The Bible Tract

Dear Brother/Sister,

Thank you for visiting this blog. The bible tract you hold in your hands is no coincidence. God has reached out to you to offer you comfort and peace. God does not want you to continue to suffer and live a life with guilt and doubt.  God wants to rescue you from where you are at, to offer you eternal life through Jesus Christ---His Son.  God also wants to set you FREE because you are HIS child and because His love for you has no limit.  Please pray that God continues to minister to you.  SEEK his Word.  MEDITATE it day and night.  Repent of your sins. ACCEPT Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and pray this prayer:  Lord Jesus Christ.  Come into my heart. Forgive me for all of my sins. Become MY Lord and Savior!  Amen.

After you do this please find a bible believing church in your area.  Know and believe that God has forgiving you and you are saved. He will be with you all the days of your life.

Why Am I a Christian?

Why am I a Christian?

Why not? Why shouldn't I be a Christian? I am a Christian because God has abundant grace. I fall everyday. But God never fails to pick me up. I am my own worst critic. I know sin is wrong but like an addict I keep taking it in. And like an addict I feel the all-consuming sting of guilt and remorse. To tell you I am perfect is not telling you the truth. That would be concealing a greater deception. A greater lie. I am imperfect. That is why I need Jesus Christ. His love and mercy restores the health of my soul. He forgives me and He never loses faith that one day...one majestic, merciful day... I will never fall again.

Addiction: Alcohol and Meth

Gluttony is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or intoxicants to the point of waste.

This past Wednesday, before going to work I had to stop by a Jewish school to get some books they were donating to our school library. I had to park in a parking meter but because I had no change with me to feed the meter I ran to the nearest Walgreen’s. To my dismay sitting in front of the store was a homeless young man begging for money. He was no older than 25 years, wearing black shorts and a gray shirt with stubble on his face. As I passed by him he asked me for money and when I ignored him he said something that perturbed me “God bless you sir.”

Upon my return I had to ask him about his situation. Normally I do not talk to people on the streets but I just needed to know why he was there. “What is wrong with you?” I asked him. “You are young and in this condition?” Thinking that he was going to try to lie he was instead very blunt. He told me he was a "meth" addict. His addiction had caused him to lose his job and his home. He also got thrown out of the rehab clinic and he was begging for money to support his eleven dollar a day habit. He said “I’m f---ed up, man.” I did not know what to say. I was thinking that he was just a lazy bum. But instead he had a very bad addiction that had ruined his life. Thoughts raced through my head. What would Jesus do in this case? How could Jesus help someone who was addicted to chemicals? It sounded like a very tough situation.

But then God made me think. Why am I judging this man? None of us are perfect. Most of us will not be addicted to illegal drugs. But I do not think anyone is exempt from being addicts to the things that cause us to sin and separate us from God. Even non-drug addictions have the potential to destroy our lives. Some people may be addicted to watching television, listening to music, gambling, drinking, eating, porn and even blogging. For sometime I too was caught in the clutches of addiction. It took me awhile before I managed to take control of my situation. I needed to identify my problem and then ask God to help me. At times reading the bible helped me a little. Going to church also helped me. But it was not enough. Then, all of a sudden I just had to turned to Jesus, as trivial as it may sound to some, that is what I did. I said, “Jesus, you are the only one that has the power to set me on the right track. I don’t know what else to do.” Up until this day whenever temptations start to lurk I just think about Jesus Christ and my temptations leave. It is true.

I was not able to share this with the young man because he saw a Chicago Police car and he had to leave the place or risk getting arrested. Although I did learn a valuable lesson. Even chemical addictions may sound too hard to overcome but God has power we cannot comprehend. A key verse that surmises all of this is Eph 5:18-20 which says "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” If we allow the Holy Spirit to help us, he will. He will keep all the bad addictions away.

Marriage: The Male Perspective

Our Wedding Bands

I got married at age 33. Contrary to popular belief--most normal men do want to get married and establish a happy family. A normal, stable family is every decent man's desire. That was one of my goals in life. I do not believe in the "live-in" concept. I am not a piece of meat. We do not want to marry women who are party girls. Party girls send us bad signals. We also want to marry women who are religiously healthy--women who love and fear the Lord. Many years ago a friend of mine who was a Jehovah’s Witness, gave me an ultimatum. She told me "If you love me. You will believe in MY religion." It would have been better for her to say, "If you love God and or Jesus Christ, I hope you will love me too." But she did not. I don't think she meant to cause any harm, but I never looked back.

However, for some men there is a rush to get married. The younger the better is the thought. If men are going to get married, they should not do it younger than 25 years. At this age, we are just starting to outgrow our childlike mentality. It’s true. When I finally met my lovely wife I knew it was the right time. When you preserve yourself from sin and great temptation not only are you doing it for your spiritual well-being, but you are also doing it for your future family. God will bless you tremendously for it.

Trampled Upon

"And we thank God continually because when you receive the word of God, which you heard from us, you accept it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe."---1 Thessalonians 2:13-16

I went back to church after several months of inactivity. I consider myself a non-denominational Christian but I usually visit the Rogers Park Baptist Church, willingly. I don't feel pressured when I come to this church...I feel as if they let me be me. Today was Palm Sunday and I did not even know it. That is what you call an atypical Christian.

I have the desire to become a better husband and a better father, a better follower of Christ. We however are always being bombarded by temptation and sin. This modern society has it harder than the ancients, I believe. Wherever a person may go you can't escape it! Television, billboards, the Internet. There is sin large and in living color. About two weeks ago our four year old daughter reminded us about going to church. She sounded very disappointed when we did not go. And I felt bad because I let her down. It was almost as if God was telling me to go to church, if not for me...at least for her sake, our daughter's sake.

As I sat there I could not help to notice that the more I visit churches the more I like the songs they sing. One of the songs that was very meaningful to me went like this: Crucified, laid behind a stone. You lived to die rejected and alone like a rose trampled on the ground, you took the fall and thought of me, above all!

Trying to live according to God's standard is hard. It gets even harder when you try your best to help people, but even your best is not enough. Whether it is at work, at home or even in the street. People are always on the defensive. This is a thankless society. The nicer you are the more they trample on you. But I guess that is what Jesus did for us. He was the first to take the fall for us so that we may be saved. I have the belief and faith that change is possible.