You Are A Candle.

“For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.” (Ps 18:28)

What comes to your mind when you think of the word Candle? A birthday Candle? A Candle that is lit in the Catholic Church or Synagogue? I have news for you —You are a candle! How? You may ask? By your spirit!

The word says that man’s spirit is the candle of the Lord (Prov 20:27). God wants to give light to your candle consistently. His light will shine and expose secret sins and inner motives. I like what the Easy English Bible version has to say: “The Lord makes our human spirit like his lamp inside us. It shows us what we are really like.” (Easy version)

Our Independent Counsel.

We need the help of the Holy Spirit to examine ourselves. Back in the 70’s, when President Nixon was caught in the middle of Watergate, an independent counsel was assigned. This independent counsel was impartial and his sole mission was digging into the truth. Brethren, just as President Nixon could not investigate himself and needed an independent counsel, we need to do the same.

The Holy Spirit is our independent counsel. He will show us the truth and reveal the real you. This is not meant to condemn any particular person because I have some mess that needs to be dealt with myself. We are all a work in progress. The good news is that once God reveals the real you, the Holy Spirit will help you to change and be conformed to the image of Christ! Let us look at the following verse below:


“Examine me, O LORD and prove me; melt my kidneys and my heart.” (Ps 26:2–Jubilee Bible)

The King James version has kidneys translated as reins. When you dig into the Hebrew word meaning, we find some interesting patterns: The word reins comes from the Hebrew word “Kilyah” which is translated as kidneys. God led me to do a background study of the functions of the kidney and it acts as a cleansing agent, especially in matters concerning the blood.

The word reins also means the seat of emotions and affections (Mind). I am convinced that we have spiritual kidneys and that is the mind of Christ. Our mind is where we have our emotions, affections, and desires. When we work at renewing our minds, we get rid of the junk that is in our lives. The mind of Christ filters out what is not of God and as we spend time in the word, it will help us to change into the image of Christ.

The heart in Ps 26:2 is our spirit being. Our spirit is in union with Christ inside of us, but in order for it to raise up and take control, we need to use the mind of Christ to filter out the junk in our lives. Not doing so can hinder us and it will allow us to remain in a carnal state. Confessing the verses that have to do with our identity in Christ will allow us to have His mind and know His perfect will. There is much to share so in our next blog spot, we will continue our studies concerning being the candle of the Lord.

Count Your Blessings.

What do you think gets better with age? In my opinion, Life. Yes, I would agree that Life is full of troubles and challenges. Some may feel like Life may have dealt them a bad hand. I have gone thru many troubles and could find an excuse to complain about living. The good news is that I have learned to identify life and that is the Lord-

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. ( John 14:6)

Notice it says that Jesus is the life. This has helped me go through my challenges and testing. Years ago, I should have been dead. While driving a taxi back in 1988, I was shot and that incident marked a change in my life. Added to that, my son was shot five times four years ago and survived. Finally, I lost my father last year. So, life has not been a bowl of cherries for me and my family.

I look at life learning to count my blessings. If I had not survived that shooting, I would not have seen my four grandchildren grow up. It was during that time that God blessed me with a house of my own and a better job. Do I still have problems in my life? Yes, I do but I have learned that when you put Jesus first, he gives you the answers to all your problems.

He gave us the mind of Christ and that makes me a problem solver with the help of God. It is my desire to help people get solutions to their problems by teaching them the word of God so that they can become problem solvers and help others in life–Praise God. So, that’s my testimony on life. It gets better with age so long as Jesus is included in the picture. God bless.

My Sleeping Habits.

Daily writing prompt
What time do you go to bed and wake up currently?
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I want to share, especially, with my WordPress family about about my sleeping habits. Our Daily writing prompt has asked us about the time we go to bed and wake up. I will start off with some of my peculiar habits. Bad habits are hard to break. I am a night owl. What is a night owl? It is slang for a person who goes to bed at a late hour.

Life has been good to me. I am retired and not doing bad financially. I am presently working full-time ministry and I do get help from the church. I enjoy praying, studying the word and writing among other things. Being able to work at home is a blessing. The down side is that I have been sitting down too long and have gotten a little lazy.

At night, I spend time learning Italian thru Duolingo, which is a free app and very helpful. I think that my knowledge of Spanish is a plus in learning Italian. Then, I do some reading and afterwards, watch a movie. All this is done with my phone and when I finish, my sleep is messed up. I cannot sleep until 3 am. About 6 hours later, I get up and get ready to start my day.

Presently, I am trying to limit my use of the phone and working to go to bed early. I used to be an early bird riser, especially when I was at the secular workplace. I found out that the excessive use of the cell phone can rob you of your sleep, so do keep me in prayer that I may change my habits. Getting up early has many advantages. Remember, it’s the early bird that catches the worm. God bless you and feel free to share your thoughts.

Making Life Comfortable During Tough times.

Daily writing prompt
What strategies do you use to increase comfort in your daily life?
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Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. ( Isaiah 26:3)

Life can be a challenge living it day by day. We are surrounded by bad news. Our children are acting up. Pressure on the job to perform or you’re fired. These and other things will make life miserable. Stress is a real thing. Medical studies have concluded that stress can lead to long-term sicknesses such as diabetes and heart problems.

As a Christian, I have my own personal strategies on dealing with stress and being comfortable in life–

  • Take time to laugh–Believe it or not, laughing is a good thing for your body. It helps improve digestion and the oxygen flows better in our bodies. In a study relating Cancer patients, doctors have found positive effects on the joy of laughter and can even help make significant improvements. ( Make sure you consult with your doctor before you apply these techniques. )
  • Meditate on the word–This is a technique that works. Get all the promises of God concerning peace and comfort. Pray it over you for 30 days and watch your stress levels go down.
  • Write down your concerns. Take a piece of paper and write down all your concerns and worries. Make sure you have a small trash can and use your imagination. Throw it in the can and say–Lord, I leave all my cares in your hands, in Jesus name. It works.
  • Chamomile tea can help. When you can’t sleep or need some relief from the rat race in life, have a nice hot tea of Chamomile. It’s not expensive and will help you relax and have better indigestion.
  • Finally, have a talk with your doctor on how to manage stress. A good doctor can be your best friend in times like these.

Don’t allow stress to take it’s toil on you. Learn to have a strategy and have peace and comfort for your life. God bless.

Looking Forward To My Future.

Daily writing prompt
What are you most excited about for the future?
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Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (Rom 8:37)

The above picture features my friend Pastor Jose Padilla and his wife Martha taken while visiting Washington DC. How does this relates to my future? Let me start by addressing the question on my daily prompt above about what am I excited about the future?

As a Christian, I would say that God holds my future in his hands. He promises me in his word that regardless of the circumstances, I am more than a conqueror. Having said that, whether you are a Christian or not, we need to look at life in a positive light. There is a saying that I like to use. Count your blessings.

Learn to be thankful for the little things. We tend to take life for granted and upon looking at some of the things in life, we are blessed. When I went to a Missions trip to Peru, I experienced first hand how blessed we are in America. Our church ministered in the jungle and some of the people lived in a tree house.

My greatest joy came when we helped a fellow Peruvian minister build a house for him. For just about less than $5,000, we managed to build him a nice house and he was moved to tears. Thank God for the generous gifts that came from our church, making it possible. Another concern was the disease of Malaria. Some people were affected by it, but thank God, he protected us.

Our church encouraged the Peruvian Christians and we helped build a sewing business for the ladies to have employment. We, also, encouraged them to look ahead to their future. Goals and visions are so important in having a positive outlook in life. When I arrived in the good old USA, I felt like kissing the ground. We are truly a blessed nation.

Don’t take things for granted and learn to have a goal and vision in life. These things will make your future look bright and exciting. Here is a link below that I wrote some time ago on our mission trip to Peru. Even though we had to move on to our ministry and are no longer associated with that church, the works continues through Pastor Jose Padilla and he is doing a great job. (1)

(1) https://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/My-time-in-Peru

Living In Harmony With One Another.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:15)

The picture you see above is me and my wife. We have been together for a 44 years, but from time to time, we have to deal with issues in our lives. One such issue is being in harmony with one another. Living in harmony can be a challenge. First, let’s define harmony.

Harmony is defined as being in a peaceful agreement with one another. A sense of peacefulness and tranquility. Whether it’s in a job working with co-workers or with the family, tension in the atmosphere is not a positive thing to have in your life. We have to learn how to nip it at the bud. Identifying the root cause is important.

Failure at not identifying the root cause can have serious consequences. Staying in a state of strife and contention is deadly and can cause health effects. My wife and I have agreed to cut off strife whenever it sticks it’s ugly head in our relationship. One thing is not having the last word. I have been fallen short in that area many times.

Our pride can get us into trouble. If strife and contention is a frequent problem, talking it over with one another is a good thing. Wait until you and your wife cool off. Then after that period, take a deep breath and talk with one another over a cup of coffee. Be open to some solutions.

Getting counseling is another alternative. Me and my wife have gotten some good counseling from our church ministers. It helped saved our marriage. So, if you are having trouble living in harmony, especially in the home, there is hope. Pray and ask God for wisdom. He will never let you down.

I Like Gospel and Classical Music.

Daily writing prompt
What is your favorite genre of music?
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When I feel like listening to music, I prefer to listen to either Gospel or Classical. Let me start with Gospel Music. I like to hear Gospel Music with an uplifting message. One of my favorite songs is entitled–So you want to go back to Egypt? The vocals on this song is by Brother Keith Green. It is a mixture of funny humor along with a strong message.

Egypt represents the world, sin and the former life. In this song, Keith Green talks about the Jews who got delivered from slavery. God had a plan to get them into the land of Milk and Honey. Unfortunately, they complained and, hard to believe, missed their former life in Egypt. Keith Green takes all these circumstances and mixes it up with some funny situations that would be applicable to us. You can hear his song on the link provided below.

As for Classical Music, I like to hear some songs that are calm but then come alive such as the Overture of 1812. Written by Tchaikovsky, it start with a mellow sound and then builds up. My favorite part is when you hear the cannons fire away adding to the excitement. Another of my favorites is Haydn and Mendelssohn.

Their music is unique and uplifting. Haydn’s song Surprise is lively and interesting. My favorite part is when the music lowers and then builds up suddenly. As far as Mendelssohn is concerned, his music does the same building up a crescendo from time to time. His music features the violin in many of his songs.

Classical music has had an influence in our everyday lives. You can hear parts of it in the old Bugs Bunny cartoons. Also, in the popular serials of the 40’s, especially with Flash Gordon. (*) Another final note to this is to keep your eyes on AI and the effects that they are having on the music industry.

If you are a Beatles fan, you can get the latest AI sounds on their music. I ran across a Instagram page that has the latest Beatles AI music. Can you imagine what AI can do with Gospel and Classical? It would be interesting to see. I have enclosed a few links below in case you want to listen to my kind of music. Have a blessed weekend and feel free to share your thoughts.

(1) Keith Green-So you wanna go back to Egypt-https://youtu.be/5BQkBdRWxrs?si=TnIegTMXhLkQvVoU

(2) Overture of 1812- https://youtu.be/VbxgYlcNxE8?si=aVnpXfaenxUC4ibW

(3) Surprise by Haydn-https://youtu.be/tF5kr251BRs?si=eGsv6H-KAND4Px4c

(4) Symphony number 3 by Mendelssohn-https://youtu.be/Q-zoNEO55yU?si=yLLl9NduhZkC-I61

(*) Flash Gordon Intro (Classical music)–https://youtu.be/AlEWl3igd0c?si=dpGQ2AUSLl6U5UWq

An Unforgettable Vacation.

Daily writing prompt
Describe your most memorable vacation.
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My most memorable vacation was back in 1989 on an all paid expense trip to Disney World. During the decade of the 80’s, I was working two jobs and experiencing the cost of high hospital bills. I thank God that my jobs provided for my family, but I had no medical insurance. It was during that time that Asthma made my life difficult. I was in and out of the hospital and my costs was going up.

I thank God that my faith in Christ got me through life. As if that wasn’t enough, I got shot while driving a cab at night. Due to that incident, I stopped driving a cab and it took a bite out of my income. I have, always, prayed and believed for the best. On one faithful day, an offer to work a taxi route with Verizon came my way. As a result, I made more money but that wasn’t all.

I winded up getting hired by Verizon. Now, I had health insurance and better pay. It was during that time, that God touched my parent’s heart to give us an all paid expense trip to Disney World. It was a unforgettable time seeing the happy expressions on my children’s faces when we came to Disney World.

My Parents relaxing at home. Thank God, they made our trip possible

I spent some valuable time with my parents and we had fun. Thank God for his mercy and grace. As the years passed, God has continued to bless us time after time.

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: ( I Peter 1:3)

I like to think that a happy ending was provided at the end of the 80’s for us. Disney World was a great vacation to remember and I will forever be grateful to God and my parents for making it possible. If you are going thru a dark time in your life, remember it is always darkest before dawn. Don’t lose hope, help is on the way. Don’t stop praying and put your trust in Jesus. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Now, let’s hear from you. What is your most memorable vacation?

Spaghetti and Eggs!

Daily writing prompt
On what subject(s) are you an authority?
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I am not much of a cook, but I can say that I can cook a mean plate of spaghetti. For years, my wife had been complaining about cooking. Two years ago, she backed away from cooking and said–It’s your turn! Now, for me, this was a shock. I was old school for years and I had enjoyed the comforts of my wife cooking for me and my family. Now, the ball was on my court.

I learned, ever since then about the fine arts of culinary cooking. Among my challenges, I learned to cook Beef Stew and Roast Beef, as well as heating, some canned soups, but I excelled at cooking Spaghetti and Eggs. I do Eggs in the morning and prefer them scrambled with some onions, garlic, and cheese. As for dinner, I buy good spaghetti sauce with garlic. Then, I add on the onions and heat my spaghetti and I am good to go.

I really enjoy cooking those two items. It’s nice to see your masterpiece on your plate and feeling great when it hits the spot. How about you? What are your areas of expertise?

Are you in a prison? Part 3

Fence at Flossenbürg concentration camp


Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (Proverbs 29:18)

In my last blog, I paused my series of prison escapes. The Lord changed my message and had me to share on the subject: “To Serve Man”. In my analysis of this subject, I shared from an episode of The Twilight Zone how important words are, and how to walk in understanding. If you missed it, please check it out; it will help you in your walk with God.

In this blog, we will explore a very popular movie called: “The Great Escape”. This has been one of my favorites and I want to share some Biblical insights on this matter. “The Great Escape” was a movie that was released in 1963. It was a tribute to the fifty prisoners who were shot in cold blood after they were captured by the German Army. It is my prayer that these biblical teachings on this movie, will inspire many to press through obstacles and setbacks. To not give up in your prison of despair, and be able to live for the Lord in victory.

Give Up All Hope.

I compare the Great Escape as a prison of despair. When the Allies were captured, they were told that the war was over and to give up. Unfortunately, many within the camp did not obey that command and tried to escape. My favorite character was Captain Hilts (Steve McQueen). No matter how hard the Germans would try to break him, he never lost his hope to see himself riding into victory in Berlin. When he was sent to the Cooler, he would have his trademark baseball glove. He threw his baseball against the wall, and irritated the Germans.

How about you, Friend, when your back is against the wall? When you feel that you are in a prison of despair, will you lose hope, or will you encourage yourself like Capt. Hiltz? Let’s explore other aspects of this amazing film.

Vision And Divine Connections.

Capt. Hilts never lost hope. In one scene, he and his companions dug a hole underneath the prison to escape. Unfortunately, they got caught and they were put back in the cooler. It seems that the odds were against Hilts until he made a connection with two British Officers. It was at that encounter, that they shared some ideas and made a clever and elaborate plan to escape.

Beloved, God is a God of New Beginnings and Big Visions. While Capt. Hilts was sharing about his plan to escape, the British Officers (who were his fellow prisoners) had a better one in which 250 prisoners would be free. Capt. Hilts thought that it was impossible, but the officers assured him that it could be done. Beloved, your vision may look impossible, but trust in the Holy Spirit, he can make it possible.

Captain Hilts and his fellow prisoners took to planning the escape. They had dug a couple of tunnels around the camp and had code names for them. They were patient and came up with a unique idea on surviving underground by creating a breathing air machine. Brethren, when you have a vision, it is important to consult with God as to the proper timing and plans. It’s also important to hear from God concerning divine connections. God will put in your path people who will make your vision possible. Pat Robertson was sent to Virginia with just $70 dollars by God’s direction. He had a vision. As he stepped forward by faith, he got connected with key people who helped him. In time, he built up a successful Christian ministry which is still active to this day called the 700 club.

Whether it is for Ministry, Personal or Business, God wants to give you a vision. A vision will precede your calling in life. Tyler Perry is another example: He was homeless and probably in despair until he found out that his gift was writing. After stepping out and exercising his gift, he went on to be a success.

There is a saying: “When life gives you a lemon, you start making lemonade”. Don’t let life’s setbacks get you into a prison of despair; step out in faith. You have a valuable gift inside that is waiting to be uncovered. Nurture the vision that God has created in you. Please click on my video link for more on Your Great Escape.

Informative links…

(1) The Great Escape Movie…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMggxX5xj2o

(2) The True story of the Great Escape….https://www.history.com/news/great-escape-wwii-nazi-stalag-luft-iii