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A Preview of what is to come later this week.
The Gospels
I’m back to the Tumblr for a bit today, as I just finished the book of Mark not too long ago.
Some things I learned in Mark were the following: We must give up everything in order to follow Jesus, Jesus gave up everything for us, and in Mark 14:51-52 there is a naked man following Jesus (this made me chuckle).
What if we stopped living for ourselves?
An Open Letter to My Future Wife
Hey Wife,
I hope that you are doing well today. I know that you are and that God is protecting you and your heart. I’m sorry if you’ve ever been hurt. I’m sorry if some guy told you that he loved you and then broke your heart soon after. I’m sorry, but you must know that I’ve done the same (without saying that I love you).
I want you to know that I pray and think about you everyday. I want you to know that I’ll do whatever it takes to fight for you and pursue you. I desire to have what it takes, even if people tell me that I can’t have you or that you’re way out of my league. When we’re together, you make my heart thump more than anything (except for Jesus of course).
You love me regardless of my faults, and I love you equally. God reveals Himself to me through you and He reveals Himself to you through me. We learn about God as we learn about ourselves.
I know that guys get a bad wrap when it comes to cooking, but I want to let you know that, while I may not be the best, I’ll give it a shot. After all, I do make a killer French Toast recipe, or so I’m told. When I see you my heart wells up in side. Not only do I love your outward beauty, but I also love your inward beauty as well. I’ll miss you when I’m teaching everyday. I’ll tell my elementary school kids about you and this will give me an opportunity to share our story with them. Who knows? Maybe it will be a platform for me to lead a few of them to Jesus Christ.
When we get married, we are going to think things are perfect. We’ll go think everything is okay and then we’ll have kids. I’ll try my best to serve you with my all, but I know I’ll fail at times. I’m not perfect and if I was I’d be Jesus. Thank you for showing me love even when I fail.
I realize that we’re going to have our fair share of argument. My face will probably be red, and sometimes I might take a walk because I’m so mad. But I want you to know that I’m sorry. Would you forgive me?
Thank you for accepting me for who I am and not what I do. I realize that my job is something that I’m going to love dearly, but my identity is found in Jesus Christ.
I don’t think I’ve met you yet, but maybe I have. When I find you, I’m going to pursue you like God pursued me. He knows me inwardly and outwardly, and I want to know the same stuff about you.
Lastly, I wanted to say that there are going to be some things I’ve done in my past that are sad and pretty pathetic. I’m going to tell you these things at some point in our relationship (most likely) before marriage. Some of these things are going to make you mad and sad. You’re going to know me inwardly and outwardly. Thank you for loving and accepting me enough to forgive me for what I’ve already done.
I miss you and hope to find you one day.
Until then, I’m going to talk to God about you.
Love,
Andrew
Confessions: Crutches
I remember nearly tearing my ACL in 6th grade. I was playing football with one of my best friends and he rolled over my leg. Instant pain shot through me knee. I thought I was done for. There went my fun. There went any chance of me playing sports. I thought I would need crutches. But, in the end, I didn’t need them at all. Just a brace.
What is the moral of this story?
You can’t let the people in your life (your friends) be your crutches if you get hurt. If there is pain in your life, you can’t rely on your friends to fill that void. Only Jesus Christ can fill that void.
This is tough stuff for me. Earlier this semester, I used my friends as crutches to heal my homesickness and depression. It only got me so far.
In the end, I had to just go to Jesus and say I can’t do this anymore. I was tired of getting just a temporary fix. I’m happy that I made this decision. Jesus acts as my crutches. If something is broken and needs fixing he heals it, but also provides me with the crutches so I can put my weight on them (or him for that matter).
What is something in your life that needs fixing? Do you have a different set of crutches than you really need?
Finished
Have you ever started something expecting to finish?
That’s what happened to me a few weeks ago when I start the book of Matthew. Well, I have good news. I finished.
To summarize Chapter 24-27, Jesus describes the end times, eats dinner with his disciples, goes to the Garden of Gethsemane, and prays not one, not two, but three times for God to lift his death from him (Jesus). After this, Jesus is betrayed. He dies a death that I can’t even fathom. I’m so thankful that he did it, but I’m so sorry for the pain that he felt.
However, this story is not complete. Jesus was raised from the dead after three days. Insane? I think so. But it’s so cool to know that though.
Overall, as I read Matthew, I was happy with what I learned about the guy that I follow. It takes guts and courage to follow someone like him.
What is something that you think is crazy? Do you ever have doubts? What’s something that you have started, but not been able to finish lately?
Hay una persona que….
¿Alguna vez has querido algo que no podría haber? Well, he querido escribir un “blog” sobre los que he estado aprendiendo en la Biblia, especialmente en Español.
He estado leyendo en Mateo. Y este libro habla sobre Jesus y sus discipulos y la historia de Cristo.
Yo leí mi Biblia esta manaña y leí Mateo capítulo 22 y 23. Estes capítulos son sobre las escribas y los fariseos. Jesus les dijo sus discipulos que ellos (las escribas y los fariesos) dicen, pero no hacen.
También, Jesus quiere domonio en nuestros vidas. Este es una problema a mí porque a veces no quiero que dar mi vida a Cristo.
¿Cuales tus problemas y por qué no las has dado a Cristo? Él nos ama.
Defining Attributes
What defines me? Where do I find my worth? Why do I constantly feel down when others criticism me?
These are just a few questions that I struggle with finding the answers to on a daily basis.
I find it very interesting that we define ourselves based off what people think of us, and not what we know to be true about ourselves. Why do we get caught up in what the world thinks about us? We’re human.
Some days are better than others for me. I think I still let the things of my past define who I am, well, in a sense. I still let if I date a girl define who I am. Jesus Christ has been telling me this week that He is here for me and He wants to talk me just as much as I want to talk to that girl. (Note: I see nothing wrong with dating, it’s a normal part of life. It can be a good thing and a bad thing depending on someone’s perspective. That’s for another blog post thought) Jesus Christ wants control of my life and so far I know I’ve only given Him a little bit. I want to give Him everything. However, it’s hard to give over something that we think is our’s even though it isn’t our’s at all.
I can’t say I know what the future holds. That’s a scary thought. Quite scary. However, with Jesus in control, I know whatever I do and wherever I go will be the right decision in the end.
P.S. If any of my friends want to chat or talk about Jesus just shoot me an inbox on here. I may not be able to answer all of your questions, but I can point you to someone who can.
Confessions: Showering
Okay, I know what you’re thinking. What could a post concerning confessions and showering have to do with each other. Well, truth is, I haven’t showered in four days. Now before you get all cringy inside, I have some good news. I’m going to take a shower after I finish this post. Trust me I am.
In other news, life here is pretty good. I can’t say that I’ve read any of the book of Matthew today. However, I did go to Walgreens and I felt very Puerto Rican the whole time I was there. This woman and I talked as I checked out at the register, and the guy that rang up my groceries was one pretty cool dude.
I have a few unknowns in my life that will be coming to life and soon will become knowns (probably in the next week or two). It’s quite nerve racking, and, while I can’t exactly share what these are at the moment, I’ll be sure to let the blogosphere know when I know more details.
What are some unknowns in your life that you wish were known?
Following: It Takes Courage, Guts, and Life
Do you ever have one of those moments in your life where you have a huge epiphany? Well, that happened to me last night. It’s funny how God sometimes shows us things we don’t want Him to show us.
As you probably know, I’ve been struggling in the dating department. I hate to put it that way, that makes dating sound like it’s part of store or something. Oh, humor me.
Okay, back to the story. Last night I went to see 50/50. It’s a really good movie. However, it’s pretty sad. I nearly shed a tear. And yes, men do cry my friend, they do. I received a text message from the girl back in the States (the US) whom I had been talking to about the possibility of a relationship. It said that we needed to talk. I figured something was wrong and that we possibly would end up breaking things off, and that’s exactly what happened.
Surprisingly, I’m not as hurt as I could have been.
It’s funny how in the span of three days, Jesus has revealed a lot to me about relationships.
He wants my full attention and He showed me that last night.
In addition to revealing a lot to me about relationships, I’ve had Jesus show me some other stuff about Himself through the Bible.
I read Matthew 15, 16, 17, and 18 this morning. One verse that really stuck out to me was Matthew 15:19 were Jesus states, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander.”
Have you ever though about why the world tells us to follow our hearts?
What is something that your heart struggles with?
