Author: endhyamoros

Our soul encompasses our entire being: our mind (thoughts), our feelings and emotions, our spirit, our inward heart. In Psalm 43 David is transitioning from being a persecuted king finally sitting on the promised throne. For years David, an anointed king, has been on the run for his life. Despite being on the run and living in caves, David was still a king. His status and identity was not dependent on his situation. His status and identity was dependent on what God had spoken. Finally, his enemy is fallen and David ascends to his throne, and the world finally sees who he has been all along – the king. We shouldn’t wait until we ascend to thrones to be who we already are in Christ Jesus. We are children of God, whether we are hiding in caves or persecuted and troubled, we are the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5.21)

In Psalm 43 David, being king, still wrestled with the internal battle taking place in his mind. At the beginning of the chapter David finds himself doubting that Yahweh fights for him, and he pleads with his God to rescue him from the remaining oppressors of the previous reign. But, in the closing remarks of this writing, David speaks to his own soul and sets his mind straight. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” (2 Cor 10:5).

David confronts his soul and poses the question,

“Why are you cast down, O my soul?

Why are you in turmoil within me?”

He then speaks and encourages himself in what is true…

“Hope in God; … in expectancy of the victory that is already his because of who God is, he says, “for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”

As the song goes, “I’m no longer a slave to fear… I am a child of God.”

Speak truth and victory to your soul.

Do not be defeated by your fallen thoughts.

Do not allow yourself to live in the chains of sin that Jesus has already broken.

Take hold of the victorious life that we have in Jesus Christ.

“Because I live, you also will live.“ John 14.19b

Psalms 50:1 The Mighty One, God the Lord,
    speaks and summons the earth
    from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Everyday we speak an average of 16,000 words per day. If we reflect on our words, I think that most of us can admit that many of our words are spoken of matters that are not of eternal value. Not that there is anything wrong with this, but we mostly talk about our hobbies, and current events around us. But how many of these words that are spoken are of eternal impact? The greatness of our God is amazing because by His words alone, He spoke the universe into existence. “The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.” The realization that every single morning when the bright and glorious sun breaks through the clouds with its powerful rays, rising over the horizon and announcing, “It’s a new day!” – God did that, with His words. At the end of our weary days, we can again enjoy another canvas of pure and beautiful art when we look up and forward into the sky. We can appreciate a myriad of colors mixed so beautifully together towering over, yet at the same level, of the horizon displaying the work of His hands – God did that, with His words alone. God created the glorious and mighty sun by speaking only 48 words (Gen 1:14). How are we making an eternal impact in our use of 16,000 words?

Words are powerful. We are created in the image and the likeness of our Creator. Furthermore, those of us that are believers have His Spirit living in us! The same Spirit that hovered over the waters before our beginning, the same Spirit that spoke the artistic universe into existence is the same Spirit that resides in you today. How can you speak truth into someone’s life today to have an eternal impact like our Creator’s words did?

The last couple days I have been dwelling in the 3 Johns at the end of the New Testament. We believe and there is good proof that the 3 Johns were written by the same Gospel writer that was an apostle (follower called by Christ Himself – 1 of the 13) of Jesus. In his latter years John writes to the church as an elderly father giving advice to younger children in the faith. The main focus and introduction of his 2nd letter to the early church stood out to me – vs 5 & 6 of 2nd John.

"And now I ask you, dear lady - not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning - that we love one another."   

This is nothing new… this is a reiteration of Jesus’ commandments… that we love one another. So many times it’s easy for us to stray from the simplicity of the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40). In our humanistic mentality and modern day society where we hear hidden and open messages of self promotion. We believe the lie that it cannot be this easy, there has to be more to it… but there isn’t. It is that simple – we are commanded to love. Love God and love our neighbor as ourself. Furthermore John describes what love is to us.

And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 

This is such a necessary clarification of what love actually is. In our world today love is purely an emotion, just a feeling. But God, who is love, clearly tells us that love is not just an emotion but action – that we walk according to his commandments. First of, many of us cannot walk in his commandments because we simply lazily and ignorantly just do not know his commandments. Despite the fact that we have the living Words of God at our fingertips we scroll over to our social media apps or snaps instead of opening the one app that contains the Words and teachings that can actually give us life. We wonder and seek for everyone else’s opinion and approval on our social media instead of finding that security, confidence and true purpose in the teachings and the person of Christ. Secondly, once we actually do know His commandments, then we can actually walk in them.

This is where true change happens.

This is where transformation takes place.

This is where sanctification is realized.

That the Word of God be perfected in our life.

This is how we become like Jesus.

True transformation requires action.

This morning I was driving back towards home from a job in the city. I was going to stop at a beach on the lakefront to take a walk. I wanted to talk to God about some things I read and some stuff on my mind. There was a lot of morning commuter traffic the streets were buzzing with everyone trying to get to work on time. It looked like a competition or survival of the fittest. Drivers weaving in and out of traffic and speeding up trying to make it through the yellow light before the camera flashes your plate. Because at that moment when you’re trying to punch in on time, every second matters and that idiotic driver in front of you that doesn’t understand you’re running late is your arch-nemesis that you must go through.

I was in the left turning lane and when that glorious green arrow came about off we raced to make the turn, but right as we’re approaching the street we all turned into there he was, “that guy.” What do I mean by “that guy,” I mean that poor guy that was five minutes from work and as he was making a turn his jeep hit ice that sent him spinning into the opposite lane of oncoming and ramming into the curb that blew his tire out. So there the poor guy was in the frigid cold windy morning of Chicago so close to work, but on the side of the road facing the opposite direction of oncoming traffic. As I drove past him I noticed he was waving his arms hoping that someone would stop and give him a hand, but nope… nothing. I mean don’t you know that we have places to be, things to do, meetings to attend, and appointments to keep? So we all inconveniently weaved around the poor guy that didn’t have a wrench to take his tire off, and honked at him as we drove by because “duh,” how dare you break down now as we’re all in a hurry. As I drove past him I really felt bad for the guy, but you know… I had to make it to the beach to pray so “adios amigo!”

About half a block after passing this stranded gentlemen I had a “that moment” happen… that moment when the Spirit of God convicts you and you realize how selfish and self-centered you as a person. I was on my to find a place to pray and talk to the God that commanded me to love my neighbor. I immediately remembered the story of the Good Samaritan in the New Testament, and I realized that in this moment I was that pharisee or religious leader who just didn’t have the time to inconvenience himself for someone who had nothing to offer him. So as I mentally grunted over this realization I proceeded to go around the block to help the guy out.

I pulled up in front of his car and ran out to meet him, and immediately he told me his story. He was so close to work and upset because he had just spent several hundred dollars fixing things around his tires literally the day before, “My mechanic just dropped off my car last night and it was all good to go. Then this happens,” he complained. So we finally got a wrench and we loosened all the lug nuts to replace the tire, but then there was a minor, yet huge problem – the last lug nut stripped on the tire rod! If you don’t know what that means, basically the tire was not going to come off without a special power tool that usually only mechanics have with them. At this point, my man was frustrated and expressed it in such colorful language. He called his boss at the shop that was five minutes away , but after several attempts he was not answering the phone. He threw his hands up in frustration not knowing what else to do. Did I mention that it was cold?

I had one final idea that would actually solve the problem. I told the gentlemen that I have a roadside assistance membership and it doesn’t have to be my vehicle that’s down to use the service, all I have to do is call them. “Oh no! don’t do that, then they’ll send me the bill!” he objected. “No they won’t because it’s already paid for, and I have one more tow left on it, all I have to do is be here and they’ll take it wherever I ask them to.” I was so sure that he would be relieved and I really wanted to help the poor guy out. “No, it’s okay.” he answered. I was a little surprised. “I’ll just keep calling my boss and I’ll take care of it.” he said as he continued to call, but to no avail. So we stood there for a couple more minutes. He kept looking around and under the tire to see if there were any other solutions, and kept calling and calling, but still no answer. I tried to offer my help one last time, “Hey man, you don’t have to feel bad I wan to help you out if you’ll let me, let me make that call and you’ll be out of here soon, I got you.” But nope, he refused the offer again. At this point I was a little shocked, and confused. There was nothing else I could do so reluctantly I got back in my car and continued home. As I drove away I could see the poor guy still looking around for another solution with his phone up to his ear trying that call again.

While driving I was thinking about what had just happened. I was still a little perplexed as to why he wouldn’t accept my help. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks… this is exactly how God feels at times. We go through this journey of life that God created. En route to our destination, we mess up, I am a sinner. I don’t know about you, but when I mess up I’m looking for answers within myself. I don’t look around too often and want ask for people’s help. I try harder, look for more knowledge, or even draw up a plan as to how I’m going to fix my situation because, “I got this.” After my brokenness I try to find fulfillment in more knowledge, money, or in a relationship, but it’s still isn’t enough. Then I come to that point of realization, the answer is not in me – I need Him.

Along comes the good Samaritan, the One that does have the answer and in Whom I can find fulfillment, Jesus. He could not bare to watch humanity fail and be condemned. So He humbled Himself, left His kingship, and came down to earth. He approaches us and offers not only to take our problem, our burden, our sin that we have struggled with for so long, but also to switch places with us. He offers us fulfillment, a relationship, royalty, to become a child of God and share His kingship with us. But time and time again He tries to help us, and we often respond with, “No, I’m good. I’m going to keep trying it my way.” I wonder what goes through His mind when He has done so much for us, and we refuse to take His offer. His offer is already paid for, Jesus took care of the bill due for our sin. All we have to do is humbly recognize that we do need His help, and accept Him – it’s that simple. Religion, tradition, as good as they are, cannot and will not truly fulfill or redeem us. As I did before, many people spend their lives looking for something when the answer has been standing in front of us the whole time, Jesus. Will you accept His offer?

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So, I’m back… I’ve entered an extremely eventful stage of preparation for the next season of my life with work, and an upcoming wedding, therefore I have not been able to carve out a chunk of time to sit and write focusedly. Despite everything going on I’ve realized that if this is important to me I must make time for it and get back into a rhythm. It’s Christmas day and it has been one of if not, my favorite day of the year. At the moment I am in a quiet house because I am the first one to wake after a large family gathering that ended at 4:00 am this morning. This holiday has been one of the best ones I’ve had in a while. I’ve had the opportunity to share it with my fiancé, her family and along with my own family in sunny Florida! After months of gray skies, and cold bitter winds in Chicago I have finally seen the sand and sun again. I had forgotten what it looked like! It has been an awesome Christmas season with immediate and extended family, and let’s not forget – great food!

Being Christmas day I was moved to read the Christmas story, obviously fitting for this special day. Yesterday afternoon I was praying for a couple minutes, and I felt moved by the Spirit of God to do something I had never done before. As a matter of observation, in our culture we spend a lot of time and effort to culturally and traditionally celebrate this day. Hours upon hours of time and resources are spent into this day annually. In the U.S. alone an article on CNBC.com projected over 1 trillion dollars in Christmas sales. I was convicted about all the time I spent in stores or online shopping for the right gifts, travelling to see family, but how much time and attention had I given to the One who’s birthday we are celebrating? It’s like one of those scenarios… have you ever been to a birthday party where you did not exactly know the birthday person well? One of those times were you attended a birthday party with your significant other or a friend, but you’re going to accompany them not because you know the person. Maybe it’s a little bit awkward of course because you’re not too acquainted with the people around you. This scenario happens a lot in my Hispanic culture, and if you’re Hispanic you know exactly what I’m talking about! Every year at midnight of Christmas day, my family gathers around my grandmother’s house in a massive circle and we open gifts one by one. Well “opening gifts” doesn’t describe exactly what goes on in my culturally diverse, and wild family, but it’s the basic idea. I felt moved to read the Christmas story together before we began our family tradition, so that we could give the “birthday boy” His rightful place of His celebration.

In light of being present with all of my extended family from different states and countries, I was reading about Jesus’ family in Matthew chapter one this morning. Like every family, mine is not perfect, but I would not change my family for anyone in the world. After reading about Jesus family, we could say that they were very, very far from being perfect. Christ’s genealogy was very diverse, sometimes not in a good way. When we think about the Messiah, this family isn’t one that we would humanly think the Messiah would come out of. In Joshua chapter number 2, we have the story of a woman who by reputation is a prostitute, Rahab. What’s crazy is that she was King David’s great, great grandmother. After her conversion to the belief in the God of Israel, her son married a girl from the land of Moab, where they worshipped a horrid idol named Chemosh, and some scholars think that Ruth was a moabitess princess. This Moabite, not belonging in Israel, ended up marrying into this family and gave birth to Obed, King David’s grandfather. So Israel’s arguably greatest king, the man who wrote a great chunk of the Old Testament, came from a lineage of a prostitute and a stranger who used to worship a false idol and did not belong in Israel. But, it did not matter where Rahab or Ruth were from, or what they had done in their past. No matter how messed up their situation and mistakes were – that did not matter, because they put their faith in the One true God. Later in Jesus’ genealogy we find David, a murder, and adulterer; Solomon, a wise man who foolishly pursued women over God; Rehoboam, who foolishly tore a kingdom apart that was united for nearly eighty years, all because he chose to listen to the wrong advice. There are many more examples of human flaws, mistakes, and weaknesses in Jesus’ family. But none of that mattered because at the end of the day, the story is not about those people.

Have you ever watched a movie that had a really bad storyline? The whole time you’re watching it doesn’t make sense, and you’re confused, but then the last 5 minutes of the movie brings everything together. Then in that last scene your mind gets blown away and all of a sudden it’s one of the greatest movies of all time! Such is the case with Jesus’ birth. This baby born in Bethlehem brought all of these bad storylines together to compose the greatest story of all time. The Son of God made Himself weak, and vulnerable so that He could take all those mistakes, flaws, and failures, and bring us back to a relationship with His Father. God was able to give purpose to this lineage of weak and sinful people by taking all of their err, making it His own, and paying the ultimate price for all of these by His own death.

My goal is to convey this truth to you. It does not matter who you are or what you have done, your story can have a purposeful and joyful ending too. All you need to do is let God take the pen from your own hands. As I once was, are you not tired of messing up your life’s storyline? I have a very blessed life, but it has nothing to do with who I am. l what I am because God worked in me, in spite of who I am. And He can do the same for you if you’ll hand Him the pen, this is called grace.

Happy Birthday Jesus, and a Happy 2019 to you my reader.

This past week on my day off I went for a walk at a local park in my town. When I want to read a book or find solitude I like to go here because it’s kind of hidden away from everything. To access this place you have to park your car and walk over a pond on a long boardwalk. The boardwalk is surrounded by tall marsh grass as this park is considered a wetland. It’s pretty cool to see beavers from time to time, chomping down this thickened grass. On this particular day the grass were very overgrown to the point that it was overlapping and covering the long walkway. Perhaps the city had forgotten about this park all summer, you literally had to duck or walk through all the overgrown grass that looked more like tall stalks. As I was making my way through this boardwalk I came up behind an older gentleman that was pushing someone in a wheelchair. I instantly felt bad for this gentleman who I assumed was pushing his wife through this overgrown and inconvenient walkway. The boardwalk was so covered that I couldn’t just walk around them, so I patiently walked slowly behind them. Eventually the gentleman noticed me behind him so he stepped to the side and told me to go on ahead. I greeted him and quickly walked past, but as I did I was startled… there was nobody in the wheelchair…? This Sr citizen gentleman was pushing his own wheelchair through the overgrown boardwalk!

As soon as I made it to a bench I just sat there and took that moment in. I was a bit in awe at this older gentleman’s strength to get up and push his own wheelchair because he was at least in his 80’s. Later on in the park this gentleman strolled past me on his electric wheelchair and stopped to talk to me for a couple minutes. Turns out he is a Vietnam war veteran and while serving he jumped out of an airplane and because of wind conditions, he rebounded off the ground and after landing twice, he broke his back. He was only in his twenties when this accident happened, he is now 85 years old. He shared how much he loved coming to this park where him and his veteran buddies would come and chat it up for hours on end. Also being annoyed by the overgrown marsh on the walkway he brought up that moment, and when presented with an overgrown walkway, he mustered up enough strength to get out of his wheelchair. He said that when he stands it’s hard for him to keep his balance, but holding on to the wheelchair gives him enough balance to walk.

Continue reading “Pushing your wheelchair.”

I just got back in town from a week-long camp with my church community. During the week I had the opportunity to speak to young people about their faith.

This morning I was spending some time in John 4. In verse 46 Jesus is approached by an official, perhaps Roman since this time was during Rome’s dominance. The official’s son was very sick to the point of death, as was very common during this day. In verse 48 Jesus says to this man, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” Maybe Jesus was frustrated with the unbelief of people around, I don’t know. But when I read that verse it was as if Jesús was directing those words to me. Sometimes God has asked me to do something and it’s hard to just go off His word. Unless I see a sign I do not believe. Jesús wanted this man to believe His word blindly. In vs 50 the man believed Jesús’ word and at that same moment his son was healed (vs 52).

Is it wrong to ask for signs? Gideon comes to mind in the Old Testament book of Judges chapter 6. The story goes that the angel of God comes to a man named Gideon and told him to rise up and free the Jews from the Midianites’ oppression. Midian and Amalek were oppressing the Jews for seven years and starving them of their harvest when crops were ready to be reaped. What this angel was asking was not something easy to do, it was actually a ludicrous idea. Gideon was in hiding and this angel was asking him to recruit men to fight against an enemy the Bible stated that in number “they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number:” If he was going to go through with this, Gideon wanted confirmation that God would be with him through this. So Gideon asked for a sign, not once, but twice (Judges 6.36-40). For believers it’s easy for us to judge Gideon, doubting the almighty God. Although for others, we can actually identify with Gideon, myself included. I am a believer today, but I several times doubted before, and identified with this man. Since my childhood I was told taught to believe the Bible. Then when I started to read the Bible I discovered that it states there is a God Who is actually Creator and Judge of the universe. Then God sent His only Son to be born of a virgin woman, and then Jesús lived a sinless life without error for 33 years.  Then on top of that, this man Jesús died and He rose from the dead…I mean doesn’t that all sound absurd? Logically this just did not make sense to me.

So one night very nervously I wanted to try this avenue of communication called “prayer.” Like Gideon, I wanted proof, evidence, that God was real. I needed to know whether or not I was wasting my time with the Bible and this life called Christianity. In Judges 6 Gideon asked for a sign from God that was humanistic-ally impossible, it was supernatural, something that man could not do. When I prayed and asked this God to show me if He was real, and actually listening to my words, the unexpected and inexplicable happened – He actually answered. And to be sure, I asked again, and yet again He answered. What we see in John 4, in Judges 6-7, and what I have witnessed in my personal life is called faith. In order to believe in God, faith is required. What is faith? Faith is the substance of things we hope for, the evidence of things that are not seen. Faith is proof that the unseen things are actually real. Faith defies human logic. As unbelievers state, the Bible does not make sense, and you’re right, at least to me it did not make sense, until I learned faith. I am a believer not just because of research and study of how we have a Bible today, and the facts that witness that it is true, but also because I have asked this God to show me that He is real. And every time I have asked, He has answered and when He answers it has defied and defeated my logic. Sometimes God doesn’t right away, but He always does answer.

Continue reading “Is God real?”

Psalms 37.

In our present society we often find satisfaction in the “stuff” that we have. The latest phone, newest car, or attire. Not that there is anything wrong with any of these, but what David is referring to is the source of our delight. In what or whom do we delight ourselves in? David found his delight in an evident relationship with his God. Abiding in His presence brought David many things that articles and possessions cannot bring.

1. God’s presence brings patience. (vs 7) Just yesterday I was driving out of my gym parking lot and as I was trying to make a left, the main street was very busy. I was trying to find just a small gap in traffic to “gun it” and be on my way. Just before accelerating into a risky window between oncoming traffic I remembered one my Dad’s one liners that he must have repeated a thousand times, “Never take unnecessary risks in life.” I sighed like a little boy who just got scolded by his parent and continued waiting on traffic to clear up. This small scenario reminded me of how impatient I have become. I am used to fast results and receiving things quickly.  We have microwaves, programs and apps for everything in our modern-day that make everything quickly efficient. However God the Father does not always work this way. At times God puts us through prolonged circumstances and seasons to perfect us into the image of His Son, Jesus. God prefers a slow cooker over a microwave. It takes a lot longer but I would rather enjoy a dish of slow cooked meat than chef boyardee (even though their Ravioli got me through college haha).
2. God’s presence brings peace. (vs 10 & 11) At the mention of “peace” one of my favorite songs comes to mind, Tremble.  My favorite version is sung by a Christian couple, Caleb & Kelsey. The lyrics are powerful,
   Peace, bringing it all to peace
   The storm surrounding me
   Let it break at Your name
   Still, call the sea to still
   The rage in me to still
   Every wave at Your name

   I can only imagine how astounding it was for the disciples of Jesus to witness Him calming a raging storm with His words. (Matthew 8.23-27) In the midst of difficult circumstances, and  desperate situations Jesus’ presence brings us comfort. He never promised us that life with Him would be easy, but He did promise us that we would never have to endure it without His presence. (Hebrews 13.5)

3. God’s presence brings provision. (vs 25 & 26) In the Scriptures time and time again we read stories where God provided for His people, but afterwards people would put their trust in the provision instead of the Provider. One of God’s names in the Hebrew is Jehovah-jireh. In Exodus 16, the Jews had no food in the wilderness. God gave them a daily portion of manna, but they were instructed to only take enough for that day. God wanted to teach His people to put their trust in Him as their Provider, instead of the manna itself. In this life of following Jesus I must admit that this is a continual struggle. It is much easier to trust in an earthly, concrete, visual source of income like a job, or my career, than to trust in a God that is visually abstract. Faith is a requirement to trust in God. Faith is not easy, and it is something that needs to fed to grow. However every single time that I have taken a step in faith, and the Provider has come through for me, the memory of that experience gives confidence to my faith in God. So when I check my Chase app, I look back and realize that the Provider always provides more than what my needs are, because He’s just that awesome. Provider > provision.

My name is Endhy Amoros – yes, a very unique name, I know. My Dad, Andres, wanted to give me his name as that is our Hispanic tradition. The problem was that some other family members who carried the same exact name, were and probably still are not in good standing with the law. Therefore my Dad decided to come up with his own distant spin off from Andres, to Andy, then ended up with Endhy (and the Indy 500 / Indiana Jones nicknames have officially started in your mind haha).

My parents met in New York City which is where I was born. I then grew up in Northwest IN and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. My parents are from the Caribbean and Central America, so to sum up my family and upbringing – I am a culturally diverse person, which is something I love about my life.

I received the knowledge of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit when I was very young. My father has served in ministry as a pastor for over 30 years. I knew of God, but right after turning 21 years of age I came to personally know and follow Him. Since then Jesus has transformed my life. I avidly study the Scriptures to increase in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and daily work at being who I am in Him.

I am currently engaged, actually as I compose this introduction, it has only been about 12 hours since I proposed to my lovely Beca. She is a sweet, beautiful, and lively one of a kind person. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my days with her, and live this one life together.

The reason I created this blog, is not to promote myself or even because I think that I am worth publishing to the world. A couple months ago, the Holy Spirit dealt with me in my heart about my gifts. According to Scripture in Romans, we all have gifts. Ever since I can remember I have always been adequate at articulating my thoughts and ideas into words. After much conviction about not putting this ability into use, I decided to start this blog to share truth from my study and devotional time.

To my friends who do not have their faith in Jesus Christ: I appreciate your friendship, and I hope that through the understanding of my words you may see God’s love for you in Jesus.

To my friends that do believe in Christ: I am a student of the Word of God. My studies are operated in an exegetical manner. I hope that my writings may enlighten and encourage you. For those of you that have more wisdom and knowledge than I do, I welcome and actually beg you to let me know of any truth you would like to share with me, especially resources.

Thank you for taking the time to visit this space.