I'm Back!

As the opposite of Arnold S., The Terminator, "I'm back!"

It's been a great week after our 9 days of vacation! :) We're getting back on track now and ready for the Fall season! We're going to start working on "Deaf Rick (Warren)", a new 40 Days of Purpose video in ASL because some people have had a hard time following Rick Warren's 40 Days video. Lord willing, we'll get it done before Oct. 16th. The deaf need something in our language.

VBS is this week so our kids will have a very busy week! We were supposed to join with the hearing in worship but ended up having no interpreters available (all of our interpreters are out of town and we lost alot of interpreters to relocation). So I had to scramble getting the deaf worship ready today. We had our worship outside under an awesomely beautiful weather. It was actually a very natural A.C. breezing through. Everyone loved it and they want to do it again. :)

Today, I preaching about Jesus and the Samaritan women (John 4). You can preach a whole lot from this one history and apply it to our lives in many ways! Our focus was on "Thirsting For Living Water" which is thirsting for Jesus Himself! :) I asked the congregation some questions: Do you have family struggles? Tensions in relationships? Restlessness? Emptiness? Perhaps, you always ponder this in thought, "Life isn't fair!" You go door to door seeking answers, seeking peace. One door may be seeking for psychiatric help (sometimes that's good but they don't always give us an eternal answer to life's problem). One door may be drugs, alcohol. One door may be a door of "self-help". One door may be a friend's door (remember they can give good advice but they don't always give you full satisfaction).

Perhaps, we're looking in the wrong places seeking peace in life. Our frustrations, going door to door, led to our total surrender and loss knowing that we have been defeated by "life's pressures". We stick with whichever door gives us a "temporary relief" and do it all over again.

The Samaritan woman kept going to the well every day! The woman had an empty life. People in her community wasn't paying attention to her. Her expectations in life had faded. No longer is she expecting anything different in life. It's all a "merry-go-round" from her home to the well then back home. She's had five husbands and lived with another man. Having tried everything, she was miserable, unhappy - thirsty. That's when she met Jesus. Jesus provided the water she needs. A different kind of water. Not tap water. Not bottled water. Not Pur (filteration) water. It's the Jesus water. It's the Living water. It's the Eternal water. Stop running away from Jesus and seeking the water that doesn't quench our thirst for abundant life.

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." John 7:37-38 (niv)

In shared with the Frederick congregation that Jesus wants the well of our lives (those who are committed, faithful and believes in Him) to be overflowed with His goodness and love. When we bring God, His Son, Jesus and the Holy Spirit into our lives, the Living Water overflows from within us unto others. When I meet Christians or "so-called Christians", I can tell if the water is overflowing from within them. How? By their conduct, their fruitfulness, their conversation, their understanding of the Scriptures, their compassion for the lost souls in the world, their eagerness to learn and grow, their maturity and more!! When I do not see any of the above, the well of their life is dry. I can tell they need help. When they resist the need for Jesus in their lives, I do not see how I can be filled by their empty way of life. There's nothing to drink from their well.

It is my prayer that we will constantly keep ourselves at the well of Christ then the well of our lives will be overflowed with blessings after blessings within us and around us.

Here's a pic of my three precious girls at the beach in Duck, NC. They really had a blast! The waves was very nice to them, though I wanted a monster waves for my pleasure. ;)