Tag: God

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Writing, The Gift of Freewill and our path in life.


006 Ever since I was a kid I loved to write songs, poetry and even some philosophy. I do not know what drove my mind to be so contemplative but it has been that way all my life. Some of it was probably my low self-esteem  or poor self-image I have had to battle throughout my life. Some of it was from my disappointment in how our world works, the unfairness and the lack of balance this world has. A lot of it was the hopefulness within my inner self. I have always sought out the silver lining in every situation and for the most part I still do. With age comes wisdom but also age brings cynicism and doubtfulness. Don’t understand why but the older I get the harder it is to keep the positive attitude and hopefulness within me alive. it could be the fact as we grow older we face our own mortality and therefore we become bitter or jaded because we think we have been cheated in life somehow. This of course isn’t true, we were the ones who chose the path we have been on and how and what life brought to us up to this day. There are some things that we didn’t have any choice on in life but for the most part we are what we made ourselves to be. So being bitter or feeling jaded in the end is nothing but self-pity and useless. We can always change our path, our minds and our life if we put our heart and soul into it. We can’t undo the past but we can make us a new destination and path to walk as well. This is the gift of freewill God has given humanity, we have the freedom to choose and the option to allow his will to guide our choices as well.

Writing is the expression of my heart, soul and mind. It is the sum of what I feel, think and believe. It is like a map to my future that changes and grows with each word I type and eventually it will become the signposts I had left behind for others to follow and/or view. It is my freewill being expressed through my thoughts and emotions.

We only have a short time on earth to experience all its wonders and to find our true path in life. We should be kind to others and seek out harmony with all life and walk our path we have chosen in peace.

Ray Barbier

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Trust, The lack of and its effects on Relationships


bnf0429All of us have had relationships such as friendships, family and lovers that we found ourselves loosing trust. When we lose trust in a relationship the relationship changes, without trust a relationship stays either in turmoil or becomes stagnant. It seems the one relationship that suffers the worse from loss of trust is that of lovers, even if we move on to another love relationship we tend to hold on to the hurt from the one before. When we hold on to that hurt we also bring along the mistrust of the ones we love. This is unfair to the new lover for they had not done anything to deserve the lack of trust they receive. We hurt not only the ones we love by carrying the lack of trust from one relationship to another we also hurt ourselves. We close ourselves off from the love we deserve and close off our love from those who deserve it as well. This makes both parties unhappy and it makes the relationship very unstable.

p10055 Forgiveness is the key to restoring trust, for if there is no trust between you then there is no forgiveness. Even after you have moved on to a new love you still have to totally forgive the one before so you can trust again and avoid carrying pain with you into the new relationship. The fact that no one is perfect and anyone can make mistakes along with poor choices means your always at risk of getting hurt, but if you live your life in fear of such you are not really living at all. You can not live in fear of what you can not control for it will only keep you lonely and unhappy, you should just accept the risk and enjoy each moment you are given and keep hope and faith alive within yourself and your relationships.

Just some thoughts on Trust, Relationships and Forgiveness

Ray Barbier

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God’s love is limitless and unstoppable


MP900426559 God gave all of us some pretty good gifts, Love being one of the better ones, the ability to care about one another and to put someone else above your own self. The happiness of your mate will become your first priority and your own happiness will seem less important. When the love is shared then there is never a worry about happiness because both partners are striving to make each other happy. Sometimes love requires some work to keep and maintain, both sides have to compromise at times and work with each other. Love shouldn’t always be a chore to keep, for the most part it should be pretty simple to maintain but there will be rough patches to keep you busy from time to time.

Compassion, an expression of a brotherly/sisterly love for others, a love that is unconditional and unlimited. This is a more of a spiritual love that God blessed us with and should be one of the loves we should share freely and abundantly. We should strive to show compassion on people and all other living things. Forgiveness is also an expression of a spiritual type of love, to forgive yourself or others is to express that you love them enough to overlook their shortcomings and mistakes.  This kind of love is one of the kind of loves that God through Jesus showed us upon the cross. He loved us so much he gave his only begotten son as a sacrifice for our sins so we could be forgiven and be able to enter the kingdom of heaven.

God’s love is limitless and unstoppable, from his love is where all love springs forth from. God is the source for all the love we feel, express and give to one another. We always should remember where all of our blessings, gifts and help comes from, God is the source of all that is good. We should remember to give thanks for all that he has blessed us with and that which he will bless us with in the future.

We can choose to accept his gifts and blessings or we can choose to stand alone in this world of darkness. The choice is ours and ours alone, what we reap will be that which we have chosen to sow. Choose wisely my friends and may God bless you and guide you through the darkness of our world.

Ray Barbier

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I must be cautious of my thoughts, actions and how I interact with the world


IMG_1077 I am who I am and I should embrace that which I am. I am who I am for a reason and I am who I am supposed to be. I am ever-changing and evolving within myself and slowly becoming who I am truly meant to be. The mistakes of my past were there to teach me and help me change into a better me as well as the wrongs done to me are to help shape me into the person I will become. Nothing happens without a reason and all things create change within and around me for better or for worse. The actions that I take now will ripple through my lifetime to create reactions and change in my future. My choices don’t only affect me but they affect the world around me. My thoughts become action and a part of the reality I live within. So I must be cautious of my thoughts, actions and how I interact with the world for everything I do, think and say can affect the world around me.

Christianity, my faith / belief teaches compassion, forgiveness and to be compassionate and that is what I try to follow. Though I do stray from the path at times I still strive to be a force of good as much as I can. I am wrong often and right occasionally, but the more I experience the more I learn where I had gone wrong. I try to live my life in a peaceful and non judgmental way thought I fail at times. I am but who I am, a ever-changing and constantly evolving person who longs for happiness and peace. May God’s will be done and may he lend me the wisdom to make the right choices in life.

Even if I put my religious beliefs aside I still am a caring, peaceful person by nature and still would seek out a path that would be beneficial to all those around me. For I find I am happiest when those around me are happy and at peace.

A lifetime is but a drop of  water compared to the infinite stream of time, we should enjoy life and seek to make other people’s lives enjoyable for the short time we are here.

Ray Barbier

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We are striving to be Christ like


Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber ...

At times in our life as Christians we will be attacked because of our faith / beliefs. There are some who resent us because we believe in something greater and higher than humanity. They dislike that we strive to walk in faith and with Jesus. Then there is those who are Christians that attack others because of their beliefs and that is not the right path of a Christian. That battle is not our , that battle is for the father, son and the holy spirit / ghost. When we as Christians attack other religions or doctrines we become an instrument of anger and hate which is not what Jesus taught. Yes, we are supposed to teach of the scriptures and offer aid in helping others to come to Christ but we are not to be angry and judgmental people.  To have a debate with believers of other religions and / or faiths is good but it must be done in a peaceful and respectful manner. For we are to try to teach the word of God and spread the Good News of the new testament. We are not supposed to be violent, angry or someone who persecutes others for all of humanity belongs to our father and we should treat all of them as so. If someone you are testifying to becomes negative, angry and or disrespectful then it is time to turn your cheek to their abusive nature and leave in peace praying for their hearts and souls to see the truth.

 

The bottom line is we are Christians that means we are striving to be Christ like, Christ was peaceful and only rose to anger once when he saw his father’s house being used as a shameful money exchange and for profit. So we too should be at peace with others, we should also be very vocal about our dislike of the use of the church for profit of any kind. We should love all our brothers and sisters regardless if they are Christian or not. We should forgive those who attack our faith  for  God has forgiven us therefore we should forgive others.

Love your brothers and sisters,forgive in the way you have been forgiven,  be at peace with all, walk in faith and walk in Christ and give aid to those in need,  help those whom are weak and those that can not help themselves.

Ray Barbier

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Compassion, love , kindheartedness and fellowship are the keys


012Sometimes words flow like a waterfall from mind to fingertips and other times  they trickle or even stop flowing. Sometimes I know what to write other times I just wing it as I type out the words. I do not get any monetary gain from my writing but I get great satisfaction when someone reads my posts and/ or likes them. Writing is therapeutic and is a path to self discovery and has proven to help reduce stress. I am happy just to write a post from my heart for free . So if my post is incorrect or if you disagree with it I welcome your comments, criticisms and compliments as well. For it is all a learning process to me and one I pray will never end.

I am a Christian but I support the right for everyone to choose their own spiritual path in life. For we all must make our own choices when it comes to religion and I believe we all have the right to follow the religion and/or doctrine of our choice. I do not let the differences in beliefs sway me from making friends and sharing ideas. I support change but I do not support violence as a catalyst to change. I understand sometimes there is no other choice other than violence but I believe it should always be the very last option on the table. I believe we are here to learn how to live together in peace and also to learn how to love one another unconditionally. Compassion, love , kindheartedness and fellowship are the keys to a brighter and better world.

Sometimes Random thoughts contain facets of truth and wisdom if one can read between the lines.

Ray Barbier

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A helping hand or encouraging word


Compassion

You are good, you did good, you are going to be okay and everything will be all right. Words we all have longed to hear at one point or another in life. We need encouragement from others and we always need assurance that everything will be all right. We should always be messengers of hope, encouragement and builders of self-esteem. We are all in this life together and each of us has both strengths and weaknesses. We all need a helping hand or encouraging word or two from time to time to help us keep the faith and so we can carry on.  We need to walk through life being compassionate towards one another, we should help carry the load of our brothers and sisters. Smile at one another, speak good words about and to each other and help each other with the burdens of life.

We need to put our selfish side of our nature aside and embrace the side of love and fellowship. We can love one another without condition and we can easily learn to be as one big family on earth. Religion, political views, nationality, race, sex or any other differences we have can easily be put aside for the good of humanity as a whole. We are all humans after all, we all share a distant but common ancestry. We all are in this together and we should be wise enough to be at peace and be compassionate with one another. There is plenty of food and wealth to go around if we learn to be as one big family. What good is wealth or abundance of food if you are not sharing those blessings with others? What good is love if it is conditional or only shared with a select few?

We are capable of such greatness but unfortunately we seem to limit our own abilities. Sad but true but I still hold hope for humanity to one day grow enough spiritually  / emotionally to become the great species we are capable of being. If we are every to grow into such a species we have to start with being compassionate with each other and with our own selves. We still have a long way to go before we become the great species of humanity.

Be compassionate, smile at one another, love one another as brothers and sisters and be charitable and generous with all.

Ray Barbier

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1 Peter 1-5 – Realization and Message


Though it has only five chapters, the impact of the messages were so enough to feed my hungry soul. It was so powerful that it did help me to ponder more about life. Living is not for us but for God who gave his only begotten Son just to save us. (John 3:15) Our Lord Jesus Christ has received in-depth insults from doubtful jews but never insulted them back. He was tormented with physical pains and hurtful words but never seek for revenge. He is so kind, and loving that he didn’t mind himself, didn’t mind those selfish men who hurt him. He is definitely forgiving!

With these kind of Love that he has been outpouring on us, how could you not submit yourself to him? how could you doubt his existence? how could you hate your life? how could you hate your neighbors? how could you desire evil things? how could you not abstain from sin? how could you not resist temptations?

If I continue these gazillion questions, would this post be enough? Certainly Not! Because this has been human’s nature! Questioning unproven existence. But hey! God is already proven. It need not to further elucidate for it, since believer won’t need it and the unbeliever won’t mind it. Like what Colossians 2:8 said, See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of the world rather than Christ

It just disappointing that God’s given gift – intelligence- for human is also the weapon that unbeliever used against him.

Nonetheless, time will come for unbelievers that all their uncertainties will be answered by themselves. It’s their right to find the truth, since I find the truth. How could you not find? Right?

 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29

So keep the FAITH everyone! God bless 😀

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It is what you do in-between that makes all the difference.


KIDS0043If I would have had a child of my own, I would try to teach him or her everything I could about the realities of this world. To prepare the child for the challenges of this modern and chaotic world we live in. What would I teach my child would be honesty, faith, hope and compassion for all living things. I would explain how it is okay not to have everything you want and that not everyone is going to like them or be their friend. Forgiveness is one thing I would push hard for my child to learn for to forgive others and yourself is to love unconditionally. To carry guilt beyond a week is unhealthy so forgive yourself for your mistakes. Mistakes are the way we learn how to and how not to live our life. I would teach my child how to love themselves as they are and to see the beauty they have within. I would try hard to teach them to love they way they look and not to be bothered by the opinions of others.

I would try to teach my child not to judge and to remember that they too are imperfect. No one is without sin or fault and that is a part of being a human. I would want them to understand that material possessions and wealth are just temporary means of happiness. That true happiness comes from within and no one can stop them from being happy unless they give that other person to do so. It is far better to tell the truth and face the consequences of your actions than to lie and face the consequences of the lie as well. Be true to yourself and be yourself regardless if others approve or not. For it is better to be who you really are than to live a lie of a life that makes you unhappy. Accept everyone for who and what they are for they are who they are and will only change when they decide to. Do not take any head to the differences of ones color, sex, religion, nationality or even their philosophy for they have the right to freewill. Love everyone and embrace the differences between each of us without judgment.

We are born as equals and we all die as equals so it is what you do in-between that makes all the difference. No man or woman is above or below one another for we are all the same in the end.  Speak kindly of others or say nothing of them at all for what you say can come back to haunt you. Think positive and act with compassion for how you live in your life is what defines who you are in the end. And last but not least that I would always love them no matter how they choose to live their life.

Teach your children how to be and how to live or someone else may teach them for you, and it may not be what you want them to learn.

Ray Barbier

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Change our focus back on God as well as the family.


There are so many unhappy, lonely and lost people out in the world. Some have the perfect mate, job or financial situation but still they are searching for something or someone. They get caught up in the illusion something external is going to make the happy or fill the emptiness inside. The only one who can make you happy or fill that void within besides yourself is God. You have to make the choice to be happy before you can find happiness, you must choose to love yourself before anyone else can love you. You must accept the love of God and start a personal relationship with him before the void will be filled.  You can have the perfect husband or wife and still feel the loneliness and the emptiness of the void within. It isn’t that your mate isn’t the right one, It more than likely the lack of a personal relationship with God. Even people who go to church every Sabbath and read the bible each day can still need to have a personal relationship with God.

God will help those who help themselves basically says that you have to make the first move in faith and God will be right beside you helping you along the way. In this modern world we focus too much on how much money we can make, what kind of clothes, gadgets and toys we can buy for ourselves and our children. We lost the closeness of family and we need to change our focus back on God as well as the family. The stress of keeping up with the Joneses or the Smiths keeps us so distracted from God and the family. We must remember we should live our lives for God first then the family and lastly for ourselves.  When we put other things and people before God we cease to worship god and begin worshiping materialism and the self. God wants us to be happy and have things but he wants us to do so in his honor and for his glory not our own.  This is where the emptiness comes from, when we tend to put other things before God, when we do that we close the door inside our hearts and minds to God’s love. That’s the pit, the emptiness, the lack of his love within us.

God, Family then the self.  The order in which things are needed to be done.
Ray Barbier

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