Tag Archives: Jesus

Thank you for being a part of my life

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006To all my readers, friends, family and extended family, I pray that you have a merry Christmas. I also pray that in the new year to come you find peace within yourself, love for all living things including yourself. May you be guided by the hand of god and may his love fill your heart and lives. Know that I love every single one of you and that I know I have been blessed to have all of you in my life. I know I may not always have expressed how much you meant to me in the past because like everyone else I allowed the madness of modern life to keep me from the people and things that matter most. Thank you for being a part of my life and may God bless you all.

I know many of you will never see or read this post but I know within my heart you will feel it within your heart.

Merry Christmas to All

Ray Barbier

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Faith plays such a important part

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Hagia Sophia ; Empress Zoë mosaic : Christ Pan...

Faith, Why is it so important? Does Faith really make a difference in getting prayers answered and does it help one through their daily lives? Well faith is defined as belief or trust in something, so having faith is to trust in God and also believing in him and his promises. How I understand it is that faith plays such an important part in enriching our lives and getting prayers answered is that by believing and putting our trust in God we open up the door for God to work in our lives. Of course God can help us with or without faith involved but I believe he wishes for us to come to him trustingly and in full belief so that we can have a personal relationship with him. The more we trust and believe in God the more we seem to be able to see his works around us and also the more our eyes are open to the gifts he has already laid around us that we have overlooked or could not see before.

I believe he answers all our prayers, just sometimes we are too blind or deaf to see or hear his answers. Then there are times his silence or inaction is the answer to the prayer.  The thing we must remember is God will give us all that we need if we ask, but he is rarely concerned with our unnecessary wants or desires. He desires the happiness of his children and the upkeep of the physical, mental and spiritual health of his children. He wants all of us to love one another unconditionally, to be as the children of God he designed us to be.  He put the challenges of different colors, languages, culture and even religious beliefs between us in order to teach us how to love one another in an unconditional manner. Without challenges for the human spirit there is no growth or change, he wishes for us to grow both mentally and spiritually. One of the biggest challenges I believe God set before his children is dealing with the Ego or the self, he teaches us that we should be submissive to his will and we have the natural desire to be selfish which makes that a great challenge for us to overcome.

Ray Barbier

 

A few Bible Verses about Faith

Matthew 17:20

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. "

Matthew 21:21

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.

1 Peter 1:5-9

who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,  for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Corinthians 13:2

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

 

Ephesians 2:8

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–

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Thank you god for all the blessings you have given me in my life.

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009Sometimes I could just slap myself in the face, I need it to wake me up and remind me of how God blessed me. I may have been denied the blessing of my own children, but I have been blessed with nephews and nieces both by marriage and blood. I was blessed to be a part of my nephews life and watch him grow up to a teen, I am currently blessed with having a 6-year-old niece and get to help raise her on the weekends and most of the summer. I may not have many friends like I used to but those who stuck with me are true ones. There is not one person I truly hate or can not forgive in time, not one of the past loves I had, do I hold anything against them and most of them are still my friends.

God blessed me with a kind heart though sometimes I let stress and frustration to get the best of me, God gave me a good family to grow up in even with all our problems we love one another. I have good memories of my youth in Overland Missouri and of the friends I had along with my time in Georgia. I had ran my own business twice in my life and now I have a job I like for the most part. I have made some new friends and they embellish my life in their own unique ways. Even through some of the worst times in my life I survived and had friends offer me a helping hand. Thank you god for all the blessings you have given me in my life.

Pray in thanks for your blessings and ask him to help you remember those blessings when times are tough.
Ray Barbier

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution By license.
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A Letter to my self : Self-Compassion

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018 I am writing this to let you know how special you are, I know you have a lot of shortcomings and you’re struggling each day with things you don’t like about yourself along with a few bad habits. I know sometimes you feel sad and lonely and I want you to know that everyone goes through that from time to time. Stop trying so hard to be perfect, for no one is perfect. Just know no matter how bad it gets, how hard life tries to be on you and how bad you think you are everything is going to be ok. You may not be perfect, but you are a pretty good person. Try to forgive yourself for those things in the past you regret and then forget them for they belong to yesterday. Just remember this most of all, no matter how alone and unloved you feel there is always one person here on earth that will love you and be with you. I will always be there and will always love you. Even if I fail you know for certain Jesus and God will never fail you, they shall love you no matter what.

Sincerely you friend

Me, Myself and I

Raymond Barbier

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We must choose as well as Believe.

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MP910221000The power to be happy is in our own hands, no outside force be it circumstances or another person can change how we feel unless we give it the power to do so. Too many times I have seen people who allowed the opinions of others and circumstances to effect their mood as well as negatively influence their self-image. God gave each of us a spirit of hope and not one of fear or negativity, the world is what brings fear and negativity into our lives. The good news is we can choose not to allow the negativity or fear to effect us and keep ourselves in a positive and happier mood. The words and actions of others have effected so many people negatively in life that they have no self-worth or confidence. The ability to achieve anything you desire is within us all, it is something we must choose as well as believe.

God gave us all the power to live a happy, productive and love filled life, we just have to realize that the power is within us and accept the gift as well as be thankful for it. That is what Jesus was trying to say when he was talking about the faith of a mustard seed. All things are possible in Christ and with faith, to choose to believe and have faith is the key. God wants all his children to be happy, confident and live in love with each other.

Just a few thoughts for all to ponder
Raymond Barbier.
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All we can do is learn from our past and work in the present to make a better future.

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MP900426559Seems the person we all judge the hardest is ourselves, We hold ourselves to a higher standard and expect to achieve it. We tend to forgive and overlook other people’s faults and mistakes much easier than our own. We can have compassion for every one around us but we seem to find it hard to have compassion upon ourselves. We need to learn we are also human just like everyone else and we can’t be perfect or without flaw. We must accept ourselves for who and what we are and forgive ourselves for our shortcomings. We always have room for improvement but we must realize we are beautiful and good as we are. We should build upon what we are and not try to destroy that which makes us unique.

We definitely need  to wake up to the reality that we are who we are and that it isn’t that bad being an imperfect human.  It is quite relieving to know we are like everyone else in the fact we are imperfect and make mistakes. We just need to learn from those mistakes and improve what we don’t like in ourselves as well as embrace the light that dwells within. God made all of us the way we needed to be in order to learn the lessons of life he set before us. We can not live in the past or the future because we live in the present and we shouldn’t dwell on what was or what might be. All we can do is learn from our past and work in the present to make a better future.
MP900399589We need to love ourselves and one another in the same way God and Jesus loves us.We need to accept the grace given and give as much grace as we can to ourselves and others. God gave us the spirit of love, and of a sound mind not of anger or fear and Jesus taught forgiveness and compassion.  For the spirit of love, forgiveness and compassion is not only meant for others but also for ourselves as well. For it is hard to love, forgive or have compassion on others if you can’t even have it for yourself. The sound mind comes with loving oneself and having the compassion to forgive yourself. With a sound mind you will find that there is very little others can say or think about you that will matter much. You will only be concerned with the truth and not of opinions and/or hear say.

 Listen to the heart God blessed you with and not the mind that the world helped program.

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Raymond Barbier

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Which way Will you Choose?

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012  The Bible teaches that love is one of the greatest things, It heals, nurtures, guides and bonds us as humans. Jesus taught us to love one another and he asked us to do it in the same way he loves us. Unconditionally, fully and without any hesitation is how we should love one another. Love is limitless but unfortunately mankind’s capacity to find excuses why not to love each other is also limitless. It so much easier to remain closed up and hidden from the world around us than it is to open up and love everyone and thing in the world. When you open up to love you leave yourself open to be hurt and that fear is what stops love from manifesting in both in our individual lives and in this world we live in. The benefits of loving and being love is worth the risks involved, when your closed you miss out on so much of life and the happiness it can bring.

Being heartbroken is an emotional rollercoaster and can be quite devastating if you allow it to be. Eventually the pain fades and happiness returns and you open back up to the love that is all around you. Life will not always be a rose garden but it is far better when you are open to love. Love comes abundantly to those who give love freely and fear fades once it is faced. The choice to love, be loved and to be happy is your choice to make or not. You can give in to fear, cynicism and anger or you can embrace love and all its wondrous benefits.

Which way Will you Choose?

“As long as your still breathing there is always a chance to change the path your on.”

Raymond Barbier

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Letting Go , Letting God and The Magnitude of God’s Love

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Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber ... I have noticed that letting go is one of the hardest actions to perform, be it letting go of your mistakes in the past or the mistakes of others. I find it so much easier to forgive others than to forgive myself for the mistakes and poor choices made in the past. Seems I am harder on my own self than on those I know and care for. Don’t get me wrong I can be a butt head sometimes to others but in general I have the live and let live attitude. Even when I am able to forgive myself for the wrongs I had committed it still takes a long time for me to forget and let it go.

Though I know my mother wasn’t the first to coin the phrase let go and let God but she is the first one that told me that. Letting God take it all is easy only if I can let it all go, I know in God’s hands I am safe but still I find letting it go hard. Slowly but surely I am learning to turn over my fears, desires, doubts and the mistakes of my past to the will and love of God. As I do the past becomes just that and it is no longer having the influence it used to over my present. The grace of God is what helps me let go of the things I can’t seem to let go of and his love and mercy helps me get through this harsh world we all live in.

We all sin, we all fall short of the glory of God, But through his son Jesus we are granted  a pardon for our sins and through such grace we are shown the magnitude of God’s love. Jesus tried to teach us to love one another, to share each others burdens and to avoid being judgmental. Compassion not only towards family and friends but even those we see as enemies. He tried to show us a more enlightened path as well as a more humane way of existence. He loved us and believed in our potential enough to die and save us from the sinful nature within us all. He set an example for us to follow both in his teachings and in how he lived his life.

May God bless you all and the Light of truth guide you on your life’s journey
Raymond Barbier

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To Be Selfless

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Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber ...The path of Righteousness, a path seldom followed and is not an easy path to travel. To be selfless, humble and full of compassion for both your friends and your enemies. To put everyone else before your own seems to be against the nature of most people. To put aside judgment of others so that you will not be judged by the same conditions as well as not seeing your possessions as your own. To seek wise counsel and avoid being deceived along the way.

“(Proverbs 3:3) Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart”

it seems so much easier to be selfish, greedy and full of loathing. It is far easier for one  To take instead of give and to hurt instead of heal. To take care of your own and let others suffer in hunger and poverty seems to be the safest route. Yes to live in lust and partake in all the pleasures is far more entertaining than to refrain from such things. To enjoy the pleasures of your spouse is good but to enjoy the pleasures of others is not. It is a betrayal of not only your spouse but of your own self and the vows you made.

Our Lord and Savior died and paid for our sins so we could be redeemed not so we could be careless and be foul. Sure no man can be without sin, It is in our very nature to sin and it is also within our power to abstain from sinning. We must do our best in avoiding sin and we must repent for the sins we commit when we fall. Teach righteousness and avoid being judgmental of sinners for you will be judged by god in the way you judge others.

 “Matthew 7:1-3 Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you, for God will judge you in the same way you judge others, and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others. Why, then, do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the log in your own eye?”

In a world so full of injustice and a world lacking in love and compassion we must live. We have a choice to either be like the world we walk in or to be like the one who saved mankind from its sinful nature. Our hope is in Jesus Christ and without it we could not have the promise of salvation or being worthy of Heaven.

“(Colossians 2:13) And you, being dead in your sins and the un-circumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.”

 

May God Bless you and yours.
Raymond Barbier

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To put blind faith in a human being is not a good idea at best.

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I am not a great fan of organized religion,but I am a great supporter of religion on an individual/personal level. Organized religion gives too much power to the church over the beliefs and doctrine of individuals. Each person should have their own personal relationship with Jesus and God (or the god of their personal choice). I am a firm believer in freewill and the right to choose you own spiritual path to follow. No man should have the right to force his own beliefs upon another. This is not to say I am against spreading the word of your chosen religion, just you should respect the rights of others to believe differently.

I have seen too many times people putting faith into religious leaders who wind up leading their followers into hateful and hurtful beliefs and actions. There have been many of times that religious leaders have led their followers to mass suicide or created holy wars that caused the destruction and killing of many innocent people. To put blind faith into God is okay but to put blind faith in a human being is not a good idea at best. No man is without fault and no one man should be followed blindly. Read your scriptures and keep faith god will reveal truth to you so you may not be deceived by man or any other force out to lead you astray. Use that freewill god gave you to seek out the truth along with the right path for you to follow.

I believe freewill was a gift to us from god and he gave us the right to choose our own way to live and believe. Freewill is a great blessing but it has the cost of being wrong or making the wrong choices and having to pay the price for such. Luckily most of us live long enough to make many mistakes along the way and learn what is and isn’t the right path hopefully before our time is up.

Though I know my opinions are not always  right or popular , they are of my own choosing.

May Truth be your Guiding light
Raymond Barbier

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