Steven Garofalo
Spirituality/Belief • Education • News
WE CANNOT OUT BLESS GOD
By Steven Garofalo, October 14, 2024 (Copyright 2024)
October 14, 2024

I wanted to quickly communicate how this weekend's conference went. I spoke on Saturday morning and met folks from around the country and around the world as they visited with me to learn more about Reason For Truth and seek how we might help them.

TWO QUICK STORIES OF HOW WE CANNOT OUTBLESS GOD

1) I met a young American man from a foreign background who is a college student and who ministers to internationals through ESL, teaching English as a Second Language. I was taken back by he and his friend's obedience to God. They were full-on to the call to mission God called them to at such a young age. This young man came to my talk and them came to my booth three times before spending the money (carefully) on the new Spanish version of All Roads Don't Lead to Heaven. I often give away free books to college students. In this case he bought the book. In turn, I  gave him the English version at no cost. When I did that, he looked at me a bit shocked that I would give him a resource at no cost (at our cost). I had been speaking with he and his friend, telling that that they are now in the driver's seat for carrying God's mission into the world and to other students. I told them that it's my job to get behind them, not in their way-in front of them. As a result, they blessed me many more times that I was able to bless them. I provided a number of resources and made the online EQUIPPED course at not charge to them as well.

2) The second blessing I received with through a young mother from Canada by the name of Heather, I later met her brother who I was just as impressed with. Why was I so impressed? Heather had a very good, well paying job in Canada (they live in Canada) and she gave up her career to HOMESCHOOL her children. She and her brother made no excuses, didn't ask for any discounts (as many folks do). They looked carefully and saw the value in our resources we have to offer. They were simply very well spoken and spiritually rock solid. I gave them a free copy of the EQUIPPED online course and some other no-cost resources after she bought the EQUIPPED book. I was very impressed and blessed to meet both of them.

WHY? Because my wife gave us her career and job which was 74% of our personal income to homeschool our three children. I know the sacrifice doing such a thing. It was one of the toughest things we have ever done and we will never recouperate financially from doing so. But it was the best investment in the world, as the children got their mother back, I got my wife back. And the kids got very well educated as opposed less than well educated and indoctrinated. Such a sacrifice is truly taking up our cross behind Jesus, because it costs us something. But, it's in that cost that the riches of God's blessings and satisfaction and joy of the Spirit of God abundantly provides us. 

I am working on an article on the SECRET OF LIFE, but wanted to share a few brief thoughts with you all. In the end, our sales were the lowest in the history of my working this conference. But, God's blessings were the greatest I have every received. And that was all made possible by those who stand with us through Reason For Truth. THANK YOU. Your generosity is reaching family's-parents, home schoolers, and most of all, students and children in the United States, Canada, and digitally all around the world.

In closing, I sit in awe, once again seeing and experiencing the simple truth that we cannot out-bless God, no-matter how hard we try. Have a wonderful day and be encouraged!

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PICTURES & SUMMARY FROM LAST TRAIL LIFE TRIP (this weekend)

FRIDAY. Twice spotted black bear right next to camp.
FRIDAY EVENING: Heavy-6 hour heavy rain thunder lightening storm. Most younger boys tents flooded and Zach got up 1am in rain gear to help them.
SATURDAY hard day backpack trip but great. Had a tag along German student join us as she felt safer with the group than alone so we invited her to join us.
-Hiked past areas where recent fires were
DRIVE HOME started in massive rain storm with hazards in and made it home after stopping for dinner … God is moving in Zach’s life!

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BAPTISM
SOLA SCRIPTURA
A Protestant & Catholic View Comparison

I grew up Catholic and now go to a Protestant or non-Catholic church in Charlotte, NC. Michael Houdmann, Founder and CEO of GotQuestions.Org writes that a major difference between the two boils down to believing in the Bible alone as God's word verses believing that God's word plus man's input as the divine inspired word of God.

WHAT DO PROTESTANTS BELIEVE?

A major difference is the issue of sufficiency and authority of Scripture. While Protestants believe that the Bible alone is the source of God's special revelation to mankind, it also speaks to everything we need to understand as necessary for our salvation from sin.

Protestants view the Bible as the STANDARD for Christian morality and ethics which governs our behavior. This is called sola scripture and is one of the five Solas in Christianity. (Solas meaning "alone" in Latin. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 makes clear that "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (ESV).

WHAT DO CATHOLICS BELIEVE?

Catholics do not believe in sola scriptura hence do not believe that the Bible alone is sufficient. They see both the Bible and sacred Roman Catholic tradition as equally authoritative and binding on the Christian. While not all Catholics hold to doctrines such as purgatory, praying to the saints, worship or veneration of Mary, etc., the Catholic doctrine hold to them even though they have little or no mention or basis in the Bible. In truth, these doctrines are based on Roman Catholic traditions based on the Catholic Church's insistence that the Bible and tradition are equal in authority. The problem with this is that it undermines the sufficiency, authority, and completeness of the Bible. The view of Scripture is at the root of many, if not all, of the differences between Catholics and Protestants.

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WHY NOT TO MESS WITH GOD
By steven Garofalo, April 21, 2025 (Copyright 2025)

WHY WE ARE NOT TO MESS WITH GOD
EXODUS 9:27-35

When we tell God we are going to do something, we better do it. Today, I am going to show you WHY we are not to mess around and lie to God. Let’s get started.

In Genesis 9:27-35, we find Moses coming around towards the very end of all his warnings and plagues on Egypt. After Moses called down dust to create a storm of hail, lightening and fire which killed most of the Egyptian’s servants and livestock, Pharaoh, calls for Moses and tells his this: 

"27 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord's."

It was bad enough for Pharoah to confess his sins, but worst that he really never meant it; hence he lied on top of rejecting God’s commands. Thats a really bad place to be for any human being, especially a world leader.

GOD’S GRACE EXTENDED TO PHARAOH

“33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth.” 

PHARAOH SEALS HIS OWN FATE WITH A HEART EVEN MORE HARDENED

"34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.”

The moral of the story is that the worst we try to lie to God and/or not keep our word in carrying out what we said we would, the worst the judgement of God will eventually be in our own life.

Conclusion

When we tell God we are going to do something, we better do it. Today, I showed you through God’s Word WHY we are not to mess around and lie to God. And this was not the rest of the story. As all know, Pharoah lost his only son for disobeying God to the degree that he did. Let’s think about this very truth and reflect on how we can do better with honoring God and keeping our word in obedience to God in our lives.

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PURPOSE OVER STAYING PUT
By Steven Garofalo, April 18, 2025 (Copyright 2025)

PURPOSE OVER STAYING PUT
Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh

THE CALLING (Exodus 7)
“1 And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land…4 Pharaoh will not listen to you…5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them” (Exodus 7:1-5).

PURPOSE IN ACTION (Exodus 7)
"6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them. 7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.”

FIRST:  
THE LORD CALLS MOSES & AARON. “1 And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet." 

SECOND: 
THE SPECIFIC MISSION:
The Lord calls Moses and Aaron and instructs them as to the mission of his life.

"You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land…"

THIRD: 
GOD MANAGES EXPECTATIONS REGARDING WHAT THEY WILL ENCOUNTER IN THAT THEY WILL FAIL AT FIRST.
"4 Pharaoh will not listen to you.”

FOURTH: 
THE BIG PICTURE: THE EGYPTIANS WILL KNOW THE TRUTH OF THE TRUE GOD!
"5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them” (Exodus 7:1-5).  

God was clear that He would reach out his hand against the Egyptians, and bring the the Israelites from among them. Then God moves from calling to action.

PURPOSE IN ACTION (Exodus 7)
In verse six, Moses writes not that they contemplated, thought about, or prayed on God’s calling. Moses and Aaron simply got up and “made it happen”!

"6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them." 

NOW FOR THE KICKER: THESES GUYS WERE IN THEIR 80’s! Let’s pick it up in verse 7.

OLD MEN WITH A NEW MISSION
"7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.”

Verse 7 makes clear that Moses was 80 and Aaron 83 years of age!  They could have chilled out and golfed, taken life easy, spend time by the water, or just coasted through the rest of their lives. But NO-they went uncomfortably to complete God’s calling and spoke with Pharaoh. It had to have been intensively inconvenient, uncomfortable, and simply unpleasant to take up God’s calling at such an old(er) age. But they did. WHY? Because they put PURPOSE OVER AND ABOVE STAYING PUT.

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