Tag Archives: hopelessness

Finding Love Beyond Religion: A Bigger Truth

13 Jul

Mention RELIGION as a means to an end and people lose their minds. The reason is quite simple because RELIGION cannot solve mankind’s problems. RELIGION is man’s attempt to control another. It’s also man’s attempt to reach a Holy God through one’s behavior and neither end well.

There are around 4200 different religions in the world today. Amazing as that is, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Roman Catholicism and Judaism make the world news more than any others. But there is a commonality amongst all religions and that is behavior modification, control, a belief in a higher power, stories, teachings, and moral and ethical instructions, and some form of worship. It all sounds pretty good, but its man’s attempt to control another and or anyone who differs with them, along with being good enough to be excepted by the Higher Power into the afterlife.

Now, is religion a good thing? It depends on one’s perspective. Within the confines of each religion the answer would be yes because it gives a society a guide on how people should live and get along within the religion. However, when one religion attempts to impose their religious views on another, angst takes root with the fallout leading to fundamental disagreements, and even volatility.

So, is there truly an answer to man’s dilemma? Sure, there is! Let’s just look at the dilemma from the premise of 4200 different god’s over 4200 different religions. What a mess! Each god vying for position to be the number one God of all religions. There would be so much confusion and debate. All these religions believe they’re the answer to the world. But the answer is not found in a religion, for all religion is based on one’s self-righteousness. The do good, get good premise. Religion in and of itself is man controlling another man through rules and vain philosophies, which takes people captive, steals, kills and eventually destroys them.

Think about your own religion for a moment. I mean really and honestly think! Does the god of your religion love you unconditionally? Does he offer you a permanent solution for your bad behavior, other than some form of punishment or even death? Is he kind, full of mercy and forgiveness? Is he compassionate? Can you say, “my god really loves me”? He loves me so much that he would give his own life for me? Would my god adopt me as one of his own and call me his child and his friend? I’m sure you could think of many more questions and if so, ask them and think on them. Then ask yourself, is there truly a god of love, is he even real? Then ask the God of Love to reveal himself to you, if and only if you are looking for truth! For you see, the God of Love is longing for you to call on Him. He wants you to know the Truth so you can be set free from religion, and He is not a God who lies!

He is a God who loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, (Jesus Christ), that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Jesus, himself said, “I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly”. He also said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no man cometh unto the Father (God) but through me”.

If you would like to have a personal relationship with the God of Love, you must first understand that everyone who has ever lived has been separated from him because of sin and the consequence of sin is death. However, Jesus, God’s son, died on the cross for us taking the penalty and punishment for our sin. He was then raised from the grave, from death itself on the third day, after paying our debt for our sin, so that anyone who repented of their sin and believed in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For whosever calls upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For by grace are you save through faith, it is a gift of God lest any man should boast.

Receive God’s gift of everlasting life and become a child of His, inheriting the salvation He offers and promised!

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Transform Your Life with Hope: Believe, Speak, Help

9 Jan

As we enter the new year, the world seems to be in a mess. Maybe, your personal world is a mess, or others you know are living in or through a mess. Throughout the existence of mankind things have been messy at times, but history is quick to remind us there are good times and bad times. There are joyful times and miserable times. There are times of abundance and there are times of poverty and famine and yet we (mankind) survive, we struggle through, we emerge out of the darkest times into the light of glorious times. One thing is for sure; times and things will change.

So, how do we survive when we find ourselves in the quagmire of a mess. When bad news affects us, mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. It seems the darkness is so thick, it’s like being encapsulated in the deepest darkest mud of all times. What do we do? The answer, Hope! Let me explain.

Hope is a confident expectation of good, or you could even say a good future. Having hope can release and even catapult us from the deepest, darkest, and even lightlessness of times to a good future and there are three exercises that are sure to help. Believe, Speak, and Help others.

First, Believe! Start by thinking, “For as a man thinketh so is he”. Change your thoughts by turning away from negative inputs. These inputs could be friends, news media, social media and such and begin to input positive thoughts through reading biographies, watching media that uplifts, associating with people who are more positive and reading good books. A great book to start with would be, “The Power of Positive Thinking”, by Norman Vincent Peele. Once you start changing your thinking, you will begin to believe and having a confident expectation of good will begin to gain traction.

Second, Speak Hope! Did you know that life and death are in the power of the tongue? You see, your words matter. Take a moment and think about how you talk about yourself. Is it positive or negative? If your words tend towards the negative, STOP and begin speaking positive about yourself. Be kind in speaking to and about yourself.

Psychologists tell us that there is an advantage in choosing positive words over negative words. For instance, our cognitive reasoning strengthens, we make better decisions, and we’re more forward thinking when we use positive words in our speaking. Positive words even impact our quality of life, from relationships to our overall health. Negative words on the other hand cause stress, anxiety, anger, depression, hopelessness and severe effects on our health.

Without going into a deep dive about the power of our words the picture is clear, our words matter. So, change your words to those of HOPE, a confident expectation of good about yourself, the future, and others, which brings us to the third exercise of speaking hope into others.

Third, Be Hope! You do this through a couple of ways. The first, choose to speak words of life into others. Words that will give them a confident expectation of good in their lives. You will need to be intentional with your words. Always remember your words matter and will and can affect the lives of others. Second, and lastly, help others as often as possible. Put them first. Be concerned about their wellbeing. It will chang you and them for the better.

In conclusion, if your personal world is a mess and you have a negative worldview it can all be changed with HOPE. That is having a confident expectation of good, of a good future. Just remember what you believe, the words you say, and helping others can make all the difference in your life and the world. So, decide today to put into action what you have read and make a difference!

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