Wow! What a weekend we all had! Tim and Cario Stewart had told me that we have broken the 100 mark of those in attendance for our last Saturday's 5th Annual Christmas banquet! Finally, after 4 years of "Showing Jesus" to our visitors during the banquet, God provided the triple digits! Even with the triple digits, some of our members could not attend the banquet this year.
I want to extend my thanks to all those who took part of the planning, set-up and clean-up! Without each of you, there will be no banquet to celebrate Jesus and to shine our light and love on those whom we have invited. May God bless those who have served. A very special thanks to our chairpersons, Dennis and Cindi Cesone, for their hard work keeping us focused and prepared! Again, what an awesome weekend! God is good!
Let's talk about "Faith That Works"... James offers several similarities to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount than any other book in the New Testament. James relied "heavily" on Jesus' teaching and this is something we, as Christians, ought to do: "Rely Heavily On God's Word!". Here's the lesson:
1. When your life is full of difficulties and persecutions, guess what? BE GLAD! A reward awaits you! (James 1:2, Mt. 5:10-12)
2. You are to be PERFECT, MATURE, and COMPLETE, not lacking anything. (James 1:4, Mt. 5:48)
3. ASK God, and He will answer. (James 1:5; 5:15, Mt. 7:7-12)
4. Those who are HUMBLE (who don't amount much by the world's standards) should REJOICE in their position as those whom God loves. (James 1:9, Mt. 5:3)
5. Watch out for your ANGER. . . . . It can be dangerous! (James 1:20, Mt. 5:22)
6. Be MERCIFUL to others, as God is MERCIFUL to you. (James 2:13, Mt. 5:7; 6:14)
7. Your FAITH to others express itself in helping others. (James 2:14-16, Mt. 7:21-23)
8. Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS; they sow in peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:17-18, Mt. 5:9)
9. When we HUMBLE ourselves and realize our need for God, He will come to us and lift us up. (James 4:10, Mt. 5:3-4)
10. Don't SLANDER or speak against others, it speaks against God's command to love one another. (James 4:11, Mt. 7:1-2)
11. Be PATIENT in suffering, as God's prophets were PATIENT! (James 5:10, Mt. 5:12)
If we do not rely heavily on God's Word everyday, then how can we grow in faith? If we only learn God's Word on Sundays and Wednesdays, then how can we become strong in the faith? When we do the things that pleases God, won't you hear God speak to your heart saying, "Well done, my faithful servant!" Do the faith that works!
God, we're so blessed to have You in our lives! We feel Your love as we continue to worship You and serve out Your Will in Your Kingdom! Blessed be Your Name, Lord! Blessed be Your Name! Pray that we will grow to be a mature Christian before You. Please help us learn these important characteristics of faith. Our strength comes from You! Especially, when we face trials of all kinds, help us be GLAD! We rejoice in Your love. In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Monday, December 06, 2004
God's Standard of Giving
Lord, thank You for yesterday, when we came to worship You! You surely have blessed us in many ways and Your Word is heart-piercing and eternal! All I want to say, on behalf of the Fairfax Deaf Ministry, is that You are an Awesome God! How awesome are Your ways! How awesome is Your love!
God, bless those who came to worship God yesterday and bless those who worshipped God elsewhere! It was an awesome day and thank You, God! I must say that all of us were hit hard, as if by a freight train, when the lesson is about, "Giving". We're selfish from the day we're born! As a baby, you're always saying, "Mine! Mine!", even through our childhood, we say that. As a teen, we say, "More! Want!" and we crave for the things we need to fulfill our "selfish desires". We're nothing but hungry animals seeking to please ourselves. That's where we need God the most! Why? We ask Him to help us be humble, seek others when they are in need, instead of fulfilling self, we fulfill our Spirit by helping others in their need of fulfillment. Then in turn, those who have matured as a Christian will change to deny self and begin to fulfill others in their needs. Therefore, "giving" is the least talked about anywhere, especially in the church! However, it's the second greatest theme in the Bible next to salvation!
The word, "Believe" is used 272 times. Believe is pretty important, huh? 272.
The word, "Pray", (Hey, Christians should pray daily!) is used 371 times. Pray, 371.
The word, "Love". God is love as the Bible tells us. "Love" is used 714 times. Yes, important!
"Hand wave" everyone! (drumroll)
The word, "Give" is, ladies' and gentlemen, used 2,162 times! "Giving, gave, give, given" and Jesus used this more often!
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38 (NIV)
If I don't understand God's standard of giving, (here! pay attention), if I don't understand God's standard of giving, then I don't understand what it means to truly know Jesus Christ personally. God talked about it not once, twice but 2,162 times! If you're interested in a full version outline, please go to www.fxcc.org/deaf and click on sermon outlines/notes. It will be posted after 12/8/04. ;)
"The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to fear the LORD your God." Deuteronomy 14:23 (NLT) He doesn't need your money! He owns it all! He's the Creator and He created all things on earth! Everything is the Lord's! He is saying, "I want you, people that I love, people that matter to Me, I want you to give as a reminder that I am first place, that I am Lord in your life."
"On every Lord's day each of you should put aside something of what you have earned during the week." 1 Corinthians 16:2 (NIV) Every Christian has a responsibility. This shows that we're expected to be assembled to worship God and prepare for the "offering" showing that God is "first in my life."
"Remember this, whoever sows sparingly, will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will reap generously." 2 Corinthians 9:6 (NIV) If we come to God with a teacup offering, we will get a teacup blessing back. If we come to God with an eighteen-wheeler truckload of offering, whoooooom, what is going to happen? You will receive so much blessing that you won't be able to handle it.
"Give", it is the only safe investment for eternity (1 Timothy 6:18-19 (MSG)) You can't take it with you but you can send it on ahead. You invest your money in people who are going there (heaven). It is an eternal investment. No risks involved. That is basically why I should follow God's standard of giving, right from the Bible!
God, bless those who came to worship God yesterday and bless those who worshipped God elsewhere! It was an awesome day and thank You, God! I must say that all of us were hit hard, as if by a freight train, when the lesson is about, "Giving". We're selfish from the day we're born! As a baby, you're always saying, "Mine! Mine!", even through our childhood, we say that. As a teen, we say, "More! Want!" and we crave for the things we need to fulfill our "selfish desires". We're nothing but hungry animals seeking to please ourselves. That's where we need God the most! Why? We ask Him to help us be humble, seek others when they are in need, instead of fulfilling self, we fulfill our Spirit by helping others in their need of fulfillment. Then in turn, those who have matured as a Christian will change to deny self and begin to fulfill others in their needs. Therefore, "giving" is the least talked about anywhere, especially in the church! However, it's the second greatest theme in the Bible next to salvation!
The word, "Believe" is used 272 times. Believe is pretty important, huh? 272.
The word, "Pray", (Hey, Christians should pray daily!) is used 371 times. Pray, 371.
The word, "Love". God is love as the Bible tells us. "Love" is used 714 times. Yes, important!
"Hand wave" everyone! (drumroll)
The word, "Give" is, ladies' and gentlemen, used 2,162 times! "Giving, gave, give, given" and Jesus used this more often!
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38 (NIV)
If I don't understand God's standard of giving, (here! pay attention), if I don't understand God's standard of giving, then I don't understand what it means to truly know Jesus Christ personally. God talked about it not once, twice but 2,162 times! If you're interested in a full version outline, please go to www.fxcc.org/deaf and click on sermon outlines/notes. It will be posted after 12/8/04. ;)
"The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to fear the LORD your God." Deuteronomy 14:23 (NLT) He doesn't need your money! He owns it all! He's the Creator and He created all things on earth! Everything is the Lord's! He is saying, "I want you, people that I love, people that matter to Me, I want you to give as a reminder that I am first place, that I am Lord in your life."
"On every Lord's day each of you should put aside something of what you have earned during the week." 1 Corinthians 16:2 (NIV) Every Christian has a responsibility. This shows that we're expected to be assembled to worship God and prepare for the "offering" showing that God is "first in my life."
"Remember this, whoever sows sparingly, will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will reap generously." 2 Corinthians 9:6 (NIV) If we come to God with a teacup offering, we will get a teacup blessing back. If we come to God with an eighteen-wheeler truckload of offering, whoooooom, what is going to happen? You will receive so much blessing that you won't be able to handle it.
"Give", it is the only safe investment for eternity (1 Timothy 6:18-19 (MSG)) You can't take it with you but you can send it on ahead. You invest your money in people who are going there (heaven). It is an eternal investment. No risks involved. That is basically why I should follow God's standard of giving, right from the Bible!
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Streams of Life
Here's a couple of lines from one of the Zoe songs:
All who are thirsty,
All who are weak,
Come to the fountain,
Dip your heart in the streams of life....
Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14 (NIV)
Also read Ezekiel 17 which awesomely applies to our lives, especially Christians whom are rooted into the "streams of life.":
"But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its root toward him from the plot where it was planted and stretched out its branches to him for water. It had been planted in good soil by abundant water so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a splendid vine." Ezekiel 17:7-8 (NIV)
We must understand that "grapes" in the Old Testament symbolized Israel's fruitfulness in doing God's work on the earth and producing fruitfulness among each other. John 15 also talks about the vine which is Christ and that God is the gardener who cares for the branches to make them fruitful. The fruitful branches are true believers who, by their living union with Christ, produce much fruit. But those who become unproductive - those who turn back from following Christ after making a superficial commitment (lukewarm Christians (Rev. 3:16)), will be separated from the vine, namely Jesus. Again, I hate to say this but it's the truth, that unproductive followers are as good as dead and will be cut off and tossed aside.
Picture yourselves as a flower in God's flowerbed... Do you think God would want to leave a withering flower in His bed? Even though, He has tried over and over, through His servants, through your dreams, through His Word (water) as you read it, to change you into a beautiful flower. He pours out streams of living water into the flower of your soul but you may refuse to drink it with joy.
If it is written in the Word what will happen to withering, unproductive, dried-up Christians, I pray that each of His people return to the "streams of life" where you will abundantly drink His goodness and love and be changed so the world will see the "streams of living water" welling up from your soul (John 13:14)
Drink Jesus!
All who are thirsty,
All who are weak,
Come to the fountain,
Dip your heart in the streams of life....
Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14 (NIV)
Also read Ezekiel 17 which awesomely applies to our lives, especially Christians whom are rooted into the "streams of life.":
"But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its root toward him from the plot where it was planted and stretched out its branches to him for water. It had been planted in good soil by abundant water so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a splendid vine." Ezekiel 17:7-8 (NIV)
We must understand that "grapes" in the Old Testament symbolized Israel's fruitfulness in doing God's work on the earth and producing fruitfulness among each other. John 15 also talks about the vine which is Christ and that God is the gardener who cares for the branches to make them fruitful. The fruitful branches are true believers who, by their living union with Christ, produce much fruit. But those who become unproductive - those who turn back from following Christ after making a superficial commitment (lukewarm Christians (Rev. 3:16)), will be separated from the vine, namely Jesus. Again, I hate to say this but it's the truth, that unproductive followers are as good as dead and will be cut off and tossed aside.
Picture yourselves as a flower in God's flowerbed... Do you think God would want to leave a withering flower in His bed? Even though, He has tried over and over, through His servants, through your dreams, through His Word (water) as you read it, to change you into a beautiful flower. He pours out streams of living water into the flower of your soul but you may refuse to drink it with joy.
If it is written in the Word what will happen to withering, unproductive, dried-up Christians, I pray that each of His people return to the "streams of life" where you will abundantly drink His goodness and love and be changed so the world will see the "streams of living water" welling up from your soul (John 13:14)
Drink Jesus!
Power of the Spirit
There was a story of a couple during the first winter that he and his wife were married was marked by severe blizzards. They can vividly remember one Sunday when we awoke to find that the electricity had been knocked out by an ice storm. Huddled around a battery-powered radio for news on that frigid Sunday, we heard a most unusual announcement. The announcer, before giving the list of church services canceled due to the ice storm, said, "The following churches will be closed due to lack of power." What an interesting comment! They knew what he meant, but they were struck by what he said.
The idea of churches closing due to lack of power leads us to some spiritual parallels that directly tie into Jesus' promise of the Spirit. Just before His ascension, Jesus told His men in Acts 1:8, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." He was talking about the coming of the Spirit which will be given to the empowering believers. This gives us reason to examine some important issues in this concluding part.
What Is Power? The word power used by Jesus in Acts 1:8 is the Greek word, "dunamis." It is defined variously as "strength, power, or ability." Specifically, it refers to "supernatural power, strength or force, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth." This spiritual power is not natural to the believer, however. Notice, very carefully that it is natural to the Person of the Holy Spirit who resides within the believer. How does this power display itself in our lives? Here is one possible (though probably more) and clear ways the Holy Spirit expresses His power in the lives of the redeemed.
Power For Life. How does the Spirit express life in us? By causing our lives to be obviously different from the hopeless world that surrounds us. Notice Paul's words in Romans 15:13, "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
The power of the Holy Spirit provides for us the things that human effort, religion and righteousness could never achieve. He is there to empower our living with a glorious inspiration of joy, peace, and hope that can carry us through the trials and hardships. Here are a couple of things that I learned the contrast between the world and God:
In a world that is in crazy pursuit of happiness, we can have joy by the power of the Holy Spirit. In a world that is crying out from the grief of constant conflict, we can have true peace.
In a world that is filled with empty despair and a vague future, we can have a bright hope.
Why?
Because the power of the Holy Spirit can builds us (equip) for life in a way that the world cannot understand! His power can enable us to experience the things that the world longs for, but are ours by the Spirit. This is the abundant life Jesus spoke of--a life that is full and rich and deep and lasting. A life that is lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Here's one of my favorite song that I have not sung in such a long time:
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow--
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! Great is Thy faithfulness!
How is the power in your life?
The idea of churches closing due to lack of power leads us to some spiritual parallels that directly tie into Jesus' promise of the Spirit. Just before His ascension, Jesus told His men in Acts 1:8, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." He was talking about the coming of the Spirit which will be given to the empowering believers. This gives us reason to examine some important issues in this concluding part.
What Is Power? The word power used by Jesus in Acts 1:8 is the Greek word, "dunamis." It is defined variously as "strength, power, or ability." Specifically, it refers to "supernatural power, strength or force, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth." This spiritual power is not natural to the believer, however. Notice, very carefully that it is natural to the Person of the Holy Spirit who resides within the believer. How does this power display itself in our lives? Here is one possible (though probably more) and clear ways the Holy Spirit expresses His power in the lives of the redeemed.
Power For Life. How does the Spirit express life in us? By causing our lives to be obviously different from the hopeless world that surrounds us. Notice Paul's words in Romans 15:13, "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
The power of the Holy Spirit provides for us the things that human effort, religion and righteousness could never achieve. He is there to empower our living with a glorious inspiration of joy, peace, and hope that can carry us through the trials and hardships. Here are a couple of things that I learned the contrast between the world and God:
In a world that is in crazy pursuit of happiness, we can have joy by the power of the Holy Spirit. In a world that is crying out from the grief of constant conflict, we can have true peace.
In a world that is filled with empty despair and a vague future, we can have a bright hope.
Why?
Because the power of the Holy Spirit can builds us (equip) for life in a way that the world cannot understand! His power can enable us to experience the things that the world longs for, but are ours by the Spirit. This is the abundant life Jesus spoke of--a life that is full and rich and deep and lasting. A life that is lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Here's one of my favorite song that I have not sung in such a long time:
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow--
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! Great is Thy faithfulness!
How is the power in your life?
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Deeper
Please read this article I found on the internet in regards to, "Deeper".
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22
Have you ever heard the following statement: “I wish the sermons at church would be deeper?” Maybe you have even said it yourself. Many times we feel like our study of God’s word is too superficial and that we need to study “deeper” material. But the question that we should really ask ourselves is, “What is deeper?”
This is an excellent question for those of us who seek to truly know the Bible and follow Christ. Too many times we simply don’t know how to articulate what or where “deeper” is. Often, we are really just looking for an emotional fix to our current life situation. The problem with emotional fixes is their inherent inconsistency. What does it for us one day may not do it for us the next. Our emotional responses change right along with life’s circumstances. What we need to remember when we start looking for something new is that we are often following a shift in our emotions, not necessarily our spirit.
This shift is very important to recognize because Satan can use it as a tool to drag you away from where God wants you to be. If you spend your life looking for a certain emotion, you will merely drift from one place to another, like a ship without a rudder. Eventually you will run up on dry land, trapped by the very shallowness you were trying to avoid.
To avoid drifting we need to follow the true “deeper” journey that is presented to us in the Bible. One of the greatest examples is the command that Jesus gives us in Matthew 22:39, “'Love your neighbor as yourself.'” This command calls us to accept another person, regardless of how we feel about them. Jesus was calling us to get outside of our comfort zone and to do life the way that he did. Jesus didn’t spend all of his time with his closest friends. He ate with prostitutes and tax collectors while others disapproved. He touched the untouchable and loved the unlovable. It wasn’t easy, but it was deep.
The Bible and all of its lessons can take you as deep as you are willing to go – and beyond. But it takes work. You have to take the leap. Don’t follow your emotional tide. Put the lessons into practice – then try it somewhere other than your comfort zone. Take what you already know and apply it to your life. God will take you on a “deeper” journey than you ever knew was possible.
Mark's note: Amen to this! Going "deeper" into the Word of God is going to those who need us the most: our love, our eyes, our hands, our hearts, and most of all - our time. Many of us attend church for many reasons: because we have to, because my friends go there, because my parents says so, or because it is what everyone does. But we attend church to learn to walk like Jesus by studying and listening to His Word. We bring home a verse or verses we learned and chew on it everyday. It feeds the Spirit living inside us and helps us be "Deeper Christians" among our friends and families. This is my prayer for each of those who are "committed" to Him!
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22
Have you ever heard the following statement: “I wish the sermons at church would be deeper?” Maybe you have even said it yourself. Many times we feel like our study of God’s word is too superficial and that we need to study “deeper” material. But the question that we should really ask ourselves is, “What is deeper?”
This is an excellent question for those of us who seek to truly know the Bible and follow Christ. Too many times we simply don’t know how to articulate what or where “deeper” is. Often, we are really just looking for an emotional fix to our current life situation. The problem with emotional fixes is their inherent inconsistency. What does it for us one day may not do it for us the next. Our emotional responses change right along with life’s circumstances. What we need to remember when we start looking for something new is that we are often following a shift in our emotions, not necessarily our spirit.
This shift is very important to recognize because Satan can use it as a tool to drag you away from where God wants you to be. If you spend your life looking for a certain emotion, you will merely drift from one place to another, like a ship without a rudder. Eventually you will run up on dry land, trapped by the very shallowness you were trying to avoid.
To avoid drifting we need to follow the true “deeper” journey that is presented to us in the Bible. One of the greatest examples is the command that Jesus gives us in Matthew 22:39, “'Love your neighbor as yourself.'” This command calls us to accept another person, regardless of how we feel about them. Jesus was calling us to get outside of our comfort zone and to do life the way that he did. Jesus didn’t spend all of his time with his closest friends. He ate with prostitutes and tax collectors while others disapproved. He touched the untouchable and loved the unlovable. It wasn’t easy, but it was deep.
The Bible and all of its lessons can take you as deep as you are willing to go – and beyond. But it takes work. You have to take the leap. Don’t follow your emotional tide. Put the lessons into practice – then try it somewhere other than your comfort zone. Take what you already know and apply it to your life. God will take you on a “deeper” journey than you ever knew was possible.
Mark's note: Amen to this! Going "deeper" into the Word of God is going to those who need us the most: our love, our eyes, our hands, our hearts, and most of all - our time. Many of us attend church for many reasons: because we have to, because my friends go there, because my parents says so, or because it is what everyone does. But we attend church to learn to walk like Jesus by studying and listening to His Word. We bring home a verse or verses we learned and chew on it everyday. It feeds the Spirit living inside us and helps us be "Deeper Christians" among our friends and families. This is my prayer for each of those who are "committed" to Him!
Monday, November 29, 2004
E X C E L L E N T L I V I N G
God bless you all!
This past Thanksgiving weekend has been great for me and my family! And I hope its the same for each of you!
I talked with the congregation this morning about "Excellent Living" and pray those who received His message will allow God to work through each one of you! As for those who missed today's message, you missed out a great lesson because it applies to me, too! Oh, how I love God's Word! It is sweet to my soul!
Life is a series of choices. God gave each of us the ability to make our own decisions. If you're going to live a life of excellence for God, then you've got to concentrate on making wise, godly choices that bring honor to the name of Jesus and not shame or disappointment. 2 Timothy 2:20-21 says, "In a great house there are not only vessels of gold or silver, but also of wood and clay; some for honor and some for dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself, he shall be a vessel unto honor, made holy and useful for the master's service and prepared for every good work."
1 Corinthians 11:28, "Let each man examine himself..." tells us to CONSTANTLY evaluate your life and make sure that you're NOT making decisions and choices that are hindering your walk with the Lord... Every major decision you face, you should ask yourself the question, "What would Jesus do in this situation?" "How would He respond?" "What type of attitude would He have?" Every place you go, especially when you're not real sure you should go there, you should ask yourself, "Would I be comfortable bringing the Lord Jesus Christ with me into this place?". After all, He lives on the inside of you. If the church gathers together in His Name, Jesus is there with you! But if we, instead of gathering together, decide to stay home for a very personal reason (I mean inexcusable reasons), then you ought to feel uncomfortable sitting at home knowing Jesus isn't happy with you.
I hate to say this, but you probably agree that's the generation we're living in right now! We've lost our sense of value and unless we go back to the foundational principles in God's Word, we're never going to really know what the truth is. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, "Satan blinds the minds of those who believe not." If you're going to live a life of excellence before God, you're going to have to base every decision you make on God's Word! Do I hear an, "Amen!"?
A couple of things I talked to the Lord's church are these:
1. SNOOZE BUTTON: See that God speaks to every single one of His children through His Word. He wants to guide you and help you make the right choices throughout life. But many times, we don't recognize how He speaks and we feel that uneasiness that we begin to push it down and ignore it. When you wake up in the wee morning hours of the night to the alarm, we push the snooze button ignoring the reminders to wake up. We push God's goodness down so much, it becomes so common and so routine we can't even hear Him anymore.
2. A OBEDIENT PERSON LIVES A LIFE OF EXCELLENCE FOR GOD: See that every person here, every person listening, has the ability and you have the opportunity to live a life of excellence for God.
3. THE SPIRITUAL DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE: I honestly want to tell you this. Too many people today are "Sunday Christians". They think a church as a social gathering, deaf club. They come in churches with their Bibles and notebook and they, you know, shout in all the right places, they sing the loudest, they say "Amen!" at the right places. But you know what? Monday is a different story. They're two-faced, just like the Devil. They talk the talk, but they don't walk the walk.
Friends, if you're not grounded in God's Word. If you don't know who you are in Christ. If you are not sober and vigilant and serious about your relationship to God, unfortunately, you're not going to have a chance. And that's the truth. There's no way you're going to be able to live an overcoming, victorious Christian life. But the good news is that God is alive and has been since the Beginning! God is looking for someone who won't compromise, someone that won't live like the rest of the world. God is looking for people who is full of integrity and hey, you can hide from me and the rest of us but you can't from God!
Alas, I told a story about a man and a woman involved in a car accident. Of course, every story has its ending. For those who missed today's celebration of the Lord's Day, you missed not only the story but the experience. The experience of a commitment toward "Excellent Living!"
This past Thanksgiving weekend has been great for me and my family! And I hope its the same for each of you!
I talked with the congregation this morning about "Excellent Living" and pray those who received His message will allow God to work through each one of you! As for those who missed today's message, you missed out a great lesson because it applies to me, too! Oh, how I love God's Word! It is sweet to my soul!
Life is a series of choices. God gave each of us the ability to make our own decisions. If you're going to live a life of excellence for God, then you've got to concentrate on making wise, godly choices that bring honor to the name of Jesus and not shame or disappointment. 2 Timothy 2:20-21 says, "In a great house there are not only vessels of gold or silver, but also of wood and clay; some for honor and some for dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself, he shall be a vessel unto honor, made holy and useful for the master's service and prepared for every good work."
1 Corinthians 11:28, "Let each man examine himself..." tells us to CONSTANTLY evaluate your life and make sure that you're NOT making decisions and choices that are hindering your walk with the Lord... Every major decision you face, you should ask yourself the question, "What would Jesus do in this situation?" "How would He respond?" "What type of attitude would He have?" Every place you go, especially when you're not real sure you should go there, you should ask yourself, "Would I be comfortable bringing the Lord Jesus Christ with me into this place?". After all, He lives on the inside of you. If the church gathers together in His Name, Jesus is there with you! But if we, instead of gathering together, decide to stay home for a very personal reason (I mean inexcusable reasons), then you ought to feel uncomfortable sitting at home knowing Jesus isn't happy with you.
I hate to say this, but you probably agree that's the generation we're living in right now! We've lost our sense of value and unless we go back to the foundational principles in God's Word, we're never going to really know what the truth is. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, "Satan blinds the minds of those who believe not." If you're going to live a life of excellence before God, you're going to have to base every decision you make on God's Word! Do I hear an, "Amen!"?
A couple of things I talked to the Lord's church are these:
1. SNOOZE BUTTON: See that God speaks to every single one of His children through His Word. He wants to guide you and help you make the right choices throughout life. But many times, we don't recognize how He speaks and we feel that uneasiness that we begin to push it down and ignore it. When you wake up in the wee morning hours of the night to the alarm, we push the snooze button ignoring the reminders to wake up. We push God's goodness down so much, it becomes so common and so routine we can't even hear Him anymore.
2. A OBEDIENT PERSON LIVES A LIFE OF EXCELLENCE FOR GOD: See that every person here, every person listening, has the ability and you have the opportunity to live a life of excellence for God.
3. THE SPIRITUAL DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE: I honestly want to tell you this. Too many people today are "Sunday Christians". They think a church as a social gathering, deaf club. They come in churches with their Bibles and notebook and they, you know, shout in all the right places, they sing the loudest, they say "Amen!" at the right places. But you know what? Monday is a different story. They're two-faced, just like the Devil. They talk the talk, but they don't walk the walk.
Friends, if you're not grounded in God's Word. If you don't know who you are in Christ. If you are not sober and vigilant and serious about your relationship to God, unfortunately, you're not going to have a chance. And that's the truth. There's no way you're going to be able to live an overcoming, victorious Christian life. But the good news is that God is alive and has been since the Beginning! God is looking for someone who won't compromise, someone that won't live like the rest of the world. God is looking for people who is full of integrity and hey, you can hide from me and the rest of us but you can't from God!
Alas, I told a story about a man and a woman involved in a car accident. Of course, every story has its ending. For those who missed today's celebration of the Lord's Day, you missed not only the story but the experience. The experience of a commitment toward "Excellent Living!"
Monday, November 22, 2004
Don't Throw Away Your Confidence - Be A Nike!
"Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." Hebrews 10:35-36
If you persevere, you will receive.
If you persevere your task will be completed, your ministry will grow, your body will be healed, your marriage will be changed, and your children will come into the Kingdom of God.
You don't get anything for quitting.
You have to keep on persevering. There's no question that opposition will come. I guarantee it! Whenever you do something for God, you're going to face opposition. The devil will do his best to tear you down, to defeat and destroy you. He'll come at you with persecution, discouragement, and compromise. He'll do everything he can to get you to give up on that call of God on your life! But, praise God, you can overcome!
Blessed Father, I thank You that You have called me. Man didn't call me, but You called me to accomplish this task. And because You called me, You have anointed me, equipped me, and given me the courage I need to see it accomplished. Thank You, Father, that I can and I will overcome all opposition that the devil throws at me because greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. In Jesus' name, Amen.
If you persevere, you will receive.
If you persevere your task will be completed, your ministry will grow, your body will be healed, your marriage will be changed, and your children will come into the Kingdom of God.
You don't get anything for quitting.
You have to keep on persevering. There's no question that opposition will come. I guarantee it! Whenever you do something for God, you're going to face opposition. The devil will do his best to tear you down, to defeat and destroy you. He'll come at you with persecution, discouragement, and compromise. He'll do everything he can to get you to give up on that call of God on your life! But, praise God, you can overcome!
Blessed Father, I thank You that You have called me. Man didn't call me, but You called me to accomplish this task. And because You called me, You have anointed me, equipped me, and given me the courage I need to see it accomplished. Thank You, Father, that I can and I will overcome all opposition that the devil throws at me because greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Thanksgiving For The Faith We Have
To the brothers and sisters with the Fairfax Church of Christ, I want to thank those who have took the time to reach out and invite friends to next month's Christmas banquet! You are awesome! Cario just informed us, yesterday during the praise team practice, that we have ovr 45 addresses and 82+ "new" people to invite this year! I think this is a "record" number of people you have invited! Last year, we had a total (including members) of 122 people who have RSVP'd when only 95 attended! Currently, we have 55 members of the Deaf Ministry added to the 82 that makes up to 137, not counting those we have invited in the last 4 years!!!! Therefore, let's pray for those who have received the wonderful and beautiful invitation to RSVP soon!
Here's Paul's thanks to the church in Thessalonica, "We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (NIV)
The Thessalonians in the church in Thessalonica were a very young group of Christians who loves the Lord. Paul learned of their work of faith, labor of love and endured with the hope they have in Christ! So Paul commended these young Christians for their work. These characteristics are the marks of effective Christians in any age!
Father, thank You for Your great, great love! Thank You for this life You have given us! Thank You for helping us endure through our trials and joining with us in celebrative joy regardless!! You brought smiles to our faces and lifted us up to praise You. I pray that Your love will abound more and more as we continue on in the faith we have by carrying out Your will with love and endurance! May You continue to bless Your church in the world! Forgive us if we have lacked in anything and lead us in filling such void! Again, I thank You for the church here at Fairfax and all those who continues to serve You! Come, Lord Jesus, come! In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Here's Paul's thanks to the church in Thessalonica, "We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (NIV)
The Thessalonians in the church in Thessalonica were a very young group of Christians who loves the Lord. Paul learned of their work of faith, labor of love and endured with the hope they have in Christ! So Paul commended these young Christians for their work. These characteristics are the marks of effective Christians in any age!
Father, thank You for Your great, great love! Thank You for this life You have given us! Thank You for helping us endure through our trials and joining with us in celebrative joy regardless!! You brought smiles to our faces and lifted us up to praise You. I pray that Your love will abound more and more as we continue on in the faith we have by carrying out Your will with love and endurance! May You continue to bless Your church in the world! Forgive us if we have lacked in anything and lead us in filling such void! Again, I thank You for the church here at Fairfax and all those who continues to serve You! Come, Lord Jesus, come! In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Friday, November 19, 2004
Salty Living
“Salt, when dissolved in water, may disappear,
but it does not cease to exist.
We can be sure of its presence by tasting the water.
Likewise, the indwelling Christ, though unseen,
will be made evident to others from the love which he imparts to us.”
— Sadhu Sundar Singh
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Paid In Full
“What our Lord did was done with the intent, and this alone, that he might be with us and we with him.” — Meister Eckhart
In the movie, "Passion of the Christ", I watched the part where Jesus approached to the time of His last breath. All bloodied from series of strokes from a whiplash, nail-scarred hands, crown of thorns, pounding on the ground because of the heavy cross and the men who demanded Jesus to prophecy on which fist hit Him, Jesus looked up toward heaven and said,
It was a very touching movie! The cinematography! The power it displayed! It actually brought us to the scene of Jesus' final hours. The movie quoted it in a similar way, "It is accomplished." Therefore, until the time of Jesus' torture, crucifixion and death, a complicated system of sacrifices the priest, for thousands of years, had atoned for sins.
Sin separates people from God, and only through the sacrifices of an animal, could people be forgiven and become clean before Him. But the problem lies within. People continued to sin. Once sin entered their lives again, sacrifices were required for the remission of their sins.
Jesus, however, became the Final and Ultimate sacrifice for sin. The word, "finished", is the same as "PAID IN FULL". Jesus came to accomplish, finish God's work of salvation to pay the full penalty of our sins. With His death, the complex sacrificial system ended because Jesus took all sin upon Himself for us. He did this in order for us to restore the "once lost relationship with God."
In the movie, "Passion of the Christ", I watched the part where Jesus approached to the time of His last breath. All bloodied from series of strokes from a whiplash, nail-scarred hands, crown of thorns, pounding on the ground because of the heavy cross and the men who demanded Jesus to prophecy on which fist hit Him, Jesus looked up toward heaven and said,
"It is finished."
It was a very touching movie! The cinematography! The power it displayed! It actually brought us to the scene of Jesus' final hours. The movie quoted it in a similar way, "It is accomplished." Therefore, until the time of Jesus' torture, crucifixion and death, a complicated system of sacrifices the priest, for thousands of years, had atoned for sins.
Sin separates people from God, and only through the sacrifices of an animal, could people be forgiven and become clean before Him. But the problem lies within. People continued to sin. Once sin entered their lives again, sacrifices were required for the remission of their sins.
Jesus, however, became the Final and Ultimate sacrifice for sin. The word, "finished", is the same as "PAID IN FULL". Jesus came to accomplish, finish God's work of salvation to pay the full penalty of our sins. With His death, the complex sacrificial system ended because Jesus took all sin upon Himself for us. He did this in order for us to restore the "once lost relationship with God."
Is your soul stamped, "PAID IN FULL" with Jesus' blood?
JESUS died on the cross to pay the price for SIN.
"For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
(2 Corinthians 5:21).
Those who believe in Jesus and place their trust in Him (Acts 16:31),
repent of sin (2 Corinthians 7:9-10),
confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10),
and are baptized (immersed) into Christ (Acts 2:38),
received the forgiveness of their past sins.
Those who CONTINUE to follow Christ as a way of life will CONTINUE to be cleansed from SIN (1 John 1:7).
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Circumcised By Christ
Before we believed in Christ, our nature was evil. We disobeyed, rebelled, and ignored God (even at our best, we did not love him with all our heart, soul and mind (self-seeking)).
"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." Colossians 2:13-15 (NIV)
The Christian, however, has a new nature, "..in putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead." Colossians 2:8-12 (NIV). God has crucified the old rebellious nature (see Romans 6:6) and replaced it with a new loving nature (see Romans 3:9-10). The penalty of sin died with Christ on the cross. God declared us not guilty! Salvation is through "FAITH" in Christ (see Romans 10:17) that includes: (H)earing, (B)elieving, (R)epenting, (C)onfessing, (B)aptizing, and (L)iving Christ.
This chart will help you determine where you stand today: (1) A religion by self-effort or (2) Salvation by faith in Jesus?
Religion by self-effort:
1. Goal: please God by your own good deeds.
2. Means: practice, diligent service, discipline and obedience, in hope of reward.
3. Power: Good, honest effort through self-determination.
4. Control: Self-motivation, self-control.
5. Results: Chronic guilt, apathy, depression, failure, constant desire for approval.
Salvation by faith:
1. Goal: Live by faith; live to please God according to His Word (His Will).
2. Means: Confess, submit, and commit yourselves into Christ's control.
3. Power: The Holy Spirit in us helps us do good work in Christ's Kingdom.
4. Control: Christ in me, I in Christ (Galatians 2:20)
5. Results: Joy, thankfulness, love, guidance, service, forgiveness.
Salvation by faith in Jesus seems to be an easy task for many people. They would rather think they have done something to save themselves. So their religion becomes one of self-effort that leads either to disappointment or pride. The simple way is through Jesus and Jesus only! He alone is the door to eternal life.
"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." Colossians 2:13-15 (NIV)
The Christian, however, has a new nature, "..in putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead." Colossians 2:8-12 (NIV). God has crucified the old rebellious nature (see Romans 6:6) and replaced it with a new loving nature (see Romans 3:9-10). The penalty of sin died with Christ on the cross. God declared us not guilty! Salvation is through "FAITH" in Christ (see Romans 10:17) that includes: (H)earing, (B)elieving, (R)epenting, (C)onfessing, (B)aptizing, and (L)iving Christ.
This chart will help you determine where you stand today: (1) A religion by self-effort or (2) Salvation by faith in Jesus?
Religion by self-effort:
1. Goal: please God by your own good deeds.
2. Means: practice, diligent service, discipline and obedience, in hope of reward.
3. Power: Good, honest effort through self-determination.
4. Control: Self-motivation, self-control.
5. Results: Chronic guilt, apathy, depression, failure, constant desire for approval.
Salvation by faith:
1. Goal: Live by faith; live to please God according to His Word (His Will).
2. Means: Confess, submit, and commit yourselves into Christ's control.
3. Power: The Holy Spirit in us helps us do good work in Christ's Kingdom.
4. Control: Christ in me, I in Christ (Galatians 2:20)
5. Results: Joy, thankfulness, love, guidance, service, forgiveness.
Salvation by faith in Jesus seems to be an easy task for many people. They would rather think they have done something to save themselves. So their religion becomes one of self-effort that leads either to disappointment or pride. The simple way is through Jesus and Jesus only! He alone is the door to eternal life.
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Got Bread?
The Model Prayer
"Give us each day our daily bread."Jesus in Luke 11:3
"Give us today our daily bread."Jesus in Matthew 6:11
It is not Texas toast, sourdough bread, New York style bagels, hot dog buns, or tortillas. No. It's the "spiritual bread". Jesus is the "bread of life" and we need to feed from Him. The question is, "How often?" Can you go without food for 2, 3, 4 days? How about weeks? How about a month without food? Man! I didn't think so.
If you have gone without "spiritual bread", you're dying spiritually. Jesus is also the "Living Water". If you have gone without "spiritual water", your spiritual life is drying up or have already dried up. This person has lost the fear (respect) of God. They return to their old selves, to the normal way of life they once lived. This "normal way of life" is a pathway to death.
Two things Jesus wants us to know:
1. Jesus wants us to be conscious of the daily dependence on God for the necessities of life, not just bread but any necessity for the day.
2. Jesus wants us to be grateful for what we have and the gratefulness causes me to want to share with others the blessings we have and want to share the abundance to someone else's needs.
Are you, daily, eating the Bread of Life? We ought to model this to ourselves and others: "Give us today our daily bread." If you haven't eaten it, DAILY, you're not doing what Jesus encourages us to do. Don't let your soul die of spiritual starvation!
"Give us each day our daily bread."Jesus in Luke 11:3
"Give us today our daily bread."Jesus in Matthew 6:11
It is not Texas toast, sourdough bread, New York style bagels, hot dog buns, or tortillas. No. It's the "spiritual bread". Jesus is the "bread of life" and we need to feed from Him. The question is, "How often?" Can you go without food for 2, 3, 4 days? How about weeks? How about a month without food? Man! I didn't think so.
If you have gone without "spiritual bread", you're dying spiritually. Jesus is also the "Living Water". If you have gone without "spiritual water", your spiritual life is drying up or have already dried up. This person has lost the fear (respect) of God. They return to their old selves, to the normal way of life they once lived. This "normal way of life" is a pathway to death.
Two things Jesus wants us to know:
1. Jesus wants us to be conscious of the daily dependence on God for the necessities of life, not just bread but any necessity for the day.
2. Jesus wants us to be grateful for what we have and the gratefulness causes me to want to share with others the blessings we have and want to share the abundance to someone else's needs.
Are you, daily, eating the Bread of Life? We ought to model this to ourselves and others: "Give us today our daily bread." If you haven't eaten it, DAILY, you're not doing what Jesus encourages us to do. Don't let your soul die of spiritual starvation!
Friday, November 12, 2004
Becoming Like Children
During the prayer meeting last Wednesday night, my wife, Michelle and I volunteered to spend an hour with the children while their parents are in the prayer meeting praying to God for those hurting, depressed, oppressed, afflicted, weak and sick. We worked with the children making get-well-cards and we're-praying-for-you-cards. This is the first time, in almost 3 or 4 years since the launch of the prayer meeting, we're doing this in effort to teach our children the importance of thinking of others in their times of trials.
Michelle and I sat down explaining the reason for this "new project" and assigned each names we're praying for to each children. We had glue, crayons, crafts, construction papers, Christian symbols and many more. The kids, tireless, focused their energies on this project and asked us questions such as, "When will they get better?", "Why aren't they coming to church?", "Will they love God like we do?" and the list is endless! You know! They're kids asking neat questions! These questions made them think and made us think, too! These will apply to themselves in the future when they become teens, 20-something, 30's, 40's and on!
Just at the end of the hour-long project, one of my daughters became frustrated that she didn't finish her project in time (it was her second card-work) and just barked at me telling me to finish it. I didn't like the tone and expression of my girl, especially when she's giving this kind of negative influence on other girls in the room. Gently, I instructed her the proper way to behave and be an example to other girls. She humbly apologized and "rephrased" her question in a more gentle and fruitful way, "Dad, can you finish this for me, pleeeeeeze!!" (laughing) Certainly!
Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3-4 (NIV)
If you are a child of God, be like an earthly child, sweet, innocent and subjective to correction. In today's society, Christians (deaf and hearing) have problems humbly accepting correction. When a child of God becomes defensive against correction and offensive with belittling words, they aren't a child but a brute beast growling, clawing and snapping back. So what should every child of God do?
A child desires the sincere milk of the Word (1 Peter 2:2).
As children, be harmless and inoffensive, avoid malice (1 Corinthians 14:20).
As children, governable, and under command (Galatians 4:2).
The child of a gentleman will play the child of a beggar ("..but be willing to associate with people of low position." Romans 12:16).
And lastly, we should, in like manner, behave and quiet ourselves (Psalms 131:1-2).
Father, we thank You for this rainy day! You have blessed us, abundantly, with water for us to drink, for the plants to grow, for the food we eat and many more. We can't never say enough to express our thanks for everything! They all came from You. God, we ask that You help each of your children to learn the importance of humility. That includes me, Lord! Let us keep our eyes on the children, watching and learning how they humbly respond to correction. Jesus loves them! When we behave like the little children, Jesus will love us! Thank You, Lord, for this message. In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Michelle and I sat down explaining the reason for this "new project" and assigned each names we're praying for to each children. We had glue, crayons, crafts, construction papers, Christian symbols and many more. The kids, tireless, focused their energies on this project and asked us questions such as, "When will they get better?", "Why aren't they coming to church?", "Will they love God like we do?" and the list is endless! You know! They're kids asking neat questions! These questions made them think and made us think, too! These will apply to themselves in the future when they become teens, 20-something, 30's, 40's and on!
Just at the end of the hour-long project, one of my daughters became frustrated that she didn't finish her project in time (it was her second card-work) and just barked at me telling me to finish it. I didn't like the tone and expression of my girl, especially when she's giving this kind of negative influence on other girls in the room. Gently, I instructed her the proper way to behave and be an example to other girls. She humbly apologized and "rephrased" her question in a more gentle and fruitful way, "Dad, can you finish this for me, pleeeeeeze!!" (laughing) Certainly!
Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3-4 (NIV)
If you are a child of God, be like an earthly child, sweet, innocent and subjective to correction. In today's society, Christians (deaf and hearing) have problems humbly accepting correction. When a child of God becomes defensive against correction and offensive with belittling words, they aren't a child but a brute beast growling, clawing and snapping back. So what should every child of God do?
A child desires the sincere milk of the Word (1 Peter 2:2).
As children, be harmless and inoffensive, avoid malice (1 Corinthians 14:20).
As children, governable, and under command (Galatians 4:2).
The child of a gentleman will play the child of a beggar ("..but be willing to associate with people of low position." Romans 12:16).
And lastly, we should, in like manner, behave and quiet ourselves (Psalms 131:1-2).
Father, we thank You for this rainy day! You have blessed us, abundantly, with water for us to drink, for the plants to grow, for the food we eat and many more. We can't never say enough to express our thanks for everything! They all came from You. God, we ask that You help each of your children to learn the importance of humility. That includes me, Lord! Let us keep our eyes on the children, watching and learning how they humbly respond to correction. Jesus loves them! When we behave like the little children, Jesus will love us! Thank You, Lord, for this message. In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Perseverance, Persistence, the Prize!
The Christian life was never promised as an easy way to live, instead, Paul constantly reminds us that we must have a purpose and a plan because times will be difficult and Satan will attack. But we never persevere without the promise of a prize - a promise God will keep.
In 2 Timothy 2:1-13, especially this verse: "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs - he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops."
As Timothy preached and taught, he would face suffering, but he should be able to endure. Paul used a comparison with soldiers, athletes, and farmers who must discipline themselves and be willing to sacrifice to achieve the results they want.
Like SOLDIERS: we have to give up worldly security and endure rigorous discipline.
Like ATHLETES: we must train hard and follow the rules.
Like FARMERS: we must work extremely hard and be patient.
But we keep going despite suffering because of the thought of victory, the vision of winning, and the hope of harvest. We will see that our suffering is worthwhile when we achieve our goal of glorifying God, winning people to God, and one day living eternally with him.
Let's pray, I stand in awe of You, God, for all of Your children at Fairfax. I pray that each of Your children will take the time to repent, give up the worldly security they may have, once again, become entangled with, train hard by praying, reading and studying in their home, renew their purposes in life (living up to God's five purposes!) and being patient as they "continue to work out their salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). Those who do not pray, study and worship You are deprived of Your power and love. Their shield is gone. Their faith is weak. They are standing on "sinking sand" rather than on the Solid, Rock of Jesus Christ. Again, I pray that they not be "sidetracked" but carefully put their attention and devotion on Christ and His Word. Eventually, those who faithfully endure with the Solid, Rock of Christ, will receive the victor's crown in Heaven! And that's His promise to each of the faithful! In Jesus' Name, Amen!
In 2 Timothy 2:1-13, especially this verse: "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs - he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops."
As Timothy preached and taught, he would face suffering, but he should be able to endure. Paul used a comparison with soldiers, athletes, and farmers who must discipline themselves and be willing to sacrifice to achieve the results they want.
Like SOLDIERS: we have to give up worldly security and endure rigorous discipline.
Like ATHLETES: we must train hard and follow the rules.
Like FARMERS: we must work extremely hard and be patient.
But we keep going despite suffering because of the thought of victory, the vision of winning, and the hope of harvest. We will see that our suffering is worthwhile when we achieve our goal of glorifying God, winning people to God, and one day living eternally with him.
Let's pray, I stand in awe of You, God, for all of Your children at Fairfax. I pray that each of Your children will take the time to repent, give up the worldly security they may have, once again, become entangled with, train hard by praying, reading and studying in their home, renew their purposes in life (living up to God's five purposes!) and being patient as they "continue to work out their salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). Those who do not pray, study and worship You are deprived of Your power and love. Their shield is gone. Their faith is weak. They are standing on "sinking sand" rather than on the Solid, Rock of Jesus Christ. Again, I pray that they not be "sidetracked" but carefully put their attention and devotion on Christ and His Word. Eventually, those who faithfully endure with the Solid, Rock of Christ, will receive the victor's crown in Heaven! And that's His promise to each of the faithful! In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Standing Firm In One Spirit
"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved - and that by God." Philippians 1:27-28 (NIV)
Philippians is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Paul wrote this encouraging us to be joyful in suffering, serving, believing and giving! Chapter one is all about the joy of suffering. I pray that Christians, including myself, be humble to accept the fact that opposition will always come to the door of your heart.
As I read the Scripture above, I led myself on a journey back into the Old Testament to the time of Gideon in the book of Judges (Judges 6-7). If you don't know the story about Gideon, I recommend that you read this section of the book as well as the rest of the judges during the times of Israel. We understand that Israel was oppressed by the Midianites because Israel sinned against God. God handed Israel over to the Midianites in hope that Israel will repent. Eventually, they cried to God asking for His help. God sent Gideon as a judge to defeat the Midianites and freed Israel from bondage. Read this small part of this chapter where the Midianites turned against one another in Judges 7:22, "..the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords." Man! They were asleep as Gideon and God's army encircled them creating an ambush. When Gideon and God's armies blew a war-cry, the soldiers woke up, dazed and didn't know what was happening and turned on each other because it was dark outside. They killed their own! And God handed the victory to Israel because of their repentance.
Let's turn this the other way around. Let's picture Satan in the body of Gideon. Satan uses his armies to encircle the camp of God's church. Their eyes are on us. Many churches fall because they aren't unified! Many churches split over a mere issue. But Paul encourages the believers to be unified, as they "stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith." How sad that much time and effort is lost in some churches by fighting against one another instead of uniting against the real opposition! It takes a courageous and conquering church to resist in-fighting and maintain the common purpose of serving Christ.
Lord Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your great love that You have lavished on us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. I pray that Your church continues to grow in the faith. Please lead Your church in the right direction according to Your Word. Indeed, Satan has been working extremely hard to cause trouble among the church and I pray that we will keep alert and together stand firm as conquerors of the faith. Let us do a "war-cry", as a church together, against Satan's counter-attack. Lord, if there's anyone in Your church that's self-seeking with a desire to cause more harm than good in Your church, I pray that such person will repent and take his/her stand with us. Otherwise, we know You will judge such person because you gave us a sign that such person will be destroyed. Lastly, I pray that every Christian will be a "NIKE MAN"! Let's SWOOSH Satan! Lord, we embrace You and Your Son forever. In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Philippians is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Paul wrote this encouraging us to be joyful in suffering, serving, believing and giving! Chapter one is all about the joy of suffering. I pray that Christians, including myself, be humble to accept the fact that opposition will always come to the door of your heart.
As I read the Scripture above, I led myself on a journey back into the Old Testament to the time of Gideon in the book of Judges (Judges 6-7). If you don't know the story about Gideon, I recommend that you read this section of the book as well as the rest of the judges during the times of Israel. We understand that Israel was oppressed by the Midianites because Israel sinned against God. God handed Israel over to the Midianites in hope that Israel will repent. Eventually, they cried to God asking for His help. God sent Gideon as a judge to defeat the Midianites and freed Israel from bondage. Read this small part of this chapter where the Midianites turned against one another in Judges 7:22, "..the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords." Man! They were asleep as Gideon and God's army encircled them creating an ambush. When Gideon and God's armies blew a war-cry, the soldiers woke up, dazed and didn't know what was happening and turned on each other because it was dark outside. They killed their own! And God handed the victory to Israel because of their repentance.
Let's turn this the other way around. Let's picture Satan in the body of Gideon. Satan uses his armies to encircle the camp of God's church. Their eyes are on us. Many churches fall because they aren't unified! Many churches split over a mere issue. But Paul encourages the believers to be unified, as they "stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith." How sad that much time and effort is lost in some churches by fighting against one another instead of uniting against the real opposition! It takes a courageous and conquering church to resist in-fighting and maintain the common purpose of serving Christ.
Lord Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your great love that You have lavished on us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. I pray that Your church continues to grow in the faith. Please lead Your church in the right direction according to Your Word. Indeed, Satan has been working extremely hard to cause trouble among the church and I pray that we will keep alert and together stand firm as conquerors of the faith. Let us do a "war-cry", as a church together, against Satan's counter-attack. Lord, if there's anyone in Your church that's self-seeking with a desire to cause more harm than good in Your church, I pray that such person will repent and take his/her stand with us. Otherwise, we know You will judge such person because you gave us a sign that such person will be destroyed. Lastly, I pray that every Christian will be a "NIKE MAN"! Let's SWOOSH Satan! Lord, we embrace You and Your Son forever. In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Monday, November 08, 2004
Training For The Christian Life
As a great amount of training is needed for athletic activities, so we must train diligently for the Christian life. Such training takes time, dedication, energy, continued practice and vision. We must all commit ourselves to the Christian life, but we must first know the rules as prescribed in God's Word.
"Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules." 2 Timothy 2:5 (NIV)
I encourage you to open your Bible and find these verses:
1 Corinthians 9:24-27:
Metaphor: RACE
Training: Go into strict training in order to get the prize.
Goal: We train ourselves to run the race of life. So we keep our eyes on Christ - the goal - and don't get sidetracked or slowed down. When we do this, we will win a reward.
Philippians 3:13-14:
Metaphor: RACE
Training: Focus all your energies toward winning the race.
Goal: Living the Christian life demands all of our energy. We can forget the past and strain for the goal because we know Christ promises eternity with him at the race's end.
1 Timothy 4:7-10:
Metaphor: EXERCISE
Training: Spiritual exercise will help you grow in faith and character.
Goal: As we must repeat exercises to tone our bodies, so we must steadily repeat spiritual exercises to be spiritually fit. When we do this, we will be toned Christians, living in accordance with God's will.
2 Timothy 4:7-8:
Metaphor: FIGHT, RACE
Training: Fighting the good fight and persevering to the end.
Goal: The Christian life is a fight against evil forces from without and temptation from within. If we stay true to God through it all, he promises an end, a rest, and a crown!
Sometimes, trying to live a perfect Christian life can be so difficult that it leaves us drained and discouraged. We may feel so far from perfect that we can never please God with our lives. Paul used perfect (2 Timothy 3:12) to mean mature or complete, not flawless in every detail. Those who are mature should press on in the Holy Spirit's power, knowing that christ will reveal and fill in any discrepancies between what we are and what we should be. There is no excuse for a lagging devotion, and Christ provides relief and assurance for those who feel driven.
"Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules." 2 Timothy 2:5 (NIV)
I encourage you to open your Bible and find these verses:
1 Corinthians 9:24-27:
Metaphor: RACE
Training: Go into strict training in order to get the prize.
Goal: We train ourselves to run the race of life. So we keep our eyes on Christ - the goal - and don't get sidetracked or slowed down. When we do this, we will win a reward.
Philippians 3:13-14:
Metaphor: RACE
Training: Focus all your energies toward winning the race.
Goal: Living the Christian life demands all of our energy. We can forget the past and strain for the goal because we know Christ promises eternity with him at the race's end.
1 Timothy 4:7-10:
Metaphor: EXERCISE
Training: Spiritual exercise will help you grow in faith and character.
Goal: As we must repeat exercises to tone our bodies, so we must steadily repeat spiritual exercises to be spiritually fit. When we do this, we will be toned Christians, living in accordance with God's will.
2 Timothy 4:7-8:
Metaphor: FIGHT, RACE
Training: Fighting the good fight and persevering to the end.
Goal: The Christian life is a fight against evil forces from without and temptation from within. If we stay true to God through it all, he promises an end, a rest, and a crown!
Sometimes, trying to live a perfect Christian life can be so difficult that it leaves us drained and discouraged. We may feel so far from perfect that we can never please God with our lives. Paul used perfect (2 Timothy 3:12) to mean mature or complete, not flawless in every detail. Those who are mature should press on in the Holy Spirit's power, knowing that christ will reveal and fill in any discrepancies between what we are and what we should be. There is no excuse for a lagging devotion, and Christ provides relief and assurance for those who feel driven.
Monday, November 01, 2004
Pray for our Nation
1 Timothy 2:1-6 (NIV)
"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and on mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all men - the testimony given in its proper time."
Tomorrow is the day when America will place their votes! I urge you to get down on your knees and pray to our Lord for our leaders (Govenors, Senators, politicians, Judicial Court and President), and plead God's mercy and love upon them. Many issues that have been discussed are at stake. We urge you to be in prayer for this process, as well as for the leaders of our world. We want God's will to be done, His Word to be spread, and His people to be used to glorify Him.
Let's pray, Oh Lord, we thank You for the freedom we have to worship You in this world! We want to extend our hearts to those who do not have such freedom to praise You in other countries. Pray that Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We know You can choose a terrible leader for our nation to show us the sins America is swimming in. This way, You will help America see a great need to restore themselves to You! We know You are in control of everything in life and You choose for us the right leader to lead our nation so we live peaceful and quiet lives in godliness and holiness. In Jesus' Name, Amen!
"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and on mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all men - the testimony given in its proper time."
Tomorrow is the day when America will place their votes! I urge you to get down on your knees and pray to our Lord for our leaders (Govenors, Senators, politicians, Judicial Court and President), and plead God's mercy and love upon them. Many issues that have been discussed are at stake. We urge you to be in prayer for this process, as well as for the leaders of our world. We want God's will to be done, His Word to be spread, and His people to be used to glorify Him.
Let's pray, Oh Lord, we thank You for the freedom we have to worship You in this world! We want to extend our hearts to those who do not have such freedom to praise You in other countries. Pray that Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We know You can choose a terrible leader for our nation to show us the sins America is swimming in. This way, You will help America see a great need to restore themselves to You! We know You are in control of everything in life and You choose for us the right leader to lead our nation so we live peaceful and quiet lives in godliness and holiness. In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Friday, October 29, 2004
Desire!
The Return of the Prodigal Son (Rembrandt)
This picture is a powerful reminder of God's forgiveness of our sins through His Son, Jesus Christ. This picture was drawn hundreds of years ago by a famous painter, Rembrandt. The Prodigal Son, seen kneeling before his father, was very desperate for his father's forgiveness. If you read the Scripture about the "Prodigal Son" in Luke 15:28-32, it tells of a son that went away with his share of inheritance and spent it all on prostitutes and parties until he had nothing left. Famine came into the land and food was scarce. He had to work to earn his own living but it wasn't enough. He long to eat what the pigs were eating but he wasn't allowed. Then he looked back and pictures all of his father's servants living comfortably under his father's riches and food.
Then he set back to return home, not as a son but as a slave. Then there is the father, whose desire for the lost boy is so deep that he sees him coming from a long way off - he has been watching and waiting. So forgiveness is assumed; it's a given.
And there is the older brother. He's the party pooper, if you recall. The father wants to celebrate his son's return home but the older brother refused. He stands outside sulking. The older brother is the picture of the man who has lived his entire life from duty and obligation. The brother expected a punishment on the son but instead, the father gave mercy and compassion.
What hit me was in the picture, the older brother standing on the right side, was A STEP ABOVE the reunion of the father and son! A step above - he is above it all! He will not step down, enter in the reunion! He will not humble himself and welcome his brother with open arms. But who receives redemption?
There will be those who kill desire (compassionate desire): the legalists, the dutiful - are not the ones who experiences the father's embrace!
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
..a good confession...
I couldn't type anything yesterday to recap all that had happened this past Sunday during worship. Must I say that I am just overwhelmed knowing that God is much enormous than I thought. Originally, I knew He was larger than life itself, even the universe! I am trying to make sense here because my mind is so miniscule standing before the omnipotent (All-Powerful), omniscent (All-Knowing), and omnipresent (Everywhere!) God!
I open my mouth but no words can come out.
I raise my hands but no signs (ASL) can be expressed.
Even if I have to draw a picture but it wouldn't make sense.
If I have to build something that explains all that had happened, it wouldn't be clear.
Apostle Paul couldn't explain what he had seen when he went up into the third heaven, "..He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell." 2 Corinthians 12:2 (NIV) For all I know, it was God who is in control of everything life is. He planned it all, even before the Beginning! He knew this would happen.
"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12
All I can say is that I praise God for His hand in, around, and through Nancy Rarus' heart. How it all came to the point of her confession this past Sunday is a long story. What had happened is not the issue here. She is an example that all believers ought to follow. God touched many hearts through her. Tears were flowing from the eyes of those who witnessed the confession. When we see another person confess his/her sins, we confess ours! What she did was, according to Timothy, "..good confession.." and that, "..in the presence of many witnesses."
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)
Father God, I thank You for guiding Nancy to Your throne where she poured out her heart before You. Please continue to be with her, forgive her and bless her. We thank You for the example she gave us and pray that this "good confession" will help us confess our own sins. We know you delight in our weaknesses so that we depend on Your strength (2 Cor. 12:9-10). God, You are an awesome God! To You, we bow down and adore You! In Jesus' Name, Amen!
I open my mouth but no words can come out.
I raise my hands but no signs (ASL) can be expressed.
Even if I have to draw a picture but it wouldn't make sense.
If I have to build something that explains all that had happened, it wouldn't be clear.
Apostle Paul couldn't explain what he had seen when he went up into the third heaven, "..He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell." 2 Corinthians 12:2 (NIV) For all I know, it was God who is in control of everything life is. He planned it all, even before the Beginning! He knew this would happen.
"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12
All I can say is that I praise God for His hand in, around, and through Nancy Rarus' heart. How it all came to the point of her confession this past Sunday is a long story. What had happened is not the issue here. She is an example that all believers ought to follow. God touched many hearts through her. Tears were flowing from the eyes of those who witnessed the confession. When we see another person confess his/her sins, we confess ours! What she did was, according to Timothy, "..good confession.." and that, "..in the presence of many witnesses."
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)
Father God, I thank You for guiding Nancy to Your throne where she poured out her heart before You. Please continue to be with her, forgive her and bless her. We thank You for the example she gave us and pray that this "good confession" will help us confess our own sins. We know you delight in our weaknesses so that we depend on Your strength (2 Cor. 12:9-10). God, You are an awesome God! To You, we bow down and adore You! In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Friday, October 22, 2004
7 Ups
Thanks to Kara Gournaris, baptized member of the Lord's church living in Massassachuset, for forwarding this email. This is something you can copy, design with your favorite fonts, colors and graphics, print and frame it. Then put it on your nightstand in your bedroom as a daily morning reminder to do the 7 Ups!
1. Wake Up !!
Decide to have a good day.
"This is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24
2. Dress Up !!
The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." I Samuel 16:7
3. Shut Up!!
Say nice things and learn to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth, so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking.
"He who guards his lips guards his soul." Proverbs 13:3
4. Stand Up!!
. . . for what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything.
"Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good..." Galatians 6:9-10
5. Look Up !!
. . . to the Lord.
"I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me". Philippians 4:13
6. Reach Up !!
. . . for something higher.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6
7. Lift Up !!
. . . your Prayers.
"Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING." Philippians 4:6
1. Wake Up !!
Decide to have a good day.
"This is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24
2. Dress Up !!
The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." I Samuel 16:7
3. Shut Up!!
Say nice things and learn to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth, so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking.
"He who guards his lips guards his soul." Proverbs 13:3
4. Stand Up!!
. . . for what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything.
"Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good..." Galatians 6:9-10
5. Look Up !!
. . . to the Lord.
"I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me". Philippians 4:13
6. Reach Up !!
. . . for something higher.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6
7. Lift Up !!
. . . your Prayers.
"Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING." Philippians 4:6
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
ID and Purpose Driven
Jose Abenchuchan during the "ID" weekend.
Today is Wednesday and the ID lessons are still fresh in my heart. The Spirit in me keeps reminding me five important points for the world to identify Christ in me: Demonstrate, Connect, Lead, Accept and Celebrate. God has a purpose for every person who has a "relationship" with Him. His purposes for our lives are: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and mission. It just caught my eye that the five identities and five purposes (Purpose Driven Life) relate together very close.
Demonstrate Christ's love is worship
Connecting Christ's love among each other is fellowship
Leading ourselves and others with Christ's love is discipleship
Accepting the gift we have from God and use it in His Kingdom is ministry
Celebrate the gift we have with a zeal to reach out to our community is mission
We were called to love these purposes! We were called to carry out His will. We were called to demonstrate His love He has given us.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Light from within
Light
There's no wrong.
There's no disorder.
There's no bitterness.
It does not criticize.
There's no hatred.
It is merciful.
It gives hope.
It shines peacefulness.
It radiates love.
It comforts us.
Jose Abenchuchan talked about us being the light of the world and salt of the earth (Mt. 5:13-16). He gave us a perfect illustration as if we are a diamond in a dark world. If the whole world (people) are pure white, there's no need for us to be diamonds (Christ-like). But the world is full of sin (darkness) and it is very important that we be diamonds before the eyes of the world.
Imagine this. Most of us have diamond rings and it is visible during the day time. If you went into a dark room, would you be able to see your own diamond ring? I don't think so. So a diamond alone means nothing. It is just a piece of rock. This is true for those who claim to be Christians (faith) but have no deeds (James 2:26). However, if light were to come into the dark room, it would sparkle and shine catching even the smallest glimmers of light and reflecting them all over the room.
Brothers and sisters, without the Word (Christ), we are diamonds in a dark room. We cannot shine and display all the wondrous beauty God made us to have without His light. When we walk with Christ, His love is reflected in us and then we shine and sparkle so brightly that others see us and want what we have — God's love, mercy, and grace revealed in the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4:6, ".."Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."
Father God, thank You for the light we have in our hearts. Pray that we will shine Your light with rays of peace, joy, compassion, and love. When the diamond of our heart does not shine Your light, we will know it is tampered with bitterness, envy, criticism, or even lukewarmness. Please forgive us if we have these and lead us to a more clearer Christ-like living. Let's live our lives like we are diamonds that let the floodlight of Jesus shine down on us! May the world see Your love through us! In Jesus' Name, Amen!
1 Peter 2:12, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."
There's no wrong.
There's no disorder.
There's no bitterness.
It does not criticize.
There's no hatred.
It is merciful.
It gives hope.
It shines peacefulness.
It radiates love.
It comforts us.
Jose Abenchuchan talked about us being the light of the world and salt of the earth (Mt. 5:13-16). He gave us a perfect illustration as if we are a diamond in a dark world. If the whole world (people) are pure white, there's no need for us to be diamonds (Christ-like). But the world is full of sin (darkness) and it is very important that we be diamonds before the eyes of the world.
Imagine this. Most of us have diamond rings and it is visible during the day time. If you went into a dark room, would you be able to see your own diamond ring? I don't think so. So a diamond alone means nothing. It is just a piece of rock. This is true for those who claim to be Christians (faith) but have no deeds (James 2:26). However, if light were to come into the dark room, it would sparkle and shine catching even the smallest glimmers of light and reflecting them all over the room.
Brothers and sisters, without the Word (Christ), we are diamonds in a dark room. We cannot shine and display all the wondrous beauty God made us to have without His light. When we walk with Christ, His love is reflected in us and then we shine and sparkle so brightly that others see us and want what we have — God's love, mercy, and grace revealed in the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4:6, ".."Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."
Father God, thank You for the light we have in our hearts. Pray that we will shine Your light with rays of peace, joy, compassion, and love. When the diamond of our heart does not shine Your light, we will know it is tampered with bitterness, envy, criticism, or even lukewarmness. Please forgive us if we have these and lead us to a more clearer Christ-like living. Let's live our lives like we are diamonds that let the floodlight of Jesus shine down on us! May the world see Your love through us! In Jesus' Name, Amen!
1 Peter 2:12, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."
Monday, October 18, 2004
It is with great joy that I share these pictures from last night's baptism of Teena Meirs. We, as a church at Fairfax, celebrate a new life in Christ, a new birth, a new addition to God's family, a new sister in Christ, a new creation, and a new person that has been forgiven of her sins by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ......
Teena listens to an important message about the true meaning of sacrificing herself to God.
Teena listens to an important message about the true meaning of sacrificing herself to God.
This Is The Day The Lord Has Made
I love this song!
"This is the day, this is the day, this is the day
that the Lord has made!
And I will rejoice, I will rejoice, I will rejoice
and be glad in it!"
I sing it more often than most songs. Regardless of the circumstances, and may I say this again, "regardless of any circumstances (positive and negative), it's my personal admiration of what the Lord has done to us everyday! What the Lord has done to us during the three "DAY" "What Is Your ID?" conference weekend was wonderful! With Brother Jose Abenchuchan guiding us in His Word, regarding what our ID (identification) is, was thought-provoking, heart-piercing, and Spirit-stirring! And a special thanks to Andy Deuschle (North Carolina), Dirk Albrecht (Maryland) and Darrin Forshay (Maryland) for leading the Saturday's small groups!
During the course of this conference, I have watched the Lord's church put constant attention to His message through Jose. All I know is that the Seed (Lord's message) has been planted in their hearts and it is between them and God to work up the Seed they received. Jesus told the parable of the Sower (Mt. 13) where a farmer went out to sow his seed. We understand Jesus referred God has the farmer and the seed as the Word of God. But He has to tell the truth that not all hearts will receive the Seed with gladness! In the parable, Satan is identified as the birds, the sun, and thorns. These are negative things that hinders the process of the Seed in our hearts. The Lord's message has been preached over the weekend, the hearts have received His message, now it is up to us to determine what to do with the Seed. It is my prayer that God's children will put them into practice by showing the light of Christ (ID) before the hearts of deaf people in this community and the world.
What made these days special was the love everyone has for God and each other. Last Wednesday, I posted a BLOG just a day before the conference weekend was about to unfold. I mentioned that I wasn't sure what to expect from this conference but I know it will always be in the hands of God. I believe God has touched the core of many hearts throughout the weekend. Janet Smith came forward asking for the Lord's strength and guidance as she continues to work with the deaf work in Portage, Michigan. A couple of members have expressed desire to free themselves from the bondage of sin! A few were overwhelmed with God's power with encouragement to pursue a life as a servant (living sacrifice pleasing to God).
But God wasn't finished with this conference. He had other plans. At the close of this marvelous and wild DAY (Sunday), Teena Meirs offered to help transport Jose around town and to our home to gather his belongings before leaving for Steve and Melanie Williams' home for the night. He has to leave at 8 a.m. today! So I couldn't help him with that as I have my hands full with a harem of girls (5!) and get them into school. We offered them taco salad for dinner before they leave to meet the Williams'. Jose threw in a "convo", that he and Teena had on the way to our home, with a line that I used on Teena during a conversation a couple months ago, "You're a lost soul". She informed Jose what I had told her before. I may be blunt but a truth needs to be told. Then they returned to eat their food. (I am laughing here!) I looked at them and said, "Oh, did you see this as a negative remark?" Teena blurted out saying, "No! No!" and so did Jose! Then the rest was history! Because of that line I made a couple months ago led Jose and me to talk with Teena about the importance of being "saved" and being part of the family of God. We portrayed her a beautiful picture of God's love for her.
I believe this was a true PROVIDENCE of God! In addition to this, (thanks to one of our beloved members of the church for pointing this out to me) God used various channels using the members of His church to work in Teena's heart. It is not "I" that do it, but God through His people. What had happened that night was a very small part of God's whole plan for Teena. He had it all mapped out using other people around Teena's life. His time came for Teena as she was baptized last night, October 17th, 2004 @ 8:45 p.m.. Welcome to the family of God, Teena, our dear sister in Christ!
"This is the day, this is the day, this is the day
the Lord has made.
I will rejoice, I will rejoice, I will rejoice
and be glad in it!"
That's why I sang this song this morning savoring the goodness of God yesterday! It was wild! It was awesome! It was marvelous! He is good!
Father God, You're wonderful beyond description! Too marvelous for words! We cannot describe all You've done through the men and women of faith. You're a patient God, even though we expect a quick response. We expect to see something happen in a flash. But You know the time when the heart is ripe and ready! We have seen your Providence and we stand in awe of you, still! Lord, there are so many more out there that need Your love! But workers are so few! We pray that You will do what You will and lead us into serving Your will! Thank You, God, for the weekend. We ask that You bless those who have taken part of the conference abundantly. In Jesus' Name, Amen!
"This is the day, this is the day, this is the day
that the Lord has made!
And I will rejoice, I will rejoice, I will rejoice
and be glad in it!"
I sing it more often than most songs. Regardless of the circumstances, and may I say this again, "regardless of any circumstances (positive and negative), it's my personal admiration of what the Lord has done to us everyday! What the Lord has done to us during the three "DAY" "What Is Your ID?" conference weekend was wonderful! With Brother Jose Abenchuchan guiding us in His Word, regarding what our ID (identification) is, was thought-provoking, heart-piercing, and Spirit-stirring! And a special thanks to Andy Deuschle (North Carolina), Dirk Albrecht (Maryland) and Darrin Forshay (Maryland) for leading the Saturday's small groups!
During the course of this conference, I have watched the Lord's church put constant attention to His message through Jose. All I know is that the Seed (Lord's message) has been planted in their hearts and it is between them and God to work up the Seed they received. Jesus told the parable of the Sower (Mt. 13) where a farmer went out to sow his seed. We understand Jesus referred God has the farmer and the seed as the Word of God. But He has to tell the truth that not all hearts will receive the Seed with gladness! In the parable, Satan is identified as the birds, the sun, and thorns. These are negative things that hinders the process of the Seed in our hearts. The Lord's message has been preached over the weekend, the hearts have received His message, now it is up to us to determine what to do with the Seed. It is my prayer that God's children will put them into practice by showing the light of Christ (ID) before the hearts of deaf people in this community and the world.
What made these days special was the love everyone has for God and each other. Last Wednesday, I posted a BLOG just a day before the conference weekend was about to unfold. I mentioned that I wasn't sure what to expect from this conference but I know it will always be in the hands of God. I believe God has touched the core of many hearts throughout the weekend. Janet Smith came forward asking for the Lord's strength and guidance as she continues to work with the deaf work in Portage, Michigan. A couple of members have expressed desire to free themselves from the bondage of sin! A few were overwhelmed with God's power with encouragement to pursue a life as a servant (living sacrifice pleasing to God).
But God wasn't finished with this conference. He had other plans. At the close of this marvelous and wild DAY (Sunday), Teena Meirs offered to help transport Jose around town and to our home to gather his belongings before leaving for Steve and Melanie Williams' home for the night. He has to leave at 8 a.m. today! So I couldn't help him with that as I have my hands full with a harem of girls (5!) and get them into school. We offered them taco salad for dinner before they leave to meet the Williams'. Jose threw in a "convo", that he and Teena had on the way to our home, with a line that I used on Teena during a conversation a couple months ago, "You're a lost soul". She informed Jose what I had told her before. I may be blunt but a truth needs to be told. Then they returned to eat their food. (I am laughing here!) I looked at them and said, "Oh, did you see this as a negative remark?" Teena blurted out saying, "No! No!" and so did Jose! Then the rest was history! Because of that line I made a couple months ago led Jose and me to talk with Teena about the importance of being "saved" and being part of the family of God. We portrayed her a beautiful picture of God's love for her.
I believe this was a true PROVIDENCE of God! In addition to this, (thanks to one of our beloved members of the church for pointing this out to me) God used various channels using the members of His church to work in Teena's heart. It is not "I" that do it, but God through His people. What had happened that night was a very small part of God's whole plan for Teena. He had it all mapped out using other people around Teena's life. His time came for Teena as she was baptized last night, October 17th, 2004 @ 8:45 p.m.. Welcome to the family of God, Teena, our dear sister in Christ!
"This is the day, this is the day, this is the day
the Lord has made.
I will rejoice, I will rejoice, I will rejoice
and be glad in it!"
That's why I sang this song this morning savoring the goodness of God yesterday! It was wild! It was awesome! It was marvelous! He is good!
Father God, You're wonderful beyond description! Too marvelous for words! We cannot describe all You've done through the men and women of faith. You're a patient God, even though we expect a quick response. We expect to see something happen in a flash. But You know the time when the heart is ripe and ready! We have seen your Providence and we stand in awe of you, still! Lord, there are so many more out there that need Your love! But workers are so few! We pray that You will do what You will and lead us into serving Your will! Thank You, God, for the weekend. We ask that You bless those who have taken part of the conference abundantly. In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Friday, October 15, 2004
ID Weekend!
The "ID" weekend starts tonight with a praise event so I don't know what God has planned for this. I've been feeling a bit different this year compared to the last 4 years of hosting deaf conferences at Fairfax. This year, we're going to hear Jose preach then I have divided the deaf members into three small groups discussions. Perhaps, they will benefit more from this type of conference rather than just be, "hearers of the Word" over "doers of the Word." Once we have received the message Jose is preaching this weekend, we will be able to chew on it, taste it, savor it, understand it, and digest it in small groups! So I am leaving this in the hands of the Lord and I am really excited about it! :)
I read this daily Christian quote and found this to be very true among Christians in the world today. Prayer is an extremely important "organ" of our Christian living, our relationship with God. Without a daily prayer life, we're worthless. This was written by an anonymous author:
"Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path." Anonymous
Do you have a "well worn path" between your heart and God?
Preach the Word, Jose!
See (hear) the Word, Church!
Lead us in the Word, God!
I read this daily Christian quote and found this to be very true among Christians in the world today. Prayer is an extremely important "organ" of our Christian living, our relationship with God. Without a daily prayer life, we're worthless. This was written by an anonymous author:
"Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path." Anonymous
Do you have a "well worn path" between your heart and God?
Preach the Word, Jose!
See (hear) the Word, Church!
Lead us in the Word, God!
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
What Is Your ID?
This year's deaf conference is coming in full-swing this weekend! We haven't really decided the name of the conference yet as I believe the "East Coast Deaf Christian Conference" is too long. Though, we can say, "ECDCC" but then the person that doesn't know what that is will demand for an expanded version.
Jose Abenchuchan is flying in tomorrow so I am pretty tied up at the moment preparing for the weekend. I pray that the Father in heaven will expose His beautiful light into our hearts through Jose's lessons. I pray that we will come to realize that we're not doing enough for the Lord that He expects more from us. The fields are ripe for harvest and we haven't had much success reaping them into the fold (Kingdom). Workers are too few these days (Mt. 9:37) and God is trying to bring His children into identifying who they really are. Lord willing, God will open up the hearts of His children and lead them into doing His will with their gift.
I am reading from the book of 2 Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 14-15: "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?" The writer, Apostle Paul, is not telling us to discontinue fellowship with the unbelievers in the world. No. He is warning us that we do not be like them in word and deed. We are to be different from them. Just as light and darkness is completely different from each other, this is the way we ought to be.
So who are you (ID) among the unbelievers?
Who are you (ID) among your friends and families?
Do they see Jesus in you (ID)?
Do they see the difference in you (ID) from themselves?
It is not that you become "holier" than them, no! It is that you become "Jesus" before them. When you show Jesus, they see some sort of an ID on you. They may not understand all you do before them but eventually, they will see a clear picture of Jesus in you.
Now, my question is, "What Is Your ID?" I pray that the world will see Jesus in you in your daily word and deed. What do you do that shows Jesus? What have you done that shows Jesus? It is not only attending church services that show Jesus, no. It's more than that. It's your everyday life that shows Jesus.
Father, it is our heart's desire to please You in worship and praise. We express our love to You and to others. We thank you for pruning us to be more and more fruitful and faithful. Wow! There's no one like You in this world. We bow down and worship You, Lord. We give You our solemn thanks for the life we have. I pray that Your children in the world will grow to know You. I mean, "KNOW" You through Your Word. May we show our ID, that is Jesus, to the world so that they will know You through our loving example! Please bless us this weekend and bless Jose as he leads us closer to You. In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Jose Abenchuchan is flying in tomorrow so I am pretty tied up at the moment preparing for the weekend. I pray that the Father in heaven will expose His beautiful light into our hearts through Jose's lessons. I pray that we will come to realize that we're not doing enough for the Lord that He expects more from us. The fields are ripe for harvest and we haven't had much success reaping them into the fold (Kingdom). Workers are too few these days (Mt. 9:37) and God is trying to bring His children into identifying who they really are. Lord willing, God will open up the hearts of His children and lead them into doing His will with their gift.
I am reading from the book of 2 Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 14-15: "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?" The writer, Apostle Paul, is not telling us to discontinue fellowship with the unbelievers in the world. No. He is warning us that we do not be like them in word and deed. We are to be different from them. Just as light and darkness is completely different from each other, this is the way we ought to be.
So who are you (ID) among the unbelievers?
Who are you (ID) among your friends and families?
Do they see Jesus in you (ID)?
Do they see the difference in you (ID) from themselves?
It is not that you become "holier" than them, no! It is that you become "Jesus" before them. When you show Jesus, they see some sort of an ID on you. They may not understand all you do before them but eventually, they will see a clear picture of Jesus in you.
Now, my question is, "What Is Your ID?" I pray that the world will see Jesus in you in your daily word and deed. What do you do that shows Jesus? What have you done that shows Jesus? It is not only attending church services that show Jesus, no. It's more than that. It's your everyday life that shows Jesus.
Father, it is our heart's desire to please You in worship and praise. We express our love to You and to others. We thank you for pruning us to be more and more fruitful and faithful. Wow! There's no one like You in this world. We bow down and worship You, Lord. We give You our solemn thanks for the life we have. I pray that Your children in the world will grow to know You. I mean, "KNOW" You through Your Word. May we show our ID, that is Jesus, to the world so that they will know You through our loving example! Please bless us this weekend and bless Jose as he leads us closer to You. In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Friday, October 08, 2004
Closer than you think!
I am still soaked with the Holy Spirit of God after three days at the Zoe conference last week. It is exactly a week ago today! I have been singing Zoe songs: Blessed Be Your Name, Blessed Jesus, Come Ye Sinners, Poor And Needy, Forever, and others. It is a sure blessing from God and He has filled my soul with His goodness! And guess what!? I am already hungry for Zoe '05!
Last night, I took the time to get some R&R after a long day in the open. My parents are here which is a great help. After I finally sat down, I tuned to channel 9 (CBS) to watch "Survivor Vanuatu". Yes, I watch "tv", but very seldom! : ) They introduced us to a game called, "Memory Game" where you have to remove one cone then the other and if it doesn't match, memorize the location of the items. What's the reward? They get a Vanuatu tribesman experienced in cooking, building, and with the knowledge of the jungle. He will teach them how to live, find food (how to fish), build better shelters and bedding and many more. The women's group won the challenge and got the tribesman.
Before they won the tribesman for the day, they were desperate for food, their shelter was horrible, they didn't know how to catch a fish and all they lived on was coconut hanging above their heads. The Vanuatu tribesman arrived in his canoe and walked past the "welcoming committee" straight to work. The ladies followed him around. First, he climbed the palm tree to retrieve bundles of coconuts. He chopped them at the top three times with his bare hands and the top came off like it has a plastic lid! He moved into the jungle (it's actually their backyard) and pulled out some green leaves. The ladies were astonished that it looks like romaine lettuce and tasted it. Then he pulled out a brown stem from the ground and chopped it up. Under the stem is one delicious sugar cane. They looked like they were in heaven when they ate them! Then the rest is history! The tribesman taught them all they need to know and all along the ladies did NOT KNOW they had a supermarket in their backyard! Then men still do not know the secret of survival!
This reminds me of God in many ways. We often overlook many great possibilities. We overlook great potential. We're looking in the wrong places when it is right under our noses, or even your backyard. People think God is so distant that He hardly have time for us. We're looking for His blessings but gave up when the blessings were right next to you. Sometimes, we press ourselves so hard hoping to overcome a barrier. But God feels that it is not the right thing to do. He stops you right there, frustrates you in hope that you will open your eyes and see your "backyard" which is full of His blessings.
We think that the time of judgment is a long way off. But believe it or not, it's the opposite. Our earthly mind think this way but the spiritual mind thinks the other. Jesus warned us in the book of Matthew that the time is near, "The kingdom of heaven is near." (Mt. 10:7). "Near" can be your death due to natural causes or accidents. Many of us are like these "Survivor" group overlooking great potentials. I must assure you that you and I, together, have great potentials to be with God in heaven. One of us may look other ways to arrive where God is. But I, personally, prefer to depend on a "Heavenly tribesman" that is Jesus. He is the one that KNOWS THE WAY according to John 14:6: "I AM the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Now, my question is, if you're desperate for answers in how to live a Christ-like life, what would you do? Depend on your own wisdom to figure out a way or depend on the "Heavenly tribesman" Jesus Christ?
Father, I thank You that we have Your Son as our guide through this world. Our earthly mind is so limited that we do not know our way around here. We're blessed to have Your Son in our life and we have faith in Him that He will provide us with the necessities in life through our prayer and faithfulness and He will lead us home to You. I must say that I am proud to have Jesus as my tribesman to show the Way! In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Last night, I took the time to get some R&R after a long day in the open. My parents are here which is a great help. After I finally sat down, I tuned to channel 9 (CBS) to watch "Survivor Vanuatu". Yes, I watch "tv", but very seldom! : ) They introduced us to a game called, "Memory Game" where you have to remove one cone then the other and if it doesn't match, memorize the location of the items. What's the reward? They get a Vanuatu tribesman experienced in cooking, building, and with the knowledge of the jungle. He will teach them how to live, find food (how to fish), build better shelters and bedding and many more. The women's group won the challenge and got the tribesman.
Before they won the tribesman for the day, they were desperate for food, their shelter was horrible, they didn't know how to catch a fish and all they lived on was coconut hanging above their heads. The Vanuatu tribesman arrived in his canoe and walked past the "welcoming committee" straight to work. The ladies followed him around. First, he climbed the palm tree to retrieve bundles of coconuts. He chopped them at the top three times with his bare hands and the top came off like it has a plastic lid! He moved into the jungle (it's actually their backyard) and pulled out some green leaves. The ladies were astonished that it looks like romaine lettuce and tasted it. Then he pulled out a brown stem from the ground and chopped it up. Under the stem is one delicious sugar cane. They looked like they were in heaven when they ate them! Then the rest is history! The tribesman taught them all they need to know and all along the ladies did NOT KNOW they had a supermarket in their backyard! Then men still do not know the secret of survival!
This reminds me of God in many ways. We often overlook many great possibilities. We overlook great potential. We're looking in the wrong places when it is right under our noses, or even your backyard. People think God is so distant that He hardly have time for us. We're looking for His blessings but gave up when the blessings were right next to you. Sometimes, we press ourselves so hard hoping to overcome a barrier. But God feels that it is not the right thing to do. He stops you right there, frustrates you in hope that you will open your eyes and see your "backyard" which is full of His blessings.
We think that the time of judgment is a long way off. But believe it or not, it's the opposite. Our earthly mind think this way but the spiritual mind thinks the other. Jesus warned us in the book of Matthew that the time is near, "The kingdom of heaven is near." (Mt. 10:7). "Near" can be your death due to natural causes or accidents. Many of us are like these "Survivor" group overlooking great potentials. I must assure you that you and I, together, have great potentials to be with God in heaven. One of us may look other ways to arrive where God is. But I, personally, prefer to depend on a "Heavenly tribesman" that is Jesus. He is the one that KNOWS THE WAY according to John 14:6: "I AM the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Now, my question is, if you're desperate for answers in how to live a Christ-like life, what would you do? Depend on your own wisdom to figure out a way or depend on the "Heavenly tribesman" Jesus Christ?
Father, I thank You that we have Your Son as our guide through this world. Our earthly mind is so limited that we do not know our way around here. We're blessed to have Your Son in our life and we have faith in Him that He will provide us with the necessities in life through our prayer and faithfulness and He will lead us home to You. I must say that I am proud to have Jesus as my tribesman to show the Way! In Jesus' Name, Amen!
Monday, October 04, 2004
Awe of His Power
I don't know what to say! I am just overwhelmed with God's power. He's so good! He's awesome! He's wonderful beyond description! The Spirit in me is elated to be in fellowship with the Spirit of God. According to John 4, "God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." Since there's a pure goodness in God's spirit, we show our pure goodness to God in fellowship with Him and the church. Everyone who came to Zoe were full of spirit and truth. They praised God! They worshipped God! They sang to God! They bowed down before God! They embrace along with others before God! So much love and joy filled the conference.
We just returned from music country of Nashville after the marvelous weekend at Zoe and Hermitage Church of Christ! All I can think of is Psalm 46:10-11:
"Be still and know that I am God,
(silence)
I will be exalted among the nations,
(silence)
I will be exalted in the earth.
(silence)
The Lord Almighty is with us,
(silence)
the God of Jacob is our fortress."
(silence)
There were no dry eyes as tears flooded the Woodmont Hills church. Hearts ache with the realization that they are nothing compared to the Awesome God. People embrace one another everyday. Numerous prayers were seen and heard. Cries were heard among the crowd of 1,200. God's children poured out their hearts before Him. People sang from the top of their lungs and hands were raised up higher than ever. Joy filled the people's hearts. Everyone was filled with the Spirit of God and His Word. Hundreds and hundreds of confessions were given to God.
Forever God is faithful.
Forever God is strong.
Forever God is with us.
Forever and ever.
Forever.
And we, daily, express our desperate hearts seeking His goodness and grace. Be desperate for God's love. Be desperate for God's power. Be desperate for God's hands. Be desperate for God's mercy. Be desperate...... Be desperate.....
In closing, I must share with you how I adore Linda Bridgesmith, the wife of the Zoe chairperson, Larry Bridgesmith. She's a very mature, strong Christian lady who have been with God for so many years! She came up to me and remembers me from last year and was thrilled to have the deaf there! She filled my heart with God's love and I just fell in love with her fruitfulness and faithfulness. She IS one of the greatest Christ-like example among Christian ladies in the world! God, please bless her as she continues to imitate Your love!
We're ready for Zoe '05!
We just returned from music country of Nashville after the marvelous weekend at Zoe and Hermitage Church of Christ! All I can think of is Psalm 46:10-11:
"Be still and know that I am God,
(silence)
I will be exalted among the nations,
(silence)
I will be exalted in the earth.
(silence)
The Lord Almighty is with us,
(silence)
the God of Jacob is our fortress."
(silence)
There were no dry eyes as tears flooded the Woodmont Hills church. Hearts ache with the realization that they are nothing compared to the Awesome God. People embrace one another everyday. Numerous prayers were seen and heard. Cries were heard among the crowd of 1,200. God's children poured out their hearts before Him. People sang from the top of their lungs and hands were raised up higher than ever. Joy filled the people's hearts. Everyone was filled with the Spirit of God and His Word. Hundreds and hundreds of confessions were given to God.
Forever God is faithful.
Forever God is strong.
Forever God is with us.
Forever and ever.
Forever.
And we, daily, express our desperate hearts seeking His goodness and grace. Be desperate for God's love. Be desperate for God's power. Be desperate for God's hands. Be desperate for God's mercy. Be desperate...... Be desperate.....
In closing, I must share with you how I adore Linda Bridgesmith, the wife of the Zoe chairperson, Larry Bridgesmith. She's a very mature, strong Christian lady who have been with God for so many years! She came up to me and remembers me from last year and was thrilled to have the deaf there! She filled my heart with God's love and I just fell in love with her fruitfulness and faithfulness. She IS one of the greatest Christ-like example among Christian ladies in the world! God, please bless her as she continues to imitate Your love!
We're ready for Zoe '05!
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Zoe-bound!!
Dennis Cesone, David and Becky Hinckley and I are bound to be at Zoe in Nashville, Tennessee tomorrow! We're anxious to praise God along with 1,000 plus attenders. Here's the picture from last year's Zoe conference. It was stirring, exciting, moving and praiseworthy!
On right, Teresa Newsom, interpreting for the Zoe group. She's one fantastic interpreter who helped us praise God at levels that we've never experienced before! We're dancing the dance of praise this weekend!
Ancient Future
When I attended last year's Zoe conference, they had this large brown paper on the stage. I wasn't sure what it was for. During Mike Cope's lessons on "Ancient Future", a man and a women teamed up to do charcoal drawing. It took them approximately less than an hour and a half to complete this drawing.
The picture shows Abraham visioning God's plan for mankind. Behind Abraham, "The Fall of Man". God told Abraham that he will have children as numerous as the stars in the sky. Because of Abraham's faithfulness (Father of the faithful), through Abraham's seed, God will give the world His Son. All the people will follow Jesus to the cross, crucifying their old life, raised anew in Christ and live a pure and faithful life until He comes again.
Come, Lord, come! We rejoice in You for You are our God! Come, Lord, come. Shine Your love through us so the world will know You! Come, Lord, come. It is our prayer that the whole world will see You as Lord. Come, Lord, come.........
The picture shows Abraham visioning God's plan for mankind. Behind Abraham, "The Fall of Man". God told Abraham that he will have children as numerous as the stars in the sky. Because of Abraham's faithfulness (Father of the faithful), through Abraham's seed, God will give the world His Son. All the people will follow Jesus to the cross, crucifying their old life, raised anew in Christ and live a pure and faithful life until He comes again.
Come, Lord, come! We rejoice in You for You are our God! Come, Lord, come. Shine Your love through us so the world will know You! Come, Lord, come. It is our prayer that the whole world will see You as Lord. Come, Lord, come.........
Monday, September 27, 2004
TGIF
To some people, it means: Thank God It's Friday.
To others, it's the name of the restaurant, "Thank God It's Friday".
I drove by a church sign saw another meaning for T.G.I.F.. But let's first read this verse:
"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." Romans 4:7-8 (NIV)
Are you forgiven? Are you washed in His blood? Are you sanctified (set apart from the world) by God? Are you justified in the name of Jesus? (1 Corinthians 6:11) Are you clothed in Christ (Gal. 3:27) Does the Spirit live in you? (1 Corinthians 2:10-11) Have you received the Spirit of God after baptism and forgiveness of sins? (Acts 2:36-38) Are you a walking "living sacrifice" before God? (Romans 12:1-2)
If you have confidently answered, "Yes!" to the above questions (I could jot down even more questions but this is enough for us to understand we need Jesus to be forgiven of our sins!), then may you say this T.G.I.F.:
Thank God I'm Forgiven!
Though, we should make it a daily reminder to thank God for His forgiveness, we often forget to do so. Since many people always look forward to a "Friday" as the last day of the "work week", we should remind ourselves how God forgave our sins by giving us His Son.
Lord, have mercy on our wretched souls. I pray that everyone will come to know You and love You the way we love You! I must say this again and again and again, "Thank God I'm Forgiven". May we continue to fix our eyes on Jesus as He is the perfector of our faith. During the rest of our beating heart, I pray that Christians around the world will continue to increase their spiritual flame and let it burn before the eyes of the world so they may see Your goodness and grace!
To others, it's the name of the restaurant, "Thank God It's Friday".
I drove by a church sign saw another meaning for T.G.I.F.. But let's first read this verse:
"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." Romans 4:7-8 (NIV)
Are you forgiven? Are you washed in His blood? Are you sanctified (set apart from the world) by God? Are you justified in the name of Jesus? (1 Corinthians 6:11) Are you clothed in Christ (Gal. 3:27) Does the Spirit live in you? (1 Corinthians 2:10-11) Have you received the Spirit of God after baptism and forgiveness of sins? (Acts 2:36-38) Are you a walking "living sacrifice" before God? (Romans 12:1-2)
If you have confidently answered, "Yes!" to the above questions (I could jot down even more questions but this is enough for us to understand we need Jesus to be forgiven of our sins!), then may you say this T.G.I.F.:
Thank God I'm Forgiven!
Though, we should make it a daily reminder to thank God for His forgiveness, we often forget to do so. Since many people always look forward to a "Friday" as the last day of the "work week", we should remind ourselves how God forgave our sins by giving us His Son.
Lord, have mercy on our wretched souls. I pray that everyone will come to know You and love You the way we love You! I must say this again and again and again, "Thank God I'm Forgiven". May we continue to fix our eyes on Jesus as He is the perfector of our faith. During the rest of our beating heart, I pray that Christians around the world will continue to increase their spiritual flame and let it burn before the eyes of the world so they may see Your goodness and grace!
Saturday, September 25, 2004
Rooted!
Do you know what it is like to try and pull roots from the ground? It doesn't matter if it's a grass root, a plant root, a bush root but sometimes it is very difficult to pull them out altogether. Dennis Cesone and I were over at Kenny Hynes home helping prune up her yard yesterday. It was hard work but we got most done! Our body aches can prove it!
I was struggling to get the evergreen bushes out of the ground. First, I had to trim the top part of the bushes. Some branches were thick while many were thin. With the thin ones, I can use the electric bush trimmer. But when it comes to the thick ones, I had to use a bush clipper. After I finally got down to the core of the bushes, I began to work my way to the root. These five bushes have been rooted in the ground for more than 20 years! I used a shovel to pry the stump from the ground but to no avail, it wouldn't budge. I had to dig out some dirt from the sides in hope the roots were located. After a few minutes of digging one stump, I finally found its roots. Then I used the bush clipper to clip the think and long roots. Finally, the whole stump came out! It took me an hour and a half to work on all five of these stumps! My t-shirt was actually wet from sweat. My glasses were streaked with sweat from my forehead. My arms were throbbing from clipping, shaking, pounding, hitting the stumps.
This reminds me the importance of being rooted in our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)
Where are you rooted in? Are you rooted in your job? Are you rooted in sports? Are you rooted in the world and its ways? Most importantly, I pray that you're rooted in Christ because He is the DOOR, He is the way to Heaven, He is the One who gives eternal life. Satan encourages all people to stay rooted in him and the world so that we may forget God. Satan will even work harder removing the fruitful branches of our Christian life and gradually leading himself to the root of our relationship with God. Then, "SNAP!" He can sever the strong ties you have with Jesus. He can pull you out of His love. He can disconnect us from eternal life. He can re-root you back into the world. It is Paul's prayer that we stay rooted in Christ alone! It is Paul's prayer that we be strengthened, growing our roots in Him, becoming thicker and thicker and stronger through bible study, fellowship, prayer, telling the world about Jesus and maintaining a loving relationship with God!
Father, it is my hearts desire to stay rooted in your love! You are the God of love and we dig ourselves in You. I pray that we will keep Satan away from the soil of our life which is our skin because if he touches our life, he will dig toward our heart and unroot us from You. Please help us look for these dangers, protect us from the evil one. We love You with all of our hearts. There's nothing else we want except You! In Jesus' name, Amen!
I was struggling to get the evergreen bushes out of the ground. First, I had to trim the top part of the bushes. Some branches were thick while many were thin. With the thin ones, I can use the electric bush trimmer. But when it comes to the thick ones, I had to use a bush clipper. After I finally got down to the core of the bushes, I began to work my way to the root. These five bushes have been rooted in the ground for more than 20 years! I used a shovel to pry the stump from the ground but to no avail, it wouldn't budge. I had to dig out some dirt from the sides in hope the roots were located. After a few minutes of digging one stump, I finally found its roots. Then I used the bush clipper to clip the think and long roots. Finally, the whole stump came out! It took me an hour and a half to work on all five of these stumps! My t-shirt was actually wet from sweat. My glasses were streaked with sweat from my forehead. My arms were throbbing from clipping, shaking, pounding, hitting the stumps.
This reminds me the importance of being rooted in our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)
Where are you rooted in? Are you rooted in your job? Are you rooted in sports? Are you rooted in the world and its ways? Most importantly, I pray that you're rooted in Christ because He is the DOOR, He is the way to Heaven, He is the One who gives eternal life. Satan encourages all people to stay rooted in him and the world so that we may forget God. Satan will even work harder removing the fruitful branches of our Christian life and gradually leading himself to the root of our relationship with God. Then, "SNAP!" He can sever the strong ties you have with Jesus. He can pull you out of His love. He can disconnect us from eternal life. He can re-root you back into the world. It is Paul's prayer that we stay rooted in Christ alone! It is Paul's prayer that we be strengthened, growing our roots in Him, becoming thicker and thicker and stronger through bible study, fellowship, prayer, telling the world about Jesus and maintaining a loving relationship with God!
Father, it is my hearts desire to stay rooted in your love! You are the God of love and we dig ourselves in You. I pray that we will keep Satan away from the soil of our life which is our skin because if he touches our life, he will dig toward our heart and unroot us from You. Please help us look for these dangers, protect us from the evil one. We love You with all of our hearts. There's nothing else we want except You! In Jesus' name, Amen!
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Bring them to Jesus!
I received an email from a dear member of ours telling about her son being admitted in the ER for swelling in the neck and chest plus a rash developing around his face sustained from a hornet sting! It happened on the same day when my daughter fell! I ask that you pray for their son, Ryan, as he recovers from this and is doing very well with medications.
When we go through all the pain and suffering in life, we ought to bring them to Jesus! In Matthew 4:24, "News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them."
In the last four days, I have received news about children being afflicted with various types of pain. It pains me to hear these. All we ask is that you go to our loving God in prayer and pray for all the children in the world!
Lord, there is none like You! You are awesome beyond description. You are beautiful to the whole world. We come, freely, before Your throne and humbly ask that you listen to all of our prayers. Your little children in the world are hurting and in pain. We have seen what is happening to them and our eyes are being lifted up to You. May You, the omnipotent God, put Your hand on them and heal them! Let us see Your loving power unfold so that we may glorify Your Name. Thank You, Lord! In Jesus' Name, we pray, Amen!
When we go through all the pain and suffering in life, we ought to bring them to Jesus! In Matthew 4:24, "News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them."
In the last four days, I have received news about children being afflicted with various types of pain. It pains me to hear these. All we ask is that you go to our loving God in prayer and pray for all the children in the world!
Lord, there is none like You! You are awesome beyond description. You are beautiful to the whole world. We come, freely, before Your throne and humbly ask that you listen to all of our prayers. Your little children in the world are hurting and in pain. We have seen what is happening to them and our eyes are being lifted up to You. May You, the omnipotent God, put Your hand on them and heal them! Let us see Your loving power unfold so that we may glorify Your Name. Thank You, Lord! In Jesus' Name, we pray, Amen!
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Come, Lord, Come!
The return trip home from the Florida gospel meeting in Jacksonville was great! Praise the Lord for two beautiful ladies confessing their sins before God on the throne. NO DELAYS this time which is an A+! : ) Let me explain what had happened the night after I arrived home from Dulles. Yes, it is a long letter but it poses as an example from the lesson I taught. If you remember the 4 C's during bible study last Sunday: CRISIS, COMMITMENT, CONVERSION, COOPERATION based on the Genesis story about Jacob and his struggle with God and man. And have you heard of the saying, "What goes around, comes around!" In fact, it has happened to us! We had a CRISIS that very morning (Monday, Sept. 20th) just after I arrived from Jacksonville and we had just gotten into bed. 2 1/2 hours later (1:00 a.m.), our middle daughter, Angela, fell out of her bed (top bunk bed) and landed her head on a bookshelf hitting her mouth and knocking out two teeth (adult tooth and baby tooth) and had a big gash around the lower lip and a gash inside in her upper gums. She was excessively bleeding. We woke up alarmed and immediately I had to get dressed, picked her up and took her to the ER. I cannot tell you how many neurons were exploding in my mind, heart was racing to seek the Lord's help and alot of questions such as "Why did this happen? What should I have done to prevent this? and the most popular question we ever ask is, "Why me?"" She had to have stitches, oral surgery, all on the same day! The oral surgery was the WORST for Angela. Though I am profoundly deaf and didn't wear my hearing aid that day, I could hear her scream from the top of her lung for mercy! Tears were flowing down from my eyes as I held her hands in mine. I was praying and praying and praying to God to give Angela strength and comfort! One of our dear friend and a Christian stood by us interpreting for Michelle and me. Michelle was just as upset as I was but angry for this had happened. Indeed, I was angry inside but we poured out our hearts to God into Angela's life.
As the CRISIS was gradually decreasing, we talked to God asking many questions. We even told Him that we are just as committed (COMMITMENT) as we ever are. I am not saying that God caused this CRISIS to get our attention, NO! But God allowed all things to happen so that we can experience the PAIN that leads to change. If you remember during the class, "The greater the pain is, the less we experience the fear of change." Pain enables us to change scenarios, change attitudes. After we returned home, Angela was resting very nicely and recuperating wonderfully! Thanks to the Lord for enabling us to persevere under extreme trials, especially Angela!. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! She was a brave, brave girl and she still is! I just cannot tell you how amazed I am to see Angela's courage to overcome this trial! Then we went straight to her bedroom to see the "scenario" of all that might have happened. We, immediately, began to CHANGE the bedroom! We got rid of the bunk bed (top one) and moved the shelf out of harms way (we just never thought it would come to this!). This reminds me of God changing Jacob's name to Israel. Out with the old and in with the new. The bedroom looks much better, danger-free!
Pain and crisis enables us to look up to our God on the throne! We confessed (CONFESSION) our sins. There's no one like You, God! We are no better than You! You are our Lord and King. To You, we bow down and worship You! To You, we give You our love! We want no better friend than You! One of our member of the Fairfax church said, "Love is PAINFUL!" I must agree with him and this reminds me of God's love for us that it is so PAINFUL that He is willing to give us His Son to be crucified for our sins! Can you imagine God crying as His Son was being crucified on the cross and all bloodied!? We can! It broke our hearts seeing our dear Angela on the table as the doctors worked on her.
Do you think I want to see Angela hurt again? NO WAY! Do you think we would change the bedroom back by putting the bunk bed up and putting Angela back up on there? NO WAY! I made the change to avoid a recurring crisis! This leads to the final word, "COOPERATION". We made the change and we will stick with it. Parallel to this, we know we are all sinners and Jesus died for our sins. Once we learn this good news (through a CRISIS, after a CRISIS or even no CRISIS), we are committed to an eternally-changed-living! We confess that we need God everyday! We must cooperate with God by sticking to that commitment! If we lead ourselves astray and return to our old sin, it is like Angela falling down all over again injuring her mouth! Are we out of our minds to allow such a thing! No way. Just as this Scripture says in 2 Peter 2:21-22 (NIV), "It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud." So we cooperated with the fact that we are staying with this change! And Christians cooperated with the fact that they are staying with their change! Pray with me: Lord, thank You for everything in life and thank You for the pain we endure. With this, it helps us keep our life in check with You. We are determined to keep this loving relationship forever! We ask that the next pain we have to endure (great and small) will help us build our Christian character and that we be an example to those in the world. May we continue to give You all the glory! Thank You for being with us. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen.
In addition to this, please pray for one of the member's friend's friend whose one week old baby is having seizures and is now in NICU. They are devastated about this and need our MUCH NEEDED prayers! The deaf couple's names are Sean and Tracy. Thank you..
Show Jesus,
Mark and Michelle Lowenstein
As the CRISIS was gradually decreasing, we talked to God asking many questions. We even told Him that we are just as committed (COMMITMENT) as we ever are. I am not saying that God caused this CRISIS to get our attention, NO! But God allowed all things to happen so that we can experience the PAIN that leads to change. If you remember during the class, "The greater the pain is, the less we experience the fear of change." Pain enables us to change scenarios, change attitudes. After we returned home, Angela was resting very nicely and recuperating wonderfully! Thanks to the Lord for enabling us to persevere under extreme trials, especially Angela!. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! She was a brave, brave girl and she still is! I just cannot tell you how amazed I am to see Angela's courage to overcome this trial! Then we went straight to her bedroom to see the "scenario" of all that might have happened. We, immediately, began to CHANGE the bedroom! We got rid of the bunk bed (top one) and moved the shelf out of harms way (we just never thought it would come to this!). This reminds me of God changing Jacob's name to Israel. Out with the old and in with the new. The bedroom looks much better, danger-free!
Pain and crisis enables us to look up to our God on the throne! We confessed (CONFESSION) our sins. There's no one like You, God! We are no better than You! You are our Lord and King. To You, we bow down and worship You! To You, we give You our love! We want no better friend than You! One of our member of the Fairfax church said, "Love is PAINFUL!" I must agree with him and this reminds me of God's love for us that it is so PAINFUL that He is willing to give us His Son to be crucified for our sins! Can you imagine God crying as His Son was being crucified on the cross and all bloodied!? We can! It broke our hearts seeing our dear Angela on the table as the doctors worked on her.
Do you think I want to see Angela hurt again? NO WAY! Do you think we would change the bedroom back by putting the bunk bed up and putting Angela back up on there? NO WAY! I made the change to avoid a recurring crisis! This leads to the final word, "COOPERATION". We made the change and we will stick with it. Parallel to this, we know we are all sinners and Jesus died for our sins. Once we learn this good news (through a CRISIS, after a CRISIS or even no CRISIS), we are committed to an eternally-changed-living! We confess that we need God everyday! We must cooperate with God by sticking to that commitment! If we lead ourselves astray and return to our old sin, it is like Angela falling down all over again injuring her mouth! Are we out of our minds to allow such a thing! No way. Just as this Scripture says in 2 Peter 2:21-22 (NIV), "It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud." So we cooperated with the fact that we are staying with this change! And Christians cooperated with the fact that they are staying with their change! Pray with me: Lord, thank You for everything in life and thank You for the pain we endure. With this, it helps us keep our life in check with You. We are determined to keep this loving relationship forever! We ask that the next pain we have to endure (great and small) will help us build our Christian character and that we be an example to those in the world. May we continue to give You all the glory! Thank You for being with us. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen.
In addition to this, please pray for one of the member's friend's friend whose one week old baby is having seizures and is now in NICU. They are devastated about this and need our MUCH NEEDED prayers! The deaf couple's names are Sean and Tracy. Thank you..
Show Jesus,
Mark and Michelle Lowenstein
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