Tag: God

This world can keep us so sidetracked and confused

SN_arrowWho’s Interests are you serving? Who’s will are you following? Is it Gods or is it your own? If it is to Glorify yourself or to gain wealth and or worldly possession along with position or power then more than likely you are serving your own interests and will. This  is not to say that God would not want you to have a comfortable lifestyle or some kind of position etc., but the point is how you got there. Did you follow his will and get rewarded with these blessings or did you put God on the back burner and sought out these things because of greed and lust for power etc.

To surrender to God’s will  isn’t an easy task, most of us are so used to being our own boss per se and that makes it hard for us to let go of control. This world also breeds fear and also it is wrought with perils and strife which makes one so overwhelmed its hard to focus on what is really important at times.  This world can keep us so sidetracked and confused we have little time to dedicate to prayer or doing our Fathers will.

Riches and possessions of this world are perishable and temporary just like any position or power you can gain in this world. The riches of heaven are forever. We should walk the path of life with God as our guide and stop stumbling and wandering amongst the wolves . For he is the shepherd and we are his sheep, he will keep us safe from harm as long as we follow him.

 

Walk with peace and love within your hearts, Live with Christ within your every thought.

Raymond Barbier.

We go running through life tripping over and passing up many of the blessings

016Life is so temporary in the physical universe, we have but a small grain of sand from the hour-glass of time to spend. We tend to waste a lot of our time forgetting how tiny our piece of time is .We waste so much time feeding our useless EGOS and feeding our petty and temporary desires we tend to leave very little time to appreciate the really important and wondrous things in life. We take love for granted along with the blessing of having life itself. We take those we care about for granted as well.

We go running through life tripping over and passing up many of the blessings we have been given. We don’t even see them because we are so much in a hurry and when we do we quickly glance and move on with little thought and without even being thankful. It’s a shame how fast we live our lives, how we speed through life and miss the wonderful thing called life and those we share it with..

God has given us this life not only to serve him but also to enjoy the blessings he has given us within it. It is a sad thing we fail to appreciate many of those gifts and miss most of them because we run right by them blindly. So remember where your strength comes from, remember where your blessings originate and be thankful for both those you have found and those you have missed due to running too fast through life. We need to slow down and appreciate the life God has blessed us with, we need to open our eyes and see the blessings all around us and show thanks for them all.

 

If we have such a short time to live, then why do we rush through it so blindly and miss out on all the blessings within it? Do you think its time we slow down and enjoy the ride or shall we continue to race to our life’s end.? ~ Raymond Barbier

It surely feels better to be loved for the person you really are

002We get so caught up the opinions of others and the being accepted by them we lose who we are meant to be. We try to be what others want us to be or what we think is the ideal person in their eyes. If we are loved for being who we are not, then that love and the acceptance gained by it is but an illusion and will be short-lived. We must be ourselves and be loved and accepted for ourselves. If they don’t accept or love you move on and others will. We can not be liked, loved and accepted by everyone. There always be those whom dislike us, loath us and see us as a threat somehow. There is nothing we can do about that fact and its something we must learn to accept.

God made us all unique and special, we should love ourselves for who and what we are. For god loves us for who we are with all our shortcomings and faults so we should do the same. We will be accepted and loved by those we need to be with and around, those that don’t are not meant to be a part of our lives in that way at the present point in time. You will be surprised how many will love you for who you truly are. It surely feels better to be loved for the person you really are than for the person you pretend to be.

Be yourself and be true to yourself and live your life being free.

Ray Barbier

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True wealth is both the love you share and the love you receive.

003When a person puts wealth, power a career or social status above their family and friends they diminish their potential as human being. To put your wants and greed above those you care about is but a quick way to find yourself alone and wanting.What is all the riches of this world and what is the power you want if you have no one around you to whom you can help or share it all with. I am not against prosperity or wealth per se, I am just against putting money and power above your family, friends and the rest of humanity.

Money and power for all its glory in the end will fail or leave you, Family and true friends will stick with you through every trial of life. Why dedicate yourself and your love to something inanimate and undeserving as money or power which is but an illusionary state of mind more so than a reality. True power is found in the ability to have and share love, compassion and understanding. True wealth is both the love you share and the love you receive.

There is nothing more important than the family and friends we are blessed with within this short life.

Ray Barbier

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What is in the here and now and nothing more

God, the Father watches us all everywhere.

My past used to plague me, it used to be a weight and a burden to hold me back from moving forward. The past is to be learned by, not to be lived in and moving forward is the natural process of living life. The future used to make me feel uncertain and as if I have no control in this life of mine. The future is but something that we can not avoid, we can not avoid it nor can we truly ever change it. We only can live in the now and chose how to live in this particular moment. What we do now will affect what is the future and soon will be the present.

What is to come is going to come and what has already passed is no longer a part of what is now. We only have control of what is in the here and now and nothing more.By living in the here and now and taking charge of our lives in the present we can help map out part of our future and this is the only way we have any control over what may come. We still can not control unforeseen circumstances, but we can be prepared to take control and manage them as they appear in our life. We are not without control nor are we at the mercy of fate or destiny. For we make our own path in life and choose which one we shall follow.  Freewill is the ability to choose our own path in life and not be subject to the powers we see as fate and/or destiny unless we choose it to be so.

Freewill is a gift God has given humanity and was given with the hope we will choose to follow his will. The choice was given to each one of us and it is our decision if we are to give ourselves up to his will or not.

Ray Barbier

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Not I.

Compassion (fragment)

If a man chooses to believe differently than me then am I to hate him for his choice? If a person were to hate me for my beliefs should I hate him back? Why is is we can not see the commandment to love one another is one of the important ones. We are to love one another unconditionally and to accept one another as is. For no man or woman walks this earth without sin nor do 2 people think and believe exactly alike. We have no right to judge for that is not our place, we are to help one another and forgive. We are to be the lights of love God made us to be and leave vengeance and judgment in the hands of God.

So my brother believes not in the same religion as I, He still is my brother and I will love him as I am commanded. So my sister fall short of the glory of God, I do not judge nor accuse her for I too fall short and wish only mercy and forgiveness for us both. For every man, woman and child are part of my family, for we all come from the same source that gave us all life. Put aside your prejudices, anger and differences of belief so we can be the family God desires us to be.  In the end we all will be judged in the way we judged others so if we do pass judgment on others we should do so with great compassion and mercy along with a forgiving heart.

God gave us freewill to choose what path to follow and what faith to believe in, so whom among us has the right to deny that gift of choice God has given us all?  Not I.

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Thoughts on Love and Forgiveness

Rembrandt – “The Return of the Prodigal Son

Love, one of the greatest gifts and blessings God gave us. The love we have for family and friends and the love they have for us as well . The love for our fellow humans and the love we share with all those we interact with. So much we long for and desire, but Love is the grandest prize we can obtain and definitely the greatest gift we can give and/or share.

We were created in Love, we were saved by Gods love and we will in the end bask in his love. We should live this short life full of love and sharing it everywhere we travel. Forgiveness and Love are the two things we have the power to manifest and to spread wherever we go. We should love one another for it is commanded that we do so and it seems to be the most joyful thing we have to do in our lives. To forgive lifts the burden from both the one who forgives and the one that is forgiven.  Love  fills us with light and happiness.

Ray Barbier

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To forgive and forget instead of judging and condemning.

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Sometimes we just forget that others have feelings, they have had good and bad experiences like ourselves. When we forget theses things we tend to be harsh judges of them and their character, we must remember no one is perfect  and every one suffers troubles in this world. Regardless if they are wealthy, poor, popular or the town outcast, they are all the same as you are. They are human, prone to mistakes and to making wrong choices.

So the next time you are condemning someone remember that person could have been you if you had made a few choices differently in your life. Sometimes one poor choice can cause you a lifetime of torment and  judgment by your peers. This is why forgiveness and compassion are important to our world and society, Jesus taught forgiveness and showed great compassion for those great and those that were seen as wretches and undesirables of his time. He was showing us the way we should live our lives, not in judgment of others but in love of others. To forgive and forget instead of judging and condemning.

The Sin is the Enemy of God not the Sinner. The sinner is a child of God like the rest of us, just lost and in need of fellowship, compassion and forgiveness. For we all are sinners and therefore have no right to judge.

John 8:7 –  So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

 

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To all of you, Blessings and Peace.

010 To my friends I wish and pray for them to find happiness and peace in their life. I hope they will find forgiveness and know of its  power within their life. May they know love in its truest form and may they share and receive all the love they can. If I ever hurt one of them (being a human I know I have) I hope they can forgive me for my shortcomings and mistakes. If I helped any of them all I ask is they help someone out in their time of need. I wish to thank those who were there in the good times and stuck by me through the bad. Far as those who done me wrong, fret not for you are forgiven, for we are only human and we make wrong choices. May all of you live a long and happy life. For those who have passed away I hope you know I miss you all and pray you found peace.

God Bless you all, Friends, Family and even those who choose to be foes.

Ray Barbier

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Whispers, Faith and Truth

002As I try to walk in faith from afar I hear whispers trying to convince me I can not do it. As I continue trying I hear more whispers saying not to give up and that all will be ok. Something inside of me keeps pushing and trying to keep me on track as the world keeps trying to bring me down and stop me from walking in faith. Faith can not be shaken nor can it be defeated, It can only be abandoned by the person whom has it. These words come to me when I feel like there is no hope and when I feel my faith has left me. They remind me that God is always with me and that if it feels like he isn’t here it because I chose to ignore or close him out. Even if that choice was made inadvertently or through doubt and fear I was the one to fail.

Even when we don’t see, feel or know he is with us he is still next to us waiting for us to reach out to him. He is always waiting and reaching out toward us wanting for us to come to him. He waits hoping we will come out of the darkness and the storm and into his loving embrace. Of course there are other forces out there trying to pull us away from God, some of it is our own flesh, our ego and our selfish desires. But there are those whom watch and those whom try to sway us away from God and his everlasting love. They try to mislead us, deceive us and some are even wolves in sheep’s clothing. This is why you must be very cautious of who you listen to or follow when it comes to your religious beliefs for it is your soul that is on the line. Read the scriptures for yourself, do not blindly trust in the interpretation of others and seek the truth from the source, God.

For those who are spiritual leaders be careful of the advice you give and keep for you are responsible for the outcome. If you mislead others you will have that sin on your soul, especially if you do not correct the misleading. Be very aware of what you teach and make sure it is not in contradiction to what is written.

May God guide us all, and may your hearts be full of peace and God’s love.

Ray Barbier

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