the Shakedown: slang. "a thorough search of a place or person." (dictionary.com)

Why I believe

Friday, Apr. 29, 2005 at 3:33 pm

In God:

"How do you know that there is no conscious existence after death? The main reason that people claim to not believe in an afterlife is that they think that the idea is a naive wish-fulfillment in the face of the fear of death.

"But disbelief in an afterlife could have the same intellectual status. It could be the hopeful wish that there might be no accountability to anyone after we die, and the hope that there is no intrusive authority in our lives before that time.

"It's not that a person can't find God, but that he won't. It has been rightly said that the "atheist" can't find God for the same reason a thief can't find a policeman. He knows that if he admits that there is a God, he is admitting that he is ultimately responsible to Him."

In Jesus:

"The gospel of Christ is "the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth" (Romans 1:16). The word "gospel" means "good news," not "good advice." It does not tell us what we must do and not do in order to earn salvation, but rather what Christ has done to provide salvation as a free gift. "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

"Every other religion under the sun, whether pseudo-Christian or non-Christian, panders to man's pride by teaching him there is something he can do to earn, or to help in earning, his own salvation. Only true Biblical Christianity recognizes man as he really is, utterly lost in sin, destined for eternal separation from God. The gospel, "by which you are saved," is the glorious news that "Christ died for our sin" (I Corinthians 15:1,3), and that we can be saved by grace, through personal faith in Christ, plus nothing else whatever! Any religion which teaches otherwise is, to that extent, false. Paul said, "If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:9). One who is truly saved by God's grace in Christ will, of course, then seek to follow Christ and His Word in all things, not to earn salvation, but in love and gratitude for His glorious gift of cleansing and everlasting life."

Quoted from ChristianAnswers.net



For the record

Wednesday, Apr. 27, 2005 at 3:30 pm

I'm not here to try and win brownie points and I'm not here to try and convert anyone to my way of thinking.

I'm here to express myself. And if you don't like it, I'm truly sorry, but there's nothing I can do about that. Say something productive or don't say anything at all.

Thank you.



Time to plant seeds and watch them grow

Wednesday, Apr. 27, 2005 at 11:31 am

God certainly does work in not-so-mysterious ways sometimes.

Sometimes everything in life points to His purpose for our lives. Sometimes when everything in our lives is pointing towards or against something in particular, it seems pretty obvious to me that it's God pushing us in the direction that He wants us to go. Sometimes God knows that we are too stubborn to see the small things, so He gives us a big ol' slap in the face.

The past few weeks have been super quiet for me. Since I decided to give my life over to God, my life has been extra quiet and calm. I've had nothing but a desire for God's Word and wisdom and love. If it weren't for this quiet time in my personal and professional life, I would not be able to devote so much of my time getting reacquainted with my Savior. Lately I keep thinking, man, nothing is happening with my family or friends and work-wise, I've got absolutely nothing on my table.

It is a coincidence? Or is it God setting aside time for me to grow in Him? I've always believed that coincidences are not coincidences at all. Coincidences are God's way of revealing to us where or what He wants us to be. Whether we recognize them as God's direction or not is entirely up to us. It's a matter of trusting that someone bigger and better than us knows what's best for us, regardless of our own selfish desires.

God has revealed so much to me over the past few weeks. Too much to even get into right now. But the overall theme of His revelations to me has been that my worldly desires never have and never will bring me the joy and fulfillment that I've been searching for all of my life. No matter how hard I try to hold on to something, He constantly reminds me that I need to let it go, that He has something better in store for me.

Slowly but surely my doubts, my worries and my fears about the future are starting to fade. In their place are a thirst and a hunger for God. I never thought I would be this person. I never thought I was strong enough to give myself entirely over to God. And I was right. It's not me or my strength that has gotten me here. It is totally the work of God. Without Him, I am nothing. With Him, I have everything.



And the truth shall set me free

Monday, Apr. 25, 2005 at 1:08 am

I have a confession to make and some of you are not going to like it. But I'm tired of skirting around the most important belief in my life for fear of offending someone. This is my blog and I'm done caring what anyone who reads it might think. I am accountable to one person and one person only, so if you don't like what I'm about to say, you are welcome to never read me again.

So here goes. I believe in God. Yep, I sure do. I whole-heartedly believe He has touched my soul and has been tugging at my heart strings all of my life. Not only do I believe in God, I believe in the Bible and Jesus Christ. I believe Jesus is my savior and my king. That's right, I'M A JESUS FREAK and I don't care who knows it anymore.

I've been a believer all of my life, but I have not always been a follower. I've never claimed to be a good Christian or even a good person for that matter. I'm far from perfect and being a Christian is a profession of my imperfection and not the other way around.

I've been pretty quiet around here lately and this is pretty much the reason. I've been meditating and reflecting on God's work in my life and haven't been ready or comfortable with sharing it up until now. But I realize that this IS my blog and I'm tired of censoring my beliefs for fear of losing some blog buddies. A friend told me recently, "It's better to lose someone over Jesus, than to lose Jesus over someone." She is a d-lander and she knows who she is. Thank you again for your words of encouragement.

So my life is truly taking a new path. After years of simpling believing, I'm now actually ready to start living what I believe. I've surrendered my life to God and whatever His will for me might be. This is a record of my journey and my walk with Christ. This blog is for me. But my life is for God.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin."
I'm whispering "I was lost,"
Now I'm found and forgiven.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need CHRIST to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
and need HIS strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain,
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
who received God's good grace, somehow.

Author - Maya Angelou



"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." C.S. Lewis