Posts by Justo Dorantes (Page 9)

Last week was a special day for Juan and his wife as they became United States citizens. It has been several months of preparation and studying for them to become U. S. citizens. It was about two o’clock in the afternoon that I got the call from Pedro. He told me “We did it! We passed the test.” It has been about fifteen years ago that Pedro and his wife left Medellin, Colombia and move to Orlando, Fl. From there…

A voice message was left in my cell phone three days ago by a Spanish speaking person. It was a message spoken in very good English, as a matter of fact I may say that it was a better English than mine. The message was left by Benny, a person who I baptized in Alabama about twelve years ago. I met Benny one morning as he called me inquiring about English classes. He saw my ad about our English classes…

There has always been a conflict between the Lord’s people and followers of the world. This goes back to the time God told the serpent, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Gen. 3:15). We often point to this passage to show how Jesus would overcome the devil, but the text also points to the…

I received the following thoughts by an unknown author via email. As I am about to celebrate another birthday, this article made me reflect about many things in my life. The thoughts expressed here are something to seriously think about this day and every day that God allow us to live (Acts 17:24-25): You know, time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married…

Many times, we get caught up in our daily lives and lose focus on what is truly important. We allow failures at work, arguments with loved ones, opposite political views and things not turning out the way we planned to depress us. Throughout the Bible, we see believers reflect on the promises of God when they find themselves in difficult situations. In the book of Psalm 27:1-10 (ESV): The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?…

There seems to be something very special about the end of one year and the beginning of a new year. It is so magical that many folks often make New Year’s Resolutions” People say “this is going to be the time that I start something new, or this is going to be the time that I stop that particular habit”. And so, we wait.Something that we ought to be doing “today” is put off until that future day when the…

This year has been a unique year to say the least! The pandemic has changed a lot of things and people are looking forward to each holiday. It seems like a lot of people are enjoying the Christmas season this year. As Halloween ended and November began, I started to see Christmas lights and decorations on my neighbors’ homes and began to see Christmas trees in living room windows shortly thereafter. There is something about Christmas that gives us comfort…

A few people were looking, watching, hoping the day in prophecy would come—the day their Messiah/Savior would be born in Bethlehem. To them (Micah 5:2) contained God’s words which said: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Not man’s. As such, they could be trusted. So, the believers searched the Scriptures,…

If we were to hypothesize some sort spiritual hierarchy, where would Satan be on that list? For whatever reason, we have the tendency of making him inferior only to the Godhead and no one else. A popular train of thought might put Satan second to God, then angels, and humans as last. What this ideology accomplishes is a handicapped perception of our ability to fight back against the devil and break free. A false illusion of power can create a…

As America prepares in anticipation of yet another annual Thanksgiving celebration, I could not help but consider some of the parallels between the birth, growth, struggles and direction of this country, as compared to the birth, growth, struggles and potential direction, of a born again New Testament Christian. In 1620, the pilgrims, seeking a new life free from the tyranny of oppressive persecution, by their faith in the power and providence of God, determinedly “set sail” into largely uncharted territory…

Pilots usually mention the following phrase: “I can still remember my flight instructor telling me to ‘believe your instruments.’ Always.” Oh, for sure when the weather is beautiful, you can look out the window. But when you can’t look out, well, that’s right, “trust your instruments.” That is the reason you have them; it takes the guesswork out of things. As we live the Christian life, we need to believe the Words of God at all times. Are there some…

How much fretting will we do today because of this or that or the other thing? It should come as no surprise to us that life is filled with irritations, and there are times when we try to rebel against them. Did you realize that the lowly oyster is wiser than we are in this regard? Whenever an irritating object, like a grain of sand, gets under the mantle of its shell, what does the oyster do about it? It…