Thursday, June 26, 2008

Flying To Africa

Saturday, June 21, I left Las Vegas and flew to Dallas. I ate a red chile tortilla burrito while watching Euro 2008: Netherlands vs. Russia. Russia won.

Then I flew from Dallas to London Heathrow. I sat by an Indian mother and 4 year old daughter who was going to India. While the daughter was sleeping, she put her feet on my lap and shoulder and every other body part that was on my left side.

On that plane, I watched Reservation Road with Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo. It is the story about a man (Phoenix) who tries to remember who killed his son. The film starts by telling what happens when Ruffalo's character is with his son and they drive home from a Boston Red Sox game. Ruffalo accidentally hits Phoenix's son. The twist in the film is the attorney that helps Phoenix is Ruffalo. So, the film is whether Ruffalo should turn himself in before allowing Phoenix to know and do something in anger.

It was a great film because it talks about the justice in precious life. I so recommend watching it.

This is Day One.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

How He Loves / Anton Cruz

The Price For Having A Perfect Life

Let me ask you a question: "Would you want to not suffer anymore?"

As young as birth and as old as the second before death, we are all suffering.

I had to be operated the day I was born for I had Hirschsprung's Disease, a disease that affects your large intestines. Two inches of my large intestines was dead, so there was no way for my intestines to function properly. Three surgeries later, I am healthy and have a huge scar to prove it.



Paul, a former persecutor of Christians who was there in 1 Corinthians 7 where Stephen was stoned to death, has been persecuted himself for being Christian. He writes,

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort" (2 Corinthians 1:1-7 NASB).

Basically Paul says that when we suffer, other have suffered too and we can share our testimony and say, "I know how it feels to... and I have been comforted by God and He too understands because it says in Hebrews 4:15 that Jesus can sympathize with us because He has been tempted in all things, yet without sin."

I too wish we didn't have to suffer, but let's consider it all worthless compared to knowledge that we have Christ.

I shared this with my youth group last week.

"What if you could not suffer anymore, but everyone around you was hurting, how would you feel?"

One responded with "whoa!" And that is what my heart and soul said as well.

It's weird because if we could not suffer, we wouldn't be able to sympathize with others.

So for me, I'll suffer day and night in order that you would know that Christ exists.

I have been struggling with this battle inside me that is between my flesh that wants to feed my sinful nature and my soul that longs for God.

So I tell you to do whatever it takes to strive for God. Give away your earthly worth every time you lose your battle. Be left with only God because God is our only worth.

God bless. And I love you all.