Math Teachers & Kings

If I asked you who Jesus is to you, how would you respond?

I think we all have an answer ready to speak that would be perfect for church, or our friends, or Bible studies. And that I willing to bet, we believe this response however, what if I asked you, as a Math teacher would, to prove your work?

What I mean is, if I looked at how you spent your time, your words, your money, your work, your family, would it reflect Christ? Would it reflect someone who is pursuing to be more like Jesus? I ask this because if we really meant what we gave as our response to the question asked earlier about who Jesus is to me, then our lives would reflect it.

The author John wrote this in his first letter,

"All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world."

1 John 4:15-17, NLT.

For some of us, this is amazing news to hear.  For others, this is heartbreaking news.  We know we haven't even begun to live a life the reflects Jesus' love in the world.  And to say we lived like Jesus did here on Earth would make many of us cringe with a distaste of failure.

Let me be the first to say, I am the one who cringes the most.  I know my life is far from looking like Jesus' did.  The worst is, I know I will never fully be as Jesus was but I'm called to live up to this standard.  I know I've found myself in the midst of failure and asking myself, "What now? What do I do?"

Return. Return to God and ask Him to help you be more like Him.  The beauty of the Gospel is that we who were completely undeserving of His unfailing, unbeatable, abounding, enduring love were given His grace and mercy on the cross.  And for those of us who choose to follow Him and live our lives as He did, His Spirit is in us, guiding and molding us everyday to be like His Son.

There is mercy given to us new everyday (Lamentation 3:21-23) and His grace is all sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9) and God will give them to His children.  For us, the broken, dirty, and thrown aside can find who our God is in this journey of returning to Him.

Therefore, when I say Jesus is my life-giving savior, the unrelenting lover of my soul, my freedom, nothing will ever be the same in my life. Everyday, I choose to leave the old me full of pain, hurt, doubt, excuses, and lies in the grave, and allow the new me given life by the Spirit to be how I live everyday as I choose to follow Jesus.

What will you call Him?

Grandfather's & Lantern's

My grandfather is a wise man.

I know this because his wisdom has proven itself true time and time again.  Though he isn’t perfect, so often he knows exactly what to say.

One of his favorite phrases is “Tough.” 

Essentially, if you live long enough, you’re going to get burned, hurt, broken.  Life is tough.

I think we can all agree, life is tough.

So often, when life does get tough I’ve caught myself saying, “Jesus, take me now. I just want to be home with you. I’m ready to go.”

Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthians touching on a similar subject.

“So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him [Jesus]. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others." 2 Corinthians 5:9-11, NLT.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be with Jesus. Being with Him is not only where we belong, but our true home.  However, I believe we let this mentality take over when times get tough.

When tough times do come, it is much easier to think about leaving rather than enduring knowing one deep truth:

Many times God has used the toughest of times to bring those far from Him closer to His deep embrace. Although we are hurting, He is with us and He will receive glory no matter the outcome. 

Its easy to forget, we have a responsibility to Him whether we are here on earth or with Him.  That responsibility is to please Him.

A friend would put it this way, “We still have a lot of work to do. Let's get to work!"

I emplore you to use your time in this life to chase passionately after God, and in the hard times pursue Him harder than you ever have before.  Let the tough times be the times where you’re light shines brightest in a dark and broken world that so desperately needs to be filled with the light of Christ. 

Don't give up when tough times come, rather dig deeper into Christ and work harder than ever, here is where your light shines brightly bearing the name Jesus, because He is filling you up, not anyone or anything else, no matter the outcome.

My last words to you are simply to shine, my friends. Shine.

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule

Prophets & Open Invitations

We have been given an open invitation from Jesus.

If anyone reads the Gospels, you can count the several different times where Jesus says the word, "Come."

It is an open invitation that is all inclusive & open to all who would come.

This invitation has been around since the beginning.

God has constantly invited us to be in communion with Him,

and we so often walk away, wondering why we're empty.

For those of us who are empty

or know of someone who is empty

hear these words, I will let them speak for themselves.

"Is anyone thirsty?
    Come and drink—
    even if you have no money!
Come, take your choice of wine or milk—
    it’s all free!
Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?
    Why pay for food that does you no good?
Listen to me, and you will eat what is good.
    You will enjoy the finest food.
“Come to me with your ears wide open.
    Listen, and you will find life.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you.
    I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.
See how I used him to display my power among the peoples.
    I made him a leader among the nations.
You also will command nations you do not know,
    and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey,
because I, the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.”
Seek the Lord while you can find him.
    Call on him now while he is near.
Let the wicked change their ways
    and banish the very thought of doing wrong.
Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them.
    Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously."
-Isaiah 55:1-7, NLT.

Its time to respond.

No more will we stay unresponsive.

No more will we delay.

Its time to act.

For some of us, its means coming to Jesus,

with everything we have and laying it at His feet.

Turning away from everything else, and putting Him on the throne.

Making Him our everything and leaving the world behind.

For others, we need to invite.

Its time we give others the same invitation Jesus gave us.

An open invitation to all who would come,

not to those we want to come

but to all who are thirsty,

to all that would come to Jesus

Its time to invite the world to Jesus.

Will you come? 

Cover Photos & The Gospel

Today, after working way to long on something way too easy,

 I've added a cover photo for your FB Timeline. 

You can click on the image above and save it to your desktop.

This is a great opportunity to share your faith with anyone who clicks on your FB Page. 

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Tex G.M. Rule

"He must become greater; I must become less." John 3:30

Graduated & Grand Returns

Unlikely Heroes

Last year I attended the Global Leadership Summit. 

I can not begin to explain how life-changing this conference was. 

However, there was one woman at this conference that astounded me. 

That woman was Mother Maggie Gobrans. 

Giving up everything to live with the poor in Cairo, Egypt, 

Mother Maggie has astounded the world with her devotion & love for our God & the people of Cairo. 

During the summit, she spoke about how difficult it is for people in our day to be silent with Jesus. She later gave this advice that I wrote down & daily remind myself in my quiet times.

"Silence your body to listen to your words. 

Silence your tongue to listen to your thoughts. 

Silence your thoughts to listen to you heart beating. 

Silence your heart to listen to your spirit. 

Silence your spirit to listen to His Spirit." 

-Mother Maggie Gobrans

Sometimes things speak for themselves

There are times when I believe things speak for themselves. 

Let me know your thoughts on the video & this verse

I hope it gives you as much hope as it does me. 

This song comes from these verses: 

"Whom have I in heaven but you?

I desire you more than anything on earth.

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,

but God remains the strength of my heart; 

he is mine forever." 

-Psalm 73:25-26

Take a deep breath & let go

This is a song called "Bittersweet," by Spencer Schmidt. Though this is a love song, there is a section that completely caught my attention.

"Though i know it's kind of bittersweet, sometimes we have to accept defeat, then ensues the peace like falling snow, take a deep breath in and let it go, I am free I am free"

Truth is, we won't always win.

We can't carry the world.

We aren't always strong enough.

Sometimes, we lose. But the story isn't over.

There is freedom is letting go.

Letting go frees us not to hold onto the past,

but allows us to move forward

This isn't the end of the story

This is a promise that the Lord reminds us-

"The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed"- Psalm 34:17-18, NLT.

Whatever it is that you are going through

Jesus still loves you no matter what it is

He won't give let you go, ever

Take it to the foot of the cross of Jesus

Set aside your pride, take a deep breath, and let go

Remember here you can come as you are

& there is freedom in letting go

Fat Tuesday- Week 2

To my readers,

Here are the results of Fat Tuesday Week 2:

Week 2

Starting Weight: 367lbs

New Weight: 360lbs

Total Loss: 7lbs

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” -1 Corinthians 1619-20, NLT.

Fat Tuesday- Week 1

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” -1 Corinthians 1619-20, NLT.

A Penny for Your Thoughts

To My Readers,

Despite today being Movie-Quote Monday, I believe its more than okay to break the mold in order to better yourself.

As a blog we've grown and we've changed, but this time I want to hear from you! I truly want to be interactive with things you enjoy. What are your ideas? What have you liked and disliked about H4BT? Even what are your off the wall ideas?

Thanks for your help! I can't wait to read all the feedback.

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule

And We're Back!

To My Readers,

After such a long absence, there are no words to express my excitement for this announcement: Hoping for Better Tomorrow is officially back.  This absence has given me a chance to not only redesign but reevaluate H4BT and give it the appropriate changes it needed.

As you can see there are some new additions to H4BT- The addition of Fat Tuesday and two42 are just the beginning of this.  I encourage you to explore H4BT for yourself and let me know your thoughts! I can't wait to share my new adventures and stories with you.  I can't wait for this next season for Hoping for a Better Tomorrow.  Let the adventures begin!

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule-

New Years & Kingdom Expanding Resolutions