Last year was a wonderfully productive year that brought me many personal blessings. I'm not talking about riches or physical blessings, even though there have been a few of those, but the blessings I am talking about are more personal than that; spiritual blessings, emotional blessings, the joy of seeing those hurting find peace, personal quietness and confidence, knowing you are making a difference in others lives, etc.
For that reason I feel obligated to begin this blog spot. You see, I believe our lives do count for something bigger than we ourselves. I believe that there are personal reasons all humans are alive and that each human on this earth has a very specific reason for being here. Let me rephrase the first sentence of this paragraph and say because of what I have experienced in life I know I must share my experiences and the blessings I have received along with the blessings received by those to whom I have ministered.
Let me explain a little about who I am and my background. I have reached my golden years and have been involved in ministry for the past 25, whoops 30 years now. Prior to ministry I was involved in the computer industry, I farmed, I sold insurance, I did a lot of things that never satisfied me. However, the Lord changed all that when I began to see the futility of my life and began seeking a life of purpose and meaning. I don't wish to go into all that now but just suffice it to say that I was working very hard and reaping no personal satisfaction from my labors and I certainly was not peaceful, quiet and confident about myself or my life overall.
If you are thinking "Here goes another religious blog spot" I assure you that I am not religious; I am a spiritual Christian but I am not religious. You see, to me religion is just rules, regulations, ceremonies and rituals (dogma) that man needs to sooth his guilty conscience. Religion is used by man to control man. No I am not religious and what I offer is not religion. However, what I am offering is an opportunity for my readers to gain from what I have learned about helping hurting people. And who doesn't know multitudes of hurting people? In fact, you may find some issues in your own life that I will help you resolve just by reading. I have received many reports from people who have purchased my book Genuine Christianity, testifying that they found help with their own issues just by reading and putting to practice what they learned.
On with who I am; Since 1999 I have dedicated my life to helping people who had a difficult time enjoying life because of their self-hatred and/or their hated for the world around them; many were depressed all the time or angry, fearful, confused, etc. Many of those I have helped were heavily medicated or addicted to their own medications; be that alcohol, drugs, self-mutilation, gambling, shopping, working, sex or what have you. Just look around you and you will recognize that we live in a very hurting world. Over the past thirty years I have also learned why that is and how our pain is passed on from generation to generation. Stick with me as I share and soon you will also understand how that happens. If we can end our pain we can keep from passing it on to the next generation.
I want to offer you what I have learned and help you apply it to your life; when it works for you then you can help those around you find inner peace that few people find in life. I would hope that we can share some dialogue via this most wonderful media -- blogging.
What I am not going to offer those who will give me a few minutes a week is a bunch of religious platitudes and poems. Platitudes and poems are nice but I haven't noticed many of them actually changing a person where they hurt the most. I am not going to share with you philosophies that sound good but only really change your intellect and not your heart.
I will try to keep it short and meaningful each day that I write (hopefully weekly). I encourage you to comment on what I write; not so much on how it is written but the content of what I am writing. If you do not understand something you read please tell me so I can explain myself and potentially improve what I share with others.
I hope I can encourage some of those I have helped to offer testimonies of what life was like for them and how what I am teaching changed their life. I am not talking about a few people over the past eleven years but hundreds of people. To be honest, what I am going to teach you works every time once you learn a few simple biblical principles. I am also going to encourage other's (pastors and non-pastors alike) who are currently helping people in their area with what I am teaching, to offer their input to this blog. If they have blogs of their own we will link to them so you have all the input you need to help your life or those around you who are struggling with life.
I will also be offering you parental suggestions of how to help your children become all that God intends them to become which, quite frankly, is much more than any parent can ever hope or dream for their child. Most of the time we are not helping our young children as much as we think when all we have to offer them is the advice we received from the generations before us. Or when we holler, scream and yell at them to do or not to do something and then back it all up with "because I told you so and I am the parent, that's why!"
If any of this appeal to you or if you know of people who we could be a blessing to, please pass the information on and join me as I share. You can also locate me on the web at http://www.genuinechristianity.org/ and I invite you to check me out. You can also read the comments from readers like you who have enjoyed my new book Genuine Christianity who have posted their critiques on Amazon.com and on my website under Testimonials.
Blessings;
Pastor Larry
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