So they do not become a stumbling block


DSCF0002Live in the now, leave the past as a memory and take from it the wisdom you earned and learned. Leave the future to itself for it will come in its own time. Forgive yourself of the mistakes of the past and remember them only to serve as a warning not to repeat them again. Let old wounds and hurts be healed through love and forgiveness so they do not become a stumbling block between you and the plans God has for you. Cherish all things you have been blessed with and worry not of those things you do not have for God provides you with all that you need. Envy not the rich, though they have far more than they need or any person should ever want they lack the fellowship and strength of the working class and poor. Take care of your brothers and sisters by any means you have and serve god by making sure no other human wants for food or shelter. Speak kindly of others or say nothing at all for it isn’t what goes into the mouth that matters it is what comes out of your mouth which comes from your heart and can make you unclean.

Focus on fellowship, brotherhood, sisterhood and compassion for those are the traits we should embrace as a Christian. Some say think twice before speaking and doing, I say think thrice for it is good to be watchful of your own heart and the things you say and do. Bless your enemies as you should bless your friends and be peaceful and a guiding light for others. We are meant to set a good example of how to live and interact with others.

God Bless you all

Ray Barbier

Loving,peaceful and compassionate lights within our world.


eyeWe are supposed to be good examples and live to serve God by serving our fellow humans. We are servants, messengers, teachers and caregivers of our fellow human beings. Some Christians focus way too much on the condemnation of sinners and forget that we are here to serve god and be a light for those who are lost. We are to lead them to Jesus and his grace, we are also are to spread the word but not go out and be persecutors or those who condemn others. Just like vengeance, judging is God’s not mankind’s to do. We must of course be mindful of what goes on around us and within our own hearts but not as judges but as caregivers and teachers. We should be caring, peaceful, mindful, watchful, loving and compassionate lights within our world.

God does not only want us to change our mind but he also wants us to have a change of heart as well. What comes out of your mouth is either clean or unclean and is what can show others your true heart. Be a good person, be what God desires you to be and always seek to do the right thing.

Ray Barbier

With a new day we have a new chance to change our ways, our path and our destination.


DSCF0001Each morning we wake we are given another chance at living life. With a new day we have a new chance to change our ways, our path and our destination. Some people try to argue we do not have freewill or free choice and that we are but the product of pre-conditioning and circumstance. Well to a degree we are, but the kicker is we can choose how we react to such and we can choose to go a totally different way than the pre-conditioning and circumstances would dictate. So with the gift of another day of life we also have the gift of freewill and free choice to make that day what we chose.  We also have the ability to surrender our right to choose and to leave it to God’s will. There is also the choice not to choose and let chance and the circumstances we encounter make or day as well. Which way will you choose? Will you take the helm and take responsibility for both your good and bad choices? Will you choose to let chance and circumstance to make your day or will you leave it to the Will of God?

No matter which way you decide I urge you to remember where all your help comes from and who gave you this day and the freedom to live it as you choose.  Remember to thank God each day for the gift of life and the freedom to choose.

Ray Barbier

All we do is lose the essence of who we are


rayraydRemember that child that saw the world as brand new and awesome,? Remember that child who had unbreakable faith and faced fear with conviction? Remember when you saw life as an adventure both in your imagination and day-to-day life? Remember when that child was forced to be hidden within you by society and your peers? Why does it have to be that we must put away the goodness of Ourselves in order to live in the world? Yes the bible speaks of putting away childish things, it was speaking of the immaturity of being a child and the naivety. The essence of who you are was formed during childhood and that part being a child we shouldn’t had left behind. We allow the stress, competition and rigidness of adult life to become more important than all our loves, friendships and even sometimes family. We keep who we are close to our vest and rarely show others who we truly are. We do such in hopes of protecting ourselves but in the end all we do is lose the essence of who we are.

We should be who we truly are and not hide the wondrous person god had made us to be. We may be ever-changing but there is a core of our personality we always have and should embrace. That silly, playful and all loving child within is the person God had meant us to be. That child that has no hate, anger or jealousy beyond a fleeting moment, that child that loves everyone and forgives quicker than he can be hurt. That child who looks for the goodness is everyone he meets. It takes a brave person to be and show their true self and that inner child.

Do not let the world and its cold rigidness hold back the warm and loving nature God has made within you. For its better to be a child of God than a person of the world.

Ray Barbier

Thank you for being a part of my life


006To all my readers, friends, family and extended family, I pray that you have a merry Christmas. I also pray that in the new year to come you find peace within yourself, love for all living things including yourself. May you be guided by the hand of god and may his love fill your heart and lives. Know that I love every single one of you and that I know I have been blessed to have all of you in my life. I know I may not always have expressed how much you meant to me in the past because like everyone else I allowed the madness of modern life to keep me from the people and things that matter most. Thank you for being a part of my life and may God bless you all.

I know many of you will never see or read this post but I know within my heart you will feel it within your heart.

Merry Christmas to All

Ray Barbier

Just like faith, Love is an important part


Corcovado jesus

Love, Love of other living things and people. The love Jesus showed and shared during his years with us. Just like faith, Love is an important part of being one of God’s children. With a world growing ever more violent and full of hate, we need to focus on the love of god and the love he wishes us to have and share. Hate is not the opposite of love as some may think it is the absence of love. Do not mistake hate for anger, anger is a reaction to a bad situation, hate is the lack of love and respect for another person, place or thing. In example look at when Jesus got angry at the temple due to all the money exchangers, etc. Jesus did not hate the money exchangers he was angry at them for turning the temple into a place of greed. Jesus still loved them all but was very disappointed in them for their lack of respect for God and his Temple. Jesus taught love in many ways such as turning of the other cheek, his healing of the sick and also his forgiveness for sins. His greatest expression of love was allowing himself to be persecuted, humiliated and crucified in order to give humanity salvation. We should learn from Jesus’s teachings and put aside our hate and minimize our anger as well. All humans are prone to make mistakes and sin for it is a part of our nature to do so. We should love one another regardless of sin or shortcoming. It is sin we are to dislike, not the sinner and we should focus on helping each other to overcome the sin. Shouting hateful words or trying to put another human being down because they sin is quite hypocritical since we all bear the weight of being sinful natured creatures.

The pointing out of each others sins is useless and unproductive, Instead we should focus on study of the scriptures and being loving and caring to one another. For there is no need for someone else to point out our sins, we are all already aware of them. So love one another and be supportive of one another.

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? – Mathew 7:3”

God Bless
Ray Barbier

We are to use our words to heal and to encourage.


p10058Using words as weapons is not the Christian thing to do, instead we are to use our words to heal and to encourage. Using foul language not only is offensive to others it also degrades ones character and gives a pretty negative  image of yourself for others to see. If you wag your tongue with ought any Discretion or thought to what damage may be done, then you will have to reap the seeds you have sown. Better to follow the bibles guideline and let everything you say be good and helpful. The words you say are the reflection of what is in your heart and on your mind.  Think before you speak and avoid letting out those words of anger.

Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

Ephesians 4:29 NLT

The reason for the season


p10121The holiday season is upon us and the sale ads are pouring out like a tropical storm. Time to go spend your hard-earned cash on Thanksgiving diner and Christmas presents. Just remember through out all of the spending frenzy and the sales the reason for the season. Thanksgiving is the day to give thanks for another year of survival and for the blessing of having food upon your table. Christmas of course is the celebrated day of our savior’s birth and the salvation he brought us all. Don’t get caught up in all the commercialization of the holidays and remember to focus on the family more than on the gifts you are going to give and receive.

May God bless your Holiday Season and Remember to Give thanks every day for the blessings in our life.

Happy Holidays

Ray Barbier

There is always hope and Salvation


p10108Nobody is useless, nobody is beyond help. As long as they are alive they can improve, change be transformed and Saved by God, Jesus and the holy spirit. Even the most vile of humans can be born again and saved by the grace of Jesus. The love God has for us all he gave us his only begotten son and that son Jesus offered himself up in sacrifice for all our sins. So how can anyone truly be a lost cause or beyond help if the sacrifice of Jesus was for all of humanity? There is always hope and with acceptance of Jesus there is salvation. Don’t let that old devil try to fool you that you are not savable or that things are hopeless, he wants you to doubt the promises and power of God. He wants you to lose faith and be fruitless for God. Just remember the devil is a great deceiver and can make you think things are fact when they are fiction. Put your faith in God and Jesus and learn to put the lies and deception of the evil one behind you. Let the bible be your guide through life. Most of all pray and give thanks daily if not multiple times a day.

God bless

Raymond Barbier

Act in accordance with who you are and what you believe.


bnf0427Be true to yourself which basically means that you should act in accordance with who you are and what you believe. Stop trying to please everybody and definitely stop acting as  someone you’re not. There is nothing wrong with who and what you are or how you act, think and co-exist. Peer pressure has no power over someone who sees that they are wonderful as they are and that if someone don’t like you as you are then let them move on. To be popular by trying to be like everyone else is an act of betrayal to who you really are within. In my youth I fell to peer pressure trying to look cool or at least fit in somewhat and all I got out of it is the bad habit of smoking cigarettes and a lot of wasted youth. The sad part for a good part of my life I kept trying to fit in, be a part of the norm and it never really worked because I never was being sincere or being my true self  Shame it took me so many years before I saw the goodness in being myself and true to who I am.

PEOP0060 So my advice to the old and young is get over the fear of not fitting in or not being accepted. Be true to who you truly are and let the light God planted in you shine. Think your own thoughts, don’t take the words of others as truth without confirming them and question anything that just isn’t right or seems way too good to be true. Love yourself for who and what God has made you to be and worry not of what others think of you. As long as you do what you feel is right and good then you have nothing to worry about and if others disapprove  then so be it.

Be true to thyself and be who you desire and deserve to be. Think for yourself and take responsibility for your own life.

Ray Barbier