Reagan Reflects

  While listening to a podcast, I heard them talking about when sin first entered the world. FYI, it's in Genesis 3. Instead of reading just Genesis 3, I read 2 chapters before, and dare I say, I’m impressed with God. There was no perception of time, and no one was rushing. Hi,m and he still got it done in 7 days. No, 6 sorry. He rested on the 7th. Can you even imagine? I sure can’t. I attend school 5 days a week and need 2 months of recovery. Anyway, I got to Genesis 3 and I ended it a little confused. Here's what I comprehended: Serpent chats it up with Eve, gets her to eat the fruit, she gives some to Adam, they both find out they were naked, God catches them in 4k, curses the serpent, punishes Adam & Eve, makes them clothes, and sends them away. The thing I didn’t fully understand is what Adam did wrong. The only reason he ate the fruit was that his wife gave it to him. I re-read it, I wanna say 5 times before I fully understood the entire message. First things first, l...

  When people discuss evangelism, they often reference the seed analogy, highlighting the idea that you plant the seed and God will water it. This usually concludes the sermon, leaving listeners feeling good and motivated. However, I find this explanation lacking because there is so much more to it. A seed cannot just be planted anywhere; it requires specific conditions to grow. If it were easy for seeds to thrive, we would see them flourishing everywhere.  Instead the McDonald’s is flourishing everywhere. A seed needs good soil, a pot, water, and sunlight; it's not as simple as just planting it and watching it grow. As Jesus explained in Matthew 13, the seed thrives in a rich environment.  Moreover, growing a seed involves consistent care and attention. This includes adding compost and nurturing it, perhaps even singing a worship song to it (although, like me, not everyone is blessed with the voice of an angel).  The point I want to make is that when you share the g...

  As I mentioned in a previous article, I believe power can make people more prone to corruption and even lead them to do foolish things. I then brought up the idea that parenting is becoming kind of like that. And people just slowly fall into the pattern of we’ll never understand, so we shouldn't question it. No one understands rocket science, but people still gave it a crack… Anyway, I looked into power and corruption, and it's almost exactly linked to parenting, in the biblical sense. The Pharisees in the New Testament literally just made crap up so they would still have power; they wanted to play God. ( Matthew 23). Some people in the bible decided it would be okay to do things “ because they said so”. Pharaoh is a great example, enslaving people because he was afraid they’d become too powerful. ( Exodus 5-12) Hm. But that’s a really interesting example if you apply it to what's happening currently. But that’s a whole other article.  Now, let me clarify, I’m not trying ...

  Money makes people do stupid things sometimes. Not even money, just having high status, and when it comes to competition, people hardly ever see the “bigger picture” or aren't even in good faith. It's all about gaining experience and knowing how to improve. Nahh. Winning matters more these days, and people will do whatever it takes and disregard anyone who gets in their way. I hate that with a passion. And I learned early on just how much I hated it. It was 4th grade, and my teacher announced that the entire class was participating in an Achieve3000 competition, and the winner would receive a gift card or something. ( see, I can’t even remember that's how unimportant it was), So she took time out of the regular lesson so we could complete Achieve3000 lessons. The entire time, she was being very crabby, and if you were even slightly off task, she sent you to a buddy room. She was sending even the most well-behaved students to the buddy room for talking once. It really piss...

  I miss when everything people did had a purpose. I believe that everything you do, say, and think should have a reason behind it. I don’t understand why this concept seems so difficult for many.  To put it into perspective, consider someone who wants to improve at a particular skill. They practice diligently until they reach a specific goal and then move on to their next achievement. For example, take an athlete like a runner. Even if they enjoy running, they may still want to improve their speed, so they run every day until they beat their personal record. The key point of consistent effort is to achieve an end goal.  These days, it feels like many actions are taken without considering their purpose. Take sex, for instance. While it can be pleasurable, it's primarily meant for procreation. I’m not saying people can't enjoy sex for fun, but there should be an understanding that it can result in a child.  Let’s consider a more extreme example: committing a crime. If...

  I often hear people ask, “Why do you have to be Christian to go to heaven?” There are two answers to this question, and one essentially provides insight into the other.  The first answer is straightforward: How you spend your life in relation to God determines how you will spend eternity. A life without God results in an eternity devoid of His presence. The second answer is a bit more complex, and I’ll explain it: You have to accept the gift. You might be thinking, “What gift are you talking about? I didn't receive anything in the mail.” I’m referring to the gift of salvation, which isn’t something you can order on Amazon or eBay, nor is it something you can have delivered by DoorDash. The gift of salvation must be opened to experience its true power.  Let me illustrate this with an analogy. Imagine it’s Christmas morning, and your only present is from your best friend. She’s excited to give it to you and insists that you’re going to love it. She won’t tell you what it ...

  Parenting has become a conspiracy. It often feels like those in parenting committees are gatekeeping important files and documents from others who have questions. I might be a bit dramatic, but this situation is problematic for me. It mirrors the challenges I faced throughout my childhood, where I wasn’t allowed to question any decisions my parents made. I was labeled as “defiant” or “rebellious," but really, I was just exhibiting the natural curiosity that all children have at a certain age. Every child is inherently curious, though some express it differently than others. I was the kind of kid who asked "why" a million times. You would think that’s a normal way to be, but it wasn’t seen that way by the adults around me. I often heard phrases like, "Because I said so," or "You'll understand one day." I was never satisfied with those answers, and I’m still not, primarily because they don't make sense. I’ve learned that anything worth knowing...

  This morning, I was reading the book of 1 Corinthians, specifically chapter 12, where Paul discusses the different parts of the body and how they represent the various gifts we receive. Last night, I watched a documentary called "Super Size Me" (I highly recommend it; it could change your life), which got me thinking about the human body—its heart, lungs, stomach, and bladder. Each part has a unique function, yet they are all essential for survival. I began to reflect on what part of the body I might be. I felt God telling me that I am like a liver. In the documentary, the doctor explains that even if the liver is damaged and fatty, eating the right foods daily can help it return to a normal state. This shows that the liver is incredibly resilient and can recover from many challenges.  I’ve been through a lot in my life, but choosing to follow Jesus has helped me heal and achieve a healthier mental state. Paul explains that we can’t all be the same part of the body, as that...

  I hear a lot of stories about people who have to get big operations. You know the very scary ones that have a 40% success rate. But yeah, these operations are the ones that make you sit and reflect on all of your life decisions. It's a serious thing to go through, and the recovery, I know, sucks. My mom, when I was 13 years old, had gone into cardiac arrest and died for 38 minutes, and she had to get open heart surgery to get a defibrillator put in, and if you don't know what that is, it's basically this device that acts as a resuscitator if your heart were to stop again. She was in the hospital for a month. There was a time when she had a breathing tube down her throat so she couldn't talk. When she finally came home, her recovery was slow, and she couldn't eat certain foods, still can’t eat certain things, she can’t lift over 25 pounds, and she had to quit her job working for my school.  My point is that having to experience almost losing my mother and watching ...