What if you offend?

We all make mistakes and we will offend someone. It's not if, it's when and what we do to make amends. The first thing we should do is admit our mistake and ask God for forgiveness. Next apologize to the person we offended. This can be very tough sometimes but we must do it. God will help you. Ask him for wisdom and guidance. Confessing our sins against God and our brothers (and sisters) is the beginning of a transformation of our mind and soul. Confessing will help to bring you peace.

I will be praying for you. I ask you to do the same for me. God bless you as you continue on this journey to be more like Christ.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "— and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah Psalms 32:5

Happy Thanksgiving...

I would like to wish all the readers of this blog a very happy Thanksgiving. Your comments have encouraged me to keep writing. I pray you enjoy your holiday with your friends and family. Take a moment to thank God for all he has blessed you with. If you are hurting this holiday reach out to the Lord and ask him to help you. He will never leave you.

Happy Birthday Jackie!!!

I would like to wish my daughter a very happy birthday. Her birthday is November 26. I love you Jackie and I'm very proud of you. You are a wonderful daughter...

Jesus washes the feet of the disciples...

Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." "For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean." John 13:7-11

Foot washing in church? It's not so common today and a big reason is a change in culture. Let us not look at foot washing but at what Jesus was showing his disciples. He was teaching them how to serve and he said one of the disciples was not clean (spiritually). Serving was the topic today in my church. The pastor did a great job with his sermon but I want to look at it from a different perspective and what I believe the Lord showed me today.

Jesus said: "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." (The one who was not clean was Judas). I believe as Christians we should be clean (our spiritual body) as if we have had a bath that cleans the inside. The only thing that should need cleaning each day are the feet that walk through the dirt (evil) of this earth. Jesus will keep you clean from head to toe if you ask him. We should continuously ask Jesus for forgiveness; to wash away whatever we dealt with today and make us totally clean. The world has dirt (evil) everywhere; we need to avoid allowing what we walk on (through) to make our bodies (spiritual) dirty.

Jesus forgive me and help me walk in righteousness.

Why I blog...

Blogging is a great way to express your opinion, but this is not why I blog. Blogging is a way to polish your writing skills, but this is not why I blog. So why do I blog? For me it's a way to share my faith and try to answer some of life's difficult questions. It's a way for me to try to encourage others and give them hope.

The internet allows for a global outreach of blogging and I want to do something positive with this opportunity. I am amazed and humbled how this simple blog is read by people all over the world.

I pray this blog has touched you in some small way. Many of you who have commented on my posts have really encouraged me to continue writing. Thank you for reading "Storms of Life" and may God bless you in all you do.

Sad times in the City...

Today 9 employees lost their jobs here in my town, USA. Around 24 employees lost their jobs within the last two years. This is very difficult for these men and women especially the recent ones with the holidays very near. With this post I ask you to pray for our town and these employees who are now facing hard times. Pray for their families and pray that they will find employment quickly. Pray for the leaders of our community that God will give them wisdom. I will not go into the details here but people are hurting and need a touch from God.

Would you give 1 minute to pray for this need? I appreciate you and want to thank you for reading my blog.

God bless you and yours...

"No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5

Trick or Treat...

The purpose of this post is not to get into a theological debate on whether or not "Trick or Treating" is evil. I'm sure you have an opinion but you will have to go to another blog if that's your intent. The idea that I want to talk about is giving and receiving. Give me some candy or I'll be mad and toilet paper your house. Should we give just to avoid making someone mad resulting in a negative outcome? Or do we give expecting something in return? Our society is centered on a mindset of whatever I give, should guarantee a good return for my investment (gift) in the end. "I'm not going to give them a gift this year for Christmas because they did not get me anything last year!!" "They only spent $20.00 on me for my birthday so I'm not going to buy them that $30.00 item that I know they want." What is wrong with people? When did we become so self-centered or selfish?

More than likely we have all felt this way at sometime in our life. Hopefully it was when you where a child and not yesterday. When I am able to give it leaves a warm feeling in my heart. Lord help me to give to others without expecting anything in return. The best way to get into that habit and way of thinking is to give to people when they least expect it. A month before their birthday (and then again on their birthday) for example.

Pray that the Lord will show us that is act of giving is better that the receipt of a gift. Who knows better about giving than our Lord who gave his all for us. Do we sometimes "Trick or Treat" with God? "God if you give me what I want I will serve you more; if you don't then I will pout and be mad." We have nothing to bargain with when it comes to God. He owns everything and he can do anything. God wants our love and he wants you to share the gifts he's given you. Let's start giving...