Welcome to Gaia! ::

Woooo! I just had the greatest time with my grandma this weekend. She’s such a cool person to be around. We’ve had our fights, but they mean nothing at all. She’s the shizz and I love to be around her!

I went and stayed at her house out of town so that we could go to Church together. Man, the church she goes to is the high-techest church out there, like something out of Star Wars. Vader even preached! icon_wink.gif I’m serious, there were two HUGE TVs mounted on the wall beside the stage (the chapel was JUST like an auditorium) and the seats were arranged just like a theater. Everything was just great. When we sang and praised our Lord Jesus, they had speakers all around that played the music. Dude, your head would explode if God wasn’t there the speakers were so loud. No joke. The pastor that spoke was SO good that I wanted to go up and hug him the Holy Spirit was just resonating from his sermon. My granny and I just had a gas at the place. I learned to beat my shyness through the lord (I talked to so many people, while had I had come to the lord, I wouldn’t have spoken to anyone I’d be so shy) It was just so great. All of it.

Well, not all of it was good. I mean, the service wasn’t bad at all, nor were the people. But let’s just say I went under enemy fire again.

You all know my testimony and how I came to Christ. This darkness I am going through is going away and comes back only once and awhile (thank you, Jesus!) but at the church, the bullets began to fly, so to speak. There was this black man playing the drums, and he was doing a WONDERFUL job, yet the devil was doing his old racist thing in my mind. I can’t STAND THAT!!! I KNOW that the Lord loves us all equally, and that He made us all equal, doesn’t matter what, yet these damn thoughts… It makes me so angry that these racist thoughts attack me sometimes! We’re not even a different race! It doesn’t matter what your skin color or shade is, you’re a HUMAN BEING! Of course you don’t need me telling you that, but you know how it goes when the devil attacks you and how you’ll do anything to prove him wrong, even though you know already that you’re right. I will never become racist, I don’t care if it means my life, and I’ll fight Satan and his horrible hatred and prejudice till the end! (I get passionate about that.) I love the Lord so much (He’s the greatest!). He has crushed the bad thoughts to the point that they rarely come up. They don’t come up often anymore. But when they do, it’s like cutting a knife into me. Anyway, while I was getting cut, I prayed to the Lord to watch over and protect the drum player. As soon as I was done, I could have sworn I saw the man form a HUGE grin, like the Lord was hugging him. It was great. I grinned too.

While the pastor was up on the stage preaching, I listened intently to what he said, all while the Lord told me what to do next. I knew that He wanted me to write a sermon about all the different people, and write how much God loves everyone so much equally all the while backing it up with scripture and bringing all the glory to Him (funny thing, when I first heard that God does everything to glorify him, I thought “Wow, the Lord is arrogant!” But I understand why He glorifies Himself now). Now, this goes far beyond ethnicity. This goes as far as people who look kind of weird to common standards, people who are mentally challenged, people who are weird socially, homosexuals, smelly people (Ok, not that, but the Lord loves them just as much) over weight people, and much more. It doesn’t matter one bit. The Lord loves EVERYONE!

Genesis 5:2 "He created them male and female, and on that day he blessed them and named them human beings"

Acts 17:26 "God began by making one person, and from him came all different people who live everywhere in the world. God decided exactly when and where they must live"

Galatians 3:28 "In Christ, there is no difference between Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus"

These verses can be interpreted many ways. It could mean ethnically (which one definitely was about that), gender wise (clearly stated), different personalities, etc. I think Acts 17:26 goes farther than just ethnically. It goes into all of the differences in people. The Lord made us all different from each other for a reason, but He loves us all equally and cherishes us all equally.

Modern day society is all about putting down people who don’t fit in. At school, jerks pick on, beat up, and publicly humiliate those who they consider “square”. People openly degrade others who they think are stupid. People who have lots of money or just enough money shove homeless and poor people aside, calling them bums, telling them to get a job, all of that. If it were that easy, then why wouldn’t they have one? People have and still do openly attacked somebody because they have dark or light skin, tighter eyes, and a different accent, etc. The two sexes are at a constant war it seems. It’s sad! It makes me sad. It saddens me that I was once a few of these ways, which I’ll get into later. Not only that, but I’m sure it saddens the Lord Jesus that we are so arrogant and vicious to each other. It all goes back to Genesis and Adam Eve. Once they ate that apple, we were basically screwed to our own rebellion and sins. That all changed, however, when our loving Lord came to us and died on the cross.

It seems like it’s human nature to be intolerant and fearful and hateful towards others who are different. Kids these days, and I’m sure the days before hand, had a tendency to pick on others who just weren’t normal to them. It’s just what people accept to be normal these days. It seems that there are no repercussions for being a bully. Well, as the Lord put it, you reap what you sow. Being a bully, and getting bullied, and showing hatred towards others who are different reaps what you’re sowing. I know this. My gosh, you’d think I look at myself as some sort of sage, which of course isn’t true, but I do know about this subject very well.

Ahhh….well, I told the Lord I would share this with you guys. I’m ashamed of it, I really am, but the Lord insisted. I resisted, but I know His will if for the best (If I didn’t He said He’d beat me eek ……in chess…..really badly:

Random scene!

*The Lord Jesus and I are playing chess and I just made the starting move by moving a pawn*

Me: your turn

*The Lord makes all my pieces disappear besides my king*

Me: *Looks at the chess board* Dude, come on stare

The lord Jesus: mrgreen

Well, as I said, I am ashamed of who I once was, but I was a jerkface and a half. I hate how I once acted and I hate who I once was. But even in this shame that we all face from time to time, the Lord tells us, as He certainly told me, that though we sometimes act like jerkfaces, whether only slightly or all the time, the Lord is training us to help others, and that He is turning our flaws into good tools for His glory. So, I’ll tell you how I once was and how I know that being a jerkface, having somebody be a jerkface to you, and just plan human mean tendencies can harm you and harm others.

I know, know, you’re probably thinking, “Holy bagolly! Not another one of James’ stories! I can’t read another one! Where the hell is that gun? Ahh…I can’t find it…oh well, who needs a gun when you’ve got a knife? [Yes, you’re thinking EXACTLY that, you sick monkey you mrgreen but I’m going to share these stories anyhow.

Remember how I said that my family went through an immoral time in one of my sermons? I did too. I was a selfish, immoral jerkface for a long time. I was mean to people, a brat, a thief, a lustful jerk (Gotta clear up two things here. I was NEVER sexist and I’m still a virgin in every way, but I would think lustful things without conscience) a spiteful boy, a lazy jerkface who didn’t really care about much beside himself (my mom, family and a few friends, that’s it). After my dad died, I grew a hatred for the Lord that lasted for ten years. I let that run me, which meant many things. I would verbally make fun of people, not care whether people were happy or not, put people down for no reason, cause harm to others (not physically), I’d call people ugly, all that stupid crap. I was never violent (though I got into a few fights), and I wasn’t rebellious (I’d be docile toward authority), but I didn’t mind at all putting people down and I didn’t mind it when people got hurt. I would bully people and I’d enjoy it (I’ll never enjoy that type of thing again). My heart was stone. Though, I tell you the truth, there was love and caring buried beneath that stone that would surface from time to time (meaning, I’d show love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, selflessness, cheer, all that) from time to time, but the hatred for the Lord had me in a bind, so I let that run me. I would put people down and be a jerk in order to hurt Him, it seems. I remember a few times where I would make fun of people who are different than me. I remember making this beautiful girl cry because I called her ugly to her face (I freaking hate myself for that). I remember calling this over weight person a fat a** behind her back all the time, and one day I said it to her face…I wish I could apologize for my dumb, jerk behavior. Man, the list goes on and on…I know I’m not a bad guy…I can’t stand the old me. I can’t stand it. I beat myself up for it.

The Bible talks about reaping what you sow. I certainly did. When I moved from my home in Canada to the U.S, I was bullied and all that. I was reaping what I sowed. I still hated my enemies, but I had no true reason to complain.

Anyway, the Lord had placed love and care in my heart before the Devil robbed it from me for a long time. I know now that the Lord had a plan. I know that He had this all planned out since day one. He made me a person who would learn to love all people and become a nice person, but that required that I learned the other side first. He planted love and care into my heart, but it was buried under stone. It needed to be dug up. So, Step one of God’s plan was to have me fall in love in 2002. When I fell in love, it was basically the first step to softening my heart. When I learned that love was just so grand, I pushed back against the devil’s hatred. I stopped making fun of people, I stopped being a jerk, and I made the decision to be a nice guy. I decided to make up for what I was doing, and do whatever I knew was right to help others. I decided that lust was bad, and that I’ll do anything I can to defend and honor all women (when needed), and treat them with equal respect and rights to men, no matter what they look like. But I still hated God and I still hated and made fun of people I didn’t like. So, Step two had to be put in place. That was the spiritual warfare. My Lord, that changed me forever. The loving care that the Lord had put in me was increased by ten fold. It wasn’t about me anymore. It was about all people, and loving them with all my being. It was about being nice and doing whatever I can for ANYONE who needs help and joy. I learned to love EVERYONE (no joke, though of course I get mad and stuff towards people who get all mean). But that wasn’t enough yet. I still held on to a few grudges. Step three had to be put in place before the Lord could fully unlock the love. I had to accept Christ as my savior. Once that happened, my gosh, there was a love overload! I don’t do the things that I once did, and I will never again. I love all different people, and I won’t let them get hurt. I won’t let them be degraded and treated unfairly and all that anymore. I won’t do it. I won’t do it all through the Lord our God. I love God so much that I could scream out loud with joy. He made me into what I want to be. He made me care, and I love it! I love it! I won’t let it go. I regret who I was, and I regret not listening to God before. I will learn to forgive myself, in time.

This will all come into play later in the sermon.

You’re probably thinking, “can we get to the actual sermon already?” I’m thinking the same thing. Ok, since you insist, I will.

There’s so much to cover it will take me a while, but oh well.

I’ll separate this into sections, going into how people seem to hate different kinds of people, and with the guide of the Holy Spirit, I will tell you how to beat that hate and instead show love.

First off, I’d like to start with the different appearances of people. It’s definitely common for people to put down others who are what is considered “ugly”. A certain person has acne, dirty pants, a weird mole on his face like some people I know (not me ninja ok, it’s me) pimples; you name it, that person would be considered ugly to regular standards. Sometimes when you look at somebody you think looks bad, you can’t help but think to yourself, “Wow, he sure looks bad.” I know that feeling, because I’ve thought that. I hate the fact that I have, but I have. You look at somebody you just don’t find attractive, and you don’t think they’re anything besides ugly. It’s sad, but it’s true.
Well, you can take on another viewpoint that just rocks this world. Think about this. The Lord your God made that person how he/she looks for a reason. The Lord your God took the time to carefully think out how this person would look. He doesn’t think he/she is ugly. He thinks he she is beautiful. He thinks that he/she is so beautiful He could scream. He made us all in His image, and he loves how beautiful he made all of us. Thinking that somebody looks bad or is ugly is almost like saying God is ugly, or that the work He did was poor. When you think, “That person is so ugly!” you’re causing the Lord to think, “so, you think my work is ugly? Well, you’re wrong. The work I do is always beautiful.” The Lord won’t like that one bit. It’s true. We’re all beautiful. Every single one of us is beautiful. Lala has in her sig a picture of herself, and underneath it it says, “Jesus made me Beautiful. I am made in His Image.” She’s right. She is beautiful. Absolutely possitutely beautiful. I think that’s a great way to view yourself and other people. Jesus looks at you and thinks, “Ahhh…. my beautiful son/daughter…. how I love you” Of course, the Lord isn’t saying that you should be sexually attracted to all people. That would just be plain…. weird I guess is the right word. The Lord has made us different from each other, and so we have our own….I guess you could say preferences. But even so, know that we are all beautiful and to say other wise is to say God did poor work. Remember, you reap what you sow. Don’t be how I once was. It will eat you up inside. I didn’t have that knowledge of God, so I didn’t care what I thought somebody looked like. It’s the wrong move.
The next time you feel as if you’re ugly, or like people look at you and think that you’re ugly, remember that the Lord your God thinks you’re so incredibly beautiful He could scream. Why should you care what some jerkface says about you? Why should you care that some jerk says you’re ugly? You’re not. You never were, and you never will be. Next time you’re feeling insecure, which I know we all do, remember that you’re God’s beautiful child. That’s all that matters.

There’s so much more to cover! I’d better type fast.

Ok, now to cover different people with different skin colors and skin shades.
When I was a little boy (like 4 or so) I didn’t understand why people had different skin colors and such. It blew my mind. Why do we look different? Of course, I was young and naïve, so it’s not like I knew much about things. I was never at all prejudice or anything like that, but I had that question come up a lot. One time while at a movie store, I looked at the back of a movie cover (I think it was one of my all time favorite movies, Alien) I saw this black man (who is the coolest character in Alien next to Ripley) and I was curious. Why does he have dark skin and I have white skin? I was through thinking about it, so I asked my big bro, Jesse. My bro has always been prone to joke around, and sometimes he likes to crack racial jokes (of course, he doesn’t mean it at all). But when I asked him, he didn’t joke around at all. He told me something I’ll never forget. He said to me, “He has darker skin because he comes from a place with lots of sun. It protects him better. James, he’s just as human as you or me.” I grin whenever I think that for a few reasons. A.)Next to our Lord, it was what prevented me from ever being a racist person B.) Jesse said it. That stuck with me, and will stick with me, till the end. Of course, people go way beyond only black and white (Asian, native American, etc.), but that goes for everyone. We’re all just as human as each other. Nobody, no matter what, is inferior or superior to somebody else. No matter what.

Acts 17:26 "God began by making one person, and from him came all different people who live everywhere in the world. God decided exactly when and where they must live"

I watched this pretty horrible movie not that long ago called American History X. It’s about racism in America and how people will fight other people just because they look different. I watched it with the worst timing ever. I had watched it in the middle of my spiritual warfare (not good). In that movie, it had these people with white skin attacking people with black skin or Asian skin and all that, and it had these people with black skin attacking people with white skin. All those people were fighting because the other people had different skins colors. It’s really sad. It truly is just down right upsetting, that somebody would hurt somebody else because they have different backgrounds. It happens. It happens a lot, even.

The way I see it, people get all hateful and racist because the devil is doing whatever he can to get God’s children to hurt each other, hence hurting God. The hatred definitely doesn’t come from God, for He made us all. Or maybe it’s because we fear things that are different, I don’t know. I don’t know how many of you have been a victim to Satan’s racism. I have. You get so incredibly mad because somebody is judging you because you’re from a different place, or you have a different appearance. You feel like you’re being treated unfairly. It’s true; you are being treated unfairly and wrongly. But, if you have been treated that way, know again that God made you, loves you JUST AS much as the other person who was being prejudiced, and will protect you and tell you that you’re just as human as anyone else. Jesus died for your sins, and He wants you to be with Him. God made us the way we are for a reason. It’s not for anything hateful or prejudicial, but only out of equal love and to glorify His name. It all goes back to what I said earlier. The Lord made us all beautiful and in His image. We are all equal.

I like how Martin Luther King Junior put it in his “I Have a Dream” speech.
http://www.mecca.org/~crights/dream.html

Martin had a dream that people wouldn’t be judged by they skin, but by their character, and that all people would live free and equal. He was referring to people when he said that, but the Lord gave Martin that dream. Don’t ever feel like the Lord judges you by your background, because He does not. Some people may judge you that way, but what they say doesn’t matter. What do you care what they think?

It’s also important to know that we’re not even different races. We’re all part of the human race, God’s chosen people. I say race because I don’t know a better word, but we’re all the same race - human race.

I’ve got lots more to type still! And I’ve got school tomorrow! Oh well, not like I’d be going to bed early anyway.

Gender….wow. What a fight males and females go through to try and be better than the other sex. I see that all the time. It seems to me like both sexes are trying to prove something. My neighbor got arrested recently for beating his wife. They were arguing (the entire neighborhood could have probably heard it. My gosh, they were loud that night) and we called the cops. Before the cops arrived, the husband had struck his wife and broken her tooth. He was arrested, and he was given a restraining order. I think that was the Lord’s doing. He has no right to do that, and God decided it was time he learned that the hard way instead of the easy way. He hit his wife because she was a female, and as a male, he thought it was Ok. The Lord set him straight.
Anyway, the reason I brought that up was because over the years, thanks mostly to culture, the two sexes have been warring it out simply because they thought that the opposite sex was not as good and not as important. That was the case when my neighbor hit his wife. He thought that because this person had a uterus and breasts, he was more important and better. He thought that it was not at all bad that he injured his wife. She was screaming and sobbing on the floor when my mom and I ran into the house. It was heart breaking. It’s a good thing I was there, because I was afraid my neighbor might hit my mom (I’m bigger than my neighbor by A LOT icon_mrgreen.gif When I said I wasn’t violent, that isn’t 100% true. I would get violent if it meant somebody got hurt or killed if I didn’t)

You all know of that rivalry men and women go through. Some men think women are stupid and incapable of anything besides cooking and cleaning dishes (I hate that type of guy) and some girls think men are lazy, fat slobs (I hate that as well). It’s sickening to me that people do that to each other. I know that doesn’t mean much, but it still makes me sick.

Genesis 5:2 "He created them male and female, and on that day he blessed them and named them human beings"

As it states clearly in this verse, God blessed both male and female. He didn’t bless just one. He gave His blessings to both. He didn’t make one better than the other. You may think that just because the culture is all about rivalry, that you should be that way too. God, however, doesn’t think that way. Not at all. He looks at both his daughters and sons and smiles. He loves them both the same.

Throughout the Bible, both men and women do incredibly things, using whatever gifts God gave them (Ruth, Noah, Mary, Solomon, etc.). It’s amazing to me, because I once thought God sexist. No, no, no, no, He isn’t at all. He’s given all men and all women gifts to glorify Him. That is why I’ll never be a person who degrades and attacks women’s self worth. I do not have a wife, obviously, but that is why I will never let my wife think she’s supposed to be some sort of thing for my enjoyment. That is why I’ll never let my wife think she’s supposed to be somebody who’s only a housewife or something like that. That is why I’ll never let my wife think or believe she’s inferior to me. God made us and loves us all equally, and has given us all gifts. For me (or any man) to make it so that my wife can’t have her own career, run things for herself, make her own decisions (because of course all women and men can make their own decisions) and anything like that is not only a jerkface thing to do, but I wouldn’t be letting the gifts that God gave my future wife be used.

Remember, God blessed both male and female. Don’t be thinking that he made one better than the other.

I’m afraid I don’t have much time left, so I’ll have to mash the next few things together in one section.

Ok, as much as I don’t want to mash these together, I will have to because this sermon won’t be ready in time if I don’t.

Some of the most profound hatreds are directed towards homosexuals and people with various disabilities (mental, physical, etc.) once again, I have been both a homophobe and somebody who makes fun of the disabled (I can never say that without getting mad at myself. Pray for me that I learn to forgive myself). I learned through those past flaws about me that most people these days look down upon mentally retarded people, cripples, etc. as if they were the scum of the Earth. People make fun of them; push them around, and all sorts of bad intentioned things. They don’t seem to see the fact that they are people. If they do see that, they seem to disregard it. They ask for help, and it’s not given to them. I know that pisses God off.

John 9:1-3
1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

God has made people with disabilities that way for a reason. It’s not because God hates them and wants them to suffer, contrary to popular belief, but instead it is to show His power to us. My cousin is mentally retarded. He’s a very sweet young man, yet his brothers seem to look down at him as if he were evil. My aunt loves him to death, and has tried everything to help him. I trust that the lord will one day show them His Divine love and power, and free my little cousin from his disability. The crippled and lame will not be that way forever. Whether God heals them on Earth or in Heaven is His business, but they will not remain crippled. I hope that the World sees this and will do whatever they can to help the disabled out.
Ahhh! I’m really running out of time! Ok, last point before I stop.
I’m sure you’ve all heard that some Christians out there hate the bejeebus out of homosexuals. They say that no matter what, they are going to Hell. I quite obviously see that the reason people act like that towards gay people is because they find what they do to be sick and wrong. It is sinful, that’s for sure, and I don’t find it at all appealing or interesting, but I know for a fact that God loves any gay people just as much as anyone else. I don’t know where this verse is located exactly (I think it’s in Romans), but it says that thieves, murders, homosexuals, liars, and all that, will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. They seem to stress the homosexual part of that, while completely neglecting what it says really. They use that to try and condemn gay people, which is wrong. The verse was talking about how sinners can’t go to Heaven. But through Christ, you are saved. Period. So, of course gay people can be saved, and of course they’re just as loved as anyone else. No verse in the New Testament, which we live under, says that God hasn’t saved gay people as well. Jesus hung out with sinners of all kinds. He didn’t forsake anyone. So whenever you hear somebody going on about how God hates gay people and that they’re not saved, remember that Christ died for all sin. Saying that He can’t forgive gay people is doubting that He can forgive all sin.

(small assist from beaufleur)

Thank you for this prayer, big sis. I love you VERY much! Jesus loves you more.