Friendship, Inspiration, Life, love, Short Stories

Unconditional Love

California, August 17, 2019 – Massachusetts, August 17, 2024

Yesterday, I attended the last night of a mental health series talk in Providence, RI. The topic was “Love.” One of the questions asked was “are you willing to die for someone you love?” Because essentially that will prove that you love that person unconditionally. This act of love is written in John 15:13: Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. This is perhaps one of the most beautiful love acts written by John, whose friend ‘Jesus’ died to save him, and all of us. John experienced receiving unconditional love firsthand.

Love is what we yearn for, and desire to give, but really struggle with.
I remember questioning at a young age, how can two people like each other? and what is the possibility that this person finds that person at this specific time, and they like each other, it just can’t be that easy. I was probably 6 or 7, and at such young age I was already questioning the possibility of likeness and love, impossible I thought! There has to be something more! Well, thank God I grew up, and experienced the impossible scenario of attraction, it was real! The first time I was introduced to a guy that wanted to meet me, I froze. Then I understood why he always seemed to randomly appear. It is a great feeling to be liked, but it is the easiest stage of what could develop into love. Liking someone doesn’t mean much unless there is commitment.

Unconditional love is supernatural, as much as we think we “love,” we are very incapable to perfectly or unconditionally love. Last night’s summary was that love can only come from above because “God is love.” But that is just being aware of it, because in order to have unconditional love you must first experience it yourself, so said John. There was a time when I believed heartedly that I had experienced unconditional love, I had prayed that God will take years from my life so that this one friend would use them in case he needed them (I really thought he needed the extra years). The following year I was fearful to even talk to other guys, because I thought that my life was going to be cut short, literally. Now you may laugh about this, I find it comical myself, but what I was truly experiencing after that prayer was fear. Fear is completely contrary to love!

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:18). I understand unconditional love today, but because I am loved, not because I have loved unconditionally. I have experienced it by understanding who God is – knowing and feeling his presence emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally. Just today, at the turning of my 5th baptism year, as I walked and talked with Jesus, a goose landed on the lawn nearby, so I asked Him, can “she” see you? He said, oh yes! So, I stopped to wait for Him and imaged Him running to the goose and petting it. Later he said, everywhere you look (nature), you can see me, I’ve never left you, and I’m here, I will always be here. Now that, that is not romantic cheap love, those are the most beautiful words you can hear from a friend. Friendships require time and dedication, the more time you spend with God, the freer you will be to learn how to love unconditionally, it is a lifetime commitment.

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (Philippians 4:11-13).

Your friend that loves you,
Melody

PS. Thank you for helping me understand love, in the purest of form, it is true: “what a beautiful name it is, the name of Jesus Christ my King!
He didn’t want heaven without us, so Jesus, you brought heaven down… my sin was great, your love was greater, so what can separate us now?”

Inspiration, Life, love, Music, Short Stories, Work

Gratitude

There is a beautiful song, called “Gratitude,” that simply and faithfully describes that one has nothing to offer to God “except for a heart singing halleluiah.” So simple an act, yet sometimes our life is filled with work and activities that we miss out on thanking God for faithfully guiding us through it all. Missing out is rather harmful to us, research shows that the more grateful one is the healthier, resilient, and happy we are. “A merry heart doeth good like medicine…” indeed!

A few weeks ago, it felt like work and activities were piling up all through the week. On Sunday, I purposed to finish drafting a sermon and get a head start on work. It was around 8:30 in the evening, and I had drafted the sermon and had enough bible verses and quotes, so I switch computers and started to work for only an hour or two. I left the office and felt the New England cold air, turned on the car and waited for it to warm so that the frozen windshield could melt. It was cold but I felt so happy, the window looked pretty with ice crystals and light shining through from the light post.
There is great joy when we think and believe in the goodness of God. As I was writing earlier, I felt so encouraged to do, and keep going, and continue doing. The bible truly gives life, strength, and even time. I had prayed that morning for strength for the week ahead, and God gave strength and peace. I thanked God for helping me, for making a way light and enjoyable.

That week I worked 53 hours, including a long Wednesday with departure of 12:15 am …twas cold. On Friday the entire set plotted smoothly with a completion time of 2:15 pm. I was so thankful, what at first seemed hard to complete on time, was done, the week had run smoothly. There was a lot of work to do but it wasn’t burdensome. I left the office and went to pick up groceries from the store, prepared something to eat at home, and continued studying for the sermon. Upon my parents’ arrival, my dad mentioned that if I wanted, I could give the sermon in English. I told him that I had already prepared it in Spanish and that it would be ok to deliver it in Spanish. The last time I had ”preached” in Spanish was 13 years ago, so I was concerned about the outcome, and my sister shared the concern with my parents. After fellowship with them I continued studying and again went to sleep around midnight. The following morning as I stood up, the popular line “it is time” ran in my head. “Father, it is time for you to speak.” I had been asking people to please pray for me, especially because I had to deliver the message in Spanish. Near the end, I was so moved that tears ran down my face. I had to catch my breath, I could see people also wiping their eyes, my mom especially. The Holy Spirit touched my heart so deeply, that I sensed such need to receive, and give a double fold of the joy that Christ gave me.

What a blessing to share the love of God, the mission of Jesus Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit with believers. The message, based on 2 Timothy 2:4, has been ringing in my ears since March 2022, and I have grown to love and desire to dedicate my life as such, that nothing will separate me from the father and that all my decisions are made to please Him. “El Soldado del Futuro” or The Soldier of the Future is indeed the Jesus Christ in us and through us. The passion to serve can only come from above.
As we pulled out of the Hispanic church in Brockton, MA that Sabbath afternoon, I turned to my sister and said, now unto “The Lord’s Prayer,” we both laughed.

Two weeks before that Sunday, one of the sisters from our church asked me to sing at a wedding. Me? I said in my mind, at a wedding!?
Oh sure, I said – do you have a specific song that you would like me to sing? The Lord’s Prayer, she said… Oh! …That’s a beautiful song that I’ve dreamed about one day singing but I don’t really have the voice for it, I told her. She was kind with her feedback, and went on to say, but if you think of any other song just let me know. Well, the day arrived, and I had barely practiced the song, at 3:45 pm I was getting ready when I get a call. Melody, where are you? Hello, I’m getting ready will be heading out soon, are you already at church? Yes, we are waiting for you because you are first in the program after the pastor prays. Yes, I said, is the program starting at 4:30? I asked. No, it’s at 4 o’clock and it’s very short so we can’t start without you, she said.
Oh! Well, let me get out quickly. Arriving at 4:07, the sister told me that I almost gave her a heart attack, thankfully she didn’t get one. I walked up to the front and waited for my turn. The wedding began, oh I wanted to be at peace and enjoy it, but it was hard. The pastor introduced me, I stood and waited for the track to play. I really couldn’t believe that I was about to butcher such a beautiful song. I finished singing and sat down. The nephew of the bride, who walked her down the isle, was crying while I was singing “The Lord’s Prayer. It was so warm to see him react to it, deep feelings of joy warmed my heart. God is good, this is all I can say, and I really believe, that God tunes people’s ears to hear of his true beauty, it just can’t be our voices.

Gratitude coats the heart with pure joy, elevates our spirits like birds freely flying in the sky, molds and builds our characters to cherish the love of God. You too can experience freedom and joy, test and see that the Lord is good, for His mercy endures forever…. I am so grateful for what God has done, is doing, and will continue to do in my life. All that we live through has a lesson, whether it is suffering or joy, God uses it all to show us the way, the truth, and the life. Thank you for being the most wonderful Father, best friend, and savior of all time, in the name of Jesus thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

“So come on, my soul
Oh, don’t you get shy on me
Lift up your song
‘Cause you’ve got a lion inside of those lungs
Get up and praise the Lord“
…
“And I know it’s not much
But I’ve nothing else fit for a King
Except for a heart singing hallelujah“

Friendship, Inspiration, Life, love

Living in Crisis with Hope III

This is a three-part series, please refer to the previous two blog posts for context. The following chapter talks about the hope we receive through Jesus Christ and how by belonging to Him, our desire to serve Him starts by bringing hope to others.

Hope

Hope is Our purpose and Our mission

The reason for Jesus to abide among us was to bring “good tidings” to all especially to the poor in spirit, to the brokenhearted, and them ‘us’ that dwell in darkness and ignorance of who God is. Jesus is our source and strength and the provider of our lives – this is not easily understood by all, but through experience alone can one excel to realize it’s importance. Every breath we take is orchestrated by God through the symphony and marching band of great witnesses we know as our angels. Without Jesus life is gray and undeserving. The most heavenly exalted of all had to become flesh (as a human agent) and represent royalty (a heavenly prince – the son of God) in the lowest of forms while nailed to a cross to abolish the disease of sin.

David quotes in Psalm 8:4-8, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas…” In this text, David praises God for caring, creating, and placing dominion in our human hands for the Godly things He created: the earth and its existing beings, including humanity. We were created “a little lower than the angels” and though we are at fault for constantly sinning with our thoughts and actions, God is still mindful and forever compassionate and loving towards us. This is true love, that though we may forget Him, He still loves us, there is nothing that can separate us from His love, not even death.

Jesus visited the earth to be fully “us.” This implies everything you are: 1) your mental process, including positive and negative feelings, desires, decisions, etc., 2) physical needs: food and shelter, etc., 3) spiritual needs: the desire to worship something or someone, and it may very well fit to mention: how we understand our purpose of stewardship and belonging to a greater cause, but mainly our nature to worship God, and what that requires – faith, hope, and love, and how much of each we possess. Jesus experienced everything a human does, both the joys and sorrows, the only difference is that the magnitude of the suffering He carried led Him to His death. This action was the only solution to save humanity from extinction, so His life and focus always centered in saving you and me. Jesus taught us the way (living with direction), the truth (living with a tangible purpose), and the life (I cannot call this anything else other than the holy spirit). Jesus’s purpose was to bring hope to a hurting and dying world. His mission was nothing less than to save us unto eternal life and make us partakers in this mission. Stewardship runs in our blood and is engraved in our brains to be exercised. The command to love our neighbor as ourselves gives us access to the heart of God. You and I are alive to bring ‘good tidings’ and love one another.  

1 King 3:7-10 quotes Solomon asking God for wisdom to lead people as the new ordained king instead of his Father David, who is nearing his death. “And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.”
We are all like little children running to and from not knowing how to face life, nevertheless, as soon as we ask God to lead us and help us to lead others, He will – no doubt, focus to tailor our lives in a way that others may see Him. We are uncapable to lead others righteously, we are uncapable to change anyone, we are uncapable to give love freely, and very uncapable to conduct ourselves like children of God. It is only God who pours out His life, strength, love, compassion, trust, through us that others may experience our love for them.

Jesus’ life and legacy is to save and redeem humanity. He lays this treasure on us because it is the only way for us to be Christ like, to be called children of God. This task requires the most out of us, and it is the reason of why having a strong mind and body is important – we are in a universal war zone. Every time you give up self, you allow Jesus to fight within you. When Jesus was on the cross “the joy set before him” allowed him to endure the cross. The joy is you, there is only one you, and only one of each one of us. When we see others, no matter what their appearance or lifestyle is, we ought to see Christ in them. This is the supernatural power of love. To love the unlovable and to win their trust by helping them believe that they are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God.

You are loved with an everlasting love! 2 Philippians 2:1-4 reads, “Thou therefore, my son [your name], be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” You are a soldier for the kingdom of God, and our call is to serve Him out of pure love and allegiance, faithfully believing that He who began a good work in us, shall be able to complete it. When we serve God, there is no fear but confidence and mighty strength, there is no doubt but a desire to do everything He would want us to do. When we serve God, we don’t compromise our lives to be approved of men but only of God. When we serve God, we live fully & freely in love. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18.

We were not created to suffer, but when we do we are never doing it alone, but Jesus carries the suffering and us, the sufferers. We were not created to hate, but when we do Jesus is immediately interceding on our behalf to the Father “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
We were not created to die, but when we feel at lost, misunderstood, like we have miserably failed, Jesus tells you and me, there is nothing you can do that will ever stop me from loving you.
We were created to be soldiers of Jesus Christ and win each battle in His name!

Ephesias 2:11-18 reads, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints…”

You are chosen for mission!

“Angels of God will cooperate with those who are engaged in the mission work, who make every effort to save perishing souls, to give them opportunities which many have never had. There is no other way in reaching them but in Christ’s way. He ever worked to relieve suffering and teach righteousness.” Welfare Ministry, p.250.

God’s people have a mighty work before them, a work that must continually rise to greater prominence. Our efforts in missionary lines must become far more extensive. A more decided work than has been done must be done prior to the second appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Testimonies for the Church

“The church of Christ on earth was organized for missionary purposes, and the Lord desires to see the entire church devising ways and means whereby high and low, rich and poor, may hear the message of truth.” The church of Christ is you and me, the church of Christ is not a building is the body of anyone who makes allegiance to Jesus Christ in love! “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal the land. 2 Chr 7:14.

Jude 20-25 reads,

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen!

Life

Living in Crisis with Hope II

In this next session we will explore how aspects of the society we live in have affected our young/adult lives and shaped our understanding of what the pursuit of happiness really is.

Let us turn to 2 Samuel 12: 7-10

And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon (the God of the sun). Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

In this portion of the story of David’s adultery with Uriah’s wife, we read of the judgement that the prophet Nathan presents to David on behalf of God. Not much is said of Uriah’s wife, but considering the degree of this particular situation, what do you think would have been the emotional, spiritual, and physical state of Uriah’s wife during her pregnancy from adultery?

Let’s open a parenthesis within this particular story, and take a glimpse at what research says:
“In utero is the term used to describe an unborn child still inside their mother’s body – that is, inside her womb or uterus. As the mother’s body is providing the care to the child, any stress the mother experiences (maternal stress) can transfer to the child. If the type of stress is particularly bad, this can cause the child trauma. Trauma in utero is commonly caused by chaotic or unpredictable lifestyle factors including, but not limited to, the mother’s exposure to domestic violence, lack of antenatal care, or substance misuse during pregnancy. Stress experienced by the mother can lead to elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol in her body, which can then be passed onto her unborn child via the placenta. Prenatal exposure to maternal stress and toxic substance misuse can have significant and sometimes lifelong implications for the child, such as: fetal distress, low birth weight and head circumference, neurobehavioral abnormalities, impairment of normal brain development and functioning (learning capacity, emotional regulation and stability, attachment issues, physical coordination, self-esteem), symptoms of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), anxiety and depression, and impaired capacity to form healthy attachments with others (ACT Government).”

Placental abruption is the most common cause of fetal death from trauma in pregnancy. Force from trauma can sheer the placenta from the uterine wall and lead to fetal demise. Uterine rupture, though rare, usually occurs in the third trimester and is associated with high risk of fetal and maternal mortality (Mayo Clinic).

Could we then perhaps speculate that the pregnant state of Uriah’s wife may have been affected the child in her womb?

2 Samuel 12: 13-15 reads,
And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

David has just been told that his child will die. Was it the child’s fault?
No, the child is completely innocent. Maybe some of us are questioning, why did God allow the child to die? Why didn’t he heal him? But if we question God’s power over the matter, then we also need to include the question asked at the beginning, who causes suffering? You see, God cannot stop evil from happening when we make the wrong choices.

Consequences is a word very well used by parents, but sometimes as adults we forget what it means to us. God does not force us to behave, He does not force us to obey, and sin comes with consequences.

The great controversy reveals that since conception the human race battles to stay alive. We are soldiers since day one, but the old serpent, devil, or satan has no pity but full hatred towards mankind. The deceiver continues to bring suffering to the human race and then points to God as the initiator of our pain. The devil’s goal to affect the Father image of a loving, caring Father is one of the greatest deceptions in human history!

 “The “Father Wound” is a term in therapy that describes a person’s father is physically absent, emotionally distant or an abusive, negative or overly critical character, it can have long-term consequences for the individual. The effects of an emotionally absent father can impact an individual’s self-esteem, relationships and even their motivation in life.

A father wound can instill feelings of not meeting expectations, not being good enough and being undeserving of love. Children don’t have the insight to understand that their parents can have problems, so they tend to internalize their parents’ behavior as their fault. Low self-esteem can result in an individual:

  • Never pushing themselves in school or work
  • Having difficulty opening up and connecting with others, making it hard to form meaningful, long-lasting relationships and friendships
  • Being more susceptible to substance abuse (FHE Health)“.

Atheist and psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, in his essay of Leonardo Da Vinci remarks: “Psychoanalysis, which has taught us the intimate connection between the father complex and belief in God, has shown us that the personal God is logically nothing but an exalted father, and daily demonstrates to us how youthful persons lose their religious belief as
soon as the authority of the father breaks down (Leonardo da Vinci, 1910, 1947 p. 98).”

“There are, of course, many ways that a father can lose his authority and seriously disappoint a child. Some of these ways-for which clinical evidence is given are:

  • He can be present but obviously weak, cowardly, and unworthy of respect – even if otherwise pleasant or “nice.” (women, never insult your men, we were created as help mates)
  • He can be present but physically, sexually, or psychologically abusive.
  • He can be absent through death or by abandoning or leaving the family.

Taken all together these proposed determinants of atheism will be called the “defective father” hypothesis (Patheos).”

Did you know that many of the outspoken atheists have “the defective father” experience in common?

In the world of Christianity,
we go to the Father for help,
we pray to the Father for guidance,
we study the Father’s love for peace, joy, love,
we cling to the Father for life.
Paul calls it “the Cristian’s maturity” the process in which a person no longer acts like a child but a man, made in the image of God.

A person who does not mature replaces child play with adult child-like behavior (daily fighting the inner girl in women, or the inner boy in men). This behavior mainly focuses on satisfying the desires of the flesh, becoming self-centered, and worshiping the created things rather than the creator. Self-control to that individual means restrictions or “legalism.”

Romans 7:14, 15, “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.”

Call it ADDICTION: Romas 7:18 “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
“We cannot trust ourselves”… A pastor at Glendale SDA church, CA said, “Your body will conspire to kill you, the drive for pleasure to escape reality will literally kill you.”  

Romans 7:19-24., “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

We’re now transitioning from suffering infused at conception to how the world tells us about how to deal with it, for many escaping reality is the only way to live; to be num is better than to suffer.

Drugs, alcohol, pornography, medical drugs, work, power, intelligence, all these are subjects that some seek in order to hide their suffering. The legalization of marijuana created billions of dollars in Colorado on day one.  

“Marijuana is the most commonly used federally illegal drug in the United States, with 48.2 million people, or about 18% of Americans, using it at least once in 2019. In states where the drug is legalized, however, cannabis taxes constitute a substantial source of funding for programs ranging from healthcare initiatives to law enforcement.

The federal government recognizes cannabis as a Schedule 1 substance, meaning it’s considered highly addictive and therefore illegal at the federal level. Despite this, 23 states and Washington, DC, have fully legalized the drug, with an additional 21 states either fully or partially legalizing medical marijuana (USA Facts).” How much revenue do you think states make from marijuana taxes?

Last night I shared a part of my testimony, on how one of my friends struggled with Cocaine, he lost all his money, he couldn’t function at work, he lost his apartment, he’s mom closed out his credit cards. Our common friend saw him on the streets, playing his guitar and asking for money. I few times I drove through the streets of Holyoke looking for him, he had been missing for two days. He got into a car accident after falling asleep on the wheel and was taken to the hospital. Cocaine supersedes all other desires. And that first hit that people get when they use the first time, one never gets it again. So the addict lives seeking that first hit.

Some of you may know of Yuval Noah Harari, artificial intelligence spokesperson and author of the book “Sapiens” (Homo sapiens rules the world because it is the only animal that can believe in things that exist purely in its own imagination, such as gods, states, money, and human rights). While interviewing, the conversation of classes of people came about, and when asked how will one of those groups be eliminated? “Yuval Noah Harari, replied, “for now with drugs and video games.” We have a group among the so-called elite that plan to be like gods and live forever through artificial intelligence, where humans are no longer natural but artificial. This wicked agenda is in place, and it holds hands with the environmental agenda and the Sunday law. Search the scriptures and you will find truth.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour…(1 Peter 5:8).”

The Youth Crisis and Suicide

John Hopkins reports: Suicide is the third leading cause of death in young people ages 15 to 24.

  • Boys are 4 times more likely to die from suicide than girls.
  • Girls are more likely to attempt suicide than boys.
  • Guns are used in more than half of youth suicides (John Hopkins Medicine).”

Dr. E. Walsh shared that one of his nieces was found dead in the bathroom at her home. The investigation said, that someone on the phone had coached her through the suicide.

We live in a world where parents are told that their children do not belong to them, they belong to the system. A world that praises confusion, and plants in a child’s mind that they can choose to be whatever they want. They are performing surgeries in God’s children, perverting them, and exposing them to lust.

But there is hope.

Life

Living in Crisis with Hope I

What causes our suffering? Being born into a sinful world directed by the evil master of lies is suffering.

Cain and Abel

From the beginning of our world we have examples of two groups of people, those who choose to serve God, and those who choose to serve themselves, AKA the devil. We have the example of Cain and Abel, born from retired perfect beings, the one, Abel, obeys the commands of God, the other, Cain, not only disobeys God, but believes to know better and out due God’s request.

Consider this, within the first two generations humanity has gone from being holy to the very extreme of being completely wicked, as to murder because of anger and jealousy.

Reading from Genesis 4:9 “And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?

Cain lies and disrespects God. Similar to a disrespectful child that responds back to a parent when asked why he did so and so. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain asked. After murder he does not seem to feel sorry but in anger his careless response to God gives us an understanding that Cain does not respect God. And if that is the case, why would he have any respect for his youngest brother? Following on the same idea, have you ever wondered what is Cain’s relationship with Adam, his biological father? We will come back to this question.

Pre-creation: War Broke in Heaven

Now let’s back up to Pre-creation, we find the heavenly battle between Michael and Lucifer, as we quote from Revelation 12:7-9: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not (did not conquer, did not win); neither was their place found any more in heaven (heaven is no longer their home). And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Why was the devil cast out? Let us read in Isaiah 12:12-14

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Why was he cast out?  Because he wanted to take the throne of God, and just like Cain, we see this anger, jealousy trait that leads him to desire to murder Michael and His Angels, to murder Jesus, the sun of God. And to take over the throne.

Our sinful nature: Born Into Sin

All of us by default carry Satan’s sinful nature, because we were born into this sinful world. Babies are like little barbarians, the parents really have to teach this baby what he or she can and cannot have, because by default the baby is born selfish, and that baby will push the limits of the parents.

I remember when our oldest niece was a baby, she would pound on her chest like a little gorilla, she didn’t want to get changed, she also disliked getting water on her head so she will get angry and cry, and when she started to speak, everything that she will grab, she will ask, “is it mine?”
Why? Because this perfect child by nature she was born selfish.

The moment one receives life is when our conflict begins.  The old serpent, master of lies, never ceases to attack and bring conflict to our lives. The devil or Satan has an agenda to destroy the human race, and his strategy has always been to weaken the nations, in order to: separate us from God, have an unfair perspective of God as a creator, Father, and Savior. Satan hates us, he wants to destroy us if possible, even before we are born!

Some of us may not be fully aware of the things that are creating pain in our lives.

Let’s talk about babies! Normally babies develop a close attachment bond with their main caregiver (usually their parents) within the first months of life. If they are in a situation where they do not receive normal love and care, they cannot develop this close bond. This may result in a condition called attachment disorder. It usually happens to babies and children who have been neglected or abused, or who are in care or separated from their parents for some reason.

When children don’t form an attachment relationship with a trusted adult in infancy, they can go on to develop a series of emotional, behavioural, and social problems.

Child attachment disorder (CAD) always develops before the age of 5 years and usually much earlier. It always occurs in children who have not had normal care as a baby. Examples of children at risk of attachment disorder include:

  • Children who have been neglected or abused.
  • Children in care institutions.
  • Children who have been placed with a series of different carers.
  • Children who have been separated from their parents, through illness, death, war, etc.
  • Children whose parents abuse drugs or alcohol.
  • Children whose parents have serious mental health problems
  • “Child Attachment Disorder” Published on July 2023. Last updated by Dr Doug McKechnie  Peer reviewed by Dr Hayley Willacy

And now moving into toddler years, research says: “Early childhood experiences are the biggest contributor to developing abandonment issues when you become an adult. The traumatic event might include the loss of a parent by divorce or death or not getting enough physical or emotional care as a child. Emotional abandonment occurs when parents:

  • Do not let their children express themselves emotionally “boys don’t cry”
  • Ridicule their children “you can’t do anything right” … or in public “what did I tell you?”
  • Put too much pressure on their children to be “perfect”
  • Treat their children like their peers

Abandonment issues happen when a parent or caregiver does not provide the child with consistent warm or attentive interactions, leaving them feeling chronic stress and fear. The experiences that happen during a child’s development will often continue into adulthood. This is why abandonment issues become more prevalent as you get older and can affect your relationships.

Let’s re-cap, the devil causes suffering, when? Even before we are born because if the new parent was neglected as a baby or as a child and did not “fix the childhood trauma,” in adulthood it will get worse. Therefore, it is likely that the parent may also transmit his/her suffering to his/her child in the future.

Life, Short Stories

Living in Crisis with Hope Intro

This is a three-part series of a message I shared at church in the month of October 2023.

The goal of our message today is to understand the magnitude of our suffering and how through Jesus Christ we will be more than conquerors.

Intro

Have you ever been asked to be the judge of a situation in which you were completely unaware of what happened? This story is called “Two boys, at the river, skipping rocks.”

It was a beautiful sunny day, a little cold, and off we went to our favorite place, “Forest Falls.” On the way, back and forth talking escalated to screaming in the back of the car, and too quickly turning into punches and kicking. I pulled over and asked the boys to apologize to each other… silence. Repeating the same statement, I reminded them that without an apology we would not continue the trip. Again, silence. Trying it from a different approach, I continued, “we are wasting each other’s time here if you don’t say sorry.” But he started it, said the oldest. “At this point you both need to apologize for punching each other.” Quickly, the youngest said, ok, ok, sorry! Turning to the older one I said, is your turn. “No, it was his fault.”  After a few more attempts, the older would not apologize.  With frustration the younger one said, “just say sorry, we’re going to be here all day, ahh.” “No!” A few more complaints happened and finally, the angry boy gave up and said “sorry!” …Alright, let’s go! Not too long passed, and friends at last the brothers ran from the car down the slope to the river. Searching for rocks, splashing the water, skipping rocks, seeking “shelter” and loosing track of time. What a pretty sight, this is what they were made for, to enjoy life with zero worrying or distress. Off they went, getting lost through branches and bushes, laughing and playing games, building forts, and then… the scream “aaaaahhh.” I turned around and ran to find the oldest brother laying on the ground, angry and sobbing, he screamed “I hate you, get away from me!” to his brother. His brother ran and hid himself.

Are you ok? I asked. I think I broke my foot! He replied and kept screaming. Let me see, “no, no, don’t touch it, it hurts.” What happened? I asked. “It was his fault, it always is. I never want to see him again!”

“I think you are ok,” I said but he replied “no I broke my foot!”
“Believe me if it was broken, you would be in so much more pain.”

At the distance his brother slowly started to approach, “are you ok?”

Come back Jake, I said. Peter your brother is sorry for what happened, can you please say sorry to Peter, Jake? “I’m sorry, Peter.” “No, he’s not sorry, it’s always his fault! He hurt me.” “But he didn’t mean to, you guys were playing together. Please, forgive your brother, he didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“No, he doesn’t need to be forgiven, everyone else can except for Jake. It’s his fault, it’s always his fault, he always gets the toys, I never get anything, “Opa” always gives him everything. I won’t ever forgive him; he doesn’t deserve it. Everyone else can, but not him, he doesn’t deserve him!”  

Friendship, Inspiration, Life

Our Friend

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.
John 15:13-17

In the paragraph above, Jesus speaks the supernatural language of love once again to His friends. He is about to partake in a human’s penultimate earthly act. Up to this point, Jesus does not know death, He ‘the all living’ is about to experience not existing. Later, as He cries out to His Father to “pass the cup from Him according to His will” the very image and love of His Father serves and strengthens His inner most soul. The very same friends He’s spent joys, sorrows, and marvelous experiences with are not by His side, neither are they praying for His pierced soul. Jesus requested beforehand to His friends to pray with Him before the last hours of His death, but its imperative understanding of the request is not within them. As His words were: Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. John 16:32

Alone, didn’t frighten the Son of God… alone meant a devoted time of surrender to His Father. Our sins on His shoulders causing the separation from His Father was ultimately what killed Jesus.
As a young child, I spent moments “alone” submerged in the creation of God, on top of a tree or staring at the sunset and singing. Alone meant, an exclusive and required “you and I.” I don’t recall being afraid of the darkness or walking alone through darkness. This ideal ‘not feeling alone when we are physically alone’ has helped me reach high levels of joy. It has created in me the image of the best friend one can always count on: Jesus, the Son of God, our friend.

Jesus, the ultimate cheer leader, team’s captain, and supporter of all times can be a best friend to the friendless, selfish, and unlovable: each one of us. Speaking to His friends he says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33.” That summary of separation from the Father is about to be heart-felt by His disciples prior to and after His death on the cross, yet He clearly notes “but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Meaning you no longer have to experience what I am going through, you no longer need to experience separation from the Father but have complete access to Him through me. There are no longer any sacrificial rituals for you to follow, but the same access that I have to my father, you now have. This is the peace that He refers to when He says “that in me ye might have peace,” ultimately death is about to be conquered by His life. Jesus’s death experienced all of the suffering and pain combined in earth’s entire history: the past, present, and future. All the suffering that we have experienced has already been experienced by Him. What this means is that Jesus already died and paid the ransom for our wrong doings, and what someone else has wronged us with, in order for us to live eternally. In a practical level, we don’t need to pay to stay alive, we are commanded to live it fully by “loving each other.”

The task that Jesus commands us with is supernatural and impossible to do without His character. This is the reason why the Godhead sends the comforter ‘The Holy Spirit’ after Jesus’s return to Our Father. The Holy Spirit’s role is to live in each one of our hearts, and guide our minds with wisdom from above. The Holy Spirit convicts us each time we feel guilt of some sort for what we are about to do. Our Father and Friend have the solution for us to experience love and life the way it was supposed to, free from sin, and full of everlasting joy. Each one of us is called to have an excellent spirit, the character of Jesus Christ. We ought not to fall short, for he has created us a little lower than the angels! As David’s praise reads: When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; that is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Psalm 6:3-5.

We are Our Father’s workmanship, created with His standards engraved and portrayed through His Son’s life in our hearts and sealed in our minds through His excellent Spirit. The Father as much as The Son cherish to spend eternity with you and I. As Jesus revealed to His disciples then, we are not called His servants but His friends. Being a friend of God is life-saving. Obtaining such understanding is the only way to experience no fear, but peace, joy, and love.

May your understanding of His love free you from human expectations and embark you to live fully! Jesus has chosen you, it is up to you to choose Him back.

Friendship, Inspiration, Life

Our Father

The wonder of love can only be tied to the extreme suffering of Jesus on the cross. His sacrifice, the ultimate escape from death, pierced His Father.

Back on March 2019, as the preacher spoke about the death of Christ and said, “and darkness filled the earth… at that moment as Jesus exclaims, Father, Father, why have you forsaken me? … is when His Father was the closest to His son.” He continued to explain, “there was complete darkness, and when the lighting from the sky broke the curtains in the temple, life spread through the earth.” This is actually biblical and can be found in Matthew 27, people resurrected after Jesus died. What was most revealing was quoting Psalm 18:8-12:

Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

The Father leaves heaven during the darkest day of earth’s history to be by the cross next to His son. This darkness camouflages the holiest and most high, Our Father.

Often, when life gets rough is when we may be the closest to the Father, because the battle between good and evil is literally playing in our minds over and over, and over.
Whenever a human being is under attack, Michael – the warrior name for Jesus – is fighting for each of His father’s children. Supreme love is beyond our understanding, and yet it is present and expressed to and for each one of us.

Evil continues attacking the image of a loving father because by doing so a detachment from understanding the minimal portion of His pure love is under attack. The essence of God’s love is sufficient for a human being to fight to live, and Satan, the chief of evil, knows that. So he attacks the image of the Father by lying about His character. From the moment Lucifer desires to be equal to God, His character is altered and deficient of love, His desire for equality is turned into slavery, rebellion, and extreme hate towards the human race. This has been the most complex yet simple revelations of biblical awakenings in my life. From a young age, I believed and trusted that Our Father loved me – but the understanding of ultimate love has been revealed and will continue to be reveal in adulthood. This understanding is the glue to Christianity. What holds each person together is knowing that He or She is loved – not through merit, but through grace and the purest and only love. And this grace relationship could have only be attained by giving the most precious, Jesus ‘the Son,’ as a ransom for the human race.

Our Father and Social Thought

Satan has continuously glued his character in the minds of influential people that more may suffer the consequences of his defeat. Satan cannot attack God so he attacks what is most precious to Him, His children. While Jesus was on this earth, Satan attempts to destroy Jesus through persecution and temptations from His birth. As the child Jesus is protected by his earthly parents, so God wants His children ‘the stewards of the earth’ to protect His children, nevertheless, as the Father did with his son Jesus, He never left Him alone, and neither did Jesus separate himself from Our Father. Our society presents life as a cycle of events, God presents life as continuous and eternal. God’s intend for His children was never to be governed by us as leaders of human thought and love. We are very incapable to lead unselfishly. God’s intent for us was to endure life and conquer love with Him and through Him.

While Satan fights for our attention to deviate us from the love of Our Father, Jesus intercedes for our lives and conquers death, conquers time and re-assures our adoption as His Father’s children. The act of love in its purest form is the death of the Son of God. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). One of the most beautiful words that I’ve taken to heart through my childhood and adulthood is the word “friend.” A friendship is developed without any interest but once it is established there is no obligation to remain in it. Why did Jesus call us friends? As John 15:15 reads: I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

I’m thrilled to continue writing on this topic for the next post. Be encouraged that Our Father, not only wants you to be entitled His child, but He wants you to remember that He is your friend through your personal decision in the quest for true love.

Inspiration, Life, Short Stories

With Love, Brittany

2020 felt like a roller coaster for most of us. There was repeated joy followed by sadness and mixed emotions in between. “We” wish we could count it all joy but it was hard to at times.

January 2020 was partially a delightful month, I was able to work remotely in Boston, MA and stayed with my sister, it had been about 17 years since we were roommates.

Once in California, the weekends continued to be full of laughter as our friends gathered to play games and eat pop-corn. On January 22, while driving back from work, I received a message telling us that our beloved friend had been diagnosed with cancer. I began to sob uncontrollably, at that moment hope and faith became foreign after receiving the news. The Bible speaks of “counting it all joy” when we are tempted, nevertheless, at a time like this some of us may realize how weak our faith can turn.

Out of all the women I’ve known, the one I picture and desired to see raising children was Brittany. Brittany and her husband were my oldest niece’s adult best friends. I used to tell Brittany that she would be a wonderful mother, to which she would say, “I don’t think we’re ready” and smiled.

The same week after receiving the news about Brittany, I visited her. My mind was strengthened from praying so much and I chose to believe that Brittany would recover. I packed boiled beets, and sang all the way to Reno, it was Friday after 6pm. On the way, I missed a few speed limit signs and got pulled over for driving over the speed limit. The police officer asked if there was an emergency, so I mentioned that my friend was sick. He followed to say he was sorry and asked where I was driving from and heading to, “Irvine to Reno.” He was kind and asked me to be cautious as the speed limit signs changed rapidly in that section of the town I was driving through. He also said, “I will pray for your friend.” This was like an encounter with God himself… for his forgiveness and for caring for someone he didn’t even know. It was around 2 am when Brittany’s dad welcomed me at Brittany’s and told me where I would be staying. It was on that day where hoping for a miracle was the only answer to our prayers. Brittany’s diagnosis was seating on the desk where I was staying and I read it. It was stage-4 cancer, I looked up the rest of the medical description and laid to sleep, crying. Emotionally, I could hardly imagine the pain that each one of her family members had. If this had been such a painful time for me as a friend, how much more would her family suffer. On Tuesday afternoon, Brittany walked around the neighborhood without any help. She would begin chemotherapy and fight for her life.

Brittany made people feel special. She loved to have fun and laugh. On one occasion, after watching a musical and eating cucumber sandwiches at my school, rain started to pour on us, so we started to ran and laugh so loud in the parking lot. It was a rain party! On Friday, April 17 2020, Brittany called me from the hospital. She called me to wish me “Happy Birthday, Melo!” she sounded lovely as usual. Her family and friends had been visiting and staying at her house every weekend since the news of her diagnosis. On Sunday April 26, a few friends and I drove up to see Brittany. We played music by her bedside and prayed. On one of those days as I walked into the room, she asked her mom for her hat. I told her, “you look beautiful Brittz,” to which her husband agreed and went on to kiss her forehead. She did look beautiful, even without her hair. Brittany remained pretty even after her body had lost most of her body mass. During that visit, I witnessed (like the old days in the east coast) the deep love that she and her husband shared with each other.

In May, we drove up to Reno to see Brittany again, this time I joined her dad, brother and brother’s wife. It was May 15, a Friday, at this point Brittany’s pain had gotten worse. The pain was unbearable and we would constantly hear her screaming with pain. On May 18, she was taken to the hospital screaming from pain in her lower back. That was the last time I saw Brittz. Brittany had surgery the following day. Her body was too weak to take chemo, so she had to wait to recover from surgery before receiving more chemo. She had grown tired of the pain, and as she mentioned getting hospice care, I said, “you won’t need it Brittz!” I truly believed that she would recover. Brittz had a successful surgery and was recovering from it, “she ate all your beans,” her husband said after returning from the hospital, it was Wednesday.

I left Reno on Thursday, May 21. The surgery was successful but recovery would take time. I believe that every one of us who suffered seeing Brittany experience so much pain tried to the best of our abilities to remain positive that she would recover. Our prayers never seized, “may your will be done, but please take her pain away.” Even if that meant rescuing her from suffering so much. And God answered, as her pain was removed on Sunday morning, June 7. She laid to rest surrounded by her family, and the love of her life. Brittany’s love for David never changed, she loved him dearly. She looked up to him from the moment they met. She never gave him any hints of her interest for him before dating, but she always prayed for him as her one. She mentioned to me, “I cried for David even while dating a person after him.” She made a mistake, she said, but inside she always had the slightest hope to reunite with David. And they did, they married and lived together for the last 10 years of her life!

Love suffereth long and is kind… One of the best lessons Brittany demonstrated to me was this “love suffereth long and is kind.” Her and David’s love story are inspiring because neither of them gave up for each other. Her love for her husband taught me that waiting, even when there seems to be no hope, is worth it. David loved Brittany so much as well, they were the best for each other.

This past holiday season while reading through the cards she wrote, I relived the experiences and lovely memories she leaves behind. Her encouragement and thoughtful words re-assure that she loved me and cared for our friendship, as she signed “With love, Brittany.” It was a blessing to have her in my life, as a sister-friend, as an advisor and teacher, and as a mentor in the quest for Love. Loving others is living for God, and living for God is living fully!

Education, Inspiration, Life, Short Stories

To Be Inspired

The wisest man on earth, Solomon, wrote these lines: What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Looking back at the years of my intellectual quest, I attest that education had a complete turn in my life when I finally understood Solomon’s awakening line “there is nothing new under the sun.”

Freedom obtained from above is not just knowing that God loves you; the implication of understanding that God loves you is knowing that there is nothing better than God loving you. Similarly, there is nothing better than loving God.

The gaps within my Christian conversion tie to education, and the inability to feel free. I was captive to human theory and self-exaltation or what could be referred to as Luciferian traits. As a child I understood that awards were only given to the “brightest children” or to the ones with good grades, so life was already complicated. I aspired to one day be amongst the brightest minds. School was my top priority but I didn’t get good grades by being the class-clown nor falling asleep while studying. I remember dreaming of having a photographic memory while walking on the streets of Lima. My mom was holding my hand while crossing the street and as I looked up to a road bridge I thought, “if I could only picture everything I read… I could ace a test; dear God ‘Diosito,’ could you please give me just that?” My dream expanded to the idea that one day I could read an entire book and quote each line by memory. Sadly, my dream was turning into a nightmare as I still couldn’t read properly at age thirteen! In order to avoid mistakes while reading in public, I counted the number of people in the circle before it got to my turn to practice the lines that I had to read. Apparently this technique helped, and people began to comment that I read very fast. In my mind reading out-loud was cruel and summarizing paragraphs was a waste of time of an already wasted time.

Moving forward to my early twenties, as I began attending college and taking classes I understood that “there is nothing new under the sun.” That history repeated itself, and that humanity was very self-destructive. I came across bored and empty intellectuals. Being somewhat heart broken from this illusion, I started to get closer to God and understand His love. Soon enough, my slavery to the intellectual quest turned into a passive search for truth and joy. Even though solving an equation brought joy to my life, the truth of “what is life?” gave deep meaning to my life as a servant, or as a Christian.

I can vividly remember the enlighten day. I was reading, and then everything stopped. My internal voice said, “you don’t have to be smart to enter the kingdom of God, that’s not a requirement, as a matter of fact, you don’t have to be anything to enter.” I felt quit ludicrous afterwards. This realization brought so much relief and joy that I started laughing and going up and down the stairs celebrating that “there is nothing new under the sun.”

From that day forward I understood that God wanted us to prepare intellectually to serve others fully. I also understood that all talents or skills that we have are His not ours, and that if He entrusted us with any talents, they were to be used for the missionary field that we live in.

The text below gives great instruction/aid for our struggling human minds:

As through Christ every human being has life, so also through Him every soul receives some ray of divine light. Not only intellectual but spiritual power, a perception of right, a desire for goodness, exists in every heart. But against these principles there is struggling an antagonistic power. The result of the eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is manifest in every man’s experience. There is in his nature a bent to evil, a force which, unaided, he cannot resist. To withstand this force, to attain that ideal which in his inmost soul he accepts as alone worthy, he can find help in but one power. That power is Christ. Co-operation with that power is man’s greatest need. – E. White, Education, p.29.

The insecurities in each of our lives can be overcome by giving our lives to Christ. The quest for love is its understanding and the only reason of why we exist. We were created to love and be loved by the only God and creator of life. May God bring joy to you today as you ask Him to enlighten your days with the freedom found through His son! For God so loved you that He gave His only begotten son that by believing in Him, you would not perish but have everlasting life! (modified from John 3:16).