What I've Seen

We often struggle in our lives, the crux of our own shame

is when we start to believe that God just can't do

what He claims to do. We become distant and withdrawn or

we begin to believe God must be a cruel judge when in fact He shows us patience, love and above all else righteousness. We can easily be fooled by satan when he tells us "See you are worthless, useless and unworthy" Satan has only one job for any christian and that is to uproot whatever God has or is doing in their lives and he is fantastic at discouragement! Take heart and know that the most amazing thing about God is His desire to uphold you, restore you, help you to walk in love, mercy and in joy through Christ Jesus. We as christians are called to live a life that is abundant, not a life of what the world deems abundant but what God values as abundant and that is the beauty of God's love! He wants us to be humble and yet bold in His word, meek and yet courageous in truth. We are here for but a moment and then we are gone but how precious is that moment that we grow in the light of God's grace. We are all deeply loved in Christ Jesus and yes we are sinners but the power of the cross, the work that Christ has done redeems us and our testimony and life is in Him. So take heart and know you are His and His alone.

Heaven Bound

~Heaven Bound~ 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness. John 10:10

I read this verse a while back and it shook me to the core, I realized that we
are all responsible for our actions, our choices and our inevitable destination.
Thankfully I chose life and if I had not, most likely I would have died in some
crazy violent way, I was a very lonely, angry human being. I was bullied
so badly as a teen that it made me hate myself deeply
and it carried on into my martial arts, pushing as hard
as I could until I was exhausted with anger. I eventually met up
with one of my bullies years later, after I became a christian as was shocked
at his appearance, he was nothing more than skin and bones with a hollow
look in his eyes. He had used drugs so frequently that it had aged him
and drew all the youth right out of him. He was just a shell of a human being
and all of a sudden I had nothing but compassion for him. God had
rescued me from a lot of pain and I am so grateful for His endless love.

Half Way Alive

A Christian Needs To Go Much Further Than

Church On Sundays

Leaving Their Habits And Preferences At Home

They Need To Step Into The Apostles Devoted Call

To Reach The Lost

To Live The Gospel 24/7

To Bring The Peace That Passes All Understanding

It Transforms The Heart

The Life

The Actions Of The Soul

That Hears The Salvation Message

                                         By Ernie Kasper

Leap Of Faith

Sometimes a leap of faith is the only direction we can go.

I've faced that very dilemma many times when dealing with my stroke and when I couldn't read, write, walk or talk it took me so amazingly far because I knew that Christ was with me through it all. I began making art, writing poetry, capturing photography and doing things such as martial arts, parkour and so much more. God does the impossible :)

Your Cares, His Strength

     I remember as a teenager how burdened I felt, how depressed I often was, I felt the world was too big and I was nothing in all of it. I was always the one last picked in every game at school, chuckled at when I ran, walked, talked, laughed etc. I was the misfit who always felt unfit for acceptance. Those days were trying, difficult and extremely lonely days of hurt and pain; often I was praying and asking God for the help and strength to go through another day of bullying, rejection and so forth. One night as I was praying I remember seeing this verse and it really hit home for me, I simply need to cast my anxiety and my worries to Him because He CARES for me. That was a powerful moment, it didn't say that all heartache and rejection would simply fade away. What was important; what was the paramount thing to understand was this: God Cares For You... 

The World tells you if you want God to listen to you, then you need to earn it!

Well here is the beauty in a relationship with God who dearly loves us and like a father only wishes to give good things; His grace is sufficient and His love for us is relentlessly perfect. God sent His son into the world to set us free from the debt we owed, the price we could not pay, our tresspasses, our sins. When Jesus died on that cross He died for you and me and when He resurrected He established a right standing with God. You were worth that cost, that profound sacrifice, that amazing grace that was undeserved and yet it was freely given. So remember this, you are loved and God desires us to trust in Him; no matter the storm, the trials, the persecution. It's not a road intended for the blessings of earthly things but rather the joy in God's purpose, to reach the lost with the saviour! God takes care of His children and He will take care of you...

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

                                                                                        Proverbs 3:5

That Moment

There I was, feeling the immense pain, the throbbing, the mind numbing pain that almost took my breath away; it swept in like a flood and pounded like a jackhammer. Sometimes it would go to an ankle, then to an arm or a thigh and then back down to a knee. It was like someone cutting my body literally apart but no actual damage.
   This felt like a virtual game that I just couldn't shut off whenever I wanted, this game was playing in reality and I had no choice but to endure it, push through it, rise above it. The first few times it happened after my stroke I thought "okay, it's just a few times it will go away" but now it's nine years later and I'm still dealing with it on a regular basis but now I roll with the punches! It challenges me to see pain as only a guidepost, a marker, a banner that tells me to press forward, upward and onward. God has taught me a valuable lesson in all this suffering, learning to read, write, walk and talk again and what He has taught me is so deep and profound and it makes me smile, my faith is deeper than before, my courage is stronger, my persistence is tenacious and my trust in God's plan has only grown like a strong tree with roots that are deep. God sustains me and in my weakness He is strong and the glory goes to Him, my suffering is but a short while and when it's time for me to go home I will have a new body and my soul will praise Him for all the victories along the way!!!

But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

                                          Isaiah 40:31

In His Righteousness

We often think that somehow God's desire is to be the super genie in our lives, that somehow the unfruitful things we do will never be trimmed from our walk in Christ but the bible says the following

John 15:2
2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.

What God does with our lives is maximize the potential for bearing fruit for His kingdom and He is the farmer over the fields of harvest. The amazing thing is in God's righteousness, His love and yet firm hand of truth. A farmer goes through his field and he looks at his vineyard and his farmland and he prunes what must be removed for the sake of the harvest and for the joy of our lives in Christ Jesus. 

Psalm 1:1-3 
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

The righteous are blessed continually, yes there is hardship, changing of season, drought, cold, heat waves etc. but they are planted by streams of living water and their fruit is in every season and that is worth rejoicing over! Remember that though you may be going through hardship, there is pruning and things are changing around you, don't forget God has a plan that is far greater than what you can see and He knows just how to make you bloom and produce fruit that will bring Him glory and you victory in Christ Jesus :)

In Him

How beautiful it is, to know that we have confidence in Christ Jesus, to speak to God with joy in our hearts. We know that God is a God of depth, love, compassion, understanding, righteousness and so much more. He hears us when we call on Him and He is a God of a personal relationship, not a distant grumpy person who doesn't care for our well-being. Know this, He hears you and is calling you into a life with depth and measure.

When I Am Weak

                      It has been my greatest inspiration for poetry, artwork, photography and everything else I do, my stroke broke me and God healed me in ways I thought would never happen. He brought me confidence when my flesh was weak, He brought me faithfulness when faithfulness in friends could not be found, He restored my courage when no courage could be seen. My faith is in His devoted love and His perfect plan.

By Design

Psalm 139:16

You saw me before I was born.

    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

    before a single day had passed.

That is the beauty of knowing God, knowing that He knows everything, past, present and future and yet with all that information, all that knowledge of our rights and wrongs, He loves us deeply and with such devoted grace through Jesus Christ his son. Never forget that He has everything perfectly planned out and what He sets in place, no one can silence, smother, crush or destroy...

I Will Be With You

I can't see how this will turn out...

It's that moment that makes us shake sometimes, especially when we are at our weakest moments, the moments that challenge our worst fears, our silent whispers but it's in those very moments that God speaks the loudest. He begins a good work in us and what He starts, He finishes! That's the comfort we can receive through each and every challenge that begs us to break, to give up, to throw in the towel. The real beauty is in God's perfect plan and His devoted compassionate love that abounds in wisdom and kindness...

#TeamJesus #suffering #courage The real character of anyone is truly seen when they're at their weakest, their worst of hours; watch them in the seasons of despair and if something shines in those darkest hours you know the truest of characters, the rawest of integrity, the grit and if they pray, praise, rejoice and trust in that season you have met a hero of faith. 
By Ernie Kasper



In The Tomb Of Your Weakest Hour

God is ever ready to hear our prayers, it isn't in the caverns of distance that whispers are heard but in the depths of Gods heart, His soul, that is the place where prayer is heard. To God it is nothing short of a symphony of faith, hope and love. The passion is in the waiting, knowing that whatever is done it is done at the epicenter of wisdom. God rolls the stone away from each and every circumstance, what He does with it is the Fathers will and that matters most. The sweet joy is knowing that whatever it is it will be covered by the hands of love, the same hands that where pinned to the cross, the same back that was marked because of our transgressions but praise God for the love that rose jesus from the grave. Whatever you are facing, remember this, God is never finished with you and even when you feel like your in the grave of sorrows last song, you are in Gods hands and He can always roll the stone away. By Ernie Kasper

My strength is in you

There was this brilliant joy that feeds my heart, the love of family, the kindness of friendship and the hope I have in christ jesus. Those were the thoughts dancing around inside my mind and what a beautiful song it was. Suddenly as I began to speak the words just fell to the floor, all scrambled into jargon, almost like someone took all my speech and shook it around in a snow globe. I turned to my daughter to tell her how much I loved her and all that came out was "brineda da da da dub dub" Silence filled my mind but my mouth keep repeating the same thing. My emotions felt like a downpour of frustration and brokenness. My son turned to me and placed his hand on my cheek and said "dad, it's okay" and gave me a big hug. Like a babbling brook I continued to try but to no avail.
That's my stroke and that's my challenge, it comes and goes but what amazes me is God's comfort through it all, the love He exudes in those dark valleys. Sometimes we go through life's challenges and think "this is brutal, this is just the worse thing!" then when you look back you see clearer and you might even see the rainbow after the storm ;) It's been seven years since my stroke and every day is a challenge beyond reason but what has come out of this is something so precious, so amazing that I would never take it back. I found faith that is much deeper than superficial name it and claim behaviour. I found that having faith is all about knowing God's character, knowing that even in suffering He is able to do much more than I could ever dream. That's the God of the bible, the one I love so much! In all my trials God has lead me to this very place, this place where I am writing poetry, painting pictures, taking photography, sculpting, preaching the gospel without regret. So you see, this hardship is temporary, my testimony is in God's unfailing love and it is Him who sustains me and as I run seven miles in seventy cities, I know that God is able to do much more than I could ever imagine.

~I'm Alive~

He took the tears in my life and turned them into wine
God took my sorrows and brought me new tomorrows
His love is precious
His love is divine
He took my broken words
shook the dirt from my heart
taught me to fly
gave me a new start

I'm alive
I'm alive
nothing in this world could ever take away
wash away my love
your my precious child
and every step I take
I'll teach you to rise above
I'll hold your hurts and pains
give you courage during the mighty storms
the rushing rains

There can be a million broken dreams
hurts that tear you at the seems
but I'm the lifter of souls
I'm the light when others hate
sits like burning coals
I will calm the storms
I will be there even unto the end of time
I am yours and you are mine...

By Ernie Kasper

The beauty of a soul is something of a mystery, you see if you hold it in your hand and do nothing with it, it remains a seed, there is only the shell of it's potential, but if you know it's true value, the purpose for what it was always intended to do, then you can do wonders with it. When God reaches the depths of who we really are, He takes that seed and He places it in the soil of jesus's life, and He waters it with grace, with love, with tender mercy and with the utmost care in mind; because when the seasons change and the rain has passed, the sun begins to shine, you will become the beautiful flower, the blossoming tree, whatever He has purposed for your life. The great marvel of it all is God always new what seed you were and where you should be planted and what blessings you would bestow to others. By Ernie Kasper #teamjesus #wisdom #faith #hope #love