Tired of the struggle? Want to find peace and feel complete? Read on!

I watched a video last week that really touched my heart. I felt the need to talk about it after which I will share the link. First, I have to say how blessed I feel to live in Canada. We can go out and buy a Bible with so many different translations to choose from. Many local churches will even give you a Bible if you can't afford one or simply don't have one. We can also download a Bible app to our smart phones or tablets or access the Bible online. We are free to buy it, to read it and to talk about it. We have free access to God's Word yet at the same time we have so much excess available to us that we end up keeping ourselves too busy for the one thing that will truly make us happy. We have TV, internet, computers, laptops, sports (both watching and playing), cell phones, tablets, video games, movies, DVDs, CDs, MP3s, music, shopping, etc. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying any of these things are wrong. However, if any of these things are done in excess to the point of usurping your regular responsibilities or alienating your friends and family, then it's a problem.

It is all about relationships. We were created, first and foremost, to have a relationship with Jesus and I'm not talking about a casual "yea I've heard of Him" or "yea I believe in Him" and that's as far as it goes. I am talking about pursuing a deep, personal friendship with Jesus - one where you know Him personally, you trust him completely and you talk to him about anything and everything - because you are well aware of how much He loves you and because you have actually experienced that love, now you want to serve Him wholeheartedly as an expression of your deep love and appreciation of Him. That is the kind of relationship I'm talking about and anyone can have that, you can have that. It's like any other friendship, the more time you spend together the closer you become.

In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said:

Jesus answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and most important command. And the second command is like the first: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.'

Who is our neighbor? Our neighbor is anyone we come into contact with. Notice how Jesus said "love your neighbor as you love yourself." There are plenty of people who don't love themselves so they can't properly love others. Maybe they never grew up having a nurturing, loving parent or parents. There are so many different reasons. Maybe you know exactly what I'm talking about. If we grow up not being or feeling loved we will have a hard time receiving love, love from others and the love of our Father God because somewhere deep inside of our heart we don't fell like we deserve to be loved.

Her comes the good part. When we receive Jesus, God's son, as our Savior He comes to live inside of our heart in the form of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit then begins working on our hearts, healing our pain, mending our brokenness, filling that emptiness, exposing damaging lies we have believed about ourselves, revealing the truth about us and the way Father God feels about us and filling us up with His love.

If we don't feel we deserve to be loved we will have a hard time receiving love from God or anyone else. If we don't feel loved it is impossible to fulfill the second command "love your neighbor as you love yourself." If you don't love yourself how can you love anyone else? You can't give away what you don't have.

Thank God He sent His Son Jesus to intercede for us. In Mark 10:27 (The Message) Jesus was telling the disciples how difficult it was for man to get into the Kingdom of God and his disciples asked who has any chance at all. He responded by saying:

Jesus was blunt: "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you let God do it."

Have you ever seen that movie "Jerry Maguire" with Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger? Once Tom realizes what he had with Renee he returns to her and says "you complete me." We were all created with a God-shaped hole inside of our hearts that is reserved only for God and we will never feel complete without Him. We often try to fill that hole in our hearts with other stuff like drugs, sex, alcohol, pornography, etc., but it never lasts. When you allow Jesus into your heart and life and you begin working with the Holy Spirit, you will finally become complete and full of love, so full of love it will just naturally flow onto anyone (neighbor) who crosses your path. The only relationship that can truly complete us is a relationship with Jesus.

You can begin pursuing a relationship with Jesus right now. Pick up your Bible which is the Word of God and start reading it, I recommend starting in the book of John. If you are new to reading the Bible I recommend starting with a (New Living Translation).

John 1:1 (NLT) says:

"In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God."

John 1:14 (NLT) says:

"So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son."

So Jesus is the Word of God and he was with God before anything was ever created. Jesus (the Word) became flesh and lived among us. God is a three-part God consisting of God - Jesus - Holy Spirit. The Word is the Bible which explains why we would get to know Jesus if we read it. The Word of God is our most valuable treasure on this earth and so many people don't even realize it. So many countries don't have the same freedom we have and you will see in the following video how valuable the Word of God is to those who know what it contains.



It really humbled me and made me realize how lucky I am. If any of my blog posts have touched your heart I want to hear about it. Please leave a comment on the blog post that touched your heart.

Wandering off the Path

While walking my ferret, Duke, I have noticed something that has given me a wonderful idea for a blog post. We always walk along a well-laid path. Duke sometimes stays on the path and sometimes he wanders off. When he stays on the path his walk is effortless, with no hassles. When he wanders off the path he encounters difficult terrain; difficult for a little guy with only 2 inch legs.

Duke will wander off the path into the tall green grass and rub his scent glands (which are on his shoulders) on the stalks of the grass to mark his territory. He repeats this process all over the place until he is completely lost. He will lift his head up as high as his neck will allow but he can't see anything past what is right in front of him. Once he is lost in the tall grass he also encounters the odd thistle which is very unpleasant. He also wakes up the mosquitoes that are sitting in the tall grass and they begin to bite. Duke tries to find his own way out of the tall grass and back to the path but no matter how hard he tries he just seems to get further and further away from the path. Duke is lucky that I am standing there watching over him as I gently guide him back to the path where he, once again, resumes his walk.

It reminds me of my walk with Jesus. When I became born-again God showed me a new path, one that is narrow but leads to eternity. Up until my early 30s I was making my own path; living my life my way. I was causing myself a lot of heartache along the way. I am not saying that once you become a born-again Christian you will no longer have trouble, because the Bible says otherwise. What I am saying is that when you do decide to give your life over to God and let him sit in the driver's seat, you will have a lasting peace and joy that you cannot find any other way. When I was living my life my way I would often get myself into trouble. I could not see past the problem that was right in front of me and I would feel absolutely overwhelmed. Now that I have a beautiful relationship with my Heavenly Father, when trials come my way they are no longer the main focus of my thoughts. I know that I can look to my Heavenly Father for guidance and direction and He always comes through for me.

Sometimes we, as Christians, can find that we have wandered off the path, but as soon as we realize we have lost our way and ask our Heavenly Father for help He gently and lovingly guides us back to the path. Sometimes you can start off by making one wrong move or bad decision which then leads to another wrong move or bad decision and before you know it you are in trouble way over your head just like the tall grass Duke gets lost in. So much so that you cannot imagine how you are ever going to get through it. That is when you need to realize that you were in the driver's seat again and you need to let God take over and steer you back in the right direciton.

Duke would wander off the path, rub shoulders with the blades of grass and end up lost. This represents temptation. Something you know is wrong but looks so enticing. You begin to convince yourself that just this once won't hurt or just a little bit won't hurt and before you know it you have wandered off the path. The thistles in the tall grass which Duke encounters represent sin and temptation which try to ensnare us. The mosquitoes Duke encounters when he wanders off the path represent satan and his evil plans to suck the life and joy out of you.

Matthew 7:13,14 (NIV)
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Proverbs 4:11 (New Century Version)

I am guiding you in the way of wisdom, and I am leading you on the right path.

I am the vine; you are the branches

I have noticed something interesting about a certain vine-type of plant in my house when I water it, and it brought to mind John 15:5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing." When I water this plant, in about 24 hours' time, I notice a small droplet of water gathering at the tip of a select few leaves. Not all of the leaves have this though. I am attaching a picture of this plant with the water droplet so you can have a better idea what I am talking about.

It reminds me of Christians and our faith journey. There are those who accept Jesus into their heart, believe, and receive His salvation, but apart from that, they fail to move forward in their faith walk and claim all that God has planned for them. They remain as baby Christians, simply waiting for Jesus' return, rather than producing a fruit-filled life. They may go to church on Sunday and be fed for the day, but during the week their spirits become dry and parched because they have not made the choice to feed on God's Living Word throughout the week. They rely on others to feed them spiritually. This is like the leaves on my plant that do not gather water droplets at the tips for all to see. Jesus died so we could have have life and have it in abundance. John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Then there are those who receive Jesus with enthusiasm, but the roots of God's Word does not grow deep inside their hearts and they slowly revert back to their old lifestyle, living only to please their flesh. John 15:6 says, "Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers." Matthew 7:19 says, "Every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire." This is like when I see dried up, dead, brown leaves on my plant, I pluck them off and throw them away.

Then there are those Christians who accept Jesus with all of their heart and their lives are forever changed. Their relationship with Jesus and their heavenly Father is forever growing and being cultivated because they have put God first in their life and are diligently seeking Him in all areas of their life. As a result of their diligence and passion for Jesus, their lives begin to produce fruit and they begin to see God's blessings in their life. Those Christians become fruitful.

I don't know about you, but I have chosen the latter lifestyle. Just like when I water my plant, there are leaves that begin to gather water and the water droplet hangs ever so gently from the tip of the leaf for all to see: If we make the decision to put God first in every area of our life, we too will begin to gather His Living Water in our heart until we are filled to the top and overflowing. When this happens, others can see the Living Water flowing out from us. Others can see it by the fruit it produces in our life. When you remain in Jesus and He remains in you, His Living Water can flow out from Him and pour into you. John 4:14 says, "But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” This is like the leaves on my plant that gather water droplets at the tips.

If you are asking how, exactly, do you "remain in Him?" You do this by making the choice to set aside quite time with God every day, where you read His Word and talk to Him. When you talk to Him, make sure it is a dialogue, not a monologue. John 15:8 says, "When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples." I looked up "fruit" in my online bible program. It explains it as, "A word used in scripture denoting producing in general." Producing what exactly? To be more specific it also says, "It is those gracious dispositions and habits which the Spirit produces in those in whom He dwells and works." I don't know about you but I love the idea of the Spirit producing good fruit in me. Galatians 5:22, 23 says, "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

Just as not all of the leaves on my plant gather water at their tips, not all Christians diligently seek a relationship with Jesus. Matthew 7:7,8 says, "Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."