bother me, I wish I had never had my body inked.

I got it as a dare when I was young. When some people see you tattooed they automatically judge what type of person you are.

Describing Myself

What is one word that describes you?

One word I would use to describe myself is compassionate. I have a deep understanding and willingness to help those in need. I hate to see people hurt, probably because of the hurt I’ve experienced in life. And I don’t want any other people to feel the pain I have had to deal with.

Never Make A Deal With The Devil

Do not make a bargain or compromise with someone or something that is considered evil or dangerous. The potential consequences can ultimately be detrimental. Even when it seems like a quick solution to a problem. It may be tempting but could lead to disastrous in the long run.

The devil (Satan) represents a malicious force that will always try to trick us into giving up something valuable (like your soul) in exchange for temporary benefits.

There’s a classic German tale called “The Legend of Faust. It centers on a man who makes a pact with the devil, exchanging his soul for knowledge and power. The legend is loosely based on the life of Johann Georg Faust between the years 1480-1540. He was a German alchemist and practitioner of necromancy which was a form of black magic.

The core of the legend is Faust’s deal with the devil represented by Mephisto, a demon. Faust is dissatisfied with his life and yearns for knowledge and power, agreeing to surrender his soul in exchange for his desires. The consequences of his pact are ultimately tragic. He is driven by ambition and a thirst for knowledge, leading to a life of both great achievements and devastating consequences.

The term “Faustian” has come to imply sacrificing spiritual values for power, knowledge, and material gain.

The moral of the story is it’s not worth making unethical choices or sacrificing integrity for short-term goals.

Compliments

What was the best compliment you’ve received?

I have been told I am a strong woman. I am strong because I had to be. Self-sufficient, and making my own decisions without relying on others.

There was just simply no other choice. There are certain circumstances where strength becomes a necessity, a default state rather than a conscious decision.

Sometimes people are forced to be strong, not because they choose to be, but because the situation demands it.

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice” -Bob Marley

The Mysterious God

God does not come to us in nicely defined explained thought categories. God does not fit Himself into our theological textbooks. God breaks our rules. He is near, yet transcendent, clothed in human form, yet holy, and more terrifying than can be imagined, yet compassionate, and invisible, yet revealed, judging yet merciful, and sovereign, yet humble. No matter where you look God breaks the molds. Skip Moen said that in a book I’m reading for a Bible study.

Not matter who we are, or where we come from, every one of us have an idea about God. Whether you don’t believe God insists or He created the world and not just sits back and watches it not interested. Or even think He is a she or an it. Maybe that God is just an ultimate 911 service, only to be called in an emergency, or a cosmic police officer, waiting and watching to catch you breaking laws. We are sometimes engrained with these images of God early in our lives by our parents, our cultures, and even the church.

The issue is that none of these images can adequately capture who God is. The Bible reinforces this over and over. Our descriptions of God cannot even begin to capture His majesty, glory, and infiniteness. He is holy, awesome, vast, and eternal. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and His ways higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). Our limited minds and finite lives simply cannot fathom the depth and extent of God.

It is only God who reveals Himself to us that we can even begin to get an accurate picture of who He really is. And this revelation comes to us in three ways: through creation, through Jesus, and through the Bible.

All we know about God comes from His revelation about Himself. We only know Him as He discloses Himself to us. Because of this, we must keep two things constantly in our view. We can know God and have confidence about what He is like, but at the same time, we will never be able to understand Him completely. We know enough about God to love, revere, and worship Him, but most of God will remain mysterious because it’s beyond our comprehension.

C.H. Surgeon puts it this way,

“There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity, so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity.”

We will never be able to fully grasp all of who He is.