God Is Near!

21 years old…You would think that he still had so much in store for his life. But he was there in front of me, complaining of upset stomach and having hallucinations. Running a mild fever, he was starting to have withdrawal symptoms from a heavy, daily use of heroin.

He didn’t tell the Intake Nurse [admitting nurse] his drug use history the day prior when he got booked in the jail. Tired and wanted to be housed immediately, he eluded all the questions by answering “no’s” to all queries.

“Please, help me!” he begged, slightly shaking.

I took his vital signs and initiated the opiate withdrawal protocol we had been using at work. I gave him a small white pill for nausea/vomiting, a pink pill to help him sleep, and 2 white pills to help lower the fever and help him with the pain.

“Thank you, nurse for saving me. Thank you for listening to all of my complaints and for giving me the medications,” he sincerely uttered.

“It’s okay. I hope that the medications will help you and it will be given still for the next 5 days so you don’t have to put a sick call request, not unless you think that the symptoms are getting worse,” I advised.

Picking up his pass from the Clinic deputy, he waved at me and uttered “thank you” again as his steps headed back out to the hallway. He was long gone and I was still hoping and praying for him that those medications would help him be comfortable and praying for the Lord to change that man’s heart.

“Thank You Lord!”, I thought.

“Thank You for listening to my complaints. Thank You that You didn’t get upset even though I sinned heavily. Thank You for giving me another chance. Thank You for saving me! Thank You for healing me and thank You for continuously working in me. Thank You for being there when I called on You.”

How about you?


Are you into drugs?


How about drinking alcohol?


Do you think it’s cool to use it everyday?


Do you know that it’s slowly killing you and messing up the way you think or reason out?



Do you really think that the friends you hang out with and who are doing these things are going to be there when you get in big trouble?


Are they really the kind of “friends” you want to be with? Or are you just pressured because you want to be let in, be accepted, be a part of a group?


God is here. Always near. For all of us. When you’re tired from all of this mess, and you want your life to turn around, call on Him…Get back on the right track. Don’t end up in the jail like that young man I saw. Do it now…while there is time….


“Listen, my child to what your father teaches you. Don’t neglect your mother’s teaching. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and clothe you with honor.” - Proverbs 1:8.

“My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!” - Proverbs 1:10.

“My child, listen to me and treasure my instructions. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight and understanding. Search for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God.’ - Proverbs 2:1-5.

“For the Lord grants wisdom! From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” - Proverbs 2:6.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will direct your paths.” - Proverbs 3:5,6.

“Seek the Lord while you can find Him. Call on Him now while He is near. Let the people turn from their wicked deeds. Let them banish from their minds 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 abundantly pardon.” - Isaiah 55:6,7.

Spiritual Sundays - Filthy As Rags

Another Sunday! I always look forward to Sundays because of the many encouragement I find from many blogging for the Lord. If you want to know more about Spiritual Sundays, please visit this great site hosted by Sister Charlotte and Sister Ginger. Thank you both for always inspiring us to gather together, to encourage, to amuse, or to pray.

Filthy As Rags

Handcuffed, he came out of the police’s squad car. A nauseating stench followed him wherever he went. His unkempt appearance obviously told his condition of being homeless. With only a backpack crammed with a few things, it was the only belongings he carried, day after day.


The deputies took everything away and stuffed them into the big, plastic bag. He was brought into a cell where he could shower. His dirty clothes were stripped and stuffed into the big, plastic bag, together with the backpack. This would go to “Property” where they would store all the inmates’ belongings and be returned to them, once released. Everything he had was filthy, same with himself.


Cleansed from a bath he never had for a while, he was issued the orange jail uniform. If he remained dirty and housed with others, he would be prone to being attacked by other inmates if the lingering stench would make them angry. But now that he had showered and all cleaned up, it was safer to have him housed with the rest of the jail’s population.


Aren‘t we all filthy, too? Smudged by sins that are deserving of God’s anger. But because of His love, mercy and grace, He chose to offer the cleansing power that comes from the death of His own Son.


The only way we can be housed with God is when we choose to be cleansed by the “blood of the Lamb”.


Isaiah 64:5-7, Contemporary English Version:


5 You help all who gladly obey and do what you want, but sin makes you angry. Only by your help can we be saved.


6 We are unfit to worship you; each of our good deeds is merely a filthy rag. We dry up like leaves; our sins are storm winds sweeping us away.


7 No one worships in your name or remains faithful. You have turned your back on us and let our sins melt us away.


Our righteousness will not save us. It’s God’s righteousness that makes us clean. Our only hope is faith in Jesus Christ, the One Who can cleanse us and can bring us into God’s presence. There is no other way!

Prayer Today

Lord, I humbly come before You, knowing that my day will not mean anything without You by my side. My steps in this journey will just keep walking but without You, they are without any direction. I surrender everything to You Lord. Please forgive me that when I feel tired and weak, lonely and battered from all these trials I face, I forget that You are there with me. Forgive me that when I take my eyes off of Your presence, my heart is easily deceived that I accomplished something just by my own efforts and strength, which is not true!

Guide us Oh Lord from all these battles we face. As we venture each day, help us start walking on the right track. Give me discernment Lord to help me win my own battles, which is on making decisions. Help me choose the right one that pleases no one but You.

Lord, we are all prisoners. Prisoners from sins and anything that holds us down and keep us locked up in enjoying the freedom that You gave. We are all lined up on DEATH ROW as spiritual sins bring eternal death. But You Lord took those sins away from us by giving Your life on that cross. You have declared those people who believe in what You had done to be “not guilty!”

I pray Lord for many of them still wandering and lost in this life’s journey to come before You and accept Your offer of forgiveness. Thank You Lord for being patient. Thank You for loving us unconditionally. You are love and that’s why we know how to love others in return. It is because You have loved us first. Help me remember that You have accepted me for who I am, so that I may learn to love others unconditionally. I love You Lord!

Lord, I lift up my brothers and sisters in Christ suffering at this moment. Help them remember that You are always there guiding us, never forsaking us. That no matter how hard the trials are, we already are delivered in Your precious Name! All the praises belong to You Oh Lord. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.

This is what the Lord showed me last night as I talked to Him:

“Gather together and pray, you shameless nation. Gather while there is still time, before judgment begins and your opportunity is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls and the terrible day of the Lord’s anger begins. Beg the Lord to save you - - all you who are humble, all you who uphold justice. Walk humbly and do what is right. Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.” -Zephaniah 2:1-3.


When you’re weary, when you feel like quitting, when you’re on the verge of just giving up,
“remember this”:

Serving With A Purpose

Returning from the county hospital after being admitted for a day, the female inmate gave me her yellow wrist band marked “Prego” [pregnant], as I gathered my instruments to take her vital signs.


“I don’t need this anymore, right?” she asked.


“You’re right! And just to let you know, your prenatal vitamins would be discontinued also and your bedtime snacks.”


The day before, she had continued bleeding. It was her 6th pregnancy I gathered. She told me that she had previous complications, too from her past pregnancies. She had 3 alive children and the rest, she ended up having miscarriages, including this last one.


Speaking calmly, she didn’t appear to be in distress. She answered appropriately with all of my queries pertaining to her health.


“How are you? Tell me, what are you thinking now about this loss. I’m so sorry this happened.”


“No. I’m okay Ma’am. I’m okay with it since I always had problem sometimes from the past,” she replied, her gaze meeting mine. Her penetrating cold stare that seemed to evade any empathy from my part.


“Okay, I just want to let you know that if much later on, you feel like you need to vent out, help is available. So, just put a sick call request from your unit, “I advised.


“Thank you Ma’am. May I go back to my unit now?”


“Of course! I know you must be tired. Just keep drinking lots of water, too as long as you can tolerate that,” I added.


After handling out her yellow pass so she could go back to her housing, her shadow slowly disappeared from the hallway of the clinic’s female side. No other inmates would know what she had just gone through, just by merely looking at her.


She might not have accepted my offer of help. But that was okay, too. Because deep in my heart, I know that our strengths were given to us to help us serve. God is the One rejoicing when we change our “How can I help myself?” attitude to “How can I help others?”


And that strength is for service, not for status. No matter who is in front of us, true service is helping them out without any bias and without seeking for praises or even recognition.


The right attitude when serving others arise from loving God first. When our motive is to love God and please no other, no ingratitude can hinder us from serving others.


There’s a big difference when we look at our workplaces as just “a job” versus an area where “we can have that opportunity to faithfully serve God and man.”


“Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving is Christ.” -Colossians 3:23,24


“You are the light of the world---like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” - Matthew 5:14-16


“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me to your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” -Matthew 25:35,36


Then, these righteous ones will reply, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?” -Matthew 25:37-39


And the King will tell them, “I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.” -Matthew 25:40