Not a boast.

OK, in my previous post, I stated the difference between Christians and others. You know, Christians are going to heaven and others aren't. Some might read that as me bosting that I'm going to heaven and your not. Well, I wouldn't boast about such a thing. I think that's awful if anyone goes to hell. Instead, I would ask that you come to heaven with me. I would never wish hell on anyone. I once had a friend in college who told me about a vision that he got from God. He was out with his drinking buddies and they were, well, drinking. Anyway, right in the middle of the whole thing, he got this vision from God. He saw himself and his drinking buddies from a distance. Every time one of them took a drink, he saw demons behind them, coaxing them on saying things like, "Yeah, go ahead, have another drink." Suddenly, he found himself in a place that he identified as hell. In every direction that he looked, all he could see was an eternal fire. He said to me, "I can't explain to you in a way that you could understand, what that looked like. I mean, in every direction, there was an eternal fire." After that vision, he accepted Jesus into his heart, and became a Christian. He was afraid of the hell he had seen. I've never seen hell myself, but what he described to me is scary. I would never wish that on anyone. I have however, seen a little glimpse of heaven. I went to sleep one night when I was in college. I had a dream. In that dream, I saw my late father in heaven. He had his hands raised over his head as he was worshipping God. His face was different than I had ever seen it before. He had the biggest grin on his face that I have ever seen. He was shouting out to God with great gladness, worshipping Him. The best word that I can use to describe his expression is glee. It was pure glee. Suddenly he looked at me. He ran to me with arms outstretched, and he hugged me. I cried. I can still remember what they embrace felt like. I'm convinced that this was more than just a dream. I believe that I actually stepped into heaven to meet my earthly father for a brief moment. If my father can be that happy in heaven, anyone can. That, I would wish for everyone. So, with that in mind, won't you accept the forgiveness available for your sins, so that you can come to heaven with me and my father. (And others too.)

You don't know me.

What am I thinking? Why did I ask a bunch of people who mostly don't know me about myself? That's crazy, you don't know me. I should ask someone who does know me. Anyway, this creates an opportunity for me to point something out to those that are not Christians but always point at the Christians accusingly. Most commonly, the accusation is "Hypocrites!" Well, it may surprise you, but most of us don't really think that we are so perfect in the first place. Maybe some of us do act like we think so, but trust me, it's just an act. Those who act that way are doing it because they feel insecure. When I first became a Christian at the young age of about 7 years old, I experienced that insecurity right away. I wondered if I would ever be able to live up to what I believe. Now, 20 years later, I'm convinced that nobody really can live up to it entirely. This is the part that so many people seem to miss. Christians have just as many faults as anyone else. The difference is that Christians have Jesus working in their hearts and lives to change them. It takes time to change. Sometimes, it's hard to change. You know, I have struggled for years with sweets. Although my belly gets bigger and I don't like it, I still want the stuff and I can't stay away from it. I've tried to change my eating habits, but it's hard. That's what it's like to be a Christian trying not to do the things that we know are wrong, but still want to do. But you know what? The difference between Christians and others is even bigger than that. Although we all are imperfect and do things that are wrong, Christians are forgiven, and are going to go to heaven. All others have forgiveness handed to them on a platter and they haven't picked it up yet. Because of that, they are on the way to hell. Please, I implore you, don't let people's bad behavior keep you away from the one who loves you most. He really is perfect, and He will always love you. His name is Jesus.

Talking in sermons?

Some time back, I sent an e-mail to my younger sister, and she got upset with me. I let my older sister read it, and she said that it was because I preached to her. Also, I have this new Christian in my church who tells me that I am preaching to people. Now, my older sister tells me that I have a tendency to "sermonize." I don't get it. To me, I'm just talking with people in conversation. I try to make it a point not to start preaching at people, because I don't want to turn them off. If I'm turning people off by just talking in normal conversation, what does that say of me? I had this new Christian that I mentioned before tell me earlier this week, that I "act perfect." I don't get it. I'm not acting like anything except myself. I don't know why anyone would think that I consider myself to be perfect, or that I would act like I am. I'm FAR from perfect. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being absolutely perfect and without a flaw, and 1 being a total failure towards being perfect, I think that I might land somewhere around a -5. Who am I to preach perfection, act perfect, or judge people. For those that know me, I'm wondering, do I talk in sermons? I mean, I know how to put together a sermon. I know how to deliver a sermon. I never would have thought that I talk in sermons, except that some say I do. Would someone care to explain? I don't think I could figure this out on my own.

Where is God?

Where is God? That's the first thing my sister mentioned that she sees people asking in their blogs. For someone who doesn't know, that's a very good question. The answer can be complicated and simple at the same time. The complicated part is trying to understand this truth about God; He's everywhere. For us, we can't comprehend how anyone can be everywhere all at the same time. But the Bible tells us that He "Holds the universe in the palm of His hand." Considering how big the universe is, that's amazing. God's hand is bigger than the universe, and that's just His hand. That makes it all the more amazing to consider that He pays any attention to us at all. King David asked God, "Who is man that You are mindful of him?" It was even hard for King David to comprehend, whom God called "a man after God's own heart."
The easy part to understand is this; if God is everywhere, He is right here with me and He is right there with you. He is right there. Here's an idea that was given to me once to help understand this. Take a chair and set it in front of you or next to you. This is God's chair, and He's going to sit in it and talk with you. Go ahead and talk to Him. Don't hold back. You might feel silly at first, but after you've done it a few times, you'll actually feel like He's there and listening. Better yet, not only will you feel like it, you can know that He is. I've done it. I have felt the presence of God while doing it as well. I was sure that He was there. The more you talk to Him, the more sure you'll be. Just be sure that you don't do all the talking. He has things He wants to say too. Take some time and listen. You probably won't hear an audible voice with your ears, but you'll know in your heart that you just heard the voice of God. You'll hear it in your spirit. You'll just know.
I once heard a story about a guy why talked to God in this manner every day. When he got old and became ill, he was put into the hospital. He had the nurse bring a chair and put it next to the bed. Anyone who came in to visit was told, "You can't sit there. That's God's chair. You can use the one on the other side of the bed here." On the day that he passed away, one of his children came to visit. After having a special moment with him, that child slipped out of the room for a while. When that person returned to the room, there he was leaning over the side of the bed with his head on the chair. That's where he was when he passed away. He had come to be so close to the Lord with his sit in the chair discussions, that at his death, he leaned over and put his head on God's lap as he passed away.
You can know the Lord that closely as well. I assure you, He is there with you. He knows what is happening in your life. He does care about you. He loves you. He loves you very much.

Thanks for the comments.

OK, thank you. It's good to hear from someone other than my sister. I mean, it's not bad to hear from my sister. I love her and besides that, she's kind of cool. (Well, at least most of the time she is. You know how sisters can be, right?) Well, I read all 15 of the comments I got since I posted last night, but I found the first one to be most interesting. Katie suggested that most people might not be too interested in God. I think more people are interested in God than they want to admit. Some people are just afraid to talk about Him in a public arena. Anyway, I don't think I could have a blog without mentioning God. You see, He's such a HUGE part of my life. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if it weren't for God, I might not even be here. Some might read that and say, "DUH, of course not, there wouldn't be anyone to create you if God weren't there." Well, that's not what I meant, true as it is. When I was a child, I considered suicide on one occasion, but I opted not to because of my faith in God. Boy am I glad that I made that decision. God has blessed my socks off over the years. By the way, I need to tell you the whole reason that I find Katie's comment interesting. I checked out her blog, and I noticed something right in her top of the screen entry. She was talking about some people that she knows who are going to have a child. Probably without knowing it, the one who thought people aren't very interested in God quoted scripture. She didn't quote a reference, but I know where it's found even if she doesn't. Actually, she probably wouldn't have a clue that it's scripture. She said "Be fruitful and multiply." For those that don't know, that's Genesis 1:28. I encourage you, look it up. You see, God has such a great impact on this world, that even those who aren't interested know scripture.

Confused!

I don't get it. I started to do this whole blog thing thinking to myself, "Hey this is cool. I can write a journal that everyone can read and comment on. When people visit my sight, they will know how AWESOME God is and how many great things He has done for us. Well, I started writing stuff, and I read other people's blogs and left comments on their sights, hoping that they might be interested and read and comment on mine. Well, although I found that a couple confessed on their own sights that they had read mine, they never left anything on my sight to really let me know what they thought about what I said. My sister is the only one who actually comments on anything. Then, I came across this one blog where the guy actually blasted someone who had laft a comment because his blog was supposed to be his "personal" journal. Who was he to stick his nose in. If it's so personal, why is it posted on the world wide web for everyone to read? As I continued on, thinking that person was wierd, I found that there are others who feel the same way. And then, my sister leaves me this e-mail about linking my blog to hers. This made me curious, so I checkd her blog for the first time in a long time, and I came to the realization that she had kind of found a little group of friends to hang with online, the complete opposite of what I found. What gives! Does anyone out there care that I have anything to say about anything at all besides my sister, who sometimes thinks I'm wierd anyway just because I'm her brother? (By the way, you want to know wierd. My sister thinks it's a compliment to be called a dork. Just try it and see what happens. You can just go to to robinsstories.blogspot.com and call her a dork. I bet she'll say thank you and confirm that she loves you too.) Also, is this all supposed to be "personal." I don't see how it can be personal if it's available for anyone to read. Will someone besides my sister please say something!