I am back and better than ever! Now for I can realize so much that for years I wondered about! What a gift!

I really liked my Church in Kentucky so I was hurt when I was thrown out. For years I have worried about it but I just realized that it was ok. It’s where they were then and God had other plans for me.

That applies to what I’ve gone through all long! At face value it’s not good but at spiritual value it is good because it’s part of His plan.

I am so much more relaxed now. After years of tension I can finally relax. I am healthy & happy & God has been very good to me.

I am still very handicapped but because so much negativity is now gone I feel as if I’ve been rescued and the best part is that my rescuer was God!

Obviously I'm not working right now because I'm listening to music but a song like this can make your day better:


You Shine by Brian Doerksen


Why should I fear man
When you made the Heavens
Why should I be afraid
When you put the stars in place

Why should I lose hearts
When I know how great you are
Why should I give up
When your plans are full of love

In this world we will have trouble
But you have overcome the world

You shine brighter than the brightest star
Your love purer than the purest heart
You shine filling us with courage and faith
To follow you

There is a song byRich Mullins called: Brothers Keeper and it says:

My friends ain’t the way I wish they were
They’re just the way they are
And I will be my brothers keeper
Not the one who judges him
I won’t despise him for his weakness
I won’t regard him for his strength
I won’t take away his freedom
I will help him learn to stand

And I thought that this is good and helpful so I wanted to share it.

This is for today.

There is song by Clay Crosse called: Somethin Missin and in those chorus it says:

It don’t matter what you’ve got
If you don’t know the love of God
There’s somethin missin in your life…

And that is true! So tell your friends that you feel are missing the love of God.

Saved by Love


I have a CD by Amy Grant where she sings a song called: Saved by Love and I like it a lot. In fact this morning I woke up with that song playing in my head and I thought about writing to you because in this world that is a very good thing and it just doesn’t happen much at all, but read this:

John 3:16

16 "For God so loved the world…
NIV

That’s NOT AS A UNIT but individually! And to me that matters more than anything else. People may love some people and hate other people and it all depends on what is happening. But God loves us all no matter what’s happening!

He made us so He cares! Who else is like that? No one!

Even if you’re going through hard times now just remember that God loves you. Things may not be going the way you wish that they would but this life is not about you so turn & talk to Him because you’ve been saved by love.

I am BIG on disliking competition among anyone.



This an example of what I prefer. It is about Jesus and John the Baptist. One was God and the other was a human and they did not compete. One worked to help the other but they did not compete.



John 1:1-9

1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.



3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.



6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

NIV



John did not get excited about fame or earn a lot of money, he ate locusts and wild honey so he wasn’t living a high life but he continued to do what he did for another reason. God’s reason.



That’s what we are supposed to do too.



10 years ago I was an executive and I made a lot of money. I was living the high life. Everything was wonderful at the time (or so I thought) but now I am handicapped, I live in a wheelchair, can’t drive, walk or work and I am on public assistance but I don’t compete with anyone. I just serve God (not a popular job) every moment of every day.



But you can do the same thing. No you don’t have to get brutally beaten, lose everything, be poor or have everyone get disgusted with you but you can serve God every moment of every day and compete with no one.



You won’t win friends or make people happy but God will like you.

I am aware that this is different than most people think and that it may offend some and if you are offended then please read this to the end and if you are still offended please email me at toby.hoff@gmail.com and explain how you feel.

Confession

Most (if not all) religions see confession as a way to regain lost salvation. However there is no scripture to back that up. But there is scripture that says that Christ died once for all and that salvation and forgiveness is a free gift.

So let me ask if anyone has ever received a free gift and had it taken away from them and if so then it wasn’t a free gift because it depended on something.

God wrote all the days of our lives in His book before we were born. So there is nothing that we are doing that is new to Him and while we were ALL Sinners He died for us.

So if it was a free gift and you had nothing to do with it then why is confession mentioned in the Bible? Very good question and I’m glad you asked.

Confession helps you individually. By confessing it says that you are aware and allows you to make a change. Often in the New Testament people were instructed to confess to and pray for each other.

There is nothing that says that you have to confess your sins to regain your salvation. That’s why it is called a free gift. It’s not about God it’s about you.

I put all of my CDs on ITUNES yesterday so today I’ve been listening to music by Christian musicians and yes I have learned something big and important about humility.

What I have clearly and repetitively noted is that #1 they make a lot of money but they never say anything about that but they do speak (or sing) about God, His will and His gift to us.

And it is good and it makes very happy!

Now I can’t make a lot of money and I won’t become famous but I can talk about God, His will and His gift to us so that is what I will continue to do.

And I have a lot of good CDs so if anyone wants to listen to some good music then I’m happy to lend them.

For 42 years I was one person then I was attacked so for the last 10 years I have been disabled.

No, I can’t walk and I have several impediments but I don’t picture myself as being as disabled as I obviously am so when I see myself on videos it freaks me out.

It’s probably better for me that I don’t think of myself as disabled. I do recognize my limitations I just don’t see myself as I am.

I always hear “If (this or that) doesn’t happen then I’m praying for a miracle because I don’t have a plan B.”

So they’re saying: “My ideas are excellent but if what I want to happen doesn’t happen then I have no choice but to hope that God makes it happen.”

Wow that blows me away.

And another thing that blows me away is that I didn’t see this before! It’s all new to me now but I’m sure it’s not new.

God has always done such an incredibly wonderful job with me:
I’m alive
I live in an apartment
I’m healthy
I‘m happy
I’m 52 years old
And these are just a few of the things I know about!

What has happened to people? Why can’t they see a God that loves them so much?

I’ve been thinking and praying about what would be the best thing to teach and this morning God’s answer came to me. Read this:

Prov 3:5-6

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
NIV

People tend to try and figure everything out themselves but often they are wrong but they choose reasons that Society likes and they decide it’s correct. But let me ask you: Did Society create everything? NO God did.

Read the verse again.

It says “lean not on your own understanding” which clearly means “Don’t try to figure out everything on your own”. And it says: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart.”

So that’s the answer from God.

You can tell that I am a man of God when I write something like this:

I noticed something a long time ago but I wasn’t sure if it was true and if it was how to write about it but now I know.

Christianity to me meant a person wanted to be like Christ. However, people see it as a way to be accepted by others. Frankly I couldn’t care less what others thought about me because I don’t live for others I live for God. But other people don’t and for them Christianity is a way of acceptance by others. It is trendy and acceptable therefore they become Christians. But it’s not really Christianity it is just an acceptable name.

I can only tell you to read and follow the Bible. If the way you are or what you are doing is in there then you’re fine but stick with what God has told you, not your friend.

One of the first examples of Grace from God that has been shown to us is with Satan. God had created him so He could have eliminated him but He didn’t. Yes, He gave him the Earth but He gave us His word and forgiveness and an inheritance.

I have this one CD that I like a lot. It is by
Susan Ashton, Margaret Becker & Dente and it is called “Along the Road”. It is fine music and very spiritual but one song says: “it turned out to be a blessing in disguise”.

Now I know that I used to say that but why?

It means that the blessing presented itself as something else and blessings come from God so that is not even possible so what does it mean?

It means simply that we thought the wrong thing and we didn’t see the blessing at first. Read this:
Eph 3:20
20 Now to him who is able to do measurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
NIV

Does it say “more than you’ll know”? NO! It says exactly what is happening “more than all we ask or imagine. So blessings aren’t disguised they are more than all we ask or imagine.

Don’t underestimate the power of God.

I went to Church services today and the pastor was talking about the last supper and how Jesus washed the feet of His apostles but he didn’t point out how Jesus (even though He knew that Judas would betray Him) washed Judas feet too.

Even while He was being crucified and they were driving nails through His body Jesus said: Father forgive them they don’t know what they’re doing.

And He lives in us!

So when we are disregarding people that are another race or handicapped or people who are poorer than us or anything then we are disregarding the people who Jesus came and died for!

And people do that a lot while they say they are Christians but Jesus never did that. And He’s watching them do it!

One way that it has been ingrained into me is that life isn’t here just to please me and that God is in control is by something as simple as playing Solitaire. Along the way things may not be what I had hoped for or supposed but I always finish to start again. And sometimes things go better than I had imagined. But the bottom line is that I am not in control and I do not just assume that my computer (that’s not living) is in control but that God (who is living) is.

Life is just like that.

Sometimes things don’t happen just as I had hoped or wanted but it’s not my game it’s His.

I am in a very bad place but regardless of where I am God is still great. He always has been and He always will be.

I cannot and will not complain.

I don’t think that people realize this but the best thing about God is that He is OMNI so He makes no mistakes.

He formed us and wrote down all the days of our lives before we were even born. So what you think or do may surprise people but not God.

That puts a whole new meaning on being judgmental because it may be new to you but God already knew it.

You’ve heard the saying: “get in line” but there’s no line with God.

Ok, this morning I searched the Bible for wwords like pleases, pleasing and Godly to find something that says that our behavior makes God happy or not. Nothing that I found refers to our behavior which isn’t odd because when Jesus came we were all sinners and He loved us.

That’s way different from what others teach us. So if we stick with the Bible then we’ll be fine.


People think that they know God but they don’t. The things that we need to know He told us in the Bible. So if we stick with it.

When I was sharing today in Sunday school my entire talk was based on one thing: My Personal Experiences.

How horrible is it to have to talk to some very nice and very special people about something as simple and horrible as how you’ve been treated in case it happens to or has happened to them?

How horrible that it has happened to me!

I was a very wealthy and successful world traveler before but when I was hurt everything good but God stopped. Normal people were mean to me. So mean that I thought that I must be weird, but I’m not!

What are people thinking about others? And why is that kind of bad/negative behavior toward others standard? Answer me because I want to know.

Yes something bad happened to me but I was still the same person! But God has had to help me to go through all that and come out and He has but that’s a lot for Him to have to do and we shouldn’t have to do that.

My Sunday school class is called Light & Power and it is designed for handicapped adults and there are around 50 in there. Non handicapped people go as well and we sing, pray, eat, memorize scripture and study together if fact we even have a prom every year & next month we are going to the beach.

It is wonderful to be around a group of people who are just like you and love God as much as you do and no one has to care how they act.

These people are my family and no matter where we go or what we do I enjoy being with them. It’s so much easier to be around them than to be around other people because we accept each other and don’t judge each other.

This morning I was able to share something very special with them and I hope that they understood. The good thing is that I know the Lord was there and He understood.

I have just realized that our job as Christians is way bigger than I ever knew!

Jesus did say to love your neighbors but He didn’t just mean to be nice to people with which you have contact, He meant everyone! If you know them or not.

I have been remembering things from when I was young and I continually think: It’s good that I never knew that but why didn’t anyone else see it?

And no one did. So here I am handicapped. And my family did bad things and no one noticed. So they were smart and no one helped!

We have got to do better than that!

Many many people are children and adults and they need help. I’m not just guessing this or making it up. This is fact and I am one that was hurt.

Christianity is more than just a socially acceptable lifestyle or a way to take care of yourself, it is a way of life for everyone! Like Jesus job when He came here. He exposed Himself to many people but Salvation was for everyone so we (who He lives in us) can’t just limit it to people that we know well. Did Jesus know all of the 5,000 people?

I don’t think so and we have the same job.

I’m going to tell you a little bit about me so that you can understand better where I’m coming from.

I am not like you. I am human and 51 years old but I cannot work for money or even walk. I live in a wheelchair and that sounds awful, but it’s not.

I am completely in God’s control and He takes great care of me. I don’t wish to be t any different.

One of the things that I just don’t understand at all is how life here is such a competition. God has kept me alive through some unbelievable circumstances so there is no competition for me. I lost and God won. There’s nothing to argue about.

So when I do anything it’s always from the perspective of how I can do it well to make someone else happy.

It’s not that I feel like I deserve anything. I do everything to help other people.

I don’t know how much more like Jesus you can be.

In life on Earth there is always a winner and a loser. So everyone wants to be a winner and they try very hard to win.

But if you’re a Christian you are a winner with God already because salvation is a free gift. No more trying hard because it’s a free gift and according to Ephesians 2:8-9 you couldn’t possibly earn it.

So this is going to cause you to think about things a lot differently.

Remember Adam & Eve? God gave them everything but they still went for more and unfortunately the serpent agreed with them and they all lost big time.

Unfortunately the serpent is still talking and people still believe him. On TV all of the shows say “Be the Best” and people always try but their efforts can’t make them the best only God can.

So be careful in life. Listen to God and not the serpent.

Competition

As human people competition is extremely important to us and natural too. From the time we are young children we are taught to compete and it never stops. Everything in life is based on that. “If you are good then…”. And we know no better.

Thankfully God doesn’t treat us that way. Jesus came to offer us Salvation even though we weren’t good. And it’s our choice. So there is no competition.

As humans we have to be very careful not to be that way.

Coming from where I was and being who I am today allows me to look at things and ask myself: Am I missing anything? And to honestly answer the question: No, in fact I’m better off now.

I am so happy! I know that I had a lot before and have lost a lot since then but I honestly have more now!

I certainly do not wish that anyone could go through what I’ve gone through but I do wish that everyone could see what I see.

God is wonderful.

Make Something Of Yourself


Most people think that it’s up to themselves (who are nothing) to make something of themselves so they try and try until they think that they have.

Now that is interesting because did they create themselves? Wasn’t there any thought put into what they should do? Aren’t they here for a reason?

God knew what He was doing but most people don’t believe in God. So they think that everything is up to them and unfortunately this world and Society confirms that opinion.

Everything in Society backs that up. Schools, Colleges, Compensation, Positions, Clothes, Cars, Homes and the like say that YOU have made something of yourself but there’s absolutely nothing about your creator.

Personally, I think that there are no mistakes or accidents with God. We are all here for His reason and we are part of His plan. And if we don’t believe in Him He has a plan for that too.

This is very interesting especially to you.

Because I cannot “make things happen” and there is nothing that I can put my finger on to say “this WILL work” I have always had to turn to God.

I do that because I know that He is real and He can do things and I can’t.

Imagine being like me. It would seem like nothing would ever work but it always does!

Life for me is just one confirmation after another that God is good and He loves me.

Life is usually about YOU. What you’re doing, where you’ve come, what you want and what you hope for but for me it’s all about God and I’m happy with what He gives me.

I am honestly in an extremely good place and while I wish it for you, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

I’m seeing something that I do not agree with at all and I see this on the television but I don’t think it’s just on TV I think this is how people are. And I don’t think that it’s just nowadays, I think people have been this way for centuries.

Everyone wants to measure up to other people because the main goal is to be better than anyone else. That gets them money and status.

Funny but that sounds just like Satan was when he was thrown out of Heaven and doesn’t he run this world? Yes he does for now and people are following his plan.

If you think about things such as money and degrees (to name just a few) you can clearly see what I am talking about.

I have a college degree that I paid a lot of money, time and effort for and I was paid a lot of money for and I was very proud of it.

But think about this: Was I any better than anyone else? No. Did I just learn everything in school? Nope. Then why did I get so much money and prestige? Because my degree was very popular and so was my school.

Wait a minute. Am I saying that because people liked my degree and my school that they paid me a lot of everything? Yes I am. And nothing has changed. I’m just as intelligent as I used to be but I don’t remember a thing about my education and I’m not bothered at all.

Being a Christian is so much easier than being a part of this world. Expectations from God are much simpler than the expectations of this world. And I also don’t have to be the best to get eternal life because it was a free gift.

I was thinking about this in the morning during breakfast so I decided to write it down.

Luke 9:25
25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world , and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
NIV

I have lost a lot: job, car, wealth, travel, education, wife, kids and much more but I’m happy. Why? Because I have lost the whole world but gained my very self. No matter what I’ve lost I still have God. And that’s much more than I had!