O God, the strength of those who hope in you: Be present and hear our prayers; and, because in the weakness of our mortal nature we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, so that in keeping your commandments we may please you in will and deed; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Strength… what is Strength???  Yes, it is awesome to be physically Strong; however, do you consider yourself spiritually strong as well??? This is a question that makes me want to continually get up at 5:30 every morning and read from God’s word (Holy Bible) before I take on the challenges of the day. (Proverbs 27:17)

God knows that I love to be challenged every day. Whether it be: going to the Hershey Public Library for job searching/learning, running after birds, working out at a gym, mowing grass, I love the challenge.  I love the challenge even if I feel uncomfortable doing it.   What I have learned is to ignore my temporary pain on earth and focus on God’s promise of eternal life with my belief in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  My confidence in Him gives me power to conquer that challenge. (Philippians 4:13)

An example of a challenge I face is with a diminishing weakness of mine… It is my hope that you will find strength in my weakness.  Back in 2000, I was involved in a near fatal car accident and to this day am trying to overcome certain limitations that I am experiencing.  When things are difficult, I remember the past of being confined to a wheel chair and God’s mercy to deliver me from that personal h+ll… NOW, I AVERAGE RUNNING 3 MILES A DAY.  ALL PRAISES DUE!!! (2 Corinthians 12:10)

Enough about me, it is you that God loves deeply… We might be faced with certain challenges in life; however, if we learn to put our hope in Jesus Christ our Lord the challenges will be become insignificant.  YOU CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST!!!

I want to begin by telling you that God loves you.  We live in interesting times when we are faced with many oppositions to an individual strengthening their relationship with God.  I often wonder how people think they are strengthening their relationship.  Are they strengthening it by going on a run?  Are they strengthening it by going to the gym?  Are they strengthening it by going to a library and learning about things on this earth? OR Are they devoting alone time trying to establish a relationship with God through the reading the written word, the Holy Bible? This brings a quote by Albert Einstein to mind..

*IF YOU ARE VIEWING VIA MOBILE PHONE… CLICK “REPLAY” UNTIL IT GOES AWAY…

Personally, the mystery of faith is sparking my curiosity.  I find myself reading more of God’s way of Life, and getting closer to man’s feeble attempt to live it through religion…

PLEASE DO NOT GET ME WRONG.  I think, religion is BEAUTIFUL… I pray for our pastors and church leaders to keep strong in the Lord…

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, it is my hope that we encourage these men and women of God.

I feel, that pastors are a gift from God.  They are here to teach our youth God’s way of Life.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ it is also equally important that we reflect God’s way of Life through our lives… When was the last time you read from the Holy Bible???

This week marks the First Sunday after Pentecost.  Remember that Pentecost is not only a beautiful reminder of the gift of receiving the Holy Spirit, but also the “birthday” of the church… us… Happy Birthday!  May God’s favor always shine down on you.

I mention the Holy Spirit to you as a gift from God… Jesus Christ was an AWESOME gift as well… knowing and having a relationship with your Heavenly Father is equally as awesome… I don’t intend to put limitations on God; however, I want to try to explain God to you… May God have mercy on me… I hope to Glorify my Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16)

I picture God as the full circle in a peace sign with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as the inner spokes…  making one symbol…

We all been given the gift of the Holy Spirit & the Apostle Paul reminds us that our bodies are a vessel for the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19) for those that believe that Jesus Christ is Emmanuel (God made human), Lord, and Savior of all.  In my pictorial, the Holy Spirit is one of the inner spokes of the peace sign… BUT WAIT… THERE’s MORE…

I also put the Son as one of the inner spokes.  We are reminded that Jesus Christ is the Son of God in the Holy Gospel of John… (John 3:16)  A lot of scholars question: “How can it be that the Son and the Father is one?”

We are made in God’s image… (Gen 1:26) Truly I say to you, if you have seen the Son… you have seen the Father!  This close relationship is extremely difficult to put into words.  Jesus Christ indeed has this intimacy with the Father.  This reminds me of a teaching that Jesus Christ gave while on this earth with us. He instructed that we should do good works to glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16)…

BEAUTIFUL… huh???