I recently moved this blog to a wordpress account which will allow more functionality and it will give me more options to include various links for you Christian walk. Please visit it a www.ambassadoroftruth.wordpress.com! Come Visit, comment and subscribe for updates!
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Welcome to Truth |
The Lord has been laying on my heart to create this blog. Not only as a means of writing down what I'm feeling and learning in my walk with Christ, but also as an evangelical resource to help spread Truth. Every day i see people that claim to be a believer in Christ Jesus, a "Christian", however there actions show otherwise. The sacrifice and pain that our Lord and Savior endured should not be taken for granted and i cant help but believe, this is not what He intended for us. It is time to come out of the world and be transformed.
In this blog, I will post article on various subjects that God is leading me to speak Truth on. I will be slowly adding various links to other Christian based blogs and sites to provide resources for growth and knowledge according to the Word of God. I hope and pray that this blog will edify you and draw you closer to God..
Lord Jesus-
I come to you today as a humble servant and i dedicate this blog to Your Truth. I pray that Your Holy Spirit leads me as i write on various subjects that you lay on my heart, and i hope at all times to be led by You. God help me to shine the light in this increasingly darkening world Lord and give me Apostle like boldness to do Kingdom work. Jesus, let Your will be done in my life, let my fingers and words be anointed with Your Spirit and speak Truth to me. Give me and everyone who visits this blog eyes to see and ears to hear your Word.
In Jesus Name- Amen!
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Calling all clingers: "Detach!" |
Attention All Clingers…
Detach immediately—you are weighing down this relationship!
Have you ever heard a guy say, “Man, she’s a clinger!” and wonder what the heck that means? It’s one of those unwritten vocabulary words you hear guys using a lot. According to the urban dictionary, a clinger is a member of the opposite sex that is likely to become overly attached, overly fast. Believe it or not, we categorize levels of “cling,” the most severe being the Stage 5 clinger, an over-attached girl that constantly needs to be texting, talking, or with someone at all times.... Now take a long look in the mirror. Don’t look away just yet…is this you? If so, detach immediately—you are killing your relationship and looking extremely insecure.
From a guy’s standpoint, we love attention. In fact, I can hear a hundred times how good my outfit looks, or how physically fit I am, and I will never complain. But if I can’t even eat a meal or go to practice without 4 text messages, 2 missed calls, and a voice mail, then there are some serious “clinger” issues going on. Is this bad…? Umm, yeah! And if you really have to wonder about that, then I may be speaking to deaf ears. The plain and simple fact is that it is unhealthy to be too overly-attached to anything of this world, including a relationship. What does over-attachment really say about someone? It shows insecurity issues big time, and who wants to build a lasting loving relationship with someone who is insecure about themselves and the other person?
In a healthy functioning relationship, each party may have his or her own friends; they may have hobbies or things they do by themselves—this is normal. Sometimes it’s best to take time for yourself, or to allow time for your partner so that they may take care of their personal things. This is what normal people do and what most people expect. A lasting relationship should have these types of qualities. To build a healthy Christian relationship, there are a few other things that should be done.
First of all, put God first. This will ensure that your relationship is grounded with a strong spiritual foundation that will help you overcome the difficult times. This seems obvious, but it is easy to get caught up in the thrill and infatuation of a relationship, and suddenly realize that you kind of left God behind. So, before you take any steps toward establishing a relationship, take some time. Pray. Read the Bible. Talk to Christian people who know you well, and ask them if they think you are ready for a relationship. Begin a relationship only when you have peace and confirmation.
Next, set standards for your relationship, and be clear, honest, and specific, so you each know what is expected of the other. By standards, I am referring to just a basic set of guidelines. For example, is flirting allowed? Or is it okay to have friends of the opposite sex? The point here is to build an idea of what you each may expect from the relationship. I mean, if one of you is looking to “fall in love,” but to the other this is just a “boyfriend/girlfriend” thing, then there may be some drastic differences in your expectations. You want to iron those things out, so this way no one is offended.
By following the two simple steps of putting God first and setting reasonable expectations, you can start a healthy relationship and build from there. To be overly involved with what, when, and how someone is doing is borderline stalking, and is straddling idolatry.
Now, let’s get to why this is so important. What does God think about insecurity and over-attachment? The Bible is pretty clear on this subject, and as Christians and believers in Christ, we should always attempt to line up our lives with the Word of God. So how much time do you spend with God, and how concerned are you regarding what God thinks, feels, and sees? If you’re more concerned about what your boyfriend is doing than what God is doing, the Bible calls this idolatry, and this is a major sin (1 Corinthians 10:14; Colossians 3:5). In fact, idolatry is having anything in your life that is more important to you than God, and God finds this to be so serious that He listed it as one of His Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). All throughout the Old Testament, prophets where raised up to preach God’s command to remove your idols and repent of your sins.
In our day and age, idols may not be wooden images of other gods, but may be money, jobs and relationships. Now understand, it’s not that God doesn’t want us to have these things, but He does want us to prioritize them under Him and His Word. So many people believe that being a Christian restricts the “fun” we can have in life, and that we have to be some boring people. Well, let me emphasize how wrong that thought process is! The Bible says that Jesus came to give us life so that we may have it more abundantly (John 10:10). God wants us to have love; He wants us to have riches; He wants us to have fun. But we need to remember that we need not try so hard; if we seek God first, He will provide these things in abundant form and fashion (Matthew 6:33).
So, if you find yourself being overly concerned with the who’s, how’s, when’s and why’s of your boyfriend, then realize that you just may be a clinger and it’s time to detach—you are weighing down your relationship! Put God first, and allow time for your relationship to build. A poet in the 1700’s once said, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” I am sure you’ve heard this a thousand times; now it’s time to do it. Don’t just be hearers of the Word, be doers (James 1:22). Trust God to give you the necessary strength to no longer be insecure, but rather to be secure in what God has planned for you, and watch your future grow (Jeremiah 29:11). I pray that you seek God first and that you grow secure in who you are as strong Christian women. Man will let you down, relationships will come and go, but God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Be Blessed Sisters!
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My Testimony |
I am a 31yr old husband and father of, get this, 5 and one on the way, and I am on fire for the Lord. The simple fact is I wasn’t always this way and for the majority of my life I made bad choices, hung out with the wrong crowd, and basically did everything and anything that pleased my flesh. I can confidently say, with the exception of the gender difference, I used to be you and I pray that my life experience will help you make choices that will positively influence your life.
Stereotypically, most people expect that the “bad kids,” the partiers and druggies, came from bad family life, but that is not my case at all. I was born into a Puerto Rican family, my mother and father are still married, and I have two brothers. Most of my childhood was good–we had nice homes, went on family vacations, and I really never did without. When I was 14, my family moved from New Jersey down to South Florida, and this is when I began to take a turn for the worse. It started with friends that introduced me to marijuana and LSD; by the time I was 15, I smoked pot every day and tripped on acid pretty much every weekend. Because of my party habits, I quickly got involved with selling drugs and before I knew it, I was entering high school addicted to the fast life. Without sounding cliché, I felt I had it good, fast girls and fast money; boy was I ever wrong. All through high school I had many girlfriends, and it’s no surprise that by my junior year of high school I had my first child, and shortly into my senior year I had my second. I was big time into the hip-hop scene and spent the majority of my time in clubs and at parties; I hate to admit it but I was definitely considered “a player” and treated most of my girlfriends as objects rather than people. It was also no surprise that the majority of my friends were in gangs and little clicks. The reality is, of my 5 better “friends” from high school, 2 have passed away from drug overdoses, 2 have been in prison for the majority of the last 10 years, and only one that I know of straightened up his life.
Fast forward a few years and by 2004 I had 4 children, was addicted to drugs and alcohol, and just looked for every possible way to fill the void that was in my life. It wasn’t until recently that I realized, even when I denied God’s existence, He protected me and made sure I was safe. I thank the Lord every day that He pulled me out of that lifestyle. In December of 2007, I was badly addicted to oxycontin and other painkillers and before I realized it if I wasn’t high I was “dope sick”–now that is the worst feeling in the world. My brother and sister-in-law (Trophy of Grace) basically did an intervention to me and it was then that I decided to try and change.
December 13th, 2007 I was lying on a detox bed, basically dying, and I prayed. I asked if there was a God in Heaven and if He could deliver me from my addiction, then I would dedicate my life to His Word, well whallah! Be careful what you pray for with a sincere heart because it will happen. The Bible says when we accept Jesus in our life we are transformed, new creations (hence my name) but I never realized it would be this radical. I am proud to proclaim and I am not ashamed, I am a JESUS FREAK… HOLLER!!! And I know with every bone in my body that if God could love me enough to change me this way, He can do the same for anyone of you. Today I have been saved for almost 2 years, I have a loving wife and I am proud to say we have 2 beautiful girls together. My two sons that I had in high school will be moving in with us this summer full-time and my wife is pregnant. Glory to God for all His faithfulness! I pray that through this ministry, and with the counsel of God-loving people who have gone through many of the situations that you have gone through and will go through, that you won’t make the same stupid mistakes many of us did. What I thought were great years in my life and fun times, turned out to be almost 14 years that were filled with heartache, addiction and loss. However, God has taken what the enemy intended for destruction and turned it into glory. My mess of a life is now my message of Life, abundant Life through Christ Jesus!