Author: upstream13

“Castle Trust”

/ upstream13 / Leave a comment

Today was one of those days where everything just seemed to be off a little for me.  Not sure that I have put my finger on quite yet, but with God’s help tomorrow will work out a bit better.

Towards the end of the day of course as per my usual routine I was getting one my lovely headaches and it was giving me fits as I was trying to focus on the printed documents in front of me.

Of course when these headaches come on I get a little short with people and I do my best not to offend anyone or say something that might be taken the wrong way.  If you happen to be the recipient of one of these times I will apologize now and in advance as it is never anything personal.

One comment I made today concerned the idea of trust and how we talk to people.  I might be wrong here to some people, but in my experience talking with someone is relative to the amount of trust I have in them.  Simply saying that we “have” to talk to everyone might miss the mark as it relates to human interaction and relationships.

Do we just blurt out everything to everyone or do we pick and choose who we tell what?  I think in every instance our communication does come down to a level of trust.  This trust also has differing levels as it pertains to friends, family, coworkers and the people we work for.  I do believe that in every instance there is opportunity to grow and develop lasting relationships or ever increasing level of trust.

Speaking for myself I created some defense mechanisms early on in life based on a few things.  One of them was the fact that I was picked on from a very early age because of my weight.  After years of crying myself to sleep as a kid I started to grow callous towards people as it was obvious that I could only trust a small circle of people.  Now I see some of these same types of people in my daily life and automatically my defenses go up.  Many times it just happens and I don’t even notice it until I recognize that person within me that puts on the mask of callousness that in fact might push people away.

Even now there are some whom I have not allowed myself to trust, but this from my perspective is probably normal.  I have to chuckle because now with everyone having their noses pressed to a smartphone who really cares anyway?  The social aspect of our society seems to have slipped a bit from what some of us are used to, but the element of trust must still exist.  I would even say that it is more important now than ever as it concerns the online environment.

At the end of the day I will always do my best to find a reason to trust someone, but the second I am given a reason not to it will take awhile for me to get back to that same point we started at.  Some might call this a fault, but I call this a mechanism.  A mechanism created by an environment that never took the time to find out who I was as a person.  Either way I am working to improve in this area and look forward to every opportunity to trust someone new or regain the trust once lost.

For all of those whom I trust I am deeply grateful for that trust which means that you took the time to get to know me as a person and I truly hope that I have done the same for you.

May God bless you and may you always know that for Him trust was given the day He gave you His Son.

Advertisement

“I’d Like To Put The Moon On Lay Away Please”

/ upstream13 / Leave a comment

Today is my wife’s birthday and with this comes the normal; “don’t get me anything” and “don’t remind me of how old I am”.  Actually, if I could I would give you the moon, but since it is out of my reach and made of cheese I don’t think you want me taking that dangerous of a trip along with the fact that too much cheese is unhealthy so I will have put it on “Lay Away” for you.

What I would rather do is tell you “Thank You” for all that you do for our family.  You always put us first and at times we have to argue with you to do something for yourself.  Along with that “Thank You” I will make a promise to do more to help you whenever you ask and even if you don’t.

In my eyes God has provided me with a wife who is my best friend and the woman who owns my heart.  We were soul-mates before we even knew it and with a little work on God’s part we were brought together and have been ever since.  For this gift I will always be grateful beyond any comprehension of the word.

Through the years I missed many of your birthdays and since we can’t get those back I want to cherish and be there for as many as God will let me have with you in the coming years.  So this is not about your birthday, even though it is a great day, it is about simply having one more day with you.

Happy Birthday Honey; I love you with all of my heart and soul!!!

Praise God for His wonderful gifts!!!

“Everyone is an Expert”

/ upstream13 / Leave a comment

Finding Facebook very interesting lately even though we all know most of the political or religious topics are really shared to pour gas on a fire so I will make this brief.

If you are preaching or attempting to preach Christianity to someone, be sure you have done your homework first. This is not in response to anyone in particular, but lately with the new federal law legalizing gay marriage all of a sudden all the preachers of love have come out of the closet and some of the comments I have read make me seriously doubt that they even own a bible or even read one in the last ten years.

First of all understand that the love Jesus Christ is talking about has nothing to do with wallowing in our sin and making others do the same with an absurd notion of what God wants for the world.  We are here for one thing and that is to serve God and to do everything to His glory.

God is selfish as He tells us in the bible so I am a bit perplexed by the idea that we somehow forgot that.  His word is given for us to follow, not make it up as we go along.

With this being said I am no way condoning mistreating someone based upon the struggles they have with sin.  Sin is sin whether it is homosexuality, stealing, murder, lying, etc…  We all have sin we deal with and none of us are better than any other as we are all born into it; only through Jesus Christ can we shed that sin and have hope for an eternal life.

I personally may not agree with homosexuality based on my beliefs, but I will not treat that person any differently than I do anyone else; unless you give me reason to give an apologia for my faith and then I will stay on my side and you can stay on yours with no ill will.  The love I would offer would be through Jesus Christ and His saving Grace, not of my own as I have nothing without Jesus Christ.

For those who are lost, have your eyes opened and from that light you see the open arms of Jesus Christ waiting for your return.  Repent and claim Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  The message has not changed for 2000 years and it is with good reason that it has not; God has not changed – we have.

Praise and serve God with all your heart and all your mind; in this you will find your burdens removed.

“A Story of Two Bobs”

/ upstream13 / Leave a comment

This is one story about two men named “Bob”.  In my life I have had the privilege of knowing two men who unknowingly have impacted my life like no other.  The first “Bob” I will introduce is Bob Nordeen; he was a member in the church I attended in Oklahoma and we used to visit door to door witnessing to anyone who would listen to the Gospel of Jesus or others who were Christian, but just wanted to fellowship.  Bob was a retired Sergeant Major in the U.S. Army, a Vietnam Veteran and Korean War Veteran/P.O.W.

On every trip we took each week through the Lawton neighborhoods, he would always surprise me by his patience and tender heart.  He taught me how to not only try to understand people, but to take time to understand myself.  The more time I spent with him the more I realized that life will not always be what you think it should be and when we find ourselves facing tough times we must always maintain our faith in Jesus Christ, giving God the glory regardless of our circumstance.

Bob Nordeen went to be with our Lord before we left Oklahoma and it was both a sad day and a happy day because I knew how much he wanted to be with Jesus.  Sad, because I would no longer see his smile or listen to his wisdom.  I still miss him greatly to this day, but I am comforted to know that he is doing God’s work getting his instructions directly from God and joyfully getting them done.

The next “Bob” I will introduce you to is the man I now call “Dad”.  As he is married to my mother I guess you could say that I have to, but I use it more out of respect than because of marriage.  Technically he would be my Stepfather, but I consider that irrelevant.  Bob Larson is the most giving man I have ever met.  He will do anything for anyone at a moments notice if he is able and by this example I have learned that sometimes giving will hurt, but it is nothing permanent so just do it.

Bob is always concerned for others and is not afraid to let it be known whether by his words or actions.  The other thing I admire about him is his ability to share his feelings about his family and it is obvious that these feelings run very deep.  He is also found to be gentle yet strong, wise yet cheerful and patient yet passionate.

Not only is Bob a friend, he is a Dad to my wife, a wonderful husband to my mother, along with being a loving and kind grandfather to my daughters.  So again I will say that in my life there have been two men named “Bob” who have brought such a positive example into my life, which now greatly influences me.  Both are and should be the men that other men model their lives after.

I thank and praise God for these men who have given me the example to follow.  My prayer is to set the same example they did while still walking with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“To Be PC Or Not To Be PC?”

/ upstream13 / 1 Comment

Can’t believe I turned to Shakespeare for this one, but when tough topics come up we have to be honest with ourselves and each other. In the news all we hear about is being politically correct. What does that mean anyway? Of course the answers some learned in their secular college course somewhere will come out, but to be honest, I think this is what got us into the mess we are in now.

My intent is not to pinpoint a college for a fault, but what I am referring to is the idea that political correctness was taken to levels unseen by everyone. Now, we are stuck with it regardless of how far it has come and I have an idea that many of those who raised banners for it are now stuck eating “Crow”, but in order to save face are unwilling to upset the status quo they find themselves in. Why? Because quite frankly it could mean losing jobs, friends and their livelihood.

It seems to me in my simple mind that if I am being honest, it is a better quality than lying to myself and everyone around me about my feelings and what I consider to be right or wrong. If I give up my beliefs and betray my feelings I have just handed who I am over to someone else; something I refuse to do regardless of the consequences. Anyway, I am not mine to give away as I belong to God.

For those who are struggling with choices they know they must make to save themselves; make the choice you know your heart is telling you.  God has put His Law on your heart and by this you will know that the choice you make is the right one. Do not let sin cloud your heart and repent.  Let God in so that you can honestly and clearly examine yourself; remember God have given you grace through Jesus Christ – He is your gift so honor and cherish it.

For those around you who claim there is no God or God’s Law does not apply or other absurd claims; they too know that God exists.  If they truly thought that God did not exist they would not fight so hard to prove otherwise. For those who would challenge you in this our foundation comes from the book of Romans 1: 18 – 25. Although you may come from a biblical world view it is simple. Do not let anyone be the judge over God and His word, but remember that our example is Christ and it is with Christian love we approach the lost; not free love as they might have you believe.

As Christians we are constantly told that we have to prove that God exists so I will simply reverse the table and use the same weighted balance; prove that He doesn’t.  Theory and hypothesis do not count as fact or truth. Remember that the Laws of Nature are used by science which also agrees with Laws of Logic, so just because I believe in something that cannot be considered tangible does not mean that I am the only one in the room that uses faith as my foundation.

Praise and Glory to God as He continues to use those who know Him and those who claim otherwise – All for His Glory!

“A Prize Fighter”

/ upstream13 / 1 Comment

Each day for me as a Christian can be like stepping into the boxing ring or octagon whichever your prefer. If we consider the challenges we as Christians face within the secular world that surrounds us, we at times will take some punches that cause us to reel or even buckle, but we still get up and face the next round.

I find it interesting that those who are either not Christian or do not share in our resilience will make comments to criticize our belief, and yet when things get a little tough in their life or they find themselves with nowhere to turn they complain, blame and accuse others for their misfortune.

One of the toughest punches I receive are when I hear someone take God’s name in vain. I have to say that these have the hardest sting, and for those who use His name as commanded otherwise i do try to correct them.  Along with the correction I also offer up a prayer for them.

So each day as we step into the ring of life we as Christians must always remember that Jesus Christ has placed before us the one and true prize of redemption through which He stood in our place to not only fight for us, but also to take every painful blow sin could throw at Him.

Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already l obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: not forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Praise God in all of His wonderful glory!!!

“His Will or Yours?”

/ upstream13 / 2 Comments

As I wade through my day and think of other things I would rather be doing, I also think of; what is it that God wants me to be doing? One thing that reminds me of how small my plans are is when I read in the book of Proverbs how man’s heart might direct his plans, but it is God who guides his feet.

Maybe what we as Christians should be concerning ourselves with is those who are out in the world standing up for Jesus, risking all for His glory.  It is easy to wrap our prayer lives up in our own little world, especially when we are continually asking for things that maybe we should not.  A better question to ask ourselves is; is what we are asking God for within His will for us or our will for Him?

Whatever we do it is our prayers and time studying the Bible that prepares us for each day; giving us the spiritual nourishment and strength to do what God asks of us.

Praise God and may the Kingdom of Jesus Christ reign on earth as it does in Heaven!

“Too Easy”

/ upstream13 / Leave a comment

Today I used my favorite response to someone who told me “thank you” for something I did by saying “Too easy”.  My response might sound simple, but in fact it means more to me than just a simple or quick response.

When I say to someone “Too easy” there is actually a meaning behind it that for me is a reminder of how I can help that person or how I can make that person simply smile.  The “Too easy” part may not necessarily be the easy side of this, as a matter of fact sometimes it can be the hard part.  For me the hard part is where I learn the most about what God wants for me and how I can be a better person.

So how about the easily done things you ask?  Well, they are actually easy and are usually the acts that add up over time keeping me in practice for the hard ones.  Now back to the “Too easy” part.

If you happen to be around me and I do something for you and use the response “Too easy” that means that you owe me nothing in return.  I mean that 100%; you do not have to return the favor.  If you do it is because you have intentions of paying something forward, then forward from me it will go.

The way I see it is actually pretty simple.  If I do something to help someone it boils down to the one easy step in all of this; deciding to do so.  Deciding to do something good for someone else should be a decision as easy as taking our next breath; not something we ponder, research or debate about.

If I do good, then to me that means I am being obedient  And when God puts it on my heart to do good and I know it is from Him I am even more honored to follow through with the act.  So if you run out of things to say when someone asks you for a favor or help, try saying “Too easy” you might be surprised what it does for the other person and you.

The KOI Fish Christian

Today I used my favorite response to someone who told me “thank you” for something I did by saying “Too easy”.  My response might sound simple, but in fact it means more to me than just a simple or quick response.

When I say to someone “Too easy” there is actually a meaning behind it that for me is a reminder of how I can help that person or how I can make that person simply smile.  The “Too easy” part may not necessarily be the easy side of this, as a matter of fact sometimes it can be the hard part.  For me the hard part is where I learn the most about what God wants for me and how I can be a better person.

So how about the easily done things you ask?  Well, they are actually easy and are usually the acts that add up over…

View original post 228 more words

“Our Public Testimony”

/ upstream13 / Leave a comment

Today I saw something that made me think of the status of Christians everywhere.  I witnessed a young lady sit down to eat a meal at a public eatery and before she ate any food she bowed her head and folded her hands.  I am assuming that she was thanking God for her food, but it also seemed as though she was trying to hide the fact that she was praying.

I will be the first to admit that I don’t always thank God for my meals when at the table, but I do thank Him at the beginning of the day or at the end of the day.  My practice may not be in with the best discipline, but I do thank God nonetheless. So, again, I am not without fault here.

What I would like to point out concerning how we conduct ourselves as Christians in public.  Starting with what the Bible says we are to never deny Christ or He will deny us; (Matthew 10: 32 – 33) 32. “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

As we are human and prone to forgetting things I find it fortunate that through the grace of God we have Jesus Christ and the ability to ask for forgiveness, along with the ability to pick up the Bible and remind ourselves of what Christ actually said.  So being my own worst critic and quick to be hard on myself when I don’t do the things I should, I love the fact that God has a way of reminding us of what is important and that sometimes He doesn’t work in mysterious ways to keep us on track with our physical and spiritual life.

When it comes to our confession of faith in Jesus Christ we should only fear a few things; God, something that can destroy both the body and soul, and offending the Holy Spirit.  Nowhere in that list does it say to fear another human being.  In my own experience if someone is offended it is because they are trying to suppress the truth of God and are feeling conviction from God and instead of agreeing to or complying with it, they become angry or “offended”.

So to give a bit of a warning; if you happen to see me or another Christian praying prior to eating their meal, maybe as a Christian approach us and let us know that we did the right thing; everyone can use a dose of support from other Christians.  If you are not a Christian, then maybe take the time to ask the person why they pray; you might be surprised by what you hear.

Jesus Christ is the risen Savior and in this truth resides the living God that we glorify in all that we do.

Praise God!!!

 

 

“In My Tribulation God Waits, In My Heart He Lives”

/ upstream13 / Leave a comment

There has been a cliché I have heard lately that has not quite hit the mark. There may those who agree and there of course will be those who disagree. I am not the first to think of this and more than likely, not the last, so here is the cliché I am thinking of;

“God will never give you more than you can handle.”

I would actually disagree with this. To be honest I think God does give us more than we can handle so that we can be nearer to Him. Think about it, when do we call on God the most; when we are in great need or tribulation.

When it comes to our happiness or feeling of fulfillment I believe that God wants the best for us, so much so that He gave His only Son for us, but at the same time God has told us through the Gospels that our tribulation and trials are there to make us stronger not weaker.

Romans 5: 1 – 5: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” NKJV

Of course many of us have been there when we have called on God to help us through the challenge each of us had in front of us and in some cases promises were made or pledges said. Therein lies the topic of how we act towards God after we get back to what we consider a sense of normal or comfortable. How did we carry out the promises made or did we soon forget what we even said because the situation was so bad?

God has given in each of us the ability to overcome tragedy through the promise He has given through His Son Jesus Christ, by whom we have a hope that no other has or ever can offer. With the connection we have to God through His Son, we know that no matter the consequence it is by divine promise and plan that we go through the challenges in our life, each in their own category and way. Each of us has our part to play and through love, fear and obedience to God the victory will be ours.

So looking back on my own life, turning to God through the good and bad is what we are told to do; it is that simple. God wants that relationship with us, but we must understand that the path may not be the smoothest and that we are to always be prepared by placing ourselves into prayer and study of the bible regularly. These are the tools by which we shield ourselves from the world and the stress it daily throws on our shoulders.

So to bring a solution to the table I will provide you with a new cliché; “In my tribulation God waits, in my heart He lives.”