I want your BLOOD

The other day I had a pretty sad experience at work (Well at least I thought it was sad). I was in the break-room microwaving my weight watchers popcorn (which I didn't know was weight watchers at the time, but that's irrelevant) when I heard a group of 40+ married women with children arguing about which vampire from Vampire Diaries was sexier, Stephan or Damen, and I don't care if their names are spelled wrong.....THEY ARENT REAL PEOPLE!!! Anyway, I stood there for the 2 minute popping period listening to these women, and it got me thinking about this whole vampire craze that is going on. I mean even when I was little I spent a lot of days wanting to be a vampire. I would quote the famous line "I want to suck your blood!" that I didn't even know where it came from, I just knew it had to do with this creature I wanted to turn into. And even now we see the vampire obsession continueing with shows like Vampire Diaries, True Blood and Movies like Twilight (and I tentatively put that movie in there.......Glittering Vampires......come on.....really!!!). I would think to myself how crazy it is that vampirism is constant part of culture no matter how much culture has changed. I mean there are stories of blood sucking, flesh eating creatures dating all the way back to ancient Greece. Yet no matter how culture changes, no matter how society develops and evolves vampires are always there ready to take to on the popular cultural diversities of the time.
It was amazing to me......that is until I started thinking about the main features/attributes of vampires that intrigue people the most. The IMMORALITY that comes with the vampridic condition and the constant thirst for BLOOD to survive. I began thinking about these attributes and then as if a light bulb turned on in my head, I thought to myself: "Oh, Your are a clever one!" And no I wasn't referring to myself, I was referring to the great twister (not the dance...and not the highly suggestive "party" game either). I'm talking about the one that is constantly taking the Word of God and twisting it to distract us from the Truth.
Wait, what......what do vampires and the Bible have to do with each other? Well I myself found it interesting how the two most glorified aspects of the vampire are the fact that they have eternal life, but only if they have a daily, hourly (whateverly) intake of blood. And as followers of Christ Jesus we believe that it is through the blood shed on the cross of calvary that we obtain eternal life with the Father. Now I'm not saying that vampires are an evil ploy to undermine the cross, but I am writing it. You see from the beginning of time immortality has always been something man kind has sought after. And I believe it is do to the fact that when God created Adam and Eve He intended for them to live forever. He gave them the tree of Life and allowed them free access to it. But once sin entered the world through our ancient parents, God demonstrated his love and kicked them out of the garden and away from said tree. If he hadn't they would have lived in there sin forever. Ever since our parents where exiled man has been earning for and trying to obtain that immortality that was once freely and easily obtainable. But with the introduction of Sin into the world that immortality was a only a fading memory along with the relationship man (by a man I also include woman) had the Creator. Now no longer was it as easy as picking a fruit from a tree and walking with the Creator and talking with him. Now blood had to be shed. Now the only way to life was through the death and offering of a sacrifice.
Fast forward into the future and now Jesus is on the scene. Man is still trying to obtain immortality man is still trying to regain life. Jesus shows up and becomes the ultimate sacrifice, sheds the ultimate blood. And through His sacrifice we can once again gain that eternal life we once had in the garden, through His sacrifice we can once again have the relationship with the Creator we had in the garden. Now it is once again as easy as picking a fruit from a tree and walking and talking with our Father.
But like I said, the great Twister is quit the clever one. You see Satan can not create anything new, so all he can do is take what God has done and twist it to deceive and distract us from what Christ did on the cross. So now instead of putting our focus on Christ, the masses are infatuated with these mythological creature that for some reason or another have acquired the ability to live forever. Now here is the truth in all of it, they need BLOOD to do so. Just as the blood Jesus shed on the cross grants to all who believe redemption and eternal life, regular consumption of blood sustains vampires forever. The truth is Blood, the lie is that you don't need Jesus.
In reality without Jesus there is no redemptive blood shed. Without the redemptive blood shed there is no forgiveness of sins and without the forgiveness of sins there is no eternal life with the Father. Jesus is the bedrock on which we place our faith. And anything the enemy can do to distract us from the fact that without Jesus we have no hope, we have no fulfillment, we have no life he will do. Anything the enemy can do to keep us from realizing we need to be redeemed and look to Christ and say "I want your BLOOD, your cleansing, justifying, redeeming blood. I want you Jesus!" He will do. After all, he is the great twister (again no not the dance and no not the highly suggestive "party" game either).


Two verses to read if you like to read and stuff:

Romans 5:8-10

1 Peter 1:18-20

Got a Light

Its been 12 years since the dreaded Y2K bug epically failed. (side note, I told my teenagers that and only two of them had a clue about what I ment.... Wow! I thought it was kind of a big deal back then...anyway) Its been 10 years after the greatest tragedy struck American soil when the Twin Towers fell. Then there was Katrina and constant Hurricanes that hit the south. We've seen earthquakes and tsunamis demolish countries, cities, homes and lives. And after every event, after every tragedy people are left wonder where they go from there.  Its 2012, and I don't know if you've heard, but the world is supposed to end this year. And after it doesn't, if it does I dint think anyone will care about who was wrong or right, I'm sure there are gonna be some people wonder where to go from there. But what about now? What about today? What about the feeling I have know? Where do I go from here, what do I do NOW?! I mean for those of you that believe the world will end, what do you do with that fear, what do you do with that uncertainty? For those of us that don't believe it and we are thinking about our future lives. Where do we go from here and now! Have any of you ever wondered that? Have you ever been sitting there thinking about your future and wonder, Where do go after I graduate? What do I do for a liveing? Do I go to college or straight to the work force? If you have ever thought of your future and it seems like a black whole of nothingness. If you have ever questioned what to do our how to get where you know you want to go. I have a secret to tell......you ready for this.......99.99% of mankind has felt that way at one point or another in there lives! In Psalms 13 King David is talking to God and asking Him how long God would keep turning his face and not listening to him (my words not the exact word of the Bible). He wonders how long he must live on darkness and alone with no direction (again my words not His). Now this is a man that is given the title "A MAN AFTER GOD's OWN HEART" and even he felt lost at times.
You see we all get those doubts, those feelings that we are lost and will never find our way. Its part of human life. But the beauty of this is that God knows this. God knew we are gonna be lost and confused at some point. GOD knows that there are gonna be times when we are stuck in a black whole of nothingness not being able to find our way out. And the beautiful part of it is that God gives us an answer! And its the good kind if answer.......a simple one!


Psalm 119:105 NIV84

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path.

Check it out....the Word is like our own personal, spiritual, moral.....flashlight. When we use a flashlight we usually shine it on our feet to see where we are at and what we are dealing with. Is the ground rocks, grass, bumpy, am I standing on a pillar out in the water like Daniel-son while trying to dodge a rusty crane swing at me. We shine on our feet so we can see whats up NOW. But we also shine it ahead of where we are going to see what's coming up and what we are going to have to deal with so we can make plans for what's ahead of us.

The WORD does exactly that! It shines on our present situation so we can see what exactly it is that we are dealing with and helps us better dodge those rusty cranes that are currently swing our way trying to knock us off coarse. It also guides us and shows us what our futures will and can hold. And teaches us how to prepare for what's ahead.

Like I said, its 2012 and for some of us this year is full of uncertainty. We don't know where to go from where we are at. We don't know what to do with what we have, or what to do because we don't have. For some of us right now right here we feel like we are in a black hole of nothingness with no clear way out. Meanwhile for other that's not the case. But as I said before, we all go through periods in our lives when we lose track of where we are going. We lose our bearings and end up lost not knowing where to go or what to do. And it in those moments, whether your in them today or you face them 20 years from now, its in those moment we need to remember that HIS WORD is OUR LIGHT!

Now thats not it! God's not done! You don't just get one thing today, if you read on there is a free bonus item just for todays readers. Thats right, two for the price of none!

The book of John say this:

John 1

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

In the old testament the Psalmists and Prophets and Believers looked to the scriptures because that's all they had. The scriptures were their source of life and encouragement!  They did nothing if not by what was written. But in the New Testament that Word became flesh and that flesh is the man Jesus of Nazareth!! Now not only do we have the scriptures to lead us and guide us but WE HAVE JESUS!!!!

"I'm Forever alone" .....is a lie! The Word became flesh and that flesh is Jesus and he is with you!

"I don't know what to do about this problem and I don't understand the Bible completely."....that's fine cuz the word that lights our path became flesh and that flesh is Jesus

The same Jesus that was born of a virgin birth. The same Jesus that lived a perfect life here on earth. The same Jesus that was betrayed by one of his own street team members and lead to be tortured, ridiculed, beaten beyond recognition then crucified. The same Jesus that died and three days later rose, giving us power over sin and death! Yes that Jesus is with us and that Jesus will guide us!


We need to remember that even though we may be in or will be in a place where we don't see a way out, or we just don't know which way to go or what to do, we can always lean on Jesus and trust that he will guide us through.

So in those times when you are lost and feel like your in a dark place not able to find your way. In those times when you are praying for and asking "Is there anyone there and DO YOU HAVE A LIGHT?" Remember Jesus is there with you, if you will stop and listen you will her him say "I AM"!

Not a Porn Star

The Bible states:

Proverbs 18:22
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.

Blessed is the man who goes out and searches the heavens above, the depths below and all the nooks and crannies of Tera Firma and finds himself a good wife.I want you to notice that the verse doesn't mention what the woman is doing during the Mans adventure/quest for a wife. Perhaps its because as women you should not have to FIND love. You should only have to RECEIVE love. Maybe the man finds favor because in his journey he shows that he is willing to pour his blood, sweat and tears into finding a wife, a companion, a lover and a friend. Maybe its like the old saying goes, that you appreciate something more when you have worked hard to obtain it. I think that is one thing this generation has working against them...We think we are entitled to everything. And as men we think that just because the porno we watched last night depicts a sexy women freely and willingly giving herself up to any and every man in the production that that is how it should be in reality. Then we end up treating women as if they are the characters on the screen on our favorite free website and get ticked off when we don't get what we want. We are not entitled to sleeping with every woman we see. We are not entitled to seduce women into sleeping with us with claims of Love. This is not Pokemon and we shouldn't be trying to "catch them all". Rather we are entitled to journey, to quest, to search high and low in order to find a good women and once we have we are entitled to fight for her Love as we give her ours. We are entitled to show her that she is not just a future Porn Star in our sick, perverted, fantasy, but that she is royalty that needs and should be pursued in Love. Blessed and favored is he who finds a good wife, for in is journey his wife has seen that he is a warrior, a fighter and will do what ever it takes to win and maintain her love.

So dudes, grow some balls and man up! Don't take the easy way out and follow the first girl that throws herself on you. It is such a great feeling to set out on a quest to find something, spending countless hours researching, pour your blood, sweat and tears into the search and to finally find what you were looking for. So put your big boy pants on and do this right. A real man isn't the one that most resembles Barney from How I Met Your Mother....A real man is one that can search, find and maintain that authentic love between him and his wife.....

And ladies if you haven't noticed....Mr. Right is gonna be searching for Miss. Right, not Miss "Show what you've got to who ever will look." So stay strong, don't let scum bag dudes trick you into becoming something less worth what you really are. You are the most precious thing (not calling you ladies an object) on this earth. You should be cherished and fought for. If the dude isn't willing to do that then kick the moron to the curb! And don't worry, your time will come!

Dream On

I don't know how many of you were like me, and had these huge, amazing, fantastical dreams and aspirations of who and what you would be like in the future. I also don't know how many of you are like me, and you haven't quite reached the place you dreamed you would be at by this point of your life. As for me, sometimes I would sit back and think back on the decisions I made in my life and wonder what I have to show for them. I look at people I grew up with that are successful, I look at siblings that I grew up with that are successful. And I wondered, "did I really make wise decisions?"...It seems that the one dream that I dreamed that has come true, is that I've married super hot women (sorry dudes, she's mine, everyone else will have to settle for 2nd best). For me I see this vision of what the future can hold and I wonder if that future is even obtainable. Like I said, I don't know how many of you out there had dreams, and visions of what the future held, but I know I did. And I still do. You see, yes there may be times that I wonder if the decisions I made were wise or not. But if I continue to dwell on the what life could have been if I made different decisions, then I'll miss the opportunity to walk into what the future could be. The past is the past and it has molded us into the people we are today. But the past wont bring us into the tomorrow. The present is the threshold of the future.
God has place skills and talents in each and every person on this earth. He has also given us all a dream a vision and those talents will aid us in our journey to see that dream manifest in reality. Your gifts are your own, your talents are your own, YOUR DREAM IS YOUR OWN. It's not to late to get up and start moving toward that picture that you see when you think about how your future can be. God has given you this dream, trust Him to help you, guide you and watch you see it come to fruition. My wife and I are currently in process. We have this dream, and we have stepped you to see it happen. And there is nothing more exciting then to be taking steps towards that dream, that you thought would never come true. I can see it, I can smell it, I can hear it and my heart is racing cause I know it's just over the next hill.
So what ever dream God has given you, take it today and walk through the threshold of the present into the world of your future.




"ARISE AND BE ALL THAT YOU'VE DREAMED"
-Flyleaf-

THE ROAD

Sometimes we come to a pivotal turning point in our lives and we look back and exam the road (your life) we have just traveled. We begin to remember all the accomplishments, all the failures, all the incomplete tasks and all the things we never thought we would finish yet did. And as we stand there at this “turning point”, this “changing station” if we can call it that, sometimes we are accompanied by individuals that would want to keep us in the very place we stand. Often we are met with words of ill accomplishments. You know those words that stare back down the road with you and ask you, “What did you really accomplish there? I mean, did you even learn anything? Do you have anything to show for your past on that road?” These questions may be accompanied by the feeling of sadness or grief. As we ponder the questions purposed to us, he creeps in, and we suddenly feel like we wasted our lives. We may feel like we have nothing to show for the “Hard Work” we put into the road. At one point the road was bright, exuberant and a joy to be on. Now as we peer back we see nothing but darkness, pain, hurt and confusion. We stand and gaze back on the road, and little by little our station of change gets ever more crowded with those that want you to fail, to give up and to remain motionless. All they want is for you to remain still, remain trapped, and remain as a statue staring back at the road. You see, and object in motion will remain in motion, until acted upon by an outside force. If these individuals, doubt, loneliness, deception, can cause us to come to a stop, they understand the difficulty in restarting from a dead position. They want us to look back on the road and pin point all the negative situation causing us to loose hope, to loose faith to loose the will to continue. But there is always one constant on the road, an immovable variable that we often overlook in the moment and as we re live the road. That constant is the ever present, all sufficient Christ, our Lord our Savior. Take a look back at the road, if you exam carefully (20/20 right?) we can see that in all those times our current companions remind us of, Christ is there. You don’t believe me; I challenge you to exam your road looking for evidence of His presence. The time we needed monetary aid, and it came from what seemed to be nothing. The time we felt all alone yet felt a warm presence we couldn’t explain. The time we received live altering medical news and in the mist of the turmoil had an overwhelming sense that things would be all right. This, the most important moment of all….when we were stuck in sin and damned to eternal grief and torment unless we pay a price that would result in our death and He stepped in, looked us in the eyes with unimaginable Love and stepped up to pay the price for us, thus saving us and freeing us. The roads we travel will be hard, they will be filled with moments of pain, moments of hurt moments of shame. But when we come to our pivotal road changing stations and we look back and examine the road we were just on. We must not allow those negative individuals to keep us motionless. Christ paid to much for us to allow ourselves to come to a complete stop on this journey we call life. Remember: and object in motion will remain in motion until acted upon by an outside force. If we continue moving towards Christ, focusing on Him and what pleases him. Then the pull He has on us will out weigh the forces trying to stop us from doing what he has called us to do. I don’t know what point you’re at in this journey. Perhaps you are like me and you are coming up to a point where you are about to get off the road you have been on and merge onto a new road, one you haven’t been on before. Or perhaps you are still traveling on the road you are on and there’s no sight of a change any where in the near future. Regardless of which one you fall into remember, that there is one constant on the roads we travel. Jesus is always present and always pulling you towards Himself. Focus on the road ahead, and when you get to your changing station, look back and praise the Lord for all He did for you on your journey.

Isaac A Valentin

What weapon do u choose?

Sum call me a handyman/given a task I always say I can/I may not have a master plan/but like master chief I run this land/with my weapon of choice in my hand/and my weapon of choice is the great I AM!!......

To whom it may concern

For to long I've sat around pretending that nothing is wrong and thinking that if something really was going on that I wouldn't be able to do anything about it anyway. For far to long I've sat and watched as countless injustices rampaged my city, my neighborhood, my home. Believing the lies that I was useless and that everything was ok, that everything was fine. I've allowed the opposition to brainwash me into submission. To imprison me in a pseudo reality of false dreams and notions. Every time an inkling of truth would penetrate the shield of this false world, I was put in check by fear and uncertainty. Thus never allowing me to see reality, never seeing Truth, never seeing who I really am, and what i was created for.

I cant explain it, I don't know how Truth got trough to me. But a fire was ignited in me this morning. A warrior's inferno rose up within me, now this pseudo reality is the one who should fear. I know my purpose, I know my calling, I know my strength and I know where to draw it from. For far to long I've sat back, I've stayed out of the fight I've refused to accept what was on going. I believed lies and lived in a prison of ineffectiveness. But now I know my enemy, I know his tactics, I know his games. Now it is I, that shall be on the offensive. It's been to long, to many injustices to atone for. So let it be known, I SHALL NOT QUIT, I SHALL NOT RELENT, I SHALL NOT BACK DOWN! YOU'VE FOOLED ME FOR TOO LONG, NOW IT'S MY TURN, MY MOVE, MY GAME! There is far to much at stack for failure, there is to much on the line to quit, to much is riding on this victory. And believe me when I say, VICTORY SHALL BE OURS!!!................


I hope your ready!!!