1 Peter – The Journal Of A New Creation

The Urgent Call

Author: Randall Daluz October 19, 2016

Dearly Beloved: May God’s grace, power, love, peace and joy be ever present in your life. That is my great hope for all of you. You will notice a pattern in my recent posts. I have been more evangelical as of late. God has inspired me to plead with both the unsaved and His lost, wayward sheep. I have been praying: “Lord, help me to reach them; give me the words, Father.” My heart is burdened for you all. This election has brought out the worst in many of my American countrymen and women. I am seeing a great split and division in the church. It is true that a lot of what we are seeing is nothing new, but never has it been so out in the open. As I searched for answers, I went to the only place where they can truly be found, The Bible. I read the sermon on the mount – Matthew chapters 5 thru 7. I was drawn to it like a moth to flame. It is there where the true fundamentals, essentials and principles of Christianity can be found. It is there where no Christian, neither conservative nor liberal, can deny the Lord’s message to us all. It is there that we can all agree despite our differing doctrines and denominational lines. For it is there where our core values intertwine…or at least, they should! It is in those verses of scripture that I believe we can be united and find common ground. (more…)

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1 Peter, Matthew

Do Not Return Evil For Evil

Author: Randall Daluz October 4, 2016

I Peter 3:8-9 “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.“

Dearly Beloved: May God’s grace, peace, mercy and tolerance be ever upon you. The past four days have been difficult. The prison that I am in is one of the most oppressive in Massachusetts – second only to D.D.U. (Disciplinary Detention Unit) where men are kept in solitary for as many as 10 years. Recently, Channel 5 News in Massachusetts did a story about drugs being smuggled into this prison. They focused on the visitors who smuggled drugs, but of course failed to mention the guards. Just last month, a large alleged smuggling ring, which was allegedly headed by an officer, was busted. That was kept silent and never made the news. After the news aired, the story about drug smuggling visitors (which, by the way, only make up about 5% of all visitors), the oppressive totalitarian administration here has decided to try and make all visits non-contact. That means that the 90 to 95% of visitors who do not smuggle drugs will have to suffer for the few that do. In an act of protest, the kitchen workers refused to go to work. That is maybe 30 men out of 1000. As a result, the whole prison has been locked down for 24 hours a day. That is mass punishment and it is illegal under the U.S. Constitution. The prison is flexing it’s muscle and as per usual, it is overreacting. By the way, there are no new policies to curb officers from smuggling drugs. In fact, it seems to me, in my opinion, that the timing of the visitor news story was designed to draw attention away from the guards smuggling drugs in. This is all political and we inmates suffer over the games played by the administration. (more…)

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1 Peter

Love In Spite Of Hate

Author: Randall Daluz September 1, 2016

Image Credit: www.rlmuzic.com ~ #allsoulsmatter

Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Dearly Beloved: May God’s mercy, grace, wisdom, love and understanding be ever upon you. I want to start by sending my deepest and sincerest sympathy and condolences to the family of my dear sweet friend Erica L. It is with a heavy heart that I report that my friend Erica lost her long and hard fought battle with opiate addiction. I had an overwhelming urge to call one of my family members a few days ago. That family member was very close to Erica and battling the same addiction. When she answered the phone, I began talking to her about her addiction. I told her I loved her very much and that she needed to get help. I asked her, “What is it going to take to wake you up? Please get help. I am praying for you.” That night, Erica overdosed and I was so sad and angry. I called that same family member when I heard the news the following morning. “You see?”, I yelled. “What did I tell you?! (more…)

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1 Peter, Ephesians, Mark

Surviving By Faith

Author: Randall Daluz December 18, 2015

Romans 4:20-21 “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.”

Dear Readers,
Greetings, blessings, peace, love, joy and grace unto you, my beautiful brothers and sisters. I want to send my love and prayers to my brothers and sisters in America and in Paris, France. My condolences to all of you who have been victims of terror attacks. In times like these, we must be strong in our faith; for it is through our faith that our minds are strengthened. Evil is at an all time high right now. I believe that things are going to get much worse before they ever get better. This is a time for us to be united under Christ. Only the Lord can lead us through this. It is in Him that we must trust. It is through faith that we shall overcome. This is a time for prayer and meditation. 1st Peter 1:13 tells us: “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ”. Hope and faith, brethren, that is the key to survival. Do not just think that the Lord is real and keeps His promises; know it with all your heart and soul. That knowledge is the path to true salvation. With it, we can defeat anything that this world throws at us. (more…)

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1 Peter, Hebrews, Romans

Why Me, God?

Author: Randall Daluz October 3, 2015

RyanMcGuirePhoto_cc0_145_1 I Peter 1:3-7 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,”

Dear Readers, How many times have you found yourself asking, “Why me, God?” Now, that question is a double-sided coin. You see, sometimes we ask that question out of gratitude and that is the only time we should. It’s okay to ask that question if we are doing so with praise. For instance, if we receive some wonderful blessing – of course, all blessings are wonderful – and we say “God, thank you Father; but why me, Lord? I am not worthy.” That’s proper. That is being humble. Now, on the flip side of that coin, there are the times when we face great trials and during those times we say, “God, why me? What did I do to You to deserve this?” When you put it in that context, you’re not being humble. You’re being haughty and prideful. When we feel that way, we need to ask ourselves, “Why not me?” (more…)

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1 Peter, Romans

All We Need Is JESUS

Author: Randall Daluz August 14, 2015

Randall Daluz - My Chains Are Gone Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Dear Readers,
I currently have nothing when it comes to the material world. In the free world, I had too much at times, though none of it ever seemed like it was enough. I still felt empty. I did not stop and realize that even 1% of what I had was more than the majority of the people in the third world have. By their standards, I was very wealthy. You see, I was spiritually empty; which means I never felt fulfilled. Presently, I am in solitary confinement – physically. I sleep on a thin mat placed atop a concrete slab; locked in a dull, cold and drab cage. I have no physical possessions. Not even the pen I am writing with is my own. My physical movement is so restricted that anytime I leave my cage, I am in chains on my hands and feet. I am chained even to use the phone or shower. Thus, not even the movements I make are my own. My physical life is dictated by my captors. Yet, I am more free and more wealthy than I have ever been. I have everything I need; For I have Jesus with me. My captors cannot dictate my relationship with Christ. They cannot chain or arrest it. I own my relationship with my LORD. It belongs to Jesus and I. We are partners. We are going to get through this together. You see, they think that they have me in solitary confinement, but the joke is on them. Yes sir, it is… because there is nothing solitary about my confinement. There is nothing solitary about my life. Do you know why? Because JESUS is with me every step of the way. Hallelujah! Praise His Name! When you have a relationship with Christ, no one can take it away. No one can change it. I still have joy in my heart. (more…)

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1 Peter, Romans

Take Up The Cross

Author: Randall Daluz November 19, 2014

Luke 9:23-27 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”

If we follow Christ, then we must be willing to bear His cross. There are many people who have made and will continue to make certain trifling aspersions about me and my Lord. Many doubt the validity of my salvation. Others doubt the existence of Jesus Christ. Some claim to believe, but doubt I am eligible for the gift of salvation and forgiveness. The devil loves contention. He thrives on it! When you are serving the Lord, you will face all manner of doubt and hate, but you must bear it in the name of the Lord. When you are walking in Light, God’s enemies become yours and vice versa. You see, before anyone ever hated us or persecuted us or cursed us, they did such to our Lord. The Lord says in Romans 3:10, ‘As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;’ (more…)

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1 Peter, Luke, Romans

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