Saying NO to my feelings

When we value what is eternal, then we act with the intelligent faith instead of emotions. And what is eternal? What is it that you'll never lose? Gold or the Altar?
We can see in Martha and Mary's story, while one were sitting at Jesus' feet worrying about the good part, the other one were worried with those doings of the world, the Lord himself said:  and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
What can not be taken from us, is exactly what's eternal in our lives, and when we value the Altar, we value God in the first place, we value our encounter with God, our baptism with the Holy Spirit, we value reading God's word everyday, we value obedience and sacrifice, and consequently we'll reach the eternal salvation, which is eternal and no one can take it from us. However when we value gold... car, house, husband, kids, position, incredulous boyfriend, world's friends, everything you can loose, because material goods, you have it today but tomorrow you might not have it anymore. Your son, husband, friends, they won't be by your side forever, they are not eternal. But if you value the Altar, then you have it all but when you lose it you won't be desesperate, or give up on your faith, because you KNOW THE ALTAR and you'll know how to fight to survive. THAT'S WHAT THE ALTAR IS FOR, TO BE ON IT FOREVER.

That's why the Bible says:

"And Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things:
But one thing is needful: and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

And what is that part that won't ever be taken away from us? THE ALTAR

Justice x Injustice

"Our injustice causes God’s justice," man's unbelief does not affect God's attributes: He remains faithful, even when man does not believe in his word ... In recent days we have seen many people demanding their own rights at home. They want to be respected and honored. Parents want their children to be obedient, everyone wants prosperity because they think it is right, because they worked and studied and do not want to lose to anyone, but what many forget is that the righteous Judge of this world is called God Almighty, and has His eyes over everything that happens here on earth, human injustice attracts God’s justice. The lives of many are not as they would like, because they do not practice His word and fail to reach God’s standards. Sin is often identified as an action: such as stealing, killing, lying or committing adultery, however, much more important and deep is the attitude in the human heart. It is the basis of all "sins" and expressed as "I understand this issue better than God." This first happened with Eve, who despite being instructed not to eat the fruit, including being forbidden by Adam, when she was offered the fruit as good, acceptable and desirable she allowed her own judgment to prevail before the word received directly from God. God did not give us His Word, so we could make a rational assessment and then decide whether to obey or not. He gave His word because it is the truth and life. We must obey without questions, and when it is not obeyed, it is the same as going with our own judgment, in disobedience to the word of God and placing ourselves before Him as if saying: "I know what I'm doing." Many people want to receive everything from God, but do not want to give their all: their thoughts, decisions, attitudes, vices, lies, ways, behavior, they claim to be Christians and do some things but other things are simply ignored. As in marriage, the Bible says that when they marry they become one flesh, then there is no separation at all in a couple, there can be no secrets, the two become one, but often this is not respected, where one part is broken or does not accept the command from God, therefore problems arise: such as infidelity, disagreements, misunderstandings, etc ... At work you are paid to work 8 hours, but only work 5 hours because 3 hours are spent idling around, unjust with the boss. A parent wants the obedience of the child, but the parent does not practice their own example for the child to follow, etc... There are many situations in which you want justice, but do not want to do the justice of God, the Creator of everything. When we consider that "every action has a reaction," we come to the phrase above: our injustice causes God’s justice. What arguments will be used when it is clear that man’s injustice brings about God’s justice? Is God unfair? The answer is: No way! "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves” Romans 12:9-10

At the beginning of our relationship with God, we try to do everything perfect so His blessings may happen in our lives, we are in the first love and protect our spiritual lives and our pure hearts, but as time passes, we accidentally let the foxes come into our communion with God, through people who say they are in the faith, but in fact live by feelings, through their words we know what is in their hearts, feelings such as: complaints, roundabouts, disobedience, rebellious, pride, judgmental words, lies, they do not accept the guidance of the Holy Spirit and want to do their own will, blame others for their failures, and these little foxes are slowly causing great harm to the spiritual life of those who do not realize it, that is, they allow the foxes to come and steal the most precious thing we have: a pure heart. Every impure thought defiles the soul, weakens the moral sense and tends to wipe out the impressions of the Holy Spirit. Decreasing the spiritual vision, so that men cannot see God: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God". I have come to the conclusion that many people have not been defeated by the lions, rather little by little by foxes. At least that's what the Bible, our church history and the lives of many Christians show. The little foxes represent the quiet things, what is not visible. “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes" (Song 2:15). Beware of the little foxes that you have allowed into your life, tomorrow the damage may be too great!

Why not do a good deed towards your neighbor? In these last days the love of many has cooled off, it is amazing how good deeds that show love to people are not seen more. And some say they love God! How can one love who they cannot see, if one cannot love who they do see, pretending not to see their needs... Let’s strive to make this a better world, it just depends on everyone doing their part!

How do you walk in the Spirit?

Many people ask this question during counseling and the answer is very simple. When it comes to the things of God: it is when we do not follow the desires of our flesh, rather that of God. For example: Your flesh wants to fight for its rights when you think you are correct in a situation, but the spirit says "Wait on the Lord, for He is the righteous judge." Your flesh wants to watch TV, spend hours listening to songs on the internet, seeing what happens in the lives of celebrities, wasting time, but the spirit says, "I'm going to read the Bible, if I stay on the internet, I will only search blogs that will edify me, they have to be about my faith." Your flesh wants to reclaim your situation and find a culprit, but the spirit says, "Trust in God, He will honor you, do not look at the lives of others, because all those who trust in God in one way or another are ashamed". Your flesh wants to use your tongue to speak of others, looking at defects, criticizing the work of others, but the spirit says, "He who keeps the tongue, will save anguish of his soul, and you make the decision to remain silent and wait for God to deliver you". You cannot conquer what you want and your flesh makes you look at what your co-worker, your neighbor, or even your own family has conquered instead of you. Then the flesh brings the desire of envy, but the spirit says, "They conquered for what they did and deserve it. I am going to conquer because the honor of God is in my life and I pray that they all conquer more still”. His flesh tells you to remain with your feelings, when you hear the truth you feel hurt, do not accept it and want others to feel sorry for you, to have their sympathy, but the spirit says, "Walk in reason, you are a winner". There are many examples, and most times we know what we have to do, but to actually do it is very difficult for those who are in the flesh. So while there is time, change to please God and to conquer His promises here on earth. “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” (Romans 8:9)

Your worth in 2013

Everyone is priceless, and when we do not we value ourselves, the world makes us believe that life is not worth living, and therefore we see many people quit on life when small things occur and when large obstacles arrive, they simply give up ... Let’s reflect: How much is a hundred dollar bill worth? A: It’s worth a hundred dollars! And wrinkling this bill, how much is it worth? A: one hundred dollars. If you take this bill and take it to the ground and trample it, do you know what happens? It still has the same value. We are the same! We often face situations in which we are "bent, crushed, humiliated, criticized, and trampled" but no matter what, nothing and no one in this world can take away our value, which was given to us by God Himself. God made us priceless and unique, so do not let anyone diminish your worth. We must not live in the past, but learn from it. When we live clinging to the past, we will not achieve a good future, no one can have a happy future, when living a sad past. Nobody can move forward looking backwards. Instead turn your mistakes into a bridge towards your successes. If life came with an instructions manual, we would make fewer mistakes, but since this is not the case, we just learn how to live through our own mistakes. But that does not mean or imply that our value is diminished before those who love us and especially before God. The New Year is coming and we must take advantage and surrender ourselves to the One who gave us a priceless value... People who mark our lives, are not those with the best credentials, with more money, or the best prizes... They are those who care about us and who in one way or another are with us, we value us. Who cares about you and is with you all the days of your life? God. For us to have a happy 2013 it is essential to be in His presence, because only He knows our true value! "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6<

Wise or foolish?

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise and five were foolish. The foolish ones took their lamps, and took no oil with them. But the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. While the bridegroom delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry made: ‘Behold, the bridegroom, come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out’. But the wise answered saying: No, for there might not be enough for us and for you, rather go to them who sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding banquet and the door was shut. Afterwards the other virgins came too, saying: ‘Lord, Lord, let us in!’ And he replied saying: ‘I tell you the truth, I do not know you’. Therefore stay alert, for you do not know the day or the hour when the Son of man will come. The most precious gift we can receive in this world is the Holy Spirit, because we have to rely only on Him and no one else. At the moment they needed oil and asked to borrow some, the answer was: GO AND BUY FOR YOURSELVES, which leads us to really think. In the material world, one can borrow a car, a house, clothes, everything we have, but in the spiritual world everyone seeks for themselves, one who seeks always has more and can always give more, and their lamp is always on, in other words, will always be filled with the Holy Spirit. The more we give, the more we receive from God. When a woman is a servant of God, she only cares about giving and never about receiving, she is always available to people, to counsel them, fasting, praying, always willing to make disciples, this is the prudent one and she is always giving and still has more to give, and the foolish one lives making excuses, always tired, thinking she does too much and everyone knows they cannot count on her because she always has an excuse to give, and unfortunately she is in darkness, has nothing to give because she receives nothing, she always needs a service or a prayer from others to become stronger and when she opens her mouth we never see anything strong, merely repetitions from what others have said, because her oil fades, she depends on others to keep her fire. The wise live at the feet of Jesus, while the foolish do not have time to be at His feet, while one is full of God; the other is full of herself and empty of God. We have to evaluate ourselves daily. What is the level of our oil? Is our light always on? Or sometimes yes and sometimes no? Or does it depend on someone to be on? From my daily experience with God, the more we are true servants, the more our Lord honors and enables us, at the same time our oil never fades because we care more about giving than receiving, and He cares to give us what we need...