Everything Changes

Wowzer. A lot of different things are taking place in my life, and it's all exciting to me! Some of these things I can talk about, others I can't right now. But it all will be out in the light here in a couple of weeks, I promise you!

Right now I do want to talk about a couple of these "changes" that are taking place in my life.

One that I'm really excited about is that I'm going to be doing a couple of different blogs for an organization called "Friends Like Us."

Friends Like Us is a foundation set up by Pastor Mark Bailey & his wife, Deloris. Their mission is to help families with children who are battling cancer.

One of the things that they're wanting to do is to minister to the needs of these families, particularly the parents. They want to reach out with love to support them and encourage them in any way that they possibly can. One of the ways that they're doing this is through blogs on the Friends Like Us website.

This is where I come in.

I've been asked to write two different blogs for their website. The first is sort of like a "Pastor's Corner" type of blog where I offer Biblical encouragement as well as share my experiences with cancer.

The second blog will deal with humor and the importance of laughter in one's life, especially during difficult times.

Cancer causes confusion, and sometimes causes people to not know how to act. While letting the reader know that it's ok to laugh, I will give them oppertunity to laugh by posting funny things that I may come across on the net or just funny things going on in my life.

One thing that I am looking forward to is also volenteering my time to go to the cancer hospital to help pass out toys to children battling with cancer. I know that when that moment comes that I walk into a hospital room to deliver my first toy, my life will change. It's thrilling and fearful all at the same time, but I know when I see the smile on their faces that my life will not be the same after that. It will change. I will change. Not sure how, but I just know that it will happen.

Anyways....

I'm also anticipating being involved in a fundraiser this summer for Friends Like Us doing stand-up comedy. I feel really blessed that I have a talent to lend to help raise money and awareness to this amazing organization. I will be sure to pass on more details in regards to this fundraiser as information developes!

Speaking of stand-up comedy....

This June I plan on attending a conference in Nashville, Tennessee for Christian Comedians. This will give me chance to learn more about the industry and about performing stand-up comedy. There's also alot of meet-and-greet/networking that takes place there.

That's really exciting to me because it gives me a chance to build relationships with others in the industry, and hopefully opens some doors for me to begin doing this full time someday. Not only that, but it gives me a chance to meet some of my heros like Jeff Allen, Mike Williams, Tim Hawkins, etc.

There's many things that could possibly take place that I'm also excited about. For instance there's a chance that I could be performing stand-up at this year's Crawford County Relay For Life. There's also a chance that I could be doing some things with some of the Richland County Relay for Life teams, as well.  I've also been in contact with a lady who works with mentally handicapped people who's interested in working with me.

One thing that's coming quickly is I will be adding a store to my Eric's Comedy website. On there I will be selling T-Shirts, stickers, CD's, DVD's, etc. as I get the products developed and produced. T\he first product that I plan on selling on my website & eventually at my shows is my "Evangelsize" t-shirt, which is based on one of my bits that I do in my show.

I also plan on doing more to showcase other ministries that are out there on the battlefield, working overtime for the Kingdom of God and who are REALLY making a difference in this world and in people's lives.

One of those ministries is One Way Street Ministries located in Columbus, Ohio. It's also known as Jericho's Lightclub. They're an inner-city outreach ministry who have for the last 5 years been making a difference in the lives of many druggies, prostitutes, homeless people, and street kids. They've worked tirelessly trying to help these people turn their lives around, as well as feed them and cloth them. These guys are the real deal and they do amazing work!

I've been blessed to have many oppertunites to go there and share the Gospel many times over the last 2 years. I love Pastor James and Pastor Peggy, and I love what they do. I'm really looking forward to working with them more in this coming year.

I'm really excited about some of the relationships that have developed over this past year, and how many of them are taking a turn towards the spiritual. There's actually some discipleship taking place there, which excites me to no end! Some are actually begining to come to church with Crystal and I, which is always exciting!

So much is going on right now. God is soooooo good!!

There's even more going on, and it's killing me because I can not talk about it at this moment. This one thing is going to cause just about everything in my life to change, and I'm so excited about it. I wish I could tell you guys, but I can't at the moment!

Soon, though. Soon.

Until then be blessed....

The Power of a Testimony to Those That Believe

One of my favorite Bible scriptures is Romans 1:16. It's there that the apostle Paul writes, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to those that believe...."

The other day at work I was sharing a testimony to one of "those that believe" of something that God did for Crystal & I earlier that day. Now, this guy is a believer, however, he's not a follower. There is a difference!! A believer is someone who believes in God, believes that Jesus is the Christ, however, he/she makes the choice not to follow, or is currently not following.

The Bible says in James 2:19 that "You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror." Being a believer, literally, puts you in the same class as demons & devils! I mean, after all Satan believes in God. Satan believes in Jesus. It's not enough to just call yourself a Christian just because you believe that God/Jesus is real. YOU MUST FOLLOW!!

The word "Christian" translated from the Greek means "to be like Christ." The only way to be like Christ is to follow Christ and imitate Christ. You've got to try to live your life as Christ lived His. Just believing in Christ does not make you like Christ. YOU MUST FOLLOW!!

The writer of Proverbs thought that this was important enough to write it twice. It can be found in Proverbs 14:12 & 16:25 and it says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." Do you want to be with God in the end? You can't go your own way. YOU MUST FOLLOW!!

That's the sad thing about believers. They go there own way instead of God's way. They think that they are alright just because they believe. But just like the demons and devils that also believe, their path leads to a lake of fire. Don't want to go to hell? YOU MUST FOLLOW JESUS!!

"Ok, Eric. So what's this got to do with sharing your testimony?"

Oh yeah!! Ooops!! Sorry about that rabbit trail!!

Anyways, I shared my testimony with this believer of what God had done for Crystal & I earlier that day. I knew it was important, but I didn't fully understand the importance. I knew that it was more than just being a good witness. There was a reason that God gave me this opperunity. So, I go to God in prayer.

It was at that moment that the Lord shared with me why.

"Eric, it's not that he doesn't believe that I am real. He does! The question is does he believe that I'm there, and if so, do I really care."

Our testimonies really speak to that. To those who are weak in faith, who feel lost & alone, it tells them that God's still a God of miracles, that He is still in the business of doing the impossible, and He does it because of His love for us.

Yes, believer, God's stil there and guess what? He still cares!

Jesus said to me, "There's been times in his life when He's needed me. He looked around & saw that I wasn't there. It wasn't because I left him. He left me. He stopped following Me."

John 12:26 says, "Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me."

It's so funny. We go our own way expecting Jesus to follow us. I guess we expect Jesus to serve us, too. We're the master and He's the slave, right? Is that how it works? I think not.

We already read in Proverbs where it says that there is a way that seems right to a man but in the end leads to death. Jesus is not going to follow you to your death. He's already died for you once. He's not going to do it again.



Believer, if you're looking around your life and you do not see Jesus there, it's because you stopped following Him. You need to repent, turn your life around, and start following Him again.

As for us who claim to follow, we need to be sharing our testimonies with all who call themselves believers so that they might have hope; so that they might be encouraged to follow Him.

We must show them that there is indeed a better way. We need to tell them of God's goodness, grace, mercy, and lovingkindness. We've got to let them know that if God will do it for us, He will do it for them, also.

Our testimony should inspire them to seek God for a way out of their situation and circumstance. They'll seek God, they'll find the Way, the Truth, and the Life--Jesus Christ. And then Jesus will lead them out if they choose to follow Him.

So, go, share your testimony!! Inspire those around you to follow Christ just as you are.

God is Not Boring!!!

Tonight I had every intention of sitting down, writing a blog about something that God's been speaking to my heart today. But then something else unexpected took place, and tonight I'd rather blog about that. It seems a little bit more important 'cause it's captured my heart. The other thing, oh, I can write about any time I want. This can't wait!

Earlier today my wife took my son to see Avitar. They got to spend a lovely afternoon together watching the movie, and then later on they went out to dinner. (I was working, just so you know. I don't want you to think that they were purposely leaving me out. Besides, I've already seen Avitar.)

Anyways, they get home. I'm already home from work. Crystal goes and gets online. He fires up his playstation, and I take my laptop to the other room to begin studying for my next blog.

All of a sudden my son comes in the bedroom, where I'm working, and lays across the bed. He can obviously see that I'm busy, but that doesn't stop him from interrupting me. I could obviously see that he wanted to spend some time with me. How could I refuse? My work can wait.

He wanted to know what I was doing. I told him that I was studying, and he wanted to know what I was studying. I began talking about it, then the next thing I know I'm laying my notes aside and we're having a deep conversation about God, His word, and how we live our lives. It turned into a discussion about End Times, then the next thing I know we're looking up videos on Youtube that talk about the Feast of Trumpets. Then we went right back into our conversation. It got deep. It was meaningful. It was educational. It was awesome!!

All this happened over a period of almost 3 hours. As he was leaving the room, I asked him what was more entertaining: watching Avitar or this discussion we just had about God. He was totally honest and said that he was pretty entertained by Avitar, but Avitar didn't excite him or make him think like our discussion did. He actually found our discussion more exciting than the movie!!!

That's when I said, "Don't go anywhere. I got one more video for you to watch." He said, "What is it?" I said, "Give me a second let me find it." And a couple of clicks later I had it.

Here it is:

The conclusion of this whole thing is very simple. God is not boring. Neither is spending time with my son. :-)

Earthquakes

Right now the eyes of the world are focused on the nation of Haiti. It's hard to ignore the devastation that's taken place to this tiny, poor island nation. While the whole world is watching, it seems like everyone's also waiting for the totals of the number of dead, as current estimates are running up towards 100,000.

Everyone right now is doing what they can to help. Right now it's relief, rescue & recovery. Soon, it will turn towards rebuilding. People are donating money, sending food, medical supplies, clean drinking water, and clothing. It's amazing to see humanity putting others needs ahead of their own.

Now, before I go any further, I know that there's going to be some who are going to look at this post and automatically label me as an oppertunist because in their mind I'm unsensetive to the deaths of possibly hundreds of thousands that took place in Haiti and that I should be ashamed of myself for using this tragic events as a platform to talk about my "religion." If that's how you feel, then please, do us both a favor and do not continue reading.

While everyone right now is talking relief, rescue, recovery, and rebuilding, as well as it should be, I think that there's another discussion that should be taking place, and that is: Rapture.

While I am concerned for the people of Haiti, my greater concern is for the millions of people out there who are either asleep or blind to what's going on in the spiritual. It's about the much bigger picture. I have no shame in using this event as a platform to share truth with those who cannot see it. If I don't take advantage of this situation, then someone who's blind or asleep, spritually speaking, may die.

So, enough with the big, dramatic build up. I'm going to get right into it. Here it is:

In Mark chapter 13 Jesus is asked for signs of His return. In verse 8 Jesus says, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains."

Jesus spoke these words roughly 2,000 years ago. These words are more than just mere predictions, but these words are prophecy spoken by the Son of God, Jesus Christ. When the Son of God speaks that something will take place, believe me, it will take place.

Jesus is speaking of the time of his return, that one of the signs of his return will be "earthquakes in various places." If it's getting close to the time of His return, then obviously we should be seeing more of these signs taking place.

So, what we're going to do is take a look at some numbers. We're going to simply look at the number of major earthquakes worldwide year by year, from the year 1901 to today, Jan. 15th, 2010. I'm simply going to list the year and the number of major earthquakes for that year. Most of the earthquakes counted will have a Richter Scale rating of 6.0 or higher. You can find this data yourself on Wikipedia by clicking here or here.

So, here we go with a simple list, which only purpose is to show the increasing frequency that these "signs" are taking place.

Year - # of Earthquakes
1901 - 1
1903 - 1
1904 - 1
1905 - 3
1906 - 3
1907 - 1
1908 - 1
1909 - 1
1911 - 1
1912 - 1
1914 - 1
1915 - 1
1918 - 2
1920 - 1
1922 - 2
1923 - 3
1924 - 1
1925 - 3
1926 - 2
1927 -3
1928 - 1
1929 - 2
1931 - 2
1932 - 2
1933 - 3
1934 - 2
1935 - 3
1937 - 1
1938 - 3
1939 - 2
1940 - 2
1942 - 2
1943 - 2
1944 - 4
1945 - 1
1946 - 4
1947 - 1
1949 - 3
1950 - 1
1951 - 2
1952 - 2
1953 - 2
1954 - 6
1955 - 2
1957 - 4
1958 - 2
1959 - 1
1960 - 2
1963 - 2
1964 - 3
1965 - 2
1966 - 3
1967 - 3
1968 - 2
1969 - 3
1970 - 4
1971 - 2
1972 - 1
1975 - 5
1976 - 3
1977 - 1
1978 - 2
1979 - 3
1980 - 7
1983 - 5
1984 - 2
1985 - 2
1986 - 3
1987 - 3
1988 - 6
1989 - 3
1990 - 2
1991 - 2
1992 - 8
1993 - 1
1994 - 3
1995 - 2
1997 - 1
1998 - 2
1999 - 5
2000 - 2
2001 - 6
2002 - 6
2003 - 8
2004 - 15
2005 - 12
2006 - 12
2007 - 29
2008 - 31
2009 - 18
2010 - 26
2011 - 26

Let the data speak for itself. It's not hard to see that in the last 100+ years that there was never a real dramatic rise in the number of earthquakes. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the dramatic rise in the number of earthquakes since the year 2000 when there was only 2.

Yet, Jesus said that these things are begining of birth pains. Why would Jesus compare His coming with child birth?

Birth pains are a sign that someone's coming. A baby's on it's way. And the closer it gets to the baby being born, the more frequent the contractions, the more painful it gets for the lady about ready to give birth.

These earthquakes are happening more frequently, and they're causing more pain. The data, itself, shows that the Earth is signaling Christ return. Isn't that what signs do? They signal?

See the signs. Know that Jesus is coming soon. Sleeper, wake up!! Blind, see!! He's coming. Don't get left behind!! Be ready!! Tell others so that they'll be ready!! Spread the word that the King is coming!!

Editor's Update: 8/12/2012
There was a total of 26 major earthquakes for the year 2011. As of today there's been 10 major earthquakes, including the ones that just took place in Tabriz, Iran. No doubt with many more on the way.

I will return periodically to update this blog as we count together the number of major earthquakes happening all around the world.

What Are You Thinking?

In Isaiah 55:7-9 it says, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord and He will have mercy upon him and to our God for He will abundantly pardon. 'For My thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways My ways,' saith the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.'"


Let's break this down!!

"Let the wicked forsake his way..."
There has to be a time in our lives when we realize that the path that we're on is leading to destruction. I don't know about you, but I've been there. Drinking, pills, parties, strippers, drinking & driving, depression, rage, anger...almost all of it lead to my destruction. Then something happened....

I realized that I was killing myself. It was a slow, painful process. I didn't like it. I didn't want it. I needed something better. I needed something more. My way of coping was killing me. I needed change. I had to change. I couldn't keep living like this.

So, I started forsaking my way, and I began looking for a different way of doing things. My life began to change.

"...and the unrighteous man his thoughts."
Romans 8:6 says, "For to be carnally (worldly) minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

I think we all desire to have life and peace. That's always been my desire. I was at a place where I was looking to the world for life and peace, and instead all I found was myself being numbed while I slowly destroyed myself.

All I thought about was doing things that were harming me. If you would have asked me I would have told you that I "have a life" just because I got out and did things. I went places, done exciting things. I took chances. I felt like I had a life and like I was living--but I wasn't. I was numb to the harm that was taking place. The chances that I was taking week-after-week were eventually going to kill me.

If you would have asked me if I had peace, I would have told you, "yeah!!" I was numb. You can't feel pain when you're numb. I had all kinds of emotional injuries that were in need of healing, and all I was doing was numbing myself so I didn't have to deal with the pain, all the while making things worse.

What it all boils down to is that I had a false sense of peace.

"...and let him return unto the Lord."
Before you return, there first has to be a walking away. During this time in my life there was alot of oppertunities for me to get to know God through Jesus, yet, each time I turned around and walked away.

I had grown up going to church. I knew church. I knew religion. And I didn't want anything to do with either one.

I thought I knew God, but I really didn't. Actually, I didn't know Him at all. I didn't have Him all figured out, and to be honest, to this day I still don't, but atleast I'm trying!!

None-the-less, I was making changes in my life, but I wasn't bringing God into the picture. I was doing everything on my own strength and power, and I was experiencing alot of failure. I knew what I needed to do, I just wasn't willing to do it until I realized that I couldn't do it on my own anymore.

I had to return to the Lord.

"And He will have mercy on Him..."
I found myself in a place where I could no longer cope with things going on in my life. I gave up drinking and I gave up pills. Things were going really awesome as far as my relationship with my wife. She was really loving the changes taking place. And then it happened...

We find out that my Mom had stage 4 lung cancer and that her time with us was going to be short.

I was stuck. I didn't know what to do. I worked hard to change my life and I didn't want to go back to the old ways of doing things. I had to cope somehow, and I knew that if I went back to drinking, Crystal would take Kyle and leave. I didn't know what to do. My whole world was crumbling around me. I didn't have the strength and power to deal with this on my own.

That's when it hit me: I needed Jesus.

In that moment I felt God's mercy. He loved me and this was what He had been waiting for. His arms were opened for me.

"...for He will abundantly pardon."
At that moment, I got down on my hands and knees and I prayed, "Lord Jesus, I can't go one more day without you. I need you in my life. I feel so weak and powerless, trying to deal with all of this on my own. I can't go back to the way I was. I need to move forward, and I now realize that without You, Lord, I can't. So, Jesus, please forgive me. I know that I have alot of sin in my life. I've done things the wrong way for so long, but now I'm going to change. I'm going to start doing things your way."

With those words, I got up changed. I was a brand new man. Jesus had forgiven me of all my sins, and He came into my life. He made me whole. He gave me strength. He gave me life. He gave me power, peace, joy, happiness.

My life has changed so much. I'm no longer the same guy that I was 10 years ago. I'm becoming more and more like Christ everyday.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts..."
We call ourselves "Christians," which means "to be like Christ." That's our goal in life. We want to act, walk, talk, and do things like how Jesus did them.

Many of us try, and we give up. We walk away and go back into the world broken and defeated, only to "return unto the Lord" someplace later in life and try again.

The things is, we can really be like Jesus. God set the bar high with His Son, but it's a goal that is reachable.

The first step is that we've got to start thinking like Him.

How do we do that?

Like I shared earlier, Romans 8:6 says, "For to be carnally (worldly) minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

We've got to first change the way we think before we can change the way we do.

Romans 12:2 says, "And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God."

The world thinks carnally, and we cannot be conformed to that way of thinking. Our thought process has to be transformed. It has to be changed. It has to be renewed, which means to "make new again."

We have to begin thinking spiritually, which we know brings life and peace. The way to think spiritually is to know Jesus, know His word, and to begin to see this world through His eyes. We have to have the same perspective of this world as Jesus does if we're going to think like Him.

Once you begin doing that then something awesome begins to take place: His thoughts become your thoughts.

"...neither are your ways My ways."
It's amazing, because once His thoughts become your thoughts, then your ways have to change. That's how you "prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God."

Proof requires action. Action requires doing. When you begin to do things the way Jesus does, then His ways become your ways. People look at your life and they see Jesus in you. They see that you have something that they don't have, and they want it for themselves.

The Bottom Line

"'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts,' saith the Lord."

The bottom line is His thoughts can become our thoughts, and His ways can become our ways. It's not impossible. It's obtainable. We can do it. You can do it.

Yes, His thoughts are higher. Yes, His ways are higher. God set the bar pretty high with His Son, Jesus. But He didn't make it so high that we can't reach it.

We're Christians. We're all called "to be like Christ," which is what the word "Christian" means in Greek. Are we acting like Christ? Are we doing things like Christ? Are our ways like Christ's?

If not, then we need to turn from our wicked ways and return to the Lord. We need to find mercy and forgiveness, and after that we need to change our ways. In order to change our ways, we first have to change the way we think.

Christians, we can do this!!

Non-Christains, you can do it, too. This message is just not for those who consider themselves to be saved, but it's also for those who are lost, as well. You, too, can change your life and become like Christ. All you have to do is follow the instructions in the blog and you're on your way!!

So, now with all that said, let me ask everyone this question: So, what are you thinking?

Scars

Today, I want to talk about scars. A scar, simply, is a place where there's been a open wound, and now it's closed and healed. All of us have them. Some are from accidents, some are from surgeries, some are even self-inflicted. But they're not only limited to just our flesh. Many of the scars that we have are emotional, mental, and yes, even spiritual at times. We all have them. If they're not on our flesh, then they're somewhere else.


Scars are always associated with pain, with hurt, with injury. We've all been hurt at sometime in our lives either physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, and many times there's a scar been left behind.

The devil likes scars, because he can use scars. They make it easy for him to remind us of where we've been hurt in the past.

But scars aren't just about pain, hurt, and injury. They're also about healing, and that's the part that the devil doesn't want us to think about. As long as we're thinking about the hurt, we're not thinking about the healing that has taken place.

He doesn't want us to think about Romans 8:28 where it says, "And we know that all things (good things and bad things) work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose." He doesn't want us to glorify God by looking at something that was a bad thing, such as an injury, and seeing it as a good thing, such as being healed. He wants our focus to be on the injury, the pain, the agony, and not the good work that God the Father has done.

Paul wrote in Galatians 6:17, "For I bear in my body the marks (or scars) of the Lord Jesus." I always wondered what Paul exactly meant by this. To me it seemed if he had some kind of stigmata or something. But that's not the case.

We read later in II Corinthians 11:23-28 that Paul suffered great persecutions for the sake of the Gospel. Here's a list of what all happened to Paul that's written of in II Corinthians 11:

1. He was beaten on 5 different occassions, given 39 strips across his back each time, for a total of 195 lashes with a whip.
2. Three times he was beaten with rods.
3. He was stoned once. (That's where people throw rocks at you until you're dead.)
4. He was in three different shipwrecks and had spent a full day and night floating around in the ocean.

He was also in constant danger of rough seas and sea creatures, being robbed, wanted by the law, other people wanting him dead, living on the streets, living in the wilderness, and being betrayed by what he calls "false brethren." He often went thirsty and hungry, was tired and in pain quiet often, and was often cold and didn't have enough clothes to wear. Once, the governor of Damscus had the entire city guarded and Paul had to be placed in a basket, stuffed through a whole in the wall around the city, and the lowed down with a rope to escape on foot to avoid being arrested. He went through all of this, not to mention the burden of doing what he had to do from day to day, plus he cared for all of the churches!!

I imagine that Paul had alot of scars, and the scars, or marks, that he had were truely the marks of Christ, because they were there for the sake of the Gospel.

Paul wrote in II Corinthians 12:10, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in neccessities, in persecutions, in distressees for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." He knew that there was a greater purpose. He knew that all things work together for good, to those who love God and who are called according to His purpose. He never suffered in vain. Those scars served a purpose, just the same as our scars do.

They were a reminder of what God had done. He had been beat 5 different times with 39 lashes each time. The scars were a reminder of how God delivered him all 5 times. He had been beaten 3 different times with rods. Those scars reminded him of how God held back the hand of death all three times. He was stoned once. Those scars served as a reminder that no weapon formed against him could prosper. He had been shipwrecked 3 different times and had spent a full day and night floating in the ocean. Those scars served as a reminder that God said that He'd never leave us or forsake us.

It's not the fact that Paul's life was in constant danger. It's the fact that each and every time he was in danger, God delievered him from the hand of death, and he had a scar to prove it.

In the book of John, chapter 20, verses 19-29 we read where the disciples were hiding from the Jews. Jesus had been killed, and now His body is missing from the tomb where He was buried. They were scared. They had themselves locked in this room. Nobody was getting in, and nobody was getting out.

All of sudden, Jesus appeared to them out of nowhere!! What a miracle!!

Close your eyes and try to imagine this in your mind for a moment: They are behind locked doors, and BAM!!! Jesus appears!!

He shows them the scars in his hands and in his side, speaks to them, breaths on them, and then just as He appeared, He disappread.

All of a sudden one of the diciples, Thomas, shows up. The other diciples tell him about this great miracle that just happened, how Jesus was risen from the dead and how He just appeared to them out of nowhere.

Thomas says, "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe."

Eight days later, same diciples, same room, same door still shut and locked. Thomas is still with them. Jesus, again, appears out of nowhere!! BAM!!! The very same miracle!!!

Jesus says to Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing."

Thomas answered Him and said, "My Lord and my God."

See here's the thing: As Christians we're supposed to "walk by faith, not by sight." But those who are out there in the world don't walk the way that we do. For many, seeing is believing and they have to see something before they believe it.

Thomas was limited to only being able to believe what he saw. He had to see scars before he could believe the miracle. There are people out there just like Thomas, who have to see proof of a miracle.

The scars on Paul's body was proof of the miracles of God delivering him. Each scar has a different story. You don't go through life looking like that unless you have a story of how you got that way. They could see them, and they could believe his testimony.

Each one of us has scars from some type of accident, injury, or operation. We've all had our pain, and our heartaches. We all have scars on our bodies, hearts, and minds. I have a scar going down the middle of my stomach, one on my lower abdomen, and one on the left side of my chest, which serve as proof that God healed me of cancer.

You can see the scar on my stomach. That's where they removed a tumor on my left side, lodged between

my kidneys and my aorta artery. It was about the size of a baseball and had 4 different types of cancer.

They also removed all of the lymphnodes in my left side.

Where's your scars? What has God delivered you from? Tell your story!! You did not suffer in vain, but there was a reason and a purpose as to why you went through what you went through.

Do not hide your scars, but instead show them to everyone. You bear the marks of Christ in your body. Those scars that you carry become a part of the Gospel, which means "the Good News." You have been delivered by the hand of God and that is indeed good news. Show the world so that they may believe!!

Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth..."

Thank you for reading. Be blessed!!

P.S. Feel free to pass this on to someone if you think that it will help them!!

Luck.

Last week I was talking with a girl at work. The subject of the conversation was luck. It was a very short conversation. We had some guest come into the resteraunt, so we both had to get back to work. I'm glad those guest came in when they did, because I think if the conversation would have went any further it would have turned offensive, and this girl would surely not be opened to have further discussions in the future.

The reason why I'm actually writing this today is because I actually heard someone today at church asked someone if they were having "any luck" with something that this person has been going through. Hearing this word used in church bothers me.

Why does it bother me? Allow me to try and explain myself.

When we was having our discussion at work concerning luck, we both agreed that luck is defined as being something good or bad that happens outside of all control. Just a very basic, simple definition. It covers luck in general, as well as good luck and bad luck.


Webster's defines luck as "1 a : a force that brings good fortune or adversity b : the events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual."

If luck is a force, then that would mean that it would have power, just as gravity has power to pull objects back down to the earth when tossed up into the air.

If luck is a force, then it would obviously have purpose, just as gravity serves a purpose. Gravity is a force that keeps us all grounded, so to speak. That's it's purpose.

So, is luck a real force? Does luck really exist? And should Christians continue to use the word "luck" in their everyday vocabulary? Let's look to the Bible and try to come to some kind of conclusion here.

First off I want to start with Matthew 5:44-46. There we read Jesus saying, "But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much."

The thing I find interesting about this passage is the Jesus says that God gives sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and unjust alike. For the purpose of this study we'll look at sunlight as being a good thing and rain being a bad thing, because nobody really likes a rainy day, anyways, except storm chasers!!

What's interesting about both sunlight and rain is that they're both needed in order for plants to grow. Just like plants, God's interested in our growth. Amen? He's interested in our character, not so much our happiness. If he was interested in only our happiness, then He would give us sunlight everyday just so that we could be happy all the time.

But what would happen to a plant if you was to expose it to sunlight everyday and never water it? It would eventually dry up and die.

So God sends the rain. He gives sunlight. We grow. We bear fruit. This is His desire for us.

So God gives everyone good days, and He gives everyone bad days. He uses these experiences to build our character and to make us the best people that we possibly can be.

Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

I love it that the Apostle Paul uses the words "all things" in this scripture. "All things" mean both good things and bad things.

So God uses "all things" to work together for good--that's both the good things that happen to us and the bad things that happen to us.

So "all things" that happen to us then must happen for a purpose, and that purpose is to bring about good in our lives, to produce in us a good, godly character.

So, does God cause luck to happen then? What does the Bible say about luck?

Interestingly enough, the Bible never mentions anything about luck. You will not find the word "luck" in the Bible at all. You also won't find the word "coincidense," either in the Bible.

Why's that? Because the Hebrew/Jewish people believe that everything that God does is with purpose and intent. God doesn't have accidents. God, speaking through the prophet, Isaiah, said this about His word: "It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it."

With that said, everything happens for a reason and a purpose. Nothing happens by chance.

So then, does luck exist? If luck is some force that causes good things and bad things to happen randomly, then no, there's no such thing as luck.

Is it alright, then, for Christians to use the word "luck?"

I think luck is a 4-letter word. I think luck robs glory from God when we give credit to luck for the good things that happen in lives. I think it also takes away from His Lordship over us when we accredit the bad things in life to luck. In other words by saying that luck randomly caused something bad to take place in our life we are denying God's work that He's doing to stregthen our character and resolve, which is a good thing, ultimately!

Therefor, is it a sin to use the word luck? Will you go to hell for it?

I don't think it is a sin, or that using that word will send you to hell.

All I know is that I try my best not to use this word, and I think that Christians, likewise, should try their absolute best not to use this word. To me it simply robs from God's power, authority, sovereignty, and who He is as a Father just to give credit and glory to some unknown force that's performs random, purposeless acts.

I want my words to be like God's, with purpose and intent. I want my speech to always bring God the glory that He deserves.

So, what do you think? Is luck real? Do you think that Christians should use the word? Why or why not? Let me know what you think!!

Avatar in 3D!

Earlier tonight my wife and I went with our Pastor and his wife to watch Avatar in 3D. I must say, I liked it!

James Cameron did an amazing job making this movie! He also wrote it, as well. A little over 2 hours long, this movie had a really solid plot, and it played out really well. Couldn't find any real holes in the plot whatsoever.

The really remarkable thing about this movie is the level of imagination that went into this. It absolutely blows my mind! James Cameron pretty much created a whole new world, with different kinds of plants and animals, with a race of people totally unlike anything you've ever seen before.

If you're considering watching this, I suggest watching it in 3D. We did, which was really cool. I haven't tried watching a movie in 3D since I was a kid, so it was a real treat.

While I don't want to give the plot away, I do want to talk about a few specific things I noticed about the movie.

First off was the use of religion. In the movie the native people have a deity that they worshipped. This is a key element to understanding the native people. Their lives revolved around their belief in this deity. A few of the human characters in the movie couldn't comprehend or didn't even want to try to comprehend the importance of the natives beliefs, so at times they would comment about their beliefs.

Another interesting thing is that there is a tree which acts as sort of a mediator between this deity and the natives. It's amazing is that in order for them to communicate to this deity they have to more or less go through the tree by connecting or attaching themselves to it.

There was also a couple scenes in there where the natives were having more or less a worship service, which was amazing to watch. Even though most of these scene was done in CGI, they still managed to really sale the passion these characters were putting into their worship.

There was even one scene where all the natives more or less laid hands on the lead character in a way that looked as if they were praying for him.

There is one scene, also, where the lead character goes to this sacred tree and prays.

With all that said, this is by no way, shape, or form a Christian movie. Just so you're warned incase you're thinking about seeing it there is some language. Nothing sexual vulgar as far as language goes. There's no F-word. Alot of using the Lord's name in vain, though!

As far as sexuality, most of the native characters are about half naked. What little "clothing" they have on doesn't cover much, and in my personal opinion wasn't neccessary. But it's Hollywood, and sex sells.

There was one love scene in it. While there was no nudity in the love scene, or should I say no need for nudity since they were already half naked to begin with, it was still enough that I had to turn my head and look away.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. Everything was done to excellence. The only things that I didn't like about the movie was over use of the foul language, especially my Lord's name being used in vain, and the half naked native people running around. I also didn't like the fact that I had to turn my head during the love scene. They could have cleaned it up a little bit.

So, how would I rate this? I'm going to say 4 out of 5 stars.

Let me know what YOU think!!

Debating Atheist

I'm not really a big fan of debates. There's never really a winner, and nobody's mind really gets changed. For the most part they're pointless.

Yet, sometimes I find myself getting involved in them online, especially when it comes to atheist.

Why? I think I do it because their perspective & world view is so radically different from my. It stands in direct opposition to everything I know, love, and believe to be true.

It forces me to dig deeper into this relationship that I have with Jesus Christ and to remind myself why it is so important to know Him.

James 2:19 says, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder."

Either you're a believer, or you're a follower of Christ. Jesus said 18 times in the Gospels that we must follow Him. Many people believe, but choose not to follow. This puts them into the same class as devils and demons.

The really sad thing is that atheist are neither believers or followers. In a way it puts them into a class all their own.

In encourage you to continously pray for each and every atheist that you encounter. Try not to debate them, especially if you're not strong in you faith & your relationship with Jesus Christ. They will only confuse you and make you feel stupid. Seriously!!

As I conclude this blog, I have yet to get a response from my last post from the atheist I was debating. Will he respond? Who knows? All that I pray tonight is that somehow through this debate God spoke through me to him, and gave him something new to think about that he never considered before. Hopefully there was a seed planted. Hopefully I see this man in Heaven someday.

Lord, let his eyes be open to see the truth!! May he open his mouth, confess with his lips that Christ is Lord!! In Jesus' name, Amen.

Hello.

Hello, My name is Eric Johnson and I want to welcome you to my blog, "No Laughing Matter."

Being a stand-up comedian is only part of my life. While I love to entertain and to make people laugh, there is a serious side to me that I'd like to share with my friends, family, fans, and others who may be following me.

I'm also a husband, father, son, brother, friend, uncle, youth pastor, cancer survivor, songwriter, teacher, preacher, and many other things which I can't currently think of at this moment. (It's 2:20am) But the point is there's so much more to me than what you see on stage, and that's the purpose of this blog. Simply, I want to share with you what's on my heart.

Now, just because the blog's titled, "No Laughing Matter" doesn't mean that you won't find something funny on here from time to time!! You may!! My sense of humor is apart of who I am. I can not and will not hide it.

So, with all that said, I thank you for stopping by here today and taking time to read my blog.

In Christ Jesus,
Eric

P.S.
I want to share with you a song I wrote called, "Fan the Fire." It features my friends Nikki and Stephanie Price from the band No In-Between singing. Hope you enjoy!!