Ungratefulness in America

A few ago, I came face to face with how ungrateful many people really are including me. Even now when I think about it, tears come to my eyes. I came to know a fourteen-year-old boy. His dad is in jail. The boy lives with his mother in Mexico. The boy is given a choice every weekday. He can go to school, or he can go to work. The boy, who I am going to call Sam, knows that if he goes to school his mother will only be able to eat one bowl of beans that day. He knows that if he goes to work, they will both be able to eat two bowls of beans that day. Therefore, Sam goes to work with his uncle. Sam’s Uncle is my brother-n-law. My brother-n-law asked my husband for some help because he cannot find any work. My brother-n-law is a bricklayer by trade. Because of the help that we gave, they have both been able to find work in a restaurant.

This got me to thinking. Here in America most of the people do not have to choose between getting a high school education and eating. Here in America, we complain about many things that are not important. Most teenagers want the newest in electronics or clothing. Sam is excited over a new toothbrush, a pillow, and a new blanket. The blanket is only plain green and twin size. He is not concerned about name brand shoes or name brand blue jeans. We complain because the light bill is higher than normal. They do not have electricity because they cannot afford it. That means that not only does Sam and his mother work from daylight to dark 6 to 7 days a week, but they also cook their food on a wood stove and wash their clothes on a scrub board or by hand. Why are we complaining? We access to a microwave, a stove, washer and dryer, a computer, and a couple of televisions. God help us all to be more thankful.

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The Same Yesterday and Forever

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). Often in life, we desire and believe in outcomes that never materialize. Instead, we are met with events that are usually unwelcome. The resurrection of Lazarus serves as a prime example. Martha and Mary call for Jesus when Lazarus falls ill, confident in his ability to heal. They anticipate their brother's recovery, but instead, Lazarus passes away. Four days post-mortem, Jesus arrives; Martha rushes to greet him, while Mary remains indoors, possibly angered by the unfulfilled healing of her brother. Martha, too, is distressed. We can see this because she says, “… if you would hadst been here, my brother had not died” (John 11:21). However, she still shows a little bit of faith by her next words, “But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee“(John 11:22).

After speaking with Jesus, Martha summons her sister Mary. Mary repeats to Jesus what Martha had said. Jesus recognized that both Martha and Mary were distressed. He was aware that their faith needed strengthening. Nonetheless, he showed compassion, which is evident from the fact that he wept alongside them. Martha possessed some faith, yet she struggled with doubt. However, “Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” (John 11:40). Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead were laid and Jesus prayed. Afterwards, “…he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go” (John 11:43-44). Jesus took the faith she possessed, amplified it, and performed a miracle that bolstered the faith of Mary, the disciples, and everyone in that town.

Often, we become upset or angry believing that God is inactive. Yet, we are not privy to God's plan. There are occasions when God intends to use us as witnesses to greater things, similar to what has been done before. Remember that Jesus is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” Hebrews 13:8.


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the Same
Jesus will do for you what he has done for others.

The Manufacture

Jesus knows the beginning from the end because he declared the “end form the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:’” (Isaiah 46:10). “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). This means that before the foundations of the world was laid Jesus was there. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John 1:1). With words, God spoke the world into existence. The “Word” is Jesus. Therefore, when Genesis says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), it is saying the Jesus’ power created everything. “For by him were all things created, that are heaven, and that are in earth…” (Colossians 1:16).

Jesus knew each of us before we were formed in the womb. Since Jesus is the beginning and the end, he made all, and he knows all, it would seem that he would know everything about us. In book of Psalms, David writes, “O’ Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me” (Psalms 139:1). David is saying; Lord, you know everything there is to know about me. You know me inside and out. David continues by saying, not only do you know everything about me; you are the one who made me. Isn’t great to know that God knows us, and he made us. He is the "manufacture" of all of us.

When we have a problem, we should go back to the manufacture. Think about it, when we have problems with our vehicles we go to a mechanic. For example, I took my Dodge Ram truck to the mechanic when the check engine light came on. The mechanic was able to determine what the problem was and how to fix it. As I went to the mechanic, we should go to Jesus in prayer. He knows all about our problem and he is able and willing to fix the problem.





The Manufactor
God is the manufactor of all of us.

Who Is Jesus?

The question, “Who is Jesus?” is not a new one. People have been seeking answers to that question for centuries. People were talking about Jesus and asking that very question. One day Jesus asked his disciples who people said that he was. They answered, “Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:14). Obviously, the people could not agree who Jesus was even when he was on earth. Jesus then asked, “But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:15-16). According to Jesus, the truth is revealed by divine revelation. those who receive this revelation are blessed.

After Pentecost, the gospel spread quickly throughout the know world. Thousands gave their heart and lives to Jesus. However, there is a devil seeking to deceive people. When people do not get their information from God or Godly leaders, it is easy for people to developed wrong ideas about Jesus. Many of these ideas are based on false information or false assumptions.

During the dark ages, there was a falling away from the truth. There are many reasons for this. The main reason was lack of knowledge of the word of God since “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17b). Most people during the dark ages were illiterate. Therefore, the religious people believed that only the Priest could understand the word of God. Since the printing press had yet to be invented, books had to be copied painstaking by hand. Therefore, only the rich could afford a bible.

During this period, false religious leaders were misleading many people. These religious leaders often ignored the truth of the scriptures. The Priest spread many false beliefs. The traditions of men were created and added. The people were looking for the truth and some of the priest and other men and women took advantage of the situation. In some places, the government was controlled by the church officials. Thankfully, some brave men and women decided to take a stand against the church officials. Some of the people sailed across the ocean to America because they wanted religious freedom. We now know them as the pilgrims. Later the United States of America was made up mostly of people would wanted to create a more prefect union that included religious freedom.

Over the years many people has taken advantage of people seeking the truth. Some have even taken one or two verses and created a new doctrine or religion from it. These false doctrines and religions blind the eyes of the people from the truth. The false doctrine and other religious beliefs placed people in bondage. This is clearly the work of the devil. Jesus came to set the captives free, not place them in more bondage. It is sad that often times the followers of false doctrines work harder to spread there ideas than Christians do at proclaiming the good news of Jesus. Through Jesus, we are free. Therefore, we should work to break the strong holds that the devil has on others.

Other people’s ideas are based on false assumptions. Some common false assumptions are
sins are too great
the word “all” does not mean all
Fathers are abusive therefore Jesus must be abusive.
They may feel that Jesus is angry with them.
Others feel that Jesus does not love them. Many times earthly fathers are hurtful or angry towards their children. Therefore, they feel that Jesus does not love them even though that could not be father from the truth.
Others based their ideas solely on the Bible. This is the best way. However, just having a bunch of facts about Jesus does not mean that you have a relationship with him. A relationship with Jesus is what Peter had. In order to have a relationship with Jesus, you need to know what he has to say about himself. Therefore it is best to take time each and everyday to read the word of God and pray. Ask Jesus to show you the truth. Remember the Bible says, “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…” (Philippians 2:12). This means to become humble and go to God with respect and reverence. From there you can truly, now that you are a child of God that you are greatly loved by God.

Demons and the Fight

Jesus always answers prayers when you pray with faith. However, you need to be careful while you are waiting for the answer. I recently learned this the hard way. This is especially true if your prayer is for the removal of evil spirits. Around the middle of May 2010, I started feeling a strong evil presence in the apartment that my husband and I rented. Living with us was my husband’s brother-n-law (Mario), a nephew, and three other men. The men and Mario liked to drink. My husband and I did not approve. I started praying every day that Jesus would remove the evil spirits from the apartment. I explained many times to Jesus that my baby was due to be born June 27^th and that I did not want him to live where evil spirits were. I felt like Jesus was not listening to me because the evil presence seemed to just get stronger. I even started seeing a black shadow of a man. Every time that that I saw this shadow, I would scream, “Get out of here in the Name of Jesus”. The shadow would leave for a couple of days and then come back. The men continued to drink outside in the parking lot. I would ask Concho, my husband, to go and talk to them every time that they drank. He did but they never listened.

I will always remember the last time that they drank in the parking lot. It was Saturday June 19^th. My brother-n-law asked to borrow the truck to go to Winn-Dixie. At this time, he was not drinking, and he wanted to send some money to his wife. Therefore, we agreed. My brother-n-law and his nephew, Samuel, went to the store. Sometime later Samuel came back in, but Mario did not. Samuel said that Mario was drinking outside with Robert. I was concerned about my truck, so I went outside to make sure they were not in my truck. They were in Hector’s vehicle. Hector had given Robert the key so they could listen to music while drinking. About 10 p.m., my husband went outside to talk to them. Again, they did not listen. About 15 minutes later, he came back inside. My husband and I tried to go to sleep, but neither of us could sleep. I had a bad feeling that something was going to happen to Mario, Robert, and Hector. At first, I thought that they might try to use my truck to go somewhere, so I asked my husband if he had the key. Thankfully, he did. I again tried to sleep but could not. Therefore, I prayed that Jesus would remove the evil spirits from the apartment. The phone rang at 12 am on Sunday morning. Beto called and said that Mario and Robert were fighting. My husband answered, “It is not my problem”. About 2 minutes later Beto came and beat on the door to our room. My husband opened the door and Beto said, “They are crazy. They are fighting with knives.” My husband got his clothes on, got the machete, and went outside. I started praying for the safely of my husband and tried to explain to Jesus that I asked for the evil spirits to leave, not for everyone to start trying to kill each other. I felt like Jesus had misunderstood me. About 5 min later, my husband came in with blood covering both arms from his elbows to the tips of his fingers. He told me to get up and he grabbed a towel. I got up and ran after him. He went upstairs and got Hector because Robert is Hector’s cousin. I am so scared that my husband is very badly hurt. He tells me that I he all right, but Mario is hurt. No one will let me see Mario. Beto and Concho are outside trying to stop the bleeding. Hector looks for Robert in the parking lot and then comes back. He then tries to fight Beto. I do not understand why. Concho is able to stop the fight. He then tells Hector to leave. Thankfully, Hector leaves. The bleeding does not stop. They ask me how to stop the bleeding. I reply, “If it does not stop by applying pressure, then he must go to the hospital. The bleeding from Mario’s head does not stop. We take him to the hospital. At the hospital, they put staples in his head and sew up the gash in his arm. Now Hector, Robert, Mario, and Samuel all live somewhere else.

Next time that I pray for the removal of evil spirits, I will remember what it says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-8). If I ever need to pray for the removal of evil spirits, I am going to have more communication with Concho and others. In addition, when you start praying with faith Jesus starts working but the devil also fights back. Therefore, you need to be ready and strong in faith. Mario could have died. Yes, all of the evil spirits are now gone from the apartment. However, I now realize that every time the black shadow came back the demons that lived in those men were stronger. My husband took Mario to South Caroline and Robert went to Texas. However, the anger is still with both men. Mario still would like to kill Robert and Hector. I hope that one day, Mario will be set free from his demons and that Jesus moves in. I have recently learned that this was not his first fight, but it could have been his last.

Cattle Gap

In the late 60’s my grandparents moved to an oilfield town with their two children. My grandfather in the oilfields in that town. The family rented a ranch style house. The house was sat back about ¼ of a mile from the main road. On Sundays the family went to church. At church they were taught about Jesus and never to lie. In Sunday school, the children were taught to ask Jesus if they needed help, and he would always answer.

When my Uncle Jerry was about 10 years old and in the 5th grade, his sister Karen starts 1st grade. This is going to be the 1st time that she will be going to school, so their father gives Jerry the job of looking out for her. They walk to the end of their driveway where their ride will pick them up. At the end of the driveway is a cattle gap. (A cattle gap is made out oilfield pipe. With the pipe running long ways, about twelve pipes with three inches between that is welded to a pipe on both ends laid flat between two ditches. The ditch is about 12 inches deep.) They had to go across the cattle gape to get to the main road. Karen at this time had never walked across the cattle gap before in her life. Jerry walks across the gap with no problem. Now it is Karen’s turn. She looks at it and is so scared, but there is no other way. Jerry comes back over and gets her by her hand and starts helping her over. Karen’s foot slides in. She is in a mess with one foot on the ground in between the pipes. The pipes come up to her thigh. Her thigh is now jammed in between the pipes with no way to simple pull her out. She screams, but no body hears her but Jerry and she knows that there is no way that Jerry will be strong enough to bend the pipe because oil field pipe is very strong. Therefore, she says, “Jesus please help us”. Jerry then squats down, takes hold of the pipe with his hands, and spreads the two pieces of pipe apart. They then thank Jesus for his help.

When their ride comes, they go on to school as if nothing has happened. That night Marcus, their father, asks about Karen’s first day of school. She shows him her leg and then tells him how she fell in the cattle gap and how Jerry bent the pipe to get her out. Marcus calls for Jerry. He then reminds both of them what will happen if they lie to him. Marcus ask Jerry what happen to Karen’s leg. Jerry tells him the same story as Karen told. Now Marcus is getting upset because he believes they are lying. He works with oil field pipe almost every day and knows that it is impossible for a 10-year-old to bend the pipe. However, he does not feel like walking to the cattle gap to check their story.

Marcus gets the whole family up early and they all go to the cattle gap. On the way to the gap, he tells them if they lied, he would teach them a lesson they would never forget. At the gap, they all get out of the car and Karen shows her father where she fell in. Marcus looks at the bent pipe. He replies by saying, “Something sure spread the pipes apart”. He then turns to Jerry and asks, “how did you spread the pipe apart”. “Well,”, said Jerry, “I got scared that I would get a spanking for letting her get hurt and I had no other choice but to make the space bigger and Karen asked Jesus for help. So, I guess Jesus gave me the strength to pull the pipes apart.” Marcus looked again at the pipe and back at Jerry while shaking his head. Marcus bent down and tried to pull the pipe apart. You know what? He could not. They all went back to the house. Ann said something had to have helped Jerry and Karen. Karen now knew that Jesus would answer her prayers as she had been taught in Sunday school. She was surprised that her parents did not understand how the pipes were pulled apart. She wondered why her parents did not they were remembering the lessons from church.

New Wine and the working of the Holy Spirit

Every time we come to church; God has a feast prepared. There is milk, meat, vegetables, fruits, water, and wine.
The water is symbolic of salvation. John 4:13-14 says, “Jesus answered and said unto her, whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
The milk is for the babes in Christ. Paul talks about milk for babes in Christ when he says, “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.” (Corinthians 3:2).
The Fruit, vegetables and meat are for everyone that is mature enough to handle it.
The wine is for all Christians.

When we are saved, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. According to Jesus, “…Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).
However, there is still another gift that all of us can freely receive. It is the wine that comes from Jesus. On the day of Pentecost, two important things happened.
1. They were given the joy of the Lord.
2. The gift of tongues and interpretation was given.

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him” (Psalms 28:7).

“…The Joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

Power and strength have similar meanings.

On the day of Pentecost, many people thought that that those disciples were drunk. They had received an over filling of the joy of the Lord. The Prophet Joel prophesied this. “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:” (Joel 2:28).

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:” (Acts 2:17).


When Jesus died on the Cross-, the veil in the temple was ripped from top to bottom. That allowed everyone to enter into the Holy of Holies. We spiritual enter into the Presence of God through worship, praise, and prayer. The Old Testament temple is a symbolic representation of how we get to Jesus. “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name” (Psalms 100:4). To put that scripture into modern terminology, “Come onto the parking lot with thanksgiving and into the door with praise: be thankful to him, and bless his names.” We thank him for what he has done, and we praise him because of who he is. He is our refuge, strength, hope, provider, comforter, and savior. Next, is the showbread. Jesus is the Bread and The Word. Then, is the Holy of Holies. This is where in the temple the Ark of the Covenant was. Now, this is where we can seek the face of God. We do not have to go through the priest. We can go straight to God and tell him our problems. He already knows all. He is just waiting for us to trust him and act like his children. Then, he can hold us, wipe away the tears, and give us joy that is unspeakable. No one can leave a church without the look of joy on their face after spending time in the arms of God, our loving father. We need to get “drunk” on the joy that can come only from Jesus. This new wine is offered for all Christians.

1. To put this into the normal church order,
2. We come to church thankful for something.
3. We have fellowship with others- that should be somewhat edifying.
4. We offer praise and worship with songs and singing
5. We give our tithes and offerings as another form of worship
6. We feast on the word of God- the milk, meat, vegetables, and fruit - the preaching
7. During the time of invitation- we go to God with whatever, this is the time to boldly walk into the Holy of Holies and let God show his love and mercy.
8. We go with a renewed spirit and let others know what God has done. Making sure to take the joy of the Lord with us


We should never have Christians with frowns on their faces during any of the above steps. Even though life is hard and bad things happen, God is still on the throne. We are saved. There is nothing worse that going to Hell. Jesus has saved us from the worse possible fate. So many times, a Christian works the muscles in their faces overtime. No wonder they are so tired. Smile it is easier on your facial muscles. Smile God loves you. Smile nothing last forever on this earth.

The world is looking for the answer. They will not look to you for the answer if you look like you are anger or sad. They have enough of that in the world. They are looking for the “New Wine” (The Joy) that is only found in Jesus. Therefore, let us go to God and get a refilling of that Joy every day and most especially on Sunday.

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