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I haven’t posted anything new for a few weeks and I’ll hopfully return posting more in December but I had to write about the weekend God bless me with. For awhile now I haven’t been myself at work and if I wanted to be honest I been depressed about work. This past week was really hard on me because I just kept up the walls not letting my boss or other co-workers see the real me. I’m tired of protraying the “TRIPIL Mike”. But God used this weekend to make me see that He loves me the way that I am even if nobody else does. And I learned that I’m on his time schedule for my life not the other way around. By the end of the weekend I was more thankful for my life,for Robin, my friends, and even my job than I been for what seemed to be a very long time. Here’s how the weekend played out:
Saturday:
I Got to my friend Andrew Johnson’s house at 7AM,and we drove to the 39th Men’s Thanksgiving Breakfast at South Hills Bible Chapel. 500 Men showed up to hear Dan Sepulveda’s testimony about what God has done in his life. He’s the punter for the Steelers and has a awesome story. But the coolest thing he said was what his dad said to him growing up all the time. His dad told him “You’re a winner, you’re mine, and I love you. Dan went to say that is what God is saying to all his children. His story helped me out in so many ways but in a odd way i realized why I have problems with older men at my job. Unlike Dan, I didn’t have my dad in my life, and honestly When men try to speak into my life I hate it. I blame them for my dad’s failures and that’s not fair to them. My Identity and acceptance comes only by my relationship with God. Realizing this won’t change the problem I have with older men over night but I’m on the right path to make the changes I need to make. During the worship service I realized that out of the 500 men worshiping Jesus it seemed that I was the only one there with a disability. But at the foot of the cross with these men I stood equally a sinner,and equally forgiven. It was a awesome feeling to feel God’s grace that way.
Saturday Night:
Andrew, Allison, Robin, and I went to the Bible Chapel’s night service and Pastor Ron talked about the role music plays in our spiritual lives. It was a great time hearing the Word and looking at the history of music in the church.It’s been good going to South Hills Bible Chapel and getting fed again. I’m not in any kind of ministry leadership right now and I’m taking this time to work on my faith and some hurts I’m dealing with.
Sunday:
In the morning I preached at the city mission and there was a good crowd there. I preached on John 5:24 and the assurance that God gives us of our salvation’s security. There was a man on staff there who said his uncle was struggling with if he could lose his salvation and ask me if he could have a copy of my sermon to share with him. It’s awesome how God works things together. I almost changed my sermon topic earlier this week but I’m thankful I didn’t.
And than after that we went over Andrew and Allison’s house for the first ever Johnson-Matthews Turkey Spectacular. Since Robin and I will be down south for Thanksgiving we decided to have it early with Andrew and Allison. It rocked! Allison and Robin did a great job cooking a great meal. Andrew and I played Madden all day to crown the turkey day champion. We have realized that every time we play our games come down to a onside kick. With a few upsets and turnovers it turned out in my favor this time.But the outcome didn’t matter, it was just good hanging out with Andrew.
This was one of the greatest weekend of my life and I’m very thankful for all that God did for me. This weekend will stay with me for a long time. Having Robin in my life have made me a better man and the friendship we have with Andrew and Allison is a great blessing from the Lord. My conversastions with Andrew alone have been so helpful to figure out the things going on in my heart. I’m praying that I will reveal more of me in my work life and people might get to know the person God made me to be. Thank you Jesus.You Rock!
When I return from my writing hiatus, Life, Faith, and Disability will feature more of my teaching and preaching of Scriptures. I’m taking time off to just grow in my own relationship with the Lord. Please keep me in your prayers. God is opening more doors for me to teach and preach and I must be faithful to that call. I’m looking for LFD to return in December with a study of the book of James. Stay tuned.
In Christ,
Mike Matthews
Go check out Jacqueline’s blog. She is a young girl who is battling cancer. Read her thoughts and see the testimony that is her life. Keep her in your prayers.
Meet Jacqueline Gordon: a 16-year-old petite blonde who is battling leukemia for the second time in her young life. Observer-Reporter staff writer Amanda Gillooly is accompanying the Canonsburg youth on her journey to recovery. Check back often, as Jackie, her mom, Carol, and Amanda post about the physical, emotional and psychological challenges the family faces.
18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.-1 Peter 1:18-19
I’m taking a break from posting for awhile,but before I do, I want to leave my readers with some words of encouragement. Violence, drug abuse, and sexual sin has marked my family, and I have felt the effects personally. If not for Jesus saving me and making me a Christian I would be a violent man addicted to drugs or maybe even dead,but because of His grace to me I love Him and he has allowed me to preach the Gospel to others, gave me a godlywife, a great job, but more than that freedom from the things that has define my family. Everyday I’m learning more and more that this world doesn’t offer anything that can compare to the joy that is in Christ. This weekend was one that was filled with breakthroughs for me. I was confronted with the love of God that is in Christ that I was forgetting. In reading Mark Driscolls’s new book “Death by Love” I was reminded that not only was I forgiven of my sins but also cleanse from them. All of them! The sins I have committed,and the sins committed against me. Lately, I been living in anger and shamed at the sexual abuse I had to endure when I was younger and my own sexual sin, but Jesus reminded me this weekend that I’m free from the guilt and shame. He makes me clean.He makes me righteous. He makes me justifed. God’s wrath was satisfied on the cross. Jesus’s blood fogives and cleans me.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.-2 Corinthians 5:21
I have right standing before God because Jesus died the death I deserve. By grace I get to live as a new man with him forever. Not a perfect man but a new man. I’ll continue to battle sin till I’m in heaven but because of Christ I don’t have to be enslaved to it. I’m free to live with him. It’s only because of Jesus that I get to be a Christian. I was trying to live this life apart from him and was trying to be a “good christian”, but I was reminded that I’m a Christian because God alone is good. My past can’t change that. By His grace I will continue to be a preacher, a faithful husband, a good daddy when that day comes, a faithful worker at my job, and will put my sin to death by the power of his Spirit. I often wonder if the Apostle Paul thought like he didn’t deserve God’s forgiveness? He was a persecutor of Christians, approved the murder of Stephen yet hear his words out of 1 Corinthians 15:10:
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
Or look what he says in 1 Timothy:
12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. -1 Timothy 1:12-17
How many times do we feel like Paul saying we’re the worst of sinners?But unlike Paul we often fail to lean on Jesus’s grace. We will beat ourselves up for things that God already took care of. Paul admits he was a sinner and don’t deserve God’s favor, but because of God ,he’s a believer, and that God’s grace toward him will not be in vain. This brings me much joy. I am Michael Matthews, a servant of the Lord Jesus to the Glory of God the Father. My future is not defined by my family faults, my abuser, my sins, but rather Jesus Christ. And God’s grace to me will not be in vain.I’m taking time off from writing to focus on scripture to re-discover the greatness of Jesus. I preached yesterday at the city mission and a man came up to me and said he listens to ever word I say and he thinks about it all week. God has redeemed me from my former way of life to not just keep on sinning abusing grace till heaven comes, but to live as a free man living with and for him. That man words was a lighting bolt of grace to cap of my weekend of breaktrhoughs. I been entrusted with the Gospel, and I can’t neglect it. Jesus loves ne to much. I pray God will bless my readers, and stay tuned, I’ll post again but for now I’m taking a break. God bless
I don’t write about my job as an advocate for people with disabilities alot on here, but I think that’s going to change. I want to take this time to talk about a issue effecting the disability community. It’s nursing homes! People with disabilities are being warehoused all over this country in nursing homes, and it needs to stop. Thankfully there are groups like ADAPT who fights against the intstitutional bias in America. ADAPT advocates for real supports for people to stay in their community instead of being locked away in nursing homes. In future post I’m hoping to write about the facts about the problems with nursing homes, but for this post I just want to introduce my readers to the problem.
People with disabilities want to live in their own homes, not nursing homes. They want the right to make independent choices om their own, and with the right supports like attendant care we can. To bring to light more of the problems read this article from ADAPTfrom a person who was stuck in a nursing home:
I’d Rather Go to Jail Than to Die in a Nursing Home
by Stephanie Thomas
ADAPT, American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, a national disability rights group, held its Spring Action in Houston Texas last May. The action, in part supported by Resist, was attended by record numbers of disability rights activists and pulled together many important parts of the issue of freeing people with disabilities from nursing homes and other institutions. Action focused on the nation’s third largest nursing home corporation, Living Centers of America, as well as the Republican controlled Congress, particularly the notorious House Majority Whip Tom Delay. Houston was also the opening salvo on the managed health care industry whose tentacles are so slowly reaching for government health and long term care programs across America. In addition, Houston was the first in a series of national hearings on consumer (as opposed to provider) disability housing issues. HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros attended and tried in vain to defend his department’s use of housing funds to guaranty loans for nursing homes.
This election-eve over 500 ADAPT members, activists with disabilities and our supporters, will gather in Atlanta to continue the Olympian task of redirecting our national long term care funding bias from institutions to community-based services. ADAPT is gathering in Atlanta November 2nd through 7th to protest the national convention of the American Health Care Association, AHCA, the nursing home industry lobby group which stands in the way of ADAPT’s goal.
Started in 1983 ADAPT began as American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (or Transportation, depending on who you talk to). Originally 36 members joined together to demand that a wheelchair lift be standard on ever new city bus. For seven years, as ADAPT grew, we blocked buses (sometimes chaining ourselves to them or crawling on board inaccessible buses) in cities across the United States to call attention to the need for access to public transportation, and disabled people’s civil right to access to public services and facilities in our communities.
When the Americans with Disabilities Act became law in 1990, it not only required that — starting a month after passage (ie in August 1990) — all new buses have lifts, but it adopted into federal law the idea that access is a civil right.
But what good is the right to a ramp or an equal opportunity to work if you are stuck away in a nursing home? Over two million Americans are locked away in these facilities from which the industry brings in a cool $65 billion plus a year, $40 billion from Medicaid alone. Many of ADAPT’s members have been locked away in nursing homes and other institutions and are well aware such facilities are little more than human warehouses in which people with disabilities serve as the commodity for the long term care industries. (80-203)
ADAPT wants to see at least 25% of these Medicaid nursing home funds redirected to fund a national attendant services program. Attendant services are help with things like bathing, dressing, eating and similar activities of daily living which a person needs help with due to his or her disability. ADAPT has drafted legislation, the Community Attendant Services Act, CASA (which means home in Spanish) to achieve this goal, and state versions are being promoted in Vermont, Wisconsin, Georgia, Texas and New Mexico.
Now over 5,000 strong nationally, ADAPT has chapters in over 32 cities and 27 states, and is growing daily.
One of the signature aspects of ADAPT is the passion our members bring to the struggle. Parallels with the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s are an easy parallel to draw to get across the concept that the goal of our work is civil rights for people with disabilities. The parallel seemed most apt when we were fighting for lifts on buses, and the line “we can’t even get on the back of the bus” went a long way to make clear to those unfamiliar with disability and accessibility what we wanted.
In a real sense however, disability rights is in a much earlier stage than the civil rights movement. In many ways it is much closer to the abolitionist movement, to abolish slavery. Disability pride is shared among a minority of our community, and the attitude “better dead than disabled” is quite prevalent among the general population as well as among many people with disabilities. ADAPT’s current focus on attendant services instead of nursing homes has been much more of an uphill battle than logic would have predicted.
While “classic” civil disobedience challenges unjust laws by breaking these very laws and thereby challenges the attitudes that support them, ADAPT’s approach has been an adaptation. Through our actions (as we call our protests) ADAPT has sought to challenge the view that people with disabilities are helpless, sick, vulnerable and unable to direct our own lives. ADAPT’s protests seek to challenge this view and challenge our opposition (AHCA the nursing home industry lobby group, politicians and government, etc.) with obstacles similar to some of those the opposition’s policies and laws place in our lives.
Last fall ADAPT chose Lansing Michigan, home of Governor John Engler, then potential vice-presidential candidate and master-mind of the welfare reform and Medicaid block grants being promoted by Congress. When Governor Engler continued to refused to meet with ADAPT after letters, phone calls and a take over of his Michigan Republican Party Headquarters, we had no choice but try finding him at home. An example of the underestimation of disabled people: over 300 wheelchair users were able to stroll through Engler’s country club neighborhood, through his heavily guarded — but unlocked — front gate right up to his front door. When he still refused to meet, ADAPT shut down the state capitol building for an afternoon, turning it into a nursing home from which the legislators and lobbyists were not free to go without ADAPT’s permission. (Most nursing homes try hard to keep “residents” from coming and going without their permission.) Oddly enough, people felt the need to climb in and out of first floor windows in their desire not to loose control of their lives!
This was not ADAPT’s first “home visit”. House Speaker Newt Gingrich had for several years met with ADAPT promising to introduce ADAPT’s draft legislation the Community Attendant Services Act, CASA. Yet Newt had failed repeatedly to follow through. So in May of 1995 ADAPT again went to the Speaker’s office and when he was too busy to meet ADAPT took over his apartment building! Gingrich’s behavior was so outrageous, his landlords, United Methodist Church officials, at first upset their building was being so inconvenienced, ended up joining ADAPT’s call for Gingrich to act. Out of town, off giving a speech at the state department where he “could not be reached by telephone” according to his staff, Gingrich ended up slinking off to a hotel for the night. In September however, he met with ADAPT making another series of promises (which he has yet to live up to. It will be interesting to be so near his home district on election-eve to remind him of his promises.)
The last time ADAPT took on the nursing home lobby group AHCA was at their convention in Las Vegas in 1994. On profits and expense accounts gleaned from locking folks away in their facilities, AHCA was partying hardy at the Hilton Hotel made famous by the recent Tailhook Hotel. ADAPT took to the streets of sin city and there at the intersection of Paradise and Riveria Blvds., in front of the Hilton and the Las Vegas Convention Center, erected a cross with a wheelchair hanging from it to remind all involved of the lives that have been sacrificed to benefit that industry. As the Las Vegas police moved in to arrest they pulled on their latex gloves (a practice adapted I believe since the AIDS epidemic and ACT UP). ADAPT pulled on ours (350 people who have catheters, bowel programs, etc. are never in short supply of latex gloves.)
ADAPT actions have two goals: to create change addressing the issues we identify, and to empower people with disabilities to take control of our destiny and create a real place in society. As one Houston attendee put it “I really have found no bigger rush than being with ADAPT folks at a national action. There’s an energy and a power you take home with you. I was in a nursing home for 12 years. I’d rather die than go back! It’s like we were chanting ‘I’d rather go to jail than to die in a nursing home’. Hell I’d rather go to jail than to have anyone have to live in one.”
I’ll be posting more info about our battle in the future. My Thoughts and the thoughts of war tested advocates in the disability community will be shared. To my brothers and sisters stuck in nursing homes, It’s my prayer that God will grant you freedom soon. Don’t give up. Press on.
Last Night, at Starbucks we started reading C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters as part of my new Bible Study for college students. We are studying the spiritual warfare that Christians are in everyday. Even though the book is fictional it’s is very good at showing how the devil works. The book is about a elder demon writing to a younger demon about how to temp and defeat Christians. As Christians we need to know what we are up against, but not to the point we lose focus of God. Jesus is King. He’s in Control. The Devil is not his evil co-equal. We need to remember that. We are up against a real thing but do not lose heart. God is on our side. Here’s what the bible says about the enemy and his forces:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places-Ephesians 6:10-12
Even though the devil is real we can have victory over him, and in fact our ultimate victory has come through Jesus:
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.-Colossians 2:13-15
The enemy is disarmed, he can’t accuse us before God anymore because our sins have been taken away by Jesus on the Cross. We who trust Jesus are free to love God and live for Him,Nevertheless, the enemy remains in the world until the Day of Judgement,and Christians must contiue their struggle against the devil. The devil can’t take your salvation but he can keep you ineffective for Jesus. That’s why we need to stay connected to God for his help, and remember that the same power that freed us from the guilt and punishment from our sin is the same power that can free us from the power of our SIN. Keep your eyes on Jesus. In Christ is Freedom. Freedom from the enemy, freedom from the world, and freedom from the flesh(the part of you who wants to sin). But it all starts with cross and knowing your forgiven. Don’t ever forget the cross. When the devil attacks with things like “you’re not saved” or “your not a christian”, remember the words of Colossians 2:13-15
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.-Colossians 2:13-15
You’re forgiven, You’re Free from the accuser. Jesus is your Victor.
I don’t want my blog to ever become political but I must write about so called “Christians” I have talked to about the election. What they say about Barack Obama just frightens me. And they believe those hate filled emails about him too. This blog post is not an endorsement of Mr.Obama for President but it’s about the heart of people who claim to be followers of Jesus. Here are things I’m hearing from “Christians”.
I’m not voting for Obama because:
“Obama=Osama”
“He’s not American!”
“He’s a Muslim”
“The blacks will take over”
“It’s called the white house for a reason!”
“If he becomes president,someone will shoot him in a month.”
That’s just a taste of what I have heard from professing “Christians” I have ran in to. Here’s what God’s word says about race:
11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.- Colossians 3:11
This verse speaks of Christians of all races and how we should be one family under Christ, but we should also have the same heart for people who our not Christians. And rather Obama is truly a Christian or not doesn’t matter because the Christian who is judging him for the color of his skin, and spitting out hateful remarks like those above are in sin. They might not even be Christians. Racism has no place in the body of Christ. And just for the Record, Our Lord and Savior was Jewish, not some blue eye blond hair white guy from the south. But what do I know?
Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him [2] there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.- 1 John 2:10-11
11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, [3] that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. -1 John 3:11-15
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.- 1 John 4:7-11
I got to spend time with Robin this weekend and it was awesome. I love her so much and she is my biggest supporter. She been encouraging me all week as a husband and preacher. When doors are close for me to share God’s word she’s there to remind me that God will open new doors. And this Sunday I will preach twice. At the Washington City Mission and our former home church Friendship Community Church. God is so good to me and He has blessed me with a great wife. This has been a tough week for us because after six months at being at Life Point Baptist Church we have decided to leave the church at the leading of the Lord. So, we are once again in search of a home church but I must say I’m thankful for the relationships I formed at LP. My faith got refueled while we we’re there and for that I want to tell Pastor Aaron Johnson thank you. And that I pray for your family, ministry, and church. Keep your eyes on God’s calling for your life and never give up.
But back to Robin, Thanks for being my rock. Your an awesome woman of God. Thank you for sticking beside me through all the hard decisions I have had to make and will have to make in the future for our family. I love you.
ARLINGTON, Va. (WUSA) - It’s an issue millions of American families struggle with: Can you afford to take care of an aged or disabled loved one in their own home? Or do you have to put them in a nursing home to qualify for government help? It may be the next big battle on the Presidential campaign trail.Both the Obama and McCain Campaigns support the right of the disabled to choose whether to live at home or in a nursing home. But Sen. McCain opposes a Senate bill designed to change a system that disabled advocates say pushes them to spend the rest of their lives in an institution.
Arlington Police did their best to protect Senator McCain’s national headquarters. Dozens of disabled advocates from across the country rushed the building in Crystal City — and police ended up arresting nearly a dozen for trespassing.
“We don’t want no houses like he has. Seven houses. We don’t need anything fancy. We’re asking for an apartment,” said protestor Cassie James.
The activists say Medicaid WILL pay for their care in a nursing home. But WON’T pay for them to have a health aide at home. “All we want to do is level the playing field so people will have a choice,” said activist Rick Knight.
Sen. McCain says government living assistance for the disabled should NOT mean “perpetual confinement to an institution.” But he also says the bill supported by the activists is too expensive. “The Community Choice Act is not a piece of legislation that I support,” Sen. McCain told a Denver forum.
Bobby Coward says that’s not good enough. He’s a Persian Gulf war vet left a quadriplegic by a car accident. “If I don’t get an attendant, I can’t get out of the house, so I’m laying in bed.”
He could check himself into a nursing home, and the government would pay for it. But he says that’s the last thing he wants.
“Is it going to cost the government more to keep you in your own home?” I asked him. “No! No, matter of fact, it’s cheaper.’ A study this year from Prudential Financial says a home health aide in DC runs an average of $19 an hour. The cost of a private room in a nursing home: about $232 a day.
LINK to the video of this this story:
http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=76105&catid=158
Bobby Martin was born without legs. Bobby Martin is a football player. What’s your excuse for not living life to the fullest?
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.Philippians 4:13
The ESV study Bible comes out on October 15th. We are one month away. I know I’m a geek, but I’m so pumped to get my hands on it. I believe this Bible will bless a lot of people. If your a pastor you should get it because i feel it will help your own faith out and the faith of your people. it will be my primary bible for study,preaching, and teaching.
Football season is back! That means I’ll be cheering the Steelers on to a hopefully sixth superbowl title. I know there is questions about the O-line,but I think will have a good year. All that hype that the browns will win the AFC North makes me laugh. The Steelers are still the best in the north. But here’s my pick for the Superbowl right now:
NFC: Cowboys
AFC: Chargers
Winner:Cowboys
I know I’ll end up changing it as the season plays out, but that’s my first crack at it. But I’m just happy football is back. Go Steelers!
18:1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.-Psalm 18:1
In days where joy seems out of reach, how do you or I carry on? David says it best in the very first verse of Psalm 18. It’s a short verses but it gets to the point. When life is pressing in on my, I don’t feel like dealing with my cerebral palsy, and my wife’s health yet again takes a turn for the worse, the only thing I can do is Trust the Lord. He is my strength. On a bad day when depression is hitting me hard I turn to Jesus and cry out. At times my life feels out of control and not in my hands, but that’s ok because it’s in those times I’m reminded that my life is in His hands.The only way I make it in the ups and downs of life is Jesus Christ. Even if at times it don’t feel like it, I know he’s on the throne and is in control. No detail of my life slips pass him,and this fact enables me to live out my day. My mind and heart may be hurting but when I remind myself of this Great God who I serve, I’m strengthen to fight for joy in the Lord.Life hurts,But God is still good!
Prayer: “Father, Life sucks sometimes, but your love remains steadfast to me. You are my strength. Thankyou so much. In Jesus’s name.Amen”
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.-Galatians 4:4
Next month I’ll be preaching on prayer at Life Point Baptist Church in Washington PA, and I don’t want to give all of it all away here but my main point will be that prayer is conversation with your Dad. God is the best Dad and those who are in Christ can call out “Abba! Father!” and Daddy will listen to them. Some people put limitations on God as Father because of the failings of their earthly ones. Oh, how we should not let this be, but in light of God’s grace we see how a true Dad should be. My own father was not in my life at all and in my early teen years he died because of drug abuse. I felt unloved and alone for many years. I was noone’s son! I didn’t have anyone to call papa, but then I accepted Christ. Than I learn the truths that are in Scripture like here in Galatians 4:4 that says God the Father in God the Son has made me a son of and heir of God. This my friends is relationship, not religion. Relationship is what God is all about and he wants it with you and I. The price He paid is His Son’s death on the cross. It doesn’t matter if your mom or dad in this life suck as parents, because in God you have the best Parent of them all.So, hold your head high because your a child of the King. Cry out “Daddy! I need You”. Your God won’t fail you.
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.-Psalm 27:10
I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.-Psalm 116:1
And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. - 1 Samuel 12:20-21
My friend Andrew and I are reading 1 Samuel together as part of of our “Life Transformation Group”.LTGs is used to keep us accountable in our walk with Christ. We ask each other challenging questions about how faithful we been to the Lord, and also confess if we have messed up. It’s a blessing to have someone to fight the battle of faith with.
In my reading this week these verses stayed with me all week.Can you see God’s grace to his people? Samuel is telling Israel that they have rebelled against God by asking for a king and turning to false gods but he says do not turn from following the Lord and serving him with all your heart. And in verse 21 he adds to not turn after empty things which does not profit or deliver.Wow! God dropped kicked me in my heart with scripture this week. How often do I trade God for empty things. When we try to replace God as the center of our lives with anything besides himself it leaves us feeling empty.And believe me Christian brother or sister, Satan is always hanging around to offer you empty things. Once your saved, he can’t take your salvation but he can make you useless for the kingdom if you let him trip you up with things of the world.In my times of rebellion I’m miserable till I’m back in the will of God. I feel lost and empty inside and the only One that brings me peace is Jesus Christ. His grace is so great. He never gives up on his own. I have learned that true joy and peace is only in Him. What’s your empty thing? Sexual Sin? Pride? Cash?Fame?religion?work?
Whatever it is, turn from it and find fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Prayer: “Father, how quick are we to turn from you to empty things. Gives us eyes to see them for what they are, and that the Living God is far greater than anything this world has to offer. In Jesus’s Name.Amen.”
Members of the Friendship Community Church youth group, including Jay Pettit, left, and Zach Locy, remove 40 plastic flamingos from the lawn of former youth group leaders Mike and Robin Matthews on Bruce Street in Washington Monday. The youth group, under the direction of new leaders Jon and Mary Grace Locy, “flocks” members of the congregation as a fundraiser for the group’s activities.
(GREG TARR/O-R)
Robin and I moved in to our new house on Sunday, and around midnight former students of ours “flocked” us by placing 40 plastic flamingos in our yard. The above photo from the observer-reporter explains it all. They flock people,and than a person must pay a fee to get the youth group to remove the birds. It’s a fun way to raise money for the youth ministry. Robin and I love these kids but we are eager to get to work on Life Point’s youth ministry and the kids God wants us to reach through that ministry. I always pray for the new youth leaders at Friendship and don’t regret moving on to Life Point, because God has been showing up in our lives in big ways since coming to Life Point. My time as youth leader at Friendship were great,and I’ll never forget those kids, and it prepared me for ministry. I pray that my former students will dream big for God, and that the Lord will open doors for Life Point’s youth group to reach kids with the love of Christ.
O LORD, truly I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.-Psalm 116:16
All I want is my life to be emptied of all those things that hinder me in serving the Lord Jesus Christ. He has freed me from my sin to be in relationship with Him, but also to be able to serve him. Psalm 116:16 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It’s the cry of my heart right now, and has been my cry since I have come to salvation. I’m not willing to live a luke warm Christian life but one that truly brings glory to Jesus Christ. I’m not willing to take sin lightly that trys to keep me chained to my old ways. No! I will Deny myself, carry my cross daily, and follow Him no matter what. When I fail, I’ll trust His grace to pick me back up.
8 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
I shall look upon his vindication-Micah 7:8-9
When we mess up, the devil is there to try keeping us from getting back up to follow Jesus, but Thank God that the Lord is bigger than the devil and never gives up on his children. Everyday I see that putting faith in people,places, and stuff will just leave you feeling lost. And that the cost of following Jesus is High but he is worth it.
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”-Luke 9:23-27
Prayer: Lord I belong to you, by your Holy Spirit please help me to serve you without fear.Amen
July 17th marked my second anniversary date of working at Tri-County Patriots for Independent Living. These last two years have been filled with a lot of ups and downs at my job, but overall I have enjoyed work. I been a part of a team that has won one advocacy battle over the next, but I’m most proud of the work we did in making sure that Washington County’s polling places were accessible to voters with disabilities. The City has not met our goal of 100% accessibility but because of our advocacy efforts they’re getting closer. Polling place accessibility was my first assignment to focus on, when Andy(My Boss) hired me, and at times I was scared out of my mind. I didn’t want to screw up, knowing the history of advocates that have gone through the doors at TRIPIL before me. People I have looked up to since I was a kid, and now I’m a co-worker next to John Lorence Jr., Michelle Brozinski,Ed Pahula,Deb Crouse, Kathleen Klienmann, and many more who have taught me about being a person with a disability. So, I felt pressure to be sucessful from the start, and at times almost cracked,even quiting for a week in my first year, but my faith in the Lord got me refocused and I started enjoying being a productive member of TRIPIL’s staff. I stopped worrying about making mistakes and started taking prayer-filled chances and steps towards a better advocate. I know at times my co-workers may still see me as that angry confused 17 years old with cerebral palsy but I also believe they know they can count on me to give my best in advocating for the issues that effect people with disabilities. TRIPIL helped me realize as a teen that I can live a independent life and can chase my dreams, and I’m thankful to God for being here at TRIPIL. As long as I’m here I’ll do my best to encourage and empower other people with disabilities to reach their dreams of living life to the fullest.
More info about TRIPIL
TRIPIL is a Center for Independent Living.
Through the connection of the people of our community, individuals of all ages and abilities are able to work together to help themselves and to improve their community. TRIPIL brings together individuals who share common problems in equal access, education, housing, employment, attendant care, transportation, and access to technology.
TRIPIL is a membership based organization. The membership is comprised primarily of individuals who directly benefit through the activities of the CIL and have a direct stake in its operation.
Our purpose convening at TRIPIL is for these reasons:
- To teach ourselves about the past, present, and future prospects of the Independent living movement as part of the disability and equal rights movement;
- To share ideas towards the building of a common vision for Independent Living in Pennsylvania; and;
- To strengthen our sense of community and common purpose as part of the local, state, national, and international independent living movement.
28 You are my God, and I will praise You;
You are my God, I will exalt You.-Psalm 118:24
I just want to use this post to thank Jesus for giving me the gift of himself. My Lord, I have often failed you but I’m humbled to know that I can call you my God, and you want to know me. As I was reading Scripture tonight I was reminded the price you paid to set me free to live for you. May your cross be the center of my ministry and life. By your blood I have been made clean. Help me to remember that this world can’t offer me any greater pleasure than the pleasure I have knowing you. I’m sorry for my lukewarm faith as of late. May the circumstances in my life draw me near to my God that loves me.
My God created Me!
My God sought Me!
My God broke my hard heart
My God opened my eyes to see his glory!
My God died on the Cross for Me!
My God Lives forever!
My Life is for Him!
I will Praise Him
My Cerebral Palsy is a sign of His love for me
All my circumstances is under his control.
One day, He’ll receive me to glory!
Jesus Christ, Is the Name of my God. Praise Him!
Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.-Colossians 3:19
I can’t put into words sometimes how much I love my wife. Robin’s love for me is the closest thing I can understand as an example of God’s unconditional love. She has loved me for who I am, the good and the bad. I don’t thank God enough for her but I’m grateful for her. I been a husband for one year now and have a lot to learn but one thing I have learned is that men need to guard our hearts to protect our marriages. The devil wants us to give in to temptation and mess up what we have with our wives. Rather it’s another woman or other sexual sin like porn, the devil wants to destroy marriages and families through sexual sin. But let me tell you something, it’s not worth loosing the one who puts up with your sorry butt. During those times when no one else has your back and you take it out on her, and she still loves you. Why throw that away? Why throw away the one who loves you at your worse and challenges you to be your best. As Christian husbands our marriage to our wives is our greatest ministry and calling God has given us. If we can’t love our wives we can’t love others with the love of Christ. There’s all kind of ways the devil can make a man fall but I think that sexual sin is his weapon of choice against strong Christian marriages. We need to fight the good fight of faith and keep Christ at the center of our marriages and not trade our wives loves for a temporary pleasure which is no pleasure of all. When I’m tempted to sin sexually I think about what it would cost me. It hurts my witness for Christ to my church,friends,family, and I would lose Robin. I’m not willing to mess up the Blessing I have in Robin. So, Men of God, pray for me as I pray for you to stay strong in your marriage and life.
24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
-Hebrews 11:24-26
I have mentioned Life Point in a few of my blog posts but I just feel like sharing my heart about my church. My desire and passion for the Lord is back to where it was before I got burned out as the youth leader at my former church, and I have to thank the pastors of Life Point and their families for that. Life Point is feeling like a true home church for me. In my years of being Christian I finally feel accepted by other Christians my age. I’m not knocking my old church,for,people there love Robin and I but at Life Pont we have found true friendship with other people who love Christ and our transparent. I miss my former students a lot at Friendship but God has me at Life Point for a reason. And I been challenged to step up as a man of God because of the ministry of Life Point, because being at a new church plant, a person can’t sit on the talents and gifts God has given them. Plus, I have never seen my wife any happier, than I have seen her the last four months. Being at Life Point has really helped her faith, and to see her having joy again is priceless. So, to Pastor Aaron and Andrew, I say thank you for obeying God in coming to Washington to plant a church,and thank you most of all for being good friends to Robin and I.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.-Philippians 4:13
This video is awesome. I hope you’re blessed by watching it.
I was the guest speaker yesterday at Calvary Baptist, and the whole service was great. But for me, when Robin and I met a mother and her two year son Noah after the service that was most meaningful. Noah was born with cerebral palsy, brain damage,and needs a feeding tube. His mom was fighting tears trying to speak to me and Robin. We just encouraged her to never give up. This mom is a soldier to me. She loves her son so much and they been through so much in his short life so far. I know a lot people in my field of work would be mad at me when I say it makes me sad to see this little boy going through this. There’s a difference between pity and compassion and my heart just went out to him. We gave his mom our cell numbers so if she ever needs support or someone to talk to. I think too many people in the independent living movement and the disability community inside that movement are too hard. If a person would say I feel bad about that person having to deal with their disability than they would get mad and say that your pitying them, and in a lot of cases that is not true. It’s not pity to care for someone else and the circumstances they face. God has called us to community and in a community each member must care about the next. We who have disabilities have a choice to make. We can use our lives to bring glory to God and encourage others or be prideful idiots and be miserable in our own circumstances. I hear it all the time in the disability community from people saying they don’t want to inspire anyone. I’m sorry to tell you, but if your disabled and are living an independent life, you’re empowering people to know they can do it to. So get off your high horse and encourage someone in your life today.
After that little rant, I want to say if my sermon and me having cerebral palsy was just for Noah’s mother yesterday to have hope in her son’s future than I say Praise God. I love working at TRIPIL and being part of the IL movement but I can’t let my heart become numb towards people. There is too many Noahs out there for me to care about what my colleagues may think. All people need hope. Our hope needs to be in Jesus.
11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.-Revelation 5:11-14
These are some of the verses I’ll be focusing on in my sermon tomorrow at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington PA. Oh how I can’t wait for the day I bow down in my glorified body in worship Jesus. When I watch my friends Andrew, Allison, and my wife Robin leading worship at our church I am at awe with their musical talent. They use it all to the glory and praise of God. I’m not gifted when it comes to singing but when it comes to singing to Jesus in worship I give my best. In this life I may never be worship team material but one sweet day I’ll sing my heart out for Jesus. Check theses verses out:
2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!
4 Who will not fear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”-Revelation 15:2-4
How sweet it would be if I could be apart of this worship band. If not I’ll be content with just being in his presence. The next time your singing praises and someone ask you what your doing, just say your practing for the worship service in heaven for Jesus.
I have come to learned that a lot of people I know with disabilities have had bad church experiences, and as a result don’t want nothing to do with God. I used to be this way to until I met the Living God of the Bible, and my life has not been the same since. With this post I will attempt to give light to one of the misconceptions in the disability community which is just because Christians say that you’ll have a new body in heaven doesn’t mean your life isn’t whole now. The promise of a glorified body does not make you less of a man or woman now because of a disability. But, I will argue that Nobody is truly whole in life apart from Christ, disabled or not. Every humans body is corrupted because of sin and we all will one day experience death. Only those who trust Jesus will be free from this corruption and will receive a glorified body. I am not weak because I’m looking forward to the day I shed my cerebral palsied body and put on a body that is free from the ability to sin or decay,for, till that day I will gladly limp into heaven with God getting glory from my circumstances in this life. Here’s what the Bible says about the resurrection body:
The Resurrection Body
35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” 36 What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. 37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. 38 Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. 39 Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
40 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. 41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.
42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
45 The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.”[h] But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. 46 What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. 47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. 48 Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. 49 Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like[i] the heavenly man.
50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die,[j] this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.- 1 Corinthians 15:35-38
So, like I said earlier, to look forward to the day when Jesus will wipe away cancer, aids,disabilities,and any other pain that we face is not disrespectful of the life we now have. I can’t wait til the day I don’t have cerebral palsy but I’m not at all ashamed of having it. God has used my circumstances to make me lean on his grace,and has used my life to bring him glory. The disabled man who says,” I’m fine the way I am, I don’t need a new body.”, is speaking from pride or pain. None of us is ok or fine unless our hope is in Jesus.
1I saw Heaven and earth new-created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea. 2I saw Holy Jerusalem, new-created, descending resplendent out of Heaven, as ready for God as a bride for her husband. 3 -5I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: “Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone.” The Enthroned continued, “Look! I’m making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate.”
-Revelation 21:1-5 (Message Bible)
Her life is a testimony to God’s Grace. Jesus is AWESOME!
Testimony of Gianna Jessen
My name is Gianna Jessen. I would like to say thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I count it no small thing to speak the truth. I depend solely on the grace of God to do this. I am 23 years old. I was aborted and I did not die. My biological mother was 7 months pregnant when she went to Planned Parenthood in Southern California and they advised her to have a late-term saline abortion.
A saline abortion is a solution of salt saline that is injected into the mothers womb. The baby then gulps the solution, it burns the baby inside and out and then the mother is to deliver a dead baby within 24 hours.
This happened to me! I remained in the solution for approximately 18 hours and was delivered ALIVE on April 6, 1977 at 6:00 am in a California abortion clinic. There were young women in the room who had already been given their injections and were waiting to deliver dead babies. When they saw me they experienced the horror of murder. A nurse called an ambulance, while the abortionist was not yet on duty, and had me transferred to the hospital. I weighed a mere two pounds. I was saved by the sheer power of Jesus Christ.
Ladies and gentleman I should be blind, burned…..I should be dead! And yet, I live! Due to a lack of oxygen supply during the abortion I live with cerebral palsy.
When I was diagnosed with this, all I could do was lie there. “They” said that was all I would ever do! Through prayer and hard work by my foster mother, I was walking at age 31/2 with the help of a walker and leg braces. At that time I was also adopted into my wonderful family. Today I am left only with a slight limp. I no longer have need of a walker or leg braces.
I am so thankful for my Cerebral Palsy. It allows me to really depend on Jesus for everything.
When the freedoms of one group of helpless citizens are infringed upon, such as the unborn, the newborn, the disabled and so called “imperfect,” what we do not realize is that our freedoms as a NATION and Individuals are in great peril.
I come today in favor of this Bill, in favor of the Protection of Life. I come to speak on behalf of the infants who have died and for those appointed to death. Learned Hand, a well respected American Jurist (within our own century) said: ” The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interests alongside its own without bias; the spirit of liberty remembers that not even a sparrow falls to earth unheeded; the spirit of liberty is the spirit of Him who, near 2000 years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned, but has never quite forgotten; that there is a kingdom where the least shall be heard and considered side by side with the greatest.”
Where is the soul of America?! Members of this committee: where is YOUR heart? How can you deal with the issues of a nation without examining her soul? A murderous spirit will stop at nothing until it has devoured a nation. Psalm 53:1-3 says: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God’; they are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. Every one of them has turned aside; they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one.”
Adolph Hitler once said: “The receptive ability of the great masses is only very limited, their understanding is small; on the other hand their forgetfulness is great. This being so, all effective propaganda should be limited to a very few points which in turn, should be used as slogans until the very last man is able to imagine what is meant by such words.” Today’s slogans are: “a woman’s right to choose” and “freedom of choice,” et cetera.
There was once a man speaking from hell (recorded in Luke 16) who said “I am tormented in this flame.” Hell is real. So is Satan, and the same hatred that crucified Jesus 2000 years ago, still resides in the hearts of sinful people today. Why do you think this whole room trembles when I mention the name Jesus Christ? It is because He is REAL! He is able to give grace for repentance and forgiveness to you and to America. We are under the judgment of God - but we can be saved through Christ. Romans 5:8-10 “But God demonstrates his own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For when we were ENEMIES we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
Death did not prevail over me….and I am so Thankful!!
Additional Resource
7 -10Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,
My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. - 2Corinthians 12:7-10 (The Message Bible)
At 22 I stopped praying for God to heal me from having cerebal palsy,and started praying that he would use my life to bring him glory. I didn’t stop believing that he couldn’t heal me, but he revealed to me that it’s not his will to heal me of my cp in this life.It’s in our nature not to like to hear no,and I don’t always know why I must have cp but I Trust the One who allowed it.My life has been marked by hard and trying circumstances but the grace of Jesus Christ has flowed through my life to the point that leaves me breathless.Before I gave my life over to the Lord, I was heading down a dead end street that would only end in me trying to take my own life. At 21, I started believing the lies of the world. I started seeing myself as worthless,ugly, a waste,and not worthy of living. Then Jesus found me in the pit and carried me out to a new life filled with a future and a hope. He started meeting me in the pages of my Bible and my life started to make sense and started having a purpose. I’ll never forget the very first day I taught the Bible to children at my church. As I taught, I was praising God. Here I was, once a angry depressed young man teaching kids the Bible. That my friends is what his grace is all about. He takes the broken and makes them whole,he takes the old and makes them new. Since that day I first taught the Bible I been a sunday school teacher, youth pastor,and preacher. God has given me alot of chances to share with teens and adults about his love and grace. I wouldn’t change my life for anything in the world.
As I write this my wife and I are in the process of buying our first home together. Everything I have is due to the Lord. This world wrote me off a long time ago but God is not done with me yet, and he’s not done with you either. Trust Him!
19 But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.-Genesis 50:19-20 (Joseph speaking to his brothers when they sold him into slavery)
The devil meant my cp for evil against me but God is using it for good. Our you trusting God with your circumstances?
Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil;live as servants of God.
-1Peter 2:16
I haven’t posted anything new in the last few weeks because of being busy but the last few days have inspired me to write. I walked by a store today near my work and in the window a sign read, “Every Saint has a past, and every Sinner has a future!” That made me very grateful to God. I lead chapel services at our town’s local city mission and the Lord blessed me with an awesome day. I’m in awe every time the Lord uses me to preach or teach. But that’s what awesome about our God, no matter who you are or what we have done, he’s willing to forgive us and use us for his glory.
I started reading 1 Peter for my devotion time and 1 Peter 2:16 stayed with me. Jesus Christ didn’t just die so we can go to heaven one day, he died so we can live for God. No matter our past or the sins we have done. If we have trusted him as Savior than we are free. Not free to do whatever the hell we want to do, but free to live with and for Jesus. God’s grace to us should not make us abuse grace but should compel us to live for Him.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.-Psalm 73:25-26
June 23rd will be my one year anniversary married to Robin. This past year has been one of the happiest but also one of the most roughest ones in my life.Since we got married Robin has have health problem after health problem and unable to work, our apartment flooded twice in eight months,left our old church,and have been at our wits end trying to figure out our circumstances, but God is the strength of our hearts and our portion forever.
In Psalm 73,the psalmist is trying to deal with why it seems that the wicked and evil people seem to never have any problems. We all want to know why the good suffer and often think God is being unfair. As the psalmist pures out his heart to the Lord, he admits that he almost gave up on God but thanks the Lord for never giving up on him.And in verse 25 and 26 he says that his tank is empty,that he is burned out physically and spiritually but proclaims that his hope rest in the Lord.
It’s not a sin to say we can’t understand why were in the middle of a storm, Jesus just wants us to trust him that he’ll calm it and til he does he’s in the middle of it with us. Our hope must be rooted in the Hope that is in Jesus Christ. Our flesh and heart may fail even unto death but God will never fail.If our situation in this life never changes we can still have hope because Jesus is alive and we will one day be with him in glory.Troubles will enter all of our lives but take heart Jesus have overcome the world(John16:33). They enter to test our faith,make us grow in Christ,and to get us to the point where we turn to God for help. But even in the times that we can’t understand let us hold tight to our heart the promise of having Christ forever.We can’t focus on our the things of this earth for they are only temporary but our time and joy with Jesus is forever.
3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.-Colossians 3:1-4
It’s not saying that your circumstances have no meaning, I’m not being harsh, it’s saying that they can’t control you and that their effect on you are limited to this life. God has used my cerebral palsy to bring him glory and to bring me closer to him. In his love for me he has decided to not heal my cp in this life.You see, my hope is not in having no pain in this life, it’s trusting that Jesus is God,he really did died for my sins, and rised from the grave bringing me into relationship with God forever. Come what may in this life, I have God forever. I’m not say God doesn’t still work miracles, he does,but our faith can’t be that fickle that if that miracle doesn’t come we just walk out on him. That’s not faith! There will come a time when I see Jesus face to face and that is the greatest promise of all. yeah we won’t have cancer,disabilities,and pain anymore and that is awesome but heaven will not be heaven without the strength of our heart and portion being their. If you have one prayer let it be, “Give me Jesus!” In your trials can you say but God….?
Here is some scripture to think about:
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.-1 Corinthians 15:12-22
Praise God that he’s alive,because our hope is in a living God!