The life of honest gabe

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I’ve had mad men on my mind lately.

Do you see what I see? (Part 3)

“For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice” (John 18:37).

The one sentence that seems to offend people lately has been, “Merry Christmas”. Slowly we try and take the Christ out of Christmas so we don’t offend others. I’m sure believers and non-believers have some similar questions: Why did Christ come? And what difference should this man make in our life?

In John 18:37, Jesus explains why he had come to us. Here’s a way to see what that looks like to me:

i. There is truth

ii. Jesus was born to testify the truth

iii. There is truth because Jesus was born to testify the truth.

So here’s the thing…There is truth out there! God has given to us the ultimate witness of the truth: JESUS. We can faithfully trust Jesus because it is natural for him to speak the truth; and that he was sent for this purpose by the Father. By trusting in Jesus, we shall never be deceived because it is impossible for him who is appointed by God, to teach anything that is not true. He only testifies and preserves truth.

We may not always know the truth, but we can pray that the Spirit may continually lead us to it. So for this Christmas, may we dive into the Gospel and know the truth.

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32)

12.24.11 ♥ 1

Happy everything to everyone! (part 3)

Reason #3 why Christmas is the best:

THE DECORATIONS

If you were to tell me that Christmas isn’t the best holiday ever, my response would be: “You can say it, but you can’t prove it”. I would back up my answer with the beauty of Christmas decorations. Though there are times I feel like Christmas decorating becomes more of a competition, it brings the true beauty of everyones house, even the ugly ones. By no means am I anti-semitic, but i’m sorry, your blue lights are boring. If you don’t believe in the beauty of Christmas decorations, go to disneyland, or drive around your local neighborhood. You might be lucky enough to come across a house like this:

The more the light, the more beautiful the sight.

**I still love people of the Jewish faith.

12.24.11 ♥ 0

Do you see what I see? (Part 2)

Every year I always think about what kind of gifts I’m getting for Christmas. Maybe a talkboy, new roller blades, shoes, clothes, etc…But one thing I always forget is that I’ve already received the gift I’ve truly needed. GOD HIMSELF. A lot of times I never feel satisfied, and that there’s always something missing in my life, the plea for God’s grace. Rebellion against God is what I catch myself doing all the time. Ever since the fall, sin has been the root of all our problems.

Another important aspect of Christmas is that it shows God’s faithfulness in keeping his promises. Looking back on Isaiah 9:6, God promised his people a son who shall be called, Wonderful Counselor.

Counselor n.

1. Someone who gives advice about problems

2. A lawyer who pleads cases in court

We all rebel against God in one way or another and we are in constant need of grace. When you look through the Gospel, people are made whole by receiving and believing in Jesus. Through the counseling of Jesus, we are given peace between us and God. The advice and wisdom of the Holy Spirit is beyond what we could get from any other being. He gives us guidance and conviction, to keep us walking in the light. Not only does Jesus give us peace, he secures it. We have been given a Saviour who continually pleas for us.

One of many reasons I can celebrate Christmas is God’s faithfulness, because he is faithful even when I’m not. In light of the coming of Christ, I get what I need (God Himself), instead of what I deserve (wrath).

12.21.11 ♥ 0

If you have an hour and a half to spare, I highly suggest watching this. It has all of the following:
1) An atheist and christian getting along
2) Hip-hop beats and heavy metal riffs
3) A great beard
4) Alcoholic beverages being consumed
5) Some shots in black and white with artistic angles.
6) A good debate topic, “Is christianity good for the world?”

12.17.11 ♥ 0

Happy everything to everyone! (Part 2)

Another reason why Christmas is awesome:

MOVIES

I have a formula of a solid night of Christmas movies to make your Christmas experience as great as mine.

Start with Home Alone, then watch Home Alone 2. Then treat yourself with the grand finale of Jingle All the Way.

Let’s be honest with ourselves…With an all-star cast of Arnold (the terminator), and Sinbad how can you go wrong with a movie like this? Don’t believe me? Just keep lying to yourself then.

12.16.11 ♥ 0

Do you see what I see?

Alongside with my “HAPPY EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE!” series, here’s another series i’ll be doing called “Do you see what I see?”. It’s some of the serious thoughts I’ve had leading up to Christmas.

Let’s face it, people struggle, and we all have our vices. But what joyful news it is that God sent his son to give us hope! It was a gift of hope to: non-Christians, Christians, you, and to me. Through the coming of Christ, whatever is good to us will never be lost, and whatever is evil we carry may be changed. There is hope that the “bad” in our lives can be changed.

Life is good and precious to us, and we don’t want to lose it. If we don’t have life, then we certainly have nothing. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”(Mark 8:36). God’s love for us is what makes life precious, and that our life can be saved through the gift of Christ, the source of our salvation. Whenever we find ourselves slipping and falling apart, God is there to catch us and restore us.

All the evil and struggles we carry can be changed. Addiction can be changed. Fear can be changed. Our short tempers can be changed. Selfishness can be changed. Christ was sent to us to save us from our sinful nature and prevent us from saying, “That’s just how I am”. We shouldn’t minimize God’s grace and mercy, and think that he cannot change us.

We are not saved from sin and made righteous for the sake of pride but for the sake of praising God, and glorifying him. 1 Timothy 12-17 is a great illustration of why Christmas is important to me. The birth of our Savior allows us to cling onto what is good and saves us from our bondage to evil.

“God loves us the way we are, but loves us enough to not leave us like that.”

12.14.11 ♥ 0

Happy everything to everyone!

With all the Christmas music being aired on the radio, and all the cold weather giving us runny noses, it’s evident that Christmas is near. Because I have the Christmas spirit of a champion, I’ll be starting two new blog series. One of my series will be “Happy everything to everyone”, which is a non-offensive blog of why Christmas is awesome. The other one will premiere in a few days, primarily because there’s no title yet, but will focus on Christ. Hopefully these blogs will be fruitful, humorous, and inspire you to give me a really cool gift.

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. Not just favorite holiday, but my favorite time of the year! It’s not just because of presents, I love getting presents, but giving them isn’t so bad either. So to kick off this series, here’s one of the reasons why I LOVE Christmas:

Reason #1:

The Weather

I’m a Southern California native, where global warming works overtime in the summer, and lets us freeze in the winter. No, we don’t get snow where I live but cold weather means coats, beanies, and other cool clothes that increase my hotness to win a woman’s heart so I have someone to kiss under the mistletoe. Hawaiian shirts, flip flops, and shorts can finally take a hike to make room for UGG boots.

“A family that Uggs together snugs together.” -Me

12.02.11 ♥ 1