Dear Jesus,

As I write these words, please flood my soul with Your Spirit and Your love that each word I write reflects less of me and more of You. Amen.

How can I, a sinner give pleasure to God? How can I empty myself of myself and make room of God in my life? I am too self absorbed to let go of any part of me. Yet I know that in order to see God, I must be pure in heart. I must want God more than I want me. How can I make that happen when it is so difficult to let go of me? I need the Holy Spirit to shower His gifts on me that I am able to combat sin with virtue.

It's no secret. We live in a world governed by the seven deadly sins, pride, envy, wrath, sloth greed, gluttony and lust. What billboard is more likely to catch my eye? Is it the pro-life poster with the picture of a beautiful newborn infant? Or is it the one with the nearly naked sultry young lady holding the bottle of vodka with a diamond bracelet around the bottle neck? How much money went into the making of a movie mocking the idea that there could be a 40-year-old man who has not yet had sex? Worse, how much money did that movie make? In the movies about fast cars and faster women, what do these characters do for a living? And we let our children idolize them? Wow! We are governed by sins so powerful we can call them demons. How can a sinner such as me break free of their grip? I must implore the aide of the one power which is greater, God. I must ask for the gifts of the Holy Spirit that I may be able to live a life of virtue in stark contrast to the world of sin that surrounds me. I must, as Paul says, be in the world and not be of it.

The only weapon I can employ to combat these demons, is virtue. It is no coincidence that there is seven heavenly virtues, humility, kindness, forgiveness, diligence, charity, temperance, and chastity. They combat the demons, one on one. How can a humble heart take pride in any anything less than the cross of his Savior? When a humble heart contemplates the cross, all pride is silenced. When acting in kindness, there is no place for envy. How can I give of myself to others and still want what they already have? A forgiving heart makes anger cower in a corner. Wrath takes no action against forgiveness. Its power is drained. When I am diligent in the important things, there is no time to lie around. There is just too much to do and diligence always prioritizes. And what of love? It does not seek its own recourse but bears all things patiently. There is no greed in the presence of charity. Temperance always knows the difference between want and need. It doesn't cater to want, but serves justice that the need of many is met. Lastly, no chaste heart can look on another with lust. To live in these virtues is to wage war against the rulers of the world, the seven deadly sins. The heavenly virtues open the door to the theological virtues of faith, hope and love and the cardinal virtues of justice, fortitude, prudence and temperance. Love is in both lists of virtues because in the end it is the most important of the only three things that remain. Temperance is in both lists because of the degree of self control it takes to live a virtuous life. But no matter how I look at these virtues, they cannot coexist in the same person with the deadly sins. Virtue and sin are mutually exclusive.

How can I make gain these weapons? Clearly, we are not born with them. If we were, how could the demons have gained such power over the world? There has to be a source of virtue. God is that source. His Holy Spirit bears gifts of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord. It is this package of gifts that brings virtue to within my reach. With the gift of wisdom, I can see the value of love, how it is the standard by which all things are measured in the end. When I die, those whom I made jealous will not be at my bedside. Only those whom I have loved will be there to hold my hand when I draw my last breath. Then, only love matters. Without the gifts of understanding and knowledge, there is nothing to believe in. There can be no faith. Can I make a prudent decision without the counsel of the Holy Spirit? I may be able to discern how to increase my treasure. But how will I know where to put that treasure? Fortitude goes straight to work for me. It comes from the Holy Spirit giving me the strength to stand against my enemies. A pious man seeks justice. He cannot rest knowing that others suffer while he lives in comfort. Lastly, fear of the Lord will drive me to want His shelter rather than His wrath. Living in the shelter of His wing gives me hope. I know the power of His love is so much stronger than the power of sin. That my God would come to me, meet me where I am and die for me to show me that death has no hold over Him is a hope that can never be extinguished by fear. "Death, where is your sting now?"

Through all our interactions with people; awkwardness, anger, and even thoughts of retribution will arise. If of course the party opposite of you is hostile. It is in these situations our character seems to be tested more than any other.

As I looked around outside today after recently being thoroughly abused by a member of another online community known as Ebay. I sat there thinking about anger and the forms of retribution that come to our minds. Oh how we'd all love to take everyone to court, sue them and just get them to admit that we were right. But it's more than just being right and the other person being wrong in an argument. It's the case in point of whether an individual can rise above the character they have exhibited up to this point.

Justice is the ultimate point of which people will steadfastly fight against something. If you know you were wronged you can forgive and let it go, but there are sometimes in life when I don't think God himself wants you to. The reason for this is because the other person in question needs to be reproved and God is having you do it with a conflict.

Anger and conflict are not enjoyable and are in fact painful, I mean can any of you say you've ever enjoyed being so angry that your whole body is shaking? Most likely not. With that said though when you fight for a valid purpose and one that is worthy towards a good cause you are still doing God's work.

There is a very fine dividing line between breaking what is said in Romans 12 of "not taking your own revenge" and letting others walk all over you. If you are heading towards a path of growth or better character in people, as well as proliferation of humanity or yourself as a whole you cannot blame yourself for simply expecting others to treat you kindly and with respect.

In the end I can give you 10 books on Anger Management, and show you lessons on calming down, and even give you advice on what to do in those tough situations but the best knowledge is to analyze yourself. Even when you are vindicated in a settlement, court case, divorce, or any other disagreement you have damaged the other person. We would all love to hope that they would learn from this and become better people but there is no guarantee that it will occur. So in fact risking damage to them is risking damage to others as well, as they could simply take there rage out on everyone else they care about.

Anger is an endless cycle, and yet Justice needs to prevail. In some cases we feel sorry for the victims and the criminals in any case, but there is that line again that states do they need to be punished or not? One must analyze and ask yourself whether you are going after someone for revenge, or because you truly have a valid point and they need to change the way they handle themselves.

Therein lies the mystery of Justice vs. Retribution

God never promised our lives to be easy. He says that we are to have many trials and tribulations. Amidst these hard times God has a divine purpose for everyone. We are never alone no matter how you might feel. God is greater than your feelings or your thoughts. He knows what you are going through and cares.

"...Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, the Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid..."(Hebrews 13:5-6)

God often wants to test our faith by these trials in our life. We are tested so we may develop perseverance so our faith may be "...mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:4) God demonstrated His own love for us be sending Jesus to die on the cross for the world's sins. So in a way we demonstrate our love for God by persevering.

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength."(Philippians 4:13)

He did not leave us down here to fend for ourselves during these times. He has given us the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to guide us. We can, also, come to Him in prayer anytime. So when your time of testing comes remember to use what God has given us, and remember in the end we have the victory.

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."(1 Corinthians 15:57)

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world." (John 16:32-33)

The whole concept of the Sabbath confuses me. There are so many mentions in the Bible in regards to the Sabbath, and some just seem to contradict the others. There are also differences throughout various faiths and denominations in regards to the Sabbath. For example, some view Friday to be the Holy day, others for Saturday and still more for Sunday.

First and foremost, in Deuteronomy 5:12 it says "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you."

But how do we keep it holy?

In Jeremiah 17:22 it says "Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers."

Isaiah 58:13-14 says
"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
then you will find your joy in the LORD"

So far we are to keep the Sabbath holy by not working, and we also use this day to go to church to worship God, and we are meant keep the day for God and not for ourselves. In the Old Testament, the people were not allowed to cook or go out, or to do anything really. Yet why now do we do all of those things and more?

Sometimes people say in response to this that when Jesus died for us, we no longer have to worry about the Old Testament laws. Is this true? It cannot be, because Jesus said he came to fulfill the law, and not to abolish it. Yes, some things appear to have changed. However unless Jesus said that certain things were now okay, we must abide by the laws set before us.

However, here is where confusion steps in, in Mark 2:27-28 "Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."" This was in regards to the disciples breaking heads of grain for food on the Sabbath.

This suggests, that while we are to keep the day holy for the Lord, he knows that we will use it for our own needs, and will forgive us for it.

In truth, I'm still greatly puzzled by certain aspects of the Sabbath, and much of this is just musings of my own mind. I pray that any of what I said, will be used by God to help enlighten you when you read this.

Before I ever reached the age of 21, I had never known death. No one close to me has ever died. I've never been to a funeral. Never had to dress all in black, or cry over someone. I guess I was lucky.

The first death I had to go through was my great grandmothers. I was never close to her in anyway, but when I saw the tears coming down from the eyes of my cousins, and aunts, and other relatives, it kind of got to me too sometimes.

But it wasn't until my father died that I really knew what it must have felt like. He died on November 8th 2005. And even now I can hardly believe it. Sometimes I wonder how we ever got through it. If it wasn't for our faith, I don't know what would have become of us. We were just too close to our father. We loved him so much. I don't think it matters how many years pass, I think I'll always cry if I think about him.

Just this past week my grandmother passed away as well. Yes, it all seems so sudden doesn't it? She and I weren't very close either so I guess that's why I didn't cry as I did when my father died. But I knew what my aunt's were feeling when they saw their mother lying there forever asleep. And I wonder, what If my dad didn't die, I wonder how painful this moment would have been for him. I've never seen my dad cry ever, but maybe I would have in this moment. Thinking on that made me cry. And it amazes me how we all just seem to be going away now.

It reminds me of the real purpose in life; and how we are just passing by in this world. We get so attached to life, to things, worldly goals and worldly ambitions, but for what? It reminds me that we have to setup our treasures in heaven because we won't be long in this world nor are we meant to be. I believe God took my dad to save him from greater pains and anguishes that he might have lived through later in life. And I thank God for that. And look forward to Jesus' return when I get to see my dad again.

What is "ugly" and who decides?

We have all heard people use the term. If someone is different and doesn't look as good as others, they get the term "ugly".

But if we are all created by God, then should any of us be ugly? The Bible says God created us in his image. So is God ugly?

Ugly has been created by the media telling you what looks good and what doesn't. Television, magazines, movies, etc. all tell us what to think is attractive and what is not. This mentality, in my opinion is causing the slow downward spiral of this society.

Plastic surgery is a common procedure for those that have the means to do it. Is changing your body from the way God made is a right thing? Do we understand what we are doing? Is God angry with us for doing it?

Again, people are changing their bodies to the image that the media tells us is 'pretty'. Certain celebrities are idolized and revered more so than God. Is it because they are deemed attractive in what we are told as attractive?

The Bible warns us of idols that we may come across. Are celebrities to be considered as these idols?

The focus on God has been taken away, and our focus has been placed on the wrong things.

We need to focus on God. We don't need to focus on physical appearance, celebrities, or anything else.

I think that is what God wants.