“Through whom also we have access by faith 

into this grace in which we stand, 

and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

And not only that, 

but we also glory in tribulations, 

knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 

and perseverance, character; 

and character, hope. 

Now hope does not disappoint, 

because the love of God has been poured out 

in our hearts by the Holy Spirit 

who was given to us."

my twocents…

in this life we inevitably have to face suffering. with or without Christ, we still have to face suffering. but with Christ, we do have the ability, like no one else, to rejoice in our suffering. now this may not sound very convincing in the heat of a devastating moment,  but that doesn’t negate the fact that this is truth: our faith gives us access to a knowing that there is success beyond suffering. 

we have permission to be optimistic and to believe that we won’t continue cycling in fruitless insanity. just as Jesus showed- His life and death were our model example of doing good, never giving up, never compromising, suffering, enduring, serving and sacrificing. He did it all to glorify God, and so shall we. His Word proclaims that beyond suffering we experience perseverance, character building, and hope. and we also know that our greatest reward after life in the flesh is eternal life in God's glorious presence.

are we suffering and denying ourselves the way Jesus did? or do we take every opportunity to secure our own sense of comfort and to ensure our supply of pleasure will not be deprived? maybe we should accept discomfort, like He did. 

are we following Jesus? really following Him, as in imitating Him? paul was a great example of a believer who endured great suffering, yet you could still hear the peace and joy in his letters. paul wasn’t the Son of God, but he did a pretty good job at taking Jesus’ example to heart. this is possible for everyone. 

let us realize that following Christ is our top priority. not our status, not our pride, not our comfort, not our impulses, not our achievements, but following Jesus Christ. whatever it takes, this is the best thing we can do in any moment: to truly commit our ways to Him. 

3/12/23

“Do you have faith? 

Have it to yourself before God. 

Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 

But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, 

because he does not eat from faith; 

for whatever is not from faith is sin.”

my twocents…

looking outwardly, we shake our heads when we witness the repercussions of a person, or a group of people, judging another. and understandably so, as this scenario has caused so much strife over the years. But how often do we consider how we judge ourselves? in this modern day, we are taught at such a young age to be critical of ourselves… movies, music, and media can sneakily become our molds. we are especially critical when we are comparing ourselves to others, despite the truth: we are individually unique, created in God’s image and formed specially in the womb. we forget these beautiful truths and fall victim to manipulation, with observing, comparing and finding reasons to condemn ourselves. we inflict pain or mistreatment on ourselves as an outlet or a means of change. we are convinced that we are never quite good enough until we reach that ‘next level’. somehow when we reach that ‘next level’ its as if we hadn’t, as we immediately have our eyes set on a new objective. we struggle to simply accept ourselves as the Lord does. 

food is regularly the focus of our days, but when we can’t accept ourselves physically, we develop complexes around this daily necessity. we start identifying foods as good and bad, taking in endless opinions and advice. it's all a bunch of confusion and contradiction. yet we still have to eat. so we eat in anxiety thinking that the ‘good’ foods will never really satisfy and the ‘bad’ foods will hurt our body.

the only information source we need to hear is the Word, and behold, Rom 14:14: “that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.” so hear here that faith is the method, faith is the motion that needs to be made in all we do. believe in the Word and the Lord’s generous blessings as you pray in thanks before eating. when we eat with faith in believing that the Lord has made all things clean by His blood on the cross, then we can eat with peace. but if we do not thank and honor God and believe in His blessings, then this food cannot nourish us, it is unclean. i think this is the root of so many ailments today. its not a matter of bodily deficiency, its a matter of spiritual deficiency. we need more faith. we need to take every moment and dedicate it to the Lord as an offering of thankfulness. when we don’t act in faith, we are acting in doubt, greed, desire, or some other bad root which cannot produce fruit... its easier said than done… its easier when your peers are doing it too… i know… but we can try everyday and we can pray for strength, discernment, and patience from the Lord to navigate each moment in practicing faith. and importantly, do not condemn yourself, do not doubt yourself, when you are confident in the Holy Spirit. listen, pray, discern, act, thank, and then rejoice in the Lord. repeat. 

12/11/22