Month: December 2023

Sometimes I get so mad and angry. I start to feel anxiety, fustration and I and very impaient because there is something I am struggling with. I start questioning God, Why? Why Lord help me understand. Then I feel the Holy Spirit come upon me and I begin to pray in the Spirit. Then God speaks to my heart and he says to me. “You have to Trust in me” when I hear these words, I begin to cry because I realize that I am trying to do to much on my own and I do not allow God to take control. I want to be the one in control and not give God the Glory. He humbles me once again. How many of us tend to get so impatient and fustrated because we want God to work on our time and not his. Sometimes we pray and pray and feel as though he is not listening to our prayers. We need to learn to Trust In Him and allow him to do his work and not question him. In Jesus Name. Amen

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.

Do you believe pets are a gift from God? A few months ago my daughter wanted us to get a pet and I was so against it. She begged and begged and I would say no and I was just so against it. Well to make a long story short my daughter and my wife went behind my back and one day they brought home a little kitten. I was so Angry and mad but I quickly realized that there was not much I could do about it? At the beginning I didn’t want anything to do with the cat. It would try to get near me and I would kick it away. This went on for a couple of months and to be honest with you at that time in my life, I wasn’t much of a happy person. I was always bitter and Angry about life and I was not in a good relationship with God. But I truly believe that God works in mysterious ways. No matter how bad I treated the cat it always looked for ways to get my attention no matter how horrible I treated it. I can’t explain exactly what happened but one day something inside me told me to just hold the cat in my arms for a bit. So I picked it up and something miraculous happened. The cat began to purr and I could feel that the cat was trying to communicate with me. Call me irrational but I could feel the cats love and affection towards me. You might think this is strange but I began to feel a sense of compassion towards the cat and I even asked the cat to forgive me for being so mean to it. This act of Love from the cat then lead me to ask God to Forgive me for being so Angry and Bitter. Today I love this cat so much and we have built a very special bond. Not only with me but my with my entire family. It has brought so much joy and happiness into our lives. So yes I do believe that having a pet is such a blessing and a Gift from God.

James 1:17

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

This will probably be one of my hardest testimonies that I will share, but the Holy Spirit has inspired me to do it. When I was 22 or 23 years of age, I forced my then Girlfriend to have an abortion. I was such a selfish person at the time and I didn’t think twice about doing it. I came to Christ when I was 35 and I remember how difficult it was to confess this Sin. Being that I am Catholic we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation and I would confess my Sin over and over to different Priest because I felt so guilty about it. Then during yet another confession the priest asked me If I had ever confessed this Sin and I said yes. He said to me that there was no need to confess my sin over and over again and that God had already Forgiven me and that I had to Forgive myself. He told me that what I should do was to give this baby a name and I named him Emmanuel which means God is with us. Now I know this is very difficult for some Christians to do and Forgiving yourself is about more than just putting the past behind you and moving on. It is about accepting what has happened and showing compassion to yourself. Facing what you have done or what has happened is the first step toward self-forgiveness. It’s also the hardest step.
Now I am not here today to debate wether or not we should confess our Sins to Priest. I am just so greatful to that Priest because his words of wisdom really helped me at a time when I was beginning my walk with Christ. Now that I am older and more mature in my Spirituality, I have learned that I can confess my Sins directly to God but there is a reason why the Catholic Church instituded the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Today I shared this with a brother who has been struggling with this and how he thought that Forgiving Yourself was a Selfish act and I am just want to give God the Glory for allowing me to share this lesson about Self-Forgiveness. Today because of my Experience with the Topic of Abortion, I am able to volunteer at a local clinic where I give council to young men who are considering abortion as a solution to there problems and share with them my personal testimony about how my decision greatly impacted my life. God has turned and used my Sin for something positive for he is a God of Restoration. Amen

Deuteronomy 30:3

 God, your God, will restore everything you lost; he’ll have compassion on you; he’ll come back and pick up the pieces from all the places where you were

I was asked recently by a young man, how I knew if God was real? Very early into our conversation he shared with me that he was forced into Christianity by his parents and that now he didn’t believe in the Bible or that it is the inspired word of God. I was shocked being that he was raised Christian but I understood. So I spent more then two hours speaking with him and I shared with him my testimony of how I came to Christ. I don’t know if it made a difference or not but I give God the Glory for allowing me to minister to this young man. I told him that regardless of what he believed that God loves him and he has a plan for him. He then told me that he found it hard to believe and he asked me how I could possibly know if God was real. I told him that the Bible teaches us that it is through FAITH. He shared with me that by nature he was a very skeptical person. Well I tried my best and I now leave it in Gods hands. I will pray for this young man. God is Good and Praise be to God. Amen

Back in 2009 I had a very good paying job so much so that my wife didn’t have to work and she was a stay at home mom and took care of our four children. I remember having an attitude like I had it made and that I had so much money without a degree and that I was better then other people. Then the recession hit and I suddenly found myself unemployed and without a job. I struggled for months and I remember one day praying to God and asking him to forgive me for my arrogance and Pride and for not giving him all the Glory for the blessings in my life. It was a very humbling experience for me. I stayed humble and prayed daily to God for Help and in the storm I gave him praise. It was a lesson I will never forget. In Jesus Name Amen.

1 Peter 5:5 – All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

I want to share with everyone how God works in mysterious ways and will answer your prayers but not in the way you expect it. I always used to pray to God to Bless me Financially with enough money so I could retire early in life. For years I tried different businesses but as hard as I tried, nothing ever materialized. In 2010 I was layed off from my work and I was devasted and fell into a deep depression as I was worried about how I was going to provide for my family. I couldn’t find work and became even more depressed. Then one day I got a flyer from the V.A. about mental health and depression and there was a number to call to speak to someone about it. To make a long story short it was discovered that I had been suffering from PTSD from my time in the Army from an injury I had received. Well I put in a claim for PTSD and it was approved and I was awarded a large sum of money and till this day I continue to receive a monthly check and my family is taken care of. I haven’t worked in over 10 years and I am 51 years of age. Through Gods blessing I have dedicated my life to Jesus and have been spreading the Word of God. In Jesus name. Amen