Dear Mayweather & Pacquiao: This is the way
Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have been
knocking around tricky
thorny paths that could lead them to undesirable destinations as
individuals and top boxers. They need some changing of "gears" soon
enough to make a truly wonderful turnaround in their personal life
and boxing career, and perhaps agree to finally make the
most-awaited duel of the century in May. Here’s a piece of truth to
ponder for this generations two most exciting fighters. God bless
them both!
You are on a pilgrimage, well headed to a place
right where your steps exactly point. And pursuing the Way to a
God-ordained destiny is a matter of the heart’s condition more than
anything else: “Above all, guard your heart with vigilance, for out
of it flow the springs of life.” – Proverbs 4:23
Everything seems good to a person who treks on
the wrong route unless he sees the end. Only in darkness you get to
enjoy the misleading entrapments of the momentary “bliss” the world
offers by denying the Truth to stray from the Path. And because only
in the Light you get to recognize the Way, you’re safely in the care
of a loving Father who readily brings you back on track as you
expose yourself under the Son. “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man but
the end thereof are the ways of death.” – Proverbs 16:25. “Thou wilt
show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy.” –
Psalm 16:11
Don’t tell Heaven you’re going south when your
travel leads you to the north. Tragically, this is the case with
millions of people around the world today. They have their feet
directed to a destination they never intended to go only to realize
late enough nothing can be more miserable. And that nothing can be
more tormenting and despairing than to think of the gloriousness of
life they have missed when the one single bridge to pass through
going back is, alas, gone forever. Even the Prophet Jonah, being a forthright,
honest and rebellious servant of God that he was, did not delude
himself and deny he was on his way to Tarsus when he took a ship
headed for that same wrong place despite he knew so clearly he was
supposed to be moving towards the city of Nineveh as the Almighty
instructed him to warn the people of an impending doom and proclaim
the message of repentance. Yet Jonah did not escape the horrible
consequence of his bad choice if only to correct his heart and make
him submit at will to take the right direction instead.
“… When His voice resounds, He holds nothing
back. God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; He does great things
beyond our understanding.” - Job 37:4,5 No one could be so deaf and blind as the one who
wouldn’t hear and see. And be not afraid of echoes and shadows for
they merely signify that there is a message deep in the soul and a
light shining out in the open finding its way into your life.
It doesn’t matter how despicable your situation
in the past may be or how bleak tomorrow may seem to you when you
know for sure things were beyond your control, there is no excuse.
You have today to move on, but turnaround. Forgive and be humble.
It’s never too late. God is good and powerful. Though your life is
yours to make, and remake.
Everyday you are confronted with varied options
to decide “which way to go.” Your loved ones can only do so much
providing guidance and they are certainly not glued to you all the
time and in all places. They have basically nothing major to do with
your past, present and future. You are young but not a child; you
may be old but not without a future. Possibilities and opportunities are in the palm
of your hands.
The door to great joys begins to open as you take
the first step to obey. But don’t blame yourself for failures
“behind you” since life’s storehouse offers no commodity that brings
regret and defeat to a person who has the right attitude; one whose
sights are set heavenwards, who learns and keeps on learning out of
the circumstances of life, good or bad. For he who never makes
mistake indeed will never make discovery.
“One step forward in obedience to Sovereign
leading is worth many years of study about it.” - Oswald
Chambers
Like it or not, you are what you are because you
made your life as such, being the man or woman you emerged to be by
deliberately choosing the path and traveling the distance yourself
towards that direction. It was your own choosing, not necessarily
God`s. You did not evolve to be a human being. Almighty
God created you. But you evolved to be the person that you are now
and it was you who re-created yourself.
You are the best as far as God`s ordained destiny
for your very life is concerned. No other created being can be
better than you in that regard. You have been uniquely fashioned in
accordance with God`s infinite grace and wisdom. There is only one
you and God has certain designated purposes for you in this world
that only you can accomplish to bless mankind and bring glory to His
name. “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according
to His good purpose.” - Philippians 2:13
You are who you are because of God`s design and
you have no recourse but be thankful to Him: “I praise You because I
am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know
that full well.”- Psalm 139:14
Stop the blame game. It was not without
your conscious mind functioning that you took those steps from
whence you came from, a year or many years back. You are well aware
every step of the way.
No one goes to Heaven or hell on account of other
people’s decision and action. Precisely, the main issue is you and it’s all
about God and His mighty purposes for your life. “For I know the
plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and
not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.” - Jeremiah
29:11
Life is a matter so personal and
intimate between you and your Creator.
Anything less and beyond this is deception. Others have their own
lives to live and likewise they are all exclusively and individually
accountable to God. They are themselves and you
are yourself, lest you forget. People
are important and no man is an island, but essentially you are on
your own. Even the government or the Church has basically
nothing to do with whatever plight you may be in at this point in
time. Politics, economics, academics and religion are
fundamentally irrelevant to your abject or sound condition.
It is not what comes your way that defines the
shape of things in your life; it’s how you react and respond to what
comes your way. “Not by what life brings to you but by the attitude
you bring to life.”
Other than you, nobody else grips and controls
your will. Not even God. The Lord guides and is being merciful but
He won’t drive nor manipulate you. Whether
you’re going to spend life in the
Kingdom or in the pit while on earth or in the hereafter, it’s your
decision. People may help or hinder you, but they don’t possess you.
You’re in charge. No one reaches a place who does not take the road
and travel the required distance going there. God is most powerful and sovereign but He does
not force anyone. Otherwise, there would have been no need for Jesus
Christ to die on the cross to save the world. The Lord did His part
and did it all. With Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, the
Gospel of redemption is complete. There is nothing you can add to
complement His atoning sacrifice on the Cross. Truly, as He
lamented, gasping for His last breath, “It is finished!” Yet
He has given man the will to choose and decide.
Now it’s up to you. Your salvation hangs on
Calvary to this day and it hinges on your own volition whether or
not it can be fully yours any moment you decide. Accept Christ or
reject Him!
“Whether you turn to the right or to the
left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, This is the
way, walk in it.” - Isaiah 30:21
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