"Love Thy Neighbor as I Love You!"

                                     “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one
                                another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” John 13:34 

I believe for many us when we come to the Lord and are baptized into the Church have a hard time accepting the Lord’s forgiveness and mercy. Due to our previous sinful life, we continue live under the spirit condemnation. We may accept His grace in principle, but due in our hearts and
emotions we fail to accept His grace and mercy. We let our past condemn us because we have this notion that because our sinful past we cannot be really forgiven. We have this concept that how can a perfect God forgive us and let alone have us enter in His kingdom.

Another side of this condemnation is our personal pride that says we are unforgivable, because in reality we cannot forgive ourselves. We can’t receive this mercy and grace because in our hearts we feel we are unforgivable and are damned for life. By saying that cannot be forgiven is
calling Christ’s life and purpose a lie and there was no need for it. We need to learn to forgive ourselves and accept the Father’s love and mercy. Remember He love us enough to send His only begotten son. John 3:16 

Another side of this condemnation is our personal pride that says we are unforgivable, because in reality we cannot forgive ourselves. We can’t receive this mercy and grace because in our hearts we feel we are unforgivable and are damned for life. By saying that cannot be forgiven is calling Christ’s life and purpose a lie and there was no need for it. We need to learn to forgive ourselves and accept the Father’s love and mercy. Remember He love us enough to send His only begotten son. John 3:16 

In the following lines I would like to share some pros that I wrote several years ago.

"Lord Help Me to Be Me"

Dear Lord, help me to be me,

So I can I am with You
As you are with me.
Help me to love me as you
Did two thousand years ago
     on Mt. Calvary.

I want to be free to love me
As You do now - with
All my talents and faults.
Let me feel the warmth of your
Love, so I in return can
Love You too.

I know that through this love,
I can be me as You
Are with me.
I am not your alter-ego and
You are not mine.
I am the gift you have given
Me and what I do with it,
Is in my own hands,

I cannot be another Peter, Linus,
Paul, Francis and John Paul.
and in the same token, I cannot
Be my father, mother, grandparents,
Brother or Sister.
You had made one of them as
You made one of me.
so in order to be free and at
Peace - is be me with You.

It is by this love You had given
Me so freely, that I can
Embrass you so that I
Won't be afraid to be me.
Years have gone by, and I felt
Your love, but I in return
Did not return it.
I only return what others have
Already given You, but that
Never suffices the longing
To be one with You.

You said for us to be one with You,
But I never could be one,
Because I was never one with me.
Now with this newness of strength
Of love I feel, I can embrace
Your love and be one with You.
Because I am ne to You,
and now we can be one in
love, faith and hope.

it is a beginning and it will
Go on - so that I can become
Me as You are I am
With me.

Click on following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0aVu2IDfZI&feature=related

"Prayer Closet"

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”  Matthew 6:33 When Jesus spoke these words, he was challenging us to seek the kingdom of Heaven. How do we seek the kingdom? We seek the kingdom by two means: the scriptures and through prayer. I will mainly speak about prayer in the next few lines.

What is prayer? Prayer is a conversation between you and Our Heavenly Father or another way to put it is an on going dialogue between a father and his child. Our Heavenly Father wants us to take time out of our busy days to spend time with Him. He is our Father and
he loves us and longs for our company. Just like our earthly parents desire to spend time with us.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:6 “And when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” The Lord is encouraging us to find a special place in our homes where we can shut the door and spend some time with Him in prayer. By picking a special spot in our homes, we can shut door and leave the rest world and its problems on the outside that door. My personal spot is sitting on my bed in my bedroom and shutting the door so I spend some lone time with my Heavenly Father.  

 He is knocking at the door of our heart and waiting for us to invite Him in so He can have fellowship with us. One of my favorite scripture is Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” This verse spoke volumes to me and helped me to develop intimate relationship with my Heavenly Father. To me this scripture was telling me that my Heavenly Father wanted to know all my heart’s desires and even my ups and downs in my life. He loves us and it is through prayer, we come to know each other personally.

One of my favorite stories in the Old Testament is in 1 Kings 19:9 – 21. In the previous chapters Elijiah had perform one of the greatest miracles by taking on King Ahab and his wife Queen Jezebel and priest of Baal on Mount Carmel. He challenges the priest of
Baal to call down fire from heaven to consume their sacrifice. To no avail nothing happen. Elijiah offer a sacrifice and on the altar he poured water on his sacrifice. He actually drenched it with water. At the end of the day, he called down fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice and the fire came down and consumes the sacrifice and also the sacrifice of Baal. Right after that awesome miracle, Queen Jezebel threatens Elijiah’s life and he ran away because he was consumed with fear. He went to hind in the cave of Horeb. While he was there a strong wind blew, an earthquake came through and so did fire, but god wasn’t there. He, God was in the small voice and God restored him.

A good example of someone going into his or her “prayer closet” is the young prophet Joseph Smith Jr. When he was 14 years old, he was questioning which church was true and which one he should join. Young Joseph knew the only way for these questions could be
answer is by seeking God’s face. The grove of trees became the prophet’s personal prayer closet. On that day was the beginning of the restoration of the gospel.

By going into our personal closets, we too can hear that small quite voice of Our Heavenly Father. I want to encourage you to find a place in your home and set it apart as your personal prayer closet. By doing so, you will have fellowship with our Heavenly Father where
you will share your heart and He in turn will share His. Another thing I would like to challenge you to do, is while you are sitting at His feet tell Him that you love Him and then listen to small voice when He in return will say to you that He loves you too. When these words are spoken, it will be the beginning of your intimate and personal walk with the Lord. 

Click on following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxV-4q0wL1o