What I've learned...

When I came to this country, there were a lot of stereotypes about people from the US that, unfortunately, were real (By the way, to people in Latin-america "Americans" are people from north, central and south America) But something I wasn't expecting was the way a lot of people believed in God. After being a catholic for 17-18 years, I had became an atheist (despite the fact that some people think that it is impossible to be a total atheist) and then, out of nowhere, in 2007, through the love and prayers of believers, I found God (probably it is better to say, he found me, again). Here, I learned that God is not a lousy club that meets 30 minutes on Sundays (in my country the shorter the service the better) or a prayer that you pray once in a while when you need something or an expression that people say because everyone says it (because I hear "thank God" so many times from people that are declared atheists). Also, I learned that the Bible is not decoration that you put somewhere in your house so people can see that you have one, and that an inexpensive one says the same things than the very expensive ones. I learned, that there are like 30 thousand versions of the Bible that I didn't know about because I grew up with only one version (people have told me like 20.000.000.000 that I should not exaggerate all the time) but the ideas are the same in most of them. I learned that there are many religions, and other groups that try to convince you that you are wrong but nothing they say makes sense when you know that Jesus is the Only Truth. Here in the US I have learned that the "church" is not the building or a group of strangers but a group of friends that pray with and for you and they know they can ask for prayers any time. I have learned that judging other is too easy but we really try not to do it (despite the fact that people feel judged). I have learned that a lot of those who have felt discriminated and judged by Christians, are now discriminating Christians because the "land of the brave" and the "country of freedom" has become more and more like the people of Israel, and has turned away from the Savior because power, greed, and the effort to be politically correct, have corrupted "the system" (but in the Bible it says that this was going to happen so...) I have felt the love of God everyday through my amazing wife, the most beautiful present from the Lord, and from my son Lucas; also, through people, that are humans just like me, that make mistakes but surrender to the Holy God and are willing to walk with you and not over you. I have learned that God's timing is perfect and that with Him every situation in life can be fruitful, even the ones that cause pain. I have learned that bad things happen because of the sin that started with one man, but that one man, Jesus Christ, donated His blood to the Red Cross to save my life and the lives of those who believe in Him. I pray that all those who read this (at least one) will know God the way I do now, because before I was lost, blind, deaf to the truth, the only truth, Jesus Christ but now I know that He is the reason why we exist.

The light on the stand

The Bible tells us in Matthew 5:15 “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” This verse does not speak about the logical image of a lamp placed on the table that doesn’t shine if it is put under the table. For those who believe, it is clear that this shining  light is Jesus; as it appears in John 8: 12: " When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." But, although many times it is Jesus who reveals Himself to us in different ways, often that light comes from the heart of the believer who has been saved through the love of God that guides those who are lost. It is useless to believe in God and keep that truth for myself. It is useless to say that my relationship with God is “my thing” and I do it my way if we are not witnesses to others of the grace and power of God. The world needs more voices to combat the noise of the cars, the streets and sin, because thanks to the media and what is fashionable, and I speak not of clothes but of personality, it is very easy to be silent (hide the light) and lose battles with evil. Even the demons believe in God, so it is up to us to make the difference between what the world expects from us and what God is putting in our hearts every day, and the Mission we have of a word of encouragement, faith and hope. God bless you and encourage you with His word, the word that can provide the strength that a lot of times we are lacking to do what is right.

It is not easy to start... but we are not alone!

Who told you that it is easy to start a blog? Even more, who told you that life is easy? I really think that the only easy thing in life is to live it taking into account that the Designer of all this, and it’s spelled with capital letter "D" because it is not just any designer, is the One who rules in what we define as "our life".  I invite you on this trip with me to try to understand how all this works, of course, knowing that I have faith in God, such a force that many do not know how to explain and that, much less can understand, but I can qualify as "my everything"! All glory to Jesus my Savior! (And also yours if you let Him come into your heart)