Draw Near

"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." -James 4:8

Most of us in the Houston area love this time of year. The weather can offer us some of the most picture perfect days of the year. With the arrival Mardi Gras comes a season of celebration. It also means it's crawfish season! Which also means the Rodeo is upon us, which means the world's best barbecue and fried Oreos are with us. All this fun, excitement, and good food is jam packed into 3-4 weeks of southeast Texas awesomeness!

With all the great food, music, and time spent with good people, it is easy to forget that we are now in the season of Lent. It started this past Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, by placing ashes on our foreheads. In Old Testament times men and women would put on sackcloth and ashes to represent mourning. On Ash Wednesday we mourn over our sins because we realize and admit that it is our sins that separate us from a Holy God, and it is our sins that nailed Jesus to the Cross. 

During the season of Lent we repent, turn away from our sins, and turn towards God. It is a time to draw closer to the God who created us and knit us together in our mother's womb(Psalm 139:13) and loved us so much that He died for us. For 40 days Christians around the world are fasting from meat, social media, coffee, chocolate, etc...And they are taking up prayer, scripture reading, volunteering, and random acts of kindness. 

Jesus' brother, James, promises us that as we forsake the things of the world, and draw near to God, He will draw near to us. That verse always makes me picture the father from the prodigal son, who sees his son returning home in the distance and takes off running towards towards him. God is calling all of us to Him for the first time, back to Him, or closer to Him. Would you join us in drawing near to God this Lent by reading this Bible reading plan from YouVersion? As you do, I pray that God will become more real and relevant than ever before. 

Be blessed, 

Senior Captain Bobby Delgado

HFD Chaplain

Is This Thing On

"But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear." - Isaiah 59:2

There is nothing more frustrating to me than a dropped calI, especially when I am trying to have a logistics conversation with the Boss aka my wife. Most new houses come with energy efficiency that acts as a barrier to the elements. It saves us a lot of money on electric bills, but it also acts as a barrier to our cell signals. Thankfully T-Mobile gave us a WIFI cell tower for free which almost completely eliminated our in home dropped call issue.

Sometimes we can feel as if our prayers aren't being heard by God. We usually feel this way when our prayers aren't answered immediately or how we'd like, as if God is our own personal Genie. Maybe(probably) the reason we don't feel like our prayers are being heard and answered lies within. Sin, disobedience to God, in our lives separates us from a Perfect, Holy, and Righteous God.

When Jesus taught us the Lord's prayer, He included "forgive us our trespasses." Forgiveness of our sins is our most important need, because it separates us from God. Do you want God to hear/listen to your heart's cry? Then our first request should be for His forgiveness, which He gives freely. God is always ready and willing to forgive. It is why He sent His Son to die. Repentance is our signal booster to God. It doesn't guarantee things will turn out how you like, but it does guarantee He will listen and respond.

-Captain Bobby Delgado

HFD Chaplain